The aim of this thesis is to look for signs of students? understanding of algebra by studying how they make the transition from arithmetic to algebra. Students in an Upper Secondary class on the Natural Science program and Science and Technology program were given a questionnaire with a number of algebraic problems of different levels of difficulty. Especially important for the study was that students leave comments and explanations of how they solved the problems. According to earlier research, transitions are the most critical steps in problem solving.

This essay discusses the problems with the high rate of long-term sickness leave among women in Sweden. It is based on interviews with six women suffering from stress-related illness. The results show that these women hardly ever recieved an explicit diagnosis and therefore did not feel that their illness was acknowledged. In the abscense of measurable symptoms they were sometimes stigmatisized and accused of simulating their problems. From this position they tried to legitimize their situation by presenting themselves as respectable women.

The paper is a discourse analysis of the liberal environmental discourse in Sweden today. It is based on articles in two of the main liberal Swedish newspapers, Dagens Nyheter and Sydsvenska Dagbladet, and a liberal periodical, Neo.The purpose of this study is to analyze how the environmental problems that have been produced by the industrialised society, especially global warming, are seen upon in the liberal discourse in Sweden today. The theoretical point of departure is a discourse analysis that as a method seeks to analyze the material to reveal what assumptions the discussion departs from, and what assumptions the discussions reject.The thesis concludes that the main trends in the discussions are to position the environment against the financial system and state that the capitalist system is the only system that can solve the environmental issues. The existing environmental problems are not denied, but constantly belittled and only considered to be a problem if it poses a direct threat to humans. The solution for these environmental problems is believed to be the strengthening of the financial system and the development of new technologies..

Anonymous job applications as a method to further diversity on the labour market is widely discussed. The method aims to promote an equal selection procedure, where the employer can only judge on merits and experience. We are with this study on the other hand interested in seeing how this specific method of employment has been implemented. We have chosen to perform a small qualitative case study, of a limited attempt of this method in the government administration of Kortedala, a district in Gothenburg.Our intrests are to see whether we can, while studying a specific implementation procedure, show that any implementation problems have occurred. Furthermore explaining it by applying our implementation theory, that consists of Lennart Lundquists three criterias for explaining implementation problems experienced from the appliers' standpoint.

This phenomenological study explores the mental health problems of asylum- seeking children in Sweden and highlights possible ways of meeting their needs. Open interviews with 13 clinically experienced psychologists were conducted.The results of the analysis suggest that experiences of trauma and separation, the child's developmental level, parental functioning and family dynamics contribute to the mental health problems of asylum- seeking children. When meeting these children the psychologists continuously face ethical dilemmas since the asylum-seeking process seems to aggravate the problems as well as complicate the use of traditional interventions. Promoting structure and activity, normalizing symptoms, educating about trauma and crisis, sharing and accepting anxieties and sometimes thoroughly working through traumatic experiences are treatment strategies found clinically useful. Systematic follow-up studies are needed to decide the effects of these interventions..

The purpose of this study is to find out, explore and see how children with neuropsychiatric problems like ADHD/DAMP are portrayed and treated in five fictional children?s books written by writers who all are related to ADHD issues, except for one writer.I have done a text analysis performed on five children?s books which can be found in libraries in most of the libraries in Sweden. The analysis shows varying results between the five books followed by a general conclusion about how children with concentration problems are being presented in these chosen children's literature. The main problematic of this study is to examine how these characters are being represented and treated within the scopes of school, family relations and how ADHD/DAMP symptoms are portrayed. This study focuses on analysing how the actual ADHD/DAMP behaviour is being reflected and better understanding for the reader to understand the symptoms of ADHD.Another fact is what kind of relations these children with neuropsychiatric dysfunctions are portrayed when facing with other persons, such as family and friends and how ADHD/DAMP is affecting them daily basis.

This study is an evaluation of the school Liljanskolan, which is a ?therapy-school? for children between the ages of seven and twelve with psychosocial problems. These problems can concern difficulties interacting with adults as well as children, acting out, difficulty concentrating and anxiety. Liljanskolan has a high number of professionals, both teachers and treaters, and few children. The aim of the study was to increase the understanding of how children that have attended Liljanskolan have progressed during their time at the school with focus on their behaviour in school, ability to interact with adults and children, anger management and self-confidence.

