The aim of the present thesis was to listen to, examine and conceptualise students’ perspectives on bullying. Students’ perspectives have not been commonly heard in research and less qualitative research has been conducted. This study contributes with students’ perspectives on bullying using semi-structured interviews with students from fourth-to eighth grade. This thesis includes four studies. The aim with paper I was to investigate how bystander actions in bullying situations and reasons behind these actions were articulated. Paper II was a comparison study between Sweden and US, focused on how students articulate and discuss what factors influence students’ decisions to defend or not defend victims when witnessing bullying. The aim in Paper III was to study how students themselves discuss, reason and make sense of how and why bullying processes emerges in their social worlds. In paper IV the aim was to study how junior high school girls discuss and understand bullying. Findings reveal that students’ reactions as bystanders to bullying depend on how they define the situation. Explanations to the emergence of bullying were understood through a complex social ordering of belonging process. Students position themselves and others in striving to belong, and when defining victims as responsible for bullying. Social norms and negotiation of identities were also discussed among the students. Students discussed how gender and a normative peer structure, where a pressure to fit in, interlinked with how they understood bullying. / Syftet med denna avhandling är att lyssna på, utforska och konceptualisera elevers perspektiv på mobbning då elevers perspektiv utgör ett viktigt bidrag till vår fortsatta förståelse av mobbning. Det finns fortfarande få kvalitativa studier som fokuserat elevers perspektiv på mobbning. Denna studie utgör därför ett viktig bidrag och baseras på semi-strukturerade intervjuer med elever ifrån fjärde till åttondeklass. Avhandlingen består utav fyra studier. Syftet med studie I var att undersöka hur åskådarageranden i mobbningssituationer artiklueras av eleverna och skälen bakom dessa. Syftet med studie II var att jämföra hur elever i Sverige och USA artikulerar och diskuterar vilka faktorer som influerar deras beslut att ingripa eller inte ingripa när de blir åskådare till mobbning. Syftet med studie III var att undersöka hur elever diskuterar, resonerar och förstår vad som producerar mobbning. Syftet med studie IV var att undersöka hur högstadietjejer diskuterar och förstår mobbning. Resultaten visar att elevers reaktioner som åskådare till mobbning är situationsbundna utifån hur de definierar situationen. Förklararingar till vad som producerar mobbning sammanlänkas med en komplex socialt ordnande process där eleverna positionerar sig själv och andra i strävan att tillhöra och den utsatta ofta görs ansvarig för mobbningen. Även sociala normer och förhandlade av identiteter kommer till uttryck när eleverna diskuterar hur kön och normativa kamratnormer, där strävan att passa in, sammanlänkas med deras förståelse av mobbning.

The demographic time bomb means that older people will become a major part of tomorrow's society. This has become an increasingly pressing issue for older people and government policy alike. ONS (2009) statistics suggest that past retirement age, the sense of quality of life (QoL) experienced by older people begins to decrease, with the fastest decline occurring after the age of 70. This research therefore began by investigating how ICT could be implicated in the social life of the older person and thus improve their QoL. Literature reviews of the field of older people's involvement with ICT indicated that there was very little research between the more general studies of ICT involvement (which include far more than the purely social aspects) and the very specific (which involve examining the social impact of just one piece of technology). This study therefore aimed to fill the gap between the two extremes. It also aimed to generate theory in an under-theorised area. The study began with a focus group and interviews asking questions around how people thought social life had changed with the advent of new technologies, how they experienced the technology, and how things could be improved in the future. The study was qualitative in nature and adopted a grounded theory approach in order to inductively generate theory. The study of the lived experience of ICT also contributed to a phenomenological approach. Comparative analysis of transcripts obtained in Phase One (Year One) enabled a set of Grounded Theory Categories to be created which accounted for what was happening in the data. A core category of identity was identified which influenced subsequent data collection in Phase Two (Year Two). Phase Two participants were then involved in more focused interviews around identity concepts. Further analysis in Year Two enabled a Schema of Subject Positions to be created concerning (digital) identities which accounted for all of the participants in the study and the ways in which they viewed and interacted with technology. The Categories were also subsumed within a Grounded Theory Model involving a tripartite identity schema aligned with Giddens theory of the reflexive project of the self. Findings suggest that participants are implicated in methods of identity involvement which can be playful or pragmatic; can be viewed in moral, immoral and amoral ways (leading to ideas of the authentic and the inauthentic); and can represent the individual or explore new identities. Identity construction can ultimately be implicated positively with the use of ICT, and may lead to a virtuous cycle of ICT usage which can improve quality of life by affirming better self-views or enabling the testing of new views of selfhood. Positive technology identities can be offered as identity role models for other older people to follow.

