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Women's entrepreneurship is often presented as important for creating economic prosperity at the national level and is said to offer freedom, independence, and emancipation for women. The purpose of this study is to explore the conditions of women entrepreneurs who have different backgrounds in Sweden. To achieve this purpose, this study focuses on the challenges women entrepreneurs perceive and the coping strategies they employ to navigate these challenges. The study adopts an intersectional gender perspective, grounded in research on entrepreneurship, gender, and ethnicity. It draws on qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs in Sweden who have different backgrounds. The findings show that the challenges experienced by the women entrepreneurs included lack of support, being belittled, being excluded, having to work harder and be strong and having to adapt. The analysis discusses that these challenges can be understood as a result of gendered perceptions of entrepreneurship and processes of Othering. Ethnicity and race also play a role in shaping these conditions. The interviewed women deal with the conditions through four strategies: the assimilation strategy; the positive strategy, the ambiguity strategy, and the change strategy. The coping strategies are discussed in relation to empowerment and emancipation. From a theoretical perspective, this study contributes to developing concepts and conceptual relationships to capture how gender, ethnicity, and race impact women's conditions as entrepreneurs., Kvinnors entreprenörskap framställs ofta som viktigt för att skapa ekonomiskt välstånd på nationell nivå och sägs erbjuda frihet, oberoende och bemäktigande för kvinnor. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka villkoren för kvinnliga företagare med olika bakgrunder i Sverige. För att uppnå detta syfte fokuserar studien på de utmaningar kvinnliga företagare upplever samt de strategier de använder för att hantera dessa utmaningar. Studien anlägger ett intersektionellt genusperspektiv som grundas i forskning om företagande, genus och etnicitet. Den bygger på kvalitativt empiriskt material som insamlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med kvinnliga företagare i Sverige som har olika bakgrunder. Huvudresultaten visar att de utmaningar som de kvinnliga entreprenörerna handlar upplevelser av brist på stöd, att bli förminskad, att bli exkluderad, att behöva arbeta hårdare och vara stark, samt att behöva anpassa sig. I analysen diskuteras hur dessa utmaningar kan förstås som ett resultat av könsmärkta föreställningar om entreprenörskap och s.k. Andrafieringsprocesser. Etnicitet och ras spelar också en roll i hur dessa villkoråterskapas. De intervjuade kvinnorna hanterar villkoren genom fyra strategier: assimileringsstrategin, den positiva strategin, tvetydighetsstrategin och förändringsstrategin. Dessa strategier diskuteras i relation till begreppen bemäktigande och emancipation. Ur ett teoretiskt perspektiv bidrar denna studie till att utveckla begrepp och begreppsrelationer för att fånga hur kön, etnicitet och ras påverkar kvinnors villkor som företagare och deras strategier.

The purpose of this study is to understand which challenges women politicians on Gotland face and how they perceive themselves in their political work. We aim to highlight existing gender norms and how these translate into challenges within an island setting. This research further highlights the identity work women politicians at a local level engage in. The theoretical frameworks used include feminist political theory, feminist institutionalism, identity, and political identity. The empirical data was gathered through 13 semi-structured interviews with local women politicians on Gotland. Taking on a feminist approach, our study underscores and engages with the complexity of the stories, emotions, and experiences of our participants. Our findings underline several challenges women politicians face, including Part of a quota?, Motherhood and Double standards. Our findings also stress that the notion of femininity, such as motherhood and emotionality, need to be the base for restructuring and reframing current political systems to allow for true gender equality. Additionally, our findings reveal three identity facets, (1) The Holistic Caretaker, (2) The Freedom Fighter, and (3) The Game Player, which women politicians take on depending on the political context and while aiming to navigate through the political landscape. Lastly, we have identified the paradox Women vs Women. Our study sheds light on the intertwined and complex nature of gender related challenges in local politics and reveals the paradoxical nature of women’s attempt to move up the political staircase, while simultaneously trying to challenge pre-existing systemic structures.

Women's entrepreneurship is often presented as important for creating economic prosperity at the national level and is said to offer freedom, independence, and emancipation for women. The purpose of this study is to explore the conditions of women entrepreneurs who have different backgrounds in Sweden. To achieve this purpose, this study focuses on the challenges women entrepreneurs perceive and the coping strategies they employ to navigate these challenges. The study adopts an intersectional gender perspective, grounded in research on entrepreneurship, gender, and ethnicity. It draws on qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs in Sweden who have different backgrounds. The findings show that the challenges experienced by the women entrepreneurs included lack of support, being belittled, being excluded, having to work harder and be strong and having to adapt. The analysis discusses that these challenges can be understood as a result of gendered perceptions of entrepreneurship and processes of Othering. Ethnicity and race also play a role in shaping these conditions. The interviewed women deal with the conditions through four strategies: the assimilation strategy; the positive strategy, the ambiguity strategy, and the change strategy. The coping strategies are discussed in relation to empowerment and emancipation. From a theoretical perspective, this study contributes to developing concepts and conceptual relationships to capture how gender, ethnicity, and race impact women's conditions as entrepreneurs., Kvinnors entreprenörskap framställs ofta som viktigt för att skapa ekonomiskt välstånd på nationell nivå och sägs erbjuda frihet, oberoende och bemäktigande för kvinnor. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka villkoren för kvinnliga företagare med olika bakgrunder i Sverige. För att uppnå detta syfte fokuserar studien på de utmaningar kvinnliga företagare upplever samt de strategier de använder för att hantera dessa utmaningar. Studien anlägger ett intersektionellt genusperspektiv som grundas i forskning om företagande, genus och etnicitet. Den bygger på kvalitativt empiriskt material som insamlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med kvinnliga företagare i Sverige som har olika bakgrunder. Huvudresultaten visar att de utmaningar som de kvinnliga entreprenörerna handlar upplevelser av brist på stöd, att bli förminskad, att bli exkluderad, att behöva arbeta hårdare och vara stark, samt att behöva anpassa sig. I analysen diskuteras hur dessa utmaningar kan förstås som ett resultat av könsmärkta föreställningar om entreprenörskap och s.k. Andrafieringsprocesser. Etnicitet och ras spelar också en roll i hur dessa villkoråterskapas. De intervjuade kvinnorna hanterar villkoren genom fyra strategier: assimileringsstrategin, den positiva strategin, tvetydighetsstrategin och förändringsstrategin. Dessa strategier diskuteras i relation till begreppen bemäktigande och emancipation. Ur ett teoretiskt perspektiv bidrar denna studie till att utveckla begrepp och begreppsrelationer för att fånga hur kön, etnicitet och ras påverkar kvinnors villkor som företagare och deras strategier.

Women's entrepreneurship is often presented as important for creating economic prosperity at the national level and is said to offer freedom, independence, and emancipation for women. The purpose of this study is to explore the conditions of women entrepreneurs who have different backgrounds in Sweden. To achieve this purpose, this study focuses on the challenges women entrepreneurs perceive and the coping strategies they employ to navigate these challenges. The study adopts an intersectional gender perspective, grounded in research on entrepreneurship, gender, and ethnicity. It draws on qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs in Sweden who have different backgrounds. The findings show that the challenges experienced by the women entrepreneurs included lack of support, being belittled, being excluded, having to work harder and be strong and having to adapt. The analysis discusses that these challenges can be understood as a result of gendered perceptions of entrepreneurship and processes of Othering. Ethnicity and race also play a role in shaping these conditions. The interviewed women deal with the conditions through four strategies: the assimilation strategy; the positive strategy, the ambiguity strategy, and the change strategy. The coping strategies are discussed in relation to empowerment and emancipation. From a theoretical perspective, this study contributes to developing concepts and conceptual relationships to capture how gender, ethnicity, and race impact women's conditions as entrepreneurs., Kvinnors entreprenörskap framställs ofta som viktigt för att skapa ekonomiskt välstånd på nationell nivå och sägs erbjuda frihet, oberoende och bemäktigande för kvinnor. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka villkoren för kvinnliga företagare med olika bakgrunder i Sverige. För att uppnå detta syfte fokuserar studien på de utmaningar kvinnliga företagare upplever samt de strategier de använder för att hantera dessa utmaningar. Studien anlägger ett intersektionellt genusperspektiv som grundas i forskning om företagande, genus och etnicitet. Den bygger på kvalitativt empiriskt material som insamlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med kvinnliga företagare i Sverige som har olika bakgrunder. Huvudresultaten visar att de utmaningar som de kvinnliga entreprenörerna handlar upplevelser av brist på stöd, att bli förminskad, att bli exkluderad, att behöva arbeta hårdare och vara stark, samt att behöva anpassa sig. I analysen diskuteras hur dessa utmaningar kan förstås som ett resultat av könsmärkta föreställningar om entreprenörskap och s.k. Andrafieringsprocesser. Etnicitet och ras spelar också en roll i hur dessa villkoråterskapas. De intervjuade kvinnorna hanterar villkoren genom fyra strategier: assimileringsstrategin, den positiva strategin, tvetydighetsstrategin och förändringsstrategin. Dessa strategier diskuteras i relation till begreppen bemäktigande och emancipation. Ur ett teoretiskt perspektiv bidrar denna studie till att utveckla begrepp och begreppsrelationer för att fånga hur kön, etnicitet och ras påverkar kvinnors villkor som företagare och deras strategier.

