The aim of this essay was to deepen the knowledge of how child-protection-work is illustrated by massmedia. The essay takes it stand in discourse analysis to explain what image is displayed of social work concerning child-protection that is published in news media during 2007 in one of Sweden’s most read evening-papers. The result of the study is that social workers involved in child-protection-work often are categorized as either too zealous or too uncommitted, in the media. The result reflected the current discourse concerning how social workers do their duties in the modern society.

Happiness research is advancing as an academic discipline as well as on the political agenda. An aspect, largely ignored in the field, is what impact an individual’s construction of the good life has on his or her subjective well-being. The purpose of this paper was to investigate how people in different situations in life and with different backgrounds construct the idea of a good life and the importance these constructions may have in explaining subjective well-being. Despite the differences between themselves, the respondents’ constructions of the good life were shown to have a lot in common. Some factors in the good life were shared by the respondents, such as relations to other people, access to food, water and housing, whereas in other aspects, such as money and time, the constructions of the good life differed quite a lot from one another. When evaluating their own lives the respondents used quite different criteria mostly corresponding to their idea of the good life. If this is a general pattern, possible to replicate in other studies, one may in the future be able to draw the conclusion that the construction of the good life has an effect on our subjective well-being.

Uppsatsen syftar till att studera svenska tidningars rapportering om Kina och klarlägga hur bilden av Kina konstrueras i tidningarna. Detta görs genom en diskursanalys av artiklar från tre av Sveriges största dagstidningar. Både teori och metod har sin utgångspunkt i Laclau & Mouffes diskursteori. Valet av artiklar grundar sig i att artiklarna på ett eller annat vis handlat om, eller tagit upp Kina och därigenom hjälpt till att konstruera en bild av landet. I analysen har det insamlade materialet sorterats in i tre olika teman utifrån vad artiklarna berör, dessa teman är, ekonomi, politik, och orientalism. De två första innefattar artiklar om Kinas ekonomiska och politiska förfarande. I det tredje temat, orientalism, innehåller artiklar där landet och dess invånare framställs som ”Den andre”, motsatsen till väst. Resultatet visar att de tre utvalda tidningarnas likartade rapportering kring de olika temana skapar en enhetlig bild av Kina. Det är den liberala demokratin och marknadsekonomins hegemoniska position som genomsyrar samtliga tidningars konstruktion av Kina. / This essay aims to study how Swedish newspapers are constructing China textually. This is done by a discourse analysis of articles from three of the biggest newspapers in Sweden. The essays theoretical and methodical background stems from Laclau & Mouffe’s discourse theory. The selection of newspaper articles is based on the simple fact that they are written about China or that they mention China, and thereby helps to construct an image of the country. In the analysis of the gathered articles, the material has been sorted into three different themes depending on what the subject matter of the articles was. The themes are economics, politics, and orientalism. The first two themes address Chinas economic and political actions. The third theme, orientalism, includes articles where the country and its inhabitants are portrayed as “the other”, the opposite to the western world. The results show that the three newspapers selected all portray the same things in regards to the different themes that helps create a unified image of China. It is the liberal democracy and the market economy’s hegemonic position that permeates the reporting on China in the newspapers.

Titel: Fostran som pedagogiskt projekt. Bilden av ”problembarnet” i statens offentliga utredningar. (The bringing up of pupils as an educational project. The image of ”the problem child” in governmental committees).    This study focuses on the image of the problem child as it appears in two texts (from the 1940s and 1970s) of governmental committees on Public Health (SOU) and the new school law (Ds 2009:25, will be implemented in July 2011). By image is meant that the image of the problem child is constructed for specific purposes rather than being “found” in an objective reality.    The aim is to describe, analyse and compare discourses on “the problem child” as they appear in the texts. The method used is an application of discourse analysis based on a social constructionist approach and the work of Michel Foucault. Among the Foucauldian concepts used are discourse, governmentality, power and subjectification. In the final chapter possibilities and limitations of Foucauldian analysis are discussed. The discourses that influences the image of the problem child, in the different texts, have three major continuities operating, the talk of a school which aim is to not separate the pupils, the use of the term behavioural disorders and finally the pedagogical methods that individualises, differentiates, compares, places in hierarchy as well as shuts out pupils from the classroom. The emphasize of the teachers role to give knowledge to the pupils rather than bringing them up separates Ds 2009:25 from the two SOU-texts where the emphasize is placed on the bringing up of the pupils. Potential effects concerning the problem child because of this change in the pedagogical discourse are discussed.

