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| 2. |
- Baianstovu, Rúna Í, 1961-
(author)
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Mångfald som demokratins utmaning : en studie av hur socialtjänsten som välfärdsbyråkrati och moralisk samhällsinstitution förstår och hanterar kulturell mångfald
- 2012
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This dissertation deals with how Swedish society is confronting the democratic challenge of finding ways to integrate individuals and groups with a diversity of cultural and religious beliefs and social practices. The idea that democracy must include all members of society is central in contemporary welfare states. In Sweden this idea is closely related to a concept of social justice and equality. This means that this study deals with aspects of integration processes. Social services are one of the societal institutions that institutionalize the moral conceptions of how life should be lived. Therefore, its function in the integration processes mirrors the ethos of society as a whole. The chief characteristics of a democratic state are that it represents every member of society and that it is transparent, communicative, and reflexive. But this is not easily performed. The State may exercise oppression in the form of forced assimilation through the culturally detached design of law and policy, and with the politics of diversity, minority groups may exert internal oppression of vulnerable elements within the group. This tension expresses a tension that is called the Paradox of Democracy in this thesis. Social workers deal with the paradox while handling society’s moral panic regarding “others’” traditions that are perceived as difficult to comprehend. Therefore, their investigative work is of great importance in a society that aspires to treat all citizens as equals. But the framework for such investigations is narrow and tightly controlled. A qualitative change in the scope of social workers’ ability to work in the service of communicative action within the complex areas discussed in this study could be a step towards broadening and deepening democratic practices. When the public institutions take their clients’ diverse wishes and needs seriously, and treat them as indicators of the actual needs of members of society, the public institutions receive a foundation for reciprocal and communicatively anchored integration work.
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| 3. |
- Hämberg, Eva, 1958-
(author)
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Tillsyn i teori och praktik : om statlig styrning och kontroll av socialtjänstens individ- och familjeomsorg
- 2017
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to deepen the understanding about the function of control in the inspection process and to increase the knowledge about the legitimacy and impact from inspection on different types of social and welfare services. In the thesis the form and legitimacy of the inspection process are studied in two types of social services in Sweden: a less complex service where the task to investigate and make decisions about social care dominates (IAD), and a more complex service where the task to provide treatment interventions dominates (TI). The data consists of policy documents, inspection reports, casefile documentation, and interviews with inspectors, politicians, managers and social workers. The inspection process is discussed in relation to theories about control systems and legitimacy processes. Inspection is a policy instrument whose standards are derived from legislations and where those subject to the inspection are obliged to meet the demands made by the inspectorates. This form of disciplinary control has been questioned given that its complexity makes it hard to regulate the practice of social work through detailed rules. By including a less disciplinary form of control the instrument’s ability to impact on more complex aspects of social services are expected to increase. The results show a difference in how the inspection process is set up in the two types of services. In the IAD services the process takes the form of a disciplinary control system, whereas the process in TI services initially takes the form of a non-disciplinary system. In spite of the differences observed in the initial stages of the process, the results show that the judgments of inspectors in both types of services are almost exclusively based on information about concrete and detailed aspects. This entails that the judgements of inspectors in both types of services mostly take the form of statements on simple observable and concrete conditions, whereas judgments about more complex aspects are rarely made. The study also shows that although the propriety and relevance of the inspectors’ judgements are questioned more in TI organisations inspections seem to have greater validity and impact on TI than on IAD organisations. The results of the thesis point to two explanations. One explanation is that the costs of dealing with the problems underlying the identified deficiencies are lower for TI than IAD organisations. This in turn leads to greater acceptance of carrying out the proposed measures in TI than in IAD organisations. Another possible explanation is that the potential sanctions are greater for TI than IAD organisations.
