GUJournal
INDEPENDENT JOURNAL FOR THE STAFF AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG #6 DECEMBER 2021
News
Protests against unpaid work News
Continued decline in flying Report
Adventurer portrayed through own photos
SAVE THE PLANET ÅSA LÖFGREN ON WHAT IS NEEDED
Vice-Chancellor
Thank you for all your hard work in 2021 HE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS are almost
upon us. The work continues right up to the last minute, but it is now time to reflect and summarize the events of the year. 2021 has also been largely characterized by the pandemic. But we started the year with the habit and experience of remote learning and temporary home working that started to feel quite natural. The positive development in the summer and autumn gave us the opportunity to gradually and cautiously return to campus. It gave us both energy and joy to see each other again. However, December has arrived with news about the increased spread of infection and a call for increased caution. At this stage, as a university we have a mandate to continue teaching and conducting examinations, but to keep our distance where possible. Regardless, it is clear that the vaccine is the way out of this pandemic and I choose to be optimistic and set my sights on next year. The vision A university for the world has been specified through focus
areas and faculty-specific operational strategies for 2022–2024. The work with the Climate Framework has led to clear goals of achieving the necessary halving of our emissions by 2030 with a carbon budget. And we continue to produce education that is of recognized good quality and see good outcomes in research awards. All thanks to your collective efforts. During the year, we have collaborated internationally, and although it is sometimes necessary to meet one another, it is possible to achieve a lot with only digital contact. One of many useful experiences from the era of remote working. A warm and sincere thank you for all your hard work in 2021! I wish you all a very enjoyable and well-deserved holiday. Merry Christmas!
Vice-Chancellor EVA WIBERG
Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
Editor-in-chief :Allan Eriksson, phone: 031–786 10 21, e-mail: allan.eriksson@gu.se Editor: Eva Lundgren, phone: 031–786 10 81, e-mail: eva.lundgren@gu.se Photographer: Johan Wingborg, phone: 070–595 38 01, e-mail: johan.wingborg@gu.se Layout: Anders Eurén, phone: 031–786 43 81, e-mail: anders.euren@gu.se Address: GU JOURNAL, University of Gothenburg Box 100, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden E-mail: gu-journal@gu.se Internet: gu-journal.gu.se ISSN: 1402-9626 Translation: Språkservice Sverige AB
2
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
Contents
20
ted by Snow Hill pain F.W. Stukes
NEWS 04–20 04. The unions roar against unpaid work. 06. Unparalleled reduction of air travels. 10. This is how you can work from home. 11. Sympathy better than carrot and stick. 12. Gothenburg – a Unesco City of Literature. 23. Reduces opioids in unique project. PROFILE 14–17 14. Cooperation needed to save the climate. REPORT 18–34 18. Studies Antarctica under the melting ice. 20. New pictures on old explorer. 23. The moment.
Masthead
Requirements must be based on reasonable expectations OW WOULD YOU travel to a
meeting in Barcelona? This was a question posed to the participants at the Eutopia week at the end of November. Seven employees from the University of Gothenburg chose to take the train, which would entail a journey of 35 hours with five changes of train. The employees we spoke to thought it was worth it, partly because colleagues who otherwise would not meet were given the opportunity to really socialize. But for most people, such a trip probably feels a bit time-consuming and cumbersome. In order for us to change our behaviour, it is often necessary for some third party, for example the municipality, the state or the EU, to help, Åsa Löfgren points out in this issue of the GU Journal. Should it not be possible to make it easier for train passengers in Europe? After 20 months of working from home, many people are now back in the office. This is the reason why the magazine is not being sent to people's home addresses, but is being distributed at workplaces. Sending the magazine to people's home addresses was good
when everyone received it, but now it risks being left at the department. Unfortunately, this is a cost issue. NEW RESTRICTIONS mean that it is still
fairly unclear when working conditions will feel normal again. But in any case, it is clear that it will not really be like it was before the pandemic. A new policy for technical and administrative staff has been drafted, which gives employees the right to work from home 2 days a week, provided that it does not adversely affect work. It is important to set up a framework for working from home that the employees accept, explains Magnus Lindwall, Professor of Health Psychology. The carrot and stick approach can work in emergency situations, but in the long run new requirements must be based on what people themselves consider reasonable. Christmas and New Year are approaching. There is great uncertainty as to how these holidays should best be celebrated. The GU Journal still hopes that its readers have a wonderful and relaxing holiday. After all, in a few months spring will be here.
Allan Eriksson & Eva Lundgren
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
3
News
Tired of unpaid extra hours
Three out of four lecturers at the University of Gothenburg do not think that the hours they have been allocated for teaching are enough for the work they put in, and half of them do at least 5 unpaid hours of extra work a month. This was revealed by a survey that Saco-S conducted among its members in December. JUST BEFORE the GU Journal's deadline, around 400 of the 1,700 lecturers had had time to respond to the survey that Saco had sent out to its members at the University of Gothenburg. The preliminary results are in line with SULF's nationwide report, Nu får det vara nog – om det gränslösa, obetalda arbetet i akademin (We’ve had enough – about the limitless, unpaid work within academia) – which showed that almost 70 percent of lecturers worked more than their regular working hours in 2020, and that most of them were not paid for it. – The pandemic has really only made the flaws in the system more visible. We need to find another way to quantify the work that lecturers actually do. Our survey indicates that almost every third lecturer at the University of Gothenburg estimates that they do at least 120 extra hours a year, which is considered normal according to the culture that prevails at several faculties, says Maja Pelling, Saco Chairperson at the University of Gothenburg. In the last issue of the GU Journal, we wrote several articles based on SULF's national report. What largely emerged,
4
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
in interviews with the vice-chancellor and others, was that the unpaid work within academia is basically a national problem. And sure, Maja Pelling agrees with that. The parliament and the government are not prepared to invest the resources needed to maintain the quality of education – they ignore the problems and hide behind a variety of factors and calculation models. But the same thing applies to the University of Gothenburg, she says. – The employment conditions at the local university are not the responsibility of the governme-
Maja Pelling points out that each university has a responsibility for the work environment.
