The overarching aim of this master thesis is to explore what obligations immigrants have towards the host country in terms of learning the official language. Generally, it is expected that immigrants integrate into their host countries by learning the language, respecting social norms and values, and making economic and political contributions (Macleod, 2021). In my thesis, I will provide a definition of integration and describe the key dimensions of integration–cultural, social, political, and economic. I will discuss language integration in a broader picture, explaining the role of language education concerning these key areas of integration. I will use Sweden as a case in point and utilize official documents regarding language training programs executed by Swedish for Immigrants (SFI). I will assess whether these documents entail norms and values that immigrants should adhere to, as well as sociological research on Swedish norms and values in language courses for immigrants (Carlson, 2021). If they do, I will critically discuss the extent to which immigrants should adopt or adhere to these values and norms. My primary focus will be on immigrants who have legal permission to reside in the host country and who can be seen as standing in a contractual link with the host state. On this basis, then, I will use John Rawls's contractualist approach to provide a normative framework to critically discuss whether a liberal democratic society can require immigrants to undergo language education to integrate into the host country (Rawls, 1971).

The aim of the present study is to clarify the nature of integration between the individual and the organization. I have utilized four analytical tools in this endeavor – forms of association, theoretical starting points, integrating factors, and principles of integration. The forms of association have been taken from Amitai Etzioni's model for describing the interplay between members' experience of an organization and organizational sanctions. These in turn provide us with three categories – coercion, when association is steered by constraint exercised by the organization; interest, when integration proceeds deliberately and voluntarily; and normative or institutional integration, when association is steered by a normative community. The starting point selected is important, and often decisive, for any effort to understand the connection between the individual and the organization. In the present effort to theoretically explain how a particular association between individual and organization emerges, I have deliberately selected human nature (the integrating unit) from the choice of two alternatives for the starting point. That is to say that the starting point for integration should be sought not in the organization, but in people. The reason for this decision is my contention that organizations have no organic form, and that they can be steered and influenced in a completely differently way than people. In order for the theoretical starting point to function as a explanatory factor, it should provide the location for an active element. I have chosen the individual's striving for development and maturity as the active element or integrating factor in this regard. The integration of individual and organization is fostered to the extent that the individual's striving for development is satisfied within the framework of the organization. I argue that participation is the principle of integration that serves this goal. In conclusion, participation promotes the integration of the individual and organization, and it drives the process of integration in respect to three forms of coordination – coercion, interest, and institutional integration. Submission (the absence of participation) leads to coercion. Negotiation (the preliminary stage of participation) leads to interest integration. Participation, finally, leads to institutional integration.

Company transactions are increasing in number and value and is a method used for external growth. The increase in mergers and acquisitions can mainly be seen during the last decades and is now a common strategy on both a national and international level. However, most transactions experience problems with fulfilling the perceived value and synergies. Furthermore, digitalisation has created a higher dependency of companies on various IT systems, and rapid technological advancement has made the processes and theories regarding IT integration outdated. Thus, there is limited research on the relationship between IT systems and company integration and integration performance. The study aims to explore IT systems integration in the context of company transactions as well as attempts to identify key factors that influence integration performance. To explore the field, an embedded multiple-case study was conducted with a company performing international company transactions. The empirical study can be divided into three parts. First, initial interviews to probe the subject and gather information to create a holistic view of the problem. Second, gathering qualitative and quantitative data on the cases and conducting in-depth interviews. Third, the main study and exploration of the cases and collected data. Additionally, a literature review was conducted to create the theoretical foundation for the analysis and to complement the primary data. The thesis found that an objective method to measure performance is needed since the general view of the integration is not necessarily representative of the actual performance. The factors that influence performance were identified as of both strategic and organisational nature, where strategy and processes are important early on to create a common view of the project. People change management and active involvement from both parties are essential during the integration. The thesis contributes to the research field by exploration of the gap between theories regarding mergers and IT integration as well as by suggesting a nuanced view of the current approach to strategic alignment. Furthermore, the study builds on the general theory of measurement of integration performance by suggesting a metric to measure the performance of IT integration projects.

