The aim of this study was to examine young adult cannabis users? attitudes towards cannabis and their perception of the normalization of cannabis. The purpose was also to explore how their views of cannabis correspond with norms regarding cannabis. This study is based on interviews with five young adult cannabis users. The theoretical framework is based on Parker?s normalization thesis, Goffman?s notion of stigma, Becker?s definition of outsiders and the definition of social identity developed by Stone.

This paper investigates the presentation of Islam in textbooks used in the study of religion in high schools. The papers focus on two main questions concerning the ways in which Islam is presented in the analysed textbooks, and how the new curriculum has influenced the portrayal of Islam in the materials. Here, the paper utilizes a method of critical discourse analysis with Faircloughs three-dimensional analysis. The paper then concludes that the presentation of Islam is negative in nature, with the content and view of Islam having been simplified and stereotyped. Often the textbooks studied frame Islam as being an aggressive and oppressive religion, especially in matters con-cerning women.

This thesis explore women?s needs when reentering society after having served a sentence at the female prison Färingsö, outside Stockholm and whether those needs are being met in the reentry strategies that are being provided. Parallel to this the thesis also examines if there, based on nonconformity and gender theories, is a socially constructed representation of women maintained in the rehabilitation work.The method of this thesis applied semi-structured interviews and used snowball sampling to expand the network of informants to obtain the data necessary. Totally five interviews were carried out. Previous research has shown that women in prison have much more complex problems than men and that there is a need for reentry strategies that take gender in account.The results showed that in terms of being able to reenter back in society, women needed help to structure a previously chaotic life.

AbstractThe aim of the thesis was to examine some older people's experiences of everyday life and how it is to grow old in Namibia today. Because everyday life is a broad concept, we chose to focus on some specific parts of everyday life. These are chores, family, work/education, elderly past and present and the government/society. Furthermore we chose to look at the similarities and differences between the experiences on the basis of gender, race/ethnic groups and class.We chose to use a qualitative research method and to be inspired by life stories. We used a semi-structured interview guide and interviewed six people between 70 and 89 years.

The purpose of this study was to look at the common opinion about children in Cambodia. By interviewing the professionals in different help organizations we studied the common opinion about children in general and the common opinion about children who are exposed to sexual trafficking. The ambition of the study was also to see if the common opinion about children in Cambodia affects the help that is available for the children who are exposed to sexual trafficking.This is a qualitative study including semi structured interviews with seven professionals who work with vulnerable children. The interview guide focused on the themes: children?s needs, sexual trafficking, children?s rights, childhood, children?s sexuality and gender.

With increased globalization more companies are sending their employees abroad in order for the company?s survival on the market. Many studies in the field of International Business describe unsuccessful foreign assignments and the importance of intercultural support regarding expatriation. Due to the fact that company X is an international organization we found an interest in studying how the company handles their expatriation process in Sweden. This became the purpose of our study.

The aim of this paper is to study how multiculturalism is expressed in the Swedish labour market policy. The method used for the investigation is a discourse analysis which study social and political processes in the society as created through language. The perspective of the discourse analysis is a social construction that considers that language is a social production created in a discursive way. It produces and reflects social process in the language.By using theories of national identity and multiculturalism we aim to investigate how multiculturalism is expressed in the labour market policy. With this method we aim to analyze the discourse of a political report made 2008 by the current government about integration strategies in Sweden.

The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate how societal mechanisms can impact on asylum seekers and influence their individual identity. The information for this case study was collected through comprehensive interviews with a group of asylum seekers from Söderhamn whereby the individuals expressed their perception of their current situation. From the gathered material we could see a pattern emerge which gave us the framework and the foundation for our theoretical approach. The similarity we discovered when analyzing the material was the powerlessness the individuals experienced e.g. the individuals had no possibility to influence their current situation and worse, it was impossible for the individuals to enter society even when they had the willpower to do so.

Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka vilka möjligheter och hinder ledare med utländsk bakgrund upplever i sitt ledarskap utifrån de nio kulturella dimensionerna från GLOBE- projektet. Fem intervjuer genomfördes med personer som hade invandrat till Sverige som vuxna och arbetade på mellanchefsnivå.Resultaten visade att chefer med invandrarbakgrund hade bidragit till sina verksamheter tack vare sina rötter och annorlunda livserfarenheter, berikade dem med nya vyer, synpunkter och förhållningssätt till vardagliga saker. Det som kunde anses vara det största hindret i arbetslivet var att de från början hade väldigt lite insyn i samhällets underförstådda regler, vilket kunde orsaka osäkerhet från början. Ett annat problem som uttrycktes var den svenska tillbakadragenheten med en avvaktande hållning och strikt regelföljning utan frihet att improvisera..

