1. |
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Coloniality and Decolonisation in the Nordic region
- 2023
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Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This book advances critical discussions about what coloniality, decoloniality and decolonization mean and imply in the Nordic region. It brings together analysis of complex realities from the perspectives of the Nordic peoples, a region that are often overlooked in current research, and explores the processes of decolonization that are taking place in this region. The book offers a variety of perspectives that engage with issues such as Islamic feminism and the progressive left; racialization and agency among Muslim youths; indigenizing distance language education for Sami; extractivism and resistance among the Sami; the Nordic international development endeavour through education; Swedish TV-reporting on Venezuela; creolizing subjectivities across Roma and non-Roma worlds and hierarchies; and the whitewashing and sanitization of decoloniality in the Nordic region. As such, this book extends much of the productive dialogue that has recently occurred internationally in decolonial thinking but also in the areas of critical race theory, whiteness studies, and postcolonial studies to concrete and critical problems in the Nordic region. This should make the book of considerable interest to scholars of history of ideas, anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, postcolonial studies, international development studies, legal sociology and (intercultural) philosophy with an interest in coloniality and decolonial social change.
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2. |
- Moore, Jason W., 1971-
(författare)
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Environmental crises and the metabolic rift in world-historical perspective
- 2000
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Ingår i: Organization & environment. - 1086-0266 .- 1552-7417. ; 13:2, s. 123-157
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article proposes a new theoretical framework to study the dialectic of capital and nature over the longue durée of world capitalism. The author proposes that today’s global ecological crisis has its roots in the transition to capitalism during the long sixteenth century. The emergence of capitalism marked not only a decisive shift in the arenas of politics, economy, and society, but a fundamental reorganization of world ecology, characterized by a “metabolic rift,” a progressively deepening rupture in the nutrient cycling between the country and the city. Building upon the historical political economy of Marx, Foster, Arrighi, and Wallerstein, the author proposes a new research agenda organized around the concept of systemic cycles of agro-ecological transformation. This agenda aims at discerning the ways in which capitalism’s relationship to nature developed discontinuously over time as recurrent ecological crises have formed a decisive moment of world capitalist crisis, forcing successive waves of restructuring over long historical time.
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3. |
- Moore, Jason W., 1971-
(författare)
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Introduction : The World-Historical Imagination
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of World-Systems Research. - Riverside, Calif. : Institute for Research on World-Systems. - 1076-156X. ; 17:1, s. 1-3
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This article is the editor's introduction to the special issue of the Journal of World-Systems Research, entitled The World-Historical Imagination: Giovanni Arrighi's The Long Twentieth Century in Prospect and Retrospect.
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4. |
- Moore, Jason W., 1971-
(författare)
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'Amsterdam is Standing on Norway', Part I : The Alchemy of Capital, Empire and Nature in the Diaspora of Silver, 1545–1648
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Agrarian Change. - 1471-0358 .- 1471-0366. ; 10:1, s. 33-68
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the first of two essays in this Journal, I seek to unify the historicalgeography of early modern ‘European expansion’ (Iberia and Latin America)with the environmental history of the ‘transition to capitalism’ (northwestern Europe). The expansion of Europe’s overseas empires and the transitions to capitalism within Europe were differentiated moments within the geographicalexpansion of commodity production and exchange – what I call the commodityfrontier. This essay is developed in two movements. Beginning with a conceptual and methodological recasting of the historical geography of the rise of capitalism,I offer an analytical narrative that follows the early modern diaspora of silver.This account follows the political ecology of silver production and trade from the Andes to Spain in Braudel’s ‘second’ sixteenth century (c. 1545–1648). In highlighting the Ibero-American moment of this process in the present essay, Icontend that the spectacular reorganization of Andean space and the progressive dilapidation of Spain’s real economy not only signified the rise and demise of a trans-Atlantic, Iberian ecological regime, but also generated the historicallynecessary conditions for the unprecedented concentration of accumulation andcommodity production in the capitalist North Atlantic in the centuries thatfollowed.
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5. |
- Edvardsson, Bo, 1944-
(författare)
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Tankefel inom vardag, yrkesliv och politik
- 2009
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Annan publikation (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Syftet är att klargöra begreppet tankefel och att beskriva några vanliga exempel på tankefel. Tankefel har en omfattande förekomst och omfattande konsekvenser för enskilda och samhälle.
