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This paper examines how second-generation Muslim immigrants feel that it is to live as a Muslim today in Sweden. The survey is based on six qualitative interviews in which young adults describe how they relate to their religion, religiosity and to their Muslim identity. The result showed that the interviewers felt that Muslims are often generalised as a homogeneous group in the society where their ethnicity, culture and religiosity are often mixedup with other nationalities and cultures. The young adult Muslims believe that they usually end up in a dilemma when discussion about religious affiliation emerges and that they tend to adapt their identity to the environment and to the people they are surrounded by. The study also showed that young adults seemed to consider that the Muslim traditions were more important during the early years of their childhood and that they functioned as a band between them and their parents during their upbringing. Over the years their religiosity seemed to decrease gradually and the young adults think that different factors have had an impact on the change. The interviewers believe that they, together with their parents, have had to adapt Muslim values to the society. They considered that other traditions, in particular Christian traditions, have become more important in their lives.

<p>I den här uppsatsen studeras vilken betydelse och funktion ett specifikt boendestöd har åt psykiskt funktionshindrade personer, specifikt åt personer med funktionshindret Aspergers syndrom. Uppsatsen tar också upp boendestödjarnas perspektiv på verksamheten och deras arbete. Detta gjordes för att få en breddare förståelse kring vilken betydelse den här verksamheten har.<strong> </strong>Brukare fick delta i en enkätundersökning och kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes med personalen och en brukare. Genom det insamlade materialet fick jag ta del en mängd intressanta tankar och åsikter kring boendestödet, det visade sig också att diagnosen roll var en central problematik för så väl brukare som personal. Genom de valda teoretiska utgångspunkterna problematiserade och teoretiserade jag kring mitt material, där jag använde mig av empowerment som begrepp och tankemodell, Gidddens begrepp självet, tillit, ontologisk trygghet och abstrakta system, Beckers stämplingsteori samt Layders teori om de fyra sociala domänerna. Det jag kommit fram till är att boendestödet är av stor betydelse för brukare med Aspergers, då boendestödjarna kan hjälpa brukaren till att stärka dennes empowerment. Empowerment ger brukaren kraften och självförtroendet till att känna att denne själv har kontrollen över sin livssituation. Samtidigt fann jag att diagnosen motarbetar empowermentprocessen, då brukaren blir stämplad som avvikare i samhället på grund av diagnosen och blir tvungen att underordna det abstrakta systemets normer för att få rätten till stöd och hjälp.<strong></strong></p> / <p>This study sets out to explore how a living support for mentally impaired individuals functions and its contribution for these individuals. The focus of the study concentrates on individuals with the mental disability, the Aspergers syndrome. The study centers around on these individuals perspective on the living support and the personnel working at the living support. In addition, the study also examines the personnel’s perspective on their work and the living support activity. This focus was chosen in order to give a broader perspective about the living support. Users participated in a smaller survey and qualitative interviews were carried out with the personnel and one user at one living support establishment. Through the collected material the study enabled to achieve many interesting and valuable opinions about the living support. The study showed that the diagnose alone of mental disability both played a central part for both the individual and the personnel. The theoretical viewpoints that serve as starting point and model for the sociological problematisation were empowerment, Gidden’s concepts of the self-identity, trust and basic conviction and abstract systems, Howard Beckers labelling theory as well as Layder’s domain theory about the four social domains. The analysis of the study has shown that the living support has a great contribution for users with Asbergers syndrome, since the personnel can strengthen the individuals’ empowerment.  The empowerment process gives the users power and self confidence to take control over his/her’s situation in life. Another finding from the study shows that the individuals diagnose oppose the empowerment process, when the individual is being labelling into a deviant, thus also force into submissive norms of an abstract society in order to receive the right of support and aid.</p>

