This research addresses the issues of identity and culture in Latvia in the context of the upcoming European Union enlargement in 2004. Political self- determination of Latvia was historically indebted to culture. The phenomenon of cultural identity, so important 12 years ago when Latvian independence was regained, is largely ignored by politicians in the upcoming enlargement process. This is especially worth attention since the 8-th parliamentary elections took place in October 2002. The obvious lack of interest in cultural issues on the part of politicians is compensated by the apprehensions in the society (reflected in mass media) to loose Latvian specific culture and identity when joining the big European family.

The purpose of this study is to find out how Swedish Muslim girls use Facebook and its functions in constructing their Muslim identity on the platform. The study is based on a qualitative method which consists of nine interviews with Swedish Muslim girls between the ages 17-23 and who use Facebook daily.The study is based on the view of Facebook as a scene where individuals can perform for an audience. I have used Erving Coffman?s dramaturgical perspective that explains why individuals appear in an appropriate manner to achieve confirmation from their audience. I also used theories about identity construction, community and the theory about how individuals create a social presence online.

AbstractThe European union experience sometimes difficulties in advancing its work due to the member states? different ambitions and interests. The budget is one common tool that the member states can use in order to implement different policies according to their preferences. A large share of the budget is presently tied up in the CAP, the common agricultural policy. This share could be spent in another area and by doing so the EU could take a slightly different direction.

AbstractIn this essay I discuss narrative in the reconstruction of national identity. I discuss exclusion as a side effect in thick identities. That means that thick national identities always exclude another part. From this I´ve discussed the Swedish identity and its effects in the European co-operation. Identity is a discourse that reconstructs linguistically.

This thesis in social anthropology is based on the essence of Scottishness i.e. Scottish identity and Scottish clans. The thesis intends to raise the meaning of Scottish history for the Scottish identity and to analyse the relation between Scots and Englishmen. It is also meant to study how Geertz and Lewellen?s theories work in the Scottish field.

The aim of this thesis is to describe the rise of the Tea Party movement in the United States. By using a known theory within social movement studies, the political process theory, this thesis look into the factors that could have played a role in the rise and fast mobilization of the Tea Party movement. The political process theory consists of three parts and hence looks into both the political structure of, in this case, the United States, how mobilizing structures have been used and into the cultural framing used by the Tea Party to create their identity. In order to bring structure to the thesis, the three theory parts have been transformed into analysis models. These give a very good idea of all the factors that could have played a part and therefore also a good way to describe the rise of the Tea Party movement.The research confirm what the political process theory says, that the Tea Party movements rise came at a time when there were a mix of factors at play, both structural and cultural, creating an opportunity that the Tea Party took.

Romanies have long lived outside the fabric of society and have long been exposed to discrimination in Sweden as well as the rest of Europe. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the experiences of young Finnish romanies in their everyday lives as well as their perceptions of living as a minority group in Stockholm today. Previous scientific researchers have often concentrated their studies on the romanies as a group, so we, the authors have chosen to concentrate our research on the individual?s own experiences. We, the authors have chosen to use a qualitative approach, to give us the opportunity through using open ended interview techniques to comprehend and interpret the individuals own accounts.

Clarice Lispectors is one of Latin Americas most famous writers, and she wrote a number of books during her lifetime. Her novel Stream of Life (Água viva), which came out in 1973 and was translated into Swedish in 2007, is considered to be one of Lispectors most difficult texts to read. It consists of several fragments put together into one text; however the text has no traditional narrative or structure. It is the flow of moments that moves the text forward, as it is written down by the protagonist in the book.The primary aim of this essay is to examine how the protagonist in Stream of Life through different means, as the moment, the description, the word and the variations, creates an active participation in the formation of its identity. I will discuss the moment and its act of constructing the book?s circular structure, which is of importance.

In this degree project a study of the importance of a graphic identity to companies has been done. A questionnaire among small companies in Dalarna has beenmade. From this, three sets of graphic profile-program have been formed andthese are suitable for new companies. Finally a practical application has been made on Greenfield in Mora, a graphic profile has been designed.To cause an identity is to prove that someone or something exists by individualizingand distinguish. Every individual or company has its qualities or charasteristics.The way to a desirable identity is going by a corporate identity-program that containsthe companies strategies, people, products, buildings, trademarks, graphic design.

