Idag står världen inför nya typer av utmaningar för att möta hållbarhetsmål och nya behov somuppkommer. Många städer genomgår därför stora förändringar i utvecklingen där både förväntadeoch oväntade konsekvenser kommer att uppstå. Sedan Northvolt beslutade att etablera sig iSkellefteå år 2017, står staden inför den stora möjligheten att bli en pionjär stad för grön utveckling.Den nya utvecklingen har inte bara satt industrin på prov, utan även staden som helhet. Kommunensutmaning är att sprida budskapet om vad den kommande utvecklingen har att erbjuda, i hopp om attsätta fart på inflyttningen då kompetensbehovet är Skellefteås främsta utmaning idag. För att mötavisionerna kring utvecklingen behöver alla aktörer samverka för att bli en stad för grön elektrifiering.Välfungerande socialt kapital mellan offentlig sektor, industri, akademi och medborgare är enförutsättning för att skapa en framgångsrik utveckling.Arbetet utforskar hur en stad som genomgår en omfattande och snabb industriell expansionpåverkas. Genom att studera migrationsmönster ur “push and pull”-teorin undersöker arbetet hur detär möjligt att generera en ökad in-migration i olika målgrupper, som studenter eller hemvändare.Samtidigt som Skellefteå är beroende av att ha ett positiv inflyttningsnetto behöver även denuvarande invånarna bibehållas. Därför har intervjuer och en enkät genomförts för att få en tydligbild av styrkor och svagheter i utvecklingen av Skellefteå. Resultaten av enkäten och intervjuernaanalyserades och diskuterades genom en exemplifiering av de två teorierna push and pull och teorinom socialt kapital.Stora industriella expansioner av denna storlek skakar städerna till sin kärna, eftersom stadensidentitet och attribut ifrågasätts under denna typ av förändring. Vid en utveckling av denna storleksätts det sociala kapitalet på prov och beroende på dess effektivitet kan utfallen skilja sig åt. Stadentvingas väga olika faktorer mot varandra; ekonomiska, sociala och miljömässiga, då alla inte är möjligaatt upprätthålla till samma grad. Eftersom det största målet är att skapa en ökad in-migration till denexpanderande staden måste de pull-faktorer som finns och främjas ifrågasättas; Vad erbjuderegentligen Skellefteå? Arbetet identifierade sex möjliga grupper av in-migration; kontraurbanister,livsstilsmigranter, människor som flyttar för relationer/hemvändare, människor som flyttar förjobbmöjligheter, studenter och människor som flyttar för hållbarhetsskäl. Genom att lyfta fram enuppsättning av pull-faktorer specifikt för Skellefteå har staden den unika möjligheten att påverkamigrationsmönstren till deras behov och skapa en hållbar och attraktiv stad för den nuvarande ochframtida invånaren. / Today the world stands in front of the challenge of adapting to new demands, where solutions thatincrease sustainability are required. Many cities are therefore undergoing big changes indevelopments where both expected and unexpected consequences will arise. Since 2017, whenNorthvolt decided to establish in Skellefteå, the city stands in front of the opportunity to become apioneer city of green evolution. The new development has not only put the demands of the industryat test, but also the city as whole. The challenge of the municipality is how to spread the message ofwhat the upcoming development has to offer to boost the in-migration, as the need for competence isthe main challenge of Skellefteå today. To be able to fulfil and meet the visions of the transformation,all actors need to work together in becoming the green city of electrification. To create a successfuldevelopment, the overlapping collaboration between the government, industry, academia andcommunity needs to be of high quality and thus the social capital will increase.The thesis explores the effects of a city that undergoes a fast expansion. By studying migrationpatterns through push and pull theory, the thesis investigates how to generate an increasedin-migration in different target groups, such as students and returners. While Skellefteå is dependenton having a positive netto in-migration, the current residents also need to be maintained, thusinterviews and a questionnaire has allowed the thesis to obtain a clear picture of strengths andweaknesses of the development in Skellefteå. The results of the questionnaire and the interviews areanalysed and discussed through an exemplification of the two theories of push and pull and thetheory of social capital.Large industrial expansions of this size shake cities to their core, as the identity and attributes of thecity are questioned as they change. When dealing with a development of this size, the social capital isput to the test and depending on its effectiveness, the outcomes can differ. The city is forced to weighdifferent factors against each other, the benefits of accommodating economic, social andenvironmental factors are measured and prioritised as all are not possible to sustain. As the main goalis to create an increased in-migration to the expanding city, the pull factors available and promotedneed to be questioned; What is Skellefteå in fact offering? The thesis identified six possible groups ofin-migration; counterurbanists, lifestyle migrants, people moving for social ties/the returners, peoplemoving for job opportunities, students and people moving for sustainability reasons. By highlightingone set of pull factors, Skellefteå has the unique opportunity to influence the migration patterns totheir needs and create a sustainable and attractive city for the current and future residents.

