The ordinary phone of today is not the same as it was 10 years ago. We still use them tomake phone calls and to send text messages, but the ordinary phone of today has muchmore uses, it is essentially a computer. To put into context to 10 years ago, it is a verypowerful computer, capable of processing wide array of information and presenting it tothe user. Nearly every single device today has a wireless connection, which makes everyuser connectable and able to use online services and internet at any time and place.This gives the user the possibility to integrate his or hers everyday actions with socialmedia and different search functions. Being able to search the internet for persons,restaurants, public transportation and a lot more is very useful to most.

AbstractA useful tool for companies to use in their differentiation process is proposed to be employee branding. Employee branding is developed and put forth by the management with the main task to formulate the brands vision and values, and communicate them to the employees. To promote the employee engagement and their relationship with the company, corporate storytelling can be applied, with is an internal communication that strengthens the internal rumour and values that represent the brand. Since engagement and motivation is important factors when creating a strong employee brand, there is a need for further research on how corporate storytelling is used by companies to influence employee engagement and motivation, as corporate storytelling leads to deeper commitment among employees.PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how companies use corporate storytelling to influence their employee branding.MethodologyThe authors conducted a qualitative case study on how the retail organization Boomerang. The empirical material was collected thru semi-structured interviews with Boomerangs management and employees.ConclusionThe conclusion shows that the employees prefers when corporate storytelling and various communication is put in context, this because it?s easier for the employees to understand.

Aim: To describe perceptions about written and verbal information regarding diet and physical activity in women with breast cancer and to study possible differences between ages and perception. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted and consisted of 57 women with breast cancer stages I-III who started adjuvant chemotherapy within a year (2007-2008). A questionnaire, regarding their perceptions about the written and verbal information they had received about diet and physical activity, was responded to three months following treatment completion. Between 67-93 % of the participants responded to the questions. The answers was analyzed with descriptive statistics and Mann Whitney U-test.

The aim with this study was to examine which information sources are used by the librarians in the process of changing automated library system and why. Furthermore it was of interest to examine whether there are any correlations between variables environment, information quality, information availability, information need and information sources. I used a quantitative method that was carried out in form of a nationwide survey. Questionnaires were sent out to all the Swedish libraries that had change library systems sometime between the years 2000.

The main purpose of this study is to show how narrative can be understood as cultural practice, how it can be said to function both internally and externally, and to ask questions about how the narrating subject, through the organizing of narrative, positions it self and mediates between the different discoursive contexts of which it is a part. This is done by an analisys of how six swedish soldiers tells the tale of how they came to choose a military carrer and why they have served or want to serve in peace-keeping missions abroad. The source material is primarily collected through unstructured interviews with theese soldiers, but also through textual analysis of a soldier blog. Theoretically the study draws on a combination of the discourse theory of Michel Foucault, narrative theory, Richard Jenkins theory of the internal-external dialectic of identifikation and intersectionality to construct a framework that allows the narratives to be deconstructed and understood as discoursive products of both the military contexts as such and the larger cultrual context that surrounds it. The conclusions of this study suggests that the organizing of soldier narratives are a complex and multifaceted process, in which the soliders must balance between the ideals, values and norms of the military context while also taking into account how society at large views and interprets the practices and forms of military life.

This paper tests the information signalling hypothesis on a sample of firms making open market stock repurchases. Using an earnings-based valuation model, we find that a majority of repurchasing firms are undervalued relative to their economic value. This result is consistent with previous academic studies, which claim that undervaluation is the prevalent factor explaining the observed abnormal return following the announcement of a repurchase program. We do not, however, find any evidence that the repurchase is consciously made by management to provide the market with new information. .

Abstract Semester and year: Spring, 2008Writers: Victor Andersson and Filip ForslundTutor: Thomas HelgessonProgram: Marketing program, Halmstad University - School of Business and EngineeringTitle: Differentiation from a consumer perspective - How important is differentiation from a consumer?s perspektive when choosing a residence? Presentation of problem: How important is differentiation from a consumer?s perspective when choosing a residence?Purpose: The purpose is on basis from previous theories on the subject to describe what kind of differentiating that from a consumerperspective is the most important when choosing a residence. Key words: Differentiation, brand, apartment market Methodology: This thesis is built on an qualitative method, where eight open individual interviews have been made. Our choice of respondents was based on what kind of respondents that could give us the most accurate information on the subject which we based on relevant variables. Theory: The framing of the theories is based on a marketing perspective within the area of differentiating and focuses on how companies use different tools to differentiate their offer to create competitive advantages.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore how the internal information processing and management is carried out within a unit of Viskafors municipality. Furthermore, to explore and make recommendations of how the organisation can improve its internal information management. To get a full picture I have interviewed people at different levels of the organisation. The main findings showed that there was a dysfunction in the internal information processing and management. For example the study showed that the internal information did not reach out to the different parts of the organisation due to insufficient information processing.

