This thesis aims to describe the pre-existing structures and procedures of crisis management andpreparedness in the fifteen municipalities in the Swedish region of Dalarna. Although national andregional governments are involved in several aspects of planning and response to various types ofemergencies, primary responsibility for day-to-day crisis management is delegated to localgovernment. Drawing from this, the paper will explore the daily responsibilities of relevant officialsfrom each municipality in Dalarna through interviews and gather first-hand knowledge regardingwhat lessons that has been learned from handling the COVID-19 pandemic.Furthermore, the information will be used to examine eventual differences in capabilities tohandle emergencies between the different municipalities. The impact and consequences of variousemergencies and disasters demands high-quality emergency measures. However, in the relativelystable time we live in today, these measures are rarely activated. Hence it is difficult to assess thequality of these efforts before the actual crisis hits. This often leads to other functions ofgovernment taking priority, resulting in neglected emergency measures. The main findings of thisstudy indicate that there are some differences, however, the overall experience from the interviewedofficials is positive regarding the performance of their emergency measures and hopeful for thefuture.

2020 has been a year thoroughly marked by the global COVID-19 pandemic, and the ways in which different governments have sought to manage the crisis have sparked controversy. This paper aims to challenge and ultimately falsify the theory of “authoritarian advantage” in crisis management using a single-case study design of most-likely logic. This is done by performing a case study of the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in China based on the argument that contrary to suggestions made by previous research, the measures undertaken by the Chinese regime in the initial phase of the crisis do not exhibit the advantages expected of an authoritarian political system. The study goes on to reconstruct the chain of events during the initial response and analyzes whether the response unfolds as expected by set theoretical criteria of benefiting from China’s institutional preconditions. The analysis finds that the theory of “authoritarian advantage” loses credibility in this case, and further allows for the conclusion that any “advantages” of the regime are largely offset by critical “disadvantages”. This leads to a discussion opening up for the possibility that there is no single political system that is best suited for crisis management, as different systems enjoy different strengths as well as weaknesses. Understanding the circumstances of this is also recommended as a field of future research.

The European emergence of Covid-19 has come to characterise a new kind of enemy for the EU, a cross border health threat which knows no borders and affect the EU’s health, economic, social and transport sectors indiscriminately. Therefore this thesis aims to explores the measures taken by the EU to respond to the outbreak of Covid-19. By using three European integration theories, neofunctionalism and liberal and new intergovernmentalism, different aspects behind the EU’s crisis response can be analysed and later put into evaluation in relation to the European integration project. It is found that, while facing initial challenges in solidarity, the EU has managed to present significant responses toward the pandemic. These are mostly based in the economic arena through the NGEU and the MFF for 2021-2027. Still, there are significant measures presented to enhance the capabilities of the EU’s current health framework, under the new EU4health-programme.

Studien ämnar undersöka vilka retoriska verktyg som talarna i poddprogrammen Alex och Sigges podcast och Pillowtalk med Peg och Penny använder sig av för att diskutera och gestalta COVID-19. Det studeras även hur respektive podcast förhåller sig till spridandet av fake news och desinformation. Båda poddprogrammen har en stor räckvidd och har därmed möjlighet att påverka ett stort antal människor. Det är viktigt att korrekt information sprids, speciellt i en hälsokris som denna. Studien belyser därmed problematiken som kan finnas i informationsspridning och överskott av information i samband med coronaviruset.  Genom en retorisk analys analyseras innehållet i två avsnitt från mars 2020, i vilka pandemin diskuteras. Resultatet visar att talarna i båda avsnitten har en hög etos i och med deras kända namn och relation med sina lyssnare. Däremot återfinns flera svaga logos-argument, då den fakta som delges inte stöds med några källor. Detta gör att lyssnarna inte kan verifiera informationen som talarna för fram. Patos används främst genom att visa sin sympati och oro för människors hälsa och hur samhället ska klara sig i krisen. Även känslor som rädsla och irritation framkom för att framhäva situationens allvar.  Talarnas egna råd jämförs sedan med Folkhälsomyndighetens, vilka överensstämde. Ingen av poddsändningarna kan sägas sprida desinformation, däremot kan det vara en vinklad version utifrån hur talarna ser på pandemin. Detta syns i sista delen, där det diskuteras hur talarna gestaltar COVID-19. De har som gemensamt att de gestaltar pandemin på ett negativt sätt och genom rädsla. Detta skulle i sin tur kunna leda till ökad oro och panik.

