The purpose of this study was to examine interpersonal problems and its relationship to the working alliance in psychotherapy. To examine this, data was used from Umeå and Lund University psychology practice client database, which clients responded to by using the self-assessment scales Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Circumplex Scales and the Working Alliance Inventory. The sample consisted of 201 participants that answered the questionnaires both before and after psychotherapy. A second sample consisted of 93 clients who specifically sought help for interpersonal problems. Results showed that the level of interpersonal problems before and after psychotherapy changes.

The aim for this study was to examine betweenship as a phenomenon by focusing on identity. There is not very much research done on betweenship. I have used a qualitative phenomenological approach, based on four qualitative interviews. The four interviewees were all experiencing betweenship. To analyze their stories I used two theoretical frameworks; identity and affinity groups.

The purpose of this study is to illustrate teacher humor by critically examining it from an interpersonal- and humor communicative-perspective; and to discuss teacher interpersonal humor communication-skills in relation to the Swedish high school curriculum, collegial relationships and pedagogical aspects. The study?s empiric material consists of semi-structured interviews with six high school-teachers currently working at the same school, but of different age and gender. The interviews indicate that the informants all have developed humor competence, an interpersonal communicative-skill that allows them to use humor efficiently. Moreover, the result demonstrates that the teachers have various humor approaches but that they all use humor in the classroom for much of the same reasons.

The aim of this master thesis is to gain greater knowledge of interpersonal communication. This study explores on one hand how interpersonal communication can be used as an important part of reference work in a Swedish electronic synchronous reference service, and on the other how interpersonal communication affects the relationship between user and librarian. By using communication theory and establishing a positive relational contact with the user in the electronic environment, the outcome of the reference encounter can be successful for both the librarian and the user. Furthermore, the importance of recognising relational barriers is of great relevance to the relational contact. The scope of this master thesis is to find what relational factors are used and can be used in the interaction between user and librarian.

This thesis work researches what motivates swedish Facebook users to pass along and shareinformation on Facebook, their attitude towards shared information and what affects this behavior. The goal of this thesis is to research todays behavior and motivations to enlighten  what makes information worth sharing to others on Facebook, instead of simply attracting attention. By using a web survey we have collected data by sampling a part of the actual population  of  swedens Facebook users.Our results show that swedish Facebook users main reason for using Facebook is to socialize with offline friends and share information to show otherssomethingtheybelivetheywillhaveuseforand/orwillappriciate.WecompareourfindingstoexistingresearchandtheFIROtheoryabouthumaninterpersonalneeds.Wefindthatuserssharinghabitscanbeidentifiedasmotivatedbyinterpersonalneedstomaintainsocialbonds,influenceothersopinionaboutthemselves,feeluniqueandstandoutinthecrowd.WeconcludethathumanneedsarecontributingtosharingactivityonFacebookandinfluencethesharinghabitsoftheSwedishFacebookusers.Theusersshowacriticalviewonsharingbehavioringeneralbutdonotbelievethattheyshareforthesamereasonthemselves..

ABSTRACTBachelor essay in political science by Hanna Richter, spring 2006Supervisor: Mats LindbergTitle: A study of the phenomenon of micronationsThe purpose of this essay is to study the phenomenon of ?micronations?, to describe it to the reader and to discuss why this phenomenon is interesting to study in the field of political science. The questions this essay seeks to answer are:- What are micronations, and which variations are to be found within the phenomenon?- Why are micronations interesting to study in the field of political science?Bary Buzans theory of the nature of the state works as a frame of reference to this investigation of micro ?state-like? units. The phenomenon of micronations has not been investigated by the social sciences in any extent worth mentioning yet.

From an early age kids learn that their good performance and efforts will be rewarded. Unfortunately, not all leaders in the media industry are rewarded or given the same opportunities to exercise their communicative leadership, according to studies in media research. The aim of our study is to highlight female managers' experiences of their communicative leadership in the Swe-dish media industry. This study was based on qualitative interviews with four female respondents in management positions. The core of the study concerns female communicative leadership and interpersonal communication.

Purpose/Aim: Our purpose with this study is to examen the differences in communication between digital immigrants and digital natives, how the digitization has changed our way to communicate in an interpersonal matter.Main Results: Through our study we have concluded that barriers do exist between students (natives) and teachers (immigrants), but not to the extent we first predicted. The digitization has resulted in a change in the way we communicate and our relation to each other. But in a purely communicative matter, the digitization hasn?t made it harder for natives and immigrants to understand each other, but it has contributed to new vocabulary and the use of the language. New codes has been developed, but thanks to the younger generations ability to adapt to change - this linguistic difference it is not a problem for the understanding of the code used by the immigrants.

