Constructing the "Good Citizen": Discourses of Social Inclusion in Swedish Civic Orientation

Sweden has long been described as a beacon of multiculturalism and generous access to citizenship, with integration policies that seek to offer free and equal access to the welfare state. In this article, we use the policy of Civic Orientation for Newly Arrived Migrants as a case with which to understand how migrants' inclusion is discursively articulated and constructed by the different constituencies involved in interpreting the policy and organising and teaching the course. We do this by employing Foucault's closely interrelated concepts of technology of self, political technology of individuals, and governmentality. With the help of critical discourse analysis, we illustrate how migrants' inclusion is framed around an opposition between an idealised "good citizen" and a "target population" (Schneider & Ingram, 1993). In our analysis, we draw on individual interviews with 14 people involved in organising civic orientation and on classroom observations of six civic orientation courses. Firstly, we show how migrants are constructed as unknowing and in need of being fostered by the state. Secondly, we illustrate how social inclusion is presented as being dependent upon labour market participation, both in terms of finding work and in terms of behaving correctly in the workplace. Lastly, we show how migrant women are constructed as being problematically chained to the home and therefore needing to subject themselves to a specific political technology of self to be included

A randomized study on the effect of an extended voluntary waiting period in primiparous dairy cows on fertility, health, and culling during first and second lactation

When the voluntary waiting period (VWP), defined as the days between calving and when the cow is eligible to receive the first insemination, is extended, high-yielding dairy cows may have better opportunities to regain energy balance before first insemination. This study investigated the effect of an extended (145–215 days in milk [DIM], n = 280) or conventional (25–95 DIM, n = 251) VWP treatment on fertility, disease incidence, and culling rate in cows during their first lactation. The cows were also followed through a second lactation without intervention regarding VWP, during which the farmers could decide when they wished to start the inseminations. This was done in a randomized-controlled study on 16 high-yielding commercial herds in southern Sweden, containing a total of 531 primiparous cows of the Holstein and Red Dairy Cattle breeds. Data from the Swedish national dairy herd recording scheme collected between August 2018 and September 2021 were used in the analysis, including records on breed, calvings, estrus intensity, inseminations, disease, somatic cell count, culling date, and culling reason. During first lactation, more cows receiving the extended VWP treatment showed strong estrus intensity (score 4–5, 55% vs. 48%) and fewer showed moderate estrus intensity (score 3, 35% vs. 43%) at first insemination, compared with cows receiving the conventional VWP treatment. First service conception rate (FSCR) was higher (67% vs. 51%) and number of inseminations per conception (NINS) was lower (1.6 vs. 2.0) during the first lactation for cows receiving the extended compared with the conventional VWP treatment. For disease incidence rate or culling rate expressed as number of events per cow-time in the study, we found no differences between the cows receiving the 2 VWP treatments in any lactation. Calving to first service interval during second lactation was longer (86 vs. 74 d) for cows with extended compared with conventional VWP. In conclusion, primiparous cows with extended VWP showed improved reproductive functions, in the form of higher estrus intensity, greater FSCR, and lower NINS, during the first lactation. However, we observed no apparent effect on these fertility measures during the following lactation (without VWP intervention) and no differences in disease prevalence or culling between cows receiving the 2 different VWP treatments in either lactation. Compliance with the planned VWP treatment was lower for cows with planned extended compared with planned conventional VWP treatment. We studied the “intention-to-treat” effect (i.e., the results for all cows randomized to each treatment regardless of whether the planned VWP was achieved or not) to identify any bias arising due to degree of compliance. However, we found no difference in culling rate between cows randomized to an extended VWP compared with those randomized to a conventional VWP. These findings can be used to support management decisions on VWP length in high-yielding dairy herds

Locating Sweden in Time and Space: National Chronotopes in Civic Orientation for Adult Migrants