nt, nor is the work environment. There has to be accountability in the university's organisation. Heads of department, for example, are responsible for health and safety, something which is not always apparent. THE LECTURERS' system of
annual working hours, which can conceal and make invisible reductions in reimbursement for lecturing, is something that is important to pay attention to in this context, says Maja Pelling. – If I as a lecturer am allocated a reduced course budget due to cutbacks, it means that I may
have to teach yet another course to make up my annual working hours. On paper, it looks like I’m doing the same amount of work, but in reality it could be seen as a pay cut as the lecturer has to "work harder" to make up their annual working hours, she says. – Many members who are af-
The pandemic has really only made the flaws in the system. MAJA PELLING
fected have contacted us. Here, the heads of department can assume their responsibility by paying attention to the deterioration in quality and changes in the rates of sickness, etc., that occur in the wake of budget cuts. The unpaid work that lecturers perform is often explained by external factors, such as increased administrative requirements and more work with research applications spilling over into the role of lecturer. But that is not an adequate explanation, according to Maja Pelling. To clarify this, Saco has requested figures on how much overtime pay was paid out to different categories of lecturers in 2020. In total, almost SEK 3.2 million was paid to lecturers and senior lecturers. It may sound like a lot at first glance, but considering that almost one in three Saco members estimate that they work at least 120 hours of overtime a year, Maja Pelling thinks that this figure is ridiculously low. – EVEN DURING THE year of the
pandemic in 2020, when they were extremely overburdened, hardly any money was paid out! We need to talk about the elephant in the room. How should lecturers be paid for their work? If you look at it faculty by faculty, it is even more striking what little money we are talking
about. The Sahlgrenska Academy has paid out barely 200,000 SEK in overtime. The School of Business, Economics and Law, the Faculty of Humanities and the IT Faculty paid out even less. And the least amount, 6,112 SEK, was paid out by the Faculty of Science. Why is that? – THE SIMPLE ANSWER is that there is no tradition of paying for overtime. I have been a lecturer for many years at the faculty and I do not recall anyone ever receiving overtime pay, says Göran Hilmersson, Dean of the Faculty of Science. He thinks that one explanation is that most people at the faculty carry out a high proportion of research as part of their job, and this is also where they work the most overtime. – This means that if you add an extra ten percent of lecturing time, then maybe in fact it only constitutes 2 percent of your annual working hours. And you might not care about that. You
The simple answer is that there is no tradition of paying for overtime. ... GÖRAN HILMERSSON
do not really have that view of working hours as a scientist, I think. The culture that encourages working overtime is something we need to get away from, Göran Hilmersson thinks. – We should not work overtime. If you do that, the expectations are too high in relation to the funds available, or your employer has given you too much to do and needs to rethink your work situation. So what do you do about it at the faculty? – We talk about it, but have not got very far. The fact that our employees often contact occupational healthcare services because they are stressed is a sign of that. We need to work more with health and safety and the culture, says Göran Hilmersson.
Text: Lars Nicklason Photo: Johan Wingborg
FACTS In the last issue of the GU Journal, there were several articles about unpaid work within academia. The articles were based on SULF's report Nu får det vara nog – om det gränslösa, obetalda arbetet i akademin. The report, which examined how the country's university lecturers worked and felt during the pandemic in 2020 showed that almost 70 percent of the lecturers worked more than their regular working hours and that the vast majority (77 percent) were not paid for it. The GU Journal interviewed a couple of lecturers who could relate to the descriptions in the report: The pandemic may have been the last straw, but it has been a long time coming. “The big problem is that for a long
time new duties have gradually been added, small things that are difficult to say no to.” This includes increased administrative reporting requirements, including Ladok, plagiarism checks, booking rooms, personnel administration and individual study plans. Increasingly demanding students as well as extensive work with research applications have also played a part. Vice-Chancellor Eva Wiberg emphasized that this additional work must be highlighted, for example in workforce plans. A new working hours agreement would hopefully clarify this. However, she saw the basic problem as a national issue. The universities have unreasonable streamlining re-
quirements and the resource allocation system must be updated, she said. Malin Broberg, Dean at the Faculty of Social Sciences, understood the problem, but did not agree with SULF that staff had had enough. “This does not mean that we do not have lecturers who work more than 40 hours a week. However, a lot of it relates to things that are not included in the workforce plan, rather it's things that you add yourself, said Malin Broberg in light of the Faculty of Social Sciences' survey which showed that the majority of lecturers were in good spirits, but that they felt both physically and mentally worse during the period of adjustment to the pandemic last spring.
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
5
Fewer air travels Air travel connected with work remains at a low level. So far this year, up to and including November, air travel has decreased by 71 percent compared to 2019. At the same time, work is underway to develop a digital tool that will measure all emissions, not just air travel.
6
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
THE PANDEMIC has provided an unexpected impetus. In the space of two years, there has been an unparalleled reduction in air travel. Except for a few months when the restrictions were eased, air travel has practically been non-existent, says Environmental Coordinator Fredrik Högberg at the GMV, who is secretary of the working group for the Climate Framework at the University of Gothenburg. Between 2019 and 2020, there was a decrease of 73 percent. The decline was almost as big this year, according to the latest statistics from the Egencia travel agency. – I’m surprised that the decline has continued throug-
hout 2021. Even though we have become much more accustomed to digital meetings, the question is whether a pandemic will force long-term behavioural change that will make us choose to refrain from air travel, says Fredrik Högberg. – IF AIR TRAVEL continues to remain at this level, the University of Gothenburg will easily achieve the climate goal of reducing emissions by 25 percent by 2023, compared to 2019. The statistics also show that there has only been a small number of flights between Gothenburg and Stockholm. According to the
If air travel continues to remain at this level, the University of Gothenburg will easily achieve the climate goal. FREDRIK HÖGBERG
of Social Sciences and works well, according to Fredrik Högberg. – The tool is more or less ready, we are now testing it and tweaking various parameters. The advantage of the CIS is that it measures everything. It is based on all the invoices that we pay and captures all our activities, such as energy, district heating, electricity, broadband, goods, services, transport and travel.
