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Today we are all photographers. Self-portraits are everywhere and snapshots of our lives are circulated and shared frenetically on various social media networks. Distinctions are blurred, not only between the private and public spheres but also between professional and amateur photographic practices. This calls for increased knowledge about the performative characteristics of digitised and networked visual communication. What are the limits of automation and what is the potential of virtuality? 'Auto' investigates how the everyday digital photography of our times challenges notions of autobiography, interactivity, and democracy.0

This article focuses on political talk in the media. Taking the point of departure in discourse & conversation analysis the aim is to study relations & methods on a micro level in two forms of staged talk; the interaction in live interviews & the practices of quoting in edited news reports. The study of live interviews is based on programs broadcasted during the Swedish election campaigns 2002 & 2006. The study shows how relations of power are negotiated in interaction. Methods used by the politicians to deal with delicate situations created by the questions asked are analyzed. The analysis of edited news reports shows how techniques of quoting have been part of a process moving the stage of the political debate more & more into the media. Quoting is a flexible resource frequently used by journalists in the dramatization of news stories & the re-contextualization of others voices. Adapted from the source document.

Plant breeding has always relied on progress in various scientifc disciplines to generate and enable access to genetic variation. Until the 1970s, available techniques generated mostly random genetic alterations that were subject to a selection procedure in the plant material. Recombinant nucleic acid technology, however, started a new era of targeted genetic alterations, or precision breeding, enabling a much more targeted approach to trait management. More recently, developments in genome editing are now providing yet more control by enabling alterations at exact locations in the genome. The potential of recombinant nucleic acid technology fueled discussions about potentially new associated risks and, starting in the late 1980s, biosafety legislation for genetically modifed organisms (GMOs) has developed in the European Union. However, the last decade has witnessed a lot of discussions as to whether or not genome editing and other precision breeding techniques should be encompassed by the EU GMO legislation. A recent ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union indicated that directed mutagenesis techniques should be subject to the provisions of the GMO Directive, essentially putting many precision breeding techniques in the same regulatory basket. This review outlines the evolving EU regulatory framework for GMOs and discusses some potential routes that the EU may take for the regulation of precision breeding.

This article presents a way of dealing scientifically with the problem of comparison among dynamically evolving units of analysis in social science, namely by using methods from theoretical, computational & mathematical biology & phylogeny (evolutionary tree) analysis. First, the standard political science & static method of comparative analysis is criticized. Second, some important aspects of the dynamic comparison are presented from its multidisciplinary & historic context, commenting on the compatibility with evolutionary institutional as well as universal Darwinian theoretical perspectives. Third, dynamic comparison is approached using first techniques from standard social science statistical software (SPSS) & then from molecular genetics (MEGA, Molecular Evolutionary Analysis). Examples of evolutionary tree analyses of the European nations are presented & discussed. Similarities & dissimilarities between social science & biological applications of the dynamic comparison techniques are discussed, emphasizing the importance of openness to new techniques & application of panel data for elaboration of new methods of dynamic comparative analyses in social sciences. 2 Tables, 9 Figures, 68 References. Adapted from the source document.

Most studies of emerging Swedish parties and politics have mainly focused on the Swedish Social Democrats and their struggle for democracy and political power, most as a prelude to the so called "Swedish Model". Competing parties have received attention from historians on the national level, but their local origin remains to large extent an open field. The aim of this study is to investigate how local political factors shaped the emerging liberal party organizations in two small Swedish towns. By a case-oriented comparison two towns are contrasted, Skövde in Skaraborg county and Filipstad in Värmland. This thesis suggests that the distinction between national politics and municipal government, based on the interests of economic elites, was transformed during the period 1880-1920. During this period local elections and local government became increasingly sites for political struggle between different parties, with new agendas. With a framework that considered parties in light of their functions rather than organizational types and theoretical concepts borrowed from the sociology of social movements, the thesis main results suggest that political mobilization and liberal party-formation was depending on the local political traditions. The theoretical framework made it possible to pinpoint both similarities and differences between the cases. The results of the study indicate that the historical tradition is central to parties to emerge and flourish. This suggests that it is more meaningful to focus attention on local and regional processes to understand the historical development than has previously been done. ; De svenska partiernas historia är relativt väl känd på nationell nivå, men deras lokala ursprung är mindre utforskat och inte minst gäller det borgerliga partier. I den här avhandlingen undersöks hur lokalpolitiska faktorer formade de framväxande frisinnade, eller liberala, lokalorganisationerna i Filipstad och Skövde. Avhandlingen visar att politisk mobilisering och politisk organisering i städerna i hög grad formades av lokala och regionala politiska traditioner. Den visar också att kommunerna var politiserade långt före att de nationella partierna tog hand om valen och kommunala frågor. Studien visar att det fanns en kontinuitet mellan äldre lokala partier och de lokalavdelningar av nationella partier som etablerades efter sekelskiftet 1900. Det var en kontinuitet som återspeglades såväl ideologiskt som organisatoriskt. Avhandlingens resultat pekar på att det är mer meningsfullt att fokusera uppmärksamheten mot lokala och regionala politiseringsprocesser för att förstå den generella politiska utvecklingen i Sveriges historia än vad som tidigare har gjorts. Anders Forsell är doktorand i historia inom Forskarskolan i regionalt samhällsbyggande. Det här är hans doktorsavhandling.