I den här uppsatsen studeras vilken betydelse och funktion ett specifikt boendestöd har åt psykiskt funktionshindrade personer, specifikt åt personer med funktionshindret Aspergers syndrom. Uppsatsen tar också upp boendestödjarnas perspektiv på verksamheten och deras arbete. Detta gjordes för att få en breddare förståelse kring vilken betydelse den här verksamheten har. Brukare fick delta i en enkätundersökning och kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes med personalen och en brukare. Genom det insamlade materialet fick jag ta del en mängd intressanta tankar och åsikter kring boendestödet, det visade sig också att diagnosen roll var en central problematik för så väl brukare som personal. Genom de valda teoretiska utgångspunkterna problematiserade och teoretiserade jag kring mitt material, där jag använde mig av empowerment som begrepp och tankemodell, Gidddens begrepp självet, tillit, ontologisk trygghet och abstrakta system, Beckers stämplingsteori samt Layders teori om de fyra sociala domänerna. Det jag kommit fram till är att boendestödet är av stor betydelse för brukare med Aspergers, då boendestödjarna kan hjälpa brukaren till att stärka dennes empowerment. Empowerment ger brukaren kraften och självförtroendet till att känna att denne själv har kontrollen över sin livssituation. Samtidigt fann jag att diagnosen motarbetar empowermentprocessen, då brukaren blir stämplad som avvikare i samhället på grund av diagnosen och blir tvungen att underordna det abstrakta systemets normer för att få rätten till stöd och hjälp. / This study sets out to explore how a living support for mentally impaired individuals functions and its contribution for these individuals. The focus of the study concentrates on individuals with the mental disability, the Aspergers syndrome. The study centers around on these individuals perspective on the living support and the personnel working at the living support. In addition, the study also examines the personnel’s perspective on their work and the living support activity. This focus was chosen in order to give a broader perspective about the living support. Users participated in a smaller survey and qualitative interviews were carried out with the personnel and one user at one living support establishment. Through the collected material the study enabled to achieve many interesting and valuable opinions about the living support. The study showed that the diagnose alone of mental disability both played a central part for both the individual and the personnel. The theoretical viewpoints that serve as starting point and model for the sociological problematisation were empowerment, Gidden’s concepts of the self-identity, trust and basic conviction and abstract systems, Howard Beckers labelling theory as well as Layder’s domain theory about the four social domains. The analysis of the study has shown that the living support has a great contribution for users with Asbergers syndrome, since the personnel can strengthen the individuals’ empowerment.  The empowerment process gives the users power and self confidence to take control over his/her’s situation in life. Another finding from the study shows that the individuals diagnose oppose the empowerment process, when the individual is being labelling into a deviant, thus also force into submissive norms of an abstract society in order to receive the right of support and aid.

Today's young people increasingly tend to sit at home and relax, instead of being out and meet friends. This is based on my observations from my experience as a teacher. They are more and more in front of their computers and living their lives through their various Internet sites. There I was, stuck on how they behave in their environment, both private and public but also to their friends and their families versus their "internetlife". Young people are more and more at home and even the daily discussion are now placed on the internet instead of face to face communications or on the phone. This essay deals with the subjects selfrepresentation and self-identity that Erving Goffman handled in his book The self in everyday life respectively Anthony Giddens in Modernity and Sef-Identity. I chose to use Facebook. This to myself in my subconscious was assumed that all were somehow linked too. The internet has become such a big part of people's lives and in particular young people. I have taken two high-school classes and compared them to how they behave in reality and through their Facebook profiles. A media class and a social studies class were compared and back to back interviews, ten interviews with five people from each class. The study shows that students are fooling themselves and that they want to be perceived in a certain way by their environment, but this image does not always correspond with the image they provide on their Facebook profile. Later on their future reflections, but the potential consequences are postponed. / Dagens ungdomar tenderar allt mer att sitta hemma och slappa, istället för att vara ute och träffa kompisar. Detta baserar jag på iakttagelser från min praktik som pedagog. De sitter mer och mer framför sina datorer och lever sina liv genom sina olika internetsajter. Det jag fastnade för var hur de beter sig i sin omgivning, både privat och offentligt men också mot sina vänner och sina familjer kontra sitt ”internetliv”. Ungdomar är mer och mer hemma och till och med diskussioner förs nu via MSN istället för öga mot öga eller telefonen. Uppsatsen behandlar begreppen självrepresentation och självidentitet som Erving Goffman behandlar i sin bok Jaget &amp; Maskerna respektive Anthony Giddens i sin Modernitet och självidentitet. Jag valde att använda mig av Facebook. Detta för att jag själv i mitt undermedvetna antog att alla vi människor på något sätt är knutna till webbplatsen. Internet har blivit en del av människors liv och i synnerhet ungdomars. Jag har tagit två gymnasieklasser och jämfört dessa om hur de beter sig i sin verklighet och genom sin profil på Facebook. En medieklass samt en samhällsklass blev jämförda och ställda mot väggen i tio intervjuer med fem personer från varje klass. Studien visar att eleverna lurar sig själva och att de gärna vill uppfattas på ett visst sätt av sin omgivning, men denna bild överensstämmer inte alltid med bilden de ger på sin Facebookprofil. Sedermera finns framtidsreflektioner, men eventuella konsekvenser skjuts på framtiden.

