The importance for companies in knowledge or technology intensive industries to take part in research partnerships has been thoroughly researched, and the gain of collaboration with external parties has been proven. One of these most influential collaboration types is the one between academia and industry, where the US Bayh-Dole Act provided a break-through policy change for the transfer, conversion and commercialization of knowledge and innovations. To counter this, the European Union has implemented a policy around a facilitating, user-centered milieu for innovation called Living Labs. In this article, the purpose is to identify potential collaboration barriers in the university-industry collaboration when implemented in this milieu. This is done by using a multiple case study where the respondents are seven individuals, from three Living Lab entities and two companies. The findings show that the inclusion of users give the setting its advantage, but also gives additional management needs, something that applies to all participants in the setting – the company representatives must have a diverse set of abilities, the researchers should be standalone and independent from the Living Labs management, the management must establish a shared physical context for all parties to interact within and there must be a very clear agreement between all parties what there are expecting from the collaboration regarding outcomes, process and structure.

The problem for women in the labour market has been and is still being widely treated from different disciplines, there are still many gaps linked to it. Although the equality between genders has simultaneously risen, gender inequality becomes especially evident in top management positions. This fact attracted our attention and motivated us to analyse the women’s situation in the management in Spanish companies. The masculine man has developed different theories linked to organizations. But when the society and the organization change, that man discovers that his recipe book is not worth nothing anymore. For instance, values like hierarchical organization, aggressiveness, competitively, individualism, etc. In brief, all attributes that women called: “macho man”. This paper investigates the barriers that women have to overcome in order to achieve the senior positions, as well as, the identification of the traditional leadership style to the masculine stereotype. As consequence, we have had in mind the progressive implantation of a new organizational culture, the values that belong to the feminine stereotype (group orientation, emotion, cooperation, etc). Therefore, the success leadership is no longer linked to the masculine stereotype. The practical method involves the development of semi structure interviews to men and women in top managerial positions in order to analyse if both men and women follow their gender stereotypes, and therefore, they have different leadership styles according to gender. Due to this fact, companies should adapt the idea of a pluricultural style in order to get organizational culture more flexible.

Cambodia differs from many other developing countries because of one specific asset which is tourism. The number of tourists in Cambodia is currently growing with a rapid pace due to the Angkor site near the city of Siem Reap. The growing number of tourists has definitely created challenges for the accommodation industry in the Siem Reap region. This has created the need for achieving a delicate balance between the exploration of the region and how much the region can cater for regarding the environment, social and long-term economical benefits. This growth has however brought along many downsides such as economical, environmental, social, cultural, political, and technological. There are no previous studies done about sustainable practice in the accommodation industry in developing countries. This study examines the barriers for the implementation of sustainable practice among accommodation providers in Siem Reap. The first step is this process was to determine the state of the environment. The second step was to determine the cause of the state followed by determining the process of change for sustainable development which can be regarded as the barriers. Previous studies have concluded that barriers of financial difficulties, the cost of change, lack of resources, the lack of information and support regarding sustainable tourism are common barriers for the implementation of sustainable practice. The barriers can be categorized into industry barriers related to industry specific characteristics and organizational barriers that refer to barriers due to characteristics within the firm. This report is based on a case study in which hermeneutic and qualitative method was used. The data was based on a content analysis of reports published by the International Development Centre of Japan in cooperation with the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism and 14 interviews with accommodation providers in Siem Reap. In many areas there was a lack of sustainable practices and many barriers could be uncovered. Barriers included among others lack of financial resources which restricted ownership, low awareness of the environmental state, lack of governmental support; an insufficient educational quality which limits management opportunities for Cambodians and insufficient quality in the environmental friendly products. This study has expanded the knowledge of barriers for the implementation not only to include environmental sustainable practices but also to include barriers when it economical, social, cultural, political and technological dimensions. These barriers should be considered representative for barriers for the implementation of sustainable practices in the accommodation industry in developing countries, especially in contexts with a similar development pattern as Siem Reap.

