This project investigated how elevation and vegetation type influences variation in plant litter phenolic content and protein precipitation capacity among and within common plant species for two different vegetation types, heath and meadow, in a subarctic ecosystem in the Abisko region of northern Sweden. As nutrient availability generally decreases with increasing elevation as a result of decreasing temperature, I hypothesised that phenolic content would increase with elevation and be higher on the heath than the meadow. To test this, the total phenolic content and protein precipitation capacity was estimated in leaf litter from 13 species in both heath and meadow vegetation across an elevational gradient ranging from 500 to 1000 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.) in the study region. The results showed that elevation and vegetation type both had a strong impact on both variables. Total phenolic concentrations decreased with elevation for the meadow, and were greater for the heath than the meadow.

Rock groundwater has always caused major problems when tunnelling. Water leaking into tunnels can cause large problems, not only on the construction itself but also on the environment. A continuous water leakage can lead to a declining water supply, and geotechnical problems can occur as subsidence in the ground. Therefore it is of great importance to predict the consequences that can appear in the surroundings due to a declining groundwater surface.The aim of the study was to investigate different methods for predicting leakage and changes in groundwater level due to tunnelling excavations in rock. This thesis was performed by comparing mathematical methods, actual groundwater changes and results from preliminary investigations.Investigations were made for three railway tunnels planned by Botniabanan AB.

This essay concerns PR-consultants and their view on their work. The purpose was to find out which type of communication they use in contact with the target. By target, we mean the group of people the employer wants to reach with help of the PR-consultant. For example: Jägarförbundet wants to get help from a PR-consultant to influence someone in the government so that Swedish hunters can shoot more wolves, than the target group is the one in the government. We also wanted to find out if the PR-consultants are aware of the image the public have of them and if they are trying to change it into a more positive one, by using more ethics, openness and to have more focus on the relations aspect.  PR in the future with new social media (like Internet) was also a subject, where we wanted to know how much they involve social media in their work.  Our main questions were:How do PR-consultants relate to openness in communication, ethics and social media?Which one of Grunig?s PR-models is most occuring in the PR-consultants work? We made a qualitative study where we carried out interviews with six PR-consultants.

The aim of this study was to enlighten social workers experiences of social networks direct influence in Swedish social services, and in which ways those influences are manifested. Some of the issues that are being explored in this study are: The separation of the private sphere and professional duties; boundaries and dual relationships that occurs inside social networks; the use of social networks as a control-instrument in authority exercise towards clients; and social networks arising impact on social work. The empirical material was collected with nine qualitative interviews with social workers stationed at different social service departments in a Swedish municipality. Also one qualitative e-survey was sent out to, and answered by four social workers with a managerial position in the same municipality.The results reveal that several informants have experienced different problematic situations involving clients within the social networks. This study shows that the informants are very restrictive with what information (text and pictures) they publish on their facebook-profiles, because of their position of authority and the awareness of the possibility of always being watched.

The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare how and why consumers of different ethnic backgrounds value and prioritize product attributes among food in certain ways. We expected to find culturally bound attitude differences and our aim was to relate those to, and challenge, present knowledge of information structures. Consequently, we also aimed to use this new knowledge of attribute attitudes in connection to assortment variety theory, as attributes constitute important motives to how consumers perceive variety. A theoretical framework was constructed to suit our purpose and function as an analytical tool, consisting of Culture perspectives, Information structures (product attributes), and Assortment variety. In this thesis we focused on attitudes and consumer perspectives and excluded actual behaviour and the retailing perspective.

Abstract The internationalisation of a company is enabled by integration of markets. New markets mean new revenues, but also demand capital to finance the expansion. To bring in new capital may offer new possibilities but also higher debt-equity ratios, which affect how external interested parties value the company. This thesis, inspired by previous and mainly US based research, researches the debt-equity ratio of Swedish multinational and domestic companies, sampled from the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The research questions have focused on the impact of certain internationalisation variables on the debt-equity ratio; how does the debt-equity ratio differ between international and domestic companies? Can a difference be explained by the degree of internationalisation? Can a difference be better explained by the presence of international ownership? By measuring the concept internationalisation as both trade and presence, the questions were operationalised into four hypotheses.

this paper is a study on children's social interactions in role-play. The aim is to try to highlight how children with other develop social skills and how to further motivate children tosee, understand and manage their reality in role-play by highlighting the characteristics of afunctioning role-play. I would also highlight the importance of pedagogue´s role in relation tochildren's social skills in role-play. The purpose flows into these issues, what distinguishes afunctioning role-play? Can the children in role-play influence their thinking to developunderstanding of others and the environment and if so, how? What significance does pedagogue´s role in children's role-play? I used out of a qualitative methodology to carry out this investigation.

