Title: A study about conditions for leadership in knowledge-intensive firms.Authors: Cecilia Ekström and Niklas SandbergKeywords: Leadership, knowledge-intensive firm, hierarchies, followers.Background: Leadership is becoming one of our greatest social myths and is considered a total solution for many problems that occur in an organization. The view of leadership is usually from a top-down perspective, which contributes to an often underestimated view of the follower. Just as it is important to understand the leader's view of leadership, it is important to understand how employees view the structure from which the leader derives its legitimacy. The existing conditions in knowledge-intensive firms, such as autonomy, place special demands on the formal leadership.Purpose: The purpose of this study takes an employee perspective, to understand what the conditions are for formal leadership in knowledge-intensive firms.Method: A qualitative research method was used and empirical material was collected through interviews with employees in knowledge-intensive firms. The empirical material was analyzed by the respondents? mental images which were set against the theoretical framework of the thesis.Conclusions: The conditions for formal leadership in knowledge-intensive firms make it advantageous to have a leader with a withdrawn role.

This bachelor thesis describes why investors should invest in environmentally certified buildings instead of non certified buildings. The report provides an overview of possible factors influencing an investor in the investment process of an environmentally certified building. The report explains why building companies find incentive to build green buildings and how a cash flow method can be adapted so it can be used in the valuation process of an environmentally certified building. Environmentally certified buildings are used as a strategy to reduce emissions that threaten the environment as well as a strategy to obtain market shares for the building companies. This report focuses on the economic advantages of an environmentally certified building.The construction- and real estate industry stands for approximately 40 percent of the energy consumption in the world.

The purpose of this thesis is to gain insight into children`s voluntary reading in their spare time. I have focused on printed books and none of the digitally published Medias. I want to examine how children experience the power adult`s exercise over their chose of books and also why they choose the books they do. The method of this study is qualitative with interviews of six 10 years old children. I conducted the interviews detachedly and I have used two different point of view for my study; Aidan Chamber`s ?Reading Circle? and Barbro Johanssons opinions if children`s participation in terms of their voluntarily book selection.I have also studied other researchers and author´s writings about literacy, children´s reading habits, adults´ attitudes to children´s reading and children´s passion for reading.During my study it became clear that children who like to read prefer to read detective stories for children, a result that also earlier investigations reached..

The aim of this project was to improve taste of a liquid food product, comprising extremelybitter and unpalatable amino acids and one unrevealed ingredient. The amino acids were Lleucine,L-isoleucine, L-valine, L-threonine and L-lysine monohydrochloride. Experimentaldesign was set up as a screening of water solutions comprising these ingredients (called BCAAsolutions) and added ingredients with potential to improve flavour. BCAA solution withingredients that were potential bitterness suppressors were evaluated in flavour, bitternessand/or palatability. Solutions of separate amino acids were also studied.

The thesis work was conducted with the company Free2Move AB. The company is located in Halmstad and is an acting provider of wireless communications for industrial customers, mainly focused on Bluetooth? technology.In today's society most people have their music on their computer, MP3 player or mobile phone. What if you could avoid the cable between your sound system and sound source and transfer music wirelessly instead? Together with the company's engineers, I have developed a new comprehensive product for wireless music transmission.

Type 2 diabetes is a growing disease in the population which includes that older people are a risk group. With the disease grows even cost?s. A lifestyle change is a major part of the treatment for type 2 diabetes. There are several factors that suggest positive effects on prevention among the elderly where, among other things, economic and health benefits are presented.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how Swedish highereducation librarians mediate discovery tools to its users. Thisstudy aims to investigate higher education librarians? generalattitudes towards discovery tools, their perception ofstudents? discovery tool usage, and how they mediatediscovery tools to students through reference interviews anduser training. The empirical ground of this study is a semistructuredsurvey that was answered by 115 instructinglibrarians. The study concludes that although librariansgenerally have a critical attitude towards discovery tools theyalso think that the discovery tools serve a useful purpose,especially as a starting point in the information searchprocess.

