| 1. |
- Farstad, Britt Johanne, 1961-
(författare)
-
Glaspärlespelaren : Nya världar, etik och androcentrism i Peter Nilsons science fiction-romaner
- 2013
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis focuses on Peter Nilson’s (1937-1998) science fiction texts, and particularly on how narrative themes and structures in these texts are related to science as well as to the literary tradition of science fiction (SF). The primary texts are the novels Arken (The Ark, 1982), Äventyret (The Adventure, 1989), Rymdväktaren (The Space Guard, 1995), Nyaga (1996) as well as the short story “Kvinnan som ville ha barn med döden” (The Woman Who Wanted a Child With Death, 1987). Nilson was an established astronomer before publishing fiction, and in both novels and essays he joins “the two worlds” of the natural sciences and the humanities. My study of the reception of his work shows that his symbolic capital, his authority as a scientist, was transferred from one field of knowledge to another, thus increasing the value of his SF texts in critics’ eyes. Central to my analyses are the authorial strategies Nilson used when building bridges between natural science and the humanities, in a move evoking the Glass Bead Players in Herman Hesse’s novel The Glass Bead Game. My study shows that, unlike Hesse’s protagonists, the Glass Bead Players in Nilson’s texts accept, or even welcome, extreme consequences of scientific developments, such as the extinction of life as we know it.SF texts are traditionally categorized as either dystopic or utopic depending on the level of pessimism or optimism in their depictions of technology. I suggest instead that dystopic or utopic outcomes in modern SF novels depend on whether the texts build on an aleatoric or a teleological worldview. In aleatoric narratives, humankind is depicted as alone in the universe and thereby responsible for its own destiny. Teleological narratives feature superior, god-like forces from other worlds, which interfere with life on Earth and may elevate humans to higher levels of consciousness. The latter perspective, which is favoured in Nilson’s SF texts, entails that responsibility is removed from humankind since what happens is presented as meant to be. The tropes of the void and of creatio ex nihilo are recurrent in the examined texts, for instance through the use of myths and archetypes containing images of emptiness such as the “creation out of nothing”. Further, Nilson’s characters are often situated in a mental or physical “void” where their knowledge is of no use to them. My readings show that these voids are not empty but contain mythical and archetypal elements which activate obsolete religious ideas and gender models, such as the Logos vision: the creative power of words. This conservative tendency seems all the more surprising and problematic considering that the SF-genre is based on explorations of possible new worlds and beings.
|
|
| 2. |
- Landström, Inger, 1954-
(författare)
-
Mellan samtid och tradition : folkhögskolans identitet i kursutbudets yrkesinriktning
- 2004
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this thesis the vocational orientation of the courses offered - as an expression of the folk high school's self-identity- is analysed. The point of departure was that what the folk high school do, is a way to show what it wants to be and, therefore, reflects what it is. Focus is on how the folk high school meets with contemporary tasks and demands in different areas of society. The research objects are, the folk high school as type of school (a total of 147 schools) and a sample of ten individual schools with different ownership. The study is about what the offered courses reveal about the folk high school's reflections and conclusions as regards its future activities in relation to its history and contemporary society.The theoretical framework of the thesis is built on the sociologist Anthony Giddens 'Theory of Structuration' and the concepts of structure and agency. Reflections about the surrounding world and the contributions the schools' want to make in society is assumed to result in a more or less conscious strategy for the future, the folk high school's course politics as it is expressed in action. The identity has been interpreted in vocational roles as they appear in course contents. The word 'vocation' is used in almost the same sense as Giddens defines 'work'.Self-identity was analysed from three different kinds of texts and with one question for each. In the first perspective focus is on official investigations and political decisions, in the period 1970-2000. What role in society is imposed upon the folk high school in contemporary educational policies? In the second perspective all courses offered at all folk high schools in 1972 and 2000 are studied, in order to present a picture of the overall pattern of vocational orientation. In the third perspective the course politics of the ten selected folk high schools are investigated, from the start of the respective schools, and in relation to what each school thinks it 'is'- with different owners and in its particular geographical situation.One overriding conclusion is that the characteristics that make the identity of the folk high school seem unclear and paradoxical are the very same that constitute the self-identity of the folk high school as being complex and multifaceted. The self-identity seems paradoxical when the vocational orientation presents itself as both preserving traditions and answering to today's needs. In other words, the school 'does what it has always done' (is conservative) and at the same time 'captures new needs and tasks' (is flexible).The folk high school's role and uniqueness in what they actually do can be understood as what I have called 'contemporaneous civic functionaries'. Their profiles emerge when flexibility is based on history. I want to designate 'existential rationality' to the motivating mechanism that seems to at the same time force changes and lean on own experiences. Expressing contemporary self-identity is grounded in the individual tradition as motivationbased values, cultural and geographic conditions.
