<p>The purpose of this study was to <em>understand</em> how social workers experienced working with Addiction Severity Index (ASI) in relation to the goal set by the National Board of Health and Welfare. The method is spread nationwide and therefore it is of great importance to examine how the social workers themselves experience the demands and the resources surrounding ASI. We choose to do a qualitative study interviewing eight social workers at six different occasions. The result was analyzed using Max Weber’s ideal type bureaucracy and Michael Lipsky’s thesis on street-level bureaucrats. We found that the social workers consider the method useful when used from without their own purposes. The standards set by the National Board of Health and Welfare was considered hard to achieve because of the complexity of the method. Among other things the valuation done by both social worker and client was regarded as tough and therefore the results of the interview are at risk of not becoming reliable. We found that the outcome of the interview depends on the performer.</p>

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; / Thesis (Ed.S.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine the meaning of the Loss of Voice experience in adolescent girls using an existential-phenomenological interview approach. An open-ended interview was conducted and participants were asked to "Please think of a specific time when you had something important to say, but did not say it. In as much detail as possible, describe that experience." / Each interview was tape-recorded, transcribed by the investigator, and then independently thematized (Jones, 1984) by the author and a doctoral colleague trained in Jones' (1984) analysis method. Interrater reliability of the themes reached 96% agreement for the overall sample. Individual transcription reliabilities ranged between 85-98%. Thematic analysis revealed six superordinate themes and four subthemes. The superordinate themes were Difficult Position, Feeling, Might Explode, Not Worth It, Who Am I?, and Nevermind. / The subthemes So Much To Lose and Strong were part of superordinate theme Difficult Position. The subthemes Emotion and Physical were part of the superordinate theme Feeling. Analysis of these themes in their totality suggested a complex meaning structure of co-researchers Loss of Voice experiences. This research supports and expands the current literature on Loss of Voice by providing a more in-depth study of the meaning contained in a Loss of Voice experience. Directions for future research efforts, intervention, and prevention education are discussed. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Abstrakt Introduktion: Graviditet är en tid som medför att kvinnornas kroppar omformas. Med ett klart formulerat kvinnoideal medför detta att de gravida kvinnorna evaluerar sin självbild till följd av att förändringen sker i motsats till samhällets utseende trend. Kvinnorna känner sig ful och oattraktiv, likväl får barnets hicka och sparkar i livmodern kvinnorna att känna fascination samt stolthet. Syfte: Syftet med examensarbetet är att belysa hur kvinnor beskriver sin självbild i samband med en graviditet. Metod: Sex kvinnor som var gravid i vecka 28-35 intervjuades med semi-strukturerade öppna frågor. Data har analyserats med inspiration från grundad teori. Resultat: Analysen resulterade i en huvudkategori, fyra kategorier och sexton underkategorier. De gravida kvinnorna har till följd av samhällets ideal en generellt dålig självbild. I takt med kvinnornas fysiska omformning upplevdes självbilden väldigt negativ, kvinnorna försökte aktivt sträva efter en positiv upplevelse genom att använda små hjälpmedel. Magen väcker oönskad uppmärksamhet, grad av uppmärksamhet styrs utifrån magen storlek. Kvinnorna uttryckte ett stort behov av stöd från partner, familj och vänner för att kunna acceptera samt hantera graviditetens påfrestningar. Barnmorskorna erbjöd god medicinsk kunskap men saknade den empatiska förmågan vilken medförde att kvinnorna upplevde sig nonchalerad. Slutsats: De gravida kvinnorna har till följd av samhällets ideal en generellt dålig självbild, utifrån de gravida kvinnornas relation till den egna kroppen, men tack vare små hjälpmedel kunde självbilden accepteras. Stöd från partner och familj var det viktigaste komponenterna som medverkade till en god anpassning till graviditeten. / Abstract Background: A pregnancy forces the female body to change. Today we can identify clearly defined feminine ideal, during the time of pregnancy the body change in the direct opposite direction to societal trends which causes the pregnant women to question their self-image. The pregnancy causes the women to feel ugly and unattractive. However, feeling the baby´s hiccups or kicks make women fascinated and full of pride. Objective: The aim of the present study was to illustrate how women describe their self-image during pregnancy Methods: Semi-structured open-ended interviews were conducted with a total of six women who were pregnant in week 28-35. Data were analyzed inspired of grounded theory. Results: The analysis presented one main code, four categories and sixteen subcategories. Pregnant women have in general a poor self-image as a result of the society's ideal about the female body. Despite the negative feelings towards the body the women actively tried to strive for a positive experience with help of small appliances. The women expressed a greater need for support from their partners, families and friends to accept and cope with the stressful mental strain that the pregnancy creates. The midwives had a good medical knowledge but lacked empathy, which caused the women to feel neglected. Conclusion: The pregnant women had in generally a poorer self-image as a result of the body ideal in society. Acceptance of the pregnant self-image could be accomplished with a good relation to their own body. Also support from partners and families were the main components for a good ability to adapt oneself to pregnancy.

