In Sweden approximately ten percent of all children grows up in a family where at least one parent is having an alcohol related addiction. Since 1998 the development of group activities for children in this situation has been immense. The aim of group activities is to break the child's isolation and make them feel that they are not lonely in their experiences, give them knowledge about addiction and relive the pressure of guilt and responsibility.In a comparative study we examined studied how two different group activity models one with the conception of illness and one without, use the children's network to support the group process. The aim was also to find each models definition of the "normal family", since we understood the groupactivity as a part in the normalization process. We reached our aim through interviews with group leaders and by literature studies.

The following study is a discourse analysis of the concept of critical thinking within pre-school teacher education. It considers the following questions: how does the concept of critical thinking appear in policy documents, central to the pre-school teacher education, and which possible conceptions of critical thinking are conveyed by students and teachers active within the education. Additionally, the study seeks to discuss, as well as suggest a possible relation, between the findings of those two questions. In reviewing the material (consisting of five semi-structured interviews with students and teachers, and of a selection of policy documents central to the education), I argue the existence of a sort of project within the education, which presents critical thinking as a higher value. At the same time, I argue that the concept is not defined or concretized. This project, however, as I suggest while drawing upon Foucault?s ideas of discourse and government, involves a rather high degree of control.

Kvinnors underrepresentation är ett problem på flera sätt. För det första är det ett demokratiskt problem att hälften av ett lands befolkning är underrepresenterad då de politiska besluten inte speglar hela befolkningens erfarenheter och värderingar. För det andra handlar det om en resursfråga då kvinnliga erfarenheter och värderingar inte tas tillvara vid beslutsfattandet och viktig kunskap går till spillo. För det tredje handlar det om intressen då kvinnliga intressen prioriteras bort eftersom det inte finns någon som kan föra kvinnors talan. Enligt jämställdhetslagens §13 måste alla arbetsgivare upprätta en jämställdhetsplan som ska innehålla en översikt över de åtgärder som behövs på arbetsplatsen för att förbättra jämställdheten.

The Swedish Institute is a public agency promoting Swedish interest, national image and confidence around the world. This work attempts to investigate how communication and a process over time influences and effects public diplomacy. The analytic discussion is based on a single case study research of this Institute representing ideas in the international science field of public diplomacy. The theoretical ideas of public diplomacy are placed in a theoretical perspective of social constructivism. The method is qualitative, with excerpts taken from interviews, literature, newspapers, articles, state public reports and social media.

With higher prices for oil and increased focus on fossil fuels impact on the environment the heating sector are searching for alternative fuels. Pellets are a quite new product whose production has risen exponential in recent years. Today there are small-, medium-and large-scale users, where the large-scale consumers are the heating sector. The heating sector is mainly using oil to cover the increased demand during cold periods. The purpose of this study is to analyze the potential of pellets if it would replace thermal power plants oil and coal. The study will also analyze the economic impact a conversion would mean for a heating plant and if the pellet is a reasonable substitute. 2008 statistics from the Swedish district heating association were analyzed and a calculation was performed to determine how many tons of pellets is needed to replace coal and oil.

The outset of this study is to contribute to the literature concerning China?s increasing economic interest to engage in the African context, its economies and resource abundandce. The overarching research problem is that the approaches held by the respective African state entities may facilitate increasing development gains for the recipient state of this economic interest in principle. To adress this research problem the study is undertaken by conducting a comparative case study where three cases/states, with presumably diverging economic and political status, are likely to effect their overall state approaches differently.Research questions, which are addressed by the creation of an idealtype analytic matrix, concern whether the states of South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe take on a more ?permissive? or ?restrictive? approach towards China?s economic interst and whether the approaches can be looked upon on both aggratege and case/area-specific levels.The main findings are that a clear tendency of the ?permissive approach? may be noted on a aggregate level for all cases.

Alkoholmissbruk kan orsaka sociala och ekonomiska konsekvenser för familjer och resten av samhället. Arbetsplatsen som arena är viktig för folkhälsoarbete. Där finns möjligheten att fånga upp och påverka människor, som visar sig ha ett riskbeteende när det gäller alkoholkonsumtion. Mellan åren 1996 och 2004 ökade den totala alkoholkonsumtionen i Sverige när det gäller ren alkohol. Sedan avskaffandet av införselkvoterna har konsumtionen i landet fram till år 2010 successivt minskat.

