Syftet med föreliggande arbete var att utforska tre sångares upplevelser av röstmetoden The Voice Work. Forskningsfrågan lyder: Hur uppfattar de intervjuade sångarna röstmetoden The Voice Work? Studien genomfördes genom kvalitativa intervjuer under hösten 2019 i en hermeneutisk analys, och diskuteras mot en bakgrund av samtida erfarenhetsbaserade röstmetoder samt röstforskning inom populärmusikaliska genrer. Resultatet presenteras i tre kapitel: Strävan efter autenticitet, Kropp och psyke – en helhet samt Utveckling. De intervjuade sångarna erfar The Voice Work som en metod med syfte att nå autenticitet i röstbruket. The Voice Work tillhandager ett accepterande förhållningssätt till den egna rösten enligt de intervjuade sångarna. Resultatet visar också att The Voice Work ger en upplevelse av rösten och psyket som en helhet, att röstklangen och intonationen styrs till mindre grad, de upplever sig inte förställa rösten. De intervjuade sångarna berättar även om upplevelser av friare röst, inre närvaro, självinsikter och hur arbetet påverkat dem känslomässigt. Igenom den andningsuppvärmning och det ljudande som sker i The Voice Work tränar de intervjuade sångarna att försöka förhålla sig icke-dömande till sig själv och sin kropp, de upplever en avspänning i röst och andning samt att de sjunger mer skonsamt vilket de använder i sin övning. Den intervjuade sångaren Lisa använder metoden även vid framträdanden för att minska resultatfokus. De intervjuade sångarna menar också att andningsuppvärmningen fått dem att hitta ett mentalt fokus, något som de menar de saknat verktyg för inom andra röstmetoder. / The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of three singers within the voice method The Voice Work. The study was conducted through qualitative interviews in the fall of 2019 through hermeneutic analysis and is discussed against a background of contemporary experience-based voice methods as well as voice research in popular musical genres. The result is presented in three chapters: The quest for authenticity, Body and psyche - a whole and Development. The interviewed singers perceive The Voice Work as a method with the aim of achieving authenticity in using the voice. The interviewed singers experience an accepting attitude to their voice. The Voice Work gives the interviewed singers an experience of the voice and the psychic being as a whole. The sound of voice and intonation is controlled to a lesser extent, helping them not dissembling the voice. The interviewed singers talk about experiences of a freer voice, inner presence, self-insights and how the work affected them emotionally. Through the breathing exercise and sounding that occurs in The Voice Work, the interviewed singers train to try to relate non-judgmentally to themselves and their body, they experience a relaxation in voice and breathing and that they sing more gently which they use in their vocal training. Interviewed singer Lisa uses the method in performances to reduce the focus on results. The interviewed singers also believe that the breathing exercise caused them to find a mental focus, which they lacked tools for in other voice methods.

A democratic workplace is one where workers as a body have the right to determine the internal organization and future direction of the firm. Worker co-operatives are a type of democratic firm. In a worker co-operative employees are joint-owners of the firm and participate democratically in workplace governance. Much has been written about the supposed benefits of worker co-operatives for workers and for society. One thread of this research, originating with Carole Pateman’s theoretical work (Pateman 1970), argues that worker co-operatives act as sites of political learning for workers. By participating democratically in workplace decisions, individuals are thought to learn the skills and psychological dispositions needed to participate in political democracy. A second thread argues that co-operatives will improve worker well-being. Democratic governance will give workers control over work organization, increasing autonomy in their daily lives, and leading to an increase in non-material work rewards such as job satisfaction. Worker ownership will equalize the material rewards from work and improve job security. These arguments are premised on the idea that democratic governance structures and worker ownership will lead to widespread, effective worker participation in decision-making and the equalization of power at work. However, insufficient attention is given to the contextual factors beyond formal governance and ownership structures that shape the internal dynamics of workplace democracy. I conduct an in-depth, mixed-methods case study of a worker co-operative with 158 employees in the UK cycling retail industry. Using survey research, social network analysis, in-depth interviews and direct observation, I show how individual differences, firm-level contextual factors such as the social composition of the organization, and macro-level factors such as economic and cultural context, lead to unequal participation opportunities and different outcomes for different groups of workers within the firm. My research leads to three conclusions. First, the outcomes of workplace democracy for workers are highly context-dependent. They will differ across groups of workers within co-operatives, across different democratic firms, and across cultures. Second, the relationship between workplace democracy and political participation is more complex than the Pateman thesis suggests. It is contingent on the political identities of workers, which are themselves shaped by wider political economic context. Political identity affects both participation behaviour at work, and how workplace experience shapes political views. Third, the subjective well-being outcomes of workplace democracy depend on workers’ expectations about work. Expectations are shaped by the same forces that mould political identity. Workplace democracy raises expectations for certain groups of workers, leading to well-being harms when expectations are not met. Overall, the benefits of workplace democracy for workers and for society are overstated. In the UK context, co-ops are unlikely to realize the benefits attributed to them without large-scale public policy interventions.

