The question of direct citizen participation in politics and administration is a contestable one. Its proponents claim that it has positive consequences even for the more "traditional", representative democracy, since participation leads to an increased political knowledge and increased political interest, and thus creates a revitalised democracy. Critical voices have however been raised to the validity of this claim. Critics have also pointed out direct participation as problematic, because it leads to problems of political inequality: a difference of political influence between ? on the one hand, the citizens participating directly and those that restrict their political participation to voting, and ? on the one the other hand ? between the institutions, for example schools, that employ, and don?t employ this method of direct citizen influence.In this essay, these two points of criticisms are tested in the context of user-boards in elementary and secondary schools.

The consumer today is affected by a considerably larger number of world surrounding factors than she used to be, borders between different cultures and other consumer differences are being erased to a growing extent. The consumer can easily get its inspiration from many different directions which become clear in the common life. We eat sushi for lunch, we?re driving German cars and we?re having dinner with international business partners. The community also exposes the consumer for a more intense noise from offers, impact and marketing.

This study is based on an inductive approach where the collected empirical data has been categorized in themes on which we have based the discussion in this paper. Using a qualitative method, nine appropriately selected respondents were questioned with an unstructured interview guide. The transition to a society characterized by interaction has caused a greater part for bilateral communication between consumer and consumer but also between consumer and company. The increased usage and integration on Internet has resulted in so called social media channels. User generated material is published on these media channels which leads to discussions about companies, products and services.

Study: Degree project in teacher education, Advanced level, 15pUniversity of SkövdeTitle The Battle of the School ? The attempt of four organizations to influence the Swedish school and the good citizen.Number of pages: 43Author: Christoffer HärsjöTutor: Erik AnderssonDate: January 2009 Keywords: Democracy, organizations, school, influence, citizen This exam discusses the influence of four different organizations in the public school. The chosen organizations are the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, LO, the Enforcement Authority and the political party Feminist Initiative. They all have different agendas about what they think the school should teach children. These agendas will be analyzed from the point of view of lobbying, corporatism, influencing of public opinion and the theory of curriculum, to find out what impact they have on the Swedish school system.

Companies and special interest organizations pays multiple millions each year in order to reach out with messages about that their products are biggest, best and most beautiful. The publicity happens among thing like TV, in brochures, on the Internet andin newspapers etc. places. This means that consumer permanently becomes affected of publicity, and is thereby in an exposed situation. Around the EU, the border of what to consider undue or not, have been in different levels.

World wide globalization and the rapid development of the Internet have lead to significant changes for companies around the world. The world has ?shrunk? and increased supply of goods and services has lead to a more intense competitive situation. As the market changes, so does consumer behavior. Today?s consumers do no longer wish to be treated as a group, rather they are looking for products and services that specifically fit their personal values.Recent years, the consumption of digital consumer electronics has sky-rocketed.

The purpose of this study was to examine how commitment to a cause on a local basis had developed in four smaller groups during one decade. In 1996 I interviewed representatives in Åsele, Borrby, Hasslarp and Tving about their commitment and citizen initiative. Now, ten years later, I followed it up by interviewing them again. I wanted to know if the groups/associations still existed, if they had achieved their goals as they where pronounced ten years ago and how a strong commitment on a local basis can develop during ten years. Which phenomena decide whether the group develop or phase out? I use the term citizen commitment instead of citizen initiative to stress the fact that it is no longer an initiative but an on-going commitment.

The main purpose of this essay is to through theories about internal communication, channels to communicate through and change management study how these can be related to the processes at the Swedish Consumer Agency due to its future relocation. The main question within this essay is therefore:- How has the internal communication and the change management at the Swedish Consumer Agency developed in comparison with the prescribed theories?This essay is divided into three different parts (ideal, reality, ideal/reality) which can be derived to the essays theory, result and analysis chapters. The theories are the ideal while the result describes the internal communication and the change management during the process (the reality). In the analysis chapter, the ideal and the reality are compared to distinguish how the reality has been working in comparison to the ideal.The internal communication has mainly been distinguished through the authority?s intranet and the information communicated has comparatively been fast, open, objective and reliable.

