Gyms are populated by more and more people and there is an increased interest in wellness and health. However, there is a downside to the culture that people choose to step into. Exercise can go too far and take unhealthy directions. The purpose of this study is to examine how norms are created in the gym culture and how unhealthy behaviour is reproduced inside the walls of the gym. We have also done research about how a local gym identifies and handles deviant behaviour such as the use of doping and eating disorders.

The Swedish Armed Force is one of the largest authorities in Sweden and has as its primary mission to be responsible for Sweden's military defence. Their unique activity - to participate in armed combat ? requires leaders who can make quick and rational decisions in uncertain and conflicted environments. This study aims to gain an understanding of how individuals with leadership roles in the Swedish Armed Forces are experiencing their leadership in relation to the organization's structure and culture. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, the following research question was created: How do individuals with leadership roles experience the influences of the organization's structure and culture on their formal leadership? The theoretical starting point is Weber's organization theory, Schein's organizational culture theory, and different definitions of leadership.

The main purpose of this essay is to study ideas concerning the concept of ?art? within the discourse of the exhibition space that is part of a fanart community. In order to do so I have used a hermeneutical and to some extent structuralistic, discourse analysis. I have examined structure and rhetorics in two established and popular communities, Fanart-Central and deviantART.My conclusions states that personal ideas regarding artistic value are undermined the joint policies, because of a collective rhetoric somewhat inherent in the community structure.When a lot of works are being based on internal knowledge of symbolics and historical narratives, this may to some extent have consequences where unfamiliar observers might fail to notice elements of possible significance. Moreover, certain interests in keeping a united front of ?quality art? may also affect a general idea immediate to what signifies fanart.

Though death and mortality is an inevitable part of our lives it seems like both the society with its culture and the individual in some way repress death. This study was set to explore how and why the individual holds back thoughts on his/her own death and in which way society affect the individual?s repression of death-thoughts. Using a hermeneutic approach I have interviewed five informants about death and thoughts about death in everyday life. Also for the analysis of the empirical material a hermeneutic approach was used, and the works of Bauman, Giddens, Heidegger, Fromm and May served as a theoretical starting point.

The aim of this study is to describe how nature is portrayed in swedish poet and critic Aase Berg?s two earliest poetry collections, Hos rådjur (1997) and Mörk materia (1999), and how it relates to notions of humanity, culture and civilisation. The concept of ?nature? is problematized in a short survey of how it has been used by and critizised in ecocritical literary theory, which is used as the main theoretical framework for this survey, with an emphasis on selected theoretical concepts by Donna Haraway. As a methodological starting point, ?nature? is tentatively defined as ?that which does not let itself be subsumed under the human, culture or civilisation?, and this definition is contrasted with how the concepts are handled in the texts.The investigation shows that the relationship of nature to the human is a fundamental theme that provides a structure for both poetry collections.

This essay comprises a study of the bridal crowns of Tjust, with respect to their national history, concept and aspect of mythological symbol. The tradition of bearing the parochial bridal crown is closely associated with religious medieval politics, and has also come to include elements of superstition and folklore. Attention is paid to these aspects dealing with the position of the bridal crown within current forms of tradition and culture and the impact on brides of this day and age. As the tradition of Church-owned bridal crowns is intrinsic to this country, and especially in the area of which Tjust is a part, possible solutions to the continued tradition are investigated..

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the 9/11 attacks, the landscape of the freedom of religion has changed. The issues now facing freedom of religion varies greatly from the issues that the drafters of the universal declaration of human rights faced after World War II.In the light of the new issues that States face in the intersection of religion and societal interest, scholars have criticized the European Court of Human Rights to give too much leeway to the States in determining how the human rights should be implemented, by using the doctrine of margin of appreciation. Critics of the margin of appreciation claim that it is based on culture relativism and that the doctrine undermines the universality of the human rights. In order to decide if the margin of appreciation has indeed led to a relativization of the human rights I compared it to the jurisprudence of the UN Human Rights Committee and its use of the Syracusa principles. My conclusion is that the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights cannot be considered to be based on culture relativism.

The aim of this study is to examine the collection One Thousand and One Nights (also: The Arabian Nights) from a european perspective, by comparing different european translations. The study focuses on three translations into Swedish from different periods of time and how the tales have changed in the translation process - depending on the prevailing line of approach and Western perceptions of Eastern standards. The thesis of the study is that Eastern culture, from a Western perspective, has been seen as exotic and different but not as a high literary culture and that this view has affected the translations into european languages. The study shows, among other things, that Western culture is many times considered normative in the translations and that the translators often give their own voices a prominent role, also that common Western notions of the East affects the translations.The word ?orientalism? is used frequently in the study and it refers primarily to the image of the Orient as it is described in Edward Saids' book Orientalism: as a Western construction whose main purpose is to strengthen its own conception of the Orient and thereby strengthen the Western identity as better than the Orient.