Through mergers and acquisitions, automotive manufacturers can gain access to intellectual property and the ability to release advanced products and services at a faster pace and a decreased cost. This is achieved through integrating the product development capabilities of the merged or acquired companies. This study aimed to identify key success factors and challenges in product development integration by using the Traton Group as a case study, specifically two collaborations between their subsidiaries, Scania and Navistar. Interviews were performed with key product development resources at all three companies, as well as employees working in roles to enable collaboration within the Traton Group. The results confirm the importance of all success factors found in previous research on R&D integrations and how the success factors impact each other. They also show how the collaborations between Scania and Navistar have evolved and improved over time. Finally, they highlight the importance of common IT tools as enablers of collaboration, particularly in collaborations with intensive software development work. The study compares Traton’s integration strategies against previous research, and concludes that Traton is on the right track. However, the interviewees' responses indicated a desire for increased involvement from the corporate parent Traton in the collaboration work. / Genom företagsförvärv kan fordonstillverkare få tillgång till immateriella rättigheter och möjligheten att släppa avancerade produkter och tjänster i snabbare takt och lägre kostnad. Detta uppnås genom att integrera produktutvecklingskapaciteten hos de sammanslagna eller förvärvade företagen. Denna studie syftade till att identifiera viktiga framgångsfaktorer och utmaningar i produktutvecklingsintegration genom att använda Traton Group som en fallstudie, närmare bestämt två samarbeten mellan deras dotterbolag Scania och Navistar. Intervjuer utfördes med produktutvecklingsresurser på alla tre företagen, samt anställda som arbetade att möjliggöra samarbete inom Traton Group. Resultaten bekräftar vikten av alla framgångsfaktorer som hittats i tidigare forskning om FoU-integrationer och hur framgångsfaktorerna påverkar varandra. De visar också hur samarbeten mellan Scania och Navistar har utvecklats och förbättrats över tid. Slutligen lyfter de fram vikten av gemensamma IT-verktyg som möjliggörare av samarbete, särskilt i samarbeten med intensivt mjukvaruutvecklingsarbete. Studien jämför Tratons integrationsstrategier med tidigare forskning, och drar slutsatsen att Traton är på rätt väg. Intervjupersonernas svar tydde dock på en önskan om ökat engagemang från företagsföräldern Traton i samverkansarbetet.

<p>The global business environment of today requires companies to be flexible, in order to quickly react and respond to the ever-changing market. Business-to-business application integration (B2BAI) can be seen as a tool which enables companies to stay competitive and it is often regarded by the theory as a must for survival in today’s fierce business environment. Eventhough the employment of a B2BAI strategy can generate a lot of advantages and opportunities for companies operating within today’s global business environment, there are still many challenges and problems to overcome in order to have a successful B2BAI solution.</p><p>Based on this we found it highly interesting to see whether the theories positive outlook on B2BAI could be supported by an empirical research. In this essay we have therefore studied and identified the underlying reasons and the contributing factors to why or why not companies choose to integrate externally, from the perspective of IT-consulting agencies. Besides this, a description and an explanation regarding the concepts covered by the field of B2BAI have been made in order to facilitate the understanding for the reader. As our intention primarily was to investigate the reasons behind and the contributing factors to why or why not companies choose to integrate, we chose to make qualitative interviews. This, as we were in need of information which described the course of events and expressed individual opinions, in order to achieve the purpose of the essay. Regarding the selection of research objects for the research, the population consists of all IT-consulting agencies in Sweden. The research has however been delimited to a selection of the population, where the sample consists of three IT-consulting agencies located in Jönköping, with experience of B2BAI.