The overall purpose of this thesis is to illuminate meanings of living with severe chronic heart failure (CHF) in palliative advanced home care (PAHC) as disclosed through patients’, close relatives’ and nurses’ narratives. This thesis comprises four papers that illuminate the phenomenon from various perspectives and with different focus. In paper I four patients with severe CHF in PAHC were interviewed. In paper II three of their close relatives were interviewed. In paper III one man and his wife in PAHC were interviewed at 3-5 month intervals over a 4.5-years period. In paper IV 11 nurses in PAHC were interviewed. In all papers narrative interviews were conducted and the text was interpreted using a phenomenological-hermeneutic method. The result shows that meanings of living with severe CHF in PAHC is to be ‘knocking on death’s door’ yet surviving. This means never knowing what to expect of tomorrow as one suffers from a complex array of unpredictable, interwoven symptoms. The course of the illness forces sufferer to ride a symbolical ‘roller coaster’, an ongoing oscillation between ‘ups and downs’. Being offered a safety belt in the ‘roller coaster’ by the PAHC team means feelings of safety (I). Meanings of being a close relative of a person with severe CHF in PAHC is to be following the life- threatening ups and downs that the ill person goes through. It is like being a fellow passenger on the ‘roller coaster’ ride that is their loved one’s disease, with burdensome responsibility for easing the ‘downs’ and supporting the ‘ups’. This means being on primary call, always on standby to mediate security and pleasure. In the deepest downs it is also to call for the back-up call i.e. the PAHC team (II). Meanings of living the ‘ups and downs’ over time is being captive in a roller-coaster ride, side by side, with the ‘ups and downs’ caused by the illness. Living close to death is inescapable when recurrent periods of deepest ‘downs’ force one to face that one’s life together is coming to an end. The relationship between the spouses is severely tested but seems to withstand the strain and meaning is found in togetherness in life. Sharing the safety belt on the ‘roller coaster’, offered by the PAHC team, evokes feelings of security. However, the safety belt is adjusted to the man with severe CHF leaving the wife partly without comfort and at times uncertain, especially in the deepest ‘downs’ (III). Meanings of being a palliative nurse for patients with severe CHF in PAHC is being firmly rooted and guided by the values of palliative culture. Being a facilitator for the patient with CHF to live his/her everydaylife in the best way possible is difficult, challenging but overall positive. The nurses get into a tight corner when palliative culture values clash and do not correspond to nurses’ interpretation of what is good for the patient with severe CHF. There is a limit to nurses’ pliability to patients’ and close relatives’ will, as they are strongly convinced that resuscitation is not an option. Nurses have already made up their mind about that they do not perform heart- lung resuscitation (IV). The comprehensive understanding is that meanings of living with severe CHF in PAHC is being captive in a ‘roller-coaster’ life with varying periods between unpredictable improvement and deterioration of the body, for the rest of life. Living with the unpredictable, deteriorated body means to oscillate between enduring the suffering in ‘downs’ and enjoying life in ‘ups’ (I-III). Living with death so close over and over again i.e. being in a limit situation evokes feelings of uncertainty (I-IV) and confidence (I-III). Being positive dependent on PAHC facilitates a life as normal as possible in togetherness at home (I-IV). The comprehensive understanding of the four papers (I-IV) are discussed in the light of a theoretical framework from the German psychiatrist and philosopher Karl Jaspers thoughts about limit situation, the Danish philosopher K.E Lögstrup thoughts about the ethical demand, palliative theories and relevant empirical studies.

The purpose of this master's degree thesis was to develop an understanding of how hospital management, in the case studied, worked to achieve changes in an organization influenced by differing professional cultures. To gain insight into the conditions that may have contributed to nurses and physicians developing appropriate attitudes and behaviours, which may have affected the organization's ability to achieve the Swedish Quality Award 2012.  A qualitative single case study was conducted at Karlskoga Hospital, with focus groups as well as individual depth interviews.   The results of the case study showed the following conditions provided nurses and physicians the potential to develop appropriate attitudes and behaviours, which may have influenced the hospitals ability to achieve the Swedish Quality Award:   Responsibility and influence over the development processes. Participation in management teams and quality development groups as well as individual fields of responsibility. Training programs that have given insights and skills in quality management related to clinical practice. Nurses and physicians as key individuals gave legitimacy to development process, and served as management advisors. Collaboration between all kind of employees and responsibilities. Committed management.

