Den 11 augusti 1806 i Skänninge, på Olofsmässomarknadens första dag, öppnade den preussiske medborgaren Jean Baptiste Gautier dörrarna till stadens rådhus för att visa upp en elefant mot betalning. Vid middagstid utbröt slagsmål mellan den marknadsbesökande allmogen och representanter för stadens styrande, inne i rådhuset och på torget utanför. Under tumultet barrikaderade sig Skänninges borgmästare och andra ståndspersoner i rådhuset och marknadsbesökarna på torget utanför kastade sten mot fönstren. De instängda personerna tilläts inte lämna byggnaden förrän komminister Sundelius från Heda gripit in och dämpat de spända stämningarna på torget något. När de instängda släppts ut höll allmogen huset i besittning under återstoden av staden och beskådade elefanten utan betalning.Under dagen spreds uppgifter om att upploppsmakarna trakasserat ståndspersoner och hotat att bränna ned staden om det bleve rättsliga påföljder för våldsamheterna.

This master thesis summarizes Contemporary theories on secularization processes in the Western world, and compares these with the example of Sweden, which by many scholars is considered to be the most secularized country in the Western world.I do this by dividing the most influential theorists in five different groups. In each group I explain how the theorists formulate and motivate their positions. These groups are:1) The secularization paradigm, where secularization always accompanies modernization. (Therorists: Steve Bruce and Peter Berger (in the 1960s)2) The paradigm basically accepted, but revised to depend on existential security, rather than modernisation as such. (Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart)3) Religion returned in the public sphere.

The aim of this paper is to clarify the up till now somewhat shady definition of legitimacy, and to investigate what happens to this concept when it is transferred from the boundaries of the nation state to the realms of the international arena. By creating a model of legitimacy from which an institution can be evaluated, the purpose of this paper is to investigate what legitimacy is and how important it is for the actors within the international society. The next step involves evaluating what makes the UN a legitimate institution and how its foundation is affected by the blatant disregard of its authority by one of its? most influential members.The theoretical framework consists of a summary of what Contemporary analysts? views of legitimacy are, which I have incorporated into my own institutional model of legitimacy. The role of institutions is central to all aspects of this study.

Place is on the one hand a commonsense everyday word with diversely connotative meanings, and on the other a contested concept with different interpretations across a broad range of academic disciplines and discourses. This thesis researches theories of place and their implications for the theory and design practice of landscape architecture. Responding to problems of insufficient theoretical grounding and inconsistent use of the concept of place within the discipline presently, it argues the need for a theory of place better articulated in relation to landscape architecture. It seeks to contribute to such theory formation by drawing on ideas from related disciplines ? tracing diverse understandings of place beyond the commonsense meanings of the word and into the deeper reaches of place theory as tools to explain physical, social and spiritual aspects of the environment, and human relationships with it.

This master thesis summarizes Contemporary theories on secularization processes in the Western world, and compares these with the example of Sweden, which by many scholars is considered to be the most secularized country in the Western world.I do this by dividing the most influential theorists in five different groups. In each group I explain how the theorists formulate and motivate their positions. These groups are:1) The secularization paradigm, where secularization always accompanies modernization. (Therorists: Steve Bruce and Peter Berger (in the 1960s)2) The paradigm basically accepted, but revised to depend on existential security, rather than modernisation as such. (Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart)3) Religion returned in the public sphere.

Hometown Boy är ett projekt av konstnären Liu Xiaodong. Tillsammans med en grupp medarbetare besökte han sin barndomsstad  Jincheng i nordöstra Kina, en stad han lämnade för trettio år sedan.. Resultatet visades på UCCA, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art i Beijing. Lius verk synliggjorde individer från en marginaliserad arbetarklass som inte ofta ges utrymme inom porträttkonsten.Mitt syfte har varit att tolka Lius Xiao Dou Hanging Out at the Pool Hall bland annat utifrån ett marxistisktfeministiskt förhållningssätt. Som metod har jag utgått ifrån bildanalyser av verken samt litteraturstudier.

