The number of systems that collect vast amount of data about users rapidly grow during last few years. Many of these systems contain data not only about people characteristics but also about their relationships with other system users. From this kind of data it is possible to extract a social network that reflects the connections between system’s users. Moreover, the analysis of such social network enables to investigate different characteristics of its users and their linkages. One of the types of examining such network is key users extraction. Key users are these who have the biggest impact on other network users as well as have big influence on network evolution. The obtained knowledge about these users enables to investigate and predict changes within the network. So this knowledge is very important for the people or companies who make a profit from the network like telecommunication company. The second important issue is the ability to extract these users as quick as possible, i.e. developed the algorithm that will be time-effective in large social networks where number of nodes and edges is equal few millions.

This thesis is about medical doctors with immigrant backgrounds who work in Sweden. Based on 15 qualitative interviews with medical doctors with immigrant backgrounds, this thesis explores the medical doctors’ feeling of professional belonging and boundary work. This thesis focuses mainly on the doctors’ experiences of being part of the Swedish medical profession while, at the same time, being regarded as ‘different’ from their Swedish medical counterparts. It starts off with the idea that medical doctors with immigrant backgrounds may have, or could be regarded as having, contradictory social positions. By virtue of being part of the Swedish medical profession, they belong to one of the most privileged groups in Swedish society. However, due to their immigrant background these doctors do not necessarily occupy a privileged position either within their profession or in society in general. This thesis shows that doctors with immigrant backgrounds feel that they are not perceived as full-fledged doctors, which seem related to how they are somewhat ‘othered'. The results show that these doctors cope with being seen as different from doctor with non-immigrant backgrounds, by using the notion of ‘migranthood’ as a resource in negotiations in everyday work life but they also do what they can to overcome the boundaries of ‘Swedishness’. Belonging should therefore be seen as having a formal and an informal side, as getting a Swedish license does not automatically mean that you feel belonging to, in this case, the Swedish medical profession. This seems to put doctors with immigrant backgrounds in a somewhat outsider within position, which seems having to do with boundaries between who is included in the ‘us’ and in the ‘them’. Lastly, these findings indicate that sociologists need to expand the understanding of professional groups to also include boundary work within these groups. In order to do so, this thesis argues that sociological theory on professional groups could be combined with sociological theory about social positions as that is one way to understand the outsider-within position that these doctors (and presumably other skilled migrants) have to cope with.

This thesis seeks to analyze how social position is negotiated by particular consumption practices. Thesis is theoretically based upon social-constructivist claims that reality is a social construct that comprises of continuously negotiated meanings. That implies that observed phenomena, such as among others consumption and social position, are seen as constituted by the cultural and symbolic dimensions of society. Methodological basis of the thesis is qualitative research. In the context of consumer behavior research I follow the research stream of consumer culture theory. Key findings of the study are that discourses on consumption are partially determined by social position while higher classes are comparatively more reflexive in their interpretations of consumption. However, social boundaries are not strictly given which creates a space for negotiating one`s social position. That might be accomplished by reinterpretation of social position. Prominent strategies of such reinterpretations were defined by discourses of neoliberalism and egalitarism. Another option consists of transgressing the economic boundaries by utilizing cultural capital. However, in the Czech society there has not yet been developed a clear consensus on what cultural capital consists of - that creates even more potential for negotiating one`s own social position.

Bakgrund: Den psykiska hälsan i Sveriges befolkning försämras samtidigt som ohälsosamma kostvanor ökar. Forskningsunderlaget som undersöker kostens påverkan på den psykiska hälsan påvisar ett samband mellan kost och psykiska besvär, men relationen behöver undersökas i även ett salutogent perspektiv. Eftersom det finns skillnader i kostvanor och den psykiska hälsan utifrån olika grupper i samhället behöver även områdena undersökas med hänsyn till socioekonomiska och demografiska skillnader Syfte: Syftet för studien är att undersöka om det finns samband mellan konsumtion av hälsosamma livsmedel, psykiskt välbefinnande, socioekonomisk status och social position hos vuxna i en arbetsför ålder, samt om sambanden skiljer utifrån kön. Metod: En tvärsnittsdesign har tillämpats som inkluderat svar från totalt 68 deltagare, bestående av vuxna i åldrarna 18–64 år. Dessa besvarades genom enkäter. För analyser har deskriptiva data och korrelationsanalyser genomförts. Resultat: Det fanns samband mellan hälsosamma livsmedel och psykiskt välbefinnande i samtliga grupper, förutom för män. Deltagarna upplevde att orsakssambandet mellan områdena var dubbelsidigt. Resultatet påvisade även att socioekonomisk status och social position hade samband med hälsosamma livsmedel och psykiskt välbefinnande i majoriteten av undersökta grupper. Slutsatser: Sambandet mellan hälsosamma livsmedel och psykiskt välbefinnande indikerar att båda områdena bör hanteras tillsammans i hälsofrämjande insatser. Eftersom sambandet var som starkast hos kvinnor indikerar det att gruppen kan vara mottaglig för insatser som kombinerar kost och psykisk hälsa i interventionskomponenter.