Focusing on national election campaigns in Sweden, this study examines how candidates' political networks may influence who becomes member of Parliament in a flexible list system. Flexible list systems enable candidates placed on a non-eligible seat during the nomination process within the party organization, to still get elected via the voters' optional preferential votes. The data used is derived from a unique survey including a total sample of candidates elected to the Swedish Parliament 1998–2014 via preferential votes after being placed on a non-eligible seat during the nomination process. The data also includes acquaintances to these candidates defined as their political networks. The method used to track down the network members, was to ask the candidates for acquaintances who helped them during the nomination process and the election campaign. The motivation, resources and recruiting networks amongst these respondents are compared to those of candidates, and their political networks, who, despite being placed on an eligible seat during the nomination process ended up losing a seat in Parliament as a consequence of the flexible list system. The analysis shows how dissatisfaction with the nomination process creates a motivation to use the preferential voting system in order to overrule the decisions made by the party. The result also indicates that the elected candidates and their political networks are more active within voluntary associations than their opponents. Furthermore, important differences in temporal resources are shown. Elected candidates can participate in the election campaign full-time and are able to take leave of absence from their ordinary jobs, while the opposite applies for the political networks. The political networks supporting elected candidates do not work full-time within the party to the same extent as networks supporting non-elected candidates. A suggestion for future research is to examine the importance of voluntary associations in relation to the use of preferential votes in flexible list systems.

Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, the education system moved to virtual mode, causing teachers to change methodologies, strategies, and teaching resources in order to be used for teaching-learning processes. The impediment of entering to Chemistry laboratories motivated the use of simulators and virtual laboratories as resources linked to learning. Present study determines the efficacy of these resources, the research is quantitative with a correlational level and a quasiexperimental design with post-test. The applied method was the heuristic and assumes Ausubel's theory of significant learning. The study population comprises 188 students enrolled during the period November 2020- April 2021 in the career of Pedagogy of Experimental Sciences, Chemistry and Biology. The sampling technique was intentional non-probabilistic and corresponds to the second, third and fifth semester students of the subjects of General Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Physics respectively. At the end of the investigation, it was determined that the PhET simulator and the virtual laboratories: Crocodile Chemistry605 and Yenka allowed feedback and motivation in each guided virtual experimental activity; not existing a significant difference in the academic performance of the students, who in their majority reached the learning results.

A special regulatory regime applies to products of recombinant nucleic acid modifications. A ruling from the European Court of Justice has interpreted this regulatory regime in a way that it also applies to emerging mutagenesis techniques. Elsewhere regulatory progress is also ongoing. In 2015, Argentina launched a regulatory framework, followed by Chile in 2017 and recently Brazil and Colombia. In March 2018, the USDA announced that it will not regulate genome-edited plants differently if they could have also been developed through traditional breeding. Canada has an altogether different approach with their Plants with Novel Traits regulations. Australia is currently reviewing its Gene Technology Act. This article illustrates the deviation of the European Union's (EU's) approach from the one of most of the other countries studied here. Whereas the EU does not implement a case-by-case approach, this approach is taken by several other jurisdictions. Also, the EU court ruling adheres to a process-based approach while most other countries have a stronger emphasis on the regulation of the resulting product. It is concluded that, unless a functioning identity preservation system for products of directed mutagenesis can be established, the deviation results in a risk of asynchronous approvals and disruptions in international trade.

