This thesis deals with the phenomenon of attendance of Marienbad and its region in the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century, when travelling for health and progress of tourism in spas became an inseparable part of social, economic and political life. The thesis shows everyday spa life in this period from the point of view of spa visitors, at the same time emphasizes social and economic aspect of given problems of history, as well as progress of tourism and travelling in this area. The thesis is regionally focused, but it has also more general overlap to the question of balneology and health resorts in European benchmark. The thesis shows Marienbad as a cosmopolitan place - meeting point of cultural, political, economic and territorial elite.

Questa tesi consiste nella presentazione dei risultati di un sondaggio condotto in un istituto di prima infanzia si trova in un comune situato nella regione di Florianópolis / SC, nel corso del 2010. Lo studio ha lo scopo di descrivere e analizzare le varie minuzie della vita quotidiana nella professione di insegnante, mettendo in evidenza gli elementi di constituidores fanno fare gli insegnanti. Nel sondaggio cercato legami più stretti tra Pedagogia dell'Infanzia e Sociologia della vita quotidiana, alla ricerca di interfacce interdisciplinari come un modo per comprendere l'insegnamento nel corso della vita di tutti i giorni, e di contribuire alla costruzione di un punto di vista socio-pedagogico dell'infanzia e dell'educazione. I percorsi di indagine, seguendo le ipotesi della ricerca qualitativa mi hanno portato alla realizzazione di un approccio interpretativo, la creazione di un caso di studio. I docenti di questo istituto sono stati i miei interlocutori e mi hanno messo in evidenza, attraverso narrazioni orali, le dinamiche delle diverse routine fare facendo l'insegnamento. Io uso anche racconti scritti da uno degli insegnanti, messa a fuoco della ricerca, e ancora record in campo notebook basato sull'osservazione con la partecipazione al corso di un anno. La scelta di concentrarsi insegnante ha seguito alcuni criteri precedentemente elaborati, il cui requisito fondamentale era che erano un professionista di presentare un "insegnamento di successo". Il contributo principale di questo studio sta nel comprendere che l'azione riflessiva intorno alle varie minuzie della vita quotidiana, soprattutto per quanto riguarda far fare il giorno di insegnamento al giorno, permette di comprendere la complessità della vita vissuta in collettiva istituzione educativa. Hanno mostrato, inoltre, che le minuzie, intesi da alcuni insegnanti come attività didattiche e pedagogiche relative alla cura precoce e educazione - che guidano le dimensioni specifiche di insegnamento nell'educazione della prima infanzia - non sono visti come tali dalla istituzione più professionale. / A presente tese consiste na apresentação dos resultados de uma pesquisa realizada em uma instituição de educação infantil localizada em um município situado na região da Grande Florianópolis/SC, no decorrer do ano de 2010. O estudo teve como objetivo descrever e analisar as diferentes minúcias da vida cotidiana no exercício da docência, destacando os elementos constituidores do fazer-fazendo das professoras. Na pesquisa procurei estreitar os elos entre a Pedagogia da Infância e a Sociologia do Cotidiano, buscando interfaces interdisciplinares como forma de compreender a docência no decurso da vida cotidiana, e de contribuir na construção de uma perspectiva sociopedagógica de infância e de educação. Os caminhos investigativos, seguindo pelos pressupostos da pesquisa qualitativa, conduziram-me à realização de uma abordagem interpretativa, configurando-se um estudo de caso. As professoras da referida instituição foram minhas interlocutoras e me permitiram evidenciar, por meio de narrativas orais, a dinâmica das diferentes rotinas no fazer-fazendo da docência. Também utilizei narrativas escritas de uma das professoras, foco da pesquisa, e ainda registros em caderno de campo com base na observação com participação, no percurso de um ano. A escolha da professora foco seguiu alguns critérios previamente elaborados, cujo requisito essencial era o de que se tratasse de uma profissional que apresentasse uma “docência bem sucedida”. A principal contribuição deste estudo situa-se na compreensão de que a ação reflexiva em torno das diferentes minúcias da vida cotidiana, especialmente no que tange ao fazer-fazendo no dia a dia da docência, possibilita entender a complexidade da própria vida vivida no coletivo da instituição educativa. Evidenciou-se também que as minúcias, entendidas por algumas professoras como atividades educacional-pedagógicas relacionadas ao princípio de cuidado e educação - dimensões norteadoras da especificidade da docência na educação infantil -, ainda não são vistas como tal por grande parte das profissionais da instituição. / The present thesis is about the result presentations of a research held in an infantile education institution placed in a municipality in Florianópolis/SC in 2010. The study aims to describe and analyze different details of everyday life concern to teaching, highlighting the constitutor elements of make-making of teachers. In the research was tried to narrow the links between Childhood Pedagogy and Everyday Life Sociology, searching for interdisciplinary interfaces as a way to understand teaching along everyday life and to contribute in the construction of a childhood and education socio-pedagogy perspective. The investigative ways, following by the qualitative research presumptions have led to hold an interpretative approach, configuring a case study. The teachers from that institution were interlocutors and allowed proving, through oral reports, the different routine dynamics of make-making of teaching. It was also used written reports of one of the teachers, focus of the research, and also records in notebook based on observation with participation, along the year. The choice of the focused teacher followed some criteria previously elaborated and the essential requisite was that the professional had a “successful teaching”. The main contribution of this study is placed on the understanding that the reflexive action surrounded by detailed differences of everyday life, specially, concerned to make-making of teaching everyday life, allows understanding the complexity of life lived in the educative institution collectivity. It was evidenced also that the details, understood by some teachers as educational-pedagogical activities related to care and education principle – dimensions that lead to specific teaching in infantile education -, are still not seen as such for most professionals of the institutions.

