The objective of this study was to gain knowledge concerning what up-per secondary students need to learn to be able to construct historical explanations while working with historical sources. The study also explored how teaching could be designed to enhance student’s capabilities. The history didactical framework took its departure in the British Historical Thinking-tradition and the methodology was based on Learning Study, an iterative research method for analysis and enhancement of teaching and learning. Empirical data originates from one Learning Study undertaken in an upper secondary school performed in cooperation with three teachers teaching three different classes. The bulk of data consists of student interviews, video recordings from research lessons and essay texts performed by the students before and after research lessons. Variation Theory was used to analyse teaching and learning with the purpose to identify critical aspects of what characterizes the capabilities and what the students needed to learn to reason about causation, interpret and use historical sources. The historical content was framed on the late 19th century phenomenon known as The Scramble for Africa where the students were supposed to reason on the causes for thescramble while working with a variety of primary sources. The methodological design of the research-lessons was based on a combination of principles from Variation Theory and Learning Activity with the ambition to form an educational practice that would allow students to discern the critical aspects and advance their learning. The results show that the students who participated in this study needed to distinguish the following critical aspects to be able to construct Historical Explanations when working with sources: Cause To distinguish temporal aspects of historical change not to confuse causes and consequences. To distinguish that historical change are caused by societal structures and intervention by historical actors and do not occur by itself. To distinguish that historical change predominantly have their origin in several causes and cannot be reduced to single causes. To distinguish that historical explanations need support from evidence. Interpret and Use Historical Sources To asses sources critically rather than view them as neutral information. To contextualize sources to avoid presentism and literal interpretations. To corroborate sources to be able to validate claims and present different perspectives in a historical explanation. To see that values and limitations of sources depend on the historical questions we seek an answer to. To distinguish the difference between authentic sources and reliable claims.

This dissertation is a critique of synthetic ethical naturalism (SEN). SEN is a view in metaethics that comprises three key theses: first, there are moral properties and facts that are independent of the beliefs and attitudes of moral appraisers (moral realism); second, moral properties and facts are identical to (or constituted only by) natural properties and facts (ethical naturalism); and third, sentences used to assert identity or constitution relations between moral and natural properties are expressions of synthetic, a posteriori necessities. The last of these theses, which distinguishes SEN from other forms of ethical naturalism, is supported by a fourth: the semantic contents of the central moral predicates such as 'morally right' and 'morally good' are fixed in part by features external to the minds of speakers (moral semantic externalism). Chapter 1 introduces SEN and discusses the most common motivations for accepting it. The next three chapters discuss the influential "Moral Twin Earth" argument against moral semantic externalism. In Chapter 2, I defend this argument from the charge that the thought experiment upon which it depends is defective. In Chapters 3 and 4, I consider two attempts to amend SEN so as to render it immune to the Moral Twin Earth argument. I show that each of these proposed amendments amounts to an abandonment of SEN. Chapter Five explores Richard Boyd's proposal that moral goodness is a "homeostatic property cluster." If true, Boyd's hypothesis could be used to support several metaphysical, epistemological, and semantic claims made on behalf of SEN. I advance three arguments against this account of moral goodness. In the sixth chapter, I argue that moral facts are not needed in the best a posteriori explanations of our moral beliefs and moral sensibility. Because of this, those who accept a metaphysical naturalism ought to deny the existence of such facts or else accept skepticism about moral knowledge. In Chapter 7, I consider a counterargument on behalf of SEN to the effect that moral facts are needed in order to explain the predictive success of our best moral theories. I show that this argument fails.

