Svenska för invandrarskap? : Språk, kategorisering och identitet inom utbildningsformen Svenska för invandrare

The overall purpose of this thesis and the four independent studies it builds upon is to examine how categorizations and identity positions are constructed and negotiated in the educational program Swedish for immigrants (SFI) both historically and among participants in the program at the beginning of the 21th century. The analytical focus is on the discourses that frame the development of the SFI program with a specific interest in categorizations and identity in relation to gender, language and national belonging. The empirical material includes historical texts (curricula, commission reports, public inquiries, political propositions, laws) from 1965 to 2010, as well as approximately 95 hours of audio and video recorded data and ethnographic field notes from five SFI classrooms. The results are presented primarily in the four articles but partly also in the thesis itself. Our analysis in the first study, that takes a sociohistorical perspective as a point of departure, indicates shifts in discourses with regards to the categories and aims of the educational program, thus, making certain identity positions more accessible than others at specific times. Using the approach of nexus analysis, the theoretical framework employed in the second study approaches language policies n terms of a dialectical elationship between policy and the learning that takes lace in the language focused classroom. Feminist and postcolonial frameworks re employed ore pecifically in the third and fourth studies. The historical nalysis presented in article three shows how the categories of “immigrant” and Swedes” ave been produced and negotiated in discourses on gender and gender quality in the SFI program since the early 1970s. The fourth study highlights he omplex relationship between gender equality and integration policies, as well as he perception of gender equality as a central part of Swedishness”, negotiated in he everyday conversations in the SFI classroom. Overall, the results illuminate he circulation of discourses both cross ime and between policy and classrooms. oreover, it contributes to a critical discussion about the intersection of language, ender and national elonging in the negotiation of boundaries between insiders and outsiders in Swedish society.

System Integration of PV/T Collectors in Solar Cooling Systems

The demand for cooling and air-conditioning of building is increasingly ever growing. This increase is mostly due to population and economic growth in developing countries, and also desire for a higher quality of thermal comfort. Increase in the use of conventional cooling systems results in larger carbon footprint and more greenhouse gases considering their higher electricity consumption, and it occasionally creates peaks in electricity demand from power supply grid. Solar energy as a renewable energy source is an alternative to drive the cooling machines since the cooling load is generally high when solar radiation is high. This thesis examines the performance of PV/T solar collector manufactured by Solarus company in a solar cooling system for an office building in Dubai, New Delhi, Los Angeles and Cape Town. The study is carried out by analyzing climate data and the requirements for thermal comfort in office buildings. Cooling systems strongly depend on weather conditions and local climate. Cooling load of buildings depend on many parameters such as ambient temperature, indoor comfort temperature, solar gain to the building and internal gains including; number of occupant and electrical devices. The simulations were carried out by selecting a suitable thermally driven chiller and modeling it with PV/T solar collector in Polysun software. Fractional primary energy saving and solar fraction were introduced as key figures of the project to evaluate the performance of cooling system. Several parametric studies and simulations were determined according to PV/T aperture area and hot water storage tank volume. The fractional primary energy saving analysis revealed that thermally driven chillers, particularly adsorption chillers are not suitable to be utilizing in small size of solar cooling systems in hot and tropic climates such as Dubai and New Delhi. Adsorption chillers require more thermal energy to meet the cooling load in hot and dry climates. The adsorption chillers operate in their full capacity and in higher coefficient of performance when they run in a moderate climate since they can properly reject the exhaust heat. The simulation results also indicated that PV/T solar collector have higher efficiency in warmer climates, however it requires a larger size of PV/T collectors to supply the thermally driven chillers for providing cooling in hot climates. Therefore using an electrical chiller as backup gives much better results in terms of primary energy savings, since PV/T electrical production also can be used for backup electrical chiller in a net metering mechanism.

