The purpose of the thesis was to explore what students within vocational education are expected to learn and the practices that constitute vocational education in Swedish upper secondary school. The empirical basis for the thesis is two studies, both of which have been reported separately. In the first study, twelve vocational teachers were interviewed sequentially. Classroom observations were made of the tasks their students worked with and these supplemented the interviews. The second study consists of case studies of five teachers in academic subjects within vocational education. Here sequential interviews of the teachers and classroom observations of the tasks their students worked with were supplemented with group interviews of their students and, in two cases, of collaborating vocational teachers. A social perspective on knowing and learning was used for analysing data. The results from the interviews with the vocational teachers show that what they wanted their students to learn in vocational education (their object) is related to vocational knowing but is not the same thing. Knowing in school can be regarded as preparation for work within the respective vocational area, as preparation for further learning and as preparation for citizenship. The first category relates to vocational knowing, whereas the latter two relate to a broader commission of education in late modernity – the risk and uncertainty of the future work situation that the students are likely to encounter. The tasks were analysed regarding their content, form, and the tools used for completing the tasks. Three categories of tasks were construed: school tasks, simulated tasks and vocational tasks. School tasks are characterised by that they employ the practice of school, whereas the vocational tasks employ the practice of the respective vocation. Simulated tasks are specific in that they allow a testing and correction of the result before the job is done. Through school tasks the students were introduced into a new content. Vocational tasks were used in bridging school and work. Besides the obvious tools of the respective vocation, texts were also used as tools in the work with the tasks. Most texts were vocational texts, i.e. texts that were used in similar ways in school as within the vocation. The second study, case studies of five teachers in academic subjects within vocational education, focused the infused tasks their students worked with. These results showed that the teachers used three different steering documents for planning their work: the national curriculum for upper secondary school, the objectives of the respective programme, and the syllabuses for their subject. By using all three documents, they were able to construct infused tasks. These tasks made it possible for the students to see other aspects of their respective vocational area than within the vocational subjects, e.g. the environmental work, historical aspects etc. The texts the academic teachers used were not the same as those used by vocational teachers. These texts were texts ‘imposed by others’ (e.g. local authorities) but also used for work within the vocation. The ‘theorisation’ of vocational education, that has been claimed to be a consequence of the academic subjects, can be seen rather as a change within the vocations from an oral to a literate culture. In completing many of the tasks observed, theoretical knowledge from different domains, as well as skills were needed. Vocational education as a purely ‘practical’ education is therefore a myth. A variety of texts were used within vocational education for the work, mostly as tools. The literate practices of vocational education are similar to the literate practices of the vocations rather than to those of school. New tools seem to change working life and vocational education as well. This implies that a different kind of vocational knowing is needed. When employers control or simulate production processes instead of doing the manual work, vocational knowing becomes something else. This new kind of work is dependent on a different kind of experience. Thus the theorisation of the vocational education is a theorisation – or rather an abstraction – on many levels. Some of them have been developed within the vocations, others are imposed from the outside. Three social practices, vocational education, working life and academic education, formally have a joint responsibility for the vocational education. Depending on if and to what extent they collaborate, the learning practices offered to the students will differ. With collaboration, as in these two studies, the students encounter learning practices where the content from each of the three contexts can be experienced as reembedded into new contexts. / <p>Därtill 4 uppsatser</p>

