Uppsatsen är en kvalitativ studie, med ett blandad induktivt- och deduktivt förhållningssätt med en kritisk realistisk lins, som har tillämpats under bearbetning och presentation av materialet. Uppsatsen avser att undersöka de strategier och resurser som bolag X har tillhandahållit för att skapa en sund social- och organisatorisk arbetsmiljö hos distansarbetande medarbetare. Strategierna och resurserna bygger på det arbetsmaterial som studenten fått tillgång till samt en gruppintervju med ansvarig HR-personal. Därutöver undersöka hur strategier och resurser mottagits av första linjens ledarskap och kundtjänstmedarbetare, har empiriskt insamlats genom 11 semi-strukturerade intervjuer. Respondenternas upplevelser med att arbeta på distans presenteras utifrån ett upplevt, socialt- och organisatoriskt arbetsmiljöperspektiv. Likväl presenteras de förbättringsåtgärder som framkommit under intervjuerna. Resultatet visar på att HR-avdelningen i sitt arbetsmiljöarbete har försökt att skapa strategier och resurser riktade mot distansarbetet. Däremot saknas det en gemensam vision och riktning som dikteras av högre ledning. Det återspeglas i respondenternas svar, upplevelser och rekommendationer. Arbetsmiljön präglas av bristfälliga organisatoriska resurser med höga krav och förväntningar. Det resulterar i en betoning och framarbetning av sociala- och personliga resurser i arbetsmiljön bland medarbetare och teamledare, vars syfte är att täcka upp den organisatoriska arbetsmiljöproblematik som existerar.

Adolescence is a time of great exploration and change. During this time, youth are transitioning both biologically and sexually into adults. Adolescents are also testing the boundaries of self-reliance and making choices about their personal relationships. Not surprisingly, aggressive urges are often driven by peers in pursuit of some form of identity (Masten 2004). Peers can have both positive and negative effects on the wellbeing on youth. Peer groups can provide emotional, physical, and social support to youth during a time of immense change (Parker and Asher 1987; Gest, Graham-Berman, and Hartup 2001). Peers can also model delinquent and risk-taking behaviors that have lasting health, social, and economic consequences throughout the life course. In an effort to understand the role of friendships in adolescent health, social scientists have increasingly focused on adolescent network structures within schools and the role various positions and peer group formations influence behaviors such as alcohol and cigarette use, violent and serious delinquency, and sexual risk-taking. While informative, peer networks studies have yet to adequately address how peer network structures based on immigrant generation and types of marginalized social positions influence health risk behavior engagement among adolescents. In three studies, I address the dearth of research in these areas, using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). The first study investigates the influence of generational peers on alcohol misuse among immigrant youth. Testing hypotheses derived from sociological theories of generations regarding race/ethnicity, gender, and immigrant generation, findings from this study demonstrate generational ties are inversely related to alcohol misuse for immigrants and these effects depend partly on race/ethnicity and gender. The second study investigates the effects of specific network forms of social isolation on heavy episodic drinking and cigarette use among adolescents. The central finding from this study is that different network-based forms of social isolation had varying effects on alcohol and cigarette use when compared to sociable youth. The final study examines the relationship between types of social isolation and violent delinquency when compared to sociable youth. Deriving hypotheses from general strain theory, I test whether the isolation-violence relationship varies across isolation types when compared to sociable youth. I also test whether other negative experiences and circumstances (strains) tied to adolescence moderate the relationship between isolation types and violent delinquency. Finally, studies indicate a consistent gender gap in criminality. Therefore, I test whether the isolation-violence relationship differs by gender. Findings demonstrate that socially disinterested youth show a greater capacity for violent behavior, but other types of marginalized youth showed no difference in violence when compared to sociable youth. Results also suggest that some types of strain moderate the isolation-violence relationship and that these patterns are gendered.

