The group known as “non-religious” have in recent time received attention in sociology of religion due to the need of presenting a more accurate and nuanced image of these individuals.  In the following study, young adults who ascribe themselves as religious to a low degree are investigated through quantitative analysis on previously collected survey material from the project Religion som resurs? (2008).  The study examines what reasons the respondents have stated for assigning themselves a religious affiliation, and to what degree they value the importance of religious tradition in their lives. Furthermore, the study includes a comparative analysis of two non-religious groups which were ethnic Swedes and Swedish born second-generation immigrants whose parents originate from outside of Scandinavia. The purpose of this comparison is to detect whether non-religiosity is expressed differently depending on ethnic background. Finally, the study also examines how the two groups differ in the degree of religious socialisation during their childhood years. Due to restrictions in method and material, this study can only show correlation or lack thereof in regard to the respondents’ answers, rather than explain what the causes behind the differences between the two non-religious groups are. The results were constructed through cross-tabulation of the two groups and six questions from the mentioned survey. In analysing the results, the theories used are socialisation theory as it is expressed by Berger & Luckman, but more so theories developed by Day (2011) from her qualitative study. The analysis uses Days categorisation of nominalist identities, belief orientations and the term which she calls performative belonging. The results of this essay show that the majority of both groups did not grow up exposed to religious socialisation, however a larger share of the second-generation immigrants than the ethnic Swedes stated that they did. Furthermore, almost twice as many second-generation immigrants than ethnic Swedes ascribe themselves a religious affiliation to a high degree. As for why the respondents ascribe themselves a religious affiliation, the reasons, and the degree of which the respondents agree to these reasons, differ slightly between the two groups. The biggest differences which can be seen is that the second-generation immigrants ascribe themselves a religion based on their relationships with family. Finally, regarding the respondents’ opinions on tradition, the results show that they have varied opinions on the question of how important traditions are, but that religious tradition largely does not affect their life-view.

My aim with this study is to investigate the teaching strategies applied in teaching English to students with another mother tongue than Swedish. According to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theory, factors such as age, language competence and mother tongue influence can affect language acquisition. SLA theory also states that multilinguals tend to select one of their languages as their primary source of information and this language is the language that most resembles the target language; Swedish and English are both Germanic languages and therefore share language closeness. Results showed that regardless of age and mother tongue, equal numbers of students chose to source Swedish only or both Swedish and their mother tongue when translating texts from English; only 3 chose to source their mother tongue only. There is to date little research that directly connects teaching approaches with SLA, particularly when dealing with multilingualism. I believe a potential area for research could be to investigate the possibility of developing teaching strategies that can potentially harness prior language knowledge. My investigation also showed that English is taught to native and non-native Swedish speakers alike through the medium of the Swedish language; that is to say the course books consist of English text with vocabulary translations and grammatical exercises from Swedish to English. A suggestion would be to reduce the use of the English to Swedish translation methods, particularly for students with a limited knowledge of Swedish, and incorporate into lessons more communicative teaching methods using authentic materials and real situations.

Racial discrimination can occur in many ways – intentional and non intentional – and in many places – perhaps most observed in the labor market. The Swedish labor union, LO, is an important party in this market, and discusses the issue frequently in a number of different documents. These documents are being analyzed as discourse in this study, with attention paid to the rhetoric regarding “immigrants”, i.e. how “immigrants” are being portrayed. A postcolonial perspective is applied, which focuses on the structure surrounding binary oppositions between a “we” and a subordinate “Others”. Earlier studies within this perspective have noticed discriminating reproduction of “immigrants” in different discourses, which is being created through concepts concerning cultural stereotyping and generalization. In a similar way this study will show how a discourse produces different semantic uses of the word “immigrant” and how these uses are linked to the subordinate “Others”. By drawing conclusions from these oppositional hierarchies, tendencies of the discriminating reproducing of “immigrants” are found within the selected LO documents.

This thesis analyses police officers' work with internal control of foreigners through a discussion of, among other things, the nation-state, rule of law ideals as well as the police profession and the conditions surrounding that profession. Internal control of foreigners, practised by police officers has two main aims: to control migration and to fight crime amongst people unauthorised to reside in the country. There has been a demand for increased efficiency in the internal control of foreigners, since Sweden joined the Schengen agreement. Police officers are now expected to be observant in all their work carried out, of the possibility that people they encounter are in the country without permission. The authors have accompanied police officers in Malmö and Stockholm in their work. They have also studied cases in the legal system and of the special board that handles cases of offences made by police officers. The authors discuss the importance of different factors to the police work on internal control of foreigners. Certain factors are more important than others and there is an interplay and reinforcement of some of these: the political and historical context, the discretion of the police, grey areas in the rules, the work tools of the police as well as inspection possibilities. A state of tension can be identified between the ideals of the nation-state and rule of law ideals. Several factors interplay to create a potential for and an apparent risk of ethnic discrimination in the police work on the internal control of foreigners. This study shows that the prerequisites necessary to perform the control efficiently, unerringly and with proper discretion are lacking. Police officers are put to the almost impossible task of determining who is in the country without permission.

