<p>Denna kvalitativa intervjustudie syftar till att definiera fenomenet elektronisk mobbning, att utreda ansvarsfrågan samt att kartlägga organisationernas arbete och eventuella samverkan. Resultatet baseras på intervjuer med BRIS, Friends, LunarStorm och Playahead som analyserades utifrån symbolisk interaktionism. Studien visar på hur liten skillnaden är mellan traditionell och elektronisk mobbning i hur den kommer till uttryck och vem den drabbar. Utmärkande för e-mobbning är spridningseffekten samt hur språket hårdnat i kommunikationen på Internet och andra elektroniska källor. Föräldrarna, skolan och barnen själva borde enligt organisationerna ta ansvar för att motverka e-mobbningen och de anser att lagstiftningen på området är bristfällig. Organisationernas arbete mot e-mobbning är relativt omfattande men effektiv samverkan saknas delvis.</p><p>Till följd av den nya nätkulturen och att unga besitter en betydligt högre IT-kompetens än vuxengenerationen har unga i stor utsträckning lämnats ensamma att interagera på Internet. Utifrån symbolisk interaktionisms idéer kring den sociala interaktionens betydelse för identitetsskapandet och behovet av en generaliserad andre kan den vuxna frånvaron vara en bidragande orsak till problematiken kring e-mobbning. Dessutom har vuxenfrånvaron lett till att symbolspråket i nätkulturen blivit betydligt tuffare. Uppsatsens slutsats består till stor del i hur stort behovet av vuxen närvaro är i den unga nätkulturen.</p> / <p>This qualitative study aims to examine how cyberbullying appears, who should be responsible for prevention and measures, and how four organizations work against and cooperates round cyberbullying. The result is based on interviews with BRIS, Friends, LunarStorm and Playahead and analyzed with help from symbolic interactionism. The result indicates little difference between cyberbullying and traditional bullying. The tougher language and the quicker circulation of information characterize bullying on the Internet. The responsibility should, according to the organizations, be placed upon the parents, the school and the children. Legislation regarding cyberbullying is insufficient. In the organizations otherwise rather comprehensive work, efficient cooperation is partly lacking.</p><p>The new Internet culture and the youths’ considerably higher IT-skills have led to that they to a greater extent have been left alone to interact on the Internet. According to symbolic interaktionism, satisfying development of the identity is highly dependent on social interaction and the idea of the generalized other. Therefore, the adult absence could be one of the most important explanations to cyberbullying, as well as to why the language has become more harsh and ruthless. To sum up, this essay emphasizes the need of adult presence in the new Internet culture.</p><p>Title: Cyberbullying in the Internet culture – a qualitative study of the work and experiences of two Internet communities and two non-profit organizations.</p>

<p>Abstrakt</p><p>Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur tjejer och killar ser på och upplever sig själva i relation till skolan. Det är således deras perspektiv som är centrala. Arbetet genomsyras av ett symboliskt interaktionistiskt synsätt som baseras på att människan behöver interagera med andra för att kunna skapa sin självbild.</p><p>Betydelsen av ungdomars självbilder i förhållande till skola och skolarbete är inte särskilt uppmärksammat, trots att skolgången är en lång period av livet. Studien baseras på observationer av två klasser i åk 7 samt tio intervjuer jämnt fördelade mellan tjejerna och killarna.</p><p>Resultatet visar på hur den enskilde elevens uppfattning om sig själv påverkas vid interaktion med andra, alltså sin sociala omgivning. Flera olika mönster för killarnas och tjejernas syn på sig själva framkom och visade variationen av deras uppfattningar om interaktionens betydelse. Det blev också tydligt vilka personer de ansåg ha störst betydelse för skapandet av deras självbilder. Killarna betonade kompisarna medan tjejerna betonade kompisarna och lärarna. Eleverna beskrev vad de ansåg vara typiska tjej- och killämnen. Eleverna klassade Engelska, Matematik och Svenska som tjejämnen och Idrott och Träslöjd som killämnen. Vi har dessutom kunnat se att eleverna utifrån situationen de är i intar olika identiteter.</p>