Human beings by nature have a predisposition towards learning and the exploration of the natural world. We are intrinsically intellectual and social beings knitted with adaptive cognitive architectures. As Foot (2014) succinctly sums it up: “humans act collectively, learn by doing, and communicate in and via their actions” and they “… make, employ, and adapt tools of all kinds to learn and communicate” and “community is central to the process of making and interpreting meaning—and thus to all forms of learning, communicating, and acting” (p.3). Education remains pivotal in the transmission of social values including language, knowledge, science, technology, and an avalanche of others. Indeed, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) have been significant to the advancement of social cultures transcending every epoch to contemporary times. As Jasanoff (2004) poignantly observed, “the ways in which we know and represent the world (both nature and society) are inseparable from the ways in which we choose to live in it. […] Scientific knowledge [..] both embeds and is embedded in social practices, identities, norms, conventions, discourses, instruments, and institutions” (p.2-3). In essence, science remains both a tacit and an explicit cultural activity through which human beings explore their own world, discover nature, create knowledge and technology towards their progress and existence. This has been possible through the interaction and applications of artifacts, tools, and technologies within the purviews of their environments. The applications of technologies are found across almost every luster of organizational learning especially teacher education, STEM, architecture, manufacturing, and a flurry of others. Thus, human evolution and development are inexplicably linked with education either formally or informally. The 21st century has however seen a surge in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies in education. The proliferation of artificial intelligence and associated technologies are creating new overtures of digital multiculturalism with distinct worldviews of significance to education. For example, learners are demonstrating digital literacy skills and are knowledgeable about AI technologies across every specter of their lives (Bennett et al., 2008). It is also opening new artesian well-springs of educational opportunities and pedagogical applications. This includes mapping new methodological pathways, content creation and curriculum design, career preparations and indeed a seemingly new paradigm shift in teaching STEM. There is growing scholarly evidence about the use and diffusion of these technologies in K-12 and higher education (Bonk & Graham, 2012; Hew & Brush, 2007; Langer, 2018; Mishra & Koehler, 2006). Some of these include the Sphero robots, Micro Bit, Jill Watson, BrickPi3 Classroom kit, Engino STEM Mechanic, Lego Education WeDo Core Set and Spike. Both educators and learners are using these in STEM programs as well as other education related activities. Just as human activities and interactions with artifacts and tools shaped and redefined the scientific-technological feat of previous generations, so the contemporary digital technological era seems to be on a similar trajectory. However, there is sparsity of empirical scholarship on the pedagogical prospects and effectiveness of artificial intelligence in STEM classrooms. Also, it should be noted that scholarship on how AI impacts pedagogical content knowledge of STEM educators and how learners perceive these technologies are just emerging. In addition, the recent COVID-19 pandemic (Ghandhi et al., 2020; Rasmussen et al., 2020) has unexpectedly created a renewed synergy towards the applications of digital technologies in teaching STEM. In the context of this force majeure (COVID-19), the traditional brick and mortar educational spaces metamorphosed into digital spaces with the applications of many artificial intelligent technologies and resources in the arena of education. This doctoral dissertation study examined these enigmas including how educators use these technologies in STEM classrooms. The study is informed by activity theory or cultural-historical activity theory (Engeström et al., 2007; Hasan et al., 2014; Krinski & Barker, 2009; Oers, 2010; Vygotsky,1987). The study participants will be selected from educators currently integrating artificial intelligent systems and digital technologies in their respective STEM classrooms. Pre-data survey inquiry has shown that many educators were incorporating some forms of AIS into their STEM classrooms. In view of these, I have explored Sphero educational robots to interrogate the research topic. The Sphero Edu described as a “…STEAM-based toolset that weaves hardware, software, and community engagement to promote 21st century skills. While these skills are absolutely crucial, our edu program goes beyond code by nurturing students’ creativity and ingenuity like no other education program can” (Sphero, April 2020). The Sphero robots also have features and applications for designing and teaching STEM topics such as nature, space science, geometry, and other activities of pedagogical significance. Users could also design and write advanced engineering programs in JavaScript during STEM educational activities formally and outside of the classrooms. In essence, educators and students can learn designing, programming, engineering, mathematics, computational thinking, and hands-on skills reflective of the 21st century. In brief, the dissertation study research has explored artificial intelligence and emerging technologies and how these could transform and advance teaching and learning of STEM hence the research topic: Exploring the use of Artificial Intelligent Systems in STEM Classrooms. Methodologically, this is a qualitative study through the theoretical frameworks of activity theory as applicable to STEM education. The main research questions are: 1) Given that artificial intelligent systems and digital technologies have been applied in STEM educational domains (content, pedagogy, student learning, assessment). How does the application of AIS and digital technologies impact pedagogy in STEM educational activities? 2) Given that digital technology is transforming contemporary society in every facet. How/What does AIS tell us about how digital technology impacts STEM pedagogy? Data was collected from the study participants, archival sources, and others for analyses. It is hoped that the findings will inform and address theories of learning and teaching, policy and praxis in science education, teacher preparatory and professional development programs as it relates to STEM classrooms

