Much research related to incarceration and re-entry has been focused on male models, and thus ignoring the unique circumstances of women offenders. Previous research argues that evident differences are found between the two sexes and these should not be neglected. Furthermore, both previous research and the theory of cognitive transformation has been utilized to analyse the results in a theoretical framework. The aim with this thesis is to explore the difficulties women face when re-entering into society after a criminal lifestyle. Hence, understand how women encounter and tackle these problems. Qualitative semistructured interviews with six former female addicts and offenders and one operations manager were tape-recorded. Transcription data was analysed using thematic analysis. The results showed that it was difficult to re-establish a healthy relationship with children. All the women came from dysfunctional families and no support from family members was a challenging aspect in the re-entry process. Substance abuse was also found among all the women, which showed that it competed with both parental and employment responsibilities and finding a job was easier than holding down one. Furthermore, ending contact with antisocial peers was important, however, meeting new people was difficult. Lastly, the results showed that all the women had subjective motivation keeping them on the path of lasting change. This study concludes three ways to improve female re-entry processes, (1) greater aid to women with substance abuse, (2) continued therapeutic assistance post treatment and, (3) positive role-modelled guidance for young women.

The research was a Minor Field Study conducted in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The purpose of the study was to explore and analyze Cambodian women's experiences of leadership. A qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews was conducted with a targeted and snowball selection. Seven female leaders from different organizations and from both the private and public sector were the source of our empirical findings. We discovered in our research that the participants had both intrinsic and extrinsic sources of motivation. First, women that were unsure of what motivated them, second motivation grew out of hard work and third motivation was to demonstrate female capacity. The research found that success, challenges, and the benefit of being a female leader were essential components for positive experiences. Important factors for leadership were family background, education and self-confidence/belief in herself. These factors coincided with previous research from Cambodia. The research displayed three types of barriers for Cambodian women -traditional values, higher demands, and personal factors. Most commonly the female had either a democratic or transformational leadership style, but authoritarian and situational leadership styles were also used. The result displayed that one side saw a difference between the genders in their way of leading and the other suggested that leadership is based on personal attributes.

and Key words This thesis deals with the contemporary topic of international migration to Europe, namely the phenomenon of migration from Bangladesh to Europe. While the media and academic literature have paid attention to the migration of residents of the Middle East and Africa to Europe, the issue of migration from Bangladesh to Europe has not been frequent and well- elucidated. Thus, this thesis aspires to solve the following research questions: 1) What are the major reasons and factors inducing migration from Bangladesh in the present day; 2) What are the main points of supply of information having an influence on the decision making of migrants; 3) What are the major trends of migration between the source regions and the final destination. As primary methodical procedures, I selected in-depth and semi-structured interviews with fifteen experts, who were interviewed in Bangladesh between January and February 2018. The following conclusions have been drawn from these interviews: 1) There is no single specific motivation for the emigration from Bangladesh as it proves to be a combination of several factors which elicit migration, whether economical, socio-political, or environmental; 2) The migrants obtain information predominantly from their relatives, friends or brokers, the so-called dalals,...

Teachers need to continuously develop their Information and Communication Technology (ICT) proficiency to keep up with the rapid development of technology, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only made this more apparent. This study aims to understand how EFL-teachers exercise their teacher agency and adapt their teaching in an environment where ICT is the basis for their teaching. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six upper secondary school teachers and then analysed using thematic analysis. The results showed a significant decrease in professional development as a result of reduced contact between colleagues. Most teachers have focused on developing their toolspecific skills. Adaption of teaching strategies has seen the most success in the teaching of writing proficiency. Most teachers are familiar with integrating technology with writing. Most teachers have found strategies to increase the accessibility of information as well as increased clarity of tasks. However, teachers have found it difficult to motivate students who have a hard time working on their own. They have also found it difficult to follow students’ progress in more extensive tasks.

