This study explores how beef consumption and production triggers feelings of risk related to the climate, environment, personal health and animal welfare among the study participants. These feelings are mainly analyzed through the lens of Ulrich Beck’s theories on the risk society. Theories on local, regional and national food as well as carnism are also used to analyze how the feelings of risk differ depending on how the beef is produced. By conducting qualitative interviews with a varied set of informants, this study provides a multiple perspective on beef consumption. Some of the results are that all of the informants have knowledge about different types of risks with beef consumption and production. However, some use this knowledge to change their consumption, while others do not. Furthermore, Swedish beef is believed to be the best when it comes to aspects as the impact on the climate and environment as well as animal ethics. The informants also show concern with the Swedish mass-production of beef, which some of them believe to be purely driven by economical interest rather than concern for animal welfare.

This study aims to investigate how communication specialists perceive the integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) within their profession and how these changes affect their professional role. The purpose of the study was achieved by conducting qualitative interviews with eight communication professionals regarding their view on the integration of generative AI within their profession. Particularly, we found it interesting to examine how the communication specialists use generative AI within their professional role, what risks and/or opportunities they identify concerning the use of generative AI tools within the communication profession and what factors they deem as crucial for successfully and effectively integrating AI tools within their professional roles. The theoretical framework of the study consists of diffusion theory, actor-network theory, risk society and reflexive modernity.  The results of the study indicate that communication specialists see several opportunities in integrating generative AI tools into their work. Key opportunities identified included using generative AI for inspiration and automating repetitive tasks, thereby allowing communication professionals to allocate more time to the strategic aspects of their work. There was no expressed concern that generative AI could currently replace the communication specialist’s professional role. Thus, the risks identified did not seem to revolve around the job security of the communication specialists but rather around the uncertainty about how generative AI functions, its capabilities, and how it handles the input data. Therefore, the establishment of clearer guidelines and policies on AI usage was something that the communication specialists in this study expressed a great need for. Additional factors identified by communication specialists as crucial for successful AI integration included individual characteristics such as curiosity, a willingness to learn, and openness to change. Thus, the results of the study indicate that achieving successful and effective integration of generative AI is perceived to be a shared responsibility at both organizational and individual levels.

Bakgrund: Statistik visar på att allt fler i Sveriges befolkning upplever en ökad stress i så väl privat- som yrkesliv. Detta yttrar sig till exempel inom områden där digitaliseringen är avhängig för en fortsatt relevans på arbetsmarknaden och inom yrkesgrupper som redan tidigare haft höga krav på kunskap, effektivitet och hastighet. Tidigare forskning visar på ett samband mellan modernitetens framväxt samt de accelerationsprocesser som därigenom tagit fart. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka om svenska nyhetsreportrars bakgrund och deras upplevelser avseende stressrelaterade frågor går att påvisa i förhållande till modernitetsstudier. Metod: Undersökningen är en kvantitativstudie som utförts med hjälp av digitala enkäter med främst fasta svarsalternativ på en ordinalskalenivå. Enkätundersökningen genomfördes av 78 svenska nyhetsredaktioner varav 21 TV-, 26 radio- och 31 tidningsredaktioner där 118 respondenter deltagit i undersökningen. Urvalet var icke slumpmässigt vilket medför att studiens resultat utgörs av deskriptiv statistik. Bearbetning av resultaten gjordes i statistikprogrammet SPSS. Resultat: I resultatet framkommer att stressrelaterade utmaningar finns i yrkesgruppen och att dessa går att relatera till modernitetsstudier. Ytterligare resultat visar att yrkesgruppen identifierar sig i mycket hög grad med sitt yrke, att de inte får tid för reflektion mellan arbetsuppdragen och att de inte är oroliga för att inte hänga med i den tekniska utvecklingen. Konklusion: Bakomliggande variabler såsom kön, ålder, medium och utbildningsnivå har inte uppvisat någon påverkan för upplevd stress. Däremot påvisar modernitetsteorier att indikationer finns på att förhållanden inom yrket skulle behöva vara bättre. Nyhetsreportrars höga krav och positiva inställning till förändring och utveckling i kombination med brist på återhämtning och reflektion kan mot bakgrund till att denna studie vilar mot deskriptiv statistik sägas vara i linje med teorier om samhället som en juggernaut och social acceleration i enlighet med både Anthony Giddens och Hartmut Rosa. / Background: Statistics show that more and more of Sweden’s population is experiencing increased stress in both private and professional life. This manifests itself, for example, in areas where continues relevance on the labor market is dependent on digitization as well as in professional groups with high demands on speed, knowledge and efficiency. Previous research shows a connection between the rise of modernity and increasing acceleration processes.  Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate whether Swedish news reporters’ background and their experiences regarding stress-related issues can be demonstrated in relation to modernity studies. Method: The survey is a quantitative study carried out using digital questionnaires with mainly fixed response options at an ordinal scale level. The survey was conducted at 78 Swedish newsrooms, of which 21 TV, 26 radio and 31 newspaper rooms, where 118 respondents participated in the survey. The selection was not random, which means that the results of the study consist of descriptive statistics. Processing of the results was done in the statistical program SPSS.  Results: The results show that stress-related challenges do exist in the occupational group and that these can be related to modernity studies according to modernity studies. Further results show that the occupational group identifies to a very high degree with their profession, that they do not have enough time for reflection between work assignments and that they are not worried about not keeping up with technical developments.  Conclusion: Underlying variables such as gender, age, medium and level of education have no effect on perceived stress. On the other hand, modernity theories can be emphasized that there are indications that conditions in the profession need to improve. News reporters' high demands and positive attitude to change and development in combined with a lack of recovery and reflection, in light of the fact that this study rests against descriptive statistics, can be said to be in line with theories of society as a juggernaut and social acceleration in accordance with both Anthony Giddens and Hartmut Rosa.

