På grund av oroligheter i världen skedde under år 2015 en kraftig ökning av asylsökande, där ibland även ensamkommande barn. Ökning av ensamkommande barn medförde en boendeproblematik för Sveriges kommuner, vilket lett till behov av flertalet nyuppstartade HVB-hem. Det fanns ett intresse av att studerades hälsofrämjande aktiviteter i kontexten, detta för att förstå dem som en del av en hälsodiskursiv praktik. Detta gjordes utifrån ett sociokulturellt perspektiv på lärande, diskurs analys samt ett helhetsperspektiv på hälsa. Därav har studien genomförts som kvalitativ studie med inspiration ifrån etnografisk forskning. Deltagande observationer utfördes vid tre tillfällen. Observationerna utfördes på två olika avdelningar på ett HVB- hem för ensamkommande pojkar. Genom ett hälsopedagogiskt perspektiv var avsikten med studien att synliggöra hälsodiskurser och dess betydelse för ungdomarnas lärande och skapande av hälsa. Kategorierna för studiens analyserade resultat återspeglar de hälsofrämjande aktiviteter som observerades. Teman för diskussionsdelen framanalyserats med utgångspunkt i studiens valda teorier och utföll i följande sex kategorier: Tidspassning, Vi och dem, Laganda och att ha trevligt ihop, Minskad förtäring av sötsaker, Regelföljning och självständighet samt Dubbla budskap. Av resultatet framkom det att den rådande hälsodiskursen tycks bygga på ett omedvetet helhetsperspektiv på hälsa. Det framkommer genom personalens utsagor att en strävans finns mot att skapa förutsättningar för att ungdomarna att utvecklas till självständiga individer, dock strider detta mot vad som kan ses i den hälsodiskursiva praktiken. Därav kan det tänkas att hälsa är ett ämne som kan behöva lyftas i praktiken. Då det var svårt att hitta relevant forskning i ämnet tycks även behov finnas av att bedriva forskning kring hur insatser på HVB-hem bör utformas för att uppnå ökad självständighet hos ungdomarna. / 2015 saw a sharp rise in unaccompanied children seeking asylum. This is due to turmoil in many parts of the world. The rise has brought housing problems for Sweden’s municipalities, with more housing and treatment facilities started as a result. A study was conducted, motivated by ethnography research. Participants were observed on three occasions, in two separate wards in a HVB resident for unaccompanied boys. Health promoting activities were observed, to gain an understanding of them for use from a pedagogic perspective. This was done using a sociocultural perspective in teaching, study analysis, as well as health in general. Through a health discourse perspective, the purpose of the study was to analyze health awareness in the children. The categories for the analysed results reflected the health promoting activities that were encouraged during the study. The study was analysed using the following six categories Punctuality, Us and them, Team spirit and getting along, Reduced sugar consumption, Following rules and independence, as well as Double standards. The results showed that the current health discourse is founded on a subconsciously overall perspective on health. Housing and HVB resident staff have the aim to create possibilities for the children to develop into independent individuals. It can be seen as a field that needs to be improved in practice, through staff education. Relevant data is lacking, further research is needed into what action is required to help the children reach independence.

Since 2007, about 300 unaccompanied children have annually disappeared in Sweden. This study investigates whether authorities are aware of the problem and how they look at risks, responsibilities and causes of disappearance of unaccompanied children. This is done through a combination of text analyzes of relevant reports as well as qualitative interviews of selected social service professionals and the National Method support against prostitution and human trafficking. The empirical findings have been analyzed with the help of Michael Lipsky’s (2010) Street-Level Bureaucracy theory and Carol Bacchi’s (2009) what’s the problem represented to be – approach. There seem to be a mixed awareness amongst those who are dealing with the problem that unaccompanied refugees disappear. There seems to be, however, a national goal as well as a local interest, to improve the preventive work against the problem that unaccompanied refugee children disappear. Yet the results show that other aspects and participants are to be considered for an extensive understanding of the problem.

