| 1. |
- Gustafsson, Karin M, 1983-
(författare)
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The importance of trust. : a study of knowledge production of biodiversity.
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The loss of biological diversity is one of today’s greatest environmental problems. Scientific knowledge is typically presented as the premise to solve this problem. However, science alone is not sufficient to produce knowledge of biodiversity. Other actors are also involved in knowledge production. The aim of this thesis is to analyse how different actors create knowledge of the environmental problem of biodiversity loss and to further investigate the importance of trust in the relationships between these knowledge producers.This thesis uses a discourse analytical perspective and conducts interviews and document studies to explore how actors use different narratives to legitimate their knowledge production. Through four papers addressing different aspects of knowledge production, this thesis discusses conditions for knowledge production, particularly the importance of trust.The results show that actors other than scientific experts also have the ability to act in knowledgeable ways and to be involved in knowledge production of biodiversity. Knowledge is produced by making use of many different dimensions and aspects, such as global, regional, local, and science, politics, and everyday life. The result also shows how trust, distrust, and as-if trust are key activities in knowledge production of environmental problems, such as the loss of biodiversity.This thesis argues that the actors involved need to realise and acknowledge that knowledge production is a mutual process in which actors must engage in trust and distrust activities. In so doing, it will be possible to understand the complexity of the loss of biodiversity and thus to better manage this problem.
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| 2. |
- Sandström, Lina, 1981-
(författare)
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Seeking Asylum - Finding a Home? A qualitative study on asylum seekers' integration in two different housing contexts
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of this thesis is to contribute to our sociological understanding of integration by exploring how asylum seekers in Sweden make sense of their own position in relation to the society they are living in. Integration is conceptualised as a mutual process, the end goal of which is equal participation and belonging to a given society. Syrian refugees were interviewed on two occasions in order to follow their integration process as they moved from the precariousness as asylum seekers to the relative stability as residents. The thesis also aims to explore what role different housing forms have in shaping their integration process, and the interviews were conducted in two locations: one dominated by Migration Agency housing (ABO) the other by ‘own housing’ (EBO). EBO is often portrayed as an ‘integration problem’ but when such arguments are made, the asylum seeker’s perspective is rarely considered. This study addresses this shortcoming and asks: How do asylum seekers make sense of their integration process? What obstacles and opportunities do they experience in this process? What role does the type of housing, and its context, play in this process?Using Ager and Strang’s ten core domains of integration as an analytical framework, the study shows how asylum seekers’ access to participation is severely limited, not least because they lack the foundation of formal rights. A residence permit does offer a sense of stability in this respect, but stability in other domains is still elusive. Social connections, employment and housing are central domains where stability in one domain often has to be sacrificed to achieve stability in another.Viewing these results through the lens of classical sociology, and the concepts ‘community’ and ‘society’, shows how the participants make sense of integration on a more abstract level. Society, defined as a sense of belonging based on contribution (through paid work), was important in both locations. Community, defined as a sense of belonging based on similarity, was emphasised more in the EBO location. However, portraying this as an ‘integration problem’, as is often done in policy, misses the complexity of the situation and the ‘solutions’ presented risk being counterproductive.
