Selektion av äpplefröplantor på Balsgård

Today in Sweden, apples are mostly cultivated for direct consumption, i.e. dessert apples. Apple breeding aims at developing cultivars with new and improved qualities in order to meet the demands of different target groups and to increase the interest in apples on the market. Different target groups have different views on the qualities of an apple. The consumer, for instance, wants an apple that is tasty and beautiful, while the grower, in addition, wants an apple cultivar that is healthy, has good winter hardiness and a predictable, annual productivity. Lastly, the retail chains want a fruit that has qualities suitable for storage and transport. The purpose with this essay has been to, within a breeding program at Balsgård-SLU, select suitable cultivar candidates from a number of apple seedlings that originated from controlled hybridizations. Out of 930 apple seedlings, 23 were selected, that is 2,5%. Among these 2,5%, only a few seedlings had a sufficient number of good qualities to make them suitable for propagation on rootstock and further evaluation in observation trials. The fact that only a few seedlings were selected, is evidence of the difficulties involved in developing new, suitable apple cultivars, with the breeding methods used today. Furthermore, a consumer test was carried out at an apple market in Kivik where fruit from already established cultivars from a gene bank, along with advanced selections and newly selected apple seedlings were judged. The results showed that the apple cultivar Aroma, which was used as a control, is still a favourite among consumers. However, two apple seedlings approached Aroma, in terms of both taste and appearance, and may therefore be considered as promising cultivar candidates.I Sverige odlas äpplen idag mest för direktkonsumtion s.k. dessertäpplen. Förädlingsarbetet med äpplen syftar till att få fram sorter med nya och förbättrade egenskaper för att tillgodose olika målgruppers behov samt öka intresset för äpple på marknaden. Olika målgrupper har olika åsikter om hur ett bra äpple skall vara, t.ex. vill konsumenten ha ett gott och vackert äpple medan odlaren även vill ha en sort som är frisk, härdig och har jämn bördighet och handeln vill att frukten skall kunna lagras samt tåla transport och hantering. Syftet med detta arbete har varit att selektera fram lämpliga sortkandidater ur ett antal äpplefröplantor erhållna från riktade korsningar i ett växtförädlingsprogram på Balsgård-SLU. Av 930 äpplefröplantor selekterades 23 d.v.s. 2,5%. Av dessa 2,5% har endast några plantor så många goda egenskaper att de kan vara aktuella för förökning på grundstam och fortsatta bedömningar i observationsförsök. Att så få plantor blev selekterade vittnar om hur svårt det är att med dagens metoder få fram nya odlingsvärda äpplesorter. Dessutom utfördes ett konsumenttest på Kiviks äpplemarknad varvid frukt från redan etablerade genbankssorter, avancerade selektioner och nyselekterade fröplantor bedömdes. Resultatet visade att äpplesorten Aroma, som användes som kontroll, fortfarande är konsumenternas favorit. Två av äpplefröplantorna närmade sig dock Aromas nivå i både smak och utseende, och kan alltså anses vara lovande sortkandidater

Memorial playgrounds: Special ways of coping with extreme loss

The purpose of this study was to understand how active coping with extreme loss takes place when creating memorial playgrounds, as well as in relation to existing memorial playgrounds. Using qualitative methods and drawing from 63 cases, the research enriches our understanding of bereavement by revealing the central mechanisms through which active coping takes place and by presenting the distinct elements that the mechanisms are composed of. The study contributes to the research on bereavement by showing how active coping takes place both as an outcome of and during the memorial creation process

Volunteerism and community healing

It is acknowledged that volunteering may help a community heal when it faces a tragic event. The purpose of this study is to analyze the interplay between volunteerism and community healing. Our empirical study focuses on volunteering in the context of memorial playgrounds and is based on extensive secondary data collected from 63 memorial playgrounds. Our research adds renewal and resilience as components of community healing, demonstrates how volunteer orientation toward individual and collective healing changes over the course of the healing process, and emphasizes the significance of making volunteering visible for healing the community. Furthermore, by exploring children’s volunteering and how it might aid in community reconciliation, our findings expand our understanding of inclusive volunteering

