Concluding Remarks : Reflections on Research into Conflict Archaeology

This chapter offers a comprehensive reflection on the field of Conflict Archaeology, focusing on its development, challenges, and future directions. It addresses dominating paradigms within research on conflict-related material, such as the historical reluctance to engage with the topic due to war fatigue and antimilitarism following the World Wars, and highlights how archaeological findings have reshaped our understanding of past conflicts. By examining case studies from Scandinavia, particularly fortification research in Sweden, the chapter explores the growing recognition of Conflict Archaeology as well as the need for conflict research relating to gender. Looking forward, the chapter underscores the importance of applying Conflict Archaeology to contemporary societal challenges, including climate change and ongoing conflicts. Through these insights, it advocates for a more nuanced and socially engaged perspective in conflict research

An alternative open science framework

Purpose – The article uses the Marxist base/superstructure model to frame the current dominant form of open science (OS), presenting a critical analysis drawing on policy documents, empirical examples, and mainstream and critical research. The argument focuses on how the project understands its relation to openness, society, science and information and communication technologies (ICTs). Theoretical concepts as openness ideology, cognitive and academic capitalism, and agonistic pluralism, are used for the analysis and development of an alternative OS framework. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual analysis and ideology critique of OS is conducted within a general Marxist framework. In a subsequent step an alternative form of OS is developed with the help of Chantal Mouffe’s theoretical concept agonistic pluralism. The article’s argument is structured by 4 propositions and 2 proposals. Findings – The current dominant OS framework naturalises commercial enclosures in relation to applied science/open innovation and displays a socially fragmented character in relation to citizen science (CS). This aligns with the openness ideology that downplays the social effect of enclosures related to data, information and knowledge. OS’s focus on standardised applied science accommodates social sciences and humanities under natural sciences’ umbrella. The critique of which, leads to the argument for a political OS, connected to social movements. This alternative is developed around Mouffe’s concept of agonistic pluralism and could counteract the commodification of academia and reinvigorate it with diverse forms of applied research. Originality/value – The article delivers a critical and systematic analysis founded in the Marxist base/superstructure model that frames and combines conceptual elements rarely combined in Library and Information Science’s STS-oriented literature. It problematises the conditions for scholarly research under capitalism’s current cognitive phase and identifies positive potentialities that hitherto have eluded the attention from the wider international Library and Information Science community. Through this, the article contributes to a discussion about what kind of (open) science society needs

Att kombinera Metanarrativ med IndexicalStorytelling: Hur påverkar det spelaren?

This study examines how indexical storytelling, compared to meta-narratives, affects theplayer in terms of the themes narrative interpretation, immersion and self-reflection. Thestudy includes a design project, the creation of a video game with two separate versions, thatwas used to examine these topics. The first version had indexical storytelling, and the secondhad a combination of indexical storytelling and a meta-narrative. Interviews were held withfive participants playing the video game version with indexical storytelling, and fiveparticipants playing the other version with a meta-narrative added. The methods used in thisstudy were in-depth interviews and thematic analysis. The analysis results were discussedbased on the main themes of the study, consisting of narrative interpretation, immersion andself-reflection in each version of the game. The purpose of the study was to identify factorsthat may influence immersion and self-reflection and give players a better insight into thenarrative in video games. The results indicate that both indexical storytelling on its own andtogether with a meta-narrative influenced players immersion, narrative interpretation andself-reflection, but self-reflection was further enhanced by the meta-narrative. It made theplayers reflect on their personal life through the game's character speaking about their life.This reflection was not as evident when only indexical storytelling was present in the game. Denna studie undersöker hur indexical storytelling, jämfört med metanarrativ, påverkarspelaren utifrån teman som narrativ tolkning, immersion och självreflektion. Studieninkluderar ett designprojekt där ett videospel skapades i två separata versioner för attundersöka dessa ämnen. Den första versionen använde indexical storytelling, medan denandra hade en kombination av indexical storytelling och ett metanarrativ. Studien inkluderarintervjuer med fem deltagare som spelade ett datorspel med indexical storytelling och femdeltagare som spelade ett liknande datorspel där ett metanarrativ hade lagts till. De metodersom användes i studien var djupintervjuer och tematisk analys. Analysens resultatdiskuterades utifrån studien huvudteman, som bestod av narrativ tolkning, immersion ochsjälvreflektion i respektive version av spelet. Syftet med studien var att identifiera faktorersom kan påverka immersion och självreflektion och ge spelare en bättre förståelse förnarrativet i datorspel. Resultaten indikerar att både indexical storytelling på egen hand och ikombination med ett metanarrativ påverkar spelarens immersion, självreflektion och narrativatolkning, men självreflektion stärktes ytterligare av metanarrativet. Det fick spelarna attreflektera över sina egna liv genom att spelets karaktär talade om sitt liv. Denna reflektion varinte lika framträdande när endast indexical storytelling var närvarande

