SwePub
Sök i SwePub databas

  Extended search

Träfflista för sökning "L4X0:1652 9030 "

Search: L4X0:1652 9030

  • Result 1-50 of 212
Sort/group result
   
EnumerationReferenceCoverFind
1.
  • Jukkala, Tanya, 1981- (author)
  • Suicide in Russia : A macro-sociological study
  • 2013
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • This work constitutes a macro-sociological study of suicide. The empirical focus is on suicide mortality in Russia, which is among the highest in the world and has, moreover, developed in a dramatic manner over the second half of the 20th century. Suicide mortality in contemporary Russia is here placed within the context of development over a longer time period through empirical studies on 1) the general and sex- and age-specific developments in suicide over the period 1870–2007, 2) underlying dynamics of Russian suicide mortality 1956–2005 pertaining to differences between age groups, time periods, and particular generations and 3) the continuity in the aggregate-level relationship between heavy alcohol consumption and suicide mortality from late Tsarist period to post-World War II Russia. In addition, a fourth study explores an alternative to Émile Durkheim’s dominating macro-sociological perspective on suicide by making use of Niklas Luhmann’s theory of social systems. With the help of Luhmann’s macro-sociological perspective it is possible to consider suicide and its causes also in terms of processes at the individual level (i.e. at the level of psychic systems) in a manner that contrasts with the ‘holistic’ perspective of Durkheim. The results of the empirical studies show that Russian suicide mortality, despite its exceptionally high level and dramatic changes in the contemporary period, shares many similarities with the patterns seen in Western countries when examined over a longer time period. Societal modernization in particular seems to have contributed to the increased rate of suicide in Russia in a manner similar to what happened earlier in Western Europe. In addition, the positive relationship between heavy alcohol consumption and suicide mortality proved to be remarkably stable across the past one and a half centuries. These results were interpreted using the Luhmannian perspective on suicide developed in this work. 
  •  
2.
  • Jurkane-Hobein, Iveta, 1984- (author)
  • I Imagine You Here Now : Relationship Maintenance Strategies in Long-Distance Intimate Relationships
  • 2015
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Today, individuals can relatively easily meet and communicate with each other over great distances due to increased mobility and advances in communication technology. This also allows intimate relationships to be maintained over large geographical distances. Despite these developments, long-distance relationships (LDRs), i.e. intimate relationships maintained over geographical distance, remain understudied. The present thesis aims to fill this knowledge gap and investigates how intimate partners who live so far away from each other that they cannot meet every day make their relationship ongoing beyond face-to-face interaction.Theoretically, this study departs from a symbolic interactionist viewpoint that invites us to study phenomena from the actor’s perspective. Conceptually, the thesis builds on the recent development in sociology of intimate lives that sees intimacy as a relational quality that has to be worked on to be sustained, and that focuses on the practices that make a relationship a relationship. Empirically, the thesis is based upon 19 in-depth interviews with individuals from Latvia with long-distance relationship experience.The thesis consists of four articles. Article I studies the context in which LDRs in Latvia are maintained, focusing on the normative constraints that complicate LDR maintenance. Article II analyses how intimacy is practiced over geographical distance. Article III examines how long-distance partners manage the experience of the time they are together and the time they are geographically apart. Article IV explores the aspect of idealization in LDRs. Overall, the thesis argues for the critical role of imagination in relationship maintenance. The relationship maintenance strategies identified within the articles are imagination-based mediated communication (creating sensual/embodied intimacy, emotional intimacy, daily intimacy and imagined individual intimacy); time-work strategies that enable long-distance partners to deal with the spatiotemporal borders of the time together and the time apart; and creating bi-directional idealization. The thesis is also one of the few works in the field of intimate lives in Eastern Europe and analyses the normative complications that long-distance partners face in their relationship maintenance in Latvia.
  •  
3.
  • Achermann, Sheila (author)
  • Prediction in Typical and Atypical Development
  • 2020
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Forming predictions about what is going to happen next is a crucial ability that develops early in life. Theory and some empirical evidence suggest that predictive abilities may be impaired in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The overarching aim of this thesis is to investigate early measures of prediction in relation to concurrent and later outcomes in typical and atypical development, with a particular focus on ASD and related behavioral problems.In Study I, we used motion capture technology to examine prospective motor control and its relationship to executive functions in typically developing 18-month-olds. Our findings showed that motor control is associated with executive functioning in infancy.Study II investigated motor control in infants at low and elevated likelihood for ASD and examined how these measures relate to later development. We found group differences as well as similarities in motor control in 10-months-olds with and without a familial history of ASD. Early motor measures were related to general developmental level, but not ASD symptomatology in toddlerhood.Using eye tracking, Study III examined how infants with later ASD and neurotypical infants form predictions about visual object motion. Our findings indicated that infants with later ASD were able to form predictions about object motion and adapt to simple changes in motion patterns, and that their performance did not differ from the performance of neurotypical infants.In Study IV, we surveyed parents about their experiences during participation in an infant sibling study of ASD as a first step to understanding the benefits and risks associated with this type of research. Parents were generally positive about their experiences both from their own perspective as well as, the child’s perspective.This thesis illustrates the potential of using advanced technology, such as motion tracking and eye tracking, to study and compare prediction in typical and atypical development. It points to the important role of prediction and motor control for child development, but fails to find a specific link to ASD.
  •  
4.
  • Adolfsson, Päivi (author)
  • Food Related Activities and Food Intake in Everyday Life among People with Intellectual Disabilities
  • 2010
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The aim of this thesis was to study food, eating and meals in the everyday life of 32 women and men with intellectual disabilities (IDs) who require varying levels of supervision. They lived in supported living (rather independently) or group homes in community-based home-like settings. Observations during 3 days, assisted food records and anthropometric measurements were used to collect data. Dietary intake on the group level showed a varied diet and sufficient intake of all micronutrients, but a low dietary fibre intake. On the individual level, inadequate intake of micronutrients was observed, with many participants being obese, overweight or underweight. Everyday support with food, eating and meals was seen in four praxis: foodwork by oneself for oneself, foodwork in co-operation, foodwork disciplined by staff and foodwork by staff. These four practices resulted in large variations in dietary intake. The first praxis entailed more convenience food and less vitamins, the second and third, more fresh ingredients and high energy intake, and the fourth, low energy intake but rather high intake of vitamins. Sharing of meals was least common in supported living and more common in group homes and daily activity centres. The participants’ social eating spheres consisted mostly of other people with ID and staff members, and seldom other people. Whereas some preferred solitary eating, many participants considered eating together as important, but required staff support in establishing commensality. However, disturbing behaviour, as determined by the staff, could result in solitary eating. In conclusion, supporting the group rather than the individual sometimes created less favourable dietary, eating and meal outcomes. This problem needs to be addressed in order to establish food security at the individual level. In addition, actions should be taken to ensure that people with intellectual disabilities receive sufficient support to meet their individual needs and aspirations.
  •  
5.
  • af Wåhlberg, Anders, 1965- (author)
  • The Prediction of Traffic Accident Involvement from Driving Behavior
  • 2006
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The aim of the studies was to predict individual traffic accident involvement by the quantification of driving style in terms of speed changes, using bus drivers as subjects. An accident database was constructed from the archives of the bus company whose drivers were used as subjects. The dependent variable was also discussed regarding whether responsibility for crashes should be included, and what time period to use for optimal prediction. A new theory was constructed about how accidents are caused by driver behavior, more specifically the control movements of the driver, i.e. all actions taken which influence the relative motion of the vehicle in a level plane when v>0. This theory states that all traffic safety related behavior can be measured as celerations (change of speed of the vehicle in any direction of a level plane) and summed. This theoretical total sum is a measure of a person's liability to cause accidents over the same time period within a homogenous traffic environment and a similarly homogenous driving population. Empirically, the theory predicts a positive correlation between mean driver celeration behavior and accident record. The theory was tested in three empirical studies. The first tested equipment and methods, the second studied the question whether driver celeration behavior is stable over time. Celeration behavior turned out to be rather variable between days, and repeated measurements were therefore needed to stabilize the measure. In the third study, a much larger amount of data brought out correlations of sizes sufficient to lend some credibility to the theory. However, the predictive power did not extend beyond two years of time. The reported results would seem to imply that the celeration variable can predict accident involvement (at least for bus drivers), and is practical to use, as it is easily and objectively measured and semi-stable over time.
  •  
6.
  • Ahlén, Anton (author)
  • Managing migration in modern welfare states : Essays on the development, causes, and effects of policies regulating family immigration
  • 2022
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Being the main channel of migration into advanced industrial democracies, family migration has been the subject of increasing contestation in political debate. While previous studies have noted that many OECD countries have introduced more restrictive policies on family immigration during the last few decades, we still know little about how cross-country policy configurations in this area have evolved and varied over time, or about how policies affect inflows and why they differ between countries. This dissertation addresses these research gaps by presenting a set of integrated analyses of variations and changes in family-immigration policies across periods and countries.Essay I presents a typology for analysing policy configurations and changes therein. It finds that admission policies on average became more restrictive over time, although there were some notable exceptions. Uncovering patterns of congruence and deviation in a more detailed way than previous research has done, this paper qualifies previous expectations about convergence, a ‘race to the bottom’, and a ‘civic turn’ in family-immigration policies. Essay II develops and tests different theories of what causes policy changes. It finds that the restrictive effects of certain risk factors on family-immigration policies, such as growing immigration and worsening economic distress, have been conditioned by the type of welfare regime. Essay III investigates whether and how much family-immigration policies have influenced patterns of family immigration in European states. While restrictive admission policies have led to falling overall levels of family immigration, the analysis reveals stratifying implications, whereby the effect have been greater where the sponsor is a non-EU citizen than where he/she is an EU citizen.With its three-stage approach, this thesis contributes to the study of comparative migration policies. It presents new findings on the interplay between welfare states and migration policies, on the methods with which states regulate international migration, and on the differential impact of different policies on the size and composition of migrant inflows. It also adds insights on increasingly conditional forms of migration management in modern welfare states.
  •  
7.
  • Ahlskog, Rafael, 1987- (author)
  • Essays on the collective action dilemma of vaccination
  • 2017
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Vaccines famously possess positive externalities that make them susceptible to the collective action dilemma: when I get vaccinated, I protect not only myself, but also those who I might otherwise have infected. Thus, some people will have an incentive to free ride on the immunity of others. In a population of rational agents, the critical level of vaccination uptake required for herd immunity will therefore be difficult to attain in the long run, which poses difficulties for disease eradication.In this doctoral dissertation, I explore different implications of the collective action dilemma of vaccination, and different ways of ameliorating it. First: given that coercion or force could solve the dilemma, and democracies may be less likely to engage in policies that violate the physical integrity of citizens, democracies may also be at a disadvantage compared to non-democracies when securing herd immunity. In essay I, I show that this is, empirically, indeed the case. Barring the use of extensive coercion therefore necessitates other solutions.In essay II, I highlight the exception to individual rationality found in other-regarding motivations such as altruism. Our moral psychology has likely evolved to take other's welfare into account, but the extent of our prosocial motivations vary: a wider form of altruism that encompasses not just family or friends, but strangers, is likely to give way to a more narrow form when humans pair-bond and have children. This dynamic is shown to apply to the sentiments underlying vaccination behavior as well: appeals to the welfare of society of getting vaccinated have positive effects on vaccination propensity, but this effect disappears in people with families and children. On this demographic, appeals to the welfare of close loved ones instead appears to have large effects.In essay III, I investigate whether the prosocial motivations underlying vaccination behavior are liable to be affected by motivation crowding - that is, whether they are crowded out when introducing economic incentives to get vaccinated. I find that on average, economic incentives do not have adverse effects, but for a small minority of highly prosocially motivated people, they might.
