The diploma thesis deals with the topic of self-stigmatization of peer consultants and their position in the work team. The aim of this work is to examine the degree of self-stigmatization in peer consultants, how they experience and overcome it. And gather knowledges haw to support the current education and position of peer consultants in the work environment. The work is divided into theoretical and empirical part. The theoretical part describes the stigmatization, peer consultation and the recovery process. The empirical part consists of two consecutive research studies. The first examines the degree of self-stigmatization of peer consultants on comparison with the general population of the mentally ill in the Czech Republic. And the second examines whether and how peer consultants experience self-stigmatization, how they work with it, and what role their surroundings, especially relationships and employment, play in their view. It also examines the current working environment conditions of peer workers. Mainly in the field of competencies, job description and education. Research shows that the level of self-stigmatization measured by the ISMI scale is significantly lower for peer consultants than for mentally ill people who do not work as peer workers. Interviews and their analysis showed that...

Background: In 2014, 1.2 million people died from HIV related causes around the world. Colombia ranks second in HIV prevalence in Latin America and the number of people infected with HIV in Colombia increases. One of the reasons for the increase is the stigmatization and discrimination against patients infected with HIV that exists. Nurses are human beings, influenced by their surroundings, with personal beliefs and preconceptions and may, if not being aware of these preconceptions and personal beliefs, help supporting stigmatization and discrimination.  Aim: The aim with this study was to describe how Colombian nurses view upon caring for patients with HIV.  Method: A qualitative approach was being used in this empirical study. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with six Colombian nurses at an infection unit in a university hospital. The interviews were transcribed and later analysed by using a qualitative content analysis.  Results: The findings resulted in three major themes: Nurses’ reflections on attitudes towards HIV, The role and responsibilities of a nurse and Nurses’ thoughts regarding the patients, the disease and the profession. The first theme illustrates how the nurses reflect upon the attitudes within the society, the patients’ family and the patients’ attitudes towards themselves. The second theme describes how the nurses worked with patients with HIV. In the third theme, the nurses reflect upon their previous experiences, the future and the profession.  Discussion: Based on the result from the interviews, the factors influencing ones’ values and preconceptions were discussed. Some of these factors are religious and moral beliefs, lack of education and experience. / Bakgrund: 2014 avled 1,2 miljoner människor i världen av HIV-relaterade orsaker. Colombia återfinns på andra plats i Latinamerika vad gäller antal personer smittade med HIV och antal smittade i Colombia ökar. En orsak till ökningen är den stigmatisering och diskriminering av patienter smittade med HIV smittade som existerar. Sjuksköterskor är människor, influerade av sin omgivning, med personliga åsikter, värderingar och förförståelse. Om sjuksköterskan inte är medveten om sina värderingar och sin förförståelse, kan det bidra till stigmatisering och diskriminering. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att beskriva sjuksköterskors syn på att vårda patienter med HIV.  Metod: En kvalitativ ansats användes i denna empiriska studie. Data samlades in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex colombianska sjuksköterskor på en infektionsklinik på ett universitetssjukhus. Intervjuerna transkriberades och analyserades sedan med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys.  Resultat: I resultatet framkom tre huvudteman: Sjuksköterskors reflektioner angående attityder till HIV, Sjuksköterskans roll och ansvarsområden och Sjuksköterskors tankar angående patienterna, sjukdomen och professionen. Det första temat behandlar hur sjuksköterskorna ser på attityderna i samhället, i patients familj, samt patientens egna attityder. Det andra temat beskriver hur sjuksköterskorna arbetade med patienter med HIV. I det tredje temat reflekterar sjuksköterskorna kring tidigare erfarenheter, framtiden samt professionen.  Diskussion: Baserat på resultatet från intervjuerna, diskuterades de faktorer som påverkar ens värderingar och förförståelse. Några av dessa faktorer är religiösa och moraliska värderingar, brist på utbildning och erfarenhet.

