“Who takes care of the manager?”An exploratory study of manager´s perceived organizational and social work environment. 

The study aims to create a deeper understanding of managers' experiences, of their organizational and social work environment. Furthermore, the study aims to examine managers' perceptions of health factors that they perceive as health-promoting. The main question of this study is; “How do managers experience their organizational and social work environment?”. As previous research has often focused on preventive factors, this study focuses on a health-promoting perspective. Which refers to the study's second question; "What health factors do managers perceive as health-promoting?". The study applies a qualitative method through semi-structured interviews for the collection of empirical material. The sample consists of eight first-line and middle managers in various industries. The study has an exploratory focus in order to create a basis for further research. 

The results of the study show that recovery, communication, colleagues, social relationships, clear roles, goals and tasks are perceived as important organizational and social aspects in the manager's own work environment. The results also show that perceived health factors are flexibility in working hours, being heard, support from colleagues, functioning social relationships and recovery by adapting their meetings.  

Keywords: Organizational and social work environment, management, health factors, health promotion.

With heritability methodology researchers using twin studies, and during recent year also DNA studies, have claimed that heredity plays a crucial role in explaining social outcomes. Explaining what causes social outcomes is a strive to explain how reality is constituted, and is thus an ontological question. The purpose of this article is to examine the unspoken ontological assumptions in heritability studies from a critical realistic perspective. First I’ll explain the basics of the heritability methodology, the twin methodology and DNA studies that measure heritability, then I’ll describe the previous criticism of these studies. Thereafter I’ll argue that the heritability studies do not examine the actual causes of social events, but rather that the measures are driven by other underlying mechanisms, which thus are the ones possessing the generative power to influence social outcomes. Against this background, I argue that the studies commit the fallacy of misplaced concreteness and the epistemic fallacy. In conclusion, I argue that concrete social phenomena should be understood as an interplay between different generative mechanisms.

Otryggheten i det svenska arbetslivet har ökat under de senaste decennierna. Inga andra länder har haft så drastiska förändringar som Sverige. Fler arbetar med tillfälliga kontrakt eller som bemannings­anställda och på senare år har en ny form av gigarbetare dykt upp som ofta helt saknar anställning. 

I Det otrygga arbetslivet i Sverige beskrivs orsakerna bakom förändringarna och vilka konsekvenser de har fått för de anställda och för arbetslivet i stort. Författaren visar genom att ta upp makroekonomiska och politiska förändringar att det har skett en förskjutning på arbetsmarknaden som har förflyttat makten från arbetstagarna till arbetsgivarna, vilket har underminerat de anställdas trygghet. Olika anställningsformer leder till skilda typer av otrygghet och arbetsmiljö­problem. Med utgångspunkt i maktresursteori och klassteori söker författaren svar på varför otryggheten har ökat för vissa grupper och inte för andra. 

Boken riktar sig till universitetsstudenter i främst sociologi och arbetsvetenskap, till fackligt aktiva samt till alla med intresse för politik och svensk arbetsmarknad. © 2022 Studentlitteratur

This article examines the changes in power resources in the Swedish labour market since the 1990s and investigates the factors that have caused these changes by utilising an ideological theoretical approach. Specifically, it explores the impact of ideological changes on power resources, such as the level of unemployment, the strength of trade unions, and institutional power resources. The ideological approach is used as the analytical tool to analyse the interaction between ideas and the material world. The article analyses 24 government policy documents and how they relate to the context where the ideas arise. First, I provide a contextual description in which the changing of power resources has occurred, then government bills related to the changing of power resources are analysed. I argue that the changes were motivated by the need to adapt to a globalised and flexible economy to create growth. The reduction in employeesʼ power resources can be seen as an outcome of a dialectical spiral between ideas and the context in which they exist, and I suggest that promoting employee interests rather than growth could have led to a different outcome. © 2024 Author(s). 

To bring alienation to an end, Johan Alfonsson writes, a radical change in both capitalist society’s basic practices and premise, self-determination, is required.