  •  
8.
  • Akrami, Nazar, 1967- (author)
  • Prejudice: The Interplay of Personality, Cognition, and Social Psychology
  • 2005
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Three main theoretical approaches to the study of the causation of prejudice can be distinguished within psychological research. The cognitive approach suggests that prejudice is a function of cognitive processes where stereotypic information about social groups, stored in memory, is automatically activated and affects people’s judgements and behavior toward members of the target group. The personality approach suggests that prejudice is a function of people’s personality characteristics. Finally, the social psychological approach emphasizes people’s group membership and group identification as the as major source of causation.Previous research has almost entirely focused on only one approach of causation at a time. The focus has also shifted periodically – with attention paid to one approach at each period of time. The present thesis is an attempt to integrate these approaches and suggests an integrative model where the relative contribution of each approach could be assessed. The underlying assumption is that all three approaches are meaningful and that prejudice is a complex phenomenon that is best explained by taking into account all approaches jointly.Examining the cognitive approach, Paper I revealed that people are knowledgeable of the cultural stereotypes and that stereotypic information is automatically activated and affects people’s judgments. Paper II (and Paper III) supported the personality approach and revealed that prejudice is highly related to primary personality characteristics and, in line with a central idea in this approach, different types of prejudice (ethnic prejudice, sexism, homophobia, and prejudice toward disabled people) are highly correlated. The results of Paper III revealed the importance of group membership and group identification, supporting the social psychology approach.The findings are discussed in relation to previous research and the necessity to integrate various approaches and disciplines to explain psychological phenomena in general and prejudice in particular. Also, implications of the findings for prejudice prevention are discussed.
  •  
9.
  • Akrawi, Narin Khalida (author)
  • Bridging the Gap between Learning and Teaching by Using Knowledge-Based Systems
  • 2011
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The aim of this thesis was to enhance the learning and teaching in educational organizations by using knowledge-based systems. In the last few decades, considerable interest has been exhibited in applying information and communication technologies in educational settings in an attempt to enhance the process of learning and teaching. Surprisingly, however, a modest amount of attention has been directed towards supporting active learning and to accommodating different learning styles. Different knowledge and reasoning strategies have been studied to determine, whether, and how they could satisfy users’ learning styles. Moreover, on the basis of the pedagogical aspects identified, a knowledge-based system was designed to help students to learn about the subject actively and in the way they prefer. Through this system, students are able to choose different representation forms of the domain knowledge and can evaluate their understanding through the differentiated feedback given by the system. In conjunction with the development of new information and communication technologies, the demands on teachers’ didactical skills are also increasing. Adopting a student-centered approach can require teachers to reevaluate their teaching strategies and their leadership style because teacher takes on a different role to that of traditional teaching. Two knowledge-based systems have been designed to provide teachers with differentiated feedback enabling them to reflect on their current teaching strategies and leadership style in an active and individualized way. The result of the research is the design of knowledge-based systems to bridge the gap between learning and teaching using knowledge-based systems.  A conceptual map united all the important pedagogical aspects related to student-centered learning in making it possible to visualize these aspects and the relation between them. This conceptual map makes a meaningful contribution to designer’s understanding of the way the systems support students’ learning and, therefore, can be used as a guide when designing knowledge-based systems for learning. Students and teachers can also benefit from it by obtaining a common understanding of learning and some of its underlying concepts. This kind of awareness can bridge the gap between teaching and learning, and also advance educational organizations in the move towards the adoption of student-centered learning environments.
  •  
10.
  • Al-Adili, Lina (author)
  • The evaluation process of nutrition interventions for patients at risk of malnutrition : From a person-centred perspective
  • 2023
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • This thesis is aimed at exploring the process of evaluating nutrition interventions for patients at risk of malnutrition from a person-centred perspective. An explorative cross-sectional study was conducted based on data from the International Nutrition Care Process and Terminology Implementation Survey (INIS). Associations between the reported documentation of goals and outcomes and the reported implementation of the nutrition care process and its terminology, demographic factors, and factors associated with the workplace were explored. Responses were received from 347 Scandinavian dietitians. Strong associations were found between the implementation of nutrition monitoring and evaluation terminology and the documentation of goals and outcomes. Standardisation may support the documentation of goals and outcomes, and improve nutrition monitoring and evaluation. Focus group interviews were held with Swedish dietitians working in hospital and primary healthcare settings. The dietitians’ reflections on the process of nutrition monitoring and evaluation (Paper II) and the goal-setting process (Paper III) with patients at risk of malnutrition in nutrition intervention were explored. A lack of routine and structure in the process of evaluation and a lack of shared decision-making (SDM) in goal-setting was found. Dietitians described qualitative subjective outcomes as being most important to patients but that these are only implied in the nutrition intervention. They highlighted discrepancies between their clinically oriented goals and the patients’ own goals. The clarification of patients’ perspectives in the evaluation process is necessary to promote person-centredness, improve communication, and support the evidence-informed practice of nutrition intervention.An interview study with patients at risk of malnutrition was conducted. Patients’ experiences, perspectives and needs concerning goals in nutrition intervention were explored. Patients rarely reflected on goals in nutrition interventions, instead they described striving towards increased strength and energy. Goal-setting is part of the dietitian’s structured way of working, while the patient’s life-world is complex and unstructured. Elucidating patients’ goals may counteract the discrepancies between the dietitians’ clinically oriented goals and patients’ perspectives.In summary, this thesis highlights the need for tools and strategies for the improvement of the evaluation process in nutrition intervention. The person-centred practice of the evaluation process is described in this thesis as key to improving this process. This can be achieved through exploring what matters to patients in terms of perspectives, goals, and priorities, creating partnerships through involving patients in goal-setting and communicating feedback, and documenting and evaluating outcomes that are meaningful to patients.  
  •  
11.
  • Albrecht, Frederike (author)
  • The Social and Political Impact of Natural Disasters : Investigating Attitudes and Media Coverage in the Wake of Disasters
  • 2017
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Natural disasters are social and political phenomena. Social structures create vulnerability to natural hazards and governments are often seen as responsible for the effects of disasters. Do social trust, political trust, and government satisfaction therefore generally change following natural disasters? How can media coverage explain change in political attitudes? Prior research suggests that these variables are prone to change, but previous studies often focus on single cases, whereas this dissertation adopts a broader approach, examining multiple disasters. It investigates the social and political impact of natural disasters by examining their effect on social and political attitudes and by exploring media coverage as a mechanism underlying political consequences.The results reveal that natural disasters may have a comparatively frequent, although small and temporary, effect on social trust. Substantial effects are less likely. Social trust was found to decrease significantly when disasters cause nine or more fatalities (Paper I). Political attitudes were expected to be prone to change after natural disasters, but Paper II illustrates that political trust and government satisfaction among citizens are generally hardly affected by these events. Finally, media framing and the political claims of actors explained the variation in political consequences after disasters of similar severity. Paper III also illustrates the importance of the political context of natural disasters, as their occurrence can be strategically exploited by actors to further criticism towards the government in politically tense situations.This dissertation contributes to existing disaster research by investigating more cases than disaster studies typically do. It also uses a systematic case selection process, and a quantitative approach with a, for disaster research, unique research design. Hence, it offers methodological nuance to existing studies. A broader analysis, factoring in the variation of disaster severity and the increased number of cases offers new answers and tests assumptions about underlying patterns. The main contribution of this thesis is that it examines how common political and social effects of disasters are. Furthermore, this dissertation contributes to existing disasters research by emphasizing contextual and explanatory factors, e.g., properties of disasters and the political context that affects the media coverage of natural disasters.
  •  
12.
  • Alfonsson, Sven, 1977- (author)
  • Impulsivity, Negative Mood, and Disordered Eating in Obesity
  • 2014
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Bariatric surgery is a life-altering procedure that leads to substantial weight loss for most patients with obesity. Psychiatric conditions that may interfere with eating behavior and other behavioral prescriptions after surgery are common. Disordered eating is an established risk factor for inferior weight loss but the effects of negative mood and impulsivity are largely unknown. This thesis aims to investigate the prevalence of and associations between these potential risk factors and eating behavior in bariatric surgery patients.Study I assessed the prevalence of adult Attention Deficits/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms in bariatric surgery patients. Symptoms of adult ADHD were elevated compared to the normal population and associated with symptoms of disordered eating, anxiety, and depression.Study II investigated whether treatment with Behavioral Activation (BA) could ameliorate binge eating and other symptoms of disordered eating in patients with obesity and Binge Eating Disorder. The results showed that BA was effective in increasing activity levels and improving mood but not in ameliorating binge eating in these patients.Study III was a prospective study on disordered eating, symptoms of depression and anxiety, symptoms of adult ADHD, and alcohol risk consumption before surgery and at follow-up after 12 months. After controlling for age, no variable measured before surgery could predict weight loss after surgery. Disordered eating after surgery was associated with inferior weight loss in men and a subgroup of older female participants.The present thesis concludes that symptoms of adult ADHD are common among bariatric surgery patients and associated with disordered eating. There is no indication that symptoms of adult ADHD are associated with short-term inferior weight loss after surgery. However, adult ADHD may be a risk factor for postsurgical alcohol abuse. The treatment study showed no direct association among activity, mood, and binge eating. BA, while effective in improving mood, was found not to be an effective treatment for BED, at least in the short group format investigated.
  •  
13.
  • Almqvist, Jonas, 1968- (author)
  • Learning and Artefacts : On the Use of Information Technology in Educational Settings
  • 2005
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The aim of this thesis is to develop and apply an empirical approach that can be used in studies of the relationship between different expectations of, and actual use of, information technology in educational settings. The studies focus on meanings of artefacts shaped in people's talk about and/or use of technology. The aim is based on the twofold ambition to (1) develop an approach that opens the way for empirical investigations on the usage of technology and (2) to make a contribution to research about computers in education. I show how an approach based on a sociocultural perspective on learning, specified by inspiration from a sociotechnical perspective on artefacts, generates new questions about the usage of technology and its influence on learning and socialisation. Furthermore, I show how discourse analyses, inspired by the writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein, can be used in studies of educational processes. The thesis consists of five case studies. In the first study I examine the rhetoric on information technology during the years 1994-1998 (Paper I). In the three following cases I analyse video-recorded conversation between children using computers in science education (Papers II-IV). In the light of the results from the first four studies I return in the fifth to the rhetoric on technology. In that paper different expectations on the usage of technology in education and on the technology users, expressed in the curricula for the Swedish compulsory school during the years 1962-1998, are clarified and discussed (Paper V). The results of the thesis show that expectations are central parts of human action and that different expectations may result in different kinds of practices. The historical studies show that it is in no way obvious for what purposes artefacts are to be used in educational settings, or who is to decide on this issue.
  •  
14.
