The aim of this study is to create an increased understanding of shared leadership and how it takes shape in the relationship between first-line managers in human service organizations. Shared leadership is seen as a complement to the traditional one-man leadership and briefly means that two managers share the role that usually is held by a single leader. The study has a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews with managers in human service organizations. The interviews mention the mangers thoughts and experiences about shared leadership and gain approval in the hermeneutic science field. The study is analyzed based on symbolic interactionism where perspectives from the theoreticians Mead and Goffman are used.

It is a common view that companies should focus on building brands to increase profitability and stabilize cash flows. However, building and keeping brands alive is costly. Many firms spend large sums on branding only because they are supposed to, without knowing if they will actually gain from it. Up to date, there is limited convincing evidence that branding actually contributes to shareholder value creation. This thesis aims to investigate the relationship between brand strength and profitability and shareholder value.

Aim of the thesis: The aim of this thesis is to describe and gain a deeper understanding of how companies use communication as a tool to overcome the gap between the company and the consumer. The aim is also to clarify some of the factors contributing to this gap.Method:  This thesis has been made from a qualitative approach with quantitative influences. The qualitative primary data collection was gathered through six in-depth interviews with companies in Gothenburg either selling organic and fair-trade produced clothes or marketing towards sustainable consumption. The quantitative part consists of a consumer questionnaire given to 100 women in the inner city of Gothenburg.  Frame of references: Related researches within the field of the subject are presented in the beginning of this chapter. Further theories presented are the consumer?s awareness and the consumer´s responsiveness to CSR.

Issuing convertible bonds for financing purposes has never become widespread practice amongst Swedish companies, in spite of the instrument being common in international markets. Economic theory based on efficient markets suggests that companies should gain no financial benefits from using convertibles and the Swedish situation could be interpreted as in line with this reasoning. However, there are Swedish companies that have chosen to issue convertibles and the Swedish market therefore seems both supportive and contradictory to the existence of benefits of convertible bond financing. Little research concerning the Swedish market has been conducted and the purpose of this explorative thesis is thus to enhance the understanding of the Swedish market for convertibles. This is achieved by conducting in-depth interviews with six listed Swedish companies that have recently issued convertible bonds.

The aim of this essay is to examine three separate Swedish public libraries and their respective websites on the grounds of the usability sciences. I firstly had to summarize the main properties of the usability-field in order to gain an extended knowledge of its purposes and possible usage for today?s library systems. I was then able to apply the extended knowledge in the examination of the three library websites and the purpose of determining whether or not they were designed according to the standards set by the usability-sciences.Usability is a rather new science that deals with the dissection and examination of computer-based systems, in order to find the key components that make systems user-friendlier. With user needs being the main focus of its research, usability tries to meet all the different needs of the modern user and construct systems that are less system-centered and more user-centered.

Wavecraft AB develops medical equipment for heating of organic synthesises. The heating is done with microwaves, which improves the process in both speed and accuracy compared to the more traditional methods where heating elements are used. This report discusses the developement of an automatic lid mechanism for one of Wavecraft's product prototypes. The company assumes that the final product will be integrated by customers into fully automated systems, and the upgrade from a manually to an automatically controlled lid is therefore an important step in the product's developement process.The first stage och the project was an idea generation process. The ideas generated here were organized into five different concepts of which the best one was selected through the use of a concept matrix.

Research shows that there is a lack of knowledge of adult students with ADHD. Most of all research focuses on children with ADHD in school. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how adult learners with ADHD experience academic studies related to cognitive difficulties, emotion, motivation, and their experience of SOC. The questions tried to determine how any cognitive difficulties and emotions are perceived, how students' motivation to study impacted and their experience of SOC based on studies in higher education. To answer the purpose and questions used qualitative interviews based on three students with ADHD using a hermeneutic method.

The aim of this thesis is to study preschool-teachers? experiences from using the computertablet as a tool for learning and teaching, in order to gain knowledge of how the integrationalprocess of information and communications technology (ICT) in preschool has progressedsince its instatement. The background that caused interest to make this study was the rapidprogression of the use of ICT-tools in childrens? everyday lives and the troubles that havesurrounded the process of integrating these tools into preschool-practices. The theoreticalbasis for the analysis of the research lies within the socio-cultural perspective.

The purpose of this study was to examine how local producers in the food and confectionery segment in Västernorrland, Sweden, working to communicate that the product is locally produced through its packaging design. We have chosen to look at how they work with the right packaging design because it is such an important part of the product marketing. A further aim was to examine how consumers perceive the packaging design of the locally produced products and how they consider that the packaging design communicates the product as locally produced. We have also analyzed the graphical elements contained in the locally produced product packaging through a semiotic analysis.The theoretical framework is based on theories in brand communication and Visual Communication, specializing in packaging design?s visual elements.The method used in this study is a qualitative method.

The purpose of this study was to examine how local producers in the food and confectionery segment in Västernorrland, Sweden, working to communicate that the product is locally produced through its packaging design. We have chosen to look at how they work with the right packaging design because it is such an important part of the product marketing. A further aim was to examine how consumers perceive the packaging design of the locally produced products and how they consider that the packaging design communicates the product as locally produced. We have also analyzed the graphical elements contained in the locally produced product packaging through a semiotic analysis.The theoretical framework is based on theories in brand communication and Visual Communication, specializing in packaging design?s visual elements.The method used in this study is a qualitative method.

Due to the obvious fact that one can never be hundred percent sure of what's hiddenunder the ground surface, construction work is naturally hard to project.However, many of the work methods are executed in the same way on variousprojects. The department of construction work at JM AB region öst describes a lackof follow-ups and feedback between the calculators and production managers.In this thesis we have studied the communication between these groups and alsohow they share experiences and knowledge. In order to get the full pictureof the day-to-day operations we used three methods to gather information. Studyingliterature gave basic knowledge of theories about feedback, and thenecessity of working with giving feedback. In order to understand the process ofconstruction work we made several interviews, both structured and nstructured.

  This is a qualitative study aiming to illuminate and gain better understanding of deliberate self-harm. The study has a narrative perspective and is based on three women?s life stories, focusing on a period when they had an active self-harming behaviour. The study examines what the participants experienced as important to the initiation and the cessation of the deliberate self-harm. It is also examining identity performances and turning points which can be discerned in the life stories.

The purpose of this thesis is to identify power structures and instruments of power within the Jehovah?s witnesses and investigate how they affect the baptized youths baptized within the organization. The material consists of qualitative in-depth interviews and is analyzed with Foucault's theories of power. The results show that the participants have a very strict relationship to the rules of the congregation and also that they take great care in observing these rules carefully. It becomes evident that young members are exposed to disciplinary measures from the organization.

The ?good girl? is today an accepted and widespread notion. It is delimited to young girls and women who are characterised to be, for example, ambitious, high performing, working too much and risks developing mental illnesses. In today?s society women are assumed to pursue their career alongside maintaining the main responsibility for the household and family.

The aim with this study was to gain an understanding for teaching as an profession, and get a bigger knowledge about the certification of teaching and what it means for the teaching occupations status. To get an answer for this study two methods were used. The first method was a survey with questions that were sent out to working high school teachers in the North of Sweden. The second method was a document analysis of articales from three Swedish dailynewspapers. To analyse the results from this study a theory about professions is used troughout the whole paper.This studies resluts shows that profession as an definition is hard to undestand.