The aim of this dissertation is to analyse how a group of female basketball players – aged 15 to 18 and located in one of Sweden’s largest cities – construct and negotiate gender and femininity through bodily and verbal practices. The study is grounded in poststructuralist theories – primarily using the theoretical work of the philosophers Judith Butler and Michel Foucault. The methods used are qualitative: participant observations, interviews and written dialogues via Facebook. The writing method used is ethnographic fiction. The first part of the analysis shows how the female basketball players frequently talk about appearance and also how they repeatedly talk about the fleshier matters of the body – such as muscles and fat. These recurrent verbal practices are parts of the processes through which the girls construct gender and femininity, and a way of exercising relational power. The girls themselves explain their frequent talk about body and appearance as something “typical” for girls and thus they use a discourse that circles them (as young women) in order to make themselves understandable. The second part of the analysis depicts how the female basketball players – in the locker room – before every game construct similar and socially recognizable female bodies. These recurrent bodily practices are further parts of the processes through which the girls construct gender and femininity. Additionally, in the second part, the analysis show how the female basketball players – through verbal and bodily practices – transform gender and convert femininity within sport and also how they, in game situations, embody two different discourses: “Girl Power” and “the insecure (sporting) girl” that encompass young (sporting) women. One conclusion in the thesis is that discourses that surround young (sporting) females appear to be central in their creation of gender identity. Furthermore, the (sporting) girls are active participants in the ongoing debate regarding what (sporting) girls are, can be and should be.

Humectants belong to a group of hydrophilic compounds frequently used in skin care products with the aim to diminish the clinical symptom of skin dryness. The biochemical and biophysical mechanisms by which humectants interact with the skin barrier are far from fully understood. Increased understanding of such mechanisms can enhance the possibilities to tailor skin care products for various skin abnormalities.The work presented in this thesis centres on one high (hyaluronan) and two low (urea and glycerol) molecular weight humectants and their interactions with water, as well as their effect on the barrier properties of the outermost layer of the skin, i.e. the stratum corneum (SC). We explore the effect of hydration on thermodynamic properties of humectants, in particular hyaluronan, by using isothermal sorption calorimetry, differential scanning calorimetry and small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering. By combining data from several methods, a binary phase diagram of the hyaluronan - water system was constructed.We also investigate the effect of hydration and presence of humectants on the SC permeability in vitro by using an experimental set-up that allows for control of the boundary conditions in terms of water activity. In contrast to low molecular weight humectants, like urea and glycerol, it was concluded that hyaluronan (17 kDa) does not penetrate the skin barrier due to size exclusion. Addition of urea, glycerol or hyaluronan to aqueous formulations inevitably lowers the water activity of the formulation, which in tum affects the SC permeability when being applied. Moreover, it was shown that skin permeability of a model drug metronidazole decreases upon addition of hyaluronan to the formulation, while high skin permeability was maintained with addition of urea or glycerol. In addition, skin membrane electrical resistance, which normally increases at dehydrating skin conditions, remained low in presence of urea and glycerol.Excised skin hydrated at different hydration levels were examined with confocal Raman microspectroscopy. Large water inclusions were observed in fully hydrated SC after 24h exposure to a buffer solution. Addition of urea was shown to promote the formation of these inclusions. Urea and glycerol were also shown to improve the hydration capacity of isolated comeocytes.Similar approach as used in vitro was employed in vivo to explore the effect of hydration and humectants on skin permeability. It was shown that the water activity of the applied formulations have a marked effect on the barrier properties and urea and glycerol was shown to improve skin hydration even at reduced water activity of the applied formulation.

We seem to be approaching the end of the era we know as Industrial Civilization. If this is the case, we will leave a stable period of progress and growth and enter into a long period of decline where many of our systems and support structures will collapse. From the perspective of how we are accustomed to living our lives and the narratives we live by, the future looks dark. How will this affect an optimistic, creative, and future-making discipline like design, a discipline which emerged out of the industrial revolution? What can design offer in the transition from industrial civilization to a new society where we can survive and thrive? What is the task of design if not to design for the market economy? What possible futures will designers then propose? Designers will need to learn to navigate future paths: those that will likely lead to sustainability and those that will likely lead to collapse. In this thesis, I explore the two paths, or scenario storylines, of Great Transition and Conventional Development. I consider the space between these stories—the space between sustainability and collapse—as a design space with many possible futures to explore. I propose that designers not only address societal challenges with the belief that we can solve them and live in a world that is both sustainable and resilient, but also consider what it means to fail and address the prospect of societal collapse. What kind of world will we end up in then? And what can we do to avoid a collapse or else prepare ourselves for a life in a world of societal breakdown? In the search for the answers to these questions, I explore design things and how values and frames as well as stories and design fictions can be used by constellations of concerned citizens when exploring possible futures.

Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (hereafter HSCT) is an established treatment which offers a potential cure for a variety of diseases, mainly haematological malignancies. However, the treatment is also associated with significant risks of acute complications and late side effects, including mortality. The donor is either a relative, most often a sibling, or an unrelated registry donor. Methods for donating stem cells are bone marrow harvesting or peripheral blood stem cell collection. The most common and transient side effects from stem cell donation are fatigue, headache, bone and muscle pain. Major side effects are rare but there is a small risk of fatalities and serious adverse events. To facilitate the provision of adequate information and care of patients undergoing HSCT and their sibling donors there is a need to explore and study their situations and experiences. This thesis aims to investigate patients’ and sibling donors’ perspectives of HSCT.The first study investigated changes in the patients’ quality of life (QoL) from before HSCT to 100 days and 12 months after the transplantation, and identified factors associated with the changes. The study was completed by 40 patients who answered the questionnaires (FACT-BMT and FACIT-Sp) on all three occasions. The majority of the dimensions covered in QoL deteriorated from before and up to 100 days and 12 months after HSCT, except for the emotional well-being which improved. The factors associated with reduced QoL over time were significant infections, female gender and transplantation with stem cells from a sibling donor. Factors associated with improved emotional well-being over time were absence of significant infections and marital status ‘other than married/cohabiting’.In the second study an information and care model (IC model) for potential sibling stem cell donors was evaluated. A questionnaire survey was answered by 148 siblings who had been informed about and asked to undergo HLA typing by the IC model. The majority of the potential sibling donors were satisfied with the information and care they had received. However, areas for improvement were highlighted, such as a wish to have the results from the HLA typing conveyed through personal contact and that the complicating influence of health professionals and relatives on their decision to undergo HLA typing and possible donation could be prevented.In the third study ten HSCT patients were interviewed immediately before transplantation regarding their experiences of having a sibling as donor. The results, with the main theme Being in no man’s land, show that the patients are in a complex situation before transplantation, experiencing a mixture of emotions and thoughts. In the fourth study ten sibling donors, where the recipients were the participants in Study III, were interviewed regarding their experiences before donation of being a stem cell donor for a sick sibling. The main theme, Being a cog in a big wheel, in the results shows that the sibling donors go through a complex process before donation, a situation they have not volunteered for but have got into accidently, experiencing a mixture of emotions and thoughts. The results also show that the sibling donors do not usually reveal their thoughts and emotions about being a donor to anyone. The patients’ and sibling donors’ experiences can be seen to be connected to each other, however, they have not usually talked to each other about their emotions and thoughts. To conclude, HSCT patients’ overall QoL and the majority of the dimensions of QoL deteriorated from before until 100 days and 12 months after HSCT, while their emotional well-being improved. The privacy and free choice of potential sibling donors have to be respected and the information and care of patients and their sibling donors should be kept separate. Health professionals should bear in mind that both patients with a sibling as donor and sibling donors are in complex situations before transplantation and donation, experiencing a mixture of emotions and thoughts. Further, it is important to individualize the information and care for HSCT patients and their sibling donors in a supportive and professional manner.

The aim of this thesis was to increase the knowledge about children born to mothers with an intellectual or developmental disability by investigating incidence (Study I), support at the stra tegic level (Study II), support at the family level (Study III), and experiences of having grown up with a mother with a developmental disability (Study IV). The first study investigated the 5-year incidence of children being born to mothers with an intellectua l disability in a Swedish county. Three types of registers were used, together with personal identification numbers. The resulting incidence rate, 2.12 children per 1,000 children indicates that there are currently approximately 4000 children (aged 0-18 years) that have been born to a mother with an intellectual disability in Sweden. Data for Studies II and III were collect ed by means of focus group interviews with 29 professionals supporting families with parental intellectual disability, and the data were analysed by means of content analysis. Study II described results on the strategic level of support; roles and activities of the professionals involved, identification of families in need, problems with identifying mothers with an intellectual disability, existing collaboration and dilemmas concerning legislative actions. The results indicated a rich web of support to these families from all kinds of welfare sectors, but further needs for building collaboration were identified, such as the need to coordinate education efforts. Study III described results on the family level of support: support practices, pedagogical strategies, and maintaining the child perspective. The results indicated the need for concrete training, the importance of involving the father/ partner, and the value of not losing the child perspective and of creating support practices with a clearer focus on the children. In Study IV, four women were interviewed about their experiences of growing up in a family with a mother who has a developmental disability. Narrative inquiry and content analysis were employed. The findings showed recollections of a vulnerable childhood filled with worries, fear, and anxiety, and with a strong feeling of responsibility. No effective support from the authorities was ever offered to the four informants, who dealt differently with their lives as adults with regard to their own family and children. The results of this thesis provide new knowledge about the complex situation of being a child in a family with maternal intellectual or developmental disability, and they may be used by staff in the welfare sectors in order to improve the visibility of these children and offer support adapted to the children's situation.

Avhandlingen består av fem artiklar som var och en adresserar ett specifikt område inom förvaltning av kommersiella fastigheter. Det övergripande syftet med avhandlingen är att se till de utmaningar förvaltning av kommersiella fastigheter innebär. De två första artiklarna utgör en plattform för resten av avhandlingen och är en kartläggning av branschen. Artikel I fokuserar på branschens kund och service medvetenhet i deras årsredovisningar. Artikel II är en uppföljande intervjustudie av företagen i artikel I gällande ledningens uppfattning gällande vilka organisations frågor som är av strategisk natur för att leverera god kundservice. Tredje artikeln adresserar kontorsmarknaden och hur fastighetsägarens organisatoriska attribut påverkar annonseringstiden av kontorslokaler. Den testar eventualiteten att internet som marknadsplats för uthyrning av kontor är en så kallad lemons market, där företrädelsevis ”dåliga” objekt marknadsförs. De två sista artiklarna studerar sedan incitament i förvaltningsorganisationen om den bedrivs in-house eller är outsourcad. Den första av dessa två berör specifikt hur incitament för att genomföra arbetsuppgifter regleras och den andra artikeln ser istället till hur beslutsfattaren säkerställer sig information från förvaltningen för att kunna ta väl informerade beslut. I första artikeln får vi med oss att den kommersiella fastighetsmarknaden i Sverige är kundorienterad. Vi kan konstatera att branschen redan före 2004 hade gjort skiftet från produkt orientering till kund/service orientering. Däremot kunde vi inte konstatera att kundfokus hade ökat i företagens årsredovisningar mellan åren 2004-2008. Slutsatsen från artikel II är att oavsett förvaltningsorganisation, in-house eller outsourcad, är argumentationen från ledningen i dessa företag att val av organisering av förvaltningen är bottnad i service leveransen till deras kunder/hyresgäster. Tredje artikeln är ett test av internet som marknadsplats för kontor i Malö CBD där teorin om market for lemons testas. Organisering av förvaltningen var en av kvalitetssignalerna, tillsammans med storlek, kontor på orten och om företaget varit i Hyresnämnden. Slutsatsen är att vi inte kan förkasta hypotesen om att marknadsplatsen är en market for lemons. Slutsatsen från artikel IV och V lyfter fram skillnaden i hur incitament skapar i förvaltningsorganisationerna, då den är organiserad in-house alternativt outsourcad. Förvaltningen i outsourcade organisationer regleras primärt av kontraktet, mellan ägarbolaget och service bolaget som de är anställda av, där det stipuleras när och hur de förväntas leverera såväl information som kund service. Förvaltningen i företagen med in-house förvaltning arbetar istället genom frihet under ansvar där de bedöms genom resultatet av deras service istället för genom checklistor och Job beskrivningar. Oavsett organisering av förvaltningen så finns där inte några monetära incitament för förvaltaren som baseras direkt på deras individuella prestationer.