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- Skillmark, Mikael, 1982-
(author)
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Uppdrag standardisering : införande och användning av manualbaserade utrednings- och bedömningsverktyg i socialtjänsten
- 2018
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis addresses the issue of standardization in social work. Standardization is a necessary and fascinating, though underestimated, phenomenon, which governs, regulates and calibrates social life. In Swedish social services, we have witnessed an increased use of top-down imposed manual-based tools for investigative and assessment work. In human service organisations, such as social services, this raises questions about social workers’ control in terms of how work should be executed as well as the implications of standardization for professional discretion. The aim of this thesis is to investigate and understand standardization as a phenomenon, focusing on its consequences for social work as a profession and a field of practice.The thesis consists of four papers investigating the implementation and execution of manual-based assessment tools (BBIC, FREDA and SARA) in social services. The empirical material is based on interviews with a total of 68 social workers, managers, politicians and officials as well as documents and observations of risk assessment events. Each paper results from the analysis of an exclusive data set, with the concepts used in the analysis coming from theories of professions and organisations.The results show that increased standardization is a way for social workers to seek legitimacy as well as to claim jurisdiction and increase professionalism. The execution of the tools in social work is conditioned by significant key implementation factors in organisational contexts as well as the compatibility between the construction of tools and users’ needs and expectations. Along with previous research and theory, the results from the four papers are used to develop a tentative taxonomy of different discretionary positions that social workers can take with regards to standards in their practice. Those positions illustrate that it is not straightforward how the increased standardization of investigative and assessment work will impact professional discretion. It is argued that a balance between standardization and professional discretion is possible.
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| 5. |
- Svanevie, Kajsa, 1976-
(author)
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Evidensbaserat socialt arbete : Från idé till praktik
- 2011
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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.
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| 6. |
- Björk, Alexander, 1983-
(author)
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Evidence-based practice behind the scenes : How evidence in social work is used and produced
- 2016
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The aim of this dissertation is to examine empirically what Evidence-based practice (EBP) and its standardized procedures become when put into practice in social work. EBP builds on the idea that professional practice should be based on systematic and reliable knowledge of the interventions and instruments used in this work. This implies a standardization of both research and practice that has been highly contested. Inspired by works within science and technology studies (STS), this dissertation analyses the actual content of the standardized procedures and their uses in social work practice.The dissertation examines a ‘critical case’, a substance abuse social services agency that has worked extensively for several years at implementing EBP, and consists of four papers focusing on three standardized procedures used by the agency in order to enact EBP: 1) the Addiction severity index (ASI) assessment instrument; 2) the psychosocial intervention Motivational interviewing, and 3) the decision-making model Critical appraisal (CA). Ethnographic methods were employed to study the agency’s concrete uses of the standardized procedures in daily practice. MI was also followed in the research literature as it became established as an ‘evidence-based’ intervention.Fundamentally, the development of the standards of EBP can be a messy and paradoxical process. In the stabilization of MI, its differences and ‘fluidity’ have eventually been made to disappear and left a stable ‘evidence-based’ object.Findings from the ethnographic studies show that EBP, as enacted in the agency’s daily practice, is a bureaucratic project where the agency’s managers have decided on and control the use of a set of standards. Thus, what constitutes relevant evidence is based not on professional discussion within the agency but is ultimately determined by the managers.In practice, the standards introduce new logics that cause tensions within the agency, tensions which the social workers are left to handle. Main conflicts concern how the client work is ordered and contradictory organizational rationales. The three standards are used to varying extent, which can be understood by examining what they seek to standardize and how they are put to work. CA was not used at all, mainly due to its design. Disregarding organizational rationales that are unavoidable within the social services, it could not be adapted to the agency’s work. With ASI and MI the situation was different, mostly because of their organizational adaptability. ASI could be implemented in several phases of the agency’s work flow resulting in adjustments of both the instrument and the work flow. As a ‘fluid intervention’, MI was constrained by, but also adjustable to the organization. It was thus possible for both ASI and MI to transform and be transformed by pre-existing practices, in effect creating new practices.A major conclusion is that EBP and its standardized procedures is a more dynamic and multifaceted process than previously acknowledged in social work. Rather than a deterministic one-way path, there are different kinds, degrees, and mutual transformations of standardization processes, which must be appreciated in research and in practical efforts to implement EBP. Given the importance of the organization in professional social work, there is a need to move away from individualistic conceptions of EBP and to consider what evidence use might mean from an organizational perspective.
