This thesis studies private equity firms' implementation of management control systems in their portfolio companies and whether the systems are affected by cross-national differences. A comparative case study examines five different private equity firms to derive if there are any differences between the private equity firms' management control systems in the United States, Europe and China. The empirical observations are categorized according to the framework developed by Merchant (1985) and further developed by Merchant and Van der Stede (2003). Theory on the effect of multinationality on management control systems, also developed by Merchant and Van der Stede (2003), are used to explain possible findings. The applied theory includes the cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede (1984) and Hofstede and Bond (1988).

When being in preschool, I have come across children who I have had difficulties to really meet, and I have felt that the communication between me and the child has been deficient. Since I believe that the meeting of child and pedagogue is essential to learning and development, I find this an important subject of further study.The purpose of my study is to investigate if, and how, teachers regard a possible connection between language capability and behaviour. Furthermore I investigate how they work with language acquisition and communication, and what argument the pedagogues have for this work.To answer these questions I have interviewed two pedagogues who have great knowledge and experience of this subject, and also have special interest in children?s language and communication.In my literary review I give an account of how language acquisition is described in literature, and then compare it with how language impairment reveals. I also describe earlier research on how to work with language development, and what the national curriculum for preschools (Lpfö 98) say on this topic.The result shows that my informants divide in their view of how to connect language capability to behaviour.

AimThe aim of the present investigation was to study the side distribution (right, left) and possible gender differences in terms of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in different sports.MethodThis Register study comprises a total of 27856 subjects from the Swedish National Anterior Cruciate Ligament Register. Side- distribution and possible gender differences were analyzed. The different sports consisted of aerobics, alpine skiing, basket, cross-country skiing, dancing, enduro, floorball, gymnastics, handball, ice hockey/bandy, martial arts, outdoor activities, racket sports, snowboard, soccer, and volleyball. Due to injuries that had occurred in the traffic and at work 5076 subjects were excluded. Statistical data have been analyzed with one way ANOVA and x2 test and the Tukey post hoc test has also been used.

AimThe purpose of the study was to investigate how upper secondary school students experience performance demands during their physical education and health classes (PE-classes). The questions were as following: Are there differing perceptions between the sexes whether students experience performance demands? In what situations do the students feel that the demands on their performance are high during PE-classes? Do the students experience of demands on performance differ whether the physical education and health teacher is male or female? Do students feel unfairly treated by the physical education and health teacher during PE-classes?MethodSeven upper secondary schools in Stockholm?s administrative district were randomly selected to participate in the survey. The principals were contacted for further information and to set a date for performing the survey. The project leaders were present during the days the surveys were taken by students in the social science and natural science programs.

Myxomatous mitral valve disease is a common disease in older dogs of small- to medium-size breeds. The mitral valve, and less commonly the tricuspid valve may be affected which causes them to leak blood from the ventricle to the atrium of the heart during systole. With increasing severity of mitral valve leakage the forward stroke volume ejected into the aorta decreases, which may lead to an increase in blood pressure in the pulmonary vein resulting in pulmonary edema. A decrease in cardiac output may lead to a decrease in blood pressure, but the body may respond in order to normalize the blood pressure. Franzén showed in 2007 that the systolic blood pressure was increased in dogs with severe mitral insufficiency.

Detta är en komparativ uppsats som beskriver likheter och skillnader mellan Sydafrikas läroplan, Revised National Curriculum Statement for Schools (Grades R-9), Svenska läroplanen Lpo 94 och kursplanen i religion.Hur en läroplan utformas beror mycket på landets historia. Att Sydafrika har haft mycket problem med exempelvis apartheid speglas också i läroplanen. Demokrati är något som tycks vara mycket viktigt för den sydafrikanska skolan. I Sverige har vi haft demokrati relativt länge, och det verkar nästan som att vi börjar ta detta för givet. Hur stort utrymme demokratin tar i läroplanerna och kursplanen i religion är en av sakerna jag tar upp i denna uppsats.Jag jämför också hur man beskriver religionsämnet i respektive läroplan/kursplan.