In this case study, decision-making processes in the sport club 'IF Stoor' are analysed with a focus on so called voluntary "key actors" and their involvement in formal and informal decision-making processes. The aim of the study is to provide knowledge about how eleven key actors in a large sport club like IF Stoor – with approximately 3,000 members, many organisational levels but relatively few members involved in the formal decision-making bodies – acted and handled democratic claims and at the same time tried to secure the voluntary based sport production. The analysis shows that the key actors were involved continually in the club's two parallel decision-making processes. There were formal decision-making bodies with statutes-directed processes which strengthened the club's organization and economy. There were also informal, spatially indefinite and practice-driven decision-making processes that existed parallel with the formal ones. The informal decision-making processes, which had participatory qualities, involved a large part of the club's about 150 leaders. This applied in particular to the coordinators of the club's 10 sport sections – here labelled as key actors – who acted and functioned as organisational "nodes" in the decision-making processes. These coordinators, but also many other categories of members – especially leaders and athletes (and supportive relatives) – represented, in accordance with Ahrne & Papakosta's organisational theory, 'resources', who occasionally engaged in participatory democratic discussions, negotiations and decisions. A conclusion drawn from this case study is that when informal decision-making processes are included in the analyses, a relatively large number of the club 150 leaders were involved in collective decision-making

Behovet av forskning om beslutsprocesser rörande investeringar i vägar och banor har uppmärksammats av KFB och Vägverket i slutet av 1990-talet. Denna studie lämnar sitt bidrag genom att redovisa och analysera den beslutsprocess som ledde fram till att ett mitträcke och 2+1 körfält anlades på E4 norr om Gävle. Med hjälp av dokument, pressklipp och intervjuer belyses utvecklingen från Nollvisionens etablering till projektets följder i form av nya mitträcken. Faktorer som problemformulering, sökande efter alternativ och värdering av konsekvenser redovisas. Sättet att organisera processen, externa intressenters inflytande samt deltagarnas roller, aktivitet och attitydutveckling belyses. Processen prövar och realiserar en helt ny utformning av vägar. Kunskapsprocessen står i centrum. Den gäller både undersökning av genomförbarheten, problemet att övertyga skeptiker och vinna acceptans samt upplevelsen av att ha åstadkommit en väsentlig innovation vad avser trafiksäkerhet. Studien lyfter fram både det specifika med detta fall och det allmängiltiga hos planering av vägar och därmed infrastruktur. – Behovet av vidare kunskapsutveckling avseende teoretiskt och empiriskt underlag för kunskap om beslutsprocesser belyses. ; The need for conducting research on decision-making processes as regards investments in roads and lanes has been paid attention to by the Swedish Transport and Communications Research Board (KFB) and the National Swedish Road Administration in the late 1990,s. This study delivers its contribution by accounting for and analysing the decision-making process that resulted in wire railings of central reserves being set up and 2 + 1 lanes being built on the European Highway No. 4 to the north of Gävle. By means of documents, press cuttings and interviews, light is being thrown on the development, from the establishment of the Vision Zero to the consequences of the project in the form of a new type of wire railings. Factors such as formulation of problems, search for options and assessment of consequences are accounted for. Ways and means to organise the process, external interested parties' influence and the participants' roles, activities and attitude development are highlighted. This process submits to testing an entirely new design of roads and puts it into practice. The process of acquiring experiences is in the centre of attraction. It applies to both the feasibility study, including the problem of convincing sceptics and gaining their acceptance, and the experience of achieving a substantial innovation in the road safety area. The study emphasises both the specific aspect of this case and the generally applicable with road planning and accordingly infra structure. The need for further development of know-how as to a theoretic and empiric knowledge bank of decision-making processes is additionally highlighted.