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Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die Verwendung von Modellen in schriftlichen Erklärungen optischer Phänomene vor dem Hintergrund eines praxisorientierten Modellbegriffs zu analysieren. Dafür wird ausgehend von einer bereits existierenden Charakterisierung von Modellen ein praxisrelevanter Modellbegriff entwickelt und dargelegt, wie Erklärungen in Bezug auf diesen Begriff zu verstehen sind. Als wesentliches Merkmal von Modellen stellt sich dabei ihre Position als funktionale Vermittler zwischen Ausschnitten von Phänomenen und Theorien heraus. Sprachliche Erklärungen sind demnach sprachliche Darstellungen von Modellen. Zur Untersuchung der Schwierigkeiten Physiklernender in schriftlichen Erklärungen wird ein geeignetes Verfahren zur Analyse der Modellstruktur in den Erklärungen entwickelt. Als geeignete Darstellung dieser Struktur erweisen sich Concept Maps, die hier jedoch noch um eine Kategorienstruktur erweitert werden. Das Verfahren zum Erstellen von kategorienorientierten Concept Maps kann in einer Vorstudie als reliabel und valide gekennzeichnet werden. In einer qualitativen Untersuchung von 64 Erklärungen Physikstudierender und Experten zu Phänomenen der optischen Hebung wird das Verfahren angewendet. Dabei können verschiedene Schwierigkeiten präzise benannt werden. Studierende führen das Phänomen teilweise einzig auf den Begriff der Brechung von Licht zurück, ohne diesen Zusammenhang präzise darzulegen. In einigen Erklärungen werden Begriffe aus nicht relevanten optischen Konzepten eingebunden, es fehlen zentrale Elemente oder Erklärungen zerfallen in Fragmente. Vor allem die Schnittstelle zwischen Phänomen und Theorie zeigt sich besonders fehleranfällig. Kategorienorientierte Concept Maps eignen sich auch, um auf Basis der fehlerbehafteten Erklärungen Vorschläge für konstruktive Interventionen zu entwickeln, die zu einer fachlich angemessenen Erklärung führen. Die Ergebnisse belegen die Notwendigkeit und Fruchtbarkeit eines praxisorientierten Modellbegriffs. / Goal of this thesis is to analyze the use of models in written explanations of optics phenomena, based on a practice-orientated framework on models. Starting from an already existing framework, an authentic model conception will be developed and the notion ‘explanation’ will be integrated in the conception. The position of models as functional mediators between relevant aspects of phenomena and theory turns out to be their core characteristic. Written explanations are linguistic presentations of models. A procedure will be developed directly from the given description of models in order to visualize the structure of written explanations. The result is a modified network visualization based on concept maps with inherent categories. This visualization is called ‘categorized concept map’. In a preliminary study, the procedure can be described as reliable and valid. In a following qualitative investigation of 64 explanations of optics phenomena (‘apparent depth’) by means of light rays, given by university physics students and experts, categorized concept maps are used to identify difficulties in giving appropriate explanations. Students trace back the observed phenomena only to the term of ‘refraction’, instead of precisely describing the interrelation between ray optics and those phenomena. Furthermore, elements of other conceptions (waves, particles) appear in some of the explanations, whereas central elements of ray optics (i.e., the image concept) are missed. The cut point between theory and the real world turns out to be the most fragile part in students models. Categorized concept maps show their strength in making a variety of difficulties visible and also in subsequently giving the opportunity to develop an appropriate explanation. The results show both, the need and the fruitfulness of an authentic model conception.

Empirical educational research enjoys a methodological and theoretical debate that is characterized by a number of unresolved and lively debated controversies. This compilation thesis is an attempt to contribute to this debate using the toolbox of philosophy of science. The thesis consists of an introductory chapter and four essays. In the introductory chapter I identify three methodological and theoretical controversies that are discussed within the field of educational research. These are: 1) the controversy concerning the scientific status of educational research; 2) the controversy between cognitive and sociocultural theories of learning; and, 3) the controversy between realist and constructionist interpretations of theories of learning. I provide in the essays a critical assessment of the claims behind each of these controversies, and argue for an alternative reconstruction of these issues. In Essay I, I criticize a view about the interpretation of human action, labeled in the text as interpretivism. This view posits a sharp separation between the natural and social sciences, to the effect that the methods of the latter cannot be applied to the former. The first controversy seems to rest on this position. As I argue, the arguments in support of interpretivism are contradicted by actual research practice. I conclude that the interpretivistic claims lack support and that the general separation claim appears as problematic. A further debate has fueled the first controversy, that is, the supposed distinction between qualitative and quantitative methods. In Essay II, I argue against this distinction. More specifically, I discuss the concept of empirical support in the context of qualitative methods (for short, qualitative support). I provide arguments that although there are two specific and non-trivial properties of qualitative support, there is no methodological separation between quantitative and qualitative methods concerning empirical support. Considered together, the first two essays indicate two