| 1. |
- Fredriksson, Matilda
(författare)
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Fostran till anställningsbarhet : Ungas berättelser inifrån den kommunala arbetsmarknadspolitiken
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The issue of unemployment has become individualised. In recent decades, Swedish social- and labour market policies have changed towards an emphasis on activation, which places greater demands on the job seeker to actively seek work, participate in employment initiatives and improve their employability. This thesis studies how these requirements are expressed in the municipal activation of young people (18-29 years of age). The purpose of the study is to highlight and problematise the activation’s creation of employable individuals and its consequences for young people’s identity work.The study is based on ethnographic field work in an activation programme. The data consists of field notes, interviews and audio recordings from the programme’s daily activities and the young people’s tripartite meetings with public employment officers, which are also attended by staff from the activation programme. Based on Goffman’s perspective on total institutions and an interactionist, discursive and narrative approach, the study illustrates activation from the point of view of the programme participants’ own perspectives and narratives.The analysis shows how the programme screens young people from their environment and at the same time monitors and controls them. A daily schedule has to be followed, which means that all the young people do the same activity at the same time. The analysis identifies the prominent discourses that set the framework for the design of the activation and the everyday activities, as well as how the young people’s situations and needs are understood. The participants are categorised as “problem young people” with faults and failings. Included in the activation is a desire to change them into employable and capable individuals who can fit into the adult world. However, it is the young people who are responsible for working on themselves in accordance with the prevailing ideals. Thus, it is not primarily about reinforcing their competences in aspects like education and experience of working life. Rather, the young people are encouraged to adopt new ways of thinking and characteristics, such as being active, flexible, reflexive, well-behaved and accepting responsibility. They are challenged to show motivation, self-confidence and social and communicative skills. By encouraging the young people to change themselves and adopt certain personal characteristics, the activation conveys the image of unemployment as a personal problem that requires a personal solution, rather than a social problem. In the young people’s narratives, the activation is depicted as meaningless in that the programme does not lead to employment. At the same time, the young people say that the programme has given them new values and ways of seeing themselves. The activation can therefore be understood as a practice of normalisation as well as a semi-total institution that disciplines and changes the participants.
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| 2. |
- Larsson, Susanna, 1983-
(författare)
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We bang our heads, therefore I am : subculture as laboratory of identity – the case of heavy metal
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Subculture is a structure against which identities are both created and guarded. These identities are often socially and practically negotiated against an idea of individual authenticity. The thought of nurturing ones uniqueness while striving to fit in is a common duality and a clear cause of friction within subcultures. The fourty year old heavy metal subculture is no exception. It has proven an arena for boundary drawing, exclusivity and alienation, but also for fierce loyalty and a sense of self-fulfilment.This thesis studies how young adults construct their identities in relation to subcultures in general and in relation to the heavy metal subculture in particular. This is brought to the for in four articles concerned with the construction and reproduction of subjective and intersubjective authenticity, the stigma and self-determination surrounding alienation, the practices of different levels of rituals and the construction of female gender identity in a male-dominated subculture.The thesis finds that heavy metal fans construct their identity in relation to the subculture through a life story. This life story is spun around a number of arguments on self and identity, which all aim to position the individual as a long-term, authentic, knowledgeable, self-determined and practically involved heavy metal fan. Furthermore, identity is constructed through a number of practices of which the narration of the subculture and the use of instruments exemplify both abstract and concrete rituals. Alienation is an important aspect of identity creation, especially where heavy metal fans, following an initial feeling of alienation, position themselves and their culture in what is considered a self-chosen manner against an outside society. Alienation can especially accompany the experiences of the female heavy metal fan, both within and outside the subculture. However, endurance and knowledge helps sustain a sense of a self-made identity, which can earn her respect from other heavy metal fans.