This thesis explores how Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) as an overarching perspective makes meaningof educational aims and purposes. Sustainable development, as a concept, is by necessity complex, and deals withintegrated dimensions of environmental, social-cultural and economic sustainability. It involves a diverse range ofembedded values and ideologies and calls for engagement in value-related and political issues relating to environment,equality and lifestyle. In my thesis, I have turned to the actors in social practice who are set to realise the educationalperspectives of ESD – the teachers. Accordingly, the analyses departure from secondary and upper secondary schoolteachers’ reciprocal meaning-making when discussing the desirable aims of teaching and ESD. Building upon previouseducational research, the thesis has three purposes, and the results are presented in four articles. The results of thestudies bring new empirical knowledge and perspectives to educational research and practice, by adding furtherunderstanding of the political and democratic dimensions of ESD.The first purpose is to investigate and describe the complexity of the concept of sustainable development from a conflictperspective and to analyse meaning-making discussions of sustainability in an educational context. This is elaborated inthe first study (Article I). To achieve this, a Conflict Reflection Tool (CRT) has been developed, by combining theconflicting dynamics of sustainable development with dialogic and univocal functions of speech. In the included casestudy, the CRT analysis of teachers’ discussions shows how fact-based, univocal science utterances closed thediscussion for conflicting perspectives to emerge. However, conflicting views did emerge and were re-valued in adialogic genre through the interplay of different dimensions of sustainability and different societal levels of conflicts.The second purpose is to investigate how the desired aims of ESD are (re)articulated in areas of educational tension inorder to make particular meaning by teachers with experience in ESD practice. Three complex ESD areas are in focus,namely, the development of students as political subjects (Article II), qualification in relation to ESD (Article III), andeducation for social change in relation to ‘sustainable’ living (Article IV). In each of these areas, the functions ofqualification, socialisation and subjectification (c.f. Biesta) are relationally analysed to further problematise educationalpurposes. Through analyses with inpiration from discourse theory, the results show in Article II the emerging discourse ofcritical thinking as room for subjectification where students were invited to be adressed as political subjects. This discoursewas articulated in struggle with the aims of qualification and socialisation, i.e. challenged by elements articulating a morescientific and rational worldview. Article III shows three discourses of qualification. Of these three, scientific reasoningand awareness of complexity are articulated as contrasting epistemological discourses of qualification. However, in thethird discourse, qualification as critical thinking, these different epistemological views are articulated as intertwined asdifferent ways to view sustainability. Article IV shows how the teachers struggle between three positions: the rationalsubject, as a neutral conductor; the responsible subject, as a role model, or the reconstructing subject, as a reconstructor.The overlapping positions depend upon how socialisation towards sustainable lifestyles, political and ethical perspectivesare identified in relation to the educational aims and the emerging myths of social change.The third purpose is to develop analytical methods where conflicting articulations of environmental issues andsustainability are taken into account based on language and discourse theory for conducting empirical investigations ofmeaning-making.

In this thesis I investigate what kind of mental imagery ekphrastic and pictorial poetry can evoke, how time is represented in this kind of poetry, and how readers experience the temporality it represents. Ekphrasis (a verbal representation of a static, visual, iconic representation) and pictorialism (a phenomenon that occurs when the reality of the fictive world, either psychological or physical, in the text is represented as image) are intermedial concepts: in various ways and to various degrees, ekphrastic and pictorial texts refer to and represent static, visual, iconic media such as painting, photography and sculpture. In the first part of the thesis I discuss intermedial theory and earlier research on ekphrastic and pictorial poetry, and present my contribution to the field. Having investigated the concepts of ekphrasis and pictorialism, I apply cognitive research on mental imagery on ekphrastic and pictorial poetry to examine what kind of mental images the texts are able to generate, depending on their content and structure as well as on how the human brain functions. Mental images have a lot in common with real viewing: the brain treats mental and real images similarly. What are the implications of that for the study of verbally evoked images? Last, I investigate how ekphrastic and pictorial texts can represent time passing as well as time standing still. I present a model to map the relationships between ekphrasis and temporality; how does an ekphrastic poem represent a source image representing either stasis or temporal flux? In this section the relation between sound and temporality is discussed as well. Throughout the thesis, the theoretical notions are supported by literary examples and analyses. Among the examples are poems by Tomas Tranströmer, Wizłava Szymborska, William Carlos Williams, Ella Hillbäck and many more.

There are seventeen million people in the world who are stateless, not considered as citizens by any state. They suffer due to the current function of citizenship in the nation-state system, occupying a legal space outside of the system, yet, their lives are very much blighted by the system itself. This research examines the possibility that global citizenship could be a means to address statelessness. Global citizenship, unlike (national) citizenship, is, in theory, inclusive, and membership is based on our shared humanity. However, when approaching the global citizenship literature, two concerns became apparent. First, there is a significant lack of theorisation on the stateless in the discourse, and second, some scholars make the assumption that a global citizen has citizenship of a state – which the stateless do not. To begin to overcome these concerns, this research develops and implements a stateless centric perspective on global citizenship, using it to analyse the situation of the stateless in the case of Lebanon. The stateless centric approach developed here, views global citizenship through the actions and perspectives of those addressing statelessness. With four large and protracted stateless populations, Lebanon provides an empirically rich context, within which to undertake this research. The findings of the stateless centric perspective problematise the received wisdom of citizenship, the nation-state and allows for the exploration of the expressions and tensions in the practices of global citizenship. Drawing on a contextualised understanding of these practices, a ‘patchwork’ approach to global citizenship is proposed. This sees the creation of a public political space as an act of global citizenship, when it draws on universal principles. These universal principles are used to justify this space, taking on an instrumental role. It is a patchwork as these spaces can be seen in the wider global context, as either directly or indirectly connected, through their shared use of universal principles. By centralising the stateless in our conceptualisations of the nation-state, citizenship and global citizenship, the value of taking a stateless centric perspective, and its ability to draw out further nuances in the debate, is shown.

Avhandlingen är en fallstudie som undersöker praktiker av klass och kön hos kapitalägare i Sverige under perioden 1918-1939, utifrån exempel från två av tidens mäktigaste familjer: Broström och Wehtje. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten är ett försök att ur ett intersektionellt perspektiv förena en klassanalys utifrån Eric Olin Wrights modell med Bourdieus begrepp socialt och kulturellt kapital, kombinerat med analyser av genus framför allt inspirerade framför allt av Raewyn Connells begrepp hegemonisk maskulinitet och analyser av rasism utifrån Robert Miles begrepp rasifiering. Det undersökta materialet utgörs i huvudsak av personliga brev och affärskorrespondens vilka analyserats i en kvalitativ textanalys.

Undersökningens har fyra centrala teoretiska poänger. För det första att klass är svårt att definiera utifrån kulturella kriterier, då variationen i kulturella praktiker gör att gruppen kapitalägare framstår som svårfångad och motsägelsefull. Istället argumenteras för en uppdelning i klass som position, som i linje med Wrights modell definieras utifrån relationen till produktionsmedlen, och klass som praktik vilket undersöks utifrån Bourdieus kapitalmetafor.

Undersökningens andra poäng är att lyfta fram spännvidden i de maskulinitetspraktiker som blir synliga i materialet, något som bekräfta Demetriakis Demetrious utveckling av begreppet hegemonisk maskulinitet till att förstås som ett hegemoniskt block, där de maskulinitetsuttryck som knyts till gruppen kapitalägare förstås som föränderliga och motsägelsefulla.

En tredje poäng är att lyfta fram begreppet moralisk ekonomi som ett redskap för att fånga in de motsägelsefulla praktiker och normsystem som styrde kapitalägarnas ekonomiska agerande. Undersökningen betonar också den emotionella dimension som kapitalägarna gav uttryck för i relation till teknik och administration, något som understryker behovet av att analysera hur känslor och normer påverkar ekonomiska överväganden.

En fjärde poäng berör det handlingsutrymme som kvinnor hade inom familjerna, där undersökningen visar att även om en genushierarki som premierade underordnade femininitetskonstruktioner upprätthölls, så fanns det ett visst utrymme för självständigt agerande och alternativ kvinnligheter från några av de här undersökta kvinnorna.

Retention strategies, cost-effectiveness and long-term stability oftreatment outcome are essential aspects of orthodontic treatmentplanning.The overall aim of this thesis was to compare and evaluate threedifferent retention strategies, with special reference to short- andlong-term clinical stability and cost-effectiveness. The approach wasevidence-based, hence randomized controlled methodology was usedin order to generate high levels of evidence.This thesis is based on four studies:Papers I and II are based on randomized controlled trials, evaluatingthe stability of treatment outcome after one and two years of retention,using three different retention strategies: a maxillary vacuum-formedretainer combined with a mandibular canine-to-canine retainer; amaxillary vacuum-formed retainer combined with stripping of themandibular anterior teeth and a prefabricated positioner.Paper III presents a cost-minimization analysis of two years ofretention treatment.Paper IV is based on a randomized controlled trial documentingthe results five years post-retention.The following conclusions were drawn:Papers I and II• From a clinical perspective, asssessment after one year ofretention disclosed that the three retention methods weresuccessful in retaining the orthodontic treatment results.• After two years of retention, all three retention methods wereequally effective in controlling relapse at a clinically acceptablelevel.• Most of the relapse occurred during the first year of retention;only minor or negligible changes were found during the secondyear.• The subjects were grouped according to the level ofcompliance (excellent or good). After two years of retentionthere was a negative correlation between growth in bodyheight and relapse of mandibular LII in the group of subjectswith excellent compliance. The group with good complianceshowed a positive correlation (Paper II, Figure 3).• After two years of retention, growth in body height, initialcrowding and gender had no significant influence onmandibular LII (Paper II, Figure 4 and Table 4).Paper III• The cost minimization analysis disclosed that although thethree retention methods achieved clinically similar results, theassociated societal costs differed.• After two years of retention, the vacuum-formed retainer(VFR) in combination with a canine-to-canine retainer (CTC)was the least cost-effective retention appliance.Paper IV• After five years or more out of retention, the three retentionmethods had achieved equally favourable clinical results.Key conclusionsand clinical implicationsThis study compared the short- and long-term outcomes of orthodonticretention by three different methods: a maxillary vacuum-formedretainer combined with a mandibular canine-to-canine retainer;a maxillary vacuum-formed retainer combined with stripping ofthe mandibular anterior teeth and a prefabricated positioner. Allmethods gave equally positive clinical results in both the short-term,i.e. after one and two years of retention, and in the long-term, fiveyears or more post-retention. After two years of retention, the level of compliance affected theretention treatment result. However, no such effect was shown forbody height, the severity of initial crowding or gender.Today, there is increasing emphasis on the importance of economicaspects of healthcare. Of the three methods evaluated in this study,the least cost-effective, after two years of retention, was a vacuumformedretainer combined with a bonded canine-to-canine retainer.The clinical implication of this finding is that in patients meetingthe inclusion criteria, interproximal stripping of the mandibularanterior teeth, or the use of a prefabricated positioner, are highlyappropriate alternatives to a mandibular bonded canine-to-canineretainer.The overall conclusions are that there are a number of effectiveretention methods available and the clinician is not limited to routineuse of a bonded mandibular canine-to-canine retainer. The mostappropriate retention method should be selected on an individual,case to case basis, taking into account such variables as orthodonticdiagnosis, the expected level of patient compliance, patient preferencesand financial considerations.

Det pågår en ständig utveckling av olika dentala material avsedda föratt ersätta förlorad tandsubstans. En materialgrupp som är särskiltintressant är höghållfasta keramiska material, oxidkeramer så somyttriumdioxidstabiliserad tetragonal polykristallin zirkoniumdioxid(Y-TZP). Förutom utveckling av material, är en av de störreutmaningarna att få tandersättningar att sitta fast i munnen på ettvävnadsbesparande sätt.Vid traditionell cementeringsteknik, fästs tandstödda ersättningarmed vattenbaserade cement, vars vidhäftning dels är beroendeav att tänderna slipas i syfte att skapa en geometrisk form för attåstadkomma makromekanisk retention och dels av ytstrukturenpå tand och tandersättning som skapas under processen och utgörmikromekanisk retention. I kliniska situationer med otillräckligmakromekanisk retention kan det vara nödvändigt att användaadhesiv cementeringsteknik. En förutsättning för en tillförlitligadhesiv bindning mellan tandersättning, cement och befintligtand är mikromekanisk retention och resinbaserade cement sommöjliggör en kemisk bindning. Det senare har visat sig vara svårtoch oförutsägbart att uppnå för oxidkeramer. Olika tekniker förmodifiering av oxidkeramers cementeringsyta har föreslagits för attmöjliggöra adhesiv cementeringsteknik.Övergripande mål med föreliggande avhandlingsarbete var attutveckla och utvärdera metoder för att modifiera polykristallinakeramers yta och därigenom möjliggöra kombinerad mekanisk ochkemisk bindning mellan oxidkeramer och adhesiva cementsystem. I delarbete I utvärderades bindningsstyrkan mellan olika adhesivacementsystem och en tätsintrad aluminiumoxidbaserad keram. Tvåav sex undersökta cementsystem uppvisade acceptabel bindning tillaluminiumoxid. Valet av ytbehandling på oxidkeramen bör baseraspå vilket cementsystem som ska användas.I delarbete II presenterades och utvärderades en ny framställningsteknikför ytmodifierad Y-TZP, lämpad för adhesivcementeringsteknik. Ytmodifieringen visade ökad mikrostruktur ochhögre bindningsstyrka jämfört med obehandlad Y-TZP. Uppföljninggjordes i delarbete IV med ytterligare ytanalyser och hållfasthetstest.En kemisk sammansättning med glas och monoklin fas identifieradesmed ökad ytråhet. Ytmodifieringen med glasmedium resulterade ilägre hållfasthet som dock ökade i samband med cementering.Delarbete III var en systematisk litteraturöversikt med syfteatt inventera olika metoder för ytbehandling/modifiering avoxidkeramer och utvärdera vilka av dessa som ger kliniskt relevantbindningsstyrka. Indelningen av de olika ytbehandlingarna var:fabriksproducerad, slipad/polerad, sandblästrad, ytmodifierad medolika typer av täckande lager, laser-, syra- och primerbehandlad.Sandblästring eller kiseltäckning av cementeringsytan kombineratmed primer utmärkte sig med högre värden på bindningsstyrkan,något som dock ännu inte blivit bekräftat i kliniska studier. Detfinns ingen universell ytbehandling. Valet av ytbehandlingar börbaseras på vilket material som ska användas.Sammanfattningsvis visar resultaten i avhandlingen att olikaytbehandlingar av oxidkeramer, i synnerlighet ytmodifieringmed glasmedium, kan öka bindningsstyrkan mellan keram ochadhesivt cementsystem. All ytbehandling påverkar dock materialetsegenskaper och slutligen tandersättningen. Valet av ytbehandlingbör göras utifrån specifika materialval, avseende både keram ochrespektive cementsystem.

