Abstract Title:                       Grades at Primary School ? A study of local politicians' arguments in                       connection with the division into grades at Swedish primary schools.Author:                       Annie LinderUniversity of KalmarC-essay in Social StudiesAutumn 2011 The study aims to investigate local politicians' decisions since municipalities took overSwedish primary education in 1990/91. The arguments put forward in support of how stages are organised have been studied, likewise whether municipalities have acted rationally when making their decisions.Six municipalities are included in the survey. They were divided into three educational categories: lower, middle and high level schools; previous and recent schools and F9 schools with pre-schools and primary schools integrated.Minutes from politicians' and civil servants' meetings have been studied and categorised according to arguments for and against. The most common supportive arguments are about economy and organisation, others concern school premises, trends and the wish for a comprehensive compulsory school.

In Kenya the Maasai pastoralists have based their livelihoods on dairy production and the production goal is to maintain a sufficient milk supply throughout the year. The pastoral dairy production has two vital characteristics; breeding and milking. Traditionally, breeding is the men?s responsibility, while milking is the duty of women. Depending on this partition of chores between men and women, they also have different management routines, ambitions and strategies regarding the milk production.

This study focuses on costume as a source of information. By making a case study of an 1880's dress itaims to explore the conservators potential as an investigator and conveyor of the information containedin a costume. Further explanation of this role is made by reference to several statements made by wellknown textile conservators. The paper also explores the different words used to make a new version ofa preserved or inexistant garment, gives an extensive presentation of taking patterns and an insight tothe other methods used for analysing costumes. The case study consists of an investigation of the dressconstruction, during which a pattern is taken, and a literature study of the contemporary fashion, theowner of the dress and the maker of the dress.

This is the project of making a stage design for Batboy ? the musical, a cooporation with a network of musical artists. The aim of the project was to create a space on stage that strengthens and expands the experience of the story told, and find design solutions that give an extra dimension to the story. The prerequisites for my work were partly defined from the produc¬tion, as were my limitations. In the cast of ten artists some were to play more than one role, often one of the opposite sex.

There are reasons to believe that recent changes in the Swedish academic library environment create new images of identity. New information technology, changed educational methods and increasing numbers of students in higher education heavily influence the professional basis for librarians. The purpose of this essay is to examine and describe how the images of identity are conceived and expressed by staff in two university colleges in Sweden, Malmö University and Södertörn University. We define identity as the images of what the library is, what it is aiming to be in the future, what it should do and how. In a qualitative study attitudes towards and opinions of the role of the library in the university environment are investigated.

Trade Unions are finding it increasingly challenging to appeal to employees and all trade unions alike are encountering new challenges to attract and retain members. Additionally a more diversified and educated labor market is creating demands for trade unions to better meet individual needs. The purpose of this study was to explore and analyze the role of branding in Unionen, the largest white-collar trade union in Sweden, and how branding efforts help in attracting and retaining trade union members. The theoretical foundation of this thesis is based on theories related to corporate branding and relationship marketing. Furthermore, the study develops and introduces the concept of member branding in the context of trade unions.

Background: When companies decentralize their operations into profit centers, transfer pricing often becomes an integral part in intracompany trade. A profit center may affect both revenues and costs and seek to maximize profit. Transfer Pricing is a complex subject because it is affected by a large number of factors including the profit centers will to generate profits. This leads us to the subject of decision-making in a transfer pricing-systems. On what grounds are decisions made? Are transfer pricing purposes, factors and interests taken into consideration? What type of information is used in such decisions, how is the transfer price issue perceived and how is it used?Aim: The purpose of this thesis is to analyze which type of information that is makes up transfer prices, how the transfer price is perceived by different parties and how it is used for decision-making.Completion: A qualitative study has been performed with current theory as a starting point.

AbstractThe aim of this essay is to understand the view of man as a creature in the Norse culture by studying rituals and ritual actions in conjunction with homicide. The material on which the study is based is called the Icelandic sagas, which are important source of information to the Norse culture. To achieve the purpose, I used a qualitative content analysis and qualitative narrative analysis along with ritual theories based on Roy A Rappaport among others. The questions are for instance:- What ritual actions occur in connection with the homicide, according to the Icelandic sagas? - What are the differences in how individuals are treated in passages where the ritual actions in relation to homicide and homicide cases investigated and why?The results show four different types of ritual acts in relation to homicide.

