The main purpose of this Master?s thesis is to do a benchmarking study of the marketing activities at the public library of Valdemarsvik. The purpose is also to describe and get a deeper understanding of benchmarking as a method for improving library activity. Four major problem areas are addressed: How can one use benchmarking as a tool to achieve change? How can one learn with benchmarking? What similarities and differences are there between benchmarking and other similar methods for competence development? Is benchmarking better than other similar methods for competence development? The empirical approach was qualitative and the method chosen was action research.

In the past, the meaning of marriage has been an agreement between two people to live together and have children in a legitimate manner. The marriage was not just to form a couple; it was also to merge two families together. From the early 1900s until today the allegation of marriage and its influence got a significant change compared to early societies which have aroused my interest to perform this into a research paper. My study is focused on marriage and social changes during the 1900s. Thoughts that arise now is that why there was a remarkable change in the marriage rate during the 1900s and whether there were any social changes had to do something with it.

This essay focuses on strategies for acquisitions in Swedish publiclibraries. The topic has been occuring in the public debate off andon since the70s. The dominant view has been that librarians haveallowed demand direct the purchases of media and thus haveignored quality literature.This debate has caused me to reflect on the librarians constantdilemma when purchasing media. Are they supposed to chooseliterature that are in demand, or should an evaluation made bylibrarians be the decisive?The previous research has shown that the library profession istraditionally characterized by a non-judgmental approach.

Background: Mental health problems among children and adolescents have increased. The school is an important arena for prevention of mental health problems. There is a huge demand for successful interventions. SEL is a method that aims to increase the social and emotional competence among children and adolescents. The program SET applies this method.

This is a case study of work for gender equality, performed by the Employment and Competence Centre (Arbets- och kompetenscenter) in the municipality of Botkyrka. The aim of the study is to explore how gender equality is understood in the context of a municipality, and what underlying assumptions this understanding is based upon. The questions raised are; How is gender equality understood by the personnel? How do they understand gender? To what extent are women and men seen as homogeneous groups and what differences are (un)visible? What other power hierarchies besides gender are seen as important when working for gender equality? The analysis show that gender equality is a blurry vision, mainly understood in terms of equal conditions and rights, equal results for male and female participants and equal amount of women and men employed. Gender is seen as a binary system and differences between the genders are highlighted.

In recent years, the demands for effectiveness and evidence in social work have increased in all work areas, including that of healthcare. This has sparked the discussion on concepts such as practical- and theoretical knowledge and their respective roles in social work. In the light of this, the purpose of this candidate thesis is to investigate healthcare social workers understanding of practical- and theoretical knowledge in the working process as well as their respective influence and importance. This candidate thesis is based on three interviews with social workers from different departments in Norrlands Universitetssjukhus in Umeå, Sweden. To provide range to the thesis, the interviewees were chosen from a purposeful sampling.

Lundbergs Plåt AB is a small company situated in Jönköping. Their main task is to process different kinds of steel such as stainless steel. Lately, they have shown an interest in Lean production.On the basis of the situation mentioned above, we developed the purpose to find and decrease the non value-added wastes in the production at Lundbergs Plåt AB. Out of this, we also developed and answered two questions: Which wastes can be found with help from a value stream mapping (VSM)? In what way can these wastes be reduced and how can these reductions contribute to an improved production? VSM is the method used to find the non value-added wastes.

 This thesis is based upon the assumption that in Swedish school today it is a wide gap regarding the information flow when pupils are switching school. This was one of the reasons Skolverket published a report clearly stating that this is the case. The purpose of this thesis is to examine and describe how teachers are working in a teacher team at transitions to see and understand what their work may mean individually, in a group and to the school as an organisation. The questions at issue is to see how the teachers cooperate during transitions and how they notice students in need of extra support and students level of knowledge during transitions. The two last questions at issue is first to see how teachers approach parent?s expectations on the school and the teachers, secondly it is to examine what implications their work will have on the school.

