AbstractCourse: 4FE02E, Graduation WorkLinnaeus University, School of Business and Economics, June, 3, 2013.Level: MasterAuthors: Elizabeth Atem TabetandoSupervisor: DR Anders PehrssonExaminer: DR Sarah PhilipsonTitle: Micro Environmental Factors’ Influence on the International Marketing Strategy of Swedish Companies in Norway.Background: Author is interested in studying how micro environmental factors affect international marketing strategy of Swedish companies in Norway.Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate customers’ and competitors’ influence on value adding activities of Swedish companies in Norway.Research questions: RQ: What influence do customers and competitors play in value-adding activity of a firm in a foreign market?Research Method: Empirical findings through live and internet-based interviews with top managers of three companies.Findings: The findings contribute to the understanding of theoretical principles that explained how firms face more intense customer service and competitors’ pressures than before. The organization’s response can have the potential either to restore customer satisfaction and reinforce loyalty in order to compete successfully or inflict more lasting damage on the organization’s image. It shows that customers always evaluate service encounters’ outcome, procedure, and interaction. This provides managers with useful information on how important these complexities are for value-adding in foreign markets.Conclusion: A firm’s cooperation with customers in product, production operations and customer services has a positive influence on product development, product quality and growth of the business. A firm that response to competitors’ has a competitive advantage. / <p>no</p> / .

pas de résumé

The Lofoten Maelström in Norway, one of the world’s most powerful systems of tidal eddies, has been a locus of terror and imagination for centuries. First depicted in renaissance cartography, the myth of the vortex was propagated through the occult science of Athanasius Kircher and found its most current expression in Edgar Allan Poe’s “A Descent into the Maelström”. This thesis is a work of exegesis. That is, a work of interpretation that leads out of a text, or a site, towards another level of meaning. Poe’s text refers to the geographic site of the thesis but also becomes a site in itself. It is out of this text/site that the author unfolds a series of exegetical pathways, constructing an ambiguous ground between the real and imaginary dimensions of the Maelström. This thesis is also a work of synthesis. It explores how the speculative architectural proposition can crystallize subtle conceptual material in ways that text and image alone cannot. While the thesis is heavily invested in various modes of representation, architectural and otherwise, it also acts as a critical investigation into the nature of representation itself. The document is composed as a performance in three parts. Each part broadly engages a fundamental binary that is latent in the work of architecture: 1) history and fiction 2) figure and ground 3) ritual and design. Part I introduces the site through various historical and fictional portrayals of the Maelström which have contributed to the co-authorship of its mythologized identity. Part II consists of a suite of three discursive essays that address the sublime, the death instinct, romanticism, negative theology, the chora, and 20th century performance theory. This material is organized under the umbrella of three figure/ground conditions: the figure against the sublime ground of the romantic-era painting, the negative ground of medieval mysticism, and the ritual ground of the Greek chorus and its spatial counterpart, the chora. Finally, Part III includes two movements: the design of a wave energy research facility, and a series of episodic vignettes that subvert the intentions of the designer by re-casting the facility as a place of ritual. With the Maelström as a backdrop, the architectural proposition offers itself as the stage upon which this struggle between design and ritual is enacted.

