The aim of this Master?s thesis is to examine how six fantasynovels reflects or breaks the heteronormativity in society bylooking at how gender roles and sexuality are described.The theoretical framework is based on Judith Butler's theoryabout the heterosexual matrix which requires two separategenders and a compulsory heterosexuality and YvonneHirdman's two principles about dichotomy and hierarchy.The method used was idea analysis where dimensions basedon the theoretical framework were constructed. Thesedimensions were: behaviour, tasks, relationships and roles.The result shows that all of the books both breaks andreflects the society's values on gender and sexuality. Thereare some stereotypes present, for example that intuition isassociated with femininity and physical strength withmasculinity. However, the books also offer characters ofboth sexes that break the gender stereotypes, such asstrong women and emotional men.

The aim of this thesis is to study discursive change in the Swedish environmental political discourse between 1987-2005. The text of three Swedish budget propositions are analysed for this purpose.The results from the analysis are related to a few relevant theoretical perspectives that hold partly different views on what constitutes ?sustainable development? and ?ecological modernization?. Through these theories the thesis continues the discussion around the two central but somewhat blurry terms sustainable development and ecological modernization. The aim of this discussion is to conclude whether the discursive change in Swedish environmental politics can be said to go more in the direction of sustainable development or ecological modernization, or if elements of both perspectives can be found.The analysis shows that the Swedish environmental discourse has come to include more and more political fields such as general welfare politics, during the period.

This study aims to investigate expressive writing in young adolescents, based on the model constructed by J.W. Pennebaker. Qualitative analysis of written essays has been conducted, the main purpose being exploring descriptions of relationships and expressions of emotions. Further-more, the intention has also been to study eventual gender differences and their forms of expressions in the essays. The participants were seventh- and eightgraders, gathered from two schools in Sweden.

Background: People diagnosed with psychosis are often described as introvert, isolated and with little or no ability to create and maintain social relationships. While every angle of a phenomena is valid and important, we believe that the first-person perspective provides the only direct access to the diagnosed persons? feelings and experiences.Aims: The aim of this study is to explore how a few people diagnosed with psychosis describe their experiences of social interaction.Method: This study is conducted in a Grounded Theory manner. An analysis has been performed on interviews made with five individuals, all diagnosed with a psychosis diagnosis.Results: The main result of this study is that the self-image is a core factor in the individuals experiences of, and initiative to, social interaction. The social interactions are linked to the individuals own relation to their diagnosis in a dynamic process where all components affect each other in the creating of the self-image.Conclusion: This study concludes that people diagnosed with psychosis is no different than other people when it comes to dreaming and longing for functional social relationships, but that they have some difficulties in actually finding them due to both social stigma and a poor self-image..

This study aimed to find out whether or not gender related theories regarding the division between men and women can be applied to three novels written by Katrina von Bredow, Syskonkärlek (1991), Som jag vill vara (2007) and Flyga högt (2011). The theories used in this research were Yvonne Hirdman?s theory and R.W Connell?s theory. Hirdman claims that there are differences between men and women at different levels in the society while Connell believes that this is a myth because, according to the writer, men and women are psychologically similar. The intent with this research was to provide a gender analysis of Bredows novels, because these novels have not been studied previously.

In 2008 Fox first aired its hit show Sons of Anarchy, a drama series about a Californian motorcycle club. The main thrust is about the club?s vice-president and his struggle to find his place in a life of violence. According to creator Kurt Sutter the series is partly based on Shakespeare?s 16th century drama Hamlet - Prince of Denmark, which causes the show to often be referred to as ?Hamlet on Harleys?.Focusing on the first two seasons of the series, this essay looks into the relationship between the two works of art.

This study aim to investigate the conditions framing the professional development situation for physical education teachers (PE) in a small municipality in the south of Sweden. The Swedish National Agency for Education declare that "focus must be directed towards strengthening the teachers' profession", and that "schools need well-trained teachers and good teaching to help students achieve good results". The study focuses both the schools? contribution and the way in which the teachers take own initiative and are motivated to develop their professional skills. The investigation is all based on teachers' perspectives.

