<p>This dissertation examines lead exposure and effects across the lifespan among vulnerable populations. The vulnerable population that this dissertation focuses on are the elderly, newcomers to the US, which represents immigrants, as well as adolescents and women of childbearing age. The first chapter gives an introduction and highlights the history of lead as it relates to environmental and occupational exposure having deleterious effects on the human system. The second chapter highlights the association between blood lead level and subsequent Alzheimer’s disease (AD) mortality in those 65 years and older. Chapter 3 looks at whether length of time in the United States is a predictor of adolescent and adult blood lead levels. The fourth chapter assesses whether early life lead exposure is associated with AD mortality later in life. Adaptations of Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of this dissertation have been submitted for publication.</p><p>Chapter 2 presents a longitudinal study of 8080 elders (≥60 years) with BLL data from the 1999-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, where mortality was determined from linked 1999-2014 National Death Index data. In this study, a causal diagram presented causal assumptions and identified a sufficient set of confounders: age, sex, poverty, race/ethnicity, and smoking. Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine the association between BLL and subsequent AD mortality. Impacts of competing risks and design effect were also assessed. Adjusted hazard rate ratio (HRR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were reported. Results showed that those with BLL of 1.5 μg/dL and 5 μg/dL had 1.2 (95% CI: 0.70, 2.1) and 1.4 (95% CI: 0.54, 3.8) times the rate of AD mortality compared to those with BLL of 0.3 μg/dL, respectively, after accounting for competing risks. Adjusted HRRs were 1.5 (95% CI 0.81, 2.9) and 2.1 (95% CI 0.70, 6.3), respectively, after considering design effect. This longitudinal study demonstrated a positive, albeit statistically non-significant association between BLL and AD mortality, after adjustment for competing risks or design effect.</p><p>Chapter 3 included cross-sectional 1580 women of childbearing age (15-45 years) and 5933 men and women (≥15 years) from the 2013-2016 United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Linear regression models adjusted for race/ethnicity, education, blood cotinine, age, sex (as appropriate) and accounted for complex survey design. Results showed that women of childbearing age who have lived 0-4 years in the US have, on average, a 43% (95% confidence interval (CI): 31%, 56%) higher BPb compared to women born in the US. Corresponding results for all adults and adolescents was 40% (95% CI: 28%, 51%). Similar, statistically significant, results were observed for other time periods (5-9 years, 10-19 years, and ≥20 years); the magnitude of the association decreased with increasing time in the US. Higher BPb was also significantly associated with Asian (vs. white), lower education, higher age, and male (vs. female).</p><p>Chapter 4 is an ecologic study utilizing data from the United States Census Bureau and American Fact Finder. This ecologic study uses publicly available data from the 1930s US census and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to compare estimated historic lead exposure with AD mortality rates among US states and Indiana counties. Occupations were assigned a numeric weight based on the likelihood of lead exposure. The proportion of workers in each occupation multiplied by this weight was used to create a historic lead exposure index; quintiles of this index were used in analyses. AD mortality rates among persons ≥ 65 years old from 1999-2016 were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The relationship between the historic exposure index and mortality was evaluated using correlation coefficients and linear regression models adjusting for age, sex, education, socioeconomic status (SES). Maps to characterize spatial pattern of historic lead exposure and AD mortality were completed using Geographic Information System (GIS) spatial analysis tools for the U.S. at state level and at county level for Indiana. Results showed that among states, the average AD mortality rate was 202.2 per 100,000 (SD=44.4). Within Indiana, the average AD mortality rate was 209.6 per 100,000 (SD= 64.9). Among Indiana counties, the unadjusted model shows an association of higher HEI with higher AD mortality, with the fifth quintile reaching statistical significance. Results for the adjusted model were not statistically significant. Results for US states for both unadjusted and adjusted regression models show that the third, fourth, and fifth quintiles of the historic exposure index were associated with a significantly lower AD mortality rate when compared to the lowest quintile.</p><p>Conclusion: The first study, using a longitudinal design, shows a positive but non-significant association between BLL and subsequent AD mortality after adjustments for competing risks or design effects. The second study, using a cross-sectional design, showed that newcomers to the US may be a population at higher risk for elevated BPb. The third, ecological study, did not find any significant association between historic lead exposure and AD mortality rates for Indiana counties, however there was a significant association of higher historic lead exposure index with lower AD mortality rates for states in the US.</p>

