How should a fair income tax system be designed? Since Estonia became the first country to introduce a flat tax on incomes in 1994, this question has been in focus of public debate. The aim of is this thesis is to show that a flat income tax system, combining a proportional tax rate on all incomes with an allowance exempt from tax, is consistent with the demands of justice. In order to achieve this I construct a two level argument using normative method. The first part consists in the justification of a specific ethical theory which is derived from to notion of human dignity.

Aim: To describe perceptions about written and verbal information regarding diet and physical activity in women with breast cancer and to study possible differences between ages and perception. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted and consisted of 57 women with breast cancer stages I-III who started adjuvant chemotherapy within a year (2007-2008). A questionnaire, regarding their perceptions about the written and verbal information they had received about diet and physical activity, was responded to three months following treatment completion. Between 67-93 % of the participants responded to the questions. The answers was analyzed with descriptive statistics and Mann Whitney U-test.

Background: The population of the world is getting older and in the year of 2020, 1.2 billion people will be 60 years or older. A common health complaint affecting the quality of life in elderly persons are sleep difficulties. Physical activity is claimed to improve sleep quality and the maintenance of a normal circadian rhythm. Several studies have shown positive effects of physical activity on sleep quality, still the evidence of physical activity as sleep-promoter is insufficient. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate associations between physical activities and sleep quality in persons ?60 years of age.

Examensarbetet behandlar ett brotvärsnitt som inte entydigt kan betraktas som ett balktvärsnitt eller plattvärsnitt. Med de måttdefinitioner som används vid broprojektering ska en plattkonstruktion ha en bredd som är fem gånger höjden, annars ska konstruktionen ses som en balk där även balkens längd definieras att vara större än tre gånger höjden. Brotvärsnittet som studeras i detta examensarbete kan alltså definieras både som ett plattvärsnitt och som ett balktvärsnitt. Målet med arbetet är att undersöka om det är möjligt att finna en metod att konstruera denna typ av tvärsnitt som befinner sig i gränslandet mellan två definitioner. Skillnaderna mellan en plattas och en balks verkningssätt ligger i att plattan antas bära last i två riktningar medan en balk enbart bär last i en riktning.Examensarbetet är genomfört i sammarbete med WSP Bro- och vattenbyggnad i Örebro, som konstruerade en bro med just detta tvärsnitt.

Heart failure is the most common reason to hospitalization among persons over 65 years old. Self-care is an important part in the treatment of heart failure, but poor information and knowledge limits the ability of self-care and increases the risk of admission to hospital.The aim of the study was to investigate what information patients with heart failure describes that they receive from health care personal, how information is perceived, who provides the information, and on what occasions it is given. The aim was also to investigate whether patients' perception of knowledge about heart failure increased after hospitalization.The study is cross-sectional study with a descriptive design. A consecutive selection was used. A questionnaire was filled in by 28 participants.The study has shown that patients with heart failure largely experience information about heart failure inadequate.

Forest enterprises have always searched for ways to improve efficiency. For the past few years there has been an emphasis on stock-keeping levels. Increased demand for fresh round timber and the need to decrease the amount of tied-up capital has made the forest industry reduce its inventory levels. This has brought on a higher demand on the timber supply from the forest management districts concerning both delivery in time and assortment output. As a result, the flow of timber has fluctuated a lot with serious consequence for the timber supply during 1994.

The subject of this study is factors that contribute to immigrants wellbeing in their new country. Our purpose was to describe and examine different factors that according to eight immigrants have contributed to their wellbeing in Sweden. Our main question was: Which factors have, according to our respondents, contributed to their wellbeing in Sweden.To achieve this, we have conducted qualitative interviews with eight different individuals. We also collected current documents and research related to the subject matter. We chose three different theoretical perspectives: Antonovsky´s Sense of coherence, Maslow´s Hierarchy of needs and Mischel´s CAPS-theory (cognitive-affective personality system) as models for the explanation of our analysis.The result of our survey was that we could detach six different categories which the respondents expressed had contributed to their wellbeing.

