The aim of this thesis is to explain the identity narratives of three different Colombian ‘girl handlers’ in Hong Kong and how these form a nexus to a wider context of human trafficking and organised crime. This investigation takes form in the analysis of their impression management utilising the concepts of front-stage, back-stage, facework, techniques of neutralisation they utilise to justify their behaviour, and their links to organised crime syndicates operating both within and outside of Hong Kong. I also look at the way in which they go about doing their business of ‘girl handling’ in practice. The research was conducted to gain a better understanding of this particular criminal subculture. The context of the aforementioned forms of analysis; and attempts to offer original insight into this criminal group. It is a relatively small operation functioning within the greater scheme of the sex trade and as such, most of the people involved in this trade were interviewed. This investigation was conducted through in-depth interviews of the Colombian ‘girl handlers’ and in-depth interviews with a priest who is familiar with this scene. In addition I have analysed both Colombian court documents which verify certain claims made by the research participants and documents released by the United Nations in relations to a particular case which will be mentioned in the third chapter of this thesis. The empirical findings of this research demonstrate that Colombian girl handlers have to manage different façades to operate in this trade and keep it secret from people they do not trust; this works both ways as they would lose credibility in both their legal and illegal jobs. Another finding is that they utilise various techniques of neutralisation to justify their behaviour and actions in the trade. The last finding illustrates that all three girl handlers have some ties to an organised crime syndicate (if they are not fully affiliated) as they would not be allowed to operate within this field without such connections. Those who do, conform to the ‘outer layers’ or ‘fringes’ of the Colombian cartels. The interviewees therefore could be defined as small cogs working in the “outer layers” of an international machine of crime syndicates far away from Hong Kong. This study therefore allows for the understanding of Colombian ‘girl handlers’ in different forms which make each unique in the way that he conducts his business. / published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

Eighty percent of all adolescents in Sweden aged 13-19 years are physically active in sports associations growing up during their childhood, however, far from everyone continues as they get older. The aim of this study is to increase the knowledge about sports associations views and perceptions regarding why adolescents quit physical activities and how they work to prevent this to occur. Furthermore, this study will examine the perceptions and opinions these sport associations have regarding recruitment of adolescents for coaching and other positions within their association. The data in this study was collected from nine semi-structured interviews with representatives from sports associations in the county of Umeå. The results from the data analysis indicates that the sport associations seems to be aware of this drop out among adolescents and that the reason for this phenomena is complex and individual. Despite this, little action seemed to be taken among these sport associations in order to try to keep young individuals physically active within the club or with recruitment of these individuals as coaches, even if the sport associations considered it as a good solution to the problem. The main conclusion of this study is that if sport associations are in need of preventing youth drop out they have to increase their activities for preventing it. Furthermore they need to start seeing adolescents as resources to the sport association.

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

This study sought to understand using qualitative methods why and how the Government of Singapore came to set-up organized research units (ORU) in her two autonomous universities - the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU). That is, are ORUs the chief means in transforming NUS and NTU into top WCUs? The underpinnings of the institutional theory in the globalized context, the theory of academic capitalism, and guidance by frameworks on educational policy transfer, as well as the glonacal heuristics, together with document and discourse analysis of published documents, aided in the design of this study.This study finds that key state and institutional actors in Singapore decided to emulate the key features of U.S.-originated organized research units to make R&D and innovation-led economic growth the vehicle of sustaining this global city-state's global competitiveness in the knowledge-economy and to better elevate the status of both NUS and NTU as world-class. Because global rankings have branding implications, catch-up nations and institutions should make serious attempts to balance the ranking-enhancement effort with their local, national, and regional science-research needs given the constraints of available capital and resources.