This article investigates the book series Svenska statsministrar under 100 ar (2010) from a literary point of view. In this box of biographies, the lives of all the Swedish prime ministers from the last hundred years are told in 22 stories. A literary analysis of these linguistic structures makes clear what kind of literature these lives in politics have become in the hands of the 21 authors. The visual and linguistic elements surrounding the stories are analysed, as are the introductory and conclusive texts that frame the biographical accounts. The ways in which the prime ministers' personal backgrounds and careers are told are studied in comparison with literary models. The story patterns structuring the separate volumes and the whole series are studied, as well as the different narrators in the biographies. The aim of the investigation is to shed light upon the literary techniques used to represent separate prime ministers' personal lives, political efforts and the historical periods in which they lived and worked, as well as what conceptions of life, politics and history these techniques create. Adapted from the source document.

The aim of the present study is to describe and analyze the attitude of local government officials to traffic safety and to their roles in the decisions being made with regard to traffic safety measures. The purpose is also to give an overall picture of the decision-making processes in connection with specific traffic safety measures in two municipal authorities. The study has been divided into two parts. The first part was an interview study in which twenty local government officials in eleven municipal authorities were subject to in-depth interviews. The second part consists of case studies of the planning and decision-making processes with regard to traffic safety matters in two municipal authorities, where the source material in each case consists of written documentation.

En hållbar utveckling innebär att samhällets begränsade resurser används på ett effektivt sätt med hänsyn tagen till sociala, ekonomiska och miljömässiga konsekvenser. För att uppnå önskade samhällsmål på ett effektivt sätt behöver olika aspekter vägas in vid utformning av styrmedel. Inom EU föregås beslut om regleringar av en så kallad Regleringskonsekvensbeskrivning (Regulatory Impact Assessment) där samhällsekonomisk analys ingår. Forskning och olika utredningar har visat att Sverige saknar en etablerad praxis för att genomföra denna typ av konsekvensanalyser på miljö, men även energi- och transportområdet. I detta projekt är syftet att undersöka hur Sverige arbetar med de analyser av detta slag som genomförs inom EU inför förhandlingar men också att studera orsaker till att de används eller inte används. Fokus ligger på förutsättningar inom en myndighet, men även vilken betydelse som tjänstemän har för vilka underlag som tas fram inför beslut om utformning av regleringar/styrmedel. Den övergripande slutsats som kan dras av de tre delstudierna som ingått i projektet, samt diskussionen på avslutningsseminariet, är att detta inte är ett etablerat arbetssätt i det svenska förvaltningssystemet. Detta kan förklaras av brist på kompetens, en etablerad misstro, målstyrning samt avsaknad av ett institutionellt ramverk för när och hur denna typ av bredare konsekvensanalyser ska genomföras. Vid avslutningsseminariet framkom att Naturvårdsverket nu arbetar med en vägledning för att hjälpa tjänstemän att i ett tidigt skede analysera om det finns behov av regleringar från samhällets sida, att inleda arbetet med att ställa frågan "Vad är problemet?". Vi bedömer att detta är ett steg i rätt riktning men ser också att de nationalekonomer som arbetar ute på myndigheter ofta är ensamma eller väldigt få och därmed kan behöva olika former av stöd för att kunna utveckla arbetet med denna typ av, ofta komplexa, analyser på sin myndighet. ; Sustainable development implies that society's limited resources should be used efficiently, taking into account the various impacts on society – social, economic and environmental. To achieve established societal goals efficiently, various aspects have to be accounted for in the design of policy measures. Within the EU a Regulatory Impact Assessment, where a cost-benefit analysis is included, needs to accompany all major regulatory initiatives. According to research and different policy assessment, Sweden lacks an established praxis regarding this type of analysis in the area of environmental policy but also in the field of energy and transport. The purpose of this project is to investigate how Sweden uses this type of information in the negotiations that take place within the EU regarding policy proposals but also investigate the reasons for use or non-use. The focus is on what role the organization and the bureaucrats play for the collection of this type of information. The overall conclusion that can be drawn from the three sub-studies included in the project, as well as the discussion at the closing seminar, is that this is not an established way of working in the Swedish government system. This can be explained by lack of competence, an established mistrust, management by objectives and lack of an institutional framework for when and how this type of broader impact assessment is to be conducted. At the closing seminar, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency presented that it is now working on a guide to help officials to analyze at an early stage whether there is a need for regulation by society, to initiate the work by asking the question "What is the problem?". We think that this is a step in the right direction, but we also see that the economists working out in government are often alone or very few and may therefore need different forms of support to develop the work on this kind of, often complex, analysis.