Karisma är ett fenomen som under lång tid väckt stort intresse och fascination bland människor, däribland mig själv. Däremot är begreppet aningen diffust och det har därför varit svårt att hitta en entydig definition av karisma. För att undersöka dimensionerna av karisma har jag i denna uppsats valt att undersöka karismans betydelse i dagens samhälle. Syftet med undersökningen har varit att undersöka hur fenomenet karisma som begrepp konstrueras i en bestämd social kontext i samhället idag, vilket jag har gjort genom att analysera självhjälpslitteratur i hur man ökar sin karismatiska utstrålning. De huvudsakliga frågeställningarna bakom denna undersökning omfattar bland annat hur karisma konstruerats i litteraturen, hur framställningen av karisma gett upphov till skapandet av subjekt samt att se om förändringar i samhället kommit att förändra betydelsen av karisma. Bakgrunden av undersökningen innefattar bland annat Max Webers definition av den ”genuina” karisman samt en rad andra teorier och undersökningar om karisma som försökt förklara fenomenets härkomst. Med bakgrund av detta har jag alltså studerat karisma ur ett socialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv med hjälp av diskursanalys och funnit att de två självhjälpsböcker jag undersökt konstruerar karisma som ett multidimensionellt fenomen som alla individer har möjligheten att utveckla. Utöver denna upptäckt tyder resultaten från undersökningen även på att en decentralisering av makten i dagens samhälle har kommit att påverka hur karisma konstrueras idag. / Charisma has for long been the object for admiration and fascination among people, including myself. It has, however, been very difficult to settle for an appropriate definition of charisma since the nature of the phenomenon can be described as being quite abstract. I have in an attempt to explore the dimensions of charisma chosen to investigate its meaning in today’s society. The main goal with the investigation has been to see how the concept of charisma is constructed within a given social context, which in this case constitutes of self-help books on how to develop a charismatic personality. A few of the primary questions behind this investigation concerns how charisma is constructed within the literature, how the representation of charisma in the books leads to the development of subjects and to see whether changes within the society has contributed to a change in the meaning of charisma. The investigation is, among other things, based on Weber’s definition of the “genuine” charisma as well as several other theories and studies concerning charisma which have tried to deduce the origin of the subject. I have in relation to this analyzed charisma from the view of the social constructivist perspective, with the help of discourse analysis, and found that the two self-help books I have studied constructs charisma as a multidimensional phenomenon which everyone has the ability to develop. In addition to this discovery I also found that the result from the investigation indicates that a decentralization of power in today’s society has come to influence how charisma is constructed today. Title: What significance does charisma have in society today? – A study done from the social constructivist perspective concerning charisma in self-help literature. Charisma has for long been the object for admiration and fascination among people, including myself. It has, however, been very difficult to settle for an appropriate definition of charisma since the nature of the phenomenon can be described as being quite abstract. I have in an attempt to explore the dimensions of charisma chosen to investigate its meaning in today’s society. The main goal with the investigation has been to see how the concept of charisma is constructed within a given social context, which in this case constitutes of self-help books on how to develop a charismatic personality. A few of the primary questions behind this investigation concerns how charisma is constructed within the literature, how the representation of charisma in the books leads to the development of subjects and to see whether changes within the society has contributed to a change in the meaning of charisma. The investigation is, among other things, based on Weber’s definition of the “genuine” charisma as well as several other theories and studies concerning charisma which have tried to deduce the origin of the subject. I have in relation to this analyzed charisma from the view of the social constructivist perspective, with the help of discourse analysis, and found that the two self-help books I have studied constructs charisma as a multidimensional phenomenon which everyone has the ability to develop. In addition to this discovery I also found that the result from the investigation indicates that a decentralization of power in today’s society has come to influence how charisma is constructed today.

With this degree project, I want to show that there are contradictions between the duties the teaching profession is committed to following. Duties as in the duty to report, compulsory schooling, or the assignment written in the school's governing document, Lgr 11. I have analyzed the concept of duty through ethics and moral thinking where I have tried to show that it can depend on how one as a teacher values the duties. The analysis and reflection are based on my own experience. To highlight my dilemma, I have formulated three questions based on my story, to investigate in this essay. What does the obligation to report mean for my actions towards students in a vulnerable family situation? How can I understand my reluctance to follow the law regarding the obligation to report? How is my professionalism affected by my reluctance to comply with the obligation to report? I have written a story which gets the reader involved in different situations where my professional knowledge as a teacher at after-school center is challenged. With the help of literature and research, I try to see the events in my story from a distance to get closer to an answer to my questions about the conflict between my duties as assigned by the governing documents and as a fellow human being. An important part of the analysis is to question whether we as teachers need to take into account what actually can happen to pupils as a consequence of our professional action and how we can understand different views that different teachers have about such action. I also discuss a number of difficult emotions accompanying my actions in the story. I want to highlight the importance of being self-critical to be able to see what is at the root of my own feelings when I hesitate to follow the law and the duties the teaching profession is committed to follow. / Med detta självständiga arbete vill jag visa att det finns motsägelser mellan de plikter läraryrket är åtagna till att följa. Plikter som anmälningsplikten, skolplikten eller det uppdrag som står skrivit i skolans styrdokument, Lgr 11, och även lärarens plikter som medmänniska. Jag har analyserat pliktbegreppet och försökt visa hur våra handlingar som lärare kan bero på hur vi värderar plikterna.  Analysen och reflektionen utgår från en egenupplevd berättelse. För att synliggöra mitt dilemma har jag utifrån min berättelse skapat tre frågeställningar. Vad innebär anmälningsplikten för mitt handlande gentemot elever i utsatt familjesituation? Hur kan jag förstå min motvilja att följa lagen när det gäller anmälningsplikten? Hur påverkas min professionalitet av min motvilja att följa anmälningsplikten. Med hjälp av litteratur och forskning försöker jag se händelserna i min berättelse på distans för att komma närmare ett svar. En viktig del av analysen är om vi som lärare behöver ta i beaktning vad som faktiskt händer med den elev som påverkas av våra handlingar samt hur vi kan förstå skillnader i lärarnas olika uppfattningar om sådana handlingar. Jag diskuterar även ett antal svåra känslor som uppstår i samband med mina handlingar i berättelsen. Jag vill lyfta fram vikten av självkritik för att verkligen kunna se vad som ligger som grund för dessa känslor när jag tvekar att följa lagen om anmälningsplikten när det gäller ett barn i utsatt familjesituation.

