AbstractAuthors: Åsa Höjer, Karl WijkmarkTitle: The intercultural communicator. A study of cultures? influence on communication.Level: BA Thesis in Media and Communication StudiesLocation: University on KalmarLanguage: SwedishNumber of pages: 67Date of seminar: 2009-01-15Advisor: Jens CavallinKey words: Intercultural communication, culture, Hofstede´s cultural dimensions, anxiety and uncertainty, self-confidence, high and low context, verbal and nonverbal communication, Telenor, Pakistan, Scandinavia.Case company: TelenorPurpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate what cultural differences, regarding communication, that are present between Scandinavia and Pakistan. Furthermore the purpose is to illustrate which factors that are important for personnel working for Telenor, that are about to work in a foreign culture, in order to create effective intercultural communication.Methodology: The following study is a case study that has used a qualitative methodology with interviews conducted via e-mail. To be able to interpret and understand human experiences and situations a hermeneutical approach has been taken.

Because of the increasing trends in energy consumption and increased environmental awareness, greater focus has been placed on improvement and development of renewable energy sources. An already proven and accepted method is biogas production from anaerobic digestion at municipal wastewater treatment plants.In the waste water treatment process solid material and dissolved pollutants are separated from the water, forming a sludge. The sludge is separated from the process and stabilized during anaerobic digestion or aerobic aeration. Most often, mesophilic anaerobic digestion is used. Because of degradation by microorganisms, biogas with a high content of methane is formed during the digestion.

This paper will answer which factors are important for the business relation between a small Swedish import company and a Chinese contractor. The problem is based partly in theories that points to cultural and organizational differences between Sweden and China, and partly in current examples from Swedish companies. The relevant data has been collected by interviews with three small Swedish companies that are currently using Chinese contractors.The result is that the differences between the countries and organizations exist, but that they do not interfere with the inter-company relations. The conclusion is that our result contradictsthe established theories in the field, and that a more comprehensive investigation is warranted..

Climate changing is a growing problem for many countries and communities over the world. The cities has a huge work to deal with in their reforcements of their cities to be resilient ones. This thesis makes an effort to investigate and illuminate some of the problem the cities has to solve related to flooding, hazards, erosions, rising sea levels and crotches. This thesis will help to find solutions that international and national efforts has produced and handed out to each other. A lot of communities are charing their excellent tools that works for them.

My intention with this paper was to investigate how the teachers in pre-school thinks about the physical environment in pre-school. Both the significance for the pedagogical activity and the children?s involvement in the design. I have done five interviews with pre-school teachers. The result shows that the pre-school teachers consider that the size of the premises and the availability to the material is important factors for children?s development and learning.

AbstractIn order to investigate whether people living in Linköping city feel that the built environment affects their exercise habits, a quantitative cross-sectional study with qualitative elements was conducted. A questionnaire was the chosen approach in which information about exercise habits, education level, built environment was requested. The selected group was people working at Skatteverket in Linköping where many people work and where age, gender and education level varies. The built environment does affect the exercise habits, where major proportions choose to exercise in areas considered inviting. The majority of the respondents had a tertiary education, and many lived in the city of Linköping.

Arvika Fjärrvärme AB, a district heating company from Arvika, today cover 74 % of their total energy production with biofuel wich runs a 16 MW bioler giving process water at saturated liquid state.In recent years Vaporel AB has introduced a new tecnique that gives an external generation of steam after boilers. The concept is built on an adiabatic pressure drop of the saturated liquid in a so called Flashbox which makes a small part of the liquid to evaporate. The generated steam is lead into a turbine where electricity is in a conventional manner.The purpose with this rapport was to do a basic study for the specific system at Arvika where it?s possible to see the potential production of electricity that follows an installation of a flasbox.The final goal was to introduce an economic analysis of a flashox installation at given conditions.To reach our goals we have created a model in Excel where we used the given conditions at Arvika Fjärrvärme to do our calculations. The model has been tested at three different states, of process water returning to potboiler, to be able to decide the optimal operation for the system at present.The studies have resulted in a pressure of the processwater at 14,5 bar (at) and a pressuredrop to 9,5 bar (at) in the flashbox.

