Genetic counselors (GCs) serve as health professionals who bridge the gap between patients and genetic medicine. Understanding the processes of genetic counselor enculturation and socialization gives a better picture of how these unique clinicians navigate the spaces between biomedical explanatory models and patient illness narratives, especially pertaining to how biomedicine has influenced how GCs experience the world and shape their professional and personal identities. In this two year-long study, I observed GCs, their students, faculty, patient presenters, and other guests of a genetic counselor training program (“GC Program”) to better understand the ways biomedical discourse is internalized and perpetuated through generations of students. Through semi-structured interviews, a free-listing exercise, and the analysis of applicant essays, I focus on how ritualized process leads to the experience of biomedically influenced periods of enculturation and socialization for GC students, applicants, and professionals who have graduated. I discuss how technology and materializing devices allow for the construction and interpretation of genetic identities closely tied to a counseling profession, which can either magnify the personal identities of its members or alienate those who feel as though they do not belong. The identities of genetic professionals force patients into ideal medical imaginaries; however genetic counselors set themselves apart from overlying biomedical structures as clinicians who defy norms to better take care of their patients. Last, I provide suggestions on how the field of genetic counseling can expand its interpretations of genetic citizenship and responsibility to broaden its reach and deepen its rich history of compassionate advocacy for its patients and members.

The journalistic mission, crucial to a functioning democracy, requires journalists to act as “watchdogs”. By holding people in power accountable, journalists play their part in ensuring that our society is deserving of these lofty democratic standards. What do journalists need to fulfill this role effectively? SVT, Sweden’s major TV broadcast company and one of the country’s biggest news organizations, appears to be increasingly reliant on substitute journalists and short-term employees. This study aims to research how news editors on SVT:s local news stations gauge that the possibility of fulfilling the journalistic ideals of investigation is affected through short-term employment arrangements. SVT is financially funded through a specific tax which entails a certain responsibility on the news distribution they represent. This funding method plays a part in why this study is narrowed down to SVT, as opposed to other media companies. They are also one of the biggest employers of journalists in Sweden, whilst also being one of the country’s most trusted news sources. All in all, a very important institution that’s deserving of further scrutiny. There’s extensive research, both in Sweden and beyond, on the topic of professional journalists. However, we’ve noticed a lack of recent research regarding journalists’ performance and job safety that’s grounded in actual working conditions and terms. Our study indicates that local SVT news stations regularly change substitute journalists in order to circumvent the Employment Protection Act. To find out if these insecure employment forms affect the news stations this study made qualitative interviews with 9 news editors from different local SVT stations all around Sweden. Through a thematic analysis of the interview transcripts we discovered that the increasing use of short-term employees does affect the newsroom’s ability to fulfill their goals, particularly in transition periods when substitute journalists are replaced with new ones. Furthermore, we argue that the ability to fulfill the journalistic ideals of investigation and holding people of power accountable, will be compromised to an even bigger degree if the newsrooms’ share of short-term employees continues to grow.

Using a qualitative text analysis tying into the hermeneutic tradition, this study aims to explain how Swedish military attachés, as part of the process of professionalization, reported information as possible proponents of their own armed service during WW1. Michael I. Handel’s taxonomy, including four definitions of politics in the intelligence process, will here be used to analyze how the interests of the Swedish army as a stakeholder in the competition for state funds came to light in intelligence reporting. Based on the perceived conflict between a “professional intelligence culture” and the political use of intelligence, Handel’s taxonomy will also be used to discuss the attachés attitudes regarding the relationship between professional military officers and political decision making. These conclusions are made to create a Swedish historical perspective in research geared towards the politicization of intelligence, a field dominated by Anglo-Saxon perspectives and generalizations based on empirical findings not necessarily relevant to Swedish conditions. This study is therefore an attempt at relating the Swedish intelligence history to the phenomenon of intelligence politicization in an era where the professionalization of the military trade was highly prevalent. The study concludes that the reports show a tendency, with slight exceptions, where the attachés defend and propagate the interests of the army. This especially in cases where there is a clear rival in the competition for state funding within a political bargaining process, here exemplified by the Swedish navy. Cultural ideals emphasizing professional judgements over political opportunism, where officers who can propagate military demands in spite of political opposition are idealized, come to light in the reports. This suggests that the socioprofessional change within the Swedish officer corps between 1890-1914 coincides with a will to speak truth to power in line with the interests of military professionals.

