The local politicians in Sweden are responsible for a great deal of the welfare system why one would assume that there are a lot of demands put on them - demands for certain skills or a certain level of competence. I have in this study tried to find out how the demands on the local representatives concerning the demands for competence and the actual level of competence among the politicians are affecting the local politics. This was done through investigating how the local politicians are perceiving their level of competence and the demands put on them, but also how the employees are perceiving the demands and the level of competence put on the politicians. The study was made in the municipality of Gislaved in Southern Sweden. I was using both quantitative method (an opinion poll among the politicians and employees in the municipality) and qualitative method (interviews with three politicians and three employees and literature studies).In order to investigate the demands for competence I split the concept into ?soft? competence (socially and emotionally based skills), and ?hard? competence (skills based on knowledge, education and experience).

Syftet med vår studie har varit att öka kunskapen om hur socialsekreterare upplever sitt arbete med barnavårdsutredningar och hur de beskriver hanteringen av olika intressen i utredningsprocessen. Inom detta område har vi studerat vilka intressen som kan finnas i en barnavårdsutredning, hur socialsekreterare hanterar dessa och hur de upplever sitt arbete. Vi har använt oss av en kvalitativ metod där vi har intervjuat sex yrkesverksamma socialsekreterare. Utifrån dessa intervjuer har vi fått ett resultat som har visat att det finns många intressen i en barnavårdsutredning. Socialsekreterarna beskriver hur de företräder barnets intresse samtidigt som de behöver förhålla sig till föräldrarna, den egna organisationens, lagstiftningen och andra aktörer som skola, förskola och Barn- och ungdomspsykiatrin, BUP.

The economic development and industrialization that has taken place in many parts of the world during the past century has brought about a huge increase in economic welfare. During this process, it has repeatedly been debated whether the gains from economic development are shared by everyone or just a few. In the field of economics, vast research has been conducted on this particular subject ever since the 1950?s. The most famous contribution might be said to be Simon Kuznets article, Growth and Income Inequality from 1955 and the ?inverted U?-hypothesis that was formulated on the basis of that article.

The economic development and industrialization that has taken place in many parts of the world during the past century has brought about a huge increase in economic welfare. During this process, it has repeatedly been debated whether the gains from economic development are shared by everyone or just a few. In the field of economics, vast research has been conducted on this particular subject ever since the 1950?s. The most famous contribution might be said to be Simon Kuznets article, Growth and Income Inequality from 1955 and the ?inverted U?-hypothesis that was formulated on the basis of that article.

This study, which was conducted in Sweden, was based on four qualitative semi-structured interviews. The aim of this study was to create an understanding of how a municipality designs the sanction for youth offenders called ?youth service? based on the law that establishes the existence of such a sentence. We interviewed social workers that work at the department of youth service in the municipality of Gothenburg, who exclusively deal with youth offenders? sentenced to youth service as their job assignment.

Horses respond individually to challenges, and the possibility to use these reactions to evaluate equine temperament with an objective instrument would have several advantages. Horse welfare could be improved by making it possible to find individuals best suited for a specific use, and understanding of the development of abnormal behaviours, such as stereotypies, could be increased. Management routines and training could be adjusted tosuit each individual horse and it could facilitate the selection of individuals appropriate for breeding. There are also economic implications, as horse buyers consider temperament important and after evaluating temperament, money can be spent solely on specific horses with all the right qualities. During the last decade, many attempts have been made to measure different aspects of temperament in horses, and the first aim of this project was to look at these studies and see which methods were used and which temperamental characteristics they measured.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative study with a case study research design, where we studied social workers and politicians view on honor-related problems of underage girls and boys in the age 13-17. We need knowledge about honor related violence and oppression in the political community and social services to work with honor-related problems. Political decisions affect how social work is developed around the honor problem; therefore, it is also important to highlight this direction for the work. It requires a knowledge complement of honor-related problems not to risk exposing the child to further risk from the family (Hedersförtryck, 2009). This is to live up to, for example the law of Social Services, school law and Human Rights (Hussein & Kinuka-Svedberg, 2010).

