| 1. |
- Bornäs, Hanna, 1983-
(författare)
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Subjects of Violence : On Gender and Recognition in Young Men’s Violence Against Women
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The dissertation concerns young men’s violence against women partners. It is based on in-depth qualitative interviews with nine men who have been violent against women partners in their youth, and an additional interview with the mother of one of the young men. The method is informed by Hollway and Jefferson’s psychosocial methodology and Hydén’s teller-focused interview approach. The interviewees’ stories of violence are analysed combining psychoanalytic theories of intersubjectivity with an attention to discourses. The aim of the dissertation is to explore men’s experiences of being violent against women partners in youth and to investigate the gendered intersubjective dynamics of young men’s violence against women partners. Jessica Benjamin’s theories on gender and recognition are central to the analyses, and other feminist, psychoanalytic and psychosocial theories are used in the dissertation’s analysis of the men’s stories of violence. The study highlights the role of early relationships, gendered identifications, recognition, and discourses of masculinity and sexuality in using and desisting from violence. Men’s identifications and disidentifications with violent father figures are particularly significant, as are relationships with male peers in youth and the men’s (denied) vulnerabilities. The temporality and liminality of youth are also explored, as the first romantic relationship poses particular challenges to young men who have been exposed to violence and abuse from a young age, or who lack parental support. The time of youth figures as a porous boundary of old and new dependencies, hierarchies and relationship patterns. It is shown how the men’s definitions of violence are also shifting, and the particular nexus of love and aggression within relationships is thus highlighted. Violent situations are demonstrated to denote a breakdown in mutual recognition, which, using Benjamin’s notions, takes the form of oneness – denying difference and alterity – or twoness – over-emphasizing difference and complementarity. In line with Donald Winnicott, these processes of non-recognition involve failed destruction and survival – the inability on the part of the men to tolerate their partners’ acts of negation without retaliating. Desisting from violence consequently involves striving towards an ideal of thirdness or reciprocal recognition.Another central finding is the prevailing experiences of exerting sexual coercion in youth. In situations of pressurized sex, the men fail to recognize the sexual subjectivity of the woman other. The change in the interviewee’s experiences troubles a linear temporality, and by using the psychoanalytic notion of afterwardsness – it is shown how the men become retroactive perpetrators, which reorganizes their embodied and affective memories and subjectivities. By stressing the nonlinear qualities of temporality and memories, this dissertation destabilizes the idea of childhood and youth, pointing to the unfinished and (re-)constructed nature of these life phases, while simultaneously arguing for their vital importance and ‘real’ influence in the lives of subjects. This is thus a contribution to youth studies as well as an argument for broadening the conception of the youth subject.
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| 2. |
- Adams Lyngbäck, Liz, 1966-
(författare)
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Experiences, networks and uncertainty : parenting a child who uses a cochlear implant
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this dissertation project is to describe the ways people experience parenting a deaf child who uses a cochlear implant. Within a framework of social science studies of disability this is done by combining approaches using ethnographic and netnographic methods of participant observation with an interview study. Interpretations are based on the first-person perspective of 19 parents against the background of their related networks of social encounters of everyday life. The netnographic study is presented in composite conversations building on exchanges in 10 social media groups, which investigates the parents’ meaning-making in interaction with other parents with similar living conditions. Ideas about language, technology, deafness, disability, and activism are explored. Lived parenting refers to the analysis of accounts of orientation and what 'gets done' in respect to these ideas in situations where people utilize the senses differently. In the results, dilemmas surrounding language, communication and cochlear implantation are identified and explored. The dilemmas extend from if and when to implant, to decisions about communication modes, intervention approaches, and schools. An important finding concerns the parents’ orientations within the dilemmas, where most parents come up against antagonistic conflicts. There are also examples found of a development process in parenting based on lived, in-depth experiences of disability and uncertainty which enables parents to transcend the conflictive atmosphere. This process is analyzed in terms of a social literacy of dis/ability.
