This study is about care managers, who process in the care of the elderly, regarding to needs, rules, regulations, guidelines and their freedom of space.   The purpose with this study is to understand how the care managers process out of the basis from the needs of the elderly, the municipal guidelines in relation to the caremanagers freedom of space. The study has a qualitative approach and is based on semistructured interviews with five different care managers. To analyze our interview material we have use the street-level bureaucrat theory by Lipsky and Johansson and the theoretical idea empowerment.   Before we started our research about care managers we had an understanding in that the organization had an influence in the judgment of the needs of the elderly. Now we have an understanding in that the relative to the elderly is the one who wants to affect the care manager during the judgment of needs in what effort to make.   Our study indicates that it exist insecurity regarding to the municipal guidelines, which was surprising. We thought that the guideline was something positive and a help full tool for the care managers. The result in our research points out that the guidelines makes insecurity instead of comfort. Our study shows that the care managers are contradictory regarding to their freedom of space. In the other hand they consider that their freedom of space is positive, but on the other hand when the municipal guidelines don´t work, they become worried and insecure. It´s the none working municipal guidelines who gives the care managers a huge freedom of space. Which leads to that the care managers is afraid of doing misjudgments.   Our result don´t distinguish from other studies made in this subject area.

Treatment is both about the actual encounter and how individuals interact as well as the behaviour among the counterparts. Previous research shows that a person’s experience of how he/she is being treated is formed by conditions created by external factors, in literature known as the general view on treatment. The purpose of the study is to show how people with a physical disability experience the treatment from their Social Security Agency administrators. We have compared the empirical material with theories on treatment and power and analysed how this affect the interaction between the administrator and the disabled person. We have used qualitative interviews to collect the empirical material; in all we have conducted six semi-structural interviews. The result shows that the clients have experienced both positive and negative aspects of treatment, with emphasis on feelings of positive reception. The respondents have pointed out different strategies in order to take control of their own situation. Despite this, the Social Security Agency aadministrators always has the final say, i.e. the executive power. All respondents stress that the administrator must be a good listener, able to motivate them as well as humble during their encounter.   Key words: street-level bureaucrat, disability, treatment and public sector   Nyckelord: gräsrotsbyråkrat, funktionsnedsättning, bemötande, offentlig sektor

Pro forma EPS reporting is a fairly new accounting disclosure; it has since been modified in 2003 by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to include additional disclosure and filing requirements. This “Regulation G” has been around for nearly a decade and since that time a major financial crises in the United States has occurred. This study attempts to analyze trends in pro forma EPS reporting within the S & P 500 constituents during the Great Recession, and speculate as to whether earnings management was apparent. This study provides evidence that there was a significant increase in the proportion of pro forma disclosers and magnitudes of those disclosers. Results also indicate that the presence of negative earnings and intangibles have a significant effect on the magnitude of these differences and that there appears to be a level of consistency in pro forma reporting among firms. Results allude to the possibility of short term and long term earnings management strategies during the Great recession among S & P 500 constituents.

This is a qualitative study based on two focus group interviews with a total of six social workers who work with assessing financial aid in two municipalities. The study aims to examine how the social workers experience and handle their ambiguous professional role, on the basis that they are expected to support and control the client. The theoretical framework is the theory about discretion and role theory. The results show that social workers find it difficult to combine these different approaches. Two different groups of strategies that social workers use to manage their professional role have been distinguished, the first is used to combine the different approaches (combination strategies), which are: empathy, to be distinct and to "blame" the organization. The second is used to manage the professional role (managing strategies) and are: support of work colleagues, support of manager, "squareness" and distance. / Detta är en kvalitativ studie som bygger på två fokusgruppintervjuer med totalt sex socialsekreterare som arbetar med att handlägga ekonomiskt bistånd i två kommuner. Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur socialsekreterare som arbetar med ekonomiskt bistånd upplever och hanterar sin dualistiska yrkesroll, utifrån att de förväntas stötta och kontrollera klienten på en och samma gång. Studiens teoretiska ram utgörs av teorin om handlingsutrymme samt rollteori. Resultatet visar att socialsekreterarna upplever det svårt att kombinera dessa olika förhållningssätt/roller och att svårigheterna främst uppstår då de tvingas fatta beslut som går klienten emot. Två olika grupper av strategier som socialsekreterarna använder sig av för att hantera yrkesrollen har kunnat urskiljas, den första används för att kombinera de olika förhållningssätten (kombinationsstrategier), vilka är: visa empati, tydlighet och “skylla” på organisationen. De andra används för att hantera yrkesrollen (hanteringsstrategier) och är: stöd av arbetskollegor, stöd av chef, “fyrkantighet” och distans.

