In subsequent to Post-colonialism the African nations have dilated into different political directions. While some nations have established well-functioning democracies, others are still under authoritarian regimes. The aim of this thesis is to examine if civil society has an impact on democratic development in West Africa. Therefore the theoretical starting point is Putnam?s theory of social capital, but this study will also examine other possible causal explanations for democratic transition.This study will be based on a comparative analysis of Ghana and Guinea.

Johanna Petrén, a prospective teacher of religion, has examined how a couple of students view Christianity as it is presented in a Religious Education classroom. Furthermore, how this image matches their experience of Christianity outside of school. The key questions of this essay are: How do the students generally describe Christianity and what it means to be a Christian based on the image they have acquired from outside of school, or from Christian friends, confirmation or their own faith? How do the students describe Christianity according to what they learn in Religious education at school? What potential differences do the students perceive between the image of Christianity conveyed by the school and the image they have of Christianity from outside of school? Does the school's teaching influence the credibility and interest in Christianity? The questions have been discussed in focus group interviews, in which the students way of reasoning and talking about religious matters were analysed based on previous research. References used in the analysis includes research on topics such as science of religious history, religion in multicultural and postcolonial rooms, secularism and discourse analysis have.

Health and fitness are two controversial and not easily defined topics that affect people in our modern society every day. We believe that we can find a link between individualism, globalization and the stress concerning weight and appearance ideals. Our bodies have turned into a popular subject for the media, and there is no indication that the interest will decline. As the world gets more artificial, "natural" ideals are getting more attention, such as the concept of a strong and healthy body. But there is also a downside, for example with health issues such as cardiovascular disease increasing following the birth of high-fat diets.

The purpose of this survey is to better understand how students in Swedish upper secondary school perceive knowledge in history. 44 students from two different schools took part in the survey. The students partaking were asked to make a rough plan for a course in history, in which they were to both suggest contents of the course and also motivate their choice of content by arguing their view of the purpose of knowledge in history. The results of the survey were then compared to the curriculum of the history subject. The survey shows that a majority of the students asked find modern history, especially World War 1 & 2, and Swedish history to be of importance.

The aim of this study was to examine the existing discourse of assault in Aftonbladet from the years 2012 and 2013. We have studied news articles and analysed them by using discourse analysis as theory and method.The study shows that the portrayal of perpetrators and victims in assault cases tend to differ depending on gender. The women is portrayed as weak and part of a homogeneous group while the man is portrayed as dominant and offered a more individual role. The study also shows that the normative group is separated from the deviate groups in society. The analyze show that media, through this representation, maintains the normative power in society.

1924 invigdes idrottsplatsen Tunavallen i Eskilstuna, då ansedd som en av Sveriges förnämsta. I mer än 75 år kom den oförändrad att stå kvar som ett minne av sin tid. Vid 1990-talets slut ansågs det dock att tidens sprungit ifrån gamla Tunavallen och att en allvarlig modernisering behövde göras. 2002 sker återinvigningen, Tunavallen är nu en modern fotbollsarena, specialanpassad för fotboll, helt enligt tidens krav. Vad denna uppsats syftar till är att jämföra två byggnationer av en idrottsanläggning.

Today, many discussions are taking place through different platforms concerning the huge problem of ill health within modern society. Ill health tends to affect both children and adults. For the adult sector ill health may lead to doctor?s notification of illness in the short term and on the long term permanent disability benefit. In the mass media there are often articles published that point out the rising number of people with sick pay and people being given permanent disability benefit.

In the process of globalization, identity has become one of the central factors.An understanding of the difference that makes up our society has made thequestion of weather is it possible to envision a society where difference is thecommon ground, one that has been up for contest. To answer this we need to seeif this kind of democracy is possible at all. For this I?m turning to the socialmovments who while they are working close to the reality also can give us somereal answers. Therefore I have looked at how social movements adress identity,difference and conflict and concluded that three things are crucial in organizing ongrounds of difference.

This case study is an attempt to give empirical support to Georgio Agambens theory, regarding how the exceptions from the constitutional order should be regarded as a constant element in modern societies. The purpose was to investigate if Agambens theory is valid in the Swedish context. The exception, as definied by Agamben, is a reappearing phenomenon, which implies that the constitutional order is fragile. Individuals and groups are transferred into ?homo sacers?, meaning people that is to be regarded as legally naked, and offset from the rest of society.What then is it that make the legal norms fragile? In this thesis I will discuss the causality of moral panic.

The purpose of this study is to show what melancholy and irony in my poems express and what techniques that are used to accomplish these effects. Many theorists, among them Sigmund Freud and Julia Kristeva, characterize melancholy as an experience of loss, and therefore one of my questions is what kind of losses appear in my poetry. In search for an answer I analyze the texts from both a psychoanalytic and a sociological point of view. In the latter perspective I discuss the postmodern society using concepts from contemporary thinkers like Zygmunt Bauman, Fredric Jameson and Jean Baudrillard. Finally, I also examine if melancholy has an influence on the form of the poems.

The Swedish traffic system is congested, especially in the urban areas; travellers face daily growing traffic jams and delays in public transport. In a congested traffic system, travellers need support to make smart and sustainable decisions and one such tool is traffic information.One issue today is that too few travellers use traffic information in support of their travel. Research shows that travellers would see great value in receiving the information; however current systems do not meet their requirements. This is a problem since the society would benefit greatly from a well functioning traffic information system.In this report, a number of channels that can be applicable for providing traffic information will be explored, with particular emphasis on interference information.The information channels are analyzed based upon the needs and requirements of the society and the traveller. The thesis of the report is: the more of these needs and requirements are met in a channel; the better is the channel to use for traffic information.

When Vladimir Putin in the year 2000 came to power in Russia many believed that the Russian civil society were weak and had very little influence and with Putin people say that the situation have deteriorated. The purpose of this paper is to establish what kind of relationship exists between the Russian state and the civil society and to analyze this from a top-down perspective. We are looking at Russia during Putins first term in office from the year 2000 until 2004. In order to establish the relationship we have used John S. Dryzeks theory of inclusive and exclusive state and whether it?s active or passive in this process.

ABSTRACTPurpose/Aim: This essay aims to investigate what picture (obvious and hidden) of men and womens equality in our society that is to be found on DN Debatt.Material/Method: The material consists of 175 articles from DN Debatt during 2004. A content analysis and a rethoric analysis has then been used as a method of analysing the material.Main results: Men are much more represented on DN Debatt then women. The underlying picture of men and women that is presented sees men as being the ones who are in charge of all the important and ?big? decisions and questions in our society. Women on the other hand are pictured as, although they have reached higher positions in society, the ones who to a high degree focus on closer and more socially important issues.

This thesis intends to examine the role of the city, Dublin, in the Irish economic growth during the 1990s. It is a case study where Dublin is compared with current theories on post modern cities as growth machines and increasingly prominent actors in the global context. The study has an interdisciplinary approach but focuses on political science issues such as power distribution, global-local governance and local political organisation. It is a theory driven study that also intends to add aspects to the understanding of the cities of our time. I argue that Dublin has faced a lot of changes during the last decades in accordance with the post modern city.

Street art can be defined as an artistic expression, often anonymous and illegal, which is constructed in the public environment. The purpose of this essay is to provide a broad and balanced picture of what street art can mean. The aim is to examine street art as a phenomenon. What features has the phenomenon and in what ways is it important for the creators, spectators and place? This paper focuses on graffiti.