Den här kandidatuppsatsen har genomförts ute på Volvo Car’s provbana Hällered Proving Grounds, uppsatsen har som utgångspunkt att studera ett teams aktiviteter och identifiera flaskhalsar. Av resultaten ska författarna komma med återkoppling på förbättringsarbeten för teamet. Metoden för studien har varit en direktanalys där teamets aktiviteter har observerats när de utförts på plats. Eftersom teamet inte arbetar med en traditionell typ av produktflöde har en kombination av tidsstudie och värdeflödesanalys arbetats fram med hjälp av ansvariga inom teamet. Den totalt observerade tiden bestod av ca 20 arbetsdagar. Av den totala observerade tiden bestod ca 25% av värdeskapande aktiviteter. Ca 28% av icke värdeskapande men nödvändiga aktiviteter orsakat av HPG-teamet. Ca 22% icke värdeskapande aktiviteter orsakat av HPG-teamet. Samt ca 24% icke värdeskapande aktiviteter orsakat av provbeställare. Tiden för nödvändiga men icke värdeskapande aktiviteter orsakat av provbeställaren var nästintill oväsentlig. Den mest utstickande flaskhalsen som anträffades gemensamt mellan HPG-teamet och provbeställaren var problemen med den tekniska utrustningen. Slutsatsen av examensarbetet är att det finns många förbättringsområden att jobba med. De området som ger möjlighet till tydligast förbättring är det förbyggande underhållsarbetet som krävs för att den tekniska utrustningen inte ska agera som en flaskhals i flödet. / This bachelor’s thesis has been carried out on Volvo Car's test track Hällered Proving Grounds. The thesis is based on studying a team's activities and identifying bottlenecks. From the results, the authors will provide feedback on improvement work for the team. The method of the study has been a direct analysis where the team's activities have been observed when carried out on site. As the team does not work with a traditional type of product flow, a combination of time study and value flow analysis has been developed with the help of the team leaders. The total observed time consisted of about 20 working days. Of the total observed time, approximately 25% consisted of value-added activities. About 28% of non-value-added but necessary activities caused by the HPG team. About 22% non-value-added activities caused by the HPG team. As well as about 24% non-value-added activities caused by sample commissioners. The time required for necessary but non-value-added activities by the sample client was almost immaterial. The most protruding bottleneck that was found in common between the HPG team and the test taker was the problems with the technical equipment. The conclusion of the thesis is that there are many areas for improvement to work with. The areas that provide the opportunity for clearest improvement are the preventive maintenance work required for the technical equipment not to act as a bottleneck in the flow.

Around three-quarters of Bangladeshis (total population 164 million) live in rural areas: only 25% of these households have access to grid electricity with non-reliable supply despite the country’s successful rural electrification program, kerosene is the predominant source for lighting, and woody biomass is virtually the only option available for cooking. Aside from this energy service challenges the rural population also struggles with unsafe drinking water in terms of widespread arsenic contamination of well water. Access to electricity, clean cooking gas, and safe drinking water services are genuine needs of the rural poor and are essential to improving welfare. These needs can be addressed individually or using an integrated approach. Anaerobic digesters are now a proven technology and remain economically promising in the rural setting, where connection to the public electric and gas grids are not available/either not cost effective or feasible, and where energy and water scarcity are severe. As the technologies continue to improve, and as energy and safe water becomes scarce and fossil fuel energy prices rise, renewable energy based services and technological integration becomes more viable techno-economically. In these circumstances, the integration of biogas digester with power generation and water purification unit is an innovative concept that could be applied in remote areas of Bangladesh.   This work presents a new concept for integrated polygeneration and analyzes the techno-economic performance of the scheme for meeting the demand of electricity, cooking energy and safe drinking water of 30 households in a rural village of Bangladesh. This study considers a holistic approach towards tackling both of these issues via integrated renewable energy-based polygeneration employed at the community level. The polygeneration unit under consideration provides electricity via cow dung-fed digester, which in turn is coupled to a gas engine. Excess digester gas is employed for cooking, while waste heat from the process drives a membrane distillation unit for water purification. The specific technologies chosen for the key energy conversion steps are as follows: plug-flow digester; internal combustion engine; and air-gap membrane distillation. The technical features, energy consumption, and potential of renewable energy use in driving the main integrated processes are reviewed and analyzed in this thesis. This study also examines one approach by investigating the application of suitable membrane technologies, specifically air gap membrane distillation (AGMD), as a promising method for small-scale, low cost deployment.    Experimental results show that the tested AGMD prototype is capable of achieving high separation efficiency, as all product water samples showed arsenic levels below accepted limits. Mass flows and energy balance, life cycle cost (levelized cost) of producing electricity, cooking gas and safe drinking water as well as the payback period of such a polygeneration system were studied. The results indicate that this polygeneration system is much more competitive and promising than other available technologies when attempting to solve the energy and arsenic-related problems in Bangladesh. One of the main encouraging issues of this integrated system is the levelized cost of the three major services: cooking gas (0.015 USD/kWh), electricity (0.042 USD/kWh–an orders of magnitude lower than comparable photovoltaic or wind systems) and safe drinking water (0.003 USD/liter). Additionally, the payback period is between 2.6 to 4 years. / <p>QC 20150516</p>

