1.
Johansson, Björn
(author)
Att slåss för erkännande : en studie i gatuvåldets dynamik
2001
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
The aim of this thesis is to give a contribution to the knowledge of why people use violence against each other in public places. In more specific terms the thesis examines mechanisms that generates violent actions by reference to what happens in the situated transaction between the offender and the victim, and to the ways in which the urban environment create opportunities for violent actions. In the thesis I address some overall questions to mark of different dimensions of the studied phenomenon. The questions pay attention to: 1) the relation between the physical and social dimensions of the urban environment and the ways in which the urban environment creates opportunities for violent crimes; 2) why the offenders seek themselves to certain places and the symbolic meaning those places has, and; 3) what happens in the situated transactions between the offender and the victim. My methodological approach is multistrategic. The main components of the approach are qualitative interviews, studies of court orders, statistics and geographical studies. I interviewed respondents that have been punished for different crimes of violence committed in public places in the city centre of Örebro. The interviews were complemented with a case study of court orders over street related crimes of violence committed in the same area, and with a statistic and a geographical analyses over where, when and by whom the crimes were committed. The analyses of the ways in which the urban environment creates opportunities for violent crimes reveals some necessary conditions of physical, social and cultural character, i.e. properties of the urban environment that creates good opportunities for street related violence to occur. I started with a statistical examination of where, when and by whom different crimes of violence were committed. With the empirical regularities as a starting-point I began to analyse the urban environment with the help of Bill Hillier’s (1996) concept of virtual community. The analysis reveals that the city centre context of Örebro offer good opportunities for encounters and movements as it contains of several squares and main passages with an open character and good opportunities for orientation. Thus, the physical design of the city centre form a potential for violence to occur. After that I focused on border controls and the potential for violence they include. The importance of border controls were examined in several ways and it was concluded that the border controls contain different dimensions that contribute to the production of violent actions in different ways. This was followed by an examination of the use of the public spaces from the perspective of territoriality and the potential for violence that territories include. It was concluded that the city centre contains of several territories belonging to different categories, and that a distinction could be made between territories established on spontaneous grounds as well as territories established as a result of the activities that exists in a certain area. The analyses of the situated transactions reveal several mechanisms that contribute to the production of violent actions. The analyses started with a statistical examination of the offenders, the victims and the situations that results in violence. With this as a starting-point I began to examine the situated transactions with reference to what happens in the transactions. I found that different kinds of disturbances constitute the initial cause of the process in which an interaction exceeds to violence. Other important aspects that were revealed were the importance of respect and honour for the production of violence and that a distinction could be made between different kinds of violence depending on how the disturbances are interpreted and what it is directed towards. Furthermore, I examined the importance of emotions and social bonds for the production of violence as well as the ways in which different kinds of strategies of action find expression in the situated transactions in public places. Finally the situated transaction were examined from a ritualistic perspective were I found that different kinds of violations of the ritual objects as well as different dimensions of power and status are important for the understanding of the street related violence.
2.
Brauer, John, 1988-
(author)
Labour Market Policies : Structure and Content, Space and Time
2022
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
Labour market policies has two aims: cushioning the economic hardship caused by unemployment and increasing employment rates. In many welfare states, responsibilities for such policies are divided between different political-administrative levels. This dissertation aims to enhance the understanding of labour market policies and especially the involvement of sub-national governmental actors, by analysing the role of municipalities in the Swedish context. The dissertation also investigates the involvement of social work and social workers within labour market policies. A theoretical framework consisting of four pillars, structure, content, space, and time, is used to analyse labour market policies. The analysis combines a historical review with empirical data. The findings show that the involvement of municipalities, in active labour market policies, has taken place against the background of three processes: the multi-level governance of financial support, the shifting role of active labour market policies, and the dialectic relationship between financial support and active labour market policies. The divided responsibility for financial support generates incentives for municipal measures that qualify social assistance recipients for nationally funded social insurances. The fear of work disincentives has also been a driving force in the development of municipal activation. The reliance on municipalities to design and deliver active labour market policies opens for greater crossmunicipal differences. An ongoing reform of the Public Employment Service, the national agency that provides active labour market policies, that decreases the number of local offices and increases the reliance on private service providers, is likely to change the role of municipalities within active labour market policies. Many scholars criticise the involvement of social workers, within labour market policies, given the use of conditionality through activation. This criticism calls for further empirical investigation, not least in terms of how practicing social workers position their work.
