The aim of this small thesis is to investigate if the probability of business failure is higher at the time of divestment than at the time of acquisition for portfolio companies that have been subject to private equity ownership. The background for this thesis is the widespread critique aimed at private equity firms, claiming that they increase the risk in their portfolio companies. We have performed a study of 53 buyout transactions, involving Swedish manufacturing companies, covering a time span of 13 years, from 1995 to 2007. We find evidence of an increased risk of business failure for the portfolio companies with a short forecasting horizon (within one year). The absolute increase in the sample is however small.

AbstractBusiness, or business decisions always involves an endangerment from the company?s aspect, but when it comes to business with foreign countries the risk profile looks quite different from the profile the company has when its doing business inside the country. Therefore, it is extremely important for an export company or import company to carefully consider the risks that are enclosed with the deal, before he makes the decision to enter a deal. One of the most important risks a company have to considerate when doing business with foreign countries is the currency risk. A company is exposed to currency risk when either long-term or short-term changes in the exchange rate may affect the result of the company, competitive position and growth.

This is an essay about gated communities and their impact on society. The key questions of my essay are: why people choose to live in gated communities; how the city is impacted by gated communities and what the difference concerning the reasons and impact of gated communities in Florida and Sweden is, and what this difference might depend on. I am using postmodern urbanism as a starting point, and I look closer on Edward J. Soja?s theories about the postmodern metropolis.

The aim of this text is to study how sectional managers in the care of the elderly work so as to promote basic human values. Semi-structured interviews generated qualitative data from five sectional managers. A hermeneutical approach was applied for interpreting the interviews. The result shows that the respondents are conscious of the fact that it takes a lot of long term work before a change in current procedures will happen. Also, the common everyday principles of work and basic values will continue to be part of the care of the elderly.

This thesis focuses on RM and customer relationships and tries to answer two research questions: how firms can retain customers and how to generate profitable customer relationships by using relationship marketing. We conducted case studies on JOB media, a company in Luleå, and Polardörren, a company in Öjebyn, Piteå. Our research has revealed that in many ways our case study companies conform in major ways to the theory in this particular area. However there are differences between how these two firms go about in regard to customer retention and establishing profitable customer relationship. We have discovered that JOB media, which is a service company is more inclined to maintaining close and long-term relationships with its customers.

This thesis has examined a co-operation called SSP, between the social authorities, the school and the police, located in Malmö. The intention with SSP is to prevent crime and drug use among juveniles but also to evolve a structure for a long-term co-operation between the authorities.The purpose of the thesis was to understand and analyse what the co- operation represented and stood for. The study also examined how the co- operation was effected by differences in the organisation of the three parts.The main questions were the following; what does SSP contain, is SSP preventive and for whom, what motivates the co-operation and how is the cooperation effected by the view the authorities have on the target group?The method used for answering the questions was based on qualitative interviews with the three authorities involved. We have also searched for literature on the subjects involved.The main content of the thesis has showed that the limits of SSP are diffuse, and the focus of the co- operation lies at a structural level.

This study aims to explore parents and treatment personnels experiences of the Marte meo methodat a family treatment home. Three retrospective interviews were made with parents whoexperienced Marte meo treatment, as well as four interviews with treatment personnel. The purposeof the Marte meo method is to develop the interaction between parent and child. Previous resultsfrom studies show that treatment with the Marte meo method could provide positive effects to theparent child relationship. The results in this study have been analyzed by using parts of attachmenttheory, the salutogenic perspective and the term intersubjectivity.

Construction of an autonomous wind station was a project with the goal of creating a product that could collect wind data from a sensor and then transfer this data to a server wirelessly over the GSM network. The device would be powered by batteries and solar cells and function fully without requiring external power supply. This required that a small computer was constructed and programmed to store and send data at predetermined cycle times and programming of a server that received the sent data. The project also required optimization of power consumption and dimensioning of solar cells and batteries based on this. The construction of this station demanded research both for the selection of hardware and programming software. The computer was based on a microcontroller and a GSM module that sent the data over the 2G network.

In the thesis we discuss South African teachers? conceptions of democracy in general and school democracy in particular. The essay is based on interviews with twelve teachers, working in South African high schools. We have asked questions concerning different views of democracy, such as what the term means to the teachers and how they define a democratic school. We take our stand in different theoretical approaches such as school being the ultimate link between a state and its people to make the citizens think and act democratically.

This thesis purpose was to contribute to knowledge which could explain the driving forces behind Corporate Social Responsibility in corporate Sweden and their strategic impact from a management perspective. The method used to archive this research was a qualitative interpretative study conducted by interviews. The thesis is based on descriptive theories of drivers for CSR, concepts of strategy and CSR and normative/instrumental theories suggesting a strategic approach to CSR and stakeholder management. The empirical study is based on interviews with Swedish business managers in a strategic board position as well as consultants working with CSR strategies, supported with internet information from companies? webpage.

There have been several projects with solar installations in Sweden, and Sala-Heby Energi (SHE) wanted to create a solar plant. The question answered in this thesis is whether it is economically viable to create such a source of sustainable, renewable energy. The plant would be built with the help of the financial effort from 120 customers. This economic union would sell the electricity to the SHE, for SEK 4.50 per kWh up to a certain level over a period of 10 years. It would be a long term commitment to environmentally friendly electricity, using solar cells which convert sunlight directly into electricity.In year 2009 there was introduced a new state aid for photovoltaic systems, to create an increased and continuing interest in solar cells.

Kulturvårdscentrum was a project that had great significance for local folklore societies in Bohuslän.Bohusläns museum was i charge of the project that lasted from 1987 until about 2001 when most ofthe original staff have retired. The staff was mainly recruited from a large shipyard, Uddevallavarvet,at it's closure due to recession. Financing was largely made by the government to help outthose unemployed who otherwise should have a hard time finding a new job. At start there was about25 employees who where trained for one year by staff from Swedish museums, conservation studios,and teachers the university. The education was aimed at serving local folklore societies, and dealingwith their special problems.

No summary of feeding recommendations for foals exists today, which is why this subject was chosen for a literature study. The aim of this study was to describe nutrient requirements of healthy full term foals and how the feeding should be designed to raise foals if they lose their mother. Mare milk composition changes during lactation to meet the requirements of the suckling foal. Foals are born with enzymes in their small intestine and the concentrations of these follow the consumption patterns of the foal. Microbes colonizes the gut as the foal becomes older and these changes cause foal diarrhea.

The purpose of this thesis is to make a comparative literary study of ten laboratory experiments with different kind of sources for query expansion terms. The experiments are grouped according to categories of term sources, which are: search results, collection dependent knowledge structures, collection independent knowledge structures and one that combines the two last mentioned sources into one. To enable a comparison all other variables were held as constant as possible. There is the improvement measured in mean average precision, which is used to measure the various sources potential. The result from the study shows a strong connection between the kind of source for the expansion term and improvement of the result.

Currently, the whole globe is faced with serious problems which negatively affect people around the world: increased pollution, excessive waste, and weather pattern changes. ?Left? and ?right? wing political parties alike have embraced ?green? politics and for many of these parties, environmental issues have become a top priority that is very much reflected in their manifestos. This study examines the environmental goals of two of Sweden?s largest political parties and how these ambitions are reflected at a local level.