  • Andersson, Björn, 1984- (author)
  • Contributions to Kernel Equating
  • 2014
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The statistical practice of equating is needed when scores on different versions of the same standardized test are to be compared. This thesis constitutes four contributions to the observed-score equating framework kernel equating.Paper I introduces the open source R package kequate which enables the equating of observed scores using the kernel method of test equating in all common equating designs. The package is designed for ease of use and integrates well with other packages. The equating methods non-equivalent groups with covariates and item response theory observed-score kernel equating are currently not available in any other software package.In paper II an alternative bandwidth selection method for the kernel method of test equating is proposed. The new method is designed for usage with non-smooth data such as when using the observed data directly, without pre-smoothing. In previously used bandwidth selection methods, the variability from the bandwidth selection was disregarded when calculating the asymptotic standard errors. Here, the bandwidth selection is accounted for and updated asymptotic standard error derivations are provided.Item response theory observed-score kernel equating for the non-equivalent groups with anchor test design is introduced in paper III. Multivariate observed-score kernel equating functions are defined and their asymptotic covariance matrices are derived. An empirical example in the form of a standardized achievement test is used and the item response theory methods are compared to previously used log-linear methods.In paper IV, Wald tests for equating differences in item response theory observed-score kernel equating are conducted using the results from paper III. Simulations are performed to evaluate the empirical significance level and power under different settings, showing that the Wald test is more powerful than the Hommel multiple hypothesis testing method. Data from a psychometric licensure test and a standardized achievement test are used to exemplify the hypothesis testing procedure. The results show that using the Wald test can provide different conclusions to using the Hommel procedure.
  •  
15.
  • Andersson, Isabell (author)
  • Modes of Apprehension, and Indicators thereof, in Visual Discrimination of Relative Mass
  • 2009
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Perception is a fundamental function because it allows organisms to be in contact with the environment and adjust to environmental conditions. Humans also possess higher intellectual functions, which allow for elaborate handling of perceptually obtained information. The thesis concerns a distinction between an inferential ("cognitive") mode and a (direct-)perceptual mode of apprehension, and a notion of perceptual skill acquisition as a transition from the inferential to the perceptual mode. The mode distinction and the mode-transition model was formulated by Runeson, Juslin, and Olsson (2000) within the ecological direct-perception framework (Gibson, 1966, 1979). The modes of apprehension were investigated in an experimental paradigm that concerned visual perception of the relative mass of two colliding objects. The relative mass is specified by an optical variable in the collision movement pattern, which observers may pick up while functioning in the perceptual mode. However, novices often rely on other, nonspecifying, optical variables that may constitute cues that are used in the inferential mode (Runeson et al., 2000). Four tentative mode indicators were employed: participants' realism of confidence, introspective mode reports, amplitudes of brain event-related potentials, and response times. Generally, the results did not support the mode-transition model of skill acquisition. Furthermore, results suggested that reliance both on the specifying and nonspecifying variables might have occurred either in the inferential or in the perceptual mode. However, the mode indicators may not have captured mode as intended. For instance, the discriminability of used optical variables, and not the mode of apprehension, may have affected both amplitudes of event-related potentials and mode reports. It is argued that the mode-transition model and the distinction between two modes of apprehension should be further investigated employing other methodologies, and, furthermore, that the mode distinction has a place within an ecological framework.
  •  
16.
  • Andersson Konke, Linn, 1984- (author)
  • Early Self-Regulation in Infant Siblings : Specific and Shared Associations to Emerging Autism and Co-ocurring ADHD
  • 2023
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The overall aim of this thesis was to examine aspects of self-regulation and the emergence of co-occurring autism and ADHD traits early in life, to enhance our understanding of specific and shared mechanisms underlying these conditions. Previous studies have shown that vulnerabilities in temperament and executive functions (EF) are closely related to both conditions, with overlapping as well as specific features associated to each phenotype. However, most previous studies focus on older children, and it is unclear if specific and shared markers are evident already before symptoms of autism and ADHD emerge. By using an infant-sibling design we were able to follow infants with a family history of autism and/or ADHD, before clinical symptoms emerge.  Study I and II focused on infant temperament as either predictors of later autistic and/or ADHD traits or as being predicted by familial quantitative traits, to understand specific and shared associations to autistic and ADHD traits. In Study I, we examined if temperament traits in 1.5-year olds predict autism and ADHD traits at 3 years. Parent-rated temperament showed specific associations to autistic or ADHD traits, respectively. We found some overlap in regulation difficulties across both trait domains. In Study II, we explored the possibility to use probands’ autistic and ADHD traits to predict temperament traits in their 10-month old infant siblings (a between-individual design). We found that higher levels of probands’ autistic symptoms were specifically associated to lower levels of infant sibling’s approach, whereas higher levels of proband’s ADHD symptoms were specifically associated to increased activity levels in the infant siblings. Proband autism and ADHD traits thus provide unique information about the infant siblings’ temperament. Study III focused on specific and shared links between executive functions and deferred gratification and concurrent associations to autistic traits, ADHD traits, and adaptive behaviors in 3-year-olds. We found that deferred gratification may function as a protective factor, moderating autistic traits and adaptive behaviors and thus act as a buffer for adaptive behaviors Together, these studies contribute to our understanding of specific and shared early aspects of self-regulation and their associations to autistic and/or ADHD traits.
  •  
17.
  • Andréasson, Per, 1963- (author)
  • Emotional Empathy, Facial Reactions, and Facial Feedback
  • 2010
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The human face has a fascinating capability to express emotions. The facial feedback hypothesis suggests that the human face not only expresses emotions but is also able to send feedback to the brain and modulate the ongoing emotional experience. It has furthermore been suggested that this feedback from the facial muscles could be involved in empathic reactions. This thesis explores the concept of emotional empathy and relates it to two aspects concerning activity in the facial muscles. First, do people high versus low in emotional empathy differ in regard to in what degree they spontaneously mimic emotional facial expressions? Second, is there any difference between people with high as compared to low emotional empathy in respect to how sensitive they are to feedback from their own facial muscles? Regarding the first question, people with high emotional empathy were found to spontaneously mimic pictures of emotional facial expressions while people with low emotional empathy were lacking this mimicking reaction. The answer to the second question is a bit more complicated. People with low emotional empathy were found to rate humorous films as funnier in a manipulated sulky facial expression than in a manipulated happy facial expression, whereas people with high emotional empathy did not react significantly. On the other hand, when the facial manipulations were a smile and a frown, people with low as well as high emotional empathy reacted in line with the facial feedback hypothesis. In conclusion, the experiments in the present thesis indicate that mimicking and feedback from the facial muscles may be involved in emotional contagion and thereby influence emotional empathic reactions. Thus, differences in emotional empathy may in part be accounted for by different degree of mimicking reactions and different emotional effects of feedback from the facial muscles.
  •  
18.
  • Ankargren, Sebastian (author)
  • VAR Models, Cointegration and Mixed-Frequency Data
  • 2019
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • This thesis consists of five papers that study two aspects of vector autoregressive (VAR) modeling: cointegration and mixed-frequency data.Paper I develops a method for estimating a cointegrated VAR model under restrictions implied by the economy under study being a small open economy. Small open economies have no influence on surrounding large economies. The method suggested by Paper I provides a way to enforce the implied restrictions in the model. The method is illustrated in two applications using Swedish data, and we find that differences in impulse responses resulting from failure to impose the restrictions can be considerable.Paper II considers a Bayesian VAR model that is specified using a prior distribution on the unconditional means of the variables in the model. We extend the model to allow for the possibility of mixed-frequency data with variables observed either monthly or quarterly. Using real-time data for the US, we find that the accuracy of the forecasts is generally improved by leveraging mixed-frequency data, steady-state information, and a more flexible volatility specification.The mixed-frequency VAR in Paper II is estimated using a state-space formulation of the model. Paper III studies this step of the estimation algorithm in more detail as the state-space step becomes prohibitive for larger models when the model is employed in real-time situations. We therefore propose an improvement of the existing sampling algorithm. Our suggested algorithm is adaptive and provides considerable improvements when the size of the model is large. The described approach makes the use of large mixed-frequency VARs more feasible for nowcasting.Paper IV studies the estimation of large mixed-frequency VARs with stochastic volatility. We employ a factor stochastic volatility model for the error term and demonstrate that this allows us to improve upon the algorithm for the state-space step further. In addition, regression parameters can be sampled independently in parallel. We draw from the literature on large VARs estimated on single-frequency data and estimate mixed-frequency models with 20, 34 and 119 variables.Paper V provides an R package for estimating mixed-frequency VARs. The package includes the models discussed in Paper II and IV as well as additional alternatives. The package has been designed with the intent to make the process of specification, estimation and processing simple and easy to use. The key functions of the package are implemented in C++ and are available for other packages to use and build their own mixed-frequency VARs.
  •  
19.
  • Arnroth, Lukas (author)
  • Some Investigations into the Class of Exponential Power Distributions
  • 2023
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • In this thesis, methods are developed relating to the exponential power class of distributions.Paper I considers Bayesian linear mixed models where the usual normality assumption is replaced by the multivariate exponential power distribution. Particular focus lies on Bayesian testing of the fixed effects.Paper II introduces a score test for the shape parameter of the exponential power distribution. A Pitman-type local analysis is used to establish asymptotic results.Paper III investigates quantile regression based on the skewed exponential power distribution. The bridge between standard and Lp quantiles is of particular interest.Paper IV investigates Bayesian composite Lp-quantile regression based on the skewed exponential power distribution.Paper V considers Bayesian composite quantile regression with a particular interest in es-tablishing theoretical justification from a non-parametric Bayesian perspective.
  •  
20.
  • Bacal Roij, Azril, 1941- (author)
  • Ethno-Politics : The Consequences of Ethnic Discrimination for Latino Ethnic Identity Orientation and Ethno-Mobilization
  • 2021
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • This compilation thesis is a study of Latino migrants and Latino minority members, mainly in USA, and also in Sweden. The three theoretical and the two empirical studies cover a long period and are grounded in ethnicity as an established study field. Its overarching research question is the following: What are the consequences of ethnic discrimination for the ethnic identity orientation of Latino migrants and Latino minority members? The concept of the author, ethnic hurts, is central to the subjective experience of discrimination against Latino people. The concepts from the ethnicity field, Study I were used in empirical Study II. The resulting theoretical model from Study II to explain the ethnic identity orientation of Mexican Americans was used as hypothesis in the study of ethnic identity changes of elderly Latinas and Latinos in Sweden in Study III. For historical and comparative reasons, Study IV looks at the role of racial, national, class, and ethnic inequalities in the debate on citizenship and national identity in post-colonial societies in Latin America, the homelands of the Latino migrants. This also has consequences in the meeting of Latino migrants with the American society. The final Study V examines the socio-genesis of ethno-politics by looking at ethno-mobilization both of persons with Latino background, and of persons with white mainly working-class background, as they respond to changes in American society. One of the main results is a typology of integration with the groups Traditional, Bi-cultural, Marginal and Assimilated among Latin migrants and minority members. Not only ethnic discrimination from society lies behind this diversity, but also ethnic experience here defined as the quality of the emotional relations with family and other representatives of the parental ethnic group. Evidence and illustrations draw from documentary and archival research, ethnographic data, and individual and group interviews.
  •  
21.
