GU Journal no 6-2010

Page 1

nyheter

number 6 | november 2010

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG

Toward warmer times Sofia Thorsson is doing research on city climates

lists more important

per cramér takes over

Bengt Göransson

Unchanged placement of GU

He wants a strong trademark

news 4

report 8

You can’t put an order in for usefulness commentary 15


words from Vice-Chancellor nyheter

Notiser

Where are all the women? november e d i to r - i n c h i e f & p u b l i s h e r

Allan Eriksson 031 - 786 10 21 allan.eriksson@gu.se e d i to r & d e p u t y p u b l i s h e r

Eva Lundgren 031  -  786 10 81 eva.lundgren@gu.se p h oto g r a p h y & r e p r o d u c t i o n

Johan Wingborg 031  -  786 29 29 johan.wingborg@gu.se g r a p h i c d e s i g n & l ayo u t

Anders Eurén Björn S Eriksson

c o n t r i b u t i n g au t h o r s

Magnus Pettersson, Anita Fors, Bengt Göransson och Annika Hansson. T r a n s l at i o n

Janet Vesterlund proofreader

Robert Ohlson, Välskrivet i­­ ­Göteborg address

GU Journal, Gothenburg University Box 100, 405 30 Gothenburg e-mail

gu-journalen@gu.se internet

www.gu-journalen.gu.se printing

Geson Hylte Tryck issue

6  200 copies ISSN

1402-9626 issues

7 issues/year. The next number will come on december 21th. l a s t dat e f o r t e x t s

December, 1, 2010 m at e r i a l

GU Journal does not take responsibility for unsolicited material. The editorial department is responsible for unsigned material. You are welcome to quote, but indicate the source. change of address

Inform the editorial department of a change of address in writing. c ov e r pag e

Sofia Thorsson, researcher, university lecturer and docent in natural geography at the Department of Earth Sciences at Göteborg University. Photography: Johan Wingborg

Reg.nr: 3750M

Reg.nr: S-000256

2

gujournal 6 | 10

But it’s obviously not so simple. In spite of the fact that women have long dominated Göteborg University’s doctors conferments, they hold no more than 22 % of the higher positions, that is, professorships. Even worse: the annual increase in the proportion of female professors at our university is only 1 %! If it continues at this pace it will take 18 years before we reach our goal of 40 %. We will have to wait until the year 2038 to have complete equality in the highest positions, that is, 50 % of both sexes. The last issue of GU Journal pub-

Foto: Hillevi Nagel

A journal for Gothenburg University’s employees

This year’s conferment ceremony at Göteborg University was a great success. The whole 12-hour program went beautifully. I would like to thank all who were involved for their efforts: the employees at Academic Ceremonies, the student marshals, the very professional students and teachers at the Academy of Music and Drama, the promotors and the many spiritual speakers at the banquet. The most important persons, the new doctors, honorary doctors, jubilee doctors and prize winners, are truly worth festivities such as this for all they have done for our university. I wish all of them luck in the future. I have written this before, but it stands to be repeated: the great dominance of women among the new doctors. Seventy per cent of those who passed over the Swedish Helicon during the conferment were women. I’m sure that many think that this must mean that our university is showing more equality.

lished a 100-at-the-top list of researchers who bring in the most money to Göteborg University. The male dominance here is total – about 80 %. The picture is the same for the whole university and college sector. We are in fact a little better than the average for the country, where only 18 % of professors are women. Men also dominate among those who are responsible for the Government’s strategic research efforts. Here, it has to do with a lot of money – about 1.3 billion crowns a year. What happens with the women after they’ve earned their doctorates? We know a little about this but we need to know more. Göteborg University, with the support of the delegation for equality in higher education, is running a project on this theme, “Faculties with Equality”, which will be concluded in a little over a year. Still, running a project is not enough. The University has to be energetic. With the increasing authority in the new regulations for filling positions, the University must be able

to do something for women in their careers if we really want to. – Politicians have to be clearer in their demands, for example by goals for the proportion of new recruitments for female professors. – Politicians also have to be considerably better at following up the initiatives that are taken. The chairman of the delegation, Pia Sandvik Wiklund, feels that the Government should actively reward seats of learning that work successfully for equality. She suggests an equality bonus that can be felt in the universities’ wallets. It’s possible that this kind of measure has effect, but I feel that we must first gain an understanding of what forces lead to so many women leaving their careers. Only then can we set in the right actions. Pam Fredman

A few words from the Editorial Department This issue has a Researcher and Businessman supplement that wants researchers to start thinking about usefulness and commercialisation. It doesn’t need to mean new products or companies but just as easily different ideas that can help society. The University has to be useful to society – of course. But there is a danger in adapting things too much to the environment. One of the year’s most interesting seminars – “What shall we use our universities for?” – was given on October 14th in the University’s auditorium and attracted over 150 listeners. The seminar was arranged by Urban Strandberg at Cefos in memory of political scientist Susan Gerard Marton, who died last year. Among the speakers were

Ylva Hasselberg, Henrikke Baumann, Sven-Eric Liedman, Bengt Göransson and Mats Benner. It was something as unusual as a seminar on life and death issues about the University that brought together people from different professions and workplaces. Many emphasised the change in values that is taking place, where an adaptation to the market is slowly but surely changing the foundations of the University’s existence. Ylva Hasselberg, economic historian from Uppsala, spoke about the loss of norms that a market-adapted way of thinking brings about. Students are seen as customers and thus are always right. Everything has to be steered and

planned from the top, and what can’t be measured quantitatively simply doesn’t exist. An example is ranking lists that only measure certain determined values but are still claimed to be able say something about reality. A kind of deprofessionalisation occurs when leaders and quality assessments are made more and more often by persons outside of academics. The same thing happens when financial resources are distributed. “People think that a safe bet is better than a creative idea,” explains Ylva Hasselberg. What do you think? Join the debate in this or other questions in GU Journal! Allan Eriksson & Eva Lundgren


contents

8

4

Rankning — here to stay

4

14

10

16

10

The lists that nobody likes but everybody wants to be at the top of. GU Journal guides you through them.

8

Meet Per Cramér He wants the School of Economics to work for programmes that focus on durability

Prepare yourself for a warmer city climate Cities have to be rebuilt to manage the climate of the future, according to Sofia Thorsson.

