This thesis discusses and analyses the existence of two different perspectives, a social and a technical one, in Library and Information Science (LIS). Most of the time the division between these perspectives seems to result in research only using either of them. This can be a problem when studying complex phenomena. We therefore see a need for a metatheory that unites the social and the technical. By presenting and analysing all doctoral dissertations published at the Swedish School of Library and Information Science (SSLIS) 1993-2005, we try to detect and critically discuss the dichotomy between the two perspectives.

This thesis examines the possibility of Bolivian indigenous women?s social movements? getting their demands of a gender equal society fulfilled in the new state which was initiated in 2005 when Evo Morales became the first president representing the indigenous people of the country. By using a qualitative method I have showed that although the Bolivian indigenous women?s social movements? historically has been significant political actors for social change in the country, with representation at both regional and national level, Bolivian women are still subordinated in the social and political sphere. By applying a feminist intersectional perspective which takes its point of departure in a understanding of power as multidimensional, where gender, ethnicity and class are constitutive principals, multiculturalism theories and a social movements theory framework, I have found that even if institutional changes, that opened the system increased the indigenous women?s social movements political participation in Bolivia, power structures based on gender limited their possibilities to influence both socially and politically.

The study aims to describe and analyse the relationship between norm and practice regarding social services casework on honour-related problems. The relationship between norm and practice involves the difference between the way it is intended that social workers shall operate in these cases and how they perceive that this works in practice. We interviewed two focus groups of eight Swedish social workers, four in each group. We also held an individual interview with a social services business developer. Focus group interviews were based on two vignettes; one depicting an honour-related case and the second an "ordinary" case.

The purpose of this study was to inquire how social workers perceive and describe financial abuse of older persons. Six qualitative interviews were carried out and the assembled data was then categorized and analyzed using a theory considering exercise of power and ageism as a theoretical frame. Previous research has shown that at least 10% of older persons have been exposed to some form of abuse or violence; however, there is a lack of research carried out in a Swedish context regarding financial abuse specifically. The six persons interviewed in this study all presented financial abuse as some kind of violence and as previous research has shown the study suggests that this is an increasing problem. Further research ought to be carried out to increase the awareness of this particular form of abuse and to facilitate discovery and development of measures to prevent financial abuse of older persons.

AbstractComing to new job is not that easy, sometimes the feeling of insecurity appears. Working for recruitment agencies includes constant changes of colleagues and places of work and at the same time one has two different managers. Who does the individual turn to when problems occur and who do the employed see as his/her manager? Why do people search for work in recruitment agencies? How does it feel not having a fixed place of work or colleagues and how do the aspects of this affect the employed psychosocial work environment? This is a few questions asked when we tried to find answers on the employed feelings about his/hers psychosocial work environment in a recruitment agency. The purpose of this study was to find a deeper understanding on employees working in a recruitment agency experiences their psychosocial work environment on the basis of social support, demands and control.

The aim of this study was to examine how heads of unit in charge of personal assistance (PA)for the disabled experience and handle ethical dilemmas and situations within theirworkgroups when The Work Environment Act and The Swedish Act Concerning Support andService for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments collide with each other. The methodof the study was to use semi-structured interviews based around three main topics; the head ofunits opinions about the value and purpose of The Work Environment Act in theadministering and implementation of personal assistance services, the problem solvingprocess and the head of units own individual experiences of ethical dilemmas or workenvironment-related conflicts or situations within their workgroups. Four heads of unit wereinterviewed for this study. The results of this study showed that the interviewed heads of unitexperienced a lack of clear and factual information about how they were meant to solvedilemmas emerging from the two laws conflicting with each other regarding the rights of thecare recipient to layout their personal assistance to their liking, versus the rights of thepersonal assistant to have acceptable working conditions. The heads of unit could not rely onlegislation and/or other specific directive documents when work environment-relatedproblems arose.

AbstractThis paper will examine the co-operation culture in teacher work teams in a primary school currently undergoing reorganization in the Stockholm region. This inquiry is based on qualita-tive interviews with teachers and work team leaders, and is aiming to answer how teachers co-operate during the reorganization process, to find the factors that affect co-operation. Our results show that the two teams practice communication, leadership and participation very differently. Currently there are clear differences in the work team?s tendency to develop and to work with the reorganization process, pedagogic methods, social and emotional awareness and ideological beliefs.

