Högstadieungdomar skriver historia på bloggen : undervisning, literacy och historiemedvetande i ett nytt medielandskap

The purpose of this thesis is to study the literacy formed when a class blog is used as a tool for students studying history and explore how this particular literacy is used to generate historical knowledge. The study was conducted during the course of a project in which ninth-grade students contributed entries to a common blog in the form of a diary written by individuals who experienced the Second World War. Its three major objectives were to study the students' perception of the blog in relation to their gender and level of historical knowledge; how they and their teacher esta-blished and used the formed literacy; and how the students related to this in the production of historical knowledge. In analyzing the results, a concept of literacy was used based on seven writing practices all linked to the new medium and history education. The study was based on a questionnaire, interviews and various student texts. In order to perform a content analysis on the study results a theoretical frame­work for historical conscious-ness was included. The results show that in using the writing practices a literacy character­ized by colla-borative authorship was formed. The study concludes that this affects both what and how the students learn. Together they show each other that history is comprised of many small stories, not necessarily strictly co­herent with the general history as told by their textbooks. Examining the students’ blog entries made a new learning process visible that enabled the enhancement of their historical consciousness.  

Familjemedlem till person med psykossjukdom : bemötande och utanförskap i psykiatrisk vård

This thesis focused on the situation of family members of persons with psychotic illness, particular on their experience of the approach of the healthcare professionals and of their feelings of alienation regarding the professional care of their family member. A further aim was to explore how siblings who have participated in a support group for siblings experienced their situation. A questionnaire was developed that enabled the aims of this thesis to be investigated (I). Seventy family members from various parts of Sweden participated, and data were collected via the questionnaire developed in study I (II-III). Thirteen siblings who previously had participated in a support group participated in follow-up focus groups interviews (IV). The questionnaire developed was shown to be reliable and valid in these studies (I). In many cases, the participants had experienced an approach from professionals that indicated that they did not experience openness, confirmation and cooperation, and that they felt powerless and socially isolated in relation to the care. There was also found to be a certain degree of association between how the participants experienced the approach and whether they felt alienation (II). The majority of the participants considered openness, confirmation, and cooperation to be important aspects of professional’s approach. The result also identified a low level of agreement between the participants’ experience and what they considered to be significant in the professional’s approach (III). The findings revealed the complexity of being a sibling of an individual with psychotic illness. Participating in a support group for siblings can be of importance in gaining knowledge and minimizing feelings of being alone (IV). Although the psychiatric care services in Sweden have been aware of the importance of cooperating with family members, the results indicated that there is a need for further research in this area.

Omvårdnadspersonals upplevelser av vård i livets slutskede : En kvalitativ intervjustudie

Syftet: Syftet med studien var att beskriva hur omvårdnadspersonal inom kommunens särskilda boende och korttidsboende upplever att vårda personer i livets slutskede.Metod: Studien bygger på åtta kvalitativa intervjuer med undersköterskor. Datainsamlingsmetoden baserades på Critical Incident Technique och som analysmetod användes kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: I intervjuerna framkom att samarbetet till de övriga i teamet och närstående hade en stor och avgörande betydelse för hur vården utvecklades. Omvårdnadspersonalen kände ibland att sjuksköterskan saknades i vissa omvårdnadssituationer. Fördelning av personal under dygnet bidrog till kontinuitet i samverkan. De upplevde att olika faktorer i miljön kunde vara både till hjälp eller till hinder i samspelet till den döende och närstående. De intervjuade talade också om vikten av att respektera patientens vilja. Omvårdnadspersonalen gav även stöd till de närstående och de kom familjerna nära. De upplevde att närvaro utan krav och stress var av betydelse för interaktionen till den döende och dess närstående. Det var viktigt att både den döende och de närstående var tillfreds med symtomlindringen. Det var viktigt att få ge ett värdigt omhändertagande efter döden. Slutsats: Det genomgåendet temat visade att interaktion och samverkan med vårdteamet, närstående och patienten var av avgörande betydelseför hur vården i livets slut skulle bli trygg och värdig.

