An individual`s eyes provide a wealth of information during social interactions. The present research investigates the social adjustment implications of one gaze behaviour, specifically, shared attention, which is the tendency to follow an interlocutor`s directed gaze to attend to the same object or location. Recent clinical research suggested that gaze control reflects the capacity to differentiate self from other at the attentional level, since patient populations with poor gaze control abilities (i.e., schizophrenic patients) were also found to exhibit difficulty in differentiating between the self and another agent. Four studies were conducted to examine whether flexible gaze following behavior, specifically the ability to inhibit gaze-following, when the situation warrants, would be positively linked with two markers of adaptive social functioning: sociocognitive abilities and self-close other(s) differentiation. Based on previous research that gaze cues linked to upright (but not inverted) faces trigger reflexive gaze following mechanisms, an upright face condition was used to assess social cueing mechanisms and an inverted face condition, as a control for non-social cueing mechanisms in a gaze control task with realistic (Study 2) and schematic faces (Studies 1, 3, and 4). Studies 1-4 showed that more flexible gaze following behavior predicted superior sociocognitive abilities, as indexed by higher capacity to infer the mental states of others in both young and older adults (Studies 1-3), as well as in clinical populations (i.e., Parkinson’s Disease [PD] patients, Study 4). Studies 2-4 further revealed that poorer gaze control predicted decreased self-close other differentiation in both younger and older adults. In Study 2, poorer gaze control performance characterized young adults from enmeshed family systems, which allow limited private space and emotional autonomy. In Studies 3 and 4, poorer gaze control predicted decreased cognitive-affective differentiation from one’s spouse and lower marital quality in healthy elderly couples (Study 3) and elderly couples, where one spouse had PD (Study 4). The present findings argue for the existence of a unified sociocognitive network, perpetually shaped by one’s interpersonal history, and which encompasses perceptual mechanisms, specialized for face and gaze processing and higher-order cognitive mechanisms, specialized for processing the meaning (s) of social environments.

The globalization is the period of economic transformation according to the business competition. A number of multinational companies from industrial countries have to move their productions to a new emerging country which has a lower-labor cost, a strategic location, as well as an access to production material. Sweden is one of those countries that decide to re-locate their business center in other countries. The capital of Swedish companies has been distributed especially in Asian countries. Thailand is one of destinations that Swedish companies prefer to put the capital because of its labor cost, human quality, and strategic location. The objective of this thesis is to present the consequence of multinational companies from Sweden in Thailand as the main purpose. The economic relationship and cultural harmonization between these two countries will be discussed. This study is a qualitative research which requires qualitative methods to analyze data. Qualitative interviewing, case study and second data analysis has been the main approaches for data collection. The result of the study brings the conclusion that the capital movement from Sweden to Thailand during the globalization brings the positive development to both sides. Sweden gains more business revenue both in Thailand and Asian region, while Thailand gains wealth and sustainable development from the Swedish investment.

This study utilized a combination of intrinsic and instrumental case studies to describe the experience of four dying persons and their significant relations, as they engaged in music therapy sessions designed with the goal of facilitating relationship completion. The four primary participants were inpatients of the Baycrest palliative care program who were diagnosed with a terminal illness and a life expectancy of less than six months. Two spouses who were involved in music therapy sessions were co-participants. I developed four case studies to represent each of the rich and detailed stories. Through the use of narrative research methods I was able to describe, interpret, and understand the complexity held within the multiple data sources that informed each case study. Data sources included: music created, utilized, recorded, and/or discussed in music therapy sessions; discussions during music therapy sessions; the researcher’s field notes; formal notes placed in the participant’s medical charts; the formal written assessment; transcriptions of audio-taped music therapy sessions; interviews; interview transcriptions; artistic pieces crafted by myself that emerged from the experiences of the participants as reflected in their interviews, and weekly participation in sessions which were verified by the participants; and other artistic material. The rich knowledge that emerged from the individual case studies informed a cross-case analysis where global themes were identified from a thematic analysis of participants’ experiences; and process motifs arising from the progression of participant engagement in music therapy are described. Global themes included: love; loss; gratitude; growth/transformation; courage/strength; and goodbye. The five process motifs that emerged were: (1) music therapy helps and was valued as a means of sharing the participants’ perceptions of their situation. (2) music therapy provides a safe place to become aware of, explore, and express feelings. (3) music enhances communication. (4) music therapy techniques provide creative avenues for self-expression. (5) music therapy provided a vehicle for revisiting and reminiscing. The thesis concludes with a summary of the knowledge revealed and a discussion of implications for music therapists and health care professionals, as well as a presentation of final thoughts and reflections on my role as researcher in this study.

