Over the past few years the Åland islands have attracted growing internationalattention as an example of how to successfully secure the position of a minorityregion, and in the current situation the government of Åland has an intention toextend the efforts of spreading the example of Åland. The purpose of this essay isto shed light on the political discussion about the example of Åland, andinvestigate the underlying political reasons for emphasizing the example of Ålandinternationally. Through interviews with leading politicians on Åland I analyzeÅland as a norm entrepreneur. The research shows that besides altruism, selfinterestis a factor behind emphasizing the example of Åland. The essay showsthat the theory of norm entrepreneurship also can be applied on an autonomousarea, but instead of influencing international organizations themselves, theautonomous area use norm entrepreneurship as a tool for influencing domesticpolitics..

Globalization is described as processes of economic, social and political character and a tendency in the field has been to study these aspects of the phenomenon separately. Another common feature of previous studies is to relate to the field at a high abstraction level and talk about the effects and changes in general terms. Such studies of quantitative and statistical nature in which people are constituted as homogeneous groups hides the fact that the relationship between social attributes and context creates unique positions where the effects of globalization are diverse (Sprague, 2005, pp. 16 - 18). The purpose of this bachelor thesis is therefore to break with this entrance to the field and instead focus on a micro level perspective.By conducting a qualitative interview study guided by the globalization theory of the Globalife research team, which shows how structures at the macro level can be understood to affect the micro level, the aim is to reveal potential knowledge gaps within the field.

The aim of this study was to describe and analyze the problems caused by students that characterize themselves as highly sensitive. The issue of high sensitivity and other categorizations are fiercely debated in the research. This empirical study was conducted in light of literature about high sensitivity, pedagogies, and interview methods. The students answered questions about what makes them categorize themselves and how they believe that the categorization affects their learning and social development. They also responded to questions about what they consider appropriate measures to improve their situation.

The formation of sovereign states in regional blocks has become an essential feature in the world system. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate which motives and driving forces that affect the creation of projects of regional integration outside Europe and the Western World. By choosing the Latin American project of integration ALBA (the Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas) as a case of regional integration outside Europe and the Western World, the study investigates the motives expressed by the most prominent actors of the project, Venezuela and Cuba. ALBA is chosen as a representative and a unique case and through the consumption of the gramscian and the realist approaches, the essay defines two motives that affect the creation of projects of regional integration. As a way of investigating the actors? motives, the paper studies political statements, especially those of the Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, and official positions expressed in central documents and declarations.

This study highlights the problematic situation fathers encounter when they require help and support in a custodial dispute. Previous research shows the emergence of a new, more involved father. In the light of this earlier research, this study will show a father that is willing to fight for his rights to be a present and engaged parent in the case of a separation from the mother. The aim was to analyze the subjective perceptions of five fathers in custodial dispute. This analysis did not only show how they perceive their role as a father and their masculinity but also the way they feel about the help they got from social services and other institutions.

Background and problem: Corporate Governance is a well-known phenomenon which has been the focus of plenty of research where the board of directors and the CEO have been regarded as important actors. What's affecting decisions regarding these actors has been debated whereas media has been pointed out of having an impact. To decide whether or not media can affect Corporate Governance have shown to be problematic whereas it exists divergent views regarding this. At the same time this relationship is more explored in other contexts than the swedish one, although this one is considered suitable for this. Consequently there is a motive for examining medias impact on Corporate Governance in Sweden. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to explain if media has an impact on Corporate Governance at an overall level.

Problem definition and purpose: A debated question in journalism today is if the mass media have the power to affect norms and values in the society. There are therefore many who believe that the media must works for democratic and equitable news coverage. Studies have shown that there are still many differences in how women and men are being portrayed in the Swedish media, even if Sweden is one of the most equal countries in the world. This inequality may affect the democracy and equality in the society negative.Previous studies have mainly been using gender as the only explanatory factor to explain the difference of coverage between men and women in the news content. The purpose of this study will therefore not only be to compare the coverage of the Green Partys two spokespersons, Åsa Romson and Gustav Fridolin, from a gender perspective but also to take in count other factors that could contribute to differences in the news coverage.Method and material: To find an answer to the purpose of this thesis a quantitative content analysis have been done on a total of 238 news articles in which Åsa Romson and/or Gustav Fridolin occur.Main results: The results of the content analysis show that Gustav Fridolin occurs more frequently in the news than Romson does, and that the articles he appears in is lager than the articles in which Romson appears.

