Despite the important developments that peacebuilding plays in academia on conflict resolution and management, the field remains unexplored in multiple ways. One of the ways that this can be done is through the involvement of women in a domain that is considered to be relatively less inclusive of marginalized groups. The role women can play in negotiating for conflict resolution is significantly emerging as an important debate in peace research work and studies. Relatively little attention has been paid on the relevance of traditional approaches to conflict resolution particularly on the role that women contribute to using such methods. This impacts in balancing gender representation in peacebuilding processes. This research therefore takes a deeper look into the role of women in peacebuilding using the women groups in Casamance, Senegal as the empirical case study. The main objective of this study is to critically analyze the significant role women play as peacebuilders specifically, highlighting the relevance of traditional knowledge of conflict resolution. Hence, the key research question is to empirically reconstruct the role of women in peacebuilding and analyze how the use of traditional methods of conflict resolution has contributed to peacebuilding in Casamance. In this vein, this study employs a qualitative approach to critically analyze the situation in Casamance using semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. This study utilizes the actor network theory (ANT) as the framework for analysis. A core finding of this dissertation reveals a disconnection between the existence of laws and policies on the participation of women in peacebuilding versus recognizing the local practices and initiatives of women groups at the grassroots with regard to implementation. The findings also bring to light the importance of further research in traditional methods of conflict resolution as contributing to peace and security.

This ethnological study represents personal experiences about the voice of a place and its instrumentality in the Swedish Arctic, based on interviews and observations. The appearance of the voice is connected to the existential meeting between humans and different kinds of bodies, from non-physical beings with metaphysical appearance to non-human bodies such as silicates (sand), rhizomes and animals. The metaphysical voice of a place can be understood as the genius of a place, a spirit or ancestor. It can be understood as a real sound in old forests, tactile feeling in the underground mine and as a whole culture dwelling in a region. The instrumental agency of the place-voice acts through personal characters found in places and is a potential tool in creating liminal places and use of the place creativity.

In the thesis I ethnographically study the process of interconnecting and mutual influencing of human and non-human entities in case of the visually impaired persons and the compensation devices based on computer technology. I examine this process, which I call "the technification of blindness", in symmetrical terms. The main theoretical inspiration for the study is the interplay of technology and the health-inconvenienced body and its consequences which are based on the Actor-Network Theory and related material-semiotic tools of social-science research. My aim is to analyse processes which enable/not allow to manage everyday activities to visually impaired persons in the Czech Republic, while they are using computer technologies and their relation with wider processes of accessibility. I trace mutual influencing of human and non-human entities on a specific configuration of visually disabled body with specifically modified personal computer, and with a touch-screen smart-phone. The study shows how the specific form of portable electronic and computer-based devices, which are specially adapted to seeing users, is what excludes blind and visually impaired persons from the interaction with computer technology. Such a cooperation and visual orientation of blind persons is allowed only thanks to...

Social Academic Analytics (SAA) is proposed as a new scientific approach toward developing suitable instruments to promote virtual collaboration among participants in the higher education field. SAA refers to the process of extracting relational data for the purpose of exploring organizational structures within virtual learning organizations and knowledge networks. Implementation of SAA provides opportunities for organizers and instructors to optimize socio-technological infrastructures within (virtual) knowledge networks so as to encourage collaborative work, while offering significant potential for quality assurance. SAA combines theories and models from both informatics and the social sciences at the macro level in order to formulate data analysis for the field of (web-based) educational research. In this paper we introduce SAA and its constituent activities. Finally we select case studies and applications to compare analytical concepts from diverse disciplines and conclude with further suggestions as to how SAA concepts can be applied in educational data management.

Co-authorship networks are a particular sort of social networks representing authors collaborating on joint publications. Such networks are studied within the fields of bibliometrics and scientometrics. While it is possible to analyze co-authorship networks in their entirety, certain analytical tasks would benefit from representing such networks as dynamic graphs, which incorporate a temporal dimension and capture structural transformations unfolding over time. The importance of dynamic graphs has emerged in recent years, in graph theory at large as well as within application domains such as social sciences, for instance.Research regarding dynamic graphs has been identified as one of the major challenges within network theory since they are particularly useful for describing real-world systems.This thesis project revolves around dynamic co-authorship network analysis algorithms, which aim to extract various temporal aspects regarding author collaborations.It is the result of a proposal by the ISOVIS group at Linnaeus University, which is active within the fields of exploratory data analysis and information visualization, including the problem of visual analysis of scientific publication data. The algorithms developed in this project extract analytical data such as (1) joint publications among pairs of authors, (2) temporal trends on connected components (groups of authors) along with network centrality measurements, and (3) major events regarding emergence, mergers, and splits of connected components over time. Together with domain experts, the analysis regarding usability, performance, and scalability of the algorithms took place as part of the evaluation process to assure that the result met the needs which instigated this thesis project. The application of the algorithms on real data sets provided by the ISOVIS group was useful concerning the evaluation of the usability domain. In contrast, customized synthetic data sets was an excellent tool for evaluating performance and scalability.

