自第七屆起立法委員減半為113席次，任期由3年改為4年，立法院已真正成為我國「單一國會」。隨之立法院的功能也就跟著大幅提升，所選出來的立法委員除了更具民意基礎之外，也得以充分反映民意和選民利益，同時隨著立法委員全面改選和席次增加後，除了依法編制的公務單位及行政人員襄助立法委員行使職權外，立法委員個人所聘用的公費助理人數較過去大幅提升，其能發揮的功能性，直接影響每一位委員的問政表現。 由於國會助理的聘期為一年一聘制，與立法委員同進退，因此，在非自願性離職的情況下，立法委員未連任或不再參選而離職的國會助理不在少數，另外也有因政治理念不合，或另覓更好的工作環境條件而自願離職的也佔大多數。然而第七屆立委減半後，直接衝擊最大的是近兩千名國會助理，面臨非自願性離職的失業潮，因此立法委員是否繼續連任，更是主要攸關助理們去留的命運。 本研究的主要動機，乃在於探討離職後的國會助理，在失去政治權力的環境下，應如何未雨綢繆做好生涯規劃？進而從非自願性失業的現象，深入探究國會助理制度的缺失。離職後的國會助理，從事哪方面的行業較容易得心應手？以及曾擔任國會助理工作的資歷，對轉業到底有多少的助益？將加以深入探討。 本研究目的主要是探討國會助理面對非自願性失業後，未來生涯規劃之情況；以及分析在失去國會權力光環的政治環境下，國會助理轉業後對目前的工作滿意；爾後根據研究結果，提供國會助理轉換跑道時之建議和參考。 本研究採質化研究之深度訪談法，總計訪談12位因委員未能順利連任當選第七屆立法委員，以致於非自願性失業的國會助理。經本研究結果發現如下： 一、雖有流動、不出委員範疇：第四屆至第六屆立委席次擴增為225席後，國會助理們會因為立委席次的增加，有多方面選擇委員辦公室的就業機會，因此助理流動率雖高，卻仍然始終在委員與委員辦公室之間流竄。 二、不適應者、回歸助理者眾：甚至有部分助理轉換至其他產業界後，在不能適應外界工作環境下，重返立法院繼續擔任國會助理工作的不在其數。 三、缺乏配套、助理權益難保：如今第七屆立委減半後，委員辦公室的選擇性減少，且由於委員辦公室助理流動率低，再加上立法院遲遲未能針對國會助理制度，訂定一套完整的配套措施，來保障國會助理應有的權益。 四、優勢蛻減、選擇不再戀棧：反觀之，在產官學界的工作條件（如：薪資、升遷、福利、教育訓練）優於國會助理的情況下，即使立委減半後，在僧多粥少的環境下，對於未來國會助理的評價與發展，仍抱持著悲觀的態度，助理們紛紛選擇不再戀棧立法院。 本研究根據研究發現，提出以下五點建議： 一、由於大多數國會助理認為此份工作並非長治久安，對於未來的生涯規劃，仍是需要按部就班的計畫。 二、卸任的立委諸公們，通常在自身難保的情況下，未能有計畫安排助理的出路，助理們只能自求多福，積極尋找適合何自己的下一個伯樂。 三、國會助理的行業雖不具有保障性，但在無形中所創造出自我的附加價值，將使其資歷在轉換其他行業時成為很大的助益。 四、國會助理所負責的工作內容複雜且繁瑣，可藉由工作接觸累積人脈，建立個人的人際關係。 五、未來可朝向「國會助理專業證照制度」發展，爾後再制定國會助理法治化之相關法令，來保障國會助理的權益，以提升立法委員問政。 / Legislative seats for the 7th Legislative Yuan were halved to 113 and the term was extended from original 3 to 4 years. The Legislative Yuan has ever since been the “Unicameralism”. As the congress is empowered in functions, the members of the Legislative Yuan will fully reflect the public’s opinions and voters’ interests. After the re-election and the increase in seats, aside from receiving help from the public service units and staff, the legislators also receive assistance from the increased numbers of publicly funded assistants. The function of those assistants will directly impact on the performance of the legislators. The term of assistants lasts one-year, and they lose their jobs if the legislators lose the re-election. The assistants who leave also include those whose legislators did not get re-elected or they themselves no longer are candidates of legislators, this leads to the fact that many assistants involuntarily leave their jobs. Those leave voluntarily might be because of the different political ideas or they seek for a better working environment. But the tremendous impact came from the unemployment of those nearly 2000 assistants who lost their jobs non-voluntarily after the 7th Legislative Yuan. The main motive of this study was to explore how those assistants plan for their lives after leaving current job. And from the phenomenon of involuntary unemployment, the study focused on the shortcoming of the congressional assistant system. It explored which industry was easier for assistants who left their jobs to enter, and how their career as an assistant can be useful for their next job. The main purpose of this study was to explore how the assistants plan for their lives after leaving the job involuntarily. It also analyzed the job satisfaction of the ex-assistants after leaving the congress. The research provided some suggestions and advices for the assistants who change track in their career. This study adopted the qualitative, in-depth interviews, in total 12 assistants were interviewed, who left their job involuntarily. The findings of this study are as follows: 1. The increase in seats to 225 provided more job opportunities for the assistants, though the turnover rate was high, the assistant still worked in one of the offices in the congress. 2. There are many ex-assistants who could not adapt to the external environment returned to the congress. 3. The reduction of members of congress and the low turnover rate in the office after the 7th Legislative Yuan requires a supporting measure to protect the rights of assistants. 4. The external working conditions were better than the environments in congress. There were many assistants who chose not to stay in the Legislative Yuan. For example, in joining the academic, governmental or industrial community, the salary, benefits, promotion and training are better than what is offered in Legislative Yuan. Based on the research finding, the following five recommendations were proposed: 1. Since most assistants consider their current job is not a long-term career, they should plan their life in a more careful, step by step manner. 2. The non-incumbent legislators usually do not have a plan for the assistants while their own jobs are at risk. And assistants need to search for the next job by themselves. 3. The intangible added value of being assistants while they worked in the congress will help ex-assistants to adapt their next job. 4. The assistants’ job description includes being responsible for complex and tedious works, which will help them to develop personal relationships and connections. 5. In the future, the “Assistant Professional Certification” should be established. Relevant laws concerning the assistants should be passed to protect the rights of the assistants and to enhance quality of policy decisions made by the legislators.

