Abstract The internationalisation of a company is enabled by integration of markets. New markets mean new revenues, but also demand capital to finance the expansion. To bring in new capital may offer new possibilities but also higher debt-equity ratios, which affect how external interested parties value the company. This thesis, inspired by previous and mainly US based research, researches the debt-equity ratio of Swedish multinational and domestic companies, sampled from the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The research questions have focused on the impact of certain internationalisation variables on the debt-equity ratio; how does the debt-equity ratio differ between international and domestic companies? Can a difference be explained by the degree of internationalisation? Can a difference be better explained by the presence of international ownership? By measuring the concept internationalisation as both trade and presence, the questions were operationalised into four hypotheses.

Sustainability and the traffics impact on the environment have become increasingly central within spatial planning. For many years, planning has been focusing on building new roads - this has resulted in increased use of automobiles, which many believe is unsustainable in the longer term. Therefore, authorities at national, regional and local level want to increase the use of alternative transport modes ? such as walking, cycling and traveling by bus.The thesis intends to study if the Municipality of Umeå?s policies for sustainable development have led to an increased use of public transportation. The use of public transport in Umeå is also compared with developments at national level, in order to see if there are differences in the level and trend.

Until the beginning of the 1900:th century the paper making process was handicraft. The paper machines that have been developed since then are as impressing in size as fascinating when it comes to the technique. The process has always been improved to give a better paper for lower costs, with as short manufacture time as possible. Stratified forming has been a reality since 1830. From the beginning it was applied to board and paperboard.

AbstractThis thesis discusses ideological and rhetorical change of the Moderate Party of Sweden. The aim of the thesis has been to study the party during a time-span of almost 20 years, trying to identify changes related to each of the three party leaders.A hypothesis was developed, suggesting that the three party leaders each represented a different kind of ideology namely neo-conservatism, neo-liberalism and social liberalism. By studying newspaper articles and protocols from the Swedish Parliament, riksdagen, I was able to verify the hypothesis in all but the first party leader, Carl Bildt. It was showed that his ideology had more in common with New Right than with neo-liberalism.After identifying these changes I looked for explanations within Party Strategy Theory and Social Change Theory. My conclusions were that the changes could be understood by the great loss of voters in the election of 2002 and that agents within the Moderate Party acted upon the ambition to win new and old voters to the party, thereby recognizing the need for change.Keywords: Ideological Change, Rhetorical Change, The Moderate Party,Neo-Liberalism, Neo-Conservatism, Social Liberalism..

Container Security Initiative was launched in 2002 by the US Customs and Border Patrol in order to secure the global flow of containers destined for USA. This thesis attempts to analyze Container Security Initiative in relation to a possible future scenario made by the weapons industry where the state's global traderoutes are being subject to militarization. A development which is partly based on the threat posed by global illegal trade. The latter is discussed and defined based on current research made by Carolyn Nordstrom, Moíses Naím and theories on the cosmopolitan perspective made by Ulrich Beck. Strategy documents concerning Container Security Initiative are then analyzed in terms of discourse to try to say something about what the program indicates.

It is of increasing importance to in the most effective possible way, manage and control all the transactions of raw materials, products and information that are exchanged between an organization and all its operators. These flows and the need for strategy and managing the processes of planning, implementing and control of the supply chain, has given name to the concept supply chain management. Supply chain management involves all movement and storage of raw material, and all the processes that is needed to manufacture a product from origin to consumption. Globalization, technology and increasing time and quality-based competition are all driving forces behind the concept and reasons for an increasing interest in supply chain management.The purpose of this essay is to by using a qualitative case study examine which decisive success factors that can be identified for effective supply chain management. We have compiled different theories on the subject to use for analyzing a case study Li & Fung, who is a successful supply chain management company.

The educational underachievement of children in foster care has been known for a long time. This study aimed to compile and analyze the current knowledge about interventions, intended to improve foster children?s school achievements. The method used was a systematically undertaken narrative review. Despite a comprehensive searching strategy, only ten relevant studies were found, indicating that little has been done to improve the educational outcomes for children in public care.