This paper explores the possibility of gold and Bitcoin acting as safe haven investments during the Corona pandemic. To answer the research question the authors use OLS-, GARCH-, and TGARCH-models. The S&amp;P 500 stock- and S&amp;P U.S. Aggregate bond-indexes are used as a measure of the performance on U.S. stock- and bond-market. Safe haven assets have a negative beta during turbulent times and therefore the period of 2020-01-01 to 2022-03-31 will be analyzed. A period of five years leading up to the pandemic as well as the turbulent time period will be used as an average to enable comparison between regular and trying times. The results conclude that neither Bitcoin nor gold can be viewed as safe haven assets. However, it is found that both assets can work as diversifiers in the two markets.

Agriculture in California’s Central Valley is important to the US economy and food supply. High reliance on groundwater (GW) for irrigation has led to GW overdraft. Among the consequences is that the GW level is lowered, increasing the energy requirements and cost of GW extraction. This is assessed in a case study of the Turlock subbasin, as well as a simplified Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), in which the profitability of strategies for avoiding groundwater overdraft is compared to Business As Usual (BAU) for the years 2001 and 2050, using a high and low energy cost estimate. Climate projections are applied to the year 2050. An overdraft of 95 million m3 in 2001 is found to lower the GW level by 19.3cm, leading to an increase in energy requirements and cost of GW extraction of 0.320 Wh/m3 and 0.416 cents/m3, respectively. A reduction in production was found to be less profitable than BAU in all cases except for the year 2050, using high cost estimates. Crop replacement was found to be profitable in all cases. The use of desalinated water was found to be unprofitable in all cases. It is concluded that climate change and irrigation costs will have one or more of the following outcomes: decreased production, a shift towards higher $/m3 crops, and/or increased food prices. / Lantbruk I Kaliforniens Central Valley region är viktig för den Amerikanska ekonomin och livsmedelsförsörjningen. Stort beroende av grundvatten till konstbevattning har lett till grundvatten-övertrassering. Bland dess konsekvenser är att grundvatten nivån sjunker, vilket gör det mer energi-krävande och kostsamt att pumpa grundvattnet. Detta analyseras i fallstudiet, Turlock subbasin, där det även utförs en förenklad kostnads-nytto analys, i vilken lönsamheten av strategier för att undvika grundvatten-övertrassering jämförs med Business As Usual (BAU) för åren 2001 och 2050, baserad på en hög och en låg uppskattning av energi kostnader. Året 2050 beräknas inklusive förväntade förändringar i klimatet. En övertrassering på 95 miljoner m3 i 2001 visar sig resultera i att grundvatten nivån sjunker 19,3 cm, vilket ökar energibehovet och kostnaden av att pumpa grundvatten med 0,32 Wh/m3 respektivt 0,416 cents/m3. Att minska produktionen visar sig att endast vara lönsamt i ett fall: år 2050 med höga energi uppskattningar. Att byta grödor visar sig vara lönsamt i alla fall. Att förbruka desalinerat vatten visar sig vara olönsamt i alla fall. Det dras slutsatsen att förändringar i klimatet och kostnader av konstbevattning kommer att leda till en eller fler av följande utfall: förminskad produktion, ett skift mot högre $/m3 grödor, och/eller förhöjda matpriser.