Zimbabwe is suffering from an acute shortage of teachers mainly as a result of teacher emigration to South Africa and abroad. The southern migration of Zimbabwean teachers has received little research attention which has mainly focused on the migration of medical personnel. The purpose of this study is to uncover the factors that drive the migration of teachers from Zimbabwe to South Africa and to explain how these factors function within a grounded theory approach to teacher migration. To achieve this, a review of literature and an empirical study of a small sample of migrant Zimbabwean teachers resident in South Africa were undertaken. A constructivist grounded theory design was used. A theoretical sampling method generated a sample group of thirteen participants who were all qualified Zimbabwean teachers who had migrated to South Africa and been in the country for between one and five years. Data generation and collection consisted of two phases: in the first phase the participants were asked to write a life history narrative or provide a verbal narrative of their life history focussing on their migration. In the second phase they participated in individual interviews to clarify or expand on issues raised in the first phase. Three stages of coding were used in the analysis of the data, namely initial, intermediate and advanced coding. This led to the generation of a grounded theory on teacher migration. The grounded theory indicated that Zimbabwean teachers see migration as the best way to attain an ideal status. An ideal status is conceived to be the ideal interplay between the work conditions, standard of living and social esteem which teachers believe befits members of their profession. Depending on various criteria, teachers fall into one of the following status categories: further diminished status, diminished status, ideal status or ideal status surpassed. Migration is a drastic and demanding way to improve one’s status and it is adopted by teachers only after other strategies to this end have been exhausted. Weighed against existing theories of migration, the grounded theory contributes to understanding teacher migration and retention through the innovative use of the core category status. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)

Problem-definition: How companies work with social media to strengthen their brand equity and what other purposes might lay behind this usage. Purpose: How Volkswagen Sweden use social media in order to strengthen their brand equity. Method: Qualitative case- study of Volkswagen Sweden where a number of respondents will be interviewed with the help of a semi structured interview guide. Theories: A number of theories in the field of brand equity and communication theory will be used in this paper, some of these theories are, Post-model, Social technographics ladder, brand equity and word of mouth. Empiric: A semi-structured interview guide will be shaped from theory and answered through interviews with people who have knowledge within the field. Conclusions: Extracted from the results the research members has identified a number of important factors that business should consider when they work with social media or planning to. They have also answered how business can strengthen their brand equity with social media. / Problemformulering: Hur arbetar företag med sociala medier för att stärka varumärkeskapitalet, samt vilka andra syften kan ligga bakom detta användande.  Syfte: Hur Volkswagen Sverige använder sig av sociala medier för att stärka sitt varumärkeskapital. Metod: Kvalitativ fallstudie av Volkswagen Sverige där ett flertal respondenter intervjuas med hjälp av en semistrukturerad intervjuguide. Teori: Ett flertal teorier inom kommunikation och varumärkesteori har använts, några av dessa är brand equity, post-modellen, social technographics ladder & word of mouth.  Empiri: Semistrukturerade intervjuguider har utifrån teori formats och besvarats genom intervju med personer som besitter kunskap inom ämnesområdet. Slutsats: Utifrån undersökningen som utförts har forskingsmedlemmarna identifierat ett flertal viktiga faktorer för att lyckosamt implementera och arbeta med sociala medier. Samt besvarat frågeställningen hur företag kan stärka varumärkeskapitel genom sociala medier.

The background to this study lies in the discrepancy between the perceptions of international student mobility in the context of the internationalisation of higher education by the EU and universities on one hand and international students themselves in terms of their motivations to study abroad on the other hand. This is a comparative study based on three main case studies, of six universities in New Zealand, Oxford University in the UK and the Charles University in the Czech Republic. It explores the students’ experiences abroad in terms of their intercultural competence, the shaping of identities, the acquisition and transfer of knowledge, the possible forming of cosmopolitan mind-sets and empathy, perceptions of employability and their future mobility aspirations. This thesis also considers the barriers and ‘push and pull’ factors of mobility, perceptions of risk and uncertainty in regards to mobility and the role of serendipity in student mobility, which has been overlooked in the literature on mobility and migration. The theoretical framework of the study builds on social capital theory, Europeanisation and the ‘do-it-yourself biography’ theory. The nature of this topic, however, suggested the employment of the concepts of globalisation, transnationalism and consideration of other forms of capital, such as the total human capital, mobility capital and transnational identity capital. This is predominantly a qualitative, mixed-method and longitudinal research project, which uses surveys, case studies, interviews and the data collecting tool called grounded theory. It triangulates data to support and enhance the analytical validity of the thesis. This research concludes that student experiences abroad as well as the internationalisation efforts of universities and the EU would benefit from the introduction of education for global citizenship, which should focus on the intercultural competencies of students. The thesis suggests sociocultural elements for example the cosmopolitan mind-set can enhance the economic, academic and political rationales of internationalisation, such as employability.

