This thesis is a study of the everyday communication of second language speakers in a major Swedish company. On the basis of eighteen interviews with permanently employed industrial and office workers, who came to Sweden as adults from countries outside the Nordic region where non-Germanic languages are spoken, five individuals were chosen for observation. The overarching aim of the study is to identify communicative factors with a positive impact on the integration of second language speakers in the workplace and in their immediate work team. Subsidiary aims are to map out the communication of the five participants and to analyse their involvement in communicative activities, both professional and social. The focus is on the interaction between participants and fellow employees, primarily in terms of what participants themselves do to promote mutual understanding and good relations at work. Theoretically and methodologically, the study has its basis in discourse analysis, interactional sociolinguistics and the ethnography of communication. By means of fieldwork, a large body of empirical data was collected, comprising detailed field notes, audio and video recordings of naturally occurring talk, and texts read and produced by participants. The five participants’ day-to-day communication is shown to be influenced to a large degree by the type of occupation. At the company studied, whose corporate language is English, white-collar employees can manage without a knowledge of Swedish, so long as they know English. Factory workers, meanwhile, regard an inadequate command of English, rather than Swedish, as an obstacle to promotion. All the participants perform communicative acts designed to create and maintain group solidarity. In seeking to foster good relations in the workplace, they make use of jokes, compliments, narratives, swearing and greetings. The participants are shown to be metalinguistically and metaculturally aware, which aids everyday communication and integration. Linguistic and cultural asymmetries seem to be able to mitigate potential threats to face, making the participants a valuable resource in sensitive communicative situations. All co-workers provide linguistic scaffolding, but in interaction with the most career-oriented participant, markers of power can sometimes be observed. A high level of awareness and performance of relational communicative acts appear to facilitate and speed integration in the workplace and the immediate work team. / Den kommunikativa situationen för invandrare på svenska arbetsplatser (KINSA)

Enligt IFLA:s mångkulturella biblioteksmanifest och Unescos folkbiblioteks- och skolbiblioteksmanifest har folkbibliotek ett ansvar att främja kulturell mångfald. Samtidigt påvisar forskning att folkbibliotek kan fungera som en förlängd arm i den så kallade integrationsprocessen. Med detta som bakgrund har uppsatsen som syfte att studera bibliotekarier vid ett stadsdelsbibliotek i Uppsala och analysera de villkor som präglar deras verksamhet riktad mot invandrare. Uppsatsens teoretiska ramverk är inspirerat av ett sociokulturellt perspektiv så som det beskrivs av pedagogikprofessorn Roger Säljö i Lärande i praktiken – Ett sociokulturellt perspektiv och Lärande och kulturella redskap: om lärprocesser och det kollektiva minnet. Teorin betonar kulturella och sociala aspekter i läroprocessen. I den vardagliga mellanmänskliga interaktionen kommunicerar man via kulturella redskap och dessa kulturella redskap är uppsatsens huvudsakliga studieobjekt. Studiens empiri består av fem kvalitativa intervjuer med bibliotekarier anställda vid ett stadsdelsbibliotek i Uppsala och studien arbetar utifrån frågeställningarna hur bibliotekarierna menar att de förhåller sig till Stadsdelsbibliotekets mångkulturella arbete, hur bibliotekarierna beskriver bibliotekets mångkulturella verksamhet och hur bibliotekarierna ser på bibliotekets uppdrag och roll gentemot invandrare. Informanternas utsagor har tolkats utifrån sociokulturella analytiska begrepp. Vilken kontext arbetar bibliotekarierna i, hur handlar bibliotekarierna i förhållande till kontexten, hur kommunicerar de med den invandrade lokalbefolkningen och genom vilka kulturella redskap kommunicerar de. Studiens resultat visar att bibliotekets verksamhet för invandrare baseras på de lokala behoven och att bibliotekarierna använder sig av språkliga-, kulturella-, sociala- och digitala kompetenser i sitt dagliga arbete. Dessa kompetenser fungerar som kulturella redskap som bibliotekarierna kommunicerar genom. Jag påvisar ytterligare att det inte finns någon motsättning mellan kulturell mångfald och ett integrationsarbete, tvärtom visar dessa istället tjäna varandra. I min slutdiskussion argumenterar jag för att bibliotekarier som verkar i en mångkulturell kontext bör få kontinuerlig fortbildning för att stärka dessa kompetenser som har visat sig verka underlättande i arbetet med mångkultur och integration.

Abstract   This study addresses the research gap on knowledge transfer on a team level, by examining the potential and realized Absorptive Capacity (ACAP) on the receiver's side and potential and realized Disseminative Capacity (DCAP) on the sender's side. The research question and purpose relate to how ACAP and DCAP can aid innovation development teams in reaching their goals and what role social integration mechanisms play in this process. We develop a theoretical framework in which we synthesize existing literature and through which we analyzed the empirical data.   We follow a qualitative method and employ a single case strategy that fits our empirical data and allows to gain an understanding of social dynamics underlying knowledge transfer. The data was collected through interviews in the R&D department of Atlas Copco, a large Swedish multinational corporation that operates in the mining and tunneling industry. From our analysis we conclude that social integration mechanisms can be used in order to lower the gap between potential and realized capacities. This can in turn lead to a higher innovative output of teams.

