<p>Globalization abates barriers and makes the world similar, but also leads countries to perform like companies seeking and competing for global capitals. In this competition the „nation brand‟ becomes a critical tool to stand out and attract any sort of foreign investments. In this research, the factors which affect the nation brand, presented in the Anholt´s hexagon model, will be tested through the combination of theory on nation branding and empirical data. The study analyzes how different organizations affect and promote the commercial image of Spain in Sweden. Up to seven entities susceptible to affect the brand Spain were analyzed; the ICEX, the economic and commercial office of Spain in Stockholm, the embassy of Spain in Stockholm, Invest in Spain, the Elcano Royal institute, the Hispanic-Swedish chamber of commerce in Madrid and the Swedish trade council in Madrid. The study also presents an outline of the current context of the brand Spain and its projection in Sweden, as well as an overview on the trade relationship between both countries. The individual commitment of most of the organizations investigated, under the guidance of the Ministry of foreign affairs and the Ministry of industry, tourism, and trade of Spain, appears as one of the main findings. Despite the limited scope of this investigation, the relative novelty of this field of study leaves room for further research in different directions, questioning those who claim that globalization threats local diversity.</p>

Background: The Swedish fashion market today quickly becomes too small, even for the new companies, and they are quick to take the step abroad and launch their internationalisation process. With a focus on the four Swed-ish fashion companies Filippa K, Acne Jeans, Nudie Jeans and Whyred, we have analysed how these representatives of the industry have interna-tionalised themselves. The companies have chosen different ways to promote their brand and how to control the perceived image of the brand. As there is a lack of earlier in-depth studies into this particular question of the Swedish Fashion industry, we have set out to investigate how this is done. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to look at the internationalisation process of Swedish fashion companies, with a focus on the growth and the penetra-tion of the international markets in order to determine the key success factors for successful international expansion. We will also investigate to what extent branding, country of origin (COO) and psychic distance to geographical markets has an influence on the internationalisation process and its success. Method: We used a qualitative approach and conducted a case study consisting of four Swedish fashion companies. The data have been collected through interviews and secondary sources. The information has been put into dif-ferent models for internationalisation, branding and key success factors. Conclusion: We have interpreted the collected data together with the theories used, thereafter drawn the conclusions that the key Success factors that have taken these firms so far and have been important in the building of the successful brands/companies, are in fact to a large degree COO, rela-tions in the Swedish fashion Industry and the creation of superior prod-ucts. The companies have both similar and specific factors for their suc-cess on the international market.

This is a study of continuity and change in middle-class conceptions of ideal manhood. My theoretical cues are the notions of the male as an unproblematised and genderless norm, masculinity as homosocial, and George L. Mosse’s use of countertypes. Notions of passions, youth, and character were important throughout the century. If young men could learn to master the dangerous passions especially in the precarious period of youth, they would develop character. If men instead gave in to the passions, they would fall and become countertypes. Meanwhile, young men lived according to another notion, that young men should have their fling. The meaning of manhood also changed over time. In the decades around 1800, manhood meant to lead a life which would be beneficial to society as a whole. Another ideal, that of the man of the world, was founded on urbane manners as a tactic to further one’s career. By mid-century, the ideal of the self-made man came to the fore. The homosocial world of business was now seen as a good way to mould manly characters. In the last decades of the century, moralists criticized the sexual double standard and male sexuality. To remain chaste until marriage became a central mark of manhood. Autobiographers, however, reveal that to many men, Don Juan was a hero rather than a villain. The notion that men were genderless and that masculinity was not a subject of discussion cannot be sustained. Masculinity was indeed the subject of intense discussions. Meanwhile, neither moralists nor autobiographers shed critical light on married, adult men. The problem was how young men should best be guided into an adult position of legitimate power; that position of power in itself was not problematised. While most masculinities were homosocial, this was not exclusively so. Countertypes were more complex than what Mosse allows for. Men who had taken ideal manhood too far could be countertypes, and at times men endorsed ideals which meant unmanliness to moralists.

