Bakgrund och problem  Det har blivit mer vanligt att räkna på de mänskliga resurserna i organisationer, vilket har lett till att HR-avdelningen har fått en mer strategisk roll och tagit avstånd från att bara varit en administrativ stödfunktion. Människor är de som organiserar beslutsfattning och agerar utefter beslutsproblem varav det behövs kompetent personal, regler och struktur. Beslutsprocesserna genomgås ofta med en vision av vad önskat resultat ska bli vilket ofta går i enlighet med organisationens mål. Personalnyckeltal används av alla organisationer i någon mening. Vanligtvis i ett jämförande syfte från tidigare år, till andra konkurrenter eller för att se trender. De bidrar till att föra organisationen framåt mot de uppsatta målen. Det mänskliga kapitalet är svårare att räkna på än andra immateriella tillgångar, men att ändå kunna använda sig av personalnyckeltalen i beslutsprocesser bör därför kunna resultera i en mer tydlig process. Syfte och metod  Syftet med studien var att utöka den teoretiska och praktiska kunskapen om betydelsen personalnyckeltal har i organisationers beslutsprocesser. För att undersöka detta tillämpades därför en kvalitativ metod där fem semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med intervjupersoner från både privat och offentlig sektor.  Resultat och slutsats Studien resulterade i en ökad teoretisk och praktisk kunskap då personalnyckeltal har en betydelse för organisationers beslutsprocesser i de faser där de agerar som underlag. Det är ytterst viktigt att använda sig av siffror som personalnyckeltal när en organisation identifierar ett problem, samlar in information till beslut och sedan utvärderar den process som genomförts och det beslut som implementerats. / Background and problem Accounting for the human resources within organizations have become more common which have led to a more strategic role for the HR-department and a departure from its original role as a supportive administrative part of the organization. Humans are the ones who organize decision making and therefore act along the problems of the decision where competent personnel, rules and structure are needed. The decision-making processes are often undergoing with a vision of what the wanted result is which often is in conjunction with the goal of the organization. All organizations have use of key performance indicators in some capacity. It´s commonly used with a comparative purpose in contrast of previous years, comparing key performance indictors to other competitors or to spot trends. They contribute to bring the organization towards its goals. The human capital is harder to account for than other intangible assets, but to be able to use key performance indicators in decision-making processes should therefore result in a more distinct process.  Purpose and method  The purpose of this study was to expand the theoretical and practical knowledge of the significance that key performance indicators have in organizational decision-making processes. A qualitative method was therefore used where five semi structured interviews were conducted with interviewing persons from both the private and public sector. Results and conclusion  This study resulted in an increased theoretical and practical knowledge in that key performance indicators have a significant matter in organizational decision-making processes in those phases where they act as a groundwork. It is of utmost importance to use digits like key performance indicators when an organization identifies a problem, collects information to be used for the decision and later evaluates the previous process and the decision that has been implemented.

With a growing risk of food insecurity in the face of extreme population growth, the world is in need of hands-on solutions that could combine a significant increase in food production while decreasing the effects of agriculture on the environment. Such a solution could be provided through cultivating staple crops in Indoor Vertical Farming facilities, however, due to its high expenses, these developments have stagnated, lacking financial support. As this financial support could be provided by Impact Investors, this thesis explores the relevance of non-financial factors and how they relate to the financial returns as well as how much it influences an Impact Investors decision to invest. The primary data was collected through a quantitative survey, including a fictional scenario based upon the cultivation of wheat in an Indoor Vertical Farming. The results were analyzed and interpreted through the lens of the Willingness to Pay concept and the Rational Choice Theory.The results showed that in the case of this study, the respondents were most willing to pay for the factors water, yield, and emissions. However, regardless of the positive impact of these factors, they lacked the influence to get them to commit to the presented scenario as they still prioritized financial returns as the base of decision. Lastly, another prominent driver behind the investors likelihood to invest was found to be age, where younger investors were much more likely to invest than the older respondents. / Med en ökande risk för livsmedelsosäkerhet parallellt med extrem befolkningstillväxt behöver världen praktiska lösningar som kan kombinera en betydande ökning av livsmedelsproduktionen utan ökad belastning på miljön från intensifierat jordbruk. En sådan lösning kan tillhandahållas genom odling av stapelgrödor i vertikala jordbruksanläggningar inomhus, men på grund av dess höga kostnader blir denna utveckling stagnerad på grund av saknat ekonomiskt stöd. I och med att en möjlig väg att säkra ekonomiska stöd kan tillhandahållas av Impact Investors undersöker denna avhandling relevansen av icke-finansiella faktorer och hur de relaterar till den finansiella avkastningen samt hur mycket det påverkar ett Impact Investors beslut att investera. De primära uppgifterna samlades in genom en kvantitativ enkätundersökning, baserat på ett fiktivt scenario om odling av vete i ett vertikalt jordbruk inomhus. Resultaten analyserades och tolkades genom perspektiven 'Willingness to Pay' och 'Rational Choice Theory'. Resultaten visade att respondenterna i den här studien var mest villiga att betala för faktorerna vatten, avkastning och utsläpp. Oavsett de positiva effekterna av dessa faktorer saknade de dock tillräckligt inflytande för att få investerarna att helt engagera sig i det presenterade scenariot eftersom de fortfarande prioriterade ekonomisk avkastning som främsta beslutsunderlag. Slutligen visade sig att en annan framstående drivkraft bakom investerarnas sannolikhet att investera var ålder, där yngre investerare var mycket mer benägna att investera än de äldre respondenterna.