Are different ways of life possible in a world that increasingly becomes "Westernized" or globalized? This study examines and analyzes the diverse and complex way of life that includes socioeconomical nomadism as the Irish Traveller community are availing themselves of on the island of Ireland. In a broader perspective the study of the Travellers is put in context to how modern society emerged, and what characterizes the contemporary western societies. This is to understand the way Travellers nomadic lifestyle has been constrained and how the interrelationship between the dominant society and the extended family group constituting Travellers social composition has affected their livelihoods. Their social role is considered from two identification points ? home and work.Nomadism as a phenomenon, its history, expression and possible motives are being described in this work.

Modern societies are generally becoming increasingly capitalist in nature and economies of these societies are thus likely to become more focused on consumer consumption. Advertising plays a vital role in contemporary society where we, as consumers and citizens, are surrounded by it everywhere we look and everywhere we go. This puts pressure on advertisers to become more creative and to explore new ways of marketing their products and services in an already saturated environment. We believe that the added pressure and the already established role of marketing in society make advertisements an interesting and telling object for analysis. This is particularly the case with regards to the concept of selling and marketing products that have qualities that are known to be less than beneficial for our health.This paper analyzes four commercial advertisements marketing beer; a product that we argue has qualities that can be seen as potentially bad for the health of individuals and for societies.

This thesis discusses the 2007 elections in Kenya, and its aftermath. The aim is to examine whether or not ethnicity played a major role in the outbreak of violence that followed the referendum. As well as different theories and discussions on ethnicity, I will also try to explain the course of events by using theories of increased civil violence during a democratic transition, and the fact that weak political institutions can cause violence. My conclusion is that ethnicity has played a part in the violence, but is too simple to blame the events following the election on just that. A number of different factors all contributed to the outbreak, but all to a different extent.

The aim of this essay is to study five teachers' perceptions and experiences of a multicultural class. I want to find out how they relate to intercultural education and how they experience that they may apply it.Sweden is a multicultural society. This fact is even reflected in the school and this imposes on teachers finding new ways to educate and prepare their students for the multicultural society.I chose to carry out a qualitative survey and interviewed five teachers having contact with a multicultural class. The study also offers suggestions to future teachers who can benefit from it in terms of adopting convenient attitudes in multicultural classes with better understanding.The outcome reached shows that the interviewed teachers try to make use of intercultural pedagogy by addressing differences between students, adapting teaching to supply for the needs of students, and also by having good contact with parents. But teachers also experience difficulties.

The Promised land ? A letter analysis of America letters from 1850-1870 This essay is about the Swedish emigration to America. This essay will focus on the period 1840-1870, where the main focus will be the american civil war, and what the immigrants wrote back to their relatives in Sweden. This study will also focus on the integration of Swedish immigrants.My main question are what did the swedes write back to Sweden during the war? And how did it differ from the period before and after the war?But also can a war assimilate a immigrant faster than it would be done without the war?The conclusion that has been made is that the war did help the swedish immigrants to integrate much faster than usually.

This essay focuses on the elderly and their religious beliefs and is based on the origin idea of a secular Sweden, but where immigration has been the source of additional various religious affiliations. This study intends to nuance the problems that previous researchers focused on when doing research on immigration, by interviewing staff members of nursing homes in immigrant dense areas, especially Malmoe, Gothenburg and Stockholm.The aim is to investigate how the allocation of residents, with different religious than Protestant Christians, is distributed at nursing homes and to see if there is a need for adjustments. Additionally, the thesis about immigrants and immigrants' identity and attitudes to Swedish society is discussed with John Berry´s acculturation theories and strategies.The results show that the majority of the nursing homes have residents with different religious affiliations and that some practical adjustments have been done, but it also shows that nursing homes have changed to the extent that they have adapted to a secular society. Ignorance and prejudice contribute to the problem in terms of seeing all residents as individuals and at the same time ensuring adaption according to all their needs, which is exemplified in the solutions made by using multi-cultural staff members and specialized departments. The relationship between nursing homes and the Swedish church continues but the role of the church service has changed.