Avhandlingen består av två studier som utgår från projektet ”Det goda arbetet”. Det överordnade syftet med projektet Det Goda Arbetet var att använda tandvård som ett exempel på ett arbete där relationerna med patienterna utgör arbetets kärna. Denna typ av arbete (även kallat människovårdande arbete) har speciella psykosociala arbetsmiljövillkor och känslomässiga krav som måste tas hänsyn till vid organisering av arbetet. Syftet med den första studien var att beskriva bakgrunden och utvecklingen av frågeformuläret ’Svenska och Danska tandläkares uppfattning av ’Det Goda Arbetet’ och att skapa ett mått för generell arbetstillfredsställelse, applicerat på fyra organisatoriska miljöer. Syftet med den andra studien var att introducera konceptet emotionellt arbete i tandvård genom att ge en teoretisk överblick av de emotionella aspekterna av arbetet, villkoren under vilka arbetet utförs och de potentiella effekterna på tandläkarnas välbefinnande. I kappan har kompletterande resultat från projektet Det Goda Arbetet inkluderats i syfte att ge en empirisk illustration av hur tandläkare upplever de emotionella faktorer som relaterar till patient-interaktionen och deras arbetsglädje. Data från 1226 danska och svenska verksamma tandläkare samlades in i November 2008 med en svarsprocent på 68 %. Ett additivt index skapades för att mäta generell arbetstillfredsställelse, och resultaten visade statistiska skillnader i tandläkarnas uppfattning mellan de olika organisatoriska miljöerna (Svenska offentliga/privata och Danska offentliga/privata). De danska offentliga tandläkarna hade den högsta graden av generell arbetstillfredsställelse medan de svenska offentliga hade den lägsta graden. En möjlig förklaring till detta kan vara att danska offentliga tandläkare skiljer sig från de andra tre grupperna i karakteristika vad gäller både tandläkare och patienter. Den låga graden av generell arbetstillfredsställelse hos de offentliga svenska tandläkarna kan möjligtvis vara en effekt av New Public Management-tänkande i sättet att organisera tandvård. Tilläggsresultaten visade att de svenska offentliga tandläkarna hade mycket mindre energi till sina privatliv i jämförelse med de andra tre grupperna och bara hälften av dem förväntade sig att fortsätta arbeta som nu fram till pensionen. Att arbeta med eller på människor handlar mycket om att skapa goda interaktioner och relationer mellan vårdgivaren och patienten. Goda patientrelationer kan vara ett primärt- och/eller sekundärt mål för att göra andra saker, som t.ex. den kliniska behandlingen, lättare. För många vårdgivare är relationerna med patienterna en arena där de kan leva ut sin potential som människor och kan upplevas som en bestående inre glädje av arbetet, kallat eudaimonia. I patientrelationen utför tandläkaren emotionellt arbete som ett sätt att intervenera med patienten för att vägleda denne i en bestämd riktning. Tandläkare har uttalade emotionella arbetsuppgifter i sina interaktioner med patienterna, emellertid har dessa emotionella aspekter av arbetet hitintills varit ett försummat forskningsområde inom odontologin. De emotionella arbetsuppgifterna är betingade eftersom att tandläkarens incitament inte är endimensionella och därför kräver de en hel del emotionell flexibilitet, uppmärksamhet och reflektion av tandläkaren. Påverkan från marknadskrafter och managerialism på de professionella värdena inom tandvård kan av tandläkaren uppfattas som motstridande och utmana villkoren för emotionellt arbete och tandläkarnas välbefinnande. Denna forskning syftar till att starka och uppmuntra olika nivåer av tandvård till att ytterligare undersöka, förstå och stötta dynamiken i de emotionella aspekterna av arbetet för att skapa en hållbar arbetsmiljö där värden och logik kan uppfattas som kompatibla med tandvårdens professionella värden.

This thesis concerns a new synthetic, injectable bone substitute,Cerament™, primarily developed for treatment of vertebral fractures.The purpose of the thesis was to investigate the properties of the newbone substitute, that is, whether it can contribute to the generation ofnew bone formation needed for placement of future dental implants.When the amount of bone in the upper jaw is insufficient, primarystability of dental implants cannot be achieved. Sinus augmentationis a well-established method for increasing the bone volume. Thistechnique can be performed with autologous bone graft and / orbone substitute.Autologous bone graft can be harvested eitherfrom a local sourcein the oral cavity or from an extraoral source. The iliac crest is acommon donor site for bone grafts when large quantities are needed,but bone harvesting from the iliac crest require surgery under generalanesthesia resulting in an increased morbidity and higher costs.The thesis is based on study I-IV, both animal experimental studiesand clinical applications. The question is what gains can be achievedwith the use of a bone substitute. Therefore, to start with, study Ianalyzed and compared the costs of local bone grafts from the oralcavity and extra-oral bone grafts from the iliac crest. In addition,post-operative health parameters were analyzed for those patientswho underwent sinus augmentation, performed under generalanesthesia, with bone graft from the iliac crest. Finally, the total costof sinus augmentation, performed under general anesthesia, with iliacbone graft was calculated and analyzed with respect to the cost ofsurgery, anesthesia, hospitalization and sick leave. 9To achieve a broader understanding of the properties of thebone substitute study II and III were performed. Firstly, ananimalexperimental study in rats, with the intention to investigate if and towhat extent Cerament™onlay is able to stimulate new bone growthon a cortical bone surface.Secondly, an animal experimental rat studythat analyzed and estimated to what extentCerament™, in an onlayapplication, adds strength to the osseointegration of a titanium screw,measured as removal torque resistance.Further, to investigate theeffect of a titanium screw without any bone substitute on a corticalbone surface analyzed with regard to bone remodeling. Finally, as aclinical application (study IV), sinus augmentation with Cerament™was performed in four patients. The patients received either pureCerament™or Cerament™mixed with autologous bone chips.The studies resulted in the following: Costs for sinus augmentationwith iliac graft are several times larger than those for policlinicprocedures. Most patients, who received iliac graft surgery, hadrecovered after 14 days. LoP (loss of production) constituted 41% ofthe total cost for sinus augmentation with iliac bone graft. Cerament™guided bone generation from a cortical surface on rats’ tibia. Thesecond animal study displayed no difference in torque resistancebetween screws embedded in Cerament™and controls. Sinusaugmentation in a mixture of bone chips and 50-75% Cerament™rendered new bone formation after 6-11 months.Conclusion:There are gains to be made, in both economic andmorbidity terms, by using Cerament™. When applied as an onlay,Cerament™is capable of guiding and generating new bone formationon rats’ tibia. In sinus augmentation, Cerament™has been proven togenerate new bone without any adverse reactions. Future researchshould clarify how the clinical findings made in this thesis can beapplied in the orofacial environment.

The aim of this thesis is to critically investigate and problematize the Swedish Teacher Unions’ use of the concept of professionalism within the political negotiation of how to ascribe meaning and contetnt to the idea of teacher professionalism within contemporary Swedish education debates. Departing from two recent educational reforms – the certification of teachers and the reformation of teacher education – and using theories from the sociology of professions coupled with an institutional approach to the study of organizations this study analyzes how the Teacher Unions construct professional projects in relation to each other as well as in relation to the reforms of the current Ministry of Education. Viewing professionalism as an institutional logic, it investigates the different strategies employed by the two Unions and considers their effects on the overall professional ambitions of Sweden’s Teacher Unions. By doing so it highlights the complexities facing occupational organizations – such as unions – as they engage in political struggles over how the meaning ascribed to concepts like professionalism is negotiated. In this sense, the Unions are to be considered institutional actors using the idea of professionalism in order to promote their own ideas of how the future development of the teaching profession may best serve the interests of their members. The study is based on analyses of public Union documents, as they are considered the best way to access the "public voice" of the two organizations. The primary material consists of referrals in which the Unions respond to the suggestions of governmentally appointed public commissions suggesting how certain political initiatives are to be realized. In addition to these formal statements, debate articles by (primarily) the Union chairs are also included in the analyses in order to provide a sense of how the Unions place their policies in relation to the overall education policy debates of Sweden. The textual analyses draw on the ideas of "policy sociology" as sociological concepts are used to interpret and understand the policies of the Unions. It is not an analysis for policy, in the sense that it is aimed at providing the Unions with strategies for how they are best to accomplish their policy objectives, but rather a critical analysis of the policies they employ and how these can be understood in the context where they arise. A central argument of the study is that the fact that Swedish teachers are organized in two different Unions complicates the formulation of a common professional project on behalf of Swedish teachers in general. This is because the two Unions, though united in their wish to turn teaching into a "proper" profession, are constructing their professional projects from opposing points of departure, resulting in a process of intraprofessional boundary work, originating from the historical tension between different teacher categories. As a result of the internal struggles between the two Teacher Unions the position of Swedish teachers in general becomes weak in relation to national educational policy makers. As the Unions are forced to compete for political influence in order to gain support for their own policies, their professional projects become dependent upon the political system in general. The overall conclusion to be drawn from the study is that the idea of teacher professionalization in the context of Swedish educational policy making is a decidedly political process, somewhat removed or de-coupled from the everyday practice of Swedish teachers. As a consequence, the Unions are, above all, using the concept of professionalism as a symbolic resource by which to create legitimacy for their efforts of increasing the social status of teaching in society.

Zirconium alloys are widely used in the nuclear industry because of their high strength, good corrosion resistance and low neutron absorption cross-section. However, zirconium has strong affinity for hydrogen, which may lead to hydrogen concentration build-up over time during a corrosion reaction when exposed to water. Hydrogen stays in solution at higher temperature but precipitates as zirconium hydrides at ambient temperatures. The formation of zirconium hydrides is considered to be a major cause of embrittlement, in particular as a key step in the mechanism of delayed hydride cracking. Despite the fact that zirconium hydrides have been studied for several decades, the basic nature and mechanisms of hydride formation, transformation and exact structure are not yet fully understood. In order to find the answer to some of these problems, the precipitation and dissolution of hydrides in commercial grade Zr powder were monitored in real time with high resolution synchrotron and neutron radiations, and the whole pattern crystal structure analysis, using Rietveld and Pawley refinements, were performed. For the first time all commonly reported zirconium hydride phases and complete reversible transformation between two different Zr-hydride phases were recorded with a single setup and their phase transformation type have been analyzed. In addition, the preparation route of controversial γ-zirconium hydride (ZrH), its crystal structure and formation mechanisms are also discussed.

