Fenced open-fields in mixed-farming systems: spatial organisation and cooperation in southern Sweden during the seventeenth century

The organisation of fields and fences in agriculture that emerged during the Middle Ages and the early modern period was a complex system that combined individual ownership of and communal practices in arable land, meadows and pastures. It was adapted for small and mid-size family-based farming and was a different way to organise agriculture than the medieval estates (demesnes) and the larger coherent fields of the eighteenth century and onwards. The past decade of research in historical geography and economic history has highlighted the origin of this system, which is often referred to as the open-field system; it was open in the sense that it promoted communal farming of primarily arable land. This pre-modern farming system was, however, in many areas a physically closed landscape – a landscape where fences stood out as significant elements. This article investigates the use of fences in a part of early modern western Sweden. The empirical base is a reconstruction of fence-organisations from detailed large-scale maps dating from the mid-seventeenth century. Using historical maps, this study focuses on the collaboration and interaction among farms and settlements. We argue that the open-field system cannot be fully understood without regard to an in-depth analysis of the fences and the institutions holding the complex collaboration together. The occurrence or absence of fences in relation to open-fields involves several questions: What are the characteristics of the fences in the farming systems known as open-field? What can be said about the spatial distributions and connections between the settlements sharing the same open-field? Can agrarian landscapes where fences were prominent elements be considered open-field? The results show that fences appear to be a key factor in understanding settlement patterns and open-fields in Scandinavian regions. A large number of fences created small fenced open-fields. Moreover, the divisions of the arable plots had less importance in the creation of open-fields, which included arable land, meadows and pastures. Instead, cross-settlement collaborations and arrangements are central for the open-fields in the study region. The regional differences within the open-field system provide an understanding of the preconditions and organisation of mixed farming, which combined small-scale arable land cultivation and large-scale pastures

Predictors of orphan drug approval in the European Union

Objective: To encourage the development of drugs for rare diseases, orphan drug legislation has been introduced in the USA (1983) and in the EU (2000). Recent literature discusses factors that may influence the development of new orphan medicinal products in the EU. This study aims to identify predictors for successful marketing authorisation of potential orphan drugs in the EU. Methods: A comparison between randomly selected authorised and a matched sample of not-yet-authorised orphan drug designations has been performed. Determinants in the study included characteristics of the indication, of the product and of the sponsor. Data were collected from the public domain only. Results: Orphan drug approval was strongly associated with previous experience of the sponsor in obtaining approval for another orphan drug (OR=17.3, 95% CI=5.6-53.1). Furthermore, existing synthetic entities compared to biotechnology products tended to have a higher likelihood of reaching approval status (OR=3.9, 95% CI=0.9-16.6). Conclusion: This study showed that experience of a company in developing orphan drugs is an important predictor for subsequent authorisation of other orphan drugs. The same applies for existing (synthetic) molecules, for which much knowledge is available. Further research should be directed towards studying the quality of the clinical development program of those designated orphan medicinal products not reaching approval status

Bio-cultural refugia—Safeguarding diversity of practices for food security and biodiversity

Food security for a growing world population is high on the list of grand sustainability challenges, as is reducing the pace of biodiversity loss in landscapes of food production. Here we shed new insights on areas that harbor place specific social memories related to food security and stewardship of biodiversity. We call them bio-cultural refugia. Our goals are to illuminate how bio-cultural refugia store, revive and transmit memory of agricultural biodiversity and ecosystem services, and how such social memories are carried forward between people and across cohorts. We discuss the functions of such refugia for addressing the twin goals of food security and biodiversity conservation in landscapes of food production. The methodological approach is first of its kind in combining the discourses on food security, social memory and biodiversity management. We find that the rich biodiversity of many regionally distinct cultural landscapes has been maintained through a mosaic of management practices that have co-evolved in relation to local environmental fluctuations, and that such practices are carried forward by both biophysical and social features in bio-cultural refugia including; genotypes, artifacts, written accounts, as well as embodied rituals, art, oral traditions and self-organized systems of rules. Combined these structure a diverse portfolio of practices that result in genetic reservoirs-source areas-for the wide array of species, which in interplay produce vital ecosystem services, needed for future food security related to environmental uncertainties, volatile financial markets and large scale conflicts. In Europe, processes related to the large-scale industrialization of agriculture threaten such bio-cultural refugia. The paper highlights that the dual goals to reduce pressures from modern agriculture on biodiversity, while maintaining food security, entails more extensive collaboration with farmers oriented toward ecologically sound practices. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Är ett landskap enbart en utsikt? Två frågor inför införandet av landskapskonventionen i Sverige

Europarådets landskapskonvention (ELC) betonar särskilt värdet av en sammanhållen landskapspolitik som kan bidra till en förstärkning av demokratin. Vi delar uppfattningen att landskapskonventionen kan bidra till detta men ser samtidigt farhågor i det arbete som hittills utförts i samband med Sveriges införande av konventionen. Två aspekter kommer vi att ta upp i detta debattinlägg; dels uttolkning av begreppet landskap i landskapskonventionen, dels vurmen bland vissa svenska landskapsarkitekter för den brittiska landskapskarakteriseringsmetoden Landscape Character Assessment(LCA)

