A pesquisa intitulada “Autismo na escola: ação e reflexão do professor” analisa as ações pedagógicas desenvolvidas por professores para a inclusão de crianças com autismo no ensino regular. O objetivo deste estudo é evidenciar como o professor constitui as estratégias que beneficiam o processo de aprendizagem do aluno incluído, contribuindo, assim, para a formação de professores. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa que se desenvolveu através de dois estudos de caso na Rede Municipal de Ensino de Porto Alegre. Os procedimentos incluem observações do cotidiano de sala de aula e entrevistas com as professoras. A inserção no campo de estudo realizou-se durante três meses, no segundo semestre de 2006. O principal referencial teórico utilizado foi a Epistemologia Genética e suas possíveis relações com a temática da pesquisa, com o objetivo de difundir e explorar a potencialidade dos conceitos desenvolvidos na obra de Jean Piaget para a discussão das estratégias de aprendizagem no âmbito da inclusão. Com relação à aprendizagem, apresentam-se autores que desenvolvem os conceitos piagetianos aplicados aos processos cognitivos de crianças com autismo. Com relação à inclusão, destacaram-se as formulações sobre a lógica de classes e relações, a constituição de valores de troca nas interações e o conceito de tomada de consciência. As conclusões indicam que as professoras constituem suas estratégias de trabalho a partir da relação que têm com os alunos. Estas estratégias se caracterizam principalmente pela flexibilidade no planejamento e na execução das atividades, que são pautadas segundo os interesses e facilidades da criança com necessidades especiais, visando a incentivar sua participação e interação com os colegas. / The research titled “Autism at school: the teacher’s action and reflection” analyzes pedagogical actions developed by teachers for the inclusion of autistic children in regular education. The objective of this study is to show how the teacher creates strategies that promote the included student’s learning process, thereby contributing to the training of teachers. This is a qualitative research which was developed by way of two case studies in the Porto Alegre Municipal School System. The procedures include observations of classroom daily routines and interviews with teachers. The field work of the study was carried out during a three month period, in the second semester of 2006. The main theoretical reference used was the Genetic Epistemology and its possible links to the subject of the research, with the aim of disseminating and exploring the potentiality of the concepts developed in the work of Jean Piaget, leading to a discussion of learning strategies relating to inclusion. In regards to learning, the work of authors that have developed Piagetian concepts applied to the cognitive processes of autistic children is presented. With respect to inclusion, notions about the logic of classes and relationships, the establishment of values of exchange in interaction, and the concept of taking hold of conscience were highlighted. The conclusion points out that teachers formulate work strategies based on their relationship with the students and these are marked mainly by flexibility in planning and carrying out activities, which are selected in the interests and capabilities of children with special needs and which encourage participation and interaction with their classmates.

People are getting older in the world and the aging population is increasing each year which lead to a higher demand of the society to care for the elderly population. In the year of 2050 there will be over 2 billion elderly people in the world and most of them will live in the developing countries. 1 The improved healthcare has led to peoples’ wealth and longer live in the world. Though one can see ageing as a successful achievement, there is things that need to be improved in the society. The ageing population is getting larger and the age discrimination and loneliness among elderly is one of the largest concerns to deal with within this context. This thesis will try to get an understanding of the role of the elderly in society and improve the conditions for an ageing population. Therefore, one will investigate in this master thesis; "How to adapt society for an ageing population?"

