1.
Sjölund, Maria, 1978-
(författare)
Levd erfarenhet av ålder : Föreställningar om och erfarenheter av att vara och bli äldre
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Starting from the perspective that the ageing human body always is a situation and in a situation, the present thesis explores situations in which the meaning of age and ageing is negotiated. The analytical focus is on situations, and more specifically on experiences of age and ageing. The aim of the thesis is to describe and analyse the lived experience of age and ageing. A hermeneutic understanding of experience and lived experience is fundamental to the thesis. Three studies are included.The first study is based on descriptions of situations in which older people felt “especially young” and "especially old". The analysis revealed that the same kinds of situations gave rise to experiences both of feeling “especially young” and of feeling “especially old”, but they differed in focus regarding social inclusion/exclusion.The second study is based on interviews with amateur dancers regarding their experiences of a dance project in which the artistic focus is on the aged body. Two themes emerged in the analysis: the dance project as a situation in which the meaning of age and ageing was both given new meanings and restated in stereotypical terms; and the aged and ageing person him-/herself as a situation for negotiating the meaning of age and ageing. The meaning of age was negotiated, as there were tensions between referring to age and ageing as resources and referring to them as a problem associated with restrictions. The situated experiences involved changes in the body, pointed out by other people or felt oneself. The dissociation from being old appeared as an internalized social norm, and one strategy for avoiding old age was to keep active, but not too active.The third study is based on a vignette dialogue with amateur dancers. Text excerpts from Simone de Beauvoir's book The Coming of Age (1970/1972) were used as vignettes to grasp notions about the aged in society as they appeared to the informants. Among the informants, notions of being and becoming old in a society are filled with fears of being dependent, becoming a social burden on society and being reduced to an aged person with standardized needs who is unable to live a worthy life. In sum, the lived experience of ageing is always situated as a complex interplay between the body, social norms, the available language and our notions about these phenomena. The present thesis shows that age and ageing can be filled with various inconsistent meanings that embrace social inclusion as well as social exclusion.
2.
Eman, Josefin, 1983-
(författare)
Growing old and still practising competitive sports : An exploration of acting-space and sense-making processes among old women and men
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The thesis explores how the way athletically active old men and women make sense of their acting-space affects their participation in competitive sports and conversely how their participation in competitive sports affect their sense-making process and acting-space. It puts emphasis on the sociological point of intersection of three different research fields; sports science, critical gerontology and gender studies. Concretely, it is inspired by grounded theory research design and based on interviews with twenty-two athletically active men and women over the age of 65. The thesis consists of four articles, and together these show that men and women experience certain constraints of acting-space in the context of competitive sports, which primarily seem to be related to norms of age and gender. At the same time, the thesis shows that by practising sports old adults, especially old women, are able to transgress these constraints and possibly challenge dominant constructions of age and gender.
3.
Fors, Filip, 1981-
(författare)
Lycklig? : Sju studier om välbefinnandets och livstillfredsställelsens bestämningsfaktorer
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Quality of life is often defined in terms of happiness. Happiness can be divided into two components; a cognitive and evaluating form of happiness named life satisfaction and a more emotional form of happiness named affective well-being. The aim of empirical happiness studies is to survey which factors that influence life satisfaction and affective well-being. Despite the fact that the purpose of happiness studies is to understand which factors that impact these two forms of happiness, previous studies have, however, almost exclusively been focused on factors that impact life satisfaction. Whether determinants of life satisfaction and affective well-being are different and if there are factors that are especially important for affective well-being is hence uncertain on the basis of previous research. The first and main question of the dissertation revolves around the attempt to answer these questions. More specifically, this thesis examine the relationship between the two forms of happiness and socioeconomic status, social relationships, health, recreational activities, personality traits and context of society of an individual. These questions are analyzed using statistical data from the European Social Survey and the Swedish SOM-survey.The results of this dissertation indicate that the relationship between different determinants and the two forms of happiness, systematically differ. First and foremost, many important aspects of socioeconomic status, social relationships and societal factors are shown to be more related to life satisfaction than affective well-being. Some aspects of health and personality, on the other hand, show a stronger relation with affective well-being compared to life satisfaction.Besides investigating whether the determinants of life satisfaction and affective well-being diverge, the aim of the dissertation is also to answer whether peoples personality traits and personal values, affect what significance life circumstances have for life satisfaction and affective well-being of the individual. The results of the dissertation indicate that both personality traits, as well as values, affect the significance of a number of different living conditions.In conclusion, the results of the dissertation indicate that the study of people’s happiness should be balanced by studying life satisfaction and affective well-being separately. Furthermore, the study of individual differences in personality traits and personal values can extend the understanding of how living conditions influence life satisfaction and affective well-being of individuals. This knowledge can, in turn, contribute to important awareness about how people’s life satisfaction and affective well-being can be promoted both on a personal as well as on a social level.