Att bli, att vara och att ha varit - om ingångar i och utgångar ur Jehovas vittnen i Sverige

Summary To become, to be and to have been: about the  Jehovah’s Witnesses The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, in the following text referred to as the Jehovah’s Witnesses or “the organisation”, is a worldwide Christian organisation with about 6.7 million members. The organisation has many times, without any success so far, proclaimed Armageddon when they expect Jehovah to return to Earth. They interpret the Bible in their own, often very literal way, and require their members to live according to these interpretations. Among the consequences of this, members are forbidden to vote, to do military service or to receive blood transfusions. Apart from attending the three weekly meetings, members are expected to be active in missionary work, known as “publishing”. If a member fails to do a certain number of hours’ publishing, he or she risks being deprived of active membership status Sweden in general is considered to be a society where the population is not very religious. The formerly state-governed Lutheran church has lost its influence and the vast majority of ordinary Swedes do not visit church on other occasions than weddings, funerals or christenings. Expressing one’s own religious values has become somewhat of a private matter where publicity is seldom appreciated, which is contrary to the practice of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. This is one of the reasons why the Jehovah’s Witnesses are commonly perceived by average Swedes as a “suspicious” religious organisation. The aim and methods of the study This dissertation seeks to describe and investigate the entering and leaving of a highly structured and hierarchical religious community, exemplified in this case by the Jehovah’s Witnesses. What are the thoughts and aspirations of someone who is considering becoming a Jehovah’s Witness? What are the priorities and what experiences seem important when a person is going through such a process? And when this person has finally reached his or her goal of becoming a member, is it the same motivation that makes him or her stay in the organisation for longer periods of time, possibly for the rest of their lives, or does it change during the process of entering, or does this motivation change its character during the transition from entering to being a regular member? Why do some of the members change their attitude to the Jehovah’s Witnesses from rejoicing to bitterness? And how does this process of exit manifest itself? In what way is it different from the process of entry? The respondents in this study were chosen from both active members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Sweden and those who have left the organisation for personal reasons. Repeated interviews with ten active members of the organisation have been conducted in the course of the study and compared to equal numbers of former members. The interviews have been semi-structured to deal with questions of how a person has come into contact with the organisation; how they retrospectively experienced the process of entry; the reasons for becoming a member. Questions have also been asked about life in the organisation. The group of “exiters” have also been asked about the experience of leaving, why they wanted to leave, and how this process was started and carried out. In addition to this I have analysed a four-year diary describing the time inside and the process of leaving the organisation. This has given me an extra psychological insight into the inner experience of someone who has gone through the whole process. The analysis has been done by categorising the content of the transcribed interviews. An attempt to outline a model of an entry and exit process has been made, based on ideas and interpretations presented in the interviews. The analysis of the diary has involved thorough reading, resulting in a division of it into four different parts, where each part has been given a certain key-word, signifying the author’s emotional state when writing it. A great deal of the information about the Jehovah’s Witnesses has been collected through discussion boards on the Internet, informal talks with members and ex-members, interviews with representatives of the organisations during visits to its different offices (Bethels), such as St. Petersburg, Russia, and Brooklyn, New York, USA. The context Each organisation evolves in its own context with its own norms, roles and stories that would not survive outside it. With this as a starting point, there is a chapter dedicated to the description of the organisation’s history, structure and activities. It has been stated that the organisation’s treatment of its critical members and the strategies for recruiting new members have evolved over the years of its history. At the beginning there was an openness allowing members to be critical. As the structure of the organisation has become more rigid and formalised, the treatment of internal critics has become much less tolerated and exclusion has become a frequent option. As a rule many new members have been attracted to the organisation when (1) the day of Armageddon has been pronounced to be approaching; (2) the members of the organisation have been persecuted or threatened with persecution; and (3) the organisation has discovered a “new market”. The processes for entering and exiting How the entering processes manifest themselves depends on whether the person has been brought up in the organisation or not. A person converting as an adult has to pass six phases before being considered a Jehovah’s Witness by the organisation. These are:  Contact with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Studying the bible with members of the organisation, Questioning, Accepting, Being active as publisher (spreading the belief), Being baptised.  For a person brought up in the organisation, the process to full membership is much shorter:   Upbringing in the organisation, Taking a stand on the belief, Being baptised. The exit process contains of seven phases:   Different levels of doubts, Testing of doubts, Turning points, Different kinds of decisions, Different steps in executing the decisions, Floating, a period of emotional and cognitive consideration of membership and its experiences, Realtive neutrality.   The process in and the process out are both slow and are accompanied with anguish and doubts. When a person is going through the process in or out of the organisation he or she experiences criticism. This is when people around the adept question the decision to continue in the process. The result of the criticism depends on where in the process the person is. If he or she is at the beginning of the process, the criticism will probably make the person insecure and the process will slow down or stop. If the criticism is pronounced in a later phase, the process will probably speed up. The norms of the organisation affect the behaviour of the members. There are techniques for inclusion that both bind members to the organisation and shield them off from the surrounding society. Examples of techniques for inclusion are the “work situation” and “closed doors”. The work situation signifies that members who do as the organisation recommends – doing simple work – often end up in the same branch of industry as many other Jehovah’s Witnesses. This often means that the person has other witnesses as workmates. If the person is unemployed or moves to another town it is easy to find a new job through connections in the organisation. Doubts and exclusions can lead to problems since they entail a risk of losing one’s job. This can also result in problems getting a new job. Jehovah’s Witnesses are not supposed to talk to excluded members, which of course mean difficulties working together. “Closed doors” means that members who do as the organisation recommends – not pursuing higher education, not engaging in civil society, working with a manual or in other way simple job, putting much time into the organisation – will, after a long life in the organisation, have problems starting a new life outside the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The language used in the organisation shows the community among the members, thus the language is one of the most important symbols. A special way of thinking is created through the language. It binds members to the organisation and sometimes it can work as a way to get back into the normative world of the organisation. Randall Collins’s (1990, 2004) thoughts about “emotional energy” have enabled an understanding of the solidarity and unity in the organisation. This also gives an understanding of the way the members treat doubting and critical members. The members who want to exit have to open up the binding/screening off. A possible way to do that is through language, to become aware of the effect the language might have. Another way is to search for emotional energy in another situation. During the exit process, shame might be of some importance. When members become aware of the shame they feel, because they perceive they are “acting a belief”, the exit process might accelerate.