</p><p>One of the most interesting discoveries we have made in this research is that the empirical findings agree with the theory in regards of that globalization is a central factor contributing to why companies chose to invest in B2BAI. However, the respondents do not discuss all the advantages of B2BAI mentioned in the theory and emphasize slightly different underlying reasons for choosing to employ a B2BAI strategy. The most central reason for not choosing to employ a B2BAI strategy was according to the respondents due to the lack of knowledge regarding issues relating to the phenomenon and this have not been discussed in the theoretical framework. The challenges with B2BAI stated in the theory, were on the other hand not regarded as issues contributing to not choosing to implement B2BAI. We are under the impression that the advantages and the oppor-tunities with B2BAI carry more weight then the challenges, as the essays empirical findings indicate that the demand for B2BAI today is high and constantly growing.</p> / <p>Dagens globala affärsvärld kräver att företag ska vara flexibla för att snabbt kunna reagera och anpassa sig till den ständigt föränderliga marknaden. Business-to-business application integration (B2BAI) kan ses som ett verktyg som hjälper företag att vara konkurrenskraftiga och i teorier som behandlar ämnet beskrivs det ofta som ett måste för att överleva i dagens tuffa affärsklimat. Trots att tillämpandet av en B2BAI strategi kan generera ett flertal fördelar så finns det fortfarande många utmaningar och problem att bemästra för att kunna få en framgångsrik B2BAI lösning.</p><p>Baserat på detta fann vi det högst intressant att undersöka huruvida teorins positiva bild av B2BAI kunde stödjas av en empirisk studie. I denna uppsats har vi därför undersökt och identifierat de underliggande skälen och de bidragande faktorerna till varför företag väljer eller inte väljer att integrera externt, utifrån ett IT-konsultföretag perspektiv. Utöver detta ges en beskrivning av och förklaring till de begrepp som kunskapsområdet B2BAI innefattar för att underlätta förståelsen för läsaren. Eftersom vår avsikt huvudsakligen var att undersöka skälen bakom och de bidragande faktorerna till varför företag väljer eller inte väljer att integrera, valde vi att genomföra kvalitativa intervjuer. Detta då vi hade ett behov av information som beskrev händelser och uttryckte personliga åsikter för att kunna uppfylla syftet med denna uppsats. Vad gäller urvalet av undersökningsobjekt består populationen av alla IT-konsultföretag i Sverige. Undersökningen har dock avgränsats till tre IT-konsultföretag belägna i Jönköping med erfarenhet av B2BAI.</p><p>En av de mest intressanta upptäckterna vi har gjort i denna undersökning är att empirin överensstämmer med teorin beträffande att globaliseringen är en central bidragande faktor till varför företag väljer att investera i B2BAI. Respondenterna diskuterar dock inte alla fördelar med B2BAI som omnämns i teorin och framhåller delvis andra underliggande skäl till varför företag väljer att använda an B2BAI strategi. Det mest centrala skälet till varför företag inte väljer att implementera en B2BAI strategi var enligt respondenterna på grund av bristande kunskaper beträffande frågor relaterade till fenomenet och detta har inte diskuterats i det teoretiska ramverket. Utmaningarna med B2BAI omnämnda i teorin ansågs emellertid inte vara bidragande faktorer till att inte välja att implementera B2BAI. Vi har fått intrycket att de fördelar och möjligheter som B2BAI medför är av större vikt för företag än de utmaningar och problem som existerar, då uppsatsens empiriska studie pekar på att efterfrågan för B2BAI är stor idag och kon-stant växande.</p>

The global business environment of today requires companies to be flexible, in order to quickly react and respond to the ever-changing market. Business-to-business application integration (B2BAI) can be seen as a tool which enables companies to stay competitive and it is often regarded by the theory as a must for survival in today’s fierce business environment. Eventhough the employment of a B2BAI strategy can generate a lot of advantages and opportunities for companies operating within today’s global business environment, there are still many challenges and problems to overcome in order to have a successful B2BAI solution. Based on this we found it highly interesting to see whether the theories positive outlook on B2BAI could be supported by an empirical research. In this essay we have therefore studied and identified the underlying reasons and the contributing factors to why or why not companies choose to