Master of Arts / Department of English / Phillip Marzluf / Much recent scholarship about boys and literacy focuses on the “crisis” of male underachievement in schools, and a number of authors address why boys’ literacy rates are low (e.g., Newkirk, Wilhelm and Smith). In this paper, I use current scholarship and primary research to examine the literacy ideology of a specific group of adolescents who are underrepresented in the literature: those living in rural areas. Using interviews from eight high school boys as case studies, I examine how literacy manifests itself in male adolescents from the rural Midwest. This study follows a qualitative empirical methodology. I find that the boys’ ideology is shaped by societal and familial influences and is essentially a “serviceable” literacy ideology. A serviceable literacy is rooted in a male identity or “habitus,” which refers to the way individuals perceive, assess, and act in the world (Bourdieu, “Habitus”). The findings in this study suggest that rural young men have a habitus characterized by independence, expediency, competition, and individuality. Complicating this habitus of young rural men is a stigma that some of the boys are very aware of. This stigma asserts that rural inhabitants value literacy less than middle- and upper-class urban inhabitants. My findings clearly demonstrate that people who live in rural areas are certainly literate and value literacy, but school-sponsored literacy is very different than serviceable literacy, and classrooms are the arena for a struggle as educators attempt to expose students to unfamiliar forms of reading. Therefore, the results of this study present pedagogical challenges for rural English teachers who are responsible for literacy instruction. Lastly, I will present some solutions found in the literacy scholarship.

The purpose of this thesis is to determine through focus groups and individual interviews the identity gaps experienced by young adult smokers, the strategies they enact to minimize or avoid identity gaps, and contexts in which layers of identity are aligned in order to target those sites in future smoking cessation health campaign messages. Engaging in stigmatized health behaviors, like smoking, impacts the messages individuals receive from other people and the media about their health, identity, and behaviors, and the way they communicate about themselves. Michael Hecht's (1994) communication theory of identity (CTI) explains the process of enacting and shaping identities through communication and provides the framework of this thesis. Identities consist of four interpenetrating layers: enacted, personal, relational, and communal. When there is a discrepancy between layers an identity gap occurs. Identity gaps are associated with uncomfortable dissonance and negative communication outcomes. However, identity gaps also present opportunities for targeted health messages that draw attention to dissonance as a motivational tactic and offer behavior change strategies to decrease gaps. I conducted four focus groups and ten interviews focusing on the daily experiences of 20 young adult smokers. Identity gaps emerged involving all four layers of identity, though personal-enacted, enacted-relational, and personal-relational identity gaps were reported most frequently. Strategies to manage identity gaps included lying about smoking, hiding the behavior of smoking, and gauging others' reactions prior to disclosing smoking status. Participants voiced contexts and relationships in which layers of identity aligned, including around other college-age individuals and friends. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are offered, including suggestions for health messages and interventions targeting management strategies and contexts where identity is aligned in order to decrease their efficacy and thus increase the magnitude of the already pervasive identity gaps young adults smokers experience in the hopes of motivating behavior change.

Gustav Jonson's theory of the social heritage characterized social work in Sweden during the 1960s and onwards. The social policy issues debated then were about class society, labelling and alienation. After thirty years of professional work as a social worker, I find it interesting that the work still focuses on the theory of the social heritage and methods for breaking it. The aim of this study is to examine possible explanations to why this is so. The empirical material is taken from interviews with senior social workers. Issues examined are how they perceive social work and the theory of the social heritage. The results of the interviews have been processed based upon narrative analysis and reported in the form of meta-narratives. The stories provide a historical view of social work, encounters, situations and contexts. The final discussion is about how the social heritage is created, identified and carried forward. The conclusions show that the social heritage is a social construction created by the society and its inhabitants.The issue then, is to understand and to relate to this context, creating security control and balance in it. As a phenomenon, the social heritage can come to act as conservation and thus become a counterforce to change. Based on discussion and conclusions, it appears that efforts to break the social heritage are questionable. The study is a social psychological qualitative study worked with from a social constructionist perspective.

