The aim of this inquiry was to investigate the most appropriate measures to reduce noise impacts from road traffic on the Nydala recreational area in Umeå municipality due to the planned re-routing of the E4 motorway to an existing road along this area. The sound environment is an important part in the experience when we are visiting recreational areas. Noise is not only disturbing; the liberty from unwanted sounds also allows us to perceive natural sounds that are a benefit for the cultural experience. Therefore it is important to take actions to protect this well used area from traffic noise. The reasonable options to avoid noise impact in this case are to lower the speed limit, using a noise reducing coating or use noise protection screens and walls.

 AbstractDate:                                  2009-06-03Level:                                 Master thesis in Business Administration, 15 pointsAuthors:                            Branka Milencovici            Deniz SolmazTutor:                                Ulla PetterssonTitle:                                  The Swedish code of Corporate Governance - How the code administers in larger stock firms.Problem:                           The Swedish code follows the value of "comply or explain" when firms depart one or several rules, the reasons should be explained in the corporate report. The code does not include reasons for differences, it's up to the management themselves to take action. Is it possible to see if the code has been administered? Do differences prevent? Which are the most common? Is there any motivation?  Purpose:                           The main purpose with this essay is to study how Swedish firms administer the rules of the code in their corporate reports.Method:                            The method for this study is a deductive and qualitative approach. First we studied theory to understand the subject.

The purpose of this paper is to critically examine and question the use of mindfulness in the workplace. Mindfulness in the workplace can be understood as an organization recipe and is now a so called trend. We believe that there may be an issue of how mindfulness at work is advertised when it is described in such a way that it could be the solution to many organizational problems, such as reducing stress, increasing efficiency, creativity and productivity. To get a better understanding of what mindfulness is and what it can bring to a stressful work, we conducted semi-structured interviews with four mindfulness instructors. We analyzed the interviews from a theoretical analytical framework consisting of both a constructivist perspective and a power perspective.

The subject of this bachelor-level thesis in archaeology in the transition from archaic sapiens to anatomically modern humans, and what might have caused this transition. A part of the study aims to prove or disprove whether an increased consumption of shellfish might have caused this development. Another part of the essay deals with the connection of said evolution and the suggested emergence of cultural and ritual practices in South Africa circa 100 000 BP and an evaluation of the arguments concerning the aquatic ape hypothesis, and their usefulness for the subject.The result of investigation of the theory about the increased consumption of marine resources as a probable cause of the last biological step of creating our species points to the conclusion that it is a probable explanation. There is even some evidence that there could be a connection between consumption of marine resources and the "Out of Africa 2"-theory. It is harder to find a proven connection between the suggested emergence of cultural and ritual practices, even some evidence seems to strengthen the idea.

View description: The purpose of this study is to investigate in what way the mother tongue language education integrates in a compulsory school activities and also which significance it has to the students who studies mother tongue language. My questions are following:How does the cooperation look like between mother tongue languages teacher, teacher and principal?How do students perceive the mother tongue language education?How does the mother tongue language education take place at the school?Method: This investigation is classified as a qualitative study and consists of theoretical points and empirical material such as interviews and observations.  Based on hermeneutic view of tradition which means that I interpret all my material.Results: My results of this study is that the mother tongue language education does not integrate with the other school activities and the mother tongue language teachers does not cooperate with other teachers or principal at this school. The reason for this is mainly because the mother tongue language teachers work situation. I´ve also seen that language has to do with the creation of a personal identity.

The main purpose of this Master?s thesis is to analyse the portrayals of working-class life in a selection of works by the Swedish authors Ragnar Järhult and Per Gunnar Evander. The research questions are: * How is the working conditions described?* What political messages can be found in the works?* What image of the class society is shown?The second aim of this Master?s thesis is to analyse the concept of working-class literature and to investigate if the works of Per Gunnar Evander could be seen as working-class literature. Methodologically, the study draws on established theories, concepts and methods from the sociology of literature and the history of ideas.

The aim of this study is to compare the modernist novels Astarte (1931) by the Swedish writer Karin Boye with Estación, Ida y vuelta (1930) by the Spanish author Rosa Chacel and the reception of these literary works in contemporary academic research. The theoretical ground of the study consists of feminist and critical theory, with traits of discourse analysis.Astarte and Estación were in large part forgotten and ignored by the Western Canon of literature during most of the 20th century, but have lately gained more attention as important modernist novels by researchers (from the feminist, poststructuralist or hermeneutic theoretical fields) who primarily examine the experimental forms figured by the texts in relation to the deconstruction and shattering of human homogenous ?essence?.The results found in the study show that the literary forms of both novels can be associated with a kind of illusion rapture, which relate to the modernist inclination to what Frederic Jameson calls artificial narrative; a form technique that points back at itself to emphasize its own characteristic of being a constructed and subjective illustration of reality. The contemporary interest in these artificial literary forms expressed by Astarte and Estación is therefore probably a consequence of the vibrant academic debates carried out during later decades concerning the conception of human gender and identity as construction and performance. .