Fredrik Högberg is Environmental Coordinator.
THE CALCULATOR on which
travel policy, which will be updated, short flights should preferably be avoided and require authorization from the head of department or manager. – IT IS GRATIFYING that we are finally seeing a reduction in air travel on this route. For the organisation's work on the climate issue, it would be beneficial if flying to Stockholm was no longer an option. In addition to travel, which is easy to measure, there are many other types of emissions. By next summer, the new IT tool Carbon Intelligence System (CIS) will be introduced at all departments and units throughout the University of Gothenburg. The system was developed by the Gothenburg-based company Svalna, which has connections to both the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology. The tool was tested at the Faculty
the system is based measures, for example, the entire production chain for computers, desks, mobiles and even printed newspapers and sheets of paper. – We know that air travel gives rise to large emissions, but that is not the whole picture. Computer and IT systems and the purchase of goods and services also account for a substantial part. One goal is to become better at coordinating purchasing and setting tougher requirements in procurements. I believe that the system's greatest benefit is that it will provide us with new ideas for how we can reduce emissions in other areas.
ACCORDING TO Fredrik Hög-
berg, there are several other universities that are initiating action in this area, but no one has come as far as the University of Gothenburg. – It will be exciting to put the tool in the hands of our heads of department and managers, says Fredrik Högberg who will visit all the faculties and demonstrate the system next spring. This is something that Henrik Aronsson, Head of the
Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, is looking forward to. – Our department currently has the most emissions in terms of goods, which is partly due to the fact that we buy a lot of chemicals. One advantage would be to coordinate purchasing, even with other departments. I think we can have a big impact and the new tool will be very helpful. Text: Allan Eriksson Photo: Johan Wingborg
One advantage would be to coordinate purchasing, even with other departments. HENRIK ARONSSON
FACTS The University of Gothenburg will reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and by 2024, emissions will have decreased by 25 percent, compared to 2019. To achieve these goals, the University of Gothenburg, with the support of the GMV, will establish a carbon dioxide emissions budget. This is what the vice-chancellor's decision entails and it should be seen as commitments within the scope of the Climate Framework for universities and colleges.
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
7
News
Could have given more How have things gone for UGOT Challenges, the University of Gothenburg's ambitious investment in global challenges, which will soon come to an end? The University of Gothenburg has every reason to be proud of these environments. But it could have been even bolder, says Mats Benner, chairman of the initiative's final evaluation. AN INTERNATIONAL PANEL of
nine people carried out the final evaluation, which was completed on October 24. The inquiry does not go into how successful the individual six centres have been, but has instead looked at the overall initiative itself. And the general assessment is good, explains Mats Benner, Professor of Research Policy at Lund University. – The initiative has led to greater exposure for the University of Gothenburg and to a lot of exciting and innovative research that has had a good societal effect. The areas that have been most successful have become very prominent. At the same time, the initiative has not led to much renewal, the evaluators say. – Above all, the centres are strong in the specialities where they already have
8
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
successful senior researchers. Well-known stars have been able to shine, while the opportunity for younger researchers to prove themselves has been more limited. And new interdisciplinary constellations, where the different fields of science operate on equal terms, have not really come to fruition either. Instead, one research area has dominated but with some minor elements from other disciplines. THE INITIATIVE HAS also been
characterized by a lot of ambiguity, both in terms of organisation and intention, says Mats Benner.
– YOU COULD SAY that UGOT
Challenges meant one model with six exceptions. It was unclear where in the organisation the centres belong and whether the ambition has been anything more than just temporary experiments. The faculties have not been satisfied while the departments are more positive, which of course is related to the fact that the majority of the resources have gone to new doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers. The evaluation also indicates that the initiative did not require any follow-up or reporting of results. – Researchers are used to reporting what they have published, what employees
have been hired and their various collaborations, so it is strange not to request something similar in this case. It would not have had to involve the obsession with red-tape that prevails at British or American universities, where you can barely make a phone call without reporting the reason for it, but a little more reporting on outcomes could have been required. What the investigators have been wondering about most, however, is the goal of complete academic environments at each centre, Mats Benner explains. – It is quite unclear what is meant by this, but that education is part of a complete environment is, in any event, clear. That is why it is remarkable that the effects on education have been so negligible. One reason for the difficulties is, of course, that research and education are financed in different ways. But including education in the initiative would otherwise have been sufficient as a laudable ambition, without using the more obscure concept of "complete academic environment". CARINA MALLARD, Deputy
Vice-Chancellor for Research, is pleased that the evaluation was carried out, and with the scientific breadth of the panel. However, she is surprised that they do not say that they
can evaluate the scientific quality of the research but only provide a very general conclusion. She would have also liked to see the international societal benefits of the centres given more prominence, as the aim of the initiative was precisely to address global challenges. – But otherwise, it is a valuable evaluation that management, in dialogue with the faculties, will examine. Among other things, the organisation of centre forma-
FACTS UGOT Challenges is an initiative implemented by the University of Gothenburg for the period 2016–2021 that involves interdisciplinary research related to global societal challenges. The investment was SEK 300 million and the following centres were included: Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research, Centre for Future Chemical Risk Assessment and Management Strategies, Centre for Collective Action Research, Centre for Critical Heritage Studies, Swedish Mariculture Research Centres and the Centre for Ageing and Health. The University of Gothenburg Centers for Global Societal Challenges – an evaluation was carried out by Tim Allen, London School of Economics and Political Science; Lars Geschwind, the Royal Institute of Technology; Darja Isaksson, Vinnova; Marja Makarow, Academia Europaea; Göran Marklund, Vinnova; Ronan O'Connell, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland; Deborah Power, the University of Algarve, and Mathilde Skoie, the University of Oslo. Chairman: Mats Benner, Lund University. The individual centres are also under evaluation. The Grants and Innovation office has estimated that the UGOT Centres have received at least SEK 1 billion in external funds.
