The aim of this thesis is to examine the fear of crime in old peoples lives. Notwithstanding that the age category is exposed to crime to a low degree, old people are experiencing a great fear of crime relative younger people. This is the paradox of fear, also recognized in gender studies. The question is how this paradox can be understood. To answer this, twelve elderly men and women have been interviewed and the reports about crime in the local newspaper, Norrköpings Tidningar, has been analyzed, through discourse analysis.The discursive construction of fear is here discussed in terms of discourses of a fearful society, and stereotypes of old age.

Stortorget i Karlskrona är ett centralt beläget offentligt rum som idag förlorat sin funktion som en plats med ett rikt offentligt liv och en trivsam plats i staden. Detta arbete tar tag i den problematiken och presenterar ett sätt på vilket man kan förändra torget och göra det attraktivare för stadens befolkning. Förslaget går ut på att göra torget mer anpassat för oskyddade trafikanter genom att bilarna får ta ett steg åt sidan men samtidigt göra det lättillgängligt med en ny kollektivtrafiklösning för Trossö. För att göra torget attraktivare har dess storlek försökt tonas ner och därmed göra det mer anpassat till den mänskliga skalan. Detta har skett bland annat genom att plantera träd men även genom nya byggnader som bättre integrerar med det stora torget..

This paper aims to examine how and to what extent, a transition of Sweden according to the principles of Omställning Sverige (Transition towns Sweden), have the potential to contribute to a society with increased happiness.The paper is based on a qualitative textual analysis of the key texts in the Swedish Transition towns movement, Omställning Sverige. In the first part of the study the most important transition principles of Omställning Sverige were identified. Four key principles emerged: An altered view of economics, a spiritual change, a stronger local community and increased awareness. These transition principles were then analyzed through the lens of the scientific fields position on happiness, followed by a summarizing conclusion.The altered view of economics which Omställning Sverige advocates, where sustainability and quality of life are priorities over economic growth, is even necessary to secure our basic physiological needs. Such an economy has also improved conditions for economic stability, high employment and higher efficiency in the sense of happiness promoted in relationship to how many natural resources are used.

This essay is a qualitative study on quasimarkets in the field of home-help service. The main purpose of the study was to describe and analyze the function of costumers choice from elderly persons point of view. The quasimarket in home-help service of Solna stad has served as an example. The questions raised in the study concerned the elderly costumers opinion of the information about the different producers, what had influence on their choice, their attitude towards the freedom of choice, and their ability to act as consumers on a quasimarket.The method used was qualitative semi structured interviews. A majority of the elderly consumers appreciated the possibility to choose producer of home-help service.

According to the theory of elitist democracy civic political participation should be reduced to participation in the democratic elections. This essay examines whether a high rate of institutionalized political participation beyond the elections leads to: (a) that those who are included gets a more favourable treatment at the expense of the common interest, in other words that their self interest threatens the political equality, (b) reduced freedom of action for the politicians and the headmasters, (c) the emergence of vague conditions of responsibility. These hypotheses are examined in an empirical study of user-boards at four schools on three locations in southern Sweden. In these user-boards the parents are in majority and have the right of decision, which has been delegated to them from the local government and the headmaster. The main conclusion is that, based on this empirical investigation, there is no support in any of the hypotheses.

Detta examensarbete på masternivå i Fysisk Planering är en kvalitativ studie som genom innehållsanalys och tematisering undersöker blandstaden som planeringsideal utifrån de anspråk som görs gällande problemlösning. Studien innefattar en presentation av praktikdiskurs, teori och empiri i form av kommunala översiktsplaner vilket studeras utifrån institutionalisering genom tankefigurer, spårbundenhet och kognitiv dissonans. Studien visar att blandstaden är en institutionaliserad, spårbunden tankefigur som i stort delar ideologisk grund med planeringsidealet modernism. Studien visar även att trots detta framställs modernismens planeringsideal i problembeskrivningar som förefaller nyanserade, och blandstaden framställs som dess motpol..

Sweden has an environmental goal to achieve until the year 2020. To achieve this goal the construction business has to take an initiative to use the modern techniques that are available to lower the energy consumption I buildings. There?s also a debate going on today regarding the energy demands set by the Swedish government through Boverket, some communities throughout Sweden thinks that the demands are to low and have therefore set up own demands regarding energy in buildings.The possibility to construct energy-saving buildings is today very great, with energy-efficient heating-systems and dense climate envelope. The interest to raise energy-efficient buildings have also increased as a consequence that the population have become more aware about their impact on the environment.

