The Swedish education system underwent extensive reforms in the late 1080s and early 1990s, alongside changes in the public sector. These reforms involved a transition from a centralized to a decentralized system, where decision-making was delegated to municipalities and their respective operations. The Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket) was tasked with reviewing the quality reports of municipalities and reporting their assessments to the state. The evaluations displayed multiple flaws in the municipalities operations, and as a result of this, the Systematic Quality System (SKA) was implemented as a regulation in the Education Act of 2010.  Despite some researchers and teachers expressing their opinions on this subject, there are still konwledge gaps regarding primary school teachers´ experiential perceptions of the Systematic Quality Sysstem and its impact on their work situation. Using the central concepts of institutional norms, decoupling, and path dependence from neoinstitutionalism as analytical instruments, will contribute to understanding how SKA with its rules and guidelines affects primary school teachers´ perceptions on the SKA.  Furthermore, the study examines how primary school teachers, acting as street- level bureaucrats, are influenced by the SKA in their professional autonomy. Employing a qualitative method, six primary school teachers from two different cities and schools were interviewed. By gathering primary school teachers´ experiential perceptions and analyzing them using analytical instruments, it demonstrates that there is no consensus regarding systematic quality system. The reasons for this phenomenon stem from differences in implementation strategies, local adaption, and contextual factors across different school operations.

This master’s thesis investigates the construction of the post-migration professional identity of four African migrant women in Sweden. Two of these women migrated to Sweden because of their husbands’ careers and the other two moved to Sweden after they married Swedish men. Many women who migrate to other countries because of family usually struggle to find work despite having high education from their native countries. The study uses a narrative methodology in collecting stories of the women’s lived experiences. These stories were collected through in-depth interviews and post-interview follow-up questions. It is framed by theories of narrative inquiry, identity, and intersectionality which all help in explaining how experiences are shaped. The collected data follows a descriptive analysis.  The study is guided by three research questions of which the major one addresses the pre- and post-migration circumstances that influence the construction of the post-migration professional identity. The other two questions sought to find out how the post-migration identity is constructed, and how the women’s different identities intersect to create conditions that are either favorable or otherwise in the construction of the post-migration professional identity.   The findings suggest that pre- and post-migration education, work, and personal beliefs are significant factors. Acquiring a Swedish education can also facilitate openings into social networks that are necessary for accessing the job-market. This is especially so in low profile jobs. The study also found that the biggest hindrance to accessing jobs is social networks. Another issue is the intersectionality of culture, ethnicity, class, gender, and the professional identity. Agency, interaction, and continuity all play a significant role in how the post-migration professional identity is constructed. The study also found that the construction of the professional identity is an unfinished business and is continuously constructed in relation to others through stories that people tell. The study concludes that constructing a preferred professional identity in Sweden for women who migrate because of their husbands is not easy and can take a long time. / Denna masteruppsats undersöker hur yrkesidentitet för fyra kvinnliga afrikanska migranter i Sverige formas. Kvinnorna flyttade till Sverige i följe med sina män. Många kvinnor som flyttar till andra länder på grund av familjeskäl får kämpa för att hitta arbete, trots hög utbildning från sina hemländer. Studien använder en narrativ metodik i insamlandet av berättelser om kvinnornas levda erfarenheter. Dessa berättelser genererades genom djupintervjuer och kompletterande frågor efter intervjun. Studien ramas in av en narrativ ansats i kombination med ett analytiskt intresse för identitetskonstruktion och intersektionalitet. Den insamlade data tolkas genom en deskriptiv analys.  Studien styrs av tre forskningsfrågor varav den stora tar upp omständigheter före och efter migration som påverkar konstruktionen av yrkesidentitet. De två andra frågorna syftar till att undersöka hur yrkesidentiteten efter migrationen är konstruerad, och hur kvinnornas olika identiteter samspelar för att skapa förutsättningar som antingen är gynnsamma eller försvårande.  Resultaten visar på att utbildning, arbete och personlig övertygelse före och efter migration är viktiga faktorer. Att skaffa en svensk utbildning kan också underlätta öppningar till sociala nätverk som är nödvändiga för att få jobb i Sverige. Andra frågor behandlar intersektionen mellan kultur, etnicitet, klass, kön och yrkesidentitet. Studien påvisar också att konstruktionen av yrkesidentitet är en oavslutad affär som kontinuerligt konstrueras i relation till andra genom berättelser. Studien drar slutsatsen att det kan vara utmanande att hitta ett passande jobb i Sverige för kvinnor som flyttar med sina män och detta kan vara en lång process.

