This paper presents empirical evidence on the determinants of interest rate swap spreads in Sweden during the period 1999-2003. The results suggest that the spread between STIBOR and the general collateral repo rate is positively related to shorter maturity swap spreads. The risk premium associated with commercial bonds is positively related to swap spreads of all maturities. A negative relationship is observed between the term structure of interest rates and swap spreads. The short-term interest rate is positively related to spreads with shorter maturities.

The purpose of this study is to understand how the school manages to question norms, and in doing so might prevent its students from being subjected to discrimination and other degrading treatment. This has been done with a focus on how gender related norms are represented, reproduced and questioned in children?s fictional literature. Two methods have been used; a survey and an literary analysis. The survey was conducted on primary school teachers with the intent to collect information related to their thoughts when choosing books to use in their classrooms, and also to source commonly used fiction.

So called honour based violence is a present problem in Sweden. Although recently there has been a steadily growing political and academic awareness around so called honour based violence, there are still problems in the face to face meeting with the victims. This dissertation contributes to the understanding of these victims. The empirical material is based on five young women's stories about growing up in a context of 'honour' and their experiences from breaking up from this context.  My ambition is letting these stories be heard and told as to lead to an increasing understanding of how these women experience themselves and their surrounding society. The purpose of this dissertation is to illustrate how young women interpret their self in the light of a separation from their families.

Introduction:Violence towards women is an extensive and important problem in the society. Confronting women who are assulted by their male partner is a demanding task for the nurses.The aim of the study:The aim of this empirical study was to illustrate the experiences of nurses in the meeting with women exposed to violence by their male partner.Method:This is a qualitative interview study including nine female nurses. The material recieved from the interviews was analysed with help of content analysis. Categories were formed named Comunication, feelings, Ability to recognize the women, Lack of time, Need of support and further education. An application to the ethical council at the University of Kristianstad were remitted and approved.

This study aims to theoretically investigate the concepts of the interpersonal actions 'to motivate' and 'to manipulate' and also to examine possible differences and similarities between the two. The method used is a conceptual review based on the Self-Determination Theory, related to the concept of motivation, and Machiavellianism, related to the concept of manipu-lation. The results show that 'to motivate', according to Self-Determination Theory, concerns influencing the intrinsic or extrinsic motivation, where intrinsic motivation is related to the feeling of self-determination, inner locus of causality, being or feeling competent and exercise activities for the pleasure of it, whilst extrinsic motivation is related to external locus of cau-sality, external pressure and engaging in activities for the purpose of reaching a goal or re-ward. 'To manipulate' is according to Machiavellianism based on the manipulator doing whatever it takes to reach a certain goal and gain something for himself with no regard of what methods being used. The comparative analysis showed that the crucial difference in how an behaviour is interpreted as either, or both, motivating and manipulative is based on who is doing the interpretation, what information she has and which aspects that are focused on..

The study aims to describe and analyse the relationship between norm and practice regarding social services casework on honour-related problems. The relationship between norm and practice involves the difference between the way it is intended that social workers shall operate in these cases and how they perceive that this works in practice. We interviewed two focus groups of eight Swedish social workers, four in each group. We also held an individual interview with a social services business developer. Focus group interviews were based on two vignettes; one depicting an honour-related case and the second an "ordinary" case.

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, issues related to religion and violence has beenactualized in the media. Do Islamic texts and sources legitimate violent actions? In responseto these questions, some professional scholars of Islam argued that the 11 September terroristswere not really Muslims, but hijackers of Islam. According to other scholars, such argumentsreflect a common sui-generis discourse in religious studies which stresses the autonomy ofreligious phenomena, the priority of faith over cultural production, interior experiences andbeliefs over social practice. The scholars in favor for a naturalistic approach in religiousstudies argues that, in order to approach religion in a naturalistic way, we have to be critical ofrepresentations of religion ? and in this case representations of Islam ? drawing on a suigenerisdiscourse.

This study was conducted in the red-light area of Pune city, India. The target group of the study is sex workers that are victims of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The purpose of this study was to examine the initial and continuing trauma and its effects, and the coping strategies that these women develop in order to survive. The initial trauma occurs during the trafficking and seasoning process in the brothel. The term continuing trauma refers to violence and psychological trauma that are part of sex workers lives.

The last century, forest fires have decreased in frequency due to efficient fire-suppression along with the growth of the industrial forestry. Since 1990, fire has been reintroduced under controlled forms to recreate burnt habitats. Many species that are dependent on, or benefits from, forest fires have increased since fire was reintroduced. The importance of connectivity is often addressed in ecological research. This is particularly important for species dependent on short-lived habitats such as burnt forests.

Men abuse women every day. It has become a Health Problem which we affects all of us. Help is available for those women who have the strength to seek it. Health care personnel are often these women?s only contact with the surrounding world.

Young men who commit sexual abuse is a complex topic. This study is based on litterature on the subject and the material is processed through a qualitative content analysis. The study aims to study how the litterature describes the reasons why young men commit sexual abuse. It also aims to explore what is described to be effective treatment of young men who committed sexual abuse. The study found that most of the young men who commit sexual abuse comes from families where violence and psycohological abuse occurs. Many have themselves been victims of sexual abuse.

Our purpose was to investigate which readiness, different sectors in a minor city has to meet honour-related problems. We wanted to investigate how they manage honour-related problems and how the co-operation in these cases is between different authorities. Our questions at issue were: Which knowledge's, experiences there are about the culture of honour, which resources has the authorities and how is the co-operation between different organisations work?We have collected present documentation and research about the subject. We made eight quality interviews with different persons within professions, as we understood, came in contact with cultures of honour.

The memory of expulsions among the expelling groups has been fairly studied, and has potential to create new conflicts. This qualitative study uses in-depth interviews to describe the memory of the 6-7 September events and the Greek minority in Istanbul among a group of Turkish descent people living in Beyoglu, Istanbul. Further the study compares the memory with the written history and explains why the memories of the past are shaped according to the present. The Greek minority of Istanbul are remembered in words of friendship and neighbourliness, but these memories are rather a nostalgia of the past for present needs than an image of the past itself. The memories of the events among the studied group are dominated by the general destruction occasioned by the riots but tend to contradict the violence towards the Greek minority.

This study concerns the complete oeuvre by the British author Helen Zahavi: Dirty Weekend (1991), True Romance (1994), and Donna and the Fatman (1998). Her novels are here read as a trilogy dealing with the dialectics of gender and violence in 20th century discourse, drawing on theories of how the construction of subjects is produced by power, of the relation between power and sexuality.The heroines of Zahavi?s novels try their best to move about in a world where their freedom of movement is limited to their female identity. In Dirty Weekend the protagonist tries to shoot her way out, claiming revenge on every man that is forcing himself upon her. She gains some freedom of movement by refusing subordination, but does not really change the order of power.

During the autumn of 2007 I carried out an investigation within the bank and finance Sector. The aim of the investigation was to see how informal aspects could be understood in relation to equality within Bank AB? The main question was: Which are the obstacles and opportunities for equality within Bank AB? To answer the main question I asked the following questions to the material: Are there any gender related different within the organization? How are men and women represented within the internal magazine? Which are the conceptions related to sex/gender within the organization? The investigation is based on a survey, the internal magazine was investigated and finally interviews took place. Throughout the investigation I used organization theory in a gender perspective. With the gender organization theory I examined concepts as structures, leadership, symbolism and changes associated with equality.