Service branding is a subject that has been excluded from the traditional branding theory. Our main purpose with this paper is to distinguish what characterizes service branding. To do this, we have looked in to both service marketing theory as well as branding theory. We have also looked at the existing theory concerning service branding. Six qualitative interviews have been performed to explain what characterizes service branding.

This thesis investigates how inventory management is practiced at a Swedish sawmill company, how practice differs from theory in this field and how the company could make more use of this theory. To do this we have performed a study on relevant literature and compared our findings with a field study on Moelven Valåsen AB. Our analysis shows that a large gap between theory and practice exists. We identify several reasons to this, including some sector specific problems when calculating cost rate for timber inventories. Suggestions on solutions to these problems and an example of how a cost rate can be estimated with relatively simple means are presented.

Since Sweden joined the European Union all Swedish fruit and vegetables are classified according to EU Quality standards. One important function is the product description and how it can facilitate the trade; for example in better comparing prices and also to guarantee the quality of the product. This quality standards or product descriptions are written as words of an Act and obligatory for all countries that has joined the EU. It?s often a demand from the customers to be certificated according to some of many certificating systems. One example is the common worldwide GLOBAL GAP-certification system created by the organisation EUREP which represents the leading European retail traders.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate which the main determinants of capital structure in Swedish listed firms are and to identify which incentives lies behind managers choice of capital structure determinants. Further, the study investigates whether the Post Keynesian theory and theories which incorporate behavioral aspects can be used to explain the capital structure decisions or if the traditional Neoclassical theory give an better explanation. We have used a qualitative method to analyze the determinants of capital structure and the managers incentives behind capital structure decision. We conducted a survey which was sent to 83 Chief Financial Managers and financial executives in Swedish firms listed on Mid Cap or Large Cap. The questionnaire was on-line which enabled for the respondents to quickly and convenient respond.

This thesis paper is based on Ian Manners Normative Power Europe-theory with a focus on EU?s military operation in Somalia. By examining documents from EU institutions in the form of reports concerning EU NAVFOR ? Operation ATALANTA ? EUTM Somalia ? EUCAP NESTOR. This study shows that the Normative Power Europe-theory can get expressed and that the EU continues its normative statements in Somalia. This result is an interesting contribution to the theory of Normative Power Europe witch have gotten a lot of critic about how a military operation should effect and diminish the theory..

This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using different benchmarking models to measure and compare the efficiency of Swedish gas distributors. It also discusses to which extent the results of a benchmarking study should influence the revenue-cap which will be implemented in the gas distribution sector in Sweden from year 2011. The discussion is based on arguments from both theory and practical applications of benchmarking. The results suggest that benchmarking Swedish gas distributors against distributors in another country using a parametric model is most favorable, but the reliability will be increased if non-parametric models are used also. Partial and total productivity measures could be used to confirm results of other benchmarking analyses.

The spatial population structure of the saprotrophic basidiomycete Tulostoma brumale was investigated at a site in south eastern Sweden. Sporocarps were mapped and collected, and somatic incompatibility tests between mycelial cultures cultivated from the sporocarps were used to identify genets. Calculations of the size and numbers of genets and their distribution were performed. The spatial distribution of the tested sporocarps and the identified genets are presented graphically in a grid. The total number of identified genets within the investigated area (1210 m2) was 27 based on 48 tested sporocarps.

Over the last decade the conversation on entrepreneurship has been both worldwide and intense. In Sweden, as in many other countries, this conversation has also concerned women?s entrepreneurship. Parallel with this conversation has been the debate on women in leading position in large corporations. This thesis aims to find out why and how women use entrepreneurship to handle existing conditions in life (such as the hardship of combining a traditional career with a traditional family life) and to create new conditions that suit them better.

