Syftet med studien var att undersöka professionellas syn på den ämnesövergripande sexualundervisningen samt vilka förutsättningar professionella har att skapa en jämställd och normkritisk sexualundervisning för unga på högstadiet. Studien önskade besvara följande frågeställningar; Vad anser professionella om att sex- och samlevnadsundervisningen ska ske ämnesövergripande? Vilka brister och styrkor ser professionella med dagens sex- och samlevnadsundervisning? Anser professionella att skolan arbetar normkritiskt i sex- och samlevnadsundervisningen för att motverka att normativa könsroller begränsar unga? Utifrån en kvalitativ metod utgår studien från sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med professionella i Mellansverige som undervisar i sex och samlevnad. Studien grundar sig i ett konstruktionistiskt ramverk med inspiration från Paulo Freires kritiska teori, begreppet genus och normkritiskt perspektiv. En tematisk analys genomfördes för att utläsa likheter och skillnader i materialet vilket sedan analyserades utifrån valda begrepp. Resultatet visade att skolor inte arbetar ämnesövergripande trots att det är ett krav samt att tidsbristen påverkar undervisningens kvalitet. Dock kunde vi se att det fanns ett tydligt engagemang och en vilja hos de som undervisade att skapa en god sex- och samlevnadsundervisning utifrån ett normkritiskt och jämställt perspektiv. / The purpose of the study was to explore professionals' views on interdisciplinary sex education and what preconditions professionals have to create a gender-equal and norm-critical sex education for young people in upper secondary school. The study wanted to answer the following questions; What do professionals think about sex education taking place across subjects? What strengths and shortcomings do professionals see with today's sex education? Do professionals believe that the school works norm critically in sex education to counteract that normative gender roles limit young people? Using a qualitative method, the study is based on six semi-structured interviews with professionals in the middle of Sweden who teach sex education. The study is based on a constructionist framework with inspiration from Paulo Freire's critical theory, the concepts of gender and norm-critical perspective. A thematic analysis was carried out to read similarities and differences in the material, which was then analyzed based on selected concepts. The results showed that schools do not work interdisciplinary even though it is a requirement and that the lack of time affects the quality of teaching. However, we could see that there was a clear commitment and a will on the part of those who taught to create a good quality sex education from a norm-critical and equal perspective.

This study explores the representation of nerds and geeks in popular broadcast television programs over the course of the past twenty years. A content analysis of the five most popular scripted broadcast television programs for each year was conducted in order to assess the frequency of nerd characters, as well as the social competence, physical attractiveness, and demographic information of each such character. In addition, a supplemental survey design study was employed in order to collect public opinion data regarding perceptions of nerds in general and on television. The results of these studies indicated that while the per-year frequency of nerd portrayals has not varied significantly, nerds have been consistently portrayed as overwhelmingly white and male. Nerd characters in popular television programs have grown more physically attractive over the past twenty years. Furthermore, while technological or computer-related expertise remain significant predictors for the identification of television characters as nerds by audience members, the same is true for unattractiveness and low social competence. Considered through the theoretical framework provided by past mass media scholars, these findings suggest that nerds represent a group of individuals consistently portrayed as possessing technical aptitudes which are highly desirable in the current social context, but that such roles are portrayed as accessible only to white males.

This thesis is a comparative study of how elites in Sweden and Poland approach and make sense of EU membership. It begins with the observation that the public debates in several EU member countries are becoming increasingly politicized around a dichotomy, i.e. enthusiasm and skepticism vis-à-vis European integration. Whereas a lot of research in this field covers the characteristics of the European integration process itself, fewer studies focus upon the cognitive complexity involved in national strategic policy choices. The aim of this thesis is to explore, compare and contrast the organizational and cognitive aspects of how Sweden and Poland entered the EU and thereby to contribute to an understanding of how national policymakers in Europe believe that national and supranational integration can work together. The theoretical point of departure is Stein Rokkan’s model of political integration, which emphasizes the importance of functional and territorial political cleavages in the development of modern European nation states. The model is used to identify political actors and structures that are transnationalizing forces in Europe and to determine in what ways they form a challenge to national governments in the process of adaptation to the EU. Representing different theoretical points of intersection in the Rokkanian model, these challenges are defined as Integration, Trade and Industry, Functional Regionalism and Territorial Regionalism. The empirical analysis builds on these theoretical categories and covers three different areas. First, the ways in which adaptation to the EU was organized by the governments of Sweden (1988-1994) and Poland (1998-2004) are scrutinized. Second, documents concerning the strategic policy deliberation of both organizations are analyzed in the light of Rokkanian integration categories. Third, the results of two sets of research interviews, one in each country, are analyzed. A major conclusion drawn in the study is that Rokkanian integration theory holds the key to an understanding of how national policymakers believe that European integration can be segmented and how supranational integration in the economic sphere can evolve separately from other areas of social and political integration. Although from very different countries and political experiences, elites in Sweden and Poland show remarkable cognitive similarities. Another contribution to a cross-national understanding of adaptation to the EU is the cognitive model, which is developed on the basis of empirical study. The model expands upon and goes beyond the simple dichotomy of Enthusiasts and Skeptics in the discussion about European integration. Two new categories are introduced and defined as Voluntarists and Pragmatists. The argument is that new cognitive categories are necessary to improve the description and analysis of how national policy makers in Europe set up long-term political goals and manage complex issues in the process of European integration.

Digital implants have become a new frontier for body hackers, technology enthusiasts and disruptive innovation developers, who seek to service this technology for themselves and to new users. This thesis has explored conditions for future user adoption of human body augmentation with digital implants. The conditions explored were mainly self-beneficial health optimization through technology, self-quantification or convenience scenarios. Applying Diffusion Of Innovation theory, Value-based Acceptance Model and research through design methods were used. The process consisted of quantitative and qualitative data gathering and analysis, using interviews, surveys and iterative prototyping with evaluation. The results show mixed user attitude towards implant usage, mainly depending on users' need for added benefits, whether the user is a technology enthusiast actively using technology for self-beneficial gain or a casual everyday consumer of technology. Certain conditions could affect adoption of implants into mainstream usage, mainly data privacy, regulation, convenience, self-quantification or health management. In order for implants to succeed as a mainstream technology, there needs to be proper secure infrastructure, easy installation and coordinated services that offer individual benefits of health or convenience, with a high consumer confidence in supported services, installation / removal and devices. Several companies are working on offering such a service, in order to evaluate such a proposition, iterative prototypes were created to evaluate a health management scenario as a streamlined consumer service, using a service design blueprint and a related interactive smartphone application prototype.