This master thesis aims to examine how public libraries in Sweden are practically and ideologically equipped to deal with e-books, outside of the dominant distributor Elib. The study also aims to find out what’s required of the book market and the public libraries to make further progress in the question of e-books. In Sweden e-books are still representing only a small amount of all the library loans and an even smaller amount of the commercial book market. The methodological and theoretical ground for the thesis is Grounded Theory, and the survey is based on interviews with publishers, librarians and distributors. The conclusions of this thesis are that the public libraries lack resources to invest in e-books, and that they also lack in knowledge about the media and its readers. It also exposes that both internal and external collaboration efforts need to be further developed. In addition to this it also becomes clear that the libraries’ and publishers' digital presence is crucial in their efforts to reach out with literature to the readers. The findings above are closely interwoven with two conceptions of a more abstract kind. The first relates to the issue of the identity of the public library and the question of how they should manage their mission in a still developing digital world. The second concerns the issue of the value of the e-book vs. the value of the printed book. Both publishers and libraries still see the printed book as superior to the e-book, wherefore libraries are reluctant to invest in books that will not be a part of a traditional bookshelf collection. In order to work more actively with the development and further adapt to a future digital society, it is these factors that the book market and the public libraries must work on in order to reach out with literature to the readers. This is a two years master’s thesis in Archive, Library and Museum Studies.

Low-income Caucasian married parents described lifespan processes and conditions that contributed to their individual assessments that their marriage was healthy. Spouses participated in an interview together, followed later by an individual interview with each. Interview scripts referenced the study‘s primary research questions which sought their reflections on (a) external conditions that they considered to be important to their development, and (b) personal thoughts, emotions and behaviors they deemed relevant to the success of their marriage. A third research question called for integration of participants‘ reflections into a cogent grounded theory regarding successful low-income marriages. Analysis incorporated grounded theory methods, and those procedures were assisted by computer software such as NVIVO 7.0 ® and Microsoft Excel ®. This work revealed a developmental systems theoretical framework that posits that individuals‘ developmental factors gave rise to certain personal actual qualities, and also had affect upon the qualities individuals desired and perceived in their partner. Qualities desired and perceived in their partner may have greater or lesser priority to a spouse depending upon the range of acceptable variance that the spouse assigns to any given quality. While several high-priority qualities emerged from the words of the twenty spouses who participated, four high-priority qualities emerged as fundamental to the success of the marriage: (a) being loving, (b) being committed, (c) being appreciative, and (d) being child-centered. Four abstract sets of developmental factors, assigned the term synergists, strongly promoted these qualities among study participants: (a) a sensitizing experience, (b) a partner-as-rescuer mindset (PARM) preceded by a person‘s adverse history, (c) influences from one or more parents, and (d) religious influences. These findings provide a foundation of information critical to those researchers and practitioners interested in the quest toward an increase in successful marriages among households whose income falls within 200% of the published guideline for poverty as determined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Historically and currently, the federal and provincial or territorial governments of Canada have neglected to ensure that Aboriginal children in foster care receive genuine, Aboriginal-centered cultural support. This research project aims to address the lack of available cultural programming for Aboriginal girls in foster care. Through interviews and a review of current literature, knowledge about cultural programming is examined and components of a successful mentorship model for Aboriginal girls in foster care are identified. Five semi-structured interviews were carried out and analyzed through grounded theory, complemented with autobiographical reflections. The study concludes that there is an evident need for cultural continuity programming for Aboriginal girls in foster care on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and that a mentorship framework is the best applicable model. / Graduate / 0452 / 0631 / 0326 / kr@uvic.ca

Over the past twenty years there has been growing recognition that young people who have sexually harmed should not simply be treated as younger versions of adult sex offenders. Changes in terminology and recommended treatment reflect the fact that these young people are still developing and have a range of strengths and needs including harmful sexual behaviour. In acknowledging the harm caused by sexual abuse to victims it is also important to see that many young perpetrators have also been victims of abuse, domestic violence and sexual exploitation. Practitioners and Government reports have asserted that work with these young people should be holistic, but this word ‘holistic’ is used with a range of meanings and emphases. This study identifies broadly accepted meanings of working holistically with young people who have sexually harmed and presents associated benefits, challenges and implications for practice. The study used a mixed methods approach, utilising an initial breadth survey of practitioners across England and Wales before focusing in on a depth study based in one city Youth Offending Team. Key themes from the breadth survey were tested during the fieldwork placement with observations and interviews with professionals within the team and external therapists, social workers and residential staff. Additional interviews included contributions from volunteer panel members, young people and a parent. Grounded theory analysis led to the identification of four main themes of holistic work: seeing the whole young person; working with wider family and peers; working in a multiagency way and using a range of creative methods. Findings are discussed in relation to ‘what works’ and ‘evidence based practice’. Each of these areas contributes benefits and challenges to the work and leads to implications for practice. The study concludes with recommendations for practitioners and policy-makers to make work more holistic and effective.

