The purpose of this BA-study is to analyse articles about blood selling and blood donations in the Chinese daily newspaper People’s Daily between 1985 and 1998. With publications of popular scientific material, reports from rallies and portraits of blood donating “heroes” etc., the People’s Daily, i.e. the Chinese Com­mu­nist Party, actively addresses the underlying cultural reluctance to give blood by different means. People’s Daily and the CCP resolutely aims to transform negative Confucian and other traditional notions of losing blood into represen­tations of courage, honour, duty, etc. In a broader sense, the citizen’s donations become acts correlated to the social body and the nation’s future.

This essay consists of a case study which examines China’s Belt and Road Initiative from two theoretical perspectives: realism and liberalism. The essay aims to enhance the comprehension of the Belt and Road Initiative by providing a realistic as well as a liberal interpretation of the project, and then comparing them to point out similarities and differences between these views. The essay concludes that the theoretical perspectives here work complementary rather than contradictory, and that what is hard to explain with one theory, often can be explained by the other. A liberal perspective sees more opportunities with the project, whereas a realistic one sees more risks but also necessities. The important aspects of the project from a liberal perspective concludes to be increased trade, international cooperation and interdependence, which are considered as risks from a realistic perspective. The main advantage is to increase power and security and legitimize the rule of the Chinese communist party, realistically speaking. Realism and liberalism interpret the goal with the project differently as well. Whereas realism sees BRI as a bold foreign policy project which aims to help China gain power to become a superpower and defeat poverty in China, liberalism view BRI as a foreign policy infrastructure project, built on trade, international cooperation and linking the world together.

With a changing state of security in Europe, defined by instability and unpredictability, the use of hybrid threats presents itself as an international security challenge. Characterized by the antagonistic use of both conventional and unconventional means, the hybrid threat actor coordinates these means in an attempt achieve specific goals, often under a guise of ambiguity. The complexity of hybrid threats deepens as advancing technology and globalisation enables the hybrid threat actor to use tools not only bound by geographical constraints, but tools that makes use the cyber domain and the constant flow of information. Tools ranging from military, political, economic, civil, and informational tools can, in various combinations, take advantage of specific vulnerabilities in the target state. Identifying and countering such a wide range of multifaceted tools provides a difficult task for most states.                                            This study aims to investigate the Swedish hybrid threat scenario by focusing on the authorities concerned with national defence and security and their identification of potential hybrid threats that faces Sweden. For countering such hybrid threats the study investigates the highly topical Swedish defence act 2021-2025. Its focus being on investigating potential goals, strategies and abilities for building resilience and countermeasures regarding hybrid threats. The study finds that Sweden is subject to the use of hybrid threats by antagonistic state actors, mainly Russia and China. Tools being used against Sweden include for example espionage, strategic acquisition of businesses and real estate, disinformation, and cyberattacks. For countering these threats, the study fails to find a specific set of goals for hybrid threat defence. Instead, the study finds a broad effort to strengthen national defence and security including among others the rebuilding of the Total Defence, founding of a national cybersecurity centrum, instituting an agency for psychological defence as well as lifting the perspective of hybrid threat among relevant national agencies.

China’s growth and development have opened the door to a new world. Shandong province’s 90 million inhabitants are entering into a consumption society and the waste stream from households, restaurants and commercials has become a challenge. So far, the waste has mostly been burned in backyards, thrown into rivers, put on open dumps or taken to landfills. The environmental consequence is strong. This study was carried out in Shandong province and presents the current situation of the municipal waste management. The result of the study is organised into social, economical, technical and environmental parameters. It mostly covers the years 2006 to 2010. In the discussion, the strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats to the management are analysed, which gives an overview of the complex situation. The final conclusion is that there are a lot of opportunities in developing municipal solid waste management in Shandong province since the work and planning is new and economy is good. Threats are for example a larger waste stream. The municipal waste management has some strengths, such as a lot of projects going on, but also a lot of weakness for instance implementation of the regulations and laws. / Kinas starka tillväxt håller på att skapa ett konsumtionssamhälle som påminner om det västerländska. Med högre konsumtion och starkare ekonomi växer avfallsmängderna snabbt. I Shandong provinsen finns mer än 90 miljoner invånare som varje dag gör sig av med 0,5 – 1,5 kg sopor. Det är en utmaning för samhällsplanerana och ingenjörerna att ta hand om dessa volymer. Hittills har det mesta av avfallet bränts på bakgårdar, kastas i vattendrag, ut i naturen eller lagts på deponi. Miljöskadorna är stora. Denna studie beskriver avfallshanteringens situtation i Shandong provinsen. Faktan är uppdelad utefter sociala, ekonomiska, tekniska och ekologiska parametrar. Studien täcker åren 2006 till 2010. Olika avfallsanläggningar och konstruktioner besöktes, utländsk litterlatur användes och en handledare från ett kinesiskt provinskonstruktionsföretag bidrog med information och data. Studien är delvis dokumenterad med foton. I diskussionen analysers styrkor, svagheter, möjligheter och hot med avfallshanteringen för överblick av situationen. I slutsatsen framgår det att det finns många möjligheter i utvecklingen av ett avfallshanteringssystem eftersom det är nytt, flexibelt och ekonomin är god. Det finns även hårda miljö och säkerheteslagar som påminner om EUs och USAs. Till hoten räknas stora avfallsvolymer som kan vara svårkontrollerade, samt att alldeles för hårda lagar kan hindra nya innovationer och teknik. Styrkor som finns är att fler än 111 stycken projekt är på gång, och att kunskap finns på högre ledningsnivå. Svageheterna är dålig implementering av lagar samt dålig kunskap på lägre nivå. Eftersom avfallhanteringen är i ett initierande stadie så kan de val som görs nu påverka på väldigt långt sikt.

