PROBLEM DISCUSSION: Vaggeryd is a small municipality Småland. In addition to its strategic position along the main traffic route E4, Vaggeryd is very interesting also because of its advanced view on growing of the business sector, in both short and long-term per- spective. To meet that goal the municipality of Vaggeryd started to invest in “Egenföretagareutbildningen” EFU in cooperation with Jönköping International Business School (JIBS). The main idea is that students attend the courses that are held by JIBS and during their studies start their own business in a local business incubator called Fenix. PURPOSE: To host such education requires a huge amount of energy and resources from the municipality, which consequently would like to get answers to questions like “Is it worth investing in the education?” or “What are the results of such education?” The aim of this paper is to give the answers to those crucial questions though I believe that the time that has passed from the beginning of the education is too short and that the number of the students was not large enough to get definitive answers. This paper concentrates on a narrow part of the qualitative research methods – an inter- view. It is divided into two parts, a theoretical part and the empirical findings. FINDINGS: The research showed that six students out of a total of ten from generation 2005 started a new venture, three will take over a family business, and one has not decided to start a business yet. Of six students in generation 2003 four have started a business and one of them finished in bankruptcy, one plans to start a business in the future and one does not have a good business idea. RECOMMENDATIONS: Answers that the interviews returned gave interesting sugges- tions to both the municipality of Vaggeryd and JIBS about how to improve EFU. I would emphasise two, I believe, the most important recommendations. First municipality has to attract neighbouring municipalities in the EFU project. In addition, a greater effort should be made to help students build a spider’s web of business contacts.

There is no reason to refuse the fact that, in the coming years, Europe is going to face a new wave of immigration. The birth rate is in decline and life expectancy in the European continent is higher than before. As a consequence, there are two major problems: a shortage of labour and the financing of the pensions (Kohler, Billari & Ortega, 2002). World Bank warns European Union that for stabilizing the amount of working age population in 2050 like in 1995, would involve a net migration of 79 million within the EU25. There should be new flow of immigration. As a consequence, the phenomenon combines immigration and entrepreneurship will be vital for countries’ future growth within Europe. However, consider Sweden as the area of study by combining the immigration entrepreneurship study and business start-up abroad. Therefore, the questions of why the entrepreneurs choose to go to other countries for business venture and why they choose Sweden as the host country become a topic to study in this research paper. The purpose of the research is going to find out the motivations for the initiative of entrepreneurial immigrants’ choice of Sweden as a host country. In order to find the result for the purpose, the research chose to use an inductive and exploratory approach to find out why those entrepreneurial immigrants indented to come to establish business in Sweden. Those reasons were investigated from previous research; experts working with foreigners who arrived in Sweden for business purpose, and the entrepreneurial immigrants who arrived in Sweden for new ventures. The data collection based on a qualitative method. According to the research purpose, the theories were chosen in the field of migration and entrepreneurship. Determinants of immigration and entrepreneurship were listed and explained. Based on the interview, information was categorized with the determinants listed in the theoretical frame work. Based on the analysis, the empirical information shows that entrepreneurs came to Sweden not only for business reasons. All of the Local Development Managers and entrepreneurs interviewed considered that entrepreneurial immigrants chose to create business in Sweden with immigration purpose. However, if we want to apply this result to all entrepreneurial immigrants, further quantitative study would be required.

Problem: How do the born global firms overcome challenges and sustain performance in international markets through their competences, routines, and corporate governance structure? Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to explore the competences, routines, and corporate governance structure of born global companies, and understand their role in overcoming challenges of early internationalization and sustaining performance in international markets from early days. Method: This research is conducted as multi-disciplinary, consisting of literature from International Business and Strategic Management. Relevant data is collected through six in-depth interviews with executives of born global companies from Sweden and Norway. Qualitative analysis has been used at data analysis stage. Originality: This study contributes to literature by examining relatively neglected areas of born global companies; competences, routines, and corporate governance structure. It is also original in distilling a wide literature to explore challenges of born globals. Conclusion: Our research reveals that despite their small size and limited resources, born global companies engage in competence building and leveraging activities, establish early international routines, and construct flexible governance structures to overcome challenges and achieve performance in the global arena.

