The aim of dissertation is monitoring of system of social methods and services for refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers, which are offered by states and non-states institutions, finding out users opinions on these services and finding the interest of the organisations and social workers for oficial elaboration of these methods. The aim is also try to proposit possibilities of innovation of the existing metodology.

After Sweden, among other European countries, received a record number of asylum seekers in 2015 and 2016, the public discussion on integration of newcomers to the Swedish society intensified. One of the important means of such integration, as well as one of the fundamental human rights, is access to relevant information – knowledge refugees need to settle at a new place. This study looks into the information practices of one of the largest group of newcomers to Europe – the Afghans – based on the case of Kronoberg County in the Southern Sweden.   Grounded on Reijo Savolainen’s (2008) theory of everyday information practices, this study applies the combination of McKenzie’s (2003), Mwarigha’s (2002), and Berlo’s (1960) analytical models to explore the informational behavior of asylum seekers and check if it is accommodated in the communication strategies of different agencies involved in the integration process. To reach these objectives, a set of interviews was conducted with both Afghan newcomers and representatives of different governmental and non-governmental organizations.   The results of the conducted research and analysis may be summed up to one major topic. While Swedish reception and integration system is effective in reaching out to the newcomers and providing them with task-related information, the structure of the system impedes the provision of general orienting information and guidance, which is in great demand among the asylum seekers. Therefore, development of a parallel system of information can be noticed, with personal relations and authority of the local opinion leaders in the core of it. It is concluded that such division should not be seen as a threat to the integration of newcomers, rather as a supportive mechanism on its intermediate stage. Still, it is important to promote policies that foster active personal contacts between Swedes and newcomers – for example, mentorship programmes.

The challenge of immigration has divided EU member states, political parties, media and academia as well as the electorate of EU countries, leaving political decision makers under tremendous pressure on both national and EU level. To alleviate the situation for highly burdened member states, the Commission has suggested a permanent relocation mechanism for refugees, but so far, many member states have been reluctant to accept higher shares of refugees. Some observers have labelled the situation a crisis of solidarity, challenging the idea of European integration, but also questioning the Union’s capacity to demonstrate solidarity between member states, and consequently its capacity to show solidarity with arriving refugees.   By looking at European Parliament debates, this paper examines the main differences between the European Christian Democratic and Social Democratic understandings of solidarity and how these differences become visible in relation to relocation of refugees and asylum seekers between EU member states. The findings suggest that while there is some convergence, Christian Democrats are more inclined to consider refugees as a threat and to advocate the need of securing external borders than their Social Democratic counterparts. Social Democrats also to a larger extent favour the idea of making relocation mandatory, while many Christian Democrats emphasize the importance of subsidiarity.   The findings can be associated with the foundational values of both party groups and their political understandings of solidarity. Most interestingly, however, this paper finds that the national level variance within these two party groups is frequently bigger, than between them – indicating that MEP’s understandings of solidarity are perhaps more strongly mediated by nationality than political affiliation.

The topic of migration has become one that is gaining notice in society. With the number of migrants, asylum seekers, unaccompanied minors and child refugees rising rapidly in the past few years it has become a theme of great importance with global reach. These migratory fluxes blur the boundaries between voluntary and forced migration which were previously regarded as separate notions. The media plays a powerful role when it comes to define such concepts as well as creating representations of these populations and shaping the public perception of these individuals. Through this thesis, the representations of unaccompanied asylum seeking minors and refugees constructed by the Portuguese media will be analysed using discourse analysis. The aim is to create knowledge about the representations of unaccompanied asylum seeking minors and refugees in the Portuguese media as this means of communication is an important voice in the public and political debate concerning these populations. The results show that there are several dichotomies regarding the representations of unaccompanied asylum seeking minors and refugees in the Portuguese media. Young migrants are represented both as security seekers and causes of insecurity, victims and survivors, passive agents which lack agency and active agents who use their agency to leave their home countries, as well as people worth supporting and people who had enough support. Discourse analysis provides information regarding the discourses used in the Portuguese media to represent unaccompanied asylum seeking minors and refugees as well as the context in which the articles were written. Finally, there are several representations of unaccompanied asylum seeking minors and refugees in the Portuguese media, yet the ones whose discourse is stronger, in the five chosen articles, are the of young migrants as security seekers, victims that are worth being supported and that are mostly active agents in their journeys.