Under den senaste 20-års perioden har dataspelande ökat i popularitet bland stora delar av befolkningen i den industrialiserade västvärlden (Interactive Software Federation of Europe, 2012). Dataspel har gått från att vara en fritidssysselsättning som ungdomar ägnar sig åt till att ha blivit ett signifikant kulturellt fenomen som stora delar av befolkningen ägnar sig åt. Dataspelande är dock fortfarande vanligast förekommande bland ungdomar av manligt kön (Verheijen, Burk, Stoltz, van den Berg, &amp; Cillessen, 2019). Denna studies syfte är att undersöka vilka drivkrafter medelålders män har till att spela dataspel online samt att söka en djupare förståelse för hur dataspelandet påverkar de medelålders männens självbild och känsla av tillhörighet. Den valda metoden är av kvalitativ karaktär och insamling av empiri har skett genom semistrukturerade intervjuer som genomförts med sex medelålders män som spelar tillsammans via Internet. Studiens teoretiska ramverk består av Anthony Giddens och Stuart Halls teorier om identitet och identitetsskapande i det senmoderna samhället samt Randall Collins teori om sociala interaktionsritualer. Resultatet pekar på att medelålders mäns motiv till att spela dataspel i en online-miljö främst är att få tillgång till social interaktion och därigenom ha möjligheter till att bygga vänskapsnätverk. Informanternas spelande utgör ett slags virtuell och digital interaktionsritual som bidrar till att skapa en avslappnad miljö som tillåter informanterna att ladda sig med positiv emotionell energi som bidrar till att de klarar av att hantera en stressfylld tillvaro i det verkliga livet. / During the past 20 years, computer games have grown in popularity among large parts of the population in the industrialized Western world (Interactive Software Federation of Europe, 2012). Computer games have gone from being a leisure activity that young people are engaged in to being a significant cultural phenomenon that large parts of the population engages in. However, computer gaming is still most common among young males (Verheijen, Burk, Stoltz, van den Berg, &amp; Cillessen, 2019). The purpose of this study is to investigate the driving forces behind middle-aged mens gaming online and to seek a deeper understanding of how the computer gaming affects the self-image and sense of belonging among these men. The chosen method is of a qualitative nature and the collection of empirical data has taken place through semi-structured interviews conducted with six middle-aged men who play together via the Internet. The study's theoretical framework consists of Anthony Gidden's and Stuart Hall's theories on identity and identity creation in the late modern society as well as Randall Collin's theory of social interaction rituals. The result points to the fact that middle-aged men's motives for playing computer games in an online environment are primarily to gain access to social interaction and thereby have the opportunity to build friendship networks. The informants act of gaming is a kind of virtual and digital interaction ritual that helps to create a relaxed environment that allows the informants to load up with positive emotional energy that helps them cope with a stressful existence in real life.

<p>The purpose of this essay is to examine how young members of Free Churches relate to issues connected with lifestyle and identity, based on the changed conditions for the self in late modernity. More specifically, I want to examine how they deal with the increased degree of detraditionalisation and institutional individualization in late modernity.</p><p>My research-question is:</p><p>How do young members of Free Churches relate to issues connected with lifestyle and identity, with the increased degree of personal freedom and institutional individualization in late modernity as a starting point?</p><p>The empiric part of the essay is carried out by qualitative in-depth interviews with five young members of Free Churches. These semi-structured interviews are focused on a number of different areas of the changed conditions for the self in late modernity.</p><p>My theoretical perspective has been constructed from the theories of Anthony Giddens, Zygmunt Bauman, Ulrich Beck and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim. From these theories a focus on certain relevant areas of the condition of the self in late modernity, has developed. These are work, consumption, marriage, love, sexuality, body and health.</p><p>The general way of relating to issues of lifestyle and identity that I could interpret from my interview-respondents’ answers was that they exercised a form of opposition against the dominant way of life in late modernity, in issues that can be connected to detraditionalisation. Examples of such issues are those related to marriage and sexuality. But they relate more according to the dominant late modern way of life, in issues that can be connected to the institutional individualization, such as issues of work, consumption and body.</p>

