The aim of this study is to widen the sociological knowledge about how gatekeepers make selections, in contexts characterized by uncertainty. This is examined through the dance world as empirical case, based on the question “How do gatekeepers orientate themselves in the uncertainty that characterizes decision-making around which dance artists should be assigned dance residencies?”. The empirical material is collected through semi-structured interviews with five individuals who participate in selection processes for dance residencies within different organizations. The theoretical framework consists of the idea of art worlds as cooperative networks built up by conventions, the uncertainty principle and ideal types for uncertainty reduction; institutionalization, decision, valuation and competition. Furthermore, gatekeeping is used as a central concept.  Lack of resources combined with the fact that the selection framework opens up to multiple interpretations are factors that contribute to uncertainty. The processes are further complicated by the gatekeeper's awareness of power. Gatekeepers use valuation as uncertainty reduction by seeking consensus in selection groups, taking into account the artists' previous work in the dance world, and by trusting the own experience. Furthermore, gatekeepers strive for institutionalization as uncertainty reduction. Competition is a less prominent feature, but works to reduce uncertainty in one of the organizations through the "first come, first served" principle. Decision can function as a last resort when the valuation work of the selection groups has reached the end of the road. / Denna studie syftar till att vidga den sociologiska kunskapen kring hur gatekeepers urvalsprocesser går till, i kontexter där det råder osäkerhet. Detta undersöks genom dansvärlden som empiriskt fall, utifrån frågeställningen ”Hur orienterar sig gatekeepers i osäkerheten som präglar beslutsfattandet kring vilka danskonstnärer som ska tilldelas dansresidens?. Empirin har insamlats genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem individer som deltar i urvalsprocesser för dansresidens inom olika organisationsformer. Det teoretiska ramverket består av idén om konstvärldar som kooperativa nätverk uppbyggda av konventioner, osäkerhetsprincipen samt idealtyper för osäkerhetsreducering; institutionalisering, bestämmande, värdering och tävling. Vidare används gatekeeping som centralt begrepp.  De främsta faktorerna som bidrar till osäkerhet i urvalen är dansvärldens resursbrist samt att urvalens ramverk öppnar för flera tolkningar. Processerna försvåras ytterligare av gatekeepers maktmedvetenhet. Gatekeepers använder värdering som osäkerhetsreducering genom att söka konsensus i urvalsgrupper, genom att beakta konstnärernas tidigare verksamhet i dansvärlden, samt genom att lägga tilltro till den egna erfarenheten. Vidare strävar gatekeepers efter institutionalisering som osäkerhetsreducering. Tävling är ett mindre framträdande drag, men fungerar osäkerhetsreducerande i en av organisationerna genom ”först till kvarn”-principen. Bestämmande kan fungera som en sista utväg när urvalsgruppernas värderingsarbete nått vägs ände.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Karen S. Myers-Bowman / ABSTRACT The focus of the present qualitative study was on the specific roles played by mothers in helping the members of their families adjust to each other and successfully transition into a family unit. Mothers play an important role in the lives of their children and their husbands as they form stepfamilies. Utilizing symbolic interaction and family systems theories, all of the members of two stepfamilies were interviewed. Using cross-case analysis, communication, adaptability/ flexibility, positive identity and positive perspective were identified as familial attributes leading to their success as families. Mothers were identified by their husbands and their children as playing essential, pivotal roles in the facilitation of the formation and sustenance of the stepfather/stepchild relationship. Implications of these findings are discussed, along with the contributions of this study to the literature and insights and implications for researchers as well as professionals working with stepfamilies.

