Fyra röster om människan vid dopet : Fyra representanter från Svenska kyrkan och Pingstkyrkan om människosynen i doptraditionen

The purpose of this study was to investigate what view of humans that emerges when priests/reverends talk about man in relation to baptism. The study consists of qualitative interviews with four priests/reverends. There were two representatives from the church of Sweden, and two from the Pentecostal church. The aim and questions in the study focus on what view of humans that emerges. Will there be similarities and differences in the view of humans, and is it possible to refer the result to the respective church. The theory that is being used focusses on so called components of how humans are viewed and these components can be seen as building blocks in how a view of humans is formed. The background comes from the varying view of the baptism tradition that exists in Christianity. The church of Sweden mainly baptizes children, whereas the Pentecostal church practices believer´s baptism. The result demonstrates that the reflected view of humans in different ways can prove what each church of the interviewee represents.

Välbefinnande och positiva känslor i arbetslivet : En balansakt som kräver samspel

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka vad som ger medarbetare välbefinnande och positiva känslor på arbetsplatsen. Studien genomfördes genom kvalitativa intervjuer med sex medarbetare på fyra bank- och försäkringskontor i mellersta Sverige. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av tidigare forskning samt teorier. Resultatet visar att det som skapar positiva känslor och välbefinnande i stor grad är relationer, dels med kollegor men också med kunder. Positiva känslor kan ha en väldigt hög spridningsförmåga bland kollegor, kunder och i organisationen. Det visade också att det är viktigt att det finns en balans mellan arbetsliv och privatliv samt mellan krav och kontroll. Att se på välbefinnande på arbetet ur ett samspelsperspektiv, där man integrerar både individ och organisation, visade sig också vara viktigt för att framgångsrikt kunna arbeta med dessa frågor.

Nationella minoriteter i historieundervisningen : bilder av romer i Utbildningsradions program under perioden 1975-2013

In 2000 when Sweden signed the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities the Roma minority became one of the acknowledged national minorities in the country. It meant that the rights of the Roma mi-nority would be safeguarded and the knowledge of its history and culture would be spread. In that context, the Swedish school, with its founded as-signment of democracy, was given an important role. The education was to communicate the multicultural values of the society and to make visible the history and culture of the Roma minority. The school books used in teaching today do not meet these demands. The view of the Roma minority given in school books is often inadequate and simplified. The present study will therefore examine a different type of edu-cational material used in schools and teaching, The Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company‟s programs of history and social studies regarding the Roma minority. Starting in postcolonial theory as well as critical dis-course analysis the study examines how the picture of the Roma cultural and ethnic identity in the Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company‟s material has been displayed and possibly changed during the period of 1975 to 2013. The results show a picture of Roma which, both in form and content, con-sists of some clearly demarcated discursive categories. The obvious continui-ty of the categories gives a picture of static and invariable Roma identity. At the same time this unambiguous picture is broken both by giving the existing discourses new meaning and also adding new discourses. The complexity and nuances become more prominent and the Roma identity is integrated in common Swedish history telling. The changes in the view of Roma, given by the Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company, can mainly be explained by the change of the Swedish immigration and minority policy and, as a conse-quence of this, the change of the school‟s mission regarding knowledge communication of Sweden as a multicultural country.

Jämförelse av två system för att bedöma vinter väglag : Ett nytt system i utvecklingen för att säkra Sveriges vägar

Trafikverket, är den statliga verksamhet som har hand om alla Sveriges vägar och järnvägar har den så kallade nollvisionen som ett huvudmål. Tanken bakom nollvisionen är att de som använder vägarna skall vara säkra och inte komma till skada. En del av uppfyllandet av detta mål är att Trafikverket ger ut korttidsprognoser för väglag och körförhållande. I nuläget så används ett mycket manuellt systemet som heter NTIS, men man håller på att utveckla det nya automatiska systemet RCC som skall kunna ta fram korttidsprognoser baserat på olika former av data, t.ex. data från väderstationer. Syftet med denna studie är att utvärdera hur väl de två olika systemen utför en korttidsprognos och jämföra de mot varandra, samt verkligheten. Denna studie gjordes i form av en förklarande fallstudie. Som datainsamling används dokument i olika former och analysen var kvantitativ då resultatet av utvärdering ger olika procenttal av hur rätt respektive system har. Under undersökningen gång så kom vi fram till att båda systemen hade sina fördelar och nackdelar. T.ex. så det gamla NTIS systemet fortfarande bäst på isigt och moddigt väglag. Medans det nya RCC systemet hade sina egna fördelar, t.ex. snöigt väglag och vått väglag. Samt så hade RCC en klar fördel med sin rapporteringstid, vilket var ett problem man såg med NTIS. Resultat var som sagt ett procenttal av hur rätt de två olika systemen hade, men även förslag till förbättringar. T.ex. hur man skulle kunna ändra RCC regler för bättre resultat.

