This masters thesis investigates the relation between China and the Information Society as it is manifested in the UN conference the World Summit on the Information Society WSIS. The first phase of this two-phase conference took place in Geneva 10-12 December 2003, with two documents, Declaration of principles DP and Plan of action PA, as main results. The information policy is central to an authoritarian rule in its efforts to keep control over the national identity. The thesis investigates the impact that the information revolution and Internet might have on the Chinese national identity through the acceptance of DP and PA in various aspects. With the use of the information science theories by Manuel Castells and Frank Webster, the vision of WSIS was compared with the Chinese information policy.

Strong relationships are something that is really important for companies to succeed with, in purpose to increase and protect their market shares. After major research on the subject, it has been found that variables like exchange of relationship, trust, control mutability, satisfaction and commitment are important in the establishment of measuring a relationship. The purpose with this thesis was to: increase the knowledge on how companies measure, and then consequently evaluate, their relationships. To answer the purpose of the study we chose to do a case study at Stadium AB, which is a retailing concern with a high level of customer contact on a daily basis. The conclusion is that trust most likely is the key variable in measuring relationships.

The purpose with this disertation is to find if there are selected factors which can force companies to grow. We have chosen five factors which we think can force the companies; market, strategy, profitability, demographic and institutional factors. We want to examine if there are differences between small and larger companies, and if there are differences between the lines of business.The intention to growth is also influenced by different factors. The organization and the board have an effect on the development. There are also factors that can obstruct the growth, for example control.

This dissertation is carried out on behalf of Two i Sverige AB. Two is a consulting agency which primarily works with the development of homepages. The company has several of its complete applications written in ASP e.g. the development of homepages. At the agency they have seen benefit migrating these applications from ASP to the more flexible environment ASP.NET.

Energy Director is a control and measuring system for energy consumption and is part of the product portfolio of E.ON AG for more efficient use of energy, offered to business customers. As of today, the system has only one parameter of control, namely power, and the objective of this essay has been to investigate whether other ones could be added. The emphasis is on the environmental perspective, which is why carbon dioxide has served as an example for this parameter in question.Parallel with the study of Energy Director electricity on the margin, calculations of carbon dioxide equivalents and also the Swedish trade of electricity have all been highlighted. Results indicate that when reductions in energy are made it is endorsed to omit from electricity on the margin rather than some mean distributed electricity, under certain conditions, and in addition the calculations of the reductions should be modified regarding the efficiency of the power stations fuelled by lignite and bituminous coal. Sweden practices trade with the Nordic countries as well as Poland and Germany.

By studying literature concerning design, didactics and reflection, and complementing those explorations with interviews with experienced design educators, this thesis challenges the idea of aesthetic media education being purely aesthetic in its characteristics. Drawing from their own experiences as a media aesthetics educator and an industrial designer, the two authors argue that the work flow used within most fields of design, commonly known as the design process, might provide a suitable didactic alternative to a field of education lacking relevant methodology. The literature study offers a better understanding of the design process and how it may be defined and viewed within an educational context. The interviews provide a more practical insight into the world of design education. The result shows that the design process as a didactical method theoretically offers both elements of critical thinking as well as direction and frames for students lacking aesthetic and artistic experience.

Entrepreneurship is said to be the missing link between knowledge and growth in the Swedish economy. New ventures run a high risk of failing and this holds true especially for technology ventures. Since company leaders have proven to exert an influence on organisations' survival possibilities, the selection of an appropriate CEO is important. The purpose of this study is to describe the importance of the CEO for ventures as well as to explain how knowledge and experience affect the opinion of who should be CEO. Using a qualitative case study research design including three life science companies, we show that there are three main factors crucial when selecting a CEO.

This study examines the possibilities of interpreting the moral values and ethics presented in the current curriculums in a way that makes them inclusive and constructive. The study also reveals how the liberal democratic ideal, presented in the curriculums as a hyper-ideology, is not at all easy to define or live up to in the pluralistic school of today.By close-reading and criticizing the curriculum for the Swedish senior high school (Gy11)and by looking at it from two different points of views, as rules or norms and as a process, Ishow how the curriculum can be interpreted as a basis or starting point for a communicationabout values. I also discuss wether the aim of this communication should be consensus or anongoing process..