Carina Mallard would have liked the evaluation to say more about the scientific quality
tions will be reviewed in our operational plan. We will also investigate how decisions and results can be reported better, for example through public events such as seminars. CARINA MALLARD ALSO
agrees that greater clarity would have been desirable, for example when it comes to the interpretation of complete academic environments. The evaluation proposes continued funding for at least a couple of the centres.
It was clear from the beginning that this is a temporary initiative. CARINA MALLARD
But at present there are no such plans, emphasizes Carina Mallard. – It was clear from the beginning that this is a temporary initiative. However, several of the centres have developed very well and will certainly be able to stand on their own two feet. Although the evaluation indicates many shortcomings, it is, on the whole, enthusiastic, Mats Benner explains. – There is tremendous value in doing things that are
out of the ordinary, and the University of Gothenburg should get credit for this initiative. It could have been even bolder, clearer and better organized. But that type of criticism is quite common when it comes to investment in major centres in Sweden and not unique to UGOT Challenges.
Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
9
New guidelines for working at home
On November 4, the Vice-Chancellor adopted new guidelines regarding remote working and temporary home working for technical and administrative staff. A few days later, new recommendations were also announced by the Public Health Agency of Sweden. However, these recommendations do not affect the universities at present. However, the higher education institutions must avoid large gatherings and take infection control measures. 10
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
DICK STENMARK, Dean of the
IT Faculty, led the committee that prepared the new guidelines. He believes that the old policy was very restrictive, employees more or less had be at their place of work. – But, the pandemic has shown that many tasks can be carried out remotely. We also have a situation where many businesses in the community are offering a higher degree of flexibility, and in order to be attractive as an employer, we must do the same. The new policy means, among other things, that employees can work from home for a maximum of 40 percent of their working hours, explains Tommy Christensen, HR Manager at Human Resources. – The prerequisite is that the employee's duties and
work environment permit working from home to this extent and that the organisation is not adversely affected. The extent of home working can be regulated in various ways, for example as a number of days per week, certain specified days of the week, a certain percentage of the working hours or periods during the year. THE DECISION OF having a maximum of 40 percent was made after a weighted assessment based on the circumstances and needs of the organisation. – But it is also about the university, in its capacity as an employer, having a responsibility for the employees' work environment even in regard to remote working. The agreement between
the employee and the manager must be made in writing. Why is a verbal agreement not enough? – The regulation governing remote working stipulates that the agreement should be drawn up in writing, according to the central collective agreement that applies to state employees, Tommy Christensen explains. If something unexpected happens, which means that you need to work at home for an extra day, it is possible to have a verbal agreement with your manager. It is then called "temporary home working". However, under normal circumstances, the written document shall be applicable. The agreement must state the remote workplace, often the employee's home address. – This is partly due to the
Back to work? This is how you cope! We as employers must to a greater extent try to satisfy employees' wishes for greater flexibility. DICK STENMARK
fact that the university must be able to fulfil its health and safety obligations and that the remote workplace must be insured. Dick Stenmark explains that the policy is intended to support employees. – Some managers are still skeptical that employees spend working hours at home, but according to the university's new policy, we as employers must to a greater extent try to satisfy employees' wishes for greater flexibility. But only as long as it is compatible with the work to be performed. If a lot of people choose to work in another location, however, it can be a sign of problems in the workplace and then it is the manager's duty to do something about it. It should feel meaningful to come to
work, and be enjoyable to meet colleagues. Other higher education institutions have roughly the same rules as the University of Gothenburg, Tommy Christensen points out. – It is probably due to similar circumstances and needs in the organisation that government agencies have to manage. Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Shutterstock
FACTS On November 4, the Vice-Chancellor adopted the policy document Riktlinjer avseende distansarbete och tillfälligt hemarbete för teknisk och administrativ personal (Guidelines regarding remote working and temporary home working for technical and administrative staff).. Among other things, remote working may encompass a maximum of 40 percent of an employee’s working hours and the employee and manager must draw up a written agreement.
After almost 20 months of working from home, many employees may feel both anxious and uneasy about the prospect of returning to the office. – Coercion and control only lead to resistance, it is better to show understanding, explains health psychologist Magnus Lindwall. THERE ARE SEVERAL reasons to feel uncomfortable about returning to the workplace, Magnus Lindwall explains. – Of course, some people have a good reason to be worried, because they belong to a risk group, for example. Media reporting can also create anxiety. But even those who are not directly worried may be hesitant to once again have to rush to work, find time for various meetings and be faced with new social contacts. Magnus Lindwall believes that both managers and colleagues must be understanding about the fact that some people may need time to adjust. – Whatever you might think of Sweden's way of dealing with the pandemic, it was, in any case, in line with what behavioural research tells us: Freedom of choice makes people take responsibility, coercion leads to a backlash. A carrot and stick approach can work in an emergency, but in the long run, new demands must be based on people perceiving them as reasonable. Therefore, it is important to create rules that provide some individual freedom. At the same time, employees must also feel that they are being treated fairly, says Magnus Lindwall. – It will not make for a pleasant working environment if some employees are allowed to work from home as much as they want while others are not. Instead, it is important to set up a framework for working from home: as long as you stick to the rules, the employee should be able to decide for themselves. It is also important for managers to be sympathetic. – This may require both energy and time. But employees who feel that they have been listened to, even if they do not really get what they want, are so much easier to work with than employees who feel that they are being forced back to the workplace, especially if working from home has worked well for them.
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
11
News
Gothenburg on the map of Literature
IT WAS IN 2019 that the municipal board decided to apply for Gothenburg to become a UNESCO City of Literature. For various reasons, the application was not completed back then but was submitted this summer instead. On November 8, the good news finally arrived that Gothenburg, together with Vilnius and Jakarta, had been accepted as new cities of literature. – This is tremendous, not only for those of us who collaborated on the application, but for everyone who is involved in literature and reading in Gothenburg, whether it is in schools, libraries, associations or in other contexts. Increasing interest in reading is not something a handful of stakeholders can do by themselves, instead it requires commitment from the entire region, Eva Wiberg explains. SHE POINTS OUT that reading
is not just about fiction. – The application includes six areas of collaboration, including that Gothenburg should be the city where we read to our children, which is immensely important. But reading is also about demo-
12
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
– A very great honour, but also very well deserved. Many creative forces have worked for a long time for this. This was Vice-Chancellor Eva Wiberg’s response to Gothenburg being named a UNESCO City of Literature.
