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Vegir undir heiðar: Stefna íslenskra stjórnvalda í gerð jarðganga
No full textMarkmið ritgerðarinnar er að svara því hvað einkennir stefnu stjórnvalda í framkvæmdum jarðganga. Einnig er leitast eftir að kanna hvort stefnan samræmist því hlutverki sem stjórnvöld hafa gagnvart öryggi almennings og stöðu á markaði. Í fræðilegu umfjölluninni verður farið yfir almannaöryggi og kostnaðar- og ábatagreiningu. Einnig verður skoðað hvernig markaðsbrestir birtast og hvað almannagæði fela í sér. Greining út frá opinberri stefnumótun sýnir að stefnumótun getur verið af tveimur ólíkum nálgunum, svo sem skynsemisákvörðun og smáskrefaþróun. Þá er vegakerfi og efnahagur sett í samhengi, en góð tenging milli byggðarlaga getur skipt sköpum fyrir samfélög. Landfræðilegar hindranir og loftslagsbreytingar geta þó átt þátt í að vegakerfið verði óöruggt almenningi og í því samhengi skiptir tilkoma jarðganga þá miklu máli. Gerð jarðganga eru sett í stefnu stjórnvalda en reynslan sýnir að nokkur ár hefur tekið að fjármagna hver jarðgöng. Niðurstaða ritgerðarinnar er að einkenni stefnu stjórnvalda í gerð jarðganga er í takt við smáskrefaþróun, þar sem stefnur fyrri stjórnvalda verða grunnur að nýrri stefnu sem tekur afar litlum breytingum milli kjörtímabila. Þegar stefna leiðir svo af sér framkvæmd jarðganga verður stefnan í eðli sínu líkari nálgun skynsemisákvörðunar, þar sem samfélagsleg gildi vega þungt í áætlun á heildarábata og samfélagslegur ávinningur af framkvæmdunum fær að njóta sín. Með því að móta stefnu í gerð jarðganga og viðurkenna mikilvægi þeirra út frá öryggissjónarmiðum, stuðla stjórnvöld að auknu almannaöryggi. Enn fremur stuðla stjórnvöld að nýframkvæmdum við gerð jarðganga og beita íhlutun í þeim tilgangi að jafna markaðsstöðu framboðs og eftirspurnar eftir vegaöryggi
Aðgerðir vegna meinvarpa hjá sjúklingum sem gengust undir aðgerð á endaþarmskrabbameini á Íslandi 2010-2019
No full textInngangur: Endaþarmskrabbamein er áttunda algengasta krabbameinið á heimsvísu og á Íslandi greinast að meðaltali 45 einstaklingar á ári. Um 20% sjúklinga með ristil- og endaþarmskrabbamein hafa fjarmeinvörp við greiningu og 14-34% fá síðkomin meinvörp.
Markmið: Að kanna tíðni meinvarpa hjá einstaklingum sem gengust undir skurðaðgerð vegna endaþarmskrabbameins á árunum 2010-2019. Ennfremur að skoða meðferð og lifun með sérstakri áherslu á lifrar- og lungnameinvörp.
Aðferðir: Upplýsingar voru fengnar úr sjúkraskrárkerfum Landspítala. Lifun var metin með Kaplan-Meier aðferðinni og hópar sjúklinga með og án meinvarpa bornir saman.
Niðurstöður: Alls gengust 243 einstaklingar undir aðgerð vegna endaþarmskrabbameins á rannsóknartímabilinu, af þeim fengu 69 (28,4%) endurkomu sjúkdóms. 23 fengu lifrarmeinvörp, 11 lungnameinvörp (5 hvoru tveggja), 17 staðbundna endurkomu og 23 fengu dreifð meinvörp. Meðalsjúkdómsfrí lifun fram að greiningu meinvarpa var 1,2 ár (CI: 0,8-1,7 ár). Af þeim sem fengu meinvörp fóru 39 (56,5%) í aðgerð. Fimm ára lifun var 93,7% fyrir sjúklinga án endurkomu, 71,8% hjá þeim sem fóru í aðgerð vegna meinvarpa og 10,0% hjá þeim sem fóru ekki í aðgerð á meinvörpum. Lifun var sambærileg fyrir þá sem fóru í aðgerð vegna lifrarmeinvarpa og lungnameinvarpa. Æxlishreiður (TD) reyndust vera marktækur forspárþáttur fyrir endurkomu í líkani með fræðilegu breytuvali. Hærra æxlisstig, þá bæði samkvæmt myndgreiningu (cT) og vefjarannsókn (pT), reyndist marktækur áhættuþáttur endurkomu.
