Within the framework of urban communication, this thesis attempts to "read" the urban space of West Kabul in Afghanistan, as a social and cultural text in order to understand the social exclusion of the Hazara people, a socially and politically disenfranchised ethnic group who predominantly inhabit that area. Based on data gathered through documentary research and non-participant field observations, this thesis argues that the urban space of West Kabul is the spatial manifestation of a systematic exclusionary process, through which, the Hazara people have been deprived from access to political, economic and cultural resources, services and opportunities. It interprets the city planning, distribution of resources, urbicide, streetscape, architecture and the body as the main sites where the social exclusion of the Hazaras in West Kabul is exercised. This study also provides a discussion about the historical evolution of West Kabul as an ethnic ghetto, as well as the various forms of conflict which led to spatial and social division in Kabul city.

Within the framework of urban communication, this thesis attempts to "read" the urban space of West Kabul in Afghanistan, as a social and cultural text in order to understand the social exclusion of the Hazara people, a socially and politically disenfranchised ethnic group who predominantly inhabit that area. Based on data gathered through documentary research and non-participant field observations, this thesis argues that the urban space of West Kabul is the spatial manifestation of a systematic exclusionary process, through which, the Hazara people have been deprived from access to political, economic and cultural resources, services and opportunities. It interprets the city planning, distribution of resources, urbicide, streetscape, architecture and the body as the main sites where the social exclusion of the Hazaras in West Kabul is exercised. This study also provides a discussion about the historical evolution of West Kabul as an ethnic ghetto, as well as the various forms of conflict which led to spatial and social division in Kabul city.

Social exclusion is the restriction of participation in one’s community; it is the denial of access to rights, services, dignity and respect. Youth who are homeless experience social exclusion on numerous fronts, as they are marginal to the social, economic and civil worlds of Canadian society. This dissertation is a qualitative, participatory project on youth homelessness that prioritizes voice by employing a “methods from the margins” approach (Kirby & McKenna, 1989). During this project I worked with youth who have experienced homelessness (ages 16-25), first in focus groups (n=13) and, then, through interviews (n=30), to explore their views on topics connected to social exclusion. The youth guided the topics that I explored, which I connected to the features of social exclusion outlined by Silver and Miller (2003). Results of this study highlight that youth who are homeless do not describe their experiences in terms of social exclusion. The results of this work question the homogeneity of experiences of the youth in the age bracket of 16-25, and review findings through three specific age categories of youth being “not yet adults,” “new adults” and “adults.” My findings indicate that youth who experience homelessness perceive themselves to be more independent and mature than youth who have not experienced homelessness, questioning dominant constructions of both “youth” and “homelessness.” Youth respondents also mentioned a number of other difficulties they experienced because of homelessness, including discrimination and limited opportunities for education and conventional employment and access to housing. This highlights the multidimensionality of social exclusion. At various points in the thesis I discuss youths’ views on rights and social citizenship, pointing to the impacts of limited rights and social safeguards in a neo-liberal state. Recommendations are made for reducing the social exclusion of youth who experience homelessness through “housing-first” approaches to addressing homelessness.

My big interest in sports was what shaped my choice of subject for the essay. The purpose of this study has been to explore the social meaning of team sports for functionally impaired persons. In order to fulfil the purpose of the essay I formed following questions: How do the actives experience their participation in team sports? And how important is the social intercourse in team sports to the individual welfare? The methods I’ve used have been qualitative with an ethnographic approach. I have used participant observations and field interviews to gather my empirical material. To analyze this material I have used theoretical concepts such as: group membership, social skills, social interaction, social inclusion and social exclusion. In this essay I have found out that team sports promotes people’s social skills. Therefore team sports are, according to my studies, a beneficial form of social work.

This study is about job training for people with psycho-social problems without income. The purpose with this sort of job training is to bring these people back to the regular labor market as well as the experience of having a job. In the labor market situation in Sweden today there’s no guarantee that the individual will return to the labor market after having undergone job training. The aim of this study is to understand how supervisors at job training activities experience that the organizations of the activities and resources affect their work. We shall also explore how the supervisors assess if the structure of the activity weaken or enhance the job trainees’ social exclusion. Our research questions are:       1. How are job training activities organized? 2. How do the supervisors work with the job trainees’ social exclusion? 3. How does the structure of the activity affect the supervisors’ discretion?   We have in this study done interviews with supervisors. To understand our result we have used Hasenfelds (1983; 2010) and Lipskys (2010) theories about human service organizations and the discretion of street level bureaucrats.The result shows that the job training activities are organized in different ways. The supervisors work with the social exclusion by creating routines in the every-day life, a social network and increased self-confidence for the job trainees. The result also shows that all the supervisors experience a great discretion in their work but that this discretion is affected by external factors.