Familjemedlem till person med psykossjukdom : bemötande och utanförskap i psykiatrisk vård

This thesis focused on the situation of family members of persons with psychotic illness, particular on their experience of the approach of the healthcare professionals and of their feelings of alienation regarding the professional care of their family member. A further aim was to explore how siblings who have participated in a support group for siblings experienced their situation. A questionnaire was developed that enabled the aims of this thesis to be investigated (I). Seventy family members from various parts of Sweden participated, and data were collected via the questionnaire developed in study I (II-III). Thirteen siblings who previously had participated in a support group participated in follow-up focus groups interviews (IV). The questionnaire developed was shown to be reliable and valid in these studies (I). In many cases, the participants had experienced an approach from professionals that indicated that they did not experience openness, confirmation and cooperation, and that they felt powerless and socially isolated in relation to the care. There was also found to be a certain degree of association between how the participants experienced the approach and whether they felt alienation (II). The majority of the participants considered openness, confirmation, and cooperation to be important aspects of professional’s approach. The result also identified a low level of agreement between the participants’ experience and what they considered to be significant in the professional’s approach (III). The findings revealed the complexity of being a sibling of an individual with psychotic illness. Participating in a support group for siblings can be of importance in gaining knowledge and minimizing feelings of being alone (IV). Although the psychiatric care services in Sweden have been aware of the importance of cooperating with family members, the results indicated that there is a need for further research in this area.

Simple Question, Complex Answer : Pathways Towards a 50% Decrease in Building Energy Use

Addressing building energy use is a pressing issue for building sector decision makers across Europe. In Sweden, some regions have adopted a target of reducing energy use in buildings by 50% until 2050. However, building codes currently do not support as ambitious objectives as these, and novel approaches to addressing energy use in buildings from a regional perspective are called for. The purpose of this licentiate thesis was to provide a deeper understanding of most relevant issues with regard to energy use in buildings from a broad perspective and to suggest pathways towards reaching the long-term savings objective. Current trends in building sector structure and energy use point to detached houses constructed before 1981 playing a key role in the energy transition, especially in the rural areas of Sweden. In the Swedish county of Dalarna, which was used as a study area in this thesis, these houses account for almost 70% of the residential heating demand. Building energy simulations of eight sample houses from county show that there is considerable techno-economic potential for energy savings in these houses, but not quite enough to reach the 50% savings objective. Two case studies from rural Sweden show that savings well beyond 50% are achievable, both when access to capital and use of high technology are granted and when they are not. However, on a broader scale both direct and indirect rebound effects will have to be expected, which calls for more refined approaches to energy savings. Furthermore, research has shown that the techno-economic potential is in fact never realised, not even in the most well-designed intervention programmes, due to the inherent complexity of human behaviour with respect to energy use. This is not taken account of in neither current nor previous Swedish energy use legislation. Therefore an approach that considers the technical prerequisites, economic aspects and the perspective of the many home owners, based on Community-Based Social Marketing methodology, is suggested as a way forward towards reaching the energy savings target.

The Music Salon in Falun During the 19th Century

The aim of the project is to examine the music salon in Falun as a part of the mining community and in the historical context of European salon culture. A specifc goal is to develop a deeper understanding about the salon when it comes to education and pedagogic ideas. Of a certain interest is Johan Henrik Munktell’s (1804-1861) education travelling (bildningsresor). Inspired by Mendelssohn’s music salon in Berlin and the early salons in Upp-sala he created his own salon in Grycksbo. A letter collection from J.H. Munktell to his father J.J. Munktell in 1828-30 can be considered a unique historical material, which places the salon in Falun in a continental context of culture, education and industrial pretensions. The results have potential to extend the knowledge of Nordic salon culture and how it has infuenced general pedagogy and music education.