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6. |
- Moore, Jason W., 1971-
(författare)
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Nature and the transition from feudalism to capitalism
- 2003
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Ingår i: Review: A Journal of the Fernand Braudel Center. - 0147-9032. ; 26:2, s. 97-172
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- An epochal transformation of nature-society relations was inscribed in the transition from feudalism to capitalism. This article advances three central propositions. First, the origins of today’s global ecological crisis are found in the emergence of the capitalist world-economy in the “long” sixteenth century - not in industrialization, population growth, or market expansion, as the conventional wisdom would have it. Secondly, the crisis of feudalism was a general crisis not only of medieval Europe’s political economy, but in equal measure an expression of feudalism’s underlying ecological contradictions. Thirdly, the rise of capitalism effected a radical recomposition of world ecology. As early as the sixteenth century, we can see how the emergent logic of capital, which at once implies endless expansion and seeks to flatten socio-ecological diversity, undermined the possibilities for a sustainable relation between nature and society. Capitalism thus differed radically from feudalism and all other precapitalist formations. Where earlier ecological crises had been local, capitalism globalized them. From this standpoint, the origins of capitalism may shed light on today’s ecological crises.
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7. |
- Moore, Jason W., 1971-
(författare)
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The Socio-Ecological Crises of Capitalism
- 2011
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Ingår i: Capital and its Discontents. - Oakland : PM Press. - 9781552663943 ; , s. 136-152
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- I think the lesson is that Malthus was wrong because he took the problem of limits outside of history, outside the history that women and men make in the modern world. So the issue is not that there is no scarcity — of course, capitalism is a system that is premised on induced scarcity. That’s why markets in the capitalist era function the way that they do. So I think the mistake of the left has been in a certain reluctance to deal with the problems of scarcity, or in some cases back into an embrace of a neo-Malthusian scarcity mentality in which there are these “natural limits” that are outside of how capitalism functions historically as an ecological regime.
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8. |
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9. |
- Eriksson, Sören, 1953-
(författare)
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China's aircraft industry: collaboration and technology transfer - the case of Airbus
- 2010
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Ingår i: International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation (IJTTC). - : Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. - 1470-6075 .- 1741-5284. ; 9:4, s. 306-325
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- China has moved a long way in economic and industrial development during the last decades and has developed into a global player in many industries. With increased knowledge in high-technology industries, China has ambitions to move into sectors that necessitate a high level of research and development, such as the aerospace industry. China is now in the process of establishing a modern aircraft industry based on domestic efforts as well as agreements with foreign partners in the manufacturing of complete aircraft. This paper analyzes what measures have been taken by Airbus in the form of technology transfer and other supportive measures to strengthen its position in the Chinese market. The findings conclude that Airbus’ transfer should be looked upon as a broad spectrum of technology and knowledge transfer, which include aircraft manufacturing technology, as well as cabin crew training centre, establishment of a warehouse and suppliers ”village”, an engineering centre, maintenance and various service functions.
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10. |
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11. |
- Gerlee, Philip, 1980, et al.
(författare)
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Scientific Models : Red Atoms, White Lies and Black Boxes in a Yellow Book
- 2016
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Bok (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A zebrafish, the hull of a miniature ship, a mathematical equation and a food chain - what do these things have in common? They are examples of models used by scientists to isolate and study particular aspects of the world around us. This book begins by introducing the concept of a scientific model from an intuitive perspective, drawing parallels to mental models and artistic representations. It then recounts the history of modelling from the 16th century up until the present day. The iterative process of model building is described and discussed in the context of complex models with high predictive accuracy versus simpler models that provide more of a conceptual understanding. To illustrate the diversity of opinions within the scientific community, we also present the results of an interview study, in which ten scientists from different disciplines describe their views on modelling and how models feature in their work. Lastly, it includes a number of worked examples that span different modelling approaches and techniques. It provides a comprehensive introduction to scientific models and shows how models are constructed and used in modern science. It also addresses the approach to, and the culture surrounding modelling in different scientific disciplines. It serves as an inspiration for model building and also facilitates interdisciplinary collaborations by showing how models are used in different scientific fields. The book is aimed primarily at students in the sciences and engineering, as well as students at teacher training colleges but will also appeal to interested readers wanting to get an overview of scientific modelling in general and different modelling approaches in particular.
