Syftet med studien är att undersöka förskollärares förhållningssätt till genus och könsstereotypa normer, och hur detta förhållningssätt i sin tur påverkar utformningen av inomhusmiljön i förskolan. Studien utgår från en kvantitativ enkätundersökning, med en kvalitativ del där respondenterna gett egna kommentarer. Resultatet av de kvantitativa frågorna pekar på att populationen består av störst andel nyutexaminerade förskollärare, med examen inom de fem senaste åren. Resultatet indikerar även en hög enighet bland respondenterna, att det är av vikt att motverka könsstereotypa normer i förskolans inomhusmiljö, samt att deras verksamhets inomhusmiljö har utformats därefter. I relation till majoritetens enighet följde frågor om praktiskt utförande av mer varierande indikationer i resultatet. I studiens kvalitativa del framkom tre olika kategorier. I kategori ett intog förskollärarna ett könsblint förhållningssätt till genus och könsstereotypa normer, vilket ledde till en uppdelning av könskodat lekmaterial i inomhusmiljön. I kategori två intog förskollärarna ett medvetet förhållningssätt till genus och könsstereotypa normer, vilket ledde till en utformning av inomhusmiljön med enbart könsneutralt lekmaterial. I kategori tre intog förskollärarna ett medvetet förhållningssätt till genus och könsstereotypa normer, vilket ledde till en integrering av könskodade lekmaterial. Sammanfattningsvis indikerar föreliggande arbete på att det, i synnerhet hos gruppen förskollärare med examen inom de fem senaste åren, finns en hög grad av enighet i frågan om det är viktigt att arbeta med att utforma förskolans inomhusmiljö utifrån ett genusperspektiv. Däremot skiljer sig förhållningssätt och inställning till praktiskt utförande inom gruppen, och det går att urskilja flera olika strategier för tillämpning.

Identification of recurrent mutations through next-generation sequencing (NGS) has given us a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) development and progression and provided novel means for risk assessment in this clinically heterogeneous disease. In paper I, we screened a population-based cohort of CLL patients (n=364) for TP53, NOTCH1, SF3B1, BIRC3 and MYD88 mutations using Sanger sequencing, and confirmed the negative prognostic impact of TP53, SF3B1 or NOTCH1 aberrations, though at lower frequencies compared to previous studies. In paper II, we assessed the feasibility of targeted NGS using a gene panel including 9 CLL-related genes in a large patient cohort (n=188). We could validate 93% (144/155) of mutations with Sanger sequencing; the remaining were at the detection limit of the latter technique, and technical replication showed a high concordance (77/82 mutations, 94%). In paper III, we performed a longitudinal study of CLL patients (n=41) relapsing after fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab (FCR) therapy using whole-exome sequencing. In addition to known poor-prognostic mutations (NOTCH1, TP53, ATM, SF3B1, BIRC3, and NFKBIE), we detected mutations in a ribosomal gene, RPS15, in almost 20% of cases (8/41). In extended patient series, RPS15-mutant cases had a poor survival similar to patients with NOTCH1, SF3B1, or 11q aberrations. In vitro studies revealed that RPS15mut cases displayed reduced p53 stabilization compared to cases wildtype for RPS15. In paper IV, we performed RNA-sequencing in CLL patients (n=50) assigned to 3 clinically and biologically distinct subsets carrying stereotyped B-cell receptors (i.e. subsets #1, #2 and #4) and revealed unique gene expression profiles for each subset. Analysis of SF3B1-mutated versus wildtype subset #2 patients revealed a large number of splice variants (n=187) in genes involved in chromatin remodeling and ribosome biogenesis. Taken together, this thesis confirms the prognostic impact of recurrent mutations and provides data supporting implementation of targeted NGS in clinical routine practice. Moreover, we provide evidence for the involvement of novel players, such as RPS15, in disease progression and present transcriptome data highlighting the potential of global approaches for the identification of molecular mechanisms contributing to CLL development within prognostically relevant subgroups.

