1.
Liedgren Dobronravoff, Pernilla
(författare)
Att bli, att vara och att ha varit : Om ingångar i och utgångar ur Jehovas vittnen
2007
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
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. 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. 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 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, relative neutrality.
2.
Eriksson, Maria, 1969-
(författare)
I skuggan av Pappa : familjerätten och hanteringen av fäders våld
2003
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The aims of this thesis are to shed light on the handling of fathers’ violence in the context of separation and divorce in Sweden today; and to analytically and empirically relate age, gender and kinship to each other. The aims are fulfilled by three interlinked studies of what constructions and the constructing of age, gender and kinship mean for the handling of fathers’ violence against mothers/co-parents and children: in social policy; by separated mothers; and finally by family law secretaries. Each study builds upon a separate set of qualitative material: public documents from three policy areas; thematically structured interviews with abused, separated mothers and family law secretaries. The empirical results make visible some unintended consequences of current attempts in Sweden to create gender equality, shared parenting, a “new father” and to promote children’s interests. Study one demonstrates that when the politics and policy regarding parenthood, separation and divorce are taken as the point of departure, the contemporary age-, gender-, and kinship-order stands out as patriarchal: as marked by father-power based upon ties of blood to not yet adult children. Furthermore, violent fathers neither exist as a concept nor as a policy problem. The interviewed mothers narrate how they have tried to deal with the co-parent’s/ex-partners’ behaviour as violence but have encountered hindrances; the interviewed family law secretaries’ handling fathers’ violence stands out as more of a non-handling, especially in the case of violence against children. When the everyday constructions and constructing of age, gender and kinship discussed in study two and three are taken together, the contours of the patriarchal order seen through the lens of policy are also made visible: fathers’ space for action is vast; children’ and mothers’ more limited. The analysis shows how political and professional handling of fathers’ violence through a non-handling is made possible by well-established notions of heterosexual relationships, fatherhood, motherhood, age- and kinship-relations, as well as family law secretary-professionalism. However, the two studies based upon interviews demonstrate not just how the everyday constructions and constructing mentioned above can be used to reproduce father-power, but also how this power can be challenged.
3.
Ewertzon, Mats, 1956-
(författare)
Familjemedlem till person med psykossjukdom : bemötande och utanförskap i psykiatrisk vård
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
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.
4.
Nordfeldt, Marie, 1961-
(författare)
Hemlöshet i välfärdsstaden : En studie av relationerna mellan socialtjänst och frivilliga organisationer i Stockholm och Göteborg
1999
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The aim of this thesis is to examine the relations between local government and voluntary organisations in two Swedish cities - Stockholm and Göteborg - with regard to the issue of homelessness, and to analyse how these relations have changed during the 1990's. A further aim is to explore to what extent different localities, due to variations in the economic and political context, vary in their responses to influences and pressures from the outside, e.g. from the central state. These variations, it is assumed, result in different approaches to local welfare production and, as part of that, different views on how to care for the homeless, and also create differences in the relations between local government and voluntary organisations. A qualitative methodology has been used in the two case studies. Most of the data have been gathered through personal interviews with informants from the local governments and the voluntary organisations respectively, supplemented with different kinds of documentary information. The comparative analysis indicates that, although social policy in Sweden is rather strictly regulated at the central state level, there are differences on the local level with respect to relations between the local government and voluntary organisations. In short, there are local modes of welfare production. In Stockholm, the voluntary organisations cooperate with local government agencies, but they have in particular staked out a niche of their own - to care for the most deprived of the homeless. The voluntary organisations in Göteborg, in contrast, have become an integrated part of a restructured local government.
5.
Kassman, Anders
(författare)
Polisen och narkotikaproblemet : från nationella aktioner mot narkotikaprofitörer till lokala insatser för att störa missbruket
1998
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The subject of this study is the policing of the drug problem during the period between the nationalization of the police force in 1965 and the introduction of imprisonment as a penalty for drug consumption in 1993. The influence of four key factors are discussed: legislation, organization, the conception of and the attention paid to the drug problem. Qualitative and quantitative data from police archives, the prosecutor general, parliamentary publications, a public TV newsroom and various statistics from other sources are combined. The analysis shows four important stages in the process towards a substantially increased drug control:By the end of the 1960s, all data indicate increased attention to the drug problem. The penal law on narcotics was passed in 1968. It laid the foundation for subsequent policing activities. The police was also given increased possibilities to use telephone-tapping to combat serious crimes.By the end of the 1970s, the creation of a special narcotics police organization at the medium level of police hierarchy institutionalized, emphasized and assigned manpower to combat serious crimes.Since the beginning of the 1980s new target groups have been added. The "street dealer" is a new direct target. With the strengthening of the preventive role of the police new indirect target groups emerged: the police also emphasized their work against recruitment of new drug users.The main objective of the new penal law on narcotics of 1968 was to help drug addicts recover and merge back in society again. Addiction was seen as a disease. Drug dealing by the addicts was reprehensible but not a priority matter to the police. Over time, this attitude changed and in 1989 the police saw distinct actions against street dealers as the most important element in the repressive policy.
