This essay examines the epideictic genre by using qualitative method to analyze acceptance speeches from the Swedish Grammy awards. These speeches and their speakers are often described as rhetorically mediocre and there seems to be a notion within the music community that an acceptance speech is personal and without deeper meaning. From a functionalistic perspective on genre, these speeches can be seen as working together with other genres that carry information about the winners. Why would skilled performers who know how to entertain an audience choose to repeat rhetorical mistakes? This essay uses different perspectives on rhetorical situation and genre as well as multimodal analysis of verbal- and nonverbal communication, to argue that these particular speeches in this particular situation come with their own set of expectations and values that the speakers have to acknowledge if they are to meet the epideictic purpose: To unite the audience around common values and create an enjoyable collective memory.

The aim of this thesis is to expand the understanding of 16th century Flemish art by approaching paintings by artists Pieter Aertsen (1508-1575), Joachim Beuckelaer (1533-1574) and Pieter Bruegel (c. 1525-1569) from a different perspective. This is done by extending the discourse of art history, into a discourse of literary history and primarily 16th century novels by authors such as François Rabelais and Miguel de Cervantes. The paintings are studied in relation to these 16th century novels, by comparison and as a testament of this specific time period. A widening contextualization is also constructed in which a connection to the expression of the carnivals ambivalent form, as well as the notion of lower classes is explored.

Abstract The goal of the study was to conduct an in-depth investigation of how conflicts are resolved in schools, from a pupil- and a teacher perspective. Our intention was to view and compare pupils and teachers different opinions in the school environment. A major focus was put on different ways teacher handle conflicts and how they try to prevent them. The material was acquired by interviews with both teachers and pupils. The study is based on Jean Piagets and Lev Vygotskijs visions about the cognitive developmental stage for children. The result of the study shows the teachers need to be attentive and also that the pupils generally do not notice when the teacher works to prevent conflicts.

The aim of this study is to investigate how employees in consulting companies develop their competence in order to perform their daily work. The focus is on informal competence development. The theoretical framework consists of theories concerning learning and competence development in working life, theories on organizational change and evaluation, a well as professional reflection. The methods applied are narrative research and interviews based on the assumption that knowledge about reality is only obtainable through language and communication.The main results show that competence is developed through experience, social interaction, communication and dialog with co-workers and customers. The post-modern conceptions of the rapid (technical) development and need to be up-to-date has a strong hold on the informants apprehension of working life, as does the notion of not having enough time for all the competence development they would like.

Abstract Författare: Martin Olsson, Växjö universitet, GIX182. Svensk titel: Israel-Palestinakonflikten. En studie om hur konflikten tas upp i läroböcker från 2000-talet i relation till skolans styrdokument. English title: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. A study about how textbooks in the 21th century deal with the conflict in relation to the schools steering documents Denna uppsats handlar om hur Israel-Palestinakonflikten tas upp i läroböcker ifrån 2000-talet i relation till styrdokumenten gällande för gymnasiets Historia A kurs. Syftet är att försöka se hur läroböckerna uppfyller de krav som skolans styrdokument ställer på framställningen av konflikten. Jag har använt mig av två stycken metoder när jag sökt svar på mina frågor, den ena kvantitativ och den andra kvalitativ, båda med liknande syfte i att se hur Israel-Palestinakonflikten tas upp, men med olika perspektiv. Den kvantitativa undersökningen skall svara på hur stort utrymme som ges och hur stort intresset är på konflikten och den kvalitativa undersökningen skall svara på ett antal djupare frågor som tas upp nedan.

The aim of this study is to observe Swedish preschool children in their natural habitat and without any intervention. Four different observations are made and thereafter analyzed. Throughout the whole study the subject of interest is the children's communication in their play. Children can communicate with each other in various ways, for instance with speech and without speech, i.e. with their physical language, aesthetic and multi language.

The purpose of this study was to examine how four teachers with different teaching experiences treat and think about insubordination in school. The study emphasizes on questions like: When and why does disorder occur? How do the teachers manage disorderly conduct in the classroom? and Could there be a conflict between the teacher?s expectations and management, and the needs and motivation of the pupil?    It was evident through interviews with these four teachers that their statements could be divided into similar themes which subsequently could be put into the motivational structure of Abraham H. Maslow.       The conclusion of the study was that teachers may possibly have a better chance of managing disorder in their classroom if they are aware of the connection between disorderly conduct and a person?s needs and motivation. .

The aim of this thesis is to examine the impact that clothing has in Margaret Atwood?s novel The Blind Assassin from 2000. The essay begins with a brief overview of how clothing has been acknowledged in different areas of research. The overview leads up to the conclusion that fashion, as well as clothing in large, has been overly ignored as a potentially fruitful subject of academic status. This is much due to the fact that fashion is traditionally regarded as being a classically feminine subject, as well as it can be said to be a result of fashion?s very elusive character.

