The purpose of this study is to investigate binary discourses of self and other constructed by Canadian media in the representation of Saudi women. One of the modest aims of this research is to expound on the status of centralized media coverage in Canada. Drawing on Hegel’s model of dialectics, as framed by Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978) and David Nikkel’s conception of a moderate postmodernism, this research also aims at contributing to the ongoing modern-postmodern discussion by delineating and examining the ways in which dialectical analysis can aid in the deconstruction of metanarratives in Western culture. Utilizing a qualitative research design that employs multidimensional modes of textual analysis, the thesis examined the changes in the portrayal of Saudi Women through a non-probability sampling of 88 Canadian newspaper articles selected from the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, and National post between 2001-2009. One major finding was that the metanarratives guiding these representations did not change significantly despite changes in narratives as brought about by several major political events. The implications of this thesis revealed what the ideological influences framing these depictions, as well as whether or not the changes that they have undergone, were self-reifying in nature. The research also highlighted the implications resulting from assessing the ontological identities of Saudi women vis-à-vis a Western framework of values.

The purpose of this study is to investigate binary discourses of self and other constructed by Canadian media in the representation of Saudi women. One of the modest aims of this research is to expound on the status of centralized media coverage in Canada. Drawing on Hegel’s model of dialectics, as framed by Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978) and David Nikkel’s conception of a moderate postmodernism, this research also aims at contributing to the ongoing modern-postmodern discussion by delineating and examining the ways in which dialectical analysis can aid in the deconstruction of metanarratives in Western culture. Utilizing a qualitative research design that employs multidimensional modes of textual analysis, the thesis examined the changes in the portrayal of Saudi Women through a non-probability sampling of 88 Canadian newspaper articles selected from the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, and National post between 2001-2009. One major finding was that the metanarratives guiding these representations did not change significantly despite changes in narratives as brought about by several major political events. The implications of this thesis revealed what the ideological influences framing these depictions, as well as whether or not the changes that they have undergone, were self-reifying in nature. The research also highlighted the implications resulting from assessing the ontological identities of Saudi women vis-à-vis a Western framework of values.

Society has an obligation to offer parents support of various types, an example of such a support is “parent support”. The purpose of this study has been to describe midwives and child health care nurses conceptions of the need for early parent support. The definition of early parent support in this study is the first two weeks after delivery. Since the 1970:ies the Swedish delivery and “BB” care has changed in that the time in hospital care after delivery has been reduced from in average six days, till an average of two days. This change created new demands for the information given to new parents by the child health care nurse. The author used a qualitative content analysis and carried out six interviews. The informants were midwives and child health care nurse from different clinics. The result show that today’s information society have resulted in parents being very well informed, and the informants see it as part of their parent support means helping parents to find valid information in the flow of information available. This confirms research which show that much of the information parents gather themselves on the internet is incorrect. The need for experienced personal available for advice and support has also increased with reduced time spent at the hospital. However, research show that mothers value the advice available from their mothers just as high as that given by healthcare personal. The study also shows that those involved in parent support needs to be open to differences between parents. / Samhället har skyldighet att erbjuda föräldrar stöd i olika former, ett exempel på sådant stöd är föräldrastöd. Syftet med denna studie har varit att beskriva barnmorskors och BVC-sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av tidigt föräldrastöd, med fokus på upplevda behov hos föräldrarna. Sedan 1970-talet har den Svenska förlossnings och BB-vården förändrats genom att vårdtiden efter att ett barn är fött har kortats ned från i genomsnitt sex dagar till i genomsnitt två dagar. Denna förändring ställer andra krav på den information som barnmorskor och BVC-sjuksköterskor delger nyblivna föräldrar. Författaren använde sig av en kvalitativ innehållsanalys och genomförde sex intervjuer. Informanterna var barnmorskor från BB och BVC-sjuksköterskor från olika vårdcentraler. Resultatet visar att dagens informationssamhälle har resulterat i att föräldrar är mycket pålästa och informanterna upplever att en del av föräldrastödet innebär att hjälpa föräldrar att hitta rätt bland all information. Detta bekräftar forskningen som visar på att mycket av den information som föräldrar inhämtar själva från Internet är direkt missvisande. Med nedkortade vårdtider efter förlossningen har även behovet för föräldrar att dygnet runt kunna rådfråga erfaren personal ökat. Forskning visar dock att mammor värderar den information de kan inhämta från sina mammor lika högt som den de får från hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal. Studien visar också att de som bedriver föräldrastöd behöver vara öppna för olikheter föräldrar emellan.

