1.
Dahlkild-Öhman, Gunilla, 1945-
(author)
Att börja tala med barn om pappas våld mot mamma : Radikalt lärande i arbetet med vårdnad, boende och umgänge
2011
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
This thesis explores the scope for children’s voices offered to children in court mandated investigations regarding custody, residence or contact. The focus is on children who have been exposed to their father’s violence against their mother The aim is to study how the legislators’ intentions concerning children’s participation in this area are implemented in work groups. The assumption is that implementation can be seen as collective learning. Implementation may in this case challenge established relations of power like age and gender orders. Professional discourses on violence have to shift from gender neutral to gendered discourses and discourses on children have to include a participation discourse. Learning which includes a shift in discourses and challenges established power relations is defined as radical learning.The approach is social constructionist and draws on group interviews with social workers specialized in family law.The thesis analyses which discourses of violence and of children are accessible and used at group level. This can be seen as a discursive opportunity structure. The discourses in question are: gender violence, child protection, treatment and family law discourses as well as care and participation discourses. The conclusion is that all these discourses are accessible to the professionals and the effects of the different discourses are discussed regarding the possibilities for creating a safe situation for mother and child during the investigation.The thesis furthermore analyses the organisation of the work groups. These characteristics can be seen as an organisational opportunity structure. The analysis shows different patterns in the groups when it comes to structure and stage of learning process. One group seems to be at the stage where the members are prepared to start talking to the child about the father’s violence.The final chapter presents a discussion of radical learning and the possibilities for radical social change when established power relations are challenged.
2.
Mjöberg, Jessica, 1977-
(author)
Innerlighetens tid : En sociologisk undersökning av intimitet och senmodernitet
2011
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
Due to a recent increase in usage of the concept of intimacy within social scientific research, the overarching aim of this work is to investigate its meaning and significance in contemporary social life. The first part of the thesis reviews research on intimacy. Intimacy is perceived as being vaguely defined as a concept, leading to insufficient discussions concerning the significance of intimacy both as a social concept and as a social phenomenon in contemporary western society. In order to become more clearly defined as a social concept to use in future research, intimacy needs to be investigated as a social phenomenon. The second part explores and analyses intimacy as a social phenomenon by way of three partly phenomenological and partly theoretical analyses: the phenomenology of intimacy, the arithmetic of intimacy and the dark sides of intimacy. The three analyses result in a definition of intimacy understood as a kind of sociality, or mode of social being, characterized by an oceanic experience, mutual and complete directedness between the ones being in relation, an experience of mental as well as physical closeness, and an experience of time as “durée”. The third part discusses the proposed definition of intimacy as sociality in relation to contemporary social theory. In relation to an understanding of contemporary western society as late modern or radicalized modern, intimacy as sociality is discussed as a radicalization of a rational sociality, characteristic for modern society. The discussion takes the form of a dialectic critique of modern dualistic theories, proposing a triadic (dialectic) alternative for understanding basic forms of sociality and social relations. The vague notion of intimacy as a concept suited to characterize social life in contemporary western society is supported by this proposition.
3.
Svanevie, Kajsa, 1976-
(author)
Evidensbaserat socialt arbete : Från idé till praktik
2011
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
As an innovation Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is designed as a tool for clinical problem solving. According to its theory of use EBP will bring a difference for policy makers, for professionals, for researchers and for service users. One question to be asked is whether EBP actually leads to the radical social change it is designed to accomplish. The aim of the study is to describe and analyse the outcome of the effort to establish EBP, with a focus on the case of social work in Sweden. The research questions are: What is EBP? Why are efforts made to establish EBP? What is the outcome of the EBP project? How can the outcome of the EBP project be explained?The case study was conducted on a critical realistic meta-theoretical ground with a focus on explanation of social change with an explicit actor-structure perspective. Methodologically, a narrative synthesis of studies was made. As a complement primary data were collected to fill empirical gaps. The state of things was described before and after the EBP-initiatives. Several helping theories – Kuhn’s theory of paradigm, program theory, neo-institutional theory and theory of diffusion – were used to analyse the empirically mapped outcome of the EBP project.The results show that the import of the original model of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) to social work is a part of a wider social movement in the helping and educational professions. The new model has influenced social work as a discipline, as a field of practice and as a field of policy. There are examples of full-scale implementations of EBP, although EBP has not reached a general status as daily practice. Some obstacles remain.The gradual adaption of EBP corresponds to criteria hold by Kuhn for a paradigm shift. Acceptance of the model has contributed to change the structure and function of social systems. At an organizational level, this change means on-going institutionalization. The innovation is influencing the way institutional actors conduct their work. Although the structural conditions have been optimal, the EBP-model has been debated with heat. The EBP-debate and policy-driven infrastructural efforts have brought a more in-depth examination of the model. So-called coercive, normative, and regulative isomorphisms were used to change organizations. The degree of institutionalization depended on the individuals and the organizations willingness and preparedness to change, to understand, and to put the model into practice. When actors used a less strict version of the original EBP model, the pace of cultural and institutional change slowed down.
