This essay is built upon the thoughts of Joseph S. Nye concerning power, and the different ways of exercising that power. The characteristics of Nye's theories are the thoughts about the second face of power, or what he describes as the soft power. The essay seeks to examine what kind of power the US has been in their work for non-proliferation and democracy promotion in the Middle East. It also seeks to find what it is that makes the US to choose to exercise the specific powers.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how much influence children perceive and feel that they have in terms of after-school activities and offerings. I have also tried to find out how much influence the children in the selected after-schools feel they have. This is to highlight how children themselves perceive their influence and if the children are aware of their rights in terms of participation and influence. The study also wants to highlight the forums and the ways in which children feel that they are heard. The study used questionnaires and group interviews were made of 15 children aged 8-9 years from two after-schools, located in two different schools in the same municipality.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att analysera kommunsammanläggningen i Sverige under åren 1963 ? 1974 utifrån ett Hästvedaperspektiv. Hästveda kommun tillsammans med flertalet andra småkommuner blev en del av det som kom att kallas Hässleholms kommun 1974. Uppsatsen utreder vilka reaktioner och diskussioner som fanns hos såväl kommunalfullmäktige och anställda i kommunhuset, men också hos invånarna i kommunen. Uppsatsen undersöker också om Hästveda kommun vid sammanläggningen hade några finansiella tillgångar kvar.Syftet är också att undersöka varför Hästveda gick med i just i det som skulle bli Hässleholms kommun och inte i någon annan närliggande kommun.Undersökningen är gjort utifrån protokoll, tidningsartiklar, insändare, intervjuer och krönikor..

Vårt syfte är att studera hur pojklagskulturen i ett ishockeylag ser ut och hur dess normalitet upprätthålls genom positiva och negativa sanktioner med särskilt fokus på maskulinitet, manligt fostrande, konfomitet, interaktionsritualer och sociala band.Studien genomfördes genom deltagande observation där vi följde ishockeylaget Pucksta under två veckor. Vi följde dem på alla deras schemalagda träningspass under denna tid och även i omklädningsrummet där vi förde informella samtal med spelarna men också tränare och ledare. Resultatet visar att det är viktigare att vara en central deltagare i pojklagskulturen än att prestera idrottsligt. Spelarna visar upp traditionella manliga attribut och använder sanktioner för att upprätthålla en normalitet. Konformitet är ett verktyg för att skaffa sig ett centralt deltagande vilket samtidigt stärker de sociala banden. Det finns utrymme för ett avvikande mot pojklagskulturens normalitet men ett överdrivet avvikande sanktioneras negativt.

Kommunikation med medborgarna är en viktig fråga inom EU. Under hösten 2005 och våren 2006 togs en ny kommunikationsstrategi fram av EU-kommissionen. Strategin ska långsiktigt stärka demokratin inom EU och verka för ett EU där medborgarna har tillgång till den information och de verktyg som är nödvändiga för ett aktivt deltagande i EU-politiken. Den nya kommunikationsstrategin bygger på samverkan med lokala aktörer och ett viktigt verktyg för strategins uppfyllelse är Internet. ?EU-kompassen?, Jönköpings läns webbportal för EU-frågor, har som syfte att skapa kunskap om, samt ett större intresse för och deltagande i EU-frågorna bland invånarna Jönköpings län och är således intressant i sammanhanget.

The presidency of the European Union (EU) is one of the most important institutional actors for the improvement of democracy and equality between the member states. To hold a presidency is a big task and for many countries a tough challenge. What makes a presidency successful? The purpose of the thesis is to examine this question using Ole Elgströms? ?four properties for defining a successful presidency? as the theoretical background. This thesis will employ a comparative framework of four countries, using size and age (age understood as ?time being an EU Member State?) as the defining factors.