13

Al Gore’s brief visit Lectured on sustainable capitalism to a full – and well guarded – auditorium

14

Received her PhD on the warship Vasa Birgitta Håfors has been doing research for 50 years and finally written her thesis

15 Freedom — obligation or right? Bengt Göransson on realising the impossible in the world of the possible.

16

Biggest party of the year The best conferment ceremony to date, according to many partygoers. GU Journal caught up with Ruth Nalumaga, who came all the way from Kampala in Uganda. Plus mingle pictures from the dance floor.

g u j o u r n a l 6 | 1 0  3


News

Göteborg University in global Little change in the last five years 1

50

100

150

185

200 205

the SHanghai list 227

229

250 258

256

276 284

300

Times Higher education

350

400

Year

2006

The Shanghai list Ev e ry y e a r since 2003, Shanghai Jiao Tong University has published a ranking of the world’s largest large universities, the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). This was developed as a part of a plan to create universities of world class in China. The list is built on a combination of distinctions of honour indicators (Nobel Prize and Field Medal) and bibliometric indicators (Web of Science, Nature and Science). The list is drawn up to be able to distinguish the world’s absolute top universities with a focus on the natural sciences and medicine. Large universities have a

4

gujournal 6 | 10

2007

2008

2009

QS World University rankings more favourable position than small ones. A conclusion is that the list works relatively well for ranking the world’s largest and most prestigious universities, from 1 – 100, but relatively poorly outside this group. “An advantage is that it is a reasonably stable method, only small changes occur over time. But the weaknesses are that it is so strongly oriented toward only a few fields and that the Nobel Prize is given such importance. Even worse, it only measures research, and only excellent research,” says Magnus Gunnarsson at the Division of Analysis and Evaluation.

T h e s e w e r e p u b l i s h e d from 2004 to 2009 by Times Higher Education (THE) in cooperation with the analytical firm QS Ltd. As of 2010 QS is solely responsible for the ranking. Half of the ranking value is based on reputation surveys and half on quantitative data. “The positive thing is that it takes in a human judgment, not only mechanical in-

dicators, which makes it a little interesting. But, with only a 5 % response frequency in the survey, the quality is very low and the transparency is poor. On the whole the list is fairly unstable. Several institutes of learning have big changes in their placement from year to year,” says Magnus Gunnarsson.


ranking 1

62 72

At the top of THE list: 1. Harvard 2. California Institute of Technology 3. MIT

1

1

Karolinska Institute

43

Uppsala University Lund University

At the top of The Shanghai list: 1. Harvard 2. University of California, Berkeley 3. Stanford University

66

Uppsala University

79

Stockholm University

89

Lund Universitet

104

Lunds University

129

Stockholm University

147

Uppsala University

168

Stockholm University

183

Göteborg University

211

Göteborg University

223

Chalmers

281

Göteborg University

At the top of The QS List: 1. University of Cambridge 2. Harvard 3. Yale University

THE changes to Thomson Reuters Last year, THE stopped cooperation with the analytical company QS and went over to Thomson Reuters, the same company that owns and sells Web of Science. As the ranking was completely revamped, the results can not be compared with previous years’ lists. The reason for the change was that THE received a great deal of criticism for the ranking it developed together with QS.

QS World university ranking 2010 new Times Higher education (THE) 2010

Further reading: Division of Analysis and Follow-up published detailed analyses of each respective ranking at http://www.analys.gf.gu.se

2010 THE World University Rankings T h i s i s p u b l i s h e d by Times Higher

Education who, starting this year, is cooperating with Thomson Reuter. The ranking was previously done by QS. The new list is built to a great extent on survey responses, research grants, number of publications, citations, number of teachers and international mix. The list not only measures research but also education. However, the greatest emphasis is still on research, which together with citations stands for over 60 %.

“The new THE is a more stringent and ambitious ranking compared with QS. But the problem with the list – like with many others – is that it measures structural factors in the same way without taking consideration to the fact that university systems are different around the world,” says Magnus Gunnarsson. “And the citations indicator is formulated in a way that small differences become very important. This explains why Stockholm University advanced so many positions on the list.

Other lists CHE Excellence Ranking (the Zeit list)

The European university ranking is produced by the German organisation Centrum für Hochschulentwicklung (CHE) in cooperation with the newspaper Die Zeit. The purpose is to help Masters and Ph.D. candidates to choose universities. This list is different from others in several ways. It judges fields of study rather than the university as a whole and is built on detailed analyses of a limited number of universities that have been judged to be “excellent” within their respective fields of study. A large number of indicators are used, but the results are not weighted into a one-dimensional list. The ranking covers the following areas: physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, economics, psychology and political science. GU has thus far received excellency status in three areas, political science (2 stars), psychology (2 stars) and, this year, biology was given 22 excellency stars.

CWTS (the Leiden list)

The Leiden Ranking is issued by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), a research unit at the University of Leiden and at the same time a business company owned by the same university. The list has been published three times: in 2007 (European universities only), in 2008 and in 2010. The ranking consists entirely of bibliometric measures and is based on data from Thomson Reuters. CWTS ranks the 100 and the 250 largest universities in Europe and the 100, 250 and 500 largest universities in the world. Five bibliometric measures are calculated for these groups and, in all, this gives 25 different lists. In 2010 GU is ranked at position 146 (on the list of the “world’s 500 largest universities, according to volume x degree of citation”).

Ranking Web of World Universities (webometrics)

The list ranks all the world’s universities according to their presence and importance on the Web. Electronic publication and open access are rewarded. The list has been issued since 2004 by Cybermetrics Lab, a subdivision of the Spanish national research council (CSIS). It is published twice yearly (January and July). GU came in position 243 in July 2010.

