NO 2 | APRIL 2016
No future without butterflies Biodiversity must be protected says Alexandre Antonelli. RESEARCHER MOBILITY
AFTER THE KI SCANDAL
NEW FORMS OF GOVERNANCE
GU bottom amongst 10 higher education institutions
Signs of an unhealthy publication culture
The way to save collegiality
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Vice Chancellor
New system must give everyone the chance of higher education recently decided to thoroughly review the entire system for access to first-cycle higher education programmes. This is good and comes not a day too soon. The present system has undergone much patching up and is not particularly comprehensible. It is both pleasing and an honour that the task has been confided to our own university director, Jörgen Tholin. At the start of each semester, it has become something of a habit for me to often congratulate our new students on their wisdom in choosing to begin university studies. I also point out that education is an investment in the future and should never be regarded as a cost. Education is always beneficial and useful, not only, obviously enough, in working life, but also in private life as an individual and as a member of a community. T H E G OV E R N M E N T H A S
A N E W A D M I S S I O N system for higher education must give the chance to study to all those who want it and have the ability. They may be adolescents direct from upper-secondary school or people who have started working but now want to try advanced studies. Why not also those who have careers and good academic qualifications, but who need extra knowledge or to switch to something different? Not least, they may be all the new people who are now coming to Sweden and who want nothing more than to start studying or to recommence studies they were forced to break off when fleeing wars and conflicts. Early in life, it is not easy to know which choices are the right ones. This applies to
education just as much as to many other things. Being able to choose or rechoose later in life is not only another opportunity for the individual, it is also something that is increasingly important for a society in constant change. Tomorrow’s working life, with all its challenges – digitalisation to name but one – will quite simply demand lifelong learning in which individuals have the opportunity to continuously improve themselves and can move back and forth between career and studies. Knowledge is also a prerequisite for an inclusive society that builds on democracy and involved citizens. A PR E V I O U S O PP O R T U N IT Y for people with work experience to begin studying was the so-called 25:4 rule. We no longer have it. It was a special quota for people who had turned 25, satisfied the entry requirements in Swedish and English and had been working for at least four years. As a way of reducing recruitment imbalance to higher education institutions, I feel a good dusting is in order to see whether the 25:4 rule can come back in some form or other. For a knowledge nation such as Sweden, it is always important to take a long-term approach as regards expertise and know-how. The extra pressure for new knowledge and understanding inherent in the implementation of the UN’s 17 new sustainability goals means that we still need an educational system that recognises wide and innovative thinking. Labour market demands must never ever be the sole determiner. On the contrary, employers need to be more open to new and mixed skills. They also need to dare to recruit based on criteria different to those they are used to. Not the least of the factors necessary for developing the country’s innovativeness is the ability to identify and acknowledge the skills and merits of our new arrivals. Remember too that knowledge breakthroughs are often made at the intersections between different skill sets and that the meeting of people with different understandings creates new ideas.
A MAGAZINE FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE UNIVERSIT Y OF GOTHENBURG
April–May 2016 E D I TO R - I N C H I E F A N D P U B L I S H E R
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Johan Wingborg 031 - 786 29 29 johan.wingborg@gu.se G R A P H I C F O R M A N D L AYO U T
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T R A N S L AT I O N
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GU Journal University of Gothenburg Box 100, 405 30 Gothenburg E-MAIL
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Alexandre Antonelli, new professor in Systematics and Biodiversity Photo: Johan Wingborg
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PHOTO: JOHAN WINGBORG
Contents
GUJOURNAL 2 | 2016
3
THE VICE-CHANCELLOR’S COLUMN
2 Open higher education to more people! NEWS
4 Few employees have a foreign PhD. 6 After the Macchiarini affaire. 7 GU’s first work-experience refugee. 8 Collegial governance not perfect, but the best we have, opines Ulla Eriksson- Zetterquist.
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10 Climate issues concern us all. Report from conference. 11 Without freedom no research.
Mathematician helps Nordicom
PROFILE
12 Biodiversity more important than the climate, states Alexandre Antonelli. REPORT 16 Nadine Ketel from the Netherlands researches on welfare.
She is the University’s first work-experience refugee.
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18 New research on word use in surveys.
We are all biologists
CHRONICLE 20 How to handle radicalisation.
Alexandre Antonelli wants to protect biodiversity.
11 16
Researcher on welfare
Science needs freedom
Nadine Ketel wants to make a difference.
Ola Larsmo thinks that freedom of speech is necessary.
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The Editors: Journal promotes open debate I N T H E PR E V I O U S issue, we published a letter to the editor that attracted a great deal of attention. It was about whether a manager has the right to censor debate in social media. As the writers were uneasy about reprisals, we published the letter anonymously. To be consistent, we also chose not to publish the names of the implicated heads of department. However, even before the Journal came out, the newspaper GöteborgsPosten (GP) had got wind of the letter. GP published both names and pictures. The article resulted in strong reactions that terminated in legal consequences. We consider that the letter
was thereby blown out of all proportion. The main reason for this high tone is, of course, the disputes that have been ongoing for several years in the Faculty of Arts. In this issue, we publish several contributions in which colleagues urge a more level-headed debate. T H E WO R LD’ S O LD E ST press freedom statute celebrates its 250th birthday this year. Its Swedish genesis is truly something to be proud of. As editors of the University’s staff magazine, we can, however, justifiably be surprised by how little staff members at one of the country’s largest higher education institutions know about their rights.
Yes, you do have the right to give your opinion on various questions. No, you do not have to ask your manager first. This ought to be obvious. T H I S S PR I N G , we will be publishing three issues instead of four. Cuts of around SEK 55,000 in our budget are the reason. One of the goals in Vision 2020 is the strengthening of internal communication. Furthermore, the University’s communication strategy, decided by the vice-chancellor, very clearly sets out that the University of Gothenburg ought to invest more on: internal communication; strengthening communication initiatives
between the various parts of the University; and, favouring quality rather than quantity. GU Journalen is a University-wide channel that has high credibility and trustworthiness. Credibility is particularly important. It is absolutely critical for newspapers and universities alike. IT I S J O U R N A LE N ’ S role not only to spread news about the university, but also to promote open debate. With fewer issues, it will be difficult to keep debate alive. To quote Ola Larsmo, the chairman of Swedish PEN: “Without freedom there is no development.”
