Introduction: In Western countries, about one pregnant woman in five experiences a considerable fear of childbirth (FOC). Consequently FOC is an important topic for midwives, being pregnant women’s main care givers. Also, although many aspects of FOC have been studied, almost no studies have into detail applied a theoretical frame of reference for studying pregnant women’s expectations for their upcoming labour and delivery. Therefore, the theory of self-efficacy, here regarding pregnant women’s belief in own capability to cope with labour and delivery, has been applied with the aim to better understand the phenomenon of FOC. Aim: The overall aims of the thesis were to describe midwives´ perceptions and views on FOC and to expand the current knowledge about expectations for the forthcoming birth in nulliparous women in the context of FOC. Method: Study I had a descriptive design. In total 21 midwives, distributed over four focus-groups, participated. Data were analysed by the phenomenographic approach. Studies II and III had cross sectional designs. Study II comprised 726 midwives, randomly selected from a national sample that completed a questionnaire that addressed the findings from Study I. Study III included 423 pregnant nulliparous women. FOC was measured using the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ), self-efficacy by the Childbirth Self-Efficacy Inventory (CBSEI). Study IV had a descriptive interpretative design. Seventeen women with severe FOC were conveniently selected from the sample of Study III and individually interviewed. Content analyses, both deductive and inductive, were performed. Method: Study I had a descriptive design. In total 21 midwives, distributed over four focus-groups, participated. Data were analysed by the phenomenographic approach. Studies II and III had cross sectional designs. Study II comprised 726 midwives, randomly selected from a national sample that completed a questionnaire that addressed the findings from Study I. Study III included 423 pregnant nulliparous women. FOC was measured using the Wijma Delivery Expectancy/Experience Questionnaire (W-DEQ), self-efficacy by the Childbirth Self-Efficacy Inventory (CBSEI). Study IV had a descriptive interpretative design. Seventeen women with severe FOC were conveniently selected from the sample of Study III and individually interviewed. Content analyses, both deductive and inductive, were performed. Conclusions: Swedish midwives regard severe FOC as a serious problem that influences pregnant women’s view on the forthcoming labour and delivery. Midwives at antenatal care clinics, compared to colleagues working at labour wards, experience a greater need for training in care of pregnant women with severe FOC. Self-efficacy is a useful construct and the self-efficacy theory an applicable way of thinking in analysing fear of childbirth. The self-efficacy concept might be appropriate in midwives’ care for women with severe FOC.

This study aims at using discourse analysis to analyze SFI students attitudes to religion and religiosity in an SFI-context. The questions are: How is the discourse constructed and maintained by religion and religiosity of SFI students in an SFI context? How do SFI participants experience that their religion has affected their time at SFI? Using a case study approach, interviews were conducted with a group of SFI students. The results show that the religious discourse in SFI is influenced by the SFI-context and affected based on the current education discourse that exists there. Furthermore, the discourse is designed and maintained by the participants private religious beliefs and the religion of the majority of the group, One canhere speak of a strong social unit forming a plausibility structure The power structure that emerges is that the majority has the power to define the significance of religion and place within the SFI context.  In the SFI-context the participants view is that religion is something private that should not be expressed in the school environment. They express that they do not want to talk about religion among a collection of people from other cultures since one would not want to risk creating conflict.

Purpose/Aim: This study is an analysis of the view on masculinity, male sexuality and creation of identity with the television series Queer as folk as a base. The analysis is partly based on a semiotic analysis of the representation of masculinity and male sexuality from an episode of the chosen television series Queer as folk, and partly based on a thematic analysis of focus group discussions with young men with different sexualities. Material/Method: This study is based on focus group interviews and a semiotic and thematic analysis. The focus groups consisted of three men in three different groups and were chosen on the criteria of gender and sexuality. All groups were presented with an episode of the television series Queer as folk to see how they perceived masculinity and male sexuality. Their discussions were analyzed with a thematic analysis and the television series Queer as folk with a semiotic analysis. Main results: The three analyzed characters in Queer as folk showed different representations of masculinity and male sexuality. The discussions from the focus groups could be linked to the semiotic analysis and showed some similar tendencies. The focus groups perceptions were diffe-rentiated in relation to each other with certain diversity between the hetero, homo and bisexual participants. Above all, the participant’s perception was divided when it came to the male sexuali-ty that was featured in the episode but also of the representations of the homosexual characters.