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| 3. |
- Gylestam, Daniel, 1979-
(författare)
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Isocyanates - methodology for gas and particle generation, sampling and detection
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Isocyanates are mainly used in the industry for the production of polyurethane (PUR) plastics. Workers are at risk of being exposed during the manufacturing of PUR. During thermal degradation of PUR, isocyanates are released and workers involved in hot work such as fire-fighting, welding etc. may also be exposed.Isocyanates are known to cause allergic diseases and are the most common cause of occupational asthma. Some of the isocyanates used are suspected human carcinogens. Exposure among workers occurs frequently.Isocyanates are reactive unstable compounds that need to be converted to stabile derivatives immediately during sampling to avoid underestimation of the exposure. Di-n-ButylAmine (DBA) was used as derivatising reagent to form stable urea derivatives. The DBA derivatives were analysed using LC-MS/MS.In this thesis a novel technology for the direct monitoring of isocyanates using a Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) is presented. Advancement of technology for the generation of isocyanates in an environmental chamber, dry sampling, particle-size fractionated sampling and the testing of respirator filter cartridges are described.The dry sampler was demonstrated to be robust and enabled sampling up to 32 h. Precise sampling without the need of field extraction was made possible.The particle-size fractionated sampling efficiently separated gas-phase and respirable particle-borne isocyanates (< 4µm in diameter).Two personal protective respirator filter cartridges were studied. No trend of impaired performance for mono-isocyanates throughout 48-h exposure tests was found.The distribution patterns, in a steady-state tube-furnace oven, between gas phase and different particle-phase fractions of isocyanates produced in fires were investigated. The substantial degradation of a PVC-carpet containing PUR and a wood board with a MDI based binder resulted mainly in the formation of high levels of monoisocyanates.
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| 4. |
- Karlsson, Markus, 1990-
(författare)
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Non-Invasive Characterization of Liver Disease : By Multimodal Quantitative Magnetic Resonance
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- There is a large and unmet need for diagnostic tool that can be used to characterize chronic liver diseases (CLD). In the earlier stages of CLD, much of the diagnostics involves performing biopsies, which are evaluated by a histopathologist for the presence of e.g. fat, iron, inflammation, and fibrosis. Performing biopsies, however, have two downsides: i) biopsies are invasive and carries a small but non-negligible risk for serious complications, ii) biopsies only represents a tiny portion of the liver and are thus prone to sampling error. Moreover, in the later stages of CLD, when the disease has progressed far enough, the ability of the liver to perform its basic function will be compromised. In this stage, there is a need for better methods for accurately measuring liver function. Additionally, measures of liver function can also be used when developing new drugs, as biomarkers for drug-induced liver injury (DILI), which is a serious drug-safety issue.Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive medical imaging modality, which have shown much promise with regards to characterizing liver disease in all of the abovementioned aspects. The aim of this PhD project was to develop and validate MR-based methods that can be used to non-invasively characterize liver disease.Paper I investigated if R2* mapping, a MR-method for measuring liver iron content, can be confounded by liver fat. The results show fat does affect R2*. The conclusion was therefore that fat must be taken into account when measuring small amounts of liver iron, as a small increase in R2* could be due to either small amounts of iron or large amounts of fat.Paper II examined whether T1 mapping, which is another MR-method, can be used for staging liver fibrosis. The results of previous research have been mixed; some studies have been very promising, whereas other studies have been less promising. Unfortunately, the results in Paper II belongs to the less promising studies.Paper III focused on measuring liver function by dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCEMRI) using a liver specific contrast agent, which is taken up the hepatocytes and excreted to the bile. The purpose of the paper was to extend and validate a method for estimating uptake and efflux rates of the contrast agent. The method had previously only been applied in health volunteers. Paper II showed that the method can be applied to CLD patients and that the uptake of the contrast agent is lower in patients with advanced fibrosis.Paper IV also used studied liver function with DCE-MRI in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). PSC is a CLD where the bile ducts are attacked by the immune system. When diagnosing PSC patients, it is common to use magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), which is a method for imaging the bile ducts. Paper IV examined if there was any correlation between number and severity of the morphological changes, seen on MRCP, and measures of liver function derived using DCE-MRI. However, the results showed no such correlation. The conclusion was that the results indicates that MRCP should not be used to predict parenchymal function.Paper V developed a method for translating DCE-MRI liver function parameters from rats to humans. This translation could be of value when developing new drugs, as a tool for predicting which drugs might cause drug-induced liver injury.In summary, this thesis has shown that multimodal quantitative MR has a bright future for characterizing liver disease from a range of different aspects.
