In order for any society to exist there must be a sense of belonging. In other words "We" need to be made distinctive and differentiated from "the Others". The aim of this thesis is to examine the processes behind the making and upholding of collective identities and the consequences of doing so. Theories regarding stereotypes, enemy images, power over the discourse and glocalization have therefore been applied to an empirical example in the form of a case study.The study is made on the municipality of Laxå in Sweden. Representatives on assumed key positions have been interviewed on their and Laxå's inhabitants views on the asylum seekers in the community between the years 1986 and 2005.Yet another aim of the thesis is to examine the possible connection between the perceived collective identity and the decision to close down the asylum facility in Laxå.

Villkoren i dagens samhälle förändras snabbt och miljön som beslutsfattare måste hantera blir allt mer komplex, detta samtidigt som tiden för att fatta beslut krymper. För att beslutsfattare ska klara detta kan de ta hjälp av verktyg. Vi har undersökt om geografiska informationssystem (GIS) är ett verktyg som effektiviserar framtagandet av ett beslutsunderlag när problemet är geografiskt relaterat. Undersökningen har genomförts som en fallstudie på fyra olika organisationer där vi jämfört processen vid skapandet av ett beslutsunderlag före och efter införandet av GIS i organisationen. Slutsatsen vi drar av vår undersökning är att geografiska informationssystem effektiviserar framtagandet av beslutsunderlag när problemet är geografiskt relaterat..

This thesis aims to describe and characterise the impact of the Kurdish question for Turkey's decision-making process and foreign relations from the 1980's until today. The Kurdish question as perceived by Ankara, is separatist, and poses a security threat to the entire country but has also international dimensions, which are responded with foreign policy actions by Turkey. Initially, a systemic view is considered in order to investigate Turkey's position in this issue in a global perspective. Moreover, this is completed with an ?Internal Politics Perspective?(Joe D Hagan), which gives a deeper understanding of the actual structures and actors in Turkish domestic policy that shape the foreign policy.

The aim with this essay has been to see how students use drinking-songs and what function they have. I have also wanted to see how the traditions are carried on between the students. In order to do this, I have been observing three parties organised by three different student associations at Växjö University: Västkustens nation, Föreningarnas Festeri and Isterbandet. I have interviewed five people that have been attending the dinners. I have used Alan Merriam?s theory of use/function and made interpretations of his theory.

Organisations tend to focus more and more on product and process development to increase their competitiveness. Several major organisations, among them ABB, have developed models aimed to more effectively control and manage product development processes. ABB is using its standardised model ABB Gate Model for this. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how the introduction of ABB Gate Model has affected the outcome of decisions and also the decision-making in the product development process. The study is limited to elucidate the version of ABB Gate Model handling product development projects.

AbstractThe purpose of this essay was to investigate what thoughts children in preschool and preschool class have about friendship. We also want to investigate what characteristics and which strategies they look for in friendship relationships.  To perform this study we used the following questions as a starting point. Which characteristics do children see as attractive in their cultures?How are friendship relationships affected in different contexts?Can one see a difference in the most important characteristics and strategies between the children in preschool and the children in preschool class? To answer our questions and to reach our purpose we have held group interviews with children in preschool and in preschool class.  We have, in our study, used published scientific literature to get an understanding of what has been presented in relation to this topic in the past.The result shows that the children in preschool and preschool class do differ in certain aspects but also have some similarities on ideas about friendship. Both preschool children and the children in the preschool class are highly competent and skilled at integrating with other children. What divides them is their ways to plan their friendship.

Abstract: According to previous research, it is not unusual for online poker players to create profiles which indicate they are members of the opposite sex. This phenomenon, known as 'Gender Swapping', is partly being utilized in a strategic fashion. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate whether or not the gender of an opponent has an impact on decision-making in an online poker environment. An experiment was constructed where subjects made 15 poker-related decisions against seven randomly generated opponents, consisting of three male, three female and one genderless opponent. The results indicate no significant differences in decisions against male and female opponents.

In the school subject of the natural sciences it is imperative that the students are given opportunities to ?talk science?, since the dialogues that occur in the classroom have a significant importance for the students? abilities to engage in meaning-making in their learning process. Hence, the student and teacher interaction in the classroom and the feedback given there play a significant role in the students? learning process. The aim of this study is to contribute to the development of formative assessment tools that can mediate the students? meaning-making in natural sciences subjects in upper-secondary school.

