Introduction: In today?s contemporary society individuals can use multiple media- channels to find civic information. Civic information should reach all groups of society and according to previous research young people are relatively hard to reach with this type of information.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how young, highly educated individuals in Sweden are using media channels to find and take part in civic information, the expectations they have of the information and if they consider that they need to participate in public discourse.Methodology: In this qualitative study we had a hermeneutic perspective with an abductive approach. We have collected our empirical material by doing interviews with 15 respondents. The respondents are students and were chosen based on both their knowledge and their interest in media and communication since we were looking for a broad view on the subject.Conclusion: Through this study we discovered that young individuals mainly use the social-media channel Facebook to get updated on civic information.

ABSTRACT New in a foreign country ? the importance of civic orientationJessica Gerhardt & Hiba Sultan We have examined the information on parenting in Sweden that is given to new immigrants through civic orientation. The aim of the study was to investigate how new arrivals are being informed of Swedish laws and regulations relating to child rearing and corporal punishment. The study also aims to examine how a lack of information about raising children in civic orientation can affect newly arrived families. Our empirical work has been created by a focus group interview with the child and family unit on social services and a call interview with an SFI-teachers who teach newly arrived immigrants in civic orientation.

Social enterprises are increasingly gaining ground as an organisational form in Sweden, however the institutional structures for financing these types of organisations are yet to be established. With its usual origin within the Civic society, social enterprises prioritise a higher goal than to maximise economic profit, which often causes these organisations to be dependent upon resources from external constituents within its institutional environment. The aim of this study was to examine how a social enterprise, which derives from the Civic society, acts to mobilise resources from constituents in its institutional environment. This was executed through a case study of Jordbro Världsorkester (JVO) - a typical organisation in the Civic society which takes the form of a social enterprise - by identifying how assets were used to gain resources in strategic responses to institutional processes and examining how institutional processes affects how JVO acts. Throughout the study, qualitative interviews were conducted with JVO and constituents in its institutional environment and a theoretical framework was developed which explains how capital is used to gain more capital in an emergent strategy of strategic responses as the organisation gets in contact with institutional processes from its institutional environment.

In preparation for the autumn term in 2011, the Swedish elementary school adopted new syllabuses regarding, inter alia, the civic education (Sw. Samhällskunskap). The civic education has traditionally been a disciplinary subject with a main purpose of mediating democratic values as well as providing generalorientation in the society. Generally, the civic education intends to reflect the world in which people live in, being a complex society which to a large extent is regularly affected by global aspects and developments.      The purpose of this study is to review all the elementary school?s syllabuses relating to the civic education with specific focus on the globalisation perspective.

In preparation for the autumn term in 2011, the Swedish elementary school adopted newsyllabuses regarding,inter alia, the civic education (Sw. Samhällskunskap). The civiceducation has traditionally been a disciplinary subject with a main purpose of mediatingdemocratic values as well as providing general orientation in the society. Generally, the civiceducation intends to reflect the world in which people live in, being a complex society whichto a large extent is regularly affected by global aspects and developments.The purpose of this study is to review all the elementary school?s syllabuses relating to thecivic education with specific focus on the globalisation perspective.

The aim of this master's thesis is a comparative study on units for civic information in Göteborg. The study is based on a project currently in progress at the main public library in Göteborg. It is observed that according to the library's mission statement the library aims to become the most competent intermediary of civic information in Göteborg. This statement suggests a competitive strategy towards other intermediaries of civic information. The mission statement does, however, also state that their goal is to be obtained in cooperation with other intermediaries.

As scholars argue, there has been a rapid diffusion of civic integration policies in Western Europe the last decade. In the light of the debate about the extent of civic integration policies, recent studies have shown that the diffusion is limited to certain countries. Despite a flurry of literature based on civic integration policies, attention drawn to the implication of these policies has been quite inferior. This paper tries to examine what civic integration policies means in relation to immigration. Are civic integration policies used as an informal tool for the purpose of limiting certain groups of immigrants? I argue in this paper that the conditional factor in the civic integration policies creates a barrier for affected immigrants and their possibilities to gain long term residence.

The aim of this bachelor thesis is to study how Catalans´ identifications, with respect to their city (Barcelona), their region (Catalonia), their country (Spain) and Europe, are related to each other. Furthermore it deals with whether they use cultural or civic notations when they speak of their identification with the different territorial levels.The thesis is based on a qualitative method with interviews with ten Catalans living in Barcelona, aged from 18 to 58. The result showed that Catalans´ identifications with different territorial levels vary in how they relate to each other. This variation can be classified using three models, namely; ?The Russian doll model? which implies that the identities are ranked hierarchically, ?cross-cutting? that is people can identify themselves with the different levels depending on various situations, and also ?The marble cake model? which means that the different identities are so intertwined that they cannot be separated.

