Explore the vast range of titles available.

Covid-19 började som en hälsokris och växte snabbt till en omfattande samhällskris – i det privata och offentliga livet, nationellt och internationellt, lokalt och globalt. Syftet med denna artikel är att bidra med kunskap om människors oro under covid-19-pandemins första fas i Sverige. Oro studeras utifrån sociodemografiska faktorer, socialt kapital samt människors bedömningar av nationella åtgärder och potentiella hot. Studiens teoretiska ramverk utgår från begrepp och teorier om oro och socialt kapital. Data samlades in i Sverige under april–maj 2020 med hjälp av en webbaserad enkät om människors erfarenheter av covid-19-pandemin. Genom multipel regressionsanalys och multipel korrespondensanalys fann vi att graden av oro är nära kopplad till bedömningen av nationella åtgärder som felaktiga, samt till uppfattningen att själva viruset covid-19 är det största hotet (i jämförelse med ekonomiska eller sociala konsekvenser av pandemin). Dessa faktorer var även relaterade till högre ålder, kronisk sjukdom samt lågt socialt kapital. Artikeln pekar på ett behov av mer sociologisk forskning – både kvantitativ och kvalitativ – om pandemins olika konsekvenser i vardagslivet.

We use data from a survey of 2439 farmers in 5 countries around the Baltic Sea (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Poland and Sweden) to investigate their preferences for adopting agricultural practices aimed at reducing nutrient leaching and greenhouse gas emissions. The measures considered are set-aside, catch crops and reduced fertilization. Contracts vary with respect to the area enrolled, contract length, possibility of premature termination, availability of professional advice and compensation. We quantitatively describe farmers’ preferences in terms of their willingness-to-accept compensation for specific attributes of these contracts, if implemented. The results vary substantially between farm types (farmers’ characteristics) and between the 5 countries, and support differentiation of contract obligations and payments to improve the uptake of Agri-Environmental Schemes. The results can be readily used to improve the design of country-specific nutrient reduction policies, in accordance with the next Common Agricultural Policy.

The results surrounding the socio-psychological contribution of the martial arts are contested. One analytical distinction that has been made is that traditional, as opposed to modern martial arts, are more well-suited to such ends. Yet, this distinction is not always made, rendering shallow the analytical depth of this topic. Brazilian jiu- jitsu (BJJ) is an emerging martial art that has been highly touted as a social and psychological form of therapy. However, this claim derives from anecdotal reports and narratives. BJJ's potentially therapeutic properties have been understudied because of the sport's recent emergence. It has not been systematically assessed to date. Considering BJJ’s late emergence and direct connection to other modern martial arts, it is unclear whether BJJ is considered a modern- or traditional martial art; something that has implications for a martial art’s potential to contribute towards developmental outcomes. This systematic review identified 12 articles of BJJ's potential social- and psychological properties. In summary, the research on BJJ is focused on two salient themes: the psychosocial outcomes and the social meanings of BJJ. The former tended to focus on the relationship with aggression, with little theoretical consideration for how BJJ functioned as an agent of social change. However, the latter offered a glimpse into such mechanisms through sociological inquiries that effectively highlighted how BJJ entails developing resilience. While the literature uniformly indicated that BJJ holds promise as a form of therapy, research also points to BJJ’s complex social nature. This characteristic entailed social rituals that BJJ- practitioners go through, which are socially- and morally debatable. The review thus suggests further theoretical considerations to the emerging field of BJJ research. In summary, BJJ training may be an appropriate public health intervention considering its social climate and emphasis on developing resilience and its mitigating effect on aggression. However, more research is needed to explore unhealthy traditions that seem to exist in BJJ.

This article offers a new perspective on autocracy. We analyze how the autocrat is compelled to confront time—and ultimately mortality—as a political problem. As a regime type, autocracy revisits one of the oldest questions in political life: the question of what makes the polity persist and stay identical with itself over time, in spite of inevitable changes in its makeup with the passing of time. Since autocracy entails a blurring of the distinction between the natural person of the ruler and the legal-political person of the state, the autocrat faces the challenge of embodying both continuity and change in political life directly, physically, in a way reminiscent of the European Middle Ages and early modernity. Considering the case of Vladimir Putin, we discuss the implications that follow for our understanding of autocracy. Most notably, this aspect of autocracy makes the mere prospect of the death of the ruler seem not only personally but also politically unacceptable. Autocracy, we argue, should therefore be understood as an essentially unfinished regime type, indefinitely suspended between the ruler’s claim to personally embody the body politic and the eventual, inevitable, demonstration of the unsustainability of that claim. We conclude by discussing what it would take to actually bring autocracy to completion, which is nothing less than the immortality of the ruler.

The aims of this article are, first, to describe the Swedish authorities’ strategy for dealing with the sudden onset of novel coronavirus in early 2020 and, second, to explain why that strategy differed markedly from those in nearly all other European countries. From an early stage, the Swedish government delegated decision making to the Public Health Agency, and its goal was to mitigate the effects of the virus rather than to suppress its spread. Society was never closed down in the same way as elsewhere. Using data from media reports and other publications, we argue that the agency was insulated from pressure to change course, even as the number of deaths associated with covid-19 rose far above those in Sweden’s Nordic neighbours, by four conditions: (1) the structure of national public administration; (2) an outburst of nationalism in parts of the media; (3) the uneven impact of the virus; and (4) a political leadership that was willing to delegate responsibility for policy almost entirely. We conclude by briefly comparing the coronavirus strategy to previous episodes of Swedish policy exceptionalism. This emerging pattern, we suggest, raises normative questions about the functioning of Swedish democracy.