The purpose of this study is to map out and to analyze the spatial variation of female representation at the national level in established democracies. The aim is also to explain the variation in the female representation. The main questions that the paper tries to answer are:1.How does women representation in established democratic parliaments vary?2.Why does women representation in established democratic parliaments vary?This study is a comparative and statistic study, i.e. a study that includes a bigger number of countries and where quantitative analysis methods are used in order to achieve comparative analyses.

This thesis aims to shed light on the collection of Oriental manuscripts at the Uppsala University Library Carolina Rediviva and how the collection is a part of the collective memory. The main question which is central for this thesis is: have orientalism and structures of power influenced the acquisition, arrangement and methods of accessability regarding the Oriental manuscripts? If yes, in what way and why? If no, how has this been avoided?The theoretical framework consists of four approaches: phenomenology, sociology of knowledge, orientalism and power which are applied to the archival concept of collective memory. The main source of material consists of three parts: the historical texts which gives an informational framework regarding the time and place in which the manuscripts were collected, the catalogues in which the manuscripts are described and the transcripted interviews alongside correspondence. Methodologically the thesis is based upon a qualitative method which also partly makes up the foundation for the main material.

Interior window shutters can be found in historical buildings, but they are an uncommon occurrence in modern buildings. In modern Contemporary construction, large glass panels are often the ideal because of increased light inflow and for architectural purposes. However, this can generate several negative effects, such as increased energy loss, lack of privacy and high sunlight penetration. Problems that window shutters could have accommodated historically. This thesis identifies a lack of knowledge about interior window shutters in the Swedish building stock.

Per Wahlöö is one of Sweden´s most famous crime writers. Together with Maj Sjöwall he revolutionized the swedish crime novel in the mid-sixties with the Martin Beck-series. Before that he was working as a reporter in the fifties and started writing novels about the oppression of man, power and totalitarian mentality in the end of the decade. Those novels (1959-1968) are called ?The dictatorship?-series.

Something that all people have come across and more or less experienced is climate change. Climate change in itself is a very complex problem since there are no borders between countries that can stop the problem. The link between science and the public is largely in the hands of the media, since the media play an important role in defining environmental issues and to inform the public about research findings. In recent years, reports from the media showed a slightly skeptical and uncertain picture of this problem. This is despite the largely prevailing consensus among climate scientists that there is an anthropogenic climate change.

This study examines use and users of information and records originating in the context of a Contemporary police organisation. This area of research has only been of focus for a relatively few researchers. This in contrast to use and users of historical archives which has been in centre for more studies. The study is conducted with a quantitative method structuring data from 120 selected registered matters containing user queries. The research questions addressed are:- what user categories use the records of the authority- which are the ways of contacting the authority preferred by the users- which are the identifiers provided by the users and how well are they matched by the search artefacts available to the staff of the authority- what information and records are sought-after by the users.For comparing the identifiers provided to the search artefacts has been selected the two most frequently used registry systems within the authority.

Democracy is said to uphold the dearest values and be the most moral system. But it cannot be characterized as a rigid "syste" but a continuously changing political framework, under which aims and values can be fulfilled - and replaced.The increasingly diverse and ever-changing environment of Contemporary democracies forces change upon the systems' natural evolution, which makes their future features uncertain and unforeseeable. A powerful change-force doctrine does however claim change is mainly (or merely) caused by the power of ideas; the elite power over ideas can thus provide a natural foundation for the analysis of the direction of development for democracy. This study aims to provide such a foundation by reconstructing empirical and normative descriptions of democracy at two certain points in time, following extensive government studies.As a tool for analysis, this study identifies values of substantial and procedural character central to democracy theory and discourse. It further creates ideal types of democracy based on these values, to which the nature of democracy is measured.

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.

In the social sciences, geopolitical theory is used in order to analyze states actions and commitments when it comes to foreign policy. This thesis develops a new understanding of geopolitical theory. Firstly, the development and application of geopolitical theory, from its foundations in the early twentieth century to Contemporary geopolitical studies is discussed. Secondly a revised understanding of the variables integrated in the concept and how it can be operationalized as an analytical tool is presented and tested empirically.The critical assessment of the research field of geopolitical theory tells us that six different geopolitical perspectives have been considered the most influential (room, strategy, power projection, identity, affiliation and governance) when it comes to analyzing state action. This model is applied as an analytical tool and thus tested on a single case.