The digital era has led to technical advances that have transformed the role of the public library from being a place that is used only through physical visits and material, into also being a virtual space that can be accessed by users from outside the library through Internet-based access to e-media such as e-books and streamed or downloadable audiobooks.The aim of this study is to examine how the role of public libraries in Stockholm County has changed in the process of developing into digital libraries: how this has affected their organisation, work methods and strate- gies, as well as their accessibility. The theoretical framework of the study draws on Michael K. Bucklands theory of information accessibility, which is based on six factors of access that are determined by different types of barriers. The methodology is based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Primary data was gathered through an empirical survey, which consisted of a structured questionnaire distributed to most of the public libraries in Stockholm County and semi-structured interviews with selected librarians and experts for further in-depth understanding.

Evaluating and choosing suppliers based on price alone, has traditionally been the dominant strategy for supplier selection within the purchasing function. With the origin of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)-concept in the early 1990s, a new philosophy dawned that promoted the importance of knowing the effects of supplier performance on the buying firm?s internal costs. Since then, scholars have been arguing the case of TCO as a viable model for making purchasing decisions and conducting supplier evaluation. Still, after two decades little is known about its penetration and impact on the practices of buying corporations, leaving the questions of which costs are included in the purchasing organisations? decisions unanswered, and even more importantly why certain costs are considered and others not.

Titel: Innovate or Stagnate! ? Open innovation in manufacturing small and medium-sized businesses in Småland.The purpose of the study is that, from a leadership perspective (innovationmanagement), create a better understanding of open innovation in manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises. The study therefore intends to contribute to the understanding of how open innovation processes leads to greater innovation in manufacturing small and medium sized businesses.We have used a qualitative research method and adopted an abductiveapproach. We made interpretations and created meaning based on our research results.Our theoretical framework is based primarily on Chesbroughs (2003) research on open innovation. Based on this model, we have selected a number of other theories, which we perceived as prerequisites for small andmedium sized companies in open innovation processes.

This essay discusses how insurance companies inform policyholders regarding home insurance. What level of support do insurance companies offer policyholders in order to supply them with enough knowledge to make an informed decision? Is information regarding insurance communicated in simple terms, or is it riddled with industry specific terminology?The essays focus is important to examine from a social context; Swedish social process does not select an insurer for an individual who neglects to choose one for their home insurance. Sweden's welfare system does otherwise provide a helping hand for a lack of decision with regard to preschool and school choice..

Companies have in the past decades changed fromtraditional manufacturing organizations into serviceorganizations. For these service organizationsinformation and competence have become animportant resource. The traditional view oninformation is that an employee use and search forinformation to reduce uncertainty for their decisionmaking. Even though information is strategicallyimportant for organizations, information is not valuedin any way. Hence, this thesis aims to valueinformation in terms of the utility it brings to theorganization.The conclusion is that four factors are important whenvaluing information in terms of utility.

This study is about how teachers of history at different upper secondary schools in Uppsala think and talk about the role language plays in the classroom and in education in general. In order to find this out, interviews were carried out with five teachers of history at four different upper secondary schools in Uppsala. This study has an analysis of the statements by and interviews with the teachers in a wide context by using a previous study carried out in Uppsala, which categorizes the upper secondary schools of Uppsala into a social field based upon what assets their students have. These assets are estimated by using Bourdieu?s theory of symbolic, social and cultural capital.

There are several typical ideas about the suburb. The suburb is often associated with criminality and other social problems such as segregation. The purpose of this essay is to study the picture of how the suburb is constructed in a media context. The method used to answer the purpose of this study is critical discourse analysis, based on the thoughts of Norman Fairclough. The central theoretical ideas for this study are representation, stereotypes and racialization.