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| 3. |
- Ahlberg [Alsarve], Jenny, 1980-
(författare)
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Efter kärnfamiljen : familjepraktiker efter skilsmässa
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This dissertation is about post-divorce families. The central question is how family is constructed after divorce. The aim is to study how family relationships are negotiated, transformed and reproduced after the separation. The research is based on 24 in-depth interviews with twelve young adults, between the ages of 21 and 29, with divorced parents. Their narratives about their families are analysed using a theoretical framework inspired by the individualization theories (Beck & Beck-Gernsheim 2001; Giddens 1997, 1995) and the doing family perspective (Morgan 1996; Silva & Smart 1999a), especially focusing on the concepts of negotiation and family practices. More specific questions raised in the dissertation are how are family boundaries drawn by the young adults? How do the interviewees understand the new organization of their families, which has been renegotiated after the separation? What perception of motherhood and fatherhood can be found in the narratives? And, finally, to what extent are family relationships after divorce negotiated in the way that the individualization theories claim?The results show a quite complex picture of family life after divorce. While both parents are often described as participating parents, the family practices after divorce appear clearly gendered. The mother’s involvement in taking care of the child seems not to be negotiable in the same way as the father’s. Hence, motherhood appears natural and taken for granted to a much greater extent than fatherhood. The negotiations between the parents after divorce can be of both an explicit and implicit character according to the narratives, but yet another kind of negotiation are the indirect negotiations. In these negotiations, the child is used as a go-between or carrier, a position that seems to limit their own possibility to participate in the decision making. Another aspect that seems to diminish children’s participation is the principle of loyalty to both their biological parents. The results also show that the children’s living arrangements after divorce are characterized by changes and renegotiations rather than being permanent. The parents’ new partners are described in different ways in the narratives, however, they are often seen as turning points that have a major influence on the family relationships. The nuclear family as a normative ideal is present in all the interviews but in different ways. While some express an explicit critique of it, others regard it as something that they want for themselves in the future. What constitutes a family according to the narratives? Firstly, blood ties and formal relationships are pointed out. Secondly, the feeling of solidarity and closeness is viewed perhaps as the most evident element of family life. This feeling can be created by open communication as well as by spending time together on a regular basis. Thirdly, growing up together and/or sharing everyday life practices are also considered as vital to develop and maintain close family ties. This means that the family boundaries after divorce are renegotiated over time rather than permanent. These negotiations take place in a certain context, where gender norms, earlier experiences and other social relationships play an important role.
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| 4. |
- Almqvist, Anna-Lena, 1963-
(författare)
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The care of children : A cross-national comparison of parents’ expectations and experiences
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- As a point of departure, this thesis is motivated by the big changes which have taken place in most Western European countries since the 1970s, with an increase in female labour market participation and, to some extent, men’s increased share of the domestic work. There is also a debate as to whether France, having a fairly extensive family support,should be categorised as closer to the Scandinavian countries or together with countries with more restrictive family policy such as Italy and Germany, and thus belonging to the conservative regime cluster as defined by Gösta Esping-Andersen. The major topic of this thesis concerns what expectations parents have on childcare and how they experience the combination of care of children and participation in paid work. Two studies, based on quantitative macro-data, analyse and compare differences in primarily women’s employment in relation to family policy measures. The studies concern in addition to France and Sweden, also Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom. The results indicate that the extensive family support system brings France closer to the Scandinavian countries. However, results based on 80 interviews made with 40 French and 40 Swedish families in the three following studies indicate that this may not be the case concerning factors like attitudes and values about the care of children and the reconciliation of work and family. Results indicate that values expressed in the French families point to a strong connection with values significant for countries in the conservative regime cluster. Major findings are that in the reconciliation of work and family, Swedes experience role stress more than French people, and in particular Swedish fathers. In France, on the other hand, mothers strongly express a feeling of dissatisfaction with their partner’s lack of participation in the household work. Regarding the attitudes to the paid parental leave (allocation parentale d’éducation- APE), French families’ arguments reflect that the policy does not promote fathers’ use of paid parental leave, and French mothers more than Swedish mothers refer to the weaker labour market situation as a reason for their use of the leave. Concerning expectations on childcare, French families more than Swedish families stress the importance of ‘upbringing,’ ‘learning’ and ‘socialisation,’ whereas Swedish families emphasise ‘pedagogy’ and that the staff recognises the individual child.
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| 5. |
- Johansson, M., 1975-
(författare)
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I moderskapets skugga : berättelser om normativa ideal och alternativa praktiker
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This study explores the relationship between ideals of motherhood and heterosexual normativity, from the perspective of women at the margins of these discourses. The title, In the shadow of Motherhood, illustrates the overriding power of the image of motherhood to marginalise alternative experiences. The concept of motherhood, like that of Family, has traditionally signalled the reproduction of the normative; it does not usually encompass the critical scrutiny that would allow for diverse experiences of mothering.Theoretically, the study is located within the fields of feminist sociology and inclusive family studies in productive dialogue with queer notions of gender and sexuality. Methodologically, it is inspired by narrative analysis and consists of in-depth interviews with eight lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual women grappling with different experiences of motherhood and mothering practices. Some of them identify as mothers while others do not, but by not being biogenetic mothers within a heterosexual relationship they share the position of being outside of what is often considered normal, natural and desirable. The analysis reveals a considerable variation in the positions,experiences and identities of the participants, particularly in regards to changes over time, which cannot be reduced to binary categories such as heterosexual/lesbian, biological/non-biological, mother/childless or voluntary/involuntary childlessness. The analysis also exposes a deep tension between ideologies of motherhood and lived experiences of care practices. Furthermore, from the perspective of the participants, the boundaries between inclusion and exclusion reinforce and challenge each other, creating spaces of both individual and collective resistance. The study illuminates the need to shift the location of these experiences from the margins to the centre not only in sociological research of family and gender, but also within feminist sociology.
