<p>The appeal of Allport&rsquo / s Contact Hypothesis lies in the simplicity of its core principle, which holds that contact between different groups may serve to reduce prejudices. Contact needs to meet key conditions, i.e. equal power, cooperation towards a common goal and institutional support. Support has been found for the Contact Hypothesis in its original form and for those contacts which fail to meet the specified conditions. This study sought to explore whether contact, in forms different to those traditionally defined by the Contact Hypothesis, i.e. exposure, had any bearing on group prejudice. The prejudice and its underlying negative attitudes of interest, were those informed by HIV and AIDS stigma. HIV and AIDS stigma, defined as a discrediting quality and informed by social processes, is of particular concern as it impedes prevention, treatment and care efforts in South Africa&rsquo / s response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. The health care context is often an area where Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV) are confronted with HIV and AIDS stigma. The research aims were thus to explore the extent of HIV and AIDS stigma amongst health care workers, the forms of exposure to PLHIV and the relationship between exposure and HIV and AIDS stigma. A quantitative, survey design was employed to accomplish these aims and to test formulated hypotheses, which were based on current literature and the core principle of the Contact Hypothesis. The sample consisted of 202 health care workers in the Cape Town metropole. Data analyses revealed the existence of low to moderate levels of HIV and AIDS stigma and also found that most of the sample had exposure to PLHIV in either its individual forms or overall form. Bivariate correlations revealed negative relationships between forms of exposure, overall exposure and stigma.</p>

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / The appeal of Allport's Contact Hypothesis lies in the simplicity of its core principle, which holds that contact between different groups may serve to reduce prejudices. Contact needs to meet key conditions, i.e. equal power, cooperation towards a common goal and institutional support. Support has been found for the Contact Hypothesis in its original form and for those contacts which fail to meet the specified conditions. This study sought to explore whether contact, in forms different to those traditionally defined by the Contact Hypothesis, i.e. exposure, had any bearing on group prejudice. The prejudice and its underlying negative attitudes of interest, were those informed by HIV and AIDS stigma. HIV and AIDS stigma, defined as a discrediting quality and informed by social processes, is of particular concern as it impedes prevention, treatment and care efforts in South Africa's response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. The health care context is often an area where Persons Living with HIV (PLHIV) are confronted with HIV and AIDS stigma. The research aims were thus to explore the extent of HIV and AIDS stigma amongst health care workers, the forms of exposure to PLHIV and the relationship between exposure and HIV and AIDS stigma. A quantitative, survey design was employed to accomplish these aims and to test formulated hypotheses, which were based on current literature and the core principle of the Contact Hypothesis. The sample consisted of 202 health care workers in the Cape Town metropole. Data analyses revealed the existence of low to moderate levels of HIV and AIDS stigma and also found that most of the sample had exposure to PLHIV in either its individual forms or overall form. Bivariate correlations revealed negative relationships between forms of exposure, overall exposure and stigma. / South Africa

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Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Donald A. Saucier / Individuals who associate with a stigmatized group may take on a “courtesy stigma”, and this may lead individuals to dissociate from stigmatized individuals for fear of also being stigmatized (Goffman, 1963). However many heterosexual individuals (i.e., straight allies) openly associate with lesbians and gay men (LG), and/or actively engage in LG social activism despite the risk of assuming a courtesy stigma. The current research examined the perceptions of and the identification processes associated with being straight allies. Results revealed that the willingness to take on a courtesy stigma may be influential in the process of straight ally identification. This research has implications for understanding the processes related to straight ally perceptions and identification. The current research will also promote general understanding of individuals who engage in prosocial behaviors despite possible negative consequences.

I denna studie valde vi att studera hur nyktra alkoholister upplever sin situation och hur mötet med samhället ser ut. Debuten av alkoholmissbruk är vanligen osynlig och smygande, först långt tid efteråt brukar man kunna rekonstruera förloppet.  Alkoholism påverkar människans alla organ, psykiska funktioner och inte minst individens sociala relationer.  Studier som berör alkoholkonsumtion är  och har alltid varit av stort sociologiskt intresse. I vår studie har vi valt att utgå från Goffmans dramaturgiska perspektiv, samt hans stigma teori eftersom dessa teorier behandlar hur individer agerar i det sociala samspelet och den ställer frågan om avvikande i fokus.  Vi vill med denna studie bidra till en ökad förståelse för hur nyktra alkoholister upplever sin situation i vårt samhälle idag. Vi undersöker om det uppstår en problematik i interaktionen mellan individ och samhälle och hur individen hanterar detta.  Samt hur detta påverkar den nyktra alkoholistens självuppfattning och samhällssyn. Informanterna i denna studie lever i två olika medelstora svenska storstäder. I vår studie definierar vi begreppet nykter alkoholist som en person som sökt hjälp och stöd för sitt problem hos någon instans, inom vård eller förening, och tack vare denna hjälp varit nykter i minst sex månader.  Vår slutsats är att alla våra informanter beskriver en känsla av att vara avvikande från det som ses som norm i vårt samhälle idag. De utkämpar en daglig kamp, inte bara mot sitt begär att dricka, utan även gentemot det omgivande samhället. Hos alla informanter ser vi en tydlig stigmatisering. Stigmatiseringen finns inte bara mellan samhället och gruppen alkoholister utan vi ser att man även inom sin ”grupp” gör stora distinktioner på nykter alkoholist och alkoholist, olika typer av missbruk, samt även mellan män och kvinnor.  Vi fann även i vår studie att män delar åsikten att kvinnor straffas hårdare för sitt missbruk.

