Magister Artium - MA / Disability, as a topic of investigation, is considerably overlooked in the discipline of sociolinguistics. This thesis aims to bridge the gap between disability and sociolinguistics studies, as I critically explore the role language and multilingualism plays in the way we understand and construct the discourses of disability. Based on a year-long ethnographic study at what is defined as a “special needs school”, I offer a first-hand description of being a researcher with a disability through personal anecdotes. In these anecdotes, I account for my own positionality to highlight the importance of reflectivity and positionality when doing ethnographic fieldwork. Aside from these personal anecdotes, I also capture everyday interactions among young disabled people. In order to analyse these disabled youth multilingual interactions, I applied the notions of stylization, enregisterment and embodied intersectionality. In these examinations, we are able to see how multilingualism is used to negotiate a position of being seen as disabled. By looking at these personal anecdotes and everyday interactions as whole, the study provides a more comprehensive view of the way we talk and represent disability. I conclude this thesis by offering a new direction for disability and youth multilingualism studies, a direction that emphasises the importance of positionality when doing research on the agency of disabled people.

The susceptibility of individuals to illness and disease is greatly influenced by context specific social determinants of health (SDH), yet there is a dearth of literature pertaining to SDH among refugees, particularly those residing in urban areas. The purpose of this study was to identify and generate empirical evidence on SDH among female refugees in Malaysia. It focused specifically on Rohingya refugees, a stateless and persecuted Muslim minority from Myanmar. Intersectionality formed the theoretical foundation of the study, which utilized a qualitative research design and employed an exploratory, applied research approach. Document review provided background and contextual information for primary data, which were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. The study was undertaken in affiliation with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and had two primary outputs: it provided UNHCR with information and recommendations to inform context-specific program and policy development, and it generated rich empirical findings that contribute to the nascent evidence base on SDH in the context of forced migration. Results indicate that key factors affecting the health and wellbeing of Rohingya women include: their journey from Myanmar to Malaysia, income, employment, food security, transportation, the physical environment, UNHCR, security issues, education, religion, healthcare, and social capital/the social safety net. These interacted, overlapped and compounded each other, forming a ‘web of interrelated factors’ that affected participants’ health. Findings provide insight into the instrumental role of the sociopolitical context in structuring the lives of urban refugee women, and emphasize the importance of extending current discourse beyond refugee women’s needs and vulnerabilities to consider their resilience and agency in situations of significant hardship. / Graduate / 2015-03-28 / 0573

In this study I use semi-structured interviews and participant observation, in an intersectional and post-colonial theoretical framework, to look at one specific aspect of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory: the restrictions of movement that are a result of the occupation, and how these influence different groups of the population in different ways, more specifically by analysing intersections of gender and age.  I consider not only restrictions caused by physical barriers, but also barriers caused by fear of violence or detainments and arrests. In the second part of the study I analyse strategies of resistance against the issues caused by the restrictions of movement and their gendered aspects. I show how the effects of the Wall, barriers and restrictions of movement are gendered and age-related, identifying multiple vulnerable locations at different intersections of gender and age. I also demonstrate how both individual strategies of resistance and the possibilities to participate in organised forms of resistance are gendered.

Female musicians and actors are being disadvanteged in the music industry, because of standards that prevents women from participating on equal terms. Unequal distribution of resources and status depends on power structures which creates an hierarchy. This study is about how an organization, Femtastic, works for equality and diversity in the field of music, how they experience their positions and their possibilities. Also how they relate to the cultural policy objectives. Femtastic is trying to create a structural change in the male-dominated music industry. The study was based on interviews with members from Femtastic and shows that all of the interviewed members have experienced different kinds of resistance in the music industry, because of their gender. Femtastic is an example of how other organizations can work with these issues in order to create an equal music industry, characterized by diversity. I’m using a gender and an intersectionalitative perspective. This is a qualitative study, the purpose is to problematize and observe inequalities. Also to bring a greater insight in the importance of having an intersectionality perspective when investigating gender equality issues. This perspective describes how various power structures interact and maintain each other. The study can support the development against inequalities based on categories such as gender, ethnicity and sexuality.

