Since July 2005 the major companies listed on the Swedish stock exchanges are required to apply the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance. The code states that companies shall have a nomination committee responsible for nominating new board candidates and seek to obtain gender equality in the Board of Directors. This paper examines the trend of board as well as nomination committee composition among Sweden's 60 largest publicly traded companies between 2005 and 2008. Our overall finding is that neither the board nor the nomination committee composition has changed to a notable extent during the period and that the share of newly appointed female board members has actually decreased. However, the trends vary between different sectors.

This master thesis concerns the relation between law and the theory of the conceptual metaphor which has developed within cognitive linguistics. Although its main focus is abstract thinking, it also covers a wide range of aspects within cognitive linguistics, such as the prototype theory and radial categories. In order to address this relation, three questions will be dealt with. Firstly, does the theory of the conceptual metaphor have relevance to interpretation of legal rules and contracts? Secondly, can the same theory explain why a legal rule or a contractual term has been interpreted outside of its most given area of application? Thirdly, when an interpretation is not predictable from a legal viewpoint, can such an explanation answer to that fact? Answering the first question will require a descriptive analysis of the conceptual metaphor and cognitive linguistics.

This study examined constructions of horses and means staff working with horses parallel to therapy in institutional care ascribes to horses. A narrative method was used and the theoretical framework was social constructionism. A question was asked to the narratives: How can practice in institutional care be understood through these stories? The result showed different pictures of institutional care. Horses seem to provide a multi-faceted therapeutic tool.

I studiens primära del försöker vi närma oss supermakten och klassificeringen av den samma i termer av resurser och ´role theory´. På en lägre abstraktionsgrad är vi intresserade av fallet Kina och att utreda i vilken mån supermaktsbegreppet kan appliceras på staten. I en andra del argumenterar vi för ett unilateralt agerande utifrån Kinas givna position i det internationella systemet.Detta gör vi genom att exemplifiera deras politiska strategi i biståndspolitiken gentemot Afrika.Genom främst ´role theory förmår vi attribuera Kina supermaktsstatus och i vår neorealistiska ansats kan vi sedan se hur de smyger fram i det internationella systemet utan direkta konfrontationer i sin strävan efter ett multipolärt system..

Problem: Is the free cash flow a value relevant accounting measure in relation to the Swedish stock market?Objective: The aim is that by using an investment strategy to examine whether the free cash flow is an accounting measure that could be perceived as value relevant in relation to the Swedish stock market.Method: The paper is based on a quantitative survey of empirical evidence that has been collected from companies listed on the Large and Mid-Cap lists of the Swedish stock market.Theoretical Frame of reference: value relevance, cash flow, portfolio theory, drive theoryResults: It was concluded that the study results conform to the Finnish survey results. The portfolio shows higher returns than the OMX index..

Presently environmental and ethical matters are in the centre of attention and companies producing sustainability reports have become more common. It has also started to become more and more ordinary to assure these sustainability reports by an external part. However, the amount of assured sustainability reports differs a lot between different countries.There can be several reasons for why the companies chose to get the sustainability report assured. Previous studies state that the choice to produce sustainability reports can be re-lated to theories like the legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory and the agent theory. Other aspects that can affect the decision to construct a sustainability report can according to prior studies be different company characteristics and the national culture in the country in which the company is operating.

Studien handlar om svenska gymnasieelevers motivation för att studera matematikämnet. Den teoretiska grunden hämtas ifrån Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur väl gymnasieelevers egen uppfattning om sin motivationsnivå kan prediceras genom de fyra ingående motivationsorienteringarna i Self-Determination Theory: (1) external regulation; (2) introjected regulation; (3) identified regulation; och (4) intrinsic motivation. Deltagarna (n = 132), 44 pojkar, 84 flickor och fyra som valde att inte specificera kön, studerar vid två gymnasieskolor i Falu kommun. Deltagarna fick via en webbsida besvara en enkät som mätte variablerna: upplevd motivationsnivå, external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation och intrinsic motivation.

