Kollapsen av den klassiska Mayakulturen under sen 700- till sen 900-tal e.Kr. har förbluffat forskare ända sedan studier av Mayakulturen påbörjades på 1840-talet. Både arkeologer och antropologer som epigrafiker eller klimatforskare har arbetat med att lösa gåtan av hur ett kulturellt vidsträckt samhälle kunde kollapsa utan någon klar förklaring. Civilisationen som än idag talar till oss genom sina kolossala pyramider och tempel, inskriptioner och den vetenskapliga kunskapen som ansetts outförbara utan moderna instrument. Dock har inte kollapsen varit ett direkt fokus i Mayastudier sedan forskningen påbörjades. Det var inte förrän på 1960-talet som systematiska undersökningar utfördes för att hitta rimliga teorier till kollapsen. Ända sedan dess har hypoteser och teorier haglat in och forskarna idag hittar sig själva i en sjö av oförklarlig information. Kunskapen av Mayakulturen är enorm men det har inte hjälpt att hitta någon bestämd teori om kollapsen av klassiska Maya. Det finns forskare som fokuserar på stora katastrofala händelser såsom drastiska klimatförändringar, sjukdomar eller jordbävningar så svåra att återhämtning var omöjligt. Sedan finns den andra skaran av forskare som förkastar enskilda händelser och fokuserar mer på mångfaldiga katastrofer som kunnat utlösa ödesdigra mönster i samhället som till slut utmynnat i en kollaps. Trots oklarheter kring kollapsen har framsteg gjorts inom fältet. Många teorier har mycket tack vare avancerade metoder kunnat förkastas medan andra blivit mer debatterade. Vad som än Mayakulturen kan berätta för oss, står ändå kollapsen som den stora nöten att knäcka och ju längre forskningen av ämnet fortgår desto närmare kommer även forskare till svaret. Frågor dyker dock fortfarande upp om det är möjligt att lösa en av arkeologins stora gåtor.

This thesis explores how dental students experience their education. We aim to generate ways to understand which elements relate to the students’ experience based on current theories and models regarding the quality of working life and gender (and) power relations.   Methods Twelve interviews with Umeå dental students in their clinical semesters were analysed with a Grounded Theory (GT) as well as a content analysis approach. A web-survey was sent to all clinical dental students in Sweden (P ≈ 805) with a response rate of 40% (p = 322). The quantitative methods included structural equation modelling and cluster analysis. Results The GT analysis resulted in the core category “Experiencing ambiguity,” that captured the student’s role-ambiguity. Central categories focused on perceived stress and performance assessment in relation to ambiguous inner and outer demands. The content analysis resulted in three categories: “Notions of inequalities,” “Gendering,” and “The student position.” These categories present the ways groups of students are constructed in relation to the student/dentist norm and social gender relations, and how women and men of foreign descent risk subordination and stereotyping. The SEM-model contained psychosocial work environment, tolerance for ambiguity, perceived stress, and student satisfaction. Work environment influenced both perceived stress and satisfaction, and stood for almost all of the explained variance in perceived stress for women, indicating that women are constructed as co-responsible for the work environment. About half of the variance for the men was explained by tolerance for ambiguity, indicating that the feeling of uncertainty may lead to stress in men who include “being in control” in their gender identity. The cluster analysis resulted in a six-cluster solution ranging from “The fresh and positive” to “The worn critiques.” Psychosocial work environment again appeared to be the main factor. Gender also appears to be a factor as the gender distribution in the best as well as the two worst clusters differs from the population. Conclusion Work environment stands out among the factors that relate to the students wellbeing and satisfaction, but the student group is heterogeneous and the ways students perceive their work environment relate to different processes and experiences. We suggest that the ways gender and ethnicity appear to be constructed in relation to the sociocultural gender power relations and the (traditional) medical hierarchy could be of importance for how the students’ experience their psychosocial work environment.

The purpose of this study is to identify similarities and differences in preparations by Sweden and Finland to ensure food supply in a crisis. Previous research consisting of separate studies have showed a decreased ability to ensure food supply in crisis in Sweden, and an increased ability in Finland. In a time of raising awareness, changing security concerns and political will, the contribution of this study is to simultaneously investigate the two countries and provide an understanding of the historical- and present approaches. By using comparative case study as method and applying International relations theory, a broader understanding of the different approaches by otherwise similar countries is achieved. The approaches of Sweden can be explained by using realist, neorealist, liberal and neoliberal theories while Finland’s approach best can be explained by realist and neorealist theories. The study is relevant for the field of humanitarian action and conflict since it provides an understanding of the countries contingency plans regarding food. Threat assessments from both countries identifies man-made conflicts such as terrorism, cyber-attacks, use of military force and war to have the possibility to create disruptions in the normal cycles of the society and those of surrounding countries. If these threats were to occur, basic needs must be met, one being food supply.

