Syftet med denna uppsats är att, utifrån debattsartiklar i Dagens Nyheter under januari – juli 2009, undersöka vilken social position personer som, av tidningens ledarredaktion, benämns ”flyktingar”, ”invandrare” eller ”asylsökande” tilldelas av redaktionen i ett av samma redaktion beskrivet socialt rum. Undersökningen görs utifrån redaktionellt producerade debattartiklar innehållande orden integration, invandringspolitik, flyktingpolitik, integrationspolitik, invandrare, asyl, invandring, flykting, asylpolitik och med hjälp av Pierre Bourdieus teori om positioner och symboliska krig i det sociala rummet. Resultatet belyser att skribenterna ger flyktingar, invandrare och asylsökande en låg social position i det sociala rum som beskrivs i nutiden, men spridda sociala positioner i det sociala rum som beskrivs i framtiden; gruppen skall upplösas och positionerna spridas. Undantaget för denna framtidsvision är en grupp som av skribenterna beskrivs som ”terrorister”. Denna grupp ska förbli en grupp, postioneras lågt och/eller uteslutas på så många fält som möjligt. Flera tidigare undersökningar bekräftar att invandrare ges låga sociala positioner i media. Att detta inte gäller beskrivningar av framtiden återfinns inte på samma sätt i tidigare undersökningar. Detta, samt undantaget gällande ”terrorister” kan därför utgöra en intressant grund för kommande undersökningar.

Specific language impairment (SLI) describes a form of language acquisition difficulty that is not secondary to other developmental conditions. Researchers have identified a number of social and emotional difficulties in children and young people with SLI. However, less is known about the influences upon these difficulties, particularly at times of major change. This longitudinal study therefore examines the social well-being of children with receptive SLI during their transition from primary to secondary schooling. It focuses on peer social position and social anxiety and considers whether the severity of receptive language impairment, along with other factors, has particular importance for these markers. The markers are explored in terms of their definition, interrelationship and the degree to which they present singularly in children with SLI. The study uses a mixed method design to address six related research questions. The quantitative results showed that the participants with SLI had higher social anxiety than typical comparisons at both Time 1 and Time 2, but lower self-rated social acceptance at Time 2 only. However, teachers at Time 1 rated their social acceptance lower than they rated typical comparisons. There were no significant changes in self-rated measures from Time 1 to Time 2. A moderately strong and longitudinally robust association was found between social acceptance and social anxiety and between social acceptance and verbal/non-verbal discrepancy. Furthermore, social acceptance predicted social anxiety. The qualitative findings indicated that a number of factors singly and ecologically influenced the social well-being of children with SLI following secondary transition. Of these, receptive language level, pragmatic development and parental support were found to be particularly important. There was considerable variation in levels of social well-being, but they were generally lower than in a group of children with specific learning difficulties (SpLD). Overall, the study suggested that some children with SLI face greater social challenges than their peers at this life stage. However, secondary transition did not invariably result in greater difficulties. The study raised questions about policy, provision and practice in relation to children with SLI and identified areas for future research. Key words: specific language impairment (SLI); special educational needs (SEN); specific learning difficulties (SpLD); peer social position; social anxiety; ecological relationships

Bakgrund Friluftsliv är något som nämns i kurs- och ämnesplanerna i Idrott & Hälsa. Trots detta kände jag att jag saknade kunskap om det under min egen skolgång vilket gjorde att jag uppfattade friluftsliv som ointressant. En del forskning har gjorts om vad man kan göra för att göra friluftsliv mer intressant för eleverna. Däremot har lite forskning gjorts angående vilka elever har/har inte ett intresse för friluftsliv. Syfte Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur intresset är för friluftsliv hos elever i årskurs 2 på gymnasiet. Finns det något samband mellan social position och intresset för friluftsliv samt skiljer sig intresset något åt mellan könen? Metod I studien har jag använt mig av en kvantitativ metod i form av enkäter. Totalt deltog 94 elever från tre skolor i Karlstads Kommun. Resultat Resultatet i studien visade på att majoriteten av eleverna tycker att friluftsliv är lite intressant samtidigt som det visade sig att ett samband fanns där ju högre social position man har, desto större intresse för friluftsliv fanns bland eleverna. Ingen större skillnad kunde ses på intresset för friluftsliv mellan könen. Diskussion Studiens resultat liknar mycket vad tidigare forskning visat. Vad som var lite anmärkningsvärt var att det visade det sig att eleverna har en ganska oklar bild om vad friluftsliv är.