Syftet med avhandlingen är att beskriva akademikers bana mot att bli professionella då de kommer ut i arbetslivet med en magisterexamen i psykologi eller statsvetenskap. The study has a longitudinal design where Political Science and Psychology graduates’ have been interviewed on three consecutive occasions; the last semester before graduation, the first year and then, in the third year of professional work. The theoretical frame of reference comprises a situated and social learning theory and a gender perspective. These theories were chosen since they elaborate on concepts such as identity, practice, participation and learning. The results indicate that becoming a professional is not an isolated phenomenon merely learned and nurtured in higher education and/or in working life. It is emphasised as a dynamic learning process between a reflective individual, the interaction with a professional practice as well as a relationship between other spheres of life, e.g. the personal and the private. The graduates’ professional trajectories can be characterised by a movement from appropriating new knowledge to a need to change direction, e.g. new work tasks or professional fields. This is also a process of professional identity formation. The graduates’ professional identity is emphasised as being both closely related to a gender identity and influenced by the individuals’ belonging to and participation in other practices. The results thus indicate that professional identity formation is an interplay between different spheres of life that changes over time. By using a longitudinal design, it can be claimed that becoming a professional requires balancing one’s whole life situation. / Syftet med avhandlingen är att beskriva akademikers bana mot att bli professionella då de kommer ut i arbetslivet med en magisterexamen i psykologi eller statsvetenskap. Avhandlingen baserar sig på en longitudinell studie där statsvetare och psykologer har blivit intervjuade vid tre olika tillfällen; sista terminen innan examen samt efter första och tredje året i arbetslivet. Den teoretiska referensramen utgörs av begrepp från situerat och social lärteori samt från ett genusperspektiv. Dessa teorier valdes då de fokuserar på begreppen identitet, praktik, deltagande och lärande.Resultaten visar att utvecklingen mot att bli professionell inte är ett isolerat fenomen förvärvat och underhållet i högre utbildning och/eller arbetslivet. Det uttrycks snarare som en dynamisk lärprocess mellan en reflekterande individ, interaktion med en professionell praktik samt med olika sfärer i livet, den professionella, den personliga och den privata. Akademikernas professionella bana kan karakteriseras som en rörelse mellan att utveckla ny kunskap och göra den till sin, till ett behov av förändring i form av nya arbetsuppgifter eller byte av professionellt fält. Att bli professionell innebär även en utveckling av en professionell identitet. Statsvetarnas och psykologernas professionella identitet skapas i relation till en genusidentitet och är influerad av individernas tillhörighet och medverkan i olika praktiker. Resultatet visar därför utveckling av professionell identitet som ett samspel mellan olika sfärer i livet som är föränderligt över tid. Utifrån den utförda longitudinella studien är det möjligt att hävda att utvecklingen mot att bli professionell är ett sätt att skapa ett samspel och balans i individens livssituation.

The focus of this thesis is on describing and analysing recently graduated physicians’ and engineers’ experiences of the relationship between the professional education programs and the respective professional practices. The aim is to explore the professionals’ reasons for their educational and career choices, what they learn in professional education, the demands they encounter in the workplace, and the perceived needs and opportunities for learning and further development in their professional practices. This study is based on a comparative design and the empirical data have been collected in interviews with physicians and master’s level engineers in information technology. The theoretical framework is structured around three parts, consisting of theories of professionalisation, theories concerned with the functions of higher education, and theories concerned with the concepts of knowledge, competence and qualifications. There is a close relationship between the process of professionalisation, the authority of the professions, the legitimacy of professional knowledge, and the higher education institutions. The results indicate that theory and practice are intimately integrated in the physicians’ professional education, whereas the engineers’ experiences of the educational program are characterised by little overlap between theory and practice. Furthermore, the physicians emphasise the importance of theoretical specialist knowledge and socio-communicative competence while the engineers instead stress the importance of generalist competence. The educational knowledge base is relatively static for both physicians and engineers. However, whereas there is a correspondence between the educational and the professional knowledge base in the case of the physicians they are only a loosely coupled in the case of the engineers. This can be attributed to the changing nature of the engineers’ professional knowledge base, which is characterised by constant change. The physicians regard their professional education as a rational preparation for the world of work. Although education does provide a general foundation for further professional development and learning, the engineers associate their professional education more with a symbolic ritual. For physicians, the formal credentials are a legal requirement to practise the profession. Education is regarded as constituting an important credential also for the engineers as it increases individual employability. The physicians tend to emphasise the use value of the educational program, while the engineers instead stress the exchange value of their educational program.