Anledningen till att jag valde att go?ra en studie om yrkesla?rare pa? Restaurang- och livsmedelsprogrammets syn pa? kompetens, bottnade i en nyfikenhet i hur dessa la?rare kombinerade yrkeskunskap med pedagogik. Ansa?g dessa yrkesla?rare att yrkeskunskap var det centrala eller skulle fo?rdelningen mellan pedagogik och yrkeskunskap vara mer ja?mnt fo?rdelad? Syftet med denna studie var att underso?ka yrkesla?rare pa? Restaurang- och livsmedelsprogrammets syn pa? sin yrkeskompetens. Anledningen till begra?nsningen att endast anva?nda mig av la?rare pa? Restaurang- och livsmedelsprogrammet beror pa? att det a?r inom detta omra?de jag sja?lv a?r verksam, och da?rmed a?ven intresserad av.

The district nurses' duties with all organisational changes, above all during the last 20 years, have been changed. Economy and listing governs which visits that to be prioritized. The aim with this study was to examine what district nurses in the primary care in Uppsala län has for view about their occupational role. The method was qualitative and the selection comprized ten district nurses in Uppsala län that were interviewed individually on the basis of a semi structured interview guide that the authors the actual created. In the wide analysis of the results could a theme, As a rubber screw in a shrinking hole and three central categories be discerned, Occupational role, Diversity and Organisation.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to observe and describe the work environment of veterinary nurses, focused on fysical ergonomics, in a Small Animal hospital. Method: An observational study was made in the stationary ward in an animal hospital. The observation was based on a checklist from the Swedish Work Environment Authority. Six veterinary nurses was observed over three hours when they nursed the patients. The checklist contained paragraphs concerning work postures, manuell work, knowledge, competence and the design of the workplace. Result: The results was divided into three categories; red, yellow and green.

Syftet med studien var att belysa hur tandhygienisten uppfattar att den egna kompetensen används inom Folktandvården. Studien är kvalitativ och innefattas av intervjuer med tio legitimerade tandhygienister som är verksamma inom allmäntandvården. Intervjuerna har skett med hjälp av en intervjuguide. Intervjuerna spelades in på kasettband och varade i ca 10-20 minuter. Bearbetningen av intervjumaterialet har skett, gemensamt av de båda författarna och analyserades enligt en kvalitativ innehållsanalys.

The expectations of a successful outcome are great during childbirth. The overall objective of prenatal care and birth care is that midwives contribute in creating the most positive experience of pregnancy, child birth and infancy as possible. During the past 30 years there has been a significant increase in sectiofrequency both in Sweden and the rest of the Western world. More parents feel an overall insecurity when it comes to child labour. The purpose of this study was to describe how midwives experience the work of creating a sense of security and good nursing when meeting the expectant parents.

A central discussion within society and businesses today, is the change of generations in the business market which occurs within the upcoming years. A change of generations is unavoidable and a natural step in business. The challenge of the forthcoming reform is the large number of people leaving the labour market and the grand entrance of new labour; Generation Y. The characteristics of Generation Y differ from the older generation which enhances the challenges for the businesses to attract a new workforce. It may also be necessary for the organisations to adapt to the younger generation.

 The purpose with my study was primarily to illuminate the students' expectations on gained knowledge during their studies at the upper secondary school Hotel- and Restaurant program, and to what extent these expectations were fulfilled. Secondarily, the purpose was to compare the students' expected and perceived knowledge with the program goals set by the Swedish government and the knowledge requirements expressed in a pilot study made by the Education council of the Hotel and restaurant business (UHR, 2007).I chose a quantative approach and I used an anonymous group enquiry among students at the Hotel- and Restaurant program at two different upper secondary schools to carry out my study.Tendencies in the result suggested that the students at the Hotel- and Restaurant program expected high knowledge level within the competence areas of Guest reception and communication, Cleaning and hygiene, Cooking of cold and hot dishes and Waiting. The expectations were not big within the areas Computers and Internet and Business economics and management.Fulfillment of expected knowledge tended to be high within the areas where the expectations were big. It might therefore be a good investment for schools to work on the student expectations to increase motivation within the low expectation areas.A confrontation of the tendencies in the result with the program goals and the competence requirements expressed in the UHR study, suggested that the upper secondary Hotel- and Restaurant education might focus some more the areas of Guest reception and communication, Beverages and Organization of banquets. Business economics and management should be given much more weight..