Grandfamilies, or families in which grandparents are raising their grandchildren, often form due to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) experienced by the grandchildren. ACEs have been linked to multiple negative short- and long-term behavioral and emotional consequences for children. Yet, having an ACE history does not guarantee negative outcomes, as protective factors such as positive relationships with a safe and caring adult, healthy family functioning, and utilization of formal services can mitigate the negative effects of ACEs. Researchers have regularly called on families to seek timely intervention and services for ACEs; however, many grandparents raising grandchildren report negative interactions with service providers as well as service delivery. Limited research has explored the extent to which grandfamilies with ACEs may have experienced similar interactions while seeking and using formal services. Guided by Andersen's (1995) Behavioral Model of Health Service Use, this qualitative study sought to explore (1) the service needs of grandchildren with an ACE history who are being raised by their grandparents; (2) the service needs of grandparents raising grandchildren with an ACE history; (3) the process of seeking services when grandparents raising a grandchild with an ACE history look for services for their grandchild; and (4) best practices for delivering services to grandfamilies with an ACE history. The research questions were primarily addressed through via interviewing 10 grandparents from Central Appalachia who were raising a grandchild with an ACE history and by conducting two focus groups of 8 to 12 formal service providers with experience working with grandparents raising grandchildren with an ACE history. Interview data were analyzed using grounded theory and focus group data were analyzed through thematic analysis. Study findings indicated that grandchildren have emotional and developmental needs. Grandparents described needs related to the emotional impact of raising a grandchild with an ACE history, family and parent involvement, and parenting a grandchild with an ACE history. Study results also highlighted how grandparents can expect to encounter barriers throughout the service seeking and delivery process. Study results also highlighted the critical nature of having a strong relationship with a service provider and the importance of a service provider reducing barriers, being attentive to grandfamily needs, and involving the grandparent in the treatment process. Finally, results from the focus groups revealed best practices such as providing grandparents with education on ACEs, being aware of intergenerational ACE cycles, and engaging in assessment and intervention when working with this population. Implications for clinical practice as well as directions for future research are discussed. / Doctor of Philosophy / Historically, grandparents have long been called upon to assist with caring for their grandchildren. In the last forty years, grandparents have increasingly shifted to a new role—that of parent. Grandfamilies are commonly created due to adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, which can include child abuse, child neglect, or household challenges such as parental substance abuse or parental incarceration. Experiencing ACEs does not guarantee negative outcomes in a child's life, but their presence and number can affect it, particularly when a child has experienced numerous ACEs. Professional services or treatment are one way to support these children. However, negative interactions with service providers or unfulfilled expectations with service delivery can dissuade grandparents from continuing services. This study sought to understand how grandparents raising a grandchild with an ACE history identify the grandchild's needs, come to the realization that their grandchild needs professional help, the process and experience of receiving that professional help, as well as what happened after the grandchild received professional services. After interviewing 10 grandparents raising a grandchild with an ACE history, study findings revealed how grandparents identify grandchild needs, and then manage those needs as well as grandchild behaviors. Study findings also illustrated a recursive relationship between grandparents managing grandchild needs and building a relationship of trust with the formal service provider once services have started. Building a relationship of trust with a formal service provider can then result in creating change or the grandparent deciding to end services. Finally, grandparent interview data revealed that throughout the entire process of service seeking, grandparents raising a grandchild with an ACE history commonly experience barriers hindering their access to services including personal, availability, and systemic barriers. Finally, the study sought to understand best practices for working with grandparents raising grandchildren with an ACE history, which include assessing for and creating interventions targeting ACEs, providing education on ACEs to grandparents, and being aware of intergenerational ACE cycles with these families. Strategies for clinical practice are also identified.

The popular music duo known as Hooja and DJ Mårdhund was during 2023 known by most of the Swedish population. They won prizes, did interviews and even had their own documentary by the Swedish public service SVT. This was all achieved while the duo was anonymous, only showing themselves with masks and layers of clothes as well as thick northern accents. However, on the 6th of July 2023, their true identities were revealed as well as where they live and how much money they make, in an article written by the Swedishnewspaper Aftonbladet. Before the reveal they had such a huge medial platform where they could express themselves however they wanted but with the article by Aftonbladet it was also revealed that everything they said in the interviews wan´t true. This raised the question, har source criticism in journalism disappeared? Journalism has such a power in society that it is highly important that the information shared is truthful. Without source criticism there is no telling of what is true and what's made up and the power is instead moved from trusted journalistic newsrooms to everyday people who want a place in the paper. The purpose of this study is to in depth analyze how journalistic medias used framing and have portrayed the duo before their identities were revealed. This has been done using a qualitative thematic analysis on four different publications (two of each) by the Swedish public service Sveriges radio and Aftonbladet. The themes found during the analysis were“Characters”, “Source criticism”, “Truthfulness” and “Behind the masks”. The result showed that at least two of the articles gravely lacked source criticism and that the music duo pretty much had free rain to portray themselves however they wanted. Only one of the articles contained a high level of criticism. In the discussion the theories of uses and gratification and framing theory was used to show how media has used the fame of Hooja and how Hooja has used media platforms as a way to market themselves.