Text in Afrikaans / Suid-Afrika ondervind reeds geruime tyd hoe en stygende vlakke van werkloosheid. Gedurende die tagtigerjare bet die opkoms van vakbonde 'n fundamentele herstrukturering van die Suid-Afrikaanse arbeidsmark veroorsaak en die styging in werkloosheid gedurende die tydperk word dikwels aan vakbondoptrede toegeskryf. In die studie word verskillende oorsake van werkloosheid aan die hand van die klassieke, Keynesiaanse, natuurlike werkloosheidskoers- en nie-versnellende-inflasiewerkloosheidskoersbenaderings ondersoek ten einde die invloed van vakbonde en loononaanpasbaarheid op werkloosheid te probeer bepaal. Ooreenkomste sowel as verskille tussen die teoriee word geidentifiseer. Dit wil voorkom asof vakbonde gedurende die tagtigerjare in Suid-Afrika deur middel van bulle invloed op . loonverhogings 'n betreklik geringe invloed op werkloosheid gehad bet en dat loononaanpasbaarheid geensins 'n beduidende faktor was nie. Dit blyk ook dat die Keynesiaanse benadering die toepaslikste raamwerk hied vir die ontleding van hoe vlakke van werkloosheid en die invloed van vakbonde daarop. · / High and rising levels of unemployment have been experienced in South Africa for quite some time. The rise in trade union activity during the eighties caused a fundamental restructuring of the South African labour market and the increase in unemployment during this period is often blamed on trade union activity. In this study the classical approach, the Keynesian approach, the natural rate of unemployment and the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment are used to examine the different causes of unemployment with the purpose of assessing the influence of trade unions and wage rigidity on the level of unemployment. Similarities as well as differences between the theories are identified. It appears that trade unions had a marginal effect on unemployment in South Africa during the eighties through their influence on wage increases and that wage rigidity was not a significant cause of unemployment during this period. The Keynesian approach seems to be the most appropriate framework to analyse the causes of high levels of unemployment as well as the influence of trade unions on unemployment. / Department of Economics / M. Comm (Economics)

This thesis examined the 2004 SA higher education merger processes in order to determine the extent to which these mergers have achieved in the context of the broader transformation goals of the post-1994 government’s policy objectives. Mergers have become part of the South African higher education landscape and system since their implementation in 2004. The merger process induced the reduction of higher education institutions from 36 to 23 (at least until 2012 at the time of writing this report). The merger implementation process itself was not voluntary. Some South African universities did not just willingly opt for the transformation process. It took the government a range of strategies, elaborate consultations and ‘carrot and stick’ approaches to convince some of the targeted institutions. The merger was not only limited to physical reconfiguration, but also to the systemic aspects motivated by the need to open the doors of learning and culture to all South Africans without barriers of ethnicity, race and other forms of discrimination. The ‘ivory tower’ universities had to be reigned into the national transformation project as well. Curriculum which was mainly crafted from an epistemological-ideological premise of the supremacy of Afrikaans as a language of the government of the day and the employer of choice had to be reviewed. Admission criteria, advanced access restrictions to the majority of black students to urban and more advanced universities, also warranted scrutiny / Public Administration / Ph. D. (Public Administration)

