This essay is a qualitative study that examines the relationship between the Swedish kulturskola (non-compulsory cultural school for children and young adults), the non-profit cultural life and the phenomenon of lifelong learning. It raises the question wether teachers in the cultural school have a plan for their students lifelong learning or not; what their experience is of collaboration with the non-profit cultural life and if they take any concrete actions to facilitate the students entry into the local cultural life as amateur cultural practitioners. The theoretical framework is the situated learning theory by Lave & Wenger and the context of action theory by Dreier. Six teachers have been interviewed in the study. The result of the study is that the teachers see great values of their students lifelong learning, however, the collaboration with non-profit cultural associations is not always easy because of differences in perspective. It is helpful if the teacher him-/herself has the possibility of being personally engaged in, or at least has experience from, the non-profit cultural life, in order to be able to bridge the gap that arises for students trying to enter the adult cultural world. It is also suggested that teachers need to be given enough resources and support to be able to participate in collaborations with the associations of the local non-profit cultural life. The matter of students’ lifelong learning is urgent not only for the individual student or cultural organizations, but also for the society as a whole.

This is a study on the attitudes towards voluntarism and non-profit work, as expressed by employees in the Church of Sweden's children and youth activities. The study has had a mixed methods design, reflecting in the fact that the study at large is two-part, a quantitative part and a qualitative part that complement each other's results. The quantitative part had access to an empirical survey from the project “Av fri vilja på fritid 2021”, run by the Church of Sweden's unit for research and analysis, while the qualitative material is based on two focus group interviews, conducted in two different parishes in Skara diocese.   The purpose of the study has been to, among employees, find indicators of attitudes towards voluntarism and non-profit work in the Church of Sweden's children and youth activities and to examine differences in attitudes within the parishes. The study is based on the theoretical concept of lived ecclesiology to identify the expressions that relates to attitudes towards voluntarism, as well as the perspectives ‘Church as community’ and ‘Church as service provider’ to shed light on the differences between parishes.   Conclusively, the quantitative analyses show an overall picture of employees' attitudes towards voluntarism and non-profit work. The reduction of variables through factor analyses gave four indicators for attitudes towards voluntarism could be identified: cooperation, competition, complement and tradition. The qualitative analyses illustrated the different attitudes found among employees from two different parishes, via the perspectives of Church as community and Church as service provider. The first is characterized by unpretentious activities where everyone is welcome as they are, the employees try to ensure that the non-profit work is meaningful and that the volunteers, based on their own will and experience, take an active part in both planning, teaching and community. The latter is characterized by primarily being a place to learn about God and Jesus, a place that is something more than a "regular after-school centre", and where the employees plan and carry out any activities to maintain a high level of education while the volunteer are given simpler tasks to help and support the employee. In addition, the study shows how important the organizational choices are for how parishes work with voluntarism; by providing the volunteer with trust and development, they will take greater responsibilities and become an important part of the parish's activities.

Hälsan och folkhälsan påverkas av allt vi har omkring oss och beror på vilka förutsättningar och möjligheter vi har att ta hand om oss själva och vår omvärld. Jordens resurser är ansträngda, mänsklighetens konsumtionsvanor bidrar till detta och det finns ett allt större behov av att arbeta med hållbarhet. Folkhälsoarbete kan ske på flera plan, i Sverige finns en lång tradition av ideella föreningar och organisationer och dessa har varit speciellt framgångsrika i att engagera människor men även att nå marginaliserade eller utsatta grupper. Food2change är en ideell organisation som arbetar med hållbarhet genom att ta hand om matsvinn från matvarubutiker med hjälp av sina medlemmar och volontärer. Syftet med studien är att undersöka upplevelser av ideellt engagemang i föreningen food2change.  En kvalitativ undersökning har genomförts för att undersöka upplevelser av att vara ideellt engagerad i food2change kopplat till KASAM, socialt stöd och social kognitiv teori. Datainsamlingen skedde genom semistrukturerade intervjuer och en manifest innehållsanalys genomfördes. Resultaten visar att det finns olika drivkrafter till att vara engagerad i föreningen samt att effekter som upplevs av ideellt engagemang i föreningen är känsla av meningsfullhet, tillgång till rutin och struktur, möjlighet till utökade sociala relationer och känsla av delaktighet men även viss risk för stress vid hög arbetsbelastning vilka alla kan ha påverkan på hälsan.

