Our time is characterized by the development of new technologies that facilitate communication between people. The need for Video Mediated Communication (VMC) is increasing because people move to other locations due to migration and global mobility. VMC provides the opportunity for millions of people around the world to ?hang out? and see each other despite the distance in between. The world is "shrinking" because of the Internet and our perception of distance is changing.VMC is becoming increasingly available, in the form of applications like Skype and MSN for mobile phones and computers, and in addition, it?s practically free.The purpose of this thesis is to render a picture of the way in which people use Skype in the private sphere.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the innovation process of companies, and to analyse how important success factors and obstacles are in their innovation process.Method: The investigation strategy used for this essay was to interview companies that work with innovations. The essay has a qualitative approach. Both primary ? in the form of interviews - and secondary data ? literature found in books, scientific articles and internet - have been used to achieve our results.Results: The result of this essay is: there is not just one inovation process that is applicable to all companies. On the other hand, there are some guidelines that could be followed in the process.

The aim of this paper is to investigate the subject matter of visual communication in presentation brochures of two Swedish regions: Region Halland and Region Dalarna. My focuses are the following questions: what is the aim of the brochures and in what ways does the visual material relate to that aim? How can strategic communication be defined through a visual perspective and in what ways is it useful in the context of presentation brochures of the regions? What sort of communicational functions are specific for the visual material in relation to the written language of the brochures? Lead by these questions, I start by analyzing the brochures through a textual analysis and a social semiotic approach. The result shows that the aim seems to be both political and commercial, but that the visual elements relate more strongly to the commercial aim than to the political aim by the way they strive to present a positive image of the region. The visual elements work in strategic ways that I define as visual strategies.

In the field of IT-forensics you may often get to analyze different types of digital devices. One ofthese devices is the GPS navigation system. Nowadays GPS technology is getting more and morepopular and is included more frequently in different types of devices. With this article we want topresent the differenent obstacles and possibilites that a forensic investigator is presented with in thistype of investigation. We will be comparing different software suites and make use of forensic toolssuch as EnCase.The reader should get some understanding of the methods there are for analyzing one of these devicesand what problems that may occur in the investigation process.The article presents how the investigator can use different methods to gain information such as recentroutes, favourite destinations and other information that may be stored on the device.

This study examines how the local rescue services relate to the brand of the rescue service and the concept of brand management. To understand the attitudes against the brand and brand management, empirical data, theoretical modelling of brand and current laws have been discussed together in a try to get an overview how the rescue services practically works with the brand. The study results are based on a questionnaire survey and qualitative semi-structured interviews. The survey was sent to employees working with the communication of the rescue service. The interviews were held with two employees working with the communication of the rescue service and two fire chiefs.

The study examines how social media can be used in a business-to-business context. To understand the communication conditions, factors has been identified that affects the choice of communication channels for different types of information transferred between parts. Furthermore, the study investigates the underlying reasons for why certain communication channels are chosen before others, in different situations. The study results are based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with employees in a small engineering consulting company. The investigation has focused on employee communication and choice of communication tools primarily in relation to the business relationship.

The purpose of this study was to examine how modern information and communication technology influence collective action within the framework of social movements. By studying the protests in the Arab World 2011, and focusing on the social movements in Suleimanya in northern Iraq, by observation taken on place, the essay discusses that collective action is closely related to the use of technology, for example cell phones and Internet.Result shows that modern communication technology has enabled immeasurable access andconnection between individuals throughout the world, which seems to be different from previouscollective action. The new communication channels in the form of social media, has been used for the dissemination of information and news, documentation, organization and membership recruitment in the social movements in the Arab World and Suleimanya. The new social movements have the tendency to be decentralized and flattened organized, they are now self-organizing and that they only do a whole as global patterns, as evidenced by the social movements in the Arab World andSuleimanya..

