AbstractEssay in political science, C-level, by Line Säll, spring semester 2007.Tutor: Susan Marton.?To do things by the rule of law -A study in the discretion of front-line bureaucrats?This essay has it´s starting-point in the theoretical problem of social science to unite democracy and bureaucracy. The purpose is to illustrate the problems with the discretion of front-line bureaucrats in a democratic state. The theoretical approach is front-line bureaucracy-theory. Certain characteristics of the work of street-level bureaucrats makes it impossible to severly reduce discretion.

In recent years the concern about the future of the European Union and itssupposed lack of democracy, efficiency and legitimacy has increased. Thisconcern has resulted in extensive debates and the establishment of a conventionwith the task to create a draft treaty for a European Constitution.The aim of this essay is to study how the three theoretical concepts,democracy, efficiency and legitimacy, have been described and used in the debateabout the future of the European Union. My main interest is to see how theseconcepts are described in a debate regarding a political system that goes beyondthe borders of the nation-state. I have made a comparative textual analysis of thedebates taken place in Sweden and Spain during a period of over two years. Ihave, for instance, found out that openness and clearness have a prominentposition as democratic values together with equality and justice (in Spain) and theinstitution of accountability (in Sweden).

The new Library Act came in force in January 2014, external changes such as globalization and information technologies had changes the way libraries work and the new law aimed to reflect this. The aim of this study is to examine ideas surrounding the mission of the public library as it appears in the referral statements that three state agencies and three interest organizations gave to the ministry publications series Ds 2012:13. The questions this thesis examines are: what ideas can be discerned in the respond-ents' opinion regarding public library's mission? How is the con-sultation bodies? way of looking at public library's mission to-wards the government's approach? In this thesis the empirical ma-terial has been analyzed using a theoretical model called The four spaces ? a new model for the public library designed by Casper Hvenegaard Rasmussen, Henrik Jochumsen and Dorte Skot-Hansen. The model consists of four different goals and four differ-ent spaces and can be used as a basis for discussions about the public libraries role in society.

This is an interview based qualitative case study on two Women's Migrant Associations in Malmoe, which I interpret as being part of a women's movement, with characteristics of a new social movement. The aim of this study is to get a deeper understanding on how the collective identity is being constructed, in this women's movement where the membership is not based on an exclusive ethnic identity.I make a two dimensional analysis that departs from a social constructivist underpinning, including the theories Transversial Politics, Postcolonial feminism and New Social Movement Theory.First I analyze the construction of collective identity from the external social and cultural context, and get confirmed that the collective identity of the movement is based on a common experience of social exclusion and a plurality of actions that aims to fight the structural injustices based on gender and ethnic discrimination. Secondly I analyze how the collective identity is being constructed and maintained from the interactions between the members of the movement, from an understanding of Transversial Politics. My findings show that the members of the movement interact in a participatory democratic way which generally corresponds to Transversial Politics. According to Transversial Politics this can lead to a construction of an empowered inclusive collective identity for the members and as my empirical study confirms it also means possibilities for deconstruction of boundaries between social groups..

This study focused on how local politicians in Kalmar perceive journalists and their intertwined relationship. We based our study on the theoretical understanding of today?s media-centric democratic society. The ?adversary model? offered an understanding of the intricate relations between politicians and journalists.

After the fall of communism in Yugoslavia the ethnic resentment grew stronger and escalated in to interethnic civil conflict in 1992. After international intervention the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP) installed peace in 1995. The treaty's aim was not only to establish peace but also to institute democracy in Bosnia. The OSCE were given the task to implement democracy within political institutions and civil society. This in a country with a lack of democratic experience and where great problems with ethnic antagonism still exists.By using democratization and transition theory this single case-study examines how democracy is implemented in Bosnia by the OSCE and clarifies difficulties that this democratization process is facing.

AbstractIn the paper, democracy's development and change are studied in Swedish textbooks related to social science. The study?s starting point is that the picture of democracy provided to students has changed over time. The study aims to see how the view on democracy has altered in Swedish textbooks in social science. In order to examine this, I have studied seven textbooks, from 1945 to 2006, in social science.

The purpose of this essay is to explore how social media affect the political orientation and commitment of youths. Three scientific questions highlight the purpose from different angles. The didactic perspective is discussed in the initial and closing discussion, and is analyzed in the corresponding chapter. Two methods are involved in the study; one survey and one interview with a focus group. The survey had a total of 98 respondents from four different classes, all in the first grade of upper secondary school.