4.
Öun, Ida, 1980-
(författare)
Conflict and concord in work and family : Family policies and individuals' subjective experiences
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Background This thesis explores the relationship between individuals’ subjective experiences and the welfare state setting. The research questions in focus deal with the outcomes of women’s and men’s increasing dual roles in work and family in contemporary welfare states. The studies analyse women’s and men’s subjective experiences of combining work and family, and their perceptions of fairness in the division of household work.Methods The thesis applies a comparative perspective where the unit of analysis is country and/or family policy model. A broad perspective with the aim to capture general patterns across a broad range of welfare states is combined with a narrower case-oriented approach. Multilevel analysis is used to analyse patterns at national as well as individual levels in the same model. Latent Class Analysis is used to capture patterns of latent dimensions with regard to the central concept of subject experiences.Results The results indicate that the introduction of policies aiming to promote dual roles among women and men and the articulation of gender equality can matter for individuals’ subjective experiences of work-family conflict. In dual-earner countries, the probability that a high level of conflict is counterbalanced by feelings of life satisfaction is higher than in other policy models. A class asymmetry is found when it comes to effects of policy on men’s and women’s levels of work-family conflict and work-family satisfaction; women in the working class and the salaried class are more similar when it comes to experiences of work-family conflict and satisfaction in Sweden than in Germany and the UK. The analysis also shows that perceptions of fairness in the division of housework are moderated by the institutional and normative context. The politicisation of gender equality increases the correspondence between actual share of housework performed and the perceptions of fairness in the division of housework. The effect of politicisation is more important for men’s perceptions than for women’s.Conclusion The thesis contributes to a deepened understanding of the relationship between policy and work-family conflict and the integration of the perspectives of role conflict and role expansion; knowledge about the ways in which both class and gender relations are structured concerning the patterns of work-family conflict and satisfaction in different policy contexts; and new knowledge about the relationship between policy and men’s – and not only women’s – perceptions of fairness in the division of household work.
5.
Edvall Malm, Disa, 1965-
(författare)
Det socio-polisiära handlingsnätet : om kopplingar mellan polis och socialtjänst kring ungdomars kriminalitet och missbuk
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Övergripande diskuterar avhandlingen olika aspekter av att samhällets system av stöd och kontroll för barn och unga knyts närmare samman. Det handlar om hur samverkan framställs och uppfattas på olika nivåer och hur den konkretiseras i polisens och socialtjänstens arbete kring unga som utvecklat eller bedöms riskera att utveckla kriminalitet och/eller missbruk. Studieobjektet inbegriper övergripande ideologisknivå, lokal/praktisknivå och individuell nivå. Syftet med avhandlingen är att identifiera, beskriva och analysera polisens och socialtjänstens samverkan kring barn och ungas kriminalitet och missbruk. Utgångspunkten är hur; samverkan mellan myndigheterna framställs i offentliga dokument, hur lokala aktörer uppfattar behovet av men också möjligheter, svårigheter och hinder kring samverkan, hur myndigheterna lokalt är organiserade för att aktualisera, handlägga, behandla och avsluta barn och unga, och slutligen vilka barn och unga som denna samverkan kan omfatta. Avsikten är att få en bild av vad denna samverkan på policynivå innebär och sätta detta i relation till hur polis och socialtjänst förstår och skapar sina respektive och gemensamma uppdrag i förhållande till varandra lokalt. I avhandlingen används tre olika empiriska material och olika metoder för analys: Analys av statliga offentliga dokument, kvalitativa intervjuer med poliser, socialarbetare och deras chefer i en kommun och en kvantitativ kartläggning av aktuella ungdomar i kommunen. Handlingsnät som teoretisk grund används för att studera kopplingar mellan de båda myndigheterna och de tre olika nivåerna av studien. Genom att använda handlingsnät blir det möjligt att se hur polisens och socialtjänstens olika uppdrag kopplas samman kring barn och ungas kriminalitet och missbruk.Resultaten av studien visar att det pågår en ettablering av ett socio-polisiärt handlingsnät på den övergripande ideologiska nivån och den lokala kommunala nivån. I policydokumenten förspråkas ett kontrollerande förhållningsätt gentemot ungas kriminalitet. På den lokala nivån handlade det om ett kontrollstödjande förhållningsätt för att motverka både ungas kriminalitet och missbruk. Resultaten av studien visar att socialtjänsten fått ta ett större ansvar för att utreda och verkställa påföljder för ungas kriminella handlingar, samtidigt som det inom socialtjänsten riskerar att utvecklas en logik mera baserad på straffvärdet av den brottsliga handlingen än den unges individuella behov av hjälp och stöd. Studien visar att i polisens och sociatjänstens arbete med enskilda barn och unga finns få möjligheter till samarbete. Dessutom var det få unga personer som samtidigt var aktuella för både polis och socialtjänst, vilket gör det svårt att uppnå något djupare längre samarbete kring enskilda ungdomar under längre tid. Det kan i bästa fall mera handla om en form av remissförfarande från polis till socialtjänst.
