This thesis explores the practices and positionings of two groupings of professionals in UK higher education, ‘educational developers’ and ‘learning technologists’. It investigates the emergence of the groupings, and their professional paths and respective approaches to supporting teaching and learning. It also explores the use of information and communication technology within what is seen as a changing university context. These two ‘new’ professional groupings are most associated with a shift of focus in universities from teaching towards learning, heightened emphasis on the quality of teaching and learning, the increased impact of learning technologies on practice, organisational transformation, and increased numbers of students attending universities, i.e. massification of higher education world-wide. Thus, equivalent exemplars and variations can also be found throughout Europe and in other international settings. The social structure and practices that govern the two groupings have been analysed by means of a wide range of theories, concepts and methods which include Bourdieu’s (1988) concepts of habitus, field, position and capital, Boyer’s (1990) ideas about new scholarship, Palmer’s (1998) conceptualisation of the university teacher and Clark’s (2003) identification of the entrepreneurial university. The work of others, in particular Schön (1967) and Ball (2003), also provides an insight into the powerful relationship between technology, society, education and change. Thus, the thesis explores fields and sub-fields, as social arenas in which capital is accumulated and where struggles for power and resources take place. The study suggests that both groups occupy a highly politicised position, are affected by the shifting value of social, cultural and economic capital in the constantly changing higher education, are subject to struggle regarding ‘position’ and agency and are susceptible to the demands of new power regimes and technological solutions. It suggests that educational development is a scholarly field of study but has also become a technology responsible for translating institutional policy into practice, while learning technologists have been more politically successful and have had a relatively greater impact on academic practice in university settings. Whilst the relationship and division of work between educational developers and learning technologists has been hitherto little understood this study shows the similarities and differences, and boundaries and overlaps in the knowledge, practices, positions, dispositions and allegiances of the two groupings. An argument of the thesis is for a more cohesive approach to educational development in higher education which embraces learning technologies and higher education policy. Furthermore, this thesis suggests that the balance of power and the value placed on social, cultural and economic capital in the knowledge economy of higher education is shifting; from teaching and learning towards change and ‘innovation’ underpinned by new technologies, business imperatives and new forms of management. This shift in the UK has been reinforced by successive periods of reform and restructuring of the university, where both ‘new’ and ‘old’ professionals are subject to social and political pressures initiated by new forms of central governance and a growing bureaucracy of change. A danger for higher education is that the balance is pulled more towards policy technologies and bureaucracy and away from the professional judgement of university academics/teachers.

During the United Nations conference on Environment and Development, in Rio de Janeiro 1992, the concept Sustainable Development was established to reach a future Development that is Sustainable and not damaging the environment. To do this, environmental, economical and social aspects must be seen as linked. Since then the progress of the understanding and practice of the concept in different parts of the world is unknown. This study therefore gives a comparison between two countries, Sweden and Brazil, and offers knowledge about the ongoing work with Sustainable Development. The study describes and compares the understanding, attitude and practice of the concept Sustainable Development among students and professionals. It also provides knowledge about the current state of implementation of the concept. The study was divided into two parts. The first, a quantitative study made through subjective measurements, through questionnaires, to evaluate university students’ understanding, attitude and ways of practicing Sustainable Development. The second study was a qualitative study that took place at Environmental Department where the professionals were studied to enable a description of their work with Sustainable Development. The two studies were also compared and analyzed jointly to see if the results seemed to reflect on each other. The Swedish and the Brazilian students have a different understanding of what is most important to Sustainable Development. Brazilian students are generally more interested in environmental issues. The Brazilian students also feel that they have a greater opportunity to affect the environment positively and save more energy. Swedish students however recycle and sort their waste more. The Brazilian´s interest for the environment is increasing while it is decreasing in Sweden. Possible reasons could be the different ways the Environmental Departments work with education towards the public. Students from a higher level of education show a greater understanding for Sustainable Development, so do the Environmental students compared to the others. This shows that education has a positive effect on the awareness for the environment. Education to the public as a whole could furthermore contribute to reaching a Sustainable Development.