Studiens syfte är att fånga brukarperspektivet och dess upplevda konsekvenser av en ofrivillig förändring i befintliga boendemiljön, på grund av en offentlig konkurrensupphandling. Studien är genomförd med kvalitativ metod och insamlandet av empirin gjorde jag genom semistrukturerade intervjuer.  Intervjupersonerna tillika brukarna i studien har en lindrig intellektuell funktionsnedsättning.   Den tidigare forskningen och teoretiska utgångspunkt för studien är brukarperspektiv, förändring, social identitet och Antonovskys (2009) teorier om känsla av sammanhang, KASAM.   Intervjupersonerna i studien beskriver processen som en lång och kaotisk tid med hög psykisk press, vilket går att jämföra med en traumatisk kris. De upplever sig inte vara delaktiga i förändringen utan beskriver sig stå utanför handlingens centrum. De beskriver att de inte fått tillräckligt med anpassad information om vad den kommande förändringen innebär och saknar förmåga att tolka den abstrakta ofrivilliga förändringen. Intervjupersonerna uppfattar att besluten är tagna utan deras delaktighet och att de står utan påverkansmöjligheter. Samtliga beskriver att de fått fysiska besvär av olika slag på grund av upphandlingsprocessen. De uttrycker en låg grad av begriplighet, hanterbarhet och meningsfullhet i händelserna. Intervjupersonerna menar att beslutet att byta utförare känns oförklarligt och beskriver den kommande verksamhetsövergången som meningslös och de önskar att den inte ska bli verklighet. Intervjupersonerna upplevde att personalen utgjorde en viktig del av deras i övrigt glesa sociala nätverk. Intervjupersonerna beskriver att personalen varit obeslutsamma kring om de ska arbeta kvar eller inte. Intervjupersonerna förstår inte varför personal väljer att sluta och tolkar besluten som att det beror på dem själva och upplever sig bli bortvalda av personalen. Studien visar på behov av att utveckla arbetsmetoder som fångar brukarnas frågeställningar och funderingar för att bättre kunna förbereda dem på en kommande förändring av den här digniteten. Studien visar att intervjupersonerna hamnar i en komplex och mycket utsatt marginaliserande situation vid en verksamhetsövergång efter en offentlig konkurrensupphandling. / The aim of the study is to capture the perceived consequences of an involuntary change after a public competitive procurement of an existing group-home with special services, from a care taker/service user’s perspective. The study was conducted with qualitative method, and the collection of empirical evidence was through interviews. Respondents and users in the study have a mild intellectual disabilities.   The previous research and the theoretical starting point that the study had been in is; service user perspective, change models, social identity and Antonovsky's (2009) theories of SOC, sense of coherence.   The service users in the study describes a chaotic time with mental pressure during the change process, which can be comparable with traumatic crisis. They experienced fear and felt that the change was difficult to understand. The users describe a lack of knowledge of the upcoming changes. They felt they were unable to interpret and organize the communicative information that they had received. They identified that decisions were taken over their heads and had the feeling that they were without influence during the whole process. All respondents described different physical symptoms as consequents of the procurement. The service users express a low degree of comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness in the whole process and experience fear and the decisions seems inexplicable and nonsensical. They describe the future business transition as a burden and an unfortunate circumstance they wish to get undone. They feel themselves not to be involved in the upcoming change, and describes that they are outside the center of act and therefor choose to focus on the staffs decision whether they will stay or quit their posts. They blame themselves when members of the staff decide to quit and they feel themselves to be eliminated by the staff.   The social context of the users turned out to contain sparse networks and property staff emerged as a significant and important part of their lives. The study demonstrates the need to develop working methods that capture the user’s questions and concerns in order to better prepare them for upcoming changes. The study shows that users end up in a complex and very exposed situation and are marginalized in the process of a public competitive procurement.

