Fashion, Awareness and Environment : Qualitative study on Djerf Avenue's sustainability communication and its impact on brand identity.

AbstractAuthors: Emma Möller and Malin Leithe Title: Fashion, Awareness and Environment - Qualitative study on Djerf Avenue's sustainability communication and its impact on brand identity. Language: Swedish Pages: 56 By examining Djerf Avenue, an influencer-owned fashion brand, this qualitative study aims to explore the role of sustainability communication and its impact on female consumers' perceptions and attitudes. The study addresses a knowledge gap by focusing on the interaction between brand identity and ecological sustainability communication, providing a deeper understanding of the role of influencer-owned brands in sustainability marketing communication and its effects on consumer behavior.  The study utilized a qualitative method with interviews of eight female consumers who follow Djerf Avenue on Instagram and have purchased from the brand. These interviews were thematically analyzed with the support of theoretical frameworks such as green market communication and Aaker's brand identity model. The results of the study show that Djerf Avenue's communication strategies, which emphasize timeless design and sustainability measures, shape consumers' view of the brand and their purchasing behavior. The study highlights a certain skepticism about the brand's credibility in sustainability communication. The results indicate that influencer communication, especially from Matilda Djerf, plays a central factor in forming consumers' perception of sustainable fashion and their buying habits. Djerf Avenue, as an influencer-owned brand, faces the challenge of striking a balance between economic incentives and authentic sustainability communication, necessitating transparency and credibility to avoid skepticism and credibility issues. In conclusion, provides valuable insights into how influencer-owned brands like Djerf Avenue should handle their sustainability communication to meet consumers' growing awareness and expectations regarding environmental issues within the fashion industry.   Keywords: Djerf Avenue, ecological sustainability, brand identity, Matilda Djerf, green marketing communicatio

Navigating Crisis : A Quantitative Study on Corporations’ Strategic Decisions Regarding the Russia-Ukraine War.

Background: In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine and put the world into a state of geopolitical crisis, leading to severe negative spillover effects on the global economy. Corporations were compelled to respond to the geopolitical crisis, while some were indirectly exposed to the war and others directly affected, all corporations had to decide on their strategic actions. Thus, questions arise how and why corporations acted as they did. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how corporations react to a geopolitical crisis, and further explain how they make their strategic decisions. The study adopts a contingency perspective to identify the fundamental basis upon which strategic decisions were made. Additionally, the study tests whether stakeholders’ influences can explain the corporations’ decisions. Method: This study employs a quantitative methodology with a deductive approach in an exploratory and positivistic paradigm. This is done to examine the relationship between corporations’ exposure to Russia, stakeholders’ influences, and strategic decisions regarding the Russia-Ukraine war. Data were gathered from annual reports and various databases, and analyzed using Spearman correlation matrix and linear regression models. Conclusion: The findings show that corporations act differently depending on their contingencies in reaction to a geopolitical crisis. Furthermore, stakeholders influence the strategic decisions in corporations indirectly affected by the geopolitical crisis, however, their influence is diminished in corporations directly impacted. While some stakeholder influences were found on the strategic decisions made by the most severely impacted corporations, other factors seem to ultimately determine the strategic decisions in the directly impacted corporations

Ordinary people, meaningful pasts – Negotiating narratives in public pedagogical spaces of family history research

