The Presence of the Absent. Memorials and Places of Ritual.

Memorials and places of ritual, such as funeral monuments, roadside memorials and cemeteries, can be said to reveal the politics of religious space as in the tension between sacred and secular and between private and public interests. At the same time they also reflect a given society’s religious structures, cultural differences and social orderings, as well as the changes in these matters over time

A Proper Place of Death?

The nineteenth century’s long term planning and successive construction of new burial grounds and new ways of burial, with the help of among others scientific, technical and ideological strategies, have been quite successful in institutionalising a consciousness of what a proper place of death should be like. For the architect Augustus Welby Pugin the promotion of a revival of the Gothic style in ecclesiastical architecture and design was, for instance, not merely a matter of style, but rather of principle. The same can be said of the landscape architect John C. Loudon who in an 1843 treatise, On the Laying Out, Planting, and Management of Cemeteries, remarks that a cemetery, after having provided a decent place of burial, should function so as to improve ‘the moral sentiments and tastes of all classes’, with a focus on ‘neatness, order, and high keeping’. New ways of dealing with the deceased has continuously left traces in the space of death. From the churchyard, as the sacred heart of the city, to park-like burial blocks in extra-urban cemeteries, to the more recent practice of strewing the ashes outside the borders of the cemetery, in an environment that is specific to the deceased. Some researchers even speak of a shift: from an institutional to an individual notion of death. An important issue, which often collides with this individualisation of death, is the continual demand of efficiency and order on cemeteries of today pared with the latest requirement - to express spiritual character without religious codes. Hence the space of death can be said to reveal a tension between private and public as well as between sacred and secular interests. As a further example of this tension we may regard the spontaneous sacralisation and personalisation of public space, at the sites of motor vehicle accidents, murders, terrorist acts or other catastrophes, which expresses a strong need somewhat opposite to the current demand for efficient public environments, free from religious and persona-oriented symbols. It also reflects society’s religious structures and social orderings as well as changes in these matters over time. If we as architects and designers are to constructively support and reflect such tensions, needs, and changes I suggest it is important that we in the twenty-first century start employing an inclusive approach to design strategies. So as to provide more creative ways of defining a place as proper than by excluding that which is improper

The Production of a Proper Place of Death

Personalised memorials often provoke a process of formalisation. As motives behind the development of a proper place of death we may find given social, cultural, religious or aesthetic structures. However, I propose there are hidden motives for these value judgements other than aestheticism, religiosity or cultural authenticity. Even if, as Åkesson describes it, personalised memorials may serve as a positive and graspable connection between the symbolic and diabolic reality, the opposite may also be true. Negative experiences of personalised memorials might, for instance, lie implicit in various value judgements and may perhaps be explained by what Kristeva calls abjection. Abjection, for Kristeva, is something confusingly horrible which suddenly breaks through in a moment of revelation when the expected is turned upside down. Certeau presents a related view, stating that the instantaneous flashes of memory can only find catalysts in spaces that enable unpredictable situations to occur whereas memory becomes static in autonomous proper places. If we move Kristeva’s and Certeau’s discussion to the context of persona-oriented memorials, we may well find that standardised and impersonal grave lots for some people enhance emotional control and thus help tame the fear of death, whereas the more unpredictable encounters with roadside memorials or memorial decorations from “the living world”, like toys, photographs or personal items, function as catalysts, hence, revealing the ever-present powers of death and turning the space of ordinary life upside down by exposing its temporariness and fragility. Thus, the borders of the cemetery, originally enclosing the churchyard to separate the consecrated earth from the unconsecrated, continues, in current secular and large-scale cemeteries, to keep death in order, inside well-trimmed hedges and proper grave lots. Outside there is life - and the protection works both ways