Infertilitet är ett relativt vanligt hälsoproblem i dagens samhälle. Infertilitet kan uppstå som resultat av en sjukdom där en störning av reproduktiva kroppsfunktioner hindrar uppkomsten av en graviditet och födsel av ett barn. Flertalet kvinnor som senarelägger starten på barnafödandet löper en större risk att drabbas av primär och sekundär infertilitet. Barnlöshet går inte alltid att förebygga och alla kvinnor som önskar att få barn kan inte alltid få barn. Syftet med det här arbetet var att belysa kvinnors upplevelse av ofrivillig barnlöshet efter misslyckade försök att bli mamma. Litteraturöversikt är den metod som har valts för att besvara syftet med det här arbetet. Integrerad analys är den dataanalysmetod som har används. Resultatet visar att isolering från omgivningen är vanlig förekommande bland kvinnor som är ofrivilligt barnlösa. Ofrivilligt barnlösa kvinnor kunde uppleva sin kropp som ett hinder för konception, vilket gav dem känslan av att vara ofullständiga i jämförelse med andra kvinnor. Sorgen över barnlösheten var ständigt närvarande hos kvinnorna. När kvinnorna accepterar sin situation som barnlös sker en personlig mognad och de börjar lägga fokus på sig själva och mål som är uppnåbara. Slutsatsen som framkommer i det här arbetet är att kvinnorna i den här litteraturöversikten oavsett kulturell bakgrund har liknande upplevelser i sin längtan efter ett barn. Att vara ofrivillig barnlös är en stor påfrestning för den som är drabbad. Det är av stor vikt att ofrivilligt barnlösa kvinnor erbjuds emotionellt stöd under sorgeprocessen som följer barnlösheten samt att stötta dem att identifiera strategier för att hantera sorgen.

Notre étude porte sur les personnages féminins de Marcel Proust à l'aide du « désir » de René Girard, du « don » de Marcel Mauss et des « focalisations » de Gérard Genette. La focalisation variable dans le récit facilite la compréhension de toutes les relations et en particulier des sentiments amoureux du héros pour les femmes. Il croit pouvoir réaliser ses rêves à travers ces femmes et se réjouit à l'idée de posséder les clés qui lui permettent d'entrer dans le monde qu'il recherche. Ce sera le narrateur vieillissant qui démystifiera ce sentiment. En réalité, sa satisfaction ne provient pas des femmes en elles-mêmes, mais de leurs qualités périphériques qu'il peut retrouver chez elles. Girard défend le désir des mauvais procédés, il parle également du mimétisme, de la rivalité et de la violence dans le désir qui relève de l'imagination. Le « désir girardien » définit correctement le désir maladif du jeune héros envers les femmes. Quant à Mauss, il défend une réciprocité de la reconnaissance comme « trois obligations » afin de pouvoir constituer une bonne relation sociale. Il dévoile principalement les bons procédés tels l'amitié, l'amour et l'échange de cadeaux, mais il traite aussi du sujet de la rivalité. Ces deux théories semblent contradictoires, cependant le désir et le don coexistent dans la Recherche, on les retrouve tous deux au fur et à mesure de notre relecture. La poursuite de l'amitié et de la gloire sociale du héros est défaite, pourtant toutes les pages sur l'art nous montrent la philosophie de Proust, ce qui n'est pas possible par l'amour est possible grâce à la littérature. La Recherche parle de la compréhension de la vie ce qui est un don du romancier. / My research focuses on the female characters in In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust from the perspective of the "desire" of René Girard, the "gift" of Marcel Mauss and the "focus" of Gérard Genette. The variable focus in the narrative facilitates the comprehension of all relationships, connections and in particular the passion and the varied emotional projections of the hero for these women. He believes that his dreams will come true through these women. It will be the narrator, another "me" of the hero, who will demystify this feeling. In fact, his satisfaction is not in regard to the women themselves, but to the peripheral qualities that he can find from these women. Girard defends the desire of bad processes, he talks about the mimicry, rivalry and violence in desire which is also from the imagination. Girard's theory of mimetic desire composed of envy, jealousy and helpless hatred corresponds exactly to the unhealthy desire of the young hero for these women. The theory of Mauss regarding mutual recognition as being composed of "three obligations" which constitute a good social relationship. He defends not only the good processes like friendship, love and gift exchange, but also the topic of rivalry. It might seem that these two theories are contradictory, but Desire and the Gift coexist in fact in this novel, we can find them in our new interpretation. The hero's pursuit of friendship and social glory is defeated, however all pages on art shows us the philosophy of Proust, which is not possible by love is possible through literature. In Search of Lost Time is a gift of the author, it's a comprehension all about life.