Women's entrepreneurship is often presented as important for creating economic prosperity at the national level and is said to offer freedom, independence, and emancipation for women. The purpose of this study is to explore the conditions of women entrepreneurs who have different backgrounds in Sweden. To achieve this purpose, this study focuses on the challenges women entrepreneurs perceive and the coping strategies they employ to navigate these challenges. The study adopts an intersectional gender perspective, grounded in research on entrepreneurship, gender, and ethnicity. It draws on qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews with women entrepreneurs in Sweden who have different backgrounds. The findings show that the challenges experienced by the women entrepreneurs included lack of support, being belittled, being excluded, having to work harder and be strong and having to adapt. The analysis discusses that these challenges can be understood as a result of gendered perceptions of entrepreneurship and processes of Othering. Ethnicity and race also play a role in shaping these conditions. The interviewed women deal with the conditions through four strategies: the assimilation strategy; the positive strategy, the ambiguity strategy, and the change strategy. The coping strategies are discussed in relation to empowerment and emancipation. From a theoretical perspective, this study contributes to developing concepts and conceptual relationships to capture how gender, ethnicity, and race impact women's conditions as entrepreneurs., Kvinnors entreprenörskap framställs ofta som viktigt för att skapa ekonomiskt välstånd på nationell nivå och sägs erbjuda frihet, oberoende och bemäktigande för kvinnor. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka villkoren för kvinnliga företagare med olika bakgrunder i Sverige. För att uppnå detta syfte fokuserar studien på de utmaningar kvinnliga företagare upplever samt de strategier de använder för att hantera dessa utmaningar. Studien anlägger ett intersektionellt genusperspektiv som grundas i forskning om företagande, genus och etnicitet. Den bygger på kvalitativt empiriskt material som insamlats in genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med kvinnliga företagare i Sverige som har olika bakgrunder. Huvudresultaten visar att de utmaningar som de kvinnliga entreprenörerna handlar upplevelser av brist på stöd, att bli förminskad, att bli exkluderad, att behöva arbeta hårdare och vara stark, samt att behöva anpassa sig. I analysen diskuteras hur dessa utmaningar kan förstås som ett resultat av könsmärkta föreställningar om entreprenörskap och s.k. Andrafieringsprocesser. Etnicitet och ras spelar också en roll i hur dessa villkoråterskapas. De intervjuade kvinnorna hanterar villkoren genom fyra strategier: assimileringsstrategin, den positiva strategin, tvetydighetsstrategin och förändringsstrategin. Dessa strategier diskuteras i relation till begreppen bemäktigande och emancipation. Ur ett teoretiskt perspektiv bidrar denna studie till att utveckla begrepp och begreppsrelationer för att fånga hur kön, etnicitet och ras påverkar kvinnors villkor som företagare och deras strategier.

Childhood vaccination consultations are considered an important phase in parents’ decision-making process. To date, only a few empirical studies conducted in the United States have investigated real-life consultations. To address this gap, we recorded Dutch vaccination conversations between healthcare providers and parents during routine health consultations for their newborns. The data were analysed using Conversation Analysis and Discursive Psychology. We found that the topic of vaccination was often initiated with ‘Have you already thought about vaccination?’ (HYATAV), and that this formulation was consequential for parental identity work. Exploring the interactional trajectories engendered by this initiation format we show that: (1) interlocutors treat the question as consisting of two types of queries, (2) conversational trajectories differ according to which of the queries is attended to and that (3) parents work up a ‘good parent’ identity in response to HYATAV, by demonstrating that they think about their child’s vaccination beforehand and make their decisions independently. Our findings shed new light on the interactional unfolding of parental vaccination decisions.

The purpose of this study is to understand which challenges women politicians on Gotland face and how they perceive themselves in their political work. We aim to highlight existing gender norms and how these translate into challenges within an island setting. This research further highlights the identity work women politicians at a local level engage in. The theoretical frameworks used include feminist political theory, feminist institutionalism, identity, and political identity. The empirical data was gathered through 13 semi-structured interviews with local women politicians on Gotland. Taking on a feminist approach, our study underscores and engages with the complexity of the stories, emotions, and experiences of our participants. Our findings underline several challenges women politicians face, including Part of a quota?, Motherhood and Double standards. Our findings also stress that the notion of femininity, such as motherhood and emotionality, need to be the base for restructuring and reframing current political systems to allow for true gender equality. Additionally, our findings reveal three identity facets, (1) The Holistic Caretaker, (2) The Freedom Fighter, and (3) The Game Player, which women politicians take on depending on the political context and while aiming to navigate through the political landscape. Lastly, we have identified the paradox Women vs Women. Our study sheds light on the intertwined and complex nature of gender related challenges in local politics and reveals the paradoxical nature of women’s attempt to move up the political staircase, while simultaneously trying to challenge pre-existing systemic structures.

Purpose Information seeking for child-rearing is an increasingly popular topic in the medical and social science literature, though a theoretical framework in which to understand this phenomenon is still missing. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach The authors present results from a qualitative research in which data were obtained from 21 interviews and the personal experience of one of the authors. Participants were all mothers supportive of attachment parenting, a parenting style inspired by attachment theory which advocates making parenting decisions on a strong basis of information. They were recruited in several Spanish autonomous communities and interviewed between April and July 2015. Findings Results were analyzed using grounded theory and allowed to define five major themes: becoming a mother implies a new perception of oneself in which it is common to feel more in need for information; the need to search for information originates in situations of “conflict” or crisis, or as a consequence of conflicting information; information is judged and weighed on the basis of affect and perceptions; scientific and experiential knowledge are valued as complementary; and finally, information seeking appears as one activity of identity work. Originality/value Placing conflict, instead of uncertainty, at the beginning of the search process allows to emphasize the role of information seeking in mediating relationships and interactions at a societal level. From this point of view, the authors understand that LIS should pay more attention to information seeking as an important factor in social change., Depto. de Biblioteconomía y Documentación, Fac. de Ciencias de la Documentación, TRUE, pub

Nonprofit organizations frequently cooperate with profit-oriented businesses in order to fulfil their goals and mission. Although collaborative activities such as nonprofit-business partnerships can benefit both non- and for-profit organizations, they are also a potential source of inter- and intra-organizational controversy, conflict, and even disruption when social objectives clash with business interests. Taking on the perspective of nonprofit organizations and their members, this tripartite dissertation investigates one particular risk associated with nonprofit-business partnerships: organizational identity threats (i.e., experiences that call into question members’ perceptions of their organization’s identity). Building on and connecting research on inter-organizational collaboration, nonprofit organizations, and organizational identity, this dissertation first develops a conceptual model that outlines the conditions under which nonprofit-business partnerships may arise as organizational identity threats. Second, a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews explores nonprofit members’ sensemaking and organizational identity threat appraisal processes in the context of nonprofit-business partnerships. Third, a subsequent qualitative study investigates how nonprofit members manage potential identity-related tensions arising from these partnerships through identity work. Taken together, this dissertation provides insights into how members of nonprofit-organizations perceive, evaluate, and manage potential identity threats in cross-sector partnerships with corporate actors.