Föreningsidrotten ökar men fortfarande är det många ungdomar som inte är tillräckligt fysiskt aktiva. Många undersökningar har gjorts angående motivation hos aktiva idrottare, men forskningen kring vad det är som motiverar ungdomar att börja idrotta är inte alls lika stor. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vilka motivationsfaktorer som skulle få ungdomar att börja idrotta och vad det är som hindrar dem, samt se vilka skillnader och likheter det fanns mellan svenska ungdomars och invandrarungdomars svar. Genom att undersöka vad som skulle få ungdomar att börja idrotta och vad det är som hindrar dem, skulle detta kunna hjälpa idrottsföreningar i hur de ska rekrytera nya medlemmar. Det är också viktigt att undersöka om det är någon skillnad mellan svenska ungdomars och invandrarungdomars motivationsfaktorer och hinder. Enskilda intervjuer gjordes med svenska ungdomar och invandrarungdomar från två olika skolor. Intervjuerna som spelades in på band transkriberades, för att sedan analyseras utifrån en hermeneutisk ansats. Teman i form av inre och yttre motivation, samt inre och yttre hinder togs fram, därefter skapades kategorier utifrån de motivationsfaktorer och hinder som var särskilt betydelsefulla för ungdomarna. Resultatet visade att de faktorer som skulle motivera ungdomarna att börja idrotta var socialt stöd, tidigare positiva erfarenheter av idrott, bättre hälsa, att det var roligt och att de hittade en idrott som passade dem. Det som hindrade dem var tidsbrist, låg grad av self-efficacy, prestationskrav, den sociala miljön, andra preferenser, att det inte var roligt och jobbigt idrotta, samt att de inte hade hittat någon passande idrott. Det kunde inte urskiljas några större skillnader mellan de svenska ungdomarna och invandrarungdomarna, men de svenska ungdomarna motiverades av både inre och yttre faktorer medan invandrarungdomarna endast motiverades av inre faktorer.

Introduction: Venture capital investment process is complex and different firms vary greatly in their investment practices. This has resulted in authors given several different factors that could be imperative for venture firms investment decisions. There is thus no consensus in the field of venture investing. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to list which factors are important for venture capital firms investment decisions in start-up firms. Method: The authors conducted structured phone interviews with seven venture capital firms in Sweden. Conclusion: The authors found the following factors to be important for venture firms investment decisions in start-up firms; Busienss plans that demonstrated the thinkings of the entrepreneur, communicate ideas, visions, product, market, competition, growth potential as well as the planned intentions with the recived funds. They also desired realistic, concreate, simple plans that explained the implementation process of the start-up firm. The second factor that was important was markets where large markets, market growth, market share, market entry and global markets were mentioned. The third factor of importance was product, in which uniqueness, simplicity, patents and time-to-market were listed. Management was the fourth factor of importance, in which sensibility, competence, technical skills, entrepreurial spirit, attitude, humbelness, determination, openness, drive, chemistry and confidence were included. The fifth factor of importamce financial embraced ROI, economioes of scale, valuation and the size of the investment. The last two important factors that the authors found to be important for the venture firms in the study were location and industry.

Molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs) have become an attractive emerging technology for stationary co-generation of heat and power. From a technical perspective, dynamic operation has a significant effect on the fuel cell life cycle and, hence, economic viability of the device. The scope of this thesis is to present an improved understanding of the system behaviour at transient operation that can be used to design a more robust control system in order to overcome the cost and the operating lifetime issues. Hence, a comprehensive multi-component multidimensional transient mathematical model is developed based on the conservation laws of mass, momentum, species, energy and electric charges coupled through the reaction kinetics. In essence, this model is a set of partial differential equations that are discretized and solved using the finite-volume based commercial software, ANSYS FLUENT 12.0.1. The model is validated with two sets of experimental results, available in open literature, and good agreements are obtained. The validated model is further engaged in an extensive study. First, the MCFC behaviour at high current densities or oxidant utilization, when the mass transfer becomes dominant, is investigated using peroxide and superoxide reaction mechanisms. In brief, both mechanisms predicted the linear region of the polarization curve accurately. However, none of these mechanisms showed a downward bent in the polarization curve. A positive exponent for the carbon-dioxide mole fraction is probably essential in obtaining the downward bent (“knee”) at high current densities which is in contrast to what has been reported in the literature to date. Next, a sinusoidal impedance approach is used to examine the dynamic response of the unit cell to inlet perturbations at various impedance frequencies. This analysis is further used to determine the phase shifts and time scales of the major dynamic processes within the fuel cell. Furthermore, numerical simulation is utilized in order to investigate the underlying electrochemical and transport phenomena without performing costly experiments. Results showed that the electrochemical reactions and the charge transport process occur under a millisecond. The mass transport process showed a comparatively larger time scale. The energy transport process is the slowest process in the cell and takes about an hour to reach its steady state condition. Furthermore, the developed mathematical model is utilized as a predictive tool to provide a three-dimensional demonstration of the transient physical and chemical processes at system startiv up. The local distribution of field variables and quantities are presented. The results show that increasing the electrode thickness provides a higher reaction rate, but may lead to larger ohmic loss which is not desirable. The reversible heat generation and consumption mechanisms of the cathode and anode are dominant in the first 10 s while the heat conduction from the solid materials to the gas phase is not considerable. The activation and ohmic heating have the same impact within the anode and cathode because of their similar electric conductivity and voltage loss. Increasing the thermal conductivity of the cathode material will facilitate the process of heat transport throughout the cell. This can also be accomplished by lowering the effects of heat conduction by means of a cathode material with a smaller thickness. In addition, a thermodynamic model is utilized to examine energy efficiency, exergy efficiency and entropy generation of a MCFC. By changing the operating temperature from 883 K to 963 K, the energy efficiency of the unit cell varies from 42.8 % to 50.5 % while the exergy efficiency remains in the range of 26.8% to 36.3%. Both efficiencies initially rise at lower current densities up to the point that they attain their maximum values and ultimately decrease with the increase of current density. With the increase of pressure, both energy and exergy efficiencies of the cell increase. An increase in this anode/cathode flow ratio lessens the energy and exergy efficiencies of the unit cell. Higher operating pressure and temperature decrease the unit cell entropy generation. / UOIT

