This Master?s Thesis work was performed at the Studio Engineer department at Volvo CarsDesign Centre in Gothenburg, Sweden. The assignment has been to create a new idea of an airvent where the news value mainly was focused at functionality but also with great attention onvisual appearance.The work has been totally independent and not been aimed to any specific car model. Theindependency initially made that the visual appearance primary wasn?t limited in any way dueto surrounding components.

Social sustainability is often regarded as a solution to social problems in general. In this study, on the contrary, social sustainability is conceived as a socially constructed concept and the result of a certain way of looking at the world, the human being and the ideal society. The study centers around Kinda municipality in the southern region of Östergötland and a few of its elder inhabitants. What meaning and substance social sustainability is contained with as well as the effects that are produced by these conceptualizations is explored and analyzed. Also, the study examines the encounter between political policy?s and judgments on the one hand and the experiences and preferences held by the municipality?s elder inhabitants on the other..

This paper deals with the use of Internet at Swedish public libraries. The author asks whether public libraries should or should not limit access to information available on the Internet. Starting from the American discussion, concerning Internet at public libraries, the author shows the Swedish attitudes. The paper demonstrates that many Swedish public libraries have adopted rules forbidding retrieval of certain kinds of information, such as hard-core pornography and racist propaganda. The persons in charge of such actions claim that public libraries should provide high-quality educational literature and should not spread mass-produced, provocative information.

Building on the concept of constructive iconoclasm as a creational force of iconicity, this thesis examines how the contemporary iconoclastic discourse is related to artistic process. Studies have shown that the performative act of destroying art that is an historical phenomenon is highly present within the contemporary art discourse today. Due to the many dimensions of contemporary art, the ways in which iconoclastic deeds appear may differ from the historical narrative. While iconoclasm and iconicity are being reciprocal processes that can only exist in relation to each other and their context, there are signs that the destructive act itself is being recontextualized by contemporary artists. Guided by the framework of Norman Fairclough?s critical discourse analysis, the thesis examines the processes of conceptual and constructive art destruction by analyzing the discourses of two case studies situated in the contemporary art market.

This master's thesis deals with how a school class of 19 students that are 12 years old,perceive the conception of the library and its activities, and how this can be studied by usingfour different approaches: analysis of the children's drawings, analysis of the children'sessays and analysis of their answers to questions in an inquiry and in interviews. Theories ofhow children learn, develop and perceive the world are briefly presented, as we11 as theorynecessary for the analysis.The four different techniques produced in general the same result; the children displayed thesame thoughts, knowledge and values in the drawings, in the essays, in the inquiry andduring the interviews. The children participating look upon a library as mainly a building,though sometimes also a room, where there are books..

Today, nine out of ten municipalities are active on social media and it has become increasingly popular among municipalities that make use of placemarketing to promote their particular region. A problem that is raised in this study is that the population of the municipalities in northern Sweden often is in decline. The purpose of this study is to investigate how a democratic-controlled organization such as Luleå Municipality uses the social media Facebook in its placemarketing, to highlight a place of scale and to attract new residents and stakeholders to move to or visit the city. In order to answer the purpose I have with the help of a critical discourse analysis examined how Luleå Municipality using social media Facebook in their marketing of Luleå as a place. The results were then analyzed using theories of placemarketing, Norrland and the market-oriented municipality.

The aim of this essay was to describe and analyse the use of snuff as a social activity. By accomplishing eight qualitative interviews with snuff-users I wanted to get a glimpse into their relationship to the snuff and find out in which situations and frames of mind the snuff-use alter. I also wanted to find out if age, class or gender has any affect in snuff-using. The interviews were analysed in a sociological perspective with help from Erving Goffmans and Joseph Gusfields ideas, among others. I found out that each snuff-user creates his own rituals and routines, but there are factors in daily life, which can change the use of snuff.

