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In this essay I have taken a look at the discourse surrounding the cunning folk of Swedish folklore. By analysing folk legends I have attempted to discover what place the cunning folk held in religious and secular society. Through analysis of the thoughts, beliefs and discourse surrounding what help, harm and use of religious symbols were ascribed to the cunning folk in the material I have come to the conclusion that the cunning folk existed in an ambivalent state within society. They were seen and talked of as both helpful and harmful, and they were placed on the outskirts of the practices of the Christian church. All of this in turn gave them a set a part position, both in a positive and negative sense, in both the religious and secular society alike. Through the theory and method of discourse analyses I will show how the societal discourse surrounding the cunning folk both shaped their place and was shaped by their presence in society.

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The aim of the present thesis is twofold: first, to analyse some practical ethical problems that stem from the workplace and the working environment and to offer guidelines concerning how such problems can be solved; second, to illuminate how the specific nature of work and the working environment is intimately connected to the relation between the employee and the employing entity, as set forth in an employment contract, and how the form and content of such contracts are, among other things, determined by culturally and socially established ideas. The normative question to be addressed is thus: which of these ideas should be maintained? This can be seen as a second-order, or more fundamental, ethical question whose answer depends on determining which normative principles are right. An additional aim of this thesis is thus to illuminate that the contract relation has relevance to practical ethical problems in the workplace context in this second-order mode. The thesis consists of an Introduction and five papers. In Paper I (written together with Sven Ove Hansson) we argue that employees have a prima facie right to privacy, but that this right can be overridden by competing moral principles that follow, explicitly or implicitly, from the contract of employment. A set of ethical criteria is developed and summarized in the form of a guideline for determining the moral status of infringements into workplace privacy. In Paper II these criteria are applied to three broad classes of privacy-intrusive workplace practices: (1) monitoring and surveillance, (2) genetic testing, and (3) drug testing. In relation to some scenarios on these themes, it is shown that it is possible to handle such practical ethical problems systematically by way of the proposed guideline. Paper III deals with the fact that employees are protected by health and safety standards that are less protective than those that apply to the general public. Emphasis is put on the distinction between exposure and risk, and this distinction is claimed to be a key determinant for the relevance of arguments put forward in support of such double standards. In Paper IV the nature of the contract of employment is explored from an ethical point of view. An argument is developed against the claim that (a) the individual’s freedom of decision and (b) the practice of institutional arrangements are sufficient to justify a contract of employment. Paper V questions the standpoint that the voluntariness of the contracting parties in an employment relationship has substantial value. One overarching issue concerns the meaning of voluntariness in the employment context, another, its normative importance. It is argued that it is indeterminate exactly where the line should be drawn between voluntary and non–voluntary agreements in this context. Concerning the latter issue, it is claimed that even if we were able to draw such a line, this fact does not tell us anything about the normative importance of the voluntariness condition, nor how much normative weight we should assign to the fulfilment of its conditions in the workplace context. / QC 20100915

<p> This thesis explores the question: can an ecocritical approach to environmental virtue ethics (EVE) in undergraduate climate change education inform students' understanding of the ethical issues of climate change and promote environmental responsibility and action? Philosophical theories of virtue ethics will be discussed from an historical perspective as well as to its renewal in the 20^th century, especially within the context of the wicked dimensions of the climate change crisis. Dominant themes in climate change ethics including concerns over the scientific complexity, global dimensions, temporal issues, intergenerational fairness and responsibility, justice, and human rights will be presented and used to devise a compendium of climate change virtues and vices. Environmental and climate change education research will be reviewed as well as the reasons for its failure to produce a substantial shift in attitudes and behavior of people especially in the global North will be deliberated. Ecocriticism, which studies the relationship between literature and visual and audial art will be explored, and a novel curriculum based on theoretical elements from climate change virtue ethics and supported with examples of the ecocritical arts will be proposed. It is my belief that an interdisciplinary framework supported and illustrated by climate change ecocriticism from any and all of the literary, visual, audial, and performance arts will create deeper understandings of climate change complexity.</p>

Litterär och historisk studie av Apostlagärningarna 10:1-48 som försöker svara på frågeställningarna: Hur presenterar Apg 10:1–48 inkluderingen av hedningar i den tidiga judiska Jesusrörelsen? Vilka problem övervinns och vilka aktörer driver igenom förändringen? Uppstatsen studerar både perikopen i sitt historiska sammanhang och genom att studera narrativet. För att närma sig texten och se vilka bibliska motiv det finns för att möjliggöra den etiskt pluralistiska religion kristendomen är idag. Uppsatsen studerar litteratur historiska länkar, judiska renhetsföreskrifter, geografiska platser för perikopen, de olika karaktärerna och narrativets struktur.