Despite the destructive and limited nature of fossil fuels, most human-made systems are dependent on the use of oil, gas and coal. Especially agriculture relies on diesel machinery, fertilizer, transport, and cooling systems that are commonly powered by non-renewable energy sources. This independent project in design specifically focuses on the dependency on fossil fuels within agriculture. With the investigation “Vägen mot fossiloberoende jordbruk” (Utredningen om fossiloberoende jordbruk, 2021), or “Pathway to fossil independent agriculture”, Sweden is aspiring to make farming fossil-free by 2030. Consequently, a lot of responsibility to invest in new technologies and alternative energies lies on farmers. In collaboration with Länsstyrelsen Kronoberg, the author explores how farmers can be supported to transition towards renewable energies, focusing on the Swedish region Kronoberg. Through participatory design and design research, notions of fossil fuel (in)dependency are being explored in collaborative ways. Here, the farmers become the ‘experts of their experience’ (Sanders & Stappers, 2012). This independent design project examines ways to transition towards fossil fuel independent agriculture in Sweden, existing challenges and potential solutions. To communicate the complex network of energy and agriculture in Kronoberg to Länsstyrelsen, the author designed an Actor-Network-Model, which highlights the necessity of systems thinking and collaboration.

För nästan hundra år sedan, lades grunden för det som senare kom att benämnas som human relations. HR-perspektivet med Mayos “Hawthornsstudie” i spetsen, innebar ett skifte i hanterandet och synsättet av människor i organisationer. Taylorismens organisatoriska kontroll och effektivitet byttes ut mot människors behov och välmående. Numera är HR-diskursen mångfacetterat och dess nuvarande existens ses som relativt självklar i många sammanhang. Men i och med den nya teknologiska eran, som numera innefattar artificiella intelligenta (AI)-enheter, gör att HR-perspektivet inte bör negligera dessa nya aktanters involvering. Med hänsyn till AI-enheternas ökade inkludering i organisationers och individers vardagliga leverne, räcker det nuvarande HR-perspektivet inte till. Förbiseendet av en AI-enhets inflytande på individer och organisationer i kombination med att det nuvarande HR-perspektivet inte beaktar eller kan hantera en ny “aktör” i sammanhanget, ansåg vi vara högst problematiskt. Problematiken synliggörs inte minst i våra två exemplifierande fall Trelleborg och Kungsbacka kommun, där AI-enheter skapat oro och medfört konsekvenser för både organisationen och individen. Uppsatsens huvudsakliga syfte har varit att bidra till en ökad förståelse för hur en AI-aktant bör inkluderas och beaktas i det nuvarande HR-perspektivet. Uppsatsens bidrag till HR-området gjordes genom att presentera ett nytt HR-AI perspektiv, som inkluderar AI-enheter på ett högst medvetet sätt. Det befintliga HR-områdets breda spektrum, gjorde att vi valde att utgå från särskilda HR-grundantaganden, som i sin tur underbyggdes av en redogörelse för HR-områdets vitala delar. Genom inkluderandet av Latours Actor Network Theory (ANT) i kombination med en kvalitativ metod med en hermeneutisk ansats, möjliggjordes därmed en resa in i rhizomatiska resonemang, som i slutändan ledde fram till det nya perspektivet, HR-AI.  Vårt nya HR-AI perspektiv belyser därmed AI-enheter som centrala aktanter i sammanhanget, vilket gör att det nya perspektivet betraktar och behandlar AI-enheter som komplexa samt unika aktanter med nio unika behov. AI-enheternas behov bör i sin tur matchas med organisationens och individens behov, för att därigenom uppnå en “win-win-win” situation. Exemplifierande av fallen i kombination med uppsatsens analys, visar därmed att AI:s behov bör tillgodoses och beaktas som vitala för en organisation och individ. HR-AI perspektivet innehåller även flertalet praktiska “goda idéer”, för hur aktörer kan hantera och inkludera den nya medarbetaren.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to extend the knowledge on how Swedish companies canbecome more embedded in the Chinese market by building relationships with political actors. Research question: How do Swedish managers develop and maintain relations with politicalactors in China, and how do they perceive the outcomes from such relations? Method: Qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews. Results: The results of the study shows that managers initially use local middlemen orconsultancies to get in contact with political actions. Further, they participate in variousactivities to build upon and develop that relationship, something that is argued by therespondents to be more time-consuming and extensive than in western countries. The outcomeof having these relationships is that firm could gain a competitive edge and the managers tobecome more efficient in their role. Contribution: This study contributes with additional research to the Extended BusinessNetwork and relationship building with non-business actors in China from a Swedishmanagerial perspective.

This paper is about a process of a nascency of new doctors, and how it is possible to approach this topic from the viewpoint of social anthropologist. As a starting point, I use actor-network theory, which is one of the social science paradigms focusing on materiality. I consider it (on the basis of work by Bruno Latour and other scholars, who are dealing with this field), to be a remarkable actor in matters connected with human action, and thus an appropriate subject for an anthropological inquiry. Since the topic concerns medicine in the Czech Republic nowadays, I contribute to the knowledge of medical anthropology, which does not have such a strong academic base here as in the Anglo-Saxon world. Special attention is dedicated to a detailed description of activities leading to the formation of the text of this thesis. Reflexivity, on which I put emphasis, shall serve as the foundation of the context of genesis of an anthropological knowledge and also to describe the ethical concerns of the research. The main methods are observation and semi-structured in-depth interviews with twelve informants, who were medicine students or medicine faculty graduates.

This diploma thesis examines networking of interest groups. It presents potentional entrance points for influencing legislative processes in the EU. The thesis focuses mainly on European Commission's public consultations. It tries to answer the question whether the interest groups cooperate strategically or whether they try to reach their goals on their own. This thesis is grounded in the framework of the network theory and uses the method of graphic modeling. For the research we have selected three areas of European Commission's consultations. The participating interest groups were chosen based on their characteristics and the consultations they took part in. We have found out that among the interest groups gathered around European Commission there is no close collaboration taking place. Furthermore, the interest groups act rather spontaneously as they are generally only taking part in individual consultations. Only 12.3% of them participated in more than one consultation and they were mainly registered organizations.