<p>Homeless adolescents are in Sweden rather invisible, as a group. There is no established definition or description of the problem, nor any uniform terms regarding it. The purpose of this study is to investigate how four different organizations, based on their basic principles, describe the group homeless adolescents. We discuss why the organizations reason as they do, and what it leads to. In order to do so we have performed qualitative interviews with representatives from each organization. The study relies on a social constructivist theory, which focuses on how knowledge and different phenomena are constructed. To analyze the constructions concerning the group homeless adolescents we used Kitsuse & Spector’s (1973a; 1973b; 1977) social constructivist theory about social problems. To operationalize our theory and determine how the phenomena is constructed we used Rose’s (1999) dimensions of analysis. Our results show that governmental organizations don’t recognize this as a problem of homelessness, but as a family problem. Only one organization offers a different description. This indicates that there is a public description of the problem, and one claims-making process. According to the public description the solution to the problem is family treatment which means that the basic condition is that the adolescents return home, otherwise the group can’t be helped.</p>

Homeless adolescents are in Sweden rather invisible, as a group. There is no established definition or description of the problem, nor any uniform terms regarding it. The purpose of this study is to investigate how four different organizations, based on their basic principles, describe the group homeless adolescents. We discuss why the organizations reason as they do, and what it leads to. In order to do so we have performed qualitative interviews with representatives from each organization. The study relies on a social constructivist theory, which focuses on how knowledge and different phenomena are constructed. To analyze the constructions concerning the group homeless adolescents we used Kitsuse &amp; Spector’s (1973a; 1973b; 1977) social constructivist theory about social problems. To operationalize our theory and determine how the phenomena is constructed we used Rose’s (1999) dimensions of analysis. Our results show that governmental organizations don’t recognize this as a problem of homelessness, but as a family problem. Only one organization offers a different description. This indicates that there is a public description of the problem, and one claims-making process. According to the public description the solution to the problem is family treatment which means that the basic condition is that the adolescents return home, otherwise the group can’t be helped.

This thesis has focused on specific aspects of the law concerning the 2nd paragraph of The Care of Young Persons Act (1990:52), LVU. The purpose of this study was to examine the provision other circumstance in the home from a legal perspective; how is the provision defined in the law? A second purpose was to reveal any discrepancy between the intention of the legislation of the already mentioned provision and how this provision was interpreted and applied in practice. This study was jurisprudential and based on both traditional juristic method and sociological methods with qualitative interviews with social workers and text analysis of a case from The County Administrative Court. The gathered information was analysed using a method of discourse analysis. The theoretical framework for this thesis was social constructionism based upon the work of Berger and Luckmann. The conclusion of this study was that the provision other circumstance in the home is connected to the role of the mother though this is not noticed through the legislation. Another conclusion was that the practice considers the legal demand to anticipate as unattainable. The interpretation and application of the provision made by the practice, compared with the intention of the legislation, was representing both an expand and restriction of the provision.

Syftet med studien är att se hur socialtjänsten med sina barnavårdsutredningar kan vara en del i upprätthållandet av könsspecifika normer, förväntningar och värderingar. Våra frågeställningar är: Hur ser diskursen om pojkar ut; hur beskrivs och värderas pojkar i utredningstexten? Hur ser diskursen om flickor ut; hur beskrivs och värderas flickor i utredningstexten? Hur ser könsskillnaderna ut? Det är en kvalitativ studie med kritisk diskursanalys som metod och socialkonstruktivism samt genusteori som teoretisk grund. Materialet utgörs av 14 barnavårdsutredningar upprättade av socialtjänsten där hälften gäller flickor och hälften pojkar. I analysen framkommer att fokus i flickutredningarna till viss del skiljer sig från det som står i fokus i pojkutredningarna. Vid utredning av flickor utgör umgänge och sexuella relationer en stor del av texterna, där det senare inte överhuvudtaget finns med i pojkmaterialet. Vi finner även att skillnaderna har förändrats en del i jämförelse med den tidigare forskning vi tagit del av där det framhålls att flickor i allmänhet beskrivs som passiva objekt och pojkar som handlande subjekt. Vi har i materialet kunnat se att både pojkar och flickor görs till subjekt men också objekt beroende på situation. / The purpose of the study is to see how the social services whit their child welfare inquiries can be a part in maintaining the gender specific norms, expectations and values. Our research questions are: How does the discourse about boys look; how are the boys described and valued in the inquiries? How does the discourse about girls look; how are the girls described and valued in the inquiries? What are the differences between the genders? Our theoretical base is social construtivism and gendertheory. This is a qualitative study and critical discourse analysis is our method of choice. Our material is 14 child welfare inquiries made by social services, half of them are about girls and half about boys. In the analyse we have come to the conclusion that the focus in the girl inquiries differs some what from where the focus in the boy inquiries lays. When investigating the girls there social intercourse and sexual relations make out a big part of the texts, the later isn’t even mentioned in the boy inquiries. We do however find that the differences have changed in comparison with the previous research that’s presented in our study where it emphasized that girls are perceived as passive objects and the boys as active subjects. We have in our material been able to see that both boys and girls are perceived as subjects, but also objects depending on the situation.

