In this paper I will examine how the Finnish Armed Forces use representation to portraywomen within the military, in the context of marketing. I will do this partly by analyzingvisual texts, but also by performing a critical discourse analysis. Part of my aim is to reveal which discourses are present in the empirical material, which consists of three recruitmentbrochures. I also examine in what way the Finnish Armed Forces use these discourses toeither change or (re)produce the existing order of discourse. The main theoretical frameworkconsists of representation theory by Stuart Hall. Representation can according to Hall be usedas a power tool to control and (re)produce discourses in society. As a government institutionthe Armed Forces have the power to exclude or under-represent groups from a discourse,which results in a hegemony upheld by the same institutions. My results help uncover the ways in which military organizations, even in countries that are seen as rather equal, still havesome way to go until they reach full equality. My empirical findings show that the Finnish Armed Forces have not succeeded in representing women and men equally. Both men andwomen are often portrayed in a stereotypical manner. Consequently, The Finnish Armed Forces are contributing to a (re)production of existing traditional discourses, and are thereforecurrently not challenging any norms regarding what women in the Finnish Armed Forces canbe like.

The purpose of this essay has been to identify and examine how the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) create and form potential threats through the use of television commercials. Through a method of visual discourse analysis, commercials carried out by the SAF between 2015 and 2017 have been analyzed to identify and understand how the SAF talks about security and creates potential threats. The Copenhagen School of Securitization has been used as a theoretical framework in this essay to help understand how the Swedish Armed Forces create potential threats through speech-acts and the use of visual and auditory elements. The analysis identified that the SAF creates and forms potential security threats through three main narratives: the rights and freedoms of Swedish citizens, gender, and a diverse society. In relation to the theoretical framework and previous research within the field of securitization, the conclusions drawn from this essay's analysis can help illustrate how the SAF's formation of potential threats has the opportunity to influence political decisions and, therefore, the broader security discourse within Swedish society.

Introduction: Medication errors are a major cause of illness and hospitalization of patients throughout the world. This study examines the situation regarding medication errors in the Armed Forces Hospital, Kuwait since no literature exists of any such studies for this country. Several types of potential errors were studied by physicians, nurses and pharmacists. Their attitudes to the commission of errors and possible consequences were surveyed using questionnaires. Additionally, patient medical records were reviewed for possible errors arising from such actions such as the co-administration of interacting drugs. Methods: This study included direct observations of physicians during the prescribing process, pharmacists while they dispensed medications and nurses as they distributed and administered drugs to patients. Data were collected and compiled on Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and analyses were performed using SPSS. Where applicable, results were reported as counts and/ or percentages of error rates. Nurses, pharmacists and physicians survey questionnaires: From the 200 staff sent questionnaires a total of 149 respondents comprising nurses (52.3%), physicians (32.2%) and pharmacists (16.1%) returned the questionnaires a total response rate of 74.5%. All responses were analyzed and compared item-by-item to see if there were any significant differences between the three groups for each questionnaire item. All three groups were most in agreement about their perception of hospital administration as making patient safety a top priority with regard to communicating with staff and taking action when medication errors were reported (all means 3.0 and p > 0.05). Pharmacists were most assured of administration support when an error was reported whereas nurses were least likely to see the administration as being supportive ( p < 0.001), and were more afraid of the negative consequences associated with reporting of medication errors (p = 0.026). Although nurses were generally less likely to perceive themselves as being able to communicate freely regarding reporting of errors compared to pharmacists there was no significant difference between the two groups. Both however were significantly different from physicians (p< 0.001). Physicians had the most favorable response to perceiving new technology as helping to create a safer environment for patients and to the full utilization of such technologies within the institution in order to help prevent medical errors. Scenario response - Responses to two scenarios outlining possible consequences, should a staff member commit a medication error, tended to be very similar among the three groups and followed the same general trend in which the later the error was discovered and the more grievous the patient harm, the more severe would be the consequences to the staff member. Interestingly, physicians saw themselves as less likely to suffer consequences and nurses saw themselves as more likely to suffer consequences should they have committed a medication error. All three groups were more likely to see themselves as facing dismissal from their job if the patient were to die. RESULTS OF ALL THREE OBSERVATIONS: Result of Nursing observations: For 1124 doses studied, 194 resulted in some form of error. The error rate was 17.2% and the accuracy was 82.8%. The commonest errors in a descending order were: wrong time, wrong drug, omission, wrong strength/ dose, wrong route, wrong instruction and wrong technique. No wrong drug form was actually administered in the observational period. These were the total number of errors observed for the entire month period of the study. IV Result of Pharmacist observations: A total of 2472 doses were observed during the one month period. Observations were done for 3 hours per day each day that the study was carried out. The study showed that there were 118 errors detected which were in the following categories respectively: 52 no instructions, 28 wrong drug/unordered, 21 wrong strength/dose, ignored/omission 13, shortage of medication 3 and expired date 1. Result of Prescribers in Chart review for drug-drug interactions: The analysis of the drug-drug interactions showed that out of a total of 1000 prescriptions, 124 had drug-drug interactions. None were found to fall into the highest severity rating i.e. 4 (contraindicated). Only twenty-one interactions were rated 3 (major), 87 interactions were rated moderate and 15 interactions were rated minor according the modified Micromedex scale. Patient education: All health care such as physician, pharmacist, and nurses have a responsibility to educate patient about their medication use and their health conditions to protecting them from any error can occur by wrong using drugs. Conclusion This study has contributed to the field of medication errors by providing data for a Middle Eastern country for the very first time. The views and opinions of the nurses, pharmacists and physicians should be considered to enhance the systems to minimize any errors in the future.

