1.
Bååth, Jonas, 1985-
(författare)
Production in a State of Abundance : Valuation and Practice in the Swedish Meat Supply Chain
2018
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
This thesis is a sociological contribution to the study of abundance. It discusses the case of Swedish meat producers and how they persist in producing pork and beef despite a lack of demand and competitive disadvantages compared with foreign suppliers. In doing so, this study answers how abundance is perpetuated in the production of a foodstuff in over-supply. This monograph further adds new empirical and theoretical knowledge to the fields of food studies, economic sociology, and the social sciences studying problems of abundance.The study explores how Swedish meat producers deal with problems stemming from supplying more than demanded volumes of food. The inquiry into this topic combines pragmatism, economic sociology, and qualitative fieldwork. The empirical materials mainly consist of in-depth interviews with 41 informants and more than one month of participatory observations from the Swedish meat supply chain.The evidence supplied shows how farmers, meat processors, and retailers continue supplying an abundant foodstuff by studying the valuations used in their production practice. The conclusion is that meat is not supplied to meet the consumers’ demand for food. Instead, this foodstuff is supplied as a marketing tool to meet the producers’ demand for commerce as an aesthetic of market exchange, or sustained production in line with Swedish agrifood policy, distinguished by high animal welfare and low antibiotics use. It is further argued that abundance is perpetuated because these producers rely on valuations which distinguish certain qualities of a good, rather than sufficient quantity of supply. Without using a quantitative, commensurable measure, it is not possible to limit the supply. This study contrasts existing theories of abundance by stating that problems thereof depend on how sufficiency is valuated, not the existence of some excess. These findings further support the argument that supply chains must be granted more attention in food studies primarily preoccupied with consumers. They also suggest further investigations into the relationships between markets in supply chains, and the role of production sites in economic life, would benefit economic sociology.
2.
Creswell, Philip K., 1982-
(författare)
Chains of Trust : Networks of Persistent Resistance in Digital Activism
2021
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
Digital manifestations and their networks are seen as agile, but fragile, with the Internet facilitating fast, low-cost activism by bridging actors, distributing information, and circumventing gatekeepers. From this perspective, mediated collective action and digital activism are theorized through the understanding of the Internet as a medium which affords lowered costs and risks for activists. Such theories, however, side-step the phenomenon of hacktivism, where the costs and risks of participation may be higher. Moreover, while issues of legality and risk play an integral part in understanding the phenomenon of hacktivism, they have rarely been studied directly. As such, little evidence exists regarding the effects of increased costs and risks on participation in digital activism. Nonetheless, the research record from non-mediated collective action and activism shows that higher-risk or higher-cost activism is most often supported by tight organizational or interpersonal networks. Such ties, strong or otherwise, frequently go uninterrogated in research on digital activism. To investigate these issues, I performed a three-year ethnography in the digital (social movement) scene called Anonymous. Anonymous has been associated with, among other things, digital protest, and hacktivist actions. These protests and hacking actions have resulted in legal consequences for hundreds of participants throughout the world, some of whom are still awaiting trial or serving prison sentences. Using risks and costs as a lens to explore Anonymous’ digital activism, I aim to interrogate scholars’ understandings and conceptualizations of mediated collective action, as well as the nature of interpersonal ties and trust in uncertain, high-cost, or high-risk, mediated activism. I ask how participants characterized the costs and risks of their participation, as well as how they navigated collaborative relationships and assessed the trustworthiness of peers. My analysis shows that participants in Anonymous viewed their participation as risky and narratively tied increased risks to a series of arrests which took place in 2011 and 2012. Consequently, participants attempted to mitigate the risks of their participation through individual and collective strategies that encouraged the development of clusters of activists who participated in increasingly tight-knit, closed groups. Network closure, in turn, encouraged the formation of bonding ties and affective loyalty. While openly acknowledging the risks of such bonds, participants relied upon them and even justified continued participation through a social lens. These findings exemplify conditions—those characterized by network closure and groups where members are enmeshed in clusters of strong ties—which can be understood as strong, mediated ties. This study offers, therefore, not only a novel understanding of Anonymous, but also evidence that suggests that models of mediated collective action should account for risks and costs even in digital milieus. Furthermore, these findings suggest circumstances under which re-searchers may expect to find persistent resistance in an (almost entirely) digital milieu.