The meeting industry is a growing industry around the world, and the technological development in recent decades is one of the contributing factors to the increased travel opportunities and meeting industry's expansion. It can be assumed that the technology could replace some of the personal meetings, but humans have always had a need to meet in physical locations in work related purposes, therefore there is no evidence that personal meetings will disappear. Technological development should be seen as complementary rather than a substitute to the existing professional meetings. Public and private sectors within countries has drawn attention to meeting industry's potential, as favored destinations in terms of economic administration, image creation, expansion and acquisition of further market share in the global market. Meeting industry is complex precisely because there are so many different actors and stakeholders that integrate. For a destination to differentiate them and excel in the increasingly global world needed an elaborate marketing plan and effective cooperation between the various actors at the destination. Usually the largest professional meetings takes place in cities where there is capacity to receive large numbers of visitors. Essential elements for sustainable meeting industry are mutually dependent network relationships with strong organizational skills, and are of primary importance to a functioning whole. Among the various meeting actors, Convention Bureau occupy key role as the representative, the primary aim is to market the destination, display options, and finally bring together stakeholders with meeting participants. Lack of a Convention Bureau inhibit communication between meeting participants and stakeholders, also weakened the meeting related image because of incomplete representation.

The aim of this study was to examine how newly qualified social workers from Linnaeus University in Kalmar feel that the school has prepared them with the professional skills to meet the demands that exist within social work. Social work education is a generalist training that will result in a professional qualification. With a qualitative approach eight newly qualified social workers were interviewed.We used the sociology of knowledge as an overall theoretical approach. We also used experience- based knowledge as a theoretical approach. One of the study's conclusion was that the graduates had difficulty linking theory to practice. The graduates also felt that knowledge about the law and dialogue methodology were two useful courses for use in practical work. The results and conclusions can be seen as a reinforcement and extension of previous research in the subject.

This qualitative interview study examines the shared and discrepant experiences that nine professionals, three from each field of psychiatry, social service, and housing have from working with people with hoarding disorder, and their view on help. The main difficulty when working with hoarding disorder is described as lack of insight and understanding of the severity and consequences of the disorder among people with the disability. Professionals highlight the importance of proper diagnosis and cooperation among disciplinary teams working with hoarding disorder. Approaches differ regarding the issue of how to best help a person with hoarding disorder, especially as the emphasis of autonomy becomes more prevalent. The landlords who were interviewed expressed the hoarders’ need of help from the society, whereas the social service interviewees accentuated voluntariness and motivation as a favorable long-term management. The psychiatry interviewees stressed that coercive measures are devastating, but sometimes necessary. The opinion that the view of normality in the context of hoarding needs to be questioned, was shared by the interviewees from all the three fields. In conclusion, the professionals describe their work with hoarding behavior as complex and emphasize the need for more knowledge concerning this subject. Empowerment theory is applied in the study.

Syftet med denna studie var att öka kunskapen om hur professionella inom socialtjänsten bemöter och arbetar med unga vilka har sex som självskadebeteende. Behovet av studien baserades på att unga med sex som självskada har ökat och att socialtjänsten är en central aktör för att uppmärksamma denna målgrupp. Socialtjänsten ska verka för att unga växer upp under trygga förhållanden och särskilt uppmärksamma utvecklingen hos unga som visar tecken på ogynnsam utveckling. Uppsatsens ansats var kvalitativ där semistrukturerad intervjumetod tillämpats, vilket innebar möjligheten för intervjupersonerna att bidra till en nyanserad bild av studiens syfte. Resultatet tolkades tematiskt och analyserades sedan med hjälp av en teoretisk referensram för att bättre kunna förstå hur professionella inom socialtjänsten bemöter och arbetar med unga vilka har sex som självskadebeteende. Den teoretiska referensramen bestod av två teoretiska begrepp och ramverk: sex som social konstruktionoch relationens betydelse i professionellt arbete med människor. Uppsatsens resultat visar att de professionella inom socialtjänsten inte aktivt arbetar med unga som har sex som självskada, enbart vid fåtal tillfällen när problematiken är uttalat i ett ärende. Resultatet visar även att problematiken ännu inte har uppmärksammats inom socialtjänsten och att de professionella sällan eller aldrig för samtal kring det, varken inom verksamheten eller med de unga. Resultatet visar vidare att relationen är en förutsättning för att de unga ska berätta om denna typ av problematik och att de professionella behöver mer kunskap. / The aim of this study was to raise awareness of how professionals in social services treat and work with adolescents who have sex as self-injury behavior. The need for this study was based on the increased numbers of the adolescents who have sex as self-injury and also that social service is a key actor to notice these adolescents. Swedish social service should work for adolescents to grow up under safe conditions and pay special attention to adolescents who show signs of contrary development. In order to answer to the aim of this study the approach was qualitative in which semi structured interviewing was used. By using semi structured interviewing, the interviewees were given the opportunity to contribute to a nuanced aspect of the problem. The result was interpreted thematically and then analysed using a theoretical framework in order to better understand how professionals in social services treat and work with adolescents who have sex as self-injury behavior. The theoretical framework consisted of two theoretical concepts and frameworks: sex as a social construction and the significance of the relationship in professional work with people. The result of this essay show that professionals within social service do not actively work with adolescents with sex as self-injury, only when the problem is explicit in a specific case. The result also shows that the problem has not been addressed in social services and that the professionals rarely or never talk about it, either within the organization or with the adolescents. Besides that, the result also shows that the professionals need more knowledge about the problem and that the relationship is a prerequisite for the adolescents to tell professionals about this type of problems.