Can the Nordic wage-setting model, where social partners decide wages through collective agreements, counteract a growing low-paid sector? This article tests four definitions of low-paid jobs to analyze whether this sector has grown for the period 2005–2020 in Sweden. Despite policy changes pointing towards growth, all definitions show a slight decrease in low-paid jobs over time. The authors argue that the industrial relations system, with the aim of keeping the industry wage increases in check to aid export competitiveness, also sets a uniform level wage that limits low-paid jobs. It is also found that low pay in the Swedish setting is partly a result of working less than full-time or having unstable employment, and service workers and those with low education are becoming increasingly common in this position.

This thesis is a critical study which seeks to challenge the ordinary perspective of social media and the consequences on the subject’s identity. In doing so the study applies critical theory which allows for a deeper understanding of the subject’s comprehension of social media and has the potential to unveil underlying oppression which serves an emancipatory capacity for the everyday user. Members of social media experience the platform as a necessity in order to exist and participate in society. If you don’t have a digital identity you don’t have an identity at all in worst cases. To confront this compulsion the study takes the perspective of Bauman’s subjectivity fetishism, Goffman’s theories of regional behavior and Scheff’s theory of the deference-emotion system. Social media platforms exist within the capitalist framework which needs to extract value in order to survive. In consumer society feelings of pride threatens its survival which makes the domination of shame among members of such society essential. Idealization of the elite legitimate one’s shame and suppress the capacity to identify oppressive structures and false consciousness among citizens. The study seeks to shed light in which way our society might evolve into if its members fail to recognize what dominates them.

Målet med vår uppsats är att ur ett sociologiskt perspektiv undersöka den upplevda tryggheten i Halmstad utifrån unga kvinnors syn. Vi vill även undersöka diverse strategier som används för att hantera situationer som känns mindre trygga. Vi använde oss av kvalitativa intervjuer där åtta unga kvinnor i åldrarna 18-25 intervjuades. Det framgick att de unga kvinnorna upplever att Halmstad är en relativt trygg stad, men att det trots detta helst inte vistas i centrum kvällstider utan sällskap. De unga kvinnorna använde sig av olika strategier i hopp om att förebygga otrygghet. Dessa var bland annat att ha mobiltelefonen i handen, undvika områden med mindre gatubelysning och ha en kroppshållning som utåt sett inte visar någon rädsla. Vi använde oss av olika teorier och begrepp för att få ett bredare perspektiv kring vårt undersökningsområde. Empowerment valde vi för att få en djupare förståelse kring hur individens förhållningssätt gentemot en annan kan bidra till en ökad trygghet och självkänsla. Michel de Certeau’s syn på det offentliga rummet och hur stadens uppbyggnad har som effekt att styra invånarnas rörelse i staden. Erving Goffmans teori kring roll samt fasad som ständigt förändras i takt med omgivningen. Till sist använder vi oss av genus teori för att få ett vidare perspektiv kring den unga kvinnans position i samhället.

”How the health situation of unemployed women can be understood from a " sociological perspective”

The background to our essay is based on recent peer-reviewed research which proves the lack of research in the area, and the sociological interest on our part regarding the female exclusion in Swedish society, 2022.

The purpose of the essay was to strive to answer the essay´s question, which examines how the unemployed women´s life situation and health are affected when they are outside the labor market.

The method used by our sociological thesis is qualitative in-depth interviews where thematic analysis with the main theme has been interpreted and supported theoretically to extract sufficient sociological empirical evidence to be able to answer the question.

The result that the thesis came to is that exclusion, ill health and reduced quality of life are an effect on the life situation of unemployed women.

The summary is that more research in the area is needed and the problem must be raised more as unemployment has negative health consequences for the individuals that in this case are the swedish unemployed women.

The aim of this article is to describe and explain the development of temporary employment in Sweden between 1992 and 2010, and to investigate the effect of temporary employment for individuals' futurecareer on the labor market. The article analyzes temporary employees' status transitions on the labor market using Swedish Labour Force Survey (LFS) data for the period 1992-2010. Each cohort consists of 2-year panels and focuses on changes between the first and last measuring points. The findings indicate that the specific type of temporary employment is crucial as regards whether or not it constitutes a stepping-stone toward permanent employment. The chances are greater in the case of, for example, substitutes, but are considerably less in the case of on-call employment. Certain types of temporary employment thus seem to be used by the employer to screen the employability of the employee, while others are used for achieving flexibility.