The purpose of this essay has been to describe and compare the personal qualities that the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) tried to associate Barack Obama and John McCain with during the American presidential election campaign 2008. The main question to be answered is: What social and physical characters as well as what personal experiences, interest and resources did DN tried to emphasize regarding John McCain and Barack Obama during the American presidential election campaign 2008. The theoretical starting-point has been John B Thompson’s theory of the mediated publicity and John Corner´s theory of political persona and spheres of action. Various DN news texts, in all 38 articles, have been examined by content analysis from 25th of august to the 4th of November. The main results show that the most frequent mentioned qualities about Barack Obamas was his skin colour, ethnicity and speech talents. The most frequent mentioned qualities about John McCain was his age and his military experiences from the Vietnam War. The conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that the qualities described in DN created a picture of two different politicians. Many of the qualities that was mentioned have no connection to politics and even if they was just mentioned one time can they play a significant role in trying to build confidence. Many of the qualities that was mentioned are qualities that necessary not have to be seen as positive.

Bakgrund: Telefonrådgivning på vårdcentral utgör en stor del av distriktssköterskors arbete. När distriktssköterskor saknar visuell kontakt med vårdsökare i telefonen ställs andra krav på kommunikationen mellan distriktssköterskor och vårdsökande. I takt med den ökade invandringen i Sverige träffar distriktssköterskor på utlandsfödda vårdsökande med språkförbistring i allt större utsträckning. Det behövs därför mer forskning inom detta område. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva distriktssköterskors erfarenheter av telefonrådgivning på vårdcentral till vårdsökande som inte har svenska som modersmål. Metod: Designen på studien är en kvalitativ deskriptiv intervjustudie med induktiv ansats. Datamaterialet utgjordes av tio intervjuer med distriktssköterskor på vårdcentral. Analys gjordes med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Ur analysen framträder fyra kategorier Att främja samspel i kommunikationen, Att träffa på svårigheter/ hinder i samtalet, Att använda organisatoriska strategier, Att använda sin kompetens. Slutsats: Att nå överensstämmelse i kommunikationen ansågs som något av det viktigaste i arbetet med telefonrådgivning.  Kulturella skillnader och språkförbistring gjorde telefonrådgivningen utmanande. Andrahandsinformation gjorde det svårt att veta att korrekt information gavs samt att sekretessen upprätthölls. Distriktssköterskorna beskrev oro för felbedömning vid samtal med uppringare med språkförbistring. Att förmedla trygghet ansågs viktigt vid telefonrådgivning till utlandsfödda vårdsökare. Distriktssköterskorna i studien eftersökte organisatoriskt stöd och utbildning för att lättare kunna arbeta med telefonrådgivning. / Background: Telephone advice and triage at health care centers constitutes a big part of the daily tasks a district nurse perform. As the tele nurses lacks visual contact with their patients, there are greater demands in the communication as opposed to face-to-face encounters. As the immigration increases in Sweden, the district nurse encounters an increasing amount of foreign born callers with language barriers. Therefore, more research in this area is necessary. Aim: The aim of this study is to describe distric nurses experiences of telephone nursing to healthcare seekers with other native language than Swedish. Method: The study design is a qualitative descriptive interview study with an inductive approach. Data was collected through ten individual interviews with district nurses in health center and the data was analyzed by content analysis. Results: Four categories emerged from the analysis: To encourage synergetic communication, To encounter obstacles in the conversation, To practice organizational strategies, To utilize one's competence. Conclusion: To pursue mutuality in communication and to conclude a common decision was seen among the most important aspects of the telephone nursing advisory. Cultural differences and language barriers caused the telephone nursing to become a challenging task for the nurses. Secondary information received through friends and relatives introduced an uncertainty to determine information correctness and whether the secrecy remained upheld. The district nurses expressed concern of misjudgment during conversations with callers who showed language inabilities. To bring security was noted as crucial in telephone nursing for foreign born callers. Furthermore, the district nurse needs to be confident in oneself. The district nurses in this study sought for organizational support and education.

