Publikationer från Stockholms universitet
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From Financial Literacy to Financial Empowerment : Youths’ Perceptions of Financial Citizenship in Sweden
No full textThis study examines high school students’ perspectives on Financial Literacy Education (FLE) in Sweden, assessing its role in fostering financial independence, inclusion, and agency. Based on qualitative interviews with 12 students aged 16–18, the findings indicate notable gaps in formal FLE, particularly in its practical relevance, inclusivity, and attention to the socio-emotional dimensions of financial challenges. Participants described relying on informal financial socialization through family and peers, though access to these resources varied, potentially reinforcing financial inequities. Drawing on Brantefors and Quennerstedt’s (2016) framework of children’s rights, this study explores how FLE can contribute to provision rights by offering practical and equitable financial education, protection rights by addressing financial exclusion and mitigating financial risks, and participation rights by integrating youth perspectives into curriculum development. By incorporating financial citizenship principles and adapting FLE to diverse socioeconomic realities, this study underscores the need for a more transformative and inclusive approach that empowers youth as active participants in economic and social life. These findings contribute to ongoing debates on how FLE can address systemic inequities and support youth in navigating financial complexities
Phase-corrected time-domain terahertz spectroscopy in reflection geometry
No full textTerahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) is a reliable technique used for studying the complex optical properties of materials. Its frequency range makes it suitable for detecting low-energy collective excitations such as phonons, magnons, and plasmons. THz-TDS in transmission geometry has gained much attention over the years. However, despite the need for exploring reflective samples, the advancement of THz-TDS in reflection geometry has faced several obstacles, mainly due to its strict requirement for sub-micron precision in the placement of the sample and reference. Here, we demonstrate a technique for measuring samples in reflection geometry using THz-TDS which involves systematically resolving the alignment issue by first isolating and correcting sources of error in the experimental setup. We then use a novel and robust phase correction method to detect and rectify the remaining misplacement with nanometer precision. This provides us with precise values for the phase of the THz pulse, which in turn allows us to accurately compute the complex optical properties of different types of materials. We use well-known bulk semiconducting samples such as Si and InSb to validate the reliability of our technique. The experimental results of incident angle and polarization-dependent measurements are shown along with the retrieved complex refractive index of these samples. This method immensely simplifies the procedure for obtaining the optical properties of samples in the THz range. We extend this technique to temperature-dependent measurements and, through a series of additional steps, present a method for studying SrTiO3, a material with strong temperature-dependent spectral features in the THz range. By combining the phase correction method with a novel self-referencing approach, we successfully extract the optical properties of SrTiO3 without the requirement of a reference measurement. These techniques collectively provide a robust and accessible approach for spectroscopic studies of materials in the THz range and can be applied without the requirement of expensive, high-precision equipment. We anticipate that these techniques will be used to study a wide variety of materials with collective excitations in the THz range
A conversation analysis-complex dynamics systems theory (CA-CDST) approach for analyzing longitudinal development in L2 pragmatics
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Beating the odds of a bad hand : Studies of health and socioeconomic disadvantage in adults with experience of childhood adversity
No full textChildhood adversity is associated with an increased risk of mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, and physical illnesses, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. It is also associated with socioeconomic disadvantage, including lower educational attainment and unemployment. Childhood adversity, which includes various forms of abuse and neglect, is therefore an important public health problem. This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the risks of childhood adversity, and how these can be mitigated. It does so by, first, describing the complexity in health and socioeconomic disadvantage after childhood adversity over the life course. Second, it approaches the corresponding processes of vulnerability and resilience, i.e., the negative and positive adaptation to adversity, with a particular interest in identifying factors that can break the accumulation of early disadvantage. A third focus is to compare men and women in terms of both outcomes and mechanisms of vulnerability and resilience processes, and to discuss the findings from a gender perspective. Study I was a scoping review on mediators and moderators of childhood adversity, collating evidence on known resilience factors in relation to different