The transformed municipality ? Economic and social growth in Örnsköldsvik 1997-2007Author: Kristina HanssonThis thesis focuses on the economic and social growth in the municipality of Örnsköldsvik. It is a single case study and the municipality is studied through economic theories concerning regional growth in the period of 1997-2007. The aim is to analyse whether these theories, such as Åke E. Anderssons and Ulf Strömquists K-society, and other more or less microeconomic assumptions, also are applicable in smaller local contexts.

This thesis investigates whether it is accordance between the different profit measures in the financial market. The first aim of the thesis is to examine if it exists a difference between the profit measures that companies publish in their fourth quarter interim report and the measures that they state in their annual report, issued some months later. The second aim is to examine whether there is a divergence in definitions and the assumption regarding the risk of bankruptcy between profit measures published by companies and analysts. The study focuses on Swedish companies listed on the OMX Stockholm Large Cap and concerns the years of 2006 and 2007. The analysts interviewed are working in Sweden with listed Swedish companies.

This thesis aims at analyzing why the municipality of Flen, in the eastern part of Sweden, has experienced strong depopulation for the last forty years in spite of its relative vicinity to Stockholm. The study uses current theories on regional developement, population theory and theories on regional enlargment to help explain and to evaluate the different regional factors that affect the developement of Flen on the local level. The thesis is primarily focused on the subject of regional policy and strategies to meet regional depopulation. The study also gives a presentation of the strategies of major regional institutions as well as analyzing what impact regional policy have on local policy in the municipality of Flen.Interviews with local officials, politicians and other people representing the population of Flen were carried out to achieve a better understanding of the specific challenges that the municipality faces and of the measures that are taken to meet them. Regional policy in Sweden prioritises measures that promote regional enlargment to link the housing and labour markets together with the regional infrastructure.

Our purpose with this study was to look at the pawnbrokers role in the Swedish welfare state from the customers perspective. Our purpose was also to see how the customers used the loan. We wondered why people used the pawnbroker's and how the pawnbroker's could be understood as a providing alternative related to the three spheres state, market and family? Above looking at previous science we also did three interviews with people who worked at a pawnshop, a budgetadvisor and a smaller investigation with customers of a pawnshop.We came to the conclusion that the customer needed the money from the loan to buy food in many cases, according to the investigation we did with the customers. According to the employees the customers needed the money for different things, such as paying the bills or unexpected expenses.

Individual adaption to the student´s needs is a recurring main theme in the new Swedish curriculum (Lgr11). The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine how teachers work with individual adjustment for students with reading and writing difficulties. The study was based on five questions;In what way do teachers organize their teaching in the classroom individually for students with reading and writing difficulties?What methods do they use for student´s with reading and writing difficulties?What difficulties do they encounter in their teaching?How do the teachers reason to curriculum goals regarding individual adaptions?How do they think about their own knowledge regarding reading- and writing difficulties and dyslexia?The method for my study was qualitative interviews. Five teachers were interviewed in semi-structured interviews.

This paper provides a study about human trafficking with sexual motives performed in European states and the measures taken from national, international and Non-Governmental organizations with the purpose to oppose human trafficking. According to the UN human trafficking has increased and shows tendencies to continue escalating, regardless of the measures taken by various organisations. In this study, four countries with associations to human trafficking have been chosen and organisations related to these countries are studied. The purpose is to inquire into how these organisations work against human trafficking and which objectives and guidelines these organisations strive for together with their values. The aim is to find out which result the organizations efforts gets and if, according to my hypothesis, the efforts oppose themselves.

This degree project handles acoustic measurements of the heat pump EcoAir 107, made by Enertech CTC AB. The sound from the three sound sources of the heat pump, fan, compressor and four way valve, have been measured to find out how they affect the total sound level of the product.Measures to attenuate the sound level have been developed and tested. By comparing these with the sound of the heat pump, in its original state, we have found out the measures which have best effects.The best attenuating measures came to be: taped openings and holes around the compressor space, isolating the top and the bottom of the whole construction, support of the fan bottom part and shielding of the sound source with a screen at a distance of 110 mmThese measures have been tested together and an average attenuation of the total sound level with 3,9 dB have been accomplished. In the front of the fan where the continuous sound is the strongest, the attenuation was 4,7 dB.This project is meant to be used as a guide by Enertech CTC AB:s during their future developing process..

