The purpose was to investigate whether using two type of interventions (i.e., Four rooms of change in school and EQ- workshop) in addition to curriculum guidelines can affect character development in children 10-12 years of age. The data was collected using the test Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (J-TCI; Cloninger, CR, 1994) in three elementary schools among students in fifth grade who had been involved in any of the two interventions for the past two years or no intervention at all.The J-TCI scales were used to, besides the seven personality dimension it measures, create a self-constructed empathy scale. A total of 55 participants were included in the study (girls n = 26 and boys n = 29). Statistical testing with MANOVA showed no significant main effect on empathy or any personality trait. There was however an interaction effect between intervention and gender on the character traits.

This qualitative study aims to study how sexuality is constructed in web articles on the movie Fifty Shades of Grey. The study is based on a social constructivist perspective where language is seen as constitutive of reality. The study is based on a Foucauldian discourse analysis which is used in order to see what is excluded and included in the articles? construction of normal sexuality. The result shows that there are similarities in how the web articles produce normal sexuality.

Gender mainstreaming has been an internationally dominant policy since the mid 1990?s. In 2004, the Swedish government decided to implement gender mainstreaming within the Government Offices of Sweden. However, little research seems to have focused on the reasons for an organization's decision to implement gender mainstreaming. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to answer the question why the Government Offices of Sweden have decided to use gender mainstreaming.

This essay analyses text written by a gender equality movement critical of feminism. Themovement is active on the Internet and through this essay I would like to show the tensions in contemporary political debates on gender equality and feminism. 350 blogposts have been deconstructed through discourse theoretical method. In the analyses I have shown the discursive struggle that is going on within the movement in giving meaning to concepts as knowledge, society, gender, politics, feminism and gender equality. The movement is using the technical potential in blogs and common Internet forums tocreate a common political we.

The aim of the study is to examine which present conceptions of sexuality there are in treatment of substance abuse for men. The intention is to examine how staff members in these environments perceive clients? sex and sexuality as well as studying if and in that case how they work with sexuality in treatment. A qualitative method formed the methodological approach and semistructured interviews were carried out for the collection of data. Four staff members from two different treatment institutions for substance abuse were interviewed.

Media brings attention to the concept of preschools being in large need of more male teachers. In order to implement an increase of male teachers, various methods have been employed, most of which are based on the concepts of gender and equality. In question however, are the views of present teachers on the need for male teachers, and their expectations of those men! Or in other terms: What particular type of men are requested? And how does this correspond with the gender patterns induced by male teachers in their daily practical work? The purpose of this survey is to analyze expectations of male teachers and their role in the preschool context, through a gender perspective. I want to shed light on this purpose based on two questions: What ?kind? of men are requested by the present teachers? and Which gender patterns will the men induce to their daily work chores, and to their interaction with the children? The survey was conducted by means of interviews, polls, and observations, and the results were obtained from two preschools of which one in particular has extended focus on gender issues.

The purpose of this paper was to describe how a phenomenon is constructed into being a social problem, by studying articles on honour killing in the Swedish daily press and in the technical journal Socionomen. The main questions were: can different discourses on honour killing be identified, and if so, have they changed over time, and are there differences between the discourses identified in the daily press and in Socionomen? The method used was a qualitative analysis of discourse influenced by Faircloughs Critical Discourse Analysis. The main conclusion was that honour killing has been textually constructed as a social problem in the studied media. There was one main discourse which clearly pointed out groups as bearers and victims of the social problem.

The aim of this thesis is to study the effects of self-service on professional qualifications of library assistants in three public libraries in Sweden. The research questions are: - How do the library assistants experience that their professional qualifications have changed since self-service was introduced at the library? - Does the view on library assistants? professional qualifications and future differ between library managers and library assistants? - Does the view on library assistants? professional qualifications and future differ between the three different libraries? The method used is qualitative interviews with six library assistants and three head of libraries from three different public libraries. The theoretical framework for this study is constructed by theoretical ideas about professional qualifications and technology's impact on professionalism. The results indicate that the cognitive qualifications of library assistants have increased and social qualifications both increased and decreased.

A mapping process is ongoing in Sweden concerning a phenomenon known as ?honour related violence?. The explanations of ?honour related violence? often focus on culture and ethnicity, thus establishing differences between the majority society and offenders and victims. Given that some scholars critique mapping for focusing on predetermined objects, my aim is to study discursive conditions for abused girls, who are constructed as being from within ethnic minorities, in relation to their contact with the Swedish welfare system.

The aim of this study is to describe and analyze how Bolaget, a paper published by the Swedish alcohol monopoly retailer Systembolaget, constructs issues of alcohol in 18 preventive articles published between 2009 and 2012. More specifically the essay focuses on the consequences of alcohol, as well as its consumers and functions. Systembolaget is a distributor of alcohol and at the same time has an assignment by the state to reduce alcohol-related harm. This double role makes the alcohol prevention of Systembolaget, and their perspective on consequences, consumers and functions of alcohol, an interesting object of study. The theoretical and methodological basis is Fairclough?s critical discourse analysis.

This essay discusses immigrants? prospects of constructing an identity in a multicultural society like Sweden. The discussion is primarily theoretical but offers a few empirical examples to demonstrate its relevance. Furthermore, the ontological standpoint of this essay draws on an understanding of the world and our knowledge as constructed which implies that identities are also constructed. The process of identity making is further understood as a relational process in which others recognition is central to the individuals own understanding of his or hers identity.

By reading three 21st century books am I trying to see how the female friendship is described in literature of our days. The books are Rebell med frusna fötter by Johanna Nilsson, Lutherska badet by Unni Drougge and I närheten av solen by Hanna Wallsten. They are all written by Swedish authors and taking place in Stockholm in the early years of 2000. I am doing a critical reading against the roles of ?heteronormativitet? as the word is described by Tiina Rosenberg and Fanny Ambjörnsson trying to see how the characters are following or breaking these roles.

The first purpose of this thesis is to investigate if, how, and why the perceived collective identity in the town of Karlskrona has changed. Collective identities can due to their socially constructed nature change rapidly in light of new collective experiences. The reason for suspecting such a change in Karlskrona is the immense impact that the change in the global economy, according to Saskia Sassen, has on cities. By interviewing politicians and media representatives from Karlskrona the perceived identity is drawn. The second purpose of this thesis will then be to test if the identity as it is perceived by Karlskronas habitants differ from the one that town officials present through city marketing.

The aim of this study was to describe how girls and boys have been represented in the Swedish children?s? magazine Kamratposten from 1950 until 2010. Kamratposten was chosen because it has both boys and girls as target audience. Three articles about children from the years 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010 were chosen as material of the study.The study is a discourse analysis that deconstruct the gender discourse of Kamratposten. The analysis is done with a gender perspective.

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the ways in which the constructions of heterosexuality and gender in three Disney movies about princesses affect the power relations between men and women in the movies, and how discourses on gender and heterosexuality have changed over time. Research questions were:How do characters in the movies talk about gender and heterosexuality?How does the interplay between gender and heterosexuality affect the power relations between men and women in the movies?What are the likenesses and differences between movies from different time periods?Discourses were mapped out using a model based on Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe?s political theories. These discourses were then analyzed with a theoretical framework consisting of Yvonne Hirdman?s concept of gender system and gender contracts, Judith Butler?s view on the heterosexual matrix and an understanding of power relations based on Michel Foucault.