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There are lots of elements involved in the design of a car. This study, which is inspired by the brief of BMW group, explores the seating unit of cars with regard to prototypical activities, such as, listening to music, working, looking outside etc. The current study proposes that these external stimuli have an effect on comfort experience and felt emotions. So, this study explores the relationship between types of music and activities typically performed by car passengers and emotion and comfort perception, through performing a within subject design empirical study. A car seat provided by BMW group was used to test the above mentioned relationships. Data was collected through a self-report questionnaire, heart rate equipment, a pressure mat and analyzed separately for each condition. Results of the study show that there is a successful emotion induction by task and music individually, and partly on task*music interaction. A comparison of congruent and non-congruent situations, i.e. high arousal music and high arousal task or low arousal music and low arousal task, showed that differences occur in subjects&rsquo / reported level of arousal. Furthermore, the results of the study indicated that comfort is related to valance factors, independent of arousal levels. Lastly, physiological measurements showed that only task has a significant effect on heart rate, implicating for the complexity of linking physiological data to emotion and comfort.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system (CNS). In the current thesis, we have preformed an immunological investigation of patients with MS and developed an immunosuppressive cell therapy that could be beneficial for these patients. MS has been considered to be driven by T helper type1 (Th1) lymphocytes but new data indicate the involvement of Th17 responses. T cells from patients with MS that were evaluated for immunological status secreted both interferon-γ and interleukin-17 upon stimulation. However, T cells from patients with MS in remission, in contrast to relapse, had poor proliferative capacity suggesting that they are controlled and kept in anergy. T regulatory cells (Tregs) are important to maintain self-tolerance and the role of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ Tregs in autoimmunity has been extensively investigated. We analyzed Tregs from patients with MS in relapse and remission by multicolor flow cytometry for the expression of CD3, CD4, IL2R (CD25), FoxP3 and the IL7R (CD127). Patients in relapse exhibited higher levels of FoxP3-positive Tregs lacking CD25 compared to healthy controls, indicating that Tregs might attempt to restrain immune activity during relapse. In the murine experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) model of MS, therapy with suppressive cells such as Tregs or mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) has proven beneficial. However, systemic administration of such cells may immunologically compromise the recipient and promote infections due to general immunosuppression. We hypothesized that suppressive cells can be equipped with a CNS-targeting receptor and be delivered intra-nasally to avoid systemic exposure. CD4+ T cells were modified with a lentiviral vector system to express a myelin oligodendrocyte (MOG)-targeting receptor in trans with the FoxP3 gene that drives Treg differentiation. Genetically engineered Tregs demonstrated suppressive capacity in vitro and localized to the brain and suppressed ongoing encephalomyelitis in vivo. Cured mice were rechallenged with an EAE-inducing inoculum but remained healthy. MSCs are a heterogeneous population of stromal cells residing in most connective tissues and have the capacity to suppress effector cells of the immune system. MSCs were engineered to express MOG-targeting receptors using lentiviral vectors. Genetically engineered MSCs retained their suppressive capacity in vitro and successfully targeted the brain upon intranasal delivery. Engineered MSCs cured mice from disease symptoms and these mice were resistant to further EAE challenge. Encephalitic T cells isolated from cured mice displayed an anergic profile while peripheral T cells were still responsive to stimuli. In conclusion, MS patients have peripheral CNS-reactive T cells of both Th1 and Th17 type that, while in remission, are kept in anergy. Also, MS patients in relapse exhibit increased levels of CD25 negative Tregs indicating an attempt to restrain immune activity. Finally, immunosuppressive cells can be genetically engineered to target CNS and efficiently suppress encephalomyelitis in an active EAE model upon intranasal delivery.

The thesis identifies and discusses the changing structure of international trade and specialization in the industries of cars and heavy trucks. The main contribution of the thesis is that it discusses the patterns from the perspective of the car industry with the similar but in some aspects different industry of heavy trucks as a contrasting example. This method aims at giving more knowledge about the varying challenges that different industries face in a globalized economy. To authors’ knowledge such a direct comparison has not yet been done. Some results presented in the study is that while car producers compete on a global scale the producers of heavy trucks does it on a regional scale. For the OECD 23 car producing countries, this implies competition from producers in countries with low factor input costs. This is probably one of the reasons why OECD 23 car producers have raised the export value or their goods relatively more than the producers of heavy trucks. The thesis also reveals how the patterns of export and specialization have shifted dramatically in both industries.