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| 7. |
- Dag, Munir, 1968-
(author)
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Unga människor med rörelsehinder : förankring, marginalisering och social exkludering
- 2006
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The aim of the thesis was to describe the specific barriers young people with disabilities experience in their ambition to get a job. The aim was also to investigate how these young people’s social and economic situation has been affected by their disability. The results are based on two reports: one qualitative, consisting of interviews with 12 individuals with physical disabilities, and one quantitative in the form of a questionnaire answered by 706 persons. In the case of the questionnaire, the response rate was 48 per cent. Both reports are based on the same criteria, namely, that the respondents should have a physical disability, be 20–35 years of age and be participating in some form of employment policy program. The results from both studies show that individuals with physical disabilities encounter different types of barriers on the labour market, which can be categorised as being either at the individual level or at the social level. The barriers at the individual level are low education, long-term unemployment, grave physical disability and lack of work experience. The barriers identified at the social level are primarily poorly adapted workplaces, a too high working pace, employers’ negative attitudes, insufficient knowledge of the competence of disabled persons and an overly generous social welfare system. All these factors constitute a direct obstacle to employing persons with a physical disability. The results from the interview study show that the respondents have few social relations. The majority of the respondents have social intercourse solely with family members or parents. Most of the respondents in the questionnaire study state that they have frequent social relations with friends and acquaintances. Both the interview study and the questionnaire study reveal that the respondents’ financial position has worsened as a result if their physical disability. Conclusions that can be drawn from this thesis are that young people with physical disabilities encounter different barriers in their attempts to get a job and to maintain social relations. Based on the results, some of the respondents can be regarded as being socio-economically marginalised.
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| 8. |
- Degner, Jürgen, 1964-, et al.
(author)
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Placerad utanför sitt sammanhang : en uppföljningsstudie av 46 institutionsplacerade ungdomars privata och formella relationer
- 2007
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- When young people are placed in residential treatment centres (RTCs), it is important that facility staff involve parents and other social network members (PSMs) (private relations) in the residential treatment program. This involvement process depends on both PSMs’ willingness and capability to take part in the youths’ treatment, as well as the residential staffs’ attitude towards promoting this process. The overall aim of the dissertation is to explore obstacles to and opportunities for involving PSMs in the youths’ treatment process. One key question is to investigate how the youths describe their parents’ emotional attitude, and support from other significant members of their network. At times of tension between youth and family, other formal relations with professional and non-professional support persons could serve as mediators between the youth and his or her family of origin. Accordingly, the aim is to investigate whether, and if so how, these support persons are included in the treatment process. Further, a positive treatment alliance between residential staff and the youth (resident) is important for the treatment outcome. Two further issues are to explore how the residents view the staffs’ personal involvement with the resident, and, from a gender perspective, to investigate the residents’ descriptions of the treatment received at the facility. Semi structured interviews, including a social network map and a Feeling word checklist, were conducted with 46 youths (23 girls/23 boys) placed at 10 different state RTCs run by the Swedish National Board of Institutional Care (SiS). The residents were interviewed three times, at approximately one-year intervals. This thesis is based on material from the first and second interview with the residents. Interviews were also conducted on one occasion with 23 support persons. Paper I deals with the PSMs’ involvement in the residents’ treatment process. Paper II explores obstacles to and opportunities for establishing a therapeutic alliance between key staff members and residents in a one year perspective. Papers III and IV investigate the residents’ (paper III) and support persons’ (paper IV) views of possibilities for the support persons to take part in the treatment program. Finally, Paper V aims, from a gender perspective, to study the residents’ descriptions of their psychosocial problems, their need for help, and their experiences of the help received from the staff at the facility. The main results show that the majority of the youths describe their parents as having a negative emotional attitude, with a desolate or family-oriented social network system. At the first interview the residents described the key staff members as mainly having little personal involvement, but this staff involvement had increased, according to the residents, by the one-year follow-up. Obstacles to and possibilities for involving PSMs as well as support persons is mainly related to staffs’ encouraging, or not encouraging attitude, attitudes of social welfare agency personnel (regarding support persons), and PSMs’ capability and willingness to participate in the program. With regard to gender, data indicate that there is reason to nuance the proposition of girls being more relationship oriented, and boys autonomous – at least in treatment settings – since, for example, the boys in the study to the same extent as the girls desired more trustful conversations with the staff. The importance of making an inventory of the youths’ social network and focusing on support persons’ involvement in the treatment program is discussed.