Study background Nursing plays a pivotal role in the care of people living with HIV and AIDS and makes an obvious contribution in influencing HIV and AIDS policy. Studies suggest that despite their knowledge and experience nurses do not systematically inform policy. Against the background of the research problem above, the following research question was posed: How can a model for HIV and AIDS care, research and policy interface be developed? Purpose of the study and objectives The purpose of this study was to develop and describe a model for HIV and AIDS care, research and policy interface. The study objectives were developed in two phases relevant to the methodology of developing a model. Phase One objectives Phase 1 objectives – The identification and classification of concepts in relation to HIV and AIDS care, research and policy interface.  To examine how HIV and AIDS stigma influences nurses‟ provision of prevention, care and treatment to patients and families.  To explore and describe how HIV and AIDS affects the workforce.  To examine the HIV and AIDS policies and interventions Phase 2 objectives Phase 2 objectives – Concept definition, description and model development  To describe a conceptual framework  To construct the relational statements amongst the identified concepts Methods Three different instruments were used in both qualitative and quantitative collection of data. These were the Human Resource Management (HRM) Rapid Assessment Tool, the Clinical Survey and the Interview Guide. Content and construct validity were used to determine rigour of the quantitative instruments; trustworthiness of the qualitative data was established according to Lincoln and Guba (1985) and Krefting‟s (1991) considerations of trustworthiness Results Concluding statements were deduced from the analysed data. These were further deducted into: HIV and AIDS care, research, HIV and AIDS stigma, staff outcomes and policy. These core concepts were used to develop a model for HIV and AIDS care, research and policy interface. Recommendations Recommendations for practice, research, education and policy included stakeholder inclusion in HIV and AIDS policy, increasing the research component of clinical nurses and rolling out the use of HIV and AIDS care, research and policy interface model. / PhD (Nursing), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Study background Nursing plays a pivotal role in the care of people living with HIV and AIDS and makes an obvious contribution in influencing HIV and AIDS policy. Studies suggest that despite their knowledge and experience nurses do not systematically inform policy. Against the background of the research problem above, the following research question was posed: How can a model for HIV and AIDS care, research and policy interface be developed? Purpose of the study and objectives The purpose of this study was to develop and describe a model for HIV and AIDS care, research and policy interface. The study objectives were developed in two phases relevant to the methodology of developing a model. Phase One objectives Phase 1 objectives – The identification and classification of concepts in relation to HIV and AIDS care, research and policy interface.  To examine how HIV and AIDS stigma influences nurses‟ provision of prevention, care and treatment to patients and families.  To explore and describe how HIV and AIDS affects the workforce.  To examine the HIV and AIDS policies and interventions Phase 2 objectives Phase 2 objectives – Concept definition, description and model development  To describe a conceptual framework  To construct the relational statements amongst the identified concepts Methods Three different instruments were used in both qualitative and quantitative collection of data. These were the Human Resource Management (HRM) Rapid Assessment Tool, the Clinical Survey and the Interview Guide. Content and construct validity were used to determine rigour of the quantitative instruments; trustworthiness of the qualitative data was established according to Lincoln and Guba (1985) and Krefting‟s (1991) considerations of trustworthiness Results Concluding statements were deduced from the analysed data. These were further deducted into: HIV and AIDS care, research, HIV and AIDS stigma, staff outcomes and policy. These core concepts were used to develop a model for HIV and AIDS care, research and policy interface. Recommendations Recommendations for practice, research, education and policy included stakeholder inclusion in HIV and AIDS policy, increasing the research component of clinical nurses and rolling out the use of HIV and AIDS care, research and policy interface model. / PhD (Nursing), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The aim of this study is to get a picture of how communities in the Swedish church, more precisely in Växjö diocese, work with LGBTQ questions. Furthermore, this study pays attention to the different factors that might have affected this work over the years, and I will also investigate if the work with LGBTQ questions differ between the communities I have picked for this study. To conduct this study, a qualitative method is used in form of semi-structured interviews. This study uses Goffman’s theory of stigma, as well as Foucault’s theory of power, as a theoretical framework to analyse the collected data. The result shows that although there are no specific guidelines in how the communities are supposed to work with the LGBTQ questions, work is underway in the diocese of Växjö. For instance, in connection to the annual Pride-festival, the communities try to engage themselves by showing that there is an acceptance towards LGBTQ-persons within the Swedish church. The result also shows that there are some specific factors that affect the work related to LGBTQ questions, such as the fact that gay marriages are legal by law in Sweden.