There has been a significant interest amongst immigrants in obtaining Canadian citizenship, dating all the way back to the end of World War Two in 1945. This thesis is particularly interested in what knowledge and skills these immigrants obtain as a result of their experiences in the citizenship education programs provided by the federal government prior to them becoming official citizens of Canada.<p>This thesis has a number of objectives. First, it intends to track the evolution of citizenship policy in Canada from 1945 to the present time, with a particular focus on the changes made to the citizenship education system. Secondly, an assessment of the adequacy of the changes made to the citizenship education system will be conducted, focusing primarily on whether or not those changes have provided newcomers to Canada with the knowledge and skills necessary to be active and informed citizens. Finally, suggestions will be offered as to how citizenship education programs can best provide new Canadians with a more well-rounded quality of citizenship. <p>The evolution of citizenship policy and the assessment of the changes made to citizenship education from 1945 to the present time reveal a number of findings, with many of them pointing to citizenship education policy and programming in Canada as being inadequate. The findings identify a lack of political leadership and financial resources provided for citizenship training initiatives, as well as a painfully basic citizenship education curriculum provided for newcomers to Canada. <p>The central contention of this thesis is that the federal government regards citizenship education as little more than a short-term goal. In other words, the priority is to speed up the processing of newcomers rather than to develop good citizens. Immigrants are provided with basic knowledge and language skills, but are largely left to fend for themselves once official citizenship has been attained. This short-term focus has resulted in a diminution of the quality and importance of Canadian citizenship and has impaired the ability of new citizens to feel comfortable participating in Canadian society. <p>The significance of these findings is that policy makers need to develop a long-term citizenship education strategy that focuses on providing long-term benefits to new citizens to Canada. Such a strategy will help to maximize the potential contributions of the growing immigrant population to Canadian society and will provide much needed clarity of roles and responsibilities to citizenship education service providers and instructors.

There has been a significant interest amongst immigrants in obtaining Canadian citizenship, dating all the way back to the end of World War Two in 1945. This thesis is particularly interested in what knowledge and skills these immigrants obtain as a result of their experiences in the citizenship education programs provided by the federal government prior to them becoming official citizens of Canada.<p>This thesis has a number of objectives. First, it intends to track the evolution of citizenship policy in Canada from 1945 to the present time, with a particular focus on the changes made to the citizenship education system. Secondly, an assessment of the adequacy of the changes made to the citizenship education system will be conducted, focusing primarily on whether or not those changes have provided newcomers to Canada with the knowledge and skills necessary to be active and informed citizens. Finally, suggestions will be offered as to how citizenship education programs can best provide new Canadians with a more well-rounded quality of citizenship. <p>The evolution of citizenship policy and the assessment of the changes made to citizenship education from 1945 to the present time reveal a number of findings, with many of them pointing to citizenship education policy and programming in Canada as being inadequate. The findings identify a lack of political leadership and financial resources provided for citizenship training initiatives, as well as a painfully basic citizenship education curriculum provided for newcomers to Canada. <p>The central contention of this thesis is that the federal government regards citizenship education as little more than a short-term goal. In other words, the priority is to speed up the processing of newcomers rather than to develop good citizens. Immigrants are provided with basic knowledge and language skills, but are largely left to fend for themselves once official citizenship has been attained. This short-term focus has resulted in a diminution of the quality and importance of Canadian citizenship and has impaired the ability of new citizens to feel comfortable participating in Canadian society. <p>The significance of these findings is that policy makers need to develop a long-term citizenship education strategy that focuses on providing long-term benefits to new citizens to Canada. Such a strategy will help to maximize the potential contributions of the growing immigrant population to Canadian society and will provide much needed clarity of roles and responsibilities to citizenship education service providers and instructors.

