Our study illustrates the nature and characteristics of the virtual world Second Life. We have identified that the online community aims to satisfy hedonistic needs through social and conspicuous consumption, for online use only, concentrating on socially accepted identity construction..

In the year of 2006 I moved to South Africa for a year, a land that has fascinated me because of its history. During the time of my stay I became very surprised how strongly apartheid permeates the community where the white South Africans today are building walls around themselves. Through media we get surrounded with pictures that media creates and to find information regarding what?s happening in the world this is, most often, the primary source. Therefore I believe it?s interesting to explore how two different local newspapers from the county of Kalmar, with two different ideologies, present pictures of the same event, namely the revolt of Soweto in 1976 and how these two newspapers relates to racial policies.

This essay explores the intertextual qualities in and between Kristian Lundberg?s works Yarden, Mörkret skulle vara som ljuset and Och allt skall vara kärlek. Read as a trilogy, it bears a thematic resemblance to Dante Alighieri?s Divine Comedy; an autofictional depiction of emancipation from alienation by grace. To reach this conclusion, I use Julia Kristeva?s theory of intertextuality and Roland Barthes? post-structuralist differention of Work and Text together with his notion of the Paper-Author.

Det här examensarbetet har sin utgångspunkt i elevernas intresse av att spela onlinespelet Word of Warcraft (WoW) vilket har lett fram till en undersökning om spelets eventuella påverkan på elevernas färdigheter i engelska, och hur den i så fall ser ut. Eftersom spelet inte finns på svenska är de flesta spelarna beroende av sina färdigheter i engelska för att kunna förstå och göra sig förstådd i spelet. Arbetet utgår från tre huvudfrågeställningar:1. Finns det ett samband mellan elevernas resultat i engelska och deras spelande av World of Warcraft? Om det finns ett samband, hur kan det beskrivas?2.

En undersökning av vinnarbilderna i World Press Photo of the Year mellan 1999-2008. World Press Photo är världens största fototävling och är prestigefylld att vinna för pressfotografer. Syftet var att undersöka vad de senaste årens bildjournalistik förmedlar till sina betraktare genom nyhetsbilderna som vunnit World Press Photo of the Year under 2000-talet. Syftet har förgrenat sig i frågeställningarna:Vilka teman har vinnarbilderna i World Press Photo of the Year mellan 1999-2008?Vad förmedlar innehållet i bilderna?Vad finns det för likheter och skillnader mellan bilderna?Studien är en kvalitativ undersökning där vi gjort bildanalyser av vinnarbilderna i World Press Photo of the Year mellan 1999-2008.

This study compare if there is any differences between Fairtrade certified and uncertified coffee producers in Aceh Tengah, Indonesia. The aim was to compare the way the two groups of farmers produces their coffee and see if there were any differences between them, income, post harvest, production etc. During a visit in the district of Aceh Tengah, producers from both groups were given a questionnaire with questions about their farm and their production. The results of the questionnaires showed that the certified producers felt they had benefits being a part of a certified cooperative. Even with the experienced benefits the certified cooperatives gave the connected producers, like agronomy consultation and workshops the uncertified producers had a higher income from the coffee per hectare. This study also indicated that introduction and presence of Fairtrade and the connection to the world market Fairtrade brings with it, has gained the entire area, for example with more stabile coffee prices..

The object with this bachelor thesis is to illustrate if equality is present during the interaction between female and male players in the World of Warcraft with focus on the female players conception. The main question is: How does gender matter in the interaction between female and male players in WoW? This question is particularly interesting because WoW is in its own construction neutral in regards to gender in the aspect that gender does not hinder or benefit your avatar when it comes to the avatars development or possibilities. This bachelor thesis describes the views three of female WoW players and how they perceive the interaction with male players with focus on equality. The informants? personal thoughts and experiences are described.

The aim of this essay is to study how cultures are presented in English textbooks for A-level students in Sweden. The aim is divided into three research questions, what does culture in English teaching mean, how is the English-speaking world presented in the textbooks and is the image that is presented stereotyped or does it try to challenge it? The study comprises of four textbooks from 1998-2008. The theoretical frame used in the essay is Edward Said?s Orientalism.

Cities have always been founded on nodes of different roads.The city Harnosand was founded where the road along the coast of north Sweden meets the sea and the calm bay of Nattviken behind the island of Harnon. Harnosand has a big historic heritage as one of the first cities in the north part of Sweden, centre of the church and education city. The incrising centralisation of Sweden and the globalication of the world have made north of Sweden to the backside of Sweden.The coun- tryside and the smaller cities don ?t live anymore. In Harnosand is big moving out and many empty spaces. In the middle of Harnosand next to Nattviken, is one of these empty spaces. This empty space next to the road of E4, that leads out in the world and Europa.

