The overall aim of this thesis was to examine the construct validity and the reliability of the instrument DOA; Dialogue about working ability. The theoretical foundation for DOA is the Model of Human Occupation. The instrument is divided into two sections; client self-assessment and professional assessment focusing on the individual’s working ability. The assessments are followed by a dialogue to distinguish goals for the return to-work process based on the client’s own preferences. In line with the theoretical base, the concept ‘work’ refers to both paid work and other productive activities related to work. In Study I, 21 professionals and 126 clients participated from three clinics in Sweden. All clients were involved as outpatients in psychiatric work rehabilitation in county councils or community services. The results from the Rasch analysis test indicated that items are well separated from each other and generally work together in five unidimensional continuums with the objective to measure abilities related to work. Twenty-nine of 34 items showed goodness-of-fit statistics, which means acceptable infit MnSq values from >0.6 to <1.4 in association with Z values from –2 to 2, and that the five misfit items have to be revised. Thirty-four outpatient clients and 14 professionals from four clinics within psychiatric work rehabilitation in Sweden participated in Study II. Two reliability aspects were studied: test-retest and inter rater reliability. The statistical analyses used were Spearman Rank Correlation test and Percentage of agreement (PA). Generally, the Spearman Rank Correlation test showed acceptable significant correlations between test retest since a greater part of items correlated “moderate to good” (r = 0.51 – 0.75). In the inter raters´ test PA was good, ranging from 93.1 % to 96.5 %, which is well above the acceptable criteria of 80 %. There were no significance differences between the raters. The study has shown that one item has to revised. The findings verify that DOA has potential as a means of making valid and reliable assessments of working ability, as described by the Model of Human Occupation, out of both clients´ and occupational therapists´ perspective.

From the beginning of nineties, when significant changes took place, Russia began to elaborate new environmental policy and designed new patterns for responding the environmental problems. The paper tried to make a contribution to our understanding of environmental policy and policy processes within the Russia in general terms and to the nature of environmental agenda setting in Pskov region in more specific terms. This thesis is therefore explores environmental agenda setting process in Russia taking into consideration contemporary trends in the analysis of policy- making, such as inclusion of non-state actors as well as role of ideas shaping actors attitudes and behaviour. The purpose of the thesis is to study the relationship between transnational forces and interactions, national policy and local political developments and the role of various agents and institutions in agenda setting of the regional environmental policy-making. The frame of reference is constituted by a theoretical combination of the agenda-setting model with constructivist approach in order to broaden our investigation of the implications of environmental policy-making, impact of political culture upon construction of environmental issues, and transformations in the public policy. By focusing on Pskov region case, the paper identifies and discusses a number of reasons why environmental issues are found on the margins of the political agenda. A central argument is that in the absence of effective governance in the Pskov region, international agents together with regional interest groups formulate environmental agenda. The paper concludes that, even though, the mentality of environmentalism is set through the foreign assistance, the processes of learning from international cooperation may contribute to attainment of regional environmental objectives.

Background and purpose: Aspects such as the character of the organization and the composition of the work force have an impact on the company’s choice of how to reward and evaluate the employee. In large companies with employees from different professions and at different levels problems connected with the evaluation and the compensation of the employee may arise. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how this type of companies evaluate and reward the employees. Further we will look into the problems that may arise connected to the evaluation and the compensation of the employee. Results: In the process of evaluation the greatest difference between the employees from different professions and operations can be found in the goals that are set and the measures that measure the fulfilment of the goals. In regard to the evaluation of employees at different levels the greatest differencecan be found in the character of the measures. When rewarding employees companies tend to have a homogeneous policy for employees from all operations and professions. The difference is greater between employees at different levels. As the number of operations and levels of the company increases it gets harder to set goals that are relevant to each operation and individual as an increasing number of aspects related to these operations must be considered. In addition it is difficult to design rewards which are cost efficient and valued by all employees. These difficulties arise as individuals’ preferences are affected by their working environment and as different preferences are created in different operations and at different levels.