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News
Low mobility rate A comparison has shown that the University of Gothenburg recruits relatively few people with foreign doctoral degrees. As regards increases in the number of employees with foreign doctoral degrees, the University is the lowest placed of ten higher education institutions. This is shown by a unique examination carried out by GU Journal. “We have made major investments and it will be some years before they give results,” comments Vice-Chancellor Pam Fredman. FRO M 2 0 07 TO 2 0 14 , internal recruitment (i.e. recruitment of people with doctoral degrees from own higher education institution) fell at all 10 higher education institutions. At the same time, there was an across the board increase in external recruitment and the number of employees with foreign doctoral degrees. Although that is the trend, there are clear differences between the universities. The higher education institution with the low est proportion of internally recruited professors, senior lecturers and career-development appointees (postdoctors included therein) is the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) with 47.7 per cent. Yet, over the years, the University of Stockholm has had the greatest success in both its internal and external recruitment. The University of Gothenburg’s figures are less flattering. From 2007/2008 to 2013/2014, the number of employees with doctoral degrees from own higher education institution dropped by 3 percentage points. The increase in foreign recruitment was, however, only 1.6 percentage points. Pam Fredman is not surprised by the results. “ T H E U N I V E R S IT Y O F Gothenburg has historically had a high level of internal recruitment. Ever since the RED 10 research evaluation, the external recruitment issue has been in focus. The proportion of new appointees recruited externally has indeed increased significantly in recent years. This is very positive, even if it will be some years before it impacts on the total percentage of appointees recruited from other countries.” Pam Fredman emphasises the importance of advertising widely and seeking to attract the best. “Coming up against different perspectives and creating international networks is often pivotal for research. Mobility is an important tool in this. Gaining an appointment in the face of external and international com-
petition is a further factor that is important for quality.” Several deans contacted by GU Journal pointed out the difficulty of commenting on the figures for the University of Gothenburg as a whole. As Elisabet Ahlberg, dean at the Faculty of Science, points out, the problem is the different conditions facing the different faculties. “I think it would have been better to break the statistics down into faculty areas. This would have given a clearer picture. It is also difficult to compare ‘single-faculty universities’ with diverse universities such as the University of Gothenburg.” I N 2 0 1 5, the breakdown of newly recruited postdoctors (not researchers) at the Faculty of Science was 47 per cent from foreign universities, 25 per cent from other Swedish higher education institutions and 28 per cent from own higher education institution. Elisabet Ahlberg says that international recruitment is important for acquiring influences from other cultures and for rejuvenating research and teaching. “It shows that we are actively advertising positions widely. We also have many foreign applicants. It is, in general, positive that the University of Gothenburg is increasing international recruitment. However, it must not be forgotten that actual qualifications should be the determiner.” Per Cramér, vice-chancellor of the School of Business, Economics and Law believes that researcher mobility is an incredibly important issue. “That external recruitment is still very low is a warning signal. We must pay attention to it. There are a number of structural explanations. I think that, for a long time, we have not been too effective at recruiting from other higher education institutions. Similarly, we have been poor at giving our adverts an international audience. Furthermore, I think the promotion reform has played a part. However, awareness of the pro-
Pam Fredman
Per Cramér
Simonson, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. “People are simply promoted to professorships at the higher education institutions where they were senior lecturers. I also believe that these promotions have led to a reduction in the need to advertise professorships.” H E A D D ITI O N A LLY believes that measuring internal and external recruitment purely on where a doctoral degree was taken is doubtful. “Many people take their doctoral degrees at one university in order to work at another Swedish or foreign higher education institution for a few years and then, at a later stage, apply for a post at the institution where they defended their theses. The question is whether these should be regarded as internally recruited.” That a quarter of appointees at the University of Gothenburg come from another Swedish or foreign higher education institution does not need to
»If action isn’t quick, there is the risk of other universities grabbing the best candidates.« STAFFAN I. LINDBERG
blem has increased in recent years, not least at the School of Business, Economics and Law.” In 2015, there were 25 new recruitments at the School of Business, Economics and Law. Of these appointees, 9 had qualifications from a foreign higher education institution, 9 from a Swedish one and 7 from the University of Gothenburg. This means that 72 percent came from another higher education institution. recent years’ initiatives in throwing all posts open to international competition. Recruitment is the single most important instrument we have. Of course, we mustn’t discriminate against our own researchers. A pure meritocracy, in which we can have as many able applicants from as many countries as possible, is the ideal,” opines Per Cramér. He confirms that the School of Business, Economics and Law receives applications not only from Europe, but also from the USA and the post-Soviet states. One reason for the high internal recruitment of professors is the promotion reform. So maintains Birger “ T H I S I S D U E TO
be a sign of poor mobility. “It’s on a par with Lund University and almost with Uppsala University,” states Birger Simonson. “It would be a problem if the most competitive didn’t apply here. It seems to me that we have many foreign applicants.” Political Science is one department that has invested heavily in international recruitment. Professor Staffan I. Lindberg, who is on the Department’s strategic board, considers it is not enough to advertise in English on the University’s website. “ E X T R E M E LY FE W people at the University know about the yearly ‘job cycle’ of advertising far and wide in international forums and research networks, in both Europe and the USA, and then processing the applications in a few short weeks. If action isn’t quick, there is the risk of other universities grabbing the best candidates. We at the V-Dem Institute have, in recent years, had over 100 applicants responding to our postdoctoral adverts.” Staffan I. Lindberg believes that the University’s local appointments
GUJOURNAL 2 | 2016
Research mobility: 10 Swedish universities
Reduction in employees with doctoral degrees from own higher education institution from 2007/08 to 2013/14 in percentage points
Increase in employees with foreign doctoral degrees, 2007/08 to 2013/14 in percentage points
Number of people
Percentage from own higher education institution
Percentage from other Swedish higher education institutions
Percentage from foreign higher education institutions
At unknown higher education institution (Swedish or foreign) /No details of doctoral degree
Royal Institute of Technology
975
47,7%
20,5%
13,8%
17,9%
4,4%
6,1%
Stockholm University
1790
47,8%
25,1%
13,1%
14,0%
11,7%
7,9%
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
630
50,8%
22,2%
11,9%
15,1%
3,7%
7,5%
Karolinska Institute
1780
51,4%
20,2%
12,9%
15,4%
9,5%
3,7%
Chalmers University of Technology
830
51,8%
22,3%
13,9%
12,0%
5,3%
3,8%
Linköping University
1590
54,4%
27,7%
7,9%
10,1%
6,7%
3,9%
Uppsala University
1930
54,7%
23,3%
11,1%
10,9%
11,4%
4,6%
University of Gothenburg
2065
62,7%
17,7%
5,8%
13,8%
3,0%
1,6%
Lund University
2450
65,3%
13,5%
8,6%
12,7%
6,6%
4,8%
Umeå University
1445
68,2%
14,5%
8,0%
9,3%
4,4%
2,2%
Unknown university
90% 80%
Foreign universities
70% 60%
Other Swedish universities
50%
From the same university
40%
Quantity 690 Professors 1075 Senior lecturers 100 Career Development appointees 200 Post-doctoral researchers
30% 20% 10%
In a collaboration with the Grants and Innovation Office, GU Journal ordered statistics from Statistics Sweden (SCB). The statistics relate to the number of employees at 10 universities and are broken down into: higher education institution; gender; service category; and, where employees took their doctoral degrees. Two time periods were selected, 2007 to 2008 and 2013 to 2014. The following service categories were chosen: professor, senior lecturer, careerdevelopment appointee (e.g. associate senior lecturer and postdoctoral research fellow), postdoctor (extracted from the career-development appointee group) and other research and teaching staff (lecturers included therein). Where employees took their doctoral degrees is shown in the following groups: “at the same higher education institution”, “at another higher education institution”, “at a foreign higher education institution” and “at an unknown higher education institution (Swedish or foreign)/no details of doctoral degree”. To be included, the doctoral degree must have been issued no later than in the final year of each time period. In GU Journal’s compilation, the “other research and teaching staff” category has been discounted as the proportion of uncertain data was so high. In the present connection, “internal recruitment” means “recruitment of people with a doctoral degree from own higher education institution”. “International recruitment” is used for recruitment of people with foreign doctoral degrees.
ni
or
Le ct C ur ap are er e po r in De t v ee el Po s op st m -d en oc t to ra lr es ea rc he r
es
so r
0%
Se
no contradiction in the University recruiting internationally competitive, future postdoctors and simultaneously complying with Swedish legislation. “We feel that the problem ought to be tackled by first identifying what is to be achieved and then finding a solution to attain this. Starting by first determining what post title is to apply and then trying to fit unqualified people into this framework is cumbersome. What Staffan I. Lindberg is seeking can be achieved with the framework of present regulations,” says Roger Haglund, HR specialist. Other departments have not yet really started. They have PhD students and senior lecturers with qualifications from other Swedish higher education institutions, but not from other countries. Kristian Daneback, assistant head of department with responsibility for research and thirdcycle programmes at the Department of Social Work, is devising a strategy
Number of recruited professors, senior lecturers, Career Development appointees (including post-doctoral researchers) 2013–2014
100%
of
N O N E T H E LE S S , Human Resources sees
MOBILIT Y OF POSTDOCTOR AL RE SE ARC HERS
Proportion of PhDs during 2013–2014 at University of Gothenburg
Pr
procedure is one major problem. It requires a doctorate at the time of application. “This is against all international praxis. We can’t expect the world to dance to our tune. If we are to be able to compete for the best, we must allow applications from those who have not yet defended a thesis. However, it has to be written into their contract that this condition has to be fulfilled before they take up the post. We’re otherwise shooting ourselves in the foot,” declares Staffan I. Lindberg who, along with a large number of renowned professors, has written demanding change.
