This research addresses the issues of identity and culture in Latvia in the context of the upcoming European Union enlargement in 2004. Political self- determination of Latvia was historically indebted to culture. The phenomenon of cultural identity, so important 12 years ago when Latvian independence was regained, is largely ignored by politicians in the upcoming enlargement process. This is especially worth attention since the 8-th parliamentary elections took place in October 2002. The obvious lack of interest in cultural issues on the part of politicians is compensated by the apprehensions in the society (reflected in mass media) to loose Latvian specific culture and identity when joining the big European family.

In the fall 2011 a new grading scale will be implemented in the Swedish school. A government bill suggests a change of the scale from a three- to a six-point scale. The students will also be graded from the sixth class instead of today?s eighth. From the first year of the compulsory school the pupil will get a written judgment.

This Masters thesis examines the position of films in Swedish public libraries. We have, by way of comparing various statistical data, determined that the status of film in public libraries is week. We have completed earlier research by mapping what genealogical, discursive patterns that could be outlined in the Swedish government reports from 1949 until today, focussing on the activity goals and media policy of the public library. We have, on the basis of Foucaults theories on genealogy and archaeology, where text documents are considered to be meta-descriptions giving each other authority, analyzed if there any discursive excluding or contextual formulations exist in the usage of the language concerning the goals and the media attitude of public libraries. We have mapped contextual discursive formulations that to the commissioners have become neutral starting points for their assumptions and conclusions.

In this thesis I discuss and analyse the use of violence of Basque radical nationalists after the 11th of September 2001 and the bombing of Madrid the 11th of March 2004. The field study is performed in the Basque country with interviews both on the French and Spanish side of the border with representatives from the Basque Nationalist Liberation Movement (BNLM).After the 11th of September the Spanish government continued its struggle against the countries own terror - ETA. But as the research will show the new political context after the 11/9 made it possible for the state to intensify the labelling of groups from the BNLM as terrorist organisations and thereby putting its members and leaders in prison for terrorism. My research shows that this social change may lead to a mobilisation of activists inside ETA, which in turn might create a continuity of the group's use of violence. The scenario is though challenged by an other setting in which the political situation after the 11/9 have made use of violence by militant groups like ETA illegitimate and irrational as a consequence of the mental trauma among the people of the western world.

Metod/Method: Semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med kommunchefen, personalchefen, fyra medarbetare och en facklig representant i Sala kommun. Materialet från intervjuerna analyserades sedan bland annat med hjälp av två av Morgans organisationsmetaforer, Kotters 8 steg, agil projektledning och Derbys tidigare forskning inom området./ Semi-structured interviews have been conducted with the local head of government, the human resource manager, four employees and a union member in Sala kommun. The material from the interviews was then analyzed with help from Morgans organizational metaphors, Kotters 8 step, agile project management and Derbys earlier research on the area. Slutsatser/Results: En organisationsförändring enligt agil projektledning innebar att de teoretiska rekommendationerna för hur en organisationsförändring ska genomföras följdes. Att personalen gjordes delaktig i förändringen gjorde att motståndet mot organisationsförändringen kunde minimeras vilket var den största fördelen.

Den svenska modebranschen är en hårt konkurrensutsatt bransch och för mindre modeföretagi tillväxtfas är ett starkt varumärke och image en viktig del i att särskilja sig och sinaprodukter från mängden. I ett mindre modeföretag kan varumärkesfrågor lätt komma attbortprioriteras med främsta motivet att budgeten inte ger utrymme för den typen av satsningarsamt att kompetensen inom företaget ofta brister på just dessa punkter. Som alternativ har denexterna varumärkesprocessen presenterats som ett mer realistiskt alternativ för det mindremodeföretaget då det går ut på att låta sitt kringliggande externa nätverk i större utsträckningstyra och påverka varumärket. Detta branschnätverk kan bestå av allt från media, regering ochintresseorganisationer till mer närliggande aktörer som återförsäljare, PR-byrå ochleverantörer.Syftet med uppsatsen är att, utifrån ett varumärkesperspektiv, beskriva vilket inflytandeexterna branschaktörer har på ett mindre modeföretags tillväxt. För att exemplifiera problemethar en enkel fallstudie på det svenska modeföretaget Stylein genomförts, som med sinpositionering i det svenska medelprissegmentet och tillväxtfas befinner sig inom ramen förden problematik som beskrivs.

The new information society has revolutionised almost the entire world. But the new technique does not only bring good. That which was before only available on paper may today only be available on a computer system. This makes it possible to send data electronically. In the wrong hands that information can become a threat against the security of an individual, a company or even a nation.

