Incentives for swedish pharmacies’ sustainability reporting: weak stakeholder influence and strong legal demands

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the Swedish pharmacy market and the potential influence different levels of legal pressure have on sustainability reporting. Interviews with pharmacy representatives and document analysis of sustainability reports and policies were combined, grounded in a constructivist perspective to analyze incentives for sustainability reporting. The data collected was thematically analyzed using concepts of power and Triple Bottom Line, internal/external incentive and level of norms. Furthermore, stakeholder theory and legal pluralism were applied to illuminate and discuss results in regards to their potential influence on sustainability reporting practice. The research found that only two of 43 pharmacy actors proved to have sustainability reports available, and two others said to start reporting this year, due to new legal requirements. All pharmacies said external incentives like customer expectations were important influencers of sustainability. Still, not until legal demands are relevant, two more decided to report. Thus, social norms are not as influential as legal norms. As the study is limited to one industry and country, results are not representative of sustainability incentives across industries nor the EU. Still, the research offers insight in both regulatory implications, like the results of the Amending Directive 2014/95/EU, and the various influencers of corporate governance. The thesis originality and value lies in filling the gap of knowledge identified in the literature review, in regards to a lack of research on sustainability reporting in pharmacy retail. Moreover, the topic is highly relevant due to national legal changes in for instance the Swedish Accounts Legislation (1995:1554), following EU directive 2014/95/EU creating a new context for sustainability

Riding in landscape : planning for improved availability for riders

Att rida ut i naturen på sin häst är ett sätt att uppleva landskapet men det är också motion och rekreation. Målet med uppsatsen är att studera och beskriva det nuvarande intresset och arbetet på lokal, och även till viss del regional nivå, med att förbättra tillgängligheten för ryttare i utvalda delar av Skåne som består av intensivt brukad jordbruksmark. I de utvalda områdena finns det en problematik med ett ökat antal ryttare och hästar och få möjligheter att röra sig i landskapet. Uppsatsen undersöker hur tre kommuners processer, med tyngdpunkt på Ängelholms kommun, ser ut för att öka tillgängligheten för ryttare. Genom intervjuer med personer som är aktiva i ett ridslingeprojekt i Ängelholms kommun och erfarenheter från de andra kommunernas representanter skapas en bild av hur arbetet ser ut. Syftet är att förstå hur arbetet ser ut i några Skånska kommuner och delvis på regional nivå, såväl som att öka medvetenheten om ridslingor i det aktuella landskapet, vilket även kan ligga till grund för en generellt ökad tillgänglighet i vårt landskap. Uppsatsen tar upp vikten av goda markägarrelationer, de fördelar kommuner får ut av satsning på ridslingor och hur förutsättningarna för ryttare i de aktuella områdena ser ut. Studierna visar på att det är eftertraktat bland ryttare att få bättre ridmöjligheter i landskapet. Markägarna är en avgörande aktör i sammanganget och även den ideella kraften från föreningarna för skötsel av ridslingor. På regional nivå finns idag den nybildade föreningen Hästen i Skåne som kan komma att fylla det behov som finns av en samordning av hästrelaterade samhällsfrågor i regionen. Att förbättra tillgängligheten i det intensivt odlade jordbrukslandskapet är ett relativt nytt fenomen och de pågående projekten i kommunerna behöver därför utvärderas om några år. To go horseback riding in nature is a way to experience the landscape; however horseback riding also function as exercise and recreation. The aim of this essay is to study and describe the current interest in landscape availability, in addition to the work being done at a local, as well as partial description of regional level, to enhance the availability for riders in selected parts of Skåne. In these selected areas there are problems with increasing numbers of riders and horses and few possibilities to use the landscape for riding, due to intensively farmed agricultural land. The essay investigates the efforts regarding enhancing availability in three different municipals, with focus on the municipal of Ängelholm. Interviews with people active in a project concerning riding trails in Ängelholm, combined with experiences of the representatives from the other municipals, provide an idea of the proper approach. The intention is to; firstly, understand the current work at both local and regional level and secondly to increase awareness regarding riding trails and availability in selected areas. The essay also points out the importance of good relationships between owners of the land and the municipal board. The existing availability and conditions for riders, as well as the benefits riding trails might entail, is also explained. Studies show that it is highly desired amongst the riders to improve the possibilities of riding in the landscape. Landowners are essential to enable riding trails, just as much as the non-profit organisations are important in order to maintain the trails. The newly formed association “Hästen i Skåne”, which is on a regional level, might be able to handle questions regarding horses in selected areas. The suggestion to increase availability in landscapes and farmed agricultural land is new, consequently the ongoing projects must be evaluated in the coming years