The growing communication that takes place between young people today causes concern. The purpose of this study is to develop in – depth knowledge of the interaction that young people engage in online. The pedagogic interest is based on an investigation of conditions for social learning and social integration that exist in practice, which unfolds in virtual spaces created by social media. The technology referred to in this thesis is considered to be a social construction, which entails that values circulate between people, technology, and society. The theoretical point of departure is based on a pedagogic theory, which proposes that people develop their ability to cooperate, their social identity, and their understanding of the world through interaction with others. This dissertation includes three studies. The first study investigates support and harassment online (for example, insults). The second study is conducted for the purpose of revealing the discursive patterns in young people’s argumentation, based on a series of interviews. Finally, a text analysis of Facebook’s policy document was performed, with focus on the democratic values that are mediated via this document. The overall result is that considerably more young people feel that they are supported in social media, than those who are harassed. Both a supportive culture and a harassing culture can be defined however. The more often young people support their friends, the more often they find themselves to be the recipient of support. The same relationship pertains for harassing communication. Reciprocity, respect, and being responsible are dominant themes in a close circle of friends. In interaction with friends who are not members of the close circle of friends, communication is characterised by asymmetry and control. The imposition of discipline takes place as a function of both gender and status. The risk of being subject to reprisals is great, if the prevailing system of norms is violated. Young people’s social interaction in virtual spaces tends to be dominated by marketization where strategic behaviour, which primarily is a function of the individual’s social position and profit interest, is observed.

Für den internationalen Vergleich von Gesellschaften wird ein System gesellschaftlicher Dauerbeobachtung vorgeschlagen, indem aufgrund einer Auseinandersetzung mit der sozialphilosophischen Diskussion acht Performanzkriterien für den internationalen Vergleich von Lebensbedingungen bzw. der „Wohlfahrt der Nationen“ entwickelt werden: Wohlstand und Wachstum; ökologische Nachhaltigkeit; Innovation; soziale Sicherung durch Unterstützungsleistungen im Risikofall sowie vorsorgend durch Bildungsinvestitionen; Anerkennung der Besonderheiten (Frauenfreundlichkeit und Migrantenfreundlichkeit); Gleichheit der Teilhabe; soziale Integration; Autonomie („freedom of choice and capabilities”). All dies betrachten wir als gesellschaftlich wünschenswerte Ziele. In unserem Ansatz gehen wir nicht von einem einheitlichen Pfad der Modernisierung in Richtung Wachstum, Partizipation und Inklusion aus, sondern unterscheiden in Erweiterung der „drei Welten des Wohlfahrtskapitalismus“ von Esping-Andersen (mindestens) fünf verschiedene institutionelle Entwicklungspfade der Modernisierung: Der sozialdemokratisch-universalistische Pfad, der wirtschaftsliberale Pfad, der Status-konservierende Pfad, der „familistische“ Pfad und die Entwicklung der Gruppe der ex-sozialistischen Länder, die sich in einem Prozess der Ausdifferenzierung befinden. Ab der 3. Auflage werden nun 36 Länder verglichen (incl. aller EU-Mitglieder) statt wie zuvor 28 Länder, in der 7. Auflage auf dem Stand von Januar 2012. Zur Analyse der Sozialstrukturen werden als Modelle sozialer Lagen berücksichtigt: Marx, Weber, Roemer/Wright; soziale Schichten, berufliche Lagen, Goldthorpe-Modell; Bourdieu, Vester, Hradil. Als Anwendungsbereiche werden behandelt: Dienstleistungsgesellschaften und Erwerbstätigkeit, Bildung; Wohlfahrtsregime und soziale Sicherung; Wohlstand, Einkommen, Vermögen und Armut; soziale Mobilität; soziale Ungleichheiten zwischen Frauen und Männern; Bevölkerungsstruktur und Lebensformen; Lebensstile; Individualisierung und ihre Gegenbewegungen; zusammenfassender Vergleich von Lebensbedingungen in verschiedenen Ländern und Wohlfahrtsregimen. / For the international comparison of societies a system for continuous observation is proposed, based on a discussion of moral values in social philosophy, which results in eight criteria of performance of societies in the following living conditions: Wealth and growth; ecological sustainability; innovation; social security by supporting benefits in the case of risk and preventive by investments in education; appreciation of peculiarities (women friendliness and migrants friendliness); equality of are sources and rights; social integration; autonomy ("freedom of choice and capabilities"). In our approach we do not assume a uniform pathway of modernization in the direction of growth, participation and inclusion, but differentiate in extension of the "three worlds of welfare capitalism" of Esping-Andersen (1990) (at least) five different institutional pathways of modernization: The social democratic (universalistic) path, the economically liberal path, the status-conserving path, the familistic path and the development of the group of post-socialist countries, which are in a process of differentiating. We compare 36 countries including all members of the EU and the anglo-saxon countries as well as Japan. For the analysis of social structures the following models of social positioning are considered: Marx, Weber, Roemer/Wright; social strata; occupational positions, Goldthorpes model; Bourdieu, Vester, Hradil. As fields of application are discussed: Service societies and employment, education; wealth, income, property and poverty; social mobility; social inequalities between women and men; demographic structure and forms of living; life styles; welfare regimes and social security; individualization and its counter-movements; summarizing comparison of the living conditions in different countries and welfare regimes.

