The present thesis investigated several components important to the understanding of mentalization for children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The result of the thesis demonstrated that non-verbal mental age correlated significantly with mentalization tasks, and that the participants did not significantly differ compared to a nonverbal age-matched group of children without disabilities. Different expression of active participation, which is necessary to be able to display mentalization in dialogue, was observed in analysed interaction. The children’s social networks were limited and consisted of very few peers, thus limiting the possibilities of active participation. The number of peers in the children’s social networks correlated significantly with aspects of the children’s mentalization ability. Children who use AAC display their mentalization abilities independently in social interaction and through e-mail messages to peers. A wider construct that will have relevance to mentalization in ordinary situations is described encompassing several different abilities. The development of these abilities is dependent on the child’s capacity for adapting a cognitive flexibility when reflecting and theorizing on what is happening in a given situation. The development of mentalization is also dependent on a child’s close friendships, active participation in interaction, functional language ability, and varied social networks consisting of both peers and adults.

The aim of this thesis is to examine interactivity in the context of performance-based interactive art. The questions asked are: what are the conditions of interactivity, how interactivity happens, and what artistic results it may yield. The method is an analysis based on close studies of three performance-based interactive artworks by applying theories of interactivity, audience participation, and collaboration. First, current theories are outlined, after which, the three artworks are introduced in detail. Next, the artworks are examined, thematically rather than individually, expanding on parameters such as the degree of artistic direction of the artwork, the degree of agency allowed to the spectator in their interaction with the work, and the idea of the “passive” spectator as being “activated” by interactive art. It is shown that the actualization of the interactive gesture inscribed within the work depends on the spectator’s subjectivity and obedience to said gesture. Thus, the conditions of the interaction are not decided by the work/artist alone, but also and equally, by the spectator. Consequently, the actualized interactivity may not immediately correspond with the (possible) authorial intent and may even be unexpected or "infelicitous." The problematic of the thesis falls within the scope of current discourse concerning the striving for interactivity between the work of art and its spectator/audience. While that discourse has often been focused on authorial intent or has implied an ideal spectator, this thesis points to the significance of subjectivity with regards to interactivity and thereby adds increased complexity to the concept of interactivity.

Problem statement and purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze in what way first-time voters chose to take part of political information. The questions we aimed to answer was how first-time voters use media and other information channels for political purposes, what importance and trust the first-time voters give the different information channels and finally which indicators there is for that structural or individual factors affect the media consumption and political interest. Method and material: We did interviews with twelve 18 years old first-time voters from six different high school programs in Sundsvall, Sweden. Results: The study showed that the premier source of political information were traditional news media, in particular the debates on TV. It’s also in the debates the first-time voter’s trust the most. Even though the social medias are constantly present in their everyday life and even though the first-time voters believe the social medias have potential for engaging young people politically, the possibilities are only taken in advantage by people who are already politically interested. The first-time voters are being affected by both structural and individualized factors. The structural, the social standing in particular, matters for the individual’s political interest and use of traditional media, while the individualized factors primarily matters for the use of social medias.

Med det här kandidatarbetet vill vi se EdTechs möjligheter att påverka barns sociala förmåga på ett positivt sätt, för att förebygga situationer där mobbning uppstår. Genom Future Workshops och Participatory Design utvecklar vi, tillsammans med elever på en lokal högstadieskola, ett koncept för en applikation med en potential för ökat kamratskap.Vi analyserar elevernas åsikter angående funktioner och visuell design för applikationen samt presenterar en konceptprototyp för ämnesexperter. Deras validering av vår prototyp ses som ett direkt resultat av frågeställningens utgångspunkt, och därav en möjlig lösning av grundproblemet. / With this Bachelor Thesis we consider EdTechs possibilities in influencing children’s social abilities in a positive way, to prevent repetitive bullying behavior. By the methods of Future Workshop and Participatory Design we develop, together with students on a local secondary school, a concept for an application with the potential of increased friendships.We analyze the student’s opinions about functionalities and visual design, and then present a prototype of the concept to experts in the field of Educational Technology. Their validation of our prototype is seen as a direct result of the research question, and a possible solution to the issue at hand.