Text in German / Zusammenfassung Die vorliegende Untersuchung geht von der Beobachtung aus, dass die postmoderne Gesellschaft tendenziell isolierend auf die Menschen wirkt. Demgegenüber wohnt der Kirche ein Gemeinschaftspotential inne, das eine greifbare Alternative für vereinsamte Menschen anbieten kann. Diese Untersuchung stellt nun die zentrale Frage, wie die Kirche ihr gemeinschaftsförderndes Potential effektiver in die Gesellschaft einbringen kann. Hierzu werden zunächst die soziologischen und theologischen Voraussetzungen geklärt, denen dann, anhand einer begrenzten empirischen Studie, praktische Erfahrungen von Menschen mit kirchlicher Gemeinschaft an die Seite gestellt werden. Zuletzt wird die zeitgenössische Gemeindebauliteratur vergleichend herangezogen, um schlussendlich die zentrale Frage dieser Untersuchung mit einigen praktischen Vorgehensvorschlägen zu beantworten. Summary of Dissertation This study has its roots in the observation, that the postmodern society has a tendency to isolate the people. In contrast to this, the church has an inherent potential of community, which can offer a concrete alternative for isolated people. This study now asks the central question, how the church can be enabled to bring their community-promoting potential more effectively into the society. For this, firstly the sociological and theological conditions are clarified, to which then, on the basis of a limited empirical study, practical experiences of people with church community are placed beside. At last, the contemporary literature of church growth is consulted comparatively, in order to finally answer the central question of this study by some practical procedure suggestions. / Practical Theology / M.Th. (Practical Theology)

The thesis analyses forms and levels of social exclusion of Zimbabwean migrants in the South African labour market and society. The research reveals that migrants face social exclusion through unruly practices of public officials and institutional bias. At community and individual level migrants are devalued and stigmatised by the local South Africans and other Zimbabwean migrants. To some extent Zimbabwean migrants participate in their own exclusion as they are divided along regional and ethnic lines. The thesis proposes an analytical framework for understanding the social exclusion of Zimbabwean migrants emphasising on how devaluation of migrant identity narrows the existing structure of opportunity, leading to various coping mechanisms some of which are deviant. The thesis proposes a moral and pragmatic view in understanding the social exclusion of migrants from a cosmopolitan perspective where migrants are citizens of a global world. Using a qualitative methodology the research provides an in-depth analysis of the life histories of fifty eight (58) ‘documented’ and ‘undocumented’ Zimbabwean men and women in Kempton Park and Tembisa. The research was carried out in 2012. Migrants respond to social exclusion by using social capital in the form of family/kinship, ethnic and church networks. Zimbabweans mainly rely on bonding rather than bridging social capital. To a greater extent, migrant networks help them to ‘get by’ and simply survive. The few that have managed to ‘get ahead’, have made use of networks with South African residents and other individuals outside their migrant network systems. These have facilitated acquisition of fake identity documents, jobs and other necessities. Family networks are beginning to repel migrants because of the economic pressures they face leading to the weakening of ties among Zimbabwean migrant family members. / Sociology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

Different theoretical approaches and interpretations offer diverse delineations and clusters of Enneagram type in terms of Horney’s interpersonal trends of moving toward, moving against and moving away from people. The present study reports the results of an empirical investigation into the relationship between Enneagram type and Horney’s interpersonal trends. A sample of 2 3 participants completed the Test of Object Relations (TOR) and 125 of these participants completed the Horney-Coolidge Tridimensional Inventory (HCTI). Two one-way, between-groups multivariate analyses of variance revealed differences between Enneagram types for each of the HCTI interpersonal trends of compliance, aggression and detachment and the TOR dimensions of separation anxiety, symbiotic merging, narcissism, egocentricity, social isolation and fear of engulfment. For each trend, an Enneagram type could be identified as a unique marker or benchmark of the trend. However, the empirical result does not offer clear support for one theoretical approach or viewpoint rather than another. / Psychology / M. A, (Psychology)

