AbstractThis paper is a comparative study of the final reports of the Norwegian and Danish power studies performed in 2003. While the Danish study found that democracy is thriving, the conclusion of the Norwegian power study was that democracy is in a crisis. The purpose of this paper is to find explanations to why the studies in two Nordic countries arrived at such different results.Methodologically, the paper consists of an ideological text analysis and critical analyses of the discourse. In order to study how the results of the power studies can differ so considerably, the following aspects have been surveyed; 1) external contexts (government inquiries); 2) work process (the researchers? background, role and co-operation); 3) the problem areas and themes studied; and 4) power perspectives.

As the use of smartphones and other mobile technology in our society is constantly increasing,so too does the possibilities of visually impaired persons increase as they are becoming moreable to enhance their quality of life with the help of mobile assistive technology. The purposeof this study was to explore how rehabilitation and habilitation organizations, which areworking with the visually impaired, should approach new technology. We have researched thisby examining the possibilities, opportunities and barriers of using mobile assistive technology.Based on this, we formulated the following research question: What factors are important forrehabilitation and habilitation organizations to consider in order to support, promote andcreate quality of life through the use of mobile assistive technology in their work with thevisually impaired? To answer the above question an exploratory study was made at an eyeclinic in the Västra Götaland region. The study was done through a series of qualitativeinterviews with both staff and patients at the eye clinic.

Background and problem: In Croatia, the hotel industry has undergone difficult and unstable conditions since the 90s. Since 2001, however the results in the sector has improved due to increased investment in the renovation of facilities and construction of new hotels.Purpose: The study aims to examine hotel operations on the Makarska Riviera on the basis of tourist business perspective, and examine its quality, service and accessibility.Method: In this study we used a qualitative approach. The survey was conducted through structured interviews and a non-participant observation.Result and conclusions: Satisfied and fulfilled employees, in turn that the hotels will have satisfied customers and may have profitable operations. Many hotels aim at constantly working to improve profitability and customer satisfaction. When measuring customer satisfaction, many hotel owners felt that the service is good and that they have received a good response from their guests.

One trend that can be seen in the EU countries is that employees want to exit from the workforce before they turn 60 years. A Dutch study of some EU countries has noticed that an early retirement from labor in many countries is considered as a social right. This has created an ?early exit-culture?. Large early outflows of the labor have created an institutionalization, the right to cease work early.

In light of the massive property bubbles that have been bursting in the USA, Spain and Ireland during the last decade, the aim of this thesis is to clarify whether ? or to what degree - the municipality of Stockholm might experience a property bubble in the near future. The municipality of Stockholm is undergoing a housing shortage and house prices have risen during the last few years. Neoliberalism and property bubbles are used as a theoretical framework in this paper. The methodology consist of semi structured interviews, analysis of documents and statistical data from Eurostat, Valueguard and the Swedish administrative authority; Statistiska centralbyrån (SCB).

In this study, my intention has been to examine how the ambiguous concept of corruption is constructed by the press. Emphasizing the media?s representations of the socially constructed and context-specific concept, this work adopts a critical perspective on discourse, together with an approach of conceptual history. Finland has for many years been appointed as one of the least corrupt countries in the world, signing several international conventions against corruption since the 1990s, which in turn has led to an increase in discussion regarding the phenomenon. By conducting a multi-method study, my aim has been to analyse the possible changes in the definition of ?corruption? in the Finnish newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet during the period 2000-2013.

This study examines the background and nature of the credit default index swaption (CDIS) and presentsrelevant methods for modelling credit risk. A CDIS is a credit derivative contract that gives the buyerright to enter into a credit default index swap (CDS index) contract at a given point in time. ACDS index, in turn, is a multi-name credit default swap (CDS). Within the eld of research, thisthesis identi es the CDIS pricing models presented by Jackson (2005), Rutkowski & Armstrong (2009)and Morini & Brigo (2011) as the most recognized and developed. These models are evaluated byreconstruction in a numerical software environment.

The word crisis is often used in everyday language, but according to political theory it actually refers to a crisis situation within a country where national interests suddenly are at stake demanding that important and complex decisions must be made within certain time constraints. These decisions can in turn lead up to most fatal consequences. USA, being one of the world's superpowers is most certainly involved in crisis situations directly or indirectly, frequently or more seldom. Amounts of people get suddenly involved and even more people can be drawn in by the decisions that are made thereby. Research has shown that the character of a leader affects decision-making.

