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- Gorgis, Mirey, 1982-
(author)
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Allt är våld! : En undersökning av det moderna våldsbegreppet
- 2022
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This study critically examines the intense scholarly interest in violence of recent decades. Consequently, the thesis' main objective is to is to answer two questions in particular: why violence? and why now? First and foremost, this objective is pursued through three separate but interrelated studies. Prior to these, the thesis sets out to affirm the importance of Marquis de Sade and Michel Foucault in thinking violence. First, it is in the literary works of the Marquis de Sade, rather than in Machiavelli or Hobbes, that we find the first traces of a conceptual understanding of violence. Second, drawing on de Sade, it is Foucault who provides the fertile ground from which the field of contemporary violence studies basically springs – in spite of the fact that he himself never devoted any special studies to violence, nor actually developed a specific concept of violence. Part 1, “Literature”, provides a brief overview of the contemporary study of violence as well as a discussion of two thoroughly influential texts in the field: Hannah Arendt’s On Violence (1970) and Giorgio Agamben’s “On the Limits of Violence” (1970). This part surveys the questions of violence specifically posed within the field, with the further purpose of identifying and dissecting common tropes and recurring arguments important to its formation. I make the claim that two notions in particular are utilized to construct violence as a new field of knowledge: the notion of technology and the notion of history. Part 2, “Experience”, consists of a historical interlude in which one of the objectives is to put the hypothesis of the presumably transhistorical and immutable nature of human violence to the test. This is achieved by a close reading of the philosophical texts of Plato as well as the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides. In this part I argue that, in a strict sense, there is no true concept of violence as such in classical Greek antiquity. Instead, we find a multiplicity of embryonic “pre-concepts” that, unlike the various concepts of today, are thought entirely on the basis of relations, rather than on the basis of the objects of violence. The question of violence in classical Greece is, in short, approached in terms of who? rather than what? – pointing toward a promising possibility still open for exploration today. Part 3, “Concepts”, returns to the European discussions of the 1960s and 1970s investigated in part 1, but rather than examining the questions of immediate concern in the respective texts of the period, I approach today’s heightened interest in violence in light of a set of overarching problems, such as the risk of atomic annihilation, political unrest, the fear of propaganda, and brain washing. By way of these problems, I show that, running counter to the philosophical sources on which it draws, the contemporary concept of violence achieves a surreptitious re- institution of the substantial and autonomous subject otherwise believed to be dead. In conclusion, the paradoxical function of the contemporary concept of violence is thus to allow for the return of the kind of subject relentlessly attacked by the radical European thought of the 1960s and 1970s, the same thought which allowed for the invention of the concept in the first place. In this sense our age, in which, it would appear, “everything is violence”, is also an age where a kind of “bia-centrism” provides us, paradoxically, with the last conceptual stronghold for substantial subjects and stable identities.
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| 4. |
- Stagnell, Alexander, 1987-
(author)
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The Ambassador's Letter : On the Less Than Nothing of Diplomacy
- 2019
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The principal aim of this dissertation is to answer the age-old question What is diplomacy? But this study approaches the question in what might, on first look, appear oblique. By employing Slavoj Žižek’s reworked notion of Ideologiekritik with respect to the history, science, and artistic explorations of diplomacy, this work begins by extracting three of its essential problems: the name, death, and representation. A presentation of the central concepts and theoretical perspectives at play in Žižek’s work is elaborated upon, focusing on his understanding of politics, ideology, and the core of the conceptual apparatus of Lacanian psychoanalysis.The overarching argument of the thesis is that diplomacy constitutes an Ideological State Apparatus, i.e. that it offers a symbolic link destined to, through ideology, repress the fundamental inconsistencies of the modern nation state, in order to secure its continuous functioning. Diplomacy is shown to constitute the name that points to the impossibility of the state to become One with itself, and the thesis aims to capture how this impossibility, and that which must be excluded from the state to keep the fantasy of fulness alive, always returns to haunt it. Empirically, this is explored by way of re-reading the history of the word diplomacy, whose modern birth coincided with the events of the French Revolution. The study seeks to retrace diplomacy through three distinct historical formations, which here are referred to as the archi-political, ultra-political, and post-political. Each of theses formations functions as a covering over of the fundamental impossibility of the state. Readings of Immanual Kant, Henry James, André Brink, Mads Brügger, and 20th century IR-theory and Diplomacy Studies are presented in order to elaborate the way in which these formations are constituted as ideological fantasies protecting the state and, for that matter, diplomacy from their abyssal ground.
