The purpose of this study is to discuss the use of social media by the Swedish Police for democratic purposes. The idea of citizen empowerment is closely related to the development of new communication technologies such as social media. Yet many studies indicate that governmental institutions rarely make use of the assumed potentials of social media.In this study, the democratic potential of social media is derived from Habermas normative concept of deliberative participation. Operational definitions emphasize discursive equality, interactive reciprocity and external impact. The analytical framework is combined with qualitative text analysis to highlight the conditions of interaction between representatives of the Police and citizens.In conclusion: the democratic potential of social media, from a Habermasian point of view, is to a significant extent neglected at the expense of its strategic advantages.

AimThe purpose with this study is to evaluate the selectationprocess and what happened with Swedish basketball players born 1986-89, that were selected to participate in Miki Herkel Cup (MHC), which is a camp for the 60 most talented players in Sweden.Metod  Together with the Swedish basketball federation, we decided to survey those who attended MHC as well as the players playing in the senior national team 2009.  The data collection has been made through a survey, with multiple choice questions in order to get as good as possible view of what factors that had influenced their development as basketball players. The survey was sent out to all players born 1986-89 that attended MHC and the senior national team of 2009. We used an electronic survey tool called questback which is an internetsurvey and sent out the survey to 320 players. To collect information we´ve searched within literature and databases.Result  18 % of the players answered the survey, which decreases the research validity.

The main aim of this thesis is to introduce a normative perspective to surveillance studies. I examine how the use of videocameras or CCTV-systems can create a social sorting and, then, try to answer why it ought to be reconstructed based on a normative study.For the empirical analysis I use Foucaults theory about the panopticon, maintained by the psychological subjection of the common citizen in the modern world, together with Lianos theory of a more socio-cultural surveillance in the post-modern world. The empirical examination is, furthermore, guided by a theory that describes the construction of the stranger, which today, is not explicitly excluded, because everyone is a stranger in some way, but rather depicted as the other due to institutionalization.The post-modern society today can no longer be built upon a common or divine moral or norm. Thus, I have chosen a normative method, using a deliberative democracy derived from Habermas, focusing on the communicative practice, that can engage and include every citizen in a democratic process. This is necessary for both deciding whether videocameras should be installed and whom and why some should be under surveillance ? to avoid a social sorting that both can constitute and undermine social trust and increase the gap between the governing and the governed..

A qualitative study of a senior high school staff's perceptions and experiences during a process of alteration..

The work with Agenda 21 resulted in a larger focus on local participation and deliberation. The Swedish implementation of Agenda 21 is a result of these local governments´ political agendas and policies.The purpose with this paper is to examine the relationship between the citizen and the local government. It focuses on three theories of citizenship and how the view of "the environmental aware citizen?; in the local government?s municipalities policies differ and from which theory of citizenship do they come from.The analysis is of a valuing and comparing nature. The municipalities´ web pages have been the main source to generate an understanding of their view on the normative environmental work.

The purpose of this paper was to learn more about the strategies used by senior high school librarians and teachers in educating their students' information skills, such as criticism of the information sources. The paper was based upon qualitative interviews with one senior high school librarian and three senior high school teachers. The respondents were asked to spontaneously tell me about their counseling strategies when the students do research assignments in medicine-oriented subjects. The respondents? narratives were analyzed with Carol Collier Kuhlthau?s theories about the information search process and its levels of mediation, as well as with literature about counseling strategies in mind.

During the last years a discussion has emerged around problems with Swedish state boards trying to influence the public opinion and even political bodies through different kind of information efforts. Several observers inside and outside the academy have studied how state boards increasingly use information as an instrument and also how political bodies increasingly have given such instructions to state boards. This essay put those studies into the context of both information political history and previous theoretical interpretations in that field of research.The analytical tool consists of four ideal typical ways ('state opinions') to arrange relations between the state and the citizen. Some critics focus on problems with too much political steering and how political majorities uses state boards to spread ideological propaganda. Others highlight problems with autonomy and bureaucratic organizations taking initiatives by themselves to spread normative information.

