Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Louise Benjamin / This study examines women’s interpretations of model minority stereotypes of Asian American women in prime-time television. This stereotype depicts Asian Americans as well educated, intelligent, competitive, hardworking and successful career women. Using focus group discussions, this study recalls perceptions and explores potential effects of model minority stereotypes in prime-time television among women of varied racial-ethnic backgrounds. The study finds that both Asian/Asian American women and women from other racial-ethnic groups confirm belief in the model minority media stereotype in prime-time television. The selfperception and others’ perception of Asian American women as a model minority imposes stress on Asian/Asian American women in terms of gender role, academic performance and career achievement. Additionally, perceptions toward the model minority media stereotype among women of varied racial-ethnic backgrounds influence intergroup relations, interracial contact and evaluation of the model minority media image. Implications indicate that the model minority media stereotype has both positive and negative influences on Asian/Asian American women and other racial-ethnic groups. The study suggests that American media can increase the frequency and diversity of Asian American women’s media representation to reduce the negative societal influence of one-dimensional media stereotypes.

Avidentifierade jobbansökningar är en relativt ny metod som under de senaste åren fått utrymme på den svenska arbetsmarknaden samt på forskningsfältet. Uppmärksamheten av metoden kommer av den tidigare forskning som visar att betydelsen av faktorer som bland annat etnisk bakgrund, kön och ålder är ibland avgörande för vem som kallas till jobbintervju. Därför åsyftar denna studie att undersöka hur rekryterare värderar och använder denna metod samt vilken betydelse avidentifiering har för rekryteringsprocessens utfall.Studien utgår ifrån ett hermeneutistiskt perspektiv och har en kvalitativ ansats. Med hjälp av en komparativ undersökningsdesign och flerfallsstudie som analysmetod behandlas det empiriska materialet, vilket utgörs av fem semistrukturerade intervjuer. Dessa intervjuer skapar tillsammans skapar två fall inom IT och konsultbranschen.Analysen behandlas med hjälp av det teoretiska ramverket vilket består av stämplingsteori samt de analytiska begreppen homosocialitet och etnosocialitet. Detta för att öka förståelsen för hur en sorteringsmetod som baseras endast på formella kriterier, utbildning och arbetslivserfarenheter, fungerar i praktiken. Det har framkommit att vid avsaknaden av faktorerna läggs fokus istället på den individuella kompetensen. Informationen gällande individens kompetens och arbetslivserfarenhet är den del som får mest kritik för att vara för ospecifik. Inom IT branschen har det visat sig att faktorer som ålder och etnicitet är av betydelse vid anställning. Det uppstår även en svårighet då kundinflytandet spelar så stor roll vid rekrytering och skapar en ram av vad som efterfrågas av varje anställd. Det är inte endast avgörande vad rekryterare eller arbetsgivare värderar utan det finns flera aktörer som spelar in vid valet av medarbetare. / Anonymous job applications are a relatively new method that has gained space in the Swedish labor market and the research field in recent years. Research shows that personal attributes are often crucial for who gets called to a job interview. Therefore, this study refers to examine how recruiters evaluate and use this approach and demonstrates the importance that anonymity has to the outcome of the recruitment process.The study is based on a hermeneutic perspective with a qualitative approach and was conducted using a comparative study design, with analysis based on several case studies. The empirical material consists of five semi-structured interviews, which together creates two cases within the IT and consulting industry.During the analysis, a theoretical framework has been presented which consists of the labelling theory and the analytical concepts of homosociality and etnosociality. These three are used to increase the understanding of how a sorting method based only on formal criteria, training and work experience, is used in practice. This has led an employer to focus on individual competency instead of ethnic background, gender or age. However, a problem remains in the industry where age is a determining factor and ethnicity is linked to Swedish language skills. Difficulties also arise when customer influence plays a large role in the recruitment process and this creates a framework of what is expected of every employee. This enables consultants to be adapted depending on the criteria that are necessary for the specific company. It is not only vital what recruiters or employers value but also what the clients wants and expect of the consultants.