Introduction – The mechanism and efficiency of force transfer by dental implants to surrounding biologic tissues are important determinants in the development of the implant-to-bone/tissue interface and implant longevity. Threads are used to improve the initial stability by maximizing bone contact through an enlarged implant surface area and thereby favor distribution of interfacial stresses. However, knowledge about optimal thread design for an enhanced implant integration in bone tissue is still lacking. Aim – The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the efficacy of implant micro thread design when combined with macro threads, for bone stimulation. The hypothesis is that the short threads will contribute with compression forces that may stimulate bone healing, while the larger threads will provide with primary stability necessary during the healing process. A further aim was to use an FEA model to describe the optimal thread form for reduced stress concentration immediately after implant insertion as well as after completed bone healing. Materials and methods – In study 1, Two-dimensional finite element models were made from 8 different thread designs. The crest module and apex of the implants were removed from the implant models, in order to enhance the effect of the thread designs only. Thus, the suprastructures and microstructures of the implants were not considered. All the eight implant models were assumed to be embedded in cortical bone. In addition, a 3D model was used to evaluate stress in the bone generated by 6 different thread designed implants when the implant models included the entire implant. In the In vivo studies 2 and 3, experimental turned implants with a diameter of 4mm and 8mm in length were prepared with micro threads in between macro threads along the body of the implants. These were used as test implants. Implants without micro-threads were used as controls. In study 4, similar implants were made but with alteration in depth of the macro-thread to improve the possibility for bone stimulation by compression during healing. Insertion and removal torque analysis along with histomophometric analyses were done to evaluate the bone response. Results – In study 1, stresses were calculated using von Mises stress analysis. The stress levels in the bone were in the range of 5-13 MPa in osseointegrated model and 14-107 MPa in immediate 2D models. 3D Analysis results showed the von Mises stress in the range of 4.8-30.9 MPa, when a load of 100N was applied vertically. In Study 4 FEA demonstrated stress levels in the range of 0.28 MPa to 62MPa for the control implant model designs, whereas the test implant models displayed a range of 0.28 MPa to 31Mpa. In study 2, the mean values of the ITQ for the control and test groups in the tibia were 15 and 20 Ncm respectively, and in the femur, the values were 11 and 12 Ncm, respectively. In study 4, the ITQ values were 11Ncm and 14 Ncm respectively in the tibia, and in the femur 13 Ncm and 19 Ncm respectively. The RTQ values for the control and test groups in tibia was 11Ncm and 17Ncm, respectively and in the femur, 13Ncm and 23Ncm, respectively. The histomorphometric analysis of study 3, showed the mean total bone area, BA% (SD) to be higher in the test implants, when compared to the control implants in both the tibia 24 (4), and 21(4), the femoral bone 29 (5), and 25 (7), respectively with no statistical significance. In study 4, the total bone area BA% was higher for the test implants with a mean value of 72% compared to 48% for the control group in tibial bone. In femural bone, the bone area was 63% for the test and 38 % for the control group implants with p value of 0.10 for both tibia and femur. Bone to implant contact showed significantly higher value for the test implants in the femur, p= 0.04. Conclusion – The impact of different thread designs, with respect to the magnitude of the transferred stress peak in the bone, was higher for the immediately inserted implants than for the osseointegrated implant model. The stress distribution was more effective in experimental micro-thread implant models, when compared to the non-micro thread models. The addition of pitch shortened threads in the test implant, did significantly improve the primary and secondary stability of the test implants, when mechanically evaluated with ITQ and RTQ analysis in corticular or trabecular bone rabbit bone. Histomophometrical analysis showed that the addition of the pitch shortened threads in between the macro threads did have a bone stimulatory effect in the femur of the rabbits.

Ersättning av förlorade tänder med tandimplantat är numera en vanlig behandlingsmetod med generellt goda resultat. Antalet implantatsystem på den internationella marknaden har ökat kraftigt under senare år. Stora forskningsinsatser har lagts på att utveckla nya modifierade titanmaterial med ytegenskaper som påskyndar integreringen av implantat i benvävnad. Exempel på sådana modifieringar är hög ytråhet och kemiska ytförändringar som förstärker bioaktiva karaktärsdrag hos titan. Vissa modifieringar har visat sig kunna stimulera benceller att bilda benvävnad och därmed skapa bättre förutsättningar för inläkning av implantat. Klinisk forskning pekar på att även mjukvävnad runt tandimplantat, liksom slemhinnan runt naturliga tänder, har avgörande betydelse för skydd mot mikrobiella angrepp. En funktionell mjukvävnadsbarriär anses vara nödvändig för att tandimplantat skall fungera livet ut. Emellertid är kunskapen enbart sporadisk om hur celltyper såsom mjukvävnads- celler och orala bakterier, reagerar när de kommer i kontakt med modifierade titanytor i munhålan.På tandimplantat i den orala miljön, liksom på naturliga tänder, finns salivproteiner (pellikel) och sådana munhålebakterier som har förmåga att kolonisera fasta ytor som titan. Bakterier som fäster till implantat bildar med tiden komplexa bakteriesamhällen som är inbäddade i en matrix, en så kallad biofilm. Under vissa förhållanden kan dessa mikrobiella biofilmer ge upphov till kroniska infektioner. Flera kliniska uppföljningsstudier pekar på att kroniska infektioner i anslutning till tandimplantat är vanligare än man tidigare trott. Sådana infektioner kan vara svåra att behandla och leda till så omfattande benförlust att tandimplantat förloras. Syftet med denna avhandling var att förbättra förståelsen för hur orala streptokocker, fibroblaster och keratinocyter påverkas då de kommer i kontakt med moderna tandimplantat som har modifierade ytstrukturer.Resultaten i denna avhandling visade att titanytor med skrovliga strukturer på mikrometernivå, framtagna för bättre benläkning, främjade även adhesion av orala streptokocker vilket kan tolkas som att biofilmer lättare ackumuleras på sådana ytor. Vidare framkom det att streptokockers vidhäftningsförmåga och metabola aktivitet ökade avsevärt när en naturlig salivfilm fanns på plats på titanytan vilket ytterligare skulle påskynda bilningen av biofilmer på tandimplantat. Karaktärisering av proteinsammansättningen i salivfilmen på titan visade att sekretoriskt IgA, amylas, cystatin och prolactin-inducible protein var de dominerande proteinerna. S. oralis är en bakterie som ofta förekommer i samband med kroniska infektioner runt tandimplantat. Denna bakterie visade sig ha ett adhesin som interagerade speciellt bra med salivproteiner på titan. Detta var första gången som detta adhesin identifierades.Vad gäller adhesion av mjukvävnadsceller som fibroblaster och keratinocyter visade det sig att dessa celler kunde fästa väl till en titanyta som modifierats med hjälp av anodisk oxidering. Vid en karaktärisering av ytan framkom det att den var rik på anataskristaller och hade också nanoporösa strukturer. Orala streptokocker visade sig binda sämre till den anatasrika ytan än till kommersiellt rent titan. Sammantaget förefaller denna ytmodifikation vara en lämplig kandidat för nya implantat då den minskar inbindningen av streptokocker samtidigt som den tillåter fibroblaster och keratinocyter att växa på ytan.Sammanfattningsvis visar resultaten i denna avhandling att ytmodi- fierat titan påverkar såväl adhesion av mjukvävnadsceller som bakterie- celler och deras aktivitet. Studierna visar också att salivpellikeln på implantat spelar en viktig roll för bakteriernas kolonisation och metabolism. Vi föreslår därför att beroende på tillämpningsområde i praktiken, experimentell utvärdering av nya implantatytor ska i så stor sträckning som möjligt innefatta granskning av effekten av ytornas egenskaper på olika vävnadsceller såväl som bakterier i närvaro av vävnadsvätskor.

The present thesis is made up by three articles and in all of these the mathematics curriculum for upper secondary school in Sweden is analysed. The main focus is the citizen and citizenship and the point of departure is problem solving as a competence. Besides an investigation of the connection between citizenship and the curricu- lum or the role the citizen have in the curriculum, questions about what tensions appear when problem solving is recontextualised in- to the curriculum are posed. Following an international trend in (mathematics) education, the mathematics curriculum in Sweden stresses demands made on the students and citizens instead of rights that the students or citizens have. Demands that everyone must become problem-solving citizens. By the use of Bernstein’s theories about the pedagogic device and his division of different knowledge forms into a vertical and a horizontal discourse, I inves- tigate possible effects of these demands. Despite intentions that all should be included, I show that there is a risk for exclusion instead. Bernstein suggested that school reproduces social inequity. In this thesis I discuss how this is done in the curriculum. My conclusion points at a risk of segregation and exclusion of lower socio- economic groups from influence, power and control. Furthermore, the reproduction of social inequity is build more solidly into the system with the new curriculum as although it is unclear whether the purpose of the changes to the curriculum was really to divide groups and exclude some from power.

I vår moderna värd är vi väldigt beroende av elektrisk energi som vi använder för det mesta i får vardag: för att lysa upp våra hus, generera värme, driva våra datorer och mobiltelefoner och mycket mer. Produktion av elektrisk energi har dock ofta en negativ på-verkan på vår miljö. Ett alternativt sätt att producera elektrik energi är att använda sig av bränsleceller, vilka kan liknas vid öppna batterier som ständigt kan förses med nytt bränsle och således inte behöver bytas ut efter ett tag. Bränslet som används kan väljas så att dess förbrukning inte innebär någon negativ påverkan på miljön. Den här avhandlingen fokuserar sig på en viss typ av bränsleceller, där man använder sig av specifika proteiner, enzymer, för att omvandla energi från bränslet till elektrisk energi. Som bränsle kan vanligt förekommande kolhydrater, dvs. socker, samt syre användas. Socker och syre används även av vår kropp för att skapa energi, och genom att använda sig av rätt sorts enzymer kan även bränsleceller använda sig av dessa ämnen för att producera elektrisk energi. Således är det möjligt för dessa bränsleceller att producera elektrisk energi placerade inuti oss. Dessa biobränsleceller kan sedan användas för att driva t.ex. olika sensorer direkt i vår kropp som kontinuerligt skulle kunna ge information till sjukvården, utan att använda sig av batterier som behöver bytas ut. Avhandlingen är baserad på att undersöka hur olika bränsleceller som använder sig av enzym fungerar samt att testa dem i olika mänskliga kroppsvätskor samt även inuti levande organismer. Genom att öka förståelsen för detta är förhoppningen att bränsleceller baserade på enzym inom en inte allt för avlägsen framtid kan finna tillämpningar som elektriska försörjare för t.ex. självförsörjande biomedicinska sensorer.

Enzymatic fuel cells (EFCs) are bioelectronic devices based on redox enzymes, which convert chemical energy into electrical energy via biochemical reactions. A major difficulty to overcome is to successfully connect (using e.g., immobilization) the enzymes to the electrode surface. Since the immobilization process often stabilizes the enzyme, the electrode surface and the enzyme/electrode interface is of utmost importance for both the efficiency and stability of the EFC. In this work several different means of establishing the enzyme/electrode connection have been investigated.In order to construct a device that utilizes direct electron transfer the electrode surfaces were modified with nanostructures and, in some designs, self-assembled monolayers of thiols. The performance of the electrodes was evaluated by electrochemical methods, including potential sweeps and chronopotentiometry. Catalytic constants could be calculated mathematically by combining electrochemical methods with surface characterization methods, such as quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation and ellipsometry. All the fuel cells covered by this thesis are based on direct electron transfer processes. All designs also oxidize carbohydrates and reduce oxygen using cellobiose dehydrogenase and multi-copper oxidase, respectively.Our results revealed that the use of particular thiol had the capability to electrically connect cellobiose dehydrogenase to the electrode, equalling the commonly used two-thiol system. Both designs reached similar current densities, Le., about 20 jiA cm 2 with 5 mM lactose and the enzyme immobilized on thiolated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Both Bilirubin oxidase and Trichaptum abietinum Laccase could be directly immobilized on gold nanoparticles and current densities of up to 180 pA cm 2 were achieved. The 9- fold difference in currents with BOx and CDH reveals that the bioanode in this system requires more improvement to match the biocathode in performance. Upon doser inspection of the biointerface as regards the bioanode, it was concluded that a positive charge on the thiol was needed to create a direct (electric) contact between CDH and the electrode surface. Furthermore, the catalytic currents were nearly halved when the charged groups on the thiol were further modified with methyl groups.Biocompatibility of an implantable EFC design was evaluated using cell cultures of mammal cells, which was the first study of its kind. Toxicology tests revealed toxic by-products from the bioanode previously not reported in EFCs implanted in animals. The currents of the EFC was reduced by about half in cell culturing medium (10 1.1A cm') compared to PBS solutions, and was even more drastically reduced upon direct contact with fibroblast cells (1 jiA cm').

Background: Home birth is common in an international perspective but in the West it is a rare occurrence. In the Nordic countries, Iceland and Denmark have the highest home birth rates with about two per cent, Norway and Sweden approximately one per thousand, and in Finland only a dozen women a year give birth to their children in the home. Background: Home birth is common in an international perspective but in the West it is a rare occurrence. In the Nordic countries, Iceland and Denmark have the highest home birth rates with about two per cent, Norway and Sweden approximately one per thousand, and in Finland only a dozen women a year give birth to their children in the home. Data collections and methods: Two interview studies (study I and V) and three questionnaire studies (study II, III and IV) were carried out. The interviews were analyzed with phenomenological-hermeneutical respectively phenomenological approach and the questionnaires with content analysis and descriptive statistical analysis, in study III as parts of the mixed method. Results: Women giving birth at home experience that they can give birth in their own terms with selected supporters around them in an environment where they feel safe (study I). They state that they are highly satisfied with their home birth midwives (study IV). The midwives described their work with assisting home birth as a lifestyle, with an opportunity to realize their full midwifery competence (study V). Women feel that they in a negative way are treated as irresponsible as they choose to give birth at home, and that this seems to strengthen their position to realize it (study II and III). Conclusion: The few women who choose to give home birth in Sweden are highly satisfied with their births experience. They have experienced that people around them, healthcare professionals as well as private individuals, were adverse to their choice and tried to make them change their minds. Women in the Nordic countries experienced that the midwife who assisted the home birth possessed good knowledge, medical as well as emotional and nurse care. Being a home birth midwife in the Nordic countries means to have chosen a lifestyle and a rewarding work, which allows her to use all her midwifery competencies to full extent.

