Physical activity can prevent cardiovascular disease, obesity, type II diabetes and some types of cancer. With only 3.5% of adults meeting the recommended physical activity guidelines, research has focused on the regulatory factors that influence physical activity level. Genetic influence accounts for the majority of physical activity regulation. However, there is limited information on the mechanisms that affect physical activity, in part, because of a lack of reliable methods to silence genes in vivo. The purpose of this dissertation was to identify mechanisms in skeletal muscle that influence physical activity. The methods used to accomplish the purpose of this dissertation were the evaluation of Vivo-morpholinos as a gene silencing tool in skeletal muscle and brain, identification of proteins in skeletal muscle associated with increased physical activity level, and the use Vivo-morpholinos to transiently knockdown the identified skeletal muscle proteins as a means to elucidate mechanisms for the peripheral regulation of physical activity. Overall, this study showed that Vivo-morpholinos effectively silenced genes in skeletal muscle yet required the use of a pharmacological aid to achieve gene silencing in the brain. Additionally proteins associated with calcium regulation (Annexin A6 and Calsequestrin 1) and the Kreb’s (TCA) cycle were found to be over expressed in the high active animals. The knockdown of Annexin A6 and Calsequestrin 1 resulted in a significant decrease in physical activity, thus showing that calcium regulation could influence the physical activity response. While these results provide a potential mechanism for the peripheral regulation of physical activity, a side effect observed was that Vivo-morpholinos can hybridize resulting in increased mortality rates of the treatment animals. Therefore, we developed methods to alleviate the toxic effects of Vivo-morpholinos. Thus, this dissertation refined a technique for determining a gene’s effect in an in vivo model and identified two candidate proteins (Annexin A6 and Calsequestrin 1) that play a role in regulating daily physical activity.

In June 2010, Canada’s Conservative majority government made a controversial announcement that the mandatory long form Census of Canada questionnaire would be replaced by the voluntary National Household Survey, as the former was deemed to be too invasive to Canadians’ privacy, threatening imprisonment for non-compliance. This practicum examines the anticipated implications of the Census change through an analysis of existing information – the repository of letters either supporting or contesting the elimination of the mandatory questionnaire. Planning processes are contingent upon understanding socio-economic conditions and demographic distribution. The long form Census is arguably an integral planning tool that provides an indication of community change. This research explores the role of information with respect to planning processes and the use of knowledge in enabling power within or over communities. Finally, this practicum provides suggestions for planners to mitigate changes to statistical information and adapt planning processes.

The purpose of this study was to establish an influence on static and dynamic postural control in sitting for voluntary arm movement for children with diplegic cerebral palsy. The investigation was fulfilled with control and experimental groups. The control group included ten healthy children and the experimental group included ten children with cerebral palsy. The age of the children was from 10 to 13 years. Subjects had to perform the same task with a single arm for four times. Every time the demands of postural control were increasing – the distance between objects and outward stability was changing. Task performing time was measured and visual estimation of the quality of postural control was done. The study showed that children with cerebral palsy performed the task slower than healthy ones (P < 0.05). The task performance time in the experimental group increased depending on growing distance between objects (p <0.05) and increased depending on decreasing outward stability (p < 0.05). The task’s time in the control group increased only when the distance was increasing between objects (p < 0.05), though when outward stability was decreasing the task’s performance time decreased (p < 0.05). A connection between task’s performance speed in standard conditions and task’s performance speed when the distance between objects was increased (r = 0.8), outward stability was decreased (r = 0.79), the distance between objects was increased and outward stability was decreased (r = 0... [to full text]

There were several attempts to conceptualize the social value creation process. Previous literature does not commonly consider a non-material approach, using mainly quantitative practices which are not in line with the characteristics of social value. This thesis contributes to the current social value creation studies in two ways. The first centers the subjectivity of social value as a phenomenon embedded in space and time which calls for distinctive ways of understanding its creation. Here the research approaches the hedonic perspective of well-being as a processual phenomenon which makes possible to explore the way social value is created from beneficiaries’ perspective. The second contribution is an empirical study within a voluntary program in order to explore how the beneficiaries’ subjective well-being unfolds over time. In this setting, where impoverished people deal with satisfying their basic needs, a process approach reveals the emotionally loaded context and the complexity of the social value creation. Thereby, the main emphasis of this thesis is to put on a deeper theoretical discussion of the concept of social value creation. The result of this research is an understanding of social value creation as a subjective construct centered on how the process uncovers unique moments experienced by people.