This diploma thesis is a single-case study analyzing promotion of the concept of Flexicurity principle in the CR through the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). The concept of flexicurity began raising European integration actors' awareness since early 2000s. That was due to considerations how to strenghten competitiveness of the EU Member States' economies during growing expansion of more liberal markets such as China, and in the same time to maintain the European social model based on the concept of welfare state. In 2007, there was adopted EU's definition of Flexicurity. Flexicurity began to be promoted by the OMC. This thesis responds to the lack of studies analyzing the influence of the OMC in specific policy areas. The author analyzes literature, relevant legislation as well as their explanatory reports, National Reform Programmes, Czech government's policy statements, and interviews with representatives of tripartite actors who take part in social dialogue. The study explores how does the OMC work in the case of Flexicurity promotion. The aim is to find out which of the selected theories is more suitable for describing the way Flexicurity is anchored in the CR. Selected theories are the Rational Choice Theory (RCT) and the theory of Sociological Institutionalism (SI). The author concludes...

Washington State and Colorado were the first states to legalize recreational marijuana. According to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, the number of drivers who tested positive for marijuana in traffic fatalities increased 48% from 2013 to 2014, and marijuana legalization may have influenced this increase. Since marijuana legalization is new to the United States, the effects of this change in policy are untested in the literature. The purpose of this quantitative study using a regression point displacement design was to examine the relationship between traffic fatalities involving cannabinoids in Washington State before and after marijuana legalization. Rational choice theory and perceptual deterrence theory provided the framework for the study. Existing state level data of traffic fatalities from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System were analyzed using regression point displacement. Pre and post legalization Washington state fatalities were compared against 43 control groups where marijuana has not been legalized for recreational use. Results from ANCOVA analysis indicated no statistical difference between Washington State and other nonlegalized states in traffic fatalities involving cannabinoids. This is one of the first studies exploring the effects of marijuana legalization on public safety. These results suggest marijuana legalization may not contribute to the increase in traffic fatalities. Findings may provide legislators and traffic safety stakeholders with information in creating legislation legalizing marijuana as well as strategy and a research agenda to address traffic fatalities.

There is a student loan debt problem in the United States. Seven million student borrowers are in default and another 14 million are delinquent on their loans. A high level of college loan debt leaves students with insurmountable payments and holds them back from starting a family, buying a home, or saving for retirement. The problem is that financial managers may not understand the student loan decision process well enough to help students make a loan decision that prevents an unmanageable level of debt. The purpose of this study was to explore and understand the student's loan decision process using a conceptual framework that contrasts rational choice theory and behavioral economics within the Blackwell, Miniard, and Engel's consumer decision model. This exploratory study was designed to answer research questions about how students perceived the forces that might influence the decision. A qualitative case study was conducted and purposeful sampling was used to identify 28 undergraduate students who had a student loan at a university in the Rocky Mountain region. The students were interviewed, the data coded, and the coded data were analyzed to identify themes. The data were used to diagram the decision process and identify decision variables. The findings indicated that students were pragmatic in their loan decisions, but they were not rational actors. The research highlighted 3 behavioral economic themes: the power of intention, herding, and complexity resulting in the use of the satisficing and default heuristics. The contributions of this study could be of interest to financial managers, parents of students, and students planning to enter college. Preventing unmanageable student debt could bring positive social change to the students and their families.

Informal and formal caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) encounter a more difficult and unique set of challenges than do caregivers of individuals with general disabilities. If adequate caregiver supports are not provided, caregivers may experience increased strain as the disease progresses, increasing the likelihood of unnecessary institutionalization of their care recipients and increasing the cost to the public. Using rational choice theory and political systems theory, the purpose of this study was to differentiate between the phenomenological experiences of formal and informal caregivers of ADRD patients. The overall research was a qualitative design that used semi-structured interviews to collect data from 5 formal and 5 informal caregivers who were recommended by the local Alzheimer's association chapter. Data were analyzed using direct content analysis of recurrent themes including how policymakers might respond to needs for respite, support, and more resources. Research findings suggested more education is needed about the disease and how best to give care for both formal and informal ADRD caregivers. Furthermore, distinctions between formal caregivers and informal family caregivers and their care recipients were identified, and these details should be noted by policymakers. Informal ADRD caregivers would benefit more from the research findings. Particular benefits would include financial supports, additional funding for caregiver respites, more education, and better care methods for ADRD care recipients. These recipients are rapidly growing in numbers and pose unique 21st century socioeconomic challenges to informal caregivers.