This ethnographic research examines the social implications of the ethnolinguistic contact that occurs in the U.S.-Mexico border region at a day labor center in Tucson, Arizona. I discuss the multiple values of English and Spanish in this setting and how individuals interpret and negotiate these values in the construction and performance of identity. More specifically, I analyze how discourses of linguistic capital shape the organization of this community and influence the dynamics of employment negotiations. The research setting includes immigrant day laborers (primarily from Mexico and Central America), employers who contract workers, and bilingual volunteers who act as language brokers between workers and their employers; all of whom use language to interactively negotiate their social status as they construct identities vis-à-vis other members of the community. My analysis reveals a discourse that places a high level of linguistic capital on Spanish-English bilingualism in the economic market. Although I have not found evidence that this linguistic capital has a real exchange rate into dollars, my data demonstrates that immigrants rapidly acquire and contribute to this locally constructed discourse. I explore the techniques that workers use to exploit and promote their language abilities through ‘performances’ of bilingualism that are realized not only to secure employment, but also for social positioning within this community of practice. Language, then, is one of the many tools that both workers and employers use in the construction of interpersonal relationships and social hierarchies. In addition, I analyze gatekeeping encounters focusing on the rapid employment negotiations that occur between day laborers and their employers, building on previous research with regard to the concepts of rapport, co-membership, and the presentation of an institutional self. Finally, I propose a model for the study of intercultural communication and contact that reflects the dynamic nature of contact and the complexity of overlapping categories of identity. Identity formation is a multiplex and multidirectional social construction that necessitates pushing beyond binary models of intercultural communication. Identity construction is informed not only by face-to-face interlocutors, but also by the linguistic ecology of dominant and subordinate discourses and the imagined individual and collective interlocutors they evoke.

The thesis builds on how contemporary policy documents express an interest in gatekeeping and in controlling teacher competence, for instance in the form of aptitude tests before teacher education or during practicum in teacher education. The thesis is hence characterised by a general interest in teacher competence and what in the governmental official report SOU 2008:109 is referred to as “the essential basis” in terms of teacher competence – a metaphor that serves as a key notion in the thesis. By analysing interviews and surveys from teacher educators who have been involved in failing student teachers during practicum, the aim is to identify what is considered to be the content of this essential basis. The results indicate that the essential basis contains communicative and relational aspects of teaching, about the ability to take space (oneself) and make space (for others). The most fundamental part is however the ability to assume adult responsibility and maturity in relation to children/pupils in pre-school/school. This is described as an important initial value for teacher education and a desirable ”baseline” for those starting a teacher education. However, informants describe how it is possible within teacher education to work in multiple ways with students who need to learn how to distinctly take space (themselves), in order to then assume a more active role in teaching and in the interaction with children or adolescents. An approach based on a theory of recognition and the concept of social visibility (Heidegren, 2009) is used in this part of the analysis, in order to understand the informants’ description of what usually happens when student teachers develop this essential teacher ability. The interpretation is also backed by Polanyi’s theory on tacit knowledge (1962; 1966/2013). Moreover, findings indicate that the “gate” sometimes opens, even though teacher educators doubt whether the student teacher has developed an essential basis or not. An argument for this is that school is a workplace that ”cleans out rather briskly”, as one supervisor puts it, and school is ”not an easy environment to hold on to”. In brief, school itself is regarded to be an active gatekeeper after teacher education. This might explain the tendency to sometimes pass rather than to fail during teacher education. Therefore the thesis suggests and discusses that teacher education from the very beginning pursue what can be characterised as a “pedagogy of honesty”.

This thesis is concerned with the question of whether mainstream political media has been captured by misleading, narrative driven content during the post-primary portion of the 2016 United States presidential election cycle. I conducted an analysis of content of political articles and compared the factual information contained within to how the publication framed the story. I surveyed of two types of political news story from the election: conspiracy theory and scandal. When narrative influence was found, I then traced the narrative to its origin to determine which actors had gatekeeping power over mainstream media.

The diploma thesis "The Influence of Agency News from the Czech News Agency on the Content of Foreign News Sections in Periodicals" is focused on the thematic a geopolitical focus of the foreign news sections of Czech national dailies in comparison with the agency service of the Czech Newa Agency (CTK). The thesis strives to answer the question, how similar they are. At the same time, work with sources is compared. The theoretical basis for this thesis lies in the theorie of gatekeeping, news values and agenda setting. Two month-long periods were analyzed in the thesis, with emphasis on the comparability of the work with sources. March 2012, a so-called usual month with no expected events of big importance, was compared to the period between 20 October and 20 November 2012, when presidential elections went on in the United States of America. Three hypotheses were determined; of them, two were confirmed and one partially disproved. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

This Master's thesis entitled "Social Media's Influence on Journalism" focuses on the effects new communication technologies, especially social media, has on journalist's. These effects are examined in regard to four major aspects of journalism - the individual, journalistic routine, work with information sources and ethical standards. The theoretical frame focuses on current trends in media, specifically social media, and the routines of journalists with a main focus on newsgathering and sorting of news. This has been strongly linked to gatekeeping theory. Qualitative research was conducted using Semi-structured in-depth interviews to answer research questions. Seven journalists, representing various facets of journalism, from a number of Czech daily newspapers were interviewed. The interviews were divided into four main parts to find out which social media platforms are used, how social media has changed routines, how social media is used as a source of information and how ethical standards may have changed. Open and axial coding was used to analyse the data obtained from the interviews. Results showed that journalists utilise social media at work on a daily basis and it has become an integral part of their routines. The main platforms used are Facebook, especially to find and connect sources,...

