In a world that is fraught with changing paradigms, we transverse its length and breadth in search of meanings and explanations to its social dynamism with a view to broadening our understanding thereby making sense out of all the confusions. This qualitative study seeks to investigate social integration challenges confronting international students within Visby, Gotland. The study is based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs theory using the concept of Basic Needs, safety, Belongingness, Participation, Acceptance, and fulfillment to investigate the challenges of social integration. The study adopts qualitative methodology with the use of a semi-structured interview as a data collection method through a purposeful sample size selection of 12 respondents who are international students from a non – EU extraction. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis. The study came up with five findings, namely: Language Barrier, COVID 19, Sense of Isolation, Period of Study, and lack of registration number as the most visible challenges. The empirical findings corroborate with Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs theoretical postulations. The benefits and recommendations of the findings can serve as a guide for policymakers on how to enhance international student integration in the future.

Gotland is a pilot area for Sweden to achieve carbon neutrality, which means that achieve a 100% sustainable energy supply is significant for Gotland energy development. Gotland has good sunshine conditions and solar radiation, but the development of solar energy is relatively slow. In order to prove that Visby, the largest city in Gotland, has good solar energy potential, this paper aims to investigate the PV potential for non-residential buildings in Visby by modelling the installation of roof solar panels on representative non- residential buildings (Visby Galleria, surrounding buildings in Stenhuggarvägen) through quantitative research methods. From the final result of the modelling, the solar energy potential per square meter of Visby's non-residential buildings is 121kWh, and the total solar electricity generation potential is 708 GWh. The research results show that Visby's non-residential buildings have high solar power potential, and it can be used as one of the methods to achieve a 100% sustainable energy supply.

The aim of this thesis is to see how three different places in Europe have made their mark on some of Visby’s profane buildings and how it compares to the archaeological material. The three places of interest will be Germany, Denmark and Sweden and the historical period will be around 1200–1600. This will be made possible through comparing buildings with respective country that had a role in the city’s history. The buildings and the archaeological material will also be compared to see if they tell the same history. The location of cities the buildings and material will also be analysed to see how they are connected. To help with this the theory of this thesis is based on Bourdieus thoughts on habitus and how it can affect the mind of people. The thesis will only focus on profane buildings and not on others like churches or Visby’s town wall. The period will be through the 13th century to the end of the 17th. Germany, Denmark and Sweden are the three mainly countries that this thesis will focus on. Other places like England may be referred to if they have a very strong connection to the material. The results of the thesis showed that Germany had made the biggest mark on the cities profane buildings and archaeological material and they both showed the same history. Via the location of the material it was clear that the place that showed most of the influences was on Strandgatan and Visby’s main square and the space between these two places.

To build is to add to the existing. Three existing wooden buildings in Visby, made in three different local techniques (a post and plank, a timber frame and a log construction) have been the starting point for what to build upon. After studying these techniques, new buildings have been added in line with the principals of the existing. The existing buildings are situated on two sites, both courtyards, and have generated three additions: a kiosk, an apartment building and a visitor centre.

How can contemporary architecture approach an extremely specific and historical context?Grounded in the site and its history, this question is investigated through theprocess of adding a literary theatre and housing in the city centre of Visby, Gotland.

Tourism is a worldwide phenomenon and an important industry. In recent years, however, questions have arisen surrounding whether tourism can be harmful to destinations when exceeding their capacities. Visby is a medieval seaside town and a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Gotland, a Swedish island. With 900 000 annual visitors, Visby is one of the most visited destinations in the country, and tourism is an important part of the island’s economy. With the heavy flow of tourists and second homeowners in Visby, especially during summer season, signs and effects of overtourism have become prevalent. Locals in Visby are struggling with housing issues, large seasonal pressure, et cetera, affecting their livelihoods and community. One of the root causes is believed to be unsustainable tourism patterns. This thesis looks at how overtourism could affect residents’ sense of place belonging and community. Local university students at Campus Gotland were chosen as the focus group and were asked about their views on their place belonging and community in relation to consequences brought by tourism via a survey. The results show indications that tourism-related seasonal differences and housing issues may be affecting the students’ sense of place belonging and community negatively.

