Digital influence, digital platforms and disconnected presence : Long-form leisure reading in the era of ubiquitous digital connectivity

Avhandlingen utforsker hva digitalisering gjør med lesing og utgivelse av litteratur som leses for sin egen del. Det handler om langlesing av litteratur for allmennmarkedet og hvordan kontinuerlig digital påkobing preger lesing og litteratur. På den ene siden peker digitalisering mot at fiksjon og sakprosabøker blir digitale i form av e-bøker og lydbøker. På den andre siden peker digitalisering mot den gjennomgående digitaliseringen av samfunnet der digital påkobling er den nye normalen. Lesing og digital frakobling er avhandlingens røde tråd. Avhandlingen bygger på Marcel Merleau-Pontys teori om kroppslig sansing som premiss for menneskelig meningsproduksjon. Jeg utforsker konsekvenser av endring i litteraturformat og lesemedium med vekt på personlige erfaringer. Videre undersøker jeg opplevd innflytelse av kontinuerlig digital påkobling på oppmerksomhet og evnen til konsentrert lesing. Avhandlingen inneholder fire artikler. To av dem bygger på en kvalitativ intervjustudie av voksne litteraturlesere og to artikler bygger på en kvalitativ intervjustudie av litterære forleggere. Den første artikkelen undersøker hvordan digital teknologi og de mulighetene denne teknologien legger til rette for påvirker lesevaner. Artikkel nummer to utforsker lesernes strategier for å lese i kombinasjon med allestedsnærværende digital påkobling. Den tredje artikkelen gransker lydbøkenes innflytelse på forlagsarbeidet og utgivelsesstrategier, mens den siste artikkelen undersøker innflytelsen av gjennomgripende digitalisering ved å se på forleggernes opplevelse av digitalisering og betydningen den har for lesing av litteratur og deres arbeid med litteratur. Funnene i avhandlingen understreker at endringene i kjølvannet av digitalisering er store og kraftfulle. På bakgrunn av analysene i de fire artiklene har jeg kommet fram til fire trekk som kjennetegner den pågående digitale transformasjonen av litteratur og lesing: «Fordelene ved fleksibilitet» tydeliggjør hvordan teknologien i digitale lesemedium skaper flere muligheter for litteraturlesing. Begrepet «plattformeffektivitet» får fram betydningen av nye digitale forretningsmodeller og understreker avhandlingens industrielle perspektiv. «Konsentrasjon som vane» understreker betydningen av å ha erfaring som leser når oppmerksomheten utfordres av kontinuerlig digital påkobling. «Frakoblet tilstedeværelse» er et kjennetegn for lesing som finner sted uten digitale konsentrasjonsforstyrrelser. Frakoblet tilstedeværelse er avhengig av vaner og personlige verdier som påvirker leserens motivasjon og evne til (midlertidig) å koble seg fra for å lese over en viss tid.This thesis explores the influence of digitalization on long-form leisure and literary reading. It brings new knowledge about the unfolding of literature and literary consumption in the age of constant connectivity. On the one hand, ‘digitalization’ refers to the transformation of both fiction and non-fiction books into digital goods, available as e-books and audiobooks. On the other hand, it refers to the general transformation of society, with digital connectivity as the ‘new normal.’ To scrutinize the ongoing transformation regarding literary reading and publishing, the digital disconnection perspective on leisure reading is a pervasive theme throughout this thesis. My theoretical approach builds on Marcel Merleau-Ponty’s argument that bodily perceptions are essential to understanding meaning-making processes. I focus on the perceived consequences of how a cognitive process, such as reading, is affected by a change in the physical reading medium. Furthermore, I scrutinize the perceived influence on attention and reading concentration amid continuous digital connectivity. The thesis includes four articles, two of which are based on a qualitative, interview-based study of adult leisure readers and two on a qualitative, interview-based study of literary publishers. The first article explores how affordances offered by digital technologies influence reading habits. The second article focuses on how readers handle their literary leisure reading amid ubiquitous digital connections. The third article scrutinizes audiobooks’ influence on literary publishers’ work. Finally, the fourth article concerns how literary publishers perceive the influence of digitalization on reading conditions and their professional responsibilities. This thesis highlights the transformational power and radical changes in long-form leisure reading and literary publication in the wake of digitalization. The analyses developed in the four articles resulted in my conceptualization of four characteristical traits in these processes: ‘The flexibility advantage’ pinpoints the increased flexibility in leisure reading brought on by the affordances inherent to digital devices and formats. ‘The platformization efficiency’ highlights the power of change in business models due to digitalization and underscores the thesis’ industrial perspective. Furthermore, ‘the habit of concentration’ highlights how digitalization influences the ability to sustain reading amid ubiquitous connectivity. Finally, ‘the disconnected presence’ is reflected in the media users’ motivation and ability to switch between a connected and a disconnected mode, which benefits from habits and personal values. The notion of disconnected presence offers advantages for cultivating activities requiring sustained concentration, such as long-form reading.Doktorgradsavhandlin

