Syftet med denna studie är att utifrån en fenomenologisk ansats öka förståelsen för hur säljare av komplexa IT-lösningar upplever flytande arbetstider. Detta gör vi genom vår frågeställning: Hur upplever säljare av komplexa IT-lösningar att vara tillgängliga? För att få en djupare insikt i ämnet har vi genomfört semistrukturerade intervjuer med åtta respondenter på sju olika företag inom IT-branschen. Den teoretiska utgångspunkt vi använt oss av i denna studie är Bourdieus teori om habitus och Goffmans teori om roller. Resultatet från insamlingen av vårt empiriska material visar att det hos IT-säljare verkar råda ett gemensamt habitus utifrån hur de beskriver sig själva, vilka behov de får tillgodosedda genom de krav yrket ställer på dem samt hur de balanserar sina roller mellan arbete och familjeliv. De roller IT-säljaren spelar i arbetslivet kontra familjelivet verkar vara integrerade med varandra och utifrån vårt empiriska resultat drar vi slutsatsen att fenomenet tillgänglighet fyller en meningsskapande funktion som genom socialiseringsprocessen inom säljteamet också förstärker IT-säljarens habitus. På så sätt blir tillgänglighet en del i deras sätt att leva vilket gör att de inte upplever denna på ett negativt sätt till skillnad från hur individer med ett annat habitus kan tänkas uppleva tillgänglighet. Vår studie har således bidragit till forskningsfältet på det sätt att den visat att säljare av komplexa IT-lösningar inte upplever den stress gällande tillgänglighet som tidigare forskning generellt visat.

Ungdomars liv präglas idag allt mer av datorer där datorn används flitigt både hemma och i skolan. Vår studie belyser gymnasieungdomars vanor kring datoranvändning och hur vanorna skiljer sig åt mellan elevers olika uppsättningar av habitus.     Vi valde att göra en kvalitativ undersökning med en induktiv-deduktiv metod. Varför vi valde den metoden grundar sig i att det inte sedan tidigare existerar några teorier inom området som uppsatsen kan verifiera eller förkasta samt att studiens resultat tolkades utifrån Bourdieus teorier om habitus och kapital.    Datamaterialet samlades in genom fjorton stycken semi-strukturerade intervjuer vid två olika gymnasieprogram som präglas av olika mängd utbildningskapital. Respondenternas svar bearbetades genom teman som skapades för att finna likheter och skillnader för gymnasieprogrammen samt att hitta kulturella gemensamma särdrag.     Undersökningen ger en varierande bild av de konsekvenser som datoranvändningen kan orsaka.

Thesis (Ph.D. (English)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

The main aim of the study is to generate increased knowledge about young people’s leisure time sporting habits in a contextual perspective. The intention is to highlight the circumstances in which young people pursue and participate in different activities, with a particular focus on sport in terms of one’s own life circumstances. An essential point of departure of the study is regarding sport as an important pedagogic environment of norms and values. The perspective of the study is mainly cultural-sociological. In the analyses, Pierre Bourdieu’s key concepts habitus and capital have been used as research tools together with gender. The data on which the thesis is based is collected from young people from school year 9 living in four different milieus and comes from three different collections, conducted in 1996, 2002 and 2007. In each data collection about 1200-1500 pupils replied to a questionnaire. Sport occupies a central position in young people’s life on the recreational field. The results show that sport culture can best be understood in the local perspective. Young people’s sporting habit development can be said to be a result of a complex interplay between personal preferences, the home environment, local traditions, what is on offer, living conditions and the prevailing laws of gender and status. For the group of teenagers as a whole the proportion of members, as well as those who pursue personal sports, increases with higher educational capital and higher economic capital. When it comes to organised sport outside the sports club milieu no such connection can be determined. The thesis has shown that sport is not accessible for all and opportunities for participation are curtailed for large groups of young people in our society. This is especially true for sport organised in sport clubs, i.e. sport mainly supported by public funds.

