The entrance of women into ordained ministry positions is a relatively new phenomenon in the North American Christian church, and has yet to be given adequate scholarly attention. This thesis probes the experiences of several pioneering women, presenting both the substantial and theoretical contributions emerging from a qualitative study of female pastors ministering in Protestant congregations across Canada. Data collection and analysis were approached through the lens of symbolic interactionism and grounded theory. The main findings emerging from 44 qualitative, in-depth interviews have been organized into three distinct papers to constitute a sandwich dissertation. The first paper outlines how some women experience a “call” to ministry and how this change in trajectory impacts their identity and constructions of the past, while the second two papers address different facets of performing the pastoral role once within it. Paper 2 explores the dilemmas women encounter in the area of clothing and appearances, a concern many of the women identified as influencing their performance of the pastoral role. Paper 3 explores in greater depth the ways women feel they perform the pastoral role differently than their male counterparts, and raises questions about the impact this may have on changing the role in the future. Taken together, the three papers contribute to a broad range of debates in the theoretical literature about key facets of the human experience, including: changing career trajectories, role making and performance of self, and microlevel influences on institutional change. The dissertation also encourages a new direction for sociological research – human interactions with the divine. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This thesis investigates what it is like to be a female pastor in the Christian church in Canada, as women have only recently been able to be fully ordained in most Protestant denominations. Three themes are explored: (1) how women decide to enter into Christian ministry, (2) how they navigate dilemmas around clothing in the pastoral role, and (3) how they feel they do pastoral ministry differently than their male counterparts. On a more theoretical level, this thesis also helps us understand the experiences of women entering traditionally male occupations, illuminating how they – and perhaps anyone who undergoes a career transition – navigate changes in work roles and identities, how clothing can help them achieve legitimacy in a role, and how women may be changing the professions they enter into in large numbers by doing their work differently.

The electric utility companies that own and/or operate the nation’s 112 licensed commercial nuclear power reactors are required by federal law to provide emergency information to residents living around those plants in advance of a nuclear plant emergency. This requires the owner/operators to acknowledge certain risks (e.g., radiation, nuclear plant accidents, evacuation, etc.) that face people living near nuclear generating plants. This dissertation critiques the effectiveness of pre-emergency risk communication strategies by nuclear utilities. Specifically, the dissertation demonstrates that certain historic message themes about nuclear power- termed the "nuclear ethic" -have become embedded in the rhetoric of current nuclear risk communication programs and downplay or mask the seriousness of nuclear plant emergencies, thereby contributing to the apparent ineffectiveness of these communication programs. For example, a survey of residents living around four nuclear plants who receive utility risk communication materials found that nearly two-thirds said they would not follow official instructions in a nuclear plant emergency. Such promotional rhetoric and images remain a part of nuclear risk communication programs because agencies which regulate nuclear power delegate their responsibility for pre-emergency risk communication to the utilities operating the plants. Moreover, there is little involvement in pre-emergency nuclear risk communication by state and local governments. This suggests that risk communication serves a latent symbolic role rather than a functional role for both the regulatory agencies and the utilities by making both groups appear to be isomorphic with societal goals of safety and security for a risky technology. The dissertation concludes by suggesting federal regulatory agencies, and specifically the Federal Emergency Management Agency, intensify their vigilance of risk communication planning and take steps to create authentic two-way communication between the nuclear utilities and the public living near the plants. One way this could be done is by establishing local citizens advisory committees to assess utility risk communication programs and suggest improvements that would help bridge the gap between the nuclear industry’s view of nuclear plant risk and that of the public. / Ph. D.

This thesis examines how experiences of stigma related to cannabis use are expressed and processed in an online forum. Using a netnographic method, posts from the cannabis forum on Flashback are analysed to understand how these interactions contribute to meaning-making in social contexts. By examining posts, a complex picture emerges of how stigma is expressed and how users manage this in online environments. The forum serves as a place where users can share experiences and support each other, contributing to a collective meaning-making around cannabis use.  The thesis employs Erving Goffman’s theories of stigma and symbolic interactionism to highlight how individuals within a stigmatized group manage and navigate their social reality. The results show that cannabis users on Flashback actively discuss and cope with stigma through various strategies and adaptations, contributing to a deeper understanding of how social and structural constraints affect their experiences and behaviours. By normalizing their use and creating a shared understanding within the group, they mitigate the negative consequences of stigma. This thesis thus provides insights into how digital environments both reflect and influence the norms and attitudes surrounding cannabis use.

