AbstractIn this theory-testing case study I will analyze and discuss the Gulf War which took place in the Middle East in 1990-1991 and has become an important topic for discussion among IR scholars in the post-Cold War era. The events that led up to the Gulf War, as well as the war itself, will be analyzed from two different perspectives; Realism and Liberalism. Within these differing theoretical frameworks I have chosen to use elements from, on the one hand, Classical and Structural Realism, and on the other hand, Idealism and Liberal Institutionalism. Focusing on these specific schools of thought I aim to derive essential, ?key?, concepts that will then be tested against empirical fact.The overall purpose of this study is to try to logically explain, through detailed analysis, the actions of the actors involved in the Gulf War and, in addition, why this war ever occurred.

The first aim of this thesis is to descriptively identify and chart the activities of the strategic intelligence and environmental scanning that take place at the regional collaboration network Regionförbundet Örebro. This identification is essential in reaching the comprehensive and primary aim of the thesis: to discuss, through normative discourse, what the options of improvement are and in which ways systematic operations can be integrating parts in the organization. In order to offer guidance of development from the perspectives of environmental scanning, the question at issue has emanated from activities concerning the present methods of working at Regionförbundet Örebro.During the creation of this thesis, several interviews have been made with people who are regarded to be key roles within the regional collaboration network. An analysis has been made, based on governing documents and answers from the interviews, where possible improvements of the business have been identified. The inferences become parts of a greater potential of amelioration since they are presented as active solutions and proposals that can be directly adaptable to the organization.Our proposals of improvements/ameliorations are constituted by a number of concrete/explicit points such as: a wider public information supply and an introduction of several annual routines and methods..

This thesis is concerned with how identity is connected to historical writings and what normsshapes the perspectives of history. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibilitiesfor identification offered in history books used for history teaching. This study is concernedwith what role the nation plays and how it shapes the conception of history, with the hope ofcounteracting negative attitudes towards those not being identified as ?Swedish? in the historytelling.The study was conducted through discourse analysis. The material for this analysis consistedof three history books directed towards 4-6th graders.The study shows how identity is created through putting ?us? against ?them?.

Abstract in EnglishSeventeen students in Creative Writing at the Växjö University who terminated in January 2005 published chosen texts in an anthology by the name Förflyttningar (Movements). The aim of my study is to analyse how they explore and describe our time in the western world. The question is; what is being written now and here?I have chosen as theoretical background the Italian philosopher, Umberto Galimberti, who has made a study of the West from moral and ethical perspective. His conclusion is that we live in a world with seven new sins.

Background: At this present moment, one of the largest changes in the Swedish employment market is occurring, as the people born in the 1940's are retiring. The Generation Y, people born in the 1980's, will enter. Will this have an affect on motivation and leadership, and in that case, in what way Aim: The purpose of this essay is to investigate whether or not Generation Y (born in the 1980's) has an effect on the perceptions on how to lead and motivate employees. Based on research and our empirical results from qualitative interviews at one of Sweden's largest banks, our research questions are:1. Are executives' and employees' perceptions regarding Generation Y in line with previous research 2.

The retail banking market in Sweden is highly concentrated and oligopolistic. This has been confirmed by numerous reports from different competition authorities within the EU, for example the Swedish competition authority. A considerably high number of different sorts of competition barriers has been pointed out in these reports. The competition barriers are mainly directed to the smaller banks and the potential competition. The retail banking market in Sweden is dominated by four major banks, which together has over 80 percent of all market shares.

This essay focuses on psychoanalytic theory and its relevance for political studies. It especially draws attention to the conceptual toolkit developed by Jacques Lacan and the way that it serves as the starting point for Slavoj Zizek´s approach to the theory of ideology. One important point of this approach is that the power of an ideology is not primarily related to the ideas or worldview it expresses but rather to the enjoyment it provides the subject with. This enjoyment is obscene in the sense that it forms the necessary, but seldom acknowledged, supplement to public values. Fantasy is a major source for this kind of enjoyment.

The main purpose of this essay is to study ideas concerning the concept of ?art? within the discourse of the exhibition space that is part of a fanart community. In order to do so I have used a hermeneutical and to some extent structuralistic, discourse analysis. I have examined structure and rhetorics in two established and popular communities, Fanart-Central and deviantART.My conclusions states that personal ideas regarding artistic value are undermined the joint policies, because of a collective rhetoric somewhat inherent in the community structure.When a lot of works are being based on internal knowledge of symbolics and historical narratives, this may to some extent have consequences where unfamiliar observers might fail to notice elements of possible significance. Moreover, certain interests in keeping a united front of ?quality art? may also affect a general idea immediate to what signifies fanart.