Ályktanir: Um þriðjungur sjúklinga sem fór í aðgerð vegna endaþarmskrabbameins fékk endurkomu sjúkdóms sem er í samræmi við erlendar rannsóknir. Rúmur helmingur þessara sjúklinga fór í aðgerð sem er svipað, eða aðeins hærra, hlutfall en í erlendum rannsóknum. Lifur var algengasti staður fjarmeinvarpa og lungu þar á eftir
Brot gegn konum : mál gegn Afganistan og refsiábyrgð einstaklinga fyrir alþjóðadómstólum
No full textMarkmið ritgerðarinnar, Brot gegn konum: mál gegn Afganistan og refsiábyrgð einstaklinga fyrir alþjóðadómstólum, er að varpa ljósi á brot gegn konum í Afganistan og einblínir ritgerðin á lögsögu alþjóðadómstóla í tengslum við mál gegn Afganistan vegna brota á Samningi um afnám allrar mismununar gegn konum. Réttindi kvenna í Afganistan hafa verið skert gífurlega með tilskipunum og hörðum framfylgdaraðferðum síðastliðin ár. Sérstakur skýrslugjafi Sameinuðu þjóðanna komst að þeirri niðurstöðu að brotið sé gegn grundvallarréttindum kvenna, þ.e. rétti kvenna til menntunar, heilsu, atvinnu, ferðafrelsi, og rétti til aðgangs að dómstólum, sem felur í sér brot gegn fyrrnefndum samningi. Ríki geta haft sameiginlega hagsmuni af því að uppfylla ákveðnar samningsskuldbindingar og bera þannig erga omnes skyldur gagnvart öðrum aðildarríkjum vegna sameiginlegra hagsmuna. Ríki geta samkvæmt 29. gr. samningsins lagt ágreining fyrir gerðardóm eða fyrir Alþjóðadómstólinn í Haag ef ekki næst samkomulag um gerðardóm innan sex mánaða tímafrests. Nokkur ríki hafa nú minnt Afganistan á skuldbindingar sínar gegn samningnum.
Afganistan hefur fullgilt Rómarsamþykkt um Alþjóðlega sakamáladómstólinn og samþykkt lögsögu dómstólsins. Dómstóllinn getur því sótt einstaklinga til saka sem bera refsiábyrgð á brotum gegn samþykktinni. Mál Afganistans kom til kasta dómstólsins fyrir tilstilli saksóknara, samkvæmt c-lið 13. gr. Rómarsamþykktarinnar, sem hafði rannsókn á aðstæðum í landinu árið 2020. Saksóknari lagði jafnframt fram tvær handtökubeiðnir þann 23. janúar 2025 á hendur æðstu leiðtogum Talíbana vegna gruns um glæpi gegn mannúð sem felast í ofsóknum gagnvart afmörkuðum hópi vegna kyns á grundvelli h-liðar 1. mgr. 7. gr. Rómarsamþykktarinnar og til að tryggja að mennirnir verði viðstaddir málsmeðferð fyrir dómstólnum og koma í veg fyrir áframhaldandi brot, sbr. b-lið 1. mgr. 58. gr. Rómarsamþykktar.The objective of this thesis, Violations against Women: Cases against Afghanistan and Criminal responsibility of Individuals before International Courts, is to shed light on violations against women in Afghanistan and focuses on the International Courts jurisdiction regarding cases against Afghanistan for breaches of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Women‘s rights in Afghanistan have been severely curtailed by directives and harsh enforcement methods in recent years. The United Nations Special Rapporteur concluded that fundamental rights of women are being violated, namely women‘s rights to education, health, employment, freedom of movement and access to justice, which constitutes a violation of the aforementioned Convention. States may have a shared interest in fulfilling certain treaty obligations and thus bear erga omnes obligations towards other member States due to a shared interest. States may, under Article 29 of the Convention, submit disputes to arbitration or to the International Court of Justice if no agreement on arbitration is reached within a six-month period. Several states have reminded Afghanistan of its obligations under the Convention.