The purpose of this study is to investigate which aspects of social secretaries profession in theorganization that they feel contributes to high workloads, how they describe their handling of itand how they possibly improve their work situation and what work factors they perceive asmeaningful and that makes them still work in social services. To answer the purpose of the studywe used a qualitative approach in the form of semi-structured interviews. These interviews havesince been interpreted to find similarities and differences which then has been analyzed usingsociological theories about the organization's role, requirements and control and sense ofcoherence. The study results show that social workers in periods experienced heavy workload.The result also discusses the various strategies that the social workers made use of to be able tohandle this. The results also showed that social workers felt that there are a lot of rewards andthat they still see their work as meaningful. Our conclusion was that the workload does not needto be seen as a problem as long as the cooperation between management and employees worked.

You can reada report from The National Board ofHealth and Welfare that there is a need to develop and evaluate methods and see whether these can beadapted for groups where userinfluence today is missing. This is a qualitative study of children andadolescents user participation and influence in support groups. The aim of thestudy is to examine the professional approach to children and adolescents userparticipation and user involvement in support groups for young people who have witnessedviolence, abuse and/or mental illness. The study is commissioned by RegionHalland. The method used is qualitative method, which means that you havestudied different individuals experiences of the phenomenon studied, and theresearchers made ​​use of semi-structured interviews. The empirical data hasbeen collected from six counties of Halland, Sweden. A total of sevenprofessionals were interviewed who work with support groups. After theinterviews they were transcribed all to facilitate the compilation andanalysis. The collected empirical data were analyzed along the theories ofempowerment and deliberative democracy. The main result is that the concepts ofuser participation and influence are relatively new concepts in support groupactivities. Children and young people have no solid impact in support groupsbecause the professional word is predominant. It also appears that there is asham democracy in the activities, the children have a right to be heard but theprofessionals seem to always have the last word.

Syftet med detta paper är att diskutera Dorothy Smiths kunskapsteoretiska ställningstagande och dess relation till Emilé Durkheims klassiska tes om sociala fakta. Vid en första betraktelse kan det förefalla som om Smiths uppfattning innebär ett definitivt avståndstagande från den samhällsvetenskapliga syn som Durkheim på sin tid stod för. Vi menar dock att kunskapssyn som Dorothy Smith företräder mycket väl går att förena med Durkheims "sociala fakta".

Background: The National Board of Health and Welfare (2020) states that when coordination fails this leads to difficulties in the cooperation between the roles of the various professions and this lack results in the staff's holistic approach to care are failing.  The National Board of Health and Welfare (2020) also shows that the elderly drink more and more alcohol and statistics show that alcohol consumption among 65-84-year-olds has risen by 21% since 2014. Purpose: The purpose of our study was to get a deeper understanding of how the work on the elderly with alcohol abuse is carried out within the home care service from the perspective of leaders and assistant nurses. Method: Collection of data material was carried out through a qualitative method which was carried out in total through eight semi-structured interviews with unit managers and assistant nurses in the home care service. Result: To then analyze the results we used collaboration from Bert Danermark, room for maneuver from Michael Lipsky and Ingrid Karlsson's thesis there she reflects on room for maneuver and freedom of action.  was used. The results of the study showed a lack of knowledge among the staff when it comes to the elderly and alcohol abuse as well as the managers' room for maneuver and the staff's freedom of action is limited towards the elderly with alcohol abuse in the home care service through laws and guidelines. They require further collaboration between the home care service and other organizations such as substance abuse care to prevent the elderly from ending up in alcohol abuse. Conclusion: Our conclusion is that there is a great need for collaboration and cooperation between the various actors in society and that one should review the already existing laws or come up with proposals for a new law. 

