Publikationer från Södertörns Högskola
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“What?” : – The Q-drop Corpus’s Usage of Rhetorical Questions to Refer to Independent Information Retrieval
No full textThe communications from the source "Q" are regarded by the QAnon movement, a political and conspiracy theory group that rose to prominence in the early months of 2021 after storming the Capitol in Washington, D.C., as their primary information source. Between November 2017 and November 2022, "Q" posted brief remarks on many message boards, including 4Chan, 8Chan, and others. The messages make predictions about future political developments and offer commentary on current political happenings (OperationQ 2025). The Q-drop corpus—the 4,966 posts made by the poster Q—is full of rhetorical questions with the purpose of inciting the reader to "Do your own research." Relating to earlier research, I have made a collection of all Q-drops in .txt format, which makes it possible to search through all posts using the program Grep (Grep 2025). In this poster I will map and analyse the use of rhetorical questions in the corpus; Especially such rhetorical questions that invite the reader to do their own research using a search engine. Purpose “Do your own research” or DYOR has been trending in social media for a couple of years. It is often used in connection to the spread of conspiracy theories and by authors on the subject described as: “The basic idea behind DYOR is that laypeople should not follow the conclusions of experts but instead seek out information on their own to arrive at their own conclusions.” (Ballatyne et al 2022). Using a known corpus of conspiracy theory as the Q-drops to investigate the use of DYOR-inciting will put new light on the reciprocative nature of conspiracy theory. Method The investigation is performed in two phases. First a mapping phase, in which the material is reviewed through a hermeneutic method and categories of injunction towards “do your own research” are created. Then an analytical phase in which a search for these different categories in the material is performed. This will form the basis of an analysis of how the Q-drops urges the followers to “Do their own research.” The research process and the results are presented in the form of a poster. Results There will be two types of results. First, a variety of categories that describe the settings in which DYOR is employed are the outcomes of the mapping process. The second is the frequency of occurrence of each category in the corpus. References Ballantyne, N., Celniker, J., &Dunning, D. (2022). “Do Your Own Research”. Social Epistemology, 38(3), 302-317. Grep (2025), Grep Manual Page, Retrieved January 27, 2025 from https://man7.org/linux/man-pages/man1/grep.1.html OperationQ (2025). Intelligence drops. Retrieved January 27, 2025 from https://operationq.pub/
Future-Proofing Intellectual Property Education in the Digital Era : Aligning IP Rights with Fundamental Rights in the Age of Emerging Technologies
No full textThe traditional approach to teaching intellectual property (IP) law—focused primarily on legal texts, registration procedures, and a few case laws—is becoming increasingly obsolete. This method that emphasizes the application and granting of patents, trademarks, designs, and rules on copyright and trade -secret protections, fails to equip students with the tools needed to navigate the complexities of a rapidly evolving technological landscape. As technology continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, IP law students face growing challenges in understanding, applying, and critically analyzing legal frameworks in real-world contexts. To address this, it is no longer adequate to teach IP law solely from a legalistic perspective aimed at serving corporate interests. In the age of emerging technologies, IP education need to adjust several competing interests such as corporate (investment/economic), individual (moral/privacy/human rights) and societal interests (access/environmental). It is vital to incorporate socio-technological and human rights dimensions into the IP curriculum. A futureproof IP education need to adopt a problem-based, critical thinking and interdisciplinary approach. Students should not only study legal texts but also explore how these laws might be interpreted and applied in uncertain, risk-laden, and technologically dynamic environments. Since legal reforms cannot keep pace with every technological innovation, it is the interpretive and interdisciplinary understanding of IP law that will enable future practitioners to address emerging challenges—particularly those intersecting with fundamental rights. In my teaching, I have developed two interdisciplinary models to address this need. The first, focused on AI and IP law, begins with students mapping the future of AI using the "Five L&W" framework: Love, Live, Learn, Labour, Legal/regulatory, and War. This is followed by an analysis of relevant technologies from an IP perspective and their implications for fundamental rights. Finally, students propose legal and policy solutions. The second model, centered on green technologies and role of IP, uses an interconnected approach. Students begin by examining a classic environmental or societal problem through the lens of fundamental rights and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They then explore technological solutions and assess how IP law can support, rather than hinder, accessibility, affordability, and long-term sustainability. My experience suggests that IP education must be reimagined through the lens of "future-proofing." This involves integrating interdisciplinary and critical perspectives into the curriculum to ensure that students are prepared to address both technological change and fundamental rights in their future legal practice. By doing so, we can ensure that IP law remains relevant, responsive, and socially relevant in the technological age and from the perspectives of fundamental rights too.
