Gender equality as a Swedish norm, but who’s included? - a critical analysis of the Swedish parental insurance

This thesis purpose is to investigate to what extent gender equality norms have developed in Sweden over the last 40 years. In order to do this I will use Carol Bacchi’s method, ”What’s the problem represent to be”, and six questions that she has created within this method. These questions are applied on four different governmental propositions, that discuss the parental leave insurance and gender equality, from the year 1973 until 2014. Together with Bacchi’s method, this thesis theoretical framework will be influenced by feminist postmodern thoughts. In the analysis, four different key concepts are identified. These concepts; The State, Family: men, women and parenthood, Work and, Flexibility and freedom of choice, are central in all four propositions. Outside the propositions, a few norms have been identified and analyzed. The most central norms are: to have an employment, the twoness norm, and the heteronorm. Even if Sweden has had good preconditions and created equally formal rights for both men and women, there are still obstacles and norms in society about how a mother, father or a parent should be. Even if gender equality norms have changed, the basic assumption, that parents should be able to combine work and family, is still central

Veterinarians’ experiences and preparedness to receive questions about animal welfare legislation and the official control

Farmers are one of the key contributors to successfully improving the implementation of farm animal welfare regulations. In Sweden, the County Administrative Board (CAB) is responsible for ensuring that the animal welfare legislation is complied with by performing official animal welfare inspections. In a previous study, it emerged that many Swedish dairy farmers would turn to their veterinarian for information about the animal welfare control. This study investigated how often Swedish clinical veterinarians are asked questions about the official animal welfare control and the animal welfare legislation when visiting farmers and horse keeper on their premises for treatment or counselling. The study also investigated veterinarians’ experiences and handling of questions related to animal welfare legislation and official control. An electronic questionnaire was developed and answered by 130 veterinarians during spring 2023. Additionally, 9 interviews were performed. The result showed that the respondents in general received questions about the legislation and the control at occasional farm visits, mainly before inspections and around slaughter. The respondents also got questions at occasional farm visits on what applies according to the legislation. Working with pigs as a veterinarian was related to receiving the most questions, while working with horses was related to receiving the least questions. Most veterinarians reported a greater knowledge of the legislation than of the control, and stated that knowledge in these areas mainly has come through further education after the veterinary education. Further, they reported a better impression of the legislation and its content than of the control and how it is carried out, which was related to how they handle questions concerning inspections. The result in the study reflects a feeling of farmers and horse keepers having great trust in veterinarians, which contributes to veterinarians having a considerable part in the discussions around legislation and control. Many veterinarians called for better cooperation with the CAB, which should be considered as it can increase veterinarians’ knowledge and preparedness to handle questions about the control

Using calcein-filled osmotic pumps to study the calcification response of benthic foraminifera to induced hypoxia under in situ conditions : an experimental approach

