A la croisée des sciences économiques et de la sociologie du travail, cette thèse porte sur les conséquences sociales des récessions économiques et du chômage de masse, à travers le cas de la Grande Récession espagnole de 2008. Elle se centre sur la manière dont celle-ci a modifié les horizons temporels des ménages et conduit à des réaménagements en termes de sources de revenus, de trajectoires d’activité des chômeurs, de pratiques de consommation, ou de marché du travail informel. En raison de ce dernier, le statut même de chômeur se trouve remis en question. Pour montrer cela, la thèse met en regard une enquête de terrain approfondie avec des traitements de données issues du système de la statistique publique espagnole et européenne. L’enquête a notamment été conduite selon la méthode dite de l’ethnocomptabilité, qui consiste à faire des relevés (monétaires mais aussi temporels ou alimentaires) avec les ménages concernés pour documenter l’évaluation qu’ils portent sur leur budget. Cette démarche conduit à plusieurs résultats marquants quant aux changements sociaux qu’entraînent les récessions sur les sociétés contemporaines d’Europe occidentale, en particulier quant aux budgets de famille ou à la temporalité sur plusieurs années qu’implique ce type de choc macroéconomique. / At the crossroad between Economics and Sociology, this PhD-thesis deals with the social consequences of Recessions and mass unemployment, by focusing on the case of the 2008 Spanish Great Recession. It analyses the household time horizons to face this recessive context, in particular concerning remodelling of consumption, income sources and inequality, grassroot activities and professional trajectories of the unemployed. Such evolutions blur the formal definition of unemployment. For this, the study uses statistical analyses in view of fieldwork material. This latter has been done by using the « ethno compatibility » method, which consists in establishing precise and exhaustive household budgets, regarding their financial dimension, but also their temporal or taste aspects. Therefore this thesis is a contribution to a better understanding of the reaction of living standards in time of recession, tackling in particular its temporal and practical dimensions.

This study explored how avid users of Second Life (SL) experience and make meaning of informal learning activities in virtual art museums and similar cultural spaces through their avatars. While recent literature has laid the groundwork for studying student engagement and formal learning, the lacuna of research bound by the historical traditions of qualitative research design has done little to ease the skepticism surrounding the value of virtual worlds for learning. Within the context of museological discourse, virtual museum learning experiences have the potential to shift viewing practices as well as how meaning is generated, interpreted, and disseminated. Technical, conceptual, and methodological barriers to studying virtual worlds remain. Another goal of this study was to demonstrate the potential of hermeneutic phenomenology, particularly my conceptualization of virtual hermeneutics, to study virtual worlds. Hermeneutic phenomenology has the potential to make practical understanding of the informal learning process in SL explicit by providing an interpretation of this process. The challenge lies in applying the philosophy behind the methodology to the changing reality of virtual worlds. It is only by studying these experiences in context and situated within virtual spaces that we can expand our understanding of the avatar-mediated informal learning process. Findings from this study show that in-world informal learning experiences can, in fact, be studied on their own terms. Furthermore, rich textural data can not only be extracted from exclusively in-world interaction, but collaborative relationships can also develop with no actual world contact. These experiences and interactions can lead to experiential learning, but also transformational learning where the avatar-identity can affect users' actual world viewing practices and meaning making. It is not so much the technology per se that can affect change, but rather identity exploration, diegesis, and relationship building afforded by the technology. Albeit some learning outcomes were observed, affective outcomes and cognitive strategies, including metacognitive skills, were more frequently described by participants. Due to the complexity of assessing such outcomes and the present obsession with quantitatively measurable outcomes in formal education, it is unlikely that SL can or will be used outside the scope of informal learning in the near future unless formal education undergoes social reform.

This paper presents the complexity of peacebuilding by looking at different types of peacebuilding models. To understand the peacebuilding models, this paper reviews different scholarly pieces of literature on the topic of peacebuilding. Furthermore, the paper focuses on the case of Somalia to determine the suitable peacebuilding model for Somalia. Somalia has faced one of the longest civil wars in Africa after the collapse of the government. To propose suitable peacebuilding for Somalia, the paper reviews different types of peacebuilding attempts that were conducted in Somalia by both international organizations and local peacemakers. These processes include an UN-led top-down approach and a bottom-up approach initiated by elders and local respected individuals. From reviewing different types of peacebuilding literature, the finding reveals conflict resolution specifically Ramsbotham et al (2011) as the best suitable peacebuilding model for Somalia.

What is the impact of civil society on rebel governance? The field of rebel governance has gained increased attention recently, but few researchers highlight the interactive relationship between rebels and local communities. As the principal organisational tool for civilian populations, civil society has been largely overlooked. In this thesis I present a theoretical argument that rebels are likely to cooperate with civil society in establishing governance institutions. Civil society will utilise its expertise, legitimacy, and mobilisation capacity to pressure the rebels to commit to governance, as well as to aid them in this effort. I test this theory by conducting a quantitative study using zero-inflated negative binomial models with data from VDEM and RQSI, with 4800 observations of conflict-years between 1946 and 2012. I find that civil society has a positive relationship with the scope of rebel governance, but only if initial institutions are present. When none are present, civil society decreases the likelihood of new institutions being established. It has become increasingly clear that local civilian actors have agency and can significantly affect the decisions made by rebels. Understanding the effect of civil society helps us to deeper understand this dynamic and helps explain why and how rebels decide to govern.

