The aim of this masters thesis was to study how the members of a small non-profit organisation perceived the web forum, compared to the other information channels of the organisation. The organisation was defined as a virtual community. A literature review was conducted. The theory construction was based on the sensemaking theory. Interview questions were constructed based on the literature review and the sensemaking theory.

The theoretical focus in this master is information retrieval (IR), and especially the part of IR that includes interactivity. This research is by some researchers called IIR. Our principal aim was to examine if search engines on the WWW are taking advantage of research results from IIR research. A way to do this is to look at the application of special features, in this case query expansion (QE) and relevance feedback (RF). Both these methods aim for a better matching of documents and the searchers information need.

Abstract Many researchers in social work believe that in today's society require the interaction between organisations takes place on social problems. This study examined the interaction between the police, social services and schools.The purpose of this study are as follows; the aim is to investigate the interaction between social services, the police and schools about young people aged 12-18 years who are at risk for abuse and crime.My questions are: How do the different professions interact regarding young people at risk for abuse and crime? How do they meet young people in their daily work? What obstacles can the different professions see in interaction? What effects do the different professions see in interaction?The study is a qualitative study conducted with semi-structured interviews. Respondents have been two from each organisation.The theory used in the analysis of empirical data is new-institutionalismen. New-institutionalism is a theory developed from organizational theories.

According to the client, land survey of Sweden, there is no current information regarding other well developed property tax systems. This information is necessary in order to analyze the effectiveness and develop the Swedish system. The purpose of this study is to contribute with improvement proposals to the development of the Swedish property tax system through a survey of the English and Welsh property tax system.Methods used are: (1) a literature review where the English and Welsh valuation methodology and organization regarding property taxation is studied; (2) an interview with the client at the land survey of Sweden regarding existing problems with the Swedish property tax system; (3) An interview with a contact person of the Valuation Office Agency regarding the English and Welsh property tax system.In England and Wales there are two different property taxes for municipals, Council Tax and Rating. All domestic properties are included in Council Tax and commercial properties or part of commercial properties is included in Rating. Council Tax is based on the properties market value and Rating is based on the commercial property or part of the properties current rental value.

Stress is part of everyday life and in the working conditions of the social services in Sweden. Thus each and every person has resources and strategies to cope with those stressors that construct the assumption of stress. The aim of this study was to understand how persons in leading positions of the LSS of Social Services in Kalmar experience and cope with stressors in their leadership and organization and to investigate what factors during working and non-working hours promote health. Influenced by the theoretical approach of Aaron Antonovsky´s Sense of Coherence seven qualitative interviews were conducted with persons in leading positions. They were asked about stressors, coping strategies, resources and health promoting factors that help to cope with stressors.

The retail banks are usually looked upon as conservative. Since the launch of internet banks in the 90's they have not developed much. Meanwhile the internet is developing in a fast pace and social websites are increasing in popularity. The purpose of this essay was to investigate how internet banking will develop in the near future based on interviews, literature and trend studies. With web 2.0 techniques the internet bank could develop to help the costumers take more informed decisions regarding their economic situation.

The usage possibilities of mobile platforms and smart phones are increasing rapidly as they provide support for better processors, sensors and communications capabilities. This has for many companies resulted in an increased interest to explore the possibilities of mobile platforms and how they can be integrated in various business areas. As the usage of mobile platforms in industrial applications is a new area, it is difficult for companies to estimate their potential, and what contributions the different platforms can give.This master thesis investigates the possibilities and limitations for the consultant firm Combitech when integrating mobile platforms and handheld devices in industrial applications. This is accomplished through a comparison between the platforms and by considering the possible areas of use for the mobile platforms based on experiences from companies and research in the area.For a company with the intent to deliver services that use mobile platforms, it is important to be able to combine expertise and resources to effectively attract customers. The mobile platforms will, if applied right, give great possibilities in industrial applications as a cost-effective alternative for both hardware and software solutions for businesses, which provides an opportunity to sell services to both established and new clients.

