Because social media is personal and reaches users directly, it has become an important means of communication for companies trying to reach out to their audience (Nygren & Wadbring, 2013). Especially the possibility of interactivity has been discussed as social media's big advantage. But how much two-way communication is actually possible on social media? This is a quantitative study that focuses on how Swedish Facebook users in the ages of 16-25 interact with companies on the social network. The aim was to contribute with increased information and knowledge about how the users mentioned above interact with the companies as well as how the users perceive the companies communication and presence on Facebook.

The representative democracy has become weakened during the last decades. At the same time the United Nations declared at the Rio de Janeiro meeting in 1992 that environmental problems can best be solved by involvement of all concerned citizens in decision-making. The main purpose of this study has been to examine if citizens panels is a possible way to involve citizens in environmental decision-making and what the outcomes can be. Furthermore the study has investigated what the participation has contributed to environmental politics and how representative the results have been. This has been carried out by investigating the Piteåpanel in the municipality of Piteå by conducting interviews.The result of the study shows that the involvement of the citizens in the decision-making influenced the environmental politics of the municipality.

Background: The background shows that since the consumption patterns constantly are changing and the Internet usage is growing it creates more opportunities for the companies to interact through new media. There are two ways to go for companies that intend to use social media as a marketing strategy, to be in the possession of their own information or get help from a third party.Problem definition: What factors are important in the long term survival of the companies when choosing a social media?Objective: The objective of this essay is to analyze and evaluate the personal blog and the company blog as an information technology strategy.Method: The essay will have a hermeneutic and quantitative approach in the form of a survey. Theories: Consumer Behavior, The Buying Decision Process, Involvement Theory, Business Concept, Branding, Total Communication Theory, Word-of-mouth/web and Service Profit Chain.Empiric: The empiric will consist of the results from the survey.Results: The result shows that the blog is effective as an information technology strategy however the companies should adapt their choice of blog to the products that they sell.Conclusion: Important factors for companies that seek long-term survival are involvement, communication and loyalty. It is also important to use a relationship marketing approach. .

Kevin Roberts has extended the comprehension of strong consumer brands to a higher level where loyalty beyond reason is established. He calls this new status Lovemarks. As the concept of Lovemark has only been applied in B2C markets, this thesis is directed to find out the applicability of Lovemarks in B2B context. In order to fulfill the research purpose, three main questions are answered based on a cross-sectional research approach: What role do intangible factors play in B2B branding? Is the idea of B2C Lovemarks transferable to B2B context? How should a B2B Lovemark be characterized? The results of the qualitative interviews indicate insights of high investment and involvement, integrated brand communication, balance between function versus emotion, brand?s trustworthy personality, customer partnership, and finally, the potential establishment of B2B Lovemarks.

The main purpose of this bachelor thesis is to examine the existence of criteria and to what extent high school students use these criteria when they are collecting information for a school assignment. I also compare students attending different high school programmes with each other and compare students on different levels of education.I have done a quantitative study with 284 students in which the students have filled out questionnaires.The result shows that the most common way to evaluate information is to compare sources with each other. Students also look at how the information is written, and they want the information to be detailed and easily available. More seldom used criteria include consideration of the authority of the writer, determination of how up to date the information is, and gauging the perspective of the information.The result also shows that students attending a high school programme that prepares them for higher education are better at evaluating information than students attending a high school programme of vocational preparation. Students at a higher level of education are also better at evaluating information than students at a lower level of education. .

International research has shown that through the involvement of the school library and the school librarian in the daily school work with the pupils, the pupil´s learning can be increased and reading comprehensions significantly improved.One purpose of this master`s thesis is to study the school librarian as a brand, representing the school library as well as the school librarian and whether there is a correlation between different comprehensions of the professional role of the school librarian. This is done by examining whether there is a difference between a specific librarian´s own perception of their professional role, compared to the image of the school librarian among teachers and principals working in the same school district and by comparing the profile the school librarian expresses with the image that is conveyed through communications via webpage, written and oral information given on services and competences provided by the school librarian and work carried out by her.A difference of comprehension of the school librarian´s competence and work, could be part of an explanation as to why the correlation between the involvement of school librarians in the school work and the improved learning achievements of the pupils has not resulted in the expected measures, regardless of the investments in school librarians and school libraries. The school librarians´ school identity could be difficult to establish. Whether or not the profiles and images of the professional role are consistent with each other is a much more manageable purpose which could go a long way of explaining the circumstances of the school libraries.That is the reason why we have examined whether the comprehension the school librarians have of themselves corresponds with the idea/ conception/ image conveyed to their surroundings, and with the idea/conception/image encompassed by people in their immediate surroundings..

