Adolescence is more and more characterized by messages containing allusions and attitudes through social agents (family, friends, school and media). Therefore the purpose of this study was to investigate what significance the social agents and their messages, concerning sexuality, have in relation to young people's thoughts, questions and socialisation.The study is made from the young people's perspective. Our target group was 15 to 16-year-olds in ninth grade at a compulsory school in Sweden. The quantitative part of the study consisted of an anonymous and voluntary questionnaire among the students. To achieve a greater variety we made an interview as a complementary addition in which nine students participated.We found our main theoretical starting point in Anthony Giddens's theories about social agents, modernity, post modernity and sexuality.The conclusion was that the young people in our study foremost associated sexuality to sex, love, relationships and sexual orientation.

The purpose is to illustrate the phenomenon of self-harm from a social psychological and sociological perspective. The purpose is furthermore to examine the role social relationships play in the individuals´ self- imagine and what role does identification play for anyone who harm themselves? We want to examine in what way social relationships are important and how they function for individuals who harm themselves, both once they have started to harm themselves, and if the relationships in any part caused the cutting to begin with.Questions:How do individuals shape their identity based on self- harm? Which self-image do individuals have who self-harm? Is there anything in the person's previous social relationships that have caused them to begin to hurt themselves?Method:In this paper we have analyzed five autobiographies. We have used open coding from grounded theory as analytical method and subject positions based on discourse analysis.Theory:We have used the Cooley concepts looking glass self, Foucault's theory of power, Giddens' concept of ontological security and existential anxiety.Results and Analysis:We found six different categories that we thought were central. These were negative self-image, guilt, lack of family support, negative experiences of others' views, the protective identity as self- harmer and insecure social relationships in school.Conclusion:The self-harming is a very complex behavior.

The aim of this thesis is to contribute to a better understanding of the FRA-law. The focus of the study is to examine how Swedish politicians relate to the new draft of this law on intelligence. Key themes in the study are security, threats, surveillance and privacy. The power relationship between the individual and the state is also examined. Empirical data used in this study consists of a spoken plenary debate in the House which was held in connection with the adoption of the FRA law in June 2008.

I denna uppsats undersöks den kritiska realismen som vetenskapsteori för samhällsvetenskaperna. Tillvägagångssättet är en immanent kritik, där den kritiska realismen följs genom dess grundläggande argument, för att sedan vända dess egen begreppsapparat mot sig själv för att visa på spänningar och motsägelser i teorin. Särskild uppmärksamhet kommer genomgående att riktas mot den nära relationen till marxismen, samt synen på abstraktioner som ett centralt samhällsvetenskapligt verktyg. Undersökningen tar sin utgångspunkt i argumenten för en realistisk vetenskapsteori utifrån det naturvetenskapliga experimentet som oomstritt faktum, och upplyftandet av ontologin framför epistemologin. Den kritiska realismens ontologiska modell presenteras, liksom dess kritik av empirismen och idealismen.

Since the emergence of social media websites as an established part of our society, the landscape ofcommunication has undergone dramatic changes. Especially in the field of journalism, the impact ofsocial media websites, such as Twitter, has been the subject of discussions about the actual partsocial media play in communication and news reporting. The general opinion has been that socialmedia has revolutionized the way we communicate and that a shift in power is taking place as themasses now engage in, and affect, our societies way of spreading information. This study is acritical discussion about whether Twitter in particular, and social media in general, has affected thejournalistic field in the extent that many claim it has. By comparing theories about traditionalmedia, such as television and newspapers, with recent studies about Twitter, we conclude that it isto early to establish the role of social media.

This case study is an attempt to give empirical support to Georgio Agambens theory, regarding how the exceptions from the constitutional order should be regarded as a constant element in modern societies. The purpose was to investigate if Agambens theory is valid in the Swedish context. The exception, as definied by Agamben, is a reappearing phenomenon, which implies that the constitutional order is fragile. Individuals and groups are transferred into ?homo sacers?, meaning people that is to be regarded as legally naked, and offset from the rest of society.What then is it that make the legal norms fragile? In this thesis I will discuss the causality of moral panic.

With a base in Ian Manners? theory about Normative Power Europe ? that the European Union is to be seen as a normative power instead of a civilian or military ? this paper seeks to contribute to the discussion about identity by examine the normative elements of the union?s policies towards Russia between 1997 and 2013. Which norms are most important and how does the diffusion look? The findings show that democracy, rule of law and respect of human rights are among the most diffused norms, and this is more than often done by using the Russian interest in economic progress. Over time the European Union has taken on a more critical approach against Russia, while still appreciating their prosperous relation when it comes to trade and energy.

The following essay studies the change in the use of terminology pertaining to socioeconomic categorising in public political material, and how this relates to ideological changes in politics. The aim is to determine which expressions government commission reports have used after the Second World War to classify citizens in social and economic groups, and subsequently, to link the understanding of these terms to the development of Swedish welfare politics. Welfare politics in Sweden have experienced a transition in a liberal and economistic direction that is reflected in the commission reports? choices of words and phrases ? thus studying the altering terminology can increase understanding of the ideological change. My methodology is grounded in ideology critique where I examine how dominant ideology is reproduced in public political documents.

