With the surge of constructivism, which values non-material factors and ideational variables, norm research became the center of interest in International Relations scholarship. The early constructivist theory is suitable for showing how a norm could be replaced by another but incapable of explaining how a norm itself changes. Hence, the next challenge for constructivism would be demonstrating a norm change mechanism. The purpose of this research is to fill a gap in the international norm literature. From a constructivist perspective, this research suggests a cyclic model of international norm change and verifies its plausibility by examining the empirical evidence of change in the international norm of self-determination. Although self-determination is one of the essential norms in the contemporary international order, it has yet to be investigated within international norm literature. Unlike the static model of early constructivists, the cyclic model of international norm change demonstrates a clear framework to see how the norm of self-determination has changed over time and explains why norm structures are sometimes stable and other times volatile. / Com o surgimento do construtivismo, que valoriza fatores não materiais e variáveis ideacionais, a pesquisa de normas tornou-se o centro de interesse em estudos de Relações Internacionais. A teoria construtivista inicial é adequada para mostrar como uma norma pode ser substituída por outra, mas incapaz de explicar como uma norma se modifica. Assim, o próximo desafio para o construtivismo seria demonstrar o mecanismo de mudança de norma. O objetivo desta pesquisa é preencher uma lacuna na literatura internacional de normas. De uma perspectiva construtivista, esta pesquisa sugere um modelo cíclico de mudança internacional de normas e verifica sua plausibilidade examinando as evidências empíricas de mudança na norma internacional de autodeterminação. Embora a autodeterminação seja uma das normas essenciais na ordem internacional contemporânea, ela ainda precisa ser investigada dentro da literatura internacional de normas. Ao contrário do modelo estático dos primeiros construtivistas, o modelo cíclico da mudança internacional de normas demonstra uma estrutura clara para ver como a norma de autodeterminação mudou ao longo do tempo e explica por que as estruturas normativas são às vezes estáveis e outras voláteis.

With the surge of constructivism, which values non-material factors and ideational variables, norm research became the center of interest in International Relations scholarship. The early constructivist theory is suitable for showing how a norm could be replaced by another but incapable of explaining how a norm itself changes. Hence, the next challenge for constructivism would be demonstrating a norm change mechanism. The purpose of this research is to fill a gap in the international norm literature. From a constructivist perspective, this research suggests a cyclic model of international norm change and verifies its plausibility by examining the empirical evidence of change in the international norm of self-determination. Although self-determination is one of the essential norms in the contemporary international order, it has yet to be investigated within international norm literature. Unlike the static model of early constructivists, the cyclic model of international norm change demonstrates a clear framework to see how the norm of self-determination has changed over time and explains why norm structures are sometimes stable and other times volatile. / Com o surgimento do construtivismo, que valoriza fatores não materiais e variáveis ideacionais, a pesquisa de normas tornou-se o centro de interesse em estudos de Relações Internacionais. A teoria construtivista inicial é adequada para mostrar como uma norma pode ser substituída por outra, mas incapaz de explicar como uma norma se modifica. Assim, o próximo desafio para o construtivismo seria demonstrar o mecanismo de mudança de norma. O objetivo desta pesquisa é preencher uma lacuna na literatura internacional de normas. De uma perspectiva construtivista, esta pesquisa sugere um modelo cíclico de mudança internacional de normas e verifica sua plausibilidade examinando as evidências empíricas de mudança na norma internacional de autodeterminação. Embora a autodeterminação seja uma das normas essenciais na ordem internacional contemporânea, ela ainda precisa ser investigada dentro da literatura internacional de normas. Ao contrário do modelo estático dos primeiros construtivistas, o modelo cíclico da mudança internacional de normas demonstra uma estrutura clara para ver como a norma de autodeterminação mudou ao longo do tempo e explica por que as estruturas normativas são às vezes estáveis e outras voláteis.

