1.
Ahlgren, Thorbjörn, 1959-
(författare)
Institutionalisering på hemmaplan : En idés resa i den sociala barnavården
2014
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
This thesis describes and analyses in three substudies how home-based measures for children are expanding and why an open care idea are established as part of the Swedish child welfare. The first substudy describes the national increment of what today can be considered as a treatment policy – non-institutional care in child welfare. The results are analysed with Kingdon's agenda setting theory and shows that the factors of what Kingdon describes as problems-, politics- and policyflow influenced the national increment. Significant mechanisms have primarily been, the profession, the society's concerns for socially disadvantaged children, negative experiences of institutionalisation and a political position to deinstitutionalise all care. The second substudy focuses on how knowledge and research contributes to ideological, professional, and organizational change in child welfare by analysis of Research & Developments reports and articles from the professional journal Socionomen. Based on the neo-institutional concepts of organisational fields and isoformism the study's results shows that a consequence of adaptation strategies and "rationalized myths" are a number of similarities in how home-based measures are organized and which measures that are used. The third substudy, a case study, analyses how we can understand a local development of ideas in social services for children with concepts from neo institutional theory. Interviews and municipal documents are analysed and shows that the local translation of an open care idea is characterized by discretion, personal preferences and action and affects the choice of method and organization. The study also shows a political mistrust of institutional care while there is at the same time political confidence in the individual social worker's ability to find solutions that allow non-institutional measures to be an alternative to institutional care.An overall conclusion of the thesis is that there is now a treatment policy in social services for the children, which involves extensive efforts at home and it has led to that more children receive support from social services. One result of non-institutional care increment is that it led to increased costs for municipalities for intervention for children and young people when out-of-home care has not decreased. Another general conclusion is that translation and adaptation of ideas to local contexts is something that generally fits street-level bureaucrats need for discretion.
2.
Ahlman, Christer
(författare)
Vänskap, värden, vandel: Avvikelser och återhämtningsstrategier hos Göteborgs första generation ungdomsnarkomaner
2014
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The aim of this dissertation is to investigate how and why a sample of young people who were criminals and drug addicts in the 1960s – Gothenburg’s first generation of young drug junkies – could get up on their feet and then sustain an orderly life. The empirical material consists of recorded and transcribed life history interviews with 15 individuals, 10 of whom had rather central positions within Gothenburg’s first generation of young drug addicts. Three of the remaining five have had close and lasting contacts and relations with the same social circle, while two have had similar experiences from other places. Several of these persons were interviewed both in the 1980s, when they had been drug-free for ten years, and then again in the 2000s, when they were about 60 years old. The connection between relationship and dialogue becomes methodologically important, since several of the interviewees have been the author’s friends and acquaintances. Autobiographical literature and the author’s own memories supplement the transcribed interviews. In the dissertation, the individuals’ entry into the circle of drug users is explained by the cultural environment and spirit of the times, and by the material conditions and situations that surrounded them in Gothenburg in the 1950-60s, but also by broken families and deficient parental attachment. The interviewees’ recollections indicate that they were provided moral cornerstones as children, which in combination with a demanding and exhausting lifestyle fuelled their willingness to break away from their drug-saturated existence. The conflict between internalised ethics and a deviant lifestyle has in such stages of transition often manifested itself in experiences of burnout and psychotic breakdowns. Their recovery has in many cases been characterised by a series of relationships with partners leading a more organised life, and these periods have served as effective training. Rather than resulting in a new lasting period of deviance, the interviewees’ possible relapse attempts have provided dull and dreary experiences. In fact, they have reinforced their recognition of themselves as ‘normal’. Their lasting and intensive drug use has not led to a life-long identification or ex-role as drug addict, compared with their class and gender roles or other deep roles. During the years following their recovery period, most of the interviewees have had longstanding family commitments and partner relations as well as decent working and housing conditions. At the time of the interviews in the first decade of the 21st century, all of them displayed a distanced and controlled relation to drugs (apart from tobacco).
3.