När specialpedagogen använder handledning som verktyg söker hon åstadkomma förändring genom att ge pedagogerna råd. Fokus i samtalet riktas framförallt på barnet och på pedagogens arbete. Specialpedagogen kan ses som en slags expert på området barn i svårigheter och den pedagogiska praktiken. När specialpedagogen använder handledning som rum för reflektion söker hon åstadkomma förändring genom att ställa frågor för att stimulera pedagogens tänkande och stödja hennes utforskande av hur problemet kan förstås. Specialpedagogen kan då ses som en slags expert på att föra reflekterande samtal och samtalets fokus riktas huvudsakligen mot pedagogen. Specialpedagogernas repertoar innehåller därmed såväl förmåga att handleda genom att ge pedagogerna råd med utgångspunkt i det enskilda barnet som att stimulera pedagogernas reflekterande över aspekter av sitt arbete. Avhandlings syfte är att undersöka hur elva specialpedagoger beskriver och genomför handledning med pedagoger i förskola och grundskola. Intresset riktas mot samtalens innehåll och mot de påverkansprocesser som äger rum i samtalet. Handledningssamtalen studeras ur specialpedagogens perspektiv. Specialpedagogers handledningssamtal kan bidra till att vidga synen på objektet för den specialpedagogiska verksamheten såväl som befästa ett individperspektiv på området. I denna studie dominerar användningen av handledning som verktyg. Utmaningen förefaller ligga i att söka skapa villkor som även gynnar användningen av handledning som rum för reflektion.

Purpose/Aim: The aim of this study is to (1) analyze the amount of exposure disability sports get in Swedens biggest newspaper (Aftonbladet), (2) look at how Aftonbladet portraits disability sports and it’s athletes, and finally (3)  to see if there has occurred any change over time (during the last eight years). Material/Method: The first method used is a quantitative analysis to measure exposure. The second method is a quantitative content analysis which is used to analyze how disability sports are portrait. The third method is rhetorical and is also used to analyze how disability sports are portrayed. Main results: The study has shown that disability sports get very little exposure in Aftonbladet. The articles in the newspaper that cover disability sports are portrayed from a personal point of view without much focus on the athletes achievements regarding his or her sport. The study also shows that the terms and phrases used in most articles describe the athletes as different from the norm which could lead to alienation. Keywords: Disability sports, media, exposure, agenda setting, alienation, rhetoric, Aftonbladet

