Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether abnormal stock returns could be identified as a result of a layoff announcement during weak economy.Method: An event study methodology.Theory: Efficient market hypothesis, signal theory.Empirical results: Quantitative data from observations of stock prices in thirty two companies listed on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm, in the period 2008 -2012.Conclusion: The results indicate that the market reaction was negative because there were negative abnormal returns on the Stockholm Stock Exchange during the period 2008-2012 in connection with the layoff announcements. The market reaction was milder when staff reductions were carried out as a result of a restructuring and stronger when staff reductions were carried out as part of a cost reduction program.The layoff announcements elicited different market reactions depending on the company's industry affiliation. The most negative reaction was in the Healthcare industry. Negative abnormal returns were lower in industries Industrials, Consumer Services and Consumer Goods. There were no abnormal returns for shares of companies in the industry Financials.

The aim of this Master's thesis is to examine what effect two different models of acquisition have on user satisfaction with information resources at academic libraries. The two models examined are the traditional model where a subject specialist librarian makes the selection, and the user-governed model where the larger part of the selection is based on user requests. The scope is the libraries of Roskilde University, which employs the traditional acquisition model and Malmö University, which employs the user-governed. Both libraries have a user-oriented approach to acquisition. The study encompasses a close examination of the acquisition policy through document analysis and interviews with the librarians in charge of acquisitions at each university, as well as a user-satisfaction survey among the professors and senior teachers on two faculties at each university respectively.

Because of among other things the globalization and a focus on core competencies knowledge has become very important for the companies of today, especially for research-intensive companies. The problem is that the companies become more sensitive to how knowledge is created and spread, that is, how organizational knowledge is created. Especially sensitive are companies who are small, young and research-intensive. The purpose with this thesis is to explore how organizational knowledge is created in small, young and research intensive companies.The theory is based on a five-phase model of organizational knowledge creation and four modes of knowledge conversion described by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995). These concepts constitute the foundation of the analytical model used in the thesis.The study is carried out by qualitative, highly structured interviews with low standardization.

Marknadsundersökning -En undersökning om vad Raglady by Taras befintliga kunder tycker om en eventuell internetbutik. Market research-A study on what Raglady by Taras existing customers think of any internet store..

This paper aims to explore the possibility of reading the Temple cleansing stories of John and Mark through Bruce J Malina?s honor/shame model, as E. Randolph Richards do. The analysis searches in John?s and Mark?s Temple cleansings for the presence of the notions of honor and shame, as Malina uses those concepts in his model.

The goal of this study is to examine how the market reacts when information about the exchange of a CEO becomes public. It also examines factors such as gender and whether the departure was voluntary or not, discerning if the market behaves differently concerning any of these aspects.To achieve this, the study was performed using an event study. The selection consisted of 48 companies on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, who had during the years 2005 to 2008 underwent a change in leading management. These units were submitted to hypothesis tests, to determine if an abnormal return was attained during the event window. The tests were performed on the units as a whole, and divided up after gender and whether the departure was voluntary or not.The results of the study show no statistically significant abnormal return caused by the announcement of a CEO exchange.

Background and problem discussionThe temporary employment industry has grown extensively during the past two decades since the market was deregulated. Companies today need to be flexible to meet fluctuating demand and economic climate in society which has made the market expand. When using employees not directly employed by the company there is a risk that long term effects appears that the companies have not thought of.Aim of studyTo create a model of what negative aspects companies should consider when making the decision to use temporary employees.Methodological frameworkThe study performed through an abdicative literature study and with an empirical data collection method of a qualitative approach where we interviewed five hiring companies and one temporary agency on the decision of hiring temporary employees.Frame of referenceProblem areas with the use of temporary employments were identified through four perspectives of the organization; the structural, human resource, symbolic and political perspective. The problem areas we address are organizational learning, motivation, risk of eroding human capital, belongingness and conflicts. These will be described and presented together with management control to counter the problems.EmpiricsThe empirics are focused on what aspects the companies of the study considered when making the decision to use temporary employment, what the companies? different reasons for using temporary employment are and what they do to minimize possible negative effects.Analysis and conclusionsCompanies use temporary employees mostly to become more flexible, both numerically and in their competence.

