Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka hur nätverksarbetet inom socialtjänsten upplevdes ur ett brukarperspektiv i en medelstor kommun i Sverige. I den studerade kommunen användes nätverksarbete som en insats för barn och ungdomar aktuella inom socialtjänsten. Nätverksarbetet innebar en samverkan mellan de privata och de professionella aktörerna för att uppnå hållbara lösningar för ungdomarna och deras familjer. Studien genomfördes kvalitativt via åtta intervjuer med föräldrar till barn och ungdomar aktuella inom socialtjänsten där nätverksarbetet hade genomförts som en insats. I resultatredovisningen och analysen har systemteori och de salutogena perspektivets tre begrepp; begriplighet, hanterbarhet och meningsfullhet samt empowerment används. Resultatet av föreliggande studie visade på att de föräldrar som deltagit i nätverksmöte hade en allmän positiv bild av nätverksarbetet. De slutsatser som påvisades var att nätverksarbete i denna kommun kunde förbättras genom bättre uppföljning samt flexiblare insatsförfarande. / The study was aimed to examine social network as method in social services and how it was perceived from a user perspective in a medium sized municipality in Sweden. Networking was offered by the social services as an intervention for parents and their children in need of social support. Networking is based on collaboration between the private and the professional actors to achieve sustainable solutions for adolescents and there family’s. The study was conducted through qualitative interviews with eight parents of children and adolescents who have participated in social network meetings. The empirical results were analyzed from a salutogenic perspective and the concepts comprehensibility, manageability, meaningfulness and empowerment. The results of this study showed that parents who participated in network meeting had a positive perception of networking. The conclusions that could be drawn from this study were that networking in this municipality could be improved by better follow-up and more flexible operational procedures in arranging network meetings.

The concept of hegemony has been an important subject in the 1970s as the US hegemonic position has entered into a decline period. This study aims to underline that the ongoing decline of US hegemony shares substantial analogies with the decline of British hegemony in the late 19th century. As the hegemonic economy enters into contraction period, it starts to experience financial expansion. Today, the US hegemony is in the midst of such an orientation toward the financialization. The study analyzes the historical changes within both hegemonic cases by direct references to the world-system theory and construct a comparative perspective in production, commerce and finance domains respectively to support these arguments.

The study aims to understand foster care secretary’s reasoning concerning biological children in foster cares. Previous research shows that biological children are a vulnerable group. But do their voices get heard? To find out how the foster care secretary reasoning about biological children of foster cares, I have interviewed four randomly municipalities in Sweden. The study is qualitative and based on a development ecological system theoretical perspective. The result shows that biological children’s right is focused and that the secretary’s ambition is to talk with the biological children before and under the foster care period. Before the family becomes a foster care they have to undergo extensive training to learn and feel ready for the new life situation.

Cirka 20-40 procent av Sveriges befolkning drabbas av psykisk ohälsa vilket även påverkar deras närstående. Efter avinstitutionaliseringen har ansvaret för den psykiskt sjuka förflyttats från institution till de närstående. Trots det ökade ansvaret som de närstående fått rapporterar sjuksköterskor svårigheter i att involvera de närstående i vårdandet.   Syftet var att belysa närståendes upplevelse av att vara närstående till en person med psykisk ohälsa. Litteraturöversikt i enlighet med Friberg (2012). Databaser som användes var CINAHL plus with Full Text och PsycINFO. Författarna valde ut sju kvalitativa, en kvantitativ artikel och en som var både kvalitativ- och kvantitativ. Artiklarna skulle besvara frågeställningarna: Hur påverkas de närståendes vardagliga liv när de lever nära en person med psykisk ohälsa? och vilka upplevelser belyses rörande det vardagliga livet och mötet med vården som följer av att vara närstående till en person med psykisk ohälsa? Den teoretiska referensram som valdes var systemteorin enligt Strømsnes Ekern (2003). Resultatet visar att närstående upplever att deras liv påverkas och att de exkluderas när det kommer till vårdandet av patienten. De önskar att deras behov blir tillgodosedda av den psykiatriska vården och att de blir mer delaktiga i vårdandet. Den psykiatriska vården bör se till de närståendes behov och erbjuda stöd då detta kan leda till minskad upplevd börda och ohälsa, vilket även påverkar patienten positivt. Kvinnor deltar i högre grad i valda studier och rapporterar även högre upplevd börda, något som även det bör uppmärksammas av sjukvården. Genom att använda systemteorin kan sjuksköterskan få en insikt av hur patient och dennes närstående påverkar varandra, vilket kan leda till en mer tillfredsställande omvårdnad.