Bakgrund: Att skapa bra förutsättningar och ta hand om idrottstalanger är angeläget i många länder, så också i Sverige. Ett led i att skapa möjligheter för våra idrottsungdomar har varit satsningen på idrottsgymnasier.Syfte: Syftet med den här studien var att undersöka om de friidrottsungdomar som presterar bäst vid antagningstester till Friidrottsgymnasiet i Växjö även är de friidrottare som presterar bäst resultat som seniorer. Material och metod: Totalt 207 friidrottare, i 15 års ålder, (100 flickor och 107 pojkar) som utfört ansökningstesterna till FIG Växjö och presterat ett friidrottsresultat som senior ingick i studien. Följande antagningstester ingick:30 meter flygande(snabbhet), kulkast framåt (explosivitet) samt plinthopp, 90 sekunder (styrkeuthållighet). Antagningstesterna jämfördes med friidrottarens bästa prestation utförd som senior. En jämförelse gjordes även grengruppsvis.

AbstractTitle: Is it easy to make the right decision? An essay about how the profiled senior level schools communicate with their future pupils and their parents. (Lätt att göra rätt val? En uppsats om den profilerade högstadieskolans kommunikation med blivande elever och deras föräldrar.)Author: Erika CassmanAim: My hypothesis is that parental influence is higher when the students are going to a detached school than when the students are going to a school with a profiled program because in the profiled program they are going to study a course that they love and is chosen by themselves. The aim of this essay is therefore to find out if this thesis is right or wrong.

The question of direct citizen participation in politics and administration is a contestable one. Its proponents claim that it has positive consequences even for the more "traditional", representative democracy, since participation leads to an increased political knowledge and increased political interest, and thus creates a revitalised democracy. Critical voices have however been raised to the validity of this claim. Critics have also pointed out direct participation as problematic, because it leads to problems of political inequality: a difference of political influence between ? on the one hand, the citizens participating directly and those that restrict their political participation to voting, and ? on the one the other hand ? between the institutions, for example schools, that employ, and don?t employ this method of direct citizen influence.In this essay, these two points of criticisms are tested in the context of user-boards in elementary and secondary schools.

AbstractThis study examines the use of dance in the special education classes in high school. The purpose is to study the teachers? thoughts about dance within this school form. I want to see if they see any gains from having dance as a subject, and what might these be? Earlier research states that dance has a positive influence on mentally handicapped children and young people, and that it strengthens their general development.

Study: Degree project in teacher education, Advanced level, 15pUniversity of SkövdeTitle The Battle of the School ? The attempt of four organizations to influence the Swedish school and the good citizen.Number of pages: 43Author: Christoffer HärsjöTutor: Erik AnderssonDate: January 2009 Keywords: Democracy, organizations, school, influence, citizen This exam discusses the influence of four different organizations in the public school. The chosen organizations are the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, LO, the Enforcement Authority and the political party Feminist Initiative. They all have different agendas about what they think the school should teach children. These agendas will be analyzed from the point of view of lobbying, corporatism, influencing of public opinion and the theory of curriculum, to find out what impact they have on the Swedish school system.

The purpose of this study was to examine how commitment to a cause on a local basis had developed in four smaller groups during one decade. In 1996 I interviewed representatives in Åsele, Borrby, Hasslarp and Tving about their commitment and citizen initiative. Now, ten years later, I followed it up by interviewing them again. I wanted to know if the groups/associations still existed, if they had achieved their goals as they where pronounced ten years ago and how a strong commitment on a local basis can develop during ten years. Which phenomena decide whether the group develop or phase out? I use the term citizen commitment instead of citizen initiative to stress the fact that it is no longer an initiative but an on-going commitment.

The purpose of this essay has been to compare different constitutions, and their outlook on citizenship, rights, obligations and natural duty. This has been done in the light of the political philosophy, in order to give the answer to four questions. These questions are: Which rights and obligations can be seen in the constitutions, and how can it be interpreted. Can there be signs of any political philosophy in the constitutions?  Are there any differences between the constitutions regarding citizenship, rights, obligations and natural duty? If so, what are the differences? Can the rights be seen in a further extent than the obligations in the constitutions?I have conducted a qualitative comparision study and analyzed the political philosophers and made a classification scheme of their views.

Management consulting firms are an important part of the knowledge economy and they capitalize on the analytical ability and knowledge of their employees. Much research have been made on large consulting firms and their management of knowledge, but little is known about how small consultancies manage their knowledge. Even less is known about the management of knowledge in small consultancies specialized in change management. These firms rely solely on senior consultants and focus on the human aspect of organizational development. This thesis aims to show how these firms manage their knowledge and also provide an understanding of why.