Bakgrund: HIV är en virussjukdom som orsakas av retrovirus vilket innebär sänkt immunförsvar. AIDS är slutstadiet av sjukdomen och det finns två typer av HIV; typ 1 och typ 2. Vårdaren och patienten är beroende av varandra för att omvårdnaden ska bli optimal. Här är bemötandet viktigt i patientens upplevelse av vården, speciellt för personer som lever med en smittsam sjukdom. Tidigare forskning visade att sjukvårdspersonal kunde ha en kritisk syn på livsstilen hos personer som lever med HIV/AIDS, men kunskap om hur personer som lever med HIV/AIDS (PLHA) upplever bemötandet i kontakt med sjukvården saknas idag, något som författarna valt att studera djupare. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva hur PLHA upplever bemötandet inom sjukvården i samband med kontakt på grund av sjukdomen, samt beskriva urvalet i använda vetenskapliga artiklar. Metod: En deskriptiv litteraturstudie, nio vetenskapliga artiklar med både kvalitativ och kvantitativ ansats användes. Huvudresultat: Enligt PLHA var ett positivt bemötande av stor vikt för den fortsatta vårdrelationen. Genom information och ökad kunskap hos sjuksköterskor och vårdpersonal beskrev PLHA att bemötandet blev bättre och att HIV-relaterade stigman kunde reduceras. En personlig utbildning för PLHA själva var också viktigt för att minska den självupplevda interna stigman som ofta grundade sig i skam över sjukdomen. Den inre skammen och känslan av att behöva dölja något kunde leda till både depression och negativa känslor. Ett negativt bemötande kunde vara exempelvis brist på engagemang och icke välkomnande intryck samt upplevd motvilja hos vårdpersonalen till att vårda, behandla och stödja PLHA fysiskt och psykiskt. Slutsats: PLHA upplever inte lika mycket stigma/diskriminering idag, men det finns fortfarande en viss grad av fördomar. Utbildning av både personal som inte jobbar med/möter denna patientgrupp ofta och information till samhället skulle kunna hjälpa att minska de existerande fördomarna och stigma som fortfarande finns kring sjukdomen. / Background: HIV is a viral disease that is caused by a retro virus which damage the immune system. AIDS is the final stage of the disease and there are two types of HIV; type 1 and type 2. The carer and the patient are dependent on each other to make the medical care optimal. The meeting is an important part of patients’ experience of medical care, especially for people living with a contagious disease. Earlier research showed that healthcare professionals could have a potentially critical view on people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA). Knowledge about how PLHA experience the meeting when in contact with the healthcare sector today is missing, therefore the authors of this study wanted to examine this topic further. Aim: The aim was to describe how PLHA experience the meeting within the healthcare sector when seeking help because of the disease, and also to describe the sample used in the articles that were used in this study. Method: Descriptive literature review, nine articles both qualitative and quantitative where used. Key findings: : According to PLHA was a positive encounter important to the career-patient-relationship. Trough more information and increased knowledge about the disease in nurses and other healthcare personnel did PLHA describe that the encounter became more positive and the HIV-related stigma could be reduced. An individual education for PLHA were also an important factor to reduce the self-experienced stigma that often were based upon shame. That internal shame and the feeling that needing to hide something could lead to depression and negative feelings. A negative encounter could for example be lack of dedications and an un-welcoming attitude and furthermore reluctance in the healthcare personnel to treat and support PLHA both physically and psychological Conclusions: PLHA doesn't experience as much stigma or discrimination today as before, but there are still a certain degree of preconceptions. Further education of both healthcare personnel that doesn't encounter these kind of patients on a regular basis and information to the society could help reduce the preconceptions and the stigma that still exist around this disease.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

This thesis is a case study analysis of the feminist urban development project #UrbanGirlsMovement discussing how gender-transformative urban planning techniques impact local girls in the Million Dwellings Program area Fittja south of Stockholm. The thesis draws on a theoretical framework of feminist geography, intersectionality, and territorial stigmatization to analyze narratives from eleven girls participating in #UrbanGirlsMovement. The girls’ narratives reveal that it has been an empowering experience to be part of an urban development process as it has enabled them to recognize their own abilities. By re-evaluating the role of the planner to take on a more facilitating role, the girls shouldered the role of experts. It legitimized the girls’ ideas and designs, enabling them both to recognize and to use their own agency. Additionally, the process of redesigning a familiar place enabled the girls to regenerate the meaning of the urban public space around Fittja to mirror their own subjective spatial identities. The thesis shows that intersectional planning tools that transform, rather than inform, power and spatial oppression are crucial when renewing the Million Dwellings Program of Swedish suburbs. #UrbanGirlsMovement shows that a planning process is more than physical designs, it is as much a tool for enhanced democracy, equality, and justice in cities.