4.
Bergman, Ann-Sofie, 1963-
(author)
Lämpliga eller olämpliga hem? : Fosterbarnsvård och fosterhemskontroll under 1900-talet
2011
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
This thesis is about foster family care in Sweden during the 20th century. In the beginning of the century many children lived in foster homes. Because of the law regulating state child care passed in 1926, children’s welfare boards were established in the municipalities. These boards were responsible for placing children with foster parents and for supervising foster homes. It was required of foster parents and foster homes to be suitable in order to be allowed to take care of a foster child. What was then meant by the term suitability? This was not clearly expressed; in the assessment of suitability there was room for discretion. The overall aim of this study is to describe and analyse dominant conceptions of what has been characterized as suitable foster homes and foster parents, through the examination of the child welfare practice. The study also deals with power as an essential aspect of how suitability is determined, as well as with the supervision of foster homes. Via a long-term analysis of foster care it is possible to describe patterns and trends, continuity and change over time. The study focused mainly on the children’s welfare board in the municipality of Växjö, and was also put into a broader context of foster care inspections in the county of Kronoberg and the debate on foster care in Swedish journals. Key concepts for this analysis have been discourse, professionalization, power relations, the clinical gaze, class, gender, normality and control.The discourse around the suitability of foster homes and foster parents changed during the 20th century. The greatest change took place in the early 1970s, when foster care began to be described in terms of treatment. This shift can mainly be understood in the context of: changes in what problems led to placement; deinstitutionalization; professionalization; along with the influences of psychology and psychiatry on social work. Focus shifted over time from material needs and physical health to social and mental health. However, the discourse also includes elements of continuity. The focus on foster mothers in the inspectors’ examinations and assessments has been persistent and strong, despite great social changes. The norm that foster children should grow up in a nuclear family has prevailed, and it grew even stronger over time. Sometimes conflicts arose between various actors in the foster care practice, due to differing opinions on what was suitable or unsuitable. When deciding upon this issue there could be negotiations or disputes between the involved children, their parents, foster parents and inspectors. Problems in the foster homes which captured the attention of the board, could lead to increased control or to the children’s relocation. Throughout the previous century there has been criticism regarding insufficient control. The idea that supervision should not only serve as control, but also as support has also been advanced. The focus on the inspector’s supporting role was strengthened over time during the century.
5.
Hilding, Lars-Olof, 1963-
(author)
"Är det så här vi är" : Om utbildning som normalitet och om produktionen av studenter
2011
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
Avhandlingen, baserad på intervjuer med 58 studenter vid tre olika program vid Högskolan i Halmstad, behandlar de skäl olika studentgrupper beskriver för att börja studera, deras upplevelser av mötet med högskolemiljön, och vilken betydelse de en lokal högskola kan ha. Trots olika åtgärder var den sociala snedrekryteringen till högre utbildning i stort sett oförändrad mellan 1960 och 1990. Under 1990-talet skedde en utjämning, men 1999 kom fortfarande bara 24% av studenterna vid svenska universitet från arbetarklasshem, trots att de utgjorde 35% av hela befolkningen. Studenter med högutbildade föräldrar uppger att de egentligen inte träffar ett aktivt val att börja högre studier, det uppfattas snarare som en naturlig del av vuxenblivandet. Barn från hem utan utbildningstraditioner ger en annan beskrivning. De beskriver valet att utbilda sig som ett val bland flera andra, och att de fått stöd från föräldrarna oavsett vad de valt. För barn till lågutbildade var det ofta fråga om en särskild händelse som gjorde att utbildning blev ett aktuellt alternativ. I studien har det varit möjligt att jämföra hur både klassresenärer och arvtagare beskriver mötet med och vistelsen på högskolan. Båda grupperna beskriver hur de upplever miljön som förvirrande och otrygg. Arvtagarna utvecklar emellertid strategier för att hantera situationen, eftersom den är svårare att ifrågasätta för dessa - utbildningen är ju en naturlig del av vuxenblivandet. Klassresenärerna är däremot mer benägna att ifrågasätta studierna. Klassresenärerna beskriver hur de upplever att de förändras ifråga om språk och förhållningssätt under studierna, männen i mer positiva ordalag, kvinnor med en viss tvehågsenhet.
6.
