Equality is a central aspect within development work. All development work is expected to be influenced by a gender equalty thinking, and these directions are distributed by the Department of Foreign Affairs, through Sida to Forum Syd and down to the very grasroot level, through Forum Syds local cooperation organisations. The essays question of research is a reflection over empowerment, with other words how international organisations influence other societies understanding of the society dynamics. This aspect triggered my interest for the subject, aswell as the link between aid, equality and men, and how these factors are in need of eachother. My study is mainly build on theoretical starting points, and not on earlier studies. The theories are split into five blocks, that are aligned along a makro/mikro scale, in order to, in the best way posssible, capture the connections between the globality of aid and its local consequences. Though the main purpose of my study is to find out how Forum Syds local cooperation organisations work towards gender equality with men, the problem is far from local. The obvious message in my study is that globality influences locality, and because of that it is important to be aware of the complexity that stands behind development work. Development trends can never be understood without taking the global capitalist market and the western hegemony under consideration. The historical and the cultural influences, that effects and shapes our world and way of thinking, must aswell be included in the translations. Despite all difficulties I do believe that the work of the organisations is a winning concept, because they adapt the development work to local needs, and have an understanding for cultural, historical and religious factors. Their approach eliminates the risk for their work becoming abstract and unsuccessful.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka vilka typer av texter och bilder som unga tjejer och killar använde sig av vid framställningen av sig själva på sin blogg och vilken betydelse dessa kunde ha för dem själva och för mottagarna. Studien behandlade frågeställningar som skillnader mellan könen i bloggtexter och bloggbilder, vilka artefakter som de unga använde sig av samt hur frigörelse synliggjordes. 14 stycken bloggar studerades med hjälp av text- och bildanalys. Urvalet bestod av tio stycken tjejer mellan 13-21 år samt fyra killar 20-22 år. Resultatet visade att tjejerna i stor utsträckning använde sin blogg som medel för kommunikation där kravet på deltagande från läsarna var relativt högt beroende på ett direkt tilltal med direkta frågor och påståenden. Motkravet var att läsarna lovades fler inlägg och fler bilder vid tid och lust. Tjejernas bilder var dock oftast närbilder vilket kunde tolkas som att de blev för närgångna för att kunna skapa en social relation. I framställningen av genus i bilder visade tjejerna upp en ganska allvarlig yta med en känsla av passivitet, oftast ensamma i hemmamiljö medan de i text framhöll att var aktiva hela tiden med saker de hade gjort, saker de gjorde just nu och saker de skulle göra sedan även om dessa aktiviteter också gällde att bara vara hemma med familj och vänner.Åtminstone tre av de fyra killarnas bloggar var inte lika fokuserade på en kommunikation där responsen från läsaren var av vikt. Alla framställde de betydelsen av jobbrelaterade aktiviteter. Bilderna signalerade om en större öppenhet och tillgänglighet för en social relation då deras bilder nästan alltid var professionellt tagna på större avstånd av någon annan person. De log mer och hade öppna munnar i bild, som om de hade en kommunikation med fotografen eller med någon annan. Även om två av killarnas texter hade ett direkt tilltal till läsaren så var karaktären av dessa av den typen att de inte hade samma tydliga krav på deltagande som hos tjejerna. De visade sig bland annat genom färre direkta frågor och uppmaningar och desto fler erbjudanden. Sammantaget för båda könen var att de i sin kommunikation tydligt betonade värdet av vänner, god mat och dryck i sina bloggar.I analysen av kompositionen av texter och bilder som en helhet uttolkades tre typer av bloggidentiteter, de som skrev utifrån ett brinnande intresse, skribenterna, de som mest lade upp mycket bilder, lay-outarna samt de som både skrev om allt möjligt och illustrerade detta med bilder och vice versa, korrespondenterna. De korrespondenter som kunde balansera en personlig och en professionell framställning samt sticka ut utan att ”bli för mycket” tolkades som de som skulle kunna nå framgång hos en bredare publik än bara bland kompisar eller de som är intresserade av samma sak.Tjejer visade upp en stor frigörelse genom att de vågade ta för sig mer av utrymmet inom genren bloggar men att innehållet i dem var ganska homogent med liknande bilder och liknande inlägg. Dock var det ett par som stack ut. Killars frigörelse och empowerment framstod som mer bestämda med vad de ville ha sagt med sin blogg. Om flera av tjejerna passade in i genren enligt3stereotypen av en bloggande tjej så svarade inte resultatet på vem som är den typiska ”bloggkillen”. Det skulle kunna tolkas som att killar har större frihet och möjligheter i framställningen av sig själva.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether Black men experienced empowerment throughout the process of employment preparation. This study also sought to give voice to this population regarding their experience in this process. A definition of empowerment, posed by Barbara Solomon of “empowerment theory”, was used to understand the process of empowerment the study participants may have experienced. Nine African American male former offenders who had participated in a job readiness program, and are 18 and older, were interviewed about the preparation they received, and how they perceived this training effected their pursuit of agency, employment, and recidivism.