O tema deste estudo é a relação da criança com a cidade na sociedade contemporânea. O problema de pesquisa se constitui a partir dos indicativos de que a fruição do espaço urbano, fundada na apropriação da rua como espaço de lazer, sofreria importantes transformações diante das inovações produtivas, tecnológicas e comunicacionais da sociedade. A hipótese é que a alteração das práticas está associada às diferenças na estrutura sócio-espacial, não sendo homogênea. Assim, seu objetivo é caracterizar a experiência urbana das crianças, identificando as práticas cotidianas e os espaços vividos; além de evidenciar a relação entre as práticas e as características sócio-espaciais; bem como avaliar a extensão do fenômeno de esvaziamento da rua como espaço de lazer. A investigação toma Porto Alegre como lócus de pesquisa, por se tratar de metrópole inserida no contexto da globalização. A empiria adota como recorte etário a faixa de 7 a 14 anos, e se estrutura em duas etapas: a primeira consiste na análise da estrutura sócio-espacial do município, através de dados censitários que articulam o espaço social das famílias ao espaço físico dos bairros, da qual resulta a classificação dos bairros segundo Perfis do Espaço Social. A segunda etapa é a análise da inter-relação entre a estrutura sócio-espacial de Porto Alegre, em seus aspectos demográficos, locacionais e morfológicos, e as práticas cotidianas. Como fontes de pesquisa, além dos dados censitários espacializados, estão os próprios habitantes, incorporados através de estudo piloto, realizado com estudantes do 8º ano do Ensino Fundamental. A análise da estrutura sócio-espacial aponta que grande parte das crianças porto-alegrenses vive em bairros de baixa renda situados, predominantemente, na periferia da cidade. A investigação das práticas cotidianas indica que a rua continua sendo apropriada para o lazer, embora prevaleça como espaço de circulação. O recolhimento ao espaço privado é verificado em todos os estratos e está vinculado, em alguns casos, à presença de condomínios fechados. Entre os estudantes, o envolvimento com o espaço público se dá em diferentes níveis, da utilização mais intensa, passando pelo equilíbrio na vivência público-privado, até chegar à experiência centrada no privado, que culmina na não-vivência do espaço público. A experiência urbana se constitui, portanto, através de múltiplas vias, marcadas pelas diferenças sócio-espaciais que envolvem o cotidiano de cada habitante. Disto emerge a validade de tomar o recorte etário como critério de análise e definição de políticas urbanas, uma vez que permite a incorporação da dimensão humana e da escala cotidiana à prática do planejamento urbano. / The subject of this study is the children's relationship with the city in contemporary society. The research issue is constituted from the indications that the enjoyment of urban space, based on appropriation of the street as a space for leisure, has undergone important changes in face of the productive, technological and communicative innovations of society. The hypothesis is that the changing of the practices is associated with socio-spatial differences and is not homogeneous. So, the research objective is to characterize the urban experience of children, identifying the everyday practices and lived spaces; show the relationship between the practices and socio-spatial characteristics, and to assess the extent of the phenomenon of deflation of the street as a space for leisure. The investigation takes Porto Alegre, Brazil, as locus of research, because of its condition of metropolis into the context of globalization. The empirical study adopts as age cut the range from 7 to 14 years, and is divided into two stages: the first is the analysis of socio-spatial structure of the city, through census data that articulate the social space of the families with the physical space of the districts, which results in the districts´ classification according the social-space profiles. The second step is the analysis of the inter-relationship between the socio-spatial structure of Porto Alegre, in their demographic, locational and morphological features, and everyday practices. As research sources, in addition to spatialized census data, are the inhabitants, incorporated through a pilot study with 8th grade students of elementary school. The analysis of socio-spatial structure shows that most children at Porto Alegre live in low-income neighborhoods, mostly located on the suburbs of the city. The investigation about everyday life indicates that street is still appropriate for leisure, although prevails as circulation space. The retreat into private space is found in all strata, and it is linked, in some cases, with the presence of gated communities. Among students, engagement with public space is established at different levels, from more intensive use, through the balance in public-private experience, to the experience focused on private, culminating in the non-experience of public space. The urban experience is constituted, therefore, through multiple ways, marked by socio-spatial differences surrounding the daily life of each inhabitant. Hence the validity to consider the age cut as an analysis and defining criterion of urban policies, especially because it allows the incorporation of the human dimension and of the everyday life scale into the urban planning practice.