The purpose of this essay has been to compare different constitutions, and their outlook on citizenship, rights, obligations and natural duty. This has been done in the light of the political philosophy, in order to give the answer to four questions. These questions are: Which rights and obligations can be seen in the constitutions, and how can it be interpreted. Can there be signs of any political philosophy in the constitutions?  Are there any differences between the constitutions regarding citizenship, rights, obligations and natural duty? If so, what are the differences? Can the rights be seen in a further extent than the obligations in the constitutions?I have conducted a qualitative comparision study and analyzed the political philosophers and made a classification scheme of their views.

Previous research in the field of consumer marketing has confirmed the positive effects of divergence on advertising efficiency. Despite the coherent evidence, some industries lag in the adoption of these findings, one of which is the Swedish real estate market. Divergence has not been elaborately investigated within said context and this paper addresses the need of actionable insights for housing advertising. Starting with the proven success of housing firm Fantastic Frank who work with detail photos in contrast to the common wide angle, this paper examines theoretical implications of detail photos' characteristics. Besides being divergent, detail photos are also ambiguous which renders access to effects related to visual perception.

The purpose of this essay is to elucidate if there is a liability to damages for cardholders, in case of unauthorized use of bankcards, in the event a liability for payment, according to 34 § the Swedish Law concerning Consumer Credits, should not be established between card issuer and cardholder. The purpose is also to elucidate if card issuing companies, in the event a liability for payment is established between card issuer and cardholder, have any possibility to get a larger sum than is allowed by 34 § the Swedish Law concerning Consumer Credits, by demanding damages from the cardholder. Finally there is a judgement of how a court could do if it wanted to hold a cardholder liable to damages because of unauthorized use of bankcards..

The purpose of this thesis is to gain a holistic understanding of who are the consumers of fortified health food products; moreover to highlight what are the characteristics of the consumers who are likely to purchase these products. This thesis employed a quantitative strategy with an inductive and a grounded theory approach. The data was collected from a research company. Existing theories in the area of functional food were not possible to find. Considering that the area is new this seems plausible; however, previous studies provided insight for substantive framework.

Abstract Title: A conjoint analysis of packaging attributes. How can the attributes of a product?s packaging best look like to attract the consumer? Authors: Linda Granberg & Helena Niklasson Supervisor: Jan Svanberg Department: School of Management, Blekinge Institute of Technology Course: Bachelor?s thesis in Business Administration, 15 credits Purpose: The purpose is to find out how visual and technical attributes on product packaging affects the consumers tendency to want to buy the product. Method: Conjoint analysis and a quantitative survey. Results: When developing a package for a food product we?ve reached the conclusion that it is most important to have clear product information on it.

The purpose of this essay is to examine how administrative officers at the Swedish social insurance agency experience and deal with the goal conflicts they may experience. Furthermore, the purpose is to gain a greater understanding on how they perceive their role in the implementation process, and their position as the link between the citizens and the state. Two potential conflicts are examined; between quantitative goals and performance measures and those more qualitative and hard to measure; between economic values such as cost efficiency and productivity and democratic values such as the rule of law. The other conflict examined is that between implementing and following the laws set forth, take into account the individual needs and interests of the citizen. The theoretical framework consists of Lundquist?s theory on public officers as the guardians of democracy, which means that they should not only implement laws and rules according to political intentions, but also make sure that the democratic values and principles are followed in the relationship between state and citizen.

Health and convenience trends dominate the food industry and retailing business of today. The health consciousness is spreading while appealing product attributes concerning taste and packaging also are increasingly important. At the same time, the competition is growing fierce in the Swedish market with hard discount formats and niche concepts who also are trying to provide the market with perishables. Therefore, the pressure to lower prices is increasing making economies of scale and rationalization progressively more important. In 2004, ICA launched private label meat packaged in a modified atmosphere. Consequently, many stores went from in-store cutting-up and packaging to selling centrally packaged and distributed meat. ICA is now developing a concept with fresh fish in modified atmosphere packages and needs to increase the knowledge about the market and the consumer.