There is a general recognition within the social sciences that extensive mobility challenges how we perceive the notion of home. With this idea as its starting point, this thesis explores how situations of hardship impact the ways in which mobile professionals negotiate and construct their homes. The actor-network theory (ANT) has been used as the means to explore the interactions between the people who inform this study and the multidimensional characteristics of the hardship setting. Through individual, open-ended interviews, the research draws upon the experiences of five international civil servants from the United Nations (UN) system of organizations who are assigned to hardship duty stations. Applying ANT to the empirical material drew the attention to the identification of five principal entities (or actors) that come into play in the negotiation of home construction, namely the civil servant, [in]security, mobility, ownership and social relations. The influence of the various nonhuman actors on home construction varied according to the individual and their transnational ties and professional status – those with family nuclei tended to situate their homes in terms of territoriality, whereas for others, factors such as privacy, materiality and social interaction weighed more heavily in the act of creating home.

Kollaborativ konsumtion och bildelningstjänster är två fenomen som under de senaste åren blivit allt mer populära som ett sätt att bemöta hållbarhetskrisen. Bildelningstjänster är en form av kollaborativ konsumtion och är ofta drivna av kommersiella krafter. Syftet med tjänsterna är att erbjuda kunder moderna och hållbarhetsdrivna lösningar som ett alternativ till det privata bilägandet. I användandet av bildelningstjänster uppstår interaktioner mellan olika aktörer, mänskliga såväl som icke-mänskliga, både direkt- och indirekt. I användningen av bildelningstjänster och i dessa interaktioner, skapas en upplevelse för användarna. Genom en enkät och nio semistrukturerade intervjuer med användare av bildelningstjänster, studerar vi i denna studie, dessa upplevelser. Användarupplevelsemål och delade användarupplevelser, samt aktör-nätverksteori används som teoretiska ramverk för att analysera och diskutera den insamlade datan. I denna studie drar vi slutsatsen att användandet av bildelningstjänster inte enbart handlar om användarens individuella upplevelse av att använda bilen och mobilapplikationen. Användandet av bildelningstjänster består av flera samverkande faktorer som påverkarvarandra och som tillsammans påverkar användarupplevelsen. Slutligen ger studien ytterligare insikter i hur aktörer påverkar förarens användarupplevelse av bildelningstjänster. Med kunskapen om hur förarens upplevelse, i användandet av bildelningstjänster, påverkas av både mänskliga och icke-mänskliga aktörer. Dessa aktörer utgörs för omfånget av denna studie den mobila applikationen, bilen, kundtjänsten, den tidigare föraren och passagerarna. / Collaborative consumption, shared mobility, and car sharing services are three modern phenomena that in recent years have become a popular way to respond to the sustainability crisis. Carsharing services are a subcategory of collaborative consumption and are often driven by commercial forces. The aim of the services is to offer modern and sustainably-driven solutions to users as an alternative to private car ownership. In the use of carsharing services, an interaction occurs between different actors, human as well as non-human actors, both direct- and indirect. These interactions generate a user experience which this thesis aims to study through a survey and nine semistructured interviews with users of carsharing services. User experience goals, shared user experience, as well as Actor-network theory, is used as theoretical frameworks to analyze and discuss the collected data. Through this study, we conclude that the act of using car sharing services isn’t solely an individual experience between the users and the artifacts such as the car or the mobile application. Instead, the use of carsharing services often consists of several collaborating actors who influence each other and together affect the user experience. Lastly, the study contributes further insights into how actors affect the driver's user experience of carsharing services. With the knowledge of how the driver's experiences in the use of carsharing services are affected by both human and non-human actors. These actors consist of the mobile application, the car, previous users, customer service, and passengers.