The Swedish Armed Forces (SwAF) have been making internal efforts to enrol more women through changes in legislation and mandatory conscription, since the adoption of Resolution 1325 in the Swedish Parliament at the turn of the century. Since the alterations, an upward trend of female recruits as well as women making careers and reaching high ranking positions, has been identified. Consequently, raising other issues about how SwAF is making efforts to adapt their prevailing male dominated organization towards their now increasing female personnel.  To achieve the objective of understanding how male normativity is experienced in the Armed Forces, the study derives from explorative semi- structured interviews with female recruits, as well as previous studies conducted in the area, departing from a constructivist and feminist theoretical approach. The result supports, that women are nevertheless experiencing obstacles and are expected to repetitively prove their positions as soldiers, in terms of bodily differences, materiality, language, comradery, and community. It also speaks for continued efforts to broaden the Armed Forces' inclusivity, challenge gender norms and customs, and improve accessibility for female recruits, and female military personnel.

Försvarsmaktens resa har fram tills nyligen präglats av att myndigheten krymper. Vi har sett hur invasionsförsvaret övergick till ett insatsförsvar som i större uträckning fokuserade på verksamhet utomlands Insatsförbanden utrustades med modern materiel som i de flesta fall var i bruk hela tiden. Materielen fanns hos förbanden. Med få insatsförband förfogade Försvarsmakten över en tillräcklig mängd fordon för att kunna förse alla insatsförband med den utrustning de skulle ha. Stegvis förändrades säkerhetsläget i Sveriges omgivning. Under 2014 skedde en stor förändring när Sveriges ÖB undertecknade ett värdlandsavtal med NATO. Avtalet innebär bland annat att NATO kan bistå Sveriges Försvarsmakt med materiel såsom fordon i händelse av kris eller krig. Olika styrdokument har efter hand växt i omfattning och präglas i hög grad av att Försvarsmakten använder sina egna fordon. Detta ligger till grund för den tekniska utbildning som Försvarsmakten nyttjar. Den tekniska officeren förlitar sig på att det finns anvisningar, utbildning och kurser, regler och tillvägagångssätt för många av de situationer som uppkommer inom den tekniska tjänsten, men vad händer om teknikern plötsligt befinner sig utanför de ordinarie ramarna och måste agera utan anvisningar och anpassade regler? Försvarsmakten är nu inne i ett annat skede för första gången på länge, den växer. Tillväxten innebär att Försvarsmakten inte har fordon i tillräcklig mängd för att fylla insatsförbanden. Lösningen på fordonsbristen är att man krigsplacerar civila fordon som man anser vara ändamålsenliga. I framtiden kan det alltså se annorlunda ut där den tekniska specialistofficeren plötsligt stöter på fordon som har tillförts från det civila samhället eller kanske genom värdlandsstöd. Kan Försvarsmakten behöva se över sin utbildning och sitt tillvägagångssätt, för att bättre fostra det tekniska skrået för att möta morgondagens materiel? I denna studie använder vi oss av en induktiv, kvalitativ studie med intervjuer och workshop som vi sedan analyserar med Grounded Theory. Vår teoretiska referensram är lärandet genom olika perspektiv. Resultatet av vår studie har vi belyst genom att konstruera en modell för att bättre utveckla och skapa riktade förutsättningar för att i slutändan producera tekniska officerare som har bättre förutsättningar att lyckas vid en mobilisering än vad dagens tekniker har. / Until recently, the journey of the Armed Forces has been characterized by the shrinking of the organization. We have seen how the old invasion defence transitioned to a smaller more mobile response defence that focused to a greater extent on activities abroad. The Quick Respond Units were equipped with modern equipment, which in most cases was in use all the time. The equipment was with the units. With few units, the Swedish Armed Forces had a sufficient number of vehicles to be able to supply all units with the equipment they would need. Gradually, the security situation in Sweden's surroundings changed. In 2014, a major change took place when Sweden's ÖB signed a host country agreement with NATO. The agreement means, among other things, that NATO can aid the Swedish Armed Forces with material such as vehicles in case of a crisis or war. Various governing documents have gradually grown in scope and are characterized to a considerable extent by the Armed Forces using their own vehicles. This is the basis for the technical training that the Armed Forces use. The Technical Officer relies on the existence of instructions, training and courses, rules and procedures for many of the situations that arise in the technical service, but what happens if the technician suddenly finds himself outside the normal framework and must act without instructions, regulations and adapted rules? The Armed Forces are now in a different stage for the first time in a long time, the Armed Forces are growing. The growth means that the Armed Forces do not have vehicles in sufficient quantity to fill the need for expanding number of units. The solution to the vehicle shortage is to deploy civilian vehicles that are considered fit for purpose. In the future, then, things may look different where the technical specialist officer suddenly comes across vehicles that have been supplied from civil society or perhaps through host country support. Could the Armed Forces need to review their training and approach, to better nurture the technical guild to meet the equipment of the future? In this study, we use an inductive, qualitative study with interviews and workshops, which we then analyse with Grounded Theory. Our theoretical frame of reference is learning through different perspectives. We have summarized the results of our study by constructing a model to better develop and create targeted conditions to ultimately produce technical officers who have better conditions to succeed in a mobilization than today's technicians have.

