The world we live in is getting more and more global and this development carries many affects, not least for the business environment. During the last decades foreign direct investments have increased rapidly. Historically speaking, foreign direct investments were primarily undertaken by large corporations with high turnover and financial strength. However, with the alleviation of investment regulations smaller companies now also have an opportunity to reap the benefits of international business. Jönköping County is known for its entrepreneurial spirit and high density of small- and medium sized companies. We found that it would be interesting to discover the reason why these, usually successful, firms conducted foreign direct investments. The purpose of this thesis is to describe the reasons and factors behind a foreign direct investment undertaken by mediumsized manufacturing firms in the Jönköping region. The research was carried out by using a qualitative method. We found five firms within this region that were of medium size and wanted to participate in our study. The companies that we interviewed were; Eldon AB, Carlfors Bruk AB, AB Pettersons Järn-förädling, IDAB WAMAC International AB, and RH Form AB. The main reason for conducting a foreign direct investment mentioned by these firms was market seeking motives. The companies wanted to enter new markets in order to grow and widen their customer base. The firms were mainly seeking markets that were large and had a good potential for growth. The remaining company based their decision on a resource seeking motive. The firms have decided to enter these markets through different entry modes. The firms that saw risks and lack of knowledge as important factors have chosen to use a joint venture as an entry mode. The companies that wanted a quick entry chose acquisitions as their form of entry. The two firms that have done green-field investments have done so for different reasons. One had knowledge and contacts already and did not see the need to acquire another firm and the other wanted to keep the full control of its technology. We have found that the factors in the host markets are most influential in the decision to invest abroad, and that push factors from the domestic market has had little significance. The firms are aware of the risks involved but do not choose location based on them.

This assignment is a study of three Swedish newspapers and how they reflected on the gypsy riots that took place during twenty-third of June to the second of July 1948. The chosen newspapers are Dagens Nyheter, Jönköpings-posten and Smålands Folkblad. Dagens Nyheter is a regional newspaper and the other two is local newspapers. In this qualitative study that focus on the anthropology and postcolonial theories to find out if the newspapers at the time had a neutral attitude towards the event. And also, how they portrayed the event. The study covers the entire year (1948) of the publication of the newspapers to get a more accurate view of the matter. The result coming to that two of the newspapers had an impartial attitude towards the riots however the last newspaper (Smålands Folkblad) took a turn against the gypsies in the city. Showing a negative approach to the matter involving the gypsies even though they were victims of the riots and innocent people. Also shown is that all of the newspapers saw the gypsies as not a part of the Swedish population. In some matters the newspapers even mention that it’s the gypsies against the inhibitors of Jönköping, they are somehow not the same thing. The incident was a personal argument that got out of hand and turned out to witch-hunt to catch the so-called gypsies, but none of the newspapers find it that way. They explain it like a commotion with all people involved.

Abstract The mental illness has increased sharply in the recent years and the focus on the psychosocial work environment has become more and more important. Today, the physical working environment is not the only thing that matters, the psychosocial work environment has taken more space and become a part of the labor environment law. The purpose of this work is to see how the concept of psychosocial environment law and mental health is regulated and worked with in the municipality of Jönköping, to gain a better understanding of how legal texts and rules apply in working life. Since the work is based on the regulations of Arbetsmiljöverket, the legal methodology is used to the greatest extent. The method is very similar to the traditional legal dogmatic method but provides little room for analysis. However, the legal sociological method will also be used to investigate what psychosocial work environment impact the employees. Psychosocial labour environment is very important for workers not to suffer from ill health. Various factors enter the psychosocial work environment that can contribute to psychological ill health. Stress, demands and uncomfortable working hours are just a few. The concept of psychosocial work environment is now included in the labour environment law and its regulations. There is, however, no indicative case law in this area. More research and more knowledge in the psychosocial labour environment is required for mental health to stop increase. Unfortunately, it is difficult to make the law more general, since each case in mental health is unique.