This study examines if three hypothesized variables affect the extent of corporate strategic information, i.e. voluntary information, in corporate annual reports, specifically in Sweden in the year of 2012. The variables deemed appropriate to the Swedish environment, i.e. firm size, ownership dispersion and performance, were retrieved from previous disclosure research conducted in a Swedish context (Cook, 1989; Adrem, 1999), as well as relevant theoretical consideration. The statistical analysis conducted in this thesis suggests that firm size is significantly positively related to the extent of strategic corporate information in Swedish listed firms’ corporate annual reports. The result hence confirms the expectation that larger listed firms to a larger extent disclose strategic corporate information, i.e. voluntary information, in their corporate annual reports. No positive relation was found between the variables performance or ownership dispersion and the extent of strategic corporate information. The results of this thesis are interpreted to suggest that asymmetric information and agency costs are important determinants of the extent of strategic corporate information, i.e. voluntary information, in Swedish corporate annual reports. Larger firms seem to reduce agency costs and narrow the information asymmetry by increasing the level of information disclosed.

Aim The aim of the thesis is to explain the factors that affect the auditor's recommendation concerning audit services to customers who are not subject to mandatory auditing. Background and problem In 2010 mandatory auditing for small companies was abolished. It is common for the auditor to provide recommendations re-garding whether or not a customer should chose to retain the audit. The question is which factors can explain the auditor's recommendation. Method and empirics This thesis uses a deductive approach with inductive elements and a combination of qualitative and quantitative data is used. The qualitative data consists of a pilot study and the quantitative data consists of a questionnaire survey. The analysis of the empirical data was performed using regression analysis. Theory This thesis applies an eclectic approach where the starting point is legitimacy, institutional theory, professional theory and decision making theory to develop a model. Results and conclusions The notion of the recommendation as well as the extent of the recommendations can be explained by factors related to the auditor's agency affiliation and the auditor's personal qualities. / Syfte Studiens syfte är att förklara vilka faktorer som påverkar revisorns rekommendation om revisionstjänster till kunder som inte omfattas av revisionsplikt. Bakgrund och problem År 2010 avskaffades revisionsplikten för mindre bolag. Vid valet om att behålla eller avskaffa revisionen är det vanligt att revisorn rekommenderar kunden om hur bolaget ska välja. Frågan är vilka faktorer som kan förklara revisorns rekommendation. Metod och analys Studien har en deduktiv ansats med induktiva inslag samt an-vänder en kombination av kvalitativ och kvantitativ data. Den kvalitativa datan består utav en pilotstudie och den kvantitativa datan utav en enkätundersökning. Regressionsanalyser genom-fördes vid analys av den empiriska datan. Teori Studien tillämpar ett eklektiskt angreppssätt där utgångspunkten är legitimitet, institutionell teori, professionsteori och beslutsteori som används för att utveckla en modell. Resultat och slutsats Både uppfattning om rekommendation samt omfattningen av rekommendationer kan förklaras av faktorer kopplade till dels revisorns byråtillhörighet och dels revisorns personliga egenskaper.

