In the present case, the conception of policy hitchhiking gets evaluated in terms of its implications for democracy. This task is executed through the accomplishment of a case study of the use of social- and environmental clauses in the Swedish competitive tendering.A useful definition of policy hitchhiking, including different types of actors, is created.Through the defining of democracy and policy hitchhiking, the author comes to the conclusion that policy hitchhiking in some respects does meet democracy values.The thesis? result can in some sense be regarded as a contribution to the pursuit of knowledge of how power is distributed in the society and how the current distribution can be explained and understood..

This study discloses the responsibility of social work for the Swedish welfare state respective deacons in the Swedish protestant church, which roll the Swedish protestant church have in the existent welfare and also if deacons experience any expectations and how these expectations in that case are expressed.The aim of this study was to investigate the relationbetween deacons working within the Swedish protestant church and social work, as it appears for professional deacons. The method of investigating the questions raised by the aim of this study has been qualitative analysis of answers derived from six deacons working in different workplaces. The data derived from these interviews was then analysed through the theory of Gösta Esping-Andersen about welfare states and also through background research and earlier science research about the social work within the Swedish protestant church and other social work. The result of the study show that the welfare state in Sweden has the comprehensive responsibility for the citizens. Deacons working within the Swedish protestant church does not have the same responsibility.

The theses discuss information seeking with a focus on Google and social networks. Students attending the librarian program in Lund have been examined by means of two methods; diaries and information horizons, where they had to solve a specific assignment. The information horizon as a method contributes to getting a structural perspective on the information search process instead of viewing information search as a procedure. Information horizons use social network analysis.The aim of the theses is to investigate the importance of the social network in information search, with a particular focus on Google as a search tool. Our hypothesis is that Google acts as a compensator to the social network when the students search for information and in the educational program.The research indicates that there is no direct correlation between usage of the social network and usage of Google.

The objective of this essay was to analyse if the same housing needs are assessed equally by Swedish welfare agencies in ten districts in Malmö. If not, why?Welfare officers from all districts were interviewed. They were all working with homelessness among families. We had an idea that the districts were forced to prioritize because of the meagre recourses, and that clients who really needs help doesn't get what they need.

Clients with dual diagnosis have difficulties to recover and have a tendancy to fall between two stools. Among other things this is due to the fact that caregivers have different approaches, values and focus. The purpose of this study is to compare how clients, therapists and socialworkers look upon the aim of the treatment, its form, residential care, the conception of goalfulfillment and participation. In our study we have applied the theories of Aaron Antonovsky, Howard Becker and Erving Goffman. The paper consists mainly of qualitative interviews with clients, therapists and socialworkers.

In August 2007 we went to New Zealand for a placement at Child Youth and Family Services. There our interest in Family Group Conferences (FGC) took off. FGC is not near as common in Sweden as in New Zealand. Therefore the purpose of this study was to examine how the Social Services in Helsingborg and Höör in Sweden and Belfast in Northern Ireland work with FGC. We had the privilege to go to Belfast in Northern Ireland as part of the project Insight Europe.

The purpose of this essay is to examine the concept of competence within the social services. More specifically it aims to find out how the social workers themselves look upon their own competence in social investigations concerning children. As the study was based on focus groups the main questions were vague at the beginning and were cleared later on during the group sessions.In three focus group interviews in three different municipalities in southern Sweden 11 social workers were asked to discuss this issue. The interviews were then thoroughly transcribed. In the data I identified 9 themes seeming to play a special roll in the discussions about competence: practice; experience; approach; intuition; responsibility; theories, methods and laws; reflection; resources and ethics; specialisation versus integration.The analysis made on these themes was based on two different kinds of perspective; one focusing knowing-in-action and the other focusing the organization framing the competence considered.As a conclusion the 7 first themes can be seen as a definition of the competence used in social investigations concerning children.

Z39.50 is a standard protocol designed to create an interface between diverse computer databases for diverse information needs. Since it has to be adjustable it is also complex and demands a certain degree of expertise when being set. However, the aim of this paper is not to make a theoretical description but to examine certain conditions in practice. From the perspective of Swedish research libraries two principal hypotheses are examined: 1) the implementation of a given technology (Z39.50) is primarily influenced by social circumstances, and 2) the way in which the technology is implemented will bias the results of information retrieval. For this examination we need a framework of theories concerning the relationship between technological development and society, organisational theories and database theories.