This thesis examines the changes and effects the covid-19 pandemic had on the Church of Sweden within the diocese of Karlstad. The thesis is based on semi-structured interviews with eight vicars within the diocese of Karlstad. The data from the interviews were analysed using a thematic analysis. The thesis theoretical origin is derived from institutional theory, and new institutionalism. According to these theories, organisations evolve in response to the expectations and pressures exerted by society. The covid-19 pandemic affected the entire society including religious communities, among them the Church of Sweden. Many issues occurred during the pandemic and the restriction regarding the number of participants at social gatherings resulted in solutions such as booking systems and more frequent services where the vicar stood outside the church counting the participants. The thesis also presents how all parishes in question underwent some form of digitalisation and how seven out of eight parishes offered digital services. The changes that occurred in the parishes are in accordance with both theories. Lastly the thesis demonstrates the range of how these changes were maintained when the covid-19 pandemic subsided, and the restrictions were lifted. Some parishes still use digital services but at a much lower sequence since the demand for digital services decreased severely. Digital meetings are still in use but other than that how the changes maintained varied within the parishes. The opportunity to offer and suggest livestreaming a funeral if a family member is illwould never have happened before the pandemic and the parishes all agree that the knowledge, experiences, and attitudes that the pandemic brought on have come to stay and that they are ready for the next crisis.

This thesis explores the intricate interplay of fatness and queerness, as navigated by Greek individuals. Employing a qualitative approach and thematic analysis, the study aims to unfold the experiences, challenges, and resilience. To do so it is informed by queer theory, as well as Michel Foucault’s concept of the Panopticon and Judith Butler’s concept of performativity. Ethical considerations, the application of queer phenomenology, and an awareness of positionality guide the study to ensure a compassionate and empathetic examination of these experiences. The findings reveal the pervasive societal narratives on fatness and queerness and the significant role of self-identification, aiming to contribute to the broader discourse on body image, self-identity, and societal expectations.

In manufacturing, requirements are an essential aspect of the development process. A requirements view provides a perspective on how requirements are incorporated into the design and architecture of a system. Requirements documents for different product versions at a company like Alstom contain operational scenarios and Given-When-Then requirements, a specific format for expressing functional requirements. Operational scenarios are examples of how the product will be used in real-world situations, and they can also be useful for identifying and specifying functional and nonfunctional requirements. Currently, operational scenarios are manually linked to Given-When-Then requirements. This thesis presents a conceptual design that streamlines the requirements engineering process and allows for easier linking operational scenarios to Given-When-Then requirements.

To identify key issues concerning the use of Swedish Radio’s podcasts as a vehicle for social marketing to promote integration, a thematic analysis was conducted on podcasts published by the Kurdish department of Swedish Radio (SR) during one week. From a total of 37 published podcasts which were analyzed during the chosen time frame, three central themes were identified: (a) crime and criminality, (b) incidents and events related to different municipalities and at state level in Sweden at the time, and (c) issues related to refugees and immigration in Sweden. Each of these central themes comprised sub-themes, which provided further insights into the type of topics the Kurdish department of SR discussed during the one-week time span. Data from this study suggests that although SR Kurdish has the means to be used as a social marketing tool to promote integration in Sweden, this potential is far from being fully utilized. / För att identifiera huvudproblematiken beträffande användandet av Sveriges Radio’s (SR) podcast som ett socialt verktyg för att stärka integrationen, utarbetades en tematisk analys över podcasts publicerade av den kurdiska avdelningen på SR under en vecka. Från totalt 37 publicerade podcasts, togs tre stycken teman fram: (a) brott och kriminalitet, (b) olyckor och incidenter relaterade till olika kommuner och på statlig nivå i Sverige, och (c) frågeställningar relaterade till flyktingar och immigration i Sverige. I varje centralt tema är det ett flertal underteman som ger en ökad insikt i vilken typ av ämnen den kurdiska avdelningen på SR diskuterade under den angivna tidsperioden. Utifrån denna studie kan det fastställas att även om den kurdiska avdelningen på SR användes som ett socialt verktyg för att stärka integrationen, är potentialen av detta långt ifrån fullt utnyttjad.