The shooting death of Michael Brown in June of 2014 by police in Ferguson, Missouri triggered massive public protests across the United States, calling attention to a wave of similar incidents thereafter, where unarmed black men have been killed at the hands of officers in a wide range of locales. The recent coverage has revealed the extent and dispersion of aggressive and, in many cases, fatal interactions between law enforcement and the public, particularly minorities. Actions by the Department of Justice and other state and local agencies have consistently focused on individual agencies and/or agents, as the cause of the problem. This research looks at the history of crime control policy and the law enforcement mandate, from the 1960s onward, examining disparities in crime policy and incidence. The findings show that the shift from locale-based to centralized crime control and the manipulation of crime as a political construct has led to a change in law enforcement identity, away from public service. Consequently, the governing politics and organizational culture of law enforcement has institutionalized some of the most reprehensible aspects, systematizing misconduct. The findings suggest that resolving the problem of misconduct in law enforcement requires an identity shift, focusing on structural rather than individual concerns and implementing more robust and comprehensive training parameters.

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[pt] O presente texto apresenta um estudo com os licenciados em Pedagogia e em Biologia com enfoque nas representações sobre a profissão docente. A análise sobre a formação inicial e a atuação profissional nos primeiros anos de carreira buscou evidenciar o ponto de vista desses professores na construção da identidade profissional. Em tempos de reformas na estrutura e funcionamento dos sistemas de ensino e no papel dos professores, se faz necessário tensionar as motivações, disposições e os valores manifestados por aqueles que se inserem nesse campo. A polissemia de conceituações teóricas e suas interfaces são debatidas a fim de identificar as especificidades da docência como atividade em vias de profissionalização e reconhecer as múltiplas influências que levam alguém a se tornar professor. O material empírico foi produzido por 195 questionários respondidos por egressos dessas licenciaturas, formados no período de 2008 a 2015. As categorias analíticas utilizadas foram professores iniciantes, profissionalidade, profissionalização e trabalho docente. Na opinião desses professores, o excesso de teorizações e a falta de abordagens práticas das funções docentes na formação inicial a tornam insuficiente, o que gera sentimentos de insegurança e o choque de expectativas com o mundo real do trabalho. Há o reconhecimento de cada vez mais exigências para o desempenho dos professores, embora estes não participem das instâncias de regulação e controle da profissão. Somado a isso, a precarização das condições, o desprestígio social e os efeitos da responsabilização pessoal sobre a eficiência no trabalho constituem os desafios para socialização e o desenvolvimento profissional do magistério. / [en] This document presents a study of graduates in Pedagogy and Biology with a focus on representations of the teaching profession. The analysis of the initial training and professional practice in the early years of career sought to highlight the point of view of these teachers in the construction of their professional identity. In times of changes in the structure and functioning of education systems, and the role of teachers, it is necessary to tighten the motivations, dispositions and values expressed by those who are part of this field. The polysemy of theoretical concepts and their interfaces are discussed in order to identify the teaching specificities as an activity in the process of professionalization, and to recognize the numerous influences that lead someone to become a teacher. The empirical material was produced by 195 questionnaires filled by graduates, formed from 2008 to 2015. The analytical categories used were beginning teachers, professionality, professionalization, and teaching work. According to these teachers, excessive theorizing and lack of practical approaches of teaching duties in the initial training makes it insufficient, and generates insecurity and the clash of expectations with the real world of work. There is a recognition of increasing requirements for the performance of teachers, although they do not participate in the instances of profession regulation and control. Added to this, the precarious conditions, lack of social prestige, and the effects of personal accountability on efficiency at work are the challenges for socialization and professional development of teachers.