Introduction: This is a two years master's thesis in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies. The purpose of this thesis was to critically examine discourses of sustainable cultural tourism, and how different sustainability dimensions and ideals can coexist and be applied in practice. The starting point was a case study of the World Heritage Site “The Hanseatic town of Visby”, where the relationship between the conservation and the availability of the world heritage site was investigated. The research questions that were formulated were which actors and agendas that cooperate in the production of sustainable heritage tourism, how global and national guidelines for sustainable cultural tourism correspond to the local development work of the Visby world heritage city, which are the prominent discourses in the documents on sustainable heritage tourism in the world heritage city of Visby and how they are described as well as whether there is opposition between the conservation and the availability of cultural heritage, and what potential solutions to such opposition can look like. Theory: Prior to the study, previous research on sustainability, sustainable heritage tourism and the world heritage site Visby has been studied and used as a springboard for the thesis research questions. The theoretical perspectives that were used in the analysis consisted of theories regarding sustainable tourism, posthumanism, system theory and authorized heritage discourse, AHD. Method: The method chosen for the study was Laclau & Mouffes discourse analysis. This enabled a closer examination of the development plans and documents on sustainable heritage tourism produced by local, national and global actors. This was complemented with short interviews with thirteen stakeholders. Results and analysis: The result and analysis showed that several different actors and agendas are involved in the production of sustainable heritage tourism. However, there are difficulties in letting all actors get their voices heard and being part of the decision-making process, such as the local population, which are often disregarded. In addition, interaction between different actors could get better with more clearly defined areas of responsibility. The result also showed that, in particular, the concepts of sustainability and sustainable develop-ment were used in the documents about the development of the world heritage city of Visby, but the concept of sustainable heritage tourism was rarely used. The Swedish National Heritage Board and the region of Gotland are currently working on developing sustainable tourism strategies. At present, however, there is unclear correspondence between global guidelines and local application, where it is up to the municipalities to interpret and apply Unesco’s guidelines themselves, which may be difficult since the guidelines are quite general and vague. The study also showed that there are three clear discourses in the documents about sustainable heritage tourism. Under the overall discourse of sustainable tourism in Visby there is an ecological discourse, an economic discourse and a social discourse. In all documents, sustainable tourism is described as consisting of three discourses, but there is great freedom of interpretation in the use of the term. The discourses are also prioritized and described differently in different documents. Conclusion: The study's conclusion is that there are both oppositions and solutions. Both documents and interviews show that there are oppositions between ecological, economic and social interests in a place like the world heritage site in Visby. At the same time, there are also various suggestions for how the different dimensions can coexist and the actors were generally optimistic. Basically, it is about finding a balance between conservation and accessibility, taking into account both contemporary and future interests. Suggested solutions are to work further with information and knowledge, improve interaction between different actors, work with conservation-based development, productize heritage, better interaction with the local society, develop creative industries in historical buildings, and include visitors in the conservation work. However, most voices agree that the issue is difficult and complex and requires more knowledge and research.

The Gotlandic smith has been depicted on several picture stones and is a subject of fear and respect in the Old Norse sagas. Their technological prowess can be identified through their skilful work and through the stories told about them, but one must delve deeper to identify the smith-craft itself. This thesis seeks to apply the practice of bone-smithing on the osteological material from the Gotlandic site of “Signallottan” located about a kilometre southeast of the Hanseatic walled city of Visby, a site which was excavated in 2018 to get a broader understanding of the site’s previous uses. In addition to this, an osteological and spatial analysis will be carried out to identify the role of the smith and the use of bones in smithing, as well as a literature study of texts depicting or discussing the smith from the perspective of the Icelandic sagas. The thesis will focus on the application of theoretical frameworks with their basis in materiality, agency, and entanglement to interpret what activities can be identified in Signallottan through the current analyses in correlation with the extensive previous identification of osteological material from the site. This thesis will seek to identify the animal species that are present in the osteological material as well as the degree of cremation of the bones, which could imply that bones were used in smithing practice and ritual during the Viking Age. Around 2,5kg of bones were analysed during the thesis, a majority of which were burnt. The spatial analysis of the site, which was carried out through GIS, reveals a connection between finds of iron, slag, and bone together with oxide scale to form the interpretation of the site as having been used for smithing, that may have used bone as fuel during the carbonisation-process. The smithing practices during the Viking Age are deemed to be a supernaturally connected practice with transformative implications of seiðr, old Norse magic, but are also practices that were highly dependent on the craftsman’s skill and a network of trade to receive the materials necessary for larger-scale production in an agricultural society.