The purpose of this research was to examine counselor educators’ perceptions of the gatekeeping process. To fulfill this purpose, a qualitative methodology using grounded theory procedures was utilized. Eight counselor educators participated in three rounds of individualinterviews. These counselor educators were located in the south-east region of the United States and had five or more years of experience teaching in CACREP-accredited graduate programs. Initial interviews occurred face-to-face and follow-up interviews were conducted via electronic mail. Initial face-to-face interviews were audio taped and transcribed for the purpose of data analysis. Electronic mail interviews were printed for analysis purposes. For each round of individual interviews, coding procedures were utilized to identify emergent themes. Emergent themes were organized in four general categories: pre-admission screening phase, postadmission screening phase, remediation plan phase, and remediation outcome phase. Additionally, two interwoven themes emerged related to each gatekeeping phase: support and cultural sensitivity. Verification procedures are discussed and methods to address potential limitations are presented. Implications for counselor educators, counselor education programs, related educational programs, CACREP, and ACA are highlighted. Finally, suggestions for further research are offered.

This study explored the concept of student remediation in counseling graduate programs by examining the behavioral indicators associated with student remediation, the terminology used to discuss student remediation, and remedial interventions and their effectiveness. Members of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) were electronically surveyed using a researcher-designed instrument, the Counseling Graduate Student Remediation Questionnaire. A total of 607 individuals participated in the study for a response rate of 28.8%. The results of this study indicated that the overall five behavioral indicators considered by participants as needing remediation were the following: receptivity to feedback; basic counseling skills; boundaries with clients, supervisors, and/or colleagues; openness to self-examination; and advanced counseling skills. Five factors were identified within the behavioral indicators based on which can be remediated: Factor I, Personal Competencies; Factor II, Professionalism; Factor III, Personal Challenges; Factor IV, Honesty; and Factor V, Clinical Competencies. Significant group differences were found between counselor educators' and doctoral students' perceptions of what needs remediation with counseling graduate students, as well as what can be remediated with students. Significant group differences also were present between administrative faculty and non-administrative faculty on perceptions of what needs remediation with students. The overall three most preferred terms by participants used to discuss students in remediation included: challenging, problems with professional competence, and problematic. For remedial interventions, participants perceived that increased supervision was often effective as an intervention and that referring or recommending to personal counseling was occasionally effective. The results of this study seemed indicative of a broadening perspective regarding the topic of remediation, with perceptions shifting toward a positive framework rather than the more pejorative historical approaches. Overall, the conclusion from this study was that student remediation is currently developing within the field as a distinct concept with many specific associated behavioral indicators, terminology, and interventions.

The main purpose of this Master thesis is to investigate the journalists' attitude towards Internet as a news medium. The thesis also gives a general synopsis of the changing role of news media as enter the scene of Internet. The major part of this study consists of empirical studies though there is not much research-work made in this area. This case study is based on qualitative interviews of journalists. This method was the most suitable as the aim was to see tendencies and attitudes in a more individual light. The interviews were made in May and August 1999 at Göteborgs-Posten, a newspaper located in Gothenburg. Nine interviews were made with journalists of different positions, mainly staff from the department of finance and economics. The study focuses on four main areas of interest: (1) Relations strategies (2) News selection (3) Users (4) Internet The results indicate that the journalistic profession has not changed notable although a new group of journalists has entered the scene. These journalists have gained an expanding role, as the Internet demands more of the publisher. It is in the attitude towards Internet and online-publication one can note great differences among the journalists of the study. Two categories were identified, which differ in their view of Internet and the journalistic opportunities. The first type can be described as a traditional approach and the second as a more visionary approach. To clarify this differentiation some generalisations had to be made which make it less certain to find any of these two types in its pure form in real life. The study shows that Newspapers on the Internet still are considered a new phenomenon searching its form, but obviously has a great potential. / Uppsatsnivå: D