Den ökade psykiska ohälsan bland tonårstjejer ses som ett problem och tanken om denna utveckling kunde förebyggas med fysisk aktivitet uppstod. Detta eftersom den fysiska aktiviteten har visat sig ha positiva effekter på den psykiska hälsan. Den minskade fysiska aktiviteten hos unga tjejer väckte intresset för hur tjejernas uppfattningar påverkar deras fysiska aktivitet. Hypotesen om att uppfattningar påverkar handlandet formades och tre teman som tros påverka tjejernas uppfattningar om fysisk aktivitet, genus, kultur och media inkluderades. Syftet med studien var att undersöka vilka uppfattningar 15-åriga tjejer har om fysisk aktivitet och hur dessa skiljer sig utifrån deras grad av fysisk aktivitet. Som metod användes fokusgruppintervjuer där deltagarna delades in i tre grupper utifrån deras fysiska aktivitet. Två till fem tjejer ingick i varje grupp. I resultatet framkom att uppfattningarna skiljde sig mellan grupperna. Tjejerna med högst fysisk aktivitet, grupp 1, uppfattade den fysiska aktiviteten som självklar med fokus på prestation. Grupp 2, medelaktiva tjejer, uppfattade också den fysiska aktiviteten som självklar men med fokus på hälsa. De minst aktiva tjejerna, grupp 3, uppfattade inte den fysiska aktiviteten som självklar och uttryckte inte heller något intresse för den fysiska aktiviteten. Slutsatsen blev att tjejernas uppfattningar skiljer sig utifrån deras fysiska aktivitet. För att öka tjejernas fysiska aktivitet bör arbetet därför inriktas på tjejernas uppfattningar om fysisk aktivitet. Genom att förändra tjejernas uppfattningar skulle således den fysiska aktiviteten kunna öka och den psykiska ohälsan troligtvis minska.

The DISA method is a universal program developed for teenage girls to prevent depression. The program includes cognitive behavioral techniques are suppose to change negative pattern of thinking, give practice of communication, strategies of problem solution and exercises to strengthen the social network. The purpose of this study is to find out how a group of teenage boys were affected by the DISA program and what factors that may have impacted the outcome. Material from three different studies have been used, a quantitative study in terms of data from self-assessment form CES-D, materials from two semi-structured focus group interviews with the boys and material from a questionnaire filled out by the boys on two occasions during the DISA method.  The result of the CES-D indicates that the boys had less depressive symptoms after the final group meeting compared to the first group meeting and also a year later. Analysis of the material from focus group interviews and questionnaire have been made from a communication theory and systems theory perspective and indicate a shift to greater cohesion in the group and demonstrates that communication between the boy-group and group leaders had importance for the outcome. In particular, this study demonstrates how important group values and norms where for the boys, especially with regard to communication of emotions.