A general multidisciplinary design problem features coupling and feedback between contributing analyses. This feedback may lead to convergence issues requiring significant iteration in order to obtain a feasible design. This work casts the multidisciplinary design problem as a dynamical system in order to leverage the benefits of dynamical systems theory in a new domain. Three areas from dynamical system theory are chosen for investigation: stability analysis, optimal control, and estimation theory. Stability analysis is used to investigate the existence of a solution to the design problem and how that solution can be found. Optimal control techniques allow consideration of contributing analysis output and design variables constraints at the same level of the optimization hierarchy. Finally, estimation methods are employed to rapidly evaluate the robustness of the multidisciplinary design. These three dynamical system techniques are then combined in a methodology for the rapid robust design of linear multidisciplinary systems. While inherently linear, the developed robust design methodology is shown to be extensible to nonlinear systems. The applicability and performance of the developed technique is demonstrated through linear and nonlinear test problems including the design of a hypersonic aerodynamic surface for a system in which an increase in range or improvement in landed accuracy is sought. In addition, it is shown that the developed robust design methodology scales well compared to other methods.

This research addresses the following questions: how do successful professionals cultivate boundary-spanning relationships to develop professional goods; and what lessons can be drawn from their successes? This study uses grounded theory to interpret qualitative interview data from four expert networkers to help demonstrate how successful people in various industries build relationships — and what characteristics these successful networkers have in common. Using grounded theory, five key themes emerged: uncertainty reduction, ingratiation, reciprocity, mentoring relationships and the importance of follow-up. The study of networks has a well-developed body of surrounding literature; however, the current research does little to address how individual actors successfully build the relationships upon which networks are based. Therefore, this qualitative research into the characteristics shared by successful networkers is a positive contribution to the body of knowledge concerning social network theory — and will serve as a guide for those wishing to expand their personal and business networks.

Tourism is globally rated as the World's biggest industry by gross domestic product. In South Africa it is hoped that the tourism industry will show growth that will positively affect the economy of the country. In particular, as tourism is noted as a labour intensive industry, it is expected that growth in this sector will create many jobs. In order to support this growth this study examines the need for tourism tertiary education and in particular how the use of soft systems methodologies is able to guide the management team of a tertiary institution as it re-examines the responses of the institution to influences that surround tertiary tourism education. The problem of tertiary tourism education proves to be particularly complex and unstructured in that it requires the coordination of many traditional disciplines that are each able to contribute elements to the study of tourism. Stemming from conventional scientific method a tradition of isolationism has evolved whereby individual elements of the tourism system operate independently with little interaction with other elements. Systems thinking recognises the interdependence and interrelatedness of all the elements in a system not least human elements. Although traditionally excluded from study, the subjective values and beliefs of people are actively solicited by systems thinkers who propose that only by embracing these beliefs, in a value full inquiry, is it possible to establish a self learning and self modifying education system suited to the changing demands of a turbulent industry such as tourism. The primary purpose of this work is to use systems thinking to build and implement a framework for improvement by restructuring tourism education in a large tertiary institution. The research intends to plot the course of change and organisational learning as the tertiary institution endeavours to re-align itself to the ever changing requirements of its customers. The dissertation does not seek, nor does it find, a neat packaged solution to the messy problem of tertiary tourism education in KwaZulu-Natal. This is not in the nature of soft systems thinking, which is about inquiry and better ways of seeing, and not primarily about proving or disproving hypotheses. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1999.

