This has been a practical innovation graduation project withthe focus of studying the impacts of downsizing on a learningorganization. The study took place at Karlsson Spools in Sala.This has been a part of an ongoing EU project funded by theEuropean Social Fund, ESF. We have, with the help ofinterviews and surveys, gathered information on the presentsituation and with the help of theoretical studies built aframework on how a learning organization is viewed intheory.During our study we found that there are many componentsto a learning organization. The company in question hasdisplayed some qualities that characterize a learningorganization such as a plan to train and further develop theiremployees. The problem we found was lack of communicationand how this has resulted in a less successful outcome of theongoing courses.

The aim of this study is to examine the opinions of eight 12-year old boys and girls about two comics; Sabrina ? tonårshäxan (Sabrina ? teenage witch) and Spiderman. Do children see gender differences in the two comics? Do boys and girls identify with the heroes in the comics and does this affect the children's own gender socialisation. We interviewed four boys and four girls from different parts of Sweden.

Purpose/aim: The purpose of this thesis is to examine if, and in that case how, the municipality of Umeå worked strategically with its communication during 2014 when Umeå was chosen as ?European Capital of Culture?. The research is mainly focused on the outlines of their communication plan, main goals, what  communication strategies the municipality has chosen to and their choice of media channels.Material/method: Two methods are used for this research; qualitative interviews with four employees within the communication team during Umeå2014 and a text analysis of three formal documents which provide the framework of communication policies and media strategies during Umeå2014.Results: The results clearly indicate a well structured, strategic planning outlined in the formal documents. The four people intreviewed all had a good knowledge of the policies and strategies in the documents, they also described their work in accordance with these..

Imagery is an individual and cognitive process (Morris, Spittle, & Watt, 2005). This study has therefore qualitatively examined following objectives: (1) elite powerlifters imagery experiences and (2) if elite powerlifters use imagery deliberately. Five elite powerlifters participated in the study (3 men, 2 women), they were 21-37 years old (M = 27.6; SD = 6.1). The Individual Profile of Imagery Experiences in Sport (IPIES; Weibull, 2008b) was modified and used to meet the objectives for the study. Imagery was used by all elite powerlifters.

The aim of this study is to investigate how a number of fathers read and what their perceptions of both their own readingand the reading they experience with their child/children look like. I also want to investigate their thoughts about the importance of reading to children. The study is based upon qualitative interviewswith four fathers who are active readers and have children between 3-6 years of age. The analysis does not offer any generalizations. As a conceptual framework for this study, I used Sten Furhammar?s categories of different types of reading to find out what fathers reading habits look like and what they wish to obtain.

The aim of this thesis is to examine how high school students use their school library for their information-seeking. The theoretical framework is based on Louise Limbergs three categories of students views on information-seeking and Andrew Large and Jamshid Beheshtis three categories of students choice of information systems. Qualitative interviews were used and seven high school students were interviewed. The empirical material was compared and divided into 9 categories. The results show that the students see the school library as a place where they can search for information, but its also considered to be a good place to hang out between lessons to study or to meet friends.

Vårt syfte är att undersöka huruvida det är möjligt att identifiera variabler som påverkar valet av kommunikationsmedia där kontexten utgörs av en affärsrelation. Vi strävar efter att i vår slutsats kunna presentera en viss vägledning i valet av kommunikationsmedia. I denna studie har ett kvalitativt angreppssätt använts. För att skapa en teoretisk förankring har vi behandlat relevant och aktuell litteratur bestående av i huvudsak vetenskapliga artiklar och böcker. Som metod för att besvara vårt syfte har vi även använt oss av intervjuer.

The goal with this examination thesis is to investigate the difference in carbon dioxide emissions between a building with a wooden versus concrete carcassing from a life cycle perspective. The huge amounts of carbon dioxide released into air from human activities must be reduced to prevent serious consequences. A way to limit this issue is through performing a comparative study where the result shows which of two products with the same function has the lowest emission of carbon dioxide, whereof the product with the lowest carbon dioxide pollution can be chosen.To be able to perform a study like this an object has been chosen and studies about life cycle analyses have been done. The rental square meter, the thermal conductivity value, the energy requirements and the placement of the building has been set equal in both framework types. There were solely dissimilarities of the two buildings taken into account when this comparison study was performed.The result of the study is that a building constructed with a wooden carcassing has the lowest amount of carbon dioxide emissions.

The aim of this study is to explain and try to get an understanding for how women who are partners to substance missusers handle their lifesituation. To fulfill the aim of the study a qualitive method is used with a focus group as a data collection method. The theoretical framework is coping theory and system theory. The results show that women who are partners to substance missusers describe that they have a lifesituation filled with stress and worry. Because of their situation the women create and adjust their behaviors.

In this thesis the pragmatic pedagogy as formulatad by John Dewey is applied to theswedish national campaign Digidel and its work to spread the digital participation among thegeneral public. The purpose of the thesis is to visualize and problematize that differentunderstandings of a problem, lead to different solutions, as lifted in John Dewey´s pedagogy, thatconstitutes the thesis' theoretical framework. The term digital participation is used by the Digidelcampaign, where public libraries take active part to spread digital participation througheducational efforts. By qualitative interviews with four librarians this thesis examines howunderstandings of the term may vary and in turn lead to differenent educational goals, designsand executions. The result shows that basic computer- and Internetskills are seen as either equelto or prerequisites for digital participation and that the digital participant is seen as either apassive recipient or an active participant.

People with Down syndrome are living longer lives today thanks to medical science. These people with their families are in need of assistance from goverments and professionals throughout their lives. It is therefore important to understand how familymembers affected by having a person with Down syndrome in the family. In this paper we focus on the siblings' experience. This study aims to examine four women's experiences of what it is like to have a sibling with Down syndrome and how the respondents have developed their role and identity as siblings, and what strategies they have developed for this role.

The purpose of this Master?s thesis is to investigate the female reader of science fiction literature, a genre by tradition dominated by men. Through qualitative interviews with seven female science fiction readers, the relation between the reading and the readers? lives, as well as their concepts of the science fiction genre and the community of science fiction readers, was examined. The main theoretical framework used for the analysis was Yvonne Hirdman?s gender theory, Judith Butler?s concept of identity and Louise M.

The purpose of this Bachelor?s thesis was to examine the information needs of the international students at the University of Borås. A further aim was to examine the types of information sources the international students was using to satisfy their information needs and the environmental factors keeping them from achieving this. This was done through focus group interviews with international students from four different countries ranging from the ages 20 ? 35.

This qualitative research is a contribution to the ongoing debate among marketing researchers regarding if there is a dominant paradigm and viewpoint of marketing and which one is the most appropriate. In this study current views of marketing are identified and then compared against the older Goods-Dominant Logic of Marketing and Vargos? and Luschs? alternative Service-Dominant Logic of Marketing. The trends that have been observed are situated in the framework of Thomas S. Kuhn?s philosophy of science.

This Masters thesis is analysing four Swedish novels written by first time authors published between 1993-2002. The purpose is to make the fictitious main characters illustrate what conditions and obstacles there can be for the individual of today to create a self-identity. Anthony Giddens ideas about the self in the late modern society are used as a theoretical framework. In the core of Giddens theory is the concept of reflexitivity which means that the self must be constructed in a continuous fashion because the overall conditions in society are subject to constant change. The questions posed in this study are dependable on Giddens in general and the concept of reflexivity in particular.