Den 31 augusti 2007 lämnade det norska och svenska högkvarteren in ett förslag på fördjupatförsvarssamarbete mellan länderna. Det råder det inga som helst tvivel om att den mest väsentligadrivkraften för detta samarbete är ekonomi. Bägge länderna riskerar att förlora väsentliga delar avsina förmågor p.g.a. nedskurna budgetar. Man vill därför åstadkomma ett ”ömsesidigtförstärkande” av de bägge ländernas produktionsförutsättningar. Förslaget innebär ett nytt synsättpå försvarssamarbeten. Frågan blir då hur man kan karaktärisera detta nya samarbete och vargränsen går mellan allians och försvarssamarbete? Denna uppsats utreder graden av integrationoch beroende i föreslaget samarbete, samt vilka konsekvenser detta kan få. Jämförelsen görs motrådande och tidigare samarbeten. Resultatet indikerar att samarbetet går mot en hög grad avintegration mellan ländernas försvarsmakter. Graden av beroende är svårare att avgöra då denpolitiska avtalsbildningen inte är klarlagd. Konsekvenserna av samarbetet bedöms påverka svensktrovärdighet avseende alliansfriheten samt utmaningen hur personalfrågorna inom respektiveförsvarsmakterna skall hanteras. Svårigheten ligger dessutom i att klarlägga konsekvenserna avindirekta beroenden som skapas genom djup integration och politiska lojalitetsdeklarationer. / On the 31 of august 2007, both Swedish and Norwegian supreme headquarters presented aproposal of a new military cooperation between the countries. The main motive is the economicsituation. The military forces in both countries are in a risk of losing vital areas of therecapabilities because of downsizing in budgets. To avoid that situation, both headquarters wants toachieve a “mutual reinforcement” to support the force generation process. This essay attempts toclarify the degree of integration and dependence, including possible consequences. Existing andhistorical cooperation are used as a comparison. The result indicates that this cooperation willlead to high degree of military integration. The degree of dependence is more difficult to conclude,because the lack of decided political agreements. The consequences will affect the Swedishdeclaration of non-alignment and challenges in staffing policy issues. Another problem iselucidating possible consequences of indirect dependences, which are influenced by deepintegration and political declarations of loyalty. / Avdelning: ALB - Slutet Mag 3 C-upps. Hylla: Upps. ChP 06-08

Detta arbeta har utförts för att undersöka hur höstplantering av täckrotsodlad gran (Picea abies) och tall (Pinus sylvestris) överlever och utvecklas jämfört med vårplanterad. Detta i ett led för att se om man kan utöka planteringssäsongen för att få en jämnare arbetsbelastning över säsongen både i plantskolorna och ute i fält. Man har undersökt hur en planteringstidpunkt på sensommaren och hösten påverkar granplantors överlevnad jämfört med plantering på våren. Studien är utförd som en survey studie i södra Sverige på täckrotsplantor av gran som planterats på medelboniteter 2007-2009 och inventerats 2010. Höst och vårplanterade granplantor är jämförda parvis med samma planttyp, ålder, proveniens och geografiskt område. Följande saker har jämförts; plantor per hektar, höjdtillväxt, toppskottstillväxt, rothalsdiametern, frostskador, viltskador samt snytbaggeskador. Höstplantering av täckrotsodlad gran (Picea abies) ger ett lika bra resultat som vårplantering vad gäller överlevnad hos plantor. Höjdtillväxt och diametertillväxt blev något bättre på de höstplanterade plantorna jämfört med vårplanterade efterföljande vår. Höstplanterade plantor skadades något mer av frost än de vårplanterade gjorde, speciellt första säsongen. Vårplanterade plantor fick något mer viltskador än höstplanterade vilket kan bero på färre frostskador. Vårplanterade plantor skadades något mer av snytbagge än de höstplanterade. Snytbaggeskadorna var störst på de torra jordarna i östra området. Höstplantering av täckrotsodlad tall (Pinus sylvestris) gav ett lika bra resultat när det gäller överlevande plantor som gran. / This work has been performed in order to investigate if Norway spruce (Picea abies) and pine (Pinus sylvestris) container-grown seedlings planted in autumn gives the same quality as planting in spring in terms of surviving plants. This is in part to see if one can extend the planting season to get a more even workload over the season, both in nurseries and in the field. The study is designed as a survey study in Southern Sweden on container-grown seedlings of Norway spruce and pine planted 2007-2009 and inventoried 2010. The following things have been compared; plants per hectare, height growth, leading shoot growth, stem diameter, frost damage, damage by wild animals and pine weevil damage. Planting of Norway spruce (Picea abies) container-grown seedlings in autumn gives the same quality as planting in spring in terms of surviving plants. Height growth and diameter growth were slightly better the following season for seedlings planted in autumn compared to seedlings planted in spring. Seedlings planted in autumn were damaged by frost more than seedlings planted the spring, especially the first season. Seedlings planted in spring were slightly more damaged by wild animals than seedlings planted in autumn which may be because of less frost damage. Seedlings planted in spring were slightly a little more damaged by pine weevil than seedlings planted in autumn. Pine weevil damage was greatest in the arid soils in the eastern area. Container-grown seedlings of pine (Pinus sylvestris) planted in autumn gave equally good results as seedlings planted of Norway spruce.