Syftet med studien var att öka förståelsen om upplevelsen av rollen som volontär inom det sociala arbetet med ungdomar och unga vuxna, genom att beskriva rollen som volontär utifrån upplevelsen av att agera som en ”icke-professionell” hjälpare gentemot sin målgrupp, och att tolka resultaten i relation till tidigare forskning på området. Sex semi-strukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med volontärer från fyra ideella föreningar. Intervjusvaren har analyserats med tematisk analys. Resultat och analys har presenterats i form av sex centrala teman som kommer redogöras för nedan.  Temat drivkrafterna beskriver varför man blivit volontär. En central drivkraft är att ge till andra men volontärer beskriver också hur den offentliga sektorn inte kan ge tillräckligt eller rätt typ av stöd för att stötta de unga. I temat hur engagerad ska man vara? illustreras skillnader i hur volontärerna ser på föreningsengagemanget, där vissa volontärer lägger stort engagemang i den ideella förening de tillhör medan andra fokuserar på grunduppdraget som volontär. Detta kan leda till frustration och slutsatsen dras att det finns svårigheter att identifiera en gemensam identitet kring hur engagerad man ska vara som volontär. I temat stå för ställningstaganden beskrivs hur volontärerna anser att det ingår i deras roll att stå för vissa värderingar och ställningstaganden. Volontärer delar spontant de flesta av föreningens värderingar men det ges också uttryck för ambivalens. Temat frihet på gott och ont skildrar hur frihet och kravlöshet är återkommande teman när volontärerna beskriver sin roll. Det handlar om friare arbetsförhållanden, mindre byråkrati, men också en känsla av frihet i mötet med den unge, jämfört med yrkeslivet. I temat känslan av otillräcklighet framställes en av baksidorna med friheten: en önskan att hjälpa mer än vad man kan göra i rollen som volontär. Detta område kopplas ihop med temat friheten på gott och ont, där ett resonemang förs om att bristen på mandat i rollen som volontär bidrar till känslan av otillräcklighet. I temat stöd från olika håll beskrivs hur volontärerna får stöd att hantera svårigheter. Stödet kommer från andra volontärer, föreningen, anhöriga och volontärerna har också personliga strategier. Vissa volontärer vill inte använda föreningens begränsade resurser för sina egna behov av stöd i rollen, vilket anses ha en koppling till volontäridentiteten. / The purpose of the study was to increase understanding of the experience of the role as a volunteer in social work with young people and young adults, by describing the role as a volunteer based on the experience of being a “non-professional” helper towards the target group, and interpret the results in relation to previous research in the field. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with volunteers from four non-profit organizations. The interviews have been analyzed with thematic analysis. Results and analyses have been presented in the form of six themes which are described below.  The theme driving forces describe the reasons why the respondents are active as volunteers. A central motivation is to give to others but there also an experience that the public sector cannot provide enough, or the right kind, of support to the youth. The theme how committed should one be? describes differences in the volunteers’ view on how active and involved a volunteer should be in the non-profit organization that they work for. Some volunteers place great commitment on the organization while others focus only on the volunteering task. This can lead to frustration and it is concluded that there are difficulties in identifying a common identity about how committed one should be as a volunteer. Support the statements illustrates how the volunteers see it as a part of their role to stand for certain values ​​and statements of the organization. Volunteers share most of the organization’s values, but ambivalence is expressed in some areas. Freedom for better or worse portrays freedom and lack of demands as recurring descriptions when the volunteers talk about their role. Volunteers describe freer working conditions, less bureaucracy but also a feeling of freedom in the meeting with the young person, compared to working life. Feelings of inadequacy illustrates one of the downsides of freedom: a desire to help more than one can do in the role as a volunteer. This theme is linked to the theme of freedom for better or worse. A suggested explanation is that the volunteers lack the authority and tools necessary to create change in a young person’s situation and that the inability to create change contributes to feelings of inadequacy. Different kinds of support describe how the volunteers receive support in dealing with difficulties. The support comes from other volunteers, the non-profit organization, relatives and the volunteers also have personal strategies. Some volunteers feel that they should not use the organization’s limited resources for their own need of support in the role, which has a correlation to volunteer identity.

Ideella organisationer har en stor betydelse för det svenska samhället. För att de ideella organisationerna ska kunna fortsätta bidra till samhället är det viktigt att organisationerna är tillräckligt attraktiva för att rekrytera och behålla ideella arbetare eftersom dessa individer är väsentliga för de ideella organisationernas överlevnad. Då de som arbetar ideellt inte får någon monetär ersättning uppstod frågan vad som motiverar dem till arbetet. Syftet med detta arbete är därför att undersöka vad som motiverar unga vuxna till att arbeta ideellt utan monetär ersättning. Studien har följt en kvalitativ forskningsmetod. Datainsamlingen har genomförts genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med 14 respondenter som har arbetat ideellt inom en studentförening på en högskola eller ett universitet i Sverige under de senaste två åren. Resultatet visar på fem utmärkande motivationsfaktorer hos respondenterna: gemenskap, möjligheten att påverka, personlig utveckling, karriärutveckling och yttre påverkan. Den insamlade datan har analyserats utifrån motivationsteorier samt tidigare forskning inom ämnet. Studiens slutsats är att de som arbetar ideellt upplever en form av icke-monetär belöning bland annat socialt nätverk, erfarenhet och personlig utveckling. / Non-profit organizations have great importance for Swedish society. In order to make it possible for non-profit organizations to continue contributing, it is important that the organizations are attractive enough to be able to recruit and keep the volunteers since they are essential for the survival of non-profit organizations. Since the non-profit volunteers execute labor without monetary compensation, the question arose regarding their motivation. The purpose of this essay is to examine what motivates young adults to work without monetary compensation. A qualitative method has been used to study this subject, using semi-structured interviews with 14 participants who have worked in a non-profit student association at a college or university in Sweden during the last two years. The results showed five distinctive motivators for the respondents: a sense of belonging, the possibility to make a difference, personal development, career development, and external influence. The collected data was analyzed based on motivation theories and previous studies within the subject. The conclusion of the study is that volunteers in non-profit organizations experience non-monetary compensation, for instance social networking, experience, and personal development.