6.
Groglopo, Adrián, 1967-
(författare)
Appropriation by Coloniality : TNCs, land, hegemony and resistance. The case of Botnia/UPM in Uruguay.
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The overall aim of this thesis is to analyse the social consequences of a transnational corporation(TNC) from the global North investing capital in the global South, and the communal processes that evolve in response. The study highlights the TNC’s construction of leadership and domination in the areas in which it settles, as well as the forces of popular resistance to the TNC’s exploitation of the region’s natural resources and the resulting socio-environmental conditions.The study is based on empirical fieldwork (including 22 interviews) carried out in Uruguay and Argentina related to the establishment of a pulp mill by Botnia/UPM. The analyses focus on discursive processes whereby the TNC establishes itself in the community. The found patterns are discussed in the thesis based on the following themes: “Making the TNC indispensible” ; “Dominating the spaces of communication” ; “Controlling the narratives” ; “Contradictions of external and internal colonialism” and “Establishing and maintaining hegemony”. All of these have to do with socio-political and discursive strategies and circumstances whereby the TNC—symbolically and materially— becomes a powerful force in the country and community where it establishes itself. This creates certain social positions, and gives rise to tensions within a number of areas.In relation to these processes, the thesis also highlights the formation and mobilization of resistance against the changing social, cultural and economic conditions created through the arrival of the TNC. What appears to be crucial for the deployment of a successful counter-force is the creation of spaces for organisation, for practices of resistance and to sustain democratic values and practices. This makes the social movement an autonomous voice that incarnates disobedience against thestate, the juridical international apparatus and the hegemonic practices of TNCs.
7.
Linblad, Inger, 1963-
(författare)
Problembilder av barn : Representationer, föreställningar och strategier i BRIS stödtelefon 1996-98
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
A number of countries including Sweden have developed children’s helplines as free and anonymous counseling services for children and youth. The aim of this study was to deepen knowledge about how the problems of children and youth are represented and constructed in Sweden’s BRIS (Children’s Rights in Society) Children’s Helpline, telephone support between the years 1996 and 1998. The work was social constructivistic, examining how helpline responders understand and interpret information received during support calls. The concept of “the concern” is highlighted as a point of study of problem constructions within micro-counselling. The empirical material consisted primarily of interviews with persons who worked at BRIS either as employed ombudspersons or as volunteer telephone responders. Eleven ombudspersons replied to questions about the Children’s Helpline and how support services are organized. Thirty eight interviews were carried out with helpline responders at two separate occasions during the study period. Fifteen of these interviews provided material for an in depth investigation of responders preconceptions of children and youth’s everyday life, as well as the themes of gender, problematic relationships and assault as well as the strategies that responders used in their supportive calls. Statistical information was collected from BRIS reports. Fifteen completed questionnaires from support calls were included in this study. Analytical processes resulted in the development of the two theoretical concepts of familiarity and micro-understanding. General representations of children and youth situations are put forth via descriptions of misery. The responders’ concepts of children’s everyday life appear fragmentary because of the limited information available about the caller. Gender issues are constructed around questions of feminity and sexuality. The theme of assault contains calls from both girls and boys. Boys’ calls about assault are constructed around bullying and physical assault. Girls’ call are also constructed around violence but also include sexual abuse and molestation. This study contributes to the growing field of knowledge about the problem images of children and youth that emanate from support calls made to telephone helplines.
8.