Bentiska foraminiferer används i stor utsträckning för miljöövervakning, t ex i kontext med syrebrist i kustnära vatten, vilket är det snabbast växande och mest allvarliga hotet mot marina ekosystem. Ett flertal studier har visat att många foraminiferarter har förmåga till överlevnad, förökning och biomineralisering under förhållanden med syrebrist (hypoxi) och till och med under helt syrefria förhållanden (anoxi). Reaktionen på dessa förhållanden är artspecifika, till exempel sänkt ämnesomsättning, lagring av nitrat för att understödja anaerob metabolism och vertikal förflyttning i sedimenten. Här visar vi för första gången att osmotiska pumpar kan användas för att dispensera den fluorescerande kalcitmarkören kalcein i orörda marina sediment med syfte att analysera hur biomineraliseringen hos kalkskalsbildande foraminiferer påverkas av olika syreförhållanden. I denna studie använde vi osmotiska pumpar för att tillföra en 100 mg/l lösning av kalcein till marina sedimentkärnor, som togs från Gullmarn, vari bentiska foraminiferer odlades under normalt syresatta och hypoxi in situ-förhållanden under ~3,5 månader. Medeltemperaturen i havsvattnet överliggande sedimenten var 8°C och den genomsnittliga salthalten var 32,6. De osmotiska pumpar, som hade en beräknad flödeshastighet av ~1 μl/h, fylldes med 2 ml av kalceinlösningen och placerades sedan, en per sedimentkärna, 1 cm under gränsytan mellan sediment och vatten. Vår analys av kalceinmärkta bentiska foraminiferer i 100-150 μm-fraktion i de översta 1,5 cm av sedimenten visar att det relativa antalet biomineraliserande Nonionoides turgida och Nonionellina labradorica jämfört med Bulimina marginata är positivt korrelerade till syrenivåerna. Resultaten indikerar att kalceinkoncentrationen avtar i riktning bort från den osmotiska pumpen, även om kalceinmärkta foraminiferer återfanns på alla avstånd inom en radie på 4,5 cm från punktkällan. Genom att använda osmotiska pumpar kan odling och kalceinmärkning ske in situ i ostörda sedimentkärnor, vilket medför att både fältstudiens respektive laboratorieexperimentets fördelar kan utnyttjas – det vill säga en bättre överensstämmelse med naturliga förhållanden i kombination med en noggrann kontroll över miljövariabler. Detta innebär att osmotiska pumpar har en stor potential att bli ett viktigt verktyg i framtida studier av bentisk foraminiferekologi.Benthic foraminifer a are extensively used for environmental monitoring, for example in the context of oxygen depletion in coastal waters, which is the fastest growing and most serious threat to marine ecosystems. Several studies have demonstrated that many foraminiferal species are able to survive, reproduce and calcify under hypoxic (low dissolved oxygen) and even anoxic (no oxygen) conditions. The responses to these conditions are species specific, for example lowering of the metabolism, storage of nitrate to support anaerobic metabolism, and vertical migration in the sediments. Here we show for the first time that osmotic pumps can be used to dispense the fluorescent calcite marker calcein in undisturbed marine sediments in order to analyse the calcification response of calcareous foraminifera to different oxygen conditions. In the present study we used osmotic pumps to deliver a 100 mg/l solution of calcein to marine sediment cores, which were collected from the Gullmar Fjord, wherein benthic foraminifera were cultured under normoxic and hypoxic in situ conditions during ~3.5 months. The average temperature in the seawater overlying the sediments was 8°C and the average salinity was 32.6. The osmotic pumps, which had a calculated flow rate of ~1 μl/h, were filled with 2 ml of the calcein solution and then placed, one per sediment core, 1 cm below the sediment- water interface. Our analysis of calceinlabelled benthic foraminifera in the 100–150 μm-fraction in the uppermost 1.5 cm of the sediments shows that the relative abundances of calcifying Nonionoides turgida and Nonionellina labradorica compared to Bulimina marginata are positively correlated with the oxygen levels. The results indicate that the calcein concentration decreases in a direction away from the osmotic pump, although calcein-labelled foraminifera were recovered at all distances within a radius of 4.5 cm from the point source. By using osmotic pumps culturing and calcein-labelling can be performed in situ in undisturbed sediment cores, which means that the advantages of both the field study and the laboratory experiment can be utilized – that is a better consistency with the natural conditions in combination with a rigorous control of environmental variables. Thus, osmotic pumps have a great potential to become an important tool in future studies of benthic foraminiferal ecology

Secrets of the Seeds

This study set out to explore relationships between seed morphology and qualitative traits in field cress, Lepidium campestre, with the goal of assisting the breeding process of this crop under domestication. A collection of seeds of L. campestre as well as related species was analysed for weight and size using a MARViN seed analyser. Seed colour was examined through the development of a colour gradient-based method. These traits were then compared to previous agronomic and seed quality data gathered on the seeds of the collection. The data previously collected included flowering time, seed weight per plant, oil content and fatty acid composition, as well as the level of glucosinolates, an anti-nutrient, in the seeds. A series of correlation analyses were made to show correlations between them. The analyses revealed little to no correlation between seed colour and other seed qualities, suggesting that seed colour is not an indicator of seed quality, at least in the traits that were examined in this study. There was a correlation between seed size and oil content, showing that larger seeds contain more oil. There was also a positive correlation between glucosinolate content and oleic acid content, suggesting that the two are linked. Another correlation was found between flowering time and seed weight, showing that there was an optimal time interval for the plants to flower for the seeds to be fully developed: between 115-120 days

Change the Conversation: A Study of Mental Health Education and College Aged Students Attitudes’ Towards Mental Illness

Researchers have found that public opinion of people who are mentally ill or struggle with their own mental health are often negative. This project was created in an effort to determine the most efficient way to engage people in conversations about mental health and the stigma that encompasses such a conversation. What happens when mental health struggles are visible and supported through open and honest communication? What happens when they are not? The workshop Change the Conversation: Attitudes Towards Mental Health aimed to close the gap surrounding mental health education on a college campus and promote the necessity of understanding the importance of mental illness education among college students through a training/workshop focused on attitudes surrounding mental illness. Findings suggest that there is a surplus of resources widespread throughout Merrimack College, but creating conversation is where the trouble lies. The results from the workshop confirmed that, in order to effectively create open lines of communication, it takes one person to answer the question, “How are you doing today?” open and honestly