The purpose of this thesis has been to explore the topic of business simulation from a theoretical foundation in social constructivism and theories concerning leadership as the management of meaning. The most important findings are that business simulation can be used for strategical leadership by management to create a common vision in the organisation members, which affects their perception of the business and the decisions and actions they make, which in turn can lead to a more efficient organisation that becomes better at meeting set goals. This can be viewed in different ways from different theoretical viewpoints: as inducing targeted changes in mental models to create changes in decision making and actions; as a secondary socialization process where the vision of management is externalized as a business simulation that is in turn internalized by the organisation members that participate in the business simulation, or as a way to frame and define the reality of the organisational members which creates a shared reference point against which a feeling of organisation and direction can emerge. In the future, business simulations may become increasingly used by organizations to create a common vision or to communicate a new decision to the organization members..

Thesis purpose: The main purpose of this study is to empirically verify the applicability of Kozinets´ model on an interest, activity or lifestyle based online community, in order to develop an adaptive segmentation approach for segmenting online communities. Methodology: This research is deductive by nature, cross-sectional by design and undertakes a quantitative approach using self-completion questionnaire as a part of a web survey to collect the empirical data needed. Theoretical perspective: The main theories guiding our work and supporting the findings of this study include: market segmentation (descriptive and behavioural) and communities (consumer communities and online communities). Empirical data: A web survey with self-completion questionnaire used to gather empirical data from members of interest, activity or lifestyle based online communities. Conclusions: This study took the specific characteristics of online communities into more consideration than previous research and literature has done and also recognized that an adaptive segmentation approach is needed, depending on the communities of study.

The 3:12-provisions are part of a legal system specified for owners of close corporations (companies owned and managed by a small group of businesspeople), for taxation of capi-tal gains and dividend. The reason for special rules for the taxation of these owners is to prevent them from transforming their income, to only be subject of the lower taxation of capital gains, instead of income of service. Since the rules were put in force, they have been subject to several changes. The most recent changes took effect on the 1 January 2006. They involve a higher importance for the rule of salary-based taxation.

To many of us blogging is a natural part of our everyday life. Bloggers dedicate hours to writing in blogs, reading blogs, commenting on posts or answering comments on published posts. But what we choose to blog about can differ; this is an important note due to my discovery that what we choose to write about determines what benefits blogging holds to the blogger.This paper discusses the conventions of blogging as well as tries to answer the question of why blogging is so popular: why do we start blogging and why do so many choose to continue? These questions get answered by me analyzing the phenomenon that is blogging.I have studied both blogging as genre and as a kind of performance, as well as I have tried to hold an open dialogue with my informants. Thus I have concluded that blogging is to be considered a tool with many uses.

I denna uppsats ställs begreppen interaktivitet och deltagande mot en modern webbplats med fokus på underhållning och populärkultur. Uppsatsen syftar till att svara på vilken form av interaktivitet som går att finna på webbplatsen och hur webbplatsens producenter uppmanar till deltagande genom sitt språk. I fokus är Rooster Teeth Productions webbplats där alla derasproduktioner går att finna. Uppsatsen bygger på forskning om interaktivitet på internet och kopplas till deltagarkultur, fankultur och community. Uppsatsen är en fallstudie på hur nyare internetbaserade produktionsbolag som Rooster Teeth jobbar för att möta sin publik och användarskara.

Bakgrund/Problem: Hur kan ett rese-community gynna ett företags långsiktiga relation till sina kunder?Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera och skapa förståelse för vilken roll och funktion rese-communities spelar ur ett relations-orienterat marknadsföringsperspektiv.Denna undersöknings uppläggning baseras helt på det problem som definierats samt det syfte i vilket undersökningen bedrivs. I denna uppsats har jag valt att använda mig av såväl en deskriptiv som explorativ undersökningsstrategi. Jag har också använt mig av en kombination av deduktiv och induktiv ansats, då jag anser att undersökningen präglas av en abduktivt ansats. Det metodologiska tillvägagångssättet har varit kvalitativt.

AbstractTitle: See each other on the Internet or on a café? A survey about social consequences of Internet usage. (Umgås på Internet eller på ett café? ? en studie om Internetanvändningens sociala konsekvenser.)Number of pages: 34 (including enclosures).Author: Carolin Johansson.Tutor: Else Nygren.Course: Media and Communication Studies C.Period: Fall 2007.University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University.Purpose/Aim: The purpose is to get increased knowledge about the social consequences that may come up when young people at the age of 16-20 are using the Internet.Material/Method: The material consists of a questionnaire that I made with questions about Internet usage that 84 young people from five classes (from three different upper secondary schools) answered.Main results: To have access to a computer and Internet and the fact that broadband is more inexpensive now than before leads to an increased usage of the Internet. I found out that chatting, music/movies, searching for information and using the Internet for entertainment is what most of the participants spent the most time on while using the Internet.