SHAPING FUZZY GOALS THROUGH TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION: A DETAILED LOOK AT THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY AND TRANSFER STUDENTS by Diana K. Leonard Faculty-student interactions have been largely neglected in the research regarding community colleges and community college transfer students. Yet faculty serve as points of institutional contact, and might also serve a central role in student experiences and decision-making. The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of the dynamics and interactions that impact student experiences and decisions regarding transfer at the community college and to understand how those interactions contributed to goal formation. Symbolic interactionism (Blumer, 1969) provided a framework to guide the mixed-methods approach, which was primarily qualitative, utilizing online surveys and personal interviews to investigate students' interpretations of the student-teacher interactions. Quantitative data analysis measured teacher influence. 429 students who successfully transferred to a Research I university in the southwest, from in-state community colleges completed the survey. Ten students from this pool, subsequently interviewed, reflected various levels of uncertainty in their goals to transfer. These uncertain goals were termed "fuzzy" goals.In addition to symbolic interactionism as a framework, Stanton-Salazar's (1997) concept of institutional agents, supported with Bourdieu's (1977) cultural and social capital and Tinto's (1975) theory of social and academic integration were used to guide this study. Findings illustrated that students did utilize their teachers as institutional agents, who provided them with cultural knowledge and facilitated their understanding of procedures and processes through active as well as passive teacher-agency. Five themes emerged in students' interpretation of the student-teacher interactions: support, motivation, guidance, inspiration, and modeling. All had varying effects on students' uncertainty and contributed to shaping their fuzzy goals and to their social and academic integration into academe.This study can inform our understanding of the well-known gap in BA attainment between students who begin at a community college intending to transfer and students who begin at a four-year institution. Further, this study can inform strategic planning geared toward supporting teachers more fully in their role as institutional agents conveying social and cultural capital to students to increase their leverage for success once they transfer to the university.

The aim of this study was to examine how "Professional Exes", individuals that have exited a drug abuse and a criminal career and further are educated to work in the addiction field, transformed their identity and which factors that were significant in the process. The result of this study are based on semi-structured interviews with five Professional Exes and shows which specific factors in the process that contributed to the transformation and what kind of difficulties and barriers that existed during the process. The study suggests that, among other things, identification with others exes and the 12 Step Program are significant factors in the process. Furthermore, the study suggests that a difficulty in the transformation is that residues from the previous identity such as a poor self-esteem occurred in some situations.

The purpose of this study was to examine how some social workers in Sweden describe the social work with unaccompanied children. Emphasis was on the role of culture in social work with the unaccompanied children. I wanted to examine how the social workers describe their view on social work with unaccompanied. I also wanted to examine how the social workers describe their view at their own and the unaccompanied children’s cultural backgrounds influence on the social work with the unaccompanied. The study is based on qualitative interviews with four social workers. The empirical material was analysed based on the theories ethnocentrism and symbolic interactionism. The results of the study shows that both the social workers and the unaccompanied children’s cultural background effects social work. The social workers cultural background has a particular effect on the meetings with the unaccompanied children. The social workers capacity to fully understand the unaccompanied clients is limited for cultural factors.

It is 30 years after Post-Mao reforms, 20 years after Tiananmen Square demonstrations, and the next generation of “comrades” are emerging in China. They are called the Balinghou or “Post- 80s” generation, referring to the cohort born between 1980 and 1989. This study addresses an empirical gap by exploring the narrative resources Shanghai’s Post-80s young adults call on to construct their identities, given the historical situation in which they live. This exploration is achieved through qualitative empirical data by employing a combination of narrative analysis and ethnography. Data analysis uncovers narrative resources clustered around three common themes: generational identity, structural resources, and personal lives. Further refection reveals that the extent to which identity is narratively expressed can be culturally constrained. Although the Balinghou encounter unique external factors such as the One Child Policy and rapid economic growth and reform in China, their narrative identity resources are more related to their perceptions of life stages than unprecedented historical circumstance. Keywords: narrative, identity, life course, symbolic interactionism, China, Shanghai, Balinghou, Post-80s generation