This dissertation examines three family history research experiences as public pedagogical spaces, analysing the narratives presented and participants’ negotiations with these. In the context of enhanced digitalisation and rapidly developing technologies, disturbances in the form of pandemics, hackers, and wars remind us of the instability of the present, raising existential questions and reinforcing the desire to anchor oneself in the past. Despite this growing interest, academic research focusing on family history is sparse. This dissertation project is unique in its focus on a Swedish context, the selection of three specific family history experiences as case studies, and its use of a public pedagogical perspective examining relational learning beyond formal institutions intrinsically woven within the fabric of society. This dissertation uses three case studies as reflections of more extensive experiences of the phenomenon of interest in family history and the past. These include the Swedish family history television series Allt för Sverige’s previous contestants’ narratives, the results from four genetic ancestry testing companies, and participants’ narratives from two Swedish non-formal family history research courses. Analysing these further within this compilation dissertation engages a conceptual framework consisting of Rüsen’s historical narrative typology, Hall’s decoding/encoding model, and Ellsworth’s use of Public Pedagogy as relational and facilitating transitional spaces for knowledge in the making. An emphasis on the process of pedagogy, rather than the product of knowledge, is prominent in this hermeneutic phenomenological study and reflects the concept of Bildung as the cultivation of the whole person. The findings reveal a more complex picture of family historians, history, and family history research experiences than what is often portrayed. Participants deem not only the effervescent or exceptional findings and activities valuable, but the everyday banal is perceived as significant and contributes to the development of understanding and meaning. Moreover, regardless of the physical site of the experience, the infused pedagogical intent is illustrated through participants’ interactions and negotiations. In a field surrounded by rock walls their ancestor built, discovering a relative had only five spoons in a testament, or examining a deep map to trace the movements of ancestors all provide opportunities to juxtapose, confirm, and/or challenge previous knowledge with new information and experiences, reiterating the extensive reach of public pedagogy. Despite narratives presenting conflicting depictions of the past, participants of this study demonstrate agency in their negotiations, resulting in enhanced empathy and enriched historical consciousness. By exploring these family history research experiences as pedagogical spaces, this dissertation provides a more nuanced understanding of the broader field of public pedagogy and contributes new insights from Swedish and participants’ perspectives to the growing body of research on family history. It highlights the potential and benefits of examining the small, seemingly insignificant, everyday items and events. Moreover, it contributes a more comprehensive illustration of the seepage/pervasiveness of public pedagogy as complex and relational.I denna avhandling undersöks tre släktforskningsupplevelser som utgår från en svensk kontext och fungerar som exempel av det som på engelska kallas för public pedagogical spaces. Avhandlingen analyserar vilka narrativ som framträder och deltagarnas förhandlingar av dessa. Ökad digitalisering och snabbt utvecklad teknik påminner oss om hur instabil samtiden är. Problem och utmaningar i form av pandemier, hackerattacker och krig väcker existentiella frågor och underblåser människors strävan mot att förankra sig i det förflutna. Dessa tendenser förstärker även behovet av att studera släktforskning vetenskapligt vilket ännu inte fullt ut återspeglas av det växande intresset. I avhandlingen ses public pedagogy som relationellt lärande bortom formella institutioner men nära sammanvävt med samhället. Det omfattande intresset för släktforskning och det förflutna representeras i denna avhandling av tre fallstudier. De inkluderar narrativen hos deltagare i den svenska släktforsknings-tv-serien Allt för Sverige, resultat från fyra genetiska släktforskningsföretag samt deltagares narrativ i två svenska icke-formella släktforskningskurser. För att analysera dessa används ett konceptuellt ramverk bestående av Rüsens historiska narrativa typologi, Halls encoding-/decodingmodell och Ellsworth användning av public pedagogy som relationellt och format av vad Ellsworth benämner transitional spaces i byggandet av kunskap. Centralt i denna hermeneutisk-fenomenologiska avhandling är betoningen av den pedagogiska processen, snarare än kunskapen som produkt, vilket återspeglas i användandet av begreppet Bildung som kultivering av hela människan. Resultaten ger en mer nyanserad bild av familjehistoria, historieintresse och släktforskningsupplevelser än den som ofta presenteras. Deltagarna anser inte bara att de extraordinära resultaten och aktiviteterna som värdefulla, utan även att det vardagliga uppfattas som betydelsefullt och bidrar till utvecklingen av förståelse och mening. Oavsett den fysiska platsen för upplevelsen illustreras dessutom den pedagogiska avsikten genom deltagarnas interaktioner och förhandlingar. Att besöka en bondgård omgiven av stenmurar byggda av deras förfäder, upptäcka att en släkting bara hade fem skedar enligt testamentet, eller utforska en djupkarta för att spåra förfädernas rörelser ger ytterligare möjligheter att jämföra, bekräfta och/eller utmana tidigare kunskaper med ny information och nya erfarenheter, vilket bekräftar den breda räckvidden av public pedagogy. Trots förekomsten av motsägelsefulla framställningar av det förflutna i de undersökta fallen, visar deltagarna aktörskap i sina förhandlingar, vilket resulterar i ökad empati och ett berikat historiemedvetande. Att utforska släktforskningsupplevelser som pedagogiska miljöer för lärande ger en mer nyanserad inblick i det breda fältet public pedagogy. Denna avhandling bidrar med nya insikter från en svensk kontext, från ett deltagarperspektiv och med en pedagogisk inriktning, till det växande intresset för släktforskning. Avhandlingen belyser potentialer i att undersöka de små, till synes triviala, vardagliga föremålen och händelser. Dessutom bidrar den med en mer omfattande förståelse av public pedagogy som synnerligen komplext och relationellt.The three original papers are interleaved in the thesis text. All are published under Creative Commons licenses.</p

