The purpose of this study was to examine whether there were any differences in how first-line managers within   municipal care   rated their management leadership qualities, and structural empowerment before and after the course in "leadership, learning and improvement". The study had a quasi-experimental design and 64 managers participated. There was a significant improvement in the LaMI factor ?Achievement orientation?, after participation in the course "leadership, learning and improvement". In other factors, there was no significant difference before and after training.

One of the main reasons for the massive loss in plant species diversity is the fragmentation of habitats. In Europe, open pastures and meadows are the habitats going through the most changes during the 20th century, according to the agricultural changes. In this study vascular plants were invented at five different islands in the Lurö archipelago, Vänern, Sweden. The aim of the study was to sort out whether the diversity of plants has gone through any changes in abandoned managed grasslands compared to continuous managed grasslands. The aim was also to study if a change in the landscape has made any differences for the species development or decline.

The purpose of this essay was to increase the knowledge of and understanding about how teenage girls form their attiutdes towards sexuality and relations. The focus has been on discussing the research-question from four factors of influence chosen by the writers; sexual education, media, friends and family. Our intention with the study was also to take part of the teenagegirls´thoughts, attitudes and opinions in the matter, which is to keep the discussion on a structural level. The study is based on qualitativ interviews, in so called focusgroups, with all toghether eight girls in the ages 14-15 years, students in the ninth grade. The study has a postmodern feministic approach combined with a fenomenological and hermeneutic position.

Forest fertilization had its peak in the late 60´s, when almost 200 000 ha was fertilized annually. The silviculture of today has high demands for timber production at the same time as the demand for nature conservation increases. It means that it?s necessary to produce more volume in smaller areas in the future. The use of DGPS equipment has in modern forestry in Sweden become more and more common.

This thesis is a case study that analyses the seaside resort Ystad Sandskog and its private architecture between 1850 and 1940. The multitude is evident in the area's architecture. The architectural development is analysed with the use of a social historical perspective, including class and hegemony. Regional as well as national affective factors are used in the analysis. Aside from the social aspects, architectural ideological developments, general development of the seaside resort and the area's committee with its prescriptions are all factors considered.By dividing the development in four different chronological phases, which all represents a certain architectural expression exemplified by a selection of buildings and the social class that it accompanies, a culmination in the architectural structural development of Sandskogen is shown.

The fast growing economy of India has experienced fundamental structural changes in recentyears. The share of the service sectors output has more than doubled since 1950 and is todayestimated to make up almost 60 percent of India?s total output. In terms of total employmentwe have not yet seen a similar transformation. The observed discrepancy between sectorialshares of employment and output in the service sector raises questions about sustainability.This report aims to investigate the capacity of the Indian service sector in terms ofemployment creation in order to answer the question whether the recent GDP growth withinthe service sector can be considered as ?jobless? or not.

This study is based on a case study of Pilotprojekt Drevfjällen, a project whose ambition is tofind ways to secure nature conservation in a local context. This is promoted at governmentlevel, which says that a local connection is needed to achieve sustainable regionaldevelopment. The study, based on a theoretical background of the concept of governance,intends to evaluate whether Pilotprojekt Drevfjällen can contribute to a sustainable regionaldevelopment.This study is based on meeting documentations, semi-structured interviews with variousstakeholders in the project, field studies and participant observation at an informativemeeting. The region of interest, north Dalarna, was visited twice to obtain the specificconditions that Pilotprojekt Drevfjällen have. The interviews revealed positive attitude to theincreased dialogue and cooperation that Pilotprojekt Drevfjällen has meant for theparticipants.

Old hollow trees of oak contain a large amount of wood mould. Unfortunately, these trees have in the last century been greatly reduced in numbers. It has resulted in that species that depend on these habitats, saproxylic species, have become at risk to decrease in numbers or die out regionally. Previous studies have shown that the volume of wood mould is an important factor for occurrence and population size of saproxylic organisms. The aim of the present study was to examine how the volume of wood mould varies among ash (Fraxinus excelsior), lime (Tilia sp.), maple (Acer platanoides), aspen (Populus tremula) and oak (Quercus robur).

