This essay is about the use of narrative in video games, and the discussion surrounding it. For years ludologists (game researchers) and narratologists (narrativity researchers) have been arguing about how to analyze narrativity in games. While ludologists have chosen to see games as a product by itself, and therefore something to be analyzed separately, narratologists instead see games as a narrative medium alongside film, theater and books. This essay starts by taking a look at the arguments from both sides, and then introduces three questions regarding narrative in games, and how this phenomenon has changed over the past 13 years. To answer these questions, five case studies are carried out, analyzing games with the help of a new framework built on narrative theory.

2010 reviderades läroplanen för förskolan. Frågor som berör förändring i förskolans uppdrag är alltid intressanta att studera för alla verksamma pedagoger i förskolan, framför allt för att de verksamma skall kunna föra verksamheten framåt i önskad riktning.Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka förskolelärares intentioner med att ha sångsamling som en aktivitet med de yngsta barnen i förskolan och hur sångsamling används som ett didaktiskt verktyg i förskolan. Arbetet bygger på ett flertal observationer samt en gruppintervju med tre erfarna förskolelärare.Resultatet visar på att pedagogernas intentioner är de samma som funnits länge i den traditionella förskolan, det vill säga att ge de yngsta barnen trygghet och individuation, men även andra intentioner framkom som emotionellt gruppinriktade, emotionellt lärandeinriktade, lärandeinriktade, fysiskt inriktade samt skolförberedande.Förskolans läroplan ligger till grund för pedagogernas intentioner med att använda sångsamling som aktivitet och resultatet visar på hur förskollärarna använder sångsamling som ett didaktiskt verktyg genom att vara väl medvetna om deras egna intentioner och gör sångsamlingen till ett utvecklande och lärande forum för de yngsta barnen..

Climate change and the sea level rise that it contributes to is an ever more pressing issue for costal municipalities around the world. Today there is a great deal of scientific reports and projections on what these changes could entail. However, resent studies on south Swedish costal municipalities have shown great discrepancies when it comes to how these scientific projections are implemented in the municipal planning and adaptation strategies. In an effort to understand the underlying reasons for this lack of concurrence, this paper has applied Rolf Lidskogs theory of the hetrogenity of science. The theory gives an explanation to the complications in the science-policy interface, by describing complicating factors in the communication between these actors.

This essay is about democracy and how a democracy index can be used as a tool to illustratethe gap between reality and ideal. The purpose of this study can be expressed by two researchquestions: Does the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) democracy index illustrate thedistance between reality and the ideal of democracy presented by Dahl? and Can the EIU'sdemocracy index be modified by a) internal adjustments and b) using the variables includedin World Economic Forum?s (WEF) equality index?By using a combination of theories (Dahl?s theory of democracy, Rawls theory of justice andchosen theories critical to liberal democracy) as an analytical framework the following twoquestions have been answered:1) Which of the variables included in the EIU's democracy index have the potential to capturethe level of political equality?2) Which of the variables included in the WEF?s equality index have the potential to capturethe degree of political equality?By using a quantitative method the study?s third and last question has been answered:3) How strong is the rank correlation between the EIU?s democracy index and the WEF?sequality index, that is; how strong is the rank correlation coefficient (rho)?The data presented by the WEF?s equality index indicate that women are systematicallydiscriminated against as a group. From a democratic perspective the EIU may need tomeasure inequalities at a group level in order to capture the lack of political equality betweenindividuals. By reformulating some of the EIU?s variables, by revising the EIU?s point systemand by using the variables included in the WEF's equality index to extend EIU?s democracyindex, the chances of capturing the gap between reality and the ideal of democracy presentedby Dahl would likely increase..

The metaphor has been among us since a very long time, but despite over 1.000 years of reflection it is still uncertain how one should understand the concept. There are few, if any, doubts how to understand the definition of metaphor, but is it possible to find a real distinction between the metaphorical and the non-metaphorical? In this essay I seek an answer to when a metaphor is a metaphor or when it is instead a generally accepted concept of how something actually is. I will use previous research on the topic from Aristotle, Friedrich Nietzsche, Paul Ricoeur and George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. These persons have given me a wide perspective and approach to the metaphor ? and when a word should be considered as a metaphor or not.

This paper studies how peer assessment is used as a strategy to improve young learners' results in Swedish as a school subject. Nine teachers are interviewed about their use of the method on 7-12-year-old pupils. Comparisons are made between the interviews and Swedish and international discussion on peer assessment. There are similarities between the practice of the teachers and what is said in the litterature about the method and its advantages and drawbacks. The teachers tend to emphasize the social aspects more, though.