An experimental comparison was made of the effects of teacher participation, teacher probing behavior, and nonparticipation by teachers during the sociodramatic play sessions of three groups of Head Start preschool students (twelve subjects). A combination of the multiple baseline and multielement single-subject designs was employed to study the effects of teacher participation in sociodramatic play on the amount of language production exhibited by Head Start students. A Placheck method was utilized to record student language production at the end of each 10-second interval throughout each 10-minute session. Thirty play sessions were observed and recorded by both the researcher and a videocamera. Students were selected by their teachers, and all play sessions took place within the children's own classroom. Subjects included six males and six females.The study was divided into three phases. The Baseline phase included the alternation of the conditions of teacher participation and nonparticipation. At the end of this phase, teachers were trained in the use of probes, or questions to which the answer is not known by the teacher. During the Probe phase, teachers participated in play sessions daily and utilized frequent probes. During the Multielement Manipulation phase, the conditions of teacher participation alone and teacher participation emphasizing the use of probes were randomly alternated. Graphic representations of subject performance data were used to portray intersubject and intrasubject variability.Results indicated that rates of student language production increased for 10 out of 12 students (83%) when exposed to the condition of teacher probing during the Probe phase of the study. When the effects of teacher participation and teacher participation emphasizing probing were compared, it was found that 11 out of 12 students (92%) exhibited higher rates of language production during the condition of teacher probing.It was concluded that the use of teacher participation in the sociodramatic play of Head Start students, particularly with an emphasis on probing behavior, proved to be most beneficial in enhancing the amount of language production of the students. The findings of the present study lend support to the concept that teacher participation in the sociodramatic play of low-income preschool children can result in increased student language development.

Research has found support for the effectiveness of procedural justice, specifically perceived fairness, in gaining compliance from people with respect to the police and the courts (Sunshine & Tyler, 2003; Tyler, 1984; Tyler, 2001). Further, research has examined the effectiveness in jail-based residential substance abuse treatment (RSAT) programs in reducing recidivism for offenders with substance abuse problems (Bahr, Harris, Strobell, & Taylor, 2012; Eisenberg & Fabelo, 1996; Hiller, Knight, & Simpson, 1999). However, research has yet to test whether procedural justice can impact recidivism for offenders with substance abuse problems and multiple incarcerations. The major focus of this Master’s thesis was to examine whether 78 participants in the 90-day jail-based RSAT program known as Starting Treatment and Recovery Today (START) were less likely to be rearrested after release from jail if they felt they were treated fairly by the jail staff. Bivariate analyses were conducted on survey data and official criminal records. The findings suggest that perceived fairness of the jail staff was not related to post-program recidivism. Moreover, the results indicate that offenders with more extensive criminal histories were more likely to recidivate. Recommendations for future research and the implications of the findings are discussed.

This thesis has been carried out within the framework of the Master of ScienceProgramme in Sociotechnical Systems Engineering and performed for the SwedishTrade Council in London. The author investigates how the Swedish Trade Councilcan facilitate and bridge the contacts between venture capitalists in the UK andhigh-tech start-ups in Sweden. High-tech ventures in the start-up phases often face a challenge in accumulatingsufficient financial resources and skills to successfully move from concept stage tobusiness, particularly within the life sciences’. High costs associated to time consumingand demanding product development cycles may require external investors whichprovide venture capital and expertise. However, many face difficulties in attractingventure capital partly due to the so-called equity gap, which relates to financiersunwillingness for taking on risk and investing in the early-stages. The study shows that venture capital largely rely on local networks and are limited intheir investments’ geographical distribution. The interviewed market players alsoemphasise the importance of local networks in the investment processes. Given thesecharacteristics, it may be difficult for a Swedish company seeking venture capitalabroad without help from intermediaries. Although there is a role to fill forintermediaries in assisting in the investment discovery process, it is likely to provedifficult over time as tasks become increasingly cumbersome.

Detta examensarbete behandlar ämnena molnteknik och IT-stöd för kundarbetet i nystartade företag och har främst utförts åt en extern beställare, företaget Approdites AB. Företaget önskade information och rekommendationer gällande potentiella tjänster för IT-stöd som de skulle kunna använda sig av i sitt arbeta med kunderna. Examensarbetet resulterar i dels en akademisk rapport bestående av bland annat teori, metod och tidigare forskning, dels en rapport/förundersökning innehållande rekommendationer om tjänster, samt riktlinjer åt företaget gällande de aktuella områdena. De båda rapporterna syftar till att förse företaget Approdites med relevant information om områdena i stort, samt ge förslag på tjänster som kan passa deras verksamhet. I den akademiska rapporten redogörs för hur grunden till rapporten med teori, metoder och andra viktiga områden lades.