What key design features can be identified in creating a tool/game for helping children open up about sexual abuse through the collaboration with health care professionals? In today’s society, sexual abuse of children is a real and common occurrence. This research will explore what role interactive media can play in helping children open up about abuse as well as identify 11 key design features for designing such a tool. To do so, the participatory method (Simon 2010) will be utilized throughout the design process, based on the collaboration with health care professionals to ensure as relevant and applicable design features as possible. The result of this study are the first iterations of designing this tool as well as the 11 key features that were identified with the help of health care professionals’ expertise.

Este estudo metodológico teve como objetivos adaptar o Perceived Stigmatization Questionnaire (PSQ) e o Social Comfort Questionnaire (SCQ) e avaliar a validade e a confiabilidade, em uma amostra de brasileiros que sofreram queimaduras. O PSQ e o SCQ, avaliam, respectivamente, a percepção de estigmatização e o conforto social entre vítimas de queimaduras. O estudo foi aprovado pelos Comitês de Éticas das instituições envolvidas. Foram incluídos pacientes acima de 18 anos em fase de reabilitação, com ou sem necessidade de hospitalização, em duas Unidades de Queimados no Brasil. O processo de adaptação dos instrumentos foi realizado de acordo com as diretrizes internacionais. A validade de constructo relacionada à dimensionalidade dos instrumentos foi avaliada por meio das análises fatoriais exploratória (AFE) e confirmatória (AFC). A análise da confiabilidade foi realizada por meio do coeficiente alfa de Cronbach. A reprodutibilidade dos instrumentos foi avaliada por meio do coeficiente de correlação intraclasse (ICC). A validade de constructo foi avaliada pela análise multitraço-multimétodo (MTMM) com constructos correlatos: autoestima (Escala de Auto-Estima de Rosenberg), depressão (Inventário de Depressão de Beck); e afeto/imagem corporal e relações interpessoais (Burn Specific Health Scale-Revised). A análise de grupos conhecidos foi testada comparando-se os escores dos instrumentos, de acordo com a percepção do sujeito de visibilidade da queimadura, superfície corporal queimada e sexo. O nível de significância adotado foi 0,05. Participaram do estudo 240 pacientes queimados. Os índices de ajuste ao modelo foram satisfatórios para o escore total do PSQ, porém não para a subescala comportamento hostil. Essa subescala foi modificada, eliminando-se três itens e obtendo-se um melhor ajuste: a versão refinada do PSQ (BR-PSQ-R) (?2=229,53; g.l.=132, p<0,001; RMSEA=0,06; CFI=0,94; TLI=0,94). O alfa de Cronbach variou de 0,65 a 0,88. O valor do ICC foi de 0,87 para escore total do BR-PSQ-R. O BR-PSQ-R apresentou forte e positiva correlação com depressão (0,63; p<0,001) e forte e negativa correlação com autoestima (-0,57; p<0,001), afeto/imagem corporal (-0,63; p<0,001) e relações interpessoais (-0,55; p<0,001). O escore total do BR-PSQ-R foi significante e maior nos pacientes com cicatrizes visíveis (tamanho do efeito=0,51; p=0,029). Na AFC do SCQ, foram identificados índices de ajuste ao modelo insatisfatório para o modelo original unidimensional com oito itens, assim o modelo foi reduzido para seis itens (BR-SCQ-R), sendo identificado melhor ajuste ao modelo (?2=458,7; g.l.