In recent decades numerous nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are undergoing the process of professionalization characterized by increased attention to efficiency, accountability, and the adoption of “business-like” tools and practices. At the same time, the majority of NPOs rely on volunteer labor. Most nonprofit scholars focus on traditional volunteering in which one volunteers doing something other than their professional work. These studies see volunteerism and professionalism as two completely separate systems. Meanwhile, the subset of skills-based volunteers, i.e., volunteers who provide professionally-related skills or services in nonprofit settings is understudied and their views of NPOs' professionalization are generally unknown. The present thesis aims to help fill this gap by exploring how skills-based volunteers perceive their roles and increasing the professionalization of nonprofit organizations. The study is guided by two research questions: (1) how do skills-based volunteers react to the rise of NPOs' professionalization? and (2) how do they navigate possible tensions between professionalism and volunteerism? The study is an ethnographic case study of skills-based volunteers at Engineers WithoutBorders Sweden. The data is collected through 14 semi-structured interviews with working and retired volunteers complemented by my participatory observations as a part-time employee at the organization. To analyze and interpret the study findings, the thesis employs a boundary work framework. The empirical findings indicate that, contrary to traditional volunteers, skills-based volunteers react to NPOs’ professionalization positively. The professionalization helps them to integrate their roles as volunteers and professionals, thus, facilitating boundary blurring. At the same time, working and retired skills-based volunteers perceive student volunteers as a barrier to professionalization, consequently, emphasizing differences in competencies and reliability between themself and students and performing demarcation work.

Rapid establishment of interpreting skill and knowledge standards for public school sign language interpreters has created a virtual mandate for their immediate, time-compressed, professionalization. A series of federal laws requiring accessibility to communication for deaf people have escalated demand for interpreters far beyond the supply. Thousands of people with varying levels of knowledge, skill, and experience, have been drawn into service in schools without professional preparation. Responding to specialized research, evaluation, technology, and education related to educational interpreting, states have quickly been establishing standards for interpreting skill and knowledge including phased in degree requirements. Educational interpreters have had to find ways of gaining necessary skill and knowledge rapidly, even though they typically work full-time, in isolation, and have little ready access to resources. Few occupations have experienced a juggernaut-like transition of this nature, leaving insufficient information to understand and address the phenomenon. This study was designed to investigate what we can learn from adults absorbing intense pressure of elevating their education and skills unfolding on a daily basis, most of whom are already experiencing "high-demand low-control" work environments. The findings give voice to members of a field of practice at a historic point in the professionalization of their field: sixty five experienced educational interpreters with diverse foundational preparation who completed a specialized, two-year, inservice program delivered at a distance. Online survey research, using a variety of response formats complemented by open-ended questions, generated data which were analyzed using descriptive and analytic statistics as well as coding schemes for themes and patterns that emerged from the qualitative data. The study illuminated a variety of challenges, successes, and, for some, the transformative nature of the experience, which warrants further study. Beyond acquiring knowledge and skills participants learned how to learn and achieved self-realization of their resilience points. They especially experienced themselves transforming into professionals with abilities to actively contribute to the school environment, reporting themselves to be informed, competent, and confident in all typically expected roles. Challenges typical of the adult distance learner abounded. It is recommended that adult learning principles be incorporated into any such program design, and that the wider interpreting community of practice be expanded as a learning resource. Equally important to recognize are the many people who have the same enthusiasms for the work, and the same professionalizing experiences as their more skilled peers, but who may never become sufficiently skilled to pass interpreting skill exams or their state standards. A follow up study is recommended to learn what emerges next. Is there a place for them in education that fully acknowledges and uses their experience and competencies? / Ph. D.

Historically, the journalism industry has not had a standardized way into it, but rather flaunted the alternative methods of entering the industry. By interviewing ten employers at Swedish news organizations, this thesis aimed to investigate the importance of journalism training. This, in relation to the professionalization of the industry and how employers create boundaries between journalists and others, which was analyzed using the theory of professionalization and boundary work. The development of the industry is mainly explained by the evolution of the internet and changed media landscape. The results showed that, whereas employers value alternative ways into the industry, journalistic education is becoming increasingly more important. Employers unanimously value journalistic education for equipping aspiring journalists with essential knowledge about ethics, fostering professional unity and legitimacy. Highlighting the significance of maintaining the journalistic mission, it was noted that journalistic education could serve as a boundary between “real” journalists and “others”, based on their attitude towards responsibilities and characteristics. Hence the importance of including the requirement “education or equivalent” in job listings, to ensure that the applicants had basic knowledge about the job. Employers also recognize the importance of diversity in media representation, viewing non-traditionally educated individuals positively. They advocate for improved practical education and market alignment. This research offers vital insights for both aspiring and established journalists, signaling a shift towards a future where trained professionals dominate the field, ensuring its continued growth and adaptability.