Abstract

Staff in School-Age Educare and Children’s Participation: Factors for Enabling Everyone to Take Part

This study examines how staff in School-Age Educare describe their work with children’s participation in everyday activities and which factors they describe as significant for all children’s opportunities to participate. Participation is understood as children’s opportunities to express their views, influence activities, and experience belonging. The study is based on a practice-theoretical perspective and thematic analysis of qualitative semi-structured interviews, through the concepts of community of practice, shared repertoire, and legitimate peripheral participation. The findings show that the interviewed leisure-time teachers describe participation as more than physical presence. It involves being listened to, influencing activities, and experiencing a place in the group. Participation is described as being enabled through structured approaches and everyday situations where staff attend to children’s initiatives, needs, and interests. Adult presence, relationship-building, and smaller groups emerge in the informants’ descriptions as enabling factors, while group dynamics, lack of time, and organisational conditions are described as obstacles. The study therefore shows that the interviewed leisure-time teachers understand children’s participation as something shaped in the interaction between children, staff, and the organisational framework of School-Age Educare. Participation is closely linked to inclusion and requires both a conscious pedagogical approach and supportive organisational conditions.

This ethnographic qualitative, interview-based study investigates how residents of Håga,Uppsala, construct a sense of place and why the area is perceived as an attractive place to live.Drawing on Doreen Massey’s theory of place and Hartmut Rosa’s theories of socialacceleration and resonance, the analysis highlights practices related to nature and cultivationas especially meaningful. Parts of Håga can be classified as an ecovillage, and the study alsoexamines how the ecovillage vision and a sustainability initiative for the wider area haveevolved since the 1990s and the extent to which they were realized. The findings indicate thatthe sense of place in Håga is shaped by proximity to nature and by Håga’s position at a rurbaninterface, which can be said to be associated with sustainability. Social relations are groundedprimarily in neighborly acquaintances and coexist with a degree of friction, includingdynamics often described as “not in my backyard” (NIMBY). The attraction to nature andcultivation is interpreted as an expression of a need for resonance and a form of socialcritique. Although environmental awareness among residents is high, many of the area’ssustainability ambitions were not fulfilled, and renters now express concern about possiblerenovictions (evictions following renovations).

This Book of Abstracts accompanies the conference Rhetorical Citizenship and DemocraticEducation in the Baltic Sea Region, held at Södertörn University, Stockholm, in May 2026.The conference brought together researchers, teachers, and other participants interestedin rhetorical citizenship as an educational and civic practice.The conference took as its point of departure the civic potential of rhetoricaleducation: how rhetorical and deliberative competencies are cultivated in classrooms, howthey relate to schools' democratic mission, and how they may contribute to democraticresilience in the Baltic Sea region. Particular attention was given to language education,curriculum, and classroom practice, as well as to public reason and the epistemicconditions of democratic judgement in an age marked by polarization, disinformation, andAI-mediated communication.This volume includes the abstracts of the contributions presented at the conference.Together, they reflect the conference's aim to create an interdisciplinary forum forresearch- and practice-based exchange on rhetorical education, argument literacy,deliberative agency, and civic participation.

Hur vanligt är det att svenskarna protesterar? Vilka metoder använder de och vilka protestfrågor är viktiga för dem? Vilka typer av demonstrationer har de deltagit i – och vilka skulle de kunna tänka sig att delta i? Hur starkt är stödet bland svenskarna för rätten att demonstrera?

I den här forskningsrapporten undersöks hur människor i Sverige protesterat mellan 2022 och 2025 och hur de ser på olika protestmetoder. Rapporten bygger dels på en kartläggning av protester som uppmärksammats i svenska rikstäckande dagstidningar, dels på enkätfrågor som ställts till ett representativt urval av befolkningen. I anslutning till internationell forskning diskuteras både övergripande historiska tendenser och utvecklingen under senare år.

Politiska protester är i dag en etablerad del av den svenska demokratin. Nästan var tredje person har någon gång demonstrerat. Ännu fler är de som aldrig demonstrerat men skulle kunna tänka sig att göra det. Ytterst få motsätter sig den grundlagsstadgade demonstrationsfriheten. Fredliga och konventionella protestformer är kraftigt dominerande, medan våldsamma protester är sällsynta. Samtidigt finns det skillnader i vilka frågor som mobiliserar flest deltagare och vilka sociala och politiska grupper som oftast tar plats på gator och torg.