Afghanistan has ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and accepted the Court‘s jurisdiction. The Court can therefore prosecute individuals who are criminally responsible for violations of the Statute. Afghanistan‘s case was brought to the Court by the Prosecutor, pursuant to Article 13(c) of the Statute, who had launched an investigation on the situation in Afghanistan in 2020. The Prosecutor also submitted two arrest warrants in January 2025 against Taliban leaders on suspicion of crimes against humanity consisting of persecution against a specific group on the basis of gender, pursuant to Article 7(1)(h) of the Rome Statute, and to ensure that the persons concerned are present at the Court proceedings and to prevent further violations, in accourdance with Article 58(1)(b) of the Statute
Hvað skýrir NIMBY-viðhorf? Andstaða gegn búsetuúræðum fyrir heimilislausa og flóttafólk á Íslandi.
No full textHugtakið NIMBY „Not In My Backyard“ eða á íslensku „ekki í mínum bakgarði“ er oft nefnt sem skýring á andstöðu almennings við staðbundinni þróun sem álitin er óæskileg. Þetta viðhorf lýsir sér meðal annars í því að fólk getur verið mótfallið nauðsynlegum innviðum og staðsetningu á þjónustu. Með þessari rannsókn var leitast eftir að skoða hvernig best væri hægt að skýra NIMBY-viðhorf í garð flóttafólks og heimilislausra á Íslandi. NIMBY-viðhorf hefur lítið verið skoðað hérlendis og því lítið vitað um áhrif þess þegar kemur að andstöðu gegn samfélagslegum breytingum eins og uppbyggingu á úrræðum fyrir þessa tvo viðkvæmu hópa. Markmið með rannsókn var að skoða saman þætti sem tengdir hafa verið við NIMBY-viðhorf. Því var spáð að ótti við breytingar, staðarvensl, fordómar, hægri-valsmannshneigð og félagsleg drottnunargirni gæti mögulega skýrt NIMBY-viðhorf til þessa hópa. Spurningalistakönnun var lögð fyrir íslenska Facebook notendur (N=661) sem tilheyrðu hverfagrúppum víðs vegar um landið. Niðurstöður studdu tilgátur um fylgni milli NIMBY-viðhorfs og ótta við breytingar, fordóma, hægri-valdsmannshneigð og félagslega drottnunargirni með missterku sambandi þeirra á milli. Niðurstöður studdu þó ekki tilgátu um fylgni milli NIMBY-viðhorfa og staðarvensla. Til að skoða þetta nánar var gerð stigveldisaðhvarfsgreining með tveimur líkönum til að spá fyrir um NIMBY-viðhorf. Niðurstaða rannsóknar benti til þess að NIMBY-viðhorf til búsetuúrræða fyrir flóttafólk og heimilislausa á Íslandi mætti helst skýra með fordómum.
Leitarorð: NIMBY, NIMBY-viðhorf, ótti við breytingar, staðarvensl, fordómarThe term NIMBY which stands for „Not In My Backyard“ is often mentioned as an explanation for public opposition to local developments considered as undesirable. This attitude is reflected among other things in people opposing necessary infrastructure and the placement of services. This study sought to examine how best to explain NIMBY-attitudes toward refugees and homeless people in Iceland. NIMBY-attitudes have been studied little domestically and thus little is known about their impact when it comes to resistance against social changes such as the development of resources for these two vulnerable groups. The aim of the study was to examine factors that have been associated with NIMBY-attitudes. It was predicted that fear of change, place attacment, prejudice, Right-wing authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation could potentially explain NIMBY-attitudes towards these groups. A survey was distributed to Icelandic Facebook users (N=661) who belonged to neighborhood groups across the country. The results supported hypotheses about correlations between NIMBY-attitudes and fear of change, prejudice, Right-wing authoritarianism and Social Sominance Orientation with varying strengths of association between them. However, the results did not support the hypothesis of a correlation between NIMBY-attitudes and place attacment. To explore this further a hierarchical multiple regression analysis with two models was conducted to predict NIMBY-attitudes. The results of a study indicated that NIMBY attitudes towards housing options for refugees and the homeless in Iceland could best be explained by prejudice.
