This thesis aims to explore the process where strategies for music artists are created by record companies. We describe and analyze how decisions regarding signing, distribution, marketing, bookings and co-operations are made. Through our study we find that the strategy process can be described as a pattern according to Mintzberg's definition. The "inside-out" perspective is dominating and the record companies base their strategies on internal core competencies and the artistry and will of the music artist. The underlying causes of this are the uncertainty that characterizes the industry; the focus on social relations; and the importance of cultural legitimacy..

The purpose with this thesis was to examine the cold rolling mill located at Högskolan Dalarna and to stabilize the rolling process, to achieve steady state. Experiments with cold rolling of an aluminium strip have given results for rolling force, friction, reduction, strip tension and strain hardening. Results show that steady state has been found for the experiments with roll force and strain hardening, and not been found for the experiments with friction and reduction. Results show that increased strip tension gives lower roll forces. The roll force equation of Stone shows comparable results with reality for dry contact with reductions up to 30 %, but starts being incomparable with higher reductions.

The main aim of this thesis is to investigate the implications and dynamics behind consistency between individual resource allocation decisions and corporate strategy concept. The telecom industry, a high-velocity environment going through an extensive deregulation process, is put under the magnifying glass. Japanese telecom giant NTT Group is compared to its German counterpart Deutsche Telekom. Potential antecedent factors in the strategic decision-making process to consistency are studied. It is also examined whether there is a direct interplay between consistency and economic performance.

The topic of this paper is puppets as an educational tool in preschool. The purpose of this paper is to examine the puppets potential as a tool for creating pleasurable learning in preschool. The method of collecting material for the essay has been qualitative research interviews with four informants. The prerequties for writing this essay has been good. There has been some literature on puppets and basis for my investigation, there have been informants with experience of puppets.

The aim of this study is to point out variations of practices in the relationship between professionals of service occupations and their clients. The material consists of four openly conducted thematic interviews with male professionals who work in the environment of their clients' homes.The main theoretical approach of this analysisis undertaken with ethnicity in mind.The practices identified aim to throw light on the boundaries between the differing cultures of professionals and their clients.The analytical termsboundary reduction and boundary maintenanceare used in this research.The two-stage analysis points out different practicesused, in chronological order, during contact between professionals and their clients. This is followed by a statement of the themes which connect, primarily fromthe professional perspective. The results indicate an intimate connection between intercultural and transcultural aspects through the use of cultural transparancy, which is a strategy connecting different roles, aswell as use of loophole tacticsthat afford the possibility of definingspace, place and relationship.It's illustrated how the professionals operate from "within the structures and worldview" of the client, and this analysis also reveals a glimpse of the potential for cultural changein the meeting between different cultures..

Yesterdays common fertilizing strategy was to apply phosphor (P) and potassium (K) in thefall a few times in the crop rotation. In the spring only nitrogen (N) was applied. Recent trialsand studies has shown that this strategy, N+P/PK, is ineffective compared with the systemwhere NPK is spread every year in the spring. The strategy with annual NPK-fertilizer in thespring has proven to be better for the crop, the environment and the farmers economy.In the NPK-system the crop responds with higher yields and better quality, especially in thespring cereals. This is mainly because of an interaction between the different nutrients in thefertilizer.

Commercial strategies are becoming more common in an increasing number of sports - Swedish golf is no exception. Previous research shows that new opportunities for non-profit organizations, to assign parts of their operations to a limited company, do not have any economic importance. The supplementary question arises why more golf clubs nonetheless choose to corporatize its activities? Is the purpose of commercial strategies generally linked to business- or sport-related success? This paper, containing two studies, aims to create an understanding of the underlying drivers of commercialization, and furthermore to quantitatively demonstrate how commercialization is reflected within Swedish golf in terms of strategy and marketing. Swedish golf clubs were categorized as more or less commercial, and examined based on business-related variables such as communications, brand awareness and price discrimination, as well as sports-related variables as success factors and success indicators.

