In this thesis we examine the relationship between board composition and firm performance in Swedish companies. The selection of companies includes all Swedish limited liability companies, with the exception of micro enterprises, that have been active between the years of 2009-2010. We develop hypotheses based on resource dependence theory, agency theory, and the resource based view, and test these with regression analysis against collected data. Specifically, we examine the effects of board diversity, outside directorships, and CEO duality. Our findings show that none of the theories provide sufficient explanatory power of the relationship between board composition and firm performance, and that further research is required to better understand the role and effects of company boards..

The idea of bringing mindfulness into organizations has become increasingly popular. While previous research has shown positive effects of mindfulness practice in individuals, consequences of introducing mindfulness in organizations remain largely unexplored. This thesis examines those consequences through a qualitative study. We conducted semi-structured interviews with members of two case companies. Based on the effects which mindfulness has been shown to have on individuals, our analysis was especially focused on the areas of efficiency, effectiveness and organizational culture.

Background: Energy drinks have been found in everyday-stores since 1997 and their popularity have increased over time. Consumtion of energy drinks takes place because of their ability to increase concentration and to decrease fatigue but also because of the popularity the drinks have got. Target groups for these stimulating beverages are adolescents and young adults. Energy drinks contain caffeine, taurine, glucuronolacton, carbohydrates and B-vitamins and voices have been raised about the eligibility for young people to ingest large quantities of these kinds of substances. Because of the properties of these substances it has become popular to mix energy drinks and alcoholic beverages to make up for the negative effects of alcohol and to be able to drink larger quantaties.Aim: The aim of this literature work was to investigate cognitive effects of the combination of caffeine in terms of energy drinks and alcohol and to determine if these effects could be harmful.Method: This literature work is based on five scientific articles retrieved from PubMed.

This thesis describes a system for dealing with free surface fluid simulations, and the components needed in order to construct such a system. It builds upon recent research, but in a computer graphics context the amount of available literature is limited and difficult to implement. Because of this, the text aims at providing a solid foundation of the mathematics needed, at explaining in greater detail the steps needed to solve the problem, and lastly at improving some aspects of the animation process as it has been described in earlier works. The aim of the system itself is to provide visually plausible renditions of animated fluids in three dimensions in a manner that allows it to be usable in a visual effects production context. The novel features described include a generalized interaction layer providing greater control to artists, a new way of dealing with moving objects that interact with the fluid and a method for adding source and drain capabilities..

This paper aims to examine how, and if, music is being used integrated in other subjects thanmusic in school. The study is based on qualitative interviews and I haveinterviewed fourteachers, regardless of whether they use music a lot or not.The questions the study is basedon are if there might be a connection between theteachers' own feelings for music andwhether they use music inschool or not, how music is being used and does the use of musicgive any effects?The result of this study shows that there can be a connection between the teachers ownsfeelings for music and the fact if they use music when they teach or not. One of the teachersI?ve interviewed had bad music experiences and didnot use music in her teaching.

The purpose of this composition was to examine which international and Swedish laws exist to govern the protection of asylum seekers claiming persecution on the grounds of sexual orientation. Additionally I wanted to look at what the need for such a right to refuge would be based upon, i.e. why asylum seekers ought to be granted such protection. In order to fulfil my objectives I based my material on international and Swedish laws, comparing these to studies of what negative impact growing up and living as homosexual in an oppressed environment can have on the individual, psychologically and socially. To highlight and exemplify my material I used Iran as a case-study to reflect my facts upon.I found that there has been, and still seems to be a lack of interest in and commitment to the persecution of homosexuals around the world.

TitleThe communicative office ? A study of the effects that Activity based offices has on internal communication.      Authors                             Carl Varli, Jonas Eklund and Petter Göransson Course                              Business administration III ? Organization ? Bachelor? thesis Tutor                                 Olle Duhlin           Examiner                          Mikael Lundgren Background                      The prime focus of activity based office designs are the though of choosing your workplace along with your work task, instead of the other way around. This means that you do not longer have a set workstation of your own, you move around according to where to your current work will be best performed.  Problem                           We want to explore how the communication within a company?s departments has been affected by the introduction of an activity-based office design.Purpose                             The purpose of this study was to get an understanding of how this office design could effect the communication within companies that uses it. Further more, we wanted to study the effects that this kind of office would have on the communication within a department.

