We investigate the effects of various types of word-of-mouth (WOM) messages on consumer bahavior. The message is varied along two dimensions where one is valence and the other is whether or not it contains an explicit call for certain behavior or attitude change. We use an experiment in the form of a web-based survey. Five different scenarios were designed to represent neutral, positive, and negative WOM. The latter two came in two different versions - one with a recommendation and one without.

Abstract: Since the recession caught the market in fall 2008, multiple companies have suffered due to their former aggressive investment behavior. Huge goodwill piles have been collected ready to be doomed by the market. The aim of the study is to investigate equity analysts? consideration of goodwill in a recession market. An empirical study is conducted, based on interviews with ten Swedish equity analysts that follow companies with relevant goodwill status.

The purpose of this thesis is to see how small differences in a store can affect the customer behavior. The changes consist of auditory and visual sensory cues. Since many companies today makes a lot of changes in their styling element, but without knowing how it really affects the customer behavior we thought it would be interesting to see by doing an experiment at IKEA. The study is therefore based on a quantitative research method, where theories have been described and from which hypotheses have been derived to test the theories. The experience took place at IKEA during two weeks where 5732 observations were made.The result from the experiment is that the sensory cue sight makes individuals spend more time in the environment but not creating attention.

The purpose is to illustrate the phenomenon of self-harm from a social psychological and sociological perspective. The purpose is furthermore to examine the role social relationships play in the individuals´ self- imagine and what role does identification play for anyone who harm themselves? We want to examine in what way social relationships are important and how they function for individuals who harm themselves, both once they have started to harm themselves, and if the relationships in any part caused the cutting to begin with.Questions:How do individuals shape their identity based on self- harm? Which self-image do individuals have who self-harm? Is there anything in the person's previous social relationships that have caused them to begin to hurt themselves?Method:In this paper we have analyzed five autobiographies. We have used open coding from grounded theory as analytical method and subject positions based on discourse analysis.Theory:We have used the Cooley concepts looking glass self, Foucault's theory of power, Giddens' concept of ontological security and existential anxiety.Results and Analysis:We found six different categories that we thought were central. These were negative self-image, guilt, lack of family support, negative experiences of others' views, the protective identity as self- harmer and insecure social relationships in school.Conclusion:The self-harming is a very complex behavior.

The goals of this essay are to identify rituals and ritual behavior at the department of archaeology and ancient history at Lund University. To do this a series of empirical examinations was conducted. Observations, interviews and polls revealed that some ritual behavior is in fact present. Two types of rituals were identified; the interaction ritual, as presented by Erving Goffman in the book Interaction Ritual, Essays on Face-to-Face Behavior, in 1967. The second type of ritual is a ?problem solving? ritual, such as meetings.

The effects from a planned wind farm on the grid utility Gävle Energis electrical grid have been studied. The wind farm is planned to be built in the forest 15 km north of Gävle and will have 23 turbines with rated power from 2 to 2.5 MW, resulting in a total installed power between 46 MW and 57.5 MW. The grid connection will be made at 70 kV. The aim of the analysis was to determine what effects the wind farm would have on the power grid in the form of electrical disturbances (flicker etc.), need for new investment and raised operational cost. To allow the connection of the wind farm technical solutions (new lines, power stations and grid reinforcements) have been constructed.

Aim: The aim of this essay is to study the communication strategy that the company SATS developed before taking over the company e2. The following questions are to be answered: - what was the planned communication strategy before taking over the company e2? - did SATS follow their original plan when implementing this strategy? ? Which strengths and weaknesses of the communication strategy can be identified based on opinions of the employees?Material/Method: Together with literature and document studies, a qualitative method has been used and seven personal interviews have been conducted. One informant was selected due to professional position; the other six respondents were former employees of the affected company e2.Main results: The main results from the study show that the company SATS did in fact follow their plan very accurately with only some minor changes such as an earlier started education program and exclusion of an initially planned evaluation activity. Communication about the takeover of e2 to employees was quick and clear.