Nowadays, intergenerational mobility and gender equality have captured widespread attention. This study aims to examine the relationship between the two to provide policy insights that benefit both polarized issues. This study reviewed the existing literature and formulated hypotheses that early childhood development has long-lasting impacts on adults' outcomes and is a decisive factor in determining social mobility in adulthood. Gender equality policies play huge roles in this period, mitigating adverse effects from childhood and providing opportunities for disadvantaged children in early childhood development. This study tests the hypotheses with multiple regression and performs sensitivity analysis with an alternative proxy. The result is that public spending on childcare, female labour market participation, and child poverty are statistically significant with social mobility, while weeks of maternity leave and poverty rates of single-earner families are not.

Innovation is seen as one of the main engines of economic growth. It is generally assumed to be gender neutral when, in fact, the gendered construction of innovation has been traditionally masculine. This Handbook explores the nexus between innovation and gender by providing a wide range of studies from different analytical and methodological perspectives and from various regional and industry contexts and draws implications for a gender-inclusive innovation policy. The multidisciplinary group of contributors discuss topics such as gender and innovation in new and small businesses, and growth businesses; addressing innovation in different organizational contexts ranging from public sector health care to mining and forestry; researching gender in innovation policy and in design and materiality.This Handbook will be useful to researchers looking to understand parallels between research on gender and innovation on one hand, and research on gender and entrepreneurship or management on the other. It will also be invaluable to students looking for an overview of research in both areas.

Working with vulnerable people in a government controlled authority may for most people seem harmless - but is it really? Previous research has shown that there is large hidden statistics when it comes to client-related threats and violence and that the incidents are not taken seriously enough. The purpose of this paper is to gain a greater understanding of what the increased threats and violence towards officials in a government controlled authority can lead to. We want to shed visibility over the attributes in the client relationship that leads to threats and violence against the government officials. The theoretical framework used in the paper is street-level bureaucracy, power, and client relationships. We have performed six semi-structured interviews with officials from the Swedish Migration board, which have shown that threats and violence towards government officials occur to a greater extent than it is shown and reported on. The results showed that the hidden statistics is large in incident reporting and that there is a "it comes with the territory" mentality among officials. The distribution of power has a major role in client relationships and is a contributing factor to incidents occurring. Furthermore, it turns out that negative decisions are the ones that tend to trigger threats or violence from the client and that it is rarely reported unless the client resorts to physical violence. Finally, the paper shows that prevention work must be done on a larger scale.

Earlier research has shown that power relationships at workplaces are constructed by power structures. Processes related to power always influence the working conditions for (in this study in elderly care) the working groups involved. Power structures are central for intersectional analysis, in the sense that the intersectional perspective highlights aspects such as gender and ethnicity (subjective dimensions) and interrelates them to processes of power (objective dimension). This qualitative study aims to explore in what way an intersectional perspective could contribute to increased knowledge of power structures in a nursing home where the employees were mostly immigrants from different countries. By using reflexive dialogues related to an intersectional perspective, new knowledge which contributes to the employeés well-being could develop. Narrative analysis was the method used to conduct this study. Through a multi-stage focus group on six occasions over six months, the staff was engaged in intersectional and critical reflections about power relationship with the researchers, by identifying patterns in their professional activities that could be connected to their subjectivities (gender, ethnicity, etc.). The result of this study presents three themes that express the staffs experiences and connect these experiences to structural discrimination. 1. Intersectionality, knowledge and experiences of professionalism, 2. Intersectionality, knowledge and experiences of collaboration, 3. Intersectionality, knowledge and experiences of discrimination. The result demonstrates that an intersectional perspective reinforces the involved abilities, during the conversations, into being clear about, for example, their experiences of discrimination, and consequently developing a better understanding of their professionalism and collaboration. Such deeper reflections became possible through a process of consciousness-raising, strengthening the employee’s self-confidence, in a positive way. © 2016 M. Cuesta.

We have chosen from a sociological perspective to study differences between elite- and nonelite associations. The purpose of our study is to gain a deeper understanding of how football culture (elite- and non-elite associations) affects young people's social identity. In order to be able to link together focus on results and differences between associations. We have conducted a qualitative study where we have used semi structured interviews to collect our material. We have used theories about collective identity, social bond, interaction rituals, habitus, fields and affiliation to get an understanding and create a context for our data. We have also used previous research on the coach's role, culture and exclusion to get a better understanding and readers to get a more comprehensive picture of our issue. In order to reach and strive for results and to have a group that is well-needed, clear communication from young people, leaders and organization is needed. The result shows that there are differences in the culture between the different societies that can affect social identity. In the elite association, they focus on individual level to become a professional football player. In the non-elite association, the focus is on the collective and the community. These rituals can affect the everyday life of the youth.