This study examines the psychological and emotional experience of settling in Canada for South Asian Muslim newcomers and the coping systems they use to manage the challenges associated with moving to a new country. Ten South Asian Muslims were interviewed within the Greater Toronto Area. They were posed questions related to the hardships they encountered as they settled in Canada and how they managed those challenges. The data was analyzed using Grounded Theory. A model was developed to illustrate resources used by newcomers to help maintain their mental health and well-being. Upon settling in Canada, the participants experienced psychological stressors and therefore sought help from their Islamic faith, their families, and community services. The combined resources facilitated the immigrants’ resilience and allowed them to maintain a positive outlook towards their immigration experience.

This qualitative research project reconceptualizes conventional and prescriptive views of family literacy as literacies in the context of family relationships, experimenting with data from the home visitor participants of one international family literacy intervention program (FLIP): Home Instruction for the Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY). Participants of the HIPPY program in Canada primarily include newcomer families. While the program targets conventional forms of literacy and education relating to children’s school readiness, in practice their work with these families goes far beyond this initial focus further engaging with issues related to settlement. For example, after completing HIPPY’s two-year program successfully with their own children, parents can be hired to become home visitors, receive professional development and guide newcomer families through the HIPPY materials they will use with their children. Using the theoretical and practical lens of Multiple Literacy Theory (Masny, 2006, 2009, 2013) this project asks what literacy practices home visitors engage in with newcomer parents, how these practices function in the relationship, and what these practices produce in these interactions. Lombard (1981) recognized the need for further research on home visitor experiences after program coordinators noted the “highly visible changes in home visitors’ level of understanding and performance” (p. 89). Since then, however, parents and children continued to be the main focus of research. This project seeks to to illuminate the under-researched experiences of HIPPY home visitors. Using the theoretical and practical lens of Multiple Literacy Theory (Masny, 2006, 2009, 2013) and the philosophy of Deleuze and Guattari (1987), qualitative observation and interview data were collected and analyzed through the process of rhizoanalysis, creating four mappings. The first mapping experiments with HIPPY not as an isolated program, but as part of a much larger assemblage of programs and services focused on newcomers in a Canadian community. The second mapping looks closely at HIPPY and English language acquisition. Mapping three experiments with conceptualizations of HIPPY home visitors as instructors of “Canadian culture”, and the fourth and final mapping delves into a more specific cultural focus on home and school connections. The final chapter of the dissertation is not a conclusion, but a look forward. This chapter introduces the concept of literacies in the context of family relationships as an integral part of not only early learning, but public and community health.

Arbetsmarknadsintegration är ett samhällsproblem som påverkar både individen själv och även samhället. Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka upplevelser på den svenska arbetsmarknaden för högutbildade nyanlända som kom till Sverige år 2015. Studien har utgått från att belysa utmaningar och förutsättningar som högutbildade nyanlända har upplevt på väg in till arbetsmarknaden. Studien grundar sig i en kvalitativ metod där det empiriska materialet har samlats in via semistrukturerade intervjuer med tio respondenter. Respondenterna är högutbildade nyanlända som kom till Sverige 2015 och är etablerade på arbetsmarknaden. Empirin har analyserats i en tematisk analys med hjälp av humankapitalteori och sociala nätverksteori. Studiens resultat visar att upplevelser är individuella och därför finns likheter och skillnader mellan dem. De utmaningar som uttrycks av respondenterna är brist på sociala nätverk, värdelösa insatser av arbetsförmedlingen, etnisk diskriminering och nedvärdering av utländska utbildningar och erfarenheter. Förutsättningarna som underlättade högutbildade nyanländas arbetsmarknadsintegration uttrycks vara tillgång till sociala nätverk, arbetsmarknadsinsatser, språkkunskaper och erhållande av en ny svensk utbildning. Det framkommer i resultatdelen att språkkunskaper och diskriminering inte upplevs på samma sätt i alla sektorer av arbetsmarknaden, utan kan ses som sektorspecifika.