Patienters upplevelser av vilka faktorer som har betydelse i vården på specialistsjuksköterskeledda hjärtsviktsmottagningar. : En kvalitativ studie

Bakgrund: Hjärtsvikt är ett vanligt och allvarligt tillstånd med hög dödlighet, sjuklighet och försämrad livskvalité. Det beräknas att omkring en kvarts miljon personer i Sverige har kronisk hjärtsvikt. Inrättandet av specialistsjuksköterskeledda hjärtsviktsmottagningar med läkarstöd har förbättrat behandlingen av patienter med hjärtsvikt. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka patienters upplevelser av vilka faktorer som har betydelse i vården på specialistsjuksköterskeledda hjärtsviktsmottagningar. Metod: En intervjustudie med semistrukturerade frågor har använts. En kvalitativ manifest innehållsanalys användes för att analysera det material som framkom vid intervjuerna. Informanterna valdes ut genom ett strategiskt urval. Resultat: Resultatet visade att en fungerande vårdrelation med sjukvården som representerades av specialistsjuksköterska på hjärtsviktsmottagningen samt information för att klara av sin egenvård var av betydelse för informanterna. En god vårdrelation beskrivs av informanterna i studien att den innehåller kontinuitet, tillit till specialistsjuksköterska, samarbete med vårdpersonal, ett bekräftande bemötande samt tillgänglighet vid behov. Konklusion: Vården på specialistsjuksköterskeledda hjärtsviktsmottagningar är betydelsefull för patienters trygghet. Det förefaller viktigt att få veta vem hjärtsviktspatienterna ska kontakta vid behov av stöd och hjälp för att hantera sin situation. Möjligheten att kontakta specialistsjuksköterska när behovet fanns upplevdes betydelsefull. Information om egenvård uppfattades av informanterna som viktigt och som ett stöd i det dagliga livet.

