One of the main reasons for the massive loss in plant species diversity is the fragmentation of habitats. In Europe, open pastures and meadows are the habitats going through the most changes during the 20th century, according to the agricultural changes. In this study vascular plants were invented at five different islands in the Lurö archipelago, Vänern, Sweden. The aim of the study was to sort out whether the diversity of plants has gone through any changes in abandoned managed grasslands compared to continuous managed grasslands. The aim was also to study if a change in the landscape has made any differences for the species development or decline.

Gotland is famous around the world for its unique nature. The agriculture here has always been an important source of income and part of the identity of the island. But today the profession has low status and hard to survive. How can the interest for farming be increased?Gotlandsgården is an investigation about how the agriculture could develop.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to facilitate increased understanding of immigrant's experience of the meaning of work with focus on how that meaning can change as a part of the acculturation process. Participants (n=13) from eight countries answered an open question. The responses were analysed using Meaning Construction Analysis (MCA)-Minerva and the individual's life-worlds were made visible and discussed. The themes meaning of work, work, unemployment, education, adjustment, immigration, Sweden/country of origin, dreams, possibilities and self appeared as jointly shared important aspects. The results indicate that work is of central importance, and although the individuals share certain experiences, the meaning associated with the themes is of a complex and individual nature..

Old hollow trees of oak contain a large amount of wood mould. Unfortunately, these trees have in the last century been greatly reduced in numbers. It has resulted in that species that depend on these habitats, saproxylic species, have become at risk to decrease in numbers or die out regionally. Previous studies have shown that the volume of wood mould is an important factor for occurrence and population size of saproxylic organisms. The aim of the present study was to examine how the volume of wood mould varies among ash (Fraxinus excelsior), lime (Tilia sp.), maple (Acer platanoides), aspen (Populus tremula) and oak (Quercus robur).

In 1513 the Florentine humanists Niccolò Machiavelli composed one of the most famous, but also ambiguously interpret, work in the history of politics, Il Principe. Machiavelli´s book The Prince revealed the true nature of politics in Italy in the beginning of the sixteenth century and gives very straightforward advice on how to act to become a successful and powerful political being. Machiavelli´s creation and insights in the reality of politics have be much discredited and condemned in its lack of moral consideration and violent nature. Still it has been read under the centuries with a fascination and eager to understand the structure of power and how to master it. My purpose with this study is to apply this Machiavellian idea of the capable prince on to the earlier research of the Swedish duke Karl, later on King Karl IX.

The main purpose with this thesis has been to study the design philosophy of Bruno Mathsson, how he worked with his houses and the landscape surrounding them and which kind of inspiration sources he had. My work started when I during the autumn 2004 got involved in an existing project related to one of his glass houses. The glass house is situated in Kosta and has during the last fifteen years suffered from so much vandalism and decay that it has become a problem for the municipality of Lessebo. The intentions are to restore the house and to transform it to a center for Swedish design, also containing a store and a café as well as hosting one apartment for scholarship students. My task in this project was to form and develop the outdoor environment in connection to the house.

The purpose with this study was to analyse students' conception of living things, and to establish how a social constructivist learning situation affect their conceptions. The method consisted of questionnaires, followed by group discussions and a final survey. The main result was that students have everyday conceptions about scientific phenomena that are reinforced by the social interaction. Some students were positively influenced by the interaction with their peers, where non-scientific conceptions were replaced by conceptions of a scientific nature. Furthermore, the cultural artifacts are of very good means, but the study showed a strong need for a knowledgeable person, e.g.a teacher, to guide students in the right direction during the discussions.

The object of this essay has been to investigate the interlibrary loan service at the universitylibraries of Borås and Kalmar. For this purpose a quantitative and a qualitative methodhave been used.The main body of information consists of statistic data concerning the incoming interlendingorders for a three-month-period. In order to examine the circumstances under which theinterlending activity exists several interviews were made.The study showed that there are several important factors which together make up the complexitythat governs the interlending activity. What type of demand there is depends on theeducational level, whether the different study programmes have a broad or limited subjectorientation or not, and if the demand is of a constant or an inconstant nature. Well-establishedroutines at the information-desk and co-operation with the departments of the different studyprogrammes are important factors in keeping the knowledge of what books and serials areneeded up to date..