Urank

This is an independent group that has published a quality ranking of Swedish universities and colleges since 2008. The schools are measured more as places of higher learning than according to research. The target group is students and future students. All the data are collected from the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education and Statistics Sweden. GU came in 7th place in 2009.

g u j o u r n a l 6 | 1 0  5


Illustr ation: Toma s k arlsson

News

Lists more important “Rankings are here to stay – it’s a fact we have to do something intelligent with,” says Sverker Lindblad, chairman of GU’s ranking group that will present its results in November. weaknesses, we should be interested in the lists and use the measures that are relevant for our own activities,” says Professor Sverker Lindblad, who was given the ranking task in March by the Vice-Chancellor. The work group’s report contains a plan for how to work further with these questions and gives a number of recommendations to the management. Sverker Lindblad points out that there is a lively discussion of rankings in Europe. A new list – the U-Multirank – is being developed in the EU and is expected to issue its first list next year. Not least has the Shanghai list come as a cold shower for many European universities. “A number of universities outside the

“Even if there are

6

gujournal 6 | 10

Anglo-Saxon sphere come surprisingly low down on the list. It’s extremely important to understand the distortion that favours American universities and parts of medi­cine and the natural sciences. We don’t know whether U-Multirank works, but it’s going to be interesting to see how subject areas can be ranked between different schools instead of putting them all together into one single variable.” The lists are getting a great deal of attention internationally. They are also important for persons in power and research councils that distribute research money – and furthermore when universities are choosing cooperative partners or when students choose an educational programme. “I think that there is going to be an even greater importance in the future,” says Sverker Lindblad. But he’s absolutely sure about one thing: the lists are poor at the present. “Quick and incorrect,” is his summary. The bibliometric measures are fairly stable,

Sverker Lindblad

The lists are used and we have to accept that

but surveys and peer reviews are consider­ ably less reliable measures. One criticism that has been mentioned, particularly in the case of Times Higher Education (THE) and QS, is the lack of transparency, that it is in practice impossible to get at the material behind the measures. Deep analyses are also sold by the companies that carry out the surveys. “Ranking lists as an instrument actually don’t say very much about quality. No one can explain why a certain university goes up or down a hundred positions from one year to the next. Who checks that the information that the universities report is correct, and who checks the persons doing the checking?” In spite of the weaknesses, Sverker Lindblad thinks that it is striking that Sweden as a country is so distinguished. “According to the Shanghai list, Sweden comes all in all in ninth place, which in relation to its population means that we


survey

are among the absolute world top according to these measures.” Sverker Lindblad says that the lists are a sign of the times in a market adaptation of academics. Universities compete on a European and global arena, where competition for money and students is increasingly hard. In a number of countries, universities have already merged to be able to better assert themselves. Sverker Lindblad worries that, in the worst case, this can lead in the long run to a development of universities that is run primarily by profit interests. Neither does Lindblad think that rankings are an especially good system since they only measure a part of all the research that is done. “It might work well in parts of the natural sciences and medicine but isn’t particularly good in the social sciences and humanities. It can have unfortunate consequences in the sense that you might adapt yourself to the measurement or the position of the university rather than using a critical approach.” So what do you think that GU should do? “As a university we have to keep to the methods that are used but also pay attention to the criticisms. We have to correct things that may be wrong, of course, and report correct information. But it also has to do with whether we in Sweden have to be able to demand that the lists become more transparent for universities. In a corresponding way, we can build up a European cooperation for demands for quality in international rankings.” Sverker Lindblad thinks that GU can use the possibilities that exist with ranking lists, such as investigating what measures can be useful. In 2006 Sverker Lindblad and Mats Cavallin pusblished the report “Världsmästarskap i vetenskap” (World Cup in Science). An updated version in English will come during the winter. “A lot has happened since then but the fact remains: the lists are used and we have to accept that. The worst that can happen is that we start to use bad lists for strategic work by purchasing Nobel Prize winners and frequently cited researchers to boost our placement on the lists. That’s the absolute wrong way to go. A university isn’t a company.” Allan Eriksson

Read the report at http://gupea.ub.gu.se. Look for “Världsmästerskap i vetenskap”. facts The final report suggests the following: • How work with ranking lists should be organised at GU. • What demands should be placed on ranking lists with respect to transparency and accuracy. • Judgment of what indicators in the ranking lists are interesting in terms of stability and relevance. • Swedish cooperation in bases for and demands in ranking lists. • European cooperation on ways to manage international ranking lists.

Wake up! “At 281st place, according to the latest ranking list. Bad excuses won’t do. We’re just not good enough,” says Lennart Flood, professor of economics. He thinks it’s starting to get embarrassing that as soon as a new list comes out, criticism follows on its heels. “Oddly enough, the lists aren’t at all as questioned in other countries as they are here at home,” says Lennart Flood. “I’m generally for rankings. It isn’t only we in economics who think it’s good – it’s true for many other places in the world.” Lennart Flood feels that in the current atmosphere of competitiveness rankings have become a natural part of the globalised academic environment. That’s why he’s worried about what’s happening in Göteborg University. “We live in a university system where you put your focus on processes more than results. Think if people in companies thought the same way: we produce junk but the quality advisers give us a good assessment since the system for employee discussions is so well developed.” Lennart Flood thinks that it would be better to distribute research resources on the basis of a competitive system that gives most to those who perform best. “The most important thing is the disease insight, that we realise that we’re not better than this. I think it’s completely wrong to put time and resources into a reorganisation. Research resources should be distributed after results, and bibliometrics play an important role here. It’s by creating financial incentives that we can direct the institutions toward greater scientific activities. The University management thinks that it’s possible to get good research by organising.” But several lists have received a great deal of criticism for serious methodological problems, for example. What is your view? “That criticism can of course be justified since each list builds on a number of principles that can be discussed. But I’m sure that the lists will be improved, and we just have to live with there being a few childhood illnesses. But taking this as a pretext for not doing anything is basically wrong. It doesn’t matter what we think about the lists if they’re used internationally as a measure of quality.” Lennart Flood says that it’s unavoidable for GU to adapt itself to an international system. “We’re already doing it at our institution. In setting salaries, for example, the person who publishes in international journals with a referee system gets a higher wage. Beyond that we have a bonus system that rewards publication in highly ranked journals. Plus, a system that’s based on good scientific quality is more fair,” contends Lennart Flood. “It’s transparent and isn’t based on things that have been arranged behind closed doors. A researcher with a scientific production of high quality will get a high ranking and thus a good distribution of resources. A distribution system like this, based on merits, also creates interesting environments.”

What do you think about the rankings?

Staffan Edén Advisor to the ViceChancellor

Ulf Dalnäs Analyst, work group for the new U-Multirank

Annika Ekestubbe Prefect at the Institution of Odontology

“ I t ’ s i m p o r ta n t of course how Göteborg University places itself in the lists since it affects how people around the world view the University. The different rankings are followed closely at GU by our analysis and evaluation division. There are many different systems and criteria for ranking and it’s become something of a distinct business activity. For GU, the thing is to develop a clear goal about what we want ourselves. Then these goals have to be able to be observed with clearcut indicators, where you keep your eye on the ranking actors’ different systems, so that the picture that we want to show up is reflected in the ranking.” “ T h e r e a r e t h r e e reasons why the ranking market is growing. The first is the international trend of going from process-based evaluation to result-based. The second is that our employers are demanding greater insight and transparency. The third reason has to do with the technical development, where you use your iPhone to set in what indicators are important to you and then get your own top 100 list at Times Higher Education. I think that we should keep a critical approach but anyway be pragmatic since ranking lists are a growing reality.”

