On the first of January 2012, a new public authority was formed in Värmland, due to a new legislation on public transport. The first task for the new public authority was to produce a plan for the development of public transport. In order to do so, it had to execute an extensive consultation process about the long-term goals of public transport. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate how a public authority can use a consultation process as a means to clarify accountability and produce unified goals. To answer that, I have done a case study about how the new regional public authority in Värmland for public transport has acted in the process of writing a plan for the development of public transport.

Author: Jessica Liljekvist and Emmelie Wiss CedergrenTitle: A miserable wretch that you should feel sorry for ? If social workers see persons who prostitute themselves as victims or agents. [Translated title]Supervisor: Marie ErikssonAssessor: Anders GiertzOur purpose with this study was to examine if social workers see persons who prostitute themselves as victims or as agents. We also wanted to examine how social workers see male and female persons who prostitute themselves. This study is based on the qualitative method and the result was analyzed with social constructionism, postmodern feminism and labeling theory.

This thesis examines the effects of electricity visualization in an office building. The subject was investigated through the creation of a web based visualization tool that was made accessible to the about 1500 employees in a large office building. The visualization was available for three weeks. During this period interviews, user studies and observations took place in order to evaluate what, if any, effects the visualization had on the attitudes and behaviors in the office. Electricity use data was collected and analyzed to see if the project had a statistically significant effect on the electricity consumption in the office.The results from the interviews and the data analysis indicate that no reduction in electricity consumption took place, and a number of factors that could increase the chances of success were identified.

The undergraduate thesis "Theories on Social Life in Public Places - Applied to Selma Lagerlöf's Torg" consists of two parts: the first part presents theories concerning social life in public places; the second part presents a program for developing Selma Lagerlöf's Torg (a center in a suburb to Gothenburg) into a well-functioning social environment, i.e. a place where the social life has positive consequences on its participants and on society..

An explorative study on the work motivation of employees at a retirement home. The three main factors are internal motivation, external motivation and control. A comparison between how important they estimate the different factors to be and how they experience them today reveals which factor is their key motivator and which areas that need improvement. Results indicat that internal and external motivation are slightly more important than control. And the amount of perceived control reflects the amount of creative and initiative behaviour of the individual.

Syfte med detta arbete var att undersöka om och hur utomhuspedagogik kan främja social kompetens och om utomhuspedagogik kan vara en möjlighet för att träna social kompetens i gymnasieskolan.Dagens ungdomar har färre vuxenkontakter och blir influerade av det tekniska samhället samtidigt som sociala färdigheter tränas mindre. Därav blir ungdomars brister i social kompetens mer påtaglig för samhället. Gymnasielever befinner sig i en känslig utvecklingsfas där social kompetens spelar en omedveten roll för sociala interaktioner. För närvarande finns ingen aktuell forskning om sambandet mellan utomhuspedagogik och träning av social kompetens på gymnasieskolan.Min empiriska studie har med hjälp av kvalitativa intervjuer av fyra verksamheter som arbetar med utomhuspedagogik tagit reda på om och hur utomhuspedagogik kan användas för att främja social kompetens. Respondenterna är verksamma i grundskolan, försvarsmakten, polisutbildningen och företagskonsulting.

The aim of this study was to examine and analyze the experiences which social workers have of working with relatives of substance abusers. This included examining how they work with relatives who are in need of care and support and how the social workers identify their needs. We have also investigated how well informed the social workers are when it comes to approaches to helping relatives of substance abusers. A qualitative method has been used in this study in order to analyze the experiences of the social workers from a phenomenological point of view. This study was based on six semi-structured interviews.

Den sociala ångesten många känner i olika situationer kan leda till undvikande, isolering och ibland även kompliceras av depressiva symtom och/eller alkoholanvändning. Huruvida ett samband mellan dessa problem kan visa sig i 16-17 årsåldern undersöktes genom en enkät om nedstämdhet, alkoholanvändning och social ångest. Resultatet visade att nedstämdhet hade en inverkan på grad av social ångest hos båda könen. Dock var tjejer i högre grad än killar mer nedstämda. Tjejer som drack mindre uppvisade en högre grad av social ångest.