This essay aims to analyse the motives behind President Donald Trump’s choice to remove Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH), a provision of the 1968 Fair Housing Act. The true motives are analysed through the lens of Rational Choice theory. The choice of theoretical framework can account as an explanation as to why the law was removed. The essay is moreover based upon drafts originating from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The public has since the removal of the AFFH doubted the motives presented by the President, thus giving room for further scientifical exploration on the subject. The author has chosen to conduct a quantitative text analysis to present the given arguments by the administration and the Republican party and furthermore to present alternative motives. The analysis presents an argumentation analysis to further explore the strength in the arguments presented from the relevant actors. The theoretical framework provides an explanation of the choices made, namely by offering a new dimension in which to examine the true motives behind the choice to remove AFFH.

In this comparative study the aim is to test the explanatory value and what can be inferred from theory building of criminological rational choice theory and offensive realism on the transnational expansions of organized criminal groups. Two analytical models, based upon the works of Ronald Clarke, Derek B. Cornish and John J. Mearsheimer, will be applied upon the Camorra’s and the ‘Ndrangheta’s transnational expansions. The essay uses a wide scope of sources, from news articles to academic books and papers, in order to provide an accurate description of the two units analyzed. The aim of this essay is achieved by having two research questions. This will in conjunction with the analytical models test the explanatory value of the theories when assessed upon the empirical material collected about the two cases, as well as provide valuable information of how organized criminal groups operate. It is concluded that organized criminal groups act rational and that rational choice theory is relevant when researching organized criminal groups' transnational expansions while the results of offensive realism differed on the two units.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att utifrån ett uppdrag från Christina Innala vid Örebropolisen undersöka huruvida det går att utläsa beteendemönster hos svenska mordbrännare som kan ligga till grund för vidare geografiska analyser. I uppsatsen kommer vi att se närmre på mordbrännare och geografisk profilering utifrån svenska förhållanden. Materialet som ligger till grund för uppsatsen består av domslut gällande mordbränder och dessa analyseras och kategoriseras. De domslut som i materialet har omfattat seriemordbrännare har analyserats utifrån geografisk profilering med hjälp av mjukvaran GeoProfile. Detta för att undersöka hur brottplatser förhåller sig till fasta punkter för svenska seriemordbrännare.Sammanfattningsvis kan man utifrån vårt material identifiera sex stycken kategorier av mordbrännare. Dessa kategorier stämmer överrens med tidigare forskning. Utifrån våra geografiska profileringar kan man dra slutsatsen att seriemordbrännare tenderar att anlägga sina bränder i anslutning till en eller flera fasta punkter. Den svenska mordbrännaren är alltså inte en irrationell individ som slumpmässigt och oberäkneligt anlägger bränder. Bränderna tenderar ofta att uppstå inom en gärningsmans rutinaktivitetsområde, det vill säga att gärningsmannen vanligtvis begår brott i områden som denne känner till. / As an a assignment from Christina Innala at the police in Örebro, this paper aims to investigate whether it is possible to discern behavioral patterns of Swedish arsonists as a point of departure for further spatial analysis. In this paper geographic profiling based on Swedish conditions will be studied. The material that is the basis for the essay consists of judicial decisions regarding arson and these will be analyzed and categorized. The judicial decisions that in the material has included serial arsonists has been analyzed based on geographic profiling using the software GeoProfile. We want to examine wheatear crime scenes are related to anchor-points for Swedish serial arsonists.In summary, based on our material we were able to identify six categories of arsonists. These categories match those of previous research. Based on our geographic profiling it can be concluded that the serial arsonists tend to set their fires in connection with one or more anchor-points. The Swedish arsonist is not an irrational individual that randomly and unpredictably set fires. Fires tend to occur within a criminals routine activity area, in other words the offender usually commits the offense in areas that is known for him/her.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the parliamentary structure and tasks of Bosnia and Herzegovina to see the limitations it has on the progress to democracy. By studying the Dayton accords appendix four (the constitution) and article four (the parliamentary assembly). In the analysis two theories was used, historical institutionalism and rational choice theory to help find answers to the purpose. With the thematic analysis method to analyse the material and to find themes in the data these three themes was put together, complex parliamentary structure, discrimination against minorities and the balance of power between the various institutions and actors. The material was some scientific reports and books by a variety of different authors and the Dayton accords. The analysis shows that the parliament structure is structured in a non-democratic way, the function of the structure is to keep and preserve the peace in the region. In conclusion the Dayton accords is the main reason for the structure of parliament and that it was made for peacekeeping, not necessarily to create a democratic state. Why there has not been any reform or change in the structure is because the political elite has it easier to gain their own interest with this structure rather than a democratic structure.