<p>The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyse the role of logistics in the strategy of the firm. Leading to this purpose are empirical observations of firms that manage to grow under sustained profitability, by the means of logistics.</p><p>The clothing retailers H&M and Inditex manage to pursue strategies of growth under sustained profitability. Both H&M and Inditex acknowledge that logistics is used in achieving these strategic goals. The competitive environments are similar for the two retailers. However, the strategy content, i.e. the what of strategy, differs greatly between H&M and its Spanish competitor. H&M focuses on economies of scale in their operations to allow for low logistics costs and a cost-efficient geographical expansion. Inditex focuses on flexibility and speed, being able to quickly respond to changes in demand, which calls for a more agile logistics platform.</p><p>From this background, two cases are studied as regards the role of logistics in the strategy. The case companies Ahlsell and Bergman & Beving, two wholesalers of industrial goods, display growth under sustained profitability and have an outspoken focus on logistics in their strategies. The cases are described in terms of the content and the context of logistics in the strategy of the firm. The content is the what of strategy whereas the context is the where of strategy. The context is further divided into inner and outer context, where inner context is the firm and outer context is its environment.</p><p>The theoretical basis of this research is found in logistics and in strategy: Logistics research on the relation between logistics and strategy from a logistics perspective, and strategy theory ranging from the resource-based view of the firm, or the inside-out perspective, to positioning theory, or the outside-in perspective. A pattern-matching methodology is used to establish an appropriate description of the logistics content and context in the strategy of the firm. In the content-dimension, the opposing views of the resource-based view and positioning theory are tested on the cases. In the context-dimension, the cases and their environment are described with a stance taken in the contingency approach to the organisation of logistics.</p><p>The research shows that the role of logistics in the strategy of the firms in the scope of this study is most appropriately described using a resource-based view of the firm. Further, the two firms under study serve as examples of two different ways to use logistics in the strategy:</p><p>- Bergman & Beving manages to integrate a decentralised group of product companies in one logistics platform.</p><p>- Ahlsell achieves synergies in acquisitions by moving logistics and administration of the acquired firms into their centralised logistics platform.</p><p>The cases also serve as examples of that the logistics solutions need not be optimal in terms of the lowest cost and the highest service level to be used successfully in the strategy of the firm to reach growth under sustained profitability. The firms in the scope of this research act in similar outer contexts but interpret these contexts in different ways depending on their manner to use logistics in the strategy. The research shows that similar outer contexts can be approached successfully with strategies with different logistics content.</p><p>The logistics organisations in the firms in the scope of this thesis display robustness towards changes in the outer context of the firm, i.e. the logistics organisations can encounter considerable changes in the environment without altering their position in the firm. It is concluded that in order to make the role of logistics in the strategy more comprehensible, a bridge between the abstract strategy theory and the role of logistics needs to be established. A possibility to attain this can be found in the application of a business model framework to the relation between logistics and strategy, which is suggested as an area for further research.</p> / ISRN/Report code: LiU-Tek-Lic 2005:34

