В магистерской диссертации рассмотрены теоретические основы организации добровольного медицинского страхования. Представлен национальный и международный опыт. Показана социальная и экономическая роль медицинского страхования. Рассмотрена деятельность страховой компании СОГАЗ. Раскрыто содержание проблем в медицинском страховании. Представлены направления повышения эффективности деятельности страховой компании. / In the master's thesis theoretical bases of the organization of voluntary medical insurance are considered. National and international experience is presented. The social and economic role of health insurance is shown. The activity of the insurance company SOGAZ is considered. The content of problems in medical insurance is disclosed. Are presented directions of increase of efficiency of activity of the insurance company.

Forskningsfråga: Vilka är nyckelfaktorerna som påverkar småföretags beslut att delta eller avstå från frivillig revision?  Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka de faktorer som påverkar småföretags beslut att delta eller avstå från frivillig revision och att undersöka de potentiella för- och nackdelar förknippade med sådana revisioner. Metod: I denna studie används en kvalitativt ansats, där data samlas genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med tolv småföretag. För att analysera insamlade data strukturerades det empiriska materialet i olika kategorier baserad på studiens teoretiska ramverk. Insamlade data utifrån studiens intervjuer jämfördes med den teoretiska referensramen för att avslöja likheter och skillnader. Slutsats: Resultatet av studien visar att de främsta motiven för småföretag som avstod frivillig revision är att kostnaden ansågs vara onödig och alltför hög. Dessa företag är mer intresserade av andra ekonomiska tjänster så som upprättande av bokslut samt rådgivning. De företagen som genomgår frivillig revision gör det främst för att säkerställa kvaliteten på årsredovisningen, samt för rådgivning. / Research questions: What are the key factors influencing small firms’ decisions to participate or forgo voluntary auditing?  Purpose: The purpose is to examine the factors that influence small firms’ decisions to participate or forgo voluntary auditing and to explore the potential benefits and costs associated with such audits.  Method: In this study a qualitative approach is used, collecting data through semi-structured interviews with twelve smaller companies. To analyze collected data, the empirical material was structured into different categories based on the study’s theoretical framework. Collected data based in the study’s interviews were compared with the theoretical frame of reference to reveal similarities and differences.  Conclusion: The results of the study show that the main motives för small companies that refrained from voluntary audits are that the cost was considered unnecessary and too high. These companies are more interested in other financial services such as preparing financial statements and consulting. The companies that undergo a voluntary audit do so primarily to ensure the quality of the annual report, as well as for advice.

Denna rapport undersöker vilka förutsättningar som krävs för att frivilliga överenskommelser på klimatområdet inom universitet- och högskolesektorn ska fungera, där efterlevnaden av Klimatramverket undersöks som en fallstudie. Främst utrönas vilka förutsättningar som historiskt har varit viktiga för effektiva frivilliga överenskommelser i tidigare forskning, där en jämförelse med Klimatramverket görs för att undersöka vilka av dessa ramverket uppfyller. Vidare undersöks efterlevnaden av Klimatramverket mer djupgående för att dra slutsatser om de uppfyllda förutsättningarna har bidragit till en effektiv efterlevnad av Klimatramverket.  För att besvara rapportens frågeställning har en litteraturstudie, litteraturstudiejämförelse, enkätundersökning, intervjuer samt en webbplatsundersökning tillämpats som metoder. Litteraturstudien avsåg att undersöka vilka förutsättningar som tidigare visats leda till effektiva frivilliga överenskommelser, samt att utröna uppkomsten och karaktären av Klimatramverket. I litteraturstudiejämförelsen drogs paralleller mellan förutsättningarna och Klimatramverket för att utröna vilka av förutsättningarna ramverket uppfyller. En enkätundersökning skickades ut till de svenska högskolor och universitet som är anslutna till Klimatramverket, i syfte att undersöka efterlevnaden samt hur nära lärosätena är att uppfylla ramverkets uppsatta mål. För en djupare inblick i olika lärosätens arbete med Klimatramverket utfördes intervjuer med representanter från tre olika lärosäten. Vidare granskades ett urval av lärosätenas webbplatser i syfte att undersöka om lärosätena kommunicerar sitt klimatarbete, vilket är ett åtagande i enlighet med Klimatramverket. Resultaten från undersökningen tyder på att de av litteraturstudien funna förutsättningar för att frivilliga överenskommelser ska fungera effektivt i stor utsträckning kan tillämpas på högskole- och universitetssektorn. Från litteraturstudiejämförelsen konstateras att Klimatramverket främst uppfyller de kontextuella förutsättningarna för effektiva överenskommelser, medan de innehållsmässiga förutsättningarna åläggs de enskilda lärosätena, vilket har gjorts av flexibilitetsskäl men äventyrar även i sig effektiviteten. Resultatet bekräftas i fallstudien, där det framkommer att ett fåtal av lärosätena bedömer att de kommer uppnå ramverkets uppsatta mål, vilket indikerar att Klimatramverket hittills inte bidragit till att uppfylla nationella och internationella klimatåtaganden i större omfattning. / This thesis examines the conditions which lead to effective environmental voluntary agreements within higher education institutions (HEIs), where the Climate Framework is examined as a case study. Primarily, conditions which historically have led to successful voluntary agreements will be examined, where a comparison with the Climate Framework is made to identify which of these conditions it fulfills. Furthermore, the compliance of the Climate Framework is examined more profoundly in order to draw conclusions about whether the fulfilled conditions have led to a successful compliance of the Climate Framework.  In order to answer the questions posted in this thesis, methods such as literature review, literature review comparison, survey, interviews and a website analysis have been applied. The aim for the literature review was to examine which conditions have led to effective voluntary agreements in the past, as well as to ascertain the emergence and the nature of the Climate Framework. In the literature review comparison, parallels were drawn between the conditions and the Climate Framework to determine which of the conditions the Framework fulfills. The survey was sent to all of the Swedish HEIs affiliated with the Climate Framework, in order to investigate the compliance and how close the institutions are to fulfill the Frameworks’ set goals. In order to get a deeper insight regarding different institutions’ work with the Climate Framework, interviews were made with representatives from three different HEIs. Furthermore, a selection of HEIs’ websites was examined in order to investigate whether they are communicating their climate work, which is a commitment in accordance with the Climate Framework.   The findings from the study suggests that conditions for successful voluntary agreements identified in the literature review can largely be applied to HEIs. The literature review comparison indicates that the Climate Framework primarily fulfills the contextual conditions for effective agreements, while the content-related conditions are imposed on individual HEIs. This was made hence to flexibility reasons, but it is also jeopardizing the effectiveness of the agreement. The results are confirmed in the case study, which also reveals that only a few of the HEIs estimate that they will achieve the Frameworks’ set goals, which indicates that the Climate Framework has not so far significantly contributed to fulfilling national and international climate commitments.