Denna studie bygger på intervjuer med lärare och undersöker hur lärarna arbetar med integrering av elever med annan etnisk bakgrund och socioekonomiskt svag bakgrund. Studien eftersöker lärarnas kopplingar mellan elevers etniska bakgrund, socioekonomiska bakgrund och skolresultat samt analyserar hur lärarnas arbetsmetoder, uppfattningar och tankar skiljer sig åt baserat på var skolan de är verksamma på är belägen utifrån en socioekonomisk områdesindelning. Resultatet visar på att enligt lärarna har skolorna inte några skrivna riktlinjer för integreringsarbete och integreringsarbeten genomförs och tolkas olika av lärarna vilket verkar ha ett samband till hur skolans upptagningsområde ser ut. Den påverkansfaktor som lärarna anser vara den största utmaningen i integreringsarbete samt i försök att förklara det rådande studiegapet mellan elever med annan etnisk bakgrund och elever med svensk bakgrund antas vara bristande språkförmåga. Den främsta möjligheten anser de vara de positiva vinningarna som kommer från att elever har olika bakgrunder. Gällande vårdnadshavare framför lärarna att vårdnadshavares bakgrund påverkar både samverkan mellan skolan och hemmet och elevens skolresultat. Hälften av lärarna tror att det finns skillnader i krav och förväntningar på elever utifrån etnisk- och socioekonomisk bakgrund. Diskussioner som berör etnisk- och socioekonomisk bakgrund anser lärarna inte vara känsliga.

Social capital has been studied on the basis of comparative studies on whether ethnic bakground has significance for social capital. The study is conducted on the basis of a qualitative content analysis as a method with the application of theory consumption studay or hypothesis studay.  The study is categorized into three dimensions as social interaction, association, involvement and municipal actors with several indicators. Socialt capital includes two primary theories by, Robert Putnam and Bo Rothsteins. Result shows that ethnicity is important for social capital because there are factors that positively affect an individual´s confidence.  The study also shows that ethnicity has less significance for social capital because the individual´s high confidence depends on the efficiency of the actors who positively influence social capital.

According to the South African Schools Act no 86 or 1994, school governing bodies determine the official language used as Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) in public schools. Black community primary schools use home language in the Foundation Phase, and switch to English from the fourth grade. This study investigates Zulu as LoLT in the Foundation Phase in selected township primary schools in Gauteng East District. A qualitative inquiry used semi-structured interviews to collect data from Grade Three teachers. Findings were that educators welcomed use of learner’s Home Language as LoLT; due to diverse linguistic backgrounds of teachers and learners, Zulu was not used effectively in classrooms; code switching to English was prevalent; parent involvement was poor due to parents’ lack of Zulu proficiency and learning and teaching materials were mainly in English. The review of school language policies and the provision of multiple medium classes to accommodate language diversity were recommended. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Early Childhood Development)

According to the South African Schools Act no 86 or 1994, school governing bodies determine the official language used as Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) in public schools. Black community primary schools use home language in the Foundation Phase, and switch to English from the fourth grade. This study investigates Zulu as LoLT in the Foundation Phase in selected township primary schools in Gauteng East District. A qualitative inquiry used semi-structured interviews to collect data from Grade Three teachers. Findings were that educators welcomed use of learner’s Home Language as LoLT; due to diverse linguistic backgrounds of teachers and learners, Zulu was not used effectively in classrooms; code switching to English was prevalent; parent involvement was poor due to parents’ lack of Zulu proficiency and learning and teaching materials were mainly in English. The review of school language policies and the provision of multiple medium classes to accommodate language diversity were recommended. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Early Childhood Development)

