This study examines paternalism in the northern Swedish company town of Robertsfors between 1920-1940. The company Robertsfors AB (RAB) was the sole employer and constructed a paternalistic relationship with its workers. Seth M Kempe (CEO 1897-1928), the first patriarch, built a comprehensive paternalistic relationship as part of a larger strategy of company independence. This stretched from corporate housing to funding of various initiatives and organizations. Erik Kempe (CEO 1928-1948) changed strategy towards profitability and during his reign the paternalistic relationship began to dismantle. Larger societal and economic forces, such as the 1930s recession, also impacted the historical trajectory of RAB. Two labor unions, a cultural organization and two local municipalities are studied. The results show that the company dismantled the paternalistic relationship beginning in the early 1930s and gave more responsibility over to the municipality. Interestingly, the worker’s fought to hinder the company’s efforts to dismantle the system, showing that they wanted to preserve the paternalistic relationship. This empirical study has theoretical implications showing that the dismantling of the system did not come from the worker’s movement, but rather through a change in company policy. Lastly, this study shows that industrial paternalism survived in Sweden well into the nineteen thirties.

Akademisk avhandling--Economisk historia--Umeå Universitet, 1988. / Résumé en anglais. Bibliogr. p. 256-260.

digitalisering@umu

In 2003 the libraries of ten municipalities in the northern part of Sweden were each given 10 000 (SEK) by the BIN-project to purchase books on demand instead of making inter-library loans. This attempt was called Köpa på efterfrågan (Purchasing on demand). The purpose of this master thesis is to evalutate Köpa på efterfrågan. The results of the evaluation show that the books purchased on demand were quite popular. Almost all the purchased books were non-fictional with most books being bought within the field of medicin. There is also a correspondence between the education held in the participating municipality and which subject the purchased books belonged to. The libraries have all made rather similar purchases regarding subject, with the exception of Robertsfors. The most expensive subject was medicin, both per book and overall. The libraries have mostly bought their books on Internet bookstores due to their low cost and swift delivery. Purchasing on demand entails more benefits than inter-library lending, as it is less expensive, and a book, once bought, is available on the shelf for others to borrow it, although the increase of the library’s collection demands more thorough media-planning.

With a foundation in social sustainability, and with the theoretical framework of transport justice and transport poverty, the aim of this thesis is to create a profile picture of the future potential travelers on the North Bothnia Line in Sävar, Robertsfors and Bureå. Both a quantitative and a qualitative analysis are performed. The quantitative analysis describes the population structures concerning age, gender, educational level, employment, household type, income and cars per 1000 inhabitants. The qualitative analysis consists of an interview study, conducted in Robertsfors, with 47 informants. The interview answers are analyzed through content analysis, and presented in personas for each age group. The three areas differ in population structure, which could have different implications on the future travel. In the planning for a socially sustainable travel with the North Bothnia Line, focus needs to be directed to the young travelers, in particular the high school youths. Families with children are facing constraints when trying to manage sustainable travel, therefore, how to create a socially sustainable travel for this group is important to consider in the planning. Young adults, as well as individuals that are unemployed are vulnerable groups, important to consider. The senior travelers have another travel behavior, compared to the population of working age, but still have their needs connected to travel. The informants are positive about the North Bothnia Line, positive about train as travel mode, and intend to use the future train. They expect that the train will lead to easier and faster transportation and work commuting, increased access to schools and jobs, population growth, open up for more opportunities, and that people do not have to own a car. The greatest needs are; a good timetable, with many departures, matching the work schedule. The train has to be on time, and the ticket price not too high. Both the train and the station have to be easily accessible, supplied with good car parking facilities with engine heaters, and the train has to go fast. Both the train and the station have to be clean and controlled, and there has to be clear, and digital information. / Norrbotniabanans noder 2