Lena Ulrika Rudeke is the coordinator of the University’s collaboration.
cracy, where the University of Gothenburg has extremely outstanding research, and about free speech, where we can be proud of Ulla Carlsson, the world's first UNESCO Professor of Freedom of Expression. cellor, Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin, explains that the designation of Gothenburg as a city of literature concerns all faculties. – There are a wide range of areas and subjects such as literary studies, languages, teacher education, democracy research, media research, cultural conservation, cultural heritage, language technology, culture and health – a long list that is still not complete. Collaboration is fundamental to the whole idea of a city of literature, both collaboration
– THIS IS NOT A time-limited project but an “eternal” appointment, associated with certain commitments. It’s also a responsibility that encourages us to continue. We must manage what we already have, but also develop further and seriously use the power of literature as leverage in the work with, among other things, democracy, participation and sustainability. That’s what it’s about being a Unesco City of Literature. Eva Lundgren
FACTS Collaboration is fundamental to the whole idea of a city of literature. FREDRIKA LAGERGREN WAHLIN
ADVISOR TO THE Vice-Chan-
Lena Ulrika Rudeke, Operations Manager at Jonsered Manor, is the coordinator of the university's collaboration on the application.
within the city and with other cities of literature internationally. The designation is a confirmation that Gothenburg is outstanding when it comes to investment in literature, Fredrika Lagergren Wahlin points out. – But the designation also comes with a responsibility that encourages us to continue. We must nurture what we already have but also continue to develop, not least in terms of freedom and democracy.
Gothenburg was designated Sweden's first UNESCO City of Literature on November 8. The main stakeholders behind the application were the University of Gothenburg, the City of Gothenburg and the Västra Götaland region. Författarcentrum Väst, Bokmässan and Litteraturhuset were also included in the application. Six areas of collaboration have been identified, where all stakeholders will mobilize their efforts: the city where we read to our children; the city as a collection of poems; literature for better health and well-being; collaboration and freedom of expression; international author meetings and international exchanges for change. There are now 42 UNESCO Cities of Literature worldwide.
Saving lives while reducing opioids
MORE THAN 200 PATIENTS un-
dergoing surgery for obesity will be included in a randomized, multi-centre trial, says Axel Wolf, Head of Research for the VR project Dags att byta ut opioider som en hörnsten inom modern anestesi? (Time to replace opioids as a cornerstone of modern anaesthesia?) – The patients come from two hospitals, Sahlgrenska University Hospital/Östra Hospital and Lindesberg Hospital in the Örebro region. We will compare the two groups: one group, which will receive the usual opioid-based anaesthesia will be compared with another group, which will receive opioid-free anaesthesia, as well as postoperative pain relief and person-centred care. We will evaluate how patients recover, as well as opioid consumption and the health economic impact for up to two years after the surgery. A general anaesthetic usually consists of two components: the first is an anaest-
Photo: PRIVATE
Last year, about 70,000 people in the United States died from opioid overdose. But opioid consumption is a growing problem in Sweden as well. Many people feel there is a reason to reduce opioid use in healthcare, not least in surgery and anaesthesia. Researchers from the Sahlgrenska Academy are to study how this can be achieved in a clinical trial. They are also behind the world's first meta-analysis of totally opioid-free anaesthesia, which was published recently.
Axel Wolf wants to reduce the use of opioids.
hetic, and the second is what is usually called pain relief, often an opioid. – "Pain relief" is a slightly misleading concept as pain is a subjective experience in a conscious state. Instead, it is the body's physiological response, the so-called nociceptive response, which is the focus during general anaesthesia, i.e. how the body's pain receptors respond to stimuli and how we can control this response. OPIOIDS HAVE BEEN used an analgesic since time immemorial and are still a cornerstone of surgery. But in addition to the dramatic increase in deaths due to overdose, there are also other problems, says Axel Wolf. – Patients may become nauseous, drowsy, have difficulty breathing or suffer from constipation. In addition, some opioids can result in an increased pain sensation, so-called hyperalgesia. There are also studies of the potentially adverse effects of opioids during cancer treatment. Therefore, there is a considerable need to broaden our future strategies in order to be able to adapt anaesthesia to the
tred care that is an important part of our research project. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE no
scientific evaluations of the effects of opioid-free anaesthesia, TENS and person-centred care during and after surgery. – According to one study, almost every fifth adult European experiences long-term pain, of whom about half state that they do not receive sufficient pain relief. Finding opioid-free and opioid-saving alternative treatments may thus be of considerable importance to very many patient groups.
Eva Lundgren
According to one study, almost every fifth adult European experiences longterm pain. AXEL WOLF
patient's resources, needs and wishes. TODAY, THERE ARE several
drugs that can replace opioids. But even non-pharmacological treatments, such as high-frequency, high-intensity transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) together with a person-centred approach, are an extremely interesting to study, Axel Wolf explains. – TENS has very few side effects, can be controlled by the patient themself and is available to purchase in a wide variety of stores. Therefore, the technology is very suitable, even for the person-cen-
FACTS Axel Wolf, Associate Profes-
sor of Health and Care Sciences, is the Head of Research for the project Dags att byta ut opioider som en hörnsten inom modern anestesi? Effekterna av person-centrerad opioidfri anestesi på kognition och fysisk återhämtning efter fetmakirurgi.(Time to replace opioids as a cornerstone in modern anesthesia? The effects of person-centred opioid-free anaesthesia on cognition and physical recovery after obesity surgery.) The project is the first randomized clinical trial in the world in the field of opioid-free anaesthesia that examines the long-term effects of opioid-free anaesthesia on recovery after surgery, with or without the addition of person-centred care. The project has received SEK 5.5 million in funding from the Swedish Research Council. Follow Axel Wolf and his research colleagues via www.gothenburgpainlab.com.
