Over recent decades several competing descriptions of the media and cultural industries have been put forward. The media and cultural industries have been described as creative industries, copyright industries, and as constitutive of an experience economy. One key element in these descriptions has been the importance of copyright law in a postindustrial economy. The present study is an analysis of an emerging idea of an industry that functions, in part, outside of the market created by copyright law, and by exploiting, or by building markets on top of, digital, cultural and informational commons. The study is about how this idea is expressed in various forms by business organisations, companies, consultants and policymakers. I have invented the concept of the openness industry to denote the businesses that these organisations and policy makers claim are forerunners and promoters of the idea of ‘openness’ as a business model for the media industry. The purpose of the thesis is to analyse the governmentality and ideology of the openness industry. A key element in the idea of the openness industry is that internet users can be persuaded to produce symbolic products for it by other means than the economic incentives provided by copyright. Another key element is the high value placed on single individuals in the creation of economic value; but in contrast to how the copyright industries are thought to be dependent on ‘authors’, the openness industry relies on the ‘entrepreneur’. Previous notions of the media and cultural industries have given publishers and producers of film, music and games a central role.The companies that are seminal to the idea of the openness industry are internet and technology companies.

Vi fattar dagligen beslut. Ungdomar har mindre möjlighet än vuxna att fatta självständiga beslut. Ungdomar påverkas av sina föräldrar och vänner när de står inför olika val. När ungdomar väl fattar självständiga beslut så utvecklas de psykologiskt. Syftet med studien var att se hur ungdomars tilltro till den egna förmågan, öppenhet, autonomi och föräldrars stöd påverkar deras nöjdhet med beslut som de tidigare har fattat inom ett av tre områden: utbildning, träning eller konsumtion. 120 enkäter delades ut till gymnasieelever och 92 enkäter besvarades. Resultaten visade att ungdomar lägger stor vikt vid sin autonomi och är därmed mer nöjda då de får fatta ett beslut på egen hand. Föräldrarnas stöd påverkade också ungdomars nöjdhet med beslutet; ju mer föräldrarna stöttade beslutet desto nöjdare var ungdomarna. Det är därför viktigt att föräldrar stöttar ungdomarna när de ska fatta beslut och uppmuntrar autonomi så att de blir nöjda med besluten.

The present thesis tries to argue the importance of non monetary factors in explaining real exchange rate volatility. The main interest is on the effect of trade openness on real effec-tive exchange rate (REER) volatility. Based on theoretical studies I test the existence of a negative relationship between total trade share of an economy and the volatility of REER. Empirical evidence on a panel of 11 CEE and Baltic Countries for the 1995-2006 period confirms the relationship. The conclusion is that for these specific countries a large part of variation of the real exchange rate can be explained by openness of the respective economy to trade.

This bachelor thesis in economics examines the Asian financial crisis, the impact on the countries in the region and how well they recovered financially. The countries that are taken into consideration are Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.  The variables used to explain the implications of the crisis are GDP, trade openness, unemployment and current account. Descriptive statistics show that the most closed economy that was affected by a current account reversal was also the hardest hit in terms of GDP.  The statistics also show that all the countries under observation have recovered to their situation prior to the crisis in terms of GDP, but not in terms of the level of unemployment. Two regressions that were performed showed the relation between trade openness and the effect of GDP after the crisis, and the relation of trade openness to growth after the crisis. The regressions show that the more closed an economy is the larger the effect of a crisis. At the same time these countries had the highest growth rates after the crisis and were also among the first to recover. Theoretical reasons for these results are given.

Syftet med uppsatsen var att utifrån en fallstudie av ett mellanstort svenskt industriellt företag, som tillverkar kundspecifika produkter, studera etablerade kundrelationer beträffande varför de är viktiga att behålla och utveckla. En fallstudie med kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes på Sjölanders Mekaniska samt med två av deras etablerade kunder. Frågor såsom "Vad får kunderna att bli långvariga hos Sjölanders Mekaniska?", "Hur arbetar företagen för att föra relationen framåt?" och "Vad ser företagen som viktiga faktorer i en affärsrelation?" besvarades och resultatet visade på att industriella relationer stärks och utvecklas genom att parterna för en öppen dialog och är tydliga med att framföra sina behov. Dessutom anses kvaliteten på produkterna öka då medarbetarna har lång erfarenhet av tillverkningen, vilket medför att kompetensen som finns i en etablerad relation svår och kostsam att ersätta. Vidare är det viktigt med en hållbar planeringsfunktion som aktivt håller koll på leveranssäkerheten. Slutligen kan den tillit som skapas mellan individerna i en affärsrelation ses som relationens viktigaste byggsten. / The purpose of the thesis was to perform a case study of a medium sized industrial company that produce customer specific products, and to study established customer relationships in regard of why they are important to keep and develop. The case study of Sjölanders Mekaniska and two of their established customers has been done through qualitative interviews. Questions such as "Why do the customers continue to choose Sjölanders Mekaniska?", "How do the companies work to bring their relationships forward?", and "What do the companies see as important factors in a business relationship?" were answered and the result showed that industrial relationships strengthens and develops thorough an open dialogue between the parties where clear objectives are presented. Further the quality of the products is said to increase with the employees' long experience of the production. Therefore, one can see the competence that exists within an established relationship, as difficult and expensive to replace.  Moreover, it is seen as important to maintain a sustainable planning function which actively keeps control over the reliability of delivery. Finally, the trust that is created between the individuals in a business relationship, is seen as a the most important building block of the relationship as a whole.