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12. |
- Gerlee, Philip, 1980, et al.
(författare)
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Scientific Models
- 2016
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Bok (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A zebrafish, the hull of a miniature ship, a mathematical equation and a food chain - what do these things have in common? They are examples of models used by scientists to isolate and study particular aspects of the world around us. This book begins by introducing the concept of a scientific model from an intuitive perspective, drawing parallels to mental models and artistic representations. It then recounts the history of modelling from the 16th century up until the present day. The iterative process of model building is described and discussed in the context of complex models with high predictive accuracy versus simpler models that provide more of a conceptual understanding. To illustrate the diversity of opinions within the scientific community, we also present the results of an interview study, in which ten scientists from different disciplines describe their views on modelling and how models feature in their work. Lastly, it includes a number of worked examples that span different modelling approaches and techniques. It provides a comprehensive introduction to scientific models and shows how models are constructed and used in modern science. It also addresses the approach to, and the culture surrounding modelling in different scientific disciplines. It serves as an inspiration for model building and also facilitates interdisciplinary collaborations by showing how models are used in different scientific fields. The book is aimed primarily at students in the sciences and engineering, as well as students at teacher training colleges but will also appeal to interested readers wanting to get an overview of scientific modelling in general and different modelling approaches in particular.
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13. |
- Moore, Jason W., 1971-
(författare)
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The end of the road? : agricultural revolutions in the capitalist World-ecology, 1450-2010
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Agrarian Change. - : Wiley - Blackwell. - 1471-0358 .- 1471-0366. ; 10:3, s. 389-413
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Does the present socio-ecological impasse – captured in popular discussions of the ‘end’ of cheap food and cheap oil – represent the latest in a long history of limits and crises that have been transcended by capital, or have we arrived at an epochal turning point in the relation of capital, capitalism and agricultural revolution? For the better part of six centuries, the relation between world capitalism and agriculture has been a remarkable one. Every great wave of capitalist development has been paved with ‘cheap’ food. Beginning in the long sixteenth century, capitalist agencies pioneered successive agricultural revolutions, yielding a series of extraordinary expansions of the food surplus. This paper engages the crisis of neoliberalism today, and asks: Is another agricultural revolution, comparable to those we have known in the history of capitalism, possible? Does the present conjuncture represent a developmental crisis of capitalism that can be resolved by establishing new agro-ecological conditions for another long wave of accumulation, or are we now witnessing an epochal crisis of capitalism? These divergent possibilities are explored from a perspective that views capitalism as ‘world-ecology’, joining together the accumulation of capital and the production of nature in dialectical unity.
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14. |
- Kõljalg, Urmas, et al.
(författare)
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A price tag on species
- 2022
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Ingår i: Research Ideas and Outcomes_RIO. - : Pensoft Publishers. - 2367-7163. ; 8, s. 1-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Species have intrinsic value but also partake in a long range of ecosystem services of major economic value to humans. These values have proved hard to quantify precisely, making it all too easy to dismiss them altogether. We outline the concept of the species stock market (SSM), a system to provide a unified basis for valuation of all living species. The SSM amalgamates digitized information from natural history collections, occurrence data, and molecular sequence databases to quantify our knowledge of each species from scientific, societal, and economic points of view. The conceptual trading system will necessarily be very unlike that of the regular stock market, but the looming biodiversity crisis implores us to finally put an open and transparent price tag on symbiosis, deforestation, and pollution
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15. |
- Dymitrow, Mirek, et al.
(författare)
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Nutrition, health and climate: What have we learned so far?