A infância e a adolescência são períodos sensíveis de maturação neuronal, caracterizados por alta plasticidade de circuitos encefálicos em desenvolvimento, como é o caso do sistema mesolímbico dopaminérgico. Experiências estressantes neste período, como o isolamento social (IS), podem produzir neuroadaptações nesses circuitos e aumentar a vulnerabilidade ao consumo de drogas e de alimentos palatáveis ao longo da vida. Tendo em vista que extensa literatura analisa longos períodos de isolamento social, que não são modelos adequados para o estresse por isolamento que ocorre em sociedades humanas, o objetivo do presente estudo foi investigar os efeitos de uma exposição curta ao isolamento social durante o período pré-púbere sobre o sistema mesolímbico dopaminérgico e a susceptibilidade para o abuso de drogas e para o consumo compulsivo de alimento palatável em ratas Wistar fêmeas, na idade adulta. Também foi objetivo avaliar o papel da exposição crônica a uma dieta rica em sacarose (DRS) sobre estas variáveis. Como resultados, foi observado que o IS aumentou a resposta locomotora a um desafio com anfetamina, bem como aumentou, no estriado dorsal, o imunoconteúdo do transportador de dopamina, da enzima tirosina hidroxilase e diminuiu os níveis do receptor D2 de dopamina (D2R); além disso, os animais submetidos ao IS na pré-puberdade apresentaram aumento nos parâmetros relacionados ao estresse oxidativo após o desafio. De modo interessante, a exposição a DRS preveniu os efeitos do IS sobre a resposta locomotora, mas não afetou os parâmetros dopaminérgicos. O IS também diminuiu o imunoconteúdo basal de D2R no núcleo accumbens (NAc) e estimulou o consumo do tipo-compulsivo de alimento doce (Froot Loops®). A DRS não interferiu nestes parâmetros. Observamos também que o IS não alterou os níveis basais de corticosterona plasmática, enquanto que a DRS diminuiu tais níveis. Os registros das correntes excitatórias pós-sinápticas (CEPS) espontâneas indicaram, como resultado preliminar, que a DRS reduziu o tempo de subida das CEPS, indicando uma resposta glutamatérgica fugaz. Os achados deste estudo demonstram pela primeira vez que um período curto de IS em uma fase crítica do desenvolvimento é capaz de programar o sistema mesolímbico dopaminérgico de forma a aumentar a susceptibilidade tanto ao uso de drogas quanto ao consumo do tipo-aditivo de alimento doce. Esses efeitos podem ser em parte explicados pela redução dos níveis de D2R basal no NAc e pela maior estimulação do sistema dopaminérgico no estriado frente a um desafio com anfetamina. Os achados desta tese sugerem que experiências estressantes, como o isolamento social, durante um período crítico do desenvolvimento é capaz de programar o sistema de recompensa encefálico de forma permanente e aumentar a susceptibilidade a comportamentos aditivos na vida adulta. Identificar fatores preditores de propensão a esse tipo de comportamento é importante para prevenir o desenvolvimento de dependência de drogas e/ou de distúrbios alimentares, além de possibilitar a identificação de alvos terapêuticos e o desenvolvimento de estratégias de tratamento para estes distúrbios. / Childhood and adolescence are sensitive periods of neuronal maturation, characterized by high plasticity of developing brain circuits, such as the mesolimbic dopaminergic system. Stressful experiences in these periods, such as social isolation (SI), can produce changes in these circuits and increase vulnerability to drug addiction and eating disorders throughout life. Considering that most of literature analyze long periods of social isolation, that are not good models for social stress in human societies, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a short post-weaning social isolation on mesolimbic dopaminergic system and the susceptibility to drug and food addiction in female Wistar rats in adulthood. Moreover, we also aimed to evaluate the role of a chronic high sugar diet (HSD) on these variables. It was observed that IS increased the locomotor response to a challenge with amphetamine (AMPH), as well as increased the immunocontent of dopamine transporter, the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase, decreased the D2 dopamine receptor (D2R) and increased the parameters related to oxidative stress in dorsal striatum after the challenge. Interestingly, exposure to DRS prevented the effects of SI on locomotor response, but did not affect dopaminergic parameters. IS also decreased the basal immunocontent of D2R in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), and stimulated binge eating of high sweet food (Froot Loops®). HSD did not interfere with these parameters. We also observed that SI did not alter plasma corticosterone baseline levels after IS, whereas HSD induced a decrease in these levels. Excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSC) indicated, as a preliminary result, that the exposure to a HSD reduced the rise time, indicating a more fleeting glutamatergic response. The findings of this study demonstrate for the first time that a short period of SI at a critical period of development is able to programme the mesolimbic dopaminergic system in order to increase susceptibility to both drug and food addiction. These results are possibly due, at least in part, to low basal levels of D2R in NAc and the higher stimulation of the dopaminergic system in striatum after a challenge with AMPH. The findings of this thesis suggest that stressful experiences such as social isolation during a critical period of development are able to permanently program the brain reward system and increase the susceptibility to additive behaviors in adult life. Identifying predisposing factors to this type of behavior is extremely important to prevent the development of drug addiction and/or eating disorders, to identify therapeutic targets and to enable the development of treatment strategies for these disorders.