There is still some ignorance about mental disability in society. Practicing parenthood while having a mental disability can be complicated. The purpose of my thesis is to shed light on the parental perspective of parents with mental disabilities, how they experience the treatment of the environment and their own parental role. In the essay, I also try to get answers to what can be done to support these parents. My thesis is a qualitative study based on four semi-structured interviews with parents who have ADHD. In my results, I highlight six themes: own experience of having ADHD, experience of own parenthood, experiences of treatment, consequences, preconceived notions, and suggestions for changes. Some of the conclusions that emerged in my study are that there have been some gender differences both in how stigma is experienced, in what contexts you experience stigma and what you consider to be helpful support. It has also emerged that it is not only those with a mental disability who can suffer negative consequences because of stigma, but also their children. All interviewees in this study believe that more knowledge about mental disability is needed. 

Syftet med denna studie är att belysa skolkuratorers uppfattningar kring orsaker till övervikt hos barn, hur arbetet kring övervikt bland barn bedrivs i skolan samt de sociala konsekvenser övervikten får för de berörda barnen både i ett nuläge och i ett längre perspektiv. För att kunna besvara studiens syfte valde vi att använda oss av en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Intervjuerna har tolkats för att hitta meningsbärande enheter som sedan har analyserats med hjälp av sociologiska teorier om klass, medikalisering, avvikande och stigmatisering. Studiens resultat visar att skolkuratorerna menar att orsaker till övervikt ofta är mer komplexa än bara en obalans mellan energiintag och energiförbrukning. Vidare visar resultatet att arbetet kring övervikt sker på ett medicinskt plan, men det har framkommit att skolkuratorerna vill arbeta annorlunda. Till sist visar resultatet att övervikt hos barn medför sociala konsekvenser som exempelvis utanförskap och låg självkänsla. 

This paper is based on observations and interviews with six teenage girls (age 14–16) currently highly active in a Swedish riding school. Riding is one of the most popular sporting activities among girls in Sweden and riding schools receive financial support from the government to make riding available to everyone. The aim of this paper is to explore how teenage girls construct their gender identity at the stable through the handling of horses and related work in their leisure time. Theoretically, we employ Butler’s (1999) theory of identity, based on social constructivism. The relationships with the horses, the hard work, the unexpected challenges, as well as the friendships among the girls, were found to be essential elements of the stable experience. At the stable, the girls learned to take action, handle risks and take the lead. This created an alternative way of enacting themselves as young females, resulting in an identity based on being independent, competent and powerful. As such, the riding school represents a developmental space where teenage girls can prepare themselves for their future, independent, lives. © 2011 World Leisure Organization.

Public research organizations respond to external pressures from national research evaluation systems, performance-based funding systems and university rankings by translating them into internal goals, rules and regulations and by developing organizational identities, profiles and missions. Organizational responses have primarily been studied at the central organizational level, and research on the steering of research has primarily focused on the impacts of performance-based funding systems. However, research evaluation exercises may also have a formative impact, especially below the central organizational level. This paper uses a case study of a research unit of a biomedical research school in the Netherlands to explore the organizational response to a relatively critical external assessment report. It shows that the participation in the Dutch research evaluation cycle legitimated the formation of a new organizational identity for the research unit, which functions as a frame that suggests to staff members a new interpretation of the type of research that is at the core of what the research unit does. We identify three additional steering mechanisms that support the enactment of the organizational identity: steering by resource allocation, by suggesting and by re-organizing. We, furthermore, explore the epistemic effects – the direction and conduct of research – of the organizational response, through interview data in combination with a bibliometric analysis. © 2023, The Author(s).

