Product development is essential for all companies that want to survive in competitive markets regardless of the characteristics of the product that the company sells. Companies that sell products within product categories which can be seen as bad, also need to develop their products in order to remain competitive. If these bad products add a positive attribute, for example that they get organic, a contradiction within the product arises and they get incongruent. This thesis investigates which effects that follow a launch of an incongruent product. The thesis also examines if these effects are affected by the strength of the brand under which the product is launched.A total of 240 respondents participated in an experimental study where product incongruity was manipulated for two different product categories, where one well known brand and one unknown brand were examined in each category.

The purpose of this study was to look for tendencies that social media can contribute to exposing users to a stronger perception of opinion polarization, and further to see if the daily presence of social networking sites can put normative pressure on the users. The study was made using a survey with participants from Umea? University during the time frame of november-december 2014. The theoretical framework behind the study was mainly drawn from The Spiral Of Silence by Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann and was further supplemented with more current research, studying the effects from The Spiral Of Silence in the modern and more fragmented media landscape that exists now then when her theory was written. Further theoretical tools for analysis of the results came from Michel Foucault and his discussions in Discipline and punish, specifically his views on how surveillance can be discontinous in practice, but still permanent in it?s effects.The results of this study indicates that social media users tend to isolate themselves from uncomfortable opinions, and do not follow or read opinions they do not already agree with.

Allt fler personer drabbas av hjärt- och kärlsjukdomar, vilket på sikt kan leda till kronisk hjärtsvikt. För att förbättra omvårdnadsåtgärder för hjärtsviktspatienter har Socialstyrelsen 2004 givit ut nationella riktlinjer för hjärtsjukvård där vikten av en individuell handlingsplan betonas. Syftet med litteraturstudien är att undersöka på vilket sätt sjuksköterskor utför omvårdnadsåtgärder avseende fysisk aktivitet, egenvård, nutrition och rökstopp för patienter med hjärtsvikt och om dessa överrensstämmer med gällande riktlinjer samt om hänsyn måste tas till genusskillnader. Metoden är en litteraturstudie i databaserna PubMed och Elin@Malmö vilket resulterade i 14 artiklar som användes för att söka svaret på syftet. Som teoretisk referensram har Antonovskys KASAM modell använts.

By identifying effects that a buyout-firm has on management control systems in its portfolio companies, the aim of this thesis is to explain how such effects differs between the companies and finally to explain why the effects differs even though the companies are owned by the same buyout-firm. The study is conducted as a qualitative case study based on interviews with representatives from the studied buyout-firm and three of its portfolio companies.By analyzing the empirical findings with frameworks and theories within management control systems and value creation, we cannot only identify effects that are common for all portfolio companies but we can also observe differences between the portfolio companies.The identified effects that are common for all portfolio companies are: increased internal reporting burden, increased perceived risk of getting laid off among managers and co-workers and replacement of the board immediately after acquisition.The effects that are observed only for two portfolio companies are: increased focus on short-term planning, higher financial targets, replacement of company management upon acquisition and moving of decision authorities to higher organizational levels. Differences are observed although the portfolio companies are owned by the same buyout-firm due to: differences in management and co-workers equity stake in the portfolio companies, differences in business complexity and differences in planned exit-horizon..

Since the late 50th century, the automobile has been normative in the Swedish society (Lundin 2008). This has led to an urban environment deeply characterized by the motor vehicle and its necessities, while other means of transportation, such as train and bicycle, have been ignored and put aside. However, over the past decades, a new trend has been seen in urban planning as a consequence of the increasing knowledge of the negative qualities caused by the car. As a result, the bicycle is seen as a conceivable transport mode.This thesis examines cycling on four issues:- Why is there a need of more cyclists? - How can the total number of cyclists as well as the number of satisfied cyclists increase? - Which factors affect the choice of transport mode? - Which factors affect the choice of route?The first two questions are discussed from a literature study that was conducted at the beginning of the thesis.

 In ?goda influenser utifra?n? (positive effects from abroad) the purpose is to explore how ideas about feminism and nationality is created within the commentarys on Newsmill (swedish websight for debate). The questions which is directed on the basis of my purpose is drafted to enable my enquiry. On intersectional premisses, and with the help of a textanalysis, i will dress the data which i collected from one field of commentarys. The analysis is divided into themes in which and everyone i tend to immerse on that particular theme..

Introduction: Mental illness is a public health issue which 20-40 per cent of the inhabitantsin Sweden suffer from. Many factors can lead to mental illness and because of that it isimportant that different organisations and professions collaborate in prevention and healthpromotion work. To develop the collaborative process by noticing difficulties and successes,documenting, follow-up and evaluation is of great importance. Aim: The aim of this literaturereview is to investigate which methods are used for evaluation of health promoting anddisease preventive collaborative projects, which focuses on mental health directly orindirectly, and find out what results these projects has revealed. Method: Literature reviewwith descriptive design.

