A reforming trend is captured showing that countries are shifting from defined benefit pension systems towards defined contribution systems. The Reforms have been justified through predictions that the defined benefit systems will not manage to provide good enough pensions to members in the future. The newer defined contribution pension plans often include individual financial accounts where individuals have the possibility to choose how a part of their pension savings should be invested. Sweden was early to introduce such a system, which at the moment provides more than 800 funds to choose from. The aim of this thesis is to capture the market risk associated with these individual investments and does so by using Monte Carlo simulations for six selected pension funds.

Recent studies show that the knowledge in and understanding of science, technology andmathematics of Swedish junior high school and high school students is decreasing. As a resultof this the Swedish government has initialized several studies, research and Reforms. One ofthe theories for teaching that today is seen as effective is the socio-cultural perspective and itsdescendants, including scientific inquiry. Using the pedagogy of the socio-cultural perspectivefour assignments regarding the human body was constructed for junior high school studentsattending summer research school in the summer of 2008, hosted by AstraZeneca. Theassignments follow a structure (goal of assignment, preparations, experiment and follow-up)inspired by the concept of NTA ? Naturvetenskap och Teknik för Alla (Science andTechnology for everyone).

 Why is it that we still live in a society where an individual's social background plays such a big part in their chances of reaching a higher education? Despite the numerous educational policy Reforms, especially in Sweden, it still seems that an individual's career choices are pretty much related to what kind of social class they grew up in. Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu claimed that social class is reproduced in the school system, and that students from the lower classes are much less likely to reach a further education than students from the middle or upper classes due to injustice in the school system. One thing that plays a big part in this "Catch-22" situation is the concept that Bourdieu calls habitus. Habitus could be explained as an individual's taste, knowledge, ability to master the spoken language, etc. Your habitus is manifested in the choices you make, the music you listen to, how you dress and the way you speak, and it determines your relation to the education system and life in general. As part of my essay, I wanted to interview students from lower or working class at my school, Konstfack, to see if they have had any negative or positive experiences from their encounter with a higher education. And if so, could they be linked directly to their social background? As a reaction to my own and my interviewees? experiences and frustration, I use the concept of habitus in my practical work.

Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes towards the labour movement?s strategies, goals and organisational issues in Swedish Miners? Union?s (Gruvindustriarbetareförbundet, hereafter Gruv) paper, Gruvarbetaren 1917-1925.The theoretical starting point is Engels? view on the class state. This perspective turns the question of socialism and the way to get there into an issue of working class power over the state. Another theoretical perspective is the partition of the labour movement into a trade-unionistic branch, seeing unions as financial organisations of interest, and a pro-state one, considering unions as political organisations.During the period investigated Gruvarbetaren was quite radical and advocated a firm class struggle strategy towards employers. Since these were considered unreliable, class struggle was seen as the only way to better the conditions for the working class.

The aim of this thesis is to study the cause of Egypt´s failed development of the transition to democracy and vice versa, the reason why Turkey succeeded in democratic transition. Thesis methodology is a comparative analysis between design units Egypt and Turkey. Thus, the most similar design used in the investigation.European Commission began in 1998 to review Turkey´s political and economic Reforms to fulfil the Copenhagen criteria. 2005 began negotiations on a Turkish- EU membership. U.S and Egypt have enjoyed close economic, security and democratic cooperation since 1975.

In 1929, the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory was established in Chicago?the first of its kind in the United States. The purpose was to engage in practical use of scientific methods in the detection of crime. In 1930, the institute published its own periodical called The American Journal of Police Science. Applying the theory of boundary-work, this essay analyses how the novelty institute argued its legitimacy as a scientific establishment through the expansion of Police Science as a collective field of knowledge.

The purpose of this bachelor's thesis in social work has been to examine whether society's perception of poverty and poor people has changed over the more than 160 years have passed since the first national Poor regulation was enacted in Sweden. With a social constructionist approach and inspired by the critical discourse analysis we have conducted two studies to find answers to what differences and similarities between the concepts of scanty care (1847) and standards of living (2002). A study based on previous research was conducted to examine how society's perception of poverty has changed and designed in a historical perspective. We also conducted a textual analysis of relevant legal texts and legislative history to show how these texts reflect the society's official view of poverty based interventions targeted to poor people.The two sub-studies show that the concepts at different times in history has been crucial for the community support poor people were entitled to. Our overall conclusion is that despite today's advanced social policy there are many obvious similarities between the concepts of scanty care and standards of living.

