Recent large earthquakes put in evidence the need of improving and developing robust and rapid procedures to properly calculate the magnitude of an earthquake in a short time after its occurrence. The most famous example is the 26 December 2004 Sumatra earthquake, when the limitations of the standard procedures adopted at that time by many agencies failed to provide accurate magnitude estimates of this exceptional event in time to launch early enough warnings and appropriate response. Being related to the radiated seismic energy ES, the energy magnitude ME is a good estimator of the high frequency content radiated by the source which goes into the seismic waves. However, a procedure to rapidly determine ME (that is to say, within 15 minutes after the earthquake occurrence) was required. Here it is presented a procedure able to provide in a rapid way the energy magnitude ME for shallow earthquakes by analyzing teleseismic P‑waves in the distance range 20-98. To account for the energy loss experienced by the seismic waves from the source to the receivers, spectral amplitude decay functions obtained from numerical simulations of Greens functions based on the average global model AK135Q are used. The proposed method has been tested using a large global dataset (~1000 earthquakes) and the obtained rapid ME estimations have been compared to other magnitude scales from different agencies. Special emphasis is given to the comparison with the moment magnitude MW, since the latter is very popular and extensively used in common seismological practice. However, it is shown that MW alone provide only limited information about the seismic source properties, and that disaster management organizations would benefit from a combined use of MW and ME in the prompt evaluation of an earthquake’s tsunami and shaking potential. In addition, since the proposed approach for ME is intended to work without knowledge of the fault plane geometry (often available only hours after an earthquake occurrence), the suitability of this method is discussed by grouping the analyzed earthquakes according to their type of mechanism (strike-slip, normal faulting, thrust faulting, etc.). No clear trend is found from the rapid ME estimates with the different fault plane solution groups. This is not the case for the ME routinely determined by the U.S. Geological Survey, which uses specific radiation pattern corrections. Further studies are needed to verify the effect of such corrections on ME estimates. Finally, exploiting the redundancy of the information provided by the analyzed dataset, the components of variance on the single station ME estimates are investigated. The largest component of variance is due to the intra-station (record-to-record) error, although the inter-station (station-to-station) error is not negligible and is of several magnitude units for some stations. Moreover, it is shown that the intra-station component of error is not random but depends on the travel path from a source area to a given station. Consequently, empirical corrections may be used to account for the heterogeneities of the real Earth not considered in the theoretical calculations of the spectral amplitude decay functions used to correct the recorded data for the propagation effects. / Starke Erdbeben in letzter Zeit zeigten deutlich den steigenden Bedarf nach einer Verbesserung und Entwicklung von stabilen und schnellen Methoden, um die Magnitude eines Erdbebens korrekt innerhalb kürzester Zeit nach dessen Auftreten zu ermitteln. Das bisher bekannteste Fallbeispiel in diesem Zusammenhang stellt das Sumatra-Erdbeben vom 26 Dezember 2004 dar. Dieses außergewöhnliche Ereignis zeigte deutlich die Grenzen der bisher gängigen und von den meisten Behörden zu dieser Zeit verwendeten Methoden zur Ermittlung der Erdbebenmagnitude. So konnte für dieses Beben mit den gängigen Ansätzen zeitnah die Magnitude nicht korrekt bestimmt werden / um eine angemessene Frühwarnung und entsprechende Gegenmaßnahmen einzuleiten. Die Energiemagnitude ME steht in direkter Verbindung mit der abgestrahlten seismischen Energie ES und stellt somit eine guten Abschätzung für den Hochfrequenzanteil dar, der von der Quelle ausgestrahlt wird und in die seismischen Wellen einfließt. Eine Methode, welche eine schnelle Ermittlung von ME ermöglicht (d.h. innerhalb von maximal 15 Minuten nach dem Erdbeben) wäre in diesem Falle benötigt worden. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wird eine Methode vorgestellt, die eine solche schnelle Ermittlung der Energiemagnitude ME für oberflächennahe Erdbeben ermöglicht, indem teleseismische P-Wellen im Bereich von 20°-98° analysiert werden. Um den Energieverlust der seismischen Wellen von deren Quelle bis zu den Empfängern angemessen zu berücksichtigen, werden spektrale Amplituden-Abnahmefunktionen verwendet, welche aus numerischen Simulationen von Greenschen Funktionen basierend auf dem durchschnittlichen globalen Modell AK135Q abgeleitet werden. Die vorgestellte Methode wurde mit einem umfangreichen globalen Datensatz (ca. 1000 Erdbeben) getestet, und die zeitnah ermittelten ME-Abschätzungen wurden mit anderen Magnitudenskalen verschiedener Behörden verglichen. Ein Vergleich mit der Momentenmagnitude MW war hierbei von besonderem Interesse, da diese Skala heutzutage weitverbreitet ist und häufig zum Einsatz kommt. Es zeigt sich jedoch, dass MW alleine nur begrenzte Informationen über die seismischen Herdeigenschaften liefern kann, und dass Organisationen des Katastrophenmagements von einer kombinierten Nutzung von MW und ME gerade hinsichtlich der unmittelbaren Evaluierung des tsunamigenen Potentials und der Erschütterungswirkung eines Erdbebens profitieren könnten. Die verwendete Methode zur Ermittlung von ME kommt ohne Wissen über die geometrischen Eigenschaften der Verwerfungszone aus (diese sind meist erst Stunden nach einem Erbeben verfügbar). Entsprechend wird die Eignung dieser Methode durch Eingruppierungen der analysierten Erdbeben nach ihrem Wirkungsmechanismus (Scherbruch, Abschiebung, Aufschiebung, etc.) diskutiert. Für die schnelle Abschätzung von ME ist kein klarer Trend unter Verwendung der verschiedenen Herdflächenlösungen erkennbar. Für ME-Werte, welche standardmäßig vom U.S. Geological Survey mit speziellen Korrekturwerten für die Abstrahlungscharakteristika ermittelt werden, trifft dies jedoch nicht zu. Weitere Untersuchungen sind nötig, um die Auswirkungen solcher Korrekturen auf die ME-Abschätzungen zu verifizieren. Indem die Redundanz der Informationen des analysierten Datensatzes ausgenutzt wurde, konnte die Varianz bei den Einzelstations-ME-Abschätzungen untersucht werden. Die größte Abweichung zeigt sich aufgrund von Intra-Stations-Fehlern (record-to-record), wenngleich auch der Inter-Stations-Fehler (station-to-station) nicht vernachlässigbar ist; so nimmt er für einige Stationen mehrere Magnitudeneinheiten an. Des Weiteren konnte gezeigt werden, dass der Intra-Stations-Anteil des Gesamtfehlers nicht zufällig ist, sondern abhängig vom Wellenweg von einem Quellgebiet zu einer bestimmten Station. Folglich können empirische Korrekturen dazu benutzt werden, den Heterogenitäten der realen Erde gerecht zu werden, welche heutzutage nicht in den theoretischen Kalkulationen der spektralen Amplituden-Abnahmefunktionen zur Korrektur der aufgezeichneten Daten verwendet werden.