  • Bakker, Marta, 1980- (author)
  • How hands shape the mind : The P400 as an index of manual actions and gesture perception
  • 2018
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Being able to perform and understand actions is crucial for proper functioning in the social world. From birth, we use our bodies to act and to promote learning about ourselves, our environment and other people’s actions and intentions. Our mind is embodied; thus, our actions play a crucial role in cognitive and social development.This thesis focuses on the close interrelation between action and perception and the role of our hands in this link. Three empirical studies on action processing are presented in a framework of embodied cognition that emphasises the role of bodily experience in social development. All three studies were designed to measure event-related potentials (ERPs) in infants 4 to 9 months old, when they observed manual actions, grasping and the give-me gesture.Study I demonstrates the neural underpinnings of infants’ action–perception link at the age when their ability to grasp for objects in a functional manner emerges. Neural processing has been found to be influenced by infants’ own manual experience of exactly the same grasping action.Study II reveals that brief active motor training with goal-directed actions, even before the solid motor plans for grasping are developed, facilitates processing of others’ goal-directed actions.Study III shows that the same neural correlate that indexes processing of reaching actions is involved in encoding of the give-me gesture, a type of non-verbal communication that conveys a request. This ability was found not to be directly dependent on the infants’ own ability to respond behaviourally to another person’s gesture.This thesis pinpoints the neural correlate, P400, involved in the processing of goal-directed actions and gestures. The findings highlight the importance of motor experience, as well as the involvement of attentional processes in action processing. Additionally, the data from Study III may suggest a possible involvement of grasping skills in encoding non-verbal communicative gestures.
  •  
22.
  • Barradas, Gonçalo (author)
  • A Cross-Cultural Approach to Psychological Mechanisms Underlying Emotional Reactions to Music
  • 2017
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Music plays a crucial role in everyday life by enabling listeners to seek individual emotional experiences. To explain why such emotions occur, we must understand the underlying process that mediates between surface-level features of the music and aroused emotions. This thesis aimed to investigate how musical emotions are mediated by psychological mechanisms from a cross-cultural perspective.Study I manipulated four mechanisms by selecting ecologically valid pieces of music that featured information relevant for each mechanism. The results suggested that listeners’ emotions could be successfully predicted based on theoretically based manipulations of target mechanisms. However, Study I featured only listeners from a single culture, neglecting the possible role of contextual and individual factors.Study II investigated the prevalence of emotions, mechanisms, and listening motives in a web survey featuring listeners from both individualist and collectivist countries. Results indicated that patterns of prevalence of emotions and mechanisms were quite similar across cultures. Still, Study II found that certain emotions such as nostalgia and the mechanism episodic memory were more frequent in collectivist cultures. In contrast, sadness and the mechanism musical expectancy were more frequent in individualist cultures. Study II also suggested that listening motives were country-specific, rather than subject to the individualism-collectivism dimension.Study III explored how particular mechanisms are manifested within a collectivist cultural setting with great potential for deeply felt emotions: fado music in Portugal. Interviews with listeners provided in-depth information on how the cultural context might shape listening motives and emotions. The results revealed that listeners strived for musical experiences that would arouse culturally valued emotions. Music-evoked nostalgia and contextual factors were regarded as important and contributed to an enhanced sense of wellbeing.Study IV tested the influence of lyrics on the emotions induced by Swedish and Portuguese pieces of music. The results revealed cross-cultural differences in how lyrics influenced emotions. The differences were not related to the music’s origin, but to the listener’s origin, suggesting that the impact of lyrics depends on the cultural background of the listener.In conclusion, the thesis suggests that cultural factors serve as moderators of effects of biologically based mechanisms for emotion induction.
  •  
23.
  • Batalha, Luisa, 1967- (author)
  • Intergroup Relations : When is My Group More Important than Yours?
  • 2008
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Intergroup relations are characterised by favourable and unfavourable biases. Towards one’s own group these biases are mostly favourable – ingroup favouritism. Research has, however, shown that outgroup favouritism, that is, the preference for a group to which the person does not belong, also permeates intergroup relations. Several theories such as social identity theory, social dominance theory, and system justification theory offer explanations of the dynamics of intergroup relations and biases. Despite not strictly being a theory of intergroup relations, right-wing authoritarianism also offers an explanation of intergroup bias by accounting for prejudice and ethnocentrism. Likewise, ideological conservatism has been shown to influence intergroup relations. Based within these theories, this dissertation attempts to explain the social-psychological mechanisms regulating in- and outgroup favouritism. More specifically, Study I examines issues of power and legitimacy in relation to social perception and gender. Studies II and III examine the relationships between social psychological variables and affirmative action, which is aimed at diminishing inequalities between social groups. Together, the studies showed that gender plays a role in intergroup bias, both as an independent variable and as an object of social discrimination. Conservative ideologies predicted ingroup favouritism, but variably. Attitudes towards affirmative action were influenced by the way this issue is semantically framed. The results are discussed in relation to the theories of intergroup relations exposed above and the pertinent issue of attitude ambivalence in understanding outgroup favouritism.
  •  
24.
  • Berg, Gita, 1982- (author)
  • Beyond the plate : Food and health, aesthetics and meaning-making in Home and consumer studies
  • 2024
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The overall aim of this thesis is to cultivate understandings of how meanings regarding food and health are made within the school subject home and consumer studies (HCS). The thesis builds on empirical data generated through a comprehensive case study, where 12 students from one school class and their two teachers were followed in HCS over the course of a school year. The methods used were observations, interviews, focus groups, and document collection. This work comprises four papers, where Paper I covers students’ meaning-making during cooking with a focus on aesthetic judgments. The results of Paper I illustrate different ways in which the students used aesthetic judgments, and how aesthetics became integral to meaning-making. Paper II investigates food for health as educational content, using qualification, socialization, and subjectification as an analytical framework. The results exemplify how these three educational functions can be operationalized empirically, and how a given educational content opens up for meaning-making that goes beyond learning facts and skills. In Paper III, thematic analysis is used to gain an overview of which aesthetic values were constituted in the studied practices, and how. Thus, the central roles of aesthetics in HCS food education were further illustrated. Lastly, Paper IV investigates use of the plate model as a food educational tool, using three planes of analysis as a framework. The results demonstrate how the plate model can be useful in food and health education, but also that it needs to be used with caution, for example to avoid conveying a rigid message of “right” and “wrong” dishes. Taken together, the results of the four papers show how food was a central transactant in the studied practices, i.e., how the food itself became an important co-actor in the meaning-making processes. Second, the discrepancy between the students’ focus on immediate food experiences and the teachers’ instrumental orientation is highlighted. In summary, this thesis provides empirically grounded contributions to support food educational practices in general, and HCS subject didactics in particular. Additionally, it strengthens the position of HCS as a subject to be reckoned with in wider didactic contexts, as well as in the emerging field of disciplinary aesthetics. 
  •  
25.
  • Berggren, Kalle, 1980- (author)
  • Reading Rap : Feminist Interventions in Men and Masculinity Research
  • 2014
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The present thesis explores how masculinity is constructed and negotiated in relation to race, class and sexuality in hip hop in Sweden. Theoretically, the study contributes to the increasing use of contemporary feminist theory in men and masculinity research. In so doing, it brings into dialogue poststructuralist feminism, feminist phenomenology, intersectionality and queer theory. These theoretical perspectives are put to use in a discourse analysis of rap lyrics by 38 rap artists in Sweden from the period 1991-2011. The thesis is based on the following four articles:Sticky masculinity: Post-structuralism, phenomenology and subjectivity in critical studies on men explores how poststructuralist feminism and feminist phenomenology can advance the understanding of subjectivity within men and masculinity research. Drawing on Sara Ahmed, and offering re-readings of John Stoltenberg and Victor Seidler, the article develops the notion of “sticky masculinity”.Degrees of intersectionality: Male rap artists in Sweden negotiating class, race and gender analyzes how class, race, gender, and to some extent sexuality, intersect in rap lyrics by male artists. It shows how critiques of class and race inequalities in these lyrics intersect with normative notions of gender and sexuality. Drawing on this empirical analysis, the article suggests that the notion of “degrees of intersectionality” can be helpful in thinking about masculinity from an intersectional perspective.‘No homo’: Straight inoculations and the queering of masculinity in Swedish hip hop explores the boundary work performed by male artists regarding sexuality categories. In particular, it analyzes how heterosexuality is sustained, given the affection expressed among male peers. To this end, the article develops the notion of “straight inoculations” to account for the rhetorical means by which heterosexual identities are sustained in a contested terrain.Hip hop feminism in Sweden: Intersectionality, feminist critique and female masculinity investigates lyrics by female artists in the male-dominated hip hop genre. The analysis shows how critique of gender inequality is a central theme in these lyrics, ranging from the hip hop scene to politics and men’s violence against women. The article also analyzes how female rappers both critique and perform masculinity.
  •  
26.
  • Berggren, Mathias (author)
  • Challenges when Generalizing Psychological Measurements across Populations : Applications in Machine Learning and Cross-Cultural Comparisons
  • 2023
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • In order to ascertain the validity and applicability of psychological theories, models, and measurements, it is important to examine their generalizability across different assessment situations. In this thesis, I examine how the application of measures outside of their initial domain may cause complications. This is applied to two fields where such considerations of generalizations may be especially beneficial: machine learning models and cross-cultural comparisons. Paper I explored whether text-based machine learning models of personality with a broad set of predictors, or models based on a set of more constrained but more psychologically meaningful predictors, better predicted personality in one of two text domains. The former models provided equal or superior prediction in the same domain in which it was trained compared to the latter models, but equally poor or poorer prediction in the other domain. Paper II reexamined the results of an article that, like the cross-cultural studies re-examined in Paper III, found that over time and across states in the U.S., higher gender equality was associated with larger gender differentiation, here in names given to children. Re-analyses showed that there was no such systematic association across time, and that the differentiation across states was confounded with a more strongly associated cultural/language predictor. Paper III re-examined multiple studies that have assessed that association across countries. Here, it was shown that cultural differences, as indicated by cultural regions, other measures such as individualism, and data quality indicators, better explained the variation in differences across countries. When controlling for cultural/language regions, the association with gender equality disappeared or, sometimes, reversed. These results indicate the degree to which different cultural factors are interrelated, and suggests the need for complementary methods. In conclusion, this thesis exemplifies the importance of considering how models and measures may interact with and generalize across situations. This is true whether it supports greater generality or situational specificity of different psychological measures.
  •  
27.
  • Bergh, Robin, 1983- (author)
  • Prejudiced Personalities Revisited : On the Nature of (Generalized) Prejudice
  • 2013
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • In the media, one type of prejudice is often discussed as isolated from other types of prejudice. For example, after Breivik’s massacre, intolerance toward Muslims was intensely debated (for good reasons). However, his manifesto also disclosed extreme attitudes towards women and gays, a fact which passed without much notice. Still, in understanding why some individuals are so extremely intolerant compared to others, the psychological unity underlying different kinds of prejudice (e.g., racism, sexism) needs to be considered. This psychological unity, referred to as generalized prejudice, provided the starting point for personality theories on prejudice because it suggests that some people are simply more biased than other people in principle. Today it is well known that two basic personality characteristics, agreeableness and openness to new experiences, are powerful predictors of prejudice. However, more precisely what these variables can, versus cannot, explain has received little attention. Consequently, the aim of this thesis was to provide a more fine-grained analysis of generalized prejudice and its personality roots. Paper I demonstrated that personality mainly accounts for variance shared by several prejudice targets (generalized prejudice) whereas group membership mainly predicts unique variance in prejudice towards a particular target group. Thus, personality and group membership factors explain prejudice for different reason, and do not contradict each other. Paper II demonstrated, across three studies, that agreeableness and openness to experience are related to self-reported (explicit) prejudice, but not automatically expressed (implicit) biases. Personality seems informative about who chooses to express devaluing sentiments, but not who harbors spontaneous biases. Finally, Paper III examined the assumption that personality explains (explicit) generalized prejudice because some people simply favor their own group over all other groups (ethnocentrism). Providing the first direct test of this assumption, the results from three studies suggest that while agreeableness and openness to experience explain generalized prejudice, they do not account for purely ethnocentric attitudes. This indicates a fundamental difference between ethnocentrism and generalized prejudice. All in all, self-reported personality seems to have little to do with spontaneous group negativity or simple ingroup favoritism. However, personality strongly predicts deliberate and verbalized devaluation of disadvantaged groups.