In this dissertation, the lives of five young people living in Norrköping follows for five years (1998 – 2002) through fieldwork involving observations and recurring interviews. The objective of the study is to describe and analyse the development into adulthood and the creation of a (cultural) identity among a group of young people in a town, which used to be heavily working class. The objective is also to relate this to gender and class, institutional practices, the cultural legacy and changes in society. Primarily qualitative sociological research methods have been applied in the study. Ideas about social interaction and social processes derived from symbolic interactionism constitute one of the scientific foundations of the study. The study deals with the three key transitions; education, work and personal life. These transitions, which are essential to attaining adulthood, are emphasised and problematised in the study. In this study we can see that the process of individualisation in modern society has, in the context of the development of young people into adulthood, taken the form of a stream of messages to which they relate and in which society has, via institutional practices and rhetoric, played an active role. Factors such as gender, class and culture have constituted the conditions for the individualisation process. The mixed messages received by these young people have been representative of the discrepancy between general career possibilities and the actual opportunities which the youths in the study have encountered. These mixed messages have been mediated, as biographical schemes, at home (by parents), at school, in the context of institutional practices and, not least, via local politics, local media and in literature about the town. In its conclusion, this study points out that political and public discourse in Norrköping constitutes a bearer and “preserver” of a patriarchal tradition which contributes to preserving the negative image of the working-class town of Norrköping.