Pivot - en aktiv sittmöbel för kontorsmiljö

The purpose of this project was to invite a changed perception of active sitting, to introduce a more active way of sitting in office environments and destigmatize an active sitting posture such as straddling by giving active sitting products conscious aesthetics based on environment and positive associations. The goal with this project was an active sitting product for office environments with aesthetics considered encouraging to movement in a relaxed way, regardless of age and gender, and connect to materials and aesthetics related to activity, experience and recreation. Horseback riding, retro style surfing and skateboarding was an entry of investigation. The project was based on existing active sitting products, their function and production techniques. It was not a part of the project to investigate new models of sitting. This resulted in Pivot, a three legged active saddle chair for office environments with its aesthetic origins in retro style longboarding and horseback riding

Begagnade landskap – använt, vårdat och värderat

I antologin Begagnade landskap – använt, vårdat och värderat får vi ta del av sammanfattande resultat från tre FoU-projekt och från de diskussioner som konferensen 2010 med samma namn gav upphov till. Forskarna utvecklar här frågorna kring behovet av helhetssyn på landskapsfrågorna liksom den fördjupade förståelsen av samspelet mellan människan och landskapet

Curatorial Intentions and Visitor Experience : Three case studies of publicly funded Konsthallar and how curatorial intentions affect the creation of social space

Publicly funded art institutions in Sweden are tasked with the mission of making contemporary art available and accessible to the citizens. This thesis investigates three cases of publicly funded art institutions in Sweden, namely Göteborgs Konsthall, Malmö Konsthall and Liljevalchs Konsthall. The study examines the exhibitions presented by the institutions during the fall of 2023 and how they are curated to be inclusive or exclusive towards visitor groups. By using a model of curatorial values in conjunction with a constructed model of the exhibition as social space, inspired by Henri Lefebvre’s concept “social space”, this research will reveal different strategies used by the institutions for mediating curatorial intentions through the exhibitions.    Empirically the thesis is based on observations of three exhibitions and their visitors and interviews with exhibition hosts. The material is used to examine how the institutions work towards different audiences and how curatorial decisions influence visitor behaviour within the selected institutions.    The results show that the three cases differ in curatorial decisions and values. Further, the social space model used indicates that institutions differ in how they award agency to visitors. The analysis shows that visitors, by acting in unpredictable ways, contribute to the social space of exhibitions in ways not intended by the curator.     In conclusion, this study shows that the mission of the municipality-driven art institution is multifaceted and holds challenges when attempting to engage a broad audience while displaying exhibitions of high artistic integrity. The curatorial choices reflect in the audience and these choices therefore determine who will partake in the exhibition. The curator therefore plays a crucial role in how the exhibitions work with inclusivity.

Beströ min slöja med tårar : undersökandet av Lucia di Lammermoors "Vansinnesscen"

The research of the operasingers own artistic management in the borderlands of opera and choreografy. The search for the autentic situation of Lucia di Lammermoors madness, beyond the objectifying view from society. In an attemt to find the subjective perspective of Lucia her selv. Through thorough investigation of the situation, the background of the story beeing told, and finally the research of impulses in the body: the attempt of embodying the state Lucia could have found her self in. In parallel the attempt of the operasinger as artistic manager finding and trusting the own artistic impulses, in embodying a role and following through a scenic idea to a final performance by following the impulses from within instead of from any outer source as it is usualy done in performing a role in a production with the guidance of a choreografer, director or conductor. Looking in the direction of creating a piece of art more like a painter, sculptor or any more selfmanaging artist in charge of the artistic process from beginning to end.Undersökandet av operasångarens egna konstnärliga handlingsutrymme i gränslandet mellan opera och koreografi. Sökandet efter det autentiska i Lucia di Lammermoors galenskap bortom det objektifierande utifrånperspektivet med vilket samhället och samtiden ser henne. I ett försök att hitta Lucia själv. Genom nogrann undersökning av situationen, bakgrunden till historien som berättas och slutligen undersökandet av impulser i kroppen: försöket att förkroppsliga det tillstånd Lucia kan ha befunnit sig i. Parallelt ett undersökande av opersångarens konstnärliga utövande hitta och lita på de egna konstnärliga impulserna, i förkroppsligandet av rollen och genomförandet av en scenisk idé, till ett färdigt utförande. Genom att följa de inre impulserna utan vägledning från yttre källor, som vanligtvis finns vid framförandet av en roll i en produktion med koregraf, regissör och dirigent. Med siktet inställt att skapa ett eget verk så som en konstnär, skulptör eller någon annan mer självständig konstnär i kontroll över sitt eget skapande från början till slut.På grund av den rådande situation i världen (Covid-) vid tidpunkten för examinationen, genomfördes denna på länk.</p