During the recession period of 2008/2009, global tourism declined by 8%. This was also evident is South Africa with the domestic travel market shrinking by 8% as well. However, this did not apply to the Kruger National Park (KNP) which experienced a sustained Accommodation Unit Occupancy growth of 1.6% during the same period. Visitors to the KNP thus see it as an attractive holiday destination irrespective of tough economic conditions characterised by less disposable income. To sustain this growth, it is important to be aware of the reasons visitors still visit the KNP during a recession. The aim of this study was to determine the reasons why visitors still travelled to the KNP during the 2008/2009 recession. This can be done by analysing the visitors’ behaviour and the motivational factors (internal feelings of the visitors) and determinants of the demand (income and exchange rates for instance) that influenced visitors’ choice to visit the KNP. To achieve this aim, a survey was conducted at the KNP between 15 and 20 December 2009 (high season). A total of 355 questionnaires were completed, after which a number of analyses were done to determine the effects of the recession on travel behaviour. For the purpose of this study, two articles were written. Article 1 is titled: “Motivations of visitors to the Kruger National Park during the 2008/2009 recession period”. The aim of this article was to determine the motivations of visitors to the KNP during the recession. A factor analysis on the motivations to visit the park was conducted, of which the following factors obtained the highest mean values: Escape, Wildlife experience and Family benefits. Push factors to the KNP were important to such an extent that visitors regarded visiting the park as a primary need or lifestyle. The results furthermore showed that visitors might have adapted their spending behaviour at the park to still afford to visit the park during the recession. This article provides a better understanding of visitors’ feelings towards the KNP, especially amidst recessions which, in turn, will improve niche marketing and a competitive advantage. Article 2 is titled: “Factors that influenced demand to the Kruger National Park during the 2008/2009 economic recession”. The aim of this article was to identify the determinants that influence the demand for visits to the KNP. Due to the homogeneous nature of the park’s market, the results of the stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed a few socio-demographic and behavioural determinants that influenced visitors’ demand to the park. The motives Escape and Souvenirs were the only two behavioural determinants while the provinces Gauteng and Mpumalanga were the only socio-demographic determinants. These two provinces are the two main markets for the KNP. Visitors indicated that visiting the KNP is a great way of escaping their busy metropolitan areas, especially in the Gauteng province. Mpumalanga residents have many tourism attractions in their province thus lowering the chances that they will visit the KNP. The determinant Souvenirs indicates that visitors adapted their spending at the park to still be able to afford visits. It was also found that demand to visit the park was not greatly influenced by the recession, because visitors could adapt their spending at the park. This is the first time the determinants of demand to a national park during a recession period have been conducted. The study indicated that visiting natural areas may have become a primary need or part of a lifestyle, especially during the 2008/2009 recession period. This article gives park management guidelines that will ensure the sustainability of the KNP because this information now allows for well-planned, thorough marketing and management of the park. In the case of KNP, which has a homogeneous market, the number of determinants identified influencing demand for visiting the park is fewer than has been found in other studies done on heterogeneous markets. This study therefore also makes a valuable methodological contribution in relation to analysing demand of homogeneous and heterogeneous markets. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

During the recession period of 2008/2009, global tourism declined by 8%. This was also evident is South Africa with the domestic travel market shrinking by 8% as well. However, this did not apply to the Kruger National Park (KNP) which experienced a sustained Accommodation Unit Occupancy growth of 1.6% during the same period. Visitors to the KNP thus see it as an attractive holiday destination irrespective of tough economic conditions characterised by less disposable income. To sustain this growth, it is important to be aware of the reasons visitors still visit the KNP during a recession. The aim of this study was to determine the reasons why visitors still travelled to the KNP during the 2008/2009 recession. This can be done by analysing the visitors’ behaviour and the motivational factors (internal feelings of the visitors) and determinants of the demand (income and exchange rates for instance) that influenced visitors’ choice to visit the KNP. To achieve this aim, a survey was conducted at the KNP between 15 and 20 December 2009 (high season). A total of 355 questionnaires were completed, after which a number of analyses were done to determine the effects of the recession on travel behaviour. For the purpose of this study, two articles were written. Article 1 is titled: “Motivations of visitors to the Kruger National Park during the 2008/2009 recession period”. The aim of this article was to determine the motivations of visitors to the KNP during the recession. A factor analysis on the motivations to visit the park was conducted, of which the following factors obtained the highest mean values: Escape, Wildlife experience and Family benefits. Push factors to the KNP were important to such an extent that visitors regarded visiting the park as a primary need or lifestyle. The results furthermore showed that visitors might have adapted their spending behaviour at the park to still afford to visit the park during the recession. This article provides a