points of methodological continuity between educational research and other scientific practices (such as the natural sciences). I therefore conclude that the controversy concerning the scientific status of educational research rests in large part on unjustified claims. Essay III focuses on the second controversy. In this article I argue that Suárez’ inferential approach to the concept of scientific representation can be used as an account of scientific representation in learning, regardless of whether learning is understood as a cognitive or social phenomenon. The third controversy is discussed in Essay IV. Here, I discuss some ontological aspects of the framework of the actor-network theory. Reflecting on the use of this framework in the research field of Networked Learning, I argue that the assumption of an ontology of relations provides the solution for two puzzles about the ontology of networks. The relevance of my argument for the third controversy is that it suggests a point of connection between constructionist and realist interpretations of the ontology of learning. The last two essays suggest two points of continuities between theoretical frameworks that have been and still are argued to be incompatible. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript.</p>

The purpose of this thesis work is to investigate how research on honor-related violence is structured and how this can potentially affect social work. The scientific problem we see is about the fact that the polarized debate regarding honor-related violence is a growing problem, not only in Sweden, but also in other Nordic countries. Honor-related violence is an effect of when the honor becomes affected and the person who is subjected to honor-related violence is controlled by the family´s norms and rules, this can lead to sanctions in the form of mental and physical violence. Our research question aims to investigate how research on honor-related violence in Sweden is structured and how the polarized explanations of culture and intersectionality can influence the social work on honor-related violence. We argue that the polarized and shifting explanations of cause for the honor-related violence affect the social work and the education of social workers. The research question and the related issues have been studied through a qualitative inductive research approach and the empirical material has been analyzed based on Laclau and Mouffe’s social constructivist discourse analytical instruments. We analyzed seven research works written by researchers in Sweden. What we intend to study is how these researchers portray and structure honor-related violence based on the two causal explanations of culture and intersectionality. The result shows that the cultural explanation model is more prevalent than the intersectinal line of argument regarding the honor-related violence. The empirical material define the nature of honor-related ciolence in a similar way, but that the explanations of cause separates them. Our conclusion is, among other things, that we see how one cannot relate to honor-related violence without looking at culture, but that the intersectional analysis of violence also is necessary in order to be able to absorb all surrounding influencing factors. The intersectional perspective on honor-related violence, however, emphasizes that the cultural explanation becomes a fact when research has not succeeded in solving how social work practice should deviate from a cultural stereotyping when it comes to the issue of honor-related violence. / Syftet med detta uppsatsarbete är att undersöka hur forskning kring hedersrelaterat våld är strukturerat och hur detta potentiellt kan påverka det sociala arbetet. Det vetenskapliga problemet som vi ser föreligger handlar om att den polariserade debatten om det hedersrelaterade våldet på politisk nivå även går att urskilja på en forkskarnivå. Hedersrelaterat våld är ett växande problem, inte bara i Sverige, utan även i andra nordiska länder. Hedersrelaterat våld är en effekt av när hedern blir drabbad och den som blir utsatt för hedersrelaterat våld blir kontrollerad av familjens eller släktens normer och regler, detta kan leda till sanktioner i form av psykiskt och fysiskt våld. Vår forskningsfråga ämnar att undersöka hur forskning om hedersrelaterat våld i Sverige är strukturerad och hur de polariserade orsaksförklaringarna kultur och intersektionalitet kan påverka det sociala arbetet kring hedersrelaterat våld. Vi hävdar att de polariserade och skiftande orsaksförklaringarna kring det hedersrelaterade våldet påverkar det sociala arbete och socionomers utbildning. Forskningsfrågan och de tillhörande frågeställningarna har studerats genom en kvalitativ induktiv forskningsansats och det empiriska materialet har analyserats utifrån Laclau och Mouffes socialkonstruktivistiska diskursanalytiska instrument. Vi har analyserat sju stycken forskningsverk skrivna av forskare i Sverige. Det vi ämnar att studera är hur dessa forskningsverk porträtterar och strukturerar hedersrelaterat våld utifrån de två orsaksförklaringarna kulturförklaringar och intersektionalitet. Resultatet visar att den kulturella förklaringsmodellen är mer förekommande än den  intersektionella argumentationslinje gällande det hedersrelaterade våldet. Alla forskningsverk definierar det hedersrelaterade våldets art på liknande sätt, men att orsaksförklaringarna går isär. Vår slutsats är bland annat att vi ser hur en ej kan förhålla sig till hedersrelaterat våld utan att se till kultur, men att den intersektionella analysen av våldet också är nödvändig för att kunna ta in alla omkringliggande påverkande faktorer. Det intersektionella perspektivet kring hedersrelaterat våld poängterar dock att den kulturella förklaringen blir ett faktum då forskning inte lyckats lösa hur en inom det sociala arbetets praktik ska avvända en kulturell stereotypisering när det kommer till frågan om hedersproblematik.