Roma Migration and the Cumulative Causation of Diverging Policy Responses in Scandinavia

Since 2007, Scandinavia has emerged as a new destination for Romanian Roma engaging in circular migration for begging and street work. Using policy documents from parliamentary debates in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, survey data on Romanian migrants in Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen, and qualitative fieldwork in Scandinavia and Romania, this article explores the dynamic relationship between Scandinavian policy responses and migrant selection and adaptations. First, we demonstrate how the Scandinavian countries differ in their approach to migration for begging as a policy problem, resulting in different contexts of reception. Second, we show that these different contexts of reception have given rise to differences in the selection and adaptations of migrant beggars and street workers in each of the three capital cities. Third, we hypothesize that the relationship between policy responses and migrant adaptations should be conceptualized as a process of cumulative causation, where pre-existing policy differences are reinforced through positive feedback

Collective dimensions of academic supervision : How the acknowledgment of different actors in degree project supervision can contribute to scaffolding

Academic supervision involves several key actors in addition to supervisors and students, who share the same general objectives. Our aim here is to investigate and discuss collective dimensions of degree project supervision practice by examining how supervisors use the acknowledgment of such key actors within the degree project context, in their interaction with supervised students. In what ways do supervisors in their supervision practice acknowledge various actors within the degree project context? What functions may this have in the supervision interaction? The empirical material consists of recorded supervision sessions with students within teacher education at two Swedish universities. The results show how supervisors used attribution and active voicing to acknowledge the various actors in the degree project context, and how this could be part of the scaffolding means giving instructions and modelling. Based on the analysis of our material, we argue that this can be seen as contributing to the scaffolding intention cognitive structuring, by a) helping students understand the different roles and responsibilities of the different actors, by b) helping them to assess the importance and relevance of the advice given by these actors, and by c) emphasising the students' own role as active participants in the process

Digital work and the development of the digital workplace : Professionals’ experiences of identity and roleperception in an IT-reliant system.