=7; p<0,001; RMSEA=0,05; CFI=0,99; TLI=0,99). O alfa de Cronbach foi de 0,80, e o ICC no teste-reteste foi de 0,86 para o escore total do SCQ. A versão final mostrou forte e negativa correlação com depressão (-0,56; p<0,001); forte e positiva correlação com afeto/imagem corporal (0,60; p<0,001), relações interpessoais (0,57; p<0,001) e autoestima (0,52; p<0,001). Na análise de grupos conhecidos, foi identificada diferença estatisticamente significante entre os pacientes que consideraram suas cicatrizes visíveis (tamanho do efeito=-0,49; p=0,012). Os resultados mostraram que as versões refinadas do PSQ e do SCQ apresentam confiabilidade e validade comparável à versão original. Entretanto, a estrutura em relação à subescala comportamento hostil do BR-PSQ-R e a sensibilidade de ambos os instrumentos devem ser revisadas em estudos futuros. / This methodological study had the following objectives: to adapt the Perceived Stigmatization Questionnaire (PSQ) and the Social Comfort Questionnaire (SCQ); and to assess the validity and reliability in a sample of Brazilians who suffered burns. The PSQ and the SCQ assesses respectively, the perception of stigmatization and the social comfort among burn victims. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committees of the institutions studied. We included patients over 18 years old undergoing rehabilitation process of burn, with or without hospitalization in two Burn Units in Brazil. The cross-cultural adaptation process of the instruments was performed according to international guidelines. The construct validity related to the dimensionality of the instruments was evaluated by the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The reliability analysis was performed using the Cronbach\'s alpha. The reproducibility of the instruments was assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The construct validity was assessed by the multitrait-multimethod matrix (MTMM) through the constructs: self-esteem (Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale), depression (Beck Depression Inventory) and affection/body image and interpersonal relationships (Burn Specific Health Scale-Revised). The analysis of known-groups was tested by comparing the scores of the instruments according to the burn visibility, body surface in the area burned and gender. The significance level was 0.05. A total of 240 burn patients participated in the study. The goodness-of-fit indices were satisfactory for the total score of the PSQ, however, not for the subscale hostile behavior. This subscale was modified by removing 3 items to obtain a better adjust: the PSQ refined version (BR-PSQ-R) (?2=229.53; d.f.=132; p<0.001; RMSEA=0.06; CFI=0.94; TLI=0.94). Cronbach\'s alpha ranged from 0.65 to 0.88. The ICC value was 0.87 for the total score. The BR-PSQ-R showed strong and positive correlation with depression (0.63; p < 0.001), and strong and negative correlation with self-esteem (-0.57; p<0.001), and affection/body image (-0.63; p<0.001), and interpersonal relationships (-0.55; p<0.001). The total score of the BR-PSQ-R was significant and higher for patients with visible scars (effect size=0.51; p=0.029). In the CFA of the SCQ was identified unsatisfactory goodness-of-fit for the original model with one-factor structure with 8 items, thus, the model was reduced to 6 items (BR-SCQ-R) and better goodness-of-fit indices were identified (?2=458.7; d.f.=7; p<0.001; RMSEA=0.05; CFI=0.99; TLI=0.99). Cronbach\'s alpha was 0.80 and the ICC value in the test-retest was 0.86 for the BR-PSQ-R. The final version showed strong and negative correlation with depression (-0.56; p<0.001); and strong and positive correlations with affection/body image (0.60; p<0.001), interpersonal relationships (0.57; p<0.001) and self-esteem (0.52; p<0.001). In the analysis of known- groups we identified statistically significant difference between patients who considered their scars visible (effect size=-0.49; p=0.012). The results showed that the refined versions of the PSQ and SCQ showed reliability and validity comparable to the original versions. On the other hand, the structure related to the hostile behavior subscale of the BR-PSQ-R and the sensitivity of both instruments must be evaluated in future studies.