[pt] Esta dissertação busca olhar para o espaço das redes transnacionais religiosas sob a perspectiva da Sociologia Política Internacional. Através do caso paradigmático da construção da Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus (IURD) como ator transnacional e sua transnacionalização para a África, procuro oferecer elementos para entender o lugar dessas redes na política mundial. Muitos estudiosos pensaram que a importância da religião desapareceria da política com o advento da modernização. No entanto, as tradições religiosas se adaptaram aos novos tempos, ressignificando o espaço da religião na sociedade. As redes transnacionais religiosas são resultado desse processo de adaptação. No Brasil, o movimento de transnacionalização religiosa que mais teve destaque foi o das redes neopentecostais, como o da IURD, que se intensificaram a partir da década de 1980. Em uma abordagem de redes de religião como fenômenos transnacionais, vemos que elas produzem efeitos na política mundial que nos permitem modificar a forma como se pode olhar para as relações políticas e sociais, e, por vezes, desafiar o próprio sistema de estados. / [en] This dissertation seeks to look at the space of transnational religious networks from the perspective of International Political Sociology. Through the paradigmatic case of the construction of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD) as a transnational actor and its transnationalization for Africa, I try to offer elements to understand the place of these networks in world politics. Many scholars thought that the importance of religion would disappear from politics with the advent of modernization. However, religious traditions have adapted to new times, giving new meaning to the space of religion in society. Transnational religious networks are the result of this adaptation process. In Brazil, the movement of religious transnationalization that stood out the most was that of neopentecostal networks, such as that of the IURD, which intensified from the 1980s onwards. In an approach of religious networks as transnational phenomena, we see that they produce effects on world politics that allow us to modify the way we can look at political and social relations, and sometimes to challenge the state system itself.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how six different art museums are working on digitizing their collections, and how they are made available to the public. To answer the purpose, three research questions were formulated; how the museums work with digitization, what is digitized and which programs and guidelines are used, and how the digitized material is made available to the public on the websites. The museums examined in this thesis are Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the National Palace Museum Taiwan in Taipei and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Prior to the study, previous research on digital humanities, digitization in museums, and the role of museums and their approach to digital collections, were studied. The theoretical framework used in the analysis consists of theories regarding “New media” and digital humanities, theories about “The museum process” and Actor-network theory, ANT. The method used is qualitative content analysis and semiotic image analysis of the museum websites. The results and analysis show that the museum websites differ in terms of design, functions, user-friendliness and collection content. In addition, the museums use different guidelines and software programs in the digitization process of their collections, although there is some overlap. The analysis shows that the Rijksmuseum, the Smithsonian and the National Palace Museum Taiwan are the museums in the study that have made the most progress with digitizing their collections and using interactive elements on their websites. The museum with the least developed digitization work is Moderna Museet, whose search page is the simplest and most standardized in comparison with the other museum websites.

Vikings and pirates have been studied through the years in both the archaeological and historical disciplines. Both have been compared with each other, especially if Vikings can be classified as pirates or if they practiced piracy. The stereotypical descriptions and definitions of both terms may have contributed to the above-mentioned comparisons between Vikings and pirates in search after similarities and/or differences. Vikings have and are still portrayed as savages ravaging along European coasts, robbing cities, burning churches, and violating innocents, whose actions left behind devastation and chaos. Pirates have also been classified as violent individuals, especially sea bandits or sailors who attacked both friend and foe, seizing property and/or people through violence at sea. This thesis will problematise, question, analyse and discuss if studies about pirates and pirate societies can contribute to today’s understanding of Vikings, namely to study and examine them through the perspective of pirate studies. Separate geographical areas with Viking and pirate presence have been selected in England, Ireland, the Baltic Sea region, and the Bahamas. The overwintering camps of Torksey and Repton in England, together with Dublin in Ireland concerns Viking activity. Meanwhile, Visby and Vivesholm in the Baltic Sea with piracy carried out by the Victual Brothers, together with Nassau in the Bahamas represents pirates and piracy. In addition, the above will also be analysed and discussed through an application of three selected theoretical frameworks: agency theory, actor-network theory, and the concept of utopias. The problematisation will also be examined through a determination of the terms Viking and pirate, an application of hydrarchy, and how the colonization of areas and establishment of smaller communities functioned for each actor.