[pt] Esta dissertação analisará a (re)produção das formas de controles de corpos e sexualidades em diferentes espaços e tempos. Tal análise é possível através do entendimento, desenvolvido em trabalhos anteriores, de que o pensamento moldado pela Inquisição e a caça às bruxas na Idade Média foi reproduzido durante a construção do Brasil enquanto sociedade. No trabalho presente, será somada a tal entendimento a hipótese de que o pensamento medieval continua permeando o imaginário social da sociedade brasileira na atualidade. Para tal, serão analisadas práticas de esterilização involuntárias de mulheres negras no Brasil a partir da década de 1980; assim como, discursos e práticas violentas contra a comunidade LGBTQIA+ (Lésbicas, Gays, Bissexuais, Travestis/Transexuais/Transgêneros, Queers, Intersexuais, Agêneros/Assexuais/Arromânticos e outras possibilidades de orientação sexual e identificação de gênero) perpetrados por grupos contra a ideologia de gênero, representados aqui em grande parte por membros do governo Bolsonaro. Com base em correntes teóricas feministas, principalmente dos feminismos negro e decolonial, serão ressaltados os efeitos das posicionalidades de gênero, sexualidade e raça dos sujeitos alvos de violência. / [en] This dissertation will analyze the (re)production of forms of control of bodies and sexualities in different spaces and times. Such an analysis is possible through the understanding, developed in previous works, that the thought shaped by the Inquisition and the witch hunt in the Middle Ages was reproduced during the construction of Brazil as a society. In the present work, it will be added to this understanding the hypothesis that the medieval thought continues to permeate the social imaginary of Brazilian society today. To this end, involuntary sterilization practices of black women in Brazil from the 1980s will be analyzed; as well as, violent speeches and practices against the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Trans/Transsexual/Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexuals/Aromantics and other possibilities of sexual orientation and gender identification) community perpetrated by groups against the gender ideology, represented here largely by members of the Bolsonaro government. Based on feminist theoretical currents, mainly black and decolonial feminisms, the effects of the gender, sexuality and race positions of the subjects targeted by violence will be highlighted.

L’autorisation judiciaire de soins (AJS) est utilisée dans le domaine de la santé mentale afin de permettre le traitement d’une personne alors que celle-ci est jugée inapte à consentir à ses soins et qu’elle les refuse de manière catégorique. L’utilisation de cette mesure d’exception est en augmentation à travers le monde (Rugkåsa et Burns, 2017), malgré ses résultats variables en termes retombées clinique, sociale et économique et ses impacts négatifs importants sur la vie de la personne qui en est visée (Kisely, Campbell et O'Reilly, 2017). La dimension coercitive inhérente à l’AJS complexifie le travail auprès de cette clientèle, alors que l’infirmière est appelée à promouvoir le rétablissement et l’autodétermination de la personne tout en devant lui imposer un traitement non désiré (Corring, O'Reilly, Sommerdyk et Russell, 2018). La relation thérapeutique étant reconnue comme étant la pierre angulaire des soins infirmiers de santé mentale en apportant de nombreux bénéfices pour la personne soignée, il est essentiel de comprendre l’influence de l’AJS sur celle-ci. À ce jour, peu d’études ont porté sur la relation thérapeutique dans le contexte des AJS, ne permettant pas une compréhension approfondie de ce sujet. Guidée par la théorie du Recovery Alliance Theory (Shanley et Jubb-Shanley, 2007), cette étude qualitative descriptive avait pour but de décrire la relation thérapeutique en contexte d’AJS selon la perspective d’infirmières et de personnes vivant avec un problème de santé mentale. Des analyses secondaires ont été réalisées à partir d’entrevues individuelles auprès d’infirmières (n=9) et de personnes étant ou ayant été sous AJS (n=6) provenant de trois instituts en santé mentale selon la méthode de Miles, Huberman et Saldaña (2020). La relation thérapeutique a été décrite comme fondamentalement ancrée dans une inégalité de pouvoir qui est amplifiée par l’AJS. Les résultats mettent en lumière les liens complexes existant entre la relation thérapeutique et l’AJS et font ressortir la divergence des perspectives des infirmières et des personnes quant à la possibilité de développer cette relation. Les personnes sous AJS ont rejeté l’idée de pouvoir développer une relation de confiance dans ce contexte, décrivant des interactions superficielles, utilitaires et unidirectionnelles avec les infirmières. La perspective des infirmières