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| 3. |
- Becevic, Zulmir
(författare)
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Utsatthetens röster
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Den här avhandlingen handlar om ungdomar i samhäilsvård och deras livsberättelser, om erfarenheter av att växa upp under kaotiska livsvillkor som karaktäriseras av psykiska problem, trasiga relationer, och andra fotmer av social utsatthet. Syftet är att undersöka hur ungdomar som är placerade i samhällsvård använder sina erfarenheteter för att skapa mening och sammanhang kring sig själva och sina liv. Genom att fokusera på röster, interaktioner och emotioner synliggörs livsvillkor samtidigt som kunskapen om ungdomar i samhällsvård och deras livserfarenheter fördjupas. Ungdomarnas berättelser analyseras i relation till identitet, relationer och emotioner, och framtiden. Avhandlingen tar avstamp i en interaktionistisk och erfarenhetsorienterad ansats, som ger ontologiskt företräde åt den tolkande, meningsskapande, kännande och betiittande individen och individens upplevelse av den sociala verkligheten. Avhandlingen bygger på empiriskt material insamlat genom semistrukturerade livsberättelseintervjuer på fyra samhällsvårdande institutioner. Sammanlagt genomfördes 20 enskilda imervjuer med 13 deltagare, sex tjejer och sju killar i åldrarna 13-21. Analysen har fokuserat på tolkningar av interaktioner som berättelsernas grundläggande byggstenar, vilka på olika sätt spelat en viktig roll i berättarnas syn på sig själva i relation till en bredare social kontext. Analysen visar hur erfatenheter kopplade till problem och avvikelser görs till dominerande erfarenheter genom vilka berättarna förstår sig själva och sina liv. Dessa berättelsers övergripande funktion är att skapa ordning som väger upp mot den sociala oordning som berättarna på ett existentiellt plan upplever att de befinner sig i och behöver förklara och motivera. Resultaten tyder på att tillvaron i institutionell kontext tenderar all förstärka synen på en själv och ens liv som problematiskt och avvikande. Detta ses som en inbyggd motsättning i den problemhmterancle verksamhet vars övergripa nde syfte är att kompensera for och "arbeta bort" problem. Analysen visar att tillvaron i en institutionell kontext istället förstärker orinteringen mot erfarenheter av problematisk karaktär. Andra resultat är att berättelser om relationer får sin huvudsakliga karaktäristik från negativa, emotionella erfarenheter, vilket pekar på vikten av att etablera tillitsfulla relationer i utformningen av hjälpinsatser. Slutligen, berättelser om framtida planer och förväntningar handlar i huvudsak om anpassning till traditionella normer. Livet efter samhällsvården handlar om att passa in i vad som definierns som samtidens vedertagna syn på normalitet och ordning.
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| 4. |
- Bergström, Magdalena, 1973-
(författare)
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Att åldras med långvariga alkoholproblem : hur medelålders och äldre kvinnor och män begripliggör sitt drickande, sig själva och sina liv
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to describe and analyze how late middle-aged and elderly women and men make sense of what it means to age with long-term drinking problems.I have conducted life story-inspired interviews with six women and 13 men who have alcohol problems which have been ongoing for at least 20 years. The analysis of the data has been inspired by thematic narrative analysis. For doing the analysis, I have used theories about meaning making and life stories, as well as theories about how people give meaning to their alcohol use. The interview person’s experiences of their present everyday life are connected to their pasts as well as to their expectations for the future. The interview persons make sense of themselves and their lives in relation to metanarratives that provides them with predefined ways to understand their social reality.The interview persons everyday lives can be seen in the light of their past, there the long-term drinking problems have resulted in severe consequences for their social networks, their physical and mental health as well as their financial situations. The alcohol use was often seen as both a solution to, and a cause of, their problems. Considering that most of the interview persons were suffering from severe health problems, several of them did not expect to live much longer. This, together with the fact that they were becoming older, evoked existential questions about how they wanted to spend their remaining time. In order to avoid an alcohol related death, several interview persons had started to question their alcohol use and a few had made actual attempts to overcome their drinking problems. Others had no hope of changing their life situations or cutting down their alcohol use.The interview persons are living in a time characterized by metanarratives about active and successful ageing. Research show, however, that drinking problems among late middle-aged and elderly people are increasing. People aging with long-term drinking problems are often overlooked when it comes to getting access to treatment programs for problematic alcohol use, and they seldom fit into organized activities for elderly people. Social interventions are, however, important for making the everyday lives less difficult for people ageing with long-term drinking problems and to provide added support to those who wish to change their drinking habits.