Goodwill har under en längre tid varit ett av redovisningens stora problemområden. Debatten om redovisning av detta komplexa begrepp har pågått länge. Frågan om tidsperioden för avskrivningar eller om koncernmässig goodwill överhuvudtaget skall skrivas av har varit en av de mest omstridda redovisningsfrågorna. International Accounting Standards Board är ett oberoende organ vars åtaganden är att fastställa standarder inom redovisning och finansiell rapportering. IFRS är det regelverk som ges ut av IASB. Utvecklandet av IFRS sker genom en internationell process där alla intressenter (nationella normgivare, utgivare och användare av finansiella rapporter, revisorer mm) som berörs är beviljade att delge sin uppfattning. IASB publicerade under 2004 en ny standard rörande företagsförvärv. IFRS 3 Business Combinations, innehåller stora förändringar som bland annat innebär att Goodwill inte längre skall skrivas av utan vid behov skrivas ned. Under december 2002 utgav IASB ”Exposure Draft 3, Business Combinations” där nämnden bjöd in aktörer till att svara på och kommentera de olika frågorna som ingick i utkastet till IFRS 3. Syftet med denna uppsats är att försöka öka förståelsen av hur lobbying av denna typ fungerar genom att studera svarsbreven IASB erhållit ifrån de olika aktörerna till fråga 8 i utkastet. Studien har utgått ifrån ett hermeneutiskt förhållningssätt med en abduktiv ansats. Det empiriska materialet är uppdelat efter hur aktörerna ställt sig till frågan och därefter klassificerat efter vilken grupp intressenterna tillhör. Analysen har genomförts för varje aktörsgrupp separat. Syftet med detta är att försöka urskilja hur varje grupp argumenterat för sin sak för att sedan se om vi kan hitta någonting gemensamt i själva resonemangen som knyter gruppen till en viss ställning. Även argumenten i sig är klassificerade efter syntaktiska, pragmatiska och semantiska resonemang. Störst i antalet insända svar var producenter av finansiell information. Då nya regler får en direkt påverkan på producenter av finansiell information kan det relativa intresset från denna grupp förklaras med att aktörer söker påverka mot en position som gynnar den egna verksamheten. Den minsta gruppen utgjordes av statliga institutioner, detta kan förklaras med att utkastet inte medförde eventuella skatteeffekter, då standarden behandlar koncernredovisning. Innhållet i argumenten var den samma för de flesta aktörer. Samtliga intressenter hade på liknande sätt utgått ifrån IASBs ställningstagande när dessa argumenterade mot utkastet. Aktörerna som var för hade inte sökt stärka sin position i vidare mening. Pragmatiska och semantiska argument var de som förekom mest, syntaktiska argument användes i betydligt lägre utsträckning. / Goodwill has under a significant time been a major dilemma in accounting. The controversy regarding how to recognize this complex concept has been going on for a long period of time. The issue concerning amortisation over the useful life or amortisation of goodwill in general is one of the most disputed accounting subjects. International Accounting Standards Board is a self governing organizational body whose assignment is to promulgate accounting and financial standards. IFRS is a set of accounting standards that are issued by IASB. The development of IFRS occurs through a process where all interested parties(standard-setter, auditors, publisher and users of financial reports) whose affected are advised to inform their opinion. In 2004 IASB published a new standard concerning business combinations. IFRS 3 contained amendments proposing that goodwill should not be amortised systematically over its useful life and that goodwill instead should be impaired on indication. During December 2002 IASB published ”Exposure Draft 3, Business Combinations” where they invited participants to respond and comment on the subject that was included in the exposure draft. The purpose of this paper to gain understanding and perception of how lobbying of this nature functions by studying and analyzing the comment letters that IASB received on question 8 in the exposure draft. In This paper we assume a hermeneutic abductiv approach. The empirical data is divided after how the interested has positioned themselves in the question and accordingly to suited groups. The analysis has been executed for every interest group separately. The purpose in doing this is to try to identify how the each group has argued for his matter and afterwards seek to find something general in the groups reasoning for it’s position. The arguments that each respondent group applies are also assorted in three classifications, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic. Considerable amount of the comment letters were in the group, producers of financial information. When new standards have a direct effect on producers of financial reports, we observed that the interest from this group can be explained by stating that they seek to influence against a position that benefits their financial activities. The minor group constituted of governmental institutions, this can be clarified by noticing that the exposure draft did not result in any potential tax effects, since the standard only concerned business combinations. The content of the arguments was similar for the majority of the interested parties. They had all in an equivalent way assumed from the same standing point as IASB, when arguing against the exposure draft. The interest that was for the proposal did not attempt to strengthen their position in an extended meaning. The arguments that aroused mostly were pragmatic and semantic, syntactic arguments were applied in a lower extent.

Abstract Background: Goals and goal-setting are two aspects that occur everyday in business life however little is known about the effect of strategic goal-setting. To a cer-tain extent, this affects all of us either directly or indirectly, everyday through strategic decisions that are made by business managers all around the world. A company’s performance of a company can be measured in many ways. A firm’s performance can be financially successful if the com-pany’s strategy is well planned. Strategic planning consists of developing goal-strategies, which aim at contributing to the firm’s performance. Problem: A small business manager’s view on the goals-setting strategies is important since the manager in a small company can influence the business more than compared to a manager in a larger firm. As the personality differs among managers, the level of planning and proactiveness would differ as well. Sev-eral studies have focused on the relationship between goal-setting and per-formance but the level of proactiveness has not been has not been consid-ered to a larger extent. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate managers’ goal-setting strategies, focusing on goal-specificy, planning, proactiveness, and financial perform-ance in small businesses in the Jönköping region, Sweden. Method: To fulfill the purpose of this thesis both qualitative and quantitative re-search approaches have been used. As 173 interviews were already carried out in an earlier study, we created a strategy on how to use the collected in-terview data. Theories from different research areas were combined with hypotheses to create a framework for this paper. The theories and the hy-potheses were analyzed in light of the empirical evidence, the interview and we used the SPSS to test our hypotheses. Result: The results from the first three hypotheses were not found to be too unex-pected as we assumed that planning, the level of goal-specificy and proac-tiveness to a large extent, depend on a managers’ strategies and ambitions. The final two hypotheses have helped us discover new patterns and add to previous theories. We have made two main contributions by conducting this master thesis. The first one is that a high degree of planning does not imply a higher level of financial performance. The second one is that family businesses do not show a lesser degree of planning compared to non-family businesses.