Proportion of PhDs
Universities
for recruiting international visiting professors. “Even when on home ground, we are in a global world with global challenges. Ours is certainly a relatively young academic subject. Yet, from a scientific perspective, we believe that ‘new blood’ has a positive impact on our thinking and on our operations.” Pam Fredman is hopeful about the future. “Many faculties and departments are actively working to increase mobility. I have great hopes that this development will grow stronger, not least if clearer and internationally shared career paths develop.” ALLAN ERIKSSON
FACTS: MORE REC RUITED FROM ABROAD Over the past three years at the University of Gothenburg, the number of new appointees with doctoral degrees from foreign higher education institutions has steadily increased. The figures for 2013, 2014 and 2015 are, respectively, 56, 86 and 93. This is shown in the annual report for 2015. The number of new employees (primarily career-development appointees and senior lecturers) from other Swedish higher education institutions also increased. In 2014, the number of new appointees with a doctoral degree from own department fell. The statistics show that all faculties are recruiting more people with doctorates from other higher education institutions.
In January, the Swedish Research Council published Swedish higher education institutions’ recruitment of researchers and teachers with doctoral degrees (Swedish only). This report showed that just over half the postdoctoral researchers and teachers in Swedish universities and colleges had been internally recruited. Internal recruitment was even higher at the major universities. Over 60 per cent of the professors had a doctoral degree from the higher education institution at which they were appointed. For senior lecturers, the figure was over 70 per cent. Another result was that a slightly higher proportion of women are recruited internally than are men. The highest percentage of internal recruitment is in the medical field and the lowest in natural sciences. In the period 1997 to 2014, the percentage of internally recruited postdoctors fell by around 10 per cent.
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6
News
Increased risk of dirty work A competition-torn academia in which research groups fight for major research funding. This is how Professor Sverker Lindblad describes the present situation. He sees the Paolo Macchiarini affair as a warning of how an unhealthy ‘performance culture’ can open the way for research fraud. T H E S C A N DA L surrounding Karolinska Institutet (KI) researcher Paolo Macchiarini has led to a debate on the dark sides of academia – its performance culture, rewards system and deficient control systems. “The Paolo Macchiarini affair is sad,” states Sverker Lindblad, senior Professor in pedagogics. “It is extremely troubling that KI’s management chose to ignore the very serious criticism presented by colleagues at KI and by Uppsala’s Professor Bengt Gerdin who, in 2014, was given the job of examining Macchiarini’s research. It seems almost as if KI’s management had become ‘speed blind’ in the chase for international acclaim and the opportunities for major and exclusive funding.
Sverker Lindblad
»It seems almost as if KI’s management has become speed blind ...« SVERKER LINDBLAD
“ T H I S I S D I R EC T LY contrary to the basic norms that have been developed in higher education and research. These are often formulated in terms of collectivism, universalism, selflessness and organised scepticism. We can see this as an academic ethos formulated to preserve the independence necessary for critical examination and for developing new knowledge. These norms are, for example, presented on the Swedish Research Council’s website.”
However, it seems this ethos is increasingly being set aside. Sverker Lindblad feels that what has happened in the Macchiarini affair is a consequence of a development that has long been observed and discussed. As early as 1994, in his book Prometheus Bound: Science in a dynamic steady state, physicist John Ziman pointed out that basic academic norms and values had shifted or, more precisely, turned into their opposites. The hunt
for research resources, patents and funding had taken over. “Tiresomely enough, this development has grown stronger in recent years – not only in science and medicine, but also in social sciences and the humanities.” Unfortunately, the Macchiarini affair is nothing unique, comments Sverker Lindblad. “In the public debate, we have learned how basic qualities have been set aside and how counterproductive norms are gaining the upper hand. Funding and ranking are being prioritised ahead of contributing to knowledge, systematic collaboration and criticism.” SV E R K E R LI N D B L A D I S assisting in a forthcoming international anthology, Political Pressures on Educational and Social Research, which takes up these tendencies. “In it, Rita Foss Lindblad and I analyse developments in pedagogical research. Patterns similar to those in technical and natural science fields surface here too. The consequences include performance indicators determining not only the allocation of funding, but also the direction of research and publication patterns. It reveals how, in everyday academia, the pressure for results can take control.” One of the book’s examples is a researcher (from Australia) who gives details of ‘dirty work’ as a means to keeping hold of a job in the face of increased demands for publications. “To cut to the chase, last week I wrote an article in 8 to 9 hours. I have to admit that it wasn’t particularly good. I copied and pasted quite a bit
from some of my earlier writings. I added some new references that I found on Google Scholar. I had never read them and never will. I quoted a few articles on the same subject from the journal in question and so on. Yes, it was soon done and not particularly good. As I sent the article off, I thought: ‘If they accept this, everything in the garden will be lovely. I’m not proud of it, but no one will care a jot. It’s just another publication to add to the throng.’ human life, Macchiarini’s research fraud is of an infinitely worse character. Nonetheless ‘dirty work’ is a facet of the same phenomenon – contribution to knowledge becoming of secondary importance. If this happens, academia’s place as a societal institution will be gravely prejudiced. What is now primarily needed is not a system of increased control, but collaborations in which researchers openly and systematically test the arguments and assertions that are put forward. Perhaps there should also be some form of common-sense whistleblowing in academia.”
“A S IT I N VO LV E D
ALLAN ERIKSSON FACTS Read more about the norms, rules and guidelines that apply to research. www.codex.vr.se Suspected cases of misconduct in research are published on this website: http://retractionwatch.com/
»Moral panic must not break out...« GU Journal asks Elias Eriksson, professor in pharmacology, several questions. PHOTO: JOHAN WINGBORG
How could it happen?
“The Macchiarini tragedy is such a singular breach of medical research ethics and the requirement of scientific integrity that we should refrain from conclusions that are too far-reaching. Nonetheless, the university’s hierarchical management and the hunt for spurious excellence certainly contributed to him not being stopped far earlier.” Do regulations need tightening up?
“You don’t need to be an expert in ethics to see that Macchiarini’s con-
duct was indefensible. Furthermore, it could not have happened if existing rules had simply been followed. Thus, the present overhaul of regulations seems a little excessive.” What should the other consequences of the case be?
“Moral panic must not break out in the wake of the Macchiarini case. For example, it is still important to distinguish between different types of infractions. Any intent to deceive is, after all, a critical factor. The in-
vestigations must also follow the due course of law and the accused must be considered innocent until proven otherwise. Blog and Twitter-based lynch justice in which researchers are accused of fraud with no hearing whatsoever is something we can well do without.”
News
GUJOURNAL 2 | 2016
7
Ingela Wadbring, Sanaz Shamsipour Azbari and Karin HellingwerfBjörkqvist work together at Nordicom.