Bakgrund: TV-reklam är något som de allra flesta kommer i kontakt meddagligen, och det är ett vanligt samtalsämne. Diskussioner kan fokusera på den roliga reklamfilmen som du kan se på TV just nu eller hur irriterande det är när en spännande film stannar för ett reklamavbrott. Vad vi kan säga är att de flesta människorna har en uppfattning om TV-reklam och en del människor tycker att reklam är något positivt och en del människor ser det som något negativt. TV är en av de största marknadsföringskanalerna, men samtidigt ett av de reklamformat som uppfattas mest negativt. Detta innebär ett problemför företag som väljer denna reklamkanal då de tilltänkta mottagarna väljer att byta kanal vid reklampauserna. Hur ska reklamfilmerna utformas för att minska risken att det problemet uppstår? Syfte: Författarna vill, utan att generalisera, öka förståelsen för hur de olikakommunikationsstrategierna, den rationella strategin, den känslomässiga strategin, den repetitiva strategin och den sociala strategin uppfattas. Med hjälp av studien vill författarna bidra till att ta reda på hur en reklamfilm kan utformas för att minska risken för att den tilltänkta konsumenten zappar förbi reklamfilmen. Metod: I studien använde sig författarna av fokusgruppsundersökningar föratt se tendenser kring ungdomars åsikter om reklamfilm. Författarna använde också semiotik för att genomföra analyser av reklamfilmer. Resultat: Alla kommunikationsstrategier innehåller delar som deltagarna uppskattar, men det är tydligt vilken av kommunikationsstrategierna som uppskattades mest. Det visar sig också tydligt, efter undersökningen, hur en effektiv reklamfilm kan utformas. / Television advertising is something that the vast majority comes in contact with every day, and it is a common topic of conversation. Discussions may focus on the funny commercials that you can see on TV at the moment or how annoying it is when an exciting movie stops for a commercial break. What we can say is that people have an opinion about television advertising; some people think that advertising is something positive and some people see it as negative.A thesis from 2008 made at Gothenburg University showed that only 14% of the population perceive television advertising as something positive. Despite this, television remains one of the largest advertising forums in Sweden. 2006, the investment in television advertising stood for 15% of the total investment in advertising. Is it possible to receive TV advertising to become popular with most? Or at least reduce the negativity of television advertising? There have been four different communication strategies to adapt marketing to the audience that is most interesting. These communication strategies are developed based on the audience thinking, rational or emotional. They are also based on how motivated the audience is in their buying behavior. These strategies are the basis of our study. Our study raises the question if one of the communication strategies is more appreciated than the others, and in that case, what does that strategy contain that the other strategies lack? A response to this could lead to the conclusion that not all television advertisements are perceived as equally negative, and thus, by using the most positively perceived communication strategy, it would be easier for a company to get its message across. Many companies spend large sums on televisionadvertising and they want to feel sure that their message gets across. Now their intended consumers change channel during the commercial break because the advertising is seen as boring and annoying.

This study explored the experiences of young adult members of a Ukrainian Catholic community in Western Canada using the concept of sense of community as a conceptual framework. Psychological sense of community refers to a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members needs will be met through their commitment to be together (p. 9, McMillan & Chavis, 1986). Sense of community has been studied primarily at the level of the individual, rather than the group or community. This research used focus groups to move beyond the level of the individual to examine the sense of community shared by Ukrainian Catholic young adults. A total of 22 young adults participated in six focus groups. Qualitative analysis of focus group transcripts using Ethnograph 5.07 (Robbins & Seidel, 1998) revealed that belonging, familiarity with community members, and trust that the community would support them, were three core aspects of the sense of community shared by these young adults. Three supportive aspects that increased sense of community also emerged from this study: participation in church services and community events, similarity in members beliefs, values, interests and goals, and a strong sense of ones ethnic and religious heritage and traditions. These findings argue for the inclusion of participation as a dimension of sense of community rather than a correlate. Challenges to all of these aspects tended to decrease young adults sense of community. Lack of shared beliefs, feelings of intimidation in a new parish and hypocrisy in the actions of other community members were especially damaging to young adults sense of community. Based on this information, four areas of need were identified for the Ukrainian Catholic young adult population and suggestions were made to help strengthen their sense of community. The use of focus groups allowed for the emergence of a description of sense of community that was reflective of the ethnic, religious and developmental characteristics of the population under study. Future research should employ methodologies that are sensitive to the context-dependent nature of this construct.