In today's competitive educational landscape, schools face the challenge of attracting students who align with their organizational identity. With extensive organizational changes in the Swedish school system, expressing organizational identity has become crucial for demonstrating categorical belonging. The category of elite schools signifies high academic and social standing, which attracts motivated students. However, entering a market with established schools and identities poses challenges. Through a single case study, we investigate how ProCivitas built an elite identity in Uppsala’s secondary upper school market. We uncover seven factors contributing to building the identity–Articulating Values and Vision, Creating Unique Characteristics, Creating Sensemaking among Members, Communicating the Identity, Living the Identity, Applying a Competitive Mindset, and Gaining Legitimizing Feedback. Our findings further expand the understanding of identity building and the importance of striking a balance between being distinctive and legitimate in its local market.

A common conversation starter is to ask for someone's working title, this title is then often used as a label to define an individual. To label an individual affects how they perceive themself both at work and outside of work. Therefore work plays a big part in an individual's life and is also strongly connected to one's identity. It is in the social interactions that the identity process takes place, both the professional identity and the personal identity. The aim of this study is therefore to study how interactions and perceptions about the HR-profession affects HR-working professionals' own views of their working identity and personal identity. The method that is used to answer the study's aim and research question is a qualitative method based on six semi-structured interviews. Working HR-professionals within the public sector were interviewed. Theories used in this paper to analyze results are Mead's theory about “I and Me” as well as Berger and Luckammans theoretical concept including: socialization, internalization and typification. The findings of the study conclude that HR-professionals do not perceive that their own perception of the profession is coherent with other individuals' perception. Lastly the results show that HR-professionals personal identity is affected by their working identity but in different ways. Their personal identity is affected by both working life experience and social interactions, this is because work is present in a lot of conversations outside of work., Arbetet är många gånger en konversationsstartare och yrkestiteln blir ofta en etikett på hur en människa är. Denna etikett kan påverka hur en individ uppfattar sig själv både på arbetet och utanför arbetet. Yrket blir därav en stor del av människans liv som också kan bli starkt förknippad med en identitet. Det är i de sociala interaktionerna som identitetsskapandet sker, såväl yrkesidentiteten som den personliga identiteten. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur omgivningens interaktioner och föreställningar om HR-yrket påverkar HR-arbetarnas syn på deras yrkesidentitet och personliga identitet. Metoden som används för att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar är en kvalitativ metod baserat på sex semistrukturerade intervjuer. Yrkesverksamma HR-arbetare inom den offentliga sektorn intervjuades och den teoritillämpning som används för att analysera studiens resultat är Meads teori om “I and Me”. Samt Berger och Luckmanns begrepp: socialisering, internalisering och typifiering. Slutsatserna av studien visar att HR-arbetarna inte upplever att deras egen uppfattning om yrket överensstämmer med den föreställning som de upplever att omgivningen har. Slutligen visar studien att HR-arbetarnas personliga identitet påverkas av yrkesidentiteten men detta sker på olika vis. Deras personliga identitet påverkas av både arbetslivserfarenheter och sociala interaktioner då yrket är närvarande i många konversationer utanför arbetet.

In this article, we propose that social economy organisations (SEOs) can improve their effectiveness if their leaders create a strategy for the management of organisational identity, that is, if they get involved in identity work. After placing the mission at the core of the effectiveness of SEOs, we identified four main focuses of identity work that we see as fundamental to promote the performance of these organisations: a) identity as a lens and as a compass; b) identity as a resource; c) management of multiple identities; d) identity as source of identification. We end with the suggestion of SEOs leaders' development practices that, by emphasizing these four lines of identity work, take advantage of organisational identity, a valuable asset to be used by all those who place the collective benefit above all other income obtained through organised action., En este artículo, proponemos que las organizaciones de economía social (OES) pueden mejorar su efectividad si sus líderes desarrollan una estrategia dirigida a la gestión de la identidad organizacional, es decir, si consiguen involucrarse en la creación de una identidad laboral. Tras situar esta misión en el centro de la efectividad de las OES, identificamos cuatro funciones de la identidad laboral fundamentales a la hora de mejorar el rendimiento laboral: a) la identidad como lente y brújula; b) la identidad como recurso; c) la gestión de múltiples identidades; y d) la identidad como fuente de identificación. Finalizamos con sugerencias para que los líderes de OES desarrollen prácticas, que enfatizando en las cuatro funciones de la identidad laboral descritas anteriormente, aprovechen la identidad organizacional como un valioso activo que pueda ser utilizado por todos aquellos que sitúan el beneficio colectivo por encima de cualquier otro ingreso obtenido a través de la acción organizada., Escuela de Estudios Cooperativos, Fac. de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, TRUE, pub

This dissertation explores human brand identity co-creation among “average professionals” dealing with career transitions—a career stage when issues of identity are particularly salient. Drawing from the multidisciplinary literature on human brand, brand co-creation, and identity work—and empirical research—a conceptual framework is presented to understand the phenomenon in the context of social media. The results from semi-structured interviews of 18 professionals who had a successful career transition and were highly engaged in at least one form of social media activity at the time of their interview show that professionals co-create their human brand identities through a dynamic reciprocal process with human and non-human stakeholders as well as future audiences. The interview themes are arranged in a conceptual framework that describes three main processes: constructing the professional brand identity, managing brand identity tensions through identity work, and becoming a professional brand. By proposing a conceptual framework, this dissertation represents the first study of the human brand identity co-creation of professionals in the social media context. The findings from this study make several contributions to the current branding literature. First, this study develops a framework that conceptualizes the process of professional brand identity co-creation on social media. Second, it analyzes professional brand identity as a dynamic and ongoing social process of co-creation. Third, it empirically examines the individual brand identity negotiation process and identity work involved in professional brand identity co-creation. Finally, it increases understanding of the outcome that professional brand identity construction may have for the individual. The study also has practical implications as it highlights the importance of identity tensions and identity work in the process of professional brand identity co-creation. Professionals who consciously engag, Tiivistelmä Tämä väitöskirja tutkii asiantuntijan brändi-identiteetin yhteisluomista urasiirtymän aikana – vaiheessa, jossa identiteettikysymykset ovat keskeisiä. Henkilöbrändiä, brändin yhteisluomista ja identiteettityötä käsittelevän monitieteisen kirjallisuuden sekä empiirisen tutkimuksen pohjalta esitetään käsitteellinen viitekehys ilmiön tarkasteluun sosiaalisen median kontekstissa. Tulokset 18 urasiirtymän sosiaalisen median avulla tehneen asiantuntijan puolistrukturoiduista haastatteluista osoittavat, että asiantuntijan brändi-identiteetti on dynaaminen prosessi, joka rakentuu vuorovaikutuksessa sidosryhmien kanssa. Haastatteluteemat on järjestetty käsitteelliseksi viitekehykseksi, joka kuvaavat kolmea pääprosessia: asiantuntijan brändi-identiteetin rakentumista, brändi-identiteettijännitteiden hallintaa identiteettityön avulla ja asiantuntijabrändiksi tulemista. Tämä väitöskirja edustaa ensimmäistä tutkimusta asiantuntijabrändi-identiteetin yhteisluomisesta sosiaalisen median kontekstissa. Tutkimus edistää brändimarkkinoinnin kirjallisuutta lisäämällä ymmärrystä henkilöbrändeistä ja brändin yhteisluomisesta neljällä tavalla: (1) kehittämällä viitekehyksen, joka käsitteellistää asiantuntijabrändi-identiteetin yhteisluontiprosessin, (2) analysoimalla asiantuntijan brändi-identiteetin rakentumista dynaamisena ja jatkuvana sosiaalisena yhteisluonnin prosessina, (3) tarkastelemalla empiirisesti yksilön brändi-identiteetin neuvotteluprosessia ja identiteetin yhteisluomiseen liittyvää identiteettityötä ja (4) lisäämällä ymmärrystä asiantuntijabrändi-identiteetin rakentumisen tuloksista yksilön näkökulmasta. Tutkimuksella on myös käytännön merkitystä, sillä se korostaa identiteettijännitteiden ja tietoisen identiteettityön merkitystä asiantuntijabrändäyksessä. Asiantuntijat, jotka tietoisesti osallistuvat identiteettityöprosesseihin, voivat hyötyä parantuneesta uramuutosketteryydestä ja lisääntyneestä yhteenkuuluvuuden tunteesta.