Bakgrund: Vårdpersonal kan uppleva negativa erfarenheter när de vårdar personer med HIV/AIDS. Det framkommer i studier att kunskap om HIV/AIDS kan leda till positivare erfarenheter. Vårdpersonals erfarenheter av att vårda dessa personer är därför en viktig kunskap som kan användas för att förbättra kunskapen hos vårdpersonal och i längden förbättra vården för personer med HIV/AIDS. Syfte: Litteraturstudiens syfte var att beskriva vårdpersonals erfarenheter av att vårda personer med HIV/AIDS. Metod: Litteraturstudie där åtta kvalitativa vetenskapliga studier inkluderades. Fribergs modell för litteraturöversikt användes och med inspiration från Graneheim och Lundman (2004) granskades studiernas resultat. Dessa analyserades och sammanställdes till nya resultat. Resultat: Resultatet sammanställdes i sex underkategorier som beskrev vårdpersonalens erfarenheter av att vårda personer med HIV/AIDS. Dessa sex underkategorier delades i sin tur in i två kategorier: Känslor av sympati, vanmakt, rädsla och ilska och Upplevelse av stigma och diskriminering. Slutsats: Bristande kunskap om sjukdomstillståndet HIV/AIDS kan leda till ett fördömande och stigmatisering mot personerna med sjukdomen och kan relateras till samhället och den syn som redan finns mot personer med HIV/AIDS. Mer kunskap om HIV/AIDS hos vårdpersonal kan hjälpa dem att få mer positiva erfarenheter vilket kan påverka omvårdnaden för personerna med sjukdomen.

Utifrån Zygmunt Baumans teori om arbetsetik och Stefan Svallfors resonemang om klassbaserade attityder avser denna studie att analysera attityder till arbetslöshet med fokus på klasskillnader men även andra tänkbara faktorer. Att människor i olika klasser har liknande intressen, normer och sätt att betrakta samhället på har tidigare forskning observerat. Klasskillnader i synen på arbetslöshet är dock mindre beforskat och kommer därför att studeras närmare i denna studie. Syftet med studien är att undersöka skillnader i attityder till arbetslöshet. En analys utfördes för att undersöka hur bland annat social klass, kön och erfarenhet av arbetslöshet påverkar synen på arbetslöshet. Metod/data: Datamaterialet som använts är från 2008/2009 års European Values Study (EVS) vilket är en tvärsnittsstudie där materialet samlats in genom en enkät. Urvalet skickades ut till ett riksrepresentativt urval på 2600 personer över 18 år. Svarsfrekvensen slutade på 1187 personer vilket motsvarar 45,7 procent, med en medelålder på 47,9 år. Respondenternas attityder till arbetslöshet mättes utifrån ett index bestående utav fem frågor genom bivariata och multipla linjära regressionsanalyser (OLS). Resultatet visade inte på något statistiskt signifikant samband mellan klass och attityder till arbetslöshet. I enlighet med hypotesen hade män sämre attityder till arbetslöshet än kvinnor. Har en person egen erfarenhet av arbetslöshet är synen på arbetslösa bättre, liknande resultat kunde inte urskiljas för eventuell partners erfarenhet av arbetslöshet. Politisk orientering och utbildning var andra variabler som föreföll förklara variationen i attityder bättre än exempelvis klass. Ju högre utbildning en individ har och ju mer politiskt vänsterorienterad den är desto bättre attityder till arbetslöshet. Diskussion: Att inga klasskillnader kunde utläsas i synen på arbetslöshet kan bero på att enkäten skickades ut mitt under en ekonomisk kris som påverkat respondenternas attityder oavsett klass. Arbetslöshet ses eventuellt som ett resultat av samhällsekonomiska brister snarare än en konsekvens av individers personliga egenskaper. Politisk orientering och egen erfarenhet av arbetslöshet tenderar att förklara synen på arbetslöshet i större utsträckning.