Denna uppsats undersökte stereotypers inverkan på tre steg i en urvalsprocess: utformande av kravprofil, bedömning av sökande utifrån cv och anställningsintervju och slutligt anställningsbeslut. Studien utgick, med stöd av teorier om stereotypkonstruktion och social identitetsteori, ifrån att en kompetent utgruppsmedlem främst diskrimineras med hänvisning till brister i social kompetens. Hypoteserna var för det första att stereotyper om invandrare skulle bidra till högre krav på social kompetens i kravprofilen om gruppen av sökande var etniskt blandad jämfört med om denna bestod av enbart svenskar, och för det andra antogs denna skillnad därefter leda till en stereotyperad bedömning av de sökande och ett diskriminerande anställningsbeslut. Efter pilotstudier lades också hypotesen till att personer som är måna om att inte skatta sökande fördomsfullt ändå skulle tro att andra var benägna att göra det, vilket antogs påverka anställningsbeslutet. Ingen av hypoteserna fick stöd i resultaten.

Social interaktion och känslan av att tillhöra en gemenskap är viktiga faktorer för människans välmående. För en äldre person kan interaktionen med omgivningen försvåras genom till exempel rörelsehinder eller sjukdom. I denna studie undersöktes webbforum som ett komplement för seniorer, där intentionen var att underhålla kontakter i det sociala nätverket. Under en månad fick en grupp om fyra seniorer, bekanta med varandra sedan tidigare, interagera regelbundet genom webbforumet Seniorsidan. Syftet var att ta reda på om webbforumet var ett fungerande komplement till personliga träffar och om det kunde generera en positiv känsla av gemenskap.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the theoretical developments on social entrepreneurship. Our purpose is to create a better understanding of the phenomenon leading to new insights. We have categorized the knowledge of the concept into social economy, social ownership, social innovation and social missions. Drawing from our theoretical review we have chosen four empirical illustrations, Grameen Bank, Wikipedia, Basta Arbetskooperativ, Jörn Hälsogemenskap, and we have shown how these fit into the general description of the social entrepreneur. With help of our illustrations we show that it is complicated to pin point the core of social entrepreneurship as they each have separate structures, innovations, social missions and operate close to different sectors.

The present study concerns a concept development of a product idea that Bengt Magnuson, associate professor, had when a heavy storm caused a widespread power failure of long duration. With a basic power-producing unit one should be able to get through a power loss. The product could also be useful for other tasks if different modules are connected, e g grass mower or snow-blower.According to the product idea the basic unit will be able to produce electric power enough for a fridge, freezer, TV, and a few electric lamps. Normally the basic unit can be used e g as a mower, when such a module is attached. An increased number of tasks would make the contraption useful and tempting for those who do not own an electrical power set in reserve.

Denna teorianvändande uppsats handlar om konsekvenserna av skuggekonomins utbredning i post-konfliktuella samhällen och hur dessa påverkar utvecklingen i Bosnien-Hercegovina. Vi har använt oss av Roland Paris IBL-teori på statsnivå och Carolyn Nordstroms hypoteser på individnivå för att bättre belysa problemen som ett post-konfliktuellt samhälle ställs inför när det gäller skuggekonomins utbredning och konsekvenser. Genom att tydliggöra vad som omfattas av skuggekonomin på dessa två nivåer belyser vi vilka positiva respektive negativa konsekvenser skuggekonomin medför. Den inofficiella sektorn i Bosnien-Hercegovina har ökat och staten har blivit allt svagare och därigenom fått svårt att bygga upp starka institutioner vilket syns i den offentliga sektorn som präglas av korruption. På individnivå har skuggekonomin tagit över statens tidigare roll som socialt skyddsnät, arbetsgivare och inkomstkälla.

Många missbrukare blir nyktra efter att ha varit på behandling och/eller självhjälpsrörelsemöten, såsom AA, där de arbetar utifrån riktlinjerna De Tolv Stegen. Kunskapen och förståelsen av programmet kan ses som ett livslångt lärande. Tidigare forskning har inte fokuserat på detta samband mellan lärande och nykterhet. Kvalitativa intervjuer har gjorts där fem nyktra beroende har berättat sin livshistoria och väg till en lång nykterhet. Resultaten överensstämmer med tidigare forskning som visar att vissa insikter är fundamentala för nykterhet, såsom villighet, kapitulation och öppenhet för förändring.

As a starting point the society is more enlightened and has gained a greater awareness about the gender power structures and its different forms. Present research shows the continuous development into other shapes and comes into different expressions that might be unrecognised. In order to gain knowledge about the present structure of the gender power structure system, the aim of this study was to investigate framing of female and male politicians in media. The main question asked was: ?are there framing differences in the portraits of the male and female politicians?? In order to achieve results articles in the biggest Swedish daily newspaper were examined.