Bakgrund: I början av 2020 drabbades världen av en pandemi orsakad av viruset Sars-CoV-2, som ger sjukdomen Covid-19. Pandemin avspeglades i sjukvården med ett stort antal av patienter och ökad dödlighet. Viruset förorsakade att många av de smittades blev allvarligt sjuka och intensivvårdskrävande. Ett stort antal patienter behandlades med respiratorstöd, vilket resulterade i en ökad belastning för personal vid intensivvårdsavdelningar. Motiv: Undersökningar i Norden har kommit fram till att många sjuksköterskor funderar på att sluta i jobbet och har mindre arbetsglädje på grund av pandemin, det vill vara av viktighet att undersöka bakgrunden för det. Syfte: Att belysa intensivvårdssjuksköterskors upplevelser av att vårda patienter med Covid-19. Metod:  Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med elva intensivvårdssjuksköterskor med erfarenhet av intensivvård av patienter med Covid-19. Intervjuerna analyserades genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Resultatet visar på fyra kategorier: Isolering och ensamhet, Osäkerhet över att patienterna får rätt vård, Arbetsmotivation samt Påverkan på livet utanför sjukhuset. Utifrån dessa kategorierna det övergripande tema:  Att i ensamhet stå inför en hotfull situation som påverkar både arbetsliv och privatliv, men också kunna känna meningsfullhet, konstruerades. Resultatet visar att ovanstående komponenter har betydelse för intensivvårdssjuksköterskans arbetssituation och livet utanför sjukhuset. Konklusion: Studiens resultat visade att Covid-19 pandemin har påverkat intensivvårdssjuksköterskor i stor grad, i arbetet och i livet utanför sjukhuset. Deltagarna har blivit påverkad fysiskt och psykiskt. Faktorer som osäkerhet, rädsla, frustration, ångest och stress påverkar i negativ riktning. Deltagarna beskriver också en känsla av stolthet, att det har varit spännande och lärorikt, vilket visar att situationen inte enbart är negativ.