This thesis tackles the subject concerning arguments as a conceptual basis forunderstanding the general strategy of the European Union Commission on issuesconcerning EU-harmonized environmental taxes, politically delicate and intergovernmentaldependent. The Commission's official proposals, communications and other relevant documents are subject to inquiry, where the theoretical bases are that harmonized environmental taxes in the EU is an issue conceived as supported by academic debate, and where the institutional arrangement in relation to an European-national dimension alongside the discursive context, allows meaningfulspace for arguments. The study makes a distinction between substantial (environmental cancerns in itself) and instrumental (other benefits, mostly economic ones) rationality as a foundation in various types of arguments.The study's main findings are that the Commission's official documents over the past 20 years, have been trying to keep a strong image of reason and knowledge based arguments for an EU-wide environmental tax reform. In particular, the types of arguments tend to appeal to the Member States by stressing the instrumental rationality in a European environmental tax reform, indicating the value of good arguments as a part of the Commission's main strategies. In sum, this may have further theoretical suggestions concerning questions of environmental and elimate change policies in a European context or other more general studies relying on theoretical assumptions of logics of argument, legitimacy or studies of motives behind action strategies in politically sensitive issues such as taxation at supranationallevel..

This thesis examines immigration policy and the problematic of the surveillance society, by analyzing the movies V for Vendetta and Children of Men. In the thesis we use visual analysis, and the theories of Michel Foucault and Nikolas Rose. Central questions to our thesis are how the movies interpret the present time, and how they have chosen to depict the surveillance society to problematize the current immigration policies. We have used thematic analysis to illustrate these questions..

En lyckad social tillställning är beroende av gästernas humör. Värden har vissa verktyg hen kan ta till hjälp för att behålla en god atmosfär. I följande uppsats diskuterades möjligheterna alkoholen ger i jakten på ett framgångsrikt värdskap. Syftet med studien är att belysa alkohol som socialt verktyg vid mötet mellan värd och gäst med avseende att skapa ett lyckat värdskap.Uppsatsen är en litteraturstudie som har använt sig av fem vetenskapliga artiklar för besvara syftet. Resultatet som artiklarna visade var att alkohol i måttliga mängder gör människor mer sociala och avslappnade.

Abstract P. Hed. (2011) What is health for men? Bachelor thesis. Gävle: University of Gävle, Faculty of health and occupational studies; 2011.

I denna uppsats skattas IS-kurvor för Sverige med förändringen av den reala monetära basen som förklarande variabel. Undersökningen fastställer ett starkt statistiskt samband mellan penningtermerna och BNP-gapet. Detta resultat förklaras av att samma avkastningar som avgör den aggregerade efterfrågan även är de alternativkostnadsvariabler som figurerar i penningefterfrågefunktionen..

Payday loans are becoming a challenge of increasing gravity for society. Statistics show that the number of young adults with financial issues related to such loans has been growing over the past few years. Despite efforts to halt this trend, little is changing. Government mandated warning labels in commercials are typically used to inform about the risks associated with the consumption of certain goods and services, such as alcohol and tobacco. Despite issues related to payday loans, there is currently no legislation in Sweden mandating the inclusion of warnings in marketing of such loans.

The focus of this essay is on a political party that was founded in Sweden in 1904. Today, we known it as Moderata Samlingspartiet. Historically, this party has transitioned through multiple phases which have included a change of name and also a change of substance in the area of trade policy. The party that was cheering globalisation at the 2006 congress had its roots in protectionism and had been founded as a strict protectionist organisation. The question raised here is what has caused this dramatic change in the trade politic?In addressing this important question, I have used both organization and party strategy theories to identify the main underlying reasons.

Sustainability work is something that is emphasized more and more. Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, is discussed and the question of how much responsibility companies should really take is frequently in the news. Companies tend to ask themselves how much responsibility they should take. CSR is a common concept of companies environmental and social work and a concept we tend to see here and there in our modern society. CSR includes companies? social responsibilities, both in terms of carbon footprint, working conditions, social responsibility and more.