AbstractPaper in political science, C-level, by Lars A Roos, spring semester 2007. Tutor: Susan Marton. ?Policy networks and Nord Stream.?The purpose of this paper is to examine how the government and interest groups have been working together to commonly prevent the building of a gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea. To do this, a comprehensive question how does the government and the involved interest groups work together in policy networks? has been broken down to three more specific questions: (1) Can the cooperation between the government and the interest groups be placed within the frame of a issue network or a policy community? (2) Has the cooperation between the government and the interest groups contributed to new tools for the government to prevent the gas pipeline? (3) If the answer is yes to the second question then, which are these new tools?My examination is a case study of the policy network that exists around the Swedish actors in the case of the Baltic Sea gas pipeline.

Background: The development of the Swedish demography is one of the most important social and economic changes ever in Swedish history. Society as well as business is facing an age chock since almost every other company owner is over 50 years old. The complexity of managing a successful succession is pointed out as a major threat to the Swedish economy by the organization Svenskt Näringsliv.Purpose: The purpose with this master thesis is to identify and analyze critical success factors for a successful succession from a going concern perspective.Research method: By using the strong aspects from the quantitative as well as the qualitative method, high level of order and systematic could be reached, without loosing too much details and depth in this particular research. The empirical data was gathered by a digital survey sent to 3000 companies. The quantitative research was complemented by 6 qualitative interviews to increase depth and reliability.Results: The study shows that there is a great incongruence between the expected problems associated to the succession and the actual outcome.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between Earnings Management (EM) and certain characteristics of management forecasts, among a sample of Swedish listed companies. The forecast characteristics studied are: 1) Forecast venue: How explicitly is the forecast presented? 2) Forecast precision: How detailed is the estimated number? 3) Forecast measure: Which measure(s) are forecasted? We use a sample of 68 annual management forecasts, obtained from year-end reports between the years 2007-2011. EM during the forecasted year (2008-2012) is estimated using the cross-sectional modified-Jones model. The forecast characteristics are then related to the degree of EM during the forecasted period.

When a family member is being cared for in palliative care relatives often need support to be able to support their family member. The purpose of the literature review was to illuminate the nursing staff?s support from the relatives? perspective when a family member is being cared in a late palliative phase. The study is a literature review, there already existing research are surveyed. The findings were structured into two parts, tangible- and the intangible support.

Problem: What are the characteristics of Polykemi?s management control system and how is it affected by growth? Purpose: To describe and analyse the management control system of a medium-sized family-owned company from the perspective of Simons? Levers of control. Research design: An abductive, interview-based case study of Polykemi AB. Conclusion: Polykemi?s management control system is primarily a traditional one which is rather strong in terms of Levers of control.

In order to drive innovation and growth in a nation is it important to have innovative companies. Many of those innovative companies are smaller companies, which are in need of capital injections for expansion of its operations or to be able to produce a commercial product. In many cases the banks will not lend because they believe there is too great a risk that they will not get their money back. It is in this situation venture capital becomes interesting. Venture capitalists? see the potential the product and/or entrepreneur possesses and are therefore more willing to take the risk in investing in these companies.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the theoretical developments on social entrepreneurship. Our purpose is to create a better understanding of the phenomenon leading to new insights. We have categorized the knowledge of the concept into social economy, social ownership, social innovation and social missions. Drawing from our theoretical review we have chosen four empirical illustrations, Grameen Bank, Wikipedia, Basta Arbetskooperativ, Jörn Hälsogemenskap, and we have shown how these fit into the general description of the social entrepreneur. With help of our illustrations we show that it is complicated to pin point the core of social entrepreneurship as they each have separate structures, innovations, social missions and operate close to different sectors.

Japan's foreign and security policy has seen some substantial changes as a result of events like the first Gulf war and 9/11th. This has been taken as proof, by some, that Japan is abandoning its antimilitaristic stance and pursuing a more traditional hard power role through military means. This essay aims to explore if these shifts have coincided with any substantial shifts away from antimilitarism, which has had a strong influence on the country's security policy since the end of WW2.To do this I use constructivist theory, specifically regarding the impact of norms and identities on states security policy and briefly look into the problem of actor designation. The thematic focus is on security policy, from a narrow perspective, and thus I examine areas like the input and output to the Japanese military and the actual applications of this force. State identity is used to explore the prevalence of nationalistic sentiments and support for anti militarism in the public opinion and the political elite.The result of this study points to the further relevance of constructivist theory and especially the application of norms and identity.