<p>Hypermedia systems and knowledge systems can be viewed as flip sides of the same coin. The former are designed to convey information and the latter to solve problems; developments beyond the basic techniques of each system type require techniques from the other type. Both system types are frequently used in learning environments, and to different extent utilise user co-operation.</p><p>A knowledge system consists of a formal representation of a domain theory enabling automated reasoning to take place within the domain. Since a formalisation cannot generally reproduce all relevant knowledge, the user's co-operation is needed to obtain a well functioning system. To perform well in this co-operation, the knowledge in the system must be accessible and transparent to the user. Tranparency can be achieved by means of explanations. In a learning environment transparency and co-operation are vital because the user needs to be active whilst the reasoning is being carried out - to be able to learn how to perform the problem solving.</p><p>To achieve transparency we introduce the notions of inferential context and conceptual context. These allow explanations to be composed at various levels of abstraction and from different perspectives and not only exploit a formalisation, but also informal descriptions of the domain knowledge. This facilitates the user’s learning of the domain knowledge and thus his/her ability to co-operate with the system in the problem solving.</p><p>We integrate techniques from knowledge systems and hypermedia in a system architecture. The architecture deals with formal and informal knowledge. The formal knowledge is used for the formal reasoning, which is based on knowledge systems techniques; the informal knowledge is exploited in this reasoning to generate explanations in different media. The relations between the formal and the informal theory are administered by a metatheory. The metatheory carries out the reasoning in the system and the communication with the user, i.e. the presentation of the explanations and the integration of the user's contribution in the reasoning. The system architecture is transparent, modular and promotes clarity, maintainability and reusability.</p>

The soft budget constraint - today a popular metaphor - is a paradox. In socialist economies, it implies that the state tends to bail out state-owned firms in financial trouble, in spite of the tremendous performance problems of the entire system that result. When the system broke down, the soft budget constraint was expected to disappear. However, it seems to persist, and its persistence appears to hamper the transition process itself. This study seeks an answer to this paradox. It aims at increasing our understanding of why the soft budget constraint exists. By investigating state-owned enterprises in Tanzania before, during and after socialism, the prevalence of the soft budget constraint is examined and an explanation of its existence is suggested. The approach is institutional. The soft budget constraint is defined as an informal institution and an invisible-hand explanation of its emergence, persistence and logic is applied. The study shows that the soft budget constraint emerged as an unintended consequence of the establishment of the Tanzanian socialist system in the 1970s. A behavioural solution to recurrent systemic problems was offered, and thus the soft budget constraint performed several functions. Once established, its very existence set off a cumulative process of self-generation. Four reinforcement mechanisms that accounted for its prevalence during Tanzanian socialism are identified. Its character as a behavioural rule helps to explain why it persisted during market-oriented reform, initiated in the mid-1980s. The soft budget constraint was part of the socialist heritage, was adapted to systemic change, and influenced the direction and character of this change. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.

