Populist MPs on Facebook: Adoption and emotional reactions in Austria, the Netherlands, and Sweden

The argument goes that social media can reinforce the rise of populism as populists' emotionally charged language fits well with social media algorithms. However, whether this potential materializes in practice depends on (1) populists' actual social media adoption and (2) whether their messages actually elicit more (emotional) responses. This is a study of those two core elements of populist politicians' presence on Facebook. We examine 682 members of parliament (MPs) Facebook uptake in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Austria and the emoji responses to 10,355 of their posts. First, we argue that populist parties' centralized structure enforces discipline, which makes Facebook use by populist MPs other than the leader more problematic. Our study shows indeed that populist party leaders use Facebook prolifically to reach out to their community, but relatively few of populist parties' other MPs use Facebook. Second, we argue that Facebook posts of populist MPs activate feelings of indignation, triggering responses that are more emotional. Empirically this expectation is borne out. Compared to other parties, messages posted by populist actors receive more emojis than ordinary likes. In particular, “anger” and “haha” stand out. An exploration of the content of such messages shows that both are related: “haha” also reflects sarcastic ridiculing of political opponents, paving the way for anger.publishedVersio

Porous filters of nanofibrillated cellulose

Filters for air purification are predominantly produced of synthetic and non-biodegradable materials. In this work, a range of various air filters have been prepared from 100% pure cellulosic material, with the goal to create alternative air filters which are completely biodegradable. The filters have been prepared by either evaporation of solvents with varying polarity or by freeze drying aqueous cellulose suspensions. The most promising results were obtained by the latter procedure, where an air permeance of ~2000 µm/Pa*s and tensile strength of ~0.20 kN/m was obtained

Nutritional Composition and Estimated Iron and Zinc Bioavailability of Meat Substitutes Available on the Swedish Market

Transition towards plant-based diets is advocated to reduce the climate footprint. Health implications of a diet composed of meat substitutes are currently unknown, and there are knowledge gaps in their nutritional composition and quality. Samples of available meat substitutes were bought in two convenience stores in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden, and were included in the study. Meat substitutes (n = 44) were analyzed for their contents of dietary fiber, fat, iron, zinc, phytate, salt, total phenolics and protein, as well as for their amino acid and fatty acid composition. Bioavailability of iron and zinc was estimated based on the phytate:mineral molar ratio. We found large variations in the nutritional composition of the analyzed meat substitutes. Amino acid profiles seemed to be affected by processing methods. Mycoprotein products were rich in zinc, with a median content of 6.7 mg/100 g, and had very low content of phytate, which suggests mycoprotein as a good source of zinc. Degradability of fungal cell walls might, however, pose as a potential aggravating factor. None of the products could be regarded as a good source of iron due to very high content of phytate (9 to 1151 mg/100 g) and/or low content of iron (0.4 to 4.7 mg/100 g). Phytate:iron molar ratios in products with iron contents >2.1 mg/100 g ranged from 2.5 to 45. Tempeh stood out as a protein source with large potential due to low phytate content (24 mg/100 g) and an iron content (2 mg/100 g) close to the level of a nutrition claim. Producers of the products analyzed in this study appear to use nutritional claims regarding iron that appear not in line with European regulations, since the iron is in a form not available by the body. Meat substitutes analyzed in this study do not contribute to absorbed iron in a relevant manner. Individuals following mainly plant-based diets have to meet their iron needs through other sources. Salt and saturated fat were high in certain products, while other products were more in line with nutritional recommendations. Further investigation of the nutritional and health effects of protein extraction and extrusion is needed. We conclude that nutritional knowledge needs to be implemented in product development of meat substitutes

“Older-wiser-lesbians” and “baby-dykes”: mediating age and generation in New Queer Cinema

Representations of intersections of gender, age, and sexuality can reveal deep-rooted cultural anxieties about older women and sexuality. Images of lesbian ageing are of particular interest in terms of alterity, as the old/er queer woman can combine layers of otherness—not only is she the cultural “other” within heteronormativity, but she can also appear as the opposite of popular culture’s lesbian chic. In this article, a cultural analysis of a range of films—If These Walls Could Talk 2 (dir. Anderson, Coolidge, and Heche 2000), Itty Bitty Titty Committee (dir. Babbit 2007), The Owls (dir. Dunye 2010), Hannah Free (dir. Carlton 2009), and Cloudburst (dir. Fitzgerald 2011)—considers diverse dramatisations of lesbian generations. This article interrogates to what extent alternative cinemas deconstruct normative conceptualisations of ageing. Drawing on recent critiques of post-feminist culture, and a range of feminist and age/ing studies scholarship, it suggests that a linear understanding of ageing and the generational underlies dominant depictions of oppositional binaries of young versus old, of generational segregation or rivalry, and the othering of age. It concludes that non-linear understandings of temporality and ageing contain the potential for New Queer Cinema to counteract such idealisations of youthfulness, which, it argues, is one of the most deep-rooted manifestations of (hetero)normativity

Affirmative Old Age : the Ageing body and Feminist theories on Difference

Discourses on old age and ageing are framed in narrow and binary ways, either as a decline narrative or through discourses of positive and successful ageing. The decline narrative, on the one hand, is highly centred on the decline of the ageing body as frail, leaky and unbounded, and on how old age is characterized by non-productivity, increasing passivity and dependency. Discourses on successful ageing, on the other hand, rely heavily on neo-liberal imperatives of activity, autonomy and responsibility. In successful ageing the specificities of ageing bodies are largely overlooked while the capacity of the old person to retain a youthful body, e.g. with the aid of sexuopharmaceuticals, is celebrated.    This article argues for the need of a theorizing of old age that goes beyond the binaries of decline and success. Drawing on the work of feminist corpomaterialists Rosi Braidotti and Elisabeth Grosz, the article proposes affirmative old age as an alternative conceptualization of old age. As a theoretical project, affirmative old age aims to acknowledge the material specificities of the ageing body and is an attempt to theorize the ageing body in terms of difference but without understanding it as a body marked by decline, lack or negation

Socially mediated issue ownership

Given the growing importance of issue competition and the growing use of social media during elections, this study seeks to create a better understanding of how issue dynamics relating to political parties play out on social media. It tests whether issue ownership theory can explain how parties and issues are being discussed on Twitter and to what extent a mediated form of issue ownership aligns with citizens’ perceptions of issue ownership. The results indicate that perceptions of issue ownership as measured in representative surveys correlate with variations of what issues parties are linked with on Twitter. Some deviations also emerged, which possibly reflect short-term changes in parties’ issue competition. Understanding how issue ownership mediates through social media platforms is important in order to evaluate the role of social media in contemporary opinion forming processes and sheds light on the issue competition among political parties in online fora.publishedVersio

Socially mediated issue ownership

Given the growing importance of issue competition and the growing use of social media during elections, this study seeks to create a better understanding of how issue dynamics relating to political parties play out on social media. It tests whether issue ownership theory can explain how parties and issues are being discussed on Twitter and to what extent a mediated form of issue ownership aligns with citizens’ perceptions of issue ownership. The results indicate that perceptions of issue ownership as measured in representative surveys correlate with variations of what issues parties are linked with on Twitter. Some deviations also emerged, which possibly reflect short-term changes in parties’ issue competition. Understanding how issue ownership mediates through social media platforms is important in order to evaluate the role of social media in contemporary opinion forming processes and sheds light on the issue competition among political parties in online fora