Purpose/Aim: The purpose of this paper is to describe how a number of strategically selected employees at the Swedish Institute, with the purpose to promote Sweden in the world, look at the challenges facing Sweden concerning nation branding in the new era of cooperation within the European Union. I examine how these people look upon the work of public diplomacy and nation branding in order to actively participate and influence the EU's common communications platform.Material/Method: The method used in this thesis is qualitative interviews. The reason why I chose this method is because I consider it to be the most appropriate in order to collect information about how these selected employees at the Swedish institute regard the challenges that lay ahead in terms of nation branding within the European Union.Main results: On the basis of the results I have gained by dint of the analysis, it can be concluded that it is of utmost importance to take the societal changes, which are a result both of the worldwide globalization and the EU cooperation, into consideration when designing a future communication strategy for the Swedish Institute. The nation-state continues to play an important role in Sweden, but its importance is declining as the EU cooperation is progressing. The citizens? identity plays a crucial role in designing a nation?s communications strategy, and from the analysis I conclude that we move not from a Swedish to a European identity, but towards a pluralistic union where multiple identities meet under one umbrella; the EU..

AbstractTitle: Where does the news that you read in your localpaper come from? (Vilket ursprung har nyheten som du läser i din lokaltidning?)Number of pages: 45 (57 including enclosures)Author: Elin RantakokkoTutor: Göran SvenssonCourse: Media and Communication Studies 30 hpPeriod: Fall of 2007 University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University Purpose/Aim: This paper has the aim to make a systematic survey of the information source and channels that local newspapers use. How much space they get in the paper and how the newspaper works with these sources and channels. The front pages of the newspaper are going to be compared with the insides of the newspaper. The reports roles in the making of news are also examined.Material/method: To be able to answer my questions I?m going to use three different methods.

The BSC is a widely used management tool that is turning the vision and strategy into operational goals. However, after analyzing the criticism received by the BSC, it seems as if its internal focus, rigidity, static-ism and mechanical mindset limits the company?s ability to create a strategy that takes important external factors into account. As we see it, the BSC?s limitations can create a risk for strategic inertia.

Harm reduction som insats, har för avsikt att minska de negativa konsekvenserna som tenderar att följa missbruket. Konceptet härstammar från 1920-talets England där grunderna för behandlingsformen utvecklades efter att läkarkåren ansåg att underhåll av missbruk i flera fall kan vara nödvändigt. Metadonbehandling och sprututbytesprojekt är två exempel på Harm reduction relaterade insatser. Grunderna för metadonbehandlingen utvecklades i USA av Marie Nyswander och Vincent Dole och lanserades 1966 i Sverige av professor Lars Gunne, aktiv vid Ulleråkers sjukhus i Uppsala. Läkemedelsassisterad behandling är dokumenterat effektiv och visar goda resultat som t.ex.

Background: Balanced scorecard is a relatively new strategy in analysing activities in a company. To carry out a strategy in an organization a successful implementation is very important. Strategy implementations are unique for each organization and to succeed it has to be formulated and implemented with the individual companies particular conditions as starting- point. A problem is that the implementation sometimes is treated as a small detail in the planning process. This problem depends on how the strategic plans is carried out.

Umeå Energi are working towards a goal, that in the year of 2018, they will be completely climate neutral. As a part of this, one target is to reduce their grid losses by 4 % of the 2012 level, which corresponds to an overall reduction of the grid losses of just over 1.7 GWh. In many residential areas, the distribution grid is designed and rated for electric heating as the heating in the houses. As many of the houses later has been converted to other types of heating, their electricity use has decreased and the total power output from many of the secondary substations has decreased significantly. Because of this, many of these stations today are well oversized, which in turn means that the energy losses in these stations are unnecessarily high.In this degree project, 25 secondary substations have been studied, all located in residential areas in and around central Umeå.

1. Reaction on burial depth and nitrogen availability and placement in competition with a crop In this trial it was investigated how couch grass (Elymus repens) changes its ability to compete in stands of wheat and barley with different burial depth and different amounts and placement of nitrogen. More knowledge in this area can be valuable in the attempt to decrease the use of herbicides and still keep the weeds under control. The trial was carried out in the summer of 2004 as an outdoor pot experiment. The pots contained 15 litres of soil with a surface of 0,06 m2.

Background: Mergers and acquisitions have evolved from initially almost exclusively having been an American phenomenon, to becoming a common occurrence throughout the world. Companies though, are not defenseless against hostile bids, but must take many factors into account when selecting defense measures. Purpose: This paper aims to enhance the understanding of acquisitions through hostile bids on the companies studied. More specifically, this study aims to create a deeper understanding in how Scania and Skandia have chosen their defense measures, or could have chosen, before and during their hostile bidding processes with specific concern for their strategic credibility. Method: This paper is based on two companies listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange exposed to hostile takeover attempts in a similar time period.