Climate change and the sea level rise that it contributes to is an ever more pressing issue for costal municipalities around the world. Today there is a great deal of scientific reports and projections on what these changes could entail. However, resent studies on south Swedish costal municipalities have shown great discrepancies when it comes to how these scientific projections are implemented in the municipal planning and adaptation strategies. In an effort to understand the underlying reasons for this lack of concurrence, this paper has applied Rolf Lidskogs theory of the hetrogenity of science. The theory gives an explanation to the complications in the science-policy interface, by describing complicating factors in the communication between these actors.

In Sweden most public libraries give users access to databases. These databases are sometimes possible to reach outside the library by internet at any time and this provides a change for the library and the society. Librarians function as change agents when they give access to databases and when databases are introduced to users. However, reports show that the use of databases, especially those in English, is not high in reference work. This study aims at analysing attitudes of librarians to access and use of databases on and by public libraries.

In this thesis a possible cost effective runner change of some of the units in the hydroelectric power station Olidan is investigated. The possibility to drive a unit at the same efficiency point through a change of the turbine shaft speed and the rate of discharge is tested. Furthermore the theories behind model testing, determination of efficiency increase from model to prototype and efficiency measurements shall be discussed and analyzed with Olidan as a starting point.A predicted curve has been built on information from model tests and field measurements on the existing runners and runner data from the test of the new model. The predicted curve shows the difference in efficiency between an existing runner and a modern one. It is the difference in efficiency that is used in the calculations that are to show whether changing to a pair of new runners will be cost effective or not.

In this paper we investigate 67 Swedish buyouts in the manufacturing and retailing sector between the years 2004-2012. The purpose is to measure changes in a set of financial key ratios to see if private equity firms are able to improve performance in their portfolio companies compared to a peer group consisting of other firms within the same industries. Furthermore, we examine if there is a difference in the change of the financial key ratios between private equity-owned firms in the two sectors. The key results are that the private equity owned firms have not outperformed their peers with respect to the chosen key ratios. We also conclude that there is no significant difference in the change of the financial key ratios between private equity-owned firms in the two sectors..

AbstractOur study deals with intrapreneurship in local activity. The main purpose of this study is to understand, explain and develop the concept of intrapreneurship in local activity with the help of existing information, our discussion, and reasoning and with the help of theoretical concepts. One reason for the choice of this topic was our pure curiosity towards this quite unique and unexplored phenomenon. We know that the term intrapreneurship in local activity has not existed longer than about ten years and the amount of existing thesis of intrapreneurship in local activity is very few. The information about intrapreneurship in local activity is mainly collected by studying Örebro´s intrapreneurship policies but also by studying other local authorities in Eksjö, Umeå and Västra-Götaland.

I begin my essay with a story that illustrates how a preschool activity organized on a modular work can be perceived. I describe how the environment has been rebuilt and modified to accommodate one large group of children instead of two smaller groups as before. Management´s justification for the change is that it is carried out to give the children better conditions for their learning, but my understanding is that it also hampers preschool-teachers´ abilities to implement their assignment.I try to understand what benefits module work by examining what well-known researchers believe is important for children´s learning in environmental and preschool teacher´s importance. When I use what I have learned to analyze my story, my opinion is that the change of the preschool activity not have just a positive impact but also entails that preschool teachers find it difficult to be present and in interaction with the children as several well-known researchers notes is important for children´s learning. I discuss how a large and rich environment at the same time can be perceived as incalculable for teachers, which can result in not all of the children being paid attention to in the preschool activity.

The purpose of this study was to understand how the concept of quality as an idea was spread to and translated in municipal elderly care. A central question was: How does literature, policy documents and key people describe the function and meaning of the concept of quality? The method of analysis was a qualitative case study with a critical discourse. The theoretical framework of the study is mainly what is known as institutional theory and a line of thought describing how ideas are transferred and spread. The theoretical focus is on how original ideas are interpreted and why they gain a foothold in new contexts.

The purpose of this essay is to examine whether and how labor consultants, job coaches, guidance counselors promote the possibility of self-realization of the clients they encounter in their work. By analyzing, based on the theoretical framework, six semi-structured interviews of people having the chosen professions answer the questions "Do counselors promote client's opportunities for self-realization in their work?" and "If so: how is this practiced?". In the theoretical framework three important concepts are addressed: "identity", "recognition" and "self-realization". These are explained with the help of works by including Emma Engdahl, Anthony Giddens, Axel Honneth and Allison Weir.

