<p>Vad är Second Life? En värld på Internet som fungerar likt ett socialt nätverk men till skillnad från andra virtuella världar är det inte ett spel. Det är en förlängning av verkligheten. Man vinner ingenting i Second Life, förutom nya bekantskaper och fascinerande upplevelser i en vacker tredimensionell miljö. Den uppdaterade versionen av Internet har suddat ut gränserna mellan användare och producent. Second Life är ett resultat av samspelet mellan virtuell värld och verklighet. Den virtuella världens genombrott på webben är här.</p>

<p>Sweden introduced a development assistance policy in 1952 and thirteen years later Sida, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency started, in 1965. But in 1995, five separate development assistance authorities came together and established the new Sida as it is today. Sida is Sweden’s representative in the development assistance policy field and they work through projects that have to be presented through a Country Strategy Process (CSP). The aim of this paper is to point out Sida’s perspective on the conducted development assistance policy and what guide lines that are followed. The main purpose of the development assistance policy is to create better conditions for the distressed countries. Russia is a country that receives big sums of money from Sida, but the support given is about to be phased out and in 2010 it will be completely terminated. The cooperation with Russia will go through a transition to normal cross-border cooperation as a neighboring country. We have chosen to characterize Sida’s work with Russia and other countries through two perspectives on poverty; an orthodox perspective, which is a more ideologically conservative approach, and an alternative perspective, which is a more liberal approach.</p>

<p>This study investigates the treatment of race biology and related subjects in Swedish schoolbooks from 1873 to 1994, with special emphasis on the “gymnasium”-level. The concept of race biology has several connotations: it is at one hand related to physical anthropology and at the other to eugenics. Like in Germany the latter was in Sweden first called “racial hygiene”. After an introduction giving the historical background the books are reviewed for their content on this matter. The conclusions drawn are as follows:<br /><br />1. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, mental, cultural and physical appearances of peoples from various parts of the world are discussed with little emphasis on the distinction between race (as a biological concept) and culture.<br /><br />2. Finns and Lapps are in early books considered as belonging to the Mongolian race. This may be understood in terms of the confusion between classification of race and language but also of at the time prevailing theories of Sweden’s racial history.<br /><br />3. Around 1930 a distinction between race, as a biological concept, and people, as a linguistic and cultural concept is pronounced. Personality characteristics are attributed to biological races.<br /><br />4. The dark-skinned African and Australian populations are treated with special disrespect, whereas the lighter-skinned Polynesians are discussed with high esteem.<br /><br />5. The teachings of the Nazi racialist H. F. K. Günther have a decisive impact on the treatment of in particular European ”races” and their mental characters on at least one author. Even the word “master-race” is used for the Nordic race. The most controversial parts of this teaching are removed in 1945.<br /><br />6. From the 1950’s onward the interest in races is diminished in books in geography, and in the biology books racism is generally condemned.<br /><br />7. Eugenics (racial hygiene) is advocated in biology books into the 1970’s, in a manner close enough to be called political propaganda. The low efficiency of sterilisation against Mendelian recessives is generally presented. The Swedish sterilisation policies at the time are presented in detail in the biology books.<br /><br />8. Traditional race classification is present still in the 1980’s, even with regard to the European “racial types”. Much attention is given to the “extreme” racial crossing between Europeans and Hottentots.<br /><br />9. In a biology book from 1967, control of the third world population explosion (in itself a theme from the 1950’s onward) is explicitly discussed in the context of eugenics.<br /><br />10. When modern in utero diagnostic methods are discussed in the 1990’s, eugenics is not concerned.</p>