  •  
28.
  • Bergman, Karolin, 1979- (author)
  • Negotiating healthy eating : Lay, stakeholder and government constructions of official dietary guidance in Sweden
  • 2019
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • This thesis approaches dietary guidance as socio-culturally produced and comprised in a specific historical context. The work is premised on the position that ideas and understandings of healthy eating are discursively constructed, and that we form our understandings of the world, ourselves and others through discourse. The theoretical approach builds on the Foucauldian notion of governing, which includes how the state governs people through strategic techniques and individuals’ self-governing in relation to discursive norms related to official institutions. The four studies included in the thesis therefore explore how healthy eating and official dietary guidance are negotiated and constructed from stakeholder, lay and policy perspectives. Paper I takes a stakeholder perspective on “appropriate” national dietary advice by exploring 40 written responses to updated official dietary guidelines. Paper II and III focus on lay people’s discourses on dietary guidance and healthy eating by examining their written correspondences (727 and 60 digital messages, respectively) with the Swedish Food Agency. Paper IV examines how the Swedish Food Agency’s official dietary guidelines frame the interplay of public health concerns and environmental concerns in making food choices.The findings demonstrate the dominance of a nutrient-centered and scientific discourse in communication (arguments, statements, instructions and questions) related to official dietary guidance in the Swedish context, even among non-professionals (in stakeholder responses, lay messages and the official dietary guidelines). In lay people´s communication with the Swedish Food Agency, both resistance to and internalization of official dietary advice are expressed within this dominating discourse. Resistance is additionally expressed through emotional language and by referring to alternative authorities, including personal experiences. The nutrient-centered and scientific discourse builds on the basic assumption of individual responsibility for health and the taken-for-granted nature of the primacy of physical health. Environmental perspectives come secondary to nutrition, which is demonstrated by their subordinate status in the official dietary guidelines and limited presence in lay people´s correspondences. Most socio-cultural, emotional and structural aspects on eating are made invisible by these discourses, in which food figures as scientifically quantifiable or functional in relation to physical health. However, in the official dietary guidelines from 2015, an additional discourse of cultivating certain tastes as a key to a sustainable diet constructs an ‘ideal eater’ with ‘middle-class’ aspirations.
  •  
29.
  • Björklund, Gunilla, 1973- (author)
  • Driver Interaction : Informal Rules, Irritation and Aggressive Behaviour
  • 2005
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • On a daily basis drivers have to share the roads with a great number of other road users. To make the driving task possible every driver has to take the intentions and behaviours of other road users into account. In other words, the road users have to interact with each other. The general aim of this thesis was to examine factors that regulate and influence the interaction between road users. To do so, three studies, applying a social psychological approach to driving, were conducted. In the first study it was investigated how the rules of priority, the design of the intersection, and the behaviour of other drivers influence yielding behaviour in intersections. The second study examined driver irritation and its relationship with aggressive behaviours. Finally, in the third study drivers’ attributions of their own and other drivers’ behaviour were investigated in relation to driver irritation. The thesis also includes a minor field study, aiming at examining to what extent informal traffic rules are used in intersections and in roundabouts, as well as measuring the validity of self-reports. The results indicate that, in addition to the formal rules, drivers rely on informal rules based on road design and on other drivers’ behaviour. Drivers also differ with respect to strategies of yielding behaviour. Irritability and aggressive behaviour on the roads appear largely to depend on drivers’ interactions and drivers’ interpretation of the behaviour of others. Some aggressive behaviour is an expression of irritation and may provoke irritation of other drivers. This means that an irritated driver might start a chain reaction, spreading irritation and aggressive behaviour from driver to driver. To diminish irritation and aggressive behaviour on the roads it is necessary to change drivers’ behaviour either by changing the road design or, which is probably a more possible remedy, by changing their general attitudes about driving. By providing drivers with insight into the cognitive biases they are subject to when judging other road users’ behaviour, both driver irritation and aggressive behaviours on the roads probably would decrease.
  •  
30.
  • Björkstrand, Johannes, 1985- (author)
  • The Amygdala, Fear and Reconsolidation : Neural and Behavioral Effects of Retrieval-Extinction in Fear Conditioning and Spider Phobia
  • 2017
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The amygdala is crucially involved in the acquisition and retention of fear memories. Experimental research on fear conditioning has shown that memory retrieval shortly followed by pharmacological manipulations or extinction, thereby interfering with memory reconsolidation, decreases later fear expression. Fear memory reconsolidation depends on synaptic plasticity in the amygdala, which has been demonstrated in rodents using both pharmacological manipulations and retrieval-extinction procedures. The retrieval-extinction procedure decreases fear expression also in humans, but the underlying neural mechanism have not been studied. Interfering with reconsolidation is held to alter the original fear memory representation, resulting in long-term reductions in fear responses, and might therefore be used in the treatment of anxiety disorders, but few studies have directly investigated this question.The aim of this thesis was to examine the effects of the retrieval-extinction procedure on amygdala activity and behavioral fear expression in humans. The work presented here also investigated whether findings from studies on recent fear memories, established through fear conditioning, extends to naturally occurring long-term phobic fears.Study I, combining fear conditioning and a retrieval-extinction procedure with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), demonstrated that memory retrieval shortly followed by extinction reduces later amygdala activity and fear expression in healthy subjects. In Study II, these subjects were re-tested 18 months later. The results showed that the effects on fear expression were still present and that initial amygdala activity predicted long-term fear expression. Using an adapted version of the retrieval-extinction procedure, Study III showed that memory retrieval shortly followed by exposure to spider pictures, attenuates subsequent amygdala activity and increases approach behavior in subjects with life-long fear of spiders. In Study IV, these subjects were re-tested 6 months later, and the results showed that effects on amygdala activity as well as approach behavior were maintained.In summation, retrieval-extinction leads to long-lasting reductions in amygdala activity and fear expression. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that retrieval-extinction alters an amygdala dependent fear memory. Retrieval-extinction can also attenuate long-term phobic fears, indicating that this manipulation could be used to enhance exposure-based treatments for anxiety disorders. 
  •  
31.
  • Björnsdotter, Annika, 1970- (author)
  • Evaluation of Family Check-Up and iComet : Effectiveness as well as Psychometrics and Norms for Parent Rating Scales
  • 2014
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • This thesis compromise four studies, three regarding psychometrics and norms of parent rating scales, and one study regarding effectiveness of two different interventions. A normative sample consisting of 1443 parents with children aged 10 to 13 years old, was used in the Study I, II and III. In Study IV, 231 self-referred parents with children aged 10-13 years old with externalizing behavior problem (EBP) were randomized to either Family Check-Up (FCU) or iComet.The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) used in Study I proved to be a reliable and valid instrument with high internal consistency, clear factor structure and high correlation with other similar instruments. In addition, the results support the online use of SDQ as well as using norms obtained through traditional administration even when the SDQ has been administrated online. The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) investigated in Study II was shown to have adequate reliability and construct validity. The specific use of expressive suppression or cognitive reappraisal as a parental emotion regulation strategy was correlated as expected to the couple’s satisfaction, family warmth, and the employment of adequate discipline strategies. Swedish norms for self-rated ERQs are also presented. Study III investigated the Parental Knowledge and Monitoring Scale (PKMS), which was shown to be a useful instrument for assessing parental knowledge and its sources. Family climate appears to moderate important relationships between parental knowledge and conduct problems with implications for such things as family interventions. Finally, a person-oriented analysis was used in Study IV to subtype the children according to combinations of prosocial behavior and EBP, such as different levels of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and/or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) behaviors. Despite being a heterogeneous group of children with EBP, they were meaningfully grouped into significantly different profiles. Both FCU and iComet resulted in post-treatment measurement within non-clinical range for three of the five profiles. The two profiles that included high levels of ADHD behaviors at baseline assessment continued to have residual symptoms post intervention. 
  •  
32.
  • Blåvarg, Christina (author)
  • The alluring nature of episodic odor memory : Sensory and cognitive correlates across age and sex
  • 2016
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Episodic memory for olfactory information is still relatively uncharted. The overall purpose of this thesis is to investigate the sensory and cognitive causes of the well-established age-related decline in olfactory episodic odor memory and of the age-independent sex difference in olfactory episodic memory. The purpose of Study I was to investigate the causes of the sex difference in olfactory episodic memory. The results show that the female advantage in episodic recognition memory seems to be explained by women´s higher aptitude in odor identification for familiar odors. With this background, the purpose of Study II was to investigate the age-related decline in olfactory episodic memory, with a particular eye to the role of odor identification. When controlling for the sensory variables olfactory threshold and odor quality discrimination, and the cognitive factor mental speed, the age-related deterioration in odor identification was eliminated. This suggests that changes in basic sensory and cognitive abilities underlie the age-related impairment in odor identification. The purpose of Study III was to investigate the role of recollective experience and intention to memorize for age-related and sex-related differences in episodic odor memory. Younger adults reported more experiences of remembering, and the elderly adults more experiences of feeling of knowing. The participants benefited from intentionality at encoding when the odors were unfamiliar, but intentionality did not affect memory for the familiar odors. The purpose of Study IV was to investigate the role of subjectively perceived qualities of the encoded odors for episodic memory across age and sex. Odors perceived as unpleasant, intense, and irritable were more easily remembered throughout the adult life span. The oldest adults selectively recognized the odors they rated as highly irritable indicating compensatory use of trigeminal activation. Overall, the result suggests that episodic odor memory rely heavily on both sensory and cognitive abilities, but in a different manner depending on demographic factors. The age-related decline appears to be driven by a sensory flattening disabling adequate cognitive processing. The age-independent sex difference on the other hand, is mainly cognitively mediated and driven by cognitive factors such as the ability to verbalize olfactory information.
  •  
33.
  • Bornefalk Hermansson, Anna, 1971- (author)
  • Resampling Evaluation of Signal Detection and Classification : With Special Reference to Breast Cancer, Computer-Aided Detection and the Free-Response Approach
  • 2007
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The first part of this thesis is concerned with trend modelling of breast cancer mortality rates. By using an age-period-cohort model, the relative contributions of period and cohort effects are evaluated once the unquestionable existence of the age effect is controlled for. The result of such a modelling gives indications in the search for explanatory factors. While this type of modelling is usually performed with 5-year period intervals, the use of 1-year period data, as in Paper I, may be more appropriate.The main theme of the thesis is the evaluation of the ability to detect signals in x-ray images of breasts. Early detection is the most important tool to achieve a reduction in breast cancer mortality rates, and computer-aided detection systems can be an aid for the radiologist in the diagnosing process.The evaluation of computer-aided detection systems includes the estimation of distributions. One way of obtaining estimates of distributions when no assumptions are at hand is kernel density estimation, or the adaptive version thereof that smoothes to a greater extent in the tails of the distribution, thereby reducing spurious effects caused by outliers. The technique is described in the context of econometrics in Paper II and then applied together with the bootstrap in the breast cancer research area in Papers III-V.Here, estimates of the sampling distributions of different parameters are used in a new model for free-response receiver operating characteristic (FROC) curve analysis. Compared to earlier work in the field, this model benefits from the advantage of not assuming independence of detections in the images, and in particular, from the incorporation of the sampling distribution of the system's operating point.Confidence intervals obtained from the proposed model with different approaches with respect to the estimation of the distributions and the confidence interval extraction methods are compared in terms of coverage and length of the intervals by simulations of lifelike data.