Tools for prevention of sexual exploitation of human trafficking in war : A transnational radical feminist approach

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka verktyg för att förebygga människohandel för sexuella ändamål under kriget mellan Ukraina och Ryssland, samt att identifiera utmaningar och möjligheter vid användningen av dessa verktyg baserat på experternas insikter. Studien strävar efter att öka förståelsen för effektiva metoder att motverka denna form av exploatering.  Kvalitativa, semistrukturerade intervjuer via videosamtal och e-post användes för att samla experternas syn på kopplingen mellan kriget och människohandel. Denna metod tillät experterna att reflektera över sina uppfattningar och gav möjlighet till följdfrågor. Ett målstyrt urval av experter inom människohandel säkerställde relevant och djupgående data. Etiska överväganden inkluderade skydd av anonymitet och informerat samtycke.  Experterna framhöll flera viktiga verktyg och insikter för att motverka krigets påverkan på människohandel. Några noterade att krigets fokus drar uppmärksamhet från sociala problem som människohandel, vilket förvärrar dessa problem. Andra betonade historiska och kulturella faktorer som formar dynamiken kring människohandel och behovet av att förstå långsiktiga strukturella och postkoloniala faktorer. Effektiva strategier kräver en balans mellan omedelbara åtgärder och långsiktiga lösningar.  Massmedias roll framstod som ett stort verktyg med potential att öka medvetenheten. Etiska principer och journalistutbildning är avgörande, liksom transparens och informationsverifiering. Rapporteringens konflikter, resursbrist och tekniska hinder måste hanteras. Mediebevakningen missar ofta kvinnors perspektiv och erfarenheter.  Utmaningar som opålitliga data och tekniska hinder påverkar informationens tillförlitlighet, vilket betonar behovet av en flerdimensionell strategi som inkluderar både akuta åtgärder och långsiktiga strukturella förändringar. The purpose of this study is to explore tools for preventing sex trafficking during the Ukraine- Russia war and to identify the challenges and opportunities in using these tools based on expert insights. The study aims to enhance the understanding of effective methods to combat this exploitation.  Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted via video calls and email to gather experts' views on the connection between the war and sex trafficking. This approach allowed experts to reflect on their perceptions and provided opportunities for follow-up questions. A purposive sample of human trafficking experts ensured relevant and in-depth data. Ethical considerations included protecting anonymity and obtaining informed consent.  Experts highlighted important tools and insights to counteract the war's impact on human trafficking. Some noted that the war's focus diverts attention from social issues like trafficking, worsening these problems. Others emphasized the historical and cultural factors shaping trafficking dynamics and the need to understand long-term structural and postcolonial factors. Effective strategies require balancing immediate actions and long-term solutions.  Media's role emerged as a major tool with its potential to raise awareness. Ethical principles and journalist training are crucial, as is transparency and information verification. Reporting conflicts, resource constraints, and technical challenges need managing. Media coverage often misses women's perspectives and experiences.  Challenges like unreliable data and technical obstacles affect information credibility, highlighting the need for a multidimensional strategy that includes both immediate measures and long-term structural changes.  Keywords: Human trafficking, Ukraine-war, sexual exploitation, preventive work, war, victims of human trafficking, counteract, women, children, conflict, feminist perspective.

