Teleseismic data recorded by broad-band seismic stations in the Swedish National Seismic Network (SNSN) have been used in a suite of studies of seismic wave conversion in order to assess the structure of the crust and upper mantle beneath the Baltic Shield. Signals of seismic waves converted between P and S at seismic discontinuities within the Earth carry information on the velocity contrast at the converting interface, on the depth of conversion and on P and S velocities above this depth. The conversion from P to S at the crust-mantle boundary (the Moho) provides a robust tool to constrain crustal thicknesses. Results of such analysis for the Baltic Shield show considerable variation of Moho depths and significantly improve the Moho depth map. Analysis of waves converted from S to P in the upper mantle reveals a layered lithosphere with alternating high and low velocity bodies. It also detects clear signals of a sharp velocity contrast at the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary at depths around 200 km. Delay times of P410s, the conversion from P to S at the upper mantle discontinuity at 410 km depth, were used in a tomographic inversion to simultaneously determine P and S velocities in the upper mantle. The polarisation of P410s was also used to study anisotropy of the upper mantle. Results of these analyses are found to be in close agreement with independently derived results from arrival time tomography and shear-wave splitting analysis of SKS. The results presented in this thesis demonstrate the ability of converted wave analysis as a tool to detect and image geological boundaries that involve sharp contrasts in seismic properties. The results also show that this analysis can provide means of studying aspects of Earth’s structure that are conventionally studied using other types of seismic data.

Firm behavior and performance has become increasingly susceptible to the influence of secondary stakeholders—namely community activists, advocacy groups, religious organizations, and other non-governmental organizations that often represent a broader social movement. Despite recent suggestions that secondary stakeholder demands trigger an important two-sided interactive process between secondary stakeholders and their targeted firms, little theoretical or empirical attention has been placed on firm-sided factors that influence the dynamics and outcomes of these interactions, especially the role and influence of the firm’s top managers during these interactions. In this three-essay dissertation, I theorize about and examine the influential role that the firm’s top managers expectedly occupy within the interactions that occur between secondary stakeholders and the firms that are the targets of their demands. My dissertation contributes to advancing strategic management and organization research by (1) examining influential managerial attributes that influence their firm’s responsiveness toward secondary stakeholder activism, and (2) examining certain important consequences of managerial responses for secondary stakeholder behavior and the targeted firm.

The geography subject in Swedish upper secondary school is in a marginalized position with just two national programs having it as a mandatory subject. No mention of the skill of spatial thinking is made in the regulation documents from the Swedish National Agency for Education. To investigate the spatial thinking in the Swedish upper secondary school, I constructed a test that 140 students conducted. From the results it was possible to deduct that the students performed well in areas of spatial thinking that deals with geographical features like points, lines and polygons, but not so well when faced with tasks concerning several spatial facts, overlay, and mentally visualizing 3-D images from 2-D information. Males generally scored higher than females in the test, especially if only answers that the students felt confident of were counted. Students from the Natural Science Programme outperformed the students from the Social Science Programme, even though the former didn’t have any formal education in geography from the upper secondary school. The thesis argues that a larger focus on spatial thinking in the geography subject could benefit the development of both a stronger stance for the subject in the education system, and the abilities and knowledge tied to spatial thinking of the students, especially those that are lacking formal education in other subjects that train the spatial thinking, mostly mathematics and physics.