The purpose of this study is to illustrate and analyze what the socializing process of the Finn­ ish woman looks like ant to discuss what contributes to the feeling of inclusion, or the feeling of exclusion. The questions asked in the study aim to classify what influenced the decision to move to Sweden. Furthermore they aim to describe what the life in Sweden has been like and what the socialization process for the Finnish woman  looks like. Finally I will study what kind of impact the change of life has had for the feeling of inclusion and for social identity. Initially the Finnish immigration to Sweden, through time, is described and then earlier stud­ ies relation to this study is accounted for. Then the role of social pedagogy in this study is presented.

The integration policy in Sweden shall encourage individuals to support themselves and take part in society. It shall alsocontribute to equal rights and opportunities for women as well as for men. In Borlänge this has resulted in a program ofintroduction for new arrivals from other countries. However, at the unit responsible for economic support, they havediscovered that women with immigrant background more often than men seem to have trouble starting or became to anending of the program, which then especially leads women to a long-term dependence for economic support. The purpose of this study has therefore been to investigate what factors affect immigrant women?s participation in theintroduction, and what significance this participation has for their possibilities to become economically self-supporting,and integrated into Swedish society.

To be a farmer and have suckler cows is a difficult combination especially considering the economy. Because of the increased feed costs, the margins have become tighter. The meat price from beef cattle has increased a little when this text is written (spring, 2008), but not so much that it covers the cost for feed etc. I have a small suckler cow production on approximately 30 cows and 2 bulls plus followers as a part-time business. The herd is tied in the old dairy stable built in the late seventies.

Today in Sweden the concept of the greyzone students that stands between the nine-year compulsory school and special school for mentally retarded children is recognised in different studies and reports. It is not obvious for this group of students to decide which category best can comply with their needs. Should they go in nine-year compulsory school or special school for mentally retarded children? In the last years there have been alarming rapports about how the share of students in special school increases. A study shows that the greyzone students are a group that distinctly is on the increase in the special school.

Background: Various follow-up studies show that there are deficiencies in the care of patients affected by stroke. In order to provide good care according to the National Board of health and welfare and national guidelines for stroke care systematic quality audits need to be carried out.Purpose: To investigate if the local guidelines for stroke care in Örebro County are followed and to explore how people with stroke experience care and rehabilitation in hospital, primary care and community.Method: Primary health care records were reviewed using quality indicators in the local stroke guidelines. Samples of patients were obtained from the County´s three hospitals. Differences between men and women, younger and older, were analysed with chi-squared test. Eleven people were interviewed about their experiences of care, rehabilitation, support and participation.

During the period after the Second World War Sweden underwent a quick transformation due to a strong economic development. Decades-long rule for the Social Democratic Party now led to the creation, in Sweden, of a modern welfare state. This period in Swedish history is often considered to be the time when ?the Swedish model? was formed. Tage Lindbom (1909?2001) was a historian and intellectual in the Swedish labor movement.

The purpose of this study was to examine how commitment to a cause on a local basis had developed in four smaller groups during one decade. In 1996 I interviewed representatives in Åsele, Borrby, Hasslarp and Tving about their commitment and citizen initiative. Now, ten years later, I followed it up by interviewing them again. I wanted to know if the groups/associations still existed, if they had achieved their goals as they where pronounced ten years ago and how a strong commitment on a local basis can develop during ten years. Which phenomena decide whether the group develop or phase out? I use the term citizen commitment instead of citizen initiative to stress the fact that it is no longer an initiative but an on-going commitment.

The incidence of damage to the claws and legs in piglets caused by the floor in farrowing pens is a widely known problem and very common in today's pig herds. Although the association between floor and damage has been known for over 35 years, no suitable solution has been found to reduce the negative impact. The purpose of this study was to make a literature study to document the experiences of the use of different types of flooring in farrowing pens and also, in an own study, examine if soft floor in farrowing crates could lead to reduced damage to the claws and legs in piglets compared to concrete floor. The study was conducted in two herds, A and B. In each herd, farrowing pens with concrete floor and concrete floor with polyurethane coating were compared.