This research examines the manifestation of collaborative relationships among technological individuals involved in innovation across corporate alliances on scale. Collaboration “on scale” refers to the necessity for global companies to work together to innovate, thus developing ways of cooperating across multiple alliances. ‘Organizations’ do not do this – it is the individuals who work for them that do. However, traditional research defaults to a corporate culture focus on innovation processes and tools, with the result that little is known about how individuals representing their companies collaborate with individuals in numerous other companies in order to achieve innovation. The research therefore looks through the lens of the individual with the aims of (i) understanding how individuals relate and collaborate with others in a range of companies; (ii) finding ways of improving those relationships, and (iii), actively bridging the gap between academia and business so that the learning from this project can be applied in practice. A qualitative, interview based methodology is used to identify individual attributes and gain an understanding of their impact on collaborative relationships. Five main themes are discovered that explain the individual behavioral influences that stimulate or hinder collaborative relationships in innovation practice. They are Make it Personal, Value Relationships, Champion the Cause, Offer Tribute, and Trust Your Intuition. The conclusions call for leaders to develop a deeper focus on individuals contributing to collaboration, strengthen relationships, integrate collaboration and innovation, improve intuitional skills, and re-examine measures and rewards. Academically, this research proposes new theory related to influencing variables in collaborative relationships. A bridge between academic theory and business practice is established firstly through developing a writing style designed to bridge that gap, and secondly through use of a practical rubric framework and self-assessment package to enable individuals to learn how to instill these findings in their collaborative relationships and get more out of innovation results. The report highlights areas and suggestions for future research study. / Royal Dutch Shell

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The United States is the world’s top resettlement country for refugees and the third largest community of Burmese refugees lives in the state of Indiana. Many refugee families look to their college-age youth to enhance their well-being. This study explored the lived experiences of Burmese refugee college students’ resettlement and the role that social support plays in that approach. In order to explore the refugee students’ resettlement experiences and the role of social support, social support theory and conservation of resources theory were used to explain the importance of social support for refugee students’ successful resettlement. A qualitative study using thematic analysis was conducted using 32 in-depth individual interviews with Burmese refugee students in higher education. Through an indepth examination of the lived experiences of Burmese refugee college students’ resettlement, four main themes were identified: challenges of resettlement, resettlement needs, the resources of social support, and resettlement experiences. Refugee students actively cultivated their life and showed aspirations of being successful members of this new environment. Even though they faced many challenges and needs identified through interviews, the participants overcame these barriers including a different culture and language and prosper in their lives in the host country. The social support from the coethnic community and people in the host country both affected the participants’ successful resettlement. Co-ethnic community also plays an important role to pursue higher education. The study findings will be used by social work practice, programs, and policies to improve the success of Burmese refugee students' resettlement. This study would serve as a foundation for enhancing refugee students’ resettlement and understanding the critical role of social support resources during the resettlement period. Burmese refugee students would be an important avenue to develop international relations and achieve social justice. In spite of a variety of barriers and prejudices, Burmese refugee students bloom and flourish in their new environment in the United States. They are beneficiaries but also currently benefactors. The perspectives on refugees need to change and move from victims to the citizens of the world.

