ÄR GRÖNT SPRÅK LIKA MED GRÖN VERKLIGHET? En kritisk retorikanalys av H&M’s hållbarhetskommunikation

Executive summary In the 21st century, the environment and sustainability initiatives have become a major focus of attention worldwide. It is increasingly common for the public to hold companies accountable for the impact of their activities on the environment. While many companies are adapting to green production and promoting these initiatives, some companies are instead exploiting the social discourse of environmental responsibility for their own benefit. This can for instance be done by strategically using the increased attention for sustainability to strengthen the own brand, while transparency may be selective and the company still has a huge environmental impact. This study therefore examines the linguistic strategies that the company H&M uses in their communication to investors in their sustainability reports of 2023. The aim is then to see what consequences their statements may have, in relation to the massive criticism they have received regarding greenwashing in their corporate communication. By doing this, I believe one can see if and how any greenwashing is expressed through language. Which could in its turn be a danger to the consumers trust, the legitimacy of the fashion industry and simply the larger discourse of environmental responsibility. This study aims to critically analyze the rhetoric of H&M's linguistic strategies. The scientific discipline of rhetoric plays a prominent role in this study, both as a theoretical framework and as an analytical method. Given the purpose of the study, a qualitative method is therefore best suitable, as the focus of the study will be on analyzing the meaning, content and context of H&M's sustainability communication. The results of the study identified a variety of linguistic strategies used by H&M, including emphasizing partnerships with influential actors, highlighting its own expertise and experience in environmental work and emphasizing strong shared values as the basis for sustainability work. In summation, the study concludes that H&M does not communicate about its sustainability work in an honest way and is thus guilty of a form of greenwashing; selectively disclosing positive things, while excluding any negative information

KVINNLIGT OCH MANLIGT I POLITIKEN En studie om jämställdhet, kläder och makt

I den könade maktdynamiken styr normer och föreställningar till de minsta delarna av våra liv. Normerna kontrollerar hur vi beter oss, vilka vi är och hur vi ser ut. Kläder är en grundläggande del av vår sociala värld som besitter mening. De kläder vi har på oss sänder ut signaler om vår identitet och vilken plats vi har i samhället. Kläderna kopplas till feminint eller maskulint och i sin tur till underordning eller överordning, och därmed makt. Inom politiken är kläder en viktig aspekt då kläderna kan spegla ledarskapet, auktoriteten, förtroendet och makten. Rimligtvis bör politiker vilja signalera makt då de de facto är makten. Hur ser makten och kläder ut inom politiken som även den är präglad av den könade maktdynamiken? Vi vet för lite om hur jämställdheten ser ut inom den relativt jämställda svenska politiken och kopplingen mellan kläder och makt. I denna uppsats görs en fenomenologisk studie om hur makt tar sig i uttryck i svenska ministrars kläder och om uttrycket för makt i detta avseende blivit mer jämställt i takt med att Sverige blivit det i andra avseenden som exempelvis kvinnlig politisk representation. Materialet är foton från regeringar 1978-2022. Analysen visar att män kontinuerligt klär sig i det som tolkas som ett tydligt maktuttryck. Kvinnor klär sig mycket mindre på ett sätt som tolkas som maktfullt men också mindre enhetligt över tid. Polariseringen mellan kvinnor har ökat där man antingen klär sig mer maktfullt än tidigare eller mindre maktfullt, mer feminint och mer sexualiserande än tidigare

