Whether it be more recent public tragedies or more distant death related events, sites and gatherings associated with death and disaster present an opportunity to explore the social phenomenon described as "dark tourism". To study this social phenomenon, the current literature on dark tourism widely acknowledges that a multi-disciplinary approach is required and that much work remains to be done to fully appreciate the phenomenon. This thesis draws upon the sociology of death to consider the dark tourism experience as part of a society's death system, and it draws upon a dynamic theory of ritual interaction from the sociology of emotions to consider the dark tourism visitor experience as a ritual performance. The thesis proposes that the visitor experience at some dark tourism sites may be usefully analyzed within the frameworks of inquiry proposed by Kastenbaum's (2001) death system concept together with a dynamic theory of emotion and ritual interactions proposed by Durkheim (1995) and Collins (2004). Specifically, this thesis proposes that where visitors have emotional "experiences of involvement" with the death event which is represented at the site, they may focus their attention and emotion on site components to engage in ritual interactions, which produce a momentarily shared new (emotional) reality that, in turn, may generate feelings of "solidarity" and "positive emotional energy" as an outcome of the visitor experience. These new realities and outcomes may serve to mediate the death event for visitors and to strengthen the social order. At present, there is very little theoretical work, and much less empirical research, to support this approach within the existing dark tourism literature. This thesis attempts to address part of the gap in dark tourism knowledge and in the study of this phenomenon by the sociology of death. These theories are considered in the light of research conducted in a single qualitative case study at the 9/11 Memorial site in New York City. Interviews, observations and diarizing were carried out to identify the motivations, interpretations and experiences of 32 visitors, (including guides and volunteers) at the site. Most visitors to the 9/11 Memorial site had prior emotional connections or "experiences of involvement" of some type with the death event. Many visitors expressed that their motivation to visit the site was based on a sense of "obligation" or "duty" and reported interpretations of the visitor experience that are consistent with taking part in what Durkheim described as a piacular rite. Visitors focused their emotions and interacted with components of the site in such a way that four of the critical functions of the death system were identified in operation. Most visitors reported that through their visitor interactions they (a) found the site to be a (sacred) place of actual or symbolic disposition of the dead; (b) received social support or consolidation; (c) interpreted the site in a way that made sense of the death event; and (d) took away from the site some form of moral or social guidance. These interactions were observed to have created a form of collective effervescence that made visitors' feel that they were part of something larger, a feeling that represented a shared new (emotional) reality. In turn, visitors reported that the visitor experience at the site created increased feelings of solidarity and calm or confidence or energy - or what Collins describes as emotional energy - in their personal and collective lives. The thesis concludes that the role of dark tourism as a mediating institution between the living and the death event may sometimes extend beyond the mediation of death anxiety and the purchase of ontological security as proposed by Stone (2012). Through the ritual performance of dark tourism, a mediation of, by and through emotions takes place, the result of which is that the individual and collective self of visitors may be relieved from the negative emotions aroused by the death event and begin to feel a new sense of solidarity and emotional energy. Indeed, the death event itself may be transformed from something evil into something that is sacred; from something that brought death and chaos, into something that strengthens social order.

<p>Abstract</p><p>The aim of this work is to understand, from a perspective of sociology of emotions, how employees within the health care sector experience their working environment and the conditions. By analysing how these experiences shape the interviewees’ perceptions of the quality of their working environment, the dissertation also seeks to arrive at an understanding of what the contributing factors are for their choice to either remain in or leave the organizations in which they are employed.</p><p>This study has been conducted as a qualitative interview study. Vocational categories represented in the study are doctors, nurses, assistant nurses, midwives, and physical therapists.</p><p>The analysis has employed an abductive approach, in which empirical sensitivity, interpretation, and theory are combined. The interpretative and empirical focus, and the theory used concentrate largely on emotions, and the resulting analysis is, thusly, a contribution within the sociology of emotions.</p><p>The empirical analysis is organized in three chapters, describing and analysing three main areas: dissatisfaction with public organisations, social embeddedness, and emotional labour.</p><p>In terms of results the dissertation demonstrates that workplaces undergoing repeated changes without strong support from the staff are experienced as bad, while workplaces where the employees feel affirmed and competent are experienced as good. However, it is not working environment and conditions alone that are meaningful for the interviewees, but so is the balance between work and private life, as well as the balance between social relations in and outside of the workplace.</p><p>In addition, the emotional culture in workplaces and among colleagues is of crucial importance for the interviewees’ perceptions of their work. It is suggested that this pertains to the fact that health care work constitutes a specific type of emotional labour which, in the dissertation, is described as harbouring work. Hence, more than a matter of working environment and conditions, the interviewees’ experiences depend more upon factors such as the degree of embeddedness in social relationships, the emotional climate in the workplace, and the possibility to form a buffer culture. Moreover, it is these factors that underpin how and why employees choose to remain in or leave their workplaces.</p>