The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate how societal mechanisms can impact on asylum seekers and influence their individual identity. The information for this case study was collected through comprehensive interviews with a group of asylum seekers from Söderhamn whereby the individuals expressed their perception of their current situation. From the gathered material we could see a pattern emerge which gave us the framework and the foundation for our theoretical approach. The similarity we discovered when analyzing the material was the powerlessness the individuals experienced e.g. the individuals had no possibility to influence their current situation and worse, it was impossible for the individuals to enter society even when they had the willpower to do so. According to the asylum seekers the authority’s unwillingness to assist in language development worsens the chances for the individuals to integrate into the society. Through our case study we have discovered that social exclusion and alienation are common identity experiences the asylum seekers have been through which will be our theoretical framework.

Walkability is desirable for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, walkability is desirable because it is the only available or affordable transportation modal choice. Urban form and transportation infrastructure can be hostile to pedestrians because cars are prioritized first, and pedestrians often face unsafe situations and a lack of pedestrian facilities. This analysis explores a spatial distribution of pedestrian access to opportunities in Austin, TX, and examines the locations of households of different income levels relative to areas of high pedestrian access to opportunities. To achieve results that are equally precise across the study area, this analysis employs GIS analysis and U.S. Census 2000 data, and analyzes the study area using a ½ square-mile grid system. High pedestrian access areas are defined as locations where residential parcels have pedestrian network access to multiple types of opportunities and above average number of opportunities. This analysis finds that low income households are more associated with high pedestrian access areas in Austin, TX, than moderate and high income households. If lower income households are consistently shown to rely more on pedestrian infrastructure than moderate or high income households, it may be important to allocate funding to high pedestrian access areas with low income populations in such a way that is socially equitable, and that will result in more use of the pedestrian facilities. / text

The aim of this study is to problematize social support at online communities for unwanted childlessness by analyzing the discourses of the unwantedly childless and unwanted childlessness at a Swedish online community. This with the purpose of relating online social support to the societal norm for having children. The study is conducted by doing a Critical Discourse Analysis from a Relational- Cultural and Intersectional perspective on a Swedish online community sub-forum called “LESS på ofrivillig barnlöshet? Skriv av dig!” The results show that the social support becomes a paradox. The unwantedly childless themselves view the social support as fostering connection and belonging. In the meantime the social support is reinforcing the societal norm for having children by creating a collective identity of hope and an individual identity of emotional and physical failure. The norm for having children is further reinforced by the relations outside the online community leading to feelings of social exclusion.

Although there is a growing literature on non-climatic drivers of vulnerability to climate change, there are only a few empirical case studies that demonstrate the process through which vulnerability is produced. Moreover, existing climate literatures offer very limited insights on the linkages between governance and vulnerability to climate change. Within the governance framework, this dissertation tends to contribute to the current body of knowledge by exploring the role of governance in producing vulnerability to climate change. Using southwest coastal Bangladesh as an example, this study addresses three specific research questions: (1) how mastaanocracy, a form of uneven power relations shapes vulnerability to climate change; (2) the impact of corruption, particularly bribery and extortion on livelihoods in the face of climate change; and (3) the linkage between social exclusion and climate change vulnerability. Findings suggest that unequal power relation and corruption reduces the ability of the population to cope with the stresses of climate change. Social exclusion adds an extra burden to already vulnerable segments of population. On the other hand, climatic change pushes marginalized community further away thus exacerbating social exclusion. Based on the findings, I argue that it is difficult to build resilience and achieve successful adaptation without addressing the structural factors of power and inequality.

Social exclusion is the restriction of participation in one’s community; it is the denial of access to rights, services, dignity and respect. Youth who are homeless experience social exclusion on numerous fronts, as they are marginal to the social, economic and civil worlds of Canadian society. This dissertation is a qualitative, participatory project on youth homelessness that prioritizes voice by employing a “methods from the margins” approach (Kirby & McKenna, 1989). During this project I worked with youth who have experienced homelessness (ages 16-25), first in focus groups (n=13) and, then, through interviews (n=30), to explore their views on topics connected to social exclusion. The youth guided the topics that I explored, which I connected to the features of social exclusion outlined by Silver and Miller (2003). Results of this study highlight that youth who are homeless do not describe their experiences in terms of social exclusion. The results of this work question the homogeneity of experiences of the youth in the age bracket of 16-25, and review findings through three specific age categories of youth being “not yet adults,” “new adults” and “adults.” My findings indicate that youth who experience homelessness perceive themselves to be more independent and mature than youth who have not experienced homelessness, questioning dominant constructions of both “youth” and “homelessness.” Youth respondents also mentioned a number of other difficulties they experienced because of homelessness, including discrimination and limited opportunities for education and conventional employment and access to housing. This highlights the multidimensionality of social exclusion. At various points in the thesis I discuss youths’ views on rights and social citizenship, pointing to the impacts of limited rights and social safeguards in a neo-liberal state. Recommendations are made for reducing the social exclusion of youth who experience homelessness through “housing-first” approaches to addressing homelessness.