<p><strong>Abstrakt</strong></p><p><strong>Examinationsnivå: </strong>Examensarbete, 15 högskolepoäng, inom lärarprogrammet Högskolan i Gävle</p><p><strong>Titel: </strong><em>Barns mångkulturella formningar genom barnlitteraturen:</em><strong><em> </em></strong><em>Utifrån kvalitativ textanalys utförda på ett urval av Astrid Lindgrens verk</em></p><p><strong>Författare: </strong>Edlund, Nadja                                                                                                         <strong>Termin och år: </strong>Ht 2008                                                                                                           <strong>Institution: </strong>Institutionen för Pedagogik, didaktik och psykologi.<strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Handledare: </strong>Daniel Pettersson                                                                                    <strong>Nyckelord: </strong>Mångkultur, litteratur perspektiv, barns formning, Astrid Lindgren</p><p> </p><p><p>Syftet med uppsatsen är undersöka vilka värderingar som ingår i benämningen mångkultur</p><p>samt hur barns mångkulturella uppfattningar formas genom barnlitteratur representerad av</p><p>utvalda verk författade av Astrid Lindgren.</p><p>. Frågeställningen i denna C-uppsats lyder:</p><em><p>Vilka mångkulturella uppfattningar formas barn av genom barnlitteraturen?</p></em><p>Metod som använts för att ta reda på frågeställningen är kvalitativ textanalys. Genom denna</p><p>metod kom det relevanta fram som behövdes för att sammanställa ett urval av mångkulturella</p><p>uppfattningar och tänkanden de olika figurerna i Astrid Lindgrens böcker förmedlar i texten.</p><p>Det faktum att pedagoger och föräldrar läser det som andra läst för dem när de själva var barn</p><p>kan ha en påverkan i varför böckerna följer med i dagens samhälle.</p><p>Uppsatsen belyser mångkulturens innehåll i de utvalda verk av Astrid Lindgren som valts och</p><p>hur barns uppfattningar och formning ser ut utifrån det litterära perspektivet. Med mångkultur</p><p>menas etnicitet, religion, bakgrunder, förhållningsätt, klasskillnader samt förutfattade</p><p>meningar. Med formning menas barns uppfattningspräglingar och värderingsskapande som</p><p>sker i barnens utveckling.</p><p>Uppsatsens statistik och listor är utdragna från året 2006. Med anledning av att det med beslut</p><p>från regeringen var mångkulturens år. Det kändes också aktuellt att kort nämna nuvarande</p><p>statistik samt äldre statistik för att visa ett brett tidsperspektiv på Astrid Lindgrens böckers</p><p>existens på topplistorna. Resultatet redovisar det som genom en kvalitativ textanalys</p><p>upptäckts och innefattar det som ingår i begreppet mångkultur. Detta redovisas i utdrag, citat</p><p>och genom ord som förekommer i Astrid Lindgrens böcker.</p><p>I diskussionen framkommer det faktum att barns formning till stora delar sker genom</p><p>litteraturen och att Astrid Lindgren fyller en stor del av den litteraturen som läses av barn och</p><p>det automatiskt påverkas deras formning och uppfattningar. Mångkultur presenteras och</p><p>framställs både ur positiva och negativa aspekter i Astrids böcker. Det är därför viktigt att det</p><p>existerar en medvetenhet hos pedagoger för vad för slags värderingar vi förmedlar genom</p><p>exempelvis litteratur som läses för barnen.</p><strong></strong></p> / <p><p>The purpose with this essay is to illuminate how children’s perceptions about multi cultural</p><p>and its values are created trough literature for children. And to examine what child literature</p><p>and its value stands for. By multi cultural the aspects of ethnicity, religion, tradition, culture,</p><p>class is included. In this essay the literature who is being granted is one of Sweden’s most</p><p>read authors Astrid Lindgren. The essays method is text analysis and seven of Astrid</p><p>Lindgrens most read characters are being used in the result area. The choice of Astrid</p><p>Lindgren is being motivated by her importance in child literature true generations and the fact</p><p>that her book Pippi Långstrump still is the most borrowed book in library’s according to Svff</p><p>(the association of Swedish authors). The results are containing extracts from the books where</p><p>seven of her most famous characters exist. The results present examples of multi cultural</p><p>aspects that are presented in these books. The discussion will contribute in what ways children</p><p>can be formed true these results. These results show both positive and negative aspects of</p><p>Astrid Lindgrens books vied from the multi-cultural perspective.</p></p>

<p>This Thesis examines the impact of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) on the subsequent technological performance of the related firms. The investigated firms are selected according to their strategic choice which consists in seeing M&As as a shortcut for acquiring technological assets and capabilities and therefore the subsequent technological performance. The relatedness issue as well as the resource-based view of the firm are theoretical hints, which effectiveness on technological performance is discussed. A more managerial approach using case studies is also used in order to demonstrate a new organisational form of cooperation, derived from strategic alliances and M&As. With the help of the Renault-Nissan Alliance it is argued that this hybrid form presents many capacities for developing a successful integration process, and subsequently enhancing technological performance.</p>

<p>In this essay, I have interviewed four pedagogues from three preschools whit different pedagogical purposes. The purpose was to find out how they work with mathematics outdoor. In addition to interviews, I have conducted observations at each preschool. The different preschools are one traditional, one Reggio Emilia and one “all weather” (Friluftsfrämjandet) preschool. All the preschools were often out and then they used the natural materials like stones, sticks, leaves and fir cones when they were in the forest or in the play yard. During wintertime they used the snow too stamp and looked at the pattern that showed under the shoes. Did the pattern vary depending on shoe type? It is important that the pedagogues work on the supposition of the child and their interests and curiosity. When they are using different things that the children recognizes it is easier for them to go from the concrete to the abstract. The children’s learning and development occur in interaction with the pedagogue and the other children. All of these take place in the everyday consistency that the children can relate too. This is supposed to lead to lifetime learning (Lpfö 98). One of my conclusions is that it is a difference between the preschools in what they consider the important mathematical activities. There is a difference in whether they focus on counting, geometry, or pattern. </p>

