This is a thesis about the American empire. I also focus my work to see if this American empire is declining. The two main questions I ask and want to answer in this thesis are: is America an empire and is it in decline?I first conclude that America has been an empire ever since the end of the Second World War. The sheer military and economic power of the American empire matches and exceeds the ones before them.

AbstractReading books to children is often an integral part in preschool activities. The purpose of thisstudy is to investigate how educators think about the educational function of literature inpreschool activities. I have in my study used qualitative interviews with active educators andobservations to answer my questions about why the educator reads to the children, how theeducator thinks about the choice of literature and if the literature can contribute to thechildrens development and if so, how. The knowledge- and research background presentsliterature and previous research done on the subject. The results of my study shows that theeducators have many thoughts about the importance of literature in preschool.

Electronic article surveillance (EAS) is widely used in shops and libraries together with an RF-tag attached to the goods or books in order to prevent shoplifting. By implementing the addition of a moisture sensor to the RF-tag, other functions become possible, including the ability to use as an alarm with regards to frozen goods, which have been shipped but which have melted and have, subsequently, refrozen. In- relation to care for the elderly, one time-consuming step involves checking whether there is the necessity for a change of diaper and this can, instead, be based on an RF-tag with an EAS-system alarm. A preliminary investigation was made using the moisture sensors, which involved how the resistance changes when liquid and/or heat is applied. A simulation of the LCCR circuit (RF-tag with the sensor) was conducted in order to determine how the resonance frequency changes for different resistances levels.

Real-time systems are required to answer to external stimuli within a specified time-period. For this to be possible, the systems behaviour must be predictable. The use of active databases in real-time systems introduces unpredictability in the system, e.g. due to their use of active rules. The behaviour in active databases is usually specified in ECA-rules.

Real-time systems are required to answer to external stimuli within a specified time-period. For this to be possible, the systems behaviour must be predictable. The use of active databases in real-time systems introduces unpredictability in the system, e.g. due to their use of active rules. The behaviour in active databases is usually specified in ECA-rules.

In this trial we used QualispermTM as an objective method of measuring stallion semen. Samples of semen were analyzed before and after centrifugation. Motility and concentration were statistically analyzed. During the trial all the objective mesaurments were compared to a subjective method. The advantages of QualispermTM compared to older CASA- systems is it´s ability of measuring a greater amount of spermatozoa while it also grades them into different subpopulations. These subpopulations have different qualities that decides their capacity of fertilization. The results showed that this objective method might be used practically. Although, there are still some disadvantages, such as high costs and the necessarity of accurat training of the handler. If it´s possible to prove further relevant results that also are statistically correct, this could prove the usefulness of QualispermTM as an objective measurment method in the daily work at gestuts and stallion stations, thus giving the staff a reliable instrument in assisting the work for an improved horse breeding in Sweden, improving both in quality and economically..

In recent time, agile methods have been devoted much attention, and the concept is widely used in the IT industry in particular. An increasing number of companies are interested in this way of working. The following report is the result of a study on the ability to create value for customers in business development through the use of agile methods. We ask what the advantages and limitations of agile methods are in the creation of customer value. Grounded Theory and an initial literature review was used to answer this question.

According to statistics, a significant increase in sickness has occurred in the public sector in recent decades in Sweden. Human therapeutic professions is the area where the illness is most prevalent. The purpose of this study was through a qualitative method and hermeneutic approaches explore how conscious six social workers in the social services are on stress and how they cope with it. Further it investigates and analyzes how these results affect their daily work.One important result due to stress is that the social workers ability to treat their clients is impaired and they are less able to be empathetic. Inadequacy in the work environment leads to a sense of insufficiency by social workers, and a reduced quality of life.

Under 1990-talet implementerades i Sverige en metod för behandling av aggressivitethos barn och unga, som kallas Aggression Replacement Training (ART). Metoden ärutvecklad i USA av Arnold P. Goldstein och hans kollegor. Metoden har sin teoretiskagrund inom den sociala inlärningsteorin och bygger till stor del på behandlingsprinciperinspirerade av kognitiv beteendeterapi. ART som behandlingsmetod för aggressiva barnoch unga har fått stor spridning i Sverige och en av de kommuner som erbjuder ARTsom öppenvårdsinsats inom socialtjänsten är Västerås.