Losing Your Grip: Feelings of Control and Unsubstantiated Political Beliefs

Widespread corruption has equally widespread impact on the people and functioning of that society. However, while abuses of power may be found in all societies, in many places corruption is far less common and individuals are unlikely to experience it firsthand. In these less-corrupt settings there are nonetheless surprising portions of the populace that believe corruption and related abuses of power to be widespread. Even if unsubstantiated, these perceptions are troubling because they can nonetheless result in serious consequences for individual attitudes and behaviors that have ramifications for the society. Despite this, we still understand relatively little about the roots of these perceptions, particularly in settings where these perceptions are unlikely to be driven by the experience of corruption. This dissertation suggests that the issues of corruption and electoral misconduct present individuals with a plausible explanation for a host of individual and societal problems they might face, and heightened perceptions of corruption may thus offer those individuals a means to compensate for real or perceived limits to personal control. Theoretically, I draw from and expand upon research that has demonstrated threats to personal control to increase susceptibility to other unsubstantiated beliefs such as conspiracy theories as a compensatory response. I argue that several features found across these kinds of beliefs can make perceptions of corruption and election fraud an effective and potentially low-cost response to limited personal control, with these features also being found in populist rhetoric. However, the compensatory potential offered by these beliefs is conditional upon several societal factors, which are most consistently found in well-functioning democratic societies. I explore this issue in four papers, examining how personal control is related to perceptions of corruption and election fraud, as well as the appeal of populist rhetoric, in well-functioning democratic settings relative to the nature of this relationship in settings where corruption is more widespread. Across these studies, I find that increasing feelings of limited control are associated with increased perceptions of corruption, greater belief in election fraud, and increased support for parties using populist rhetoric. This association is strongest and most consistently found in the countries that are both least corrupt and perform best on democratic measures. The results highlight areas where further research is needed to better understand the drivers of these perceptions. They also suggest growing challenges that may be posed by ongoing sociopolitical developments

Vägen till framgång eller splittring: Våldsamma flankers påverkan på ickevåldsrörelsers framgång En jämförande fallstudie om nonviolent resistance

This thesis investigates how the presence of violent flanks influences the ability of nonviolent resistance movements to achieve political goals. Nonviolent resistance has historically been more successful than violent movements. However, the effect of violent flanks within or alongside such movements remains contested in research. Using the framework of violent flank effect and investigating this research debate, the study analyzes two cases in the wake of the Arab Spring: the Tunisian Revolution and the Syrian Revolution. The research applies a comparative case study design and utilizes process tracing to examine the hypothesized causal mechanisms of mobilization and repression. The results indicate that violent flanks have predominantly negative effects on nonviolent movements by reducing legitimacy, decreasing mobilization, and with less support of justifying increased repression by the state. In Tunisia, where violent flanks were largely absent, the movement successfully mobilized broad societal support including the country’s military and largest labor union, culminating in the ousting of President Ben Ali. Conversely, in Syria, the emergence of the Free Syrian Army as the movement’s violent flank fragmented the movement, intensified state repression, and led to a prolonged civil war, ultimately undermining the nonviolent resistance. These findings contribute to the broader understanding of how nonviolent strategies can be adapted to mitigate the risks associated with violent flanks, particularly in repressive political contexts. The thesis highlights the importance of maintaining unity and legitimacy within nonviolent movements to sustain mobilization and achieve long-term political goals

“Man går in på en app och så har man liksom hela världen framför sig ”. En kvalitativ intervjustudie om unga vuxnas syn på sitt TikTok-användande

Executive summary This study explores how young adults engage with TikTok, particularly regarding media literacy, algorithmic awareness, and credibility assessment. TikTok’s personalized content flow, shaped by its algorithm, influences how users interact with and perceive information. Through qualitative interviews, this study examines how a selected group of young adults navigates these aspects of TikTok, how they assess the reliability of content, and how they reflect on their own media habits in relation to the platform. The study employs a qualitative research approach, conducting semi-structured interviews with ten young adults aged 20–25 who are active TikTok users. The selection of participants was made through purposive and snowball sampling, ensuring that the study captures rich and detailed individual experiences rather than aiming for statistical generalizability. Thematic analysis was applied to identify key patterns and insights emerging from the participants' reflections. The study is based on Rhythmanalysis (Lefebvre, 2004), which is used to understand how TikTok integrates into users’ daily routines through different types of rhythms. Additionally, Audience Turn is applied to understand how users actively engage with and shape their media consumption rather than passively receiving information. Three main themes emerged from the analysis: TikTok as part of everyday routines, credibility assessment and algorithmic awareness, control over content consumption The study provides in-depth insights into how a selected group of young adults engages with TikTok, focusing on media consumption patterns, credibility assessment, and algorithmic awareness. Participants acknowledged TikTok’s influence on their daily routines and described the platform as both entertaining and addictive. While they were aware of the algorithm’s role in curating content, most relied on social indicators such as likes and comments rather than traditional source evaluation to determine credibility. Some participants attempted to manipulate their feed to align with their preferences, while others felt a lack of control over their content exposure. The findings highlight a complex relationship between user agency and algorithmic influence, emphasizing the need for stronger media literacy skills in navigating digital platforms

