Meningen och innebörden i det goda mötet för vårdgivaren : En fenomenologisk intervjustudie med kvalitativ ansats

The purpose with this qualitative interview-study was to try, from the carer´s point of view, to describe the meaning and the essence of the good meeting. The participants were selectively chosen and were all women of varying life- and professional experience. They were interviewed with four interrogative forms that dealt with the experiences of the meaning and the essence of the good meeting. The analysis of the contents of the four interviews produced five themes: the meaning and the essence of aware presence in the good meeting, the meaning and the essence of the personal alliance, the carer's need of being seen and getting appreciation, the courage to bring up insulting behaviors while still preserving the relationship, personal qualities of the care. Aware presence was to be a main theme through out the meeting. Mutual satisfaction and attention to personal boundaries was emphasized primarily in the personal alliance and trust and confidence was important. It was considered difficult, sharing your personality while still stake out boundaries. The carer also had the need to feel seen and to receive appreciation. The carer as a reward for a work, well done, took positive signals from the person in receipt of care. In close relationships and meetings, the carer sometimes felt insulted by the persons in receipt of care and their relatives. The informants to create the good meeting used personal qualities like courage, sensitivity, flair and common sense.

An analysis of Samoan reaction to The Orator (O Le Tulafale)’s Fāgogo defining Samoan identity

The Orator (O Le Tulafale) was promoted as the first Samoan language film shot in Samoa with a Samoan cast and crew. Written and directed by Samoan filmmaker Tusi Tamasese, the film succeeded at several of the movie industry’s prestigious festivals. The Orator (O Le Tulafale) is about an outcast family of a dwarf (Saili), his wife and her teenage daughter. As the main protagonist, Saili battles to overcome his fears to become a chief to save his family and land. The film’s themes are courage, love, honour , as well as hypocrisy, violence, and discrimination. A backlash by Samoans was predicted ; however, the opposite occurred. This raised the following questions: first, what is it about the film causing this reaction? It is a 106 -minute film shot in Samoa about Samoans and the Samoan culture . D espite promotional claims about the film , there have been Samoan -produced films in Samoa . Secondly, to what are Samoans really responding? Is it 1) just to the film because it is about Samoa, or 2) are they responding to themselves , and how they reacted during the act of watching the film? This implies levels of reactions in the act of watching, and examining the dominant level of response is important. To explore this, t he Samoan story telling technique of Fāgogo was used to analyse the film’s narration and narrative techniques. R. Allen’s (1993, 1997) concept of projected illusion was employed to discuss the relationship between Samoans and the film developed during the act of watching. An examination of the term Samoan and a description of the framework of Fa’a Samoa (Samoan culture) were provided. Also included were discussions of memory and its impact on Samoan cultural identity. The analysis indicated that The Orator (O Le Tulafale) acted as a memory prompt through which Samoans recalled memories confirming and defining cultural bonds. These memories constituted the essence of being Samoan. These memories were awakened, and shared as oral histories as fāgogo. The receivers appeared to interpret the shared memories to create their own memories and stories to suit their contexts, according to Facebook postings. An interpretation is that the organic sharing of memories as fā gogo created a global definition of Samoan that Samoans internationally claimed.

Kvinnor i styrelser : Att lyckas i en mansdominerad värld

Kvinnor har länge varit exkluderade från ledarpositioner, såsom styrelser, men utvecklingen mot en mer jämställd könsfördelning går långsamt framåt. Syftet med uppsatsen är att skapa förståelse för hur kvinnor i styrelser kan bidra till utvecklingen mot en jämnare könsfördelning. Genom att intervjua fem kvinnliga styrelseledamöter har vi fått en inblick i deras upplevelser och erfarenheter av styrelsearbete och könsroller. Kvinnorna i undersökningen har, genom många års styrelsearbete i olika former samt genom gedigna arbetserfarenheter, arbetat sig fram till ledande positioner inom olika branscher och företag. Även om de överlag inte anser sig ha behandlats annorlunda i styrelsen på grund av sitt kön kan vissa av kvinnorna ändå uppleva att de ibland förväntas ansvara för specifika uppgifter just för att de är kvinnor, att de behöver tuffa till sig eller att de måste vara mer pålästa och duktigare än männen. De anser att kvotering kan vara det enda sättet att få jämställda styrelser men understryker att det bör vara kompetensen som avgör vem som får uppdraget. För att lyckas bra som ledamot krävs, enligt respondenterna, en viss baskunskap om ekonomi och ledarskap samt ett visst mått av självsäkerhet och att våga stå för sina åsikter. Kravbilden på styrelsemedlemmar i bolagsstyrelser har ökat under de senaste årtiondena och det krävs att medlemmarna som individer har en hög kompetens och att styrelsen i sin helhet besitter en bred kunskapsbas. Denna utveckling kan ha en positiv effekt på könsfördelningen då det är fler kvinnor än män som har universitetsutbildning och eftersom en mer heterogen grupp ger ett bredare spektrum av kunskaper. Kvinnorna i undersökningen har genom sina positioner bidragit till brytandet av normer och gör det därför lättare för andra kvinnor att följa i deras spår. Det råder ingen brist på kompetenta kvinnor men utmaningen ligger i att kartlägga och synliggöra dessa kvinnor och ge dem samma möjlighet som männen att nå ledande positioner.

