The purpose of this paper has been to follow how a decision made has developed within anorganization. We have intended to find underlying causes for the development in order to contribute to the understanding of the lifecycle of decisions.The decision we have chosen is Gröna Skolgårdar (Green School Yards) within the city of Västerås. This project has aimed to make the school yards in Västerås more green, more beautiful and more useful for teaching.We have used Grounded Theory Method as our foundation, complemented with decisionmaking theory.The work with this paper has led to the conclusion that Gröna Skolgårdar changed over time, and did not turn out as first intended. This has had several couses such as how resources wasdistributed, political changes, and different views of the project.We have learned that over time a decision can take unexpected paths, and we have contributed with an example of how this can happen..

The aim of this study is to compare the modernist novels Astarte (1931) by the Swedish writer Karin Boye with Estación, Ida y vuelta (1930) by the Spanish author Rosa Chacel and the reception of these literary works in contemporary academic research. The theoretical ground of the study consists of feminist and critical theory, with traits of discourse analysis.Astarte and Estación were in large part forgotten and ignored by the Western Canon of literature during most of the 20th century, but have lately gained more attention as important modernist novels by researchers (from the feminist, poststructuralist or hermeneutic theoretical fields) who primarily examine the experimental forms figured by the texts in relation to the deconstruction and shattering of human homogenous ?essence?.The results found in the study show that the literary forms of both novels can be associated with a kind of illusion rapture, which relate to the modernist inclination to what Frederic Jameson calls artificial narrative; a form technique that points back at itself to emphasize its own characteristic of being a constructed and subjective illustration of reality. The contemporary interest in these artificial literary forms expressed by Astarte and Estación is therefore probably a consequence of the vibrant academic debates carried out during later decades concerning the conception of human gender and identity as construction and performance. .

Service branding is a subject that has been excluded from the traditional branding theory. Our main purpose with this paper is to distinguish what characterizes service branding. To do this, we have looked in to both service marketing theory as well as branding theory. We have also looked at the existing theory concerning service branding. Six qualitative interviews have been performed to explain what characterizes service branding.

This thesis investigates how inventory management is practiced at a Swedish sawmill company, how practice differs from theory in this field and how the company could make more use of this theory. To do this we have performed a study on relevant literature and compared our findings with a field study on Moelven Valåsen AB. Our analysis shows that a large gap between theory and practice exists. We identify several reasons to this, including some sector specific problems when calculating cost rate for timber inventories. Suggestions on solutions to these problems and an example of how a cost rate can be estimated with relatively simple means are presented.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate which the main determinants of capital structure in Swedish listed firms are and to identify which incentives lies behind managers choice of capital structure determinants. Further, the study investigates whether the Post Keynesian theory and theories which incorporate behavioral aspects can be used to explain the capital structure decisions or if the traditional Neoclassical theory give an better explanation. We have used a qualitative method to analyze the determinants of capital structure and the managers incentives behind capital structure decision. We conducted a survey which was sent to 83 Chief Financial Managers and financial executives in Swedish firms listed on Mid Cap or Large Cap. The questionnaire was on-line which enabled for the respondents to quickly and convenient respond.

This thesis paper is based on Ian Manners Normative Power Europe-theory with a focus on EU?s military operation in Somalia. By examining documents from EU institutions in the form of reports concerning EU NAVFOR ? Operation ATALANTA ? EUTM Somalia ? EUCAP NESTOR. This study shows that the Normative Power Europe-theory can get expressed and that the EU continues its normative statements in Somalia. This result is an interesting contribution to the theory of Normative Power Europe witch have gotten a lot of critic about how a military operation should effect and diminish the theory..

Denna studie undersöker hur begravningsbyrån Fonus valde att bemöta en kritisk artikel, publicerad i Aftonbladet, med ett pressmeddelande som lades upp på den egna hemsidan. Uppsatsen undersöker först vilka retoriska verktyg som har använts i skapandet av detta meddelande, och sett från Benoits teori om Image Repair, vilka strategier som använts och hur användningen av dessa har sett ut.Därefter söker studien att praktiskt undersöka detta budskap genom att låta en utvald grupp respondenter ta del av materialet samtidigt som de i personliga intervjuer får svara på frågor om det de läst. Här utsätts respondenterna först för negativa påståenden riktade mot Fonus för att färga deras åsikt om företaget innan de får ta del av pressmeddelandet. Syftet är att undersöka om Fonus textbaserade kriskommunikation kan påverka respondenterna och deras attityd mot företaget i en positiv riktning.Undersökningens slutsats är att ett budskap som utformats med en väl balanserad retorik och ett väl avvägt bruk av Benoits strategier, utgör ett fruktbart sätt att påverka mottagaren i den önskade riktningen..