Deep Learning Enhanced Optical Methods for Single-Plankton Studies

Among Earth’s earliest life forms, cyanobacteria reshaped the planet by oxygenating the atmosphere during the Great Oxidation Event 2.4 billion years ago. This process, which led to ozone formation and UV protection, paved the way for more complex photosynthetic organisms—phytoplankton, the eukaryotic descendants of cyanobacteria. Today, phytoplankton drive the global carbon cycle, producing 50–80% of Earth’s oxygen and fueling the marine food web. Microzooplankton consume nearly two-thirds of the organic carbon generated, yet despite their ecological significance, tracking biomass flow at the single-cell level remains a major challenge. This thesis presents novel methodologies that integrate advanced optical techniques, deep learning, and simulated datasets to analyze microplankton dynamics with unprecedented resolution. A key contribution is a deep-learning-enhanced holographic microscopy approach that quantifies microplankton biomass at the single-cell level while simultaneously capturing their three-dimensional swimming behavior. This method overcomes computational bottlenecks in traditional holography, enabling high-throughput analysis across diverse species and size ranges. Expanding on this, I demonstrate its application in mixed-species experiments to examine feeding interactions between phytoplankton and microzooplankton, capturing biomass transfer and behavioral shifts during predation. Beyond direct imaging, this thesis leverages synthetic data to advance microscopy-based research. Neural networks trained on simulated microscopy datasets are used to detect, segment, and classify plankton species while reconstructing motion dynamics. To showcase the versatility of this approach, I present its application in a non-biological setting—detecting bubble-propelled artificial micromotors within complex experimental backgrounds. In addition to object detection, these methods also enable motion characterization of microscopic entities. To demonstrate this, I introduce synthetic microscopy videos that model microscopic organisms undergoing various anomalous diffusion behaviors. This framework is then used to develop a method that extracts motion characteristics without explicit trajectory linking, broadening its applications beyond plankton ecology. Finally, I investigate how zooplankton—key players in the marine food web—respond to ocean wave-induced light patterns using an LED matrix. The results suggest that zooplankton use steady light sources, such as celestial objects, to ascend more rapidly during favorable low-turbulent conditions, offering new insights into their migratory strategies. Collectively, this thesis bridges marine ecology, microscopy, artificial intelligence, and biophysics to provide new tools for exploring the unseen dynamics that shape our planet

Trygg start på dagen eller överbliven tid? -En studie om morgonfritidsverksamhetens roll och potential

Detta examensarbete undersöker morgonfritidsverksamhetens roll och uppfattningen om det svenska fritidshemmet, med särskilt fokus på diskursen om fritid som “överbliven tid.” Genom kvalitativa intervjuer med utbildade fritidslärare utforskar studien hur “morgonfritids” organiseras och genomförs, vilka faktorer som bidrar till en framgångsrik verksamhet, samt hur denna tid kan omdefinieras som en pedagogisk möjlighet snarare än en förvaringstid. Studien bygger på Haglunds (2009) analys av fritidshemmets diskurser, där fritid som "överbliven tid" ofta förlorar sin pedagogiska potential, samt på Vygotskijs sociokulturella teori om lärande (Säljö, 2020). Vidare lyfts Jonssons (2021) och Pálsdóttirs (2012) forskning fram för att belysa vikten av dialog och samarbete mellan personal och elever samt hur otydliga pedagogiska visioner kan påverka personalens yrkesidentitet. Hippinen Ahlgrens (2021) insikter om balansen mellan förplanerade och spontana strategier används också för att analysera elevens delaktighet. Genom Neulingers (1976) begrepp om objektiv och subjektiv fritid betonas vikten av att skapa meningsfulla aktiviteter som stödjer barns lärande, sociala interaktion och välmående. Resultaten visar en spänning mellan pedagogiska ambitioner och praktiska begränsningar, men också en potential för att stärka “morgonfritids” som en viktig del av skolans helhet. Slutsatsen är att tydligare riktlinjer och resurser behövs för att betrakta morgonfritidsverksamheten ur ett holistiskt perspektiv, där elevernas tid på fritidshemmet ses som en arena för lärande och en integrerad del av deras hela dag (Haglund, 2009)

