In this paper discourse analysis on the Ethiopian National Action Program (NAP) to combat desertification is made. The aim is to describe how the overall image/picture of desertification, its causes, and effects and of possible solutions are presented in the NAP. The result of this analysis shows that the main cause of desertification is human activities mainly due to the poorly developed socio-economic situation in the dryland areas. It is indicated that an excessive dependency of the rural population on the natural resources, particularly land, is the major cause of land degradation and this deterioration of land is said to have been caused by the rapid population growth, overgrazing, forest clearing as well as past government and institutional failures. In addition it is indicated that the effect of desertification usually involves ecological changes that sap land of its ability to sustain agriculture and human habitation, therefore the most serious threat to human welfare.

The purpose of this paper is to study how people without home experience social services and how they experience their space of action when they meet social services. In order to answer these questions, a qualitative approach has been used. The empirical material consists of five interviews with people who have contact with social services because they are homeless. To support my analysis of the space of action for the persons being interviewed, I?ve used two theoretical perspectives, power analysis by Michel Foucault and Rational Choice.

To find useful methods of reading instructions for pupils with Cerebral palsy is a complex but at the same time very challenging work. The main focus of this research lies in studying the pupils work focusing on special adaptation of educational materials and means of assistance for pupils with Cerebral palsy. In trying to get a complete picture of the work with the reading instruction I don?t think that it can be described only by studying the work, it also demands an inside look at the job the working group performs. My overarching purpose of this research is to try out measures to further develop the work with reading instruction for pupils with Cerebral palsy.

The subject of my thesis is what I have chosen to call the ?action babe cinema? of the 21st century, essentially action-movies featuring a female heroine in the lead role. Inspired by the theories of Vladímir Propp, author of Morphology of the Folktale, I have tried to reveal the underlying structure of these films. I have chosen eleven films which form my material, and from these extracted a number of functions (which means the actions of a character), that reoccur frequently. The heroines? transformation can be seen as a central theme of the action babe cinema, and I have divided the films into two groups depending on the course of the transformation, either from soft to hard or the other way around.

The purpose of this study was to find out why the law that regulates downloading copyrighted material does not work and which of the most important main reasons lies behind downloading behaviour. The phenomenon being well investigated earlier has actualized a new demand for normative investigation in connection with the hot debated IPRED-law.Using qualitative method comprising of interviews with three typical file sharers and anchored in Max Webers action typology, rational choice theory and the norm model followed by two assessment models, we found that four important reasons lies behind downloading behaviour: 1) economical reasons was the most central and frequent determinant followed by 2) accessibility and comfort, and 3) social acceptance and moral and also 4) habits. Although the content of the law was correctly provided by the interviewees, it was clear that they did not perceive the impact of the law as meaningful or threatening.The results, being compatible with previous research, are discussed in terms of the named theories and assessment models. We suggest further research to take into account peoples norms as the new IPRED-law soon will be functional as well as studies from a perspective of the legal rights of the individual..

Umbrella organizations, organizations that have other organizations as members, are in previous research described as arenas of conflicts with problematic decision-making and contradictory parallel action towards political decision-makers. However, the research within this subject is limited, and therefore the aim of this paper is to add knowledge to how such organizations in fact work. After conducting a case study at the trade association ESTOC this thesis challenge previous statements about umbrella organizations and conclude that there, under certain circumstances, may exist harmony within an umbrella organizations. The main implication, thus, is that we have to readdress umbrella organizations in quite another way to be able to make a more realistic interpretation of collaborations in umbrella organizations..

The aim of this study is to examine how and in what way users of the public participate and affect the archival information that is to be preserved for the future through the examination of three archival projects involving public participation. The study seeks to examine if participation of the public could lead to increased democracy and diversity of information in the archives. The study will be performed through the examination of three participatory archives all tied to traditional archival institutions.The study is based on the theoretical framework of Benn and Gaus and their notions of public and private which they discuss using the key words access, agency and interest. The study also takes into consideration Laura Millar?s theories of social memory as a means for the public good.

This bachelor thesis aims to analyse archaeological finds related to mead during the Late Iron Age in southern Scandinavia. Five central places from the Iron Age are compared to five historical texts, that in some way connects to either the central places or to the use of mead. This will be done by using action theory. The action theory focuses on what kind of actions humans have done to create social and cultural purposes. Since the last part of the Late Iron Age, the Viking Age, is getting more popular due to movies, games and tv-shows it is also relevant to study how modern-day mead represents the Viking Age through its marketing.