Purpose: The purpose of the essay is; to explain and clarify how the company is acting to lead members in social media to achieve valuable external communication. The authors believe that it is important to act with credibility and quality in social media, to accomplish long lasting relationships. When employees communicate with consumers their conduct is relevant to the company's credibility.Methodology: An inductive approach has been used for the empirical data collection since the authors have been studying the reality without existing theories. A qualitative research method has been used for collecting the empirical material. Primary data was collected from telephone interviews with seven companies, active in social media.Conclusions: The study shows that the power of employees? can be used when designing strategies for social media.

AbstractEssay in Political Science, C ? level, by Ylva Björkegren, spring semester 2008. Tutor: Anna Spånning. ?Sida from a liberal feministic perspective.

The objective of this graduate work is to gain a better understanding in how pre-school educators are able to work with music in their pre-school activity to promote child development. We also want to enlighten possible factors for the development of children based on music and to form our own ideas of whether teachers choose to apply music in their didactic practice or not.The point of this essay has been to attempt answering on what importance music makes for children's development and learning in pre-school, and how teachers could work with music in pre-school in order to promote children?s development. Our data consists of six interviews and two observations realized at a pre-school in Södertälje.We took heed from the theories laid out by Lev Vygotsky's which describe four different levels of development that includes educational development in social interaction between teacher and child. Our choice of this theory is inspired by our seeking deeper understanding of Vygotsky's theory´s application to the aesthetic approach in the interaction in meaning making and learning.The result of our study confirms previous theory and research in that music as a form of expression has a major impact on children's development.

The research in this thesis attempts to understand what happens when children (3-6 years of age) interact with each other in the context of free play in two pre-school settings when adults are not involved. The aim of the study was to get a closer look at how children create relationships and how they protect and defend their interactional spaces. Data was gathered through ethnographically inspired methodology, using video observation to capture the everyday interactions of the children. Results were analyzed using a phenomenological approach to peer cultures. Previous research suggests that it is very important for children to maintain their interactions with peers and gaining access to play.

The purpose of this work is to find out how present manager contracts are set up in Landstinget Västmanland (the county council of Västmanland), explore managers? perception of these contracts and why managers have chosen leadership. The work has also reviewed the question if managers need to have a relationship or expertise to the activities they lead and which qualifications are needed in such case. The survey was conducted in two divisions in which nine interviews were held with managers at all levels. In addition to this a questionnaire including the 87 managers in the divisions were held.

Purpose: The purpose of the essay is; to explain and clarify how the company is acting to lead members in social media to achieve valuable external communication. The authors believe that it is important to act with credibility and quality in social media, to accomplish long lasting relationships. When employees communicate with consumers their conduct is relevant to the company's credibility.Methodology: An inductive approach has been used for the empirical data collection since the authors have been studying the reality without existing theories. A qualitative research method has been used for collecting the empirical material. Primary data was collected from telephone interviews with seven companies, active in social media.Conclusions: The study shows that the power of employees? can be used when designing strategies for social media.

Through a sociocultural perspectivethe purpose of this study is to investigate how preschool teachers look at quality development in preschool and how they perceive their participation in this development.I have used a qualitative method based on five interviews with preschool teachers from three different parts of Sweden. I used an interview guide with open questions. The interview answers were categorized in themes based on the responses which were most frequent. In the result I have been using an analysis based on these themes. The result showed that the preschool teachers consider that the leadership style affects their work.

The aim of this study is to investigate how employees in consulting companies develop their competence in order to perform their daily work. The focus is on informal competence development. The theoretical framework consists of theories concerning learning and competence development in working life, theories on organizational change and evaluation, a well as professional reflection. The methods applied are narrative research and interviews based on the assumption that knowledge about reality is only obtainable through language and communication.The main results show that competence is developed through experience, social interaction, communication and dialog with co-workers and customers. The post-modern conceptions of the rapid (technical) development and need to be up-to-date has a strong hold on the informants apprehension of working life, as does the notion of not having enough time for all the competence development they would like.