This study examined constructions of horses and means staff working with horses parallel to therapy in institutional care ascribes to horses. A narrative method was used and the theoretical framework was social constructionism. A question was asked to the narratives: How can practice in institutional care be understood through these stories? The result showed different pictures of institutional care. Horses seem to provide a multi-faceted therapeutic tool.

In the present study, the institutional discourse in health care was examined, focusing onspeech therapists and occupational therapists in interaction with a common patient withaphasia. The purpose of the present study was to identify common communication strategiesused in the professional conversation between a speech therapist and a patient and between anoccupational therapist and the same patient. Specific research questions were: Whatcommunicative strategies are used in interaction between a speech therapist and a patient withaphasia and between the occupational therapist and the same patient? Are theredifferences/similarities between how speech therapists and occupational therapists interactwith patients with aphasia?Six people in total, two patients in interaction with a speech therapist and an occupationaltherapist respectively, were recorded during treatment sessions of each profession. Generaland specific aspects of the institutional interaction were then analysed according to principlesof conversation analysis.Similarities in the use of closed questions as a strategy to increase the effectiveness ininteraction could be seen between the two different professions studied.

With the introduction of the Swedish Code for Corporate Governance in December 2004, most companies listed on the major Swedish stock exchanges were required to have a nomination committee responsible for, among other things, evaluating the incumbent board and nominating new candidates. This master thesis aims at analyzing the effects of these nomination committees on institutional investors in their corporate governance, through a qualitative study of 13 interviews. We have found that institutional investors have become more active through their participation in nomination committees and that they have gained more influence over the companies in which they own shares. We believe that in reality nomination committees have more influence over the selection of the board than was intended when the Swedish Code was written..

This pilot study investigates possible treatment effects and participants' experience in an internet-based treatment of specicfic phobia. Changes in self-reported phobic fear were examined in a series of case studies and changes in attitudes towards avoidance and approach strategies were examined at group level. Seventeen DSM-IV diagnosed patients with specific phobia participated and 10 out of these completed the treatment.The results show that 80 % of the completing participants were clinically improved after the treatment and that the completing participants were significantly more negative towards avoidance strategies after the treatment. The evaluation of the disposition and user-friendliness of the treatment showed that the participants' overall view of the treatment was positive. The main advantage perceived was the flexible nature of the treatment, while the main disadvantages were the high level of motivation and discipline required from the participants.

The aim of this study is to increase knowledge and understanding regarding which institutional demands can be identified by social welfare secretary?s in their work with juvenile offenders. The study uses organizational theory to try and find different institutional strategies that social workers use to handle such demands. The study takes a qualitative approach and consists of six semi-structural interviews with social welfare secretary?s who work with juvenile offenders.The results of the study show how institutional influence comes from various organizations and institutions such as media, legislation as well as the police and justice system.

The increasing holdings by institutional investors have raised concerns about the institutions passive investment strategies and the implications for corporate governance. A way for investors to address moral hazard and opportunistic behaviour of management is to demand conservatism in accounting practices. This paper analyses the relation between institutional ownership and accounting conservatism in the Swedish market by studying firms on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm over a three-year period. Furthermore, the study investigates whether ownership by institutions with high probability of monitoring managers leads to higher conservatism in financial reporting. To measure accounting conservatism this study uses the asymmetric timeliness measure developed by Basu (1997).

An evaluation: how have the goals of ?Vårdkedjeprojektet? been implemented at the treatment centre of RällsögårdenThis evaluation was commissioned on behalf of the treatment centre of Rällsögården. The aim of this study is to evaluate how the goals of ?Vårdkedjeprojektet? (VKP) have been implemented in the institutional care at the treatment centre of Rällsögården. This study was focused on the following questions: a) how is the function ?internal coordinator? experienced by staff at Rällsögården, b) in the function of internal coordinator what aspects are thought of as effective/non-effective concerning the cooperation with ?external coordinators? and contact with clients and staff, c) how is Vårdkedjeprojektet and its treatment approach ?Community Reinforcement Approach? (CRA) experienced by coordinators, clients and staff and d) how well is the aftercare functioning for clients who have finished their treatment at Rällsögården, and still participate in VKP?The choice of research method was triangulation; a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods.