The newspaper industry changes with the society. New trends and developments affect how layout and design are perceived. Therefore it is important for the survival of a news­paper to catch up with trends and retain contemporaneity. This demands that a daily paper frequently updates its appearance and sometimes even redesign the whole newspaper. Folkbladet, a newspaper in Norrköping, is currently in need of a new layout. The employees often deviate from the graphic guidelines that exist at the company today, due to that it doesn?t feel contemporary, but also because they don?t appreciate the appearance as it is today. This thesis is based on a study of the layout of Folkbladet and analyse: which tools can be used to create a distinct identity regarding layout, which tools you can use to create a clear structure and readability in a newspaper, and how Folkbladet can make use of these tools. To find out about the company?s situation today and their identity, interviews have been made with employees.

In recent years, the Internet has exploded with different kinds of social media, where a significant function is to share your life in text and images. This changes how we form our identity, our religious identity included. The aim of this paper was to study how Instagram forms a space for the creation and development of religious and spiritual beliefs. For this purpose, Instagram updates from five women with yoga oriented Instagram accounts have been analyzed in relation to two theories: Paul Heelas? och Linda Woodhead?s theory of a spiritual revolution and Heidi Campbell?s theory of networked religion.The aim of the study was to explore how these women presented themselves in their Instagram flow and what part religion and spirituality had in their presentations.

Muslims and islam are unquestionably a part of European social life. In recent times, however, different events, such as the enlargement of the EU and the fact that muslims to a higher extent demand their rights, have brought a number of questions to the fore concerning muslims and islam in Europe. Moreover, we can see an increasing level of islamophobia in contemporary Europe, but also that the EU has launched several programs to increase both the diversity and the unity throughout the Union and to combat islamophobia. However, most of these programs focus on islam as religion and muslims in general, and such a narrow viewpoint runs the risk of missing important issues.In this new context it would be interesting to widen the scope and ask what place not only the muslim community and islam, but also sharia (an important element in islam), may have in future Europe ? especially when it comes to muslim identity?My main objects are to see how the concept of sharia is constructed in the debates in the European Parliament, how that discourse relates to a social practice ? the increasing islamophobic ideas in Europe ? and what effect this may have on muslim identity in a European context.The results shows that the Parliament constructs sharia as, for example, something archaic, threatening, inhuman and misogynistic.

The purpose of this study is to find, understand and discuss the experiences of former employees at SAAB, and present how this can be understood according to my core theoretical concepts, which are participation and identity. The questions asked in the study are based on how the labor is described, characterized and what comes forth as valuable, which is compared to absence of labor work.First, labor is described in an historical and social context, and at the same time related to the core theoretical concept. Second, the methodology chapter is presented, which mainly consists of 11 observations and 10 interviews. Third, the chapter regarding former theory leads to an analysis model, which is used on the empirical material of the study.The result shows that labor work at SAAB primarily is described as important for socializing, security and the possibility to be independent. The tasks at SAAB are described as backbreaking and monotonous, while the lack of labor work influences the physical and mental wellbeing.

This paper is about the construction of a ?Swedish? identity in the novel Montecore: en unik tiger by Jonas Hassen Khemiri (translated in English to Montecore: the silence of the tiger). In the paper I start by, after a short introduction, introducing the theoretical background against which the novel will be analyzed. The main focus is postcolonial theories with Edward Saids work about making ?the Other? as a base.

This study concerns digital stories told by five young Romani students and one teacher from Roma Culture Class in Stockholm, Sweden. The theoretical framework draws from theories concerning identity, culture,Romanipe, the Romani value system and social semiotics. The material for the study is the digital stories that were analyzed qualitatively. The results show that the young Roma in the study demonstrate pride in their Romani background and culture, but also signs of changes and development in their culture. Some of the participants do not show external signs of Romani traditions, for example in the ways of dressing.

This master?s thesis has the intent of showing that the tattoo can be regarded as an individuals document according to prevailing notions in archival science. Suzanne Briets definition of the concept of document is used in this thesis as a widening definition, a document does not have to presented in a defined form, it is only required to represent an object or intellectual phenomenon and to be informative.Tattoos are presented in this thesis as informative with regard to the status and position of russian/soviet convicts and as such presenting an individuals identity within a specific context. As documents they also provide the individual with the essential evidence of his or her endeavours in a criminal environment. Also, they have the ability to function as an individuals memories of relationships, hardships and comradeships.