Offerkast and Roadside Memorials

The erection of roadside memorials in Sweden is commonly considered a novel practice, appearing during the last 10-15 years. Nevertheless similar precedent practices can be found in the history of Sweden. Stories about marking the site of an unexpected death with a cross could be said to date back to the eleventh century legend of Saint Sigfrid, telling of the first English missionary to spread Christendom in Sweden. A phenomenon more specifically related to the road is the so called offerkast, [literally: ‘victim throw’ or ‘sacrifice throw’] referring to the throwing of twigs, branches, and stones onto places of accidental death by the road. This practice is for instance mentioned in Carl von Linné’s travels of Västergötland in 1746 where it is commented on as a rural custom. An early literary mentioning of the similar practice of throwing stones onto places where extraordinary things had happened can be found in the so called first Swedish humanist, Olaus Magnus, fantastic work Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus from 1555. Although these precedent practices may not be directly related to the recent practice of Swedish roadside memorialisation they are none the less interesting as a backdrop to the phenomenon. This since, as Jennifer Clark and Ashley Cheshire recognizes in their comparative study of roadside memorials in New South Wales, Australia, and Texas, United States, spontaneous memorialisation of today often draws from the cultural and religious heritage of the locale. Another concern is that changes in our attitudes towards death may span over several generations and thus go beyond collective memory. Hence, to minimize ‘the risk of attributing originality to phenomena that are really much older’, as Philippe Ariés states in The Hour of Death, I believe it is important to examine mentioned precedent practices in order to fully understand current Swedish roadside memorialisation

Are blue green solutions the future of school grounds?

Densification and climate change mean high pressure on urban environments, which increasingly need to include several functions in a limited area. School areas, valuable urban spaces, must be rebuilt to become multifunctional. The purpose of this thesis is to understand how school grounds can establish blue green solutions (BGS) that promote ecosystem services as well as play and learning opportunities. With a school in Båstad municipality as an example, through literature studies, document analysis, interviews and observational studies, the study’s research question is answered: How can stormwater management provide opportunities for play and learning? And the sub question: How can stormwater management be applied in a proposal for Strandängsskolan that provides opportunities for play and learning? The results of the study have been used to form the 10 design principles that encompass how to promote play and learning opportunities from integrating BGS on school grounds. The design principles are summarized by the three pillars: multifunctional, accessible, and naturalistic which is also the concept for the design proposal. The conclusion is that the proposal successfully integrates BGS by providing play and learning opportunities and ecosystem services with the use of the design principles. Generally, more school grounds can benefit from integrating BGS. Integration of BGS on school grounds is however only one way to respond to the urban challenges of the healthy development of children and climate change.Förtätning och klimatförändringar innebär ett högt tryck på urbana miljöer, som i allt högre utsträckning behöver innefatta flera funktioner på begränsad yta. Skolområden, värdefulla stadsrum, måste byggas om till att bli multifunktionella. Syftet med denna uppsats är att förstå hur skolområden kan etablera blågröna lösningar (BGS) som inte bara främjar ekosystemtjänster men även lek och lärande. Med en skola i Båstads kommun som exempel, genom litteraturstudier, dokumentanalys, intervjuer och observationsstudier besvaras studiens forskningsfråga: Hur kan dagvattenhantering ge möjligheter till lek och lärande? Samt delfrågan: Hur kan dagvattenhantering tillämpas i ett förslag till Strandängsskolan som ger möjligheter till lek och lärande? Resultaten från studien har formulerats om för att informera om 10 design principer som omfattar hur lek och lärandemöjligheter kan främjas genom att integrera BGS på skolområden. Designprinciperna sammanfattas i de tre pelarna: multifunktionell, tillgänglig och naturalistisk, vilket också är konceptet för designförslaget. Slutsatsen är att förslaget bidrar till dagvattenhantering som ger möjligheter till lek och lärande och ekosystemtjänster med andvänding av designprinciperna. Generellt sett kan fler skolområden dra nytta av att integrera BGS. Integrering av BGS på skolområden är åt andra sidan bara ett sätt att bemöta de urbana utmaningarna kring hälsosam utveckling av barn samt klimatförändringar

