The research in this thesis attempts to understand what happens when children (3-6 years of age) interact with each other in the context of free play in two pre-school settings when adults are not involved. The aim of the study was to get a closer look at how children create relationships and how they protect and defend their interactional spaces. Data was gathered through ethnographically inspired methodology, using video observation to capture the everyday interactions of the children. Results were analyzed using a phenomenological approach to peer cultures. Previous research suggests that it is very important for children to maintain their interactions with peers and gaining access to play.

Title: Time to renovate ? The effect of communication on the relationship between company and customer in a change situationCourse/subject:Busniess administration, Leadership, 15hpAuthors:Fredrik Elghag, Ossian OlssonTutors:Ingemar WictorKeywords:The Million Programme, Communication, Relationship Marketing, Tentant, Landlord.Problem formulation:How does communication affect the relationship between company and customer in a change situation?Purpose:Examining how different parts of a communication process affects customers trust, commitment and loyalty to their company.Theoretical framework:The starting point for the study?s theoretical perspectives have been Morgan and Hunt?s (1994) previous studies on relationship marketing and Laswell?s (1948) communication model.Methodology:The paper is performed with a qualitative research approach and a deductive approach to answer the research question. Personal interviews were conducted with four employees in real estate companies and two tenants in each company stock.Conclusion:We have found that communication affects the relationship between company and customer. Tentants have experinced credibility of businesses is important for them to have a confidence and loyalty in the relationship. .

This is a report on the development and implementation of the web shop ?Urballa Ur?, a web application developed by nine students at Linköping university. The report illustrates the methodology and process with intention to answer the question ?How can an online watch store be implemented to increase sales??. During the process the agile method scrum has been used as a working method.

Purpose: To examine the governance mechanisms and the competence PE-firms adds to theirholding companies through an active ownership in order to create growth.Methodology: A qualitative study with interviews as its main source of data.Theoretical perspectives: Corporate governance and relevant theories within that subjectsuch as agent theory, board of directors and management. Previous research within the subjectwill also be presented.Empirical foundation: The empirical foundation consists of three conducted interviews anddata collected from the chosen PE-firms as well as six different holding companies.Conclusions: The governance mechanisms used in the PE-firms we have chosen are stronglyrelated to both theories within corporate governance as well as previous research on thesubject. The governance mechanisms being used are an explicit owners agenda and strategy, athorough acquisition process, usage of external competence, active ownership through theboard of directors and the insertion of incentive systems..

In recent years, Lean has been implemented in a variety of companies with focus areas that differ from the conditions that characterizes manufacturing. This transfer has contributed to fairly superficial results because companies almost exclusively focus on Toyotas methodology and not on the goal of Lean. The effort of transforming Lean from manufacturing to any organization requires a definition on a general level and a view of Lean as a system. One of the core principles of Lean and the foundation of continuous improvements is standardized work. In product development there is a negative view on standardized work, where the engineers state that the principle is not applicable for knowledge processes that include non-repetitive and creative work.In the framework of this master thesis literature has been studied to find support that standardized work is applicable for product development and areas that include knowledge processes.

Purpose - To analyze the relationship between supply chain management maturity, supply chain performance and financial performance in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME:s).Design/methodology/approach - The data comprises 15 SME:s that participated in a local logistic study in Gävleborgs län. The levels of supply chain mature within these firms were based upon an interview study and the financial performance of the firms was then examined using financial reports-based data.Findings -The results of this study indicate that there is a strong relationship between SCM maturity and SC performance in SMEs, some relationships between SCM maturity and financial performance, as well as some relationships between SC performance and financial performance. This means that if firms use maturity indicators in the SCOR areas to improve their processes, they will most likely achieve a positive effect on supply chain performance and probably also on financial performance. The result implies that the supply chain maturities in these firms are higher than expected with no one at the adHoc level.While this study is based on a rather small number of participating firms, it would be valuable to further test the significance of the indicated correlations between SCM maturity and performance in a large-scale survey.Research limitations/Implications - The research is an attempt to understand supply chain maturity and it´s implication on financial performance. Developing supply chain maturity is an opportunity for a company to gain superior performance.

The primary aim of this essay is to analyse, contextualise and problematise the scientific and technological goals of android science. The starting point of this investigation is the history of automata and man?s attempts to recreate himself by technological means. Drawing on the no-tion of boundary work this essay also analyses the efforts of the proponents of android science to establish and demarcate a new interdisciplinary field. A secondary aim of the essay is to evaluate the scientific support for the uncanny valley hypothesis and to investigate how this hypothesis contributes to android science.

The purpose of this research is to survey and describe some science teachers? conceptions of which assessment criteria they use at the marking process. Questions which are relevant for this research are the following: 1. Which assessment methods form the basis for science teachers? marking process? 2.

