The objective of this study was to uncover what aspects of urban plazas and parks that are most important for users? evaluations of places? aesthetics and microclimate (the characteristic climate for a limited space). This was done by investigating people?s general ideas of plazas and parks (the prototypical concepts) and compare these with place users? descriptions of four specific places. Interviews with two groups (31 and 24 persons respectively) were carried out in order to collect this information.

The purpose of the present thesis is to investigate the interaction between the branches in the different villages and its users and the importance of the branches for democracy. To illustrate these points, I have focused on Högsby municipality, a local council in Kalmar county. Högsby municipality is of particular interest in this connection, since all seven of the branches have been closed recently; only the main library remains. Moreover, three of the closed branches were, in 2005, taken over by citizen organizations local to the part of Högsby municipality where the libraries were located. The specific issues that were addressed were:- What needs were satisfied by the local libraries in Högsby council and is it possible to satisfy these needs in other ways and then, how?- Does the absence of a local library affect democracy?Interviews were performed.

It is clear that media advertising is one of the crucial marketing tools for companies in order to promote their products and services. As we are moving towards more and more economic integration, both on a regional and global scale, the question about standardisation of media advertising has become increasingly important and is nowadays subject to discussion in most international companies. This thesis deals with the issue of standardisation in a region where the process of political, legal and especially economic integration is taking its course, but where cultural and linguistic diversity is still a remaining fact: Europe. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the potential gains from a standardised advertising approach but also to identify its limitations. Especially on a market place like Europe, with its diverse cultural and linguistic background, a fully standardised approach might be difficult to implement.

[?If we zigzag in the middle, it?s OK?] The purpose of the following study is to examine the relationship between tourism and religion in a Balinese context. We look specifically at changes in religious practice, culture and mentality, as well as how religious philosophy is used as a tool for limiting the negative impact of tourism. The methods used are semi-structured interviews and participant observations. Central themes in the following essay are globalization in the form of tourism, westernization, subsystem theory and capitalism, which also make up the theoretical framework.

The globalisation of the world is believed by some to homogenise individuals from different national cultures. However, the values and norms of an individual are deeply rooted in their national culture and are therefore difficult to change. Since birth these values and norms are learnt through interaction with others within a specific national culture. The differences in values of a national culture are shown in the cornerstones of the nation. These cornerstones are language, aesthetics, religion and social institutions.

Title: Share anything Swedish ? a study of CommunityOfSweden.com (Share anything Swedish ? en studie av CommunityOfSweden.com).Number of pages: 57 (64 including attachments).Author: Daniela Brandel.Tutor: Else Nygren.Course: Media and Communication Studies C.Period: Fall 2008.University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University.Purposes/Aims: To learn what happens when the public-private tourism organisation VisitSweden starts an online community, where anyone is free to post stories and photos about a Swedish experience, and to understand how a participatory culture can help an organisation develop relevant material and thereby reach a wider audience.Material/Method: The study is an analysis of VisitSweden's community CommunityOfSweden, its structures as well as VisitSweden's use of the information posted by the readers on the community. Hence the material consists mainly of content from the community www.communityofsweden.com and the webpage www.visitsweden.com. In addition, the study is also based on an interview with VisitSwedens communitydriver Tommy Sollén.Main results: Members of CommunityOfSweden help VisitSweden to promote Sweden. This is possible because the community posting format and the participatory culture within the community are well designed and planned by VisitSweden, even though the organisation was not completely sure about the outcome.

The thesis aims to analyze strategic, cultural and structural aspects of Grameen Bank and its micro-credit project, in order to identify key success factors. A case study was performed with an inductive and qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews. The data was collected by field observations and interviews on site in Dhaka, Bangladesh and surrounding areas.The main conclusion is that the critical success factor of Grameen Bank is the relationship focus, guiding and aligning its strategy, culture and structure. Also, local offices have been observed to utilize practices not permitted by the bank?s management, ultimately increasing the organizational efficiency..