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
13
Profile
What does it cost to destroy
– Almost nothing. Although more and more countries are taxing carbon dioxide emissions, according to the World Bank's latest report, only 4 percent have the tax rate required to achieve the temperature targets in the Paris Agreement, says Åsa Löfgren. She is an environmental economist, conducts research on climate and behavioural economics, and was an observer at the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg
– Being out with Lily is one of the best things there is, says Åsa Löfgren, who is on a lunch time walk with her dog in the December snow when the GU Journal catches up with her. She has recently returned from Glasgow, and most of her thinking revolves around what was achieved there, including the so-called Glasgow Climate Pact. – During the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in 2009, work commenced on a bottom-up model, which was then formalized in the Paris Agreement in 2015. It means that the countries themselves set goals for their contribution to reducing climate change, something I was initially very hesitant about. Now in Glasgow, we also saw that the level of ambition was nowhere near sufficient. In the new Climate Pact, the countries have therefore committed themselves to updating their targets as early as by 2022. In the new Climate Pact, the countries have therefore committed themselves to updating their targets as early as by 2022. I try to be optimistic and hope that it will mean more ambitious plans. Other stakeholders, from cities to industrial and financial stakeholders, also seem to have been impressed by the bottom-up process, and are now coming up with goals and commitments themselves, Åsa Löfgren points out.
14
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
– However, it remains to be seen how much difference these initiatives make. We know from the IPCC report that we must reduce global emissions by 40–50 percent in the coming decade; and for some countries the situation is already acute, such as for the Maldives, whose islands are at risk of being submerged by the sea.
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement is another
important but sensitive issue, says Åsa Löfgren. – The article concerns the countries' trade in emission reductions. For example, Brazil wanted to be able to sell emission reductions through the replanting of rainforest, but at the same time also wanted to be able to include the reductions themselves, i.e. a kind of double-entry bookkeeping. After intense discussions, however, they backed down. However, not only countries, but also private companies, want to trade in
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
15
Profile
emission reductions. The new wording in Article 6, however, seems to make this much more expensive, as the requirements for what counts as emission reductions will become stricter. As Sir David Attenborough pointed out in his speech at the opening of the COP26 Climate Change Conference: there is only one figure that counts, and that is the one that shows the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Environmental and climate issues are typical examples of problems that must be dealt with across disciplinary boundaries and together with the rest of society. And throughout her working life, Åsa Löfgren has worked in an interdisciplinary manner, often in projects financed by Mistra. Right now, for example, she is involved in Mistra Carbon Exit, where researchers analyse what technical possibilities, instruments and behavioural changes are required to achieve Sweden's climate goal of zero emissions by 2045. This includes the base materials industry. – The manufacture of base materials, such as steel and cement, involves substantial emissions of carbon dioxide. Making the processes more climate neutral requires huge investment, which of course leads to more expensive materials. So how do you get construction companies to choose climate-friendly cement if the pri-
16
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
ce is 70 percent higher? My colleagues Johan Rootzén and Filip Johnsson have shown that if you incorporate the cost increase into the house construction as a whole, it is vanishingly small in relation to everything else. But that requires collaboration throughout an entire value chain, which is a challenge. Solving that dilemma requires ingenuity in terms of policies, so that we get rules that support environmentally-friendly solutions without hampering competition. This is an example of how policy innovation can be just as important as technical inventions when it comes to climate-smart solutions.
Within UGOT, the CeCAR research centre is also
studying how climate and environmental issues can be managed efficiently. Åsa Löfgren is the chairperson of the steering committee for the centre. – At CeCAR, we have identified four factors that could potentially lead to difficulties in terms of collective responsibility: that the problem is geographically dispersed, extended over time, complex and involves many different stakeholders. To a large extent, the climate issue is characterized by all these factors. Roughly speaking, there are also three ways to deal with collective dilemmas: Firstly, to cooperate and try to contribute to a solution – no matter what others do, secondly to ignore them – no matter what others do, or
The majority of people belong to the third category and they can thus be influenced by making it easier for as many people as possible to behave in a sustainable manner. thirdly to contribute – provided that others do the same. – The majority of people belong to the third category and they can thus be influenced by making it easier for as many people as possible to behave in a sustainable manner. Intervention by a third party, such as the state or municipality, is often required. A clear example is public transport: If you want more people to take the bus to work, the municipality must of course ensure that there are good bus connections where people live. One of Åsa Löfgren's most important tasks is to support policy makers to make wiser and more informed decisions. She did this in 2018–2020, when she was a member of the Swedish Climate Policy Council, which is tasked with evaluating whether the government's policies are in line with Sweden's climate goals 2045.
– But for me to be able to contribute in a beneficial
way, being knowledgeable about environmental economics is not enough, I must also collaborate with other disciplines and professions, learn from them and see the value of their expertise. In society in general, people assume that economists, biologists and engineers would work together, but in academia, on the contrary, there is not much support for researchers who work across different disciplines. People who engage in interdisciplinary research, for example, find it difficult to make a career out of it, Åsa Löfgren points out. – One reason may be that research that spans different disciplinary boundaries is not always so easy to assess. I also believe that there is a notion that broad
perspectives are often equated with superficiality. But that's not my experience. Rather, you need to feel confident in your own discipline to be open to other ways of thinking. If the University of Gothenburg really thinks that interdisciplinarity is important, which it claims in its vision, then they must also support the researchers, centre formations and collaborations that are doing this, otherwise there will simply be no development in that dire
Nature, the environment and the oceans have always interested Åsa Löfgren. In upper-secondary school, for example, she learned how to scuba-dive and later trained as a dive master, in accordance with the internationally recognized PADI system. – In 1995, I was travelling around Australia and used a large part of the money I had saved for a diving trip by boat to the outermost part of the Great Barrier Reef. It is an amazing ecosystem and was a transformative experience. It was really gratifying to have seen it with my own eyes. – Currently during the pandemic, a lot of people have been outdoors enjoying nature, and it is, of course, a good thing for people to exercise. But I prefer it when it’s nice and quiet, and we are alone in the woods, my dog Lily and I.