Ungdomsarbetslösheten i Sverige är i förhållande till den totala arbetslösheten, i landet, hög och är en av svenska regeringens högst prioriterade frågor inom arbetsmarknadspolitiken. För att komma in på arbetsmarknaden idag måste du visa dig anställningsbar. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vad kommunala arbetsgivare har för uppfattning om arbetslösa ungdomars anställningsbarhet. Syftet konkretiseras med hjälp av tre frågeställningar som syftar till att se vad betydelsen av deltagandet i aktiva arbetsmarknadsåtgärder har för anställningsbarheten, samt vad gymnasieexamen och de personliga egenskaperna betyder för anställningsbarheten. Studien utgår från en kvalitativ forskningsansats och besvarar syftet utifrån åtta kommunala arbetsgivares uppfattningar om arbetslösa ungdomars anställningsbarhet. Resultatet visar att anställningsbarhet enligt de kommunala arbetsgivarna är betydelsen av erfarenheter, kompetenser och utbildning. Studien visar även att praktik i en kommunal arbetsmarknadsåtgärd, vars syfte är att ge arbetslivserfarenhet, inte nödvändigtvis kan likställas med arbetslivserfarenhet. Deltagandet i en kommunal arbetsmarknadsåtgärd kan minska anställningsbarheten, likaså kan avsaknaden av en gymnasieexamen försvåra chansen till en anställning och en individs personliga egenskaper anses avgörande. Därför uppfylls heller inte den grundläggande anställningsbarheten. / Youth unemployment in relation to overall unemployment is high and is one of the Swedish government´s priorities in labour market policy. The purpose of this study is to investigate what idea the municipal employers have of unemployed youths ́ employability. The purpose is embodied by three questions, designed to see what importance of participation in active labour market programs, upper secondary school diploma and personality have on employability. The study is based on a qualitative research approach and answers the purpose with eight municipal employers' perceptions of unemployed young people's employability. The result indicates that employability, according to the municipal employers, is the importance of experience, skills and education. The results also indicate that the internship in a municipal labour market program, which aims to provide work experience, cannot be equated with each other. Participation in a municipal labor market program could reduce employability, as well as the lack of an upper secondary school diploma reduces the chance of an employment. The personality of an individual that is considered crucial for employment does not meet the requirements of the essential employability.

In this thesis a study upper secondary school teachers’ experiences from using digital resources is presented. The study was carried out in two upper secondary schools where the students had each recently been given their own laptop, a so-called one-to-one computer. The purpose of the study was to describe and analyse the teachers’ experiences of using digital resources in teaching. Four teachers, three men and one woman, from two upper secondary schools in a Swedish municipality, participated in the study. Empirical material was collected during autumn 2010 and spring 2012. The methods used in the collection were interviews and participatory observations, so-called go-along observations. The study’s theoretical approach has its foundation in phenomenological philosophy. In the result care, time and teachers’ lived experiences of didactic work emerge as important for the utilisation of digital resources in teaching. In the teaching, the teachers’ experiences and knowledge of their subjects, teaching, digital resources, and life experiences and knowledge seemed to interact. This interaction between experiences and knowledge is described in the study as lived experiences of didactic work. The study shows that teachers dealt with the new digital technology and designed learning environments for the students with the starting point of their lived experiences of didactic work and assumptions about the students’ interest for digital resources. The teachers’ care with relationship building and creation of trust and confidence was shown to have importance for how, and to what extent, digital resources could be used in teaching. Both similarities and differences in the teachers’ experiences of, and knowledge about, how teaching is carried out with one-to-one computers emerged in the study. Two of the teachers were more experienced users of digital resources in comparison with the two others. The teachers’ experiences of digital resources are often related to their own interest in these, but their experiences are also related to the lack of time for learning to use digital resources as pedagogical tools. / <p>På omslaget har en liten felaktighet i titeln smugit sig in. Titeln på omslaget ska lyda: Från datasal till en-till-en</p>

Managerial characteristics have an important influence on strategy implementation. Previous studies have looked at the alignment of managerial characteristics with strategic type and aspects of performance. In all cases, the focus has been on corporate strategy and, predominantly, in private sector organisations. This study combines these objectives and investigates alignment between managerial characteristics, strategy and perceived performance. It focuses on management at the functional level in a public sector setting and demonstrates that classical upper-echelon theory is also relevant when applied at the functional level of management. The Miles and Snow (1978) typology is applied to the functional strategy for Dubai government organisations, to investigate whether functional units pursuing strategies are led by functional managers with dissimilar attributes, and whether the alignment between managerial characteristics and strategy is related to performance of the functional unit. Based on the extant literature, a research model has been developed, which yields two types of hypothesis. Data was collected by means of interviews and surveys to obtain knowledge of strategy types, and demographic and psychological characteristics for the functional managers. Regression techniques have been used for data analysis rendering support for two types of hypothesis. Consequently, this study supports the view that Upper Echelon theory can also apply at the functional level, emphasising the role of the functional managers, at the lower management levels of the organisations, in strategy implementation.