The intention of this study was to examine the interaction between authorities. More specifically it had a purpose to look at the ongoing cooperation between social workers and staff of special homes of closed institutional youth care. The sanction system for young offenders? reform of 1999 where young people between the ages of 15-17 who have committed serious crimes, can be sentenced to secure institutional treatment instead of prison, aims to counteract the harm which can result from a stay in prison. The social welfare board in the young person´s local authority and the national board of institutional care shall cooperate during the youth?s placement at the special home of closed institutional youth care.

The aim of my study is to investigate if and in that case how the writing process and texts written by students in the upper secondary school are affected by the writing tool; does it matter if they write their texts on a computer or by longhand? Another objective is to compare such an effect with the findings of previous studies performed on earlier generations of writers. The first part of my study was a survey. It showed that two thirds of the 67 students participating thought that they would have written better texts in the national writing test if they had been able to use computers. In the second part of the study each of the fourteen participants wrote one text on computer and another by hand.

The free press is an invaluable part of the democratic society and a pillar stone in the creation of ideas, opinions and norms. According to theories such as agenda-setting and framing the media have a significant influence on people?s perspectives and opinions. With this view of media along with the gender system provided by Yvonne Hirdman as a framework, this study intends to examine the gender representation in Swedish domestic news journalism. The study consists of a quantitative analysis of two major Swedish morning papers, Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet, where the gender representation regarding journalists, main news sources and pictures are being accounted for.

The aim of this thesis is to examine how the EU directive 2004/35/EC on environmental liability impacts the Swedish administrative legal order. The thesis examines the directive through two main EU principles - the principle of good administration and the principle of procedural autonomy. The EU principle of good administration as a concept contains various procedural and substantive obligations that make up the subject for examination of the directive, both as regulated in the directive and as general principles of EU law. The directive is analyzed using a comparative method to determine to what extent the procedural and substantive principles of the directive impacts the Swedish administrative law, and weather or not the Swedish regulations comply with the EU principle of good administration.The results of the study shows that, althought there?s a general principle of national procedural autonomy, the EU principles of good administration do affect the Swedish administrative regulation in various aspects, through the implementaion of the directive on environmental liability as well as general principles of EU law.

The aim of the study is to investigate how pedagogues working with gesticulation and facial expressions to communicate with children aged 3-5 years. The methods used are observations as well as interviews of educators. My empricial evidence was collected on two different preschools in Värmland County. The pedagogues are dealing with body language in a conscious way by collections as they sing and they reinforce feelings of characters support. In my conclusion I have come come to the conclusion that there is no difference on how male and female educators use gesticulation and facial expressions without its personality traits and body language often are unconsciously in conversations with children..

The aim of this thesis is to describe and analyse the ideology behind Sida's cultural aid by using postcolonial theory. We want to analyse the discourse on cultural aid that is found mainly in Sida's publications. The interpretation of the sources is made with a hermeneutic base and by using postcolonial theory in combination with Paul Ricoeur's theories on the function of ideology: 1. ideology as distortion, 2. ideology as legitimation, and 3.

AbstractLarge states are not as interdependent as small countries are. Due to the extent of the home market, producers in large countries can sell the greater part of their products at home. Accordingly large countries become less dependent of other states. Large states are consequently in a better position to promote their self- interests internationally than smaller states are. Applying this reasoning on a large state such as France I come to conclude that she probably exerts this policy of self- interest in an area like free trade.

This study is focusing on students at compulsory level and their performance in national exam tests when the students first language is taken into account. Students in Swedish schools with non-Swedish speaking parents commonly follow language classes for limited Swedish proficient students. How does this affect their results when tested in other subjects as physics,biology and chemistry? A general claim is that national tests can provide data for balancedand fair grades. This view is challenged in this paper, through Principal Component Analysisof test results that shows a difference between schools when the schools social position and share of limited Swedish proficient students are measured.

The aim of this study is to describe and analyze how the European union relates to the different dimensions of abortion. What kind of problem is abortion and whose right is it? Does difference framings of the problem enable different solutions?By analyzing debates from the European parliament through Carol Lee Bacchis method ?What?s the problem approach? I have come to see that different representations of a problem changes the problem it self. This emphasis that a problem is a problem in one context, but not in an other.Depending on the work of, among others, Barbara Hobson and Ailbhe Smyth I have focused upon the European union as a economical project, leaving social issues to national competence. This makes the EU a patriarchal project that fails to guarantee women?s rights.