In this thesis the construction of identity within the EU is discussed. A thesis problem in three dimensions is used to explain the purpose of the construction, its realization and the consequences of such identity. These aspects show the complexity of the problems related to identity construction on a structural level.By using a post-modern and a social constructivist theoretical approach identity is presented as socially constructed by discourse. The theory of discourse makes it possible to analyze the development of an identity forming discourse within the EU and its status today.With an approach inspired by critical theory, we use discourse analysis as a methodological tool to illustrate the ideas that govern discourse, and in what way it is related to the social reality.The analysis states that the purpose of identity constructing is the striving for legitimacy. Without identification, the legitimacy is threatened.

The failure of Structural Adjustment Programs and its neoliberal policies to effectively reduce poverty have led to the creation of Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) by The World Bank and International Monetary Fund. PRSP, connected to both the Comprehensive Development Strategy and the HIPC initiative, are built on the notion of national ownership and stakeholder participation and thereby expand potential conditionality to include matters of governance. This thesis examines the evolution of PRSP and how the process of participation affects national governance structures. By analyzing the role of rules and norms within the World Bank and IMF from a historical point of view the thesis explains why the participation process has developed the way it has. It concludes that neoliberal norms, still at heart within the World Bank and IMF, have an impact on the process of participation within nation states and thereby its governance structure.

In what way has the ethnic housing segregation changed from the 1970´s until today and has the politics concerning these matters dealt with the ethnic segregation as a phenomenon that occur due to free choices of ethnic groups or as a stigmatization and marginalization of ethnic groups? To be able to find out what actual changes there are to be seen in the political measures regarding the ethnic housing segregation from the 70´s until today, I have made a discoursive investigation of some of the states official investigations from each of the decades. I chose to focus on a qualitative analysis and my theoretical framework consists of theories considering grouprights as well as structural and cultural explanations.I realize that the changes have been proportionately high retorically, but the actual changes have not been that obvious. I find a retorical development that has changed from the idea of the great impact of the immigrant in the ethnic segregation process, at the same time as huge differences between groups emerge, to establish a gap between us an them and a stigmatization of ethnic groups. The development somehow seems to have reconnected to the first stage.

Although Sweden is considered to be one of the world?s most equal countries, studies show that social work to a large extent is characterised of stereotype conceptions about men and women. This implies that clients with addiction problems are treated by there gender belongings and not from there individual needs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how aware the social services are regarding gender perspectives and equal opportunities among male and female addicts. The social workers that were interviewed had different opinions about what extent the gender perspective had in the treatment of the clients.

Interaction is an important part of children?s development. The school is a main arena in which children learn to interact, mainly through their playing. This study aims at investigating the role of interaction in a leisure school didactic setting. The aim of the study is to gain a better understanding for how the pupils develop though use of social interaction.

Unemployment and long term unemployment is a reality for a large number of people in Sweden. This may be the result of structural changes in the labor market, but involves a wide range of issues. Along with other actors, the social services are obliged to support the long term unemployed to find a job. The aim of this study was to describe and analyze the work done by social workers towards the long term unemployed, 25-49 years old, in two municipalities. We performed altogether six qualitative interviews.

The purpose of this study was to try to develop a better understanding of the process that being a member in a new religious movement might imply, and to find out how the identity of a defector changes from the time upon entering the movement, while they are within the movement and after leaving the movement. We also wanted to examine what kind of help and support would be needed around a defection. The study focuses on identity and our questions were: How does the defector describe him/herself and his/her identity before joining the new religious movement until the period after defecting? What demand for support and help may there be when defecting from new religious movement? The theoretical starting point was The Identity Theory, Structural Role Theory and KASAM. A qualitative method was used and four defectors from new religious movements were interviewed.