integrate externally, from the perspective of IT-consulting agencies. Besides this, a description and an explanation regarding the concepts covered by the field of B2BAI have been made in order to facilitate the understanding for the reader. As our intention primarily was to investigate the reasons behind and the contributing factors to why or why not companies choose to integrate, we chose to make qualitative interviews. This, as we were in need of information which described the course of events and expressed individual opinions, in order to achieve the purpose of the essay. Regarding the selection of research objects for the research, the population consists of all IT-consulting agencies in Sweden. The research has however been delimited to a selection of the population, where the sample consists of three IT-consulting agencies located in Jönköping, with experience of B2BAI. One of the most interesting discoveries we have made in this research is that the empirical findings agree with the theory in regards of that globalization is a central factor contributing to why companies chose to invest in B2BAI. However, the respondents do not discuss all the advantages of B2BAI mentioned in the theory and emphasize slightly different underlying reasons for choosing to employ a B2BAI strategy. The most central reason for not choosing to employ a B2BAI strategy was according to the respondents due to the lack of knowledge regarding issues relating to the phenomenon and this have not been discussed in the theoretical framework. The challenges with B2BAI stated in the theory, were on the other hand not regarded as issues contributing to not choosing to implement B2BAI. We are under the impression that the advantages and the oppor-tunities with B2BAI carry more weight then the challenges, as the essays empirical findings indicate that the demand for B2BAI today is high and constantly growing. / Dagens globala affärsvärld kräver att företag ska vara flexibla för att snabbt kunna reagera och anpassa sig till den ständigt föränderliga marknaden. Business-to-business application integration (B2BAI) kan ses som ett verktyg som hjälper företag att vara konkurrenskraftiga och i teorier som behandlar ämnet beskrivs det ofta som ett måste för att överleva i dagens tuffa affärsklimat. Trots att tillämpandet av en B2BAI strategi kan generera ett flertal fördelar så finns det fortfarande många utmaningar och problem att bemästra för att kunna få en framgångsrik B2BAI lösning. Baserat på detta fann vi det högst intressant att undersöka huruvida teorins positiva bild av B2BAI kunde stödjas av en empirisk studie. I denna uppsats har vi därför undersökt och identifierat de underliggande skälen och de bidragande faktorerna till varför företag väljer eller inte väljer att integrera externt, utifrån ett IT-konsultföretag perspektiv. Utöver detta ges en beskrivning av och förklaring till de begrepp som kunskapsområdet B2BAI innefattar för att underlätta förståelsen för läsaren. Eftersom vår avsikt huvudsakligen var att undersöka skälen bakom och de bidragande faktorerna till varför företag väljer eller inte väljer att integrera, valde vi att genomföra kvalitativa intervjuer. Detta då vi hade ett behov av information som beskrev händelser och uttryckte personliga åsikter för att kunna uppfylla syftet med denna uppsats. Vad gäller urvalet av undersökningsobjekt består populationen av alla IT-konsultföretag i Sverige. Undersökningen har dock avgränsats till tre IT-konsultföretag belägna i Jönköping med erfarenhet av B2BAI. En av de mest intressanta upptäckterna vi har gjort i denna undersökning är att empirin överensstämmer med teorin beträffande att globaliseringen är en central bidragande faktor till varför företag väljer att investera i B2BAI. Respondenterna diskuterar dock inte alla fördelar med B2BAI som omnämns i teorin och framhåller delvis andra underliggande skäl till varför företag väljer att använda an B2BAI strategi. Det mest centrala skälet till varför företag inte väljer att implementera en B2BAI strategi var enligt respondenterna på grund av bristande kunskaper beträffande frågor relaterade till fenomenet och detta har inte diskuterats i det teoretiska ramverket. Utmaningarna med B2BAI omnämnda i teorin ansågs emellertid inte vara bidragande faktorer till att inte välja att implementera B2BAI. Vi har fått intrycket att de fördelar och möjligheter som B2BAI medför är av större vikt för företag än de utmaningar och problem som existerar, då uppsatsens empiriska studie pekar på att efterfrågan för B2BAI är stor idag och kon-stant växande.

