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Many thinkers argue that major differences among languages lead to major differences in experience and thought. Each speech community possibly embodies a distinct world view. The purpose of this study was to explore, through the use of proverbs, the relationship between acculturation and world views among monolingual and bilingual Chinese, with proficiency in Chinese and/or English used a proxy for level of acculturation. Data were collected through questionnaires and qualitative interviews regarding attitudes to English and Chinese proverbs. Data were analyzed by means of SPSS and modified grounded theory methodology. The statistical and qualitative findings contradicted each other: the former found a significant effect for monolingual English speakers, while the latter indicated much more mixed responses with no clear patterns related to language. Implications of findings were discussed and a “global view” was proposed to take the place of a culturally-based world view.

This thesis explores communication with children affected by sickle cell disease about their condition from the perspectives of both children and parents. It includes three papers: A literature review, an empirical paper and a critical appraisal. Papers one and two have been prepared for submission to Social Science and Medicine and Qualitative Health Research, respectively. Paper one is a meta-synthesis of qualitative literature investigating experiences of communication from the perspective of children with sickle cell disease. A systematic literature search revealed nine relevant papers, which were synthesised by extracting findings related to communication about sickle cell disease. Children were found to receive inconsistent messages about their condition from different personal and professional groups. Communication about the prognosis of sickle cell disease and the social acceptability of the condition differed across the groups. The implications for children's understandings of their condition and their adjustment are discussed. Paper two presents an empirical study of parental communication experiences with children affected by sickle cell disease. Twelve interviews were conducted and subject to inductive thematic analysis which was applied within a contextualist epistemological framework. Parents described skills in 'coaching' their child to negotiate the various challenges associated with managing sickle cell disease. They also described ways in which they avoided challenging topics of communication such as inheritance, the risk of comorbid disease and the life-long nature of the condition. The findings suggest a need for healthcare professionals to support parents in overcoming barriers to talking about difficult topics. This may facilitate more consistent communication between parents and professionals, which has implications for improving child wellbeing and adjustment. Paper three is a reflective piece and is not intended for publication. It critically evaluates papers one and two and discusses the joint implications of the findings for research and clinical practice. Reflections on the experience of conducting a meta-synthesis and an empirical qualitative study are offered in the context of personal and professional development.

Purpose: This thesis aims to research how homophily affects followers/consumers’ attitudes towards Instagram fashion influencers. In particular, the purpose is to investigate if the perceived level of identification (evaluated according the homophily variables and types of identification) between followers/consumers and fashion influencers is one of the drivers behind followers/consumers’ engagement on Instagram. Additionally, consumption patterns on Instagram will be further investigated, paying special attention in determining if followers/consumers’ identification with fashion influencers have an impact on their purchase intention towards the fashion products the influencer endorses. Methodology: This thesis uses an abductive research approach, together with qualitative methods to fulfill its aim and answer the research questions. The empirical data were gathered through an in-depth interview which eight participants, sampled by purposive sampling ,answered. Subsequently, the interviews were transcribed, coded, and analysed using thematic analysis. The main limitations of the research are the facts that the participants live in the same area and are approximately the same age. Thusly, the transferability of the results mightbe complicated. Findings: The findings of the analysis point out that followers/consumers’ engage with fashion influencers at an interpersonal level, through realization of sharing similar interests and values. Participants have also shown a desire of becoming even more similar to their favourite influencers by altering the beliefs they have in common with them. From the perspective of the theory of Homophily-Heterophily, the engagement between followers and influencers is affected by both, value and status homophily. On the other hand, it has also been demonstrated that identification influences followers/consumers’ purchase intention towards the fashion products influencers endorse on Instagram. Contributions: This paper contributes to the academia by investigating followers/consumers’ purchase intention through the theories of Identification and Homophily-Heterophily. Additionally, the context of Instagram, as well as, the qualitative nature of this investigation are novelties on this field of study. Fashion companies and influencers can also benefit from the results of this research, since they would be able of creating better collaborations.

The aim of the study was to investigate the social service's approach and handling of cases related to honor-related violence and oppression. Furthermore, we wanted to map the boundary the social service makes between honor-related violence and oppression and violence in close relationships. In order to provide a detailed analysis of the aspects and questions that shall follow, a qualitative thematic analysis method has been used by conducting four semi-structured interviews with social secretaries from a social office in Sweden. The results showed that social secretaries define and manage honor-related violence and oppression in different ways. There is also no clear boundary between the phenomena, however, there are certain factors / motives in the respondents' responses that are of great importance to the social workers when they define honor-related violence and oppression. Some common underlying factors / motives are the collective or the nuclear family, culture or sexuality. It was also found that respondents often associate problems of honor with people of foreign origin. Another interesting observation worth highlighting was that several of the respondents did not really have any direct action plan or special guidelines to follow. In addition, the interviews showed that the most common intervention is family therapy and thus it is the first intervention offered.