Syftet med studien är att ta reda på vilka praktiska moment som genomförs i teknikämnet i grundskolans senare år, utifrån den gällande kursplanen i teknik. Studien bygger på enkäter, ställda till ett antal elever, lärare och science center i Sverige.Enkäterna tolkas utifrån en fenomenografisk ansats.Elevenkäten har gjorts för att få en inblick i hur eleverna ser på de praktiska momenten i skolan samt vad de i allmänhet tycker om teknikämnet.Lärarenkäten har gjorts för att få reda på vilka praktiska moment om görs samt vilken budget som finns att tillgå för teknikundervisningen. Dessutom har användandet av science centers beskrivits.Science centerenkäten har gjorts för att ta reda på hur ofta science center anlitas av skolor och vilka praktiskamoment som genomförs där.De slutsatser som kommer fram är att de flesta eleverna upplever de praktiska momenten som roliga samt att de flesta eleverna någon gång besökt något av de science center som finns i Sverige. I analysen av lärarenkäterna visas att 70 % av lärarna arbetar praktiskt trots låg budget. Utgångspunkten för upplägg av undervisningen är Lpo94 och ämnesintegration är vanlig.

Background: Pet therapy has existed as a concept since 1964 when the American child psychologist Boris Levinson coined the term. Nowadays Animal Assisted Activity (AAA) and Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) are both recognized concepts, and with progressed research the science of pet therapy increases.Purpose: To summate the most recent science in pet therapy (therapy dog) research with focus on physical, psychical, and social effects.Methods: Literature study/review with descriptive design, research on 21 articles published from year 2003 and onward. Articles used in the study were chosen through beforehand decided criteria, subject to quality rating, and summated in an overview. The main results were summated and presented in similarities and differences.Results: The main result of the summation was that important results could be measured in each of the three fields of research. Physical/physiological effects: pain relief, differentiated results on vital signs, and increased activity.

This essay is a qualitative study concerned with questions about disability. I set out from a definition of disability which highlights non-disabled peoples´ participation in making a disabled person ?the Other?. My aim is to contribute to an understanding of the experiences of disabled people as well as problemize the way that normality and disability is socially constructed. The empirical material of the essay consists of qualitative interviews with disabled men and women and the essay is written with a critical perspective.

The aim of the study was to examine how substance abuse influences social relationships to families, friends and others. Five ex addicts in a treatment centre were interviewed. We used thematic interviews with themes that we regarded as relevant for our study. In the analysis we applied the theoretical concept of symbolic interactionism. Theories of emotions also helped us to explain feelings that arise in the social relationships.

The purpose of this study is to examine the conditions for pre-school teachers to achieve those goals that are constituted for science education in the Swedish curriculum for the pre-school. The study questions of formulations are: which importance have the conditions for the work with science education in pre-school, which importance have pre-school teachers engagement and knowledge for the work with science education in pre-school and does the pre-school pre-school teachers think that they have enough conditions to achieve those goals that are constituted for science education in the Swedish curriculum for the pre-school. The results are based on an interview survey with ten pre-school teachers from three pre-schools that are connected in a unit. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The results from the study points out that the pre-school teachers engagement are most important for the work with science education in pre-school to flourish.

This master's thesis is about alternative career opportunities for library and information science graduates. Ever since the beginning of our education we have been interested in working outside of the traditional libraries. Now that we are about to receive our degrees in library and information science we are doubtful if the competence we have obtained is enough to meet the demands of the labour market. The employment field we have been studying in this master's thesis is information management, since this is a field that we find comparable to library and information science. Our study involves a qualitative survey amongst recruiting companies to investigate how the recruiters value different educations, competences and personal skills when they employ staff within the field of information management.

This is a final year project considering constructional techniques for joining cavity walls. The project is related to an ongoing scientific programme about the restoration of The City wall of Visby located on Gotland. The programme was set by Riksantikvarieämbetet as a reaction to a collapse of the outer masonry wall shell which took place in February 2012.The City wall of Visby is a medieval fortification built out of limestone during the 13th century. The wall is constructed as a cavity wall with two separate masonry shells connected to each other through an intermediate core. During the 14th century the wall was heightened which lead to a higher stress, especially in the outer wall face.