This thesis examines organisations as mediators and how different kinds of organisations have different prerequisites to act as mediators. Global, regional and subregional organisations are often asked to mediate in conflicts, but considering the circumstances, who should mediate?In a mediating process the mediator should be considered as important an actor as the disputing parties and should hence be scrutinized as one. Mediation is a complex subject to study and theoretically the opinions differ on what characterises a good mediator. I have taken many of the different views in consideration and constructed a model from which organisations and their prerequisites can be compared and evaluated.

The aim of this study is to point out variations of practices in the relationship between professionals of service occupations and their clients. The material consists of four openly conducted thematic interviews with male professionals who work in the environment of their clients' homes.The main theoretical approach of this analysisis undertaken with ethnicity in mind.The practices identified aim to throw light on the boundaries between the differing cultures of professionals and their clients.The analytical termsboundary reduction and boundary maintenanceare used in this research.The two-stage analysis points out different practicesused, in chronological order, during contact between professionals and their clients. This is followed by a statement of the themes which connect, primarily fromthe professional perspective. The results indicate an intimate connection between intercultural and transcultural aspects through the use of cultural transparancy, which is a strategy connecting different roles, aswell as use of loophole tacticsthat afford the possibility of definingspace, place and relationship.It's illustrated how the professionals operate from "within the structures and worldview" of the client, and this analysis also reveals a glimpse of the potential for cultural changein the meeting between different cultures..

Digital depth-to-water maps can be produced from a digital elevation model (DEM). Then GIS- based algorithms are used to calculate water flows and the depth-to-water index classes dry, fresh, moist and wet. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility to use depth- to-water maps for site adapted planting.The results showed that use of depth-to-water maps for site adapted planting, roughly halved the proportion of improperly planted surfaces from an average of 9 % to 4 %. The variation in the values of proper surface decreased and the result became more even.. In addition, more pine than spruce was incorrectly planted.

The Swedish welfare organisation is built on the fact that the legislation gives the municipalities and social workers guidance and direction how to assess cases. Through out this the clients have right to be assessed both equally and individually. How is this done? The purpose of this paper was to examine the effect of the organisation referred to the social workers ability to discretion and the evaluation of the assessment in first time applications of social assistant cases. The purpose was also to look for variations in decisions and if these could be explained out of organisational and assessment effects.

The purpose of this Masters Thesis is to explore the process of selection that librarians face when selecting and acquiring cultural magazines to public libraries. The methods used are qualitative interviews and literary studies. A brief review is given of acquisition policies at public libraries and of cultural magazines and the important role they play in public libraries. Five interviews have been made at five public libraries to find out what factors affect the process of selection when it comes to cultural magazines. Two theories are used as a basis for the analysis of the result of the interviews and literary studies.

The aim of the study was to understand limitations and possibilities to the discretion of managers in order to fulfill wishes of users. The study is based on six interviews, three with managers and three with staff in common homes for mentally disabled people. The study took place in a municipality in Sweden in the spring of 2010. We used an interview guide with specific themes and questions. The theoretical framework was based on organizational theories as well as theories about management and discretion.

The purpose of our study is to find out if insiders in Sweden generate abnormal earnings through insider trades. We want to pinpoint the cause for abnormal earnings by dividing transactions after company market value, size of the trade and type of insider. A quantitative approach using the market model have been used. We have conducted an event study over two short term event windows. We conclude that insiders in Sweden generate positive abnormal earnings for sales and negative for purchases in our ?long? event window.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an unconventional model of agriculture expected to contribute to a more sustainable food supply and a sustainable landscape; the development of rural areas; a stronger relationship between producer and consumer and a healthier diet. This study, with a focus on food production and the link between the producer and consumer, describes the origin and current development of CSA in Sweden, including the prerequisites for CSA in a Swedish context. Organizations and entrepreneurs working with CSA and related projects are identified and interviewed. The notion of CSA in Sweden is still in its infancy, but a rapidly growing interest currently can be detected. The fact that the identified CSAs are found in different Swedish regions with variations in degree of urbanization and intensity of agriculture indicates that the prerequisites are there for the concept to grow, both in rural as well as urban areas.

The purpose of the study was to look into bilingual parents?perspectives on their own and their children?s communication andcommunication disabilities. Furthermore the study aimed to examine theseparents? needs regarding education in augmentative and alternativecommunication (AAC) and whether ComYoung communication course hadmet the needs. ComYoung address parents of school-aged children withextensive communicative disabilities and intend to give them increasedknowledge in communication and AAC.

This work is a study of how the principal's educational leadership designs in two different forms of organization. I have chosen to do a comparative study between how two headmasters identify educational leadership, and to what level they feel they can act as educational leaders in their school. The comparison is made between two educational organizations, and two principals? image, one in Sweden and one in New Zealand. I have chosen interview as method and I have only two respondents on the grounds that is the person's unique perception I want to bring into focus.

In a time of economic turmoil and financial crisis profitability matters rise higher and higher on company agendas. Many companies are pressured to find profitability to avoid layoffs or even bankruptcy. Profitability essentially depends on the margin on the product or service sold and the costs associated with selling these products or services and hence these areas are of vital importance if companies are to improve profitability. Previous research has focused, for the most part, on product profitability while customer profitability has received less attention. This study is based on a case study of a Swedish publishing house and aims to investigate how the company?s Cost-to-Serve varies between its distribution channels.

The aim of this Masters thesis is to review Swedens unique law against TV-commercials intended for children under twelve years old. The law has to be abided by TV 4, but not by Kanal 5, so the aim is also to compare TV 4 and Kanal 5 and to see in what different ways commercials are shaped in the two channels. The cultural policy analysis is based on our aim and problem. We have also had the terms semiotic and intermediality in mind together with a model made by the researcher in semiotics Roman Jakobson. The model consists of six different communicative functions.

During the last years the number of Swedish detective stories which take place in the province outside the big cities has increased enormously. In this study I have analysed the novels by the three authors Viveca Sten, Åsa Larsson and Johan Theorin to investigate the connection between the milieu and the story and in what way it is involved in the crime riddle.They all keep to the formula of the classical detective story but represent different variations within this formula. In spite of the differences in their stories the basic pattern is the same. As their protagonists the authors are emotionally connected to the place in the novels. This connection it strengthen by the authors themselves as well as the publishing companies when introducing them on the market.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the competitiveness of family firms is affected by governance mechanisms. The thesis addresses four governance mechanisms: inefficient labor markets, inefficient capital markets, self control and altruism. We have conducted an abductive method to be able to perform a qualitative research study. In this study two family firms have been examined, ROL and Indiska Magasinet. We conclude that the presence of inefficient labor and capital markets within the studied family firms give rise to negative effects in terms of difficulties of hiring talented employees.

The interest in building low energy houses has increased along with the rising engagement inthe climate questions. With the advancing energy prices it is highly suitably for those whobuild and administer their buildings in long-term to build energy-saving houses. 40 % ofSweden?s total energy consumption constitutes of the energy in residences, therefore it iscrucial to take advantage of all the free energy as we possibly can. With crucial questions likequality of living and profit low energy building is a subject that concerns us all.Three proposals for apartment blocks are presented in this work on a real estate in Stockholm.Each proposal is developed through unique processes of design with the purpose to displaypossibilities to deal with the energy requirements of today and tomorrow through energybased architecture.The first proposal is an apartment block based on a traditional design process, the demands ofthe property owner and it?s affected by opinions from architects.