This paper investigates how family ownership affects firm performance among Swedish publicly listed firms during the Covid-19 pandemic. The period of interest is the second quarter of 2020 which is argued to be the period of the largest impact on the economy from the Covid-19 pandemic. During this period, we hypothesize that firm performance is influenced by family ownership due to agency conflicts. Our findings suggest that family firms with a present founding family member in the management outperform other firms in general. However, firm performance is not affected by family ownership during the Covid-19 period. We also consider different aspects of family ownership such as the level of stake controlled by the family, and whether the family firm uses a dual-class share system. Inconsistent with our hypotheses, our results show that a moderate stake controlled by the family is not associated with higher performance, and family firms that use the dual-class share system do not suffer in performance. Overall, our findings indicate that the Covid-19 pandemic did not impact firm performance contrary to our expectations. Lastly, this paper highlights an issue of sensitivity in the results depending on the family firm definition and the chosen measure for firm performance.

User experience design is the process of improving the accessibility and use of a product during user’s interaction with it. This study investigates the issues that occur in the coordination of UX design and software development. Furthermore, it examines diverse types of conflicts between UX designers, front-end and back-end developers, factors contributing to these conflicts and their influence on the software development process. The method used in this study is a survey conducted in an online form with a target group of practitioners. The data show that task conflicts are the most common type of conflicts in teams, that gender of a person can influence its awareness of the project status and that age and geographical location do not affect the occurrence of the identified conflicts.

This thesis aims to outline the different dynamics of strike activity and thus understand the basic principles of industrial conflicts in France in the 90s of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century. To study this problem we decided to use a dual approach. A quantitative one, which helped us to critically evaluate the statistical resources of the Ministry of Labour and to made first assumptions about decline of strike activity in France. We used as well qualitative approach in order to understand the use of strikes in various conflict situations. We tried, based on several practical examples of protests, to identify the factors and mechanisms explaining the constraints that may prevent representatives of trade unions use strikes as mobilization agents. Last but not least, our study is realized in the context of the ongoing debate in the French academic environment regarding the conversion of the repertoire of collective action. Unlike works that try to apprehend this transformation giving emphasis on the "new" forms of protest, our goal was to answer questions leading to an understanding of the conditions of continuation of the strike as a traditional way of collective struggle.

Given the current trend of rapid population growth, especially in the global South, the question what the implications of rapid demographic change are for security should receive increased attention. The recently established field of political demography has endeavoured to explore the causal relationship between these two factors, but still relatively few studies exist which would apply political demography theory on specific empirical cases. In this thesis, I have therefore examined the case of the First Congo War, as well as selected conflict events in eastern Congo predating it. Firstly, I have looked at the security implications of population change in the colonial and later in the post-independence era, especially in the Kivu provinces located in eastern Congo. Secondly, I examined the Rwandan genocide from a political demography perspective. Finally, I enquired how the massive Rwandan refugee wave to eastern Congo in the aftermath of the genocide played a role in the eruption of the First Congo War. The selected case study approach proved to be useful in both expanding our understanding of the causes of conflict outbreak in the observed region, and further developing political demography theory by drawing attention to a number of so far largely overlooked aspects. It has highlighted the need...

This dissertation examines the impact of FDI on peace in civil conflict-experienced states. While economic grievances have often been pointed out as a major cause of civil war within the literature, scholarship on post-conflict peace has focused mainly on political settlements, such as one-sided victories or power sharing, largely ignoring the importance of economic conditions. Thus, this dissertation aims to examine how FDI can affect sustainable peace in conflict-experienced states in terms of prevention of conflict recurrence and regime stability. FDI can be conducive to peace during/after civil conflicts, as it can bring capital which can be used for economic reconstruction and development in conflict-experienced states. Furthermore, this dissertation focuses on the impact of bilateral FDI. When a third party intervenes in a conflict management process and the third party has a great deal of economic interaction with the conflict experienced state, this economic interdependency will affect the third party's motivation to make the conflict-experienced state stable. It also provides third-party with greater leverage over peace efforts. Eventually, this third-party leverage will affect peace during/after civil conflicts. This dissertation is built around three interrelated empirical chapters: (1) determinants of FDI in conflict-experienced states, (2) the impact of FDI on conflict recurrence, and (3) the impact of FDI on regime stability. U.S. and Chinese FDI are used as focal cases for the analysis. This is because they have the most powerful economic and military influences in the world. As a result, this dissertation examines the impact of U.S. and Chinese FDI on peace in civil conflict-experienced states.

Desde el surgimiento de la corriente New Wave, las narraciones del género de la ciencia ficción contenían un significado simbólico como una alegoría a nuestra condición como humanos. Las avanzadas construcciones tecnológicas, los seres no humanos y los mundos distópicos empezaron a cumplir un rol más profundo de lo que tradicionalmente fueron al ser meramente elementos visuales llamativos a ojos del espectador. Tanto en las obras literarias como en las películas del género, se desarrollan como subtextos una serie de denuncias al control de poderes, lucha de clases, violencia de género, xenofobia, por mencionar algunos. Conflictos humanos que han existido desde hace bastante tiempo y afecta en cómo nos relacionamos con nuestros semejantes. La presente investigación tiene como objetivo analizar esos cuestionamientos que hace la ciencia ficción en relación a lo humano, presentes en la serie de televisión de HBO Westworld, a través de los recursos del lenguaje audiovisual como el desarrollo de sus personajes, los conflictos de sus subtramas y sus espacios físicos. / Since the emergence of the New Wave phase, the narratives of the sci-fi genre contained symbolic significance as an allegory to our status as humans. Advanced technological constructions, non-humans and dystopian worlds began to play a deeper role than they traditionally were by being merely striking visual elements in the eyes of the viewer. In both literary works and films of the genre, a series of complaints of power control, class struggle, gender violence, xenophobia, to name a few are developed as subtexts. Human conflicts that have been around for quite some time and affect how we relate to our fellowmen. This research aims to analyze those questions that science fiction makes in relation to the human, presents in the HBO television series Westworld, through the resources of audiovisual language such as the development of its characters, conflicts of their subplots and physical spaces. / Trabajo de investigación