Forming teacher teams is currently the standard way of organizing teachers in Swedish Compulsory Schools. This is the result of a process that started in the 1970s.Traditionally the culture of teaching has been one of isolation. Once the door to the classroom is shut, what happens behind the door is up to the teacher to decide. Over the past thirty years a lot of time has been dedicated to making fundamental changes in the way teachers interact with their colleagues. Today the idea of teachers forming teams is generally accepted but still the core of a Swedish teacher?s job is that of a lone worker.

Uppsatsens syfte avser att beskriva hur ACB Laminat, ur ledningens perspektiv, arbetar med lönsamhetsstyrning. Vidare ska eventuella brister i detta tillvägagångssätt belysas och analyseras, för att förslag till tänkbara åtgärder ska presenteras för företaget.För att nå uppsatsens syfte har en fallstudiebaserad kvalitativ studie använts. En tydlig avgränsning av vad som ingår i undersökningen och vad som ligger utanför finns då uppsatsen enbart avsåg att undersöka ledningens syn på hur företaget arbetar med lönsamhetsstyrning. En kvalitativ ansats har använts för att genom en djupgående intervju belysa en helhet och med hjälp av mina egna tolkningar finna en förståelse i det undersökta.En beskrivning på hur företaget, enligt ledningen arbetar med lönsamhetsstyrning har presenteras. Vidare har undersökningen resulterat i att brister i företagets arbetssätt funnits och förslag till hur de kan avhjälpas har presenterats.

AbstractThis study focuses on three generations of Kurdish women's view on honor. The study is a qualitative research based on three individual interviews. The aim of this study is to examine how three generations of immigrant women from a culture of honor is influenced over time by the majority culture and its values together with how these women affect each other mutually both consciously and unconsciously within the family. The study is based on two questions: What does"honor" mean to the three generations of women who are Muslim and Kurdish? Did these three generations of women?s idea of honor change over time as they have lived in Sweden? Results of this study have shown that the concept of honor has its focus on the woman's body, sexuality and chastity.

AbstractThis study focuses on three generations of Kurdish women's view on honor. The study is a qualitative research based on three individual interviews. The aim of this study is to examine how three generations of immigrant women from a culture of honor is influenced over time by the majority culture and its values together with how these women affect each other mutually both consciously and unconsciously within the family. The study is based on two questions: What does"honor" mean to the three generations of women who are Muslim and Kurdish? Did these three generations of women?s idea of honor change over time as they have lived in Sweden? Results of this study have shown that the concept of honor has its focus on the woman's body, sexuality and chastity.

This study is a follow up of a pilot study made 2004, that evaluated feeding, exercise and weight as possible risk factors for developing any kind of diabetes in dogs. We have selected our material for a certain kind of DM that exists among Norwegian and Swedish elkhounds. These breeds are among the most common breeds affected by diabetes and this kind of DM almost exclusively affects intact bitches. We performed a case- control study where the owners were interviewed over the phone. The owners of a total of 48 case dogs and 58 control dogs were contacted. The questions for the cases focused on the time before the diagnosis and the questions for the control dogs focused on the dog´s adult life.

Lean Production is used by many manufacturing companies. Companies in process industries do not use Lean Production to the same extent today. This is part of the report's issue to explore how Lean Production can be applied to a company in the process industries.The investigated company is a processing company that manufactures various types of foil. The company wishes to streamline its production and has therefore asked the authors to examine if Lean Production can offer the company improvements in their production. Lean Production value stream mapping tool has been selected to identify and analyze the current state of two of its products in production.

The aim of this study is to increase understanding about addiction recovery. More specifically, we want to know what people who have had problems with alcohol and/or other drugs perceive as helpful and important for their recovery process and how we can understand this process.The study was conducted by means of qualitative semi-structured interviews with four people who have had alcohol and/or other drug problems. The analysis is based on a transtheoretical model of change from addictive behaviours, coping, interactionist theories and also a recovery perspective, inspired by research on recovery from mental illness . Main findings are that recovery from addiction can be understood as an individual process that takes place in a social context and can follow expected phases, although there are large individual differences in the process. Through the recovery process it has been of importance to the participants in the study to redefine themselves and their problems, get support from others, find ways to cope with their problems, get involved in meaningful activities and to expand their social roles.