In this thesis we examine the relationship between board composition and firm performance in Swedish companies. The selection of companies includes all Swedish limited liability companies, with the exception of micro enterprises, that have been active between the years of 2009-2010. We develop hypotheses based on resource dependence theory, agency theory, and the resource based view, and test these with regression analysis against collected data. Specifically, we examine the effects of board diversity, outside directorships, and CEO duality. Our findings show that none of the theories provide sufficient explanatory power of the relationship between board composition and firm performance, and that further research is required to better understand the role and effects of company boards..

Today, the catering personnel are an essential part of the safety organization on board Swedish passenger vessels in ferry services. Their responsibilities for the safety on board have increased in connection with the changes in regulations made on the shipping industry. These changes have been mostly related to human factors and structural leadership in the last 25 years.A well-functioning safety organization requires competence and commitment from every individual. Previous researches on Swedish passenger ferries concerning the safety organization have raised issues regarding the catering personnel?s perception of the safety on board.

The life cycle of the anadromous Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) can span large geographic, political, and socio-economic boundaries. Management strategies and regulations that only concentrate on small spatial scales often overlook larger basin-wide problems, especially relating to post-spawn seaward migration. In this master thesis one entire migration cycle of wild adult Atlantic salmon in the unregulated northern Swedish river Vindelälven was monitored by radio-telemetry tracking during upstream spawning migration and downstream seaward migration back to the Baltic Sea. The effect of ladder passage variables (time to pass, total time in the ladder, passage day over the ladder) at a fish ladder downstream in the river Umeälven, as well as fish size, were evaluated to determine if differences in upstream migration distance in the river Vindelälven could be observed. Ladder passage variables did not affect migration distance, but size exhibited a negative relationship to migration distance.

This paper is about the use of task boards in agile system development projects. The main focus is on how digitalized versions of the task board can be of assistance during the development process. Our investigation is based on qualitative studies, with system developers of various backgrounds and professional roles, along with studies of relevant literature. The main results are that a digitized version of the task board can increase awareness for the team and be of major importance if it is accessible through the web. On the other hand negative effects of the digitalization can emerge as well.

The aim of this thesis is to examine how personnel working with asylum cases at the Swedish Migration Board handle their role as administrators of asylum. For the study 7 asylum administrators were interviewed and the analysis was made with influence from the method critical discourse analysis. To understand the themes in the analysis I have used Michael Lipskys theory about street-level bureaucrats. Main results from the analysis of the interviews were that the street-level bureaucrats had certain strategies for managing the difficult aspects of the job. The interviews also showed that the participating informants had difficulties with different identity positions..

Corporate governance intensified due to the corporate scandals in the USA which led to a new law the so called Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).In 2005 the "Svensk kod för bolagsstyrning" (The Code) was introduced. The main purpose of The Code is to strengthen the confidence in Swedish companies quoted on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The Code focuses on the working process of boards. The rules set by The Code places higher demands on the board.  Among many other duties the board has to establish long term operational goals and strategy.

This master thesis project will describe and evaluate the interfaces between applications and Controller Area Network, CAN, interface boards from different manufacturers. The interfaces have corresponding functions but the usage of parameters is different. The simply communication of sending and receiving messages is more alike than the supplementary functions between the different interfaces. The CAN communication is more controlled by the CAN protocol and is therefore more alike. The evaluation shows differences and similarities between different interfaces and also difficulties and options to translate them.

The purpose with this master thesis is to analyze how the Swedish County Administrative Board (Länsstyrelsen) acts in an environment that changes fast with more regional actors than ever before. There are also proposals regarding new public authorities and eventually a reduction of the Swedish County Administrative Board.By studying a report issued by the Board in December 2005 the aim is to find their intentions and actions for the future. By using three diverse theoretical concepts - the public organisation, the instrumental perspective and two separate perspectives from new institutionalism - the expectation is that I will have the possibility to analyze the intentions of the organisation in many different ways.In this case study I also want to take into consideration the central discourses in the regional debate, shall we decentralize or shall we keep on having a strong state even in the future? What kind of regional policy does the Swedish County Administrative Board prefer?The result shows that the Swedish County Administrative Board struggles for a strong state even in the future, but it does not propose any huge changes. In many ways it seems like they act as they are supposed to - as an instrument for the government - but despite that it is obvious that the Swedish County Administrative Board tries to show that it has the traditions and knowledge.

