This thesis title starting from zero alludes to storstadssatsningen's democratic work being accomplished among immigrants in Malmö. My thesis examines which types of political participation storstadssatsningen were trying to increase. The goal was to turn the immigrants into political participants, but in many of the projects the democratic work had to focus on building a ground for democratic participation by bringing isolation to an end and teaching the Swedish language. This may have been the reason that there were not extensive forms of resources to put into projects actually raising the political awareness. Some of the projects can however be said to increase a very large number of types of political participation, both temporary and every day participation.

This thesis uses statistical methods to investigate if political appointees working for the Swedish government are good representatives for the members of the ruling party. This is a relevant question since the number of political appointees and the political fields in which they are employed have increased. Some say that this is a sign of presidentialism, which in this context means that the prime minister and his cabinet are becoming more independent from parliament and supporting party. The research is done by comparing the political appointees with an select elite of party members regards to socioeconomic background, which interest that are promoted in society and ideology. The consequences of differences on these characteristics between political appointees and the party elite could be that some interest in society are wrongly overrepresented while others are wrongly underrepresented by the unelected political appointees.

The Swedish working-class author Ivar Lo-Johansson (1901-1990) wrote a collection of one hundred short stories between the years 1968-1972. His other productions, generally speaking, have partially different social reform purposes, but, according to himself, these short stories were written with the intention to be totally free of tendencies (even though he himself doubted that he succeeded with this).During the same period that these short stories were published, the Swedish social democrats were under the challenge of radical movements that, mainly on the radical left?s ideological foundation, had a relatively strong influence in Sweden, among other countries, from the mid 1960?s to the late 1970?s. Since Lo-Johansson mainly seemed to have supported the politics of the social democrats, the purpose of the investigation in this thesis has been to see if he ? in the three short stories: Vikingakärlek (1970), Rikslögnaren (1971) and Ansgars resa till Sverige (1972) ? is conveying an ideological use of history and basic political values that were used by the social democratic party during this time period.

Aim: To describe the lived experience of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Method: Eight scientific articles of appropriate quality were found, analyzed, condensed and synthesized. Different experiences by women with PCOS were found and ordered into themes. The findings were then anchored in associated literature and discussed. Results: Four different themes were found: Feeling different; Disturbing symptoms; Searching for answers; Care treatment.

The aim of this study was to highlighting social workers perceptions of women with disabilities and their vulnerability to domestic violence - and thereby problematize previous research on gender-based violence on the basis of category of functional ability. We designed this study by using a qualitative approach based on six semi-structed interviews with professionals from different professions. All of them have contact with women with disabilities in some way. The selection was based on gaining an understanding of the social worker?s perceptions regarding abused women with disabilities based on their different professional experiences.

The aim of this essay is to investigate what is burnout and how women who are affected by it manage their condition. Furthermore, we have investigated stigma and whether or not those affected by burnout are in turn stigmatised.A qualitative approach has been used to achieve our aims with this project. To support our analysis we have interviewed ten women who all have been diagnosed with fatigue syndrome along with studying relevant literature. The main theories used in this investigation are the symbolic interaktionism by G.H Mead, the term stigma by Erving Goffman and different theories on coping.The results show that the majority of women in the study had suffered from burnout due to work related stress and changes in their working environment. How they coped with and recovered from the condition depended on their own activity and how it related to their own support system.

This study is about being manager in social care and social welfare organisations. Ten women managers participate in the study and share their thoughts about management. Such organisations are an area where women are most frequent, so we wanted to take part of experiences women managers in this area obtain. The study concentrates upon factors these women encounter and which they feel can affect them in their daily work. The study shows that the women we interviewed have a basic interest in humans and a strong commitment to working for human well being.

