In this thesis I discuss how the western conception of reason is an aspect of power. I consider the western comprehension of rationality to be a masculine and ethnocentric understanding, though by itself acclaimed to be universal. My purpose with this thesis is to analyze how this western and masculine conceptualisation of reason follows a gramscian structure of power, which makes it reproduce itself in the postcolonial project of science.The theory of hegemony and ideology of Antonio Gramsci is central for analyzing the reproduction of the western subject of knowledge. The theoretical approach is also based on the understanding of the Other as essential for defining the identity of the self. My two main objects of study is one text of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, which discuss the problems of representation, and one of Chandra Talpade Mohanty, in which she examines the tendency to neocolonization in certain western postcolonial feminist research.

The visual representation of management (board of directors, chief executive officer and executive management) in annual reports is an area of scholarship that has not been explored much. In the present study a sample of 87 annual reports from business enterprises within a Swedish context, comprising about 300 photographs, was analyzed using an explorative method of analysis based on semiotics and grounded theory. The influence of the context on images raises a question discussed in the study: Should the photographs in the annual report be categorized as portraits, advertisements and others or should the annual report be regarded as a genre of its own? The photographs showed patterns of homogeneity regarding gender, dress, gestures, colours, pictorial compositions et cetera. The position of the (male) CEO is privileged, but he is also connected to the group through various means like dress and style, thereby further underscoring management as a male enterprise and demonstrating the importance of the suit and necktie in creating homosocial bonds.

Several surveys indicate that corporate leaders still consider the aligning of IT and business functions as a top management issue. The aim of this thesis is to illustrate how coordination emerges between IT and business departments and how formal structures intended to coordinate are influenced by human action. To deepen the understanding of this phenomenon we seek to analyze IT/business coordination from a perspective based on practice theory. A field study was conducted where observations and informal interviews were carried out at the IT department of a global company. The empirical analysis indicate that coordination problems between IT and business departments is in part affected by embedded factors such as different goals and perspectives on how IT is to be used in the organization or how to design IT related processes.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between self-determination theory and its three basic needs: competence, autonomy and relatedness, and commitment to change in an organizational change. Another purpose was to examine if the quality of the communication and the effects on the organization and way to work can predict commitment to change. Considering that organizational changes is very common today there is an interest to ease and improve the change process. The survey contained the scales Commitment to change scale and Basic need satisfaction at work scale and the participants were 39 office-workers who recently had gone through an organizational change. The result indicated that it?s possible to predict commitment to change from self-determination theory, communication and effects on organization and way to work.

Title: ?? Then came the realization that I was just like them. That I have a gambling addiction?? This is a qualitative study of four former gamblers and their experience of getting out of the gambling addiction. The study is about how individuals have overcome a gambling addiction.

The purpose of this study was to examine how the authorities in Sweden collaborate when it comes to discourage trafficking for sexual purposes. More specifically the aim was to find which directives and problems the work of the individual authorities constitute in and how does it affect collaboration with other authorities. The study was based on interviews with six respondents, which have experience working within this field. Three themes were identified: what is collaboration, different perspectives, regulatory frameworks and different fundamental values within the organisations. The study concluded that collaboration is affected by several factors such as the absence of knowledge about trafficking for sexual purposes and the laws which regulate confidentiality, difficulties in defining collaboration as a concept and the authorities different ideas about what have to be done in the context of discouraging trafficking for sexual purposes.

This thesis is set out as a testing of the crosscutting cleavages theory on twocontemporary cases. The aim is to test the explanation process of the crosscutting theory applied to the political and social situations in Belgium and Switzerland and furthermore to examine potential conflicts in pluralistic states. Our main questionis: How can the crosscutting cleavages theory explain the different outcomes ofsocial coexistence, even with the states numerous similarities? We have examined the two federal states through their social divisions of language, region, religion and socio-economy. Our findings show that both Belgium and Switzerland possess divisions in the above mentioned variables, which in most cases are cumulative structured.

