Something that all people have come across and more or less experienced is climate change. Climate change in itself is a very complex problem since there are no borders between countries that can stop the problem. The link between science and the public is largely in the hands of the media, since the media play an important role in defining environmental issues and to inform the public about research findings. In recent years, reports from the media showed a slightly skeptical and uncertain picture of this problem. This is despite the largely prevailing consensus among climate scientists that there is an anthropogenic climate change.

The aim of the study was to examine whether parental leave can serve as capacitating period in life. More specifically our aim was to get a deeper comprehension of the abilities and competencies developed through parental leave and how these can be of use to the individual when at work. 12 semistructured interviews were conducted with employees from a large organization in the south of Sweden. The results were analyzed using a hermeneutic approach. The results of the study show that competencies and abilities such as effectiveness, organizing, multitasking, leader abilities, communication, sensitivity, limiting skills, mindfulness, acceptance, self-confidence and life balance were enhanced during parental leave.

The world is currently facing a huge severe challenge in handling the issue of climate change. One of the ways to lower the green house gas emissions, which is seen as one of the main contributor to the climate crisis, is to use renewable technologies such as for example photovoltaic (PV) systems. PV-systems are also suitable for so called micro production, small scale energy production facilities, since it can be placed on practically any rooftop with the right solar conditions. In Sweden the usage of PV-systems has not yet gotten any wider spreading, even though the solar radiation conditions are very similar to countries that produce a lot of solar energy, as for example Germany. The aim of this paper is to describe non-adopter perceptions of PV-systems. The study holds a qualitative approach using deep interviews for data collection.

In Sweden, there an increasing need for transport and this leads directly to fuel demand of the transport sector is expected to increase. Both politicians and industry believes that renewable fuels are a realistic and significant method to reduce the transport sector's environmental impact. This study aims to document the Swedish haulage contractor?s attitude to biodiesel. Also to document the strengths and weaknesses of biodiesel, based on opinions from the ultimate consumers.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how investments are justified in the Swedish data center industry, with a focus on cooling equipment. This is achieved through semi-structured interviews with 20 different interviewees. These interviewees represent different facets of the industry and facilitate an understanding of which factors, such as: investment costs, operating costs, reliability, environmental impact and the influence of external and internal actors, come into play and to which degree they impact the investment decision-making process. The results show that primarily low operating cost in the form of low energy consumption is the driving factor when it comes to the procurement of new equipment. A lower environmental impact is a positive side-effect of lower energy consumption.

The purpose of this thesis has been to assess whether leaching from one particular Swedishlandfill site, Skörbytippen, is contributing to elevated levels of heavy metals in a ditch runningfrom the landfill site to the lake Mälaren in the communal region of Håbo kommun. Since theditch is stretching approximately five km downstream from the landfill site, in situ observationsand maps with known points of inflow was utilized to determine appropriate test points for thecollection of samples.Soil, water and sediment samples were collected and analyzed for content of organic material, pHand conductivity. Data on plant-available elements and total amounts of heavy metals wasacquired through ICP-analysis.The results show that the Skörby landfill is currently in the methane-forming anaerobedevelopment phase, which indicates that the concentration of free and complex-bound metals inthe leachate water should be low due to chemical binding with other landfill compounds. The pHof the sediment samples was generally one unit higher than the soil samples and some of themeasured data, such as pH and conductivity, show that an environmentally disturbing dischargeof some kind of strongly alkaline chemical(s) has been made from Benders? takpanneindustri inclose proximity to the landfill.

In our everyday life we are faced with many choices that have consequences on the environment. One of these is the food we choose to eat since food production has a big impact on the environment. In organic production the aim is to have a natural production process, where environmental impacts are minimized. By choosing organic food it is therefore possible to contribute to a better environment. A large number of meals are served every day in the public sector, which makes it an important player in the consumer sector that could make a major difference for the environment..