Idag är skolan ofta föremål för debatt i massmedia. Ett vanligt förekommande ämne är den bristande ordningen i klassrummen och hur den leder till försämrade resultat. Den allmänna uppfattningen är att hårdare disciplin är lösningen.           Studiens syfte är därför att skildra hur fem förstelärare gör för att skapa ordning i sina klassrum. För att uppnå syftet utfördes kvalitativa intervjuer med utgångspunkt i en vinjett, vilken våra informanter fick ta del av. I analysen användes framför allt symbolisk interaktionism och ledarskapsteori som teoretiskt ramverk.           Resultatet visade att inga av informanterna var för metoder så som skrämsel, kvarsittning, utkastning eller andra former av bestraffningar. Samtliga informanter uppvisade ett demokratiskt ledarskap och menade istället att trygghetsskapande är den bästa metoden i skapandet av en god arbetsmiljö. Ordningsregler och tydliga ramar menar de ska skapa trygghet och förebygga eventuella beteendeproblem hos eleverna, medan samtal ska hjälpa eleverna att förstå vad de gjort, om de trots allt skulle uppträda opassande. Detta för att hindra att eleven beter sig likadant igen.           Vår förhoppning är att kunna bidra med tips och idéer till andra lärare om hur ordning kan skapas i klassrummet. / Today, school is often the subject of debate in the media. A common topic is the lack of order in the classroom and how it leads to poorer results. The general consensus is that tougher discipline is the solution.           The aim of this study is to describe how five “förstelärare” create order in their classrooms. To achieve the aim, qualitative interviews based on a vignette were conducted, which our informants were presented with. To analyze the results different theories like symbolic interactionism and leadership theory were used.           The results showed that none of the informants was positive to methods such as intimidation, detention, ejection or other forms of punishment. All informants reported a democratic leadership and instead argued for establishing of assurance as the best method, to create a good working environment. They mean that standards of conduct and clear instructions will provide assurance and prevent students’ behavior problems, while dialogs will help students to understand what they have done, so that they do not repeat their behavior.           Our hope is to give other teachers tips and ideas on how order can be created in the classroom.

The aim of this thesis is to argue about a Gypsy/Roma community&amp / #8217 / s identity construction from the point of view of classical literature on ethnicity, class and gender dimensions in the symbolic identity construction in the case of Turkey. In this regard, it is important to examine whether this community benefits from citizenship rights. For this purpose, Edirne is chosen as a sample of Turkey because majority of Gypsy/Roma population lives in and this border city into which migrations took place from Bulgaria and Greece. Also for practical reasons of building a communication network, Edirne is selected as a case. A qualitative study, using in-depth interviews with a total of 36 married persons of Gypsy/Roma community referring 18 household in-depth-interviews have been conducted from 2003 winter to summer. Besides, in-depth-interviews with 13 non-Gypsies have been conducted. All interviews were recorded, transcribed and the transcribed texts were used for discourse analysis. During the interviews socio-economic profile, marriage, practices of cultural habits, neighbourhood partnership, political identity, religious rituals and perceiving own identity were inquired. There are three major conclusions of this thesis. The first finding is related to Gypsy/Roma community&amp / #8217 / s socio-economic status. Gypsy/Roma community has problems accessing social benefits of education, health and the labour market in addition to having negative living conditions. The arguments of &amp / #8216 / &amp / #8216 / underclass&amp / #8217 / &amp / #8217 / and &amp / #8216 / &amp / #8216 / urban marginalization&amp / #8217 / &amp / #8217 / coincide with these results. Not only occupation, but also race, ethnicity and gender are linked together with Gypsy/Roma status as &amp / #8216 / inferior&amp / #8217 / citizens. Secondly, Gypsy/Roma community is a closed community in their relations with non-Gypsies with regard to marriage and social network. The third finding is associated with Gypsy/Roma community&amp / #8217 / s perceptions of their identity, which shows variations within community. In this regard, Roma is taken to be the &amp / #8216 / &amp / #8216 / other&amp / #8217 / &amp / #8217 / of not only the non-Gypsies but also Gypsy identity is accepted as the &amp / #8216 / &amp / #8216 / other&amp / #8217 / &amp / #8217 / even of Roma.