People who inject illegal drugs constitute a vulnerable group in society. Their vulnerability can partly be explained by the negative consequences of the drug use itself and the particular risks associated with injecting, but also by society’s negative view of, and harsh attitude towards, drug users. Injection drug use is a relatively understudied topic in Sweden. The overall aim of this dissertation is to examine life circumstances of people who inject heroin or amphetamines. The dissertation is based on two research projects at Malmö University and includes interviews with a total of over two hundred visitors at the needle exchange program in Malmö as well as focus group discussions with twenty-seven heroin users in treatment. The first project focus on women who use the needle exchange program and on their social situation, income strategies, experience of treatment and care, as well as on their wishes for further societal assistance. The results present a picture of a very heterogeneous group of women, in which most differ from the stereotypical image of the female injection drug user as homeless, destitute, marginalized, and primarily dependent on men or prostitution for their livelihood and access to drugs. Most women were active in the drug economy, they obtained most of the drugs they used on their own, and they supported their drug purchases through both formal and informal sources of income. A small group, mainly women who primarily use heroin, described a very vulnerable and marginalized existence with insecure housing and incomes restricted to dealing, stealing or sex-work. The vast majority of the interviewed women did wish for some sort of societal support in order to change their situation. Most requests involved substance abuse treatment. More than anything, heroin users wished for better access to opioid substitution treatment. Many women also wanted access to women-only treatment facilities. Not all women, though, saw their drug use as problematic or intended to stop using illegal drugs. Some saw society’s poor treatment of drug users and the “repressive” drug policy as a greater problem than the drug use itself. The second research project focus on heroin overdoses. The aim of the project was to gain further knowledge on why overdoses occur, a greater understanding of how heroin users interpret and handle the overdoses of others, as well as to discuss potential interventions to reduce the number of overdose deaths in Sweden. The results showed that the interviewed heroin users generally had good knowledge about overdose risks. Different circumstances, however, caused restricted possibilities to avoid overdose risks or meant that risks were seen as minor compared to the potential gains of drug use. The desire for a powerful high, experience of severe withdrawal symptoms, an unsafe environment, mental ill health, and an “unbearable life situation”, were examples of factors associated with an increased risk of overdoses. Those heroin users who had been present at someone else’s overdose generally had a positive attitude towards assisting the victim, and their actions were often life-saving. However, a number of factors such as the witness’s own intoxication or lack of knowledge of lifesaving measures, as well as fear of police involvement in some cases, led to inadequate responses to overdoses. The interviewees’ accounts point to the need for a more diverse and accessible drug abuse and addiction treatment model but also to the need for interventions that aim to reduce vulnerability and improve life circumstances and health for persons who, for various reasons, continue to use illegal drugs. The results also reveal the need for interventions that improve heroin users’ possibilities for safer drug use, as well as the importance of increasing their potential for helping other heroin users who overdose.

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the academisation of sport in Sweden. This is done by mapping and analysing the scientific knowledge produced in sport research which is then mediated through academic sport education and demanded on the sport labour market. The relationship between these three arenas is also analysed. Various problems, subjects and perspectives which are focused in the arenas above are analysed, as well as the various conditions under which scientific knowledge is produced, mediated and demanded. Finally, the knowledge which is produced, mediated and demanded is analysed in relation to each other. Theory: Academisation can be considered as the process by which scientific knowledge expands and grows in importance for the area of knowledge as a whole. The academic status of an area of knowledge is dependent on the role of scientific knowledge within research, education and in the field of practice. In this thesis, the focus is on the academisation of the specific area of knowledge of sport. The production of scientific knowledge in sport research, mediation of scientific knowledge in higher sport education, application of scientific knowledge in the field of practice and the relationship between the three knowledge arenas is analysed. The study also includes an institutional perspective. Methodology: The thesis consists of three empirical part-studies: sport research, higher sport education and the labour market of sport. Each part-study has its own specific empirical data and specific approach for the collection, processing and analysis of data. Various documents comprise the main source of empirical data in this thesis, and the main methodological approach is content analysis and analysis of existing data. Results: The academisation process of sport in Sweden has come a long way. Today there exists extensive sport research in a wide range of disciplines with a strong core within a few of them. Academic sport education, with two distinct branches/orientations, has been established. There are also employers in the sport labour market seeking employees with academic backgrounds, including a wide variety of organisational types and activities. The way sport is handled and where interest is directed within, however, varies between the arenas of research, education and the labour market; there are diverse traditions and interests within each one. Also, in some areas, the arenas are more in tune with each other than in other areas. As a consequence of research, education and the labour market having been established and institutionalised during different eras and under varying ideological circumstances, they possess different logics as part of their ideological structures. They reproduce specific, historically-shaped patterns of thinking and behaviour. This also explains why research, education and the labour market looks so disparate in terms of what scientific knowledge is being produced, mediated and demanded. In areas where institutionalisation has occurred for a long time, there is a clear reproduction of patterns of thought and action; actors in such areas can be said to be more “path dependent” than others. As a result of sport education being institutionalised to such a low degree, it is also more customisable and flexible compared to the thoroughly-institutionalised sport research; however, it lacks the stability and continuity of sport research. Therefore, education also has, to a larger extent, an ability to adapt to the prevailing ideas and logic of the times, such as market logic – for better or for worse. The academisation of sport can thus be seen as an uneven process or a process “out of step”. Scientific knowledge has different characteristics within sport research, higher sport education and the sport labour market due to disparate institutional conditions and different histories of the different academic arenas. They are, in other words, “children of different times”.

Designing for Homo Explorens is a compositional design perspective within interaction design academia. It extends the Homo Ludens view of humans as playful creatures with the perspective of exploratory interaction. It focuses on socially exploratory interaction between participants mediated through designed artifacts. In the form of a Manifesto, four aspects are introduced which highlight important design dimensions to consider in Designing for Homo Explorens. The four aspects of the Manifesto are concerned with creating exploration through internal complexity, experiential exploration through full-body interaction, social playfulness through distortions of situated norms and a frame for performative interactions. The insights in the four aspects come from knowledge gained through experimenting with twelve working prototypes in real-life contexts, combined with contemporary streams of theory regarding ambiguity, somaesthetics, norms, situatedness and performativity.

Experiences of abuse are common among women in Sweden and being abused during childhood as well as adulthood has consequences for the lives of girls and women. One consequence of abuse is the impact on their mental health, which entails them seeking psychiatric care as a consequence of this. Being abused as a child has consequences during childhood as well as during adolescence and adulthood and there is a link between childhood abuse and mental ill health as an adult. Adults who have experienced abuse during their childhood have poorer mental health as adults and are overrepresented within the health care systems. Women who experience abuse as adults often describe consequences such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder and anxiety. The psychiatric context is often described as being unhelpful when you have experience of abuse and women could be reluctant to disclose their experiences to staff for a variety of reasons. This thesis aims to identify experiences of abuse during childhood and adulthood among women who have experienced abuse and have mental ill health. The thesis also aims to explore women’s disclosure of abuse and experiences of the care provided in a general psychiatric context. The first study aimed to explore women’s disclosure of experiencing physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse to staff during their latest contact at a general psychiatric clinic. The study also aimed to explore whether the women had ever disclosed abuse to anyone at all. Seventy-seven women completed a questionnaire at the clinic and the results showed that the women often disclosed their experiences of abuse to others, but they had often chosen not to disclose their experiences during their latest contact with staff at the general psychiatric clinic. In the second study 10 women were interviewed regarding their experiences of physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse and its influence on their self-reported mental ill health. The overall theme evolving from the interviews were, “Being vulnerable and without protection in a frightful reality that limits one’s possibilities of living and being the person one wishes to be”. The categories that emerged were: ”Living in fear that persistently influences the substance of life”, “Living with the sense of being worthless”, “Living with a constant question about who you are” and “Living between hope and despair”. The third study aimed to elucidate how women subjected to physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse experience the care provided at a general psychiatric clinic after the disclosure of abuse. The overall theme capturing the essence of the nine interviews was visualized as ”Dependency as a reality containing a duality of suffering and trust”. The categories that emerged in the text were: “Being belittled”, “Being misinterpreted” and “Being cared for”. The fourth study aimed to investigate the life course of women within psychiatric care who had experienced abuse. The study also aimed to focus on the women’s resources, stressful events, experience of abuse, perpetrators, mental ill health and care and support throughout the life course. The subcategories that shaped the categories were presented within the life spans; childhood 0-12 years, adolescence 13-19 years and adulthood 20 years and above. The life charts revealed that adulthood was the period of life that had most frequent events of abuse. The women who had few experiences of abuse during childhood had also only a few noted events of mental ill health during that period of life. Emotional abuse was most frequent throughout the life course. Sexual abuse was the lesser noted abuse during childhood, but increased during adolescence and adulthood. The life charts also visualize that the women had seldom revealed the abuse during their childhood to others growing up and as adults the women often went to formal networks for support and care. The results of the thesis show that the general psychiatric care must improve their efforts to identify and support women who have experienced abuse. The women’s own stories regarding experiences of abuse during the life course must be recognized and integrated with traditional biomedical care.

This thesis accounts for a designerly inquiry into the swamp of the opening of production. The “opening of production” refers to the rising of openness, collaboration and sharing in processes through which things are made and service delivered. It is defined as a swamp, because it represents a complex landscape where theory and practice meet and where diverse views and understanding of what openness, collaboration and sharing may entail are intertwined. The interest in exploring such a swamp stems from two concerns. The first is understanding the nature of open, collaborative, sharing production practices and to what extent they can lead to more environmentally and socially sustainable ways of producing things and delivering services. The second concern is how, as a designer, it might be possible to engage in not only envisioning and prototyping, but also in constructing open, collaborative, sharing-production practices. In methodological terms, this thesis uses a programmatic approach, which means the way knowledge is produced is in the interaction between the practice and the program that defines the focus of the inquiry; also, in what is to be explored and how to explore it. In regard to practical work, this thesis is based on two long-term engagements: the setting up and running of a makerspace, Fabriken, and the long-term collaboration with an NGO of immigrant women, Herrgårds Women Association (HWA). The program aims at exploring making commons and does so out of an interest in composing prospects. The notion of making commons brings into the work theories and frames from the academic discourses around commons (i.e. collective and collaborative organizational forms) in order to articulate the nature of open, collaborative and sharing practices; it allows for discussion of the engagements, what they produce, and how they do it. It also allows for consideration into how these practices have been initiated, implemented, and carried out over time. Composing prospects entails a particular way of exploring alternative futures by engaging in collective and located attempts at constructing them. Thus, it defines a possible way for designers to engage in the making. Further, it provides the possibility to relate the engagements to the expectations and broader scenarios emerging in the opening of production and to articulate what kind of making may be at play in acknowledging hypothetical futures as possible presents. This inquiry builds on and addresses the fields of design for social innovation, participatory design, and commons

I avhandlingen undersöks växelverkan mellan det yttersta lagret på växters blad (cutikeln), aktiva substanser, och ämnen som tillsätts för att öka bekämpningsmedlens effekt, i detta fall vissa former av tensider. Barriären som hindrar upptag av främmande ämnen i växten sitter i cutikeln. Det är väl känt att tensider förstärker effekten av aktiva substanser. Kunskapen är dock liten om de mekanismer som underlättar upptaget i växtblad. Det övergripande målet i avhandlingen är att öka kunskapen om hur dessa mekanismer verkar. Att klargöra vilka effekter tensider har på cutikeln och hur dessa möjliggör ett ökat upptag av aktiva substanser. Ytterligare ett mål är att bidra till en mer ekologiskt hållbar användning och förnuftig applicering av bekämpningsmedel inom jordbrukssektorn. Det senare av dessa två mål kan uppnås genom att använda den mest effektiva tensiden för respektive bekämpningsmedel, samt det mest effektiva bekämpningsmedlet för respektive växtsort för att på så vis minimera mängden bekämpningsmedel. Men optimering kräver givetvis förståelse. Det övergripande målet har uppnåtts genom kartläggning av vad som sker i växelverkan mellan tensid, vatten och växtblad. Beståndsdelarna som upprätthåller bladets barriäregenskaper beskrivs, samt hur deras smältbeteende och strukturella egenskaper förändras då vatten tillförs och då tensider är närvarande. En ny modell av vaxbarriären i cutikeln etableras och kartläggs. Modellen används till att undersöka de mjukgörande effekterna tensider och vatten har på cutikeln. Hur tensider ordnar sig i en vattenlösning och hur ordningen förändras när vatten avdunstar beskrivs i avhandlingen. Vidare kartläggs hur tensider absorberas i cutikeln och vilka strukturer som påverkas där. Drivkraften för upptag av bekämpningsmedel i växtblad förklaras, hur tensider påverkar drivkraften och vilka egenskaper hos en blandning som påverkar upptaget utrönas. Hur tensider påverkar parametrar i barriären beskrivs också. Dessa parametrar behandlas på ett sätt som gör det möjligt att förklara de effekter som tensider faktiskt har på distributionen av bekämpningsmedel inuti cutikeln. Slutligen så utvärderas formuleringar på intakta växtblad. Detta möjliggör kartläggning över vilka roller mättnadsgraden av bekämpningsmedel i formuleringar samt effekten av tensider på växtblads barriäregenskaper spelar i bladets upptag av bekämpningsmedel. Dessa resultat sammanfattas i en ny algoritm som gör det möjligt att förutse distributionen av bekämpningsmedel i växtblad vid en given blandning. Växter utgör basen för en klart dominerande del av världens sammantagna produktion av livsmedel och djurfoder. De är också en råvara i ett flertal industriella produkter. Då befolkningen ökar och levnadsstandarden förbättras, ökar också efterfrågan på bättre mat och förbrukningsartiklar från växtbas. För att tillgodose efterfrågan strävar producenter och odlare ständigt efter ökad avkastning. Detta uppnås genom ökade odlingsarealer, effektivare användning av befintlig odlingsmark samt skydd mot skadeangrepp på växter. Det sistnämnda kan göras med hjälp av olika bekämpningsmedel som innehåller aktiva substanser. Faktum är att en livsmedelsproduktion på dagens nivå inte hade varit möjlig utan användning av bekämpningsmedel. Dessa ämnen innebär dock risker, användningen är inte fullt optimerad och förståelsen för skeenden och processer i samband med dess användning är i vissa avseenden fortfarande bristfällig.

