A Considered Conversion: The Conscious Choice to Accept Christianity by the Populace of Iceland and Greenland in the Era of Scandinavian Conversion Robert A. Burt Department of History, BYU Master of Arts Most studies of the Christianization of Scandinavia attribute the phenomenon to the influence of powerful kings. However, many times the conversion experiences of Iceland and Greenland are either ignored, or tied to the influence of these distant kings. This thesis unites sociological ideas relating to conversion along social and familial lines, ideas introduced by Roger Stark and Rodney Finke, with historical details of Icelandic and Greenland family genealogies found in Íslendingabók, Landnámabók, Kristni saga, and Njáls saga to demonstrate a clear pattern of Christian conversion along social and familial lines on the islands of Iceland and Greenland during the era of Scandinavian Conversion.

The Runic scripture is very unique and complicated and has evolved for over centuries and resulted in unique Runic variants such as Gothic Runes, Anglo-Frisian and more. But where did Runes come from and how did they spread throughout Europe is what this paper will attempt to answer by going over multiple Runic objects as well as different historical literatures and databases in order to establish potential routes for which Runes could have spread through. Such as from Rhine to Northern Europe or from Germany to the rest of Northern Europe or Gaul to Northern Europe. However the people that spread the Runes are partially unknown with some suggesting that it was a group from a Germanic area that spread it, but no clear evidence appears until around 400 AD when a clear migration of people was visible in Frisia and England.

The roman coins on the islands of Bornholm, Öland and Gotland have shownarchaeologist and historians that a connection between Scandinavia and the RomanEmpire existed. But what did the roman coins mean to the inhabitants of these islands?This essay will study the coins found on the islands and the context in which they havebeen found. The aim for this essay is to understand in what context the coins werefound and what they meant for the inhabitants. The essay also strive towardsconducting a discussion around theories, speculations and facts to form an idea of whatthe coins may have meant to the inhabitants.

During late Nordic iron age there were two main cultures in Scandinavia; the Norse and the Sami.  This essay seeks to do two things. Firstly, to determine differences and similarities in how said cultures viewed liminality, that is the border line, or threshold, between two 'areas'. Secondly, to in one text gather and discuss all these areas where liminality played an important role. If not exactly the same a clear similarity is found in how liminality in the landscape was viewed, but the Norse seems to have found more meaning in the liminality of architecture. Both cultures also found one sex preferable before the other concerning magic, but while the Sami favored men, the Norse thought it women's work. Men taking on a woman's role was, among the Norse, found to be both shameful and dangerous, while the Sami of the age seems to have had no such view.  The Norse and Sami saw power in liminality, in various ways, making use of it in burial, religious ritual and magic.

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The Mesolithic period in Sweden lasted generally between 9500-4000 BC and is characterised by the dynamic landscape. People usually lived in smaller groups by the coast, sustained by the forests and the sea’s resources. The study is limited to central Sweden, specifically the province of Västmanland. Fourteen settlements are analysed through an archaeological analysis with an ecological perspective in order to answer how the Mesolithic people utilised the landscape resources and how this is reflected in said landscape. In conclusion, people used the landscape in order to accommodate their current needs long term or short term.

The scabbards from the Valsgärde boat-graves are fine works of artisanship, the person who made them put many hours of work into them. It is easy to get lost in typologies and books,but one must not forget that some crafts are still being practiced to this day. Some of this knowledge is not taught in any formal school setting but is still valuable to academics seeking to deeper their understanding of history. That is why it is important to operationalize this practical and traditional knowledge when interpreting archaeological materials. In this thesis I seek to gain further knowledge by consulting an artisan when interpreting two seax scabbards and three sword scabbards from Valsgärde 7 & 8.

This paper aims to investigate whether changes in economic sentiment and major policy shifts have had any significant impact on Scandinavian real housing prices relative their fundamental value post year 2000. Fundamental housing price indices for each constituent of the region are estimated from macroeconomic fundamentals in a VAR framework. We then estimate impulse response functions from another VAR to test the effects of survey-based economic sentiment on the fundamental price spread in each housing market. In addition, we investigate how major housing related policies implemented during our sample period have affected the fundamental price spreads in an ARDL framework. The study concludes a substantially undervalued Danish housing market post 2008 and a marginally yet persistently overvalued Norwegian market, whereas Swedish and Finnish housing prices have developed fairly in line with levels motivated by macroeconomic fundamentals. Changes in economic sentiment show limited effect on closing the fundamental price spread in Denmark, but no significant impact on any other housing market considered. The elected policies representing major housing market shifts have had significant negative impact on the real housing price development in Denmark and Norway but not in Finland and Sweden. The policy shift in Finland has significantly yet marginally closed the fundamental price spread during the period investigated. Interestingly, implemented LTV- and DTI caps in Sweden have neither affected real aggregate housing prices nor the fundamental price spread.

Background: The United Nation's Agenda 2030, which includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), emphasizes the importance of partnerships across different sectors to address global challenges. In particular, SDG 17 encourages multi-stakeholder collaborations to mobilize resources for sustainability. Despite their importance, there is limited research on the mechanisms of these partnerships, especially in terms of generating social value. Industrial Symbiosis (IS) is a prime example of such collaborations, focusing on resource exchange and shared services. However, the social aspects of IS have not been thoroughly explored, highlighting the need for further research to achieve comprehensive sustainability.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the contribution of Industrial Symbiosis initiatives in the Scandinavian Region on the existence of Social Benefits in the local community.Method: This study, grounded in the interpretivistic paradigm, follows a qualitative approach. Experts and practitioners within Industrial Symbiosis were interviewed and the data collected were analysed with an inductive-open coding process to then evolve in a thematic analysis.Conclusion: Our findings emphasize that Industrial Symbiosis is not merely an environmental strategy but a robust framework that actively contributes to local community development through job creation, industry retention, and infrastructure improvement, among others. By embracing a circular economy and engaging diverse stakeholders, IS demonstrates a sustainable model of industrial interaction that benefits both the environment and society. Overall, we conclude that the successful implementation of Industrial Symbiosis leads to substantial Social Benefits, reinforcing its role as a pivotal element in achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

This thesis investigated if there was an association between board member turnover and gender, alongside the investigation of potential gender-related differences during periods of declining firm performance. The performance variables examined included ROA, EBIT, and Stock Returns. The study encompassed a sample of 291 firms listed on Nasdaq Stockholm Large, Mid, and Small Cap between the years 2020 and 2022 yielding 600 firm-year observations. The thesis used a Poisson regression model to test the hypotheses. We found that the additions of female board members are more likely to follow female departures, and that the association was driven by the independent female board member subsample. Furthermore, the thesis did not uncover any significant statistical evidence indicating differential treatment between women and men when firm performance deteriorates, in the form of an increased likelihood of board turnover for women. Instead, we found that non-independent male board turnover was significantly negatively related to stock returns.