Bakgrund: Kommunikation är utbyte av betydelsefull information mellan individer och kan förmedlas via verbalt och icke-verbalt språk. Genom att vårdpersonal skapar en mellanmänsklig relation till patienten uppnås ömsesidig förståelse som är grunden för att bedriva personcentrerad vård. I interkulturell kommunikation kan det däremot vara svårt att nå full förståelse på grund av otillräckliga språkkunskaper och kulturella skillnader. Syfte: Syfte med studien var att beskriva betydelsen av språklig och kulturell förståelse i kommunikationen mellan patient och hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal.  Metod: En allmän litteraturstudie med systematisk ansats baserad på kvalitativa vetenskapliga artiklar genomfördes. Artikelsökningar gjordes i PubMed och Cinahl. Följande sökord användes i sökningar: communication, communication barriers, experience, health care, health personal, immigrant, interpreter, language, migrant, nurse-patient relations. Resultat: Ömsesidig förståelse, språklig och kulturell, är nyckeln för att vårdpersonal ska kunna förstå patienten och bedriva god vård. Resultatet baserades på 15 artiklar och består av tre tema: Kommunikation och relation, Invandrare i vården och Tolkning. Konklusion: Otillräckliga språkkunskaper är ett hinder för invandrare att komma i kontakt med vården, förmedla sina behov och nå full förståelse för given information. För vårdpersonal är språkbarriären ett hinder för att kunna bedriva patientsäker och personcentrerad vård. Båda parter är beroende av en tolk för att uppnå ömsesidig förståelse. / Background: Communication is an exchange of significant information between individuals and can be conveyed through verbal and non-verbal communication. When health personnel establish interpersonal relationships with the patient, mutual understanding will be obtained which is the basis for person-centered care. However, in intercultural communication it can be difficult to achieve full understanding due to insufficient language knowledge and cultural differences. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the importance of linguistic and cultural understanding in communication between patient and health personnel. Method: A literature study with a systematic approach based on qualitative articles was conducted. Article searches were made in PubMed and Cinahl. The following keywords were used in search process: communication, communication barriers, experience, health care, health personnel, immigrant, interpreter, language, migrant, nurse-patient relations. Results: Mutual understanding, linguistic and cultural, is the key for healthcare professionals to understand the patient and provide good care. The result was based on 15 articles and consists of three topics: Communication and relationship, Immigrants in healthcare and Interpreting. Conclusion: Insufficient language knowledge is an obstacle for immigrants to come into contact with healthcare, communicate their needs and gain full understanding of given information. Language barrier is an interference fpr healthcare professionals to be able to deliver patient-safe and person-centered care. Both parties are dependent on an interpreter to achieve mutual understanding.

The study is a qualitative study that aims to examine how foreign-born parents affect second-generation immigrants choice of form of housing and residential areas and what differences there are between Swedish native-born and foreign-born parents. The study also examines how ethnicity affects young adults' choice of housing and residential area and the importance of second-generation immigrants attitudes towards segregated areas in the future have. The study focuses on the residential neighbourhoods of Sätra located in Gävle and Vivalla located in Örebro. Both neighbourhoods are million program areas but in different ways. The data collection consisted of ten people, five women and five men. The method asked specific questions and then interviewees spoke about themselves and how they perceive housing segregation. The selection has been made strategically thus the people that have been interviewed are born in Sweden and have parents that are born abroad. Also all of the interviewed individuals live in segregated areas. There is a lot of prejudice in the media and the public about segregation and the vulnerability of segregated areas. The results shows five women and five men’s own experiences and thoughts about living in segregated residential areas, having foreign- born parents, how both have affected them and their views of ethnic segregation. / Undersökningen är en kvalitativ studie där intervjuer kommer göras för att jag somforskare ska kunna befinna mig i den sociala miljön som analyseras. Studien syftar tillatt granska hur utlandsfödda föräldrar påverkar andra generationens invandrares val avbostadsform och bostadsområde samt vilka skillnader det finns mellan inlandsfödda ochutlandsfödda föräldrar. Samt hur etnicitet påverkar unga vuxnas val av bostadsform ochbostadsområde och vilken betydelse andra generationens invandrares inställning tillboendesegregerade områden i framtiden har. För att utföra arbetet har en fallstudieanvänts. Anledningen till att en fallstudie har använts är för att arbetet ska utföras underen tidsbegränsad period. I studien ligger fokus på bostadsområdena Sätra och Vivalla,det dessa två områden har gemensamt är att de är segregerade på olika sätt och ärmiljonprogramsområden. Datainsamlingen bestod av tio personer, fem kvinnor och femmän. I studien tas intervjupersonernas erfarenheter, tankar och upplevelser med ochmetoden går ut på att ställa bestämd frågor och sedan har intervjupersonerna fått pratautifrån sig själva och hur de själva upplever ämnet. Urvalet är strategiskt, detintervjupersonerna har gemensamt är att de själva är födda i Sverige och harutlandsfödda föräldrar från olika länder samt bor i segregerade områden. Detförekommer mycket fördomar av media och människor utifrån på grund avsegregationen och utsattheten som råder i områdena. Resultatet visar fem kvinnor ochfem mäns egna erfarenheter, upplevelser och tankar av att bo i bostadsområdena och attha utlandsfödda föräldrar, hur det har påverkat dem och hur de ser på den etniskaboendesegregationen.