Syftet med studien är att utifrån fem fäders berättelser undersöka effekten av rättstillämpning vid tvist om vårdnad, boende och umgänge. Genom detta har fäders situation utifrån rådande normers påverkan i socialtjänstens och rättsväsendets agerande synliggjorts. Vi kommer att följa fem fädernas berättelser om hur deras vårdnadstvist ser ut och hur de upplever bemötande, agerande och rättstillämpning från professionella aktörer. Enligt fäderna sker detta på ett icke tillfredsställande sätt då utredningarna ofta får dem att framstå som otillräckliga föräldrar och i vissa fall även farliga för sina barn. Studien är uppbyggd av semistrukturerade intervjuer med fäder vilka samtliga varit i tvist i tingsrätt och/eller hovrätt gällande barnets vårdnad, boende eller umgänge. Med innehållsanalys, socialkonstruktivism och en rättssociologisk ansats lyfts faktorer vilka kan påverka synen på rättstillämpning och rättssäkerhet utifrån bland annat normföreställningar. Dessa faktorer speglas ur fädernas berättelser. Studiens resultat visar att normföreställningar enligt informanterna kan påverka myndigheternas bemötande och bedömning. Studiens slutsats är att i det fall fädernas berättelser speglar verkligheten talar det för att det kan finnas brister i rättstillämpningen vid utredning och bedömning i fråga om vårdnad, boende och umgänge.

This study examines how professional social workers relate to problematic computer and video gaming as an addiction. It is a qualitative interview study aimed to describe and analyze how professional social workers, who in some way work with problematic computer gaming, relate to the player’s problems in terms of a concept of dependency. The theoretical approach is based on social constructivist theories of discourses, normality, the definition of dependency and diagnoses. The study was conducted through five qualitative half structured definition interviews with professional social workers that work directly or comes in contact with problematic computer gaming. The results portray a consistent, yet fragmented understanding of the problem. Daily life is described as "reality" and the problematic computer gaming as "escapism". The player can’t meet the normative requirements of its surroundings and is classified as addicted. The informants describe similar problems related to computer gaming, but have different ideas on how the problems arise. The study concludes that professionals specifically describing problematic gaming as an addiction explain their clients in terminology comparable to substance abuse. Those who don’t relate to the concept of dependence as firmly describe the problematic gaming as more of a consequence of the interaction between the player and its surroundings.

