Being active in an online environment has become part of our day to day life. The protection of anonymity, invisibility and lack of authority on online platforms ranging from social media to gaming, allows people to act uninhibitedly in a setting often populated by foul language. Acting in an offensive manner while being online has been the subject of various studies, which range from behaviour in e-classrooms, to flaming used as means of entertainment, to cyber-bullying. This thesis examines the occurrences of offensive language usage in online gaming, specifically in World of Warcraft, and attempts to identify the triggers that lead to hostile communication within the game and to map the manner players act in flaming settings. A chat log analysis was used to comprise a list of most frequently utilized offensive words. A questionnaire was applied in order to collect data regarding players evaluation of these words, their mind set when in flaming situations and their reactions to and motivations of offensive behaviour. The research results show that, in flaming settings, players choose to either take a reactive stance and remove themselves from potentially offensive situations, or to act proactively and flame back or get the “flamers” punished. Furthermore, the results show that there are certain words, emotes and situations that are generally directly linked to volatile occurrences. In conclusion, gaming is no stranger to the shortcomings being online entails and a more balanced threshold for offensive behaviour acceptance must be re-established.

Syftet var att undersöka attityder till skolans arbete mot kränkande behandling utifrån skolans likabehandlingsplan och om dessa skiljer sig åt, beroende på om man är elev eller personal, på en högstadieskola i en kommun i Värmland. Genom en enkätundersökning med oberoende mätning genomfördes studien med 101 deltagare, varav 54,5 % (n=55) var elever och 45,5 % (n=46) skolpersonal.      Den aktuella studien kunde påvisa en signifikant skillnad mellan elever och skolpersonal i majoriteten av frågorna angående skolans arbete mot kränkande behandling. Resultatet tyder på att det finns skillnader i hur elever och skolpersonal uppfattar situationer där någon blir kränkt och därför även agerar olika. Studien påvisar att personalen i högre grad påstår att de tar itu med de frågor som rör mobbaren än offret, medan eleverna ligger relativt jämnt på de frågorna. Dock var både elever och skolpersonal överens i frågan om att det är viktigt att ha en kompis i skolan.      Vidare visade studien att eleverna i högre grad skulle försöka höja den utsattas självförtroende i mobbningssituationer jämfört med vad lärarna skulle. Personalen skulle istället arbeta för att jämna ut maktobalansen mellan de två genom att sänka mobbarens makt snarare än att höja den utsattas. Det framkom även att personalen uppgav att de i högre grad hade läst, förstått och varit delaktiga i utformandet av skolans likabehandlingsplan än eleverna.                       Med andra ord framkom att det finns skillnader i attityden till skolans förebyggande arbete mot kränkande behandling mellan personal och elever. Dessutom framkom att skolpersonalen i högre grad fokuserade på mobbaren än offret i situationer där någon blir utsatt för kränkande behandling, samt att personalen i högre grad angav att de läst, förstått och varit involverad i skolans likabehandlingsplan än eleverna. / The aim was to investigate attitudes to the school’s work against offensive behaviour based on the school’s treatment plan and if they differ depending on whether you are a student or school staff at a secondary school in a municipality in Värmland. Through a questionnaire with independent measurement, a study with 101 participants, of which 54.5 % (n = 55) were students and 45.5 % (n = 46) were school staff, was executed.      The current study shows a significant difference between students and school staff in a majority of the questions regarding the school’s work against offensive behaviour.      The results suggest that there are differences in how students and school staff perceive situations where someone gets offended and therefore also act differently. The study shows that the school staff claim that they address the issues related to the bully to a greater extent than the victim, while the students answered relatively even on the questions. However, both students and school staff agree on that it is important to have a friend at school.      Furthermore, the study shows that students would try to raise the self-confidence of the victim in bullying situations to a greater extent compared to the teachers. Instead, the school staff would work to even out the imbalance of power between the two by lowering the bully’s power rather than increasing the victim’s power. It also shows that the school staff said that they have read, understood, and been involved in designing the school's treatment plan to a greater extent than the students.                       In other words, it appeared as if there are differences in the attitude to the school’s work against offensive treatment between staff and students. Furthermore, it appeared as if the school staff to a higher extent focused on the bully than the victim in situations where someone is exposed to offensive treatment, and that the staff to a higher extent said that they had read, understood and been involved in the school’s treatment plan than the students.

The impact of the law on the lives of homeless people in Queensland has, to date, remained largely unexplored by legal academics and researchers. This is despite the fact that homeless people experience a number of legal difficulties that seriously affect their lives. This thesis by published papers aims to make a significant and original contribution to filling this gap in the research evidence by presenting the results of analyses of the legal, theoretical and practical issues that arise in the context of homeless persons' interactions with the legal system in Queensland. Most notably, it is comprised of three pieces of empirical research which identify those areas of law that impact most on homeless people in Queensland and explore the consequences of the operation of these laws on their lives. In sum, this thesis examines the extent of the law's influence on the lives of homeless people in Queensland, and finds that the consequences of the law's operation on homeless people in Queensland are serious. The thesis first examines the effect on Queensland's homeless people of laws which regulate behaviour conducted in public space. The criminal offences of vagrancy, begging and public nuisance are analysed; their historical origins, the reasons for their retention on modern statute books, and arguments in favour of their repeal are discussed. The impact of 'public space law' on homeless people in Queensland is also explored through a survey of 30 homeless people residing in inner-city Brisbane. This part of the thesis concludes that public space law in Queensland results in breaches of homeless persons' human rights, as well as the contravention of rule of law principles. The thesis then explores the impact of the law on homeless persons' experiences of citizenship. Empirical research and theoretical analysis demonstrate that the application of various laws, particularly public space laws, social security laws and electoral laws, encroaches on homeless persons' citizenship rights. The thesis then reports on the results of a unique survey of Queensland's homelessness service providers. This survey is the most extensive piece of empirical research ever conducted on the extent to which various laws impact on homeless people. Respondents were asked to indicate which areas of law impact most adversely on their homeless clients. Based on the research findings outlined above, the hypothesis was that criminal law issues, particularly public space offences, would be proven to impact particularly adversely on homeless people in Queensland. Somewhat unexpectedly, the findings of the survey indicated that fines law, debt law and family law difficulties are those legal difficulties most often encountered by homeless people in Queensland. Difficulties produced by criminal laws, social security laws and electoral laws, while still generally relevant, rated less highly. However, the survey did demonstrate that experiences differ between sub-groups within the homeless population, for example Indigenous homeless people were reported to be most affected by criminal law issues, while young homeless people were reported to be most affected by social security law issues. Together, the five papers which comprise this thesis make an original and substantial contribution to knowledge by identifying empirically for the first time the various laws that have a significant impact on the lives of homeless people in Queensland, and analysing the consequences of this in terms of their effect on homeless persons' citizenship rights, human rights and rule of law entitlements.