better understanding of visitors’ feelings towards the KNP, especially amidst recessions which, in turn, will improve niche marketing and a competitive advantage. Article 2 is titled: “Factors that influenced demand to the Kruger National Park during the 2008/2009 economic recession”. The aim of this article was to identify the determinants that influence the demand for visits to the KNP. Due to the homogeneous nature of the park’s market, the results of the stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed a few socio-demographic and behavioural determinants that influenced visitors’ demand to the park. The motives Escape and Souvenirs were the only two behavioural determinants while the provinces Gauteng and Mpumalanga were the only socio-demographic determinants. These two provinces are the two main markets for the KNP. Visitors indicated that visiting the KNP is a great way of escaping their busy metropolitan areas, especially in the Gauteng province. Mpumalanga residents have many tourism attractions in their province thus lowering the chances that they will visit the KNP. The determinant Souvenirs indicates that visitors adapted their spending at the park to still be able to afford visits. It was also found that demand to visit the park was not greatly influenced by the recession, because visitors could adapt their spending at the park. This is the first time the determinants of demand to a national park during a recession period have been conducted. The study indicated that visiting natural areas may have become a primary need or part of a lifestyle, especially during the 2008/2009 recession period. This article gives park management guidelines that will ensure the sustainability of the KNP because this information now allows for well-planned, thorough marketing and management of the park. In the case of KNP, which has a homogeneous market, the number of determinants identified influencing demand for visiting the park is fewer than has been found in other studies done on heterogeneous markets. This study therefore also makes a valuable methodological contribution in relation to analysing demand of homogeneous and heterogeneous markets. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Zimbabwe is suffering from an acute shortage of teachers mainly as a result of teacher emigration to South Africa and abroad. The southern migration of Zimbabwean teachers has received little research attention which has mainly focused on the migration of medical personnel. The purpose of this study is to uncover the factors that drive the migration of teachers from Zimbabwe to South Africa and to explain how these factors function within a grounded theory approach to teacher migration. To achieve this, a review of literature and an empirical study of a small sample of migrant Zimbabwean teachers resident in South Africa were undertaken. A constructivist grounded theory design was used. A theoretical sampling method generated a sample group of thirteen participants who were all qualified Zimbabwean teachers who had migrated to South Africa and been in the country for between one and five years. Data generation and collection consisted of two phases: in the first phase the participants were asked to write a life history narrative or provide a verbal narrative of their life history focussing on their migration. In the second phase they participated in individual interviews to clarify or expand on issues raised in the first phase. Three stages of coding were used in the analysis of the data, namely initial, intermediate and advanced coding. This led to the generation of a grounded theory on teacher migration. The grounded theory indicated that Zimbabwean teachers see migration as the best way to attain an ideal status. An ideal status is conceived to be the ideal interplay between the work conditions, standard of living and social esteem which teachers believe befits members of their profession. Depending on various criteria, teachers fall into one of the following status categories: further diminished status, diminished status, ideal status or ideal status surpassed. Migration is a drastic and demanding way to improve one’s status and it is adopted by teachers only after other strategies to this end have been exhausted. Weighed against existing theories of migration, the grounded theory contributes to understanding teacher migration and retention through the innovative use of the core category status. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Socio-Education)

This thesis considers the individual drivers of migration in modern Swedish emigration and the subsequent decision to remain in the host country. The study draws on primary data from 14 semi-structured digital interviews with Swedes who have emigrated and permanently settled down in different locations in the United States. Through the push- and pull framework, individual cases have been considered whilst also comparing the findings with previously identified drivers in migration research. The sociological findings of this study present the collectivist Swedish norm Jantelagen (‘The Law of Jante’) as a prospective push-factor in both the decision to emigrate and to permanently settle down in the U.S. Subsequently, certain discrepancy exists on the macro level of Swedish society as both radically individualistic with collectivistic norms expecting individual conformity. The result implies that emigration is an option to break free from normative restrictions for certain individuals. Relatedly, the perception of a negative political development, restricted freedom of opinion, and self-censoring political correctness are explicit push-factors for some Swedes to emigrate and/or reside permanently. Furthermore, higher levels of stimulation in education and work, easy access to the job and housing market in the U.S. could be linked to the migration driver subjective well-being/happiness. Network often influenced the emigration and led to perceived lifestyle improvement. Moreover, the initial push and pull factors proved to be inconstant as motives and circumstances in the migration process changed e.g. in case of separation from a partner.

