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Samhällsvetenskapliga portalfigurer som Durkheim, Marx och Weber har medverkat i diskussionen om aktör och struktur. Diskussionen om intentioner; agerande och samhällsstrukturer pågår fortfarande. Om de samhällsvetenskapliga fenomenen utgår från individen – aktören – och/eller dess omgivning - strukturen - är en evig fråga. Denna avhandling är ett bidrag till den moderna diskussionen om aktör och struktur. Syftet är att analysera problemkomplexet aktör-struktur. Många tidigare studier i genren är abstrakta och generella. I detta arbete studeras också samhällsforskares tillämpning. Efter analyser av den aktörsteoretiska ansatsen (statsvetaren Axel Hadenius' forskning, den strukturteoretiska ansatsen (sociologen Bruce Mayhews forskning), samt a ansatsen (statsvetaren Bo Rothsteins forskning), samt redovisas ett preciserat förhållningssätt till problemkomplexet. Studiens utgångspunkt är att både den ensidiga aktörsteoretiska ansatsen och den ensidiga strukturteoretiska ansatsen kommer att uppvisa brister. De respektive ensidiga ansatserna antas inte brista främst på grund av sin ensidighet, vilket flera företrädare för den aktör-strukturteoretiska ansatsen hävdar. Utifrån avhandlingens vägledande analysram förväntas de respektive ensidiga ansatsernas filosofier, teorier och förklaringar brista på så sätt att företrädarnas programförklaringar inte stämmer överens med företrädarnas tillämpningar. Därmed uppfyller de ensidiga ansatsernas företrädare inte det grundläggande kravet på vetenskaplig klarhet. Av analysen framgår att det i den aktörsteoretiska ansatsens tillämpning också återfinns strukturfaktorer av ett slag som ansatsens företrädare programmatiskt vill utesluta. I den tillämpade strukturteoretiska ansatsen återfinns aktörsfaktorer. Också den aktör-strukturteoretiska ansats som analyseras uppvisar brister i överensstämmelse mellan programförklaring och tillämpning. Resultaten tas till intäkt för att överge både den individualism som den aktörsteoretiska ansatsen vilar på och den strukturalism sätts i detta arbete den filosofiska antagande att den samhälleliga verkligheten innehåller både aktör och struktur, Antagandet om samhällets tvåsidighet utgör en viktig grund för den preciserande aktör-strukturteoretiska ansats som är studiens övergripande slutsats. / This thesis is a contribution to the age-old discussion in the social sciences about actor and structure. From the outset it is argued that the question of actor and structure constitutes a complexity of problems which contains philosophical, theoretical and explanatory elements. Different ways of comprehending the complexity of problems constitute a watershed between research approaches. The three main approaches are the actor theoretical approach, the structural theoretical approach and 1he actor-structural theoretical approach. The purpose of this study is to analyse these three approaches and thereby present a fruitful approach to the complexity of problems. The author adopts the combined actor-structural theoretical approach from the start, but not in an uncritical and self-evident manner. This study is based on two lines of argumentation. Firstly, it is stipulated that a social scientist's research programme on actor and structure should be consistent With the researcher's application. Secondly, it is stipulated that social reality consists of both actor and s1ructure, and that actor and  structure do not mean the same thing. The author's suggestion is that this idea about the two-sidedness of soc iety is a prerequisite for interna! consistency. Hence, traces of both actor and structure should a lso be found in the applications of the two one-sided approaches. In order to discern the one-sided actor theoretical approach, three ideas are stipulated as philosophy, theory and explanation in a specified ideal type: methodological individualism, instrumental rationality and intentional explanation. These ideas are present in the research programme of the chosen representative of the actor theoretical approach, the Swedish political scientist Axel Hadenius. It is found that Hadenius' application does not correspond with his research programme. In his application. factors occur that are not totally reducible to facts aboul separale or aggregated individuals. In order to discern the one-sided sructural theoretical approach, three ideas are stipulated as philosophy. theory and explanation in a specified ideal type: structuralism, theoretical relations between structures and nomothetical-deductive explanations with structures. These ideas are present in the research programme of the chosen representative of the structural theoretical approach, the American sociologi st Bruce Mayhew. It is found that Mayhew's application does not correspond with his research programme. In his application, fac1s about separate or aggregated individuals occur. The three ideas behind the ideal type actor-structural theoretical approach are two-sided level realism, theoretical actor-structural relations and actor-structural explanation. These ideas are present in the research programme of the chosen representative of the actor-structural theoretical approach, the Swedish political scientist Bo Rothstein, even if there are also traces leading off in