This dissertation is a study of a relatively new teacher function in nurse education, a teacher function that can be called clinical teacher, link lecturer, link teacher or lecturer involved in practice. The study departs from a constructivist perspective and the aim is to study the introduction, performance and regulation of this teacher function. The material consists of internationally and nationally published research 1978-2009, reports from the authorities, job ads for clinical teachers, job descriptions and contracts, archive material, evaluation studies, professional journals, texts on the Internet and 15 interviews with clinical teachers in Sweden. Using discourse analysis this material is studied in terms of interpretive repertoires, subject positions and ideological dilemmas. The primary focus of this dissertation concerns what problems the new teacher function is supposed to solve, how the problem should be solved, the effects of the chosen solutions and what´s staged, challenged and reproduced. Secondly, this dissertation highlights what categories of teachers are required and in demand for the new teacher function, how the teachers themselves manage their function and how the teacher function is maintained and challenged. The analysis identifies and highlights current interpretive repertoire, teachers possible subject positions and ideological dilemmas and how they are governed and challenged in the teaching function.

Syftet med denna studie är att identifiera sociala konstruktioner av 1-3 åringars ålder och kompetens, genom att analysera hur pedagoger porträtterar de yngsta barnen. Detta görs genom diskurspsykologisk analys av pedagogers uttalanden i samtal om omsorg och undervisning, utifrån studiens tre frågeställningar; Hur talar förskollärare och barnskötare om 1-3 åringars kompetens? Vad framställs som sanningar om 1-3 åringars kompetens? Vilja subjektspositioner tillskrivs 1-3 åringar? Diskurspsykologi har agerat som både epistemologisk och metodologisk utgångspunkt i denna studie. I resultatet framträdde totalt fem tolkningsrepertoarer. Tre av dessa framträdde genom samtal om barns kompetens i omsorg; fysisk omsorg, praktisk omsorg och intellektuell omsorg. De andra två trädde fram i samtal om barns kompetens i undervisning; pedagogers självmedvetenhet och erfarenhet som förutsättning. Vi kunde sedan sammanställa fyra av dessa till en, vad vi kallar, bristdiskurs. Vi diskuterar sedan kring hur dessa tolkningsrepertoarer försätter barnen i olika subjektspositioner och vad barnen därigenom ges för handlingsutrymme.

This is a time of expanding futures for transgender youth who are able to “buy time” by blocking puberty and transitioning young. Twenty years of clinical literature indicates that suppressing puberty can be lifesaving for trans youth, allowing them to avoid the distress and harm associated with transgender lives writ large. A growing number of “gender affirming” clinics now offer young trans people greater autonomy over their bodies, their futures, and their future bodies. Yet there remain troubling disparities, with indications that clinics are primarily serving white middle class trans youth and that autistic trans youth face delays. This thesis is a discourse analysis of 18 interviews with international health and mental health clinicians and 10 interviews with key stakeholders. Drawing from the literature of queer temporalities, sociological work on time and social power, queer and trans of colour critique, critical disability studies, critical autism studies, and transgender studies, I use an “interpretive repertoire” analysis to ask: How have puberty suppression and early gender transition become thinkable futures for trans youth? This thesis finds that the conditions of possibility that make early transition possible for some, are the same that foreclose it for others. The discourses of maturity and cognitive age, the expected “chrononormative” narrative, and the discourses of crisis and the “race against time”, each work to make outsiders of autistic and racialized trans youth in particular. While there is much to celebrate in the new futures available to trans youth, I argue that puberty blockers currently function as a “switchpoint” moving privileged trans youth onto a track toward even greater privilege, and widening the gap in life opportunities. This thesis introduces the concept of “the temporality of privilege” and calls for greater attention to the political implications augured by the contemporary scene of gender-affirming care for trans youth. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / We are in a time of expanding futures for transgender youth who are able to “buy time” by blocking puberty and transitioning to a new gender while young. Clinical research and literature suggest this as a lifesaving option for trans youth, allowing them to avoid distress and harm. Yet there remain troubling disparities with this treatment. Many clinics report they are primarily serving white middle class trans youth and there are some indications that autistic trans youth may be stalled or delayed in the process. I report on a discourse analysis of 18 interviews with health and mental health clinicians across six countries, in addition to 10 interviews with community level experts. I draw on a range of theory and an “interpretive repertoire” analysis to theorize how these futures become thinkable and possible for trans youth, while considering the political implications and unforeseen consequences for those youth unable to benefit.