The aim of the thesis is to highlight external factors to explain why the EMU was created. The external factor considered here is the monetary policy of the United States, which often conflicted with European interests. The statistical data in the thesis, as well as previous research, show that even though the EU economically in many ways had become an equal partner of the US during the second half of the 20th century, the union still faced US influence and dependence.The results of the thesis can be explained with neorealist theories on power measured as an actor's distribution of capabilities and balancing of power. An actor that is equipped with the world's leading currency is more independent from others. Other actors, on the other hand, become increasingly dependent on the major currency and the policy of its owner.

In this essay I evaluate the legality of Karl Popper?s criticism against psychoanalysis, regarding this theory of Freud?s being pseudoscientific. Popper?s criticism is based on his theory of demarcation in which he states that an empirical theory must be possible to test by observations in order to be, as most important is, hypothetically possible to falsify based on other empirical statements ? often in the form of new found facts that contradict the original statement/theory. In purpose of assessing Popper?s criticism I perform a modified idea analysis, based on a book by Evert Vedung (1977).

By reading earlier research on Generation Y, content marketing and on social media during the working process the problem has gradually changed, in accordance with an abductive research approach. The study focus has developed from examine marketing methods on marketing towards Generation Y to include on what social media platform Generation Y is most susceptible for content marketing.The purpose of this study is to help companies whose target market is Generation Y to aim their content marketing through the right distribution channels, to save time and money. To meet this objective and to answer the main question of this study, empirical data was collected through a web based, quantitative survey which was completed by a total of 301 respondents, all of them belonging to Generation Y. The collected quantitative data was contrasted with existing theory and was analysed.The study concluded that Facebook is the social media channel where Generation Y feel most susceptible for content marketing, followed by YouTube. .

The purpose of this paper is to study the ongoing discussion concerning e-books at Swedish public libraries. The e-booksituation has as of late gained a lot attention in the media. The main distributor of e-book in Sweden - Elib - is in the centreof this discussion and our goal has been to study the opinions and arguments that have been expressed within articles and blog postsconcerning the situation.We have analysed our articles and blog posts through a qualitative text analysis in order to find the main problems of the e-bookdiscussion and which arguments are used. We have also studied the effect Elib might have on the libraries' collection developmentaccording to the articles and blog posts.We found that the major issues within the e-book situation include Elib's price model - which is costly for the libraries - thewatermarking and the selection of books available to the libraries. It is also considered, according to the author's of our articles and blog posts, that the collections at the libraries are affected byElib's system since the choice of which books to include is given to the publishers, not the libraries or its users.The articles and blog posts agree that a change needs to occur for the e-books future survival at the public libraries..

Migration is a worldwide phenomenon that has occurred for thousands of years in a vast variety of species. The general knowledge of migrating animals is poor even though billions of animals from a range of different groups migrate every year. The human impact on migrating ungulates is high and many populations are declining globally due to direct and indirect causes. Hence it becomes vital to study the migration phase and the habitat and resources selected during migration. The objective with this study was to identify the habitat characteristics and resource selection of moose during migration and compare the selection between different seasons and utilization distribution (relative frequency distribution for the points of location of an animal over a period of time) categories.

This report deals with life-history variation for Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis L.), with special emphasis on age and size at maturity in females, in perch populations that have changed in size distribution. The collection of fish samples was made with multimesh gill nets year 2011. The perch?s length, height, weight, status of gonads has been analyzed, and by observing the opercular bone the age has been determined. In two lakes close to Umeå in northern Sweden, Fisksjön and Ängersjön, the live-history traits of perch have been studied.

Problem area and purposeNowadays, 2006, the downloading of music and movies is an increasingly more burning issue. But while the music industry has made great progress in using the Internet as a distribution channel the film industry has been at a standstill for several years. Recently however there has been progress in the form of a few film companies beginning to offer their customers legal ways to acquire films over the Internet. But with this progress one central question arises, which this report will try to answer; what are the important factors for selling films as the Internet moves from primarily being a information channel to also functioning as a distribution channel? The purpose is to examine what the consumers find important when purchasing film, and to establish to what degree there is a substitution effect between DVDs and downloadable films.MethodThe report is first and foremost based on an Internet survey with a total of 383 participants.