The past 20 years have seen a growing interest amongst researchers into indirect forms of aggression and bullying. The evidence suggests that covert forms of aggression are largely used by adolescent girls as a means of inflicting harm on another and that the effects of such interactions can be detrimental to the individual's psychological and emotional well-being. This study aims to explore the social experiences of four adolescent girls, with particular reference to indirect aggression practices that they may have encountered. Data was collected in the form of unstructured interviews, which were conducted with each participant separately. Prominent themes were then identified and explored by the researcher. This was done from a systemic epistemological stance within the post-modern paradigm. A qualitative methodological design was followed allowing for the personal experiences and meaning attributions of each participant to come to the fore. The study's results were presented in the form of descriptive text with particular reference to the systemic processes that came to the fore. Overall, the study explicated the unique experiences of four adolescent girls with indirect aggression and how these experiences are interwoven with systemic processes that take place in social groups. / Psychology / M. A. (Clinical Psychology)

Endometriosis is a pervasive, widespread disease that affects millions of women worldwide. The number of women affected by endometriosis is increasing at a staggering rate. Endometriosis impacts women in a variety of ways; it often gradually strips away their resistance to pain, their emotional strength, their concept of femininity and their ability to cope with challenges. This study aimed to provide a voice for women diagnosed with endometriosis. The study allowed the participants to share their experiences from diagnosis through to treatment and to explain the ways in which endometriosis influences their daily lives. In this research report the psychological impact of this disease is discussed, and factors that are not currently addressed by medical professionals treating women with endometriosis are highlighted. Social constructionism provided the theoretical framework for the study. One-on-one, in-depth interviews were conducted with five women who have been diagnosed with endometriosis by a gynaecologist through means of laparoscopic surgery. The method of analysis involved thematic network analysis. The participants’ narratives were converted into interview transcripts. These transcripts were analysed by the researchers and themes were identified. Themes that repeated were elaborated and were linked to available literature. The researcher hopes that this dissertation will contribute to existing knowledge regarding the psychological effects of endometriosis. It is hoped that it will help both the medical community and future and existing patients understand this disease and the effect that it has on the lives of women around the world, but particularly the lives of women in South Africa. / Psychology / M. Sc. (Psychology)

Uppsatsens syfte är att studera hur äldreomsorgen skildras i media och hur denna framställning görs. För att besvara syftet gjordes en innehållsanalys med kvantitativ och kvalitativ ansats. För att analysera och förstå resultatet användes tre teoretiska perspektiv: medielogik, dagordningsteorin och socialkonstruktivism. Uppsatsens material inhämtades från två dagstidningar varav den ena utges lokalt och den andra på riksnivå för att ge en bredare uppfattning om medias framställning av äldreomsorgen samt att se om någon skillnad sågs i de olika tidningarna. Urvalet av artiklarna publicerades under två separata månader 2015. Uppsatsens resultat visar tre framstående teman inom äldreomsorgen som ofta förekom i medias framställning och dessa var i huvudsak negativa med fokus på brister. I de två tidningarna var likheterna mellan framställningen mer framträdande än skillnaderna. / The aim of this study was to investigate how elderly care is portrayed in media. A content analysis with quantitative and qualitative approaches was made to answer the research questions. To ana-lyze and understand the results three theoretical perspectives were used: social constructivism, media logic and agenda theory. The study material was collected from two newspapers, one of which is published locally and the other at the national level, in order to gain a broader under-standing of the media's representation of elderly care and also to see the differences in various newspapers. We used the articles published during two separate months in 2015. Study results show three prominent themes in elderly care that are frequent in the media - the depiction is largely negative, with a focus on shortcomings. The portrayal is similar in both newspapers.