Brousseau and the theory of didactical situations in mathematics

Matematikundervisningen har en flera hundra år lång historia och matematik är idag ett av de ämnen i grundskolan som det undervisas mest i. Trots det visar resultatet från den internationella undersökningen PISA 2022 att elever i den svenska skolan presterar lågt i jämförelse med tidigare PISA-studier i ämnet matematik. Forskning visar att det är lärarens kompetens som är den mest väsentliga faktorn för elevernas lärande och därmed behövs nya perspektiv på lärarens undervisning i matematik. Något som har väckt stort internationellt intresse under de senaste femton åren är den franska undervisningen i matematik där Brousseaus teori om didaktiska situationer i matematik är en central del. Därför är syftet med denna litteraturstudie att lyfta teorin samt hur forskningen använder den. Resultatet visar att teorin kan användas som undervisningsdesign för att främja elevernas lärande och som ett framgångsrikt verktyg för att observera och analysera lärares roll i undervisningen. Dessutom används teorin som grund för ett undervisningsprogram

Japan's energy transition : Renewable energy adoption and assessment of policy impact

This thesis investigates Japan's policy for energy transition towards renewables to mitigate its reliance on foreign fossil fuels. Analysis of CO2 intensity, sectoral energy intensity, total consumption, and renewables share vis-a-vis G20 peers’ reveals Japan's current status as a less green economy. Historical context underscores the pace of energy transitions, while examination of current and potential energy sources highlights promising avenues for future energy independence. Policy analysis, particularly the FIT policy post-Fukushima, demonstrates its role in promoting renewable adoption. Statistical models, including the Chow test and environmental Kuznets curve, confirm the policy's efficacy in boosting renewables' share. While there are ambiguity regarding the extent of the policy’s impact, the analysis provides supporting evidence for the promotion to renewable energy in the sectors analysed. The study suggests future research avenues using autoregressive models to uncover underlying determinants of structural energy transition shifts

Competence Management in Rural Family SMEs : An Exploration of Challenges and Strategies