Digitala verktyg spelar en allt större roll i individers yrkesliv. Denna studie undersöker hur digitaliseringen av arbetsplatser och arbetsprocesser påverkar yrkesaktiva, deras IT-identitet och rolluppfattning inom ett IT-beroende arbetssystem. Genom ett sociotekniskt perspektiv samt teorier om IT-identitet, tredje ordningens effekter och sociala aktörer analyseras hur digitalt arbete och den digitala arbetsplatsen formar upplevelsen av arbete och professionell identitet. Studien bidrar med ett medarbetarperspektiv och undersöker hur digitalisering påverkar yrkesroller och identitetsskapande.  Syftet är att förstå hur digitaliseringen av arbetsplatser påverkar individens yrkesroll och identitet samt vilka faktorer som driver dessa förändringar. Studien bygger på en kvalitativ metod där sex djupintervjuer genomfördes med yrkesverksamma från två branscher, valda genom gatekeeper-metoden. Respondenterna har minst tio års yrkeserfarenhet och varierande inställningar till digitalisering.  Analysen visar att digitaliseringen kan stärka yrkesidentiteten hos individer med en stark IT-identitet, medan de med en svagare IT-identitet kan uppleva osäkerhet och marginalisering vid snabb digital utveckling. Införandet av nya digitala verktyg påverkar autonomi och kompetensutveckling, där både möjligheter och utmaningar uppstår.  Sammanfattningsvis visar studien att den digitala arbetsplatsen och digitalt arbete kan stärka professionell identitet och främja yrkesmässig utveckling, men även skapa osäkerhet och förändrade arbetsuppgifter som upplevs som begränsande eller mindre meningsfulla. Dessa insikter fördjupar förståelsen av hur digitala verktyg omformar arbetslivet och medarbetares upplevelser i den digitala arbetsplatsen. Digital tools are playing an increasingly significant role in individuals' professional lives. This study examines how the digitalization of workplaces and work processes affects professionals, their ITidentity, and role perception within an IT-dependent work system. Through a sociotechnical perspective and theories on IT-identity, third-order effects, and social actors, the study analyzes how digital work and the digital workplace shape the experience of work and professional identity. The study contributes with an employee perspective and examines how digitalization influences professional roles and identity.  The purpose is to understand how the digitalization of workplaces affects individuals' professional roles and identities, as well as the factors driving these changes. The study is based on a qualitative method in which six in-depth interviews were conducted with professionals from two industries, selected through the gatekeeper method. The respondents have at least ten years of professional experience and varying attitudes towards digitalization.  The analysis shows that digitalization can strengthen professional identity among individuals with a strong IT-identity, while those with a weaker IT-identity may experience uncertainty and marginalization in the face of rapid digital development. The introduction of new digital tools affects autonomy and skills development, presenting both opportunities and challenges.  In conclusion, the study shows that the digital workplace and digital work can strengthen professional identity and contribute to career development but may also lead to uncertainty and changes in job tasks that are perceived as limiting or less meaningful. These insights deepen the understanding of how digital tools reshape working life and employees' experiences in the digital workplace.

Ett oöverstigligt textuniversum? : Skrivuppgifter och skrivstöd på ett lärarutbildningsprogram

Studien utgår från utmaningen att som student röra sig mellan olika akademiska kontexter och att förstå implicita språkliga normer. Utifrån ett academic literacies - och ett disciplinary literacy -perspektiv undersöks hur förutsättningarna för studenternas insocialisering i ämnesspecifikt språkbruk ser ut på ett grundlärarutbildningsprogram med inriktning mot årskurs 4–6 där studenterna läser många olika ämnen. Förutsättningarna undersöks genom en textanalys av samtliga 44 skrivuppgifter som studenterna erbjuds under en hel utbildning 2019–2022. Skrivuppgifterna analyseras utifrån det stöd som erbjuds för skrivandet och kategoriseras utifrån begreppsliggörande, segmenterande och modellerande stöd som kan förekomma på olika textnivåer: texttyp och kontext, innehåll och struktur samt språk och formalia. Resultaten visar på både vaghet och spretighet. Det saknas systematik och tydlighet såväl inom som mellan ämnen och kurser när det gäller vilka texter som ska skrivas och hur dessa beskrivs och instrueras. Studenterna erbjuds olika typer av stöd, framför allt när det gäller struktur och innehåll men mindre när det gäller språk och övergripande textfunktion. Det framkommer också att det saknas stöd som tydliggör likheter och skillnader mellan ämnesnormer