The purpose of this study is to investigate which discourse dominates a group conference between parent, teacher and child. My questions to examine are: which discourse can be seen as the dominating discourse based on the texts I use in my study, which subject positions do the main discourse construct and how do subject positions legitimize the discourse? To be able to answer this questions I have studied texts consisting of a pocket of a local order and interviews with four preschool teachers. I have used a discourse analysis inspired by Foucault, with a social constructionistic perspective. My result is based by using the theories of Foucault about discourses, power/knowledge and subject positions. The result of the study shows that the dominating discourse contradicts the dominating discourse of individual conferences in Swedish preschools. According to the discourse the group conference is a meeting where parents, teachers and children meets and having a dialogue about the learning of children. The subject positions are constructed to legitimize this perspective.

<p>Purpose: The purpose with this study is to analyze if the Swedish authorities and media had different ways of discussing the new influenza, in connection with the pandemic classification June 11, 2009. This is the first time an influenza has been classified as a pandemic since the Hongkong-influenza in1968. Methodology: The method used for the study is discourse analysis, aqualitative method that gives the opportunity to study not only what is said, but how things are said. In this thesis, the aim is to study how the image ofthe new influenza is transmitted via the texts. The texts have been analysed based on:- General and underlying themes- Words and concepts used- Persons/sources quoted or referred to- Historical connections/historical backgroundTheoretical perspectives: The study is based on theories about socialconstructionism and discourse analysis. Conclusions: the conclusions drawn from the study show that the media textsare more dramatic and sensational when it comes to describing the newinfluenza. The Swedish authorities have a more fact-based and calming tone towards the public. Within the analyzed material, it is possible to seedifferences between the discourses, also when describing the same themes. Within some themes, resemblances have been identified between the mediadiscourse and the authorithy discourse.</p>

Sammanfattning Eftersom det blev förbjudet att köpa sexuella tjänster i Sverige har denna uppsats, med hjälp av diskursanalys, undersökt hur rätten framställer sexköp som fenomen, sexköpare och även säljare av sexuella tjänster. Domar från olika svenska tingsrätter har analyserats, avseende vilka ord som används i framställningen av fenomenet. Socialkonstruktivistiska teorier har använts för att förstå hur konstruktionen sker av kön, prostitution som fenomen och hur offer samt gärningsman konstrueras. Då prostitution kan sägas vara en del i hur genus konstrueras i samhället idag har dikotomin mellan könen, samt mannen som norm, blivit en central del i uppsatsen. De gråzoner som finns i genuskontraktet kan tänkas utnyttjas av både män och kvinnor, där män låter sig köpa kvinnor, men kvinnor också med mer eller mindre frivillighet låter sig köpas. Detta bidrar till hur samhället ser på dem som säljer sex, de prostituerade blir medbrottslingar och delvis själva ansvariga för brottet. Detta leder i sin tur till att både gärningsmän och offer osynliggörs i samhället, och kan bidra till att brottet förringas. Om brottet inte uppmärksammas i tillräckligt hög grad kan staten vinna på det, speciellt med tanke på att den dolda prostitutionen inte är fullt så möjligt att komma åt och lagen framstår som ett misslyckande. Den verkligt viktiga frågan att ställa för en långsiktig förändring av attityder kring fenomenet, är varför män har ett behov av att köpa kvinnors kroppar för sexuellt bruk. Genussystemet möjliggör prostitution samtidigt som prostitution också i förlängningen är med och reproducerar genussystemet och kvinnans underordning i förhållande till mannen. / Abstract Since it became illegal to buy sexual services in Sweden, this essay examines, using discourse analysis, how the courts produces buying sex as a phenomenon, sex buyers and also sellers of sexual services. Judgments from various Swedish district courts have been analyzed in relation to which words used to describe the phenomenon. Social constructivist theories have been used to understand how the construction is done by sex, prostitution as a phenomenon and how victims and perpetrators are constructed. Since prostitution can be said to be a part of how gender is constructed in society today has the dichotomy between the sexes, and the man as the norm, become a central part of the essay. The gray areas of the gender contract may be used by both men and women, where men allow themselves to buy women, but women are also more or less free will allow themselves to be bought. This contributes to societies view those who sell sex, the prostitutes become accomplices and partly themselves responsible for the crime. This in turn leads to both offenders and victims are rendered invisible in society and can contribute to the offense belittled. If the crime is not addressed sufficiently the state can gain from it, especially given that the hidden prostitution is not quite as possible to access and the law appears to be a failure. The really important question to ask for a long-term change in attitudes towards the phenomenon, is why men have a need to buy women's bodies for sexual use. The gender system allows prostitution, while prostitution also, by extension, is part of and reproduces the gender system and the subordination of women in relation to man.