Rapporten har tagits fram av forskningsplattformen Omstridd demokrati vid Södertörns högskola.

Effectuation is comprehended as a strategy that is used in an uncertain context being explored in co-created opportunities orthe co-creation of markets. In discussions of effectuation asa theoretical model, branding is only briefly touched upon. This article aims to deepen the discussion of effectual branding byshowing how the personas of an entrepreneur can be importantfor sense-making and creating trust in an uncertain setting. Focusing on how the meanings of brands emerge from a network of stakeholders, this article suggests conceptual propositions regarding how the personas of entrepreneurs become important resources in the intertwined processes of co-authoring brandmeanings and co-creating new ventures. A case from the fashionindustry clarifies how these concepts provide insight into entrepreneurial venture processes.

The following study aims to answer two research questions, as it pertains to Kosovo Albanian religiousness. The first question deals with what kinds of life memories Swedish Kosovo Albanians associate with religion. The second question covers what importance religion has currently, for Swedish Kosovo Albanians. The study’s material has been gathered, with the help of three group interviews. Each group interview consists of two respondents from the same family, which have at least a generation gap of one generation between them. The theoretical framework which has been applied in the analyses of this study consists of two theories. The first part of the theoretical framework is Clifford Geertz’s description of systems of symbols, in relation to his theory of “Religion as a Cultural System”. This theory has been used to analyze how various parts of Kosovo Albanian life memories of religion, can be understood as symbols of meaning and therefore constitute an integration of various aspects of religion in the Kosovo Albanian culture. The second part is grounded in Cecilie Endresen’s description of “Albanianism”, which subsequently is expanded upon as a result of my own observations in this study. This theory is primarily used, to better understand and explain why religion might not be as important in constructing the collective Albanian identity. The prevailing factor can instead be understood as the ethnical background, which serves the function of uniting Albanians from numerous religious backgrounds. The conclusions which the study has reached are as follows. That life memories of religion among Swedish Kosovo Albanians correspond to two areas, bajram and activities which correspond with bajram, as well as memories of relative’s religiousness. The study also finds that these life memories in several instances, show signs of an Albanian culture where otherwise religious elements, have been integrated into Albanian culture. The study also concludes that religion today, serves at the most as a foundation for Swedish Kosovo Albanians. This is then also concluded to in part be understood in the confines of “Albanianism”, that Swedish Kosovo Albanians value ethnicity over religion and therefore view religion as less important in relation to their daily life. 

Denna översikt riktar sig till lärare som undervisar i samhällsvetenskapliga och humanistiska ämnen i gymnasieskolan, men kan även vara relevant för andra som arbetar med elevers läs- och skrivutveckling. Översiktens syfte är att bidra med kunskap om hur en analytisk textkompetens kan utvecklas genom undervisning där problemdrivet skrivande är ett centralt inslag. Målet är att tydliggöra didaktiska möjligheter och utmaningar med olika undervisningsaktiviteter.Analytisk textkompetens syftar på de kunskaper, förmågor och färdigheter som elever behöver utveckla i gymnasieskolan för att kunna hantera avancerade skrivkrav i olika typer av sammanhang. Problemdrivet skrivande avser skrivande där elever behöver förstå, förklara eller ta ställning i komplexa frågor genom att formulera och pröva påståenden, använda argument och hantera olika perspektiv och källor. Översikten utgår från följande frågeställning: Hur kan undervisning med problemdrivet skrivande i samhällsvetenskapliga och humanistiska ämnen utformas så att den främjar utvecklingen av elevers analytiska textkompetens?I denna översikt är problemdrivet skrivande ett inslag som alla studierna har gemensamt. På så sätt kan studierna bidra med olika aspekter av hur undervisningen kan utveckla elevers analytiska textkompetens.

