This study examines young people’s subjective experiences of changing school environments from resource-poor primary schools to resource-rich upper secondary schools in Stockholm. Previous statistics show that resource-poor primary schools located in the most socio-economically vulnerable parts of the city have the lowest grade point average and lower educational quality/standards. Based on young people’s stories (who have had such experience of school environment change), it is the purpose to understand the reason behind their decision to change school environment as well as to analyze their experience of it (with focus on well-being, adaptation and social relationships). The study is qualitative and five semi-structured interviews are conducted. Based on Bourdieu’s theories of capital, symbolic violence, social field and habitus, Collins’ theory of social rituals, and McPherson et. Al’s theory of homophily, the results show that students showing study motivation and high grades are given priority in the field of education, resulting in inequity. Therefore, teachers and school staff have a great deal of influence on peers' school choice. The reasons for the change of school differs between foreign- and Swedish-born. The former group emphasizes integration into the Swedish society, the latter emphasizes the identification with the school’s profile and has greater knowledge of the school system. The adaptation to the new school environment was problematic at first, due to the socio-economical differences between the students. The educational level was also much higher, which shows a deteriorating equivalence in the Swedish school system. In addition, the majority of the students were ethnic Swedes, which reflects the pattern of school segregation in Stockholm. These aspects lead to common feelings of exclusion, showing patterns of homophilic social relationships based on different criteria. Joint activities show that those structural differences can be blurred.

This study examines how the sudden shift to remote work due to the pandemic is experienced by office workers. The material was gathered through semi-structured interviews with people who live in Stockholm, Sweden. The study includes 11 individuals of different (adult) age, sex, types of ethnical background and (office) jobs. These individuals have gone from working in office spaces to having to transform their homes into their new workspace environment. This implies communicating with their employer and colleagues through digital means. To be able to analyze and anchor these micro aspect experiences to theory, two main concepts are being used: employee voice and psychological employee empowerment. The results show that the respondents both experience positives and negatives with working remotely. These experiences vary depending on the employer’s ability to lead remotely and defects in the organizational structure. / <p>The aim of this research – to contribute with micro sociological knowledge about in which ways a sudden shift to remote work for office workers can impact the employees – has the purpose to grasp a deep understanding for how the changes, which remote working comes with, are experienced. The coded interviews (abductively approached) and found behavioral patterns are presented in detail by supporting the evidence with the two key concepts, employee voice and empowerment. </p><p>In order to manage and maintain a company or organization the employees need to be well prepared for various cases every day, which means that the employer is responsible for their needs. Since there no longer is a common office for all digital units, it must be created by the workplace. The digital communication can then invite the employees to exchange information and continuously transform job assignments to stay in line with their colleagues, for instance learning about how they should reply to customers. Organizational culture can be interpreted as a way to internally educate the staff in how to think of the company or organization that they work for. This “unionization” among workers can be challenging to penetrate and reach their genuine (and personal) opinion when employees feel satisfied by the organizational culture at their work, or the opposite, in cases where they are dissatisfied but afraid to get negative response for their opinion. The challenge is especially problematic when deep diving into inquiries of internal structures of a company or organization, but to find tendencies towards the genuine opinion is possible. The two categorized themes “Outside control” and “Organizational culture” are mainly coded to connect aspects of this character, which some employees associate with the negative parts with remote work. The associations can also be positive, it fully depends on the personal preferences and their experiences about the shift to remote working. </p>

Denna studie undersöker vilka upplevelser och erfarenheter som påverkat individer när de tagit beslutet att lämna en kriminell livsstil; och vilka faktorer som varit avgörande i förändringsprocessen till ett liv utan kriminalitet. Kvalitativa intervjuer har använts som metod för att besvara frågeställningarna. Fem personer med koppling till organisationen KRIS har intervjuats och resultatet har analyserats utifrån en teoretisk referensram bestående av Laub och Sampsons (2006) definition av begreppet turning points; Paternoster och Bushways (2009) identitetsteori om avhopp från kriminalitet; och Emirbayer och Mishes (1998) teoretiska beskrivning av begreppet human agency. Resultatet visar att alla intervjupersonerna påverkats av crystalization of discontent och drivkraften att undvika the feared possible self (Paternoster &amp; Bushway, 2009) när de beslutat att lämna kriminaliteten. Den egna viljan beskrivs av intervjupersonerna som den mest avgörande faktorn i förändringsprocessen. Andra faktorer som varit betydande är socialt stöd och att hålla fast vid nya rutiner kopplade till livet utan kriminalitet. Slutsatserna i uppsatsen är att det sällan räcker med enskilda faktorer, ofta är det ett samspel mellan flera faktorer som leder till förändring. / The purpose of the present study is to identify events and experiences that influences individuals to make the decision to desist from a criminal life style; and to identify crucial and important factors in the process of desisting from a criminal life style. The used method is qualitative interviews. Five persons connected to KRIS (an organization with the aim to help desisters) were interviewed and the results were analyzed through a theoretic framework consisting Laub and Sampson ́s (2006) definition of the concept of turning points; Paternoster and Bushway ́s (2009) identity theory of desistance from crime; and Emirbayer and Mishe ́s theoretical definition of the concept of human agency. The result shows that all interviewees were affected by crystalization of discontent and the motive to avoid feared possible self (Paternoster &amp; Bushway, 2009) when they decided to desist from criminality. The own will was identified as the most crucial factor in the process of criminal desistance. Social support and the importance of hanging on to new routines were mentioned as other important factors in the process. The conclusion of the study is that it is seldom enough with single factors as solutions to the problems of this study. A successful desistance process is often a result of an interplay between several factors.

