This Master?s thesis explores and describes the beliefs, values and norms in a selection of five Swedish municipal cultural policy documents approved 2005-2007. The comprehensive question is: Which ideological traits characterize cultural policy in the chosen municipalities as communicated in their respective cultural policy vision document? The method used is ideology analysis. Ideal types based on a model by Dorte Skot-Hansen are used as a conceptual framework, illustrating three different rationalities in relation to cultural policy: the humanistic, the sociological and the market oriented.

Climate change is a phenomenon that know no boundaries. While focus on environment and climate change has become highly prioritized, nationalism has spread across Europe. Nationalism is by many considered to refuse action to combat climate change although some argue that nationalism could combat global climate change. Previous research on how nationalism is implemented in environment and climate politics has mainly focused on single parties. The thesis therefore aims to give a broad approach and compare how nationalism is used in environment and climate politics by analyzing 4 European parties with either ethnic or civic nationalism and different roles in their party system. With a qualitative content analysis on party programs and election manifestos the findings imply that parties use nationalism in the climate and environment discourse in a variety of ways.

Abstract:The aim of this study has been to investigate (theoretically as well as empirically) the problematic notions of state neutrality and political perfectionism and, in particular, the potentially vast continuum existing between these concepts both in theory and in actual political practice. In order to accomplish this, a conceptual analysis has examined (some of) the arguments for and against state neutrality and political perfectionism, different aspects of neutralism and perfectionism as well as the exact definition of the concepts of ?neutrality of justification? and ?conceptions of the good?. Using a specific (though not entirely uncontested) definition of these concepts, an empirical analysis was made of Swedish parliamentary parties and their cultural policies. The empirical part of the study seemed to confirm one of the basic premises of this study; that state neutrality and perfectionism are often (as has indeed been recognized by critics of state neutrality) intertwined in the business of everyday politics..

This paper examines how pupils with a non-Swedish background, in a secondary school in Stockholm?s suburban, Sweden, interpret and absorb the contents of school-room classes. It also examines whether the interpretations are influenced by a power-relation between teacher and pupils. The pupil?s interpretations, including their values and perceptions as regards to the content, are central to our study.Firstly, classes on world conflicts and corporal punishment for children were observed and these observations were the foundation to this study.

This essay deals with the same task that utilitarians have tried to solve for a long time, what is happiness? In the eighteenth-century utilitarians suggested that happiness should be the base for social political decisions. But the lack of definition disposed so that GDP became the measurement of happiness, which proved to be wrong when the unhappiness continued to increase. More than two hundred years later scientists came up with a new definition of happiness and new ways to measure it. And during the last decade economists have taken the discussion to a higher level.So once again we?re dealing with the same old issue, if happiness ought to be the base of social political decisions.

In Sweden, the main responsibility for urban planning lies with the municipalities. The county administrative boards are responsible for clarifying the governmental interests for the municipalities. The main purpose of this essay was to study documents with descriptions of national heritage areas in order to examine whether certain problems within these documents are still present in the most recent ones. This was done by comparing old documents with new ones. The problem with these kinds of documents has been the lack of clarification of cultural values in national heritage areas.

Today many people with disabilities are excluded from cultural activities. The reason for this is that activities and the environment are not adapted to people with disabilities. The aim of this study is to describe the process to make cultural activities accessible and to describe the importance of good communication between cultural suppliers and their customers. Other questions raised are accessibility to cultural activities for people with hearing disabilities, the activities in the marketing process, the interaction between theatre companies and its audience and if the interaction has contributed to the theatre's future development. Qualitative interviews with staff responsible for integration at seven theatres have been performed.

Every now and then new political ideas appear which creates debate. A current example of political debate is the one which concerns the creation of a feminist political party in Sweden -Feministiskt initiativ. Apparent in the current debate is that there are two existing conflicts of ideas present. The liberal thought of politics of ideas stands against feminism's demand for presence in the political life. And the other, the conflict which concerns the question of where a line between the public and the private spheres should be drawn.

Thirty years of gender equality politicsFrom women?s work to gender mainstreamingThis Bachelor thesis examines how the Swedish state has practiced gender equality as a political project during 1972 until 1999 through the budget bills, using a ?What?s the problem represented to be?? approach aiming to uncover which discourses policies are based on. The method also studies what assumptions underlie policy problems, what is left as unproblematic within the policies and what effects are produced by specific problem representations. A central question for the thesis is what has remained and changed within Swedish gender equality politics. The history of the Swedish welfare state is presented as a background on how gender equality policy has affected the everyday life of women and men.

ABSTRACTTitle: Cultural dimensions? and their relevance in the interpretation of TV commercialsThe purpose of this study has been to explain the cultural dimensions masculinity versus femininityand individualism versus collectivism and see what their impacts on interpreting commercials are.We also wanted to see if there are any other important aspects to consider when looking at theinterpretation of TV-commercials. To fulfill this purpose we also used this research question:?How are the cultural dimensions relevant when it comes to interpreting TV-commercials?We used a qualitative approach when conducting this study. We found that the dimensionindividualism versus collectivism seemed the most applicable, while the respondents? answers fittedthe best to the highlighted theories.

The aim of this bachelor thesis has been to examine and develop our own understanding about how young people in Sweden (16-29 years of age), take part in cultural activities. As librarians it is important to know what kind of activities and interests this particular group has. With Pierre Bourdieu?s theoretical framework towards habitus and capital we are interested to see if there is a connection between one?s cultural use and background, if different access to capital with or within groups has an affect or not. With both statistics and interviews with people within our target, we believe this data has been sufficient enough to conduct a good and valid study.

The National Arts Council[1] has made an evaluation on obstacles and success factors for the interaction between culture and school. In the evaluation report they concluded that teachers and cultural workers have different views on culture and knowledge which creates confusion in their interaction. Thus I became interested to investigate teachers and cultural workers views on culture, aesthetics, and the knowledge that they think the students / children / young people should get from culture and aesthetics. This work is based on qualitative interviews with four teachers and four cultural workers. I compare their views with each other and link it to different research perspectives on culture and aesthetics in school to get an understanding of the similarities and differences in their approach, and what implications it can have in the school?s learning processes. In this work, from a didactic point of view, I found that when the teachers and cultural workers are talking about culture, the why-perspective differs.

According to the national curriculum guidelines for elementary school, preschool and after-school 2011, (i.e. Lgr11), the Swedish school is based on a democratic foundation. Schools should prepare students to develop an understanding and acceptance of cultural diversity not only in the society as a whole but also how this should be reflected in the morals and ethics between us. The purpose of this study was to describe how teachers in multicultural schools perceptions and experiences on teaching pupils with diverse immigrant origin, and how they apply these cultural expression in practice.In particular, I focus on four teachers in multicultural schools and how they reason about applying cultural expressions that are transmitted at these schools and by them. Explicitly, I review how from policy documents and their own personal pedagogic are reflected in the actual teaching.

ABSTRACT Essay in political science, C-level by Chris Baldebo spring semester 2010. Tutor: Arne Larsson. ?Women?s conditions in municipal politics in the municipality of Karlstad - Six politicians tell?.  The purpose of this paper is to explore women?s conditions in the municipal political work in the municipality of Karlstad.

Increasing immigration to Sweden has transformed a culturally homogeneous society into a more heterogeneous one. As a consequence intercultural communication and interaction have been increasing. Child health care agencies have encountered these increases. The aim of this study was to examine what the health care professionals experienced and communicated in these intercultural environments. Eight interviews with child health care nurses were carried through at four child health care centers in the south of Sweden.