Adolescent boys’ health : managing emotions, masculinities and subjective social status

The health of adolescent boys is complex and surprisingly little is known about how adolescent boys perceive, conceptualise and experience their health. Thus, the overall aim of this thesis was to explore adolescent boys’ perceptions and experiences of health, emotions, masculinity and subjective social status (SSS). This thesis consists of a qualitative, a quantitative and a mixed methods study. The qualitative study aimed to explore how adolescent boys understand the concept of health and what they find important for its achievement. Furthermore, the adolescent boys’ views of masculinity, emotion management and their potential effects on wellbeing were explored. For this purpose, individual interviews were conducted with 33 adolescent boys aged 16-17 years. The quantitative study aimed to investigate the associations between pride, shame and health in adolescence. Data were collected through a cross-sectional postal survey with 705 adolescents. The purpose of the mixed methods study was to investigate associations between SSS in school, socioeconomic status (SES) and self-rated health (SRH), and to explore the concept of SSS in school. Cross-sectional data were combined with interview data in which the meaning of SSS was further explored. Individual interviews with 35 adolescents aged 17-18 years were conducted. In the qualitative study, data were analysed using Grounded Theory. In the quantitative study, statistical analyses (e.g., chi-square test and uni- and multivariable logistic regression analyses) were performed. In the mixed method study, a combination of statistical analyses and thematic network analysis was applied. The results showed that there was a complexity in how the adolescent boys viewed, experienced, dealt with and valued health. On a conceptual level, they perceived health as holistic but when dealing with difficult emotions, they were prone to separate the body from the mind. Thus, the adolescent boys experienced a difference between health as a concept and health as an experience (paper I). Concerning emotional orientation in masculinity, two main categories of masculine conceptions were identified: a gender-normative masculinity and a non-gender-normative masculinity (paper II). Gender-normative masculinity comprised two seemingly opposite emotional masculinity orientations, one towards toughness and the other towards sensitivity, both of which were highly influenced by contextual and situational group norms and demands, despite that their expressions are in contrast to each other. Non-gender-normative masculinity included an orientation towards sincerity, emphasising the personal values of the boys. Emotions were expressed more independently of peer group norms. The findings suggest that different masculinities and the expression of emotions are intricately intertwined and that managing emotions is vital for wellbeing. The present findings also showed that both shame and pride were significantly associated with SRH, and furthermore, that there seems to be a protective effect of experiencing pride for health (paper III). The results also demonstrated that SSS is strongly related to SRH, and high SRH is related to high SSS, and further that the positioning was done in a gendered space (paper IV). Results from all studies suggest that the emotional and relational aspects, as well as perceived SSS, were strongly related to SRH. Positive emotions, trustful relationships and having a sense of belonging were important factors for health and pride was an important emotion protecting health. Physical health, on the other hand, had a more subordinated value, but the body was experienced as an important tool to achieve health. Even though health was mainly perceived in a holistic manner by the boys, there were boys who were prone to dichotomise the health experience into a mind-body dualism when having to deal with difficult emotions. In conclusion, this thesis demonstrates that young, masculine health is largely experienced through emotions and relationships between individuals and their contexts affected by gendered practices. Health is to feel and function well in mind and body and to have trusting relationships. The results support theories on health as a social construction of interconnected processes. Having confidence in self-esteem, access to trustful relationships and the courage to resist traditional masculine norms while still reinforcing and maintaining social status are all conducive to good health. Researchers as well as professionals need to consider the complexity of adolescent boys’ health in which norms, values, relationships and gender form its social determinants. Those working with young boys should encourage them to integrate physical, social and emotional aspects of health into an interconnected and holistic experience.