This is a tale about energy and power. It describes the geographer Halford Mackinder?s geopolitical theories and compares them with current views outlined by Zbigniew Brzezinski and Michael T Klare, among others. With a critical approach it also provides a historical account of a Europe that stands in front of an energy struggle so severe that the current world order seems destined to fall. Oil and natural gas, has since the beginning of the 20th century, been used as a geopolitical tool in order to create dependence, control and even sometimes overthrow empires.

CSR is a far reaching concept and practice, whose popularity and diffusion has increased rapidly in recent years. Research indicates that CSR has made an evolutionary journey from primarily being characterized by reactiveness to develop into a risk minimizing and proactive competitive advantage and should be looked upon as an answer to heightened societal pressure and awareness. Based on a review regarding different relevant theoretical perspectives, this master thesis discusses CSR as a concept and practical matter in relation to various strategically chosen representatives of a selection of professions.Moreover, the data were collected through in-depth semi structured interviews. The findings show that CSR is a contemporary and highly context dependent phenomenon whose inherent multiplicity brings a distinct aspect of uncertainty to it, in terms of both meaning and practice. And in some parts there is a reluctance to communicate CSR due to a fear of missing out of important aspects.

In this essay I try to find out how the local political climate in the Swedish Municipal Örebro looks like through the eyes of Michel Foucault. I?ve been focusing on the concept power, knowledge and politic. I?ve been applying the discourse theory on the study and the founder of that theory is Chantal Mouffe and Ernesto Laclau, the discoursetheory is a refinement of Foucaults thoughts about discourse.

The purpose of this essay is to review Mundekulla, which is a small, relatively newly established Swedish company operating in the field of conferences. Today they are serving ecological and environmental friendly food to their customers and we choose to investigate if this is a successful concept by asking the customer?s opinions. Our task is to analyze and understand how this company can develop a stronger concept regarding their conference area. This essay will also focus on trends and how the ever changing world can affect Mundekulla in the future.

This study aims to describe the influence of natural law on the common concept of justiceamongst Swedish officers around 1700. Through this study I intend to establish that therewere discrepancies and expressions of other norms in 17th and 18th century military culture.Both from natural law but also from Christian belief. A secondary aim is to establish howsuch variances were manifested and how they can be explained.A few theoretical starting-points have been used as a guide in developing the purpose andrelevant questions for this study. I intend to describe the key features of the concept of naturallaw as thoroughly as needed, through relevant legal literature. The next step will be to mapthese outlines against texts from the time, through a qualitative close reading.This study has investigated, at least, seven diaries from the time.

This Masters thesis is analysing four Swedish novels written by first time authors published between 1993-2002. The purpose is to make the fictitious main characters illustrate what conditions and obstacles there can be for the individual of today to create a self-identity. Anthony Giddens ideas about the self in the late modern society are used as a theoretical framework. In the core of Giddens theory is the concept of reflexitivity which means that the self must be constructed in a continuous fashion because the overall conditions in society are subject to constant change. The questions posed in this study are dependable on Giddens in general and the concept of reflexivity in particular.

The purpose of this study is to find, understand and discuss the experiences of former employees at SAAB, and present how this can be understood according to my core theoretical concepts, which are participation and identity. The questions asked in the study are based on how the labor is described, characterized and what comes forth as valuable, which is compared to absence of labor work.First, labor is described in an historical and social context, and at the same time related to the core theoretical concept. Second, the methodology chapter is presented, which mainly consists of 11 observations and 10 interviews. Third, the chapter regarding former theory leads to an analysis model, which is used on the empirical material of the study.The result shows that labor work at SAAB primarily is described as important for socializing, security and the possibility to be independent. The tasks at SAAB are described as backbreaking and monotonous, while the lack of labor work influences the physical and mental wellbeing.

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate whether publiclibraries language cafés can support or enable the empowerment of the participants. Empowerment means that the individuals ability to take control of their own lives is strengthened and that the individual becomes more independent. Empowerment also means that the individual takes part in a community. An important part of this is the language. I have developed two research questions: What forms of empowerment can be seen in the respondents' statements? What role do language cafés play for people from other countries, in terms of empowerment? The thesis empirical material consists of interviews whit five people involved in different languages cafes in public libraries in the city of Malmö.