The purpose of this study is to search and analyze different logics that operators use in the work of helping juvenile delinquents to break their criminal behavior. New institutional theory is used in this study to analyze the results. The study was conducted through qualitative interviews of six professionals in two municipalities which work with juvenile delinquency. There are two questions that we want to address in this study. The first one is what methods the social workers are using in two middle large municipalities to help youth to brake there criminal behavior.

The overarching goal of this paper is to explain the intensive occurrence of partnerships ? regarded as a specific organizational structure ? in the formulation and implementation of Regional Growth Programs.By using theoretical concepts from new institutionalism, the paper tries to examine the explanatory capacity of this theory in the specific case of partnerships. The basis is a skeptical stance towards the conventional interpretation that views partnerships as rational organizational tools. Hence, the purpose of the paper is also to compare our own institutional explanation with the conventional.The paper finds that the occurrence of partnerships can be understood as the effect of an intensive institutional pressure. The government has, in what we regard as the institution for regional development, prescribed the partnership as a rational solution ? a rationalized myth - to the regional growth problem.

A school should be a safe place for all students. The existence of discrimination, harassment and offensive behavior should according to Swedish school law not exist in the school environment. Since the year 2006, when a law on equal treatment was passed, all the schools in Sweden must have a treatment plan that is revised annually to prevent discrimination, harassment and abusive treatment.In this master thesis, I will examine the equal treatment plan between four different elementary schools in Nynäshamn.The purpose of this paper is to examine how the equal treatment plan exposes the bullying and the types of problems and solutions addressed in the elementary schools equal treatment plans. Based on the purpose, I have formulated two questions:How do the elementary schools in Nynäshamn municipality describe bullying in the equal treatment plan?What kinds of problems and solutions are addressed in the equal treatment plan evaluations?This thesis is based on text analysis and content analysis on the schools equal treatment plans.The study is based on the theories from a norm critical perspective.The conclusion of the study is that all four schools treatment plan see abusive behavior as something serious and preventive.

The Trappan Model is one of the most implemented treatment programs for children who have experienced domestic violence. This study undertakes a wider evaluation of the model through a pilot study. The approach is both quantitive and qualitative. Theory as well as the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire have been used to fulfil the aim. The design is pre-post.

The aim of this thesis is to explore the institutional design of Participatory Budgeting (PB) in Sweden and how the design may contribute to realize central democratic goods. The study records the different PB experiences in Sweden and focuses on one particular case, which is the only case that successfully qualifies as a genuine PB-process according to international standards and definitions. To examine this, the following questions are asked: which municipalities in Sweden have implemented Participatory Budgeting? How can the institutional design of Participatory Budgeting be described and to what extent does it enable the realization of central democratic goods? To what extent does the institutional design enable the realization of the democratic goods inclusion, popular control, considered judgment and transparency? To what extent does the institutional design enable the realization of the institutional goods of efficiency and transferability?The study is based on an institutional theory of democracy. The method used is a mixed method ideal type analysis that combines document analysis, surveys and interviews.

Background: The global capital markets have enlarged investment opportunities and thus also the sources of funds for companies which increasingly face global markets for their services and products. Huge capital movements show that investors are constantly searching ways to minimise risk and maximise returns. In the light of the substantial growth of assets in institutional funds, an important question for international finance is the degree to which institutional investors have diversified their portfolios internationally. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the international diversification of portfolio investments of institutional investors in Japan, the US and the UK and deepen into international diversification in portfolios of Japanese institutional investors. Demarcations: Institutional investors can use their power directly in companies or indirectly through capital markets.

There are several treatment methods that are used by physiotherapists to treat migraine and tension type-headache (TTH). The effects of these methods have been evaluated in previous studies. However, there are few studies evaluating headache patients own perception of the treatment. The purpose of this study was both to examine the patient?s perception of the physiotherapy headache treatment and to examine if the treatment had effect on their quality of life.

This student report is about canine atopic dermatitis It includes a description of the immunologic mechanisms and how the reaction affects the body. The symptoms are various, most common is pruritus, erythema and alopecia and directly associated with the immunologic reaction. The diagnostic process includes symptoms, physical findings, differential diagnosis, intradermal test and serological test. The options of treatment are several and vary for each patient. The report includes hyposensitization, medical treatment such as corticosteroids, antihistamin and cyclosporine, topical treatment, fatty acid supplements and environmental treatment. The prognosis is individual for each patient due to their different response to the treatment. It may take a while to find the right combination of treatments to achieve satisfactory control of the disease..