The luxury market has steadily grown from the industrial revolution and onwards. Changes in society, trends and the increased living standards has enabled more people to consume luxury goods.The world is going through a major economic crisis at the moment. Studies shows that companies that have focused on added value rather than lowering prices has survived past financial crisis. It is also obvious that companies act very different during times of crisis. Adding to the problem is trends that point to a more careful consumption and environmental awareness.

Background: Obesity surgery is the only technique that has proved to have a long-lasting effect on weight loss. Operation is not a solution but rather a lifelong involvement for the person. To loose a lot of weight means a big adjustment for both body and mind and the operated person may need support, advice, information and encouragement. Aim: The aim was to describe how a person, operated for obesity, can be supported in order to reach improved health pre- and postoperative. Method: A systematic literature study was made which resulted in 18 scientific articles that have been reviewed.

This report is a market research for the company 4 Body and Mind, a start-upcompany that works with personal training online. They wanted to know if themarket for elderly care could be interesting for them to enter. This report is hence aresearch of the market for health and welfare technology in elderly care within thepublic sector in Sweden. A general fact is that the world's population is getting older.This combined with rapid growth of individuals in the age 65+ changes the demandson the elderly care in Sweden?s municipalities.

Trust is the most important thing for a webshop. The consumers must be able to feel trust to choose to submit their personal information to a webshop. In this study we examine the impact that design has on the consumers trust and confidence. We study six consumers that are engaged in e-commerce in their everyday life. By allowing these participants to be presented with two different webshops, an assessement could be made in both how much design is affecting and also which parts of the design that leads to trust and lack of trust.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate which apple cultivars are best suited for production of juice and cider. The study was limited to 41 cultivars. Common as well as uncommon apple cultivars were selected from available cultivars in the cold storage at Balsgård, Department of Horticultural Plant Breeding and Biotechnology, SLU.The practical part of the study consisted of the apples being pressed, and then the juice characteristics being assessed by appropriate criteria and methods of analysis. The analyses consisted of measurment of soluble sugars with a refractometer (Brix), titration of total acidity, determination of total phenolic content with a spectrophotometer, estimation of alcohol content by density meters and qualitative taste tests.The study did not account for different maturity of cultivars. Different apple cultivars were pressed on separate occasions, before and after Christmas 2010.

The aim of this paper is to answer three questions about Chuck Palahniuks novel Fight Club. The three questions were chosen because they were widely debated after the release of David Fincher screenplay based on the same book. The questions are: Is the critique on consumerculture offered in Fight Club valid? What does Fight Club say about the relation between man and woman? Can the work be considered fascist? The critique against consumer culture is found valid and not a disguised complaint about the feminization of society. The main female character Marla is vital for Jack as a blueprint for Tyler.

The aim of this study is to examine how one can understand the experiences that social workers within the social service's have of children who have committed sexual assault against other children, and the social workers? thoughts about the choice of actions and the family involvement in those actions. The study has a qualitative character. Information was obtained through interviews with social workers within two Swedish counties, and the analysis of the results was based on earlier research findings as well as theoretical aspects, such as systemic theory and salutogenesis.Regarding the actions taken for the target group, the social workers have, in many ways, a systemic perspective as they emphasize elements within the child as well as within the family. It is also shown that the collaboration with other authorities affects the choice of actions, and that it is important to involve the entire family in any interventions, so that the effect of those interventions may last over time.

Under de senaste 15 åren har modeindustrin växt och blivit både snabbare och billigare och begreppet fast fashion har etablerats. Fast fashion är en affärsstrategi inom modeindustrin vars mål är att reducera ledtiderna från idé till butik. Strategin syftar till att tillfredsställa kundernas begär av de senaste trenderna på mycket kort tid. Fast fashion branschen kan sägas stå i motsägelse till en hållbar utveckling, då den representerar korta modecykler där kläder tenderar att bli ?slit och släng? varor.

The Swedish school law says that students who need special education should have all the support they need to reach the qualification that is set up. The arrangements have to be written down in an Individual education plan (IEP). Before the IEP is set up there has to be an investigation about what kind of support and measures the student needs to reach the qualification that is set up. The aim of this study is to examine student?s participation in school and in the progress with their own IEP.I have accomplished a qualitative study by interviewing eight students during the letter part in the nine-year school.