Denna uppsats behandlar hur naturen används som ett pedagogiskt rum och barnetsbildskapande i naturen sett ur olika perspektiv. De flätas samman i en undersökning hurpedagoger använder barnets bildskapande i naturen. I den här uppsatsen undersöks en förskolaför att kartlägga deras vanor och visioner om bildskapande i naturen. Utifrån intervju och studiebelyser uppsatsen både pedagogernas erfarenheter och visioner såväl som barnens upplevelser.Studieobjektet i denna undersökning är en Ur och Skur profilerad förskola.Huvudresultatet är att miljön för barnens bildskapande påverkar och gör sitt avtryck. Får barnetnäring till sin fantasi sker en utveckling..

The title of the final thesis is Filmic landscapes ? film as representation, tool and practice in landscape architecture. The aim of the final thesis is to investigate how film as a medium can be used to describe, interpret and manipulate the understanding of a place and its design. What kind of aspects of landscape architecture can film as a medium in a design-process emphasize or create? How can filming, as a self-standing act, contribute to the understanding of the landscape and a landscape-related design-process? The thesis is divided into two parts, one theoretical part that consists of an essay, and one practical part that consists of a 11minute long filmic reflection of the ?Glass-houses?in Kosta, Sweden, created by the Swedish designer and architect Bruno Mathsson.

Stormwater in urban areas has been treated as a problem for a long time. The large proportion of impermeable surfaces inhibits the water from infiltrating in the ground to the same extent that it does in nature. This causes intensive surface flow during rain, which in turn causes inconveniences such as decreased accessability, floods and increased risk of desease spreading. Drainage through pipes is the traditional and usually functional metod for storm water disposal. That is as long as water flows are moderate. But precipitation varies naturally in amount and intensity and additional impermeable surfaces make some pipes insufficient for heavy or lasting precipitation.

There are currently 2160 buildings in Sweden that are protected by law with the designation as a cultural heritage building, which is the strongest protection that can be obtained for a building of cultural historic significance. The purpose of this thesis is to research how strong and sustainable the protection of such a designation is and how you can motivate a revocation. Furthermore, this thesis aims to give an overall insight into all cases where there has been a revocation.To achieve the protection of a designation as a cultural heritage building, the object has to be of outstanding interest on account of its cultural historic value. In the first part, this thesis gives a short historic background of the cultural heritage law and its terms, like outstanding interest and cultural historic value. The County Administrative Board's documents about revocation are the main source for this research.There have been 24 cases of revocation and the frequency of such cases has increased in the past ten years.

This project was intended to develop and improve my skills as an artist/designer. I have used inspirational sources and followedmy artist?s intuition to create something that is individual and a reflection of myself.My goal was to design 7-10 compositions and apply them to t-shirts and then create a photo arrangement with these t-shirts to make a strong artistic presentation.I chose to apply my images to t-shirts, because I feel that the tshirt is a perfect median to display pieces of art. My process has been very non-linear in nature. Trial and error,experimentation and my gut feeling have strongly influenced the progression of my design process and guided me to new ideas.I feel that with this project I have succeeded in fulfilling my goals to develop and improve my skills as an artist/designer..

Transcending sound design is possible. There are unseen possibilities and a great potential for improvement and development in sound and music design ? but there is a great difficulty penetrating the obstacles that lies in the way for such development to take place and to exist. The difficulties in being negotiable and productive lies more within the limits of the audience it has to gain, than in itself. It is as though music and sound design has to evolve very slowly, in an almost evolutionary style; one step at a time, to be accepted.

Few generations have gotten as much media attention as Generation Y. Growing up in the digital age Generation Y has become very different from previous generations. An interesting topic is if this is reflected in the way Generation Y act as leaders. The purpose of this study is to describe what kind of leadership Generation Y prefers, to explore how individuals belonging to Generation Y act as leaders and finally to investigate if there is a discrepancy between these two perspectives and if so try to understand it. By reviewing existing research and conducting depth interviews with employees and managers at a Swedish bank we recognize preferences in a number of categories, which Generation Y require from leaders.