This essay is about Swedish government cultural policy.The premise is that cultural policy is a form of welfarepolicy. The welfare state has changed and this affects theconditions for the cultural policy. Welfare is funded andorganized in different parts of society, in three spheres thatcan be said to represent society as a whole. These spheresare the public sphere, the market and the civil society. Theaim is to analyze how the national cultural policy appearedin the 1970s, compared to how it appears today.

Music has always been an important form of communication and it can be found in many different contexts including aesthetical, cultural and emotional forms. In the globalized society of today music can be distributed fast through radio, TV, CD: s and the Internet. For many people consumption of music is an important part of the daily life and it can contribute to shape an individual?s attitudes and personality.The main purpose of this study is to find out whether there are any differences between men and women?s musical preferences. I will apply an explorative approach using qualitative interviews to describe what causes the differences.

In this study I try to answer the question what to consider when teaching about identity andreligious identity in Religious Studies at Upper Secondary Schools in Sweden. This inquiry isbased on the fact that the latest Program manuals for upper secondary school, GY11, instructsthe teachers to talk about identity and religion, while in the Curriculum for upper secondaryscool, Lpf 94, as well as the latest curriculum, SKOLFS 2011, the idea of identity seemslinked with ethnicity.With this in mind I want to clarify what might be meant with the concept of identity. Byreferring to several different identity theories I propose to illustrate the complexity of theconcept. I study gender, queer and postcolonial theory as well as different aspects of classstructure and commodification of identity, all through the perspective of intersectionality.Intersectionality is not a theory as such but a method of studying various perspectives of anissue. It is an analytical praxis of using several angles of investigation and explanationtogether, all phrased with the background of the question of power.

The recent development in society, such as the increased digitalisation, has brought new terms for both production and consumption within the cultural field. One of the main goals within Swedish Cultural Policies today is that everyone should have the same opportunities to practice and participate in cultural activities, with the right to develop their creative abilities. The cultural policies also contain the possibility to encourage spontaneous culture practice. The question is how to reach this goal.During the spring of 2012 I have been examining the term ?spontankultur? (spontaneous culture practice) as it appears in the discussion around participation in cultural activities and its connection to creativity.

The Swedish public library was founded in the years when the society in Sweden went from being a society of agriculture to industrialism. Modernism was sweeping over the country, everything was possible, which influenced the new society that was built. Now Sweden was going to be a true democracy with responsible and empathic citizens. One of the main tools in this process was to educate people, to get them to read and write and the public library fitted very well into these new ideas. It represented a place, free of charge, where everyone could go to take part of the knowledge and cultural learning that they needed in order to become the citizen that the society required.

This paper describes what some 9th grade students think of their sex education in school, especially when it comes to gender, sexual identity, norms and deviation. I have been using group interviews in two different schools, two groups per school. The result of the students' answers have been analysed on the basis of queer theory focusing on gender and sexual identity. The result of the study shows that the students consider their sexual education to be lacking, especially when it comes to gender, sexual identity, norms and deviation. Another conclusion of the analysis is that a sex education grounded in queer theory would be more inclusive..

Organizations today face big challenges as a result of increased exposure. A distinct and recognizable identity is required to differentiate. Consistent and coherent communication about what the organization stands for and where it is going is crucial if you want to succeed. This is a case study of how organizational members from two real estate companies that have merged into one, perceive their merged organization. The method is depth interviews with management representatives and focus group interviews with members from different levels of the company.

The aim of this study is to examine how zodiac signs are depicted through social interactions from an identity perspective and if zodiac signs can be seen as a form of divination. Our method was based on the answers of seven informants (six interviews in total), all of whom were interested in astrology with two of the informants having the title of astrologer by profession. After the implementation of Erving Goffman?s dramaturgical theory regarding identity and Jesper Fr?kj?r S?rensen?s divinatory perspective, we found evidence in the orrelation between zodiac signs and identity, along with astrology having little to no correlation with divination. The results show that although the majority of the informants were hesitant to the assertion that astrology can provide divinatory evidence, many of them still consumed and followed astrological advice based on prognosis.

