The decision to close a delivery ward often brings conflict and harsh debate, also the legitimacy of the responsible politicians and the whole system is put to question. All over the world the political institutions are dominated by men, although the number of women in these institutions have increased most decisions makers are still men and that’s how the situation is in Sweden. When a delivery ward is closed the sceptical often point out that it´s unjust that men are deciding on an issue that don’t really affect them as much as their wives, daughters or sister, thereby it´s just non-logical that they have the power. In Sweden the question about healthcare is in the hands of the landsting (regions) which means that politicians from the whole region are deciding on these political dilemmas. This means that MP from other cities then the one that will be affected by an decision are able to decide, this could also question the legitimacy from an geographical point of view. In the following document I will analyse two events that occurred in Kronobergs Län in south Sweden, the first is in 1974 when the delivery ward was closed in Tingsryd and the second is when the same thing occurred in Ljungby year 2007.

I dagsläget läggs många skolor på landsbygden ner. Syftet med examensarbetet har varit att undersöka hur lärare på dessa skolor ser på framtiden för sin skola. I studien finns lärares reflektioner över hur det pedagogiska arbetet särskiljer sig på en landsbygdsskola. De reflekterar även över i vilken utsträckning åldersblandad undervisning kan vara en möjlighet för skolor att fortsätta bedriva verksamheten.Den största orsaken till att skolor läggs ner är att elevantalet har sjunkit och kommunerna behöver tänka ekonomiskt. Dessutom måste skollagen att ”utbildningen skall inom varje skolform vara likvärdig, varhelst den anordnas i landet” (URL 6, 2008) uppfyllas oavsett om det är en stor eller liten skola. Lärarna i studien anser att det är mycket viktigt att bevara skolorna på landsbygden för att få trygga elever och för att kunna behålla en levande landsbygd. Åldersblandade klasser är på mindre skolor nödvändigt, lärarna som arbetar med undervisningsmetoden ser många fördelar.

The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to study, describe andimprove the understanding of voluntary driven libraries. How doesthe library staff view their role? How is the library operationworking in respect of economy, organization structure and systemsof rules? Research methods I used were semistructured interviewsand document research.The theoretical framework was based on Joacim Hansson´sdiscussion about libraries in a local community, Henning Bang´sdiscussion about organization culture and the Swedishgovernment´s non- profit advisory group`s discussion aboutvoluntary work.The results of this study shows that the library staff are enthusiastsmotivated by a wish to spread literature to people who find itdifficult to visit municipal libraries. Other motives for theirvoluntary work is the opportunity for being a part of a socialcommunity, to be surrounded by books and to activate body andsenses. The results of this study also shows that the voluntarylibrary system differ from the traditional, municipal library systemconcerning economy, organization structure and set of rules. / Program: Bibliotekarie

This study examines the closure of public libraries, and the nonprofit organizations takeover of them as a phenomenon. The aim is to understand why the nonprofit takeover is common and what the takeover symbolizes and if the discourse in media invokes the views on libraries and the profession.Interviews were made with librarians, politicians and representatives of a nonprofit organization to study different sides of the phenomenon. Other empirical data were found in local and national newspapers and media-channels. I discovered that public libraries are highly valued by both politicians and the community. The study also showed that a library in a community makes people feel valued. It is often the economical problems of the communities that increases the risk of library closures. The politicians request in media, where they sometimes demand nonprofit organizations to take over library activity, can reflect upon the value of the profession and the opinions about the field. The takeover seems to be an effort of keeping the symbol that the library represents in the community and it also seems to be a symbol for the community. The symbol is for example associated with a democratic meeting-place, education and integration. The librarian is associated with good service. This is a two years master’s thesis in library and information science.