Violence in close relationships is a big society problem both in Sweden and around the world. Most of the violence happens in the home, which results in that the violence remains a hidden problem. The purpose with this study was to increase knowledge of women's experiences of relationship violence and to see if there is a relation, between societies support and the desire to return to a destructive relationship. The study has had its starting point in a qualitative research method, where the collected empirical evidence was carried out through six qualitative interviews, to get closer to women's experiences of violence in close relationships. The collected empirical evidence was analyzed based on the sociological theoretics Cooley, Goffman, Connell and Homans. Earlier research shows that crime in close relationships is a society problem that has to be more enlightened to reduce vulnerability. Furthermore, you can see that women do not feel prioritized by the Justice system, which is one of the factors why they choose to go back to the relationship. The result shows that violence in close relationships occurs in all different ages, social classes and ethnicities. The violence can be both sexual, economical, material and physical where the perpetrator gradually is trying to take control over women's lives. The result shows that these specified women have a habit to return to relationships that involves domestic violence. They fall back into a relationship constituted by physical, psychological and finical violence. The research also proves that certain factors such as kids, lack of support, finical difficulties such as debts, guilt and shameful emotions holds a crucial role in the women’s decision-making process.

Our modern society is exposed to multiple hazards and risks. To manage these successfully, it is important to have a good overview of the risks that potentially affect our society and how they are perceived and valued. This pilot study investigated possible ways of mapping and analysing risks that Swedish society and its inhabitants are exposed to and aware of. The aim was to capture complementary perspectives on accidents and crises, and to provide a point of departure for future planning and data collection strategies. To achieve this, previous studies are mapped and critically assessed and an example of a method of analysis is presented. The following questions have guided the work: 1) What methods are currently available to describe risks at a broader societal level? 2) What are the limitations, advantages and disadvantages of these existing methods? 3) Which of these methods are of relevance to Sweden? Summarizing previous studies, the report includes examples of methods, structures and data visualizations for mapping risks nationally or in larger regions. The report analyses 11 types of existing study or report as a source of inspiration and to scope existing gaps for potential improvement. The report makes recommendations for national level risk mapping in a Swedish context, supported by an empirical example.

I samband med en ökad konkurrens och ett allt större mediabrus så använder företag sig av nya metoder för att locka konsumenterna till sig och kunna behålla dem. En av dessa metoder är relationsmarknadföring, där företaget på olika sätt försöker skapa en form av relation med kunden med målet att skapa en kundlojalitet. Syftet med uppsatsen har varit att kritiskt analysera relationsmarknadsföring utifrån ett maktperspektiv. Med anledning av det har en fallstudie genomförts av ICA Sveriges användning av CRM (Customer Relationship Marketing), som är en variant av relationsmarknadsföring. Studiens metodologiska ansats har varit kvalitativ och materialet har samlats in genom intervju och skriftliga källor. Analysen av materialet har sedan skett utifrån ett Zygmunt Baumans teori kring konsumtionssamhället, Michael Foucaults begrepp governmentality som har vidareutvecklats av Mitchell Dean, samt David Lyons teori kring övervakningssamhället. De slutsatser som drogs i analysen var att relationsmarknadsföringen kan förstås som en produkt av vårt nuvarande samhälle genom att strategin går i linje med dess utmärkande egenskaper såsom individualisering, dynamiken mellan trygghet och frihet, övervakning, samt självreglering. Relationsmarknadsföringen är för företagen en effektiv styrningsmetod för att få sina kunder att vara lojala och konsumera mer. Det speglar en ny form av maktutövning i samhället som skiljer sig från disciplineringen i produktionssamhället. I denna styrning är den viktigaste faktorn att den sker genom individens frihet.

During several years the discussion about equality in soccer has grown and now interests the society at large. This discussion is often focused on economical differences between male and female players, where male players earn more, even though they play at the same level. The equality subject is always more notice when female players talk about their situation and their unfair conditions within the same sport. How do female players experience the way they are treated as a result of the difference in the sport of soccer? The aim of this of this study is to look at how female players perceive treatment within women’s soccer. The research questions of the study are: how are women experiencing that they are being treated, which comments do they get, and what has changed over time within the sport for more equal existence. The theoretical frame of the study is the concepts of: power, intersectionality and globalization. Four semi-structed interviews with active and previously active female players were conducted. The result shows that there is a degrading attitude that lacks respect against female players, but that at the same time there has been a positive development. Further the result shows that through women’s commitment and influences the development continues to be noticed in the right direction. Women’s soccer is dependent on globalization to change the distribution of power.