Studien är baserad på en kvalitativ metod där jag, på två skolor, intervjuat rektor, studie- och yrkesvägledare och lärare på gymnasiesärskolans nationella program. Materialet analyserades genom teoristyrd kvalitativ analys.  Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka strategier två skolor uppger att de har kring sitt arbete med övergången mellan gymnasiesärskola och arbetsliv för elever på gymnasiesärskolans nationella program.  Resultatet visar att, båda skolorna, ser det viktiga i att eleverna utvecklar trygghet och blir självständiga. Detta kan eleverna bli genom att förberedas på vad som förväntas av dem när de kommer ut i arbetslivet. För att eleverna ska vara förberedda för arbetslivet så lägger skolan, i sin undervisning, fokus på vad som eleverna behöver ha med sig ut i arbetslivet. Ett sätt är att skapa undervisning som mycket efterliknar den verklighet som eleverna sedan kommer att möta. Eleverna är delaktiga i olika utsträckning inför arbetsplatsförlagt lärande (APL) men båda skolorna ser det viktiga i att ta tillvara på elevernas önskemål. Det är även av stor betydelse att det finns en tät kontakt mellan skolan och handledare på APL-platserna. En önskan, som båda skolorna uttrycker, är att det ska finnas mer tid till att vara tillsammans med eleverna på APL-platserna. / The study is based on a qualitative method, where I, on two schools, made interviews with principals, guidance counselors and teacher for students with learning disability. The data was analysed with theorybased qualitative analysis.  The purpose of the study is to examine the strategies that some schools state that they have with their work about the transition from school to work for students with learning disability.  The result shows that both of the schools see the importance that the students develop security and become independent. One way is to be prepared on what is expected of them when they enter the working career. To prepare the students for working life, the schools focus on what the students need for working career. One way is to make the teaching environment so similar to the reality that the students will meet later on.  The students participate in different extent before the placements, but both of the schools sees the importance in listening to the students own expectations. It is also of great importance that there is a close contact between the school and supervisors at the internships.  One request booth the schools expresses is that they would like to have more time with the students out on the placements