Violating social norms often elicits a negative public response aimed at punishing norm violators and dissuading others from following their lead. One way to understand reactions to norm violations is through the moral panic framework. This framework identifies the reactions that an emergent norm-violating social group is likely to experience. These reactions are characterized as overexaggerated, often blaming the group for the consequences of their norm violation and suggesting that the public should fear the group. I hypothesized that social attitudes towards female breadwinner relationships (FBRs), which violate heteronormative gender norms, would reflect these, and other, moral panic characteristics. However, I expected that these characteristics would be less extreme, and thus I proposed that social reactions to FBRs would reflect a kind of moral anxiety. To test this hypothesis, I conducted a qualitative thematic analysis of 94 magazine and newspaper articles concerning FBRs, and five themes emerged. First, the articles emphasized the social change that these relationships represent. Second, gender role expectations were often discussed, with many more articles reinforcing traditional gender role expectations than non-traditional gender role expectations. Third, most articles described costs of FBRs while only a minority described benefits, and most costs concerned the couple as a whole instead of either partner individually. Fourth, societal reactions to this change were often described, and most reactions were negative. And fifth, many articles offered tips for FBRs, often focused on overcoming the costs associated with such bonds. This pattern of reactions to FBRs ultimately demonstrated many of the characteristics of moral anxiety. Overall, these media articles portrayed FBRs as undesirable relationships involving stressed women and emasculated men: a stigmatizing portrayal that could dissuade others from pursuing such relationships. / Graduate / 2021-04-08

Research shows that preschool teachers lack knowledge about how the goals for an inclusive education of children with special needs are to be achieved in practice. The aim of this study is to show how preschool teachers work with the inclusion of children with special needs, despite the lack of specific guidelines regarding how the preschool should work with inclusion. To answer the study's purpose and questions, a qualitative thematic analysis method has been used. We have analyzed the collected material from six interviews with preschool teachers from different preschools and municipalities in Sweden. The result shows that the preschool teachers support and include children with special needs by using different tools such as visual aids (for example, signs with pictures and text), as well as learning tablets. The interview shows that all preschool teachers agree that the concept of inclusion means adapting activities to create opportunities for all children to be able to participate. It also emerged that all preschool teachers agree that children with special needs generally require more support than children without special needs.

This thesis explores the topic of Canadian-Indigenous battered women who killed their intimate abusers and seeks to better understand these women’s experiences, their treatment within the Canadian criminal justice system, and how BWS was used in their cases. A theoretical framework comprised of Indigenous Feminisms and Intersectionality was used to guide this research study and to shed light on the lived experiences of Indigenous battered women who killed their abusers. Various important Indigenous Feminist theorists such as Dian Million (2013) and Patricia Monture-Angus (1998) were drawn upon as well as advocates for Intersectionality such as Patricia Hill-Collins (2019). A qualitative thematic analysis was performed to create four overarching themes from eight cases where Indigenous battered women killed their intimate abusers.

Background: HIV is a condition that requires lifelong treatment. Treatment options currently consist of oral antiretroviral therapies (ART) taken once or twice daily. Long-acting injectable HIV treatments are currently in development to be administered monthly or every other month. Preferences for route of administration could influence treatment adherence, which could affect treatment outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine patient perceptions of oral and injectable routes of administration for ART. Methods: Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted to examine 5122 online discussion threads by people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the POZ Community Forums from January 2013 to June 2018. Analysis focused on identifying perceptions of oral or injectable routes of administration for ART. Relevant threads were extracted and imported into the qualitative data analysis software package ATLAS.ti.8 so that text could be reviewed and coded. Results: Analyses identified 684 relevant discussion threads including 2626 coded quotations from online posts by 568 PLHIV. The oral route of administration was discussed more frequently than injectable (2516 quotations for oral; 110 injectable). Positive statements on the oral route of administration commonly mentioned the small number of pills (276 quotations), dose frequency (245), ease of scheduling (153), and ease of use (146). PLHIV also noted disadvantages of the oral route of administration including negative emotional impact (166), difficulty with medication access (106), scheduling (131), and treatment adherence (121). Among the smaller number of PLHIV discussing injectable ART, common positive comments focused on dose frequency (34), emotional benefits of not taking a daily pill (7), potential benefits for adherence (6), overall convenience (6), and benefits for traveling (6). Some comments from PLHIV perceived the frequency of injections negatively (10), and others had negative perceptions of needles (8) or appointments required to receive injections (7). Conclusions: Qualitative analysis revealed that route of administration was frequently discussed among PLHIV on this online forum. While many expressed positive views about their daily oral medication regimen, others perceived inconveniences and challenges. Among PLHIV who were aware of a possible monthly injectable treatment, many viewed this new route of administration as a convenient alternative with potential to improve adherence.

This research examines the manifestation of collaborative relationships among technological individuals involved in innovation across corporate alliances on scale. Collaboration “on scale” refers to the necessity for global companies to work together to innovate, thus developing ways of cooperating across multiple alliances. ‘Organizations’ do not do this – it is the individuals who work for them that do. However, traditional research defaults to a corporate culture focus on innovation processes and tools, with the result that little is known about how individuals representing their companies collaborate with individuals in numerous other companies in order to achieve innovation. The research therefore looks through the lens of the individual with the aims of (i) understanding how individuals relate and collaborate with others in a range of companies; (ii) finding ways of improving those relationships, and (iii), actively bridging the gap between academia and business so that the learning from this project can be applied in practice. A qualitative, interview based methodology is used to identify individual attributes and gain an understanding of their impact on collaborative relationships. Five main themes are discovered that explain the individual behavioral influences that stimulate or hinder collaborative relationships in innovation practice. They are Make it Personal, Value Relationships, Champion the Cause, Offer Tribute, and Trust Your Intuition. The conclusions call for leaders to develop a deeper focus on individuals contributing to collaboration, strengthen relationships, integrate collaboration and innovation, improve intuitional skills, and re-examine measures and rewards. Academically, this research proposes new theory related to influencing variables in collaborative relationships. A bridge between academic theory and business practice is established firstly through developing a writing style designed to bridge that gap, and secondly through use of a practical rubric framework and self-assessment package to enable individuals to learn how to instill these findings in their collaborative relationships and get more out of innovation results. The report highlights areas and suggestions for future research study. / Royal Dutch Shell