The aim of this thesis is to clarify the affect that preferential and regional trade agreements have on the World Trade Organization (WTO), as being establisher of the international trading regime. The essay is an explanatory literature study, which strives to answer the following questions:Are regional and preferential trade agreements a threat or a complement to the WTO?Is an undermining of the MFN principle weakening the WTO?How do regional trade agreements made by the EU affect the future of the WTO?The empirical material is to be analyzed using an explanatory framework, which is based on neo-liberal instutionalism, theories on regime changes and a game theoretical approach, using prisoner?s dilemma. I will employ the EU-ACP relation, the Cotonou agreement to exemplify how an agreement of this kind can have an influence on multilateral trade. The result shows that preferential agreements do have an impact on the WTO, one that is fairly negative in scope.

Den civilsamhälleliga arenan förknippas traditionellt med gräsrotsrörelser, och elitgruppers närvaro kan därmed förefalla vara ett kontraintuitivt och främmande inslag. Uppsatsens syfte är verifiera vår tes om att International Crisis Group är en aktör i det globala civilsamhället, och att globaliseringen av civilsamhället utgör den strukturella förutsättningen för detta aktörsskap. Genom en teorikonsumerande fallstudie med ett induktivt förhållningssätt har vi studerat organisationens aktörsskap i det globala civilsamhället. Det teoretiska ramverket består av aktör-strukturteori kombinerat med teorier om det globala civilsamhället, varur vi har konstruerat en analysmodell som bistår med ett nytt sätt att betrakta globalt aktörsskap. Globaliseringen av civilsamhället, som är en förutsättning för globala aktörer att verka, fordrade den strukturella förändringen som slutet på Kalla kriget bistod med.

National and international studies, such as PISA and TIMSS, which are part of the national evaluation system, are carried out continuosly. Skolverket, in collaboration with researchers, are responsible for the implementation, evaluation, and analysis of the studies. National results show an increasing percentage of pupils who do not reach the goals in mathematics. The last completed international studies PISA 2009 and TIMSS 2007 show an impaired trend of knowledge, in international comparison. Moreover, studies also show that the differences between schools and also within the same school in Sweden have increased.

Title: Sibling experiences ? to grow up with a sibling with Asperger syndromAuthors: Anna-Lena Hedlund and Monica OlofssonKey words: Asperger, siblings, relations, supportTo grow up with a sibling diagnosed with Asperger syndrome may differ from what is considered as normal. It can be challenging, but also instructive in some ways. This study examines how it is experienced by the siblings with no diagnosis. The aim is also to investigate how many of them who acquired some kind of support or, if not, would have wished that.Qualitative data are collected by means of five interviews with non-diagnosed siblings.

This paper will answer which factors are important for the business relation between a small Swedish import company and a Chinese contractor. The problem is based partly in theories that points to cultural and organizational differences between Sweden and China, and partly in current examples from Swedish companies. The relevant data has been collected by interviews with three small Swedish companies that are currently using Chinese contractors.The result is that the differences between the countries and organizations exist, but that they do not interfere with the inter-company relations. The conclusion is that our result contradictsthe established theories in the field, and that a more comprehensive investigation is warranted..

Preschool is an important social arena for children. This might be the first time that children find themselves in a larger social context and create their first peer-relations. The aim of this study was to examine children?s peer-relations with particular focus on the acts of social exclusion and inclusion, and how children use different strategies to exclude and include each other. Another aim was to investigate how both verbal and non-verbal communication is used in these processes.This study has an ethnographic approach, and the use of video observation as a method enabled us to capture the children?s everyday interactions at preschool.Our results show that children use a number of different strategies to exclude other children that seek access to an ongoing activity to protect the interactional space that they already share.

International organizations are important actors on the stage of world politics, and how these actors securitize the climate change issue is of importance for how it will be tackled by actors on global and national levels. The purpose of this study is to contribute to research on climate security discourses and how climate change is defined as a security concern amongst different actors. This study, in contrast to previous research, focuses on systematically mapping the definitions made by different international organizations by asking: whose security is at stake; who is responsible for responding to the threat; how is the nature of the threat defined; and what responses are suggested? By analyzing material consisting of a variety of documents and statements from five international organizations, I aim to identify differences between these actors ? in how the climate change issue is conceptualized from a security perspective. The result of the study shows that only one of the organizations shows clear elements of the national/geopolitical security discourse, while all of the other actors primarily use the human security discourse.