Problem &amp; bakgrund: Den grundläggande problematiken med etisk redovisning är att den inte är lagstadgad, därför kan företagen själva styra hur de väljer att redovisa den samt hur de värderar informationen.   Etisk redovisning är ett viktigt och aktuellt ämne som succesivt bör utvecklas i näringslivet. Detta eftersom intressenter har börjat ställa högre krav på företagen att ta sitt miljömässiga, moraliska och etiska ansvar och inte bara fokusera på den ekonomiska aspekten av företaget.   Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är förklara vad etisk redovisning är samt att undersöka vilka faktorer som kan påverka hur företag använder sig av etisk redovisning.   Metod: Undersökningen är en litteraturstudie som bygger på en abduktiv forskningsmetod med en kvalitativ ansats.   Resultat &amp; slutsatser: Efter att ha granskat lagar och rekommendationer, den insamlade teoretiska grunden, tidigare forskning och tre olika branscher inom Sverige, textilindustrin, gruvindustrin och konsultbranschen som alla har sina egna risker och krav. Slutsatsen är att de faktorer som påverkar hur företagen redovisar etisk redovisning och varför de gör detta är storleken på företaget, trovärdighet hos intressenterna samt att de andra företagen inom samma bransch väljer att redovisa etisk redovisning likvärdigt det största företaget inom branschen. Det sista målet med uppsatsen var att ta reda på vad etisk redovisning är. Etisk redovisning är en icke-finansiell redovisning som företag väljer att redovisa frivilligt för att skapa förtroende hos intressenter. Med icke-finansiell redovisning menas frivillig information som inte anses mätbar i pengar som visar hur företaget arbetar på ett etiskt och moraliskt sätt för att exempelvis förbättra arbetsvillkoren för sina anställda. / Problem &amp; Background: The fundamental problem of ethical accounting is that it is not statutory, thereby allows companies to control how they choose to present it and how they value the information. Ethical accounting is an important and timely subject, which should gradually become more important in business. This is because stakeholders have begun to place greater demands on the companies to take their environmental, moral and ethical responsibility, and not just focus on the financial aspect of the company.   Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explain what ethical accounting is and to investigate the factors that can influence how companies choose to use ethical reporting.   Method: The study is a literature study that is based on an abductive research method with a qualitative approach.   Results &amp; Conclusions: After reviewing laws and recommendations, the collected theoretical basis, previous research and three different industries in Sweden, the textile industry, mining and consulting industry who all have their own risks and requirements. The conclusion is that the factors affecting how companies report ethical accounting and why they do this is the size of the company, credibility with stakeholders and the other companies within the same industry chooses to report ethical accounting equivalent to the largest company in the industry. The last objective of this thesis was to find out what ethical accounting is. Ethical accounting is a non -financial reporting that companies choose to report voluntarily to build trust among stakeholders. With non -financial reporting means volunteer information that is not considered measurable in money, that shows how the company operates in an ethical and moral manner, for example to improve working conditions for their employees.

Humankapital har ökat i betydelse då allt fler företag har blivit så kallade kunskapsföretag, vilka inriktar sig på att skapa värde genom att endast erbjuda personalens kunskap, kompetens och erfarenhet. Humankapitalet menar forskare, är en tillgång för företaget och borde därför också redovisas som en sådan, precis som företagets andra tillgångar. Dock får inte humankapital i dagens läge tas upp som en tillgång i den finansiella rapporten. Det redovisas därför ofta frivilligt av företagen i hållbarhetsredovisningar. Kunskapsföretagen borde enligt forskare vara de som redovisar absolut mest information om sitt humankapital, då det är företags viktigaste tillgång. Forskare menar också att företagens storlek är en faktor som påverkar hur mycket humankapital som redovisas. Är detta verkligheten? Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka om det finns några skillnader i hur kunskapsföretag och industriföretag redovisar sitt humankapital i sin årsredovisning samt om företagets storlek påverkar mängden humankapital som återfinns i företagens årsredovisningar. Metoden som används var en kvalitativ dokumentundersökning. I empiri och analys kapitlet finns företagssammanfattningar och vad Scoreboarden gav för resultat. Resultatet redovisas utefter Scoreboardens olika kategorier: anställda, anställdas utbildning, anställdas välmående och motivation, övrig kvalitativ information, styrelse och ledning. Resultatet analyseras också utefter kategori för att underlätta överskådligheten och analysen. Vi delar sedan upp Scoreboarden i två övergripande kategorier: ”Anställda” och ”Ledande befattningshavare”. En analys görs av dessa övergripande kategorier. ”Anställda” består av kategorierna: anställda, anställdas utbildning, anställdas välmående och motivation samt övrig kvalitativ information. ”Ledande befattningshavare” består av: styrelse och ledning. Sist analyseras skillnaden mellan företagens totala redovisning av humankapital. Slutsatser som kan dras utifrån undersökningen är att det finns en skillnad mellan kunskapsföretag och industriföretag om vi bryter ner informationen. Kunskapsföretagen redovisar mer information om ”Anställda”, medan industriföretagen redovisar mer om ”Ledande befattningshavare”. Studeras den totala bilden är skillnaderna mindre. Dock finner vi att industriföretagens redovisning av humankapital påverkas av företagets storlek, medan kunskapsföretaget inte uppvisar en sådan trend. / Human capital has become increasingly important as more companies have become so called knowledge-based enterprises, which focuses on creating value by offering their staff knowledge, skills and experience. The human capital is, according to scientists, an asset to the company and should therefore be recognized as such, just like the company's other assets. However, human capital cannot be recognized as an asset in the financial report. Firms therefore often report this information voluntarily in sustainability reports. According to researchers, the knowledge companies should be the one that presents the most information regarding its human capital, since it is such a company's most important asset. Researchers also believe that corporate size is a factor that affects how much human capital is reported. Is this reality? The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there are any differences in how knowledge- and industry enterprises reports its human capital in its annual report, and if the company's size affects the amount of human capital that can be found in corporate annual reports. The method used was a qualitative document examination. In the empirical evidence and analysis chapter, the reader can find company summaries and the results the scoreboard gave us. The results are reported according to the Scoreboards different categories: employees, employee training, employee well-being and motivation, other qualitative information, the board and management. The results are also analyzed by category to facilitate transparency and the analysis. We then divided the scoreboard into two overall categories: "Employees" and "Senior Management". An analysis is made of these overall categories. "Employee" is composed of the categories: employees, employee training, employee well-being and motivation and other qualitative information. "Senior management" consists of: Board and management. Finally, the difference between a company's overall human capital reporting is analyzed. The conclusions that can be drawn from the survey are that there is a difference between knowledge- and industry enterprises when they are broken down by categories. Knowledge Enterprises presents more information about "Employees", while industrial companies report more about "Senior Management". Looking at the total picture, the differences are minor; however, we find that the industrial firms' reporting of human capital is influenced by firm size, while the knowledge company does not exhibit such a trend.

