This essay is built upon the thoughts of Joseph S. Nye concerning power, and the different ways of exercising that power. The characteristics of Nye's theories are the thoughts about the second face of power, or what he describes as the soft power. The essay seeks to examine what kind of power the US has been in their work for non-proliferation and democracy promotion in the Middle East. It also seeks to find what it is that makes the US to choose to exercise the specific powers.

Börsnoterade europeiska företag ska från och med 1 januari 2005 tillämpa de internationella redovisningsstandarder som antagits av EU. Standarderna benämns International Accounting Reporting Standard, IAS och International Financial Reporting Standard, IFRS. Dessa stan¬darder ska tillämpas vid företagens koncernredovisning, medan nationell lagstiftning gäller för resterande finansiella rapporter.Syftet med denna uppsats är att ta reda på vilka svårigheter som kan finnas med att redovisa enligt IAS/IFRS. Till vår hjälp för att få fram information om detta har vi använt oss av det svenska dotterbolaget till den multinationella läkemedelskoncernen AstraZeneca, Rådet för finansiell rapportering samt en revisor på Ernst & Young.Vi valde att använda oss av en kvalitativ metod och gjorde fyra intervjuer för att få så ingå¬ende information som möjligt. Vid intervjuerna användes öppna frågor för att få en tydlig be¬skrivning av svårigheterna.Teoriavsnittet inleds med ett avsnitt om svårigheter som kan uppkomma vid implemente¬ringen och användningen av IAS/IFRS.

AbstractTitle: The Swedish real estate companies choices of valuation within investment properties and its further effects on the qualitative characteristics of accounting.-A study of the Swedish real estate companies listed and non - listed on the stock market, after the application of the international rule board.Background and Problem: From January 2005, all companies, listed on a stock market within the European Union, are required to prepare their consolidated accounts using common set of International Accounting Standards, IAS/IFRS. In Sweden, this opportunity has also been given to non-listed companies, to voluntary implement these rules in their consolidated accounts. One difference between Swedish accounting rules and contemporary International rules, deals with the accounting treatment of investment properties, which foremost affects the real estate market?s accounts. In contrast to the Swedish Financial Accounting Standards Council?s recommendation RR 24, the new standard, IAS 40, permits a choice between different accounting alternatives.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how much influence children perceive and feel that they have in terms of after-school activities and offerings. I have also tried to find out how much influence the children in the selected after-schools feel they have. This is to highlight how children themselves perceive their influence and if the children are aware of their rights in terms of participation and influence. The study also wants to highlight the forums and the ways in which children feel that they are heard. The study used questionnaires and group interviews were made of 15 children aged 8-9 years from two after-schools, located in two different schools in the same municipality.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera kommunsammanläggningen i Sverige under åren 1963 ? 1974 utifrån ett Hästvedaperspektiv. Hästveda kommun tillsammans med flertalet andra småkommuner blev en del av det som kom att kallas Hässleholms kommun 1974. Uppsatsen utreder vilka reaktioner och diskussioner som fanns hos såväl kommunalfullmäktige och anställda i kommunhuset, men också hos invånarna i kommunen. Uppsatsen undersöker också om Hästveda kommun vid sammanläggningen hade några finansiella tillgångar kvar.Syftet är också att undersöka varför Hästveda gick med i just i det som skulle bli Hässleholms kommun och inte i någon annan närliggande kommun.Undersökningen är gjort utifrån protokoll, tidningsartiklar, insändare, intervjuer och krönikor..

The aim of this thesis is to assess the strategic importance of Central Asia as a whole and interests of great powers in the region in particular within the theoretical framework chosen. The work shows Central Asia as an area of the New Great Game, analogue of the original Great Game which was played out between the British Empire and Tsarist Russia in XIX century. The parallels between the original Great Game and the New Great Game are drawn in order to understand the scope and the true intentions of the players of the latter one. Also, the security issues in the contemporary Central Asia are explored and analyzed to provide with the background for future predictions. Furthermore, the indirect purpose of the thesis is to examine whether the international system has changed from that of two centuries ago by comparing the structure of the international systems at the time of two Games.

Kommunikation med medborgarna är en viktig fråga inom EU. Under hösten 2005 och våren 2006 togs en ny kommunikationsstrategi fram av EU-kommissionen. Strategin ska långsiktigt stärka demokratin inom EU och verka för ett EU där medborgarna har tillgång till den information och de verktyg som är nödvändiga för ett aktivt deltagande i EU-politiken. Den nya kommunikationsstrategin bygger på samverkan med lokala aktörer och ett viktigt verktyg för strategins uppfyllelse är Internet. ?EU-kompassen?, Jönköpings läns webbportal för EU-frågor, har som syfte att skapa kunskap om, samt ett större intresse för och deltagande i EU-frågorna bland invånarna Jönköpings län och är således intressant i sammanhanget.

