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Background: Over the past half-century, with globalization, global supply chains have been developed across the world. In the last three years, Sweden and the world have been affected by two distinctive crises: the corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which have caused disruptions and significant consequences for businesses and the economy. All companies have been impacted by these crises as disruptions have occurred within the supply chains. They have been forced to develop their risk management and strategic planning in resource allocation to mitigate the consequences of disruptions and survive in the market during crises. In this essay, the authors will further investigate whether this work can contribute to achieving a higher level of resilience and thus control and maintain profitability at a stable level.  Objective: The objective of this work is to describe and analyze how the development of risk management in times of crisis can contribute to resilience in the supply chain and impact profitability.  Research questions: ● How can the corona pandemic have affected risk management within individual companies and their supply chains? ● How can the war in Ukraine have affected risk management within individual companies and their supply chains? ● How can this development in risk management contribute to resilience and impact profitability? Method: This study is based on a qualitative research method where eleven respondents from different companies were interviewed. The interviews were divided into seven subject areas with a semi-structured approach. This essay has adopted an abductive approach with elements of deductive and inductive reasoning to create a broader understanding of the subject. Conclusion: The conclusions of this essay are based on the fact that the corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine have affected companies and their supply chains. During the pandemic, companies developed their risk management, which improved cooperation regarding communication and alternative solutions within the supply chain. This work also benefited companies during the outbreak of war as they were better prepared to handle disruptions that occurred. Through this work, companies created a good level of flexibility, robustness, and rapid response capability, which enhanced their resilience and reduced, among other things, the economic consequences of the disruptions that occurred. This indicates that a higher degree of resilience can lead to less negative impact on profitability.

Response and Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Faith Communities in Johnson City, Tennessee Cindy Yang B.S., Kenneth Olive M.D. Within Tennessee, religion and faith are a predominant part in the population’s daily lives and local culture, and the sudden disruption of the traditional religious practices in the U.S. by the COVID-19 pandemic had profound impact on the faith communities (FC). There is little information available nationwide on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted religious practices, faith communities’ (FC) ability to worship, and subsequent FCs responded. This study interviewed nineteen FCs around Johnson City, Tennessee, and provides detailed evidence on faith communities’ efforts to continue worshipping and their efforts to maintain congregants’ spiritual, physical, and mental health. Pastors (53%), faith community Nurses (26%), or other religious leaders (21%) from 19 local faith communities around Johnson City consented to an interview. Interviews were conducted (from May to June 2022) either in person or via Zoom, and questions focused on the impact of COVID-19 on their local community, worship services, and their subsequent response. Each interview lasted for ~1-2 hours. Conversations were transcribed and analyzed. Following the March 2020 outbreak, all FCs shut down abruptly when COVID cases started to spike nation-wide, and almost all in-person worship services were cancelled. Most of them immediately resorted to different platforms of technology, including Facebook and Zoom to maintain Sunday service. The reopening process was slow and varied among the faith communities and their respective leaders. As rapid testing, vaccinations, and new treatments became available in the Spring of 2021, all churches reopened to resume in-person services to combat declining mental health among congregation members, especially in the elderly. Despite the challenges that the pandemic posed via disrupting in-person services, all FCs that were interviewed stated that their organization tried their best to offer as much support to their members during this difficult time. The results from this study showed that COVID-19 impact affected different faith communities very greatly, ranging from minimal effect to permanent closure, but it ubiquitously disrupted in-person service and forced an abrupt scramble to adapt, one that paralleled other institutions and businesses. Decisions fell on local faith community leaders, many of whom had to turn to creative and more modernized ways to practice faith to stay COVID-19 friendly. Faith communities discussed the difficulty of navigating COVID-19 due to the lack of standardized knowledge and over-politicization of the pandemic, which led to internal chaos and confusion. Much of the responsibility and fault was put on local religious leaders, many of whom suffered mental health decreases. The FCs that had access to faith community nursing, healthcare community members, or internal health groups more easily navigated COVID-19 and felt more confident with health promotions and advocacy. One leader mentioned how s/he wished the government could give more direction and transparency to the faith communities, so leaders could make more well-informed decisions. In the future, involvement of faith community leaders in public health decisions could improve overall community health.

Post-COVID19 complications such as pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS) and Long-COVID19 move increasingly into focus, potentially causing more harm in young adolescents than the acute infection. To better understand the symptoms of long-term mental health outcomes in adolescents and distinguish infection-associated symptoms from pandemic-associated symptoms, we conducted a 12 question Long-COVID19 survey. Using this survey, we compared the responses on neurocognitive, general pain and mood symptoms from seropositive and seronegative adolescents in a cross-sectional study design. Since May 2020, students grade 8-12 in fourteen secondary schools in Eastern Saxony were enrolled in the SchoolCovid19 study. Serostatus was assessed regularly in all participants. In March/April 2021, 1560 students with a median age of 15 years participated at the regular study visit after re-opening of the schools in mid-March and responded to our Long-COVID19 survey as part of this visit. 1365 (88%) students were seronegative, 188 (12%) were seropositive. Each symptom asked in the Long-COVID19 survey was present in at least 35% of the students within the last seven days before the survey. With the exception of seropositive students being less sad, there was no significant difference comparing the reported symptoms between seropositive students and seronegative students. The lack of differences comparing the reported symptoms between seropositive and seronegative students suggests that Long-COVID19 might be less common than previously thought and emphasizes on the impact of pandemic-associated symptoms regarding the well-being and mental health of young adolescents.Clinical Trial Registration: SchoolCoviDD19: Prospektive Erfassung der SARS-CoV-2 Seropositivität bei Schulkindern nach Ende der unterrichtsfreien Zeit aufgrund der Corona-Schutz-Verordnung (COVID-19), DRKS00022455, https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00022455.