3.
Hellfeldt, Karin, 1985-
(author)
The Hurt Self : Bullied Children's Experiences of Social Support, Recognition and Trust at School
2016
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
The aim of this dissertation is to add to the development the knowledge base of bullying research with particular focus on processes of victimization within a Swedish context. The goal is to a contribute to understanding the consequences of being bullied by examining patterns of change in bullying victimization over time and how potential positive social interactions and relationships might promote the well-being of bullied children. A mix-methods research design was used, including quantitative data from a one-year longitudinal study, using individual data, from 3,347 pupils (grades 4 to 9, in 44 schools) and five in-depth qualitative interviews with former victims of bullying. From an overview of the research field it was concluded that there is a general shortage of theoretical perspectives within the field of bullying research. Correlation studies have linked negative health consequences with bullying. However, this kind of research design provides few insights into how and why bullied children experience the kinds of problems that they do. By adopting a theoretical understanding of how ‘self’ is realized through interactions with others, this dissertation moves beyond correlation- based explanations of the mechanisms behind the link between bullying and its consequences in order to be able to offer more targeted support for those schoolchildren who are, or have been subjected to bullying. An argument is made for the importance of understanding the social processes behind bullying It is argued that being subjected to bullying victimization is a transient life experience for about three quarters of the small cohort (about 7%) of Swedish schoolchildren who are victims of bullying at any one time. The trajectories of bullying experiences these children are unstable. However, the negative consequences are likely to remain even after the bullying has ceased. For others, the persistent victims (1.6%). the state of being bullied may become stable and continue over periods of years. Nevertheless, peers and teachers may serve as important resources in supporting transitory and continuing victims of bullying.
4.
Johansson, Sara, 1984-
(author)
Mellan orten och kalifatet : En studie om utresandefenomenet
2022
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
Starting 2011, many travelled from other countries to support different parties of the Syrian revolution. Many came from Sweden, and many joined the Islamic State. Swedish “Syria travellers” often came from areas labelled as [especially] vulnerable. The purpose of the thesis is to examine and analyse different understandings of the phenomenon of individuals travelling from Sweden to the conflict areas in Syria and Iraq, based on narratives collected from actors with local anchoring. The empirical material consists of 54 interviews with public and local actors, and Syria travellers. The results show a territorial stigmatization and a moral differentiation where the residents of the [especially] vulnerable area is understood as “failed” or "tolerated" citizens, something that informants link to the study object. There is a gap between those who seek background explanations in religion and those who seek them in social structures. Furthermore, the results indicate that there are several possible representations of Syria travellers, ranging from terrorists and nihilists to moralists. The work against “radicalization” is described as poorly anchored among practitioners and an extended supply of knowledge is requested. The interviewed Syria travellers describe them-selves as moral actors, and often highly religiously motivated. The thesis also show how guilt by association is a lived reality for Muslims in a time where negative representations of Islam dominate. The thesis should be regarded as a contribution to the expansion of the important field of research on professionals' social representations of why some individuals make violent interpretations of Islam and are attracted to movements such as the Islamic State. The thesis is also a call to further explore Syria travellers' own representations and arguments. Both local actors and Syria travellers represent groups that professionals may en-counter in their work. Knowledge of such social groups, and about the representations articulated within them, is valuable for the practice of Social Work, but also for other professions such as teachers, leisure workers, police, and decision makers at different levels in society.