The aim of this study is to investigate through interviews how health promotion activities in a larger construction company can affect white collar workers health by reducing stress and increasing motivation. The study investigates gaps in knowledge that exists in current research on health promotion activities in a male-dominated industry and health promotion activities combined with motivation. The research material originates from seven semi structured interviews with supervisors, site managers and administrative staff that works at a construction company with approximately 200 employees. An information-interview is also conducted to get knowledge about the company’s history and strategy. The study is conducted according to hermeneutical principles and with an abductive analysis strategy. To be able to analyse the results theories about stress and motivation are used such as the allostatic system, the inverted U-function, the demand and control model, Self-Determination Theory and interactive motivation. The main results show that aspects such as experience, exercise, social support, work itself, wellbeing, communication and skill development are important for employees to promote health through reducing stress and increasing motivation. The results also indicate that all these aspects affect employees differently and are individual. 

Rapporten har sin utgångspunkt i en diskussion mellan VINNOVA (Sverige), Norges Forskningsråd (Norge) och i ett senare skede TEKES (Finland) om benchmarking av innovationssystem, vilket alla tre länder använde som ett centralt begrepp i innovationspolitiken. Utgångspunkten är att man i de tre länderna utgår från att man kan identifiera och skapa innovationssystem, det vill säga samverkansformationer där olika aktörer samverkar med varandra i syfte att skapa innovationer. Hur man uppfattar detta, vilka aktörer eller aktörsgrupperingar som ingår och vilka slags relationer som utvecklas mellan dessa, varierar. Det här redovisade projektet behandlar fyra utvecklingsorganisationer i Sverige (Halland/Gnosjö) respektive Norge (Hardanger/Sunnhordland). Syftet med projektet har varit att lyfta fram olika aspekter som ses som centrala för utvecklingsorganisationer och med utgångspunkt i dessa lära av varandra. I denna rapport lyfts några av de delar som setts som centrala och som förts diskussioner kring under projektets gång fram. Här belyses likheter och skillnader mellan utvecklingsorganisationerna i de båda regionerna, innebörder av dessa och hur de kan förstås. Avslutningsvis diskuteras några centrala företeelser och processer som förefaller finnas i de flesta innovations- och utvecklingsprocesser.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between Swedish gangster rap and crime among young men in Swedish socio-economically vulnerable areas. The purpose is also to study what the view of women looks like among young men and how it is reflected through music. The study is conducted with the help of semi-structured interviews where eight different young men living in socio-economic areas are interviewed and are based on four sociological theories: social ties, stigma, capital concepts and intersectionality. . The results showed that there is a certain relationship to the gangster rap and the young men's views on crime and women.

The aim of this presentation is to discuss the significance of including norm-critical design concepts in the teaching of gender in social sciences and the humanities. During 2013-2015 the research project “Origo –design as agent for gender-sensitive work for change and innovation” was carried out. The aim of the project was to scientifically test and analyse a new method for working with gender equality in organisations. The method combines gender theory and norm-critical design and is used as a tool to visualise and challenge norms, prejudices and notions concerning women and men. Two different contexts were the subject of Origo – the male-dominated firefighting profession and the area of health technology. Several design concepts related to obstacles for and norms and assumptions about women and men about women and men in these contexts were developed. These design concepts were presented to the organisations but also used in the teaching of gender issues in social sciences and the humanities at Halmstad University, Sweden. Interviews were subsequently conducted with ten students. The interviews focused on how the students interpret the norm-critical design concepts, how they experience this kind of teaching and how the concepts might influence their notions of gender issues and theory. Theories on gender, learning and critical design were then used to interpret the interviews. The analysis shows how the design concepts raise questions of power, needs and gendered experiences. Furthermore, the concepts do this to a greater extent than more conventional ways of conveying knowledge about gender (such as reports, academic texts, statistics and PowerPoint presentations). Physical objects are perceived of as making gender issues more tangible.