Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) within the European Union are currently facing many challenges one being access to financing due to high risk and probability of default, another being cross-border taxation issues with double taxation and information asymmetry. Since the aim within the EU is to be the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world with sustainable economic growth and social cohesion it is essential that the EU operates as a single market. Despite this need, harmonization continues to be far from achieved in the area of direct taxation which also affects the integration and growth opportunities for SMEs. In the Agenda for Entrepreneurship, the Home State Taxation regime, which is based on formula apportionment, has been proposed by the Commission as one option in order to mutually recognize the different Member States? taxation systems to facilitate cross-border activities and reduce ?red-tape?.

The relatively poor economy in European dairy farming might be improved from efficient feeding systems and dietary management. Increasing herd sizes and transition to loose housing systems in Sweden, increases the possibilities for other feeding systems than separate feeding that is the traditional feeding system in Sweden. Other possible feeding systems are partial mixed ration (PMR) and total mixed ration (TMR), where the TMR system sometimes is associated with overfeeding and thereby increased environmental impact and high feed cost. Diets providing nutrients above or below animal requirements are considered as unbalanced, which in turn are associated with reductions in health, fertility and milk production. On the other hand, a balanced feed ration improves feed efficiency, nitrogen utilization and profitability.

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.

In the year 1800, about 5 % of the world population lived in cities (World Wide Fund for Nature, 2012, 3). Today that number is about 70 % in Europe and North America, and in 2050 it is expected to be 86 % in the developed world and 67 % in the developing world (www, UN, 2009). In addition, the global population is expected to increase with 2.2 billion people until 2050. As a result of the population increase more food has to be produced which requires more transport from the countryside to the cities. However, this flow of resources faces some difficulties.

About 80 % of all Swedish dairy cows are kept in tie-stalls, but loose housing is increasing, probably because it is more profitable for the farmer. The design of the floors is of cruicial importance to the cows well-being. Traditionally, the most common type of floor in the alleys of a cubicle system still is a slatted manure-draining floor made of concrete. The typical Swedish design has 125-mm slats and 40-mm slots, maximally. With too wide slots, there is an increased risk of injuries to the claws when the cow makes a hasty move.

The study was conducted in Jönköping County Chamber of fibrillation and is about change and improvement of process modeling technology. The process for treating patients with fibrillation is in the need to evolve and improve. In order to develop the care they needed a current state description which usually is made with the traditional process modeling tool.Many scientists and health professionals is in the opinion that this technology gives a too rigid image to describe the care processes. It also does not sufficiently take into account the human aspects. This reasoning suggests that the process modeling technology in healthcare is in the need to develop multiple perspectives.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka varför könsutredningsprocesserna i Sverige respektive Argentina ser så olika ut, det vill säga vikten av att diagnostisera transsexualism eller ej. Detta gjorde jag genom en komaprativ studie där jag samlade information om könsutredningsprocesserna i de båda länderna. Mina frågeställningar var: * Hur ser utredningsprocessen ut gällande juridiskt könsbyte och könskorrigering i Sverige respektive Argentina? * Vad innebär Argentinas lag kring byte av juridiskt och fysiskt kön i praktiken? * Vilken betydelse tillskriver mina informanter diagnostisering gällande transsexualism? * Hur kan utredningsprocesserna tolkas utifrån mina valda teorier? Jag intervjuade aktivister inom HBTQ-rörelsen i Argentina som stått bakom den nya identitetslagen samt en könsutredare i Buenos Aires. Mina svenska informanter var alla könsutredare. I både Sverige och Argentina tillhandahåller staten sina medborgare identiteshandlingar, behandlingar samt könskorrigerande ingrepp enligt önskemål.

The business potential of software defined radio (SDR) technology is studied by evaluating whether or not its characteristics correspond to those particular to a disruptive technology. The maturity of the SDR technology concept is illuminated by analyzing the opinions and perspectives of a selection of representatives for different stakeholders in the wireless communications market. Characteristics as, for example, the degree of consensus about the utility of SDR technology and the awareness of features and limitations are studied by application of the theory of technological frames. This theory helps us understand how and when technology evolution takes place. Finally we describe the value network structures of some potentially viable application areas for SDR and suggest some possible business opportunities based on SDR technology.This thesis is carried out as a case study and the research data is obtained from secondary sources, such as literature and Internet publications as well as interviews with people well experienced in the field of wireless communications.