Title: First line management, administration and New Public Management Level: Final assignment for Bachelor Degree in Business Administration, 15hp.Author: Patrik Jansson & Victor HolmlundSupervisor: Pär Vilhelmson, Kristina Mickelsson & Elena AhmadiDate: 2015 - May Aim: The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of how first line management in public organizations is effected by New Public Management related Reforms and how they handle related administrative tasks.  Method: The study is based on a deductive and qualitative methodology. We conducted 10 semi-structured interviews with first line managers in Swedish public healthcare organizations. A result is reached by a thematically constructed analysis were citations are presented and analyzed. Result & Conclusions: The study shows through the model that has been used that first line managers are highly affected by administrative tasks that can be linked to New Public Management. The participant managers see these related tasks as important for the organizations and natural in their profession. Contribution of the thesis: The study contributes with an increased understanding of the managing of first line managers and how it is affected by New Public Management related administration through a perspective that is lacking in previous research. The new perspective gives a nuanced view of the manager?s role as administrators and gives rise to suggestions of future research. Key words:  New Public Management, Administration, First Line Managers, Healthcare..

Sweden was transformed to a democratic industrial society in the late 19th century. Political influence had been bound to the four estates, nobles, clergy, burghers and farmers. The Reforms of the 1860s moved Sweden towards political democracy with universal suffrage. At the national level a two-chamber parliament was established in 1866. Political power should now be a function of economic status.

The aim of this study is to describe the variation in two teachers perceptions of their work with individual developments. The study begins with a review of the Swedish National Agency for Education?s guidelines for working with individual developments. With this I want to give the reader an insight into the teachers working conditions and the responsibilities the school authorities have against their students. Using phenomenography, I have examined the differences between two mathematic teacher?s perceptions in working with individual developments for student?s in need of special education.   My questions are: How do mathemathic teachers perceive their work with individual developments? What support and what information do the teacher?s feel that they have been given in order to use individual developments as a tool? How do the teachers perceive that their work situation has influenced their work with individual developments? The two teachers I have interviewed showed different perceptions both in how they understood the guidelines for working with individual developments and how they chose to work with them.

The transition from having been under another country?s control to becoming a democratic country can, many times, pose difficulties, which has proven itself to be quite common. Estonia and Moldova?s processes towards a democratic regime are two examples of countries with varied success in the final transition phase.When the USSR (Soviet union) fell and collapsed in 1991 Estonia was well on their way from having a communistic ruling to a democratic one due to the fact that their democratic work had already begun a few years prior to 1991. After the collapse Estonia continued with their democratic work and in 2004 the country became a EU member state.

The transition from having been under another country?s control to becoming a democratic country can, many times, pose difficulties, which has proven itself to be quite common. Estonia and Moldova?s processes towards a democratic regime are two examples of countries with varied success in the final transition phase.When the USSR (Soviet union) fell and collapsed in 1991 Estonia was well on their way from having a communistic ruling to a democratic one due to the fact that their democratic work had already begun a few years prior to 1991. After the collapse Estonia continued with their democratic work and in 2004 the country became a EU member state.

Abstract: A public service sector in constant reformation is a common phenomenon in Sweden. This also includes the municipal care organisations. A central role in those reformations has the public middle chief who often is the one to implemented Reforms to the organiza-tion's staff.This study is examining the role of the public middle manager in care organisations dur-ing the implementation of common ideologies value foundation in a present organisa-tion's reform. The study tries to elucidate in which way the public middle managers in municipal care organisations experience their roles, which expectations the management of the organisation has on their roles and how a present organisation changes inflict on the contents of the role. If the middle manager in a municipal care organisation feels like normative for the personal group is another aspect.There are four concepts used as theoretic framework in the study, organization, imple-mentation and public middle managers in a general aspect and the middle manager in a municipal care organisation in a specific aspect.

This study investigated a local aspect of theSwedish elementary school modernization process between the years 1871-1882.Previous studies have been drawn from the school inspectors own reports andshow that the schoolboards housed a negative and resentful attitude towardsReforms and the school inspectors often felt that the parish priests were moreinclined to changes than the schoolboards themselves.  Other research on elementary schoolmodernization has stressed the matching grants as a major cause of developmentand further establishment. In this study, however, a schoolboards own notes inthe form of meeting protocols during an eleven year period as well as a letterby a priest Erik Lundberg, Redogörelseför skolhusfrågan i Tierp dated 6 October 1880 were analyzed to see if theprevious explanation of school modernization, in particular with regard to thereluctance to change by the schoolboards goes to demonstrate and confirm. Theresults of this study have shown that even if the schoolboards do notimmediately follow the school inspectors instructions, it seems not primarilybeen due to resentment. Reforms within the school world are well known forbeing time-consuming but for the current period, as this study concerns andwithin this specific parish there were conflicts of interest which are notshown when only the inspector?s accounts and reports are examined.

Outsourcing means to contract out work previously done within the cooperation to a supplier.This is an increasing trend today. Traditionally companies have outsourced manufacturing butwith the growing specialization they tend to outsource other activities as well.China?s economical Reforms and entrance into the World Trade Organization, WTO, hasenabled international business connections. Since China offers one of the cheapest labours inthe world, many companies have an interest in starting up an activity in the country. Themany foreign investments in China have lead to an economical growth which in turn hasmade it possible for China to invest in the Chinese competence and innovative capacity.The commissioner of this master thesis, SMS, is one of the leading actors in retrieval ofamong other things mounts and stands for flat screens and projectors.