Companies learn through their employees. In this paper I make research into how knowledge transfer and learning occur at Metso Paper Karlstad AB, which is a partly project based organization.The result is that there are many factors that affect the knowledge transfer in a company. Knowledge transfer occurs mainly between individuals within the company, but also between departments and other actors outside the company. In the gaps between these actors, there is a risk that knowledge is not transferred, which is an obstacle to learning. A great deal of the knowledge transfer and the learning is carried out through individual?s own drive and motivation.

The intention of this essay is to put the light on and to discuss if there is a connection between a pre-Christian creation mythology and naked rocks on prehistoric sacred places in Scandinavia. Archaeological as well as historical materials are studied. The historical material is mostly from Snorre Sturlasons Asasagan with the explanation of the creation of the world. In this story the world was built from the body of a killed and deposited giant named Ymer. Almost the same myth is told in all Indo-European countries.

Title: If you can not be seen - You do not exist: A quantitative study of how gender and other socialfactors affect the degree of visibility in the Swedish newscasts of Aktuellt and Rapport. (Syns duinte ? finns du inte: En kvantitativ studie om inverkan av kön och andra sociala aspekter påmänniskors synlighet i Aktuellt och Rapport).Number of pages: 46Author: Helena HuhtaTutor: Martin FredrikssonCourse: Media and Communication Science CPeriod: Autumn of 2009University: Division of Informatics and Media, Uppsala UniversityPurpose/Aim: The aim of this study has been to investigate to what degree women and menparticipate in the newscasts of Aktuellt and Rapport, broadcast on the Swedish public servicechannels of SVT 1 and SVT 2. Furthermore, I have also looked into how social identities, such asage and ethnicity, affect the degree of representation for each gender, respectively. Some of thebasic research questions comprise: 1.

Background to problem: Pensions play a big role in people's lives when life expectancy continues to increase. Companies can choose different ways of reporting their pension plans, and within the defined benefit pension plan poses the actuarial gains and losses that can be reported based on three different methods. Only one method will exist from 2013, how will the companies that use the other two handle the new situation?Purpose: Investigate why different companies have chosen to report its actuarial gains and losses along the corridor approach, directly against income or directly in equity. How will the companies that use the corridor method manage the situation when it will only be allowed to report in other comprehensive income as of 2013 and how will this affect them.Methodology: Data was collected through qualitative questionnaires sent to companies listed on Nasdaq OMX Nordic Stockholm, Large Cap and Mid Cap, and a qualitative interview.

Embedded Systems Lab at Umeå University is currently part of a research project with the purpose to examine the behavior of dairy cows inside a barn. Each cow needs to be tracked with a precision of 50 cm, and since GPS-technique has poor functionality at indoor environments, an indoor positioning system needs to be developed.Embedded Systems Lab has already developed an indoor positioning system using IR-light and radio, but since this system demands extensive infrastructure and is rather expensive, an alternate positioning system using ultrasonic pulses and radio is being examined.In this report the range, beam angle and current consumption of ultrasonic transmitters- and receivers are investigated. Three different driver stages for the transmitter is tested, and two amplifier solutions for the receiver. The report also describes how the length of the transmitted ultrasonic pulse affects the received signal, accessibility of a ?shadowed? signal, and the effect of different sound frequency..

DV01 is a bicycle concept aimed towards a contemporary target group, that considers the bicycle to be both a convenient means of transportation and a product with a high aesthetical value. A bicycle is for many people something that you attach to your own personal style, were not only the bicycles function but also its appearance plays a crucial role. It is also a product that consists of many different components and parts, which all affect the overall impression. The focus of the project has therefore been about finding a balance in the design. When form and function interact in a successful symbiosis, the result is often that the product may last longer and are more loved by its users..

Visby is a city that at first glance is of medieval origins. The popular image of scientists today is that the city was formed in the Middle Ages. According to some of the researchers Visby was formed during the Viking Age, it is based on the basis that the area has been used for a long period. Urban development in the Nordic countries is complex and there are different opinions as to why the Nordic cities emerge. It is important to shed light on the underlying process on why cities are emerging to provide clarity as to why Visby city is emerging.

Facebook has over 665 million users worldwide and has created a new venue for companies to interact with their stakeholders. However, since it is a new phenomenon it brings some uncertainty and confusion as how to manage the communication on Facebook, and it is only recently that research and literature has become available on this topic.The purpose of this study is to investigate how three chosen companies within the travel industry communicate on Facebook. We also compare the results to the existing literature to see how they can improve from a theoretical point of view. We thereby hope to shed a light on, and add knowledge to, a research area where we have identified weaknesses. In order to fulfill our purpose, we used a quantitative content analysis as well as qualitative interviews.The major findings in our study on Facebook communication include a lack of strategy and target audience awareness, as well as a self-centered communication.