<p>This paper contributes to a greater understanding of the new phenomenon that has occurred in tourism, thus space tourism. The intention with the paper is to study the phenomenon of space tourism and its impacts on the local community of Kiruna based on the practice of sustainable development. Our essay illustrates how the persons involved see on this attraction. It also reflects what needs to be done and what can be improved in order that space tourism not only develops to be an exciting experience, but also above all a sustainable one. The paper is exploratory and the method applied in the study is a qualitative study with a hermeneutic approach. Eight interviews with persons who can provide us facts, information and knowledge in the field of space tourism have been carried out. In the theoretical section, elements of tourism impacts concerning environmental, economic, socialand cultural aspects along with space tourism as a phenomenon and its progression are presented. This contributes to a deeper insight into what space tourism is. In the empirical part of the paper, space tourism as an experience and how space tourism in Kiruna is in the present are described. In the same section, there is a description of our informants and their activities, followed by our collected interview material divided into space tourism's impacts on Kiruna regarding environmental, economic, social and cultural aspects. In the analysis, the progression of space tourism and how the space tourism can affect Kiruna based on the three aspects concerning sustainability are discussed. In conclusion, we find that in order to develop a desirable basis for sustainable space tourism, Kiruna needs clearer guidance andactive responsibility taking. The reached result is that the participants involved must strive to create balance in all aspects of sustainable development. Focus should not only be on the economic aspect. We believe that further action is needed in the space tourism branch and wehave thus set out recommendations on how to create a sustainable development of space tourism in Kiruna. Finally, proposals for continued research are presented.</p>

<p>När ett evenemang årligen lockar tusentals av besökare under ett par dagar får det en positiv påverkan för de företagare som står för den lokala handeln på orten.</p><p>Arvikafestivalen genomfördes sommaren 2007 för sextonde gången och festivalens 17 500 biljetter blev slutsålda. Besökarna har under festivalveckan genererat en ökad omsättning inom handeln både inne på festivalområdet samt i Arvika.</p><p>Genom en enkätundersökning har konsumtionsmönstret kartlagts hos besökare på Arvikafestivalen 2007.</p>

This thesis included five essays studying the performance of local governments in Norway. Four of the essays address variation in resource allocation and efficiency between the local governments, the fifth analyses variation in service level. The thesis has mainly an empirical orientation. One essay, presented in Chapter 4, provides a theoretical contribution to the study of efficiency variation in public sector service production. The empirical analyses concentrate on two spending components local government administration and long-term care. Chapter 2 and 3 study variation in the size of local government administration. Administration is a necessary input in both service provision and in the political decision-making process, and administrative spending competes with the welfare services for resources. The size of the administrative component determines the amount of resources available for the production of welfare services. Cost efficiency and service level within long-term care are the topics of Chapter 5 and 6 respectively. Long-tem care for elderly and disabled persons is, besides primary education, the major expenditure component of the municipalities. / Chapter 2 is reprinted with kind permission from Elsevier, sciencedirect.com

Karlsson, S. 2007: Att äga rum. En undersökning av skogsägande och lokal utveckling i tre värmländska församlingar. (Ruling Spaces. An Investigation of Forest Ownership and Local Development in Three Parishes in Värmland) This thesis explores the present ownership structure of forest estates in the province of Värmland, and in particular three parishes in Värmland and attempts to explain how the ownership structure has evolved to its present state. The purpose is to reveal the importance of this ownership structure for the development potential, expressed as the local population’s prospects of earning a living in forest regions. The empirical material is based on registers/databases from the tax authorities, Swedish Forest Agency and the County Administration Board. The thesis includes a survey among forest owners (landowners) in the region in focus for the thesis as well as living outside this region. Finally, interviews have been the basis for the work. The survey and the interviews were based on theories of property rights and institutional economy. The primary theoretical framework was based on local development theories. The ownership structure of forest estates in the province of Värmland is characterized by variation within the region. In the Western parts, small scale private ownership is dominant, where a majority of owners live near the estate/property, while in the Eastern parts, that historically has been a base for significant industrialized processing of natural resources, a very large share of the forest land is owned by a single corporation, Bergvik Skog AB. The Northern parts of Värmland are a mosaic of different owners where a large portion of the owners live in cities or regions far away. Another noteworthy actor is the Svenska Kyrkan (Church of Sweden) that locally has a dominant position in Värmland. The evolution of the ownership structure to its present state can be explained in terms of market economy that has nurtured rationalization acquisitions with the purpose of reducing the number of estates to instead arrive at a small number of larges estates. It is concluded that the number of forest owners that does not live near the estate/property has increased in the post-war era. This relationship relates to the urbanization caused by, among other factors, well developed rationalization within the agricultural and forestry sectors in the region. It is also pointed out that the legislation around acquisition of land has influenced the development. The survey together with the interviews conclude that the ownership structure does not have a significant impact on the local population’s development strategies. Nor does the locally high share of owners not living near the estate seem to be an important factor. The thesis is concluded by raising questions around the aspect of obligations when forests are owned by others than the local population. KEY WORDS: Forest owners, property rights, rural development, the province of Värmland, Sweden

