Protracted social conflicts, as those in Cyprus and Northern Ireland, are based on deep rooted perceptions of identity and definitions of "the other". According to the theory of discursive conflict transformation, war is primarily a social phenomenon, which is legitimated by a discourse of identity defined in terms of exclusionist boundaries and structural ideas of the social relations in society. In order to develop positive peace, the discourse of violence has to be challenged and the discursive structures that enable war have to transform into a counterdiscourse of inclusion and individuality. For the purpose of making a critical peace analysis, I have, with the assistance of established conflict theories, analysed the basic ideas behind the the Annan Plan and the Belfast Agreement and thus been able to interpret to what extent they may foster positive peace. I argue, that in order to provide basic needs on a group basis, power sharing arrangement, based on ethnicity or religion, exacerbates division rather than ameliorating it.

The aim of this master thesis is to examine how female identity is formed in two novels and two short stories from the 1880?s. As a framework we rely on the method outlined by Pierre Bourdieu when he approaches the cultural and social worlds through the concept of fields. To understand the female position during that time we use Michel Foucault?s work about the history of sex, Thomas Laqueur?s theories about the rise of sexes and Karin Johannisson?s study about the exploration of the dark continent (i.e.

The aim of this study is to examine how preschools contribute to the forming of identity in children, with a specific focus on the quiet and socially withdrawn child. How do the teachers describe the quiet child and the socially withdrawn child? Are there any opportunities for children to be quiet/withdrawn in preschools? These questions have also been analysed from a gender perspective. The method chosen is qualitative method. Nine preschool teachers from two Swedish preschools have been interviewed.

The purpose of this paper is to do an analysis of the characters and the theater/masquerade motif in C.J.L. Almqvist?s Drottningens juvelsmycke (The Queen?s Diadem), based on queer theory, by using Judith Butlers?s Gender Trouble. As an alternative to the Swedish, gender determined, feminine pronoun ?hon?, which has been used by earlier critics concerning the main character of the book, ?hen? is proposed.

What does the Swedish church Västerås stand for today according to the employees and how do they want to profile themselves to the target group? What image and what expectations does the target group have of the Swedish church Västerås? How can the Swedish church Västerås communicate uniform, with the intent to create mutual value with the target group?The purpose of the study is to make recommendations to the Swedish church Västerås for their prospective communication plan by examining their profile and target group's image and expectations of the organization. The study also aims to examine how the Swedish church Västerås can communicate their brand uniform.The study applies a qualitative research with deductive approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with a sample of the employees and focus groups with a sample of the target group.Better match between profile and image means that SkVs employees better understand the organization and can communicate more uniform which leads to a stronger brand identity. If SkV understands what is relevant for their target group, they can reduce the total cost of customer delivered value and thus increase the total value.

Scientific studies show that good leadership is a key factor for group- and individual development. Studies have also shown that the contrary can curb talented individuals and/or cause stagnation, or even cause groups to halt their progression. This essay studies how leaders in musical and athletic environments look on their own leadership. In interviews, the leaders reflect upon experienced issues related to their profession, their views on difficulties in their leading role, as well as individual, and group development. This study also includes two observations, one in each field of profession.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine a new music downloading service called Musikwebben, which is now available in many Swedish libraries. It focuses on the differences and similarities between this service and illegal music sharing services. The question is raised, whether the appeal of Musikwebben is high enough for it to be able to ?recruit? users from similar, illegal services. To answer this question, a qualitative content analysis is used, to explore various views on what legal downloading services have to offer and how these differ to illegal alternatives.

Having different kinds of literature is an important part of the education in school and schoolbooks, in shape of reading-books, are common in the first year of primary school. The texts pupils encounter in school are important for how they form their identity and thoughts about what is right or wrong and what is natural or unnatural. People of other ethnicity than Swedish, or with another skin colour than white, have often in the past been portrayed negatively in reading-books as if they are of less worth. According to the Curriculum for the Compulsory School System (Lpo94) the school shall act for understanding of all people and every person?s equal value.The study analyses how ethnicity is portrayed in reading-books for pupils in the first year of primary school.

Purpose/Aim: This study is an analysis of the view on masculinity, male sexuality and creation of identity with the television series Queer as folk as a base. The analysis is partly based on a semiotic analysis of the representation of masculinity and male sexuality from an episode of the chosen television series Queer as folk, and partly based on a thematic analysis of focus group discussions with young men with different sexualities.Material/Method: This study is based on focus group interviews and a semiotic and thematic analysis. The focus groups consisted of three men in three different groups and were chosen on the criteria of gender and sexuality. All groups were presented with an episode of the television series Queer as folk to see how they perceived masculinity and male sexuality. Their discussions were analyzed with a thematic analysis and the television series Queer as folk with a semiotic analysis.Main results: The three analyzed characters in Queer as folk showed different representations of masculinity and male sexuality.

