Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the innovation process of companies, and to analyse how important success factors and obstacles are in their innovation process. Method: The investigation strategy used for this essay was to interview companies that work with innovations. The essay has a qualitative approach. Both primary – in the form of interviews - and secondary data – literature found in books, scientific articles and internet - have been used to achieve our results. Results: The result of this essay is: there is not just one inovation process that is applicable to all companies. On the other hand, there are some guidelines that could be followed in the process. Some success factors are more important than others and companies do not take given obstacles into consideration.

This thesis is a part of a project, “Interactive Learning in Distance Education”, funded by The Swedish Research Council. The overall purpose was, from adult distance learners’ perspective, to describe, analyse and understand factors influencing studies and interactive learning in asynchronous computer-mediated learning environments. Da¬ta were collected in 2003; from 62 students (56 women and six men) attending an undergraduate and a supplementary distance cour¬se within the teacher training program. The study was based on questionnaires, diaries, portfolios, interviews and transcriptions of students’ postings to the computer conferences FirstClass and Web¬Board, respectively. The courses included campus meetings and individual studies accompanied by study guides containing reading instructions, timetables and individual as well as group-related assign¬ments. Asynchronous text-based, computer-mediated commu¬nication (CMC) was used for dialogue among the participants. The results indicate that difficulties to combine studies with commitments in the students’ everyday lives and lack of familiarity with higher education and computer mediated distance education constituted learning obstacles. Almost everyone emphasised the importance of communicaion with peer students for feeling satisfied in the study and learning situation. They appreciated the asynchronous text-based CMC because it increased the flexibility of the studies. The students´ online behaviour and statements also indicate feelings of social presence and solidarity with peer learners, despite using a medium with relatively low capacity to convey social cues. Female and male students described similar difficulties of combining family, work and study. Women sho¬wed lower self-esteem in terms of computer skills and coping with their studies. They highlighted the social importance of the studygroup to a higher extent than the men did. The ideal course design in terms of structure, dialogue and autonomy altered depending on students´ perceptions of benefits. They wanted flexibility and autonomy to be able to combine the studies with commitments in their everyday life, at the same time they appreciated elements of structure and governance in situations when these involved saving of time. The communication in the computer conferences was extensive but the analysis of the learners’ contributions provides little evidence of effective collaborative learning activities. Several reasons to this were discussed, e.g. students´ lack of time and knowledge to form functioning learning communities, as well as insufficient course design to promote and support collaborative distance learning. It was concluded that there is a gap between teachers' ambitions to create an interactive learning environment on the one hand, and students´ skills, attitudes to collaboration and need to share their time between studies and other commitments on the other. Also, teachers´ ambitions to develop distance education aiming at collaboration and interactive learning are often hampered by their limited skills and time frames to design and implement such courses. / Interactive Learning in Distance Education

Detta är en fallstudie som handlar om arbetet med en sångelev som påstod sig inte kunna sjunga. Eleven hade byggt upp stora mentala hinder kring sin sångförmåga, och studien tar upp dessa hinder samt de processer som utlöstes vid försöken att komma runt dem.Syftet med studien är att undersöka tankegångarna kring undervisningen av eleven samt de övningar som användes. Studien belyser också de processer eleven och läraren gick igenom samt diskuterar deras betydelse och innebörd.Studien bygger på lärarens anteckningar från 30 lektionstillfällen, utspridda på ca två år, samt lärarens och elevens reflektioner efteråt.Resultatet visar några av de processer som bildades under arbetets gång, samt att eleven kunde klara av mer än hon trott var möjligt genom att utveckla rätt inställning och ha tillgång till bra verktyg. / This is a case study about a voice student who was certain she could not learn to sing. The student experienced severe mental impediments concerning her ability to sing. The study deals with these impediments and the processes involved while trying to overcome them.The purpose of this study is to closely examine the process of reasoning concerning the teaching and the applied exercises. The study also illuminates the processes the student and the teacher went through together, and discusses their meaning and consequence.The study is based on notes made by the teacher during 30 lessons covering a period of about two years, and subsequent reflections made by the teacher and student.The result shows some of the processes which emerged during the work, and that the student could manage more than she thought was possible by developing the right attitude and by gaining access to suitable tools.