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| 5. |
- Carlsson, Catharina, 1971-
(författare)
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Hästunderstött socialt arbete - ett samtalsrum med potentiella möjligheter för ungdomar med självskadebeteenden och deras personal
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The thesis examines, through qualitative methods, the role of the horse in equine-assisted social work (EASW) as well as what facilitates or constrains the role of the horse. Specifically, should interaction be understood in the same manner regardless of which individuals that participate? The thesis is based on empirical data collected throughinterviews with eight staff members and nine female self-harming clients, aged 15–21 years, in a residential treatment facility. In addition, video recordings of the human-horse interaction of three staff members and four clients were analyzed, resulting in the additional issues addressed in a second interview. Critical dialogues between patterns and fragmentations in the narratives and video-recordings, as well as a dialogue with participants, while they were viewing videos of their own EASW sessions, led to the conclusion that adding a horse could qualitatively change therapeutic relationships. The results are presented in four articles that provide an image of the complexity of EASW. The summary chapters focus on a synthesized analysis, based on Goffman’sdramaturgical perspective and Hochschild’s emotional rules in which the concepts were applied: backstage, frontstage, impression management, stigma, emotional management, deep acting and surface acting. The analysis demonstrated that defense mechanisms are reduced when the horse is perceived as non-judgmental and therefore less intimidating. Furthermore, the analysis suggests that it is crucial that the horse is regarded as a subject, a transitional object, which can silence the inner critic and create a ‘moment of silence’ that contradicts stigmas and enablesadolescents to regulate their emotions. This leads to possibilities to be more authentic and the relationship between staff and adolescents to be perceived as more authentic. In summary, the work presented in this thesis contributes to increased knowledge about the role of the horse in opposing impression management and surface acting, depending on the high demands on staff to reach outcomes regarding communication, self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-image. The different triads consist of different liaisons, giving rise to unique combinations and the potential to avoid emotional dissonance. The quality of the relationships seems to depend on staff and clients’ attachment orientations. Keywords: Authentic, Emotional work, Equine-assisted social work, Impression management, Moment of silence, Self-harming adolescents, Stigmatization
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| 6. |
- Kihlström, Jofen, 1970-
(författare)
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Böjelser & begär : en kritik av medicinens beroendebegrepp
- 2007
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This book is an attempt to formulate a sociological theory of the phenomena which is otherwise known as substance abuse and substance dependency in the medical field.The first step toward such a theory is a critique of how DSM-IV presents diagnostic criteria for substance abuse and substance dependency as if these criteria are valid and reliable ways of measuring mental illness and bodily dysfunction. I point to the fact that these criteria neither are valid or reliable variables for measurement nor theoretically grounded defi nitions of the phenomena. My point is that diagnosis is an elaborate way of disguising moral judgments as medical assessments of illness or dysfunction.The second step towards the formulation of my theory goes via my empirical study of nine men and women who call themselves sex and love addicts. By conducting deep interviews with them I conclude that it is impossible to talk about sex and love addiction without constantly referring to stereotypes and widely held assumptions of alcoholics and drug addicts. Moreover it is apparent that these men and women are making moral judgments about themselves rather than pointing to some form of genuine disruption which they cannot control.From my critique and my empirical study I am able to identify a number of areas that a theory of addiction, as opposed to the medical view where this phenomena are being broken down in two sub categories (abuse and dependency), must be able to handle to explain addiction generally and specifically in relation to alcohol, drugs, sex and other forms of social deviance. A number of philosophical hallmarks of medicine is also identifi ed and seen as part of the problem, therefore I mean that a successful theory of addiction must transcend the mind body dualism of Descartes as it is a cornerstone in the medical view upon and understanding of humans.By reconstructing the habitus and field concepts in Pierre Bourdieus theory of practice I mean that it is possible to understand addiction from an action theory point of view. This discussion is also broadened by a pragmatist discussion of the mind and a neo meadian theory of the emotional self.My conclusion is that addiction can be understood and explained within an action theory which focus upon individual as well as collective action and understand this as habitual practice that is partly embodied and therefore not discursive – habits of which we cannot easily speak is seen as one of the compelling components in addiction rather than a mythical loss of control which is nowhere to be found but as a rhetoric grip stemming from the AA view upon addiction as a disease.