The ways in which advertisements can affect social and brand-related aspects is an area of interest for both companies and society at large. The aim of this study is to examine and identify differences in the production and interpretation of advertisements on Instagram, targeted towards men versus women. There are two research questions: (1) How can the production of Gillette and Gillette Venus’ advertisements on Instagram targeted towards men and women differ? (2) How can the interpretation of Gillette and Gillette Venus’ advertisements on Instagram targeted towards men and women differ, based on the gender of the interpreter?  The study includes a gender perspective and Goffman’s theory on gender and advertisements has been applied. To answer the second research question, Hall’s encoding/decoding theory has been applied.  The study consists of two research methods, a semiotic photo analysis and semi-structured interviews. The photo analysis was used for RQ1 and consisted of six photos, three from Gillette’s Instagram account and three photos from Gillette Venus’s account. The semi-structured interviews helped answer RQ2. A total of ten interviews were carried out, with an even distribution of male and female interviewees. A comparative analysis was used for both research methods to enable comparison between the two genders.  The results showed that there are three main differences in the production of Gillette and Gillette Venus’ advertisements on Instagram. As for RQ2, it was concluded that the gender of the interpreter affected how the advertisements’ overall message was interpreted.

Development organisations are generally believed to be fairly gender equal workplaces, with gender related issues seen as something external or foreign to the organisation. However, all organisations exist within gendered structures, and should not be considered as gender neutral or separate. Building on the theory of feminist institutionalism, this paper aims to study how informal gender power structures are experienced by employees in a development organisation, namely the Folke Bernadotte Academy. To research this, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to study the experiences and opinions of the respondents. A feminist institutionalist framework identified three areas of particular interest, “Tasks and assignments”, “Support norms” and “Interactions between employees”. After conducting interviews the information was analysed. The conclusions drawn are that FBAs employees describe experiences of some gender power structures. Most notably relating to parenting norms and logic of appropriateness. Seconded employees in general seemed to experience more gender power structures than internal employees. Additionally FBA and its employees seem to express the view that gender inequality is an external problem or that they are unaffected because their workforce is made up of a majority of women.

The emergence of new media tools and social media platforms over the last ten years has created new means of intercultural engagement. On Instagram, there is a growing trend of travel pages and travel bloggers whose aim is to introduce and share with other users the highlights of the destinations they travel to. This also applies to locals in these destinations who wish to portray their country positively and promote it as a tourist destination, particularly in certain countries of the Middle East where there is the added challenge of an ‘unsafe’ image to combat. This research focuses on Lebanon to find out to what extent Instagram can be considered a tool to combat the ‘unsafe’ image of the country, and if users who come across depictions of Lebanon on Instagram perceive the country as a potential tourist destination. Using a mixed methods approach, this thesis combines surveys and semi-structured interviews with Canadian participants to reach its findings. Its theoretical framework makes use of Edward Said’s conception of the ‘other’ (1978), Stuart Hall’s system of representations (1980), Jan Neverdeen Pieterse’s hybridization paradigm (1996), and Eli Pariser’s (2011) echo chamber to analyze its findings. Broadly, findings show that while Instagram can effectively be considered a tool to counter the ‘unsafe’ image of Lebanon, and while the country may be branded as a potential tourist destination to users who come across such depictions of it, algorithm restrictions limit the potential for such depictions to fulfill their potential since they don’t always reach users who perceive Lebanon to be an ‘unsafe’ place.

Youth exclusion in a society is a major issue in many parts of the globe, and particularly in the Arab world. It limits the succession of social movements leading to political stability and leaves a relevant part of the society alienated from political processes. For this reason, this thesis aims to introduce and highlight youth as a source for political and social development, using Lebanon as a case study through the theoretical lens of empowerment theory. The work carried out understands empowerment theory as a useful theoretical framework in Political Science, and its contribution to the case under scrutiny will rest upon three interrelated categories: individual empowerment, collective empowerment, and social and political change as a subsequent. The research focuses on the capacity development of young Lebanese people through their participation in a UNDP program. Using content analysis of a UNDP report and semi-structured interviews conducted with youth (20-28) as well as with the youth focal point in UNDP, the thesis systemically examines and evaluates the extent to which Lebanese youth are feeling empowered by the UNDP for creating social change and reducing political instability. The results and findings of the research suggest that if organizations such as the UNDP place more attention on youth, they are likely to have a greater political and social impact on social and political development.