The Lofoten Maelström in Norway, one of the world’s most powerful systems of tidal eddies, has been a locus of terror and imagination for centuries. First depicted in renaissance cartography, the myth of the vortex was propagated through the occult science of Athanasius Kircher and found its most current expression in Edgar Allan Poe’s “A Descent into the Maelström”. This thesis is a work of exegesis. That is, a work of interpretation that leads out of a text, or a site, towards another level of meaning. Poe’s text refers to the geographic site of the thesis but also becomes a site in itself. It is out of this text/site that the author unfolds a series of exegetical pathways, constructing an ambiguous ground between the real and imaginary dimensions of the Maelström. This thesis is also a work of synthesis. It explores how the speculative architectural proposition can crystallize subtle conceptual material in ways that text and image alone cannot. While the thesis is heavily invested in various modes of representation, architectural and otherwise, it also acts as a critical investigation into the nature of representation itself. The document is composed as a performance in three parts. Each part broadly engages a fundamental binary that is latent in the work of architecture: 1) history and fiction 2) figure and ground 3) ritual and design. Part I introduces the site through various historical and fictional portrayals of the Maelström which have contributed to the co-authorship of its mythologized identity. Part II consists of a suite of three discursive essays that address the sublime, the death instinct, romanticism, negative theology, the chora, and 20th century performance theory. This material is organized under the umbrella of three figure/ground conditions: the figure against the sublime ground of the romantic-era painting, the negative ground of medieval mysticism, and the ritual ground of the Greek chorus and its spatial counterpart, the chora. Finally, Part III includes two movements: the design of a wave energy research facility, and a series of episodic vignettes that subvert the intentions of the designer by re-casting the facility as a place of ritual. With the Maelström as a backdrop, the architectural proposition offers itself as the stage upon which this struggle between design and ritual is enacted.

The effect of steady shear stress on somatic embryos were investigated in a flow chamber and evaluated at different time intervals using microscopy technique. The development of meristematic cell clusters, i.e. the immature embryos, into a polarized somatic embryo, and the effect on the localization of the suspensor cells that form during development of the immature embryos, were studied as a function of shear stresses. With the distribution and growth rate of the meristematic and suspensor cells, the effect of stress on the embryo development was established. Furthermore, the effect of shear stress on the cells at molecular level, the reaction of integrin-like proteins, the production of reactive oxygen species and the pore size of the cell walls involved in the shear stress responses, were investigated with molecular techniques. In general, shear stress inhibits meristematic cells growth. Meristematic cells grow fastest at shear rate of 86 s-1 among all the tested shear stress conditions. By combining the results of meristematic cells growth and suspensor cells formation, it suggests that there is a critical shear rate between 86 and 140 s-1, at which no suspensor cells form. The unidirectional flow with different shear stresses helps the polarized growth and the unidirectional alignment of suspensor cells. Reactive oxygen species and integrin-like protein are detected in the stressed cells as cellular responses to shear stresses. By monitoring the pore size and uptake time of cells to macromolecules with solute-exclusive experiments, it suggests that the stressed cells expedite the response to plasmolyzing components that are used to induce maturation treatment thus affect the response to maturation stimuli.

Master's thesis. / Format: PDF. Bibl.

