The topic of homosexuality was until recently a taboo in Russian public discussion, but has during the last years become a hotly debated issue. Analyzing what I call the new homophobic narrative I isolate and examine two ways of ?othering? homosexuals, constructing them as strangers, when sexual minorities are discussed in today´s Russia. Sexual deviants are portrayed as threats to the nation and are connected to the West and its influence. Using analytical tools from queer theory, security studies and postcolonial approaches I discuss different ways of configuring the relation between nation and sexuality, identities that are interwoven in the homophobic narrative.

The aim of this study is to discuss how public officials, who are implementing integration policies, describe and relate to ?immigrant women?. The analysis is based on interviews with eight public officials. Drawing on perspectives from discourse theory, multiculturalism, western feminism and postcolonialism, the diskussion tries to place the interview statements within a theoretical debate concerning the concepts of culture/ethnicity and sex/gender. The picture of the ?immigrant woman? seems to be somewhat revised.

What role does the state play in economic development? This thesis seeks to investigate the relationship between a strong state and economic development. To define the concept of a strong state I focus on the relationship between the scope of state functions and the efficiency of which these functions are implemented. The concept of a strong state is in this thesis defined as the efficiency of the state functions. By using a database constructed by three economists; David Kaufman, Aart Kraay and Massimo Mastruzzi as a measurement of a strong state I test the relationship with economic development empirically.

Natten mellan den 19 och 20 mars 2003 inledde koalitionstrupper Operation Iraqi Freedom. Detta var slutet på det som kom att gå till historien som Irakkrisen.30 år tidigare formulerade Graham Allison en teori, i form av tre modeller, för att förklara utrikespolitiskt agerande utifrån Kubakrisen. Vi har prövat huruvida Allisons teori fortfarande kan förklara utrikespolitiskt agerande genom att pröva den på Irakkrisen. Detta har operationaliserats genom en systematisk genomgång av tillgängligt material som behandlar uppsatsämnet.Efter att ha betraktat Irakkrisen utifrån Allisons tre olika modeller kan vi konstatera att teorin fortfarande är bärkraftig. Dock behövs viss komplettering till den 30 år gamla teorin ? i form av en inrikespolitisk analys, bredare organisationsanalys samt en djupare value- och beliefsystem-analys ? för att kunna åstadkomma en fylligare undersökning som förenar Allisons modeller med dagens verklighet..

Sjukvården har länge varit satt under hög press för att sänka de stigande vårdkostnaderna och öka produktiviteten. Med ursprung i den privata sektorn introducerades i slutet av 80-talet nya organisationsidéer, New Public Management, som strävar efter att ta till vara på ekonomiska värden. Vissa forskare har sedan dess oroat sig för att detta underminerar de normer som tidigare dominerat offentliga sektorn. Lennart Lundquist hävdar att det gått så långt att dessa värden influerat politiker och tjänstemän till den grad att det hotar demokratin.Denna uppsats fokuserar på hur Beställar-utförarmodellen och kontraktering till privata vårdproducenter har påverkat demokratiska värden såsom ansvarsutkrävande, insyn och politiskt styrning. Med Lundquists teori i ryggen har vi genomfört en fallstudie av ett sjukvårdsdistrikt i Region Skåne som har lång erfarenhet av arbete med privata vårdproducenter.

AbstractWhy don't (some) regimes with formal democratic features undergo transition to democracy? Which are the internal dynamics of these regimes that can offer comprehension to this state of affairs? The main purpose of this thesis is to advance the above questions, and, on a lower level of abstraction, examine the case of Egypt. The Egyptian regime is characterized by, for instance, a multiparty-system, steps toward economic liberalization, and some level of persistent state opposition, and has been considered on the way to liberal democracy, but can still hardly be estimated as such.Thus, the thesis takes part in a theoretical framework on democratization, and further analyzes the case of Egypt on grounds of socioeconomic development, political culture, and class configuration. By this contextual approach, the thesis adduces that a low level of modernization, an incomplete democratic political culture, and a bourgeoisie supported by the state are impending significant factors. The thesis additionally remarks on the interconnection of the adopted theories, and discusses a potential need for new theoretical propositionsA secondary aim of the thesis also gives some insights into the concurrence of regime stability and the absence of democracy in, what often could be labelled, authoritarian regimes.