Metoder och verktyg för motivation till och integration av arbetsmiljöarbete

Rapporten utgår från forskningsområdet ”Hur kan och bör arbetsmiljö¬arbete bedrivas och integreras i organisationers kärnverksamhet?” vid tema SMARTA, Arbetslivsinstitutet. I ett tidigare arbete har ett antal egenskaper identifierats som viktiga för motivation och engagemang för arbetsmiljöarbete, sk Moveit-egenskaper. Dessa egenskaper och deras roll i arbetsmiljöarbetet ställs här i relation till perspektivet integrerat arbetsmiljöarbete, där arbetsmiljön ingår i styrsystemet och arbetsmiljöarbete betraktas som en del av styrningen av produktion och verksamhet. Syftet är att utveckla förståelsen för viktiga aspekter i arbetsmiljöarbetet utifrån en målsättning att metoder ska bidra till ett integrerat och kontinuerligt fungerande arbetsmiljöarbete. Den metodansats som rapporten utgår från bygger till stor del på interaktion med företagshälsovårdcentraler, konsulter och ergonomer samt på tidigare forskning. Ett viktigt steg i interaktionen har varit workshops som arrangerats vid tre tillfällen och vid olika platser - Borlänge, Göteborg och Umeå. Rapporten beskriver ett underlag för att bedöma metoders motivationskraft, erfarenheter från workshops med aktörer inom arbetsmiljöområdet, en fristående konsults tillämpning av metoden Visit samt olika former av förutsättningar för arbetsmiljöarbete, såsom företags mognad och hur metoder introduceras på arbetsplatser. Aspekter som identifieras som viktiga för ett integrerat arbetsmiljöarbete är: delegering av ansvar och befogenheter i arbetsmiljöfrågor, bred delaktighet och samverkan mellan anställda och ledning, hanterbara men ändå utmanande krav på arbetsmiljöarbetet, processfokusering och dynamik, samt utrymme för reflektion. Flera av dessa aspekter uppvisar överensstämmelser med egenskaper hos metoder som bidrar till att skapa motivation för arbetsmiljöarbete.

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.

The Key Role of the School Principal’s Leadership in the Schooling of Newly Arrived Immigrant Pupils in Sweden : Experiences from an Interactive Action Research Project

When newly immigrated children and young people begin school in Sweden, certain challengesarise. These may result from weak Swedish-language skills and different schooling backgrounds,as well as organizational and pedagogical limitations in the schools. This generates demands onschool leaders to lead and develop the organization and teachers competences to meet these pupils’needs. This situation was behind the initiation of the project “New Immigrants and Learning—Competence Development for Teachers and School Principals.” The project ran in schools infour Swedish municipalities, its aim was to develop leadership, organizational and pedagogicalskills that would facilitate the schooling and integration of newly arrived pupils. This article aimsto describe and discuss a Participant Action Research (PAR) based on a think tank and researchcircles, drawing special attention to the role of the school leaders. It will also examine whether theresearch circles and the project overall served to develop educational and intercultural leadership,organizational conditions, collegial learning, pedagogical methods and competence in terms ofschooling for this pupil group.

Projektet: W7 DALARNA - Ett regionalt resurscentrum för kvinnligt entreprenörskap, jämställdhet och integration

De flesta kvinnor är enmansföretagare och driver en enskild firma, medan männen driver ett aktiebolag. I Dalarna gick det år 2006 2,7 manliga företagare på en kvinnlig, samtidigt som allt fler kvinnorna startar eget företag. I några av de kommuner som deltar i projektet W7 Dalarna har en hög andel kvinnliga företagare bland de företag som startas.Det övergripande syftet för W7 DALARNA formulerades som: ”att bygga upp en stark organisation med lokal närvaro och samordnad verksamhet.” Verksamhetens innehåll skulle inriktas på opinionsbildning, inspiration, utbildning, erfarenhetsutbyte, metodutveckling och att tillvarata synergieffekter inom projektets tre verksamhetsteman. Projektet syftadeockså till att utveckla kompetens- och kvalitetssäkring inom området affärsrådgivningoch att etablera och upprätthålla en lokal fysisk närvaro. Därutöver skulle projektet: ”verka för att Resurscentra för kvinnor skall accepteras som en aktör för lokal och regional utveckling, och fungera som en jämbördig partner i tillväxtarbetet.”

W7 Dalarna : Ett projekt om entreprenörskap, likabehandling, jämställdhet och integration

Rapporten är resultatet av ett följeforskningsuppdrag av projektet W7 Dalarna – entreprenörskap, likabehandling, jämställdhet och integration och syftar till att beskriva och tolka erfarenheter och resultat i relation till uppsatta mål och hur detta arbete förlöpte samt vad det resulterade i. Projektet har bundit samman affärsrådgivare i sju kommuner med uppgift att stödja kvinnor och invandrare och på så sätt har ett redan etablerat nätverk utvecklats och stärkts. Kommuner har generellt begränsade resurser och arbetet med näringslivsutveckling. Små kommuner i glesbygd är ändå kanske extra utsatta i det avseendet och på så sätt framstår nätverkssamverkan som ett värdefullt sätt att arbeta på.  Resultatet visar att det krävs tämligen stora insatser i form av rådgivning för att en företagsetablering verkligen ska komma till stånd. En annan erfarenhet är att en företagarskola kan attrahera nya grupper av potentiella företagare som ges en möjlighet att prova om deras idéer kan ha kommersiell bärighet. Däremot visade det sig att det är svårt att få gehör för jämställdhetsfrågor i små företag, liksom att det för utlandsfödda individer finns många hinder att passera om man inte behärskar det svenska språket tillräckligt väl och känner till hur det svenska samhället fungerar.

European economic integration

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the recent trend in European economic affairs - the desire for integration. These plans and proposals were an expression of the need in the post war era for economic planning on a regional scale. It was in this respect that Europe experimented in a new approach to international economics.