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This thesis argues that pluralism and diversity pose a more fundamental challenge to liberal constitutionalism than is sometimes recognised by liberal political theorists. While the challenges presented by moral pluralism at the philosophical level, and by cultural diversity at the socio-cultural level, have received a great deal of attention in recent political thought, the background within which these themes become salient has not always been fully acknowledged. What is new in the modern world is not so much diversity of lifestyles, but the disintegration of frameworks that traditionally provided an unproblematic basis for political authority. What this modern challenge forces us to confront then, is the idea that ‘the people’ who are subject to law, are also, as citizens, the ultimate source of political authority. I consider in detail the work of two contemporary political theorists who have provided among the most sustained and far-reaching attempts to respond to this challenge, Charles Taylor and Jürgen Habermas. Both make a significant contribution to responding to the contemporary situation of pluralism by taking on board the ‘dialogical’ nature of identity, and the role of the ‘people’ as the ultimate source of political power. However each places a heavy reliance on a privileged standpoint that may shield political judgement from the full implications of modern pluralism: Habermas, by appealing to ‘post-conventional morality’ and Taylor, by appealing to an incipient teleology.

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Sciences

No description available.

Societies that foster high quality social environments and integration produce healthier populations. The mechanisms underlying the protective effect of social integration appear to be through various forms of social support. In the Canadian Aboriginal context, few authors have explored the relationship between health and social support. This gap in understanding is significant because Aboriginal frameworks of health point to the salience of larger social structures (i.e., family), yet patterns of population health point to distinctly social causes of morbidity and mortality (e.g., violence, alcoholism). An interesting paradox emerges: patterns of Aboriginal health suggest that social support is not working to promote health. This dissertation explores this paradox through a mixed-methods approach to describe the value of social support for Aboriginal health, and to critically examine the social-structural processes and mechanisms through which social support influences Aboriginal health at the community level. / Principal components analyses of the 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) identified social support as a consistent dimension of Metis and Inuit health, and multivariable logistic regression modelling of the 2001 APS identified social support to be a significant determinant of thriving health among Indigenous men and women (e.g., those reporting their health as excellent/very good versus good/fair/poor). The results also indicate a distinct social gradient in thriving health status and social support among Aboriginal Canadians. / Narrative analyses of 26 interviews with Aboriginal Community Health Representatives point to two key explanations for the health-support paradox: (i) social support is not a widely accessible resource; and (ii) the negative health effects of social support can outweigh the positive ones. The formation of health behaviours and cultural norms - which underpin social supports - are inextricably tied to the poor material circumstances that characterize Canada's Aboriginal communities. The thesis concludes with a critical examination of the processes through which environmental dispossession has influenced the determinants of Aboriginal health, broadly speaking. Effects are most acute within the material and social environments of Aboriginal communities. More research attention should focus on identifying the pathways through which the physical, material and social environments interact to influence the health of Aboriginal Canadians.

