The purpose of the present study is to investigate mindfulness as a New Age phenomenon in the modern western society. Since a religious phenomenon does not exist in a vacuum, but is dependent on its historical and cultural context, my aim is to give a broad depiction of mindfulness and New Age in its wider context, the historical background and the societal implications of common values, themes and concepts that are frequent in the literature, how mindfulness is presented by the authors of popular literature and also how it is presented in science. In order to bring forward a deeper understanding of New Age and mindfulness? role in the modern western society, my intention is to see how the authors of mindfulness claim validity of their doctrines in the discourse. Mindfulness attracts a wide range of perpetrators and is used in many areas in the society today.

The three dystopian novels Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Kallocain by Karin Boye and Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell have been highly discussed amongst literary critics and scholars. Although these works are well-known, some themes have had very little or no recognition. Biological reproduction is a recurring subject in dystopian literature. Although it is not the main theme in the novels, it is a very important part in dystopian culture and dystopian society. By focusing on reproduction and the structure of gender roles in these three dystopias, I hope to bring to light something that's been in the shadows for a long time i.e.

Abstract Many researchers in social work believe that in today's society require the interaction between organisations takes place on social problems. This study examined the interaction between the police, social services and schools.The purpose of this study are as follows; the aim is to investigate the interaction between social services, the police and schools about young people aged 12-18 years who are at risk for abuse and crime.My questions are: How do the different professions interact regarding young people at risk for abuse and crime? How do they meet young people in their daily work? What obstacles can the different professions see in interaction? What effects do the different professions see in interaction?The study is a qualitative study conducted with semi-structured interviews. Respondents have been two from each organisation.The theory used in the analysis of empirical data is new-institutionalismen. New-institutionalism is a theory developed from organizational theories.

The first aim of the thesis is to analyse the problems of trust, according to game theory, in the Russian market for private pensions insurance. The second aim is to find suitable strategies to solve the problems. Problems of trust have arisen because, (i) buyers of insurance have had negative experiences when dealing with insurance companies and corruption has decreased trust for all players in the market, (ii) incomplete information makes it difficult to separate honest actors from dishonest, and (iii) dishonest insurance companies do not get punished because of corruption and weaknesses in the law. Mutual risk-sharing is a potential solution as necessary conditions already exist in the Russian society. There are groups who (i) share the same type of risks, (ii) are aware of moral hazards, and (iii) are able to control each other.

As stocks have become a more common way for people to save their money, the range of financial information has had a substantial increase. To understand the assumptions that stock valuation and analysis are built upon, it is important for the reader to have an understanding for the models that are used by banks and institutions when recommendations are published.The cash flow model, which is the most commonly used stock valuation tool, is based on CAPM. This model describes the relationship between an assets return and its risk in relation to an index. The risk parameter is called the beta value and has grown to be the dominating risk factor within financial economics literature.The use of beta values has been widely discussed in the world of academics and some researchers claim that the degree of explanation brought about by the beta is so low that it should be discarded, others are faithful to the beta and believe that it still serves a purpose. As a result of this criticism other ways to calculate the beta have surfaced, models that take other factors of risk into consideration.

Descartes sharp distinction between body and mind has had a severe influence on the culture of the western world. We now have a constructed system of knowledge that discards perception asunreliable and instead admits only deduction as the adequate method of understanding oursurroundings and ourselves.But what are we, if not human?And what would our lives be like without our dreams, the passions of our hearts and the sensationsof our sense organs?Irrational as it all may seem, these aspects form our existence, giving us pleasure, experience andknowledge beyond what we plan or try to predict. It is the fuel that keeps us going, fighting, loving.So how come we seek to explain everything? How come we seek the approval of others in matters we should be confident enough to judgeourselves? Why can't we embrace all the aspects of what it means to be alive? I state that the society and culture of the western world offers great possibilities for expression andcommunication.

Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union a lot of hope has been put on civil society to help develop Russia into a more democratic society. This study explores the constructive elements in the relationship between civil society and the state in Russia, and how this enables the work toward political development. By using Julie Fishers theory about political development and organisational autonomy I discuss the varying and often complex ways in which civil society and the state interacts. These are often not mentioned in the liberal tradition, which believes that civil society's most important democratic function is to act as a watchdog for the state.There is very limited political space for NGO's in authoritative Russia. The existing oppositional NGO's are important for the political development, but they are few and their impacts on society are limited.

