Syftet med denna studie är att belysa några grundsärskolelärares konstruktioner av elevers delaktighet i ämnet matematik. För att kunna belysa lärares konstruktioner har jag genomfört kvalitativa gruppintervjuer med lärare, inom grundsärskolans olika stadier, som alla undervisar i ämnet. Jag har genom intervjuerna tagit del av lärarnas gemensamma beskrivningar och sedan analyserat dem ur ett socialkonstruktionistiskt perspektiv. Utifrån de intervjuade lärarnas konstruktioner handlar elevers egna önskemål om delaktighet i matematikämnet främst om tillgång till digitala verktyg i form av Ipads och här beskrivs elever som skickliga användare. Hinder för delaktighet däremot kan handla om elevers okunskap om hur man gör sig delaktig emedan möjlighet till delaktighet kan handla om att läraren är positivt inställd till ämnet. En matematikundervisning som är nivåanpassad och variationsrik och som präglas av lyhördhet och prestigelöshet kan inverka gynnsamt på elevers möjligheter att vara delaktiga. Variationer mellan stadier handlar bland annat om graden av initiativförmåga som tenderar att öka med stigande ålder men även om elevers förståelse av ämnet som blir mer tydligt ju äldre eleverna blir. Min förhoppning är att denna studie kan bidra till ökad förståelse för hur viktig lärarrollen är för grundsärskoleelevers möjligheter att bli delaktiga i matematikundervisningen. / The purpose of this study is to describe the constructions of student participation in mathematics made by some special school teachers. In order to obtain teachers' constructions of student participation in mathematics I conducted qualitative group interviews with teachers in special schools from different stages, each of which teaches the subject. Through the interviews I have been able to take part of the teachers’ common descriptions and I have analyzed these from a social constructionist perspective. Based on teachers’ constructions is students' own preferences about participation in mathematics mainly for access to digital tools as Ipads and the teachers describes students as skilled users. The picture of what can prevent participation include students' lack of knowledge about how to do their part. On the contrary if the teacher has a positive attitude towards mathematics opportunities for participation might be given. Mathematics teaching, if graded and varied and if characterized by sensitivity and modesty, have a positive impact on pupils' opportunities to be involved. Variations between stages include the degree of initiative that tends to increase with age but also students' understanding of the subject that becomes more evident the older the students are. My hope is that this study can contribute to greater understanding of how important the teachers role is for special school students’ opportunities to become involved in the teaching of mathematics.

This study addresses the post-revolutionary history of Roma in the Romanian public sphere by examining the social construction of this minority in press and history textbooks. The objective is to illuminate synchronic and diachronic structural patterns in public texts debating Roma in order to offer a deeper understanding of the Romanian xenophobia assuming that the public debate affects the status quo of Roma. Public texts represent fruitful channels of communication through which selective social realities par excellence, stocks of knowledge and typifications are proclaimed by different societal actors. The press possess a critical function whilst history textbooks a manipulative function advocating normative historical realties par excellence. The modi operandi utilized are quantitative, qualitative content- and critical discourse analysis, which are applied in the monitoring of approximately 6000 newspapers, 197 articles (1991-2012) and 6 textbooks (2008-2014). The results indicate that the media history of Roma resembled police investigations rather than conventional journalism. Manifest and latent stereotypifications have synchronically and diachronically formed uncritical and demonizing stocks of knowledge, whose societal truths sustained the othering of Roma in press and were depicted as a force behind the destruction of [“our”] national self-image. History textbooks have offered an inexistent stock of historical knowledge omitting, e.g. the slavery and deportations of Roma but highlighting ethnocentric perspectives, patriotism and other minorities.