AbstractThe Swedish society has always been monolingual, but has for the past decades transformed into a multicultural and multilingual society. The aim of this study is to investigate if and in that case how preschool teachers work with language development in bilingual and multicultural preschools. The concept of linguistic and cultural diversity includes several different components, not least the social interactions that are of great importance to every individual's development, learning and participation in the world. By understanding the importance of language, language development and the role of mother tongue in second language acquisition, we look into various researches done concerning the effects of the preschool teachers? opinions, methods used to language developmental primarily for children who are multilingual and how the physical environment is shaped to promote language in multicultural and multilingual preschools.The method used in this study is semi-structured interviews with preschool teacher working in multicultural or bilingual preschool settings.

The purpose of this study is to compare students (both male and female), from the Linnaeus University in Kalmar, about their perceptions with a particular focus on identity and self-esteem. In regards to the current societal problem concerning obesity and beauty ideals, this paper aimed to study the student?s opinions concerning health and diets in order to fully answer the purpose of the study. The theory used in this paper is in particular regards to identity and self-esteem. In order to answer the study questions, a qualitative approach was conducted in the form of various focus groups.

The aim of this thesis is to examine how a context-specific form of abstracting of fiction film developed in relation to the cultural policy of Internationella biblioteket IB, theoretically can be motivated and practically shaped. The background of the cultural policy of IB is analysed and theoretical standpoints and problematic aspects regarding subject representation discussed. Theories which claim intersubjectivity as an ideal for subject representation and searches for objectivity in the process of subject analysis are criticised in light of the concept of interpretation as the only means to produce meaning and subjects in relation to fiction. Birger Hjørlands context-oriented theories of subject representation are used to theoretically motivate the context-specific form of abstracting. To suggest how a practical framework for abstracting can be created, film theoretical models of interpretation are examined in relation to the field of subject analysis and formal criteria of abstracting.

Can the lack of functional cross-cultural communication among individuals within an international organization be the reason for cultural clashes to occur, and lead to conflict between two cultures within the same organization?Our aim is to try to create a potential model of how cross-cultural problems can be studied, in order to contribute to the solution of the problem. And to examine whether the theories, which form the basis of our model can be applied in reality.The research have assumed from the hermeneutical approach for a holistic view of the problem area. The deductive approach has been used in order to distinguish whether the theories can be applied to reality, and qualitative research method for collecting data.The focus lies within cross-cultural communications, which defines the various cultural factors that can affect organizational culture. Hofstede dimensions and the social structure are mentioned and cultural factors as language and religion.

This project aims to explore how to create a working concept-based flower shop visual identity, with focus on brandig, eco-branding and visual communication. My main question is: How do I create effective visual communication for an ecological flower shop? The results of this thesis are that there are things to consider when creating a visual identity with an ecological concept. The most important question is if there is any benefit for your company to go green, otherwise positioning of your company will be hard. What I realized during the design part of my project was that if I use the methods described in this thesis and consequently applying my choices after the flower shops identifying words, a working concept-based visual identity will be possible to create..

The study is quantitative and the purpose was to examine the effects of ethnicity and education on three working-related identities and striving among 80 participants. The participants consisted of foreign-born people living in Sweden and people who were born in Sweden, with different educational background. Each groups consisted of 20 participants. The result showed that the highly educated participants had higher professional identity. The participants with lower education level had a stronger colleague identity than the higher educated participants and the Swedish-born participants had a lower identity.

TitleThe profession of Children's Librarians. Identity and vocation.AbstractThe aim of this Master's thesis is to investigate the professional identity of Children's Librarians in order to contribute to a deeper understanding to the professions of librarians. This places the thesis in the field of Library and Information Science that studies the profession. The definition we use to understand profession suggests that all librarians take an active part in negotiating their professional role and library enterprise.Our empirical material consists of interviews with eight Children's Librarians. Using a qualitative method was the best way to gain an understanding for the participant's own experiences of their professional identity.