The purpose of this essay is to examine how young members of Free Churches relate to issues connected with lifestyle and identity, based on the changed conditions for the self in late modernity. More specifically, I want to examine how they deal with the increased degree of detraditionalisation and institutional individualization in late modernity. My research-question is: How do young members of Free Churches relate to issues connected with lifestyle and identity, with the increased degree of personal freedom and institutional individualization in late modernity as a starting point? The empiric part of the essay is carried out by qualitative in-depth interviews with five young members of Free Churches. These semi-structured interviews are focused on a number of different areas of the changed conditions for the self in late modernity. My theoretical perspective has been constructed from the theories of Anthony Giddens, Zygmunt Bauman, Ulrich Beck and Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim. From these theories a focus on certain relevant areas of the condition of the self in late modernity, has developed. These are work, consumption, marriage, love, sexuality, body and health. The general way of relating to issues of lifestyle and identity that I could interpret from my interview-respondents’ answers was that they exercised a form of opposition against the dominant way of life in late modernity, in issues that can be connected to detraditionalisation. Examples of such issues are those related to marriage and sexuality. But they relate more according to the dominant late modern way of life, in issues that can be connected to the institutional individualization, such as issues of work, consumption and body.

Despite a high degree of individualism, associationism is extensive in Sweden, and it is said to have contributed to the democratization of Swedish society. Cultural associations constitute a significant part of the cultural range. In recent years, however, alarming reports of reduced involvement and membership numbers have been announced. The purpose of this study is to qualitatively investigate how cultural associations in Karlstad's municipality relate to general social development with a reduced membership flow in the associationism. The survey was conducted through semi-structured interviews with persons who have a trust assignment or some other relationship with cultural associations in Karlstad. The result was analyzed by content analysis. The survey shows a consistent view that there is a problem about either the commitment or the number of members and that the situation has changed over time, but also that the complexity of differences between different cultural associations makes it impossible to draw a general conclusion about the cultural associations as a unit. Generally, people with trust assignments in cultural associations experience the cultural associations standing stable. Some associations decrease in size or disappear, while others start or expand their activities. Persons with trust assignments within and in relation to cultural associations, holds a consistent view of the importance of associations for the rest of society, as they are considered important for democracy.