AbstractThis essay investigates what knowledge members of staff in day care centres for grown up people with disabilities have about Alternative and Augmentative Communication, AAC (in Swedish, Alterantiv och Kompletterande Kommunikation, AKK). Day care centres are working places for people with disabilities who do not have the possibility, caused of their disability, to work in ordinary works in the open market.To communicate with other people is a human right for all people even if you have a disability, even if you don?t have a spoken language or if you, because of your disability, have difficulties to understand a spoken language. When you don?t have a spoken language you need different ways to be able to communicate, make choices and take part in activities in the community.

För att arbetet i ett virtuellt team ska vara framgångsrikt krävs en effektiv koordinering av arbetet. Målet med vår studie var att identifiera viktiga faktorer vid koordinering av virtuella team. Undersökningen visar att en kommunikationskanal inte behöver ha en hög grad av informationsrikedom eller social närvaro för att den skall upplevas som ett stöd vid koordineringen av virtuella team. Väl inarbetade vanor och rutiner samt användarnas personlighet avgör vilka kommunikationskanaler som väljs. Studien visar även att koordineringen kräver tydlighet med vilken information som ska cirkulera samt vilka kommunikationskanaler som ska användas.

Over the past one hundred years, there has been an increasing globalization and industrialization of the food systems. As a result, the distance between the production and the consumption of food has increased, both in time and space and in the minds of people. There is also an increasing concern for the environmental effects of industrial farming and the long distance transportation of food. Sustainable agriculture and efforts to build more sustainable food systems has emerged in opposition to the global food market. The definitions of sustainability usually include environmental, social and economical aspects. To build more localized food systems is seen as one way towards increased sustainability.

The purpose of this paper is for the reader to realise how national innovation systems are deeply intertwined with the legal background of a country and to understand the processes that involves national innovation systems specifically regarding the stem cell / genetics research and how the need for specific community law must be considered targeting the stem cell patents. The legal part will try to answer: Why is it important given the actual state of the European stem cell national innovation systems for the European Commission to take a stand and tackle issues regarding the patenting of the human stem cell innovations? This is done from a country industry analysis (business approach) and then linking it with competition law from a community stand point of view (that tackles biotechnology issues). In order to achieve this the paper is divided into three separate analyses beginning with a theoretical background of general biotechnology / genetic terms that will enable the reader to have a general understanding of the importance of this kind or research ( genetics / stem cell research). The chosen countries case studies exemplify very diverse economies and development perspective from the traditionally R&D intensive to the least and from the biggest countries in Europe to one of the smallest, thus giving cultural, legal, economic and scientific variety..

School ground development is becoming increasingly popular in Sweden today and local community settings are also seen as an important resource for education. The debate today raises the question about the whole city?s pedagogic potential. Outdoor education is a pedagogy that comprises outdoor learning with focus on the sensual experiences. Connection to the classroom education is an important part of the pedagogy and so is the place for the tuition.But how should the place for the tuition, i.e.

Den förändliga globala organisationskulturen kräver nya organisatoriska arbetsmetoder, för att effektivt hantera de ökande geografiska avstånden krävs att dessa fungerar virtuellt. Genom att arbeta med virtuella lag kan organisationer rikta rätt kompetens mot rätta arbetsuppgifter, utan att någon behöver byta geografisk arbetsplats. Som med alla arbetsmetoder finns det fördelar men även problem. I den här studien har vi valt att undersöka hur ledarskapet kan effektivisera kommunikation och öka tillit i virtuella lag. Studien är av kvalitativ karaktär med en intervjuserie utförd med respondenter från fem organisationer.

Over the last decade, the private insurance market has undergone a stable growth in turnover and growing demand for insurance products in all Member States of the European Union. Therefore, the creation of a single market in insurance will enable consumers to have access to wider choice of insurance products, and insurance companies to gain access to markets in various Member States and compete effectively. The EU legal framework for the insurance industry embraces the Treaty freedoms of services, establishment and capital, the EC Directives and the ECJ case-law. The present thesis identifies numerous factors that hinder the Community insurance market integration and offers possible remedies. The summary of the market obstacles is all-inclusive and reflects the responses to the questionnaires and the Commission surveys.

The key purpose of this research has been trying to understand, and study how assyrian/syriac youth create their identity under the influence of two or several different cultures. We have also looked upon how different factors such as history, religion, language, family and school play a role in the youths identity development.We have used a qualitative method in our study where we have interviewed six assyrian/syriac youth. Because of their Christian faith the assyrian/syriac group has been forced to migrate from their countries to different parts around the world. In the new countries the group has been forced to create and live in a diasporaculture. The city Södertälje in Sweden has developed to become a metropole for this ethnic group where they have founded a substantial diasporaculture.