Åsa Löfgren Currently: Recently returned from the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow which was held from October 31 to November 12, where she was an observer. Works as: Associate Professor of Economics with a particular interest in climate and behavioural economics, chairperson of the steering committee of CeCAR, Centre for Collective Action Research, responsible for policy research within the framework of the research programmeMistra Carbon Exit. Where do you live? In Guldheden. Do you have a family? A husband and two children, a fluffy dog and an equally fluffy cat. What was the last book you read? Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro. What was the last film you watched? The French Dispatch. What is your favourite music? I listen to most kinds of music, but I’m an old Håkan Hellström fan. What is your favourite food? Sushi and strawberries (although not together). What are your hobbies? Writing, skiing, running in the woods and films – watching all kinds of films except historical costume dramas.
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
17
Report
Investigates the unknown Antarctica Anna Wåhlin, Professor of Oceanography, has received a Distinguished Professor grant from the Swedish Research Council. This means that she will receive 50 million krona over 10 years for research in the Antarctic. Among other things, she will be conducting measurements beneath two glaciers that have never previously been studied.
18
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
Currently, Anna Wåhlin is in quarantine in the U.S. In a few days, she will be
setting off for Chile for an additional two weeks of quarantine before hopefully getting on board the ship, on January 2, that will bring her and her research team to the Antarctic. – The rules are very strict, they do not want any infections at the research station in the Antarctic. So I have to admit, I’m going a little stir-crazy.
The project that Anna Wåhlin is working on involves exploring the water below the Thwaites and Getz floating glaciers, something that has never previously been done. To do this, the researchers will be using submersibles, AUVs, equipped with a variety of sensors which can be deployed on autonomous missions with no contact with the mother ship. – These are fairly new research tools
One important aspect of the project is investigating the deglaciation of the glaciers. ANNA WÅHLIN
and we do not yet know precisely what kind of information we will get from them. But we will, for example, be using an advanced sonar that can be mounted upside down on an AUV and thus measure where the ice is located. As the area has never before been investigated, we will measure very basic things, such as the thickness of the ice and the depth of the ocean, the structure of the seabed, salinity and flow rate, as well as whether there is life beneath the ice. We will combine different sensors and see what type of information we can obtain from them.
One important aspect of the project is investigating the deglaciation of the glaciers. For example, the researchers will study how much deglaciation is being caused by the ocean currents and temperature stratification in the sea. We will also being studying the processes that transport warm water up onto the continental shelf, and how much heat is
lost to the atmosphere in the sea around the glaciers. Receiving a Distinguished Professor grant means that Anna Wåhlin can pursue her research in completely new ways than she did before. – The aim of the grant is to provide the researcher with long-term funding so that they can construct an entirely new research environment. For example, it is about being able to employ people in the project, something that is difficult if you only have funding for a maximum of four years. The plan is to employ a technician, which my project truly needs. Why is it important to do research in the Antarctic? – The Antarctic is a huge and often forgotten part of the Earth System, but it is incredibly important for our understanding of how this planet that we inhabit works. Around 90 percent of all the ice on the planet is located in the Antarctic, it corresponds to an enormous cooling reserve that contributes to mitigating fluctuations in the climate. Also, more than half of all the fresh water on the planet is bound up in the ice of the Antarctic, and if it were to rapidly melt, it would impact the entire hydrological cycle, including the sea levels. Anna Wåhlin’s Antarctic trip will last a total of 3.5 months, two months of which will be spent at sea. – Now I’m only hoping that everything will go according to plan, a lot of unforeseen things can happen in a project like this. Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Shutterstock
Facts Anna Wåhlin is one of three researchers who have received grants of 50 million krona over 10 years from the Swedish Research Council’s Distinguished Professor grants. She is receiving her grant for the project “Utveckling av metoder för att studera Antarktis flytande glaciärer med modern infrastruktur.” (Development of methods for studying the floating glaciers of the Antarctic using modern infrastructure.) She has also received 4.7 million krona from the Research Council for the project “Fluidmekanik vid en västantarktisk glaciärfront: Ny teknik möjliggör forskning av ett unikt system.” (Fluid Mechanics at a Glacier Front in the Western Antarctic: New Technology Enables Research of a Unique System.)
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
19
Report
New light on old photos Who was Otto Nordenskjöld? A recent book tries to answer that question with the help of photographs, taken by himself or other expedition members, during the spectacular research trip to Antarctica in 1901–1903. Most of the approximately 300 photographs have never been published before. It started four years ago with Sofia
Thorsson, Professor of Physical Geography, looking for material for a lecture on the history of geography in Gothenburg. Mats Olvmo, Associate Professor of Physical Geography, suggested photographs from Otto Nordenskjöld's various rese-
20
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
arch expeditions to Tierra del Fuego in Patagonia, the Klondike, Antarctica, Greenland, as well as Peru and Chile. He knew that a number of them were stored in a cupboard at the Department of Earth Sciences. Through Margit Werner, retired senior lecturer in geography, Sofia later came in contact with Claes-Göran Alvstam, Professor of Economic Geography who knew that there were additional photographs at the School of Business, Economics and Law. – When we went through the material, we found up to 700 photographs, most
of them sciopticon images, i.e. a kind of early slide, says Mats Olvmo. The photographs were of very good quality, despite being taken 120 years ago and in extremely difficult conditions. Some of them were even very skilfully hand-coloured.
Sofia Thorsson formed a small team to look after the material. In addition to Mats Olvmo, Claes-Göran Alvstam and herself, the team consisted of Björn Holmer, Associate Professor of Physical Geography, and Anders Larsson, responsible for the manuscript department at the University Library, who also contributed to the University Library’s Polar Portal. – We had the pictures cleaned and digitized. When the Geographical Association in Gothenburg, which was founded
by Otto Nordenskjöld on November 8, 1908, celebrated its 110th anniversary, we took the opportunity to arrange a viewing, says Sofia Thorsson. That was also when the idea was born to produce a picture book of a selection of the photographs.