- 2019
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Ingår i: Conference on Food Science and Nutrition: “Forum for food science and nutrition for a better tomorrow”, 25–26 February 2019, Rome, Italy.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Food and meals are central elements in our lives: a source of pleasure, a social activity and a bearer of culture. Our eating habits are also very important to health, which implies that the organization and content of meals is a prerequisite for well-being and learning. Schools, in particular, have unique opportunities to promote healthy lifestyles, help develop good eating habits and raise environmental and climate awareness among children and youths by embedding food in a wider context. Unsurprisingly, there is also an increasing interest in school meals and food-related education among researchers, many of whom agree that the quality of school meals can be seen as one of the most accurate indicators of the cities’ sustainability potential. Systematic quality work, however, requires shared targets and ambitions, regular quality checks and discussions on development and improvement. In that vein, the City of Gothenburg has launched the project Urban Rural Gothenburg, which assembles, develops, tests and implements new solutions for the city’s public kitchens. This involves climate-smart and environmentally sound perspectives and programs regarding meal planning, food procurement, food preparation and food-related teaching and learning. One important approach deals with the normalization of increased vegetarian consumption and greater awareness of food’s origins and travel from farm to table. Another approach deals with conscious choices of raw materials that are beneficial for both the environment and health. A third notable approach focuses on new ways of handling food waste to reduce climate impact. In line with the third Sustainable Development Goal, this presentation captures and reaffirms the fundamental assumptions and methods involved in Gothenburg’s work with food sustainability in public kitchens, with an emphasis on health and climate as cross-cutting issues that matter to us all.
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16. |
- Abu Hatab, Assem, et al.
(författare)
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COVID-19 risk perception and food security in the MENA region: evidence from a multi-wave household survey
- 2024
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Ingår i: Food Security. - : Springer Nature. - 1876-4517 .- 1876-4525. ; 16, s. 989-1008
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The COVID-19 pandemic had disruptive consequences for MENA countries’ agri-food value chains that exacerbated poverty and jeopardized food security. This study examines the relationship between individuals’ perception of contracting COVID-19 and their experience of food insecurity, using longitudinal data from the Combined COVID-19 MENA Monitor Household survey. It also investigates the underlying mechanisms of COVID-19 concerns and explores coping strategies employed by households to identify vulnerabilities in food security. The results provide compelling evidence of a strong association between individuals’ concern about the virus and various dimensions of food security, particularly reduced purchasing power and decreased meal frequency. Notably, this association follows an inverted U-shaped curve, with food insecurity initially increasing as worry grows, but declining after individuals contract the virus. High levels of concern were also linked to significant income decreases and worsening economic conditions. Moreover, individuals with higher concerns were more likely to rely on specific coping strategies, particularly spending savings and obtaining funds from relatives or friends. These findings underscore the need for government interventions during disease outbreaks and economic downturns to focus on alleviating individuals’ worry and fear to facilitate informed decision-making that minimizes food insecurity consequences. Additionally, the findings emphasize the need to strengthen social protection systems during public health and economic challenges to ensure food security for vulnerable populations.
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17. |
- Meraxa, Teuku Arckyansyah, et al.
(författare)
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The Emergence of Indonesian Multinational Enterprises
- 2015
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Ingår i: McKelvey, M. and Bagchi-Sen, S. (2015). Innovation Spaces in Asia: Entrepreneurs, Multinational Enterprises and Policy. - Cheltenham, U.K. : Edward Elgar Publishers. - 9781783475674 ; , s. 208-230
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This chapter analyzes Indonesia as an emerging innovation spaces, with a particular focus upon the internationalization strategy of multinational enterprises from this emerging market. Indonesia presents a particular type of political economic market, where state-owned enterprises control most of the energy and welfare industries while MNEs and domestic business control most of trading houses and services, which are less regulated. This chapter provides three cases to illustrate the evolution of Indonesian emerging country multinational enterprises, specifically the firms Adaro Energy, Mayora, and Astra.
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18. |
- Enlund, Jakob, et al.
(författare)
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Individual Carbon Footprint Reduction: Evidence from Pro-environmental Users of a Carbon Calculator
- 2023
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Ingår i: Environmental & Resource Economics. - : Springer. - 0924-6460 .- 1573-1502. ; 86, s. 433-467
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We provide the first estimates of how pro-environmental consumers reduce their total carbon footprint using a carbon calculator that covers all financial transactions. We use data from Swedish users of a carbon calculator that includes weekly estimates of users' consumption-based carbon-equivalent emissions based on detailed financial statements, official registers, and self-reported lifestyle factors. The calculator is designed to induce behavioral change and gives users detailed information about their footprint. By using a robust difference-in-differences analysis with staggered adoption of the calculator, we estimate that users decrease their carbon footprint by around 10% in the first few weeks, but over the next few weeks, the reduction fades. Further analysis suggests that the carbon footprint reduction is driven by a combination of a shift from high- to low-emitting consumption categories and a temporary decrease in overall spending, and not by changes in any specific consumption category.
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19. |
- Baytas, Mehmet Aydin, 1988, et al.
