The aim of this study is to gain a better understanding of how second-generation immigrants with Iraqi backgrounds navigate through and adapt to their identity formation processes in relation to Swedish society.  Previous research has examined other ethnic groups of second-generation immigrants and has provided insights that contribute to our study, but there is limited research on second-generation immigrants with Iraqi backgrounds, even though Iraqis are one of the largest groups that have immigrated to Sweden since the 1980s. To achieve the study's purpose and answer the research question, we have chosen to conduct a qualitative study based on 10 qualitative semi-structured interviews with second-generation immigrants with Iraqi backgrounds between the ages of 18 and 30. The results of the study have been analyzed using the following theories: postcolonial perspective, symbolic interactionism and the following theoretically grounded conceptual definitions: identity, in-betweenness, gender patterns and gender regime. The findings of the study reveal that second-generation immigrants with Iraqi backgrounds find themselves in a state of in-betweenness, where they do not fully identify as neither Iraqis nor Swedes. Furthermore, our study shows that cultural, social, and symbolic interactions influence second-generation immigrants with Iraqi backgrounds and their identity formation process, as a symbolic act reinforces an individual's identity. Adaptation to Swedish society is limited for second-generation immigrants with Iraqi backgrounds due to the differing perceptions and expectations of these two cultures regarding what is accepted and deviant, influenced by Iraqi culture and religion.

Radek Vorlíček ABSTRACT The dissertation explores the dynamics of social marginality and dominance in educational settings. It explores social distance dynamics among pupils in elementary school, and its impact on their position in social hierarchy. I focus on social interaction in a group of children, and record the context in which the inclusion or exclusion of non-dominant identities take place. Special attention is paid to the role of schools in the process of boundary constructions. Larger framework of the research is integration, segregation and assimilation tendencies of school systems. The dissertation is based upon long-term qualitative inductive and ethnographic fieldwork. The central method of my fieldwork is observation. To some extent, the research was conducted in the framework of goffmanian interactionism. The data for this study have been collected over a period of ten months in twelve elementary schools located in various regions of the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic. The dissertation is structured in four parts: (1) Introduction, referring to the aim and structure of the dissertation; (2) Methodology, presenting the research process, strategies and methods as well as data analysis, theoretical and methodological discussions, reflexivity and ethical aspects; (3) Elementary schools in...

With the unplanned rapid switch to Working from Home (WFH) arrangement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations and their employees were forced to adapt their processes and practices with a huge dependence on digital technologies. When such work reorganization is adopted, all everyday activities including social interactions with colleagues must therefore be taken into account. Existing literature indicates that social interaction with colleagues in the traditional workplace is considered a fundamental feature of employees’ social life and as it shapes their experience of work. Considering that lack of social interaction can lead to social isolation and other negative consequences which in turn affects the whole organization negatively. Currently, little is known about how remote workers engage and maintain social interactions with their colleagues via technology platforms when working remotely. This master’s thesis  study aims to contribute to the existing body of knowledge  on remote working by highlighting remote workers’  experiences around digital social interaction with colleagues when working from home(WFH).  An interpretivist approach utilizing qualitative research was employed by the author of this master’s study. Data was collected using participant observation and semi-structured interviews with a diverse group of remote workers who started and are currently working remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study explored how participants of the study engage in social interactions with their colleagues via technology and how such interactions are embedded in their working lives. The empirical data generated from interviews and observations was subsequently subjected to a thematic analysis for interpretation. Five themes emerged from the thematic analysis method; these themes which constituted the empirical findings of this master’s thesis were then analyzed in connection to the research questions and discussed with the literature review as well as with the four constructs of the Normalization Process Theory(NPT) adopted in this master’s thesis. The results of this study show that social interaction via technology takes place before and after meetings and via chat functions as well. The findings of the study also highlight that most participants do not experience issues in relation to digital social interactions as reported in the previous literature. However, participants reported some negative factors that hinder their social interaction when WFH such as increased workload, overwhelming online social events and reduced support for the new team members. The contribution of this master’s thesis study is to highlight that different perceptions and feelings of how work arrangement has changed via technology exists while working remotely. It is suggested that organizations willing to implement the new work models(Hybrid work or WFH) need to be aware of the existence of these differences and act based on the insights provided by this master’s thesis study. Keywords: Remote Working, Working from home, digital Social interaction, Social support, Social isolation, ICT,  Normalization Process Theory