  •  
34.
  • Bothelius, Kristoffer, 1973- (author)
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia : How, for Whom and What about Acceptance?
  • 2015
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Sleep is essential for survival but a significant minority of the adult population are dissatisfied with their sleep, and 6-10% meet the criteria for insomnia disorder, characterised by difficulties falling asleep at bedtime, waking up in the middle of the night or too early in the morning, and daytime symptoms. Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), an evidence-based sleep-focused intervention, has been suggested as the treatment of choice for chronic insomnia. However, access to specialised sleep therapists is sparse, and a service delivery model based on the principles of ‘stepped care’ has been proposed. Even though CBT-I is shown to be effective, there is a need to continue the development of cognitive behavioural treatments for insomnia. As a complement to traditional interventions, the potential value of acceptance, that is, to make an active choice of openness towards psychological experiences, has been recognized. However, it has not yet been systematically investigated, and specific instruments for studying acceptance in insomnia are lacking.The present thesis is based on three studies: Study I showed that manual-guided CBT for insomnia delivered by ordinary primary care personnel has a significant effect on perceived insomnia severity, sleep onset latency and wake time after sleep onset. Study II demonstrated that non-responders in Study I reported shorter sleep time at baseline than did responders, a notion that may help select patients for this type of low-end intervention in a stepped care treatment approach. Study III aimed to develop a new assessment instrument for studying acceptance of insomnia, the Sleep Problem Acceptance Questionnaire (SPAQ), resulting in an eight-item questionnaire with two factors; the first being Activity Engagement, persisting with normal activities even when sleep is unsatisfactory, and the second involving Willingness, avoiding fighting and trying to control sleep problems.In conclusion, the present thesis demonstrates that it is feasible to treat patients with insomnia using CBT-I administrated by ordinary primary care personnel in general practice, and that those with relatively longer initial sleep duration benefit most from treatment, enabling allocation to relevant treatment intensity. In addition, acceptance of sleep difficulties may be quantified using the SPAQ.
  •  
35.
  • Brocki, Karin Cecilia, 1975- (author)
  • Executive Control Processes: Dimensions, Development and ADHD
  • 2007
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Deficits in higher order cognitive processes such as inhibitory control and working memory (WM), grouped under the term of executive function (EF), have been shown to constitute one important component of the complex neuropsychology of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The aim of the present thesis was to examine EF in relation to ADHD, with primary focus on structure (i.e., dimensions) and developmental change. Rooted in the developmental and dimensional perspectives of ADHD, which propose that the disorder represents the extreme of or quantitative delays in traits that are present throughout the general population, four studies (I-IV) based on non-clinical and clinical samples of children at different developmental levels were conducted.Together, the results from Study I-IV suggest that inhibitory control and WM are important components of EF in typically developing children as well as in relation to ADHD symptoms. Of particular interest are the findings from Study II, III, and IV, showing that inhibitory control and WM seem to be of different importance depending on the child’s age. More specifically, the non-clinical and clinical studies suggest that inhibitory control and WM are important in predicting ADHD symptoms, with deficits in inhibitory control primarily being associated with ADHD symptoms for preschool and younger elementary school-aged children, whereas deficits in WM are associated with ADHD symptoms for older elementary school-aged children. In conclusion, the results of the present thesis are consistent with Barkley’s (1997) developmental prediction concerning the relation between EF and ADHD, which suggests that impaired inhibitory control is an early developmental precursor to or a factor that “sets the stage” for deficits in more complex EFs such as WM. The home taking message from the present thesis is that age matters not only in the behavioral, but also in the neuropsychological manifestation of ADHD. To our knowledge, these findings are among the first to show that age is an important factor that should be taken into account in future ADHD research, theory, and treatment.
  •  
36.
  • Bruno, Linnéa, 1975- (author)
  • Ofridstid : Fäders våld, staten och den separerande familjen
  • 2016
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The present thesis explores intersectional and institutional conditions for counteracting domestic violence in the Swedish welfare state. Empirically, the study focuses on professional discourses and practices concerning fathers’ violence against mothers and children in the context of separation, in three domains of practice: 1) Children’s education; 2) Disputes concerning custody, contact and residence; and 3) Welfare benefits such as financial aid. Theoretically, the study draws on feminist political theory and sociology, childhood studies and critical race studies. The empirical material consists of court orders and interviews with staff and victimised mothers. Two main social processes that undermine implementation of children’s rights are identified and discussed: Familialisation and selective repression. The thesis is based on four articles:Article I, (Skolan, familjerätten och barnen) School, family law and children exposed to violence, explores how staff at school and preschool understands their professional task, when in encounters with children in difficulties due to family law proceedings. The results suggest that two competing perspectives shape staff understandings of risks, solutions and violence. When arguing from the child’s rights’ perspective, the staff prioritises children’s safety and participation, while an upbringing perspective tends to construct violence mainly as a problem of order, with disquieting implications for vulnerable children.Article II, (Pedagoger i det sociala uppdragets gränstrakter: Att hantera familjerättsliga processer, hot och våld)Pedagogues in the borderland of their social task: Dealing with family law proceedings, threats and violence, investigates strategies used by preschool and school staff, when encountering gendered conflicts and violence between parents. How do the staff cope with their own and children’s vulnerability? An analytical model of six types of proactive and reactive strategies, ranging from keeping distance to normalisation of own vulnerability, is utilised in the analysis and discussed in relation to organisational and professional circumstances and intersecting social relations of inequality.Article III, Contact and evaluations of violence: An intersectional analysis of Swedish court orders, examines obstacles to implementation of children’s rights in contested parental contact cases in which there are indications of violence. The analysis shows that the contact presumption is strong, and generally overrides protection. This norm applies even where there are convictions or explicit reports of child abuse or domestic violence. In cases with ‘non-Nordic’ fathers however, the contact presumption is less likely to override protection than in cases with ‘Nordic’ fathers.Article IV, Financial oppression and post-separation child positions in Sweden, deals with post-separation child positions in two domains of practice in the Swedish welfare state: Welfare benefits such as financial aid, and child contact. The area of concern is financial oppression in the context of parental separation. Findings suggest that financial abuse in the context of parental separation is a non-question in the domain of welfare benefits, and in the domain of child contact framed as a conflict between equal parties. The age order as a form of domination may be reinforced by the practice of both domains.
  •  
37.
  • Brännlund, Anton (author)
  • Wealth and the economic vote : How assets and liabilities shape election outcomes
  • 2021
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • This thesis contributes to the literature on economic voting, especially the subfield of the electoral impact in relation to wealth. The thesis consists of an introductory chapter and four independent research articles based on data from Sweden. Based on the first article, I find that the support for right-wing parties decreases in areas where voters are heavily invested in financial assets when there is a large amount of volatility in the world markets. Such patterns suggest that voters are responsive to financial risks. Through the second study, I illustrate that voters are sensitive to changes in monetary policies as well. More precisely, I show that voters tend to reward governments for decreases in interest rates. With the third study, I investigate the interplay of markets in a more direct way, estimating the effect of unemployment on voting in relation to household wealth. I find that the Swedish left-wing parties gain electoral advantage when the unemployment rates rise in less wealthy areas but that they lose support where voters are comparatively well-off. Finally, based on the fourth study, I investigate whether wealth has an impact on how voters behave with individual level data. The findings in this study suggest that wealthy citizens vote for right-wing parties to a grater extent. However, the estimated effect is small.
  •  
38.
  • Buhrman, Monica, 1974- (author)
  • Guided Internet-Based Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Chronic Pain
  • 2012
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Chronic pain is a one of the most common causes of disability and sick leave. Psychological factors play a central role in the experience of pain and are important in the management of pain. However, for many people with chronic pain CBT is not available. There is a need to develop alternative ways to deliver treatments that reach more individuals with chronic pain. Internet-based treatments have been shown to be effective for several disorders and recent research suggests that internet-based CBT for chronic pain can be effective. The present thesis included four randomized controlled studies with the aim of evaluating whether guided internet-based treatments based on CBT can help individuals with chronic pain regarding psychological variables.Study I investigated the effects of an internet-based CBT intervention with telephone support for chronic back pain. The study showed reductions in some variables assessed.     Study II investigated the effects of an internet-based CBT intervention for chronic back pain without telephone support and with a live structured interview before inclusion. It was found that the treatment can reduce some of the distress associated with chronic pain.Study III investigated the effects of a guided internet-delivered CBT as a secondary intervention. Participants were patients who had previously completed multidisciplinary treatment at a pain management unit. Results showed that the internet-based treatment can be a feasible option for persons with residual problems after completed pain rehabilitation. Effects remained at six-month follow-up.   Study IV focused on the effect of a guided internet-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for persons with chronic pain. Results suggest that an internet-delivered ACT treatment can help persons with chronic pain. Effects remained at six-month follow-up.In conclusion, guided internet-based CBT can decrease distress associated with chronic pain.
  •  
39.
  • Chabosseau, Tom (author)
  • Sailing or Sinking Together : Container Shipping in Digital Platform Capitalism
  • 2023
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • This thesis addresses the classical research problem of collaboration among competing actors in the context of digital platform capitalism. This study investigates how ocean carriers attempted, and sometimes managed, to set standards, exchange data, and jointly develop supply chain management platforms despite the alleged risks of doing so. Using a mixed methods research design articulating quantitative and qualitative analysis, the investigation sheds light on how the incumbent company that launched those two initiatives engaged in meaning-making processes with the challengers it hoped to get on board. Following those meaning-making processes illustrates the hurdles for field-dominating actors to stimulate collaboration as their position is perceived by other actors as resulting from predatory practices and thereby casts doubts on the nature of their actual motives. The thesis first provides an analysis of the structure of the field of container shipping by characterising the variety of positions it contains and their relationships. The aim is to set the stage for the second part of the research design that delves into the emergence of two digital initiatives: the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) and Tradelens. The first initiative consisted of the establishment of an industry-wide organisation to provide container shipping with a set of standards, while the second had the ambition to serve as a for-profit digital infrastructure for the exchange of information on container journeys. The emergence of digital collaboration traces back to the activities of a group of IT executives in search of solutions to their common issues outside the boundaries of their organisations. While that professional group succeeded in making standardisation a key concern for the industry, as shown by the establishment of DCSA, the exchange of standardised data turned out to be much more problematic. The case of Tradelens underlines the boundaries of digital collaboration in a competitive field. While the incumbent that launched the platform managed to alleviate doubts about its willingness to derive a competitive advantage from the platform, it never managed to do it to the extent where the platform would gain operational traction. This study adds new knowledge to the field of digital platform capitalism by turning the attention to a case where platforms affect interfirm relationships by increasing the need for collaboration and by showing the utility, against technological-centred approaches, to rely on the tools of neo-institutional theories to grasp how technological change is embedded in the long-term trajectory of an industry. 
  •  
40.