The problems with train-induced vibrations are increasing with heavier and faster trains. Therefore the work with propagating vibrations is of outmost importance, and that is what this thesis relates to.To get a sensible idea of the propagation, calculation models are often used. Propagation calculation models takes into account factors such as distance to the railway, the ground material and the velocity and weight of the train. This work is mainly about finding suitable existing models and, if necessary, adjust them to be more useful with modern trains and railways.The report contains the work of adjusting one such model and does, despite the fully functional adjusted model, describe how much more there can be done within this topic. Finally, a few tips about specific areas that preferably should be studied to get even further knowledge about the troublesome problems from railways..

Aims: The aim of this study is to describe how youth?s political exclusion is constructed as asocial problem. This is done through a study of a project which aim is to engage young peoplein politics.Method and theory: By interviewing the project?s manager and developer as well as eightparticipating young people different constructions of the problem of youth political exclusionhas been analyzed using the social constructionist perspective on social problems.Findings: The dominant perspective found in the empirical material includes framing youngpeople?s lack of political knowledge and self-confidence as the reason for their politicalexclusion. Even though the Youth Board (ungdomsstyrelsen) in Sweden officially views allyoung people as a resource, when youth politics are implemented through projects, this is notthe view that young people meet.

AimThe purpose was to make researches into and illustrate how the leadership looks like at sporting event, concerning human communication.The following issues have been treated: What is characteristic for leadership during a sporting event? What does communication look like within the managerial? What kind of problems appears or can appear on account of defective communication at sporting event.MethodThe method being used is qualitative, based on interviews with three group leaders and one project leaders, all working for a summertime sporting event. As a form of basis a search for existing literature and articles on this subject were accomplished. The selection was made after having consulted a person of proportionately high station, active at the invested sporting event.ResultsAs a result of the essay, I have brought out, that leadership is different from group leaders and project leaders. Their difference in assignment demands different leadership, and that explains the occasion.

The economic situation in the Swedish agricultural industry is currently experiencing a development towards larger units. This progress occurs simultaneously as farmers in cooperation more frequently make investments to decrease risk exposure and to improve the financial result. The purpose with this thesis is to study which advantages and problems a group of farmers experience after a common investment in a small-scale seed production. The aim with this investment is to increase the level of vertical integration in their respective agricultural firms and the results will be analyzed from an economic point of view. At present, the farmers are all seed producers with considerable cultivation areas.

The purpose of this essay is to investigate the presences of open-ended problems in the textbooks of high school Mathematics A. For practical reasons the study was limited to three textbooks and two topics, Fractions and Area & Volume. The Essay also describes the theory behind open-ended problems and why they should be used. I identify three criteria as a definition for open-ended problems. The study found that only 7,6% of the investigated tasks qualified, and met at least 1 criterion.

The world?s consumption is increasing at an accelerating rate and it´s produced and consumed more goods and services than ever before. A large part of people's consumption consists of clothing that is bought and discarded increasingly leading to a number of environmental problems such as global warming, pollution, loss of biodiversity and the depletion of natural assets. One way to save the earth's resources is to buy used clothing, so called second hand, instead of new ones. The store chain ?The Ants? (in Swedish ?Myrorna?) has specializing in second-hand goods and sells, among other things, clothes.

The aim of this project is to examine the needs and problems that exists amongst homeless people and to develop a solution that will help them in their everyday life. Since the homeless are a relatively large vulnerable group i Sweden, their everyday lives could be made easier in many ways.A clear definition of the target group is put together to create a good starting point. What state and help orginazations do to help the homelss and the society?s view of the homeless is also relevant and has been documented. Four personal stories have been put together to desicribe cases of clear problems existing in everyday life.Several interesting problems has been defined from the research and acceptance in the communtiy, desire to be seen and heard and a lack of confidence were the main needs.

Research shows that people with burnout experience a high degree of impairments in a range of cognitive functions including memory, attention and concentration. The overall aim of the present study is to investigate whether there is a correlation between subjective estimates of cognition and cognitive performance with objective tests in people with burnout with a focus on working memory and executive functions. Three specific questions were addressed; First, what cognitive problems are described and to what degree? Second, is the performance of executive and working memory tests related to self-reported cognitive problems? Third, are the self-reported cognitive problems related to measures of psychological distress? The study included 77 patients, 65 women and 12 men, with a mean age of 43.48 years. The results show that patients with burnout perceive themselves as having significantly impaired cognition in everyday life, which is clearly evident on the basis of the self-assessment forms PRMQ and CFQ.