Under tio veckor har jag arbetat med skapandet av kollektionen Blandband. Utgångspunkten var ränder och lura ögat. Jag ville undersöka vad som utgör en rand och hur en tredimensionell rand ser ut. Redan i början av arbetet satte jag en färgskala bestående av dels kulörta, starka färger och dels två nyanser av grått samt svart och vitt. Jag angrep arbetet med hjälp av en designmetod bestående av fem faser: Målsättning och research, Idéutveckling, Konceptutveckling, Realisering, Presentation och kommunikation.

This study is focused on some individuals' experience of the concept of culture in their everyday life. Some questions about culture were asked to some persons living in a small village in the isle of Gotland and some persons in the capital of Sweden, Stockholm, in the autumn in 2007 in a field study.The study showed that peopele tend to shape their own life world in the continuous activity in their near surroundings, in the garden and in reading literature and listening to music. There were some differences in the life world depending on where they lived,  in the country side or in town. Urban life has more offers as to popera and theatres but negatively more violence and stress.A study of literature on the ethnological concept of culture is included. The answers of the individuals also led to different topics such as nostalgia, mind, fear, feelings, body and soul which were enlightened by scientist from the respective fields..

Hur ska ett användargränssnitt utformas för att det ska vara lätt att använda i stressade situationer? Hur skapas ett program som uttrycker professionalitet och samtidigt enkelhet? Dessa frågor och många fler uppkom vid starten av arbetet med gränssnittsdesignen till programmet CMC (Creative Media Concept).Huvudpoängen med CMC är att användaren på mindre än en minut ska kunna presentera t.ex. en företagspresentation. Eftersom CMC endast varit en idé i tankarna tills nu, så har målet med detta projekt varit att utveckla idén och skapa en gränssnittsprototyp åt företaget Cascade Creative Media i Luleå. För att uppnå detta så har en enkätundersökning och teoristudier utförts, detta har sedan legat till grund för de olika idéer som tagits fram.

In recent years, employees at large companies have started to demand that their employer should work more for good causes. The money the company wants to donate to charity is distributed mostly through a vote to decide where the money will be remitted. The purpose of this design case is to develop a design concept for a web-based donation service that involves all employees at a company. Furthermore, the authors of this study intends to explore how the motivation for employees of a company can be affected by participation in this service. In this design case, the service function, quality and concept was tested and evaluated.

This essay is about the Northern Ireland Conflict and the Belfast Agreement. Its focus is on the development in Northern Ireland politics after the implementationof the Agreement which was ratified in a referendum. The essay is a case studywhich analyzes the progress towards an Assembly Government and powersharingbetween the unionists and the nationalists/republicans. The development is analyzed with Robert D. Putnam's theory of Two-Level Games? The essay first analyzes the changes in the unionist society where the opinion towards the agreement has been negative which depends on the concessions made by the unionist.

Hidden away in the pristine landscape on the northeast shore of the Dominican Republic, the remote village of Miches is on the verge of shifting its economic resource base from traditional fishing into what could become an international model for sustainable tourism. The aim of this thesis was to produce a vision of a waterfront park near the center of the village; demonstrating concept-based landscape design that reflects the goals of sustainable development originating from the local incentive structure. A composite landscape analysis and design concept both served to inform and guide the design work, which was executed through model building, hand drawings, and production of a visual presentation in the format of an architectural competition entry. The design concept, All invited, signifies the distinction between the development that is about to take place in Miches and the otherwise common all-inclusive resorts, where tourists are set apart from the local community and spend most of their time within the fenced-off premises of the hotel. All invited also captures the typical Dominican hospitality, and mirrors the aspirations of turning Miches into a safe and welcoming place for visitors. The result is a public park design that is equally inviting local residents as it is to tourists, and where the unique qualities of the site are emphasized without being exploited.

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short range wireless communication technology that enables data exchange between devices. NFC is used in many different areas, from subway tickets to authentication systems. This paper presents possible security threats to Near Field Communication and documented attacks that have been used to target various NFC protocols. Weaknesses in different NFC protocols will be presented and suggestions on how to counter certain weaknesses will be discussed. This survey will be valuable for companies interested in protecting their data when using or planning to use NFC systems..