Syftet med föreliggande uppsats är att undersöka sexualitetens diskurs i det samtida. Uppsatsen tar sin ansats i socialkonstruktionismen och dess syn på sexualiteten. Här presenterades tidigare forskning, sexualitetens historia berördes och även olika typer av socialpsykologiska perspektiv på sexualiteten redovisades. Vidare var det epistemologiska angreppssättet hermeneutiskt och metoden kvalitativ. Den undersökning som genomfördes, diskursanalys, tog även den sin utgångspunkt ur ett socialkonstruktionistiskt perspektiv. Två böcker utvaldes utifrån kriterierna nämligen, Louise Boije af Gennäs bok Stjärnor utan svindel och Kerstin Thorvalls Jag minns alla mina älskare och hur de brukade ta på mig. Ett konkret plan för utförande av diskursanalys konstruerades och utifrån detta konstruerades två övergripande diskurser med avseende på det sexuella; homo romantica och homo erotica. Homo erotica diskursen syftar till hur själva sexualiteten konstrueras medan homo romantica snarare handlar om hur samhället organiseras utifrån heterosexuella relationer. Både diskurserna bygger på heterosexualiteten som norm. Dessa diskurser bildar tillsammans den samtida sexualitetens diskurs. / The purpose of the following paper is to exam the discourse of sexuality in the contemporary. The thesis takes its incipience in social constructionism and its view of sexuality. Earlier scientific research is presented; the history of sexuality is touched, and different kinds of social psychological perspectives on sexuality as well. Further more, the epistemological point of attack is hermeneutic and the method qualitative. The research project that was executed, discourse analysis, took its starting-point in the social constructionism perspective. Two books were chosen from the criteria, namely Louise Boije af Gennäs’ Stjärnor utan svindel och Kerstin Thorwalls’ Jag minns alla mina älskare och hur de brukade ta på mig. A concrete plan of execution of the discourse analysis was constructed and two discourses of sexuality were constructed from this: homo erotica and homo romantica. The discourse of homo erotica allude how sexuality in itself is constructed while homo romantica is rather about organization of society on the basis of heterosexual relationships. Both discourses are founded upon heterosexuality as norm. These discourses together constitute the contemporary sexuality.

In November 2006 and July 2007, changes were made to the Social Services Law and the Criminal Injuries Law, defining children who have witnessed domestic violence as crime victims. The objective of our study is to examine if these changes have affected how social workers responsible for child protection inquiries interact with children who have witnessed domestic violence, and to what extent these children’s need of support are taken into account. Qualitative interviews have been carried out with five social workers, with the aim to evaluate how they meet and become aware of these children. Our problem-formulation is based upon the question how social services implement the recent changes to the law. The framework for analysis combines a social constructionist approach with a critical perspective. The study identifies shortcomings when it comes to the ways in which these children are encountered and the extent to which they are allowed to participate in the investigation process. The social workers interviewed have little knowledge about how children are affected by domestic violence, and also about these children’s need of help and support. The study further shows that children are not perceived as actors that have a right to participation and to be involved in the process. However, even if parents tend to be the focal point of child protection inquiries, there are also social workers who try to bring children’s rights to the fore and find ways to support these. The study thus supports the notion that it is important to see children as actors and individuals in their respective situation rather than as passive victims whose needs are overshadowed by those of the adults.

