The structural rationalization of rural firms in Sweden has led to many new creative ways of developing companies. The agriculture sector is characterized by the need of capital in form of buildings, labor and inventory. The rationalization process has led to free capacity in rural firms when new technology make buildings and inventory not longer necessary for the production process. To get a better cost coverage this free capacity can be used to start-up new business areas that help the rural firm to growth.The study aims to identify factors that motives entrepreneurs in rural firms to develop new business areas. The purpose is also to analyze driving forces that lies behind development of rural firms and the forces that support or not support development in rural firms.The study is built upon five cases that all can be categorized as firms with different size and orientation.

The ambition with this study is to look into and create an understanding for how an intranet can work as a support system in work processes in capacity as a source of knowledge. We want to enhance the understanding for which kind of knowledge that can be coded in and transmitted by an intranet, and which that is lost in this process. We also want to clarify what it takes to get this knowledge, in collaboration with the intranet, to support the work in an organization. It is a qualitative case study at a Swedish bank. It consisted of semi standardized, half structured interviews with five people in one of the bank?s local offices.

Background: Breastfeeding frequency decrease in Sweden and infants born preterm is a particularly vulnerable group to not be breastfed according to current recommendations. Mothers of preterm infants have an extra need of support from the health care system. Mothers' self-efficacy in breastfeeding affects the outcome of breastfeeding. Health professionals' attitudes to breastfeeding have an impact on the breast feeding support they provide to the mothers.Aim: To investigate whether an intervention could strengthen self-efficacy in breastfeeding among mothers of premature babies. A further aim was to investigate whether the intervention influenced health professionals' attitudes to breastfeeding.Method/Design: An experimental study with quantitative approach in the form of questionnaire survey was conducted.

Papparollen har förändrats från att vara familjeförsörjare till mer aktivt deltagande i familjelivet, men det finns mer att göra för att uppnå en jämställd föräldraledighet. Tidigare forskning är grundade på pappors erfarenhet och tankar om den planerade föräldraledigheten. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka blivande förstagångspappors tankar om föräldraledighet, rollen som pappa och föräldrautbildning. Metod: Åtta blivande förstagångspappor intervjuades. Samtliga intervjuer spelades in digitalt, transkriberades och analyserades genom med hjälp av innehållsanalys.

The overarching aim of this essay is to analyze, from a feminist point of view, the moral responsibility for the structural oppression of women. In this discussion I focus on the issue of moral responsibility for sexual violence against women, such as rapes. I claim that a feminist theory of moral responsibility has to be based on a collectivist approach. I argue that men should be considered as collective moral responsible for the structural oppression of women. However, it is important that we analyze the interaction between actor and structure.

Aim: To describe nurses' experiences providing end of life care to patients. Method Descriptive literature study, 15 articles were included. The search was made in PubMed, CINAHL and by manual search. The articles were reviewed, analyzed and summarized. Results: For newly graduated nurses? experience in end of life care proved to be something new, developing, difficult to manage and frightening, but expected in the profession.

Background: The nursing profession involves meetings and situations which can be stressful. The work environment can cause additional stress in the form of time pressure, lack of support from colleagues, management or disgruntled family members and patients. This places the nurse in a position that requires a sharpened ability to handle stress. It can become overwhelming and unmanageable and cause a serious threat to the nurse's health and wellbeing. To handle stress the nurses uses different coping strategies.Aim: The aim of the review was to gain a better understanding of how nurses deal with occupational stress.Method: A systematic literature overview study based on eleven articles, including both qualitative and quantitative studies.Results: Nurses deal with stress in different ways based on their own resources.

Gender equality is a political issue that has gained a lot of support in the last decades. Researchers have however pointed out that gender equality has a wide variety of understandings.SKL (Sveriges kommuner och landsting) is an organization that looks after the interests of local authorities and county councils in Sweden. SKL has by the government been granted 145 million Swedish crowns to support gender mainstreaming at a local level. During a period of three years, 2008-2010, funding has been given to 89 projects for this purpose.The aim of this study is to examine what meanings are given to the term ?gender equality? in these projects.

Violence and aggression is a common problem for staff in different care units. Caregivers often feel frustrated and unsatisfied in their work with these patients. Even caregivers with long experience finds it valuable to get education in management of violent patients. The aim of this literature study was to illuminate staffs experience in meeting with aggresive and violent patients. The method that was used was a literature research, where earlier research findings were read, analysed and put together.