Vellinge is one of few municipalities in Sweden that refuses to accept refugees. The subject of this thesis is to find out how the local politicians in Vellinge make their considerations when they decide not to welcome refugees. The analysis uses the representation theory as a starting point. The two ideals of the representative role, either as a bound mandate or as a free independent role, is the base of the analysis. Vellinge is in the analysis compared to Lomma, a very similar municipality in southern Sweden that for a long time alsohas refused to accept refugees, however suddenly in 2007 decided to change their mind.

This is a qualitative study which purpose is to examine the experiences of the recovery process after a treatment for eating disorders.                                                         The questions we have decided to examine are; how did the women adapt to a healthier life after treatment, what are the women's perceived experiences of the aspects related to identity and identity work, and what external social influence was seen as important for their adjustment process to a healthier life?Methods: We have used computer-supported and semi-structured interviews. There were a total of nine women who took part in the study.                                                                                                                    Results: Majority of these women have been recovered from their eating disorders, but some still have major or minor problems. They found it rather difficult to adjust their life's without an eating disorder.Conclusions: Increased self-awarness led to greater control over the eating disorder. The women could begin to confer the new features that they identified with.

This thesis uses the ?What's the problem?-approach developed by Carol LeeBacchi. This approach studies how the problem that a certain policy is supposedto take care of is represented. Each representation will rest upon certainassumptions and will accordingly support certain solutions while other solutionswill be considered less suitable to the problem as it is represented.The thesis therefore evaluates the competing problem representations forgender mainstreaming in Sweden. The theory chapter explores two developmentpossibilities for gender mainstreaming, based on diversity and deliberativedemocracy.

A picture says more than thousand words - an analysis of GQ Magazine´s cover images and ninth grade student´s views of them is an essay in media and communication studies covering 15 hp. This essay examines how men and women are depicted on the cover of GQ Magazine and how ninth grade students perceive these images. Our research questions are: How is gender presented in cover images? How do the students interpret these images? What possible differencies or similarities are there? Our theoretical framework is based on gender theory. Methods used are a survey conducted at Tegs Central school and a semiotic analysis of the cover images.

The results and the analysis of this essay are based on an empirical study of women groups in Babati District in Tanzania from 2005. The study has shown that the reason for women in Babati to organize themselves is to overcome traditional and structural obstacles that restrict women?s economical integration. Through the creation of social networks and a common source of income within the group, women are trying to strengthen their position within the household and in society. The significance of empowerment on an individual level is the sense of abilities in everyday life and the feeling of increased options.Social mobilization means that individuals come together and with united strengths and according to a common interest are trying to fulfil articulated goals.

Sharia or western equality?womenin Egyptian legislationThe Islamic law (Sharia) in most of the countries in Middle East and North Africa has been the basis for modern laws which regulate issues such as marriage, divorce and inheritance. These laws (personal status law or family law) have been debated frequently in the last decades.There are those who consider personal status law (PSL) as unjust, male-biased and discriminating against women especially in the issue of divorce. On the other hand there are voices who call to go back to the Sharia, because muslims has to follow the islamic law and its values, they are universal as they claim. In this essay I try to enlighten these two points of view which can be found in the debate in Egypt.

In 2002 the local council of Lund, Sweden, decides to implement the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. A number of actors, such as the state, the civil society, the political society and the bureaucracy, participate in the political process with different authority and points of departure. This thesis studies the actors´ interactions from an inside perspective by applying concepts such as political power, democracy and implementation. The methodological departure is action research from within, a local NGO, the local board of Save the Children Sweden. The results of the study indicate that governance and steering of the implementation process at the communal level is weak.

This essay is a comparison according to the ideological thoughts about womens position in the society of Mao Zedong och Josef Stalin. The material I have analysed is writings by Mao and Stalin, in a wide range from leaflets to orders to the armies of the states of China and the Soviet Union. The method I have used is an ideological analysis where the attitude towards women is the target for my survey. The attitude towards women generally was not unified in the world during the time for Mao and Stalin. In many countries the women was intended to take care of the children and the home, not be active in working and fighting.