Äldre vårdtagare med sömnproblematik är, enligt studier, undervärderat i forskning. Sömnproblematik hos äldre visar sig vanligen som svårigheter att fästa sömn och uppvaknande nattetid eller tidig morgon. Ett antal kroppsliga, neurologiska och psykiska sjukdomar kan störa sömnen, även miljöförhållanden, samt vissa läkemedel. Syftet med studien var att beskriva vilka förhållanden och omvårdnadsåtgärder som, enligt vårdpersonalen, påverkar och främjar sömnen hos äldre vårdtagare med sömnproblematik. Som metod användes semistrukturerade intervjuer. Sex undersköterskor och fyra sjuksköterskor intervjuades. Materialet analyserades med hjälp av manifest innehållsanalys och presenterades i två kategorier: Vårdtagarnas behov och vårdmiljö. Till huvudkategorierna hörde två underkategorier vardera, fysiska och psykiska behov, behov av läkemedel respektive yttre förhållanden och bemötande. Resultatet visade att otillfredsställda behov så som smärta, förstoppning, hunger och existentiella funderingar samt den sociala situationen ansågs påverka sömnen. Miljön runt vårdtagaren har också betydelse för sömnen, dels utifrån ljus och ljud men även den psykosociala miljön såsom bemötande från vårdpersonalen. Slutsats, omvårdnadsåtgärder behöver lyftas fram som ett led i att främja sömn hos äldre med sömnproblematik. / Elderly patients with problems related to sleep are, according to studies, undervalued in research. Sleep problems among elderly usually shows as difficulties to fall asleep and awakening during night or early morning. A number of physical, neurological and psychiatric disorders may disrupt sleep, including environmental conditions, and certain medicines. The purpose of the study was to describe the conditions and nursing measures that, according to caregivers, affect and promote sleep in elderly patients with sleeping problems. The method used was semi-structured interviews. Six assistant nurses and four nurses were interviewed. The material was analyzed using manifest content analysis and presented in two categories: patient needs and environment. To the main categories were two sub-categories each, physical and psychological needs, the needs of pharmaceutical respectively external conditions and treatment. The results showed that the unmet needs such as pain, constipation, hunger, and existential concerns and the social situation were considered to affect sleep. The environment around patients is also important for sleep, for example light and sounds but also the psychosocial environment as the response from the staff. Conclusion, nursing measures should be emphasized as a way to promote sleep in elderly people with sleeping problems.

Sjuksköterskor och läkare spelar en stor roll i vården av överviktiga patienter och att denna patientgrupp får samma vård på samma villkor som patienter som inte är överviktiga. Inom hälso- och sjukvård kan det finnas negativa attityder om att patienter med ett högt BMI är lata och odisciplinerade. Vårt syfte var tudelat. Det första delsyftet var att beskriva om det finns negativa attityder från vårdpersonal gentemot överviktiga patienter. Den andra delen av syftet var att beskriva den överviktiga patientens egna upplevelser av vårdpersonalens attityder. Det gjordes en litteraturöversikt för att sammanställa forskningsläget. Sammanlagt har det analyserats 14 artiklar i resultatet, dessa var både kvantitativa och kvalitativa studier. Två teman arbetades fram. Till dessa framkom åtta underteman. Vårdpersonalens attityder visade sig påverkas av ett antal faktorer. Detta ledde i viss mån till att patienterna undvek att uppsöka vård. Resultatet visade att vårdpersonal är medvetna om att det finns negativa attityder mot överviktiga. Trots detta upplevde många överviktiga patienter nedvärderande attityder från just vårdpersonal. Vårdpersonal uppvisade en del attityder. Det visade sig att patienterna påverkades av dessa attityder oavsett om det var en egen upplevelse eller de faktiskt förekom. / Nurses and doctors play a major role in the care of obese patients and that this population receive the same treatment under the same conditions as patients who are not overweight. Within healthcare, there may be negative attitudes that patients with high BMI are lazy and undisciplined. Our purpose was twofold. The first part seeks to describe if there were negative attitudes of health professionals towards obese patients. The second part of the purpose was to describe the obese patient´s experiences of health professionals´ attitudes. This was a literature survey to compile the research situation. 14 articles were analyzed and put in the result, they were both quantitative and qualitative studies. Two themes were produced, to these eight sub-themes emerged. Health-care workers' attitudes were found to be influenced by a number of factors. This led to some extent that patients avoided seeking medical care. The results showed that health professionals were aware that there were negative attitudes towards overweight patients. Despite this, many overweight patients’ experienceed disparaging attitudes when visiting health professionals. Health professionals had a number of negative attitudes. It was found that patients were affected by these attitudes, whether they are their own experience or they do occur.

