"My Heart Belongs To Telenor"

A case study of the employee branding process, focusing mainly on the viewpoint of retail employees. The study was done at Telenor Sverige AB, one of Sweden's major mobile network operators

Maternally derived yolk antioxidants buffer the developing avian embryo against oxidative stress induced by hyperoxia

In oviparous animals, maternally transferred antioxidants protect the embryo from oxidative damage from high rates of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production incurred by rapid growth. Elevated ROS exposure - beyond that incurred by normal growth - can occur as a result of exposure to exogenous factors (e.g. pollutants, toxins, radiation), increasing the risk of oxidative damage, with potentially adverse consequences for embryonic development and long-term fitness. The capacity of the avian embryo's antioxidant protection system to counter an increased exogenous oxidative threat is poorly understood. We induced an external oxidative challenge via experimental increase in ambient oxygen concentration throughout incubation of wild great tit eggs in the laboratory. At day 11 of incubation, brain tissue revealed no consistent differences in oxidative stress status - as measured by antioxidant levels (superoxide dismutase and total glutathione), lipid peroxidation and telomere length - between control (21% oxygen) and hyperoxic (40% oxygen) embryos. However, the level of vitamin E was significantly lower and lipid peroxidation was significantly higher in yolks of eggs reared under elevated oxygen concentrations. The results suggest that maternally derived yolk antioxidants successfully buffer developing embryonic tissues against an increased exogenous oxidative threat. Furthermore, vitamin E plays a more important role in protecting the embryo than carotenoids. However, the depletion of antioxidants and increased peroxidation of lipids in the yolk could have negative consequences for embryonic development - in particular for the brain and heart that require highly unsaturated fatty acids - and protection against the oxidative burst following hatching

Green spaces for increased quality of life among severly disabled

Denna studie handlar om miljöns betydelse vid sinnesstimulering för personer med grava funktionshinder i så kallat snoezelrum. Snoezelen är ett alternativt behandlingssätt där man arbetar med sinnesstimulering av några specifika sinnen i taget och för att inspirera till aktivitet och skapa en njutbar sensorisk upplevelse för personen. Viktiga delar i detta behandlingsalternativ är att väcka nyfikenhet och få besökaren att känna självständighet och få ett ökat förtroende. I studien har tre verksamheter besökts som alla använder snoezelen som behandlingssätt. Intervjuer har genomförts med personal som dagligen arbetar med målgruppen och flera metoder för sinnesstimulering. Två föräldrar med barn som lever med grava funktionshinder och utvecklingsstörningar har deltagit i studien. En har deltagit genom en observation då samspelet mellan föräldern och barnet i ett snoezelrum studerades. Resultatet visar att sinnesstimulering är en använd metod för att förhöja livskvalitén hos målgruppen som annars lever i en sinnesberövad värld på grund av sina skador. Studiens verksamheter har väl utvecklade snoezelrum inomhus men alla saknar något motsvarande i en utemiljö. Resultatet innefattar förslag på aktiviteter för en sinnesstimulerande trädgård. I diskussionen går författaren in på hur denna kunskap kan tillämpas vid utvecklandet av sinnesstimulerande miljöer utomhus och hur detta i sin tur kan generera en ökad naturkontakt för målgruppen.This study is about sensory stimulation for people with severve disabilities, in socalled snoezel room. Snoezelen is an alternative method of treatment which works with sensory stimulation and to inspire activity and create an enjoyable sensory experience for the person. Key elements of this treatment is to arouse curiosity and make the visitor feel independence and gain increased confidence. The study contains interviews with staff at three healthcare businesses, all using snoezelen as treatment and interviews with two parents with children living with severe disabilities. One observation of the interaction between parent and child in a snoezel room where studied. The results show that sensory stimulation is a method used to enhance the quality of life of the target group who would otherwise live in a sensory deprived world because of their injuries. The study's healthcare businesses have well developed snoezelrum indoors but all are missing something similar in an outdoor environment. The result do also contains some suggestions for the design of a sensory garden. In the discussion, the author discusses how this knowledge can be applied in the development of sensory stimulating environments outdoors and how this in turn can result in an increase in natural contact with the target group

Utformning av en nutida allmogeträdgård - ett designförslag inspirerat av den skånska allmogeträdgården