<p>SMEs serve as a backbone to keep an economy going and to boost it up in times of difficult hours like recession, for example. They are considered as the main source of modernization, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. Like rest of Europe, 99% of enterprises are SMEs in Sweden which form a ratio of approximately 58 SMEs per 1000 inhabitants. Moreover SMEs employ around 60% of Sweden‟s manpower which shows their concern toward social responsibility.</p><p>Several companies irrespective of their size are bound by the statutory rules of a particular country in which they operate to prepare financial reports that conform to specified set of accounting principles. There has been much ongoing debate regarding the suitability of one set of accounting standards in a country for all its operating enterprises, regardless of their size. In July 2009 the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) for Small and Medium-sized Entities (SMEs). The IFRS for SMEs is intended to be applied to the general purpose financial statements of entities that do not have public accountability. The main theme of our thesis is to examine the suitability and difficulties faced by SMEs in Sweden towards IFRS for SMEs. Furthermore, this thesis will identify the problems that will be faced by SMEs in Sweden, in the process of adopting IFRS for SMEs. Lastly, this study will be conducted to check whether SMEs in Sweden prefer to choose and use IFRS for SMEs or Swedish GAAP.</p><p>In order to achieve the determined objectives, the study "Assessing the preparedness of small and medium-sized entities in Sweden to adopt International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) for Small and Medium-sized Entities (SMEs)" was conducted. A qualitative research employing semi-structured interviews was carried out with eleven interviews in order to solidify the quality criteria of our research work. Sample was selected based on convenient sampling from Umeå due to the limitations of resources in terms of cost and time; opinions from three different categories of respondents (audit firms, SMEs and experts‟ opinion from the academic perspective) would be gathered. All collected data would be analyzed against the theoretical framework, and with the help of analysis conclusion regarding this study would be drawn.</p><p>Based on the qualitative results, the findings exhibits that SMEs in Sweden are not inclined towards IFRs for SMEs and are not ready in any way to adopt these standards. The Swedish GAAP has been designed over years and all SMEs are very much familiar with the rules and principles applicable in Swedish GAAP. Therefore, according to our research inclination of SMEs in Sweden is towards Swedish GAAP rather than IFRS for SMEs.</p>

<p>The aim of this study is to investigate colonization processes and population and agricultural development during the 16th century. The studied geographical area consists of the northern part of the northernmost province of Sweden of that time, Västerbotten. During this period, this part of Sweden consists of four parishes, from the south to the north: Piteå, Luleå, Kalix and Torneå. The area constitutes a bailiwick (county administrative division) of its own, the northern bailiwick of Västerbotten. The geographical area studied in this thesis is today’s County of Norrbotten below the border of Lappmarken and Torneå Municipality in Finland.</p><p>By the middle of the 16th century the region is an established and developed agricultural district. The average farm’s acreage is nearly three acres. The differences between the parishes are considerable, however. Besides arable farming and cattle farming, fishing is important.</p><p>Studying land colonization, settlements and population in 16th century Sweden means being limited mainly to one kind of source, namely bailiff accounts (fogderäkenskaper). These accounts consist of cadastres (land registers of rent and revenue), registers of other ordinary and extraordinary taxes, and, from the end of 1560s, the tithe registers. This collection of registers constitutes the bailiffs’ accounts of incomes and expenses and is an expression of the increased control exerted by the Crown over production and private wealth in the country.</p><p>An important task has been to check the quality of the sources for the study. Quality means in this context up-to-dateness and completeness. An investigation of the sources shows that they were regularly updated. By comparing the different registers the completeness can be examined, i.e. the extent to which they correctly follow the instructions, “undervisningar”.</p><p>These circumstances, the up-to-dateness and completeness of the sources, guarantee the possibility of describing, in a correct manner, the real situation in the region regarding the land colonization, settlements and population.</p><p>Placing the development in the studied region in a geographical context has been important. Some studies have been performed using the cadastre registers, many of which were included in the Nordic project studying the late medieval desertion of the colonization process in Sweden during the 16th century, Nordiska ödegårdsprojektet.</p><p>A feature of the development in Sweden during the 16th century is two periods of growth and a weak or retrograde period in between. A common pattern in the settlement development is a strong growth in 1540s and 1550s. In the late 1560s and during the 1570s the settlements are weakening, stagnating or decreasing. From 1580 and onwards, another growth of farms is established again, to a greater or smaller extent.</p><p>The increase in the population is generally considered to be the main cause of the land colonization process in the 1540s and 1550s. The weaker development of the next two decades is related to the Nordic Seven Years’ War (Nordiska sjuårskriget), with its great negative impact on many areas in Sweden. After a fast recovery the colonization process starts again and is in progress for the rest of the century.</p><p>A closer study of the situation in two parishes in Norrbotten shows that the two periods of growth have different qualities. The first period, during the 1540s and 1550s, illustrates traditional progress through colonization. The growth consists of farm divisions and the establishment of new farms. The development of new farms follows a certain pattern. By clearing land the farm is established, a first registration is made, and the farm obtains tax release for a few years and is finally entered in the land register (jordeboken). During this period the agricultural sector is growing when both new and already established farms contribute by land reclamation.</p><p>During the second period of growth the farm division process continues and new farms are established. However, this time the new farms are generally of another kind. They are very small and are established mainly by detaching parts or buying land from older farms, not by land reclamation. The agricultural sector is not growing, with some exceptions, during this period. Furthermore, the population increase during the earlier period, which seemed to “force” the agricultural sector to grow, is not effective this time. Instead, during this second period, a population decrease takes place.</p><p>The general picture of the settlement development in Sweden during the 16th century is growth. The differences between regions concern the strength of the total growth of farms during this century. In Norrbotten the development is weaker than in most other regions in Sweden. The western part of the country seems on the whole to have a stronger growth than the eastern and northern part. It should be observed, however, that areas situated very close to each other can show quite a different progress.</p>