On the first of October 2012 the media reported that the women in the Ikea cataloguehad been airbrushed in the Saudi edition. Initially the blame was put on either theSaudi government the Islamic culture or the Saudi franchise. In the end it wasrevealed that the Swedish company Inter Ikea Systems had the full responsibility forIkeas actions and therefore was the culprit behind the airbrushing. On whoseinitiative or why the airbrushing was done the media never found out. These areanswers only Ikea has, although they remain unresponsive to these questionsthroughout the news portrayal.This study methodology uses a qualitative content analysis as framework to furtherinvestigate the news media with support of theoretical perspectives such as mediatheory, power relations and cultural differences.

This essay examines the historical development of group rights for cultural minorities in Sweden between the years 1970 and 2010. The purpose of the study is to analyze the development of political measures taken at government level for different minority groups, foremost explaining the division that have arisen between measures aimed at the five national minorities, the Sámi, the Swedish Finns, the Roma, the Jews and the Tornedalians, and measures directed at other ethnic groups.My conclusions are that the division in Swedish public policy between one the one hand national minorities, and on the other hand immigrant groups, is in no way self-evident. The division has arisen from an international standard on how democratic states, such as Sweden, should treat their cultural minorities. Further, this division has had an immense impact in shaping public policy as well as determining the type of group rights introduced for minority groups in Sweden.A difference has also been found in how the minorities are perceived by state actors. Immigrant groups are currently perceived as less entitled to group rights due to their short presence in Sweden, whereas national minorities are seen as more entitled to group rights due to their long historic presence in the country.

This paper aims to analyze how preservation of and access to old and rare book collections are organized in public libraries in Serbia. The paper is based on an analysis of documents, a survey and qualitative interviews with librarians in Belgrade and Novi Sad. Serbia is a country that has experienced violent historical periods with far-reaching consequences for its old and rare book collections. The interpretative background refers to documents about cultural policy in Europe and in Serbia. Serbia is a country in transition which aims to join the European Union.

This thesis is intended to respond to the extent to which South African textbooks on the subject of history is linked to the governmental policy documents and whether they are producing and reproducing national identity. The two textbooks are aimed at students in grade 10. Both books were produced in 2008 but published by different publishers.The essay is based on Norman Faircloughs critical discourse theory which has been supplemented by Michael Billings theory Banal Nationalism, which assumes that it is the national words that remind us daily of our homeland that is producing and reproducing national identity.  The survey shows that both textbooks are closely tied to the government policy document for the teaching of history. The textbooks refer to the policy, both explicitly and implicitly. The two textbooks reproduce a common national identity in South Africa based on the discussions taking place in society.

Researchers, planners, and government agencies agree that road safety for children must be a priority and in particular that children should have a safe and secure way to travel to and from school regardless of age or the distance travelled. In Sweden, child traffic safety is a key part of the country?s Nollvision, a long-term traffic policy goal of ?no deaths or serious injuries?. Unfortunately, many countries have recorded increases in child traffic accidents as the percentage of parents who drive their children to school and thus congestion around schools has increased. Common strategies include traffic safety education for children, the redesign and improvement of traffic infrastructure, bicycle training, and carpooling.This thesis assesses the traffic problem around Ludvigsberg School in the district Valbo in Gävle, Sweden.

In Sweden it is of major concern to the society that every individual get the same possibilities to be able to complete and affect their education. Despite this some students with a foreign background have difficulties when it comes to homework?s. This is contrary to the goals that the government strives for, which is a more just society. The aim of this study is to analyze five elementary schoolteacher?s experiences and attitudes against the homework for students with two languages.

Many reports in recent years are suggesting that young people should be involved in the development of the digital society. The Swedish government's Digidel campaign launched in 2011 involved adolescents to train elderly people. This thesis builds on the campaign with its major aim being to investigate how young people think about digital society and their own knowledge and skills to promote digital inclusion.The research questions were set to examine how adolescents look upon the competencies needed in today's digital society, what specific skills and capital the adolescents suggest that they have which can promote digital inclusion and how projects in this direction are perceived by the participants. The theoretical framework is based on theories about social capital. It encompasses Bourdieu's theories about symbolic capital and people's habitus, Putnam's theories about social capital and the power of the organization and Gidden's vision about how people are organizing themselves in the modern world.

This essay will explain the effects of decentralisation, and what impact it has on the efficiency to create a better integration for immigrants on the Swedish labour market. Examples of literature that has been examined are Marcus Gossas and Jon Pierre. From these authors, I have been trying to explain the relationship between decentralisation, cooperation and efficiency.Since the end of the Second World War until the middle of 1980, Sweden mostly received labour immigrant. Since then, the immigrant pattern has changed to consist of mostly refugees. Changed immigration patterns together with increasing debts for the Swedish government has lead to decentralisation and cooperation between public authorities has therefore become a target to reach better efficiency.