Tarptautinės sistemos dinamiškumas, globalizacijos procesas bei kintanti saugumo sąvoka iškelia naujus iššūkius, kurie pasižymi transnacionaliniais bruožais, bei verčia iš naujo pažvelgti į valstybę ir kelti jos saugumo klausimą. Didėjanti ekonominių procesų reikšmė ir poveikis, akcentuoja valstybės ekonominio saugumo svarbą, kuris yra valstybės nacionalinio saugumo dalis. Vidinių ir išorinių šio saugumo sektoriaus veiksnių išskyrimas ir jų tarpusavio saitai formuoja ir kuria atitinkamą kiekvienos valstybės ekonominio saugumo suvokimą, kur šalia ekonominių aspektų itin svarbią vietą užima valstybės ir individo santykis. Pastarąjį dar labiau pabrėžia ekonominių procesų sunkiai kontroliuojama dinamika bei valstybės akistata su šiais naujaisias iššūkiais, kurie vis įgauna naujas kokybines ir kiekybines veiklos išraiškas. Tokiomis charakteristikomis pasižymi ir transnacionalinis organizuotas nusikalstamumas, kurio kontroliuojamos nelegalios rinkos ir kuriami politiniai-kriminaliniai santykiai, peržengia ne tik ekonominio saugumo „ribas“, kartu tai turi įtakos ir valstybės stabilumui tarptautinėje arenoje, kuris glaudžiai susijęs su valstybės institucijų efektyvumu. Organizuoto nusikalstamumo, valstybės ekonominio saugumo ir politinės sistemos santykis leidžia atskleisti organizuoto nusikalstamumo daromą poveikį valstybei kaip atskiram tarptautinės sistemos objektui ir kaip saugumo analizės lygmeniui. Transnacionalinio organizuoto nusikalstamumo veiklos modelio kūrimas ir... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The dynamics of international system, globalization process and changing concept of security brings transnational challenges and leads to a new look at nation state and the discussion of its security question. The growing importance of economic processes raises state economic security issue as a part of national security. Internal and external factors of this security sector and their links creates and shapes each state perception of its economic security, where near economic aspects, very important place is given for rate between nation state and individuals. The latter is emphasizes by comprehensive dynamics of economic processes and state's facing with these new transnational challenges, which are taking qualitative and quantitative features of operations. Transnational organized crime has these characteristics by controlling illegal markets and expanding political-criminal relationships, which goes further than economic security “limits”, this also has influence for state role in international arena and effectiveness of its institutions. The connections between organized crime, state economic security and state political system allows to analyze the impact of criminal groups for state as independent actor of international system and as the analysis of security level. Developing and using transnational organized crime model in analysis for Chinese triads, the Mexican cartels and Russian mafia and their home states involves country history, cultural context and legacy of... [to full text]