A few hundred metres from the beach on Fårö, Gotland, is a small lot with pine trees, green moss and wild fl owers situated, owned by my brother and sister. Eventually they would like tobuild a summerhouse here, in close proximity to their relatives. My project is a proposal for the summerhouse at the site, within the restrictions of 61 m² building area, with focus on interior,exterior and the environment.My proposal is a house close to the surrounding nature, with reference to the the building tratition on the island and with local materials. Orientation to the sun, road and neighbours hasall infl uenced my ideas of this house and the relation between inside and outdoor living, were important in my creative work. The aim was to create a house made for the family and theirholiday lifestyle and allowed consideration for the possibility of a growing family with more children.

This study examines how upper secondary school teachers in Västerbotten and Österbotten plan to teach about the Finnish War 1808-09. The study includes written interviews with nine teachers in Västerbotten and eight teachers in Österbotten, who have answered questions concerning school policy documents, content and didactic methods. The purpose has been to examine whether there is a difference in historical culture in how the war is treated in the two regions. Historical culture is here meant within the prospective history lesson, where the pupils encounter history within certain boundaries.The result of the interview study shows that there are differences in structure concerning the school policy documents, but that these differences on the whole are compensated by the widespread interest in the Finnish War by the teachers in both regions. The differences in historical culture can be found within the construction of the content when it comes to the aftermaths of the war as well as the purpose of the teaching.

Work-Life Balance (WLB) is defined as the ability to manage both work-life and non-work life successfully. WLB can be evaluated by examining individual?s experience of Work-Family Conflict (WFC) and Family-Work Conflict (FWC), both of which can be assessed by a questionnaire developed by Netemeyer, Boles and McMurrian (1996). The aim of this study was to explore if responses to the questionnaire, the amount of time spent on studies, household chores and sick leave, were gender related or not, among civil-accountants students. The survey included 138 respondents (74 woman and 64 men).

Begreppet medarbetarskap är långt ifrån ett välkänt uttryck idag. Det handlar om medarbetarens förhållningssätt till sin arbetsgivare, till sitt arbete och till sina kollegor. Syftet med denna uppsats är för det första att få mer kunskap om begreppets innebörd. För det andra är syftet att få kunskap om hur medarbetare i en kommunal verksamhet uppfattar och praktiserar medarbetarskap utefter en kommunal policy. För det tredje är syftet att ge förslag till hur medarbetarna i undersökningen fortsättningsvis kan bidra till att uppnå ett gott medarbetarskap.

This final thesis consists of an investigation of how suitable it is to vertically integrate forest in Swedish forest companies. Different strategies to obtain raw materials have been evaluated and the advantages and disadvantages have been weighted against each other. The investigations contain a number of interviews with represents from companies with different strategies and persons that in different ways have faced the question of issue. An account study of SCA´s forest ownership has also been performed. The benefits for a forest company to vertical integrate forest consist mainly of safety in delivery, control over the supply chain and company image.

AbstractThis study focuses on three generations of Kurdish women's view on honor. The study is a qualitative research based on three individual interviews. The aim of this study is to examine how three generations of immigrant women from a culture of honor is influenced over time by the majority culture and its values together with how these women affect each other mutually both consciously and unconsciously within the family. The study is based on two questions: What does"honor" mean to the three generations of women who are Muslim and Kurdish? Did these three generations of women?s idea of honor change over time as they have lived in Sweden? Results of this study have shown that the concept of honor has its focus on the woman's body, sexuality and chastity.

AbstractThis study focuses on three generations of Kurdish women's view on honor. The study is a qualitative research based on three individual interviews. The aim of this study is to examine how three generations of immigrant women from a culture of honor is influenced over time by the majority culture and its values together with how these women affect each other mutually both consciously and unconsciously within the family. The study is based on two questions: What does"honor" mean to the three generations of women who are Muslim and Kurdish? Did these three generations of women?s idea of honor change over time as they have lived in Sweden? Results of this study have shown that the concept of honor has its focus on the woman's body, sexuality and chastity.