The thesis examines how sex/gender and sexuality are represented through text and images within the Internet community Sylvia whose primary target group is girls. Through an examination of the aesthetics, the member rules and the choices that constitute the framework for the site, the study observes Sylvia as a cultural context. In relation to this setting, the ten most visited member profiles at the time for the study are more closely examined. These profiles are studied from a constructivist view of sex/gender and are analysed from the perspective of feminist and quee r theory as well as in the light of feministic debates concerning sexuality and erotica. The thesis shows how Internet as a forum and the non-heterosexual context Sylvia open up for a constructivist understanding of sex/gender and also leads to a questioning of "masculinity" and "femininity".

Purpose?This study has examined the information behaviour and perception of information in a group ofinformation users who have a critical approach to the media and the information supply. Some of them call themselvesor are being called conspiracy theorists. The purpose was to examine how their information behaviour is influenced by the belief that the information is biased or inaccurate and what the information behaviour looks like when the user searches for discrepancies rather than a response to a question.Method?The study is based on transcribed interviews and email responses to interview questions.

During its lifetime, a road goes through a number of different stages; pre-study,inquiry of the road, work plan, documenting stage, building stage and operatingstage. The operating stage is the one that takes the longest time and costs themost. Those have a tendency of becoming unnecessarily high because the projectengineers don?t always take the management and maintenance prerequisites intoconditions.To decrease the management and maintenance costs, the Swedish RoadAdministration SouthEast has been in need of a work procedure that makes theroaddesign engineers take the management and maintenance of the road intoconsideration. This shall be achieved by a checklist where the most commondesigns that lead to increased management- and maintenance costs are compiledand listed.Through interviews with project leaders in management, the most commonproblems have been identified, analyzed and summarized under the headlineswinter-road, vegetation, road equipment and road designs.To elucidate the problem from several points of view, interviews wereimplemented with project leaders in investment and roaddesign engineers.

Public concern about the release of toxic compounds from wood-based products drives legislation towards enforcing industries to find and use more sustainable solutions for wood treatment. Plant oils are good alternatives to treat wood, minimizing or even neutralizing the impact on the environment. Wood modification with epoxidised linseed oil (ELO) and acetic acid as catalyst has proven a suitable method to impregnate and protect wood. However, the mixture presents a serious inconvenience because of the quick polymerization of the ingredients that limits its practical application. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate an alternative method using a two-step process which bypassed the problem above.

Cytokiner eller interleukiner är signalpeptider med låg molekylär vikt som reglerar många viktiga funktioner. De kan delas in i två grupper beroende på deras effekt på celler. Interleukin 4 (IL-4) till exempel kan tillhöra gruppen tillväxtfaktorer medan interleukin 6 (IL-6) kan tillhöra gruppen aktiverings- eller differentieringsfaktorer. IgM-receptorn eller B-cellsreceptorn, BCR, finns på Bceller och är membranbundna immunoglobuliner (mIg) som har två huvuduppgifter; att förmedla signaler som styr B-cellens utveckling samt att binda in antigen som sedan ska presenteras för T-celler. I studien aktiverades B-celler med antikropp mot IgM (anti-IgM) samt rekombinant IL-4.

?During the past few years cooperation between the EU member states has expanded considerably in areas such as justice and homeland affairs. International cooperation in criminal justice has become more important as borders between EU countries has been lifted and because of this, various criminal groups have also had more opportunities to commit crimes cross borders. The Italian mafia groups in particularly have been operating in almost every country in Europe and have exploited the possibilities offered by the EU. The increase of organized crime in Europe has created a demand for EU to step up their actions against the organized crime.The purpose of this essay is to investigate exactly how the significant EU is has been in battling organized crime in Italy.

Att konsumera kosttillskott ökar i dagens samhälle. Exempel på kosttillskott är energigivande tillskott, prestationshöjande tillskott samt vitaminer och mineraler. En sammanställning av enkätundersökningar i Sverige visar att 61 % av männen och 41 % av kvinnorna konsumerar kosttillskott. Träningsverksamma upplever att produkterna är välgörande och ger positiva effekter på träningen, trots att riskerna med konsumtion av kosttillskott är omdebatterat och ett delvis obeforskat område. Bland träningsverksamma inom styrketräning förekommer även konsumtion av dopningspreparat.