The Sami in Sweden have lived on and managed their lands since time immemorial. The strong connection to the environment and nature has given them centuries of knowledge that is still applicable to this day. With the help of their ancestral knowledge the Sami have preserved their Indigenous land. With constant work towards sustainability and extractive projects of natural resources for renewable energy that takes place in Sápmi, the question is raised of who is included in the transition towards sustainable development and who the transition is for. The purpose of this study is to investigate and get a deeper understanding of Sami perspectives on sustainability and the connection to their rights. Applied methodology for this qualitative study is semi-structured interviews with nine Sami, followed by a thematic analysis of the collected empirical data. This was done to understand and analyse perceptions of sustainable development and how it relates to Sami inclusion and Sami rights, using frameworks of colonial governmentality and green colonialism. The findings suggest that a differentiation can be made concerning how the Sami perceive actions for sustainable development and the concept of sustainable development. Further, the Sami view their inclusion in policy-making and implementation in regards to questions of sustainable development in Sweden as being somewhat low or not applied at all. In relation to environmental sustainability this study shows that the implementation of Sami rights varies depending on the context, but that it is generally experienced as insufficient, and that rights are often applied to the economic units of the samebys, and not all Sami, creating a division within the Sami community. The results also show a perception of lack of political will and a neglectance to include and implement Sami rights, as state interests are prioritised. The societal and institutional conditions for the Sami to claim their rights and require inclusion within sustainable development prove that the theories of colonial governmentality and green colonialism are applicable to the current situation in Sápmi.

Sammanfattning Det här är en kvalitativ studie i syfte att undersöka hur vetenskapliga teorier synliggörs i lärarstudenters reflektioner över sin undervisning i ämnet svenska på lågstadiet. Materialet är insamlat i samband med lärarstudenters verksamhetsförlagda utbildning och består av intervjuer, observationer av undervisning och texter i form av pedagogiska planeringar. Resultatet visar att lärarkandidaters reflektioner håller en låg nivå när det gäller skoldidaktisk reflektion och att grunda sina resonemang i teorier om lärande och i professionella ämneskunskaper i svenska, även om deras undervisning håller god kvalitet.                       Sammantaget är min slutsats att olika metoder eller förklaringsmodeller som används inom forskning skulle kunna synliggöras i större utsträckning inom ramen för svenskkurser i lärarutbildningen. De kan dessutom användas som redskap för dokumentation av elevers kunskaper samt studenters egna skoldidaktiska reflektioner men även för det systematiska arbetet med att dokumentera elevers lärande som en förutsättning och utgångspunkt för planering av kommande undervisning, det vill säga formativ undervisning. Det skulle kunna vara ett sätt att överbrygga teori-praktikproblemet i lärarutbildningen såväl som att höja nivån av hur studenter relaterar till vetenskapliga modeller som stöd för skoldidaktisk reflektion. / Title: “At least I thought the pupils were good”: Theorisation in education students’ didactic reflections on teaching Swedish   This qualitative study aimed to investigate the role of theory in education students’ reflections on their teaching of Swedish in lower primary school. The material was collected in connection with the students’ practical placements and comprises of interviews and observations. Although these prospective teachers performed well in the classroom, the study shows that the students’ didactic reflections were generally below par and inadequately founded in theories of learning or Swedish subject knowledge.        The overall conclusion is that different methods or models used in research can be highlighted to a greater extent in the Swedish subject courses on the primary education program. Students may not only use such theoretical tools to document pupils’ knowledge and formulate their own didactic reflections, but these tools could also prove useful in formative teaching, that is, in systematically documenting pupils’ learning in order to plan future teaching. This could therefore be a way to bridge the theory-practice gap in teacher training as well as improve education students’ use of theoretical models in their didactic reflections.

Sammanfattning Det här är en kvalitativ studie i syfte att undersöka hur vetenskapliga teorier synliggörs i lärarstudenters reflektioner över sin undervisning i ämnet svenska på lågstadiet. Materialet är insamlat i samband med lärarstudenters verksamhetsförlagda utbildning och består av intervjuer, observationer av undervisning och texter i form av pedagogiska planeringar. Resultatet visar att lärarkandidaters reflektioner håller en låg nivå när det gäller skoldidaktisk reflektion och att grunda sina resonemang i teorier om lärande och i professionella ämneskunskaper i svenska, även om deras undervisning håller god kvalitet.                       Sammantaget är min slutsats att olika metoder eller förklaringsmodeller som används inom forskning skulle kunna synliggöras i större utsträckning inom ramen för svenskkurser i lärarutbildningen. De kan dessutom användas som redskap för dokumentation av elevers kunskaper samt studenters egna skoldidaktiska reflektioner men även för det systematiska arbetet med att dokumentera elevers lärande som en förutsättning och utgångspunkt för planering av kommande undervisning, det vill säga formativ undervisning. Det skulle kunna vara ett sätt att överbrygga teori-praktikproblemet i lärarutbildningen såväl som att höja nivån av hur studenter relaterar till vetenskapliga modeller som stöd för skoldidaktisk reflektion. / Title: “At least I thought the pupils were good”: Theorisation in education students’ didactic reflections on teaching Swedish   This qualitative study aimed to investigate the role of theory in education students’ reflections on their teaching of Swedish in lower primary school. The material was collected in connection with the students’ practical placements and comprises of interviews and observations. Although these prospective teachers performed well in the classroom, the study shows that the students’ didactic reflections were generally below par and inadequately founded in theories of learning or Swedish subject knowledge.        The overall conclusion is that different methods or models used in research can be highlighted to a greater extent in the Swedish subject courses on the primary education program. Students may not only use such theoretical tools to document pupils’ knowledge and formulate their own didactic reflections, but these tools could also prove useful in formative teaching, that is, in systematically documenting pupils’ learning in order to plan future teaching. This could therefore be a way to bridge the theory-practice gap in teacher training as well as improve education students’ use of theoretical models in their didactic reflections.