Au Québec, entre 2002-2003 et 2012-2013, le taux de sortie sans diplôme ni qualification en formation générale des jeunes aurait atteint une diminution de 6,9 points. Alors qu’il se situait à 22,2 % une décennie plus tôt, ce taux s’établissait à 15,3 % en 2012-2013 (MÉLS, 2014). Malgré cette diminution appréciable du taux annuel de décrochage, l’abandon des études avant l’obtention d’un diplôme d’études secondaires ou d’une qualification équivalente continue d’être une préoccupation importante dans le monde scolaire en raison des conséquences qui en émanent (MÉES, 2015). Qu’elles soient liées au jeune qualifié de décrocheur ou à la société, les études portant sur les conséquences s’attardent principalement aux problèmes économiques (participation moins active à la société de production), sanitaires (développement plus fréquent de problèmes physiques et de santé mentale) et sociaux (adaptation sociale déficitaire et déviance) qui découlent du décrochage scolaire (Janosz, 2000; Blaya, 2010). Le phénomène du décrochage scolaire est aussi étudié en fonction des normes transgressées. Qu’il soit question de la description typologique des jeunes à risque de décrocher, de l’étude des facteurs de risque de quitter prématurément l’école ou de l’institutionnalisation du discours sur le phénomène, le décrochage scolaire est analysé comme un geste inapproprié posé par un jeune qui ne répond pas positivement aux conventions sociales (Bernard, 2011). Le jeune ayant quitté prématurément l’école se retrouve ainsi automatiquement placé en situation de déviance par rapport à une norme qui valorise la diplomation et la poursuite des études. Les données statistiques et les écrits sur les conséquences liées au décrochage scolaire ou sur la déviance ne nous permettent cependant pas d’accéder au point de vue du jeune qualifié de décrocheur. C’est en raison de cette lacune que ce présent mémoire a sollicité la participation de jeunes ayant quitté prématurément l’école secondaire afin qu’ils se livrent sur leur expérience. En prenant appui sur l’interactionnisme symbolique, ce mémoire tente de comprendre comment est vécue la situation de décrochage scolaire en fonction de l’analyse que les participants font de leur expérience. Huit jeunes ont ainsi été invités à raconter, lors d’un entretien individuel de type « récit de vie », leurs perceptions quant à la situation de décrochage qui leur est attribuée et quant aux conséquences qu’ils en dégagent. L’analyse des différents discours a permis de faire ressortir que les participants ont rencontré de nombreuses adversités en amont de leur fréquentation scolaire qui ont créé des besoins spécifiques chez eux. Une inadéquation sévère entre leurs besoins personnels et ceux de l’institution scolaire serait un des éléments déclencheurs de l’arrêt prématuré de leurs études. Une inadéquation qui les exclut du système scolaire et qui les pousse à rejeter l’école à force d’y vivre des situations insupportables. Leurs besoins n’atteignant pas les objectifs fixés par l’école, les jeunes ont perdu l’espoir de trouver un sens à leurs études. Aujourd’hui, les participants à cette étude prennent conscience des conséquences qu’ils ont vécues ou qu’ils continuent de vivre depuis leur sortie de l’école. Ils rencontreraient des lacunes sur le savoir et le savoir-faire, auraient accumulé un déficit de motivation, présenteraient une faible estime de soi, vivraient des situations de stigmatisation et de marginalisation, éprouveraient des difficultés d’intégration sociale et socioprofessionnelle et auraient développé un manque de confiance en l’avenir. / In Quebec, between 2002-2003 and 2012-2013, the rate of teenagers leaving high school without the full completion of the general program has dropped by 6.9 points. Presenting itself to be 22.2% a decade ago, it stood at 15.3% in 2012-2013 (MÉLS, 2014). Despite a considerable decrease in the annual dropout rate, this phenomenon remains an important preoccupation in education because of its numerous consequences for the teenager and society (MÉES, 2015). Studies on this matter have identified consequences on several levels, being economical (less active in society’s production), sanitary (more frequent development of physical and mental health problems) and social (poor social adaptation and deviance) (Blaya, 2010; Janosz, 2000). The phenomenon of early school leaving is also studied as a transgression of social norms. Wether it’s studies on the typological description of at risk youth, the risk factors of dropping out or the institutionalized speech on the matter, from this point of view, dropping out is analysed as an inacceptable response to social conventions (Bernard, 2011). Therefore, the teenager who quits school prematurely is automatically considered a deviant since his actions have disobeyed social norms. Many studies on the consequences of this phenomenon as well as it’s statistical data are present in the literature, but unfortunately, the point of view of teenagers labeled as dropouts is not brought forward. In light of this observation, this thesis solicited the participation of teenagers who left high school prematurely to offer them the space to describe their experience. Based on symbolic interactionism, this thesis tries to understand the experience of dropping out according to the teenager’s point of view. In an individual interview using a life narrative method, eight teenagers were invited to deliver their perception on the dropout label which they were attributed and the consequences that resulted. The analysis of the participant’s narratives highlight the numerous adversities they went through during their school years and the individualized needs that resulted. Their narratives show the severe inadequate response by the school institution to their individual needs as a trigger to their premature leave. Living through frequent unbearable situations due to this inadequate response pushed them to be excluded from the school system and to reject school. Unfortunately, the participant's needs were not part of the school’s fixed objectives leaving them to lose hope in finding a sense to their schooling. The participants of this study now realise the consequences they have lived and live to this day since they quit school. They present shortcomings in their knowledge, an accumulated lack of motivation, poor self-esteem, situations of stigmatisation and marginalisation, difficulties integrating socially and professionally and finally, they have developed a lack of confidence in what their future holds.