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This thesis treats the phenomenon of Singing Experience. Its purpose is to reveal the content that constitutes the phenomenon of singing from the sing- ers’ point of view. Singing should be understood as a unique vocal expres- sion carried by tones in a form that is sonorous, alive and fluid. The singing is in the context of singing with others. In order to perform a study that aims to reveal content within a phenomenon, the study uses a phenomenological approach from a first-person perspective, which is also my own perspective as the singer as well as the researcher. The interest in the field has arisen from the experience of singing with people who do not seem to notice that they sing out of tune. This has led to the thoughts that the phenomenon of singing includes different contents for different people in different situations. The phenomenological methods provide cogitations to stretch the particular situated momentary experience into the sphere of the possible experience. In the thesis the result of this eidetic study is described with its general essence a “musical vocal confirmation of my existence in the world” as well as a description of the constitution of the phenomenon of singing. The descrip- tion of the phenomenon is a description of the essences of the lived-body, as well as the immanence of emotion and cogito. The description also includes the surrounding world, which harbours the dimension of the real as well as inter-subjective transcendence concerning time and space, humanity, music and the divine. All of the essences have shown to be essential essences of the experience of singing. This, however, is dependent on how the phenomenon of existence is regarded: to exist in a wide or a narrow sense, including or excluding the transcendent aspects of the phenomenon of singing.