With the COVID-19 pandemic taking over the world faster than anyone had anticipated and creating a ‘new normal’, consumers had to adapt and get used to these changes. The pandemic caused lockdowns in several parts of the world, where businesses, schools, and stores had to shut their doors, although essential stores such as grocery stores remained open. Not only did this happen, but consumers' social life was also impacted as they were asked to stay at home and limit their contact with other people. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a shift in the practices of consumers, with food and safety being one of the most essential needs, consumers converted to stockpiling on food and hygienic products which led to a lower on shelf availability in grocery stores. Even though many countries around the world imposed a lockdown, Sweden never imposed any lockdown during the COVID-19 period, making it an interesting country to research. Although Sweden did implement some measures which for all public areas meant a limited amount of people allowed in the store, whereas other measures were more focused on recommendations such as keeping distance, avoiding large crowds, and working and studying from home as much as possible. Ultimately, the COVID-19 pandemic did impact university students in Sweden, as student life completely stopped on campus and classes were partly given through Zoom. The city of Jönköping is a city where many students live, and over 19.000 students are registered at the university of Jönköping. These students are in a crucial stage of their life where new experiences and changes are happening. This initiated the purpose of the study to research whether the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the grocery shopping practices of students pre and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the city of Jönköping. To perform the research a qualitative study has been conducted. An interview was formulated after reviewing the literature to gather information from university students in Jönköping, where the aim was to analyze their grocery shopping practices before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 15 university students were interviewed, in the age range of 23-26, who all study and live in the city of Jönköping during the pandemic. To study the practices of the students, the framework of Arsel and Bean (2013) has been applied. The objects and doings of the students pre and during COVID-19 have been researched and analyzed, and from the collected data, categories of meanings have been identified to analyze the meanings of the objects that were used and the doings that were performed by the informants. Changes in practices were identified in which the students mainly kept the same grocery shopping routine with adaptations to protect themselves against the virus. The grocery stores are visited less frequently, and items are avoided out of fear of getting infected. The main practices identified is that the students started to wash their hands, keep distance, and started to use hand sanitizer as protective measures. This thesis provides a guide for governmental institutions on how consumers react to regulations during a pandemic. Also, this may help grocery stores to know how consumers adapt their grocery shopping practices amidst a pandemic.

As place branding becomes more significant to a city, events have become a way to attract visitors nationally and internationally. Large cities are putting on events that can attract millions of people. While the literature has excellent knowledge on events in place branding, the small city is neglected. Events that utilize nature are one of the main ways cities arrangeevents. Nature has endless potential and can provide fantastic opportunities for a city. Research is needed into small cities and how to use natural events in place branding to compete with large cities. This study aims to demonstrate and analyze outdoor/nature events' role in place branding. The study also aims to research this in the context of a small city, as the literature has a heavy bias towards large cities in place branding and even more so with events in place branding. The method used in this paper is a qualitative case study methodology since we wanted to investigate Destination Jönköping’s work with place branding thoroughly. Furthermore,direct observations and document analysis were made to build the analysis. The results of our study show that Destination Jönköping extensively uses Nature events in place branding in order to deal with a lack of resources as a small city. While nature events are used by all cities in place branding efforts, small cities have a more significant benefit as they have difficulty competing with large cities in large-scale indoor and city events.

Syftet med denna studie var att se om samverkansavtalet mellan Vetlanda kommun och Polismyndigheten i Jönköpings län har lett till en minskad brottslighet. Genom granskning av statistik visade utvärderingen att samverkan mellan kommun och polis är en central brottspreventiv åtgärd. Rent generellt har totalt antal brott i Vetlanda kommun minskat, men inte inom de tre av fyra huvudområden som fokusen låg på. / The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cooperation agreement between Vetlanda municipality and the police in Jönköping to see if it has led to a reduction in crime. Through different statistical examinations the evaluation shows that cooperation between Vetlanda municipality and the police in Jönköping is an important arrangement for crime prevention. Overall the total number of crimes in Vetlanda municipality has decreased, but not in the three of four main areas we have focused on.

SummaryThis study investigates the contributions of Österängens Konsthall to social cohesion withinthe Jönköping community, focusing on fostering a sense of belonging and encouragingparticipation. The research applies Jenson’s (1998) framework on social cohesion,emphasizing the dimensions of participation and sense of belonging. It investigates thecentral research question – In what ways do Österängens Konsthall's initiatives seek tocontribute to social cohesion within the Jönköping community, in terms of fostering a senseof belonging and participation?A qualitative approach involves in-depth semi-structured interviews with therepresentatives of Österängens Konsthall and provides insights into the initiatives andstrategies used by the institution.The findings highlight that Österängens Konsthall seeks to play an important role inenhancing community involvement, participation and fostering a sense of belonging throughdifferent initiatives, including public art projects, exhibitions, workshops, and communitygarden activities. These initiatives are thoughtfully tailored, considering the local contextand the needs of diverse communities while promoting environmental awareness andcommunity pride.However, the study also identified challenges, including resource constraints, highresidential mobility within the area, and the absence of formal strategic documents andevaluation mechanisms. The research emphasizes the importance of understandingcommunity perspectives and recommends future studies focus on learning insights fromÖsterängens Konsthall beneficiaries.Overall, research provides valuable insights into understanding the role of culturalinstitutions and possible ways they can be empowered to enhance the social cohesion process.