3.
Holmberg, Tora, 1967-
(författare)
Vetenskap på gränsen
2005
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
With behavioural genetic twin- and animal-studies as a point of departure, this thesis investigates how the polyphonic talk about genes creates certain conditions for how “human behaviour” can be constructed, how the politics of boundary fixing contributes to and undermines respectively, credible narratives about human behaviour and, in the extension, about what constitutes human-ness. Furthermore, sociology is used as a sounding board in order to investigate what behavioural genetic knowledge can promote in terms of sociological insights and vice versa. Empirically, the thesis concerns how scientists describe and represent their own (and others’) research in scientific articles, popular science, at conferences and in the interviews performed with myself. But it also addresses how daily news and evening papers represent the same research in Sweden today. The results reveal that the figures included – the Twin and the Human-animal – are highly versatile. The Twin can, at a superficial gaze, be central for a hegemonic narrative about heredity and environment in different proportions, but is flexible enough to allow a variety of alternative stories and a “complementary position”. The Human-animal can in a similar fashion produce distinct boundaries between humans, on the one hand, and all other animals on the other; whilst simultaneously modifying the same boundaries in terms of “the other” as constitutive of human-ness and humans as just one species among others. These figures are thus boundary transgressing objects which refuse to be (more then temporarily) locked in one position. As an effect of this, they have double functions: they can come into use both to strengthen, and to challenge, hegemonic, scientific narratives. Due to this double-ness, an interested distrustfulness can be fruitful for discussions “over the line”; discussions where goals and possibilities are not predetermined. Manifold-ness opens for alternative notions, capable of challenging ingrained opinions and established narratives.
4.
Mai, Yên T., 1991-
(författare)
Narratives of Change : Youth Participation in Vietnamese Development Programs
2023
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt) abstract
In development studies, the definition of what good "development" entails remains a contentious topic. In particular, the "participatory turn" in development practices has faced criticism due to its vague conceptualization, underlying assumptions, and often paradoxical outcomes. Concerns raised by various scholars include the instrumentalization of local beneficiaries to further the interests of the powerful, the co-optation of the process by elites, and the potential imposition of projects that lack relevance to the target community. Consequently, these studies emphasize the need for a more nuanced examination of local motivations within participatory development, and of the diverse meanings individuals associate with this process.Utilizing in-depth interviews with 31 young individuals and participant observation, this research delves into the experiences of Vietnamese youth involved in participatory development programs. The aim here is to explore and analyze how participation in development programs shapes young people’s civic engagement, visions, and aspirations towards the development process. The study features the narratives of Vietnamese post-reform youth, a generation who came of age during a period of rapid development following Vietnam’s 1986 economic reform.The findings shed light on the coexistence of exclusion and inclusion mechanisms within participatory development practices. While access to these programs tends to favor those who align with development practitioners' epistemology and class dispositions, young individuals can strategically negotiate their belonging by framing their motivations in line with neoliberal values and altruistic drives. Development programs are portrayed as a space of freedom, equality, and inclusion by those who successfully enter them. Their narratives highlight the profound impact of participatory development on transforming individuals from passivity and ignorance to self-efficacy and self-awareness. In addition, the narratives illustrate how development programs offer youth shared frames to interpret Vietnam's development challenges and future strategies, shaping their civic engagement.By examining four core dimensions related to participatory development practices—motivations, outcomes, challenges, and potential of participation—this study makes significant contributions to development studies and social movement scholarship. Theoretically, it sheds light on the intricate interplay between meaning-making, civic engagement, and civil society. Empirically, it uncovers the diverse and contextually embedded pathways through which youth can contribute to societal change within a Global South authoritarian regime. In this context, participatory development serves as a realm where assisting the state can simultaneously lay the groundwork for potential resistance against its hegemonic control.