Pedagogical Representations of Evil in Preschool : an Interview Study and a Children’s Book Study
No full textAvhandlingen Pedagogiska representationer av ondska i förskolan: en intervjustudie och en barnboksstudie undersöker vilket utrymme och mening ondska, definierad som grymhet och lidande, kan ha i förskolans pedagogiska verksamhet. Avhandlingen består av två delstudier som båda förankras i en hermeneutisk kunskapssyn. Intervjustudien är förlagd till ett praktiskt och socialt sammanhang och bygger på kvalitativa intervjuer med förskolepedagoger. Deras berättelser om hur de föreställer sig ondska och hur de hanterar uttryck för grymhet och lidande i sin praktik analyseras genom Klaus Mollenhauers teori om pedagogisk presentation och representation. Barnboksstudien orienterar sig mot en symbolisk värld och individuellt meningsskapande. Analysen av hur ondska representeras i ett urval barnböcker görs med stöd i Fred C. Alfords existentiella teori om ondska och Bruno Bettelheims arbete om sagans betydelse för barns meningsskapande. Resultaten visar att de intervjuade pedagogerna undviker begreppet ondska och i stället omtolkar svåra erfarenheter i termer av trygghet, empati och värdegrund, med syftet att skapa distans och skydd för barnen. På så sätt anser de sig skydda barn från överväldigande erfarenheter samtidigt som de skapar ingångar till världen som baseras på trygghet, empati och gemenskap. De analyserade barnböckerna representerar däremot ondska genom symboler och narrativ – såsom en fientlig värld, moraliska gråzoner och döden – och öppnar därigenom för existentiella reflektioner och meningsskapande. Avhandlingen visar hur pedagogiska representationer av ondska till sin natur är indirekta och rör sig i spänningen mellan skydd och kunskapsförmedling. Den visar att begreppet ondska, trots att det ofta saknas i pedagogiska diskurser, kan fungera som en viktig ingång för att hjälpa barn skapa mening i möten med grymhet och lidande.The dissertation Pedagogical Representations of Evil in Preschool: an Interview Study and a Children’s Book Study explores the space and meaning of evil, defined as cruelty and suffering, in preschool pedagogical practice.The dissertation consists of two sub-studies, both of which are rooted in a hermeneutic view of knowledge. The interview study is set in a practical and social context and is based on qualitative interviews with preschool teachers. Their stories about how they imagine evil and how they deal with expressions of cruelty and suffering in their practice are analyzed using Klaus Mollenhauer’s theory of pedagogical presentation and representation. The children’s book study focuses on a symbolic world and individual meaning making. The analysis of how evil is represented in a selection of children’s books is interpreted with the support of Fred C. Alford’s existential theory of evil and Bruno Bettelheim’s work on the significance of fairy tales for children’s meaning making.The results show that the interviewed preschool teachers tend to avoid the explicit concept of evil and instead reinterpret difficult experiences in terms of safety, empathy, and value-based language, aiming to create distance and protection for the children. In this way, they see themselves as protecting children from overwhelming experiences while creating entry points to the world based on safety, empathy, and community.The children’s books analyzed, on the other hand, represent evil through symbols and narratives – such as a hostile world, moral grey areas, and death – thereby opening for existential reflections and meaning making.The dissertation shows how pedagogical representations of evil are inherently indirect and operate in the tension between between protection and knowledge transfer. The dissertation shows that the concept of evil, despite its frequent absence in educational discourse, can serve as an important entry point for helping children make sense of encounters with cruelty and suffering
Destinationsstereotyper Och Mediepåverkan : En Studie Om Hur Sociala Medier Genom Destinationsstereotyper Påverkar Besökarnas Uppfattningar Av Resmål