health and socioeconomic indicators of wellbeing. One of the main conclusions was that resilience is predominantly investigated in terms of mental health outcomes and individual-level resilience factors, such as coping styles and attachment patterns, as well as relational factors, such as social support. Accordingly, there is untapped potential in researching structural-level factors, including in relation to the school system. Furthermore, research seldomly takes possible gender differences in resilience processes into account. The three empirical studies that followed the scoping review were all based on the same data material, the Stockholm Birth Cohort Multigenerational study. The cohort comprises 14,608 individuals, with follow-up data available up to the age of 68. All empirical studies used out-of-home care placement for family reasons as a proxy for the experience of adversity in childhood. Study II applied group-based multi-trajectory modelling to describe trajectories of disadvantage across a range of psychiatric and somatic diagnoses as well as socioeconomic indicators in individuals with out-of-home care experience. The study also investigated gender and education as predictors of trajectory group membership. It found evidence of a lower risk of, for example, unemployment-related disadvantage associated with higher educational attainment, and a tendency for men to be overrepresented in the groups characterised by increased risk across multiple dimensions of disadvantage. Study III investigated mediators and moderators of out-of-home care experience in relation to different psychiatric diagnoses. It identified two gendered pathways of accumulation of disadvantage, with delinquent behaviour being a stronger mediator in boys, and early parenthood a stronger mediator in girls. It also confirmed that academic performance is relevant to resilience processes. Study IV used sequence analysis to describe labour market exit routes in the overall sample and the out-of-home care sample. Individuals with experience of out-of-home care had an increased likelihood of exiting the labour market early, which is associated with greater financial vulnerability. Again, education lowered the risk of some forms of early exit, in both samples. Taken together, this thesis confirmed the potential impact of childhood adversity across the life course, and highlighted the complexity of ensuing disadvantage. Furthermore, it showed that education is an important consideration when working towards providing equal opportunities to high-risk populations
Ion selectivity and allosteric regulation in Na+(K+)/H+ exchangers
No full textNa+/H+ exchangers play a vital role in maintaining intracellular pH balance, sodium (Na+) reabsorption, and cellular volume homeostasis. In this thesis, I explore four distinct exchangers to unravel common mechanistic themes and unique regulatory adaptations found in bacterial and eukaryotic systems. In the first paper, we investigate the bacterial exchanger. KefC, demonstrating its remarkable K+ selectivity attributed to conserved binding residues. We further reveal that its activity is modulated by C-terminal RCK domains, which detach upon binding of glutathione adduct under electrophilic stress, thereby facilitating cytosolic acidification. Papers II and III uncover that specific lipid interactions are crucial for the stability and function of the eukaryotic endosomal exchangers NHE9 and NHE6. These interactions stabilize the proteins in their homodimeric form, which is essential for effective endosomal pH regulation. Any mislocalization of NHE9 and NHE6 can disrupt dimerization, resulting in a loss of activity and impaired cellular homeostasis. Additionally, our structural studies of NHA2 in complex with a Fab fragment and the inhibitor phloretin provide insights into the molecular mechanisms behind its therapeutic potential. These findings clarify NHA2’s crucial role in insulin secretion, electrolyte balance, and blood pressure regulation, thus paving the way for targeted drug development. Overall, the goals of my thesis emphasize the central role of lipid interactions and structural adaptations in regulating ion exchanger function
Topology and non-Hermiticity
No full textTopology is a branch of mathematics that studies properties that remain unchanged under continuous deformations. In physics, topology is used to describe phenomena that are robust against small perturbations. A well-known example is topological insulators—materials that act as insulators in their interior while conducting along their surface. These conducting states are protected by topological properties and persist even when the material is slightly modified. Over the past few decades, significant effort has been devoted to understanding and classifying different types of topological phases, which describe the various ways in which such robust properties can emerge in nature. In recent years, interest has grown in dissipative systems, where energy losses play a central role. These systems are described using non-Hermitian Hamiltonians, which extend the conventional quantum mechanical framework. This dissertation explores how non-Hermitian physics affects the topology and classification of topological phases. In particular, we investigate a type of topological charge known as exceptional points, which arise exclusively in non-Hermitian systems. These points are characterized by a topological charge that describes how energy bands intertwine around them. We focus specifically on how certain symmetries can stabilize exceptional points and shape their properties. Finally, we examine multifold exceptional points—a more intricate class of these singularities—and their topological characteristics