Stem injection of different nitrogen forms into young Norway spruce

This master thesis has been a pilot study preceding a forthcoming project of a larger scale with the long term objective to separate the direct effect of added nitrogen on soil processes from indirect effects via trees. The aim of this study has been to investigate the allocation of nitrogen following direct injection of liquid solutions into the xylem of 40 year old Norway spruce. The field site is located at Flakaliden (64°07’N, 19°27’E), approximately 60 km northwest of Umeå, Sweden. A total of 18 trees were selected for treatment, equally divided between three treatments, potassium nitrate, glutamine and water (control). The solutions were labelled with 15N in order to enable assessment of how the injected nitrogen compounds are distributed within the crown, as well as speed of translocation. Allocation was measured over time during three subsequent sampling occasions as well as through spatial distribution in the canopy. Needle samples were taken on two different levels and four different directions within the crown of each tree, at three subsequent sampling occasions after stem injection on August 25, 2009. Needles were analysed through an EA-IRMS (Elemental Analyzer - Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer), for atom percent 15N and total nitrogen concentration. No significant differences were found regarding sampling direction or interactions between sampling direction and level, treatment nor sampling occasion. For neither of the treatments was labelled nitrogen detected anywhere in the foliage until the second sampling occasion, 13 days after stem injection. Labelling was consistently significantly higher for the trees treated with nitrate compared to the trees treated with glutamine and more labelled nitrogen was detected in the lower third of the foliage compared to the upper third. For the glutamine treatment only the lower canopy was successfully labelled. No significant increases for either level between the second or the third sampling occasion were detected. Considerable rises in atom percent 15N were detected for both treatments but not in total nitrogen concentrations. A comparison between the theoretical increases in nitrogen concentrations, based on the amount of added nitrogen, and the observed increases showed that the theoretical increase for both crown levels were considerably higher than the achieved rise in nitrogen concentration. Possible explanations are high variations in natural concentrations of nitrogen between and within individual trees and seasonal fluctuations in nitrogen levels in needles.  Detta examensarbete har varit en pilotsudie inför ett kommande projekt i större skala med det långsiktiga målet att särskilja den direkta effekten av kvävegödsling på markprocesser från den indirekta effektan via träden. Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka kvävets allokering efter direkt injektion in i 40-åriga träds xylem. Försöksområdet är beläget vid Flakaliden (64°07’N, 19°27’E), cirka 60 kilometer nordväst om Umeå, Sverige. Sammanlagt utvaldes 18 provträd, jämnt fördelade mellan behandlingarna kaliumnitrat, glutamin och vatten (kontroll). Lösningarna var inmärkta med 15N för att göra det möjligt att spåra hur det injicerade kvävet spreds inom kronan, liksom att bedöma spridningshastighet. Allokering mättes över tid samt i olika positioner inom kronan. Barrprover togs på två olika höjdnivåer samt fyra olika riktningar inom kronan på varje träd, vid tre på varandra följande tillfällen efter staminjktion den 25 augusti 2009. Barren analyserades med hjälp av EA-IRMS (Elemental Analyzer - Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer) för atomprocent 15N samt totalkväve. Inga signifikanta skillnader upptäcktes gällande provtagningsriktning eller interaktionen mellan riktning, nivå, behandling eller provtagningstillfälle. Inte för någon av behandlingarna kunde något inmärkt kväve detekteras i barren förrän vid det andra provtagningstillfället, 13 dagar efter behandling. Inmärkningen var signifikant högre för träd injicerade med nitrat jämfört med glutamin och mer inmärkt kväve återfanns i den nedre tredjedelen av kronan jämfört med den övre tredjedelen. För de träd behandlade med glutamin kunde inmärkning endast detekteras i den nedre tredjedelen av kronan. Inga signifikanta skillnader för någon av nivåerna kunde ses mellan det andra och det tredje provtagningstillfället. Markanta förhöjningar gällande atomprocent 15N kunde detekteras för såväl nitrat som glutamin, men ej gällande totalkvävekoncentrationer. En jämförelse mellan den teoretiskt möjliga ökningen i kvävekoncentration, baserat på mänden injicerat kväve, och den verkligt uppmätta ökningen visade att den teoretiska ökningen för båda nivåerna betydligt översteg den åstadkomna ökningen. Möjliga förklaringar till detta är stora variationer i den naturligt förekommande kvävekoncentrationen mellan och inom trädindivider liksom barrs årstidsvariationer gällande kvävekoncentrationer.

