Cardiomyopathy is the most common type of cardiac disease in the cat. Restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM) is comparably uncommon and only a few studies have been conducted in this disease. The purpose of this study was to examine the presence and inheritance pattern of RCM in a family of Birman cats. The family comprised 177 known cats. 107 of these cats were examined by echocardiography, 23 of the cats died/were euthanized and a diagnosis could be established post mortem.

The purpose of this study was to examine how girls and boys are described by social workersin psycho-social assessments in child and adolescent psychiatry. The questions at issue wereif girls and boys are described in different ways and if gender related patterns could be found.The study was both qualitative and quantitative. I used textual analysis as a method anddiscourse analysis as theory.Results: Sexes were generally described differently. Girls are depicted from how they are andhow they look and boys are described by what they do and their behaviour. The mother isdescribed as the person who is most responsible for children of both sexes.

This study shows how social workers reason about the concepts of gender, gender roles and equality and if these arguments reinforce heteronormativity that could affect the ability of same-sex couples to adopt children. The reasoning regarding equality indicates a difference between heterosexual couples and same-sex couples. What emerges in the study is that the social workers reasoning can be explained with that they have been imbued by heteronormativity. Heteronormativity becomes a contributing part of how same-sex couples are seen in the adoption process. Arguments for equality, which erase stereotypes, do not apply in the same way for same-sex couples as for heterosexual couples.

This qualitative study aims to highlight if there are any gender difference in social workers reasoning about a particular case. To achieve a deeper understanding we had to explain and understand our respondent?s answers, primarily from a gender perspective, but also from a power perspective. Our questions were: how does social worker reasoning about a particular case? How can we understand the social workers answer from a gender- and power perspective? The method consisted of a construct case and of semi-structured interviews.

This composition deals with questions concerning the ongoing construction of gender among personnel in different project for young girls and young boys ( ages 14): its conditions and meanings and how personnel form and mediate gender experience. The aim of this essay is to investigate how gender is made in everyday practise in three projects which address to either young girls or young boys, and to examine how the formation of gender interplays between conceptions among personnel and the practise in the projects. Central questions are: How describes the practical work and the needs of girls and boys in the project? And does the gender-segregated work justified in the projects? Qualitative methods are used to answer these questions. We made qualitative interviews among personnel from three projects, Ellen, Allan and DISA.

This thesis analyses the decoration on the pots of the Pitted Ware Culture on Gotland. The pottery from this period is richly decorated with various ornaments, the most common are the pits but other types of decoration occur. The purpose of this study is to get an insight into what the patterns meant to the people that made and used them and what role these may have played in their lives. The author will analyse the decoration on potsherds found from the three Pitted Ware sites of Visby, Ajvide and Hemmor on Gotland. This will be used in a comparative analysis to investigate if differences and/or similarities of the pattern occur between and among the sites.

Floor signs in stores have become a more common phenomenon during past years. The problem is that the knowledge about these signs is limited and the actual effects are unknown. This lack of knowledge can have a negative impact on store performance and marketing efforts. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of floor signs on consumer attitude and behaviour. The study was conducted in two grocery stores, where the movement pattern of 39 501 customers was recorded over a four week period.

Abstract The purpose of the study is to examine how children perceive the relation between play and sex and analyse it from a gender perspective. This by answering the questions: "Is the children?s choice of place, materials and company in play dependent on gender?" and "Is there a significant difference between the sexes and/or ages?" The study was done through twelve focusgroup interviews with three children in each group except two groups of two children in each. Eight boys and nine girls of six years old and nine boys and eight girls of nine years old were interviewed. Boys and girls were interviewed in separate groups and the questions were open ended and followed up.

The purpose of this Masters thesis is to examine how Gender patterns are described in the modern picture book. Focus is on the description of men and women and their emotions and living conditions. Do the descriptions follow stereotypes in the form of binary opposites strong/weak, active/passive etc. in which one component of the pair, often associated with masculinity, is privileged or are there examples of breach of normative gender? The analysis is based upon forty of 149 picture books that are presented in a children's book catalogue published by The Swedish National Council for Cultural Affairs Statens kulturråd, in the year of 2000.