GU’s first work-experience refugee At Media Days in Gothenburg at the beginning of April, Nordicom presented new facts on how Swedes use various media. Sanaz Shamsipour Azbari helped compiling the figures. She is the first recruitment to the University’s initiative for giving work experience to refugees. IT WA S J U ST B E FO R E Christmas that the University of Gothenburg informed all departments of the possibility of providing work experience for refugees. Ingela Wadbring, director of Nordicom, was immediately interested. “We raised the matter at a staff meeting. Everyone thought it was a good idea. When we mulled over what sort of trainee we needed, we decided on either a librarian or a statistician. We submitted our wishes to the University’s trainee coordinator, Elin Fagerberg.” Elin started looking for someone suitable straightaway. Just a few weeks later, it was suggested that Nordicom might take, not a statistician, but a mathematician. This was Sanaz Shamsipour Azbari from Iran. After only four months of studies at Folkuniversitetet, she had already learnt good Swedish.
studying Shortcut for academics just three months when my coach suggested work experience at the University of Gothenburg,” she explains. “I got the place on the 22nd of February, my first job in Sweden.”
“I HAD BEEN
Sanaz Shamsipour Azbari was thrown into the job without major preparation. “Even as her supervisor, I didn’t get particularly much time for planning,” reveals Karin Hellingwerf-Björkqvist. “However, I was pleased to be getting help with The Media Barometer. I’ve been working with this since 1995. We collect masses of material, but manage to analyse only a fraction of this. Thus, Sanaz was given the task of investigating how media use differs between different generations. The idea is that her work should result in a publication.”
»Iran is far more hierarchical than Sweden.« SANAZ SHAMSIPOUR AZBARI
D E S PIT E SA N A Z S H A M S I P O U R A Z BA R I
never having worked with surveys, she was entrusted to get to grips with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, a complicated statistics system. “I am used to mathematical formulae, so I quite soon learnt,” she divulges. Ingela Wadbring points out that taking on a trainee always initially involves extra work, regardless of whether the person comes from Sweden or another country. “However, after a little time, the trainee
becomes independent and can contribute to operations in various ways. For me, it is enormously important that it is a win-win situation. The trainee must be working on a real job and we must get things done that would otherwise have been neglected.” Ingela Wadbring also feels that it is wrong to be too strict as regards finding a trainee who matches a department’s expectations. “A PE R S O N W IT H university-level qualifications and, to some extent or other, the desired skills, can always be trained. At the same time, you’re doing something socially valuable that is instructive for all parties.” One day a week, Sanaz Shamsipour Azbari studies Swedish at Folkuniversitetet. “Of course, I also practise the language while working and learning how things function here. Iran is far more hierarchical than Sweden. For example, when the manager enters a room, the employees stand up. Here, all colleagues are more like friends. Furthermore, I get two refreshment breaks every day. That’s very nice. I’m now hoping that my work experience will be extended and that I will eventually get a real job.”
TEXT: EVA LUNDGREN PHOTO: JOHAN WINGBORG
8
News
In defence of collegiality Old-fashioned, slow and inefficient – that is how collegial governance has been described in recent years. However, this is a misconception of what collegiality is really all about. So argue Professors Ulla Eriksson-Zetterquist and Kerstin Sahlin who, in a new book, restore the status of collegiality, albeit in a modern form.
U LL A E R I K S S O N -Z E T T E RQ U I ST , professor in business administration and director of the Gothenburg Research Institute, feels it is not so surprising that the debate on the traditional values of universities has once again become a hot potato. “The past 20 years have seen a power shift towards external authorities. This has led to the cavitation of academic core values. Higher education and research are increasingly pervaded by management bureaucracy. When collegiality is threatened, the debate flares up. Nonetheless, when we were preparing the book, what most surprised us was that collegiality is often taken for granted, even if its nature is not entirely understood. There is a common conception that, because it demands too much time and is unwieldy, collegiality could just as well be swept away. This view has adverse effects on our operations. We can see this today. The Macchiarini affair is a good example of what happens when collegial decision-making organisations are removed from a university. Those in charge did not listen to researchers who sounded an early alarm about irregularities.” I N T H E B O O K , Ulla Eriksson-Zetterquist and her co-author Kerstin Sahlin, distinguish three typical governance concepts – the collegial, the bureaucratic and management. Problems arise when these forms of governance are mixed without considering how they affect each other or when each form should be used. From a management mindset, collegiality appears hopeless, old and inefficient. “If, without having understood the function of collegiality in controlling operations, collegiality is replaced by management, things soon start to go wrong.” Universities are increasingly being run as companies. Vice-chancellors, deans and prefects have become managing directors and heads of department. We feel that collegiality must once again take control of the content of education and research. This can be done by setting up a modern collegiality. “When it works well, it is the best form of governance in a university. It focuses on
ILLUSTR ATION: KRISTINA EDGREN
GUJOURNAL 2 | 2016
U LL A E R I K S S O N -Z E T T E RQ U I ST is of the opinion that is not a good idea for today’s department and faculty councils to have advisory roles only. “It weakens collegial governance in an unfortunate way. What will happen when a head of department goes up against the department council or an academic appointments board? The head is entitled to override his or her peers. Yet, this would risk losing their confidence and his or her legi-
PHOTO: KRISTIAN POHL
CO LLEG I A L G OV E R N A N C E is associated with virtues such as impartiality, intellectual courage, the desire to explore and question and openness to the ideas of others. However, it is also often described as slow, advantageous only to a certain type and conducive to coteries. “In the book, we get to grips with the dark sides of collegiality. Professorial dominion can be described as a form of cronyism in which the voices of outsiders are suppressed or where certain groups favour themselves at the expense of others. This is in no way typical of collegial governance, but it is found in, for example, business. There, it affects the career opportunities of men and women. Wherever it occurs, it is equally wretched. Throughout society, there are networks or older persons with great influence. It is, additionally, often asserted that universities are workplaces full of conflicts. However, this must also be put into the context of many people working here a large part of their lives. Conflicts occur in other parts of society too. Yet, when a department works well and everyone knows the game rules, conflicts do not arise to the same extent.” It is also often insisted that collegial governance is slow and convoluted. “However, reaching decisions can also take years in local authorities, political organisations and companies. It is not unique to universities. If we understand the underlying processes, it is easier to understand why it can sometimes take so long.”
PHOTO: JOHAN WINGBORG
the development and testing of knowledge. Firstly, decisions must be based on scientific knowledge, evidence and argument. Secondly, it is vital that there is a constant exploratory and critical dialogue on what knowledge is. This further entails a simultaneous examination of the content of knowledge. Thirdly, there has to be rotating leadership in which leaders are appointed by their equals, i.e. by their collegial peers.” She cites the seminar, a training forum known to all, as an example of collegial governance. “What we use for our students, we should also use in our management teams. In this way, it is the most reasonable and thoroughly discussed arguments that the chair or seminar leader decides on and takes further. This is vastly different from management and bureaucracy. There, we expect the manager to be the wise one.”
It is not entirely surprising that Ulla Eriksson-Zetterquist is critical of Kåre Bremer’s management investigation and sees a danger of universities soon undermining their existence as independent, knowledge-developing operations. “It’s also killing creativity. If desired research results are determined from above, we will probably also have more Macchiarini affairs around our necks.”
»It’s fashion ... but it doesn’t take many years for the pendulum to start swinging back.« ULLA ERIKSSON-ZETTERQUIST
timacy as a head of department. In the long run, such decisions would have inimical effects on operations.” This is why Ulla Eriksson-Zetterquist would like to see the reintroduction of departmental boards. “With a rotating leadership of no more than three years, it is possible to return to research afterwards. Furthermore, leadership duties would be shared by many. After six years as a full-time manager, it is far more difficult to return to being an active researcher. It can also be said that if you are not active in your field of research, you are not credible as a leader.” TO DAY ’ S S O C I E T Y sees management accountability as a line affair. “This is a naïve conception of everything depending on an individual, strong leader. By extension, the forcefulness and impetus for operation-wide development depends on this person being in place. I don’t believe in such a style of person-dependent leadership. Regardless of the form of governance, a good manager is always dependent on his or her followers. If Jesus had not had his disciples, the impact would not have been as far-reaching. Skilful management is very good and can be acquired through training. However, leadership must be seen in context and as a process involving many parties.” At the same time ‘new public management’ has penetrated every nook and cranny of public institutions. Ulla ErikssonZetterquist feels this is a consequence of management and bureaucracy increasingly taking control.