other directions. Finally, the testing of the occurrence of the preliminary actor-structural approach in the three research approaches is combined with the elabora1ion of philosophy, theory and explana1ion in the specified actorstructural theoretical approach. The latter approach constitutes the author's stand on the complexity of problems of actor and structure. The philosophy in the specified approach, two-sided leve! realism, is allegedly composed of three closely related ideas: actual closeness between actor and structure, situational irreducibility, and the relational concept of social structure. The idea of the theoretical relation between actor and structure is allegedly composed of three closely related ideas: empirical openness, analytical dualism and generative mechanisms. All are, in tum, closely related to the three ideas of the two-sided leve! realism, as well as to the idea of actor-structural explanation. The specified approach lays the foundations for clarity in terms of internat logical congruence between research programme and application.

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京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第24902号 / 工博第5182号 / 新制||工||1989(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科材料化学専攻 / (主査)教授 三浦 清貴, 教授 田中 勝久, 教授 藤田 晃司 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

Grâce à une analyse fondée sur l'esthétique et la théorétique, cette recherche sur le photojournalisme et ses archétypes soulève de nombreuses questions. La théorétique est l'approche d’une pratique considérée d’abord sous l’angle du « sans-Art » qui se distingue de l’esthétique en tant qu'approche théorique d’une réflexion assimilée principalement à l’art. La notion d'archétype est réfléchie à travers ses diverses facettes et donc avec différents champs d’études (psychologie, philosophie, mythologie...). Avant de s'intéresser aux photographies, il est important de déterminer comment l'image du photojournaliste s'est forgée à travers le temps. En revisitant la vie de Robert Capa et ce que l’on en dit, les travaux du mythologue Joseph Campbell apportent un éclairage nouveau et rend complexe mais possible l'analogie entre le héros de mythe et celui qui est considéré dès 1938 comme le plus grand photographe de guerre du monde. L'analyse approfondie et singulière des photographies primées au World Press Photo (WPP) dans la catégorie World Press Photo of the Year, de la création du concours à 2013 ouvre d’autres perspectives sur l'évolution du photojournalisme. Ce corpus iconographique traite principalement des catastrophes naturelles, de la famine, de la guerre et du terrorisme. L’être humain, ses actes et ses conséquences sont continuellement au cœur des reportages. Il faut parfois remonter très loin dans l'histoire de l'humanité pour comprendre les préoccupations du monde contemporain et les images que l'on en perçoit. Certaines photographies primées se sont imposées comme des marqueurs temporels historiques et forgent la mémoire collective. Plusieurs facteurs contribuent à développer cette mémoire collective. Se questionner sur l'archétype dans ces photographies, c'est aussi reconsidérer l'image mentale et l'image en tant qu'objet pour mieux discerner ses contours et appréhender ses enjeux. Le cheminement de cette recherche emprunte des voies inattendues pour livrer une interprétation novatrice de ces photographies de presse. / Through an analysis based on the aesthetics and theoretical approaches, this research of photojournalism and archetypes raises many questions. The theoretical approach is to look at a practice first in terms of non-Art, as distinct from aesthetics as a theoretical approach to something that is primarily equated with art. The concept of archetype is studied through its various facets and thus with different approaches (psychology, philosophy, mythology, etc.). Before looking at photographs, it is important to determine how the image of photojournalist was forged through time. Revisiting the life of Robert Capa and what is said about it, the work of a mythologist, Joseph Campbell, sheds new light and makes it possible, although complex, to draw an analogy between the hero in myths and the man that is considered since 1938 as the greatest war photographer in the world. The detailed and unique analysis of the photographs awarded a prize by the World Press Photo (WPP), in the category World Press Photo of the Year, since the award was created until 2013, opens new perspectives on the evolution of photojournalism. This iconographic imagery deals primarily with natural disasters, famine, war and terrorism. The focus of the reports is continuously on people, their actions and their consequences. It is sometimes necessary go far back in history to understand the concerns of the contemporary world and the images that we perceive of it. Some winning photographs have emerged as historical time markers and shape our collective memory. A number of factors contribute to developing this collective memory. The question of archetype in these photographs also leads us to rethink the mental image and the image as an object, in order to better discern its contours and understand its challenges. This research uses unexpected ways to deliver an innovative interpretation of these press photographs.

