Föräldraskapsidealet i västvärlden har under de senaste decennierna på flera sätt intensifierats och blivit alltmer expert-orienterat. Idag finns det till exempel en hel uppsjö av handböcker fyllda med olika strategier och råd riktade till föräldrar. Barn och föräldraskap kan samtidigt sägas utgöra ett viktigt område inom fältet socialt arbete. Denna c-uppsats syftar att genom kvalitativ metod undersöka hur bilden av ett eftersträvansvärt föräldraskap idag presenteras i två svenska populärvetenskapliga handböcker för föräldrar. Materialet som ligger till grund för denna uppsats är två utvalda svenska populärvetenskapliga handböcker för föräldrar som kan anses vara populära i sin genre just nu. Med känsla för barns självkänsla (2015) av Petra Krantz Lindgren och Smart föräldraskap (2018) av Mattias Ribbing. Materialet har analyserats med hjälp av tematisk innehållsanalys och, förutom ett övergripande intersektionellt teoretiskt ramverk, teorierna kritisk vithetsteori, individualisering och Bourdieus begrepp kapital. Två huvudteman hittades i materialet: närvaro och utveckling. Det uttrycks i materialet som eftersträvansvärt att som förälder vara närvarande i form av att vara engagerad, beslutsam, resursstark, tillgänglig och lyhörd i relation till sina barn. Det framställs även som eftersträvansvärt att som förälder sträva efter utveckling i form av självutveckling men också genom att vilja vara en god förebild och utveckla sina barn i termer av lärande och framgång. Resultatet visar att de teman vi fann ger uttryck för en individualiserad syn på föräldraskap, där de eftersträvansvärda idealen inte tar hänsyn till samhälleliga maktstrukturer som individen lever under, såsom vithet och klass. Det eftersträvansvärda föräldraskapet presenteras istället i de utvalda handböckerna som ett dekontextualiserat ideal. Detta kan ses i linje med neoliberala tendenser som genomsyrar samhällsklimatet idag. Sett till vad tidigare forskning kommit fram till stämmer vårt resultat till stor del överens med denna men indikerar att det inom ämnet finns behov av fortsatt forskning. / In recent decades, ideals around parenting practices have in many western cultures intensified and become increasingly expert-oriented. Today, for example, there are a whole host of handbooks filled with different strategies and advice for parents. At the same time, the experiences of children and issues around parenting practices can be said to be important areas in the field of social work. This bachelor thesis aims to investigate, through qualitative methods, how the image of a desirable parenthood is presented in two Swedish popular science handbooks for parents. The material on which this essay is based is two selected Swedish parenting handbooks that can be considered popular in their genre right now. Med känsla för barns självkänsla (2015) by Petra Krantz Lindgren and Smart föräldraskap (2018) by Mattias Ribbing. The material has been analyzed using thematic content analysis and, in addition to an overall intersectional theoretical framework, critical whiteness theory, individualization theory and Bourdieu's concept of capital. Two main themes were found in the material: presence and development. It is expressed in the material as desirable that a parent be present in the form of being committed, decisive, resourceful, available and responsive in relation to their children. It is also presented as desirable as a parent to strive for development in the form of one’s own personal development but also in striving to be a good role model and helping one’s children to develop in terms of learning and success. The themes found throughout the material express an individualized view of parenting, where the ideals presented as desirable do not take into account the social power structures under which the individual lives, such as whiteness and class. Desirable parenting was instead presented in the selected handbooks as a decontextualized ideal. This can be seen in line with neoliberal tendencies that permeate the social climate of Sweden and many other Western cultures today. In relation to previous research, our results largely correspond to earlier findings, but indicate that there is a need for further research in this area.

Melin, O-P, 2017, Metoder för flerfärgsstickning - En undersökning av instruktioner i handböcker. (Fair-isle knitting methods – A survey of instructions in knitting manuals), Institutionen för Konstvetenskap, Department of Art History, Uppsala University.   The study researches the instructions for various methods of executing patterned knitting with two or more colours (often called Fair Isle knitting) in knitting-manuals from the Nordic countries, the UK and North America, in search of similarities, differences and traditions. Professor Edward Shils defines tradition as something created by humans which is transmitted between at least three generations. Are there similarities and differences between these areas in regard to how colour knitting is worked? The study identifies and differentiates between four main methods for colour-knitting. The researched ca 130 manuals, dated from the 1950´s until the present - were analyzed in regard to the relative frequency of the methods they advocate. The result is that two-thirds of the instructions for Fair Isle knitting, during the period and regardless of geographical/cultural area, propose the stranded method with parallel floats. The other stranded method - with rotated floats - is less often given, and seems to have become less popular within the researched period. The method with rotated floats is mentioned more often in manuals from the Anglo-Saxon countries. The bound methods of Fair Isle knitting are the least suggested in the researched manuals, despite the bound and woven method being referred to, especially in British manuals, as equally advantageous. This method also never seems to have had much popularity in the Nordic countries. Bound and twined knitting, although until recently only used in areas of Sweden and Norway, might, because of the recent publication of manuals, find a new lease of life. Professor Shils regards tradition as a transmitted pattern of thought connected to a thing or practice. Knitting to create textile from thread is therefore a tradition, as well as the methods that are handed down weather by oral or written instruction. As noted, some methods of colour-knitting are traditions more in some areas than in others. Also, some knitting methods may never have been lasting enough to establish themselves as traditions.   Keywords: Fair Isle knitting, instructions, methods, knitting-manuals