Barclay, Kieron, 1986-
(författare)
The Long-term Impact of Birth Order on Health and Educational Attainment
2014
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
This doctoral thesis examines the long-term impact of birth order on health, and educational attainment. Swedish register data is used to link individuals to their siblings, thereby allowing members of the sibling group to be compared to one another. This thesis consists of an introductory chapter summarizing empirical research on the relationship between birth order and educational attainment, intelligence, health, and personality, as well the theoretical frameworks that have been developed to explain those relationships. This introductory chapter is followed by four original empirical studies. The first two studies show that relative to first born siblings, later borns have lower physical fitness in late adolescence, and higher mortality in adulthood. The third study uses the Swedish registers to identify sibling groups that entirely consist of adopted individuals, and shows that the commonly observed negative relationship between birth order and educational attainment persists in these fully adopted sibling groups. These results suggest that birth order effects are likely explained by post-natal, social mechanisms within the family. Finally, the fourth study shows that even though later born siblings do worse than first borns in a fully adjusted statistical model, educational expansion in the 20th century has meant that later born siblings actually tend to have greater educational attainment and are more likely to attend university in comparison to older siblings within the same family.
4.
Bengtsen, Peter
(författare)
The Street Art World
2014
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
In recent years, street art has become embedded in popular culture and received growing attention from the art market and art institutions. Work by street artists has entered galleries, auction houses and museums, and some artists have been given the opportunity to create large-scale sanctioned public art projects. Simultaneously, widespread photographic documentation of street artworks and the circulation of images online have provided artists with a potentially global audience. The Street Art World investigates street art as a relatively newly established field within contemporary art. With the American sociologist Howard S. Becker’s notion of “art worlds” as a central point of departure, the book seeks to characterise street art by studying and participating in the everyday interaction among the artists, gallerists, collectors, critics, curators, bloggers and street art enthusiasts that make up the social environment (the street art world) in which the term street art is continuously given its meaning. Major themes addressed in the book include: (1) The social construction of the meaning of the term street art and the resulting difficulties in formally defining what street art is. (2) The often contradictory attitudes within the street art world towards art history and the institutions of art. (3) The relationship between street art, the art market and the institutional art world. (4) The relationship between street art and public art. (5) Street art’s potential to affect the viewer’s perception of public space, and the possible challenges the increasing digital mediation of street art may pose to bringing this potential to fruition. While the book presents central characteristics of the street art movement, it also acknowledges that it is not feasible to pin down the nature of street art once and for all, since street art is a product of complex social processes.
5.
Berggren, Kalle, 1980-
(författare)
Reading Rap : Feminist Interventions in Men and Masculinity Research
2014
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The present thesis explores how masculinity is constructed and negotiated in relation to race, class and sexuality in hip hop in Sweden. Theoretically, the study contributes to the increasing use of contemporary feminist theory in men and masculinity research. In so doing, it brings into dialogue poststructuralist feminism, feminist phenomenology, intersectionality and queer theory. These theoretical perspectives are put to use in a discourse analysis of rap lyrics by 38 rap artists in Sweden from the period 1991-2011. The thesis is based on the following four articles:Sticky masculinity: Post-structuralism, phenomenology and subjectivity in critical studies on men explores how poststructuralist feminism and feminist phenomenology can advance the understanding of subjectivity within men and masculinity research. Drawing on Sara Ahmed, and offering re-readings of John Stoltenberg and Victor Seidler, the article develops the notion of “sticky masculinity”.Degrees of intersectionality: Male rap artists in Sweden negotiating class, race and gender analyzes how class, race, gender, and to some extent sexuality, intersect in rap lyrics by male artists. It shows how critiques of class and race inequalities in these lyrics intersect with normative notions of gender and sexuality. Drawing on this empirical analysis, the article suggests that the notion of “degrees of intersectionality” can be helpful in thinking about masculinity from an intersectional perspective.‘No homo’: Straight inoculations and the queering of masculinity in Swedish hip hop explores the boundary work performed by male artists regarding sexuality categories. In particular, it analyzes how heterosexuality is sustained, given the affection expressed among male peers. To this end, the article develops the notion of “straight inoculations” to account for the rhetorical means by which heterosexual identities are sustained in a contested terrain.Hip hop feminism in Sweden: Intersectionality, feminist critique and female masculinity investigates lyrics by female artists in the male-dominated hip hop genre. The analysis shows how critique of gender inequality is a central theme in these lyrics, ranging from the hip hop scene to politics and men’s violence against women. The article also analyzes how female rappers both critique and perform masculinity.