M. Tech. (Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Management Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Sport has become the great unifier globally since governments, countries and organisations are using it as a resource to bring people together. The sport industry is one of the fastest rising business segments and its primary aim/objective is to generate the revenue from sport spectators. In the past decade, the behaviour of sport spectators has received increasing attention in academic literature. A better understanding of how and why sport spectators go to stadiums and travel great distances to support their sport clubs is of great interest to sport marketers. Soccer, in particular, is perhaps one of the greatest sport phenomena in terms of its attraction for hundreds of thousands of occasional spectators of every age and gender, who come together in soccer stadiums around the globe every week to watch games. In South Africa, soccer is the leading sport from both a participation and spectator viewpoint. Understanding sport consumers willingness to attend is arguably one of the most important concerns in sport marketing and consumer-relationship management. As found in sport consumption literature, a “good relationship with sport consumers by sport clubs is an essential factor for a successful sport business” because it is much cheaper to serve satisfied consumers and easier to sustain their support. The purpose of this study was to examine selected motivational variables that influence spectators’ attendance of professional women’s soccer matches to better understand the development of the sports consumption sector. There is an absence of research conducted concerning this direction and subsequently a lack of existing literature, especially among women’s sport. To contribute to filling this void, this study attempts to measure the relationships between these variables. Earlier research has demonstrated that consumers’ willingness to attend is highly determined by their satisfaction. This study is descriptive and correlational in nature and follows a quantitative research approach. The target population comprised spectators of professional women’s soccer in the Gauteng province of South Africa. A snowball sampling technique was used to identify the participants fitting the predetermined sample standards. A total number of 316 questionnaires were received and analysed. Relevant areas, research approaches and data acquiring procedures were described. Additionally, means and factor analysis were performed to determine the level of selected motivational variables, team satisfaction and willingness to attend of spectators and to establish the underlying factors of the constructs respectively. Moreover, a correlation analysis was conducted to establish the strength and direction of the relationship between the study variables. Lastly, a regression analysis was performed to check the predictive relationship between the study’s constructs. The study revealed that motivational variables (vicarious achievement, involvement, social interaction, perceived value) have a significant relationship with spectator satisfaction. In addition, spectator satisfaction was found to be the determinant of spectator willingness to attend professional women’s soccer matches. Based on the results of this study, this research adds to the scant literature on spectators of women’s sport and proposes perspectives on the level of motives and behaviours of spectators, which can be used by women’s sport organisations and government organisations in elevating women’s soccer in South Africa. In this way, sport organisations could develop spectator engagement campaigns and marketing materials in order to engender and enhance women’s spectator participation. Further, sport managers and sport marketers should make every effort to increase the perceived value of services such as fees which are fair, albeit under the global negative economic climate, in order to satisfy the needs of spectators and at the same time reap rewards from the presence of spectators in stadiums and ensure that this presence continues. Based on these findings, limitations as well as future research opportunities and contributions of this study are discussed.

The aim of this study is to examine the use of EFL learning materials, such as pre-constructed textbooks, workbooks and teachers guides, in a small group of teachers. The study set out to investigate how and in that case, why the teachers use the material and in addition their attitudes towards the materials advantages and disadvantages. Also, the study aimed to illustrate to what extent the teachers considered the material beneficial in terms of developing students' social interaction and oral skills in English. Finally, the study investigated if any additional activities were used by the EFL teachers. Data was collected through qualitative interviews conducted with eight certified English teachers that currently worked in Swedish middle school, years 4-6. The results showed a variety of usage where some teachers used learning materials a few times during a school year while others implemented the material practically every lesson. The teachers considered the most prominent advantage to be that the pre-constructed materials not only eased their workload by being timesaving but also served as a basis for their teaching. Furthermore, the teachers differed greatly in their opinions as to what the materials disadvantages were and also to what extent the material was regarded as beneficial in terms of enhancing students social interaction and developing oral skills. Finally, there appeared to be a conflict between the teachers’ didactical ambitions and their actual teaching.