Den pågående COVID-19 pandemin utmanar löftet om utbildning som en mänsklig rättighet (United nations, 2020). Syftet med examensarbetet är att bilda kunskap om lärarnas erfarenheter av undervisningen i hem- och konsumentkunskap under covid-19 pandemin vårterminen 2020. Sex stycken strukturerade intervjuer har genomförts för att undersöka hem- och konsumentkunskapslärares upplevelser och erfarenheter av att undervisa under vårterminen 2020. Resultatet av en tematisk innehållsanalys visar att lärarnas arbetsbelastning ökat, mer utbildning i digitala verktyg behövs, det behöver utvecklas arbetssätt för att ta hänsyn till elevers olika förutsättningar att studera i hemmet. Studiens resultat visar också att det är viktigt att skapa tydliga uppgifter som kan bedömas enkelt och därmed bidra till en mer likvärdig undervisningssituation och till förenklat arbete för vikarierande kollegor som då kan leda undervisningen trots att ordinarie lärare är sjuk. Utbildningsfrågan behöver prioriteras av regeringen för att kunna sätta in nationella riktlinjer som kan bidra till att avlasta lärarna och säkerhetsställa likvärdigheten för utbildningen.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur uttalsundervisning inom andraspråksinlärning för vuxna påverkas av plötsliga nationella restriktioner. Forskningsfrågorna som har bearbetats är hur lärare i två länder med olika nationella strategier för hanteringen av Coronapandemin uppfattar att restriktionerna har påverkat deras uttalsundervisning, hur de uppfattar att den förändrade situationen har påverkat elevernas uttalsutveckling och vilka skillnader som kan förekomma i uttalsundervisningen som följd av de olika nationella strategierna. Mitt arbete har genomförts med hjälp av lärarintervjuer i Norge och Sverige. Lärarna är alla aktiva inom andraspråksinlärning för vuxna. Mina resultat har även jämförts med litteratur inom samma område. Intervjuundersökningen visar att alla informanter har kunnat bedriva fortlöpande uttalsundervisning tack vare bland annat digitala lösningar. De olika nationella strategierna som Norge och Sverige har valt har inte resulterat i stora skillnader i uttalsundervisningen. Den har förändrats på samma sätt i båda länder, men den temporära förändringen har haft olika tidsramar.

COVID-19-pandemic: the crisis was not only a challenge for the forms of preaching but also its content. What could and should be said? How can people be comforted and strengthened without preaching weak and banal ‘good news’? And again and again the question: How can we speak of God amid a worldwide crisis? For Societas Homiletica it became clear quite soon that the Budapest Conference would have to be postponed (and – God willing – we will meet in Budapest from August 12 to 17, 2022!). But our International Secretary, Prof. Dr. Theo Pleizier, came up with the idea of organizing an Online Conference on “Preaching in Time of Crisis.” The International Board of Societas Homiletica supported this idea, and on August 10–12, 2020, the first Online Conference in the history of Societas Homiletica ‘took place.’ We are glad and honored to present five outstanding papers delivered at the Online Conference in this Special Volume of our International Journal of Homiletics, two from Europe and three from North America (Canada and the USA). Clara Nystrand from Lund (Sweden) compares sermons delivered in Sweden in the time of the Spanish flu 1918 with sermons delivered in the first phase of the Corona pandemic. André Verweij, pastor and researcher in the Netherlands, analyzes five Easter sermons delivered in the Netherlands during the first wave of the Covid-19-pandemic and discovers a lamenting mode in preaching, which steers away from interpreting the pandemic’s possible ‘meaning’ or ‘message.’ Joseph H. Clarke and David Csinos from the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Canada, show how fruitful dialogue between psychotherapy and homiletics can be. David M. Stark, teaching and doing homiletical research at the University of the South in Sewanee (USA), speaks about a dual pandemic of COVID-19 and systemic racism. In the final article, Edgar “Trey” Clark III from Fuller Theology Seminary in Pasadena (USA), examines protests in support of “Black Lives Matter” and sees these protests as a form of Spirit-inspired proclamation – connecting lament and celebration, particularity and universality, word and deed. Obviously, the COVID-19-pandemic changed not only the forms and media of preaching, but also its contents – and will have an impact also in the time ‘after’ the pandemic.

With the help of sermon manuscripts from the time of the Spanish flu, held within the Church of Sweden, new light is shed on sermons held in the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The comparison shows, among other things, that a shift has been made in how God is portrayed. It also points to some challenging questions about suffering, hope and the role of eternity in preaching today.