In a time where many Asian metropolises experience an expansive development new urbanconditions are created and the already existing disappears or being replaced. Asian cities develop ata pace that is unprecedented in our history and which, through a western perspective can seemharsh. By focusing on an urban complex in Chengdu, capital of the southwestern province ofSichuan China, the study asks; is it possible to see this rapid urbanization from another perspective?The study examines the local and global dimensions of Raffels City, and how concepts such asnostalgia and authenticity, related to the city, can be understood in an urbanization that is so markedby massive demolitions. The study shows that these concepts can be expressed in several ways, andthat an awareness of them does not necessarily control the view of the city..

The relationship between free trade and the environment is often considered conflicting and the debates surrounding it are infected. My thesis deal with this conflict and how environmental concerns are integrated in three regional free trade agreements, North American Free Trade Agreement, The common market of the southern cone (MERCOSUR) and Southern African Development Community (SADC). I point out how the organizations differ from each other in this respect and I present a possible explanation to why they differ. The explanation is founded on the theory of the environmental Kuznets curve and that environmental concerns will depend on which level of development the member states in the organizations have. To judge and rank the organizations I have composed a model based on a pre-existing description of the trade and environment conflict.

This essay deals with children?s and adolescents? use of interactive media as a tool for doing relations with each other. The purpose is to increase the understanding of the impact interactive media has on pupils? relations and identity development both in school and on their spare time. The school system?s mission is not only to teach formal knowledge and facts but also to train children?s social skills and abilities.

This Master of Science thesis was completed at the Department of Machine Design at the Royal Instituteof Technology in Stockholm in collaboration with Lund Faculty of Engineering, Luleå University ofTechnology and Stanford University. At Stanford University a global product development project wasrealized as part of the course ME310. The project was initiated by the American company ImmerseGlobal whose vision was to develop a new type of Atmospheric Water Generators, a machine that absorbsthe moisture in the air and via a water system transforms it to pure drinking water. The project was partlyfinanced by the Product Innovation Engineering program, a Swedish research and development programfor increased innovation capability in organizations.In parallel with the global project in the ME310 course the product development process was studied inorder to compare it with a product development course at the Royal Institute of Technology, IPU. Thetwo courses are similar to each other in several aspects.

The main aim of this bachelor thesis is to describe through a quantitative study the extent of support received by foster families, their opinion of the support and any areas that might need improvement. The foster families receive foster care support through a private agency. We concentrated on the following areas of support; education, health, contact with the children?s biological relatives and behavioral difficulties. These four areas have, in previous research, shown to be problematic for foster children.

AbstractSeveral of researchers have reflected that the school ought to be developed to a learning organization. A method as proceed from such a perspective and should be able to match a local child- and educations administration is problembased school development. To investigate in which ways a child- and educations administration prosecute a problem based learning inside the organization a case study was used as research strategy. The question this report gives answer to is:In what/which way works a child- and educations administration in a rural district with a method to fulfil a problembased learning.To collect empiric data a canvassing inquiry was accomplished among the child- and educations administrations group of management. According to the research result it can declares that there are good conditions for the organization to prosecute problem based school development, but there is yet a great deal to do before it´s can be said totally fulfilled.

Abstract This study is an evaluation of a development project, seeking to work for entrepreneurial learning, starting from John Hattie's findings on the significant factors for visible learning. The study is based on action research a method together with a questionnaire, focused interviews and observation, by the issue of How do students perceive entrepreneurial learning? The results show that the methodology contributes to a more active learning and greater work satisfaction among students. The results also reinforce the thesis of the formative assessment and the importance of reflection for increased metacognition. The work identifies the project's educational shortcomings and strengths, and lays the foundation for further development towards full implementation of entrepreneurial learning in a secondary activity that works to prepare students with special needs for the labor market..

