This diploma thesis is dealing with social work theories and their usage in practice of social workers. Theoretical part describes their historical evolution until actual crisis of social work. Afterwards it is aimed on specific model, task centred approach. This approach has in Czech environment exceptional position, because it shows parallels with Act on social services and Standards of social services quality. Conclusion of theoretical part is dedicated to relationship between how social workers use in their practice social work theories and how this state is reflected in their professionality. Practical part is processed in form of qualitative research in which ten social workers took part. Through half structured interview were mapped if and which way social workers are using in their practice social work theories, and their experiences with task centred approach. Results of research, which are more closely elaborated within final discussion showed suppressed importance of theories. Social workers usually in their practice are not using specific theory (nor task centred approach), but they more rely on "their own theories" or internal rules of organization where they work.

Syftet med denna uppsats var att beskriva hur socialarbetarens yrkesroll och yrkesidentitet kan konstrueras i uppdraget som biståndshandläggare och i förhållande till rådande diskurser inom området. Kunskapsläget inom fältet visade att arbetet som biståndshandläggare är komplext och att det därför kan vara svårt att arbeta på det sätt lagen föreskriver. Dels beroende på att den ideologiska och ekonomiska samhällsutvecklingen kan leda till lagändringar och organisatoriska förändringar, dels beroende på hänsynstagandet till det allmänna intresset. Studiens empiriska material utgörs av intervjuer med fem biståndshandläggare/socialsekreterare, varav den ena inte hade ett myndighetsutövande uppdrag. Ett diskursteoretiskt perspektiv användes som verktygslåda för att analysera socialsekreterarnas utsagor och för att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar. Studiens resultat visade på att yrkesrollen konstrueras diskursivt, avhängigt kontexten och i förhållande till organisationens uppdrag för den enskilde socialsekreteraren. Socialarbetaridentiteten/ identiteterna tillskrevs olika former av betydelser men också olika former av diskursiva krav och förväntningar på både beteende och handlande. / The aim of this study was to describe how the social worker’s professional role and work identity can be constructed in the case manager’s assignments and in relation to the existing discourses in the field. Previous research in this field has shown that a case manager’s work is complex and that it can be difficult to perform their assignments according to the law. Partly because of the ideological and economic development in society, which might lead to changes in the organization, and partly due to the consideration of public interest. The empirical part of the study consists of interviews with five social workers. One of these social workers did not have a regulatory exercise assignment. To reach the aim of the study, a theoretical discourse perspective was used. The result showed that the work identity of the case manager is constructed through the discourses of the context and in relation to the assignments given to each case officer from the organization. The social worker identity was assigned with different meanings and different discursive requirements and expectations regarding how to behave and act.

This thesis examines the relationship between work and identity amongst letterpress printers in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Britain. It probes the sources of work-based identity and considers efforts to maintain, and even manipulate, a distinctive sense of trade belonging. The effect of work on other interrelated personal and social identities is also examined. In contrast to other histories of work, particularly class-based studies, all levels of the trade are scrutinized, from apprentices through journeymen to masters and proprietors. Differences in the experience of work between these varying members of the trade are analysed, together with their effect on working relationships. The first part of this thesis follows the hierarchy of the trade with chapters on apprentices, journeymen and masters. Apprentice printers endured increasingly exploitative conditions and came from more diverse social backgrounds than was commonly assumed. Journeymen took pride in the history of their trade, and had a strong tradition of fraternity, but their sense of identity was increasingly threatened by rising unemployment levels. Meanwhile, masters were less likely to have been brought up to the trade, and had few formal or informal trade associations. The second part of the thesis looks at how work-based identities intersected with familial, political, and socio-economic identities. Family relationships were crucial to the success of many printing businesses with intergenerational transfer being unusually prevalent compared with other trades. Political discussion played an important role in the formation of printers’ collective identity, particularly where campaigns for freedom of the press were concerned. Finally, social mobility became increasingly divergent among printers in the early industrial period. The changes highlighted in this thesis had a profound effect on working relationships. A new generation of master printers was distant from the physical process of work and at times dismissive of the culture and customs of the workplace. This led to tension and conflict with journeymen over issues such as apprentice numbers. But there were also many stabilizing influences, such as the strength of journeymen’s fraternity, or a shared belief in the history and social significance of the press. By uncovering these complexities, even within a single trade, this thesis argues that occupation is a poor basis on which to base socio-economic classifications. Furthermore, the specific characteristics of occupational communities were in themselves strong contributors to personal and social identity, influencing working relationships, as well as the way in which people interacted with wider society.