This thesis explores the lives of a group of fifteen exceptional women who were dedicated to the cause of advancing girls and women in sport and physical activity. Over several decades, they worked in a voluntary capacity to transform women in sport through practice and policy development. Moreover, they aligned such unpaid work with personal and local experiences of volunteering that eventually led to their participation in international sport circles and policies. The key settings for their voluntary service came from their roles in the emergence and maintenance of two international women‘s sport organisations – International Association of Physical Education and Sport for Girls and Women (IAPESGW) and WomenSport International (WSI). In addition, their voluntary roles were so substantial that they were inextricably interwoven within all aspects of their lives. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to explore the participants‘ relationships with sport volunteering, in the particular settings of IAPESGW and WSI, whilst analysing the role of volunteering in their lives. The study utilised a holistic framework to gain an in-depth understanding about the women‘s commitment to the cause and how volunteering fits into their lifestyle. As there were no models from the sport volunteering field that were appropriate for this study, the research drew upon and developed Hustinx and Lammertyn‘s (2003) non-sport model called the Collective and Reflexive Styles of Volunteering (SOV). The SOV was valuable because it offered a multi-dimensional approach to explain how, why, and when the participants got involved with advancing women‘s sport and physical activity, and how their involvement related to and influenced their wider lifestyles. A critical realist and social constructionist philosophy was employed to have a greater understanding of the women‘s realities, and life history interviews were conducted to gain a greater understanding about how they constructed their knowledge about themselves, sport, and the world around them. The study illustrated the complexity of the women‘s volunteer participation. The findings suggested that their sport passion and identity guided many of their actions and activities throughout their life, such as choices for higher education and within professional work. In addition, the findings showed that it was their personal experiences and gained knowledge about gender disadvantages in sport that initially stimulated and then repeatedly reinforced their interests and commitment. Although these had strong impacts on the women‘s entrance into and commitment to the cause, the findings highlighted that the women had to identify the conditions of their relationships, family, and types of paid work to be compatible with levels of volunteering. The study concluded that sport researchers can benefit from examining volunteers from a holistic perspective to gain a better understanding of the conditions under which individuals make such an extreme, voluntary contribution to sport.

Endometriosis is a pervasive, widespread disease that affects millions of women worldwide. The number of women affected by endometriosis is increasing at a staggering rate. Endometriosis impacts women in a variety of ways; it often gradually strips away their resistance to pain, their emotional strength, their concept of femininity and their ability to cope with challenges. This study aimed to provide a voice for women diagnosed with endometriosis. The study allowed the participants to share their experiences from diagnosis through to treatment and to explain the ways in which endometriosis influences their daily lives. In this research report the psychological impact of this disease is discussed, and factors that are not currently addressed by medical professionals treating women with endometriosis are highlighted. Social constructionism provided the theoretical framework for the study. One-on-one, in-depth interviews were conducted with five women who have been diagnosed with endometriosis by a gynaecologist through means of laparoscopic surgery. The method of analysis involved thematic network analysis. The participants’ narratives were converted into interview transcripts. These transcripts were analysed by the researchers and themes were identified. Themes that repeated were elaborated and were linked to available literature. The researcher hopes that this dissertation will contribute to existing knowledge regarding the psychological effects of endometriosis. It is hoped that it will help both the medical community and future and existing patients understand this disease and the effect that it has on the lives of women around the world, but particularly the lives of women in South Africa. / Psychology / M. Sc. (Psychology)