This doctoral dissertation investigates the impact of incidental aesthetics on consumer perceptions. The author refers to incidental aesthetics in two dimensions. One is in the aesthetic properties of product context that is not directly related to its functional performance. And second is in the aesthetic attributes found in unexpected sources defined as ordinary objects, places, and people. Drawing on theories from aesthetics, psychology, and consumer behavior, this dissertation examines in two manuscripts how and why incidental aesthetics influence consumer evaluations. The first paper, 'Welded Together: How Responses to Incidental, Nondiagnostic Sensory Context (Mis)Guide Simultaneous Product Evaluations,' studies how evaluations of incidental aesthetics from a sensory experience with nondiagnostic product contextual cues are merged with the evaluations of the target product. The second paper, 'Consumer Attentiveness to Beauty in the Ordinary,' examines an understudied dimension of beauty. The construct of attentiveness to beauty in the ordinary is defined as the degree to which individuals mindfully identify and formulate an aesthetic judgment of common visual elements and integrate this mindset into their daily experiences. The authors develop a four-item Attentiveness to Beauty in the Ordinary Scale to measure the construct. Using a mixed-methods approach, combining a series of laboratory experiments and field studies from a diverse sample of consumers (Npaper1 = 49,435; Npaper2 = 2,051), the authors show in the first paper that unappealing (appealing) incidental sensory experiences lead to lower (higher) product evaluations, including perceived quality and purchase intention. The effect emerges when the incidental evaluation pertains to a dimension closely related to the product dimension being evaluated. In the second paper, the findings provide evidence of validity and reliability of the Attentiveness to Beauty in the Ordinary Scale, situate the scale in a network of related constructs such as appreciation of beauty, engagement with beauty, dispositional awe, voluntary simplicity, materialism, mindfulness, and subjective happiness, and demonstrate the predictive value of the scale for consumer perceptions and behavior. Specifically, people high (vs. low) in ordinary beauty attentiveness are less discriminating in aesthetic evaluations of ordinary elements, find higher product quality in naturally-aesthetic packaging, are less persuaded by endorsers' attractiveness, and are more likely to buy imperfect produce. This dissertation contributes to the literature on aesthetics and sensory marketing by revealing that aesthetic experiences that are not intentionally designed or not expected but naturally occur in consumption environments have a significant impact on consumer evaluations. The results have practical implications for marketers and designers, who can leverage the power of incidental aesthetics in marketing strategies to enhance product perceptions. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation explores, across two papers, how natural aesthetic qualities found in things, people, places, or in product contexts, referred to as incidental aesthetics, can influence our perceptions and evaluations of products. In the first paper, the authors find a novel effect in which consumers "merge" aesthetic evaluations of incidental product context that do not affect the functionality of the product (e.g., bad/good music on headphones) with product evaluations they make at the same time (e.g., bad/good quality headphones). This effect occurs because people spontaneously mix the evaluation of the context (e.g., music sound) with the evaluation of a closely related product attribute (e.g., sound quality). In the second paper, the authors define attentiveness to beauty in the ordinary as a disposition that some people have of being more open to finding beauty when it is not expected (i.e., incidental aesthetics) and therefore seeing beauty more frequently in everyday situations than other people. The authors create a scale to measure this individual disposition and find that 1) people with high (vs. low) attentiveness to ordinary beauty see less of a difference in the beauty of elements high and low in aesthetics, 2) find higher product quality in naturally-aesthetic packaging, 3) are less persuaded by the attractiveness of an endorser in an advertisement, and 4) are more likely to buy aesthetically imperfect produce. Adding to existing research, the findings of both papers provide new insights into the impact of incidental aesthetics in consumption settings. Surprisingly, even when aesthetic experiences are not intentionally designed or expected to be found, they can still play a significant role in shaping consumer behavior. These findings have practical implications for marketers, who should consider the incidental aesthetics of their products and contexts to create a more positive experience for consumers, leading to higher product perceptions. Overall, this research suggests that the power of aesthetics in influencing behavior extends beyond what consumers consciously perceive or expect to find.