This study shows how city planners and politicians in Karlstad plans different parts of the city, what type of model/ city ideals they use when planning, and how it is expressed. The study was made using a qualitative method, were a discourse analysis was vital for the elected planning document and blog posts. Qualitative interviews were also made with five people with significant meaning, who hold different positions in the city planning of Karlstad. In the produced material, it appears that the city planners and politicians in Karlstad are planning for traditional city ideals as a foundation in the planning, with influence from new ideas as for example sustainable planning and economic growth. In some parts of the city a modern and rational planning remains. However, it is apparent from the respondents that this kind of planning is important to avoid, and instead use an older type of planning from the 19th century and early 20th century. The consequences of striving towards this ideal, is that some structures and groups are highlighted as ideal and thus excludes others. The ideal is seen as a romanticized image of the city, which can result in a gap between planning and reality. Also, it creates conflicts and difficulties when some goals in the planning stand against each other, and that some planning concepts can be interpreted in different ways. / Detta arbete redogör för hur stadsplanerare och politiker i Karlstad planerar olika delar av staden och vad för slags målbild/stadsideal de har när de planerar och hur detta uttrycks. Studien är utförd genom en kvalitativ metod där diskursanalys är central för utvalda planeringsdokument och blogginlägg. Kvalitativa intervjuer är också genomförda med fem betydande personer som innehar olika roller i Karlstads stadsplanering. Av det framtagna materialet framkommer det att stadsplanerarna och politikerna i Karlstad planerar efter ett traditionellt stadideal som grund i planeringen, med inslag av nya idéer som till exempel hållbarhet och ekonomisk tillväxt. I vissa delar av staden lever dock den modernistiska och rationella planeringen kvar. Dock framgår det av respondenterna att denna typ av planering är viktig att komma ifrån och därför är det en äldre planering från 1800- talet och tidigt 1900- tal som de vill återgå till. Konsekvenserna av att sträva efter detta ideal är att en del strukturer och målgrupper lyfts fram som ideala och därmed utesluts andra. Idealet ses många gånger som en romantiserad bild av staden, vilket kan resultera i ett glapp mellan planering och verklighet. Dessutom skapas konflikter och svårigheter då en del mål i planeringen står mot varandra, samt att vissa planeringsbegrepp kan tolkas på olika sätt.

This study investigated the efficacy of the lz person fit statistic for detecting aberrant responding with unidimensional pairwise preference (UPP) measures, constructed and scored based on the Zinnes-Griggs (ZG, 1974) IRT model, which has been used for a variety of recent noncognitive testing applications. Because UPP measures are used to collect both "self-" and "other-" reports, I explored the capability of lz to detect two of the most common and potentially detrimental response sets, namely fake good and random responding. The effectiveness of lz was studied using empirical and theoretical critical values for classification, along with test length, test information, the type of statement parameters, and the percentage of items answered aberrantly (20%, 50%, 100%). We found that lz was ineffective in detecting fake good responding, with power approaching zero in the 100% aberrance conditions. However, lz was highly effective in detecting random responding, with power approaching 1.0 in long-test, high information conditions, and there was no diminution in efficacy when using marginal maximum likelihood estimates of statement parameters in place of the true values. Although using empirical critical values for classification provided slightly higher power and more accurate Type I error rates, theoretical critical values, corresponding to a standard normal distribution, provided nearly as good results.

The adverse effect of the exposure to images of attractive females on women's body image and mood has been well-documented in studies conducted in various western and westernized nations. However, research designed to determine the effect of exposure to attractive female images on men has been rather neglected. Past findings indicate that after being exposed to exceptionally attractive female images, males report less satisfaction for a current relationship, rate average-looking females as less attractive, and express less affection for their significant other compared to those men exposed to control images. It is currently not known, however, whether a psychoeducational intervention might prevent the negative media exposure effect. Additionally, it is not known if the exposure effect might be moderated by dispositional characteristics of the participant. This study was designed to determine if a psychoeducational manipulation consisting of information regarding the unrealistic appearance standards currently required of women would mitigate the ratings men give of average-looking women following exposure to attractive images. Additionally, two dispositional measures were included (appearance-schematicity and female-ideal internalization) in order to evaluate whether these trait levels would moderate the effects of the exposure manipulation.the participants were 159 male undergraduate students between 18 and 30 years of age. The majority (57%) of them were Caucasian, followed by 19% who were Hispanic/Latino and 11% who were African-American. Their mean age was 19.80 (SD = 2.06) and mean BMI was 24.90 (SD = 4.20). Most of them (42%) were not seeing anyone currently, whereas 39% of them were in a committed relationship. The findings partially supported the hypotheses. The males who were exposed to the attractive female images evaluated average females less physically attractive than those exposed to a control condition (inanimate objects); however, the psychoeducation did not reduce the adverse exposure effect. Instead, the combination of neutral audio-information and control exposure condition resulted in the most favorable ratings of average females. Regarding dispositional characteristics, female-ideal internalization was associated with the loss of interest in dating average females and the overestimation of a current partner's weight after the experiment. The limitations and implications of the study findings are discussed.