The purpose of this study is to contribute knowledge about how a few pedagogues apprehend playing’s opportunities to create social relationships between children. The purpose is also to contribute knowledge about how a few pedagogues apprehend their role in children’s relationship work in playing. To obtain empirical material to our study we have completed qualitative interviews with eight pedagogues who work in extended school in four different schools. The theoretical framework we have used to analyze the empirical data is symbolic interactionism, in particular concepts from Erving Goffman’s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959). According to the pedagogues, playing create social relationships between children by their fantasy, creativity and by their own initiative. According to the pedagogues, playing clarifies children how to work together and how to behave towards other children. To include and prevent children from being excluded the pedagogues use different tools to support them in entering social relationships with other children. The pedagogues use free play to get children to learn how to take responsibility and in an independently way create new social relationships with other children. The pedagogues use adult- conducted play to get children to interact in play, to enter community and create social relationships. The pedagogues feel they are in children´s free play depending on how the children act for example if there is a problem regarding children´s language or behavior in playing. In adult-conducted play the pedagogues apprehend their role to be an explicit and determined leader and be the one who always controls children’s play. The pedagogues also apprehend their role in adult-conducted play to break up subgroups and lead the children away from evil playing. / Syftet med studien är att bidra med kunskap om hur ett antal pedagoger uppfattar lekens möjligheter för barn att skapa sociala relationer. Syftet är även att bidra med kunskap om hur ett antal pedagoger uppfattar sin roll i barns relationsarbete i leken. För att samla in empiriskt material till vår studie har vi genomfört kvalitativa intervjuer med åtta pedagoger som arbetar på fritidshem på fyra olika skolor. För att analysera det empiriska materialet använder vi oss av symbolisk interaktionism i form av ett antal begrepp från Erving Goffmans Jaget och maskerna: En studie i vardagslivets dramatik (1959). Pedagogerna uppfattar att leken skapar sociala relationer mellan barnen via deras fantasi, kreativitet, egna initiativ. Pedagogerna uppfattar att i leken får barnen lära sig att samarbeta och hur man ske bete sig mot andra barn. För att inkludera och motverka att barn är exkluderade uppfattar pedagogerna att de använder sig av olika verktyg för att stötta dem att ingå i sociala relationer med andra barn. Pedagogerna uppfattar att fri lek används för att barnen ska lära sig att ta ansvar och på ett självständigt sätt skapa nya sociala relationer med andra barn. Pedagogerna uppfattar att de använder styrd lek för att barnen ska få interagera i lek, ingå i gemenskap och skapa sociala relationer. Pedagogerna uppfattar att de intar olika roller i barnens fria lek beroende på hur barnen agerar i leken. Bland annat om det är problem angående barnens språkbruk eller beteende i leken. I den styrda leken uppfattar pedagogerna att sin roll är att vara en tydlig och bestämd ledare och hela tiden vara den som styr barnens lek. Pedagogerna uppfattar även att sin roll i den styrda leken är att bryta upp subgrupper och leda barnen bort från ondskefulla lekar.

The aim of this study was to examine the definition and meaning of a relationship-based social work, and what conditions are required for the professional to manage such. Based on seven qualitative interviews with professional social workers who work with children and adolescents, a thematic analysis was conducted based on the theoretical frameworks of Symbolic Interactionism and the organisational theories of Human Service Organisations and Street-Level Bureaucracy. The main results confirm the importance of the relationship between the client and the professional according to the respondents. Role clarity and empathy through self-awareness were seen as important qualities of the professional to maintain a good relationship with the child, for whom this might lead to a sense of security through the relationship continuity. Mentioned conditions that facilitated the possibility of relationship based client work were mostly organisational variables such as time and discretion. These were variables that varied depending on the organisation that the professionals worked within, leading to a comparative discussion between the organisational conditions of social services and schools. Another theme identified was experience which seemed to matter as a personal skill. These conditions affect the professional’s ability to create and maintain relationships with the children.

The aim of this study was to examine the definition and meaning of a relationship-based social work, and what conditions are required for the professional to manage such. Based on seven qualitative interviews with professional social workers who work with children and adolescents, a thematic analysis was conducted based on the theoretical frameworks of Symbolic Interactionism and the organisational theories of Human Service Organisations and Street-Level Bureaucracy. The main results confirm the importance of the relationship between the client and the professional according to the respondents. Role clarity and empathy through self-awareness were seen as important qualities of the professional to maintain a good relationship with the child, for whom this might lead to a sense of security through the relationship continuity. Mentioned conditions that facilitated the possibility of relationship based client work were mostly organisational variables such as time and discretion. These were variables that varied depending on the organisation that the professionals worked within, leading to a comparative discussion between the organisational conditions of social services and schools. Another theme identified was experience which seemed to matter as a personal skill. These conditions affect the professional’s ability to create and maintain relationships with the children.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Sociology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Sociology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.