Introduktionsprocessen är en viktig komponent för att underlätta de nyanställdas acklimatisering, samt för att skapa de bästa förutsättningarna för att integreras i arbetsgruppen och prestera arbetsmässigt. Som en följd av Covid-19 pandemin har distansarbete varit en åtgärd som tvingat många organisationer att ställa om för att stoppa smittspridningen och skydda medarbetarnas hälsa. Det blir därför kritiskt att förstå hur de nyanställda upplever introduktionsprocessen när den genomförs på distans, vilket också är syftet med den aktuella studien.Studien utgår från en kvalitativ ansats och det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom sex semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultatet har analyserats utifrån Nahapiet och Ghoshals (1998) modell om socialt kapital som innefattat tre dimensioner: strukturellt, socialt och kognitivt.Resultatet visar att distansarbete försvårar den spontana kommunikationen mellan den nyanställda och de etablerade kollegorna, vilket gör att arbetsrelationerna tar längre tid att bygga på distans. Vidare visar empirin att sociala aktiviteter för att bygga gemenskap har satts på paus under distansarbete och även att tillgängligheten till andra kollegor för socialt utbyte varierar. Det i sin tur påverkar informations- och resurstillgången eftersom de informella mötena och de spontana interaktionerna inte förekommer på samma sätt vid distansarbete. Slutligen har studien samlat in värdefull information som kan bidra med möjligheter att förbättra introduktionsprocessen för nyanställda som introduceras på distans i framtiden. / The onboarding process plays a central role to facilitate newcomer adjustment’. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, several organizations have been faced with the challenge to rapidly shift and work from home in order to prevent the spread of the Corona virus and protect the health of their employees. This study aims to understand the experiences of new employees as the onboarding process is carried out virtually, which becomes crucial considering these circumstances.The study takes on a qualitative approach, where data has been collected through six semi-structured interviews. The results have been analyzed from a social capital perspective, inspired by Nahapiet and Ghoshal's (1998) framework, which includes three dimensions: structural, social and cognitive.Findings in this study indicate that everyday communication between new employees and their coworkers is during telework highly constrained. Meaning it takes longer time to build established relationships due to the unordinary setting and initiating a conversation on a digital platform. Furthermore, the empirical evidence shows that social activities for the purpose of building camaraderie is no longer a priority during telework and the access for social exchange is also strongly limited in certain cases. This in turn affects the resources of information since informal interactions occur less frequently when the onboarding process is implemented on a digital platform. Lastly, this study provided useful information on possible improvements for future onboarding processes for new employees during telework.

In 2015, 70% of the asylum-seekers in Sweden were men. This skewed ratio combined with the image of the threatful male immigrant have raised a topical question within the most gender equal country and self-proclaimed feminist state. Through a gender perspective that has never been researched and which gives voice to Swedish women, this issue is investigated. In particular, it is relevant to consider how socially engaged Swedish women reflect on male newcomers who have arrived in Sweden since the 2015 refugee crisis. Alongside it is pertinent to investigate how those Swedish women assess the impact of the new arrivals on their lives and the society they live in. Using qualitative research,fifteen women are interviewed on account of their relevant opinion on the topic, their experience with refugees, their political stance and their work. The informants reminisce about the refugee crisis in Sweden and examine the characteristics of male newcomers,their empathy and support towards male newcomers, gender (in)equality and the impact of the arrival of male newcomers in Sweden. Results display a dense and complex picture of the viewpoints of Swedish women on the refugee crisis and the arrival of male newcomers to Sweden, between enthusiasm and prudence on the issue.