Government of Canada communications professionals work in an increasingly challenging environment, characterized by an intrusive 24/7 media cycle, a frenetic pace of evolving communication technologies, layered accountability requirements, political tension, and waning public trust. Scholars call on professional communicators to help rebuild public trust, which is intrinsic to a healthy democratic government. The Three-dimensional Model for Transparency in Government Communication developed by Fairbanks, Plowman and Rawlins (2007) serves as the theoretical framework for investigating the Government of Canada’s approach to transparent citizen-focused communications from the perspective of communications professionals. The model’s adaptability to the Government of Canada context is tested through 23 qualitative semi-structured interviews with Government of Canada senior communications advisors, managers and executives. The data is analysed using constant comparative thematic analysis. The findings demonstrate that Government of Canada communicators strongly value transparency. Furthermore, the key components of the transparency model – communications practices, organizational support and provision of resources – encapsulate the factors that influence the practice of transparent citizen-focused communications by the Government of Canada. The study concludes by offering recommendations for future research and practical applications.

Despite the ubiquity of music and its importance to one’s identity, there has been limited research on individual differences in music preferences. The aim of this dissertation was to examine how music preferences vary across individual differences in stable traits (e.g., gender, personality) and states (e.g., mood) over three studies. The focus of Study 1 was on the influence of the listener’s mood on emotion-based music preferences. The typical preference for happy- over sad-sounding music was found to be mood-dependent, evident after happy and neutral but not sad mood inductions. When the music was emotionally ambiguous (i.e., with cues to both happiness and sadness), happy listeners liked the music more than other listeners, whereas sad listeners perceived it to be more sad-sounding. Study 2 examined how emotion-based music preferences develop. Adults and children 5, 8, and 11 years of age listened to short pieces expressing emotions that varied in arousal and valence: happiness (high, positive), scariness (high, negative), peacefulness (low, positive), or sadness (low, negative). Adults preferred pieces with a positive valence (happy and peaceful), whereas children preferred excerpts depicting high-arousal emotions (happy and scary). Identification accuracy was predictive of a positive-valence bias among 5- and 8-year-olds. A number of other findings related to accuracy and gender differences were also evident. Study 3 examined whether personality differences affect the influence of exposure on liking. Undergraduates completed the Big Five Inventory and provided liking ratings for novel music excerpts as well as for excerpts they heard 2, 8, or 32 times. Higher scores on Openness-to-Experience were related to greater liking for novel excerpts and more rapid satiation. In sum, these three studies highlight that music preferences vary as a function of individual differences and the listening context.

Despite the ubiquity of music and its importance to one’s identity, there has been limited research on individual differences in music preferences. The aim of this dissertation was to examine how music preferences vary across individual differences in stable traits (e.g., gender, personality) and states (e.g., mood) over three studies. The focus of Study 1 was on the influence of the listener’s mood on emotion-based music preferences. The typical preference for happy- over sad-sounding music was found to be mood-dependent, evident after happy and neutral but not sad mood inductions. When the music was emotionally ambiguous (i.e., with cues to both happiness and sadness), happy listeners liked the music more than other listeners, whereas sad listeners perceived it to be more sad-sounding. Study 2 examined how emotion-based music preferences develop. Adults and children 5, 8, and 11 years of age listened to short pieces expressing emotions that varied in arousal and valence: happiness (high, positive), scariness (high, negative), peacefulness (low, positive), or sadness (low, negative). Adults preferred pieces with a positive valence (happy and peaceful), whereas children preferred excerpts depicting high-arousal emotions (happy and scary). Identification accuracy was predictive of a positive-valence bias among 5- and 8-year-olds. A number of other findings related to accuracy and gender differences were also evident. Study 3 examined whether personality differences affect the influence of exposure on liking. Undergraduates completed the Big Five Inventory and provided liking ratings for novel music excerpts as well as for excerpts they heard 2, 8, or 32 times. Higher scores on Openness-to-Experience were related to greater liking for novel excerpts and more rapid satiation. In sum, these three studies highlight that music preferences vary as a function of individual differences and the listening context.

Government of Canada communications professionals work in an increasingly challenging environment, characterized by an intrusive 24/7 media cycle, a frenetic pace of evolving communication technologies, layered accountability requirements, political tension, and waning public trust. Scholars call on professional communicators to help rebuild public trust, which is intrinsic to a healthy democratic government. The Three-dimensional Model for Transparency in Government Communication developed by Fairbanks, Plowman and Rawlins (2007) serves as the theoretical framework for investigating the Government of Canada’s approach to transparent citizen-focused communications from the perspective of communications professionals. The model’s adaptability to the Government of Canada context is tested through 23 qualitative semi-structured interviews with Government of Canada senior communications advisors, managers and executives. The data is analysed using constant comparative thematic analysis. The findings demonstrate that Government of Canada communicators strongly value transparency. Furthermore, the key components of the transparency model – communications practices, organizational support and provision of resources – encapsulate the factors that influence the practice of transparent citizen-focused communications by the Government of Canada. The study concludes by offering recommendations for future research and practical applications.

The aim of this paper is to estimate the effect of FDI and trade openness on wages in the CEECs in the post-transition era. We utilize a cross-country sector-specific eceonometric analysis based on one-digit level panel data for manufacturing industry in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, for the period of 2000-2004. The results suggest that the increases in productivity are reflected in wages only to a modest extent, even in the long-term, leading to a steady decline in the share of labor in manufacturing industry in almost all sub-sectors in all countries. Meanwhile, the high significant and negative effect of unemployment on wages shows that the labor market is flexible in terms of wage flexibility. FDI has a positive effect on wages only in the capital and skill intensive sectors. The results also show that the increase in trade with EU did not lead to positive prospects for wages in manufacturing industry, contrary to the expectations of pro-market policies and traditional trade theory. The long-term net effect of exports and imports is negative, suggesting that integration of CEECs to EU via trade liberalization have worked at the expense of labor. (author's abstract) / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series