| 1. |
- Nybom, Jenny, 1967-
(författare)
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Aktivering av socialbidragstagare - om stöd och kontroll i socialtjänsten
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to examine activation, including support and control, among different groups of social assistance (SA) recipients. Assessments and activation related decisions during one year are analysed for 372 social randomly selected assistance claimants from four municipalities. Data was collected 2002-2003 through structured interviews with the clients and their social workers. Income from work and social assistance was followed up with national register data after two years.The first study focuses on social workers conception of their claimants work barriers. Conceptions vary systematically across groups of claimants. The second study examines elements of activation, finding that extent and content of activation, and use of support and control, vary between municipalities and programs. The third study analyses associations between participation in activation programs and exposures to sanctions and exemptions (indicators of support and control) on the one hand, and claimants’ characteristics on the other hand. Traditional work-test logic seems to be common in social work, and linked to stereotypic gender logic. This implies a systematic selection to activation based on sex, and on social workers opinion about the claimants work motivation. The results question the linkage between work barriers and activation, since claimants without formal resources (education and work experience) do not participate in resource activation (aiming to increase formal resources) more often than others. The fourth study analyses association between combinations of activation programs and sanctions and self support outcomes for SA claimants. Results suggest that a combination of resource activation and sanctions has a positive association with income from work, and that a combination of job activation and sanctions is associated with continuing SA.
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| 2. |
- Sandvall, Lisbeth, 1955-
(författare)
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Överskuldsättningens ansikten : En studie av vägar in i och ut ur ekonomiska svårigheter
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding and awareness of what the pathways into and out of debt problems can look like, why people get into bad debt situations, how problems are handled and how they are perceived.The empirical data is based on semi-structured narrative interviews with 32 people who can relate to a debt settlement in three ways, either by just having applied for a debt settlement, finding themselves in the midst of a debt settlement or being debt-free since a few years back. The material is analyzed in terms relating to the processes, strategies and impact factors surrounding debt problems and debt settlements.Debt problems can either happen slowly and gradually or arise suddenly and unexpectedly. The causes may be an interaction between individual and structural factors. Both coping strategies and influencing factors can change over time and depend on where in the debt process one is. The results show that the coping strategies vary from active to passive, from open to closed, where the determining factors are mainly how one was treated/ received, one's health, age, sense of shame and guilt, social relationships, as well as the causes of debt. The results show how there is interplay between individual and structural factors in terms of causes, but also in the strategies and approaches expressed. The coping strategies are influenced and changed with the time scale over the debt process. Women have a risk to a greater extent than men to suffer from debt problems without having spent any money, but instead by acting as co-signer or guarantor.The conclusion is that debt problems do not just affect a certain group of individuals, but that anyone can in principle be affected by excessive debt. What becomes clear is that there is not only one but several ways into and out of debt problems in which both individual and structural factors are important. Although there is a way out of excessive debt problems through debt relief law, results show that the solution extends over time and has far-reaching consequences for both individuals and society.
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| 3. |
- Enokson, Uffe, 1965-
(författare)
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Livspusslet : Tid som välfärdsfaktor
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis sheds some light on the duality between time-rich and time-poor living conditions and examines in which way this duality/polarisation paves the way for new patterns of inequality. The purpose is to explore the living conditions of two groups in society: those who are established in the labour force and who experience great demands on their efficiency and educational level and those who are unwanted and who do not have a natural place in the labour market.Theoretically, time geography shows a diversity of time patterns and time space restrictions between different life forms in everyday life. The conclusion contradicts the understanding of time as a monolithic concept. The results show how working time standards are essential to understand the access to time and economic resources that time-rich and time-poor life forms have. This is something that not only poses questions about household strategies and individual needs, but also shifts the perspective to social positions and demands of society.In a process analysis of Swedish working time policies I investigate how structural policy change, from a social discourse closely related to Swedish welfare reforms, is moving towards an economic discourse motivated by financial arguments. By doing so, the political measures for solving working time related problems in today’s flexible working life appear to be contradictory. On the one hand we find time-poor people in the labour market mainly supported by tax reductions and private time saving solutions while on the other we find time-rich people mainly supported by activation programmes and/or welfare benefits. It is thus a working time regime and policy strategy that obviously disregards these two sides of the coin.The European Union is a relatively new actor and powerful force on the working time agenda. The European Commissions’ policy solution is Flexicurity. A policy analysis shows that flexicurity has a life course perspective where social arguments have a central position in terms of security in a flexible working life. In comparison, Sweden is moving in the opposite direction by leaving social arguments behind. Conclusions show that the economization of time creates vulnerabilities and tensions between time-rich and time-poor living conditions. In looking at time as a welfare factor, traditional ways of solving old problems are being challenged by a policy that can open up for new kinds of welfare solutions that value work and life time patterns both inside and outside the labour market.
