The purpose with this master thesis is to analyze how the Swedish County Administrative Board (Länsstyrelsen) acts in an environment that changes fast with more regional actors than ever before. There are also proposals regarding new public authorities and eventually a reduction of the Swedish County Administrative Board.By studying a report issued by the Board in December 2005 the aim is to find their intentions and actions for the future. By using three diverse theoretical concepts - the public organisation, the instrumental perspective and two separate perspectives from new institutionalism - the expectation is that I will have the possibility to analyze the intentions of the organisation in many different ways.In this case study I also want to take into consideration the central discourses in the regional debate, shall we decentralize or shall we keep on having a strong state even in the future? What kind of regional policy does the Swedish County Administrative Board prefer?The result shows that the Swedish County Administrative Board struggles for a strong state even in the future, but it does not propose any huge changes. In many ways it seems like they act as they are supposed to - as an instrument for the government - but despite that it is obvious that the Swedish County Administrative Board tries to show that it has the traditions and knowledge.

In this essay a social perspective on the mind is explored and argued for. The essay moves from a discussion of a social collective foundation for the individual mind to a discussion ofthe main alternative ways of describing the shared social world, namely an action-centred perspective and a power-centred perspective. It is shown that these two perspectives are combinable. A combination of the two perspectives is therefore recommended for a more balanced way of describing the shared social world. In this essay it is argued for that the individuals? mind and her identity is dependent on the surrounding community.

This essay examines the recent electoral success of the Sweden Democrats (SD) in the Swedish municipal election in 2006 and 2010. By using statistical methods it aims to explain which of three contradicting theoretical frameworks best can explain how a populist radical right party could penetrate one of the most stable party systems in the world. The theoretical approaches tested in this essay are: a demand-side, an external supply-side and an internal supply-side approach. By using theoretically anchored proxies to determine the effect of the contradicting theoretical approaches this essay concludes that the internal supply-side explanation measuring the local party organizational ability of the SD had the most substantial effect when it comes to explaining their recent electoral success in the Swedish municipalities, as opposed to a more commonly believed demand-side driven explanation..

How is the identity of Swedish diplomats affected by living a very international life, regularly moving from one place to another, while their main task is to represent Sweden at all times? How does the national identity relate to the professional and the international identity and what role does the context play in this process? These are the questions asked in this thesis. By interviewing 39 Swedish diplomats and by comparing the responses of the interviews and the theories applied, this thesis will show that it is the context, rather than the time spent abroad that changes their identities and not the least their perspectives of the world. The theories concern intersectional identities, nationalism, context and globalisation. It is from the point of view that identities are constructed and therefore changeable.The diplomats gain a greater awareness of their Swedish identity, wider and deeper perspectives of what it means to be Swedish, but also the advantages that other cultures have to offer.

The swedish law against female genital mutilation (FGM) prohibits procedures that removes parts of the female genitalia and thereby makes permanent changes in the body. The problem with the wording of the law is that it may also apply to the western phenomenon cosmetic genital surgery. This paper therefore examines if cosmetic genital surgery should be covered by the swedish law against FGM, by making a critical comparing analysis. The paper begins with comparing FGM with cosmetic genital surgery to prove that there are more similarities than differences between the procedures. By using the Theoretical perspectives universalism and postcolonialism, the paper then examines why, particularly in the West, there is a different approach to FGM than to cosmetic genital surgery, regardless of the similarities of the procedures.

During the last years, the importance of sourcing in firms has increased. Globalization, fierce competition and an increased level of outsourcing are common explanations to why firms have highlighted the potential to realize savings and the value creation that the Purchasing department can generate. One trend that follows in parallel with globalization is an increased pressure from society on firms to take responsibility for the impact that its products and services have on the environment. This responsibility creates even more attention as outsourcing involves trade with suppliers in low wage countries, where the level of environmental and social responsibility is not always satisfying. The Purchasing department, the firm?s interface with suppliers should therefore, together with the firm?s Environmental department, play a key role in the firm?s contribution towards sustainable development.