I min undersökning studerar jag elevernas interaktion face-to-face på raster där den bärbara datorn finns med. Syftet är att undersöka hur den bärbara datorn påverkar interaktionen mellan eleverna på raster. Mina frågeställningar är hur och när elever är socialt responsiva respektive asocialt responslösa på raster samt hur elevernas interaktionsritualer ser ut?   Jag har använt en kvalitativ metod för att kunna besvara mitt syfte och mina frågeställningar. Jag intervjuade fem elever i årskurs ett på en gymnasieskola i Karlstad och genomförde tre observationstillfällen.   Studien visar att den egna datorn både kan ses som en tillgång och hinder på raster för elever på gymnasiet vid interaktion. Många av eleverna använder datorerna för att visa varandra saker som de sen diskuterar kring. Den sociala responsiviteten visade sig tydligt vid dessa tillfällen. Datorn som en gemensam symbol och en gemensam aktivitet verkade vara en betydelsefull interaktionsritual för eleverna. Vid andra tillfällen verkade datorn istället vara ett hinder för interaktionen. Eleven uppträdde då passivt i interaktionen och deltog i mindre utsträckning eller inte alls. De blev asocialt responslösa. Interaktionsritualen blev i dessa fall misslyckad.   Nyckelord: Bärbar dator, raster, social responsivitet, asocial responslöshet, interaktionsritualer / In this study I examine pupils´ face-to-face interaction when the laptop is there. The purpose is to see how the laptop impacts the interaction between students at breaks. My research questions are how and when pupils are social responsive respectively asocial responseless and also what the rituals of interactions look like.   I have used a qualitative method to answer my purpose and questions. I interviewed five pupils in year one of upper secondary school in Karlstad and also conducted three observations.   The study shows that the laptop is an impediment but also an asset in the interaction between students at breaks. Many pupils use their laptops to show each other things which could start a discussion. Social interaction was very evident at these moments. The laptop as a symbol and a common activity seemed to be an important interaction of ritual for the pupils. At other occasions the laptop seemed to be an impediment for the interaction. The pupils then became passive and participated less or not at all. He or she became asocial responseless. The interacion ritual then failed.   Keywords: Laptop, breaks, social response, asocial responseless, interaction ritual

Though both literary critics and anthropologists have sometimes recognized converging aims and methods between ethnography and narrative fiction, few interpretive studies of fiction have been undertaken using the framework of ethnography of communication. Because ethnography of communication centers attention on language in situated communicative interaction, it could be a useful tool for exploring literary texts, especially texts within the genre of "realistic fiction," which sometimes also depend upon observation or creation of situated social interaction. This dissertation uses ethnography of communication to interpret a Victorian novel, Anne Bronte's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Ethnography of communication may also serve as a general framework for teaching literature, combining close linguistic or stylistic analysis of the language, detailed examination of the cultural and social situation, and re-creation of the meaning of the event as it may have been experienced by the participants. This approach may be especially appropriate in the case of L2 learners taking literature courses in university programs. The overall framework of the analysis, ethnography of communication, will be supplemented by Goffman's model of interaction ritual and the concept of co-construction of reality. These frameworks will be employed in the analysis of brief communicative events within the novel. Insights about the characters and the speech communities deriving from ethnographic interpretation will be used to build more precise understanding of the events of the novel, thereby contributing to traditional areas of literary criticism, and offering options for literary study in L1 and L2 contexts.

This thesis is aimed at getting a better understanding of drinking games as a social phenomenon. Data has been collected in form of individual interviews with five students that has been taken part of drinking games. The focus of this study is to understand what function the games and the drinking they involve have for the students. Randal Collins theory of interactional rituals combined with Robert Mertons concept of sociological ambivalence is applied to analyze how the students construct meaning relating to the phenomenon drinking games. The results indicate that the games serve as a gathering point at a social event, and provides a way for participants to interact and socialize that eases the otherwise uncomfortable feeling that can be experienced when meeting new people. The alcohol seems to have a central role in the games as an investment for the players, at the same time as it helps them to get  intoxicated. The games thereby become a convenient solution for the partying students that wants to get drunk and socialize together. But the ritualistic perspective also helps to uncover two secret rules that must be followed to take part of the ritual in the “right” way.

The aim of this work is to understand, from a perspective of sociology of emotions, how employees within the health care sector experience their working environment and the conditions. By analysing how these experiences shape the interviewees’ perceptions of the quality of their working environment, the dissertation also seeks to arrive at an understanding of what the contributing factors are for their choice to either remain in or leave the organizations in which they are employed. This study has been conducted as a qualitative interview study. Vocational categories represented in the study are doctors, nurses, assistant nurses, midwives, and physical therapists. The analysis has employed an abductive approach, in which empirical sensitivity, interpretation, and theory are combined. The interpretative and empirical focus, and the theory used concentrate largely on emotions, and the resulting analysis is, thusly, a contribution within the sociology of emotions. The empirical analysis is organized in three chapters, describing and analysing three main areas: dissatisfaction with public organisations, social embeddedness, and emotional labour. In terms of results the dissertation demonstrates that workplaces undergoing repeated changes without strong support from the staff are experienced as bad, while workplaces where the employees feel affirmed and competent are experienced as good. However, it is not working environment and conditions alone that are meaningful for the interviewees, but so is the balance between work and private life, as well as the balance between social relations in and outside of the workplace. In addition, the emotional culture in workplaces and among colleagues is of crucial importance for the interviewees’ perceptions of their work. It is suggested that this pertains to the fact that health care work constitutes a specific type of emotional labour which, in the dissertation, is described as harbouring work. Hence, more than a matter of working environment and conditions, the interviewees’ experiences depend more upon factors such as the degree of embeddedness in social relationships, the emotional climate in the workplace, and the possibility to form a buffer culture. Moreover, it is these factors that underpin how and why employees choose to remain in or leave their workplaces.

