Since 2000, a problem-solving model has been taught to the Society for Protecting the Rights of the Child, and teachers and  students of social work in two universities in Iran. Since 2006, with the initiation of UNICEF, social workers, psychologists  and even some psychiatrists in Iran have been learning this model. In 2008, a group of researchers created an empowerment-oriented  psycho-social group and private intervention project to assess whether a group of Iranian single mothers could use this model, which was traditionally used by professionals only, to effectively and independently meet challenges in their own lives. Our results show that all women used the model effectively and, consequently, made more deliberate decisions to improve their life situations. Some of the women succeeded in finding a job and many improved their family relationships. This study suggests that empowerment-oriented social work can help many clients to achieve their goals, and that this psycho-social intervention project can be a useful model for social work in Iran and many other societies.

Governmental bodies such as the Armed Forces are examples of bureaucratic organizations characterized by centralized hierarchical structure, rationality, stability, impersonal rules, clear boundaries, responsibility and authority. Critics claim that because of a rigid structure, organizations with a strict vertical hierarchy of authority do not function well in non-routine situations where creativity and flexibility are required. But hierarchy survives by incorporating elements that are not traditionally found in a classically bureaucratic structure. In the military context, liaison officers and military observers are examples of such elements, frequently operating with a high degree of independence between the boundaries of their own organization and its environment. The purpose of this study is to explore how bureaucratic, hierarchically structured organizations can function in a demanding and dynamic environment characterized by life and death situations? Twenty-one informants (mainly military officers) were interviewed. They had a variety of experiences and occupational roles in civil-military collaboration contexts. A grounded theory analysis of interview data shows that military organizations' adaptation to unpredictable environments can be empirically shown to be a balancing act between improvisation and flexibility on the one hand and the pursuit of structure and adherence to established hierarchical order on the other. For adaptation to be possible there must be actors (boundary spanners or links) to implement it, and meeting grounds (temporary organization) on which to work and get their act together.

The present dissertation takes the multi-faceted phenomenon of deception as its point of departure. The aim is to make a case for deception as a social phenomenon, and to frame theoretically and define the skills and abilities that make deception possible.



A theoretical model based on a number of ideal types is constructed. The purpose of the model is to differentiate particular aspects of deception, and the model is illustrated with examples of actions of more or less well-known impostors. The examples were collected from a variety of sources, such as autobiographies and television programs.



As a first step, the legal definition of deception, i.e. fraud, and statistics on crimes of deception in Sweden are presented. Different theoretical approaches are also discussed; deception as a personality trait, and deception as communication and interaction.



In order to illuminate the social dimensions, it is emphasized that deception constitutes a particular type of relationship between deceiver and deceivee. This particular form of interaction exploits elementary forms, and it is also asymmetrical in terms of the intentions of the parties involved.



The concept of social competence is used to describe the skills and abilities required for successful acts of deception. It is argued that the social competence of deceivers consists of three types: strategic, normative, and dramaturgic competencies. The strategic competency involves being goal-rational and strategic, for example, the ability to predict the actions of the potential addressee. In the normative competency, norms and reference to norms are used strategically. The dramaturgic competency represents an operationalization and enactment of the two other competencies, and resembles the preparation and performance of an actor.



The different contexts in which deception can occur are also discussed. A preliminary typology is presented, with the aim of demonstrating the difficulties in drawing clear lines between various types of deception. The extended approach to deception also means that it can be viewed as a part of everyday social interaction.



Finally, some thoughts on deception in the light of societal changes are presented. It is argued that the increasing demands on people to promote themselves in various ways in todays society can be perceived as an invitation to deception and fabrication. These demands can generate feelings of inferiority and a fear of eventually being unmasked as an impostor, or a phony.

Den här studien ingår i Karlstads universitets och fakultetens för samhälls- och livsvetenskaper satsning på mångvetenskaplig forskning om "uthålliga livsmiljöer och komplexa nätverk". Målet med fakultetens satsning är att stimulera forskning och samverkan mellan offentliga och privata aktörer så att Karlstads universitet effektivt kan bidra till och bli en motor i det långsiktigt hållbara utvecklingsarbetet i regionen.

Studien tar sin utgångspunkt i intervjuer med några värmländska familjer om hur vardagen gestaltar sig idag, hur det såg ut historiskt och hur det kan tänkas se ut i framtiden. Intervjuerna kommenteras av forskare från olika ämnesområden. I mötet mellan forskare från olika ämnen och forskningstraditioner uppstår nya sätt att problematisera det komplicerade växelspelet mellan olika sektorer av vår tillvaro. Problemen kan omformuleras, nya möten och kontakter vänder invanda tankegångar mot nya och innovativa riktningar och beredskapen att möta framtida utmaningar såväl för forskare som för regionala aktörer stärks och uppgraderas. Förhoppningen är att studien ska fungera som en plattform för den viktiga diskussionen kring uthållig regional utveckling för kvinnor, män, barn och gamla och stimulera innovationer och forskning som garanterar en framtid där utveckling och tillväxt balanseras mot uthållig miljö för människor och natur.

This paper examines the development of school burnout among Finnish youth aged 16-18, specifically with regard to the following three components: a cynical attitude toward the school, feelings of inadequacy as a student, and exhaustion at school. There is evidence of an increase in all three components over time, but only among students on the academic track. There appear to be differences in burnout levels between those who drop out from school and those who do not, and the risk of an individual with high levels of cynicism or feelings of inadequacy dropping out is clearly higher than among those who score low on these two components. When various explanatory variables are controlled for, cynicism still remains a significant factor explaining drop out, and a low grade point average appears to be a major explanatory variable for school dropout. This study is especially interesting in the context of Finland, known for its equality-striving and high-quality educational system. Finnish youth, compared with youth in many other countries, nevertheless have a low level of in-school well-being. We use the Finnish Educational Transitions data (N = 878) collected in four waves, the first three on an annual basis and the fourth 5 years after the first one.

Frågor om organisering, styrning och kompetens är centrala i all organisationsutveckling, inte minst i stora organisationer med komplexa uppgifter. Om arbetsuppgifterna är sådana att de utförs med en stor grad av autonomi och det dessutom finns flera uppdragsgivare kompliceras styrningsfrågorna ytterligare. Socialtjänstens verksamheter inom vård och omsorg är exempel på sådana organisationer.



I denna rapport redovisas en processutvärdering av organisationsförändringar i kombination med kompetensutveckling vid avdelningarna för vård och omsorg i två Värmlandskommuner. Ett lösningsfokuserat arbetssätt infördes, samtidigt som organisationerna förändrades genom tydligare ledningsfunktioner och genom att i en av kommunerna ytterligare en chefsnivå inrättades.



Rapporten beskriver, analyserar och diskuterar de olika förändringarna sammantaget och var för sig. Att samtidigt genomföra flera förändringar visar sig kunna innebära att de delvis motverkar varandra. Ett centralt analystema i utvärderingen är frågor om närhet och distans i tid och rum. En förändring till det bättre i ett avseende visar sig ofta leda till problem och försämring i andra. De personliga relationerna på arbetsplatsen, liksom inställningen till arbetet, får stor betydelse för hur organisationsförändring och kompetensutveckling tas emot och hanteras.



Rapportens analyserande och diskuterande form gör den aktuell långt utöver de utvärderade organisationerna. Den vänder sig till alla som har intresse för organisationsförändringar i komplexa organisationer.