An individual`s eyes provide a wealth of information during social interactions. The present research investigates the social adjustment implications of one gaze behaviour, specifically, shared attention, which is the tendency to follow an interlocutor`s directed gaze to attend to the same object or location. Recent clinical research suggested that gaze control reflects the capacity to differentiate self from other at the attentional level, since patient populations with poor gaze control abilities (i.e., schizophrenic patients) were also found to exhibit difficulty in differentiating between the self and another agent. Four studies were conducted to examine whether flexible gaze following behavior, specifically the ability to inhibit gaze-following, when the situation warrants, would be positively linked with two markers of adaptive social functioning: sociocognitive abilities and self-close other(s) differentiation. Based on previous research that gaze cues linked to upright (but not inverted) faces trigger reflexive gaze following mechanisms, an upright face condition was used to assess social cueing mechanisms and an inverted face condition, as a control for non-social cueing mechanisms in a gaze control task with realistic (Study 2) and schematic faces (Studies 1, 3, and 4). Studies 1-4 showed that more flexible gaze following behavior predicted superior sociocognitive abilities, as indexed by higher capacity to infer the mental states of others in both young and older adults (Studies 1-3), as well as in clinical populations (i.e., Parkinson’s Disease [PD] patients, Study 4). Studies 2-4 further revealed that poorer gaze control predicted decreased self-close other differentiation in both younger and older adults. In Study 2, poorer gaze control performance characterized young adults from enmeshed family systems, which allow limited private space and emotional autonomy. In Studies 3 and 4, poorer gaze control predicted decreased cognitive-affective differentiation from one’s spouse and lower marital quality in healthy elderly couples (Study 3) and elderly couples, where one spouse had PD (Study 4). The present findings argue for the existence of a unified sociocognitive network, perpetually shaped by one’s interpersonal history, and which encompasses perceptual mechanisms, specialized for face and gaze processing and higher-order cognitive mechanisms, specialized for processing the meaning (s) of social environments.

