The purpose of this study was to understand how social workers experienced working with Addiction Severity Index (ASI) in relation to the goal set by the National Board of Health and Welfare. The method is spread nationwide and therefore it is of great importance to examine how the social workers themselves experience the demands and the resources surrounding ASI. We choose to do a qualitative study interviewing eight social workers at six different occasions. The result was analyzed using Max Weber?s Ideal type bureaucracy and Michael Lipsky?s thesis on street-level bureaucrats.

The aim of this study is to describe the characteristics of right-wing populist parties in Europe. The three parties included in the study are the Swedish Democrats (SD), the British National Party (BNP) and the National Front (NF) in France. The study includes a definition of right-wing populism based on previous research and from that an ideal type of a right-wing populist party has been created. The material used in the study to verify how well the parties were consistent to the ideal type and what similarities and differences the parties in the study have are the parties? political programs and policies.

In 1974 the three municipalities of Åsele, Dorotea and Fredrika were amalgamated despite of hunger strikes, mass protests and a serious threat of violence. But after six years the marriage shattered as Dorotea left the other two after years of continued struggle. In 2005 the idea of an amalgamation of Åsele, Dorotea and Vilhelmina municipalities was brought to life by an older and ever declining population.By creating a democratic ideal type consisting of the three variables ? legitimacy, participation and identity ? this study assesses what impact an amalgamation of the three municipalities might have on local democracy.Combining a qualitative and a quantitative approach this study concludes that amalgamating the municipalities today could create a democratic unit lacking legitimacy, having a weak identity and impeding participation. But the study also brings forth that the impact of an amalgamation upon the variables of the ideal type as defined is not written in stone.

In this essay I examine how a municipal- and an independent upper secondary school compare to the ideal types the Company and the Political organization and how that affects the school practise as it?s described in policy documents. The conclusions are that the municipal school on a number of variables correlate to the ideal type the Political organization. At the same time the school reforms of the 1990s are considered as an intention to ?companylize? the municipal school and a number of tendencies how that have affected the municipal school are shown.

This study shows how city planners and politicians in Karlstad plans different parts of the city, what type of model/ city ideals they use when planning, and how it is expressed. The study was made using a qualitative method, were a discourse analysis was vital for the elected planning document and blog posts. Qualitative interviews were also made with five people with significant meaning, who hold different positions in the city planning of Karlstad. In the produced material, it appears that the city planners and politicians in Karlstad are planning for traditional city ideals as a foundation in the planning, with influence from new ideas as for example sustainable planning and economic growth. In some parts of the city a modern and rational planning remains.

There is an awareness of the importance of gender equality in most western societies, both at the political level and in everyday life. In academia, for instance, gender is nowadays a scientific field which indicates that there is a lot of knowledge about the subject. What we do not have much knowledge about is whether gender knowledge leads to changes in gender relations in practice. The aim of this study is to explore how gender scholars relate to using ? practicing ? gender knowledge.

The thesis of this essay is that the concept of governance is a product of the neo-liberal dominant ideology and that the implementation of governance ideas will lead to a weaker nation-state. Using critical theory the essay constructs an ideal type of neo-liberalism and compares its core values with these of the governance concept as treated by the main literature in the area. The essay then focuses on the issue of the state, and discusses whether the changes leading to a demand for governance have actually weakened the state. Furthermore, the essay presents the practical use of the term governance in the EU and Sweden and problemizes the changes that the neo-liberal domination has led to in terms of power and democracy. Finally the essay discusses alternative views on the changing role of the state.

This paper contains an analysis that sets out to investigate how sustainable development is portrayed in textbooks used in gymnasium level civics education. The study covers three textbooks, all in current use. The paper sets out to explore the relationship between the books chapters on economics and those about environmental issues. The sum of these two parts is in the context supposed to make up the books big picture of green sustainable development, i.e. the ecological aspect of sustainable development. An analytical model will be used to categorise and compare the three textbooks.The method chosen for this is analysis of ideas by use of ideal types.

The aim of this Master?s thesis is to examine how gender is described in some of the most popular children?s picture books in year 2007 and 2008. The theory used is based on Berger?s and Luckmann?s theory about Social construction, Bjerrum Nielsen?s and Rudberg?s theory about Gender socialization, Gens? theory How girls becomes women and boys becomes men and Hirdman?s theory about Gender contracts. The method used is an analysis of ideal types.

The Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna) has for a long time been the subject of study by political scientists. In the meantime they have been categorized as National Socialists, Fascists, right-wing extremists and more recently radical right populists. But it has not been categorized according to the theories that I expect. The purpose of this essay is to study how well Sweden Democrats policies match with ideas that are typical for radical right populist parties. The main research question is:- Are Sweden Democrats showing details which are typical for radical right populist parties?To be able to answer those questions, I have used an ideal type analysis and developed an analysis instrument according the theoretical approach and the methods in Bergström & Boréus book.

The focus in this study is on the situation of Roma in Sweden. The purpose is to see the integration strategies that are reflected in Swedish politics, considering the inclusion of Roma. Idea analysis has been used as method, and I have analysed the text to find expressions of four different ideal types that represent four different types of integrations processes. The material consists of the government?s strategy plan for the Roma?s inclusion in Sweden between 2012-2032.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the democratization process in Kurdistan on the basis of consolidation democracy with focus on arenas defined by Linz and Stepan (1997), namely economic, political, legal, civil society and arenas of state bureaucracy. Furthermore, I intend to explain Kurdistan?s road toward democratization in Kurdistan from 1991 until today, with a focus on the years 2003-2012. The main results are that Kurdistan has developed conditions that support a future consolidation of democracy. However, there are weaknesses in the economic situation, rule of law and the arena of bureaucracy.

This study attempts to answer the question of whether the propaganda of the Swedish political parties ?Socialdemokraterna?, and/or ?Sverigedemokraterna?, used for the election to the European parliament 2009, are to be viewed as populistic. Furthermore, is the propaganda to viewed as included in the ?Classical populism?, the ?New populism?, both, or none of the above genres? With a theoretical approach deriving from earlier works on the subject Classical/New populism from a number of writers, the study uses empirical and qualitative text analysis to study the parties propaganda. For each of the two genres of populism an ideal type is set up, which is used to define their core elements.

This thesis examines the effects of the Swedish school reforms that took place in the early 1990?s. Theories such as Principal-Agent, Stewardship and Lipsky?s street-level bureaucracy are discussed as well as New Public Management (NPM). These reforms were heavily influenced by NPM, causing an increased level of street-level bureaucracy, and according to Principal-Agent theory some outcomes could have been predicted.

This study is about state officials who handle applications for sickness benefits and about municipal officials who handle applications for financial assistance. The purpose of this study is to explore the differences between the two professional roles regarding their conception about their exercise of authority, in terms of flexibility, individual adjustment, empathy and legal security.The study has a qualitative approach and is based on structured interviews with two state officials and two municipal officials. The questions that this study aims to answer are:- Is there a difference between state officials and municipal officials regarding their experience and use of flexibility? - Is there a difference between state officials and municipal officials regarding their perceptions of legal security, individual adjustment and empathy in their exercise of authority? - What kind of bureaucracy can you find in the two organizations?The results show that the state officials in this study have very limited flexibility due to legislation which makes their exercise of authority neither empathic nor individual. The municipal officials in this study state in their turn that the law entails broad flexibility and the opportunity for them to be empathic and to make individual decisions.