At the start of his premiership UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, spoke of ensuring that Britain continues with its proud history of multiculturalism by developing programmes to further integrate communities and reduce tensions resulting from immigration. Initially this programme was successful and many hailed the drive of New Labour in its desire to ensure that Britain sold itself as a welcoming place to call home. However, this celebration of success has been called into question over the first two decades of the new millennium following the seemingly steady increase in terrorist attacks and foiled attacks – many of which have been linked to British-born actors or immigrants to Britain. Thus, this study will call into question the extent to which the UKs multiculturalist approach has hit a stumbling block, positing that it is the change in approach to counter-terrorism through its Prevent programme that has led it to unlearn’ lessons from Northern Ireland and actively ensured a backward step through alienating the very communities it is trying to engage. It will examine the extent to which this seemingly more suspicious and divisive government-led approach alienates rather than celebrates cultural diversity, creating an environment ripe for radicalisation, in direct contrast to its aim, using Critical Discourse Analysis to show that the government’s approach from 2005 to the present day become entrenched as a result of the ‘new narrative’ of the ‘new age of terrorism’ and that this has led to a development of an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ approach which is not taking into account the necessary holistic approach to counter-terrorism, instead alienating Muslim communities and creating a hostile environment made worse by the permeation of suspicion from the general public who have bought into the narrative following more than a decade of its telling.

Att komma som invandrare till Sverige kan säkert vara omvälvande på många olika sätt. De som kommer hit är alla egna individer och bär på sina alldeles egna historier. Integrationsprocessen i ett samhälle kan ske på många olika vis. I Karlskoga finns en egen modell som utgår enbart från kvinnor. Tanken är att på ett unikt sätt hjälpa dessa in i det nya samhället. Modellen består i ett så kallat Tehus som fungerar likt en mötesplats enbart för kvinnor. På Tehuset ges möjlighet till studier i det svenska språket och samhällsinformation. Platsen är även öppen för umgänge och andra aktiviteter. Planen med modellen är således att denna del av integration ska ske i en, för kvinnorna, trygg miljö. Vi har valt att undersöka just denna miljö.Med tanke på att Sverige är ett av världens mest jämställda länder, var vår tanke att ta reda på om Tehusets form av integration är korrekt eller möjligen exkluderande. Vi har undersökt om det finns ett behov av en mötesplats enbart för invandrarkvinnor, och om de besökande kvinnorna upplever det positivt att det inte finns män på mötesplatsen. Samt i fall de skulle besöka Tehuset även om mötesplatsen var öppen för båda könen.

In this essay I explore how early African-American gospel music can be interpreted from a theological liberation perspective. To highlight the most important parts of liberation theology, I take help from Gustavo Gutiérrez' A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation, and James H. Cone's Speaking the truth: ecumenism, liberation and black theology. Both of these are representative in respective area. Gutiérrez within Latin-American liberation theology, and Cone within African-American liberation theology. To explain the background and theology of gospel I mainly use the works Holiness and Worldliness: Theologies of Black Gospel Music in the Sanctified Church by Awet Andemicael and Black Gospel Music and Black Theology by Louis-Charles Harvey. I then exemplify the theology of gospel by presenting and analyzing a selection of popular gospel lyrics, with a liberation theme. This selection includes "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen", "Oh Mary Don't You Weep", "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" and "Through It All". An expression of a spiritual liberation through Jesus is found in these gospel lyrics, while an expression of political liberation is found only in the shadow of the spiritual. This I problematize, and aim some criticism towards Cone and Harvey. They argue that in African-American and gospel theology, Jesus gives strength for the weak, so that they may be able to fight for their own liberation. I then conclude that gospel cannot be understood as a complete expression of liberation theology, but as a part of it. Even as a part of the liberation process. Meaning that in the process where the African-American Christian seek God, she finds the Holy Spirit who guides her to gospel music. Through gospel the African-American can express her emotions and thereby grow closer to Jesus, who provides her with strength. This leads to the liberation of the African-American Christian.

This paper addresses a design exploration focusing on interactive jewellery and wearable computing that could affect sexual harassment in social contexts in everyday life. Drawing on a design inquiry study that lead to the creation of an interactive and digital necklace named Sunshine, which is a personal alarm connected to an emergency center, this paper focuses on how a piece of digital jewellery can contribute to women’s empowerment in relation to sexual harassment. The functionality of Sunshine is based on a device that will be activated when the user presses a button on the necklace and an alert with the location of the user will be sent to an alarm center. The users press the button when in danger or exposed to violence and/or abuse. This study so forth addresses a design exploration of a piece of jewellery that can be seen as a symbol for women’s safety, unity and equality. The combination of digital technology and fashion design demonstrate that people can be brought together and especially be empowering in social contexts where sexual harassment might be a part of women’s everyday life. / <p>Självständigt Examensarbete (Forskningsartikel)</p>