This paper aims to examine how, and if, music is being used integrated in other subjects thanmusic in school. The study is based on qualitative interviews and I haveinterviewed fourteachers, regardless of whether they use music a lot or not.The questions the study is basedon are if there might be a connection between theteachers' own feelings for music andwhether they use music inschool or not, how music is being used and does the use of musicgive any effects?The result of this study shows that there can be a connection between the teachers ownsfeelings for music and the fact if they use music when they teach or not. One of the teachersI?ve interviewed had bad music experiences and didnot use music in her teaching.

AbstractTitle: Message sent ? SUDD AB:s internal communication in the digital age (Message sent ? SUDD AB:s interna kommunikation i den digitala tidsåldern)Number of pages: 40 (44 including enclosures)Author: Lea KaufmannTuthor: Göran SvenssonCourse: Media and Communication Studies CPeriod: HT 2006University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala UniversityPurpose/Aim: Analyze whether a small long distance company such as SUDD AB can obtain a well-functioned internal communication by using new communication technologies.Material/Method: The analysis is based on qualitative interviews with SUDD AB:s complete staff.Main results: Proven that internal communication is a complicated and very important process also within a small company. New communication channels do not necessarily guarantee an uncomplicated and efficient internal communication but the need to collaborate with old-fashioned channels persists.Keywords: communication, information, channels, effects, content, effectiveness.

This thesis strives to demonstrate my increasingly phenomenological approach to musical composition in relation to the extensive body of musical works connected in different ways to the poetry collection ORDER by the Swedish author and play-wright Lars Norén. The hand, the touch, the voice, the space (environment) and its philosophical implications are scrutinised from a poetic perspective (my poetics). The question of language (the word), the sign (text), sound/noise/music and its immanent bodily qualities are focused and questioned in my own work as well as in primarily two case studies of the music of Pierluigi Billone (1960-) and Morton Feldman (1926-1987).The text reflects the emancipatory process my music has undergone the last 4- 5 years: moving away from language and text (representation) to body and sound, although preserving and nurturing the extended idea of the sign (as signification of sound and body) as a possible embodied vehicle in my composing and artistic thinking.The reader is invited through the extensive use of sketches and work methods to witness and follow this process as a manifestation of the ?doing? rather than the presentation or construction of an analysis in an academic sense.The thesis offers no solution and it fails to encapsulate all of the so-called ORDER-MUSIC (the music that is connected with Norén's collection of poetry) Instead it proposes a possible way of ?opening? the process to a basically phenomenological methodology inside the musical field of score based chamber music..

This thesis examines source criticism and critical thinking among upper secondary school students in social science in three different schools in Sweden. Our particular focus lies in investigating the student's critical thinking skills and evaluation of digital sources when they work independently with different projects. How do students value and sort the information they find? We looked furthermore at what factors that may influence students in their evaluation of sources. Moreover, the purpose of this thesis to investigate how the student's critical thinking skills can be used as tools to become more information literate in a learning context.

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.

Animal-assisted therapy had its large breakthrough in the 1960-ties when a psychiatrist named Boris Levinson discovered the great advantages of involving animals in the treatment of patients. Therapy with animals involves that animals are used in a systematic way, in a person's process of treatment. The most distinguished companion animal used within this area is the dog, but horses, cats, rabbits, birds, dolphins and the most common farm animals are used in animal-assisted therapy. Most animals that are to be used for this specific purpose need to be trained in order to maintain their physical and mental health, but also to minimize the risks for the people that are involved. Most studies within this research area are focused on the positive effects on the patients and less on the effects on the animals.

This paper aims to examine how, and if, music is being used integrated in other subjects thanmusic in school. The study is based on qualitative interviews and I haveinterviewed fourteachers, regardless of whether they use music a lot or not.The questions the study is basedon are if there might be a connection between theteachers' own feelings for music andwhether they use music inschool or not, how music is being used and does the use of musicgive any effects?The result of this study shows that there can be a connection between the teachers ownsfeelings for music and the fact if they use music when they teach or not. One of the teachersI?ve interviewed had bad music experiences and didnot use music in her teaching.

Product development is essential for all companies that want to survive in competitive markets regardless of the characteristics of the product that the company sells. Companies that sell products within product categories which can be seen as bad, also need to develop their products in order to remain competitive. If these bad products add a positive attribute, for example that they get organic, a contradiction within the product arises and they get incongruent. This thesis investigates which effects that follow a launch of an incongruent product. The thesis also examines if these effects are affected by the strength of the brand under which the product is launched.A total of 240 respondents participated in an experimental study where product incongruity was manipulated for two different product categories, where one well known brand and one unknown brand were examined in each category.