In course of time the role of the individual being has become increasingly important in the fight against poverty. Through its microcredit programmes, the organization Grameen Bank offers “aid to self-help” to poor women on the countryside in Bangladesh. The purpose of this essay is to investigate how participation in Grameen’s microcredit programmes can affect these women’s social situation and working situation. In order to achieve the purpose the following questions have been formulated: How does microcredit affect women’s self-esteem, influence in the household, and exposure to domestic violence? How does microcredit affect women’s occupational situation, to what extent do they have control over their loans, and how is microcredit regarded in comparison with permanent jobs, as a way to reduce poverty? The research, which has been carried out as a qualitative text analysis, shows that Grameen plays an important role when it comes to improving women’s living conditions. The access to microcredit helps women increasing their working activity as well as their self-esteem and influence in the household. However, microcredit does not merely create positive consequences. There are cases where microcredit increases the risk of domestic violence. Often the loans are transferred within the household, and then controlled by men. In addition, women’s use of microcredit is still confined to activities traditionally performed by women. These factors are important to consider when evaluating Grameen’s programmes, since they counteract Grameen’s vision of creating development for women.

The study Social Change and the Fragile Heart is an analysis of contemporary history in two neighboring Swedish cities, Linköping and Norrköping. The analysis has been made from a special perspective: the changes in deaths due to heart disease in the age group 50-74 years. The differences in mortality between the two cities is a measurable way to study how well a society functions and is governed. These cities in the county of Östergötland differ historically and socially. This has led to clear differences in socio-economic conditions and even variations in health and mortality that have been to Norrköping’s disadvantage. There is an exception, the 1970’s, when the rise in the numbers of deaths due to heart disease was broken in Norrköping, while the figures continued to increase in the neighboring city, especially among men. Uneasiness about the future and opportunities to make a living grew. This may have influenced health negatively, especially among middle-aged men who feared their jobs were threatened. In Norrköping the textile industry had definitely died in the beginning of the 1970’s. The closing of this industry meant at the same time that poor working conditions and low-paid work were phased out. The earlier rising trend in deaths due to heart diseases was broken, and instead a noticeable decline occurred that was especially clear among women. Deaths due to heart disease in ages 50–74 began to decline generally in the 1980’s and sank significantly in the following decade. The difference between the cities, however, grew from the relatively equal situation of the 1970’s. These are the years during which economic and political power shifted from Norrköping to Linköping. As the regional center and a relatively new university town, Linköping survived the recession of the 1990’s rather well. Simultaneously, Norrköping suffered from what might be called a “social exhaustion depression.” During the last decade of the 20th century long-term unemployment and illness affected far more people than in Linköping. The great transformation from an industrial to a post-industrial society left its mark on Norrköping in the form of increased differences between the cities in the case of premature deaths due to heart disease.

(in English): This paper is devoted to indicator of subjective quality of working life (SQWLI) equivalence of measurement and testing of this instrument over time. The theoretical part introduces the concept of equivalence, from its inception, through the definition, types, methods used to test different kinds of equivalence and programs that can be used for this purpose. Furthermore the tested data files from 2009, 2011, 2013 to 2014 are presented. The analytical part contains a description of confirmatory factor analysis for multiple groups which is the most common method for testing equivalence of measurement. Presented are the results of several testing methods - analysis of reliability, exploratory factor analysis and the confirmatory factor analysis for multiple groups. According to the results it is shown how it is possible to approach comparisons over time and finally the development of SQWLI and it's individual changes in terms of the functionality of the whole tool is discussed. 2