This study explored the experiences of young adult members of a Ukrainian Catholic community in Western Canada using the concept of sense of community as a conceptual framework. Psychological sense of community refers to a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members needs will be met through their commitment to be together (p. 9, McMillan & Chavis, 1986). Sense of community has been studied primarily at the level of the individual, rather than the group or community. This research used focus groups to move beyond the level of the individual to examine the sense of community shared by Ukrainian Catholic young adults. A total of 22 young adults participated in six focus groups. Qualitative analysis of focus group transcripts using Ethnograph 5.07 (Robbins & Seidel, 1998) revealed that belonging, familiarity with community members, and trust that the community would support them, were three core aspects of the sense of community shared by these young adults. Three supportive aspects that increased sense of community also emerged from this study: participation in church services and community events, similarity in members beliefs, values, interests and goals, and a strong sense of ones ethnic and religious heritage and traditions. These findings argue for the inclusion of participation as a dimension of sense of community rather than a correlate. Challenges to all of these aspects tended to decrease young adults sense of community. Lack of shared beliefs, feelings of intimidation in a new parish and hypocrisy in the actions of other community members were especially damaging to young adults sense of community. Based on this information, four areas of need were identified for the Ukrainian Catholic young adult population and suggestions were made to help strengthen their sense of community. The use of focus groups allowed for the emergence of a description of sense of community that was reflective of the ethnic, religious and developmental characteristics of the population under study. Future research should employ methodologies that are sensitive to the context-dependent nature of this construct.

Depuis le début du 20ème siècle, des nouveaux moyens de communication -notamment le cinéma, la télévision et la vidéo -ont été inventés. Aujourd'hui, une quantité phénoménale d'images audiovisuelles diffusées sous différents formats et sur de multiples supports sont véhiculées quotidiennement dans la société moderne. De fait, nous amassons des archives audiovisuelles perçues comme des objets sans valeur. Cependant, ces mêmes archives offrent aux générations futures la possibilité de plonger dans le passé. Elles constituent également de nouvelles sources d'informations pour les historiens et la possibilité de reconstruire une image plus exacte des événements d'hier et de leurs acteurs. Elles peuvent donc apporter un témoignage du passé sur le plan de la mémoire sociale. Au Cambodge, plus qu'ailleurs, cette mémoire audiovisuelle, ainsi que les racines culturelles et identitaires, relations sociales et liens symboliques existant entre les hommes systématiquement anéantis par les Khmers rouges, s'estompe en silence. Un Cambodgien né après le génocide perpétré par le régime de Pol Pot connaît plus ou moins bien l'histoire récente de son pays. Dans les manuels scolaires, l'Histoire du Cambodge s'achève en 1953, date de l'indépendance du pays. Des événements postérieurs (1953-1998) à cette date historique ne sont pas enseignés. Comment peut-on reconstruire un pays en occultant des pans essentiels de l'histoire nationale? Pour donner espoir au peuple cambodgien de se tourner vers un avenir meilleur, plus optimiste, il faudrait que la transmission de la mémoire de l'histoire nationale puisse avoir lieu, et aide ainsi à réparer les «ponts détruits» entre les générations. Cette présente étude se focalise sur deux théories principales. Il s'agit, pour la première, de l'approche constructiviste des sociologues Peter Berger et Thomas Luckmann, et pour la seconde, de la sociologie de la mémoire de Maurice Halbwachs. L'objet de recherche se base sur la dynamique communicationnelle entre le chercheur et les jeunes Cambodgiens invités à une série de « groupes focus ». La rencontre se déroule dans un endroit symbolique, à Phnom Penh (capitale cambodgienne), au Centre de Ressources Audiovisuelles Bophana où les archives audiovisuelles portant sur le Cambodge sont numérisées et mises à la disposition du public. L'interaction dynamique entre l'auteur de ce mémoire et les participants à sa recherche se déroule autour d'objets symboliques tels que les archives audiovisuelles. Dans le cadre de l'animation de groupe focus, ces derniers servent d'instruments à collecter les données sur le terrain. Ces archives constituent autant de réalités plus ou moins « objectives » qui sont subjectivées, tant par le chercheur que par les acteurs du groupe focus. Le résultat de l'analyse s'appuie sur la subjectivité du chercheur et celle des acteurs rencontrés. Ceci est impliqué par la récupération de la réminiscence, des réalités subjectives en jeu et des stocks de connaissances ou des représentations mémorielles partagées par le collectif qui servent à typifier la réalité. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Cambodge, Archives audiovisuelles, Guerre, Génocide, Khmers rouges, Centre de Ressources Audiovisuelles Bophana, Constructivisme, Mémoire collective, Communication, Groupe focus.