Denna studie är en del av det VR-finansierade forskningsprojektet ”Lärares autonomi i Sverige, Finland, Irland, England och Tyskland” och undersöker hur lärare i tre svenska kommuner upplever sin professionella autonomi i termer av kontroll och beslutsfattning. Autonomi betraktas vidare i denna studie som ett komplext och flerdimensionellt fenomen som kan ta olika form beroende på vilken del av lärarens arbete som berörs. Med hjälp av Wermke, Olason Rick och Salokangas analytiska modell, som delar upp lärares autonomi utifrån olika aspekter av arbetet, undersöks lärares autonomi inom de två nivåerna klassrum och skola samt de fyra domänerna utbildning, social, utveckling och administration. Studien baseras på en enkätundersökning som besvarats av 615 svenska lärare. Resultatet av studiens statistiska analyser visar hur lärares uppfattade autonomi skiljer sig mellan de tre kommunerna. Samtidigt varierar graden av autonomi mellan de olika nivåerna och domänerna på ett liknande sätt i samtliga kommuner, vilket skapar en bild över hur lärare i den svenska nationella kontexten uppfattar sin professionella autonomi. Högst autonomi tycks lärarna uppleva i utbildningsfrågor, medan de upplever att de har lägst autonomi i frågor gällande deras professionella utveckling. / This study is written as a part of the research project ”Teacher autonomy in Sweden, Finland, Ireland, England and Germany” and examines how teachers in three Swedish municipalities perceive their professional autonomy in terms of decision-making and control. In this study autonomy is seen as a complex and multidimensional phenomenon, that can take different forms in different aspects of teachers’ work. By using Wermke, Olason Rick and Salokangas’ analytical device, which sorts teacher autonomy into different aspects of work, teacher autonomy is examined in two levels, classroom and school, and in four domains, education, social, development and administration. The study is based on a survey taken by 615 Swedish teachers. The results show how teachers’ perceived autonomy differs between the three municipalities. The results also show how the degree of autonomy varies between the levels and domains in a similar manner across all three municipalities, which paints a picture of how teachers in the Swedish national context perceive their professional autonomy. The teachers perceive themselves as most autonomous in educational decisions and least autonomous in decisions regarding their professional development.