The energy issue is presently in focus worldwide. This is not only due to increasing environmental concern regarding energy related emissions, but also due to the trend of increasing energy prices. Energy usage in the industrial sector in Sweden today represents about one third of the national energy use. A substantial part of that is related to support processes such as heating, ventilation and cooling systems. These systems are important as they are related both to energy cost and indoor climate management as well as to the health of the occupants. The purpose of this thesis is to reach a more comprehensive view on industrial energy efficiency and indoor environment issues related to industrial ventilation. This has been studied in three themes where the first part addresses barriers to energy efficiency in Swedish industries, the second theme discuss simulation as decision support, and the third studies the variable air volume system in industrial facilities. In the first theme three different studies were made: the first studies non-energy intensive companies in Oskarshamn in Sweden, the second studies the energy intensive foundry industry and the third study was part of an evaluation of a large energy efficiency program called Project Highland. These studies had several findings in common, such as the importance of a strategic view on the energy issue and the presence of a person with real ambition with power over investment decisions related to energy issues at the company. The studies also show that several information related barriers are important for decision makers at the studied companies. This shows that information related barriers are one reason in why energy efficient equipment is not implemented. In the second theme the use of simulation in the form of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Building Energy Simulation (BES) are used as decision support for industrial ventilation related studies at two different industries, one foundry is investigated and one dairy. BES has mainly been used to simulate energy and power related parameters while CFD was used to give a detailed description of the indoor and product environment. Together these methods can be used to better evaluate the energy, indoor and product environment and thus enable the implementation of more efficient heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. In the third theme the use of Variable Air Volume (VAV) systems was evaluated, and was found to be an efficient way to reduce energy use at the studied sites. At the studied foundry the VAV system is predicted to reduce space heating and electricity use by fans by about 30%, and in the dairy case by about 60% for space heating and 20% for electricity.

Although the demand for public presentations exists, barriers prevent many Master Gardener Volunteers from participating in speaking events. This study identifies the perspectives of both County Extension Agents and Master Gardener Volunteers on effective Master Gardener Speakers Bureaus. Characteristics and best practices of successful Speakers Bureaus are identified as well as barriers to their development and growth. A parallel mixed method study was designed to simultaneously gather qualitative and quantitative data. The results conclude for Master Gardener Speakers Bureaus to be successful, both agents and volunteers need to have a positive attitude and be support of the Speakers Bureau’s efforts. Utilizing volunteer leadership and offering training are the two best practices that emerged from the data and are recommended to overcome the barriers for Master Gardener Speakers Bureaus.

