Self-control and autonomy are not guaranteed when people age and are in need of help from others, especially in institution-based housing. This occurs despite the fact that it is a generally accepted belief that care should be delivered with the greatest possible degree of independence and autonomy. This article discusses older people's experiences with and the opportunities for autonomy in institution-based housing. Through focus group interviews and observations, the daily lives of residents at two nursing homes in Sweden were studied through a comparative approach using the theoretical framework of organizational culture. Three themes emerged showing how autonomy was not a reality for the residents. The first theme revealed an ambivalent mission, indicating ambiguity as to whether the nursing home was a place to live in or a place in which to be cared for. The second theme was symbolic power, which encompassed the staff's power embedded in the organization. The third theme was the ageist approach to care, which was noted in the way staff considered the residents to be old people who were unable and unwilling to strive for autonomy. The three themes were embedded in the organizational culture and were created and recreated in the interaction between residents and staff. A key question for further research is how to change the culture to strengthen the residents' autonomy.

In Sweden and elsewhere, work strategies have gained greater significance in social policy, and now also in settlement programs for refugees. This article addresses the level of practice of the refugee settlement program in Sweden, which previously emphasized ‘support’ and ‘social responsibility’, but now emphasizes ‘activation’ and ‘individual responsibility’. Through an analysis of interviews and individual action plans, we investigate how activation is put into practice in the work activities of refugee settlement and how employment officials and refugees articulate and experience the role that activation plays in refugees’ integration processes. The conclusion drawn is that activation is a central feature, but it involves conditionalizing elements that are used as the means to emphasize ‘work’ as the route to integration and to keep the ‘less employable’ refugees activated. The activation techniques applied require refugees to demonstrate that they are taking responsibility for their integration process and for increasing their employability.

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The aim of this study was to examine how employed descendants of immigrants in Sweden perceive that interactions with public officials have benefitted their occupational aspirations and attainments. We conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews with twelve female and nine male descendants of immigrants, followed by an abductive thematic analysis. Applying a theoretical framework of social capital, we found three main influences of public officials from respondents' perspectives: 1) connectedness, 2) supporting personal goals and focusing on possibilities, and 3) mediation of knowledge and information. We discuss and analyse the symbolic resources deriving from these influences, e.g. increased motivation and self-belief, and conceptualize these resources as social capital contributing to the occupational aspirations and attainments of immigrants' descendants. KEYWORDS Descendantsof immigrants; public officials; social work; social capital; labour market CONTACT Pinar Aslan pinar.aslan@hig.se NORDIC SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH https://doi.

In this article, ideas behind current Swedish efforts to integrate refugees in 'green' industries are analysed. We ask why the employment of refugees in forestry, a sector historically and globally notorious for its abuse of migrant workers, has come to be regarded as a solution in official Swedish migration policy. A discourse analytical approach is applied, analysing what the arguments are for introducing refugees to forestry work and how the forest, as a space, is depicted and used discursively as a means for refugee integration. The sources for the analyses consist of articles appearing in the printed press from 2015 to 2017. Three main problem discourses are identified: the 'labour shortage' discourse, the 'refugees in need of work' discourse and the 'forest as a health-promoting learning environment' discourse. The hazardous aspects of forestry work or the fact that refugees might be overqualified for the jobs offered are generally left unproblematised. Ré sumé Cet article propose une analyse des idées qui motivent les efforts actuellement déployés par la Suède pour intégrer les réfugiés dans des industries « vertes ». Nous nous demandons pourquoi l'emploi de réfugiés dans le secteur forestier, un secteur historiquement et mondialement connu pour ses abus envers les travailleurs migrants, en est venu à être considéré comme une solution dans le cadre de la politique migratoire officielle de la Suède. Une approche analytique du discours permet d'analyser les arguments qui sont avancés pour prôner l'introduction de réfugiés dans le travail forestier, et de montrer comment la forêt, en tant qu'espace, a été utilisée dans ces discours comme un moyen de favoriser l'intégration des réfugiés. Les sources de l'analyse sont fournies par des articles parus dans la presse écrite entre 2015 et 2017. Trois principaux discours sur la question sont identifiés: le discours sur la « pénurie de main-d'oeuvre », le discours sur les « réfugiés en quête d'un emploi », et le discours sur « la forêt comme un environnement sain favorable à l'apprentissage ». Les risques liés au travail forestier, ou le fait que des réfugiés pourraient être