Today, the definition of literature has changed. Walter J. Ong talks about the secondary spoken language that has surfaced as a result of new technical innovations to our writing tools. This also transforms our attitude towards literature and we can see a return to literature based on verbal characteristics. According to Hans Hertel the verbal renaissance reflects a modern man need to come closer to each other and create togetherness.

Anne Reese: Johan Lindegrens vägval : en studie i de faktorer som påverkade enskilda aktörers verksamhet inom Stockholms musiksamhälle 1860-1908, Uppsala universitet: Institutionen för Musikvetenskap, uppsats för 100 poäng, 2007.The aim of this essay is to show some of the factors which affected the production and work of the individual musician or composer within Stockholm's music society in the late 19th century. By a case study on Johan Lindegren (1842-1908) I demonstrate how a musician or a composer functioned in the social structures of the music society and how power affected the work of the musician or composer. This essay also fills another purpose as it gives Lindegren a more detailed biography, which is something that has been missing until now.By applying a concept of power, as discussed by Michel Foucault, to this subject and interacting it with the concepts of musical opportunism, I present a new way of talking about the social, as well as the individual factors that affects the individual musician within the music society.The conclusion is drawn that there are two different types of factors that affects the work of the individual; 1) the social network and power within society, which presents positions and opportunities for the musician and 2) the individual character of musician which determine the way the individual uses the position or opportunity he or she is given..

The ?good girl? is today an accepted and widespread notion. It is delimited to young girls and women who are characterised to be, for example, ambitious, high performing, working too much and risks developing mental illnesses. In today?s society women are assumed to pursue their career alongside maintaining the main responsibility for the household and family.

AbstraktDenna studie handlar om förhållanden mellan femininitet/maskulinitet och lesbisk identitet med bakgrund av den heteronormativa genusordningen, vilken grundar sig i ett dualistiskt tänkande där kvinnor som feminina respektive män som maskulina attraherar och kompletterar varandra. Studien bygger på berättelseanalys av personliga berättelser skrivna av lesbiska kvinnor ur antologierna Tjejerna mot strömmen och Såna som oss, vilka tolkas utifrån en konstruktivistisk ansats och ett queerteoretiskt perspektiv. På detta sätt synliggör och problematiserar jag konstruktioner av lesbiska självrepresentationer och identitetsskapanden samt de möjligheter och begränsningar som dessa identiteter omringas av med bakgrund av den heteronormativa genusordningen. Utifrån detta kommer jag fram till hur de lesbiska subjektpositionerna öppnar upp för alternativa identiteskonstruktioner och begärskonstruktioner i relation till aspekter av femininitet och maskulinitet. Vidare resulterar analysen i ett framhållande av den osynliggörande tolkningen av lesbisk femininitet i termer av heterosexualitet samt den osynliggörande förståelsen av lesbisk maskulinitet som ett kopierande av manlighet och manlig maskulinitet.

This paper concerns the divide between secularist and anti-secularist groups in Turkey, which is related to a greater antagonism between a Kemalist and an Islamic political discourse, dominant in Turkish politics since the 1980s. The main aim of the paper is to analyse the causes of the conflict using the discourse theory of Laclau and Mouffe. The second aim is to analyse the contents of each discourse and identify the main points of conflict between them. The empirical material used in the study consists exclusively of secondary sources treating the topic, and these are analysed using the theory of identity conflicts, which is part of Laclau and Mouffe's theory. It will be argued that the attempts of Kemalism to impose strict secularism by hegemonising the concepts of ?modernity? and ?Islam? led to the creation of an alternative political discourse based on political Islam.

Christendom has under a long period of time in Swedish history been the central component in legitimating the monarchs' power, a continuous process than can be clearly observed through the customs of royal coronation and baptism rites. However, during the 20th century those close ties between the state and the church of Sweden have been dissolving at a steady rate, alongside a growing societal democratization and modernization process. Officially the monarch still had a clear constitutional power legitimated through the transcendent, but unofficially his power was in reality heavily reduced. How do the Swedish monarchy relate to a rapidly changing society and secularization process? This pilot study investigates this relation by analyzing the news reports of the royal coronation and baptism rites between 1858 and 2012 from two leading newspapers, Aftonbladet and Dagens Nyheter.