Inom utvecklingen av de flesta typer av datorsystem används datormodeller för att strukturera lagringen och användningen av data. Likaså finns det flera olika datamodelleringsmetoder att välja bland för detta ändamål. I samarbete med ett företag har en fallstudie genomförts med syfte att undersöka hur agiliteten i två av dessa metoder påverkar utvecklingen av ett Data Warehouse (DW).  De två datamodelleringsmetoder som undersökts är Data Vaulting och Hyper Agility och arbetet har fokuserat på att undersöka skillnaderna mellan dessa när det gäller mängden ETL-kod som måste skrivas, funktionaliteten i datatransformationerna, möjligheten till att uppdatera systemstrukturen samt den totala kostnaden för utvecklingen av DW-lösningen. Inom ramen för fallstudien har en litteraturstudie genomförts och kombinerats med material från sex intervjuer, där respondenterna varit konsulter såväl som företagsrepresentanter.

Because of the mass tourism industry that exploits sensitive locations all over our planet a new kind of tourism came into focus in the 1980?s. This new form of tourism was named ecotourism, and as the name reveals ecotourism deals with low-impact travel. Today, all sorts of places can be gazed upon in a flick of a switch; all you need is a television set. It is well known that destination marketing successfully uses visual media as a tool to sell trips to potential tourists.

This thesis examines the way that subversivity is produced in relation to the name of the author, as understood by Foucault, and what potential for ressistance that can be glimpsed there. This from the reading of three text that in different ways relate to that theme.Firstly, throught the reading of "Isis mamma a?r genusvetare, skribent och konstna?r, min mamma a?r f.d. sta?derska, kokerska och dagisfro?ken, numera fo?rtidspensiona?r med diagnosen fibromyalgi" by Lidija Praizovic?, a text that actively work with the internal production of different exteriorities.

För att ta reda på hur väl en Multi-Agent-Systems-bot kan stå sig mot andra, icke-MAS-bottar, så har vi implementerat en bot till brädspelet Arimaa. Botten är implementerad i C++ och den kan spela mot andra bottar, eller människor, genom Arimaas officiella hemsida. Syftet har varit att skapa en fullfjädrad bot som både klarar av att spela korrekt, och att spela bra. För att ta reda på om MAS är en bra designfilosofi för Arimaa så har vi utmanat ett antal av de bottar som andra människor skapat och lagt upp på hemsidan. Alla bottarna har under tiden de legat uppe blivit rankade genom tävlingar och utmaningar och flera av dessa har tävlat om stora pengar, vilket betyder att människor har lagt mycket tid på dem.

Background: Due to outsourcing, the material flows in the telecom equipment industry have undergone major changes, which in turn has imposed new challenges for packaging supplier Nefab who delivers to the industry. In order to achieve market intelligence, Nefab wants to map the material flows, and investigate possibilities of further reusable logistical packaging systems.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to describe the typical features of the logistical material flows in a technically based, rapidly growing industry, and analyze the driving forces and obstacles, which influence the selection of logistical packaging system. Procedure: After developing a theoretical framework consisting of general logistical theories and theories related to logistical packaging, we have interviewed companies in the logistics channel of Ericsson Radio Systems.Results: We have found the main characteristics of material flows in our investigated industry to be Variations in Demand, Focus on Time-to-Customer, and Globalization of Logistics Channels. Regarding driving forces and obstacles in the selection of logistical packaging systems, we have identified Transportation Characteristics, Customer Demands, Quality, Handling & Administration, and Current Packaging System as important factors..

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how museums, seen as heterotopic places where time and space act simultaneously, can, with the help of museum educators and guides, integrate the foreign citizens in Sweden. The analysis is done with the help of three institutions: The Vasa Museum, the Royal Armory and The Great Synagogue in Stockholm.The author of the thesis argues that recruiting trained personnel with foreign roots by museums would help significantly in the creation of a sense of collective identity and belonging among those citizens who are just adapting to the country. Through the use of Swedish, in conjunction with their mother tongue, as well as analogies, an important contribution can be attained in their integration.In this work, concepts such as the accent, are treated in a categorical manner, as the author, with the assistance of other researchers, concluded that the accent should not influence the perception of the intellectual and work capability of a professional museum educator/guide.History represents another key element in this thesis, as it discusses the way to find a new narrative form to channel history and refer to it, thus sharing historical roots with these new immigrants in Sweden..

By using contemorary work-theory this thesis aim to show how Yarden. En bera?ttelse, puts into play the circumstances of precarian work, circumstances that have gender political as well as identity political overtones. It tries to show how the idea of ?class-jouney? is used as a conciliatory element.