Students’ use of superficial reasoning seems to be a main reason for learning difficulties in mathematics. It is therefore important to investigate the reasons for this use and the components that may affect students’ mathematical reasoning development. Assessments have been claimed to be a component that significantly may influence students’ learning. The purpose of the study in Paper 1 was to investigate the kind of mathematical reasoning that is required to successfully solve tasks in the written tests students encounter in their learning environment. This study showed that a majority of the tasks in teacher-made assessment could be solved successfully by using only imitative reasoning. The national tests however required creative mathematically founded reasoning to a much higher extent. The question about what kind of reasoning the students really use, regardless of what theoretically has been claimed to be required on these tests, still remains. This question is investigated in Paper 2. Here is also the relation between the theoretically established reasoning requirements, i.e. the kind of reasoning the students have to use in order to successfully solve included tasks, and the reasoning actually used by students studied. The results showed that the students to large extent did apply the same reasoning as were required, which means that the framework and analysis procedure can be valuable tools when developing tests. It also strengthens many of the results throughout this thesis. A consequence of this concordance is that as in the case with national tests with high demands regarding reasoning also resulted in a higher use of such reasoning, i.e. creative mathematically founded reasoning. Paper 2 can thus be seen to have validated the used framework and the analysis procedure for establishing these requirements. Paper 3 investigates the reasons for why the teacher-made tests emphasises low-quality reasoning found in paper I. In short the study showed that the high degree of tasks solvable by imitative reasoning in teacher-made tests seems explainable by amalgamating the following factors: (i) Limited awareness of differences in reasoning requirements, (ii) low expectations of students abilities and (iii) the desire to get students passing the tests, which was believed easier when excluding creative reasoning from the tests. Information about these reasons is decisive for the possibilities of changing this emphasis. Results from this study can also be used heuristically to explain some of the results found in paper 4, concerning those teachers that did not seem to be influenced by the national tests. There are many suggestions in the literature that high-stake tests affect practice in the classroom. Therefore, the national tests may influence teachers in their development of classroom tests. Findings from paper I suggests that this proposed impact seem to have had a limited effect, at least regarding the kind of reasoning required to solve included tasks. What about other competencies described in the policy documents? Paper 4 investigates if the Swedish national tests have had such an impact on teacher-made classroom assessment. Results showed that impact in terms of similar distribution of tested competences is very limited. The study however showed the existence of impact from the national tests on teachers test development and how this impact may operate.