Syftet med studien var att beskriva hur vårdpersonal skattar användbarheten av stöd samt i vilken frekvens de använder sig av stöd gentemot syskon till svårt sjuka barn. Syftet var även att undersöka skillnader mellan sjuksköterskor och undersköterskor gällande den skattade användbarheten samt frekvens i användandet av stöd till syskon till svårt sjuka barn. Studien var deskriptiv och jämförande. Ett bekvämlighetsurval användes. Datainsamlingen skedde med hjälp av en enkät som delades ut till 94 personer på tre avdelningar och mottagningar i ett mellansvenskt län. Femtiofem respondenter besvarade enkäten och inklusionskriterierna motsvarades av 53 respondenter, vilka inkluderas i studien. Undersökningsgruppen bestod av sjuksköterskor och undersköterskor, alla kvinnor. Enkäten var en, till svenska, översatt version av instrumentet Sibling Social Support Questionnaire. Deltagarna bedömde "användbarhet" och "frekvens" av stöd inom 30 påståenden. Dessa berörde områdena emotionellt-, instrumentellt- och informativt stöd samt uppskattning som stöd. Huvudresultatet visade att stödområdet "Uppskattning som stöd" sammantaget ansågs vara mest användbart och också användes mest. Resultatet visar också en statistiskt signifikant skillnad mellan yrkesgrupperna (p = 0,03). Sjuksköterskorna använde stödområdet "Uppskattning som stöd" mer frekvent (mean rank 29,88) än undersköterskorna (mean rank 20,63). / The purpose of the study was to describe how health professionals estimate the usefulness of support and in what frequency they use the support towards siblings of seriously ill children. The aim was also to examine differences between nurses and assistant nurses regarding the estimated usefulness and frequency of use of support for siblings of severely ill children. The study was descriptive and comparative. A convenience sample was used. The data collection was done using a questionnaire that was distributed to 94 people in three care units and open care units in a mid-swedish region. Fifty-five respondents answered the survey and 53 of those met the inclusion criteria and were included in the study. The study group consisted of nurses and assistant nurses, all women. The questionnaire was a, into Swedish translated version of the instrument Sibling Social Support Questionnaire. The participants assessed the "usefulness" and "frequency" of support within 30 claims. These areas touched emotional-, instrumental-, informational-, and appraisal support. The main results showed that the area "Appraisal support" was considered most useful and also used most frequently. The results also showed a statistically significant difference between professional categories (p = 0.03). The nurses used the support area "Appraisal support" more frequently (mean rank 29.88) than the assistant nurses (mean rank 20.63).

Abstract The purpose with this study was to get knowledge if there are any possible differences in, and correlation between, experienced stress, experienced demands, experienced control and experienced social support in correlation to shiftwork. The study was made at two central hospitals in south of Sweden and had 90 participants (78 women and 12 men) that answered a questionnaire in the current variables. The result in experienced stress showed that there were no differences between shift workers. The results showed a difference between the day- and the nightshift in the correlation between control and stress. The writers speculates that the reason why the nightshift experience high stressvalues with high control can depend on the lack of presence by higher managers, compared with the dayshift. / Syftet med studien var att studera eventuella skillnader i, och samband mellan, upplevd stress, upplevda krav, upplevd kontroll samt upplevt socialt stöd i samband med skiftarbete. Arbetet genomfördes på två centralsjukhus i södra Sverige med 90 deltagare (78 kvinnor, 12 män) som besvarade ett frågeformulär rörande de aktuella variablerna. Resultatet vad det gäller upplevd stress visade att det inte finns någon skillnad mellan de olika skiften. Resultatet visade på en skillnad mellan dagtid och nattarbetare, den gällde vilket samband kontrollen hade med den upplevda stressen. Att nattarbetare upplever ett samband mellan hög stress och hög kontroll spekulerar författarna kan bero på att chefer inte finns tillgängliga i samma utsträckning som för dagtidsarbetarna.