Similar countries are often expected to respond to threats in similar ways. Nevertheless, in Europe alone, similar countries have responded significantly different to the threat of terrorism. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how strategic culture, based on five elements (dominant threat perception; core tasks of the armed forces; willingness to use force; civil-military relation, and public opinion) have influenced the role of the armed forces in domestic counterterrorism in Belgium and Sweden. Albeit previous research has addressed the role of the armed forces in domestic security and counterterrorism, it has not empirically conducted a systematic comparison of two countries with differing roles. Moreover, the theoretical explanations have been insufficient in explaining why some countries use their armed forces whilst others do not. Thus, by employing a comparative case study, utilizing a qualitative content analysis aimed at analysing strategic and defence documents, articles, and previous research, I sought to investigate how strategic culture have influenced the role of the armed forces in domestic counterterrorism between 2014-2020, something that has been largely neglected in previous research. The findings demonstrated differences in all five elements, indicating that strategic culture likely influence the role of the armed forces in Sweden and Belgium.

This study examined the relationship between military professionalism and civil-military relations in Nigeria. Focusing on the period between 1960 and 2007, it explored the connection between understandings of professionalism amongst members of the armed forces and the way they relate to the rest of Nigerian society. Prolonged military rule (1966-1999) and the military’s heavy involvement in domestic security, resulted in increased militarization of Nigerian society and placed considerable strain on civil-military relations. The conduct of Nigerian military personnel in their dealings with civilians and their representatives faced criticism by members of the Nigerian civil society and the international community for being exploitative, heavy-handed and inconsistent with expected standards of military professionalism. Yet, during this period the military also increased its international profile, and came to be regarded, especially in the area of international peacekeeping, as a significant force within its region and beyond. Greater accountability and stricter adherence to professional standards were part of the democracy dividends expected by Nigerians when successful elections were held in 1999. Yet, two decades later, the relationship between the military sphere and the civilian sphere has been fractious and conflictual. This thesis considers that efforts to promote military professionalism need to engage with apparent and evidential understandings of military professionalism held amongst military personnel themselves. On this basis, the study has sought to introduce military voices into the discourse on military professionalism. The study adopted a mixed methods approach incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methods in gathering perspectives held by members of the Nigerian military and the civil population about military professionalism. It found that the military’s self-image, in terms of its professionalism and values, is markedly at odds with the way it is perceived by the civilian population many of whom see it as a highly politicised, unethical and coercive institution. Further, that the military identity is deeply complicated by pluralism, religious and ethnic diversity in Nigeria with specific consequences for its professionalism.

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