Teachers’ Views on ICT as a Tool in English Teaching for Students with Dyslexia : An interview study with English teachers in grades 7-9

Information and communications technology (ICT) is a broad concept, which is often discussed in relation to the development of education. More specially, ICT can be seen as a tool to help teachers individualize students’ education. Students who have literacy difficulties, such as dyslexia, are in constant need of new techniques to help them learn and new tools to make their educational development easier. The aim of this thesis is to show what views teachers have regarding using ICT in English teaching at a sample of schools in the south of Sweden. A secondary part of the aim is to see what ICT tools, or other non ICT related methods, these teachers use to improve literacy skills for students with dyslexia.This empirical study is based on interviews with six participants. Previous research within the area is presented and different aspects of ICT within the National Agency for Education in Sweden, and the English syllabus, are also discussed. The results of this thesis show that ICT is seen as a helpful tool to make education easier for both students and teachers. Tools such as ViTal, Spell Right and Legimus are being used and the participants of the study also use iPads and Chromebooks in their teaching. According to the interviews, ICT can tribute to a fun way of learning and a more individualized education. Other non ICT related methods are also used to help students with dyslexia and these are often in terms of pictures in connection to words. These findings are based on a limited number of participants in a small area of south of Sweden. Therefore, further research is needed to see if the findings can be verified with more participants, in different parts of the country.

A tool for standardized collector performance calculations including PVT

A tool for standardized calculation of solar collector performance has been developed in cooperation between SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, DTU Denmark and SERC Dalarna University. The tool is designed to calculate the annual performance of solar collectors at representative locations in Europe. The collector parameters used as input in the tool are compiled from tests according to EN12975, without any intermediate conversions. The main target group for this tool is test institutes and certification bodies that are intended to use it for conversion of collector model parameters (derived from performance tests) into a more user friendly quantity: the annual energy output. The energy output presented in the tool is expressed as kWh per collector module. A simplified treatment of performance for PVT collectors is added based on the assumption that the thermal part of the PVT collector can be tested and modeled as a thermal collector, when the PV electric part is active with an MPP tracker in operation. The thermal collector parameters from this operation mode are used for the PVT calculations. © 2012 The Authors.

Where do e-Government strategies take the Nordic nations?

An effective strategy is critical for the successful development of e-Government. The leading nations in the e-Government rankings include Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. Their leading role makes them interesting to study when looking for reasons to successful e-Government. The purpose of this research paper is to describe the e-Government development strategies of Nordic countries, which rank highly on the international stage. In particular it aims to study the foci of these strategies. The approach is a document study of the e-Government development strategies of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland was carried out using a qualitative content analysis inductive method. The results show that the major focus of Nordic e-Government strategies is on public sector reforms. Other focus areas include economic reforms and, to a lesser extent, e-Democracy efforts. Sweden, Finland and Norway have set ambitious policy goals in order to achieve global leadership in e-Government development. In response to the question posed by this paper’s title, we can say that Nordic e-Government strategies, except for Norway, focus more on reforming public sector services than on economic reforms.  E-Democracy reforms are hardly focused on at all. Practical implications: Public sector policy makers can relate their policy foci to some of the more successful e-Government countries in the world. Research implications/originality is that this paper can apart from the findings also provide a means on how to identify the actual foci of a country’s e-Government policy.

Storskalig vindkraft i skogen : Om rationell planering och lokalt motstånd

The global climate threat has intensified Sweden’s ambitions to build wind power stations. This thesis explores the planning of, and opposition to, wind power in the inland rural and forest regions of Sweden. It is in these autonomous communities that the plans are implemented and the aim of the thesis was to, from a local perspective, understand and analyse the planning and acceptance challenges that large-scale wind power development faces in places that are both sparsely populated and have good wind conditions. This thesis is based on qualitative methods and was conducted as two studies. The case study area comprises four municipalities in Dalarna County. The first study analyses the planning and establishment process in three municipalities using interviews and an analysis method called process tracing. The second study analyses one wind power establishment, in which the interviews form the basis for a discourse analytical approach. One striking finding highlights the relationship between the global and the local. Global environment and energy aspects are absent in the local process, and wind power becomes a technical land issue that clashes with other local land interests. Another finding of the study reveals that planning for wind power establishment follows a rational planning tradition. The feelings and memories of the individual – different views regarding the landscape – play a background role in the formal permit process, while measurable observable conditions have a more prominent role. Wind power developers thereby acquire a more significant position than what they probably would have had if the planning had included local residents’ views on wind power in the landscape at an early stage.

Depicting the interplay between organisational tiers in the use of a national quality registry to develop quality of care in Sweden