This report is on concrete work during the winter and is implemented on Peab?s behalf. The assignment was to describe the differences between a summer- and a winter casting. While it shows the complications that exists, it also show what aids are available, both electronic via computer and physical aids.The information that I have developed is originally from theory in books, information on the internet as well as practical experience from knowledgeable people that works in construction output. Other theories are those I have learned throughout the education to become a construction engineer, including all oral sources over the years.The results I have come up with, I hope will be able to help future construction projects in the planning phase of a winter casting.

This paper addresses the question about what role typography plays in the interpretation of a text. From three different handbooks in typography arguments are gathered and categorized in to three categories: roman types, san serif and others. Interviews with people from the graphic design area are also a part of the paper and are accounted for in the discussion part of the paper. Areas of theory are a broad hermeneutic view based on Hans-Georg Gadamers thoughts, which have sub categories such as: Michel Foucault?s theory about discourses, John Swales genre theory and Anders Björkvall?s thoughts on typography and multi-modal texts.

When forces in foundation piles are calculated according to classic theory, thefoundation are assumed to be infinitely rigid which means that the foundation will notbend. High buildings need their whole width to be stable and use the ground floorwall as a foundation. But when, for example windows are needed in the ground floorwall, the stiffness of the foundation decreases which change the forces in the piles. Inthis report the difference of pile forces versus classic theory has been analyzed, and ifpile forces can be calculated as in classic theory. Further on, the effects of the wallmovement were analysed and how the buildings crack safety would be affected by themovement at the ground floor.

 The purpose of this study was to study social work models to explain addiction in the assessment of response to people with addictions. This study investigated how social workers' explanations are shaped by their experiences, theoretical points influenced by research in a discretion is affected by organizational conditions, manuals, evidence-based practice and national guidelines in an investigative process. The material in this study has emerged through interviews with four social workers in the social services department for addiction and dependence. The essay is a qualitative study with personal interviews as the basis for the result. The study begins with a description of addiction and dependence, current laws on the matter, and officer's work.

Electrooculogram (EOG) data was used to develop, adjust and validate a method for drowsiness detection in drivers. The drowsiness detection was based on changes in blink behaviour and classification was made on a four graded scale. The purpose was to detect early signs of drowsiness in order to warn a driver. MATLAB was used for implementation. For adjustment and validatation, two different reference measures were used; driver reported ratings of drowsiness and an electroencephalogram (EEG) based scoring scale.

The aim of this Master?s thesis is to investigate what kinds of writing activities that are offered to children and young people in Sweden and if, how and why libraries are involved with them. The issues illuminated in this thesis are how children and youth can be motivated and advance in their writing, what the purpose of writing activities can be, and if writing activities can be suitable as a part of the work in libraries. The theory is based on a study with writing youth made by Catharina Nyström. In order to study the issues six interviews have been completed with persons who all have played a part in writing activities for children and youth.

Question:"Does the market possess perfect information as the efficient market hypothesis says?""Is there any significant relationship between the abnormal stock return on the ex ? day and the dividend?" Purpose: The purpose of this study is to enlighten and find understanding about stock return versus dividend on the ex ? day and try to figure out if abnormal returns occur on the portfolio during dividends.Methodology:The study was based in a quantitative nature and was derived with an event study and a hypothesis testing. The authors investigated the thirty most traded shares on the Stockholm stock exchange during a period of five years (2005 ? 2009). They were analyzed during a total of nine days; the estimation window was set to sixty days.

Hälso- och sjukvården har höga krav som branschen har svårt att uppfylla. Logistik har fått en ökad betydelse inom sektorn och handlar i detta fall om att på kortast tid få en patient färdigbehandlad. Denna rapport tar fram logistiska förändringsprinciper som är framgångsrika i hälso- och sjukvården. En litteraturstudie visar att det finns ett antal logistiska förändringsprinciper och verktyg som med positivt resultat har anpassats till hälso- och sjukvården. Dessa är; Lean production, processorientering, flödesorientering, Time-based competition, Theory of Constraints, Supply chain management, Planering, Mål och mätmetoder, Patienten i fokus, Genombrott och Advanced access.