The development of digital technology has changed people's relationship patterns and interactions, and the Internet has enabled people to interact beyond the limits of time and space. In this context, more and more people are meeting on the Internet according to their personal subcultures, exchanging symbols and emotions, which means the medium is subtly influencing people's interactive behaviors. So how does the medium influence people's interactive behavior in a digital setting? The interactive behavior of a subcultural group on the Chinese social media Douban, the group Introducing the 985 Loser Programme, provides an example for us to consider this question. Taking this online subcultural group as an example, this thesis applies Collins' theory of interaction ritual chains, combines the concepts of disembedding and reembedding, and comprehensively analyzes the interaction rituals of members within this group on Douban through online observation, in-depth interviews, and content analysis, and analyzes from which aspects these interaction rituals are influenced by the medium. This study concluded that the online interaction rituals influenced by the medium were influenced by the real-life factors that the participants faced and also shaped their offline lives in terms of both perceptions and actions.

When recruiting new staff, the job interview is the most central and most common selection method, which has traditionally taken place face-to-face with the employer. Video interviews are something that has become more common in recruitment processes as a result of technological development and digitalization but also based on the organization's financial and time rationalization. Previous research in the field indicates that video interviews modify parts of the interaction, and points out that there is a need for further research. The purpose of the study is to investigate how job interviews in video format are experienced by recruiters in terms of social interaction, and what implications there are in assessing the candidate. The results of the study are based on six qualitative interviews with recruiters, where collected data have been analyzed from a social psychological perspective. The results indicate that there is a perceived difference in certain parts of the interaction. Particularly the non-verbal communication and small talk are limited, but the flow and timing are also more difficult in video interviews. The study also shows that the biggest advantage is considered to be that the format is time-saving and provides increased flexibility and the biggest disadvantage is difficulties in connecting with the candidate, which impairs the overall experience. Finally, it emerged that the recruiters consider themselves to have good opportunities to assess candidates in video interviews, but that the data collected indicates an experience of both positive and negative aspects. / Vid rekrytering av ny personal är anställningsintervjun den mest centrala och vanligaste urvalsmetoden, vilken traditionellt ägt rum ansikte-mot-ansikte hos arbetsgivaren. Videointervjuer är något som har kommit att bli mer vanligt i rekryteringsprocesser till följd av den teknologiska utvecklingen och digitaliseringen, men också utifrån organisationens ekonomiska och tidsmässiga rationalisering. Tidigare forskning på området pekar på att videointervjuer modifierar delar av interaktionen, och poängterar att behovet av vidare forskning är stort. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur anställningsintervjuer i videoformat upplevs av rekryterare i termer av det sociala samspelet, samt vilka implikationer som finns vid bedömning av kandidaten. Studiens resultat baseras på sex kvalitativa intervjuer med rekryterare, där insamlade data analyserats utifrån ett socialpsykologiskt perspektiv. Resultatet tyder på att det finns en upplevd skillnad i vissa delar av interaktionen. Framförallt begränsas icke-verbal kommunikation och småprat, men även flytet och timingen försvåras i videointervjuer. Studien visar även att de största fördelarna anses vara att formatet är tidsbesparande och ger utrymme till ökad flexibilitet och den största nackdelen är svårigheter att känna in kandidaten, vilket försämrar helhetsupplevelsen. Till sist framkom att rekryterare anser sig själva ha goda möjligheter att bedöma kandidater vid videointervjuer, men att insamlade data indikerar på en upplevelse av både positiva och negativa aspekter.

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The aim of this study is to better understand the Swedish concept of“förebyggande socialt arbete”, preventive social work. I have conducted elevenqualitative interviews with different key persons and skaters, together withparticipant observation. During the process of analyzing the material I have usedRandall Collins´ concepts of interaction ritual chains together with Jean Laves andEtienne Wengers concept of situated learning. The answers could be split up inthree areas, first those who regard prevention work as building good things for thefuture. The second group to prevent something bad to happen and the third groupregard preventive social work to be repairing what was broken. The first group,mostly architects, included all three levels of the urban system, the social culturecontext, the human interaction and the urban design. The second and third group,mostly participant from the social work area, focused on the individual level.Although social work should be involved in social policy and development areincluded in the Swedish Social Serves Act. The findings is that Swedish definitionof social work need to be wider in order to include the urban design as a part ofsocial prevention work.