The aim of this study was to use stories from three people who previously lived in homelessness to increase the knowledge of the social network's impact on the process of exiting homelessness. In order to answer our questions, whether the social network facilitated or hindered the way out of homelessness, we have used a narrative method to take advantage of these person's life stories. As a theoretical perspective, we used the ecology of human development, based on the idea that human development occurs in interaction with their environment at different levels. Results showed those interviewees' networks had a significant impact on their path out of homelessness and that these relationships both facilitated and hindered this process. At the same time, these relationships affected our interviewees in different ways and were found in various areas of life, which indicates that there is more than one way out of homelessness.

The essay, based on interviews with eight people, deals with name changes from a foreign-sounding name to Swedish-sounding name. The aim is to investigate the reasons behind the name change and whether experiences of ethnic discrimination were among these reasons. Furthermore, I explore the consequences of the name change, and whether the name change was an effective strategy to avoid ethnic discrimination. The study employs qualitative method; I carry out eight interviews with four women and four men, and analyze the empirical material by means of post-colonial theory in which categorizing, otherness and passing are significant terms. The results show that the name change takes place primarily to reduce a sense of otherness, and the discursively locked positions a foreign-sounding name creates.

The aim of this study is to investigate how employees in consulting companies develop their competence in order to perform their daily work. The focus is on informal competence development. The theoretical framework consists of theories concerning learning and competence development in working life, theories on organizational change and evaluation, a well as professional reflection. The methods applied are narrative research and interviews based on the assumption that knowledge about reality is only obtainable through language and communication.The main results show that competence is developed through experience, social interaction, communication and dialog with co-workers and customers. The post-modern conceptions of the rapid (technical) development and need to be up-to-date has a strong hold on the informants apprehension of working life, as does the notion of not having enough time for all the competence development they would like.

The aim of this thesis is to examine how librarians and family historians experience their interaction at the reference encounter, what influences these views and how they affect the service; whether the family historians are aware of these views; which subject knowledge is needed and how this knowledge affects work performance; if there is a need for continuing education, and finally, if the family historians themselves can work as a resource for the library or the librarians? The thesis consists of three parts; in the first a theoretical frame was constructed around the concepts service, continuing education, subject knowledge and attitudes. Role theory was used as a theoretical background to show how expectations influence professional roles. The second part consists of the results given from the qualitative interviews with librarians and surveys with family historians that were performed. In the last part a discussion from the theoretical and empirical information earlier received was made.

The purpose of this study is to discuss the use of social media by the Swedish Police for democratic purposes. The idea of citizen empowerment is closely related to the development of new communication technologies such as social media. Yet many studies indicate that governmental institutions rarely make use of the assumed potentials of social media.In this study, the democratic potential of social media is derived from Habermas normative concept of deliberative participation. Operational definitions emphasize discursive equality, interactive reciprocity and external impact. The analytical framework is combined with qualitative text analysis to highlight the conditions of interaction between representatives of the Police and citizens.In conclusion: the democratic potential of social media, from a Habermasian point of view, is to a significant extent neglected at the expense of its strategic advantages.

The purpose of my study is to examine whether the need for competence development in the communicative leadership exists among the six school leaders at the current adult education unit in Malmö. By observing the communication between the parties I hoped to get the following questions answered: What are the preconditions for the school leaders, in their daily communication with the staff, for getting the staff to feel noticed and confirmed? In what ways do the school leaders communicate with their staff to motivate them to development? I also wanted to highlight the school leaders' awareness of their own communication skills. The theories and models I have used are Haberma?s theory of the communicative action, Spitzberg and Cupach?s relational competence model and Engquist?s theory of level of abstractions.

The aim of this study was to examine how children in ages 3 to 4 use the public library with the research questions: What does children?s, in ages between 3 and 4, information behavior look like when they visit a public library in leisure time with a parent? What is the nature of interaction between child and parent, child and the staff of the library, and between child and other visitors? What is the function of the cultural tools in relation to the children?s information behavior? The theoretical frame of reference consisted of Lev Vygotsky?s ?the zone of proximal development? and Roger Säljö?s theory about using cultural tools. To answer the questions I have observed 4 children together with their mothers and siblings at a public library. From the result of the observations I found that every child had their own information behavior. Two of the children only used one kind of cultural tool ? books.

The purpose of this study was to examine pedagogues? experience working with shy children and their opportunities for participation in preschool. An increasing number of children are registered in preschools today; this leading to larger groups of children and the chance for the individual child to practice its rights of having its voice heard are therefore becoming more difficult.The literature review will start with what the UNCRC and the pre-school curriculum, Lpfö 98, say about children?s participation and their right to have their voices heard. After that, shortly about the shy child, and then moving on to what is important in the work with children?s participation.

Middle managers in social care find themselves in a middle position. The middle management position involves demands from several interested parties. The demands affect and generate feelings both within themselves and within others and the middle managers have to deal with them all.The aim of this study was to investigate the social care middle manager?s personal experiences of emotions in work.We have completed interviews with four middle managers who are assigned to carry out social care. When doing the interviews we used an interview guide divided into different interview areas.

We are daily using the public space to move throughout the city. The public space is an important part of our city and it?s where a lot of social activities occur and a lot of different events take place. The outdoor environment in the city should offer the residents nice and varying places for staying. In this essay I will try to understand how the physical environment works and how people moves and behave in the public space.

Researchers and practitioners have recognized the need for ?transforming? every policy of the company into a competitive advantage tool. Thus, both the pricing approach and the supply chain practices of the firm have emerged as an important determinant of success. In this study, however, we are not only interested in these two aspects, but also in a third one-namely cultural conflicts as an obstacle and challenge. The interaction of the tree factors is extensively presented against the backdrop of Skanska and four of their closest Polish suppliers.

BACKGROUND: One of the nurse?s areas of responsibility is to relieve suffering. Research has shown that nurses give an indication of an emotional load in the interaction with dying patients. This means that patients need of relieved suffering gets disregarded because of nurse?s fear of the unknown.

Bullying in schools is a big social problem in today?s society and it affects the children exposed in a very negative way. The aim of my paper is to find out if there is a group of students who gets bullied by other students more often than others. I want to study if children with functional disabilities get more bullied than children without functional disabilities and,if this is the case ? why is it so?My questions are:Are children with functional disabilities particularly exposed to bullying?How is bullying prevented?In order to get my results I have made three qualitative interviews and analyzed two debate articles concerning bullying of the disabled.

The aim of this Master's thesis is to examine the information use among Swedish backpackers, both prior to departure and while travelling. The questions posed in this study are; which artefacts did the backpackers use, in what way were those used as tools of mediation within their social practice and how does a presumptive interaction between backpackers and information sources appear? The empirical material consists of interviews, held with eight backpackers, concerning their information use. The interviews reveal that a number of information sources are being consulted. The most commonly used sources identified in the empirical material are guide books, advice from other backpackers, fiction, TV programmes and periodicals.

Syftet med studien var att undersöka kvinnors attityder till fängelsevistelsen. Forskning kring kvinnors kriminalitet och fängelsevistelse är mycket bristfällig både internationellt och nationellt. Tidigare forskning utgår främst ifrån män och deras kriminalitet, vilket blivit normgivande för synen på brottslingar och kriminalvårdens uppbyggnad. Studien inriktades på kvinnliga interners attityd till fängelsemiljö, kommunikation och upplevelse av stämpling under fängelsevistelsen. 256 interner var vid tillfället placerade på olika anstalter i Sverige.