Nasseh Lotf Abadi, Mozhdeh, 1977-
(författare)
Social support, coping, and self-esteem in relation to psychosocial factors : A study of health issues and birth weight in young mothers in Tehran, Iran
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Introduction: Generally, pregnancy is considered to be a positive period in life in Iranian culture. For the parents, it is important to have a healthy pregnancy and, as a result, a healthy child. A sufficient birth weight of the infant represents one of the crucial conditions of a healthy development of a child during infancy as well as later in life. Ongoing research has been carried out regarding various medical factors related to birth weight, but there is a gap in knowledge about psychosocial factors such as social support, coping, self-esteem, stress and mother’s mental health, and various socio-demographic factors including domestic violence, which may lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weight. This thesis aims to provide knowledge to fill this gap.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Tehran, Iran, including 600 young mothers who had delivered in Akbarabadi hospital, one of the main gynaecological hospitals affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The investigation included a self-developed socio-demographic form, the Social Support Questionnaire, the Ways of Coping Checklist, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, the General Health Questionnaire-12, and a Life Event Checklist.Results: We could not find a significant association between birth weight and mother’s level of education, and there was no substantial relationship between general mental health and birth weight. Verbal abuse was reported by 26.0% of the young mothers, 4.8% reported physical abuse, 5.5% reported sexual abuse, and 1.3% reported all three types of abuse. The abuse-index was significantly negatively associated with satisfaction with social support and with self-esteem.The higher the abuse-index, by trend, the lower was the infants’ birth weight. Weight before pregnancy, current weight, weight gain during pregnancy, and the number of prenatal care visits were significantly positively associated with the weight of the newborn. Mothers who reported having a history of a low birth-weight (LBW) child or were physically abused during pregnancy had infants with significant lower birth weight.The more the pregnant women were satisfied with their social support and the more often they used positive reappraisal as a way of coping, the higher was their infants’ birth weight. The higher the self-esteem, the less often they used escape avoidance and confrontive coping.Conclusion: The results suggest the importance of relationships between a healthy pregnancy and psychosocial as well as socio-demographic factors. Providing pregnant women with social support is a key component for a healthy pregnancy, especially when faced with stressful situations. The number of people available for support did not provide a significant buffering effect on domestic violence (DV), but the perceived quality of social support did. Higher education in the mother and husband, and women’s employment represented protective conditions against the occurrence of DV. Women who reported physical abuse during pregnancy had infants with lower birth weight. Satisfaction with social support and use of positive reappraisal were significantly associated with higher birth weight.
9.
Nygren, Karina, 1974-
(författare)
Adolescent self-reported health in the Umeå region : Associations with behavioral, parental and school factors
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
This thesis consists of a quantitative and a qualitative study. The quantitative study (articles I-III) aimed to examine how self-reported health in adolescence is associated with behavioral, parental, and school factors. Through a survey directed at all adolescents in grades 7-9, data were collected in 2005 in a region in northern Sweden (n=5060). Statistical methods were used to analyze the survey data: chi2tests, multivariate logistic regressions and multilevel logistic regressions. Results showed that even though most adolescents reported good health, there were also rather large proportions of adolescents who reported headaches, stomach aches and feelings of stress. Girls reported poor health to a higher extent than boys, a difference that was larger in grade 9 than in grade 7. The results also showed that being norm compliant was associated with good self-reported health. Furthermore, perceiving relations and communication with parents as poor was associated with poor self-reported health; however, this relationship could not explain gender differences in self-reported health. Continuing on, analyses showed that there exist greater variations in self-reported health between students (within a school) than between different schools. On an individual level, poor relations to teachers, bullying and truancy were associated with poor general health. The qualitative study (article IV) sought to examine barriers to and facilitators of utilization of local school survey results within a school setting. In 2011, 21 school district managers and principals within a Swedish municipality were interviewed. Analyses were performed using a qualitative content analysis. The results from the qualitative study showed that the dissemination and utilization of school survey results appeared as two interrelated phases in one process. Barriers and facilitators differed qualitatively depending on the phase, dissemination or utilization.In conclusion, professionals as well as researchers need to consider the complexity of adolescent health and its social determinants. Adolescent health is a concern for multiple sectors in society, which highlights the need for further development of collaborations between professionals in relevant fields, such as health care, school and social services.
10.
Ratsika, Nikoleta, 1958-
(författare)
Between tradition and modernity : The occupational choices of young people in rural Crete
2012
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the occupational orientations and choices of young people in rural Crete, a society, which is in constant change as it finds itself caught between tradition and modernity. To achieve this, the study looks into two cases: the case of Anogia, a small mountainous cattle-raising village, and the case of Archanes, which is a farming village on a plain. Both communities are undergoing a process of change due to the influence exerted upon them through the frequent contacts with the ‘outside world’ and the diffusion of modernity in all areas of life. The study expects to shed light on how the young people of these villages experience the transition from tradition to modernity and how this transition influences their choice of occupation. More specifically, the aims of this study are to investigate: A. The occupational orientations and choice of occupation of the young people within the communities of Anogia and Archanes. B. The main contextual factors that contribute to the young people’s occupational orientations and choice of occupation in Anogia and Archanes. The overall approach is a qualitative inquiry consisting of two case studies. The empirical research took place in the field of the communities of Anogia and Archanes, and addresses 29 young people of the villages, so as to gather primary data through semistructured interviews. The age has been defined to be 16 to 25 years old. In order to arrive at the findings, data analysis derived from the Grounded Theory methodological approach was employed (Strauss, 1987). The main findings of the study show that the transitional process from school to work seems to be the most crucial issue for the young people under study, in the process of shaping their occupational orientations and choices. The attitude, either positive or negative, that each one has adopted towards school and education generally and the level of education constitutes the main tool that determines the limitations and the opportunities for job placement. In these small societies, the traditional roles have been overturned as regards the youth and their professional orientations. The majority of young people follow new practices in seeking employment. These characterise the following three types of youth: the stayers, the ambivalent and the leavers.