Socioekonomiska villkor under livsloppet påverkar ålderdomen på många olika sätt. Individer som haft en lägre socioekonomisk position löper bland annat en större risk att dö i förtid och drabbas av ohälsa. Syftet med studien är att studera människors livslopp med fokus på olika socioekonomiska villkor under uppväxt och livet fram till pensionen ur ett retrospektivt perspektiv. Kärnan i uppsatsen är att undersöka deltagarnas livslopp utifrån en historisk och individuell kontext och analysera hur den subjektiva upplevelsen av livskvalitet ser ut i ålderdomen. Studiens undersökningsdesign bygger på livsloppsintervjuer och kompletterande enkät. Deltagarna är födda under trettio och fyrtiotalet och samtliga är pensionärer. För att studera hur socioekonomiska villkor påverkar livet efter pensionen är det väsentligt att deltagarnas socioekonomiska positioner ser olika ut. Hälften av våra respondenter lever under sämre socioekonomiska villkor medan resterande har en mer fördelaktig social position i samhället. Uppsatsen tillämpar fem teoretiska perspektiv där alla har olika funktion i arbetets varierande delar. Teorierna tillsammans med internationell och nationell forskning har spelat en stor roll vid analysen av det insamlade materialet. Resultatet av studien visar att ett antal faktorer under livsloppet har påverkan på de äldres liv efter pensionen. Dessa faktorer är samhällelig och historisk kontext, socioekonomiska villkor under uppväxten, kön och klass. Upplevelsen av livskvalitet efter pensioneringen visar sig vara relativt lika hos samtliga respondenter.

This study examines subjective occupational status and what factors influence and indicate subjective occupational status among employees in the municipal sector. The study also investigates if subjective occupational status has any significant connections with stress and worrying. The aim of this study is to examine if income, education, age, gender and length of employment has any significant effect on the subjective occupational status. We also aim to investigate if subjective occupational status affects the respondent’s levels of stress and worry. The material for the study was collected via a questionnaire with 268 respondents. The survey was done via the internet and sent out to the respondents via e-mail. We are utilizing the reference group theory in our analysis of the material. Reference group theory states that subjective social position is created by social comparison. Individuals tend to base their position in the social hierarchy and compare themselves with individuals who are similar to them. This leads to that many people places themselves as average. The results of the study show that it is only income which is affecting the subjective occupational status. We also found that subjective occupational status does not have any connections with stress apart from causing the respondents some worry over not having time to complete their work assignments.

A significant proportion of worldwide research concerning adult refugees has investigated clinical perspectives and emphasised the impact of pre and post-migration experiences as key factors affecting their mental health status. Nevertheless, a clear understanding of their mental health problems and psychiatric morbidity is difficult to obtain due to major prevalence variations and discrepancies between studies. Further, recent studies in New Zealand have underlined the limitation of health providers' abilities to meet refugees' mental health needs. On the other hand, despite the acknowledgment of refugees' endurance abilities to overcome traumatic events during both their pre-migration flight and in their first asylum countries, relatively less is known about their capacities to show positive adaptation to life's tasks in the course of resettlement in a final host country and how this impacts on preventing mental health problems. The current study, therefore, was undertaken to develop a theoretical understanding to describe and explain adult refugees' coping processes in overcoming resettlement difficulties and adjusting to life in New Zealand. This was achieved by using the grounded theory methodology where qualitative data were collected from twenty-six former refugees coming from war torn countries namely Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), Ethiopia, Kurdistan region and Somalia who are now living in Christchurch and Nelson. Participants described the basic social process of obtaining a social position as being the main goal which motivated them to develop their coping skills and behaviour. They explained that this was underpinned by the inter-relationship of their personal resources and gradual personal achievements which were influenced by encouraging external support from resettlement services providers and "caring" New Zealanders. Data collected during this study suggest that this dynamic process, in which personality and environmental factors interacted in a reciprocal and transactional relationship, appeared to be the condition sine qua non to negotiate and manage resettlement challenges. Indeed, participants frequently emphasised that if this interaction was not activated they faced greater difficulties in coming to terms with their new environment and in their adjustment to life in New Zealand, thus leading potentially to adverse mental health outcomes. Additionally, quantitative socio-economic data were collected so as to describe participants' characteristics. The study’s findings underline the complexity of adult refugees’ coping processes as well as some of the institutional constraints hindering their adaptation progress which can result in mental distress. These issues require responses which are beyond the health sector on its own. The implications of supporting the development of personal abilities so as to guide pragmatic support and encourage multisectoral collaboration are outlined and discussed. Areas for further research are highlighted as well as strategic issues which need to be addressed for improving the current situation of refugees resettled in New Zealand.