This study addresses methodological critiques of ethnicity research in organisations by combining intersectionality and identity work frameworks. Additionally, it extends intersectionality beyond its traditional focus on multiple disadvantage and demonstrates contextual sensitivity to ethnicity. Taking an individual constructivist stance, I examined ethnicity and its intersection with gender and seniority through an identity work lens. The research question was: How do senior black, Asian and minority ethnic women and men make meaning of episodes that raise the salience of their intersecting identities at work? The study investigated how 24 senior black, Asian and minority ethnic (BME) women and men constructed an understanding of their multiple-identified selves in response to affirming, contradictory or ambiguous identity-heightening work experiences. Respondents kept journals about episodes that raised the salience of their intersecting identities. Then, in interviews, they described the sense they made of the episodes and their responses to them. Following a template-based analysis of 101 accounts, a typology emerged of Accommodating, Refuting, Reconciling, Affirming and Exploratory identity work modes, describing senior BME individuals’ identity construction in response to identity-heightening episodes. I introduce ‘intersectional identity work’ to illustrate how individual (e.g. cognitive effort to reconcile a paradox), relational (e.g. a sense of responsibility and affinity for subordinate minority colleagues) and contextual (e.g. visibility resulting from demographic distribution in one’s immediate environment) factors influence intersecting senior, ethnic and gender constructions at work. Integrating intersectional and identity work perspectives to examine ethnicity demonstrates the dynamic interplay of multiple identity dimensions during meaning-making, the range of modes adopted and the intensity of effort expended by senior BME women and men during personal meaning-making. This approach makes a methodological contribution to ethnicity and intersectionality research. It also makes an empirical contribution to UK ethnicity and identity work research through the suggestive model of identity work modes and rich insight into senior BME individuals’ experiences at the juxtaposition of disadvantage and privilege.

The susceptibility of individuals to illness and disease is greatly influenced by context specific social determinants of health (SDH), yet there is a dearth of literature pertaining to SDH among refugees, particularly those residing in urban areas. The purpose of this study was to identify and generate empirical evidence on SDH among female refugees in Malaysia. It focused specifically on Rohingya refugees, a stateless and persecuted Muslim minority from Myanmar. Intersectionality formed the theoretical foundation of the study, which utilized a qualitative research design and employed an exploratory, applied research approach. Document review provided background and contextual information for primary data, which were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. The study was undertaken in affiliation with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and had two primary outputs: it provided UNHCR with information and recommendations to inform context-specific program and policy development, and it generated rich empirical findings that contribute to the nascent evidence base on SDH in the context of forced migration. Results indicate that key factors affecting the health and wellbeing of Rohingya women include: their journey from Myanmar to Malaysia, income, employment, food security, transportation, the physical environment, UNHCR, security issues, education, religion, healthcare, and social capital/the social safety net. These interacted, overlapped and compounded each other, forming a ‘web of interrelated factors’ that affected participants’ health. Findings provide insight into the instrumental role of the sociopolitical context in structuring the lives of urban refugee women, and emphasize the importance of extending current discourse beyond refugee women’s needs and vulnerabilities to consider their resilience and agency in situations of significant hardship. / Graduate / 0573

The purpose of this narrative study is to understand the experience of ESL female teachers in postsecondary education. The ESL female teachers will be defined as female teachers who speak English as a second language. The study asks the following research questions: What are the lived experiences of ESL female teachers in postsecondary education? How do ESL female teachers in postsecondary education narrate their experiences and negotiate their teacher identities? How can the above understanding contribute to the inclusion of ESL female teachers in an increasingly diversified educational landscape? The researcher adopts an intersectional stance and a poststructuralist understanding of subjectivity and positioning to study identity. Life story interviews and narrative inquiry are utilized as methodology to collect stories from ESL female teachers teaching in postsecondary education and to retell the same so as to achieve an informed understanding of the phenomenon under study. The study reveals that the participants have experienced an intersection of multiple identities which collectively function to marginalize them under the discourse of difference as deficit. Apart from efforts to adapt to the dominant discourse, the participants have also acted to utilize their multiple identities so as to resist negative positioning. The participants’ experiences have posed questions concerning what institutional and systemic changes are needed in order to help their inclusion in postsecondary education. / Graduate / fuhong2015@gmail.com

The unique meanings people of varying cultures and religions assign to dating behaviours/abuse along with the context in which these meanings are created are largely neglected in dating abuse research. Applying intersectionality, I examine understandings of dating behaviours/abuse from the perspective of South Asian Muslims in Canada. To unravel the context in which these perceptions are formed, I use intersecting characteristics that emerged as themes in 11 qualitative interviews, which include: individual identities, influences of South Asian Muslim and mainstream Western cultures, and personal perceptions of dating. The majority of participants used religion, cultures, and nations as identifiers, perceived their communities to be opposed to dating, and felt pressure to date stemming from Western society. I argue that these intersect to shape their personal perceptions of dating and the meanings and significance of dating behaviours/abuse, which revolved around: significance of exposure and sexual behaviours, control, relationship attachment, and psychological behaviours/abuse. / UOIT