The presidency of the European Union (EU) is one of the most important institutional actors for the improvement of democracy and equality between the member states. To hold a presidency is a big task and for many countries a tough challenge. What makes a presidency successful? The purpose of the thesis is to examine this question using Ole Elgströms? ?four properties for defining a successful presidency? as the theoretical background. This thesis will employ a comparative framework of four countries, using size and age (age understood as ?time being an EU Member State?) as the defining factors.

The study aims to investigate student participation as a tool for democratic development in secondary school from a student perspective. Furthermore, students' perceptions of the school's work with student participation in formal and informal contexts are also investigated, with basis in the teaching structure. The results are based on interviews conducted with students who all attend the same class in their last year of high school. Subsequently, an analysis is made based mainly on three different theories: democracy, curricula and sociocultural theory. The result shows that students feel that they are able to practice student participation but the amount of influence they get differs between individuals depending on devotion and commitment.

This report is about the impact climate change has on the water and sewage systems in general, and the situation in the municipality of Karlstad in particular. Which vulnerabilities are linked to water and sewage systems with regard to climate change and extreme weather situations, what are the possibilities to adapt the system to this and what significance does climate adaptation of the water and sewage systems have in relation to sustainable development?To answer these questions I have studied literature on the subject and interviewed several people who work with these types of questions. The answers I have received state that there are a multitude of vulnerabilities linked to the water- and sewage systems, but that there are also many strong interests which strive to take measures and adapt to a changed climate. I have also come to the conclusion that the starting points and views of the possibilities to act differs between the people that I have interviewed, but that theses problems are built into the concept of democracy..

Article 4.1(h) in the Rome I regulation establishes which law that will be applicable on contracts concerning financial instruments concluded in multilateral systems. The main problem is that most contracts concluded within these systems have standard clauses which contain a clause on the applicable law. If this is the case, Article 3.1 in the Rome I Regulation is applicable instead. This problem makes it difficult to find a need for article 4.1(h) if it will only be applicable in exceptional cases. However, the legal position on this matter is still unclear since the Rome I Regulation has just been put into force.

This study puts emphasis on an international discourse describing how cities frequently compete against each other, and also describing factors that cities should enhance to make themselves more competitive. The discourse in this study has therefore been used to seek understanding how three different municipalities Borlänge, Karlstad and Malmö strive for growth by applying central factors from the discourse on the municipalities strategic documents. What the study shows is that the central factors from the discourse strongly imprints the strategic documents, but the presence of the factors varies between the municipalities and also to what meaning that lies behind the strategic goals..

Världen blir allt mer globaliserad och den internationella handeln ökar i betydelse. Detta ökar behovet av en fungerande internationell lagstiftning. Ett sätt att kontrollera hur väl den internationella lagstiftningen fungerar och vad olika länder gör för att följa dem är att välja ett par länder och göra en komparativ studie. I denna uppsats kommer länderna USA och Kina att tjäna som studieobjekt. Frågeställningen som behandlas i uppsatsen är vilken roll ILO (International Labor Organisation) spelar och hur dess framtid ser ut.

Water related problems are highlighted as a challenge to sustainable development and the topic of forests and water is gaining increased attention worldwide. Governing forest and water is a complex issue, as the interactions are affected by policies and actors from multiple levels and sectors. In Sweden, forests cover much of the land and forestry is an important land-use, inevitably impacting the water in the landscape. This study aims to understand and explain the existing governance framework around forestry and water in Sweden. Based on the Policy Arrangement Approach, the study?s research questions focused on the actors involved, the formal and informal rules, the resources and power structures and the discourses related to forestry and water in Sweden.

In this research our goal is to conclude the aspects of interactivity which can prove to be important during the creation of a website. The focus in this essay is websites functioning as travelingguides, because we live in a time of traveling, experiance and learning. How can an analyzing method of websites be shaped? What can an analyze of interactivity on current travelingguides provide for recommendations by the creation of interactive travelingguides? The analyzingmethod is based on three shapingmethods and a poll that was answered by both national and international people. The analyze gave us quite clear results, if you follow the basics of Use Case, Personas, Usability and design, the website will have a bigger chanse of attracting people than if it doesn't..