Introduction: HR departments have been developed to take care of the organizations most important resource: the human being. HR as a function has however faced criticism claiming that the function does not entail any value to organizations. The rest of the organization often have a hard time understanding what HR?s daily work means and thereof not having a clear image of the function?s purpose or the function?s role in the organization Aim: The purpose of this study is to describe the relationship between the organization's view of the HR department (image) and the HR department's image of themselves (identity) in order to create a greater understanding of how the HR function successfully can be a well-functioning resource in an organization's overall business. Methodology: The study was conducted in the form of a case study. We have approached the issues by taking different perspective into account, which includes HR, managers and employees.

The thesis analyzes the making of Nordic identity after the cold war which brought an end to Nordic exclusiveness of emphasizing ?soft power?. A need for a revitalization combined with an effort to enter History as an active subject, created constructivist project of a narrative style.My study relies on contemporary literature, focusing mainly on the construction of Nordic identity and regional cooperation in the 1990: s.I argue that Nordic identity was, and still is, determined of its comparable weakness in regard to the superpowers of the cold war, and, nowadays, to the EU.The architects of establishing a new Nordic identity, able to challenge a new Europe, fails in their effort, and what is left of their endeavour are separate states, each following their own agenda..

Social media on the internet allows both public and private actors to communicate with each other. The aim of this qualitative study is to explore the relationship between the public and the private in social media on the internet, specifically with emphasis on the identities which are shaped in this relationship. The social media explored in this study is the micro blog Twitter. Data was collected from the pages of three public and private actors on Twitter, specifically with concern to their interaction with public and/or private actors. The data was analysed with support in sociological theories on modernity, identity, self-identity, socialisation and Erving Goffman's theories on everyday expression.

As computerized communication and the Internet have evolved, the possibility to express and affirm one?s identity in new ways has also been created. Facebook, which has taken a leading role among the social fora on the Internet and succeeded worldwide, is my choice of study due to the number of people that actively choose to present themselves on it. The purpose of this thesis is to study the identity construction on Facebook through the activities a member partakes in, as well as how the presentation of oneself is written and if it is a result of a self-reflective process of the individual.The rationale for the qualitative study has been personal interviews in order to get an insight into how the individuals use and present themselves on Facebook and - in the interaction with others ? how they construct their own identity. My hypothesis has been that we, in the interaction with others, have a great possibility to create and understand our own identities. The study results show that identity formation is a constant process and that it is indeed a self-reflective project.

The purpose of this study was to examine and illustrate how young adults look at themselves and their lifesituation in relation to the late modern society. More specifically its aim was to find out if the respondents have been affected by the ideals and norms of the late modern society in their lifechoises and their view of happiness. This study was based on interviews with eight young adults in the ages between 25 - 33. Out of the eight three were singles, two were married with children and three were in relationships. During the process four themes were identified: The importance and developement of an identity, fullfillment in the respondents lifesituations, the experience of happiness in the respondents lives and how the late modern society have influenced the respondents in their lives.

This thesis is an attempt to understand how the traditional female gender identity is constructed and what kind of structures that are maintaining it. I also study how this identity is reflected in young women's conception of themselves and in their views upon whether they should sign in to the military service or not.The theoretical framework that I use mainly consists of theories about gender construction, male dominance and the woman's role in the nation-state.The purpose of using this theoretical approach is to illustrate that the traditional female gender identity consists of characteristics that are in opposition to the male ones. The woman should be weaker, less aggressive and more caretaking than men- in sum she is defined as the Other. The structures that constructs this identity is the male dominance, also known as the gender system and the patriarchy.This traditional female gender identity and citizenship role that historically has been allotted to women in the nation-state is still today very vivant in Sweden and is reflected in the fact that the military service is optional for women. Certain parts of this identity is also reflected in the young women that I interview, in their sense of probably not fitting in to the military service, because of their sex and the characteristics discussed above, that are associated with it..