Sammanfattning Bakgrund: Resiliens är ett begrepp som används i allt större utsträckning inom risk och katastrofforskningen för att beskriva samhällets motståndskraft mot, förmåga att återhämta sig från samt utvecklas positivt efter större naturhändelser. Forskning visar på vikten av att involvera alla nivåer i samhället för att skapa resiliens vilket även uttrycks i internationella ramverk för katastrofriskreducering, klimatanpassning och hållbar utveckling. Det är framförallt på den lokala nivån som konsekvenserna av extrema naturhändelser manifestera och måste hanteras vilket innebär att allmänheten anses vara viktig att involvera i det katastrofriskreducerande arbetet för en ökad resiliens. Detta innebär ett så kallat ”bottom-up” sätt att arbeta. En faktor som enligt forskningen påverkar risken för katastrofer är olika sårbarheter i samhället. Hur sårbart ett samhälle är påverkas bland annat av ekonomiska, ekologiska och sociala faktorer och hur resurser är fördelade. Vissa grupper i samhället pekas ofta ut som mer sårbara, och ett led i att skapa resiliens är att tillgodose dessa gruppers specifika behov i relation till katastrofrisker. Teorier och modeller gällande samhällets resiliens mot katastrofer är ofta framtagna med fokus på miljöer med mer frekventa och dramatiska naturhändelser, och samhällen som präglas av en högre grad av socioekonomiska skillnader än vi har i dagens Sverige. Ett förändrat klimat och andra globala processer påverkar även det svenska samhället. Svenska staten och dess myndigheter påtalar allt mer vikten av att arbeta utifrån ett resiliensperspektiv i samhällsbyggandet. I den svenska kontexten ligger ett stort ansvar gällande risk och krishantering på den kommunala nivån, samt även på den enskilda individen, vilket kan tänkas borga för att involvera allmänheten i katastrofriskreduceringen och tillika skapa ett resilient lokalsamhälle. Syfte: Syftet med studien är trefaldig. Primärt syftar den till att få en övergripande förståelse för hur personer som är verksamma inom risk och krishantering på lokal nivå i en svensk kommun ser på att involvera allmänheten i det katastrofriskreducerande arbetet utifrån ett resiliensperspektiv. Sekundärt syftar studien till att undersöka hur man förhåller sig till olika gruppers behov i arbetet utifrån ett sårbarhetsperspektiv samt att undersöka relevansen av ett befintligt teoretiskt ramverk för community resilience i en svensk kontext. Metod: Studien är en kvalitativ explorativ fallstudie av Örebro kommun med en abduktiv ansats. Genom en kombination av strategiskt urval och snöbollsurval har nyckelpersoner som är verksamma inom kommunal verksamhet samt frivilligorganisationer inkluderats i studien. Datainsamlingen bestod av semistrukturerade intervjuer som transkriberats och vidare analyserats genom kvalitativ textanalys. För att stärka studiens validitet har även kommundokument studerats för att möjliggöra en triangulering. Resultatet diskuteras utifrån teorier om resiliens, risk-governance och sårbarhet för katastrofer samt ett teoretiskt ramverk för community resilience. Resultat: Resultatet visar på: 1) en positiv syn hos respondenterna på att involvera allmänheten, framförallt som en resurs i den akuta krishanteringen genom att nyttja frivilliga, 2) möjligheter med att involvera allmänheten genom relationsbyggande nätverk och ökad samverkan med civilsamhället för att få information om hur människor upplever sin verklighet och vilka behov allmänheten har gällande information och stöttning, 3) hinder avseende kommunikation och samverkan mellan kommun och allmänhet vilket delvis kopplades till att det saknas användbara verktyg och att ny teknik inte nyttjas fullt ut, 4) brist på kontinuitet i samverkan mellan civilsamhället och kommunen och låg frekvens av större händelser, 5) ett bristande engagemang från allmänhetens sida. Resultatet pekar även på att resiliensramverket är relevant i den svenska kontexten. / Summary Background: Resiliens is a concept that is increasingly used in risk- and disaster research to describe society's resistance to, ability to recover from and to develop positively after major natural events. Research shows the importance of involving all levels of society in order to create resilience against disasters and is expressed in international frameworks for disaster risk reduction, climate change and sustainable development. Since the consequences of extreme natural events primarily manifests at the local level, they need to be locally managed. The importance of involving the public in disaster risk reduction, also called the “bottom-up approach” with the aim of building resilience is thus highlighted. One factor affecting societal disaster risk is vulnerability. How vulnerable a society is to disasters is influenced by economic, ecological and social factors and the distribution of resources. Certain groups in society are often referred to as more vulnerable and one part of building resilience against disasters is to cater to the specific needs of these groups in relation to disaster risks. Theories and models of societal resilience against disasters are often developed with focus on environments with more frequent and dramatic natural events and societies that are characterized by a greater degree of socio-economic differences than that of today's Sweden. But a changing climate and other global processes also affect the Swedish society. The Swedish state and its authorities increasingly emphasize the importance of taking a resilience perspective on societal development. The responsibility for risk and crisis management in Sweden is primarily focused at the municipal level, as well as on the individual, which could warrant the involvement of the public in disaster reduction in order to build a resilient local community. Purpose: The purpose of the study is threefold. It primarily aims at gaining an overall understanding of the views of individuals, involved in risk and crisis management at local level in Sweden, upon involving the public in disaster risk reduction from a resilience perspective. Secondarily, the study aims at investigating how the needs of different groups in the community is incorporated into the work, based on a vulnerability perspective, and thirdly to investigate the relevance of an existing theoretical framework for community resilience in a Swedish context. Method: The study was designed as a qualitative exploratory case study of Örebro municipality with an abductive approach. Through a combination of strategic selection and snowballing, key people working in the local council and non-governmental organizations have been included in the study. The data collection consisted of semistructured interviews that were transcribed and further analyzed through qualitative text analysis. In order to strengthen the validity of the study, municipal documents were studied to enable triangulation. The results were discussed through theories of resilience, risk governance and disaster vulnerability as well as a theoretical framework for community resilience by Norris et al. (2008). Results: The results show: 1) a positive view upon involving the public, primarily as a resource in emergency crisis management by using volunteers, 2) opportunities for involving the public through relational networking and enhanced cooperation with civil society, in order to gain information and knowledge on how people perceive their reality and the needs of the public regarding information and support, 3) communication and cooperation barriers between the municipality and the public are linked to the lack of useful tools and that new technologies are not fully utilized, 4) a lack of continuity in civil society and municipality collaboration, low frequency of major events, and lack of widespread commitment among the public. The result indicates that the resilience framework is also relevant in the Swedish context.