Due to the nature of human experience every person is deemed to understand ‘reality’ in relative terms. Even though one might not always realize that in everyday life I think the appreciation of that phenomenon is vital to a study about audience relations towards the newsmedia. Abstract information may be felt to be different from concrete experiences. It can nevertheless become part of our convictions about reality.The present study asks the following questions: How do we relate to the news media as provider of such information? Are we aware of the impact a news source can have on our understanding of the world? Why do we attend to news media in the first place? In this study I will present social psychological theories which help to understand why ‘reality’ is a relative phenomenon connected to human experience, shaped by depictions and grasped selectively. The interview study with ten voluntary participants shall shed some light on real persons’ attempts to nevertheless try to come to terms with things “going on in the world.” The findings suggest that the relation towards the news media is marked by a focus on a specific aspect of the relation: the information given, the position of the attending person wanting to be informed, or the news media conduct which can be seen quite critical.The reasons for gathering information are also diverse. For example personal grounds can be prevailing, interest in other people, or the conviction that information is the foundation for joint action, while aiming towards change for the better. Accordingly some evidence was found that it would be preferable if the news media cut down on negativity concerning their reporting that could for instance lead to feelings of apathy. Sometimes elaborate opinions were uttered about in how far events reported about could be seen as ‘representative’ in comparison to what is felt to be the underlying ‘reality’. Regarding ideas about the news media audience in general, no greater trust in other people’s willingness to make an effort to see beyond the immediate information given was found. This mentally distancing from other people could in turn contribute to the feeling of not being ableto (collectively) impact ‘the reality’ that is communicated via the news media. / Människan upplever verkligheten på ett relativt sätt. Även om man inte alltid är medveten om det i det vardagliga livet är det viktigt att förstå detta fenomen om man har att göra med en studie kring publikens relation till nyhets medier. Information från abstrakta källor kan upplevas vara annorlunda än konkreta erfarenheter. Men denna information kan ändå bli endel av ens uppfattningar om verkligheten. Denna studie ställer följande frågor: Hur relaterar vi till nyhets medier som förmedlare av sådan abstrakt information? Är vi medvetna om våra nyhetskällors inflytande på vår förståelse av världen? Varför ägnar vi oss överhuvud taget åt inhämtandet av nyheter? Studien är både teoretisk och empirisk till sin karaktär. Den presenterar socialpsykologiska teorier som kan bidra till en förståelse av varför ’verkligheten’ är ett relativt fenomen, förbunden med människors erfarenheter, utformad enligt (media)rapporteringens formgivning och logik och förstådd på ett selektivt sätt. En intervjustudie med tio frivilliga deltagare syftar till att belysa verkliga personers försök att hantera ”vad som pågår i världen”. Resultaten visar att olika aspekter är viktiga för förståelsen av människors relation till nyhets medierna: informationen som ges, förväntningar av den som letar efter information, eller en kritisk syn på hur nyhets medier sköter sitt jobb. Enligt de intervjuade finns olika skäl till att samla in information om omvärlden. Huvudanledningen uppgavs vara personliga anledningar, intresse för andra personer, eller övertygelsen att information är basen för gemensam handling, om man vill åstadkomma positiv förändring. I intervjuerna framkom det även att många intervjupersoner var kritiska till att nyhets medier ofta fokuserar på negativa händelser. Detta ansågs kunna leda till känslor av apati. Några av de intervjuade uttryckte även genomtänkta idéer om hur pass ’representativa’ de rapporterade nyhetsinslagen är (eller kan vara) för vad som anses vara den bakomliggande ’verkligheten’. Nyhets mediernas publik ansågs inte vara kritiskt nog för att mer djupgående kunna tänka igenom nyhetsinslagen. Denna åsikt uttrycktes oftast i samband med reflektioner om andra personer. Detta mentala fjärmandet från andra personer sades i sin tur kunna bidra till känslan av att inte vara i stånd att (gemensamt) kunna påverka ’verkligheten’ som kommuniceras till oss via nyhets medierna.

<p>As citizens of developed countries we are under constant media influence. The media can in many cases choose if and more importantly how a phenomenon is to be presented to the public. Criminal matters and the actions of the police have almost always received large spatial attention in the media. The police’s perspective is often given much priority and weight, and while the police never intend to misguide the public, one must take into consideration that they operate under certain circumstances, hence their perspective of crime is influenced and somewhat biased. The written media, i.e. the press, is favorably examined through textual analysis but considering media influence on a society this textual analysis must be put in a wider perspective. This makes a discourse analysis of the critical kind well suited in researching the police in media. The aim of this paper is to establish, by using aspects of the theory of discourse analysis as presented by Teun van Dijk and Norman Fairclough, how (and to some extent with what purpose) the press presents the actions of the police.</p>

<p>Syftet med föreliggande uppsats är att undersöka sexualitetens diskurs i det samtida. Uppsatsen tar sin ansats i socialkonstruktionismen och dess syn på sexualiteten. Här presenterades tidigare forskning, sexualitetens historia berördes och även olika typer av socialpsykologiska perspektiv på sexualiteten redovisades. Vidare var det epistemologiska angreppssättet hermeneutiskt och metoden kvalitativ. Den undersökning som genomfördes, diskursanalys, tog även den sin utgångspunkt ur ett socialkonstruktionistiskt perspektiv. Två böcker utvaldes utifrån kriterierna nämligen, Louise Boije af Gennäs bok Stjärnor utan svindel och Kerstin Thorvalls Jag minns alla mina älskare och hur de brukade ta på mig. Ett konkret plan för utförande av diskursanalys konstruerades och utifrån detta konstruerades två övergripande diskurser med avseende på det sexuella; homo romantica och homo erotica. Homo erotica diskursen syftar till hur själva sexualiteten konstrueras medan homo romantica snarare handlar om hur samhället organiseras utifrån heterosexuella relationer. Både diskurserna bygger på heterosexualiteten som norm. Dessa diskurser bildar tillsammans den samtida sexualitetens diskurs.</p> / <p>The purpose of the following paper is to exam the discourse of sexuality in the contemporary. The thesis takes its incipience in social constructionism and its view of sexuality. Earlier scientific research is presented; the history of sexuality is touched, and different kinds of social psychological perspectives on sexuality as well. Further more, the epistemological point of attack is hermeneutic and the method qualitative. The research project that was executed, discourse analysis, took its starting-point in the social constructionism perspective. Two books were chosen from the criteria, namely Louise Boije af Gennäs’ Stjärnor utan svindel och Kerstin Thorwalls’ Jag minns alla mina älskare och hur de brukade ta på mig. A concrete plan of execution of the discourse analysis was constructed and two discourses of sexuality were constructed from this: homo erotica and homo romantica. The discourse of homo erotica allude how sexuality in itself is constructed while homo romantica is rather about organization of society on the basis of heterosexual relationships. Both discourses are founded upon heterosexuality as norm. These discourses together constitute the contemporary sexuality.</p>