Sachant que les différents contextes d’interaction ont un impact sur la manière dont la conversation se déroule, le présent mémoire se concentre sur les moyens de communication à distance les plus récents : la vidéoconférence et la réalité virtuelle (VR). Nous posons la question suivante : en quoi la coordination de la conversation en réalité virtuelle est-elle différente de celle en vidéoconférence ? Pour répondre à cette question, nous poursuivons deux objectifs : (1) comparer la fréquence et la durée des silences et des chevauchements dans les différents contextes et (2) décrire les moments où il y a un bris dans la fluidité de la conversation dans chaque contexte, puis comparer ces événements entre les contextes. Nos résultats montrent que la VR n’influence pas la coordination de la conversation de la même manière que la vidéoconférence. Entre autres, les silences en VR sont plus longs et plus nombreux. De plus, les silences et les chevauchements en VR surviennent à des moments différents et ils se déroulent différemment. Les différences entre la VR et la vidéoconférence pourraient s’expliquer, entre autres, par la latence plus grande en VR, la plus grande familiarité des individus avec le contexte en vidéoconférence, les limites de la VR dans la transmission de l’information visuelle fine et le sentiment de coprésence qui se manifeste différemment dans chacun des contextes. Notre étude apporte une compréhension nuancée des interactions en vidéoconférence et en VR et souhaite encourager le développement de la recherche sur ces contextes afin d’en promouvoir une utilisation plus avisée. / We know that conversations are influenced by the context in which they take place. Therefore, this paper focuses on how conversation is managed in new forms of remote communication: videoconference and virtual reality (VR). We ask this question: how is the coordination in VR different than the coordination in videoconference? To answer this question, we pursue two objectives: (1) to compare frequency and duration of silences and overlaps between the contexts and (2) to describe what happens when the conversation flow is disturbed and then to compare those events between the contexts. Our results show that VR influences coordination between interlocutors differently than videoconference. Silences in VR are longer and happen more often than in videoconference. Moreover, silences and overlaps take place at different points in VR conversations and they unfold in a different way. The differences between VR and videoconference might be explained by the fact that there is a greater latency in VR, that participants are less familiar with the context of VR, that VR is limited in its transmission of non-verbal communication and that VR has a different effect on social presence. Our study sheds light on the importance of learning more about this new context of interaction (VR) before using it on a larger scale for interventions (e.g. with different clinical populations). Our conclusion can serve as a starting point for researchers who wish to contribute to a better understanding of the consequences of using VR as a means of communication.

As the extensive digitization has taken place, workplaces worldwide have undergone changes to integrate digitization into daily work life. The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine how this digitization affects organizations at an individual level. Trust and engagement have proven to be central components in previous studies of organizations. Leadership and social relationships have been shown in previous research to be important components for maintaining trust and commitrnent. The aim of the study is to investigate whether employees in workplaces in Sweden, with experience transitioning from on-site work to remote work, perceive changes in trust and comitment due to digitization. Additionally, we aim to explore possible social interaction pattems and leadership methods that may play a role in this context. This qualitative study bases its results on seven semi-structured interviews with individuals experienced in remote work and on-site work. The theoretical framework consists of James MacGregor Bums' theory ofTransformative Leadership, Randall Collins' theory of interaction pattems, and Herbert Blumer's theory of symbolic interactionism. The results of our research indicate that trust and commitment are maintained and created by social relationships and transformative leadership. Social relationships in the workplace foster commitrnent, and transformative leadership contributes to the creation ofboth trust and commitment. In remote work, trust and commitment remain stable if the organization succeeds in transformative leadership, and if employees manage to maintain strong social relationships. However, the difficulties in transferring social relationships digitally became clear in the study. Therefore, a transition is required to transfer social interaction toa digital platform while still maintaining engagement. / I takt med den omfattande digitaliseringen har arbetsplatser världen över genomgått förändringar för att integrera digitaliseringen i det dagliga arbetslivet. Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie är att undersöka hur denna digitalisering påverkar organisationer på individnivå. Tillit och engagemang har visat sig vara centrala komponenter i tidigare studier av organisationer. Ledarskap och sociala relationer har i tidigare forskning visat sig vara viktiga komponenter för att upprätthålla tillit och engagemang. Syftet med studien är att undersöka om anställda på arbetsplatser i Sverige, med erfarenhet av övergång från arbete på plats till hembaserat distansarbete, upplever förändringar i tillit och engagemang till följd av digitaliseringen. Vi strävar dessutom efter att utforska möjliga sociala interaktionsmönster och ledarskapsmetodersom kan ha en roll i detta sammanhang. Denna kvalitativa studie baserar sina resultat på sju semistrukturerade intervjuer med individer som har erfarenhet av distansarbete och arbete på plats. Det teoretiska ramverket består av James MacGregor Bums teori om Transformativt ledarskap, Randall Collins teori om interaktionsmönster, samt Herbert Blumers teori om symbolisk interaktionism. Resultatet i vår forskning indikerar att tillit och engagemang upprätthålls och skapas av sociala relationer och ett transformativt ledarskap. Sociala relationer på arbetsplatsen skapar engagemang och ett transformativt ledarskap bidrar till skapandet av både tillit och engagemang. Vid distansarbete förblir tilliten och engagemanget stabilt om organisationen lyckas med ett transformativt ledarskap och om anställda lyckas behålla starka sociala relationer. Svårigheterna med att överföra de sociala relationerna digitalt blev dock tydligt i studien. En omställning krävs därför för att överföra social interaktion till en digital plattform och samtidigt upprätthålla engagemang.