Scholars in the peace and conflict field oftentimes argue that peace is somewhat underconceptualised. The Varieties of Peace network has made a substantial effort in furthering the conceptualisation of peace by creating a comprehensive framework, theorising peace as three different approaches: situational, relational and ideational. In this thesis, I explored how this framework can be applied in an empirical context and how the approaches relate to each other; testing the internal validity and assumptions of the framework. By shifting the common focus of peace from stability to a dynamic process of change, I studied how peace changes in an empirical context that is typically understood as static: frozen conflicts. In a case study on Abkhazia from 1994-2008, I used process-tracing to study how the three approaches relate to each other, either harmoniously or with dissonance, and to describe the changes of peace in a frozen conflict. I conclude that the Varieties of Peace framework has proven to be useful when studying the dynamics of peace and how it changes in a post-conflict setting. It has been especially useful in capturing the cyclical dynamic of change in a frozen conflict. The framework has comparative and comprehensive advantages in studying the peace as a complex, dynamic process, but inhibits some issues regarding the trade-off between complexity and parsimony and concerning the internal validity. Further research is needed in order to utilise its full potential as a framework that can be used to systematically study the varieties of peace in the world.

This thesis examines constraints of the EU’s engagement in the frozen conflicts of the South Caucasus, namely, the Abkhazia, the South Ossetia, and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts. The study begins with a puzzle in which the EU’s ambition for prioritizing the resolution of frozen conflicts mismatches with the reality related to the status quo of frozen conflicts. By using an abductive reasoning in an observed surprising fact, the research highlights that the complexity of the region can be the main contributor to the EU’s limitations.   With this purpose, the ENP as a normative power of the EU is analyzed to identify how the EU is attempting to be a major actor in the region in order to secure its borders. Subsequently, the limitations of the EU in engaging in frozen conflicts are examined from ‘security dilemma’, ‘balance of power’ and ‘bandwagoning’ neorealism perspectives together with a comparative study on the three conflicts. The results show that the complexity of the region is a principal constraint for the EU. In particular, geopolitical rivalries with Russia and small states with their alliances contribute to the complexity of the region. However, this study also explores the idea that the complexity of the region is not only the best explanation for the EU’s limitations, but also the EU’s structure per se creates a lack of credibility with relations to the respective Caucasian states. For future studies, I suggest that the analysis of the social learning mechanism of the EU will be an asset for understanding the region and avoiding Eurocentric approaches towards Caucasian political systems and people. Regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, policymakers can consider that it is possible to change the EU’s low profile either by having clear strategies concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict or replacing one of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group with the EU.

This research is situated in the community of Vilcabamba in the province of Loja, Ecuador. Vilcabamba is a small village in the southern Andes of Ecuador, approximately 28 miles (45km) from Loja city. Many people were drawn to the area because of stories they heard about people there living to be over 100 years old. Books and articles have been written in attempts to establish the veracity of these claims and to explore why the people of Vilcabamba are living so long. This dissertation is a qualitative case study that explores how the recent surge of tourism and immigration in Vilcabamba is impacting the people and sustainable way of life of the village and its surrounding communities. Through gender analysis the study also explores if tourism and immigration are affecting men and women differently and the way that women respond to this impact. The literature review provides different lenses to understand what types of conflicts and opportunities are present in the area and how these conflicts affect the livelihood strategies of the locals. The methodological approach of this research is case study analysis, which explored what is happening to the people of the Vilcabamba community and their land. To explore this phenomenon, I used certain methods developed by ethnographers, such as field observation. The study is based on the experiences of four women living in poverty from the local community of Vilcabamba. I wanted to understand the vulnerabilities that exist for them. I explored the livelihood strategies of women in their everyday lives. The use of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework assisted me in understanding the concepts of assets and vulnerabilities. This research is expected to contribute to the field of conflict analysis and resolution by elucidating the relationship between gender and tourism in Vilcabamba. It will bring awareness to the issues women experience that keep them rooted in poverty. An exploration of how other communities have met and overcome the challenges of tourism and colonization is presented and the final outcome suggests possible resolutions for social change.

Student Number : 0400454M - MA research report - School of Social Sciences - Faculty of Humanities / The debate about the legality and legitimacy of third party intervention in the “domestic” affairs of sovereign states has been ongoing. This research focuses on the intervention by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the Sierra Leone conflict. The research inquires into the legality and legitimacy of the intervention, against the backdrop of existing international law prohibition on the use of force, and the principle of non-intervention in the domestic affairs of sovereign states. An analysis of the emerging trend of humanitarian intervention and the current emphasis on human security is made in order to determine whether the intervention in Sierra Leone fits into this paradigm. While acknowledging the importance of states in international relations, this study inquires into the shift of security from “state centric” to “people centric”. This study makes a case for sustained efforts in the area of intervention on humanitarian grounds. It further argues that regional organizations should have a pre-emption right to intervene in conflicts that affect their regions of influence. However, the study also recognizes that this concept might be subject to abuse by powerful nations if not well managed. The study therefore recommends the importance of a well articulated framework that will serve as a standard for future interventions.