Keywords: NIMBY, NIMBY-attitudes, fear of change, place attacment, prejudic
Okay To Great
No full textThis essay explains the ways in how self-help advice can provide useful choreographic tools in a creative process by looking at the process of my individual work, a 25-minute solo dance performance titled Okay to Great, which premiered in the Black Box at the University of the Arts, February 2025. The title of the solo encompasses the idea of a person potentially going from an okay state towards a great state and what are the steps needed to reach it.
Starting out, the idea and inspiration for the process are introduced as a platform to understand what state of being is trying to be accomplished as well as the overall framework and structure of the creative process. The main inspirations for this solo were Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity and The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness by Mark G. Williams, John D. Teasdale, Zindel V. Segal, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. Methods, exercises, and practices provided by the self-help literature and genre are listed and taken into the creative process where they are transformed and altered into researchable movement material and then into the tools and then explained how that is done and what happens to the exercises as well as to the self in that process.
Anna K. Schaffner’s The Art of Self-Improvement: Ten Timeless Truths gives insight into the use of the imagination in the process while Bernard Suits‘ The Grasshopper, Games, Life and Utopia presents games and playing as more tools to use.
Offering a critiquing way of seeing the topic of self-help, individualism and the therapeutic narrative, the books Saving the Modern Soul – Therapy, Emotions, and The Culture of Self-Help by Eva Illouz and Toward a Transindividual Self by Ana Vujanovic and Bojana Cvejic offer a way to see an impact on the self while proceeding in this line of research.
Lastly, Amanda Palmers the Art of Asking is offered as a solution in finding strength in vulnerability and community as aspects that can be brought into the creative process
Sjálfbærni í hótelrekstri á Íslandi: Hvers vegna velja hótel sjálfbæra stefnu og vottanir?
No full textSjálfbærni í hótelrekstri á Íslandi hefur fengið aukna athygli undanfarin ár vegna vaxandi umhverfisvitundar og samfélagslegrar ábyrgðar fyrirtækja. Markmið þessarar rannsóknar er að greina ástæður þess að íslensk hótel og hótelkeðjur innleiða sjálfbæra stefnu og vottanir. Rannsóknin byggir á eigindlegri aðferðafræði þar sem tekin voru viðtöl við stjórnendur níu hótela og hótelkeðja.
Helstu niðurstöður sýna að ástæður fyrir innleiðingu sjálfbærrar stefnu eru margþættar. Fyrir flest hótel skiptir samfélagsleg ábyrgð og verndun íslenskrar náttúru lykilmáli, þar sem hótelin byggja rekstur sinn á einstakri náttúru landsins. Aðrir hvatar eru aukin samkeppnishæfni, væntingar viðskiptavina, áhrif hagsmunaaðila og hagræðing í rekstri. Það kemur í ljós að stjórnendur gegna mikilvægu hlutverki í mótun stefnu um sjálfbærni, en einnig hafa samtök sem tengjast ferðaþjónustunni, lög og fjárfestar áhrif á þróun hennar.
Rannsóknin dregur fram mikilvægi þess að hótel hafi skýra stefnu um sjálfbærni sem getur bæði styrkt ímynd þeirra og stuðlað að sjálfbærni innan ferðaþjónustunnar. Hún gefur innsýn í þá þætti sem hvetja fyrirtæki til að taka upp sjálfbæra stefnu og hvernig slík stefna getur skilað hagnýtum og siðferðilegum ávinningi.Sustainability in the Icelandic hotel industry has gained increased attention in recent years due to growing environmental awareness and corporate social responsibility. The objective of this study is to analyze the reasons why Icelandic hotels and hotel chains adopt sustainable policies and certifications. The research is based on a
qualitative methodology, involving interviews with managers from nine hotels and hotel chains.