The purpose of this article is to examine issues concerning quality assurance in the Swedish family counselling. To obtain the purpose following factors have been analysed: what kind of requirements/criteria are put on the companies/practitioners, what the respondents think about the lack of common standards and criteria and their opinions concerning ?Lagen om valfrihetssystemet?. Monitoring of criteria, privatisation and increased competition are other factors that have been analyzed. The material was obtained from the family counsellors own association and was analyzed in the light of previous research and theories regarding the quality of family counselling however we also considered theories about quality within social work in general.

The aim of this Master's thesis is to study what place public libraries have in local politics, particularly from the point of view of the politicians. To answer this, I have interviewed politicians, participated as a silent observer of a public debate, and studied articles on library politics in newspapers and other press. The results show that politicians in general have a positive view of libraries and good co-operation with library professionals, and that they have a fairly up-to-date view of libraries. They are, however, less interested in library issues in general, and are often complacent with the way things are already running. The newspaper studies show that library issues are usually only discussed when a specific library is somehow in danger.

The purpose of this investigation is mainly to study if pupils have enough knowledge concerning the water cycle and the life of the plants?, and what kinds of household word they have, to discuss pollution within these areas. I also studied how the pupils? knowledge are holding up against what the course-plans says, since it have come to light by other investigations that knowledge are insufficient within the nature-oriented (No) subject in school.The survey has carried out on 28 pupils in a 5th grade, with help of a questionnaire survey. Their teacher has been interviewed and I have studied their local course-plans and also the pupils? schoolbooks in No.The result of the questionnaire survey indicates that the pupils had insufficient knowledge within the areas of plants? life and pollution, something their teacher had a presentiment about.The conclusion is that they need to go out more often in the nature and see how the plants and the environment are affected by different factors.

My purpose with the study is to investigate if it is possible to argue in favor of organizing public libraries according to the client based theory. To create a base to argue from I have studied UFO, a department focused on young adults at the age between 15 and 25 at the public library of Malmö. This case study, performed by investigating the documentation of UFO as well as conducting an interview with the project leader, is the base from which I then can argue for or against the idea of organizing public libraries according to the client based theory. Public libraries should always reflect the communities they serve. This challenges the staff of different libraries in different regions to arrange their organizations accordingly to their local population and to be flexible enough to follow the changes of this population.

Secondary schools have for decades debated whether they promote social reproduction which is considered to generate the homogeneous student compositions. The gap between the academic programs and vocational education programs is considered to increase. What in recent years has appeared in research is that the gap is increasing most tend to be in the specific academic program, particularly in science. This paper's intention is to describe the science program at a local level and the pupils who were admitted to the science program autumn 2009 on the basis of an educational sociological perspective. The survey consisted of a census in which all students were given the opportunity to answer a questionnaire.

The basic intention of this study is founded on an ambition to make change within the competing activity at ?Svenska Brukshundklubbens Halmstadavdelning? (SBK Halmstad). This is a local association for owners of working dogs, where I am one of the members. A problem in engage a larger number of voluntarily working members in the association has been established and discussed over several years. My premier aim was to make the members award of different perspectives of the problem.

In this essay, we have compared a conventional house to a passive house. The housesshared the same local conditions; they have the same living area and the same layout. Thedifferences between the houses were the different construction solutions for the roof, theouter walls, the floor and the heating system. Both the houses qualify the standards fromBBR and the passive house also lives up to FEBY?s special conditions.The purpose with the essay was to examine if it really is profitable to build small hoses aspassive houses.

Ett av Sveriges största folkhälsoproblem just nu är den dramatiskt ökande sjukfrånvaronpå våra arbetsplatser, vilket drabbar både individer och samhället i stort. Det är därför viktigt att skapa hälsofrämjande arbetsplatser. Studiens syfte var att undersöka vilka faktorer personalen på en kommunal förvaltning anser kan bidra till att deras arbetsplatser blir mer hälsofrämjande. Vidare syftade studien till att undersöka personalens syn på hur förändring och lärande kan ske på deras förvaltning för att skapa hälsofrämjande arbetsplatser. Datainsamlingen har skett genom fyra fokusgruppsintervjuer med anställda inom en kommunal förvaltning.