People are given better opportunities to participate in polity today. Democratic equality entails that all individuals are equal and therefore they should be included in the process of making the decisions. How can participation be defined and does it mean that having the possibility to participate means that people can influence the process of making the decisions in polity process?This paper focuses on participation and influence in polity and examine the relationship between having the possibility to participate and having the possibility to actually influence polity process on more local level. Therefore I have been examining the citizens? participation and influence in Helsingborg which is my case study.

AbstractCommunication and information has become a large industry in today?s society. More and more organisations use these means as tools of influence. Non-profit organization?s campaigns, which aim to change a behavior, often have a political responsibility and it is therefore important that these are carefully planned and carried through.

The Swedish Institute is a public agency promoting Swedish interest, national image and confidence around the world. This work attempts to investigate how communication and a process over time influences and effects public diplomacy. The analytic discussion is based on a single case study research of this Institute representing ideas in the international science field of public diplomacy. The theoretical ideas of public diplomacy are placed in a theoretical perspective of social constructivism. The method is qualitative, with excerpts taken from interviews, literature, newspapers, articles, state public reports and social media.

 The sawmill industry is a relative fragmented industry that is in an economic upswing andwith a hard competition. The customers have high demands on their suppliers and the highcustomer demand make it necessary for the companies to make a streamlining in planningand production. For that reason it is very important that the planning- and productionprocesses aren?t to complex and with a simple structure.The purpose of this report is to study and map out a marked out part of a planning- andproduction process, from adjust works to final delivery, at a company in the sawmill industry.Different methods have been used for the report, among others interviews and subordinatedmaterial.We have mapped out a marked out part of the planning- and production process at theCompany. This part we have studied, and we have analysed the process it self and otherthings connected to the process.We see the planning- and production process in the Company as complex.

This study investigates if, and in that case, how design theory is applied in practice in the web development field. Prior research has focused on methods used in the web development field. We wanted to study the designers role in a web design process by comparing existing designer roles with design theory literature. We did qualitative interviews with two practitioners at two different communication agencies in northern Sweden. Based on our qualitative data and literature review we have concluded that a designer has to devote a lot of energy on requirements engineering in order to develop a clear understanding of the design situation..

The study was conducted in Jönköping County Chamber of fibrillation and is about change and improvement of process modeling technology. The process for treating patients with fibrillation is in the need to evolve and improve. In order to develop the care they needed a current state description which usually is made with the traditional process modeling tool.Many scientists and health professionals is in the opinion that this technology gives a too rigid image to describe the care processes. It also does not sufficiently take into account the human aspects. This reasoning suggests that the process modeling technology in healthcare is in the need to develop multiple perspectives.

Through a sociocultural perspectivethe purpose of this study is to investigate how preschool teachers look at quality development in preschool and how they perceive their participation in this development.I have used a qualitative method based on five interviews with preschool teachers from three different parts of Sweden. I used an interview guide with open questions. The interview answers were categorized in themes based on the responses which were most frequent. In the result I have been using an analysis based on these themes. The result showed that the preschool teachers consider that the leadership style affects their work.

The aim of the study is to investigate conflicts in working lifefrom an individual and a relational perspective, as well as to illustrate how a conflict ishandled as part of a work organisation and a working environment.When a person experiences a conflict at work what do these experiences involve and how dothey affect the well-being of the person involved and the picture he or she has of him orherself?How does a workplace conflict develop over time and how can we understand its origin andcourse?How do individuals experience the way a conflict is handled in a workplace in relation to thestructure of the organisation and leadership?The study is based on a qualitative interview method with threeindividuals who have experienced workplace conflict. Through our study we endeavoured tofind an in-depth understanding conveyed through the life world perspective of theinterviewees, which is our empirical data. The analysis is related to the study?s background ofearlier research and theory within the field of workplace conflict.On the basis of our study can we illustrate that in order to prevent and handleworkplace conflict, clear communication and individual resources are required; these include:a reflexive ability to work out issues independently.