The aim of this study was to investigate unaccompanied migrant children (UMC )experiences, challenges and coping strategies in South Africa as they navigate their lives with no parental care and protection in a foreign country. The continuous inflow of UMC remains a major challenge globally and more so in South Africa. The inflow resulted in unaccompanied migrant children facing adverse challenges such as exploitation, marginalisation, discrimination and violation of human rights. In response to this influx, the South African Government embarked on several commendable initiatives, notwithstanding the national guidelines by the Department of Social Development, which unfortunately could not provide adequate guidance for social workers, on how to respond effectively to challenges facing UMC. The study was qualitative guided by exploratory, descriptive, and contextual designs. A sample was drawn using purposive sampling. Participants sampled for data collection were UMC and social workers tending them, from two shelters; one in the Limpopo and one in the Gauteng provinces, respectively. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using Tesch’s eight steps of data analysis in Creswell (2013). The findings confirmed that unaccompanied migrant children do not receive satisfactory services from social workers who are mandated by the Department of Social Development to look after all the vulnerable children in South Africa. In addition, the findings further confirmed the contradictions and misalignment of legal frameworks that make it difficult for social workers to provide effective services to the UMC, thus exposing the latter to a continued plethora of daily challenges. Despite the magnitude of challenges presented by the host country, it emerged that unaccompanied migrant children demonstrate a range of coping mechanisms to survive the challenges experienced within the borders of South Africa. Prominent in the findings was the dissatisfaction of social workers regarding lack of clarity and inconsistencies in the current Social Development Guidelines on; Separated and Unaccompanied Children Outside their Country of Origin in South Africa. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for practice and additional guidelines were developed to enhance service delivery to the UMC. / Social Work / D. Litt. et Phil. (Social Work)

Här presenteras ett ramverk för beslutsanalytisk metod baserad på principen om maximering av den förväntade nyttan gällande värdering av olika alternativ för åldersbedömning av ensamkommande inom asylprocessen. Med detta ramverk som utgångspunkt görs en jämförelse mellan ett antal metoder (mognad hos visdomstand, knäled och handled samt Rättsmedicinalverkets metod baserad på både visdomstand och knäled) för medicinsk åldersbedömning. Dessa metoder jämförs vidare med tre referensalternativ (i) lita på den ensamkommandes åldersuppgifter vilket i praktiken innebär att bedöma alla som barn, (ii) bedöma alla ensamkommande som vuxna och (iii) det absurda alternativet att singla slant för att avgöra vem som är barn eller vuxen. Det som behövs för beslutsanalysen är antaganden och/eller skattningar på åldersfördelningen av ensamkommande som åldersbedöms samt skattning för de olika metoderna på hur stor sannolikheten är att en person bedöms som vuxen givet den faktiska åldern. Vidare krävs en kvantifiering av nyttan för en felklassificering av en vuxen, då en felklassificering av ett barn antas ge lägst nytta och en korrekt klassificering antas ge högst nytta. Åldersfördelningen av ensamkommande som åldersbedöms antas här bestå av en kombination av två likformiga och kontinuerliga fördelningar, där intervallen är 15-18 år (barn) respektive 18-21 år (vuxna). Två nyttomodeller undersöks, en diskret som endast tar hänsyn till om individen är barn eller vuxen samt en kontinuerlig linjär nyttomodell som tar hänsyn till åldersskillnaden från 18-årsgränsen vid en felklassificering. De genomförda analyserna demonstrerar hur ramverket kan användas i praktiken. Givet de antaganden som gjorts är slutsatsen att det alternativ som ger högst förväntad nytta i stor utsträckning beror på prevalensen (andelen vuxna) tillsammans med hur nyttan för en felklassificerad vuxen värderas. Oavsett värdering, vid prevalens nära 0 bör alla bedömas som barn, för att när prevalensen ökar ersättas ersättas av en metod som i stor utsträckning klassificerar barn korrekt, när prevalensen ökar ytterligare ersättas av en metod som i större utsträckning klassificerar vuxna korrekt och slutligen när prevalensen är nära 1 bör alla bedömas som vuxna. / A framework for a decision analysis method that is based on the principle of maximization of the expected utility regarding alternatives of age assessment for unaccompanied asylum seekers is here presented. Using the framework, different methods (dental, knee joint, hand wrist and the method used by The National Board of Forensic Medicine (RMV) that combines the methods for dental och knee joint) for medical age assessment are compared. These methods are further compared with three benchmark alternatives, (i) to trust the age given by the unaccompanied asylum seeker which results that all are considered to be children, (ii) to consider all the unaccompanied asylum seekers as adults and (iii) the absurd alternative to flip a coin to decide who is a child or an adult. For the decision analysis, assumptions and/or estimates for the age distribution of the unaccompanied refugees are needed and estimates for the different methods regarding how probably it is to be considered an adult given the actual age. The outcome of a child that is incorrectly classified is assumed to give the lowest utility and a correct classification (both children and adult) is assumed to give the highest utility. The utility of the outcome of an adult that is incorrectly classified as a child needs to be quantified. The age distribution of unaccompanied refugee, considered for age assessment is here assumed to be a combination of two continuous uniform distributions, with the interval 15-18 years (child) and 18-21 years (adult). Two utility models are examined, a discrete model that only consider if the individual is a child or an adult and a continuously linear utility model that consider the age difference from 18 years given an incorrect classification. The analyzes carried out demonstrates how the framework can be used in practice. Given the assumptions that are made the conclusion is that the alternative that gives the highest expected utility depends on the prevalence (proportion of adults) together with the valuation of the utility for an incorrect classified adult. Regardless of the valuation, when the prevalence is close to 0 all should be considered to be children, when the prevalence increases should be replaced with a method that largely classifies children correct when the prevalence is further increased should be replaced with a method that largely classifies adults correct and finally, when the prevalence is close to 1 all should be considered as adults.

