During the course of history, the world have come to see powerful nations rise and fall, religions spread and diminish ? and all too often there have been violent struggles between religious groups and secular forces, a fact that we still see in our world today. In the West, we often hear about the violent and fundamental dimensions of Islam. Buddhism is rarely a part of the equation in a western context, regarding violence. A common perception is the picture of Buddhism as a guardian of non-violent principles and values.

Today, the management concept of lean has stretched far from its origins in the Japanese automobile industry. When reaching the Swedish restaurant industry, the conditions for a successful implementation of lean change as a result of the high employee turnover and the significant amount of part-time employees characteristic for the industry. Combined with a high-end service profile, these workforce characteristics seem inconsistent with some of the basic principles of lean. By conducting a case study, this thesis aims to investigate the effects of a variable workforce on the enablers for a successful implementation of lean in a high-end service industry. Using a theoretical framework consisting of enablers for an implementation of lean in services, the study finds that the variable workforce inhibits an implementation of lean by complicating the effects of traditional training, as well as the possibility of understanding the lean concept at all levels of the organization.

The function of budgetary controls is to control the resource allocation within companies. It can also be an instrument for measure and control subordinates and/or business units? performance (Van der Stede 2001). This paper concerns the latter; when the budgetary control function is used to measure and control subordinates performance based on budget. Previous research in this area has not yet accomplished to explain the effects of tight budgetary control which Hartman (2000) considers as the main issue to be concerned about in management accounting research.Previous research has presented contradictory findings regarding tight budgetary control explained by positive effects as well as negative effects during the last decades.

Internet is the future and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is growing in use. Companies are starting to realise the benefits with VoIP. Skype is the number one soft phone on the market but it doesn't satisfy the needs of companies (e.g. transfer calls, redirects calls and so forth) and leaves therefore a gap. The purpose of this master thesis is to provide Objektor AB (thesis initiator) with tips on how to design a usable soft phone that they know is based on relevant human computer interaction research.The method used in the thesis has been iterative development.

In this thesis I have criticized traditional nationalism theories formulated by Eric Hobsbawm, Ernest Gellner, Benedict Anderson and Anthony D. Smith. The critique has been based on my belief that nationalism theories do not explain nations whose foundation is built on forward-looking, dynamic aspects such as economy, human and civil rights, and democracy. Traditional nationalism theories have been focused on historicizing perspectives whereas I want to draw attention to non-historicizing perspectives within the field of research. So far nationalism theories has had a shared past or a shared ethnicity as its focal point.

Finlands kamp mot det mycket större Sovjetunionen under vinterkriget skildras i denna uppsats i form av en fallstudie av slaget i Suomussalmi. Det görs även en beskrivning av de militärteorier som är centrala för analysen i uppsatsen.Finlands sätt att strida och nyttja taktiken under detta slag är tillämpbart för att studera militärteorier som Försvarsmakten idag använder i sina doktriner för markarenan. Teorierna som slaget analyseras kring rör manövertänkande, krigföringsförmågan och de taktiska grundprinciperna.Uppsatsen undersöker i vilken omfattning den finska sidan använde sig av manövertänkande och vilka förmågor som spelade en avgörande roll i slaget. Även sambandet mellan manövertänkande och de taktiska grundprinciperna undersöks.Slutsatserna visar att rörligheten var den förmåga som spelade störst roll för den finska sidans framgångar. Det framkommer också att många finska chefer använde sig av manövertänkande.

In the library community there is a continuous discussion about enhancing user interactivity on library websites, according to the principles of Web 2.0, called Library 2.0. The purpose of this thesis is to study how librarians conceive Library 2.0. The focus is on the study of the librarians? conceptions of user interactivity on the website, and if the librarians conceive that their professional role is affected by Library 2.0. The study is implemented methodologically by interviewing six librarians and using phenomenography as an approach.

The aim of this thesis is to ascertain how primary school teachers would like to improve their mathematics teaching. The central questions for this research are:In what ways do teachers want to improve their mathematics teaching?How do the teachers justify their statements?What main features can be distinguished out of the teachers answers?Three interviews and seven surveys have been used to collect information from a total of nine teachers, at one primary school. Teaching pupils from preschool to sixth grade. The results have been analysed, interpreted and discussed using a drama pedagogical perspective, inspired by a holistic approach to learning.