Cycling is recognised as a mode of transport with many health and environmental benefits yet remains relatively underfunded and lacks priority in many Swedish municipalities. Despite a will from the government to enhance sustainable transport, cycling is not given its rightful place in urban areas. This implies a presence of bottlenecks and barriers in cycle planning. Cycle advocacy organisations try to change this paradigm and develop tools, methods, and processes to improve this process. Cycling advocacy Cykelfrämjandet recently released a new process called Cyklisternas Cykelvägsanalys, cyclists’ cycle route analysis. This process can be used by any usual cyclist who will invite decision makers to experience the cycling environment and evaluate it together using a quality assessment method. A report is handed over to the municipality afterwards and a follow up is done one year after.To fully grasp what this new process entails, a thorough document analysis was conducted. Through an international review exploring similar initiatives developed by NGOs, individuals or governmental entities, the degree of innovation this process was assessed. This was then built upon using semi constructed interviews with participants of the three trial Cykelvägsanalys happening in Marks Kommun, Pitea and Varberg. The interview results were also used to evaluate how Cyklisternas Cykelvägsanalys can work on bottlenecks and use action levers to improve the cycling environment. Results show that whilst other methods to assess the quality of cycling environmentsexist, none are tied into a process, or at least nothing of the official kind. This emphasis on the process, the communication that it creates between politicians, planners, and everyday cyclists can help lift bottlenecks related to cycle planning linked to a lack of political support and the weak cycle lobby. In the three municipalities, it seems that CVA has more impact on municipalities that are less advanced on the cycling question. The results are very promising, and the participants on the municipal side willing to act on recommendations issued from the workshop. A big drawback however is the presence of very few politicians in the workshops which is what would have the most impact. A bigger emphasis on the necessity of getting these actors to participate in the methodology would be beneficial. More research can be done in a few years to assess the impact of follow up and if everyday cyclists took the initiative of trying out the method in their municipalities.

Det har genomförts omfattande forskning inom ledarskap på vinstdrivande företag men området avseende ideellt ledarskap har blivit försummat. Tidigare studier har föreslagit transformational leadership som ett produktivt ledarskap inom sport, där utvecklande ledarskap är den svenska motsvarigheten till teorin. Ridsporten är en av de få sporter där utövaren behöver förhålla sig till ett levande och potentiellt farligt djur, vilket kan skapa krav på ett mer konventionellt ledarskap.  I denna studie undersöktes ledarskapet på lokal och nationell nivå via lokala ridklubbar i två olika städer samt på Svenska Ridsportförbundet (SvRF) för att fastställa hur ledarskapet bedrivs inom ridsporten. En jämförelse av de lokala klubbarna kontra SvRF har sedan genomförts med teorierna om utvecklande ledarskap samt job characteristics model som teoretisk förankring. Studien är deduktiv med en kvalitativ ansats. För att besvara forskningsfrågorna så har semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomförts med respondenter inom ledarposition på lokala ridklubbar och SvRF. Studien ämnar ge en bredare teoretisk förståelse till ideellt ledarskap inom ridsport.  Resultatet visade att ett utvecklande ledarskap brukades främst och väldigt få inslag av konventionellt ledarskap påträffades. Flera inslag av job characteristics model påträffades också. Resultatet visade även på väldigt få skillnader mellan lokal nivå kontra nationell nivå. Framtida studier skulle även kunna fokusera på en enda verksamhet för att få en djupare förståelse för det ideella ledarskapet. / There is extensive existing research within the leadership of for-profit organizations but the area surrounding non-profit leadership has been neglected. Previous studies have suggested transformational leadership as a productive leadership within sports, where developmental leadership is the Swedish version of the theory. Equestrian sport is one of the few sports where the practitioners need to adapt to a living and potentially dangerous animal, which could create a need for a more conventional leadership.  In this study the leadership within local equestrian clubs in two different cities and the Swedish equestrian federation (Svenska Ridsportförbundet, SvRF) was examined in order to determine how leadership is conducted within the equestrian sport. A comparison of the local clubs versus SvRF has then been conducted with the theories of developmental leadership and job characteristics model as the theoretical framework. The study is deductive with a qualitative approach. To answer the research questions semi-structured interviews have been conducted with leadership representatives within local equestrian clubs and SvRF. The study aims to deliver a wider theoretical understanding of non-profit leadership within equestrian sport.  The result of the study showed that developmental leadership was mainly used with very few elements of conventional leadership. Several elements of the job characteristics model were also encountered. The result of the study also pertained to very few differences between the local and national level. Future research could focus on a single organization to gather a deeper understanding of non-profit leadership.