Denne D-uppsats i Musikterapi ved Kungliga Musikhögskolan i Stockholm undersøger på et fænonomenologisk grundlag, hvordan fem kvinder i et gruppeterapiforløb oplevede at arbejde med stemmen som terapeutisk redskab. Det overordnede formål med projektet var at udvikle en metode til at arbejde med stemmen som terapeutisk redskab.   I et eksperimentelt projekt over ti sessioner af hver to timers varighed, blev der arbejdet med forskellige aspekter af det at arbejde med stemmen, herunder afslapning/mindfulness før alle praktiske øvelser, vejrtræknings- og stemmetekniske øvelser og forskellige stemmeimprovisations øvelser. Maleri og tegning blev taget ind som en ekstra dimension i forhold til at arbejde med de psykologiske processer. Sessionerne blev filmet som dokumentation og siden blev sessionerne transkriberet, beskrevet og analyseret. Alle samtaler i gruppeterapien udgik fra Irving D.Yaloms eksistentielle psykologiske vinkel. Via en fænomenologisk forskningsmetode og med triangulering af spørgeskemaer er øvelserne og deres effekter på deltagernes oplevelse af blandt andet selvværd, det at tage sin plads og præstation, blevet undersøgt. Resultaterne indikerer 1) at afslapning/mindfulness kan have en positiv indvirkning på deltagernes personlige processer, 2) at stemmetekniske øvelser kan åbne op for flere forskellige personlige processer, herunder processer relateret til sociale regler, selvværd, præstation og det at blive mere bevidst om ens egen krop og dens funktioner i forhold til stemmen og vejrtrækningen. Resultaterne indikerer også, at vejrtrækningsøvelser og afslapning påvirker hinanden gensidigt og at vejrtrækningsøvelser kan bruges som individuelt værktøj i relation til angstdæmpning. Improvisationsøvelser findes at kunne åbne for meget forskellige personlige processer alt efter stemmetekniske forudsætninger. Følelser af frihed i forhold til stemmeidealer, manglende teknik, indlejrede sociale konventioner, forhold til autoriteter og regler, samt følelsen af at lege og eksperimentere, er nogen af de temaer som deltagerne oplevede der kom fokus på. Deltagerne oplevede at de var i stand til at overføre disse oplevelser til deres private livsforhold og at de her kunne skabe en forandring. I forhold til Male/tegne øvelsen viser resultaterne at deltagerne oplevede at kunne uddybe deres udfordringer og processer yderligere, og at de oplevede øvelsen overraskende nem, kravløs og legende.   Et uforudset resultat var, at det at arbejde med en medfølende intention i forhold til en selv, viste sig at være den allerstørste faktor for at forløbet udgjorde en terapeutisk forskel for de deltagende. Generelt oplevede deltagerne selve gruppeterapien som en støttende og kærlig proces og derfor inspirende i forhold til den enkeltes udfordring og proces. / This Magister Thesis in Music Therapy at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm examines on a phenomenological basis how five women in a group therapy process experienced working with voice exercises as a therapeutic tool. The overall objective of the project was to develop a method to work with the voice as a therapeutic tool. In an experimental course over ten sessions of two hours duration, the women worked with various aspects of voicework, including relaxation /mindfulness before all practical exercises, breathing and technical voice exercises and various voiceimprovisation exercises. Painting and drawing were taken in as an extra dimension to the work of the psychological processes. The sessions were video recorded as documentation and afterwards the sessions were transcribed, described and analyzed. All conversations in the group therapy were based on Irving D.Yaloms existential psychology. Through a phenomenological research method and triangulation of questionnaires, -the exercises and their influence on participants' experience, among others of self-esteem, of being able to take one´s needed space - and of performance, were examinded. The results indicates 1) that relaxation /mindfulness can have a positive impact on participants' personal processes, 2) that technical voice exercises can open up several different personal processes, including processes related to social rules, self-esteem, achievement and to become more aware of ones own body and its functions in relation to the voice and breathing. The results also indicate that breathing exercises and relaxation have a mutual influence on one another and that breathing exercises can be used as a tool for the individual, concerning anxiety reduction. Improvisation exercises can help opening up to different personal processes, depending on the level of technical experience of the voice the participant possesses. Feelings of freedom in relation to voice ideals, lack of voice technique, embedded social conventions, relationship to authorities and rules, as well as the feeling of playing and experimenting, were some of the themes the participants experienced to have a focus on. The participants found that they were able to transfer these experiences to their private life conditions and here to create a change. In relation to the painting / drawing exercise, it was found that the participants experienced to immerse their challenges and processes further and that they experienced this exercise surprisingly easy, non-demanding and playful. As an unexpected result it was found, that working with a compassionate intention towards oneself in the process made the largest therapeutic difference for the participants. In general, participants experienced the group therapy as supportive and with a loving atmosphere which inspired the individual´s challenges and processes.