  • Claesson, Katja, 1967- (author)
  • Shame: Mechanisms of Activation and Consequences for Social Perception and Self-image
  • 2005
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The aim of this thesis was the exploration of shame. Four experiments are among the very first to empirically test the validity of Tomkins' shame concept. The relation between internalized shame and memories of early interactions was examined, as well as Tomkins' concept of shame as an innate, momentary emotion. The influence of internalized shame as a personality trait on momentary shame emotion was also explored. Thirdly, how momentarily activated shame influences perception of self and others was studied. Finally, consequences of conscious versus unconscious shame activation was compared. Data from two survey studies implied that memories of ignoring and abandoning behaviors from mother are those that correlate most strongly with internalized shame. In the four experimental studies, internalized shame did not seem to influence momentary shame emotion, although two experiments implied different reactions to the praise that constituted part of the shame activating sequence depending on degree of internalized shame. Two experiments in part supported Tomkins’ notion of shame as a consequence of impeded positive emotion. However, participants with a high degree of internalized shame reacted with shame emotion to the praise feedback intended to elicit positive emotion. Therefore Tomkins’ concept of shame was successfully tested only with participants with a low degree of internalized shame. With this group, Tomkins’ conceptualization, however, received support. In addition these two experiments implied different processes for consciously versus unconsciously activated shame, since consequences for social perception and self-image following shame were reversed depending on whether the activating circumstances were conscious or not. The two subsequent experiments did not support the conclusions from the previous two, but gave some implications that shame activation, its consequences, and the effects of conscious versus unconscious activation are highly dependent on personal characteristics and social context. Taken together, data give some support to the validity of Tomkins’ shame conceptualization, but implies that it might be far too general, and that shame emotion might be primarily socially dependent.
  •  
41.
  • Corte, Ugo, 1977- (author)
  • Subcultures and Small Groups : A Social Movement Theory Approach
  • 2012
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • This dissertation uses social movement theory to analyze the emergence, activities and development of subcultures and small groups. The manuscript is comprised of an Introduction followed by three journal articles and one book chapter.  The introduction discusses: 1) the concept of theoretical extension whereby a theory developed for one purpose is adapted to another; 2) it identifies the social movement theories used to analyze subcultures and small groups; 3) it describes the data used in the analyses included here. The data for this work derives from two distinct research projects conducted by the author between 2002 and 2012 and relies on multiple sources of qualitative data. Data collection techniques used include fieldwork, archival research, and secondary data. Paper I uses resource mobilization (RM) theory to analyze the origin, development, and function of White Power music in relation to the broader White Power Movement (WPM). The research identifies three roles played by White Power music: (1) recruit new adherents, (2) frame issues and ideology for the construction of collective identity, (3) obtain financial resources. Paper II gives an overview of the subculture of Freestyle BMX, discussing its origins and developments—both internationally as a wider subcultural phenomenon, and locally, through a three-year ethnographic case study of a subcultural BMX scene known as “Pro Town USA.” Paper III conceptualizes BMX as a social movement using RM theory to identify and explain three different forms of commercialization within this lifestyle sport in “Pro Town.” The work sheds light on the complex process of commercialization within lifestyle sports by identifying three distinct forms of commercialization: paraphernalia, movement, and mass market, and analyses different impacts that each had on the on the development of the local scene.  Findings reveal that lifestyle-sport insiders actively collaborate in each form of commercialization, especially movement commercialization which has the potential to build alternative lifestyle-sport institutions and resist adverse commercial influences. Paper IV refines the small group theory of collaborative circles by: (1) further clarifying its concepts and relationships, (2) integrating the concepts of flow and idioculture, and (3) introducing a more nuanced concept of resources from RM. The paper concludes by demonstrating that circle development was aided by specific locational, human, moral, and material resources as well as by complementary social-psychological characteristics of its members. 
  •  
42.
  • Cronert, Axel, 1986- (author)
  • All Interventionists Now? : On the Political Economy of Active Labor Market Policy as Micro-Interventionist Multi-Tools
  • 2018
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • As recent decades have seen a growing interest in reforming advanced welfare states to promote employment, active labor market policy (ALMP) has emerged as a major topic of inquiry among comparative political economists. Whereas the literature to date disagrees on, and mostly downplays, the role of partisan politics in the development of ALMP, this dissertation shows that political actors systematically use ALMP programs in different ways to achieve distinct political aims. Drawing mostly on a rich, new panel data set on approximately 1,000 programs across Europe, the dissertation draws attention to several politically salient dimensions of ALMP that need to be taken seriously to understand how partisan politics matter in advanced industrial democracies.Essay I reconciles the conflicting understandings of partisanship and ALMP in the ‘power resources’ and ‘insider/outsider’ schools by highlighting that ALMP programs may serve two overarching purposes. The essay shows that left-leaning governments are particularly inclined to expand programs designed primarily to reduce unemployment, whereas governments of all suits are equally supportive of programs that also, or instead, serve to increase labor supply.Essay II focuses on employment subsidies, documenting how these may be designed to tackle different labor market challenges among different target groups. Emphasizing institutional path dependency, the essay then shows that cross-national variation in employment subsidy design broadly reflects the varying institutional regimes in different parts of Europe.Essay III reconsiders the conventional view on the importance of employer involvement and corporatist institutions for ALMP by separating programs produced unilaterally by the state from programs, such as employment subsidies, produced jointly by the state and employers to the benefit of both. The essay finds that corporatist institutions primarily matter for ALMP by paving the way for governments—especially with business-friendly center-right parties—that favor joint over unilateral production.The introductory essay argues that ALMP forms part of a larger family of economic policies that are sufficiently versatile to be sustained and used by actors across the political spectrum. Reviewing long-term trends in economic policy in OECD countries, it shows that these policies, which are here labelled micro-interventionist multi-tools, have expanded considerably since the early 1980s.
  •  
43.
  • Danielson, August (author)
  • The Resilience of Diplomacy : Adaptation and Continuity of Diplomatic Practice in Crises
  • 2023
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • In this thesis, I study how crises impact diplomatic norms and practices. Diplomacy plays a fundamental role in enabling peaceful and constructive relations between states. When successful, it can provide global common goods, ranging from international security, trading rules, to peaceful enforcement of international agreements, as well as resolving collective action problems such as climate change mitigation. Despite this crucial role, we still know relatively little about diplomatic norms and practices, the unwritten rules that structure interactions between diplomats. In particular, we have an insufficient understanding of how and when these norms and practices change. The institution of diplomacy is often described as a conservative one – it upholds a system of conventions that ensure the stability and predictability of relations between states. However, in light of recent political developments that pose challenges to cooperation within the framework of international institutions, it is essential to comprehend the effects of crises on diplomatic practice.Three independent empirical studies are conducted to analyze diplomatic practices in the context of heightened levels of international contestation and crisis. Two of these studies focus on the way in which diplomats responsible for negotiating EU foreign policy cope with increasing contestation between member states. This internal crisis necessitates the development and implementation of practices that ensure that the EU continues to produce common positions and policies. The third study analyzes the way in which the states and state leaders of the G20 dealt with the uncertainty that arose following the transition to virtual summitry during the COVID-19 crisis. The study finds that the transition to virtual summitry created opportunities for signaling status in new ways. Finally, a fourth essay focuses on how practices should be conceptualized and studied. This essay emphasizes the need to understand two dimensions of practices (the rules and logic of a practice) in order to study them and understand their effects.Together, the essays show that diplomatic norms and practices can and do change as a result of crises, but that this change is limited by the dispositions and structural conditions that shape the selection of practices. Shifts in practices linked to crises can thus be likened to how a storm affects the movements of a buoy anchored to the ocean floor. When a storm hits, the buoy might sway, but its movement is ultimately restricted by the length and strength of the chain holding it in place.
  •  
44.
  • Daryani, Achraf, 1954- (author)
  • Diet and Metabolic Risk Factors in Immigrant Women from the Middle East and Swedish-Born Women : A Cross-Sectional Study of Women from Iran, Turkey and Sweden
  • 2006
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • The increasing number of immigrants in Sweden during the past decades has brought the health of different ethnic groups into focus. Many groups of immigrants in Sweden have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and coronary heart disease (CHD) than a Swedish reference group. The objective of this thesis was to study the health status and prevalence of metabolic risk factors among immigrant women from Iran and Turkey in comparison with native-Swedish women. The analyses are based on a cross-sectional study of first-generation immigrant women and women born in Sweden aged 35-64. The women underwent a clinical examination, including blood sampling and anthropometric measurements. Dietary intake was assessed by four repeated 24-hour food intake recalls. The results show important ethnic differences in risk factors for CHD and the metabolic syndrome between the immigrant and the Swedish-born women. Immigrant women from Iran and Turkey are heavier, with a higher prevalence of abdominal obesity and an unfavourable lipid profile and a high degree of physical inactivity during leisure-time, which may predispose for a higher incidence of diabetes and atherosclerotic CVD. The associations between dietary variables and metabolic risk factors were generally relatively weak. The degree of underreporting of the energy was significant, especially among immigrant women, which might have attenuated possible associations. The fatty acid profile of the diet and in serum among the immigrant women indicated both favourable and unfavourable features, despite a higher prevalence of obesity and dyslipidemia compared to the Swedish-born women. Signs of oxidative stress and inflammation are evident in the immigrant women from the Middle East. With reference to ethnical differences in metabolic risk factors, as demonstrated in this thesis, increased emphasis should be given to modifying the underlying factors such as overweight/obesity and physical inactivity associated with the metabolic syndrome in various immigrant groups.
  •  
45.
  • Demmelmaier, Ingrid, 1960- (author)
  • Behaviours, Beliefs and Back Pain : Prognostic Factors for Disability in the General Population and Implementation of Screening in Primary Care Physiotherapy
  • 2010
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to study prognostic factors for prolonged disability in back pain in the general population and physiotherapists’ screening for prolonged disability, applying a social cognitive learning perspective. Methods and results: Studies I and II were based on a survey in the general population in Sweden. Study I included 1024 individuals aged 20-50 years, reporting non-specific back pain. Four groups (n = 100, 215, 172 and 537) based on duration and recurrence of back pain were formed and compared. After controlling for pain intensity, catastrophising and expectations of future pain were positively correlated to pain duration. Perceived social support was negatively correlated to pain duration. Study II was longitudinal over 12 months and analysed one group reporting first-episode back pain (n = 77), and one group reporting long-term back pain (n = 302). Future pain intensity and disability were predicted by initial levels of pain and disability and pain-related cognitions in both groups. Study III examined the inter-rater reliability of a research protocol for assessment of physiotherapists’ telephone screening for prolonged disability. The results demonstrated sufficient inter-rater reliability. Study IV evaluated the effect of a tailored skills training intervention on physiotherapists’ screening for prolonged disability in back pain. Four physiotherapists in primary care participated in four quasi-experimental single-subject studies. Effects were seen in all participants, with increased screening of prognostic factors and less time spent on detailed discussions about back pain. Conclusions: The identification of mainly cognitive explanatory variables indicates the relevance of a social cognitive perspective of back pain-related disability (studies I and II). Physiotherapists’ telephone screening for prolonged disability in back can be reliably assessed (study III). It is suggested that interventions based on social cognitive theory are effective in producing change in specified clinical behaviours in physiotherapists (study IV).
  •  
46.