Background: Inter-organisational ways of working have become more and more common during the last decades. In order to attain efficiency and productivity, such inter-organisational relationships need to be governed and controlled. However, studies have shown that inadequate control is one of the main reasons for why inter-organisational relationships fail. One of the means that can be used for governing and controlling a business is management control. The use of management control in inter-organisational contexts is a quite unexplored area of research at the present time, which might seem somewhat surprising considering the fact that inadequate control is a common explanation for why inter-organisational relationships fail. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to describe management control in horizontal inter-organisational relationships, as well as to analyse the design of inter-organisational management control systems, using relation specific characteristics as a starting point. Delimitation: The possible influence that trust might have on inter- organisational management control will not be discussed in this thesis. Realisation: A case study of a network consisting of three companies that jointly develop a fuel cell air supply system for vehicle applications. The empirical data was gathered through visits at each of the three companies, including an interview with each company’s general manager. Conclusions: The character of inter-organisational relationships can change over time, which might make it necessary to change inter-organisational management control systems. Some aspects that should be kept in mind when designing an inter-organisational management control system are: the match between the relationship and the control system, the openness within the relationship, the balance between control and commitment, as well as the trade- off between the costs and the benefits of a certain system. The possible effect that external factors might have on inter-organisational management control is yet another aspect that should be considered.

Intercultural negotiations are playing an increasing role in the globalisation nowadays. Business negotiators are now facing negotiations in which they have to meet people from all over the world because of the development of different market places. Sweden is particular case of this internationalization. Swedish negotiators have to use their skills with new collaborators. Their particularities are of relevance for any international negotiator who will have to negotiate with them.

Bakgrund: Traditionellt sett har man i projektlitteraturen betraktat projektet som fenomen som en unik engångsföreteelse som aldrig kommer att upprepas. Enligt ett sådant resonemang skulle möjligheterna till lärande mellan projekt vara kraftigt begränsade, om ens existerande. Denna syn på projekt har dock kommit att förändras, varvid ett lärande mellan projekt inte bara skulle vara möjligt utan även kunna ses som en förutsättning för överlevnad på en alltmer konkurrensutsatt marknad eftersom projekten bland annat lägger grund för konkurrensfördelar. Syfte: Syftet med denna undersökning är att beskriva vad man kan lära sig mellan projekt, samt att komma med förslag på hur man kan arbeta för att främja lärande mellan dem. Genomförande: Undersökningen genomfördes i form av en fallstudie och den empiriska informationen samlades in genom tre intervjuer på lika många företag som arbetar med utvecklingsprojekt inom elektronik- och telekombranschen. Resultat: Vi har identifierat fem områden inom projektverksamhet som vi bedömer som centrala samt tack vare deras generella karaktär möjliga att lära sig inom och sedan applicera lärdomarna på andra projekt.. Eftersom utvecklingsprojekt på grund av deras höga unicitet bör vara de projekt som är svårast att lära sig mellan, bör våra slutsatser och den modell för utvärdering vi utvecklar även gälla för andra typer av projekt.