本文以「都市」作為分析西西作品裡的切入點，探討西西創作歷程中以城 市作為主題或場景的作品，呈現出作家眼中的獨特城市風景，書寫與客觀環境 間的關係以及書寫對作家、城市的重要。香港作為一個現代化的城市，其殖民 經驗和九七回歸的政治、社會經驗刺激作家思考本地情感與文化認同。從西西 早期的作品，如《我城》、《美麗大廈》等作品，已呈現細緻流動的城市生 活，瑣碎平凡的文字間透露作家對香港本地的情感與記憶，並以個體實踐和生 命歷程為城市注入新的活力和風采。對城市生活的情感和記憶為香港主權回歸 中國帶來的文化認同思考，帶來穩固的基礎。西西在八○年代後的肥土鎮系列 作品，漸次地反思不同年代的政治、社會問題，看見作家思考問題時轉折的態 度和情感，直至九○年代的《飛氈》追述和想像香港歷史，確立西西對香港的 文化想像和認同情感。隨著時代之變遷，二十一世紀後的小說裡，其城市面貌 與過去有所區別，其因不免是由於政權更易、社會現象改變的客觀環境因素， 亦有作家個人境遇改變的主觀因素。在分析後期作品裡的城市時，西西以其女 性的生命情態與城市之間的思考、寫作對城市背後的政治、經濟思維系統的解 構作用，使西西看待城市時帶著敏銳又滿懷情感的眼光。

<p>This study develops a model for understanding spatial change and the construction of space as a meeting-place, and then employs it in order to show an otherwise little-known picture of (sub-)urban Russia and its transformation from Soviet times to today. The model is based on time-geographic ideas of time-space as a limited resource in which forces of various kinds struggle for access and form space in interaction with each other. Drawing on cultural semiotics and the concepts of lifeworld and system, the study highlights the social side of these space-forming forces. Based on a long-term fieldwork (participant observation) in Ligovo/Uritsk, a high-rise residential district developed around 1970 and situated on the outskirts of Sankt-Peterburg (St Petersburg), the empirical material concerns processes of urban identity, spatial representations and local politics. The study explicates three codes used to form the image of the city that all relate to its pre-Revolutionary history, two textual strategies of juxtaposition in creating the genius loci of a place, and a discussion of what I call Soviet "stiff landscape" in relation to Soviet mental and ordinary maps of the urban landscape. Moreover, the study shows that the newly implemented self-governing municipalities have not realised their potential as political actors in forming local space, which raises questions on the democratisation of urban space. Finally, the study argues that the model that guides the research is a tool that facilitates the application of the world-view of time-geography and the epistemology of the landscape of courses in concrete research. The study ends with an attempt to generalise spatial change in four types.</p>

This study develops a model for understanding spatial change and the construction of space as a meeting-place, and then employs it in order to show an otherwise little-known picture of (sub-)urban Russia and its transformation from Soviet times to today. The model is based on time-geographic ideas of time-space as a limited resource in which forces of various kinds struggle for access and form space in interaction with each other. Drawing on cultural semiotics and the concepts of lifeworld and system, the study highlights the social side of these space-forming forces. Based on a long-term fieldwork (participant observation) in Ligovo/Uritsk, a high-rise residential district developed around 1970 and situated on the outskirts of Sankt-Peterburg (St Petersburg), the empirical material concerns processes of urban identity, spatial representations and local politics. The study explicates three codes used to form the image of the city that all relate to its pre-Revolutionary history, two textual strategies of juxtaposition in creating the genius loci of a place, and a discussion of what I call Soviet "stiff landscape" in relation to Soviet mental and ordinary maps of the urban landscape. Moreover, the study shows that the newly implemented self-governing municipalities have not realised their potential as political actors in forming local space, which raises questions on the democratisation of urban space. Finally, the study argues that the model that guides the research is a tool that facilitates the application of the world-view of time-geography and the epistemology of the landscape of courses in concrete research. The study ends with an attempt to generalise spatial change in four types.