一九九八年台北市市長選舉中，影響選舉結果最大的是外省籍選民及新黨選民「分裂投票」現象。大量新黨選民在市長選舉中一面倒地投票給國民黨候選人馬英九，不過市議員、立法委員仍舊投給新黨則是導致這種現象出現的主因。常態下，擁有高滿意度的在位者，常能連任。而在任內施政滿意度常常保持在七成以上的市長陳水扁落選，是相當令人意外的。筆者認為這種現象值得作有系統的分析。 本文利用政治大學選舉研究中心的抽樣調查面訪資料，針對一九九八年台北市選舉中選民分裂投票的行為進行深入分析。本文歸納影響選民分裂投票的六個模型，利用六個模型經過對數成敗比模型的比較，在控制人口基本背景因素之後（性別、年齡、教育程度及籍貫），發現模型影響選民分裂投票的情況：一是政黨認同強度減弱的政黨解組作用導致選民分裂投票。雖然政黨認同在模型中具有明顯的影響力，但台北市近年來並未有政黨解組的趨勢，因此政黨認同減弱並非分裂投票的主因。二為選民的省籍，尤其是外省籍選民分裂投票行為相當明顯，其中年輕世代比年紀大的世代更形嚴重。第三則是統獨議題及相關的中國人/台灣人認同。研究結果發現統獨議題對選民分裂投票不具顯著影響力，但中國人/台灣人則對於市長與立法委員之間的分裂投票有明顯影響力；第四是候選人形象中的裙帶效應並不顯著，對分裂投票與否之間不具明顯差異。五為選民分立制衡觀念。在相同層級的市府及議會之間選民具有分立制衡的觀念，想藉政黨之間相互制衡的方式保護民眾的最大福祉，故採取分裂投票的行為。中央及地方制衡的觀念則不具影響力。第六則為新黨的選民策略投票是影響選民分裂投票的重要因素。新黨選民對於尋求連任的民進黨市長候選人陳水扁相當反感，且新黨市長候選人王建□當選機會不大的情況下，選擇轉投給國民黨馬英九之策略投票，並進而形成分裂投票。從六個模型最後推論的結果，真正決定選民分裂與否最重要的因素是選民的省籍背景導致的情感反應及新黨選民的策略投票。而這兩者的關聯又非常密切。 / Split ticket voting by New Party identifiers and Mainlanders had a crucial influence on the outcome of the 1998 Taipei City mayoral election. Large numbers of voters who identified themselves as New Party supporters voted for the KMT mayoral candidate. However, in the concurrent Legislative Yuan and City Council elections, they voted for New Party candidates. Normally, an incumbent with extremely high approval ratings will win re-election easily, but in this case Chen Shui-bian lost the mayoral race. This surprising result is worth researching. This thesis uses face-to-face interview data collected after the 1998 election. To analyze split ticket voting behavior, we consider six different logit models. After controlling basic demographic variables, including sex, age, education, and ethnic background, it is possible to discover what influences split ticket voting. First, weakening party identification can induce a dealignment process. This, in turn, gives rise to split ticket voting. In the data, the intensity of party identification has an obvious effect on split ticket voting. However, there has been no dealignment. Thus, weakening party identification is not the main reason for split ticket voting. The second factor is ethnic background. Mainlanders, especially young and middle aged voters, are more likely to split their tickets. Third, the related questions of unification or independence and Taiwanese or Chinese identification also have influence. The effect of the unification/independence position is not significant, but the respondents’ ethnic identity is. A fourth finding is that there is no significant coattail effect influencing split ticket voting. Fifth, many voters wish to balance the parties against each other, and so they split their votes. However, this only holds for offices at the same level (mayor and city council) and not for different levels (local and national). Sixth, strategic voting by New Party supporters was very important. New Party supporters were very opposed to Chen Shui-bian, and the New Party nominee did not have much chance of winning. As a result, many split their votes, voting strategically for the KMT mayoral candidate. After examining the six models, we find that the most important factors influencing split ticket voting are ethnic background and strategic voting by New Party supporters. These two factors are intimately connected, of course.

This study aims to highlight the connection between what is stated within some of the regulatory documents that Swedish preschools are abided to follow, and how some preschool teachers choose to both interpret and work with them when working with discrimination based on ethnic background. The study is divided into two different themes, with the intention to first compare the content of several regulatory documents to detect what they say about the responsibilities of Swedish preschools when it comes to their work with discrimination based on ethnic background/racism. The second theme is based on qualitive interviews with four preschool teachers, with the intention to detect how the teachers relate and think about the given subject. We also aim to highlight differences and similarities between the regulatory documents and the thoughts and actual actions of the preschool teachers. Previous research shows that the common problem in interrupting discrimination based on ethnic background is that preschool teachers avoid bringing up the subject with their children. Mainly because preschool teachers feel they lack the tools and knowledge on how to teach children on the given subject. The consequence of their non-action is that instead of interrupting discrimination based on ethnic background, they contribute to its continuation. Our conclusion is that despite the good intensions that are expressed in most of the regulatory documents, not many preschool teachers have the practical knowledge on how to translate the words into action.