The notion of Mode 2, as a shift from Mode 1 science-as-we-know-it, depicts science as practically relevant, socially distributed and democratic. Debates remain over the empirical substantiation of Mode 2. In particular, our understanding has been impeded by the mutually exclusive framing of Mode 1/Mode 2. Looking at how academic science is justified to diverse institutional interests – a situation associated with Mode 2 – it is asked, “What happens to Mode 1 where Mode 2 is in demand?” This study comprises two sequential phases. It combines interviews with 18 university spinout founders as micro-level Mode 2 exemplars, and macro-level policy narratives from 72 expert witnesses examined by select committees. An interpretive scheme (Greenwood and Hinings, 1988) is applied to capture the internal means-ends structure of each mode, where the end is to satisfy demand constituents, both in academia (Mode 1) and beyond (Mode 2). Results indicate Mode 1’s enduring influence even where non-academic demands are concerned, thus refuting that means and ends necessarily operate together as a stable mode. The causal ambiguity inherent in scientific advances necessitates (i) Mode 1 peer review as the only quality control regime systematically applicable ex ante, and (ii) Mode 1 means of knowledge production as essential for the health and diversity of the science base. Modifications to performance criteria are proposed to create a synergy between modes and justify public investment, especially in the absence of immediate outcomes. The study presents a framework of Mode1/Mode 2 coexistence that eases the problem with the either/or perception and renders Mode 2 more amenable to empirical research. It is crucial to note, though, that this is contingent on given vested interests. In this study, Mode 1’s fate is seen through academic scientists whose imperative is unique from those of other constituents, thereby potentially entailing further struggles and negotiation.

Using a Social Constructionist lens, this study gathers fresh empirical data on the experience of a “Mature Student”, examining its multiple constructions, both objective and subjective, within the context of a Scottish Ancient university. For six centuries, Ancient universities have held expectations that incoming students will adjust to fit the autonomous institutional culture. However the expansion of Higher Education in 1992 has introduced changes in legislation and funding which have shifted the onus of that adjustment to the organisations themselves. This study is placed at the fundamental core of the tension between an institution struggling with the changing nature of its purpose and non-traditional students with changing expectations. Through analysis of daily journals and semi-structured interviews with 16 students and 12 staff, it explores the interpretations which both sets of actors take from student/institution interaction, and does so with respect to the student’s holistic life context rather than viewing only the learner role. Particular emphasis is placed on the losses and gains from the experience, including examination of what a degree symbolises in personal, fiscal and psychological terms. Based on a synthesis of literature reviews and empirical data, the study categorises the Mature students into three groups according to experiential themes within the student journey, drawing out theoretical and policy contributions from the process. Although mismatches are shown to exist between student and staff expectations of institutional purpose, a contemporary, and valid, role for the Ancient institution is outlined in terms of developing individual agency.

This paper looks at the intersections of nature and culture through a study of forest ecosystem restoration efforts in the Ouachita National Forest (Arkansas and Oklahoma). Ecosystem restoration goals are often informed by a pre-European settlement (PES) condition, with an implicit (and occasionally explicit) assertion that such conditions are both more natural than and preferable to the contemporary state. In many cases resuming pre-suppression fire regimes remains a key mechanism for achieving this restored condition. This study’s three main objectives include: (1) determining how PES benchmarks arose in restoration thought, (2) examining how the choice to use a PES benchmark is influenced by culture, and (3) evaluating the pragmatism of including a PES benchmark in restoration projects. The issues of the naturalness of PES conditions, along with the cultural implications of adopting a PES benchmark, are critically examined against the backdrop of historic legacies of fire suppression and paleoecological change. Normative balance-of-nature ideas are discussed in light of their influence on natural resource management paradigms. Linkages are drawn between PES conditions and forest health. Evidence supporting the ecological resilience associated with PES vegetation communities is considered alongside the anticipation of future forcing factors. The idea that restored forests represent an ecological archetype is addressed. Finally, an alternative explanation concerning the tendency of ecosystem restoration efforts to converge on a single historic reference condition – a point of equifinality – is weighed against notions of: (1) anthropic degradation, (2) a regional optimum, and (3) a socially-constructed yearning for a frontier ideal. Because of the unique convergence between historical human activities and natural processes, contemporary culture has conceived of the PES time period as a sort of frontier ideal. The creation of PES benchmarks appears to be an unintentional consequence of attempts to restore forest health rigorously defined by biometric standards. This study offers, to restoration thinking, a framework for critically evaluating the inclusion of historic reference conditions and a means of responding to criticism surrounding their use. This study's findings rest on evidence gathered from paleoecological and historical biogeography data, interviews, archival materials, cultural landscape interpretation, landscape and nature-based art, and complexity theory.