Hispanic religious ministry provides a way for long established mainstreams to stay afloat in the face of the demographic realities in the U.S. today. Unfortunately, the lack of literature, particularly in geography, precludes the examination of elements of contemporary Hispanic religious outreach, including such considerations as strategies, their effectiveness, and institutional praxis among mainstream religious denominations in the U.S. Using a hybrid methodology that relies on several techniques, I examine Hispanic religious ministry in the Upper U.S. South, which geographers tell us is America’s newest Hispanic destination. I, thereby, develop and present here a case study to compare Hispanic religious ministry in Kentucky’s Inner Bluegrass metropolitan region, which has recently been attracting Hispanics. I use three mainstream denominations including the Roman Catholic Church, the United Methodist Church, and the Southern Baptist Convention to examine the relationships of religious polity, outreach practices, and disparate strategies among these three denominations. Strategies of Hispanic religious ministry among religious organizations associated with the Roman Catholic Church, the United Methodist Church, and the Southern Baptist Convention; reflect many similarities, while simultaneously exhibiting much variation throughout the Inner Bluegrass. Similarities in outreach praxis seem to be predicated on tactics wherein agencies have come to dominate the cultures of contemporary mainstream religious denominations, while polities, historically structured to differentiate religious traditions and doctrines within a continuum of congregational versus connectional organization, seemed to account for much variation among these disparate denominations. While Hispanic outreach in the Inner Bluegrass mostly follow national-level plans or strategies, the Roman Catholic denomination seems most efficient and effective in managing new Hispanic ministries in the Inner Bluegrass today.

Heightened industry focus on the Upper Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian) Eagle Ford has resulted from recent discoveries of producible unconventional petroleum resource in this emerging play. However, little has been published on the facies and facies variabilities within this mixed carbonate-clastic mudrock system. This rock-based study is fundamental to understanding the controls, types, and scales of inherent facies variabilities, which have implications for enhanced comprehension of the Eagle Ford and other mixed carbonate-clastic mudrock systems worldwide. This study utilizes 8 cores and 2 outcrops with a total interval equaling 480 feet and is enhanced by synthesis of thin section, XRD, XRF, isotope, rock eval/TOC, and wireline log data. Central Texas Eagle Ford facies include 1) massive argillaceous mudrock, 2) massive argillaceous foraminiferal mudrock, 3) laminated argillaceous foraminiferal mudrock, 4) laminated foraminiferal wackestone, 5) cross-laminated foraminiferal packstone/grainstone, 6) massive bentonitic claystone, and 7) nodular foraminiferal packstone/grainstone. High degrees of facies variability are observed even at small scales (50 ft) within the Eagle Ford system and are characterized by pinching and swelling of units, lateral facies changes, truncations, and locally restricted units. Facies variability is attributed to erosional scouring, productivity blooms, bottom current reworking, and bioturbation. At the 10-mile well spacing scale and greater, the data significantly overestimates intra-formational facies continuity but is successful in defining the following four-fold stratigraphy: The basal Pepper Shale is an argillaceous, moderate TOC, high CGR and GR mudrock. The Waller Member is a newly designated name used in this study for an argillaceous and foraminiferal, high TOC, massive mudrock with a generally moderate CGR and GR profile. The Bouldin Member is a high energy, carbonate-rich (foraminiferal), low TOC, low and variable CGR but high GR zone. Finally, the South Bosque Formation is an argillaceous and foraminiferal, moderate TOC, massive and laminated mudrock with a moderate CGR and GR signature. GR logs alone are inadequate for determination of facies, TOC content, depositional environment, and sequence stratigraphic implications. Using integrated lithologic, isotopic, and wireline log data, cored wells in the study area are correlated across the San Marcos Arch. Geochemical proxies (enrichment in Mo, Mn, U, and V/Cr) indicate that maximum basin restriction occurred during deposition of the Bouldin Member. Bottom current activity influenced depositional processes and carbonate sediment input was driven by water column productivity. These primary controls on Eagle Ford stratigraphy and character are independent from eustatic fluctuation, rendering classical sequence stratigraphy unreliable. / text