"Ungerska för rötternas skull" : Språkval och identitet bland andragenerationens ungrare i Sverige och Finland

This thesis is a comparative sociolinguistic study which describes and compares language choice among people with Hungarian background in Sweden and Finland and studies their views on the importance of the Hungarian language and Hungarian cultural heritage for identity. The future prospects of language maintenance and language shift and differences between the Swedish-Hungarians and the Finnish-Hungarians are discussed. A survey was completed among 50 Swedish-Hungarian informants and 38 Finnish-Hungarian informants during 2006. The survey was supplemented by in-depth interviews with 15 informants during 2007. The majority language, either Swedish or Finnish, is much more active in the second-generation Hungarians’ lives than Hungarian is. Hungarian is mostly used in the domain of family relations. The language choices made today are dependent on the informant’s situation during childhood, particularly the parents’ usage of the language and the ability to learn and use Hungarian, chiefly gained through contact with the parents’ mother country and other Hungarian speakers. For some informants, having Hungarian roots forms the sole foundation for belonging, while for others it is this heritage combined with the culture, the ability to use the language or specific character traits. The Hungarian background is most often seen as a treasure offering diversity in life. Finnish-Hungarians are generally more positive about their Hungarian background, have better competence in the language and a greater awareness of the culture than Swedish-Hungarians. The Hungarian language plays a central though often symbolic role. The most important conditions for minority language preservation are language competence together with the desire and opportunity to use it; whereof the largest deficit among second-generation Hungarians is knowledge of the Hungarian language. Only one-fourth of the informants have all of the conditions necessary to be able to maintain the language, which means that Hungarian is an endangered minority language in Sweden and Finland.

Resan till samhället : En kvalitativ utvärderingsstudie av en mottagningsenhet i mellansverige

In present study interviews with five officials and the gathering of documentation carried out in a reception center for newly arrived refugees located in a medium-sized municipality in central Sweden. The aim has been on the basis of the collected empirical data to evaluate how the municipality worked to promote the integration of newcomers, what measures were available, whether there were existing goals, and how they were formulated, and the extent to which they were implemented. This constituted, together with earlier research and systems theory based framework for the study's conclusions. The study showed that communication between and within the investigated unit was partly flawed. It has also showed that there was a degree of conflict in organizational approaches within the examined entity which could cause bottlenecks in the activity. The current study also showed the difficulty in estimating the resources currently needed to cover the need of, among others, Swedish for immigrants.

Flyktingguide: En väg till integration? : Brukarutvärdering av projektet Flyktingguide i Falun

In this qualitative user evaluation participants in the project refugee guide, Falun, was interviewed about their experience of the project and how the project contributed to their integration into society and establishment on the labor market. The collection of empirical data has been made by six interviews. The results of the evaluation indicate that participants feel that they through the project had the opportunity to meet new people, practice the language and learn about each other's culture. The results also show that participants are satisfied with the project. Some participants expressed a desire to meet with several people at once while others don´t have that need. Furthermore, the interviews shows that establishment on labor market occurred through job placement and not through participation in the project. Integration proved to be a difficult concept to define, but the interviews show that the participants have a perception that it is about learning the Swedish language and culture.