This paper examines the interpersonal and intercorporate networks of interlocking boardmembers among Sweden's 50 largest publicly traded companies in 1985 and 2005. We find that both the interpersonal and intercorporate networks of 1985 are considerably more coherent and densely connected than those of 2005. The observed changes in social network structure are compared to changes in company ownership in Swedish publicly traded companies during the same period, and it is found that the observed changes in network density and cohesion can be related to a notable increase in the number of foreign board members. These results imply that the social organization of the Swedish system of corporate governance has changed notably during the period. Social network theory suggests that these changes can explain the greater demand for external regulation, decreased homogeneity of board members and increase in board member compensation observed under the period.

The purpose of this study is to illustrate teacher humor by critically examining it from an interpersonal- and humor communicative-perspective; and to discuss teacher interpersonal humor communication-skills in relation to the Swedish high school curriculum, collegial relationships and pedagogical aspects. The study?s empiric material consists of semi-structured interviews with six high school-teachers currently working at the same school, but of different age and gender. The interviews indicate that the informants all have developed humor competence, an interpersonal communicative-skill that allows them to use humor efficiently. Moreover, the result demonstrates that the teachers have various humor approaches but that they all use humor in the classroom for much of the same reasons.

Global warming is one of the most debated environmental issues right now, and it could be argued that it is important to study how the phenomenon is treated in schools. The main purpose of this study is to put students? knowledge about global warming in relation with the control documents for chemistry, biology and physics studies. Interviews have been conducted with six students in the 9th grade. The conclusion of the survey indicates that the students generally have a satisfying knowledge about the phenomenon and that they know how they should behave from an environmental perspective..

The purpose with our essay was:-          To study how personal assistants understand their occupation role.-          To describe the attitude of personal assistants to the right of self-determination of their care receivers. We have used a qualitative research method called phenomenografic. The empirical material was based on four interviews that served as the data collection methods. The interviewees were four women from two different municipalities of Middle Sweden. The interviewed personal assistants work with adult people who have mental disabilities. As a result we came up with eight categories which showed that personal assistants, despite some difficulties, perceive their careers as crucial for society?s well being. The phenomenon of self-determination was much easier to describe than to put to practice.

This is a study of the discussions and sense making that HR-professionals and HR-students present concerning the phenomenon of diversity, through the theory of social representation.Our purpose is to study the reasoning around the phenomenon of diversity and what meaning HR-students and HR-professionals create around it. This study also attempts to examine how HR-professionals and HR-students reasoning and interaction differ from each other. In this study we have used the qualitative method of social representation through focus groups.The common themes found in the data material were the meaning of the phenomenon diversity, how the work with human resources can be connected to the phenomenon of diversity and diversity as an issue in society. The main result in this study was that we found a wide range of meaning put into the word diversity by the participants and that the individuals in the focus groups actively strived for consensus..

Denna studie tar upp betydelsen av att den empatiserande personen har liknande erfarenheter som målpersonen och även betydelsen av könstillhörighet har för förmågan till empati. Metoden för att undersöka detta bestod av att visa ett filmklipp och efter detta fick deltagarna besvara en fråga utifrån deras upplevelser av filmklippet. Deltagare var psykologistudenter och anställda på en pappersindustri. Studien visade på ett signifikant resultat till att kvinnor utan barn hade högre grad av empati än män utan barn och en tendens till att liknande erfarenheter hos empatisör och målperson ökade empatin för män men inte för kvinnor. Att kvinnor visar mer empati än män finns det tidigare forskning som stödjer.

The purpose of this essay was to inquire how workplace conflicts are managed at a number of public social services offices in south-western Skåne. This essay's main research questions were: What organizational factors determine how conflicts arise and are managed in a work environment? To what extent are such factors prevalent at the above-mentioned social services offices? Are certain conflicts typically prevalent in the public social services? If so, what are they? How does the workplace in question manage the conflicts that arise? The inquiry was conducted among the staff of three public social services offices, applying the vignette method. According to previous research, certain system conflicts are typically prevalent in public sector organizations, which adversely affect the work conditions of social workers at the organization's professional level. Two examples each of this conflict type and of interpersonal conflict were included in the inquiry.