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| 4. |
- Enokson, Uffe, 1965-
(författare)
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Tiden i senmodernt vardagsliv : En rollteoretisk analys av hushållens livsformer
- 2006
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Tiden i senmodernt vardagsliv utgör en teoretisk fördjupning av den tidigare utgivna rapporten Tid, pengar och sociala nätverk (2005). Där undersöks klyftorna mellan tidrika och tidfattiga levnadsförhållanden. Kontraster som visar på en obalans i fördelningen av tid, pengar och sociala roller på och utanför arbetsmarknaden i vardagslivet. Syftet i denna rapport är att undersöka teorier om de sociala rollernas betydelse genom att jämföra två konkurrerande teoribildningar och granska deras generaliserbarhet och förklaringsvärde. I huvudsak används teorierna för att analysera tidrika och tidfattiga livsformers levnadsmönster i förhållande till självupplevd tid, multipla roller och stress. Tillsammans utgör de två rapporterna författarens licentiatavhandling.
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| 5. |
- Harju, Anne, 1965-
(författare)
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Barns vardag med knapp ekonomi : En studie om barns erfarenheter och strategier
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis is about the every day life of children who suffer from economic hardship. The aim is, from the children's point of view, to create an understanding of the consequences that economic hardship has on their relationships with their parents and other children. A further aim is to gain an understanding of how children act in relation to the families' economic situation and how they experience their every day life and general living conditions. Parents have also been interviewed about the families' general living conditions and the interaction between children and parents in relation to the economic situation. The empirical data has been collected over a period of fourteen months. Fourteen children aged 7-19 years and eight parents in seven families have been interviewed on five occasions. A total of 44 interviews have been conducted. The theoretical foundation of the thesis is childhood sociology, symbolic interactionism and social identity. The conclusions of this thesis can be summarized in two major results. The first is that economic hardship is of importance in the relationship with other children and in the interaction between children and their parents. The children's possibilities of participating together with peers through possessions and activities are affected to a varying extent depending on the circumstances. The relationship with their parents is also affected by children having to take economic responsibility and by children cooperating with them. Economic hardship also causes a strain on the relationship. The second major result is that children are active in forming theirs and their families' every day life in relation to the economic limits. On the basis of their understanding and their definition of the situation they choose different strategies, the aims of which are either to live within the limitations of the situation, so-called reactive strategies, or to change their own situation and sometimes also the situation of their household. These are defined as proactive strategies in the thesis.
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| 6. |
- Jonasson, Ingrid, 1952-
(författare)
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Hur gick det sen? : Om tidigare bidragsmottagare ur ett livsloppsperspektiv
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this dissertation is to shed light on how life can turn out for individuals with long term social assistance and afterwards when it has ceased. The primary objective of the dissertation is to study the changes that have occurred during the life course and the impact of those changes on the life course at large. A key question of this dissertation is the development of selfsufficiency and work-life patterns in a longitudinal perspective.The dissertation consists of a longitudinal study based on qualitative interviews with an interval of 20 years. The empirical data is composed of interviews with 11 recipients of social assistance – seven of which have been interviewed again in 2008/2009. A life course perspective is employed in the data analysis as a comprehensive approach and analytical tool. Other analytical approaches are related to the impact of the welfare state on the life course and to the term marginality.The situation of the interviewed group regarding self-sufficiency, employment and social conditions is viewed from a one-year perspective, a 20- year perspective and a life course perspective. The different time perspectives generated widely diverse pictures and nowledge. Not everyone worked at the point of the last interview but all were in a better social and economical position. No one remained on social assistance. One conclusion is that the notion of social problems being reinforced and exacerbated over time is simplistic. Another conclusion is that it appears that social assistance and social services have little importance from a life course perspective. A concluding result is that cross-sectional studies of individuals in a vulnerable situation are of limited value. A brief look at a person’s life does not say much of what the rest of his or her life will look like.Keywords: Life course, long term social assistance, social welfare services, human agency, timing, social integration, notions of social problems, welfare state, marginality.