|
|
| 3. |
- Lindblom, Lars, 1971-
(författare)
-
The Employment Contract between Ethics and Economics
- 2009
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis investigates what work ought to be like. The answer it presents consists of an outline of a liberaltheory of justice in the employment contract based on theory developed in the area of political philosophy. Thethesis also examines issues of efficiency—How should measures to improve working conditions be evaluated?—and the ethical implications of the economic theory of employment contracts and the neoclassical theory of themarket. Paper I: A theoretical framework is introduced for the evaluation of workplace inspections with respect totheir effects on working conditions. The choice of a concept of efficiency is discussed, and its relation to criteriafor a good working environment is clarified. It is concluded that in order to obtain reliable information onthe effects of different inspection methods, it is necessary to perform controlled comparative studies in whichdifferent methods are used on different workplaces. Paper II: This article outlines the structure of a Rawlsian theory of justice in the employment relationship.The theory answers three questions about justice and the workplace. What is the relationship between socialjustice and justice at work? How should we conceive of the problem of justice within the economic sphere?And, what is justice in the workplace? Reasons for a specific construction of a local original position are givenand arguments are presented in support of a principle of local justice in the form of a choice egalitarian localdifference principle. Paper III: The political philosophy of John Rawls is applied to the moral dilemma of whistleblowing, andit is shown that that the requirement of loyalty, in the sense that is needed to create this dilemma, is inconsistentwith that theory. In a discussion and rejection of Richard De George’s criteria on permissible whistleblowing,it is pointed out that the mere rejection of loyalty will not lead to an extreme position; harms can still be takeninto account. Paper IV: The case is made that if contemporary economics of the employment contract is correct, thenin order to explain the existence of employment contracts, we must make the assumption that the contractingparties are attempting to deal with decisiontheoreticignorance. It follows that the course of action that theemployer chooses to take when acting from authority cannot be justified by consent, since the informednesscriterion of consent cannot be satisfied under ignorance. It is then suggested that in order to achieve justificationof acts of authority, there must be in place a real possibility to contest employers’ decisions. Paper V: According to Ronald Dworkin’s theory of equality of resources, mimicking the ideal market fromequal starting points is fair. According to Dworkin, the ideal market should be understood as described in GérardDebreu’s influential work, which implies that we should conceive of trade as taking place under certainty. Thereare no choices under risk in such a market. Therefore, there is no such thing as option luck in the ideal market.Consequently, when mimicking this market, we cannot hold people responsible for option luck. Mimicking thismarket also implies that we ought to set up a social safety net, since rational individuals with perfect foresightwould see to it that they always have sufficient resources at each point in life. Furthermore, the idea of insuranceis incompatible with the ideal market.
|
|
| 4. |
- Beckman, Emma, 1983-
(författare)
-
Mistaken morality? : an essay on moral error theory
- 2018
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation explores arguments and questions related to moral error theory – the idea that morality inevitably involves a fundamental and serious error such that moral judgments and statements never come out true. It is suggested that the truth of error theory remains a non-negligible possibility, and that we for this reason should take a version of moral fictionalism seriously.I begin by defining error theory as the claim that moral judgments are beliefs with moral propositions as content, moral utterances are assertions of moral propositions, and no positive moral proposition is true. Second, after giving an account of J.L. Mackie’s error theory, I argue that neither Richard Joyce’s nor Jonas Olson’s argument for error theory gives us strong reasons to believe it. According to Joyce, moral discourse presupposes non-institutional desire-transcendent reasons and non-institutional categorical requirements. I challenge this claim by arguing that morality can be understood as an institution, and that the assumption that there are non-institutional moral reasons and requirements can be understood as entering pragmatically into moral conversations. According to Olson, moral discourse involves a commitment to irreducibly normative favoring relations between facts and actions. I challenge this claim by challenging Olson’s response to Stephen Finlay’s argument against absolutist accounts of moral discourse.Third, I discuss two objections to error theory, and argue that neither gives us strong reasons to reject it. According to the first objection, which is suggested by Terence Cuneo, error theory entails epistemic error theory, which has problematic consequences. After indicating some possible responses on part of the epistemic error theorist, I challenge the entailment claim by defending Hilary Kornblith’s account of epistemic reasons as hypothetical reasons. According to the second objection, error theory entails normative error theory, which cannot be believed. Although he does not defend this objection, Bart Streumer has given an argument for the unbelievability claim. I challenge Streumer’s argument by suggesting that we might have hypothetical reasons to believe normative error theory and that, properly understood, Streumer’s conclusion is not as radical as it may first appear.Fourth, I discuss what practical implications the discovery that error theory is true would have for first-order moral thinking and discourse. I argue that if this practice is overall non-morally valuable to us, we ought to revise engagement in it on the model of role-playing in live action role-playing games if we find out that error theory is true. Some have claimed that Richard Joyce’s fictionalism encounters (prima facie) problems. I argue that by incorporating the suggestion that engagement in revised moral practice is modeled on role-playing, fictionalism can escape these problems and preserve the benefits of first-order moral practice.