Med denna socialpsykologiska studie ville vi få en ökad förståelse för vad socialt stöd upplevdesbetyda för rehabiliterande individers syn på sin psykiska ohälsa. De åtta intervjuernagenomfördes i anslutning till ett rehabiliteringsprojekt för personer med psykisk ohälsa i enav Sveriges kommuner. De intervjuade personerna var inskrivna i rehabiliteringsprojektet ochdeltog i dess aktiviteter. Resultatet visade att dialoger med personer som hade erfarenhet avliknande psykisk ohälsa och professionella hade störst inverkan på individernas syn på sinpsykiska ohälsa. I analysen använde vi Goffmans teori om stigma, Meads teori om rollövertagandeoch Bubers dialogteori. Enligt analysen bidrog personer med liknande psykisk ohälsaoch professionella till vad vi kallar frigörande dialoger, där respondenterna kunde bli förståddaoch accepterade såsom de var. Betydelsen dessa personer hade för individernas förståelseoch acceptans menar vi baserades på deras förståelse genom sitt igenkännande och sittarbete. Vi menar att denna nivå av förståelse inte kunde fås av personer utan dessa egenskaper,oavsett vem det var, om inte kunskapen skaffades. / With this social psychological study we wanted to gain an increased understanding of whatimportance the social support had for how rehabilitative individuals' look at their mental illness.The eight interviews were conducted in a rehabilitation project for people with mentalillness in one of Sweden's municipalities. The people we interviewed were enrolled in the rehabilitationproject and participated in its activities. The result showed that dialogue withpeople who had experience from similar mental illness and professionals had greatest impacton how the respondents' looked at their mental illness. In the analysis, we used Goffman’stheory of stigma, Mead’s theory of role taking and Buber’s theory of dialogue between individuals.According to our analysis, people with similar mental health and professionals contributedto what we call liberating dialogues in which respondents could be understood andaccepted as they were. We mean that the significance these people had for the individual'sunderstanding and acceptance was based on their understanding by their recognition andwork. We mean that this understanding could not be obtained by any person without suchproperties, no matter who it was, if the knowledge wasn’t acquired.

The aim of this thesis is to describe and analyse the process of professionalisation of newly commissioned second lieutenants and newly qualified school teachers. The professionalisation of these two occupational categories is examined from a comparative perspective and concentrates on the communicative conditions and institutional arenas that affect the professionalisation process. The theoretical framework of the thesis is comprised of communication theory and concepts of sense making found in institutional theory models. The empirical data was collected during the first year after second lieutenants received their officer’s commissions and teachers received their teaching credentials. Four second lieutenants and four teachers were interviewed three times during their first year of professional service. Some observations are also included in the thesis. The dissertation’s main conclusions are connected, in part, to issues of transparency in communicative conditions and, in part, to incentives connected to supervision, support and control. On the one hand, the commissioned officers’ and one of the teacher’s process of sensemaking appeared visible and collective in character, where the rules of conduct and meaning emerge clearly without ambiguity. On the other hand, the majority of the certified teachers’ process of sense making appeared private, concealed, inaccessible and diverse in character. It was observed that incentives for supervision, support and control are strong among commissioned officers because they are directly dependent on each other’s work. The same incentives are weaker among certified teachers because they are not as dependent on each other’s work. One conclusion to draw from this difference is that the professionalisation of commissioned officers is collective-oriented while the professionalisation of certified teachers is less so.

