This study aims to present a design for a tool for sustainable integration of international students at KTH in Stockholm, Sweden. Integration has 3 main parts, social integration which is interaction with natives, structural which is concerned with a civic number, a job, and last but not least cultural integration which deals with customs, traditions, and religion. The tool has two main features, both of which are aiming to create favourable conditions for all three subsets of integration. The tool was developed by conducting 18 interviews, two rounds of prototyping and two rounds of user testing. It is made out of two main parts, namely informational and social. The information provided is both structural about institutions and getting around, whereas also information about cultural events, attendance at these by international students has the potential to strengthen social integration as well. The social part is designed as a 1-on-1 randomised chat that aims to encourage forming new friendships between international students and natives. This part allows new students to ask questions about anything, the process will get them randomly assigned to any native who shall answer which will create favourable conditions for forming new friendships between newcomers and natives. / Denna studie syftar till att presentera en design för ett verktyg för hållbar integrering av internationella studenter på KTH i Stockholm. Integration har tre huvuddelar, social integration som är interaktion med de infödda, strukturell integration som berör ett personnummer, ett jobb, och sist men inte minst kulturell integration som handlar om sedvänjor, traditioner och religion. Verktyget har två huvuddrag, som båda syftar till att skapa gynnsamma förutsättningar för alla tre undergrupper av integration. Verktyget utvecklades genom att genomföra 18 intervjuer, två prototyper och två testundersökningar. Den består av två huvuddelar, nämligen den informativa delen och den sociala delen. Denna information är både strukturell om institutioner och hur man tar sig runt, och information om kulturella evenemang, även deltagande i dessa av internationella studenter har potential att stärka social integration. Den sociala delen är utformad som en 1-till-1 randomiserad chatt som syftar till att uppmuntra skapandet av nya vänskaper mellan internationella studenter och de infödda. Denna del tillåter nya studenter att ställa frågor om vad som helst, processen kommer att slumpmässigt tilldela dem en infödd som är tillgänglig, vilket kommer skapa gynnsamma förutsättningar för att forma nya vänskaper mellan nykomlingar och infödda medborgare.

As a result of covid-19 restrictions universities were encouraged to conduct their education remotely. Because of this remote education students could not live the social life they had expected to do during their education. The purpose of our study is to examine the importance of social interactions for the students' learning/academic success during remote education as well as if it was related to any challenges. Furthermore, we intend to compare how the social interactions differ from remote education to the current university-based education. The study was conducted through a qualitative approach with interviews being conducted with students who began their education when it was remote during covid-19. The collected material has been analyzed using Goffman’s dramaturgical theory, social integration and the educational contract. The results show that the students had a lack of social interactions during the remote education. This has also led to a lack of knowledge acquisition for the student when the education was held remotely. The results further show that the student had struggles with the ability to concentrate and motivation during the remote education as well as experiencing difficulties asking for help. In conclusion the results show that the social interaction during university-based education differs significantly from remote education. When the education switched back to being university-based the students got to know each other, which contributed to a better social interaction.

In the discussion of different integration solutions in Sweden, conscription usually appears. In Sweden, the conscription was disused from the year 2010 to the year 2017. When it was reintroduced in the year 2017 the conscription returned in a different context. Despite the argumentation for the conscription as a tool to increase social integration there have been no studies in Sweden examining this nor how people with foreign background experience the conscription in Sweden. Therefore this study aims to examine how people with foreign backgrounds experience conscription in Sweden and if and how they experience it as social integrative. The aim is also to examine if conscription can be used as a tool to increase social integration. Four interviews with Swedes who have foreign backgrounds and have completed the conscription constitute the empirical material. Socialization and social integration are the theoretical frameworks in this study. The material was analyzed with the thematic analytical method. The findings of the study revealed that two of the respondents experienced suspicion connected to their background during the muster. The respondents also expressed that they had unclear expectations of what the conscription would be like since they had no people in their closest circle who had completed the Swedish conscription. This may have led to a slight disadvantage during the beginning of the conscription. But overall the respondents had no negative experience during the conscription connected to their background and only positive experiences were highlighted. Furthermore, the findings of the study indicate that conscription in Sweden can be a tool to increase social integration. This was shown by the way the conscripts were treated equally and how they were formed to value the collective the highest. This also showed through the socialization process that the respondents underwent during conscription which had clear effects after the conscription as well.

No description available.

Despite gains made in the educational attainment of ethnic minorities, members of these groups remain underrepresented in higher education. Fewer numbers of minorities at the undergraduate level translates into fewer minority students eligible to pursue graduate and professional degrees. As such, institutions of higher education have begun to recognize the importance of not only ensuring that minority students earn bachelor's degrees, but that they are prepared for success in graduate school. Graduate school preparation programs (GSPPs) were created to improve access, retention, and graduation rates among groups underrepresented in higher education, and prepare them for transition to graduate study. To date, however little research has been conducted to see if GSPPs actually assist minority students in making that transition. This study explored the academic and social transition experiences of minority students to graduate school and analyzed the differences in transition by race (Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaskan Native), type of GSPP experience (no program, research-only program, graduate/professional school seminars only, holistic program), and duration of experience (less than six weeks during summer, 7-12 weeks during summer, summer and academic year). The study employed a national sample of 621 ethnic minority graduate students at nine research extensive universities. Data were collected using the Minority Graduate Student Experiences Survey (MGSES), a 77-item instrument specifically designed for this study. Items for the survey were developed utilizing existing literature on the academic and social integration experiences of graduate students. Overall, ethnic minority graduate students reported favorable academic and social experiences but appear to be more satisfied with their academic experiences than their social experiences. No significant differences were found by race on any of the subscales on the Academic Experiences (AE) scale, however, differences did emerge between Black/African American graduate students and Hispanic/Latino graduate students on one subscale of the Social Experiences (SE) scale. Significant differences were also found by program type and program duration on the AE and SE subscales. Finally, results indicated differences between those who reported no program involvement and those who had been involved in a program of some type on the both the AE and SE scales. / Ph. D.