The aim of this article is to use courses in civic orientation for newly arrived adult migrants in Sweden as the empirical entry point from which to investigate whether, and if so, how, civic values are tied to the Swedish nation through specific discourses and narratives. With the help of a framework that brings together theorisations of the discursive construction of the nation with the notions of the chronotope and ‘social narratives’, the article demonstrates how narratives within civic orientation are characterised by specific spatio-temporal moves that discursively construct Sweden as a nation-state. Such national chronotopes are not innocuous but are part of a rhetoric of nationalism that constructs a linear and comprehensive story of prosperity and superiority, not least vis-à-vis some other geographical areas in the world. As such, the analysis seeks to contribute to the burgeoning scholarship on civic orientation programmes by offering further empirical evidence of the shapes such programmes take, and how civic values become nationalised. With the help of the notion of the chronotope, the article also seeks to add some fresh perspectives to scholarship on nationalism and othering by showing mundane spatio-temporal moves in the production of a ‘national imaginary’ (Calhoun 2017)

24-h sheltering behaviour of individually kept horses during Swedish summer weather

Provision of shelter for horses kept on summer pasture is rarely considered in welfare guidelines, perhaps because the benefits of shelter in warm conditions are poorly documented scientifically. For cattle, shade is a valued resource during summer and can mitigate the adverse effects of warm weather on well-being and performance. We found in a previous study that horses utilized shelters frequently in summer. A shelter with a roof and closed on three sides (shelter A) was preferred and can reduce insect pressure whereas a shelter with roof and open on three sides was not utilized. However, shelter A restricts the all-round view of a horse, which may be important for horses as flight animals. Therefore, we studied whether a shelter with roof, where only the upper half of the rear wall was closed (shelter B), would be utilized while maintaining insect protection properties and satisfying the horses’ sense for security. A third shelter was offered with walls but no roof (shelter C) to evaluate whether the roof itself is an important feature from the horse’s perspective. Eight Warmblood horses were tested each for 2 days, kept individually for 24 h in two paddocks with access to shelters A and B, or shelters A and C, respectively. Shelter use was recorded continuously during the night (1800–2400 h, 0200–0600 h) and the following day (0900–1600 h), and insect defensive behaviour (e.g., tail swish) in instantaneous scan samples at 5-min intervals during daytime

Delineating sustainable low-arsenic drinking water sources in South Asia

© 2016 Taylor & Francis Group, London. Access to safe and sustainable drinking water is a basic human. In present times, when much of the world is reeling through severe groundwater availability stress, large parts of South Asia that hosts the aquifers of the three of the largest global river systems are bountiful with groundwater. However, much of this groundwater is enriched with carcinogenic arsenic. The present study aims to rapidly delineating sustainable safe drinking water sources in regionally arsenic-unsafe groundwater areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal. The study validates the correlation between aquifer sediment colours obtained from local drillers and quantified groundwater chemical composition, characterize aqueous and solid phase geochemistry and dynamics of As mobility and to assess the risk for cross-contamination of As between aquifers in study areas. The optimistic outcome of the study provides an unique opportunity for the local drillers in rural communities to target As-safe aquifers for well installations in Bengal basin

Participation on whose terms? Applied linguistics, politics and social justice: Osallisuutta kenen näkökulmasta? Soveltava kielitiede, politiikka ja sosiaalinen oikeudenmukaisuus

The aim of this position paper is to engage with the focus of this yearbook on language and participation by revisiting some of the arguments advanced by the North American political philosopher Nancy Fraser, who theorized (1) the structural components that enable and/or constrain participation, and (2) the ways in which we can transform the status quo with a view to achieving a more just society. The paper begins by outlining Fraser’s main ideas; it then moves on to illustrate how this theoretical framework may help us shed light on the dilemmas and/or pitfalls of well-meaning initiatives that seek to enhance adult migrants’ participation. The empirical focus is on courses in civic orientation (samhällsorientering) for newly arrived adult migrants in Sweden. The paper ends with some reflections about the importance of a politically engaged applied linguistics.The aim of this position paper is to engage with the focus of this yearbook on language and participation by revisiting some of the arguments advanced by the North American political philosopher Nancy Fraser, who theorized (1) the structural components that enable and/or constrain participation, and (2) the ways in which we can transform the status quo with a view to achieving a more just society. The paper begins by outlining Fraser’s main ideas; it then moves on to illustrate how this theoretical framework may help us shed light on the dilemmas and/or pitfalls of well-meaning initiatives that seek to enhance adult migrants’ participation. The empirical focus is on courses in civic orientation (samhällsorientering) for newly arrived adult migrants in Sweden. The paper ends with some reflections about the importance of a politically engaged applied linguistics

Gender equality in the name of the state : state feminism or femonationalism in civic orientation for newly arrived migrants in Sweden?