Problem: In today’s competitive business world, companies are faced with challenges due to increasing competition, changes in customer demands, new technologies, and globalization. Due to these changes, competition does not take place between single companies anymore but rather whole SCs. To cope with such challenges, more and more companies focus on SCI. Business managers and academics emphasize the potential of integration. However, existing literature shows a gap concerning the integration of LSPs. In this thesis, LSPs are divided into three different types; carriers, intermediaries, and 3PL providers. Due to differences in their business focus and the deriving logics, their way of integrating with customers will likely differ. Hence, based on these differences and the gap in literature concerning the integration of LSPs, this thesis focuses on an investigation of two carriers, two intermediaries, and two 3PL providers. Purpose: The purpose of this Master thesis is to explore how and why LSPs integrate with their main customers. Therefore, motivators and obstacles, advantages and disadvantages, as well as the extent of integration and possible integration approaches are investigated. Method: This qualitative study makes use of a case study strategy which includes six companies. Data is gathered from semi-structured interviews and documentary secondary data. The findings are analyzed using a two-stage process. First, a comparison of the findings for each of the three types of LSP is conducted. Second, a cross-analysis among carriers, intermediaries, and 3PL providers is performed in order to identify similarities and differences. Conclusions: The findings of this thesis reveal integration of technologies and systems, flows, and relationship evaluation as approaches for LSPs. Further, LSPs integrate externally, upstream and downstream in terms of intermediaries and 3PL providers and downstream in regards to carriers, and on different levels ranging from relatively shallow in case of carriers to deep in terms of 3PL providers. Moreover, LSPs are motivated by factors such as competition, differentiation, and business safety, whereas aspects such as resource investments and customer power differences present potential obstacles. Furthermore, LSPs benefit from integration, e.g. due to improved problem-solving ability, expansion of business, and better responsiveness to market changes. In contrast, aspects such as increased customer expectations, the risk of sunk costs, and dependence present potential disadvantages for LSPs.

Gistrand, C. has studied “Explore young people's problematic backgrounds and their views on the opportunities and obstacles in order to improve their health”, University of Gävle in the course theory and method of application and thesis work. The object of the study was to give young people space to make their voices heard. Further on to make unemployed youths perceptions of perceived opportunities and obstacles in their way to get a job, internship or study, visible. The object of the study was also to show youths’ views of health and what they thought about the contributions to society. The method was qualitative, with three semi-structured interviews with men between 20-24 years old (and problematic childhoods, for instance alcohol and drug use) was conducted.. The result shows that unemployment increases the risk of illness and unhealthy habits. Addicts, criminal behaviors, economy and social exclusion also impacts health and they interact with each other, so it’s very complex for the society to know which effort they should prioritize. The selection group thought that the society should develop a number of alternative activites for young people to engage in on their spare time. The conclusion is that unemployed youth tend to suffer from social exclusion, poor economy and that leads to bad health and can develop an addict or a criminal behavior. It’s important for the public health that the society support every individual.

The purpose of this descriptive study is to examine and describe the process of establishing regular physical exercising habits in the form of jogging, and in the context of this process, to describe the hindrance factors that stand in the way of establishing such habits; also to describe the effects and experiences, in a wide sense, of recurrent physical activities and how these effects change over time. A second purpose is to look more closely at the factors that influence the situation for women who want to take up regular physical training habits. 44 men and women (22 of each sex) in the age-span of 30-50 years, who were then physically non-active, became the subjects of the study. The observations were made during a period of 24 months, and the subjects were to jog not less then 3 times per every 2 weeks during the 24-month period. The results show, that during the first few months,various kinds of hindrance anei difficulties dominate the picture; this is particularly true of the women joggers. After the 24 months, most obstacles were overcome, with the exception of one, typical of the women joggers, namely fear of being assaulted while jogging. Initially, the experiences while jogging were both positive and negative, but over time there was a change towards predominantly positive experiences. As regards aerobic work capacity, there was a general improvement during the first three months; after that the upwards movement levelled out. The mental effects vere initially of a short-range nature, whereas the long-range effects appeared later and increased steadily during the whole 24-month period. The motives for beginning to take regular phyical exercises and the motives for continuing to do so are qualitatively different. The former are often based on external/instrumental motivation, whereas the latter are of an internal nature. Furthermore, it may be noted that men and women live in different worlds even with respect to jogging. Obstacles and problems are different as well as experiences and effects. / Syftet med föreliggande deskriptiva studie har varit att studera och beskriva utvecklingsförloppet med avseende på processen etablerandet av regelbundna motionsvanor, i form av jogging, och, som en del därav, beskriva hinder och svårigheter i samband med motionsutövande samt upplevelser och effekter i vid bemärkelse av regelbunden fysisk aktivitet samt deras förändring över tid. Ett delsyfte har varit att särskilt studera kvinnors villkor och möjligheter för motionsutövande. Fyrtiofyra tidigare fysiskt inaktiva personer i åldern 30-50 år, lika många män och kvinnor, deltog i försöket som pågick under 24 månader och som innebar att deltagarna skulle utöva jogging minst 3ggr/14 dagar under tidsperioden. Resultaten visar att under de första månaderna dominerar hindren och svårigheterna inför motionsutövandet; i synnerhet gäller detta kvinnorna. Efter två års tid har de flesta barriärer övervunnits, frånsett ett hinder som är enbart kvinnligt, nämligen rädsla för antastanden under joggingen. Upplevelserna under joggingutö-vandet är i initialskedet lika ofta negativa som positiva och förändras över tid åt det positiva hållet. Effekterna är inledningsvis främst av fysisk/fysiologisk karaktär. Vad gäller ökning av syreupptagningsförmåga sker i stort sett hela förbättringen under de tre första månaderna; därefter planar kurvan ut. De psykiska effekterna är i början kortsiktiga, medan de långsiktiga psykiska effekterna inträder senare och ökar successivt i omfattning under hela försöksperioden. Motiven för att börja och motiven för att fortsätta motionera är kvalitativt olika, på så sätt att motiven för att börja ofta har sin grund i yttre motivation medan motiven för att fortsätta är inifrån kommande. Vidare kan konstateras att kvinnors och män världar ser olika ut också i motionshänseende. Detta gäller såväl hinder och problem som upplevelser och effekter av motionsutövande. / digitalisering@umu

