The purpose with this study is to examine how the twelve-step program is described by the author J Keith Miller (2004) in his book Steg in i livet and by the author Olle Carlsson (2012) in his book 12steg för hopplösa. The aim for the study is to highlight the twelve steps usage on people without addiction problems. In the study, the two author’s thoughts and experience of the twelve-step program is analysed and interpreted by Pargaments (1997) theory of religious coping. The research questions in this study are: 1. How is the twelve-step program described by Olle Carlsson and J Keith Miller based on Pargaments theory of religious coping concerning conservation and transformation of significance? 2. How is negative and positive religious coping described from a religious coping perspective by Olle Carlsson and J Keith Miller in their books about the twelve-step program? The method used is a qualitative method with hermeneutical approach and a theory driven analyse in Template Analyse Style. The conclusions are sorted in three themes on the basis of Pargaments (1997) theory; conservation, transformation of significance and positive and negative religious coping. Placed in conservation of significance is category 2; sin, confession and forgiveness and category 3; social support because this mainly motivated people to maintain good habits. Placed in transformation of significance is category 1; admit powerless and let go. This aspect where described as important for the statement of the twelve-step program and a radical change in life. Placed in themes positive and negative religious coping is category 4; the relation to and the image of/to God or a higher power. This is because the authors highlight the important aspects of this regarding faith and that it is part of the description of positive and negative religious coping.

The aim of the present study is to examine a self-help group on facebook for people with social phobia as to organization and content, but also to analyze how its function is related to the characteristics of traditional self-help groups. The study is based on a qualitative case study design in the context of internet research and it consists of two parts: a document analysis and an interview study. The empirical material is based on documents about how the group is presented online and the interviews are conducted with people active in a closed support group on facebook for people with social phobia. By means of analytical concepts from previous research on traditional self-help groups it seems likely that self-help online also can be characterized by mutual aid and experiential knowledge. However, as self-help online is not limited as to geographical or cultural aspects, it opens up a chance to receive help and support for people who experience social phobia in countries where social phobia is not an acknowledged phenomen. It is interesting to note that the findings seem to suggest that the size of the group does not play a particular role in the participants' sense of trust and experience of intimacy. The study overall suggests that self-help online can have a function of both compensation and complement to the ordinary health care system as well as to traditional self-help groups. Key concepts: self-help, mutual aid, experiential knowledge, social phobia / Syftet med studien är att undersöka självhjälp på facebook för personer med social fobi med avseende på organisation och innehåll samt analysera hur fenomenet förhåller sig till traditionell självhjälp.  Det är en kvalitativ studie som består av två delar, en dokumentanalys och intervjuanalys. Forskningsdesignen utgörs av en fallstudie i kontexten e-forskning. Det empiriska materialet består av en textanalys av hur gruppen presenteras online samt av intervjuer med personer som är aktiva i en sluten stödgrupp på facebook för personer med social fobi. Med hjälp av analytiska begrepp som tidigare forskning om traditionella självhjälpsgrupper genererat så kan konstateras att självhjälp på facebook också kännetecknas av ömsesidig hjälp och erfarenhetsbaserad kunskap. Det framkommer dock till skillnad från självhjälp face to face att självhjälp online inte är begränsad utifrån geografiska eller kulturella aspekter. Det innebär att personer som upplever social fobi trots att social fobi inte är ett accepterat fenomen/tillstånd i det land där personen bor kan finna både stöd och hjälp genom självhjälpsgruppen på facebook. Anmärkningsvärt är att storleken på gruppen inte verkar spela någon roll när det gäller deltagarnas känsla av tillit och upplevelse av intimitet. Självhjälp på nätet som studien visar har funktionen av både ersättning och komplement till hälso- och sjukvårdssystemet samt till traditionella självhjälpsgrupper.   Nyckelbegrepp: självhjälpsgrupp, ömsesidig hjälp, erfarenhetsbaserad kunskap, social fobi, facebook.