The theoretical and conceptual maturity, the debate between environmental sciences and late modernity, through discussion of issues relating to the reproduction of socioeconomic disparities en environmental transformations. Thus, this research seeks to answer: The implementation of the National Park of Serra de Itabaiana, as the embodiment of preservation initiative, has contributed to the overcoming of social inequalities in villages Rio das Pedras, World, Gandu I, Gandu II, Lake of the Ovens I and II, the city Itabaiana of Chico Gomes, Areia Branca. What are the economic strategies used by potters and pottery found in the vicinity of Parnassus, to enable their activities? What is the responsiveness of pottery and ceramics to legal requirements arising from implementation of the park? So the objective is to: 1) characterize the economic strategies and capacity of pottery and ceramics of these villages to fulfill legal requirements arising from implementation of Parnassus, 2) identify the possible use of funds from the pottery and ceramics by Parnassus, 3) analyze transformations experienced by these units of production as a result of actions of sustainable development and its possible role in rebuilding social inequalities. To answer the questions and achieve the proposed objectives, we will use the concepts of modernity, environmental conflict and criticism of the notion of sustainable development. This explains the theoretical interconnectivity between different areas of knowledge, predominantly complexity, global and interdisciplinary nature of environmental problems. The investigation of processes of modernization, based on structuration theory, the idea is hypothesized that the creation of Parnassus is configured in the act of entering the region in late modernity in favor of the holders of power, personified in the potters. The methodological approach for the execution of the research is based on qualitative research associated with the ethnographic method. Instruments such as field research, semi-structured interviews with audio recording, document research, were the tools of data collection. The investigation relied on interviews with the owners of the pottery and ceramics and researchers involved in the implementation of Parnassus. Analysis of the interviews was operationalized through the dismemberment of the text, examining the complex variables and phenomena relating to the theory of the structure and concepts of modernity, based on the thematic oral history. Os findings affirm the invisibility of social actors in the institutionalization of the park, This context creates the prerequisite for social and environmental conflicts. The environmental problems that region falls within the overall context of modernity partially excluding the potteries of some modern institutional dimensions. / O amadurecimento teórico-conceitual, no debate entre ciências ambientais e modernidade tardia, via discussão das questões referentes à reprodução das disparidades socioeconômicas em áreas ambientalmente protegidas, é essencial para a reflexão sobre a compreensão das transformações socioambientais. Desse modo, essa pesquisa busca responder: A implantação do Parque Nacional da Serra de Itabaiana como materialização de iniciativa preservacionista, tem contribuído para a superação das desigualdades sociais nos povoados Rio das Pedras, Mundês, Gandu I, Gandu II, Lagoa dos Fornos I e II, município de Itabaiana e Chico Gomes, município de Areia Branca? Quais as estratégias econômicas utilizadas por olarias e cerâmicas localizadas no entorno do PARNASI para viabilizar suas atividades? Qual a capacidade de resposta das olarias e cerâmicas às exigências jurídicas decorrentes da implantação do parque? Assim objetiva-se: 1) caracterizar as estratégias econômicas e capacidade das olarias e cerâmicas dos referidos povoados de cumprir as exigências jurídicas decorrentes da implantação do PARNASI, 2) identificar a possível utilização de recursos oriundos do PARNASI pelas olarias e cerâmicas, 3) analisar as transformações vivenciadas por essas unidades de produção como resultado de ações do desenvolvimento sustentável e seu possível papel na recriação de desigualdades sociais. Para responder às questões e atingir os objetivos propostos, recorreremos aos conceitos de modernidade, conflito ambiental e de crítica à noção de desenvolvimento sustentável. Essa fundamentação teórica explicita a interconectividade entre diversas áreas do saber, predominando a complexidade, o caráter global e interdisciplinar da problemática ambiental. A investigação dos processos de modernização, fundamentada na teoria da estruturação, tem como hipótese a ideia de que a criação do PARNASI se configura numa ação de inserção da região na modernidade tardia favorecendo os detentores de poder, personificados nos ceramistas. O recurso metodológico para efetivação da pesquisa fundamenta-se na investigação qualitativa, associada ao método etnográfico. Os instrumentos como pesquisa de campo, entrevista semiestruturada, com gravação em áudio, pesquisa documental, constituíram as ferramentas de coleta de dados. A investigação contou com entrevistas aos proprietários das olarias e cerâmicas e pesquisadores envolvidos na implantação do PARNASI. A análise das entrevistas foi operacionalizada através do desmembramento do texto, examinando as variáveis complexas e relacionando os fenômenos com a teoria da estruturação e concepções da modernidade, fundamentada na história oral temática. Os resultados afirmam a invisibilização dos atores sociais durante a institucionalização do parque, esse contexto configura pressuposto para os conflitos socioambientais. A problemática ambiental insere essa região no contexto global da modernidade excluindo parcialmente as olarias de algumas dimensões institucionais modernas.

This study examines a late-modernity model of society where consumption is the conduit through which individuals meet society. This model is contrasted with Wilkinson's (1991) model that sees the community as the place where individuals make contact with society. Using Brown et al.'s (1996) Outshopping Index, residents of two rural Mississippi Delta communities were asked how often they shopped for 30 consumable items outside of their communities both in 1996 and again in 2007. Logistic regression demonstrates a significant interaction effect between year and outshopping such that outshopping was significantly and positively associated with community sentiment in 1996 but not in 2007. Such a transformation in the locus associated with consumption habits and community can be explained as an effect of globalization on rural residents during the period under observation. The results may be indicative of larger shifts in society as described by Bauman (2007), who argues that late modernity is a shift from mass consumer society to a society of consumers. This shift changed the meaning of community, eroding its traditional function as a point of access to society. Hyper-individualized consumption now serves this role. Though acknowledging that community is not a phenomenon exclusive to rural communities, I contend that they serve as ideal natural laboratories for observing late-modern societal shifts.