Att vara kreativ är idag en realitet företagen möter och som de måste konfrontera för att kunna hantera globala förändringar. I strävan efter att ta del av kreativitet bör företag placera sig där de kan få tillgång till kreativa medarbetare. Vår studie syftar till att undersöka hur kreativa medarbetare påverkas av den geografiska omgivningen och därmed vilken betydelse den har för företaget. De yttre faktorer som kan ha en inverkan på kreativiteten i företag finns i företagens lokala närmiljö och i staden. Studien har, genom semistrukturerade intervjuer, gjorts på tre Stockholmsbaserade företag inom modebranschen.   Av resultatet framgår det att de kreativa medarbetarna blir motiverade till att vara kreativa genom personliga möten och den inspiration som kan hämtas från den kreativa staden. Arbetsrelaterade aktiviteter i den lokala närmiljön behöver nödvändigtvis inte vara geografiskt nära, utan kan även äga rum i andra länder på grund av att produktionen är förlagd utomlands. Studien visar även tecken på att den kreativa medarbetaren deltar i aktiviteter som gränsar mellan att vara arbetsrelaterade och fritidsrelaterade och att den lokala närmiljön i de undersökta företagen inom modebranschen därför delvis är spridd till den kreativa staden.

I och med globaliseringens utsuddning av gränserna mellan länder och möjligheterna som det har skapat för bland annat outsourcing, har de svenska företagen idag helt andra förutsättningar än för 100 år sedan. Det finns idag ett flertal välkända svenska företag som har starka varumärken som anspelar till lokala orter runt om i landet. Vissa av dessa företag har valt att behålla sin produkttillverkning i Sverige, medan andra valt att outsourca den till lågprisländer. Studiens syfte är att genom kvalitativa intervjuer hos företag med lokala varumärken och dess kunder, analysera vilken betydelse den lokala tillverkningen har för företagets varumärkesimage för att på så sätt få reda på om lokal tillverkning är en hållbar strategi för långsiktig överlevnad. Resultatet av studien visar indikationer på att en lokal tillverkning saknar betydelse för hur företagens varumärkesimage uppfattas. De återkommande faktorerna som däremot har stor betydelse har visat sig vara kvalitet och priset på produkterna. Således innebär detta att en outsourcad tillverkning kan vara ett lönsamt alternativ till den dyrare lokala tillverkningen.

This paper contributes to a greater understanding of the new phenomenon that has occurred in tourism, thus space tourism. The intention with the paper is to study the phenomenon of space tourism and its impacts on the local community of Kiruna based on the practice of sustainable development. Our essay illustrates how the persons involved see on this attraction. It also reflects what needs to be done and what can be improved in order that space tourism not only develops to be an exciting experience, but also above all a sustainable one. The paper is exploratory and the method applied in the study is a qualitative study with a hermeneutic approach. Eight interviews with persons who can provide us facts, information and knowledge in the field of space tourism have been carried out. In the theoretical section, elements of tourism impacts concerning environmental, economic, socialand cultural aspects along with space tourism as a phenomenon and its progression are presented. This contributes to a deeper insight into what space tourism is. In the empirical part of the paper, space tourism as an experience and how space tourism in Kiruna is in the present are described. In the same section, there is a description of our informants and their activities, followed by our collected interview material divided into space tourism's impacts on Kiruna regarding environmental, economic, social and cultural aspects. In the analysis, the progression of space tourism and how the space tourism can affect Kiruna based on the three aspects concerning sustainability are discussed. In conclusion, we find that in order to develop a desirable basis for sustainable space tourism, Kiruna needs clearer guidance andactive responsibility taking. The reached result is that the participants involved must strive to create balance in all aspects of sustainable development. Focus should not only be on the economic aspect. We believe that further action is needed in the space tourism branch and wehave thus set out recommendations on how to create a sustainable development of space tourism in Kiruna. Finally, proposals for continued research are presented.