1-IntroducciónEl sufrimiento es inherente a la vida humana y se presenta especialmente por una enfermedad o por la muerte de un ser querido. Además de diagnosticar y tratar la enfermedad, el médico también debe aliviar el sufrimiento relacionado con ella. Pero en ocasiones este aspecto se deja de lado en la práctica profesional actual.2-Objeto y objetivo El objeto de estudio de este trabajo es la entrevista médico-paciente. Y el objetivo es analizar la conversación de sus participantes, buscando identificar en ella expresiones de sufrimiento, verbales o no verbales, manifestadas por el paciente de forma espontánea, o como resultado de alguna intervención del médico. Además conocer si éste reconoce esas expresiones, las identifica, y de alguna manera las responde. 3-Marco teórico y metodológico.Se definen y analizan conceptos de diversos autores sobre temas como la comunicación, el lenguaje, la conversación, y la entrevista, para finalizar con un capítulo sobre la presencia de la narrativa en la medicina, y comentarios sobre las emociones en general, y el sufrimiento en particular. Se mencionan algunos conceptos metodológicos iniciales, que más adelante- en el denominado Corpus de la investigación, se amplían. Se utiliza metodología cualitativa, en la cual la técnica de recolección de información es la entrevista y el método es el análisis del discurso. Hasta aquí la parte teórica.El trabajo de campo se realizó en un Centro de Atención Primaria-CAP de la Provincia de Barcelona, en donde se grabaron en vídeo 39 entrevistas realizadas por médicos(as) de su plantilla. Una vez pasadas a formato DVD, se revisaron buscando los criterios de inclusión previamente definidos, y se seleccionaron 8 entrevistas, las que fueron trascritas, y constituyeron el material de análisis.Este fue realizado inicialmente de forma manual pero luego se utilizó el programa informático ATLAS-Ti. Se incluyen muestras de este análisis y se mencionan los sucesivos pasos que se dieron durante el proceso, sustentando las diferentes decisiones que se tomaron. 4-Resumen y conclusionesSe utilizan varias tablas para recolectar los resultados, que permiten apreciar:1. La dificultad que hay para identificar un sentimiento tan complejo como es el sufrimiento. 2. La gran diversidad de las expresiones verbales y no verbales utilizadas por los pacientes para manifestar el sufrimiento. 3. En ocasiones el médico no percibe o no identifica esas señales, y por lo tanto no puede darles respuesta. 4. Al final se intenta tipificar las entrevistas de acuerdo a la forma como se desarrolla la interacción, se categorizan las conclusiones, y 5. Se presentan propuestas con la intención de mejorar la interacción en estos difíciles encuentros: a. mejorar las habilidades de los médicos en comunicaciónb. mejorar también sus habilidades en la identificación y manejo de emociones propias y ajenas c. aplicar estas habilidades en la práctica clínica diaria, especialmente en este complejo tema del sufrimiento.Key words : Communication [MeSH], Physician-Patient Relations [MeSH], Primary Health Care [MeSH], Suffering , Qualitative Research [MeSH] / The doctor-patient communication tends to be difficult, mainly due to the short time allocated to visits; the population to care has increased and diversified; medical attention is mostly technology-oriented; and, although medicine has the intention to cure, nowadays there are diseases of unknown origin, incurable, fatal-ending, and specially the frequent and awful chronic illness.These and other factors at times leave doctors to neglecting important emotional aspects, such as suffering. This is a pity, since the experience of dealing with ill health provides everyone with an important and useful knowledge which, added to the doctor's knowledge, may be used to reach decisions by consensus.The object of this qualitative research was to analyze doctor-patient conversation, in order to look for verbal or non verbal expressions of suffering, to see whether doctors recognized these expressions or not, how they interpreted them, and how they coped with and reacted to them or not. In a Primary Health Care Centre located in Barcelona, Spain, 39 medical visits were video-taped. Eight visits were selected according to pre-determined criteria. Then the sound tracks accompanying the DVD images were transcribed, and the data analysis of the eight interviews was carried out using the ATLAS/Ti computer assisted-program.Conclusions and recommendations: as well as attending to the organic aspects of their patients, using the relevant technology, doctors should pay attention to the emotional aspects involved in ill health. Suffering is not easy to detect, as it can take many forms; it is very often expressed non-verbally, and it is a subjective, intimate issue. Doctors must acquire, practice and perfect communication skills, learning to recognize and handle their own and their patients' emotions. When doctors and patients are able to really talk to communicate, health-related decisions might be shared. This cooperation involves patients, and at the same time allows them to maintain their own autonomy.