In today’s rapidly changing society company development and Continuous improvements are crucial to gain a competitive advantage on the global market. Through interviews this study investigated how two Chinese companies worked with Continuous improvements. The empirical findings were compared to the theoretical theories. The study showed that the biggest difference between western business and Chinese businesses was the organizational structure. The hierarchical organizational structure, since it hinders empowerment, was also the biggest barrier for Chinese companies to integrate further developmental work with Continuous improvements. Thus empowerment contributes to flexibility, innovation, employee development and increased communication processes.

Although the term empowerment is frequently and broadly used across disciplines, the meaning of the term is often ambiguous. The purpose of this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the lived experience of individual members of Renters' Rights Group (RRG), a community development group focused on promoting safe and affordable housing, thereby creating a better understanding of the phenomenon of empowerment. The seven study participants, four males and three females, five of whom were Aboriginal, had been active members of RRG for two years or more. The theoretical framework for this study was Parse's Theory of Human Becoming. Four core concepts were identified as contributing to participants' sense of empowerment: connecting, struggling, contributing, and changing. The findings from this study can be used by nurses and other professionals who work with marginalized individuals or groups. Incorporation of Parse's Human Becoming Theory into practice, education, and research, may facilitate the reflection of caring upon which nursing is founded.

Nurse empowerment is a well-researched area of nursing practice yet the quality of work environments continue to be eroded, and interactions between nurses and nurse managers continue to be fragile. Power is integral to empowerment, yet the exercise of power between nurses and their managers have been under-investigated in the nurse empowerment literature. To advance our knowledge in the empowerment literature, the study explored the process of how power is exercised in nurse-manager relationships in the hospital setting. Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) grounded theory methodology informed the study. Multiple qualitative fieldwork methods were utilized to collect data on staff nurses about how the manager’s role affected their ability to do their work. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews and participant observations with 26 participants on three units within a tertiary hospital in Western Canada. Seeking connectivity was the basic social process in which nurses strive to connect with their manager to create a workable partnership in the provision of quality patient care while responding to the demands in the organizational context. Conditions, actions, and consequences formed the theory of seeking connectivity as an extension of nurse empowerment theory. The overarching finding is that the manager plays a critical role in modifying the work environment for nurses and as such, nurses seek connection with their manager to accomplish their work. Institutional policies and practices combined in various ways to influence nurses’ thinking and shaped their actions. The first pattern of the process was characterized by the absence of meaningful engagement with the manager. Power was held over nurses restricting discussions with the manager, and nurses employed a variety of resistance strategies. In the second pattern of the process when managers provided guidance, advocated for nurses, and engaged nurses as collaborators, nurses were better able to problem solve and make decisions with the manager to positively influence patient outcomes. The theory of seeking connectivity is the explanatory framework emerging from the study that reveals how power is exercised in social relations between nurses and managers. Seeking connectivity is a recursive process that continues to evolve. The results of this study advance nurse empowerment primarily from a structural perspective and secondarily from a critical social perspective, suggesting nurses’ perceptions and abilities shape their work role and are foundational to promoting change through collective action. Study implications for research, practice and policy are addressed.