AbstraktBetyg i estetiska ämnen. En undersökning om hur elever och lärare på gymnasieskolan förstår funktionen av betyg. Grades in aesthetics at upper secondary school. A study on students and teachers understanding of the function of grades.Betygen har flera syften och funktioner och är med sin bedömningsmatris en del av utbildningssystemet, som i sin tur är en del av det större samhället. Med stöd från intervjufrågor, observationer och fältanteckningar från mitterminsomdömen synliggörs hur elever och lärare uppfattar betygets funktion i tre estetiska ämnen.

This study deals with the Adventure Comic Prince Valiant, written and designed by the Canadian artist Harold R. Foster. Focus is on the first two years of publication 1937-1938, where the hero is pictured in his Adolescence. This gives the title of the study: Youth. Earlier writings in the USA on this topic, have concentrated on the artist and less on analyses of the comic itself.

Studien syftade till att granska och analysera presentationen av islam och dess utövare i läromedelstexter ingående i svenska läroböcker avsedda för årskurserna 4-6 inom ämnet religion, från och med 1980 till och med 2015. Genomförandet inspirerades av kritisk diskursanalys och genomfördes med begreppen orientalism, islamofobi, diskurs och dikotomi som teoretiska utgångspunkter. Analysen visade tendenser till ?andrafiering? av islam och muslimer i samtliga analyserade lärobokstexter, bland annat genom att ?vi? (svenskar) konstrasteras mot ?dem? (muslimer). Det förekom även ett flertal delar i de analyserade texterna där dikotomier kopplade till bilden av islam utmanades.

Gruppolarisering innebär att bl.a. social jämförelse leder till att isolerade grupper med likasinnade genererar mer extrema åsikter. Gruppolarisering på internet kan vara ett oroväckande fenomen för den deliberativa demokratin. Istället för att människor med konkurrerande ståndpunkter utbyter idéer och tankar med varandra samlas de i isolerade diskussionsforum på internet där social jämförelse i värsta fall kan utmynna i hattal och terrorism. Med netnografisk metod studeras här politiska diskussioner online i två olika typer av forum, ett politiskt och ett icke politiskt.

The purpose of this study is to investigate a group of female converters and their subsequent experiences when transitioning to islam by bearing hijab. The study analyzes how this religious conversion has shaped and influenced the identity of mentioned women, as well as their attitude and relationship to the social environment prior to and after converting. This means that in accordance with the purpose of this study, an attempt to reveal the everyday life of these women will be performed. In order to make this study possible, three different methods will be put to use. A narrative method that touches upon the time leading up to and after the final converting and the impact of the conversion.

This study was conducted in the Master program at The Music Pedagogical Center (MPC) at The Royal College of Music in Stockholm. Korta musikresor (Short Music Journeys) is the Swedish term used for a receptive method of music therapy adapted from the tradition of The Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music (BMGIM) and the theory and practice of Expressive Arts Therapy. The KMR method uses carefully selected short pieces of music, lasting between 2 and 5 minutes, to work on various psychological problems and life- crises. The music session is conducted in a slightly altered state of consciousness with a clear focus being established beforehand in a verbal dialogue with the psychotherapist. There is also the possibility of using artwork to process and explore the imagery after the music listening.

This case study examines how individuals involved in the Swedish peace movement have navigated their peace activism due to the intensified security debate which followed Russia?s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. By conducting semi-structured interviews with peace activists involved in the Swedish peace organization Svenska freds- och Skiljedomsf?reningen, the study aims to provide insight into how peace activists, and the peace movement as a whole, can be affected when the security debate intensifies. By applying a theoretical framework consisting of Political Process Theory (PPT) and Discursive Opportunity Structure (DOS), as well as previous studies and literature on social movement organizations and peace movements, the study?s objective is also to apply context to the observations made by the peace activists in the study.

In tune with the cross-border trade the infringement of intellectual property rights has become a growing problem in Europe and the rest of the world. In June 2008 negotiations about a new international agreement was initiated between Europe, its member states and ten other countries, which will restrict infringements of intellectual property rights. The agreement is called ACTA, which stands for Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. On January 26, 2012 the European Union (EU) and twenty-two of its twenty-seven member states signed a letter of intent to the agreement and the EU?s internal processes of the agreement began.