Qigong was initiated by the Chinese government in the 1950´s as a domestic medical tradition to be included within a modern scientific framework. During the first decades it became popular among the élite. During the 70´s and 80´s scientific confirmation of the existence of qi contributed to its immense popularity among the population. Charismatic leaders with a traditional background were leading their groups in parks and the movement was booming. In 1992 Falun Gong was established by Li Hongzhi as qigong taken to a higher level.

In this essay I employ memory theories to examine Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner. How are the memories depicted and how do they function in the novel? What are the characters ?allowed? to remember? Scholars that have written about William Faulkners usage of memories and narrative time in his novels, often claim that they together represent and create a sense of determinism and/or fatalism. Even though I agreed with that opinion, regarding time and memory in a lot of Faulkners novels, I wondered if these features in the text might not represent/mean something more, beyond that. One scholar have expressed the view that William Faulkners characters resemble blind marionettes of Destiny. I instead claim that the characters themselves, via their individual memories and temporal relations, create an internal determinism, connected with cultural memory, norms and Traditions. I try to examine both the individual memories, as depicted in the novel, and the novel in its entirety, using different memory theories and narratology. .

The aim of this essay is to try to find the differences and similarities of two public librariesin the town of Kristinehamn and the rural community of Vara during the year 1994. Especiallyinteresting was if the different political Traditions of the two communities -left wing majorityin Kristinehamn and right wing in Vara- have influenced the forming of the public libraries.The comparison contains accounts from the annual reports produced by the libraries between1987 and 1994, a more thorough study of the activities and interviews with decision makers in1994. The interview with the decision makers indicates that there is a distinct difference betweenthe librarians and the rest of the informants, this distinction shows, that in a tight budgetsituation the librarians prefer not to cut down on staff while the other informants actuallyfavour to make cuts on the procedures handled by the librarians. The general opinionthough, is that they all agree that the role of the public libraries is to defend democratic rights.The final conclusion is that the material of this essay supports the opinion that the idea ofpublic libraries is stronger than the political differences in Vara and Kristinehamn..

The subject of religion in Swedish schools is the single most talked about topic in the curriculum. One explanation could be that it is the oldest subject in Swedish schools and the topic has undergone the biggest change through time. This process of change has been anything but undebated. The subject of religion within schools has met debates through almost its entire history, partly from the state and from the church, but also from the teachers and the students. Debates concerning the existence of Christianity in Swedish schools as well as the Swedish Traditions constantly reoccur in today?s government debates and various media but in different versions.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att genom en diskursanalys undersöka hur objekten kristna rum, riter och ritualer konstrueras i Kyrkans Tidning. Avsikten har dels varit att få en bättre förståelse för objektens innebörd, dels att se vilken bild av dessa som förmedlas till läsarna. De dominerande diskurserna i mitt material har varit den politiska, juridiska, kulturella och ekumeniska diskursen. Den musikaliska diskursen och säkerhets-, Traditions- och arrangemangsdiskursen har också varit vanliga. Den religiösa diskursen har också kunnat identifieras på många ställen, men bedöms ändå som svagare än förväntat med tanke på den rika tradition av riter och symboler som ryms inom kyrkan och dess historia.

The purpose of this study has been to examine how Afro-Cuban musical Traditions and concepts are integrated in compositions for solo guitar by the Cuban guitarist and composer Ñico Rojas and how this can be expressed in the performance of his music by a classical guitarist. For this purpose a guide to Rojas music, which is included in this report, was written based on literature about Afro-Cuban music. Then a classical guitarist learned to play a piece by Rojas with help from the written guide. The result was examined using recordings of the guitarist's interpretations and an interview with him. The conclusion is that different aspects of the Afro Cuban musical tradition are present in Rojas? music, but that the concept of the clave was the most useful aspect for the classical guitarist that interpreted the music of Ñico Rojas in this study..

With abroad education of arts, textiles and nowthe upholstery there were nota long step to become interested inthe visual withinthe upholstery trade. I have chosen to highlight the shapethe world with boththe artist and thecraftsman's eye. I have explored hownew expressions canbe created from traditional methods and materialsfrom upholstery andrelated crafts suchas tailoring for Royal andsaddler. These craftsmake up a webof technologies, materials,and to some extent tool returns and borrowed.By looking at afew items fromthese crafts haveI let myself beinspired and made ??use of knowledgehow to buildforms and eventransfer them tonew areas inan aesthetic andartistic direction.