This thesis explores human resource management (HRM) adoption by investigating the influence of multiple HRM actors’ social position, capital resource(s) exchange mechanism, dispositions, social classes, habitus, social expectation, and national and global environmental factors. The objectives of this thesis were achieved through systematically conducting three different studies for the thesis. The first study was carried out to gain insight into the influence of social position on HRM academics’ adoption. The major contribution of this study was a theorising model on HRM academics’ adoption. It shows which capital resource is very sought after and how it plays a role in developing HRM academics’ dispositions, which in turn provides them with the drive and motivation to adopt western HRM ideas and knowledge. The second study was carried out to gain insight into the mechanism and formation of capital resource(s) exchange that influences HRM practitioners to adopt western HRM ideas, knowledge, and practices. The main contribution of this study comprised empirical insights into the importance and role of social class (élite and emerging class); habitus and socialisation (primary and secondary socialisation) as developers and controllers of the mechanism of capital resource(s) exchange; and formation of social position. The third study investigated a gap between accepted (adopted) HRM ideas and knowledge, and actual HRM practices. The major contribution of this study was its theorising on the factors that influence this gap. It explored the influences of conflicting factors such as actors’ professional and occupational orientation and position, social position, and social expectation, which develop the gap. This thesis adopted a qualitative abductive research approach. It conducted qualitative indepth interviews with 19 HRM academics, 15 MBA-Alumni HRM practitioners, and 10 non-MBA-Alumni HRM practitioners. Qualitative observation in two business schools and five business organisations in multiple industries was carried out to enrich the data collection. This thesis contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing insights into individual actors’ level HRM adoption, which is an underexplored area in Pakistan and similar developing countries. By employing theoretical and analytical tools based on Bourdieu’s theory of practices and social position, Rogers’s and Tarde’s theorising of adoption, and findings of empirical studies of macro institutions, cultural sensitive views, and institutional factors’ framework in the diffusion of HRM, this thesis explored, examined, and theorised HRM adoption at different individual actors’ level in business organisations and business schools in Pakistan. In that respect, this thesis theoretically contributes to Bourdieu’s theory and its unique use in international HRM, organisation studies, and management research. This thesis empirically contributes to the understanding of management and think tanks in business schools, business organisations, educators, HRM practitioners, and relevant government and regulatory bodies who can benefit from the findings of this research by understanding the different factors and social structures affecting western HRM’s effectiveness and its applications. It also suggests to these stakeholders the factors that affect individuals’ and employees’ adoption of western HRM and western management ideas, knowledge, and practices; any change in strategies, policies, and procedures; and problems in their implementation.

Denna uppsats är en kvantitativ studie om 15-åringars tillit till statliga institutioner utifrån social position i samhället. Studien har genomförts genom en surveyundersökning i form av enkäter genomförda i klass nio i sex kommunala grundskolor i Stockholmsområdet. Studien syftar till att undersöka om det finns samband mellan social position och tillit där vi använder social position som ett samlingsbegrepp för faktorerna socioekonomisk status, klassbakgrund, invandrarbakgrund och kön. Resultaten visar att det går att se ett samband där ungdomar med en lägre social position hyser lägre tillit än ungdomar med en högre social position. Vi kan endast se kön som en faktor gällande den generella tillitsfrågan samt gällande upplevelsen av trygghet kvälls-/nattetid i närområdet. Där personer som definierar sig som kvinnor skattar lägre tillit och känner sig mindre trygga i mörkret än män. Analysen visar att det finns samband mellan tillitsgrad och bostadssegregation, förändringar i välfärdsstaten Sverige, föräldrarnas utbildningsbakgrund samt i vilken mån ungdomarna av sina föräldrar blivit rådda att inte lita på personer i allmänhet. Våra resultat har vi kommit fram till genom framförallt bivariata analyser i statistikprogrammet IBM SPSS Statistics 22. Resultaten har sedan analyserats med hjälp av teori om tillit, socialt kapital och intersektionalitet. De slutsatser vi kan dra av vår analys stämmer till stor del överens med tidigare forskning på ämnet. / This paper is a quantitative study, which examines 15-year-olds trust towards governmental institutions on the basis of social position in society. The study has been carried out through a survey in class nine in six public schools in the Stockholm region. The study aims to investigate whether there is connection between social position and trust, where we use social position as a generic term for socioeconomic status, class background, immigrant background and gender. The results show that it is possible to see a correlation between lower social position and lower trust and higher social position and higher trust. We can only see gender as a factor according to the general question of trust as well as the question of current experience of safety in the evening/at night in the surrounding area. Where people who define themselves as women perceive less trust and feel less safe in the dark than men. The analysis shows that there is connection between the levels of trust and residential segregation, changes in the welfare state, the parents ' educational background and the extent to which young people been advised by their parents not to trust people in general. The results has been analysed through bivariaty analysis in IBM SPSS Statistics 22. The conclusions we can draw from our analysis is to a large extent consistent with previous research on the topic.