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| 6. |
- Lundberg, Susanna, 1974-
(författare)
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"Vi kan ju sälja det övriga landet till hugade spekulanter" : om tillhörighet, gemenskaper och handlingsmöjligheter i en förändrad ekonomi
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to a deeper understanding of how the national community is reproduced and delineated in relation to class, gender and racialisation. It uses a qualitative methodology and interviews with people chosen to represent an economic margin, and is theoretically informed by Pierre Bourdieu, Beverly Skeggs and others. In interviewees’ accounts about work life and societal change, traces are found regarding how the national community is delineated, and how value for the community is claimed or denied.The main findings are that a national community is connected through the idea of value for the community, and that the dominating ideas concerning this value change over time in accordance with economic, political and discursive processes. Recognition is a condition for access to the labour market and for the right to contribute to the future of the community. The values and the community are not homogenous; there is room for competing values and thus competing ways of recognition.Those with less recognised resources get their value for the community questioned in relation to current hegemonic values. Adaptability to the needs of the labour market in terms of expectations of geographic flexibility and the right attitude are common demands that implicitly presumes economic and social resources.Misrecognition of resources and value also relate to the social process of racialisation. Whiteness can be regarded as the result of recognised national inclusion in a country such as Sweden where the ideal of light skin and blue eyes have gained hegemonic position through history. Class relations as well as male domination over women works through the same mechanisms of misrecognition and excluded experiences.
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| 7. |
- Tuncer, Merve, 1992-
(författare)
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Weaving Translocal Lives, Bridging Ageing Experiences : Turkish-born Women in Sweden
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis explores Turkish-born women’s experiences of ageing in a translocal setting by looking into the narratives of women who lived in Sweden for 40 years on average. It is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 20 Turkish-born women who are between the ages 60 and 78. The overall aim of the thesis is to contribute to new knowledge about the diversified later life experiences of ageing migrant women from an intersectional life course perspective. The following research questions have guided the analysis: How do Turkish-born women con-struct their sense of belonging after almost 40 years in Sweden? How did the migration to Sweden influence the women’s understandings of gender norms? How do they make sense of ageing and care in a migration context? And how can we explore the complex power dynamics that have been produced over the life course of ageing migrant women? The study incorporates a cross-fertilisation of intersectional and life course perspectives to emphasise the simultaneous influence of agency and structural forces to reveal the racialised and gendered experiences of migrant women. The analysis shows that sense of belonging is constructed at a translocal scale that extends national borders and has a temporal nature. The women construct their sense of belonging through family and kin ties and become rooted in certain localities through negotiations and re-negotiations over the years. Care and work come to the fore as important sites of such negotiations as the women age in Sweden. Both care and work arrangements carry gendered patterns as they do and undo gender by performing household work, paid work and care for family and kin. The analysis shows that the women often have one foot in traditional gender norms while having another foot in gender equal norms. Moreover, the ‘doing’ of gender extends to old age. The women do age through negotiating intergenerational and gendered care with other actors in their lives. The study suggests an intersectional life course perspective to expand our gerontological imagination.
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| 8. |
- Albert, Damien, et al.