Introduction: The relationship between depression and stigma is known to cause suffering among the depressed population. Depression is also one of the most common diagnoses in the world. Stigma caused by society leads to people being divided into groups which in term results in a general loss of status and discrimination. Aim: To identify the stigma of depression and its impact on help-seeking behaviour and to identify the underlying attitudes. Method: We chose to make a literature review to explore and compile the current research on the subject.

The purpose of this study is to understand how roman children and young people?s relations are to school and education from a family point of view.I have used a qualitative method and by means of that studied different information sources.  I have proceeded from two different theories: culture conception and categorizing. My first theory choice - Culture conception - represents a value of how we see the culture and the prospective of it.My second theory choice ? categorizing ? represents that we humans classify consciously or unconscious ourselves and others into categories, with the consequence that we understand the world by categorizing. Question I have proceeded from are: - Which roll does the family has for children and young persons from roman society? - Which expectations do children and young persons from roman society have from the family when it comes to education? Throughout my study I have come to the conclusion that roman culture looks differently upon boys and girls.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the new Swedish curriculum, GY11 brought with it changes to how non-religious world-views are presented in five different books in religious education, RE. The method used to analyze the material was a qualitative content analysis as well as counting the pages that dealt with secular world-views. This was later analyzed using philosopher Charles Taylors description and theory on secularization. This was used to identify secular processes as well as to define wether the books definition and description of secular world-views using Taylors concept of ?exclusive humanism?.The research questions are:? What are the authors writing about when describing the secular world- views?? What differences and similarities are there between the different editions prior and after the implementation of the new curriculum, GY11?? Are the secular world-views presented in a way that is compatible with Taylors concept of ?exclusive humanism??The results that are being presented are, first of all that the change between the different editions are not big.

The grain market is facing substantial changes. Tradionally, cereal has been a supply-led market i.e. supply conditions have had a major impact on price level or indirectly, through market interventions implemented through the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). Just a few years ago, Sweden and the EU were not affected so strongly by world market prices for cereals. EU was a surplus-area and to a substantial degree a local market.

This work presents the way exiled Tibetans I?ve met view gender and equality. The world is becoming increasingly global and in order to educate future world citizens it is important to make sure that they learn about gender and equality. Males and Females have different cultures and where manly is the norm female is the exception, but it is important to try and level out these differences while children are still in school. This work originates from studies of literature and several interviews with exiled Tibetans in the Indian city of Dharamsala. They are Tibetans with different roles in the exile-Tibetan society and also of different generations and gender.

Risk management has become a key ingredient for businesses all over the world. High Reliability Organizations (HRO) has distinguished themselves as experts in this area. By continuously focusing on improving their ability to manage risks they?ve been able to successfully avoid catastrophes in environments where normal accidents can be expected due to complexity and risk factors.The aim of the thesis is to improve the risk management at Apotekens Service by applying theories from HRO and safety culture. In July 2009, following the re-regulation of the Swedish pharmacy market, Apotekens Service AB was appointed national pharmacy infrastructure supplier for the Swedish health care system.

Information about the risks involved shall be distributed to the people living in the area nearby to potentially dangerous installation. Swedish law stipulates strict requirements on what information should be supplied, but the law itself does not give any guidance on presentation. The main purpose of the study is to give recommendations on how to improve the information brochures. Within the study, eight people working with risk information have been interviewed and seven different risk information brochures have been studied. Also, a theoretical analysis and a practical experiment were performed using brochures from two municipalities.

The purpose of our study is to examine what risk factors can contribute to a child/youth with neuropsychiatric disorders developing an addiction to drugs. We also wanted to find out what protective factors can contribute not to develop an addiction. In order to find out these two different aspects we interviewed twelve professionals to get their view upon the matter. The professionals work within different sectors such as school, healthcare, social services and one of the interviewed is a member of an organization that specialises in neuropsychiatric disorders.When analysing our result of the interviews we used Bronnfenbrenner´s theory on the ecology of human development. What we found was that there are significant risk factors and protective factors on different levels of the child's environment.On the first level, the microsystem, interpersonal relations have an impact on the child's development.