In 1998 a new regional development policy was introduced by the Swedish government. A central feature in the policy was the formation of partnerships at the regional level. The partnerships were meant to consist of local and regional stakeholders, representing a great variety of interests, who would collaborate in order to improve regional development. The new policy was promoted, besides being more efficient, as a way to broaden political participation and to break male-dominated structures.This thesis discusses whether the regional partnership actually favours ?women's interests?, in terms of how the relationship of power between women and men is constituted by the model.

The goal of this project was to make the requirement process at the Swedish Coastguard more effective. The first step to achieve this was done by locating bottle necks in the process with value stream mapping method. The result of this study showed that the biggest restriction in the requirement process was while examining older requirement documents to understand what elements were suitable for the particular project. This was followed by a study of literature, interviews and theory of Lean Production with the ambition to investigate how the requirement process was handled on other companies and how to improve the process on the Swedish coast guard. This led to a number of potential enhancements of the process which later was evaluated. Requirements written by different people in different organizations were analyzed in order to sort out if there were some similarities? which could be used as standard elements in a future standardization of the process.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how power structures concerning gender and sexuality emerge through the use of language in the Swedish reality show Paradise Hotel. Of particular interest is the representation of heterosexual relations in the show. Because of its interest in the relationship between power, gender and sexuality, the thesis is based on theories from gender and discourse studies. The specific theories referred to are Michel Foucault?s understanding of power, stereotypes according to Stuart Hall, Yvonne Hirdman?s gender system and contract theory, Judith Butler?s heterosexual matrix and R.W.

Introduction: The current research shows that cannabis use is increasing, while alcohol use is decreasing in many countries. The reason for the increase is considered to be the increased availability and that adolescents attitudes towards cannabis has become more liberal. Aim: This qualitative study aimed to examine adolescents attitudes and knowledge about cannabis. Methods: Data has been collected from focus group interviews with adolescents aged 15-18 years, in a west Swedish municipality. Participants were recruited through visits to secondary and upper secondary schools.

Event is something that an increasing number of Swedish cities are investing in since it contributes to higher attractiveness of cities and generate economic revenues. New arenas are built around Sweden to meet the increasing demands to host such events. Event projects are carried out in Sweden and it is important that the planning phase is carried out thoroughly to get a successful project. This thesis aims to look more closely at selected organizations and how they plan their projects and whether it is possible to follow project plans in the event projects. Karlstad has many events that recur annually, including the Swedish Rally.

AbstractAuthors: Mikael Gustafsson & Kristofer von WachenfeldtTitle: With help from people and cattle; to recover from mental illness in a rural environment [translated title]Supervisor: Kent-Inge PerseiusPurpose: The aim of this study was to examine feelings of recovery from mental illness in the perspective of individuals participating in Nymålen; a rural- situated facility focusing on recreation- and work- related interventions. The study took place outside of Oskarshamn, Sweden. The study focused on if, and in that case how, Nymålen contributes to recovery from mental illness. We were also interested in which factors affecting the recovery-process, as expressed by the participants themselves.Method: Eight individuals from Nymålen participated in individually performed semi- structured interviews. The collected data was then coded and categorized to enable further analysis by using Qualitative content analysis inspired by Graneheim & Lundman (2003).

In this thesis the marketing strategies of two public libraries have been explored and studied.The public library of Kalmar participates in the project GÖK which partly is a marketing project. The public library of Kalmar thereby differs from the public library of Trollhättan which is not involved in the project.The main aim of this thesis was to focus on their marketing strategies and see if there were any differences. The thesis was also concerned with the customers and their experiences of the quality of the services offered by the public libraries of Kalmar and Trollhättan, including the customers' perceptions of the operative marketing, and finally if there was a connection between marketing and customer-centered quality. Qualitative methods as well as quantitative methods were used for the collection of information .The preliminary assumption that Kalmar had a more explicit marketing strategy has been confirmed in the study. However, the customers at the public library of Trollhättan were more satisfied with the total quality of the services offered.

My objective for this project was to create a short but thrilling 2D-animation intended as promotion for an online comic book. The purpose of the project was to learn more about animation and graphics, to further my artistic skills and to learn how to work in Adobe After Effects. I also wanted to learn more about scheduling, project methods and how to handle stress. During the ten weeks of the project I have created the story, the storyboard, the character design, the backgrounds and the animation. The voice over was recorded with the help of a fellow student who also made the music and the sound effects.

The health care sector is one of the most information-intensive institutions in Sweden. Big investments in information technology have been made to ensure efficiency and quality within organisations in health care. This has led to high requirements in documentation and resulted in an increase in administration which gradually more often is done by nurses and doctors. A major problem is that it is difficult to gain access to the information recorded in all the different systems, which is their objective. This causes double documentation instead of being a support in follow-up performance.

The purpose of this project was to develop an interactive toy concept. A toy capable of reacting and expressing emotions like happiness, sadness, anger or love. And capable of developing its character with use.The initial questions was, how do I create interest, understanding and affection between a digital product and its user? How should the interaction be made?During the course of the project the search has mainly been for something that does not base its shape and interaction on likeness. Forexample likeness to humans or pets.I have created a toy concept called iio.

This is a project showing a proposal on how a high-rise building gains qualities similar to middle rise houses of 7-9 stories. The closed, isolated and often anonymous life in the high building opens up through gardens. The resident meet the outdoor environment on the balcony, or has direct access to a garden.Instead of moving in a closed core, the resident will meet the climate and outdoor conditions as soon as he or she leaves the apartment.The project consists of two parts, where the first is presenting a building proposal, the second is expanding the knowledge through background research. The topics are history concerning the skyscraper and the skyscraper globally, closing up with the situation in China..

This is an art-remix project that focuses on a dream about art and music remixed and made within a context of nonviolence. The goal is to create temporary (and in the long term hopefully stabile) spaces of peace. It will be done within places where change needs to come, where it needs to be heard/seen/experienced. Weapon exports from Sweden are increasing even though there is research showing that nonviolent resistance in conflict is more effective. In this essay I discuss nonviolence and how I can implement that in my work to find a meaningful work for both me and my neighbours.

This degree project has been carried out by Carolina Rapp and Jenny Tauson, students at Innovation and Design Engineer program at the Faculty of Technology and science at Karlstad University. The project was carried during Spring of 2009 and took 15 weeks of full time work.  Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group is an Austria/Switzerland corporate group and its associated company Doppelmayr Scandinavia lies in Sunne, Sweden. Doppelmayr/Garaventa Group is the world quality and technology leader in ropeway engineering. The degree project goal was to develop a new shaping of a surface lift. There are two kinds of surface lifts, platter and T-bars. The two kinds of surface lifts have some variation in design but only minor differences.

Sweden has a great tradition of pattern in both wallpapers and fabric, where colours and shape matters a lot for the customer. I have through my examination project tried to expand the views and find new alternatives and shapes for the obvious pattern traditions. I have therefore worked with what could be on the verge of attractive or repelling. To create a curiosity of what is considered to be commercial. From the prospective of the body organs I have created physical patterns for fabric and wallpapers.

This study is based on the development of a new software, which is used as a recommendationtool for selecting the best product. As part of the software development has an external partnerbeen asked to assist. The report will process the expectations that different people have on anew project but also how information is communicated to an external partner.The results from this study show that a software's function is closely linked to its usability.Therefore shall usability been taken into account when a new resource is created. The study alsoshows the importance of being able to share information, on how the program will beconstituted, to someone outside the organization..