This dissertation consists of two parts. The first part isabout“Managing buyer-supplier relationships in autoproduction chains ­ a case study of Volvo and its supplierrelationship management”. The second part is about“Managing buyer-supplier relationships in telecom supplychains ­ a case study of Ericsson and its supplierrelationship models in different business situations”. The scope of this study is restricted to supply chains inautomotive and telecommunication industries, where the successof supply processes is dependent on how well a company managesits supply chain with horizontal or vertical integration tofulfill customer demands. The research is carried out as a number of case studies ofbuyer-supplier relationship management in the auto and telecomsupply chains. The aim was to analyze how a company fulfillscustomer demand in the best way through different supplierrelationships, and how and why alternative relationship typesare used in reality. The study is based on the relationship between two focalcompanies and their suppliers. Case study methodology is used,and data is collected from selected cases through interviewsand observations. Analysis is carried out within and acrosscases. From the case interpretation and analysis, conclusionsare drawn as to which strategic level of buyer-supplierrelationship is appropriate for different situations. As a result and in conclusion, a static supplychain-reaction model is built at the end of the Part I. Thestatic model describes the importance of collaborativebuyer-supplier relationships in the product developmentprocess. Based on this model, it is concluded in Part II thatthe most suitable supplier relationship is different fordifferent products. For the same product, the most appropriatebuyer-supplier relationship varies with the product’s lifecycle timing. Therefore, two dynamic buyer-supplierrelationship models under different business conditions and indifferent product life-cycle periods are created in Part II.The models apply to dynamic processes, not to interactingcompany organizations in general. The study increases the knowledge regarding selection of themost appropriate supplier relationships in different businesssituations. Key words:buyer-supplier relationship, sourcingstrategy, supply chain management / <p>Qc 20130827</p>

In Sweden today almost all people are connected to a bank in some way. It can range from loans, savings, shares, etc. They have a current account where salaries, student aid etc. is paid. Due to the large selection of banks, it has become more important for banks to be competitive in their services to their customers so they don’t change bank. This has led to that more and more banks are trying to get their customers to be more loyal to the bank by being more competitive. Loyalty is the result of several interrelated factors such as customer satisfaction and service. This leads to the purpose of this study to investigate if the demographic aspects have any influence on loyalty. Through a questionnaire survey, this study examined whether there is an influence of the demographic aspects on loyalty. The questionnaire consisted of questions based on previous research. It was distributed to people in Kristianstad on three different locations. Overall response rate to the questionnaires distributed gave us a participation of 110 respondents. The results were then statistically processed in order to test if there is a significant difference in loyalty within the various demographic aspects. According to this study, we could not find any differences in the demographic aspects. However, we were able to find small differences in the mean values ​​between the different groups in the demographic aspects / I dagens Sverige är i stort sett alla personer på något sätt kopplade till en bank. Det kan vara alltifrån lån, sparande, aktier m.m. Nästan alla personer i dagens Sverige har ett transaktionskonto dit lön, studiemedel m.m. utbetalas. På grund utav det stora utbudet av banker har det blivit viktigare för bankerna att vara konkurrenskraftiga i sina tjänster till sina kunder så att de inte byter bank. Detta har medfört att fler och fler banker satsar mycket resurser på att få sina kunder att bli lojala mot banken. Lojalitet är resultatet utav flera sammanhängande faktorer som exempelvis kundnöjdhet och service. Detta leder till uppsatsens syfte att undersöka ifall de demografiska aspekterna har påverkan på lojalitet. Genom en enkätundersökning har denna studie undersökt ifall det finns en påverkan av de demografiska aspekterna på lojalitet. Enkäten bestod av frågor som grundar sig på tidigare forskning. Den delades ut till personer i Kristianstad vid tre olika tillfällen. Totala svarsfrekvensen på de utdelade enkäterna gav oss ett deltagande på 110 respondenter. Resultaten har sedan bearbetats statistiskt för att testa ifall det råder signifikanta skillnader på lojalitet inom de olika demografiska aspekterna. Enligt denna studie kunde vi inte påvisa några skillnader inom dem demografiska aspekterna. Däremot kunde vi urskilja små skillnader i medelvärdena mellan de olika grupperna i de demografiska aspekterna.