The purpose of this study is to examine some factors that make a human grouse hunter to prolong and increase its hunting effort. The theory of optimal foraging is used for explaining their behavior.The data of this study is collected from a web-based inquiry from 2007 answered by grouse hunters in Sweden. The method that has been used is mainly bivariate statistics and logistic regression analysis.Key findings shows that an experienced grouse hunter has more than 5 times the chance of prolonging hunting effort when grouse density is high, compared to a beginner grouse hunter. On the same time experienced grouse hunters also stop hunting in advance when grouse density is low to a larger extent than inexperienced hunters. Other factors of importance for prolonging the hunting effort for a day are age and the travel distance to the hunting area.

Waste management is a major challenge for several countries around the world. Sweden and the Philippines have similar waste management legalization but different potentials to effectively achieve the goal of sustainable waste management. Education is the key to sustainable development and both countries promote the subject environment in the curriculum. Based on scientific articles, reports and personal meetings, a survey was conducted among 510 students from Gothenburg, Sweden and Iloilo City, Philippines. The survey aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude and behavior regarding waste management and was analyzed to answer questions of possible reasons to differences and also, linkages to sustainable development.

In order to optimize calf welfare and health it is important to know the behavior of cattle in free ranging conditions. When the cow is about to give birth to a calf she will leave the heard about 12 hours before. It is then rather obvious that isolating the cow about calving time in a single pen is imitating the cows? natural behavior. To save space and minimize building cost it?s common that the farmers build calving pens for four of five cows especially at larger farms.

The purpose of this essay is to study how the local creators of a "master plan" for the swedish city Kristinehamn, the years between 1940 to -43, looked on their planning. It is an analysis of ideas case study. A hypothesis is upheld for the research: that the local physical planning had largely extended ambitions what regards central state control in a way that is similar to planned economy. Questions that are asked include: Was the planning assumed to be a tool for the state to regulate the environment? Can the planning be seen as a mean to control the society in time and space? The essay search for verification of the hypothesis by a theoretical analysis apparatus made upp of ideal types.

Planerade fysiska aktiviteter i förskolanFörutsättningar, möjligheter och olikheter i förhållande till förskolans profileringPlanned physical activities in preschool.Prerequisites, opportunities and differences in conditions for a pre-profiling..

The purpose is to illustrate the phenomenon of self-harm from a social psychological and sociological perspective. The purpose is furthermore to examine the role social relationships play in the individuals´ self- imagine and what role does identification play for anyone who harm themselves? We want to examine in what way social relationships are important and how they function for individuals who harm themselves, both once they have started to harm themselves, and if the relationships in any part caused the cutting to begin with.Questions:How do individuals shape their identity based on self- harm? Which self-image do individuals have who self-harm? Is there anything in the person's previous social relationships that have caused them to begin to hurt themselves?Method:In this paper we have analyzed five autobiographies. We have used open coding from grounded theory as analytical method and subject positions based on discourse analysis.Theory:We have used the Cooley concepts looking glass self, Foucault's theory of power, Giddens' concept of ontological security and existential anxiety.Results and Analysis:We found six different categories that we thought were central. These were negative self-image, guilt, lack of family support, negative experiences of others' views, the protective identity as self- harmer and insecure social relationships in school.Conclusion:The self-harming is a very complex behavior.

In 2005 the Swedish government introduced a law of amnesty for refugees in the country which made the Minister of Integration invite a number of national organizations to discuss this law. After that, seven organizations in Gothenburg also felt that something should be done and they started talking about a cooperation to improve the situation for newly arrived people to Gothenburg. They formed a project, ?Plattform Göteborg?, which in this paper will be evaluated according to a manual from Sida. The project consists of seven organizations which have their separate activities formed by them to improve the integration.

Aim:The aim of this study is to examine similarities and differences in eating habits in students ages 16-19 in high school.Questions:How do eating habits differ between adolescent athletes and non-athletes?What significance does living conditions and religious background have on the eating habits of adolescents? Method: This study is of a quantitative approach using survey questions.The method used was questionnaires. Three schools participated in the study. The school provided programs with and without athletic orientation. My purpose was to give out 200 surveys but in the end the total of handed out surveys landed on 141.