An increasing number of individuals in leadership roles have a serious leisure interest. We develop a theoretical model of how pursuing serious leisure impacts leaders' performance at work. We propose that a serious leisure interest, through its defining characteristics (effort in mastering a skill, perseverance through adversity, a special ethos, a strong identity, a leisure career), can both promote and harm leaders' performance at work and we examine the conditions under which this can happen. Our theory contributes to research on non-work antecedents of leader performance, to the leader identity construction literature, to theories on the work-nonwork interface and to the serious leisure literature.

In today's competitive educational landscape, schools face the challenge of attracting students who align with their organizational identity. With extensive organizational changes in the Swedish school system, expressing organizational identity has become crucial for demonstrating categorical belonging. The category of elite schools signifies high academic and social standing, which attracts motivated students. However, entering a market with established schools and identities poses challenges. Through a single case study, we investigate how ProCivitas built an elite identity in Uppsala’s secondary upper school market. We uncover seven factors contributing to building the identity–Articulating Values and Vision, Creating Unique Characteristics, Creating Sensemaking among Members, Communicating the Identity, Living the Identity, Applying a Competitive Mindset, and Gaining Legitimizing Feedback. Our findings further expand the understanding of identity building and the importance of striking a balance between being distinctive and legitimate in its local market.

A common conversation starter is to ask for someone's working title, this title is then often used as a label to define an individual. To label an individual affects how they perceive themself both at work and outside of work. Therefore work plays a big part in an individual's life and is also strongly connected to one's identity. It is in the social interactions that the identity process takes place, both the professional identity and the personal identity. The aim of this study is therefore to study how interactions and perceptions about the HR-profession affects HR-working professionals' own views of their working identity and personal identity. The method that is used to answer the study's aim and research question is a qualitative method based on six semi-structured interviews. Working HR-professionals within the public sector were interviewed. Theories used in this paper to analyze results are Mead's theory about “I and Me” as well as Berger and Luckammans theoretical concept including: socialization, internalization and typification. The findings of the study conclude that HR-professionals do not perceive that their own perception of the profession is coherent with other individuals' perception. Lastly the results show that HR-professionals personal identity is affected by their working identity but in different ways. Their personal identity is affected by both working life experience and social interactions, this is because work is present in a lot of conversations outside of work., Arbetet är många gånger en konversationsstartare och yrkestiteln blir ofta en etikett på hur en människa är. Denna etikett kan påverka hur en individ uppfattar sig själv både på arbetet och utanför arbetet. Yrket blir därav en stor del av människans liv som också kan bli starkt förknippad med en identitet. Det är i de sociala interaktionerna som identitetsskapandet sker, såväl yrkesidentiteten som den personliga identiteten. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur omgivningens interaktioner och föreställningar om HR-yrket påverkar HR-arbetarnas syn på deras yrkesidentitet och personliga identitet. Metoden som används för att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar är en kvalitativ metod baserat på sex semistrukturerade intervjuer. Yrkesverksamma HR-arbetare inom den offentliga sektorn intervjuades och den teoritillämpning som används för att analysera studiens resultat är Meads teori om “I and Me”. Samt Berger och Luckmanns begrepp: socialisering, internalisering och typifiering. Slutsatserna av studien visar att HR-arbetarna inte upplever att deras egen uppfattning om yrket överensstämmer med den föreställning som de upplever att omgivningen har. Slutligen visar studien att HR-arbetarnas personliga identitet påverkas av yrkesidentiteten men detta sker på olika vis. Deras personliga identitet påverkas av både arbetslivserfarenheter och sociala interaktioner då yrket är närvarande i många konversationer utanför arbetet.

Skilled immigrant women make up almost 50% of the migrant population worldwide. However, until the last decade, skilled migration was considered a male-driven venture, limiting scholarly examination of skilled immigrant women in workplaces. In 2021, skilled immigrant women made up 47.4% of the skilled migrant population of Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021). Yet, despite their significant representation in the population, there is a dearth of studies that focus on the identity-related difficulties faced by skilled immigrant women in Australian workplaces. Informed by the critical management studies literature on identity work, this thesis takes a broadly sociological approach to investigating the lived experiences of Sri Lankan skilled immigrant women. It focuses on how they shape and reshape their identities in their interactions with others in the context of work and non-work social structures around them. The objectives of the study are threefold. The first is to understand the identity threats and challenges faced by Sri Lankan skilled immigrant women as multiply identified individuals with intersecting identities. Second, the study examines how they respond to such identity threats and challenges. Third, it investigates the role of identity work in these immigrant women’s responses to identity threats and challenges.

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate the perception and management of stigma in the Dutch nuclear industry. To investigate this, the following research questions have been developed: How do employees of the Dutch nuclear industry perceive the stigmatization of the industry and its effects on the industry? How do employees manage the stigma in order to bridge the divide between the nuclear industry and outsiders of the industry? Theoretical Perspective: The different areas of literature as a basis for this research are stigma, dirty work, stigma management, identity and boundary work. As our analytical framework we present the SMC strategies developed by Meisenbach (2010) Methodology: The data set consists of 14 interviews with employees working in the nuclear industry. The data was analyzed following an interpretative tradition, through a qualitative method and abductive approach. Contribution: This study contributes to the existing literature on stigma by strengthening what has been researched on the influence of stigma on the identity of employees in core stigmatized organizations. Furthermore, we enhance literature on stigma management, as we are adding an extension to the SMC framework called Opening up.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis paper is to create a deeper understanding of how managers perceive their manager role and themselves in a crisis. Furthermore we would like to make a theoretical contribution to the existing literature regarding manager’s identity work and crisis management by investigating how managers perceive their identity work in a crisis. Methodology: In order to fulfill the purpose of this study, and be able to answer the research question a qualitative study has been conducted. The study includes semi-structured interviews with eight managers. This paper’s ontological standpoint is social constructionistic and is based on an abductive method. Theoretical Perspective: The literature review includes previous research regarding the manager’s role in crisis management. Firstly, we present identity work in order to understand factors that contribute to a person’s identity. Then we present previous studies about crisis management and crisis leadership to understand common expectations about the managerial role in a crisis. The literature review ends with a stress theory called Conservation of Resources Theory which relates to individuals' reaction to stressful situations. Empirical Foundation: The empirical foundation consists of our empirical findings regarding how managers perceive their managerial role in a crisis. The findings are then analyzed through the interviewed managers’ perceived external expectations on the manager role. This is followed by an analysis of the managers’ inner personal experiences. Conclusions: In connection with a crisis, the interviewed managers experience friction between an external and internal identity, which gives rise to perceived emotions such as stress and pressure. Furthermore, there are resources that managers value more highly, which seem to be important components in crisis management.