As high levels of forced migration continue to challenge Europe, countries like Sweden are attempting to incorporate asylum-seekers into its education system. Over the past 50 years Sweden’s education system has undergone a unique shift from a centralized to a decentralized parental-choice model of schools. An approach called plural education promotes equity through shared experience and support for equity creating initiatives. Proponents of choice argued that plural education was maintained across the decentralizing shift in policy. Yet some evidence has begun to show that these values are not being upheld. Marginalized groups, such as asylum-seekers, appear to face a number of barriers to accessing the entirety of choices. In this qualitative study employing a grounded theory methodology, seven asylum-seeking parents were asked for their experiences entering their children into the Swedish compulsory school system. Semi-structured interviews explored the barriers, information and strategies each parent had for enrolment and school choice. Analysis found that parents had insufficient information for school choice, few strategies to find new information and faced a number of barriers. The implication of these findings are that these asylum-seekers did not have the support or knowledge to successfully participate in school choice and that education in Sweden may have weakened in its ability to promote equity for these respondents. / Samtidigt som stora flyktingströmmar fortsätter att utgöra en utmaning för Europa, försöker länder som Sverige att integrera asylsökande i dess utbildningssystem. Under de senaste 50 åren har Sveriges utbildningssystem genomgått ett unikt skifte från ett centraliserat till ett decentraliserat skolsystem baserat på det fria skolvalet. Ett tillvägagångssätt kallat "plural" utbildning har som syfte att främja rättvisa genom gemensamt lärande och erfarenhetsutbyte mellan elever. Förespråkare av det fria skolvalet hävdar att "plural" utbildning har kunnat upprätthållas efter systemskiftet till en decentraliserad skola. Det finns emellertid studier som visar på motsatsen. Marginaliserade grupper, som till exempel asylsökande, tycks stöta på flera hinder när de ska nyttja det fria skolvalet.I denna kvalitativa studie som bygger på en grundad teorimetodik intervjuades sju asylsökande föräldrar om sina erfarenheter rörande deras barns tillgång till den svenska grundskolan. Genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer undersöktes hinder och information samt strategier som föräldrarna hade beträffande inskrivning och skolval. Analysen visade att föräldrarna hade otillräcklig information gällande skolval och få strategier för att hitta ny information samt att de möttes av diverse hinder. Studien visar att dessa asylsökande familjer inte hade tillräckligt med stöd eller kunskap för att framgångsrikt delta i skolvalet och att den svenska undervisningen därmed har misslyckats med att ge dessa familjers barn en rättvis utbildning.

Magister Artium - MA / There is a widely held assumption that immigrants have difficulties in accessing public health care services in South Africa. This assumption derives from the experiences of some immigrants in accessing public health care services at some public health care facilities which are all required by law and policy to provide such services. The main aim of the study was to investigate the experiences of Zimbabwean immigrants in accessing public health care services at some public clinics and hospitals in Cape Town. Foucault’s theory on power was used to unpack the experiences of Zimbabwean immigrants at these public health care centers. Zimbabwean immigrant participants were all purposively sampled for the study and medical personnel were randomly sampled. The Zimbabwean immigrants sampled had used public health care facilities in Cape Town. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from the Zimbabwean immigrants which were qualitatively analysed using content analysis. Questionnaires were also used to collect data from both the Zimbabwean immigrants and medical personnel and subsequently open-ended questions from the questionnaires were also analysed using content analysis and closed questions were analysed using the Micro-soft excel package of data assessment and statistically presented using pie, bar and line graphs. Themes that were recurring from the semi-structured interviews and responses from questionnaires suggested that immigrants in their experiences at public health care facilities encountered barriers that included communication problems, negative attitudes and xenophobia from medical staff, policy and practice problems and preferential treatment offered to citizens over non-citizens. Recommendations of what needs to be done to reduce barriers to health care for immigrants were made to all involved in the provision of health care. The study contributed to our understanding of barriers that immigrants encounter in accessing public health care in South Africa as well as the role of citizens in this process.