No full textForskningen om destinationsstereotyper har hittills varit relativt begränsad, trots att ämnet är högst relevant i en globaliserad värld där interkulturellt utbyte är centralt. För att undersöka hur besökares uppfattningar om olika destinationer formas har vi tillämpat en blandad metodansats och samlat material från olika medieplattformar. Det har vi gjort genom att analysera både kommersiella och personliga medieformat för att förstå hur mediala narrativ bidrar till skapandet och reproduktionen av stereotyper som påverkar turisters attityder och val. Resultatet visar att medieplatformar som TikTok påverkar uppfattningar om resmål genom att förstärka eller skapa stereotyper, särskilt då innehållet upplevs som mer trovärdigt än traditionell reklam. När informationen är lättillgänglig, personlig och delas mellan användare sprids stereotyper snabbare, vilket i sin tur påverkar resebeslut.Research on destination stereotypes in tourism remains relatively limited, despite the topic’s high relevance in a globalized world where intercultural exchange is central. To examine how visitors’ perceptions of different destinations are formed, we applied a mixed-methods approach and collected material from various media platforms. This was done by analyzing both commercial and personal media formats to understand how media narratives contribute to the creation and reproduction of stereotypes that influence tourists’ attitudes and destination choices. The results show that media platforms such as TikTok shape perceptions of destinations by reinforcing or creating stereotypes, particularly because the content is perceived as more credible than traditional advertising. When information is accessible, personal, and shared among users, stereotypes spread more rapidly, which in turn influences travel decisions
How much knowledge of IT does an archivist need?
No full textThese days, an archivist must be well-versed in information technology. What, though, ought an archivist to know? The answer to this question is crucial for those who organize archival science courses now and will continue to be a question we must address on multiple occasions in the future. In my poster, I'll outline some potential approaches to the information technology-focused portion of an archivist's training. From a beginning computing course that might not be appropriate for a university education in other respects to an extreme notion I created dubbed "Timeless fullstack," which is difficult to teach within the confines of a university education. The poster is a part of a continuous research project, a presentation of forthcoming studies, and will present and discuss a number of concepts that could be used in defining what the student in archival science actually needs to know about IT. The poster will show and explore some notions that might be used to define what an archival science student actually needs to know about IT. It is part of an ongoing research effort and a presentation of upcoming investigations
Advancing Just Energy Transitions Through Recognition and Inclusion : Policy brief
No full textThis policy brief highlights the significance of addressing recognition and inclusion in just energy transitions, drawing on ananalysis of visions of a just transition in Poland and particularly in the Silesian Voivodeship. It emphasizes political and sociocultural dimensions of just transitions
Shaping South America : Jens Martin Bolstad’s Consular Knowledge Production, 1901–1905
No full textThis thesis examines how the Swedish-Norwegian Consul General Jens Martin Bolstad (1858–1905) produced and disseminated knowledge about South America in his official reports between 1901 and 1905. The study introduces Bolstad as a “knowledge actor” whose consular position enabled him to gather, interpret and reproduce local information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Stockholm. It analyses Bolstad’s reporting on interstate tensions, emerging efforts at regional cooperation and the shadow cast by the “Colossus of the North” (the United States). The research relies on archival consular reports, examining how they serve as active sites of knowledge production rather than mere factual records. By contextualising Bolstad’s reports within a broader historiography on Swedish perceptions of South America, the thesis reveals both the persistence of nineteenth-century Eurocentric tropes and the emergence of more formal policy-focused narratives. The study argues that Bolstad’s portrayal of South America, caught between hegemony and unity, echoed contemporary imperial legacies while influencing Swedish-Norwegian foreign policy outlooks. These findings underscore the value of examining diplomatic documents as rich historical sources, demonstrating that consular offices played a pivotal