Introduction: New Public Management (NPM) has been a hot topic since it was launched in the early 1990s, and there are divided opinions about its status today. Some believe that NPM has died out, while others believe that it still exists. Some research suggests that reform initiatives have complemented NPM, called post-NPM, where concepts such as collaboration, openness and reliability are central. Trust-based governance and management can be considered post-NPM in the Swedish context.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate how/which institutional logics interact in a post-NPM context, i.e. trust-based governance and management, and what a possible value shift from NPM to post-NPM might look like in a Swedish context. This is achieved through the theory of institutional logics and reforms, which in its idealized form constitutes a theoretical context that can explain important aspects of governance in public administration. Based on institutional logics, important parts of each logic are contrasted to determine whether there has been a value shift from one logic to another and, if so, how?

Method: The study employs qualitative text analysis, specifically an ideal type analysis with a conventional approach, by examining the State's public investigations (SOU) and directives related to the Trust Delegation's work on Trust-based governance and management.

Conclusion: Trust-based governance is an attempt by the government, after consultation with research, to try to counter the criticism of previous governance. Trust-based governance is governance that has strong elements of professional trust, while at the same time, it can be a hybrid form because trust-based governance contains aspects of both NPM and post-NPM. Despite the delegation's task of creating new governance idea, trust-based management and governance is more a philosophy than pure practice.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka och synliggöra elevers perspektiv på konflikthantering i fritidshemmets verksamhet, med särskilt fokus på deras uppfattning om olika strategier samt vilka möjligheter och utmaningar som kan uppstå i konfliktsituationer. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och bygger på intervjuer med tio elever från årskurs 3–6. Datainsamlingen genomfördes med hjälp av vinjettmetod, där eleverna fick ta ställning till fiktiva cases som var baserade på olika konfliktsituationer. Det insamlade materialet analyserades tematiskt och tolkades med stöd av barndomssociologi samt Cohens konfliktpyramid (1995).

Resultatet visar att elevernas upplevelser av konflikthantering i hög grad påverkas av pedagogers sätt att bemöta dem. Särskilt framträder betydelsen av tonläge, kommunikation och pedagogers förmåga att visa förståelse i konfliktsituationer. Ett respektfullt och lugnt bemötande bidrar enligt eleverna till att konflikter lättare kan hanteras konstruktivt, medan ett passivt och oreflekterat bemötande tenderar att förvärra situationen. Dessutom framgår det att de bakomliggande orsakerna till konflikter ofta försummas, vilket kan resultera i missförstånd och att elever känner sig orättvist behandlade. Möjlighet till att få uttrycka orsaker och att bli hörd lyfts fram som en viktig aspekt för att kunna lösa konflikter på ett mer hållbart sätt.

Ett återkommande tema i elevernas utsagor är vikten av att få uttrycka sin egen berättelse i konfliktsituationer. Att bli tagen på allvar och ges utrymme för att uttrycka tankar och åsikter i konfliktsituationer upplevs som betydelsefullt för känslan av delaktighet och välbefinnande. Resultatet visar vidare att konflikter kan vara värdefulla lärandetillfällen för kommunikation och förmågan att förstå andras perspektiv. Sammanfattningsvis visar studien att ett lyhört och medvetet pedagogiskt förhållningssätt där elevernas perspektiv tas tillvara, kan bidra till att skapa bättre förutsättningar för konstruktiv konflikthantering i fritidshemmet och främja elevers sociala utveckling.

The Mandeans are an ethno-religious minority from the Mesopotamia area in the middle east. The Mandeans are an monotheistic religion with John the baptist as their last and most important prophet. They have their own holy scripture called Ginza rabba, which they choose to hold in high regard. The Mandeans also hold the belief in the importance of baptism in running fresh water sources in high regard. Something that has become increasingly harder in the countries they have immigrated to. 

The Mandeans are today facing extinction, thanks to a mixture of ethnic genocides, migration and mixing with other societies. A majority of Mandeans have migrated to North America and Western Europe with a concentration in countries such as Australia, Sweden, and USA. 

For this study, I interviewed 11 young Mandeans who are either born in Sweden, or have spent the majority of their lives here. Their ages differ between the ages of 16 and 23 and the interviewees were a mix of 4 women and 7 men. With the purpose of the study being to get an insight on how these young Swedish Mandeans relate to their religion and how much they know about their own religion and culture. 