Education and knowledge helps preventing malaria, but not "degedege"

Presented at: Parasite to Prevention: Advances in the understanding of malaria Edinburgh, UK. 20-22 October 2010publishedVersio

Responsible Mothering in Limpopo, South Africa: Perspectives of Adolescents

Mothering is recognized as important in shaping adolescent children’s identity cross-culturally, but how people understand and practice mothering varies between social contexts. In postapartheid South Africa, the institution of the family is undergoing changes that affect mothering. This study aimed to explore how 22 adolescents in the Mankweng area in the impoverished Limpopo Province understand mothering. Through focus group discussions, diaries, photographs and interviews, we explored adolescents’ experiences of being mothered and the adolescent women’s future aspirations about becoming a mother. Interpretative phenomenological analysis supported the analysis, and we identified three main themes: responsible mothering; trusting relationships; and aspirations about responsible mothering. Responsible mothering involved being present, providing and guiding. Trusting relationships meant that the mother was the primary confidant of and a role model for their future lives. The aspirations about future mothering emphasized values related to gender equality and represented a break with their own experiences of family life

Silurian Bryozoans which grew in the shade

A study is made of bryozoan faunas which grew on the underside of coral and stromatoporoid heads, and in other shade-biotopes from the Silurian of Gotland. An analysis is made of the faunal associations, and the stability of these association in the geological record. Comparison with recent analoges are introduced in order to analyse the physiological and ecologic parameters involved in these rather special biotopes. Some possibilities for using the shade-biotopes as palaeoecological indicators of depth, turbidity and silting conditions are suggested, and it is also noted that the recent shade-bryozoans may be useful as indicators of ecological change, especially pollution.Étude des faunes de bryozoaires croissant sur la partie inférieure des coraux et des stromatopores et dans d'autres biotopes ombragés du Silurien du Gotland. Analyse des associations fauniques et de leur stabilité durant les temps géologiques. Comparaison avec des faunes récentes pour analyser les paramètres physiologiques et écologiques impliqués dans ces biotopes très spéciaux. Possibilité d'employer ces biotopes comme des indicateurs paléoécologiques de profondeur, turbidité et envasement ; les bryozoaires "d'ombre" actuels peuvent être utilisés comme indicateurs de changements écologiques, spécialement de pollution.Spjeldnæs Nils. Silurian Bryozoans which grew in the shade. In: Documents des Laboratoires de Géologie de la Faculté des Sciences de Lyon. Hors série n°3, 1975. Bryozoa 1974 – Proceedings of the third Conference International Bryozoology Association – Lyon (fasc. 2) pp. 415-424

Family values of young people in Limpopo, South Africa: A sociocultural psychological study on perceptions and experiences of reproduction and parenthood