Parker i städer är en viktig del för människors hälsa och livskvalitet. Parker i städer tillgodoser olika människors behov av naturupplevelser, aktiviteter och friluftsliv. För ett socialt hållbart samhälle är det viktigt att alla människor oavsett, ålder kön och etnicitet har möjlighet att forma och leva sitt liv. Många parker erbjuder olika aktiviteter för lek och motion och skapar en viktig mötesplats för människor. Syftet med detta arbete är att skapa en värderingsmodell för att kunna värdera social hållbarhet i parker. En modell har tagits fram med olika kriterier för att kunna värdera social hållbarhet i parker. De olika kriterierna är hämtade från olika källor och egna framtagna kriterium. Målet med studien är att kunna fastställa social hållbarhet i parker utifrån den framtagna modellen. I detta arbete har olika metoder använts. Först gjordes en parkinventering i Gävle och Enköping, där sammanlagt 30 parker inventerades. Efter detta valdes två parker ut i Gävle och två i Enköping för en vidare granskning. I dessa fyra parker gjordes två observationer vardera där det registrerades vad människorna gjorde i parkerna. En slumpmässig enkätstudie genomfördes med åtta enkla frågor, med syftet att få in sammanlagt 40 svar per park. Detta för att få en uppfattning av människorna och deras syfte för att vistas i parken. Värderingsmodellen som tagits fram med detta arbete består av sex huvudrubriker: social interaktion, delaktighet, gemenskap, känsla av parken, säkerhet/trygghet och meningsfulla aktiviteter. Under dessa kriterier finns kategorier som bedömer om parken är socialt hållbar. Utifrån detta arbete kan slutsatsen dras att de större parkerna där människorna kan utföra någon sorts av meningsfull aktivitet är de mest socialt hållbara. I dessa parker skapas flest sociala interaktioner och människor möts här för att bidra till de sociala aktiviteterna. Dessa parker bidrar även till en ökad delaktighet och en gemenskap i samhället. / Parks in cities are an important part of human health and quality of life. Parks in cities cater to different people's needs for nature experiences, activities and outdoor activities. For a socially sustainable society it is important that all people regardless of age gender and ethnicity have the opportunity to shape and live their lives. Many parks offer different activities for play and exercise and create an important meeting place for people. The purpose of this work is to create a valuation model to evaluate social sustainability in parks. A model has been developed with different criteria to evaluate social sustainability in parks. The different criteria are derived from different sources and own developed criteria. The aim of the study is to determine social sustainability in parks based on the model developed. Various methods have been used in this work. First, a study was conducted with an inventory of parks in Gävle and Enköping, where a total of 30 parks were inventerade. After this, two parks were chosen in Gävle and two in Enköping for a further examination. In these four parks, two observations were made too each, where it was recorded what the people did in the parks. A random survey was conducted with eight simple questions, aiming at collecting 40 answers per park. This to get an idea of the people and their purpose of visiting the park. The valuation model developed with this work consists of six main headings: social interaction, participation, community, sense of the park, security / safety and meaningful activities. Under these criteria there are categories that assess whether the park is socially sustainable. Based on this work, it can be concluded that the larger parks where people can perform some sort of meaningful activity are the most socially sustainable. In these parks, most social interactions are created and people meet here to contribute to social activities. These parks also contribute to increased participation and community in society.

This study is case study of political participation among the Kani tribe from Kuttichal grama panchayat in the Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala, India. The study is based on the collected data of 117 people of the Kani tribe living in four different settlements: Pankavu, Mangode-Valippara, Chonampara and Kaithode. The aim of the study is to examine the impact on political participation by different factors, which is done by the use of the quantitative method of cross tables. The study confirms previous studies in its conclusion that high status individuals, defined in terms of education and economic standard, are the group of the highest political participation, when this is defined as being involved in political work and holding a party membership. On the local political scene however, where political participation consists of participation in local assemblies and voluntary work, the impact of the examined variables are very limited. The main theory, which is used for the analysis, is a cost and benefit analysis.

