Abstract Semester and year: Spring, 2008Writers: Victor Andersson and Filip ForslundTutor: Thomas HelgessonProgram: Marketing program, Halmstad University - School of Business and EngineeringTitle: Differentiation from a consumer perspective - How important is differentiation from a consumer?s perspektive when choosing a residence? Presentation of problem: How important is differentiation from a consumer?s perspective when choosing a residence?Purpose: The purpose is on basis from previous theories on the subject to describe what kind of differentiating that from a consumerperspective is the most important when choosing a residence. Key words: Differentiation, brand, apartment market Methodology: This thesis is built on an qualitative method, where eight open individual interviews have been made. Our choice of respondents was based on what kind of respondents that could give us the most accurate information on the subject which we based on relevant variables. Theory: The framing of the theories is based on a marketing perspective within the area of differentiating and focuses on how companies use different tools to differentiate their offer to create competitive advantages.

For many decades the increase in traffic volume, expansion of highways and infrastructure has lead to an increase of wildlife vehicle collisions which are unfortunately very common in many countries today. They cause great deal of material damage and even kill humans or wildlife. Measures in the form of warning signs, under- and overpasses and fencing have been implemented for a long time with the help of observation by hunters and collisions sites. However this study focuses on the moose?s perspective and the variables that, both spatially and temporally, could have an effect on why and when moose are close to certain types of roads.

The ever-evolving information technology gives users more opportunities, but also put higher demands on them. The digital agenda of the state and society clarifies the objectives and effects academic libraries? development. E-books influence the development of organizational, economic, legal and political perspectives. At the University Library in Gävle work is ongoing. The process is controlled by the acquisition policy which makes it clear that e-books should be purchased if possible.

The aim of this study was to examine how sports journalists used religious metaphors when covering football during the time span of the study, and how the athletes were portrayed as a result of the usage. The aim was also to study if the usage differed between the two newspapers chosen for the study, one of which is a morning paper (Dagens Nyheters sport section) and one which is an evening paper (Sportbladet).To answer our questions we used a quantitative and a qualitative method, the later of the two was based on a metaphor analysis. The quantitative method consisted of a content analysis where different variables were examined. The time span of the study is articles from one year.The results show that the religious metaphors were used in many ways. Some religious metaphors, such as ones including the word miracle, were more prominent than others.

The environmental monitoring in Sweden has been developed by several different parties and is now being coordinated and made more effective in order to meet the current demands on high quality information regarding the state of the environment. Sweden has been divided into five different water districts based on watershed areas because of requirements in the Water Directive of the EU. In Sweden there are two common types of environmental monitoring programs used to gather information on changes in time and in space. Currently both these two types are used for lakes in the water district of the western sea but only one is used for watersheds. The purpose of this report is to supply basic information regarding the possible need for a second environmental monitoring program for watersheds in order to better describe the spatial variation within the district as well as to determine the number of samples necessary in order to describe the district over time and space.

As a result of increased property prices on apartment buildings in Halmstad many local investors thinks that the market behaves illogical. This because these investors can?t find any profitability in many real estate transactions. The valuation between different investors on the same object therefore goes their separate ways. One example of this is a property in central Halmstad which starting price was about 23 million SEK.

BackgroundThere are different organizational structures and control and it has been proved difficult to find a combination between these that leads to goal congruence and improved efficiency. An organization can be structured according to hierarchical levels and the decision making can be either centralized or decentralized. Organizational control can be classified according to the amount of rules and balanced scorecard can be used to weld together the structure with the control.PurposeThe purpose is to create an understanding of how two types of structures and control in an organization appears and also to investigate how these differ from one another concerning the balanced scorecard as a control system. We will also investigate how the variables goal congruence and efficiency are affected by the implementation of the balanced scorecard.MethodTo answer the purpose of this thesis we have mainly used the qualitative method since we have studied two organizations thoroughly through interviews on different levels of the organization. The study also has some quantitative elements since we wanted to get a more truthful picture of the organizations.