If you have to wear a seat belt when you drive, are you safer? Intuitively, it may seem that the answer is yes. After all, if you are wearing a seat belt and get in an accident, you are half as likely to die, and 62% of fatal accident victims were not wearing seat belts at the time of accident. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration, the Governors' Highway Safety Administration, and many other organizations highly recommend wearing seat belts. The NHTSA claims that in 2010 alone, approximately 12,500 deaths were prevented by seat belt use alone. Seat belt laws clearly reduce the chance of death to vehicle occupants in a given auto accident. In response to these findings, the federal government has made the release of highway funds to states contingent on the passage of state laws mandating seat belt adoption. Laws mandating seat belt use, along with extensive campaigns to raise public awareness, have caused seat belt use to rise from 69% in 1998 to 88% in 2009. As of this writing, laws mandating the use of seat belts when driving have been passed in every state save New Hampshire. Intuitively, this should make roads safer because seat belts make an accident more survivable. Does wearing a seat belt, however, make that accident more likely to occur in the first place? If a driver wears a seat belt now and I didn't before, does he feel safe enough to take more risk? In this paper, I examine this question using insurance premiums as a proxy for the likelihood of an accident. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 offers background information, including a framework with which to interpret a driver’s actions and a review of the relevant literature. Section 3 contains details on the data analyzed. Section 4 covers the results of my preliminary data analysis, model specifications, and robustness checks. Section 5 concludes.

從汽車的發明到工業發達的現在，發展至今已有百年歷史，歷經全球經濟的景氣波動，仍是扮演著帶動眾多產業的火車頭角色，全球各家都想爭汽車市場這塊大餅。從汽車第一個品牌福特開始，各國各家產牌陸陸續續在全世界亮相。歐洲有賓士BENZ、寶馬BMW、福斯VW、雷諾Renault、標誌Peugeot等，美洲有通用GM、克萊斯勒Chrysler、福特FORD等，亞洲也有豐田TOYOTA、日產NISSAN、本田HONDA、鈴木SUZUKI、現代Hyundai等，都是在全球各地區風靡的汽車品牌。 在台灣，2013年汽車市場的發展，將持續湧現新車換車潮，不僅可讓市場持續有行銷議題，也將開啟新一輪的新車銷售競爭。對於消費者而言，產品力的提升與更豐富多元的新車推出，將會是吸引新購車或換購車的正面誘因。而汽車公司如何確切的掌握行銷策略將是成敗的關鍵。 汽車購買行為在消費心理的研究中，屬於高涉入的消費行為。一輛汽車的售價從台幣數十萬至數百萬，甚至上千萬之間，消費者在選購一部車輛時，從引起他的興趣到最終購車決定過程中的AIETA模式，都是汽車公司在消費者對於品牌與產品成本的關鍵點，因此如何以各式各樣的活動來滿足消費者的需求或透過行銷策略來吸引消費者，都是汽車公司生死存亡關鍵之所在。 而近年來福斯汽車在全球的成長，台灣也不例外，2010年起連年銷售破萬台。而同時，鈴木汽車在台灣的經營，2009年停止國產化後，2011年由日本總公司收回代理以純進口車方式銷售之後，銷售數字一路下滑。這兩個案之間有否可相互探討與學習之處，是本研究重點。 本研究所做之結論與建議，乃是經由個案公司相關從業人員，個案公司產品使用者之面談紀錄，以及網路資料，汽車專業媒體報導，國內相關產經機構研究資料，學術研究論文等所匯集整理，對本研究中之個案公司所做之結論與建議，僅純為學術探討之用。若對於個案公司未來之發展有所助益，將會是本研究最大之收穫。