The interviews were designed to answer the questions "How much do the young Mandean people think they know about their religion?" and "How do the young Mandean people relate to or practice their religion?"

What the study found was a pattern of religious passivism, where the interviewees showed little to no interest in learning or practicing their own religion and culture. They also showed a lack of knowledge regarding their practices and religion. But I also found a large consensus regarding how Mandaeism is viewed by the young Mandeans. Almost all interviewees, except for one interviewee talked about their religion having grown to become more of an ethno-culture in Sweden while leaving behind the spiritual and religious parts of the religion.

This thesis explores how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Swedish sustainable fashion sector address challenges in sourcing sustainable materials. The aim is to understand the strategies, constraints, and adaptations that enable these businesses to operate under limited resources while maintaining sustainability commitments. A qualitative research design was applied, using semi-structured interviews with four Swedish fashion SMEs that incorporate sustainable sourcing into their business models, including upcycling and ethical sourcing. The findings reveal that sourcing practices often rely on second-hand materials, donations, and smallscale suppliers, with a preference for natural fibers such as linen, cotton, silk, and hemp. Verification of sustainability claims is commonly based on trust, visual inspection, and informal testing, as access to formal certification is limited. Key challenges include inconsistent material availability, high costs of certified fabrics, and supply chain risks when working with international artisan producers. Despite these obstacles, SMEs adapt by using upcycling, small-batch production, and transparent communication with customers to build trust and brand identity. The study contributes to the understanding of sustainable sourcing in resource-constrained contexts and highlights opportunities for policy and industry support to strengthen SMEs’ ability to source sustainably. 

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how Swedish members of parliament portray Muslims and Islam in parliament motions within the timeframe from 2020–2025. The analysis is done by implementing discourse analysis as well as using a multilateral tool for understanding islamophobia. This study shows that Swedish parliamentary members portray Muslims as a societal threat since they are claimed to occupy Sweden and rob both children and the Swedish citizen of their various liberties and rights. Furthermore; different definitions of the word Muslim is constructed where Muslims are defined as Swedish Muslims, foreign Muslims and foreign external Muslim powers. Swedish Muslims are claimed to be a hidden societal threat since they have infiltrated the Swedish society and collaborate with foreign Muslims to impose various structures which challenges and threatens the Swedish identity, the Swedish Christian cultural heritage and the Swedish democratic lifestyle.

När det 2016 blev möjligt att kombinera läkemedelsassisterad behandling vid opioidberoende (LARO) med tvångsvård vid allvarligt missbruk var det led i en betydande narkotikapolitisk och vårdideologisk omsvängning. En behandlingsform som länge varit omstridd och oförenlig med tvångsvård öppnades nu upp även inom denna vårdform.

Men vad händer när nya idéer möter etablerad praktik? I denna rapport analyseras hur förändringen tagit sig uttryck i de processer där individer bedöms, kategoriseras och hänvisas till vård. Genom en studie av domar från förvaltningsrätter och kammarrätter undersöks om – och i så fall hur – möjligheten att kombinera LARO med tvångsvård påverkat argumentation, bedömningar och beslut.

Resultaten visar att förändringen fått ett begränsat avtryck. I domarna framträder i stället en tydlig kontinuitet i problembeskrivningar och beslutsmönster, där LARO oftare framställs som ett alternativ till tvångsvård än som en integrerad del av den.

Rapporten belyser därmed varför policyförändringar inte alltid får genomslag i praktiken, och hur etablerade institutionella ramar, ansvarsfördelning och professionella tolkningsmönster formar besluten i välfärdens människobehandlande verksamheter.

Simulator sickness affects some players of non-VR video games, causing symptoms similar to motion sickness. This study investigates the primary visual triggers of simulator sickness in non-VR video games and explores the coping strategies players use to mitigate its effects by interviewing 15 participants who have exhibited symptoms of simulator sickness prior to recruitment for the study. Through qualitative research methods, including in-depth interviews and questionnaires, we identify several key factors contributing to simulator sickness. The study findings suggest that while some players adapt by modifying game settings or taking breaks, many remain unaware of potential mitigation techniques. The study also highlights the need for improved accessibility options in game design. By addressing these factors, game developers may create more inclusive gaming experiences for players susceptible to simulator sickness.