The thesis is based on eight vocational teachers’ life stories with the aim to provide knowledge about vocational teachers and their work with pupils in teaching in the industrial-technology programme, in the context of both a working life and a vocational education which is continuously changing. The thesis answers two research questions: 1) the themes that recur in vocational teachers’ life stories about how they meet and teach their pupils and 2) the teaching goals and strategies which emerge from vocational teachers’ life stories. All in all fifteen interviews were conducted from which life stories and teacher profiles were constructed. Results show five recurring themes in the teacher profiles.  The themes are; to be a caring adult for vocational pupils, to teach them basic knowledge considered important for the education, to teach them respect and discipline, to teach them the value of fighting and not giving up, and to show them the possibility of international employment. Moreover, the teacher goals and strategies emerging from the life stories show that the teachers can be said to educate different types of industrial workers. In line with these results, vocational education can be seen as more than a preparation for working life. Vocational teachers with different life experiences create different relationships with their pupils in order to create opportunities for them to manage school and to succeed in a life after school. In an industrial-technical education and in a working life which is constantly changing, vocational teachers have received various educations and worked in various industries during different time periods. They both educate their pupils and prepare them for a future working life based on these experiences. / Avhandlingen bygger på åtta yrkeslärares livsberättelser och syftar till att bidra med kunskap om yrkeslärare och yrkeslärares arbete med elever i undervisning på industritekniska programmet. Avhandlingen fokuserar återkommande teman i yrkeslärarnas livsberättelser med avseende på hur de möter och undervisar sina elever, samt olika undervisningsstrategier och mål som kommer till uttryck i det lärarna berättar om sin undervisning. Resultaten visar att yrkeslärarnas tidigare livserfarenheter har betydelse för hur de möter och undervisar eleverna på industritekniska programmet. Detta blir tydligt genom de fem teman som återkommer i deras livsberättelser. Dessa teman handlar om att vara en omtänksam vuxen för yrkeseleverna, att undervisa i viktiga grundkunskaper, att lära eleverna respekt och disciplin, att lära dem värdet av att kämpa och inte ge upp samt att visa på möjligheten arbete i andra länder än Sverige. Vidare visar de olika undervisningsmål och -strategier som framträder ur yrkeslärarnas livsberättelser att industriteknisk utbildning handlar om mycket mer än att förbereda eleverna för en framtida anställning. Förutom detta uppenbara mål visar resultatet att yrkeslärarna, utifrån sina olika livserfarenheter, också använder sig av olika strategier för att hjälpa eleverna att klara studierna, att visa på möjligheterna att läsa vidare samt att utveckla en yrkesstolthet.

El presente trabajo analiza y explora las prácticas profesionales de generaciones distintas en el ámbito laboral; por un lado, se encuentra la “Generación Y”, con amplias habilidades tecnológicas y un gran conocimiento digital; y por otro, los “Baby Boomers”, personas de la tercera edad enfocadas en su trayectoria laboral y a su tradicional manera de trabajo. La transición generacional actualmente es un desafío para todas las organizaciones, ya que, al no ser correctamente manejada esta brecha, se crea un clima laboral negativo, por lo que este disminuye la productividad del personal. Asimismo, la posibilidad de que un “Baby Boomer” encuentre plazas de trabajo en ámbitos administrativos, cada vez disminuye más, debido a los cambios acelerados en cuanto a procesos internos de las organizaciones y la mayor presión por parte de sus clientes. Sin embargo, la coexistencia de ambas generaciones cada vez se complejiza más debido a los prejuicios y percepciones que tienen unos sobre otras en cuanto a la toma de decisiones, procesos y hasta en la metodología de trabajo. En relación con estos prejuicios, traen como consecuencia la el desequilibrio laboral y emocional de sus colaboradores. Para llevar a cabo esta investigación, se realizara una metología cualitativa. / This paper analyzes and explores the professional practices of different generations in the workplace; on the one hand, there is the "Generation Y", with extensive technological skills and great digital knowledge; and on the other, the "Baby Boomers", elderly people focused on their career and their traditional way of working. The generational transition is currently a challenge for all organizations, since this gap is not handled correctly, creating a negative work environment, so that it decreases the productivity of staff. Likewise, the possibility of a “Baby Boomer” finding workplaces in administrative areas, is decreasing more and more, due to the accelerated changes in internal processes of organizations and the greater pressure from their customers. However, the coexistence of both generations is increasingly complexed due to the prejudices and perceptions they have about each other in terms of decision making, processes and even in the work methodology. In relation to these prejudices, they result in the labor and emotional imbalance of their employees. / Trabajo de investigación