In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the presence of multiple subsets expressing ‘stereotyped’ B-cell receptors (BCRs) has implicated antigen(s) in leukemogenesis. These stereotyped subsets display similar immunoglobulin (IG) gene usage, almost identical complementarity determining region 3’s and may share clinical features. For instance, subsets #1 (IGHV1/5/7/IGKV1-39) and #2 (IGHV3-21/IGLV3-21) have inferior outcome compared to non-subset patients, whereas subset #4 (IGHV4-34/IGKV2-30) display a favourable prognosis. The aim of this thesis was to investigate genomic aberrations, gene expression patterns and methylation profiles in stereotyped subsets and compare epigenetic profiles in CLL and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). In paper I, we investigated genomic aberrations in subsets #2, #4 and #16 and in non-stereotyped samples (n=101) using high-density 250K SNP arrays. Subset #2 and non-subset #2 IGHV3-21 cases displayed a higher frequency of aberrations than subset #4 cases. The high incidence of del(11q) in both subset #2/non-subset #2 may reflect the adverse survival reported for IGHV3-21 patients. In contrast, the lower frequency of genetic events and lack of poor-prognostic aberrations in subset #4 may partially explain their indolent disease. In paper II, we analysed the global RNA expression in subset #4, #16 and non-subset IGHV4-34 CLL patients (n=25). Subsets #4 and 16 showed distinct gene expression profiles, where genes involved in cell regulatory pathways were significantly lower expressed in subset #4, in line with their low-proliferative disease. In paper III, a genome-wide methylation array was applied to investigate methylation profiles in subsets #1, #2 and #4 (n=39). We identified differential methylation patterns for all subsets and found affected genes to be involved in e.g. apoptosis and therapy resistance. When performing functional annotation, a clear enrichment of genes involved in adaptive immunity was observed. These genes were preferentially methylated in subset #1 when compared to either subset #2 or #4, possibly due to different antigen responses. In paper IV, the genome-wide methylation profiles for 30 CLL and 20 MCL patients were investigated. Distinct methylation profiles were observed, where MCL displayed a more homogeneous profile. Homeobox transcription factor genes showed a higher degree of methylation in MCL, while apoptosis-related genes and proliferation-associated genes were methylated in CLL. In summary, this thesis demonstrates that stereotyped CLL subsets display differences in gene expression profiles, genetic aberrations and methylation patterns, underscoring the functional relevance of subgrouping according to BCR stereotypy. The distinct methylation profiles of CLL and MCL suggests that different epigenetic mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of these B-cell malignancies.

Comment se penser Africain au XXIe siècle, tout en étant à la fois héritier d’une histoire travestie, et désireux de dépasser les imaginaires stéréotypés générés par ladite histoire ? Cette question suggère que l’héritage colonial, précisément « la raison nègre » – laquelle est composée de deux approches distinctes, à savoir « la conscience occidentale du Nègre » et « la conscience nègre du Nègre » –, fait l’objet d’une critique. Cette critique qui se veut « objective », prône un humanisme de « l’en-commun » qui transcende l’« universalisme abstrait » occidental qui avait fait de l’Europe le centre du monde. Plusieurs discours, qui convergent vers un but commun, dévoilent une écriture qui s’investit dans la déconstruction des représentations et des imaginaires culturels forgés par l’Occident : ils interrogent le rapport Afrique-Monde et la perception identitaire en tenant compte de l’évolution historique des sociétés de ce continent. La plupart des essais et des fictions littéraires d’Achille Mbembe, d'Alain Mabanckou, de Léonora Miano, de Célestin Monga et de Fatou Diome révèlent que la race, le Nègre et le mot « Afrique » sont des fabriques, lesquelles ont été mobilisées en faveur de la traite atlantique. Ce processus de mise en fiction de l’altérité africaine semble encore d’actualité démontrant à cet effet que la condition des Africains à notre époque serait étroitement liée au passé colonial. Une analyse à la fois poétique et sociocritique des textes, mettant en avant des études croisées de ces œuvres, lesquelles confrontent les différentes perspectives, s’avérait indispensable. Dans la mesure où l’avortement des indépendances africaines occasionné par les anciennes puissances coloniales en complicité avec leurs alliés africains, les « plaies sociales » sévissant quotidiennement en Afrique et l’immigration africaine sans cesse croissante en