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 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.

Background: First Line Managers are expected to create a health promoting work environment. Research has shown that the prerequisites for accomplishing a health promoting leadership are not always the best. Aim: The aim was to elucidate the prerequisites for a health promoting leadership as First Line Manager at a University hospital in Sweden based on competence, role, support structures and own durability. Results: First Line Managers at the chosen hospital seems to have rather good conditions for conducting a health promoting leadership. All respondents did have a university degree and most thought that their competence corresponded well with the role.

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..

The distribution of work related tasks depending on gender leads to different appraisal depending on which gender is performing a task. This aim of this research is to study how gender differences influence task allocation within the restaurant industry. The study is inspired by a discourse analysis perspective complemented by constructivist and critical pragmatic theory. Interviews were conducted in two focus groups with seven participants in total. The analysis is divided into four sections which answer six discourse analytical questions using the interview material.

Social work as an traditional aid is an area that provides welfare services financed from public funds, which is one of the methods of microloans. Microloans have since the mid-1970s has become an increasingly common tool in the fight against poverty. Instead of purely assistance is now offered microloans from more banks and other institutions, as well as NGOs (non governmental organization). This paper aims to study whether and how microcredit can contribute to the empowerment of women in Bangladesh and India. This study is based on a qualitative text analysis, and has hence been based on a number of reports and articles. The paper examines, from a radical feminist perspective how microcredit can fight and eliminate poverty, and how empowerment can help women in developing countries to become independent and liberated. The introduction of micro-loan is considered to have positive effects on women's empowerment in the short term. But it is, however, the longer term effects that are considered to have the greatest positive impact on society's unequal structures.

Prisons are for many an unknown world, and few know about the prison culture which includes unwritten rules, power structures, interactions and relationships between inmates and correctional employees.While many think that Swedish prisons are too comfortable,inmates are facing extreme stress due to surveillance and detention, by depriving inmates their possibility to shape their own lives. When the inmates is deprived of control over their own life?s the penal system have great power to shape and to influence the inmates.The purpose of this paper is to investigate prisoners' experiences of treatment and exercise of power in prisons. Starting point is to examine what are the kinds of relationships between prison officers and inmates from a power perspective, if there is any difference between the closed and open prisons and how the inmates affected by the structures that exist.Based on my overall purpose, and with my informant´s stories which revealed a number of similar points, four main headings were developed; Mass media and society´s view, and unknown world, interaction between inmates and prison officers and consequences.Prison officers with the role as a contact persons as well and other staff which work close to the inmates play a significant role by supporting through motivational interviewing and can help the inmates to gain insight about their life situation and actions. My informant?s underlined that a good contact person can either help or discourage.Inmates who contributed with their experiences express that there is a big difference between open-and closed prisons.

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.

Today equal representation between the genders in parliament is something to be desired. One way to reach the goal of equal representation is by using quotas. The purpose of the study is to research the lack of equality in elected institutions by using a perspective on qoutas.  The study also seeks to find answers to if using quotas is a good method according to gender studies. A text analysis is being used to find reasonable solutions to the study´s presented complivations.  By analyzing different texts about quotas some of the more common arguments in the discussion about using quotas in parliaments were highlighted. Some of the more frequent arguments to implement quotas are that it would be more just but also that women and men may have different interests, experiences and therefore equal representation would be a question of resources.

The aim of this study was to investigate and gain a deeper understanding of how the staff at the youth clinic approaches, and might influence, participation and responsibility as regards the girl and boy respectively in the process that follows when an unplanned pregnancy has been verified. Qualitative interviews were carried out with staff at five youth clinics in Skåne. All staff did routinely work with girls and boys that were involved in an unplanned pregnancy. The theoretical starting point of the study was a gender perspective involving feministic gender theory and masculinity theory. The main questions were: How does the staff at the youth clinic view the responsibility distribution between the girl and the boy involved in an unplanned pregnancy, and how does the staff explain this distribution? Are there any guidelines to how the boy and girl should be approached, and in this way ensuring that they both feel involved in the unplanned pregnancy and its consequences? How does the youth clinic staff view and discuss a gender perspective in relation to their work? The result of the study showed that at four of the clinics a difference was evident in the staffs´ views as regards participation and responsibility in the unplanned pregnancy of the boy and girl respectively.

Lameness localized to the hoof is a common problem in horses. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a diagnostic tool is becoming more common and is well suited for examination of the distal limb and the hoof capsule. Today there are two different methods of MRI where in one the horse is under general anesthesia and in the other the horse is standing and only sedated. In this study we have compared the visualization of the distal interphalangeal joint using these two methods in two different groups of horses with unknown clinical problems referred to two different equine hospitals. The width of the joint structures including thickness of joint cartilage and joint fluid and also the width of the dorsal pouch of the distal interphalangeal joint were measured.