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Det engelska språket har genom åren börjat undervisas i allt yngre åldrar i Sverige där muntlig produktion utgör en stor del av undervisningen. För många elever är detta kul och spännande men för vissa elever uppstår talängslan. Talängslan avser att känna oro och obehag inför att tala. Den här studien har genomförts utifrån intresset att undersöka vad elever har för attityder till den muntliga kommunikationen i engelskundervisningen samt vad lärare har för uppfattningar om talängslan och hur de arbetar för att främja muntlig produktion i ämnet. Studien är genomförd utifrån både elev- och lärarperspektiv genom metodkombination där enkäter och semistrukturerade intervjuer använts. All insamlad empiri har koncentrerats, kategoriserats och tolkats utifrån en induktiv ansats samt teorin WTC och det sociokulturella perspektivet. Informanterna i denna studie var 38 elever i årskurserna 2 och 3 samt tre lärare med behörighet att undervisa engelska i årskurserna 1–3. Resultatet visar att elever i årskurserna 2 och 3 till stor del har en positiv inställning till den muntliga produktionen i engelskämnet. Sammantaget visar resultatet från både elevenkäter och lärarintervjuer att talängslan förekommer, om än i liten grad. Resultatet visar även att elevernas trygghet ligger till grund för elevernas vilja att kommunicera på engelska, där varierade arbetssätt, mindre grupper och elevernas intressen förespråkas. / Over the years, the English language has started to be taught at younger ages in Sweden where oral production forms a large part of the education. For many pupils this is fun and exciting, but for some pupils language anxiety can occur. Language anxiety refers to feeling anxiety and discomfort towards speaking. This study has been carried out based on the interest to investigate pupils' attitudes towards oral communication in English education, and teachers' perceptions of language anxiety and how they work to promote oral production in the English language class. The study is carried out from both pupils and teacher perspectives through a combination of methods where questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used. All collected data has been compiled, categorized, and interpreted based on an inductive approach as well as the WTC theory and the socio-cultural perspective. The informants in this study were 38 pupils in grades 2 and 3, and three teachers with authorization to teach English in grades 1–3. The results show that pupils in grades 2 and 3 mainly have a positive attitude towards oral production in the English subject. Overall, the results from both pupils’ questionnaires and teacher interviews show that language anxiety occurs, albeit to a small degree. The results also show that the pupils' sense of safety is the basis for the pupils' willingness to communicate in English, where varied working methods, smaller groups and the pupils' interests are advocated. / <p>Engelska</p>