This research investigated teachers'perceptions, understandings and implementation of education standards in elementary and primary schools in Papua New Guinea. The main research question and two sub-questions were designed to explore teachers' perceptions and understanding of national standards. This exploration engaged teachers in identifying factors which they believed influenced their professional work. This study also explored stakeholders' perceptions of teachers' interpretations of national education standards. This study adopted social constructivist epistemology, symbolic interactionism, and ethnographic case study methodology. This provided the basis for its theoretical framework to purposefully understand human interactions within their culture and context. Social constructivism accommodates situated learning, a conceptual framework which was adapted to interrogate understanding and implementation of national education standards. A variety of research methods were used to elicit teachers' and stakeholders' perceptions and experiences of their professional world. These methods included in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, documentary analysis, field notes and observations. Most of the focus group discussions engaged participants to "tell their stories", thus storytelling became an avenue for eliciting teachers' and stakeholders'perceptions. Workshops conducted for teachers became another important strategy for data collection. Two schools, one rural and one urban, became case studies to understand national education standards as an external phenomenon. A total of 595 participants were involved in this study including teachers and pupils, parents and community members, school board members, members of curriculum committees, and policy makers. The study found numerous contextual factors influenced teachers' understandings, interpretation and implementation of standards at the school level. Foremost, teachers' own knowledge of formal education standards was deficient thus influencing their commitment to and enthusiasm in their professional work. Teachers' content knowledge and pedagogical skills influenced their ability to translate content standards into clear benchmarks for pupils' learning. The absence of effective monitoring systems of teachers' performance contributed to pupils' superficial assessment reports and of uncoordinated mastery of subject content and performance skills. The absence of effective school leadership affected teachers' commitment, attitudes and professionalism. This generated a culture of isolationism acute in both schools. Teachers were performing to hierarchically externally imposed requirements, and in the process, overlooked essential knowledge and skills that were needed to improve quality of students' learning. The national education standards are an inherited policy from the colonial administration. This study found that successful implementation of education standards is highly dependent on the social and cultural expectations of Papua New Guinea's rapidly changing society. At the local level, education standards are highly influenced by teachers' professionalism, provincial education boards and community expectations. This is compounded by the mismatch of priorities and policies between the national and provincial education divisions. Such a practice impacts negatively on the successful implementation of educational reform agendas. The study implies that a reconsideration of national education standards is necessary. This process will involve a rethinking of teacher education programmes, dismantling previous assumptions of national standards and local implementation, and accommodating challenges presented by economic, political, social and cultural change in Papua New Guinea.

The field of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) traditionally encompasses care and education for children aged from birth to eight years. In this study, the focus is specifically on the field that provides services for children in prior to school settings, that being the birth to five sector. This sector is highly feminised and has emerged over the last century from philanthropic roots. Despite considerable work into leadership in other areas, until recent times, attention to aspects of leadership has been limited within the ECEC field and much of the research undertaken has focused heavily on centre-based leadership. This study investigated how personnel, from a range of services, understand and enact leadership. In terms of data analysis it draws heavily on symbolic interactionism as a methodological tool and engages standpoint feminist theory to inform the analytical process. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with twenty-six participants who also identified artefacts, which they considered influenced and supported their understandings of leadership. In addition, two focus groups were conducted to explore themes emerging from early analysis of the data. Findings indicate two categories, which emerge as relevant to how leadership is understood and enacted by participants. The first of these is the concept of interpreted professional identity, which reflects participants' interpretations of who they are as early childhood professionals informed by their own views and the views of others. How individuals interpret their sense of self (manifest in their professional identity) is influential in the secondary category, which is interpreted leadership capacity. This category reflects participants' leadership activity or inactivity. The analysis reflects a complex interplay between how participants interpret their professional sense of self (interpreted professional identity) and their capacity and willingness to enact leadership (interpreted leadership capacity). Individuals in the formation of their professional identity interpret factors, both internal to the ECEC field and external (through social expectations). The culture of the ECEC field (internal factors) includes competing elements such as a discourse of niceness juxtaposed against examples of horizontal violence. Factors external to the field suggest there are lingering social associations between heroic male images and leadership, which make women as leaders problematic. Within a highly feminised field such as ECEC, this study brings new perspectives to understandings of leadership and its enactment.