This thesis has investigated and analysed whether or not the Nord Stream Natural Gas Pipeline has affected or changed Europe's security situation. By analysing how the Nord Stream Natural Gas Pipeline has been described as a political or economic project by the EU, one can conclude whether the project has been securitized by the EU or not. This is done through the study of official EU documents. The documents have been analysed using framework for sector analysis  and securitization as theorised by the Copenhagen School of international relations. By distinguishing the different conceptions of threat, security and methods discussed in these documents it is possible to analyse whether arguments belong to either the economic or political sector of sector analysis, and how they can be seen as signs of securitization. This has been done by utilizing qualitative text analysis in a case study framework. The thesis concludes that the  Nord Stream Natural Gas Pipeline has not been securitized as a threat by the EU. On the contrary, the project is endorsed as a part of energy proliferation. The EU insist and encourages upon the project and several similar ones in order to ensure energy security for the EU in the future.

This essay has the ambition to examine and compare Croatia’s and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s development towards a consolidated democracy. By applying Linz & Stepen’s theory on how to consolidate a democracy and put focus on political society, behavioral patterns, attitude and constitutional structure the purpose is to find similarities and differences between Bosnia and Croatia within this field. The focus of this study is to compare two similar countries that have developed in very different ways. By applying the theory and a comparative method the purpose is to examine why two so similar countries with so much in common have developed in so different ways? In order to better answer the question there are two part questions and these are: What difficulties, concerning consolidation of democracy, have Croatia and Bosnia faced since the democratic transition in the beginning of the 1990s? What similarities and differences in the area of democratic consolidation (with focus on political society, behavioral patterns, attitude and constitutional structure) are there between the two countries? As the analysis shows, the main reason why these two countries differ so much is that Bosnia is a divided country with different nationalities and each nationality only wants to realize its own interest and does not care about what is best for the country as an entity. However, Croatia has recently realized that democracy is the best for the country and its development.

Titel: Varför leder inte lyckad Forsknings- och Utvecklings (FoU) - kommunikation till förändrat beteende? En etnografisk studie inom Primärvården Halland. Författare: Helena Morténius Utbildning: Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap, 61-80p, VT 2007. Institution: Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap, Sektionen för Hälsa och Samhälle, Högskolan i Halmstad, Box 823, 301 18 Halmstad. Handledare: Lars Palm, professor, Sektionen för Hälsa och Samhälle, Högskolan i Halmstad. Examinator: Jesper Falkheimer, universitetslektor, Institutionen för Service Management, Campus Helsingborg. Problem: FoU-enhetens uppgift är att förankra forskningstänkandet bland primärvårdsanställda i Halland. En framgångsrik kommunikation har varit en viktig del i denna policy. Trots stort intresse på fältet har en grupp av anställda inte velat gå vidare i sin utveckling. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie har varit att ur ett kommunikationsvetenskapligt perspektiv på gruppnivå beskriva de faktorer som hindrar denna grupp av anställda att gå vidare i sin utveckling och bli FoU-aktiva. Metod: Kvalitativ metod med en etnografisk ansats. Resultat: Gruppens sociokulturella tillhörighet i kombination med organisationskulturens principer är grunderna till att en del av primärvårdens anställda inte går vidare i sin utveckling och blir FoU-aktiva. Bidragande faktorer till denna situation har varit de konkreta hinder som tradition, kultur, hierarki, ledning, resurser och brist på förebilder.

The Norwegian public sector, in particular local Councils as the principal supplier of welfare services, face great challenges in the coming years. Expectations and demands upon public services are increasing in proportion with the increase in private wealth. Among the consequences are higher demands on the distribution of welfare services, and the need for a more effective use of resources. Inspired by New Public Management theories, Norwegian local Councils have made considerable changes in management over the last 10-20 years. To meet the demands for increased activity, public sector has undergone a transition towards a less hierarchal organisational structure, their delegation to appropriate performance units has increased, and systems to monitor aims and results have been introduced. With respect to the latter, it has become crucial that data concerning resource utilisation and economy are made easily available and can be related to management issues. In 2001 the national government introduced the so-called KOSTRA public reporting system (Kommune-ST-at-Rapportering) The overall aim of KOSTRA is to produce relevant, reliable, current and comparable management information. In addition, the KOSTRA reporting system will provide an improved database as an aid to service provision, as well as providing a foundation for improved Council management. Our aim with this assignment has been to take a closer look at KOSTRA as a suitable tool for resource management within local Councils, and to see whether Councils do in fact use it actively in their own administrational priorities and activities. We have illustrated this by taking a closer look at possible connections between active use of KOSTRA and the Councils` economic situation, priorities and effectiveness. We have found no grounds in our studies to indicate that there is any difference in the allocation of priorities between those local Councils using KOSTRA in management-related activities and those who do not. On the other hand, we have discovered links between active use of KOSTRA and the Councils`economic situation. This connection is very interesting. It is the Councils under financial stress which appear to be using KOSTRA actively. Our major conclusion is that KOSTRA alone does not produce all necessary and relevant management information. KOSTRA is more applicable when seen in context with the complexity of public sector, and with a firm knowledge of the system's underlying indicators.