6.
Börjeson, Martin, 1959-
(författare)
"Vi vet inte vilka metoder vi ska använda" : om relationen mellan kunskap, praktik och politik när det gäller det sociala arbetet med hemlöshetsfrågor
2005
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
This dissertation examines the relationship between knowledge, practice and policy within a specific area of social work, namely, social intervention to ameliorate the problem of homelessness. In the thesis, the ambition shown in recent years to lay the ground for an evidence-based practice in social work is discussed as an expression of late modern attempts to deal with the contradictory character of scientific knowledge.The work is composed of four separate studies along with an introduction. The first study considers the present state of knowledge concerning those groups readily described as “the most vulnerable” in that they often have a diffi¬cult complex of problems. The social conditions of these groups can only be examined to a limited extent with the help of traditional methods, however, so that our knowledge of their situation is poor. The group of the homeless seems largely to have remained unchanged during the most recent decade; but results of various studies suggest that the vul¬nerability of the group has increased, which is to say that even if the group has not increased in size, their social situa¬tion has definitely become worse.In the second study, a more in-depth discussion is advanced of methods and definitions concerning the charting of groups with a weak position in the housing market. Starting from a review of the various research methods presently in use, a model is sketched for future investigations that might more adequately provide the evidence-based information for making informed decisions.The third and fourth studies deal above all with the effectiveness of social interventions being made to come to grips with homelessness; how these strategies have evolved and the role of knowledge in them. The goal of the third study has therefore been to describe how knowledge and social work practice have developed respectively, and above all, to shed some light on their relationship. A review of social work journals dated 1965-2000 shows that only a very few of the relatively small number of articles dealing with homelessness could in any way directly form a basis for the planning and implementation of social interventions. In Stockholm Municipality, also during this period, several special programs were instigated to boost the development of knowledge in the field; but the connections between this accu¬mulation of knowledge and any implementation in actual social interventions remains unclear.The fourth study uses interview material to describe the social work being carried out to combat homelessness in four Swedish local government districts and to discuss any differences between them, where a clear difference did emerge between the larger and the smaller districts. The larger local governments had created special organisations for work with homelessness issues, which had even brought with it the allocation of special resources for the build-up of knowledge; but not even here is it possible to state that any cumulative build-up of knowledge has taken place. An in-depth case study of the discussion carried out in Stockholm Municipality concerning a proposal to create a special knowledge centre suggests that these questions are also deeply influenced by the local political context in which it would be used.In the introductory section of the dissertation, the aim is to relate the four studies to a broader discussion. The vari¬ous strategies being developed for increasing the evidence basis for social work with the homeless are discussed, taking a point of departure in Ulrich Beck’s contention that in spite of contrary intentions, more knowledge tends to involve the risk of added uncertainty. Also treated in this context is how an earlier dominant tradition of knowledge – inspired by social medicine – has come to diminish in importance, while another – more directed towards the results and effects of social interventions – has grown.
7.
Elvhage, Gudrun
(författare)
Projekt som retorik och praktik : Om utvecklingsarbete på särskilda ungdomshem
2006
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The thesis deals with development work within institutional care for young people. The Swedish National Board of Institutional Care (SiS) grants tens of millions of Swedish crowns to development projects to their institutions. Since the mid-1990s major investments have been made in order to develop the institutions? competence in family-work and networking. The aim of this thesis is to study the government's intentions in backing the development work of specially approved youth care. The thesis consists of two empirical studies, partly a document study that gives a historical perspective over the growth of development work in Sweden with an emphasis on institutional care, and partly a case study of how development work has been carried out within five governmental youth institutions. The document study shows that development work within the social field started to gain importance in the mid-1940s. At this time governmental institutions with responsibility for experimental work and research were established. During the 1970s development work started to become more commonplace within youth care and a number of major development projects were initiated. Development work that builds upon central initiatives is still the prevalent form of development work within youth care. The case study of the five youth homes demonstrates the difficulty of anchoring development projects in the personnel. This difficulty has led to many of the projects failing to reach their objectives. As a part of the development work the youth homes have received contributions for educational efforts. Even if these efforts have contributed to knowledge and methodological development the personnel in some cases have had difficulties in assimilating the training. At some of the youth homes several of the projects have not worked according to plan, which has led to the personnel becoming sceptical and mistrustful of the possibilities of the projects. From an organisational theory perspective, development funding is an informative means of control and functions as an administrative way of governing youth care. For the Swedish National Board of Institutional Care there exist reasons of both legitimacy and function in initiating development projects. For the youth homes it is mainly a question of function, namely obtaining more resources for the operation.
8.