This research aims to analyze an asylum seeker's choice of asylum country and why Sweden inparticular. The study is based on Professor Lee's (1966) push- and pulltheory and the questionson which the study is based are "what impact do push and pull factors have on the choice ofrecipient country?" and "are there differences between asylum seekers from Syria andAfghanistan when choosing a recipient country?" The method used is an interview study, morespecifically semi-structured interviews. The conclusions found in the study are that the resultsof this study and previous studies are consistent, the main pullfactors that are consistent withthe theory and that explain the reason why Sweden is chosen, are the possibility of educationand work, a relative or friend who already lives in Sweden, human rights and that Sweden isconsidered a safe country. The respondents' pushfactor which explains the reason for leavingthe country of origin, was first and foremost that everyone needed to flee due to war and misery.It does not matter where an asylum seeker comes from as everyone has the same goal and thatis to survive.

The predicament of rational choice models in politics is seemingly the irrationality of participation in politics activity, in such, by voting. That it is irrational for most of the taxpayers to vote nor to attain education about politics. Some authors propose different approaches to understand why people vote, such as civic duty and civic voluntarism model. This essay examines language barrier and how it affects the voter turnout in Sweden. Furthermore, we observe foreign-born Swedes in Skärholmen region, and ask ourselves: • Should language deficiency lead to lower division? • If those with language shortages still vote, what is important to them? The study shows that people with higher language skills also tend to vote more often than others. And for those who have a lower language skill differs within the group some votes regardless and other abstain. I intend to link my research to existing theories to confront the theories with new empirical knowledge, using a hypothetical-deductive method.

This thesis is a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews that were conducted with six highly educated young second-generation immigrants from the deprived neighborhood of Bäckby in Västerås. By aiming to understand how the participants portray their substantive citizenship and its impact upon political participation as an essential pillar of Swedish democracy, the author focused upon how the participants described their perceived discrimination, sense of belonging, transnationalism, and political participation. The answers were transcribed using the intelligent verbatim method and coded deductively based on a wide range of relevant literature. Among many findings, the study showed that the participants were aware of the bright barrier framing their place of comfort as well as they were highly attached to Bäckby. However, the majority of the participants considered the homeland to be a country outside of Sweden. Peregrinus citizenship was the outcome of the author's interpretations of the participants' substantive citizenship, which also was a possible explanation of the low interest in politics that the participants illustrated through their answers. Among the study's conclusions was stated that the second-generation immigrants are not only a risk group because of social risk factors present within the deprived neighborhood, but also because of the similar factors present outside of it. / Det här examensarbete är en kvalitativ studie baserad på semistrukturerade intervjuer som genomfördes med sex högutbildade unga andra generationens invandrare från den eftersatta stadsdelen Bäckby i Västerås. Genom att försöka förstå hur deltagarna framställer sitt substantivmedborgarskap och dess inverkan på det politiska deltagandet som en viktig pelare i den svenska demokratin fokuserade författaren på hur deltagarna beskrev sin upplevda diskriminering, känsla av tillhörighet, transnationalism och politiskt deltagande. Svaren transkriberades med hjälp av den intelligenta Verbatim metoden och kodade deduktivt baserat på ett brett spektrum av relevant litteratur. Bland många fynd visade studien att deltagarna var medvetna om den ljusa barriären som inramade sin komfortplats och de var mycket fästa vid Bäckby. Majoriteten av deltagarna ansåg dock att hemlandet var ett land utanför Sverige. Peregrinus medborgarskap var resultatet av författarens tolkningar av deltagarnas substantivmedborgarskap, vilket också var en möjlig förklaring till det låga intresse för politik som deltagarna illustrerade genom sina svar. Bland studiens slutsatser uppgavs att andra generationens invandrare är inte bara en riskgrupp på grund av sociala riskfaktorer som finns inom det utsatta området, utan också på grund av liknande faktorer som finns utanför det.

In countries like Sweden the public libraries add to what schools and other institutions do, trying to fill the less formal gaps regarding the needs of learning language and customs of society, and making information more available. This essay; Integration and Social Capital: Newcomers Social Capital at Public Libraries According to Library Staff, seeks to research how activities for immigrants within Swedish public libraries enables strengthening of social capital and trust in society within this group. Earlier research within this subject lean towards that is the case, though most of the earlier research tend to primarily focus on the immigrant perspective, why this essay seeks to view the subject within the profession, interviewing library staff responsible for such activities. To do so this essay lean on social capital theories of Robert E. Putnam and alike, semi structured interviews and several scientific articles and well as semi scientific reports of this matter. Results and conclusions of the study will confirm the possibility of public libraries strengthening social capital and trust, but cannot claim that this is always the case. It also confirms that this possibility is what library staff experience, since they without knowing what theory has been used, depicts happenings typical for evolving social capital and trust.