The main findings indicate that the reasons for implementing sustainable strategies are multifaceted. For most hotels, corporate social responsibility and the preservation of Icelandic nature are key factors, as their operations rely on the country's unique natural resources. Other incentives, include increased competitiveness, customer expectations, stakeholder influence, and operational efficiency. Furthermore, hotel
managers play a crucial role in shaping sustainability policies, while tourism-related organizations, regulations, and investors also impact their development.
This study highlights the importance of hotels having a clear sustainability strategy, which can strengthen their brand image while contributing to sustainability within the tourism industry. It provides insights into the key factors motivating businesses to adopt sustainable strategy and how such policies can yield both practical and ethical benefit
“A Woman’s Labour” – interdisciplinary provocations for healthier and more equitable futures
No full text“The future in research is transdisciplinary. Addressing the issue of a woman’s labour as related to care, curates an assemblage of voices, approaches, and systems of thinking that address the ever so prominent need for more hopeful avenues towards equitable futures. The intersectional and multifaceted concept of gendered labour connects us all in questioning, challenging, and recalibrating theories practices and policies. We invite you to join our provocations and actively participate in shaping knowledge that is necessary for each and all of us, as individuals, communities, and society.” - Dr Liana Psarologaki, Guest Editor of the Special Collection
Labour as connective, contested and constitutional notion of care-based symbiosis
Labour is a multidimensional connective and constested concept, whether it refers to the physical anergy consuption associated with work, often precarious, or the strenuous task of giving birth (literally and creatively). More interestingly, there is a health-related dimension of labour that often goes unnoticed and includes exclusive modalities in existing healthcare systems, restrictive mindsets and stagnated waters when acknowledging women’s health. In her book Ill Feelings, Alice Hatrick talks about the lived experience of chronic fatigue syndrome through radically redefining personal and social narratives around wellbeing and the pains of ill health for women. She writes that “housekeeping is what sticks to us as sick women, as mothers and daughters – it is the work we are expected to do, without pay. Housekeeping is mirrored in the immune system… B-cells are associated with upper-class women. Macrophages on the other hand are associated with a feminized labour: enveloping, housekeeping, and other kinds of low-paid domestic and care work”. Following Hatrick, this introductory provocation will situate labour among disciplines, systems of thought and infrustructures, with the aim that it creates the basis for transdisciplinary and intersectional assemblage of responses that lead to healthier and more equitable futures.
Whose Labour Counts? Decolonising care, voice and value in health and society.
What happens when we only value labour that is visible, measurable, or institutionally sanctioned? In our rush to theorise care, we risk reproducing the very hierarchies we aim to dismantle. Women in underserved communities - Black women, Roma women, migrant mothers, carers with no paperwork or pay checks - labour daily in the margins of health systems, policy debates, and academic theory. Yet their work remains structurally unrecognised. This provocation urges us to confront: Why “care” is celebrated when professionalised, but pathologised when embodied by women of colour? How the knowledge embedded in survival work - navigating systems, translating trauma, resisting erasure - is systematically excluded from dominant feminist discourse? Wow do we decolonise not just labour theory, but our entire methodological approach to whose labour is “researchable”?
A woman’s labour not as a market transaction, but as a relational, embodied, and ecological act beyond mainstream frameworks
The talk is founded on questioning how legal and business systems often obscure or devalue the labour of care, the ecological embeddedness of work, and the subjective dimensions of wellbeing, studying social entrepreneurship and gender. It prompts the audience to reimagine organisations as ecosystems of care. It promotes alternative organisational logics, rooted in sustainability, reciprocity, and solidarity, that can challenge dominant paradigms, including the role of leadership, the meaning of value, and the ethics of decision-making. It also invites a potential interrogation on how business practices can be restructured to support regenerative economies, where labour is not commodified but recognised as constitutive of life and community.
‘Burn the witch’
How often is the person doing the burning being paid a handsome sum, yet the woman being burned is burned for actions of unpaid/underpaid labour?