<p>The district nurses' duties with all organisational changes, above all during the last 20 years, have been changed. Economy and listing governs which visits that to be prioritized. The aim with this study was to examine what district nurses in the primary care in Uppsala län has for view about their occupational role. The method was qualitative and the selection comprized ten district nurses in Uppsala län that were interviewed individually on the basis of a semi structured interview guide that the authors the actual created. In the wide analysis of the results could a theme, <em>As a rubber screw in a shrinking hole</em> and three central categories be discerned, <em>Occupational role</em>, <em>Diversity</em> and <em>Organisation. </em>The district nurses enjoy with work and their choice of profession despite higher demand, stress and low staffing. They experience that the profession role have become unclear and others professions has poor knowledge about which competence they hold. They have an interest of working preventive and a holistic view when thinking about nursing care among children and adults. The feeling of not be needed as a profession, not to become seen with the competence that they possesses, is experienced very frustrating and the obvious role the district nurse earlier had in the primary health care and society seem to fade increasingly. The district nurses description of their profession role can compared as a rubber screw which reflects the flexibility but also the resistance against increasingly healthcare. The shrinking hole symbolize the majority organization changes as forced the district nurses to priority other duties than public health work and a decreased sphere of activity. <em> </em></p>

<p>Investors in the financial market are supposed to hold diversified portfolios to minimize their risk adjusted for expected return. However, several researchers have pointed out that most investors are over weighted in their home market. This means that most diversification happens in terms of choosing stocks in the home market which means that further possible diversification through international diversification is unused. One can therefore expect that foreign investors have preferences for securities with specific characteristics once they go abroad. An earlier study of the Swedish stock market over the years 1993-1997 has shown that foreign investors, in greater extent than domestic investors, have a preference for large firms, firms paying low dividend and firms with low leverage. With the steep up-turn of the Swedish stock market before the millennium and the down-turn in year 2000 in mind, this study examine whether the investment patterns between 1996 and 2005 are consistent with the results of earlier investigations. In general the results are consistent with earlier investigations. However, this study also shows that foreign investors seem to be more interested in choosing securities with relatively high fundamental value and lower level of leverage during market down-turns.</p>

<p>This thesis presents a method for detailed landscape presentation. The method incorporates both fieldwork-based comprehensive geomorphological description and digital data handling and thus contributes in filling the gap between traditional geomorphological mapping and modern geomorphological studies performed in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).</p><p>The main part of the thesis relates to development of a new detailed geomorphological mapping system, constructed to be easy to use and yet present a large amount of geomorphological information. The legend of the mapping system has successfully been applied to various types of landscapes, mapped at various scales between 1:5,000 and 1:50,000 without any modifications needed. The information presented in the map is based on simple descriptive criteria and thus the subjectivity is kept low, which enables a broad field of usage. In parallel with the mapping system a GIS-based geomorphological database has been developed. The structure and data presentation of the new mapping system allows for easy transformation of the data to form part of this database. The selected format of the GIS database is the ESRI ArcGIS^®, Personal geodatabase.</p><p>In the development of the geomorphological mapping system four field areas have been mapped in central (Bonäs, Risa and Liden) and northern Sweden (Tarfala). In addition the new legend has been adapted to a field area situated in Vorarlberg, Austria (Upper Gamperdona valley).</p><p>In relation to the Tarfala field area an added issue of the project has been to give insights in the effects of physical and chemical weathering on various rock types to see if this can be detected in materials and landforms. The results from this study point at that resistance towards weathering vary among rocks even though they are of same rock type.</p>

No description available.

<p>This paper investigates the environmental effectiveness of the Swedish energy taxes. That is, whether these have decreased the CO2 emissions and how they have changed the structure of the energy consumption. Time series data for the years 1960-2002 is used. The results show that the oil and coal taxes seem to favour a substitution towards less CO2 intensive energy sources. For the natural gas tax however, the opposite is true. An energy saving effect is found for the oil tax and the petrol tax, but the electricity tax seems to increase energy consumption. Regarding the total effect on CO2 emissions, the oil and coal taxes seem to decrease CO2 emissions while the natural gas tax seems to increase them.</p><p>Cross-country regressions are also made to examine if countries with a higher petrol tax have lower a lower rate of CO2 emissions on average. The results show that a higher petrol tax is significantly correlated to lower CO2 emissions.</p><p>The results thus indicate that energy taxes do decrease CO2 emissions. They also show that caution should be used before implementing a natural gas tax since it can have adverse effects on the CO2 emissions.</p>