The effective modeling and analysis of large-scale power system disturbances especially those stemming from intentional attack represents an open engineering and research problem. Challenges stem from the need to develop intelligent models of cyber-physical attacks that produce salient disruptions and appropriately describe meaningful cyber-physical interdependencies such that they balance precision, scale and complexity. In our research, we present a foundation for the development of a class of intelligent cyber-physical attacks termed coordinated variable structure switching attacks whereby opponents aim to destabilize the power grid through con- trolled switching sequence. Such switching is facilitated by cyber-attack and corruption of communication channels and control signals of the associated switch(es). We provide methods and theorems to construct such attack models and demonstrate their utility in the simulation of extensive system disturbances. Our proposed class of cyber-physical switching attacks for smart grid systems has the potential to disrupt large-scale power system operation within a short interval of time. Through successful cyber intrusion, an opponent can remotely apply a state- dependent coordinated switching sequence on one or more relays and circuit breakers of a power system to disrupt operation. Existence of this switching vulnerability is dependent on the local structure of the power grid. Variable structure systems theory is employed to effectively model the cyber-physical aspects of a smart grid and determine the existence of the vulnerability and construct the destabilizing switching attack sequence. We illustrate the utility of the attack approach assess its impact on the different power system test cases including the single machine infinite bus power system model and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) 3-machine 9-bus system through MATLAB/Simulink and PSCAD simulation environment. The results demonstrate the potential of our approach for practical attack. Moreover, we build on our work in several ways. First, we extend the research to demonstrate an approach to mitigation within the variable structure system frame- work. We demonstrate via small signal analysis how through persistent switching a stable sliding mode can be used to disrupt a dynamical system that seems stable. We also design an approach to vulnerability analysis to assess the feasibility of co-ordinated variable structure switching attacks. Moreover, we study the performance of our attack construction approach when the opponent has imperfect knowledge of the local system dynamics and partial knowledge of the generator state. Based on the system with modeling errors, we study the performance of coordinated variable structure switching attacks in the presence of state estimation. Finally, we illustrate the concepts of attack model within the multiple switching framework, the cascading failure analysis is employed in the New-England 10-machine, 39-bus power system using MATLAB/Simulink and DSATools simulation environment. Our results demonstrate the potential for coordinated variable structure switching attacks to enable large-scale power system disturbances.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to improve family members' transfer from Intensive Care. A structured pre-transfer educational method of patient transfer was introduced and evaluated. Background of the study: Many studies have documented the needs of family members whilst in intensive care units (ICU) but few have evaluated interventions to support meeting these needs. No studies have documented 'uncertainty in illness' levels of family members around transfer from ICU or the relationship between uncertainty and anxiety. Method: The study used a quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test non-equivalent control group design based on the General System Theory (von Bertalanffy, 1972). There were four phases to the study with the intervention grounded in Knowles' Adult Learning Theory (1980). Family members of patients in an ICU were purposively allocated to a control(n = 80) and intervention group (n = 82). A pre-test, post-test strategy was used with data from the control group collected first and once completed, the intervention was introduced into the ICU. The intervention group data were then collected using the same data collection tools. The intervention group experienced a transfer method designed to improve communication with the bedside nurse in ICU whereas the control group received existing ad hoc transfer methods. Participants were surveyed before and after transfer using Spielberger et al.'s state anxiety inventory and Mishel's 'uncertainty in illness' scale. Demographic data were collected for both patients and family members together with family members' satisfaction with the transfer process they experienced. At the completion of the study, intensive care nurses (n = 40) were surveyed to assess their perception of the efficacy of the intervention. Results: Three factors were found to significantly affect levels of 'uncertainty in illness' and these included state anxiety scores (F = 50.9, p < .000), the relationship of the family member to the patient (F = 2.9, p = .022), and the unexpected nature of the admission (F = 23.09, p < .000). These factors accounted for 33% of the variance of 'uncertainty in illness' scores. State anxiety levels were significantly affected by the degree of family social support (F = 10.0, p = .002) and uncertainty as previously mentioned. State anxiety reduced significantly following transfer for both groups and 'uncertainty in illness' reduced significantly for the intervention group (t = 2.21, p = .03).When controlled for pre-transfer levels, however, there was no significant reduction in the intervention group when compared with the control group.' Uncertainty in illness' for the intervention group reduced, however, whereas scores for the control group did not. The intervention group experienced significantly higher levels of satisfaction with transfer (Z = -2.43, p = .015) and felt significantly better prepared for transfer(Z = -3.26, p = .001) than did the control group. The vast majority of ICU nurses(90.6%) thought the intervention provided a useful framework for discussing the patient's condition with family members and 94% thought it should be introduced for all transfers from ICU. Conclusions: Uncertainty is significantly related to state anxiety in this sample. Previous research suggests that individual's coping ability is affected by both anxiety and' uncertainty in illness' which limit their adaptation to the new ward situation. This results in relationship disturbances and psychological distress (Mishel, 1981)at a time when patients rely on family support. The intervention reduced uncertainty and improved family members' satisfaction with the transfer process by improved communication between family members and ICU nurses. The intervention was fully endorsed and supported by ICU nurses who recommended its introduction for all future transfers.

Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie var att undersöka hur socialsekreterare på försörjningsstödsenheter arbetar med klienter som har missbruksproblematik, vilka dilemman som kan uppstå i det arbetet och hur socialsekreterarna hanterar dessa dilemman. I studien genomfördes sex halvstrukturerade intervjuer med informanter från två kommuner. Empirin analyserades utifrån systemteori, professionsetik och självbestämmandeteorin (SDT). Resultatet visade att socialsekreterarna upplevde denna klientgrupp som svårplanerad och svårbedömd då de flesta dörrar i samhället är stängda vid missbruksproblematik. Drogfrihet blir en förutsättning för att komma framåt, vilket blir etiskt och juridiskt problematiskt då behandling bygger på frivillighet. Krav på aktivering från klienten gör att socialsekreterarna slits mellan utredningens kontrollfunktion och det sociala arbetets stödfunktion. Motivation och samverkan med andra aktörer är vägledande för att komma framåt. Vår studie ämnar bidra med teoretisk och praktisk kunskap på fältet avseende arbetet med klienter som erhåller ekonomiskt bistånd och samtidigt har missbruksproblem. / This study aims to investigate economic support carried out by social workers within municipal social services and how they deal with clients who need both economic support and are substance abusers. We made six semi-structured interviews in two municipalities. They were analysed by means of content analysis, system theory and self-determination theory (SDT) and in accordance with professional ethics. Our results show that the social workers face problems in planning and assessment concerning these clients, especially beacuse of social exclusion at the labour market. Leave only one way to re-entrance in society, voluntarily addiction treatment. The social workers are torn between the purpose of control in their investigation and how to support their clients, causing troublesome dilemmas in their profession. These clients are made visible as a vulnerable sub-group of clients in a welfare system built on activity. Motivation and cooperation with other organisations is the key to make change. Our study intends to promote development of both theroretical and practical knowledge in the field.