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“They can be summarised as ‘belief in the leader, in measurability, in strategic plans, in evaluation and in monitoring’. Management and bureaucracy are based on compliance with rules. Yet, for me, as an organisational theorist, a university is an inverted pyramid. It is an apposite image that needs to be borne in mind.” I S IT N OT B E N E FI C I A L to have someone speak about university direction and the necessity of strategic plans in a mass university? “Clearly enough, yes. It is good for the legitimate, external showing off our operations as well as for evaluations and accreditations. All major organisations have strategic plans. However, the plans must be reasonable and important for operations, i.e. anchored.”
What do you think of the trend towards ever larger units and mergers?
“This answer is easy – it is a fashion. Universities are just as much a part of this trend as anything else in ‘public authority Sweden’. For example, the autonomy reform was implemented under the guise of it leading to increased freedom. Instead, we got increased line management. When we don’t know where we are heading and need to do something new, we copy someone else who is usually held out as a model. Nonetheless, it doesn’t take many years for the pendulum to start swinging back. I think I can see certain signs of the business world beginning to reconsider.” What measures do you suggest for reinstating collegial governance?
“First and foremost, we must speak about what collegiality is, that it is part of all our leadership courses. We must also crystallise the interaction between different forms of governance. This is so that there is no confusing of the different interests, for example, those of bureaucracy and those of collegiality. Furthermore, there have to be clear guidelines and relationships between the various collegial bodies. We need to modernise collegial governance.” ALLAN ERIKSSON FACTS Since 2012, department boards at the University of Gothenburg have been replaced by department councils. These have an advisory role only. The University of Gothenburg’s Rules of Procedure set out that the selection of deans and heads of department is also only advisory. The book Kollegialitet. En modern styrform (‘Collegiality – a modern form of governance’) is published by Studentlitteratur. Its authors are Ulla Eriksson-Zetterquist and Kerstin Sahlin. They are, respectively, a professor in business administration and the secretary general of humanities and social sciences at the Swedish Research Council.
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but that things fell apart when it came to long-term political determination.
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven hopes that Sweden will be the world’s first fossil free nation.
Everyone has to join in and save the climate! “How many of you in the audience are happy when oil prices fall?” Thomas Sterner asked this question during a conference at the end of February. The occasion was the launch of a new mission for the Centre for Environment and Sustainability (GMV). It is to be a node for the UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) Northern European section. B OT H SW E D E N ’ S Prime Minister and Minister for International Development were present, as also around 200 corporate leaders and academics, when SDSN Northern Europe was launched at Gothia Towers on the 26th of February. With the purpose of finding practical solutions to the UN’s 17 sustainability goals, the idea behind the network is to promote collaboration between academia, business and decisionmakers. For, even if it is positive that the world’s countries have now agreed to limit global warming to below 2 degrees up until 2100,
more is needed to have a real impact on the environment, commented Thomas Sterner, professor in environmental economics. “The climate conference in Copenhagen was seen as a failure while that in Paris is regarded as a success. However, although summit meetings can be important, they are not as significant as the oil price. When it falls, it is quite simply not economic to develop solar and wind energy or environment-neutral lorries.” The solution is a word that, in English, has three letters but that, at least in the USA, is often regarded as a four-letter word, i.e. not entirely suitable for polite company, stated Thomas Sterner.
I N H I S S PE EC H , Prime Minister Stefan Löfven explained that the government has set the goal of Sweden being the world’s first ‘fossil-free’ country. “There are two reasons for Sweden to be at the forefront as regards the sustainability goals. The first is quite simply that it is the only right thing to do. The second is that it is economically smart. Research shows development is quite simply better in fair and equal societies.”
TEXT: EVA LUNDGREN & ALLAN ERIKSSON PHOTO: JOHAN WINGBORG FACTS
“ T H AT WO R D I S ‘ tax’. According
to my American friends, taxing carbon dioxide emissions simply isn’t up for discussion. This is when I usually relate that the tiny country of Sweden has the world’s highest carbon dioxide tax, USD 150 per ton. Furthermore, this isn’t only accepted, people actually like it. When something has to be chan-
“ T H E K N OW LE D G E I S extensive but fragmented. What we need now is a holistic approach. However, I’m hoping that, above all else, the network facilitates sustainable development in three areas – the transport sector, manufacturing industry and education.” Johan Rockström, director of Stockholm resilience centre, and one of Sweden’s highest environmental profiles, pointed out that we have a 50 per cent chance of improving things for the future. “Man’s impact on our planet must not lead to the ‘toppling’ of ecosystems. We have an obligation to keep within the planet’s limits and we must understand the gravity of the situation. We are a large world on a small planet. We have to act now. How are we to achieve sustainable development while economies are growing? This is not only a question of sustainability, but also a moral challenge. Like the three musketeers, we ought to be saying: ‘One for all and all for one.’”
Thomas Sterner
ged, there is always moaning at the beginning. Nonetheless, when people have got used to it, most of them think it is fine.” Katarina Gårdfeldt, director of GMV, felt that there was already sufficient knowledge to achieve the UN’s sustainability goals,
The university-driven Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) was launched by the UN’s general secretary in 2012. The Centre for Environment and Sustainability (GMV) at the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers has been appointed a node for the regional network, SDSN Northern Europe. It includes 39 universities. The idea is to bring together political, business and academic bodies in practical initiatives related to the UN’s 17 sustainability goals, e.g. gender equality, sustainable energy and the eradication of hunger and poverty. For more information: http://unsdsn-ne.se/.
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No development without freedom of speech PHOTO: ALL AN ERIK SSON
“Research, like literature, is about putting important truths into words.” So said Ola Larsmo, chair of Swedish PEN, at the beginning of March at the launch of the Swedish section of Scholars at Risk (SAR). T H E ST R U G G LE FO R freedom of speech is a political battle in which freethinking writers and academics can unite, opines author Ola Larsmo. “In recent years, freedom of speech has been repressed all around the world, in totalitarian states just as in countries that call themselves democracies. In Mexico, it is gangsters and Mafia who are killing journalists. In Iran, religious fanatics persecute those who think differently. In Russia, it is dangerous to voice your opinions. We have to be alert to these attacks on words. As George Orwell wrote: If we destroy the language we use to defend certain values, then these values also disappear.” PE N WA S FO U N D E D in 1921 and, with its 110 associations, is the world’s largest literary organisation. Swedish PEN was born as early as 1922. Since the Second World War, the fight to defend threatened writers has become ever more important. For example, more than one in three Nobel Literature Prize winners has been persecuted or imprisoned for a time. The 1989 fatwa against author Salman Rushdie engendered the forming of PEN’s close partner, ICORN. This organisation works to create cities of refuge that can shelter threatened writers for a number of years. In Gothenburg, for example, last year’s Nobel Prize winner, Svetlana Aleksijevitj, has been a city of refuge writer-in-residence. “Working with other, similar networks, SAR for instance, is extremely fruitful for all parties. Furthermore, PEN’s methodology and experience can inspire others. It may be a question of anything from helping a persecuted person obtain a visa and get onto the housing list to something as simple as providing a bicycle so that the person can get around. It is also important to realise that, even if responsibility for the person is only short-term, what happens next has also to be considered. Even if fleeing people have a dream of returning home, most of them cannot do this, at least not in the immediate future.” With the launch of SAR, the network has expanded to 11 higher education institu-
Ola Larsmo, chair of Swedish PEN, hopes to collaborate with Swedish SAR, Scholars at Risk.