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| 5. |
- Karlsson, Oskar, 1980-
(författare)
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Distribution and Long-term Effects of the Environmental Neurotoxin β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) : Brain changes and behavioral impairments following developmental exposure
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Many cyanobacteria are reported to produce the nonprotein amino acid β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA). Cyanobacteria are extensively distributed in terrestrial and aquatic environments and recently BMAA was detected in temperate aquatic ecosystems, e.g. the Baltic Sea. Little is known about developmental effects of the mixed glutamate receptor agonist BMAA. Brain development requires an optimal level of glutamate receptor activity as the glutamatergic system modulates many vital neurodevelopmental processes. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the developmental neurotoxicity of BMAA, and its interaction with the pigment melanin. Autoradiography was utilized to determine the tissue distribution of 3H-labelled BMAA in experimental animals. Behavioral studies and histological techniques were used to study short and long-term changes in the brain following neonatal exposure to BMAA. Long-term changes in protein expression in the brain was also investigated using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) imaging mass spectrometry (IMS). A notable targeting of 3H-BMAA to discrete brain regions e.g. hippocampus and striatum in mouse fetuses and neonates was determined by autoradiography. BMAA treatment of neonatal rats on postnatal days 9–10 induced acute but transient ataxia and hyperactivity. Postnatal exposure to BMAA also gave rise to reduced spatial learning and memory abilities in adulthood. Neonatal rat pups treated with BMAA at 600 mg/kg showed early neuronal cell death in the hippocampus, retrosplenial and cingulate cortices. In adulthood the CA1 region of the hippocampus displayed neuronal loss and astrogliosis. Lower doses of BMAA (50 and 200 mg/kg) caused impairments in learning and memory function without any acute or long-term morphological changes in the brain. The MALDI IMS studies, however, revealed changes in protein expression in the hippocampus and striatum suggesting more subtle effects on neurodevelopmental processes. The studies also showed that BMAA was bound and incorporated in melanin and neuromelanin, suggesting that pigmented tissues such as in the substantia nigra and eye may be sequestering BMAA. In conclusion, the findings in this thesis show that BMAA is a developmental neurotoxin in rodents. The risks posed by BMAA as a potential human neurotoxin merits further consideration, particularly if the proposed biomagnifications in the food chain are confirmed.
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| 6. |
- Knutes, Helen, 1961-
(författare)
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Gestaltandets pedagogik : Om att skapa konsthantverk
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Why, and what does it involve for an individual to perform Arts and Crafts, are the questions studied in this thesis. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the pedagogical conditions of Arts and Crafts objects, through studying the processes that take place where people give form to personal expressions and to understand the meanings these processes have for them. Phenomenological theory, especially the theory of the lived body, which presents the body as a unity not separated into body and thought, with object and subject in an inter-relationship, is used as a theoretical standpoint throughout the thesis. A phenomenological and a semiotic approach have been used to analyse and describe the empirical data. This thesis consists of three different studies, the examination of a place where Arts and Crafts are performed, the study of people's experiences of creating Arts and Crafts objects, and finally how people relate to their chosen Art and Craft materials. This contributes to an understanding of the pedagogical conditions and processes present in their relationship to work materials. The analysis illustrates that an opportunity for a new level of understanding is reached when particular pedagogical processes are carried out whilst working with various forms of Arts and Crafts materials. These processes understood as pedagogical conditions consist of: time and pace, physical and mental environment, materialization, the object and experience. Another finding is that there are different ways of relating to the Arts and Crafts materials, a bodily relation or a cognitive relation. These ways of relating exist in one person, but one of these relating attitudes is often more salient than the other. Making Arts and Crafts is in this thesis seen as an activity of both bodily and cognitive meaning making.
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| 7. |
- Riddar, Jakob B., 1981-
(författare)
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Isocyanates, Amines and Alkanolamines : Sampling, Chromatography and Detection
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Isocyanates, aromatic-, aliphatic- and alkanolamines are commonly used in the industry today. Millions of workers in Europe are exposed. The most frequent health symptoms are respiratory and dermal disorder. Due to the health risk most of the compounds in this thesis are regulated by authorities and have occupational exposure limits (OELs). Consequently, reliable and robust air sampling methods are urgently needed.In this thesis dry samplers for isocyanates, aliphatic- and alkanolamines have been developed and evaluated. The isocyanate sampler is now a commercial product (ASSET EZ4-NCP Dry Sampler, Supelco). The samplers were based on a denuder with a filter in series. The denuder and filter were impregnated with di-n-butylamine for the isocyanate sampler and with sulphuric acid for the aliphatic- and alkanolamine sampler.The robustness of the dry samplers was extensively evaluated. This was performed in a climate chamber containing a controlled atmosphere of the studied compounds.New methods based on hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MSMS) were developed for determination of aromatic-, aliphatic- and alkanolamines in aqueous solutions. Isocyanates were determined by reversed-phase liquid chromatography MSMS.HILIC in combination with MS is a most powerful system, and highly sensitive determinations, several orders of magnitude below the OELs, of polar compounds present in the work environment can be accomplished.The selected samplers enable sampling during short sampling times and for whole work shifts. The samplers can be stored for months before and after sampling. The performance of the samplers was unaffected by variation in temperature, humidity, flow-rate and pre- and post-sampling of ambient air.Sampling for the compounds studied is now greatly simplified, and assessment of the work environment is facilitated.