Since the mid-eighties, progress in European economic integration has contributed to changing conditions for the conduct of business in many sectors of the economies. Such is the case in Sweden, whose commitment to the formal integration process also has changed in recent years, from a free trade arrangement (EFTA) via the European Economic Area (The EFTA states' affiliation to the European Union's Internal Market), to membership in the European Union. A theoretical point of departure for this thesis was the finding that although economic integration entails strategic consequences for firms, studies treating economic integration with a general business strategy perspective were rare. Hence, the main purpose has been to achieve knowledge about the European Internal Market's strategic consequences for Swedish firms, with the focus on manufacturing SMEs. Empirically, it is examined how integration has been experienced in firms through two questionnaires, sent in earlier and later stages of the formal integration process. Although the responses indicate a limited impact from the Internal Market, they present some arguments for an increased internationalisation. There are, however, reasons to believe that factors other than political initiatives were behind such a development. In the theoretical part of this thesis, obstacles to international competition, and the corresponding competitive advantages, are seen as being central for understanding integration effects as well as for the possibilities to respond to them. An essential distinction is made between different types of obstacles, based on origin or main causes. One or other of these categories may be crucial for a firm when defending a strategic market position, or may hinder the firm from competing in other markets. Furthermore, obstacles in the different categories are in principle influenced by integration measures to a varying degree, and the survey indicated that the type of obstacle that is primarily influenced by integration measures is the one with the least perceived influence on firms' competitive strength. In the last part of the thesis, and with several different points of departure - trade and integration theory, international business, strategic management, and the Internal Market's institutional framework - a model for analysis of integration effects in business strategy terminology is developed and presented. The model is constituted by a geographic dimension and a dimension concerning the product and distribution in a broad sense. For firms with strategic positions which are affected according to the analysis, two principal strategic responses are discussed: to re-establish former competitive advantages or to adapt to the new situation by re-orienting the business. / digitalisering@umu

Small business creation is a vital factor to any economy, but there is little research done on the challenges faced during intermediate stages in the life of a business that may prevent the success of an organization. The goal of this investigation is to determine what controllable factors inhibit growth within an organization, and how to minimize these barriers in order to reach success. The research focus is on small businesses in operation for more than four years, since this is the period in which support from governmental and private institutions becomes scarce and the organization is forced tomake decisions; not only to survive, but to promote evolution for the firm. This thesis has been written on commission for SME consultation firm BCM-QMS.

Syftet med denna undersökning var att undersöka och beskriva hur arbetet med miljö och natur kan genomföras i förskolan. Undersökningen bygger på kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med nio stycken pedagoger från fem olika förskolor, i en kommun i Västsverige. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att det finns många olika sätt att arbeta med miljö och natur i förskolan, såväl praktiska som teoretiska. Att arbeta med återvinning, kompostering och samtala om bevarandet av resurser, var några av de aktiviteter som undersökningens pedagoger brukade göra. Det framkom också i undersökningen att det i arbetet med miljö- och natur finns vissa hinder som t.ex. personalbrist och pedagogers intressen. / The purpose of this survey was to investigate and describe how the work with environment and nature work can be implemented in preschool. The survey is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews, with nine educators from five different preschools, in one municipality in west Sweden. The result of the survey shows that there are many different ways to work with environment and nature in preschool, both practical and theoretical. Working with recycling, composting and discuss the conservation of resources were some of the activities that the surveys educators used to do. It was also revealed in the study that there are some obstacles in the environmental and nature work, such as staff shortages and educators interests.

Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka hur rektorer och socialsekreterare ansåg att samverkan dem emellan fungerade samt om det fanns utrymme för utvecklingsmöjligheter. För att undersöka detta användes en kvalitativ metod och vi intervjuade fyra rektorer och fyra socialsekreterare. I tolkningen av empirin låg hermeneutiken som grund och i analysen kopplade vi empirin till Berth Danermarks modell och tidigare forskning. Vår undersökning visade på att respondenterna ansåg att samverkan fungerar väl till en början när en anmälan utreds men att samverkan sedan försvåras genom att tystnadsplikten kräver ett samtycke från vårdnadshavarna. Om samtycke inte ges försvåras samverkan mellan parterna och socialsekreterarna kan inte ge feedback till rektorerna i ärendet. Resultatet visade att alla respondenterna har en vilja att utveckla samverkan mellan skolan och socialtjänsten och att samverkan mellan dessa kan och bör utvecklas ytterligare då de själva anser att det finns vissa brister. Sekretessen, bristen på återkoppling samt tiden är de största hindrena enligt respondenterna.