The political discourse that has emerged as a consequence of establishing a European regulatory framework for GMOs has not been without problems. This dissertation addresses the political and regulatory challenges created by the development and use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the EU. The underlying hypothesis in the dissertation is that the emergence of a European policy in the field of GMOs has appeared through new reflexive forms of governance. The aim of this research is to understand how these reflexive forms of regulation have emerged and operate within the EU, with a particular focus on the two GMO directives 90/220/EEC and 2001/18/EC. However, the study scrutinises the regulatory regimes from the 1970s onwards by investigating how the regulatory framework regarding GMOs has been developed and implemented in the EU. This is done through an analysis of the notion of ‘risk’ and the ‘precautionary principle’ since these concepts have been at the forefront of the GMO regulation debate. The empirical approach focuses on how the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council as well as other actors and institutions articulate ambivalence, interpretations and uncertainties in the decision-making processes regarding regulative measures for GMOs, with an accent on risk and the precautionary principle. The main empirical material has been documents concerning the inter-institutional process involved in the regulatory process of making the two directives. The analysis indicates that during the process of implementing GMO regulations, new steering strategies have appeared within the EU’s decision-making institutions when the objective of the regulation has taken centre stage in political and scientific controversies. / Den politiska diskursen som har uppstått som en följd av upprättandet av ett europeiskt regelverk för GMO har inte varit utan problem. Denna avhandling behandlar de politiska utmaningar som alstrats av skapandet och tillämpningen av genetiskt modifierade organismer (GMO) inom EU. Den underliggande hypotesen i avhandlingen är att framväxten av en europeisk politik på området för GMO har uppstått genom nya reflexiva regleringsformer. Syftet med denna forskning är att förstå hur reflexiva regleringsformer har uppkommit och opererar inom EU, med särskilt fokus på de två GMO direktiven 90/220/EEG och 2001/18/EG. Studien analyserar lagstiftning från 1970-talet och framåt genom att undersöka hur lagstiftningen om genetiskt modifierade organismer har utvecklats och implementerats i EU. Detta görs genom en analys av begreppen ‘risk’ och ‘försiktighetsprincipen’ eftersom dessa begrepp har varit centrala för debatten om GMO lagstiftningen. Den empiriska metoden fokuserar på hur Europeiska kommissionen, Europaparlamentet och Europeiska rådet samt andra aktörer och institutioner har uttryckt ambivalens, tolkningar och osäkerhet i beslutsfattandet gällande reglerings åtgärder för genetiskt modifierade organismer, med tonvikt på risk och försiktighetsprincipen. Det huvudsakliga empiriska materialet är dokument gällande den interinstitutionella processen som ägde rum när de två direktiven skapades. Analysen visar att implementeringen av GMO lagstiftningen har skapat nya styrningsstrategier i synnerhet i de fall där ändamålet med lagstiftningen har varit föremål för politiska och vetenskapliga kontroverser.