|
|
| 5. |
- Bohman, Anna, 1975-
(författare)
-
Framing the water and sanitation challenge : A history of urban water supply and sanitation in Ghana 1909 - 2005
- 2010
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis analyses the development of urban water supply and sanitation services in Ghana from 1909 to 2005. Special focus is put on institutional arrangements with regard to networked, large scale and centrally managed water and sewerage services. The national and international historical context is highlighted as a way to understand policy redirections in the sector. Further on, the concept of frames is used as an analytical tool in order to put light on the assumptions, arguments and reasons behind institutional reforms. The thesis finds that it was not until the water and sanitation challenge was framed from a productivity perspective, as opposed to a pure humanitarian “health frame”, that funds were released for investments in WSS infrastructure. To begin with, development strategies were largely focussed on “filling the gaps” in terms of manpower, technical and financial resources. As the water challenge was increasingly framed as a matter of managing scarcity, a new thinking gradually emerged which emphasized entrepreneurship, business mindedness and management skills as a way to achieve more efficiency within the sector. This development was also paralleled by a shift in the favoured organisational structure from an extremely centralised state utility model to a gradual focus on decentralisation and unbundling of the sector. Here a strong focus was put on private sector participation in urban water supply whereas the non-commercially viable task of sewerage development was decentralised to local authorities. The study finds that formal institutional change in the sector has been largely donor driven. However, the privatisation element of the recent urban water sector reform did not go unquestioned and a strong opposition movement concerned with the possible negative effects of privatisation was formed. Eventually the initial lease arrangement was transformed into a management contract where its signing was brought to closure in 2005. Besides changing frames strong elements of continuity in the urban water supply and sanitation sector development in Ghana are identified. Historical evidence demonstrate that urban water delivery was a highly political issue in Ghana already during colonial times which, just as today, was closely connected to the framing of water as independence and national integrity. The issue of finance and pricing has remained a constant concern and so the debate cannot be categorized as a novel issue that solely emanates from neo-liberal political trends during the 1980’s and 1990’s. The thesis argues that a legacy of a colonial frame tends to continue normalising inequalities in access and consumption. Continuity can also be found in a neglect of the issue of sanitation which persistently lags behind the development of water distribution. The dissertation concludes that the perceived space for policy alternatives in Ghanaian WSS sector development has been largely constrained by the historical context and contemporary development theories. Therefore, to constantly strive towards a frame reflective policy dialogue is strongly encouraged as a way for policy planners and decision makers to make well informed decisions for the future.
|
|
| 6. |
- Borg, Kajsa
(författare)
-
Slöjdämnet : intryck, uttryck, avtryck
- 2001
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this study was to illuminate and question the school subject Sloyd from the perspective of the former pupils, now adult persons The empirical investigations cover interviews with subject teachers and adult, focusing their memories of the Sloyd subject in the compulsory school. The analysis shows that the impression of the qualities of the subject is connected to the pupil's personal and bodily experience of the work process in textile, wood or metal material. The creative work generates feelings of pleasure and fulfilment, which seems to correspond to basic needs, ahich most people recognize. The Sloyd subject can be characterized by four aspects: the manual, the aestethic, the communicative and the theoretical.
|
|
| 7. |
- Gustafsson, Per E, 1981-
(författare)
-
Psychosocial Stress, Mental Health and Salivary Cortisol in Children and Adolescents
- 2008
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Stressful experiences and conditions in childhood influence the health and well-being of the growing individual, and can also confer a long-lasting impact into adult life. Delineating the social, mental and biological aspects of stress in children and adolescents is therefore of great concern for human beings. Despite these notions, much knowledge is lacking regarding stress in childhood.This thesis aimed at examining diverse aspects of stress in children and adolescents: associations between social conditions, traumatic life events, mental health, and salivary cortisol as a measure of the activity of a major physiological stress system. Cross-sectional samples included two non-clinical samples of school-aged children (N=240-336) and adolescents (N =400), and two clinical samples of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) (N =23) and adolescents who had experienced childhood abuse (N =15). Main measures were salivary cortisol sampled three times a day, and questionnaires to teachers, parents and children with questions about each child’s mental health, traumatic life events and about the socioeconomic situation of the parents.The main findings include observation of 1) higher cortisol levels in children with a moderate level of psychosocial burden (low socioeconomic status, immigrant family, social impairment of mental health problems), 2) higher cortisol levels in children with OCD who also displayed a tendency to decreasing cortisol in the face of an acute stressor, and 3) cortisol was positively related to mental health problems in abused adolescents. Furthermore, the deleterious effect of 4) traumatic events involving a social dimension, interpersonal traumas, and 5) cumulative traumatic events, polytraumatization, on the mental health of children and adolescents was indicated.The findings are discussed with respect to the complex interactions between social, mental and biological aspects of children and adolescents. The consequences of adverse experiences in childhood may represent pathways to future health problems. Consideration of the social circumstances in childhood might in the future guide public health policies and the identification of target groups for preventive interventions as well as leading to improvements in treatment for children exposed to severe stress.