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The transmission and prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) among those who use injection drugs is a major public health issue. Injection drug use has been identified as the main cause of transmission for HCV in Canada. Street youth are at risk for acquiring HCV due to injection drug use that is often a consequence of living in a street environment. Presently, research on prevalence trends, characteristics, and associated behaviors for injection drug use and HCV in street youth, is limited. <p>The purposes of this study were to determine prevalence of injection drug use and HCV in Saskatoon street youth, to identify demographic or other factors that may contribute to street youth using injection drugs, and to identify risk factors and other characteristics of street youth associated with HCV. This study utilized data from Phase III of the Enhanced STD Surveillance in Canadian Street Youth Study by Health Canada for those participants recruited from Saskatoon, Canada. Between February and July 2001, 186 Saskatoon street youth participants between the ages 14 and 24 years completed nurse-administered questionnaires and of these, 156 provided blood specimens. Analyses were conducted to compare population characteristics between street youth who have used injection drugs and those who had not. Similarly, population characteristics were analyzed among those street youth who were antibody-HCV positive and those that were antibody HCV negative.<p>In this study 32.3% of 186 participants had used injection drugs. Significant associations with injection drug use were found for older age (p = 0.01), having sexual partners that use injection drugs (p = 0.01), history of incarceration (p = 0.01), and history of living on the street (p = 0.02). Significant interactions were found for sex trade work by gender (p < 0.01) and by age (p = 0.03), and for living on the street by age (p = 0.02). A HCV prevalence rate of 9.3% of 156 participants was determined for Saskatoon street youth. Use of Ritalin by injection (p = 0.04) and history of living on the street (p = 0.05) were found to be significant risk factors associated with HCV. The interaction of living on the street by gender was also significantly associated with HCV (p = 0.05). <p>The relationship identified between HCV and injection drug use in Saskatoon street youth was a history of living on the street. This link between could serve as a valuable marker for use of injection drugs and developing HCV infection in street youth. Nurses are encouraged to seek out street youth social networks to provide health care and messages of health promotion and disease prevention. Strategies that are culturally, socially, and developmentally appropriate are needed to keep these youth off the streets in the first place.

By recontextualizing spatiality, it is arguable that the meaning of &lsquo / space&rsquo / as a term varies from the most local to the global geographies. &lsquo / Space&rsquo / as a term for this thesis does not only mean the architectural spaces, but also the social spaces. This thesis aims to define and investigate the dynamics of &lsquo / Thirdspace&rsquo / as a key term and to locate it in the specifities of urban within the area of resistance and transgression. &lsquo / Thirdspace&rsquo / is illustrated as a wider sphere of participation forpolitical resistance. As a space, it is the new meeting places for diverse oppositional practices, for multiple communities of resistance. It is a space that is both center and the margin, which enables the radical social action everywhere in the world, from local to the global. The theoretical framework for understanding the tools of our critical approach will be provided by a comprehensive literature about &lsquo / identity politics,&rsquo / which can be defined as the theoretical base of the concept of &lsquo / Thirdspace.&rsquo / After an extensive analysis about the dynamics of &lsquo / Thirdspace&rsquo / for political resistance, it is concerned to locate the concept of &lsquo / Thirdspace&rsquo / within the material world as a case study. The case study aims to exemplify firstly the &lsquo / Istiklal Street&rsquo / as &lsquo / Thirdspace&rsquo / , secondly political position of &lsquo / Saturday&rsquo / s Mothers&rsquo / as &lsquo / thirdspace of political choice&rsquo / , and lastly to demonstrate the reciprocal relations between them within the framework of the relationship between space and politics.