role in shaping European understandings of distant regions at the turn of the century.Populärvetenskaplig sammanfattning Den här studien handlar om hur en svensk-norsk konsul, Jens Martin Bolstad (1858–1905), formade och spred kunskap om Sydamerika i början av 1900-talet. Genom att granska hans rapporter, skrivna mellan åren 1901 och 1905, får man en unik inblick i hur han beskrev och tolkade de politiska konflikterna, de försiktiga samarbetena och den växande närvaron av USA (“Kolossen i norr”). På så vis kan man se hur enskilda tjänstemän inte bara rapporterade fakta, utan också bidrog till att skapa en bild av en hel kontinent för beslutsfattare hemma i Sverige och Norge. Forskningen bygger på ett så kallat kunskapshistoriskt perspektiv, där man undersöker hur “kunskap” inte är något neutralt, utan formas i ett socialt och historiskt sammanhang. Bolstad var, genom sin konsulära roll, en viktig mellanhand: han hämtade intryck och information på plats i Sydamerika—från tidningsartiklar till samtal med lokalbefolkning—och förmedlade en tolkad version vidare till utrikesdepartementet i Stockholm. I rapporterna framträder Sydamerika ofta som en region präglad av spänningar mellan stater (till exempel Chile, Peru och Bolivia), samtidigt som det fanns försök att bilda allianser för att stå starkare inför yttre hot. Dessa rapporter visar också hur föreställningar om kontinenten blandades med tidsperiodens eurocentriska tänkande, där vissa länder sågs som mer “moderna” eller “stabila” än andra. Genom att studera Bolstads material får man en fördjupad förståelse för hur bilden av “det avlägsna Sydamerika” växte fram i Skandinavien. Det lyfter fram hur en enskild individs arbetsuppgifter och personliga perspektiv kunde eventuellt påverka utrikespolitik. I en tid då kommunikation över Atlanten tog flera veckor, blev konsulns ögon och öron på plats ett slags filter, som formade vilka händelser, konflikter och möjligheter som hamnade i fokus. Studien visar också hur modern historieskrivning kan dra lärdom av diplomatiska källor: administrativa rapporter och förodningar kan, när man granska dem närmare, rymma spännande berättelser om makt, identitet och hur vi “vet” något om världen.
Genom blommans historicitet : Folkmusik och politik i DDR
No full textDuring the 1970s, a “Folk Music Revival” began to emerge in the GDR. This movement, which was influenced by, among others, new folk music trends from Ireland, Sweden, and the US, is described by GDR folk musicians as a kind of counter-movement to the dominant singing movement of the time, mostly organized by the FDJ (Freie Deutsche Jugend) and the GDR authorities. German Volksmusik was since WWII stigmatized as Nazi and the Folk Music Revival, where folk music was spelled with an ”F” instead of a ”V”, also should renew folk music with the help of influences from other countries, including Western countries.This article provides some examples of ideas about folk music and politics in the GDR during the 1970s and 1980s which existed among folk musicians, local authorities and the state surveillance apparatus. Through historical discourse analyses of some concrete examples from sources from Stasi archives and published interviews with contemporary witnesses the scope for action between political adaption and artistic freedom is examined. More specifically, the article provides insight into how the authorities, and in particular the Stasi, exercised power in concrete terms, how that power was justified, accepted, and challenged, and what consequences this had for those affected. The study shows that in the early 1970s, when the first folk music groups outside the official singing movement emerged, the GDR authorities were not particularly familiar with the phenomenon and were unprepared for the numerous groups that began to appear in the late 1970s and during the 1980s. It was common for folk musicians to try to maintain contact with the authorities responsible for organizing musical life, but at the same time they also tried to express social criticism by, for example, rewriting the lyrics of well-known songs or embedding performed songs in a socially critical context. While some musicians succeeded in building a career as folk musicians in this way, others got into trouble with the authorities and some, such as Wolf Biermann and Stephan Krawcyk, were expelled to West Germany
Hållbarhetsbetyg och finansiellutveckling : En kvantitativ studie av ESG-prestation inom europeiska Large Capföretag i kemisektorn