This field study is a thematic and feminist institutionalist analysis on how the civil society and grassroot activists in Gauteng province, South Africa, has been affected and mitigated during and after the COVID -19 pandemic in their work against gender-based violence. The data consist of five semi structured interviews with primary sources, divided in the two sub-groups of activists and formal NGO representatives.  The study presents civil society and activist viewpoints on adaptation, feminist movement building as well as shrinking space and crisis within crisis. This qualitative study is a thematic analysis linked to the theoretical framework of feminist institutionalism in the context of South Africa. The results reflect issues of representation, power balances linked to organizational status, accountability, transparency, and democracy. Conclusion of this study is that need for adaptation and to mitigate the crisis within crisis (GBV and COVID -19 pandemic) is predominant for all stakeholders, but the viewpoints on how the pandemic affected the cooperation within the civil society sector varies between the two subgroups. The formal NGO’s viewpoint in this study is that the pandemic strengthened the cooperation within civil society and with institutions. However, the grassroot activist group’s perspective is that the pandemic created a split within the feminist movement. Shrinking democratic space is evidently affecting the grassroot activist group to a larger extent. The formal NGO group articulates an improved dialogue and cooperation with institutions and an enhanced political will to address gender-based violence.  All stakeholders that were interviewed in this study articulates that the context with new emerging crises, such as power-poverty, inflation and food shortage are challenging the possibilities to address the “shadow pandemic” of gender-based violence which is still a predominant human rights and democratic crisis in South Africa. This study contributes to the context analysis around implementation of the national strategic plan on gender-based violence and femicide and informs on challenges on feminist institutionalism in post-pandemic South Africa.

Sociala medier har kommit att bli en del av det utvidgade offentliga rummet som en konsekvens av IT-utvecklingen. Det är därmed också en plats för opinionsbildning och politisk påverkan, vilket kan utnyttjas av såväl politiska som kommersiella intressen för dold informationspåverkan. Astroturfing är en av många former av dold informationspåverkan och syftet med denna studie är få en större förståelse för astroturfing genom att besvara följande problemformulering. Vad kännetecknar digital politisk astroturfing, och varför används astroturfing för informationspåverkan i sociala medier? För att besvara problemformuleringen har jag genomfört kvalitativa intervjuer med fyra experter samt genomfört en litteraturstudie. Resultatet visar att de två främsta kännetecknen för astroturfing är att det försöker se ut som en gräsrotsrörelse och att de som ligger bakom har dolt sin verkliga identitet och sitt verkliga syfte. Detta kan göras på många olika sätt och metoderna kan kombineras för att passa in i det sammanhang där en försöker använda astroturfing för att påverka. Resultatet från såväl tidigare forskning som intervjuer visar därmed att det är väldigt svårt att med säkerhet identifiera astroturfing. Resultatet visar också att det främsta skälet till att astroturfing används i sociala medier är att det är enkelt och billigt. Litteraturen hävdar att ikläda sig formatet social rörelse ger en viss legitimitet och kan bidra till mobilisering, vilket bekräftas av intervjuerna. Men intervjuerna visar också att det sannolikt inte har någon större betydelse i förhållande till h et är att få till astroturfing i sociala medier. / Social media has become part of the extended public space as a consequence of development in ICT. It is thus a space to form public opinion and for political influence, which means it can also be exploited by political and commercial interests for concealed information influence. Astroturfing is one of many available information influence activities and the purpose of this study is to attain a greater understanding of astroturfing by answering the following research question: What characterizes digital political astroturfing, and why is astroturfing used for information influence in social media? To answer the research question I have conducted qualitative interviews with four experts and done a literature study. The results show that the two main characteristics of astroturfing are; that it tries to look like a grassroots movement and; that those who orchestrate it have concealed their real identity and purpose. This can be done in many different ways and the methods can be combined to fit the context in which one is trying to use astroturfing as an information influence activity. The results from both previous research and interviews thus show that it is very difficult to identify astroturfing with certainty. The results also show that the main reason why astroturfing is used in social media is that it is easy and inexpensive. The literature claims that mimicking a social movement gives a certain legitimacy and can contribute to mobilization, which is confirmed by the interviews. But the interviews also point out that it is unlikely to have any major impact compared to how inexpensive it is to orchestrate astroturfing in social media.

Given the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the world and researchers prospecting more events like this to happen in the future it is important to shed light on the impact which it have had on those especially vulnerable to these sorts of risks and disasters. Furthermore, the tourism industry is known for its vulnerability and volatility in the eye of global events. Thus, this paper aims to give a voice to those working on a grassroot level – with focus on Phuket, Thailand, also known as the Andaman pearl, in the tourism industry, and also look at how they have managed the effects of the pandemic. The study is qualitative and uses semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. Relevant theoretical frameworks have been applied to understand the results of the interviews. It will also look at the prospects the respondents see for themselves and the tourism industry in Phuket in relation to the aftermath of the pandemic, and the war between Ukraine and Russia as a possible threat to the return of tourists to Phuket.