The aim of this Master?s thesis is to examine how public librarians, including school librarians, express themselves about librarians in library journals. Questions asked in the study are: How is the knowledge, tasks and roles of librarians described? How do the librarians describe their own and others perceptions of librarians? Are there any contradictions in how the librarian profession is described and if so, what are they? 56 articles from three Swedish library journals, Biblioteksbladet, bis and DIK-forum in the period from 1990 to 2007, are analysed. The theory and method used is discourse analysis.

The purpose of this essay is to examine Cognitive and Psychodynamic theory in the ways they approach spirituality. How and whether or not the personal view of spirituality affects the professional role of the psychologist is investigated. Data from six semi-structured interviews with psychologists have been collected and analysed in a qualitative, phenomenological method. The results reflect two main topics and several subsequent headlines with regards to: 1) the psychologist's professional approach and 2) the area in between the psychologist's personal and professional approach to spirituality. From empirical studies and relevant theories, a discussion is held about the psychological approaches to spirituality in psychotherapy.

The aim of this Masters thesis is to study opinions about the Swedish hospital libraries and their activities for the patients, in a selection of Swedish library journal articles. The theoretical starting point is grounded in Laclau and Mouffes discourse theory. The empirical material consists of 43 articles from three library journals; Biblioteksbladet, Blänkaren and DIK-forum, published between 1990 and 2004. These are analysed through a reading scheme in four levels. In the empirical material two themes appear; the culture theme and the patient information theme.

The purpose of the study is to examine how the teachers in second grade use SMART Board and compare two schools.The process I used was qualitative interviews and classrooms observations. Previous studies shows how widely SMART Board is used in classrooms, and this has also been shown in my study. The study shows how differently SMART Board is used in the classrooms, and how important education in the technology of SMART Board is to achieve in the classroom. The final discussion clearly shows similarities and differences in the use of SMART Board in different classrooms and also the teachers? thoughts about SMART Board as a tool.A central aspect in the use of SMART Board shows how important the basic education in SMART Board is.

With good knowledge about the disease and the treatment, the fear and worry of children and parents can be reduced. Children may be helped by painting to express their experiences. In order to have a good care, the care-personnel need to see and understand what the children need. It is important to live an as regular life as possible during the disease and its treatment. The aim of this study was to elucidate how children experience chemotherapy in conection with their cancer disease.

The final thesis ?Hardy palms for scandinavian climate? describes the family Arecaceae both from a general point of view, and with individual descriptions of seven different species that are known for their coldtolerance. The descriptions of each species is brief and the intention has been to give an introduction to some specific species known for their hardiness. Seperate chapters discuss topics as hardiness, pests and other problems and a short instruction for growing palms on open land in scandinavian climate. Finally a short discussion about continued research on this topic and some conclusions ends this final thesis.

This master thesis is one part of a project, called ?StabSim?, with the purpose to develop a simulation model for the align and stabilisation system in main battle tank 122. The origin of this project is that it should be possible to make control analysis without risking any hardware. Besides that it will be easy to change components in order to investigate the behaviour of the system. The report includes modelling of tower and weapon mechanics and also the modelling of the synchronous motors, which control these.

Med utgångspunkt i barndomssociologiska tankar undersöker följande etnografiskt inspirerade studie intentionen med och receptionen av Stockholms Kulturhus barnkulturverksamhet Rum för Barn. Genom att tillämpa Stuart Halls kommunikationsmodell för inkodande och avkodande av budskap på materialet, som består av intervjusamtal, observationer, styrdokument, information till besökarna samt en kvalitativ enkätstudie, diskuteras de barndomsideologier om barnet som blivande alternativt varande människa som förekommer i verksamheten samt de vuxna besökarnas tolkning av dessa.I analysen framkommer en dubbelhet gentemot barnen såsom å ena sidan blivande människa och å andra sidan varande människa från såväl verksamhet som besökare. Undersökningen påvisar att de båda ideologierna (om barnet som blivande och varande människa) är alltjämt närvarande i både verksamhetens intention samt i de vuxna besökarnas reception och omsatta barnsyn. Rum för Barns givna förutsättningar, dess egen förståelse av verksamheten, sammanhanget och det faktiskt kommunicerade intentionen kan förståelse av verksamheten är bred och bitvis brokig. Också de tolkningar informanterna gör av verksamheten varierar, från godtyckliga till oppositionella.Uppsatsen påvisar att verksamheten kan användas som ett forum för förverkligande av barnets rättigheter men att detta inte alltid görs..

Dagens skola har sin utgångspunkt i att verka för en skola för alla. Detta innebär att somliga elever behöver extra insatser för att klara utbildningsmålen. Ett stöd som finns att tillgå är elevassistenter. Syftet med denna forskning är att öka insikten i lärare och elevassistenters syn på samverkan, samt hur den kan utvecklas för att i slutändan gagna elever i behov av särskilt stöd. Studien är gjord utifrån en kvalitativ forskningsmetod genom djupintervjuer med tre lärare och tre elevassistenter.