Children who have sensory integration disorders face many physical, social and emotional challenges. Unusual emotional and behavioural reactions to sensory stimuli are often displayed. These children are referred to professionals including Gestalt play therapists, although formal training in sensory integration is limited to the scope of occupational therapy. Gestalt play therapists routinely utilize sensory rich activities during therapy. This study sought to explore and describe how Gestalt play therapists establish sensory contact with children who have sensory integration disorders. A combined qualitative and quantitative approach was utilized. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used to gain rich descriptive data. Participants felt that the therapeutic process with these children was markedly different than with other children. Participants who were aware of their own sensory difficulties demonstrated an increased ability to accommodate these children in therapy. A need for increased knowledge and/ or training in sensory integration was strongly expressed. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

Cette thèse entend revisiter la question des interactions entre les dimensions commerciale et monétaire desprocessus d’intégration régionale à travers l’étude du cas océanien. Habituellement en retrait du champ d’étude del’économie internationale, le continent océanien se trouve pourtant au coeur de la problématique de l’inscription despetites économies insulaires dans l’économie mondiale via des processus régionaux et constitue un terrain d’étudesprivilégié sur la question du séquençage entre intégration monétaire et intégration commerciale. La démarche envisagéedans cette thèse procède de l’économie appliquée et mobilise différentes méthodologies (économétrie de panel, modèlesqualitatifs multinomiaux, équations gravitaires) pour apporter un éclairage original sur les différentes dimensions duprocessus d’intégration dans la zone et sur l’articulation entre ses versants monétaire et réel. Trois résultats principauxse dégagent de ce travail. Tout d’abord, l’évaluation de la dynamique d’intégration réelle à l’oeuvre met en évidencel’impact positif des accords commerciaux intra-régionaux sur les flux d’échange entre les pays membres et sur lesexportations à destination des pays non membres. À travers l’établissement d’une cartographie originale des relationscambiaires dans la zone, l’analyse met ensuite à jour l’influence d’une dépendance au sentier sur les choix d’ancrage et laprépondérance des déterminants historiques. Troisièmement, le croisement de ces résultats invite à relativiser l’impactd’une modification de l’architecture cambiaire sur les flux commerciaux intra-zone. Le poids de l’histoire se dégage toutd’abord des équations gravitaires à travers des effets d’interaction entre influence de l’ascendance coloniale communeet impact de la fixité des taux de change bilatéraux ; une analyse prospective conduit enfin à privilégier un scénariod’ancrage des monnaies océaniennes vis-à-vis du dollar australien, tout en soulignant les effets asymétriques d’un telschéma d’intégration monétaire sur les flux commerciaux intra-zone. / The purpose of this dissertation is to shed new light on the interactions between trade integration andmonetary integration, using the Oceanian region as a case study. The Oceanian continent has not enjoyed excessiveattention amongst researchers in international economics. And yet, the region offers a striking illustration of themechanisms through which small island economies interact with the global economy, via complex regional processes.As such, it constitutes an excellent research field for the question of the sequencing between monetary integration andtrade integration. The approach adopted in this thesis is steeped in applied economics, and uses various methodologies(panel econometrics, multinomial discrete choice models, gravity equations) to bring a fresh perspective on the variousdimensions of the regional integration process, and on the interactions between the monetary and trade components ofthat process. The study yields three key conclusions. Firstly, the study assesses the actual integration dynamics at work,and concludes that there is a positive impact of intra-regional trade agreements, both on trade flows between membercountries and on exports to non-member countries. Secondly, the study creates a new mapping of exchange rate regimesin the region, and uses it to identify a path dependency between anchoring choices and historical determinations. Thirdly,the models analyzed suggest that the impact of common currency arrangements on intra-regional trade flows should notbe over-estimated. Rather, a closer look at the gravity equations describing the interaction between common colonialascendency and common currency arrangements suggests that history is the over-riding factor. Finally, a prospectiveanalysis leads to consider anchoring to the australian dollar as a possible option, while noting the asymmetrical impactof such an integration scheme on intra-regional trade flows.

