Author: Madeleine Ahlström and Hanna PuontiTitle: To meet the invisible population - A qualitative study of men with deliberate self-injury [Att möta de osynliga - En kvalitativ studie om killar med självskadebeteende]Supervisor: Anders ÖstnäsAssessor: Jan Petersson This study aims to provide a picture of the underlying causes why men deliberately hurt themselves. It also aims to provide a picture revolving how men self-harm and what the direct effects are from their self-harm. The study describes their behaviour and how the behaviour has evolved over time. There is also a focus in the study to illustrate how society´s operative approach towards men makes their self-harm invisible, and make them an invisible population that neither the scientists nor the general population chooses to see. Self-injury is strongly associated with girls and their way of harming themselves.

The purpose of this Master Thesis is to compare two American novel suites for young women, Louisa May Alcott?s Little Women and Good Wives to Ann Brashares series of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The social status of women and children in the US during the 19th century is analyzed and compared historically and literary with the situation 130 years later.The main question is, what differences exist in the books and is there a connection between the changes in society and literature?The method of this Master Thesis is to make a comparative narratological analysis placed in a historical context.The result shows that the multiple character remains and enhances the identification process. Motherhood in the works of Alcott is prominent, whereas in the works of Brashares, sisterhood replaces motherhood.In Alcott?s US during the 19th century, Christian faith was in the foreground.

AbstractThe purpose of this essay is to increase the knowledge of which strategies students with reading and writing disabilities or dyslexia use to learn in secondary school. The study aims to examine the following questions:Which coping strategies do students with reading and writing disabilities use in their studies?How can remedial teachers support students with reading and writing disabilities in their learning process?The study consists of two interviews with a total of three hours recorded material made with a secondary school teacher who teaches Swedish and English. The teacher has experiences of reading and writing disabilities herself but also from teaching students with dyslexia. The interviews are constructed into a lifestory describing experiences of reading and writing disabilities in school, during teacher training and as a teacher.

This study where designed to investigate if there are any positive relationship between the extent of physical activity during adolescent's leisure time and the academic performance, and also if there are any negative relationship between the academic performance and the time spent in front of the television or computers. Another part of the study tried to find out if physical activity has a direct and immediate influence on the performance in school. 91 pupils (51 girls and 40 boys) in the 8:th year of the Swedish primary school, from three different schools participated in the study. All 91 pupils first responded to a questionnaire concerning there activities in leisure time. They where then tested in a mathematical test and the results where compared with the extent of physical activity and TV/computer time they had stated in the questionnaire.

Sports research in the field of social science has shown that regular physical activity leads to wellbeing and positively affects the quality of life. A natural part of being an athlete is learning the functions of the human body, and what?s harmful and destructive, such as drugs (RF 1995). Doping is a constant problem in professional sport. Doping and manipulation of medical preparations in order to maximise performance is one of modern sport?s major problems, according to Blom and Lindroth (1995).I thought it would be interesting to see what the next generation of athletes thinks of doping.

The aim of this study was to examine how the interviewed teachers in one school observe their view of gender and equality regarding the educational system.  Accordingly, I would like to present my intention with this study, also be to analyze how the interviewed teachers way of working with matters of gender and equality, carry out as a portrait of their values considering the distribution in terms of gender. The research questions are the following: What is the teachers view on the concepts of equality and gender in school?How do different teachers talk about their way of working in relation to gender and equality in school?How is boys and girls images presented in the teachers descriptions in their discussion about gender and equality?This study is based on a fundamental qualitative method, where a handful number of teacher?s from one school were interviewed in order to obtain information and data for the examination. The interviews were analyzed and discussed in association to earlier research in aspiration to study different writer?s theories about the conception of gender and equality.

Background: Today when leisure time is spent, spontaneous sports activities decrease, due to a more comfortable way of living and physical capacity among non active adolescents decreases. There for it´s interesting to see how the physical capacity level has changed over time among young people participating in organized leisure time sports.Studies around the world show that young people standing outside organized sport activities have tended to decrease their physical activity levels over the last few decades. Less leisure time is spent doing physical activity and sometimes gets put into context with increased time spent behind the computer or inactivity.Design: A retrospective study of the test results on physical capacity between 1982 and 2009 for students applying to Växjö track and field high school. A total of 635 students (15 years old) have done 11 physical tests during the years. Five of these tests, with enough participants (at least 100) and documentation over at least 10 years, were used in this study.Results: This study shows that young track and field athletes have maintained the same physical capacity from 1982 to 2009.