The aim of this paper is to research and discuss the role the cultural politics play for the Swedish employment office (Arbetsförmedlingen) and the meaning culture politics have within the labour market policy. A research has shown that Arbetsförmedlingen evaluates unemployed cultural workers differently than regular registered jobseekers. From an instrumental perspective on political implementation this can be considered as an anomali. Arbetsförmedlingen?s mandate derives from the government and its authority is a tool for carrying out state policy.

The study?s purpose was to gain comprehension and knowledge about immigrate women?s vision on benefits respective disadvantages with arranged marriages.The study?s question at issues was:(1) How do the women consider that the ideal marriage is suppose to be?(2) How do the women experience that their vision on marriage has changed in a new culture?(3) How do the women consider that parents reasons, around the choice of a partner at arranged marriages?To be able to answer these questions at issues we used a qualitative method where interviews carried out with four immigrated women from four different countries where Islam is widespread religion. Common for these women is that they all are Muslims and that they come from countries where arranged marriages are practiced. They also have concrete experience of arranged marriages, either through themselves or someone they know.Material from interviews was analysed with a help of patriarchal theory and social constructivism. We have also analysed the material with a theory about culture and a theory about groups.

The aim of this study is to examine the collection One Thousand and One Nights (also: The Arabian Nights) from a european perspective, by comparing different european translations. The study focuses on three translations into Swedish from different periods of time and how the tales have changed in the translation process - depending on the prevailing line of approach and Western perceptions of Eastern standards. The thesis of the study is that Eastern culture, from a Western perspective, has been seen as exotic and different but not as a high literary culture and that this view has affected the translations into european languages. The study shows, among other things, that Western culture is many times considered normative in the translations and that the translators often give their own voices a prominent role, also that common Western notions of the East affects the translations.The word ?orientalism? is used frequently in the study and it refers primarily to the image of the Orient as it is described in Edward Saids' book Orientalism: as a Western construction whose main purpose is to strengthen its own conception of the Orient and thereby strengthen the Western identity as better than the Orient.

The purpose of this essay is to illustrate the preparation of total and civil defense education in schools in the 1970s to gain insight into how the school looked and pondered the complicated world that existed outside the school's doors. By using the concepts of welfare state, welfare and civil defense culture, I have studied relevant materials to get answers to questions treating the total and civil education in schools after Lgr69, the way the state sees the subject and if it is possible to detect a civil defense culture in schools and if so, how it will be expressed.     The results show that the state emphasized education as incredibly important because knowledge of how to act in a crisis or war could be extremely crucial for the individuals and their survival. The education was so important that it got a role as a main factor in Lgr69. But even if the education was important the teachers had huge problems with the schedule and many teachers couldn´t educate all facts because they didn´t have enough time.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the 9/11 attacks, the landscape of the freedom of religion has changed. The issues now facing freedom of religion varies greatly from the issues that the drafters of the universal declaration of human rights faced after World War II.In the light of the new issues that States face in the intersection of religion and societal interest, scholars have criticized the European Court of Human Rights to give too much leeway to the States in determining how the human rights should be implemented, by using the doctrine of margin of appreciation. Critics of the margin of appreciation claim that it is based on culture relativism and that the doctrine undermines the universality of the human rights. In order to decide if the margin of appreciation has indeed led to a relativization of the human rights I compared it to the jurisprudence of the UN Human Rights Committee and its use of the Syracusa principles. My conclusion is that the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights cannot be considered to be based on culture relativism.

The purpose of this study is, on one hand, to obtain an understanding of how children in municipal music- and culture schools choose instruments and what forms of recruitment methods they are subjected to, and on the other hand, how you can make them continue to play once they have begun.To acquire this information, I have interviewed five music teachers and two principals at municipal music- and culture schools in Värmland. The questions treated, among other things, what affects children?s instrument preferences, recruitment methods and what you can do to keep interest for the chosen instrument alive.The result of the study shows some apparent tendencies. Even though some of the instruments have trouble recruiting students and other instruments have trouble keeping them, the old methods, which obviously do not work in a satisfactory manner, are still being used. Instead, increased commitment at the occasion of recruitment, more group teaching which strengthens the social bonds through role models and a will to have the courage to change the organization when it does not work, is required..

Title: Culture?s Affect on the Determinants of Customer Satisfaction in Retailing: The Case of a European Retailer in the U.S. and China Date of the Seminar: 29th of May 2007 Course: BUS 809 Master thesis in International Marketing Authors: Lisa Bustamante Chesley Norman Charlotte Valind Advisors: Johan Anselmsson Cecilia Cassinger Keywords: International Retailing, Determinants of Customer Satisfaction, Culture, United States, China Thesis purpose: Our study aims to identify the determinants of customer satisfaction of two national cultures in a global retail setting, in order to clarify what role culture has, if any, in customers? satisfaction with an international retailer. Further, this will uncover if a Western perspective of determinants of satisfaction is a universal means of capturing what satisfies customers across cultures in a retail setting.