In late Mars 2020, Covid19was declared to be a pandemic by the World Health Organization.The following crisis negatively affected the overall economy and also the Swedish corporate bond market. Generally, corporate bonds have been described as secure investments during turbulent market conditions, but now they decreased in value rapidly. The sellpressure was of unprecedented measures and it became difficult and costly for companies to issue new corporate bonds in order to refinance operations. Meanwhile, it became difficult for investors to sell their holdings as the liquidity deteriorated. Shortly after, the Swedish National Bank declared the Swedish corporate bond market to be highly dysfunctional. Moreover, the Swedish National Bank and the Financial Supervisory Authority identified some characteristics of the Swedish corporate bond market that contributed to the severe market stress, namely; (1) Limited liquidity and a small market (2) Lacking transparency and unreliable price information (3) Most issuers lacking a credit rating (4) A homogeneous group of investors and (5) Real estate companies constituting a large share of total issuers. These characteristics are defined as the five areas of concern in this thesis. This qualitative study is based on interviews with market participants. The objective is to identify which area of concern should be prioritized in order to improve the Swedish corporate bond market and which improvement measure is deemed most effective. The results show that transparency is the area of concern that should be prioritized. Nevertheless, the new selfregulations that will be implemented July 1st, 2021 with the purpose to improve transparency is not deemed to be enough, but rather a step in the right direction. Therefore, an iterative process is suggested, continuously evaluating and adjusting, ensuring that transparency improves but not to such an extent that liquidity is negatively impacted. / I mars 2020 deklarerade Världshälsoorganisationen att spridningen av Covid19 hade utvecklats till en pandemi. Krisen påverkade hela världsekonomin negativt och även den svenska företagsobligationsmarknaden. Företagsobligationer har generellt beskrivits som säkra investeringar under turbulenta marknadsförhållanden, men nu förlorade de sitt värde mycket snabbt. Försäljningstrycket var enormt och gjorde att det blev dyrt för företag att emittera nya obligationer och refinansiera sin verksamhet. Samtidigt blev det svårt för investerare att sälja sina innehav då likviditeten snabbt försämrades. Strax därefter uppgav Riksbanken att företagsobligationsmarknaden var högst dysfunktionell. Vidare identifierade Riksbanken och Finansinspektionen fem karaktärsdrag på den svenska företagsobligationsmarknaden som kan ha bidragit till den stressade marknadssituationen. Karaktärsdragen var följande; (1) Begränsad likviditet och en liten marknad (2) Bristande transparens och opålitlig prisinformation (3) Faktumet att många emittenter saknar kreditbetyg (4) En homogen grupp av investerare (5) Majoriteten av emittenterna utgörs av fastighetsbolag. De fem identifierade karaktärsdragen har definierats som de fem problemområdena i följande uppsats. Uppsatsen är en kvalitativ studie baserad på intervjuer med marknadsaktörer. Målet är att identifiera vilket av de fem problemområdena som bör prioriteras i arbetet mot en förbättrad företagsobligationsmarknad samt att fastslå vilka förbättringsåtgärder som anses vara mest effektiva. Resultaten visar att transparens är de problemområde som bör prioriteras men att den nya självregleringen som skall implementeras den första juli år 2021 med syftet att förbättra transparensen anses vara otillräcklig. För att förbättra transparensen föreslås en iterativ process med kontinuerlig utvärdering och anpassning av regleringar. Genom en iterativ process kan man även säkerställa att transparenskraven inte blir så pass strikta att de påverkar likviditeten negativt.

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The Covid19-pandemic may have impacted the environmental strategies of firms as it has had a major impact on the world economy and businesses. In particular Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) as during prolonged economic downturns they suffer disproportionately which could be due to lack of key resources which bigger firms naturally have more of, such as access to bank loans, technological, managerial, and human resources. Nevertheless, the Covid19-pandemic does not make the current environmental crises any less important therefore it is imperative to explore how firms’ environmental strategies have adapted during this time. The purpose of this study was to examine what happens to environmental strategies when firms experience harsher financial conditions. This have led us to construct the following research question:“How do SMEs adjust their environmental strategies during crises?”In this paper we answer the research question by analyzing the effect Covid19 has had on the environmental strategies of Swedish SMEs’ environmental strategies during Covid19. In order to achieve the purpose of this study we performed a qualitative study with an exploratory approach by interviewing seven different Swedish SMEs within the construction industry. The key findings this our study produced was that the firms’ environmental strategies remained resilient as no firm decreased their focus on environmental strategy nor did they view this aspect less important. Rather some firms intensified their environmental strategies suggesting that this might be a viable strategy to survive a crisis.