The major purpose of this thesis is to investigate some essential aspects of the teachings and philosophy of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (1917-2008) expressed during different periods of time. There is a primary focus on the teachings expressed in Maharishi’s translation and commentary on the didactic poem, Bhagavadgītā, with extensive references to Maharishi’s metaphorical language. The philosophy and teaching expressed in this text is investigated in relation to later texts. Since maybe the most significant and most propagated message of Maharishi was his peace message, its theory and practice, as well as studies published regarding the so-called Maharishi Effect, are reflected in the thesis. Maharishi’s philosophy and teachings are analysed using three categories: 1. Vision and Tradition, as Maharishi could be considered on the one hand, a custodian of the ancient Vedic tradition and is associated with the Advaita Vedānta tradition of Śaṅkara from his master. On the other hand, Maharishi could be considered an innovator of this tradition and a visionary in his interpretation of the Vedic texts in relation to modern science. 2. Consciousness and Experience are central concepts in the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, as well as the relationship between them, which is evidenced by their use in Maharishi’s writing and lecturing. 3. Practice before Theory is a concept used because of the numerous instances in Maharishi’s philosophy and teaching indicating that he put practice before theory for spiritual development. The practice of Transcendental Meditation and the advanced TM-Sidhi programme is according to Maharishi in his vision of a better society most essential and he considered the application of a practice forgotten in many interpretations of texts like the Bhagavadgītā. The thesis thus considers Maharishi’s view on “Veda” and the “Vedic literature”, and on the Self, Ātmā, which could be considered the single most important concept in Maharishi’s world of ideas on which his entire teaching is based.

This thesis concerns the changing predispositions and conditions for contemporary meaning-making in school education. From a socio-cultural perspective, multimodal theory formation is used to find suitable tools and concepts for developing teaching and learning. The overall aims are to investigate and conceptualize meaning-making in school in the frame ofmultimodal theory. Firstly, the research questions are concerned with how teachers work with written; paper-based, expository texts, and secondly, with students' meaning-making, working with meaning-offerings from different modes and media. This is followed by questions surrounding the predispositions for a multimodal view in the Swedish curriculum outline. Finally, the consequences for the role of fiction in education, using multimodal theory formation as a framework are addressed. The thesis presents two empirical studies which investigate meaning-making in upper secondary education, followed by critical discussions of the cmTiculum outline and the role of fiction. The empirical data was collected using methods inspired by ethnography in classes taking social sciences and media courses. The analyses were inspired by multimodal research, and the main analytical tools consist of a discourse framework and model inspired by Roz IvaniC, the Leaming Design Sequence developed by Staffon Selander, the wheel of multimodality and the pedagogy of multiliteracies, both developed by the New London Group and Bill Cope and :Mary Kalantzis. The first study focuses on the teachers' perspective in trying to develop students' meaning-making through written, paper-based expository texts. Analyses within the discourse framework and design layer model are used to describe the teachers' practical theory. The wheel ofmultimodality is used to differentiate the meaning-offerings used in class, and the pedagogy of multiliteracies is used to describe and analyze the discussions in groups and with the teacher. Results highlight three major possibilities for working with written, paper-based expository texts: a vvider view on meaning-making, meaning-offerings encompassing several modes and media, and the teacher's modeling ofthe reading through discussion. The second study describes and analyzes meaning-making and design in learning \vith meaning-offerings from different modes and media from the students' perspective. The analytical tools are the wheel of multimodality, the Learning Design Sequence and the further-developed pedagogy of multiliteracies. Results show a similarity in meaning-making regardless of mode and media, staiiing with the visual mode and with the students focusing their efforts on comprehending the meaning-offering. This can be explained by lack of clarity and lack of guidance which are seen as obstacles for learning. The discussions surrounding the curriculum outline and the role of fiction show that, in using a multimodal theory formation frame, the curriculum does not explicitly support a multimodal view on meaning-making and that fiction can not be seen as unique due to neither mode nor media. The results suggest that multimodal theory formation gives access to tools that are useful in developing students' meaning-making according to the predispositions and conditions oftoday, in which reading development is viewed as part of developing meaning-making as a who lei and that meaning-making in school should be based on a non-hierarchical and inclusive view on modes and media to create a readiness and a flexibility to meet demands of a rapidly-changing society. As a consequence, the curriculum outline needs to be reworded and the role of fiction in education needs to be problematized.

Objective: The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate pregnant women’shistory of violence and experiences of domestic violence during pregnancy andto explore the possible association between such violence and various outcomemeasures as well as background factors. A further aim was to elucidate midwives’awareness of domestic violence among pregnant women as well as women’sexperiences and management of domestic violence during pregnancy.Design/Setting/Population: Paper I utilised material derived from a populationbasedmulti-centre cohort study. A total of 2652 nulliparous women at nineobstetric departments in Denmark answered a self-administrated questionnaireat 37 weeks of gestation. Among the total sample, 37.1% (985) women met theprotocol criteria for labour dystocia. In Paper II an inductive qualitative methodwas used, based on focus group interviews with sixteen midwives working inantenatal care in southern Sweden who were divided into four focus groups. InPaper III a grounded theory approach was used to develop a theoretical modelof ten women’s experiences of intimate partner violence during pregnancy. PaperIV was a cross-sectional study including a cohort of 1939 pregnant women whoanswered a self-administered questionnaire at their first visit to seventeen ANCsin south-west Scania in Sweden.Results: In paper I, 35.4 % (n = 940) of the total cohort of women reportedhistory of violence, and among these, 2.5 % (n = 66) reported exposure toviolence during their first pregnancy. Further, 39.5% (n = 26) of those had neverbeen exposed to violence before. No associations were found between historyof violence or experienced violence during pregnancy and labour dystocia atterm. However, among those women consuming alcoholic beverages during latepregnancy, women exposed to violence had increased odds of labour dystocia(crude OR 1.49, CI: 1.07 – 2.07) compared to women who were unexposedto violence. In Paper II, an overarching category ‘Failing both mother and theunborn baby’ highlighted the vulnerability of the unborn baby and the needto provide protection for the unborn baby by means of adequate care to thepregnant woman. Also, the analysis yielded five categories: 1) ‘Knowledge about‘the different faces’ of violence’ 2) ‘Identified and visible vulnerable groups’, 3)‘Barriers towards asking the right questions’, 4) ‘Handling the delicate situation’and 5) ‘The crucial role of the midwife’. In Paper III, the analysis of the empiricaldata formed a theoretical model, and the core category, ‘Struggling to survivefor the sake of the unborn baby’, constituted the main concerns of women whowere exposed to IPV during pregnancy. The core category also demonstratedhow the survivors handled their situation. Three sub-core categories wereidentified that were properties of the core category; these were: ‘Trapped inthe situation’, ‘Exposed to mastery’ and ‘Degradation processes’. In Paper IV,‘history of violence’ was reported by 39.5% (n = 761) of the women. Prevalenceof experience of domestic violence during pregnancy, regardless of type or levelof abuse, was 1.0 % (n = 18), and prevalence of history of physical abuse byactual intimate partner was 2.2 % (n = 42). The strongest factor associated withdomestic violence during pregnancy was history of violence (p < 0.001). Thepresence of several symptoms of depression was associated with a 7-fold risk ofdomestic violence during pregnancy (OR 7.0; 95% CI: 1.9-26.3).Conclusions: Our findings indicated that nulliparous women who have ahistory of violence or experienced violence during pregnancy do not appearto have a higher risk of labour dystocia at term, according to the definitionof labour dystocia used in this study. Additional research on this topic wouldbe beneficial, including further evaluation of the criteria for labour dystocia(Paper I). Avoidance of questions concerning the experience of violence duringpregnancy may be regarded as failing not only the pregnant woman but also theunprotected and unborn baby. Still, certain hindrances must be overcome beforethe implementation of routine enquiry concerning pregnant women’s experiencesof violence (Paper II). The theoretical model “Struggling to survive for the sakeof the unborn baby” highlights survival as the pregnant women’s main concernand explains their strategies for dealing with experiences of violence duringpregnancy. The findings may provide a deeper understanding of this complexmatter for midwives and other health care professionals (Paper III). The reportedprevalence of domestic violence during pregnancy in southwest Scania in Swedenis low. Both history of violence and the presence of several depressive symptomsdetected in early pregnancy may indicate that the woman also is exposed todomestic violence during pregnancy (Paper IV).

The dental program at the Malmö dental school, the so called Malmö-model, is guided by four linked principles: self-directed learning, teamwork, a holistic view of patient care, and oral health (Fig.1). Figure 1. The four guiding principles of problem based learning at TVH, Malmö.Self-assessment ability is a critical competence for healthcare professionals, necessary for the successful adaptation to the modern life-long learning environment. Educational research seems to point out two critical factors for the development of such skills, continuous practice of self-assessment (1) and constructive feedback (2). The first study (3) presented in this publication assessed students’ self-assessment ability by means of the Interactive Examination in a cohort of senior dental students, who had gone through an identical assessment procedure during their second year of studies (4). The results indicated that self-assessment ability was not directly relevant to subject knowledge. Upon graduation, there were a number of students (10%) with significant self-assessment difficulties. Early detection of students with weak self-assessment abilities appears possible to achieve. The aim of the second study, concerning teamwork and holistic view (5), was to investigate if highlighting teamwork between dental and dental hygienist students could improve the students’ holistic view on patients, as well as their knowledge of, and insight into, each other's future professions. Thus, this project showed that by initiating teamwork between dental and dental hygienist students, it was possible to increase students’ knowledge on dental hygienists competence, develop students’ perceived holistic view on patients, and prepare students for teamwork. The third study explored findings clinicians use when diagnosing chronic periodontitis. A questionnaire was distributed to students, dental teachers and clinical supervisors in the Public Dental Services. Within all categories of clinicians, the majority of the clinicians used deepened pocket, bone loss on x-rays, and bleeding. There were differences in the use of findings between the categories of clinicians. None of the supervisors used attachment loss as a finding, while 13% to 27% of the other categories of clinicians used this finding. A higher frequency of dental hygienist students used plaque, calculus and pus, compared to the other categories.Dental hygienist students used more findings as compared to the other categories of clinicians. Fifty-eight of the 76 clinicians used each finding solitarily, i.e. one at a time, and not in combination to diagnose chronic periodontitis. However, about a third of the dental students and the supervisors only used findings either from the soft tissue inflammation subgroup or the loss of supporting tissue subgroup. With the exception of the dental teachers, the majority of clinicians within each category used irrelevant findings. The third study (6) gave valuable information when designing the fourth study (7). The In the fourth study, a questionnaire was distributed to 2,440 professional clinicians, i.e. dentists and dental hygienists in public and private activity, and dental students at the Dental school in Malmö. The results showed that two groups, representing dentists and dental hygienists delivering basic periodontal care in Sweden, were to a significant degree not sharing the knowledge basis for diagnosis and treatment planning. This may result in a less optimal utilization of resources in Swedish dentistry. The delivery of basic periodontal care was not in line with the severity of disease and too much attention was paid to the needs of relatively healthy persons. To change this pattern, the incentives in, and structure of, the national assurance system need to be adapted in order to stimulate a better inter-collegial cooperation between dentists and dental hygienists in basic periodontal care.