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.

In an effort to strengthen democracy in the union, the EU in 2005 took a new approach to communications policy to reach out to the citizens. The strategic document "Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate" was accompanied by two other documents, and the three of them were the core of this policy. Both democracy and communications work means at EU level a higher complexity than in the nation-state arena. Objective of this study is to examine how the implementation of Plan D has turned out in a democracy renewal perspective. To achieve that answers are sought to questions concerning the goals of Plan D, how they are still present today, what happened in practice regarding the efforts that are highlighted, and how the substance of the activities can be judged from a democratic theory perspective.

This study examines the cultural place and status of video and computer games in the Swedish public library. Using works on popular culture and the theories of Pierre Bourdieu, this study employs quantitative methods, as well as textual analysis, to analyze the results of an online questionnaire with 19 questions focusing on selection criteria, shelf placement, perceived competence, as well as reasoning for having or not having these games in the library. 286 out of the 440 libraries contacted is participating in the study, and the libraries consist exclusively of public libraries in Sweden that are found in the database of the Royal Library.The results of this study show that a larger number of libraries than previously indicated have started to provide electronic games to their patrons. At the same time, patterns in the data and comments suggests that these games in many cases still do not enjoy the same level of cultural recognition as other media. Indicative of this is the way most libraries seem to focus on the medium being exclusively for their young patrons, with seem-ingly very little in the way of investment for adults.

This report examines the prerequisites for LEDs to replace other technologies indifferent applications. How does the different technologies for light generationwork and what are the advantages and disadvantages? The various technologieslimitations and characteristics provides the opportunities for the LEDs.This report describes a test-construction built to examine what practical arrangementscan be built with modern light emitting diodes, in order to showsome of the possibilities. The construction consists of three different applications,a high power lamp based on cold white LEDs, one based on warm whiteLEDs for the evaluation of the light characteristics and a RGB-LED based lampable to mix any colors quickly and seamlessly. The test construction also containsthe essential peripherals including control-electronics, optics and a custombuilt watercooling solution.The potential for LEDs is huge but it is complicated to build LED based applicationsdue to the limitations which mainly includes the electronics and theneccesary cooling.

AbstractPurpose/Aim: This essay deals with The Swedish Red Cross Society and their work concerning strategical information and communication about HIV and AIDS in the Swedish context. In a broader sense the relation between the global and the local will be investigated and a discussion about what it means to work in an organization operating on a global arena will be held.Material/Method: This essay is based on relevant theories about culture and health communication which I have studied, selected and put together, with purpose to analyse The Swedish Red Cross Society and their informational work with HIV and AIDS- prevention. Furthermore I have interviewed four of the organizations co- workers to collect data about their experiences in working in the Red Cross organization with this specific mission. Moreover I and my colleague Hillevi Good attended at seminars and lectures to observe activities held by the organization and to get inside information about what people working with HIV and AIDS are discussing and considering as critical issues. The study holds a qualitative approach focusing on understanding this typical case rather then generalizing facts in a larger sense.Main results: The Swedish National Society of The Red Cross has a difficult mission in their work to inform the public about HIV and AIDS, although it is the perfect organization when it comes to communication due to their well-known profile and a huge geographical spread.

AbstractThe aim of this essay is to understand the view of man as a creature in the Norse culture by studying rituals and ritual actions in conjunction with homicide. The material on which the study is based is called the Icelandic sagas, which are important source of information to the Norse culture. To achieve the purpose, I used a qualitative content analysis and qualitative narrative analysis along with ritual theories based on Roy A Rappaport among others. The questions are for instance:- What ritual actions occur in connection with the homicide, according to the Icelandic sagas? - What are the differences in how individuals are treated in passages where the ritual actions in relation to homicide and homicide cases investigated and why?The results show four different types of ritual acts in relation to homicide.

For the past decades, culture has been given a role as a factor for local and regional development. But what is meant by development and in what ways culture can be of importance in this aspect can be unclear. This thesis examines the perception of the role for local and regional development of one specific cultural place and network ? the cultural cooperative Not Quite in Fengersfors, Sweden. I study the way the role as developer is expressed and interpreted in the discourse of the cultural workers who are members of the network and in the discourse of public cultural policy in the region Västra Götaland and in Åmål municipality.