Problemformulering: Vilka samarbetsformer är avgörande för ett svenskt FoU – företags långsiktiga överlevnad på den svenska läkemedelsmarknaden? Syfte: Författarna avser att genom en fallstudie analysera och utvärdera de samarbetsformer som är av betydelse för ett långsiktigt utvecklingssamarbete inom svensk läkemedelsindustri. Metod: Uppsatsen bygger på en fallstudie av företaget Karo Bio AB. Uppsatsen är genomförd utifrån en kvalitativ ansats. Teoretisk referensram: Teoriområdena har legat till grund för variablerna: Interaktion, Kommunikation och imageskapande samt Involvering. Slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att ett svenskt medelstort företag på läkemedelsmarknaden bör samarbeta regionalt med universitet och kliniker för att möta marknadens specifika behov.

Anandamide (AEA) is an endogenous fatty acid which activates the same cannabinoid receptors as ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive substance in marijuana. In vivo, anandamide exerts a number of actions including effects upon pain and inflammation. However, AEA has a short duration of action since it is rapidly metabolised, primarily by the intracellular enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). The general aim of this thesis has been to identify and characterize compounds capable of preventing the metabolism of anandamide. The chemical approach was based on the endogenous anti-inflammatory compound palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), a compound related to anandamide with the ability to inhibit anandamide degradation by substrate competition, but without the ability to directly activate cannabinoid receptors. A number of compounds were identified as inhibitors of rat brain FAAH in the initial in vitro studies, without having major affinity for the cannabinoid receptors. In particular, palmitoylisopropylamide (PIA) was found to reduce the metabolism of AEA in intact C6 glioma cells with potency similar to the prototypical AEA reuptake inhibitor AM404. This compound was in addition found to exert less effect upon C6 glioma cell proliferation than either AM404 or the closely related uptake inhibitor VDM11. To evaluate if PIA was effective in vivo, a model of mast cell dependent inflammation, oedema of the ear following local injection of compound 48/80, was set up using anaesthetised mice. Initially, a CB2 cannabinoid receptor selective agonist was used to probe the model and demonstrated to produce an anti-oedema effect. In contrast, the compound was inactive in vitro in skin slice preparations. PIA showed a similar pattern, although there was a large variation in responses which affected the significance of the result obtained, as did the vehicle used to dissolve the compound. Taken together, the present data would suggest that PIA can inhibit the degradation of AEA without having deleterious effects upon cell proliferation or affinity for the cannabinoid receptors. Further experimentation is necessary to elucidate the usefulness of this compound in vivo.

Anti-inflammatory drugs are a widely used class of therapeutic agents, but the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) is hampered by their gastrointestinal side-effects. Recent reports that cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors may cause cardiovascular events underline the importance of identifying new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of inflammation. One such target could be agents modifying the endogenous cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) system, since there is evidence that this system plays a role in our natural defence against inflammation. The levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide (arachidonoyl ethanolamide, AEA) are low under normal conditions, and stand under strict regulatory control of synthesising and degrading enzymes. Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) is the main enzyme degrading AEA, hydrolysing it to ethanolamine and arachidonic acid. The focus of this thesis lies in exploring the pharmacology of FAAH to evaluate its possibilities as a target for new anti-inflammatory drugs. In Papers I and II, the effects of the ambient pH on the properties of FAAH were investigated, since tissue pH is known to decrease under inflammatory conditions. In homogenates, it was found that the activity of FAAH decreased as the assay pH was decreased, consistent with the known pH profile of the enzyme. More importantly, the sensitivity of the enzyme to inhibition by FAAH inhibitors changed. In particular, the sensitivity of the enzyme to inhibition by the NSAID ibuprofen increased seventeen-fold as the assay pH decreased from 8.37 to 5.28. A similar pattern was found using intact C6 glioma cells when the extracellular, but not the intracellular pH was reduced. Thus, at an extracellular pH value of 6.2, (R)-ibuprofen, (S)-flurbiprofen and (R,S)-flurbiprofen inhibited the metabolism of AEA with IC50 values of 26, 14 and 15 µM, respectively. These values are in theory reachable upon normal dosing of the compounds. In Paper III, the effect of the selective FAAH inhibitor URB597 and the NSAID indomethacin were investigated in vivo upon the oedema response to carrageenan administration in the paw of anaesthetised mice. Both compounds reduced the oedema in a manner completely blocked by the CB2 receptor antagonist SR144528. In Paper IV, the effect of inflammation upon endocannabinoid synthesis was investigated in mice. Lipopolysaccharide-induced pulmonary inflammation was found not to affect the release of AEA to any obvious extent, and did not change the activities of the AEA synthesising enzymes N-acyl transferase or N-acyl phosphatidylethanolamine phospholipase D, or of FAAH in lung tissue. The results of this thesis would suggest that FAAH inhibitors can produce anti-inflammatory effects, and that the endocannabinoid system contributes to the actions of the NSAID indomethacin in the carrageenan model of inflammation, but that an increased endocannabinoid synthesis (a prerequisite for FAAH inhibition as a therapeutic strategy) is not an obligatory response to an inflammatory stimulus.