Manlig utsatthet för våld i nära relationer : En kvalitativ studie om socialsekreterares arbete med män som utsätts för våld i nära relationer

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om socialarbetare tillämpar genusmedvetenhet i arbetet med personer som är utsatta för våld i nära relationer, och hur det i så fall uttrycker sig i mötet med dessa klienter. För att besvara dessa frågeställningar har en kvalitativ ansats tillämpats, med vinjettintervjuer som metod. Den hypotetiske klienten var för tre av informanterna en våldsutsatt man och för tre informanter en våldsutsatt kvinna. Informanternas svar jämfördes sedan och analyserades med hjälp av tidigare forskning på området samt teorier om genus, stereotyper och institutionalisering. De slutsatser vi kunnat dra genom denna studie är att socialarbetare till viss mån påverkas av könsstereotypa föreställningar och att man gör skillnad mellan könen vad gäller insatser, bedömningar och bemötande. Dock har vi även sett att det alltid finns en vilja att hjälpa klienten om behovet finns, i den mån det är möjligt utifrån bland annat det politiska och ekonomiska läget.

Samtal sent i livet : Samtalsstöd för äldre ur ett professionellt perspektiv

Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur omsorgspersonal inom äldreomsorgen upplever äldres behov av samtalsstöd. Metoden som har använts är kvalitativ i form av individuella semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex informanter som arbetar som omsorgspersonal inom den kommunala äldreomsorgen. De teoretiska utgångspunkter som har tillämpats är socialkonstruktionism samt Erik Homburger Eriksons teori om människans livsstadier. Resultatet av studien visar att det enligt omsorgspersonalen finns ett samtalsbehov hos brukare inom äldreomsorgen som inte alltid kan tillgodoses idag på grund av omsorgspersonalens tidsbrist samt avsaknad av kompetens i att möta djupa frågor. Kuratorer inom äldreomsorgen skulle kunna bidra med samtalsstöd för äldre samt vara ett stöd för anhöriga och personal. Resultatet antyder till att behovet av kuratorer inom äldreomsorgen kommer att öka. Framtidens äldre förmodas ställa mer krav än de gör idag på att få samtalsstöd eftersom denna insats blir högre och mer accepterad i samhället.

Skolkuratorns roll i arbetet mot mobbning : En kvalitativ studie

Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur skolkuratorerna upplever sitt arbete mot mobbning och hur de praktiskt arbetar mot mobbning. Metoden var kvalitativ och intervjuer genomfördes med sju skolkuratorer på olika skolor i två mindre kommuner. Studien visade att skolkuratorerna vill arbeta mer med det förebyggande arbetet mot mobbningen än det finns tid till. Deras arbete handlar mycket om att gå in och hjälpa där behovet och mobbningsproblematiken redan finns. I de metoder och program som finns att tillgå i arbetet mot mobbningen är det inget som rekommenderas utan det är upp till skolkuratorerna att själva utforma en metod som ska passa den individuella eleven. Det finns ett behov av att utveckla ett program- och metodkoncept som motsvarar dagens problematik.

Etnisk identitet i en föränderlig värld : Upplevelser av etnisk identitet hos unga vuxna med utländsk bakgrund

Studiens syfte är att uppnå en förståelse över om och hur unga vuxna med utländsk bakgrund upplever att deras syn på sin etniska identitet har påverkats av en uppväxt i ett samhälle där de parallellt tillhör en majoritets- och minoritetsbefolkning. Studien syftar även till att undersöka om och hur deras etniska identitet har påverkat relationen till deras familj. Kvalitativa datainsamlingsmetoder har använts i form av en fokusgruppsintervju samt fyra individuella intervjuer. Materialet har analyserats utifrån sociologiska teorier om etnisk identitet. Utifrån insamlad empiri och analys av resultatet så dras slutsatsen att synen på den etniska identiteten är starkt situationsanpassad. Majoriteten av informanterna uttryckte en känsla av en "både och" identitet, där de upplevde två etniska identifikationer. Informanterna växlar mellan dessa identiteter beroende på vad som är mest passande utifrån aktuell situation. Studiens resultat visar även att familjen tycks spela en betydande roll för individernas syn på sin etniska identitet.