Man-made wetlands are often created to compensate for the loss or degradation of natural wetlands, but little is known about the processes taking place in these artificial environments, especially at the community level. Throughout this thesis, we have assessed the phenomena of primary succession over different time (short-, mid- and long-term) and spatial scales (local, regional, interregional levels), applying different approaches (taxonomic and functional) and subject groups (invertebrates and amphibians). Our main findings regarding time scales show a 3-phase successional pattern in Mediterranean man-made wetlands’ communities, where at the short term (1 year) colonization processes dominate; at mid term perspectives (2 to 7 years) succession signs begin to be conspicuous, and later on (≥ 10 years) parameters such as species richness reach an asymptote. At that moment, some biological strategies dominate, and biodiversity surrogates indicate that communities are indistinct between man-made and natural wetlands. Regarding spatial effects, we corroborated that both local and regional factors affect the establishing communities. Particularly, the low hydrological stability of the Mediterranean region has enhanced biological traits favoring resilience and resistance to disturbances when comparing Mediterranean and cold temperate aquatic communities. Even within the Mediterranean region, low levels of hydrological stability have significant effects on the successional dynamics. In these cases, local communities are highly nested within regional natural ones, and so are not able to make net contributions to regional richness. We also showed the influence of the regional pool of recruiters over local communities, both in the case of invertebrates and amphibians. Especially for the latter group, man-made Mediterranean temporary ponds (MTPs) can play an important role in their conservation. / Les zones humides de nova creació són sovint concebudes per compensar la pèrdua i degradació de les naturals, però el coneixement dels processos que tenen lloc en aquests ambients artificials encara és superficial, especialment a nivell de comunitat. Al llarg d’aquesta tesi, hem analitzat el fenomen de la successió primària a diferents escales temporals (a curt, mitjà i llarg termini) i a diferents escales espacials (a nivell local, regional i interregional), mitjançant diverses aproximacions (taxonòmiques i funcionals) i subjectes (invertebrats i amfibis). Les nostres aportacions pel que fa a les escales temporals mostren un patró de successió basat en 3 fases, on a curt termini (1 any) dominen els processos de colonització; en perspectives de mitjà termini (2 a 7 anys) els signes de successió comencen a ser conspicus, i més tard (≥ 10 anys) paràmetres com la riquesa d’espècies arriben a una asímptota. En aquesta fase avançada, algunes estratègies biològiques dominen, i els índexs de biodiversitat indiquen que les comunitats poden ser indistintes entre les llacunes naturals i les de nova creació. Pel que fa als efectes espacials, hem corroborat que tant factors locals com regionals afecten les comunitats que s’hi estableixen. En particular, la baixa estabilitat hidrològica de la regió Mediterrània ha afavorit trets biològics que proveeixen resiliència i resistència enfront de pertorbacions, sobretot quan es comparen amb les comunitats pròpies del clima temperat fred. Fins i tot dins la mateixa regió Mediterrània, nivells baixos d’estabilitat hidrològica poden tenir efectes importants en la dinàmica de la successió. En aquests casos, les comunitats locals estan altament aniuades en les naturals a nivell regional, i per tant difícilment poden fer contribucions netes a la riquesa regional. També hem mostrat la influència del pool regional de colonitzadors sobre les comunitats locals, tant en el cas dels invertebrats com en el dels amfibis. Especialment per aquest darrer grup, les Basses Temporànies Mediterrànies (BTMs) de nova creació poden jugar un paper important per a la seva conservació.

Most books written about American drama concern definitions of masculinity, the American dream, and the family in a society that encourages people to surpass their competences and limits. American playwrights of the twentieth century reveal the anxiety and insecurity of men who do not rise up to the standards of the American dream. In concentrating on these themes, most critics have analyzed the main characters and plots but have left aside hints about other myths. This study aims to analyse the extended use of the cowboy, of salesman, and of pirate in Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. The recurrence of these three myths touches on the core of American drama that playwrights and critics have tried to define endlessly: the definition of the male in the American society.

Background: This study will be beneficial for Swedish companies that wish to enter the French market and will also benefit companies in France that have something to do with Sweden or that are playing on the Swedish origin. The outcome of this study will give a perspective on Swedishness in Swedish companies, brands and products with French consumers.References to places and countries such as French wine, Hollywood movies, and Russian roulette are examples of how the origin of countries can create associations influencing consumers' product evaluation and buying behaviour. In the process of understanding French consumers' product country image in relation to Sweden, it is important to map their buying behaviour and associations to Swedish companies, brands and products. The consumer perception of the country of origin can together with other attributes add brand equity to a company, brand or a product. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to understand how Swedishness in Swedish brands and products influences the perception of quality and to assist companies in their decision making on how to market in France. Conclusion: French consumers are influenced by global and national perceptions of countries of origin. Swedishness and Scandinavia have a particularly good reputation with French consumers. This influence is high and influences the consumers' quality-perception process through various influencers. Presentation of figures that can be used as generic figures when considering the influencers of your country's image when marketing cross-nationally.