How do international norms travel, via statebuilding efforts, into post-conflict settings, and how do international and national actors interact in this process? These are the main questions addressed in this thesis. The empirical focus is the spreading and rooting of the norm of women’s political rights in Cambodia and Timor-Leste, two countries in which international actors have played a significant role in statebuilding efforts. Although statebuilding has increasingly become a part of UN peacebuilding missions, we still lack a thorough understanding of how much, and in what ways, the international community can successfully promote change. This is important in view of the fact that the key to success ultimately depends on how the receiving community responds to the presence and efforts of international actors to promote new social norms.  This study analyzes the interaction between international and national actors engaged in the promotion of women’s political rights as part of the effort to advance democracy. Three institutional developments are examined in detail – electoral rules and regulations, the establishment of a national gender equality/women’s machinery and the strengthening of the local government structure. The study uses a modified norm diffusion approach and makes two theoretical contributions to the literature. First, I place the norm diffusion process in a post-conflict context. Second, I add the concept of capability to function in order to conceptualize and study the internalization of the norm. The thesis is based on both an analysis of written material and semi-structured interviews. A total of 65 interviews were conducted during three research trips to each of the countries between 2007 and 2009. In general, the four empirical chapters reveal that the interaction between international and national actors has predominantly been characterized by international actors setting the agenda, with varying degrees of consultation and collaboration with national actors. While norm institutionalization has been rather high in both countries, norm inter­nalization lags behind. This is explained by discriminating ways of life and attitudes, lack of resources and time. Norm internalization is higher in Timor-Leste, in part because national actors have adapted the norm of women’s political rights to fit the local setting, but also due to their openness to international influences. The empirical study underscores that international actors can push for change and norm adherence, but their efforts are not enough. In the end, national actors have to buy into the message that international actors try to convey. The strengths and weaknesses that have been uncovered in the Cambodian and Timorese case studies presented here should be carefully considered as international actors, led by the UN, embark upon future statebuilding missions around the globe.

Den svenska skolan är, framförallt i de tidigare åren, en könssegregerad arbetsplats. På gymnasial nivå synliggörs en del av segregationen i ämnet idrott och hälsa, där det arbetar ungefär dubbelt så många män som kvinnor. Historiskt sett har killar dominerat ämnet både när det gäller betyg och inflytande över innehållet. Syftet med detta arbete är att försöka belysa eventuella kopplingar mellan könet på läraren, könet på eleven och betyget i kursen idrott och hälsa A för att sedan jämföra det med resultatet från estetisk verksamhet A, ett annat ämne där lärarna är överrepresenterade av män. Arbetet har en kvantitativ ansats, där empirin är hämtad från Stockholm stads betygsdatabas ”Hanna”. De statistiska analyserna visar att det finns samband mellan könet på läraren och könet på eleven gällande de högsta respektive lägsta betygen. Manliga lärare sätter i lägre utsträckning IG på tjejer samt i lägre utsträckning MVG på killar, medan kvinnliga lärare i högre utsträckning sätter MVG på killar och i högre utsträckning sätter IG på tjejer. I betygsmedelvärde finner vi däremot inga samband mellan betyg och kön på lärare. Vi kan inte heller se några samband mellan kurserna med avseende på varken betygsfördelningen eller betygsmedelvärden. / The Swedish school is, especially in the earlier years, a gender-segregated workplace. Particularly in the subject Physical Education in the upper secondary school there are about twice as many men as women working as teachers. Historically the male students have been dominating in both the grades and impact on the content. The purpose of this paper is to try to highlight eventual correlation between the gender of the teacher, gender of the student and thegrade in Physical Education, followed by comparing those results with arts, where men are also in majority among teachers. This writing has a quantitative approach, where the empirical data is taken from the municipality of Stockholm and their database “Hanna”. The statistical analyses show that there is a correlation between the gender of the teacher and the student regarding the highest and lowest grades. Male teachers tend to grade girls higher than female teachers do, juxtaposed to female teachers where boys are graded higher than girls. In grade average we do not find any correlation, nor in between the courses based upon grades.

