This study examined the factors influencing dairy farmers´ decisions to invest in automated milking systems (AMS). The problem studied involves uncertainty, information and complexity for dairy farmers in specific decision contexts. The frame of reference in the thesis combines contingency theory and decision theory and is used in a qualitative analysis of a set interview with dairy farmers who have recently bought an AMS and salespersons from Delaval, one of the AMS suppliers.The aim of this study is to develop an understanding of the decision making processes of dairy farmers, and in particular to identify which types of factors influence the outcome of an investment decision in the technological development of a farm.The study uses Thompsons` (1967) theory about the structure that organizations develop to handle the input of information. Thus, interest is focused on how a farm business structure handles information in the AMS decision, investigating the differences in information with Delaval?s "feed first principle" system and Lely?s "free cow traffic" system.The results of the qualitative interviews with the dairy farmers who bought an AMS show that there are three important factors that influence the outcome: employees, suppliers and the owner.

A survey was undertaken to understand sheep management, breeding practices and selection criteria for Red Maasai sheep in Maasai pastoralist communities in Kajiado District, Kenya. Differences between North and South Kajiado District were investigated to gain knowledge about farmers having different prerequisites and how it can affect the sheep production. The reason for keeping sheep and the specific breeds show the multiple objectives of the Maasai farmers. Adaptive traits, such as resistance to diseases and droughts, and productive traits, such as increased growth and carcass weight, were both ranked highly. In addition to this, the sheep has a social and traditional value in Maasai culture.

This essay explores how artwork in the public space can be analysed, conceptualized and described by bringing attention to site. Through an analysis of artworks in the yearly art exhibition of Fittja Open 2011, the essay draws attention to site-specific art and structures of power. The principal aim is to present not only the exhibition of Fittja Open 2011 but also other artwork in the public sphere in Fittja, a suburb to Stockholm. From this point of departure other interests evolve that concerns the "image" of Fittja. The analysis, based on research in art history, architecture, ethnology and philosophy as well as qualitative interviews, also focuses on understanding the role of site and the relations between art practice, institutions and site.The result shows that there are problems with a ruptured interface between the artwork and site.

This pilot study investigates possible treatment effects and participants' experience in an internet-based treatment of specicfic phobia. Changes in self-reported phobic fear were examined in a series of case studies and changes in attitudes towards avoidance and approach strategies were examined at group level. Seventeen DSM-IV diagnosed patients with specific phobia participated and 10 out of these completed the treatment.The results show that 80 % of the completing participants were clinically improved after the treatment and that the completing participants were significantly more negative towards avoidance strategies after the treatment. The evaluation of the disposition and user-friendliness of the treatment showed that the participants' overall view of the treatment was positive. The main advantage perceived was the flexible nature of the treatment, while the main disadvantages were the high level of motivation and discipline required from the participants.

AbstractBackground: The company that this report addresses is, at time for investigation, in the midst ofa change in organizational culture, where two departments with different core competencies arebrought together into one. The purpose of this study is to review the potential problems that mayoccur in the change process when one or more subcultures come into conflict with organizationalgoals.Purpose and methodology: The reason for performing this study and the objectives are toexamine how subcultures influence and respond to organizational changes. The survey isconducted with a bottom-up approach in which participation in daily activities with thesubgroups is the foundation. The management's perspective has been omitted in consideration ofpast literature in the field where focus most often has been on their thoughts and views on theprocess of organizational change. The method used is participant observation and interviews.Results and Conclusion: Subcultures exist and they do affect an organizational change.

With the expansion of the internet, the conditions for the online journalists have changed. Feedback is faster and more blatant than offline. The online abilities of anonymity and dispersion attracts people to both use and misuse. During 2013, the online expressions of hate towards women has been brought to attention in the media more than ever before. Nevertheless, the phenomenon is far from new.Our qualitative research including interviews intends to find out how the afflicted women journalists are affected in their exercise of their profession.

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate two pearl growing methods in ISI Web of Science. The methods tested are Find Related Records FRR, an automatic service that uses bibliographic coupling, and Author Keywords AK, where searches are performed using the two first keywords from this field. Both search methods were used on twenty initial documents and the first twenty hits were evaluated for relevance using a binary scale 0,1. The relevance criteria were based on specific information needs connected to every initial document. The measures used to evaluate the effectiveness of the search methods were Precision at DCV=10, P10, and Uninterpolated Average Precision AP.