This essay aimed to give a basis for the departement of social work in Lund in its task to recruit students from underrepresented parts of the population to the departement and to the university by presenting which social groups are underrepresentated. The research also aimed to give an explanation of how the backgrounds of the student´s have influenced them and lead them to undertake studies of social work. The main questions were: - What background do the students at the departement of social work have as seen from the variables; sex, age, national background, class, parents' educational level, society of childhood and direction of upper secondary school? - How can the background of the students at the departement of social work be explaned by the theories of Pierre Bourdieu? The research was performed with a quantative method based on a questionnaire. The data received by the questionnaire were compared with data of the general students population and of the population of Sweden at large.

A large part of the daily life today means being active online and to take part in the interactions that occur there. The accessibility which social media brings, means that you can reach and be reached in several ways and there are many different ways in which information can be disseminated. Social media supports the learning process. The aim of this study is to examine how upper secondary schools students' use of social media and how it can be used as a tool for informal learning. Our study is based on the socio-cultural perspective where interaction and social cohesion is a big part.

The aim of this Masters thesis is to, from a users perspective, investigate which factors affect the library use for six persons with disabilities or visual handicaps. My method has been a case study and the methods applied are interviews and observation. As a theoretical framework I use Tom Wilsons theories and models about information behaviour and transform them to a model about library use. Answers are sought to the following questions: - What does the library use look like for six persons with disabilities or visually handicaps? - How do they experience the library in their own municipality? - Which factors affect the disabled persons library use and experience of the library? All interviewees showed a very positive attitude towards the library and the majority of them visited the library regularly or received audio books by mail.

Title:Social media as a tool for organizational learningAuthor:David Chaaya & Filip FischerSupervisor:Stig Sörling & Tomas KällqvistBackground:People have always used different ways of communicating. Communication hasa vital role in organizations for control when management and employees are communicatingand interacting with each other to spread individual learning. Thru this contact, individuallearning can develop into organizational learning, which will benefit the whole organization.The most modern tool of communication is social media such as Facebook, Twitter andYoutube. The potential of these social media is disputed in society, but more and moreorganizations are using these kinds of media for communication.Aim:The purpose of this study is to illustrate how social media is used to control withinorganizations and also to create understanding how significant social media are fororganizational learning.Method:The method of this study originates from the ?aktörssynsätt? and is influenced byhermeneutics.

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore which inner conceptions about the abused older women the professional social workers had and how they experienced the enconter of an abused old woman in an intimate partner relation. The theoretical background is social construction by Berger and Luckmann. This theory was uset to analyze the transcribed interviews. This study is based on nine interviews with five professionals in social services, three volunteers from the voluntary sector and one social worker who worked in a community based support group for abused older women. The result of this study shows that older women were often abused, by a relative they were dependent on, in their home.

I have studied the suburban municipality of Botkyrka, south of Stockholm, from a rural perspective. Through that I`ve compared how countryside comes into being with the planning and building of suburbs. I have looked for a definition of Countryside, and found that it is often explained or defined in negative terms, as what it is not. In that it says nothing about what it really is, or about the qualitiies it has to it. Botkyrka is a suburb, but it does in large parts consist of countryside. Apart from defining countryside and rural I´ve been searching for a definition of suburbia, of it´s structure and the mental picture we have of it as a cultural phenomena. In order to understand the role that suburbs have in planning I describe their history from Italian renaissance villas to sprawl. By opposing urban and rural, modern urban planning and how rural areas are created, I´ve come to a definition of rural planning and the making of countryside. To make countryside, planning and building should come from individual needs and desires. A relationship to the surroundings based on continous interaction between the human beeing and it´s environment, a constant process of shaping and reshaping. To put my thoughts to the ground I have collected examples of projects and ideas, that fits into my view of what rural planning and making countryside is all about. They are put in different categories according to the possibilities of influence and to what degree it is put into private hands. The first category is ?allemansrätten?, every mans right. That is the rigt to use private land as long as you don´t disturb or destroy.

Kevin Roberts has extended the comprehension of strong consumer brands to a higher level where loyalty beyond reason is established. He calls this new status Lovemarks. As the concept of Lovemark has only been applied in B2C markets, this thesis is directed to find out the applicability of Lovemarks in B2B context. In order to fulfill the research purpose, three main questions are answered based on a cross-sectional research approach: What role do intangible factors play in B2B branding? Is the idea of B2C Lovemarks transferable to B2B context? How should a B2B Lovemark be characterized? The results of the qualitative interviews indicate insights of high investment and involvement, integrated brand communication, balance between function versus emotion, brand?s trustworthy personality, customer partnership, and finally, the potential establishment of B2B Lovemarks.