In order to address the disconnection between the governing and the governed in our democracies and bureaucracies, many practitioners and academics are looking at models such as participatory governance to increase empowerment and foster better decision- making. Although this model has some encouraging possibilities, there are challenges to implementing an empowering and participatory process. To better understand these issues, this research focused on tenant representatives’ understanding and experience of their role in a recently implemented participatory process in the Toronto Community Housing Corporation. Representatives reported taking on extensive responsibilities to improve their communities and interviews with tenants suggested empowerment and citizenship were often products of tenant participation. The research also found limitations on empowerment and the extent to which tenants saw themselves as agents and decision-makers in the Tenant Participation System. The paper connects how structure and education impacts the possibilities for agency and empowerment of participants.

Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka vad brukare anser om delaktighet i planering och beslut kring hjälpinsatser. Studien bygger på fem kvalitativa intervjuer. Empowerment-teori tillämpades på resultaten och har således varit studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt. Resultaten visade att brukarena i studien i stort inte upplevt sig som delaktiga i planering eller beslut. De har heller inte känt fullt förtroende för socialarbetaren de träffade när de sökte hjälp för sitt missbruk. Vad gäller upplevelsen av att ha makt över sin egen situation förmedlade intervjupersonerna en känsla av maktlöshet gentemot socialarbetaren. Studiens analys visar att tänkbara orsaker till brukarnas upplevelser kan vara organisatoriskt grundande, då de kan förklaras genom bristande resurser såsom ekonomi, tid och kunskap. Brukarna uppgav det som önskvärt att socialarbetaren visat större engagemang och visat mer empati gentemot dem. Bristande resurser hos brukaren förklaras genom begreppet inlärd hjälplöshet.

Nurse empowerment is a well-researched area of nursing practice yet the quality of work environments continue to be eroded, and interactions between nurses and nurse managers continue to be fragile. Power is integral to empowerment, yet the exercise of power between nurses and their managers have been under-investigated in the nurse empowerment literature. To advance our knowledge in the empowerment literature, the study explored the process of how power is exercised in nurse-manager relationships in the hospital setting. Strauss and Corbin’s (1998) grounded theory methodology informed the study. Multiple qualitative fieldwork methods were utilized to collect data on staff nurses about how the manager’s role affected their ability to do their work. The researcher conducted semi-structured interviews and participant observations with 26 participants on three units within a tertiary hospital in Western Canada. Seeking connectivity was the basic social process in which nurses strive to connect with their manager to create a workable partnership in the provision of quality patient care while responding to the demands in the organizational context. Conditions, actions, and consequences formed the theory of seeking connectivity as an extension of nurse empowerment theory. The overarching finding is that the manager plays a critical role in modifying the work environment for nurses and as such, nurses seek connection with their manager to accomplish their work. Institutional policies and practices combined in various ways to influence nurses’ thinking and shaped their actions. The first pattern of the process was characterized by the absence of meaningful engagement with the manager. Power was held over nurses restricting discussions with the manager, and nurses employed a variety of resistance strategies. In the second pattern of the process when managers provided guidance, advocated for nurses, and engaged nurses as collaborators, nurses were better able to problem solve and make decisions with the manager to positively influence patient outcomes. The theory of seeking connectivity is the explanatory framework emerging from the study that reveals how power is exercised in social relations between nurses and managers. Seeking connectivity is a recursive process that continues to evolve. The results of this study advance nurse empowerment primarily from a structural perspective and secondarily from a critical social perspective, suggesting nurses’ perceptions and abilities shape their work role and are foundational to promoting change through collective action. Study implications for research, practice and policy are addressed.

In order to address the disconnection between the governing and the governed in our democracies and bureaucracies, many practitioners and academics are looking at models such as participatory governance to increase empowerment and foster better decision- making. Although this model has some encouraging possibilities, there are challenges to implementing an empowering and participatory process. To better understand these issues, this research focused on tenant representatives’ understanding and experience of their role in a recently implemented participatory process in the Toronto Community Housing Corporation. Representatives reported taking on extensive responsibilities to improve their communities and interviews with tenants suggested empowerment and citizenship were often products of tenant participation. The research also found limitations on empowerment and the extent to which tenants saw themselves as agents and decision-makers in the Tenant Participation System. The paper connects how structure and education impacts the possibilities for agency and empowerment of participants.