direction des pays occidentaux indiquent que les rapports Afrique-Occident, en particulier, ne paraissent pas encore sereins ni « équitables ». D’après ces écrivains, l’identité africaine – à laquelle ils s’intéressent et qu’ils conçoivent comme une donnée flexible – s’est nourrie des multiples rencontres de l’Afrique avec principalement l’Occident, donnant ainsi naissance à une africanité inclusive : favorable à l’ouverture de l’Afrique au monde et à l’intégration du monde en Afrique. / How can we consider ourselves African in the twenty-first century when we are both the heirs of a disguised history and willing to go beyond the stereotyped imaginaries inherited from it? This question suggests that the colonial inheritance, precisely the "Negro reason", which is composed of two distinct approaches, namely "the Negro's Western consciousness" and "the Negro's negro consciousness", is submitted to criticism. That criticism – allegedly "objective'' – advocates an "in-common" humanism that transcends the "Western abstract universalism" which had placed Europe at the centre of the world. Several discourses that converge on a common purpose reveal a writing that is based on the deconstruction of the Western representations and stereotyped cultural imaginaries. They investigate the Africa-World relationship and the concept of identity taking into account the historical evolution of societies from this continent. Most of the literary essays and fictions by Achille Mbembe, Alain Mabanckou, Leonora Miano, Celestin Monga and Fatou Diome show that the race, the Negro and the word "Africa" are factories that were mobilized for the Atlantic trade. This process of putting the African otherness in fiction is still current. Indeed, it demonstrates that Africans' conditions today would be closely linked to the colonial past. A poetic and socio critical analysis of these texts, by highlighting cross-studies of these works which compare different angles, appeared necessary. In so far as the interruption of African independences caused by the former colonial powers in complicity with their African allies named the "social plagues" operating daily in Africa and the ever-increasing African immigration towards Western countries, indicate that the relationships between Africa and the Westerners in particular seem neither serene nor "equitable" yet. According to these writers, the African identity – in which they are interested in and which they consider as flexible data – has been nourished by the multiple encounters of Africa with the West mainly; thus giving birth to an inclusive Africanity: suitable to the opening of Africa to the world and the integration of the world into Africa.

[pt] Esta tese analisou o processo de socialização profissional vivido por policiais femininas atuantes na Polícia Militar do Rio de Janeiro, que resulta na assunção da identidade policial, identificando as etapas deste processo e os aspectos ou condições que tornaram este decurso desafiador, levando em consideração a transposição das dificuldades inerentes aos estereótipos de gênero impressos nesta profissão e das limitações operacionais e culturais, típicas da carreira de policial militar. Além, disso, esta tese objetivou: discutir os aspectos ou condições que possam ter sido facilitadores deste processo; analisar os elementos identitários incorporados pelas entrevistadas, no transcurso da incorporação do ethos do policial e no processo de adaptação e socialização neste nicho profissional; compreender a construção identitária resultante desse processo, que culmina na construção da identidade da mulher policial e identificar os traços identitários estereotipados como femininos, ressaltados pelas entrevistadas ao se descreverem, que podem ser considerados como uma forma de resistência à incorporação de uma identidade masculinizada e embrutecida, tal qual se sugere que seja a identidade típica do policial. Para tanto, sob os preceitos da pesquisa qualitativa, foram realizadas vinte e três entrevistas em profundidade com policiais femininas atuantes em batalhões diversos do Estado do Rio de Janeiro e os depoimentos colhidos foram submetidos à análise de conteúdo. A relevância e originalidade da presente tese repousam na sua perspectiva teórico-analítica, uma vez que, nesta pesquisa, foram utilizadas teorias relativas às questões de gênero, à construção identitária relativa ao ethos do policial, além de teorias sobre identidade, construção identitária e socialização profissional amplamente utilizadas em pesquisas acadêmicas e de grande aderência aos objetivos deste trabalho. Os resultados indicam que ser mulher na PMERJ é uma realidade repleta de dificuldades, relacionadas à falta de preparo cultural desta instituição para a atuação destas profissionais. Além disto, sobre