The purpose of this study was to understand how the concept of quality as an idea was spread to and translated in municipal elderly care. A central question was: How does literature, policy documents and key people describe the function and meaning of the concept of quality? The method of analysis was a qualitative case study with a critical discourse. The theoretical framework of the study is mainly what is known as institutional theory and a line of thought describing how ideas are transferred and spread. The theoretical focus is on how original ideas are interpreted and why they gain a foothold in new contexts.

The purpose of this essay is to define the meaning of the concept of crime victim and how the crime victim as a concept is constructed. The question is answered through an investigation of the discourse that constructs and reproduces the crime victim. Furthermore the purpose is to open a theoretical discussion which aims to clarify whether or not the crime victim is a subject or an object through an examination of how the individual is constructed as a crime victim by the crime victim discourse.The essay takes a theoretical point of view based on a mixture of Michel Foucault?s and Ernesto Laclau & Chantal Mouffe?s discourse theories. The method used to organize the research ? regarding the meaning of the concept of crime victim ? is Laclau & Mouffe?s discourse analysis which is an extension and a part of the theory mentioned above.The discourse analysis creates a model of the crime victim discourse which answers the question of how the concept of crime victim is constructed, and how this concept should be understood.

The Master Thesis has been carried out in cooperation with Silva Sweden AB and the objective was to develop a new product concept within the product category for everyday exercise. The purpose of the thesis was to use and analyze methods and tools which aid creativity and concept creation in order to make method recommendations for future projects.During the thesis a number of customer needs were identified, which in turn were translated into 20 concepts. On a concept decision meeting a pedometer-based concept was chosen for development. The new pedometer is in addition to counting steps also able to measure and calculate the user?s total climbed height during a day and present this graphically in comparison to famous monuments or distances.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a highly used concept in contemporary organizations, especially in the recruitment process or education of employees and managers. The aim of this study was to examine the discursive production of the concept emotional intelligence and how it, linked to an organizational context, is expressed in web-based articles and course homepages. In total 11 texts related to emotional intelligence and organizational contexts were used as the object of study. A three-stage model was used as a method for analysis. The model included a content analysis, argument analysis and a deconstruction analysis in order to expose what was said about emotional intelligence and how it was said.

The amount of electricity is limited in Namibia and the large distance between towns andvillages complicates the energy supply in the country. Therefore an alternative way to provideaccess to appropriate energy technologies is needed. The Government of the Republic ofNamibia (GRN) has adopted an approach of helping off-grid households by establishing EnergyShops in each region in Namibia and these shops are going to sell basic renewable energy andenergy efficient products. The Renewable Energy Efficiency Institute in Namibia (REEEI), theinitiator of this thesis, is coordinating the establishment of these Energy Shops.The main purpose of this thesis was to examine the needs of energy products for the Namibianpopulation and develop an assessment method for the Energy Shop in how to select appropriateenergy products already on the world market. The purpose was also to develop a method forchoosing an Energy Shop.

The aim of this Masters thesis is to examine the library discourses concerning the phenomenon and concept of digital libraries in Swedish library press 1980-2002. What changes can be identified? The questions are: what is said about the conditions for the phenomenon; how is the concept of digital libraries used; who makes these statements; what are the relations between these discussions and the library context in which they are made? Five Swedish library journals, BBL/Biblioteksbladet, DIK-forum, Human IT, Svensk biblioteksforskning and Tidskrift för dokumentation, were examined. The method used was discourse analysis. The theoretical starting-point was Foucaults discourse theory.

This study aims to compare two ethnographies of organizational culture ? one from the discipline of Social Anthropology and one from the discipline of Organizational Studies ? considering their purpose, their method, and their concept of culture. Despite big similarities, or perhaps thanks to the similarities, some fundamental differences are made visible. The discipline of Organizational Studies has, compared to that of Social Anthropology, regarding the research method being used, less focus on, and less participation in, the informal social life of the organizational culture of the study. Regarding the concept of culture the Organizational Studies consider culture containing more of unity, stability and clear boundaries, compared to Social Anthropology.