Pharmaceuticals that are found in marine ecosystems are a threatening environmental concern, which is known to harm both animal and plant life. One of the reasons for this problem is that the waste water treatment techniques are not optimized to clear waste water from its pharmaceuticals contain. In this master thesis four Swedish treatment wetlands were studied, and their ability to reduce numerous pharmaceuticals in waste water. The four treatment wetlands that were studied were those in Oxelösund, Trosa, Nynäshamn and Eskilstuna. Two ecotoxicological tests and chemical analysis were used.

This thesis investigates techniques for stealth hydroacoustic communication using spread spectrum. The Swedish naval defense organisations have a vision that all their units should be able to communicate with each other, even between underwater vehicles. But the properties of water makes it a complex channel to use for wireless communications. Radiomagnetic waves have very limited range in water, therefore acoustic waves are used. In this report the basics of wireless communication systems are described including source coding, channel coding, modulation techniques as well as different techniques for spread spectrum.

Lately, alarming reports have appeared regarding the work environment and work situation of social workers. Research focusing on the promotion of health and well-being in the workplace among other professionals show that factors such as social relationships, ability to influence their work situation and leadership are important. A quantitative study was conducted focusing on the work climate for social workers employed by some of the district administrations in the City of Malmö. A questionnaire with questions and statements on various factors in the work environment was sent to 34 social workers. They were asked how important these factors were for their well-being, as well as to what extent they felt that these factors were present at work.

The aim of this study is to examine the legal regulation regarding the psychosocial work environment for temporary agency workers. Furthermore, the aim of the study is to examine how temporary agency workers perceive their psychosocial work environment, and possible consequences of such perception. The methodology of the study consists of practical legal method and qualitative method in the form of interviews.The results show that the psychosocial work environment for temporary agency workers is regulated at both the EU legal level by Directive as well as at national level in Arbetsmiljölagen and regulations issued by Arbetsmiljöverket. The study finds that health and safety responsibility for temporary agency workers is shared between the agency and the client company. The result of the study indicates that there are shortcomings in the introduction and training of temporary agency workers, which can contribute to an unsatisfactory work environment.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the networks of interlocking directors in the 50 largestSwedish companies on the Stockholm Stock Exchange during the years 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005and 2010 and seek explanations for the observed developments.Our findings indicate that the density and concentration of the network has decreased during thefirst ten-year period and stayed constant during the second period. The development of theoverall network is not consistent throughout all corporate groups. Most notablyHandelsbankssfären seems to experience increased density and connectivity whileWallenbergsfären is experiencing the reverse.The changes during the first ten-year period is deemed to come mainly from changes inregulations pertaining to both the opening for international capital investments as well as looserrestrictions on domestic capital investments. These changes have caused decreased concentrationof ownership, as well as the emergence of new owners, which is reflected in the board ofdirectors.During the second ten-year period the changes are more pertaining to the individual boards andboard members, without flowing through into the overall network. Our findings indicate thatthese changes are caused by the increased professionalization of boards and board work, whichhas gained momentum through the creation of the Swedish Corporate Governance Code..

The purpose of this thesis is library work in exile, more specifically The Kurdish library in Stockholm (?Kurdiska biblioteket?). The Kurds have a long history of exile, forming a part of their national and cultural identity. I have therefore chosen in the analysis three concepts: nationalism, ethnicity and culture. The Kurdish library is unique and is different from a traditional library in many ways.

The purpose of this study is to gain understanding of how self employed entrepreneurs (hereafter referred to as ?entrepreneurs?) develop their competence based on their perceived learning space. The main question is: How do these entrepreneurs develop their competence based on their perceived learning space? Other questions relevant for the study are: How important is the social environment for these entrepreneurs and how do they interact with their social environment in order to develop their competence. The study has a qualitative approach.

AbstractThe purpose of this thesis is to highlight the organization's importance to teachers' working environment. Through a survey conducted at a primary school in New Zealand and at a primary school in Sweden, teacher perceptions of their psychosocial work environment were compared. This study has answered the questions: ?How does a teacher at a school in New Zealand and at a school in Sweden view their psychosocial work environment from an organizational perspective?? and ?What are the similarities and differences in psychosocial working environment between a school in New Zealand and a school in Sweden?? The results were analyzed based on Karasek and Theorells demands-control-social support model. The study shows that teachers at both schools are experiencing high demands, but that New Zealand teachers are experiencing greater demands.