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| 7. |
- Vieira, Magdalena, 1975-
(författare)
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Moments on a City Bus : Micro-sociology of Non-verbal Interaction in Urban Bus-riding
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis seeks to contribute to research on social interaction in public (and semi-public) places in general, and research on non-verbal mundane interaction in these places in particular. By paying empirical attention to the non-verbal interaction that takes place in the context of riding a city bus – which is a contained and time-limited form of social activity – this thesis explores the theoretically rich source of information about mundane interaction that this specific social activity offers. By systematically applying a Goffmanian-informed conceptual framework to the analysis of data collected through participant observation, this thesis examines what this framework can offer to micro-sociological understandings of mundane non-verbal interaction. Moreover, this thesis investigates whether bodily cues for race, gender and age (and the sense of similarity and difference that they convey), play a role in the non-verbal mundane interaction that takes place in city busses. The assumption that mundane non-verbal interaction in a time- and space-constrained setting such as a city bus could be influenced by obvious phenotypical similarities and differences between the bodies of the people that engage in this interaction, is also hereby explored.The empirical material utilized in this thesis has been generated through a carefully designed study of city bus riding that relies on participant observation (over a period of 10 months), and is based on the operationalization of an array of parameters to study non-verbal interaction in a theoretically-informed and systematic manner. The analyses performed allowed for the methodical study of what time, space and phenotypical variations mean to the non-verbal mundane interaction that takes place in city busses (a total 200 hours of observations were recorded in systematized field notes resulting in 136 interaction moments, which were coded along 307 parameters using ATLAS.ti).The results suggest that while previous research on urban bus riding alludes to three dimensions of social interaction that are worthy of our attention – time, space, and (travelling) bodies – there is also a fourth dimension that scholars of social interaction (both verbal and non-verbal) ought to take into account (i.e. codes for interaction). The results indicate also that it is through the systematic attention to interaction moments (by acknowledging their dimensions, by taking into account features of gestures, and through detailed comparisons with other interaction moments) that we can achieve a deeper and detailed understanding of mundane non-verbal interaction in everyday life. Thus, by exposing new aspects of social interaction that future research can explore, as well as offering an array of new angles that it ought to consider (such as different aspects of intensity of involvement and types of territorial orientation to name but a few), this thesis expands the micro-sociological imagination of what mundane non-verbal interaction entails.This thesis proposes that there is nothing inconsequential or fleeting about mundane non-verbal interaction in everyday life. This thesis shows namely that in the mundane non-verbal interaction that takes place in the public spaces that are city busses, the socially coded bodies of the riders, and therefore also the phenotypical similarities and differences between them, may be a part of the interaction space created and reshaped in each interaction moment. Thus, not only is mundane non-verbal interaction full of events, rhythms, and nuances in intensity, this interaction seems also to be heavily mediated by the phenotypical cues that are imprinted in our bodies, which is why labeling this interaction ‘mundane’ is deceiving.
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| 8. |
- di Matteo, Claudia, et al.