<p>Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med kunskap om hur synen på barn reflekteras genombarnlitteratur från åren 1930-2001. Mer specifikt har fyra olika bilderböcker analyserats:Hattstugan (1930), Känner du Pippi Långstrump (1947), Till vildingarnas land (1967) ochGittan och fårskallarna (2001). Analysen har rört böckernas personskildringar, berättarröstersamt tid, rörelse och kausalitet. De frågeställningar som har använts är: Hur framställsbarnkaraktärerna i dessa fyra barnböcker? Och vilken syn på barn gestaltas genom dessakaraktärer? Resultatet av analysen blev att ingen av böckerna förmedlar endast en syn på barnutan barnkaraktärerna framställs på flera olika sätt. Tydligt är dock att barnsynen sträcker sigfrån det inkompetenta barnet i den första boken till det relativt kompetenta och relativtresilienta barnet i de två sista av de analyserade böckerna.</p> / <p>The aim of this study is to contribute to the knowledge of how the view on children isreflected in children’s literature from 1930 to 2001. Specifically have four different picturebooks been analyzed, which are: Hattstugan (1930), Do You Know Pippi Longstocking?(1947), Where the Wild Things Are (1963/1967) and Bridget and the Muttonheads (2001).The analysis has concerned the book’s characterizations, the voice of the narrator along withtime, movement and causality. Two questions are asked in this essay and they are thefollowing: How are the characterizations of children portrayed in these picture books? Andwhich view on children do these characterizations portray? The result of the analysis was thatnone of the books portrayed only one view on children because the characterizations of thechildren were portrayed in different ways within the books. It is however evident that theviews on children go from the incompetent child in the first of the books to the relativelycompetent and relatively resilient child in the two latter books.</p>

<p>The PhonePages of Sweden is a company that develops software for mobile units, especially cell phones. This thesis treats the development of, and contingencies for, a mobile phone directory, using the limited resources found in a mobile unit. The project was implemented and executed at The PhonePages with the intention of creating a product to sell to a third party.</p><p>By studying different solutions, their benefits and drawbacks, an abstract picture of the product was constructed. Problems covered include compatibility problems caused by todays platform diversity as well as problems with saving, organizing and presenting data.</p><p>The main goal was to create a phone directory which does not make external information retrievals. The service should contain both company and personal information, with name and phonenumber. Complete address information should also be available. The application should also manage different priorities and logotypes for the company information. The application, that emerged as a result of our work at The PhonePages, works independently, without making connections to the Internet and is completely implemented in J2ME, all according to the requirement specification. In other words, the analysis of the different solutions led to a working application.</p>

<p>Arbetets syfte är att ta reda på hur pedagoger arbetar med lärande frö hållbar utveckling i förskolan, utifrån intervjuer med pedagoger i förskolor som fått utmärkelsen Grön Flagg. Då Grön Flagg har olika temaområden innefattar syftet även att ta reda på olika likheter och skillnader mellan deolika temaområdena.</p><p>Intervjuerna gjordes med pedagoger på tre förskolor som arbetar med olika temaområden. Utifrån ljudupptagningar från intervjuerna gjorde jag analyser av svaren med fokus på arbetssätt, barns delaktighet, eventuella negativa sidor eller hinder och likheter och skillnader. den första analysen visade på en fokusering av fem delmål som är de mål som pedagogerna skriver tillsammans med hur de ska uppnå målen då de skickar sin ansökan om Grön Flagg till stiftelsenHåll Sverige rent. Det är dessa fem delmål som är grunden för arbetet med lärande för hållbar utveckling inom Grön Flagg och jag valde därför att fokusera på de fem delmålen i resultatredovisningen.</p><p>Resultatdelen presenterar varje förskola för sig utifrån arbetssätt, barnens delaktighet, hinder eller negativa sidor med arbetet och en sammanfattning av arbetet vid förskolan. Efter alla förskolorna följer en sammanställning av likheter och skillnader mellan de tre olika temaområdena.</p><p>Resultatet visar att arbetet med lärande för hållbar utveckling i förskolan genomsyras av att utgå från barnens tankar och ideér, att fånga det vardagliga, en helhetssyn gällande verksamhetens delar och begreppets innebörd, att skapa ett naturligt förhållningssätt och kunskap om naturen genom att vistas där och avslutningsvis pedagogernas förhållningssätt och inställning.</p>