Bakgrund: De senaste åren har fler människor varit på flykt från krig, våld och förföljelse, vilket har lett till att Sverige har tagit emot ett ökat antal asylsökande. Detta påverkar primärvårdens möjligheter att möta de asylsökandes behov. Enligt lag har asylsökande rätt till omedelbar hälso- och sjukvård utifrån patientens medicinska behov. I mötet med den asylsökande har distriktssköterskan en viktig roll och ett ansvar för att patienten ska få god vård. En bristande kommunikation mellan distriktssköterska och asylsökande är något som kan försvåra vården. Med tolkanvändning ökar förutsättningarna för kommunikation. Ett gott bemötande är en central del i mötet och viktigt för en jämlik hälsa och vård. Stora skillnader i bemötande tycks ha missgynnat utlandsfödda patienter. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att belysa distriktssköterskans erfarenheter av att möta asylsökande i primärvården. Metod: I studien tillämpades en kvalitativ induktiv ansats. Studiens genomfördes med semistrukturerade intervjuer med nio stycken distriktssköterskor inom primärvården. Datainsamlingen analyserades utifrån en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Dataanalysen resulterade i fyra stycken huvudkategorier; Distriktssköterskans inställning som påverkar bemötandet, Språkförbistringar och strategier för att motverka dessa, Omgivningens förutsättningar och Kulturella olikheter, och fyra stycken underkategorier; Personcentrerat bemötande, Att skapa en vårdrelation, Tolkanvändning och Kreativa strategier. Slutsats: Den här studien bidrar med ökad kunskap kring distriktssköterskors erfarenhet av att möta asylsökande i primärvården. Mer utbildning framkom som önskvärt, med förhoppning om att kunna förbättra framtida möten. / Background: In recent years, more people are fleeing from war, violence and persecution, which has led to an increasing number of asylum seekers in Sweden. This affects opportunities in primary care to meet the needs of asylum seekers. By law, asylum seekers have the right to immediate health care based on medical needs. In the meeting with the asylum seeker, the district nurse has an important role and a major responsibility for the patient to get good care. A lack of communication between district nurse and asylum seeker is something that may complicate the health care. The opportunities for communication increases when using interpreters. A good treatment is important to an equal health and health care. Big differences in treatment have disfavored foreign-born patients. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to illustrate the district nurse's experiences of meeting with asylum seekers in primary care. Method: The study was conducted with a qualitative inductive approach. The study was conducted with semi-structured interviews with nine district nurses in primary care. The data collection was analyzed according to qualitative content analysis. Results: The data analysis resulted in four main categories: The district nurse´s attitude affects the treatment, Language barriers and strategies to prevent them, Environmental conditions and Cultural differences, and four subcategories: Person centred response, Creating a caring relationship, Interpretation and Creative strategies. Conclusion: This study contributes with knowledge about district nurses experience of meeting asylum seekers in primary care. More education appeared to be desirable, with hope to improve future meetings.