(författare)
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1.4 Migration and Asylum Policy in Sweden
- 2023
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Ingår i: Guide on conceptual and methodological issues in social work research in the field of human mobility. - Granada, Spain : Global-ANSWER Network “Social Work and Human Mobility”. - 9788409553648 ; , s. 42-50
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This chapter was published within the report Guide on conceptual and methodological issues in social work research in the field of human mobility, coordinated by R.T. Di Rosa, M.T. Gijón Sánchez, M.T. & G. Gucciardo, describes the migration and asylum policy in Sweden. The report is part of the dissemination of results from the EU-funded, Horizon 2020, Global-ANSWER, project Global social work and human mobility: comparative studies on local government andgood social work practices in the euro-mediterranean region (2020-2025).
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| 9. |
- Djampour, Pouran
(författare)
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Borders crossing bodies : The stories of eight youth with experience of migrating
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In public discourse on migration, people who migrate are often portrayed as deviating from the rest of the population. This is especially true for the group categorised as ‘unaccompanied’ children who are portrayed as homogeneous and not seldom with a common history. Such simplifications create a ‘single story’ that reduces people who migrate and their complex lives to stereotypes. This dissertation derives from a willingness to contest this single story through multiple stories by multiplestorytellers. This is done by seeking tocomprehend what borders do in the lives of eight youth with experience of migrating. The aim is thus to study what borders do and how the participants navigate, experience and challenge those borders at different stages of their lives.This study is based on ethnography among eight youth, who at some point have been categorised as ‘unaccompanied’ children in Sweden and other countries. The fieldwork was carried out during a period between 2013 and 2017 involving interviews and conversations with the participants. Borders are analysed from a multiperspectival standpoint, which means that borders are seen as practices of both material and symbolic divisions performed by different actors constituting control. Borders not only hinder or stop some while granting passage to others; they also construct people differently. Those who are repeatedly crossed by borders eventually become inhabitants of the borderlands. Influenced by feminist and postcolonial scholarship, this study calls for epistemic plurality by acknowledging different sources of knowledge which are placed in dialogue with the stories of the youth. Aspects of their lives before moving from their homes are considered equally important for their experience of borders as their lives in Europe.
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| 10. |
- Hannerz, Erik, 1978-
(författare)
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Performing Punk : Subcultural Authentications and the Positioning of the Mainstream
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis is about how and in opposition to what punk is defined and lived out by punks in Sweden and Indonesia. Arguing against the previous research’s presumption that subcultural meaning constitutes a single set of meaning, this study points to two patterned sets of meanings, each constructed out of several different definitions of the mainstream as well as the subcultural authentic. Consequently, a central research question concerns how to theoretically account for similarly structured and structuring heterogeneities across and between the Indonesian and Swedish cases. Drawing from extensive ethnographic fieldwork and interviews in which a variety of interpretations of punk have been explored, six different definitions of the mainstream are outlined. Each of these refers in turn to a particular script through which subcultural styles and identities are performed and authenticated as set apart. These different definitions are then combined into two patterned sets of meaning through a consistency in terms of how the binary subcultural/mainstream is worked and extended: A convex pattern, involves a boundary work to what is defined as external to punk, bending outwards. A concave points instead bends inwards, a boundary work against mainstream internal to punk. By showing how these patterns are interrelated spatially and symbolically, it is argued that subcultural meaning as well as the authentic have to be approached from within the subcultural. The mainstream is thus released from having an inherent meaning as “the outside,” “the dominant,” or “the commercial,” and more so, so is the subcultural and the subcultural authentic. Consequently, the same object can be performed differently, drawing upon different binaries, or through working the same binaries differently, to extend the subcultural through the use of analogies and metaphors. The total similarity between how punk is performed in Sweden and Indonesia, as well as the consistent differences between the two patterns, point to a relative autonomy of the subcultural. Different definitions of the subcultural authentic and the mainstream are therefore not a matter of commitment, or degrees of authenticity, but rather different means to communicate, interpret, and act upon the subcultural.
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