  • Diamantopoulou, Sofia, 1975- (author)
  • Behavioral and Cognitive Aspects of Poor Peer Relations in Children
  • 2007
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Viewing peer relations as markers of children’s adjustment, the present thesis examined the associations between disruptive behavior problems (i.e., symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder [ADHD] and aggression) and peer relations. A second aim was to examine how children’s cognitive functioning and view of self and of their social standing are associated with their peer relations and interactions. Gender differences in the above relations were also examined. The findings indicate that although disruptive behaviors are related to poor peer relations, low levels of prosociality (Study I) and poor cognitive functioning (i.e., poor executive functioning; Study II) exacerbate children’s peer problems. Further, overly positive perceptions of one’s social acceptance and low global self-evaluations were both related to aggression within the peer group (Study III). As regards gender differences, high levels of symptoms of ADHD and poor executive functioning, had graver consequences for the peer acceptance of girls’ than of boys’ (Study I and Study II) indicating that these characteristics may not fit the cultural stereotype for girls. Results are discussed in terms of viewing poor peer relations as indicators of problematic adjustment, and also, in terms of assessing the particular significance that peer relations have for children’s self-view and behavior within the peer group. Implications of the findings as regards the interactions between behavior, cognitions, and gender on children’s peer relations are also discussed.
  •  
47.
  • Duntava, Aija, 1985- (author)
  • A View on the Invisible : A Study of Relationships between Different Aspects of Health in Populations
  • 2024
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • This thesis studies relationships between different aspects of health. Health is a multi-faceted concept consisting of various aspects: most commonly morbidity, functional limitation, subjective health, and mortality. The relationships between these aspects, however, are not fully understood, so this thesis aims at contributing to our knowledge on the topic. Three studies are included, each with a particular aim within the general objective.The first study is a systematic review of the articles that have attempted to study more than two aspects of health in one model. The review maps out the field of study, presenting and summarising the results of the articles selected to review, thereby also highlighting gaps in the research. One of its conclusions is that studies approaching health as one interconnected system are rare and that the relationships between the different aspects of health do not consistently show significant effects on each other. Additionally, many population groups in terms of age and place of residence are understudied. The findings from the systematic review have largely guided the scientific curiosity of the following two empirical studies.The second study proposes and tests a parsimonious model of health structure consisting of morbidity, functional limitation, and subjective health on the adult respondents of European Social Survey (n=32,679) using structural equation modelling. The findings suggest that, in general, the proposed model holds true but there are age and gender differences in the health structure.The third study explores the variations in the health structure of the adult population in 17 countries in three European regions (North, East, and West). The results show that the model does not apply in all the studied groups across the regions. Clear gender difference in health structure exist in the Western and Northern parts of Europe but not in the East. As to age groups, the analyses show that young adults are similar in their health structure across the regions while there are regional differences between the other two age groups.This thesis shows that it is necessary to study the relationships between different aspects of health as one interconnected system. Furthermore, when health is at centre of scientific inquiry its multiple dimensions as well as age, gender, and regional variations should be acknowledged and taken into account.
  •  
48.
  • Egeberg Holmgren, Linn, 1979- (author)
  • IngenMansLand : om män som feminister, intervjuframträdanden och passerandets politik
  • 2011
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • This thesis explores constructions of gendered and gender political positions and practices of men identifying as ‘feminist’. The analysis is based on qualitative interviews with 28 men aged 20-34. At issue is how seemingly contradictory positions for men as feminists are made comprehensible in theory and practice. An introduction showcase theoretical discussions on gendered experiences and the possibilities of men being feminist, mainly from standpoint, radical feminist and poststructuralist radical constructionist perspectives. Men doing feminism emerge as an unresolved complex matter. This is followed by a critical discussion of state feminism, double emancipation and research on men and masculinities in the welfare state. The support for men’s participation, predominantly as white heterosexual fathers, in the Swedish gender equality project has consequences for the construction of men as potentially ‘new’, ‘good’ gender equal feminist subjects. In the construction of profeminist positions in interview performances, interviewees are located in-between the radical feminist, poststructuralist and gender equality perspectives on men, masculinity and feminism. Two themes involve an implementation of the concept of passing and introduce the analytical concept of co-fielding. Passing consists of the microsociological process of making radical and deconstructive profeminist positions authentic and yet being able to manage masculinity in homosocial contexts. Co-fielding refers to the conjoint interlacing of experiences, knowledge and meaning-making in interview interaction where relations of researcher-researched are characterized by discursive closeness and overlapping positions. Co-fielding practices affect the outcomes of co-construction of interview performances, the negotiation of gender and power relations and the reflexive use of (in this case feminist) knowledge in qualitative interviews. In analyzing the presentations of self, ambiguous meanings of profeminist positions emerge and the doing, undoing and redoing of feminism and masculinity appear multi-faceted. Radical feminism and radical constructionism seem intersected in making men’s feminist positions comprehensible. Such rebellious positions emerge as oxymoronic and, when critically brought into the gender equality context, located in a no man’s land out of place. In all, the thesis seeks to bring together theoretical, national and empirical locations of profeminist men, and in a concluding chapter also explore issues of ethics in feminist research and cross-gender interviewing.
  •  
49.
  • Ekstam, David, 1988- (author)
  • The Socialization of Intergroup Attitudes : The Problem of Generations
  • 2021
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • This doctoral thesis regards long-term aggregate trends in intergroup attitudes and the individual-level mechanisms that underlie change and continuity on the aggregate-level. The thesis focusses primarily on attitudes toward homosexuality in the North American context and attitudes toward immigration in the European context. I approach these subjects from a political socialization perspective, which emphasizes the importance of early-life experiences for the development of political orientations. From this perspective, the expectation is that aggregate-level value change is principally driven by generational replacement.The thesis is comprised of three separate research papers. In the first paper, I address the conflicting findings of prior age-period-cohort studies of long-term change in American attitudes toward homosexuality. The paper demonstrates that the conflicting findings of previous research essentially are a product of different studies using different analytical constraints in order to ensure model identification in the face of the identification problem that exists in age-period-cohort analysis. While this identification problem impedes clear-cut inference with regard to linear cohort effects, I nevertheless propose that generational replacement has been an important factor behind the liberal shift in American public opinion on homosexuality over the past few decades. In the second paper, I examine the lifespan developmental trajectory of attitudes toward homosexuality by the means of American panel data. The paper demonstrates that attitudes toward homosexuality are highly stable on the individual-level but also that attitude stability increases across the human lifespan, which suggest that this kind of attitudes are primarily formed early in life. In the third paper, I look at generational differences in the relationship between education and anti-immigrant sentiment. The paper demonstrates that this relationship has increased in strength across cohorts born over the 20th century in most Western European countries. Importantly, this cross-generational trend has been driven mainly by the highly educated strata of the population. This suggests that the capacity of educational institutions to reduce negative outgroup attitudes through socialization increases as a democratic regime consolidates over time. 
  •  
50.
  • Ekstam, Helen (author)
  • Trångboddhet : Mellan bostadsstandard och boendemoral
  • 2016
  • Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
    • Residential crowding is frequently associated with impoverished segments of the population, often living in distressed neighbourhoods, and with detrimental consequences for crowded households. The aim of this thesis is to apply a sociological and historical perspective on residential crowding by analyzing Swedish governmental texts and quantitative survey data. Politically defined welfare standards, as well as the subjective experience of crowding are analyzed and interpreted through sociological welfare and governmentality theory.The arguments justifying the official governmental standards on residential crowding – first formulated in the mid-1930s – are explored in a discourse analysis. The analysis shows that there is a strong link between what is regarded to be appropriate dwelling space and what is regarded to be morally good housing conditions. In the 1930s and 1940s experts’ decided on what was adequate dwelling space, however in the mid- 1980s experts’ ability to decide on dwelling space was highly questioned. Instead it became an individual responsibility to decide on how to reside. Hence, what constitutes morally good and morally bad dwelling conditions is debated and dispersed on many actors.Two parallel discourses on crowding, a ”gentrified” and a “distressed” are further explored by analyzing the data from a survey study. Subjective as well as objective elements are analyzed by relating socio-economic profiles of the crowded residents in a distressed and a gentrified neighbourhood. Despite income differences within the crowded population, depending on what neighbourhood you live in, the crowded residents in all neighbourhoods experience less freedom regarding their dwelling situation than do non-crowded residents. The least amount of freedom is experienced by those who are crowded both according to the Swedish housing standard and according to a subjective measure of crowding.
  •  
Skapa referenser, mejla, bekava och länka
  • Result 1-50 of 212
Type of publication
doctoral thesis (212)
artistic work (1)
Type of content
other academic/artistic (212)
Author/Editor
Gredebäck, Gustaf, P ... (8)
Fredrikson, Mats, Pr ... (8)
von Hofsten, Claes (7)
Gredebäck, Gustaf (6)
Ghaderi, Ata, profes ... (6)
Näsman, Elisabet, Pr ... (6)
show more...
Lyhagen, Johan (5)
Bohlin, Gunilla, pro ... (5)
Linton, Steven, Prof ... (5)
Larsson, Rolf (4)
Fjellström, Christin ... (4)
Carlsson, Marianne (4)
Falck-Ytter, Terje, ... (3)
Palme, Joakim, Profe ... (3)
Oskarsson, Sven, Pro ... (3)
Dimberg, Ulf, profes ... (3)
Juslin, Peter (3)
Ekehammar, Bo, Profe ... (3)
Pringle, Keith, Prof ... (3)
Juslin, Peter, Profe ... (3)
Lindgren, Karl-Oskar ... (3)
Larsson, Rolf, Profe ... (3)
Mäkinen, Ilkka Henri ... (3)
Andersson, Agneta (2)
Yang-Wallentin, Fan (2)
Falck-Ytter, Terje (2)
Östman, Leif, Profes ... (2)
Melin, Lennart (2)
Ekehammar, Bo (2)
Andersson, Gerhard (2)
Hursti, Timo, Docent (2)
Wiberg, Marie, Docen ... (2)
Jin, Shaobo, 1987- (2)
Olsson, Ulf (2)
Yang-Wallentin, Fan, ... (2)
Rydell, Ann Margret (2)
Bohlin, Gunilla (2)
Johansson, Per, prof ... (2)
Kristofferzon, Marja ... (2)
Mattsson Sydner, Ylv ... (2)
Hjerm, Mikael, Profe ... (2)
Folke, Olle (2)
Åberg, Lars (2)
Holmberg, Tora, Doce ... (2)
Rosander, Kerstin (2)
Dahl, JoAnne (2)
Eriksson, Maria, Pro ... (2)
Cronert, Axel, 1986- (2)
Palme, Joakim, Profe ... (2)
Gustavsson, Gina, Do ... (2)
show less...
University
Uppsala University (210)
Södertörn University (5)
University of Gävle (4)
Mälardalen University (3)
Örebro University (2)
Linköping University (2)
show more...
Högskolan Dalarna (2)
Kristianstad University College (1)
Umeå University (1)
Karlstad University (1)
Swedish National Defence College (1)
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (1)
show less...
Language
English (203)
Swedish (9)
Research subject (UKÄ/SCB)
Social Sciences (142)
Natural sciences (21)
Medical and Health Sciences (14)
Agricultural Sciences (1)

Year

Kungliga biblioteket hanterar dina personuppgifter i enlighet med EU:s dataskyddsförordning (2018), GDPR. Läs mer om hur det funkar här.
Så här hanterar KB dina uppgifter vid användning av denna tjänst.

 
pil uppåt Close

Copy and save the link in order to return to this view