Rekreacija – sudėtingas procesas, kuriame tiesiogiai dalyvauja žmogus, siekiantis atgauti fizines jėgas, psichologinę pusiausvyrą, dvasinę emocinę būseną, siekiantis jausti pasitenkinimą, tam tikslui tinkamoje, pritaikytoje, sukurtoje ar specialiai pasirinktoje aplinkoje. Rekreacija – tai ir asmenybės ugdymas. Rinkos pokyčiai, globalizacijos procesai sparčiai besivystančioje visuomenėje lemia, jog vaikui, jo interesų supratimui tenka vis mažiau dėmesio. Nors šeima yra esminis visuomenės elementas ir jai tenka pirminė atsakomybė už vaikų apsaugą, auklėjimą ir vystimąsi, tačiau šeima mūsų šalyje viena nepajėgi sukurti vaikui harmoningų socializacijos sąlygų. Esant tokiai realybei, labai svarbus kitas vaiko socializacijos instituto – mokyklos vaidmuo. Šiame darbe ir bus analizuojama, kokie yra III-IV-tų klasių mokinių rekreacinės veiklos poreikiai ir kaip jie tenkinami, kokie yra laisvalaikio organizavimo ypatumai. Darbo uždaviniai: išsiaiškinti, kaip organizuojamas mokinių laisvalaikis III – IV – klasėse; nustatyti, kiek esamas laisvalaikio organizavimas tenkina III – IV – klasių moksleivius; aptarti, kokių laisvalaikio veiklų pageidautų mokiniai ir jų tėvai; išstudijuoti III – IV – klasių moksleivių, jų tėvų ir mokytojų patirtį, apibūdinant laisvalaikio organizavimo edukacinius ir socialinius aspektus. Darbo hipotezė: šiuolaikinėje mokykloje per mažai rūpinamasi moksleivių laisvalaikio organizavimu, tai yra priemone, skatinančia spartesnį mokinių socializacijos procesą... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Recreation is a complex process in which a person takes part directly. A person seeks to regain his/her physical strength, psychological balance and state of mind also he/she seeks to feel a satisfaction in surroundings which is readjusted or specially chosen for the recreation purpose. Recreation is also the upbringing of personality. The disregard for child’s interests in a quickly developing society is conditioned by the alterations of market and processes of globalisation. Although, a family is an essential element of society and it gets primary responsibility for children protection, education and developing in our country the family is not able to create harmonious conditions of socialization for a child. Consequently on this understanding, the role of school which is another institution of child socialization is very important. The purpose of this work is to ascertain the peculiarities of organisation the recreation activities in III-IV forms. The tasks of work are following: to ascertain how is the recreation activity organised in III-IV forms; to estimate on what level the present organisation of recreation activity satisfies pupils from III-IV forms; to discuss what recreation activity do pupils and their parents want; to study the experience of pupils from III-IV forms, their parents and teachers and at the same time to define the peculiarities of organization the recreational activities. There was given the following hypothesis: in a modern school there is... [to full text]

Magistro darbo pagrindas yra nusikalstamo susivienijimo sudėties požymių ir jų probleminių aspektų analizė. Pirmoje dėstymo dalyje aptariama organizuoto nusikalstamumo ir pavojingiausios jo formos - nusikalstamo susivienijimo - samprata, jų istorinė raida, vystymasis Lietuvos Respublikos teisinėje sistemoje. Antroje dėstymo dalyje pateikiama formali galiojančio LR BK 249 str. analizė, apžvelgianti ne tik objektyviuosius ir subjektyviuosius nusikalstamo susivienijimo sudėties požymius, jų problematiką, bet ir sankciją bei atleidimo nuo baudžiamosios atsakomybės ypatumus nusikalstamo susivienijimo dalyviams. Trečioji dėstymo dalis, naudojant lyginamąjį metodą, skirta nusikalstamo susivienijimo normos, įtvirtintos LR BK, palyginimui su Rusijos, Vokietijos ir Italijos baudžiamųjų įstatymų nuostatomis, aptariant apibrėžimų, veikos požymių, sankcijų ir atleidimo nuo baudžiamosios atsakomybės institutų panašumus ir skirtumus, analizuojant, kuris įstatyminis reglamentavimas yra pranašesnis. Ketvirtojoje dėstymo dalyje nusikalstamas susivienijimas atribojamas tiek nuo kitų organizuotų nusikalstamos veikos formų, tiek nuo giminingų LR BK specialiosios dalies straipsnių. Kiekvienoje dėstymo dalyje išskirti ryškiausi probleminiai aspektai ir atitinkama autoriaus pozicija detaliai atspindėti magistro darbo išvadose. / The Master’s work focuses on the formal analysis of the most problematical features of the criminal rule of the criminal organization. In the first part of the work the author defines the concepcion of the organized crime and the most dangerous form of it – the criminal organization. Moreover there are emphasized the historical evoliution of the organized crime and the criminal organization. The second part concretizes the object of the work and talks about the most problematical aspects of the article 249 (“The Criminal Organisation”) of Lithuanian Criminal Code, also including the aspects of the sanction and the exemption from the criminal amenability. In the third part of the work the author compares the article 249 of Lithuanian Criminal Code with the legal regulation of foreign countries: Russia, Germany and Italy. In the end the legal rule of the criminal organization is compared with other forms of organized crime and other rules of Lithuanian Criminal Code.