De flesta professionella idrottare har förstått hur viktigt sociala medier har blivit för att bygga en stark image för sitt personliga varumärke. Få vet dock hur de ska gå till väga för att lyckas med detta. Denna studies syfte är att försöka beskriva hur idrottare kan gå till väga för att lyckas genom att beskriva genom vilka sociala mediekanaler fans föredrar att följa idrottare på samt vilken typ av innehåll de föredrar att idrottaren publicerar. För att försöka beskriva detta har en kundundersökning i form utav en enkät genomförts. Resultatet av enkätundersökningen visade att kvinnliga fans helst följer professionella idrottare via bildbaserade sociala medier medan männen i större utsträckning föredrar textbaserade eller kombination av bild och text. Det mest uppskattade innehållet bland fansen var motiverande och/eller inspirerande budskap tätt följt av innehåll kopplat direkt eller indirekt till idrottarens yrkesroll som professionell idrottare. Ämnet visade sig dock vara mer komplext än vad utgångspunkten till denna studie baserat på den lilla mängd tidigare forskning pekade på vid formulerandet av frågeställningen. Då resultatet analyserades med den teoretiska referensramen som bakgrund tyder det på att fler parter har stora intressen i den professionella idrottarens sociala mediakommunikation än vad utgångspunkten för denna studie var. Slutsatser från denna studie är att det är viktigt att idrottaren sätter sina fans/följare i centrum för att lyckas bygga en stark personlig image på sociala medier. Att idrottaren också interagerar med och har en personlig kommunikation med fansen tycks även det vara en viktig i varumärkesbyggandet. Samt att vidare studier inom ämnet skulle behövas för att kunna dra slutsatser om hur de olika parternas intressen påverkar varandra och hur intressekonflikter kan undvikas. / Most professional athletes have understood how important social media have become to build a strong brand image for their personal brand. However, few athletes know how to succeed in doing this. The purpose of this study is to try to describe how athletes can build and improve their personal brand image on social media by examining on which social media platforms fans prefer to follow athletes and what kind of content they prefer the athlete to publish. To study this, a customer survey has been conducted. The results of the survey showed that female fans prefer to follow professional athletes through image-based social media while men to a greater extent prefer text-based or a combination of image and text. The most appreciated content among the fans was motivating and / or inspiring content closely followed by content linked directly or indirectly to the athlete's professional role as an athlete. However, the subject proved to be more complex than the what was assumed at the starting point of this study. When this studys result was analyzed with the theoretical reference frame as background, it appears that more parties have major interests in the professional athletes social media communication than what was assumed. Conclusions from this study are that it is important that the athlete puts hers / his fans and followers at the center of hers / his social media strategies to successfully be able to build a strong personal brand image on social media. It also seems to be important that the athlete interacts with and has a personal communication with the fans to build their personal brand. Further studies on the subject would be needed to draw conclusions about how the parties different interests affect each other and how conflicts of interests can be avoided.

Introduction: Service companies and its offerings on the market are becoming increasingly standardized, which makes it difficult for service providers to distinguish themselves from the amount. In many cases this leads to a price squeeze. Many service companies do not understand the importance of building a relationship with their customer, and how to maintain long-term partnerships to increase customer value. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate what aspects service-producing companies should take into account in order to achieve a high customer value and thus become more attractive in the market. Methods: In order to respond to the purpose of the study, a case study was conducted, where the approach consisted of both qualitative and quantitative data collection to test the existing theoretical reference frames and to generalize the study. The quantitative data collection consisted of a survey sent to the company's customer base, which consisted of different industries and sizes of companies, where the answers were then weighted in a model. The survey was also sent to the case company to find possible differences between their own opinion and the customers. The qualitative consisted of three deep interviews with leading actors in different industries to gain a deeper understanding. Results: The quantitative survey showed that quality is the most valued aspect with a supplier, followed by the price. The remaining questions showed that the customers and the case company shared a relatively even view of previous collaborations. The qualitative survey showed that all three respondents appreciated the same aspects of a service company; competence, customer focus and availability. They also agreed that the reputation of the relationship and service providers is valued very high. The relationship has been shown to be linked to several aspects such as flexibility, risk minimization and the quality of the work process. Customers have a greater tendency to choose service companies that are committed to trying to integrate long-term cooperation, which makes the customers feel priority and choose to place greater responsibility on the service company. Conclusion: Companies should not focus on trying to find added value to their customers, the focus should be on creating and developing a deep and committed relationship with their customers. The advantages of this are illustrated by further development of the model presented in the theoretical reference framework, in which important aspects to be considered are described. / Introduktion: Tjänsteföretag och dess erbjudanden på marknaden håller på att standardiseras alltmer vilket leder till att det blir svårt för tjänsteföretag att särskilja sig från mängden. Detta leder i många fall till en prispressning. Många tjänsteföretag förstår inte vikten av relationsbyggandet och hur de ska upprätthålla långsiktiga samarbeten för att även öka kundvärdet. Syftet: Syftet med studien är att undersöka vilka aspekter tjänsteproducerande företag ska beakta för att uppnå ett högt kundvärde och därmed bli mer attraktiva på marknaden. Metod: För att kunna svara på studiens syfte utgicks det ifrån en fallstudie, där angreppssättet bestod av både kvalitativ och kvantitativ datainsamling för att testa den befintliga teoretiska referensramen och kunna generalisera arbetet. Kvantitativa datainsamlingen bestod av en enkätundersökning som skickades ut till fallföretagets kundbas som bestod av olika branscher och storlekar på företag, där svaren sedan viktades i en modell. Enkäten skickades även ut till fallföretaget för att hitta eventuella differenser mellan deras egen uppfattning och kundernas. Den kvalitativa bestod av tre djupintervjuer med ledande aktörer inom olika branscher för att få en djupare förståelse. Resultat: Den kvantitativa undersökningen visade att kvalitet är det som värderas mest hos en leverantör, följt av priset. De resterande frågorna visade att kunderna och fallföretaget delade en relativt jämn uppfattning om tidigare samarbeten. Den kvalitativa undersökningen visade att alla tre respondenter värderade samma aspekter hos ett tjänsteföretag; kompetens, kundfokusering och tillgänglighet. De var även eniga om att relationen och tjänsteleverantörers rykte värderas väldigt högt. Relationen har visat sig vara kopplad till flera aspekter såsom flexibilitet, riskminimering och kvaliteten av arbetsprocessen. Kunder har en större tendens att välja tjänsteföretag som lagt vikt vid att försöka integrera ett långsiktigt samarbete, vilket gör att kunderna känner sig prioriterade och väljer att lägga större ansvar på tjänsteföretaget. Slutsats: Företag ska inte lägga sitt fokus på att försöka finna mervärden till sina kunder, utan fokusen ska ligga på att skapa och utveckla en djup och engagerad relation med sin kund. Fördelarna med detta illustreras med hjälp av en vidareutveckling av den modell som tas fram i den teoretiska referensramen, där viktiga aspekter som bör beaktas beskrivs.

