Environmental chemicals are transported to the Arctic through the air and oceans, once within the Arctic they spread through rivers, lakes and other watercourses. Polar bears and sledge dogs in-gest high concentrations of environmental chemicals since many of the chemicals are fat-soluble and their diet mainly consists of marine mammals. The aim of this study is to describe how environmental chemicals spread in nature, how they reach the polar bears, and finally how they affect the animals reproduction, with reproductive hormones and genitals in focus. The animals are exposed to a cocktail effect which complicates the assessment of the chemicals impact on the reproduction. Studies show that the genitals can decrease in size or become malformed, sexual maturation can be affected and the reproductive hormones can be disturbed.

The aim of this Masters thesis is to, from a users perspective, investigate which factors affect the library use for six persons with disabilities or visual handicaps. My method has been a case study and the methods applied are interviews and observation. As a theoretical framework I use Tom Wilsons theories and models about information behaviour and transform them to a model about library use. Answers are sought to the following questions: - What does the library use look like for six persons with disabilities or visually handicaps? - How do they experience the library in their own municipality? - Which factors affect the disabled persons library use and experience of the library? All interviewees showed a very positive attitude towards the library and the majority of them visited the library regularly or received audio books by mail.

Syftet var att göra en studie av hur affekter regleras, hanteras och upplevs hos en grupp av individer som har haft ett substansberoende. En jämförelse gjordes inom gruppen utifrån vilken substans som föredrogs och en jämförelse med en normalgrupp gjordes. Den första hypotesen var att det finns en skillnad mellan olika grupperna av individer som haft olika typer av substansberoende i hur affektintensitet och affektmedvetenhet ser ut. Den andra hypotesen var att gruppen med individer som haft substansberoende hade lägre affektmedvetenhet än en normalgrupp. Sammanlagt deltog 39 individer, 17 kvinnor och 22 män i studien.

Arbetslöshet innefattar fler faktorer än brist på arbete och ekonomiska begränsningar. Tidigare studier uppvisar samband mellan arbetslöshet och stressrelaterade sjukdomar och som arbetslös kan upplevelse av kategorisering medverka till känsla av att förlora sin identitet. I denna kvalitativa intervjustudie bestående av sex stycken arbetslösa, kvinnliga deltagare diskuteras olika coping strategiers betydelse för hur situationen som arbetslös hanteras. Datamaterialet har bearbetats induktivt genom meningskoncentrering. Studien visar att stöd från omgivningen samt självförtroende är avgörande faktorer som medverkar till adaptiv, problemfokuserad coping.

Tidigare forskning har visat att hundägare är mer fysiskt aktiva än de som inte äger hund. Deras motivation att vara mer fysiskt aktiv bygger på den sociala interaktionen med hund eller träningskompisar som hundträning/rastning medför. Med hjälp av Self-Determination Theory (SDT) undersöktes vad som motiverar just hundspannsförare att träna själv och hunden. Åtta personer som ägde hund och körde hundspann intervjuades. Frågorna kretsade kring tiden före och efter det att de ägde hund.

Due to increasing product availability and higher demands on fast deliveries, the competition between companies is growing. To be able to satisfy the customers? requests an efficient logistics system with short throughput time is required. By using tools associated with Lean production companies are able to make great improvements in their manufacturing systems and reduce lead times to satisfy customer demands.There are two classifications associated with manufacturing, high variety and low volume (HVLV) and low volume and high variety (LVHV). The general belief is that the concept of Lean production is difficult to implement in a production environment with high variety and low volume due to the concept being adapted to mass production.

Snow White through Grimm and Disney - A Comparative StudyThis essay attempts to discern the differences regarding six Swedish versions of the fairy-tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs over a period of 150 years. Focus is placed on structural transformations through time and media according to the analytical theories of Vladimir Propp. Attention is also given to former research done on the impact of the fairy-tale on the child from a psychological and social point of view. Of interest is the historical background of the tale, commencing with oral tradition, and how this was dealt with by the Grimm brothers. Three of the versions used for this comparative study are variants of the Grimm tale, and three belong to Walt Disney productions, i.e.