Sammanfattning – ”Generation Ys drivkrafter på arbetsplatsen” Datum: 2/6-2017 Nivå: Kandidatuppsats i företagsekonomi, 15 ECTS Institution: Akademin för Ekonomi, Samhälle och Teknik, EST, Mälardalens Högskola Författare: Alexander Bäcklund, Bill Samuelsson och Simon Levander Titel: Generation Ys drivkrafter på arbetsplatsen Handledare: Kerstin Nilsson Nyckelord: Employer branding, Generation Y, Intern marketing, Loyalty, Social Exchange Theory. Frågeställning: Vilka incitament är det som påverkar den anställde att stanna på en arbetsplats?Matchar företagets employer branding-arbete med de anställdas motivationsfaktorer? Syfte: Syftet med undersökningen är att förklara de incitament som leder till att medarbetare väljer att stanna inom organisationen och jämföra det med företagets human resource-arbete för att behålla anställda. Metod: Undersökningen var av kvalitativ karaktär. Medarbetare samt human resource-chefer på tre företag intervjuades. Intervjumallen baserades på de valda teorierna samt den sekundära information som varit till underlag till studien. Intervjuerna analyserades genom en innehållsanalys och resultatet presenterades i de teman som varit återkommande i empirin. Slutsats: Undersökningen bekräftade den tidigare empirin om hur Generation Y som medarbetare karaktäriseras. Generationen är uppväxta med många möjligheter och är den högst utbildade generationen. Detta ger Generation Y större makt på arbetsmarknaden. Undersökningen visade att medarbetarna inom denna generation var mer drivna av kunskap än av finansiella mål. Att låta medarbetarna växa organiskt är därför ett av de viktigaste incitamenten för ökad lojalitet. Därför bör human resource-avdelningarna nischa sig mot vad Generation Y efterfrågar eftersom de är en majoritet på arbetsmarknaden.

Exit is an inevitable part of any business relationship. However, despite its importance, exit in buyer–supplier relationships is still a poorly understood phenomenon. Building on previous studies, this thesis addressed these concerns by empirically: a) identifying the economic and social antecedents that influence the exit decision; and b) validating how the antecedents of exit are related with the choice of exit strategies. To achieve these objectives, first, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify 82 studies that documented existing research on exit in buyer–supplier relationships. Second, informed by Transaction Cost Economics and Social Exchange Theory, a set of 88 testable hypotheses was developed and a survey captured data from 505 recently terminated relationships involving UK based firms. Finally, for data analysis, statistical techniques were employed including: a) analysis of variance; b) independent sample t–tests; c) multiple logistic regression; and d) multi–nomial logistic regression. The empirical findings of this thesis validated that: a) there are 8 economic and 14 social antecedents that influence the exit decision; b) lending support to extant research on exit, 57 hypotheses were accepted; c) 12 multiple logit models confirmed the relationship between a set of antecedents and exit strategies; and d) 6 multinomial logit models validated the relationship between a set of antecedents and a choice of one exit strategy over another. The results suggest that the influence of antecedents on the choice of exit strategies was subject to how the antecedents were analysed. The contributions of this research to Supply Chain Management literature are that we know now: a) which economic and social antecedents influence the exit decision; b) how individual antecedents affect exit strategies; c) how antecedents combine to affect exit strategies; and d) how antecedents combine to affect the choice of one exit strategy over another. This work provides an exit management tool box comprising a combination of data collection instrument, empirically derived framework and models that enables the managers to timely review the strength and weaknesses of their business relationships and their management processes.

This thesis evaluates why the implementation of a tree plantation project in Chiapas, Mexico, called Scolel Te failed in its attempt to participate in the CDMs scheme. The Scolel Te project brings together farmers and local organisations into a network of exchange of resources that aims at producing an outcome that is only possible through the co-ordination and co-operation of all participants: the emission of carbon certificates. This thesis studies the co-ordination problems that local actors face at the moment of establishing the carbon projects by identifying how formal and informal mechanisms such as contracts, economic incentives, trust, and reputation, create or solve co-ordination problems in the Scolel Te network. The thesis also describes how changes in the distribution of power among actors affect the functioning of the network and how individual's interests and strategic alliances have the potential of derailing the aims of the environmental project. For such purposes, this thesis analyses the exchange relationships among actors at the micro level and identifies how exchange relationships evolve over time. Then an overall picture of the exchange relationships is presented (macro level) with focus in understanding how and why power in the network is exerted. Findings suggest that relying on economic incentives as the main mechanism to generate commitment among communities has failed to create stable exchange relationships in the long term. Trust and reputation are stronger mechanisms to achieve commitment. Moreover, we find that the ability to generate commitment depends highly on the generation of interdependencies between tree plantation projects and the main economic activities of local actors. However, type of land tenure, main economic activity, and pre-existing power relationships embedded at local level are also the principal factors that determine the dynamism of the social exchange relationships and commitment in the long-run. This thesis considers that co-ordination failure occurs because a lack of knowledge about the real dependencies between local actors and their natural resources in the design of CDMs. At macro level, this thesis found that the lack of accountability of the unregulated local carbon market at local level has created unintended incentives for actors to adopt less environmentally responsible strategies and disincentive participation in the CDMs.