The skeletal material used in this thesis consists of 258 individuals, whereas 179 individuals had the requirements entailed for an analysis of health and lifestyles. In other words, their sex and age had been osteologically determined. In addition, they are either young adults, adults, or seniors, as infants and subadults usually die before skeletal changes. Males represent 63 percent (n=112) and females 37 percent (n=67) of the material. The material is collected from a Stone Age dwelling site in Ajvide, Gotland, and six Medieval churches in Visby, Gotland: St Hans, St Per, St Clemens, Ryska Kyrkan, St Gertrud and St Mikael. One of the most noticeable traits caused by a change in subsistence strategies is an increase in enamel hypoplasia, cribra orbitalia, degenerative joint diseases, and activity-related pathologies, as well as a decrease in oral health. Therefore, the population of Medieval Visby was exposed to more stressors in the shape of infections and malnutrition. Furthermore, the high amount of degenerative joint diseases also indicates a more physically strenuous life. / Skelettmaterialet som använts i denna uppsats består av 258 individer, varav 179 individer uppfyllde de krav som krävdes för en lyckad analys. Individerna måste alltså ha en känd ålder och kön, dessutom exkluderades spädbarn och juvenila, då de oftast avled innan skeletala förändringar. I materialet representerade männen 63 procent (n=112) och kvinnorna 37 procent (n=67) av den totala mängden skelett. Materialet hade blivit insamlad från stenåldersboplatsen Ajvide på Gotland samt sex medeltida kyrkor från Visby, Gotland: St Hans, St Per, St Clemens, Ryska Kyrkan, St Gertrud och St Mikael. Noterbara förändringar är en ökning i emaljhypoplasi, cribra orbitalia, degenerativa ledsjukdomar, aktivitet-relaterade patologier samt försämrad oral hälsa. Detta tyder på att den medeltida befolkningen utsattes för mer stress i form av infektioner och undernäring. Mängden degenerativa ledsjukdomar indikerar dessutom på ett mer fysiskt ansträngande liv.

Vikings and pirates have been studied through the years in both the archaeological and historical disciplines. Both have been compared with each other, especially if Vikings can be classified as pirates or if they practiced piracy. The stereotypical descriptions and definitions of both terms may have contributed to the above-mentioned comparisons between Vikings and pirates in search after similarities and/or differences. Vikings have and are still portrayed as savages ravaging along European coasts, robbing cities, burning churches, and violating innocents, whose actions left behind devastation and chaos. Pirates have also been classified as violent individuals, especially sea bandits or sailors who attacked both friend and foe, seizing property and/or people through violence at sea. This thesis will problematise, question, analyse and discuss if studies about pirates and pirate societies can contribute to today’s understanding of Vikings, namely to study and examine them through the perspective of pirate studies. Separate geographical areas with Viking and pirate presence have been selected in England, Ireland, the Baltic Sea region, and the Bahamas. The overwintering camps of Torksey and Repton in England, together with Dublin in Ireland concerns Viking activity. Meanwhile, Visby and Vivesholm in the Baltic Sea with piracy carried out by the Victual Brothers, together with Nassau in the Bahamas represents pirates and piracy. In addition, the above will also be analysed and discussed through an application of three selected theoretical frameworks: agency theory, actor-network theory, and the concept of utopias. The problematisation will also be examined through a determination of the terms Viking and pirate, an application of hydrarchy, and how the colonization of areas and establishment of smaller communities functioned for each actor.