Denna rapport beskriver arbetet med utvecklingen av en ny modell för kaplanturbiner. Utvecklingen bygger på två kopplade differentialekvationer som under arbetets gång anpassats och implementerats i turbinmodellen.Modellen beskriver hur vattenflöde och turbinmoment påverkas av avvikelsen från den optimala kombineringskurvan för vinklarna på turbinens ledskena och löphjul, och är anpassad för ett referensaggregat med tillgängliga provdata. Även övriga enheter i vattenkraftaggregatet modelleras och sätts samman med frekvensregulator och elnät för att simulera aggregatets reglerstabilitet i önätsdrift.Verifieringen av turbinmodellen sker genom försök att återskapa de befintliga verkningsgradskurvorna med hjälp av modellen. Resultatet visar en god följning av de verkliga kurvformerna, dock med något lägre maximal verkningsgrad.Verifieringen av önätmodellen sker genom att prova stabiliteten i nätfrekvens och turbineffekt vid stegpålastningar. Resultatet ger en stabilare reglerstabilitet än i verkligheten, men uppfyller ändå förväntningarna på en fungerande modell.This report describes the development of a new kaplan turbine model.

This essay is about the risks of reporting science through media. We have exemplified the problems with the alarm about acryl amide that came in 2002 through the diffusionist model. From the beginning it was a debate about how dangerous acryl amide is to us humans, but later on it developed to be a debate about whoever did wrong in the intermediation, because later on it came out that acryl amide maybe didn?t cause cancer at all and the scientists didn?t know how to prove if it did or didn?t. In our essay we have based our theories about how the diffiusionist model often is inadequate, with theorists as Stuart Allan, Anders Ekström and Dorothy Nelkin..

Smartphones med Android som operativsystem har under de senaste åren blivit en allt större del av vår vardag. Kandidatarbetet undersöker vilken försäljningsmetod man som utvecklare ska använda sig av för att få största möjliga förtjänst, när man säljer ett spel på Androids marknad. De försäljningsmetoder, som studerats, är reklam, prissatt och in app billing. Från insamlad statistik av Google och enkäter har en förståelse kring vilken metod att föredra tagits fram. Resultaten visar att alla fungerar trots deras olikheter sinsemellan.

In 2007 Swedish Meats, the dominant Swedish meat-producers cooperative sold its slaughtering and processing industry. The goal of a producer cooperative structure is to create value for members through vertical integration, and to strengthen members? market position. When Swedish Meats sold the slaughtering and processing components, it ceased in some respects to serve the function of a cooperative. This is a lost opportunity for both members and non-members, because Swedish Meats as a functioning cooperative could have exploited its dominant market position to positively effect producer?s prices.

The purpose of this study is to highlight the maritime students' views on and visions for their future career. The results will be used by maritime academies, ship owners and unions to develop their activities in the desired direction and work together for a well-functioning labour market in shipping in the future. To determine the students? views and visions, interviews were conducted with graduating students at the maritime academies in Sweden. The results show that the reduced Swedish merchant fleet worries students, but that the majority is positive about finding a job after graduation.

Social enterprises make up one of the groups of participants that provide welfare services financed by public funding. The object of this study is to describe and analyze from a theoretical point of view which conditions, in what fields, by which division of responsibility and finally through what decisions these social enterprises are allocated a place in the market for social welfare services. The company that has been the object of study offers services in the field of social welfare and in employment. In the study a triangulation of qualitative methods has been used: studies of literature on the subject, recurrent interviews and observations and also reviews of documents. The results have been analyzed from theories on the space available on the market for social services, on social economy and on social capital in the form of strong, weak and bridging bonds.

To explore greatly varied opinion between player and reviewer, in relation to new products in ongoing digital game series, an analytic perspective is suggested, that takes the entire game series into account, instead of analyzing games (who are part of a series) as individual productions. This is explored further by introducing a model to support this perspective, based on the game theories by Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, as well as Gordon Calleja. This model and chosen perspective is applied against three separate cases to see whether or not it can give insight into the approach of players (of continuing game series) and the differing opinions of players and reviewers..

Mosquitoes are found in extremely large numbers in the lower parts of the River Dalälven. In the year 2000 the mosquito nuisance was especially high, resulting in foundation of the Biological mosquito control project. Since 2001 mosquito larvae are controlled by using a biological pesticide BTI (Bacillus thuringiensis ssp israelensis). The mosquito fauna in the area is dominated by flood water mosquitoes, a group of mosquitoes that are very aggressive and form new generations of mosquitoes during every single flooding event during the summer. To be able to efficiently control the mosquitoes it is essential to know the extension and locality of the flooding.