Background: The institution of the family in South Africa is commonly described as being in a state of crisis, and young people’s family values are key in learning about how to break the negative trends in the institution of the family in the country (Holborn & Eddy, 2011). The aim of this thesis was to improve understanding of values related to reproduction and family life among young people in poverty-ridden communities in South Africa. Methods: The research problem was approached in a sociocultural psychological perspective. Family values were studied through attitudes towards having children and experiences of and expectations towards parenthood among adolescent men and women in the Limpopo Province. A mixed-methods approach comprising of three phases: 1) quantitative methods, 2) qualitative methods, and 3) mixing the two methods in an overall discussion of the findings, were used. In the quantitative phase, a cross-sectional design was used to measure attitudes towards reproduction in three generations of women (n=516). In the qualitative phase, a phenomenological design was used to explore how adolescent men and women (n=22) conceptualize parenthood. Results: The continuity and changes in attitudes towards reproduction through the three generations of women (Paper I) were better understood through knowledge about how young people conceptualized fatherhood (Paper II) and motherhood (Paper III). While motherhood was understood in terms of responsibility, single parenthood, and availability, fatherhood was understood in terms of irresponsibility, unavailability, and absence. The conceptualizations of fatherhood and motherhood in the young people indicated a desire to change from their parent generation, especially the young men. The young men and women expressed similar and compatible parenthood agendas were gender equality arises as a very central family value. 10 Conclusions: This thesis contributes to the debate about the family described as “being in a state of crisis” in South Africa by giving voice to disenfranchised young people in their transition to adulthood. Their urge for gender equality in the family certainly indicates a family institution in transition, which is an important input to future debates and policy making

Mothering in Socioeconomically Marginalized Communities in South Africa: A Conceptual Development

From a sociopsychological perspective, mothering is variously described in the research literature. This theory synthesis research design study aims to integrate our current understanding of “the familiar” phenomenon of mothering by asking: (i) how mothering is understood across diverse realities within socioeconomically marginalised contexts in South Africa; and (ii) how the domain of mothering in the South African context integrates across theoretical perspectives of motherhood. From the present analysis, findings suggest that mothering needs to be viewed across contexts of being lone, absent, replaced, shared, marginalised, and disrupted. In conclusion, “collective” mothering presents a source of resilience in family functioning in socioeconomically marginalised South African communities

Education and knowledge helps combating malaria, but not degedege: a cross-sectional study in Rufiji, Tanzania

Background: Traditional medicine is readily available in Tanzania, and local terms like degedege is widely used for malaria-like illnesses, often associated with supernatural forces. Malaria prevention and intervention efforts can benefit from policy-makers’ awareness of local perceptions and beliefs in the rural areas affected by malaria. This study measured knowledge, attitudes and behaviour towards malaria and malaria-like illnesses. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in a rural area in Rufiji, Tanzania. A case report form employing a scoring system was used to capture participants’ knowledge of malaria and another for preventive actions against malaria. Logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with knowledge and preventive action. Results: Most of the participants possessed good knowledge about malaria transmission (82.1%), prevention (85.2%) and where to get treatment (96.4%). Fewer were familiar with fever (58.2%) and other common symptoms of malaria (32.7%), and even fewer actually put their knowledge into action. The action score measured the use of bed net, treatment of nets, indoor use of insecticide residual spraying (IRS), and proportion of households with tight windows, among the participants. As many as 35.7% scored zero on preventive actions, while 37.2% achieved a high action score. Education level and belonging to the age group 30 to 49 were significantly associated with higher knowledge. Education level was associated with higher score for preventive action (OR 2.3, CI 95% 1.2-1.4). Participants generally perceived degedege, a local name for an illness with convulsion, as different from malaria both with regards to cause and possible preventive and curative interventions. Conclusion: Respondents considered degedege to have supernatural causes and to need treatment by a traditional healer. This may be one reason for care-seeking shopping and care-seeking delay. Regarding degedege as a separate entity may explain why malaria is not perceived as a serious health problem in the area, and why little preventive actions are taken. While the elders have high status in the society, their lack of knowledge of malaria may impact the care-seeking pattern of their families