This study investigates the relationship strategies the group Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification holder has with the forest owners. The (FSC) standard enables an organization to manage a group of forest management units under a single certificate, a process referred to as group certification. Some certificate holders want a close relationship with the forest owner before they are offered to become part of their certificate. Other certificate holders have less strict demands on a close relationship with the forest owner before they are offered to become part of their certificate. The study shows that it is in many ways desirable to have a close relationship between forest owner and group certification holder..

The DuPont formula is one of the most well known and basic tools used for financial statement analysis and is highly useful for understanding firms strategies and operating environment. Previous studies on American listed companies have also shown that analysis of the changes in the DuPont components is useful in forecasting contexts. In this thesis we test whether disaggregating the change in return on net operating assets provides incremental information about future performance for Swedish listed and not listed companies. We find that the change in asset turnover is a leading indicator of increased profitability for both listed and private companies, regardless of size. We also find evidence that the usefulness of the disaggregation for understanding future performance is greater in capital intense industries and lesser in service industries..

AbstractAt the UN Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 the nations stated that traditional environmental policies were not sufficient to handle the multidimensional challenges posed by sustainable development. Governments needed to broaden their political decision making procedures in order to coordinate and integrate environmental, social and economic policies. Therefore a new tool was introduced in Agenda 21, National Strategies for Sustainable Development (NSDS). The aim of an NSDS would be to bring together actors from all parts of society to jointly reach a consensus on how to work towards the vision of a sustainable society. An NSDS would be seen as a strategic tool to help focus national policies for SD.

This thesis examines the implications of a shorter  intensive action research  project on  the formative assessments  key  strategies  four  and  five  that  are  activating  learners  as  learning  resources  for  one another and activating learners as owners of their own learning.  The research questions were ?How do the pupils experience the formative approach?? ?What didactic consequences does the formative approach  mean  for  the  role  of  the  teacher??  and  ?How  does  the  formative  approach  affects  the pupils?  results  on a  short term??. The results were that the  majority of the pupils liked the approach and that they felt like their efficiency increased. The didactic consequences were that the teacher had to spend more time on evaluation but had more time during the lesson to listen to and discuss with the pupils. The pupils? results were not changed in comparison with the control group..

The Swedish agricultural sector is currently experiencing substantial structural changes, where the number of agricultural enterprises continuously decreases and the average farm size increases. In order to maintain competitiveness, it is important to be aware and adapt to changes concerning the surroundings of the company (Johnson et al., 2011). Agricultural commodity prices sharply fluctuate on the global market in recent years, affecting the profitability of farmers. High volatility market requires tools to reduce price variations and increases the need of decision-making (Bouder & Beth, 2003). Farm-based grain handling facilities increases the sale options regarding agricultural commodities; a flexible strategy to get additional compensation for the storing the grain produced on the farm (Edling, 2002; Edwards, 2013).

Evaluating and choosing suppliers based on price alone, has traditionally been the dominant strategy for supplier selection within the purchasing function. With the origin of the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)-concept in the early 1990s, a new philosophy dawned that promoted the importance of knowing the effects of supplier performance on the buying firm?s internal costs. Since then, scholars have been arguing the case of TCO as a viable model for making purchasing decisions and conducting supplier evaluation. Still, after two decades little is known about its penetration and impact on the practices of buying corporations, leaving the questions of which costs are included in the purchasing organisations? decisions unanswered, and even more importantly why certain costs are considered and others not.

In his master thesis, Johan Jutterström pursues an anti-aesthetic and ethic artistic process. He?s using mainly three different strategies; reasoning through text, composing for ensemble, and solo improvising on the saxophone. Through composing the piece for 12 musicians Trästolen, Jutterström tries to erase himself and his taste from the music. In that endeavor he looks to physics as a catalyst.