Introduction: Balance between the essential nutritive substances is important for aperson to maintain health. The surgical patient can be stricken with conditions, whichhave a negative impact on this balance and can lead to malnutrition. Working as a nurseit is important to identify patients that are malnourished or is in the risk zone ofmalnourishment since 30 % of all patients in hospitals are malnourished.Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the compliance to the guidelines fornutritional assessment and parenteral nutrition on a surgical ward. Also whether thenutritional treatment/-support was reported to the next caregivers if the patient wasmalnourished or was in the risk zone of malnourishment at the time of discharge.Method: 80 patients enrolled on the ward in the beginning of year 2011 were included.Audit of patient records was made according to the hospital guidelines for nutrition andparenteral nutrition and followed a study specific protocol.Results: The examination of the case records showed that the guidelines for nutritionwere partly complied with. Nutritional treatment/-support was reported to the nextcaregivers when needed.

Purpose: The Swedish correctional service is on the brink of its biggest expansion in history, due to political investments related to battling a rise in gang related criminality. The purpose of this thesis is to exam and understand the strategic competence supply work from an employer perspective and investigate the elements included in the Swedish correctional service competence supply form a regional perspective. The study specifically focus on what strategies the Swedish correctional service employ to attract, recruit, develop and retain workforce. Theory: The theoretical framework of the study includes among others, a model divided into three different phases (within, in and out) within competence supply, the demand-control-support model, push and pull factors, as well as the two-factor theory. Method: This study has a qualitative approach with semi structured interview as its specific method. A total of seven interviews were conducted with personnel within the swedish correctional service. Results: The main challenges are related to recruitment, staff retention, support of managers, and the fact that many correctional officers do not have time to complete their training before leaving. The latter is particularly significant are of concern.

The aim of the study was to improve understanding of how upper secondary school acknowledge and adjust support and guidance for gifted students regarding their future academic and professional career. The study examined school pricipals and career counselors approach to guidance work with gifted students and how the above mentioned professionals received information about gifted students. It was further examined what measures were applied to adjust the upper secondary school to the needs of gifted students. Qualitative interviews were conducted and the results showed that in cases where the informants were told it took place in conjunctions with seminars about the class, through grades or through a teacher or the students themselves who contacted the career counselor or principal at the upper secondary school.The giftedness was connected to the school curriculum and various course topics in the secondary programs. School principals viewed the career counselor as an important resource to provide motivational support, individualize and survey future plans.

The aim of this M.A.-thesis in social work is to problematize the assimilatoric concept of integration and its discourses in a postcolonial perspective in relation to social work in Denmark.As a support theory I use symbolic interactionism. By using these theories I show how the concept of integration and its discourses, when its aim is assimilatoric, can be understood and problematized with concepts as binary oppositions and hegemony.It is shown that the construction of the discoursive other is a useful term as an instrument of interpretation of power in general. The relevance to social work in relation to the social workers double powered positions, professional and cultural power to define 'the other', in social work with ethnic minorities is shown in relation to the post colonial perspective with support of symbolic interactionism. The white western world hegemony and the social workers power positions in relation to the clients fits to the theoretic frame chosen in the thesis.A second aim in this thesis is to point to new ways for social work and to the necessity to reflect over a globalized world characterized by international migration, ethnic relations and diversity..

This paper analyzes the auditor choices for a sample of 300 predominantly small Swedish firms, all located in Umeå. Our hypothesis was based on the complexity of a firm, the need of external financing, leverage, and the need of extra consultance from the auditfirm. Our definition of auditor quality is based on prior studies, and is frequently used by authors in this area. The assumption is based on that the auditor quality increases with the size of the auditfirm and the degree of the auditor. The auditor quality is therefor depending on the choice between an auditor from the group ?Big 5? or not, and the choice of an auditor with an higher degree.

It's an everyday experience shared by many that nature can be of help in relieving pain, reducing stress, support mental recovery etc. In the last three decades or so this experience has also found support in a large number of scientific investigations. Among other things the experience of nature has been shown to reduce stress and pain in patients and to boost concentration and reduce impulsive behavior in children. Most of this research however has mainly been concerned with the visual modality. In this thesis the aim has been to focus on the auditory modality in this context by trying to reveal some effects on people from the exposure of nature sounds played indoors in three different environments: a grammar school class room, a kindergarten play room and a post-surgery wake up room at an intensive care unit.