a montré que celles-ci croient en la possibilité de développer une relation thérapeutique, malgré les contraintes qui leur sont imposées par l’AJS. En effet, celles-ci engendrent un conflit au niveau des différents rôles que les infirmières doivent intégrer dans leur pratique, l’un étant guidé par leur responsabilité légale et l’autre par leur pratique professionnelle. À la lumière de ces résultats, les infirmières devraient être sensibilisées à la perspective des personnes sous AJS, tout en bénéficiant d’un soutien pour les accompagner dans la gestion de cette mesure amenant une complexité à leur travail et au développement de la relation thérapeutique. D’autres études sont nécessaires afin d’explorer des pistes de solution pour permettre à l’infirmière et à la personne de développer une relation thérapeutique en dehors des contraintes imposées par l’AJS. / Involuntary treatment orders (ITO) are used in the mental health field to allow for treatment of individuals living with a mental illness considered incapable of giving consent and who are actively refusing treatment. The use of this exceptional measure is increasing around the world, with a presence in 75 different jurisdictions (Rugkåsa et Burns, 2017), despite its conflicting results in terms of clinical, social and financial outcomes and its negative impacts on the patients (Kisely et al., 2017). The coercive dimension inherent to the ITO poses many challenges for the nursing practice, as nurses must promote recovery and self-determination while having to impose an unwanted treatment (Corring et al., 2018). Since the nurse-patient therapeutic relationship is the cornerstone of mental health nursing, allowing many benefits for the patient’s health and well-being, it is essential to better understand the influence the ITO has on this relationship. Few studies have been carried on the therapeutic relationship in the context of ITOs, which does not allow for a comprehensive understanding of the subject. Guided by the Recovery Alliance Theory (Shanley et Jubb-Shanley, 2007), this study aimed to describe the therapeutic relationship in the context of ITOs as reported by nurses and individuals living with a mental illness. Secondary data analysis of qualitative data was performed from individual interviews with nurses (n=9) and patients who are or have already been on an ITO (n=6). Data were collected from three mental health and forensic psychiatric institutes and were analyzed using a process of content analysis (Miles et al., 2020). The therapeutic relationship was described as fundamentally imbedded in a power imbalance amplified by the ITO. Results highlight the complex links between the therapeutic relationship and the ITO and the divergent perspectives of nurses and patients on the possibility to develop this relationship. Patients rejected the possibility of developing a trusting relationship in this context, describing interactions with nurses as superficial, utilitarian, and unidirectional. The nurses’ perspective showed that nurses do believe in the possibility to build a therapeutic relationship despite the challenges caused by the ITO. Indeed, the ITO generates conflict between the different roles of the nurses, one being guided by their legal responsibility and the other by their professional practice. In light of these results, nurses should be made aware of the perception of patients on ITOs, while benefiting from support to assist them in the management of this measure which brings many challenges to their practice and to the development of the therapeutic relationship. Further studies should explore possible solutions to allow the nurse and the patient to develop a therapeutic relationship outside the constraints of the ITO.

This paper aims to investigate how needs assessors in the municipality experience their work with elderly people who experience loneliness, and what different types of support measures they can offer. In addition the paper looks into the discretion which the needs assessors use to provide the elderly people with care that is adapted to individual needs. This qualitative study has been carried out conducting semi-structured interviews with seven needs assessors from five different municipalities. The findings indicate that the work with elderly people experiencing loneliness is very much a question of interpretation. Loneliness can manifest itself in different ways and is not always easy to talk about, nor to interpret. The study also shows that individual assessments can be difficult to implement due to strict guidelines and a tight budget. However, the work towards helping-and supporting elder people and acknowledging the issue of loneliness in later life is an important matter for both older people and needs assessors.

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