Den här uppsatsen handlar om döva flyktingar och har tre huvudteman: dövhet och asylprocessen för döva flyktingar, och för att förstå det i en svensk kontext är det tredje temat dövhet historiskt i Sverige och internationellt. Fältarbetet är gjort under en månads tid i början av 2018 på en folkhögskola i Sverige och metoder som tillämpats är deltagande observation och intervjuer. Folkhögskolan har i samarbete med Migrationsverket sedan 2009 i uppgift att utbilda döva asylsökande i svenskt teckenspråk, som i många fall blir det första språket, för att de ska kunna uppge skäl för asyl. Frågeställningen berör hur dessa personer upplever sin identitet och hur den förändras och produceras. Det är två av folkhögskolans grupper, en grupp med och en grupp utan uppehållstillstånd, som jämförs och ligger till grund för denna uppsats. / This essay is about deaf refugees and has three main themes: deafness and the asylum process for deaf refugees, and to understand it in a Swedish context, the third theme is deafness historically in Sweden and internationally. The fieldwork has been done for a month at the beginning of 2018 at a school in Sweden and methods used are participant observations and interviews. The school has since 2009, in cooperation with the Swedish Migration Board, been responsible for training deaf asylum seekers in Swedish sign language, which in many cases becomes the first language in order to give reasons for asylum. The question concerns how these people perceive their identity and how it is changed and produced. The study is mainly based on two groups. One group with and one group without a residence permit are being compared and form the basis for this essay.

Since the 19th century, industrialization has led people from the countryside to the bigger cities, and Sweden is not an exception. Statistics from 2018 show that for the first time in 30 years, there is an increase in the people whom make the decision to move from the cities to the countryside. And from 2015 to 2018 there has been an increase of 11 000 people in the Swedish countryside. With this in mind, our study is going to explore the central driving forces in returnees; people returning home to the smaller towns in the Swedish countryside. We are also going to analyze how these people relate to the urban norm, with the intention of trying to explain how they identify with their role as returnee, as well as their ex-role they had before making the move home. To answer these two central questions, we have performed ten interviews throughout Sweden in smaller towns considered to be in the Swedish countryside. To analyze our empirical data four central concepts that constitute our theoretical framework have been presented. These concepts are turning points, role exit, social capital and the urban norm. Turning points and role exit is a part of Ebaugh’s theory about the role exit-process. Social capital is a broad theory, in which we have decided to apply the work of Robert D. Putnam and his focus on reciprocity and reliability in social networks. Finally, the urban norm is a theory that mainly explores the normative and hierarchical relation between the cities and the countryside, where the cities are always the norm. Our conclusion is that closeness to family and a sense of security is the most frequent driving force for returnees. There is also a duality in the way interviewees approach their roles as returnees and ex-city inhabitants, where they often keep relating to their past roles and have difficulties relating to their current role in their hometown.

Today, two phenomena are growing; the constant increase in xenophobic hate crimes and the rampant presence of political and media representatives engaged in right-wing populist rhetoric aimed at defending the people from all threats. The question of how right-wing populist rhetoric influences the occurrence of these violent acts has only been addressed indirectly and partially in the academic world. This thesis tries to fill this gap, by proposing the following argument: right-wing populist rhetoric, through a process of continuous growth and affirmation, gradually creates an enemy who is ethnically “different” from the “native” people, leading to a social reaction and therefore to a consequent increase in xenophobic hate crimes. In order to verify this claim, an analysis of two periods of Italian history is conducted by means of Process Tracing. A primary case (1935-1939), focused on the Fascist Party and Mussolini with respect to two ethnic targets: Ethiopians and Jews. A secondary case (2013-2016), focused on the Lega Nord party and Salvini with respect to immigrants. The empirical results achieved provide good general support and suggest the need for further research, in order for countermeasures to be enacted by policymakers to avoid history repeating itself.