|
|
| 8. |
- Hansen, Peo, 1966-
(författare)
-
Europeans only? : essays on identity politics and the European Union
- 2000
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The chief preoccupation of the dissertation revolves around the European Union's project of calling forth a collective sense of "European identity" amongst people in the Union. It focuses specifically on how the European Union's identity politics plays out once the ethnic minorities with immigrant background now living in the Union are brought into view. The main purpose can be described as twofold; involving, firstly, a mapping and examination of how the EU construes and defines the identity it seeks to mobilize, and, secondly, a thorough discussion of the types of consequences or implications that stem from this endeavour.In demonstrating the strong tendency on part of the EU to articulate a common identity for the Union in ethno-cultural terms — whereby the EU is conceived as primarily a cultural community whose members are said to share the same origin, cultural heritage, religion and history — the study goes to great length in discussing the excluding implications that an ethno-cultural identity politics gives rise to. The dissertation argues that such an ethno-cultural disposition partly must be seen in light of the European Union's gradual adjustment to a largely neoliberal order; an order which has worked restraining on the feasibility of a social and political articulation of identity and citizenship in the Union.An introductory chapter outlines the discourse theoretical approach which guides the analyses in five essays. The essays mainly explore how the European Union's discourse on identity manifests in various policy areas - immigration, citizenship and education - all of which in one way or another address the issues of culture, the multicultural society, ethnic exclusion, racism and the situation for ethnic minorities and migrants. The complex of problems concerning ethnic, cultural and social exclusion in today's European Union thus constitutes a central theme engaged with throughout the dissertation.
|
|
| 9. |
- Jarlbrink, Johan, 1978-
(författare)
-
Det våras för journalisten : Symboler och handlingsmönster för den svenska pressens medarbetare från 1870-tal till 1930-tal
- 2009
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Syftet med denna avhandling är att analysera hur den svenska pressens medarbetare representerades i olika medier från 187o-talet till 193o-talet, hur och varför representationerna förändrades, och hur tidningsrnedarbetare förhöll sig till dem. Representationerna av tidningsrnedarbetare i romaner, noveller, film, presshistoriska arbeten, debatter och karikatyrer formade bilden av yrket i offentligheten. De som var verksamma i pressen försökte kontrollera, förändra och använda dessa representationer för att framställa sig själva som legitima och ttovärdiga. Denna sttävan efter kontroll analyseras med hjälp av Erving Goffmans teori om roller. Med begrepp från Pierre Bourdieu undersöks även hur denna sttävan var en del av olika tidningsrnedarbetares försök att etablera ett journalistiskt fält med regler och kapital som stärkte de egna intressena. Avhandlingens huvudargument är att kampen om kontroll och förändring av representationerna å den ena sidan, och strävan att agera i enlighet med allmänna förväntningar på rollen å den andra, var av stor betydelse för journalisttollens och journalistikens formering och etablering. Perspektivet är kulturhistoriskt snarare än professionssociologiskt. Tidningar, romaner och filmer var arenor där journalistikens regler förhandlades och etablerades. Det som värderades i 1800-talets tidningsvärld var politiska, polemiska och litterära texter, där publicisten gavs utrymme att uttrycka sin personliga ståndpunkt. Underordnade tidningsrnedarbetare hade emellertid inte samma möjligheter att uttrycka och profilera sig. Detta förändrades successivt i 1900-talets början. Tidningarna i massupplaga försökte nu locka läsare med sensationella nyheter, stora rubriker och bilder på förstasidan. Journalisternas uppgift blev att leverera de nyheter som tidningsköparna ville läsa om. Denna marknadslogik blev samtidigt en del av det journalistiska fältets regler. Att hitta och rapportera stora nyheter var ett sätt att utmärka sig och bli erkänd som en riktig journalist som behärskade rollen.
|
|
| 10. |
|
|