Globalization has facilitated international communication and economic activities that motivate more international migration. Different cultures and values from the West and the East are interwoven in the same social context. Meanwhile, aging has become a notable phenomenon in most developed countries due to declining fertility and increased life expectancy. A digital transformation of society is taking place alongside the aging and international migration that will start to question the image of older adults and the patterns of providing elderly care. Chinese elderly care is characterized by familism providing family-based informal care to an older family member. Despite the influence of migration and modern lifestyles, filial piety is expected to continue to guide the care responsibilities and care providing among Chinese families.  This thesis aims to understand the cultural provision of support and care for Chinese older adults living in Sweden and under the influence of the digital transformation of society. It starts by exploring the disparities, barriers, and facilitators for older immigrants in need of home care to utilize digital technology. After constructing knowledge about the influences of the foreign environment and continuous digitalization in home care, the thesis seeks to understand how filial piety continues to be enacted; what part of the tradition is preserved, and what is changed; how the internal and external factors influence the decision of elderly care; and the role of digitalization in this process. The thesis utilizes qualitative in-depth interviews to continue investigations among eight midlife and older Chinese immigrants living in Sweden. Thematic analysis was employed for data analysis. Berry’s acculturation framework and Yeh’s Dual Filial Piety Model provide the theoretical ground for the research.  The results indicated that filial piety is in transition in terms of filial responsibilities, filial behaviors, and intergenerational relationships. Despite the differences in the acculturation level, the authoritarian element of filial piety lacked ground in the Swedish social context. Respondents showed their willingness to strengthen the reciprocity with their adult children by providing additional support, valuing affections rather than hands-on care, respecting adult children’s decisions. The uptake of digital technologies has enabled midlife and older Chinese immigrants to maintain more frequent contact with family members and friends in other countries. It also improves the autonomy and capabilities for respondents to plan more independent later lives. The conclusion is that traditional values such as filial piety was not as prominent in Sweden as they are in China. / Globaliseringen har möjliggjort gränsöverskridande kommunikation och export samt import av varor och tjänster. Även människor rör sig över olika delar i världen och emigrerar till främmande länder. Detta i sin tur innebär att olika kulturer och värderingar från väst och öst behöver vävas samman och samsas i samma sociala kontext. Förutom globaliseringen så har åldrandet; på grund av sjunkande fertilitet och ökad livslängd, blivit en betydande företeelse i de flesta utvecklingsländer. En digital omvandling av samhället pågår parallellt med åldrandet och den internationella migrationen. I det avseendet blir äldre immigranter, deras teknikanvändning och syn på äldreomsorg allt viktigare.  Kinesisk äldreomsorg kännetecknas av familjebaserad informell vård till av äldre familjemedlemmar. Trots samhällets förändring och digitalisering, förväntas barnen ha huvudansvaret för vård och omsorg av sina äldre familjemedlemmar. Fenomenet kallas ”filial piety” och beskriver barnens skyldigheter att sörja för sina föräldrar på ett respektfullt sätt.  Denna licentiatexamen syftar till att öka kunskapen om äldre kinesiska immigranter som bor i Sverige och deras förväntningar på omhändertagandet och äldrelivet i Sverige relaterat till digitaliseringen.  Licentiatexamen börjar med att utforska skillnaderna, hindren och möjligheter i att använda digital teknik bland äldre invandrare i behov av hemtjänst. Licentiatexamen använder kvalitativa djupintervjuer för att undersöka hur åtta medelålders och äldre kinesiska invandrare, bosatta i Sverige. Intervjuerna har analyserat med hjälp av tematisk analys. Berrys ramverk för ackulturation och Yehs ”Dual Filial Piety Model” utgör den teoretiska grunden för forskningen. Resultaten indikerade på att synen på ”filial piety” är i förändring när det gäller vårdnadsansvar, beteenden och relationer mellan generationerna. Trots skillnaderna i nivån av ackulturation saknades det auktoritära inslaget av ”filial piety” i den svenska kontexten. Intervjupersonerna betonade sin vilja att stärka samspelet med sina vuxna barn genom att ge stöd och affektion snarare än att de förväntade att barnen skulle ge praktisk vård och omsorg. De intervjuade visade stor respekt för sina vuxna barns beslut och självständighet. Användningen av digital teknik möjliggjorde att de intervjuade kunde hålla tät kontakt med familjemedlemmar och vänner i andra länder. Den digitala kontakten med familjemedlemmar och vänner i sin tur, ansågs stödja deras autonomi och förmåga att planera sina framtida liv och äldreomsorg. Slutsatsen är att traditionella värderingar så som ”filial piety” påverkades av den svenska kontexten och förväntningarna på de vuxna barnen var inte lika höga och framträdande som de traditionellt sett varit i Kina. / <p>QC 2021-11-02</p>