The aim of this thesis is to study how cannabis is constructed in contemporary Sweden, which policy responses are promoted as rational, and how international cannabis trends are received in this context. The four papers are the result of analyzing empirical material from three different sub-studies: 1) a qualitative study of online discussions about cannabis and drug policy, 2) a qualitative and comparative study of print media articles from 2002 and 2012, and 3) a qualitative study of oral presentations from cannabis information symposia. All papers are based on a social constructionist approach. A point of departure is that attitudes and regulations on cannabis have changed in large parts of the Western world. In Sweden, however, strict prohibition of cannabis is still central in the national drug laws. Some of the main findings can thus be gathered in discussions on continuity and change. In Swedish online discussions, there seems to be a strong desire to change the national cannabis policy in line with international developments. This discussion propagates alternative views on cannabis, in which comparisons to alcohol become vital and more liberal cannabis policies become logical. These discussions are also characterized by continuity, as many arguments for liberal cannabis policies seem to be based on traditional social democratic values and prohibitionist “scaremongering” arguments. Continuity is also what seems to characterize traditional print media, where cannabis is generally portrayed as a potent and illegal drug producing social problems. However, this arena also shows signs of change, as the material from 2012 includes stories on cannabis as an economic asset as well as a recreational substance. Both traditional print media and cannabis information symposia focus on youth consumers, who are seen as particularly vulnerable to cannabis effects. Such constructions seem important for protecting prohibition from international influences and for a continuous discourse centered on the dangers of cannabis. It is concluded that cannabis appears to be able to represent almost anything. As such it can be “used” for any purpose to promote a whole set of ideas related to policy often based on what is considered as scientific evidence. Depending on the context, it thus seems possible that cannabis is medicinal, recreational, harmful, and addictive. If so, and if all of these constructions are in some way “real,” then it is suggested that cannabis necessitates a much more tailored and nuanced response than that which prohibition can offer.

From 19th century insane asylums to state sponsored eugenic programs in the 20th century, the state has been an incongruous leader and provider of mental health policy and practice. Current practices that include such treatments as confinement, restraints, forced medication and electro-convulsive therapy continue to raise issues of social justice and humane treatment. Since the 1970s a diverse group of consumers of mental health services from political and radical emancipatory movements to consumer and family initiatives have emerged to question, inform and influence federal and state policies and services. Today state administrators and consumer-advocates meet in formal settings in which they exchange ideas as they work to affect and develop mental health policy and practice. However, such exchanges have raised new questions regarding the relationship between these two groups and their ability, in light of past practices to effectively work together to develop mental health policy and practice. The purpose of this study is to compare how state administrators and consumer-advocates perceive mental illness and how these perceptions impact policy and practice. Through a qualitative research study, the researcher compared and contrasted the perceptions of five consumer-advocates and five state administrators who are involved in major mental health policy in a rural state in order to consider how their perceptions of mental health affect policy and treatment. This study shows an emerging relationship between state administrators and consumer-advocates but a relationship that lacks communication and trust as their discourse attempts to span the gap between their two symbolic universes. The focus of consumer-advocates on the importance of their role in battling pervasive stigma and the need for people with lived experience to be central in the mental health system can be seen as an effort to overcome a historical pattern of coercion and abuse of mental health patients by the state. The focus of state administrators to remain relevant in a mental health system in which consumer-advocates challenge the status quo can be seen as their effort to retain legitimacy as well as their historic control over the mental health system. State administrators and consumer-advocates know that they exist in a new, shared world of mental health care and both groups agreed that the relationship between them needs to improve.