The objective of this study is to empirically investigate the differences in human capital profile of new appointed female directors to corporate boards as a result of mandatory quotas and voluntary targets. By exploring differences in age, and human capital differences in board tenure, executive experience (CEO, CFO), number of qualifications, and the number of directorships held by these women, this study contributes to the important and current international public policy decision debate on relevance and wisdom of adopting a mandatory gender quota or introducing voluntary targets. The study uses human capital theory to evaluate the profiles of 41 new female directors appointed through a mandatory quota in Norway and 397 new female directors appointed through voluntary targets in Australia and extends the current corporate governance literature on board gender regulation by exploring whether female directors differ in human capital as a result of the two types of regulations. The results of this study show that new female directors hired through a quota are on average younger than new female directors hired through a target; new female directors hired through a quota are less likely to have more years of board experience than new female directors hired through a target; new female directors hired through a quota are likely to have more years of executive experience than new female directors hired through a target; and new female directors hired through a quota have lower number of qualifications than new female directors hired through a target. These results, albeit contrary to the hypotheses developed in this study, propose several important implications from an academic, management, and policy point of view while at the same time have limitations that present opportunities for future research.

Titel: Efterfrågan på frivillig revision i mikroföretag - vilka faktorer påverkar företag att anlita en revisor, ett årtionde efter den frivilliga revisionens införande? Nivå: Examensarbete på grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi. Författare: Anna Proos och Frida Söderlund Handledare: Jan Svanberg  Datum: januari 2023  Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka vad som gör att mikroföretag efterfrågar extern revision, trots att den är frivillig.  Metod: Undersökningen utgår från en positivistisk forskningsfilosofi. Undersökningen baseras på sekundärdata inhämtad från Retriever Business, gällande mikroföretag aktiva på den svenska marknaden under verksamhetsåret 2021.  Resultat och slutsats: Undersökningen visar att mikroföretagens efterfråga på frivillig revision kan, tillviss del, förklaras av deras behov av att säkra leveranser av varor och tjänster, samt deras finansiella status. Det verkar inte finnas något samband mellan efterfrågan och företagens behov att minska risken för en kommande skatterevision. Undersökningen finner heller inget samband mellan kön på ledande befattningshavare och efterfrågan på frivillig revision. Undersökningens slutsats är att modellen som används är bättre än ingen modell alls, dock verkar det finnas fler variabler, än de ingående som förklarar mikroföretagens val av frivillig revision. Potentiellt finns dessa variabler utanför de finansiella rapporterna.  Examensarbetets bidrag: Undersökningen bidrar till kunskap om mikroföretagens efterfråga av frivillig revision, vilket kan ses som en fördjupning av SME:s efterfråga. Tidigare under-sökningar är motstridiga gällande vilka faktorer som påverkar efterfrågan och vilken påverkningsgrad de har.  Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Ett förslag till framtida forskning är att undersöka fler egenskaper hos den ledande befattningshavaren, för att se om det finns personlighets egenskaper, så som ekonomisk kunskap och ålder, vilka påverkar frivillig revision. / Title: Demand for voluntary audit in micro companies – what factors affect businesses to hire an auditor, a decade after audit was made voluntary? Level: Bachelor thesis in business administration Author: Anna Proos and Frida Söderlund Supervisor: Jan Svanberg  Date: January 2023 Aim: The purpose of this thesis is to examine micro companies demand, even though it is voluntary, for external audit.  Method: This thesis takes on a positivistic philosophy. The study is based on quantitative secondary data from the database Retriever Business. The study examines micro companies active in Sweden during 2021.  Results and conclusions: The study shows that voluntary audit partly is explained by companies need to supply security for delivery of gods and partly by their financial status. It does not appear tax reassurance and avoiding a tax audit affect the demand, nor does the gender of the senior executives. The conclusion is, the model explains the demand better than no model at all. However there seems to exist alternative variables explaining the demand for voluntary audit. Potentially these variables are found elsewhere and not in the financial reports.  Contribution of the thesis: This study contributes by adding to the knowledge of the demand of micro companies regarding voluntary audit. Prior studies mostly examine SME and rarely micro companies exclusively. Since prior studies are in conflict and not in consensus with which variables effect the demand, this study helps to fill the existing gap.  Suggestions for future research: One suggestion for future research is to examine the senior executives’ different personal qualities such as their economical knowledge or age.