“O u r i n s t i t u t i o n came in second place in the global ranking of international odontological research, presented in 2006. That was wonderful for us. We thought it was something that was important to bring up in many contexts, and it gave us self-respect! We got attention most of all at Sahlgrenska Academy and support from the faculty. Ranking probably has most of all of great international significance and, for us, it’s been most important for our international cooperative partners - but also for cooperation with dental care in the region. Is there any other Swedish institution that’s been ranked that high?”

Allan Eriksson g u j o u r n a l 6 | 1 0  7


The University library gives support T h e U n i v e r s i t y li b r a ry

has now opened a webpage to support students in writing papers. The page gives information about how to write references and correct citations and reference techniques.

New webpage for the reorganisation T h e p r o p o s a l fo r a c h a n g e in the organisation at Göteborg University will be presented on December 15 to the board of the University. Later that day, all employees will be able to hear about the proposal in a presentation at the auditorium at Vasaparken. To make it easy to follow the work, a webpage will be opened at the end of November that deals with the organisation work, which will give all material on the

organisational change. It will also be possible to watch films and interviews, ask questions and give opinions about the change. To show how the reorganisation is connected to other strategic projects that are currently going on, the webpage will be a part of the current website for the overall strategic work at Göteborg Universitet, Vision 2020. This means that other important strategic projects are on the way. For more information, see: www.vision2020.gu.se

Report text: magnus Pettersson photo: Johan Wingborg

License to defend the brand The new Dean of the School of Business, Economics and Law is an awardwinning pedagogue, an industrious debater and a frequent traveller. Professor Per Cramér will now be devoting the greater part of his time to standing at the helm of the School of Business, Economics and Law. On the agenda are economics programmes that focus on social and ecological sustainability – and a defence of the faculty’s strong trademark. “It’s completely inconceivable that the School of Economics would be swallowed up by a larger humanities-social science faculty,” says Per Cramér. Per Cramér enjoys a wonderful view from his new office on the sixth floor of the School of Business, Economics and Law, with Skansen Kronan to the west and the beautiful turn-of-the-century buildings on Kungshöjd to the north. He’s also expected to keep his eye on a faculty of about 440 and 4 200 full-time students. He received some prestigious visitors only a few days after he was appointed Dean. Al Gore came to talk about sustainable capitalism. “We had lunch up here and talked a great deal, among other things about the concept of ‘sustainable capitalism’ and the fact that it has different meanings on the two sides of the Atlantic. Capitalism is taken for granted in the US but it doesn’t have the same unambiguously positive connotations in Europe.” A market economy is now a fact almost all over the world. But climate and financial crises have clearly shown that today’s corporate leaders have other things to think about than the latest quarter’s profits – that is, social and ecological considerations.

8

gujournal 6 | 10

was inspiring: “We could think about a Master programme in the area of sustainable management, with natural resource theory, economics, business economics and law. We’d be able to deliver something extremely good. It’s something we’re thinking about now”, says Per Cramér, who until recently was Vice-Dean. But another question is on the top of his list at the moment: the reorganisation of GU. And as chairman of the faculty committee, it will be his responsibility to promote the line of the School of Business, Economics and Law. A certain consensus has been reached at the School since the Vice-Chancellor informed about the reform in the spring. The line is that the School has to defend its trademark and its autonomy – not least in order to maintain business contacts, contacts with foreign schools and for international accreditation, where the faculty has a good standing. Per Cramér welcomes each step toward greater cooperation over subject and faculty borders. “But the risk in a process like this is that you throw out the baby with the bathwater. The primary goal for us is to defend the values we’ve developed. It’s completely inconceivable that the School of Economics would be swallowed up by a larger humanities-social science faculty.” He thinks that the strength of the School of Business, Economics and Law is its breadth of subject areas. The weakness is that the subjects haven’t been sufficiently integrated with one another. Al Gore’s visit

What concrete plans to you have for achieving integration? “It has a lot to do with creating platforms, since this type of integration has to grow organically, and creating a space for discussion for researchers in different subjects. I can see building more centres being a possibility. The ambition is an absolutely

The primary goal for us is to defend the values we’ve developed.

top class school of economics. But radical reforms can’t be carried out all at once. It’s extremely important to create better internal roots in the faculty. I’m convinced that our success rests on the School’s trademark corresponding with its contents. To get there, strategic decisions have to grow from the bottom. I intend to put a lot of energy into creating strategies of that kind.” Per Cramér loves teaching and he’ll continue to teach as Dean, although not as much. During his time as a doctoral student in the 1990s he built up the law programme at GU. He’s gotten recognition two times as being the best teacher. He’s also been a busy participant in open seminars and written many debate articles


More money to GU

Reach out with your research! D o yo u wa n t t o l e a r n to communicate better? Reserve December 1st on your calendar. The information unit is arranging an inspiration day about research communi­cation for the University’s researchers and doctoral students. Register via the reservation portal for leadership and competence development: www.pa.adm.gu.se/kompetensutveckling

G ö t e b o r g U n i v e r s i t y i s a m o n g the winners in the new budget. Funds for research and education on the research level will increase by over 20 million crowns next year. Further funds will also be given to the strategic area of care research. However, because of the new study fees for students outside the EES area starting next year, education funds will decrease by 2.6 million crowns during 2011. The decrease will be considerably greater in the coming years.

“There’s no conflicting position between a strong university and a strong school of economics,” says Per Cramér, who recently became Dean of the School of Business, Economics and Law.

on his specialty: international law. These articles have treated everything from court martial to management of spent nuclear waste, the latter of which is an area that he’s worked in for four years in a large research project. But what will happen to you as a debater now that you’ve taken on this position of power? “Yes, I am Dean, but I’m also a professor of international law. My work as Dean is primarily administrative, but it can’t throw a wet blanket over everything else. So, no, I absolutely don’t see that as a problem.” Per Cramér admits that he’s a time optimist – he knows that he won’t have as much time in the future. Nevertheless,

he’s determined to do research, to supervise and to teach in addition to his task as Dean. After over twenty years of being a researcher and teacher, he thinks he knows how to manage stress. Do you have any tricks? “Everybody’s different, but the worst thing you can do is to fuel anxiety over having too much to do. I use the Nike motto: Just do it! You calm down a lot when you sit down and start to work.” And then there’s the part of life that doesn’t have to do with the School: family, walks in the woods, rowing. And he enjoys travelling. At this writing he’s on his way to Syria. “It’ll be some work, but mostly vacation.”