The greater body mass of African American females relative to Caucasian females is a well-documented finding implicated in ethnic disparities in health outcomes. The principal aim of the current study was to evaluate a theoretical account that may explain ethnic differences in body mass index. The proposed theoretical account focused on appearance-related concerns regarding the desirability of a thin body type as motivation to engage in weight control behavior. It was hypothesized that Caucasians would evidence greater internalization of the thin ideal than African Americans, which would then be associated with greater dietary restriction and physical activity, thereby predicting lower body mass among caucasians relative to African Americans. It was expected that this model would demonstrate greater applicability to individuals who lack constitutional thinness, i.e., individuals who have struggled with weight management in the past or at present. The study's design w as cross-sectional. African American (n=113) and Caucasian (n= 633) undergraduate, unmarried, heterosexual females between the ages of 18 and 30 completed online questionnaires in which they provided information on their ethnicity,socioeconomic status, ethnic identity, thin-ideal internalization, the perceived romantic appeal of thinness, the importance of romantic need fulfillment, dietary restriction, physical activity, height, current weight, and their highest weight since attaining their current height. Structural equation modeling with LISREL 8.72 was used to evaluate the proposed model. Support for hypotheses was mixed. Among the subset of participants categorized as lacking constitutional thinness, the relationship between ethnicity and body mass was mediated by thin-ideal internalization and the perceived romantic appeal of thinness, each of which contributed independently to dietary restriction, which in turn evidenced a curvilinear relationship with body mass. Results ar e consistent with the notion that ethnic differences in body mass may be partially accounted for by differences in standards for physical appearance, which may then motivate weight control behavior to a greater extent in Caucasians than African Americans.

Problems related to mental health among young Swedish women, age 15-20, has increased in the past years and is seen as a problem in both on the national and the local levels. Growing up and becoming an adult is a turbulent period for many young people and the school is one area in which this comes to appear. The aim of this study was to identify the causes to lack of mental health related to appearance and achievement among women age 16-19 in senior high school. This study is an interview study with self-made questions, which took place in a medium-sized town in northern Sweden. The result showed that almost every young woman that was interviewed had high expectations on themselves in school-related matters and that stress was a recurrent topic in the interviews. There were also findings that some of the young woman felt stress in their leisure activities. Most of the respondents expressed that they had to put on makeup and fix their hair before they left home, they also wanted to have decent clothes. In the discussion it is said that, to improve problems with the mental health among young women, both the young women and previous recommendations needs to be taken in account.

Current theories of workplace gender inequality hinge upon the widely-shared cultural image of an "ideal worker:" a fully-committed, male employee with no non-work responsibilities that constrain his availability for work. While women's difficulties in relation to this ideal are well-documented, men's experiences remain largely unexamined. Yet, several social changes, including the prevalence of dual-earner families and intensified fathering expectations place men's true lives at odds with this image, suggesting that the ideal worker image no longer easily explains workplace gender inequality. In this dissertation, I address these issues by conducting a qualitative field study of men working at a strategy consulting firm at which the ideal worker image was linked with success. Drawing on 115 interviews, performance data and archival data sources, I unpack three facets of men's relationship to the image: the effects of their wives' careers upon their work orientations, how they experience and respond to the image in the workplace, and how they interpret the possibility of successful deviance from the image. Overall, my results suggest that most men do not conform to the ideal worker image, and that for men, conformance is not necessarily required to be considered a valued member of the organization. These findings imply potentially destabilizing effects for the ideal worker image; yet the very ways in which men successfully stray from the image, and the stories consultants tell about those who stray and remain successful combine to reify the ideal worker image in the firm's culture. The results contribute to theories of gendered organizations, dual-career couples and gender identity.

The goal of this thesis is two-fold. First, it gives an efficient method for calculating the action of Hecke operators in terms of "Manin" symbols, otherwise known as "M-symbols," in the first homology group of Bianchi spaces. Second, it presents data that may be used to understand and better state an unpublished conjecture of Fukaya, Kato, and Sharifi concerning the structure of Bianchi Spaces modulo Eisenstein ideals [5]. Swan, Cremona, and others have studied the homology of Bianchi spaces characterized as certain quotients of hyperbolic 3-space [3], [13]. The first homology groups are generated both by modular symbols and a certain subset of them: the Manin symbols. This is completely analogous to the study of the homology of modular curves. For modular curves, Merel developed a technique for calculating the action of Hecke operators completely in terms of "Manin" symbols [10]. For Bianchi spaces, Bygott and Lingham outlined methods for calculating the action of Hecke operators in terms of modular symbols [2], [9]. This thesis generalizes the work of Merel to Bianchi spaces. The relevant Bianchi spaces are characterized by imaginary quadratic fields K. The methods described in this thesis deal primarily with the case that the ring of integers of K is a PID. Let p be an odd prime that is split in K. The calculations give the F_p-dimension of the homology modulo both p and an Eisenstein ideal. Data is given for primes less than 50 and the five Euclidean imaginary quadratic fields Q(√-1), Q(√-2), Q(√-3), Q(√-7), and Q(√-11). All of the data presented in this thesis comes from computations done using the computer algebra package Magma.