The current research examined whether motives, traditional mass media consumption and individual differences (social activity and political interest) predicted the use of social media among a group of university students in China. In coherence with Uses and Gratifications assumptions the study found that the factors differentially predicted the extent of media use. Information seeking, social interaction and affinity were the main reasons for using social media. There was a negative correlation between television viewing and use of social media, in addition to a negative correlation between information seeking and use of the media. Results further suggest that social media are used to enhance social capital, since student?s being socially active offline, tend to use the media to a greater extent than those less active..

Upper secondary schools programme - a qualitative study about the collaboration of the Youth- and family team, the upper secondary schools and the police to prevent drugsAuthor: Åsa GöranssonSupervisor: Björn JohanssonThis essay discuss drug preventative work performed by the members of the ?Upper secondary schools programme?, which is a part of the Youth- and family team of the Social Services. They perform this work in collaboration with the police and upper secondary schools in Örebro.The purpose of this essay is to investigate and describe this collaboration. More specifically, the purpose is to study the contents of documents of the municipality of Örebro concerning drug prevention aimed at youths through collaboration and compare with the actual work that is carried out by the Youth- and family team through collaboration. Further issues dealt with are possible improvements and if the parties concerned feel a need for a documented structure concerning their way of working.I have used a qualitative method and I have interviewed members of parties concerned.

Purpose/aim: The purpose of this thesis is to examine if, and in that case how, the municipality of Umeå worked strategically with its communication during 2014 when Umeå was chosen as ?European Capital of Culture?. The research is mainly focused on the outlines of their communication plan, main goals, what  communication strategies the municipality has chosen to and their choice of media channels.Material/method: Two methods are used for this research; qualitative interviews with four employees within the communication team during Umeå2014 and a text analysis of three formal documents which provide the framework of communication policies and media strategies during Umeå2014.Results: The results clearly indicate a well structured, strategic planning outlined in the formal documents. The four people intreviewed all had a good knowledge of the policies and strategies in the documents, they also described their work in accordance with these..

The purpose with my essay was to investigate how genre pedagogy works in a practical manor? I wanted to reach a deeper understanding for the genre pedagogy and to find out if it fits all students. To investigate this issue I have asked following questions:What is genre pedagogy?How do teachers work with different genres in the genre pedagogy?For whom is the genre pedagogy?Is the critic right that Frøydis Hertzberg is proposing about the genre pedagogy formalism? I have been using qualitative methods, to gather my empirical data. I have been using two unstructured interviews and one unsystematically observation, in a third grade class in a school south of Stockholm, with 30% second language students.

In this essay, I investigate Swedish possibilities to influence the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union (CAP). After having summarized my findings, I try to explain the structure of influence by using Multi-level governance theory.Ten years have passed since Sweden joined the Union, and many changes have followed in the agricultural sector. By investigating the small country of Sweden's possibilities to influence CAP, I hope to be able to get a notion of the possibilities to influence the EU in general. The essay examines four possible paths for agricultural interests to influence the policy process in Brussels:* Through elected representatives of Sweden in the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers and in the Swedish Parliament* Through subnational institutions, such as the local authorities and regional representatives.* Through the Swedish Agricultural Office* Through the Swedish pressure group within the agricultural area, LRFThese four groups all have very different channels to the policy process on agricultural issues. The differences are mostly in terms of decisive power or advisory power and institutional contacts or lobby contacts.

As stocks have become a more common way for people to save their money, the range of financial information has had a substantial increase. To understand the assumptions that stock valuation and analysis are built upon, it is important for the reader to have an understanding for the models that are used by banks and institutions when recommendations are published.The cash flow model, which is the most commonly used stock valuation tool, is based on CAPM. This model describes the relationship between an assets return and its risk in relation to an index. The risk parameter is called the beta value and has grown to be the dominating risk factor within financial economics literature.The use of beta values has been widely discussed in the world of academics and some researchers claim that the degree of explanation brought about by the beta is so low that it should be discarded, others are faithful to the beta and believe that it still serves a purpose. As a result of this criticism other ways to calculate the beta have surfaced, models that take other factors of risk into consideration.