Cette thèse de doctorat propose une analyse empirique des microfondations des phénomènes monétaires macroéconomiques, et plus particulièrement des processus d'apprentissage et capacités cognitives requis pour qu'un équilibre émerge dans une économie expérimentale implémentantun modèle de prospection monétaire. Dans ce but, nous avons "opérationalisé" le modèle original de Kiyotaki et Wright et modélisé le comportement de sujets humains à l'aide de différents algorithmes d'apprentissage par renforcement. Nous montrons que les données comportementales sont mieux expliquées par les modèles d'apprentissage par renforcement que par les prédictions des équilibres théoriques, et que la spéculation monétaire semble s'appuyer sur la considération de coûts d'opportunité. Nos résultats constituent une nouvelle étape dans la compréhension des processus d'apprentissage à l'oeuvre dans la prise de décision multiple en économie et des microfondations cognitives de l'utilisation macroéconomique de la monnaie. Parallèlement, cette thèse de doctorat comprend une analyse plus précise de l'une des composantes fondamentales de l'apprentissage par renforcement à savoir, le processus de mise à jour des valeurs. A travers deux études, nous montrons graduellement que ce processus est biaisé en faveur des informations confirmatoires. En effet, nous avons trouvé que des sujets réalisant diverses tâches d'apprentissage probabiliste prenaient en compte préférentiellement les informations qui confirmaient leur pensée initiale. Ces résultats permettent une meilleure compréhension des biais d'optimisme et de confirmation au niveau neuro-computationnel. / This dissertation proposes to analyze empirically the microfoundations of the macroeconomic use of money, more particularly the human learning processes and cognitive abilities requiredfor a monetary equilibrium to emerge in an experimental economy implementing a search theoretical paradigm of money emergence. To achieve this, we operationalized the original Kiyotaki and Wright search model and fitted real subjects' behaviors with different reinforcement learning algorithms. We show that reinforcement learning better explains behavioral datain comparison to theoretical equilibria predictions, and highlight the importance of opportunity costs to implement a speculative use of money. Our results constitute a new step towards the understanding of learning processes at work in multi-step economic decision making and ofthe cognitive microfoundations of the macro-economic use of money. In parallel, this dissertation also compounds in-depth analyses of one of the core components of reinforcement learning,namely the update process. In two studies, we gradually show that the latter is biased positively towards confirmatory information. Indeed, we found that subjects performing different probability learning tasks preferentially took into account information that confirme dtheir initial thoughts in contrast to information that contradicted them. These results constitute a step towards the understanding of the genesis of optimism and confirmation biases at the neurocomputational level.