En transsexuell person upplever sig vara född i fel kön och vill oftast genomgå en könsbekräftande behandling så att kroppen överensstämmer med det kön som personen identifierar sig med. Att gå emot den heteronorm som råder i samhället är förknippat med stigmatisering, kränkande särbehandling och diskriminering. Kunskapen om transsexualitet på den svenska arbetsmarknaden är mycket bristfällig och leder till att många transsexuella riskerar att uppleva intolerans och utanförskap.Syftet med den här studien är att få en ökad kunskap om transsexuellas upplevelser av bemötande på arbetsplatser. Studien har en kvalitativ forskningsansats och bygger på fem semistrukturerade intervjuer. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av tidigare forskning.Resultatet visar att respondenterna upplever en större acceptans på arbetsplatserna desto längre de har kommit i sin könsbekräftande behandling. Samtliga respondenter har upplevt svårigheter på arbetsplatsen på något sätt och anser att arbetsgivarna har för lite kunskap kring transsexualitet. Respondenterna menar att det bidrar till att fokus hamnar på deras könsidentitet och inte på dem som kompetenta medarbetare. / A transsexual person feels that he or she was born in the wrong gender and usually wants to undergo gender-confirming treatment so that the body corresponds to the gender with which the person identifies. Going against the heteronomy that prevails in society is associated with stigma and abusive discrimination. Knowledge about transsexuality in the Swedish labor market is very deficient and leads to many transsexuals at risk of experiencing intolerance and exclusion.The purpose of this study is to gain an increased knowledge of transsexuals' experiences of treatment in the workplace. The study has a qualitative research approach and is based on five semi-structured interviews. The results were analyzed using previous research.The result show that the respondents experience a greater acceptance in the workplace the further they have come in their gender-confirming treatment. All respondents have experienced difficulties in the workplace in some way and believe that employers have too little knowledge about transsexuality. The respondents believe that it contributes to the focus being on their gender identity and not on them as competent employees.One conclusion that can be drawn from the result is that employers need more education and knowledge in transsexuality and norm criticism.

Perioder av aktivt identitetsutforskande är särskilt aktuellt för den unga vuxna individen. Flera delar av identiteten konsolideras under denna livsfas, där bl.a. frågan om att hitta en yrkesidentitet är central. För unga vuxna studerande, som avslutar en längre högskoleutbildning och står inför att gå ut i yrkeslivet, blir ett utforskande och prövande kring vem man varit som student samt kring framtida potentiella yrkesroller ofta aktuellt. Övergången i yrkeslivet kan också upplevas som ett ökat vuxenblivande. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur ett urval sistaårsstuderande på högskolan upplever denna livsfas och sig själva utifrån fenomen som transition, identitetsprövande och vuxenblivande. Forskningsmetoden är kvalitativ och datainsamling gjordes genom semistrukturerade individuella intervjuer med sex studenter på olika ingenjörsprogram vid Kungliga tekniska högskolan. Insamlat datamaterial analyserades med Tematisk analys. Resultatet visar att studenterna upplever en påtaglig förändring i denna livsfas vilket för in dem i en period av såväl förhoppningar och tvivel kring framtiden. Livsfasen innebär också ett aktivt identitetsprövande kring potentiella framtida yrkesroller och rollen som vuxen. Dessa upplevelser presenteras i en deskriptiv del. Vid en djupare analys av upplevelserna framkommer att studenternas upplevelser är ambivalenta där sökandet kan beskrivas som dialektiska rörelser mellan motstridiga tankar och känslor. Detta beskrivs som tre ambivalenta teman; 1. Vilsenhet visavi tydlighet. 2.  Begränsad visavi fullkomnad yrkesidentitet samt 3. Ansvarsfullhet visavi kravlöshet. Resultaten diskuteras utifrån teorier om transition och vuxenblivande men tar främst fasta på såväl inre och yttre faktorer som är centrala i perioder av identitetsutforskande. Bland annat används Maricas identitetsstatusmodell som utgångspunkt där det konfliktfyllda i identitetsutveckling också lyfts fram. Studenternas ambivalens föreslås bland annat förstås utifrån fenomenet individuation med prövande mellan autonomi och närhet. Ett tema som ofta är centralt i identitetsutveckling, i synnerhet för unga vuxna. / Periods of more active identity exploration is assumed to be particularly in focus for the young adult individual. Several components of identity is consolidated during this phase of life, where finding a professional identity is central. For Young adult students completing a long higher education and facing the professional life, a process of exploration about potential future professional roles is likely to occur. The step into professional life can also be experienced as a further step into adulthood. The purpose of this study is to investigate how a selection of last year university students experiences this transition on the basis of phenomena like transition, identity exploration and adulthood. The research method is qualitative and data was collected through semi-structured individual interviews with six students in various engineering programs at The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. Data was analyzed through thematic analysis. The results show that students experience a significant change in this phase of life which makes them enter into a period of both hopes and doubts about the future. The life-phase also initiates a period of active identity exploration about potential future professional roles and the role as an adult. These experiences are presented in a descriptive part. A deeper analysis shows that students' experiences are ambivalent where their identity exploration can be described as dialectical movement between conflicting thoughts and emotions. These are referred to as three ambivalent themes: 1. Disorientation versus clarity. 2. Limited versus complete professional identity and 3. Responsibility versus permissiveness. The results are discussed based on theories of transition and emerging adulthood, but primarily cover both internal and external factors that are crucial in periods of identity exploration. The result is related to Marcia’s identity status model and also highlights the conflictual dynamics in identity development. Students' ambivalence is suggested to be understood as a phenomenon of individuation with a testing between autonomy and intimacy. A theme that is often central to identity development, especially for young adults.