This essay examines migration paths through Sweden. There has been a debate in August 2010 that Sweden is regarded as a backdoor for non European immigrants to come over Denmark. It has been discovered through Denmark?s statistics and is regarded as negative by the Danish government. Denmark and Sweden are two countries that are socio- , economically- and culturally similar, but went in two different directions, especially with immigration policy.

This thesis treats the development of the European Union asylum- and migration politics and the EU member states transfer of authority to the European Union. The main purpose has been to look closer with the use of the application of theory of neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism on the European Union case. The focus will be to answer the following questions: How has the political development within EU asylum and migration policy developed through the period of The Single European Act to the ratification of the Stockholm program? And how can the chosen theory explain European countries transfer of national decision regarding asylum policy in favor of a supranational European asylum policy? Based on the available material of European Union programs and harmonization measures for this area I have attempted to understand to what extent the European Union?s development in the area of the asylum and migration politics can be explained through the theories of neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism. The result of my analysis is confirmation of the European Union development of the area of the asylum and migration policy and also a series of explanations according to the theories regarding the member states transfer of authority to the EU.

Att studera de ekonomiska effekterna av migration är tyvärr ett för stort ämne för den är uppsatsen så vi har valt ut vissa delar av detta ämne att studera och i möjlig mån undersöka hur dessa effekter påverkar Sverige. De effekter som behandlas är effekter på tillväxt för utvandrarländer när högutbildade emigrerar och hur invandrarlandets arbetsmarknad påverkas av immigration. Vi har undersökt både teoretisk och empirisk litteratur och sedan jämfört slutsatser som dragits på internationella data med de förhållanden som råder för Sverige. Våra slutsatser är att en liten utflyttning av högutbildad arbetskraft kan medföra en positiv effekt på humankapitalsnivån i ett utvecklingsland under vissa omständigheter. Effekterna på arbetsmarknaden i invandrarlandet är omtvistade men enligt de senaste empiriska undersökningarna medför en högre invandrartäthet i en yrkesgrupp negativ påverkan för arbetskraften i denna yrkesgrupp.yrkesgrupp..

Corporate governance intensified due to the corporate scandals in the USA which led to a new law the so called Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).In 2005 the "Svensk kod för bolagsstyrning" (The Code) was introduced. The main purpose of The Code is to strengthen the confidence in Swedish companies quoted on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The Code focuses on the working process of boards. The rules set by The Code places higher demands on the board.  Among many other duties the board has to establish long term operational goals and strategy.

This essay is focused on Öland during the Iron Age, with focus specifically on the Roman Iron Age and the Migration period. The study takes its starting point in the large number of fortifications that was active across Öland at the time. The essays main area of investigation will be the central and southern parts of Öland as the fortifications, together with other parts of the Iron Age society around them such as graves and settlement, will be presented. The landscape in which the fortifications and their surroundings are placed will also be described. With the Migration Period being a keyword for almost all the fortifications on Öland, the subject will also be to describe if any sort of change can be seen in the settlement patterns during this unstable and troubled time.

Today, the catering personnel are an essential part of the safety organization on board Swedish passenger vessels in ferry services. Their responsibilities for the safety on board have increased in connection with the changes in regulations made on the shipping industry. These changes have been mostly related to human factors and structural leadership in the last 25 years.A well-functioning safety organization requires competence and commitment from every individual. Previous researches on Swedish passenger ferries concerning the safety organization have raised issues regarding the catering personnel?s perception of the safety on board.

People play games now more than ever before. While the digital gaming industry dominates the market, boardgaming has been living in its shadow. Board games offer a physical tangibility and a social experience that can be found in few digital games. How do we create a tool that further builds upon those strengths? The purpose of this study is to examine the possibility of developing a service that consists of an mobile application and board game events to promote social face-to-face interaction. Focus has been on the social face-to-face interaction in the context of a board game session.