Ella Mathematics is a web portal that will completely replace the printed math text book in the Swedish elementary school. When the math education is moved in to the digital world the flexibility and adaptability will increase.In 2011 the Swedish government revised the Swedish school system, which contained a whole new curriculum for the elementary school math education. This has been the foundation for the development of Ella Mathematics and the design of the three different users; student, teacher and parent. The development has been done with Dynamic Product Development methods from the project start in September 2011 until the final exam in May 2012.Ella Mathematics has been developed with the pupil?s math knowledge in focus.

The study discloses unaccompanied children´s socialization in their new society. The purpose of the study is to investigate how unaccompanied children's schooling is an important factor in their socialization and skills development in their new society. For example, we have chosen to illustrate how their school works and if and whether the teachers receive the support they need in order to help children develop their skills so they can find their way in society. The research is based on three different methods. The first method is based on literature research.

The goal of this paper is to analyze the influence of the EU on Turkish democracy. In order to achieve this aim, the paper concentrates on three areas, as representative institutions, opposition parties and freedom of expression. The impact of the EU on Turkey has been more explicit during the last decades. In particular since 1999 when the country became a candidate for membership, and that will eventually lead to Turkey joining the European Union. Thereby this paper will examine the demands EU set up for the country and how Turkey accomplishes these criteria.

The purpose of this essay is to explore how social workers view a possible connection between exposure to honour violence and development of mental illness and/or substance abuse. We first heard of the possible connection from a voluntary organization who work in this field and who believe that this connection could be common. We therefore wanted to explore this from the perspective of social workers who come into contact with victims of honour violence: was this something they had noticed? How did they deal with it if it was noticed? We also asked how the possible connection could be interpreted and, supposing the social workers had failed to notice the connection, why this could be. We made five qualitative interviews with six social workers working in different contexts whom within their work come across honour-related issues.

The purpose of this study is to find whether there is any truth in the thesis that adopted children from abroad is in greater need of special support, in particular regarding factors that might inhibit the language development that may cause language problems.To achieve knowledge for this study, the methods have been to seek and analyze literature that discusses theories about language development and language socialization. To understand if theory and reality is cohesive, two interviews was conducted with special teachers that have had experiences teaching adopted children, analyzes of the results contra literature has been somewhat important and necessary. To ensure the reliability the interviews was recorded on tape and later transcribed.The results from literature studies indicates that adopted children are more likely to be in need of special support in school due to factors concerning, among other things, adaptation difficulties, language progress and identity. Overall, language progress is depended on children?s total progress that includes physical, emotional and psychological condition.

This master´s thesis is a comparative study of the importance of eight factors suggested in the literature to be related to the perceived utility of the service Book a librarian (Swe. Boka en bibliotekarie). Disciplinary differences were also analysed. 73 encounters between students and librarians in 11 Swedish academic libraries were studied using a survey. Six factors were significantly related (at the .05 level) to the utility of the service.

The estate of Rydboholm is situated in the municipality of Österåker, north of Stockholm, Sweden, and has a long history dating back to the 14th century. Rydboholm was the home of several families of great national importance, such as the Finsta and Vasa clans. However, since the 1500s, the noble family Brahe was the most influential; leaving its mark on the castle and surroundings. The gardens of Rydboholm consist of two parts; The first is from the baroque era, dating back to the 1660s, and the second is an immense landscape park completed around the year 1800 by Magnus Fredrik Brahe. During his travels through Europe, Magnus Fredrik Brahe was influenced by the new English-style gardens and he brought a large collection of literature on the subject back to Sweden, still kept in the library of Rydboholm.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the benefit of information literacy instruction in two student groups at Kristianstad University, in relation to development of critical information literacy and within the boundaries of the educational goals. This study takes on a critical information literacy perspective that combines critical pedagogy and standards for information literacy in higher education. Two methods have been used for data collection: interviews and questionnaires. According to the results of the study the information literacy instruction provided by the Kristianstad University Library is important and useful for the students in their academic studies. It also becomes clear that the information literacy differs between the two groups as a consequence of the varying information literacy instruction received by the two groups.