Aim: This thesis aims to investigate the varying needs and perceptions of employees in different positions within a single organization in Brazil with regard to flexiblework arrangements. Methodology: The study selected eight employees from diverse positions within the organization through purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The datacollection process employed a semi-structured interview approach, using an interview guide exploring the perception and needs of the employees regarding flexible work arrangements. The primary objective of the interviews was to offer valuable insights into employees' experiences and viewpoints, which aids in understanding the workforce's needs and requirements. Findings: The analysis found that employees across the different hierarchies in the organization exhibited a shared inclination towards remote work due to its advantages. However, the choices made by the employees were influenced by the team and managerial dynamics, client demands, and peak periods of activity. The findings disclosed that the advantages of flexible working arrangements are multifaceted encompassing work-life balance, quality of life, and cost savings. Conversely, challenges in the form of limited communication and relationship building opportunities, hierarchical complexities, and the high commuting costs incurred by hybrid workers were identified. The findings, therefore, emphasized the importance of fostering support, collaboration, and a positive work environment. Conclusion: Overall, the organization actively promotes adaptability to remote work, offering incentives and the necessary equipment to facilitate work-from-home arrangements. This research, therefore, underscores the need to embrace remote work and advocate for an enabling environment that addresses the diverse needs and challenges encountered by employees engaging in flexible work practices.

Bakgrund: Internationella förhandlingar har länge varit en fundamental del av internationellt företagande, där den internationella förhandlingen påverkas av både kultur och förhandlingsstrategi. Den globala pandemin orsakad av Covid-19 har haft effekter på omvärlden, där viruset hanterats olika från land till land. Till följd av detta har fysiska möten i internationella förhandlingar minskat, vilket avsevärt kan tänkas ha påverkat förhandlingsprocessen. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur Covid-19 har påverkat den internationella förhandlingsprocessen samt undersöka om det finns något samband mellan förändringar i förhandlingsprocessen och dess enskilda faser. Utöver detta avser studien även att jämföra och undersöka om det finns någon skillnad mellan olika kontinenter i Covid-19s inverkan på den internationella förhandlingsprocessen. Metod: Studien är av kvantitativ karaktär med en deduktiv ansats och induktiva anslag. Empiriska data har insamlats med hjälp av en onlineenkät och analyserats med hjälp av statistiska metoder. Slutsats: Slutsatsen av studien påvisar att Covid-19 har påverkat hela förhandlingsprocessen men främst på stadiet av förberedelse och implementering, samt att det finns ett samband mellan förändringar i förhandlingsprocessen och dess enskilda faser. Utöver detta visar studien även på att det finns skillnader mellan Covid-19s påverkan på förhandlingsprocessen mellan olika kontinenter, där Europa skiljer sig från resterande. / Background: International negotiations serve as a fundamental part of international business where the process determines the outcome. The global pandemic caused by the virus Covid-19 has had a tremendous effect forcing the world to readjust and become more digitalized. As a result, the physical meeting in international business negotiations has decreased due to work done remotely. The physical meeting usually playing an important role in the cross-cultural world of international negotiations, the process might have been remarkably affected. Purpose: The purpose of this study investigate how Covid-19 has affected the international negotiation process, as well as if there is any connection between a change in the over negotiation process, and a change in the separate stages of the international negotiation process. Additionally, the study aims to investigate and compare if there are any differences between continents in how the pandemic has affected the international negotiation process. Method: This study is of quantitative nature with a deductive research approach including inductive elements. The empirical data is collected through an online survey and analyzed through statistical methods.  Conclusion: The result of the study shows that Covid-19 has affected the international negotiation process and argues for a close connection between a change in the overall negotiation process and a change in the pre-negotiation and face-to-face negotiation phase. Moreover, the study concludes differences between the continents in how Covid19 has affected the international negotiation process in the preparation and execution s

These pages include parts of the process diary, notes on process, reading, as well as photos from my research process.  These are abstracts of my research and therefore curated in their own right to show not only my somewhat sprawling process but also my honest attempt to share how I document and research in my process. These “written expositions” mirrors how I gather material when I work as a performer and performance maker. This document is as much about me finding out what I did in the project as you are attempting to understand the project´s content, methods and results. It is me looking at the produced material from the outside, curating it to try out words on the method, content and material. I have written about the work reflectively at the same time as I invite you into this action. It´s speculative and intimate.   During my master studies in Performing Arts, I have reflected on what it means to be a performer beyond the symbolic meaning of it- such, as being material or representation for someone else work. I have investigated what the performer spends time doing and reflecting on beyond what is seen “on stage”, and present that, whatever it is and looks like. I have then, in my final degree project, looked at how I can use my gained knowledge as a mainly interactive performer in relation to performance arts and black feminism theory to create my own artistic practice.   My aim has been to do this by being, meaning to exist with, breathing with, becoming part of, attending to and situating myself in relation to performance arts and black feminism theory in a mindful manner.