The aim of this essay was to examine the justifications of the swedish government to perform medical age assessments on unaccompanied refugee children seeking asylum in Sweden. These governmental justifications were analyzed through Michel Foucault's theory of disciplinary power as well as through anthropological research on classification of age. The empirical material consisted of a selection of websites from different authorities that process medical age assessments. These were then studied through critical discourse analysis. The essay showed that these justifications can be understood as an expression of disciplinary power, where medical age assessments discipline individuals to docile bodies. Furthermore, the analysis also showed that the governmental justifications were partly founded upon western concepts of how a child is supposed to be and what a child is entitled to.

[pt] As Américas estão passando pela maior crise de refugiados da história, sendo caracterizada pela elevada presença de crianças desacompanhadas em migração. Este trabalho busca realizar um estudo comparativo entre as políticas de acolhimento para esse grupo, considerando refugiados venezuelanos no Brasil e do Triângulo Norte da América Central nos EUA. Examinou-se se os processos de acolhida e suas aplicações são inclusivos e adequados a recepção de menores desacompanhados, à luz das diretrizes de organismos de referência na área. Este estudo conclui que os processos de acolhida brasileiros almejam ser receptivos e inclusivos, seguindo o princípio do melhor interesse da criança. No entanto, os procedimentos carecem maior robustez e estrutura para serem eficazes. Enquanto isso, as políticas de acolhimento nos EUA são mais amadurecidas e possuem os recursos necessários para sua implementação. Entretanto, o acolhimento é hostil, assemelhando-se ao processo de detenção, não havendo distinção institucional clara entre a proteção da criança refugiada e o controle de fronteiras / [en] The Americas are experiencing the worst refugee crisis in history, characterized by the elevated presence of unaccompanied children. This work seeks to conduct a comparative study between reception policies for this group, considering Venezuelans in Brazil and nationals from the Northern Triangle of Central America in the USA. It was examined whether the reception processes and their applications are inclusive and adequate for unaccompanied minors, in light of the guidelines of reference organizations in the area. This study concludes that the Brazilian reception process aims to be receptive and inclusive, following the principle of the best interest of the child. However, the procedures lack more robustness and structure to be effective. Reception policies in the US are more mature and have the resources available for implementation. However, the reception is hostile, similar to the detention process, with no institutional distinction between refugee child protection and border control.