Med anledning av forskning som visat att dålig fysisk form i barn- och ungdomen är förknippat med sämre hälsa i vuxen ålder, var denna studies syfte att kartlägga Skellefteå ungdomars relation till föreningsidrott. En enkät delades ut till slupmässigt valda skolor och bestod av frågor rörande när och isåfall varför de väljer att sluta med föreningsidrott, samt vad det är som gör att de som fortsätter med föreningsidrott? Data från 196 deltagare analyserades statistiskt. Resultaten visade att ungefär 55 procent av deltagarna slutat med idrott och medeåldern för avhopp var 14 år. De tre vanligaste anledningarna till avhopp var “Jag tappade motivation”, “Annan aktivitet/intresse tog min tid” och “Tråkiga träningar”. De tre vanligaste anledningarna till fortsättning var “Vilja att utvecklas”, “Socialt umgänge” och “Hälsosamt”. Studien lyfter fram orsaker som ungdomarna angett till att antingen fortsätta eller sluta med sin idrott, samt att dessa orsaker diskuterats i ljuset av behovsteori, medellen för känsla av samhörighet samt Self-Determination Theory. Den synliggör även hur aktivitetsnivån ser ut bland Skellefteås ungdomar, och att den enligt rekommendationerna är alldeles för låg. / Previous research has shown that poor physical shape in childhood and adolescence is associated with inferior health in adulthood. The aim of this study was to study adolescents in Skellefteå and their relationship to organized sports. A questionnaire was distributed to randomly selected schools with questions regarding when, and in that case why, they choose to quit with organized sports and why some choose to continue with organized sports? Data from 196 participants was subject to statistical analyses. The results showed that about 55 percent of the participants had quit organized sports and the mean age of quitting was 14. The three most frequent reasons for quitting were ”I lost my motivation”, ”Another activity/interest took up my time” and ”Boring practices”. The three most frequent reasons to why they continue were ”Will to develop”, ”Socializing/social company” and ”Healthy”. The study highlights the adolescences motives for quitting and continuing with organized sports respectively. The results are framed and discussed in relation to the theoretical frameworks of needs theory, the model for Sence of Coherence and Self-Determination Theory. The potential effects of low physical activity level are also discussed.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer, with about 500 000 new cases per year among women worldwide. With a well-organized screening programme the number of cases can be reduced by more than 50%. In spite of having such a screening programme there are still around 450 new cases yearly in Sweden. The majority of these cases occur in non-attendees. There is thus a need to improve the Swedish cervical cancer screening programme in order to further reduce the number of cases of cervical cancer. Cervical cancer and high-grade cervical dysplasia are caused by sexually transferred high-risk human papillomaviruses (HR-HPVs). In cases of persistent HR-HPV infection there is a risk of development of dysplasia and in some cases subsequent progress to cervical cancer. HR-HPV testing shows high sensitivity as regards the detection of cervical dysplasia. Self-sampling of vaginal fluid for the analysis of HR-HPV has many advantages, since a woman can perform the sampling herself in a private setting, whenever suitable, without the need to travel to a clinic. Our studies have shown that sensitivity in the detection of precancerous lesions is about twice as great with the HR-HPV self-test compared with cytology-based tests.  If a woman was HR-HPV-positive in two consecutive tests, the specificity of the HR-HPV test increased to about 98%. Among women with short-term persistent HR-HPV infection, the prevalence of CIN 2+ was over 40%. There was good concordance in sensitivity as regards the detection of CIN 2+ between self-obtained and physician-obtained samples, although self-sampling was associated with slightly lower specificity. The prevalence of HR-HPV from day to day in premenopausal women was not influenced by hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle. Neither were there significant day-to-day changes in postmenopausal women. A single self-test thus provides reliable information on whether or not a woman has an HR-HPV infection. In conclusion, self-sampling combined with the analysis of HR-HPV appears to be a powerful alternative as a primary screening method for the prevention of cervical cancer. Self-sampling for HR-HPV testing is a suitable, safe and accepted strategy for cervical cancer prevention among women.