In order for any society to exist there must be a sense of belonging. In other words "We" need to be made distinctive and differentiated from "the Others". The aim of this thesis is to examine the processes behind the making and upholding of collective identities and the consequences of doing so. Theories regarding stereotypes, enemy images, power over the discourse and glocalization have therefore been applied to an empirical example in the form of a case study.The study is made on the municipality of Laxå in Sweden. Representatives on assumed key positions have been interviewed on their and Laxå's inhabitants views on the asylum seekers in the community between the years 1986 and 2005.Yet another aim of the thesis is to examine the possible connection between the perceived collective identity and the decision to close down the asylum facility in Laxå.

On the third of August 2002, in the middle of the ongoing Swedish election campaign, Lars Leijonborg beeing the leader of Folkpartiet (the Peoples Party) presented the partys new intergration programme for foreign nationals. One of the proposals was to instigate a language test for all immigrants seeking to obtain Swedish citizenship. This thesis addresses the medial debate that followed the proposal in the daily press. Using discourse analysis and postcolonial theory this thesis looks into the fact that there were not unity in the wake that followed the language test proposal resulting in one medial and one popular discourse. The newspapers investigated were largely negative in their tone, whereas on the opinion pages, the view of the people seemed much more positively inclined.

The situation at Plastal AB is following; the plant in Simrishamn has not capacity enough but the plant in Kristinehamn has unused capacity. My task with this master thesis is to build a logistic flow between this two plants, optimize purchase quantities and ensure delivery safety.The production of the Intermediate Section (LS) will be divided between the plants. The LS will be produced in the following way; the injection moulding process will be done in Simrishamn and the assembling and lacquering processes in Kristinehamn, The reason to divide the production is to ensure delivery safety. Plastal AB can not move the whole production of the l.S because the two plants have different processes (moulding res. injection moulding).When the 1.5 has been transported to Kristinehamn following moments are included in this order; lacquering, welding and assembling.

AbstractThis work was assigned by a technological company that manufactures gas detectors in which the sensor signal is processed using digital filters. These filters have been developed by a consultancy firm which converted previously used analog filters to digital filters. The purpose of this work has been to analyse inadequate, and sometimes erroneous, documentation from the project in order to provide the company with know-how and tools for further improvement of their products. The work has been done using the simulation software COMSOL which was bought solely for the project. Analysis showed serious flaws as well as pure errors in the consultant?s documentation.

Ett nytt globalt system, inte nytt i tiden, dock i omfattning och påverkan, håller på att förändra maktordningen och de politiska relationerna så som vi känner dem. Detta innebär bland annat att ansvarsfördelningen mellan offentliga och privata aktörer blir mer oklar och tar nya former. Begreppet Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) syftar på det etiska ansvar företag bör ta för sin verksamhet, såväl inom den egna organisationen som i det omgivande samhället. Den frågeställning den här uppsatsen söker besvara gäller varför CSR blivit en allt viktigare del av företagens policy? Uppsatsens fokus ligger på globaliseringsteori och slutsatsen blir att förklaringarna till CSR kan delas in i såväl etiska och praktiska, som kosmopolitiska.

During the time of membership in The European Union Swedish domestic policy has gone through many changes. A lot more political areas are being influenced by the EU policy. Today every ministry has got some sort of EU office. Swedish politicians are functioning on two arenas, domestic and European. At the same time Swedish membership has gone from being highly discussed to being a state of normality.

Med denna studie avser vi att identifiera vilka hinder som finns i demokratise-ringsprocessen. För att göra detta använder vi oss utav en historisk-sociologisk te-ori, presenterad utav Rueschemeyer, Stephens, Stephens (1992). Teorin bygger på antagandet att det är maktrelationen mellan samhällets klasser som styr förutsätt-ningarna för en demokratisk utveckling, där en stark markägande elit samt en svag underklass utgör negativa faktorer. För att pröva teorin gör vi en fallstudie över Guatemala. Denna grundar sig på en jämförelse av demokratiseringsprocessen över tid, från tidigt 90-tal fram till idag.

This thesis is concerned with political mobilization and the construction of a collective andsocial identity. The main purpose of the study is theoretical which emphasize their interaction.In order to do this I study the two phenomenons by seeing them as cases of each other. Wecannot understand one of the two phenomenons without taking into account the other as well.In addition, the secondary aim of my thesis is empirical. I use the political transformationduring the 70th and 80th on the eastern seaboard of Nicaragua to relate my theoretical analysisof political mobilization and the construction of identities. Nicaragua will provide mytheoretical analysis with new insights.

The disintegration of the Soviet Union was a vast experience, not solely for the former members and inhabitants of the Soviet Union, but also for the rest of the world. This thesis examines Estonia and Uzbekistan's different experience with transition. By examining three different aspects of transition I seek to explain Estonia and Uzbekistan's different outcome of transition. Estonia has since their independence been fully aware of the process that started with their independence. They have reformed both the political and economic system, the industry is privatized, institutions democratic and Estonia is today a member of the European Union.