os estereótipos de gênero típicos da profissão de policial, é possível inferir que muitas entrevistadas percebem as barreiras de gênero a elas impostas, o que as coloca numa posição de inferioridade em relação a seus pares, devido ao consenso, reforçado, inclusive, por algumas delas, de que a atividade policial é mais adequada aos homens. No tocante à assunção da identidade policial, fenômeno experimentado por homens e mulheres de forma intensa, as entrevistadas relatam a incorporação de uma postura mais autoritária e impositiva; um estado de atenção permanente, visando a sua própria segurança e a de seus parceiros de trabalho e familiares; a diminuição da sensibilidade e o consequente aumento de uma postura mais dura perante muitas circunstâncias; o embrutecimento, sob a forma de masculinização, como estratégia de sobrevivência neste ambiente androcêntrico. Porém, ao mesmo tempo em que as entrevistadas incorporam novos elementos a suas construções identitárias, tornando-se mais duras e destemidas, estas também reforçam aspectos que podem ser interpretados como de resistência identitária, fortemente associados ao estereótipo feminino, em contrapartida ao ethos masculino do policial. A análise do processo de (re)construção identitária das policiais revelou o quanto este processo é paradoxal, marcado tanto por mudanças radicais, quanto por significativas resistências. / [en] This thesis analyzed the process of professional socialization experienced by female police officers in the Rio de Janeiro Military Police, which results in the assumption of the police officer identity, identifying the stages of this process and the aspects or conditions that have made this course challenging, considering the transposition of the difficulties inherent in the gender stereotypes printed in this profession and the typical operational and cultural limitations of the military police career. Furthermore, this thesis aimed to: discuss the aspects or conditions that may have facilitated this process; analyze the identity elements incorporated by the interviewees, in the course of incorporating the ethos of the police officer and in the process of adaptation and socialization in this professional niche; understand the resulting identity construction from this process, which culminates in the construction of the identity of the police woman and to identify the feminine stereotyped identities traits, emphasized by the interviewees when describing themselves, that can be considered as a form of resistance to the incorporation of a masculinized and brutalized identity, such as the typical identity of the police officer. To do so, under the precepts of qualitative research, twenty-three in-depth interviews were conducted with female police officers in battalions from the State of Rio de Janeiro, and the testimonies collected were submitted to content analysis. The relevance and originality of this thesis rests on its theoretical-analytical perspective, since, in this research, theories regarding gender issues, the identity construction related to the police ethos were used, as well as theories on identity, identity construction and socialization professionals widely used in academic research and of great adherence to the objectives of this work. The results indicate that being a woman in the PMERJ is a reality full of difficulties, related to the lack of cultural preparation of this institution for the performance of these professionals. Moreover, about the typical gender stereotypes of the police profession, it is possible to infer that many interviewees perceive the gender barriers imposed on them, which places them in a position of inferiority towards their peers, due to the consensus, even reinforced by some of them, that the police officer activity is more suitable for men. Regarding the assumption of the police officer identity, a phenomenon experienced intensely by men and women, the interviewees reported the incorporation of a more authoritarian and imposing stance; a state of permanent attention, aiming at their own safety and that of their work partners and relatives; the decrease of the sensitivity and the consequent increase of a harder posture under many circumstances; the brutalization, in the form of masculinization, as strategy of survival in this androcentric environment. However, as the interviewees incorporate new elements into their identity constructions, becoming hard and fearless, these also reinforce aspects that can be interpreted as identity resistance, strongly associated with the female stereotype, in contrast to the masculine ethos of the policeman. The analysis of the identity (re) construction process of the police woman revealed how paradoxical this process is, marked by both radical changes and significant resistance.