The world has faced tumultuous times in recent years with the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the Russian invasion of Ukraine causing the stock market to be unusually volatile. During such times investors tend to flee to alternative investment opportunities that are uncorrelated or negatively correlated with the stock market, called safe-haven assets. Traditionally, the most prominent safe-haven asset has been gold but with the rise of cryptocurrencies as a new asset class there has been much speculation if they could act as a safe-haven against the stock market. The leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin is often the main target for such research and has even been called “digital gold”. However, some studies have explored the possibility that the second largest cryptocurrency Ethereum has an even greater potential as a safe-have asset. With the stock market crash in 2020 providing the first “real” test if cryptocurrencies can behave as safe-haven assets a myriad of papers on the topic have been published. However, little research has been done taking on the perspective of a Swedish investor. This thesis aims to fill this research gap by investigating whether the two major cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum have acted as safe-havens towards the Swedish stock index OMX30 during the COVID-19 crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. For this purpose, DCC-GARCH analysis was conducted, and the results were compared with gold as benchmark of how a more traditional safe-haven asset has behaved. The findings in this study showed that neither Bitcoin or Ethereum have acted as safe-havens during the COVID-19 crisis or the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The study also finds that gold did not act as a safe-haven for the COVID-19 crisis while it did during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These findings imply that Bitcoin and Ethereum seem to be unable to act as “digital gold” for Swedish investors in a safe-haven and hedging sense. Instead, these cryptocurrencies have only provided diversification benefits during the recent stock market turmoil.

This thesis was done in collaboration with Volvo Cars to inspect their risk management process in light of their recent change to an agile way of working. The question was if their actual risk management differentiates from their directive and if the company could in any way improve their agile risk management. By having qualitative semi-structured interviews with employees in the IT section of the company, we got the picture that not many knew about the IT Risk Management Directive that explains the process, but they are still working within its guidelines. Other sections of the company that is still working traditionally might also benefit from changing to an agile way. However, that would depend on the size of their projects and what kind of work they do since the agile methodology is more turned towards smaller projects that can change direction quickly.

Many communities are promoting physical activity and active transportation as ways to combat childhood obesity and change sedentary lifestyles of school-age children. Safe Routes to School Youth Voices is a mixed methods approach to understanding the experiences and perceptions of middle school students surrounding the use of active transportation. Student experiences are explored both independently and in comparison to parental perspectives of barriers to actives transportation. Data were collected in the form of parent surveys, observations, student interviews, and student focus groups. This study aims to answer the following primary research questions: (1) What are the conditions experienced along the route? (2) What are the students' perceptions of barriers to active transportation? (3) What are the compensation practices that students take to overcome barriers? and (4) How do the students' perceptions compare with their parents? Interviews and focus groups were transcribed and coded using in-vivo, descriptive, structural and pattern methods. Primary themes which emerged include how conditions of walking to school, personal safety, compensation practices, and systematic barriers all affect the perceptions of active transportation of the student. Findings highlight the difficulties many students face when considering active transportation, and discuss the inconsistencies between student experience, parental perceptions, and intervention goals.