The study aims to investigate student participation as a tool for democratic development in secondary school from a student perspective. Furthermore, students' perceptions of the school's work with student participation in formal and informal contexts are also investigated, with basis in the teaching structure. The results are based on interviews conducted with students who all attend the same class in their last year of high school. Subsequently, an analysis is made based mainly on three different theories: democracy, curricula and sociocultural theory. The result shows that students feel that they are able to practice student participation but the amount of influence they get differs between individuals depending on devotion and commitment.

AbstractThe present thesis examines reading acquisition. The aim of the study is to gain a deepened understanding of various methods used for reading acquisition, how teachers? are dealing with these methods and what aspects require special attention. The overall research question of the thesis is: How can one assess children?s future reading ability and identify a method that is appropriate to this ability? The overall aim leads to several more specifically addressed issues.In the theoretical part, different perspectives and theories about reading acquisition are presented along with different methods for how to work in order to facilitate reading.

This report is about the impact climate change has on the water and sewage systems in general, and the situation in the municipality of Karlstad in particular. Which vulnerabilities are linked to water and sewage systems with regard to climate change and extreme weather situations, what are the possibilities to adapt the system to this and what significance does climate adaptation of the water and sewage systems have in relation to sustainable development?To answer these questions I have studied literature on the subject and interviewed several people who work with these types of questions. The answers I have received state that there are a multitude of vulnerabilities linked to the water- and sewage systems, but that there are also many strong interests which strive to take measures and adapt to a changed climate. I have also come to the conclusion that the starting points and views of the possibilities to act differs between the people that I have interviewed, but that theses problems are built into the concept of democracy..

ABSTRACTThe purpose with the investigation was to find if there is a relation between daily health active and too reusing theoretic learning for health promotion school?s pupil. In the investigation I have focused into if the Health promotion school?s student has better result at the nation?s test (NT) in Swedish, English and in mathematic in the fifths grade, than the ordinary school that isn?t health promotion school. The personal feelings of the two schools are that there is a connection between health active and too reusing theoretic learning.

The education in Swedish schools today should be for all children. This means that even if a pupil has reading and writing disabilities the education should be in the classroom with the rest of the pupils. The education should include every one.The aim of my study was to investigate the education with pupils that have reading and writing disabilities. I wanted to get a deeper knowledge about working methods that are used for pupils with these problems.In my study I have used qualitative research methods. I have used group interviews and observational studies.

In the fall 2011 a new grading scale will be implemented in the Swedish school. A government bill suggests a change of the scale from a three- to a six-point scale. The students will also be graded from the sixth class instead of today?s eighth. From the first year of the compulsory school the pupil will get a written judgment.

The purpose of this study is to examine the view of Swedish language teachers on the role of fiction and of school libraries within the compulsory school?s teaching of Swedish of form 6-9. The questions to be answered are:? What part do Swedish language teachers (hereafter called teachers) think fiction is playing regarding the pupils inclination to read and reading promotion?? What is the attitude of teachers regarding the function of fiction in the Swedish subject?? What do teachers consider being the role of the school library in education, and can this be related to the local school library resources?To answer the questions a questionnaire was sent out to thirty-five teachers. Four qualitative interviews were also carried out among the fourteen teachers that answered the questionnaire.

Water related problems are highlighted as a challenge to sustainable development and the topic of forests and water is gaining increased attention worldwide. Governing forest and water is a complex issue, as the interactions are affected by policies and actors from multiple levels and sectors. In Sweden, forests cover much of the land and forestry is an important land-use, inevitably impacting the water in the landscape. This study aims to understand and explain the existing governance framework around forestry and water in Sweden. Based on the Policy Arrangement Approach, the study?s research questions focused on the actors involved, the formal and informal rules, the resources and power structures and the discourses related to forestry and water in Sweden.

The goal of this paper is to analyze the influence of the EU on Turkish democracy. In order to achieve this aim, the paper concentrates on three areas, as representative institutions, opposition parties and freedom of expression. The impact of the EU on Turkey has been more explicit during the last decades. In particular since 1999 when the country became a candidate for membership, and that will eventually lead to Turkey joining the European Union. Thereby this paper will examine the demands EU set up for the country and how Turkey accomplishes these criteria.