Buxbomskantade rabatter, raka gångar, symmetri, snirkliga gångar och oregelbundenhet det finns många saker som känns typiska för en allmogeträdgård. Formerna som är lånade från antikens vattenträdgårdar, renässansens stilträdgårdar och medeltida klosterträdgårdar skapar tillsammans en trädgård med plats för allmogens nyttoväxter tillsammans med färgglada rabatter. De skånska allmogeträdgårdarna med sin karakteristiska utformning hade sin storhetstid under 1800-talet till tidig början av 1900-talet. Efter reformationen hade de skånska bönderna fått nya möjligheter till en egen trädgård. I samband med 1800-talets ”växtboom” i Europa och Sverige förmedlades allt mer växter och kunskap om dessa även till de lägre samhällsklasserna, vilket gjorde att bönderna kunde skapa sina egna prunkande rabatter med blomning från vår till höst. I Haglösa, mitt på Söderslätt ligger ett bostadshus med anor från slutet av 1800-talet. Familjen som omsorgsfullt renoverat huset fick möjligheten att utöka sin trädgård genom att köpa grannfastigheten. Deras önskan är att en dag anlägga en trädgård med inspiration från 1800- talets sydskånska allmogeträdgårdar. En kombination av nytto- och ”mormorsväxter” står överst på önskelistan tillsammans med rumslighet och öppna ytor med plats för lek

Effects of the urban environment on oxidative stress in early life: insights from a cross-fostering experiment

As urban areas expand rapidly worldwide, wildlife is exposed to a wide range of novel environmental stressors, such as increased air pollution and artificial light at night. Birds in highly polluted and/or urbanized habitats have been found to have increased antioxidant protection, which is likely important to avoid accumulation of oxidative damage, which can have negative fitness consequences. Yet, the current knowledge about the ontogeny of antioxidant protection in urban areas is limited; i.e., is the capacity to up-regulate the antioxidant defences already established during pre-natal development, or does it manifest itself during post-natal development? We cross-fostered great tit (Parus major) nestlings within and between urban and rural habitats, to determine if oxidative stress (measured as non-enzymatic total antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and plasma lipid peroxidation) is affected by habitat of origin and/or by habitat of rearing. The results demonstrate that being reared in the urban environment triggers an increase in SOD (an intracellular, enzymatic antioxidant) independent of natal habitat. Oxidative damage increased with hatching date in urban-reared nestlings, but there was little seasonal change in rural-reared nestlings. Total antioxidant capacity was neither affected by habitat of rearing or habitat of origin, but we observed a decline with hatching date in both rearing habitats. Taken together, our results support the growing evidence that the urban environment induces a direct plastic adjustment in antioxidant protection, but that up-regulation is not sufficient to avoid increased oxidative damage in late-hatched broods. Future studies should explore the underlying causes for this effect in late-hatched broods and whether it has any negative long-term implications, both at the individual- and the population level

Vad väger tyngst? Hur vi kan förstå beslutsfattandet bakom svensk vapenexport i relation till en feministisk utrikespolitik

Sedan 2015 har Sverige en uttalat feministisk utrikespolitik, med målet att ett genusperspektiv ska genomsyra all politisk verksamhet. Parallellt med denna nya politiska inriktning fortsätter Sverige att exportera krigsmateriel till icke-demokratiska och konfliktdrabbade stater, något som har gett upphov till kritik. Genom att granska den statliga myndighet som ansvarar för beslut om krigsmaterielexport, Inspektionen för Strategiska Produkter (ISP), ämnar denna uppsats att förklara hur vi kan förstå beslutsfattandet i relation till den feministiska utrikespolitiken. Granskningen görs i form av en fallstudie, där idéanalys utifrån dimensioner används som metod. Paradoxen mellan krigsmaterielexport och feministisk utrikespolitik kommer att angripas utifrån feministisk IR-teori samt förvaltnings- och organisationsteori. Med hjälp av dessa teorier kommer en ny teoretisk modell att konstrueras, vilket medför att denna uppsats har en teoriutvecklande ambition. I uppsatsen prövas hypotesen att beslutsfattandet inom ISP styrs av maskulina normer, vilket innebär att försvars- och säkerhetspolitiska aspekter prioriteras över utrikespolitiska

A new framework for urban ecology: an integration of proximate and ultimate responses to anthropogenic change

