This study examines the link between the individual and social network, what social forces and social mechanisms involved in the interaction between individuals and groups and how we can explain and consider this relationship with the aim of understanding this connection. Through qualitative interviews, based on interviews of six active members in the organization Young KRIS (Young Criminal’s Return in the Society) examines the active social processes that the young members undergo, and motivates those who have been outside the expected conformed and regular society, to be included in the regular community and how this can be explained. The study shows that the organization through high availability, openness, knowledge of the needs of young people, good treatment, range of meaningful activities, has created a great venue for the young to develop and thus regain their place in the society. / Denna studie undersöker kopplingen mellan individ och sociala nätverk, det vill säga vilka sociala krafter och sociala mekanismer är verksamma i mötet mellan individen och gruppen, och hur man kan förklara och se på denna relation med målet att förstå denna koppling. Genom den kvalitativa metoden, baserad på intervjuer av sex medlemmar inom organisationen Unga KRIS, undersöker vi de verksamma sociala processer unga medlemmar genomgår och som motiverar dem som har befunnit sig utanför det förväntade, konforma och reguljära samhället, att komma att inkluderas i det reguljära samhället och hur detta kan förklaras. Studien visar att organisationen genom hög tillgänglighet, öppenhet, kunskap om ungdomarnas behov, gott bemötande och utbud av meningsfulla aktiviteter, har skapat en trygg arena för att unga medlemmarna ska kunna utvecklas och därmed återfinna sin plats i samhället.

This study examines who is part of the Swedish network of violent and violence-promoting Islamist extremism and whether the social network is a case of „new social movement‟. Through a social network analysis of violent and violence-promoting Islamist extremists in Sweden the results shows that there is a loose Swedish network with global nodes. The social network in Sweden is analyzed through the framework of New Social Movement theory and the connections between the global jihad and the Swedish network are examined. The result is that the network cannot be seen as a case of „new social movement‟. However, several individuals of the network can be seen as part of the global jihad and therefore a case of „new social movement‟. More academic research is needed on violent and violence-promoting Islamist extremism in Sweden, especially on why and how these actors are radicalized. In addition, more research is needed on how to prevent and counter violent and violence-promoting Islamist extremism.

This study investigates the social networks impact on mental health. Further, it examines the role of digital tools in regard to loneliness among elderly people. Several studies have investigated similar questions before, but further knowledge can be added with this study on the Swedish population. The aim of the study is to enhance the knowledge on whether social networks have an impact on individual’s mental health. The theoretical framework consists of Granovetter’s strenght-of-weak-ties and Putnam’s definition of social capital. A quantitative approach is used, and secondary analysis is made on an existing data set. The data originates from a survey used to measure social networks in Sweden. To get further insight, an ordinal regression model was built in order to sort out the potential impact of the different variables. The result shows that elderly peoplewho use digital tools are less likely to feel lonely in comparison to those who are non-users. Also, both weak and strong social ties seem to have a positive effect on mental health. Finally, social capital is also proved to have an impact on mental health. The most important result show that trusting people was the strongest correlated variable with mental health in regard to the components of social capital. Further, those who feel trust for others are more likely to report a better mental wellbeing. For future research we recommend focusing on a specific age group, for example relevant to our findings, this could be the elder population. To gain enhanced knowledge, we recommend a mixed methods approach in order toget a deeper understanding.

The aim of this study is to investigate how women who came to Sweden as unaccompanied children experienced their entry into the Swedish labor market based on six qualitative interviews with woman in the age range of 24-32. The interviews were analyzed and interpreted using social capital as a theory. The results show that the informants turned to their friends consisting of other unaccompanied children, and that this network provided security and answers especially in the beginning of their stay in Sweden. Furthermore, our results show that bonding social capital played an important part as an enabler to search for contacts outside the network. All respondents report that it is difficult to get to know Swedes. The respondents did not attribute any significant importance to their social worker but they all emphasized that a significant key to enter the labour market is to learn the Swedish language.