The issue of unemployment has become individualised. In recent decades, Swedish social- and labour market policies have changed towards an emphasis on activation, which places greater demands on the job seeker to actively seek work, participate in employment initiatives and improve their employability. This thesis studies how these requirements are expressed in the municipal acti­vation of young people (18-29 years of age). The purpose of the study is to highlight and problematise the activation’s creation of employable individuals and its consequences for young people’s identity work. The study is based on ethnographic field work in an activation programme. The data consists of field notes, interviews and audio recordings from the pro­gramme’s daily activities and the young people’s tripartite meetings with pub­lic employment officers, which are also attended by staff from the activation programme. Based on Goffman’s perspective on total institutions and an inter­actionist, discursive and narrative approach, the study illustrates activation from the point of view of the programme participants’ own perspectives and narratives. The analysis shows how the programme screens young people from their environment and at the same time monitors and controls them. A daily sched­ule has to be followed, which means that all the young people do the same activity at the same time. The analysis identifies the prominent discourses that set the framework for the design of the activation and the everyday activities, as well as how the young people’s situations and needs are understood. The participants are categorised as “problem young people” with faults and fail­ings. Included in the activation is a desire to change them into employable and capable individuals who can fit into the adult world. However, it is the young people who are responsible for working on themselves in accordance with the prevailing ideals. Thus, it is not primarily about reinforcing their competences in aspect

Title: Nursing - A Work of Heart: An analysis of pediatric nurses’ perceptions of their working situation. Hand-in Date: May 20th, 2022 Course: BUSN49 Degree Project in Managing People, Knowledge and Change, 15 credits Authors: Ásthildur Emma Ástvaldsdóttir & Molly Backman Supervisor: Stefan Sveningsson Keywords: pediatric nurses, professionalism, emotions, identity, identity work Research Question: How do pediatric nurses perceive and cope with their working situation? Purpose: The research study aims to create a deeper understanding of how pediatric nurses perceive their working situation and how it affects them. Furthermore, we intend to give insight to what the role as a pediatric nurse really entails, apart from the work tasks. Hence, the study aims to contribute empirically, but also theoretically to the concept of identity by investigating pediatric nurses’ personal experiences. Methodology: The ontological approach of the study is social constructionist, an interpretative epistemology, and an abductive research approach. To answer the research question and fulfill the purpose, a qualitative research study has been done with semi-structured interviews with eight pediatric nurses and assistant nurses. Theoretical Perspective: The literature review presents previous research regarding professionalism and professional work, followed by research on emotional labor, both in the context of nurses. Thereafter, the concepts of identity and identity work are introduced. Empirical Foundation: The empirical findings regarding the pediatric nurses’ experiences of their working situation is presented. This is followed by an analysis of how the nurses’ experiences can be interpreted as if the working situation is undermining the ability to maintain a coherent role. The identity work of pediatric nurses is further theorized into five new terms. Conclusion: The interviewed pediatric nurses are experiencing a paradox, where they experience multiple emotional threats to their

The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how managers experience the transition into their first manager position. Through this study, we will explore how organizational-established resources influence the transition, as well as evaluate these resources through the lens of organizational control and identity regulation. Methodology: This thesis follows a qualitative research method and is based on interpretive research traditions. The study comprises a case study of a single organization and follows an abductive research approach. The empirical data is generated through semi-structured interviews of managers in their first middle manager position, as well as observations of an internal manager training program. The study adopts a processual view, examining the idea of managerial identities as constantly emerging. Drawing from the identity literature and process theory, the study examines the process of becoming a manager and explores the connection between career transitions and engagement in identity work by focusing on the influence of organizational-established initiatives and resources. Our findings reveal that career transitions toward a manager role can be regarded as a fluid process of "becoming" which at times is characterized by an ambiguous state of in-between in which managers experience identity struggles. We identified two organizational-established resources to be influential in the process of becoming a manager; the company’s internal manager training program as well as the concept of an integrated management development practice in which managers are gradually introduced to the managerial position. Furthermore, our findings indicate that employees do not necessarily have to be seen as victims of organizational control, as certain control mechanisms can be perceived as providing a stable and protective dimension to the ambiguous state of being in-between when transitioning to a manager role.

The primary purpose of the study is to get a deeper understanding about managers inheriting the role of corporate ambassadors on LinkedIn, and how it impacts their sense of managerial identity. One aspect of this topic is the interrogation of the blurred lines between the professional and private identities of the managers. The study was conducted in line with the qualitative research technique while following an interpretative perspective and adopting an abductive research approach. We adopted a cross-case approach to get a deeper understanding of the phenomena of corporate ambassadors and conducted eight semi-structured interviews via zoom. The theoretical perspective of our study discusses literature about identity, managerial identity, identity work, corporate ambassadorship, boundary management, and control. The study focused on these major themes in the online world of social media, mainly on LinkedIn. Besides our empirical results, findings of identity intrusion of employees working as ambassadors by Andersson (2019) and identity regulation by Alvesson & Willmott (2002) provided us with a deeper understanding of the managers’ role as corporate ambassadors and the identity work resulting from it. This study contributes to the existing literature about corporate ambassadorship on LinkedIn by examining the impact of this role on managers and their identity work with regard to normative control, boundary work and identity regulation.

Organizations work continuously to form, maintain and change their identities. This identity work has this far has been assumed to be carried out only with respect to the members of an organization. In this longitudinal study of identity formation, maintenance, and change we show that the identity work of some organizations has multiple loci. The Swedish secondary school that sought to form and maintain an identity of an ‘excellent school’ directed its identity work not only at its current staff and students, but also towards its prospective as well as former students. Multiple loci of identity work, we argue, is typical for organization where the characteristics of the members are important to its identity. Ignoring the identity work directed at prospective members ignores its fundamental importance in setting the scope for any identity work that can be carried out with the members of an organization. Re- conceptualizing identity work to also include efforts directed outside the organization, furthermore, address the critique that the organizational identity literature is too narrow in its focus on the formal boundaries of organizations and it opens up for an understanding of the sometimes competitive interactions across the identity work of several organizations.

The issue of unemployment has become individualised. In recent decades, Swedish social- and labour market policies have changed towards an emphasis on activation, which places greater demands on the job seeker to actively seek work, participate in employment initiatives and improve their employability. This thesis studies how these requirements are expressed in the municipal acti­vation of young people (18-29 years of age). The purpose of the study is to highlight and problematise the activation’s creation of employable individuals and its consequences for young people’s identity work. The study is based on ethnographic field work in an activation programme. The data consists of field notes, interviews and audio recordings from the pro­gramme’s daily activities and the young people’s tripartite meetings with pub­lic employment officers, which are also attended by staff from the activation programme. Based on Goffman’s perspective on total institutions and an inter­actionist, discursive and narrative approach, the study illustrates activation from the point of view of the programme participants’ own perspectives and narratives. The analysis shows how the programme screens young people from their environment and at the same time monitors and controls them. A daily sched­ule has to be followed, which means that all the young people do the same activity at the same time. The analysis identifies the prominent discourses that set the framework for the design of the activation and the everyday activities, as well as how the young people’s situations and needs are understood. The participants are categorised as “problem young people” with faults and fail­ings. Included in the activation is a desire to change them into employable and capable individuals who can fit into the adult world. However, it is the young people who are responsible for working on themselves in accordance with the prevailing ideals. Thus, it is not primarily about reinforcing their competences in aspect

This master’s thesis explores the case of sustainable entrepreneurs in Malmö to examine how they perceive themselves and their situation compared to the social imagination of how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are connected to entrepreneurship. The case study follows a hermeneutic approach intending to generate a deeper understanding of the subjective realities of sustainable entrepreneurs in an interpretative dialogue between the preunderstanding of the phenomenon based on three theoretical aspects of identity work that are considered important in contemporary identity research (power relations, authenticity, identity economics) and the understanding of the phenomenon based on empirical text collected in interviews. The more profound comprehension of the participants’ situation simultaneously creates knowledge about the specific context, which reveals the relationship between the individual and their social environment and implications for the identity of sustainable entrepreneurs and their behaviour. As a result, the findings contribute to the overall development of identity work research and with insights into the perceived realities of sustainable entrepreneurs in the discourse about their role in the SDGs and whether they have the capabilities to be the spearheads of sustainable development as proclaimed by the United Nations. The findings of the case study build a foundation to argue that sustainable entrepreneurs have the potential to become the drivers for sustainable development due to the compatibility of societal challenges with their interpretation of entrepreneurship and their commitment to sustainable practices based on their set of self-values which is required to satisfy their need for authenticity. However, the material limitations of modern social systems impede the performance of their full potential as agents of sustainable development. As a consequence, sustainable entrepreneurs expand their set of self-values to enable the adoption of

Sweden has been celebrated in public discourse for being a major proponent of social justice and anti-racist policies, but the country’s ambiguous history with racism has been replaced by colour-evasive discourses permeating contemporary organisations today. Management and organisation studies have focused on the individual identity work of employees, without further attention to the intersecting social positionings of Black Afro-Swedish women. By the works of Black feminism, intersectionality and a phenomenology of embodiment, this study focused on how Afro-Swedish women experience and manage their embodied identities in working life. With a qualitative research methodology and an embodied research design, data was gathered from 17 unstructured interviews with Afro-Swedish women who are professionals, managers, and executives in the public, private, as well as the third sector. The participant group consisted of 2 Deaf women and 15 hearing women. Through an inductive thematic analysis process 3 main themes were generated: Reactions and Responses, Negotiation Practices and Survival Strategies. The findings also point to a sectoral segregation of race and gender, specific for the third sector, as well as diversity exploitation that renders Black women more vulnerable by naturalising unpaid diversity labour. The concluding chapter calls for a more focused analysis about Deaf racialised women’s experiences in working life and Afro-Swedish women across a broader range of professions.