This essay is a meta-theoretical study that aims to show normative and ethical implications that might follow from theories concerning representation of traumatic events in four essays from Shoshana Felman and Dori Laub?s Testimony. Crises of Witnessing in Literature, Psychoanalysis, and History and in Hayden White?s essay ?The Modernist Event?. Through a comparative analysis the essay mainly discusses how these writers deal with the problem of narrative.

Laminitis is a debilitating disease causing much suffering to horses and ponies all over the world. It is manifested in the hooves as a mechanical failure of the suspensory apparatus between the hoof capsule and the distal phalanx. Due to the weight of the horse the disease may result in a dislocation of third phalanx. Six healthy standardbred trotters were used in this study on whether standardbreds tolerate forced recumbency as well as Shetland ponies. Recumbency was induced pharmacologically but maintained only by lowering the ceiling height of the box to a height of approximately 125 ? 140 % of the horse´s thoracic height.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of joint venture announcements on stock prices behavior and simultaneously to test the German stock market (Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse) for efficiency. We tried not only to analyze the general impacts of a JV-announcement but also to look for differences in the market response to announcements of different types of joint ventures, namely: domestic, international, horizontal and vertical. Our expectations of efficient market were confirmed during our paper, which employed the technique of the standard event study. The calculation of abnormal returns which are the signals for market efficiency or inefficiency respectively were based on the market model, establishing linear relationship between the return on the market and the return on an individual security. The parameters of the model were obtained through regression analysis..

Background: The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority?s mortgage limitation, of mortgaging up to 85 percent of the market value of the real estate was introduced on the first of October 2010. The aim of the recommendation is to prevent a detrimental development of the market for mortgages while at the same time creating incentives for the consumers to limit the debt level. The mortgage limitation is a recently adopted recommendation and few studies have made a thorough analysis of its effects, hence it is an interesting topic to study.Aim: The aim of this study is to analyze the initial effects of the mortgage limitation for consumers, banks and estate agencies. Furthermore, the study aims to evaluate drivers of consumer debt levels and conclude whether the mortgage limitation will result in lower debt levels for consumers.Completion: The study is based on interviews with respondents from banks and with respondents from estate agencies to enlighten the initial and long term effects of the mortgage limitation.

Background: Pet therapy has existed as a concept since 1964 when the American child psychologist Boris Levinson coined the term. Nowadays Animal Assisted Activity (AAA) and Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) are both recognized concepts, and with progressed research the science of pet therapy increases.Purpose: To summate the most recent science in pet therapy (therapy dog) research with focus on physical, psychical, and social effects.Methods: Literature study/review with descriptive design, research on 21 articles published from year 2003 and onward. Articles used in the study were chosen through beforehand decided criteria, subject to quality rating, and summated in an overview. The main results were summated and presented in similarities and differences.Results: The main result of the summation was that important results could be measured in each of the three fields of research. Physical/physiological effects: pain relief, differentiated results on vital signs, and increased activity.

The starting point of this thesis is the debate surrounding the two referenda?s in France and the Netherlands in May and June 2005, regarding the proposal of a European constitution. The aim of this study is to analyse how democratic legitimacy and the role of the citizens portrays within the democratic discourse of the European Union. The empirical material is based upon both speeches from the European Commission and news articles from the French newspaper Libération and the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter. Discourse analysis is used as a theoretical frame of reference combined with models of democracy.

Träningsinducerad lungblödning, Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), är ett stort problem hos travare och galoppörer i hela världen. Det får anses klarlagt att mekanismen bakom EIPH är så kallad stress-failure, utmattningsskador, i blod-gasbarriären vilket beror på att hästarna har en respiration och cirkulation som ger extrema påfrestningar på denna sköra struktur. En bidragande faktor till stress-failure tycks kunna vara att hypertension i lungvenerna leder till att dessa remodelleras och förtjockas, vilket i sin tur leder till ännu högre tryck i lungkapillärerna. Den här litteraturstudien handlar om hur inflammation i lungorna kan ge upphov till EIPH. Inflammation finns med i problematiken runt EIPH både som en bakomliggande faktor och som ett resultat av blödningen.

This study investigates how the host community of Tenerife perceives the socio-cultural effects of tourism on the island. The method chosen for the study was qualitative interviews which were performed with six respondents, each born in Spain, living permanently in Tenerife and employed within service-related occupations. The interview material was interpreted and handled according to a hermeneutic approach. The results of the study showed that the respondents had an over-all positive perception of tourism. Perceived positive socio-cultural effects were related to cultural and linguistic influences.