In my paper, I argue that the underlying social ideals of the late modern labor market, namely flexibility and singularity, undermine human flourishing as conceptualized by Martha C. Nussbaum. It is on these grounds, that we should be critical of late modernity. For an account of late modernity, I rely on the sociological works of Ulrich Beck (1992), Zygmunt Bauman (2000; 2007a), and Andreas Reckwitz (Reckwitz &amp; Pakis, 2020). My account of this socio-historical era focusses on the three main components that set it apart from the previous industrial modernity according to the aforementioned sociologists: the revolution in ICT, the creative economy, and the socio-cultural revolution within the new middle class. It becomes clear that these three components contribute to a more liquid, flexible, and singularized setting. On this basis, then, I will introduce the ethical theory of Martha C. Nussbaum: The Capabilities Approach. I will justify the methodological choice of using her theory, and not that the Capabilities approach of Amartya Sen. My focus on human flourishing will be defended against the accusation of being universalist or biased, and the suggestion that preference utilitarianism would be a better fit for my research objective.  The main body of my paper is the ethical analysis and weighing of arguments for and against my thesis, that we ought to object to the social ideals promoted by the late modern labor market because they undermine human flourishing. I will give two main arguments in support of this thesis, each corresponding to one of Nussbaum's central Capabilities. The first one identifies a conflict between the requirements for our emotional Capability and the kind of self-sufficiency needed to achieve the social ideal of flexibility. I show, that flexibility has become a necessary coping strategy for the late modern individual, making the conflict a pressing one to solve. My second argument draws out a lack of respect and dignity granted to those who perform functional labor (mostly in the service sector) in late modernity, because the functional worker can not live up to the social ideal of singularity. The lack of respect for functional workers pushes them below the threshold required for human flourishing. Finally, I will consider the counterargument, that the late modern labor market provides better opportunities for creative expression and self-actualization. Is that not the epitome of human flourishing i.e. the actualization of one's potentialities? However, I refute this counterargument on multiple grounds: firstly, the goal is not human flourishing, but economic profit. Secondly, it promotes a kind of consumerism, that seems to conflict with emotional needs. Lastly, the workers who are enabled creative expression, are and will remain few.

The following thesis describes and analyses the representation of lung cancer in the Canadian print media. The thesis employs a theoretical framework comprised of Giddens’ theory of reflexivity and Goffman’s theory of framing, to understand the social dynamics of negotiation behind the disease’s portrayal in the media, in a late modern context. Late modernity was defined by institutional reflexivity and a focus on understanding and mitigating risk. The research was conducted through a content analysis and examined quantitative trends that contributed to a subsequent qualitative interpretation. The results show that the coverage of lung cancer decreased over time. The analysis shows a discourse of a biomedical institution that has unsuccessfully controlled the disease, a lack of patient advocacy, particularly among celebrities, and a continued conflation of smoking behaviour and lung cancer, all of which contributed to the decreasing coverage. The framing processes point to a society focused on understanding risk through studying the disease’s causes, as well as one concerned with legislative debate and behavioural prevention. The emergence of a frame focused on the patient’s lived experience might contribute to an improved representation of the disease.

Este trabalho trata do pensamento social conservador na modernidade brasileira contemporânea. O texto parte de uma análise da bibliografia consagrada sobre conservadorismo, modernidade contemporânea e brasileira, analisando suas categorias fundamentais e colocando-as em contraste com uma análise empírica do pensamento social de um grupo de indivíduos conservadores imersos na modernidade brasileira: o movimento escoteiro no Brasil. As conclusões indicam que o fenômeno do pensamento conservador brasileiro segue uma lógica própria, de um conservadorismo progressista, distinto daquele encontrado em outros países europeus e anglo-saxônicos. / This dissertation deals with the conservative social thought in contemporary Brazilian modernity. The text begins with a review of the literature devoted about conservatism and contemporary Brazilian modernity, analyzing its key categories and contrasting to an empirical analysis of social thought in a conservative group immersed in Brazilian modernity: the boy scout movement in Brazil. The conclusions indicate that the phenomenon of conservative thought in Brazil follows its own logic: a \"progressive conservatism\" as distinct from that one found in other European and Anglo-Saxon countries.