Cette enquête micro-sociologique réalisée sous forme d'observation participante active, s'intéresse aux questions suivantes : comment devient-on body-builder? Comment s'installent des pressions normatives et « déviances positives » attendues et reconnues par le groupe de pratiquants? Ainsi, pendant 8 mois, j'ai suivi une initiation au body-building supervisée par un ancien body-builder (titré internationalement) devenu coach. J'ai participé aux séances de musculation aux côtés de compétiteurs, sportifs et sédentaires, au rythme de quatre entraînements de deux heures par semaine. La thèse soutient que le body-building de haut-niveau fonctionne sur le principe de l'ascèse tout en construisant un lien social de type sectaire entre les membres du groupe et le coach. La transformation du corps demande une implication totale qui a pour conséquence une rupture du quotidien et une restructuration des relations sociales de l'initié. Plus il est reconnu et accepté par le coach et ses pairs, plus il reçoit un regard critique de l'extérieur, ce qui le conduit à un isolement social et renforce les processus d'emprise corporels exercés. Le coach agit comme un gourou de secte en conditionnant le quotidien des athlètes pour les modeler à son image. / This micro-sociological investigation, using the participant observation method, studied how a person becomes a body-builder? How does the expected and accepted normative pressures and " positive deviances " become common practice by the members of the group? Therefore, during 8 months, I followed an initiation of body-building supervised by a former body-builder (internationally titled) who had became a coach. I went to the weight room with competitors, sportsmen and amateur for two hours four times a week. This thesis supports that top-level body-building works on the principle of asceticism and builds sectarian-type social links between the members of the group and the coach. A total implication is required for the transformation of the body which implies giving up the normal every day life and restructuring the initiated persons social relationships. The more he is recognized and accepted by the coach and his peers, the more he will be a criticized from the outside. This will drive him to social isolation and will strengthen the influence exercised by the coach. The coach acts as a guru of sect by controlling the everyday life of the athletes to model them into his image.

Abstract not available

This research examines problematic and taken for granted issues in Scottish Secondary Education, from a critical community psychological perspective. Young people are positioned as central to the research, in particular young people experiencing exclusion being the most disempowered group in education, and to fully understand problems they experience the thesis develops a standpoint with young people. Methodologically the research is grounded in a particular approach to praxis. Critical reflection, action and knowledge construction all influence one another cyclically in complex relationships, at times conflicting and at others developing together dialogically and these relationships are embraced and reflected upon carefully. Power and knowledge are viewed as being inextricably linked and knowledge, what is legitimated within a certain frame of reference as ‘truth’ or ‘reality’, is viewed as being constructed by dominant groups with the power to do so. Ethnography was carried out in three educational settings: a mainstream High School; a Special School in a city centre catering for young people experiencing exclusion; and a Youth Project where permanently excluded young people were on an alternative curriculum. Qualitative methods were used in a varied and tailored way for each setting and group of people and included Participatory Action Research and group work with young people, interview and group work with teachers, active participation in settings leading to fieldwork notes, and collection of textual information. Analysis involved careful examination of a wide variety of material, drawing on various methods of discourse analysis. The research material was analysed for the ways in which education made possible and placed limits on legislation, social practices, ways of speaking and ways of being. The assumption that adults must be in control of young people in education was found to be absolute and pervasive, stemming from societal ideas of young people, but also perpetuating them. This emerged throughout my research, from practices in mainstream school to ways of speaking available to adults and young people. Inclusion, while often spoken of in relation to equality and social justice, in practice is often conditional, and is re-positioned in this thesis as a form of control. School exclusion is often described in education as being expelled or suspended, but is repositioned in this research more generally as being excluded from learning and peers, and is argued as inherently problematic. Problematic, institutional, educational discourse is constructed as often placing limits on ways of speaking, such that critical reflection and action within secondary education becomes very difficult for adults and young people. Ways of speaking available to young people are examined and demonstrate that while education imposes particular ways of speaking and being, young people find opportunities to resist and reconstruct. Ways of being are examined, between adults and young people in educational settings, and an account of performance of resistance and compliance between young people and adults is developed. This research draws on a complex and multi disciplinary use of theory, literature, methodology and methods, and in doing so constructs an account of young people’s experiences in education that is based on a standpoint with young people. By grounding the research in the interests of young people, particularly those experiencing school exclusion, it challenges assumptions of dominance and control that have implications for education as a whole and all those operating within.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 2005. / Typescript (photocopy).