»In recent years, freedom of speech has been repressed all around the world.« OLA LARSMO
tions. Besides sheltering persecuted researchers, SAR also seeks to promote a pro freedom of speech mindset, not least in the public at large. However, as Ola Larsmo points out, students are also persecuted and need shelter. “Siddhartha Dhar, a master’s student from Bangladesh, is one example. His life was threatened because, in a blog (MuktoMona), he wrote about the theory of evolution and religious history. After being helped by Swedish PEN, he is now in Uppsala.” Ola Larsmo feels it is only natural that the university should have a particular responsibility to protect freedom of speech. “The university is a major societal institution with high credibility. Thus, it is important to show solidarity with threatened colleagues. Research is also now more international than ever before – cut the chain anywhere and research dies. For, wit-
hout freedom there is no development.” Even if the problems are many, Ola Larsmo still believes in the possibility of change. “I’m an optimist, especially now that spring is approaching.” ALLAN ERIKSSON & EVA LUNDGREN
FACTS: SWEDI SH SAR Scholars at Risk is an international network of 400 higher education institutions, in 40 countries, seeking to help researchers who are persecuted or subjected to censorship. Currently, eleven Swedish higher education institutions are members. Joining in 2013, the University of Gothenburg was the first of these. It is now to have a coordinating role in Scholars at Risk, Sweden Section. This network was inaugurated on the 9th of March in the University’s main building. So far, two researchers, one from the Middle East and one from southern Asia, have been given refuge in the city. A further two will be coming to the University of Gothenburg this spring.
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Earth’s entire development as research field! “All people are basically biologists. Most of them are just not aware of this,” says Alexandre Antonelli, newly appointed professor in systematics and biodiversity. Just now, he has an enormous project on the go – investigating how climate and geography have affected the formation, spread and extinction of species ever since the beginning of time. I N C L A R K I A , Idaho, USA, there is a store where ancient lumps of clay are kept. These contain, amongst other things, leaves. Despite being 15 million years old, they are still green. “When Noble prize winner Tomas Lindahl was here last December, I asked him if he thought it would be possible to extract DNA from these old plants. He replied: ‘Impossible.’ This answer started my research fingers itching. If I’m successful, it will, of course, make frontpage news in Nature.” This is exactly how Alexandre Antonelli works – the tougher the problem, the better. That is why he has taken on a truly tricky riddle that has confounded researchers ever since Darwin. Why has South America so many more species than any other part of the world? To
investigate this, he and his research team have not only studied the present biological diversity, but also made comparisons with geological and molecular data stretching back 65 million years in time. To explain, he points to a relief map of South America hanging on the door of his work room. A dot marks his birthplace, Campinas in south-eastern Brazil. However, what he really wants to show is the Andes, the mountain chain stretching from the Caribbean Sea all the way down to Chile’s southern tip. This is where he made the discoveries that turned all previous knowledge in the field upside down. “There have been several different the-
ories on the diversity in South America. For example, that the species remained behind when the continent split from Africa 100 million years ago. However, this can’t be the case. The South American families are quite simply not that old. At the same time, neither are they young enough to support another theory, namely, that most of the fauna and flora migrated down from North America when the continents collided 3.5 million years ago. Firstly, this doesn’t account for the enormous wealth in South America. Secondly, the migrated species would have had to come down far earlier. This invites another theory, namely that North and South America must have collided as early as 10 to 12 million years ago.” is, instead, of the opinion that the wealth of species is linked to the formation of the Andes.
A LE X A N D R E A N TO N E LLI
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“The Andes were formed when the tectonic plates beneath the Pacific Ocean started to glide in under South America. The highest peaks in the northern part of the Andes were formed between 10 and 15 million years ago. Their creation radically altered conditions for the region’s flora and fauna, partly because water flows changed direction from north to east. The River Amazon was formed 7 million years ago. At the same time, this entailed there being new arid areas for
»This means that mountain environments can serve as reservoirs of great species diversity.« land-based animals. As the region was also being supplied by highly nutritious sediment from the young mountains, new flora and fauna started to flourish.” Along with climate and water supply, it is mountains that are the foremost drivers of species development, opines Alexandre Antonelli. “ M O U N TA I N S A R E A L S O important now that the climate is warming. Flora and fauna living in low-lying areas have to travel far to find new places offering the same environmental conditions. If they do not adapt, they die out. In a mountain area, on the other hand, species only have to move a little higher up to enjoy the same habitats. This means that mountain environments in particular can serve as reservoirs of great species diversity. We see this in, for example, the Andes.” Alexandre Antonelli has been interested in flora and fauna all his life. His becoming a professor in Gothenburg is, however, quite a convoluted story. “As a 17 year old, I started to study biology at university in Campinas, but I soon grew tired of this and took up travelling the world instead. For three years, I lived mostly in a sleeping bag and hitched my way around Europe, Mexico and Central America. It was while I was working as a dive leader in Honduras that I met my wife to be, Anna. She is from Skövde and I eventually followed her over here.
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On a field course with the University of Gothenburg, I noticed the true wealth of nature and my inquisitiveness became even greater when I was doing field work up in Abisko.” With his interest well and truly tickled, it took him only two and a half years to gain bachelor and master degrees. Research was his goal. This was when Lennart Andersson, professor in biology, introduced him to biogeography. “I was completely fascinated. Here was a new research field that dealt with not
In discussions of environmental problems, the focus is usually on climate change. Yet, the destruction of environments is, in Alexandre Antonelli’s opinion, a more serious threat. been climate change, if not as fast as at present. Some species are favoured, others are disadvantaged. Nonetheless, poisons, emissions and depredation are a far greater threat to biological diversity. Once an ecosystem has collapsed, it cannot be restored. Many people think that, with all our forests, Sweden
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»Here was a new research field that dealt with not only the genesis of life, but also the Earth’s entire development.« ALEXANDRE ANTONELLI
only the genesis of life, but also the Earth’s entire development. Furthermore, Lennart Andersson was the author of Flora of Ecuador, a mammoth work in 90 volumes that still only covers one third of all flora in the country that, in relation to its area, is the most species rich in the world. He became my supervisor. Tragically, he passed away just one and a half years later. It was terribly sad. Assisted by my co-supporter, I got the chance to head up my own research project and could thus continue. I began to see the importance of having a really good and wide network. Today, I work with hundreds of botanists, zoologists, climate researchers, geologists, molecular biologists, ecologists and a mass of other experts on all continents.”