Denna undersökning studerar synen på religionens plats i skolan genom att analysera debatterkring detta. Den frågeställning som leder analysen är: Vilken syn på religion återfinns iställningstagandena i debatter kring religionens plats i skolan? Materialet utgörs av två av tidåtskilda debatter, den äldre återfinns i SOU 1948:27 och rör kristendomsundervisningen samtmorgonandakter och den modernare tar plats på webbforumet Newsmill. Analysen görs i tvådelar, först en deskriptiv argumentationsanalys följt av en analys som använder sig av PeterBergers samt Grace Davies olika tolkningar av sekulariseringsbegreppet. Resultatet avundersökningen är att de argument som används i debatterna har stora likheter med varandratrots tidsskillnaden, och därmed främst kan bindas till varandra genom olika syn påreligionens roll i ett sekulärt samhälle.

The purpose of this paper is to examine if there are any differences or similarities when it comes to teaching religion in a multicultural school versus teaching religion in a homogeneous school in Sweden. How do teachers describe religious education in schools and how do they justify their teaching strategies? What similarities or differences are there between teachers' approaches when teaching religion in homogeneous versus multicultural schools?The study is based on qualitative interviews which includes a total of four schools; two homogeneous and two multicultural. These schools have been selected with the help of the Migration Board's annual report from 2014 as well as from my own personal knowledge. One religious teacher from each of the schools was interviewed.The conclusion, among others, is that ethnic Swedish pupils do not have the same understanding of religion as students of different ethnicity.

The primary purpose of this degree project was to investigate teachers conceptions about education for sustainable development and their education within the area. Teachers from Sweden and California have taken part and one of the aims with this study was to look if any differences could be found depending on what country the teachers came from. Therefore, this study has used a qualitative approach where conception maps and interviews have been used to get a result. Furthermore, the result showed that none of the differences that was found can be linked to the participants home country. The study also showed that several of different teaching Traditions and educations philosophies was represented.

This essay analyses two swedish magazines about marriage, called "giftermålstidningar", from 1914 and 1924. With ideology as theoretical basis the subject matter is to find words and expressions of ideological influence in the source material. These influences is assumed to come from contemporary marriage laws, which expressed certain views about heterosexual relationships. In addition to the state's laws, the writers in the magazines is presumed to be influenced by other contemporary ideas. Either an older, christian tradition from brittish baptist Frederick Brotherton Meyer, or the swedish economist Knut Wicksell, who represents the Neo-Malthusian world view.

The purpose of this study is to analyse asylum seeking converts understanding of their conversion process based on church context, specifically within the realm of evangelical church and theology. Through the method of content analysis this essay analyses six qualitative interviews done with converts from two Islamic Traditions to Swedish free church Christianity. The essay discusses the results through the lens of Lewis Rambos seven-phase theoretical concept of conversion. The important results given by this study shows that the first contact with other Christians in a new country, which creates a new community serving as an interpretive framework for their lives, triumphs the question of the theological perception for the conversion. Also, the results shows that intellectual understanding of the doctrines of faith is less important relative to the conversion process best described by the words touched, taught, and transformed.

The purpose of this research has been to investigate possible reasons for why honour related oppression exist in Sweden as well as to find out how some voluntary organisations work to change honour oppression related attitudes. The questions that the reserachers were trying to answer were (1) What are the possible causes for honour related oppression in Sweden? (2) How can honour related oppression be identified? (3) What are the voluntary organisations doing to change these attitudes? To answer these questions a qualitative method was used. The reserachers examined what leading researchers in this area thought were the reasons to why honour related oppression exist and then carried out interviews with participants from four voluntary organisations. A social constructional approached were chosen as the theoretical framework for this research and the results were also analysed from several perspectives.

This thesis is my exploration of the immaterial heritage that is the craft of bending of ?dn?ris? out of spruce. It?s a broken tradition that is scarcely described, mainly through Yngve Ryd?s report T?ltk?tor (1999) that contains interviews with two knowledge keepers, Nilas Tuolja and Johan Rassa. Yngve Ryd?s report went against the earlier opinion by the mid 20th century ethnologist Ernst Manker who claimed that they were only made exclusively out of mountain birch that has curved growth. As a background, I discuss the special importance of heritage conservation, both material and immaterial, in a S?mi context as being an indigenous people.

One of the big challenges for the European Union today lies in finding a common foreign policy for its 27 sovereign member states with their divided interests, experiences and Traditions. New objectives set requirements on the Union to develop and intensify its military ability. The European Union´s view on when military force can be utilized sets concepts like sovereignty and intervention in focus. Can sovereignty be limited and if so can an intervention be justified? How did the Union argue regarding its participation in the intervention in Afghanistan, 2001? The Just War Theory gives the essay a normative framework against which to assess the Union´s view and guidelines for the use of military capabilities.