Industrial energy efficiency is one of the most important means of reducing the threat of increased global warming. A higheruse of electricity than their European competitors, together with increased energy costs due to increasing energy prices in Swedish industry have negative impacts on results and competitiveness. Of great importance are thus different means which promote energy efficiency such as industrial energy policy instruments. However, cost-effective energy efficiency measuresare not always undertaken. In order to formulate and adopt accurate industrial energy end-use polices, it is thus of importanceto identify the barriers that inhibit the implementation of cost-effective energy efficiency measures. It is also of importance to identify the factors which promote the implementation. The aim of this thesis is to analyze industrial energy systems andmore specifically study factors that promote or inhibit energy end-use efficiency in Swedish industrial companies. Results from this thesis show that the implementation of technical energy efficiency measures is a major means for both energy-intensive and non-energy-intensive Swedish companies to overcome the threat of rising energy prices, for example for electricity. While energy efficiency measures in the non-energy-intensive industry are related mainly to support processes, measures in the studied energy-intensive Swedish foundry industry are related to both support and production processes. In the various case studies of barriers and driving forces, the most significant barriers to energy efficiency - with largevariations for some of the barriers among the studied cases - were found to be: technical risk such as risk of productiondisruptions; lack of time or other priorities; lack of access to capital; cost of production disruption/hassle/inconvenience; other priorities for capital investments; technology considered inappropriate at the site; difficulty/cost of obtaininginformation about the energy use of purchased equipment; and lack of budget funding. The largest driving forces, apart fromcost reductions resulting from lowered energy use, were found to be the existence of a long-term energy strategy and peoplewith real ambition. These driving forces did not, unlike the results of barriers to energy efficiency, vary widely across thestudied sectors. Investment decision support such as optimization has shown to add more information for larger capital-intensive investmentsin energy-intensive industrial SMEs. The thesis also showed that energy audits are an effective means, in terms of publicmoney spent per kWh saved, of providing the industry with information on potential energy efficiency measures. Based on the results presented in this thesis, a policy approach towards non-energy-intensive companies and industrial SMEsshould primarily include providing energy audits free of charge and involve the local authority energy consultants. / Industriell energieffektivisering är ett av de viktigaste sätten att reducera hotet om en globaluppvärmning. En högre relativ elanvändning, i jämförelse med europeiska konkurrenter, tillsammans med stigande energikostnader beroende av stigande energipriser för den svenskaindustrin, riskerar leda till försämrad lönsamhet och försämrad konkurrenskraft. Det är såledesav stor vikt att främja energieffektivisering, exempelvis genom olika typer av styrmedel. Lönsamma energieffektiviseringsåtgärder genomförs emellertid inte alltid, till följd av olikahinder för energieffektivisering. För att kunna formulera precisa styrmedel är det därför avstor vikt att dessa hinder som förhindrar implementering av energieffektiviserande åtgärder,identifieras. Det är också av stor vikt att identifiera drivkrafterna. Syftet med denna avhandling är att analysera industriella energisystem och mera specifikt studera faktorer somfrämjar och förhindrar effektiv slutanvändning av energi i svensk industri. Resultaten visar att hotet om stigande energikostnader, exempelvis beträffande elektricitet,både för icke energiintensiv och för energiintensiv svensk tillverkningsindustri, kan reduceraskraftigt om energieffektiv teknik implementeras. Medan åtgärder i icke energiintensiv industrifrämst är relaterade till stödprocesser så visar sig åtgärderna i den studerade svenska energiintensiva gjuteriindustrin vara relaterade till både stöd- och produktionsprocesser. I fallstudierna beträffande hinder och drivkrafter visade sig de största hindren vara - med storavariationer mellan fallen - tekniska risker såsom risk för produktionsstörningar och avbrott; brist på tid/andra prioriteringar; brist på kapital; kostnader för produktionsstörningar; ickeenergirelaterade investeringar prioriteras högre; tekniken passar ej för företaget;svårigheter/kostnader att erhålla korrekt information beträffande energianvändningen av deninköpta utrustningen; och brist på budgetmedel. De största drivkrafterna var, utöver kostnadsminskningar till följd av minskad energianvändning, förekomsten av en långsiktigenergistrategi och en eldsjäl. Drivkrafterna varierade inte, till skillnad mot hindren, så mycketmellan de olika undersökta fallen. Beslutsstöd såsom exempelvis optimering har visat sig kunna ge ökad information vid störremer kapitalintensiva investeringar i energiintensiva små- och medelstora företag. Vidare har energianalyser visat sig vara ett effektivt sätt, i termer av besparad kWh per statligt insattkrona, att ge industrin information beträffande möjliga energieffektiviserande åtgärder. Resultat från avhandlingen indikerar att ett stöd gentemot icke energiintensiva och små och medelstora företag framförallt bör inkludera statligt finansierade energianalyser med denlokala energirådgivaren som en deltagande aktör.

Abstract The aim of this thesis is to suggest a model to assist in the ability to judge access by private persons to Information Technology, IT, and to Public Information Sys-tems, PIS. It has its starting point in the Swedish Government´s endeavour to turn Sweden into the first information society for all. When the available statistics con-cerning the access to a PC and the Internet in Swedish homes are studied it is easy to think that this vision may soon be realised. Of course, access to the technical equipment is a fundamental condition in order to be able to use the Public Informa-tion Systems, but unfortunately, is not the only one. A number of studies have shown that it is not possible to equate possession and use. A number of access models or frameworks designed to judge whether or not a person has access to the ICTs do exist. However, it is my opinion that there is a de-ficiency in these models; they do not start out from the individual user´s prerequi-sites, but rather judge the external conditions available for possible access. Assisted by four empirical studies, interviews and questionnaires, a number of ac-cess barriers experienced by the users have been identified. The studies show that in addition to the technological hindrances, a series of more elusive ones also exist originating from prevailing norms and values in the environment the user lives in. The barriers are categorised into five groups; to have, to be able, to will, to may and to dare. Together these notions form the User Centred Access Model, UCAM, which is suggested for use in charting and communicating the necessary considera-tions that must be taken into account in the development of Public Information Sys-tems. KeywordsLanguage / PI - Publika Informationssystem