Over the last decade the conversation on entrepreneurship has been both worldwide and intense. In Sweden, as in many other countries, this conversation has also concerned women?s entrepreneurship. Parallel with this conversation has been the debate on women in leading position in large corporations. This thesis aims to find out why and how women use entrepreneurship to handle existing conditions in life (such as the hardship of combining a traditional career with a traditional family life) and to create new conditions that suit them better.

Abstract The topic of this essay is to show why I regard the non fiction novel as a problematic genre and to compare two popular and famous swedish non fiction novels; Legionärerna (1968) by Per Olov Enquist and Gömda (1995) by Maria Eriksson and Liza Marklund.I start with giving a short introduction to modern genre theory and to non fiction novels as a genre. I also discuss different definitions of non fiction novels by, for example, Rolf Yrlid and Lars-Olof Franzén. Then I discuss Enquist?s Legionärerna and the critics? reception of it. I am also doing the same with Eriksson?s and Marklund?s Gömda before I compare these two novels with each other. My conclusion is that Legionärerna and Gömda have a lot in common although there are some differences.

In this essay I evaluate the legality of Karl Popper?s criticism against psychoanalysis, regarding this theory of Freud?s being pseudoscientific. Popper?s criticism is based on his theory of demarcation in which he states that an empirical theory must be possible to test by observations in order to be, as most important is, hypothetically possible to falsify based on other empirical statements ? often in the form of new found facts that contradict the original statement/theory. In purpose of assessing Popper?s criticism I perform a modified idea analysis, based on a book by Evert Vedung (1977).

With the increased volume of commercial content online, some news sites have adopted so-called native advertising on their websites to convey marketing messages more discreetly. As an increased share of advertising budgets is spent on this form of advertising this essay aims to examine its news consumer?s attitudes towards the phenomenon. The research was carried out through a qualitative study where news consumers discussed their attitudes in two separate focus groups. This was analyzed with the help of the previous studies Advertisement - an uninvited guest? and Banner Blindness as well as theories including theory of science hermeneutics, reception analysis, convergence culture, brand schema, advertising schema and ad- brand attitude.The results show that in most cases native advertising is met with indifferent attitudes but in some cases also confusion, which could lead to negative attitudes towards the ad and the news site.

In this essay I want to investigate how the poodle strategy affects a person?s credibility when he or she uses it. The poodle strategy is a strategy, which someone uses when he or she is scrutinized by the media. It?s primary purpose is to suppress further media coverage but it is also a strategy for defending oneself and hence rescuing one?s reputation either as a private person or as an official.The essay?s research questions are:How has the strategy been applied for defensive purposes and what are the results?To which extent can the Stasis theory and Benoit?s theory on Apologia be connected to the strategy?Does the strategy affect the user?s credibility?To answer these questions four cases from the political sphere in Sweden where persons have been said to have ?done a poodle? have been analyzed.

The aim of this Master?s Thesis is to study readers and authors of Harry Potter fan fiction, in order to answer the question of why they read and write fan fiction about Harry Potter, and which factors determine what kind of fan fiction stories they read. The empirical material consists of three qualitative interviews with fan fiction readers and authors, and a textual analysis of four internet forums for discussions about Harry Potter and fan fiction. The theoretical background is based on reception theory and reader-response criticism. The results show, that commitment to, and interest in, the source material is an important reason as to why the participants of the study read and write Harry Potter fan fiction.

This essay deals with non-normative gender expressions during childhood. I?m using narrative theory and methods to analyze autobiographical narratives. My questions are:What strategies does the non-normative person use to deal with his otherness?Using the methodological analysis tool ?turning point?, where are the turning points in the narratives? Are their any common turning points in the various narratives?Where is the responsibility placed in the narratives for that someone does not fit in by the adults/ staff at the school/kindergarten- on the non-normative person or at the surroundings?The experiences are interpreted through theories and concepts from queer theory and gender theory.

Research shows that unemployed´s motivation to seek work affects their health and social life. Employment officer?s motivational work should be based on strengthening the individual's confidence in their abilities. Five motivational theories underpinning the study is Cognitive Theory, Self-determination theory, Expectancy Value Theory, need theory and Goal Theory. The purpose of this study was to investigate individuals' job motivation, and emotional experiences, also in relation to contact with the employment officer.