Since the late 1990s, the majority of D/deaf students enter schooling in a mainstream setting. Little has been written about their experiences and how a change in school settings impacts their learning and social identity. In this study, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with nine students, and the results show that their time in a mainstream school setting has led them to construct a marginal or negative social identity, but after transitioning to a Deaf school, the social identity has shifted towards a positive one. According to students, this is due to feelings of belonging as equal members of the social group where they are given the opportunity to develop language skills that allow them to communicate without restrictions. The students also report improvement in academic achievements as a result of the sign bilingual school setting. Parents and D/deaf students need to experience the different language settings to make an informed decision.

Since the late 1990s, the majority of D/deaf students enter schooling in a mainstream setting. Little has been written about their experiences and how a change in school settings impacts their learning and social identity. In this study, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with nine students, and the results show that their time in a mainstream school setting has led them to construct a marginal or negative social identity, but after transitioning to a Deaf school, the social identity has shifted towards a positive one. According to students, this is due to feelings of belonging as equal members of the social group where they are given the opportunity to develop language skills that allow them to communicate without restrictions. The students also report improvement in academic achievements as a result of the sign bilingual school setting. Parents and D/deaf students need to experience the different language settings to make an informed decision.

Since the late 1990s, the majority of D/deaf students enter schooling in a mainstream setting. Little has been written about their experiences and how a change in school settings impacts their learning and social identity. In this study, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with nine students, and the results show that their time in a mainstream school setting has led them to construct a marginal or negative social identity, but after transitioning to a Deaf school, the social identity has shifted towards a positive one. According to students, this is due to feelings of belonging as equal members of the social group where they are given the opportunity to develop language skills that allow them to communicate without restrictions. The students also report improvement in academic achievements as a result of the sign bilingual school setting. Parents and D/deaf students need to experience the different language settings to make an informed decision.

This is a study about the identity work of managers working for sustainable enterprises. Contrary to CSR managers who are constantly managing tensions between achieving social and environmental goals while working at a company whose aim is to maximise profits, the identities of managers working for sustainable enterprises, do not indicate that they are experiencing contradictions between sustainable and commercial discourses. We show how the managers' self values and beliefs are aligned with their role and the organisational goals of the company. These managers, above all, focus on facilitating sustainability and use commercial and economic tools to reach their goals. In addition, our study shows a dominant theme of self- actualization that surrounds and influences the managers' identities. Drawn by the sustainability field, these managers seem to have found in their workplaces, a perfect platform to fulfil themselves. Finally we show how these managers become political actors directing their actions towards changing systems in society. We argue that our findings can be an example of a broader shift towards sustainable discourses in businesses, where we can also see reflexivity gaining ground as a form of managerial practice in organisations. We suggest that there can be hope found in these new organisations, and that it might be possible to strive towards social, environmental and economic goals at the same time.

This master’s thesis explores the case of sustainable entrepreneurs in Malmö to examine how they perceive themselves and their situation compared to the social imagination of how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are connected to entrepreneurship. The case study follows a hermeneutic approach intending to generate a deeper understanding of the subjective realities of sustainable entrepreneurs in an interpretative dialogue between the preunderstanding of the phenomenon based on three theoretical aspects of identity work that are considered important in contemporary identity research (power relations, authenticity, identity economics) and the understanding of the phenomenon based on empirical text collected in interviews. The more profound comprehension of the participants’ situation simultaneously creates knowledge about the specific context, which reveals the relationship between the individual and their social environment and implications for the identity of sustainable entrepreneurs and their behaviour. As a result, the findings contribute to the overall development of identity work research and with insights into the perceived realities of sustainable entrepreneurs in the discourse about their role in the SDGs and whether they have the capabilities to be the spearheads of sustainable development as proclaimed by the United Nations. The findings of the case study build a foundation to argue that sustainable entrepreneurs have the potential to become the drivers for sustainable development due to the compatibility of societal challenges with their interpretation of entrepreneurship and their commitment to sustainable practices based on their set of self-values which is required to satisfy their need for authenticity. However, the material limitations of modern social systems impede the performance of their full potential as agents of sustainable development. As a consequence, sustainable entrepreneurs expand their set of self-values to enable the adoption of

Sweden has been celebrated in public discourse for being a major proponent of social justice and anti-racist policies, but the country’s ambiguous history with racism has been replaced by colour-evasive discourses permeating contemporary organisations today. Management and organisation studies have focused on the individual identity work of employees, without further attention to the intersecting social positionings of Black Afro-Swedish women. By the works of Black feminism, intersectionality and a phenomenology of embodiment, this study focused on how Afro-Swedish women experience and manage their embodied identities in working life. With a qualitative research methodology and an embodied research design, data was gathered from 17 unstructured interviews with Afro-Swedish women who are professionals, managers, and executives in the public, private, as well as the third sector. The participant group consisted of 2 Deaf women and 15 hearing women. Through an inductive thematic analysis process 3 main themes were generated: Reactions and Responses, Negotiation Practices and Survival Strategies. The findings also point to a sectoral segregation of race and gender, specific for the third sector, as well as diversity exploitation that renders Black women more vulnerable by naturalising unpaid diversity labour. The concluding chapter calls for a more focused analysis about Deaf racialised women’s experiences in working life and Afro-Swedish women across a broader range of professions.

This is a study about the identity work of managers working for sustainable enterprises. Contrary to CSR managers who are constantly managing tensions between achieving social and environmental goals while working at a company whose aim is to maximise profits, the identities of managers working for sustainable enterprises, do not indicate that they are experiencing contradictions between sustainable and commercial discourses. We show how the managers' self values and beliefs are aligned with their role and the organisational goals of the company. These managers, above all, focus on facilitating sustainability and use commercial and economic tools to reach their goals. In addition, our study shows a dominant theme of self- actualization that surrounds and influences the managers' identities. Drawn by the sustainability field, these managers seem to have found in their workplaces, a perfect platform to fulfil themselves. Finally we show how these managers become political actors directing their actions towards changing systems in society. We argue that our findings can be an example of a broader shift towards sustainable discourses in businesses, where we can also see reflexivity gaining ground as a form of managerial practice in organisations. We suggest that there can be hope found in these new organisations, and that it might be possible to strive towards social, environmental and economic goals at the same time.

Digital games and their appropriation for live-streamed events of competitive gaming – the pillars that constitute eSports – experience tremendous growth. This theoretical study advances eSports as a digital media business and a novel context for research on organizations. For this, we systematically reviewed 100 academic articles and specialized international media publications on eSports regarding approaches and understandings of how organizing takes place. In this chapter, we propose a conceptual framework of looking at the eSports industry through identity work, team leadership, and institutional theory. This framework enables us to understand how eSports as a digital media business is organized and how it works at the individual (micro-), organizational (meso-), and industry (macro-) level. This contributes to a reflective appreciation of eSports through giving direction for future studies and by hopefully sparking a curiosity towards using up-to-date concepts from organization studies to frame novel and increasingly digital contexts of organizing in eSports.

