This thesis examines the establishment of auditors as third party assurers of sustainability reports in Sweden. This is done through a qualitative case study that examines the subject from both a preparer?s and an assurer?s perspective. Empirical data was analyzed using a combination of agency- and legitimacy theory. The study reaches the conclusion that sustainability reporting companies in the study demand a verification service for reported sustainability data in order to increase creditability, meet increased stakeholder demand and increased accounting complexity.

This paper aims to describe and elaborate on a recent discursive change within the new-age movement. Since the seventies and the publishing of speculative popular science books like The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra and The self-aware universe by Amit Goswami, the idea that quantum physics resonates with spirituality has become the topic of hundreds of books and movies.The quantum-spiritual discourse has three distinct ways to approach quantum physics in its discussion on spirituality: The parallelistic approach which emphasizes the similarities between eastern philosophies and modern physics, the monistic-idealistic approach which tells us that mind is the foundation of matter and the scientific spiritual approach which tries to explain spiritual claims scientifically. In the quantum-spiritual discourse, quantum physical phenomena (e.g. non-locality and entanglement) are being called upon to validate metaphysical statements. The primary assumption of the discourse is that the shift of paradigm due to the establishment of modern physics also is a shift of paradigm of spirituality.With the object to examine the common claims made in the discourse, cross-references between spiritual arguments and facts of quantum physics are being made.

The aim of this review was to examine scientific literature to determine what kind of physiological and psychological benefits derive from human-dog interaction, as well as attempt to uncover a possible mechanism behind these benefits and whether or not they are mutually beneficial. A growing body of research indicates there are physiological and psychological benefits associated with human-dog interaction. Significant cardiovascular benefits have been linked with human-dog interaction, as have lowered blood pressure, cortisol and heart rate. Interaction with dogs is often associated with a feeling of social support and well-being, and dogs also seem to facilitate social interaction between people. Dogs? ability to buffer and reduce stress is also well documented. A strong indication was found regarding a relationship between physical contact and benefits associated with human-dog interaction.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka regeringens motiv till en föreslagen marknadsorienterad reform av primärvården, vårdval i Sverige. Genom en analys av över tjugo texter från den offentliga diskussionen om vårdval, nationellt och i landstingen Halland, Stockholm och Skåne där vårdvalsmodeller är initierade, ges läsaren inblick i en pågående reformprocess. Centrala aktörer, den politiska majoriteten och oppositionen, läkare och akademiker, finns representerade i analysen eftersom det krävs en bred ansats med inte bara regeringens texter utan även andra aktörers röster för att förstå motiven till reformen.Tre teoretiska perspektiv med kompletterande förslag till varför förändring sker används i analysen. Två från nyinstitutionell teori, ett symbolperspektiv och ett verktygsperspektiv, samt ett maktperspektiv.En rationell diskussion dominerar de analyserade texterna där reformen är ett verktyg för att nå resultat, som att öka besöken i primärvården och att skapa konkurrens mellan vårdgivare. Med symbolperspektivet föreslås ideologiskt förändringstryck eller strävan efter legitimitet vara de drivande motiven.

The aim of this paper is two-fold. Firstly, it is the production of a historical and chronological narrative describing the development of the Swedish Red Cross Hospital in Pusan during the years 1950-58. Secondly, it is the investigation of the objectives and aspirations of the organisations and institutions involved and how they affected how the hospital developed during the wartime years and up until the inauguration of the Scandinavian educational hospital, the National Medical Centre, in Seoul. Shortly after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 Sweden, a neutral nation, offered to send a contingent for the establishment of a 200 bed mobile field hospital which was to be subjected to the command of the Eighth US Army in Korea. In the end a larger semimobile evacuation hospital was set up in Pusan where both UN soldiers and PoWs were treated, and it came to be known as the Swedish Red Cross Hospital. The decrease in and finally the cessation of hostilities in 1953 opened up for treatment of Korean civilian patients and such work was conducted not only at the Swedish hospital but all over Pusan, though initially it was not formally sanctioned by American and UN authorities.

The amount of electricity is limited in Namibia and the large distance between towns andvillages complicates the energy supply in the country. Therefore an alternative way to provideaccess to appropriate energy technologies is needed. The Government of the Republic ofNamibia (GRN) has adopted an approach of helping off-grid households by establishing EnergyShops in each region in Namibia and these shops are going to sell basic renewable energy andenergy efficient products. The Renewable Energy Efficiency Institute in Namibia (REEEI), theinitiator of this thesis, is coordinating the establishment of these Energy Shops.The main purpose of this thesis was to examine the needs of energy products for the Namibianpopulation and develop an assessment method for the Energy Shop in how to select appropriateenergy products already on the world market. The purpose was also to develop a method forchoosing an Energy Shop.

Previous research has found an increased transmission of stock movements in Europe, partly caused by the establishment of institutions as the EU and the EMU. The purpose of this paper is to find the possible impact from the EU and the EMU concerning the evolution of international transmission of stock market movements, on four Scandinavian markets, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The research is based on primary data, existing theories and earlier studies regarding international transmission of stock market movements. The examined method is a VAR (Vector autoregressive model) including a 10x1 vector of variables. Furthermore the tests considered are correlation, granger-causality, variance decomposition and impulse response.