Background: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a relatively common condition. In Sweden, the overall estimated prevalence of POP in the female population is 31% and the prevalence of symptomatic prolapse is 8–15%. The prevalence of POP increases with age. The lifetime risk of undergoing pelvic floor surgery is estimated to 11%. The aim of this thesis was to investigate outcomes of vaginal hysterectomy for treatment of prolapse; to study outcomes of cystocele repair surgery and patient satisfaction related to different anaesthesia methods; to explore women’s experiences of vaginal prolapse; and to investigate what is known regarding POP prior to surgery and healthcare-seeking behaviour. Methods: In the Swedish National Quality Register for Gynaecological Surgery (Gynop-register), 941 women were identified who underwent vaginal hysterectomy for prolapse from 1997 to 2005 and 1,364 women were identified who underwent cystocele repair surgery from 2006 to 2009. In-depth interviews were performed with 14 women with vaginal prolapse. Interview data were analyzed with a qualitative content analysis. To investigate women’s knowledge about POP and healthcare-seeking behaviour, a questionnaire was developed, validated and distributed to women with planned surgery for POP. Women undergoing hysterectomy or incontinence surgery were used as reference groups. Results: Severe complications after vaginal hysterectomy occurred in 3% of cases. Sexual activity was improved after vaginal hysterectomy, the number of women reported to have intercourse increased by 20% (p = 0.006). Subjective symptoms of urinary incontinence and overactive bladder were resolved in 50% of the women. De novo stress incontinence was reported by 11% of the women. Use of local anaesthesia (LA) in reconstruction of cystocele showed advantage over other forms of anaesthesia. Length of hospital stay, duration of use of postoperative pain-killing drugs, and time to return to daily activity were shorter among women who underwent surgery with LA compared to other forms of anaesthesia. Patient satisfaction was not related to methods of anaesthesia. In an interview study, the process from recognition the symptoms to seeking healthcare was highlighted. Two categories, “obstacles” and “facilitators” to seeking health care, were identified. One of the obstacles was lack of information on POP in the public domain. The main facilitators were feeling sexually unattractive and impaired physical ability due to POP. Some findings from the interview study were further explored in the questionnaire study. One out of five women with vaginal prolapse did not know that the symptoms were related to prolapse before consulting their physician. Over 30% of the women in the incontinence group were embarrassed to talk about incontinence, and they were unaware that it could be treated. The most frequent description of vaginal prolapse was vaginal bulging. Women in the prolapse group had significantly less access to information through brochures and public media than women in the incontinence group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Short-term follow-up after vaginal hysterectomy showed that sexual activity and urinary symptoms had improved. Cystocele surgery using LA showed no disadvantage compared to surgery using other anaesthesia methods. POP surgery can therefore be performed safely with LA. Information on prolapse should be easily accessible to improve the possibility for women of gaining knowledge and thereby overcoming obstacles to seeking medical advice. Healthcare professionals have a significant role to play in informing women about symptoms and available treatment options.

Background. Police work is a stressful occupation with frequent exposure to traumatic events and psychological strain from work might increase the risk of burnout. This thesis focuses on patrolling police officers (PPO), who work most of their time in the community and have daily contact with the public. Since police work traditionally is a male coded occupation we assume that there are differences between women and men in burnout as well as experiences from psychosocial work environment. Aim. The overall aim of this thesis is to explore burnout, psychosocial and physical work environment, coping strategies, and stress of conscience when taking gender into consideration among patrolling police officers. Methods. This thesis employs both qualitative and quantitative methods. In Paper I a qualitative approach with narrative interviews was used where male PPO described experiences of traumatic situations when caring for victims of traffic accidents. A convenience sample of nine male PPO from a mid-sized police authority was recruited. Interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Papers II, III, and IV were based on a cross-sectional survey from a randomly selected sample stratified for gender from all 21 local police authorities in Sweden. In the final sample, 1554 PPOs were invited (778 women, 776 men), response rate was 55% (n=856) in total, 56% for women (n=437) and 53% for men (n=419). The survey included a self-administered questionnaire based on instruments measuring burnout, stress of conscience, psychosocial and physical work environment, and coping. Results. Findings from Paper I were presented in three themes; “being secure with the support system,” “being confident about prior successful actions,” and “being burdened with uncertainty.” Results from Paper II showed high levels of emotional exhaustion (EE), 30% for female PPOs and 26% for male PPOs. High levels of depersonalization (DP) were reported for 52 % of female PPO, corresponding proportions for male were 60%. Multiple logistic regression showed that stress of conscience (SCQ-A), high demand, and organizational climate increased the risk of EE for female PPO. For male PPO stress of conscience (SCQ-A), low control and high demand increased the risk of EE. Independent of gender, stress of conscience (SCQ-A) increased the risk of DP. Psychometric properties of the WOCQ were investigated with exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, a six-factor solution was confirmed. DIF analysis was detected for a third of the items in relation to gender. In Paper IV a block wise hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed investigating the predictive impact of psychological demand, decision latitude, social support, coping strategies, and stress of conscience on EE as well as DP. Findings revealed that, regardless of gender, risk of EE and DP increased with a troubled conscience amongst the PPO. Conclusion. “Being burdened with uncertainty” in this male-dominated context indicate that the PPO did not feel confident talking about traumatic situations, which might influence their coping strategies when arriving to a similar situation. This finding can be related to Paper II and IV showing that stress of conscience increased the risk of both EE and DP. The associations between troubled conscience and the risk of experiencing both emotional exhaustion and depersonalization indicate that stress of conscience should be considered when studying the influence of the psychosocial work environment on burnout. Results from this study show that the psychosocial work environment is not satisfying and needs improvement for patrolling police officers in Sweden. Further studies including both qualitative and quantitative (longitudinal) methods should be used to improve knowledge in this area to increase conditions for preventive and rehabilitative actions.