Not available / text

Roughly 130 000 dwellings have been officially registered since Norway as of summer 2009 passed their bill “Energimerkeforskriften” on energy performance certificates in buildings. The main objective is to decrease the total amount of national energy consumption by producing a methodology of calculation of the integrated energy performance of buildings as well as proposing cost effective measures to lower each building’s energy consumption.  As the measures should not contravene nor be incompatible with the intended quality and character of the building, the “Energimerkeforskriften” exempts buildings that due to their historical and cultural values are protected cultural heritage legislation. The current system offers a couple of professional certification alternatives, but when two online semi-automatic methods developed specifically for non-professionals are by far the most used, and since the methods of calculation primarily have focused on modern building materials and construction, the rest of the historical building stock stands literally unprotected by incorrect performance certificates and high-risk energy efficient measures.  The objective of this thesis is to identify if the current Norwegian energy certificate system poses a threat to older buildings. It also tries to pinpoint relevant additions in order to minimize those potential risks in a near future by relating potential impact to what is determined as the main character-defining values of a building. The results show that the system clearly has its flaws, mainly regarding the estimation of energy consumption, and that the automatically recommended energy efficient measures would pose a serious potential threat to the historical building stock of Norway if they were to be implemented. / Bakgrunden till arbetet är de krav som EU direktivet (2002/91/EF) om byggnaders energiprestanda ställer på upprättande av energideklarationer och energieffektiviserande åtgärdsförslag. Till följd av att direktivet lämnat utrymme för given tillämpningsmetod har Norge utvecklat ett deklarationssystem där gemene hus- och fastighetsägare fått möjlighet att själva genomföra sin energideklaration, något som i andra länder enbart får genomföras av oberoende experter eller företag. Sedan systemet togs i bruk under slutet av 2009 har cirka 130 000 unika energideklarationer genomförts av privatpersoner genom den officiella hemsidan för Energimerke-systemet. Hemsidan tillhandahåller ett energiberäkningsprogram vilket med hjälp av olika tekniska och byggnadsrelaterade uppgifter som registreras av använder genererar en energideklaration. Systemets beräkning av byggnadens energibehov och uppvärmningssystemets verkningsgrad faller sedan samman i ett energimerke som i sin tur är ett krav att ha vid försäljning eller uthyrning av en bostad. Utöver själva beviset rekommenderas även ett antal energieffektiviserande åtgärder.  Med ett rådande undantag för kulturhistoriskt skyddade byggnader och ett system som inte är anpassat efter äldre konstruktioner verkar det dock kunna finnas vissa risker med den nuvarande metoden. För att genomföra en första granskning av systemet och dess möjliga konsekvenser för äldre byggnader i Norge har detta arbete därför ställt ett stort statistiskt underlag av tidigare energideklarationer mot utfallet i några fallstudier och simuleringar. Syftet är att ge svar på huruvida energideklarationssystemet utgör ett hot mot äldre byggnaders karaktärsbärande värden eller ej, samt försöka identifiera hur systemet kan förbättras och utvecklas. Ett viktigt moment i att försöka svara på arbetets frågeställningar har utgjorts av ett resonemang vilket lett fram till det sammanvägande begreppet karaktärsbärande värden. Satt i förhållande till energideklarationssystemets åtgärdsförslag och lagrummets egna varsamhetsparagrafer har det kunnat ge en fingervisning om vilka åtgärder som utgör störst risk för äldre byggnader.  Resultaten visar att systemet med estimerade energiberäkningar verkar genera felaktiga värden som förvärras ju äldre och enklare byggnaderna respektive registreringarna är. Det är även tydligt att åtgärder med hög risk för byggnaders karaktärsbärande värden ständigt återkommer som förslag samtidigt som systemet ej heller tar hänsyn till kostnadseffektiva aspekter. För att minimera riskerna föreslås att systemets tekniska ramar utvidgas samtidigt som systemets åtgärdsförslag ses över och eventuellt begränsas till att gälla brukarrelaterade råd. / Spara och Bevara