Background: The competition is getting harder between the universities. To reach the high school students and discover which means of contact they prefer and how they perceive student recruitment are important issues in order to succeed in marketing strategies.Purpose: The purpose with our report is to investigate, analyze and compare the student recruitment in three universities and investigate how the high school students want to be contacted. Then we compare to see if they think alike.Method: We have done a qualitative study and chosen to use focus group interviews for the high school students and interviews for the universities to collect our empirical data. We have compared the empirical data and analyzed it with communication processes and marketing communication as theoretical grounds.Result: All of the universities work approximately the same way with their student recruitment. They put a large effort in the Internet and social networks as well as the personal contact.

Metabolic diseases in dairy cows are considered to increase the risk for claw lesions, most of all laminitis, sole haemorrhages and sole ulcers, but also to increase the risk for environmental claw lesions. The aim of this study was to compare claw health in 27 Swedish dairy farms, 18 with high incidence of metabolic diseases and 9 with low incidence. Data on claw health status was retrieved from recordings at routine claw trimmings and analysed on herd level regarding the prevalence of: any lesion, interdigital dermatitis, heel-horn erosion, sole haemorrhages, sole ulcer, lameness, abnormal claw shape, and other diseases (abscess in the white line, limb disorders, double sole, laminitic groove, white line disease, interdigital phlegmon, interdigital hyperplasia, toe abscess and verucose dermatitis). Mean prevalence of any lesion for herds with low incidence of metabolic diseases was 48 % and in herds with high incidence 41 %, and there was no statistical difference between the two groups. Mean prevalence for interdigital dermatitis was 2,0 % and 6.4 % in the low and high incidence groups, respectively (p.

New high strength steels require improved cold rolling techniques. The aim of this degree project was to develop a new and money saving cold rolling technique to manufacture steel strip for saw blades. The work is based on earlier rolling experiments made with a high carbon steel grade at LuCoil Steel AB. The work also focused on the mill requirements to cold roll high strength steels. The results show that LuCoil?s existing cold rolling mill was actually designed for rolling low carbon steel.

The aim of this study was to examine young people?s experiences of participation within the intervention Contact Person. Three questions were asked concerning young people?s experience of participation, aspects that promoted/limited the young people?s experience and the significance they attached to the intervention. The findings in this study are based on phenomenological interviews with five teenagers within the intervention Contact Person.

The objective of this study was to bring further knowledge to the subject as to what influences students motivation and self-esteem. The study had focus on role that the teachers play in these aspects. The study was done by using both a qualitative and quantitative approach. The qualitative method was interviews based on six interviews with two teachers and four students from two different classes. The quantitative method was a questionnaire study that was done in both classes.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the content and work processes regarding the values written in the curriculum for Swedish high schools and compare it with theories regarding the individualized society and political moralism. After the clarification of the content in the values of Swedish high schools and the work processes that are supposed to give students fundamental understanding about them, I analyze and compere it to the theories that are presented in the study. The main questions of the study are the following: What kinds of values are found in the curriculum for Swedish high schools? In general, how do Swedish high schools work with the written values when focus have gone from education and learning to instrumental knowledge, results, abilities and flexibility?The result showed that the content and work processes regarding the values in Swedish high schools are purely instrumental and moralistic. Due to the fact, that the individualized society and the neoliberal ideology do not require reflection and real understanding regarding the values.

My purpose with this work is to find out how it relates with pre-schoolteatchers view about a quality in comparasion to control document, Lpfö-98, and with factors pre-schoolteatchers consider effects quality in pre-school describe pre-schoolteatchers view on that high quality is in pre- school.The investigation has been done by quality interviews with five pre- schoolteatchers working in pre- school. The results show that they do not make a difference between what are high quality and the factors that affect the possibility of creating high quality. Most important is qualified and engaged educationalist in the pre- school who who shows a good attitude towards the children, and where development and learning is central. The most decisive to a pre- schools quality are the personell who work there. A conditon to achieve high quality in pre- school is a head who knows the pre- school activity and its curriculum, and who takes active part in the activity, invites to discussions and offers pertinent competence development.According to the leading document Lpfö-98 you will achieve high quality by offering children rear and care.

The actual project presents the development of a testing rig for a steam engine. A short overviewabout the development of steam engines is presented, until arriving to the development of thepresent engine, which will require to be tested in different ways.The testing rig studied on this project (based on a Lanchester engine) will be used to testdifferent materials and layouts for the group Piston-Cylinder.The engine is a high performance steam power engine, which is going to have a highpower/dimensions ratio, what will lead to require high performance components and materials.An introduction to the testing rig is presented, and the entire design project is done in order toreplace the disappeared documentation of the current testing rig, built on the 1970?s. Also somemodifications done in the original testing rig are presented, as well as some detected problemsand their possible solutions..

This thesis explores and compares the former armed opposition groups; Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO), Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) and South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) transformation processes into political parties. The first question addressed is; What factors determines the ability of these armed opposition groups to transform into political parties after armed conflict? The question is addressed through four structural and organizational factors; international involvement, the organizations ideology and identity, their ability to change inter-elite relationships and their ability to change collective incentive strategies. The second question addressed is if the transformations process can affect the parties? degree of institutionalization? The degree of institutionalization is examined through the party's adaptility, complexity, autonomy and coherence.