The usage possibilities of mobile platforms and smart phones are increasing rapidly as they provide support for better processors, sensors and communications capabilities. This has for many companies resulted in an increased interest to explore the possibilities of mobile platforms and how they can be integrated in various business areas. As the usage of mobile platforms in industrial applications is a new area, it is difficult for companies to estimate their potential, and what contributions the different platforms can give.This master thesis investigates the possibilities and limitations for the consultant firm Combitech when integrating mobile platforms and handheld devices in industrial applications. This is accomplished through a comparison between the platforms and by considering the possible areas of use for the mobile platforms based on experiences from companies and research in the area.For a company with the intent to deliver services that use mobile platforms, it is important to be able to combine expertise and resources to effectively attract customers. The mobile platforms will, if applied right, give great possibilities in industrial applications as a cost-effective alternative for both hardware and software solutions for businesses, which provides an opportunity to sell services to both established and new clients.

The aim of this study was to investigate how school counselors experienced collaboration with social services and whether they felt they have the ability to improve upon this collaboration. The empirical data consists of qualitative interviews with eight school counselors from public schools, ages 13 to 15, in eight separate municipalities in the Stockholm area. The main results showed that the school counselors recognized the positive benefits from collaboration, but that they in practice experienced difficulties turning this into a high-quality collaboration. The school counselors experienced that due to uncertain expectations in the collaboration it led to unclear distribution of areas of responsibilities. The school counselors expressed small or no possibilities for them to improve upon collaboration but pointed out that higher commitment and a positive attitude are valuable attributes to improving collaboration.

New innovation and technology have influenced the development of product development processes and the four largest banks in Sweden have more or less been forced to adapt their products and services along new customer requirements. It may therefore be considered appropriate to involve customers in this process. This by collecting customer information and allow customers to influence the process to a greater extent. The payment solutions of Sweden?s largest banks' continue to evolve and to pay with electronic money has come to change banks' product development processes of payment solutions.

This thesis deals with information practices of first time parents. The term information practice covers topics ranging from the information a parent need and use, the information they actively seek for through to information attained through browsing, monitoring or simply being aware. Four problem areas have been formulated. What information do first time parents need? How do they get hold of information and how do they use it? What factors decide what sources they use? How do the first time parents validate the information they get? The following theoretical framework have been used; Marcia J Bates? model of information practice and Reijo Savolainen?s Mastery of Life theory.

Near Field Communication, NFC, is a short-range wireless communication technology that enables data exchange between devices in a secure way. A NFC phone has the potential to enable the convergence of wallet, phone and keys, but as many other technological innovations, the launch is struggling. We have discovered that technological innovation is only the first step. For an innovation to be adapted, there need to be business model innovation too. Many actors form the ecosystem of NFC and the business model for each service is still an unsolved problem.

E-handelsföretagen försöker ständigt sträva efter expansion. Samtidigt så vill de ha en IT-lösning som är så kostnadseffektiv som möjligt. Säkerhet är också någonting som företagen värderar väldigt högt. Cloud services är något som kan användas för detta. Men e-handelsföretagen måste först och främst känna att de har någonting att utvinna av dessa.

The purpose of this Master Thesis is to investigate whether the technical service available in the "Reading and Writing Corner" has an influence on the total quality of service in a public library. This service is intended to give sensory/print-handicapped persons access to information. The title KOM LOSS is a Swedish expression for "come on" and LOSS is short for reading and writing support. I have chosen to study three libraries in the region of Västra Götaland, Sweden. The thesis examines total quality from the aspects of goal steering, accessibility, education and marketing.

The papers purpose is to examine how the Botkyrka and Huddinge municipalities implement their juvenile law offenders' programs. The paper briefly and concisely outlines the history of juvenile offenders and the social services programs dealing with them. We focus on how two municipalities?, Huddinge and Botkyrka, implement these programs. The municipalities belong to the same judicial district,?Södertörns tingsrätt?.