This article contributes to a thriving line of research that examines issue interpretation and social accounts in order to study the adoption and diffusion of organizational concepts and management practices. It employs the empirical example of the rise of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Austria between 1990 and 2005 to investigate the complex role institutional pressures and social positions of actors play in the local adoption of globally theorized ideas. More specifically, the study reveals distinct patterns in rhetorical CSR adoption that illustrate the initial hesitation and reluctance of an established elite in the Austrian business community towards the Anglo-American notion of 'explicit' CSR, while non-elite actors who were less favourably positioned in the social order readily embraced the concept. It is in such a sense that CSR is nevertheless instrumentalized to challenge, reinterpret, or explicitly evoke the autochthonous idea of institutionalized social solidarity. Conceptually, this research takes into account social structure, actors' positions in the social order, and resulting divergent adoption motivations - i.e. the individual, yet socially derived, relevance systems of actors - and relates them to mechanisms and processes of institutional change. (author's abstract)

<p>A strong model of culture should capture both the structured and negotiated elements of cultural meaning, allowing for the fluidity of social action and the agency of social actors. Although cultural meanings often reproduce societal structures, supporting stability and consensus, culture is constitutive of and not merely produced by structural arrangements. It is therefore essential to establish clear mechanisms which guide how individuals interpret social events and apply cultural meanings in making sense of the social world. As such, this dissertation focuses on the model of culture forwarded by affect control theory, a sociological theory linking culturally shared meaning with identity, behavior, and emotion in interpersonal interaction (for reviews, see Heise 2007; Robinson and Smith-Lovin 2006). </p><p>While many theories have attempted to deal with components of the cultural model separately, affect control theory provides a unifying multi-level framework, which rectifies many shortcomings of earlier models by simultaneously accounting for individual cognition and emotion, situational and institutional context, and cultural meaning. The dissertation begins by introducing affect control theory, which considers cultural meanings to be societally bound, based on consensual and widely shared sentiments, and stable over long periods of time. We advocate several refinements to the theory's assumptions about culture, proposing that cultural sentiments are dynamic and structurally contingent, and that mechanisms operating within social networks serve as important sources of meaning consensus and change.</p><p>The remainder of the dissertation presents empirical evidence in support of our propositions. First, we draw upon primary survey data to show how social position and patterns of social connectedness relate to inculcation into the dominant culture and commonality with the affective meanings of others. Respondents' demographics, social position, social connectedness, network composition, and experiences in close relationships are explored as predictors of inculcation and commonality in meaning. Second, through an experimental study, we explore social influence processes as a mechanism of cultural consensus and change. Analyses examine both conditionally manipulated features of the group structure and respondents' emergent assessments of social influence as predictors of change in task-related attitudes and affective meanings. </p><p>Our results identify structural sources of normative differentiation and consensus, and introduce social networks methodologies as a means of elaborating affect control theory's explanatory model. More broadly, the findings generated by this project contribute to an ongoing academic discussion on the origins of cultural content, exploring the complex and dynamic relationship between patterns of social interaction and cultural affective meaning. We close by introducing research in progress, which examines predictors of clustering in affective meaning and explores how values, self, and identity condition the effects of social influence on decision-making.</p> / Dissertation