Although the contribution of the small enterprise to a nation’s economy, job creation and innovation is well known, comparatively little is understood on how small firms behave strategically and how the more common patterns of strategic behaviour relate to different levels of organizational performance. The following thesis aims at mapping out the strategic behaviour of small firms in the small island state of Malta, and in relating the evident patterns of strategic behaviour to the performances of these firms. The thesis follows on the logic of understanding strategy as a dynamic phenomenon, one that can be viewed as pathways between identifiable life cycle states. It also views strategy as behaviour, part deliberate and part emergent, thus allowing for the inclusion of both external influences and internal decision making. To be able to achieve this dynamic viewpoint of strategy a particular research methodology had to be deployed, observing both the context and the consequences to a firm’s strategic actions, as well as the very actions and interactions themselves. A Grounded Theory method of enquiry was adopted for this purpose as it is ideal for observing patterns, the very theme of this thesis. The research in question has focused on small firms with up to 49 full time employees, in line with the E.U.’s definition of both micro and small firms, and in a broad range of industries in Malta. Results confirmed the predominance of five trajectories, or pathways, of small business strategic behaviour, each passing through a sequence of distinct life cycle states. For each pathway a unique performance situation was observed, resulting from the dynamic coalignment of the owner-manager’s entrepreneurial philosophy, the competitive behaviour adopted by the firm, and the competitive environment to the firm. Understanding which strategic pathway a small firm belongs to allows for a comprehensive insight into the firm’s competitive behaviour, and a prediction of the consequences to that behaviour. The audience to the research consists of government entities involved in policy construction, small firm owners and managers, and the academic community involved in research and policy design.

The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate that new and varied views of dementia surface when the concept of intersectionality is applied to dementia research; and that these perspectives pose challenges to our assumptions about what it is like to have dementia. Grounded theory research from a feminist and anti-oppression perspective was undertaken to explore the question of the relationships between older people‘s experiences of dementia and the intersections of gender, class, ‘race’, and ethnicity. During nine months of field research in Canada, interviews, participant observation, photography, and focus groups were undertaken with eight older people with dementia and their significant others. The participants ranged from multiply marginalized to multiply privileged on the basis of their ‘race’, ethnicity, gender, and class. The grounded theory arising from this research explains the complex nature of the relationships between the subjective experiences of older people living with dementia and the intersections of ethnicity, ‘race’, class, and gender. I argue that there is a connection between social location and lived experiences of dementia; and that these relationships can be observed across and within the categories of experiencing, othering, and theorising. Experiencing captures the diversity of older people’s experiences of dementia, which range from ‘not a big deal’ to ‘a nuisance’ to ‘hellish’: these views are associated with social location, with the multiply privileged older people holding the most negative views of dementia and the multiply marginalized older people dismissing the significance of dementia. Othering refers to the marginalisation to which people with dementia are subject: it is shown to be a marked feature of life with dementia and to be connected to social location, with the multiply privileged people being othered more often as a result of their dementia status; the more marginalised participants demonstrating resilience (as an acquired characteristic); and all being subject to both othering practices and enabling behaviours enacted by members of their social worlds, such as their significant others. The theorising category refers to people with dementia being active meaning makers who theorise about dementia: the outcome of this intellectual activity is shown to be related to social location, with the most privileged participants being the only ones to view dementia as a brain disease; and all others making strategic use of the normal aging theory to avoid marginalisation due to dementia. The result of the theorising done by older people with dementia is a dialectical theory of dementia that positions dementia as a bio-psycho-social phenomenon, disrupts the false dichotomy between normal and pathological, and integrates emic and etic perspectives on dementia.

Crime is rife in South Africa. Explanations abound for the high crime statistics, including the weakening of the family unit, the political history of South Africa, urbanisation and the fast growing urban neighbourhood, a weak criminal justice system and the abundant availability of firearms. In the quest to prevent crime, the private security industry has become a key performer in helping to deter and prevent crime and criminal activities. Yet there are no set criteria for selecting security officers against the backdrop of the high crime rates and a growing private security sector. Therefore the purpose was to develop a competency model for the selection of security officers for the safekeeping and protection of persons and property in the Thaba Tshwane area. I chose to do qualitative research using an interpretive approach in an attempt to understand the views of the participants concerning the work context and requirements of security officers. A grounded theory approach to the strategy of inquiry was employed as it was best suited to keeping the information that was gathered grounded in the participants’ own opinions. The focus of this research was on designing a competency model for security officers for selection purposes. Data were gathered through disciplinary records and open-ended structured interviews where the repertory grid and the behavioural event interview were applied.Eight subject matter experts, who included security officers, managers and a client working in the security industry, were used. The result of the study was a competency model of nine competencies and their definitions, which were grounded in the data and critical in functioning as an efficient security officer. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This study aimed to understand how the identity of Manitobans with early malignancy is affected through diagnosis, decision making and treatment. Using grounded-theory methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 adult patients with early breast, colon, lung, prostate and gynecological cancers, before and after adjuvant treatment decision making. 15 adult friends and family members were also interviewed. Significant findings include: 1) After diagnosis, the “cancer identity” emerged as a new aspect of the patient’s identity; 2) Establishing a post-diagnosis routine was a significant source of distress for patients; 3) Ability to re-establish routine post-diagnosis may be enhanced by providing earlier notification of medical appointment times and information regarding how different treatment options will affect the patient’s identity. This study provides new insight into the experience of patients with malignancy in Manitoba. Additionally, it presents recommendations, based on the insights and concerns of its participants, for improving the cancer journey of Manitobans. / May 2017