Thesis (Ph.D. (English)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Doctor of Philosophy / Using the Wood Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service in 1994 as its major case study, this thesis hypothesises that, although this inquiry had a far reaching impact on both the personal and working lives of police officers in the organisation itself, it proved ineffectual in its attempt to control corruption. It argues that corruption, and the subsequent inquiries into this corruption, can be seen to have a cyclic nature and the failure of such inquiries has a long and international history. It contends that the nature of the public inquiry itself can be seen to contribute to the continuation of the cycle of corruption. Clearly, putting an end to corruption requires more than the investigation, public exposure and punishment of a few corrupt police, followed by a generalised tightening of the chain of command. Instead, this thesis demonstrates that the problem is primarily an organisational one and it is important to look at management reforms. This thesis contends that the cycle of corruption involves the nature of police work; the catalyst that triggers the inquiry; the inquiry itself and the issue of the report; and the police and community responses. An examination of all these factors is crucial to understanding the cycle’s dynamics. The final report of the Wood Royal Commission was in 1996 and this thesis specifically analyses the cycle of corruption in relation to the response of the police executive to this inquiry. It shows how the police response focused on the tactical crisis response central to operational policing — in this case appeasing official censure and community fears. As little more than a public relations exercise, senior management strategically addressed the specific recommendations of the report rather than creatively considering the implications exposed during the inquiry. The idea that corruption is a symptom of an ineffective system and not simply a slackening of effective control by senior management was never considered. In the aftermath of the Wood Royal Commission there was much discussion about ‘police culture’ being ‘a culture of corruption’. The forgotten casualties of the inquiry has been individual police officers, many of whom see policing as a vocation. This thesis has allowed many voices to be heard and used both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse a wide range of information and data, which included personal interviews with serving police officers and members of external organisations, as well as printed material from Royal Commission Reports, Hansard and other government documents, internal Police Service documents and media reports.It has used Bourdieu’s theoretical approach which allows an analysis of the complex relationships involved between police officers as individuals who operate within the wider networks of a specific organisation and the way the personal is important as an explanatory tool of what happens within a policing culture and how this culture is perceived differently from within and without. Bourdieu’s theory also facilitates analysis of the interactions of this network with the wider community, putting in context the responses of both the police service and the community. The connection with the personal is important as an explanatory tool of what happens within a policing culture and how this culture is perceived differently from within and without. Bourdieu constructs an understanding of the ‘nature of the game’ of policing and the shaping of the individual within police culture, giving insight into the source of moral dilemmas, personal beliefs and personal behaviour. As the current management system of command and control is at the heart of this response, this thesis has also analysed the assumptions inherent in this management philosophy, considering both necessary operational strengths as well as organisational weaknesses. A central theme of the thesis is that open dialogue will reduce the incidence of corruption and risk within policing institutions. This thesis argues that there must be an integrative approach to reform — accountable, active leadership combined with critically constructed practical approaches that tackle the complexity of the dynamics embedded in the ‘nature of the game’ of policing itself.

Zugl.: Marburg, Universiẗat, Diss., 2009.

Diss. Freie Univ. Berlin, 2005.

Universiẗat, Diss., 2002--Kassel.

O presente trabalho analisa as escolhas de carreira universitárias feitas por estudantes da terceira série do Ensino Médio a partir de seus depoimentos. Trata-se de um momento privilegiado no processo das escolhas referentes à formação profissional, experienciadas pelos indivíduos inseridos em uma sociedade que passa por profundas transformações em todos os âmbitos, inclusive nos seus valores. No processo de decisão que se impõe aos indivíduos nesta fase de suas vidas, eles têm de articular a sua trajetória de vida, familiar, educacional e social com a percepção que elaboram das profissões, das oportunidades de formação e do mercado de trabalho e suas demandas. A amostra de depoimentos colhidos foi desenhada para contemplar tanto estudantes que freqüentavam uma escola técnica estadual quanto alunos de uma escola privada de alto padrão, ambas consideradas como instituições de ensino de qualidade. Cada grupo foi dividido em alunos do sexo masculino e do sexo feminino, metade dos quais estava fazendo cursinho preparatório para os vestibulares. No caso do grupo da escola pública, utilizaram-se subgrupos adicionais formados por estudantes que trabalhavam e aqueles que cursavam o ensino técnico (em paralelo com o Ensino Médio). Foram realizadas 33 entrevistas semi-estruturadas. Na análise dos resultados empregaram-se as obras de Pierre Bourdieu e Norbert Elias, em particular os conceitos de habitus e configuração. Verificou-se que a noção da necessidade de um curso superior para a inserção no mercado de trabalho é de tal forma incorporada pelos jovens entrevistados que todos pretendiam cursar uma carreira universitária. As escolhas de carreira desses jovens são expressão da continuidade das trajetórias familiares, seja de manutenção de uma posição social, seja de superação da posição conquistada pela geração anterior. A adesão a esse projeto e um processo de racionalização crescente leva o jovem à busca ativa de um equilíbrio entre os gostos pessoais (eles mesmos desenvolvidos principalmente no interior das relações familiares ou na escola), as oportunidades oferecidas pelo mercado de trabalho, as chances concretas de ingresso na carreira considerada e a realização de um projeto de vida individual, porém inserido no projeto familiar e de classe. Isto é possibilitado pelo desenvolvimento de disposições de autocontrole, autodisciplina e capacidade de adiamento de satisfações momentâneas em nome da realização de um projeto de futuro. Para a concretização desse projeto, a escola tem papel central.