Background: Resources that are hard to put a value on and cannot be classified as assets in the balance sheet as well as the development towards the information society has led to an increasing need and use for voluntary information in the annual reports. The increase of voluntary information can foremost be seen in the field of human resources.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to describe the development of voluntary information about human resources in the annual report of a number of Swedish quoted companies. The purpose is also to see if there is a difference in the development between manufacturing companies and service companies.Method: Six manufacturing companies and six service companies were chosen from the Stockholm exchange A-list. Using both a qualitative and quantitative research method the annual reports of the chosencompanies were studied for the years 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2003. A model consisting of seven categories; health, diversity, recruitment, staff turnover and comfort, benefits and motivation, education and competence development, was developed to clarify were the development took place.Conclusions: After finishing the study one can tell that the amount of voluntary information about human resources in the annual report has increased even though the percentage share of the total annual report only has increased appreciably for manufacturing companies.

The honour-related violence and opression got more attention in the years 1999 and 2002, when two young women were murdered in the name of honour in Sweden. Honour-related violence is associated with a so called honour culture, which for many symbolize the oppression of a women. It is a fact that not only girls and women are victims of this culture but also many young men and boys are exposed. The aim of this study is to illustrate how individual social workers handle cases where boys and young men are exposed to violence and oppression on the basis of the theory of discretion. In this study a qualitative research strategy has been used which involves the implementation of semi-structured interviews in the collection of empirical data.

En innovation handlar i grund och botten om en förståelse och inkorporation av den komplexa kreativiteten i en innovationsprocess. I denna studie har sex centrala kärnvärden kring den upplevda kreativiteten tagits fram med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer från tio respondenter. Utifrån en fenomenologisk ansats har dessa kärnvärden utvecklats från begreppen kreativitet och innovation. Inom kreativitet var ? relatera, förändra och kommunicera ? centrala begrepp för respondenterna.

ABSTRACTBackground: The incidence of type 2 diabetes is increasing worldwide. Early intervention in form of medication, advice on self-management and lifestyle changes is necessary to avoid complications. Few Swedish studies are made on the diabetes nurse?s views on promotion of self- management.Purpose: To examine the diabetes specialist nurse?s experience of promoting self-management to patients with type 2 diabetes in primary care.  Method: A qualitative explorative study where eight diabetes nurses were interviewed. The interview guide consisted of semistructed questions concerning the promotion of self-management.Results: The diabetes nurse?s role in promoting patient self-management is significant, if resources are available in the form of adequate time for the patient and good team work.

It has since long been noticed that savior figures from different religions have reminded of each other, and there are different theories trying to explain why. This study examines religions operating in the same culture, and in this case, judaism and zoroastrianism, and their influence on each other. In particular, focus is on zoroastrianism's image of the savior figure Mithra, and how this representation may have influenced the description of the Messiah in the Talmud. How are the two figures represented in the scriptures and what similarities can be identified?By a thorough content analysis the studie examines the Avesta of zoroastrianism and the Talmud from judaism.

The aim of this study was to develop, implement and evaluate a mindfulness- and acceptance-based smoking cessation program in group (MRG). MRG was developed into an intervention consisting of 6 group sessions during 35 days including individual homework assignments. 8 of 10 participants completed the program. In order to evaluate the effect of MRG a quasi-experimental design with pretest and double posttest (second posttest at 1 month) was chosen. At second posttest, 50 percent (of 8 completers) were non-smokers, and the rest showed a decrease in smoking at a rate between 45 and 75 percent.

This Master s thesis deals with the display of library media, whether it is conceivable and desirable to draw inspiration from the retail business when displaying articles. The questions asked are: are there, in the retail sector, well established display ideas and - if so - what do they look like? Are the similarities in conditions, between the branches, sufficient? In conveying the ideas to libraries, are the potential differences not obstructive? Is there, among librarians, a positive attitude towards further development of library display techniques? The results were achieved by interviewing shop window dressers and librarians. In addition, a survey was sent to the library managers of 65 public libraries in southern Sweden. The results show that there are established ideas and methods of displaying materials, and that the ideas are manifested in frequently used techniques.

This dissertation deals with two sports clubs and their operational development between the years 1946-1998. The research was made by a qualitative analysis of the annual reports and protocols that the clubs produced between 1946-1998. The two clubs are IFK Växjö and Växjö BK which are located in Växjö in Sweden. Our main purpose with this study was to analyze the operational development and in which way elitist drive affects the voluntary society content and culture. Results indicated that if a sports club starts with elitist sport it could have a bad impact on the voluntary sector.