Des recherches ont montré comment les mouvements sociaux tirent parti des capacités techniques offertes par les plateformes numériques pour attirer l'attention sur leurs causes et mobiliser des partisans. Pendant la pandémie de COVID-19, le même phénomène a été observé chez certains softleaders s’opposant aux mesures sanitaires qui ont utilisé ces mêmes plateformes pour promouvoir leurs points de vue et leurs croyances. Cependant, elles ne sont pas neutres et tiennent un rôle dans l’aboutissement de tels objectifs. C’est ce que ce mémoire s’efforce de mettre en lumière. Dans le cadre de cette recherche, l’échange de propriétés entre des actants humains, et non-humains, soit les micro-célébrités activistes politiques et les capacités techniques de la plateforme Twitter, sont considérées comme une voie stratégique vers la mise en visibilité d’une idéologie politique. Dans une perspective sociotechnique, nous visons à comprendre la construction de récits et la fabrique du discours, en analysant les thèmes qui émergent des publications sur Twitter et le rôle des entités du collectif composé des actants humains et non-humains dans la production et la diffusion de ces messages. Nous remarquons que le résultat d’un tel assemblage, à travers des stratégies et les possibilités offertes par les affordances, permet de se saisir de l’attention médiatique de l’auditoire à des fins politiques : la promotion de valeurs issues de convictions anti-mesures sanitaires basées sur de la désinformation, des théories du complot et de la méfiance envers différentes institutions démocratiques. Ainsi, nous suggérons que des recherches futures doivent continuer de se pencher sur les effets de composition de cet assemblage sur la production et la diffusion du discours et que ces considérations doivent être prises en compte dans la recherche de solutions au problème de la désinformation. / Research has shown how social movements leverage the technical capabilities offered by social media platforms to draw attention to their causes and mobilize supporters. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the same phenomenon has been observed among some softleaders opposing health measures who have taken to Twitter to promote their views and beliefs. However, the platforms are not neutral and play a role in the achievement of such objectives. This is what this dissertation attempts to understand. In the context of this research, the exchange of properties between human and non-human actors, micro-celebrity political activists and the technical capacities of the Twitter platform, called affordances, are considered as a strategic path towards the visibility of a political ideology. From a sociotechnical perspective, we aim to understand the construction of their stories, the making of discourse, by analyzing the themes that emerge from their tweets and the role of the collective entities in the production and dissemination of these messages. We see that the result of the collective, through strategies and the capabilities offered by affordances, makes it possible for these softleaders to seize the attention of the audience for political ends: the promotion of values stemming from opposition health measures during the crisis based on misinformation, conspiracy theories and distrust of various democratic institutions. Thus, we suggest that future research should continue to address the composition effects of the network (humans/dispositive) on the production and dissemination of discourse and that these considerations should be considered in the search for solutions to the problem of misinformation.

This study examines the ideological shift towards right-wing conservatism within specific segments of the Polish contemporary art scene following the Law and Justice Party (PiS) rise in 2015. The party's cultural policies, aligned with nationalist and right-wing ideologies, brought significant changes to institutions like Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art (CSW), reflecting a broader trend seen in Poland for many years. Through the exhibition Sztuka Polityczna (2021) at Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, this study investigates the conservative discourse shaping Polish art. The study employs Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to map the actors, networks, and power dynamics influencing the exhibition's discourse. Utilizing political scientist Andrew Heywood's pillars of conservatism, the study analyzes the interplay between conservatism and contemporary art, focusing on CSW's director Piotr Bernatowicz’s trajectory toward a conservative outlook on contemporary art. The analysis of Sztuka Polityczna reveals the influence of "avant-garde conservatism," a theory formulated by philosopher Paweł Rojek, that merges populism, culture war rhetoric, conservatism, and national identity to redefine conservatism in modern Poland. Bernatowicz's role in promoting issues like cancel culture underscores the exhibition's unconventional discourse. While the study acknowledges the limitations of a single exhibition's scope, the systemic influence of conservative tendencies on Polish contemporary art suggests a broader trend with potential future ramifications for the European art scene. The findings underscore the possible instrumentalization of contemporary art to conform to political ideologies.