The transmission and prevalence of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) among those who use injection drugs is a major public health issue. Injection drug use has been identified as the main cause of transmission for HCV in Canada. Street youth are at risk for acquiring HCV due to injection drug use that is often a consequence of living in a street environment. Presently, research on prevalence trends, characteristics, and associated behaviors for injection drug use and HCV in street youth, is limited. <p>The purposes of this study were to determine prevalence of injection drug use and HCV in Saskatoon street youth, to identify demographic or other factors that may contribute to street youth using injection drugs, and to identify risk factors and other characteristics of street youth associated with HCV. This study utilized data from Phase III of the Enhanced STD Surveillance in Canadian Street Youth Study by Health Canada for those participants recruited from Saskatoon, Canada. Between February and July 2001, 186 Saskatoon street youth participants between the ages 14 and 24 years completed nurse-administered questionnaires and of these, 156 provided blood specimens. Analyses were conducted to compare population characteristics between street youth who have used injection drugs and those who had not. Similarly, population characteristics were analyzed among those street youth who were antibody-HCV positive and those that were antibody HCV negative.<p>In this study 32.3% of 186 participants had used injection drugs. Significant associations with injection drug use were found for older age (p = 0.01), having sexual partners that use injection drugs (p = 0.01), history of incarceration (p = 0.01), and history of living on the street (p = 0.02). Significant interactions were found for sex trade work by gender (p < 0.01) and by age (p = 0.03), and for living on the street by age (p = 0.02). A HCV prevalence rate of 9.3% of 156 participants was determined for Saskatoon street youth. Use of Ritalin by injection (p = 0.04) and history of living on the street (p = 0.05) were found to be significant risk factors associated with HCV. The interaction of living on the street by gender was also significantly associated with HCV (p = 0.05). <p>The relationship identified between HCV and injection drug use in Saskatoon street youth was a history of living on the street. This link between could serve as a valuable marker for use of injection drugs and developing HCV infection in street youth. Nurses are encouraged to seek out street youth social networks to provide health care and messages of health promotion and disease prevention. Strategies that are culturally, socially, and developmentally appropriate are needed to keep these youth off the streets in the first place.

Street-involved women with co-occurring disorders experience distinct and overwhelming health and social issues, while facing considerable barriers to appropriate and helpful services. Street Connections, a Population and Public Health program, provides services to this and other street-involved aggregates using Harm Reduction and mobile outreach to prevent sexually transmitted infections and blood borne pathogens. Three conceptual frameworks, Gender-based Analysis, the Comprehensive, Continuous, Integrated System of Care, and Harm Reduction guided the practicum. The purpose of the practicum was to develop policy/practice recommendations for Street Connections regarding service enhancement for this aggregate. Literature-based best-practices were compared to three agency case studies of programs providing services to this aggregate including Street Connections, the Program of Assertive Community Treatment, and Dream Catchers. Data, consisting of agency documents and person-centered interviews with nine staff, were analyzed using open coding to identify themes. Recommendations incorporate gender-based analysis, recovery, access, engagement, screening, integrated services, and staff development/support. / October 2007

It might seem obvious that public opinions should be included in the planning process. However, it is not clear to what extent. Statutory forms of public participation attract little interest since many people feel that it is hard to make a difference. The purpose of this study was to engage those that normally do not get to speak their mind in the planning process. In this study, two methods for conducting “on-street surveys” were investigated. The place for the “on-street surveys” was Centralplan in Gävle. The two methods had different approaches. The “Stationary” method was a structured interview of pedestrians who had just crossed Centralplan. The “Follower” method was a structured interview that took place as the administrator and the participant crossed Centralplan in tandem. A total of 40 “Stationary” and 22 “Follower” interviews were conducted. The majority of the participants responded positively on making themselves heard within the planning process, indicating that they have important views to share. The methods used in this study can serve as an icebreaker for communication between planners and the public. / Det kan kännas självklart att allmänhetens åsikter ska vägas in i planeringsprocessen men i vilken utsträckning det ska ske är oklart. Lagstadgade former av medborgardeltagande väcker svalt intresse eftersom många upplever det som svårt att påverka. Syftet med den här studien var att engagera de människor som normalt inte kommer till tals i planeringsprocessen. I studien undersöktes två olika metoder för att genomföra gatuundersökningar, så kallade ”on-street surveys”. Platsen för genomförandet av gatuundersökningarna var Centralplan i Gävle. De två metoderna hade olika tillvägagångssätt. Metod ”Stationär” var en form av stillastående strukturerad intervju som utövades på platsen. Administratören frågade ut personer som alldeles precis hade förflyttat sig genom gaturummet. Metod ”Följeslagare” var en form av rörlig strukturerad intervju som utövades på platsen men där administratören slog följe med personen och ställde frågorna under tiden de passerade genom gaturummet. Totalt 62 personer medverkade i studien, varav 40 för metod ”Stationär” och 22 för metod ”Följeslagare”. Resultaten visade att allmänheten hade viktiga synpunkter att dela med sig av, till exempel om attityder och åsikter. Majoriteten av de medverkande ställde sig positiva till att få sin röst hörd inom planeringsprocessen. Metoderna som användes i studien skulle kunna fungera som dörröppnare för dialog mellan planerare och allmänheten.