Bakgrund: Kronisk hosta är ett vanligt medicinskt tillstånd och definieras som hosta som varar mer än åtta veckor och är behandlingsresistent (refraktär) trots noggranna utredningar eller medicinska behandlingar. Det drabbar cirka 10% av den vuxna befolkningen och har en betydande negativ inverkan på livskvalitet. Det finns hittills inga studier som beskriver hur hostan påverkar individernas vardag och möjlighet att genomföra fysisk aktivitet. Syfte: Att undersöka hur individer som har diagnostiserats med kronisk refraktär hosta upplever att hostan påverkar vardagen och hens förmåga att vara fysisk aktiv.  Metod: Kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer tillämpades. Intervjuerna (n=10) transkriberades och tolkades med tematisk analys med induktiv ansats.  Resultat: Analysen resulterade i tre huvudteman 1) Betydande inverkan på vardagen, 2) Kampen om kontrollen och 3) Hostan under fysisk aktivitet. Dessa tre teman och deras åtta underteman belyser komplexiteten och omfattningen av hur hostan påverkar individernas liv. Slutsats: Kronisk hosta har avsevärd påverkan på vardagen och har negativa effekter på individens psykosociala tillstånd. Studien belyser dock att fysisk aktivitet är genomförbart för individer med kronisk hosta men att anpassningar kan behövas avseende intensitet eller typ av aktivitet. En bättre förståelse för innebörden och konsekvenserna av att leva med kronisk hosta kan vara ett bidrag till att ytterligare utveckla framgångsrika behandlingsmetoder. / Background: Chronic cough is a common medical condition and is defined as cough that lasts more than eight weeks and is treatment-resistant (refractory) despite careful investigations or medical treatments. It affects about 10% of the adult population and has a significant negative impact on quality of life. So far, there are no studies describing how the cough affects individuals' everyday lives and ability to carry out physical activity. Aim: To investigate how individuals who have been diagnosed with chronic refractory cough experience that the cough affects everyday life and his/her ability to be physically active. Method: Qualitative method with semi-structured interviews was applied. The interviews (n=10) were transcribed and interpreted with thematic analysis with an inductive approach. Results: The analysis resulted in three main themes: 1) Significant impact on everyday life, 2) The struggle for control and 3) The cough during physical activity. These three themes and their eight subthemes highlight the complexity and scope of how the cough affects the lives of individuals. Conclusion: Chronic cough has a significant impact on everyday life and has negative effects on the individual's psychosocial state. However, the study highlights that physical activity is feasible for individuals with chronic cough but that adaptations may be needed regarding intensity or type of activity. A better understanding of the meaning and consequences of living with chronic cough can be a contribution to further developing successful treatment methods.

Agens, vilket definieras som klientens upplevelse av att intentionellt kunna handla utifrån önskade och förväntade utfall, men också upplevelsen av att kunna påverka utgången av sitt liv, har i tidigare forskning lyfts fram som en potentiell common factor och psykologisk förändringsmekanism vid psykoterapeutisk behandling. Föreliggande studie syftade till att undersöka terapeuters upplevelse av arbetet med klientens agens i psykoterapi. Sju semistrukturerade intervjuer med yrkesverksamma leg. psykoterapeuter och/eller leg. psykologer genomfördes och analyserades utifrån en induktiv tematisk analys, vilket mynnade ut i tre teman: Det konfliktfyllda agentskapet, Värdet av agens i psykoterapi och Att främja agens - ett gemensamt arbete. Studiens resultat visar att klientens agentskap upplevdes konfliktfyllt och svårt att hantera för klienten, vilket påverkade det terapeutiska arbetet och krävde bedömning och medvetandegörande från terapeuten. Att arbeta agensfrämjande upplevdes ha ett stort värde och som en grundförutsättning för att åstadkomma varaktig förändring. Klientens agens upplevdes främjas av ett gemensamt arbete, vilket terapeuten behöver skapa förutsättningar för. Studiens resultat går i linje med tidigare forskning om agens som en möjlig psykologisk förändringsmekanism och common factor, vilket lyfter frågan huruvida framtida psykoterapeutisk behandling och klinisk träning av terapeuter bör ha en större betoning på kärnprocesserna i en effektiv terapi, där klientens agens kan vara en sådan. / Agency, which can be defined as the experience of being able to intentionally act upon wished and anticipated outcomes, but also the experience of being able to influence the outcome of one’s life, has in previous research been proposed as a potential common factor and mechanism of change in psychotherapy. The purpose of the present study was to explore therapists’ experiences of working with client’s agency in psychotherapy. This was explored by using a qualitative approach and was based on seven semi-structured interviews with licensed psychologists and/or licensed psychotherapists. The data was analysed through an inductive thematic analysis, which resulted in three themes: The conflicts of agency, The value of agency in psychotherapy and Fostering agency - A joint work. The results showed that the therapists’ experiences client´s agency as something conflicted and difficult for the clients to manage, which affects the therapeutic work and thereby requires assessment and raising awareness. Furthermore, working with a client´s agency was highly valued and experienced as a prerequisite for achieving long lasting change in therapy. A joint work between therapist and client, which the therapist needs to create conditions for, was experienced as something that fostered the client’s agency. The results of the study are consistent with previous research regarding agency as a potential common factor and mechanism of change in psychotherapy. This raises the question of whether psychotherapy and clinical training of psychotherapists should put a greater emphasis on core processes in an effective psychotherapy, perhaps such as client’s agency.