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| 5. |
- Bengtson, Erik, 1985-
(author)
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The Epistemology of Rhetoric : Plato, Doxa and Post-Truth
- 2019
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis aims to develop an epistemology of rhetoric in light of the apparent contemporary post-truth condition of society. Epistemology is hereby understood as concerned with principles for knowledge production within the academic discipline of rhetoric, as well as with an understanding of knowledge production in the public realm.The first part of the thesis investigates the opposition between opinion (doxa) and true knowledge (epistēmē), which has been said to be at the very heart of the birth of rhetoric itself. I show through readings of Plato's Gorgias, Phaedrus, Theaetetus, Meno and Republic that the contemporary rendering of this birth is, however, haunted by simplification and misrepresentation. Nevertheless, locating and scrutinising these cracks provides avenues toward a contemporary epistemology of rhetoric, and thus to an alternative to the traditional way of re-assessing rhetoric in the wake of Aristotle.Part 2 investigates fives routes for a contemporary re-invention of doxa. Barthes represents the structuralist and poststructuralist route, Hariman rhetorical ontology, Amossy the pragmatic study of doxa, and Rosengren rhetorical-philosophical anthropology. These engagements draw inspiration from the general direction of Rosengren’s work, while striving for the analytical sharpness of Barthes and Amossy, as well as highlighting the importance of understanding of the function of metadiscourse. In part 3, I present ways to reconsider rhetorical theory and how rhetoricians tend to understand argumentation. Seven principles for rhetorical theory are presented, sketching an understanding of the human position that includes embodiment, takes all forms of symbolic influence into account, and considers the sociality and historicity of being, as well as the capacity for human agency. The thesis concludes by presenting a model for rhetorical argumentation which portrays rhetoric as a process of sedimentation and erosion, constituted from an acknowledgement of the reasonableness of everyday wisdom, the establishment of new myths, and the denaturalisation of prevalent beliefs, desires and identities. In its final section, I return to the ethical challenge at the heart of the post-truth narrative, arguing for the potential inherent in the heroic figure of a champion of autonomy.
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- Bergström, Göran, 1964, et al.
(author)
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Prevalence of Subclinical Coronary Artery Atherosclerosis in the General Population
- 2021
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In: Circulation. - Philadelphia : American Heart Association. - 0009-7322 .- 1524-4539. ; 144:12, s. 916-929
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Early detection of coronary atherosclerosis using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA), in addition to coronary artery calcification (CAC) scoring, may help inform prevention strategies. We used CCTA to determine the prevalence, severity, and characteristics of coronary atherosclerosis and its association with CAC scores in a general population.Methods: We recruited 30 154 randomly invited individuals age 50 to 64 years to SCAPIS (the Swedish Cardiopulmonary Bioimage Study). The study includes individuals without known coronary heart disease (ie, no previous myocardial infarctions or cardiac procedures) and with high-quality results from CCTA and CAC imaging performed using dedicated dual-source CT scanners. Noncontrast images were scored for CAC. CCTA images were visually read and scored for coronary atherosclerosis per segment (defined as no atherosclerosis, 1% to 49% stenosis, or ≥50% stenosis). External validity of prevalence estimates was evaluated using inverse probability for participation weighting and Swedish register data.Results: In total, 25 182 individuals without known coronary heart disease were included (50.6% women). Any CCTA-detected atherosclerosis was found in 42.1%; any significant stenosis (≥50%) in 5.2%; left main, proximal left anterior descending artery, or 3-vessel disease in 1.9%; and any noncalcified plaques in 8.3% of this population. Onset of atherosclerosis was delayed on average by 10 years in women. Atherosclerosis was more prevalent in older individuals and predominantly found in the proximal left anterior descending artery. Prevalence of CCTA-detected atherosclerosis increased with increasing CAC scores. Among those with a CAC score >400, all had atherosclerosis and 45.7% had significant stenosis. In those with 0 CAC, 5.5% had atherosclerosis and 0.4% had significant stenosis. In participants with 0 CAC and intermediate 10-year risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease according to the pooled cohort equation, 9.2% had CCTA-verified atherosclerosis. Prevalence estimates had excellent external validity and changed marginally when adjusted to the age-matched Swedish background population.Conclusions: Using CCTA in a large, random sample of the general population without established disease, we showed that silent coronary atherosclerosis is common in this population. High CAC scores convey a significant probability of substantial stenosis, and 0 CAC does not exclude atherosclerosis, particularly in those at higher baseline risk.