Denna studie sker med bakgrund av den flyktingsituation som uppstod i världen under 2015 och som kom att kallas den värsta flyktingkatastrofen sedan andra världskriget. Många länder i Europa, Sverige inkluderat, upplevde ett ökat antal asylsökande under denna period och detta blev föremål för en intensiv mediabevakning och en rad politiska åtgärder. Syftet med denna uppsats är att kritiskt granska hur flyktingar och flyktingmigrationen till Sverige under hösten 2015 konstrueras genom den offentliga diskursen som förekommer i svensk nyhetsrapportering. Syftet är även att undersöka hur dessa konstruktioner kan komma att skapa en bild av människor på flykt som ”den andre”. Detta kommer göras genom att undersöka på vilket sätt flyktingmigrationen framställs i Aftonbladet med utgångspunkt i två av de politiska beslut som togs 2015, nämligen införandet av ID-och gränskontroller. Detta har gjorts genom en kvalitativ textanalys med hjälp av en perspektivanalys. Två perspektiv kunde identifieras i de undersökta artiklarna, Hot-perspektivet, där flyktingmigrationen till Sverige framsälldes som ett hot mot Sverige och den svenska välfärden, och Humanitetperspektivet, som fungerade som ett motperspektiv till Hot-perspektivet där Hot-perspektivets problemformulering ifrågasätts och den problematiska situationen anses vara att i och med de politiska besluten om att begränsa antalet asylsökande hotas flyktingars grundläggande mänskliga rättigheter. Studien kom fram till att Hot-perspektivet präglas starkt av en nationalstatlig uppfattning med spår av en rasistisk diskurs som bidrar till att sprida en uppdelning mellan ”vi” och ”dem” som i sin tur kan leda till spridandet av en exkluderande inställning gentemot asylsökande. Genom att beskriva flyktingmigrationen som ett hot mot det svenska samhället bidrar perspektivet till att legitimera en mer restriktiv hållning då dessa beslut framstår som rimliga och möjliga. Humanitetperspektivet präglas av en mer global syn som erbjuder en mer inkluderande uppfattning av flyktingar och asylsökande. Genom att lyfta problemformuleringen och placera den problematiska situationen både i och utanför Sverige bidrar Humanitetperspektivet med men mer global syn på flyktingmigrationen som sammanfogar världen till ett mer sammansatt samhälle istället för att se den som uppdelad i nationer.

Studiens syfte var att undersöka pressens rapportering gällande sexuellt våld. Särskilt fokus lades på hur pressen beskrev könstillhörighet, etnicitet och rättsväsendet. Vi undersökte även pressens rapportering i relation till Nils Christies teori om ideala offer. Detta studerades genom en kritisk diskursanalys och i studien har vi analyserat 100 artiklar om sexuellt våld från fyra rikstäckande svenska tidningar under perioden 1 april 2009 till 1 april 2016. Analysen resulterade i att tre övergripande diskurser identifierades. Dessa diskurser valde vi att benämna gärningspersonen som kalkylerande och manipulativ, brottsoffrens utsatthet och rättsväsendets brister. Resultaten visade att såväl gärningspersoner som offer beskrevs stereotypt i största delen av materialet och att könstillhörighet ofta var centralt i dessa beskrivningar. Vi fann också att rättsväsendet ifrågasattes och ofta framställdes på ett negativt sätt. De viktigaste slutsatserna var att stereotypa framställningar, makt och nyhetsvärde var närvarande i pressens rapporteringar. / Title: Sexual violence – as described in the Swedish press The purpose of this study was to examine the press coverage concerning sexual violence. Particular focus was placed upon the descriptions of gender, ethnicity and the justice system. Furthermore we did also examine the press coverage in relation to Nils Christies theory of ideal victims. This was examined by the use of critical discourse-analysis and in the study we analyzed 100 articles concerning sexual violence taken from four swedish nationwide issued magazines during a period dating from 1st of April 2009 until 1st of April 2016. The analysis resulted in the identification of three overall discourses which we chose to name the calculating and manipulative perpetrator, the vulnerable victim and judicial shortcomings. The results showed that both perpetrators and victims were described in a stereotypical way throughout most of the material and that gender often were a central part of these descriptions. We also found that the justice system were questioned and often portrayed in a negative way. The most important conclusions were that stereotypical portraying, power and newsworthiness were present in the press coverage.