Background/aim: The purpose of this sociological study "Genus in the Child's Best Interest" was to, from the Administrative Court's decree about the child's own behavior, further clarify the concept of the child's best interest by studying how the concept is expressed in decrees with focus on genus.Theory: Three genus theories, to compare girls and boys, Mary John's power theory, the grown ups definition of what the reality is and what it should contain, and a labeling theory, where the people with power are the ones to define what's normal and what's not, have been used to analyze the result in this study.Method: A content analyses was used to analyze the decrees, with the focus on girls and boys between the ages of 12 to 19, where they have been forced into treatment by the law.Result: The concept of a child's best interest does make a difference between girls and boys in the decrees, and the girls have more power because they have more room to express themselves and are less responsible for their thoughts and actions. The concept is possible to use, but the definition is subjective and could be colored by the societies values and norms..

With theories of creativity and aesthetic learning processes as a basis, this study explores the usage of the concept of creativity in the curriculum for the Swedish compulsory school (Lgr11) and in the various syllabi?s commentaries and the assessment guidelines for the subject of Sloyd produced by the Swedish National Agency for Education. The purpose of the study is, to examine to which extent an education and assessment that is directed towards the development of creativity among pupils in the subject of Sloyd, is underpinned and supported for in these texts, and furthermore how these wordings relate to the various other subjects? wordings about creativity. Creativity is a concept around which there is no proper consensus.

AbstractAim: this paper is a report of a concept analysis of forgiveness and its practice within the social work area. Background: worldwide interest in and funding for forgiveness research has brought about a body of knowledge from many disciplines that could be clinically useful to social work. At this time forgiveness interventions are used in social work in other countries, primary in the USA. The social workers in the Scandinavian countries need to focus on this important area of inquiry. Method: forgiveness was explored from a philosophical perspective and from forgiveness interventions from a variety of areas suitable for social work.

AbstractTitle: Strategic Communication within franchising, a case study of GallerixNumber of pages: 60 (65 with enclosures)Author: Charlotta Babington ThorszeliusCourse: Media and Communication DPeriod: Spring 2008University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University, SwedenPurpose/Aim: To find out, by doing a case study, how communication between the two parties in a franchising relationship works, and how communication can strengthen the concept and brand. By analysing the communication, identify strengths and weaknesses and make suggestions for improvement.Material/Method: Qualitative method by using interviewsMain results: The understanding of the concept and the relationship between franchiser and franchisees are vital for the success of the franchising chain. The main internal communication channel today is the Intranet, and more personal contacts and meetings are requested. The yearly meetings are appreciated by the franchisees, but the content of the meetings are of varied quality. The chains value words, which are important for how the brand is perceived by the customer, are slightly different from how the franchiser and the franchisees sees them.

Syftet med vårt examensarbete var att ta reda på om användning av Concept Cartoons, som hjälpmedel vid naturvetenskaplig undervisning, kan skapa elevdiskussioner som har sådana kvaliteter att det gynnar naturvetenskaplig begreppsbildning. Till grund för arbetet ligger Lpo 94, kursplaner och tidigare forskning. Undersökningen genomfördes i en skola i Östra Norrbotten och undersökningsgruppen bestod av 12 elever i år 5. Undersökningsunderlaget samlades in genom bandinspelningar av gruppdiskussioner, enskilda elevintervjuer samt observationer. Resultatet visade att enbart Concept Cartoons som hjälpmedel inte är tillräckligt för att skapa kvalitativa diskussioner.

AbstractThere is a lot of confusion when it comes to defining Special Education. An example of this appears here by a statement from Assarson (2007) "Special Education initiates a special pedagogy, but contains no innate sense of what is the special component in it" (p. 52, authors? translation). This study is an attempt to clarify the elements of the concept.

The aim of the essay is to investigate how the term ?Third world? is constructed in media. With this I intend to make a historical survey of the conception. With the help of Swedish newspapers and their description of the concept, I am going to answer the following questions: How is the concept ?Third world? constructed in script, in a historical context and in modern time? Is there a tendency of racism in the term?The method I used was discourse analysis.

The number of studies on IFRIC 15 is very limited. The available studies have either been conducted before the introduction of IFRIC 15 or at an early stage of the implementation. This study examines IFRIC 15s practice from a longer perspective. The purpose of this study is to explain the effect that the interpretation IFRIC 15 has had on accounting objectives and qualitative characteristics of the revenue recognition of Swedish construction companies. The study will also analyze whether the construction companies has changed their perception of IFRIC 15 after applying it form a longer time perspective.