This thesis investigates judicial preview from a comparative law perspective by analyzing the Swedish Lagrådet (Council on legislation) and the French Conseil constitutionnel (The constitutional council). The study examines how rules on member appointment, composition, and competence might have an impact on the legitimacy of these institutions, where legitimacy is understood as public trust in the legal order. The discussion is framed in relation to the constitutional balance between enhancing rule-of-law legitimacy through legal expertise, and safeguarding popular sovereignty in a representative democracy. The findings show that Lagrådet enjoys strong rule-of-law legitimacy due to statutory requirements of judicial expertise and independence. Furthermore, Lagrådets democratic legitimacy is strengthened through its non-binding opinions, however, to some extent, at the expense of its institutional authority. Conversely, the Conseil constitutionnel wields binding powers to invalidate legislation, despite political appointments of members, and absence of formal competence requirements, thereby weakening both democratic- and rule-of-law legitimacy. This is where the imbalance between competence and authority reveals itself. However, the thesis concludes that these contrasting institutional models stem from different constitutional contexts and institutional purposes, which are factors that, within the framework of the legal order to which they belong, explain the legitimacy of both councils.

Household saving is central to both individual economic security and macroeconomic stability, yet the saving rate varies significantly across European countries with similar economic conditions. The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors driving households' saving rates in the EU-27, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Turkey during the period 2004–2022, based on the life-cycle hypothesis and the theory of precautionary saving.

The study employs a quantitative panel data method using data from Eurostat, and the World Bank. The saving rate serves as the dependent variable, while independent variables include disposable income per capita, consumption, wealth, real interest rate, age distribution, life expectancy and dummy variables for economic crises. The analysis is conducted using panel regression.

The results show that higher disposable income and consumption have the strongest associations with the saving rate (positive and negative effects, respectively). The real interest rate has a weakly positive effect, while life expectancy and the proportion of elderly exhibit unexpected signs. Economic crises lack significant impact. The models explain 86–90% of the variation in the saving rate.

The conclusions partially support the life-cycle hypothesis but challenge the theory of precautionary saving, as households do not appear to significantly increase saving during crises. Practical implications include the need for policies that strengthen income growth to promote saving and capital formation.

In a professional landscape defined by hybrid work, physical oversight no longer functions as the primary or constantly available source of insight. As team members alternate between the office and remote locations, access to physical signals becomes asymmetrical and limited to specific times and places. This study examines how project managers navigate the sociotechnical challenges of this shift, using digital tools to compensate for information gaps that arise when teams are spatially and temporally separated.

A central focus is the visibility paradox, which is a phenomenon where technical transparency can paradoxically lead to work being hidden to protect professional image or manage information overload. Through six in-depth interviews with leaders in IT, logistics, and the public sector, the strategies for maintaining a common ground are analyzed. The results indicate that while the physical workplace still provides a "rich" common ground for those present, it risks creating an "us vs. them" dynamic relative to those working remotely.

The study concludes that the project manager's role has evolved into that of an active gatekeeper balancing technical visibility with social safety. Success requires joint optimization, where leaders actively manage digital silence and information overload while fostering the trust necessary for employees to remain transparent regardless of their physical work location.

Along with the increased digitalization of economic processes, organizations face the challenge of not only implementing digital technology but also to realize the value of digital innovation in daily operations. This study aims to explore how digital innovation is implemented within digitized payment processes by examining the relations between institutional logics, digital resources and digital strategic initiatives.

The study is based on a qualitative methodology with semi-structured interviews conducted with six respondents from various organizations to gain an overview of different operations and perspectives. The theoretical concepts are based on institutional theory, digital resources, digital strategic initiatives and also a sociotechnical perspective. This allows for a multifaceted analysis of the organizational consequences of digitalization.