<p>During my practice as a teacher trainee at an upper secondary school it became clear to me that many pupils have difficulties with algebra. Also in a report from the National Agency for Education (1999) you can see that the students algebra knowledge get worse and worse. I was surprised to find that many pupils seemed to get stuck on the level of attainment for the senior level of the nine-year compulsory school. As I have not studied anything about difficulties in algebra during my training to become a qualified teacher I would like to get to know more about this. I also examine why you have to study algebra in upper secondary school. In my examination I have besides studying research used an empirical study. The empirical study consists of four interviews with upper secondary school teachers in mathematics.</p><p>The result of my assignment can be summarized with that algebra gives you general solutions to problems, gives you larger poosibility to manage higer studys and its an important tool in other subjects in Upper Secondary School. The typical mistakes students do depends especially on fault due to lack of arithmetic skills.</p> / <p>Under mina praktikperioder på gymnasieskolan som lärarstudent kom jag i kontakt med många elever som hade det svårt med algebra. Även i en rapport från Skolverket (1999) fastlås gymnasieelevers allt sämre algebrakunskaper. Jag förundrades över att många elever verkade ha fastnat på högstadiets kunskapsnivå. Då jag inte har fått någon undervisning om elever med svårigheter i algebra i min lärarutbildning, vill jag lära mig mer om detta. Jag undersöker också varför man läser algebra på gymnasieskolan. I min undersökning har jag förutom litteraturstudier använt mig av en empirisk studie. Den empiriska studien består av intervjuer med fyra gymnasielärare i matematik.</p><p>Resultatet av mitt arbete kan sammanfattas med att algebra ger generella lösningar på problem, ger större möjligheter att klara av högre studier och att det är ett viktigt verktyg i många andra ämnen i gymnasieskolan. De typiska fel som gymnasieelever gör beror främst på fel p.g.a. aritmetiska färdigheter saknas.</p>

<p>Under min sista termin på lärarprogrammet har fokus bland annat legat på betyg. Vanligtvis är det politikers syn på betyg som framkommer i betygsdebatten. Syftet med min undersökning är att lyfta fram elevperspektivet i betygsdebatten. Detta ledde fram till min huvudfråga om vilken syn gymnasieelever har på betyg. För att få reda på detta ställde jag delfrågor om betygens rättvisa, betygens existens och upplevelsen av betyg. Metoden jag använde för att besvara frågorna var intervjuer med gymnasieelever på Karlbergsgymnasiet i Åmål. Resultatet av intervjuerna sammanställdes genom ad hoc-metoden, vilket innebar att jag försökte finna mönster i elevernas svar.</p><p>Det jag kom fram till i min undersökning är att majoriteten av gymnasieeleverna tycker att betygen inte är rättvisa. Men de anser att betyg behövs eftersom de fungerar som urvalsinstrument till högre studier och jobb och ger information om hur eleven ligger till. Flera elever vill ha fler betygssteg, för att betygen ska bli mer rättvisa. Vissa elever tycker betyg är dåligt för att de jämför sig med andra och får dåligt självförtroende av det. De negativa känslorna som ett dåligt betyg kan frambringa gör att vissa elever ger upp skolarbetet. Men andra elever motiveras av betyg och studerar mer på grund av dem. Detta visar på komplexiteten i fenomenet betyg. Gymnasieeleverna har både en positiv och negativ syn på betyg.</p> / <p>During my last term of teacher training the syllaby content, among other subjects, have been focused on school grades. Commonly the debate concerning school grades reflect the opinions of party politicians. The purpose of my research is to enhance the perspective of pupils´ opinions in this same debate. This very purpose brought on my main issue concerning the idea about grades among upper secondary school pupils. In order to investigate this issue I have formulated questions, put to upper secondary pupils, about the apprehension of fairness or justice in school grades, their opinion about the presence of school grades and their personal experience of them. The research method choosen to answer my questions was interview. Upper secondary pupils in a community of southern Sweden were interviewed.</p><p>The answers were analysed and structured according to the ad-hoc method, indicating that I tried to reveal patterns among the expressions given by the pupils.</p><p>The findings from my study imply that a majority of the students interviewed do consider grades to be unfair. They do think though that grades are needed as a means of selection for higher education as well as employment and that grades do inform about the level of achievement of the pupils. Several pupils in my study advocate an increased number of grade levels to promote more justice in the use of school grades. Some pupils think that grades are bad because they use to compare themselves to other schoolmates, a behaviour that tends to lower their ego. The negative feelings that may be accomplished by low grades tend to make some pupils give up school. Other students find grades motivating and grades make them study more earnestly. These answers do reveal the complexity in the issue of school grades. Upper secondary pupils do hold positive as well as negative attitudes towards school grades.</p>