La République du Bénin, selon certains observateurs économiques, a de grands atouts pour figurer parmi les nations développées. Depuis plusieurs décennies, elle jouit d'une démocratie enviable et le taux de scolarisation des jeunes est très élevé. Depuis sa constitution comme peuple, elle n'a jamais connu de conflits armés ni de famine. Mais elle figure parmi les pays les plus endettés; car ayant bénéficié d'importants financements alors que les leaders catholiques et politiques, dont les discours sont presque tous similaires, font du développement le premier objectif de leurs discours. Or selon la théorie critique, les mass média influencent les récepteurs en les obligeant à agir tandis que pour la théorie fonctionnaliste les médias influencent ces mêmes récepteurs à cause de la présence en leur sein de certaines personnes dont la popularité, la notoriété ou la technicité permet de convaincre leur audience. Or au Bénin, l'ensemble aussi bien de la classe politique et que de la hiérarchie catholique sont souvent présent sur les médias. Ces deux classes bénéficient à elles seules de 40% du taux d'audience sur les grands medias du pays. Comment se fait-il que ces leaders catholiques et politiques, malgré le crédit -presque divin- dont ils bénéficient n'arrivent pas encore à faire adopter une attitude qui corresponde à leur vision surtout qu'ils bénéficient des audiences les plus grandes dans le pays? Ces audiences sur les medias et des grands rassemblements sont pourtant importantes. Comment se fait-il que le développement, objectif principal de leur mission commune, ne soit pas encore amorcé? Il se pose alors une question d'efficacité des communications des leaders politique et catholique du Bénin sur le développement. Nous nous sommes alors fixé trois objectifs à atteindre. D'abord analyser la place et l'importance réelle de ces leaders d'opinion dans les communications sociales et publiques. Ensuite faire « l'analyse diagnostic» des schémas de communication adoptés par ces leaders à Cotonou et enfin évaluer la place de «l'autre» dans les communications politiques et catholiques du Bénin. Pour y arriver, nous avons sélectionné un ensemble de discours politiques de trois grands partis politiques, de même qu'une série de lettres pastorales de la conférence épiscopale des évêques du Bénin que nous avons analysé à l'aide du logiciel Semato. Ceci nous a permis de dégager les grandes lignes communes et ensuite nous avons établi trois questionnaires d'enquête et fait un focus groupe afin de vérifier si ces discours sont méconnus ou simplement rejetés par les récepteurs. Le résultat auquel nous sommes parvenus dépassait nos attentes. Les personnes interrogées attendent des actes concrets pour amorcer le développement. Le contenu des discours politiques et catholiques sur le développement est inconnu. Les propositions de développement avancées par les personnes interrogées s'accordent avec celles avancées par les leaders catholiques et politiques. Certes, ces discours, sur la question du développement, attirent de grandes audiences qui aiment écouter ces leaders catholiques et politiques. Mais leurs propositions sur le développement ne sont pas mises pour autant en pratique. C'est la même observation qu'ont faite certains grands communicateurs sur le Pape Jean II : Pape populaire et aimé sur les médias mais dont les prises de position sont des plus contestées surtout sur les questions de morale et donc de comportement. ... Enfin, le schéma de communication adopté par les leaders gagne à partir des interrogations et des réalités que vivent les récepteurs à chaque moment; car il s'agit de l'autre. Cet autre doit être au cœur des préoccupations, des théories et méthodes de communication. Nous parlerons de mass media et de focus group. Ne pas les considérer comme des anglicismes. Ce sont des mots clefs précis qui désignent des réalités concrètent. On peut les comparer respectivement aux médias de masse et à des groupes de discutions, mais les réalités ne sont pas profondément identiques. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Leader, développement, communication pour le développement, récepteur, l'autre, analyse diagnostic, schéma de communication, discours, minimum social commun.