?Games children play? is a study about the importance of playing with a focus on a group of disabled children. I have made some observations by participating in these children?s play at an accommodation. My interest arouse when I worked as holiday substitute at an accommodation for disabled children.The purpose with the study is to carry out participation observations and look for signs and events that show the importance of children?s play.

Mitt arbete syftar till att åskådliggöra de genusföreställningar som skapas av vårt samhälle kring sättet vi lever och verkar på. Mitt fokus ligger på tjejer som tränar eller verkar inom kampsport, deras uppfattning av sig själva som kvinnliga utövare samt deras tolkning av samhällets syn på dem. Studien är kvalitativ och baseras på teoretisk forskning kring genus, kön, idrott och idrottshistoria. Till detta har jag valt att addera tolv intervjuer med personer som faller inom ramen av mitt urval, det vill säga personer som under en längre tid varit med och verkat för kampsporten. Då jag har riktat in mig på fyra olika kampsporter och för att få en bra bredd, har jag valt att intervjua en kille och två tjejer från varje sport.                      Resultatet redovisas i löpande text och är baserad på frågeställningen i den ordning de kommer.

Introduction: Sleep disorders are an increasingly growing public health problem. InSweden, the last decade's increase in sleep problems was greatest among younger agegroups. Studies show association between the use of communication media and sleepinghabits. Objective: The aim is to map sleep habits and use of communication mediumamong adolescents and to study associations between them. Method: The study isbased on a previously collected survey data among high school students (18-21 years)from a coastal town in southern Sweden.

Background: It is common that children and adolecsents with Aspergers syndrome have impaired motor skills and are less physically active than neurotypical children and adolecsents. Studies conducted on neurotypical children shows that children and adolecsents who are regular physical active also have a good motor control and a good physical self-esteem. The purpose of this study was to investigate the physical self-esteem of children and adolescents with Aspergers syndrome. Study Group: 36 children and adolescents aged 9-15 years with a diagnosis of Aspergers syndrome was asked to participate in the survey. 18 children, 16 boys and 2 girls, responded to the questionnarie about physical self-esteem which 17 of the answers could be used in the study.

The aim of this study is to, from a child?s family relations, describe the usage of terms relating to factors of risk and safety in science and in investigations concerning children in need of protection. It is also of importance in what way the terms are used when the Social Services suggest that measures should be taken, and in which way the children have been heard in the investigations.The issues raised in this study are: (a) How is the current life situation and life quality of the children discussed? (b) The value of factors concerning risks and protection. (c) How is the children?s own descriptions taken in to consideration? (d) Is gender issues considered? (e) How is Lagerberg?s model (Lagerberg, 1998) useful in investigations?The method of analysis is mainly qualitative however it is combined with analysis of literature relevant to the study.

The purpose of this Masters thesis is to examine how gender patterns are described in the modern picture book. Focus is on the description of men and women and their emotions and living conditions. Do the descriptions follow stereotypes in the form of binary opposites strong/weak, active/passive etc. in which one component of the pair, often associated with masculinity, is privileged or are there examples of breach of normative gender? The analysis is based upon forty of 149 picture books that are presented in a children's book catalogue published by The Swedish National Council for Cultural Affairs Statens kulturråd, in the year of 2000.

The aim of this essay is to analyze six picture books from a gender perspective. Research and investigations shows that children's literature has a big influence on how young children understand norms and values related to gender identity. It is written in the Swedish curriculum for the non-compulsory school system that the pre-school should counteract traditional gender roles.In this essay, six picture books with stories that take place in a pre-school or a pre-school class are being analyzed. Two of them, according to their market strategy, challenges established gender norms. I have investigated if there are any differences between how the educator as a character and the pre-school are portrayed where a girl contra a boy has the leading role.

This essay discusses the students? thoughts about the teacher's response to their gender identity. The students discuss their right to have an intergender identity which means that they don?t identify themselves in the traditional sexes, man and woman, and the gender role each category has. They want to be called with a neutral pronoun and not be seen like boys or girls.