The aim of this Master’s Thesis is to find out whether bibliotherapy, in an unspokenform, is practiced in already existing group formations to be able to determine how practicalbibliotherapy can be seen in a Swedish context and thereby open the possibility for development.To fulfil this purpose I decided to do a case study on a nearby book reading circle for adultchildren of drug addicts. I made three qualitative interviews; two of the mentioned book readingcircle’s leaders and one participant/help leader. I used the following set of questions: What isincluded in the concept Bibliotherapy and how does that relate to practice? How has the bookreading circle examined in this case study proceeded, which methods were used and what kind ofliterature has been used and also what kind of effects did this reading circle have on itsparticipants. Can the library/librarian interact in any way in this type of external book readingcircles? I also studied theoretical work on bibliotherapy, as well as various theories on supportgroups and book reading circles, of which I presented a selection of in this thesis. Thistheoretical framework was the basis for my analysis of the result, which showed that theintention of the book reading circle had been consistent with its implementation; the methodsused were in line with the ones of the support groups’ standards and the literature they used wasnonfiction with a content directed especially towards the group’s main problem; the effects thebook reading activities had on the group participants were in line with how developmentalbibliotherapy is described being performed in a Swedish context , and finally; the informants’attitudes towards collaborating with a library/librarian were mainly positive. Thereby, all myquestions were answered and my conclusion is that this case study represents a number of othersupport groups/book reading circles and there would be a mutual benefit if a future collaborationwith the library was established.

Over the last decades the topic of microfinance as a method to alleviate poverty has been debated to a large extent in the academic literature. In India, the method of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) is today widespread among Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and has been proven to empower women economically and socially. Alongside, NGOs have increasingly directed their efforts towards more long-term development strategies, in which knowledge has gained a larger attention as a component to sustainable development. Even though literature from different research streams has confirmed that there is a need for effective knowledge transfer between NGOs to reach and empower the female end beneficiaries in the NGO-sector, few theoretical attempts have been made to understand the organizational dynamics behind knowledge transfer in an NGO-context. That is why we wished to further understand knowledge transfer in an NGO-context. Our purpose is to explore what it is that makes knowledge become transferred throughout an NGO-chain in order to reach the end beneficiaries. To answer the research question of what variables affect knowledge transfer throughout the actors in an NGO-chain and what factors determine these variables, a case study was conducted on an NGO-chain working towards SHGs in Uttarakhand, Northern India. Interviews have been conducted with leaders and staff of one foreign and one local NGO and two focus groups have been held with participants of SHGs. The findings show that several of the variables that research within knowledge management previously have found, including trust, communication, organizational culture and absorptive capacity, do have an influence on the transfer of knowledge throughout the NGO-chain. Furthermore, the variables networks, relationships, and organizational strategy were also shown to impact the outcome of the knowledge transfer. Moreover there are several factors in the intra-organizational and inter-organizational dynamics of the NGO-chain that determine whether each variable has an inhibiting or enabling effect on knowledge transfer.

Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie var att undersöka upplevelser av gruppbaserat föräldrastöd hos mammor med Adhd som deltagit i en universell föräldragrupp på barnhälsovårdscentral (BVC) samt i en anpassad självhjälpsgrupp (Mammagruppen). Mammagruppen bestod av fem mammor med diagnosen Adhd, en hade även Asperger syndrom. Med ett bortfall deltog fyra av dem i studien. Tre av informanterna deltog även i föräldragrupp på BVC. Deras barn var 0-2 år gamla utan uttalade problem. Datainsamling skedde genom semistrukturerade intervjuer och en induktiv tematisk analys resulterade i två huvudteman; Samhörighet och Stöd. Resultatet visar att informanternas upplevelser av Mammagruppen blev övervägande positiva och upplevelser av föräldragruppen på BVC blev övervägande negativa. Några grundläggande faktorer som bidrog till detta var huruvida de har upplevt samhörighet i grupperna samt om de har fått utrymme till att samtala om sina egna behov och känslor. Detta bidrar med unik kunskap och belyser det upplevda behovet av ett anpassat stöd. Det behövs vidare forskning innan vi kan säga att det finns skillnader. / The aim of this qualitative study was to examine experiences of group based parental support among mothers with Adhd - who had participated in an universal parent group at the swedish child healthcare centre (CHC), and in a tailored selfhelpgroup (the Momgroup). The participants in the Momgroup was five mothers with Adhd, one also had Asperger syndrome. With a loss of one, four of them participated in this study. Three of the informants had also participated, in a parent group at CHC. Their children were 0-2 years old, without any explicit problems. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and an inductive thematic analysis resulted in two main themes: Togetherness and Support. The result shows that the informants’ experiences of the Momgroup were mainly positive and the experiences of the parent goup at CHC were mainly negative. A few basic factors that contributed to this, were whether they have experienced togetherness in the groups, and if they were given the opportunity to talk about their own needs and feelings. This contributes with unique knowledge and illustrates the perceived need for tailored support. Further research is needed before we can say that there are any differences.