6.
Bernhardsson, Josefin, 1979-
(författare)
Normalitetens gränser : En fokusgruppstudie om alkoholkultur(er), genus- och åldersskapande
2014
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
During the last decades, scholars have discussed the changes of Swedish alcohol culture. Among other things, it has been suggested that parallel with increased consumption levels men’s and women’s drinking is becoming more similar.In connection with this discussion, the purpose of this thesis is to examine Swedish alcohol culture(s) by analysing the meanings that focus groups from different generations ascribe to drinking in relation to different life periods: childhood, adolescence and adulthood. More specifically, it aims to analyse how the interviewees specify and negotiate normative boundaries and self-presentations in relation to norms and discourses of gender and age. An essential part of the analysis is to examine differences within gender and age-groups, as well as the similarities between them.The findings suggest that even though drinking patterns are changing in terms of quantity and choice of beverage, meanings, motives and norms seem to be rather stable – especially in regard to gender. Overall, a distinction is being made between men and women: Femininity is constructed in terms of control, responsibility and caring, and masculinity in terms of fearlessness, breaking of boundaries, and loss of control. Men’s and women’s drinking are also accounted for in different ways. While men’s drinking behaviours are excused with arguments about biology and hormones, women’s (anticipated) responsibility is explained with their connection to motherhood.However; these norms vary in strength and are expressed in different ways, depending on the drinking norms of different life-periods; mainly moderate in childhood and adulthood, and mainly orientated to binge-drinking in adolescence. With regard to positive meanings ascribed to drinking, similarities between age and gender groups are also generally greater than the differences between them. Thus, gendered differences are mainly constructed in relation to behaviours that are perceived as risky or problematic.
7.
Bohman, Andrea, 1983-
(författare)
Anti-immigrant attitudes in context : The role of rhetoric, religion and political representation
2014
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Background. This thesis directs attention to how attitudes towards immigrants evolve under different contextual circumstances. Unlike previous research that primarily focuses on contextual factors related to the availability of material resources, the included studies explore the influence of less tangible aspects of our surroundings, brought together under the term immaterial contexts. Three kinds of immaterial contexts are in focus: political representatives’ use of nationalistic rhetoric, the parliamentary presence of the extreme right, and the religious context. The studies examine the direct effects of these contexts, but also how individuals’ beliefs, loyalties, and experiences interact with the contextual factors to shape peoples’ attitudes.Methods. The thesis takes a comparative approach where countries serve as the main contextual unit. Data on attitudes and other individual features are gathered from the European Social Survey 2002-2012. To be able to analyze these data in the same model as used for country-level data, the thesis applies multi-level models.Results. The findings support a theoretical expectation that immaterial contexts influence anti-immigrant attitudes. How people perceive immigrants and immigration can be traced to political and religious aspects of their surroundings. Also, it is found that individuals are not passive recipients of contextual influences as their reactions depend on their preferences and experiences. While political representatives influence anti-immigrant attitudes, these effects are strongly conditional both on features of the representatives themselves, and on characteristics and experiences of individuals. For example, individuals respond to political rhetoric by traditional political parties but are not influenced by the same kind of message if conveyed by a party belonging to the extreme right.Conclusion. The thesis is an attempt to widen the very notion of contexts in empirical research, and as such, it is a contribution to the literature on anti-immigrant attitudes. It shows that anti-immigrant attitudes depend not only on material circumstances, but also on immaterial circumstances tied to the political and religious arena. Further, the thesis demonstrates how combining the theoretical perspectives of group threat theory and framing theory implies greater possibilities to conceive of the link between contexts and attitudes, as well as improved theoretical tools to understand when and why such effects do not occur. It signals that research on immaterial contexts is necessary to further advance the comparative scholarship on anti-immigrant attitudes and reach a deeper understanding of how such attitudes emerge and evolve.
8.