In order for any society to exist there must be a sense of belonging. In other words "We" need to be made distinctive and differentiated from "the Others". The aim of this thesis is to examine the processes behind the making and upholding of collective identities and the consequences of doing so. Theories regarding stereotypes, enemy images, power over the discourse and glocalization have therefore been applied to an empirical example in the form of a case study.The study is made on the municipality of Laxå in Sweden. Representatives on assumed key positions have been interviewed on their and Laxå's inhabitants views on the asylum seekers in the community between the years 1986 and 2005.Yet another aim of the thesis is to examine the possible connection between the perceived collective identity and the decision to close down the asylum facility in Laxå.

Title: Violin technique in folk music education. The purpose of this research has been to examine how violin teachers who are folk musicians teach violin playing techniques. Through litterature studies and qualitative interviews I have studied the relationship between teaching methods regarding violin playing techniques of the two genres folk music and classical music and how the teachers in the study relate to this. Mywork shows that the teachers use a variety of methods and material from both genres which they have come in contact with through different parts of their education.Jag har undersökt hur fyra fiollärare inom genren folkmusik arbetar med fiolteknik med sina elever. Genom litteraturstudier och kvalitativa intervjuer har jag undersökt relationen mellan undervisningstraditioner för teknikövning inom genrerna folkmusik och klassisk musik och hur lärarna förhåller sig till detta.

On the third of August 2002, in the middle of the ongoing Swedish election campaign, Lars Leijonborg beeing the leader of Folkpartiet (the Peoples Party) presented the partys new intergration programme for foreign nationals. One of the proposals was to instigate a language test for all immigrants seeking to obtain Swedish citizenship. This thesis addresses the medial debate that followed the proposal in the daily press. Using discourse analysis and postcolonial theory this thesis looks into the fact that there were not unity in the wake that followed the language test proposal resulting in one medial and one popular discourse. The newspapers investigated were largely negative in their tone, whereas on the opinion pages, the view of the people seemed much more positively inclined.

This paper is a study about outdoor education in pre- school. The main purpose is to look over if outdoor education in pre- school is a restraint or a resource. The study is based on two questionnaires, one to personnel in pre- school and one to parents who have children in pre- school. The study showed that outdoor education is mostly viewed to be a resource but there can be some problems in how to use it. Time, planning and knowledge were problems that were often mentioned by teachers.

Internet är fullt av udda företeelser som ingen skulle känna till om det inte vore för att Internets tekniska uppbyggnad skapade en ?lika för alla?-miljö. 1998 fick svenska väljare möjlighet att kryssmarkera bredvid en kandidat om väljaren ansåg att partiet hade placerat denne för långt ner på partilistan. Detta i kombination med Internets potential för aktörer att göra sig hörda utan att det kostar några större summor skapar nya utrymmen i den svenska demokratin.I detta arbete tittas närmare på de politiker som blev invalda i riksdagen enbart tack vare personkryss i valet 2002. Jag har koncentrerat mig på deras webbnärvaro och utreder huruvida denna uppfyller demokratiska kriterier eller ej..

Nearly half of the worlds population is individuals under the age of eighteen. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child state in its first article that a child is ?every human being below the age of 18 years?. Our aim and purpose with this essay is to problemize this broad definition. Our hypothesis is that the definition brought by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is too wide and therefore brings difficulties when children of different ages beneath eighteen should and shall be treated the same.

This paper describes how teachers of media view and construct their subjects. Eight teachers have been interviewed about their views and opinions about the media environment, their goals for media education as well as their opinions about the different course plans used in media education. The term Media Literacy works as a theoretical starting point for the study, since Media Literacy is the goal for most media education. The teachers? answers have been analyzed by using three different approaches to media education: protection, promotion and empowerment.

The purpose of my study was to find out how staff in after-school activities thinks they work with norms and values, we may call this values education, and how this in turn may influence children's norms and values. By extension, how children are socialized with each other and develop socially. In my research, I have interviewed five of the after-school activities staff who work with children aged 6-9 years at a school in the neighbourhood Rinkeby-Kista in northwestern Stockholm.The results show that after-school activity according to the staff can play a very important and sometimes crucial role in children's social development. Staff believes that if they do not learn the social rules by participating in playing and games in early childhood, when growing up they are outside and cannot participate. By their pedagogical approaches, in terms of values and norms, the adults in after-school activities can help children to become socialized into a community of solidarity and eventually as adults become responsible citizens able to function and participate in society..

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att ta fram en kommunikationsstrategi för att underlätta initierandet och upprätthållandet av samverkansprojekt mellan studenter på Campus Helsingborg och näringslivet i nordvästra Skåne. Examensarbetet är gjort på uppdrag av och i samverkan med Idéforum Nordvästra Skåne..