Pedagogisk dokumentation i förskolan : En intervjustudie om några förskollärares uppfattningar om begreppet pedagogisk dokumentation och dess innebörd

I dagens förskoleverksamhet är det i regel ett måste att dokumentera lärandeprocesser för att kunna uppfylla samtliga mål i utbildningsplaner och bistå med god utbildningskvalitet. Pedagogisk dokumentation – som grundades av Reggio Emilia – är ett utvärderingsverktyg som skall observera barnets lärandeprocesser samt förskollärarnas förhållningssätt. I vardagliga situationer i förskoleverksamheten har pedagogisk dokumentation många fördelar som kan kartlägga och ge bra förutsättningar genom att skapa förståelse för hur barn lär sig och utvecklas bäst. Syftet med denna studie var att genomföra en litteraturstudie i kombination med kvalitativa intervjuer som utgick ifrån följande frågeställningar: Hur definierar förskollärare begreppet dokumentation respektive pedagogisk dokumentation? Hur beskriver förskollärare arbetet med pedagogisk dokumentation? Och hur menar förskollärare att arbetet med pedagogisk dokumentation utvecklar verksamheten? Intervjuerna transkriberades och kategoriserades sedan kring hur förskollärarna använder pedagogisk dokumentation, hur synen på pedagogisk dokumentation ser ut samt vilka olika arbetssätt som används. Vid färdigställande av resultatet framgick det att tre av fyra respondenter upplevde pedagogisk dokumentation som något positivt och modernt. En respondent av fyra fann inte pedagogisk dokumentation som ett bra hjälpmedel för utvärdering, då verktyget kan vara oetiskt på så sätt att det kan användas som ett bedömningsverktyg på det enskilda barnet. Diskussionsavsnittet kopplar samman tidigare forskning med förskollärarnas svar kring hur de ser på pedagogisk dokumentation, hur de beskriver arbetet med pedagogisk dokumentation och hur arbetssättet kan utveckla verksamheten.

Kreativitet under stress : En studie i att vara kreativ på beställning

En grafisk designer måste kunna producera oavsett vilka förhållanden som råder. Rapporten behandlar vad korta och långa deadlines har för inverkan på denna förmåga och hur kreativiteten kan främjas vid stressiga situationer. Semistrukturerade djupintervjuer utfördes med åtta Art- och Creative directors i Gävledala-regionen för att undersöka hur de upplevde att vara kreativa under stressiga förhållanden. Resultatet visade att det generellt inte var ett problem för studiens respondenter att vara kreativa på beställning men att de inte heller följde några specifika metoder för att underlätta arbetsflödet. Det visade sig även att det snarare var arbetsbördan och mängden arbetsuppgifter som påverkade stressfaktorn än en specifik tidsram.

Non-take up i det svenska välfärdssystemet : Om betydelsen av social position för kvinnors beslut kring mammografiscreening

Non-take up in the Swedish welfare system: On the impact of social position on women’s decision-making regarding mammography screening Central to a well-functioning and effective welfare system is that benefits reach the people to whom they are intended. By focusing on an example of so called non-take up – namely women’s decision not to attend mammography screening – this article discusses decision making in relation to living conditions, i.e. social position, and to the public health intentions of the welfare state. The main theoretical basis for the analysis is Rogers’ humanistic/existential theory. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were made with 18 women who had abstained from mammography screening. Their decision was described, analyzed and problematized focused on whether their living conditions, leading to a strong or weak social position, is of relevance to their decision to refrain from this health promoting examination. The women’s own experiences clearly showed how their social position was of great importance for how they explained their decision to abstain. Furthermore, social position affects how women handle different impact from living conditions, society’s expectations and personal experiences of mammography screening. This study makes visible the gap between public health intentions of the society and individual conditions.