Kontorshyresmarknaden i Stockholm har de senaste åren blomstrat med höga hyresnivåer, låga vakansgrader och en stabil ekonomisk tillväxt. Allt fler företag söker sig till kontor inne i Stockholm city vilket har lett till att hyresgästerna befinner sig i en position där det är konkurrens om utbudet på lokaler samtidigt som efterfrågan på mer flexibilitet i hyresavtalen har ökat. Hittills har få fastighetsägare i Stockholm börjat erbjuda mer flexibla hyresavtal till sina hyresgäster, istället har tredjepartsaktörer såsom coworking- och kontorshotellsbolag absorberat den marknad som möter hyresgästernas efterfrågan på flexibilitet. Den positionen fastighetsägarna i Stockholm befinner sig i just nu med höga hyror och låga vakanser gör att de inte behöver ta steget för att anpassa kontorsutbudet till hyresgästernas önskan om flexibilitet, men i takt med digitaliseringens utveckling, ändrade arbetsvanor och arbetssätt samt en potentiell annalkandelågkonjunktur kan detta komma att ändras. För de fastighetsägare som väljer att gå igenom processen för att anpassa lokalutbudet så att flexibla hyresavtal kan växa fram återstår dock frågan om hur lönsamt det kommer vara att erbjuda mer flexibla hyresalternativ. Detta arbete syftar till att undersöka betalningsviljan för flexibla hyresavtal rörande kontraktslängd, yta och service hos kontorshyresgäster i Stockholm CBD. För att fånga betalningsviljan har en kvantitativ enkätundersökning samt en kvalitativ intervjustudie genomförts, där hyresgäster med kontor i CBD varit respondenter i båda undersökningarna. Resultaten från studien visar att det finns en mycket stor andel hyresgäster i Stockholms primära affärsdistrikt som är villiga att betala ett premietillägg om 4% på marknadshyran för att få ta del av gemensam service i form av reception, konferensrum, omklädningsrum och cykelgarage i fastigheten. En stor andel av hyresgästerna är även villiga att betala ett premietillägg om 25% på marknadshyran för att hyra ett kontor i en fastighet där det även finns tillgång till coworkingyta och därmed möjlighet att hyra extra arbetsplatser. Undersökningen visade även att det finns en relativt stor betalningsvilja för nyckelfärdiga kontor med hyresavtal som löper på obestämd tid och har kort uppsägningstid där premietillägget var 50% på marknadshyran. Tidigare studier visar att en efterfråga på flexibla hyresavtal hos kontorshyresgäster finns, och resultaten från den här studien pekar på att det också finns en vilja att betala mer än marknadsmässig hyra för att få mer flexibilitet i hyresavtalet. För fastighetsägare som är villiga att erbjuda mer flexibla hyresavtal kommer det vara viktigt att diversifiera hyresgästportföljen för att minimera den risk som flexibla hyresavtal medför. Genom att erbjuda hyresgästerna en meny av kontrakt kommer en större mix av hyresavtal kunna uppnås. / such as coworking and flexible office companies have absorbed the market that meets the tenants' demand for flexibility. The current market that property owners in Stockholm is in with high rents and low vacancies has led to a situation where they do not have to take the step to adapt the office supply to the tenants' desire for flexibility, but in line with the progress of digitization, changed working habits and a potential prospective recession this can change in the future. However, the question of how profitable it will be to offer more flexible rental options remains for those property owners who choose to go through the process of adapting the office supply so that flexible leases can grow. The purpose of this thesis is to examine office tenants’ willingness to pay for flexible lease agreements concerning contract length, area and service in Stockholm CBD. In order to capture the willingness to pay, a quantitative survey and a qualitative interview study were conducted, where tenants with offices in the CBD were respondents in both surveys. The results of the study show that there is a very large proportion of tenants in Stockholm's primary business district who are willing to pay a premium of 4% on the market rent in order to benefit from shared service in the form of reception, conference rooms, changing rooms and bicycle garage in the property. A large proportion of the tenants were also willing to pay a premium of 25% on the market rent in order to rent an office in a property where there is also access to a coworking area and thus the opportunity to rent extra workplaces. The survey also showed that there was a relatively large willingness to pay for turnkey offices with lease agreements that run indefinitely and have a short notice period where the premium was 50% on the market rent. Previous studies show that the demand for flexible lease agreements for office tenants exists, and the results from this study also indicate that a willingness to pay more than the market-based rent to get the flexibility exists. For property owners who are willing to offer more flexible leases, it will be important to diversify the tenant portfolio to minimize the risk that flexible leases entail. By offering tenants a menu of contracts, a larger mix of rental agreements can be achieved.

This dissertation is an empirical investigation into the roles that different quantifiable and measurable perceptions play in defining individual behavior across a variety of decision-making contexts. In particular, the focus lies on smokers and the choices they make with regard to smoking and beyond. Chapter 1 analyzes a nationally representative sample of adults (23 years and older) in the United States, pertaining to the Annenberg Perception of Tobacco Risk Survey II (1999-2000). It is observed that three dimensions to smoking behavior viz., risk, temporality and addiction, interact to determine the smoking status of an individual. Although previous studies mostly looked into each of these dimensions in isolation, in this chapter, we empirically illustrate how perceptions on risk, time dimensions and addiction, jointly influence the smoking behavior of adults. Chapter 2 casts the smoker in the role of a parent and explores parental behavior towards the general health-risks facing their children. Using the dataset from a survey (2009), conducted in Orlando, Florida, on parents, having at least one child aged between 1 and 16 years, the chapter arrives at two findings relevant for policy: i) In each of the ‗smoker‘ and ‗non-smoker‘ parent categories, parents exhibit equal concern for themselves and their children, and ii) the level of concern shown by smoker-parents, towards health-risks faced by their children, is the same as that shown by their non-smoking counterparts. The analysis in this chapter also affirms the need to incorporate subjective risk assessment in willingness-to-pay (WTP) exercises to facilitate a deeper behavioral analysis of health risk valuation. Lastly, in Chapter 3, we focus on the issue of quantitative assessment of the perception of health risks from smoking. Particular interest lies in understanding how variants of a metric - namely, a survey question - have been employed in academic studies and industry-surveys, in order to measure smoking-related risk-perceptions. In the process of reviewing select tobacco-industry survey iv records, we analyze the implications of different features of this metric, (e.g., use of a ‗probe‘, the ‗Don‘t Know‘ option), and various interview modes (e.g. telephonic, face-to-face), for the estimates of perceived risk arrived at in these studies. The review makes clear that two aspects of health risks from smoking – the risk of contracting a smoking-related disease, as against the risk of prematurely dying from it conditional upon getting affected – have not been jointly explored so far. The dataset obtained from the Family Heart Disease and Prevention Survey (November 2010-March 2011), provides a unique opportunity to explore these two kinds of probabilities, particularly with regard to the risks of lung-cancer from smoking. Chapter 3 concludes by illustrating how individuals evaluate both these aspects of health-risks. While the probability of getting lung-cancer is found to be overestimated in conjunction with previous studies, the conditional probability of premature death is severely underestimated. Additionally, it is found that individuals‘ subjective assessments of either of these risk aspects predict smoking behavior in an identical manner. This calls into question the so-called ‗rationality‘ of smoking decisions with implications for policies designed for the control of tobacco consumption.

