The EU Services Directive has caused an intense debate across Europe. Its purpose is to remove obstacles to trade and to open up the public sector to increased competition. The Swedish labour movement has been deeply involved in the policy process, and union leaders have proclaimed the compromise reached in the European Parliament in April 2006 as a success.In the paper two major aspects have been considered: the meaning of the Swedish model and the process of Europeanization. The Swedish model previously allowed for a strong labour movement, through a social democratic hegemony, but the EU membership has implied new conditions for union influence. The paper examines how this change has affected the strategic choices of the Swedish labour movement, and how it has been manifested in the union's work with the Services Directive.

Competition in the market of interior design during the last several years has drastically increased. The consumers of today are very conscious about what the market can offer and therefore they have high demands on the products. It is not only the function of the product that matters but also the design that makes a difference. Companies are becoming more aware of this and as a result they have to find a way to set themselves apart in order to attract customers. This realization has led designers and economists to cooperate in a different way than before.

The purpose of this study is to use a qualitative approach to get an understanding of what is expected of social workers targeted towards women managers in social services. Nine social workers were interviewed. The empirical data was then analyzed on the basis of gender theory. Respondents did not see their supervisor as a manager but more as a social worker with special tasks. Our empirical data indicates that there is a strong belief that men and women possess different properties.

The technological progress of the world has had a massive effect on how we communicate with one and other, it also has had an big impact on how companies communicate with their customers and consumers. Today you cannot only communicate a ?promise to your costumers and consumers you also have to ?deliver? what it is you promise. Strategic communication is today not only to market your product but to ensure that your strategic communication is shown even in you innovation, design and product development.  This thesis is conducted in collaboration with No Picnic AB.The purpose of this study was to get an insight in how Swedish companies use their strategic communication. We aim on bringing a new point of view of strategic communication with innovation, design and product development also as a communication channel.

The competition in sports equipment and sports fashion today is fierce. And as e-commerce grows, the competing players has to remain accessible and usable regard-less of the device their customers visit the website on. Stadium is Swedens biggest player on the market and puts a lot of effort on their online activity. Something Stadium found interesting was the possibility of introducing elements that would increase the conversion rates directly into the product menu. This study explores the possibility to find a responsive solution for the product menu at Stadiums? e-commerce website which could contribute to increased conversion rates.The study is built upon an experiment and the foundations of the experiment is based upon a market analysis of used design patterns for product navigation in the domain of sport resellers.

The average length of life is increasing in the western world, hence the older population is growing. A common health problem among the elderly is malnutrition. Malnutrition causes decreased body strength and is associated with an amplified risk of infections, depression, fractures and increased mortality. The health care system is therefore faced with the challenge to prevent malnutrition among the growing population of elderly. This could be done by providing nutritious foods developed to meet the specific needs of elderly. The overall objective of this project was to test a healthy energy dense drink based on oats targeted for the elderly consumers as a strategy to prevent malnutrition among elderly.

Since Sweden joined the European Union all Swedish fruit and vegetables are classified according to EU Quality standards. One important function is the product description and how it can facilitate the trade; for example in better comparing prices and also to guarantee the quality of the product. This quality standards or product descriptions are written as words of an Act and obligatory for all countries that has joined the EU. It?s often a demand from the customers to be certificated according to some of many certificating systems. One example is the common worldwide GLOBAL GAP-certification system created by the organisation EUREP which represents the leading European retail traders.

The main aim of this master thesis was to see the process of an interactive online reference service from idea to final product. The reference service we have studied is developed and used by the Library of the National Institute for Working Life in Stockholm, Sweden and goes by the name phibi. Our goal was to review the whole realization process from the reasons why a service like this was created, how the service was introduced and implemented inside the organisation and finally what the result and consequences were for both the library staff and for the users of the service. Phibi is designed to be a tool that fosters communication between the library staff and the remote users where the users get the opportunity to be helped with their questions by the library staff although they are not physically present in the library. To understand the process we conducted a case study with 11 interviews of the library staff, the superior and the initiator to phibi.

Despite the fast growing development of IP-telephony services, only a small number of people in Sweden use them. Of the total amount of fixed telephony subscriptions, maximally five percent are based on IP-technology. Through an exploratory study, the main purpose with this thesis is to identify factors that influence the use of IP-telephony on the consumer market, and the factors? internal relationships. The thesis also has two sub-purposes: firstly, chart the supply of IP-telephony services and secondly, discuss what IP-telephony services that are requested by today?s customers in the future.

Despite the fast growing development of IP-telephony services, only a small number of people in Sweden use them. Of the total amount of fixed telephony subscriptions, maximally five percent are based on IP-technology. Through an exploratory study, the main purpose with this thesis is to identify factors that influence the use of IP-telephony on the consumer market, and the factors? internal relationships. The thesis also has two sub-purposes: firstly, chart the supply of IP-telephony services and secondly, discuss what IP-telephony services that are requested by today?s customers in the future.

There are many elderly buildings, particularly those constructed during the million program, in need of renovations and plumbing replacement. An alternative to the traditional plumbing replacement is the relatively new and untested technique called relining. The purpose of the study is to thoroughly investigate the different types of relining that are currently available on the market to help enhance Peab?s knowledge before purchasing relining services. The theoretical part of this report is based on relevant information provided from companies, previous studies, investigations and reports within the area.

The problem being examined is the disturbing noise that is created in an open plan office on a company working with a creative process, such as a newspaper or a communications agency. The purpose of this study was to examine the needs for today for a sound absorber in open offices and create and design a design proposal. The aim is also to develop a marketing material the product proposal. The problem has been broken down into the following questions:- How does the user look at the need of a sound absorber in an open offices solution today?- Does an interior designer apply sound absorbers when they furnish the intended environment? - How can a design that meets the needs that exists be achieved and to speak the user?The study is based on three choice of methods a literature review on selected topics that relate to the topic, an interview with an interior designer to explore how an interior designer applies absorbers in open plan office and finally an extensive survey that treats the user's needs and appropriate appearance for the product proposal.The design process has undertaken the following methods, design brief, requirements specification, functional analysis and sketches to produce the final product proposal.

The aim of this study was to explore refugees experiences of an introduction program in a small Swedish municipality. The study was based on semi-structured interviews with six refugees and was conducted to explore how the introduction program contributed or has not contributed to feelings of being integrated. Our informants have got different backgrounds but have all been forced to flee their home country to Sweden. The interview data was interpreted through earlier research, theories about social exclusion and concepts which were relevant for our study. Our study showed that the informants felt kindly received in the small municipality.

The research aims at revealing consumers? loyalty to a high involvement product category, connected to a loyalty membership club. Hence, the study aims at explaining similarities and differences between two markets, differently developed in terms of loyalty clubs. The study used IKEA, its loyalty club IKEA FAMILY and women as the company?s main target group, in a case format to study loyalty membership clubs.

Today there is an increasing market for businesses concerning horses, and since we are already running such establishments we sort of speak already have a finger in the pie. Due tothe increasing competition and demands, new and more practical constructions have become a necessity. In doing this project I wanted to make a comparison between having a stable integrated with a manege and having both constructions kept separate. I wanted to compare different layout and make an estimate of costs to see which solution would be less expensive and better with regard to working environment. I will further also deal with different ventilation-systems andlight transmissions.