Background: Awareness on climate change and sustainability have increased rapidly in the past decades. Companies are expected to implement sustainability into their operations and disclose information on their sustainability operations. These expectations can be seen as external push factors resulting from various sources, including institutional requirements, such as EU-directives, and societal stakeholders, such as local communities and customers. Large firms in Europe will be required to report on their sustainability measures and operations while experiencing pushes from all the parties affected by or affecting the companies’ operations. The effect of these push factors shapes the sustainability implementation in service firms and expose the company to internal resistances in adapting sustainability as a core part of the company. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of sustainability implementation in service firms that results from a complex matrix of constantly evolving external forces. Method: This study is a qualitative study with a deductive reasoning. Data was collected by holding semi-structured interviews and conducting a thematic analysis based on the result. A conceptual framework was developed to present the linkages between the external push factors investigated. Conclusion: The study contributes to the understanding of the effects of the various external forces that shape the operations of companies. The findings highlight the impact of education and onboarding in awareness on internal sustainable development. The push from stakeholders can be seen through collaborations and engagements with all parties affected. As the operations of the companies are strongly shaped by current regulations, internal resistances arise from uncertainty and concerns of resources being misallocated leading to companies overlooking important areas of sustainable development.

This thesis deals with the functioning of the media in the Czech Republic in the context of global changes after 1991. On the example of this country, it aims to understand how external influence on media within a certain state can be applied. The Czech Republic underwent a radical economic, political, social and cultural transformation with the end of the Cold War. This change was largely based on events in the international system. The main argument for this claim is that the Czech Republic is a small state located in the relatively strategic region of Central Eastern Europe. Given these and other conditions, it is almost impossible for the state to carry out an autonomous sovereign policy from a geopolitical point of view. It is influenced by the central players in the world system and relations between them. By this optics, the thesis also examines the functioning of the media. It tests the hypothesis that, even after the collapse of the Soviet Union and implementation of democratic and neoliberal frameworks, the external influence on the Czech media has not disappeared, only its essence has changed in relation to the wider global context. For this aim we chose primarily two indicators. One is the media legislation that has been adopted in the country since the late 1980s and is increasingly...

This research explains how does the interaction between foreign and domestic policy domains take place and how it influences domestic political change. For this purpose, the cases of Armenia, Georgia and Moldova are analysed with specific focus on the external influence of Russia and the European Union. Consequently, this study traces the interaction between domestic and international actors at the light of the broader regional context, including the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union. The research uses the analytical tool defined by Morlino (2011), with theoretical contributions from social constructivism and historical institutionalism in order to emphasize the need to contextualise the actions, preferences and identities of domestic actors in a broader historical perspective, which acknowledges the relevance of past legacies. Following the analytical tool, suggested by Morlino (2011), the research focuses on institutional reforms in Rule of Law, Inter-Institutional and Electoral Accountability, in addition to Participation and Competition as horizontal dimensions. A combination of process- tracing and network analysis provides insight on the strategies of domestic and international actors intervening in the reform processes.The research argues that the increased competition between the European Union and Russia is used by different domestic elite groups to strengthen their power positions and as an opportunity to diversify the foreign policy relations in the case of relatively small economic partners as Armenia, Georgia and Moldova. Such strategy is pursued through the development of focused relations with each international partner, while avoiding an exclusive geopolitical choice. Therefore, the EU is a preferred partner in democracy support, development of institutional capacities and trade; while Russia’s collaboration is sought in fields as trade, energy, etc). In addition, the EU and Russia have developed more flexible approaches in the relations with their neighbours. The EU seeks a more pragmatic geopolitically-informed approach in addition to its traditional normative role. On the other hand, Russia adopts a mimicking strategy of Western normative policies in support of its identity-based approach towards Russian-speaking communities in addition to its traditional geopolitical use of regional interdependencies for influencing the choices of the its neighbours. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Jordbruksbranschen har genom tiderna utsatts för flera kriser. Den här studien undersöker därför riskhantering i familjeägda jordbruksföretag till följd av torkan 2018, coronapandemin och kriget i Ukraina. Studien genomfördes som en kvalitativ studie där intervjuer användes för datainsamling. En tematisk analys gjordes för att analysera data. Utifrån datamaterialet identifierades tre teman: påverkan utifrån, strategi och social omgivning. Baserat på dessa undersöktes riskhanteringsstrategier inom de familjeägda jordbruken, dess sociala omgivningar och påverkan av dess ägandeform. Resultatet visade att de familjeägda jordbruken har reflekterat mer över risker och riskhanteringsstrategier till följd av kriserna. Det visade också att åtgärder och strategier har implementerats i varierande utsträckning. Slutligen värderas familjen högt inom organisationen och tycks till viss del vara avgörande för de beslut som tas. Även ett starkt socialt nätverk utmärker sig i de familjeägda jordbruken. / The agricultural industry has throughout history been subjected to several crises. Therefore, this study investigates risk management in family-owned agricultural businesses following the drought of 2018, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine. The study was conducted as a qualitative study using interviews for data collection. A thematic analysis was conducted to analyze the data. Based on the data material, three themes were identified: external influence, strategy, and social environment. Based on these, risk management strategies within the family-owned farms, their social environments, and the impact of their ownership structure were examined. The results showed that family-owned farms have reflected more on risks and risk management strategies due to the crises. It also showed that measures and strategies have been implemented to varying degrees. Finally, the family is highly valued within the organization and seems to be somewhat crucial to the decisions made. Additionally, a strong social network stands out in family-owned farms.

This diploma thesis deals with the influence of long fiber optic paths on the polarization state of light and their use for powering polarization sensors. The aim of the diploma thesis was to design the arrangement of optical fiber components so that the polarization properties of light at the end of the path are further usable for sensory purposes. Four partial measurements with a long path (in a laboratory setting, laying in the ground, on a curtain, under the influence of external influence) and one measurement without a path under the influence of external influence were designed. The overall measurement results demonstrate that for the functional power supply of long-distance sensor systems, an existing single-mode fiber can be used (laid by laying in the ground), into which a light source for a given sensor system would be multiplexed. In the discussion, all types of measurements are analyzed and compared with each other. Finally, the overall result is summarized and applications are described in which such a sensor system could be used.