The aim for this essay is, along with the four included case studies, is to examine the social media platform, Instagram's strict guidelines when it comes to showing nudity.  On the platform there is a certain double standard, artists as well as art institutions are censored, that is, they get pictures removed or their accounts blocked when they try to show works that have nudity depicted, but at the same time nudity exists on the platform, this essay wants to highlight the double standard by setting the example that images from accounts of celebrities, which show as much nudity as a work of art, if not more, are allowed to be available on the social platform. This essay then also wants to emphasize that why it is this way is because fundamentally it is a social problem, it is the structures and norms that exist around us that are the contributing factors. How we see the ideal body and beauty and how the male gaze is the gaze that is precisely the dominant gaze. Another factor that this essay will analyse is the difference between art and pornography, and how it affects censorship among a number of artists. With the support of interviews and the theoretical frameworks, this essay will examine Instagram as a modern place to display art, while the platform is mostly double standards and bias. In addition, this essay will highlight that in the game of nudity celebrities have different and easier rules of the game, compared to artists, they are instead dealt with the strict rules of the game. / Målet med denna uppsats är tillsammans med de fyra inkluderade fall studierna, undersöka den sociala media plattformen, Instagrams strikta riktlinjer när det kommer till att visa nakenhet. På plattformen förekommer det en viss dubbelmoral, konstnärer samt konstinstitutioner blir censurerade, det vill säga, de får bilder borttagna eller deras konton blockerade när de försöker visa verk som har nakenhet avbildat, men samtidigt existerar det nakenhet på plattformen, denna uppsats vill framhäva den dubbelmoral genom att ge exempel på att bilder från kända personers konton, som visar lika mycket nakenhet som ett konstverk, om inte mer, får vara tillgängligt på den sociala plattformen. Denna uppsats vill då även framhäva att varför det är på detta sätt är för i grunden är det ett samhällsproblem, det är strukturer och normer som existerar runt omkring oss som är de bidragande faktorerna. Hur vi ser den ideala kroppen samt skönhet och hur den manliga blicken är den blicken som är just den dominanta blicken. En annan faktor som denna uppsats kommer analysera är skillnaden på konst och pornografi, och hur det påverkar censuren bland ett antal konstnärer.  Med stöd av intervjuer och de teoretiska ramverken kommer denna uppsats undersöka Instagram som en modern plats för att visa konst, samtidigt som plattformen är till mesta del dubbelmoralisk och bias. Dessutom kommer denna uppsats att framhäva att i spelet om nakenhet har kända personer andra och enklare spelregler, jämfört med konstnärer, de blir i stället utdelade de stränga spelreglerna.

At my thesis’s core is the transformation of the agricultural industry based on the framework of food regimes established by Philip McMichael and Harriet Friedmann. The framework of food regimes will guide the analysis of recent agricultural developments towards sustainability. Due to the local nature of the food production system, I focused my thesis on one county in the South of Germany, Schwäbisch Hall, which allows me to look at local developments and how they affect our broader global food system. I will begin the thesis by analysing the effects of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on agricultural actors in Schwäbisch Hall. After that, I will thoroughly examine the term “sustainable agriculture” within the context of sustainability and how the term is perceived by agricultural actors in Schwäbisch Hall. I will then explore three crucial global sustainability issues in the agricultural sector and how these global issues are influencing and transforming the agricultural industry on a local level. The sustainability issues include Food Security, Environmental Issues and Climate Change, and Consumption Issues. The analysis will explore how these issues, along with the recent CAP reform, can shape and advance the agricultural industry in the future. To analyse the CAP and sustainable agriculture, the study will employ the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), which will provide insights into the operational dynamics and interplay of networks within the industry as they mutually influence each other. I also use interviews with agricultural actors and news articles to get a more profound knowledge of opinions on the developments within the agricultural sector. After analysing current sustainability issues and the most recent CAP reform, I will discuss the agricultural sector's future in Germany and how the agricultural industry could develop further in the upcoming years. I will also look more into the possibilities of organic farming and its importance in establishing a more sustainable agricultural sector. At the end of my thesis, I will examine if, with the recent developments in the agricultural industry, there is a chance that a new fourth food regime can be established soon in the broader prospect of our global food system.

This thesis investigates events prior to, during and after the founding of the Swedish Museum of Architecture, in November 1962. Through the application of concepts derived from Bruno Latour’s Actor-Network-Theory, traces of the actors involved in the processes are followed, such as the activities of the museum’s first head archivist and superintendent, Birgitta Wallgren. The Museum of Modern Art’s traveling exhibition Visionary Architecture is studied as an example of how, in Latour’s sense, actors transform ”the elements that they are supposed to carry”. The thesis is thus looking for activity, the ”doing” of the museum. The institution’s earliest years is a previously rather unstudied topic. Thus, the thesis aims to contribute to the growing research field that focuses on how architectural history has been written in Sweden.