The aim is to study representation of order and otherness in the late 1930's Swedish press. That is, who are envisioned as "us" and who are the "Others"? The theoretical frame is based on Foucault’s concepts of pastoral power, the reason of state and biopolitics. The Good Shepherd is an excellent metaphor for the Nordic-style welfare state and the Foucauldian approach fits well with the social Darwinist and race biological metaphors of the time. Furthermore, news, myths and law articulate public morality and belong to disciplining, naturalizing and normalizing discourses. The symbolic boundaries between “We” and “Them” are outlined and modes of thinking, acceptable ways of behavior, and possible solutions for existing problems are provided. The material examined consists of four Stockholm-based newspapers Dagens Nyheter, Stockholms-Tidningen, Svenska Dagbladet and Social-Demokraten. The years studied are 1935 and 1938. The quantitative content analysis is based on a selection of four months from each year. The articles are coded according to a theme and the characteristics of the actors. Gripsrud’s version of Propp’s actant model is used to examine the narrative structure of the stories. Linguistic tools, such as ideational and interpersonal functions, are used to analyze the individual texts. The groups depicted as deviant include religious sects, ethnic minorities, foreigners, criminals and political activists on the extreme right and extreme left. A number of articles discuss various social problems in more general terms. Quantitatively more than eighty percent of the material consists of crime news. Approximately five percent of the articles are about ethnic minorities and foreigners. Religious sects and political extremists constitute about one percent each and roughly ten percent of the material is about social problems.

Temporary Work Agencies (TWAs) are an example of a trend towards flexibility in the labour market. By hiring staff from TWAs organisations can keep their staff numbers down. This however, refers to the client companies´ use or temps, and omits the intermediary, the TWA, which also needs various flexibility strategies in its activities. The main purpose of this thesis is to study the organising of TWAs supply of manpower to different clients companies, and how managers and temps experience their terms of employment, working conditions and relationships with regular employees at the client companies. Two qualitative case studies were conducted. In study one, interviews have been carried out with managers and temps in a TWA and a client company in Jämtland. In the second study, managers and temps in an international TWA in Sweden were interviewed. The results show that both managers and temps work under complex conditions and demands on flexibility. The managers shall, by flexible prioritising, satisfy demands from the TWA on profitability, demands from client companies´ for an adaptable workforce and temps need of employment and community. The results also indicate that temps have to balance between a position as stranger and outsider, and handle insecurity of the assignments duration and spatial location. They have to be able to manoeuvre between the power inequalities, stigmatisation and exclusion they encounter in working conditions and social interactions in client companies. To handle such situations the ideal temp and manager have to be able to vary between distance and nearness in spatiality and indifference and involvement in social relations.

Background International transfer pricing has been a highlighted issue during the last decades as country after country has revised and introduced new transfer pricing laws as a respond to the expanded globalization. Several countries are adopting similar approaches and the prime guiding principles are provided by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation (OECD). The international law as well as the laws of all 30 member countries is based on the OECD Guidelines. Purpose The purpose of this master’s thesis is to describe differences and similarities regarding the transfer pricing regulations in China and Sweden and to explain how a Swedish multinational enterprise (MNE) have to utilize and adjust their transfer pricing strategy when trading with group companies in China. The results then conclude into a step model for strategic transfer pricing. Result The differences between the regulations are mainly uncovered in the definition of associated parties and associated interest. The differences in the regulations are thus of minor importance and does not affect a Swedish MNE to any major extent. The challenging area is instead the conflict between the tax authority and the customs service. To enable this study, three Swedish MNEs are used as a case study. We discovered that all had very different transfer pricing strategies even though they are within the same industry and two of them even within same range of products. Out of this we made the conclusion that the strategy chosen is not just depending on what product or service you trade with but also the aim and purpose, the range of products and the structure of the company. International transfer pricing is a very complex issue that goes into nearly all business operations. The concept of transfer pricing can thus be broken down and simplified if the demands from the company is minor.

Recently, many identity-based two-party and three-party key agreement schemes were proposed based on pairing cryptosystems. Multi-party (including more than three parties) key agreement protocols, which are called conference key schemes, can be applied to distributed systems and wireless environments such as Ad hoc networks. However, it is not easy to extend two or three-party schemes to multi-party ones with the guarantee of efficiency and security. In addition to the above two properties, inter-domain environments should also be considered in identity-based key agreement systems. However, only few identity-based multi-party conference key agreement schemes in single domain were proposed in the literature and they did not satisfy all of the security attributes such as forward secrecy and withstanding impersonation. In this thesis, we will propose a novel efficient single-domain identity-based multi-party conference key scheme and extend it to an inter-domain version. Finally, we will prove that the proposed schemes satisfy the required security attributes via formal methods.