In this essay we strive to examine how the social work in Sweden will be affected if the Swedish welfare model goes through fundamental changes. The study illuminates the close connection between the Swedish collective bargaining model and the Swedish welfare system. The questions we present in this essay, and hopefully answer satisfactory, are: is the Swedish welfare model subject to thorough changes? How will such a change alter the social work in Sweden?, is the Swedish collective bargaining model in a state of modification? Would a modification in the collective bargaining model have effects on the Swedish welfare model?We have used a qualitative method in collecting empirical material. We interviewed three representatives, who worked for Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, IF Metall and The Swedish Municipal Workers respectively.

Process standardization is a topic that has generated a lot of research and literature. At first, the focus was on production; today processes are used in all different kind of business areas.The aim of this study has been to analyze how processes can be applied on development businesses and how IT systems affect the result of the process. To accomplish this, we have asked questions such as what standardization is in a development process? Why are the processes standardized? What difficulties can appear with standardization? And how the IT-systems affect the result of the process?To answer these questions, we have preformed a case study on Saab. Saab is a well know Swedish company who are working with a project called the GMS-project, where they develop processes to cover the whole company´s business areas.The literature gives the reader an understanding of processes and standardization.

ABSTRACTStatistics show that breastfeeding prevalence for Sweden has fallen since the mid 90´s. Studies show that breastfeeding offers health benefits to both mother and child and that the mothers' belief and confidence in their ability to breastfeed is a key factor to having a positive breastfeeding outcome. In 2010, Amningshjälpen in collaboration with Sensus studieförbund, started a nursing course, for mothers-to-be, who wished to breastfeed their babies and its aim was to prepare them for a successful and enjoyable experience.Objective: To examine whether a preparatory breastfeeding course can affect mothers' confidence in their ability to breastfeed and if that ability can affect the breastfeeding outcome when the child reaches four months. A further aim is to investigate the experience of  perceived problems surrounding breastfeeding and what affect these might have on the mothers' confidence in breastfeeding when the child reaches four months.Design/Methods: A quantitative approach with prospective experimental design was used to evaluate the study. The questionnaire Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale Short Form (BSES-SF) was used three times to measure women's trust in lactation.

The use and attention given to the certification system ?Miljöbyggnad? has increasedin recent years. The system is completely Swedish and was initiated in 2005 by theBygga-Bo-Dialogen. Miljöbyggnad aims to create a healthy indoor environment, reduceenergy consumption and discourage the use of hazardous chemical substances. Thegrades that can be obtained are Classified, Brons, Silver and finally Gold.The work has been to examine three different models and conclude how the designof the models affect the grades in the certification system Miljöbyggnad.

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancer diseases among women worldwide. Breast cancer brings fear into many womens? life. It is a threat against life, but also to the psychological health, self-esteem and the female identity. Aim: The aim of this literature review was to describe newly breast cancer patient?s perception of information provided by healthcare personnel.

Forest management contributes to the changes in forest structure by turning heterogenous forests of varied age into homogenous forests of similar age and thus affect bird species depending on different structures or habitats which are lost during forestry. In this report, a study was made to investigate how the amount of decidious trees, dead wood and variation in tree diameter affect bird diversity. The purpose of this study was to be able to give forest management guidelines to increase bird diversity. This study was conducted by investigating 65 transects in forests of different structure south of Linköping, Sweden. Along the 65 transects, birds were inventoried as well as the vegetation.

This essay describes how theatre can be a tool in social work. The essay evaluates the Swed-ish KRAFT-project, a course for unemployed people with the goal to make them grow as in-dividuals by using drama exercises and performing a theatre play in front of an audience. The essay is a quantitative secondary study of the questionnaire used in the KRAFT-project. Through analysing the questionnaire the participants answered this essay tries to explain the results from a social psychological perspective. The essay also discusses how the participants? self-concept and self-esteem could have been affected by the KRAFT-project.

This study is about being manager in social care and social welfare organisations. Ten women managers participate in the study and share their thoughts about management. Such organisations are an area where women are most frequent, so we wanted to take part of experiences women managers in this area obtain. The study concentrates upon factors these women encounter and which they feel can affect them in their daily work. The study shows that the women we interviewed have a basic interest in humans and a strong commitment to working for human well being.