Syftet med denna uppsats var att genom en genusvetenskaplig och socialkonstruktivistisk ansats undersöka hur kvinnor framställs i de svenska hårdrocksmagasinen Close-Up Magazine och Sweden Rock Magazine. Då majoriteten av den genusrelaterade medieforskningen har intresserat sig för reklam- och modebilder finns en kunskapslucka kring hur kvinnor framställs i bilder inom genrer vid sidan av dessa. Denna studie avsåg att genom semiotisk textanalys undersöka bilder i dessa magasin, för att identifiera de kvinnliga stereotyperna i dem och sedan jämföra dessa med etablerade stereotyper som tidigare forskning påvisat. Sammanlagt analyserades 28 bilder i 15 magasin från 2013 utifrån feministisk blickteori och Goffmans teori om könsframställning. Tre tydliga kvinnliga stereotyper framträdde i resultatet. Dessa benämnde vi som Den hårda, Den medkännande och Den objektifierade. De två sistnämnda är väl kända sedan innan inom forskningssammanhang medan Den hårda kvinnan, som bland annat uppvisar tecken på aggressivitet, avsky och överlägsenhet, inte påträffats i liknande studier innan. Denna nyfunna stereotyps blick, som inte definierats i tidigare forskning, namngav vi The Glare. Slutligen påvisar studiens resultat en större nyansering av de stereotyper som tidigare har diskuterats i genusrelaterad medieforskning. Resultaten tyder på att det inte finns en enhetlig kvinnlig stereotyp, utan att de kan variera beroende på genre och kulturell kontext. / The aim of this paper was to examine how women are portrayed in the Swedish metal magazines Close-Up Magazine and Sweden Rock Magazine from a gender theoretical and social constructivist perspective. Since the majority of the gender related media research have focused on pictures in fashion and advertising, there is a lack of awareness regarding how women are portrayed in other genres. This study’s objective was to examine pictures in these magazines in order to identify female stereotypes and compare them to established stereotypes from previous studies. In total 28 pictures from 15 magazines, that were published in 2013, were analyzed based on the understanding of feminist theory and Goffman’s theory of gender display. Three distinctive female stereotypes appeared in the results. These were titled The tough, The compassionate and The objectified. The last two are well known in the media research field while The tough woman, who show signs of aggression, contempt and superiority, has not appeared in previous studies. This new stereotype's view of the observer, which has not been defined in previous studies, we decided to call The glare. The results show a greater variety of stereotypes than what has been discussed in prior media related research. They also indicate that there is no uniform female stereotype and that they vary depending on genre and cultural context.

I den här uppsatsen undersöker jag hur ett antal läroböcker i svenska som andraspråk bidrar med ett interkulturellt perspektiv genom textanalys. Granskningen av läroböckerna utgår fårn Lahdenperäs (2004) interkulturella läroprocesser som utgörs av tre aspekter för lärande och förståelse kring andra och den egna kulturen. Det är ett antal texter från läroböckerna som granskas genom närläsning vilka har valts ut efter läsning av rubrikerna som antyder interkulturalitet. Syftet med min undersökning har varit att ta reda på hur ett interkulturellt perspektiv förmedlas i de utvalda texter som granskats. Undersökningen har visat att läroböckerna stödjer ett interkulturellt perspektiv. Vidare har min granskning visat att läraren har en avgörande roll för det interkulturella perspektivet i undervisningen. / In this essay, I examine how a number of textbooks in Swedish as a second language helps with an intercultural perspective through text analysis. The review of textbooks are based on Lahdenperäs (2004) intercultural learning processes which consists of three aspects of learning and understanding of others and their own culture. There are a number of texts from the textsbooks examined by close reading which were selected after reading the headlines that suggest interculturalism. The purpose of my study was to find out how the intercultural approach is visualized in the selected texts that were examined. The investigation has shown that the textbooks support an intercultural perspective. Furthermore, it shows that teachers have a crucial role for the intercultural perspective as part of the teaching.

The aim of this paper is to critically examine and analyze how the informal performance about masculinities and femininity are being expressed and produced by the text and pictures in Huddinge kommuns internal magazine for the staff working within the public administration. The concrete questions are: By which patterns constructs the performance of gender in Huddinge kommuns internal magazine for the staff working within the public administration? Are the femininity and masculinities being expressed in a static way or have it changed in Huddinge kommuns internal magazine for the staff working within the public administration throw the examined years 1985, 1995 and 2006? A quantitative and qualitative method is used. The point of departure is organization theory in a gender perspective. With the gender organization theory we examine the structures, leadership, symbolics and changes through the examined years. Our perspective is a social contructionism. Our conclusion is that the patterns about femininity and masculinity changes through the years, but the most significant changes are made by women. That conclusion is in spite of the facts that the quantitative data shows that women have increased by the numbers of pictures. The qualitative examination confirms that masculinity is still the norm and therefore women do change more than the man does.

This thesis investigates the preconditions for a new type of migration among the highly skilled between Senegal and the EU, namely circular migration. The three most prominent actors in the shaping of the future migration pattern –the EU (administration), the Senegalese government and the future highly skilled migrants i.e. Senegalese university students –are studied by a combination of social constructivism and critical discourse analysis. The discourses are derived from official EU and Senegalese documents and from a survey as well as from semi-structured interviews with students at the two largest universities in Senegal. The analysis of the discourses shows three factors that point towards a change of the migration practice in favour of circular migration: first, an interdiscursivity between the migration, development and economic growth discourses; second, a resemblance between the three actors discourses on migration; and third, a willingness among all three actors to act for a mobility of knowledge and experience. Consequently, there are preconditions for circular migration between Senegal and the EU.