The purpose of this study is to develop a general understanding of the areas of alliances and service quality as well as their relation to each other, through a consumer perception. Further, to discover more detailed and close up knowledge of customer perceived service quality within airline alliances. This is done by identifying particularly significant dimensions in the service process that have an influence on the perceived service quality.The thesis is based on qualitative study using a critical incident technique to explore the issue of service quality. In the research of the material the iterative approach has been used. The primary information sources are the interviews with customers-members of airline alliance.

Today in Sweden, apples are mostly cultivated for direct consumption, i.e. dessert apples. Apple breeding aims at developing cultivars with new and improved qualities in order to meet the demands of different target groups and to increase the interest in apples on the market. Different target groups have different views on the qualities of an apple. The consumer, for instance, wants an apple that is tasty and beautiful, while the grower, in addition, wants an apple cultivar that is healthy, has good winter hardiness and a predictable, annual productivity.

The world?s consumption is increasing at an accelerating rate and it´s produced and consumed more goods and services than ever before. A large part of people's consumption consists of clothing that is bought and discarded increasingly leading to a number of environmental problems such as global warming, pollution, loss of biodiversity and the depletion of natural assets. One way to save the earth's resources is to buy used clothing, so called second hand, instead of new ones. The store chain ?The Ants? (in Swedish ?Myrorna?) has specializing in second-hand goods and sells, among other things, clothes.

High brand equity is a great asset for companies that operate their business in a free and competitive market. Brand equity can arise from both product-related and non-product related attributes and may be viewed from many different perspectives. This study examines which different attributes that contribute to enhance brand equity from customers point of view at the Swedish market for agricultural machinery. The study have been developed using a comprehensive literature search in order to investigate the field regarding brand equity and brand image. The literature review results in one product specific and one non-product specific approach in order to examine factors that contribute to enhanced brand equity. This takes the form as one survey-based approach regarding the non-product related attributes which is examined by interpreting the extra value added by different attributes.

ABSTRACTTitle: Annoying television advertising - What is it about television (TV) commercials that are perceived as annoying and how does it affect the viewer?s purchasing behavior?Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business AdministrationAuthors: Benny Berggren and Sofie ErenlöfSupervisor: Jonas KågströmDate: 2012 ? May Aim:Advertising can be found in many shapes and forms such as on: billboards, radio stations, public transport and of course on television. The last form of advertising is possibly one of the most effective and widely used methods of advertising due to the wide percentage of households with a TV in this technological age. One of the problems TV viewers have to face is the wide variety of TV advertisements which are repetitive and can be seen on numerous occasions throughout the day. This is only one of many factors that may cause irritation to the viewer if being executed wrong.

Studien är främst till för att bringa klarhet i hur en butik bör arbeta med visuell marknadsföring för att nå konsumenten och skapa en positiv reaktion hos denne. Vi har dessutom undersökt vikten av relationen till kunden, och hur företaget arbetar med det genom relationsmarknadsföring. Vi har fått fram vårt resultat genom marknadsundersökningar och observationer inne i och i anslutning till en butik, samt genom en intervju med den ansvarige för butikskommunikationen i samma butik. Till vår hjälp har vi arbetat med Peak Performens Borås, det är kring denna butik hela studien kretsar.Den personliga intervjun med den person som är ansvarig för butikskommunikationen på Peak Performens Borås gav oss information om problem och utmaningar ur deras synvinkel. Materialet gav oss även bra bakgrundsinformation att jämföra resultaten från marknadsundersökningarna och observationerna med.

The main reason for doing this kind ofproject was to find out if it was possible to make a relatively advanced application with user friendly tools. We tested the software MIT App Inventor, and the ability to create a useful application for people who wants to get an overview of their energy intake.During the process we found out that it was possible, but minor setbacks occurred. The main idea of our vision; to make a calculator and a registry with different kinds of food and their amount of calories, was completed quite easily. Later on, design alternatives and more advanced functions were not possible for us to make.This might have been because of the short amount of time the project was given, but also, and more likely, because the software did not contain that kind of advanced functions. Even if there were factors that held creativity back, the basic idea was possible to form..

Background: The consumers of today have the possibility to choose from a wide range of products and services. Consequently, the ability to differentiate the products is essential for the brand owners. If a brand owner does not manage to differentiate its product, it can be difficult to make the consumers realise the benefits of the product and convince them to buy it. One way to differentiate the product is to create a distinguished brand identity. However, it is not enough to create a strong brand identity, the brand owner must also be capable of communicating the brand identity successfully.