The question of direct citizen participation in politics and administration is a contestable one. Its proponents claim that it has positive consequences even for the more "traditional", representative democracy, since participation leads to an increased political knowledge and increased political interest, and thus creates a revitalised democracy. Critical voices have however been raised to the validity of this claim. Critics have also pointed out direct participation as problematic, because it leads to problems of political inequality: a difference of political influence between ? on the one hand, the citizens participating directly and those that restrict their political participation to voting, and ? on the one the other hand ? between the institutions, for example schools, that employ, and don?t employ this method of direct citizen influence.In this essay, these two points of criticisms are tested in the context of user-boards in elementary and secondary schools.

AbstractThe purpose for this essay has been to illuminate some teachers opinions of integration of students with Aspergers syndrom in the compulsory school, then compare it with the statue documents and see similarities and differences.The studie has been of a quality character, based on quality intervjues to get the teachers understanding at a deeper level. The questions in the intervju are based on open questions with purpose not to control the person during the intervju.The most obvious result which was that it appered two perspective of integration of students with Aspergers syndrom. One in the short run and one in the long run.In the long run it was the integration of the individual into the society and in the short run integration in school.For the perspective in the long run, the opinions from the teachers in compulsory school is good corresponding to the statue documents, that the integration is necessary for our democratic and human values that our sociaty are based on.In the short run, during the years when the students are in school, it came out great difficulties to integrate children with Aspergers syndrom. To proceed an integration that works out for the students, the teachers took site from the individual and not from the society. If we do not look at integration from an individual base we are probably not going to succeed to integrate in society.Searchwords: Aspergers syndrom, neuropsychiatric funktional disorders, integration, inclusion, segregation..

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the extent of the civil rights political participation on a municipality level. The starting-point is the participatory democratic theory. I have chosen to make a case study of the extent of participation among KPR ? the board of the pensioners in the municipality of Skara. KPR is represented by fourteen members from the seven existing associations for pensioners.

The study is a qualitative textual analysis comparing how two newspapers fromSmåland reacted to Nazi Germany during the interwar period. The purpose of the studyis to illustrate how newspapers' political orientation may influence its content. Theexamined material is limited to letters to the editor, editorials and columns. The twopapers are of different political orientations, Smålänningen is bourgeois andKronobergaren is social democratic. The theoretical basis is founded in Klas Åmarksperspective on Sweden's position in the war, the so-called small state realistic paradigmand the moral perspective, as well all Kosellecks theory about the written word.

Den här studien är utförd i Chiang Mai i Thailand och syftar till att undersöka situationen för burmesiska journalister som därifrån verkar i exil. Sedan 2011 har omvälvande politiska samhällsförändringar genomförts av regimen i Burma som internationellt omtalas som en pågående demokratiseringsprocess. Exilmedierna har i skrivande stund flyttat delar av produktionen in i landet i hopp om att i framtiden flytta hela verksamheten till Burma. Följande frågeställningar behandlas: 1) Hur upplever exiljournalisterna sin roll i den pågående demokratiseringsprocessen? 2) Hur ser förhållandet mellan exiljournalisterna och regimen ut? 3) Finns det skillnader mellan att jobba inifrån Burma eller i exil som påverkar rapporteringen? 4) Hur kan de studerade mediernas roll förstås i förhållande till McQuails (2003) teori om ?demokratiskt deltagande medier??Den teoretiska ramen baseras på teorier om demokrati, det offentliga rummet, mediers roll i underutvecklade länder, länder under samhällsförändring och alternativa medieformer.

The aim of the study is to see how teachers and students work in a multicultural school according to a method which teaches students to write before reading with the aid of computers. A further aim to investigate is how pupils with Swedish as a second language develop their linguistic skills using the method.To participate in modern society requires a lot from the individual. To function in a society that is constantly changing requires a good knowledge of the use of language in order to participate as a democratic citizen. It is therefore important that all students develop good linguistic knowledge regardless of their first language.The study is based on interviews with four teachers, operating in a multicultural school. Besides the interviews observations were made of the teachers and students in their daily work with computers.The results of the study showed that the method is language stimulating and develops the second language of the learners.

The purpose of this study is to examine the phenomenon ?Living library?, where people are lent out instead of books. First it is looked into what the Living library means to the person who is borrowing a living book and what it means to the living book itself. Than the Living library is put in a public library context. This is done through a case study of the city library of Helsingborg and the city library of Malmö.