This dissertation is the study of environmental consciousness as a discursive educational project. The empirical material consist of 18 environmental handbooks that have been published in Sweden during the years 1976-2007 of which 13 appeared between 1988 and 1995. The research work uses the basic assumptions of discourse analysis, namely that language is an important factor in the construction and development of social norms and values. Three areas recieve close attention: questions relating to the form and content of the handbooks, questions relating to the social circumstances in which the handbooks were produced and questions relating to the overall educational significance of the handbooks. In the first instance, the handbooks are examined in the light of three different contextual stories. They can be read as part of wider discussions of environmentally-concsious life-styles, as a development of earlier Swedish discussions about domesticity, health, thrift and consumption, and, finally they can be read as an expression of a narrative about a dominant aspect of modernity – science. The second part of the research work comprises an examination of the handbooks in terms of their audience and educational purpose. What kind of individual is to be shaped by these handbooks? What is anticipated as the desired or ideal environmentalist? Discourse analysis suggests that, collectively, the handbooks project an image of somone who displays qualities of motivation, investigation and judgement. They should be motivated to begin a process of change in their lives, to encourage others to do the same, and to adopt the environmental problems as their own personal problems. The second quality pursued in the handbooks is of someone who should take an active stance towards the environment as a pervasive element in their way of life. They should, therefore, adopt an investigative attitude to the surrounding world, cultivate certain cognitive properties such as watchfulness, thoughtfulness and being suspicious, and constantly ask questions about their surroundings with a view to understanding how actions in their private world has an effect on the wider world. And thirdly, the ideal environmentalist citizen should be someone who demonstrates judgement in balancing polarities and resolving the claims of different standpoints. They should give attention to separating right from wrong, wisdom from madness and, above all, to finding a way of linking their own efforts to what is worth striving for and what is worth avoiding or neglecting. In summary, the subjects identified in the handbooks are expected to avoid extreme positions, to place their own expectations about sustainability on a suitable level, and to be prepared for failure and feelings of guilt. The final part of the investigation – interpreting the wider significance of the handbooks – uses a pluralistic model of analysis which takes its departure from three concepts – ecological modernisation, governmentality and the risk society. Using these orientations, the extent of the discursive educational project of the environmental handbooks is highlighted. If the handbooks are regarded as modernist prescriptions, they are texts which highlights slow and careful change taking place within the present power structure of society. If they are regarded as texts that offer a governmentality prescription, they can be read as texts which promote the transformation of everyday micropractices. And if they are regarded as prescriptions for a risk society, they are texts which enable readers to come to terms with confusion and powerlessness in a complex and risky social context. One main result is that the environmental handbooks display interesting similarities, worthy of futher exploration, supported by a broadened empirical base.

Uppsatsen undersökte handstickningens sociala status under åren 1838–1845 via stickhandböcker som publicerades kring de brittiska öarna under den nämnda tiden. Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ textanalys av totalt 5 olika stickböcker och författare. Syftet var att utröna stickningens sociala status med hjälp av stickböckernas tilltänkta målgrupp, författarnas egna noteringar om stickningen, stickbeskrivningarnas inriktning och materialanvändningen för framförandet av stickbeskrivningarna. Resultatet blev att handböckerna riktade sig till de övre klasserna av samhället och framförallt var målgruppen för böckerna kvinnor. Materialanvändningen i handböckerna visade till största del på exklusiva material och stickbeskrivningar var ofta dekorativa. Stickningen blev klassat högt i status under tiden, inom den kvinnliga sfären, då utförandet av tekniken sågs som en fritidssysselsättning och ansågs som ett värdigt utförande för damer.

The aim of this master thesis is to examine how two Swedish libraries approach library tourism. Library tourism is a growing phenomenon seen in libraries across the world. The case study has been made on the National Library of Sweden and Stockholm Public Library. The study was conducted through qualitative measures in which methodological techniques have been used, such as interviews and analysis of relevant documents from an organizational perspective. The study aims to determine how two libraries in Stockholm are used as tourist attractions and how the personnel perceive their workplace as being a tourist attraction. The analysis is based on Foucault’s theories primarily addressing the relationship between power and knowledge and the theories of economic, social, environmental, and cultural implications of tourist-related services by both John Urry and Jonas Larsen as well as the authors So-Min Cheong and Marc L Miller. The study shows that neither of the two examined libraries has special staff for dealing with tourists, nor guidelines for this activity. The study also shows that libraries can be viewed as important rising cultural tourist attractions during the last years. Having an increasing number of tourists has been disturbing for the locals and those employed at the libraries. Both libraries’ primary focus is being an indispensable part of community life as promoter of literacy, provider of a wide range of reading material for all ages and wide-ranging loan services based on systems of branch libraries. This study suggests that both libraries have a similar approach to tourism, but also that they could be more involved in the process in order to make tourism available on their own terms. Disclaimer: This subject was decided/chosen in November 2019 before the outbreak of Covid-19 which made future tourism development more uncertain. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.