In Sweden upper secondary school education is organised in programmes. One of these programmes is the Technology programme that covers five orientations, one of which is Design and Product Development. This thesis is based on the idea that a clearer link between upper secondary school and the demands of professional life in the area of product development is beneficial to both students and industry. Product development is performed in cross-functional teams were understanding of others competences is important. It is therefore argued that, in order to enhance both teaching and learning, interdisciplinary considerations need to be explored. In this thesis, we turn to engineers and industrial designers. The aim of the present study is to get professional actors’ views on knowledge and skills needed within the field of design and product development and to examine whether there are key areas that facilitate an interdisciplinary approach suitable to focus on for educational purpose. As artefacts play a central role in product development the informants’ views on different products/artefacts are also examined. This reasoning results in an a two-part overall research question (a) What thoughts do professional engineers and industrial designers express regarding necessary knowledge and skills, and (b) what relevance does this have for upper secondary school teaching of product development? This overall research question is examined through two sub- studies, both performed at the same time, one conducted as a semi- structured interview and the other using the repertory grid technique. Twelve engineers and industrial designers are interviewed. The first study examines the informants’ thoughts on knowledge and skills required in their work. The same informants’ interpretations and valuations of artefacts are examined in the second sub-study. In sub-study 1 two topics of significance to the informants are identified. These topics are: [1] To act within the team (Figure 4). The ability to navigate and position oneself within a team is, according to the interviewees, a necessary skill in design and product development work. Its character can be described as including specific vocational knowledge and skills as well as issues of general and interdisciplinary nature as collaborating, compromising, communicating, and leadership. The second topic [2], to CAD (Figure 4) includes both skills with CAD software and the ability to understand relationships between a CAD model on screen and the final product. The third topic [3] - a valuation of artefacts - is the outcome of sub- study 2 (Figure 4). This topic was found interesting and further analysed, resulting in the development of a comparison procedure. The result demonstrates how the interviewees interpret and discuss artefacts’ functionality linked to cultural values. These three topics are found to be relevant for technology education at upper secondary school level geared towards design and product development to explore. To act within the team can inspire the development of activities in which project and teamwork are in focus. The purpose of the CAD model in product development is to visualise a product that does not yet exist. To CAD highlights the complexity of this visualisation ability. In the educational context the students can train this ability by developing digital models into physical models or prototypes. Valuations of artefacts, the interviewees associate artefacts’ functionality with certain characteristics. In education students should learn that we are not neutral in our relations to products and other artefacts. In conclusion, a need for teachers to discuss artefacts from different perspectives such as sustainability, usability, identity and so on is also pointed out. / <p>QC 20150212</p>