Problem: Hur har dessa förändringar påverkat transporterna hos Postens kunder? Behöver de idag åka kortare eller längre för att komma till ett serviceställe eller till kassaservice? Har de bytt transportsätt?Hur har detta sin tur påverkat miljön i fråga om avgaser och utsläpp, framför allt koldioxidutsläpp?Har det medfört en positiv eller negativ förändring i miljöpåverkan?Syfte: Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka hur transporterna och dess miljöpåverkan hos Postens kunder har förändrats i och med omstruktureringen i två serviceområden, Gävle, representerat av Gävle kommun, och Halmstad, representerat av Falkenberg och Halmstad kommuner. Detta görs genom att genomföra en postenkät.Metod: Efter att ha fått problemformuleringen gjordes en postenkät. Denna skickades ut till 1000 personer i tre olika kommuner. Utifrån de svar som kom in på enkäten gjordes en analys med hjälp av ett statistikprogram och resultaten analyserades sedan för att få fram ett svar på problemformuleringen.Slutsatser: Beteendet hos Postens privatkunder har inte förändrats mycket.

Title: What drives the customer's choice of packaging and which factors influence the customer's packaging cost? ? in the automotive and manufacturing industriesAuthor: Lena AnderssonSupervisors: Annika Olsson, Division of Packaging Logistics, Lund Institute of TechnologyHelena Claesson, Volvo Logistics ABProblem: Which parameters are important for logistic people to think of when they are going to choose a package?Which cost factors are included in the packaging cost?What kind of added value can an emballage supplier provide their services with?Purpose: The purpose of the project was to study the parameters that drives the customer's choice of packaging and the factors that influence the total packaging cost. The study also consists of a valuation of what an emballage supplier can offer to add value to their services.Method: The study is based on interviews with people who are working at Volvo Logistics and Volvo Car Corporation. Volvo Logistics provide their customers with standard packaging material, which they own and administrate. Volvo Car Corporation is one of their customers.

Uppsatsen är en diskursanalys och retorisk analys av genren veckotidningsledare. Den undersöker hur veckotidningsledarna svarar mot de kontextuella kraven att marknadsföra tidningen, att underhålla läsaren och att liera sig med läsaren. Det undersökta materialet utgörs av ledarsidor från tidningarna Veckorevyn, Amelia, M-magasin och Slitz. Uppsatsen visar hur ledarsidorna präglas närhetsskapande strategier som konversationalisering, humor och bekräftande av likheter..

The purpose of this study is to examine to what extent the senior level Swedish school can be viewed as supporting, or counteracting, a colonial discourse that legitimizes global and national injustices. The study is executed through a discourse analysis of five textbooks in social science for senior level Swedish schools.Using elements from Foucault and Edward Said a theoretical framework is constructed, in which a colonial discourse is perceived as structured around four clusters of ideas, namely (i) the use of dichotomies, (ii) the concept of progress and civilization, (iii) the construction of -we- as synonymous with (ii), and (iv) the construction of -the others- as the opposite of (ii) and, therefore, the opposite of -us-.The results show that a colonial discourse is still highly present in the textbooks, in that the texts are structured around dichotomies such as tradition/modernity and democracy/dictatorship. Sweden and the Western world are perceived as closely associated with democracy, freedom, and modernity, whereas -the others- of the world are being associated with e.g. poverty, conflict, tradition, and ignorance. -The others- within Sweden, i.e.

Vid närmare undersökning upptäckte jag ett fält som inte tidigare hade utforskats. Forskning kring förhandlingar mellan olika nationaliteter med olika kulturer är utbredd men väldigt lite finns kring förhandlingar mellan samma nationalitet fast med olika kulturer. Inget fanns kring förhandlingar mellan arbetarkulturen och tjänstemannakulturen inom Sverige vilket fick mig att skriva denna pilotstudie om just detta. Med en reviderad version av Raymond Cohens teori om förhandlingar och kultur som ramverk lyckades jag med hjälp av samtalsintervjuer, enkäter och egna observationer ifrån förhandlingar visa på vissa kulturella skillnader. Det skulle visa sig att arbetarkulturen var kollektivistiskt orienterad medan tjänstemannakulturen var mer individualistiskt orienterad vilket har en rad konsekvenser för förhandlingarna dem emellan.

Starting at the end of the Cold War, this publication assesses the impact of the upheavals in Eastern Europe and the atrophic Soviet Union on the Swedish doctrine of neutrality with its 200 year old tradition. Since the end of world war two the proximity of the Soviet Union had constituted the major impetus for upholding a position of neutrality and as this vanished a pressure for change was created. This essay works with a theoretical framework delineated by Kjell Goldmann and under this disposition, the Swedish tradition of neutrality, governmental positions, opposition and four major influential newspapers are studied. The standings of each variable are canvassed in an attempt to explain the development of Swedish security policy during the crucial years of 1988-1992..