Föreliggande studie ämnar undersöka utvecklingspotentialen för konferensanläggningar i Stockholm skärgård. Studiens syfte är att skapa en djupare förståelse för hur konferensanläggningar i rurala miljöer upplever sin utvecklingspotential. För att öka förståelsen för konferensanläggningars utvecklingspotential kompletterades studien med offentliga aktörers upplevelser kring utveckling för mötesanläggningar i rurala miljöer. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats där semistrukturerade intervjuer har genomförts med sju respondenter från konferensanläggningar samt två nyckelpersoner inom offentliga sektorn. Teorierna som används i studien grundar sig i tre olika teoriområden vilka är: utveckling av professionella möten, rural verksamhetsutveckling samt utvecklingshinder för små företag. I empiriavsnittet presenteras konferensanläggningarna var för sig i en djupgående löpande text. Nyckelpersonerna inom den offentliga sektorn presentera en redovisning av vad projektet Stockholm Archipelago innebär, samt hur de båda offentliga aktörerna ser på utvecklingen av konferensanläggningar i rurala områden. Därefter presenteras analysavsnittet där teori och empiri har sammankopplats samt analysen av sambandet dem emellan. Slutligen presenteras resultatet som uppkommit i undersökningen i slutsatsen. De mest framträdande aspekterna var att anläggningarna själva inte ansåg att det finns några stora utvecklingshinder samtidigt som författarna kunnat identifiera brister som kan anses vara negativa för konferensanläggningars utveckling i Stockholms skärgård. De identifierade bristerna var exempelvis bristande transportmöjligheter året om, bristande kännedom om skärgården och att konferensanläggningarna är isolerade från andra kompletterande aktörer. / Present study intends to investigate the potential of development for conference facilities in Stockholm archipelago. The study propose to create a deeper understanding for how the conference facilities in rural environment experiencing its potential of development. To increase the understanding for the conference facilities potential of development the study was completed with public actors experience about development for conference facility in rural areas. The study has a qualitative method there semi structured interviews have been done with seven respondents from the conference facilities and two key persons from public sector. The theories who are used in the study are based in three difference theory fields who are development of professional meetings, rural corporation development and obstacles for development in small business. In the empirical part the conference facilities are separately presented in a deeper current text and the key persons from the public sector are presented through a report of what the project Stockholm Archipelago is and also how the key persons from the public sector are looking at the development for the conference facilities in rural areas. Thereafter the analysis part will present the interconnection between theories and the empiric and the analysis of connection between them. The most prominent aspects were that the conference facilities themselves did not consider that there were any major development disabilities for them, but the authors have been able to identify some obstacles that could be negative for a development of conference facilities in the Stockholm archipelago. The identified obstacles were for example, lack of transport opportunities all year round, lack of knowledge about the archipelago and that conference facilities are isolated from other complementary companies.