This study aims to describe food delivery workers experiences in the gig economy of a specific company, their relationship with the trade union, and their thoughts on their future, within and outside the industry. The empirical data consists of seven semi-structured interviews. The purpose will be answered with help of the theoretical concepts of precariat, dependency, algorithmic control, and aspirations. Previous research in algorithmic control and the precariat shows that the freedom that the work provides, the so-called flexibility, exists under the algorithmic control, but isn’t considered positive for everyone. Those who benefit from flexibility are those who have other occupations, and they are the ones who are more likely to be satisfied with the work. At the same time, the flexible work can be negative for others, with negative impact on their mental health, which means that they are less to be satisfied with the work and they experience the precarious to a greater extent. This study shows that the workers are exposed to insecure work through mental and physical risks, which are the results of the conditions that the algorithmic control and the company produces. The workers with several occupations experience the flexible work as something positive. There is also a culture of silence in the company, where those with permanent contracts are those who try to make a change in the insecure work. Those with short- term contracts are afraid of being sanctioned by the company. The union and the company maintain a precariousness for the workers by not meeting them on their terms. The workers future plans and aspirations are dependent and affected by their Swedish language skills.

This thesis considers the individual drivers of migration in modern Swedish emigration and the subsequent decision to remain in the host country. The study draws on primary data from 14 semi-structured digital interviews with Swedes who have emigrated and permanently settled down in different locations in the United States. Through the push- and pull framework, individual cases have been considered whilst also comparing the findings with previously identified drivers in migration research. The sociological findings of this study present the collectivist Swedish norm Jantelagen (‘The Law of Jante’) as a prospective push-factor in both the decision to emigrate and to permanently settle down in the U.S. Subsequently, certain discrepancy exists on the macro level of Swedish society as both radically individualistic with collectivistic norms expecting individual conformity. The result implies that emigration is an option to break free from normative restrictions for certain individuals. Relatedly, the perception of a negative political development, restricted freedom of opinion, and self-censoring political correctness are explicit push-factors for some Swedes to emigrate and/or reside permanently. Furthermore, higher levels of stimulation in education and work, easy access to the job and housing market in the U.S. could be linked to the migration driver subjective well-being/happiness. Network often influenced the emigration and led to perceived lifestyle improvement. Moreover, the initial push and pull factors proved to be inconstant as motives and circumstances in the migration process changed e.g. in case of separation from a partner.

Denna kandidatuppsats har syftat till att studera språket i artiklar skrivna av etablerade nyhetstidningar som beskriver och skildrar ungdomar i kriminalitet. Artiklarna har granskats på ett sådant sätt att de illustrerar sambandet mellan formuleringar och hur det bidrar till den sociala konstruktionen av ungdomar i brottslighet. Uppsatsens syfte har också varit att undersöka och behandla hur mediala tidningar intar en maktposition över individer i eller relaterat till kriminell verksamhet. Datan består av 13 artiklar från två framstående tidningar under två tidsperioder, 2000-2002 och 2020-2021. Utifrån en kvalitativ ansats användes den kritiska diskursanalysen för att skapa ett ramverk för att dissekera artiklarnas struktur och deras ord. Vidare undersöktes och filtrerades strukturen genom en socialkonstruktivistisk lins och maktteorier. Resultatet kan sammanfattas beskriva hur mediala parter bidrar till den sociala konstruktionen av ungdomar i brottslighet genom att formulera meningar på ett visst sätt och genom att använda specifika ordsatser. Resultatet visade också att artiklarna skilde sig åt när det gäller ansvarsfrågan. Avhandlingen illustrerar en maktdiskrepans mellan parterna där den ena parten har mandat att avbilda den andra och därigenom påverka den sociala konstruktionen. / This bachelor thesis has aimed to study the language in articles written by the media describing and relating youth in crime. The articles were examined in such a way to illustrate the connection between the wording and how that contributes to the social construction of youth in crime. The thesis also aimed to investigate and address how medial newspapers occupy a position of power over individuals in or relating to criminal activity. The data consists of 13 articles from two prominent newspapers over two time periods, 2000-2002 and 2020-2021. Based on a qualitative approach, the critical discourse analysis was used to establish a framework to dissect the structure of the articles and their words. Furthermore, the structure was examined and filtered through a social constructivist lens and power theories. The results can be summarized to show that medial parties are able to contribute to the social construction of youth in crime by formulating sentences in a certain manner and by using specific sets of words. The result also showed that the articles differed in terms of placing responsibility. The thesis illustrates a power discrepancy between the parties where one party mandates the depiction of the other and through that affects the social construction.

This thesis examined how the association between immigrants’ occupational origin and destination varies in 33 European countries, depending on the opportunities for social mobility in the origin country. For absolute occupational mobility, the result from an LPM regression showed that first-generation female immigrants had an increased probability of upward mobility when the origin country offered more opportunities for social mobility. In contrast, first-generation male immigrants showed an increased probability of immobility when the origin country offered more opportunities for social mobility. For relative occupational mobility, a multivariate OLS regression showed that first-generation male immigrants from countries with more opportunities for social mobility were more immobile compared to origin countries with fewer opportunities. Based on the World Economic Forum’s Global Social Mobility Index, a variable representing the opportunities for social mobility in the origin country was created. The study used four waves of the European Social Survey and the International Socio-Economic Index (ISEI) to measure the mobility patterns in absolute and relative rates over the scores of opportunities for social mobility in the origin country. Second-generation immigrants showed no significant results, and no gender differences could be established. The results were discussed in relation to first-generation immigrants’ Status Loss.