Arab countries strive toward the modernization and feminization of the Arab culture; however, some of these countries (i.e., Saudi Arabia) are culturally and legally governed by "sharia law", and have maintained cultural norms regarding segregation of the sexes. In order to have a better understanding of the Arab travelers to the U.S., this research focuses on the gender dynamics between the service providers and Arab customers during a service encounter. Specifically, this research examines how the same and opposite genders of service-provider and customer influence Arab customers’ emotional response (comfort), consequently their service encounter evaluation (satisfaction), and behavioral intentions (feedback willingness). This research also examines how the employees’ efforts to solicit feedback from Arab customers may intensify the effect of gender dynamics on Arab customers’ responses. Scenario-based online surveys are created and distributed to respondents of Arab descent in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates by using snowball sampling. The results based on 326 respondents show potential differences determined by gender interaction. Arab customers were more comfortable, more satisfied with the service encounter, and more willing to provide feedback, if the employee was the same gender as the customer, as opposed to the employee being the opposite gender from the customer. However, results showed that employee efforts to solicit feedback did not intensify the gender interaction effect. Additionally, through the service encounter, the Arab customers’ comfort influenced their service encounter satisfaction and their willingness to provide feedback. The findings of this research provide valuable implications for hospitality managers to better cater to the needs of Arab customers by examining the dimensions of gender boundaries in an intercultural service encounter.

M. Tech. (Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Sport has become the great unifier globally since governments, countries and organisations are using it as a resource to bring people together. The sport industry is one of the fastest rising business segments and its primary aim/objective is to generate the revenue from sport spectators. In the past decade, the behaviour of sport spectators has received increasing attention in academic literature. A better understanding of how and why sport spectators go to stadiums and travel great distances to support their sport clubs is of great interest to sport marketers. Soccer, in particular, is perhaps one of the greatest sport phenomena in terms of its attraction for hundreds of thousands of occasional spectators of every age and gender, who come together in soccer stadiums around the globe every week to watch games. In South Africa, soccer is the leading sport from both a participation and spectator viewpoint. Understanding sport consumers willingness to attend is arguably one of the most important concerns in sport marketing and consumer-relationship management. As found in sport consumption literature, a “good relationship with sport consumers by sport clubs is an essential factor for a successful sport business” because it is much cheaper to serve satisfied consumers and easier to sustain their support. The purpose of this study was to examine selected motivational variables that influence spectators’ attendance of professional women’s soccer matches to better understand the development of the sports consumption sector. There is an absence of research conducted concerning this direction and subsequently a lack of existing literature, especially among women’s sport. To contribute to filling this void, this study attempts to measure the relationships between these variables. Earlier research has demonstrated that consumers’ willingness to attend is highly determined by their satisfaction. This study is descriptive and correlational in nature and follows a quantitative research approach. The target population comprised spectators of professional women’s soccer in the Gauteng province of South Africa. A snowball sampling technique was used to identify the participants fitting the predetermined sample standards. A total number of 316 questionnaires were received and analysed. Relevant areas, research approaches and data acquiring procedures were described. Additionally, means and factor analysis were performed to determine the level of selected motivational variables, team satisfaction and willingness to attend of spectators and to establish the underlying factors of the constructs respectively. Moreover, a correlation analysis was conducted to establish the strength and direction of the relationship between the study variables. Lastly, a regression analysis was performed to check the predictive relationship between the study’s constructs. The study revealed that motivational variables (vicarious achievement, involvement, social interaction, perceived value) have a significant relationship with spectator satisfaction. In addition, spectator satisfaction was found to be the determinant of spectator willingness to attend professional women’s soccer matches. Based on the results of this study, this research adds to the scant literature on spectators of women’s sport and proposes perspectives on the level of motives and behaviours of spectators, which can be used by women’s sport organisations and government organisations in elevating women’s soccer in South Africa. In this way, sport organisations could develop spectator engagement campaigns and marketing materials in order to engender and enhance women’s spectator participation. Further, sport managers and sport marketers should make every effort to increase the perceived value of services such as fees which are fair, albeit under the global negative economic climate, in order to satisfy the needs of spectators and at the same time reap rewards from the presence of spectators in stadiums and ensure that this presence continues. Based on these findings, limitations as well as future research opportunities and contributions of this study are discussed.

