Micropolitical Practices of Multispatial Metagovernance in Rural Denmark

Research on governance, network governance and metagovernance has shown how the practice of governing involves a diversity of actors in and beyond the state. Much attention has been paid to the role of powerful state and non-state actors while less consideration has been directed at less visible and marginalised actors who are recognised as participants but whose agency is rarely subjected to in-depth research. In this article, we address this lack by studying the micropolitical practices of place-based self-governing networks in the Danish countryside and their role in governing rural places. Our theoretical point of departure is Bob Jessop’s notion of multispatial metagovernance which we seek to enhance by considering marginalised actors around the edges of the state apparatus. Our findings suggest that these marginalised and overlooked actors are not just subjected to governance but actively partake in shaping the governance landscape by enveloping rural places for self-governance in four distinct ways: (1) subverting municipal micro-technologies of power; (2) filling the void created by scalar fixes; (3) keeping local organising efforts fluid and opaque to outsiders and (4) orchestrating strategically selective cooperation with extra-local actors. Without downplaying asymmetries of power and their influence on governance outcomes, we conclude that metagovernance and collibration are not just prerogatives of the powerful. Generating adequate understandings of such practices is therefore only possible if we consider the full breadth of involved actors without taking for granted that outcomes are always decided in advance by the powerful. The study that the article reports on shows one of the ways in which this task may be approached empirically.publishedVersio

Personundersøgelser mellem forskning og praksis - samarbejdets muligheder

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Performing Rurality in Online Community Groups*

In this paper, we investigate how rurality is performed in online community groups, attending in particular to outdoor recreation and engagement with local nature. The starting point for our performative approach is that when places are digitally mediated, the technological intermediary is never innocent or neutral. Methodologically, we conducted an online ethnography in 20 rural community groups on Facebook during one full year, collecting every post and associated comment threads relating to outdoor recreation and other forms of engagement with local nature. An iterative, heuristic coding process was employed to engage with and further develop existing performative approaches to the sociological study of rural places. Distinguishing throughout between staged and quotidian performances, our findings detail how the routines, pleasures, and tasks of everyday rural life are performed online. Important distinctions that emerge from this include routines that are given vis-à-vis those that are in-the-making; pleasures based on impression and expression respectively; and tasks relating to carework and sharework. The paper contributes valuable new insights regarding the performance of rurality in the age of the everyday Internet.publishedVersio

Integrering av ASO i Naturindeks for Åpent Lavland

Formålet med dette prosjektet har vært å se på hvordan data som samles inn i Arealrepresentativ overvåking av semi-naturlig eng i Norge (ASO) kan brukes i Naturindeks. Dette har vi gjort ved først å se hvordan artsforekomster kan brukes direkte som indikatorer for endringer i biologisk mangfold, og om variabler om bruksregime er egnet for å vurdere utviklingen av det biologiske mangfoldet knyttet til åpent lavland. Til slutt har vi laget fremgangsmåter for de forskjellige datatypene i ASO for å bruke disse som indikatorer.Integrering av ASO i Naturindeks for Åpent LavlandpublishedVersio

Municipal Support of Diabetes Management in Daycare, Kindergarten and School: A Qualitative Study of Differences, Challenges and Potentials

Diabetes care during institutional hours is a major challenge affecting the whole family. The aim of this study was to highlight challenges and potentials regarding municipal support in relation to diabetes care of children in school, kindergarten, and daycare. The dataset consists of 80 semi-structured online interviews with 121 municipal employees from 74 (of 98) municipalities in Denmark. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The analysis produced four main themes: (1) Institutional staff initially feel insecure about diabetes care responsibilities, (2) There is a high degree of parental involvement and responsibilities during institutional hours, (3) The roles of health employees vary, and (4) Fluctuating allocation of special needs assistants (SNAs) creates challenges. The findings of this nationwide qualitative study show that, even though Denmark guarantees, by law, the child’s right to support in diabetes self-care in school and childcare institutions, diabetes management in Denmark still needs to be improved, with a view to ensuring equal support for all children with diabetes

Ablation of oligodendrogenesis in adult mice alters brain microstructure and activity independently of behavioral deficits

Oligodendrocytes continue to differentiate from their precursor cells even in adulthood, a process that can be modulated by neuronal activity and experience. Previous work has indicated that conditional ablation of oligodendrogenesis in adult mice leads to learning and memory deficits in a range of behavioral tasks. The current study replicated and re‐evaluated evidence for a role of oligodendrogenesis in motor learning, using a complex running wheel task. Further, we found that ablating oligodendrogenesis alters brain microstructure (ex vivo MRI) and brain activity (in vivo EEG) independent of experience with the task. This suggests a role for adult oligodendrocyte formation in the maintenance of brain function and indicates that task‐independent changes due to oligodendrogenesis ablation need to be considered when interpreting learning and memory deficits in this model