Begging as a phenomenon has again become a hot topic of debate both in the public and the media. Actions have been discussed and motions have been given to social authorities in the country. During the last two years people from other parts of Europe who engage in street begging have been seen on the streets of Kristianstad. The purpose of this paper is to find out the individuals, certain authorities and other participants experiences of people begging in public places in Kristianstad. We have used a combination of qualitative, quantitative and literature review method and we have a social constructionist perspective as a basis. The participants and authorities we have included in the study are the police, the social services, security guards, a shop owner and two other assistance agencies. Interviews have been carried out with participants and authorities, and a survey has been done by individuals. A series of articles and history books have been reviewed since the begging is a historical phenomenon as well as a contemporary. The results show a clear division into two camps regarding experiences and opinions about street beggars and begging as a phenomenon. The majority expresses dissatisfaction and many propose measures and actions. Our final discussion is marked by our own thoughts and values ​​that emerged during the work, which we tried to moderate through the rest of the essay. / Tiggeri som fenomen har på nytt blivit ett hett ämne för debatt både för allmänhet och i media. Åtgärder har diskuterats och motioner om förbud lämnas till socialnämnder i landet. I Kristianstad har det under de senaste två åren kommit personer hit från andra delar av Europa som ägnar sig åt gatutiggeri. Syftet med denna uppsats är att ta reda på privatpersoners, vissa myndigheters och andra aktörers uppfattning av personer som tigger på offentlig plats i Kristianstad. Vi har använt oss av en kombination av kvalitativ, kvantitativ och litteraturstudie som metod och vi har ett socialkonstruktionistiskt perspektiv som grund. De aktörer och myndigheter vi tagit med i undersökningen är polis, socialtjänst, vakter, butiksägare och två andra biståndsverksamheter. Intervjuer har gjorts med aktörerna och myndigheterna och en enkätundersökning har gjorts med privatpersoner. En rad artiklar och historieböcker har gåtts igenom då tiggeri ju är ett historiskt fenomen såväl som ett nutida. Resultatet visar på en klar uppdelning i två läger gällande uppfattningar och åsikter om gatutiggare och tiggeri som fenomen. Majoriteten uttrycker ett missnöje och många föreslår åtgärder och insatser. Vår slutdiskussion präglas av våra egna tankar och värderingar som framkommit under arbetets gång, vilka vi försökt tona ner i resten av uppsatsen.

The overall aim of this dissertation is to discuss the scope as well as the limits of sociological theory. This project is undertaken with the help of Søren Kierkegaard and his unique interpretation of human existence. Taking as its point of departure the existential reality of the single individual (den Enkelte), this study also addresses the fundamental question posed by Georg Simmel, “How is society possible?” It is argued that an answer to this question needs to take into account the existential concepts of choice, authenticity, subjectivity, anxiety, faith, and responsibility.  The strategy – and the implicit method – of this study is to start out from the single individual and gradually move towards society, culture and history. After addressing some theories of everyday life, such as social phenomenology and dramaturgical theory, the investigation moves on to the central sociological problem of how to construct a synthetic theory of the relation between man and society. The final theory to be discussed is the social theory of Jean-Paul Sartre, which can be seen as a reformulation and modification of the Kierkegaardian perspective, now set in dialectical relation to society and history. The main argument of the thesis is that the message that can be found in Kierkegaard’s writings represents both a reminder and a challenge to every sociological project which seeks to achieve a synthesis between individual existence and social reality. Sociological theories can neither account for the existence of the single individual in an exhaustive manner, nor fully integrate this existence into some social system. It is impossible to reduce the existence of individuals to some socially and culturally given lifeworld, because authentic faith and infinite passion constitute an inner experience that is largely hidden from the sociologist observer. A sociological incompleteness theorem is proposed, which states that sociological theories are simply incapable of dealing with certain aspects of human existence. These aspects are, from an ontological point of view, unsettled and not social in nature. This theorem can also be expressed so that there exists a blind spot in every sociological theory that tries to account systematically for the single individual. By focussing attention on the existential tension between choice and inner experience, the sociologist can however push the limits for what can be accomplished with the help of sociological theory.