The following study was conducted at an upper secondary school in Sweden and attempts to explore the question of what influences male pupils’ reading habits. Many quantitative international studies, including PISA, PIRLS and IEA Reading Literacy, have sought to answer this question, but only partially succeeded due to the limitations of their methods. Therefore, this study seeks to explore this question in more depth using qualitative methods, including interviews and classroom observations, but also minor tests. Two facts which the previously mentioned international studies have found is that boys and particularly immigrant boys tend to have worse reading results than their counterparts. It is therefore the aim of this study to study four male students in upper secondary school; of which two are native Swedes and the other two are unaccompanied refugee children; one from Afghanistan and the other from Morocco. The findings of this study are as follows. Firstly, necessity was found to be the single most important factor for the reading habits of these four pupils; especially the two refugees. Both refugees learnt to read under harsh circumstances in madrassas in their respective home countries. Moreover, the Moroccan pupil learnt to speak and read Spanish fluently during his seven years as a homeless child. Furthermore, in the absence of necessity, interest was found to be decisive in determining the pupils’ reading habits. In addition to this, the study theorizes that an interest in reading generally arises before the ability to read and not vice versa. However, teachers can in fact affect their pupils’ reading habits even in upper secondary school.

The study investigates the welfare of children in crisis with Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URMs) from Zimbabwe and the models of pastoral care that are extended to them in a context of HIV and AIDS. URMs are children who have been forced to migrate by the socio-economic and political conditions prevalent in Zimbabwe. Other than the socio-economic and political conditions these children are vulnerable to HIV and AIDS. Many of the children are received at the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg. They are taken care of by caregivers from Zimbabwe. Some of URMs reside in the Methodist church community centre in Soweto and some reside in the Central Methodist Church building in Johannesburg. This study is done from an African perspective of pastoral care in a context of HIV and AIDS. It seeks to study pastoral care that is organic using the reality of URMs in a context of HIV and AIDS. The Central Methodist Church received URMs as a form of pastoral care, but it is not clear what models of pastoral care are used to care for them. This grounded theory study used data collected through interviews and narrative research (story telling) from 20 URMs and 3 Care givers from Zimbabwe and Bishop Paul Verryn the head of the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg. Analyzed data was used to describe in detail URMs and their Care givers‟ understanding of pastoral care as well as the models of pastoral care offered to URMs in a context of HIV and AIDS. Finally, the findings lead to a contextual pastoral care model with children in crisis in a context of HIV and AIDS. This study formulated this contextual model as a cultural-gendered pastoral care model with children in crisis in a context of HIV and AIDS. The model was established to develop a practical method to use in practical theology and pastoral care in the care for children in crisis without adult guidance in a context of HIV and AIDS. The results of the study describe the significance of culture and gender in caring for children in a context of HIV and AIDS. / Practical Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

The study investigates the welfare of children in crisis with Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URMs) from Zimbabwe and the models of pastoral care that are extended to them in a context of HIV and AIDS. URMs are children who have been forced to migrate by the socio-economic and political conditions prevalent in Zimbabwe. Other than the socio-economic and political conditions these children are vulnerable to HIV and AIDS. Many of the children are received at the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg. They are taken care of by caregivers from Zimbabwe. Some of URMs reside in the Methodist church community centre in Soweto and some reside in the Central Methodist Church building in Johannesburg. This study is done from an African perspective of pastoral care in a context of HIV and AIDS. It seeks to study pastoral care that is organic using the reality of URMs in a context of HIV and AIDS. The Central Methodist Church received URMs as a form of pastoral care, but it is not clear what models of pastoral care are used to care for them. This grounded theory study used data collected through interviews and narrative research (story telling) from 20 URMs and 3 Care givers from Zimbabwe and Bishop Paul Verryn the head of the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg. Analyzed data was used to describe in detail URMs and their Care givers‟ understanding of pastoral care as well as the models of pastoral care offered to URMs in a context of HIV and AIDS. Finally, the findings lead to a contextual pastoral care model with children in crisis in a context of HIV and AIDS. This study formulated this contextual model as a cultural-gendered pastoral care model with children in crisis in a context of HIV and AIDS. The model was established to develop a practical method to use in practical theology and pastoral care in the care for children in crisis without adult guidance in a context of HIV and AIDS. The results of the study describe the significance of culture and gender in caring for children in a context of HIV and AIDS. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)