Hedge funds? importance within the financial system has during the most recent years increased dramatically. These special funds are unique instruments that differ from traditional mutual funds in a variety of ways, however especially in how they expect returns. Due to the fact that hedge funds are able to hold short positions they possess the possibility to become market neutral investment vehicles.Because of this possibility to sustain positions neutral to market fluctuations, the concept of absolute returns became a unique selling point for hedge fund managers and promises of stable returns unchallenged by market conditions was assured. This research paper aims to examine the theory of absolute returns in hedge funds by examining hedge funds from the Nordic region during the last years of economic turmoil that has occurred by  analyzing the results from their strategies, partially by quantitative measurements as well as qualitative.  The results show that none of hedge fund strategies managed to deliver absolute returns over the chosen period..

Abstract:According to the curriculum of the Swedish school the pupils should develop their historical consciousness. The aim of this study was to find out which pupils develop this consciousness by listing to an historical novel, talking about that book and writing stories. The study went on for four weeks and the subject of the teaching was the Middle Ages. 28 pupils took part and a variety of methods were used: 1: questionnaire about the lives of the pupils, 2: Making observations of their attitude to the teaching and 3: story writing. The results show that the social background does not influence the development of an historical consciousness.

The interest of mindfulness has grown steadily during the last two decades. Mindfulness presence in the area of social work is mostly as an intervention offered to clients. However, the purpose of this study is to examine what implications the social worker?s mindfulness may have for the relationship with the clients. There is a lack of scientific studies focusing on mindfulness and the relationship between the client and the social worker.

This essay analyses the use of history in the video game Assassin's Creed 2. How have the developers used history in their game? The paper also analyses how the game can stimulate, arouse and mobilize the historical consciousness of the player. The essay presents a theoretical analysis of the uses of history and historical consciousness. This analysis is then linked with the results.

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to investigate how seven homosexual men in the age between 18 and 26 years experience openness with their sexuality in Stockholm. We wish to investigate how these men experience and handle their everyday life in a community characterized by a heteronormative foundation. We will focus on how they handle their openness in an urban environment and if they experience any limitations dependent on the situation or surroundings they live in, and also how they handle these situations. The study is hermeneutically inspired where seven life story interviews are analyzed within the theoretical frameworks provided by Connell, Goffman, Foucault and Queer theory.The results show that the respondents? openness varies depending on a variety of factors where surroundings, situations and previous experiences are influential.

A common perception is that fungicide treatments increases yield, but that the nitrogen of the particular grain is diluted so that the overall removal of grain nitrogen from the field remains unchanged. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that a healthy crop reduces the risk of nutrient loss from agricultural land. The results from genotype and plant protection trials often show constant nitrogen content in the grain, although the yield has been increased. Results from such experiments are therefore processed in order to confirm this and show that it is no statistically significant difference between the protein content (and also nitrogen content) in crops which have undergone fungicide treatment compared to crops which remained untreated. The trials processed have been carried out in the southernmost part of Sweden and are distinguished to concern winter wheat production.The explanation to the results is that a healthy crop is able to maintain the biological functions of the plant in a more efficient way than a crop damaged by a fungal infection.

To turn the dairy heifers out on pasture is the most natural way for the cattle to get feed. At the same time it is cheap and if it is right treated a feed of high nutritive value. The problem today is to get dairy heifers to grow enough when they are grazing at natural pasture for the entire summer. Therefore, the opinions differ whether pasture is a resource or a problem. The increasing interest of pasture production is due to the fact that you can receive grants for preserving valuable natural assets and cultural landscape elements in the pasture land. A high grazing pressure is necessary to preserve an open landscape and a great variety of species. In the same time the heifers have to supply their nutritive needs in order to grow and be large enough to show heat and be pregnant in right time to calve with a sufficient body size and at an economically right age. This paper includes a literature review on natural pasture, pasture production, and growth of dairy heifers together with own interviews with dairy farmers about their point of view to the pasture husbandry on the farms, how they plan for pasture, look after natural pasture, treatment areas and take care of the calves and heifers. The results indicate that the time it takes and the demanded work are the biggest factors to how and why the farmers do as they do..