Två identiteter som den interna revisorn på ett universitet upplever är en professionell och organisatorisk identitet. Medvetet eller omedvetet behöver den interna revisorn beakta när den professionella och organisatoriska identiteten uttrycks då identiteterna har positiva samt negativa aspekter i rollen som internrevisor. Syftet med studien var att skapa förståelse för hur den interna revisorns professionella och organisatoriska identitet balanseras samt uttrycks i praktiken. Detta gjordes genom att identifiera problematiska situationer och analysera spänningar. Social Identitetsteori har använts som grund för studien och tidigare forskning inom identitet, identifiering och revisorer har kompletterat teorin. Kvalitativa intervjuer med interna revisorer på universitet har utgjort det empiriska materialet för att fånga problematiska situationerna. Resultaten indikerar på att de interna revisorerna i studien upplever problematiska situationer när relationerna med de anställda och det professionella arbetet hamnar i konflikt. Förtroende hos de anställda ses vara en anledning till att spänningar upplevs och skapar konflikter mellan den professionella och organisatoriska identiteten. Den organisatoriska identitetens intresse ses värdesätta förtroende hos de anställda medan den professionella identitetens intresse ses värdesätta en oberoende och objektiv ställning. Identiteterna ses kunna dra åt olika håll vilket skapar en spänning i rollen. Förslag till framtida forskning var att undersöka om samt varför skillnader i spänningar hos internrevisorer i den offentliga och privata sektorn existerar. / Two identities the internal auditor on a university experience are a professional identity and an organizational identity. Consciously or unconsciously, the internal auditor needs to acknowledge when the professional and the organizational identity are expressed since the identities both have positive and negative aspects on the role as an internal auditor. The purpose of this study was to create an understanding of how the internal auditors professional and organizational identity are balanced and expressed in practice. This was done by identifying problematic situations and analyzing tensions. Social Identity theory was used as the base for the study and previous research in identity, identification and auditors have complemented the theory. Qualitative interviews with internal auditors at eight universities have constituted the empirical material to capture problematic situations. The results indicate the internal auditors need to balance the interaction between the professional and the organizational identity when problematic situations occur. Trust from employees in the internal auditor is seen as a reason for why tensions occur in the problematic situations which can create conflicts in the interaction between the professional and organizational identity. The professional identity is seen to contribute to why an objective stance is valued, simultaneously the organizational identity is seen to contribute to why trust and understanding from employees are valued. Future research is proposed to investigate if and why differences in tensions among internal auditors exist in the public and private sector.

Bakgrund: Den ökade användningen av sociala medier har lett till att de i allt större utsträckning används som varumärkesbyggande verktyg för företag och organisationer. Den ökade kommersialiseringen som skett inom elitidrott har lett till att även elitidrottsklubbar avser att stärka sina varumärken. Tidigare forskning visar att elitidrottsklubbar bör utnyttja sociala medier för att främja och stärka relationen med supportrar och kunder, eftersom det på lång sikt bidrar till ökade intäkter för klubben. I en svensk kontext är forskningen om elitidrottsklubbars varumärkesbyggande i sociala medier däremot ytterst begränsad. Med anledning av denna kunskapslucka krävs ytterligare studier om hur svenska idrottsklubbar använder sociala medier för att stärka sina varumärken. Syfte och frågeställningar: Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur och varför svenska elitidrottsklubbar använder sociala medier som varumärkesbyggande verktyg. Vilka syften har användningen av sociala medier för en svensk elitidrottsklubb och hur uppfylls dem? Vilka förtjänster och utmaningar medför användningen av sociala medier som varumärkesbyggande verktyg i kontexten av svensk elitidrott? Vad för innehåll publicerar en svensk elitidrottsklubb på sociala medier och hur påverkar det klubbens fans? Genomförande: Studien har kombinerat en kvantitativ och kvalitativ forskningsstrategi. Innehållsanalyser av en fallorganisations publicerade material på sociala medier, samt en kvalitativ semistrukturerad intervju har utförts för att fylla studiens syfte. Resultat: Sociala medier är viktiga verktyg för att bygga och fördjupa relationen, samt skapa lojalitet mellan klubben och dess fans och kunder. Sociala medier fyller också direkta ekonomiska syften. Studien har även påvisat tydliga utmaningar som klubbar ställs inför. Utmaningar som till stor del grundar sig i brist på enhetlig syn på hur och varför socialamedier ska användas. / Problem definition: The emergence of social media has resulted in that companies to a bigger