(författare)
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Stakeholders and Value in the NFT Ecosystem : Towards a Multi-disciplinary Understanding of the NFT Phenomenon
- 2022
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Ingår i: Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings. - New York, NY, USA : Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been a defining trend for design, technology, and business in 2021. The value, legitimacy, and utility of NFTs is disputed: proponents highlight revolutionary economic and cultural potentials of an open, secure, and immutable ownership database, while opponents are displeased by the environmental issues and abundant wrongdoing in the ecosystem. Nevertheless, the phenomenon is relevant to HCI, and signifies important developments for future interactive products. To better understand the NFT phenomenon, and to inform future HCI research and design, we investigated the stakeholders in the NFT ecosystem and relations between them. Based on open data we mined from the social news website Hacker News, we contribute the first data-backed model of stakeholders in the NFT ecosystem. The model reveals a nuanced account of the outlooks of creators, owners, and technologists; identifies investment firms and auction houses as arbiters of knowledge and value; and presents implications for future research.
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20. |
- Geissinger, Andrea, et al.
(författare)
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How sustainable is the sharing economy? On the sustainability connotations of sharing economy platforms
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 206, s. 419-429
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The sharing economy has evolved and spread to various sectors of the economy. Its early idea linked to the creation of more sustainable uses of resources. Since then, the development of the sharing economy has included a professionalization with self-employed suppliers rather than peers, and the question is whether the platforms following this development maintain the focus on sustainability. This paper describes and classifies the sustainability connotation of sharing economy platforms. It analyses 121 platforms derived through social media analytics to figure out whether they describe themselves as sustainable. The findings suggest that the sustainability connotation closely connects to specific sectors such as fashion, on-demand services and logistics. Meanwhile, the dominant role model platforms do not communicate about being sustainable. These findings contribute to previous research through (1) giving a systematic empirical account on the way various sharing economy platforms describe themselves in terms of sustainability, (2) pointing out the differences among the platforms, and (3) indicating the diversity in sustainability connotation among various sectors of the economy.
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21. |
- Berbyuk Lindström, Nataliya, 1978, et al.
(författare)
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“Just Google Translate It!” ICT Use of Migrant IT professionals for Mitigating Workplace Integration Challenges
- 2022
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Ingår i: AMCIS (Americas Conference on Information Systems), Minneapolis, MI, August 10-14.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- IT professionals represent a growing group of highly educated migrants in different countries, yet research on their workplace integration is scarce. Applying a combined theoretical framework of Hofstede's culture dimensions and functional theory of language approach, this paper addresses the research need in investigating how migrant IT professionals to Sweden integrate into the workplace and the role of ICTs in mitigating integration challenges. Fifteen (15) interviews with IT professionals from India and Pakistan were analyzed using Thematic Content Analysis. Results uncover migrants experiencing language barriers and cultural differences, which impede developing relationships with colleagues and career opportunities. Our findings indicate that although ICTs, primarily machine translation applications, are indispensable for supporting communication between migrants and locals, collegial support is still essential for managing intercultural interactions, contributing to migrants’ feelings of connectedness at work and a sense of belonging. Workplace inclusion and suggestions for practitioners are discussed.
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22. |
- Solberg Søilen, Klaus, 1968-
(författare)
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The shift from Geopolitics to Geoeconomics and the failure of our modern Social Sciences
- 2010
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Geoeconomics is gradually replacing the importance of Geopolitics. The transition is marked by the start of the process we call Globalization , about two decades old now, but still in its infancy, when government and government institutions discovered that they no longer were self-evident key actors and watchmen of world events . The process is an effect of the end of the Cold War and marks a strategic shift from political ideologies to economic realities.For decades fellow economists have praised the value of public and private borrowing, the production of services at the expense of the production of goods and they have underestimated the importance of trade surpluses for the Competitive Advantage of Nations. They have done so because they have failed to see what makes a nation, a region or a city wealthy in the long run. We have developed a social science paradigm at our universities which have undermined our own development. At the same time we have disregarded much of the tradition for critical thinking, as implied in Critical Theory but more fundamentally as understood for centuriesThe study of all living organisms is now studied with the use of Evolutionary Theory; except for the study of Man. We must start to ask ourselves why. Why should the Social Sciences be any different than Zoology in this respect, unless we say that Man stands outside of biology?