The results of the study show that digitized payment processes are mainly governed and shaped by institutional demands such as legitimacy, security and modernity. Digitalization is perceived as necessary to keep up with industry practices and stay current with developments. At the same time, it is evident that digital resources and digital strategic initiatives are very important for daily work, but their value is not realized until employees’ skills and workflows are coordinated together. It turns out that this adaptation occurs when employees compensate for technical limitations through individual experience and flexibility. Digital innovation in payment processes appears to be an institutionally framed process, where existing work structures are largely maintained rather than reshaped.

This thesis contributes to the research field by deepening the understanding of the implementation of digital innovation within digitized payment processes  by integrating institutional theory, digital resources and digital strategic initiatives, together with a sociotechnical perspective. It also contributes to understanding how demands for legitimacy, orchestration and human competencies interact in  everyday work, as well as how digital innovation develops as an institutionally anchored process.

Strategic communication and public relations (PR) are dynamic fields continuously adapting to societal and cultural changes, particularly in the context of digitalization. Frameworks explaining how to write a press release, a common tool used in PR, exist. However, they partly contradict certain aspects of meaningful strategic communication. Research in strategic communication identifies authenticity, continuity, the expression of opinions, and tailored content as key parts of building and maintaining relationships with stakeholders. Furthermore, studies of communication within the music industry highlight audience engagement through communication that meets fans in their natural arenas. In contrast, traditional press release frameworks suggest an objective, impersonal tone. The language should not be colorful, virtuosic or personal. In creative industries such as the music industry, however, authenticity may depend on more expressive, virtuosic or personal language.

This study analyzes nine press releases from three major Swedish record labels. The analysis is conducted using methods of text analysis based on Systemic Functional Grammar, in combination with theoretical perspectives from media linguistics.

The aim of this study is to analyse how linguistic strategies in press releases issued by record labels contribute to the discursive construction of relationships between artists, record labels, and audiences. The results indicate, inter alia, that the record labels apply interpersonal mood and modality metaphors to establish relationships with audiences while maintaining an overall objective tone. This is achieved primarily using the grammatical form of statements as well as the use of niche terminology and emotionally charged vocabulary. The findings contribute to a broader understanding of strategic communication as a field in constant adaptation.

Genom skrivandet att denna vetenskapliga essä vill jag, i egenskap av rytmiklärare, fortsätta utforskandet av rörelsens, lyssnandets och musikens samband. Det sker genom det jag kallar barfotaforskning, en metod där jag själv deltar i prövanden och olika slags reflekteranden, samt där jag försöker komma själva orden inpå bara huden. Begreppen fraser, uttryck och rytm leder mig genom läsandet av Emile Jaques-Dalcroze och andra författare, samtidigt som begreppen utforskas i praktiken.

Dessutom vill jag få bättre överblick över den tradition inom vilken jag verkar och därför söka spåren tillbaka till Jaques-Dalcrozes gåtfulla begrepp Plastique animée. Kanske kan jag förstå mer om hur begreppet förhåller sig till det som vi inom rytmiken i Sverige brukar kalla rörelse.

Essäskrivandet och det barfotade forskandet leder mig genom rörelserum och ordled, tills några viktiga teman skulpterats fram: Om aktivt handlande, kärlek och omsorg. Om mod och vilja, delande och lyssnande. Men också om en dubbeltydighet som leker katt-och-råtta med mig.

Utvärdering i praktiken – En handbok för praktiker och studenter är en engagerande och handfast guide för alla som vill genomföra såväl som förstå utvärderingar.

I ett samhälle där krav på evidens, kvalitet och ansvar genomsyrar offentlig verksamhet räcker det inte att bara mäta – vi måste också förstå, värdera och förbättra. Denna bok visar hur utvärdering inte enbart behöver vara ett kontrollinstrument, utan kan bli ett kraftfullt verktyg för lärande, utveckling och kritiskt tänkande.

Boken förenar teoretisk fördjupning med konkret vägledning. Den fungerar som en pedagogisk guide genom hela utvärderingsprocessen, med ett steg-för-stegupplägg som ger en tydlig struktur och stöd i det praktiska utvärderingsarbetet. Samtidigt ges en refekterande och kritisk belysning av evidensbasering, granskningssamhället och utvärderingens roll i modern styrning.