Could patterns change the way we as consumers feel about a product as it ages and wears down? Why do some products increase their value as they are being worn downand others do not? Could the same affection that increases with your favourite jeans or an old, worn down, scratched and beautiful wooden furniture, be applied on otherproducts with different ability?s and history?The goal was to explore patterns and beautiful aging in products to increase the consumers desire to keep the well used product a little bit longer. Not to prolong the products ?lifetime? from brand new till it?s no longer inhabit their main function, but at that precise momentwhen you as a consumer decides to through it away in favour for a new, updated version. To buy ?new and fresh?.Patterns with different expressions, colouring and size, were explored that increase the value of a product which in this project contained handles and varies of surfaces on casseroles, frying pans, whisks, cutlery etc.

AbstractBackground: When an acute illness or trauma occurs, life becomes disorganised and shattered for the critically ill person and his/her family members. The family members are confronted with thoughts about life and death which can cause stress and anxiety. How the family members cope with the crisis is individual and depending on personality and earlier experiences. Aim: The purpose of this literary review was to illustrate the family members´ experiences when dealing with a critically ill family member. Method: A literary review was made based on fifteen qualitative and quantitative scientific articles and a literary book.

Physical exercise is a trend that continues to grow, especially at the gym, but there are still members that do not use their training card in full. The overall aim of this study was therefore to investigate infrequent member?s experience of their training card. To answer this, focus was on motives to card purchase and perceived opportunities and difficulties of using the training card. The data was collected at IKSU trough a group interview with four managers within the organization, a questionnaire replied by 39 infrequent members and of those 11 individual interviews.

This paper aims to examine how and to what extent, a transition of Sweden according to the principles of Omställning Sverige (Transition towns Sweden), have the potential to contribute to a society with increased happiness.The paper is based on a qualitative textual analysis of the key texts in the Swedish Transition towns movement, Omställning Sverige. In the first part of the study the most important transition principles of Omställning Sverige were identified. Four key principles emerged: An altered view of economics, a spiritual change, a stronger local community and increased awareness. These transition principles were then analyzed through the lens of the scientific fields position on happiness, followed by a summarizing conclusion.The altered view of economics which Omställning Sverige advocates, where sustainability and quality of life are priorities over economic growth, is even necessary to secure our basic physiological needs. Such an economy has also improved conditions for economic stability, high employment and higher efficiency in the sense of happiness promoted in relationship to how many natural resources are used.

Over the last decade, the private insurance market has undergone a stable growth in turnover and growing demand for insurance products in all Member States of the European Union. Therefore, the creation of a single market in insurance will enable consumers to have access to wider choice of insurance products, and insurance companies to gain access to markets in various Member States and compete effectively. The EU legal framework for the insurance industry embraces the Treaty freedoms of services, establishment and capital, the EC Directives and the ECJ case-law. The present thesis identifies numerous factors that hinder the Community insurance market integration and offers possible remedies. The summary of the market obstacles is all-inclusive and reflects the responses to the questionnaires and the Commission surveys.

Consumer Information Processing (CIP) handlar om hur vi som konsumenter tar till ossoch påverkas av den information som ständigt omger oss vid en beslutssituation. Ämnethar länge varit i fokus för forskning inom marknadsföring då detta naturligtvisintresserar företagen i hög grad. Tidigare forskning hävdar att när vi som konsumentertar till oss av de intryck som omger oss, bearbetas dessa intryck tillsammans med dekunskaper vi har sedan tidigare (bottom-up processing och top-down processing).Studier har visat att information som tilldelas oss kan ha direkt påverkan på våra sinnenoch hur vi upplever en produkt.Denna studie undersökte hur olika typer av tilläggsinformation påverkade konsumentersupplevda smak av vin. Tolv testpersoner studerades i ett experiment bestående av tresteg där olika betyg presenterades på de viner testpersonerna bedömde. Resultatet avstudien visade att kvinnor i högre grad påverkas av negativ tilläggsinformation medanmän i högre grad påverkas av positiv tilläggsinformation..