<p>Due to the nature of human experience every person is deemed to understand ‘reality’ in relative terms. Even though one might not always realize that in everyday life I think the appreciation of that phenomenon is vital to a study about audience relations towards the newsmedia. Abstract information may be felt to be different from concrete experiences. It can nevertheless become part of our convictions about reality.The present study asks the following questions: How do we relate to the news media as provider of such information? Are we aware of the impact a news source can have on our understanding of the world? Why do we attend to news media in the first place? In this study I will present social psychological theories which help to understand why ‘reality’ is a relative phenomenon connected to human experience, shaped by depictions and grasped selectively. The interview study with ten voluntary participants shall shed some light on real persons’ attempts to nevertheless try to come to terms with things “going on in the world.” The findings suggest that the relation towards the news media is marked by a focus on a specific aspect of the relation: the information given, the position of the attending person wanting to be informed, or the news media conduct which can be seen quite critical.The reasons for gathering information are also diverse. For example personal grounds can be prevailing, interest in other people, or the conviction that information is the foundation for joint action, while aiming towards change for the better. Accordingly some evidence was found that it would be preferable if the news media cut down on negativity concerning their reporting that could for instance lead to feelings of apathy. Sometimes elaborate opinions were uttered about in how far events reported about could be seen as ‘representative’ in comparison to what is felt to be the underlying ‘reality’. Regarding ideas about the news media audience in general, no greater trust in other people’s willingness to make an effort to see beyond the immediate information given was found. This mentally distancing from other people could in turn contribute to the feeling of not being ableto (collectively) impact ‘the reality’ that is communicated via the news media.</p> / <p>Människan upplever verkligheten på ett relativt sätt. Även om man inte alltid är medveten om det i det vardagliga livet är det viktigt att förstå detta fenomen om man har att göra med en studie kring publikens relation till nyhets medier. Information från abstrakta källor kan upplevas vara annorlunda än konkreta erfarenheter. Men denna information kan ändå bli endel av ens uppfattningar om verkligheten. Denna studie ställer följande frågor: Hur relaterar vi till nyhets medier som förmedlare av sådan abstrakt information? Är vi medvetna om våra nyhetskällors inflytande på vår förståelse av världen? Varför ägnar vi oss överhuvud taget åt inhämtandet av nyheter? Studien är både teoretisk och empirisk till sin karaktär. Den presenterar socialpsykologiska teorier som kan bidra till en förståelse av varför ’verkligheten’ är ett relativt fenomen, förbunden med människors erfarenheter, utformad enligt (media)rapporteringens formgivning och logik och förstådd på ett selektivt sätt. En intervjustudie med tio frivilliga deltagare syftar till att belysa verkliga personers försök att hantera ”vad som pågår i världen”. Resultaten visar att olika aspekter är viktiga för förståelsen av människors relation till nyhets medierna: informationen som ges, förväntningar av den som letar efter information, eller en kritisk syn på hur nyhets medier sköter sitt jobb. Enligt de intervjuade finns olika skäl till att samla in information om omvärlden. Huvudanledningen uppgavs vara personliga anledningar, intresse för andra personer, eller övertygelsen att information är basen för gemensam handling, om man vill åstadkomma positiv förändring. I intervjuerna framkom det även att många intervjupersoner var kritiska till att nyhets medier ofta fokuserar på negativa händelser. Detta ansågs kunna leda till känslor av apati. Några av de intervjuade uttryckte även genomtänkta idéer om hur pass ’representativa’ de rapporterade nyhetsinslagen är (eller kan vara) för vad som anses vara den bakomliggande ’verkligheten’. Nyhets mediernas publik ansågs inte vara kritiskt nog för att mer djupgående kunna tänka igenom nyhetsinslagen. Denna åsikt uttrycktes oftast i samband med reflektioner om andra personer. Detta mentala fjärmandet från andra personer sades i sin tur kunna bidra till känslan av att inte vara i stånd att (gemensamt) kunna påverka ’verkligheten’ som kommuniceras till oss via nyhets medierna.</p>