The issue of unemployment has become individualised. In recent decades, Swedish social- and labour market policies have changed towards an emphasis on activation, which places greater demands on the job seeker to actively seek work, participate in employment initiatives and improve their employability. This thesis studies how these requirements are expressed in the municipal acti­vation of young people (18-29 years of age). The purpose of the study is to highlight and problematise the activation’s creation of employable individuals and its consequences for young people’s identity work. The study is based on ethnographic field work in an activation programme. The data consists of field notes, interviews and audio recordings from the pro­gramme’s daily activities and the young people’s tripartite meetings with pub­lic employment officers, which are also attended by staff from the activation programme. Based on Goffman’s perspective on total institutions and an inter­actionist, discursive and narrative approach, the study illustrates activation from the point of view of the programme participants’ own perspectives and narratives. The analysis shows how the programme screens young people from their environment and at the same time monitors and controls them. A daily sched­ule has to be followed, which means that all the young people do the same activity at the same time. The analysis identifies the prominent discourses that set the framework for the design of the activation and the everyday activities, as well as how the young people’s situations and needs are understood. The participants are categorised as “problem young people” with faults and fail­ings. Included in the activation is a desire to change them into employable and capable individuals who can fit into the adult world. However, it is the young people who are responsible for working on themselves in accordance with the prevailing ideals. Thus, it is not primarily about reinforcing their competences in aspect

Title: Nursing - A Work of Heart: An analysis of pediatric nurses’ perceptions of their working situation. Hand-in Date: May 20th, 2022 Course: BUSN49 Degree Project in Managing People, Knowledge and Change, 15 credits Authors: Ásthildur Emma Ástvaldsdóttir & Molly Backman Supervisor: Stefan Sveningsson Keywords: pediatric nurses, professionalism, emotions, identity, identity work Research Question: How do pediatric nurses perceive and cope with their working situation? Purpose: The research study aims to create a deeper understanding of how pediatric nurses perceive their working situation and how it affects them. Furthermore, we intend to give insight to what the role as a pediatric nurse really entails, apart from the work tasks. Hence, the study aims to contribute empirically, but also theoretically to the concept of identity by investigating pediatric nurses’ personal experiences. Methodology: The ontological approach of the study is social constructionist, an interpretative epistemology, and an abductive research approach. To answer the research question and fulfill the purpose, a qualitative research study has been done with semi-structured interviews with eight pediatric nurses and assistant nurses. Theoretical Perspective: The literature review presents previous research regarding professionalism and professional work, followed by research on emotional labor, both in the context of nurses. Thereafter, the concepts of identity and identity work are introduced. Empirical Foundation: The empirical findings regarding the pediatric nurses’ experiences of their working situation is presented. This is followed by an analysis of how the nurses’ experiences can be interpreted as if the working situation is undermining the ability to maintain a coherent role. The identity work of pediatric nurses is further theorized into five new terms. Conclusion: The interviewed pediatric nurses are experiencing a paradox, where they experience multiple emotional threats to their

The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how managers experience the transition into their first manager position. Through this study, we will explore how organizational-established resources influence the transition, as well as evaluate these resources through the lens of organizational control and identity regulation. Methodology: This thesis follows a qualitative research method and is based on interpretive research traditions. The study comprises a case study of a single organization and follows an abductive research approach. The empirical data is generated through semi-structured interviews of managers in their first middle manager position, as well as observations of an internal manager training program. The study adopts a processual view, examining the idea of managerial identities as constantly emerging. Drawing from the identity literature and process theory, the study examines the process of becoming a manager and explores the connection between career transitions and engagement in identity work by focusing on the influence of organizational-established initiatives and resources. Our findings reveal that career transitions toward a manager role can be regarded as a fluid process of "becoming" which at times is characterized by an ambiguous state of in-between in which managers experience identity struggles. We identified two organizational-established resources to be influential in the process of becoming a manager; the company’s internal manager training program as well as the concept of an integrated management development practice in which managers are gradually introduced to the managerial position. Furthermore, our findings indicate that employees do not necessarily have to be seen as victims of organizational control, as certain control mechanisms can be perceived as providing a stable and protective dimension to the ambiguous state of being in-between when transitioning to a manager role.

The primary purpose of the study is to get a deeper understanding about managers inheriting the role of corporate ambassadors on LinkedIn, and how it impacts their sense of managerial identity. One aspect of this topic is the interrogation of the blurred lines between the professional and private identities of the managers. The study was conducted in line with the qualitative research technique while following an interpretative perspective and adopting an abductive research approach. We adopted a cross-case approach to get a deeper understanding of the phenomena of corporate ambassadors and conducted eight semi-structured interviews via zoom. The theoretical perspective of our study discusses literature about identity, managerial identity, identity work, corporate ambassadorship, boundary management, and control. The study focused on these major themes in the online world of social media, mainly on LinkedIn. Besides our empirical results, findings of identity intrusion of employees working as ambassadors by Andersson (2019) and identity regulation by Alvesson & Willmott (2002) provided us with a deeper understanding of the managers’ role as corporate ambassadors and the identity work resulting from it. This study contributes to the existing literature about corporate ambassadorship on LinkedIn by examining the impact of this role on managers and their identity work with regard to normative control, boundary work and identity regulation.

Since the late 1990s, the majority of D/deaf students enter schooling in a mainstream setting. Little has been written about their experiences and how a change in school settings impacts their learning and social identity. In this study, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with nine students, and the results show that their time in a mainstream school setting has led them to construct a marginal or negative social identity, but after transitioning to a Deaf school, the social identity has shifted towards a positive one. According to students, this is due to feelings of belonging as equal members of the social group where they are given the opportunity to develop language skills that allow them to communicate without restrictions. The students also report improvement in academic achievements as a result of the sign bilingual school setting. Parents and D/deaf students need to experience the different language settings to make an informed decision.

Located at the intersection of the fields of study abroad (SA), sociolinguistics, EFL, and mobility, this doctoral project provides a sociolinguistic investigation of the mobility trajectories of study abroad among nine Palestinian postgraduate students in English HE. The purpose of this research is to understand the consequences of mobility on sojourners’ perceptions of their Englishes, identity (trans)formation with specific reference to social class construction, and social practices and networks in the new context. This study springs from the need to qualitatively document the under-researched experiences of Palestinian sojourners in the UK and privilege their voices. Hence, this research adds more diversity to the SA literature which has been criticised for over-representing certain departure zones such as the USA and Europe. Moreover, the research addresses many calls for widening the scope of investigating sojourners’ lives abroad. It attends to Coleman’s (2013) call for embracing a holistic perspective towards sojourners’ experiences, viewing them as ‘whole people with whole lives’. Also, the study responds to calls which stress the importance of sojourners’ histories and contextual antecedents (Surtees, 2016) by touching on participants’ language history, motivations, statuses, and im/mobilities back home to provide a thorough understanding of their journeys to and in the UK. To this end, data were longitudinally collected over a period of nine months through two initial focus groups and three waves of individual interviews, resulting in a total of 27 interviews. Thematic Analysis (TA) was devised to interpret the nine cases under study. TA generated commonalities as well as singularities/differences in the sample. Findings revealed that participants’ perceptions of their Englishes were affected by crossing borders and changing contexts. While sojourners perceived their linguistic repertoires as competent by virtue of their successful language histories bac

The issue of unemployment has become individualised. In recent decades, Swedish social- and labour market policies have changed towards an emphasis on activation, which places greater demands on the job seeker to actively seek work, participate in employment initiatives and improve their employability. This thesis studies how these requirements are expressed in the municipal acti­vation of young people (18-29 years of age). The purpose of the study is to highlight and problematise the activation’s creation of employable individuals and its consequences for young people’s identity work. The study is based on ethnographic field work in an activation programme. The data consists of field notes, interviews and audio recordings from the pro­gramme’s daily activities and the young people’s tripartite meetings with pub­lic employment officers, which are also attended by staff from the activation programme. Based on Goffman’s perspective on total institutions and an inter­actionist, discursive and narrative approach, the study illustrates activation from the point of view of the programme participants’ own perspectives and narratives. The analysis shows how the programme screens young people from their environment and at the same time monitors and controls them. A daily sched­ule has to be followed, which means that all the young people do the same activity at the same time. The analysis identifies the prominent discourses that set the framework for the design of the activation and the everyday activities, as well as how the young people’s situations and needs are understood. The participants are categorised as “problem young people” with faults and fail­ings. Included in the activation is a desire to change them into employable and capable individuals who can fit into the adult world. However, it is the young people who are responsible for working on themselves in accordance with the prevailing ideals. Thus, it is not primarily about reinforcing their competences in aspect

Since the late 1990s, the majority of D/deaf students enter schooling in a mainstream setting. Little has been written about their experiences and how a change in school settings impacts their learning and social identity. In this study, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with nine students, and the results show that their time in a mainstream school setting has led them to construct a marginal or negative social identity, but after transitioning to a Deaf school, the social identity has shifted towards a positive one. According to students, this is due to feelings of belonging as equal members of the social group where they are given the opportunity to develop language skills that allow them to communicate without restrictions. The students also report improvement in academic achievements as a result of the sign bilingual school setting. Parents and D/deaf students need to experience the different language settings to make an informed decision.