Our planet is faced with enormous challenges as the extreme weather events related to the human-caused climate change continue to gain strength. The scale of the problem has made changing human behaviour the central focus of sustainable development, and both public and private sector are expected to gain relevant expertise and introduce this work in their agenda. Over its 40-year history, social marketing has become an established field providing tools for social change, but compared to health promotion, sustainability has not been a major focus of social marketing research so far. At the same time, sustainable lifestyles are embedded in complex systems where both individual factors and those of physical and social environment play a defining role in their adoption. Communities are a good example of such environments, and they became the key focus of Community-Based Social Marketing, which combines different insights from psychology to suggest a step-by-step framework for crafting behaviour change campaigns. However, it has not been applied to larger and diverse communities, like cities, and has not focused on sustaining new behaviour over time, which is crucial for creating sustainable lifestyles.

The agricultural sector is characterized by larger crop farms and more extensive livestockproduction. The efficiency improvement is partly a result from a stronger competition in theglobal market. The agricultural products need to be produced at a lower cost than competitorsin order to survive as a farmer. The solution is larger firms that benefit from economies ofscale. This brings large investments that create a greater need for leverage and closer relationto the credit agency.

Inköp har fått en allt större betydelse eftersom att inköp både har strategisk betydelse och mycket pengar (50-75 procent av omsättningen) går åt till inköp av material eller komponenter i tillverkande företag. Den strategiska betydelsen kommer från att de inköpta delarna kommer att vara en del av slutprodukten och om inte dessa delar uppnår köparföretagets standard kommer inte heller slutprodukten kunna prestera efter denna standard alltså kan leverantörer även ses som en källa till konkurrenskraft. Det finns även stor potential till besparingar på denna post eftersom att stor del av omsättningen går åt på inköp. Hur ett företag ska göra sina inköp råder det delade meningar om, Porter (1980) menar att företag bör använda sig av flera leverantörer för att ständigt utsätta dessa leverantörer för konkurrens och företaget kan på så sätt vara säker på att det är ett konkurrenskraftigt erbjudande de får. Deming (1986) däremot menar att företag borde kolla på den totala kostnaden för ett inköp och därmed minimera antalet leverantörer för att få ner kostnaderna kring själva inköpet.

Stor förvirring råder kring hur lufttätheten ska mätas i flerbostadshus. De metoder som finns och de resultat som erhålls vid täthetsprovning av småhus är inte alltid applicerbara på flerbostadshus även om mätenheterna är de samma. Detta föranleder problemställningen för detta examensarbete:Varför och hur kontrolleras lufttätheten i ett flerbostadshus på ett praktiskt tillämpbart sätt, som också gör det möjligt att jämföra resultat från olika objekt?Metoderna som används för att undersöka detta är litteraturstudier och samtal med erfarna personer, samt demonstration av en mätmetod i fullskala. En diskussion med initiativtagarna till detta examensarbete leder fram till en rekommenderad metod och en mall för hur detta ska utföras.Byggnadsskalets luft-, diffusions- och vindtätning har stor betydelse för en byggnads energianvändning, fuktsäkerhet, termiska komfort och hygien, luftkvalitet, ljudmiljö, spridning av brand samt spridning av luftföroreningar utifrån och in.

The topic of our thesis is Packaging Design as a Brand Building Tool and we are presenting the Scandinavian perspective. We found the topic interesting because, from a theoretical point of view, we identified a scarcity in research focusing on packaging design as a brand management tool, and from a practical point of view, we found out that businesses use packaging design at different levels in their communication efforts. Thus we wanted to provide both academia and business world with a clear picture to what extent and how businesses use packaging design in their brand-building process. Therefore the aim of our thesis is to provide practitioners and academicians alike with a better understanding of how packaging design can be used to create strong brands in the FMCG sector in the Scandinavian market. To reach the stated aim first we provided a solid theoretical background of packaging, its elements and its role in the marketing mix.

The object of this two years master's thesis has been to study a specific genre of personal archives by examiningthe archives of nine parents who have lost one or several infants. Using internet-based methods, (e-mail, Skypeand digital photographs), I have conducted qualitative research using a general interview guide technique. Usingresearch from archival theory as well as other fields, my material has been arranged and analysed according tothemes and recurring thoughts picked up from my informants during the interviews.My main theoretical aid has been that the role of parent who has lost a child is the starting point for the creationof the personal archives. Another important theory is my definition of the term ?document? as not dependent onmedium and format, but on usage: if an object has been used as a part of an archive, it is a document.

Arbetsmarknaden är idag ansträngd. Faktorer såsom effektivisering av organisationer, skepsis mot att nyanställa samt hög arbetslöshet medför att konkurrensen om arbetena har ökat. Därtill är sjukskrivningstalet högt. Långvarig sjukskrivning kan medföra mänskligt lidande bland annat på grund av att individen kan uppleva känslor av utanförskap samt otrygghet som ett resultat av att denne går miste om den gemenskap som vanligtvis återfinns på arbetsplatsen. Hög sjukfrånvaro genererar samtidigt höga kostnader för den statliga kassan.