The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how teachers and other people working with mathematics in a school context perceive inclusion in terms of education. In addition,the purpose is to describe their experiences of inclusive education in mathematics and to identify factors of importance for an inclusive approach to teaching mathematics. The starting point was the significance of inclusive education as regards the education system and research on the implementation of inclusive education internationally and in Sweden. The theoretical approach is founded in a special education perspective on teaching and the theory of optimal experience. The people interviewed for this study are directly or indirectly involved in the teaching of mathematicsat a school that explicitly works from an inclusive perspective.

This paper investigates the grammatical construction intransitive motionconstruction with GOAL as it is used in Swedish (Swe. intransitivrörelsekonstruktion med MÅL).I examine in which ways the construction is productive, i.e. thepossibility to use the construction with new verbs as well as withordinary motion verbs with new functions. The notion of productivity isbased on the construction?s type frequency and semantic openness(Goldberg 1995, 2006; Barðdal 2008; Bybee 2010).

According to pre-school curriculum, the children´s needs and interests from the basis for the design and planning of the educational activities. The curriculum also highlights that all children should have the opportunity to satisfy their increasing ability to influence the content and approach. The purpose of this study is to examine whether and how teachers work in involving children's influence and interest in forest excursions.The essay is based on a qualitative approach in which we have chosen to carry out unstructured observations by a team of three educationalists. The study includes children of 3-5 years of age.The results show that the educationalists take advantage of children's interests and needs foremost in conversations. The children are given the possibility of influence that of which concerns only themselves and nobody else.

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is a genre of computerized systems which allows system development corporations to efficiently and more easily manage, maintain and handle the applications lifecycle. These ALM systems have a wide variety of tools which can be integrated to enable and support collaborative work, while they act at the core of the organisation. Todays ALM systems support flexible system development methods throughout the entire development process. This paper focuses on a case-study of a Swedish business- and technology corporation and their use of two ALM systems with an aim to unravel the differences between these systems and their functionality to serve as a basis for decision making regarding their utilization of best practice with their ALM-Systems. Meanwhile we studied their approach to ALM systems to see if they were using them according to the initial idea of ALM systems.

Koloni is a concert promoter that put up shows in lots of different locationswith a wide variety of music styles and artistic expressions. In this work I havecollected material from Koloni?s nine years of existence to form a volume. Thevolume tells the story of Koloni?s work, but also shed some light and understandingon the alternative cultural scene of today.

The aim of this study was to examine how some Swedish school counsellor?s describe their school social work and how they look at its content. Further more the aim is to look at what restraining and promoting factors the school counsellor?s experience in their working situation. The approach of the study is qualitative and interviews have been made with five school counsellors.

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) is a genre of computerized systems which allows system development corporations to efficiently and more easily manage, maintain and handle the applications lifecycle. These ALM systems have a wide variety of tools which can be integrated to enable and support collaborative work, while they act at the core of the organisation. Todays ALM systems support flexible system development methods throughout the entire development process. This paper focuses on a case-study of a Swedish business- and technology corporation and their use of two ALM systems with an aim to unravel the differences between these systems and their functionality to serve as a basis for decision making regarding their utilization of best practice with their ALM-Systems. Meanwhile we studied their approach to ALM systems to see if they were using them according to the initial idea of ALM systems.

This essay examines the debate that arose in connection to the sale of Carl Larsson?s monumental painting Midvinterblot in 1987. My main purpose is to examine which meanings the debaters ascribed Midvinterblot and in which way the debate influenced the paintings significance as cultural heritage. I will therefore argue that the debate initiated a renegotitation of the paintings meaning as cultural heritage. In the debate the debaters emphasized the National Museum?s responsibility over cultural heritage, Midvinterblots aestethic, the paintings economic value and its national implications.