Regardless of firm size, governance structure, and ownership form, all firms depend on competencies, i.e., skills, knowledge, and qualifications, as a vital resource for business prosperity. However, previous research has shown that access to crucial competencies varies depending on the context in which the firm operates. It has previously been suggested that firms operating in rural contexts are substantial contributors to local and national economy, although these firms are generally small and have limited access to crucial resources that enable business prosperity. Simultaneously, in recent decades, the rural context has proved to offer limited competencies that match the competence needs of the firms operating in this context because individuals with specialised competencies have extensively ‘emigrated’ from rural areas to seek more advantageous job opportunities and access to crucial infrastructure in urban areas. This has left rural areas with low population density and, as a result, downshifted infrastructure. Most of these small firms operating in the rural context have a family ownership structure, which is associated with specific familiness traits in their governance. These familiness traits produce an even narrower selection of competencies than other firms have. Small, family-owned firms operating in rural contexts thus have limited access to matching competencies due to the extensive rural competence scarcity, and simultaneously, they ‘block’ the few potential competencies available by preserving familiness and long-term firm heritage. This downward rural spiral creates challenges for rural family firms and affects the competence management strategies they apply to navigate this situation. The purpose of this dissertation is to deepen the understanding of challenges and strategies in rural family SMEs’ (small and medium-sized enterprises) competence management and examine how industry affiliation, location, competence diversity, and business disruptions affect these firms’ challenges and strategies. Three research questions guided the empirical studies of this dissertation: RQ1) How do industry affiliation and location affect the prerequisites and strategies for competence management in rural family SMEs? RQ2) In which ways and why does familiness affect competence diversity in rural family SMEs in terms of finding, attracting, and retaining competencies? RQ3) Which competence management strategies do rural family SMEs apply to enhance entrepreneurial endurance during business disruptions and why? Three studies were conducted that applied both qualitative and quantitative as well as a mixed-methods approach. Two industries were investigated in different geographical areas: the manufacturing industry and the tourism industry in southern and northern Sweden. The resource-based view (RBV) was used to understand how rural family SMEs find, attract, and retain competencies, while socio-emotional wealth theory (SEW) was applied to delve deeper into the how values, norms, and behaviours of the family SME-owners guide the management of competencies. SEW theory was also applied to understand how familiness traits affect the strategies of rural family SMEs. Previous studies have not thoroughly outlined this allocation of competencies in rural family SMEs, nor has the perspective of how familiness affects competence management strategies in rural family SMEs been investigated. These two perspectives can deepen the understanding of which competence management challenges rural family SMEs face and how they develop their strategies. This dissertation finds that rural family SMEs use short-term competence management strategies rather than long-term prospects to navigate rural competence scarcity; this finding contradicts previous research indicating that family firms act with a long-term perspective. Rural competence scarcity, in combination with unique familiness traits, pushes rural family SMEs towards short-term strategies rather than long-term prospects to fill their immediate competence needs. The rural location is proved to affect the competence management extensively, as rural family SMEs find that they cannot compete with the salaries offered in urban areas. The two industries examined here use strategies with some similarities to manage their competencies by prioritising family members in positions within the firm and by recruiting individuals from their closest networks. While the manufacturing industry, for instance, uses coopetition as a competence management strategy, the tourism industry uses seasonal staff. This study further reveals that rural family SMEs use network coopetition as an advantageous competence management strategy to navigate business disruptions, such as crises. There is an extensive need for rural family SMEs to exchange knowledge when competencies are scarce during business disruptions, which makes them seek competitors for collaboration. The use of the network coopetition strategy enhances robustness for rural family SMEs, which helps them endure business disruptions better than other firms. The small size of their firms makes network coopetition a successful competence strategy to use during business disruptions. An important contribution is that familiness causes reluctance towards competence diversity – such as bringing competencies from outside into the network – in rural family SMEs, and thus, they have a rather ambiguous attitude towards bringing diverse competencies into their firms. As previous research has established that competence diversity enhances business performance and growth, rural family SMEs' ambiguous attitude towards it sheds light on a rather ‘closed’ working environment that does not properly use potentially available external competencies at hand, despite the need to do so. An important theoretical implication is that, complementing prior research, the findings of this dissertation show that rural family SMEs do not solely rely on internal resources, as RBV suggests, to make ends meet, but also on external resources. Another implication is that the few competencies available in rural areas must be better matched with the competence needs of the family SMEs operating there. The findings suggest that more attention must focus on addressing the extensive difficulties that rural family SMEs face in meeting their competence needs due to rural competence scarcity. Sufficient, functioning infrastructure is a crucial aspect that could prevent rural competencies from being lost. Starting educational programmes that nurture necessary competencies in rural areas to match competence needs could also increase the attractiveness of working and living in those areas

Improving Load Planning Process in CLT Using BIM Automation Tools

The use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) in the construction industry has increased in recent years, leading to a need for increased production capacity at manufacturer. To meet this growing demand, work processes in CLT production need to be improved. One of these critical work processes is load planning, which affects both the production flow during manufacturing and the assembly process at the construction site. The aim of this study is to identify challenges in load planning and investigate if the use of BIM automation tools can enhance the efficiency of load planning. A Design Research Methodology (DRM) was conducted, with interviews of load planners and assembly leaders to understand user needs, identify challenges and the most time-consuming tasks in the load planning process. The research resulted in a Revit plug-in aimed to improve load planning while considering both production flow and the assembly process. This study showed that BIM automation tools can streamline the load planning process by automating the most time-consuming tasks, transferring the load planning process from 2D to a 3D environment, and developing an automated check system to ensure quality at each stage of the process. BIM also contributed to reducing load planning time, decreasing the risk of human errors and enabling a more efficient workflow in the 3D environmen