As urban areas continue to grow, understanding how species respond and adapt to urban habitats is becoming increasingly important. Knowledge of the mechanisms behind observed phenotypic changes of urban-dwelling animals will enable us to better evaluate the impact of urbanization on current and future generations of wildlife and predict how animals respond to novel environments. Recently, urban ecology has emerged not only as a means of understanding organismal adaptation but also as a framework for exploring mechanisms mediating evolutionary phenomena. Here, we have identified four important research topics that will advance the field of urban ecology and shed light on the proximate and ultimate causes of the phenotypic differences commonly seen among species and populations that vary in their responses to urbanization. First, we address the ecological and socio-economic factors that characterize cities, how they might interact with each other, and how they affect urban species. Second, we ask which are the proximate mechanisms underlying the emergence over time of novel traits in urban organisms, focusing on developmental effects. Third, we emphasize the importance of understanding the ultimate causations that link phenotypic shifts to function. This question highlights the need to quantify the strength and direction of selection that urban individuals are exposed to, and whether the phenotypic shifts associated with life in the city are adaptive. Lastly, we stress the need to translate how individual-level responses scale up to population dynamics. Understanding the mechanistic underpinnings of variation among populations and species in their responses to urbanization will unravel species resilience to environmental perturbation, which will facilitate predictive models for sustainability and development of green cities that maintain or even increase urban biodiversity and wildlife health and wellbeing

Fatty acid profiles of great tit (Parus major) eggs differ between urban and rural habitats, but not between coniferous and deciduous forests

Early-life nutrition is an important determinant of both short- and long-term performance and fitness. The avian embryo develops within an enclosed package of nutrients, of which fatty acids (FA) are essential for many aspects of development. The FA composition of yolk depends on maternal nutrition and condition prior to egg formation, which may be affected by the external environment. To test if maternal environment affects yolk FA composition, we investigated whether the FA composition of great tit (Parus major) egg yolks differed between urban and rural habitats, and between deciduous and coniferous habitats. The results reveal differences in FA composition between eggs laid in urban and rural habitats, but not between eggs from the coniferous and deciduous habitats. To a large extent, this difference likely reflects dietary differences associated with urban habitats rather than dominating vegetation type. Specifically, urban yolks contained lower proportions of both ω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated FAs (PUFA), which are important for chick development. We also found a positive association between the proportion of saturated fatty acids and laying date, and a negative association between the proportion of ω-6 PUFA and clutch size. Given that urbanization is expanding rapidly, future studies should investigate whether factors such as anthropogenic food in the urban environment underlie these differences and whether they impair chick development

Urbanization is associated with modifications in DNA methylation in a small passerine bird

Urbanization represents a fierce driver of phenotypic change, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying observed phenotypic patterns are poorly understood. Epigenetic changes are expected to facilitate more rapid adaption to changing or novel environments, such as our towns and cities, compared with slow changes in gene sequence. A comparison of liver and blood tissue from great tits Parus major originating from an urban and a forest site demonstrated that urbanization is associated with variation in genome‐wide patterns of DNA methylation. Combining reduced representation bisulphite sequencing with transcriptome data, we revealed habitat differences in DNA methylation patterns that suggest a regulated and coordinated response to the urban environment. In the liver, genomic sites that were differentially methylated between urban‐ and forest‐dwelling birds were over‐represented in regulatory regions of the genome and more likely to occur in expressed genes. DNA methylation levels were also inversely correlated with gene expression at transcription start sites. Furthermore, differentially methylated CpG sites, in liver, were over‐represented in pathways involved in (i) steroid biosynthesis, (ii) superoxide metabolism, (iii) secondary alcohol metabolism, (iv) chylomicron remodelling, (v) cholesterol transport, (vi) reactive oxygen species (ROS) metabolic process and (vii) epithelial cell proliferation. This corresponds with earlier studies identifying diet and exposure to ROS as two of the main drivers of divergence between organisms in urban and nonurban environments. Conversely, in blood, sites that were differentially methylated between urban‐ and forest‐dwelling birds were under‐represented in regulatory regions, more likely to occur in nonexpressed genes and not over‐represented in specific biological pathways. It remains to be determined whether diverging patterns of DNA methylation represent adaptive evolutionary responses and whether the conclusions can be more widely attributed to urbanization