New generations of youth are coming of age at a time when digital technology is omnipresent, where devices are our constant companions, extensions of ourselves. It is not yet fully known what effect this mass consumption of digital technology will have on current and future generations. Although not entirely negative, dramatic shifts in human interaction and well-being have already presented themselves, begging understanding. Among these shifts are rising rates of youth struggling with mental health – especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Various international and domestic governing bodies highlight the importance of this burgeoning field of research, turning in part to our technology-loaded ecosystems for answers. Early research has established associations between increased digital screen usage and youth mental ill-health. Questions remain, however and there exist large gaps in counselling psychology research as to how we can best support youth in the digital age. Situated within this debate, the current study establishes a theoretical basis as to the role digital technology plays in youth mental health. The study employs a qualitative methodology, including semi-structured interviewing and thematic analysis. Eight youth were interviewed and asked to share their experiences of the relationship between their devices and their well-being. Thematic findings highlight a conflictual relationship between digital technology use and youth mental health, affecting their relationships with others, themselves, and the world around them. Because digital technology consumption on this scale is so new, this is one of the first available cohorts of youth to actively participate in the exploration of this topic, offering their unique voices in ways that will benefit broader societal understandings of technology and mental health. / Graduate

När en person drabbas av ätstörningar påverkas oundvikligen den sociala kontexten; inte minst hens familj och andra anhöriga. Innebörden i hur det är att vara anhörig till en person med psykisk ohälsa, såsom ätstörningar, är fortfarande ett relativt outforskat ämne. Syftet med föreliggande studie är att skildra upplevelser hos anhöriga till personer med ätstörningar. Vidare undersöks hur medberoende kan ta sig uttryck hos de anhöriga, och deras stödbehov identifieras. Åtta anhöriga till personer med ätstörningar intervjuades, och olika anhörigperspektiv åskådliggjordes då de hade olika positioner inom sina respektive familjer. Intervjupersonernas utsagor utgör studiens empiriska material. Intervjuerna var kvalitativa och semistrukturerade i syfte att fånga de anhörigas subjektiva perspektiv. Det empiriska materialet analyserades med hjälp av två teoretiska utgångspunkter; systemteori och medberoendebegreppet, samt relevant tidigare forskning. Resultatet belyser det faktum att anhörigskap till en person med ätstörningar innebär påfrestningar och stort lidande. Ätstörningen påverkar utan tvekan hela familjesystemet på olika sätt, och medberoende ges uttryck i olika strategier. Gällande anhörigstöd visar resultatet att det finns behov av olika former av stöd, eftersom anhöriga är en heterogen grupp med varierande behov. / An individual suffering from eating disorders will inevitably affect his or her social context; especially relatives within in the context of the family. The signification of being a relative of a person with mental illness, such as eating disorders, is still a relatively unnoticed topic. The purpose of this study is to describe and illustrate the experiences of being a relative of a family member suffering from eating disorders. Furthermore the aim is to examine how co-dependency can be expressed by the relative. Additionally the specific support needs in terms of being a relative is to be identified. Eight relatives of a family member with an eating disorder were interviewed, each providing us with a different perspective, as they had various positions within their families. Their statements constitute the empirical material of this study. The interviews were qualitative and semi-structured in order to capture the world as it is understood by their individual point of view. The analysis of the empirical material was based on two theories; systemic theory and concepts of co-dependency, as well as relevant previous research. The result highlights that being a relative of a family member with an eating disorder can be very stressful, and involves a great deal of suffering. The eating disorder affects the whole family-system in various ways, and co-dependency manifests in different strategies. Regarding relative support the result shows that various approaches are needed, as all relatives are different and hence have different needs.