Syfte: Syftet är att öka förståelsen för hur attraktiviteten i regioner på olika sätt kan påverkas. Avsikten är att klargöra vilket tillvägagångssätt som kan användas när syftet är att skapa utveckling och förnyelse på en plats och vilka faktorer som påverkar en regions attraktivitet och image. Metod: Undersökningen bygger på en kvalitativ ansats där empirin har insamlats via seminarier, intervjuer och telefonintervju. Vidare utgår undersökningen från en deduktiv ansats och en intensiv utformning då den bygger på teorier och har för avsikt att belysa djup och nyanser.Teoretiska perspektiv: Undersökningen utgår från modellen Levels of Place Marketing av Kotler et al. (1993).

The aim of this essay is to describe the historical development of the intercultural teacher training program at Södertörn University in Stockholm. I have also examined how the intercultural teacher training program was started, how and why it became intercultural and how the people in charge of the development of the teacher training program discussed intercultural science. The teacher training program has been an active part of Södertörn University since 1998, but it became intercultural in 2002. I have studied these questions through documents from the Södertörn University archives and literature by the funders of the education. The study shows that the university profile, ambitions and motives have been a key factor in the decision to make the teacher training program at Södertörn a multi-cultural one..

AbstractHuvudfrågeställningen för uppsatsen är hur invandrarungdomar upplever och hanterar sin livssituation i de två kulturella världar de eventuellt lever i, den ursprungliga och den svenska kulturen? Undersökningen är utförd kvalitativt och baseras på fem intervjuer. De intervjuade har haft sin primära socialisation i hemlandet och under tidig ålder flyttat till Sverige. Teoretiskt utgår uppsatsen från Berger & Luckman, Jenkins, Ålund och Deniz vilka med sina skilda teorier förklarar varför identitetsprocessen och tillhörigheten är komplexfyllda för invandrarungdomar. Tidigare forskning har visat att invandrarungdomar upplever skilda problem i sin vardag därför att de lever i utkanten av två skilda kulturer.

There are certain organizations that manage to handle risk in such a successful way that they almost stay error-free, in spite of the fact that they daily face the risks of accidents. These organizations are usually given the name High Reliability Organizations (HRO). While the most common example is that of a nuclear plant the variety of what organizations can fit into the category is extensive.The purpose of this study is to describe safety culture and theories about HRO and how these can be found in practise within an organization.This qualitative research uses influences of ethnography in its method. The ethnographical approach was picked due to the field of the study and the cultural context in which it is set.The results of the study identify a number of elements sorted into four themes. These themes are deemed compatible or non-compatible with relevant existing theories.

The objective with the study was to evaluate what key persons at LFV Group (Luftfartsverket) think about-presented core values and their implementation within the company. Another objective of the study was to describe and compare the process of implementation of core values and how this affects organization culture at two selected reference companies. A qualitative method was applied in the form of semi-structured interviews with key persons at Luftfartsverket and the other reference companies.As the result a four-step program is proposed to describe the implementation process of core values: presentation, introduction, realization and follow-up. Within the implementation process it is possible to distinguish another process, which is based on core values, - introduction of new employees. The implementation of core values has contributed towards the development of the organizational culture as well as creating a successful company governed by core values..

Problem: How should a company act to sustain a strong identity and thereby a strong brand image when operating in a changeable world?Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to analyze whether the corporate identity of Academic Work is strong or fragmented. Further more this thesis aims to give recommendations on how the company could continue working to maintain a strong brand image. Methodology: The thesis is a case study of Academic Work. The study is based on data collected from interviews, a poll as well as data from the company website.

Aim: Compare occurrences of first-time-events reported by mothers and fathers with children at high tech NICU according to kangaroo-mother-care method in two university hospitals. Method: Descriptive, quantitative design. Fourty-five couples of parents, with premature children born and cared for at university hospitals in Uppsala or Örebro, answered questionnaires about first-time-events: interaction-events, measures-of-care-events and sleeping-place-events. Results: All differences regarding the children?s age at first-time-events showed Uppsala-children to be younger than Örebro-children. Interaction-events were reported first in children?s lives, measures-of-care-events and sleeping-place-events later.

Mergers and acquisitions are a phenomenon which can occur for a variety of reasons. It may for example be that the organizations want to gain larger market shares or to complement and learn from each other and thus become more competitive. After the completion of an acquisition or merger, a process is initiated to create an affiliation between the two companies' employees. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether there is something that management can do to make the integration process as efficient as possible. The empirical research in this paper consisted of interviews and surveys with respondents from two accounting firms that recently completed a merger.