The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate and develop a useful theory of human behavior that recognizes the importance of our emotions. The new framework, called the theory of emotional choice, is developed by a holistic method in which results from the fields of psychology, sociology and (neuro-) biology are used to mutually support the conclusions. The theory is distilled into six preliminary points, which are based on the finding that we are not thinking as logical, rational and longsighted as is often assumed. Instead the regular human thinking is suggested to be shortsighted, intuitive and ruled by our emotions and our needs for generality, causality and normality.To demonstrate the usefulness of the new framework, it is used in an analysis of financial bubbles. Additionally, the fields of negotiation, election and ethics are suggested as potentially interesting to analyze with the new theory..

This is a heuristic evaluation of Umeå university library?s Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC). It makes use of four of Nielsen?s ten heuristics, flexibility and efficiency to use, match between the system and real world, visibility of system status, and aesthetic and minimalist design. The evaluation was done by having 3 evaluators inspect the interface individually, as per Nielsen?s (1990) recommendation of 3-5 evaluators.

In schools today, we expect student performances and achievements to be exceptional. Having good reading and writing skills are essential if students want to excel at their school assignments. Students with reading and writing difficulties have to work much harder than their other classmates. Their having to work harder coupled with being teenagers and facing all the uncertainties which are present at that age, these students face the difficult task of trying to find out who they are and who they want to be. In other words, they try to create their own individual identities.

The purpose of this study was to explore preschool- and primary school teachers? perceptions of fairytales, why they use fairytales and what thoughts they have about the impact of fairytales on children?s reading and writing development. We interviewed seven teachers and three preschool teachers in northern Sweden to find out how work with fairytales is carried out in preschool and primary school. We also interviewed twelve pupils who were seven and eight years old to find out what they thought of fairytales in primary school. The result showed that preschool- and primary school teachers had a positive attitude towards fairytales and the opportunities provided by fairytales.

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.

The main purpose of this thesis has been to investigate librarians opinions about the need for and possibility to use non-roman script in library catalogues. We have also investigated the routines of handling materials in non-roman scripts in two Swedish libraries. The investigation was made in the light of the recent shift in character set in the Swedish National Library Catalogue Libris. This change will enable use of multiple writing systems in the future.Our findings are that a multicultural society requires special consideration to the needs of citizens who speak other languages than the majority of the population. This becomes difficult when the languages spoken have a different writing system than the one used by the majority.

This essay is comparing two authors and the way they make use of and explain some of the archaeological methods and artifacts through their books.The first author is the Swedish archaeologist Stig Welinder, who has written Jordbrukets första femtusen år (The First Five Thousand Years of Agriculture). The second author is the American archaeologist and writer Adrian Praetzellis, who has written the book Death by Theory.These books are very different in some ways, but not in others. The main difference is that Death by Theory is belles-lettres while Jordbrukets första femtusen år is science.Both authors explain and in some way apply the use of the terms ?artifact? and ?ethnoarchaeology?, which is the two main subjects of comparison in this essay. The way they present these subjects, through their different styles of writing, is compared and discussed.

In the discourse of teaching it?s often mentioned that the pupil?s previous knowledge and experience plays an important part in the process of learning. For the teachers it?s in general crucial to be familiar with their pupils abilities and skills, talents and shortcomings in order to successfully teach them. Knowledge and an understanding of their pupils, also helps the teacher to organize and customize a successful teaching for each individual.

AbstractThe purpose of this survey is to examine how educators work with reading- and writing-skills in preschool with six year old children. I want to examine if the new curriculum, Lgr11, has affected the school teachers in their teaching of reading- and writing and if their work has changed through the years. Using a qualitative study, five preschool-teachers, working in preschool for several years, were interviewed to be heard of their thoughts about this topic. The survey shows that preschool-teachers are more familiar with the curriculum of today, in relation to previous curriculums. Much because of that the new one is more addressed to preschool compared with earlier curriculums but also that the teachers in an easier way can see the pupils? way to knowledge.

In my work as speech and language pathologist I often meet people emerging from coma andtheir experiences intrigue me. Coma is an eluding human condition that offers a challenge formodern science and our view on body and mind. In my Master project in Creative Writing Iwanted to try to enter this zone that is so hard for a clinician to reach: the personal experienceof being in a coma. By writing HUSK MIDAS I have tried to create a realistic fiction based onresearch on coma state and real-life stories of people waking up from coma.In my exploration of the coma state I found that lucid dreaming is common apart fromdreaming, many patients experience sensory inputs like sound and touch which aremisinterpreted and woven into dreams and creating a feeling of confusion and fear.Coma is a frequent theme in literature and film but is often depicted unrealistically andmisleadingly. A few works like Artur Lundkvist?s Journeys in Dream and Imagination andthe film The Descendents by Alexander Payne show a more reality based fiction.

Aim: The aim of this essay is to study the external communication of Science Park Jönköping, how they want students in Jönköping to perceive them. Further we would like to compare thatinformation with how students in Jönköping actually perceive Science Park Jönköping. Do the both pictures agree?Method/Material: Together with literature studies, a qualitive method has been used.Two interviews with the managers of Science Park, and five focusgroups with students havebeen conducted.Main Results: The main result from the focusgroup interviews shows that the students perceived image of Science Park correlates in many ways with Science Parks profile. But the study also shows that Science Park do not apply many of the relevant theories that would benefit their marketing..

The purpose of this Master?s thesis is to investigate the female reader of science fiction literature, a genre by tradition dominated by men. Through qualitative interviews with seven female science fiction readers, the relation between the reading and the readers? lives, as well as their concepts of the science fiction genre and the community of science fiction readers, was examined. The main theoretical framework used for the analysis was Yvonne Hirdman?s gender theory, Judith Butler?s concept of identity and Louise M.

This paper deals with how science teachers in the Swedish secondary school choose the content in the education they give to the pupils. What are the reasons for their choices and what do they think of the purpose of science in secondary school? Through interviewing science teachers the investigation shows that there are three different views of how to choose content in the science education: one focuses on the processes of science itself, one integrates the socio-cultural aspects and one emphasizes the interests of the pupils.

The new technology brings new opportunities for the language. The language, which is used when chatting or messaging, is full of linguistic devices, which facilitates writing and saves time and space. The purpose of my investigation is to find out if the chat- and- messaging- language is affecting the students' way of writing in school.To find out about this I have examined 79 essays written by students in grade 9 during the national test 2006. I have also to found out if the occurrence of these features differed between boys and girls. In addition, I have let the same students who have written the essays answer questions regarding their chatting- and messaging- habits.The conclusions I have attained through my investigation shows that 58 % of the students are using features which are typical in chat and messaging language.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how important computers are for text production in upper secondary school level, and to find out what attitudes some students have towards computers in writing classes. I have let 44 students in the Swedish gymnasium course Swedish B write an argumentative essay. Half of the group wrote using paper and pencil, and the other half used computers. The essays were graded, and the language and length of the texts were analyzed. The students also filled in a questionnaire with questions on computer aided writing classes.The results showed that the texts that were written with computers contained a significant larger amount of words and fewer spelling mistakes.