<p>ABSTRACT</p><p>Titel: “Some kids really love those commercials” -A study of how children experience and construe commercials. (Vissa barn älskar faktiskt sånna dära TV-reklamer” – En övergripande studie om hur barn upplever och tolkar tv-reklam.)</p><p>Number of pages: 40</p><p>Author: Lotta Norberg</p><p>Tutor: Amelie Hössjer</p><p>Course: Media and Communication Studies C</p><p>Period: Autumn term 2007</p><p>University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University</p><p>Purpose/Aim: The aim of this essay is to make a study of how children experience and construe commercials. Key questions to be answered are; can children distinguish commercials from TV programmes? What do the children think of commercials? How do they watch commercials? What do they think about a ban against commercials directed to children? Do they understand the purpose of commercials? Do their buying habits change?</p><p>Material/Method: A qualitative method with 18 interviews and 3 observations with 7, 9 and 11 year old children.</p><p>Main results: The children in my study can distinguish commercials from TV programs. What they think about commercials and how they watch commercials depend on their stage of development and from previous experience. The younger children do not understand the purpose of commercials, they think it is funny to watch them and important so they know what to buy. Most of the 9- and 11 year olds understand that the companies want to sell their products.</p><p>Keywords: Children, commercials, attitudes, experience, holistic view, socialization, consumer, development.</p>

We present an image-based approach to infer 3D structure parameters using a probabilistic "shape+structure'' model. The 3D shape of a class of objects may be represented by sets of contours from silhouette views simultaneously observed from multiple calibrated cameras. Bayesian reconstructions of new shapes can then be estimated using a prior density constructed with a mixture model and probabilistic principal components analysis. We augment the shape model to incorporate structural features of interest; novel examples with missing structure parameters may then be reconstructed to obtain estimates of these parameters. Model matching and parameter inference are done entirely in the image domain and require no explicit 3D construction. Our shape model enables accurate estimation of structure despite segmentation errors or missing views in the input silhouettes, and works even with only a single input view. Using a dataset of thousands of pedestrian images generated from a synthetic model, we can perform accurate inference of the 3D locations of 19 joints on the body based on observed silhouette contours from real images.

The main area of research delineated in this thesis provides instances when Computer vision based technology has shown tremendous productivity gains in the Oil sands industry in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. Specifically, the interface between Bitumen-froth (crude oil) and the Middlings (Sand) in separation cells (during the extraction process) is estimated in real time from camera video and used for automatic control of the interface level. Two original algorithms have been developed which solve the interface estimation problem using techniques ranging from image analysis, estimation theory (Particle filters) and probabilistic reasoning. These ideas are discussed in chapters three and four. The first chapter of this thesis discusses the broad area of Computer vision research as a knowledge basis for the current work. Computer vision (automatic image analysis) has been presented starting from the basics and culminating in advanced algorithms that are used frequently. The methods described in this chapter form the foundation of the work that follows in the subsequent chapters. After the introduction to automatic image analysis, a set of Monte Carlo simulation based methods called Particle filters are introduced in the second chapter. These Monte Carlo filters assume importance in the current work as they are used to derive one of the main results of this thesis. A large part of this chapter though is devoted to the introduction of the concept of measure theoretic probability which is used in proving the convergence of Particle filters. Another application of Computer vision techniques is also developed in this thesis (in chapter five) to treat the problem of automatic interface and boundary detection in X-ray view cell images. These images are typically used to observe liquid-liquid and liquid-vapour phase behaviour of heavy oils such as Bitumen in chemical equilibrium investigations. The equilibrium data would then be used to enhance Bitumen separation technologies. Manual tracking of the interfaces between these phases for different mixtures and conditions is time consuming when a large set of such images are to be analysed. A novel algorithm is developed that is based on state-of-the-art in Computer vision techniques and automates the entire task. / Process Control