Swedish students' knowledge of mathematics has deteriorated in recent years. Teaching of mathematics is therefore starting point in an ongoing discussion among researchers, school leaders, politicians, teachers and others, who all thinks they know best about how teaching should be designed to the greatest extent possible to raise students' proficiency levels in the subject. Teachers' practices have long been the focus of discussions and views on these differ. The purpose of this paper is therefore to study students 'conceptions of mathematics and mathematics teaching, with teachers' methods and tools of focus, in relation to previous research on the subject. The method used was a survey of students in secondary school and a textual analysis of previous studies on the subject.As revealed by the survey was that the textbook has a big advantage in mathematics education in Sweden today.Many students are not accustomed to working in a different way and thereforedoes not know either what the alternative approach entails.

The aim of this paper is to examine why Swedish teachers and multilingual secondary   school pupils think it is important to read fiction, how Swedish teachers work with fiction in the multicultural classroom and how they motivate their multilingual pupils to read more by adapting fiction to their capabilities and experiences. We have done interviews with four Swedish teachers and 12 multilingual pupils. The following questions are the starting point of this essay:Why do Swedish teachers and multilingual pupils think that it is important to read fiction?  ?How can the Swedish teachers in the multicultural classroom motivate their multilingual pupils to read more fiction?The result of this paper showed that both the Swedish teachers and the multilingual pupils thought it was important to read fiction because it partly gives themselves the opportunity to acquaint with other cultures and it helps them to improve their language. The teachers motivate their multilingual pupils by reading out loud, reading in groups and by minimizing language difficulties that may occur in the fiction.

The thesis examines the crisis that the Swedish-flagged merchant marine underwent in the 1990s, that resulted in a narrow market for the Swedish-flagged fleet. In order to save the industry, the TAP- agreement was created, consisting of three parties, government- market and interest organizations.  Purpose in this thesis, is to exam how the TAP-agreement was carried out in relation to the parties, and how it correlates in relation to how the global political economy affected the Swedish maritime politics. Two questions are presented. Is the TAP agreement an expression of Swedish corporatism?  Which aspect of Global Political Economy is characteristic for the TAP agreement? A case study is preformed in three steps. The different parties of the TAP-agreement have been interviewed.  A comparative study of two Swedish crises has been performed, in order to establish the correlation between them, in regards to corporatism.  A survey, with the aim to pinpoint which aspect of Global Political Economy is characteristic of the TAP agreement. Findings in this thesis are that the TAP-agreement was designed through corporatism, and that the most important aspect of all, the Swedish flag was worth saving, for all parties. .

The purpose of this master's thesis is to find out what support students of Swedish for Immigrants (sfi) think they get from the public library during their study of the Swedish language. One important aspect in this essay is to examine whether the library can meet the need of Swedish-speaking meeting places where the sfi-students can practise their new language. The method used in this study is qualitative interviews. Nine sfi-students, one sfiteacher and one librarian have been interviewed. A sociocultural perspective on learning has served as a theoretical starting point.

This essay is a qualitative study about Swedish fire-fighters´ ideas of women and people from other ethnic backgrounds than Swedish. The problem in focus is why there are difficulties for those groups of people to be employed in the Swedish fire service. Can there be ideas of these groups which are not favourable for them? And if this is the case, can those ideas be explained by gender theory about construction of masculinity? The purpose is to investigate whether the absence of women and people from other ethnic backgrounds can be explained by the fire-fighters´ ideas of those groups. The study consisted of a one day observation and four one hour long interviews with fire-fighters from different positions within the Swedish fire service.

Chemical substances are spread diffusely and uncontrollably as a result of the increased consumption of goods. REVAQ is a certification system that works to reduce the flow of hazardous substances to Swedish treatment plants and to create a sustainable nutrient recycling. According to REVAQ, the yearly accumulating rate of metals should not exceed 0.2% in soil per year. Silver and bismuth are two metals that do not fulfill this requirement. The silver concentration in sludge decreased during the last decade, however the last few years, it has leveled off.

With the starting point in UN peacekeeping operations, this essay investigates the participation of the Swedish armed forces and how the Swedish soldiers perceive their role in those operations. The aim of the study was to explore different perceptions about the Swedish soldiers in international operations. Partly from the Swedish soldiers perspective and how they perceived their own role as soldiers. Partly from the perspective of civilians, like Swedish aid workers, and how they perceive the Swedish soldiers. The third perspective was from a person with mixed experiences from both the military and the civilian work.

