AbstractTitle: Network communication for equal opportunities (Nätverkskommunikation för jämställdhet)Number of pages: 47 (54 with enclosures)Author: Hillevi GoodTutor: Ylva EkströmCourse: Media and Communication Studies DPeriod: Spring Semester 2007University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala UniversityAim: The aim of this essay is to study the possibilities to bring about change by the means of communication in two networks, focusing on the implementation of the Swedish Equal Opportunities Act.Material and method: The study draws on data collected in an electronic survey among representatives of two networks consisting of representatives from trade unions and employer?s associations. The material is analyzed using descriptive tools, cross tables and correlation matrices in which general characteristics as well as individual understandings of the network communication are presented and discussed.Main results: The general results indicate that the network communication serves important purposes, such as providing support and motivation for the members and changing attitudes towards equal opportunities. The analysis suggests that the network members have good communicative possibilities to serve as agents of change within their organisations. Moreover, there is an observed relation between, on the one hand, organizational context and, on the other hand, the network members? own communicational behaviour and their experienced possibility to influence their organizations.Keywords: network communication, diffusion of innovations, behaviour change, Equal Opportunities Act.

The purpose of my study is to examine whether the need for competence development in the communicative leadership exists among the six school leaders at the current adult education unit in Malmö. By observing the communication between the parties I hoped to get the following questions answered: What are the preconditions for the school leaders, in their daily communication with the staff, for getting the staff to feel noticed and confirmed? In what ways do the school leaders communicate with their staff to motivate them to development? I also wanted to highlight the school leaders' awareness of their own communication skills. The theories and models I have used are Haberma?s theory of the communicative action, Spitzberg and Cupach?s relational competence model and Engquist?s theory of level of abstractions.

The purpose of this essay is to examine how four Swedish retail companies describe their information management in connection to ethical trade. My purpose is also to examine how this information management relates to organizational learning. My questions at issue are ? ?Which activities related to information management in connection to ethical trade is described by the companies?? and ?How can these activities and statements be related to organizational learning?? My method of investigation is to perform qualitative interviews with representatives from the retail companies and relate the results to theories on information management and organizational learning, mainly theories of double-loop- and single-loop learning. The information management literature address issues such as information needs, information sources and information seeking.

The aim of this thesis was to examine how role players experiences libraries and if the libraries are or can be an arena for activities that involves role play. A public library exists for everyone, but could nevertheless be viewed as a female sphere where women both borrow more books and visit the libraries program activities to a larger extent, compared to men. I asked the question whether men?s reason for choosing a different venue for information and culture was related to the libraries not being able to satisfy their needs. The theory of the thesis was Dorte Skot-Hansen, Casper Rasmussen Hvenegaard and Henrik Jochumsens model that states that the libraries can have four different functions and act as a venue for meetings, knowledge, inspiration and experiences.

AbstractTitle: From old rightwing-ghost to the new labour party ? The new conservatives political communication during the Swedish election 2006Authors: Pontus CarestenAim: The aim of the essay is to study how the conservative party communicated during the election campaign in 2006. I wish to find out how political parties work in todays society and how the communication has changed over time. To get relevant results I will also see how the theories and empirics interact. The purpose is further to illustrate the new conservatives? campaign work from a senders point of view.Method/Material: I have chosen a qualitative method which consists of three interviews with relevant key persons.

During my practical training I have seen what after-school offers children. Large groups of children and little staff, often results in that the children had to play freely until they go home. Few activities are offered to the children and the staff is busy looking after the children and ensures that they are not fighting.The purpose of this study is to find out how children feel about their leisure activities and if they think they are being offered a meaningful leisure. The main research questions were:How do children experience their leisure-time?Do after-school offers children a meaningful leisure and is it the children's interests and needs that govern the activities and the environment?How do the number of children in the leisure group affect the leisure time?The methods to collect data in the study are observations and interviews.

Every year about 30000 people have a stroke. It is caused by either a bleeding or a blood clot, and depending on where the damage is, the patient can get different types of difficulties following after the stroke. About 40 % of all stroke patients sufferfrom some kind of speech and/or communication difficulty, like aphasia or dysarthria. As hospital staff it´s important to know how to communicate with these people, to get a deeper understanding regards their needs.Aim:The aim of this study is to out of a patient's perspectivedescribeexperiences ofcommunication difficulties that can follow after a stroke.Method:A content analysis with a qualitative approach was used to analyse five autobiographies.Results:The result showed in what way stroke patients experienced their communication difficulties, and how they felt about the hospital staffs treatment related to their communication difficulties. During the analysis two major themes emerged: suffering and wellbeing.