Demographic changes have facilitated longer, healthier lives, and legislative changes have encouraged extended working lives through the increasing of state pension age, equalisation of state pensions, and the removal of the default retirement age. Recent age discrimination legislation has begun to combat age discrimination within the employment context of the UK. Legal precedent has also been established during the course of this research through case law, as a result of high profile age discrimination cases reaching the Supreme Court. Through several interview studies, this thesis explores the experiences, views and attitudes of employees, employers, job seekers and retired individuals. Utilising focus groups, this thesis also presents data from a range of charity representatives, human resources professionals, line managers, employment advisors, health and safety practitioners, and trade union representatives in order to explore the influence of changes in later life working policy and practice. The research of this thesis also includes a consultation exercise to engage the potential users of the research and develops a policy and practice framework providing recommendations which could lead to better outcomes and improved opportunities for older workers. Finally, a series of video case studies presents the research findings in an accessible visual format. This varied use of communication methods was specifically selected in order to increase the impact of the research and potential user audience. Research findings highlighted that managing age diversity was perceived as essential for employee motivation and organisational competitiveness. In particular, interviewees from generationally diverse workforces also reported a more positive attitude to age. Evidence from this thesis presents direct examples of age discrimination limiting the employment opportunities of older workers. Potential victims of age discrimination often struggle to gather evidence to support their perception that they may have been mistreated due to their age. Especially for job seekers, the perception of age discrimination presents a significant barrier to confidence, motivation, and opportunities during the employment search. These concerns are also exacerbated by the most widely reported barrier to securing employment for older jobseekers which was insufficient feedback. While a small minority of employers discussed discriminatory practices, the majority were positive towards age diversity and embraced the benefits of older workers. Responsibility for retirement transitions and performance management as older employees reach the end of their careers were issues employers reported struggling with in light of the removal of the default retirement age. The findings of this thesis highlight the importance of challenging age stereotypes and embracing the opportunities that a multi-generational workforce offers in order to increase equality of opportunity and promote age positive organisational culture. All parts of society have a shared responsibility to change attitudes towards older workers, and offer workers of all ages the equality they deserve.

Sexual violence is a prominent issue worldwide, especially during times of war and conflict. For refugee women, experiences with sexual violence are often incorporated in women’s reasons for forced migration. During the immigration process to Canada, refugee women are asked to share their narratives, at which point they may or may not disclose their histories of sexual violence. In June 2012, the Canadian government made substantial cuts to the Interim Federal Health Program. For refugee women who are survivors of sexual violence, this means that they are further limited in accessing services they might require in order to deal with the sexual violence they have experienced. Drawing from interviews we conducted with key informants (n=15) and refugee women (n=12) in both Toronto and Ottawa, this thesis explores both the lived experiences of refugee women and the changes, if any, that should be made to current service delivery. Our results show that there is a pronounced need for both small- and large-scale improvements at the systems and service delivery levels.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / The study assesses the application of policies on the right of refugees and asylum seekers with regard to the education of their children, and the many challenges impeding this right. Fundamental changes in the legal framework protecting the right to education of the children of refugees and asylum seekers have been in place since 1994, when South Africa became a democratic state. The principles of international treaties recognising the rights of children were incorporated into the Constitution of South Africa of 1996, demonstrating South Africa’s commitment to the protection of children’s rights. However, studies have suggested that, refugees’ and asylum seekers’ children have been discriminated against in terms of access to education, despite the legislative framework which provides for equal and inclusive education in South Africa. Access to education for migrant children in South Africa is invariably met with challenges which constitute a violation of the Constitution and international law. This study assessed policies and practices affecting refugees’ and asylum seekers’ children to access primary schools in a democratic South Africa. The researcher argues that access to education for refugees and asylum seeker’s children must be guided by the social justice principle of “every child deserves an education”, regardless of the legality of their parents in South Africa. Failure to afford them the opportunity to study is a violation of the Constitution and international law. The study used semi-structured interviews based on a questionnaire. Participants included parents who were refugees or asylum seekers, schools’ principals, and officials from Scalabrini Centre and the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). The data collected from respondents was presented, discussed and analyzed through a thematic analysis approach. From data collected, it was possible to identify the barriers preventing refugees’ and asylum seeker’s children from accessing education. Some of the barriers were generated from gaps in migration policy, ineffective policy implementation, poor documentation and various institutional challenges. Based on the study findings, it is recommended that South African lawmakers formulate policies that speak to the needs of the refugee child and amend the current migration policy to make it more reasonable and accommodative with regard to meeting the needs of migrants’ children in general, and refugee’ and asylum seekers’ children in particular. This would enable South Africa to uphold the constitutional values and its international obligations in relation to the promotion and protection of the right to education for all children.