Purpose: The Swedish correctional service is on the brink of its biggest expansion in history, due to political investments related to battling a rise in gang related criminality. The purpose of this thesis is to exam and understand the strategic competence supply work from an employer perspective and investigate the elements included in the Swedish correctional service competence supply form a regional perspective. The study specifically focus on what strategies the Swedish correctional service employ to attract, recruit, develop and retain workforce. Theory: The theoretical framework of the study includes among others, a model divided into three different phases (within, in and out) within competence supply, the demand-control-support model, push and pull factors, as well as the two-factor theory. Method: This study has a qualitative approach with semi structured interview as its specific method. A total of seven interviews were conducted with personnel within the swedish correctional service. Results: The main challenges are related to recruitment, staff retention, support of managers, and the fact that many correctional officers do not have time to complete their training before leaving. The latter is particularly significant are of concern.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether abnormal stock returns could be identified as a result of a layoff announcement during weak economy.Method: An event study methodology.Theory: Efficient market hypothesis, signal theory.Empirical results: Quantitative data from observations of stock prices in thirty two companies listed on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm, in the period 2008 -2012.Conclusion: The results indicate that the market reaction was negative because there were negative abnormal returns on the Stockholm Stock Exchange during the period 2008-2012 in connection with the layoff announcements. The market reaction was milder when staff reductions were carried out as a result of a restructuring and stronger when staff reductions were carried out as part of a cost reduction program.The layoff announcements elicited different market reactions depending on the company's industry affiliation. The most negative reaction was in the Healthcare industry. Negative abnormal returns were lower in industries Industrials, Consumer Services and Consumer Goods. There were no abnormal returns for shares of companies in the industry Financials.

The aim of this Master?s thesis is to examine how health information is integrated into knowledge in an everyday health related context on the web. The more specific aim is, from a LIS point of view, to map knowledge related discourses with the focus on pregnancy, in discussion forums on Swedish health related web sites. The following main questions in this paper are: (1) a) What discourses on pregnancy knowledge can be found and b) how are they expressed? (2) What are the functions of the recognised discourses? and (3) what are the relations between the identified discourses? The theoretical and methodological starting-point is discourse theory with the main focus on discursive psychology according to Wetherell?s and Potter?s theoretical and empirical work.

New Zealand is currently the third largest global producer of kiwifruit and thus plays an important role in the international market. Exports of kiwifruit are also of significant horticultural value for New Zealand and in 2007 the kiwifruit industry accounted for export values of NZ$790 million. The global kiwifruit market has experienced substantial changes in recent years and is likely to change significantly in the near future due to developments in production sources, adjustments to trade policy settings and shifts in consumer preferences. The New Zealand kiwifruit industry needs to consider what the impacts of these changes might be so that future strategies can be constructed effectively. Little quantitative modelling has been done in New Zealand to consider the impacts of changes to the global kiwifruit industry. The major contribution of this research was the development and calibration of a kiwifruit industry-specific partial equilibrium trade model. The model was then used to examine the impacts on New Zealand producers of these trade-related changes in the global kiwifruit market.

In this diploma work we present the results from a study of how adult immigrants utilise the services provided by the public library in Biskopsgården, Gothenburg. A survey encompassing 51 library visitors of foreign origin and an interview with two librarians at the library were performed.The results from the survey show that the majority of the informants were male students inages from 26 to 45 years and that they had been living in Sweden for a maximum of five years. 73% of the informants used the library to borrow literature in Swedish, 53% to read newspapers and periodicals in their native language, 43% to borrow literature in their native language and 43% to read newspapers and periodicals in Swedish.These results were compared with two other related studies with which partial correspondencewas found. In addition, related topics such as multicultural librarianship and the psychological aspects of immigration are discussed..

Obesity is a problem that increases exponentially in humans and companion animals. It is defined as a big accumulation of fat in the body and is usually connected with several diseases. This study describes how obesity can be diagnosed, in which way the gut flora can affect obesity, if the gut flora is genetically influenced or not, and how it differs between individuals with obesity and obesity-related diseases. Conclusions of the study are that both the bacterial strains Bacteriodetes and Firmicutes probably have a connection to obesity. The intestinal flora is probably also genetically related.

Death can be seen as a sensitive subject and can by that be difficult for many people to talk about. Working as a nurse can imply caring for severe ill and dying patients, which can be regarded as a task that makes great demands. The aim of the present literature review is to illustrate nurses' experiences of problems in association with the care of dying patients to be aware of these. Nine scientific articles were analysed and the result showed that the problems the nurses experienced could be related to four different categories: problems related to organisa-tion/resources, to the nurse herself, to the patient and to family members. The literature review also illustrates consequences of these problems for nurses, and which components that could simplify the nursing care of dying patients..