Zakrisdal and the west coast region of Karlstad was at one time a protected area where the ammunition factory AmF Zakrisdal 1941-1994 was situated. This factory manufactured explosives for the Swedish armed forces and for export. In this context it is an interesting paradox that the production of ammunition, mines and armorpiercing grenades for more than 50 years has preserved the environment surrounding the factory.The factory is now gone and the production is moved to Karlskoga. Plans are being made to build housing for 3-4000 residents and other enterprises within the area. The area now stands before yet another change, most likely the most profound to date.The inspiration for this work comes from the economic historic Jan Jörnmark.

The study explored how a model for conversation partner trainingworked for family members of people with Parkinson's disease. Participants inthe study were three dyads consisting of persons with PD and their carers. Thepurpose of the study consisted in finding out whether the participantsexperienced a change in communication after the intervention, and in findingout if this potential change could be observed in the conversation. The resultsshowed that 4/6 participants experienced an improvement in communicationafter the intervention. This improvement was however not observed in theconversation.

 The 1st of July 2006 Sweden made a change of authorities in the system concerning the reception of separated asylum seeking children. Prior to the change, the Swedish Board of Migration was held completely responsible for the reception of these children, who arrives in Sweden without their parents or any other relatives to care for them. Since the alteration of the law (1994:137) the responsibility for the housing of these children now lies within the Swedish municipalities, while the Board of Migration still handles their legal commissions. The change was intended to fundamentally improve the conditions under which these children were taken care of. However the implementation took a severe wrong turn when the municipalities weren't prepared for their new responsibilities and the immediate result was alarming. This qualitative study is based upon interviews with the people responsible for the reception of the separated asylum seeking children in the municipalities of Kronobergs County, as well as one of the two people in charge of the new system at the Swedish Board of Migration.

The aim of this thesis is to explore how a bookstore chain and a public library meet the needs of their customers through environmental scanning. The empirical material is derived from six semi-structured interviews with six informants, three from each organization, together with an analysis of internal documents. The method used is a case study and the theoretical framework is based on models used in the process of environmental scanning, as described by Choo, Hamrefors and Hedin & Sandström among others, and which facilitate a comparison of the environmental scanning of the two organizations. The results of the study indicate that the library, as a public organization with a mission in society, perceives the environment as society as a whole and all its members as their users, whereas the bookstore concentrates on the sectors of the environment that affect their sales. The consequences of these different views are that the library is more active in the environment and uses surveys as a basic source of information, while the bookstore is more passive, and relies on statistics for information.

Abstract - A business to change the world- An analysis of norms Textbooks for International Economics, in Upper-secondary Schools, Sweden 1994-2008 In this paper textbooks, for International Economics in Upper Secondary Schools in Sweden1994-2008, are analyzed with regard to norms related to taking moral responsibility for environment and society. A method for making discourse analysis, previously illustrated by Östman (2008), is used to deconstruct the knowledge content regarding norms about taking responsibility in relation to different social roles. The first question is: what different norms about taking responsibility can be found, in relation to different social roles? Different social roles that can be found in the studied material are: business-people, consumers, politicians/civil servants and citizens. Norms of taking responsibility in relation to the environment and society are studied in this paper in relation to these different roles. The second question is whether a discursive change in the material can be found. One case of discursive change can be found which is related to the role of a business.

The DuPont formula is one of the most well known and basic tools used for financial statement analysis and is highly useful for understanding firms strategies and operating environment. Previous studies on American listed companies have also shown that analysis of the changes in the DuPont components is useful in forecasting contexts. In this thesis we test whether disaggregating the change in return on net operating assets provides incremental information about future performance for Swedish listed and not listed companies. We find that the change in asset turnover is a leading indicator of increased profitability for both listed and private companies, regardless of size. We also find evidence that the usefulness of the disaggregation for understanding future performance is greater in capital intense industries and lesser in service industries..

This bachelor thesis examines the activities and values associated with automation and technical development at four Swedish research libraries. It does so by applying textual analysis to annual reports and job advertisements from the respective libraries. The study also questions whether some assumptions of automation have changed or remain over time, and includes a short historical discussion in relation to the contemporary analysis. As an added perspective it introduces the methods and philosophies of French sociologist Bruno Latour. The author reflects on the merits of Latour in research of library automation.