We are constantly being fed information. Everything and everyone we come into contact with may somehow make a new impression on us, whether we are aware of it or not. One of the ways that people in today?s society in Sweden are being given information is via different types of media, for example through commercials. Whether it?s a video clip or a still-frame picture, a commercial is an effective way for a company to reach out to potential customers.However, it is not only the messages or signals that may appear obvious that these companies send out when advertising with commercials.

A Queer Reading of Charles Bukowski?s Women and Love is a dog from hellThis thesis aims to examine how the representation of gender is portrayed in relation to sex and power in Charles Bukowski?s novel Women and poetry collection Love is a dog from hell.The theoretical frame of the analysis is based on Judith Butler?s queer theory regarding the heterosexual matrix and gender performativity. The analysis consists of a textual comparison where a specific selection of poems is analysed parallel to the novel to see how they interact and how they oppose each other, through a queer reading.The analysis is divided in three parts where the first one discusses the construction of masculinity in Charles Bukowski?s protagonist Henry Chinaski and how this is presented differently in the two literary genres. The second part reveals how sex is presented in relation to power and how active and passive women are considered as sexually acceptable.

The aim of this study is to investigate the discourses of widening recruitment to higher education in some political documents from the 21st century. The scientific method applied is critical discourse analysis as developed by Norman Fairclough. This implies the analyses of the actual texts, the social practice as well as the discursive practice, i.e. the conditions under which the texts are produced, distributed and consumed.The major results include four discourses: a post-modern discourse, a neoliberal economic discourse, a political discourse of multi-culturalism and a modern discourse with its roots in the 20th century?s discussions about social imbalance in recruitment to higher education.

Gotland is famous around the world for its unique nature. The agriculture here has always been an important source of income and part of the identity of the island. But today the profession has low status and hard to survive. How can the interest for farming be increased?Gotlandsgården is an investigation about how the agriculture could develop.

The aim of this Master's thesis is to study how DIK (Documentation, Information and Culture), the major trade union for Swedish librarians, work with the status and professionalization of the occupation. The status is, as we see it, low and depending on several factors. They are among others: the knowledge base, how extended the research base is and the domination of women within the profession. These factors all work together to maintain the status and the prestige of the occupation at a low level. With the help and work of the trade union DIK the status can improve if the focus is right.

The goal in doing this study has been studying public interpretations of media content in the commercials that this study uses. The analysis was based on two TV commercials for feminine hygiene products. Initially, they seemed to differ from each other, but soon the question whether or not they in fact did convey the same underlying message was raised. The theoretical premises on which the study was founded on are the gender perspective in advertising and the social construction of gender. To reveal the hidden signs appearing in these commercials and to find out their meanings, we used the method of semiotic analysis.

Todays gaming habits between women and men depends on the age range. Both sexes are playing but how do they create a character when they have free hands? Are there any differences from a gender perspective? The main purpose is to answer the question: How does women and men create characters in the computergame The Sims? By looking at the result of four women and four mens created character and then interviewing them for profound information, we have received data to answer those questions for our study. Data has shown that the men were less personal when they created a character, used more imagination and took less time to create the character. The majority of the women created themselfs or part of themselfs and took more time on details..

In October 2006 the media began investigating the four ministers Billström, Borg, Borelius and Stegö Chilò who were all being accused of miner tax fraud. The two women, Stegö Chilò and Borelius became the primary victims of an extensive media hunt where the media already had made their minds up; the women had to go. The more the women tried to explain themselves, they only seemed to be digging themselves into a deeper hole and ten days into the ?hunt?, the media got their way, the women resigned while the men, even today remain on their positions. What was it then that made the outcome so different regarding the four ministers when the only thing to really set them apart was their genders?With support of theories from Giddens, Habermas and Thompson as well as theories regarding media, gender and the medias ethical responsibility we have in a qualitatively narrative analysis studied 20 articles from Dagens Nyheter and Expressen.

This paper examines pupils? conception of the Swedish schools constitutive values expressed in the Swedish curriculum. The main question was, at to what extent the schools constitutive values have influenced the pupils conception of their own values. That question problematizes the relation between values, constructed and carried by central administration, and their interpretation at local level by pupils. The study was conducted with qualitative analysis which included qualitative interviews with seven pupils in the last year of the Swedish school system.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how power structures concerning gender and sexuality emerge through the use of language in the Swedish reality show Paradise Hotel. Of particular interest is the representation of heterosexual relations in the show. Because of its interest in the relationship between power, gender and sexuality, the thesis is based on theories from gender and discourse studies. The specific theories referred to are Michel Foucault?s understanding of power, stereotypes according to Stuart Hall, Yvonne Hirdman?s gender system and contract theory, Judith Butler?s heterosexual matrix and R.W.

The purpose of this study is to examine pupils´ experiences from getting grades in upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities and which impact this has on these pupils how they form and get formed as schoolchildren. Four pupils in upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities in a Swedish community have participated in qualitative semi-structured interviews. All analysis that has been made has focused on these pupils´ stories about getting grades. I have asked openly formulated questions so that the pupils themselves have had the possibility to highlight those experiences that they want to share.Three categories that I have used, with starting point from the questions in this study, to analyze the answers in the interview material is how the pupils talk about the bases for grading, the pupils´ self-awareness when they talk about their own grades and the pupils´ view when they talk about the importance of grades. The theoretical base of the study is policy enactment.One conclusion of this study is that both teachers and pupils in upper secondary education for pupils with learning disabilities often is based on other factors than what different policy documents says about what should be the ground for teachers grading.

Quality is a vague concept, it seems to be about a ?gut feeling? but is used as if it were a concrete property. This paper examines the defenition of the concept of quality, the relation between quality and gender equality and also what the representation between the genders in exhibitions, purchases and donations looks like in this day. As method for this paper text analysis, with searchlight on the two parameters of quality and equality, have been used on documents that provide a historical and a cultural policy perspective. The main part of the paper is an analysis of the visual arts on Värmlands museum, Kristinehamns konstmuseum and Rackstadmuseet.In the discussion of the paper, chapter 5, the result of the research is presented.

This study aims to examine attitudes and conceptions of staff who work with mentally disabled persons, concerning normalization and gender. Six qualitative interviews with such professionals were performed and subsequently analyzed. Since the method of this study is qualitative, no claim of generalizability is made. The interview material has been categorized into themes by means of coding. The result of the study is presented according to those themes.

This study aims to examine attitudes and conceptions of staff who work with mentally disabled persons, concerning normalization and gender. Six qualitative interviews with such professionals were performed and subsequently analyzed. Since the method of this study is qualitative, no claim of generalizability is made. The interview material has been categorized into themes by means of coding. The result of the study is presented according to those themes.

AbstractBackgroundParkinson?s disease is a chronically not curable progressive disease that leads to different degrees of disability. Controlled studies on how patient education influences subjective health in Parkinson?s disease are lacking.AimThe aim of this study was to examine the influence patient education had on drug requirements and on subjective health status of persons with Parkinson?s disease.MethodologyA short form of Health Survey, SF-12, was used to measure perceived health. SF-12 was administered before and one month after patient education (intervention group; n= 48), and in waiting list control (n= 48).