The purpose with this paper is to examine whether other peoples opinions of a song and an artist influences an individuals own opinions of the song and artist. Through a quantitative study we seek to study whether such an influence exists and if it does, how strong that influence is. The study began with a pretest to examine whether differences existed when we manipulated our independent variable, how many times the song has been played at Myspace.com. Subsequently we performed a quantitative study by handing out surveys to students at Stockholm School of Economics on two different occasions. Our results show no significant differences in attitude or intentions when the amount of times the song has been played at Myspace.com is manipulated.

AbstractTitle: Coach, vän eller både och? ? en kvalitativ studie om coachning inom arbetslivetAuthors: Jonas Näslund & David ÖhrlingTutors: Ulla Moberg & Larsåke LarssonPurposeThe purpose of this thesis is to examine how coaching in working life serves, aiming to find what influences the interaction between coach and client. To seek to answer the purpose we raised a number of research questions which discussed, among other the coach's intentions and the parties' relationship.TheoriesThis thesis is based on a number of different theories, where the Leader-member Exchange Theory is considered the main theory. LMX is used when studying the relationship between a manager and an employee. Other theories used in this thesis are for example the Social exchange theory and one-on-one-coaching.MethodThe methods used in this thesis are semi-structured interviews, observations and recordings of coaching sessions.

The purpose of this study was to examine how Swedish high school students view school staff members, in general, but in particular school counselors. The research questions focused on getting the students descriptions of the staff members roles and functions within the school. The study was conducted using focus group interviews. The answers were divided into themes and then analyzed using role theory and previous research. The results showed that the students relationships with family, friends and previous knowledge about the staff members in school, affects their willingness to seek the support of school staff members.

Abstract In my work, I have tried to define and clarify the conception of sustainability seen from my perspective as a landscape architect. With a basis in literature studies, I have analysed and commented on different applications, contents and meanings of sustainability and endurance. This compilation is based on how a number of writers, researchers and authorities consider the importance of integrating ecological, social and economic aspects of sustainability in city planning. My perspective has mainly been founded on the anthologies and compilations from the 80´s and 90´s where Per G. Berg and Björn Malbert acted as editors.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka introjektiv motivation och arbetsrelaterad stress. Studien grundades i Self-determination theory och delades upp i studie 1 och 2. Syftet med studie 1 var att undersöka huruvida introjektiv motivation kan delas upp i två motivationstyper. Ett mätinstrument utformades för att undersöka sambandet, med data från 77 respondenter. Resultatet visade på ett signifikant, positivt medelstarkt samband.

According to the Swedish preschool policy documents all children should have the same opportunities to develop their early language skills regardless of their social background. The purpose of this study is to investigate how preschool teachers work with children's early literacy and language development with focus on reading aloud. The reason is to investigate how the preschool teachers work to create an environment that stimulates children's literacy and language development. Another intention is to study how often reading aloud occurs in the children's home environment and what the preschool teachers thoughts are about that. The study is based on interviews with four preschool teachers and surveys that were answered by parents.

Purpose: Our aim is to get an insight on how home care workers experience, handle and looks upon their work. We also want to form an opinion of how home care workers experience the relationship to the clients they meet.Questions: How does home care workers experience their daily work with their clients? Home care workers daily meet many different sorts of clients with different needs, how do they handle this? What kind of support does home care workers get in their work?Method: A qualitative design with semistructured interviews.Conclusion: The most central conclusion from all of our interviews were: that home care service workers has a very stressful and demanding occupation, that the work has a low status, that the personnel has a big responsibility for the wellbeing of other people and that they often find their work satisfying and fun. To have someone to talk to and exchange ideas with was also mentioned by the informants as a vital part of feeling support in their work. From the Antonovskys theory, a sense of coherence, and Goffmans views of the society, we also find that the larger part of our informants feel a high sense of coherence and that when they have to adjust to their different caretakers they play different roles..

ABSTRACT This research explores how the Work Integration Center (AIC) supports unemployed immigrants in acquiring jobs and how the practical work helps immigrants in entering the labour market. It employs qualitative research approach through semi-structured interviews staff members at AIC and municipal commissioners of education and labour market in the municipality of Malmö. Its aim is to examine how governmental setup guidelines were represented in the practical work. These guiding principles of the organization are presented at the top of municipality. The findings suggest that even if the staff has no knowledge of the official measures of the integration plans, they have implemented the aims and criteria in their work with the immigrants.