extent uses them as brand management tools. The increased commercialization in professional team sports led to the fact that professional sports clubs aim to strengthen their brands. Previous research shows that professional sports clubs should take advantage of social media to promote and strengthen relationships with fans and customers, since it will result in increased revenues for the club in the long term. In a Swedish context, however, the research about professional sports clubs’ brand management in social media is extremely limited. Due to this research gap, further research studying Swedish professional sports club’s brand management in social media is eligible. Aim and research questions: The purpose of this study is to examine how and why Swedish professional sports club use social media as a brand management tool. What are the purposes of using social media as a brand management tool for a Swedish professional sports club and how are they fulfilled? What benefits and challenges entails he use of social media as brand management tool in the context of professional Swedish sports? What content is published by professional Swedish sports club on social media and how does it affect its fans? Methodology: This study has combined a quantitative and qualitative research strategy. Content analysis of a case organization's material published on social media, as well as qualitative semi-structured interviews have been conducted to fulfil the purpose of this study. Findings: Social media are important tools for building and deepening the relationship, as well as creating loyalty, between the club and its fans and customers. Social media also fills direct economic purposes. This study has also highlighted clear challenges that sports clubs face when using social media. These challenges are to a big extend due to lack of unanimous views on how and why social media should be used.

This dissertation aims at contributing to social scientific knowledge about prevailing prioritizations in eldercarepractice by looking at an economic and a caring logic, and how these logics are overlapping, contradictory or comein conflict with each other. A more concrete aim is to understand how the personnel describe their work with orfor balance between the logics and their justifications prioritizations made in the care of older persons. The researchquestion is: How do personnel and care unit manager at a public nursing home understand and handle the twologics that govern care work for facilitating wellbeing of the residents. The aim and research question led to threesub-aims: 1) to analyze the personnel’s experiences of and meaning making about the care work they carry out, 2)to illuminate and problematize the two logics above, and 3)to analyze how the personnel justify their prioritizationsin prevailing context, and how their accountability have an effect on their professional identities.Empirical material was gathered through 13 individual interviews with care personnel and their care unitmanager at a public nursing home in Sweden. These interviews were complemented by a group interview. Thematerial was analyzed by the use of three methods: phenomenology (Paper I and II), reflexive analysis (Paper III),and a positioning analysis (Paper IV). Paper I found that the personnel understands the residents’ well-being asbeing characterized by feeling of being existentially touched. This essence is constituted by feeling freedom ofchoice, pleasure, and closeness to someone or something. In Paper II, the work for facilitating this kind of wellbeingwas characterized by three ambiguities: (i) freedom of choice for the older persons vs. institutionalconstraints, (ii) the residents' need for activation vs. wanting not to be activated, and (iii) the residents' need forroutine vs. the eldercarers' not being able to know what the residents need. Paper III showed that the care unitmanager created a hybrid of the two logics (economy is care and vice versa) and that the personnel oppose thishybrid. The opposition is shaped as the personnel divides their work in care and “those other things”. Thesefindings showed how interaction between the logics expresses itself in practice and that it is the personnel who hasto handle contradictions between the logics in their everyday care work. The positioning analysis in Paper IV hadthree levels. The first level showed how the carers align with their peers and that they find the organizationalframe, within which they have agency, changed due to increased workload. This change led to an order of priorities.The second level showed that the carers relate to three aspects when making accounts: the care itself, the olderpersons, and the media. The third level showed that the carers share a view of administration, cleaning, servingmeals, and filling up supplies, as not being parts of caring.The dissertation’s theoretical framework focused on theories on logics, accountability, and professionalidentity. The conclusion is that both logics are needed in order to facilitate the well-being of the older persons. Therelationships between the two logics are not always clear and if their contradictions are not illuminated, there is arisk for a care practice that does not facilitate the well-being of their residents. An important theoreticalcontribution is that logics of activities should be understood vertically (form political, through management, anddown to the level of practice) instead of horizontally. The practical implications emphasize the importance ofsupporting the personnel’s professional identity on the one hand, and discussing the logics on the other. Byunderstanding differences between definitions on management-level and practice level, a homogeneity can bereached. / <p>Huvudämne: Välfärd och socialvetenskap</p>