This essay aims to examine how theories within childhood sociology have evolved. The main questions are: Who are the central scientists within the field, what are their objects of study and who are the intended recipients of their work? How can the origin of the theories be described? Which elements are central in the theories and have they changed over time? How can the theories be evaluated based on criteria of valid theories?The study was based on a qualitative literature review. Six scientists' publications were examined, ranging from the time of the theories establishment to present time. In the analysis hermeneutics and theories of scientific development were used to seek explanations.The main results show that the central elements in the theories describe childhood as a social phenomenon and a structural category.

This essay is about the origin, planning and establishment of the European Space Research Organisation's (ESRO) sounding rocket base Esrange outside Kiruna in Northern Sweden. Three main questions are examined. First I show there were not just scientific and technical but also political, economical as well as military reasons to build a European rocket base. Second, I scrutinize the reasons to choose Northern Sweden as the location for the rocket base. As it turns out, the main reasons were the favourable location of Northern Sweden within the aurora oval zone, the proximity of the Kiruna Geophysical Observatory, and the possibility to use a large, although not quite uninhabited, area where the launched rockets could crash.

Henriksson, Kristina (2009). Assessing student teachers through conversation - an interactional analysis of student-teaching conferencesThe aim of this study is to identify the characteristics of student-teaching conferences. During a school-based education for student teachers, teacher educators from the university visit the student teachers. They also have conversations, so-called student-teaching conferences, with the students school mentors to assess the student teachers knowledge. These conversations aim at assessing the student teachers professional knowledge at the end of a shool-based education.

This paper?s purpose is to examine a Swedish missionary activity from a human rights perspective. As a scope I have chosen the Swedish evangelical mission to Congo-Brazzaville, from its establishment in 1909 to the congolese church's self-determination in 1961. I consider certain elements of the missionary activity that affect human rights, to discover wether the activity was in order with modern day human rights standards or not. During these years, Congo was part of the French colony Equatorial Africa, so the missionaries? part in the colonial discourse is taken into consideration.

I denna studie är avsikten att studera vilka faktorer leder till att konflikter uppstår mellan två ungdomsgrupper. Grupperna i denna studie består av utrikesfödda ungdomar och inrikesfödda ungdomar med utrikesfödda föräldrar, på gymnasieskolan Liljevalchs internationella läroverk i Södertälje.För att nå en ökad kunskap om varför konflikter uppstår har vi använt oss av teoretiska utgångspunkter som ett verktyg. Dessa utgångspunkter är teorier om social identifikation, normer och kategorisering samt symbolisk interaktionism.Därmed har studien genomförts med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod, för att få en bättre förståelse för varför konflikter uppstår mellan två specifika ungdomsgrupper. I undersökningen utfördes datainsamlingen utifrån ett snöbollsurval. Genom snöbollsurvalet kom vi i kontakt med åtta ungdomar, där hälften av dessa utgjorde informanter från gruppen utrikesfödda ungdomar och de andra fyra från gruppen inrikesfödda ungdomar med utrikesfödda föräldrar.

ABSTRACTTitle:Estate agent is a trusted profession - a study of how real estate broker working on Codes of ConductLevel:Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business AdministrationAuthor:Mikaela KarlssonSupervisor:Agneta SundströmDate:2012 ? JuneAim:There is a lack of confidence in the branch of real estate which makes me wonder: How do the bransch of real estate work with Code of Conduct to strengthen their confidence? The aim is to describe and analyze how the branch of real estate works with confidence and codes of conduct.Method:I have an qualitative approach in which interviews have been used to collect data and literature studies to collect theoretical information. The collected material have been analyzed from a hermeneutical perspective.Result & Conclusions:To some extent the real estate branch works with the establishment of Codes of Conduct to strengthen the confidence. This is shown by increased transparency to increase customers commitment in the bidding. As confidence has been risen for the part of the process this indicate that Codes Of Conduct has the ability to strengthen the confidence for the real estate as a branch.Suggestions for future research:One topic that is interesting to study is how the real estate brokerage companies could controll their stakeholders to follow the company´s guidelines for social responsibility.Contribution of the thesis:The thesis gives people involved in real estate branch suggestions on how a trust could be built up by working with Codes of Conduct.Key words:Corporate Social Responsibility, Code of Conduct, confidence, real estate broker, the bransch of real estate..

Sweden is in the initial phase of forming a national forest programme (nfp). The establishment of an nfp has been evoked by international policy developments and a national debate questioning Swedish forestry and forest policy. National forest programmes are participatory processes for the development and implementation of forest-related policies and international commitments. Hence, the aim of this master thesis is to assess the stakeholders? acceptance of participation and integration of international issues within the Swedish national forest programme.

A central discussion within society and businesses today, is the change of generations in the business market which occurs within the upcoming years. A change of generations is unavoidable and a natural step in business. The challenge of the forthcoming reform is the large number of people leaving the labour market and the grand entrance of new labour; Generation Y. The characteristics of Generation Y differ from the older generation which enhances the challenges for the businesses to attract a new workforce. It may also be necessary for the organisations to adapt to the younger generation.