Corporate Social Responsibility - konstruktionen av dess sociala dimension

Author: Ulrika Möllerström Title: Corporate Social Responsibility – the construction of its social dimension. Supervisor: Lars Harrysson Assessor: Carina Tigervall This paper has looked into how the social dimension of the concept “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) is constructed in corporate codes of conduct (CoC) from Swedish clothing companies. Previously made research have shown that no general definition of CSR exists and that the concept revolves around three main dimensions; economic, environmental and social. This paper attempted to, by using social constructivism and discourse theory’s concept of antagonism and hegemony amongst others, uncover the construction of the social dimension of CSR within one separate industry. A discourse analysis of six CoCs, representing ten companies, showed that even though they all share similar or the same main themes, there are crucial differences in how companies choose to write about these themes. For example, all studied CoCs forbid child labor. However, how a child is to be defined and at what age employment is acceptable varies both within CoCs and between them. The concept of CSR’s social dimension can, derived from this paper’s method and result, be understood to be constructed by using themes of a general standard and a specific use of language. This makes every company the constructer of a version of the social dimension, none exactly the same as the other. Key words: corporate social responsibility (CSR), social responsibility, social dimension, code of conduct (COC), discourse, discourse theory, antagonism, hegemony, definition*, construction, Swedish clothing companies

Malmös omvandling: från arbetarstad till kunskapsstad : En diskursanalytisk studie av Malmös förnyelse

Increasingly cities compete for tourist dollars, shoppers, financial investments, know-how and tax-payers by bolstering the cities images as centers of creativity, innovation, knowledge, art, design and so forth. Accelerated and intensified globalization, technological advances, market deregulations,de-industrializations and socio-economic change have urged cities, especially former industrial cities, to remake their image and to develop a new identity. This dissertation is about the transition of a former industrial city, the city of Malmo’s transformation to a Knowledge City. The aim of this dissertation is to stress how the city’s renewed image is created and how it is interpreted by the citizens of Malmo. Theories guiding the analysis of how Malmo’s renewed image as a Knowledge City has been created are based on the framework of Lefebvre’s trialectic production of space and on Foucault’s discourse technology. Taken together, these theories highlight the active process behind the production of space and the discursive construction supporting the renewal. This means that production of space involves both visual representation and discourse production to frame an attractive image. Media and communication are indeed necessary tools in constructing and transforming societal discourse and in diffusion of city images. Focusing on the communication process and adopting the PR-perspective through a Foucauldian lens, the discourse construction is regarded as a disciplinary process aimed at changing people’s perception of the former industrial city. The interpretation of the transition by the citizens of Malmo illuminates the symbolic struggles and dynamics in between global flows and local sites. The findings are categorized according to Stuart Halls decoding processes based on the distinctions between dominated, oppositional and negotiated reading

News Media and the Öresund Region:A Case of Horizontal Europeanisation?

This article presents a first attempt to investigate the news content and news routines of Danish and Swedish news media covering the Öresund region. From a theoretical perspective, the Öresund region can be considered a possible best-case example of what is categorised as horizontal Europeanisation, in other words, of the potential for increased communication linkages in news media content among European Union (EU) member states. We investigate this topic by analysing news content published by selected media outlets from 2002 to 2012 and by interviewing Danish and Swedish journalists who cover the region. We find that most news content does not mention the Öresund region, and that one reason for this lack might be that neither Danish nor Swedish reporters consider the region to be newsworthy

Aktivitet och delaktighet i livets slutskede: arbetsterapeutiska interventioner och klienters upplevelser

Alla människor har rätt till god vård, även i livets slutskede. Det finns ett behov för aktivitetsfokus i de arbetsterapeutiska interventionerna, då även människor i livets slutskede upplever mening genom aktivitet. Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur arbetsterapeuter arbetar samt hur klienter i livets slutskede upplever aktivitet, delaktighet och de arbetsterapeutiska interventionerna som ges. En litteraturstudie resulterade i elva artiklar. Resultatet visade att klienter i livets slutskede upplevde förlust av aktiviteter och delaktighet men önskade att aktivera sig då detta gav en känsla av att vara levande. Arbetsterapeuter miljöanpassar, förskriver hjälpmedel, stöttar genom samtal och erbjuder kreativa aktiviteter. Arbetsterapeutens interventioner hade betydelse då det möjliggjorde för aktivitet, delaktighet och främjade hälsa. Resultatet visade även osäkerhet kring arbetsterapeutens roll för både klienter och andra yrkesverksamma. Resultatet tyder på ett behov av aktivitetsbaserade arbetsterapeutiska interventioner inom den palliativa vården. Forskning krävs för att undersöka arbetsterapi inom den palliativa vården samt för att tydliggöra arbetsterapeutens roll

An implementation of an aeroacoustic prediction model for broadband noise from a vertical axis wind turbine using a CFD informed methodology

This paper presents an enhanced method for predicting aerodynamically generated broadband noise produced by a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT). The method improves on existing work for VAWT noise prediction and incorporates recently developed airfoil noise prediction models. Inflow-turbulence and airfoil self-noise mechanisms are both considered. Airfoil noise predictions are dependent on aerodynamic input data and time dependent Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) calculations are carried out to solve for the aerodynamic solution. Analytical ow methods are also benchmarked against the CFD informed noise prediction results to quantify errors in the former approach. Comparisons to experimental noise measurements for an existing turbine are encouraging. A parameter study is performed and shows the sensitivity of overall noise levels to changes in inflow velocity and inflow turbulence. Noise sources are characterised and the location and mechanism of the primary sources is determined, inflow-turbulence noise is seen to be the dominant source. The use of CFD calculations is seen to improve the accuracy of noise predictions when compared to the analytic ow solution as well as showing that, for inflow-turbulence noise sources, blade generated turbulence dominates the atmospheric inflow turbulence