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| 7. |
- Thelin, Angelika, 1970-
(författare)
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Äldrefattigdom : Ekonomisk utsatthet i yngre ålderspensionärers vardag
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- I Sverige omfattas äldre personer av ett historiskt och internationellt sett generöst offentligt ekonomiskt grundtrygghetssystem. Trots det ökade risken för relativ fattigdom bland unga ålderspensionärer (65 till 74 år) under 2000-talets första decennium. Det nya pensionssystemet, tillsammans med den demografiska och ekonomiska utvecklingen, förväntas bidra till att denna trend fortsätter.Inom ramen för dessa omständigheter undersöker avhandlingen yngre ålderspensionärers relativa ekonomiska utsatthet, vad den får för konsekvenser i deras vardag och hur de hanterar situationen. Särskilt vikt läggs vid hur människors livshistorier inverkar på problematiken. Avhandlingen baseras på 30 intervjuer med ekonomiskt utsatta och 17 intervjuer med ekonomiskt trygga yngre ålderspensionärer. Ekonomisk utsatthet preciseras till att motsvara ekonomiska förutsättningar som återfinns bland yngre ålderspensionärer med bostadstillägg. Ekonomisk trygghet definieras följaktligen som bättre ekonomiska förutsättningar än så.Tidigare forskning förklarar ekonomisk utsatthet i ålderdomen med att socioekonomiska nackdelar samverkar och följer på varandra i en negativ spiral över tid. De ger intryck av att det finns en väg fram till ekonomisk utsatthet i ålderdomen. Denna väg tar sin början i en svår ekonomisk situation i barndomen som sedan förvärras allt eftersom tiden går. I kontrast till det visar denna avhandling på fyra vägar fram till ekonomisk utsatthet i ålderdomen – kontinuitet, sluttning, fall och berg- och dalbana. Tre av dessa inkluderar erfarenheter av relativt goda ekonomiska förutsättningar tidigare under livshistorien.Tidigare forskning visar även att äldre personer som lever med ekonomisk utsatthet har anpassat sina preferenser efter små ekonomiska förutsättningar över tid och därför är nöjda med sina vardagsliv trots ekonomisk utsatthet i ålderdomen. I kontrast till det är målen i vardagen likartade bland ekonomiskt utsatta och ekonomiskt trygga pensionärer i avhandlingen. Ju sämre ekonomiska förutsättningar pensionärerna har, desto mer exkluderas de från möjligheten att nå mål om ett hälsosamt åldrande, oberoende, valfrihet och meningsfullhet. Avhandlingens visa också hur äldre personer hanterar den ekonomiska utsattheten på flera olika sätt – genom att hushålla med resurser, försöka öka inkomsterna, använda tillgångar, acceptera situationen, fokusera på positiva aspekter av vardagslivet och anpassa anspråken efter vad som blivit möjligt att uppnå. Hanteringen framträder företrädesvis som resultatet av yngre ålderspensionärers inlåsning i ekonomisk utsatthet under den resterade förväntade livstiden och inte som resultatet av deras tidigare livshistoria.I avhandlingen diskuteras slutligen hur 40-talisternas eller den så kallade rekordgenerationens ålderspensionering kan komma att påverka den ekonomiska utsatthetens betydelse i ålderdomen. Dessutom lyft standardindexering av den skäliga levnadsnivån för äldre personer samt ytterligare subventioner på utgiftssidan fram som möjliga socialpolitiska insatser mot social exklusion bland yngre ålderspensionärer.
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| 8. |
- Thorén, Katarina H., 1970-
(författare)
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Activation Policy in Action : A Street-Level Study of Social Assistance in the Swedish Welfare State
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Work-related activation policies are currently developing in most western welfare states. Sweden is no exception and activation policies were introduced in the 1990s in many municipal social services organizations in Sweden. The Swedish form of activation policies requires social assistance recipients to participate in mandatory activation program in return for financial support. This dissertation investigates the street-level implementation practices of activation policies within the context of the Swedish welfare state. The purpose of the study is to examine how street-level workers in the municipal social service systemtranslate activation policy into practice in their interactions with the clients and what factors that structure their implementation practices. The research project is a multiple-case study that examines the street-level practices in two municipal social service settings in Sweden, Skärholmen city-district in Stockholm municipality and Osby municipality and their local activation programs. The data collection consists of observations of the staffs’ daily operations, interviews with local politicians and other key personnel, and the analysis of formal policy and program documents. Theoretically this dissertation builds on the street-level bureaucracy perspective (Lipsky, 1980), which suggests that organizational working conditions shape street-level workers implementation practices through their development of informal coping strategies. But this study extends the street-level buraucracy approach by including political-institutional factors and normative assumptions about public support and social assistance recipients into the analysis. Findings from the study suggest that street-level implementation practices entail a number of informal coping strategies that removes activation policy from formal policy goals. Implementation practices entail, for example, mass referrals instead of individual assessments and tailor-made solutions. Clients were sorted and categorized on the basis of moral perceptions about behavioral deficits instead of employment needs. These informal practice strategies were the results of both coping strategies and normative assumptions that interacted with the organizational context in which these practices took place.