The purpose of this study is to investigate in what ways volunteers at local youth empowerment organizations can contribute to the prevention of adversity and intimate partner violence among youths, as well as their perception of the needs of their target group. Another aim is to discuss the possibilities of cooperation between different agents working to support adolescents, which includes volunteers, schools, parents and other adults. This subject is relevant for social work as organizations in the nonprofit sector can be established as producers of welfare services. The investigation is conducted through qualitative thematic analyses of interviews with four volunteers from two different organizations, and the analysis is presented in three themes. The theoretical perspectives applied are street-level bureaucracy, ecological system theory, stigma, and gender theory. The empirical body describes both opportunities and limitations of the preventative work, and the result implies that no single agent has enough resources to decrease adolescents’ social vulnerability by their own means. Therefore, the possibility of cooperation between agents in various levels of the ecological system is discussed. The conclusion of this study is that all agencies need to contribute to create more effective prevention and support measures to reduce youth adversity and intimate partner violence, and volunteers can play a key role in this work.

This bachelor’s thesis examines the narrative about the Swedish Women’s Volountary Defence Organization (Svenska Lottakåren) in Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning, and Svenska Dagbladet during the preparedness period (beredskapstiden) through a qualitative narrative analysis. Drawing from Lawrence Freedman’s theory of strategic narratives, the research sheds light on the newspaper’s role in shaping perceptions of Lottakåren and its efforts during the period. Furthermore, it investigates the narratives implications on a strategic level. The study concludes that the narrative may have influenced public perceptions of Lottakåren, serving specific strategic aims, such as creating support for the organization within society, fostering unity withing the organization, encourage volunteering and recruitment of new members. In doing so, this research fills a gap in knowledge on the subject while emphasizing the press’s vital role at a strategic level in times of war and crisis. / Denna uppsats undersöker narrativet om den svenska Lottakåren i Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning och Svenska Dagbladet under beredskapstiden genom en kvalitativ narrativanalys enligt uppsatsens syfte att undersöka narrativet om Svenska Lottakåren i dessa tidningar under beredskapstiden. Genom att tillämpa Lawrence Freedmans teori om strategiska narrativ belyses tidningarnas bidrag till formandet av uppfattningen om Lottakåren och dess insatser under beredskapstiden, samt betydelsen av narrativet i ett strategiskt sammanhang. Undersökningens resultat är att ett positivt narrativ om Lottakåren kan ha haft en påverkan på allmänhetens uppfattningar om Lottakåren och fyllt specifika syften såsom att öka stödet för organisationen hos allmänheten, skapa samhörighet, uppmuntra till frivillighet och rekrytera nya medlemmar. Därmed bidrar resultatet till att fylla en kunskapslucka och belysa pressens viktiga roll på en strategisk nivå i krig och kris.

The purpose of the study was to investigate how social workers in migrational non profit organizations in Sweden experienced the asylum investigation process. Furthermore to show how their experience of the asylum interview could be understood in relation to power and their opportunities to be supportive to the asylum seekers. The study was based on six interviews with social workers in the non-profit sector in Sweden. Through Frickers (2007) and Mignolos (2011) theoretical framework based on a critical power perspective, the study  showed that social workers take on a critical standpoint against Migrationsverket assessments regarding how credibility is constructed and viewed upon. Furthermore the study also showed that through empowerment the social workers strengthened the asylum seekers' sense of control and confidence during the asylum process.

This research analyzes county-level support for the 2002 Constitutional Amendments for Voluntary Universal Prekindergarten Education (VPK) and Florida’s Amendment to Reduce Class Size (CSA). Three regression models are constructed for each dependent variable (support for VPK and support for CSA): a bivariate model with political party, a full model with all theoretically identified variables, and a best model with just the independent variables that have the most explanatory power. A variety of socioeconomic, demographic and political independent variables are tested. Four independent variables had a statistically significant positive relationship with support for both VPK and CSA: Democratic registration, Hispanic population, higher education, and population density.