Within the interconnected global markets of today; people, products, and information travel at a pace never met before. In light of the global retail markets recent integration, consumers are opened up to new products and are beginning to develop a vetted interest in the heritage of those products. Within literature this process has been coined "Country of Origin" COO, and its impacts on consumer attitudes, product value- assessment, and overall behaviors has been one of the most emphasized areas of "international business" studies, during the last three decades. Numerous studies have shown a correlation between positive or advantageous associations to a country of origin, and the actual products representing and coming out of that country. It is by this synergetic process that so-called positive COO-effects are brought forth.The goal of this thesis stems directly from the still unexplored potential for Swedish firms to differentiate their products and brands on new international markets, through a strategic and coherent communication of relevant Swedish COO-effects.

A cochlear implant (CI) is a hearing device that makes it possible for individuals who are deaf or has a severe hearing impairment to receive auditory information and develop spoken language. The pragmatic ability may be affected. In short, pragmatics may be described as the study of language use in social contexts. Pragmatic ability can be seen as the result of the individual?s behavior as well as the underlying causes.The aim of the present study was to describe the pragmatic ability in children with CI.

 Performance appraisals- a study of the performance appraisals significance as a tool for development in the public sector.Anders Larsson and Åsalill OlssonPerformance appraisals have been given a central role in leading businesses in the public sector and are seen as a tool to create development opportunities and achieve better results. This has resulted that performance appraisal in many organizations takes up capacity and time. This was the starting point of our interest to study whether the time spent on performance appraisals effectively pays for itself in the organization, in other words whether the effects expected actually are achieved. The paper examines first line managers` views on staff appraisal purposes and effects of a function within the Landstinget. The survey design, methodology and transaction are of qualitative and quantitative method with three different sources: literature review of previous research, interviews with first line managers in Landstinget Västmanland and the results from an employee satisfaction survey conducted on behalf of Landstinget Västmanland.

This article presents a survey of male dogs treated with the gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist deslorelin (Suprelorin®, Virbac) at three animal clinics in central Sweden. Filled-in questionnaires from 110 dogs were received. The paper also includes a review of existing litterature concerning reproduction in male dogs, focusing on endocrinology, the effects of gonadectomy and the GnRH agonist deslorelin. Continuous treatment with deslorelin produces infertility in male dogs. The pituitary is initially stimulated by deslorelin leading to a rise in luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion. As a consequence the testosterone levels also increase temporarily.

The matter of CSR and sustainable products has gained an increased amount of interest in recent years as "green products" are becoming a trend with more "eco"-alternatives in the assortment of many retailers. However, among the increasing number of socially oriented customers, it seems that although they claim an increased demand for these kind of products, its easier to "talk the talk" that to actually "walk the walk". This is due to a discrepancy between attitude and behavior, called the attitude-behavior gap. The purpose of this paper is to examine how to overcome this gap by using three different studies to get a nuanced and reality-based view of the problem. The focus within these different studies is on the potential effects inside the store and how information provided has an effect on perceived credibility and purchase intention.

In this study I have investigated how role playing may change young students´ attitudes and behavior. According to the Swedish National Agency for Education´s governing document, Läroplanen för de frivilliga skolformerna, 1994, the principals at Swedish schools are required to inform students about the risks connected with alcohol and traffic. Scientists bring to our attention the need for emotional information to change attitudes and behaviors. The Historical Wine- and Sprits Museum in Stockholm has arranged a role play that gives emotional information to school students in order to affect their attitudes towards drunk driving. My study is a qualitative examination of this role play.

Methadone is frequently used as an analgesic drug for dogs although there are very few studies describing the pharmacokinetics of methadone in this species. In man methadone has a long half-life and there are considerable differences in pharmacokinetics between individuals. The dose interval is lengthened when the drug is used fore longer periods of time due to prolonged half-life. Therefore the drug dose must be adjusted individually. The purpose of this study was to study the fundamental pharmacokinetics of methadone in dogs, and to find an optimal drug dosage.

Shoplifting is a serious problem due to the fact that about 2 % of a retail store's turnaround dis-appears annually. This paper discusses the problem with shoplifting where a closed retail display of glass can prevent this kind of misbehavior. Hitherto the scientific research regarding how consumers react to a closed retail display is non-existing. With this in mind we want to investigate and enlighten the phenomenon regarding consumer behavior and product appreciation. The study is carried out at a retailer in the beauty industry in Sweden both in stores where the selection of perfumes have been displayed behind glass and in stores in which they have been displayed with open access.