The experience and history shaped by various political groups in the modern history of Taiwan has left a significant mark in the hearts of the island¡¦s citizens. Ever since the 1990¡¦s, even the KMT, a party that had always regarded China ethnicity as the essence of localization, has gradually altered its insistence towards a less constrained attitude. As a result of this, the difference in national identity and the notion of culture emerges, leading Taiwan into an era of liberated ideas about national identity. Lee Teng Hiu was the first citizen elected president of Rublic of China, Taiwan. He was brought up during the Japanese occupation, but accepted the radical political changes brought by the national government after the war. During his political career, he had experienced colonial, autocratic, authoritative, and democratic government systems. The combination of Japanese, Chinese, and American education during his academic pursuit had opened up his unique perspective of the world. Profoundly influenced by Kitaro Nishita¡¦s topical philosophy, the samurai spirit of Nitobe Inazo, Christian doctrines, and Marxism and Hegel¡¦s logical thinking, Lee found the motivation to authenticate his principles. In fact, the personal biography of Lee himself, is pretty much a representation of the modern history of Taiwan. Because Lee is one of the most influential political elites in the history of Taiwan, his notion of the awareness of Taiwan and his comprehension and treatment of Mainland China also had a profound influence on the people of Taiwan in terms of their memories of history and collective identity. Thus, to understand how this collective identity had developed and transformed throughout the history of Taiwan, it is essential to scrutinize Lee¡¦s awareness of China, and the origin of his learning. This research seeks to discuss the formation of Lee¡¦s concept of identity, whether or not the key of this identity has evolved, and how that sense of identity has roamed. This will be done through the analysis of the Taiwanese social structure during Lee¡¦s upbringing, restoring the Taiwanese society during the Japanese occupation of the Taisho and Showa dynasties, where the origin of his historical perspective on Mainland China came from, and also his concepts and experiences during adulthood. Lastly, the same notion of identity of his contemporaries will be compared in order to comprehend the origin of influence of the identity of Taiwan in Lee. After all, this sense of identity of the political elites will conceptualize, theorize, and the electoral issues will continuously influence the public notion of national identity. Thus, the clarification of the elite¡¦s notion will allow the understanding the identity at a subterranean level.

Adolescents feel confusion all the time on the way to become mature adults. In ancient time, children were guided to go through adulthood ceremony to ease safely the unsettled and risky mind at the adolescent stage. It is a pity that Internet Caf&#x00E9; and on-line games nowadays becomes a battlefield for young people to fight with their confusion and conflicts in mind hoping for gaining inside happiness and calm. However, on-line games are not products designed to help adolescent inner growth but commercials, which aim to profit. Internet Caf&#x00E9;, though, is not an ideal place to develop one¡¦s identity, offers a possibility of exciting exploring journey. Nevertheless, in a cement jungle, limited space drives children to go into a virtual fascinating playground to discover ¡§Who am I?¡¨ Campbell stated the theme of ancient myth to present contemporary phenomenon. The myth claims that children are born to be heroes. Heroes search for inner growth, self-identity and conquer challenges in fate of their own. No one can escape from the risky life journey (transformation from adolescent to adult), even though we do not expect it, it comes to us eventually. It is an innate thirst to success in perilous life voyage. This research adapted qualitative in-depth interviews with forty-four young people in eleven Internet Caf&#x00E9;s in Kaohsiung City and Kaohsiung County, exploring twelve individual cases in profound reflection of their lives, which the whole observation and interviews have been lasted eight months long (September, 2005-April, 2006) and still, some of them kept intensive contact with me. Most heroes in the cases stepped into Dark Forest-Internet Caf&#x00E9;s since grade 3 or 4 and had undergone 4 to 5-year attempt and gradual transformation in mind in addition to the helping hand from Goddess of Happiness (significant others), heroes will come back to real world along with the grace (self-awareness) of the trial in Dark Forest. They will live freely and happily and become masters of two worlds, the Forest and outside world. Heroes who do not break through the spell of Dark Forest would still wait for the guidance of Goddess of Happiness or worse, they would be trapped in jails and dangers and lost contacts with outside world. The research discovers that the main cause of attaching to on-line games comes from school; the secondary cause comes from family. On one hand, the harvest of young people in on-line games contains positive compensation on missing adulthood ceremony passing smoothly rebellious and confusing stage of life journey. On the other hand, the negative influence would be suffering from bad health attributing to staying up all night; bad school performance, unsatisfactory interaction with teachers and parents and much more, some of the young people can not even finish junior high schooling.

The major research instrument is interview. We interviewed 13 Chinese brides in Kaohsiung area and the main purpose of this study is to realize the way they interpret their experience of life change. They can provide us abundant discourses and we can experience the plentiful content of the group. We can conclude from the content of interview that the interviewed Chinese brides would adopt different strategies to cope with different issues. They want to strive for the ¡§distinction¡¨ and approved social positions in Taiwan society and would manage their impression by various tactics. Since the Chinese brides haven¡¦t gathered together as a category, their goals and tactics of acting still stay in individual level. They take different roles in different field and construct their images in diverse strategies. We try to classify the Chinese brides in different fields by two main variables: the distribution of capital and ability of motion. The categorizing index is not immobile, but it would modify in changing situation. The purpose of establishing generalized rules is to present the multiplicity and complex power relationship of the Chinese brides phenomenon.

M. Phil. thesis, University of Hong Kong, 1976. / Photocopy from typescript.

Thesis (M.A. (Sociology)) - Rhodes University, 2009.