Every day a large numbers of transactions occur by people with different backgrounds. Insiders’ are a part of them and are considered to have an insight in companies that is not accessible to outsiders. This affects the market conditions for the participants when trading stocks, where individual participants regularly have the possibility to earn abnormal returns at the expense of others. Although Sweden, Germany and the United States continually keep developing the insider trading regulation, research shows that insiders’ still have the ability to earn abnormal returns. The difference in insiders’ ability to earn abnormal returns is believed to be because of that the countries are from different legal families, which in turn influence the market conditions where the insider trading occurs. The purpose is to examine whether legal insider trading generates abnormal return relative to index and analyze whether there are differences between the studied countries and what the differences may be due. Method: The study takes ledge in previous research using a quantitative method where 90 sorted companies in Sweden, Germany and the U.S. are used to gather insider transactions between 2006 and 2012. The data is then analyzed with statistical methods to find answers to the purpose of the study. The results shows that insiders have abnormal return for both the buy and sell transactions, which prove that there is an information gap between insiders and external stakeholders. The legal origin may have an effect on the relationship when it is linked to insiders’ abnormal return through ownership concentration and accounting quality, which in turn affects insiders’ ability to generate abnormal returns. The insiders’ position has also shown to have an impact on the abnormal returns, but is not completely consistent with the theory of information hierarchy. / Det sker varje dag stora mängder av transaktioner av personer med skilda bakgrunder. Insiders är en del av dem och anses ha insyn i företag som inte är tillgänglig för utomstående. Detta påverkar förutsättningarna för marknadens aktörer vid aktiehandel där enskilda aktörer regelbundet kan tjäna på bekostnaden av andra. Sverige, Tyskland och USA utvecklar kontinuerligt regleringen för insiderhandeln men tidigare forskning visar, trots harmonisering i lagstiftningen, på skillnader mellan länderna. Detta antas bero på att länderna härstammar från olika legala familjer, vilket påverkar förutsättningarna på ländernas respektive marknader, och därför påverkar insiders förmåga till att skapa överavkastning.  Syfte är att undersöka om laglig insiderhandel genererar överavkastning jämfört med index och analysera om det finns skillnader mellan de undersökta länderna och vad skillnaderna kan bero på. Studien tar avsats i tidigare forskning och använder en kvantitativ metod där 90 utsorterade bolag i Sverige, Tyskland och USA används för att inhämta insidertransaktioner mellan 2006 och 2012. Materialet analyseras sedan med hjälp av statistiska verktyg för att få svar på arbetes syfte. Resultatet är att insiders har överavkastning för både köp och säljtransaktioner och bevisar att det finns ett informationsgap mellan insiders och utomstående intressenter. Det legala ursprunget kan ha en påverkan på förhållandet då det kopplas till insiders överavkastning genom ägarkoncentrationen och redovisningskvalitén som i sin tur påverkar insiderns förmåga till att skapa överavkastning. Insiderns position visas också ha en påverkan på överavkastningen där en högre position ger högre överavkastning, vilket går i linje med informationshierarkin.

This study presents an observation of the impact of Opec announcements on the behavior of sector indexes returns of the Stockholm stock market. It looks at the effects of the announcements on the stock returns of three sectors indices of theStockholm stock market: Energy, Telecommunications and Financial using the general market index return (OMX Stockholm 30) as the explanatory variable. The time period analyzed is limited to the years of 2005 to 2007 when markets worldwide were taken by euphoria and panic caused by the anticipation of the upcoming financial crisis given that it has been well proved that such events do cause a substantial effect on stock prices. In order to estimate the reaction of the sector index returns over Opec announcements, the author uses the event studies and constructs an extended version of the CAPM model by introducing dummy variables for each day of the set of announcements over the event window. It is used stationary time series data and the returns on the three sector indices were subdivided in an event window of 5 days around the announcement dates in continuous intervals of 3 years according to the Stockholm stock market trading days. As to improve the results obtained with the CAPM model, the author uses the Cumulative Abnormal Returns (CAR) which adds all the coefficients of the dummy variables which are the returns in excess of what is expected. The empirical findings for the event study reveal that none of the dummy variable coefficients were significant which indicate that none of the sector indexes is sensitive to the announcements. For the CAR results, the Telecommunication was the only sector that responded to news. Most likely because the general market index OMXST30 has proved to create extra returns around these dates. That is probably the reason that the three sector indexes could not produce significant additional response.