No full textThis study examines the effect of ESG performance on financial outcomes within theEuropean chemical industry, a capital-intensive and highly regulated sector facing increasingsustainability and reporting demands. Adopting an investor-oriented perspective, the studyaddresses a persistent gap in the literature regarding whether ESG ratings translate intomeasurable financial performance once firm-specific and institutional factors are taken intoaccount.The theoretical framework is grounded in stakeholder theory and signaling theory, whichsuggest that ESG performance may contribute to value creation through improvedstakeholder relations and reduced information asymmetry. A quantitative panel-data approachis applied using secondary data from 38 large publicly listed chemical companies across sixEuropean countries over the period 2020–2024, resulting in 190 firm-year observations. ESGscores are obtained from MSCI, while financial performance is measured using return oninvested capital (ROIC), earnings per share growth (EPS growth), and free cash flow (FCF).The empirical analysis employs multiple linear regression models with control variables forfirm size, leverage, and country-specific effects, complemented by correlation analysis.The results indicate that ESG performance does not exhibit a statistically significant effect onany of the financial performance measures once control variables are included. ESGcoefficients are consistently weak and non-significant across all models. In contrast, leverageand certain country-specific factors demonstrate significant explanatory power, suggestingthat capital structure and institutional context are more influential determinants of financialperformance in this sector than ESG ratings.The study contributes to the ESG literature by providing industry-specific evidence from theEuropean chemical sector and by demonstrating the importance of incorporating controlvariables when assessing ESG–performance effects. The findings highlight that ESG mayfunction primarily as a risk management or compliance mechanism rather than a direct driverof short-term financial performance in capital-intensive industries. Future research isencouraged to explore longer time horizons, disaggregated ESG components, and alternativemethodological approaches to capture potential long-term and non-linear effects. Denna studie undersöker effekten ESG-betyg har på finansiell prestation inom deneuropeiska kemiindustrin, en kapitalintensiv och starkt reglerad sektor med ökade krav påhållbarhet. Studien utgår från ett investerarperspektiv och adresserar en kunskapslucka kringhuruvida ESG-prestation har betydelse för finansiella utfall när företags- och landspecifikafaktorer beaktas.Analysen baseras på kvantitativa paneldata från 38 börsnoterade Large Cap-företag i sexeuropeiska länder under perioden 2020–2024, motsvarande 190 observationer. ESG-betyghar hämtats från MSCI, medan finansiell prestation mäts genom avkastning på investeratkapital (ROIC), vinst per aktie-tillväxt (EPS-tillväxt) och fritt kassaflöde (FCF). Studienanvänder multipla regressionsmodeller med kontrollvariabler för företagsstorlek,skuldsättningsgrad och geografiskt hemvist.Resultaten visar att ESG-betyg inte har någon statistiskt signifikant effekt på de undersöktafinansiella nyckeltalen. Däremot uppvisar skuldsättningsgrad och vissa landspecifika faktorerstörre förklaringskraft. Detta indikerar att ESG i denna bransch främst fungerar som ettverktyg för riskhantering och regelefterlevnad snarare än som en direkt drivkraft för finansiellprestation på kort sikt.Studien bidrar med branschspecifik empirisk evidens och understryker vikten av att inkluderarelevanta kontrollvariabler vid analys av ESG:s ekonomiska betydelse
Den könade ridsporten : En etnologisk studie om hur kön görs i stallet
No full textThis study explores how gender is constructed in the stable by using the theory of feminist posthumanism. The purpose of this study is to examine how human and non-human actors are involved in and influence how gender, gender norms, and notions of femininity and masculinity are shaped within equestrian sport at amateur level. Through a combination of accompanying observations in different stables and semi-structured, qualitative interviews with a total of six horseback riders, I have studied interactions between different actors in the stables and how gender and gender norms are reflected in it