The aim of this thesis was to examine the conditions for democratic bildung-oriented education for students in the school science discourse. This is something that the Swedish curriculum is based on and thereby the education should develop students' capacity for social, political and cultural awareness. The theoretical framework used is grounded in critical didactics and feminist theories which assume that students should feel involved and get their voices heard. The Swedish national test in chemistry (2009-2012) and student answers (198n) from one of the items in the 2009 test have been analyzed using discourse analysis. The first study explored the norms and values present in the national tests in chemistry, in relation to people, society and nature. The second study focused on student’s evaluative language in their free-text answers to one of the items. Thereby attitudes in student answers were projected in relation to the norms and values found in the first study. Finally, the student answers were used once more in a third study, where students’ positioning in relation to the scientific discourse in the chemistry test (2009) was explored, as well as which feminist figurations these subject positions express. The results show that the national tests harbor an elitist image and anandrocentric bias.The normative message is that students should adopt an objective, rational, non-judgmental and non-emotional role. Topics connected to young people’s everyday life, that might interest students, are rare. Contrary to the normative messages mediated by the tests, students use evaluative and embodied language to a high extent in their answers. They choose to write about topics that are close to their everyday life and they show that they are emotionally engaged. Through feminist figurations theories used in the third study one can see how the student-subject positions offer resistance in different ways. This is shown in their criticism of science and technology, human society and nature. The students' responses have embraced an embodied chemistry that can be interpreted as teaching based on bildung and deliberative discussions.

This study examines two norm-breaking advertising campaigns. Through a sociosemiotic multimodal analysis I have examined a selection of advertising images from two norm-breaking campaigns: Försvarsmakten’s campaign Kom som du är and Arbetsförmedlingen’s campaignGör plats. The purpose of this study was to create a deeper understanding of how norm-breaking advertisement uses verbal and visual resources to affect attitudes and prejudices. To answer this purpose, the study has been based on the following questions: How are prominent participants constructed in norm-breaking advertising? How does image and text interact in order to change attitudes and prejudices? How does the presentation of the prominent participants in the advertising images relate to the overall purpose of the campaign? The result of this study indicates that there are patterns regarding how verbal and visual resources are used in the analyzed norm-breaking advertising images. The overall result shows that how the participants are portrayed makes the advertising images both demanding, contact- creating and engaging. Text and image interact in such a way that they both strengthen and complement each other and together they express demands that point toward a desired attitude and social change. The advertising images contains different people represented in a non- stereotyped way which relates well to the overall purpose of the campaigns.

The bias against attractiveness is fairly implicit and furthermore, powerfully impacts people’s subsequent impressions of and behaviors toward others (Cash, Gillen, & Burns, 1977; Dion et al., 1972). Pallet, Link and Lee (2010) examined the effect of various facial spatial configurations on attractiveness and found that raters rated faces as most attractive when the eyeto-mouth ratio approximated 36% of the face length (the "golden ratio"), which coincides with the measurements of an average and thus more attractive face. The present study examined the extent to which the distance of these objectively measured facial features affected mentors’ perceptions of their protégés, the subsequent mentoring given to them, and the protégés’ own behavior (e.g. seek feedback, request specific information).The gender composition of the mentor-protégé dyad was expected to moderate these relationships. I also examined whether, given the expected effects of facial measurements, withholding access to visual cues would affect mentor perceptions and behavior. Participants were 118 mentor/protégé dyads from a large Southeastern university who volunteered to participate in a formal online peer mentoring program. After seeing their protégés’ profiles (and for those in the experimental condition, a picture), mentors chatted with their protégés once a week for 30 minutes for a total of 4 weeks. Results indicated that protégés with facial features moderately distant from the golden ratio were perceived as more similar by mentors in same-gender dyads and received greater mentoring than did protégés closest and farthest from the golden ratio. In opposite-gender dyads, however, mentors reported greater similarity toward those that were farthest from the golden ratio but provided the greatest mentoring to those closest to the golden ratio. The relationship iv between facial measurements and protégé proactivity was moderated by whether or not their mentor had access to their picture. While protégés closest to the ratio were more proactive in the picture condition, those that were farthest from it were more proactive in the non-picture condition. Proactivity was as expected associated with greater levels of mentoring, which was ultimately related to a more fulfilled and beneficial relationship for protégés (i.e. less stress, greater self-efficacy and satisfaction). The results of this study indicate that facial measurements are associated with both differences in mentor and in protégé behavior and that the specific nature of these relationships differs as a function of gender composition. Implications for practice and theory will be discussed