The use of child soldiers violates human rights and international norms, yet children continue to be abused as soldiers, human shields, and they are forced to participate in armed conflicts worldwide. This is shown to impact the children in many ways and therefore they need extra help when leaving the armed groups. The reintegration process is often part of countries' Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) programs and is crucial for both the children's and the country's future. This study aims to examine the reintegration of former childsoldiers in Sierra Leone and northern Uganda. By comparing and analyzing the processes and outcomes in these two countries using existing materials, this study highlights key aspects of reintegration. By using the social integration theory and focusing on the factors of family, school, and religion, this study compares and analyzes the two cases. The results indicate that while both Sierra Leone and northern Uganda have engaged in the reintegration of childsoldiers, their approaches differ. Sierra Leone has demonstrated a more effective process concerning school and family reintegration, whereas northern Uganda has placed greater emphasis on the role of religion, despite efforts to provide both educational opportunities and familial connections for the children.

Previous studies have examined how individuals who are diagnosed with mental (McManus, Stubbings, & Martin, 2006) or physical illness (Duggan, Medway & Bunke, 2004) are stigmatized but no study has directly compared how students perceive a person living with a mental versus a physical illness. The present study explored whether participants desired greater social distance from a student who 1) suffered from schizophrenia, 2) was in remission for cancer, relative to a 3) healthy student. The study also investigated whether participants could objectively evaluate the identical written work of these students differently when they are described according to their illnesses. It was hypothesized that college students would desire the greatest social distance from students with mental illness and the least amount of social distance from students described as healthy. In addition, it was hypothesized that college students would evaluate the work of a healthy student more positively than a student who has a chronic mental or physical illness. It was also hypothesized that college students would evaluate the work of a student described as suffering from chronic physical illness more positively than the work of the student described as having a chronic mental illness. For the procedure, participants were given a vignette about a fictional student and were randomly assigned to a vignette that described the student as 1) suffering from schizophrenia which was controlled by medication, 2) in remission for cancer, or 3) healthy. The participants were then asked to evaluate this student's essay using a grading rubric. Participants then completed the Social Distance Scale (Penn, Guynan, Daily, & Spalding, 1994). Finally, students reported demographic information about themselves. A one-way between subjects Multivariate ANOVA was performed on the data, and significant differences were found among conditions for the SDS but not for the scores on the student's essay. The results suggest that the students were able to remain objective while grading the student's assignment, but required greater social distance from a student with a mental or physical illness.

The primary problem of this study is to investigate statistically the degree of social integration in a newly-consolidated rural high school formed from four previously existing high schools. The sociometric technique is to be used to determine the peer acceptance for the component parts of the school population, to find out, if possible, if the process of combining the four schools has created an atmosphere which is contributing to the more effective social adjustment of all the students.

The aim of this thesis is to describe the users visiting the syringe exchange clinic in Malmö with respect to what characterises the group, how they utilize the services of the clinic and how their patterns of participation relate to risk behaviour, physical and mental health and social development. The heterogeneity of the group has been captured by the use of Stimsons dimensions “integration in majority society” and “involvement in sub-culture”, yielding four different groups of syringe exchangers: “stables”, “loners”, “two-worlders” and “junkies”. The study rests on two sources of data: a register from the clinic including all syringe exchangers that have visited the clinic between 1989 and 2003, altogether 3660 individuals, and an interview of visitors at the clinic during 1995, including 496 persons. The results show that syringe exchangers, compared to other persons with severe addiction in Malmö, to a larger extent use amphetamine as their drug-of-choice, are older and inject more irregularly. The population visiting the clinic is heterogeneous with respect to integration in society and involvement in sub-cultures. The group classified as junkies do, as expected, display the highest inclination to share syringes and needles with other and hence have the most advanced risk behaviours. As to utilization of the programme, the results show that the longer the syringe exchangers stay in the programme, the more frequent they visit it. Also with respect to utilization-patterns, we find substantial variations within the studied group. Five categories are discernible: drop-in visitors with only one or two visits, sporadic visitors who in spite of contacts over a number of years never really establish a regular contact, intermittent visitors who have had contact over several years but display a very irregular visiting pattern, regular visitors who relatively fast establish a consistent contact with visits between uniform time intervals and frequent visitors who tend to stay longer than others and visit the clinic more often. Another aspect of utilization is to what extent the distribution of needles and syringes cover the needs of the visitors. With a strict definition of need, only a minority manages to cover their needs, but if we accept a more extensive individual re-use, around 90 percent of the average need is covered. Data also reveals that a very high proportion of the users on at least one occasion have visited the programme without syringe exchange taking place or any complementary service delivered. Basically these visits seem to be of a more social nature, reinforcing the contacts between the staff and the visitors. Data do not give any clear support for the basic assumption that syringe exchange reduce the incidence of HIV or hepatitis. Recent sharing of utensils or low coverage of syringe need through the programme do not predict a higher infection risk. Instead we find that the social contacts with the staff (without syringe exchange) function as a predictor of lower incidence. This indicates that the mechanisms may be more complex than just related to the provision of clean needles and syringes. The result shows that integration increase over time while sub-cultural involvement decreases. However, the patterns for different groups are very diverse and we find no evidence that more frequent contacts as such are related to increased integration. There is however, some evidence that social visits are positively related to increased integration. No support could be found for the assumption that the programme increases the number of severe addicts.

No description available.