[Abstract: This study examines the observed difference between Swedish and foreign owners when it comes to nominating committee participation. The background to the study is that foreign owners seem to participate in Swedish nominating committees to a lesser extent than their Swedish counterparts. The focus is on institutional owners and the companies studied are all listed companies who follow the Swedish code of corporate governance. Particular attention is paid to perceived differences in behavior that can be explained using the common corporate governance related theories of Exit, Voice and Loyalty as well as Agency Theory. These explanations are chiefly related to differences in attitudes regarding insider information, different knowledge levels regarding the purpose and workings of nominating committees of the Swedish kind as well as differences due to home market biases.].

The study aims to examine some teachers' and students' conceptions of drama in schools and in after-school centers. ?Educator? in this study refers to after-school leaders and drama teachers.  The study is limited to three educators and three students at a public school in the Stockholm area. This study considers the following questions: How do educators use drama in schools and in after-school centers? How do students perceive drama in schools and in after-school centers? What importance do educators think that drama has for students?The study draws on the socio-cultural theory on teamwork and social interaction.

Aim: The purpose of this paper is to see if there has been a change over time in the performance and in the spoken word of the Swedish cooking programs. By testing the theory of intimization on the cooking programs I get the opportunity to see if the border between the private and the public have become clearer or more difficult to notice, and if the new language, the informal language as intimization entails, has been used in Swedish cooking programs since the 70s until today, or if there´s ever been a formal language in Swedish programs? Method/Material: I'm using a rhetorical approach that includes a three-step analysis. Analysing the context, means to persuade and performance. The empirical material I intend to analyze is Swedish cooking programs from the 70s until today, 2010.

Previous research and patient complaints to the Swedish Patient Support Committee shows that there is a lack of substance in the patient-nurse relationship. This may suggest that it can be difficult for health care to live up to health-care law which requires it to be of good quality, based on dignity and respect and designed so that the patient is an active participant and can make their own decisions when it comes to their health care. For a better understanding of what a dignified patient-nurse relationship is, this study aims to clarify what the patient values as good patient-nurse relationship and describe how they have experienced the patient-nurse relationship during their stay at an emergency care department. The study is a descriptive cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach, where the population consisted of patients who were cared for at an emergency care department in the County of Västmanland, Sweden during 2007. The sample consisted of 93 patients which were asked to answer a questionnaire.

The background to the work bases on the consumers view around Swedish and foreign meat products, and how the attitude around the meat products is pursued in the shops. The consumers request high meat quality and security . Many consumers value local produced and ecological meat products but the price is too high. We have done verbal interviews with consumers on three different shops, where we asked questions and had dialogues around Swedish meat products where the consumers have told us their arguments and opinions about Swedish and foreign meat. The result shows that the majority of consumers consider that it is important to know that meat is produce in Sweden.

The aim of the study was to examine how Swedish tabloid journalism presented the contestants in the Swedish version of the reality show Idol 2009. We wanted to see which approaches tabloid news papers use when constructing the public identities of them. We have used text analysis to examine 37 articles and nine front pages with focus on the words, propositions, comparisons and parables that describe four of the contestants. In addition we have looked at myths and connotations shown in the pictures by using a semiotic analysis. The results show that the Swedish tabloids tend to describe the contestants in relation to their performances and personalities.

The aim of this paper is to elucidate and analyze history teacher's didactic choices in the conflict between unequal educational materials and the requirements of equality in the curriculum of Swedish secondary school. The empirical data consists of interviews with five secondary school history teachers, observations of their lessons as well as analysis of their tests. The starting point was to investigate teachers' didactic work in the role as a bridge between the non-equal historiography presented in textbooks in history and the curriculum?s demands for equality. Three different approaches have been observed in the teachers' didactic work when considering gender perspective into their teaching: that women become extensions in a male-dominated historiography; that another part of the story is presented when a gender perspective is considered; and that the gender perspective is included in history teaching and becomes an integral part of all the content of the subject.Several of the teachers acknowledged that gender equality is less prioritized than the courses core content and related assessment criteria.

The purpose of my research is to describe the substance in three different wedding conversations, and study how the role of the priest is designed in these conversations. The foundation of my study contains authentical conversations and interviews from three priests and three couples. My main material is the authentical conversations but the content of the study, with supplementary interviews with the priest and the couple, render possible a perspective analysis of the wedding conversations from both sides. My conclusion is that the three priests expresses a different role in each conversation and the couples are powerless in the face of the priests. The dominate conversationsstrategy plays a decisive role for the matter and the character part of the priest in these conversations..