(författare)
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A Decade with VAMDC : Results and Ambitions
- 2020
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Ingår i: Atoms. - : MDPI. - 2218-2004. ; 8:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper presents an overview of the current status of the Virtual Atomic and Molecular Data Centre (VAMDC) e-infrastructure, including the current status of the VAMDC-connected (or to be connected) databases, updates on the latest technological development within the infrastructure and a presentation of some application tools that make use of the VAMDC e-infrastructure. We analyse the past 10 years of VAMDC development and operation, and assess their impact both on the field of atomic and molecular (A&M) physics itself and on heterogeneous data management in international cooperation. The highly sophisticated VAMDC infrastructure and the related databases developed over this long term make them a perfect resource of sustainable data for future applications in many fields of research. However, we also discuss the current limitations that prevent VAMDC from becoming the main publishing platform and the main source of A&M data for user communities, and present possible solutions under investigation by the consortium. Several user application examples are presented, illustrating the benefits of VAMDC in current research applications, which often need the A&M data from more than one database. Finally, we present our vision for the future of VAMDC.
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| 9. |
- Peterson, Helen, 1974-
(författare)
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Gender, Power and Post-Bureaucracy : Work Ideals in IT Consulting
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis deals with work environments defined as post-bureaucratic, and which are characterised by individualisation and a decrease in the employer's formal control. The study shows how the employees in such work contexts are both empowered and disciplined. The main questions concern to what extent power shifts in relations between the employer and the employees and between female and male employees are visible and how such potential power shifts manifest themselves. The primary analysis of this power shift focuses on post-bureaucratic work ideals. Work ideals prescribe the skills, competence, manner and qualities of the ideal worker. While bureaucratic work ideals have emphasised employees' rule-following and role adaptation, reflecting the employer's supervision and control over employees, the post-bureaucratic work ideal has been suggested to a shift in power and control that challenges the bureaucratic relationship between power and position. The study uses a narrative analysis to highlight post-bureaucratic work ideals through examining in depth how Swedish IT consultants constitute, and position themselves in relation to, the ideal IT consultant. Although the consultants present themselves as powerful and autonomous vis-à-vis their managers, they also appear highly controlled by the system of consulting, by customer relations and by a work environment restricted by economic, individualised rationality. They also portray themselves as powerless in relation to threats of being made unemployed. Notwithstanding the supposed feminisation of a post-bureaucratic work ideal characterised by social competence, this study also shows that the work ideal that is rewarded in post-bureaucracy is not a feminine ideal. Although alleged to be gender-neutral, it is concluded that the idealised character of IT consulting is a gendered construction that gives precedence to hegemonic masculinity, and subordinates traditional feminine qualities, thereby reproducing gendred power relations.
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| 10. |
- Samzelius, Hanna, 1975-
(författare)
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Bakom bonusfamiljen : Kvinnliga föräldrapartners och partnerdöttrars omsorgsgörande
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of the thesis is to contribute new knowledge about how relationships and care in stepfamilies are constructed, negotiated and renegotiated over time. The study is based on life-story-interviews with stepdaughters and stepmothers about their experiences of care from the beginning of the relationships until the stepdaughter has children of her own. The following questions have guided the analysis: 1) How is care done and negotiated over time? 2) What values, principles and/or motives emerge as important in exercising care? 3) How is good care portrayed in the stories? 4) What events and circumstances are portrayed as significant in terms of the change in the relationships and the practices of care? The study’s perspective is that both families and care are best viewed as negotiated and moral practices. The study shows that the housework and significant emotional work was done by the stepmothers, in the stepdaughters´ childhood as well as in adulthood. While the stepdaughters wanted to feel like the stepmothers´ own children, it was seen as taboo for her to claim a place or title as mother or grandmother, make decisions, set boundaries or have opinions about finances. The principle of “children’s best interests”, together with gender structures, seemed to limit the ability of the stepmother to choose how care was done if it should be perceived as being of good quality. On the other hand, the fact that the adult stepdaughter made a distinction between caring for her biological mother and stepmother was perceived as morally defensible and almost self-evident. The motives for the stepdaughter to provide care seemed to be about emotional closeness or reciprocity, rather than obligation. The study suggests that relationships between stepdaughters and stepmothers are more fragile than those between parents and their own children. The care during the step-daughter’s childhood had an impact on the development of the adult relationship. Moreover, the relationship could be renegotiated after some identi-fied turning points: the stepdaughter´s move away from home, a separation between parent and stepparent, and the stepdaughter’s own parenting. After such events, the relationship could become both closer as well as more distanced. The findings show how the care practices are partly detached from blood ties and legal ties but stuck in conceptions of gender.
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