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| 8. |
- Xu, Tianhua, 1984-
(författare)
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Digital Dispersion Equalization and Carrier Phase Estimation in 112-Gbit/s Coherent Optical Fiber Transmission System
- 2011
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Coherent detection employing multilevel modulation format has become one of the most promising technologies for next generation high speed transmission system due to the high power and spectral efficiencies. With the powerful digital signal processing (DSP), coherent optical receivers allow the significant equalization of chromatic dispersion (CD), polarization mode dispersion (PMD), phase noise (PN) and nonlinear effects in the electrical domain. Recently, the realizations of these DSP algorithms for mitigating the channel distortions in the transmission system are the most attractive investigations. The CD equalization can be performed by the digital filters developed in the time and the frequency domain, which can suppress the fiber dispersion effectively. The PMD compensation is usually performed in the time domain with the adaptive least mean square (LMS) and constant modulus algorithms (CMA) equalization. Feed-forward and feed-back carrier phase estimation algorithms are employed to mitigate the phase noise from the transmitter and local oscillator lasers. The fiber nonlinearities are compensated by using the digital backward propagation methods based on solving the nolinear Schrodinger (NLS) equation and the Manakov equation. In this dissertation, we present a comparative analysis of three digital filters for chromatic dispersion compensation, an analytical evaluation of carrier phase estimation with digital equalization enhanced phase noise and a brief discussion for PMD adaptive equalization. To implement these investigations, a 112-Gbit/s non-return-to-zero polarization division multiplexed quadrature phase shift keying (NRZ-PDM-QPSK) coherent transmission system is realized in the VPI simulation platform. With the coherent transmission system, these CD equalizers have been compared by evaluating their applicability for different fiber lengths, their usability for dispersion perturbations and their computational complexity. Meanwhile, the bit-error-rate (BER) floor in carrier phase estimation using a one-tap normalized LMS filter is evaluated analytically, and the numerical results are compared to a differential QPSK detection system.
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| 9. |
- Bragée, Britt W., 1945-
(författare)
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Kroppens mening : Studier i psykosomatiska lösningar
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Stress-related diagnoses such as ‘burnout’ are a growing and alarming social trend, which affect more and more young people, especially women. These diagnoses are expressions of ‘psychosomatic conditions’ in our contemporary society. The focus in this thesis has been to study meaning constitution when it does not lead to solutions to pressing problems but rather results in a psychosomatic breakdown. A phenomenological analysis was carried out that among other things shows that the road to the breakdown starts early in life, having to do with industrious but not successful attempts to win recognition for the persons’ individuality. In the second study, physiological measures occurring concomitantly with the informants’ narratives showed that autonomous activity could be distinguished in patterns divided in two groups. One group pattern was linked to helplessness, high arousal and marked stress level and the second group pattern was characterized by hopelessness and a very low level of autonomous activity.The conclusion of the thesis is that due to an inability to transform structures of thinking, feeling and behaving in a taxing situation, the psychosomatic breakdown can be understood as bodily attempts at meaning constitution, through bodily symptom and other forms of understanding. This, however, cannot help the person constitute meaning needed in order to solve the problematic situation. The reasons for this body/mind split are discussed.
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| 10. |
- Chatzidrossos, Ilias, 1981-
(författare)
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P2P Live Video Streaming
- 2010
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The ever increasing demand for video content directed the focus of researchfrom traditional server-based schemes to peer-to-peer systems for videodelivery. In such systems, video data is delivered to the users by utilizing theresources of the users themselves, leading to a potentially scalable solution.Users connect to each other, forming a p2p overlay network on top of theInternet and exchange the video segments among themselves. The performanceof a p2p system is characterized by its capability to deliver the videocontent to all peers without errors and with the smallest possible delay. Thisconstitutes a challenge since peers dynamically join and leave the overlay andalso contribute different amounts of resources to the system.The contribution of this thesis lies in two areas. The first area is theperformance evaluation of the most prominent p2p streaming architectures.We study the streaming quality in multiple-tree-based systems. We derivemodels to evaluate the stability of a multiple tree overlay in dynamic scenariosand the efficiency of the data distribution over the multiple trees. Then, westudy the data propagation in mesh-based overlays. We develop a generalframework for the evaluation of forwarding algorithms in such overlays anduse this framework to evaluate the performance of four different algorithms.The second area of the thesis is a study of streaming in heterogeneous p2poverlays. The streaming quality depends on the aggregate resources that peerscontribute to the system: low average contribution leads to low streamingquality. Therefore, maintaining high streaming quality requires mechanismsthat either prohibit non-contributing peers or encourage contribution. In thisthesis we investigate both approaches. For the former, we derive a model tocapture the evolution of available capacity in an overlay and propose simpleadmission control mechanisms to avoid capacity drainage. For the latter, inour last work, we propose a novel incentive mechanism that maximizes thestreaming quality in an overlay by encouraging highly contributing peers tooffer more of their resources.
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