Den här uppsatsen undersöker hur jämställdhet, feministisk teori/praktik och kvinnors organisering diskuteras på ledarplats. Undersökningen består av två delar, en kvantitativ och en kvalitativ. Den kvantitativa mäter antalet artiklar under perioden 16 april – 6 maj 2007 i Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Göteborgs-Posten och Sydsvenska Dagbladet. Den kvalitativa undersökningen syftar till att närmare visa på vilket sätt de undersökta tidningarnas ledartexter förhåller sig till jämställdhet, feminism och kvinnoorganisationer. Uppsatsen knyter framförallt an till R.W Connell’s teorier om genusordning och hegemonisk maskulinitet. Dessutom används teorier kring mediernas dagordningsfunktion. Resultatet av studien visar att de fyra undersökta tidningarnas ledarsidor ägnar litet utrymme åt jämställdhet, feministisk teori/praktik och kvinnors organisering. Totalt 11 texter av 311 behandlar de ovan angivna områdena. Utrymmet varierar också i hög grad mellan tidningarna. Dagens Nyheter hade under den undersökta perioden inga artiklar medan Sydsvenskan hade 6 stycken. I den mån områdena tas upp är det ofta i form av en reaktion på ett politiskt utspel. Den kvalitativa undersökningen visar att tidningarna i sak är positivt inställda till jämställdhet men att tidningarna inte anser områdena vara av större intresse samt att beskrivningen av feminism och kvinnoorganisationer stundtals riskerar att kategoriseras av stereotyper och stigmatisering.

Background The Swedish economy is currently in a boom and due to the fact that the commercial rental market is closely correlated with the development in the Swedish economy and its economic indicators, commercial real estate companies are successful. Commercial real estate companies generate their main revenue out of rents from their tenants, therefore the set-ting of rent and the factors affecting the procedure are of great importance. The report will not only examine the commercial rental market but also the composition of the lease con-tracts, factors affecting the rent setting and risks associated with commercial leases. Purpose To analyze the commercial rental market comprising of several different lease contracts. The focus will be to analyze the setting of rents and the factors affecting the procedure. Method A deductive approach and a qualitative research method is used in order to get reliable and valid data to be able to fulfill our purpose. The data is collected from interviews done with three different real estate companies, situated in Stockholm and Gothenburg. The sample include Håkan Hellström representing Castellum, Lovisa Lindberg representing Landic Property and Roddy Carlsson representing Vasakronan. Conclusion As could be expected, the commercial rental market is closely correlated with supply and demand in the Swedish economy. Currently, demand is increasing due to a growing employment rate and a strong GDP growth. Market rents are increasing, since the demand is continuing to accelerate and vacancy rates are falling. The vacancy rates are currently below the natural level since rents are increasing in both Stockholm and Gothenburg. It is shown that the vacancy level is lower in Gothenburg compared to Stockholm. Location is the most important factor affecting the setting of rents apart from supply and demand. Rent for office space is highest in the cities’ Central Business District. Additional factors are attributes that make the premises more attractive and client care that enables for satisfied tenants and long lasting tenant relationships. / Bakgrund Den svenska ekonomin är idag i en högkonjunktur och på grund av att den kommersiella hyresmarkanden är starkt korrelerad med utvecklingen i den svenska ekonomin och dess ekonomiska indikatorer, är kommersiella fastighetsbolag framgångsrika. Kommersiella fastighetsbolags intäkter består till största del av hyror från deras hyresgäster. Därför är hyres-sättningen och dess påverkande faktorer av stor vikt. Rapporten kommer inte enbart undersöka den kommersiella hyresmarkanden, utan även komponenter i kommersiella hyreskontrakt, faktorer som påverkar hyressättning och risker associerade med kommersiella hyreskontrakt. Syfte Att analysera den kommersiella hyresmarknaden bestående av flera hyreskontrakt, med fokusering på hyressättning och dess påverkande faktorer. Metod För att kunna uppfylla vårt syfte och för att få så tillförlitlig och giltig information som möjligt används ett deduktivt synsätt och en kvalitativ forsknings metod. Informationen tillförskaffas genom intervjuer med tre fastighetsbolag, i Stockholm och Göteborg. Urvalet består av Håkan Hellström som representerar Castellum, Lovisa Lindberg som representerar Landic Property and Roddy Carlsson som representerar Vasakronan. Slutsats Den kommersiella hyresmarknaden är som väntat, starkt korrelerad med den svenska ekonomins utbud och efterfrågan. Efterfrågan ökar idag på grund av en ökad sysselsättningsgrad och en stark tillväxt av BNP. Marknadshyrorna stiger eftersom efterfrågan ökar och vakansgraden minskar. Vakanserna är i nuläget lägre än normalt eftersom hyresnivåerna ökar i både Stockholm och Göteborg. Det visade sig att vakansgraden är lägre i Göteborg jämfört med Stockholm. Hyressättningens viktigaste faktor som påverkar hyresnivån förutom utbud och efterfrågan, är läge. Hyran för kontorslokaler är som högst i städernas Central Business District. Hyressättningen påverkas av ytterligare faktorer som gör kontorslokalen mer attraktiv och kundvård som möjliggör långa kund relationer med nöjda kunder.