Andersson, Catrine, 1982-
(author)
Hundra år av tvåsamhet : Äktenskapet i svenska statliga utredningar 1909-2009
2011
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
The aim of the thesis is to study the concept of marriage and discursive constructions linked to marriage in Swedish policy documents, SOU, 1909-2009. Focusing on marriage as a formal institution, and on form, rather than content – marriage is considered one of several ways of regulating intimate relationships, and the analysis is thus centred on the intimate and erotic aspects of marriage as an institution. Using queer and sociological theories on late modern intimacy, state regulation and concepts of norms, theoretical tools which make possible exploring historical discursive shifts of heteronormativity and coupledom are developed. Policy documents (SOU) are analysed using discourse analysis inspired by archaeology and history of concepts. In three chapters, each covering a part of the period 1909-2009, the discursive landscape of state intervention in marital and other coupled relations is traced. Three themes emerge in this analysis. Firstly, a discursive movement can be seen, from marriage, as a morally superior form of relation, to family, as one of several more or less encouraged forms of relations. Secondly, in using the theoretical framework of heteronormativity, it is suggested that heteronormativity is reshaped in paradoxical ways. The seemingly non-heteronormative, gender neutral marriage law introduced in 2009 was built discursively on a concept of love used from the 1980s in these materials for motivating extended civil rights for homosexuals. It was, however, a logic of love based on difference and essentialised homosexual identity. A non-heteronormative law was thus introduced on a heteronormative discursive basis, enforcing extended norms of coupledom in the process. Thirdly, the question of what discursive role marriage plays in relation to society is explored. By enforcing differentiation between sexual and non-sexual, reproductive and non-reproductive, coupled and non-coupled relationships, social order is maintained. For one hundred years, despite major changes, coupledom is constant.
7.
Andersson, Lina, 1981-
(author)
Mått på brott : Självdeklaration som metod att mäta brottslighet
2011
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
Measuring crime is one of criminology’s most central tasks. Self-report studies constitute one means of doing so. By asking people, primarily youths, about their experience of involvement in criminal acts, self-report studies are intended to provide knowledge on the extent and structure of crime and on crime trends over time, while also providing opportunities to study the causes of crime. The dissertation’s objective is to examine the use of self-reported crime as a research method. It problematises the use of self-report studies as an instrument for measuring both the extent and structure of youth crime, and also trends in youth crime over time. Problematising the method in this way both illustrates the significance of methodology and measurement instruments for the production/construction of criminological data and makes possible a more nuanced and aware approach to the use of such data. The dissertation comprises a discussion of the basic assumptions of the self-report method viewed from the perspective of theory of science, a review of Swedish self-report studies and a detailed study of the Swedish School Survey on Crime, Sweden’s nationally representative self-report study of youth in year nine (aged 15). The dissertation’s most important conclusions are that researchers, when designing a self-report study, should consider both how crime is viewed and what the study is intended to examine. It is also important, when using self-report data, to consider what the data represent. This is of significance in relation to both how questions might best be formulated and to what extent the mechanisms that affect the results will involve problems for the quality of the measures obtained.
8.
Bengtsson, Åsa, 1967-
(author)
Nyktra kvinnor : Folkbildare, företagare och politiska aktörer. Vita Bandet 1900-1930
2011
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
In this thesis the female Christian temperance union the White Ribbon is in focus. The White Ribbon was founded in Stockholm in 1900 and it was part of the international organization World’s Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WWCTU). The organization’s ambition was to create a temperate and moral society, running a variety of philanthropic institutions and adult education, as well as non-alcohol serving restaurants.The aim of the thesis is to study the White Ribbon’s social and political commitment and its ideological approach during the first three decades of the 20th century. The White Ribboners’ ideological approach and culture are problematized in relation to the prevailing and predominant view on women. The organization’s monthly journal has been closely studied and the ideas and practical social and political commitment have been analyzed in a theoretical perspective of social movement theory, according to the Swedish sociologist Håkan Thörn’s methodological framework. This theoretical approach is an instrument to analyze what the White Ribbon identified to be social problems; what was considered to be the reasons for these problems; and what strategy the organization regarded to be the best way to deal with them in order to reach the prognosticated change.The analysis shows that the White Ribbon identified the predominant gender system and the bourgeois view on women as a primary social problem. The organization’s strategy was to eliminate the patriarchal order of the gender system and to change the attitude of people through adult education, information and persuasion. The White Ribbon participated in public debate pursuing temperance and women’s suffrage, and was a lobbyist proposing motions and demanding legislative reforms. The White Ribbon’s ideological approach, as well as their philanthropic activities emanated from a bourgeois ideal of conscientiousness and cultivation, and from an interest in social politics. This was in contrast to the bourgeois view of what the ideal woman should do. From the White Ribboners’ point of view, society could only prosper when women had the same rights as men, and could participate the public sphere and become involved in politics.The study shows that the organization worked hard for equality and democracy, pursuing a feminist and liberal ideology. The White Ribboners regarded themselves, and also acted, as political agents. They introduced and increased women’s possibilities for adult education. They initiated and provided social protection for alcohol addicted women, and for poor and fallen women and girls. These activities must be seen as forms of enterprises and the White Ribboners as entrepreneurs, since these institutions were, in fact, innovations and models for solving problems in order to build a welfare system and to create a temperate and prosperous society. The thesis put forward arguments that the White Ribbon’s social and political work are political innovations and important elements in the process of democratization and, therefore, played an important part in this process.