Bakgrund: Attityder gentemot funktionsnedsättning grundar sig historiskt sett i samhällets förändring och kunskap. Attitydbegreppet utgår i examensarbetet från Theory of planned behavior, där bakomliggande faktorer leder handling. En hörselnedsättning är en dold oftast kronisk funktionsnedsättning. Svensk lagstiftning reglerar rättigheter och skyldigheter i arbetslivet för inblandade aktörer. Personen med hörselnedsättning bearbetar sin situation i tre skeenden i en livsomställningsprocess.Syfte: Genom integrativ litteraturstudie kartlägga attityder personer med hörselnedsättning möter i arbetslivet och personens eget förhållande till sin hörselnedsättning.Metod: Innehållsanalys av 13 skandinaviska undersökningar, där hörselnedsättning ingår.

The 17th October 2014 the Swedish Armed Forces (SwAF) introduced an intelligence operation in Stockholm archipelago after receiving credible observations regarding illegal underwater activities. Following the data collection and associated analysis it could be stated with certainty that a foreign submarine had violated the Swedish territorial waters. Media depend on SwAF to provide them with accurate information due to the confidentiality in these matters and the general area of investigation is therefore how the actions of the Swedish Armed Forces, in the submarine incident 2014, were portrayed in the Swedish media. Newspapers and blogs of defense policy represent the media and the thesis is based on the theories constructed by Graham Allison, the rational actor, organizational behavior and governmental politics. Furthermore, it is relevant to examine if there are any similarities or differences in how the submarine incident is illustrated, and what may be the reason for any possible occurrences.

The aim of this study is to examine marriage as something both desirable and normal in three popular novels from the 1860s about marriage: Rosa Carlén?s Agnes Tell: en äktenskapshistoria (1860), Marie Sophie Schwartz?s Alma eller De moderna äktenskapen (1860) and Sara Pfeiffer?s Aurora Trampe (1867). Using a theoretical perspective from Michel Foucault and Judith Butler, I have analysed the novels as being producers of, and resistance against, norms.The good marriage is partly depicted as a utopian vision in the novels, which therefore functions as fantasies for the readers. But it is also depicted as a realistic possibility. Though difficult to achieve, the main characters reach the goal through individual improvement towards correct behaviour.The question for the main characters is not whether they are going to marry or not, but how to make their marriages good ones.

The end of the 20th century brought a dramatic change to the music industry. The then predominant models for music consumption and sales were forever altered when the possibility to distribute music over the internet emerged. It has now become evident that it is virtually impossible to stop the distribution of digital music files. Music has turned into a non-excludable and non-rival product, which in economic terms is described as a public good. Public goods theory serves as a starting point for this study, which explores some of the factors that might explain why some consumers pay for music, while others choose to download music illegally.

The 17th October 2014 the Swedish Armed Forces (SwAF) introduced an intelligence operation in Stockholm archipelago after receiving credible observations regarding illegal underwater activities. Following the data collection and associated analysis it could be stated with certainty that a foreign submarine had violated the Swedish territorial waters. Media depend on SwAF to provide them with accurate information due to the confidentiality in these matters and the general area of investigation is therefore how the actions of the Swedish Armed Forces, in the submarine incident 2014, were portrayed in the Swedish media. Newspapers and blogs of defense policy represent the media and the thesis is based on the theories constructed by Graham Allison, the rational actor, organizational behavior and governmental politics. Furthermore, it is relevant to examine if there are any similarities or differences in how the submarine incident is illustrated, and what may be the reason for any possible occurrences.

This bachelor thesis in mechanical engineering was performed during the spring2015 in collaboration with Composite Consulting Group in Laholm. TheComposites Consulting Group works mainly with design and details of differentcomposite projects, their main area is FE-calculations, 3D-modelling andmechanical tests with composite materials.The aim of this bachelor thesis was to simplify the calculation process of solidmechanics for sandwich panels by simulation with computer software. The goalwas to decrease the time for the design and calculation process of the constructionand the cost of the practical tests. Our task was to build a static three dimensionalmodel with the computer software Abaqus, where the result should correspondwith the practical pressure tests in laboratory.The project started with collection of material data from Composites ConsultingGroup and by learning the software Abaqus, simultaneously a specification wasdeveloped in corporation with the company. Later on, a static wheel pressuremodel in the software Abaqus was produced which simulated the behavior of thesandwich panel during static wheel-pressure by a pallet truck.

The study aims to reduce energy consumption in apartment buildings where individual metering and charging of heat is applied. The aim is to develop planning and design for individual metering and charging in apartment buildings.The study is based on literature review, interviews and case study that include analysis of existing documents. Interviews were carried out with the property developer and the involved consultants who planned the apartment building Yasuragi. To investigate the differences the condominium association has noted in heat consumption between flats, the debit values of the heat were used to discern which houses that were furthest from the average consumption. On these flats there were temperature measurements and thermal photo shoots made for discriminating behavior and possible construction techniques which could be the explanation for the heat spread.Boverket shows that the consumption of heat can be reduced by 10-20% after insertion of individual metering and charging in an apartment block.