Socionomprogrammet i Sverige är en generalistutbildning som ska ge förberedelser inför arbetslivet som socionom. Vi upplever att flertal socionomstudenter är fundersamma om deras kunskaper från och förberedelser i utbildningen är tillräckliga för att ta sig an arbetsuppgifter som socionomer. Studiens syfte är att undersöka nuvarande och tidigare socionomstudenters upplevelse av kunskap och förberedelse inför arbetslivet, kopplat till olika ämnesområden, samt undervisnings- och examinationsformer. Valet av kvantitativ metod och enkät som mätinstrument baserades på att vi ville nå ut till fler personer och få en större överblick av situationen. Studien genomfördes på Hälsohögskolan i Jönköping och populationen valdes ut genom ett strategiskt urval, utifrån studiens frågeställningar.  Studien genomfördes i samarbete med socionomstudenter i termin 6 och socionomer som examinerades 2018. I resultatet framgår det att kunskap och förberedelse är sammankopplat, hög upplevd kunskap i ett område är kopplat till starkare känsla av förberedelse i ämnesområdet. Generellt är respondenterna neutrala eller lätt positiva kring sin förberedelse inför arbetslivet som socionom. Utmärkande var att VFUn ansågs vara det mest givande under hela utbildningen. / The social work program in Sweden is a generalist education that will prepare students for social working tasks. Our experience is that a lot of social work students are questioning whether their knowledge and preparations from the social work program are enough to prepare them for employment as social workers. The aim of this study is to examine current social work students and newly graduated social workers experience of knowledge and preparedness to work. Different topic areas, form of teaching, and form of examinations are surveyed. Choosing quantitative methods and survey as our instrument, was based on the fact that we wanted to reach more people and get a larger overview of the situation. The study was conducted at School of Health and Welfare in Jönköping, the population was strategically selected based on its relevance of the study topic.  The study was conducted with students attending their 6th semester and with social work students who graduated in 2018. Descriptive statistics were computed. The results reveal that knowledge and preparedness are connected, knowledge in one area is linked to preparedness to work with that area. Generally, the respondents are neutral or slightly positive about their preparedness to work. Periods on internship / working placement (VFU) was considered as the form of education that generated the strongest effect on preparedness out of the entire social work program.

Prostitution and human trafficking for sexual purposes is by the government seen as a problem in the society that needs to be defeated. Since the year 1999, purchasing sexual services has been illegal in Sweden, and since the year 2002 there is also a law concerning human trafficking. Despite legislation and many other efforts, prostitution and human trafficking for sexual purposes is still widespread in Sweden. Through a case study, this paper investigates how work against prostitution and human trafficking for sexual purposes is governed and performed on a national level in Sweden, as well as on a regional and local level in Jönköping. This has been investigated through collection and analysis of documents created by organizations that influence the police and social services work in this area. Beyond this, three interviews with professionals in the police and social services have been conducted. The result has then been analysed on the basis of institutional theory which illustrates that an organization's quest for stability can stand in the way of achieving change. The results of the thesis show that there is a clear adherence with governing directives at the national level, but that the adherence is lacking at the regional and local levels. This can be explained on the basis that work against prostitution and human trafficking has not previously been a priority issue at the governing level, which has led to the work being neglected at regional and local level. / Prostitution och människohandel för sexuella ändamål ses av regeringen som ett samhällsproblem som måste bekämpas. Sedan år 1999 har köp av sexuella tjänster varit olagliga i Sverige och sedan år 2002 finns även en människohandelslagstiftning. Trots lagstiftning och flertalet övriga insatser finns idag prostitution och människohandel för sexuella ändamål utbredd i Sverige. Genom en fallstudie undersöks hur arbete mot prostitution och människohandel för sexuella ändamål styrs och utförs nationellt i Sverige samt regionalt och lokalt i Jönköping. Detta har undersökts genom insamling och analys av dokument skapade av organisationer som påverkar polisen och socialtjänstens arbete rörande området i Jönköpings kommun. Utöver detta har även tre intervjuer med yrkesverksamma inom polis och socialtjänst genomförts. Resultatet har sedan analyserats utifrån institutionell teori vilken belyser att en organisations strävan efter stabilitet kan stå i vägen för att uppnå en förändring. Uppsatsens resultat visar att det finns en tydlig efterföljsamhet av styrande direktiv på nationell nivå men att efterföljsamheten brister på regional och lokal nivå. Detta kan förklaras utifrån att arbete mot prostitution och människohandel tidigare inte varit en prioriterad fråga på styrande nivå vilket lett till att arbetet på regional och lokal nivå blivit eftersatt.

Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to explore how students at Jönköping University can establish a new business and to what extent Science Park Jönköping is involved throughout the business creation process. Background Numerous researches have been done on new venture creation and business incubation. However, these two areas of research are rarely combined. When it comes to venture creation, most theories focus either solely on the start-up process or on the entrepreneur and the environment. The novelty of this thesis lies in combining those two different fields of research and at the same time focusing on the entrepreneur, the environment and the start-up process. The authors aim at investigating the start-up process in connection with the business incubator Science Park Jönköping. This paper is opposing new venture creation process theory with empirical findings and further examining the influence of the business incubator Science Park Jönköping. Method The authors of this paper followed a qualitative approach which was implemented in the form of personal interviews. The participants of this study are entrepreneurs who created their venture in cooperation with Science Park Jönköping as well as one representative from Science Park Jönköping. Conclusion Contrary to previous research, the participants of this study do not perceive the business creation process and its stages as linear. Moreover, influential factors like the attributes of the entrepreneur and the environment have to be taken into account when speaking about the start-up of a company. Science Park Jönköping offers services at all stages of the process whereas the most intense contact between the business incubator and the entrepreneur takes place in the very beginning.