With the globalization, companies in the West chose to shift production to developing countries to cut down costs. This had a major impact when child labor and very poor working conditions in these factories were discovered and led many companies to take responsibility for their suppliers and the employees by adopting voluntary so-called Codes of Conduct.There is a subtle balance to enforce improvement of working conditions for employees at suppliers´ factories and to keep costs down. On the one hand, companies would like to conduct extensive audits at their suppliers to ensure code of conduct compliance and thus protect their legitimacy. On the other hand, audits are expensive so companies would like to minimize audits to keep costs down. Companies thus have to strike a delicate balance in relation to how many and what suppliers they choose to audit.

Due to the globalization and the changes in the market, companies have now realized the importance of a strong brand. This has led to the phenomena outsourcing. The relation between the branding consultant and his or her client has changed. Earlier the consultants worked as a single unit and were given a task to independently accomplish the assignment. Today there has to be co-operation between the two parties.

The survival of hatchery reared smolts is generally low after release. To get a better understanding of what variables affecting migration success, Atlantic salmon smolts were studied during their out-migration in the old river channel in the lower part of river Umeälven. The area consists of shifting habitat and complex structures which causes difficulties for smolt on their migration out to sea. The aim of this study was to try to determine the effects of feed restriction, fin conditions and different physical barriers in the river, on the migratory behavior of Atlantic salmon smolts in the river Umeälven. The river was divided into six different sections using acoustic receivers strategically deployed along the river. Two-year old hatchery-reared smolts (n=150), in three different weight classes, were tagged with acoustic transmitters.

Management of large carnivores involves more than just the management of animals, people also have a large influence. The Swedish parliament decided in 2009 that the county boards should use co-management to a greater extent in management. This shows how important human dimensions are.We know from previous research that the majority of people in Västerbotten are positive toward large carnivores and the management done by the state, however there is a negative minority which should not be neglected. This paper contributes with an examination of attitudes toward large carnivores, wolf, bear, lynx and wolverine, in Västerbotten County. The data for this study were derived from a survey that was sent out to 150 randomly selected persons in every commune in following counties: Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Jämtland, Västernorrland, Dalarna, Gävleborg and Stockholm.

The application of performance-based pay system among enterprises is becoming more frequent. Performance-based pay systems is used by organizations in hope of increasing productivity and have become more flexible. Employees may perceive the performance-based salary as a motivator or a threat depending on lifesituation and personality. At a perceived threat, the employee may become stressed. Work-related stress has become a serious social problem that can have consequences for both companies and individuals.

The end of the 20th century brought a dramatic change to the music industry. The then predominant models for music consumption and sales were forever altered when the possibility to distribute music over the internet emerged. It has now become evident that it is virtually impossible to stop the distribution of digital music files. Music has turned into a non-excludable and non-rival product, which in economic terms is described as a public good. Public goods theory serves as a starting point for this study, which explores some of the factors that might explain why some consumers pay for music, while others choose to download music illegally.

AbstractWorking with child and youth welfare is one of the most difficult challenges a social worker might face in the field of social work. Those who work with child and youth welfare are more exposed to stress and burnout than other comparable human service occupations. Research links the prevalence of stress and burnout to several key variables, such as demographics, working conditions and personality factors. In contrast, even though social workers in this field face many negative work-related problems they report a high job satisfaction. The aim of this study is to examine how uplifting and straining experiences affect social workers, who work with child and youth welfare, through the use of The Critical Incident Technique and interviews.

The current state of knowledge indicates that there is more than one factor that initiates heartwood transition. This study supports its hypothesis on the theory that heartwood is formed by a fixed fraction of the annual growthring, 0,5 to 0,8 rings. To calculate heartwood volume modelings were carried out in four different pine stands with different spacings, 0,75, 1,25, 1,5 and three meters. The model indicates heartwood diameter (HWD) and is based on four explanatory variables, height (H), crown ratio (CR%), diameter breast height (DBH) and tree height (TH). The shifting plant spacing results in varying growth rate in the juvenile stage.