Payments take place every day in exchange for goods and services. There are a large variety of different methods which can be used to make a payment, and multiple scenarios in which payments take place. Recently there has been a significant amount of innovation in the Payment Services sector, however the majority of this innovation has occurred in the Business-to-Consumer (B2C) market, leaving the Business-to-Business (B2B) market relatively devoid of innovations. This raises the question, why are there limited successful innovations in B2B Payment Services? Furthermore, are there areas for innovation in the realm of B2B Payments? To explore this perceived gap in innovation, the payment methods available to small B2B companies were examined to identify key challenges and areas for future innovation in B2B payments. The research contains primary data from semi-structured telephone interviews with five owners or managers in SME (Small or Medium-Sized Enterprise) B2B companies, located in the United Kingdom. It will be concluded that the payment methods available to small businesses are sufficient for their needs, and there were no real ‘pain points’ with the actual payments themselves – and this is posited as one reason why payment services innovation has been limited within B2Bs. However, each business experienced a number of challenges in the bigger-picture payment cycle and business purchasing flow. It is within this space - helping businesses manage payments, not make payments - that opportunities for innovation lie, and a conceptualisation of new business opportunities is discussed. / <p>Master of Entrepeneurship and Innovation Management (TEILM)</p>

The berry industry is one of many migration corridors where migrant workers work under precarious forms of employment. The essay’s purpose is to examine different perspectives on the living and working conditions in the Swedish berry picking industry. This will be studied qualitatively, with oral history as the primary research method, by analysing inspection reports and through interviews with six informants. The informants consist of workers from The Swedish Municipal Workers' Union (Kommunal), a berry picker and a berry principal. Previous research on this topic is sparse and few have used historical and sociological perspectives to explain the phenomenon. The Thai berry pickers’ living conditions varies. Some municipalities need to execute inspections far more frequent, for the inspections to become an important mechanism of control which can exert pressure. Kommunal has since 2009 had the right to represent the Thai berry pickers and the working conditions have improved ever since. Through the collective agreement the workers are given the right to minimum-wage in addition to the piece rate. Kommunal plays an important role but are limited as few berry pickers are members of the labour union. The working hours is one area of concern where Kommunal has difficulties to act. The piece rate has given rise to intense work and the berry pickers therefore want to maximize their profits. The berry picking principals, in the competitive industry, varies in terms of seriousness but can change the industry. This responsibility has not always been adopted. / Bärindustrin är en av många migrationskorridorer, där migrantarbetare arbetar under prekära anställningsformer. Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka ett flertal perspektiv på boende- och arbetsförhållandena inom den kommersiella bärplockningen i Sverige. Detta studeras kvalitativt, med muntlig historia som huvudsaklig undersökningsmetod, genom att analysera opublicerade inspektionsrapporter samt förhållningssätt till företeelsen genom intervjuer med sex relevanta informanter. Informanterna består av anställda på Svenska Kommunalarbetareförbundet (Kommunal), en bärplockare och en bärföretagare. Forskningsläget om den kommersiella bärplockningen är begränsat och få har anlagt historiska och sociologiska perspektiv för att förklara fenomenet. De thailändska bärplockarnas boendeförhållanden varierar. Vissa kommuner behöver utföra mer frekventa inspektioner för att inspektionerna ska kunna utgöra en viktig kontrollmekanism i form av ett påtryckningsmedel.  Sedan 2009 har Kommunal haft organisationsrätt att företräda de thailändska bärplockarna och därefter har arbetsförhållandena förbättrats. Genom kollektivavtalet har alla thailändska bärplockare rätt till lagstadgad grundlön, utöver ackordslönen. Kommunal har ett viktigt ansvar men är begränsade då organiseringsgraden är låg. Arbetstiderna är ett problemområde där Kommunal har svårt att agera. Ackordslönen ger upphov till intensivt arbete och bärplockarna vill därför maximera sina inkomster. Bärföretagen i den konkurrerande branschen varierar i seriöshet men har möjligheter att påverka arbetsförhållandena. Detta medför ett ansvar som inte alltid har antagits.