About Per Cramér Age: 52

Residence: Långedrag

Occupation: Professor of international law and Jean Monnet Professor of European integration law at the Department of Law, ViceChancellor and Dean of the School of Business, Economics and Law

Family: Partner Eva and two children, 19 and 22 years old

Background: Degree in business and administrative law at Göteborg University 1984, M.A. in inter­ national relations at Johns Hopkins University, USA, doctoral degree and associate professorship at Göteborg University 1998, professor since 2002

Leisure interests: Rowing, skiing, picking mushrooms Relaxes best: On trips, especially to new environments; has travelled extensively in India Reads: All kinds of texts and a great deal of modern fiction, appreciated Den sista cigaretten (The Last Cigarette) by Klas Östergren Motto: Keep your curiosity!

g u j o u r n a l 6 | 1 0  9


1 0 

gujournal 6 | 10


Profile text: Annika Hansson photo: Johan Wingborg

Sofie’s studying city climates Comfort climate in outdoor environments is an unusual area in the Swedish research world. Sofie Thorsson, university lecturer at the Department of Earth Sciences, is one of only a few who is studying it. “It’s an exciting interdisciplinary area that also spans over psychology and architecture,” she says. Sofia is now working on a book about city climates and how weather affects us. The climate is changing and the world is becoming warmer. High temperatures in cities can cause heat stress that can lead to illness and even death. Climate-adapted city planning is becoming more and more important. The mean temperature in Europe will increase by 2 to 6 degrees in the next 100 years. This will have an effect on city populations, where there will be many more heat waves than we’re used to. In large cities, the air temperature can be about 10 degrees higher than in surrounding landscapes. Higher mean temperatures also mean an increase in deaths. An increase of 4 degrees is expected to give 5 per cent more heat-related deaths in the Stockholm area during the summer months. “But it’s important to talk not only about deaths but also about our general health and well-being,” says Sofia Thorsson. “In Sweden, where weather varies, it has a very great impact on how we use city spaces such as parks, streets and squares. The weather also affects how we experience a physical place.” We meet outside the earth science library on Guldhedsgatan. It’s once of the first weeks of the fall term and the building is full of new and old students. We sit in her office with a view of Guldheden and Sahlgrenska. A globe and a few stones on a bookshelf remind me that this is a centre for earth sciences. At the moment 38-year-old Sofia Thorsson is writing a popular science book about city climate.

The book is based on her own research results and has to do with how weather affects people’s behaviour and experiences – it’s called climate psychology. Co-author of the book is Igor Knez, professor of psychology at the University of Gävle, and the two have worked together for a long time. “The combination we have is unique and very rewarding. The book deals with how temperature, radiation, humidity and wind vary in a city and how we experience weather. We also write about how good physical places can be designed and about measurements to be able to compare different studies.” The idea is that the book will be able to be used in teaching but will also be oriented toward researchers and city planners. “It will be scientific in nature but is also written so that it can reach a broad public and be inspiring.” Last year Sofie Thorsson received a writer’s grant from the Hasseblad Foundation for a twomonth visit to Grez-sur-Loing in France. “I spent November and December in the small French village. It was fantastic!” she says and looks very enthusiastic. Sofia Thor sson grew up in Hyltebruk in Småland. Her parents, now both retired, worked at the paper mill in the area. They inspired in her an interest in nature and as a young person she was a member of Field Biologists. “I worked as an information person for Field Biologists in schools for a year after high school. I went around to schools in Halland and around Göteborg and organised courses for members and students.” In 1992 she moved to Göteborg to study at the Department of Earth Sciences. She studied a mix of natural geography, oceanography and biology for a few years and defended her doctoral thesis in natural geography in 2003 with a thesis on city climate. Sofia Thorsson spent some of her time as a post g u j o u r n a l 6 | 1 0  11


doc in Japan and lived in Matsudo outside of Tokyo. “I enjoyed living in Japan – it’s a fascinated country. It was more like Sweden than I’d expected. And Japanese and Swedish people generally have an easy time understanding one another.” But, even though she enjoyed Japan, she can’t imagine living there. “No, I appreciate nature here in Sweden very much. There was a great distance to unspoiled nature in Tokyo – a little too much city for me.” During her doctoral studies, Professor Sven Lindqvist suggested that she begin a new area of study – comfort climate. “He was at me for at least a year before I was convinced. Then I really developed an interest in it. Not a lot had been done in the field so there was room for new ideas. City climate research has otherwise been done since the early 1800s when British Luke Howard began to study the climate of London. “He also classified clouds. He’s usually called both the father of city climate research and the father of meteorology,” says Sofie Thorsson. “Howard measured the city’s heat and introduced the concept of ‘heat islands’. It’s something that we are still looking at. That cities are warmer than the surrounding landscape is still a large research area today. Interest in city climate research has grown a great deal in recent years because of the debate on climate changes and since more and more people in the world live in cities.” It isn’t only heat that is a stress – it’s the same with strong cold. “The changes between cold stress and heat stress are something we’re going to look at more closely. We’ve done a pilot study in Göteborg to see how outdoor comfort can change in the next 100 years.” coordinator for a threeyear project that will start during the fall. She’s working together with Germany and Portugal in the project and they intend to study differences in city climates between different places in Europe. “Germany also has a strong focus on comfort climate and city climate. But this is the first time that we’ve had concrete cooperation with them. The question is how we can build to decrease the negative effects of a warmer climate and how we can use the positive possibilities. It may have to do with different types of vegetation, buildings, the materials we use and how close together buildings are placed.” Sofia Thorsson is now