Nowdays an efficient production is critical to achieve for companies competing on the market for steel cutting tools. One of such companies is Halmstad based Tooling Support Halmstad AB that manufactures threading-taps, threading-dies and parting off tools, towards a centralized warehouse in Schiedam, Holland. The large amount of different products, approximately 2500 is a big contributor to the problem along with a new order system that creates a demand of low setup times. Previously the company was forwarded orders through quarter based prognoses which enabled planning of the production over a longer time span. Currently the newer order system ZENIT is in use and the company thereby gets their orders weekly.

At the turn of the year 2009/2010 there was a change in the regulations on sickness impact. This led to 328 persons in County of Kronoberg had an expired period of sickness benefit from the Social Insurance Office (Försäkringskassan) when they reached the maximum time for sickness or temporary disability compensation. These individuals were offered introductory programs with the employment services. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the population with expired period of sickness benefit from the Regional Social Insurance Office in the County of Kronoberg (Försäkringskassan Kronoberg) is described in the initial stage, and to explore how individuals who achieved expired period of sickness benefit from the Social Insurance Office (Försäkringskassan) talks about the meaning to get an expired period of sickness benefit regarding economic and social issues. The study was inspired by Grounded theory.

A study was carried in conjunction with the Orthodontic department at Halmstad General Hospital in Sweden to investigate the possibility of reducing cost and manufacture time of dental implant drill guides. The current system involves sending a digital image in STL format to the Materialise factory in Belgium where information of the position of dental implants is translated onto a moulded mouthpiece. Drill guides are placed in the mouth piece which is then returned to the surgeon. The mouthpiece complete with drill guides is then placed in the patients mouth and used as a guide for the implant drill holes. The cost of 10000 sek and a turnaround time of 2 weeks gave rise to the need for a faster and cheaper solution.

The aim of this study was to examine the view of social service workers on the secondary housing market based upon their work with social investigations regarding people with a difficult substance abuse. The foundation of this study rests upon a phenomenon, which according to other scholars, occurs in the secondary housing market in Sweden. The secondary housing market consists of a multitude of housing projects that social services provide for people who are homeless. The phenomenon is that the secondary housing market contains a number of demands aimed at the clients who live in these housing projects. If a client fails to live up to the demands it can sometimes lead to negative consequences which results in an exclusion from the housing projects.

The Internet has become an important communicational medium that involves the majority of the world?s population. One group in particular that uses the Internet is the youth. This in turn makes the Internet a viable source for groomers to exploit, where groomers are what you call grown men and women that have the intention to contact youths for sexual purposes, the process is called grooming. In Sweden, a law has been made available to criminalize this particular activity, but it should not replace the prevention.

Alevism as such is both contested and difficult to define, despite the fact that nearly a quarter of the Turkish population can be said to identify with it (See egMarkussen, 2005; Sirin, 2013). Discussions regarding whether alevism should bedefined as a religious minority or not is going on both in the research communityas among the Alevis themselves. Also the meaning of Alevi religiosity as such isdebated and can be simply described as a discussion of whether alevism should beregarded as a part of Islam. The purpose of this discourse study is therefore to examine the construction of Alevi religious identity in two English-language Turkish newspaper, namely the Hürriyet Daily News and Today `s Zaman. With the overarching aim to achieve adeep understanding of the conditions that are given the Alevi group to form their own identity.

Children and youth inactivity and sedentary at school is increasing. This means that some of the students have a significant unhealthy lifestyle with physical inactivity, which in turn implies risks of suffering from various diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, all related to a sedentary lifestyle. To prevent illness, it is important that children and young people early get a positive attitude towards physical activity.The purpose of this study was to study the causes of child and adolescent physical inactivity in school, based on teachers 'and parents' perspectives.A qualitative research has been selected. To achieve the study objectives, the author has conducted seven semi-structured interviews, with an appropriate choice of five teachers and two parents with children in school. Data was analyzed with a manifest content analysis.The results show that teachers and parents felt that physical activity is a protective factor for children's health.