This bachelor?s thesis examines costs of welfare services in municipalities of the region of Västra Götaland in Sweden. Previous research provided reasons to expect a link between costs of welfare services and demographic changes. Furthermore, Willam J. Baumol?s theory about ?the cost disease? also provided reasons to expect a link between welfare services and salary levels.

Abstract  The purpose of my study is to see how pedagogues describe their work with language stimulation in preschool. My study is a case study. Through qualitative interviews and observations with three pedagogues I want to se how it works in preschool.     My research question was:How do the pedagogues describe their work procedure with language stimulation?  My result of this study is that language stimulation always is included in all preschool activities.

The aim of this study was to understand how social workers deal with honour-related violence, with special focus on the processing from sheltered housing. Our qualitative interviews with social workers that work with this kind of problems show that there are both obstacles and opportunities in the processing from sheltered housing. On the negative side are the loneliness, the shame and the guilt that the girls may experience when they need to leave their families. The social services can both be an obstacles and an opportunity. When the girls need to create a new life in a new city they have a lot of opportunities and in the same time it is hard to get to know new friends when you don´t know the city or have much money.

The purpose of our study is to examine whether stress among social workers is present, and ifso, what strategies they and their supervisors use to manage work-related stress. The study isbased on a qualitative method. The data consist of interviews, with six social workers andthree supervisors. The study?s theoretical framework is based on KASAM, SOC-sense ofcoherence by Antonovsky, demand- control- support model by Karasek & Theorell, stresstheory by Hans Selye and coping strategies by Lazarus.

AbstractBackground: An elective surgery can be something new that is frightening and unpleasant. The children and their individual needs are not always considered when surgery is prepared. Children?s needs differ and depend on their sense of coherence. Aim: The purpose of this study was to illuminate how children experience preparations before elective surgery.

Tile covered bathrooms require a wellexecuted waterproofing in order toprotect the underlying construction frommoisture. Länsforsakringar Uppsala paysannually out millions in insurance fordamages related to poor waterproofedbathrooms. In recent years, SP (SwedishNational Testing and Research Institute)investigated and researchedwaterproofing products, resulting ingreater shortcomings of product defectsthan expected.This report raises the problemsconcerning waterproofing and discusseswhy they occur. By studying productinstructions and insurance cases anddamage reports provided byLänsforsakringar, the most commonproblems concerning bathroomwaterproofing where concluded. Animportant part of the report was tofind out the actual cause to whywaterproofing damages occur.The results of the survey indicate thata common cause of water damage usuallyis related to poor productinstallations.

Continuously grazed grasslands have remarkably high plant species diversity. In Sweden this type of habitat has declined for the last two centuries. Changed land use has caused habitat fragmentation and loss of habitat quality. This has caused a great number of plant species to end up on the verge of extinction. To try to save this unique habitat and the species that are tied to it, lots of resources are laid on restoration of abandoned grasslands. In this study, plant species richness of continuously grazed, abandoned and restored grasslands were related to degree of overgrowth, time since overgrowth started and rate of overgrowth.

The purpose of the thesis is to map the meaning of ?international competence? in Swedish company boards of directors. The study is divided in a qualitative part and a quantitative part. The qualitative study consists of a discourse analysis where variation in interpretative repertoires are identified to enhance the understanding of the nature of reasoning related to the meaning and importance of the issue at stake. The discourse analysis is conducted on an empirical material from 27 interviews with decision makers in recruitment processes to Swedish company boards of directors.

Background: The situation for Swedish agricultural production today is characterized by an increased competition, particularly after the country joined the European Union. Swedish agricultural production laws guarantee safe, high quality foodstuffs. However, due to these strict laws, Swedish farmers face higher production costs than their competitors. Meanwhile, cheaper imported goods compete freely on the Swedish market. Swedish agricultural production must find new ways to survive in the increasing competition.

Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) it?s a clinical condition that includes obesity, regional adiposity, insulin resistance (IR) and laminitis. A similar syndrome exists in human medi-cine, the metabolic syndrome (MS), were systemic hypertension also is a prominent fea-ture. The systemic hypertension seen in humans with MS is partly due to a vascular endo-thelial dysfunction with an enhanced endothelin-1 (ET-1) mediated vasoconstriction. There are indications that systemic hypertension might be a feature in EMS as well but if ET-1 is involved in the development of the systemic hypertension in horses is not known.

The purpose of our study is to examine whether stress among social workers is present, and ifso, what strategies they and their supervisors use to manage work-related stress. The study isbased on a qualitative method. The data consist of interviews, with six social workers andthree supervisors. The study?s theoretical framework is based on KASAM, SOC-sense ofcoherence by Antonovsky, demand- control- support model by Karasek & Theorell, stresstheory by Hans Selye and coping strategies by Lazarus.

The European Union is struggling to maintain democracy and tries to increase the participation among the citizens in Europe. The European Citizens? Initiative, ECI, is a platform established by the European Commission to allow citizens to propose new legislation. ?Water and sanitation are a human right! Water is a public good, not a commodity!? is the first ECI that has met the requirements.

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has lately gained popularity throughout the globalized world. Swedish retail industry is no exception. Though increased levels of explicitly claimed responsibilities of companies, a number of other facts points out a development that contradicts this trend. Labour conditions and forms of employment is substantially retrograding, with an increased level of insecurity characterizing the Swedish retail labour market. At the same time, almost all Swedish retail companies explicitly state claims on social responsibility.

På en alltmer konkurrensutsatt marknad har det blivit viktigare för företag att aktivt arbeta med att värna om kundrelationer. Ett vanligt sätt att arbeta med att värna om befintliga kunder och locka nya är genom lojalitetsprogram. Dessa ämnar uppmuntra till återkommande köp genom att erbjuda kunder olika typer av förmåner för att de är kunder hos företaget. Inom cafébranschen används dessa i olika utsträckning då vissa cafékedjor använder dessa och andra inte gör det. Idag ställer konsumenter höga krav på att företag ska arbeta med hållbarhetsfrågor. Därmed är det viktigt för företag som arbetar med detta att kommunicera ut det på lämpligt sätt.

Aim: The aim with the thesis was to examine elderly peoples? motives towards physical activity. Method: A qualitative approach has been adopted with a purposive sampling procedure. Four half structured interviews have been conducted using a thematic interview guide. Results: The fear of being overweight and not being able to take care of themselves were announced as important aspects, since it motivated them to perform physical activity.