The background to this study is built upon the results that emerged from our former study: Elever med svenska som andraspråk i mångkulturella skolor - Bakgrundsfaktorer Tester och Utredningar (Odén och Bagge, 2006). Those results made us aware of the lack of cooperation in the work around immigrant pupils with special needs. In this study we have therefore chosen to look at the cooperation processes. The aim that we agreed upon was to explore the intercultural cooperation process around a few immigrant pupils in school year F-5, before and in connection with the pupils possible registration in the special school. We also wanted to pay special attention to the roll that the special need teachers played.

This study intends to elucidate which view customers has about Sony Ericsson as a trademark compared with it?s biggest competitors and how the company can expand and create added value around its products. The aim with this essay is to study and to analyze Sony Ericsson?s creation of value and to increase understanding about strategy development. We have chosen to do this study on the basis of customer perspectives.We have used existing theories that treat matters: added value, marketingmix and trademark image.

The role of small businesses is fundamentally important for the economic development in countries. Within this context, business incubation is used as an entrepreneurship development instrument to promote and support new firms in the early stage of their existence. However, research in the field tends to disregard the perspectives of incubatee entrepreneurs. The performed investigation is based on interviews with entrepreneurs from two different business incubators at Swedish universities. This study uses a Situated Learning Theory (SLT) as a theoretical framework, to examine the entrepreneur's experience of the learning environment in a business incubator.

Systems development methods mirror different organizational perspectives, and not all methods are formalised, but what they have in common is the purpose of structuring and supporting systems development processes. Which method would be the most suitable may be determined by the systems development context at hand, because every systems development context is unique. Information is a valuable asset in today?s organizations, and it needs to be protected against both internal and external security threats. In our essay we aspired to find and present suggestions as to how systems developers can include security in the very design based on formalised systems development methods to create systems that are better prepared to meet the security challenges of today.

To be educated in global climate issues can be challenging for pupils. This may contribute to anxiety and feelings of helplessness. Global climate change may also be a challenge for educators to convey to young learners, f-3. Educators can experience various problems when it comes to teaching about climate issues. The subject of climate change is a broad and complex area, according to the studied material in our thesis.

This study deals with some contested issues regarding prehistoric cultural development in Amazonia and the colonial impact on the native inhabitants of the area. It focuses on the relation between groups belonging the language families of Tupí and Gê, on one hand, and the different ecological zones that they inhabit, on the other. GIS mapping is used to visualise the distribution and movements of these groups in relation to ecology and the impact of European colonization. GIS is shown to be a useful methodology for analysing historical data derived from written sources and maps. The results of these analyses are discussed in the light of different Theoretical perspectives.

The aim of this study was to explore and increase understanding of how a team of colleagues at an upper-secondary school in Sweden works with students with special education needs. The team works with a group of students where the majority have experienced school failure in elementary school. The focus of the study has been to analyze a project that the school undertook 2013 to improve students? results and improve their chances to successfully graduate from their program. Data was collected from relevant documents and interviews with members of the project at hand.

Background:An increasing number of patients with an oncology diagnose will be seen in the future. The oncology care is complex and in great need of nurses with a high level of competence. There is a lack of previous research in the specialist oncology nurses competence and therefore knowledge of their skills can reveal an understanding of their competence.Aim:The aim of the study was to describe the competence of the specialist oncology nurse.Method:Four oncology nurses and two directors of oncology care were interviewed. The interview text was analyzed using qualitative content analysis.Results:The result showed that the oncology nurses had developed six different competences within different areas. These competence areas were assertiveness, patient-centered care, ethical and moral-, pedagogical-, to lead and develop- and theoretical competence.

During the last years a discussion has emerged around problems with Swedish state boards trying to influence the public opinion and even political bodies through different kind of information efforts. Several observers inside and outside the academy have studied how state boards increasingly use information as an instrument and also how political bodies increasingly have given such instructions to state boards. This essay put those studies into the context of both information political history and previous theoretical interpretations in that field of research.The analytical tool consists of four ideal typical ways ('state opinions') to arrange relations between the state and the citizen. Some critics focus on problems with too much political steering and how political majorities uses state boards to spread ideological propaganda. Others highlight problems with autonomy and bureaucratic organizations taking initiatives by themselves to spread normative information.