Carlsson, Christoffer, 1986-
(författare)
Continuities and Changes in Criminal Careers
2014
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
The best predictor of future criminal behavior is past criminal behavior. At the same time, the vast majority of people who engage in crime are teenagers and stop offending with age. Explaining these empirical findings has been the main task of life-course criminology, and contributing to an understanding of how and why offenders continue their criminal careers once they have started, and how and why they stop, is also the purpose of this dissertation.To do this, the dissertation studies a number of facets of the criminal career: the importance of childhood risk factors (Paper I), the notions of turning points (Paper II) and intermittency (Paper III), and the connection between masculinities and criminal careers (Paper IV). In contrast to much life-course criminological research, the dissertation mainly relies on qualitative life history interviews, collected as part of The Stockholm Life Course Project.The findings suggest a need for increased sensitivity to offenders’ lives, and their complexity. Whereas continuity and change can be understood within a frame of age-graded social control, this perspective needs to be extended and developed further, in mainly three ways. First, the concept and phenomenon of human agency needs closer study. Second, lived experiences of various forms of social stratification (e.g. gender, ethnicity, and so on) must be integrated into understandings of continuity and change in crime, seeing as phenomena such as social control may be contingent on these in important ways. Third, this dissertation highlights the need to go beyond the transition to adulthood and explore the later stages of criminal careers.In closing, the dissertation suggests that we move toward a focus on the contingencies of criminal careers and the factors, events, and processes that help shape them. If we understand those contingencies in more detail, possible implications for policy and practice also emerge.
9.
Elmersjö, Magdalena, 1978-
(författare)
Kompetensfrågan inom äldreomsorgen : Hur uppfattningar om kompetens formar omsorgsarbetet, omsorgsbehoven och omsorgsrelationen
2014
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
This dissertation examines how perceptions of competence affect the care of older persons, and the values and vocational conceptions of care work and care recipients that are tied to the perceptions of what skills that are needed and why. Competence is defined by three parts with relevance for the content of care work: what knowledge the care workers should have, what tasks they should perform and how they should respond to care recipients. The aim of this dissertation is to analyse how the care managers' and care workers' perceptions of competence form the direction of the care work and how that direction relates to the care recipients’ perceptions of and expectations on the care work. The care work is characterised by what is analysed as an activation of the recipients - that the recipients themselves should perform as much of the care work as possible. The activation aims at managing the decay of the aging body and is motivated by a vocational conception of the care recipients as different from others, with designations as grateful and passive. This conception is analysed as generation character based on an idea among the care managers and care workers that the society in which the recipients grew up gave them certain cognitive prerequisites that have to be managed in the practical care work. The care recipients in the study have opposing conceptions and perceptions of care work compared with the care managers and care workers. The recipients’ central objective with the care work is to prevent what has been interpreted as the disrepair of the home. The care recipients’ position in the organisation raises the problem of loyalty towards the care workers and in some sense the care managers. Their loyalty reduces their ability to complain and to influence their situation to the better. Keywords: care of older persons, care needs, care work, care relationship, care receivers, care workers, care managers, competence, technologies, activation, generation character
10.
Erlandsson, Sara, 1979-
(författare)
Hjälp för att bevara eller förändra? : Åldersrelaterade diskurser om omsorg, stöd och service
2014
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
This thesis analyses the categorisation of adult persons who need help to cope in everyday life as either older persons or persons with a disability. Despite the development of social services in the Scandinavian countries being guided by the principles of universalism and equality, adults in need of care have different rights to support depending on their current age and at which age disability occurs. This thesis aims to explore how age-based differences in access to care, support and service are legitimised. In the thesis, the concept of help is used to refer to care, support and service.Using a discourse analytic approach, Swedish elderly and disability policies and websites through which providers of help market their services were examined. The analysis, inspired by the theoretical framework of governmentality, draws attention to how users of help and helpers are constituted in two age-related discourses on help. The first discourse, help to maintain, is used mainly in relation to older persons. In this discourse older persons are constituted as subjects in need of safety, comfort and company while the helpers are represented as caring and knowing. The second discourse, help to change, constitutes younger persons with a disability as citizens in becoming. Help aims to improve the situation for younger help users in varying ways: the opportunity to fully determine the tasks performed by helpers is essential to users of personal assistance whereas personal development as regards both practical and social skills is the key to change for persons with an intellectual or mental disability. While help for younger persons is represented as a means to enhance the individual’s self-determination and ability to participate in society, help for older persons is represented as aiming to maintain past patterns of life, not aspiring towards change or improvement. It is argued that these representations support a lower ambition for eldercare than for disability services.