SammanfattningSeminariedatum: 2009-01-08Lärosäte: Mälardalens Högskola, VästeråsNivå: Kandidatuppsats i Företagsekonomi, 15 hpTitel: ?Mycket snack, lite verkstad ? En studie om varför konsumenten inte köper ekologiska livsmedel?Författare: Helene Kaspersson 850325                 Jennie Spångberg 860813                 Stefan Sjöblom 871231Handledare: Claes JonssonProblemformulering: Varför köper inte konsumenten ekologiska livsmedel?Syfte: Vi har för avsikt att beskriva hur konsumenten påverkas av individuella influenser och gruppinfluenser till att inte köpa ekologiska livsmedel. I en förlängning skall denna uppsats kunna vara till hjälp i processen att öka försäljningen av ekologiska livsmedel.Metod: För att kunna ge en generell bild av beteendet utförs en kvantitativ undersökning i form av en enkätundersökning.Teoretiskt perspektiv: Studien har köpbeslutsprocessen som utgångspunkt med fokus i hur konsumenten påverkas av individuella influenser och gruppinfluenser.Slutsats: Vi har kommit fram till slutsatserna att kunden agerar utifrån ett vanebaserat beteende vid köp av livsmedel. Det finns en stereotyp som symboliserar den ekologiska konsumenten. Kunden påverkas av sin referensgrupp till att inte vilja sticka ut.Nyckelord: Konsumentbeteende, Köpbeslutsprocessen, Influenser, Ekologiska livsmedel.

Titel: Fostran som pedagogiskt projekt. Bilden av ?problembarnet? i statens offentliga utredningar. (The bringing up of pupils as an educational project. The image of ?the problem child? in governmental committees).   This study focuses on the image of the problem child as it appears in two texts (from the 1940s and 1970s) of governmental committees on Public Health (SOU) and the new school law (Ds 2009:25, will be implemented in July 2011).

The brown bear population in Alberta, Canada has been decreasing, while the Swedish has been increasing and all the affecting parameters are not known. This study examined the difference in these populations to see if an explanation could be found in differences between the forest management. The aim of the paper was to see if stand treatments had an influence of brown bears habitat selection in autumn in Sweden and how the results can be used in Alberta. This was done by analyzing bear positions in Sweden with forest data, and comparing forest management data for the study area in Sweden with forest management data for Alberta. The results displayed that mature forests over 60 years that have been commercially thinned are selected by bears rather than forests over 60 years that have not been commercially thinned in.

When the costs for a company increase it is normal to look for alternatives to lower thesecosts. One of the expenditure that farmers have is energy costs. The price for the energy mayvary because of the free market. To look at the possibilities for a farmer to invest in sunpower, to make the company less sensitive for the changes on the electrical market, isinteresting. The biggest part of the electricity that is produced in Sweden comes from a fewcompanies on the market.

The thesis explores what is meant by multiculturalism in today's Sweden based on burial grounds and funerals in a minor municipality. This is done through an ethnographic case study of the municipality of Vara. The study aims to investigate how multiculturalism looks and is responded to. The study maps which aspects are placed on multiculturalism in a minor municipality and which adaptations and compromises are highlighted. This is done within the framework of theories concerning multiculturalism and social identity, and the result of the empirical case study is presented by applying the theories to the material. From burial places and funerals, social collective and individual identities are analysed based on the social categories of religion/faith/secularity and place belonging, based on the perspectives of rituals and traditions as well as the location of the grave. The study finds that there are several aspects of multiculture in the burial grounds, as multiculture not only includes cultural influences from immigrants but also the different preferences of the local villages, in combination with the development of society, and Sweden in general.

BackgroundOur main goal in the clinic is to offer rehabilitation for individuals with hearing losses. The outcome of audiological rehabilitation shall be evaluated in line with the HSL (Swedish health law 2008:3). It is most important to evaluate the results of the audiological rehabilitation for the individual as well as to make sure to reach the goals of HSL.AimThe aim of this study was to try to investigate the audiologists? opinions end experiences how to evaluate audiological rehabilitation. The aim with the focus group interview was to collect increased knowledge regarding questions, answers and observations audiologists consider when evaluating audiological rehabilitation.

The purpose of this essay has been to answer the question of whether or not administrators of economic support perceive that their professional status is ranked lower than that of their coworkers in other fields of the social services. We set out to study whether or not their comparative status differed depending on their use of standardized assessment instruments and if their experience with regards to professional status differed depending on the size of the municipality they worked in. We also wanted to determine in what way (if any) the comparative status manifests itself and what factors influences it.We?ve utilized method triangulation in order to answer the questions posed in our purpose. The quantitative study was conducted using a questionnaire and the qualitative with three interviews.

The aim of the study was to examine how substance abuse influences social relationships to families, friends and others. Five ex addicts in a treatment centre were interviewed. We used thematic interviews with themes that we regarded as relevant for our study. In the analysis we applied the theoretical concept of symbolic interactionism. Theories of emotions also helped us to explain feelings that arise in the social relationships.