Utfodring av ensilage till slaktsvin

Det finns flertalet faktorer att ta i beaktning inom slaktsvinsproduktionen för en god djurvälfärd och en lönsam produktion för producenten. Olika typer av slagsmål mellan grisar sker när nya individer förs samman, för att upprätta en ny hierarki i gruppen. I grisarnas naturliga miljö som är kuperad lever de i grupper om tre till sju individer. På grund av den kuperade miljön grisen härstammar från är deras syn förhållandevis dålig. Slagsmål orsakade av hierarkibildning visar sig som rivskador på den främre delen av kroppen. För att skapa en stabil grupp krävs det att grisarna kan skapa stabila relationer sinsemellan. Alla grisar är individer och har specifika personligheter, vilket leder till att vissa individer är mer benägna än andra till hierarkiutövning. När grisen sätts in i slaktsvinsavdelningen är miljön viktig så grisen snabbt finner sig till rätta. För att uppnå maximal tillväxt i slaktsvinsavdelningen ska grisen vid insättning ha fri tillgång på foder. Grovfoder har getts till grisar med lite olika resultat. Grisen smälter fibrer i tjocktarmen och beräknas kunna ta upp ca 10% av energin vid en vikt på 60 kg. Innan dess är inte mag- och tarmsystemet tillräckligt utvecklat för att kunna tillgodose sig energin från grovfoder. Vi har gjort ett försök där grisar i samband med insättning i slaktsvinsstallet fick tillgång på ensilage i foderhäckar. Under fyra veckors tid studerades 45 individers med tillgång på ensilage och 45 individer utan tillgång på ensilage. Vi fokuserade på den individuella tillväxten och hierarkiutövningen i grupp. Den dagliga tillväxtens medelvärde i boxarna med ensilagetillgång var 1083g/dag. Grisarna utan tillgång på ensilage hade i medelvärde en daglig tillväxt på 1101g/dag. Skadorna från hierarkibildning var mindre i boxarna med tillgång på ensilage även de övriga noterade skadorna. Vi kan inte se någon direkt skillnad i tillväxten från försöket snarare en något lägre tillväxt på grisarna med tillgång på ensilage. Vilket kan tolkas som att grisarna har behövt använda energi för att bryta ner grovfodret. Antalet skador i försöket var mindre i gruppen som utfodrades med ensilage. Vilket troligtvis beror på den ökade möjligheten till sysselsättning. Med tillgång på ensilage ges grisarna större möjlighet att utöva naturligt beteende. Med en högre sysselsättningsgrad och minskade skador ökar djurvälfärden inom slaktsvins- produktionen. Ur miljö- och ekonomisk hållbarhetsaspekt är inte ensilagetillgång till växande grisar helt fördelaktig pga. sin förbrukning av naturresurser. Men grisarna älskar i alla fall ensilaget.There are many factors to take into consideration within the slaughter pig industry regarding the animal well-being and the profitability for the producer. Different types of fights occur between pigs when they are put together to establish a new hierarchy in the group. The pigs’ natural environment is hilly terrain and there they live in groups of three to seven individuals. The damage caused by fights during the establishment of hierarchy often show as scratch-marks on the front part of the body. To create a stable group it is important that the pigs get a chance to establish good relationships between themselves. All pigs are individuals and have their own personalities; some individuals are more likely than others to challenge the existing group hierarchy. When a pig is placed in the slaughter pig- compartment the environment is very important so the pig settles down quickly. To gain maximum growth in the slaughter pig compartment the pig should have free access to food in the beginning. Roughage have been given to pigs with various results. Pigs digest fibres in their colon and are estimated to be able to utilize about 10% of the energy when weighing about 60 kg. Before then their gastrointestinal system isn’t developed enough to utilize the energy from roughage. We have performed a trial where pigs in conjunction with their installation got access to silage in feed hedges. The study was performed during four weeks and included 45 individuals with access to silage and 45 individuals without access to silage. Our focus has been the individual growth and injuries caused when pigs establish a new group hierarchy. The average daily gain for pigs with access to silage was 1083 g/day. The pigs without access to silage hade an average daily growth at 1101 g/day. The injuries caused from hierarchy formation were lesser in the stables with access to silage. Even other injuries were fewer in these groups. We couldn’t identify any particular difference in growth from this trial except a bit lower daily gain in the pigs with access to silage. This could be interpreted as the pigs need to use more energy in order to digest the roughage. The amount of injuries in the trial were fewer in the group fed silage, which probably is a result of the increased opportunity for occupation. With access to silage the pigs have more opportunity to practice natural behavior. With a higher occupation and less injuries the animals welfare increase within the slaughter pig industry. From the aspect of an environmental and economic sustainability, access to silage for growing pigs is not entirely beneficial due to the consumption of natural resources. But pigs still love silage