The purpose of this Master?s thesis is to examine how the gender system is described in chick lit. The analysis is based upon seven chick lit novels. The primary theoretical point of departure is Yvonne Hirdman?s theory about the gender system, the hierarchical order and the separation of the sexes.

The aim of this study is to investigate methods of collection development, the users? influence on selection and quality aspects, focusing on non-fiction literature in Swedish public libraries. To find out opinions of collection development, I use the method comparative literature study. Antonio Gramsci?s concept hegemony forms the theoretical background, and hegemony as concept is related to a library context by using Maj Klasson?s text on the librarians? different positions of authorities.

The plants in the genus Elatine are characteristic for oligo and mesotrophic lakes. This study focuses on Elatine hexandra one of the four species in Sweden. It is stated as vulnerable by the National Environment Agency and a conservation plan with guidelines to preserve the plant in Sweden is under preparation. There have been a few previous studies investigating this plant in other countries but this is the first one for Sweden. The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution, growth and reproduction of E.

Within the Swedish school and the public library communities it is generally held as a truth that reading of fiction develops the empathic ability of the reader. This opinion is also expressed in political guiding documents for the school system and cultural sector. This paper's main hypothesis is that there is no assembled theoretic ground for the statement that reading of fiction develops the empathic ability. The investigation consists of two parts, the first being theoretical and the second empirical. Definitions of what empathy and reading is, are reviewed in the first part.

This essay compares the public debate in Sweden 1992 caused by the reforms introduced by the then government giving parents a free choice of schools for their children with the current debate in France about proposals for a similar law there. The study concentrates on the positions taken by the teachers trade unions, in Sweden Lärarförbundet and Lärarnas Riksförbund (LR) and in France SGEN-CFDT. To do so it is necessary also to study the arguments given for and against the proposals by the political parties.Some of the differences between the debates can be attributed to different circumstances. The Swedish reform was related to the opening up of possibilities to run private schools, which previously had been rare in Sweden. The French debate has no such connections.

This thesis examines the power of developing countries within the World Trade Organization (WTO). The research question is if there is a change in the power relations between developing countries and developed countries from the establishment of the WTO in 1995 and until mid 2006, and if so, why this change is taking place? The thesis has its theoretical starting-point within regime theory and views it from a critical theoretical perspective. A multidimensional why of dealing with the concept of power is being used to answer if there is a change in the power relations? The conclusion is that there is a small change in the power relations and that the developing countries are gaining more, but limited power.

The purpose of this thesis is to study how today?s consumer society can be understood from ananalysis of the phenomenon Every Day Carry (EDC). The aim is thus to problematize the daily useof the artifacts that surrounds us and investigate how these can be understood as networks of humanand non-human actors, aswell as identity- and meaning-making practices in today?s consumersociety.The theoretical and methodical framework is built upon an eclectic variety of consumptiontheories,Michel Callon?s, John Law?s and Bruno Latour?s work on Actor-Network-Theory,Discourse analysis inspired by Michel Foucault, Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe and anethnographic methodology specifically adapted for online research. The empirical material consistsof photographs and commentaries from two EDC blogs aswell as commentaries regarding EDCfrom a commentary field on Youtube.com.

This is a report on the development and implementation of the web shop ?Urballa Ur?, a web application developed by nine students at Linköping university. The report illustrates the methodology and process with intention to answer the question ?How can an online watch store be implemented to increase sales??. During the process the agile method scrum has been used as a working method.

The product structure of the fuel tank installation is one of the most complex product areas at Scania. Caused by the number of parameters, which affect the fuel tank installation, a product structure is created which is very difficult to handle. Knowledge exist that the structure in a nearby future will be considerable more complex. The purpose of the study has been to understand in why this complexity exist and find ways to break the trend of a growing product structure. The goal was to achieve a more standardized fuel tank installation.A theoretical study was performed in order to bring knowledge in relevant areas both in general theory but also in documentation at Scania.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the theoretical developments on social entrepreneurship. Our purpose is to create a better understanding of the phenomenon leading to new insights. We have categorized the knowledge of the concept into social economy, social ownership, social innovation and social missions. Drawing from our theoretical review we have chosen four empirical illustrations, Grameen Bank, Wikipedia, Basta Arbetskooperativ, Jörn Hälsogemenskap, and we have shown how these fit into the general description of the social entrepreneur. With help of our illustrations we show that it is complicated to pin point the core of social entrepreneurship as they each have separate structures, innovations, social missions and operate close to different sectors.

The purpose of this Masters thesis is to make an outline of different methods and theories within the field of bibliometrics and critically review their strengths and weaknesses. The author studied literature that discussed bibliometric methods and theories. The number of empirical studies that are based on bibliometric methods and theories are numerous and where principally excluded, but some empirical studies were included as part of the argumentation for and against different methods and theories. The author first gives an outline of which methods and theories there are and describes their different strengths and weaknesses. Citation analysis has many different fields of application such as information retrieval, mapping science, evaluative studies and monitoring literature.

To contribute to understanding of how Thai cultural context affects the leadership of expatriates in management positions. Instead of modifying the leadership styles to fit the local (Thai) context, the expatriates tried to push and influence their culture and leadership styles to Thai employees..

The aim of this thesis is to examine how librarians and family historians experience their interaction at the reference encounter, what influences these views and how they affect the service; whether the family historians are aware of these views; which subject knowledge is needed and how this knowledge affects work performance; if there is a need for continuing education, and finally, if the family historians themselves can work as a resource for the library or the librarians? The thesis consists of three parts; in the first a theoretical frame was constructed around the concepts service, continuing education, subject knowledge and attitudes. Role theory was used as a theoretical background to show how expectations influence professional roles. The second part consists of the results given from the qualitative interviews with librarians and surveys with family historians that were performed. In the last part a discussion from the theoretical and empirical information earlier received was made.

This paper examines constructions of identities in Swedish news paper articles concerning the European Unions?s Tobacco Products Directive. Using critical discourse analysis (CDA) supported by theories of discourse, semiotics and identity formation, this paper argues that constructions of a Swedish ?Us? are distinguished from a non-Swedish ?Them?. These constructions depends on categories such as use of tobacco, science, history and war, which are frequently used in the discourse to separate ?Us?, ?the good? from ?Them?, ?the bad?.

The purpose of the study was to look into the subjects which the students express when they cry out to their recreation instructor, if there are similarities and differences in the subjects when they turn to their recreation instructor or when they instead turn to their teacher, which different roles and positions the students place their recreation instructors and the teachers in. I have used focused observations during three days in two different schools. Using the ideas of J.Butler on performative perspective, I´ve analyzed the way the students have positioned their recreation instructors and teachers through speech and actions. My conclusion is that students early on see hierarchical structures in school and help maintaining them..