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23. |
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24. |
- Fredman, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Economic values in the Swedish nature-based recreation sector : a synthesis
- 2012
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Ingår i: Tourism Economics. - London : IP Publishing. - 1354-8166 .- 2044-0375. ; 18:4, s. 903-910
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- This research synthesis reports the main findings from a review of economic values associated with nature-based recreation in Sweden. The purpose of the work was to support policy and to identify areas for future research. Data came from over 150 scientific publications and other public sources. The authors find inter alia a lack of systematic data for several recreation activities (including naturebased tourism), a significant growth in the outdoor equipment industry and a relatively modest economic involvement by the public sector. The information is structured under different categories to illustrate the significance and range of different economic values. The authors conclude that there is a need for more comprehensive and systematically collected data, methodological development and interdisciplinary research.
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25. |
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Degraded and restituted towns in Poland: Origins, development, problems : Miasta zdegradowane i restytuowane w Polsce. Geneza, rozwój, problemy
- 2015
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Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- One of the less known problems in settlement geography is the issue of so-called degraded and restituted towns. This lack of reconnaissance, however, is perhaps less the result of the towns’ scarcity than their specificity of being ‘awarded’ or ‘deprived of’ an urban label by means of strictly socio-political actions. Degraded and restituted towns, hence, are spatial units made ‘urban’ or ‘rural’ instantaneously, irrespective of their de facto state along what is widely considered a gradual path of (de)urbanization. Instead, they become compartmentalized into two constructed spatial categories that have survived the onslaught of material transformations and philosophical repositioning through different whims of time. While ‘rural’ and ‘urban’ are conceptual binaries that certainly need to be treated with caution, their cultural salience may cause tangible consequences within national administrative systems that abide by a formalized rural-urban distinction. This issue becomes particularly important for settlements that clearly transcend any imagined rural-urban divide, i.e. those, whose material and immaterial characteristics seem counterfactual to their assigned category. It is also crucial in formal practices designed to avert such counterfactualities, but whose ran-domness of approach more creates confusion than helps straighten out a historical concoction. Both processes, nonetheless, lend ‘urbanity’ and ‘rurality’ a resonance of objectivity, justifying their use as guides for a host of developmental endeavors, despite subverting a much more intricate reality. Degraded and restituted towns are direct derivatives of this. Drawing on the above-mentioned irreconcilabilities, the aim of this book is to present and scrutinize degraded and restituted towns through the example of Poland, where these towns occupy a special niche. For one, Poland, due to its chequered and variegated history, is home to a conspicuously large number of degraded (831) and restituted (236) towns; for another, Poland’s relentlessness of formalizing ‘urbanity’ as a category of statistical, political and cultural guidance has a direct bearing on the lives of the towns’ residents. Realizing the intricacy of degraded and restituted towns in the face of commonplace ru-ral-urban ideations, the editors and the 17 contributing Authors of this book have made an effort to capture the towns’ complexity with special foci on their shrouded origins, developmental specificity and incurred problems. Owing to the involvement of researchers from different scientific disciplines and subdisciplines, the undertaken project has helped elucidate the problem from multiple perspectives: spatial, social, demographic, economic, environmental, historical, architectural, cultural, legal and philosophical. Allocated into 17 chapters, not only have the presented interpretations allowed for a first interdisciplinary synthesis on the topic, but they also helped outline some prospective directions for future research. Moreover, collecting materials of such diversity into an amalgamated whole has helped identify specific discourses that enwrap the concept of “urbanity” when seen through its oscillations within formal contexts, and to which degraded and restituted towns serve as expendable game pieces. By combining knowledge arrived at through ontologically and epistemologically different approaches, the incremental contribution of this book as a whole could be summarized in two attainments: a) extending theoretical frameworks used to study degraded and restituted towns in terms of definition, conceptualization and assessing predispositions for future de-velopment on account of their spatial, legal, socio-economic and historical charac-teristics; b) initiating an anticipated discussion on a number of important and current topics re-lated to the practices of degradation and restitution that have not received adequate attention, e.g., the urbanity-vs.-rurality paradox, the changeability of human settlement forms vs. the consequences of rigid spatial categorizations; the role of various actors in shaping the socio-economic reality under the guise of an ossified binary; or identifying spatio-conceptual conflicts as future challenges for local, regional and national policy.
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