Syftet med studien är att få en helhets förståelse för sociala nätverkens betydelse i etableringen på den svenska arbetsmarknaden för arabisktalande och persisktalande individer som har invandrat till Sverige. Studien ämnar även att besvara på hur informanterna använder sitt sociala nätverk för etablering på arbetsmarknaden, på vilket sätt de upplever att kompetenser och kunskap har för betydelse i etableringen på den svenska arbetsmarknaden samt vilken betydelse platsen har för nätverkande och etablering.Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod där sju informanter intervjuades. I ramen av den föreliggande studien använde vi oss av tidigare forskning med en relevant koppling till studiens syfte och frågeställningar. Den insamlade empirin analyserades med utgångspunkt i Hodkinsons och Sparkes Careership-teori, Pierre Bourdieus kapitalteori och Robert D. Putnams teori om sammanbindande och överbryggande socialt kapital. Vidare analyserades deninsamlade empirin utifrån social nätverksanalys. Studiens resultat kring nätverkande pekar på att informanterna har använt sig av olika vägar för etableringen på arbetsmarknaden. Det som framkommer tydligt är att för vissa informanter har sammanbindande och överbryggande socialt kapital haft en betydelse för etableringen. Resultatet visar tydligt att utbildning kan en avgörande betydelse för etableringen. Andra faktorer som kan påverka etableringen är språkkunskapen och arbetslivserfarenheter enligt informanternas berättelser. Vidare har det framkommit att geografiska läget har en nära koppling till informanternas livskontext. Utifrån studiens resultat tyder allt på att det svenska språket är den mest avgörande aspekten för nätverkandet och etableringen. / The purpose of the study is to gain a holistic understanding of the importance of social networks in the establishment in the Swedish labor market for Arabic-speaking and Persian-speaking individuals who have immigrated to Sweden. The study intends to answer how immigrants use their social network to establish themselves in the labor market, it also tends to understand in which way the informants experience that competence and knowledge are important in the establishment in the Swedish labor market. Lastly, it aims to understand what significance the place has for networks and establishment.The study was conducted using a qualitative method where seven informants were interviewed. In the framework of the related study, we used previous research with a relevant connection to the study's purpose and issues. The collected empirical data were analyzed on the basis of Hodkinson's and Sparkes Careership-theory, Pierre Bourdieu's capital theory and Robert D. Putnam's theory of connecting and bridging social capital. Furthermore, the study was conducted with the help of an egocentric network analysis. The results of the study indicate that the informants have used different paths for establishment in the labor market. What is clear is that for some informants, connecting and bridging social capital has been important for the establishment. The results clearly show that education is of crucial importance for the establishment. Other factors that can affect the establishment are language skills and work experience according to the informants’ stories. Furthermore, it has emerged that the geographical location has a close connection to the informants' life context. Based on the results of the study, everything indicates that the Swedish language is the most crucial aspect for networking and establishment.

Som en del av den pågående reformeringen av Arbetsförmedlingen lanserades under våren 2020 en ny matchningstjänst på svensk arbetsmarknad, tjänsten Kundval Rusta och Matcha (KROM). Handledarna är anställda på privata företag och arbetar för att coacha de som är inskrivna på KROM-tjänsten. Syftet med denna studie är att skapa ökad förståelse för de förutsättningar som KROM-handledarna har i sitt arbete. Studiens har undersökt förutsättningar för åtta handledare som är anställda i fem olika externa leverantörer, det vill säga privata företag som levererar KROM-tjänsten. Studiens bygger på personliga förutsättningar samt interna förutsättningar. För att besvara studiens syfte användes en kvalitativ ansats med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Studien använde ett hermeneutiskt förhållningssätt och tillämpade deduktiv ansats. Resultatet visar att handledarna har nästan likadana förutsättningar när det gäller coachning erfarenheter och färdigheter. Handledarna använder sig av GROW-modellen i sin coachningsmetod och med en tro på egen intuition och tysta kunskap. Resultatet visar att handledarna upplever att ett stort socialt nätverk ökar handledarnas möjlighet att hjälpa deltagarna till en få en anställning. Resultaten visar att de interna/organisatoriska förutsättningarna för varje handledare är olika där en del handledare upplever att de inte har tillräckliga förutsättningar angående lärandet och kompetensutveckling. Även gällande feedback finns det variation vissa handledare upplever att de får tillräckligt feedback och återkoppling av sin chef och en del önskar mer feedback på sin prestation. Resultatet visar också att samtliga handledarna upplever stort flexibilitet och arbetsfrihet i sitt yrke. / As part of the ongoing reform of the Swedish Public Employment Service, a new matching service was launched in the Swedish labor market in the spring of 2020, the Kundval Rusta och Matcha (KROM) service. The supervisors are employed by private companies and work to coach those who are registered in the KROM-service. The purpose of the study is to create an understanding of the conditions that the supervisors have in their work. The study has examined the conditions of eight supervisors who are employed by five different external suppliers, ie private companies that supply the KROM-service. The study is based on personal conditions as well as internal and external conditions. To answer the purpose of the study, a qualitative approach was used, and semi-structured interviews were conducted. The study used a hermeneutic approach and applied a deductive approach. The results show that the supervisors have almost the same conditions when it comes to coaching experience and skills, the supervisors use the GROW-model in their coaching method and use their strong intuition and tacit knowledge. The results show that the supervisors experience that a wide social network increases the supervisors' ability to help KROM-participants to find a job easily. The results show that the internal / organizational conditions for each supervisor are different, some supervisors experience that they do not have good enough conditions regarding learning and competence development, some supervisors experience that they receive sufficient feedback from their manager, some have lesser conditions and strives for more feedback on their performance. The results also show that all supervisors experience great flexibility and freedom of work in their occupation.