BACKGROUND: With a pending need to identify potential means to improved quality of care, national quality registries (NQRs) are identified as a promising route. Yet, there is limited evidence with regards to what hinders and facilitates the NQR innovation, what signifies the contexts in which NQRs are applied and drive quality improvement. Supposedly, barriers and facilitators to NQR-driven quality improvement may be found in the healthcare context, in the politico-administrative context, as well as with an NQR itself. In this study, we investigated the potential variation with regards to if and how an NQR was applied by decision-makers and users in regions and clinical settings. The aim was to depict the interplay between the clinical and the politico-administrative tiers in the use of NQRs to develop quality of care, examining an established registry on stroke care as a case study. METHODS: We interviewed 44 individuals representing the clinical and the politico-administrative settings of 4 out of 21 regions strategically chosen for including stroke units representing a variety of outcomes in the NQR on stroke (Riksstroke) and a variety of settings. The transcribed interviews were analysed by applying The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). RESULTS: In two regions, decision-makers and/or administrators had initiated healthcare process projects for stroke, engaging the health professionals in the local stroke units who contributed with, for example, local data from Riksstroke. The Riksstroke data was used for identifying improvement issues, for setting goals, and asserting that the stroke units achieved an equivalent standard of care and a certain level of quality of stroke care. Meanwhile, one region had more recently initiated such a project and the fourth region had no similar collaboration across tiers. Apart from these projects, there was limited joint communication across tiers and none that included all individuals and functions engaged in quality improvement with regards to stroke care. CONCLUSIONS: If NQRs are to provide for quality improvement and learning opportunities, advances must be made in the links between the structures and processes across all organisational tiers, including decision-makers, administrators and health professionals engaged in a particular healthcare process.

A comparative study of immigrants’ political participation in Sweden and the Netherlands

This study deals with immigrants’ political participation in Sweden and the Netherlands. Scholars have recognized low level of political participation of immigrants in Sweden compared to the Netherlands. The main goal of this study is to analyze the institutional influence, mainly from political parties over immigrants’ motivation for active electoral participation. The modified actor-context model uses here as the main theoretical framework. In addition, social capital theory employs to analyze immigrants’ voluntary organizational membership. This study confirms that, Swedish immigrants have the lower participation rate in the political sphere, at lest to a certain extent, than its counterparts the Dutch immigrants. This study also confirms the argument that contextual factors can influence actor’s motivations in integration-oriented action, and similarly it validates the necessity of enlargement of the actor-context model.

The value of a saved tree : The lifecycle of CO2-emissions associated with the combination of printing paper and electricity production of wood in the U.S. and Sweden

The pulp- and paper production is a very energy intensive industry sector. Both Sweden and the U.S. are major pulpandpaper producers. This report examines the energy and the CO2-emission connected with the pulp- and paperindustry for the two countries from a lifecycle perspective.New technologies make it possible to increase the electricity production in the integrated pulp- andpaper mill through black liquor gasification and a combined cycle (BLGCC). That way, the mill canproduce excess electricity, which can be sold and replace electricity produced in power plants. In thisprocess the by-products that are formed at the pulp-making process is used as fuel to produce electricity.In pulp- and paper mills today the technology for generating energy from the by-product in aTomlinson boiler is not as efficient as it could be compared to the BLGCC technology. Scenarios havebeen designed to investigate the results from using the BLGCC technique using a life cycle analysis.Two scenarios are being represented by a 1994 mill in the U.S. and a 1994 mill in Sweden.The scenariosare based on the average energy intensity of pulp- and paper mills as operating in 1994 in the U.S.and Sweden respectively. The two other scenarios are constituted by a »reference mill« in the U.S. andSweden using state-of-the-art technology. We investigate the impact of varying recycling rates and totalenergy use and CO2-emissions from the production of printing and writing paper. To economize withthe wood and that way save trees, we can use the trees that are replaced by recycling in a biomassgasification combined cycle (BIGCC) to produce electricity in a power station. This produces extra electricitywith a lower CO2 intensity than electricity generated by, for example, coal-fired power plants.The lifecycle analysis in this thesis also includes the use of waste treatment in the paper lifecycle. Both Sweden and theU.S. are countries that recycle paper. Still there is a lot of paper waste, this paper is a part of the countries municipalsolid waste (MSW). A lot of the MSW is landfilled, but parts of it are incinerated to extract electricity. The thesis hasdesigned special scenarios for the use of MSW in the lifecycle analysis.This report is studying and comparing two different countries and two different efficiencies on theBLGCC in four different scenarios. This gives a wide survey and points to essential parameters to specificallyreflect on, when making assumptions in a lifecycle analysis. The report shows that there arethree key parameters that have to be carefully considered when making a lifecycle analysis of wood inan energy and CO2-emission perspective in the pulp- and paper mill in the U.S. and in Sweden. First,there is the energy efficiency in the pulp- and paper mill, then the efficiency of the BLGCC and last theCO2 intensity of the electricity displaced by BIGCC or BLGCC generatedelectricity. It also show that with the current technology that we havetoday, it is possible to produce CO2 free paper with a waste paper amountup to 30%. The thesis discusses the system boundaries and the assumptions.Further and more detailed research, including amongst others thesystem boundaries and forestry, is recommended for more specificanswers.