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- Ekeman, Karl
(author)
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In Want of a Sovereign : Metapolitics and the Populist Formation of the Alt-Right
- 2023
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The thesis examines the politico-rhetorical dynamics around the 2016 US presidential election through the lens of the Alt-Right, not as a movement but as a signifier in broader political struggles to shape the political space of representation. It employs Ernesto Laclau’s post-foundationalist theory of populism to challenge the conventional perspectives that the Alt-Right was an extension of a radical right-wing movement or ideology. Instead, it demonstrates how the signifier rose to prominence due to its political and rhetorical utility for both its supporters and opponents, and how it eventually led to a political formation expanding beyond the far-right milieu in which the term 'Alt-Right' originally was coined.The study revolves around two questions: How was the Alt-Right symbolically formed in 2016, and how can it inform our understanding of the present conditions of populism? It analyzes the elements that eventually were articulated as Alt-Right, including a far-right milieu of writers with a long-term ”metapolitical” propaganda strategy, online subcultures known for irony, trolling, and provocative humor, and the ”Gamergate” controversy, eventually articulated as a right-wing backlash against progressivism. Quantitative data analysis of the term’s usage on Twitter/X provides an outline of the signifier's career on Twitter. The outline informs the study of the articulation process whereby different elements came to be associated with an emerging Alt-Right political identity. The study analyzes the pivotal moments in the process and emphasizes the significance of Hillary Clinton’s Alt-Right speech in August, 2016. The thesis argues that the formation of the Alt-Right as a political identity challenges the conventional view of populism as proposed by Laclau. In 2016, ‘Alt-Right’ became a counter-hegemonic empty signifier not primarily through counter-hegemonic processes but rather due to the discursive efforts of the hegemonic political axis. The conclusion discusses how this inversion aligns with post-politics, premised as a prevailing logic of articulation and political legitimization, and how this form of legitimization in and around 2016 inadvertently sustained the very far-right movements depicted as its ultimate threat. The concluding discussion offers a theoretical discussion of how and in what way it may continue to do so. In so doing, the thesis indicates present socio-historic conditions for the emergence of populism, understood in the sense explained in the dissertation: as a political situation characterized by a chasm between political alternatives generative of a counter-hegemonic identity.
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| 8. |
- Ekblom Bak, Elin, 1981-, et al.
(author)
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Accelerometer derived physical activity patterns in 27.890 middle‐aged adults : The SCAPIS cohort study
- 2022
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0905-7188 .- 1600-0838. ; 32:5, s. 866-880
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The present study aims to describe accelerometer-assessed physical activity (PA) patterns and fulfillment of PA recommendations in a large sample of middle-aged men and women, and to study differences between subgroups of socio-demographic, socio-economic, and lifestyle-related variables. A total of 27 890 (92.5% of total participants, 52% women, aged 50–64 years) middle-aged men and women with at least four days of valid hip-worn accelerometer data (Actigraph GT3X+, wGT3X+ and wGT3X-BT) from the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study, SCAPIS, were included. In total, 54.5% of daily wear time was spent sedentary, 39.1% in low, 5.4% in moderate, and only 0.1% in vigorous PA. Male sex, higher education, low financial strain, born in Sweden, and sedentary/light working situation were related to higher sedentary time, but also higher levels of vigorous PA. High BMI and having multiple chronic diseases associated strongly with higher sedentary time and less time in all three PA intensities. All-year physically active commuters had an overall more active PA pattern. The proportion fulfilling current PA recommendations varied substantially (1.4% to 92.2%) depending on data handling procedures and definition used. Twenty-eight percent was defined as having an “at-risk” behavior, which included both high sedentary time and low vigorous PA. In this large population-based sample, a majority of time was spent sedentary and only a fraction in vigorous PA, with clinically important variations between subgroups. This study provides important reference material and emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive assessment of all aspects of the individual PA pattern in future research and clinical practice.
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- Oldgren, Jonas, 1964-, et al.
(author)
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Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation estimated risk and prevalent subclinical atherosclerosis in coronary and carotid arteries: A population-based cohort analysis from the Swedish Cardiopulmonary Bioimage Study
- 2021
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In: European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 2047-4873 .- 2047-4881. ; 28:3, s. 250-259
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background It is not clear if the European Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation algorithm is useful for identifying prevalent subclinical atherosclerosis in a population of apparently healthy individuals. Our aim was to explore the association between the risk estimates from Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation and prevalent subclinical atherosclerosis. Design The design of this study was as a cross-sectional analysis from a population-based study cohort. Methods From the general population, the Swedish Cardiopulmonary Bioimage Study randomly invited individuals aged 50-64 years and enrolled 13,411 participants mean age 57 (standard deviation 4.3) years; 46% males between November 2013-December 2016. Associations between Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation risk estimates and coronary artery calcification and plaques in the carotid arteries by using imaging data from a computed tomography of the heart and ultrasonography of the carotid arteries were examined. Results Coronary calcification was present in 39.5% and carotid plaque in 56.0%. In men, coronary artery calcium score >0 ranged from 40.7-65.9% and presence of carotid plaques from 54.5% to 72.8% in the age group 50-54 and 60-65 years, respectively. In women, the corresponding difference was from 17.1-38.9% and from 41.0-58.4%. A doubling of Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation was associated with an increased probability to have coronary artery calcium score >0 (odds ratio: 2.18 (95% confidence interval 2.07-2.30)) and to have >1 carotid plaques (1.67 (1.61-1.74)). Conclusion Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation estimated risk is associated with prevalent subclinical atherosclerosis in two major vascular beds in a general population sample without established cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus. Thus, the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation risk chart may be of use for estimating the risk of subclinical atherosclerosis.