PURPOSE: To investigate to what extent product brand positioning models can be used to analyzecorporate brand positioning;METHODOLOGY: The phenomenon is observed from a positivist epistemological position within a primarilyinductive research design. The research strategy is defined as qualitative, while the method of ethnographiccontent analysis is implemented to analyze primary data;THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE: Product and brand positioning literature; Product brand positioning rhombus;EMPIRICAL DATA: Ethnographic content analysis of brand commercials;CONCLUSION: As shown by the extensive literature review product brands (PB) and corporate brands (CB) coexistin corporate environments. One of key insights of this study shows that product brand positioning(PBP) and corporate brand positioning (CBP) processes can also co-exist in the same corporate environment.Moreover, PBs can be built based on the CB, making the investment in CB a long term return on investment.The study also observes that PBP messages include the ?against whom? attribute, highlighting differentiationin the competitive environment; when on the corporate level, this evolves, and in some cases becomes quitethe contrary, when the concept of ?from whom? or ?by whom? is stressed more than the differentiation amongother CBs in the competitive environment. This stresses the importance of including brand identity elementsin CBP..

Den projektbaserade arbetsformen blir allt mer vanligt förekommande inom alla nivåer i samhället. Projekt kräver planering, bland annat tid- och resursplanering. Tid är en av de viktigaste beståndsdelarna i projekt, och tidsaspekten är av avgörande betydelse om projektet kommer att lyckas i sin helhet. Resurser är en annan viktig beståndsdel som också har en avgörande betydelse om projekt kommer att nå målen. Samtidigt som projektet som arbetssätt tilltar, tenderar projekten att växa i storlek.

Background: Goodwill has always been frequently discussed and a lot of scientific research has been done regarding factors that affect companies? impairment of goodwill. Previous research has concluded that companies reporting low results are more prone to do impairments of goodwill than companies reporting better results which possibly can be seen as a form of earnings management.Purpose: The purpose of this essay is to examine if goodwill impairments occur to a greater extent among Swedish listed companies when the companies are reporting lower earnings. A subsidiary purpose is to see if there has been an improvement since 2008 regarding the size of reported goodwill in comparison to equity in the years 2009-2011. And to analyze the development of the companies goodwill impairments in relation to reported goodwill.Methodology: Three quantitative studies have been performed for the years 2009-2011 where all the listed companies on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm have been included.

AbstractThe purpose of this study has been to provide a deeper understanding of how companies in the travel industry works with social media and electronic Word-of-mouth (eWOM) by analyzing and investigating social media and eWOM and how it effects customers? expectations on the companies service quality. In connection with the purpose we have chosen the following research questions: 1. In which way can companies in the travel industry interact with their customers participation on the Internet through social media. 2.

Title: The Relationship between Internationalization and Firm Performance Seminar date: 5 June, 2008 Course: Masters thesis in Business Administration, Programme for Managing People, Knowledge and Change, 15 University Credit Points (15 ECTS). Authors: Cheng Hsun Chiang and Márton Pap Advisor: Dan Kärreman Key words: Internationalization, Performance, Multinationality, Degree of Internationalization (DOI), Country of Origin Purpose: To illuminate various crucial aspects of internationalization by systematically contrasting the different models of the multinationality-performance relationship and searching for underlying reasons. Methodology: Meta-analysis on previous theoretical and empirical research. Our emphasis in this paper has been put on the qualitative aspects of the previous research unlike many other conventional meta-analyses that focus on the comparison of the empirical data. Theoretical perspectives: Five main models have been developed by earlier studies to describe the relationship between internationalization and performance: positive linear, no or ambiguous relation, inverted U-shaped, standard U-shaped and S-shaped curve.

Research issue: The transition from Basel II to Basel III becomes consuming for banks, financially. But Basel III should be profitably for financial market economy. Risks in the financial world is very complex. Is Basel III is sufficient to manage risk and future crisesPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the application of Basel II and the transition to Basel III in Sweden with the banking system in focus.Method: The study has a qualitative Research methodology for the collection of empirical data. The study is based on interviews with four large banks of Sweden (Swedbank, SEB, Nordea, Handelsbanken) and with Finansinspektionen.

Title: Time to renovate ? The effect of communication on the relationship between company and customer in a change situationCourse/subject:Busniess administration, Leadership, 15hpAuthors:Fredrik Elghag, Ossian OlssonTutors:Ingemar WictorKeywords:The Million Programme, Communication, Relationship Marketing, Tentant, Landlord.Problem formulation:How does communication affect the relationship between company and customer in a change situation?Purpose:Examining how different parts of a communication process affects customers trust, commitment and loyalty to their company.Theoretical framework:The starting point for the study?s theoretical perspectives have been Morgan and Hunt?s (1994) previous studies on relationship marketing and Laswell?s (1948) communication model.Methodology:The paper is performed with a qualitative research approach and a deductive approach to answer the research question. Personal interviews were conducted with four employees in real estate companies and two tenants in each company stock.Conclusion:We have found that communication affects the relationship between company and customer. Tentants have experinced credibility of businesses is important for them to have a confidence and loyalty in the relationship. .