Disarmament remains a contested topic within the nuclear weapons debate and it is included as one of the mutually reinforcing pillars of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). However, when the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was mandated by UNGA in 2016 and later entered into force in 2021, it was immediately rejected by all nuclear-weapons states – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – and their allies. The paradox of such a negative response to the new treaty despite their alleged loyalty to the disarmament pillar of the NPT was the starting point of the thesis and was examined through the theoretical lenses of constructivism, neo-liberal institutionalism and structural realism to pinpoint which offered the most tangible answer to the question at hand. The research was conducted by utilizing the method of qualitative content analysis on statements and working papers by the five nuclear-weapons states, and it concluded that – while all theories brought up interesting points – structural realism provided the most useful perspective on the matter through its take on states’ insecurity towards each other

Increasingly, firms like Patagonia, IKEA, General Mills, or Barilla actively seek to understand their interdependence with nature, build innovative capabilities, and generate more radical shifts toward sustainability. This creates exciting opportunities to investigate exactly how these companies obtain knowledge about ecosystem dynamics and processes and how they use it both to cope with climate change or declining ecosystem resilience and contribute to maintain or even strengthen ecosystems. Despite the considerable potential to advance research on organizational strategy and corporate sustainability, the notion of ‘ecological knowledge’ has yet to enter the scholarly work of management and business organization in a substantive manner. At present, we know almost nothing about the processes, mechanisms, and routines that enable an organization to, first, recognize the value of such knowledge and to, then, systematically access, co-create, integrate and utilize such knowledge into its broader knowledge and resource base. My dissertation attempts to fill this gap and opens up new directions for research on the role of ecological knowledge in corporate sustainability management. More specifically, I ask: What are the processes through which organizations can effectively access, co-create, integrate and utilize ecological knowledge with current organizational knowledge and strategies? I link strategic and organization-focused concepts of knowledge and the perspective of absorptive capacity with the notion of ecological knowledge from modern ecology, especially from the social-ecological systems literature, to shed light on the processes through which organizations can effectively access, co-create, integrate and utilize new ecological knowledge into their operational and strategic decision making. I adopt a qualitative, emergent, and inductive strategy drawing on a grounded research approach to gain an in-depth, cross-validated, and processual understanding of the mechanisms through which organizations can promote and enhance ecosystem health including biodiversity. I undertook my study on the organic agriculture sector, a sub-sector of the modern agriculture and agri-food industry. I collected data from nineteen agriculture and agri-food organizations based in British Columbia (BC), the westernmost province of Canada, using multiple data sources including in-depth interviews, observations, company documents, reports, newspaper articles and field reports. Based on my analysis, I develop a grounded theory about the processes through which organizations can successfully deepen their ecological knowledge and then utilize this knowledge to more sustainably manage their relationships with nature and contribute to protecting or even strengthening ecosystem functionality. With my dissertation, I address the call from scholars in Organization and the Natural Environment (ONE) and Corporate Sustainability for more transdisciplinary cross-fertilization as an essential approach to building compelling new theory and models in the field. First, my analysis offers a more fine-grained understanding of the types, components, dimensions, and characteristics of ecological knowledge. Second, my analysis uncovers a micro-level account of the processes by which individuals as critical actors identify, evaluate and make sense of the organization-environment interrelationships across various scales of time and space. I also identify the multiple personal characteristics of individual actors that influence these processes in various stages and circumstances. Third, my study offers insights into the factors that can strengthen an organization’s relational capacity to build mutual trust and collaboration with holders of ecological knowledge. Fourth, it sheds light on how firms engage with and motivate multiple community stakeholders in building a collaborative process of mutual learning, knowledge sharing, and knowledge co-creation to build joint capacity for coping successfully with many complex challenges of sustainability, thus contributing to the wellbeing of the entire social-ecological system. Collectively, these contributions provide a deeper and more holistic understanding of the processes of acquiring and co-creating ecological knowledge that can allow an organization to transition successfully towards greater ecological sustainability. My dissertation also offers numerous practically relevant insights for businesses facing the challenges of economic, social and environmental sustainability, as well as specific guidance on how companies can protect or enhance their supply of natural capital and contribute toward greater stability of the broader human-nature systems in which they are embedded. / Graduate / 2023-11-15