Manzai (??) is a Japanese comedy style similar to stand-up comedy but done by two people in the form of a dialogue. One is the Boke ?Funny man? and the other the Tsukkomi ?Straight man?. This work examines how manzai discourse is structured to create comedy by using the framework postulated by Abe (2006).

In order to survive constant economic, environmental and political challenges, it has appeared to become increasingly important for a firm to recognize the significance of corporate governance. In this thesis, the structure of the board at Smartner Ltd will be outlined and the relationship between the board members and the CEO will be clarified. In addition, the aim is to analyze the corporate governance system at Smartner Ltd to be able to outline and clarify the distinct relationship between the CEO and board of directors..

The DuPont formula is one of the most well known and basic tools used for financial statement analysis and is highly useful for understanding firms strategies and operating environment. Previous studies on American listed companies have also shown that analysis of the changes in the DuPont components is useful in forecasting contexts. In this thesis we test whether disaggregating the change in return on net operating assets provides incremental information about future performance for Swedish listed and not listed companies. We find that the change in asset turnover is a leading indicator of increased profitability for both listed and private companies, regardless of size. We also find evidence that the usefulness of the disaggregation for understanding future performance is greater in capital intense industries and lesser in service industries..

General principles of law can be defined as a legal foundation with the function of codifying basic values. They can also be of a character, which makes them useful as supplement and interpretation of law. EU has developed principles of law that can be divided into general and special. Within the Union there are existences of around twenty general ones. A further separation can be made in terms of institutional and individual.

In my project, Cups on the run, I have studied the relationship between ceramic utility objects and different environments, when moving them off the table. My background as a potter has been the starting point. From there, I wanted to see if I could expand my craft to the space beyond. With the cup, which for most people has a clear function and a relation to us human, in repetitive structure I explored the spatiality and architecture in various environments. Life fascinates me through how everything is made up of tiny parts that together create the tangible and intangible.

The research of organizational structure and control in the audit profession suggest that there is a contradiction in that auditors should both nurture collegialities while they at the same time have their own responsibility for their individual development and career. This creates a competitive situation among colleagues who in return are expected to maintain a good social relationship and team spirit with each individual. Subsequently, being part of the collegiality and being highly individualistic, gives rise to a theoretical dilemma where these opposing forces are supposed to coincide with each other.The purpose of this paper is to create a bigger understanding of how auditors at major accounting firms can handle the conflict that arises. In order to explore this dilemma, we conducted a qualitative study based on an abductive approach. We have made seven semi-structured interviews from a localistic view.

My final essay is a design proposal for a schoolyard that pertains to the senses. The proposal consists of an illustration plan and this paper. The design proposal takes start in sense stimulation to create a varied environment. The title leads to the concept ?surprisingly predictable?.

In a time where many Asian metropolises experience an expansive development new urbanconditions are created and the already existing disappears or being replaced. Asian cities develop ata pace that is unprecedented in our history and which, through a western perspective can seemharsh. By focusing on an urban complex in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern province ofSichuan China, the study asks; is it possible to see this rapid urbanization from another perspective?The study examines the local and global dimensions of Raffels City, and how concepts such asnostalgia and authenticity, related to the city, can be understood in an urbanization that is so markedby massive demolitions. The study shows that these concepts can be expressed in several ways, andthat an awareness of them does not necessarily control the view of the city..

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the Management Control System is affected by a change in the owner structure from family owned to not-family owned. The study also tries to identify explaining factors behind the possible effects to the Management Control System. The study is based on a comprehensive case study on the company Alcro-Beckers which, in year 2001, was acquired from the owner Lindéngruppen fully owned by Ulf G Lindén. The acquirer was the non-family owned company Kemira OY, a Finnish stock listed group. The empirical foundation mainly comes from interviews conducted with people who were/are directly connected to the company, either as employees or as representatives for the owner.