Seasonal Variations at Tjörn. A Study of Economic Resilience and the Impact of Tourism

This thesis examines the impact of seasonal tourism on Tjörn's economic resilience, with a particular focus on reducing economic fluctuations through diversification strategies. Drawing on qualitative data from regional, municipal, and local actors, the study examines how Tjörn can develop beyond its dependency on summer tourism. It highlights the potential of promoting year-round industries and investing in other sectors such as renewable energy, healthcare, and industrial development. Additionally, the research addresses structural challenges, including housing shortages and infrastructure limitations, which hinder long-term economic stability. Key findings highlight the importance of regional collaborations, targeted investments, and the integration of cultural initiatives to create a sustainable and diverse economic base. The analysis, grounded in theories of regional resilience, path dependency, and regional innovation systems, demonstrates that while significant progress has been made in diversifying Tjörn’s economy, persistent challenges, such as seasonal workforce instability and limited housing, remain barriers to long-term resilience. The study concludes with recommendations for strategic investments in infrastructure, skills development, and partnerships to ensure Tjörn’s capacity to adapt, diversify, and thrive in a dynamic economic environment

Assessment of bioaccessibility of naturally occurring radionuclides from snus to consumers

Naturligt förekommande radionuklider finns överallt i vår omgivning och det vi konsumerar, inklusive den tobak som används för att tillverka snus. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka förekomsten av naturligt förekommande radionuklider i snus, deras biotillgänglighet vid konsumtion och de associerade radiologiska riskerna för konsumenter. Totalt 16 prover köptes in från svenska butiker för att spegla den nationella marknaden. En radiologisk karakterisering av proverna genomfördes genom nedbrytning, radiokemisk bearbetning och alfaspektrometrianalys, med fokus på 210Po, 232Th, 234U och 238U. Aktivitetskoncentrationerna av dessa radionuklider i snuset beräknades. En biotillgänglighetsstudie analyserade samma radionuklider, och designades för att simulera verklig snusanvändning för att uppskatta andelen som extraherades av saliv. Både använt snus och saliv bearbetades och analyserades med alfaspektrometri. Slutligen beräknades den upptagna effektiva dosen för en årlig snuskonsumtion. Karakteriseringen visade att 210Po varierade från 2.4–3.0 mBq/g i lössnus och 1.2–5.1 mBq/portion i portionssnus. För 232Th varierade mellan 0.22–0.42 mBq/g i lössnus och 0.1–0.66 mBq/påse i påssnus. 234U varierade från 0.22–0.27 mBq/g i lössnus och 0.07–0.21 mBq/påse i påssnus, medan 238U uppskatades mellan <0.04–0.23 mBq/g i lössnus och 0.08–0.26 mBq/påse i påssnus. Minimal eller ingen aktivitet detekterades i tobaksfritt snus. Biotillgänglighetsstudien visade att 210Po överfördes från alla snusprover till saliv, med urlakningsvärden från 9 ± 3% till 34 ± 7%. Endast ett begränsat antal prover visade urlakning av andra radionuklider, och bara ett prov verkade ha överfört alla radionuklider till saliv. Den upptagna effektiva dosen från en årskonsumption av snus tillskriven 210Po varierade mellan 1.3 - 8.3 μSv, i genomsnitt 4.55 μSv. Denna studie visar på att snusanvändning bidrar till den årliga stråldosen, och lägger en grund för framtida forskning. Studien har dock begränsningar, inklusive outforskade faktorer som påsens designen för påssnus. Även om bidraget till den årliga dosen är synligt, är dess specifika konsekvenser för människors hälsa fortfarande outforskade. Att åtgärda dessa kunskapsluckor genom att förfina studiedesignen, inkludera ytterligare variabler och vidare undersökning av de radiologiska riskerna med snus kan öka förståelsen och