Title: Audit teams ? what affects the efficiency?Authors: Petter Johansson and David RubinSupervisor: Andreas JanssonCourse: Dissertation Accounting, 4FE03E, 30 ECTS, Spring 2011.Key Words: Audit team, Efficiency, Team WorkBackground and problem: Theory and literature in the field of audit teams?efficiency are limited. The theory and literature that existed was not conducted inSwedish context. It was identified that no one had examined the factors thatinfluence the efficiency of the Swedish audit team's. Efficiency affects howresource-and cost-effective an auditing firm can be while the audit is performedwith quality and therefore it is of interest to be examined.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore and explain what may affectSwedish audit teams? efficiency during the work processMethod: The thesis has been based on existing theory and literature to explainwhat affects audit teams? effectiveness.

Most descriptions of stereotypic behaviours have in common that these repetitive behaviours only has been observed in captive animals and therefore it has been proposed that stereotypies exist because we house animals in environments that are sub-optimal to them. Some scientists claim that performance of stereotypies in itself decreases the animal's welfare due to costs in time, energy and health and a poorer quality of life. Other scientists assert that individuals performing stereotypies may have a better welfare compared to the rest of the animals in the same environment, since these individuals have developed strategies to cope with stress. Studies have estimated the prevalence of abnormal behaviours in horses to 18-30 % of the population. Several studies on cribbing have revealed a prevalence of 4-5 %, although some results indicate that more than 10 % of the horse population performs this stereotypy.

AbstractPeople and organizations that network with one another have during the past decades, at a larger extent than before, replaced classical hierarchies. These networks have become increasingly important, as the globalisation has amplified the pressure for focused and flexibleorganizations. There is a risk of restraining the inventiveness of the firm and force customers and suppliers into cooperation by a too great commitment and dedication to the network. There are two sides to every penny, positive and negative aspects of networking.Concerning the negative approach to networking, there is relatively little theory present. The theory is regarded an emerging theory.

Previous studies of stress and coping regarding urban bus drivers describe an unhealthy occupation in areas of psychological and physiological factors. In the present study a social constructionist approach was used to investigate Swedish urban bus drivers' constructs of stress and coping regarding passengers. Semi-structered interviews were performed with ten bus drivers, nine males and one female. The data was transcribed verbatim and analysed with the program QSR NUD*IST.Three main themes where found; passanger related context, coping strategies and promoting circumstances. The bus drivers' constructs describe passanger relations as part of a stressful work environment where successful coping is problematic..

Background: With the increased globalization food prices went down for a while, only to skyrocket to new levels. Prices of organic food, which already were more expensive than conventional, are now even more expensive. The current financial crisis results in reduced consumption which creates a threat to the smaller grocery stores. Globalization and the increased competition have had a negative impact on the environment but at the same time the desire to solve these issues has increased appreciably. The environmental aspect has been given higher priority by the individual, which led to a wider range of organic products and dramatically increased the number of stores selling organic products, leading to a greater competition among the stores selling organic food.  Problem definition: What factors are important for organic retail business long term survival?Purpose: Trough case studies analyze and evaluate the organic niche retail companies? strategies of marketing.Methods: This study is based on both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Today?s environmental discussions have led to more progress in the different transportareas. To ride a bicycle is often one of the most efficient alternative when it comes totransport. An Electric bike is, and makes transportation more efficient than a regularbicycle. Electric bicycles do not affect the environment significantly and allows moreconvenient transportation than ordinary bicycles do.

The consultancy firm Knowit sought a smartphone application for communication between schools and pupils. Together with the students, it was decided to create the app both for Android and for iPhone. The project would produce a prototype app with limited functionality usable as a proof-of-concept in communication with potential customers.The questions that have characterized the work are; what features would be demanded in a school app, how to program user-friendly functionality and how to use object-orientation to design such an app. A question has also mentioned the differences between development for iOS and Android. The work was done in an iterative process in which the students worked together with planning, programming and testing.

Soundclash is a phenomenon where groups within the culture of reggae music ?battle? against each other, through strategies including both music and rhetoric. The social interaction in the clash exemplifies the scene hierarchy, in which the participants aim to position themselves as number one. This study includes empirical material from a competition within the Swedish scene, also distributed digitally via Internet sites. The analysis is based on discursive psychology, focusing on rhetoric and the construction of meaning.