Ugdymo funkcijų siejimas su nevyriausybinėmis organizacijomis ir konkrečiai su savanoriška veikla pasitaiko retai. Šio darbo idėja yra aktualizuoti savanorystę kaip pagalbos priemonę sprendžiant paauglių psichosocialines problemas. Tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė, kad savanoriška veikla užsiimantys ir ją organizuojantys asmenys paauglių psichosocialinių problemų atsiradimo priežastis įvardina kaip dvasinius išgyvenimus, nepatenkintą bendravimo poreikį, aplinkos ir žalingų įpročių veiksnius, neatitinkantį socialinių normų elgesį, savo tapatumo nebuvimą, užimtumo stoką ir socialinių įgūdžių stoką. Paauglių psichosocialinių problemų sprendimui didelės įtakos turi palanki socialinė aplinka, kurioje jaunas žmogus viliasi jaustis gerai, kuri jam padeda pasijusti reikšmingu, reikalingu ir t.t. Taip pat, įtakos turi savanorio asmeninės savybės, vertybinė orientacija, gebėjimai ir charakterio bruožai. Tyrimas atskleidė, kad savanoriams, sprendžiant paauglių psichosocialines problemas labiausiai reikalinga įstaigų/organizacijų ir bendruomenių pagalba, taip pat reikalinga kvalifikuotų specialistų pagalba. Savanorių organizacija per vykdomas programas ir edukacinės pagalbos teikimą padeda paaugliams spręsti psichosocialines problemas. / Linking educational functions with non-governmental organizations, especially volunteering, is rare. The idea of this work is to actualize volunteering as a way of help, while solving psychosocial problems of adolescents. Results of the study show that people who organize and participate in volunteering distinguish several reasons for psychosocial problem that the adolescents have, i.e. emotional experiences, lack of communication, environmental factors and bad habits, behavior that does not meet social norms, lack of understanding its identity, lack of activities and also lack of social skills. Adolescent psychosocial problem solving is strongly influenced by a favorable social environment in which a young person hopes to feel well, which makes him feel significant, necessary, etc. Personal qualities, values, skills and characteristics of a volunteer are also important. The research shows that while solving psychosocial problems of adolescents’ volunteers need help from organizations, communities and also qualified specialists. Volunteer organizations through programs and educational assistance help adolescents to solve their psychosocial problems.

The purpose of this study was to find an explanation for why Amnesty International in Sweden has seen an increasing number of members, while the number of participants at the national annual meeting has decreased. The method of the study was done with an inductive approach in which the problem has affected the choice of theory and empirical data. The empirical data has been collected through both qualitative and quantitative method in which the analysis was implemented with support by statistics and interviews. To strengthen the arguments in the paper, sociological theories on organizations are used and also theories about social movements. The conclusion of the study is that Amnesty International Sweden has undergone a transformation towards a decentralized organization because it is not longer relevant for people who are members to achieve the purpose of the organization to participate at the annual meeting. This because that these members accesses the recourses they want to achieve by working on a local level. The main conclusion of this study is that Amnesty has moved towards being an organization that to some extent are working as a social movement, where there is no longer any clear link between local work and the central board of Directors.