I Sverige använder socialtjänsten lagar för att tillgodose olika levnadsstandarder till olika grupper av människor. Aktuell studie har syftat till att undersöka hur biståndshandläggare resonerar kring begreppet skälig levnadsnivå och hur det används i praktiken inom äldreomsorgen. En kvalitativ studie har utförts där åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med biståndshandläggare från tre olika kommuner i Sverige. En vinjett med ett fiktivt ärende har även använts för att undersöka om det finns olikheter i bedömningar mellan biståndshandläggare. Utifrån den insamlade empirin så har en tematisk analys genomförts och fyra teman har presenterats i resultatdelen. Dessa teman är vad är skälig levnadsnivå?, god vs skälig levnadsnivå, handlingsutrymme och olikheter i bedömning. Resultatet visar att det finns olikheter i bedömningar och att begreppet skälig levnadsnivå är ett abstrakt begrepp som har ett stort tolkningsutrymme. Parallellt visar studiens resultat att majoriteten av biståndshandläggare upplever sitt handlingsutrymme en lagom nivå. En diskussion förs mellan vikten av att ha handlingsutrymme och ett rättssäkert samhälle där alla behandlas lika av myndigheter. Slutsatsen visar att det är en svår balansgång och att det krävs mer forskning inom ämnet. Resultatet har analyserats med hjälp av tidigare forskning och Lipskys teori om gräsrotsbyråkrater samt Maslows behovspyramid. / In Sweden the social services use different laws to meet different living standards for different groups of people. The current study has aimed to investigate how social workers in elderly care reason about the concept of a reasonable standard of living and how it is used in practice. A qualitative study was conducted in which eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with social workers in the elderly care unit from three different municipalities in Sweden. A vignette has also been used to investigate whether there are differences in assessments between social workers. Based on the collected empirical data, a thematic analysis has been carried out and four themes have been presented in the results section. These themes are what is a reasonable standard of living?, good vs reasonable standard of living, room for maneuver and differences in assessment. The results show that there are differences in assessments and that the concept of a reasonable standard of living is an abstract concept that has a large scope for interpretation. In parallel, the results of the study show that the majority of development assistance officers feel that their room for maneuver is at a reasonable level. A discussion is held between the importance of having room for maneuver and a law-abiding society where everyone is treated equally by the authorities. The conclusion shows that it is a difficult balancing act and that more research is required in the subject. The results have been analyzed with the help of previous research and Lipsky's theory of grassroot bureaucrats and Maslow's pyramid of needs.

Twenty years has passed since the adopted of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, which aims to strengthen the gender perspective in conflict settings as well as address inequalities related to sexually gender-based violence. Still, the concrete impact it has had on sexual violence in armed conflict, is questioned. Additionally, it is questioned if it reaches the grassroot level in armed conflict settings. Thus, this study has examined what factors that may have hindered a successful implementation on a grassroot level in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Furthermore, it has examined the concrete impact on the efforts against sexual violence in these areas. This was done by firstly, conducting a policy analysis using the “What’s the Problem Represented to be?” approach to identify underlying problematics within the resolution. Additionally, semi-structed interviews were conducted with respondents having experience in working with the resolution and/or sexual violence in armed conflict. The results showed, among other things, that the complex construction of the resolution have been a hindering factor for a successful implementation. Additionally, the concrete change for the efforts against sexual violence in conflict settings is lacking. However, the empowerment that the resolution has provided to those working with these issues, is still an important impact.

Práce se zabývá vývojem ekologického hnutí v Československu. Svoji pozornost zaměřuje především k vývoji ekologických iniciativ a ekologického diskurzu v době komunistické nesvobody a v době celospolečenských změn v listopadu 1989 do období rozpadu Občanského fóra v roce 1991. Nedílnou součástí je rovněž analýza vzniku a vývoje Strany zelených, která se stala předmětem scénářů a pokusů o provedení politických reforem v rámci komunistického režimu. Cílem práce je zjistit, jak téma ochrany přírody rezonovalo především v oblasti opozičních a režimních struktur a jaký osud jej následoval v období porevolučního vývoje následovaný otázkou, proč došlo k postupnému úpadku ekologického povědomí ve společnosti. Ke splnění cíle práce byla využita metoda orální historie, jež zprostředkovává pohledy oslovených narátorů - pamětníků problematiky úlohy ekologické karty. Tímto přístupem se snaží nahradit především chybějící archivní materiály. Formou obsahové analýzy a komparace se práce pokouší srovnávat procesy probíhající v západní Evropě s ekologickou tématikou v Československu. Práce se oborově nachází na pomezí historie, politologie, ale také sociologie, přičemž zdůrazňuje akcent historicko-politologický. Ze závěru práce vyplývá, že ekologická karta v rámci československé společnosti získala silnou tradici,...