1 2

gujournal 6 | 10

How can we “climate plan” a city so that it functions as well as possible? “We have to design places with many different kinds of micro-environments within a short distance. Some sunny, others that offer shade. They should be exposed a little bit to wind but offer shelter when it’s very windy. Green passages and parks are important both for the enjoyment of the population and for the city climate. “If it becomes warmer, vegetation has a cooling effect. Vegetation is being used in the street environment in many places, for example on roofs. Vegetation in cities is also good from the perspective of sustainability and for taking care of rain water and moderating noise. And it creates beautiful environments, it cleans the air, contributes to social meeting places and to maintaining biological diversity. There almost isn’t anything that’s negative with vegetation. Leafy trees are especially good – they give shade when it’s hot but still let light through. Accessibility to sun is important to people in the northern countries. But at the same time that we want a lot of sun and light in the urban environment there also has to be enough shade on warm days.” That is a conflict that Sofia Thorsson will study in more detail. research project in which she’s involved studies city tourism. “Since the middle of the 1900s, we Scandinavians have been travelling south to get sun and warmth. But with a warmer climate, the flow of tourists might go instead from south to north during the summer months since very hot weather is expected, for example around the Mediterranean.” Sofia Thorsson is also involved in research on the climate in cities in Africa. She’s been in Burkina Faso and Kenya – two very different countries. Burkina Faso is one of the world’s poorest. “It was easy to work there, secure and welcoming. The country functions, despite its limitations. Kenya has more resources but it also has more crime. We couldn’t move about there in the same way as in Burkina Faso. When we were going to make measurements in Nairobi’s city environment we were basically confined to the campus.” During 2010 Sofia Thorsson has been an independent expert for the EU Commission in Brussels. The work in question was on Africa and sustainable development in cities. This means examining and evaluating different project applications and then going to Brussels and meeting with others who are Another European

doing the same work. The point is for the researchers to reach a common statement in this crossdisciplinary meeting. When Sofia Thorsson isn’t busy with her research, she spends much of her time in her garden plot in Änggården in central Göteborg. “I bought the plot in 2006 and have renovated it together with my father. I spend a lot of time there and live in the little cottage from May to September. It’s my greatest interest.” She has fruit trees on her little plot and cultivates tomatoes and lettuce. “I like pottering about in the garden. It’s relaxing and fun to see things grow.”

Sofia Thorsson In the news: She’s receiving 2 million crowns for her project Coordinated efforts for adapting cities to climate-related risks Work: Researcher, university lecturer and docent in natural geography at the Department of Earth Sciences at Göteborg University Age: 38 Residence: Guldheden in Göteborg Leisure time and favourite place: Garden plot in Änggården Proud of: Her cottage on her garden plot Things to improve: Has difficulty saying no, thinks there’s so much that’s fun. It can make her a little scattered. Distinguishing quality: Curious and open – good things when you work cross-disciplinarily Worth defending: Parks and green areas Is upset by: Injustices Is happy when: The sun shines


photo: Mat t Wit tmer

Al Gore lectured on sustainable capitalism Securit y was heav y. There were guards inside and police officers outside. Journalists were not allowed into the room and there were strict orders to turn off all electronic equipment. The Sustainable Capitalism seminar was held on 25 October by the Second Swedish National Pension Fund (AP2) and the School of Business, Economics and Law. Eva Halvarsson, CEO of AP2 and member of the University of Gothenburg Board, served as moderator. David Blood, who leads Generation Investment Management together with Al Gore, and Björn Stigson, President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Visiting Professor at the School of Business, Economics and Law, were also part of the event. Al Gore was without a doubt the guest that commanded the greatest interest, however, and he spoke for about 30 minutes. Afterwards, the audience was given time to ask questions. Gore started by declaring that he is indeed a supporter of capitalism: “Capitalism has many advantages. It releases innate human resources, increases people’s freedom and facilitates growth. But the recent crises have shaken the world and made many people question whether

the modern capitalistic system, which is focused on short-term gains, really is sustainable. It’s not. We have to somehow deal with the bad sides of capitalism: extreme poverty, injustice and economic growth at the expense of the global climate. The climate threat is a matter of our survival,” said Gore, who gave many examples of urgent environmental problems: the water shortage in Peru, melting glaciers, flooding in Pakistan and record heat and wildfires in Russia and Australia. “Carbon dioxide has no price tag, no value. But does the fact that we can’t see carbon dioxide mean that we can ignore it?

Hello…

Business as usual is not compatible with sound economic development.” Gore pointed out that we have to adopt a type of economic development that is sustainable – a type where we take long-term responsibility for people and the environment. Among other things, we need to start taxing carbon dioxide emissions and must facilitate a continuation of the Kyoto Protocol. He pointed to his home country, USA, as one of the main problems in this respect. Yet there is hope. There is no doubt that the great green race has begun, and China and several other nations are eager to show off their muscles and become world leaders. Gore concluded his lecture by encouraging the students at the School of Business, Economics and Law to keep the discussion alive by challenging their professors and working to change the view of economic discipline.

Monica Nyberg, teacher at the Department of Swedish, who bicycled for three months over USA this summer. Her colleagues and friends followed her trip in her blogs, http://across-the-us.blogspot.com What gave you the idea of bicycling from San Francisco to Washington? “It actually started when I was about nine years old and a cousin and I walked from our cottage to Sorsele, a distance of about ten kilometres. We had a couple of failed attempts behind us so it was a big thing when we finally got all the way there. I’ve always liked challenges. Last year I bicycled around the Baltic Sea, about 2 300 kilometres in total. I’d met bicyclists who had taken themselves all around the world by bicycle and they inspired me. I chose the US because I’d never been there before but had always heard so much about the country.” How was it to bicycle 6 500 kilometres in three months? “It was the best thing I’ve done in my life. I would have loved to cover a much longer distance, if I’d had the time. It’s both a physical challenge and a mental challenge, but that’s the whole point. And the setbacks can certainly be overcome if you like life along the way. It’s a fantastic way of meeting people and experiencing a country.”

Allan Eriksson

photo: Johan Wingborg

He came, he spoke, he conquered. Al Gore is a superstar and it took only 8 minutes to hand out the 250 free tickets to the seminar. An additional 200 listeners were able to ’attend’ via video link.