Critical infrastructure systems are essential for the continuous functionality of modern global societies. Some examples of these systems include electric energy, potable water, oil and gas, telecommunications, and the internet. Different topologies underline the structure of these networked systems. Each topology (i.e., physical layout) conditions the way in which networks transmit and distribute their flow. Also, their ability to absorb unforeseen natural or intentional disruptions depends on complex relations between network topology and optimal flow patterns. Most of the current research on large networks is focused on understanding their properties using statistical physics, or on developing advanced models to capture network dynamics. Despite these important research efforts, almost all studies concentrate on specific networks. This network-specific approach rules out a fundamental phenomenon that may jeopardize the performance predictions of current sophisticated models: network response is in general interdependent, and its performance is conditioned on the performance of additional interacting networks. Although there are recent conceptual advances in network interdependencies, current studies address the problem from a high-level point of view. For instance, they discuss the problem at the macro-level of interacting industries, or utilize economic input-output models to capture entire infrastructure interactions. This study approaches the problem of network interdependence from a more fundamental level. It focuses on network topology, flow patterns within the networks, and optimal interdependent system performance. This approach also allows for probabilistic response characterization of interdependent networked systems when subjected to disturbances of internal nature (e.g., aging, malfunctioning) or disruptions of external nature (e.g., coordinated attacks, seismic hazards). The methods proposed in this study can identify the role that each network element has in maintaining interdependent network connectivity and optimal flow. This information is used in the selection of effective pre-disaster mitigation and post-disaster recovery actions. Results of this research also provide guides for growth of interacting infrastructure networks and reveal new areas for research on interdependent dynamics. Finally, the algorithmic structure of the proposed methods suggests straightforward implementation of interdependent analysis in advanced computer software applications for multi-hazard loss estimation.

Heutzutage werden bereits klein- bis mittelformatige Fassadenplatten aus Textilbeton mit Flächen bis zu 6 m² im Bauwesen verwendet. Dabei werden die ca. 25 mm dicken Elemente mit netzartigen technischen Textilien aus AR-Glas bewehrt. In einem kürzlich abgeschlossenen Forschungsprojekt wurde eine großformatige Fassadenplatte aus Textilbeton mit einer Elementfläche von 12,2 m² entwickelt, die eine Plattendicke von nur 30 mm aufweist. Die Platte wurde mit zwei rückseitigen monolithisch verbundenen Betonstegen ausgesteift. Durch die Beschichtung der Textilien mit Epoxidharz konnten formstabile und formbare Bewehrungsstrukturen entwickelt werden, die Textilspannungen von bis zu 1400 N/mm² aufweisen. In einem Pilotprojekt wurden die Ergebnisse des Forschungsprojektes angewendet und ihre Praxistauglichkeit nachgewiesen. Der Artikel beschreibt das architektonische Konzept, gibt Hinweise zur konstruktiven Durchbildung und beschreibt Herstellverfahren der textilen Bewehrung und Fassadenplatte.

<p>Background:</p><p>The Swedish fashion market today quickly becomes too small, even for the new companies, and they are quick to take the step abroad and launch their internationalisation process. With a focus on the four Swed-ish fashion companies Filippa K, Acne Jeans, Nudie Jeans and Whyred, we have analysed how these representatives of the industry have interna-tionalised themselves. The companies have chosen different ways to promote their brand and how to control the perceived image of the brand. As there is a lack of earlier in-depth studies into this particular question of the Swedish Fashion industry, we have set out to investigate how this is done.</p><p>Purpose:</p><p>The purpose of the thesis is to look at the internationalisation process of Swedish fashion companies, with a focus on the growth and the penetra-tion of the international markets in order to determine the key success factors for successful international expansion. We will also investigate to what extent branding, country of origin (COO) and psychic distance to geographical markets has an influence on the internationalisation process and its success.</p><p>Method:</p><p>We used a qualitative approach and conducted a case study consisting of four Swedish fashion companies. The data have been collected through interviews and secondary sources. The information has been put into dif-ferent models for internationalisation, branding and key success factors.</p><p>Conclusion:</p><p>We have interpreted the collected data together with the theories used, thereafter drawn the conclusions that the key Success factors that have taken these firms so far and have been important in the building of the successful brands/companies, are in fact to a large degree COO, rela-tions in the Swedish fashion Industry and the creation of superior prod-ucts. The companies have both similar and specific factors for their suc-cess on the international market.</p>