In the late 20th century there has been some changes in the public sector. These changes are described as New Public Management. When ideas from the private market is transferred to the public sector, for example to regard citizens as cus-tomer. Central in this paper is the use of term customer in the Swedish public sec-tor. There are two questions in the paper; which possibilities has a disappointed customer to effect the public sector, and what may happen with democracy, the common good, when the citizen becomes a customer?To answer the questions I study two different cases, Svedala kommun and the tax department, Skatteverket.

In November 2010, The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (Sveriges Kommuner och Landsting) distributed a survey where 53 % of the responding municipalities declared that they use Twitter. Out of the municipalities that declared they did not use social media, 49 % answered that they were planning on using it but that they had not gotten started. The purpose with social media was primarily declared to be maintaining dialogue with citizens and a channel for information.The informal ?twittersphere? is a new environment for the conventionally formal government communication, and with it comes an entirely new set of demands on the style and content of texts, compared to other media. The purpose of my work was to present a style proposal for the public sector?s communication on Twitter, with the help of theory and empirical data.My methods consisted of text analysis and qualitative interviews.

Swedish trade unions are engaged in several activities at the European level. One of these isthe sectoral social dialogue, an institutionalized part of the European Union. This bachelorthesis examines the motives for Swedish trade unions in three different sectors to engage themselves in the European social dialogue. The three sectors are chosen because of their differences according to their exposure to competition caused by ongoing globalization and europeanization processes. By interviewing central informants in trade unions which are active in the three dialogues this thesis seeks to learn more about the motives stated by the trade unions.

The knowledge that citizens have of their own municipality is very useful for the local politicians and planners in the event of such a major reconstruction in the neighborhood. It is the residents in the area that are most affected, and their view on the reconstruction is valuable if the end result will be as good as possible. Since the municipality builds for the citizens, and wants them to enjoy the outcome of the reconstruction as much as possible, it is essential that the municipality get a chance to inspect the citizen?s views and experiences about it in an early stage. If the citizens don?t want to get involved, or if only a few people involve themselves, it will be difficult for the municipality to find a solution satisfactory to all.

Abstract"Citizen Influence, Forms and Effects - A study of the Resistance Concerning the Establishment of a Juvenile Detention Center in Kristinehamn 2005-2007"Political Science, Johan Utter This essay circles around the concepts of citizenship and the questions if and how citizens in the modern democracy can influence and effect the political decisions made by the governing body on the local level. This is done by the means of a case-study concerning the establishment of an institutional facility for convicted youths in Kristinehamn. The planning of this facility and especially its planned location in Sunneberg aroused a significant negative response from the citizens, demanding a better alternative for the location.The proposition resulted in heavy protests from the citizens as the planned location was viewed as an important recreation area, where the citizens could experience nature first hand, close to the centre of town. As a result, some citizens living close to the planned location, formed a network called "Bevara Sunneberg", whose purpose was to influence the decision-makers and make the citizen?s voices heard.

The bulk of the research within the field of media and communication is concentrated at theforefront of development, studies focus on modern companies and modern communication.However, many people work in the industry, where the conditions for communication are partly different. The aim of this study is to explore the possibilities for internal communication that the employees have at the base industrial company of Billerud Gruvön, Sweden. How important do they feel that communication is? Can the internal communication within Gruvön be described as modern, where dialogue between the staff is possible, or as orders from the top down to the bottom of the hierarchal structure?These are our research questions:Which channels are used for communication within Gruvön, and how are they used?How important do the employees deem the internal communication to be?Can the communication within a hierarchal industrial company such as Gruvön be described as modern, where dialogue is at the center, or does the communication consist basically on orders from the top down to the bottom of the chain?Our research is based on the following theories: Communication, Organizational communication, Internal communication and Organizational culture. We have looked to earlier research such as the doctorates of Simonsson (2002) and Johansson (2003) to further our understanding.The methods used are interviews with operators, middle management and the informationofficer at Gruvön.

AbstractIn my study I have investigated how a constructed outdoor green environment can beused, managed and how it works. The study also investigates the concept of socialsustainability, where, for example, civil dialogue is a method to promote this. Thisinvestigation mainly gives account for the inhabitants viewpoint but also a gardenersperspective. The study focuses on the planning process of the study object, what theoutcome has been and how the users of the green environment, think about the result. Inthe process there has been a strong concern of involving the residents and others usingthe area.

This study centres on the question of how interfaith dialogue can function as a meeting place for young people from different social and cultural backgrounds. The study is based on qualitative interviews with five young participants in an interfaith project taking place in Sweden in 2013 and 2014. For reading the material through a lens of late modern religiosity, Heelas and Woodheads thesis of a spiritual revolution was used. To be able to conclude whether the religiousness of the participants functions as a social resource, Hammack and Cohlers term narrative engagement is used. Lastly Knitters models of theologies of religions was used in the analysis of how the participants reads and understands their own and the others faiths.The study shows that the participants meet in the common aim of defining a religious identity in a late modern and pluralistic society.