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| 10. |
- Sundström, Johan, Professor, 1971-, et al.
(author)
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Weight gain and blood pressure
- 2020
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In: Journal of Hypertension. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0263-6352 .- 1473-5598. ; 38:3, s. 387-394
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Although the causality of the obesity—hypertension association is established, the potential for prevention is not. We hypothesized that weight gain between early adulthood and mid-life is associated with higher mid-life blood pressure.METHODS: We investigated the hypothesis using a large contemporaneous population-based mid-life cohort of men and women aged 50-64 years. Recalled body weight at age 20 years was self-reported, and mid-life body weight and office blood pressures were measured in accordance with a detailed protocol.RESULTS: On average, men had gained 14.9 (95% CI 14.6-15.2) kg of weight, and women 14.6 (95% CI 14.4-14.9) kg, between age 20 years and the mid-life examination, corresponding to 0.40 (95% CI 0.39-0.41) kg/year for men and women. Both weight at age 20 years and weight at the mid-life examination were associated with mid-life blood pressures. On average, a 10 kg weight increase between age 20 years and mid-life was associated with 2.2 (95% CI 0.9-3.5) mmHg higher systolic and 1.7 (95% CI 0.9-2.5) mmHg higher diastolic mid-life blood pressure in men, and 3.2 (2.5-4.0) mmHg higher systolic and 2.4 (1.9-2.9) mmHg higher diastolic mid-life blood pressure in women. Mid-life weight was more closely associated than weight at age 20 years with mid-life blood pressure. For a given mid-life weight, blood pressure was higher in persons with higher weight gain from age 20 years.CONCLUSION: In sum, weight gain between early adulthood and mid-life was associated with higher mid-life blood pressure. The magnitude of the association indicates a potentially great public health impact of strategies to prevent weight gain throughout adulthood.
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| 11. |
- Östgren, Carl Johan, et al.
(author)
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Prevalence of atherosclerosis in individuals with prediabetes and diabetes compared to normoglycaemic individuals-a Swedish population-based study.
- 2023
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In: Cardiovascular diabetology. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1475-2840. ; 22:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Patients with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of death and cardiovascular events and people with diabetes or prediabetes have been found to have increased atherosclerotic burden in the coronary and carotid arteries. This study will estimate the cross-sectional prevalence of atherosclerosis in the coronary and carotid arteries in individuals with prediabetes and diabetes, compared with normoglycaemic individuals in a large population-based cohort.The 30,154 study participants, 50-64years, were categorized according to their fasting glycaemic status or self-reported data as normoglycaemic, prediabetes, and previously undetected or known diabetes. Prevalence of affected coronary artery segments, severity of stenosis and coronary artery calcium score (CACS) were determined by coronary computed tomography angiography. Total atherosclerotic burden was assessed in the 11 clinically most relevant segments using the Segment Involvement Score and as the presence of any coronary atherosclerosis. The presence of atherosclerotic plaque in the carotid arteries was determined by ultrasound examination.Study participants with prediabetes (n=4804, 16.0%) or diabetes (n=2282, 7.6%) had greater coronary artery plaque burden, more coronary stenosis and higher CACS than normoglycaemic participants (all, p<0.01). Among male participants with diabetes 35.3% had CACS≥100 compared to 16.1% among normoglycaemic participants. For women, the corresponding figures were 8.9% vs 6.1%. The prevalence of atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries was higher in participants with previously undetected diabetes than prediabetes, but lower than in patients with known diabetes. The prevalence of any plaque in the carotid arteries was higher in participants with prediabetes or diabetes than in normoglycaemic participants.In this large population-based cohort of currently asymptomatic people, the atherosclerotic burden in the coronary and carotid arteries increased with increasing degree of dysglycaemia. The finding that the atherosclerotic burden in the coronary arteries in the undetected diabetes category was midway between the prediabetes category and patients with known diabetes may have implications for screening strategies and tailored prevention interventions for people with dysglycaemia in the future.
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