This study addresses methodological critiques of ethnicity research in organisations by combining intersectionality and identity work frameworks. Additionally, it extends intersectionality beyond its traditional focus on multiple disadvantage and demonstrates contextual sensitivity to ethnicity. Taking an individual constructivist stance, I examined ethnicity and its intersection with gender and seniority through an identity work lens. The research question was: How do senior black, Asian and minority ethnic women and men make meaning of episodes that raise the salience of their intersecting identities at work? The study investigated how 24 senior black, Asian and minority ethnic (BME) women and men constructed an understanding of their multiple-identified selves in response to affirming, contradictory or ambiguous identity-heightening work experiences. Respondents kept journals about episodes that raised the salience of their intersecting identities. Then, in interviews, they described the sense they made of the episodes and their responses to them. Following a template-based analysis of 101 accounts, a typology emerged of Accommodating, Refuting, Reconciling, Affirming and Exploratory identity work modes, describing senior BME individuals’ identity construction in response to identity-heightening episodes. I introduce ‘intersectional identity work’ to illustrate how individual (e.g. cognitive effort to reconcile a paradox), relational (e.g. a sense of responsibility and affinity for subordinate minority colleagues) and contextual (e.g. visibility resulting from demographic distribution in one’s immediate environment) factors influence intersecting senior, ethnic and gender constructions at work. Integrating intersectional and identity work perspectives to examine ethnicity demonstrates the dynamic interplay of multiple identity dimensions during meaning-making, the range of modes adopted and the intensity of effort expended by senior BME women and men during personal meaning-making. This approach makes a methodological contribution to ethnicity and intersectionality research. It also makes an empirical contribution to UK ethnicity and identity work research through the suggestive model of identity work modes and rich insight into senior BME individuals’ experiences at the juxtaposition of disadvantage and privilege.

Title: If you can not be seen - You do not exist: A quantitative study of how gender and other socialfactors affect the degree of visibility in the Swedish newscasts of Aktuellt and Rapport. (Syns duinte � finns du inte: En kvantitativ studie om inverkan av kön och andra sociala aspekter påmänniskors synlighet i Aktuellt och Rapport).Number of pages: 46Author: Helena HuhtaTutor: Martin FredrikssonCourse: Media and Communication Science CPeriod: Autumn of 2009University: Division of Informatics and Media, Uppsala UniversityPurpose/Aim: The aim of this study has been to investigate to what degree women and menparticipate in the newscasts of Aktuellt and Rapport, broadcast on the Swedish public servicechannels of SVT 1 and SVT 2. Furthermore, I have also looked into how social identities, such asage and ethnicity, affect the degree of representation for each gender, respectively. Some of thebasic research questions comprise: 1. how much space is given to men compared to women in termsof: number of participants for each gender, speaking time and position in the news order? 2. Howdo the roles differ for male and female participants in terms of position and topic? 3. How do ageand ethnicity affect the degree of visibility for men and women in Aktuellt and Rapport?Material/Method: This study has been carried out as a quantitative content analysis of Aktuellt andRapport, during ten weekdays in October and November of 2009. The research units included in thestudy consist of all people visible and talking actively, on screen during the domestic news, of saidperiod, in Aktuellt and Rapport.Main results: The results show that men are more visible than women, due to there being a largernumber of male participants, and men also having a tendency to get longer speaking times.Regarding roles, women participate to a much greater extent as private persons than men - the latterrather being made visible as representatives. The main subject areas between the genders also differ, where women usually occur in a “soft news” context, and men in “hard news” context.When looking into the intersection between gender and age, the newscasts have a tendency todisplay younger females and older males. Hence, the female participants seem to have adiminishing chance of being seen as they grow older, while there is an opposite tendency for maleparticipants.Finally, regarding the intersection between ethnicity and gender, the study has shown that thegenders are more evenly represented among people of a non Swedish origin. The ethnic minoritiesare, however, underrepresented in these newscasts as a whole.Keywords: gender, ethnicity, age, intersectionality, news, media, representation.