In order to answer the question in the title, a cross-cultural analysis of two countries was done. Countries chosen were the Republic of Latvia and the Kingdom of Spain. The need for this research was suggested by increased cross-border business activities inside the European Union, and the lack of previous studies involving new Member States. The aim of the research was to see what environmental factors influence advertising adaptation in the European Union, as well as to evaluate the applicability of a standardisation approach. According to the theory, there are three external factors that influence the creation of a global advertising.

Title: The battle of the budget ? Communication in a modern policy (Slaget om budgeten ?Kommunikation inom den moderna politiken)Numbers of pages: 39Author: Niclas KarlssonTutor: Peder Hård af SegerstadCourse: Media and Communication studies CPeriod: Autumn 2009University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science,Uppsala University.Purpose/Aim: The purpose of the paper is to see how Minister of Finance Anders Borg andthe Social Democratic economic spokesman Thomas Östros communicate their messages tothe public.Material/Method: The material is the minutes of the budget debate in the SwedishParliament. The method is rhetorical analysis and content analysis.Main result: Trust making is very important for both of them, especially when the financecrisis reached Sweden. The most common rhetorical quality is ethos.Keywords: Strategic political communication, rhetorical analysis, political trust..

Competition in the market of interior design during the last several years has drastically increased. The consumers of today are very conscious about what the market can offer and therefore they have high demands on the products. It is not only the function of the product that matters but also the design that makes a difference. Companies are becoming more aware of this and as a result they have to find a way to set themselves apart in order to attract customers. This realization has led designers and economists to cooperate in a different way than before.

Aim: The aim of this essay is to study the work of an alcohol company?s (Pernod Ricard) corporate social responsibility and how this work is being communicated to the company?s stakeholders. Furthermore I aim to describe the profile of the specific company, in other words how they wish their stakeholders to experience the company. I will then compare this profile with the image of how the interviewed stakeholders actually perceive the corporate social responsibility activities. Are there any differences?Material/Method: Together with literature and document studies, a qualitative method has been used and four focus group interviews with a total of 16 stakeholders have been conducted.Main results: The main results from the focus group interviews showed that the stakeholders appreciated corporate social responsibility work that focuses on the protection of young people.

AbstractSeveral of researchers have reflected that the school ought to be developed to a learning organization. A method as proceed from such a perspective and should be able to match a local child- and educations administration is problembased school development. To investigate in which ways a child- and educations administration prosecute a problem based learning inside the organization a case study was used as research strategy. The question this report gives answer to is:In what/which way works a child- and educations administration in a rural district with a method to fulfil a problembased learning.To collect empiric data a canvassing inquiry was accomplished among the child- and educations administrations group of management. According to the research result it can declares that there are good conditions for the organization to prosecute problem based school development, but there is yet a great deal to do before it´s can be said totally fulfilled.

This study takes place within a publicly owned art producing organization and dwells on the problems of a change process that the organization was involved in. Both leaders and staff were disappointed by the way the change process had developed. The management team explained the outcome by referring to the uniqueness of working with artists who constantly put their own personal objectives before the benefit of the whole. The aim of this study is to find a complementary explanation to the one the management team provided us with; an explanation that can help in the understanding of the dynamics of a change process. Can perhaps theories on information, communication and change processes give an alternative explanation to why the change process faltered? To investigate this, we have used a qualitative single case study.

Communication can be heard in many different ways and it is important for all businesses, especially in B2B. The construction and maintenance of a brand plays just like the communication a very important part. These parts also have a lot to common and affect each other in a large extent. One problem that may occur in many companies is the failure to grow and gain a larger share of the market even if they in various ways are trying. Expander is one of those companies and in this research report we studied communication and brand building, focusing on brand management, relationships and integrated marketing. Here we drew the conclusion that all these areas are important for a company, especially in the Business-to-Business marketing in different ways.

AbstractTitle: Internal Communication at a large mobile operator (Internkommunikation hos en mobiloperatör - en studie av motivation och upptagningsförmåga av information hos butikschefer)Number of pages: 43Author: Helena IsakssonTutor: Peder Hård af SegerstadCourse: Media and Communication Studies CPeriod: Fall term 2006University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University.Purpose/Aim: The purpose of this essay is to gain an insight in how a corporations store managers motivation affects the degree of information they absorb from information channels.Material/Method: The method that had been used in this essay is quantitative. It is based around a questionnaire aimed towards store managers and consequently used it to run regression analysis using the software package SPSS.Main results: The main result of the essay is that the motivation among store managers is positively related to the degree to which they absorb information. Thus, a possible problem exists for the corporation in that they need to make sure that the store managers are and stays motivated. Further, it seems that the longer a store manager has been employed by the corporation the less information is absorbed. The reader should although interpret the results with caution, since the limited sample could bias the estimates.Keywords: Internal communication, organizational communication, motivation, information, information channels and absorption of information..