Abstract This dissertation is a qualitative study exploring the sociocultural influences on adult migrants’ second language learning and the communicative interaction through which they use the language. Guided by a theoretical perspective based on the concepts of life-world, habitus, social capital, symbolic honor, game, and the idea of the interrelatedness of learning and using a second language, this study aims to understand how migrants’ everyday life context, attachments to the home country, and ethnic affiliations affect the motivation for and attitude towards learning and using Swedish as a second language. Furthermore, the study explores in what way the context within which the language is taught and learned might affect the language development of adult migrants. The research questions of the study focus on both the institutional context, that is to say, what happened in a particular classroom where the study observations took place, and a migrant perspective based on the participants’ experiences of living in Sweden, learning the language and using it. Semi-structured interviews, informal conversational interviews, and classroom observations have been used as strategies to obtain qualitative data. The findings suggest that most of the participants experience feelings of non-belonging and otherness both in the classroom context and outside the classroom when they use the language. These feelings of non-belonging make the ties to other ethnic establishments stronger and lead to isolation from the majority society. The feelings of otherness, per se, are not only related to a pedagogical context that advocates monoculturalism but are also rooted in the migrants' life-world, embedded in dreams of going back to the home country, while forging a constant relation to ethnic networks, and in the practice of not using the Swedish language as frequently in the everyday life context as would be needed for their language development. Keywords: Adult migrants, second language learning, communicative interaction, sociocultural context, life-world, habitus, symbolic capital, social capital

Studiens syfte är att genom ett didaktiskt närmande beskriva och analysera musikstunder i förskolepraktiker. Studiens syfte är också att på en vetenskaplig grund spåra och utpröva begrepp som kan beteckna och fånga musikstundernas figuration, i detta fall en beskrivning av fenomenet som leder till ett didaktiskt begrepp. Som teoretisk resurs prövas begrepp inom ramen för musikdidaktisk teori, bildningsteori och musicking-teori. Empiri har genererats genom videoobservation på tre anonymiserade förskolor, en dag i veckan under åtta månader. Det har genererat 46 filmade musikstunder. Ett centrerat innehåll under musikstunderna, handlar främst om lärande i och med musik, mindre om och genom musik. Musikstundernas innehåll framstår som sporadisk och fragmentarisk, musik för stunden, men också som spontant improviserad musik i stunden. En del av till exempel musikens grundelement bearbetas. Musikstunden kan tolkas röra sig mellan en materiell och formell bildningsteori. Ibland är musiken som objekt i fokus, ibland är barnen i fokus, men musikstunder där pedagogerna fokuserar på samspelet mellan musiken och barnen, ett arbete i enlighet med en kategoriell teori är mindre ofta framträdande. Iscensättande handlar sammanfattningsvis om att musikstundernas igångspel och avslut ibland sker genom musik, men för det mesta sker det i form av talad instruktion (mer eller mindre lekfullt). Sång är ofta av reproducerande karaktär, instrumentspel är oftast av improviserande karaktär och rörelsen har såväl reproducerande som improviserande karaktär. För att synliggöra aktörskap i musikstunderna har jag spårat aktörerna, eller som jag i detta musikpedagogiska sammanhang kallar för spelare. Spelarna, det vill säga barnen, pedagogerna och musiken kan tolkas ha olika former av aktörskap, de kan vara igångsättande solister, medspelare, samspelare och/eller motspelare. Genom avhandlingsarbetet formuleras och prövas även musikskap som konstrueras som en resurs för reflektion kring musikstunder. Musikskap, där musiken är en länk i en sammanflätad process, säger sammanhållet något om vad som händer i musikstunder som figuration. Begreppet påverkas även av en mer övergripande syn på vad musik görs till och vad pedagogerna lägger sitt fokus på så som musiken, barn/process eller mötet. Musikskap kan sägas ha tre spår, vilka fokuserar musikstundernas innehåll, form och aktörskap. Den innehållsliga dimensionen handlar om möjliggörande att lära i, om, med och genom musik. Den formmässiga dimensionen handlar om ett iscensättande av musikstundens process, olika aktiviteter, form och tillvägagångssätt. Den tredje dimensionen fokuserar hur det, under musikstunden inte enbart är barnen och pedagogerna som är aktörer, utan även musiken har med sin kraft att påverka aktörskap. Begreppet musikskap koncentreras till att handla om • innehåll som rörelse mellan linjär och icke-linjär riktning. Mellan innehåll som objekt och innehåll som rörelse i riktning, ej fastställt innehåll och rörliga mål. • iscensättande där musik och form för musikstundens aktiviteter (sång, spel och rörelse) varieras i samspel mellan exempelvis reproducerande och improviserande form. • aktörskap i rörelse mellan olika spelare, igång-, med-, sam- och motspelare. Musikstunden som nätverk bestående av aktörer, där alla tre aktörerna, barnen, pedagogerna och musiken har aktörskap. Musikskap kan ses som något som öppnar upp för ett sätt att kritiskt och möjligen även kreativt förhålla sig till musikstunder, inriktat på process och ständig tillblivelse som en form av musikrelaterad gestaltning. En sammanfogning för både frigörande och styrande relationer i nätverk. Ett begrepp som rör sig mellan det faktiska och det som möjligen kan bli, öppnande för analys av och förståelse för musikstunder.

Kommuners upprättande av lokala bedömningsprogram, där vad som sker i den pedagogiska praktiken ska utvärderas och kontrolleras, kan ses som exempel på hur en utvidgad bedömningskultur på internationell och nationell nivå transformerats till lokal nivå. I denna studie undersöks vilka konsekvenser en utökad bedömningskultur kan få för såväl pedagoger som för elever och undervisningsmiljö. Studiens övergripande syfte är att bidra med kunskap om hur ett lokalt bedömningsuppdrag i grundskolan, baserat på ett externt utformat och normrelaterat läs- och skrivprov kan upplevas och tolkas av berörda pedagoger. Vidare syftar studien till att bidra med kunskap om vilka konsekvenser ett bedömningsuppdrag enligt ovan kan leda till på organisations-, grupp- och individnivå. Studien utgår från det sociokulturella perspektivets grundläggande syn på kunskap och lärande och genomförs med fallstudien som ansats. Källor som används är dokument skrivna till följd av bedömningen samt intervjuer med berörda klasslärare och specialpedagoger. Trots intentionen från central kommunnivå att med bedömningsresultatet som grund planera och implementera åtgärder på organisations-, grupp- och individnivå visar studien att bedömningen primärt resulterar i kategorisering av elever. Eleven sätts i fokus gällande såväl vem som blir bärare av identifierade problem som åtgärder för att kompensera identifierade brister. Bedömningsuppdraget som i grunden ter sig vara enkelt visar på en komplexitet med ett antal dilemman som följd. Pedagogernas tolkningar av bedömningsuppdraget analyseras med hjälp av de grundläggande didaktiska begreppen varför, vem, vad och hur och med begreppen performativitet och löst kopplade system analyseras de ställningstaganden de gör. För analys av bedömningens konsekvenser blir synsätt på och begrepp rörande kunskapsbedömning och specialpedagogik centrala utgångspunkter.

This is a collaborative practice-based thesis by publication written across two disciplines: interaction design, and media and communication studies. Based on Threads – a Mobile Sewing Circle, a travelling exhibition in which participants are invited to embroider an SMS by hand and with an embroidery machine connected to a mobile phone, this thesis puts forward the concept of publics-in-the-making. The potentialities of publics-in-the-making is explored through the figuration of patchworking. Patchworking has, for example, been used in the writing of this thesis and in the composition of Threads. As a method, patchworking ways of knowing should be understood as a response to a widespread call across disciplines for new ways of knowing mess and complexities in technological society. We are in dialogue here especially with those engaged with new feminist materialism, the material turn, and posthumanities. More specifically, patchworking ways of knowing means knowing through collective interventions and staying with such interventions. In this thesis patchworking is used to explore and speculate on the potentialities of publics-in-the-making, publics that emerge out of making things together, in which actors and issues are not pre-set but in the making. This kind of public engagement in issues of living with technologies is proposed as part of a larger repertoire of designerly public engagement that happens within participatory design, media archaeology, critical making and speculative design. Drawing on American pragmatism and feminist technoscience, we argue that everyday living with technologies makes us entangled and implicated in diverse issues characterised by multiple uncertainties. Given that it is not always possible to know what the concern is, who is concerned, and how it could be addressed, making is explored both in terms of its potential to bring humans and nonhumans together, and as a mode of engaging with issues related to living with technologies. Publics-in-the-making is thereby put forward as publics that gather because of a shared area of curiosity, rather than an emergency, and where issues are co-articulated in the making. While these co-articulated issues are rarely resolved, we argue that the making in Threads becomes a way of practising caring curiosity towards ongoing and emerging issues related to living with technologies. Publics-in-the-making should not be understood as an argument against other kinds of public engagement, but as complementary, since all handle different aspects of living with technologies. In line with most practice-based research, we argue that method and that which is explored cannot be separated. This means that method and problem emerge together, or are made together. In this case the patchworking ways of knowing have been used to speculate on and to explore potentialities of publics-in-the-making. The patchworking of Threads is thereby both the method and that which is explored and speculated upon. Through patchworking publics-in-the-making we build on and contribute to re-patternings and re-imaginations of interaction design and communication studies through a turn to feminist technoscience. We are thus able to explore multiple temporalities, issues of linearity and discreteness, and concerns around human-centeredness - as well as the ethics of such boundary-making. This thesis works simultaneously with several temporalities: that which is at hand, as well as that which is yet to come.

Karies är en stor folksjukdom, trots att den både kan förebyggas och behandlas effektivt. Om man inte ingriper preventivt och låter det naturliga förloppet råda, kommer kariesangreppet till slut att bryta igenom emaljen och involvera även den underliggande dentinvävnaden. Kariessjukdomen orsakas av orala mikroorganismer, som en konsekvens av dessas nedbrytning av kostrelaterade kolhydrater. Som en biprodukt bildas då syror som löser upp (demineraliserar tandvävnaden), så att synliga hål till slut bildas. Syran kan lösa upp mineralfasen i tanden, men dentin består även till stor del av kollagen, vilket inte kan lösas upp av enbart syror. Man hänförde länge detta till proteinnedbrytande bakterier, men det har visat sig att munhålebakterierna inte har förmågan att lösa upp kollagen, och man tror nu att denna nedbrytning sker med hjälp av kroppsegna enzymer, bland annat matrix metalloproteinaser (MMP). De biologiska mekanismerna bakom kollagennedbrytning vid dentinkaries är emellertid dåligt undersökta, och delar av denna rapport (Studie III och IV) inriktar sig därför på detta område. Syran som bakterierna bildar skapar också en sur närmiljö för dem själva, vilket gör det svårt för dem att överleva, särskilt i ett begränsat utrymme som ett kariesangrepp. Man har länge ansett att endast vissa specifika bakterier har förmågan att leva och trivas i sura miljöer, men nya studier har ifrågasatt detta. I denna rapport (Studie II) undersöks även förekomsten av syratåliga bakterier på olika nivåer i dentinkariesangrepp med hjälp av en ny metod. Målet vid avlägsnande av karies är att ta bort fullständigt förstörd tandvävnad, men att försöka spara så mycket som möjligt av den delvis skadade vävnaden, vilken kan återställas. Detta har också aktualiserats då nya operativa principer och material lanserats under den senaste tioårsperioden. Det är emellertid svårt att avgöra var gränsen går kliniskt, och ett sätt att mäta dentinets ”friskhet” kan vara att mäta antalet bakterier i vävnaden. I den första rapporten (Studie I) undersöks den kvarvarande bakterieförekomsten efter kariesborttagning med två olika operativa metoder. Avhandlingen söker svar på följande frågeställningar: Studie I. Finns det några skillnader vad gäller antal kvarvarande bakterier efter dentinkariesavlägsnande med mekanisk (vanligt borr) eller kemo-mekanisk (Carisolv) metod? Studie II. Hur ser sammansättningen av den syratåliga bakteriefloran ut på tre olika nivåer i olika dentinkariesangrepp? Studie III. Finns det något samband mellan förekomsten av etablerade kariesangrepp och nivåerna av enzymet MMP-8 och dess nedreglerande protein TIMP-1 i saliv? Studie IV. Kan man framställa demineraliserat dentinmatrix med bibehållen biologisk aktivitet inför framtida studier av mekanismerna bakom nedbrytning av kollagen vid dentinkaries? Vad händer spontant med detta demineraliserade dentinmatrix över tid? Huvudfynden i studierna är: 1. Båda metoderna för att avlägsna dentinkaries minskade bakterieantalet radikalt. Det finns dock alltid kvar små mängder av bakterier i kaviteten. 2. Alla de undersökta kaviteterna hade en unik sammansättning av syratåliga bakterier, både till typ och antal, vilket indikerar att ett flertal olika bakterier har förmågan att anpassa sig till sura miljöer och potentiellt bidra till kariesutvecklingen. Vidare, fungerade de pH-specifika odlingsmedierna väl för att få fram de syratåliga bakterierna, något som är svårt med konventionella metoder. 3. Försökspersoner med etablerade dentinkariesangrepp uppvisade mycket högre förekomst av MMP-8 i saliven jämfört med kariesfria försökspersoner. Det nedreglerande proteinet TIMP-1 uppvisade inga samband alls. 4. Dentinmatrix framställt med båda testmetoderna uppvisade förekomst av intakt kollagen, samt aktivt MMP-8. Vidare så uppvisades en spontan nedbrytning av kollagen över tid, vilket tolkades som mestadels ett resultat av det aktiva MMP-8 enzymet. De nyvunna grundkunskaperna bildar underlag för nya studier inom forskningsområdet, samt för nya behandlingsmetoder, framför allt sådana som skulle kunna moderera eller förhindra dentinkariesprogression.