In the last years people has become more aware of issues regarding corporate social responsibility. This has led to a more thorough control of big multinational companies, which are often held account of violating social, ethical and environmental values. The term most often used for this is corporate social responsibility (CSR). H&amp;M is a Swedish multinational company and the concept of H&amp;M is fashion to a low price. The material most often used in producing clothes is cotton. Cotton is the most sprayed crop and a great amount of water, pesticides and inorganic fertilizers are used in order to get better and bigger harvests leading to a negative impact on both environment and people working in the production chain. Organic cotton is a great alternative and a growing number of consumers are asking for clothes made out of organic cotton. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate whether H&amp;M is taking responsibility for the social, ethical and environmental parts of CSR and how H&amp;M uses organic cotton in their clothes. The thesis also accounts for the role of the consumer and other stakeholders regarding demand of organic cotton.  Methods used are literature studies and interviews conducted by phone and e-mail. The results show that the overall impression is that H&amp;M as a company is taking several actions in order to take responsibility. By using organic cotton in collections on all departments and by supporting a number of non governmental organizations (NGO) H&amp;M has had a positive development and is now seen as one of the most successful companies regarding CSR. H&amp;M has integrated a stakeholder perspective in their activities which shows that the company is putting focus not only at the consumers but also at other important stakeholders. H&amp;M should however focus more on local sustainability, in order to help sustain a positive development in developing countries multinational companies such as H&amp;M need to take a bigger responsibility and attend so that a bigger profit remains in the sub contractor countries.

1996 startade en försöksverksamhet med lokala styrelser i grundskolan. Det är en försöksperiod under fem års tid. I en lokal styrelse ingår föräldrar, enhetschef, elever och lärare. Det är upp till den enskilda skolan om de ska införa lokal styrelse eller inte. Det vanligast förekommande namnet på en lokal styrelse är förvaltningsråd. I min undersökning har jag intervjuat fem olika skolledare och fått fram deras uppfattningar om föräldrademokrati och medverkan i lokala styrelser. Resultaten visar att skolledare tycker det är bra att föräldrar får insyn i skolan så att de förstår vilket arbete lärare och övrig personal lägger ner utöver lektionstid. Skolledare var överens om att det oftast är de välutbildade och skolintresserade föräldrarna som engagerar sig i förvaltningsråd. En av skolledarna tror att det finns en viss risk med den typ av föräldrar som engagerar sig och det kan resultera i en elitskola.Jag ska i min undersökning försöka få en bild av vilken betydelse föräldrainflytande i s k lokala styrelser har för den framtida skolan. Som titeln lyder så ställer jag frågan i min uppsats;"Lokal styrelse - ett demokratiskt forum?"

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att studera i vilken utsträckning teknikundervisning sker under tidiga år, med särskild betoning på hur den organiseras och lärarens inställning till ämnet. Arbetet vill även belysa hur målen i den lokala arbetsplanen uppfylls. Metoden som användes för att få svar på ovanstående frågor var att intervjua lärare som undervisar på de tidiga åren, samt att jämföra de lokala arbetsplaner skolor tillhandahöll med Lpo 94. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att i de lokala arbetsplanerna var ämnet teknik dåligt representerat och att lärarens inställning till ämnet blir avgörande för hur mycket undervisning eleverna får under de tidiga åren. I diskussionsavsnittet funderar vi på om läraren tillhandahålls de rätta verktygen, som till exempel de lokala arbetsplanerna, grundutbildning och vidareutbildning, för att göra ämnet teknik lättare att undervisa i.