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.

The food prices in Finland and Sweden have been a subject for discussion for several years back in time. From the opponents against further European integration one have often heard that the EU and EMU entrance have made an negative impact on the food prices. This study show us that the impactof the entrances was extensive in the short run but rather finite and insignificant in the long run.Other important factors that describe why food prices fluctuate is also discussed. The mainconclusion is that other factors than the EU and EMU entrance should be seen as more likely whenit comes to the development of food prices. The essay is principally based on quantitative statistics of food prices, analysed in the light of economic theory..

Due to the developments in today's gender discussions, this essay aimed at investigating the gendered constructions and encouragements to consumption. As a former fashion student I have a special interest in the commercial constructions featured in fashion magazines, especially since advertising, fashion and perceptions of gender have long walked hand in hand. Just as feminism studies have shown femininity being a fluid identity, recent studies of masculinities, media and culture are also showing changes in the depictions of men.The aim was to clarify how fashion magazines encourage men and women to consume products and ideals, and also discuss the gender constructions occurring in the junction of editorial and commercial text (articles and advertisements). The analysis was thereof based on three main questions:-       How is consumption encouraged in male and female fashion magazines?-       What kind of gendered pattern appears in the junction of advertisement and editorial text?-       With regard to the gender constructions, what is the reader encouraged to consume?The theoretical framework of the analysis was based on gender studies and political economy, mostly describing a commercial perception of feminine journalism and a new metrosexual expression in men?s fashion and lifestyle magazines.By using a combination of quantitative (content analysis) and qualitative (semiotics) approach two fashion magazines, Elle and King Magazine (published in May 2013) were used as representatives of fashion magazines in general.The results showed clear differences between the sexes.

Children's Need In Focus (BBIC) is a processing and documentation system used in child welfare cases to investigate, plan and monitor interventions. The BBIC has had a breakthrough in Sweden and out of the country's 290 municipalities, there are 284 that use the system daily as a tool in cases involving children. The purpose of this study was to examine how social workers experience the BBIC as a working system and what strengths and weaknesses there are in the BBIC concept. We wanted our study to examine how the BBIC could possibly enhance the quality of childcare matters, but also how the BBIC could potentially increase children's participation in cases. We have performed qualitative interviews with eight social workers who work in four different municipalities where the BBIC is applied daily.

Background: Sleeping is a condition that is necessary for all people because the body isgiven time to recover. Studies have shown that patients found it difficult to sleep during thehospital stay and it turned out to be several factors that disturbed the sleep during the night.The nurse should note the patient?s need for sleep and take into account environmental andother sleep disturbances to be able to implement nursing interventions. Purpose: The purposeof this study was to elucidate the factors that interfere with patient?s sleep duringhospitalization and nursing care to promote the patient?s ability to sleep.

The aim of this study is to through six interviews, with six experienced, social workers?, in three cities, understand how the child?s position in the Swedish child protective services? enquiries has change, and the factors behind it. The aim is also to compare if the social workers? view of the child?s position in the enquire has change accordingly to Socialstyrelsens intentions of BBIC. The theoretical approaches that was used is the new institutionalism, the Shier?s pathways to participation and the term discretion.

The most vital for a business is to understand how to please and satisfy its customers in order to make them loyal to the company. Companies weapon for competition in the retail business is defined through the retail mix. The retailer however often have limited resources whereas they have to prioritize between the factors included in the retail mix. The main purpose for this paper is to investigate what kind of internal connections that may occur between the factors in the retail mix, with focus on the job satisfaction as a catalyst on driving the values of the parameters included in the retail mix, where the factor service is the starting shot for the others included..

Knowledge about feed racks for feeding forages to horses is lacking. Racks for sheep and cows are sometimes used for horses. Feeding roughage on the ground, or feeding silage bales with the plastic and net still on, can bring on a lot of different problems. The opportunity to control the hygienic quality is small and feed losses can be high. The purpose of this experiment was to investigate how the eating behaviour and consumption of horses were influenced by feeding racks of different constructions. Feed losses and changes in chemical composition of the forage were also studied.

The purpose of the paper is to show some possible factors that affect the animators? choices when working on photorealistic animation based on references. Research in computer graphics has since 1970 had as a main goal to achieve photorealism. When working on 3D-production for film, animation is a part of the process. This part aims to give life to digital characters, among other things.

The technical achievements that have occurred in recent years have led to a greater use of the Internet around the world. Today, more and more people are using virtual communities, a place where communication occurs with people who have similar interest. Due to the option of being an anonymous user, the concept of trust plays a big part in how virtual communities are working. It is therefore of interest to investigate how trust develops between users in virtual communities. This report asks the following question:"How is trust formed between users at a virtual community?"A qualitative and netnographical study was conducted to answer the question above.

A clean and affordable energy source for cooking is deficient in developing countries. People rely on fuels that contribute to environmental, social and health problems.Biogas is an alternative energy source and an increased investment in small-scale biogas production can in several developing countries be found. Several projects have started to use the technology in developing countries because of the benefits with biogas. Some cases in the establishment of biogas plants have succeeded and some have not. The study is a literature review supplemented by two field studies.

The purpose of my study is to examine whether the need for competence development in the communicative leadership exists among the six school leaders at the current adult education unit in Malmö. By observing the communication between the parties I hoped to get the following questions answered: What are the preconditions for the school leaders, in their daily communication with the staff, for getting the staff to feel noticed and confirmed? In what ways do the school leaders communicate with their staff to motivate them to development? I also wanted to highlight the school leaders' awareness of their own communication skills. The theories and models I have used are Haberma?s theory of the communicative action, Spitzberg and Cupach?s relational competence model and Engquist?s theory of level of abstractions.

The aim of this thesis is to create an understanding of nurses' information practices. To be able to search, find, use and critically evaluate information is important, not just during studies, but also in professional life. This study is intended to deepen our understanding of nurses ' information literacy in a workplace context.The main questions are: What information do nurses need on a daily basis and how do they experience information activities? What factors determine the sources they use? Do information practices vary in the workplace? Do nurses? professional experiences impact on their information practices? Nine nurses were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The interviews have been analysed through a hermeneutic approach.

Aim: The aim of this study was to examine nurses experiences of asking patients aboutintimate partner violence and what the nurses believed could be of help or hindrance whenasking the question.Method: The study design was qualitative. Nine nurses from four different divisions wasinterviewed. The participants worked at a Swedish university hospital with an action plan fortaking care of violated women. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews usingan interview guide. The results were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.Main result: The question about intimate partner violence raises a variety of feelings amongnurses, for example anger and empathy.

Background: A majority of strategic alliances do not create value for the participants. One of the main reasons for the high failure rate is an inadequate process for partner selection. If the correct partner is not selected, it can have serious effects on the management of the partnership. This is a serious problem since failed alliances usually are very expensive for the involved companies. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate which theoretical factors are important when selecting a partner for a strategic alliance.