The issue of unemployment has become individualised. In recent decades, Swedish social- and labour market policies have changed towards an emphasis on activation, which places greater demands on the job seeker to actively seek work, participate in employment initiatives and improve their employability. This thesis studies how these requirements are expressed in the municipal acti­vation of young people (18-29 years of age). The purpose of the study is to highlight and problematise the activation’s creation of employable individuals and its consequences for young people’s identity work. The study is based on ethnographic field work in an activation programme. The data consists of field notes, interviews and audio recordings from the pro­gramme’s daily activities and the young people’s tripartite meetings with pub­lic employment officers, which are also attended by staff from the activation programme. Based on Goffman’s perspective on total institutions and an inter­actionist, discursive and narrative approach, the study illustrates activation from the point of view of the programme participants’ own perspectives and narratives. The analysis shows how the programme screens young people from their environment and at the same time monitors and controls them. A daily sched­ule has to be followed, which means that all the young people do the same activity at the same time. The analysis identifies the prominent discourses that set the framework for the design of the activation and the everyday activities, as well as how the young people’s situations and needs are understood. The participants are categorised as “problem young people” with faults and fail­ings. Included in the activation is a desire to change them into employable and capable individuals who can fit into the adult world. However, it is the young people who are responsible for working on themselves in accordance with the prevailing ideals. Thus, it is not primarily about reinforcing their competences in aspect

The issue of unemployment has become individualised. In recent decades, Swedish social- and labour market policies have changed towards an emphasis on activation, which places greater demands on the job seeker to actively seek work, participate in employment initiatives and improve their employability. This thesis studies how these requirements are expressed in the municipal acti­vation of young people (18-29 years of age). The purpose of the study is to highlight and problematise the activation’s creation of employable individuals and its consequences for young people’s identity work. The study is based on ethnographic field work in an activation programme. The data consists of field notes, interviews and audio recordings from the pro­gramme’s daily activities and the young people’s tripartite meetings with pub­lic employment officers, which are also attended by staff from the activation programme. Based on Goffman’s perspective on total institutions and an inter­actionist, discursive and narrative approach, the study illustrates activation from the point of view of the programme participants’ own perspectives and narratives. The analysis shows how the programme screens young people from their environment and at the same time monitors and controls them. A daily sched­ule has to be followed, which means that all the young people do the same activity at the same time. The analysis identifies the prominent discourses that set the framework for the design of the activation and the everyday activities, as well as how the young people’s situations and needs are understood. The participants are categorised as “problem young people” with faults and fail­ings. Included in the activation is a desire to change them into employable and capable individuals who can fit into the adult world. However, it is the young people who are responsible for working on themselves in accordance with the prevailing ideals. Thus, it is not primarily about reinforcing their competences in aspect

Studying biology entails negotiating knowledges, identities, and what paths, more or less well-trodden, to follow. Knowledges, identities, and paths within the very practices of science are fundamentally gendered and it is, therefore, critical to recognize when exploring students' learning and participation in natural sciences. Even though students' numbers in undergraduate Higher Education Biology are female-biased, it does not mean that gendered processes are absent. In this study, we focus on early undergraduate biology students' identity work at a Swedish university, analyzing 55 study motivation texts discursively. Embedded in a Figured Worlds framework, we explore how students imagined and authored themselves in(to) the Figured World of Higher Education Biology along two imagined identity trajectories, the Straight Biology Path and the Backpacking Biology Path. While the first and numerically dominant imagined trajectory entails typical stories of a scientific child striving toward a research career, the latter recognizes broad interests and biology competences to be collected in a backpack for transdisciplinary use. Students imagining the Backpacking Biology Path authored themselves in relation to and explicitly not as having a linear trajectory, which positions the Straight Biology Path as dominant and culturally recognized. Our findings reveal gendered myths about science practices present in Higher Education Biology, yet also contested through alternative imaginaries. We, thereby, show that it is crucial for Higher Biology and Science Education to be aware of how students imagine their trajectories and how they negotiate masculine norms of science to create spaces for diverse and alternative identity trajectories.

Studying biology entails negotiating knowledges, identities, and what paths, more or less well-trodden, to follow. Knowledges, identities, and paths within the very practices of science are fundamentally gendered and it is, therefore, critical to recognize when exploring students' learning and participation in natural sciences. Even though students' numbers in undergraduate Higher Education Biology are female-biased, it does not mean that gendered processes are absent. In this study, we focus on early undergraduate biology students' identity work at a Swedish university, analyzing 55 study motivation texts discursively. Embedded in a Figured Worlds framework, we explore how students imagined and authored themselves in(to) the Figured World of Higher Education Biology along two imagined identity trajectories, the Straight Biology Path and the Backpacking Biology Path. While the first and numerically dominant imagined trajectory entails typical stories of a scientific child striving toward a research career, the latter recognizes broad interests and biology competences to be collected in a backpack for transdisciplinary use. Students imagining the Backpacking Biology Path authored themselves in relation to and explicitly not as having a linear trajectory, which positions the Straight Biology Path as dominant and culturally recognized. Our findings reveal gendered myths about science practices present in Higher Education Biology, yet also contested through alternative imaginaries. We, thereby, show that it is crucial for Higher Biology and Science Education to be aware of how students imagine their trajectories and how they negotiate masculine norms of science to create spaces for diverse and alternative identity trajectories.

Employment of newly arrived migrants can be seen as one of the key aspects to managing both national labour market needs and the inclusion of individuals in both work and society. In Sweden, efforts to manage recent migration - for example, from Syria - has resulted in various labour market 'fast tracks' that aim to facilitate labour market integration. In this article, we consider how individual migrants attempt to negotiate the new national demands of professional identity to become teachers in Sweden by following a Swedish introduction course to teaching. The study builds on qualitative interviews and fieldwork following two different cohorts of students.

Employment of newly arrived migrants can be seen as one of the key aspects to managing both national labour market needs and the inclusion of individuals in both work and society. In Sweden, efforts to manage recent migration - for example, from Syria - has resulted in various labour market 'fast tracks' that aim to facilitate labour market integration. In this article, we consider how individual migrants attempt to negotiate the new national demands of professional identity to become teachers in Sweden by following a Swedish introduction course to teaching. The study builds on qualitative interviews and fieldwork following two different cohorts of students.

Since the late 1990s, the majority of D/deaf students enter schooling in a mainstream setting. Little has been written about their experiences and how a change in school settings impacts their learning and social identity. In this study, semi-structured interviews have been conducted with nine students, and the results show that their time in a mainstream school setting has led them to construct a marginal or negative social identity, but after transitioning to a Deaf school, the social identity has shifted towards a positive one. According to students, this is due to feelings of belonging as equal members of the social group where they are given the opportunity to develop language skills that allow them to communicate without restrictions. The students also report improvement in academic achievements as a result of the sign bilingual school setting. Parents and D/deaf students need to experience the different language settings to make an informed decision.