The diploma thesis "Framework of political communication participants in Czech internet Periodics" analyse the way Czech internet news webs portray reality, how they transform it and construct under their own demands. Through analyzing two significant Czech events in 2008 - the case of Prague culture fundation and the case of the general treaty on American radar base in the Czech Republic underwriting - it describes not only the particular frames, in which Czech webdailies arrange media communication participants, but it also intends to describe Czech webdailies background within the way they use the audiovisual components in their news, who are their news sources and how their work is influenced by citizen journalism and blogging phenomena.

The notion of Mode 2, as a shift from Mode 1 science-as-we-know-it, depicts science as practically relevant, socially distributed and democratic. Debates remain over the empirical substantiation of Mode 2. In particular, our understanding has been impeded by the mutually exclusive framing of Mode 1/Mode 2. Looking at how academic science is justified to diverse institutional interests – a situation associated with Mode 2 – it is asked, “What happens to Mode 1 where Mode 2 is in demand?” This study comprises two sequential phases. It combines interviews with 18 university spinout founders as micro-level Mode 2 exemplars, and macro-level policy narratives from 72 expert witnesses examined by select committees. An interpretive scheme (Greenwood and Hinings, 1988) is applied to capture the internal means-ends structure of each mode, where the end is to satisfy demand constituents, both in academia (Mode 1) and beyond (Mode 2). Results indicate Mode 1’s enduring influence even where non-academic demands are concerned, thus refuting that means and ends necessarily operate together as a stable mode. The causal ambiguity inherent in scientific advances necessitates (i) Mode 1 peer review as the only quality control regime systematically applicable ex ante, and (ii) Mode 1 means of knowledge production as essential for the health and diversity of the science base. Modifications to performance criteria are proposed to create a synergy between modes and justify public investment, especially in the absence of immediate outcomes. The study presents a framework of Mode1/Mode 2 coexistence that eases the problem with the either/or perception and renders Mode 2 more amenable to empirical research. It is crucial to note, though, that this is contingent on given vested interests. In this study, Mode 1’s fate is seen through academic scientists whose imperative is unique from those of other constituents, thereby potentially entailing further struggles and negotiation.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka och problematisera hur regler inverkar på den överordning pedagoger har i förhållande till elever utifrån generationsmaktordningen. Som grund för resultatet ligger kvalitativa observationer från tre fritidshem och kvalitativa intervjuer med fyra pedagoger från dessa. Det empiriska materialet analyseras med hjälp av socialkonstruktivism samt ett barnistiskt perspektiv. Dessa teorier grundar sig i antaganden om att vi socialt konstruerar vår verklighet samt att man kan se orättvisor och underordning utifrån ett ålders och maktperspektiv. Resultatet visar att fritidshemmet är en komplex arena där elever förväntas navigera mellan regler som är synliga, osynliga, föränderliga och svårtolkade. Det visar sig även att regler synliggörs genom tillrättavisningar som sker i olika situationer och på olika sätt. Under intervjuerna beskrivs elevernas motstånd mot regler, men är inte helt oproblematiskt på grund av hur pedagogerna tolkar motståndet och värderar det. En slutsats är att regler, hur de skapas och hur de upprätthålls förstärker den överordning pedagoger har på ett till viss del omotiverat sätt. Men att detta är något som kan utmanas och omförhandlas. / The purpose of this study has been to explore and problematize how rules affect the superiority educators have in relation to pupils, based on the generation power structure. As a basis for the result are qualitative observations from three recreation centers and qualitative interviews with four educators from these. The empirical material is analyzed with the help of social constructivism and a childish perspective. These theories are based on the assumption that we socially construct our reality as well as to see injustices and subordination based on an age and power perspective. The results show that the recreation centre is a complex arena where pupils are expected to navigate between rules that are visible, invisible, changeable and difficult to interpret. It also shows that rules are made visible through reprimands that take place in different situations and in different ways. During the interviews, pupils resistance to rules is described, but is not entirely unproblematic because of the way educators interpret the resistance and value it. One conclusion is that rules, how they are created and how they are maintained reinforce the superiority educators have in a partially unjustified manner. But that this is something that can be challenged and renegotiated.