The thesis deals with the social position of the Jewish minority in Germany during the first decades of the Second Reich; it is intended as a contribution to the social history with an emphasis on the history of everyday life. It attemps to answer a question, why despite (what seemed to be) a highly successful assimilation, or more precisely acculturation, the Jews became a target of hateful attacks again in the late 1870's and 1880's. Various methods have been applied to determine, firstly, how the German-Jewish family life looked, whether and how its education approach and job structure differed from those of the majority; secondly, in which way the social-economic situation affected the minority position, its participation in public life and its attitude to the recently estabilished state; and last but not least, the way the German-Jews understood and perceived themselves, as well as the East European immigrants (so called Ostjuden) and the public's anti-Semitism. The result of the study shows that the German-Jewish values and customs were mainly identical to those of the bourgeoisie, probably with an endogamy being the only specific feature. At the time of rising Conservatism and in spite of experiencing bitter disappointment at the again appearing anti-Semitism, their optimism and trust in...

Este trabalho analisa como a ideia de exclusão e inclusão é apresentada em programas de televisão. Por meio uma observação sistemática de certas práticas constituintes do modo de fazer televisivo, incluindo os relatos jornalísticos, o presente estudo atenta para as abordagens em que o tema da inclusão/exclusão surge em meio a discurso e práticas naturalizadores. Por meio da aproximação dos campos da Análise do Discurso de linha francesa, da Psicologia Social e da Sociologia, discute-se a construção de visibilidades de sujeitos inscritos sob a rubrica da exclusão. Assim, a partir da hipótese de que os chamados excluídos já estão incluídos de uma maneira instrumental na arena pública de uma sociedade espetacular, este estudo apresenta como os efeitos discursivos incluindo as cenas de enunciação de alguns produtos audiovisuais provocam assujeitamentos e reforçam estigmas e desigualdades por meio de posições-de-sujeito já naturalizadas no campo social. / This work analyses how the idea of social exclusion/inclusion has been showed in different television programmes. By looking systematically at its ordinary practices that include the ways the media and journalism are produced, we attempt to verify the approach of the theme through a kind of naturalizing discourse as well as the way these discourses reinforce stigmas. The approach of some fields such as French Discourse Analysis, Social Psychology and Sociology, allows discussing the construction of the identity and the social belongings of people under the exclusion rubric. Therefore, considering the hypothesis that the underclass are already instrumentally included in the public arena of a spectacular society, this research comprehends the manner the discourses effects including the scenes of enunciation - of some audiovisual products provoke subjections and highlight social differences as a natural issue through the positions already naturalized in the social field.

This diploma thesis with the title The social role of pupils in the elementary school consists of two parts. There is a theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part aims to illuminate further the issue of social roles in connection with other factors related to this topic. The most important chapter of the theoretical part is the chapter named Social role, status and position in which is the issue of social roles further described. Then there are discussed even specific social roles with which we may encounter in the primary school. The practical part is based on a survey using a variety of methods of students´ nominations. The aim of this work is to determine the rate of agreement in views of pupils in the class and their class teacher for the functioning of the class and social roles appearing there.

Este trabalho analisa como a ideia de exclusão e inclusão é apresentada em programas de televisão. Por meio uma observação sistemática de certas práticas constituintes do modo de fazer televisivo, incluindo os relatos jornalísticos, o presente estudo atenta para as abordagens em que o tema da inclusão/exclusão surge em meio a discurso e práticas naturalizadores. Por meio da aproximação dos campos da Análise do Discurso de linha francesa, da Psicologia Social e da Sociologia, discute-se a construção de visibilidades de sujeitos inscritos sob a rubrica da exclusão. Assim, a partir da hipótese de que os chamados excluídos já estão incluídos de uma maneira instrumental na arena pública de uma sociedade espetacular, este estudo apresenta como os efeitos discursivos incluindo as cenas de enunciação de alguns produtos audiovisuais provocam assujeitamentos e reforçam estigmas e desigualdades por meio de posições-de-sujeito já naturalizadas no campo social. / This work analyses how the idea of social exclusion/inclusion has been showed in different television programmes. By looking systematically at its ordinary practices that include the ways the media and journalism are produced, we attempt to verify the approach of the theme through a kind of naturalizing discourse as well as the way these discourses reinforce stigmas. The approach of some fields such as French Discourse Analysis, Social Psychology and Sociology, allows discussing the construction of the identity and the social belongings of people under the exclusion rubric. Therefore, considering the hypothesis that the underclass are already instrumentally included in the public arena of a spectacular society, this research comprehends the manner the discourses effects including the scenes of enunciation - of some audiovisual products provoke subjections and highlight social differences as a natural issue through the positions already naturalized in the social field.