What and where are the liminal actions and spaces? – the small events that go unnoticed but which, unseen like Antogone ‘There is something we must do’; they/I must be the one who don’t walk away, regardless of the cost when actions become seen. (2) So much un-remunerated, resented, unappreciated labour/labour. So much risk, without which the very fabric of society would collapse. Synthetic dire consequences created by millennia of patriarchy, with women bearing the cost. Unseen, unvalued and unpaid labour/labour?
These stories are everywhere? We must tell these stories, find safe and collective ways to tell urgent stories to provoke, to call for action, to force society, industry, the world to care.
Society remunerates and punishes the wrong people, or does it? Why?
Why we should research women in ‘dirty’ occupations
Many occupations draw their body of knowledge and justification from a reasonably mainstream range of organisational types and cultures and give little space to the opinions, innovations and experiences of those working in marginalised or ‘dirty’ roles or occupations (e.g. adult industry, extreme politics, tobacco, oil, etc.)
I argue that we have a duty to include all worlds when we research and theorise on occupations or work and not just draw our understanding from those we see as acceptable or performing the ‘right’ type of work
The work experienced by those working in marginalised occupations (and countries) are frequently excluded as subjects from much organisational research. Often the excluded are women (my research is in women working in marketing and comms roles in the adult industry) which creates a double exclusion - women are less likely to feature in research anyway, and their presence in 'dirty' occupations compounds their invisibility.
Dismissing ‘dirty’ or marginalised sectors and people is to overlook and denigrate the experiences and knowledge created.
Women at Work: Performing Professionalism in Public Relations
How do women perform professionalism in the workplace and why does it matter? This talk draws from ethnographic research to highlight the lived experiences and professional behaviours of women working in public relations (PR) in the United Kingdom. By integrating Goffman's concept of social encounters as performances with Foucauldian discourse and Feminist theory, the talk examines the three stages of performing professionalism: preparation, performance, and reception.
How does gender influence these stages, shaping the professional identities and career trajectories of female PR practitioners? We will explore the impact of societal expectations and gender norms on career preparation, the strategies women employ to manage impressions and navigate professional environments, and the reception of their professional behaviours by clients, colleagues, and the broader industry.
The talk will also address the persistent issue of the "Velvet Ghetto," where women are often confined to lower-paying, technical roles, and the challenges they face in breaking through these barriers. By critically analysing these dynamics, the presentation aims to shed light on the systemic issues within the PR industry and propose pathways towards a more inclusive and equitable professional landscape
Driving innovation in banking sector: the role of transformational leadership and knowledge sharing
No full textExploring the Mental Health Challenges of Music Industry Professionals: Recommendation for an Industry-Wide Code of Practice
No full textPrevious research has highlighted the prevalence of mental health challenges in the music industry, citing high rates of anxiety, depression, and burnout among professionals. However, stigma and limited awareness of industry-specific support services continue to hinder help-seeking behaviors. This study aimed to identify systemic changes that could improve the industry's approach to mental health and well-being. Using an ethnographic framework combined with Participatory Action Research (PAR), qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 15 music professionals, including performers, producers, and managers (aged 23–50, with 5–25 years of experience). Findings indicate that social media pressure is perceived as the most significant contributor to poor mental health, followed by job instability and inadequate preparation for the realities of the profession. The results underscore the urgent need for an industry-wide code of practice to support mental health and promote sustainable career development. The music industry refers to the global network of live and recorded music production, distribution, and promotion, encompassing artists, producers, managers, labels, and digital platforms. As a multi-billion-dollar sector, it generated over $31 billion globally in 2022
Shaping professional nursing practice using Benner's novice to expert theory
No full textThis article critically explores the scope of nursing theory and knowledge, focusing on their influence on contemporary nursing practice. Through an epistemological lens, the article discusses routes of knowledge and ways of knowing, and the historical development of nursing theory. The article delves into Benner's novice to expert model, first developed in the 1980s, a theory still relevant in modern nursing education, analysing its application in guiding students’ progression from novices to experts. Benner's theory is evaluated for clarity, simplicity, empirical precision, and generality. The article further examines the implications of Benner's theory in modern nursing practice and education, arguing that, without guiding frameworks, nursing risks losing its direction, purpose and professional relevance