In the context of globalization, the requirements on transport logistics continuously rise. Often goods travel through many different countries, using several transport modes and involving a number of different actors. Implementing some level of intelligence on the goods, which provide them with the capabilities to assist in the logistical activities, is one of the instruments that can be used to improve control and efficiency in transports and goods-handling. The concept of intelligent goods both opens up for new types of services and may be used to improve currently available services. The research is mainly focused on the characteristics, possible architectures, and applications of intelligent goods systems. In this context, an intelligent goods system refers to a number of interacting components, e.g. on-board units, servers, and RFID tags, which together provide intelligent goods services. Intelligent goods refer to goods with a higher degree of intelligence than just providing the ID of the goods, and generally the concept involve information processing and/or storage on or close to the goods, acting on behalf of the goods throughout the whole transport. The purpose of the studies is to investigate how intelligent goods can be used to improve goods transports in terms of more efficient goods-handling as well as better control of the goods and the transportation process, but also in terms of more efficient information sharing, e.g. between different actors. This may in turn provide reduced costs, environmental impact and usage of infrastructure. The research is concentrated on the communication and processing of information before, during and after transport. Most of the research results are applicable to ii goods transport by any mode, whereas some of the research has an emphasis on road transport. A framework is presented which can be used to describe intelligent goods systems, including the capabilities of the goods, necessary information entities related to the goods, as well as a number of primitive services that can be used as building blocks when creating more advanced intelligent goods services. Furthermore, a new approach to service description is proposed, which can be used to, amongst others, define an intelligent goods service and to perform architecture analyses. By identifying architectures corresponding to different service solutions, intelligent goods can be compared with other types of solutions, for instance more centralized approaches. In particular, different situations and services put different requirements on a system and the benefits of using intelligent goods vary. In order to investigate how intelligent goods may be applied in practice, two services have been examined in more detail: a dynamic shelf- life prediction service, and a consignment-level emission allocation service. These studies involve field tests, interviews and simulations. Finally, an investigation of how intelligent goods systems can be modelled as multi-agent systems is also included.

This doctoral thesis investigatef and describes the design process of two physics teachers and myself in developing and trying out language based learning activities in a first year physics course in two classes in ml urban high school in Sweden. The design process, which goes on for almost three semesters, and these activities are seen as an intervention into the two physics teachers' teaching practice with the aim of contributing to learning and improved practice for them, and in turn, to improved learning of physics for their students. The research questions relate to the design process1 the teachers' teaching repertoire, and to the students' speaking and writing as part of the language based lenrning activities. The background of the thesis is an increased need to high light and to take into account linguistic factors in content area teaching for the reason of linguistic heterogeneity within the student body. Linguistic diversity refers to students having another first langungc tlmn Swedish, the langunge of instruction, and to students being more or less familiar with the specialized academic language used in formal education. The overall theoretical perspective is socio•culturnl, placing an emphasis on language as a mediating tool for meaning-making in situated practices. The empirical mnlerinl mainly consists of field notes and audio recordings from observations of the physics teaching and from the weekly planning meetings but also of sludent texts and audio recordings of students' small group conversations. The teacher group develops nnd tries a number of language centered learning activities1 and their objectives are stated in terms of language tasks to be performed with a specific content. Even though the design process is a collaborative effort, the two physics teachers show difthences in two areas: a) emphasizing speaking or writing aS the main mediating tool in the learning activities, b) creating activities where the students' knowledge construction is either more of a putting together and presenting the content or more of on unpacking and trying it out. This diftercncc might be seen as placing an emphasis on the process towards the goal versus placing it on the film! goal. The student conversations in small groups are oriented towards the content and the topic of the assignment, and they arc cooperative. They also tend to be a matter of accumulating knowledge more than exploring knowledge, which means that criHcal and explorntive features are less prominent The student texts can be seen either ns independent texts or satellite texts, the former intending to state knowledge conclusively while the latter intend to support conversf"ltions. The teacher group tend to plan language centered learning activities towards the end of a content area, and the activities are seen as most relevnnt at points where a move to a more abstract level of knowledge is required. The activities gain a formative function in the teaching process.

Studiens övergripande syfte är att undersöka möjligheter och hin-der till att genomföra sex- och samlevnadsundervisning inom gym-nasiesärskole- och habiliteringsverksamheter. Bakgrunden är att unga med intellektuella funktionsnedsättningar har sämre kun-skaper om kropp, sexualitet och samlevnad än andra. Studien syftar till att undersöka personalens attityder till och erfarenheter av sex- och samlevnadsundervisning. Fokus ligger på 1) målsättningen med sex- och samlevnadsundervisning, 2) sexualitet, könsnormer och heteronormen, och 3) egna förutsättningar att arbeta med sex- och samlevnadsundervisning. Empirin insamlades med hjälp av kvalita-tiva fokusgrupper och analyserades med stöd av teorin om sociala representationer. Studiens resultat visar bl.a. att sexualitet hos unga med intellektuella funktionsnedsättningar främst ses ur ett riskper-spektiv. De tillskrivs ett ansvar att hantera sexuella risker samtidigt som de anses sakna förmåga att ta detta ansvar. Deras sexualitet görs till en annorlunda typ av sexualitet där den s.k. normala sexua-liteten definieras som den hos personer utan intellektuella funkt-ionsnedsättningar. Flickors och homo-, bi, -trans- och queerperso-ners sexualitet problematiseras oftare jämfört med pojkars och heterosexuella ungdomars. Personalen anser sig sakna utbildning och mandat från arbetsgivares sida att arbeta med ämnet. Studien visar på vikten av utbildnings- och stödinsatser riktade till gymnasi-esärskole- och vuxenhabiliteringspersonalen avseende sex- och samlevnadsundervisning, vilket kommer unga med intellektuella funktionsnedsättningar till gagn.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur elever med utländsk bakgrund, som bor och går i skolan i mångkulturella och socialt utsatta områden, upplever sina möjligheter att lära matematik. Uppsatsen tar upp och diskuterar hur allmänna diskurser påverkar elevernas förgrunder och rationaler för lärande, och hur dessa på olika sätt bidrar till hur eleverna upplever sina möjligheter att lära matematik. Empirin består av fokusgruppintervjuer med årskurs 9 elever. Studien visar bland annat att elevers med utländsk bakgrund tillkortakommande i matematik påverkas av flera olika faktorer, varav de flesta eleverna inte själva kan förändra. Studien pekar på att det är av vikt att man även beaktar de allmänna diskursernas inverkan på elevernas möjligheter att lära matematik. Eleverna lever med dessa diskurser och har accepterat dem som ”sanna”. En implikation av resultaten i denna studie är att tillgången till en likvärdig matematikutbildning för elever i svensk grundskola behöver problematiseras och även inkludera faktorer som förekommer utanför matematikklassrummet

This thesis is a study of configurations of identity in American mainstream comics. It focuses on how a small number of writers of Jewish descent have expressed or disciplined their Jewishness in relation to their creations. In an attempt to revise common linear narratives, the thesis presents three case studies of famous and influential comics texts with different primary foci: a chapter on Superman asks how characterization was used to configure identity in relation to contemporary society; a chapter on Will Eisner asks how identity was configured and reconfigured in the creator’s work and self-representation; and a chapter on the X-Men asks how identity was configured and reconfigured with reference to the series’ central trope, mutantcy. The aim of these studies is to investigate how Jewishness and Americanness, as well as other subject positions that implicitly affect how people think and write, can intersect or converge in mass culture representation. In doing this, the thesis also engages in a critical dialogue with extant writing on the subject of Jews and comics. The chosen texts are analyzed using a methodology based on theories of representation and on the basis of a social constructivist paradigm of identity and identity formation. From this perspective, it is first argued that the early Superman, rather than being a Moses or golem figure as others have suggested, reverberated with a contemporary Jewish American project to construct a Jewish American heritage and to represent Jewish interests as aligned with national interests. The second chapter argues that Will Eisner’s The Spirit was configured in similar ways, but also that its use of blackface stereotypes constituted race talk, or denigration of African Americans as a means of entry into majority culture. The second half of the chapter argues that Eisner’s use of Jewish significations in his later career was not ethnography but a claim to authenticity, in support of an attempt to “whiten” the comics medium and bring it into the mainstream of American culture. The third chapter suggests that rather than having initially been racial allegory, the X-Men was a product of the Cold War, and that when civil rights discourse began to enter the series, it did so in a way that was common to liberal Jewish rights activism. It is then argued that the increased prominence of themes of prejudice and oppression in the second series was not directly intended to metaphorize Jewishness, as has been claimed, but to construct an open sign of outsiderhood for any reader to inhabit. Finally, it is argued that the reimagining of one the series’ oldest characters as a Holocaust survivor was connected with the writer’s Jewishness, but that this expression of ethnic identity was subsumed under an Americanizing representational logic. The concluding chapter argues that the popular literature on Jews and comics is best situated within a framework of present-day Jewish American identity formation, and that it constructs myths of a Jewish–comics connection to bolster contemporary Jewishness. In doing so, it is argued, the books employ common contemporary Jewish American themes and symbols to reshape the past of American comics in a way fitting current Jewish American concerns. The chapter then turns to methodological problems stemming from the use of these books in academic writing. This use, along with other issues that have become visible during the production of the thesis, is argued to be potentially detrimental to the study of Jews and comics, and to comics studies in general. Finally, after a summation of the thesis’ findings, it is suggested that the historical Jewish–comics connection, rather than being one of surreptitious symbolic or metaphorical reproduction of elements from religious or historical Jewish traditions, is perhaps instead best understood as an existential connection that emerged from the writers’ individual attempts to navigate the ways Judaism and Americanism hailed them and exerted social pressures.

“I felt like I’d done three rounds with Mike Tyson…all becauseI was grinding my teeth in my sleep”, så beskrev en patient somintervjuades av Daily Mail i en artikel där det ökade problemet medöverbelastning i käkarna beskrevs, vilket kan leda till tandslitage,muskelsmärta, och frakturer på tandmaterial. Det personliga lidandet,och de ekonomiska kostnaderna för både individ och samhälle ärstort. Bruxism innebär en daglig och/eller nattlig tandpressningeller tandgnissling och anges med en förekomst av ca 10-20% ibefolkningen.Tidigare undersökningar har visat att tandpressning ochpsykologisk stress är vanligare bland patienter med kroniskmuskelsmärta i ansiktet jämfört med friska försökspersoner, ochanses kunna bidra till kronisk muskelsmärta i ansiktet, så kalladmyofasciell temporomandibulär dysfunktion (M-TMD). Dethar även föreslagits att bruxism, t ex tandpressning, kan leda tillträningsvärk i tuggmuskulaturen. M-TMD är ett smärttillstånd somkan drabba tuggmuskulaturen och är ungefär dubbelt så vanligt hoskvinnor som hos män. Vanligt förekommande symtom är smärtaoch ömhet i tuggmuskulaturen, men även en reducerad tuggfunktion.Flera studier har använt sig av experimentellatandpressningsmodeller för att öka förståelsen mellan tandpressningoch smärta i tuggmuskulaturen. I dessa studier har olika stor bitkraftanvänts vid tandpressningen, vilket resulterar i att det blir svårt attjämföra resultaten från dessa studier och dra slutsatser om vilkatandpressningsmodeller som är de mest optimala.12Vid tandpressning så kan det bli syrefattigt i tuggmuskulaturen,vilket kan resultera i en frisättning av smärtframkallande substanser,såsom serotonin och glutamat. I tuggmuskulaturen finns detsmärtreceptorer som kan aktiveras av dessa substanser. I tidigarestudier har man observerat att patienter med M-TMD har en högrehalt av dessa substanser i tuggmuskulaturen jämfört med friskaindivider.Finns det ett samband mellan tandpressning och träningsvärk?Hur kommer det sig att patienter med M-TMD har en högre haltav serotonin och glutamat i tuggmuskulaturen? Denna kunskapsaknas idag, således var det övergripande målet med denna avhandlingatt öka kunskapen om detta. På sikt kan denna kunskap bidra tillförbättrade diagnostiska metoder, och behandlingsmodeller.I studie I så utvecklades ett instrument som undersöker kvalitetenpå experimentella bruxismstudier, som senare kan användas i ensystematisk översikt, så att slutsatser kan dras avseende de mestoptimala experimentella bruxism modellerna som inducerar ensmärta på friska individer som efterliknar den kliniska smärtan sompatienter med M-TMD uppvisar.I studie II undersöktes sambandet mellan tandpressning vidolika bitkraftsnivåer och träningsvärk. Våra resultat antyder attträningsvärk i tuggmuskulaturen inte tycks uppstå efter experimentelltandpressning hos friska individer.I delstudier III och IV undersöktes frisättning av serotonin ochglutamat efter tandpressning hos friska individer och patienter medM-TMD med hjälp av mikrodialys. De huvudsakliga fynden var attvi kunde bekräfta tidigare fynd, att patienter med M-TMD har enhögre halt av serotonin i tuggmuskulaturen. Däremot utsöndradesdessa substanser inte i samband med tandpressning, varken hosfriska individer eller hos patienter.