The aim of this essay is to investigate the situation for democracy in China. The study raises two main questions. They are as follows: Are there obstacles to a democratization process in China? and Are there openings when it comes to a gradual change for democratization in China? The theoretical framework consists of Robert A.Dahl´s Polyarchy theory, and in addition , five factors promoting democracy. Also the notion of an MDP-society (a modern, dynamic and pluralistic society) is looked upon.

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to illustrate Serbia?s democratic development on the basis of consolidate democratic perspective. Linz & Stepan´s five arenas (political, civil, economic, legal and bureaucratic) are required for the possibility to become a consolidate democracy. In order to fulfil the aim, I have chosen to focus on the political and civil arenas that are most central in the study of consolidate democracy.The purpose of this study is to process how far Serbia has come towards a consolidate democracy and which obstacles still remain in the transition.The questions in this study are:? What problems has Serbia faced since the democratic transition in the beginning of 1990?? What possibilities are there for Serbia to consolidate the democracy, with focus on the two key arenas of consolidation?By applying the theoretical framework to the data, I have been able to present answers and build up an analysis.

Den här uppsatsen undersöker hur andelen deltidsanställningar inom den kommunala verksamheten påverkar kommunernas personalkostnader. Flera regressionsmodeller har använts på ett material bestående av Sveriges samtliga kommuner mellan åren 1998 och 2006. Resultaten har visat att en kommun som minskar andelen deltidsanställda med tio procentenheter beräknas sänka sina personalkostnader med ca 1200 kr per kommuninvånare och år. Modellerna är signifikanta även när de kontrolleras för autokorrelation och relativt hårda antaganden om orsaksriktning och effektens fördröjning.Även deltidsanställningarnas inverkan på kvaliteten i den kommunala verksamheten har studerats. Trots svårigheterna att mäta kvalitet, tyder resultaten på att en minskning av andelen deltidsanställningar förväntas förbättra kvaliteten.Sammantaget visar resultaten att kommuner som erbjuder sina deltidsanställda möjlighet till heltidsanställning kan göra mindre ekonomiska vinster utan att försämra verksamhetens kvalitet.

The habits of living are seen as important factors for public health, and are related to the primary socialization. Exercise and food habits are two main factors for development of health or ill health and are both related to the overweight epidemic. The overweight increase among children and youth has been given particular attention. The aim of this study is to examine how 15 year olds Body Mass Index, food- and exercise habits are connected to each other and also how they are related to socialization. The study is a cross sectional survey among 208 pupils in ninth grade, Kristianstad.

Many questions are still left unanswered regarding the period c. 450-700 AD, when hordes of Anglo-Saxon migrants landed on the British Isles and by doing so made the starting point in the foundation of England. Who were these Germanic tribes? The theories of how the migration proceeded are today many. The two major theories today concerns whether it was a question of a mass migration or a gradual migration proceeded by smaller groups of military elite.

In May 2004 eight former communist countries (EU-8) with close historical trade ties to Russia joined the European Union. According to integration theory, we expect that Russia ? a so called third country ? in some cases may suffer from trade diversion due to this. This thesis focuses on the possible effects on Russian trade resulting from the 2004 eastern enlargement of the European Union. It aims to find out whether any evidence of trade diversion can be found.

Denna studie undersöker om Sverige som produktland ger ett mervärde åt produkter relaterade till Sverige på den australiensiska markanden. Studien är grundad på en enkätstudie som utfördes på 67 personer i Toowoomba, Australien. Kopplingen till ett lands mervärde ligger i kundens uppfattning till de land de förknippar produkten med, något som kan förstärkas eller minskas. Studien visar att över 90 % av de tillfrågade kände till Ericsson, IKEA och Volvo medan drygt hälften kände till Absolut. De hade alla en starkare produktnisch än Sverige som nation.

AbstractAt the UN Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 the nations stated that traditional environmental policies were not sufficient to handle the multidimensional challenges posed by sustainable development. Governments needed to broaden their political decision making procedures in order to coordinate and integrate environmental, social and economic policies. Therefore a new tool was introduced in Agenda 21, National Strategies for Sustainable Development (NSDS). The aim of an NSDS would be to bring together actors from all parts of society to jointly reach a consensus on how to work towards the vision of a sustainable society. An NSDS would be seen as a strategic tool to help focus national policies for SD.