Film is a tool frequently used by teachers, but it is often limited to showing students how historical time periods looked like, or as a way for students to search for historical inaccuracies. The aim of this essay is to study whether it is possible to use two films based on the legend of Robin Hood as a way to teach students how to contextualize gender history. Through the use of film analysis and gender analysis of two different versions of Robin Hood, The adventures of Robin Hood and Robin Hood: Prince of thieves were analyzed. The study has shown that it is indeed possible to use film as a source material for the study of gender history, and that film can tell us a lot about the contemporary view of gender, masculinity and femininity. The didactical analysis concluded that there was no theoretical objection of using film as a source material; however, there are some things that a teacher should be aware of. Although film may be a good way to create a varied study environment and benefit students with reading- and writing disabilities, there is a risk that time-constraints and lack of knowledge of film and its methodology on, behalf of both teachers and students, may make it hard to implement.

Scientists argue that gender affects foreign policy and security policy, that ideas of gender are inconstant and that there is a lack of feminist perspectives in International Relations. The changes seen in the global security context may have challenged the way politicians and scientists understand war and its impacts, and led to increased gender awareness.Using securitization theory and feminist international relations theory, the aim is to examine how women and men are being spoken of in the Swedish foreign policy discourse regarding participation in the UN-led stabilization mission Minusma in Mali. By applying a feminist perspective on the securitization process, the intention is to increase the knowledge of whether there is gender awareness in this context.The result shows that there is limited gender awareness. There is minor consideration for the conflict?s different implications on the situation for women and men.

Den här studien använder sig av en queerteoretisk utgångspunkt för att försöka reda ut vad som kan sägas om genuskonstruktionen i två välkända religiösa berättelser: den hinduiska Ramayana samt Ruts bok som återfinns i den hebreiska bibeln. Studien använder en hermeneutisk metod och en queerteori med teoretiska modeller av Judith Butler och Yvonne Hirdman. Det kan ses i båda berättelserna att genuset hos både manliga och kvinnliga karaktärer ändrar sig under berättelsens gång, flera gånger och i relation till varandra. Slutligen diskuteras resultaten och det visar sig att den teori som används i uppsatsen, queerteori, saknar en förståelse för det slags dynamiska genus som finns att se vid en läsning av Ruts bok och Ramayana..

When gender-related refugee claims was ratified in the Swedish asylum law the 31 of March this year (2006) it opened the door for women with this specific refugee status to receive asylum in Sweden. The aim of this thesis has been to investigate how these specific female refugees are represented and described in the asylum process. The focus has been the construction of identity concerning these women in the Officials discourse at the Immigration department. The theoretical framework has been a critical discourse analysis regarding the exercise of power and dominance connected to the construction of identity.An understanding of the women with gender-related refugee claims as the Others has been perceived through the Officials discourse. Female refugees which have been exposed to persecution that occur in our part of the world (rape, wife abuse, etc.) are treated differently and much more restrictive, compared to women exposed to so called culture specific oppression (e.g.

The purpose of this study was to gather knowledge about the functioning of the rein tension meter and test it for future studies of match and mismatch between rider and horse. We looked specifically into the possibilities to use a rein-tension meter to determine the quality of cooperation between horse and rider. We examined whether a rider shows a specific tension pattern and also if certain patterns could be recognised for a specific horse. During the study, a manual with pictures and text was written to support the practical use of the meter. The manual describes in a simple way the first steps in the installation and use of the meter.

ternal communication in an organization by using CSM Communication Situations Model [18[upps-01.gif The topic of this master thesis is internal organizational communication and factors influencing the way people in an organization communicate with each other. The purpose of the study is to, by using a specific model called Communication Systems/Situations Model CSM, identify the social context of a given organization and examine how it relates to the dimensions of communicational behaviour which are presented in CSM. We would also like to see how the different parts of CSM affects the choice of communication channels. The thesis is based on interviews with eight employees in the specific organization, whom we have asked a number of questions regarding how they communicate with each other and through which channels. The results show that the social context is very informal within the organization and the relationships between the employees are very open and personal.