has a wealth of nature. Yet, they do not consider that this is a question of planted trees. There is virtually no Swedish primeval forest left. Unfortunately, the general public’s knowledge of plants and animals has diminished dramatically. You could say that society is threatened by species blindness. Nature has become a green background about which ever fewer people have any substantial knowledge.” A LE X A N D R E A N TO N E LLI feels that species blindness has increased everywhere in the world. He has also noticed it on his many expeditions to South America. “For field work, we always take on local people. They usually have a great knowledge of the flora and fauna. However, this know-
ledge is not now being passed on to the next generation. Furthermore, this concerns not only nature. Languages, lifestyles and entire cultures are about to be lost. In January, I visited Chile’s Puerto Williams, the world’s southernmost inhabited spot. There was an old lady there who was the only person who could still speak the aboriginal language. Thus, this too will soon die out.” TO PROT EC T B I O LO G I C A L diversity, it is necessary to know not only what species there are today, but also what species existed before. “Even if today’s diversity of around 8 million species may seem astonishingly rich, it is only 0.01 per cent of all the species that the world has ever seen. Today’s life forms are just a snapshot of the evolution that is taking place all the time. That is why we also study fossils. They can tell us about the lines that have managed to survive into the present and about those that have gone under and been replaced by others. Fossils are thus an excellent complement to all the information we get through our genetic investigations.” T H E U N I V E R S IT Y O F Gothenburg has several profiled areas. Biodiversity is not one of these. Alexandre Antonelli would like to change this. “After all, we already have fantastic potential and assets! Think of our field stations in Tjärnö and Kristineberg and the university’s collaborations with Gothenburg botanical garden, the Maritime Museum and Aquarium, the Swedish Museum of Natural History, Universeum (the Nordic region’s largest science centre) and Nordens Ark (a centre for the conservation of biological diversity). With the double goal of bringing together the public, students and researchers as well as creating a unique infrastructure for sequencing all possible species, I
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would like to create a centre for biological diversity. This would attract researchers worldwide and people in general.” For, even if knowledge of nature has generally decreased, Alexandre Antonelli is convinced that there is still an interest. “In climate change discussions, people often seem fatalistic. It can feel as if the race has already been run. However, speaking about biological diversity usually seems to lift people’s hopes. There are indeed things that everyone can do, even you and me in our own gardens or on our own balconies. Nature draws us in. It is absolutely impossible to wander around forests and mountains without being amazed. It’s in our bones. Nobody wants a future without, for example, butterflies in the summer. This is because, at heart, we are all basically biologists. Even those of us who have not yet quite realised this.”
ALEX ANDRE ANTONELLI WORK: Newly appointed professor of systematics and biodiversity, curator of Gothenburg botanical garden and consultant at Universeum. Has just started to get involved in the ‘discovery club’, an initiative to get fifth-year compulsory school students interested in the natural sciences. FAMILY: Wife Anna and three children. LIVES: Hagen (near Skövde). AGE: 37. AWARDS: Received the Faculty of Science’s research prize last year. Is also a Wallenberg Academy Fellow, received funding from the Swedish Research Council this year and, in 2012, ERC funding that only goes to outstanding young researchers. IN PROGRESS: A book, Mountains, Climate and Biodiversity, jointly with Carina Hoorn, University of Amsterdam. YOU DIDN’T KNOW: A DNA test has shown that Alexandre Antonelli has 2 per cent Native American blood. L ANGUAGES: Speaks Swedish, Portuguese, Spanish, English and French.
TEXT: EVA LUNDGREN PHOTO: JOHAN WINGBORG
FAVOURITE SPECIES: Macaws. L AST BOOK: Big World, Small Planet by Johan Rockström and Mattias Klum. L AST FILM: Bamse i Trollskogen. FAVOURITE FOOD: My wife’s avocado salad. BEST THING ABOUT MY JOB: Working with enthusiastic and inventive people. OTHER INTERESTS: Member of the University of Gothenburg Running Club and is planning a mountain marathon this summer; insects – has a cabinet at home with over 1,000 species.
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Sweden – A good place for researchers How do welfare initiatives affect the people in a community? This is what Nadine Ketel, postdoctor at the School of Business, Economics and Law in Gothenburg, is trying to determine in her research. “I want my work to be of benefit,” she states. T I S L AT E Friday afternoon and the corridors of the School of Business, Economics and Law in Gothenburg echo hollowly. Nadine Ketel’s room also has a rather deserted air. Since moving there from Amsterdam this autumn, she has not yet really had time to settle in. “No, things have been hectic,” she reveals. “Lots of travel and then I had to present my thesis at the University of Amsterdam in January. I spent a lot of time there at the start of the year.” I N H E R R E S E A RC H , Nadine Ketel concentrates primarily on microeconomics. This can be a question of finances within the schools and education system or how various labour market measures affect people. The more concrete, the better. “My thesis is based on an assignment from the public authority that, in the Netherlands, equates to Sweden’s municipal social services administrations,” relates Nadine Ketel. “They wanted me to determine whether welfare benefits reach the right people.” More specifically, it was about investigating whether the current system works. In the Netherlands, people seeking welfare benefits are first pointed in the direction of trying to get a job. If they haven’t found a job in four weeks, they are welcome to return to apply for benefits. The question was whether the system was frightening off people who were really entitled to benefit. “I carried out field studies and random tests of how things went
for various people. It turned out that the system did in fact work. Some people got jobs and did not need benefits. Those who didn’t get jobs reapplied for benefits,” says Nadine Ketel. B E S I D E S N OW working on getting her results published in various scientific journals, she is also carrying out a follow-up project in which she is studying the efficiency of different measures, for example, if a course in writing job applications leads to more unemployed people getting work. Looking forwards, Nadine
»Scandinavia is famous for being a good place for researchers.« Ketel is keen to carry out research in some of her specialist fields and link this to Sweden or Scandinavia. “Scandinavia is famous for being a good place for researchers. After all, you keep records of everything,” she comments, laughing. A LL T H E D O C U M E N TATI O N and registers in Sweden and the other Nordic countries was one of the reasons why she applied for a postdoctoral appointment here. For anyone who has chosen a career with a focus on researching economics in the
academic world, the job market is tough. Once a year, all posts are advertised at an international conference in the USA. Nadine Ketel and her partner went there in January last year, applied for a number of positions and went to interviews, always with their sights set on Scandinavia. Apart from the gold mine of all the records, there were also a few other attractions. countryside and the lifestyle here. Furthermore, it’s not so far home to Amsterdam,” she relates. Thus, there was double delight when, eventually, she and her partner got jobs at the School of Business, Economics and Law. They will probably be here for at least six years. “We are already very happy here. There is indeed no great difference in the work but, over here, it’s better organised. I got my own room when I arrived and a computer. In the university world in the Netherlands, everything is so centralised that you can wait a week just to get a new binder sent out to you,” she says, with a laugh. Another difference is the informal contact between teachers and students. “I had actually been warned about Swedish students. That they address teachers by their forenames and are very direct in their questions.” However, Nadine Ketel has not found this to be a problem. “The students I have taught so far have been extremely serious and care a great deal about their results,” she observes.
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NADINE KETEL AGE: 30 years. LIVES: In Gothenburg. WORK: Postdoctor at the School of Business, Economics and Law in Gothenburg. FAMILY: Partner.
Nadine Ketel’s interest in economics was excited quite early on. At secondary school, she was fascinated by both mathematics and social studies. “Economics was the golden middle path that gave me a little of each.” B OT H H E R PA R E N T S being teachers also made the step into the academic world less daunting. Moreover, the financial sector never appealed. Earning big money herself or studying how the world economy works were never her cup of tea. What interests her is how money affects the man in the street and how people behave in their communities. “My research very much relates to everyday life. I want it to contribute to, for example, how public authorities frame various policies. I want my research to be of benefit.” What do you like most about being a researcher? “I like the freedom I have in organising in my own work. My job allows me to go into details, to take the time to really think things through. I also get the opportunity to socialise with people who are extremely smart and bounce my thoughts off them. I really like being in the academic world.” N A D I N E K E T E L additionally values meeting her students and the discussions she has with them. “Research can be rather solitary. It’s nice to take a break with lectures.” Her family and friends are what, so far, she misses from home. The weather is the same.
“Yes, it rains roughly just as much in Amsterdam as it does in Gothenburg,” she laughs. “However, the food is much better here! In the Netherlands, we just have sandwiches for lunch. Here, lunch is a social event where you get together over a hot meal. I think that’s nice.” Otherwise, both cities have their advantages and disadvantages. Amsterdam has the buzz of a major city but, on the down side, is often immersed under hordes of tourists. Gothenburg sometimes feels a little small but, on the up side, has fantastic green areas and the archipelago. forward to seeing more of it now in spring and summer. When I was a child, our family often holidayed in Sweden. We went on cycling holidays and paddled canoes. I’d like to do those sorts of things again.” When Nadine Ketel is not working, she likes to be active and out and about as much as possible. She already plays football in a mixed team with some colleagues and is looking to join another ladies’ team. She also likes competitive cycling and has registered for the Halvvättern race this June. However, it will be some time before she takes on all the elements in Sweden’s ‘Half-Classic’. “Yes, I don’t quite dare at the moment. For the first time ever, I did some cross-country skiing a few months ago, just outside Skövde. It was fun, but not exactly easy.”