本文書寫的七位都市阿美族營造業板模師傅的勞動生命故事，將帶領我們走入一趟勞動社會學之旅。這些受訪的新店區阿美族資深板模工人，主要來自花東平原或縱谷不同的部落。目前他們有些居住於新店國宅內，有些居住於河濱部落，有些散居於安坑地區。他們都是技術工人，從事營造業板模工作也都有二十個年頭以上。他們豐富的板模工作經驗及長時期待在此行業，不僅提供我們重新認識台灣建築工人勞動過程的自主性及日常生活樣貌，也從他們口述史中知道整個營造業產業的變遷風向。雖然他們以個案方式被呈現，但我們借助這些個案也試圖超越這些個案，嘗試從具體工人個案敘述，走向抽象工人的理論論述與剖析。 這是一趟勞動社會學之旅，但同時也是一趟勞動生命史之旅。本文採取田野調查、深度訪談與歷史文獻爬梳的方式，試圖去貼近被研究對象。他們的勞動與都市生活，其實是具體地鑲嵌於母文化及其社會關係之中。當越是深入田野貼近都市阿美族的工作經驗及其日常生活，筆者就越想瞭解下列的疑問：「都市阿美族建築業工班是如何運作的？」、「都市阿美族人其原來的勞動文化，如何被帶入工地勞動之中的？」、「台灣營造業的剝削與不公平問題，更勝於其他行業，但為何沒有建築工人走上街頭呢？其中製造甘願的機制為何呢？」、「都市阿美族建築工人的抗爭，如何展現及其限制為何？」最後還有「都市阿美族人建築工人團結文化如何可能？」這些大問號，將引導本文的思考與書寫的方向。 本文的章節安排，扼要說明如下。第一章〈導論〉，包括研究動機與目的、文獻回顧與評析、研究方法及章節安排之說明；第二章〈近代阿美族的社會歷史及其時代變遷〉，探討阿美族自荷西時代到日本殖民時代的社會變遷；第三章〈當代阿美族的西部都會地區移工、族裔社區與日常生活〉，則試圖描繪當代阿美族的社會變遷面貌，尤其考察都市阿美族的形成、社群網絡、自願團體、貨幣使用及其日常生活樣貌；第四章〈阿美族板模工個案生命史〉，正式進入七位男性都市阿美族板模師傅個案勞動生命史自傳的書寫；第五章〈都市阿美族營造業工班組織與勞動過程考察〉，將由這七位板模師傅的勞動經驗出發，並將其放在台灣營造業鋼筋混凝土工法引進百年歷史、戰後台灣營造業外包制度、工班運作及其生產政治中考察；第六章，〈戰後台灣工地文化、營造技術及其社會變遷〉，我們將聚焦在台灣特殊的工地文化、營造業去技術過程及建築工人的勞動自主性之課題；第七章〈工地「階級」關係、勞動過程與市場專制/關係主義〉，試圖建立在上述個案研究基礎之上，並超越個案的侷限，從事抽象的建築工人勞動過程的理論討論與剖析。其中，特別指出及論證台灣營造業之「市場專制與關係主義複合體組合」勞動體制特色；最後第八章〈結論〉，扼要說明本研究的若干研究發現。 / In this book, the hardworking life stories of seven urban Amis template workers in construction industry will lead us to a journey of sociology of labor. These interviewed senior Amis template workers who live in Sindian District, New Taipei City, mainly come from different tribes in Huatung Valley or Plain. They chose to settle down in Sindian District of New Taipei City. Some of them live in Sindian public housing, some live in riverbank tribes, and others live scattered in Ankeng. They are all skilled workers who have experience in making templates in construction industry for more than twenty years. With their extensive experience of making templates and stay in this industry for a long time, we not only rediscover the autonomy of labor and daily life of construction workers in Taiwan but also learn the transformation of the construction industry with their oral history. Although it is presented with cases, we attempt to transcend the cases, and with these cases, we try to discuss and analyze the cases from concrete labour cases to abstract labour theory. This is a journey of sociology of labor, and also a journey of history of labor life. With the methods of field work, depth interview, and historical references, the writer tries to get close to the subjects and finds that their labor and urban lives are concretely embedded to mother culture and social relations. The deeper the writer gets into the field and urban Amis’ working experience and daily life, the more the writer wants to solve the following questions: “How does the construction shift of urban Amis works?” “How did Amis’ original labor culture be brought to the construction labor?” “The exploitation and unfairness of labor in Taiwan construction industry are more serious than those of other industries, but why there aren’t social movement of construction workers in the streets? What is the mechanism of creating consent?” “How should we express and what is the limit of the fight of urban Amis construction workers?” “What is the possibility of unity culture of urban Amis construction workers?” These big questions will lead the way of this essay’s thought and direction of writing. The chapter arrangement of the essay are as follows: chapter 1, “Introduction,” including the motivation and purpose of the research, reviewing and analyzing the references, research methods, and the arrangement of chapters; chapter 2, “Recent social history of the Amis and the change of its time,” discussing the change of Amis society from European rule to Japanese colonial period; chapter 3, “Present Amis’ migrant workers in Taiwan’s western metropolitan areas, community, and daily life,” trying to describe the appearance of present Amis’ change of the society, especially inspecting the formation, community grid, volunteer group, usage of currency, and daily life of present Amis; chapter 4, “Individual