Relapsing fever (RF) is caused by different species of Borrelia transmitted by soft ticks or by the human body louse. Illness is characterized by reappearing peaks of high concentrations of spirochetes in blood, concordant with fever peaks separated by asymptomatic periods. Neuroborreliosis is one of the most severe manifestations of RF borreliosis. To understand the immune response during early RF, we analyzed immune cells in brain and kidney of mice infected with B. crocidurae during the acute infection. Our results indicate that brain defense is comprised primarily of innate immune cells. Despite the infiltration of innate immune cells, Borrelia was not completely eradicated. A failure of the host brain to clear the bacteria may give the pathogen a niche where it can persist. Using our mouse model, we revealed that Borrelia duttonii could persist in the mouse brain for up to 270 days, without being present in the circulation. The infection was silent with no change in host gene expression, and the spirochetes could re-enter the circulation after immunosuppression. We propose that the brain is used by the pathogen to evade host immunity and serves as a possible natural reservoir for B. duttonii, a spirochete that has rarely been found in any mammalian host other than man. Borrelia-induced complications during pregnancy have been reported, and are especially common in RF. In our established mouse model of gestational RF, we could show that the fetuses suffered from severe pathology and growth retardation, probably as a consequence of placental destruction. We could also show trans-placental transmission of the bacteria leading to neonatal RF. Surprisingly, pregnant dams had a lower bacterial load and less severe disease, showing that pregnancy has a protective effect during RF. We have used the gestational RF model to investigate host factors favoring disease resolution. Because the spleen is the primary organ responsible for trapping and removing blood-borne pathogens, we have compared temporal changes in spleen immune cell populations and cytokine/chemokine induction during the infection. Spleens of pregnant mice had earlier neutrophil infiltration, as well as faster and higher production of pro-inflammatory mediators. This rapid, robust response suggests a more effective host defense. Thus, an enhanced pro-inflammatory response during pregnancy imparts a distinct advantage in controlling the severity of relapsing fever infection.

As we know, China is the biggest developing country with a high speed at its economy development. More and more foreign businesspersons have joined in the promising and attractive Chinese market in order to catch some profitable opportunities to do businesses. However, a lot of issues need to be paid attention to in the business operation. Thus, there are some issues to be presented in this thesis regarding what are the effective ways to do business with China? Understanding the China's culture is an important and essential issue for foreign businesspersons. China's entry the WTO opened its door to more foreign investors who have be granted many preferential policies. Meanwhile, it is also a great challenge for the development of China. And Sino-EU business relationship aslo will be presented in this research to explain how it will take effect on the business doing between the two sides. This research has been approached through the methods of theoretical studies and interviews. It is quite essential for businesspersons to catch the opportunities to do business in the competitive Chinese market and be familiar with the advantageous factors in order to do business effectively in China.

Abstract Problem: The desire for development in less privileged countries like Uganda has created the need for the privileged countries like Sweden to embark on external knowledge transfer through different projects, as one of the objectives to achieve development. However, some factors tend to limit the success of this external knowledge transfer process. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to find out the factors that lead to the barriers and limitations of knowledge transfer in development projects. Since there are differences in objectives between nonprofit and profit making projects, the research is also aimed at highlighting the extent to which the affecting factors hinder the achievement of objectives and goals. Method: Qualitative methods were used in this research. Telephone interviews were conducted after sending questionnaires to four respondents from different organizations that were actively involved in the projects. In order to have balanced results, two respondents each from Uganda and Sweden were interviewed. Trustworthiness and ethical issues were put into consideration while conducting the interviews, in a bid to create a desirable atmosphere for conducting the study. Result: External knowledge transfer is affected by factors like culture, individual factors, and knowledge management factors. Apart from the mentioned factors, research found that instead of organizational factors that would affect profit making projects to a greater extent, factors like the political will, ownership and local needs are the ones that affect development projects. Conclusion: The factors that affect the external knowledge transfer process are to a greater extent human, and are controllable. In development projects, the recipient country should identify the needs that would initiate the external knowledge transfer process. Most of the affecting factors would be controlled through building of relationships and strong ties, local ownership, and political considerations. All this put into consideration, external knowledge transfer between developed and developing countries stand a high chance to succeed.