The aim of this review was to examine scientific literature to determine what kind of physiological and psychological benefits derive from human-dog interaction, as well as attempt to uncover a possible mechanism behind these benefits and whether or not they are mutually beneficial. A growing body of research indicates there are physiological and psychological benefits associated with human-dog interaction. Significant cardiovascular benefits have been linked with human-dog interaction, as have lowered blood pressure, cortisol and heart rate. Interaction with dogs is often associated with a feeling of social support and well-being, and dogs also seem to facilitate social interaction between people. Dogs? ability to buffer and reduce stress is also well documented. A strong indication was found regarding a relationship between physical contact and benefits associated with human-dog interaction.

The purpose of this essay was to examine municipal guidelines regarding the administration of the social assistance, collected from 18 municipalities in the Stockholm-area to achieve a greater understanding on how they were constructed in respect to the legislation and how the language mediated their contents. The legal aspects of the social assistance was studied through a jurisprudential method in which the legislative history, texts of laws and case laws were examined. The empirical aspect of this essay was studied through a hermeneutical method and analyzed through theories of social constructionism and legal pluralism. The results from the jurisprudential study were also used to understand how the municipal guidelines were constructed in relation to the law. The results of this essay corresponded well with previous studies in this field where considerable divergences in the approval of social assistance have been established.

Agile as an idea was created in 2001 through the Agile Manifesto with focus on social relationships, communication and flexibility. This was a reaction to the traditional, hierarchical organization with the goal of restoring balance within organizations in the IT business. Today we can see a transit of Agile from the IT-industry to other industries and areas, such as HRM.There is a challenge in attempting to traditionally control a social idea such as Agile, and there is a lack of empirical studies of the organizational context and its effect on the interpretation of Agile in practice. This study is an attempt to connect Agile to the science of business administration.The purpose with this study is therefore to research the organizational contexts effects on the interpretation of Agile in practice, within IT and HRM. Where Agile is established or well known.To fulfill our purpose we chose social constructivism as our scientifically approach, and conducted 12 in-depth interviews.

Background: 2007 there was 42 000 fall related accidents in Sweden and they are expected to increase the next few years. Fall among elders results in both increasing economically costs and suffering, but they can be prevented. For example has physical exercise shown an increasing effect on the risk for falls. Aim: The aim of this literature review was to investigate what influence Tai Chi has on the risk for falling among elder. Method: A literature review was conducted where eleven scientific articles were analysed with inspiration of the content analysis.

The thesis discusses new social movements and how they act on the conditions of the late capitalistic society. The purpose is to examine a new social movement trough its own members. What is their view of the movement?s aims and visions? How do they look upon the strategies to achieve these goals? The study is based on eight qualitative interviews with members of Attac Sweden. The results show that the members are highly aware of the movements avowed aims and strategies.

Daily citizens are informed by the media about the environment and the climate changes. The schools purpose is to educate students according to events that are of current interest and take place in present time. According to Swedish curriculum, Lpf94, all Swedish education should include and discuss the problems surrounding durable development. The purpose of the study is to se how the textbooks in History, Social studies and Geography and their contents meet the demands of the curriculum. The study shows that only the textbooks in geography meets the demands that the curriculums have on durable development.

The purpose of our essay is to find out if there are any strategies for profit transactions in a group. To realise our purpose we conducted two case studies with interviews. But we can not draw any general conclusions.To conduct the research we had to build a theory. In this theory we found motives to do profit transactions and how to do it. We also thought that there had to be some conflicts between the motives and the manager´s interests.In our analysis we found that financing the dividend was a strong reason to make profit transactions between companies in the group.

The aim of this study is to increase knowledge about how a group of newly graduated social workers reflect on the practical daily work and their positions working with clients who are in need of social and/or economic resources. More precisely the purpose is to find out how these seven newly graduated social workers viewed working with clients during theoretical and practical studies. The aim is to analyze which techniques and methods could be seen in these narratives. Furthermore the aim was to find out if and how these seven social workers reflected on the power relation between social worker and client.The material of this study consists of seven semi-structured interviews. Throughout gathering the data and analyzing it, the qualitative method in form of narrative approach was used.

The aim of this study was to examine the use of critical reflection in two social fields of work, using social workers that have at least five years professional experience. We have chosen to examine two fields of work in the same organization to be able to see possible similarities and dissimilarities that occur in the same organization.In our studies at B ?level we examined the use of critical reflection, using social workers that just gotten their degree and that were out working on their first job. In our study we discovered that because of the culture in the organization it?s easier to accommodate the already existing ways of working, than to ?go your own way?.

The purpose of this essay was to examine class-travellers experiences of having done the class-travel and when they realised they had done it.My questions were: when did they start the class-travel? How do they experience themselves after going through the classtravel? How do they change as class-travellers in their relationship with their surroundings?The study was based on interviews with six classtravellers, trained social workers who have made their journey through studies. In the essay I have analyzed and compared the interviews with relevant litterature/theory.My conclusions are that the experiences of the class-travel are different. The lass-traveller of this study are recognized of being/have been part of two worlds or cultures. How long the class-traveller has been in one of the worlds is of big importance.

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.

[Saknas].

Background: Traditional oral health education is seldom enough in order for dental care personnel to motivate their patients to good, long-lasting oral health care habits and there is a need for evaluation of other more efficient methods. One of these methods is motivational interviewing. An overview of its origin, definition, theoretical background and practical methods is given by way of introduction. Aim: The aim of the investigation was to review studies that had used motivational interviewing in order to obtain oral health, focusing on prevention and treatment of gingivitis, periodontitis and dental caries. Method: Systematic review. A search question was run through the databases ASSIA, ERIC, PsycINFO, Social Services Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts and PubMed. The articles were reviewed based on defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: Five publications (based on three studies) met the inclusion criteria.

This study illuminates chosen parts of the present opportunities, in the Western World, for parents and children to choose which school the child will attend (freedom of choice), along with possible consequences that may follow. My research questions are: 1) Do tendencies show that freedom of choice leads to increased segregation, and if that is the case, how is it manifested and does it matter? 2) What relations between the student composition of schools and teachers' expectations and attitudes toward students are there? 3) Do the results from previous studies match with the result from my interviews? The methods used for answering the questions are literature studies and interviews made with six teachers who are working in two upper secondary schools in the northern part of Sweden, i.e. three from each school.The result shows that freedom of choice, regarding schools, seems to lead to student compositions that contribute to increased segregation in societies. It leads to more homogenous student compositions, in the form of ethnicity and social class, in schools in general, with consequences like different expectations and attitudes among teachers depending on the status of the composition.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate what distinguishes the views of staff at centres for learning as regards users? motivation at centres for learning in public libraries. The following questions were asked:? How do staff at centres for learning view the users? motivation to studies?? How do staff at centres for learning view causes for lack of motivation and obstacles for motivation to studies?? What methods do staff at centres for learning use to motivate potential users to studies and to market the learning centres? ? What distinguishes these views of staff on users? motivation at centres for learning in public libraries?The methods used in this study are: literature studies, qualitative interviews and questionnaires. Interviews and questionnaires were done with six employees at six centres for learning.