This paper examines how Hinduism and Buddhism are portrayed in three textbooks for an upper secondary school course in religion and is limited to a selection of books published in 2009. Based on a qualitative content analysis, the paper examines the extent to which there is an intentional division, that is to say a line between ?them and us? in the ways in which the religions are described, and to what extent the description of these religions in the textbooks are Eurocentric. The study focuses on whether or not there is a ?them and us? perspective in the different books and if so, the ways in which this approach is evident.The result of this study shows that traces of a ?them and us? perspective can be found in all three books.

Hydrotherapy is a relatively new area when it comes to treatment and prevention of different problems in dogs, but an area that is growing in popularity. In Sweden, the person who performs hydrotherapy on dogs doesn?t need veterinary education, which is the case in some other countries. What makes hydrotherapy advantageous is that water has an ability to provide an environment where injured body parts can be supported, which means that rehabilitation can start early without the risk of affecting the injury and in the same time relieve the pain for the patient. There are only a few studies of hydrotherapy on dogs and these studies focus on the physical health of the dog.

The aim of this thesis is to seek understanding to how a national identity is constructed. Five women and five men at the age of 21-37 years old have been interviewed during November 2005 and January 2006. All of them lived Oslo at the time. The informants have been divided into two groups, `Swedish immigrants` and `Norwegian immigrants`, none of the people interviewed is ethnic `Swedish` or `Norwegian`. The empirical material has been analysed with the help of Billig´s theory about banal nationalism and Laclau and Mouffe´s discourse analysis.

The purpose of this study is, on the basis of institutional theory, to contribute with moreunderstanding about resistance to management accounting change and also to survey reasonsfor the resistance and how to cope with the resistance.The study is a qualitative case study and semi-structured interviews have been used tocomplement the study?s theoretical area, consisting of scientific articles.The conclusion from the study is that resistance to management accounting change can beunderstood and explained by the institutions of each organisation and its underlying structures. Afurther conclusion is, with the structures in mind there are many reasons for resistance and alsomany ways to cope with the resistance. A model has been produced in purpose to createunderstanding and to survey the resistance to management accounting change..

Business valuation is something that is carried out on a daily basis and relevant to both small and large businesses. Valuations are often long and complex processes that may be difficult to understand, even for those who have received an education in the field. In this thesis, we try to create a better understanding of how this process works.   Since we are aware of many aspects of the theory behind business valuation, but very little insight into the practical activities, we have chosen a deductive approach, i.e. to go from theory to empirical data.   The conclusion is that the methods presented in the theory is largely used in practice, and that the process of valuation mighty seldom differ between valuations. For the seller to be able to charge a higher value for their companies, it is important to have knowledge of, and review the value-creating factors in the company.

This qualitative study investigated what factors influenced older adults to motivate themselves to continue to be pshysical active in their later life. Six individuals, both men and women in the ages of 65-89, were interviewed. The interviews were analysed by informal content analysis. The results showed that there is a certain group who had a strong will to lead a long, well-conditioned and sound life. Although, the seniors are getting older, they continue to make active choices about physical activity on a daily basis.

Aphasia is a disease that brings on disability. The purpose of the study is to describe the daily life when afflicted with aphasia and gain a deeper understanding of persons with aphasia in working ages. The study was made with a qualitative approach with a combination of data sources; literature, internet lectures, live lectures, interviews with personnel in medical and educational services and three persons with aphasia. More research in aphasiology is welcome. This may be aimed at developing knowledge about the importance of communication, of active participation in the social environment, and the achievement of improved attitudes towards people with disabilities. The study should give rehabilitation actors and close relations knowledge and support in their action when they meet people with aphasia..

During my final examination project, I have been working with a design process to develop a new set of candle lanterns for the company Sagaform AB. This company has a large and significant role on the Swedish interior design and retail market. The assignment was developed when the company stated that they would like to supplement and expand its existing range of products. The research and surveys I have done have helped me to create eight different concepts and one of them ready to compete with the existing candle lanterns on the market. The result of my concept proposal expected to be included in Sagaform?s 2013 spring catalogue. During the project I have developed 3D-rendered images, a physical model, and a solid foundation for making prototypes. The Balloon has an attractive design language that fits both every day and more festive events.