This study examined the effects of wet aging on water-soluble flavor compounds, descriptive flavor, consumer acceptability, and willingness-to-pay of beef strip steaks. Twenty USDA Select boneless beef loins (NAMP #180) were dorsally divided into four equal portions, which were randomized to receive either 0, 7, 14, or 21 d of wet aging. Short-chained peptide concentration increased from 4.11 mg/g on d 0 to 5.12 mg/g on d 7 (P = 0.011) and subsequently increased to 7.14 mg/g on d 21 (P < 0.001). Cooked beef contained 1.85 mg/g less short-chained peptides than raw beef (P < 0.001). Wet aging for 21 d increased the concentrations of amino acids, which are precursors for the Maillard reaction, including methionine, threonine, cystine, serine, tryptophan, and phenylalanine (P < 0.001). Wet aging decreased the nucleotide concentrations (P ≤ 0.003) and increased hypoxanthine concentration, a compound that imparts bitter flavor (P < 0.001). Flavor intensity of steaks was greater on d 14 than on d 21 (P = 0.009). Steaks that were not aged (d 0) had a more intense umami taste than those aged for 7 and 21 d (P ≤ 0.042); whereas d 7 steaks had less off-flavor, described as metallic, oxidized, and cardboard, than steaks from other aging treatments (P ≤ 0.038). Demand analysis indicated that 14-d steaks would be sold at 5.2, 5.2, and 6.7 units (0.454kg/unit) less (P < 0.001) than steaks aged for 0, 7, and 21 d if holding price constant at $14/0.454kg. Wet aging alters the content of water-soluble flavor compounds in beef, which contributes to flavor development during cooking. Wet aging for 21 d decreased umami taste and flavor intensity. However, amino acid concentrations increased during aging, which contributes to meaty and browning flavors that may be more prevalent in other direct heating methods such as grilling. In addition, results indicated that wet aging for 14 d was not sufficient to provide the flavor and tenderness improvements that were apparent after 21 d of aging since aging beef for 14 d decreased consumer acceptance and demand.

Bakgrund: Bakgrunden presenterar digitaliseringens utveckling och jämför det med media som tidigare varit analogt. Därefter redogörs för utvecklingen av automatiserade finansiella rådgivare och de utvecklingsstadier det genomgått. I samband med utvecklingen påträffas olika aspekter hos unga småsparare som påverkar förtroendet som övergången från att använda mänskliga finansiella rådgivare till robotrådgivare. Syftet: Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka hur företag inom fondförsäljning och aktiemäklarbanker kan nyttja robotrådgivningstjänster bland unga småsparare. Undersökningen fokuserar främst på aspekterna informationsspridning och riskupplevelse.  Teoretisk referensram: Denna studie utgår från tre olika teorier, vilka omfattar Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, Theory of perceived risk och Innovation Diffusion Theory. Metod: Studien utför en kvantitativ ansats genom en tvärsnittsdesign. Urvalsramen inkluderar unga vuxna som är 18 till 30 år. Datainsamlingen genomfördes via sociala medier och skolplattformar, och totalt deltog 151 unga högskolestudenter i enkätundersökningen.  Slutsats: Utifrån resultaten förekommer det en positiv korrelation mellan användningen och riskupplevelsen, vilket gör att robotrådgivare har en möjlighet att attrahera unga vuxna till segmentet.

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