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This study explores the relationship between journalists and NGOs in news making from a social exchange theory perspective. Drawing on semi-structured reconstruction interviews with journalists from Swedish media and representatives from the communications departments of Swedish NGOs, it examines motivations, contextual influences, and trust building processes that shape the relationship. The findings from the thematic analysis suggest three main characteristics of the journalist-NGO relationship. Firstly, the actors are motivated to interact due to a mutual dependency despite having separate goals. Secondly, the interactions are marked by an initiative imbalance caused by the contextual norm of a ruling media logic. Thirdly, trustworthiness is established between the actors through successful social exchanges which tend to reoccur and rationalize professional processes, ergolong-term relations lead to trust and efficacy. This thesis further concludes that journalists hold an upper hand in the news making process which NGOs accommodate to be recognized by media. Simultaneously, the NGOs play an important part in supplementing and substituting journalistic shortages which enhances their influence on news content. This leads to a relationship of mutual dependency which is sustained through reciprocal social exchanges that build trust and enable efficiency on both an interpersonal micro level, and an organizational meso level.

Research in volunteer work commonly either focuses on underlying motives and reasons why people volunteer or a macro-perspective on the non-profit sector as an organizational field. The purpose of this study is to investigate the link between the volunteers and the humanitarian non-profit organization they participate in. We conducted interviews with 12 board members from Amnesty International Sweden and the Swedish Red Cross Youth Organization to investigate how volunteers experience the formal and informal structures within the organizational context. The data is analyzed with Thornton and Ocasio’s theory of institutional logics and organizational theory with focus on the definition of formal structures. Blau’s social exchange theory is also used throughout the study to identify the interaction and mutual exchange between the volunteers and the organization. The results show that these volunteers value informal structures such as flexibility, the internal communication, group dynamics and autonomy within the organization to a greater extent than the formal structures the organizations provide. However, some volunteers have expressed feelings of confusion and lack of directives in relation to the responsibilities of their role and say they would benefit from more formal guidelines. On the other hand, a more formal structure within the organizations could clash with their ability to see the organization as adaptable. To further complicate the issue, many non-profit organizations portray themselves to prospective volunteers as flexible and emphasize on individualistic motives when recruiting for volunteers, such as future career and employability. As a result of this, many volunteers enter the organization with the expectation that they’ll have the freedom to do work which aligns with their personal motives. This in turn means they may be unprepared or run into issues with executing the work and responsibilities the organization expects from them. The most significant conclusion we reached is how the interplay between the volunteer and the organization is dependent on the individualistic volunteer’s ability to identify with the organization and by extent the purpose of the organization. This to balance out working solely off of personal motives which does not automatically get the organization to reach their mission.

Marketing executives of traditional retail firms who lack strategies to expand e-commerce business, can experience inhibited growth, higher transaction costs, and a loss of competitive advantage. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore marketing strategies that marketing executives of a traditional retail firm used to improve online sales. Eight purposefully selected marketing executives in the head offices of a large traditional retail business in South Africa who had implemented effective marketing strategies to improve online sales participated in the study. Social exchange theory was the conceptual framework for the study. The data collection process entailed face-to-face semistructured interviews and review of company and industry-specific documentation. Data were coded and analyzed to identify emergent themes: the use of customer relationship management to drive marketing strategies; positive exchange relationships that are primarily measured in economic and benefit-orientated terms; trust that relies on safety, security, and privacy of transactions; and reciprocity in the relationship that is facilitated through electronic word of mouth and social media. The implications for positive social change from increased profitability include increased employment opportunities in the local community, improved working conditions and benefits for employees, and increased charitable contributions locally, thereby improving the quality of life for employees and the community.