De flesta företag använder sig av något slags system för att kontrollera arbetsflödet. Dessa system används av alla på företaget och därmed är det viktigt att undersöka, hur medarbetarna upplever detta system. Med en explorativ utgångspunkt gjordes en enkätstudie på ett företag i Västsverige. Resultatet visade att deltagarna, förutom några få procent i stort sett hade liknande positiva upplevelser. Ingen skillnad fanns heller mellan grupperingarna ung/gammal eller antal år de arbetat på företaget.

Modelling of pollutants is commonly used in research and at departments working with environmental issues. The need to use large amounts of data when modelling creates the opportunity for more generalised models with lower data demands. Aggregating functions into coarser elements is a sort of generalisation of actual features in nature.A development of a method and a modelling tool called ?KadmiumKalkylatorn? has been performed to model cadmium pollution in rivers in Skåne, Sweden. The water runoff has been multiplied with cadmium standard concentrations based on membership in landuse classes.

The results from 13 interviews and one opinion poll answered by resident physicians were interpreted as stories about identity as primary material for this thesis. The resident physicians stress the importance of considering whether their work primarily concerns curing people from diseases or if the process of working with sick people also includes how to handle the pressure of work, either by adapting to it or changing it, and the search for balance between work and private life. Residents separate themselves from older physicians by saying that younger physicians accentuate empathy to a greater extent while older physicians emphasise a high work load. Identity seems to effect how the residents perceive and relate to their work, themselves as residents and different types of patients..

Cumulative effects are seldom treated in Swedish Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA). This report treats these questions and which procedures and methods that can be used when assessing cumulative effects in EIA. This report is a literature study where also a case study is a part. The case study shows how existing methods for cumulative effects can be used in practice. The report is concentrated on biology and treats cumulative effects on premises of biodiversity and roads. Cumulative effects include both direct and indirect effects.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to facilitate increased understanding of immigrant's experience of the meaning of work with focus on how that meaning can change as a part of the acculturation process. Participants (n=13) from eight countries answered an open question. The responses were analysed using Meaning Construction Analysis (MCA)-Minerva and the individual's life-worlds were made visible and discussed. The themes meaning of work, work, unemployment, education, adjustment, immigration, Sweden/country of origin, dreams, possibilities and self appeared as jointly shared important aspects. The results indicate that work is of central importance, and although the individuals share certain experiences, the meaning associated with the themes is of a complex and individual nature..

The aim of this study was to acquire knowledge about the working conditions of people's gainful employment. The research was conducted at one of the regional social insurance offices of Malmö with participation of ten of their employees. The research method of choice was a phenomenological approach. One open question about the working situation was answered freely. The results indicate a rather severe discontent about the workplace.

Denna studie ville undersöka om en viss bild i det perceptgenetiska testet DMTm (Defense Mechanism Technique modified) kan vara på väg att bli omodern. Flickan i bild K1 (som visas för kvinnor) skulle idag kunna misstas för en pojke. En design med två beroende grupper på 30 män i varje användes. En grupp såg M1-bilden med en pojke och den andra såg K1-bilden med en flicka. Syftet var att undersöka om det fanns någon skillnad i gruppernas förmåga att korrekt kunna identifiera barnets kön.

AbstractThis master thesis is a hermeneutic inspired case study of how the value base regarding the environmental and social responsibility in the Swedish coffee company Löfbergs Lila AB is affecting the company's business. A thesis inspired by hermeneutics means that it is based on two ideas, the one of interaction between entirety and partitions and the one of interpretation (Alvesson & Sköldberg 1994). This cause that the emphasis is on how the reality is interpreted and that it never can be seen as completely objective.The case study was conducted during the spring semester of 2010 at Karlstad's University and consists of both empirical and theoretical material collected during this time. The empirical material in this thesis includes, among other things, interviews with four representatives of Löfbergs Lila AB, written material from the company regarding its work related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), some information about the coffee industry as a whole and different certifications for "ethical? coffee that exists on the Swedish market.The basic idea with CSR as a business strategy is that it can be financially beneficial for companies to take a social and environmental responsibility outside of the company (Vogel 2005).