Studiens syfte är att ge fördjupad kunskap inom studie- och yrkesvägledningen gentemot kvinnor som kommer från länder utanför Europa och som har en akademisk utbildning med sig till Sverige. Studien utgår från att kvinnorna går på SFI. Undersökningen är utformad utefter både vägledarperspektiv och sökandeperspektiv. De centrala frågorna i studien belyser den konkreta vägledningen, svårigheter och möjligheter samt motivation och ambition. Den senare delen av studien berör frågan om cooling down, det vill säga om de sökande upplever att deras ambitioner blir dämpade eller modifierade.

The term maneuver warfare is frequently used in western defense doctrines and theoreticaltextbooks. The ambition of the Swedish armed forces is to attempt maneuver warfare in allappropriate situations. Theories and doctrines indicate the importance of decentralized command and control systems. Mission command (Auftragstaktik) is one such system and should be applied to all situations of the Swedish Armed Forces. There are theoretical and doctrinal bases for warfare and command, but in practice, what are the preconditions for this? Previous research addresses many theoretical questions but there are flaws in existing studies investigating practical realities.The purpose of this study has been to reach a deeper understanding of armed forces ability to maneuver warfare by analyzing conformity of command and leadership perspectives in practice.This is an interview-based qualitative case study in which respondent´s statements were analyzed and interpreted in relation to a theoretical framework.

The aim of this study is to have a deeper understanding about the motivations and the obstacles of an immigrant?s language learning. I have studied the problem with focus on integration and language learning. The study is principally based on deep interviews with Turkish immigrants. I have studied the question by means of a socio-cultural perspective of learning; Mead?s conceptions I, Me and the generalised other; Scheff?s conception, the social bonds and Freire?s conception, dialog and Asplund?s conception social responsiveness.

This is a thesis in Personal- och Arbetslivsprogrammet at Dalarna University with thepurpose of evaluating an education initiative in Borlänge kommun. The educationCoaching Leadership is an initiative for the managers in the organization to exercisegood leadership and the education also serves as an incentive for managers. Eightbusiness managers and one from the HR staff have completed the training. Out of thetotal 9 participants in the training, six of them took part in this evaluation. Based on thethesis aim and questions we wanted to explore participants' attitudes to the education,and what skills and abilities they have acquired on the basis of educational goals andcontent.

It is mainly high levels of androstenone and skatole in adipose tissue that is the reason behind boar-taint, which is an unpleasant odor and taste from the meat of adult male boars. The purpose of this literature study is to provide an overview of current knowledge about the physioloical functioning of androstenone. There are several studies showing androstenone´s function as a pheromone, and that it is an important part of communication and mating behavior between pigs. Androstenone is produced in the testes of the boar and transported via the bloodstream to the salivary glands where it is excreted with the saliva. Sows sense the pheromone, not via the vomeronasal organ as previously considered, but via the olfactory mucosa.

Skrivning är en biomekaniskt invecklad process som kräver en viss nivå av såväl motorisksom kognitiv förmåga. Forskning om Alzheimers sjukdom tyder på att nedsättningar i flerakognitiva domäner förekommer innan den kliniska diagnosen ställs. Det finns även forskningsom tyder på att ett innehållsrikt skriftspråk i unga år minskar risken för demensutveckling påäldre dagar. För att studera om mått från texter kunde predicera demens på ett tidigt stadiumanalyserades 141 skriftliga bildbeskrivningar insamlade inom ramen för rutinmässigaminnesutredningar vid Karolinska universitetssjukhuset, Huddinge. Deltagarna delades in itre grupper utifrån diagnos (minnesutredning, lindrig kognitiv svikt och demens).Utgångspunkt för studien var de fyra textmåtten: idétäthet, verbtäthet, läsbarhetsindex (LIX)och T-enheter.