Det dubbla perspektivet gör boken till ett stöd för att genomföra genomtänkta, relevanta och användbara utvärderingar – och för att förstå utvärderingens betydelse i ett större samhälleligt sammanhang.

Utgångspunkten är enkel: Målet är inte fler utvärderingar – utan bättre utvärderingar.

I denna festskrift till Fredrik Svenaeus diskuterar filosofer, forskare och författare glädje, en känsla som ofta framstår som självklar – men som också kan vara lika svårgripbar och gåtfull som ångest, sjukdom och sorg. Med utgångspunkt i Svenaeus tänkande ger bokens texter, som spänner från essäer och skönlitterära skildringar till akademiska djupdykningar, en mångfacetterad och komplex bild av glädje.

Source use is a central yet often challenging aspect of academic writing in both upper secondary education and higher education. Research shows that pupils and students often struggle to use sources independently in ways that support critical thinking and learning, while also adhering to expected writing conventions. The aim of the dissertation is to explore how source use in academic writing can be made teachable. This is done by identifying possible meanings of this capability in upper secondary school and higher education, as well as the critical aspects that need to be discerned for more advanced source use. In addition, the study examines how principles from variation theory can be used to design instruction that enables the development of this capability.

The dissertation is grounded in a phenomenographic and variation-theoretical framework and comprises four empirical studies. Three phenomenographic studies explore how upper secondary pupils and university students experience source use in academic writing. A fourth study is conducted as a learning study, in which instruction in source use is designed and tested based on principles from variation theory. The empirical material consists of interviews, pupil and student texts, and data from instructional interventions.

The results show that source use can be experienced in four qualitatively different ways, ranging from instrumental and reproductive to more independent and dialogic writing in which sources are used to develop and interrogate ideas. Across the four studies, nine critical aspects of source use are identified: selection, comparison of sources, referencing, reformulation, authorial voice, transparency between voices, writing purpose, audience orientation, and views of writing norms.

The learning study demonstrates that teaching which makes critical aspects visible through systematic variation can support development of more sophisticated source use, even through relatively limited instructional interventions. Taken together, the dissertation offers a teaching-oriented and theoretically grounded approach to understanding and teaching source use in academic writing.

This study examines how downstream companies can evaluate and respond to upstream biodiversity-related risks in complex supply chains that prepare for the upcoming sustainability reporting requirements under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive CSRD and ESRS E4. The study uses a case study of a Northern European-based automotive servicing company and analyzes its four tire suppliers in its supply chain by applying TNFD’s LEAP framework. The study explores the broad issue of how companies indirectly linked to biodiversity risks influence the upstream traceability, deforestation mitigation, and supplier transparency. A thematic analysis was conducted by using secondary data from the corporate sustainability reports, CDP reports, and biodiversity risk tools. The findings reveal varying levels of supplier preparedness with key gaps in limited traceability, lack of smallholder farmer engagement, and ecological exposure in Southeast Asian countries. The study recommends structured biodiversity risk criteria in a company’s procurement strategies and aligning with supplier expectations with the TNFD and CSRD standards. The study also provides a biodiversity risk screening checklist to support the downstream company’s efforts in strengthening nature-related disclosure.

Abstract

Social media has become a central communication- and marketing channel for startups, as these platforms have made it possible for swift visibility and direct consumer contact at a relatively low cost. At the same time a goal conflict occurs between short-term efforts for exposure and the need of building long-term consumer relationships and a credible brand.

The study is carried out with a qualitative method and is based on eight semi-structured interviews with companies that have been active for around 0-5 years in different industries. The empirical part of the study is analysed using a thorough theory-driven thematic analysis method with support in social media marketing and the AIDA-model (short-term visibility), social media brand engagement, brand strategy and brand equity (long-term and brand value) and signal theory (credibility)

The results show that the companies mainly work with short-term visibility through continuous publication and fast responses, often without formalized strategy. Long-term relations are mainly built based on recurring redialogues, availability and adaptation depending on customer feedback. Credibility appears as a central mechanism in the balance, especially through transparency, consistent communication and customer feedback that can reduce uncertainty and strengthen confidence. The study overall indicates that startups can combine short-term visibility with long-term relation development, though the work is often marked by operational rather than strategically planned processes.