Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1995 and the power of the organisation to make decisions has increased over the years in a rate which hasn?t been followed by an equally increase in democratization. This is partly due to the lack of participation in the decision making process and at the national level the citizens don?t possess enough channels to compensate the loss of influence. To solve this democratic dilemma, more and more countries are turning to the referendum.

Choir singing is one of the most popular national movements in Sweden but the knowledge of the meaning of this activity for health and well being from the choir singers? own experiences is limited. The purpose of this study was therefore to develop useful knowledge about the meaning of choir singing for participating persons from a health perspective. The data was collected through qualitative interviews with six different choir singers and went after that through a comprehensive analysis which resulted in four main categories: an oasis in the existence; possibilities of meetings and solidarity; goals and musical development; and physical and emotional well-being. The results showed that the choir activity represents a place where the singers can escape the demands and the stress factors of everyday life and where they get the opportunity of meaningful relations with other people.

Abstract; Finding needs of knowledge are important for universities but also for operation in the surrounding area. Teacher, student and other organization have to make efforts to create opportunities to develop knowledge. Without cooperate/ cooperation they can loose possibilities to develop valuable knowledge. How do the organization see upon meanings of the procedures of cooperation? How do they work with and for cooperation? What role should the universities play in the development of knowledge in todays community of change? The aim of this study is to create an understanding for the meaning of cooperation procedure by developing knowledge and how it might bring value.My interest in this is to find the means of procedure of cooperation and to create understanding.

After recognizing a lack of children?s voices in the debate about the children?s book Kivi och monsterhund and the gender-neutral pronoun hen that occurred in the beginning of the year of 2012, I decided to interview pre-school children about the same book. My purpose with the study was, using semi-structured group interviews, to examine how 6-year olds talked about the main character Kivi. With the help of Judith Butler?s theory of performativity, I have studied how the children constructed Kivi?s gender in their speech.

The purpose of this study has been to examine and analyze school counselors? experience of collaboration with other professions in the student health team and the preconditions for their work. The study is based on qualitative semi-structured interviews with six elementary-, and two high school student counselors in a medium-sized town in Sweden. The theoretical approach being used is: role theory, theory of professions and theory about collaboration. The study´s result shows that the school counselors? experience an unclarity in their job assignments and their role is often described as diffuse and vauge.

For many companies, the Internet has revolutionized the relationship they have with their customers concerning costumer service. The use of Information Technology in regard to Internet as a media has provided companies with the opportunity to build customer databases in order to target their customers individually. The airline industry was one of the first pioneers to use the full potential of Internet to improve customer relations and its profits which we aim to investigate in greater detail in our thesis.Our thesis answers the question on how Scandinavian Airlines' (SAS) Eurobonus department uses their website to create valuable and profitable relationships with SAS loyalty club members through direct marketing. In order to answer our research question, three key informants have been interviewed - each representing different sub departments at Eurobonus; service and support, IT and marketing. Our results were that the Eurobonus department use direct marketing methods by sending customized e-mail offerings to target specific customer, using their customer databases.

The aim of this study is to analyze the process of an agenda setting and see how a specific issue came to materialize on the security policy agenda. The empirical goal of the study is to see why Sweden chose to participate in the EU-led operation to Chad, and how that process came to be? The analysis is based upon Kingdon's multiple streams theory (2003) where he distinguishes the process into three streams. Central for his theory is the coupling of these streams and the importance of a policy entrepreneur. I complement Kingdon's theory of policy entrepreneurs by taking inspiration from Hinnfors (1995), Gustavsson (1999) and especially Eriksson (2000) and their analysis of policy change and agenda setting.

In this paper Mona Hatoums installation Corps étranger is discussed via a post structuralized method based on associative and semiotic comparisons with vanitas, a post-modern self-portrait, and as a representative for modern visual art. The analyze touches upon pornography, science fiction and the quest for scientific conquest in outer and inner space. Theoretical references are Foucault, Freud, Lacan, Barthes, Dolar, Said and Virilio. Hatoum makes the observer a voyageur with the aid of the latest medical technology, endoscope, which gives her the opportunity to make an introvert self-portrait when she films her own throat and rectum. But at the same time she makes the portrait of us all.

For a long period of time there has been an extensive documentation of how things are presumed not to be at our workplace. However there is little knowledge on how it is supposed to be, what makes us feel good and what makes us retain our well-being. The aim of this study was to survey the attitudes towards factors of well-being at the workplace among personnel at four institutions at Kristianstad University. The work method used in this study is quantitative and a questionnaire survey was carried out to produce an overall picture. The majority considered praise from manager and the opportunity of development discussions of great importance.

Background: Over the past 30 years the incidence of overweight and obesity has increased. Obesity is a risk factor for many diseases, for instance type 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, many types of cancer and musculoskeletal diseases. That ready available food today is so accessible can be a reason for the public health problems of overweight and obesity.Objective: The aim was to study what possibilities and barriers there are for fast-food restaurants to sell healthy food.Methods: Information was collected by seven telephone interviews and two respondents answered by e-mail. Nine persons that were in charge of the menu at different fast-food restaurant chains in Sweden participated in the study.Results: To have a large variety was considered to be a problem for selling healthy food, also because the sale of it was low in some of the fast-food chains. Some of the informants did not find any problems with selling healthy food and it was regarded as an opportunity to get more consumers.Conclusion: The demand for healthier food has increased, and the offer and sales of it has also escalated.

AbstractThe purpose of this paper was to examine preschool teacher?s thoughts about using Manual Signs as Alternative and Augmentative Communication as an aid for children in/with communication disabilities. The method I?ve used in the survey is qualitative interview.The three interviewed preschool teachers use Manual Signs foremost for those children who have a poorly developed spoken language. Manual Signs are used as a complement to the spoken language and the preschool teachers use it to increase the children?s power of concentration.

In today?s society we depend on technology to perform the simplest tasks. Whether we are engaging in conversation with a friend or are navigating in traffic, we are likely to be found with some technological device in our hands. This dependence has grown over a period of time, and many of us have failed to reflect on the impact technology has had on our lives. The emergence of so-called One-to-One projects, where teachers and students gain access to a personal laptop, does however provide an excellent opportunity to do so.

Title: This is not Africa - West African teaching methods in Sweden. This is a work of "translation". The study started with a musical journey to Guinea, West Africa. It was a field study where I had the opportunity to open my senses towards another culture and another kind of music. I found another learning tradition and decided to try to bring it with me back to Sweden, into the Swedish school system.

Introduction: In the past years children in primary school age has become increasingly sedentary. One of the school nurses' main task is to provide tools for students to make healthy choices. During the health visit, the school nurse gets the opportunity to inform and talk about health and physical activity with the students.Aim: To describe how shool nurses? work to motivate students to physical activity.Methods: The authors have conducted a pilot study that will form the basis for a large-scale study. Four nurses were interviewed using an interview guide based on open-ended questions and a qualitative content analysis was used when the interviews were analyzed.Results: The analysis revealed two categories and four subcategories.

Background: Research shows that the nurse?s presence has a great significance for the relationship between patient and nurse. By this, the nurse can gain a greater understanding for the patient?s situation and thus have an opportunity to influence the patient?s health processes.Problem: Today?s focus on the technology and lack of time in healthcare can create a stress which can make it more difficult for the nurse to prove presence to the patient.Aim: To describe patients? experiences of the nurse?s presence in healthcare.Method: A qualitative approach, where Evans descriptive synthesis has been used. Eleven previously published qualitative, caring science, articles has been used in the synthesis.Results: The synthesis revealed two themes.