Mer än matproduktion : Multifunktionellt jordbruk i policy och praktik

Over the course of the past century, European agriculture has transitioned from small-scale, manual farming to more mechanised, industrial practices. This development has resulted in increased productivity but also in environmental problems, such as greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, and social challenges. The policy response to the changed role of farming in the EU has been to apply a multifunctional approach to agriculture. Multifunctional agriculture (MFA) can be defined as an agriculture that is not solely focused on food production, but contributes to several different functions in the societies and ecosystems of which it is a part. Although conflicting values and goals are central challenges in agricultural policy, practice, and research in Europe, and the multifunctional approach to agriculture is dominant in EU policy, conflicts have not been studied to any large extent within the MFA research field. This doctoral thesis analyses conflicting values in relation to multifunctional agriculture. Through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with Swedish farmers and an analysis of policy documents at the national, sub-national and EU level, this thesis paints a broad picture of different aspects of multifunctional agriculture. The thesis contributes a visual conceptualisation of multifunctional agricultural activities to the multifunctional agriculture research field. The findings of this thesis contribute to the body of research that concludes that EU agricultural policy does not contribute enough to multifunctional agriculture. Furthermore, this thesis confirms the existing research finding that Swedish agricultural land is exploited to a larger extent than policymakers intend. There are goal conflicts between different aspects of multifunctional agriculture and it is not possible to solve them all. Practitioners and decision-makers need to decide on the goals they wish to prioritise, even if that decision comes at the expense of other ambitions. One part of the problem is that values are often not commensurable and therefore cannot easily be compared and ranked. Agricultural policy should enable farmers to choose different strategies and encourage diversity, since farmers have different interests and constraints and variable access to agricultural strategies. Such diversity would make EU agriculture better prepared for future environmental and other crises.Errata: Corrections have been made in this thesis on page 64. The wrong figure appeared as Figure 5 and has been replaced. Corrections have been made in the fifth sentence and the seventh sentence has been deleted, see the changes as below. </p

Uppfattnings Utforskning av Karaktär Personlighet- och Egenskaper Genom Visuell Karaktärsdesign

This study has attempted to answer the question of: How do people perceive the personality of characters based on their visual design? with an exploratory quantitative study on people's personality perceptions (Big Five) of 12 characters made for this study. The study utilized 110 participants, each categorized based on their relation to- and experience with character design. The results of the study show that visual character attributes do impact participants' personality perceptions of the characters similar to how most of the previous research had claimed it would. Notable results are that variables such as a big head and big eyes had the greatest effect on perceptions of extraversion, agreeableness and openness personality, but also visual appeal, morality and relatability. The results also showed that a muscular body type had the greatest effect on perceptions of conscientiousness, while a round head shape had the greatest effect on perceptions of neuroticism.Denna studie har försökt besvara frågan: Hur uppfattar människor personligheten hos karaktärer baserat på deras visuella design? med en utforskande kvantitativ studie om människors personlighetsuppfattningar (Big Five) av 12 karaktärer skapade för denna studie. Studien använde sig av 110 deltagare, som var kategoriserade utifrån deras relation- och erfarenhet med karaktärsdesign. Resultaten av studien visar att visuella karaktär attribut påverkar deltagarnas uppfattning av karaktärerna på liknande sätt till hur tidigare forskning hävdade att det skulle. Bland de mest anmärkningsvärda resultaten framkom att variabler som ett stort huvud och stora ögon hade störst effekt på uppfattningen av extraversion, vänlighet och öppenhet, men även på visuell lockelse, moral och relaterbarhet. Resultaten visade också att en muskulös kroppstyp hade störst effekt på uppfattningen av målmedvetenhet (conscientiousness), medan en rund huvudform hade störst effekt på uppfattningen av neuroticism

Ships or People? On Material Agency and the New Early Modern Warships

The title of the article alludes to the contemporary American debate about the significance of firearms for killing and violence; is it guns or people that’s kill? But the aim here is to take this further and ask, more generally, what role do material things have for conflicts, power relations and societal change? This question theoretically concerns various forms of materialism and concepts such as dialectic, entanglement, affordances and possibilism.   In this text, technology and material culture’s role in social formation and historical change is contextualized and discussed based on the building and presence of new heavily armed warships during the 15th and 16th centuries. How do these material innovations relate to the transformation of the society? What role did the big new ships have in the change from Medieval to Modern? The archeological and historical examples are taken from the Baltic Sea region and the Scandinavian countries