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TEXT: KARIN FREJRUD PHOTO: JOHAN WINGBORG
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ILLUSTR ATION: ANDER S EURÉN
Happy?
That depends on what language you speak Why are Danes the world’s happiest people? Is it because they live in the world’s best country or because they are the world’s best at appreciating life? Or is it, instead, due to the way they interpret the word ‘happiness’? “That is exactly what we will be investigating in a cross-disciplinary project where, amongst other things, we will be using big data,” reveals Stefan Dahlberg, project manager.
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»For cultural, linguistic or other reasons, it may be that a Dane finds it easier to say that he or she is satisfied.« STEFAN DAHLBERG
Sofia Axelsson
PHOTO: JOHAN WINGBORG
collaboration between political scientists, computational scientists, language researchers and computational linguists in Gothenburg, Bergen, Stockholm and Toronto. A PhD student in computational science at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) is also involved. Eventually, the project is to result in a manual on how questionnaires can be improved. That words can be interpreted differently owing to culture and language is shown not least by the word ‘happiness’. “In Asia, for example, individual happiness takes a low place in the concept of a good life,” expounds Sören Holmberg, professor in political science. “Furthermore, how often does a Swede talk about himself or herself in terms of happiness? That we use words differently is shown by a straightforward example such as we Swedes saying ‘joyous Easter’ while the English and the Danes say, respectively, ‘happy Easter’ and ‘good Easter’.” T H E PROJ EC T I N VO LV E S
Stefan Dahlberg is project manager of the project Language Effects in Surveys.
PHOTO: JONA Z BJÖRK
O N E WAY O F investigating how words are really used is to analyse ordinary texts, e.g. from social media. Nowadays, thanks to “big data” (the voluminous information on the internet), there are entirely new opportunities for doing this. “Big data is already used commercially to measure consumption patterns and by various national security services,” explains Sofia Axelsson, researcher in political science. “Within research, there is still some suspicion about all this date. However, we think this is now changing. In LES, we will be working with language technology company Gavagai. This receives around 4 million documents in English every day. Thus far, we’ve interested ourselves primarily in Swedish and English but, in the near future, will be including all major western languages, e.g. Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Hindu, Japanese and perhaps others.”
PHOT0: C ARL-HENRIK TR APP
H E Language Effects in Surveys (LES) project deals with something that researchers who carry out comparative studies involving different countries have wrestled with for many decades. How can we be certain that the questions asked in one country are understood in the same way in another? “Major comparative questionnaires usually have English as their starting point,” reveals Stefan Dahlberg, reader in political science. “For example, if it is being sought to discover how EU citizens are getting on, the English word ‘satisfied’ may be translated as ‘tilfreds’ and ‘nöjd’ for use in, respectively, Denmark and Sweden. This is, after all, correct. However, for cultural, linguistic or other reasons, it may still be that a Dane finds it easier than a Swede to say that he or she is satisfied.”
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Sören Holmberg
In some case, it is possible to measure changes in opinion solely using big data. “Data from Gavagai shows, for example, that the Swedish debate on beggars has died down,” states Stefan Dahlberg. “The attitude to refugees became far more positive in social media following publication of the images of the tiny drowned boy, but is now swinging back again.” A N OT H E R WO R D that can be understood in many ways is ‘democracy’. “In the western world, the word is associated with freedom of speech, free elections and gender equality. East Europeans think rather of access to schools, medical help and care. In Spain and Russia, the word is linked with government by an elite and corruption. However, here it is more a case of what shortcomings in democracy can lead to.” The project will also be geotagging language.
“This is because having a common language does not entail having a common culture,” comments Sofia Axelsson. “British and American, or Spanish and Latin American cultures are, after all, very different. This certainly has an impact on word use. An entirely separate project involves geotagging the Swedish used in Sweden and that used in Finland. This is to establish what differences there are.” L A N G UAG E A L S O changes over time. This is why the researchers are hoping that LES will eventually result in truly long ‘time series’. “In the 1950s, the University of Gothenburg came second behind the USA in election studies,” discloses Sören Holmberg. “However, in this project, where we are studying the world mathematically, linguistically and politically, we are number one. So, if anyone should state that the political scientists in Gothenburg are the best in the world, I would, in all modesty, not dispute it!”
TEXT: EVA LUNDGREN
FACTS Language Effects in Surveys is a project financed by the Swedish Research Council. It involves researchers at the higher education institutions in Gothenburg, Stockholm, Bergen and Toronto working together to investigate how language use can affect the results of questionnaires. Using language processing and computational linguistic methods, the researchers will primarily investigate material from social media (big data). The project is to lead to a manual on how questionnaires can be improved. Project manager Stefan Dahlberg is from the Department of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg.
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Chronicle ILLUSTR ATION: KRISTINA EDGREN
De-radicalization: A quest for polarization or pluralization? G LO BA LI Z ATI O N O F T H E world economy has not been accompanied by globalization of public participation in political decision making. Global public opinion which was hailed as the “second super power” by the UN panel of eminent persons has been systematically marginalized and contributed to disillusionment, alienation and misled expression of anger on global scale. This marginalization of global public opinion has been acknowledged in “Freedom in the World-2016” report. According to the report “the world in 2015 was battered by overlapping crises that contributed to the 10th consecutive year of decline in global freedom”. E X PR E S S I O N O F nihilistic anger is generally explained in terms of poverty, religious extremism and insufficient security measure to track down and eliminate the terrorists. This approach focuses on symptoms paying while little attention to the social reality and processes at work. It also ignores the tremendous potential for transforming the situation by taking a different approach to destructive expression of anger. Let us take poverty for example. Eighty percent of the poor population in former colonies lives in the informal sector. According to Hernandez De Soto the private and public
»While anger was common in Adolf Hitler and Martin Luther King Junior, in one case it led to social transformation and in the other to violence, hate and destruction.« ABU MUHAMMAD
assets produced by the people in the informal sector far exceed the government and donor funded programmes for poverty alleviation, “The value of savings among poor is, in fact, immense, forty times all the foreign aid received throughout the world since 1945”. Poor people have all the resources to help themselves and terrorism makes no dint in the level of their poverty. Same goes for religion. The nature of conflict between terrorists and their targets is political not religious. The limitation of security measures is that they can only capture the bodies but not influence the hearts and minds. Liberian Nobel Laureate Leaymah Gbowee very eloquently said that while
anger was common in Adolf Hitler and Martin Luther King Junior, in one case it led to social transformation and in the other to violence, hate and destruction. There are legal reforms, engagement processes and tools which can enable youth to create a new, vibrant and meaningful world dominated not by fear of others but hope and longing to connect with the other. These are very simple tools and can produce startling results. Such tools can help both the new and old democracies in making transition from representative to participatory democracies. The key word is participation and seeing angry youth not as part of the problem but as part of the solution. We can create a safe and happy word not through polarization but pluralization. The key question is, are we ready for it as citizens, academics, policy makers, development practitioners and public opinion makers? ABU MUHAMMAD Researcher at University of Gothenburg (Scholars at Risk) This is his pen name. Abu’s real identity is not revealed because of the risk of being persecuted or threatened. If you would like to continue the debate or contact Abu, please send an e-mail to the editorial office of GU Journal, gu-journalen@gu.se.