Denna uppsats baseras på en kvalitativ intervjuundersökning inom tre organisationer. Intervjupersonerna har bestått av tre chefer och fem nyanställda. Våren 2020 spreds Covid-19-viruset och skapade en global pandemi och myndigheterna rekommenderade hemarbete. Organisationers verksamheter har fortgått och i den nya tillvaron har organisationer behövt genomföra introduktionen hemifrån. Utmaningen med hemarbete är hur redan existerande introduktionsprocesser ska anpassas till digital kommunikation. Syftet med studien har varit att dels utveckla en förståelse för nyanställdas upplevelse av tillhörighet samt lärande i ett vidare perspektiv när introduktionen sker vid hemarbete, dels undersöka hur personalansvariga har styrt introduktionen. I resultatet framkommer det att de personalansvariga intervjupersonerna använt både formella och informella introduktionsprocesser. Det fysiska avståndet har försvårat tillhörigheten och lärandet under introduktionen. Mentorskap, mindre arbetsgrupper samt dagliga avstämningsmöten har lyfts som framgångsfaktorer. Därför blir vår slutsats utifrån resultatet att formella introduktionsprocesser är att föredra då den nyanställde har högre möjlighet att uppleva högre socialisation och lärande. Bristen på spontan social interaktion och kameraanvändning har påverkat upplevelsen av isolering. Vår slutsats är att de nyanställdas upplevelse av tillhörighet reduceras under introduktion vid hemarbete. Användning av gruppintroduktioner har främjat de nyanställdas känsla av att bli en del av arbetsgruppen. / This thesis is based on a qualitative interview survey within three organizations. We have interviewed three managers and five newcomers. In the spring of 2020, the Covid-19 virus spread and created a global pandemic, and the authorities recommended teleworking. Organizations' operations have continued and in the new circumstances, organizations have implemented the introduction from home. The challenge with telework is how to adapt already existing introductory processes to digital communication. The purpose of the study has been to develop an understanding of newcomer's experience of belonging and learning in a broad perspective during introduction when teleworking, and to survey how managers have controlled the introduction. The results show that managers used both formal and informal introduction processes. The physical distance has made it difficult to belong and learn during the introduction. Mentorship, small working groups, and daily stand-up meetings are highlighted as success factors. Therefore, our conclusion based on the result is that formal introduction processes are preferable as the newcomers’ experiences higher socialization and learning. The lack of spontaneous social interaction and camera use has affected the experience of isolation. Our conclusion is that the newcomers’ sense of belonging is reduced during introduction when teleworking. The use of group introductions has facilitated the newcomer’s sense of belonging to the working group.

Studien är genomförd med en kvalitativ metod och undersöker hur nyinträdda på arbetsmarknaden upplever arbetsmotivation och vad som driver dem i yrkeslivet. Vidare syftar studien till att undersöka om det går att urskilja några nya aspekter som inte tidigare uppmärksammats bland befintliga motivationsteorier. Empirin utgörs av tolv semistrukturerade intervjuer med personer i arbete födda på 1990-talet, där varje intervju var cirka 45 minuter lång. Resultatet visar att det finns en medvetenhet och ett hållbarhetsperspektiv hos intervjupersonerna som väger tyngre än exempelvis lön och omgivning. Vi kan med hjälp av det empiriska materialet se tendenser som pekar på att intervjupersonerna drivs och motiveras av faktorer som ligger långt fram i tiden, och att de kan finna mening i arbetsuppgifter som kanske inte generar någon direkt belöning. Intervjupersonerna har en långsiktig och hållbar syn på sitt arbete och motiveras av framtiden, och i de fall där arbetet inte är stimulerande har synsättet blivit en form av överlevnadsstrategi. Denna dimension av långsiktighet presenteras inte i tidigare motivationsteorier och vi vill därför mena att vi bidragit med viktiga insikter att vidare studera. / The following report is a qualitative study, and examines how newcomers to the labor market experiencing motivation and what drives them in their professional life. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate whether if it’s possible to discern some new aspects that is not mentioned in existing motivation theories. The empirical data consists of twelve semi-structured interviews with persons born in the 1990s, where each interview was approximately 45 minutes long. The result shows that there is an awareness and a kind of sustainability in the interviewees answers, that outweighs economic factors and surroundings. We can with the help of the empirical material see a trend that suggest that interviewees are driven and motivated by factors which lies further in the future, and that they can find meaning in the tasks that might not generate any direct reward. The interviewees have a long-term and sustainable approach to their work and are motivated by the future, and this point of view has become a form of survival strategy whenever the work is not stimulating enough. This dimension of sustainability is not presented in the earlier theories of motivation and we would therefore like to suggest that we contributed with important insights to further study.