Nous avons développé un modèle qui cherche à identifier les déterminants des trajectoires scolaires des élèves universitaires en articulant deux perspectives théoriques et en utilisant une approche méthodologique mixte en deux phases : quantitative et qualitative. La première phase est basée sur le modèle de Tinto (1992) avec l'incorporation d'autres variables de Crespo et Houle (1995). Cette étape a atteint deux objectifs. Dans le premier, on a identifié les différences entre les variables exogènes (indice économique, l'éducation parentale, moyen au lycée et moyenne dans l’examen d'entrée) et trois types de trajectoires: la persévérante, de décalage et d’abandon. Cette phase était basée sur les données d'un sondage administré à 800 étudiants à l'Université de Sonora (Mexique). Les résultats montrent que ceux qui ont quitté l'institution ont obtenu des scores significativement plus bas sur les variables exogènes. Le deuxième objectif a été atteint pour les trajectoires persévérantes et de décalage, en établissant que les étudiants ont une plus grande chance d’être persévérants lorsqu’ils présentent de meilleurs scores dans deux variables exogènes (l'examen d'entrée et être de genre féminin) et quatre viable endogènes (haute intégration académique, de meilleures perspectives d'emploi, ont une bourse). Dans la deuxième phase nous avons approfondi la compréhension (Verstehen) des processus d'articulation entre l'intégration scolaire et sociale à travers de trois registres proposés par Dubet (2005): l'intégration, le projet et la vocation. Cette phase a consisté dans 30 interviews avec étudiantes appartenant aux trois types de trajectoire. À partir du travail de Bourdages (1994) et Guzman (2004), nous avons cherché le sens de l'expérience attribuée par les étudiants au processus éducatif. Les résultats révèlent cinq groupes d’étudiantes avec des expériences universitaires identifiables : ceux qui ont une intégration académique et sociale plus grande, les femmes travailleuses intégrées académiquement, ceux qui ont les plus grandes désavantages économiques et d’intégration scolaire, ceux qui ont cherché leur vocation dans un autre établissement et ceux qui n'ont pas poursuivi leurs études. L'utilisation de différents outils statistiques (analyse de corrélation, analyse de régression logistique et analyse des conglomérats) dans la première phase a permis d’identifier des variables clés dans chaque type de trajectoire, lesquelles ont été validées avec les résultats de la phase qualitative. Cette thèse, en plus de montrer l'utilité d'une approche méthodologique mixte, étend le modèle de Tinto (1987) et confirme l'importance de l'intégration scolaire pour la persévérance à l'université. / We developed a model that seeks to identify the determinants of university student academic paths articulating two theoretical perspectives trough the use of a mixed methodological approach in two phases: quantitative and qualitative. First, the quantitative model based on Tinto (1992) with the incorporation of other variables from Crespo and Houle (1995). This phase attained two purposes. In the first, were determined the differences between the exogenous variables (economic index, parents’ educational level, high school average and average of the entrance exam) and three types of trajectory: persistent, lagged and attrition. This phase was based on data from a survey applied to 800 students at the University of Sonora (Mexico). The results show that those who left the institution had scores significantly lower at the exogenous variables. The second objective was achieved from the trajectories persistent and lagged. It was found that there is a greater chance of having a persistent trajectory when students have a high academic integration, better scores on the entrance exam, more employment expectations, having obtained a scholarship and being a woman. In the second phase a deeper understanding (verstehen) of the processes of articulation between the academic and social integration was developed through three registers: integration, project and vocation, as proposed by Dubet (2005). This phase consisted in conducting of 30 interviews with students of all three types of trajectories. From the work of Bourdages (1994) and Guzman (2004), we sought the meaning of the experience given by the students to the educational process. The results reveal five groups of students with identifiable college experiences: the ones with highest academic and social integration, the female workers with academic integration, the ones most economically disadvantaged and lower academic integration, those who sought his vocation in a different institution and the ones who dropped out. The use of different statistical tools (correlation analysis, logistic regression analysis and cluster analysis) handled in the first phase identified key variables in each type of trajectory, which were validated with the results of the qualitative phase. This thesis, in addition to showing the usefulness of a mixed methodological approach, extends the Tinto’s model (1987) and confirms the importance of academic integration for persistence in university studies. / Se desarrolló un modelo que pretende identificar las determinantes de las trayectorias estudiantiles universitarias articulando dos perspectivas teóricas mediante un proceso de acercamiento metodológico mixto en dos fases: cuantitativa y cualitativa. La primera fase se fundamenta en el modelo de Tinto (1992) con la incorporación de otros conceptos a partir de Crespo y Houle (1995). Esta fase cumplió dos objetivos. En el primero, se determinaron las diferencias entre las variables exógenas (índice económico, escolaridad de los padres, promedio de preparatoria y promedio del examen de ingreso) y tres tipos de trayectoria: perseverante, rezagada y de abandono. Esta fase se basó sobre los datos provenientes de un sondeo administrado a 800 estudiantes de la Universidad de Sonora (México). Los resultados muestran que quienes abandonaron la institución presentaban puntajes significativamente más bajos respecto a las variables exógenas. El segundo objetivo se alcanzó a partir de las trayectorias perseverante y rezagada; estableciéndose una mayor probabilidad de ser perseverante si presentan mejores puntajes en dos variables exógenas (el examen de admisión y ser mujer) y cuatro variables endógenas (integración académica alta, contar con mayores expectativas de empleo, haber obtenido una beca y no tener deudas). En la segunda fase, se profundizó la comprensión (verstehen) de los procesos de articulación entre la integración académica y social a través de tres registros propuestos por Dubet (2005): integración, vocación y proyecto. Esta fase consistió en la conducción de 30 entrevistas con estudiantes de los tres tipos de trayectoria. A partir de los trabajos de Bourdages (1994) y Guzmán (2004), se buscó el sentido de la experiencia otorgada por los estudiantes a su proceso formativo. Los resultados revelan cinco grupos de estudiantes con experiencias universitarias identificables: los de mayor integración académica y social, las trabajadoras integradas académicamente, los de mayores desventajas económicas y de integración académica, los que buscaron su vocación en otra institución y los que no continuaron estudiando. La utilización de diversas herramientas estadísticas (análisis de correlación, análisis de regresión logística y análisis de conglomerados) manipuladas en la primera fase permitió identificar variables determinantes en cada tipo de trayectoria, que fueron validadas con los resultados de la fase cualitativa. Esta tesis, además de mostrar la utilidad de un acercamiento metodológico mixto, extiende el modelo de Tinto (1987) y confirma la importancia de la integración académica para la perseverancia en los estudios universitarios.