In this report, a case study of conditions for Swedish language development in children of immigrant origin is presented, and its results explored. The boundaries of the case study are defined as preschool pedagogues? facilitation of Swedish language development through co-learning, in children of immigrant origin in an ethnically segregated urban area. Concepts central to the report include dialogue, second language learning and perspectives on language difficulties. For the theoretical background of the report, a basic sociocultural theorem is used, which links language as well as other areas of development to verbal interaction in a social context.

AbstractIn the literature on multiculturalism and group rights there is a strong tradition that sees diversity as something directly paradoxal to unity. In this tradition, scholars put forward a view of multiculturalism as a divisive and exclusionary process which breaks down the cohesion and unity of society. Related to this notion is that of a neutral and universally valid frame of reference in which political dilemmas can be solved; for example a neutral civil sphere where the ?true essence? of society lies. In this essay I attempt to criticise these two notions.

The means to political participation at the local level in Sweden are changing and this change is analyzed through a case study. The first aim is to explore the forms of public political participation in Swedish municipal Älvkarleby, namely public question time in local government, citizen motions and open meetings. A part of this is also to analyze he every day contact between citizens and representatives. The second aim concerns the reasons why politicians decide to support these means to participationThe empirical material consists mainly of semi structured interviews with local politicians, civil servants, participating citizens and local press. Official documents such as public minutes are also used in the process of creating an image of local participation.Local political participation is found to be limited but yet having the potential to strengthen democracy, provided that public decision-makers are open to a dialogue with the participants.Using Kjell Arne Røvik's theories of organisational change, the changes in local democracy can be explained as being partly rational, partly symbolic and partly identity shaping political decisions..

The aim of this essay is to explore the lived citizenship and its ideal. First, the form and expression of citizenship practice and ideal is explored through a qualitative interwiev study of ten citizens in the southern suburbs of Stockholm. The perception and expectations of the nature of citizenship, presented by the informants, is then compared to their citizen ideal, as well as to the ideal presented and promoted by the Swedish government. The point of departure is theory of democracy. The essay calls attention to an observed lack of empirical studies in the field of deliberative theory of democracy as well as studies that more broadly bring the theory down to empirical earth.

This essay analyses the national standard for maintenance aid and if it´s compatible with the standards set in the government mould.As new-liberal ideas get more scope in the Swedish policy the analyses focus consisted in seeing about the social contribution been changed, and if the standards in the government mould have lost their worth.The national standard is not edified on the basis of subsistence levels, but becomes paradoxical when numbers of welfare recipients is the measure used in order to measure poverty, concurrent as the government mould aims to protecting every citizen?s welfare.The study analyses a type of society that has emerged during a period of time. In a normative analysis concepts are set in relation to each other where, the analysis presents standards that are vague. If the standards in the government mould are presented as something valuable and get their worth back in the policy, perhaps also the citizen´s in Sweden change attitude to poverty and welfare contribution.   Social- liberalism justifies social contribution and the welfare State, while new-liberalism has other opinions about what redistribution should contain.

In this essay I examine if socio cultural theory is present for teachers when pupils and students are using computers in class, especially when using blogs as a tool for learning. The aim of the essay is also to examine if blogs among pupils in class can promote peer support, co-operation and reflective dialogue, and in that case in what way. The essay consists of two studies, one small interview study and one literature study.  The interview study is made with the qualitative method phenomenographic analysis, presenting four Swedish teachers who have much experience using blogs in education. The aim of the literature study where some national and international research studies of relevance are presented, is to broaden the perspective.The result of the interview study shows that a socio cultural theory is highly present among the teachers who already use blogs in education. In addition, those teachers experience that the blog in the classroom supports dialogue and co-operation among the pupils.  In contrast, the literature study shows that most teachers in Sweden who made their pupils work with computers in classroom seem to let their student work alone, without guiding them and without creating co-operation or dialogue in the classroom.

Social media provides a new position of power to the single individual within PR and marketing campaigns. When a company uses social media as a communication tool in their PR and marketing practice, they have to adapt themselves after the customers' needs and the new communication structure within social media. Communication in social medi is different from traditional media, which is more one-way communicative and visual in its interaction, rather than the digital media that are more two-way communicative av viral through dialogue. If a company creates PR and marketing campaigns within social media without adjusting to the new rules of communication through dialogue, and instead try to apply traditional one-way communication to their social campaigns, they put themselves and their brands in risk of public humiliation and loss of customers; the speed of the viral dialogue over social media can spread bad news fast, and with the newfound power of the single individual, the impliacations can thus be devastating for a company and its brand. If an organization does not respond and take part of the criticism that may be directed at them through the customers' comments, the negative dialogue among clients and the public within social media can quickly create a hazard enviorment for a company and its brand to be seen in. The public within these social media platforms are more independent and continuously conversing with each other on a local an global scale.