life history of Amis template workers,” beginning to write the biography of the history of labor life of the seven urban Amis template workers; chapter 5, “Inspecting the construction industry work organization and labor process of urban Amis,” starting from the personal labor experience of these seven template workers, it investigate the history of hundreds of years of reinforced concrete technique in Taiwan construction industry, post-war outsourcing system in Taiwan, operation of working shifts, and production politics; chapter 6, “Post-war culture of construction site, construction techniques, and change of society in Taiwan,” focusing on the special culture of construction site, process of construction techniques, and the labor autonomy of constriction workers in Taiwan; chapter 7, “The ‘class’ relations of construction site, process of labor, and despotic marketism / relationalism,” trying to establish the above basics of mentioned individual case research, transcending the limitation of individual case, and conduct the abstract discussion and analysis on the theory of labor process of construction workers. It especially points out and demonstrates the features of labor regime of the complex of despotic marketism and relationalism in Taiwan construction industry; chapter 8, “Conclusion,” briefly elaborating the findings of the research.

The aim of the thesis is to describe and analyse how a group of women experience that their every-day lives are affected during and after primary breast cancer treatment. The thesis is a consecutive, longitudinal study that takes an explorative qualitative approach. Seventy-one women younger than 60 years of age with primary breast cancer were consecutively included in the study. The women were interviewed four or five times over a period of 4 to 6 years from end of radiotherapy. The analyses of the interviews were inspired by grounded theory and narrative analysis.  The thesis encompasses four papers. Paper I focused on the women’s contact with health care. The results of this study indicate that it is crucial for patients in a vulnerable situation to be admitted into a supportive system – ‘admitted into a helping plan’ – that, more or less explicitly, displays a well-thought-out plan of care. This is a process built on individual relationships with members of the health-care staff, but it ends up in a relationship to health care as a helping system, a ‘safe haven’ to attach to. Study II explored the women’s ideas about what motivated and discouraged their return to work. The results illustrate that the meaning of work fluctuates over time and that the processes of returning to work are conditioned by the patients’ individual life situations. Returning to work was regarded as an important part of the healing process because of how it generated and structured the women’s everyday lives. Returning to work meant demonstrating well-being and normalcy after breast cancer. Study III examined how life was lived and valued during and after treatment for breast cancer compared to pre-cancer life. The analysis showed that being afflicted with breast cancer was evaluated from a context of the women’s former everyday lives and stressed that how the women experienced breast cancer was a matter of personal circumstances. Study IV focused on how the women experienced and dealt with their altered bodies. The results showed that the women followed three different body-mind trajectories that depended to a significant extent on the severity of side effects and bodily alterations that resulted from their treatments. Being afflicted by breast cancer implies vulnerability and losses, but it can also involve benefits and provide new perspectives on life. How the overall breast cancer experience is valued seems to be very much a matter of circumstances in everyday life. This thesis highlights circumstances that focus in particular on contacts with health care, the body, the work situation, and the family situation.