Companies in the western world can no longer compete by using traditional means such as product and price since the commerce of services continually grows. To avoid similarity and increase competitive advantages modern companies have to be more specified. The competition between companies has increased and customers are harder to reach. Customers of today can afford luxury but trend indicates that originality, identity, and status are more important than factual needs. Products created and consumed at the same time within the service market are often very homogenous (similar).

The purpose of this Master?s thesis studies is to examine how information seeking is taught from a pedagogical and didactic perspective. The questions at issue are:? What is the content in information seeking education?? What aims are focused in information seeking education?? What methods are used in information seeking education? The methods being used are empirical studies and studies of literature, within the subject area. The study is inspired by phenomenographical learning theories.

Process standardization is a topic that has generated a lot of research and literature. At first, the focus was on production; today processes are used in all different kind of business areas.The aim of this study has been to analyze how processes can be applied on development businesses and how IT systems affect the result of the process. To accomplish this, we have asked questions such as what standardization is in a development process? Why are the processes standardized? What difficulties can appear with standardization? And how the IT-systems affect the result of the process?To answer these questions, we have preformed a case study on Saab. Saab is a well know Swedish company who are working with a project called the GMS-project, where they develop processes to cover the whole company´s business areas.The literature gives the reader an understanding of processes and standardization.

The purpose of this master-thesis in library and information studies is to investigate how different views on children´s literature show up in pedagogical work in preschool. The aim is also to study methods used in the pedagogical work with literature. Are there any connections between views and methods? Is any view predominant or are they used in combination? The question at issue is: "Are there any connections between different views on childrens literature and pedagogical methods in preschool, and if so, how do they show?" The framework of theory is based on epistemological concepts viewing children´s literature by John Hultberg. In "Om humaniora, litteratur och tradition" he sorts out three strategies: the pragmatic, the traditional, and the emancipating.

This thesis is a cultural theoretical case study of the art project (O)önskad samhällsförbättring.Via an analysis of the project, that is based on theories of power, resistance and contemporaryurban development, it examines the construction of urban space, its impact on public art including the ability of art to initiate evolvement of the urban public space.The last decades art has plaid an important role in what is called the creative city; to become attractive nodal points of the global economy, larger cities increasingly invest in art,culture and creative industry. Simultaneously the urban public space is limited to activitiesand expressions of art that are presumed to create economic growth. This introduces animpression of what is allowed and what is not allowed, possible and not possible, wished andnot wished which, as a consequence, evolves the public space. The events during the artproject and the reactions that followed enlightened these limitations. This tells a story, not only about the structuring process of the local urban space, but also important changes that are created as a simultaneous effect at different levels in society, as well locally as globally.

Purpose                           The purpose of this study is to create an understanding of how e-commerce companies use loyalty programs in order to retain their customers and to increase its consumption, and compare this with customer perceptions of loyalty and learn what makes them loyal. Theoretical framework      The theoretical framework starts with definitions of loyalty and customer loyalty. Further, it discusses what a loyalty program is, how rewards today and in the future affect the consumers, and other promotion offers that are commonly used. The theory also discusses how previous points work in e-commerce. Method                                                    To take advantage of the companies? point of view and at the same the customers? perspective, the survey is based on a combination of a qualitative and quantitative study. In the study, two companies in the fashion industry were interviewed and 391 respondents participated. Empirical study                 In the empirical study the interviews with the two e-commerce companies are first presented, which revolves around their use of loyalty program.

The question of direct citizen participation in politics and administration is a contestable one. Its proponents claim that it has positive consequences even for the more "traditional", representative democracy, since participation leads to an increased political knowledge and increased political interest, and thus creates a revitalised democracy. Critical voices have however been raised to the validity of this claim. Critics have also pointed out direct participation as problematic, because it leads to problems of political inequality: a difference of political influence between ? on the one hand, the citizens participating directly and those that restrict their political participation to voting, and ? on the one the other hand ? between the institutions, for example schools, that employ, and don?t employ this method of direct citizen influence.In this essay, these two points of criticisms are tested in the context of user-boards in elementary and secondary schools.

Lean production is the name given to Toyota?s Production System (TPS) by the west. The continuous improvements of their operations through Lean has made Toyota into the largest car manufacturer in the world. This, in turn, has led to several studies regarding both Toyota and their system as to find ways to apply Lean in other organizations. Even so, over 90 percent of all companies fail to implement Lean.