Mindfulness-based wellness education (MBWE) is an 8-week program teaching formal mindfulness practices as a foundation for cultivating an awareness of one’s health or ill-health in the physical, social, emotional, ecological, vocational, mental and spiritual domains of human existence. It is designed as a health promotion intervention for individuals who are at risk of developing stress related problems, such as is the case of human services professionals. This dissertation focuses on teachers-in-training. Two groups of teacher trainees completed MBWE as part of an elective course focusing on stress and burnout. In comparison to control participants, who completed other optional courses, MBWE participants experienced improvements in mindfulness, health, and teaching self-efficacy. In one group, the intervention was also effective in reducing psychological distress and augmenting satisfaction with life. Interviews with participants after graduation revealed that although they struggled with independent mindfulness practice, they benefited from their participation in the class, which led to specific health behavior changes such as increased physical activity. Some participants reported that they relied on their mindfulness practices in times of crisis; others shared the knowledge they learned with their students and observed that this was an effective and beneficial response to the needs of their classrooms. Ideas for future inquiries include the need to explore factors influencing participants’ responses to the MBWE program and how to support on-going practice.

Uppsatsen "Att leva med bonussyskon – Om de biologiska barnens situation i familjehemmen" ur ett föräldra- samt professionellt perspektiv är utförd och skriven av Annie Dahlbom. Denna studie syftar till att få kunskap om de biologiska barnens situation och behov i familjehemmen. Följande frågeställningar har ställts : Hur ser familjehemsföräldrar och familjehemssekreterare på de biologiska barnens delaktighet och roll? Vilka upplevelser och erfarenheter får biologiska barn i och med familjens uppdrag? Har biologiska barn ett behov av stöd och hjälp för sin egen del och i så fall hur? Denna studie är av kvalitativ karaktär och bygger på semistrukturerade intervjuer med familjehemssekreterare samt familjehemsföräldrar. Studiens resultat visar att biologiska barn i familjehem anses ha en betydelsefull roll för uppdraget och är i hög grad delaktiga i den dagliga vården av det placerade barnet. Familjehemmets egna barn har ingen delaktighet vid möten eller i kontakten med socialtjänsten. Upplevelserna av att fungera som familjehem är av både positiv och negativ karaktär där förlorad tid med föräldrar samt goda och nyttiga kunskaper är exempel på sådana. Samtliga informanter tror att någon form av gruppverksamhet skulle vara ett bra forum för de biologiska barnen. / This essey "living with bonus siblings- Biological children’s situation within their family’s work as a foster family" have been written and executed by Annie Dahlbom. The purpose of this essay is to understand the biological situation within their family’s work as a foster family. How will the biological children react on their family’s mission? I want to gain knowledge about how these children’s participation takes place within the separate parts of their family’s work. Is there a need for shoring and help for foster homes own children according to their situation? The following questions have been asked to fulfill the purpose of this study: How do foster parents and professionals describe the biological children's participation and role? What experiences have biological children in the family's mission? Have biological children need support and help for their own part, and if so, how? This study is qualitative in nature and based on semi-structured interviews with professionals and foster parents.The results demonstrate that the biological children of the foster family have a significant role in the mission and is heavily involved in the daily care of the child is placed. The foster family’s own children have no involvement in meetings or in contact with social services. The experiences of serving as foster homes are both positive and negative character where lost time with parents as well as good and useful knowledge is examples of such. All respondents believe that some form of group activity would be a good forum for the biological children.

Several factors inform health professionals decisions to migrate from developing to developed countries to practice their profession. This study explores the Push and Pull factors that informed African-trained physicians decisions to migrate to the province of Saskatchewan, how well they integrated into their new working environments upon arrival and how that might contribute to future migration and retention in Saskatchewan. Based on questionnaire surveys and face-to-face interviews, this study identified differences in the relative importance of precipitating factors for physicans from South, North and Other African nations. Although the majority of African-trained physicians for the study indicated that profession-related push factors were the precipitating factors for their migration, a smaller number did not cite these as important. Most respondents for the study integrated well into the health care system and have remained at their current location of practice because of the support they received from colleagues at their work places.

This study presents an account of experiences of recent immigrant women professionals in negotiating labour market opportunities after arriving in Canada. The purpose of this research is to bring in immigrant women’s perspectives on immigration and employment study. Six immigrant women professionals from different cultural backgrounds were interviewed within the framework of qualitative research. Informed by feminist theories, this study intended to make women’s experience in post-arrival integration and settlement more visible and prominent. Research findings indicate both labour market and household factors contributed to shape the labour market experience of immigrant women professionals of recent years. Their experiences reveal the complicated social relations of their doubly burdened and triply oppressed location.