Approximately 1,6 percent of Swedish employees work under a consultancy firm, which is a fast-growing market. The responsibility of consultant’s work environment is in accordance with Swedish legislation on systematic work environment (SAM) divided between consultant- and client company. This study investigated how 1) consultants experience that their consultant- and client company employers, respectively, work with work environment health; 2) both consultant- and client company employers, respectively, experience their work with implementing work environment/health practices based on SAM. Data collection consisted of 12 in-depth interviews with 8 consultants, 3 consultant managers, and 1 workplace manager. Based on thematic analysis of interviews with consultants three themes were identified: Communication and relation with managers; Justice and inclusion; Managers’ involvement in workplace health. Based on thematic analysis of interviews with managers four themes were identified: Working with SAM; Work environment goals, Relation between consultant- and workplace managers, Relation with consultants. Findings showed the importance of supportive and present leadership, workplace justice and inclusion for consultants’ wellbeing. This responsibility of consultant’s daily work environment was mainly taken by workplace managers. Conclusions are that clear communication and division of responsibility between consultant- and workplace managers regarding consultants’ work environment/health is vital for well-functioning SAM.

A significant proportion of Sweden’s population consists of immigrants and refugees, many of whom are adolescents. Resettlement in a new host culture could be extra challenging during adolescence due to the additional burden that developmental tasks bring to the refugee adolescents’ daily life. One of the most important developmental tasks during adolescence is the development of functional relationships with peers. Previous research on refugee adolescents and peer relationships has often been quantitative and much focus has lied on the pathological outcomes and adversities that this population faces. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate how refugee adolescents experienced peer relationships from their point of view, taking in the full spectrum of experiences. Furthermore, this study aimed to highlight the strengths and resilience this population posits. Specifically, the study used qualitative methodology to examine how newly arrived refugee adolescents experienced interpersonal relationships with peers and how they dealt with challenges faced. The sample of the study were 33 newly arrived refugee adolescents (Mage = 14.9, SD = .91; 55% females). Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews and analyzed through inductive thematic analysis. Themes of language, quality of relationships, and integration appeared central for refugee adolescents’ experience of peer relationships. Despite the difficulties that this population faced, they showed great capacity in overcoming challenges. The findings indicate that peer relationships are a central part of refugee adolescents' adjustment and well-being, and that there is a strong motivation and capacity to overcome difficulties and create functional relationships among newly arrived refugee adolescents.

Early-stage investors increasingly impact the surging video game industry. Thus, understanding their thought processes provides vital insight for entrepreneurs. This thesis explores how early-stage investors assess investment opportunities in the Swedish game industry by presenting semistructured interviews with three prominent angel investors. Thematic analysis was performed on the interview data to extract significant themes regarding investors’ thought processes. Themes were then contrasted with previous research on investor decision-making to establish emergent patterns in the game industry. Results indicate that investors regard the composition and reliability of the team and pursue long-term involvement in companies. It is particularly important for teams to inspire trust. If investors can connect to teams personally, it facilitates successful long-term collaboration. Future research should focus on interviewing investors in other flourishing game markets, such as the U.S. or Chinese. Congruent results may lay the foundation for a framework to aid developers with acquiring funds in the broader game industry.

The quest for institutional transformation has created a need to continually challenge traditional notions of what an academic is and should be. While several studies have explored academics' experiences to engender transformation systems, few studies have focused strictly on emerging academics (permanently working scholars within the first five years of academic careers). These early-career academics are faced with the challenge of adapting to the institutional culture and meeting disciplinary standards of performance. Their novelty in the system makes them more vulnerable to the effect of these challenges. This study aimed to identify how they navigate these challenges, what defines them as academics, what impacts their academic freedoms, how they challenge disciplinary standards of performance, and the extent to which institutional culture affects their experiences. Through a purposive and snowball sampling strategy, 20 academics were selected from the University of Cape Town (UCT) to study. They were interviewed using a semi-structured approach and were asked openended questions with an interview guide. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview data as it utilized an ideographic approach in providing insights into the participants' lived experiences. This methodological approach also helped prioritize how the study is carried out and explore participants' meaning-making processes. The participants perceived being an academic as an opportunity for subjective self-expression and a character-building process. They conceded that being an academic required genuine intellectual curiosity and a platform to engender innovation. The study also uncovered the effects of UCT's institutional and transformative plan on assimilating into the academic space. Academics perceived the performance appraising structure as too prescriptive and affirmed their desire to harness their positions to build strong interpersonal relations with students. The study recommends a more comprehensive and longitudinal approach to studying academic experiences focusing on the psycho-social factors influencing these experiences. The research further suggests a streamlined and faculty-based approach to further strengthening educational support systems at UCT.

Federal and state descriptions of gifted and talented services include identifying and developing leadership talent, but in many states, services are not mandated or funded. Consequently, leadership development is often left to extracurricular programs (e.g., student organizations, athletics). The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) provides school-based military-focused leadership education and opportunities to apply emergent leadership skills. This qualitative descriptive study examined leadership talent development in JROTC and the postsecondary paths participants chose. A self-report survey was distributed to graduating seniors enrolled in JROTC in Texas public high schools and semi-structured interviews were conducted with JROTC instructors across the state. The findings highlighted characteristics of students in the sample who chose to pursue military-focused education or careers after high school and themes about the experiences and key considerations related to choosing postsecondary paths. JROTC instructors supported students with differentiated development plans and information about flexible pathways to reach postsecondary goals. Students benefitted from broad definitions of success, exposure to career options, realistic self-assessment, and alignment between intentions and preparation.