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This paper adopts a quantitative and qualitative lens, through which we explore the economic relationship between the region of Sub-Saharan Africa and China as a consequence of Chinese Foreign direct investments (FDI).  Primarily, the paper’s direction, analysis, and discussions are dictated by the usage of primary and secondary data. Our primary data is constructed as a panel data set including GDP for 38 countries alongside the Chinese FDIs for each country during the period 2003-2021. Our secondary data includes already existing papers on topics related to our purpose and the data found in them. The main points include the economic development of Sub-Saharan Africa, the subsequent enforced Chinese economic policy, and further the gains China see from their strides into the region. In order to prove our hypothesis and research questions we've used econometric models.The panel data was used to conduct several time series regressions, where we further used different models and tests to get the best possible result Due to the fact that our regression shows a significant and positive correlation between economic growth in the region as a result of Chinese FDI, we can establish that past research is reinforced. Through the used model we’re enabled to look at the individual effects of every country in the region. In addition, by comparing these effects with the level of corruption and which type of income group the countries belong to, we can further highlight the fact that China tends to invest in countries who can offer something in return. Examples of such cases could be South Africa and Angola who are two of the biggest receivers of Chinese FDI in the region, which we, throughout the paper, attribute to the fact that they have an abundance of natural resources.

Business-related human rights violations are a recurring problem in the world. Just over 10 years ago, Sweden adopted the UN's guiding principles for business and human rights, in 2015 Sweden presented an action plan for business and human rights, and in 2016 there was a law regarding sustainability reporting for companies.  The Swedish government repeatedly states that business and human rights go hand in hand and expresses high expectations for Swedish companies to respect human rights.  In order to carry out the study of both the Swedish state's and Swedish companies' compliance with the UN's guiding principles, the Uyghurs' exposure to forced labor in Xinjiang and three Swedish companies are used as study objects. The result of the study leaves much to be desired from the Swedish state's side, as it acted very passively in the matter.

The purpose of this essay is to explain Chinas growing presence in Africa through a case study regarding the relationship with South Africa and highlight the specific features of this Chinese presence. In order to achieve the essays goal two theoretical perspectives will be applied to examine the data. These two theoretical perspective is the theory of imperialism defined by Johan Galtung and Rational Choice theory defined by Vivien Lowndes, et al. Through a textual analysis of the sources used, the essay has found that Chinese finance projects in Africa that are commercially viable and mutually beneficial for the African countries still somehow have an negative impact on the African countries development. The textual analysis also account for the motives and reasons behind Chinese presence on the continent as lack of resources as the main reason for China and the lack of a developed society for the African countries. The essay examine as well the consequence with the Chineses expansion on the continent for the African sovereignty and their development in the future.

BRICS is an organisation consisting of the developing countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Since its creation it has quickly become a great force of power on the global arena and is expected to encompass 42% of the world’s population after the upcoming membership expansion. This sparks interest in the study of the development of the organisation. Based on the research question “How can the development of BRICS be interpreted based on the theory of offensive realism?” the study explores the field of research using a qualitative case study with theory consuming design. The paper presents the result that the member states use the organisation to ensure the safety of their respective countries. This is being conducted through the increased cooperation among like-minded developing countries and through the establishment of their own institutions. These measures are implemented with the intention of balancing the west and increasing their own power.