The most common form of female cancer in Sweden is breast cancer and the primary choice of treatment is surgery. Removing a woman's breasts is not just removing a body part but is also strongly linked to the emotional life. This has psychosocial consequences and the reactions will be different depending on how people perceive health and illness. Factors that matter are both personal experiences and cultural factors such as religion, family, and the own standards and values. It is important that a nurse is aware of cultural factors that may influence the perception of care.

Developing good reading skills is crucial for all pupils in school, and the reading bookis a tool for achieving that. Pupils are entitled to good reading instruction, regardless ofwhich reading level they are at, and regardless of the level of the reader they have beengiven. The aim of the study is to examine a particular teaching material and describe thedifferences that exist between a simpler and a more difficult variant of the same reader.The study is a textual analysis focused on the two readers for grade 2 from the materialDiamantjakten (The Diamond Hunt). The study shows that the two books display greatdifferences. Reading the simpler book involves a smaller amount of text, fewerdescriptive expressions, and a smaller number of words, but it does make demands onthe reader?s ability to read between the lines.

The aim of this essay is to analyze the discursive production of Food, within the Slow food movement, by its members. Through a discourse analysis inspired, theoretically and methodically, by Michel Foucault, this essay examines how the idea of food ? that is ?what should be eaten? ? in opposite to what can be eaten, is constructed within by Slow Food members in the Gothenburg area. The essay analysis how Slow Food?s food discourse is structured and what results this formation has on food within this discourse.

This essay includes an osteological analysis on the 1122 scattered human remains from The Pitted Ware culture site at Ajvide, Gotland. The scattered human remains have been found in the cultural layers, during archeological excavations at Ajvide between the years 1983-1987 and 1992-2009, where a burial ground was discovered. During the excavations, 85 skeletons graves were found, with complete and incomplete skeletons of 87 individuals. But aside from the graves, scattered human bones were discovered at The Pitted Ware culture site. One of the aims of the essay was to examine the bone material of the scattered human remains, and to determine whether this could possibly be a different type of burial custom than the skeletons graves.

The aim of the study is to make a comparison between the nursery/preschool recommendations (by the state) made in 1972 and the one used today. Here I?ve focused on the posts of looking after children vis-à-vis the educational responsibility. Also the type of education recommended in 1972 and what type of education recommended today. My questions concerns what the preschool recommendations from 1972 are and how they are viewed and applied today in the 2000nds.Since my questions has to do with ideologies regarding children, family and society I choose to do a specific form of text and content analysis called Idea and ideology analysis.In my theoretical chapter I choose two aspects central for my field of examination.

The aim of this study is to understand how the library environment affects the experiences and feelings of public library users. In order to concretise this, the study sets out from the public library in Bollebygd. We wanted to find out how the library users experience the library environment. Does the library environment affect the meeting between library users? How does the environment affect their moving patterns inside the library? Which environmental factors influence the users' experiences? Our questions were: how do users experience the library environment - as a mediating space for information and culture? - as a social room and meeting place? The material used to attain the purpose of the study consists of qualitative observations and interviews, and literature studies.

This master's thesis analyses the concept of equality between men and women in parts ofRegion Västra Götaland's area of operation. With critical policy analysis I analyse how theproblem of inequality is represented in the European charter for equality of women and men inlocal life (CEMR) and the Region Västra Götaland's plan of action for the charter. Throughinterviews with people responsible for gender equality in different areas I analyse, withdiscourse theory, the ways in which the concept of gender equality is articulated in differentareas of Region Västra Götaland, and what kind of politics these articulations enables.In the analysis I show that a discursive struggle of how equality is to be defined canbetter be understood as a discursive negotiation. Equality between men and women isunderstood in several ways at the same time, as antidiscrimination and basic human rights, asbalance between the sexes, and as an approach critical of norms and stereotypes. Within thesenegotiations certain understandings of gender are made possible or impossible.

The amount of mergers and acquisitions between international and Swedish actors increased due to the Swedish entry in the European Union. In many cases, conflicts between manage-ment and employees made visible the cultural differences between nations and organisations. As a result of these conflicts many companies experience difficulties in operating on the Swedish market and in some cases they have even been forced to leave it.The starting point of this study is analysing how the management at a foreign company in Sweden, that has undergone a merger, has been affected in the meeting with the Swedish business culture. The analyse has got three different perspectives as a base; management, market knowledge and culture.This study is accomplished on the basis of a deductive approach. It is a case study where the empirical foundation derives from five interviews.