In this thesis we study Wiener’s lemma. The classical version of the lemma, whose realm is a Banach algebra, asserts that the pointwise inverse of a nonzero function with absolutely convergent Fourier expansion, also possesses an absolutely convergent Fourier expansion. The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate the validity inalgebras endowed with a quasi-norm or a p-norm.As a warmup, we prove the classical version of Wiener’s lemma using elemen-tary analysis. Furthermore, we establish results in Banach algebras concerning spectral theory, maximal ideals and multiplicative linear functionals and present a proof Wiener’s lemma using Banach algebra techniques. Let ν be a submultiplicative weight function satisfying the Gelfand-Raikov-Shilov condition. We show that if a nonzero function f has a ν-weighted absolutely convergent Fourier series in a p-normed algebra A. Then 1/f also has a ν-weightedabsolutely convergent Fourier series in A.

From an anti-oppressive and a gender perspective, the aim of this paper is to examine whether three English teachers at a comprehensive school in Stockholm make gender conscious selections when selecting novels for their English literature lessons. Through quantitative research, semi-structured interviews and e-mail interviews with these teachers I have attempted to find out if they include both male and female writers when selecting English novels for their students and also what factors affect their selections. I have analyzed the interviews and the quantitative research by using a qualitative and a quantitative content analysis. The theories that I have established my analysis upon are gender theories about the male norm in society, the feminist Simone de Beauvoir’s ideas about the woman as a second gender and the sociologist Raewyn Connell’s gender regimes. Furthermore, the Professor Kevin K. Kumashiro’s theories on anti-oppressive education have been very useful when interpreting my research. My results show that these teachers do not make gender conscious selections for their English literature lessons since they almost only choose novels written by men. They explain their choices to depend upon factors such as them wanting to individualize their literature lessons by selecting novels that their students will enjoy. They also elucidate the issue that the school only has a limited selection of novels to choose from, which narrows their choices. But I argue that since the teachers are able to purchase new novels to the school and also borrow class sets from the Public Library, they have the possibility to select novels by female writers as well. I interpret the fact that they almost only use novels written by men as a result of the male norm in society, which influences the teachers on a subconscious level. That the teachers select male writers prior to female writers results in the students achieving an inadequate education, given that they mostly learn about the male perspective upon the world, since the female angle is invisible. If these teachers would begin working from an anti-oppressive perspective and make gender conscious selections of novels for their English literature lessons, they must first be aware of how the male norm influences them.

Syftet med denna undersökning är att undersöka hur musikvideor producerade för barn i åldrarna mellan 4-12 år förmedlar skillnaden mellan det som betraktas som ”norm” och ”den andre” utifrån ett postkolonialt perspektiv. Utifrån detta övergripande syfte utgår studien utifrån följande frågeställningar: På vilket sätt upprätthåller musikvideor vars målgrupp är barn från 4-12 år den koloniala distinktionen mellan de som utgör ”norm” och de som utgör ”den andre”? Hur gestaltas ”den svarte andre” och ”den orientale andre” i musikvideorna? Vilka typer av konflikter och maktförhållanden produceras i materialet, vilka intentioner tycks framställningen ha? En kvalitativ text- och tolkningsanalys har tillämpats på undersökningens material där jag använt semiotikens teckenlära som analysmetod. I samverkan med semiotiken som metodologisk utgångspunkt ställde jag följande analysfrågor till texterna: Vad berättas uttryckligen i videorna? Hur framställs maktförhållanden och konflikter? Vilka stereotyper porträtteras? Vilka framstår som auktoriteter? Vilka kläder eller kroppsattribut förmedlas? Vilka beteenden syns? Vilka miljöer skildras? Till grund för undersökningen ligger det postkoloniala fältet där jag bland annat använt mig av teorier gällande västvärldens kunskapsproduktion om ”den andre”. Teorierna behandlar bland annat vilka faktorer som möjliggjort ett skillnadstänkande av grupper som betraktas som ”de andra”. I och med analysen blev det möjligt att urskönja gemensamma drag sinns emellan vissa utav musikvideorna, men även tydligt vilka skillnader som fans dem emellan. Exempelvis blev det möjligt att se vissa gemensamma drag beträffande maktutövning och framställningen av ”den andre”. Analysen belyser även med teoretisk anknytning hur skillnadstänkandet reproducerades i undersökningens material, samt vilka intentioner som tycks ligga bakom texterna.