This article contributes to ongoing discussions in the social sciences about how to interpret the incorporation of gender equality into integration policies–is it a form of state feminism or femonationalism? Drawing upon intersectionality, we analyse how gender equality is presented, discussed and negotiated in relation to ethnicity and nationality in Sweden. Methodologically, we employ a bifocal lens that combines (1) a quantitative investigation of representations of civic orientation programmes in Swedish policy documents and mainstream media, and (2) a qualitative analysis of ethnographic data collected in six civic orientation courses–three in English and three in Arabic–in three large municipalities. Such a two-pronged approach, which connects policy and media discourses with interactions in civic orientation classes, offers a granular picture of the complex and often ambivalent intersections of ethnicity and gender in relation to migration in Sweden. Ultimately, the co-optation of feminist values brings with it the risk of warping feminism into a trait of national/ethnic distinctiveness. Crucially, femonationalism is not the prerogative of far-right parties but is already becoming institutionalised, informing both mainstream media and educational practices in a feminist state like SwedenCC BY 4.0</p

Civic orientation for adult migrants in Sweden : A multimodal critical discourse analysis of Swedish values and norms

Drawing upon the analytical techniques of multimodal critical discourse analysis, this article investigates the book About Sweden, an educational materia lemployed in courses on civic orientation for newly arrived migrants. The analysisis informed by the following research questions: (1) What are represented as typically Swedish values and norms in the textbook? (2) How are such norms and values portrayed through written language and visual images? Visually the book relies on specific representations of Swedish nature without people. We argue that such pictures of the Swedish landscape are not ideologically neutral but carry connotations that are historically linked to forms of Swedish nationalism. Moreover, we interpret the lack of people in line with Berggren and Trägårdh (2006) notion of statist individualism (statsindividualism), an ideology according to which a strong interventionist welfare-state is not necessarily incompatible with the maximisation of individual freedom. Our textual analysis illustrates the textual tensions between, on the one hand, the choice of specific norms and values as Swedish, and, on the other hand, aversion towards overt national identity labels. Finally, we illustrate how Swedish values and norms in the textbook are just one link in a longer intertextual chain that connects the book to other policy documents as well as Swedish politicians’ public statements in the context of current debates about migration in Sweden.

Civic orientation for adult migrants in Sweden : A multimodal critical discourse analysis of Swedish values and norms

Drawing upon the analytical techniques of multimodal critical discourse analysis, this article investigates the book About Sweden, an educational materia lemployed in courses on civic orientation for newly arrived migrants. The analysisis informed by the following research questions: (1) What are represented as typically Swedish values and norms in the textbook? (2) How are such norms and values portrayed through written language and visual images? Visually the book relies on specific representations of Swedish nature without people. We argue that such pictures of the Swedish landscape are not ideologically neutral but carry connotations that are historically linked to forms of Swedish nationalism. Moreover, we interpret the lack of people in line with Berggren and Trägårdh (2006) notion of statist individualism (statsindividualism), an ideology according to which a strong interventionist welfare-state is not necessarily incompatible with the maximisation of individual freedom. Our textual analysis illustrates the textual tensions between, on the one hand, the choice of specific norms and values as Swedish, and, on the other hand, aversion towards overt national identity labels. Finally, we illustrate how Swedish values and norms in the textbook are just one link in a longer intertextual chain that connects the book to other policy documents as well as Swedish politicians’ public statements in the context of current debates about migration in Sweden.