Professionell skepsis är en förutsättning för en fungerande revision och för att upprätthålla kvaliteten på revisionen krävs det av revisorerna att vara professionellt skeptiska. Det finns flera faktorer som påverkar hur revisorer kan upprätthålla kvaliteten på revisionen. Bland annat har den tidspress som revisorer utsätts för visat sig ha en negativ inverkan på revisionskvaliteten eftersom revisorer till följd av tidspress kan uppvisa dysfunktionella beteenden som kan innebära att de lägger ner mindre tid än vad som faktiskt behövs för att utföra en bra revision. Vidare finns det en utmaning för revisorer i de situationer där de ska granska verkliga värden om det inte finns några marknadspriser för tillgången eller skulden och redovisning till verkligt värde ska beräknas med hjälp av interna uppskattningar och beräkningar.Tidigare studier har undersökt hur tidspress och granskning av redovisning till verkligt värde påverkar revisionskvaliteten, men inte hur den professionella skepsisen påverkas av dessa två faktorer, trots att professionell skepsis är en förutsättning för en god revisionskvalitet. Tanken med denna undersökning är därför att beskriva och analysera hur revisorers professionella skepsis påverkas av dessa två faktorer. För att besvara studiens syfte skickades enkäter ut till totalt 3477 svenska kvalificerade revisorer varav 132 användbara svar inkom. Enkäten innehöll bakgrundsinformation om respondenten, frågor om revisorers professionella skepsis, granskning av redovisning till verkligt värde samt tidspress. Tillsammans utgjorde dessa basen för studiens analys och slutsats.Utifrån resultatet kan vi konstatera att revisorerna inte upplever särskilt stor tidspress utan tycker att tidsbudgetarna är relativt uppnåeliga trots att revisorerna till viss del agerar på ett dysfunktionellt sätt till följd av den tidspress som förekommer. Vidare pekar resultatet på att revisorer anser att de står inför en utmaning när det gäller granskning av redovisning till verkligt värde. Vi kan dra slutsatsen att varken tidspress eller granskning av redovisning till verkligt värde starkt påverkar revisorers professionella skepsis. Däremot visar resultatet ett svagt negativt samband mellan professionell skepsis och granskning av redovisning till verkligt värde. Den låga svarsfrekvensen på 3,8 procent gör det viktigt att påpeka att studiensslutsatser måste dras med stor försiktighet. / Professional skepticism is a prerequisite for a functioning audit and to maintain the quality of the audit it is required by the auditors to be professionally skeptical. There are several factors that affect how auditors can maintain the quality of the audit. Time budget pressure, for example, has shown to have a negative impact on audit quality since the auditors as a result of time budget pressure may show dysfunctional behavior. This means that auditors may spend less time that is actually required to perform a good audit. Furthermore, there is a challenge for the auditors in auditing fair value measurements if there is no active market for the asset or liability and when the fair value is calculated using internal estimates and calculations.Previous studies have examined how time pressure and audit of fair value measurements have affected audit quality, but not how auditors’ professional skepticism is directly affected by these two factors, despite the fact that professional skepticism is a prerequisite for a good audit quality. The aim of this study is to describe and analyze how the auditor's professionalskepticism is affected by these two selected factors.To answer the aim of the study questionnaires was sent out to a total of 3477 Swedish qualified auditors and we got 132 useful answers. The questionnaire included background information of the respondent, questions about auditor's professional skepticism, audit of fair value measurements and time budget pressure. These questions formed the base of the study's analysis and conclusionThe results indicate that auditors does not experience great time budget pressure but feel that the time budgets are relatively attainable although they still to a certain extent show dysfunctional behavior as a result of time budget pressure. The result also indicates that auditors feel that they face challenges when auditing fair value measurements. Further, we canbased on the result conclude that neither time budget pressure nor audit of fair value measurements strongly influence auditors’ professional skepticism. The results however, show a weak negative correlation between professional skepticism and audit of fair value measurements. The study's low response rate of 3.8 percent means that the results must be interpreted with great caution. / <p>160603</p>