A World within a World : Portal-Quest Fantasy in Children’s Literature
No full textWorld-building in the fantasy genre has an impact on how the imaginative world is perceived by the reader. Within the children’s fantasy genre, the subcategory of portal fantasy has expanded over decades resulting in portal-quest fantasy amongst others. However, the combination of how portal-quest fantasy and world-building interact in the genre of children’s fantasy is still unknown. Previous research on the subject of children’s fantasy has tended to center on different thematic approaches, for example racism and religion. Thus, this essay will address this gap in academic research by comparing the world-building techniques in C. S. Lewis’ novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) and J. K. Rowling’s novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997) and shows that both novels belong to the sub-category of portal-quest fantasy. By analyzing two different important scenes from both novels and how the authors use space and imagery in relation to world-building, a comparison between the two novels and the findings regarding similarities and differences are made. Both novels qualify as portal-quest fantasy. However, there were more differences found in relation to similarities. The aim of this essay is to open a discussion in the academic field regarding the importance of research related to world-building within children’s fantasy
Att förändra och förbättra : Kontextuell passform för långsiktighet i pedagogiska förändringsarbeten
No full textÄven en god skolverksamhet önskar ibland nya intryck, metoder och tekniker från andra verksamheter eller från forskningsrön. Forskare och lärare kan mötas i sin strävan efter en skola för alla, genom införande av nya pedagogiska innovationer. Pedagogiska innovationer är det nya stoff som kan införas för att förändra och förbättra den nuvarande verksamheten. Lärare är nyckelpersoner för förändring i klassrummen. Deras tankar, åsikter och upplevelser vid införande och genomförande av en förändring i skolan behöver därför vara en ledstjärna i förändringsprocessen. För att innovationerna ska passa in i den befintliga verksamheten behöver den upplevas ha en god kontextuell passform. Den kontextuella passformen kommer i detta kapitel belysas ur ett lärarperspektiv med fokus på praktisk, filosofisk och kunskapsmässig passform. Insikter inom detta område kan hjälpa och guida lärare och skolledare när de ska planera, genomföra och stödja en hållbar utveckling av sin verksamhet
Eques Polonus : Władysław Konstanty Wituski and His Book Collection at Skokloster Castle and in the Swedish National Archives
No full textThis dissertation reconstructs the private library of the Polish nobleman Władysław Konstanty Wituski (1603–1655) from its surviving remains by cataloging the printed books from his collection preserved at Skokloster Castle and his handwritten school notebooks housed in the Swedish National Archives in Stockholm. Wituski’s book collection was taken from Poland as war booty during the Swedish-Polish war of 1655–1660. Its preservation is particularly remarkable in the light of the fate of other early modern libraries of the nobility in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which were largely dispersed or destroyed as a result of a succession of wars over the centuries. Through bibliographical analysis, the study explores Wituski’s book ownership and reading habits, emphasizing his engagement with specific works through handwritten marginalia and flyleaf notes. The bindings in Wituski’s collection offer valuable insights into the material culture of early modern libraries of the nobility in the Commonwealth. By comparing his library to other book collections of the Polish-Lithuanian nobility and to a contemporary treatise on the ideal noble library by Jakub Kazimierz Haur, the study evaluates the degree to which Wituski’s collection conformed to the book-owning practices of his social milieu, and identifies notable divergences. Drawing on Wituski’s notebooks and correspondence, the study also examines his education at the Jesuit College in Pułtusk and at the Kraków Academy, his educational journey through Denmark, the Dutch Republic, and England, and his service in the Dutch West India Company in Brazil. Additionally, the study investigates Wituski’s parliamentary career, his duties associated with the so-called land offices which he held, and his ties to the Vasa court. This dissertation demonstrates how Wituski’s library is intertwined with both his personal biography and the broader socio-political, intellectual, and religious currents of his time. A close examination of his collection has uncovered previously unknown aspects of Wituski’s life while also reaffirming established facts. The books he owned reflect the breadth of his experiences – ranging from his formal education, travels, and courtly connections to his political involvement and land management. This case study of his library also provides insight not only into the book-owning practices, but also the world of ideas, cultural needs, and aspirations of the Polish-Lithuanian nobility in the seventeenth century, which in turn further enhances our understanding of their private libraries.