Hypermedia systems and knowledge systems can be viewed as flip sides of the same coin. The former are designed to convey information and the latter to solve problems; developments beyond the basic techniques of each system type require techniques from the other type. Both system types are frequently used in learning environments, and to different extent utilise user co-operation. A knowledge system consists of a formal representation of a domain theory enabling automated reasoning to take place within the domain. Since a formalisation cannot generally reproduce all relevant knowledge, the user's co-operation is needed to obtain a well functioning system. To perform well in this co-operation, the knowledge in the system must be accessible and transparent to the user. Tranparency can be achieved by means of explanations. In a learning environment transparency and co-operation are vital because the user needs to be active whilst the reasoning is being carried out - to be able to learn how to perform the problem solving. To achieve transparency we introduce the notions of inferential context and conceptual context. These allow explanations to be composed at various levels of abstraction and from different perspectives and not only exploit a formalisation, but also informal descriptions of the domain knowledge. This facilitates the user’s learning of the domain knowledge and thus his/her ability to co-operate with the system in the problem solving. We integrate techniques from knowledge systems and hypermedia in a system architecture. The architecture deals with formal and informal knowledge. The formal knowledge is used for the formal reasoning, which is based on knowledge systems techniques; the informal knowledge is exploited in this reasoning to generate explanations in different media. The relations between the formal and the informal theory are administered by a metatheory. The metatheory carries out the reasoning in the system and the communication with the user, i.e. the presentation of the explanations and the integration of the user's contribution in the reasoning. The system architecture is transparent, modular and promotes clarity, maintainability and reusability.

När det på 1990-talet uppmärksammades att barn kunde utsätta andra barn för sexuella övergrepp stod behandlingspersonal handfallna. Detta var något som det aldrig tidigare pratats om och ingen visste hur man egentligen skulle tackla problemet. Tack vare Rädda Barnen, Börje Svensson och Anders Nyman kunde ett behandlingsarbete utvecklas. Svensson och Nyman startade upp Rädda Barnens Pojkmottagning och tog emot både flickor och pojkar med sexuella problembeteenden. Efter att denna målgrupp uppmärksammades började så sakterliga utvecklingen av behandlingsmodeller. Utvecklingen är en process som fortgår idag.                       Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att studera forskningsanvändningen för det praktiska arbetet med barn och unga med ett sexuellt problembeteende. Utifrån detta har intervjuer skett med profesionella praktiker som möter dessa barn och ungdomar för  att höra deras reflektioner om vad som gör att ett barn eller en ung människa utvecklar den här typen av beteende samt vad som är en effektiv behandlingsmetod för målgruppen. Vi har sedan ställt detta mot den redan existerande forskningen, för att se på praktikernas kunskapsanvändning och hur den förklaras med hjälp av den nyinstitutionella organisationsteorin, som belyser olika aktörers sätt att se på ett fenomen. Den första delen utgör det existerande kunskapsläget kring behandlingar samt hur forskare har kunnat identifiera orsaksförklaringar bakom ett sexuellt problembeteende. Det finns meningsskiljaktigheter i orsaksförklairngar. Andra delen består av intervjuer med sju stycken praktiker som har arbetat eller arbetar inom dett område. Det finns skiljaktigheter kring svaren och hur man arbetar med dessa barn och ungdomar. Under analysen ställs praktikernas erfarenheter och kunskap i relation till det kunskapsläge som existerar, detta göra genom den nyinstitutionella organisationsteorin.Studien avslutas med våra egna reflektioner kring studien. / During the 1990’s it was first discovered that children could sexually abuse other children. This made the care staff stand lost towards the task to help these children. This was something that had not previously been talked about and there were not much knowledge in the area. When Börje Svensson and Anders Nyman started a project with Rädda Barnen, a treatment program started to develop. Svensson and Nyman started to treat young girls and boys who had problematic sexual behaviors. After this treatment program started to slowly develop and is a process that continues today.      The purpose of this thesis is to look at the implications of scientific studies in the practical work when it comes to children and adolescents with problematic sexual behaviors. We have chosen to talk to professionals who meet these children and young people, to hear their thoughts on what it is that makes a child or a young person develop this type of behavior and how you best treat it. We then compared the results from the interviews against the already existing researches. The first part of the thesis consists the existing state of knowledge on treatment and causal explanations in children and adolescents with problematic sexual behaviors. The second part consists the results of the interviews with seven professional’s working in this field and their opinions as well as their views on treatment and causal explanations. The last part contains a comparative analysis between the scientific researches and the working professional’s knowledge. The analysis conducts the institutional theories of organizations.