The function of budgetary controls is to control the resource allocation within companies. It can also be an instrument for measure and control subordinates and/or business units? performance (Van der Stede 2001). This paper concerns the latter; when the budgetary control function is used to measure and control subordinates performance based on budget. Previous research in this area has not yet accomplished to explain the effects of tight budgetary control which Hartman (2000) considers as the main issue to be concerned about in management accounting research.Previous research has presented contradictory findings regarding tight budgetary control explained by positive effects as well as negative effects during the last decades.

This study aims at examining the prospects for a policy transfer of a Swedish municipal environmental policy (that of Växjö) to the French urban commune Blois, for which an ambition of becoming a leading eco-city in France, was declared by the mayor in 2008.In the analysis, emphasis is laid on mechanisms to institutionalize the main environmental policy principles, such as political and institutional structures and processes. Other prospects for an institutionalization of a new environmental policy that are to be investigated are economic structures as well as visions of the different decision-makers concerned. Research methods used in the study are qualitative interviews, document studies and a questionnaire.The findings of the analysis show that today?s prospects for an environmental policy in Blois close to that of Växjö, are clearly limited. The limitations can partly be found in economic structures but these seem to be rather related to a lack of priority amongst actors.

Tidigare forskning har undersökt effekterna av etiskt ledarskap på redovisningsbeslut och etiska riktlinjers allmänna påverkan, men vi saknar forskning kring variablernas gemensamma påverkan på redovisningsbeslut, vilket är syftet med detta arbete. Arbetet undersöker vilken effekt etiskt ledarskap och etiska riktlinjer har när en redovisningskonsult ställs inför en komplicerad redovisningsfråga. Variablerna undersöks både individuellt och tillsammans. En enkätundersökning genomfördes bland auktoriserade redovisningskonsulter i Sverige och 142 respondenter deltog. Studien tyder på att det finns ett gemensamt inflytande av etiskt ledarskap och etiska riktlinjer på etiskt laddade redovisningsbeslut.

The function of budgetary controls is to control the resource allocation within companies. It can also be an instrument for measure and control subordinates and/or business units? performance (Van der Stede 2001). This paper concerns the latter; when the budgetary control function is used to measure and control subordinates performance based on budget. Previous research in this area has not yet accomplished to explain the effects of tight budgetary control which Hartman (2000) considers as the main issue to be concerned about in management accounting research.Previous research has presented contradictory findings regarding tight budgetary control explained by positive effects as well as negative effects during the last decades.

This thesis analyses the problem of how to organise a multidisciplinary domain of knowledge like architecture. The study is both theoretical and empirical. The theoretical part include discussions of theories of knowledge organisation. Two different principles of classification were examined in relation to the domain itself, as well as in relation to the educational programme at the School of Architecture at Lund University and comparable schools in Sweden. The empirical part is a case study carried out at the School of Architecture at Lund University.

This report presents the results of a thesis in which the department PL Hus at Grontmij AB isstudied. The study has been done in order to locate problem areas in order to streamline andimprove the quality of working. The study was done by an engineering student from theDepartment of Industrial Management at KTH on behalf of Grontmij AB. The project extendedover a period of 20 weeks during spring 2011.In addition to the Department itself has two project managers in two different projects beenfollowed. The method used has been participant observation and was used to be able to comeclose to reality and thus find problem areas where there are opportunities for development.Validation was made through comments and opinions from workers at Grontmij AB, afterreading the reports analysis.Based on a system and holistic approach has parallels been drawn to the production systems suchas TPS (Toyota Production System) and lean production.

Every year, 12,000 people in Sweden are diagnosed with aphasia. Many people with aphasia supplement their logopedic treatment by participating in an aphasia group. Aphasia groups provide both social and linguistic stimulation. The aim of the present thesis was to study the social interaction between participants, and between participants and leaders in aphasia groups.In the present study, eleven persons with aphasia and four leaders participated divided into three aphasia groups. The groups were video recorded during sessions with a total of four sessions.