Objective: The objective is to examine if long terms of payment are created because of a perceived zero-sum game in the cash-to-cash cycles between companies. The study will also examine if dependence effects the dependent companies Cash-to-Cash-cycle because of long terms of payment. Scientific method: The study uses a qualitative and a quantitative method, where primary data is collected from semi-structured interviews. Additional primary data is collected from an unstructured interview with an expert in the field of which is examined. Additional data has been collected from the studied companies? annual reports.Theoretical references: The primary theory has been Game theory, where the researchers have used this theory to analyze the behaviors of the companies.

With the introduction of the Swedish Code for Corporate Governance in December 2004, most companies listed on the major Swedish stock exchanges were required to have a nomination committee responsible for, among other things, evaluating the incumbent board and nominating new candidates. This master thesis aims at analyzing the effects of these nomination committees on institutional investors in their corporate governance, through a qualitative study of 13 interviews. We have found that institutional investors have become more active through their participation in nomination committees and that they have gained more influence over the companies in which they own shares. We believe that in reality nomination committees have more influence over the selection of the board than was intended when the Swedish Code was written..

The study has got three aims. The first purpose is to implement the Newman et al.s rampage theory (2004) in a more dominant European context. In this way, the theory?s strengths and weaknesses can be exposed. The second objective is to look at the motive.

Due to poorly functioning local and regional markets, the smallholders in San Francisco, Petén, were dependent on intermediaries that took advantage of the smallholder?s distance to markets. In an attempt to secure income and strengthen their bargaining position, 189 smallholders joined forces through the creation of a social smallholder network, held together by a community based enterprise. This enterprise was initiated in 2011 with the help of government incentive programmes and NGOs that within a few years will leave the enterprise to auto regime. This study treats the sustainability of a community forest based enterprise, Chachaklum, in northern Guatemala. The study identifies factors that enable smallholders to organize themselves in order to obtain business practices that support an improved standard of living.

The purpose of this study in the psychology of religion is to explore the process of an individual?s shift in orienting system, from a religious to an atheistic. The materials used are autobiographical accounts obtained from two books. One that has been used as a primary source and one as a secondary. By using Rambo?s process oriented theory of religious conversion relevant themes and categories were chosen and later subjected to further analysis using Pargament?s theory of religion and coping.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka huruvida Self-Determination Theory kan appliceras som förklaringsmodell för motivationen hos de anställda på Företaget X. Enligt Self-Determination Theory råder ett samband mellan tillfredsställelsen av basbehoven; autonomi, kompetens och släktskap i arbetsmiljön och motivationstypen hos individen. Tillfredsställelse av basbehoven främjar autonom motivation framför kontrollerad motivation och genererar antingen internalisering av yttre motivation och/eller bibehållande av den inre motivationen. För att undersöka sambandet mellan variablerna genomfördes en enkätundersökning med både anställda i ledande och icke-ledande position. Enkätens resultat visar att basbehoven är tillfredsställda och att motivationstypen är av karaktären inre motivation respektive hög grad av internaliserad motivation.

Public opinion has increasingly become a political force in the European integration process. At present, it appears that the people?s attitude towards the European integration is relatively skeptical. How can we expect that the attitude towards European integration will evolve in the future? This paper tests the extent to which diffusion theory can serve as a model to explain the development of attitudes to European integration policy in Sweden from 1999 until 2009.

The aim of this essay is to explore the lived citizenship and its ideal. First, the form and expression of citizenship practice and ideal is explored through a qualitative interwiev study of ten citizens in the southern suburbs of Stockholm. The perception and expectations of the nature of citizenship, presented by the informants, is then compared to their citizen ideal, as well as to the ideal presented and promoted by the Swedish government. The point of departure is theory of democracy. The essay calls attention to an observed lack of empirical studies in the field of deliberative theory of democracy as well as studies that more broadly bring the theory down to empirical earth.