What was the worst? “The heat – over 40 degrees in the desert, and insect bites. And you always feel so dirty. You get used to the physical part. I covered an average of 80 to 100 kilometres a day, which anybody who’s healthy can do. On the hottest days I started at four or five o’clock in the morning, but there were anyway a lot of hours in the sun.” What have you learned? “You learn new things every day, more about yourself, too. It was the first time that I camped by myself, but now I’ve gotten a routine for camping. It could be very lonely sometimes but you get all the happier when you meet people. I often stayed over with people, was invited to dinner and got such an amazing amount of help. You usually hear about Americans being so superficial, but that’s not true. They’re incredibly positive, easy and pleasant to get along with. And helpful. And it’s catching – I think that my work with foreign students has become easier and more fun.” What’s going to be the next challenge? “It’s going to be Greenland – on skis. I like being on the way, not standing still. The charm of this kind of slow trip is its simplicity, living for the moment and not worrying about unnecessary things. Just focusing on surviving, getting yourself from one point to another.” g u j o u r n a l 6 | 1 0  13


research

Birgitta Håfors has devoted 50 years to the warship Vasa. She defended her unique thesis on conservation history in October.

photo: Va samuseet

50 years with the warship Vasa After 50 years of research, eight of which were spent on the actual thesis, Birgitta Håfors finally defended her thesis in October. But her work has to do with something that really fires the imagination: the warship Vasa and how the world’s largest conser­vation project also became a research area in a completely new subject – culture conservation. it was only a summer job. “I’d just gotten my degree in chemistry in 1961,” says 76-year-old Birgitta Håfors, who recently earned her PhD at the Department of Conservation and for many years senior conservator at the Vasa Museum. “I wasn’t actually very interested in working for the National Heritage Board, but it was only a temporary position for a few months. That’s what I thought then.” The warship Vasa, which sank in 1628, was salvaged during the spring of 1961. No one actually knew what had to be done to preserve the wood constructions that had been under water for such a long time. They had to experiment in the conservation. “We tried an agent called poly­ At the start

1 4

gujournal 6 | 10

ethylene glycol, PEG, which had been used before to conserve smaller wooden objects and gave good results. But this had to do with a 1,000-tonne ship.” Since the ship had to be treated immediately, there was no opportunity to wait for research results. The conservation and Birgitta Håfors the research on how the conservation should be done had to go hand in hand. Birgit ta Håfor s’ temporary position was extended for six-month periods and finally became a permanent job. It was gradually realised that the conservation would take many years. “Smaller objects and wooden constructions could be lowered into a tub filled with PEG. But the hull was sprayed, inside and out. We started with fairly low concentrations and gradually increased them. We also had to test our way forward in terms of the preparation’s molecular weight and temperature. We had to get the agent to penetrate the hull at the same time that water was removed without having the wood crack or shrink.”

Most of the hull is oak, but pine and linden were also used for some details. The treatment had to be adapted according to the different types of wood. Spraying continued for over 17 years and was completed in 1979. “The surface treatment with PEG was started immediately and continued for nine years,” explains Birgitta Håfors. Vasa made its last sea trip in December 1988 when it was transported on a pontoon to the new Vasa Museum. It was considered completely conserved two years later. popped up: “All the surface iron had been removed from Vasa. But hand wrought pieces of iron, such as bolts, are still left. And there were many iron and sulphur compounds in the sediments in which the ship had been lying for over 300 years, which had penetrated into the ship and threatened to dissolve it. New conservation agents were needed. I personally think that you should work in a gas phase in neutralising acidic agents that developed in the wood. But fortunately I’m not involved in that work.” But new problems

Birgitta Håfors started her doctoral studies in 1994 under the supervision of Professor Jan Rosvall. Conservation was a completely new interdisciplinary research area, where natural scientists cooperate with technicians, art historians, historians and archaeo­logists. “Research has to do with generalisations, and that’s difficult of course when it comes to such a unique project as Vasa. We would have done some of what we did in the 1960s differently with the knowledge and methods we have today. But it was pioneer work. I hope that my work will be useful for other projects that conserve water-saturated archaeological wood. But maybe the thesis will be interesting in other disciplines since it’s a unique history of conservation.” Eva Lundgren

The thesis Conservation of the Wood of the Swedish Warship Vasa of A.D. 1628 – Evaluation of Polyethylene Glycol Conservation Programmes was defended on October 18th in the main building of Göteborg University, Vasaparken. Link to the thesis: gupea.ub.gu.se/ handle/2077/23215


column

to the editorial departement

Correction

The last issue of GU Journal published the names of the persons who have brought the highest amounts of external funds into the University. The information is based on analyses of material from the EKO contract database. The list was originally created by internal accounting to show that the in-flow of external financing has a strong concentration to a relatively small group of researchers. When the data were treated, all items where the Administration had chosen to allow the department/unit or faculty stand as the registered project leader were excluded. It has since been found that there are two cases in which the registered project leader should in fact have been the researcher in question and that have to do with considerable amounts of money. This means, after correction, that Nils Lycke places number 7 on the list, with a total of 79.8 million crowns in external funds, and that Johan Norrback, with 20.3 million, holds position number 70. Jan Sandvall Manager, Internal Accounting

Comments on Walin I wondered a great deal about the statements of “environmental optimist” Gösta Walin in the last issue of GU Journal: that climate threats and overpopulation were propaganda meant to scare people and that people probably want to believe that the world will soon destroy itself. G Walin answers to the question, “If everything just keeps on getting better, why are we constantly faced with news about how bad things are in the world?” by saying that this is primarily dependent on laziness. Walin maintains that it is calmer when everything is going to hell in a hand basket and we can choose to stay on the couch. A very strange explanation in my opinion – what evidence does Walin have of this? G Walin further says: “It’s also partly because fear propaganda is a good way of making a career. For example, Bert Bolin got to start a whole UN agency, the IPCC, because of his theories about dangerous temperature increases.” I think this is very close to slander of Bert Bolin’s work! Slander of the whole IPCC! It is good that GU Journal chooses to let Walin express his opinions; there are but a few so called climate sceptics in the world that consider themselves to be environmental optimists. But I find it very strange that GU Journal does not allow another researcher in the area of climate at Göteborg University to comment. The University has three internationally known researchers, D Chen, U Molau and T Sterner, and all three have been given the task of participating in the development of the IPCC’s coming report. It would have been advantageous to let one of them comment on Walin’s statements. This is particularly important as we find that the few climate sceptics that exist are given disproportionately large room in the media. Eddi Omcren, Environmental Manager

Usefulness without meaning simply leads to stupidity obligation” is what sculptor Bertil Byson Svensson carved into the stone that decorates Stora torget in Vara. The municipal art committee that had ordered the stone was so provoked that it couldn’t resist putting a small sign in front of the stone that reads “This is the artist’s, not the art committee’s, ethical interpre­tation of the concept of freedom. The art committee considers freedom to be a right.” The stone and the written reservation were still there the last time I visited Vara over a year ago. I’ve never seen clearer evidence of the provocative power of art and not either of respect for the artist’s freedom. The committee could have refused to place the stone there, maybe even refused to pay him.