Impact AB är ett nystartat företag som specialiserat sig på att rekrytera svensk personal till norska företag.Impact AB inriktar främst sin verksamhet mot företag med 30-500 anställda inom teknik, ekonomi och försäljningsområdet som har ett behov av att anställa akademiker.Ändamålet för denna uppsats är skaffa information om hur företag, både svenska och norska, reagerar på olika kontaktmetoder när Impact AB som ett nystartat företag erbjuder sina tjänster. Detta för att Impact AB på ett effektivt och framgångsrikt sätt ska kunna utöka sin kundbas. Erhållen information om vilka metoder som är mest framgångsrika gör att Impact AB kan fokusera sin marknadsföring på rätt sätt för att spara både tid och pengar.Fyra olika metoder har använts för att få information om företags reaktioner. Dessa metoder har använts på liknande sätt både i Norge och i Sverige.Metod 1: Utskick via e-post med uppföljning via telefon Metod 2: Uppringning utan föranledning s.k. cold calling Metod 3: Enbart utskick via e-post Metod 4: Direktmarknadsföring via utskick med post och uppföljning via telefonUndersökningen var kvantitativ.

Background: Running economy is one of the key factors to achieve top performance in endurance events. Little evidence exists for improving running economy using high-intensity interval training while running. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine how HIIT affects running economy and VO2max. Method: 14 well-trained athletes (age 35 ± 8,9 years, height 175 ± 11,7 cm and weight 69 ± 12,2 kg) were divided into two separate groups (HIIT and Control). HIIT group performed 3 HIIT exercises every week for 4 weeks and Control group continued with their separate training programs consisting of mostly traditional endurance training. Results: Running economy showed no improvement in HIIT (pre 38,62 and post 38,62 ml/kg/min, p=1.00) but Control improved (pre 45,41 and post 43,37 ml/kg/min, p=0,03). VO2max decreased in HIIT (mean 61,32 to 60,84 ml/kg/min) and in Control (mean 61,99 to 58,47 ml/kg/min)..

The purpose of this study was to examine people's experiences of self-medication with cannabis in relation to post-traumatic stress disorder and professions? opinions of cannabis for medical use. The study focuses on norms and values as well as its impact on individuals. A qualitative approach was used with thematically open interview questions, in order to gain an insight into the interviewees? reality and their experiences.

The purpose of the study is to contribute knowledge about the representation of fiction authors who have written in languages other than Swedish in educational school books within the Swedish subject. This is done in relation to the school's promotion of cultural diversity, a globalized world and to the Swedish curriculum. The study is a combination of a qualitative and a quantitative analysis that takes its starting point in six educational books for the courses Swedish 1 and 2. The analysis shows that all study materials include a broad representation of authorships from Europe and the USA. The selection of authors from other parts of the world is, however, limited.

Background: Running economy is one of the key factors to achieve top performance in endurance events. Little evidence exists for improving running economy using high-intensity interval training while running. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine how HIIT affects running economy and VO2max. Method: 14 well-trained athletes (age 35 ± 8,9 years, height 175 ± 11,7 cm and weight 69 ± 12,2 kg) were divided into two separate groups (HIIT and Control). HIIT group performed 3 HIIT exercises every week for 4 weeks and Control group continued with their separate training programs consisting of mostly traditional endurance training. Results: Running economy showed no improvement in HIIT (pre 38,62 and post 38,62 ml/kg/min, p=1.00) but Control improved (pre 45,41 and post 43,37 ml/kg/min, p=0,03). VO2max decreased in HIIT (mean 61,32 to 60,84 ml/kg/min) and in Control (mean 61,99 to 58,47 ml/kg/min)..

This research addresses the issues of identity and culture in Latvia in the context of the upcoming European Union enlargement in 2004. Political self- determination of Latvia was historically indebted to culture. The phenomenon of cultural identity, so important 12 years ago when Latvian independence was regained, is largely ignored by politicians in the upcoming enlargement process. This is especially worth attention since the 8-th parliamentary elections took place in October 2002. The obvious lack of interest in cultural issues on the part of politicians is compensated by the apprehensions in the society (reflected in mass media) to loose Latvian specific culture and identity when joining the big European family.