Background: Black South Africans were forced to live under the oppressive regime of apartheid for more than four decades. This system of government not only restricted the economic and educational opportunities for Blacks, but it also marginalized women by encouraging the preservation of a violent, patriarchal society. As a result of a long history of nationalized oppression, Black women in South Africa continue to be an economically and socially vulnerable group. Their vulnerability is translated into limited intimate relationship power, which confers a host of health and safety risks. Thus, the current study explored whether negative life events and/or HIV infection related directly to women’s intimate relationship power or was moderated by community-level variables (knowledge, helpfulness, and use of resources). Method: Participants were 104 women living with HIV and 152 non-infected women, who were recruited in and around Pretoria, South Africa. Two aspects of intimate relationship power were considered: relationship control (e.g. Partner controls what I wear) and decision making dominance (e.g. Who usually decides when you have sex?). Decision-making dominance was divided into three subscales (male dominant, female dominant and mutual). Results: For relationship control, fewer undesirable life changes were associated with more control. For decision-making dominance, several main and interaction effects were observed. Negative serostatus and women’s knowledge of community resources were directly associated with more mutual decision-making. However, more frequent family use of community resources was related to less female dominated decisions. For helpfulness of resources, a significant interaction revealed that women living with HIV/AIDS perceived their male partners as less dominant when they perceived their community resources to be more helpful. Conclusions: Power in intimate relationships may enhance the quality and length of life for Black South African women; thus, it is important to identify factors that promote or compromise power. The results of this study suggest that undesirable life changes, HIV infection, and great reliance on community resources (i.e. frequent use) are negatively associated with perceived relationship power. Alternatively, the current study identified the perceived helpfulness of community resources as one possible factor that promotes relationship power.

Syftet med studien är att skapa förståelse för hur ledningen i fastighetsföretag arbetar för att på lång sikt skapa personliga, hållbara och lojala kundrelationer. Studien antar ett aktörssynsätt och den hermeneutiska traditionen. En fallstudie på totalt fem fastighetsföretag har genomförts där sammanlagt 18 kvalitativa intervjuer fullbordats. Studien visar att företag arbetar också utanför sin kärnverksamhet för att skapa personliga, hållbara och lojala kundrelationer. Företag bör skapa ett värde som även delas av kunder. För att skapa starkare band till sina kunder kan företag styra sin verksamhet med hjälp av CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) verksamheter av olika slag för att skapa hållbara, djupa och långsiktiga kundrelationer och därigenom bidra till att infria kundernas önskemål. Genom att leverera produkter och tjänster av hög kvalitet, att tillhandahålla aktiviteter för kunder och samarbeta med nyckelpersoner kan kundernas lojalitet öka. Förslag till vidare forskning är att genomföra en ny studie med samma syfte, dock med tillägg av intervjuer med kunder. Det är också viktigt att studera frågan utifrån kundernas perspektiv, för att närmare undersöka hur kunder vill stärka relationen till de företag man arbetar med. På detta sätt kan en bild ges av hur kunder på bästa sätt kan motiveras att ställa upp och vara med och påverka företagens beslut. I flera intervjuer har det framkommit att ledningen i företagen ofta har problem att få en bred uppslutning vid kundmöten.

Many organizations are familiar with using CRM (Customer relationship management) to manage and enhance the customer relationship. Good customer relationship can bring great benefits and a competitive advantage to organization. And in this era of technology, CRM that consists of eCRM (Electronic customer relationship management) is acknowledged as another potential solution for business. The purpose of this study is to explore what an organization can do to improve the use of eCRM, so eCRM can enhance the customer relationship. In the thesis the authors have studied different eCRM key factors and their relationship in order to improve customer relationship through the use of eCRM. This thesis has used Toyota Mahanakorn, the Toyota dealers in Thailand as a case study for examining the practice of successful eCRM in the organization. Our conclusion is that in order to improve the performance of eCRM, an organization should choose a eCRM technology that suits with organization strategy and practice as well as employees technology and service capabilities. Since this thesis studies the way to improve the use of eCRM in an organization, this thesis will be advantageous to those who plan to implement eCRM in the future and to those who have already implemented eCRM and would like to make it better.