Positive and negative emotional spirals in eWOM of new recreational sports: A case study on Nordic Walking

Practising physical activities in public spaces may evoke a variety of emotional expressions, particularly when an activity is considered novel and embarrassing. To date, there is limited knowledge on emotional sharing concerning novel recreational activities in online context via electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). We approach this knowledge gap by exploring online discussions on Nordic walking, the purpose being to investigate emotional sharing in online discussions concerning the activity. In our netnographic study, we analyse what kinds of discrete emotions related to Nordic walking are shared online in different countries, what the triggers of online emotional sharing are and what the outcomes expressed online by Nordicwalking practitioners are. We collected data from countries with various levels of Nordicwalking popularity and discovered four types of dynamics – negative spiral, positive spiral, positive change and negative change – that add to the research concerning emotional sharing.</p

Balancing service inclusion for primary and secondary customers experiencing vulnerabilities

Purpose – Secondary customers often experience secondary vulnerabilities that manifest in family-centred transformative services as other- and self-related customer needs. Yet, a relational perspective on primary and secondary customers’ needs is lacking. The study analyses secondary customers’ needs and their relationship to primary customers’ needs to enhance well-being in customer entities. The service inclusion lens is used to understand customers’ experiences of vulnerability.Design/methodology/approach – The study uses an exploratory approach. The data consists of ethnographic observations and interviews of elderly residents (primary customers), their family members (secondary customers) and nurses in two nursing homes.Findings – Primary and secondary customers’ needs are interrelated (or unrelated) in four ways: they are separate, congruent, intertwined or discrepant. The vulnerability experiences fluctuate in intensity and over time, individually reflecting on these need dimensions.Research limitations/implications – The study contributes to service research concerning customers’ experiences of vulnerability, secondary customers and their inclusion in services. Primary customers’ service inclusion may increase/decrease secondary customers’ service inclusion and their experience of vulnerability. Moreover, secondary customers’ inclusion is often necessary to foster primary customers’ inclusion and well-being.Practical implications – Fostering service inclusion and well-being for primary and secondary customers requires balanced inclusion and acknowledging the needs of both groups. Service providers may need to act as moderators within customer entities if discrepant needs occur. Originality/value – The study addresses the under-researched areas of family members’ customer needs, their relation to primary customers’ needs, experiences of secondary vulnerability and context-related vulnerability.</p

The interplay between customers’ incidental and integral affects in value experience

Current understandings of emotional value focus on integral affects that are directly related to present judgements and choices. This neglects recent research on the complexity of affect and dismisses affects triggered by situations, events, or persons encountered in daily life outside of the decision-making situation or process; that is, incidental affects. In this article, we analyse the interplay between customers’ incidental and integral affects in value experience during life transitions. Based on the qualitative data collected on real-estate services, we unveil the internal dynamics of affective value by showing the intrapersonal and interpersonal forms of interplay (spillover, ambivalence, divergence and convergence) between integral and incidental affects. This advances knowledge on the composition and dynamics of the concept of affective value and on the affective value experience in life transitions. </p

Escaping into sexual play: A consumer experience perspective

Sexual play may offer an escape from everyday stress. As the consumer culture has extended into our bedrooms, escapism through sexual play can be regarded as an affective consumer experience. This study analyses how experiential value is created through escapism in sexual play enabled by the use of sex toys. The study follows a mixed-methods strategy, combining results from a consumer survey (n = 517) with expert interviews (n = 26). A principal outcome is an advanced conceptual framework where playfulness operates as a dynamic motor for consumers’ sexual boundary transgressions. Loosening these sexual boundaries may have its downsides. The larger is the realm of regular sexual life, the harder it is to escape it to gain experiential value. The balance between sexual play and everyday life ensures that the dynamic motor of playfulness operates steadily, upkeeping the elasticity of boundaries. The practical implications are discussed.</p