The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers see the use of action plans for students in need of special support in physical education. The questions used were: What do the teachers consider being the causes for students not reaching the objectives in physical education? What experiences do four teachers have considering the work with action plans for students in need of special support? And, what experiences have one chosen head of school about establishing action plans for students in need of special support?To reach the answers to these questions qualitative interviews were made with four teachers from different schools. The interviews deal with the teachers views on assessment, curriculum, and the work with action plans for students in need of special support.The results show that that the underlying causes for students not reaching their objectives was either lack of participation or difficulties in certain parts of the subject. Despite this, the teachers write very few action plans even though it appears there are students in need of special support.

The increased interest in relationship marketing and the potential of the Internet as a platform for relationship building activities have given rise to new ways for companies to interact with their customers, such as services based on a freemium pricing model. Based on the premise that relationships are processes consisting of interactive moments of value-creating activities, value is considered subjective, relative and dependent on the context in which the activity takes place. Value is therefore variable given its context and cannot be pre-defined without nuances being lost. Despite the Internet's given role in societal development, our understanding of what contributes to customers' intentions to build relationships with online services is yet to mature.As the music industry is well established on the Internet, alongside the change in how music is consumed, it is thus appropriate to examine activities in accordance with a freemium based service that distributes music online, since it still lacks in academic understanding.This study aims to provide insights about virtual relations and how online services that provide cultural content should relate to there users as well as contributing to the ongoing academic discussion regarding value and how it is manifested by highlighting contextual impact on relational activities. For a rapprochement of relations to online services in cultural industries, this study assumed a practice perspective.

Klassisk kriminologisk forskning fokuserar på antingen individbaserade eller miljörelaterade förklaringar till brottsliga handlingar. Situational Action Theory avser att föra samman dessa två synsätt för att bilda en integrerad kriminologisk handlingsteori. Vad får Situational Action Theory för stöd i den kriminologiska forskningen? Vad finns för kritik? Och vad bör forskningen fokusera ytterligare på när det kommer till att testa teorin? Den forskning som finns tillgänglig och som jag presenterar i denna litteraturgenomgång visar att teorin får stöd i empirisk forskning. De flesta studier visar att teorin får bra stöd, några visar stöd för vissa delar av teorin medan andra delar av teorin inte får något stöd.

This masters thesis shows that the changes in the scientific publishing system have affected the academic libraries. Both technological change and the increased prices on scientific journals have forced academic libraries to take action. Some Swedish academic libraries have started publishing the university s own research material. The issue has in many cases been treated more as a library concern, than as a concern for the university as a whole. Neither has there been a national coordination of these matters in Sweden.

The climate crisis represents a serious threat to both people and nature and it will exacerbate existing inequalities, especially for women and girls who are most at risk yet have contributed least to the problem. Climate adaptation is critical to addressing the challenges of climate change, and it requires integrating a gender perspective to take into account the specific vulnerabilities faced by women and girls, as highlighted in the Paris Agreement. This study examines the implementation of gender perspectives in Swedish governmental climate change adaptation strategies. By applying a qualitative content analysis to 24 government agencies? action plans, the study investigates how gender equality is addressed in the context of climate change adaptation.

There is a common belief that the arts contain knowledge of creativity that can enrich the business world. Similarly, the arts are in need of additional support from the private sector and know-how of business practices. In short, there is a need for mutual understanding. With my background as a dancer paired with my studies at the Stockholm School of Economics I have taken the challenge of bringing the two worlds closer together. By changing a social system, like an organization, it is possible to get a better understanding of it.

The findings in this case study are mainly based on material collected during a field trip with a fellow student to Laos in February-March 2005, which was sponsored by Sida through a Minor Field Study scholarship. The original interest was to study a political aid project (Governance and Administrative Reform Project Luang Prabang, GPAR LP) in a country like Laos with very complex preconditions such as one-party polity. In Laos my interest in evaluation of political aid grew mainly because I found out that the two donors in the project, Sida and the UNDP, had reached different conclusions in their respective evaluations of the project.The main interest in this thesis has been to study how donors have evaluated a political aid project. The study shows that Sida and UNDP used, what in the literature usually is referred to as, Conventional evaluation as methodology when they conducted their evaluations of GPAR LP. The study also shows that the main reason for the different points of view that are expressed in the evaluations depend on a lack of dialogue and consensus, regarding for the project crucial concepts, rather than choice of evaluation methodology.