Miljökonsekvensbeskrivning, MKB, är ett redskap som används i Sverige och 120 andra länder och processen används för att förutse miljöpåverkan som kan komma att inträffa som ett resultat av olika projekt som etableras. I Sverige krävs MKB alltid för särskilda projekt, så som vägprojekt. Processen försöker inkorporera miljöaspekter i projekt och även ge allmänhet och intressenter möjlighet att yttra sig och ställa frågor kring projektet. Detta kallas att hålla samråd vilket ska hållas under hela MKB-processen. I Sverige finns lagar som begär att samråd hålls under processen, men forskning kring jämställdhet och samrådsförfarandet kallad JämSam visar att det är en överrepresentation av äldre män på dessa möten. Denna studie eftersträvar att i internationell MKB-litteratur undersöka om det förs en diskussion kring genus i samrådsprocessen och vad som, i händelse av en sådan, diskuteras. Olika teorier rörande genus undersöktes och dessa tydde på att skillnader i genus beror på olik socialisation av kvinnor och män genom livet. Litteratur som rör genus och miljö visade att kvinnor har ett marginellt större interesse för miljöfrågor men att män är de som är mer aktivt deltagande. Resultaten av studien var att väldigt lite material påträffades, vilket i sin tur visade att genusdiskussionen inom MKB-litteratur i princip är obefintlig. Majoriteten av artiklarna som hittades nämnde kvinnor eller genus i förbifarten och i samband med andra ämnen. Bara en artikel diskuterade djupare kring ämnet. Vidare studier på området och rörande hur samrådsförfarandet ska bli jämställt behövs för att få igång en debatt på området eftersom den nuvarande situationen inte för diskussionen framåt. / Environmental impact assessment, EIA, is a tool used in Sweden and in 120 other countries and the process is used to predict environmental impact of different projects that are established. An EIA is always a prerequisite for certain projects in Sweden, for instance highway projects. The process aims to incoporate environmental aspects in projects and also to give the public and other interest groups the opportunity to voice their concerns and ask questions about the project. This is called public participation wich should take place during the entire EIA process. Sweden has laws that encourage public participation throughout the entire process, but research regarding gender equality and public participation called JämSam shows that elderly men are overrepresented at the public meetings. The purpose of this study is to examine if there is a discussion regarding gender equality and public participation in international EIA literature and, if so, what the articles encompass. Different theories regarding gender equality were examined and they suggested that socialization is the cause of gender differences as women and men are treated diffrently throughout their entire lives. Gender equality and environment literature showed that women have a marginally higher intresst in environmental issues but that men are more active and participate more. Very small amounts of material were found during the study, which shows that gender equality basically is nonexistent in EIA literature. The majority of the articles found only mentioned women or gender briefly and in relation to other subjects. Only one study found discussed the subject troughout the entire article. Further studies on gender equality in EIA literature and regarding making public participation gender equal is much-needed to initiate debate on this field, because the present situation does not move the discussion forward.

Abstract "Citizen Influence, Forms and Effects - A study of the Resistance Concerning the Establishment of a Juvenile Detention Center in Kristinehamn 2005-2007" Political Science, Johan Utter   This essay circles around the concepts of citizenship and the questions if and how citizens in the modern democracy can influence and effect the political decisions made by the governing body on the local level. This is done by the means of a case-study concerning the establishment of an institutional facility for convicted youths in Kristinehamn. The planning of this facility and especially its planned location in Sunneberg aroused a significant negative response from the citizens, demanding a better alternative for the location. The proposition resulted in heavy protests from the citizens as the planned location was viewed as an important recreation area, where the citizens could experience nature first hand, close to the centre of town. As a result, some citizens living close to the planned location, formed a network called "Bevara Sunneberg", whose purpose was to influence the decision-makers and make the citizen’s voices heard. Also of interest are the classification of the resistance, by using already established theoretical models concerning interest groups, social movements and the concept of NIMBY-groups. The results show that the citizen led by the group "Bevara Sunneberg" in fact managed to influence the decision-makers by adopting a wide variety of strategies, both by conventional and unconventional means. As the case haven’t yet been decided, the full extent of the resistance’s efforts are yet to be seen. Whether or not the planned establishment will be build, the fact remains that the resistance managed to effect the outcome of the case. The network "Bevara Sunneberg" showed similarities to the concept of NIMBY-groups, but evolved into a form of hybrid, positioning itself somewhere between the theoretical positions of social movements and interest groups. As a conclusion I would like to state that citizen influence is possible in the local political context, though the extent of the influence can not be proved by this essay.   Key Words : Citizen Influence, NIMBY-group, Political Participation, Kristinehamn, Juvenile Detention Center, Interest Group