Participation of the people is essential for a democracy's vitality and survival. In this study we focus on the individual as an active participant in the traditional political arena and beyond its sphere into the society as a whole. The first part of the study has a normative aim. Firstly we examine why political participation is essential for democracy, and especially the ideal of representative democracy and the restricted passive participation of its citizens in comparison to the ideal of participatory democracy and its ideal of an active participant in all aspects of society. An ideal participant is drawn up to set the course for the empirical part of the study.

The aim of this thesis is to expand the understanding of 16th century Flemish art by approaching paintings by artists Pieter Aertsen (1508-1575), Joachim Beuckelaer (1533-1574) and Pieter Bruegel (c. 1525-1569) from a different perspective. This is done by extending the discourse of art history, into a discourse of literary history and primarily 16th century novels by authors such as François Rabelais and Miguel de Cervantes. The paintings are studied in relation to these 16th century novels, by comparison and as a testament of this specific time period. A widening contextualization is also constructed in which a connection to the expression of the carnivals ambivalent form, as well as the notion of lower classes is explored.

Fibroblast growth factors are signaling peptides that controls important cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation, migration, adhesion and survival. Through binding to different types of receptors on the cell surface, these peptides can have different effect on the target cell. Which effect that is achieved depends on many factors. Thus, each of the 24 known FGFs different biological responses. The FGF receptors (FGFR 1-4) initiates different intracellular pathways which in turn leads to different biological responses.

This study aims to describe how a company behind a well-established brand in the fashion industry has strategically chosen to communicate with their target market. Interviews with four individuals in different positions within the company have generated qualitative data, which is presented and analyzed in relation to the theoretical frame of reference in this study. The results show that the company does not use conventional marketing, but relies rather on marketing based word-of-mouth generated by its customer base due to its unique store concepts. Previous research has shown that this type of marketing strategy is effective and beneficial to the brand equity, a conclusion that is demonstrated to also apply to the survey object of this study. Furthermore, it is also shown that this is largely due to the distinct and coordinated image that the company maintains through strict standardization..

Assisted living is a relatively new form of housing that received a government definition in 2007 in conjunction with a government appointed investigation of future alternative accommodation for senior citizens. The type of accommodation is intended for seniors who have the need for increased security, which may be a consequence of that they feel anxious or lonely. It concerns ordinary homes with qualities that suit needs of seniors. There is no allowance from the local municipality required in order for seniors to apply for these homes and so assisted living should not be confused with nursing homes/ sheltered housing. The purpose of this study is to identify success factors for a winning concept for assisted living in the Gothenburg region, on behalf of Skanska Project development.

The purpose of this thesis was to examine what the communication between bank and customer looks like. We have more specifically studied how the bank communicates with the customer when communicating different offers, how the customer wants the communication to take place, what communication problem looks like and how the customer wants the bank to design their offers. Our target group was bank customers with academic degree, with one to seven years of working experience. This study was conducted trough interviews with bank customers and representatives at the bank. On the basis of our studies we found that the communication between bank and customer works fairly well.

The aim of this thesis is to expand the understanding of 16th century Flemish art by approaching paintings by artists Pieter Aertsen (1508-1575), Joachim Beuckelaer (1533-1574) and Pieter Bruegel (c. 1525-1569) from a different perspective. This is done by extending the discourse of art history, into a discourse of literary history and primarily 16th century novels by authors such as François Rabelais and Miguel de Cervantes. The paintings are studied in relation to these 16th century novels, by comparison and as a testament of this specific time period. A widening contextualization is also constructed in which a connection to the expression of the carnivals ambivalent form, as well as the notion of lower classes is explored.

The aim of this thesis is to show gender equality in school for teacher's choice of words with gender-sensitive language related to children's literature "Do you know Pippi Longstocking?". Work has focused on preschool and grade 1. The theme of the thesis is that the teaching profession should look human. The study provides a literature review of the teacher's choice of words in the gender order as the words hen, man, gender, sex, etc., and a review of Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren on the basis of the related concepts.

Today, it is prescribed by law that authorities should cooperate, especially around vulnerable children. There is a need in Sweden of research about cooperation and the problems that can occur. Hence, this study seeks to examine which structural organizational conditions that affect cooperation in a few consultation groups around violence and sexual abuse against children in Kronobergs län. Another aim is to see which meaning these conditions have for a functioning cooperation. Eight interviews have been done to investigate how different actors felt about cooperation, in the consultation groups.

The purpose of this master's thesis is to investigate how the students at Chalmers University of Technology at Lindholmen in Gothenburg use libraries in their schoolwork. The empirical material consists of the answers of questionnaires that were handed out to two classes of students, on the second year of their education. To illustrate the topic there are a theoretical frame and examples of earlier studies. The theoretical frame is Limbergs texts that deal with for example information seeking and how important it is in all education. The earlier studies are about student's different ways of using libraries.

The purpose of this study is to investigate teachers? efforts to teach students with dyslexia in Swedish. The intention with this study is to get the right tools to work with these kinds of students in a more improved and giving way in the future. My questions of issue are:- How can teachers facilitate the learning process for students with dyslexia?- Are pupils with dyslexia included in the teachers? education in the classroom?- How do the other pupils integrate with the dyslexia pupils in the classroom?- How does the teacher manage the situation to teach the whole class at the same time as he/she helps the pupils with dyslexia?- How do you practice when to assess and rate the students with dyslexia?The method used in this paper is a combination of participant observation and interviews with two teachers and their classes.

The aim of this Master?s thesis is to investigate the importance of a school library for youths, age 14-16, from their perspective. We intend to study how they use and experience the school library both for educational- and leisure related purposes. We also intend to inquire their possibility to influence their school library. The literature that has been used consists of material from research concerning youth culture and school library.

The aim of this research is to examine how the homes of children, in cooperation with the schools, are offered opportunities to communicate and discuss mathematics together with the children in relevant situations. The overall intent of the study is manifest in scientific questions with focus on how parents view the subject and the opportunities to support their children with math homework as well as possibilities to actively support their child´s mathematics progress. The paper has a pfenomenographic approach, which means that it in a qualitative way describes similarities and differences in the ways the homes perceive this issue. The examination is implemented through a survey in which responds from 73 parents in four classes have been studied. Within this study six semi constructed interviews have been conducted.

This project has been about illustration, text and format with illustration as the main communication path.A study has been made of how these three elements interact, particularly how text and format affect the illustrations. The goal has been to create an illustrated story in a form of a book. The story is about the feeling of being alienated from other people and invites the reader to make their own interpretations. The main target audience has been the ones who is interested in illustration and storytelling, no matter of age.Colors has been inspired from animated movies and the natur. Various textures such as wood, fabric and metal for example has been scanned to create a rough feeling.

This thesis is a study about wether first year students in Swedish senior high schools understand the learning intentions and the matter of the subject of history specified in GY 11 introduced in July 2011. The overall question that this master tries to answer is: Do the students understand what and why they are studying history? Three classes studying the first history course in the new system answered a survey regarding five of the specified learning intentions for the course and their overall opinion of grades and level of knowledge and intentions. By measuring the level of understanding and the students? general opinion the conclusion is following.