This study is a qualitative investigation where surveys where performed on five Swedes from Lebanon. The purpose with the survey was to learn how these persons were affected by the war against Lebanon in the summer 2006, how they reacted to it and what measures they took to overcome their crisis. The result shows that the state of crisis of the interviewed persons was caused by several factors, such as the war being both unexpected and intensive. Other causes was the worry that their children would be hurt by the effects of the war as well as the material and human losses that the war brought.The interviewed persons responded with both negative and positive reactions, which may have affect their recovery process. Some of them where offered physiological support in Sweden by their municipalities.

The aim of this paper is to examine if the two latest Peace Plans in the Palestine-Israeli con-flict observes the sources of the conflict and presents measures in the purpose of solving them. The point of departure is William Azar?s theory of protracted social conflict (PSC). According to Azar, the internal sources of a PSC lies in three clusters of variables: the com-munal content of a society, the deprivation of human needs as an underlying source of PSC, and the role of the state in the deprivation or satisfaction of human needs. The study is de-signed as a multiple-case study where the units of analysis are the Roadmap to Peace and the Geneva Initiative.

This study's primary purpose was monitoring of conservancy operation measures. The fixed sections within ekopark Storklinten owned by the forest company Sveaskog. These measures are performed with the purpose of creating and maintaining hardwood forest and mimic natural processes. The sections were divided into different categories depending on the type of measures they were exposed with. The monitoring showed that the purpose of these measures was fulfilled in general.

During the last Century a tremendously technical advancement has taken place and brought a change in society, which has affected workplaces in a monumental way. Many heavily and moveable physical working tasks at the work placement have been replaced with much easier and sedentary tasks.Two of the major reasons for sick absence in Sweden are illness in the locomotive organs and pain, which can be treated and prevented with physical activity on a large scale. Many employers offer their employees? subsidized exercise cards, which can be used during their free time. A health care exercise hour is one benefit that employers can offer their employees and normally takes place once a week during fully paid working time.

Individual adaption to the student´s needs is a recurring main theme in the new Swedish curriculum (Lgr11). The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine how teachers work with individual adjustment for students with reading and writing difficulties. The study was based on five questions;In what way do teachers organize their teaching in the classroom individually for students with reading and writing difficulties?What methods do they use for student´s with reading and writing difficulties?What difficulties do they encounter in their teaching?How do the teachers reason to curriculum goals regarding individual adaptions?How do they think about their own knowledge regarding reading- and writing difficulties and dyslexia?The method for my study was qualitative interviews. Five teachers were interviewed in semi-structured interviews.

The Swedish State Road Administration has since 1992 procured operations and maintenance of state roads on the open market. The procurement has been termed ?Grundpaket Drift?, GPD, and comprises mostly operational measures for road networks.The clients of GPD, SRA regions, have gradually changed the original documentation in order to adapt it to local conditions. This process has gradually led to that some parts of the documentation are creating problems for contractors interested in procuring jobs.This thesis tries to analyze GPD and clarify the differences that may be essential to the procurement process and to facilitate future joint working projects and processing descriptions..

Restoration projects are planned and carried out in order to reduce the impact due to anthropogenic influence and to achieve at least good ecological status according to the EU Water Framework Directive. The resilience effort of such restorations is however ambiguous. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of follow up restoration measures in Swedish lakes and streams. In particular, we visualized the geographical spread of restoration measures in Sweden and quantified the different types of measures that were implemented so far. Further, we evaluated the extent of sampling of biological factors before and after the restoration measures have occurred. For the purpose of our study, we used the recently compiled national database of restoration measures in Swedish lakes and streams.

Liberal theorists typically argue that state action should not favor any particular conception of the good or meaningful life. On this view the defining characteristic of the liberal state is neutrality among rivaling ideas of the good. This thesis argues that state neutrality is impossible to maintain in practice. Two different versions of state neutrality; neutral justification and neutral aims, are used to analyze a wide range of political issues. It is concluded that far from being neutral, the liberal state favors individualistic and market oriented conceptions of the good life.