Bakgrund: Hjärtinfarkt är den största folksjukdomen både i Sverige och internationellt. Det är flest män som insjuknar, trots det är det fler kvinnor som dör. En hjärtinfarkt uppstår när det syrerika blodet inte når fram till hjärtats kranskärl till följd av en blockering. Hjärtinfarkt kan delas in i två typer, ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) och Non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). Sjukdomen kan uppstå av både påverkbara och opåverkadbara orsaker.  Sjukdomstillståndet kan behandlas med kirurgisk och farmakologisk behandling. Litteraturöversiktens teoretiska ram var säker vård som är en av sjuksköterskans sex kärnkompetenser. Syfte: Att undersöka behandlingsinsatser vid hjärtinfarkt hos kvinnor.  Metod: En litteraturöversikt med kvantitativ design har utförts för att undersöka kvinnors behandlingsinsatser vid en hjärtinfarkt i jämförelse med män. Resultatartiklarna har kvalitetsgranskats enligt kvalitetsprotokollet utfärdat av Avdelningen för Omvårdnad på Hälsohögskolan i Jönköping och analyserats enligt Fribergs trestegsstruktur.  Resultat: Resultatet visar att kvinnorna får osäkrare vård av lägre kvalitet jämfört med männen. Kvinnor fick inte ett adekvat omhändertagande vid insjuknandet eller under vårdtiden. Fynden presenteras i fyra kategorier och tio underkategorier som innefattar Undersökning (fördröjd undersökning, utebliven undersökning), Tid till behandling (dörr-till-ballongtid, fördröjd behandling, sen diagnos), Kirurgisk behandling (PCI, reperfusionsterapi, kranskärlskirurgi) och Farmakologisk behandling (på sjukhus, vid utskrivning).  Slutsats: För att bidra till en mer jämställd och säker vård behöver kunskapen kring kvinnors behandling vid hjärtinfarkt öka. Vidare forskning krävs för att bidra till räddade liv, längre livslängd och ökat välbefinnande för drabbade kvinnor. / Background: Myocardial infarction is the largest widespread disease both in Sweden and in an international perspective. More men are affected, despite this more women die. Myocardial infarction occurs when the blood no longer reaches the coronary arteries because of a blockage. Myocardial infarction can be categorized in two types, ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and Non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). The disease can occur from both influenceable and unaffected causes. Myocardial infarction can be treated with both surgical and pharmacological treatment. The literature reviews theoretical framework was safe care which is one of the nurses six core competences. Aim: To investigate the treatment interventions of myocardial infarction in women.  Method: A literature review with quantitative design has been performed to investigate women's treatment interventions when having a myocardial infarction compared with men. The quality of the articles has been ensured with a quality protocol developed by the Department of Nursing at The School of Health and Welfare in Jönköping. The three-step structure by Friberg has been used to analyse the result.  Results: The results show that women receive an insecure care with lower quality compared with men. Women did not receive an adequate care in either the acute stage or during the hospital stay. The findings are presented in four categories and ten subcategories that includes Examination (delayed examination, defaulted examination), Time to treatment (door-to-balloon time, delayed treatment, late diagnose), Surgical treatment (PCI, reperfusion therapy) and Pharmacological treatment (in hospital, at discharge).  Conclusion: To contribute to a more equal and safe care, knowledge about women's treatment for myocardial infarction needs to increase. Further research is needed to contribute to saved lives, longer life expectancy and increased well-being for affected women.

The purpose of this study is to examine women's experiences of safety and community within gender separatist Facebook groups. In order to examine this, a qualitative method is used where five semi-structured interviews are conducted with members from different gender separatist groups on Facebook. The analysis shows that members experience a feeling of safety and community when they share experiences with each other regarding online harassment from men and when they can find support in each other regarding their shared experiences of living in a patriarchy. Many members experience these separatist groups like a safe haven where they can ‘breathe’ and find a peaceful environment to explore their interests in. The safety and community in these gender separatist groups also comes with some challenges. These primarily concern inclusion and exclusion, where white women with a strong grasp of feminist terminology have an easier time being included than others. There are also challenges when it comes to creating a safe environment but still having open conversations. We find that members feel safer when certain limitations are put on what topics can be discussed and on how to conduct them. However, this also limits what can be expressed within these spaces.

Syftet med denna studie är att identifiera och beskriva vilka möjligheter och utmaningar som organisationer, som arbetar med IT-styrning utifrån agila ramverk i stor skala, upplever. En tematisk innehållsanalys har genomförts av vetenskapliga artiklar för åren 2017 till 2020, och från artiklarna har koder genererats som grupperats i olika teman mot bakgrund av studiens frågeställning. Studien har genererat fyra olika teman för de utmaningar och möjligheter som organisationer, som arbetar med IT-styrning utifrån agila ramverk i stor skala, upplever: införandeaspekter och anpassning till organisationen  leda och motivera medarbetare och team  kvalitet och kontinuerlig förbättring  utvecklingsaspekter  En slutsats som kan dras av detta är att det finns mest utmaningar för organisationerna gällande aspekterna som rör införandet och anpassningen till organisationen. Den andra slutsatsen som kan dras är att det finns många aspekter som beskrivits i denna studie som organisationer upplever som möjligheter vid införande och användande av agila ramverk i stor skala, speciellt kopplat till temat att leda och motivera medarbetare och team. Slutligen finns även några aspekter som organisationer upplever som utmaningar vid införande och användande av agila ramverk i stor skala. I absolut störst omfattning framkommer detta i tema ett som rör införandeaspekter och anpassning till organisationen.