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| 9. |
- Muhr, Anneli, 1968-
(författare)
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Andra generationens unga företagare med utländsk bakgrund : En förståelse av det egna företagandet utifrån social position
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation is about young second-generation immigrants who choose to become entrepreneurs. In a qualitative interview study, 22 young individuals’ choices and trajectories as entrepreneurs were examined. The aim of the dissertation was to understand how these young entrepreneurs, based on their social position, motivated their choices and trajectories into working life as business owners. The results of the study show how the young entrepreneurs act based on their social position, in which both structural and intergenerational factors have significance for their choices. Furthermore, variations are clarified in the individuals’ motives and trajectories as young entrepreneurs, which can be understood against the backdrop of various social positions. Three patterns have crystallised from the young entrepreneurs’ stories: the “follower” – the early entrepreneur with a strong tradition of business in their family, the “climber” – the later and strategic young entrepreneur who also has a strong tradition of business, and finally the “stopover” – who does not have a tradition of business in their family. But the most prominent pattern is the “early and horizontal business trajectory”. This trajectory does not represent the typical highly educated springboard examples, which are normally highlighted in previous research. Instead it represents a “new category” which includes young people who come from less highly educated business environments, and who largely follow in the footsteps of their parents and relatives and continues to work in typical trade- and service branches. For this category, it is more likely the individuals’ lack of education, rather than strong education, that drives them to become entrepreneurs. The young people in this category leave school early and start their own businesses. Central to this is how the young people continue to work in the increasingly uncertain and informal labour market, in which relatively strenuous living patterns are passed on through generations, and where the young people partially fall outside the public welfare systems.
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| 10. |
- Rönneling, Anita, 1965-
(författare)
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Berättelser från en välfärdsstat : Om förståelse av marginalisering
- 2004
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation is based on two research projects, both of which are linked to concepts such as exclusion, marginalisation and other related themes. CASE, the project that forms the principal basis for the dissertation, is a comparative study of “social exclusion” in seven European countries whose objective has been to illuminate those situations in people’s lives that involve difficulties and that may or may not have been resolved satisfactorily. The other project, MAX, is a Swedish study of drug abuse and marginalisation whose objective has inter alia been to illustrate the ways in which drug users in different life-situations perceive and interpret these situations. Using material from these two projects, the dissertation’s overall objective involves improving our understanding of marginalisation by adding to the existing knowledge of living conditions among the more impoverished and vulnerable members of the welfare society, with the focus being directed at their experiences of difficulties, opportunities and resources in relation to areas such as work and their financial situation. This is done in the context of two principal themes which relate to different research questions, but which are nonetheless linked together through their association with themes such as those of living conditions, marginalisation and the welfare state. The dissertation’s first theme, “Marginalisation and the welfare state”, builds exclusively on material from the CASE project and illuminates the situations immigrants in Sweden may face as they look for work. Despite the political rhetoric about inclusion and equality, they are faced with a labour market where a diffuse demand for “Swedishness” appears to play a central role. Several interview subjects spoke of how they felt they had been consigned to unqualified work, unemployment and benefit dependency. As a whole this section of the dissertation bears witness to a striking discrepancy between the rhetoric of integration policy on equality of conditions and opportunity and a social praxis that places various obstacles in immigrants’ paths and that consistently confronts them with a sense of being “un-Swedish”. The work presented here also seeks to improve our theoretical understanding of marginalisation, and the analysis makes use of concepts and ideas from among others Bauman and Bourdieu. The second theme, “With the welfare state as a reference point”, also builds on narratives from CASE, but also on interviews from the MAX study, and illuminates how the Swedish welfare state is reflected in interviews with low-income and vulnerable individuals. Amongst other things, the empirical examples illustrate the role assigned to the welfare state, and that which it appears to play, in relation to the interview subjects’ income and daily lives, and also how the subjects in the two projects express their expectations of and disappointment over the welfare system in their narratives describing the events and difficulties they have experienced. The theoretical analysis uses ideas from amongst others Giddens in an attempt to view the interview subjects’ references to the welfare system as a manifestation of an interplay between the individual and structural planes.
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