Det huvudsakliga syftet med min studie har varit att undersöka hur några pedagoger tolkar begreppet inkludering samt hur detta begrepp kan komma till uttryck i deras arbete. Data har samlats in genom fokusintervjuer med sex pedagoger från två arbetslag på en F-5 skola i Stockholm. Frågeställningen har handlat om pedagogernas syn på inkludering, vilka tankar de hade kring inkluderande undervisning samt vilka eventuella svårigheter de såg med att arbeta inkluderande. Det framkom genom studien att det rådde delade meningar mellan informanterna om vad ett inkluderande arbetssätt var. Det ena arbetslaget hävdade att det innebar att alla elever skulle befinna sig i klassrummet för att känna sig inkluderade medans det andra arbetslaget menade att det handlade om att eleven skulle känna att den var en del av sammanhanget, oavsett var den befann sig någonstans. Att arbeta inkluderande i undervisningen betydde för många av pedagogerna att eleverna skulle känna att de hade lyckats. Läxor och genomgångar av lektioner anpassades efter elevernas olika nivåer och till sin hjälp tog pedagogerna sig större friheter i sina egna arbetssätt. Pedagogerna använde sig av olika metoder för att arbeta inkluderande i undervisningen och svårigheter de såg med detta arbetssätt handlade om att lyckas hålla alla elever i arbete hela tiden och utmana dem så långt som möjligt. De fann även svårigheter med att finna balansen mellan de elever som behövde mycket hjälp och de elever som var mer självgående. / The aim with my study was to examine how some tachers interpret the term inclusion and how they implement it in their work. Information has been collected through focus interviews with sex teachers from two pedagogical teams at an elementary school in Stockholm. The mail questions regarded the teachers view and thoughts on inclusion and also eventual difficulties they saw by working with inclusion within the classroom. The study showed that there was a difference of opinion between the interviewed teachers on what including workway was. One of the pedagogical teams said that all the students should be in the classroom in order to feel included. The other team said that it was not the classroom but that students should feel included in the learning process. Many of the teachers felt that working with inclusion through learning and teaching meant that the students should feel they succeeded. Homework and lessons were adapted to the student’s individual needs. Teachers used different methods in working with inclusion in their lessons. The difficulties they seen in their work were to succeed in keeping all the students working and challenge them as far as possible. There were also difficulties finding balance between those students who needed help and those that were independent.

Idag är debatten om läxor vanligt förekommande i såväl skolans sfär som i media och inom politiken. Dessa debatter kan ses som ett sätt att skapa en normalitet, och en strävan efter att få fler att ansluta sig till de olika parternas uttalade uppfattningar om läxans förekomst. Tillsammans med denna debatt utgör läroplanen några av de normer som skolans aktörer ska förhålla sig till gällande läxorna. Trots att läxan inte nämns i läroplanen så lever läxan vidare och vi väljer därför att betrakta läxan som en norm, som följs av inte bara skolans aktörer och eleverna utan även av föräldrar. Även fast läxan i huvudsak berör eleven anser vi att elevernas talan om läxor inte representeras i de debatter som förs, och vi undrar därför; var är elevernas talan om läxor? Vi har därför valt att anta ett elevperspektiv och använder oss av en diskursanalytisk ansats för att förmedla deras uppfattningar om läxor. Eftersom vi anser att läxan är en norm som konkurrerar med andra normer väljer vi att ta ett förhandlingsperspektiv och då studera; Vilka förhandlingar deltar eleverna i om läxor, och hur påverkas dessa förhandlingar av normer och diskurser?

The purpose of this study was to find out how gender roles are described in two popular children’s detective stories, one of them written in 2002 and the other in 1946, to be able to compare the two. In order to do this, I used a qualitative research method in which I read and analyzed the text and illustrations of the books out of a gender perspective.I used gender theories describing how stereotypical gender roles are displayed, and these theories were later associated with the books I studied. I also used previous research concerning gender roles in other children's books in order to compare those results with my own.After having read, analyzed and compared the two books, I found vast resemblances between them, but also certain differences. However, it is obvious that the gender roles in both books for the most part are traditional. It is mainly the girls (although not the adult women) that diverge from the stereotypical gender roles, but this is also what is most common and most acceptable in today's society.