“Freedom is an

I was reminded of the stone in Vara when I participated in a day-long seminar at the University called “What should we have our universities for?” Lecturers and participants came from Umeå in the north to Lund in the south, and what can be noted in most of what was said was worry that the external demands on universities, from society, business and individuals, would lead to a decay in quality. At the same time, these demands can’t just be dismissed. Universities have to be useful. And I met that very thought in a statement about the role of culture at another seminar a few weeks earlier. There someone said that culture can’t, or should, as a matter of course be useful. It can be useful for those who participate in it, may they be individuals or the whole society. And it isn’t a stupid perspective. It’s good that individual citizens and society as a whole have use of the existence of universities. But this complex relationship can not be reduced to a simple orderer-producer relationship. Ragnar Thoursie said in a speech at Harpsund 55 years ago (he was invited by Prime Minister Tage Erlander):

For a period of time I was chairman of a research foundation owned by the county of Stockholm. The county’s accountants evaluated us and found that we’d succeeded in only one of the three goals that had been set for the foundation: good research had been produced, but goal number two – attracting spin-off companies – and goal number three – getting prestigious researchers to set up residence in the part of the city in which the foundation’s researchers worked – had been failures. The foundation drew the conclusion that if we’d gotten a lot of spin-off companies and many residents who worked on bad research, the accountants would have been happier, since we would have achieved twothirds of the goals. Bengt Göransson Guest professor in the memory of Torgny Segerstedt and participant in the seminar “What should we have our universities for?” held in the Universit y auditorium on October 14th.

utopia – a dream, an illusion – but still revolutionary. Poetry can be satire and criticism. With biting mockery turn itself on power. Scrutinize people’s fear of those in power – and people’s fear of losing the power they themselves have.

“P oetry can be

P oetry can do all this and can give all this. Just as long as it does not consider itself to exist in order to lend politicians a hand. It must stand free – even though it is restrained. It must stand independent – even though it is dependent. It must not be supportive in the short term. But both for the poet and the politician it has to do with how the impossible can be realised in the world of the possible.” Not a bad theory for universities as well. But it requires that both parties understand.

photo: Johan Wingborg g u j o u r n a l 6 | 1 0  15


conferment 2010

photo: Johan Wingborg

The greatest festivities of the year

Honorary doctor Inger Wikström-Haugen, who created the Medical History Museum, receiving her laurel wreath.

three-hour long

spectacle where the leading actors are far greater in number than the walk-ons. The conferment of doctoral degrees can be described in this way, the University’s greatest festival. This year there were 157 doctoral candidates, 13 honorary doctors, 11 jubilee doctors and a number of prize winners. The festivities started with a procession to a march by Bernhard Crusell. This was followed by the awarding of prizes and conferments and different artistic features, such as sonnets of Shakespeare and music of Bach, Donizetti and Lehar. The oldest participant was jubilee doctor Elis Lewin, 99 years old, previously head of Carlandska Hospital. The participant who had travelled farthest to be there was Ruth Nalumagi, who had come from Uganda to be a part of the festivities. The director was Ronnie Hallgren and Anders Wiklund was responsible for the music. The location was the Congress Hall of the Swedish Exhibition Centre, which was transformed after the ceremonies into a banquet hall where the guests were served scallop carpaccio, spiced rack of lamb and blueberry mousse. 1 6

gujournal 6 | 10


An absolutely wonderful day It’s 9:36 and I’ve just gotten my laurel wreath. Oh heck, I think, as I try it on in front of the mirror at the Swedish Exhibition Centre. The wreath looks just about as good as the Lucia crown did when I was little. Head gear isn’t my thing – probably because my head is too little. On the other hand, the same head produced a thesis and that’s worth celebrating at any rate. Farthest up to the left Speaker Pam Fredman, Vice-Chancellor of Göteborg Universitet Farthest up to the right Promotor Gunnar Falkemark offering the doctor’s hat to the School of Economics honorary doctor Kjell Grönhaug.

We take our place at 10:00 to start rehearsing. Maybe it’s because we’re sitting farthest back that we start to act a little like teen-agers. Maybe it’s the happy expectations combined with the strict ceremony that makes us giggle. Because we do giggle and take the time to decide about one silly thing and another at the same time that we’re trying to keep up with what’s being said. It’s 10:43 when the promoter finally gives our cue, “I invite you to…” that gives us the signal to stand up. That’s when it happens. In spite of the fact that it’s just rehearsal and that we’ve in fact been sitting there and fooling around, the solemnity of the moment hits me like a hammer. I’m emotional and thrilled. In fact, I have to dry a tear from my eye before I rush on to the next thing. Hairdresser at 11:00, and when does a person get to eat anything on a day like today? It’s chaos at home, as usual, but worse. But we’re in time and nobody trips during the procession. Together with the gang in the last row I pass over the Swedish Helicon. I know it’s actually ridiculous. Ridiculous, but still a big thing. Maybe it’s that we’re doing this together that’s the secret. We’re so many and we’ve written about so many diverse subjects. Subjects that we fight with, hate, are fascinated by. Doctoral students of different ages, women and men, from Sweden and other countries. So different but still united by a common experience.

A whirling dance – Göteborg University’s prorector, Margareta Wallin Peterson, with the Vice-Chancellor of Karolinska Technical University, Peter Gudmundson.

Yes, we can! I want to shout out when we stand there. But I don’t. Instead we put on our laurel wreaths. At second thought, it fits just perfectly! The party lasts until I stop looking at the clock — because what is a ball at the University? It can be boring and old-fashioned and terribly out of the times… and absolutely, absolutely wonderful!

Another dancing couple – the Vice-Chancellor of the Karolinska Institute, Harriet Wallberg-Henriksson, steps out with chairman of the board of Göteborg University, Carl Bennet. Uppermost: promotor of the Humanities Faculty, Lars-Gunnar Andersson. Lower: Elisabeth Philpot, in the middle of the picture, defended her thesis in the area of art history with “Old Testament Apro­cryphal Images in European Art.”

Kerstin Alnebratt is director of the Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research. She defended her thesis last year on gender research and research policy in Sweden during the period 1970—2000.

g u j o u r n a l 6 | 1 0  17


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.