The student club archives in Uppsala are interesting because they occupy somewhat of a special position as a community archive. Their archives occupy a unique position from a professional point of view, as they usually are handled by students who lack archival education or even some general knowledge of archives. The situation for the student club archivist is special because it can be people without prior knowledge who will take care of the archives. When these people take on the role of an archivist, they shadow the professional archivist role when they have to manage an archive at their office similar to a professional archivist. There is also a problem about how to define the word archivist. There is a large gap in the definition of an archivist since both a professional and a hobbyist can consider themselves as an archivist. But where does the boundary between a hobby archivist and a professional archivist part? This aspect contributes to the possibility of a student club archivist to identify as an archivist even though they have a voluntary based position. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how the archivists at the student club identify with their position, if they identify themselves as archivist, what the learning of the so-called professional identity looks like and examine the problems that can arise with regard to the archives being conducted on a voluntary basis. Hopefully, this study can contribute to a greater understanding of how the professional identity of the archivist position in non-profit community archives can be manifested in the non-professional person, and how it extends the aspect of identity formation and community that community archives are often associated with when it comes to research on community archives. This is a two years master's thesis in archival science

The present study aimed to explore upper secondary school teachers' experiences of emotional and cognitive personal and collective work identity. The study adopted a qualitative method with a deductive approach to complement previous quantitative research. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with seven upper secondary school teachers from central Sweden. The collected material was analyzed using a deductive thematic analysis with predetermined main themes of emotional personal work identity, cognitive personal work identity, emotional collective work identity, and cognitive collective work identity. Respondents demonstrated an apparent emotional and cognitive personal work identity through pride in their work, the perception of work as part of themselves, and alignment between their work and private lives. Their experiences of praise and criticism of the school varied, with the majority not taking it personally. Therefore, most respondents had a vague emotional collective work identity. Respondents' experiences of the cognitive collective work identity were distinct, as they felt they were a part of the school and identified with its success. / Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka gymnasielärares upplevelser av emotionell och kognitiv personlig respektive kollektiv arbetsidentitet. Studien antog en kvalitativ metod med deduktiv ansats, detta för att komplettera tidigare kvantitativ forskning. Datainsamlingen bestod av semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju gymnasielärare från Mellansverige. Det insamlade materialet analyserades med hjälp av en deduktiv tematisk analys där de förutbestämda huvudteman var emotionell personlig arbetsidentitet, kognitiv personlig arbetsidentitet, emotionell kollektiv arbetsidentitet samt kognitiv kollektiv arbetsidentitet. Respondenterna visade en tydlig emotionell och kognitiv personlig arbetsidentitet genom stolthet över sitt arbete, uppfattningen av arbetet som en del av dem, samt överensstämmelse mellan deras arbete och övriga liv. Deras upplevelser av beröm samt kritik mot skolan var varierade, där merparten inte tog det personligt. Därför hade majoriteten en vag emotionell kollektiv arbetsidentitet. Respondenternas upplevelser av den kognitiva kollektiva arbetsidentiteten var tydlig, eftersom de kände sig som en del av skolan och identifierade sig med dess framgång.

In this research project the research participants and I embarked on a journey through the "desert" of unemployment. I was introduced to the research participants at Jacob's Well, a ministry for people "between jobs" The effects of unemployment on a male's identity were explored, as well as the pastoral response of caregivers to people "between jobs". A phenomenological study was undertaken in which interviews with the participants formed the basis of the research. The structured section of the interviews was guided by the research questions, but the largest part of the interviews was about the participants' personal journeys "between jobs." The role of a ministry like Jacob's Well, catering for people "between jobs", was highlighted and recommendations for practical theology and pastoral praxis were made. / Practical Theolgy / M.Th. (Practical Theology with specialiisation in Pastoral Therapy)

In this research project the research participants and I embarked on a journey through the "desert" of unemployment. I was introduced to the research participants at Jacob's Well, a ministry for people "between jobs" The effects of unemployment on a male's identity were explored, as well as the pastoral response of caregivers to people "between jobs". A phenomenological study was undertaken in which interviews with the participants formed the basis of the research. The structured section of the interviews was guided by the research questions, but the largest part of the interviews was about the participants' personal journeys "between jobs." The role of a ministry like Jacob's Well, catering for people "between jobs", was highlighted and recommendations for practical theology and pastoral praxis were made. / Practical Theolgy / M.Th. (Practical Theology with specialiisation in Pastoral Therapy)