Forssell, Emilia
(författare)
Skyddandets förnuft : en studie om anhöriga till hjälpbehövande äldre som invandrat sent i livet
2004
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
This dissertation aims to examine and deepen the knowledge of family member caregiving where the care recipient is an elderly person who immigrated late in life. It also aims to contribute to the knowledge of the complexities underlying informal care giving and add to our understandings of what it means to be an immigrant in Sweden. The caregiver is in focus. The research conducted is explorative and partly inductive. The main material used is a qualitative interview study carried out with family members from different countries who are providing informal care to elderly immigrant relatives. The analysis gives three patterns of caregiving. One shows help from informal caregivers only who are not compensated economically. Another shows help from family members who are compensated. The third shows help from family members and staff from the public care system. Three ideal-typical informal caregiver roles show different positions vis-à-vis the new: “guardian”, “filter” and “reinterpreter of traditional care ideals”. Swedish born and immigrated informal caregivers are also compared through analysis of data gathered in telephone interviews with a representative selection of inhabitants in the County of Stockholm.A philosophy of action together with theory on integration and multiculturalism serves as theoretical frameworks to understand discrepancies and ambiguities in the data. Young immigrants experience different integration processes than do the older ones. They strive to protect older family members from changes linked to the migration experience. Talk about dependence on culture underlines family feelings and legitimates the processes of protection. Preconceptions about great differences between Swedish born and immigrant families are not supported by quantitative data. A conclusion is that protection can be understood in relation both to the traditional and the new, the latter in the forms of meetings with Swedish society where unequal relations prevail. It is a kind of counter-strategy where the range of actions is diminished, and thus it has its own logic. Protection can be loosened up when the circumstances change and the range of actions grow.
9.
Grosse, Julia, 1982-
(författare)
Kommer tid kommer tillit? : Unga vuxnas och medelålders erfarenheter
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Even though Sweden is considered a high trust society, research on this topic is primarily based on a few standardized survey questions. It is also known that there is a robust pattern of less trustful young people compared to older ones. Still, a satisfactory explanation of this fact is lacking. Thus, the first aim of this dissertation is to map trust among young adults and middle-aged individuals. The second aim is to examine by which factors and in what way different dimensions of trust are determined, focusing on individuals’ life course and consequently experiences. Analytical principles from the life course tradition are used as a theoretical framework.Data is derived from a Swedish cross-sectional nationally representative postal survey on trust, and qualitative interviews using a mixed-methods approach.A multi-dimensional concept of trust is suggested. Participants report relatively high levels of trust in known and unknown people, confidence in institutions, normative notions of trust, security, and trustful behaviour. Trust also seems to be structured according to a closeness principle. Young adults display lower trust levels in general. However, in some respects the pattern is reversed, particularly regarding domains they are expected to be more familiar with.Contrary to the well-established idea of generalised trust derived from predispositions and primary socialization, and particularised trust originating from experiences in adulthood, the results of this study suggest that unique combinations of factors, both individual characteristics and experiences, might explain each of the different dimensions. Often there is a sphere-specific relationship between experiences and later trust, i.e. experiences from one sphere of life seem to exclusively affect trust within the same sphere. It is suggested that as people grow older they accumulate what is called experience capital, which might benefit trust and contribute to an explanation of the age differences.
10.
Hammare, Ulf, 1961-
(författare)
Mellan löften om särart och krav på evidens : En studie av kunskap och kunskapssyn i socialt inriktade ideella, privata och offentliga organisationer
2013
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Between the Promise of Specificity and the Demand for Evidence – A study of knowledge and the approach to knowledge in socially oriented non-profit, private and public sector organizationsIn the social work field it is possible to identify two parallel processes in time. On the one hand a qualitative developmental process―even towards a form of standardization―where central concepts are academisation, professionalization, scientifically produced knowledge, expertise and evidence based methods. Simultaneously, there is a drive to create the conditions for increased diversity, where hopes are especially being pinned on the non-profit sector. In spite of representations and expectations concerning the non-profit sector and its so-called specificity, however, much of existing research lacks a comparative perspective, i.e., studies where non-profit organizations are related to comparable activities in the private and public sector.The aim of the study―with special focus on issues concerning evidence based knowledge in social work―is to compare and analyse whether and in that case how employee conceptions differ between the sectors, and whether and in what way non-profit employees and their activities can be said to fulfil the expectations of contributing to increased diversity. Data is from a questionnaire directed to about 1300 social work employees.The results show a greater interest in research and more marked efforts at professionalization in the public sector, while above all in the non-profit sector there was skepticism about science paired with reservations about work carried out in a professional way. In the non-profit, but also in the private sector, issues of ethics, views of humanity and values were paid greater attention. Also stressed here was the importance of creating relationships, the unique human encounter, genuine commitment, and human kindness. However, there was significant uniformity across all sectors in the use of methods, where three dominated: solution focused measures, network support/therapy, and psychosocial work.