This paper examines the consequences of membership and participation in immigrant associations on individual immigrants? political integration and indirect political participation with reference to Swedish society. The theoretical underpinnings consist of a social structural outlook on social capital, combined with the Civic Voluntarism Model, both of which focus on the potential role of social networks for moving people into political action. After a presentation of parallel qualitative data over the experiences of individual members in a Finnish and Bosnian-Hercegovinian organisation, it is suggested that immigrant associations support the political integration of their members into the host society. Firstly, the case studies indicate that members of immigrant associations gain the opportunity to augment their civic skills, which is a significant prerequisite for political participation.

Engelsk titel: Greater opportunities than interests : Civic culture and deliberative discourse on Swedish NGO websitesThis is a critical and normative study, which examines a selection of Swedish NGO websites as potential forums for civic culture and deliberative discourse in the public sphere. Sociocultural, political and sociological and media and communication theories are combined.The work is made within a Habermasian tradition, but the importance of a hermeneutic methodology is stressed, along with the sociocultural perspective to reach an understanding of why citizens engage in politics. In contrast to much of the earlier research concerning deliberative discourses on the Internet, a more informal understanding of how people discuss politics is stressed.The questions are: What kind of civic role do the websites discursive dimensions address? What kind of civic identity do the users address in the websites resource dimensions?The empirical results are both discouraging and encouraging for advocates who put their trust in the Internet as a potential civic tool, in these times when neoliberal models of citiziens are prioritizing citizens as consumers, thus neglecting citizens as political actors. The study reveals that the websites show good results in general, regarding the civic roles and identities of the websites as both discourse and resource for the users.

In this examination project I look into what ways upper secondary school students conceive themselves as politically influenced before they voted for the general election of 2010. The purpose is to examine which influences the upper secondary school surroundings and the classes of civic education are contributing with to students before they voted. As a method, I have used personal, semi-structural interviews on eight upper secondary school students who all voted for a party represented in the parliament. I have asked questions about how they believe their parents, the surroundings of their school and the classes of civic education have influenced them. To separate which influences primarily the upper secondary school and the classes of civic educations have had on the students, I have selected two comparison groups of four students in each.

In this examination project I look into what ways upper secondary school students conceive themselves as politically influenced before they voted for the general election of 2010. The purpose is to examine which influences the upper secondary school surroundings and the classes of civic education are contributing with to students before they voted. As a method, I have used personal, semi-structural interviews on eight upper secondary school students who all voted for a party represented in the parliament. I have asked questions about how they believe their parents, the surroundings of their school and the classes of civic education have influenced them. To separate which influences primarily the upper secondary school and the classes of civic educations have had on the students, I have selected two comparison groups of four students in each.

The European identity plays an important role for the EU and especially within its will to further integrate its citizens, hence it is a way for individuals to not only identify with its nation, yet also with Europe. Previous research has already established that an individual can possess two territorial identities, such as a national and a European identity, above all it has established how the identities can equally interplay. Further it has been explained how territorial identities are composed of two aspects: civic and cultural. While the previous research has stated how the European identity possesses both aspects, though to varying degrees, little attention has been put to examine how individuals who possesses multiple territorial identification, defines its European identity. This study therefore aims to study which aspects, civic or cultural, individuals with a citizenship who possess multiple territorial identification, assign their European identity.

This thesis studied which factors affect political participation among people with physical disabilities in Sweden.? The aim of the study was to test how Civic Voluntarism Model should explain the low political participation among people with physical disabilities in Sweden, through deep interviews.? Following research questions has been studied in the thesis:? How can the Civic Voluntarism Model, based on the time, communicative skills and economic resources, explain the low political participation of people with physical disabilities in Sweden??Which other factors, linked to accessibility, discrimination and legislation, are needed to further explain and understand the barriers to political engagement and participation for people with physical disabilities?? Results about treatment, clearer legislation, economic possibilities and inclusion was central. It became important to considered that where is differences in which capabilities where are to political participation. The CVM could partly explain the low political participation among people with physical disabilities. It needs to be complete with external factors; accessibility, discrimination and legalization, to make more inclusive explanations.? .

Public opinion can be shaped as well as transformed in a number of ways. Government authorities occasionally make use of public information campaigns to educate and steer the public. In this thesis the balance between public and private, the individual and the society is analysed in terms of dimensions of individualism and communitarianism. These dissimilar theories on how the society ought to be constructed can be used when analysing many different policy areas, however, they also pinpoint the controversies seen in the public debate regarding Swedish information policy. Based on this analysis an empirical study identifies what kind of knowledge the state wants the citizens to possess and public information campaigns can be problematic.