This thesis is a qualitative study in which 12 award-winning printed adverts, awarded with either a Swedish ?Guldägg? or an international Clio Award, have been analyzed from a rhetorical perspective. Visual rhetorics were used to analyze the adverts in order to expose the rhetorical concepts and to find out whether the rhetorical concepts represented in the Swedish adverts are the same concepts represented in the international adverts. One of the conclusions drawn is that pathos-arguments, a rhetorical concept where the senders allude to the emotions of the receivers, are the most prominent in both Swedish and international adverts, but are used in different ways. Another conclusion drawn is that the adverts are overall characterized by their messages not being explicit.

The world is getting smaller. Global markets, political processes and communication technology bring people together. Even though many of these processes are dynamic and constructive, they have also resulted in a need for better and more effective ways of international conflict resolution. This thesis investigates central issues connected to the concept of humanitarian interventions in relation to current and future legislation of the European Union. The overall question is whether the rapid globalization process has resulted in a change of international law towards more liberal view where authorization of the security council is not always needed? And, if there has actually been such a liberalization, how does that affect the legal possibilities for the European Union to carry out armed operations without the consent of the global community?The conclusion of the thesis is that international law has been modified mainly in two aspects: First, the concept of sovereignty is no longer seen merely as a right of the nation, but also as a responsibility.

Our language bear traces of who we are and of the culture we live in. As human beings we create language in interaction with other people and with our society. Media and commercials are other factories that strongly influence our everyday life as well as our language. With this study we would like to illuminate how our surroundings influence our language. We focus on the language of young people and their use of symbols, phrases and expressions when they reflect on relations.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between adult attachment, denoted as mental representations of childhood experiences, and social relations. A secondary purpose was to examine the impact of prematurity on attachment and social relations in adult age. The study is part of a larger longitudinal study carried out by professor Karin Stjernqvist and Anne-Li Hallin, candidate for the doctorate, at the Department of Psychology, Lund University. Participants of the present study were 30 individuals randomly selected from the larger study. Of these, 16 individuals were premature born and 14 individuals were full-term born.

After a workshop in Kuopio held in June 2006, Interbull decided to go forward with the development of a system for beef international genetic evaluation and a three year project called Interbeef was launched in June 2007. The participating countries are so far limited to Europe and the only trait evaluated at present is adjusted weaning weight (weight at 200 days). The results from a first international genetic evaluation have been shared with the countries but are not yet official. The evaluation is based on data from purebred Charolais and Limousin. To achieve good estimates of proofs in an international context it is important that methods for data validation and model selection are implemented.

Since 2005 the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has prescribed a mandatory requirement that all ?Publicly Consolidated Entities? abide by the ?International Financial Reporting Standards? (IFRS). However, due to a difference in institutional elements, between countries, differences in financial reporting are still possible. This essay aims to identify such differences between Swedish and British companies in their adaptation of the IFRS, specifically differences in; ?Disclosure Requirements for Goodwill? specified in ?IAS 36 p 134?.

In recent decades, public relations and news management have become increasingly important in organizations? communication efforts. This thesis aims to show how the Kalmar municipality works with this type of strategic communication to build the Kalmar brand and how their communication efforts can be improved. The thesis is mainly based on theories concerning Public relations and News Management but also the medias impact on forming opinion. An important issue throughout the thesis is that all theories must be related to the fact that the study concerns an organization in the public sector and the obligations that comes with that fact.

The world is getting smaller. Global markets, political processes and communication technology bring people together. Even though many of these processes are dynamic and constructive, they have also resulted in a need for better and more effective ways of international conflict resolution. This thesis investigates central issues connected to the concept of humanitarian interventions in relation to current and future legislation of the European Union. The overall question is whether the rapid globalization process has resulted in a change of international law towards more liberal view where authorization of the security council is not always needed? And, if there has actually been such a liberalization, how does that affect the legal possibilities for the European Union to carry out armed operations without the consent of the global community? The conclusion of the thesis is that international law has been modified mainly in two aspects: First, the concept of sovereignty is no longer seen merely as a right of the nation, but also as a responsibility.