Previous studies show that integration projects help teenager refugees to enter Swedish society more quickly. My study looks into one of these projects called Näktergalen. The project is a collaboration between the County Administrative Board, Region Halland, Halmstad Municipality and Halmstad University. Students from the University of Halmstad are paired with teenager refugees to develop their language skills and increase respect and tolerance for each other's differences such as social and cultural backgrounds. What my study investigate is how the participants in the Näktergalen project develop their knowledge and experiences with support from the mentorship and whether the project Näktergalen contributed to a faster integration for the participants. The method used to implement the study has consisted of qualitative interviews. The interviews have been semi-structured to allow the participants talk about their views on the projects important aspects. The theory used for the study is from the Russian educator Leg Vygotsky. Vygotsky's theory is based on the fact that mankind is a biological, social, cultural and historical being. Vygotsky believes that we humans can only develop and learn new things in interaction with other people. With reference to previous research and the study's results it can be establish that projects such as the Näktergalen simplify and accelerate the integration of refugee teenagers. Likewise, the teenage refugees who were interviewed agree that integration takes place in interaction with people who do not come from the same culture. The result shows that projects like Näktergalen gives refugees a way into a social network and open up for new knowledge and experiences.

This study explores three dimensions in the integration of Iranian immigrants in Sweden: economic, cultural and social. To test the generalisability of the ideas presented, and to place them in a wider framework the integration of Iranians has been compared with those of three other minorities: Chileans, Poles, and Finns. Data used in the statistical analyses have been obtained from the Centre for Research in International Migration and Ethnic relations (CEIFO). Economic integration of an immigrant group in a new society has been defined as its economic equality with the host population. The first part dealing with this aspect of integration compares Iranians with Swedes by three economic indicators: the ratio of unemployment, socio-economic status and income. By all indicators Iranians hold a considerably lower position as compared with Swedes. Both socio-demographic factors related to the Iranians and discrimination exercised by Swedish employers have been found to be relevant to the economic integration of Iranians in Sweden. The comparison of Iranians with the three other minorities, in terms of discrimination, indicates that the discrimination of these minorities corresponds to their cultural distance from Swedes. Iranians, with the remotest culture from Swedes among the four minorities, suffer the highest degree of discrimination. Finns, with the closest culture, suffer the lowest degree of discrimination. And the two other minorities lie between these two groups, respectively. Discrimination manifests itself mainly in a differential size of incomes which derives from the differential distribution of these groups among the least desirable occupations. The second part dealing with cultural integration evaluates the adaptation of Iranian to Swedish culture by two indicators representing cognitive and normative acculturation. This part is especially focused on the proposition that the westernisation process in Iran and differential reactions against this process are relevant in the acculturation of Iranians in Sweden. Two hypotheses formulated on the basis of this proposition- the negative effects of commitment to Iranian culture and radicalism on the acculturation of Iranians in Sweden- have been supported by the indicator of normative acculturation, but not by that of cognitive acculturation. The comparison of the four minorities has demonstrated that generalities, clustering and uniqueness all exist among the factors explaining their acculturation. The generalities and clustering are more striking in cognitive acculturation. Similarities are more evident between Iranians and Chileans. Finally, the last part dealing with social integration concentrates on the association of Iranians with Swedes. Assuming that association of two individuals with each other requires a common language and a minimum degree of intersubjectivity, it has been generally hypothesised that: 1) social integration of minorities in the new society will be a function of their cultural distance from the host population, and 2) all processes contributing to the increasing or decreasing of cultural distance will contribute also to the increasing or decreasing of their social integration. On the basis of these general hypotheses the following concrete hypotheses have been tested. 1) Among the four minorities, Iranians, as culturally remotest from Swedes, will have the least degree of social integration, followed by Chileans, Poles and Finns, respectively. 2) Commitment of Iranians to Iranian culture, as a medium increasing cultural distance, will correlate negatively with their social integration in Sweden. 3) Countercultural elements in Swedish society, as a medium of cultural-distance reduction, will contribute to the social integration of immigrants in this society. All hypotheses have been supported by the existing data.