In this thesis, priority setting to the form of the Swedish parliamental decision on priority setting, 1997, is considered an innovation for implementation in health care. The features of this innovation are investigated. The practical implications of implementation are identified by investigating the user organisation, ie, Swedish health care organisations and management systems. Also, a case of a three-stage process for macro-level priority setting that engaged the entire organisation in the Västerbotten County Council (VCC) is presented. This is done against a background of preceding implementation efforts in the VCC. Four specific research efforts and papers are presented. In Paper I, priority setting is operationalised into a multi-dimensional resource allocation task. On that basis, with the help of interviews (1998) and surveys (2002 and 2005) primarily of VCC health care managers, the impact of implementation is measured by prioritisation structures, processes and decisions. Survey response rates were low. Results were used as qualitative data, internally compared, and interpreted as: a) responses reflected mainly “early adopters’” opinions; b) priority setting is an ambiguous concept; c) indicating limited overall implementation; d) reinterpretation of the prioritisation task occurred over time among respondents; and, e) this group took increasingly personal responsibility as stakeholders in priority setting. Paper II reports a case study intervention of explicit, departmental level priority setting with the aim of improving cost-effectiveness in in vitro fertilization resource use and a rationing of services perceived legitimate by all stakeholders. The intervention combined priority setting and structured quality improvement techniques. Results were: a) improved operational efficiency of diagnostic procedures that allowed resources to be reallocated to treatment; and b) patients were prioritized and treatment resources were rationed based on evidence of treatment effect among subgroups. Evaluation showed that the procedure met stated criteria for legitimacy. In Paper III, a full-format test of the macro level prioritisation process is described and evaluated by participants with the help of surveys after each completed stage. Participants report the need for improvement of elements in the overall process and of procedural specifics. However, overall there was a strong commitment to the initiative and satisfaction with the process and the resulting decisions. In Paper IV, procedural specifics of the prioritisation process are evaluated. They are also compared to the Program Budgeting and Marginal Analysis (PBMA) framework when used for macro level purposes. Procedures provided intended results such as vertical and horizontal priority setting and a consistent process. However, economic targets were not fully achieved in any of the stages. Conclusions include that health care management systems are not prepared for priority setting and need profound restructuring and that the prioritisation process described in Papers III and IV was successful because: a) the process satisfied politicians’ directives; b) participants were satisfied with the procedures and perceived the subsequent reallocation decisions as legitimate; and, c) methods resulted in the intended outcome. Factors suggested as the basis of success include: long-term overall preparations; broad and deep participation; a readiness for change among participants; a stage for horizontal priority setting that added to the quality, feasibility and perceived validity of the knowledge base; a strong process leadership; and politicians determined to protect the process from opportunistic disturbances.