The aim of this thesis is to visualize and explain how people’s economic and social relations were connected in the parish of Sundborn, in the south east of Dalarna, in the period 1820-1849. The study is based on records of claims and debts in inventories and parish registers, which enable reconstruction of the private local credit market. The study shows that the majority in the economic network lived in Sundborn, and that while few people had formal loans at the institutional credit market, many had loans by trust at the private local credit market. Also, while few people were lenders, almost everyone was a borrower. The most common credit relationship was between people who lived near one another, and people who lived near one another or were related received a higher average credit. The private local credit market consisted primarily of men. These results have been interpreted with the use of social network theory, it being shown that people depended on their social network to obtain the necessary credit. In creating an economic network graph, I show that households in the parish of Sundborn were interconnected by debt relations. By using this method, it is possible to identify significant persons and potential parish bankers. Through combining the network graph with a landscape map, I show connections between the settlement, the assets, economic relations, centrality and the long valley of Sundborn river. The study opens up possibilities for further development of the same method to visualize historic data and relate it to the landscape, with a view to generating new related questions and spatial analyses.

Syfte och frågeställningar Syftet med studien var att undersöka samband mellan socialt stöd och nätverk gentemot upplevd fysisk och psykisk hälsa hos gymnasielever i årskurs tre. Frågeställningarna var huruvida det fanns några samband mellan socialt stöd och nätverk gentemot upplevd fysisk och psykisk hälsa, vilken form av socialt stöd och nätverk som var mest relevant och vilken roll dess storlek har, samt om det fanns några skillnader mellan könen i förhållandet till socialt stöd och nätverk. Metod Undersökningen är en explorativ och kvantitativ enkätstudie där totalt 326 individer från olika skolor i Eskilstuna, Stockholm och Filipstad ingick. Åldern på deltagarna varierade mellan 17 och 21 år och medelålder var 18 (±0,7) år. 198 var tjejer och 123 killar, fem personer ville ej svara på frågan eller uppfattade sig inte som något av alternativen. Deltagarna besvarade frågor med fasta svarsalternativ kring kvalitén på sitt sociala stöd och storleken på sitt sociala nätverk, samt om upplevd fysisk och psykisk hälsa. Därefter genomfördes olika korrelationsobservationer för att finna eventuella samband mellan de olika faktorerna. Deltagarna till studien har valts utifrån ett icke slumpmässigt, till viss del typiskt, bekvämlighetsmässigt urval. Resultat Signifikanta positiva samband noterades mellan graden av socialt stöd (kvalitet) och upplevd psykisk respektive fysisk hälsa. Starkast korrelation fanns mellan psykisk hälsa och socialt stöd (r = 0,46). Svaga positiva korrelationer fanns mellan antalet (kvantitet) vänner (r = 0,19) respektive familjemedlemmar och släktingar (r = 0,19) gentemot psykisk hälsa, och i förhållande till familj och släkt även den fysiska (r = 0,14). Inga signifikanta skillnader kunde ses mellan könen. Slutsats Studiens hypotes om en positiv samvariation mellan upplevd hälsa och socialt stöd och nätverk stämde i de flesta fall och kvalitet visade sig vara överordnad kvantitet. / Aim The purpose of this study was to examine relations between social support and networks, against the perceived physical and mental health of high school students in grade three. The question formulations were whether there was any correlation between social support and networks against perceived physical and mental health, which form of social support and network that were most relevant and what role its size has, and if there were any gender differences in relation to social support and networks. Method The study is an exploratory and quantitative survey in which a total of 326 individuals were included from various schools in Eskilstuna, Stockholm and Filipstad. The age of the participants ranged between 17 and 21 years, and mean age was 18 (±0.7) years, 198 were girls and 123 boys, five people did not answer the question or did not perceived themselves as either one of the options. The participants answered questions with response sets about the quality of their social support and the size of their social network and perceived physical and mental health. After that, observations were completed to find eventual correlations between the different factors. Participants for this study were selected on a non-random, somewhat typical, conveniences based method. Results Significant positive correlations were observed between the degree of social support (quality) and perceived mental and physical health Strongest correlation was found between mental health and social support (r = 0,46). Low positive correlation was found between the number (quantity) of friends (r = 0,19) and family/relatives (r = 0,19) in relation to mental health, and in relation to family and relatives also the physical health (r = 0,14). No significant differences were seen between the sexes. Conclusion The study’s hypothesis of a positive correlation between perceived health and social support and network sued in most cases, and the quality was shown to be superior to the quantity.