The purpose of this essay is to examine the approach of the EU towards the reform efforts of Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the countries ambitions for EU memberships. The question formulation of the essay is whether there is differences in Turkey’s and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s qualifications for an EU-membership from an EU perspective. In order to better answer the question, we use two part questions. One is about the criterias and qualifications that need to be met in order to get a membership. The other one is about the approach of the EU towards the two countries concerning EU memberships. Primarily we use official EU documents from which we make a qualitative content analysis. As an advanced feature, we use a comparative analysis in which the countries are compared in relation to each other. The conclusion of our study is that the EU's approach to Turkey's qualification for EU membership is more positive than to Bosnia and Herzegovina. We also conclude that other circumstances may affect our conclusion, and therefore our findings cannot be considered definite. Keywords: EU, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, The Copenhagen criteria, democracy, rule of law, human rights, protection of minorities, enlargement.

Införandet av de nationella riktlinjerna och implementeringen av evidensbaserad praktik på de svenska socialkontoren har medfört ett behov av studier som visar på hur handläggning av missbruksärenden går till i praktiken. En enkät utformade med vinjetter samt frågor om de tio senaste faktiska ärendena skickades ut till olika socialkontor i Sverige och tio missbrukshandläggare bidrog med svar. Resultatet visar att handläggarna försöker tillämpa de nationella riktlinjerna som ännu är relativt nya och att samtliga respondenter beskriver ett samspel mellan sina egna erfarenheter, klientens önskemål och den för tillfälligt bästa vetenskapliga kunskapen. Resultatet visar dock att klientens önskemål samt faktorer hos denne är något mer övergripande än de övriga två kunskapskällorna i evidensbaserad praktik. Undersökningen kom även fram till att det finns behov av ytterligare kunskap kring handläggning av personer med samsjuklighet, missbruk/beroende i samband med psykisk sjukdom, att det förekommer stora skillnader i val av insats för klienterna samt att det krävs mer kunskap och utbildning av strukturerade bedömningsinstrument.

Studien handlar om ett klassmorfarprojekt, som syftar till att förändra elevernas förutsättning-ar att må bra och lyckas med skolarbetet. Undersökningen gjordes för att lyfta fram hur klassmorfarverksamheten i praktiken kan leda till den önskade förändringen för eleverna. Min valda metod har karaktär av aktionsforskning. Med denna ansats som grund har jag till-sammans med personer som arbetar i klassmorfarprojektet genomfört en deltagarorienterad forskning av hur klassmorfar bemöter elever och lärare respektive själv blir bemött. Resultatet visar att klassmorfar har en oklar roll genom att det inte klargjorts i vilken mån han får delta i ren undervisning. En del av de lärare som han avses stödja ser honom som en hjälp i undervisningen medan andra känner sig hotade i sin yrkesroll. Eleverna uppfattar genomgå-ende klassmorfar som en sympatisk ”hygglig prick”. Som ett särskilt viktigt delresultat bör nämnas att den metod för observation som användes, klart visade att även elever på mellan-stadiet kan skilja på sänkningar och lyft i bemötandet människor emellan. Resultatet indikerar också att den viktigaste förändringsåtgärden är att synliggöra de mänskliga värdena i skolan och skapa rutiner för mindre sänkningar och mer lyft.