Syftet med studien var att analysera biståndsutredningar utifrån ett genusperspektiv för att undersöka om det finns några skillnader både språkligt och innehållsmässigt utifrån kön. Vårt gemensamma intresse för genusfrågor och socialt arbete för individer med funktionsnedsättningar är anledningen till valet av studiens inriktning. Karin Barrons teori om att kvinnor och män med funktionsnedsättningar inte tilldelas kön har inspirerat till studien. Med hjälp av socialkonstruktivism och ett genusperspektiv har empirin analyserats med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Studiens empiri består av biståndsutredningar enligt Lagen om stöd och service för vissa funktionshindrade (SFS 1993:387) angående ansökan om personlig assistans. Utredningarna kommer ifrån en relativt stor kommun. Resultatet visar att språket i biståndsutredningarna synliggör kön och skapar olika bilder av kvinnor och män med funktionsnedsättningar. Utredningarna porträtterar mannen som drabbad av sin funktionsnedsättning, drabbad men fortfarande stark och kompetent. I samma sorts texter skildras kvinnan som att hon är, har eller har utvecklat sin funktionsnedsättning och som beroende av hjälpmedel och annat stöd / The purpose was to analyze needs assessment investigation to explore if there are differences in the linguistic and content regarding gender. We have common interest in both gender perspective and disability care. Therefore these areas were chosen for the study. Karin Barron and her theory about disabled people being declined their gender was the inspiration to the study.  A social constructionist and a gender perspective were used throughout this research and a qualitative content analyze were used to analyze and process the documents. The documents consisted by needs assessment investigation regarding applications about personal assistance. The applications are regulated by the Swedish law, Lagen om stöd och service för vissa funktionshindrade (SFS 1993:387). The data was collected from a relatively large municipality. The results show that in these documents gender is visible and creates different images of disabled men and women. The documents presented the men as victims of their disability, victims but still strong and abled and the women were presented as accountable of their disability and dependent of means

The number of persons with problems of abuse or addiction seeking care has increased during the last years in Sweden. Recent international studies show stigmatizing attitudes among nursing staff, which affect the treatment and care negatively. The purpose of this study was to describe experiences among nursing staff of treating persons with problems of abuse or addiction at an emergency department. The participants were six nurses and one assistant nurse who worked at an emergency department. The interviews were analyzed through qualitative content analysis. The result presented circumstances that complicated or facilitated the treatment of persons with problems of abuse or addiction. Challenging behavior among patients, stigmatizing attitudes and lack of knowledge among staff complicated the treatment while good security routines and a person-centered approach facilitated the treatment. Improved cooperation with the psychiatric clinic was requested to increase the competence of addiction treatment and to make the workflow more effective. The conclusion is that nursing staff at the emergency department lacks the time and knowledge that it takes to give the best treatment to these patients. This contributes to increased stigmatizing attitudes and conscience-related stress. Education, reflection and improved cooperation with the psychiatric ward were seen as important aspects of nursing development.

Digital marketing has been changing continuously and rapidly since the introduction of Web 2.0 ten years ago (Lin, Li, Deng, & Lee, 2013). Companies are now engaging their users in their digital marketing by providing with interactive contents in digital campaigns. The digital campaigns are getting more converge with SNS (social networking sites) in order to let the user share the content with others and therefore the e-WOM (electronic word of mouth) helps the companies digital campaigns to be shared by more users (Moran, Muzellec, & Nolan, 2014). The interactive content in the digital campaigns have shown to provide for engaged users and therefore leads to loyal users. The reason for this has its roots in the culture of consumption that has brought our everyday consumption to a whole new level where we no longer just consumes a product, we are the brand (Davis, 2013). The study, Click here for solidarity, aims to explain the interactive phases and rhetorical elements that companies use to engage the user to interact with the content of the digital campaigns. The study is based on four digital campaigns in four different market areas in order to provide with an overall picture of how companies work with interactive and rhetorical elements. Thus the study falls into the area of marketing and branding. The study is conducted with a qualitative content analysis and a rhetorical analysis in order to interpret the interactive and rhetorical elements in the four digital campaigns. Our goal for this study is therefore not to see to what the digital campaigns in the study has failed on, neither to create a new theoretical framework. Finally, a few conclusions of the interactive and rhetorical elements are drawn. First of all, the study showed that in order to engage users in digital campaigns the content needs to respond fast. The interactive parts, such as toolbars and various clickable icons, needs to engage the user. Also, the digital campaigns in the study all showed the rhetorical element pathos, which appeared in their attempts to persuade the user. Thus makes the rhetorical elements in the digital campaigns important so that the users will feel an urge to engage with the content.