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| 9. |
- Alexanderson, Karin, 1952-
(author)
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Vilja, kunna, förstå : om implementering av systematisk dokumentation för verksamhetsutveckling i socialtjänsten
- 2006
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The aim of this study is to analyse conditions that either promote or hamper the implementation of methods for systematic documentation, follow-up and evaluation in social-work services with individuals and families. The theoretical framework consists of organization theories. Human Service Organizations (HSO) theory is complemented with concepts from the new institutionalism, domain theory, implementation theory, and theory about interventions.A concrete case, a project has been studied. The purpose of project was to implement methods for systematic documentation in public social services. With the notation “integrated” is meant that the methods should be built in and adjusted to the social-work practice. The methods were ASI (Addiction Severity Index) and IUS (a locally based model for integrated evaluation by inspiration from Göran Sandell).Data has been captured in a pretest/ posttest design (Marlow 2000). This means that “state of things” has been described before the intervention and after. The methods used were surveys and interviews (individual and group). The process has been documented through research notes proceeding records, protocols and some diaries written by social workers. Four municipalities from the middle of Sweden took part with five working groups. Two groups contained social workers acting with children and families and three groups were working with drug abusers. The population consisted of the social workers, the managers responsible for the individual and family entities, the politicians and the clients who were affected during the time of the project.The implementation of ASI and IUS has not occurred in the extent that was stated in the intervention theory. This means that ASI and IUS were not used in all new cases that occurred during the time of the project. The interviews supposed to be done in the beginning of the clients contact with the agency tended to be done more often than the follow-up interviews. After the project ended, three of five working groups decided to continue to use ASI (one group) and IUS (two groups). The overall impression is that the respondents comprehend, they have the willingness but they do not have the capability of using ASI and IUS. The organization does not seem to have the capacity of imposing requirements and giving resources. The outcomes do not seem to be the most important issue for the social services. These conditions are discussed in the study by means of the theoretical concepts. In the end, there is an effort to adjust the implementation theory to human service organizations.
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| 10. |
- Bayrak Pehlivan, Ilknur, et al.
(author)
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NiMoV and NiO-based catalysts for efficient solar-driven water splitting using thermally integrated photovoltaics in a scalable approach
- 2021
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In: iScience. - : Cell Press. - 2589-0042. ; 24:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this work, a trimetallic NiMoV catalyst is developed for the hydrogen evolution reaction and characterized with respect to structure, valence, and elemental distribution. The overpotential to drive a 10 mA cm−2 current density is lowered from 94 to 78 mV versus reversible hydrogen electrode by introducing V into NiMo. A scalable stand-alone system for solar-driven water splitting was examined for a laboratory-scale device with 1.6 cm2 photovoltaic (PV) module area to an up-scaled device with 100 cm2 area. The NiMoV cathodic catalyst is combined with a NiO anode in alkaline electrolyzer unit thermally connected to synthesized (Ag,Cu) (In,Ga)Se2 ((A)CIGS) PV modules. Performance of 3- and 4-cell interconnected PV modules, electrolyzer, and hydrogen production of the PV electrolyzer are examined between 25°C and 50°C. The PV-electrolysis device having a 4-cell (A)CIGS under 100 mW cm−2 illumination and NiMoV-NiO electrolyzer shows 9.1% maximum and 8.5% averaged efficiency for 100 h operation.
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