potentiellt leda till strategier som mildrar associerade risker i framtiden.Purpose: Naturally occuring radionuclides can be found in everything we consume, including the tobacco used to make snus. This study aimed to investigate the presence of naturally occurring radionuclides in snus, their bioaccessibility during consumption, and the associated radiological risks to consumers. Methods: A total of 16 samples were sourced from Swedish stores to reflect the national market. A radiological characterization of the samples was conducted through digestion, radiochemical processing, and alpha spectrometry analysis, focusing on 210Po, 232Th, 234U, and 238U. The activity concentrations of these radionuclides in the snus were calculated. A bioaccessibility study analyzed the same radionuclides, simulating real-life snus use to estimate the fraction extracted by saliva. Both used snus and saliva were processed and analyzed using alpha spectrometry. The committed effective dose from annual snus consumption was then calculated. Results: The characterization revealed that 210Po ranged from 2.4–3.0 mBq/g in loose snus and 1.2–5.1 mBq/pouch in pouched snus. For 232Th, levels varied between 0.22–0.42 mBq/g in loose snus and 0.1–0.66 mBq/pouch in pouched snus. 234U ranged from 0.22–0.27 mBq/g in loose snus and 0.07–0.21 mBq/pouch in pouched snus, while 238U was between <0.04–0.23 mBq/g in loose snus and 0.08–0.26 mBq/pouch in pouched snus. Minimal or no activity was detected in tobacco-free snus. The bioaccessibility study demonstrated that all samples transferred 210Po into saliva, with leaching values ranging from 9 ± 3% to 34 ± 7%. Only a limited number of samples showed leaching of other radionuclides, and just one sample appeared to have transferred all radionuclides into saliva. The committed effective dose from one year of snus consumption attributed to 210Po ranged between 1.3 - 8.3 μSv, averaging at 4.55 μSv. Discussion and conclusion: This study conclusively demonstrates that snus use contributes to the annual radiation dose, providing a basis for future research. However, it has limitations, including unexplored factors such as the packaging and design of pouched snus. While the contribution to the annual dose is present, its specific implications for human health remain uncertain. Addressing these knowledge gaps by refining the study design, the inclusion of additional variables, and further investigation into the radiological risks of snus could enhance understanding and potentially lead to strategies that mitigate associated risks in the future

KVINNORS RÄTTFÄRDIGANDE AV SINA BROTT I KRIMINELLA GATUGÄNG- En narrativ kriminologisk undersökning av domslut

Aims and objectives: This study aims to explore how women who commit serious gang crimes explain their actions based on their narratives in the verdicts. This study focuses on gang environments considered self-defined groups or street gangs in exposed areas. Method and data: This qualitative study is based on a narrative analysis of stories of women in street gangs. This study uses nine verdicts as data material and has a sample of twenty women's stories in the verdicts from 2018-2024. The data material is obtained from the first instance (Tingsrätten) and the criminal cases are aimed at large cities in Sweden (Stockholm, Malmö, and Gothenburg). Results: The result draws on narrative criminology analyses using three themes of the women’s narrative of why they do crime. This study found three overarching themes: Narratives about love and friendship relationships with other gang members, narratives about fear of male gang members, and narratives about women's health. In the women´s narratives in the verdicts, it emerged that their deed was committed due to external factors linked to the three main themes. This study can confirm previous findings about women who commit crimes and shed light on a new target group in a Swedish context