This bachelor?s thesis describes a qualitative case study of a public library as ?third place?, a place besides from home and workplace visited frequently for conversation. The subject is chosen because of the many roles of public libraries. The main query of the study is ?What view does the public library have of its role as third space and how does that relate to the way utilization of the public library as third place is seen??.

This master thesis was written in the purpose to study how the location and access to computers in the physical realm of the public library reflects the undergoing changes in the public libraries role in Swedish society. This study is done in a form of a case study of three small public libraries. All of them were in the process of transforming both their physical and virtual space. The thesis focuses on where in the library the computers are placed and how their location interacts with the libraries main tasks. It also focuses on the analysis of the relationship between these two elements and how that relationship reflects the alteration of the public libraries place in society.

Citizen participation is fundamental in place analysis, where the aim is to define the sites specific character and identity. The local citizens know the village better than anyone else since they lead their daily life in the environment. I have in cooperation with Sala municipality suggested guidelines on how to involve the local people in dialogue during place analysis. The target was to involve and enthuse as many people as possible with relatively small resources in time and money. The suggested methodology was tried out in a place analysis of Västerfärnebo, a community with about 3 000 inhabitants of which 500 live in the main village.

Internet is used today as a traditional medium for information exchange and social interaction. One of these is virtual Meeting places where people meet and exchange information, socialize and exchange knowledge with each other. The group has chosen to examine the factors affecting the use of web forums, one of the virtual Meeting places that exist on the Internet today. And look at how people use the web forum today in the current situation and how to design a web forum.A survey was conducted to find out how people look at web forums today, 80 people participated, and they got to talk about what they think about different web forums regarding how and why the use these them. Guidelines on how a web forum should be designed were also developed.

The aim of this master's thesis is to study how the design of the music library space affects how it is used and its role as an arena for culture. This is done in form of a case study of Library 10 in Helsinki, a public library branch that specializes in music and information technology. The backdrop to the study is the changing context for cultural activity in the information society and the role of public libraries as public space and Meeting place. By analyzing the distribution of space in the library, the distribution of functions and artefacts and the spatial use of the room, I interpret the ways in which this distributional logic produces a unique place for music and culture. I discuss the music library design in a space and place perspective, utilizing theoretical tools from cultural geography and the space theories of Henri Lefebvre.

The meeting industry is a growing industry around the world, and the technological development in recent decades is one of the contributing factors to the increased travel opportunities and meeting industry's expansion. It can be assumed that the technology could replace some of the personal meetings, but humans have always had a need to meet in physical locations in work related purposes, therefore there is no evidence that personal meetings will disappear. Technological development should be seen as complementary rather than a substitute to the existing professional meetings. Public and private sectors within countries has drawn attention to meeting industry's potential, as favored destinations in terms of economic administration, image creation, expansion and acquisition of further market share in the global market. Meeting industry is complex precisely because there are so many different actors and stakeholders that integrate.

In this thesis I try to examine the consumtion among people that are retired and therefore can be considered as being in the third age. This studie is carried out in Norrköping, with interviews of people living in or close to Norrköping. I have used theories about the third age, consumtion and the space of the city. I have examined the importance of the city space as a Meeting place and where the elderly buy the things they need for there everyday life. I also try to examine if the things they buy has an importance that goes beyond the immediate use, such as communicating a persons status to others.

In Sweden we have the highest rate of nontraditional students among Europe. Coincidently, we also have the highest rates of drop outs among OECD. In this particular field, drop out from higher education, there is a need fore more qualitative studies that can support the "statistics". Studies about experiences of drop outs are significant for society, university and individual. The aim of this study is to describe and understand how nontraditional student experiences drop out from higher education.

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate thephenomenon language café, an activity that is held in public libraries into which anyone is welcome who wants to practice their skills in Swedish, and see how this can be put in relation to integration. To reach the purpose we developed two research-questions; What does the language café fulfill for its participants? and How can the language café contribute to the promotion of integration? The study is based on semi-structured interviews with seven participants from language cafés. The theory used to analyze the results from the interviews is the Swedish sociologist José Alberto Diaz theory about the integration process which can be divided into seven dimensions. The findings of the thesis were that the language café can fill the function as a place to Speak Swedish, for Community-information, a place to meet and a place for trust and self-confidence.

Introduction: How to implement and integrate cultural aspects in strategy making and planning in order for cities and regions to reap both social and economic benefits has been widely discussed in recent years. This method of working with culture, both as an economic, as well as an identity strengthening tool has come to be labeled as cultural planning. But in order for these ideas about cultural projects and institutions to become a reality, something has to be done. This is where the entrepreneur enters.The Glass Factory, a newly opened cultural establishment in the heart of the Glass Kingdom in Småland, Sweden, became the subject of empirical investigation for this paper. As this originally was an initiative from Emmaboda municipality the planning and start-up procedure could be viewed as a cultural planning process.

The purpose with this study was to get a deeper understanding of how the social welfare secretaries experience the meeting with clients.Our main questions were how the social welfare secretaries thinks about their own way to behave in the meeting with clients, which difficulties/obstacles there can be a and which factors they think affect the meeting. What is it that makes the social welfare secretaries experience a meeting as good or less good.Theory used: ?naive theory? and ?theory of communication?. The social welfare secretaries emphasised the importance of respect and clarity in their relations with the clients. By contrast with literature, the hover between power and support was not found difficult.The goal is that the social welfare secretaries and the clients understand each other and that they reach the purpose with the meeting..

Place as a concept, and memory as a phenomenon is researched through literature studies. The essay investigates how we think about place and how we experience and relate to it. Memory is discussed both as personal memory and collective memory. Place is a strong source of memory. When we return to a place, we recognize not only the place itself, but also the things we did there, the people we met and the thoughts passing through our mind when we last were there. Pieces of ourselves are stored in the memories awaken when we revisit a place.

Background: The increasing globalization of business and research has led to an increased demand for international meetings. This is a market that a number of countries wish to access and the competition is fierce to get the chance to host major conferences. Stockholm has a pronounced good position in the international meeting market and this essay will examine what it takes to be a successful meeting destination for international congresses.Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the fundamental factors that must be met for a meeting destination to be successful in the international market for conventions.Question at issue: How can a city develop into a more attractive meeting destination for international congresses?Method: Persons with key positions in the Stockholm meeting industry have been approached by qualitative interviews by the authors.Theory: As a theoretical framework the authors used the value of the physical meeting, generally on the congresses, the planning process for site selection for the meeting, the meeting platform and image.Conclusion: The authors' findings are based on the empirical material gathered during the study interviews. The results from these interviews show the importance of facilities and hotels, availability, and the image..

The present study deals with the usage of the school library for upper secondary school students. Is it a place for working or studying? The questions are:? What do the students say they use their school library for?? Are there any differences between students in theoretical programs and students in practical programs with regard to their use of the school library?? What are the features of the ideal library from a students? point of view? My study represents a user?s perspective. The investigation is both quantitative and qualitative. Eighty-two inquiries from four different classes, representing two theoretical and two practical programs were carried out.

Business across the Internet has increased in recent years and most companies that are selling trips have increased their sales online. Many companies that are selling trips strive for customers to receive and experience a personal service online. The meeting between the client and a webpage service system on the Internet should work. Service encounters are an essential part of the contact between customer and company and play a big part in how the first impression is perceived by the customer. To understand how a service encounter works, meeting face to face, companies need to understand how customers perceive that meeting.