The aim of this study was to examine how an organisation’s approach to brands can, in the building up of a brand competence, prevent trademark degeneration and develop and protect brands as strategic resources. A line of argument is put forward for adopting a new corporate approach (mind-set) to brands. The starting-point is the concept of trademark degeneration (genericness), which is both the ke

The complement system is a part of the innate immunity and is essential in the defence against microorganisms. Hereditary C2 deficiency (C2D) is one of the most common complement deficiency states with an estimated prevalence of 1:20,000 in persons of Western descent. In the present investigation, the identification of more than 40 C2D persons at a single centre combined with long observation peri

This thesis deals with radio wave propagation in environments where the propagation is severely influenced by surrounding objects, mainly walls and other building structures. As an introduction, a brief description is given on propagation terms like loss, delay and dispersion along with system functions relevant for the topic. The focus is then placed on propagation from an outdoor transmitter to

This doctoral dissertation presents a study of linear radio transmitters based on the combined analog locked loop universal modulator (CALLUM) approach. Linear architectures such as CALLUM are very attractive for power-efficient operations, since they have no fundamental limitations prohibiting a 100% efficiency for all envelope levels, without sacrificing the potential of a linear transmission. T

The present study deals with different aspects of the mitsvat mezuzah in Rabbinic literature from the first to the sixteenth centuries, with some emphasis on the medieval sources. Through a charting of statements regarding the mezuzah as an object, and the mitsvat mezuzah and its fulfilment, an overview is given of the development of the mezuzah and the perception of it. Special attention is given

This dissertation in anthropology of religion focuses on images of Tibet, among Westerners as well as among Tibetans. Based on approximately one year of fieldwork in the former British Hill station, it also deals with the politics of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and some of its political and social implications for the exiled Tibetan youth living in Dharamsala, India. The Western perc

The German poet Jacob Balde (1604-1668) chose a biblical human sacrifice as subject for his tragedy "Jephtias" intended to be performed at a Jesuit school. Jephthah, the judge, had to sacrifice his own daughter due to a vow given before the war against the Ammonites. Balde uses this topic to exemplify Jesuit virtues such as obedience, ability to handle one's emotions and readiness to sacrifice one

The main part of the thesis is concerned with charge photogeneration in conjugated polymers. MeLPPP and POMeOPT films were investigated by transient absorption spectroscopy using different excitation photon energies and light intensities with and without an external electric field. We conclude that electric field-assisted charge pair photogeneration occurs from vibrationally relaxed singlet excito

Investigations of astrophysical spectra require accurate atomic data, such as wavelengths and transition probabilities. This thesis provides high-precision atomic data for astrophysical and cosmological applications. The measurements have been carried out using Fourier transform spectrometry on light produced in a hollow cathode light source. The variability of fundamental constants is investigat

The drying of a porous material occurs in two different periods: the constant rate period and the falling rate period. During the constant rate period, the drying rate is determined by the external conditions regarding heat and mass transfer, and the drying rate is not influenced by the properties of the drying material. During the falling rate period, the material properties, such as the transpor

It is difficult for states to cooperate on issues related to international peace and security. Yet, ever since 1970, the EU member states have succeeded to gradually intensify their foreign policy cooperation and increasingly act in unison towards the rest of the world. This PhD thesis seeks an explanation to this trend. It does so by initially painting a picture of when, in time, the volume and c

The main objective in the research described in this thesis was to design and test the use of lean premixed combustion using combustion gas recirculation for gas fuelled Stirling engine combustors. A system using a flame-arrester type of flame-holder to stabilize the flame and an ejector system for the recirculation of combustion gas was designed and tested in the laboratory. The impact of changes

The thesis investigates the theoretical background and the research context within which interpretations of the Nordic Bronze Age have been formed in Scandinavian archaeology. A theoretical analysis that emphasises theories of social practice and phenomenological perspectives is presented. The purpose of the analysis is to explore theories of social practice as tools for grasping the dynamic relat

My study focuses on the analysis of single poems chosen as paradigmatic of Fole Isaksson's style and poetic vision. This approach is grounded in the belief that there is a certain thematic unity to Isaksson's lyric output, a unity which stems from the poet's constant preoccupation with the relations between the speaker of a poem and external nature, i.e. the place or landscape in or before which t

In this thesis existence and uniqueness of limit cycles are shown for a resonant converter, by extending Poincaré-Bendixson theory to non-smooth vector fields. We discuss relevant control theory and the role of simulations.

Neuroblastoma is a childhood tumour derived from cells of the sympathetic nervous system, which are arrested at low differentiation stages. Low differentiation stage and high tumour stage correlate to poor outcome. In earlier studies we have found that hypoxia induces dedifferentiation of neuroblastoma cells, which implies that hypoxia evokes a more aggressive phenotype. Here we employ microarray

Consumers today are constantly showered with a vast array of different messages about what and how they should and should not eat in order to lead a healthy life. This bombardment has escalated over the last decades as various actors, such as representatives from the medical community and public policy makers, have increasingly stressed the connections between individuals’ food consumption habits

This thesis is about parameter estimation and control of time-varying stochastic systems. It can be divided into two parts. The first part deals with an estimation algorithm commonly used when estimating parameters in time-varying stochastic systems, the Recursive Least Squares (RLS) algorithm with forgetting factor. The exact statistical properties for the RLS-estimator with forgetting factor ar