AbstractCities are once again becoming the locus of economic, social and political processes. The effect of these processes on the city is two-fold: one one hand they threaten to fragment and dislocate the city and the actors within them, on the other hand they give actors within cities new opportunities to react and mobilize resources towards different strategies of integration. The latter gives rise to what Patrick Le Galès calls the collective actor-city. The aim of this thesis is to explore the notion of the city as a collective actor in a swedish context by utilizing Le Galès theory of european cities as collective actors in an abductive case study on the city of Malmoe. By utilizing Le Galès five dimensions that make up a collective actor I analyze interviews conducted with city officals aswell as documents produced from the city wide plan of action Welfare for everybody.

The values of the Swedish school system is said to be rooted in the ethics of Christianity and western humanism. Critics say that this expression can be seen as a sign of an obscured eurocentrism when world-wide accepted values is said to be cared for by Christianity and the west. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the politicians argue on this issue, why the values of the Swedish school system should be said to be cared for by the ethics of Christianity and the western humanism. I also want to examine if these arguments in fact corresponds with the worldview of eurocentrism. The examination consists of a discourse analysis review of, for example, journals of the Swedish parliament, which is later compared with the theories of eurocentrism.I believe the argumentation can be categorized in three main categories: first a conservative ideological perspective where they are driven by the notion that the Swedish culture could be defined by establishing and defending its foundations; a philosophical/religious perspective where they want to justify the indisputable values they believe should be maintained in the schools; a eurocentric/psychological perspective where they tend to express the Swedish identity by defining what is typically characteristic of ?us? and typically characteristic of ?the others?.

The concept Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) describes a company's social and environmental work. More and more companies have embraced the concept of CSR and for some businesses, it has become equally important to present its efforts within CSR as to present its latest profits.The purpose of this essay is to establish an overall picture of a company's CSR efforts and to discuss the potential conflict between CSR and the aim for profit We investigate how businesses can improve their CSR effort so that it contributes to a positive development for the society while still creating economic value for the company. The study is based on a qualitative study of four Swedish companies in the fashion industry: Kappahl, Gina Tricot, Åhlens and Indiska. The results show that according to the theoretical framework, the four companies do not reach a complete strategic approach to CSR. To achieve this it is necessary for the companies to change their current CSR-activities..

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an unconventional model of agriculture expected to contribute to a more sustainable food supply and a sustainable landscape; the development of rural areas; a stronger relationship between producer and consumer and a healthier diet. This study, with a focus on food production and the link between the producer and consumer, describes the origin and current development of CSA in Sweden, including the prerequisites for CSA in a Swedish context. Organizations and entrepreneurs working with CSA and related projects are identified and interviewed. The notion of CSA in Sweden is still in its infancy, but a rapidly growing interest currently can be detected. The fact that the identified CSAs are found in different Swedish regions with variations in degree of urbanization and intensity of agriculture indicates that the prerequisites are there for the concept to grow, both in rural as well as urban areas.

Sweden?s role during the Second World War has been a matter that has been under much debate since the war?s end in 1945. The debate has however ebbed and flowed and established a discourse that Sweden was forced to give in to German demands and did so to avoid conflict that would have severely damaged Sweden. However, in 1991 a Swedish journalist Maria-Pia Boëthius published a book known as Heder och Samvete in which she explained that the Swedish concessions to Germany during the war were made out of profit rather than giving in to German demands. This sparked a debate that ended with the establishment that Sweden compromised and even broke its neutrality in favor to gain profit from the war.

Partly due to its consequences on the physical and mental health but also because of women?s constant fear of being violated, rape is considered to be a public health issue. The theoretical aspects of rape were first discussed in the 1970?s mainly from the viewpoints of Susan Brownmiller and Michel Foucault. The aim of this literature study is to investigate the different perspectives on whether rape should be viewed as sex or violence, how the controversy has developed and what the authors claim that the different perspectives result in.

This essay examines the way the recurring motifs in Karin Boye's poetry might be read as expressions of queer or subversive desire. The fact that the lyrical I is not gendered in the poems opens up for a queer reading. In adherence to Sara Ahmed's notion of desire lines and sexual orientation I discuss the spatial aspects of desire, and explore the positions and movements of the lyrical I in Boye's poetic landscape as deviations from the concept of the straight and marked path, into the queer and unknown.I trace desire in Boye's poetry mainly through the themes of nature and night, and the ways in which these phenomena deviate from the normative structures laid out by the poems. Usually the motifs of night (such as fog, shadows and darkness) are associated with the fading of the senses. The night obscures the vision of the lyrical I and wraps them in heavy silence, making them experience and desire in new ways. Through motifs related to nature Boye formulates a feminine, matriarchal myth.