– Soon we realised that the pictures needed to be put in a context in order to come into their own, says Anders Larsson. Together with a number of documents and a few more photographs from the Otto Nordenskjöld Archive at the University Library, we compiled a book that tells the story of the great explorer based on the photographs both he and his expedition members took. No project has been easier to get fun-
ding for, says Claes-Göran Alvstam. – We have received support from the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg, the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography, Geografiska Föreningen i Göteborg and the Department of Earth Sciences. However, it was completely different for Otto Nordenskjöld himself. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences would not fund his research trip to Antarctica, which resulted in other sponsors also dropping out. In the end, he had to resort to a kind of crowd sourcing – no contribution was too small – and when the ship was ready to sail, he had a list of financiers that was seven pages long. It was easier, however, to find skilled employees, both in terms of the crew and
those with scientific ability. – The captain, Carl Anton Larsen, had extensive experience and had already been to Antarctica, the botanist Carl Skottsberg would later create the Botanical Garden in Gothenburg, and the geologist Johan Gunnar Andersson eventually became world famous for his discovery of Peking Man.
Otto had also prepared well, on account of his previous trips to Terra del Fuego in Patagonia and the Klondike. From a purely research perspective, the expedition was therefore extremely successful, says Björn Holmer. – Researchers had previously discovered similar fossils of plants that were hundreds of millions of years old
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
21
News
in South America, Africa, India and Australia, which led them to suspect that there must have been a land connection between the continents. During Nordenskjöld's expedition to Antarctica, plant fossils were discovered that confirmed that Antarctica had had a similar tropical climate. They could also show that South America and Antarctica were geologically connected. Something which Alfred Wegener did not include in his book on the theories of continental drift. This was despite the fact that Wegener actually visited Gothenburg and gave lectures at Geografiska föreningen and the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences. Furthermore, Nordenskjöld showed that the ice cover in West Antarctica was 300 metres thick. The previous expedition to Terra del Fuego in Patagonia had shown that the ice age in the southern hemisphere, which Nordenskjöld was the first to prove, had occurred in several stages. It is worth mentioning that at that time, the accepted wisdom was that the ice age had only occurred in Europe and North America.
Several white spots were also mapped
during the research trip to Antarctica, says Mats Olvmo. – The expedition's cartographer, Samuel August Duse, also corrected inaccuracies in previous maps. It is really impressive to see how he and his two assistants, using the instruments of that time, in the freezing cold and in strong winds, managed to take measurements that were so accurate that they can still be used today. Despite its scientific success, the expedition is perhaps best known for its dramatic and spectacular circumstances. Together with five other men, Nordenskjöld was put ashore on Snow Hill Island to carry out explorations further south during the winter. Thereupon their
22
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
ship, Antarctic, sailed on to the Falkland Islands and South Georgia for the winter. However, the return trip, when the Antarctic was to pick up the expedition members once again, was beset with problems. Some men were dropped off at Hope Bay in order to reach Nordenskjöld's group by land, while the ship continued on a new route to the Weddel Sea. In February 1903, the Antarctic sank while the crew managed to get to Paulet Island.
– The expedition members hunkered down for the winter and all but one survived, says Claes-Göran Alvstam. Also on Snow Hill at the time was the Argentinian José Sobral, and it was because of him that an Argentine ship eventually came to the rescue. The story is like a tale from a children's adventure book, but there are romantic elements to it as well. José Sobral eventually came to Uppsala where he married a Swede, and Otto Nordenskjöld married a Norwegian he had met in Iceland five years earlier, and who had faithfully waited for him. The expedition was ultimately a difficult financial ordeal, resulting in debts that Nordenskjöld had to pay off for the rest of his life. – After the expedition, he settled in Gothenburg, says Sofia Thorsson. He was extremely successful here too. In 1905, he took over the August Röhss professorship in geography and ethnography at the University of Gothenburg, and later became pro-vice chancellor of the university. He was also instrumental in the formation of the School of Business, Economics and Law and was its first vice-chancellor, and he was a member of the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg, as well as of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Nordenskjöld also had ecumenical leanings and tried to mediate peace during the First World War.
All photos are from the trip to Antarctica except the one at the bottom of this page which is from the southern tip of Chile.
Nordenskjöld held several popular lectures for the public about his adventures. – A lot has been written about Otto Nordenskjöld's adventures, including his own writings, says Anders Larsson. But strangely enough, until now there has been nothing more than a short book about him and no comprehensive biography. Therefore, we hope that this book will contribute to increasing people's knowledge of him, told with the help of pictures taken by himself and his expedition members. For his fascinating story is really worth recounting again.
b Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Otto Nordenskiölds expedition
Facts The book, Otto Nordenskjöld genom kame-
ran – forskningsresorna i bilder (Otto Nordenskjöld through the camera lens – the research trips in photographs) was written by Claes G. Alvstam, Professor of International Economic Geography, Björn Holmer, Associate Professor of Physical Geography, Anders Larsson, First Librarian at the University Library, Mats Olvmo, Associate Professor of Physical Geography, and Sofia Thorsson, Professor of Physical Geography. The publisher is Votum. Are you interested in polar research? You can find more information at: http://www2.ub.gu.se/portaler/ polarportalen/.
The Moment
blic
Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG
Where? Who? When?
• The Viktor Rydberg Room, the university’s main building, Vasaparken.
• Eva Wiberg, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg. • Thursday, December 9, 2021.
Short description – As a university, we must safeguard our democracy. Today, democracy cannot be taken for granted. It is about what democracy involves, not least for the younger generation. Democracy means that you cannot always have things your way, says Eva Wiberg. The Declaration for a Strong Democracy was drafted by the committee “Demokratin 100 år” and is part of the work to bring together stakeholders
that stand up for democracy, the equal dignity of all, fundamental freedoms and rights, as well as the rule of law. Through the signing of the document by the Vice-Chancellor, the University of Gothenburg undertakes to interconnect the university’s many prominent research and education environments with democracy, such as through regular seminars, organised with the support of the university’s operations at Jonsered Manor.
GUJOURNAL DECEMBER 2021
23