Rapid urbanization causes competition over land use between green area preservation and urban development in cities and greatly affects ecosystems as well as human well-being. This conflict is significant all around the world as many cities are now replacing existing green areas with new developments. The area around Dag Hammarskjöld's väg in Uppsala is currently experiencing the same conflict, as the need that the city has for new housing represents a threat for the many valuable green areas that are in the site. The purpose of this project was to understand how the need of urban development and the preservation of green areas could be balanced. This understanding would thereafter be used to make a design proposal for the area around Dag Hammarskjöld's väg.

Background: One of the largest direct selling companies Amway "AmericanWay", which has its foothold in the market economy by means of direct trade. This means that the marketing is in the form of a network made up of various individuals who work together to advertise the company on to various potential customers.Aim: The survey aims to study the factors that are affecting the company Amway's growth.Completion: The survey is based on analyzing the interviews. The authors have relied on the qualitative method, where they have focused on how growth has increased the company Amway.Results: The results of this study are that Amway gradually managed to establish themselves globally thanks to the quality of the products they sell in a functioning market. The study also shows that all member customers are satisfied with the goods they buy from ABO groups, and that Amway's structure is not based on a pyramid scheme..

This report is the concluding part of the course national minorities, main focus on design, at Luleå University of Technology spring 2007. The purpose of this written examination is to produce a prototype to a product, which can be used both when marketing Kiruna as a student municipality and when recruiting students to the study programmes Kiruna offers. The product has been produced through systematic problem solving, where methods to fix the problem, gather facts, examine and come to a solution have been used. The product should in one way or another get the student to think of Kiruna as a student municipality and it should also appeal to the target group ? the students.

This is a study of how four teachers work with pupils? early literacy learning. Interviews were conducted with two teachers who chose to use a specific method, Writing to Read (WTR), for teaching pupils to read, and with two teachers who had not chosen a specific method. The aim of the study was to compare how the teachers worked, their motives for their choice of method, and the ideas the teachers have about early literacy learning. To see whether the teachers? choice of method was related to the individualization of the teaching and their views of pupils? learning in interaction, Vygotsky?s theories about children?s learning have been used.

In this study we have examined the possible quality standards and methods for applications with service workshops in the forest industry. The purpose of the methods presented here was to start the work of standarardising the maintenance service in the industry and be of use for service providers in their quality effort.The methods we used to accomplish the study were interviews and field visits together with a comprehensive literature research. Our results are presented in the form of four solution proposals: a standard based on existing SIS standards for terminology and key indicators, checklists that are filled in by mechanics with customer participation, the construction of a instructions database, and the implementation of the method 5s.We believe our suggestions can help the service providers in the four problem areas that we have identified: long term strategy, documentation, recruitment of competent technicians, and standard procedures in their operations. These improvements will be beneficial for both the service provider and the customer..

Aim: Banks? settlement of handling cash and the technological developments of our payment services, leaves us guessing at the outlooks of consumers? payment systems. One of the new payment options arising from this development is mobile payment. With access to internet, mobile payment can take over the role as the primary method of payment, as it can be used on any occasion. Questions are raised about which factors that are affecting the future users? attitude to use mobile payment, and if the service can be a threat to the traditional card payments.Method: This study is based on a quantitative method by the means of a survey design.

In this report the balconies? abutments for a property in Bo01-area in Malmö has been studied. The property which is called Vitruvius contains four build-ings where two of them have corbelling balconies with intermittent abutments. With intermittent abutment means that the 50 mm thermal bridge insulation that the balconies is equipped with, is broken regularly by a 300 mm concrete heel. The reinforcement bar that holds the balcony runs through this heel.

Background: One of the largest direct selling companies Amway "AmericanWay", which has its foothold in the market economy by means of direct trade. This means that the marketing is in the form of a network made up of various individuals who work together to advertise the company on to various potential customers.Aim: The survey aims to study the factors that are affecting the company Amway's growth.Completion: The survey is based on analyzing the interviews. The authors have relied on the qualitative method, where they have focused on how growth has increased the company Amway.Results: The results of this study are that Amway gradually managed to establish themselves globally thanks to the quality of the products they sell in a functioning market. The study also shows that all member customers are satisfied with the goods they buy from ABO groups, and that Amway's structure is not based on a pyramid scheme..