Syftet med studien är att öka förståelse kring studenters uppfattningar om vad de utvecklat och lärt sig under deras utbytestermin på universitetet, för att sedan skapa kunskap och förståelse för hur användbart det de lärt sig varit ute i arbetslivet, samt att analysera vilken sorts lärande som är relevant i relation till utbytesstudier och arbetslivet. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten var livslångt och livsvitt lärande (Jackson, 2011; Jarvis, 2007) där fokus ligger på att lärande kan ske i olika miljöer och olika åldrar. Kopplat till det tas Jarvis (2004; 2007) syn på formellt, icke-formellt och informellt lärande upp. Även Säljös (2000) syn på sociokulturellt lärande nämns där fokus ligger på lärande i sociala samspel. En kvalitativ studie har genomförts som bestod av tio semistrukturerade intervjuer med tidigare svenska utbytes-studenter som nu befinner sig i arbetslivet. Studien har använt sig av Braun och Clarkes (2006) tematiska analys för att presentera ett resultat på de två första frågeställningarna och för att besvara sista frågeställningen om vilken sorts lärande, används den ovannämnda teorin. Studiens resultat visar att de tidigare utbytesstudenterna upplever att de lär sig mycket under en termin utomlands i form av personlig utveckling. Utvecklingen av språk och akademiska kunskaper har varierat i omfattning vilket delvis skiljer sig från tidigare forskning. I arbetslivet upplever deltagarna att de främst haft användning av sitt ökade självförtroende i form av att anta nya utmaningar på jobbet och inte ta någon skit. De upplever även att de haft nytta av lärdomen i att acceptera alla i form av att vara bra i bemötandet och kommunikationen med människor i arbetet. Användningen av språk och akademiska kunskaper i arbetslivet har varierat. Slutligen visar studien att det informella lärandet varit mer relevant än det formella lärandet i relation till det som deltagarna upplever att det lärt sig på utbytesterminen och sedan kunnat nyttja i arbetslivet. / The purpose of this master thesis is to gain knowledge and understanding concerning what exchange students learn during their exchange studies, in which way it has been useful in their work afterwards, and to analyze which kind of learning that has been most relevant in relation to exchange studies and working life. The theoretical framework included theories of lifelong and life wide learning (Jackson, 2011; Jarvis, 2007) which focuses on learning in different environments and ages and Jarvis (2004, 2007) view on formal, non-formal and informal learning. Sociocultural learning according to Säljö (2000) is also presented with focus on social and cultural interaction. The design of the study was qualitative and consisted of ten semi-structed interviews with former exchange students that are now working. Thematic analyze was used to present results for the two first questions and the theory mentioned above was used to analyze the last question regarding which sort of learning. The findings showed that students learn a lot by going abroad in terms of personal development. Related to language and academic learning outcome results variated between the participants. The former exchange students described confidence, meeting and communicating with colleagues as useful learning outcomes from studying abroad that they can now use in working life. The usage of language and academic knowledge in work were mixed. The results also showed that informal learning has been more relevant than formal learning in relation to what exchange students have learnt and found useful in their working life.

Diploma thesis "Civil Society Organizations supporting employment of parents in Prague and Central Bohemian Region (2010 - 2012)" deals with the mapping of supply of civil society organizations in the area of Prague and Central Bohemia in the years 2010 - 2012, which aim to promote employment of parents. In the empirical research are included programs of personal and professional development of clients, help with their orientation in the labour market, advice on a finding new work (including setting up own business) and programs that are focused on working with employers and reconciling family and working life. In view of the fact that these organizations offers, of course, to some extent dependent on the characteristics of the Czech Republic, family and employment policies of the state and the European Union, the thesis contains also a summary of key facts that are related to this area. In conclusion, this thesis contains not only an analysis of research outputs, but as well as a draft recommendations, which could lead to improvement of the situation.