This qualitative study investigates teachers' perspective on the use of assistive technology (AT) in their daily teaching and interaction with children with special needs. Previous research has investigated this subject from many different angles but has mostly focused on the effects of AT, whereas this study wants to understand  other complexities such as challenges teachers face and their perspective on the effects of AT. The study was carried out in Sweden and the data was collected from both private and public schools through interviews with teachers based on the aim to investigate the role assisitive technology plays in the education of children with special needs in Swedish schools from the perspective of the teachers. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed with thematic analysis with the knowledge from previous research in mind to increase the research focus based on previous experiences abd existing gaps. This study had several important finding. Most importantly, the teachers expressed that assistive technology encouraged and motivated the children and made it easier for the teachers to present information to the children. At the same time, the teachers expressed that too much use of AT could create an unnecessary dependency for the students, that AT has a risk of being emotionally harmful for the children, and they expressed a lack of training to use these devices properly. From this, it was concluded that there is a need for more collaboration among teachers to echange experiences and ideas and a need for creating an environment that is more conductive to testing, learning, and evaluating technology use. For the future, this will be beneficial for the children using these devices as this will allow us to enhance our knowledge on the subject and improve the experience of the chidren while using these devices in their education.

South Africa has one of the highest rates of rape in the world. Experiencing rape frequently proposes substantial consequences on survivors’ physical, psychological and social wellbeing, which accentuates the importance of providing survivors with help, support, and protection. However, the scarce studies examining survivors’ experiences with the support system indicate many flaws within the system, sometimes even resulting in further harm. This failure of governmental support systems stimulated an increasing manifestation of NGOs as providers of survivor support. It is consequently crucial to understand and evaluate the success of these services to fully understand the quality of available support. The objective of this study was to investigate women rape survivors’ post rape experiences and their journey and subsequent experiences with the counselling provided to them by the Cape Town based NGO Rape Crisis. Fifteen adult rape survivors were recruited via opportunity sampling and asked to participate in one hour long unstructured interviews. In line with the research topic and the research questions, an intersectional feminist paradigm was chosen for the theoretical framework and thematic narrative analysis was applied as the analytic approach. The analysis showed four themes relating to rape survivors’ narratives on post-rape challenges, namely; the silence and stigma that victimises survivors, the psychological effects of rape, help seeking as a last resort, and demystifying counselling. Additionally, five themes around survivors’ experiences of Rape Crisis counselling were established, namely; the value of a professional safe space, building a counsellor relationship, talking and listening, a collaborative effort to finding oneself, and sharing collective stories of pain. The findings highlight the need for more outreach and education efforts around rape, as well the importance for professional yet not too clinical psychological support which incorporates empowerment principles and focuses on help to self-help.

This thesis engages with the issue of the post-WWII rapes of women in Germany committed by the soldiers of the winning parties that occupied Germany after the war. It asks how female survivors of sexual violence during the occupation of Germany in 1945-1949 experienced social responses towards their violation. It pursues these responses in public and private sphere and explores the effect they had on the survivors and their recovery. A qualitative method of thematic analysis is employed to analyse the material consisting of interviews based on secondary sources, empirical research done by historians and psychologists, and reliable news articles that address the issue under scrutiny.The thesis contributes to Peace and Conflict Studies empirically, by exploring sensitive civilians’ lived experiences in a particular post-war setting and theoretically, through an attempt at analysis based on the theoretical framing of ethical loneliness as developed by Jill Stauffer.It shows that the predominantly negative nature of social responses in both public and private sphere held to the condition of ethical loneliness that was a crucial hindrance for the survivors’ recovery. The issue of silence is found to be especially relevant as it pertains both to social responses and to the survivors’ own attempt at coping with the situation, thereby emerging as a key reason for the lasting experience of ethical loneliness.

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The dropout social problem has been the focus of researchers, business and community leaders, and school staffs for decades. Despite possessing significant academic high school capabilities, some gifted students drop out of school. The research problem for this study includes, how and why former gifted urban high school students chose to drop out. The conceptual framework for this case study is Bronfenbrenner's human ecology theory. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of what lead former gifted urban students to dropping out of high school. Using purposive sampling, 4 participants, two men and two women, were selected for semi-structured interviews. The sample included an African-American, Filipino, Caucasian, and Haitian/Cuban/Syrian, whose ages ranged from 38-77 years old. The semi-structured interviews were analyzed using first, second, and pattern coding. The resulting themes were (a) family discord, (b) school not interesting, and (c) no role model, and (d) minimum family participation. The former gifted high school students' dropout experiences were rooted in the microsystem perspective of the human ecology theory. The implications for social change from this study findings may help inform those who manage and teach gifted programs about the mindsets of students in gifted services.