9.
Egeberg Holmgren, Linn, 1979-
(author)
IngenMansLand : om män som feminister, intervjuframträdanden och passerandets politik
2011
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
This thesis explores constructions of gendered and gender political positions and practices of men identifying as ‘feminist’. The analysis is based on qualitative interviews with 28 men aged 20-34. At issue is how seemingly contradictory positions for men as feminists are made comprehensible in theory and practice. An introduction showcase theoretical discussions on gendered experiences and the possibilities of men being feminist, mainly from standpoint, radical feminist and poststructuralist radical constructionist perspectives. Men doing feminism emerge as an unresolved complex matter. This is followed by a critical discussion of state feminism, double emancipation and research on men and masculinities in the welfare state. The support for men’s participation, predominantly as white heterosexual fathers, in the Swedish gender equality project has consequences for the construction of men as potentially ‘new’, ‘good’ gender equal feminist subjects. In the construction of profeminist positions in interview performances, interviewees are located in-between the radical feminist, poststructuralist and gender equality perspectives on men, masculinity and feminism. Two themes involve an implementation of the concept of passing and introduce the analytical concept of co-fielding. Passing consists of the microsociological process of making radical and deconstructive profeminist positions authentic and yet being able to manage masculinity in homosocial contexts. Co-fielding refers to the conjoint interlacing of experiences, knowledge and meaning-making in interview interaction where relations of researcher-researched are characterized by discursive closeness and overlapping positions. Co-fielding practices affect the outcomes of co-construction of interview performances, the negotiation of gender and power relations and the reflexive use of (in this case feminist) knowledge in qualitative interviews. In analyzing the presentations of self, ambiguous meanings of profeminist positions emerge and the doing, undoing and redoing of feminism and masculinity appear multi-faceted. Radical feminism and radical constructionism seem intersected in making men’s feminist positions comprehensible. Such rebellious positions emerge as oxymoronic and, when critically brought into the gender equality context, located in a no man’s land out of place. In all, the thesis seeks to bring together theoretical, national and empirical locations of profeminist men, and in a concluding chapter also explore issues of ethics in feminist research and cross-gender interviewing.
10.
Ericson, Mathias, 1976
(author)
Nära inpå: Maskulinitet, intimitet och gemenskap i brandmäns arbetslag
2011
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic) abstract
This study explores the profession of firefighter, in which the progression of gender equality has been particularly slow compared to many other professions in Sweden. The aim of the study is to explore constructions of masculinity in the firefighter profession and how they are related to specific forms of community among men in this profession. The starting point of the thesis is that one of the central mechanisms of gender segregation is male homosociality, which is men’s search for community with other men. Based on field notes and recorded interviews the study explores how affectionate and intimate relations between men are supported and upheld in this occupation. The analysis is presented in three parts that explore different aspects of firefighters’ life in the work teams. The first section explores that firefighters’ put value on spatial and temporal settings that demanded that they lived family life at work. They thought that if women were included in the work teams it would become more difficult to share that kind of intimacy. The second section focuses on the joking manner and jargon among firefighters. Being able to respond to brutal jokes and raw jargon confirmed their sense of being close, which was not thought to be able to uphold if women were included in the work teams. The third section focuses on how firefighters relate to the fact that their work is associated with notions of masculinity. It is argued that their ability to both support and criticise their profession’s association with masculine stereotypes enforced these men’s commitment to each other in the teams. The main contribution of the thesis to a deeper understanding of how men’s hegemony is maintained within this profession is exploring how the notion of homosociality and intimacy between men relates to the concept of masculinity. The thesis concludes that the concept of homosociality makes it possible to highlight other forms of inclusion and exclusion mechanisms than does the concept of hegemonic masculinity. The concept of masculinity emphasises the conflicts and hierarchies between men. The concept of homosociality however emphasises belonging and loyalty among men. It can be used to explore how gender is constructed, through the expectation that homosocial relationships would make possible an exclusive intimacy. That homosociality is valued as a guarantee for exclusive intimacy seems especially important in this profession, where this exclusive intimacy provides men with a sense of belonging and confirmation of having what it takes to be a real firefighter.