Landscapes composed of agricultural land mixed with forest are desirable since they provide a wide range of diversified ecosystem services, unlike specialized agricultural landscapes, but that creates a trade-off between these land uses since wildlife usually feed on crops and reduce yields. In Nordic countries, where human population density is low and game hunting can be a viable economic alternative, mixed landscape systems are particularly interesting. To evaluate the economic sustainability of such systems we need to quantify wildlife damage to crops. One important species, being popular among Swedish hunters and therefore economically valuable, is fallow deer (Dama dama). Our objective was to evaluate the economic sustainability of mixed landscape systems including cultivated fields and commercial hunting of fallow deer. We studied the effects of excluding fallow deer by using 86 exclosures and adjacent plots in winter wheat and oat fields in south-west Sweden. We analyzed yield losses and interactions between spatial and temporal grazing patterns, anthropogenic landscape features, and topological characteristics of the landscape. We found that animals avoided exposed spots, irrespective of distance from human activity. We also found a seasonal grazing pattern related to the different growing periods of winter wheat (more grazed, emerging in autumn) and spring oat (less grazed, emerging in spring). We then compared the costs of crop damage against the commercial value of fallow deer hunting. The damage amounted to 375 ±196 € ha-1 for wheat and 152 ±138 € ha-1 for oat, corresponding to a total cost per animal of 82.7 ±81.0 €, while each animal had an estimated market value of approximately 100 €. Therefore the value of fallow deer presence compensated for the associated cost of crop damage. Profit could be further improved in this case by adopting additional management strategies. In general our study confirmed the economic feasibility of this particular mixed land management.

PurposeThe aim is to advance the conceptualisation of island entrepreneurship by investigating how the island context, for example, industry characteristics, social context and formal and informal institutions, influences the development of artisan food businesses in that context.Design/methodology/approachAn applied, qualitative and participatory research approach was implemented. Data were collected during a business development process focusing on food artisans in the Åland Islands. In total, 19 business owners participated in the process. Key informants and public officers were interviewed, and the literature was reviewed. Interviews were analysed using phenomenography to identify representative categories, and the literature was analysed using content analysis.FindingsIsland characteristics and context, local institutions, the quality of social capital and gendered institutions influence business activities positively and negatively. Island entrepreneurship entails mobilising agencies to find innovative solutions that enable businesses to overcome obstacles. Most previous research treats business activities as entrepreneurship; however, as self-employment is essential in the island context, it should be highlighted in future studies.Research limitations/implicationsThis study illustrates how the island context influences the business development of small firms. Results indicate that local policies (1) benefitting female entrepreneurs, (2) supporting local businesses and (3) promoting locally produced artisan food could generate benefits for the entire artisan food businesses.Practical implicationsLocal policies that (1) benefit female entrepreneurs, (2) support local businesses and (3) promote locally produced artisan food have the potential to generate benefits for the entire trade. Policies can benefit from an understanding of the role played by different ecosystem actors. Promoting self-employment can generate benefits for the local entrepreneurial ecosystem by providing agglomeration and helping to solve some challenges caused by the characteristics of islands.Originality/valueEmpirically, this research enhances the knowledge of post-productive responses in the island context. Theoretically, the study advances the conceptualisation of research on the island entrepreneurship context and the local food debate.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is shed light on the underlying forces behind entrepreneurship within a regional innovation system (RIS) in a remote rural region. The authors examine the following questions: Which are the main underlying forces behind the entrepreneurial process in a rural RIS characterized by traditionally low-tech, small-scale businesses? How can the development of a low-tech regional innovation system be conceptualized?Design/methodology/approachThe design of the study is based on entrepreneurship theory. Data analysis followed practices used in phenomenography, a research approach used to analyse and identify commonalities and variations in populations' perceptions of a certain phenomenon. Data are composed using semi-structured interviews and a database composed of company information of all firms in the population.FindingsA proactive mobilization of regional stakeholders and resources can be an important driving force behind the entrepreneurial process and generation of a rural RIS. Innovation can be generated within low-tech industries turning the rural context into an asset. An RIS in a remote rural context can be initiated and orchestrated by regional authorities, but knowledge brokering and orchestration can also be managed by networks of small-scale businesses brought together by mutual benefit and common interests.Research limitations/implicationsRegional innovation systems theory is most often used to study high-tech industries. But by combining regional innovation systems with rural entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship context theory is a fruitful avenue to understand the role of rural entrepreneurship in regional development, even in remote and peripheral regions. Innovation does not need to entail high-tech international environments; it can appear as the result of efforts in low-tech industries in rural and remote environments. The authors’ findings need to be scrutinized; therefore, the authors call for more research on regional innovation systems in rural environments.Practical implicationsIt is possible for regional authorities to orchestrate a development process through the actions of a strong regional agent but also by supporting the creation of networks of small businesses that are built on trust and common interests.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature with a new perspective to the study of entrepreneurship and of regional innovation systems. Entrepreneurship research with focus on rural contexts most often highlight limits to entrepreneurship and see entrepreneurship as “just running a business”. A perspective that starts from innovation and innovative behaviour, despite the rural context and embedded resources, helps to generate new knowledge that can enrich the understanding of entrepreneurship and also be the foundation for more precise business development policies in rural settings.

Land use conversion entails trade‐offs across multiple ecosystem services of wildlife. Wildlife is often characterized by spatiotemporal dynamics that affect this trade‐off. The aim of this paper is to examine the net benefits from changes in the land use composition, given the consequences for the benefits provided by a harvested migratory prey species. The study is applied to land use and roe deer hunting in Sweden. We examine the spatial dynamics of land use, predator populations, prey, and prey hunting, by developing a bioeconomic model that is estimated using a dynamic spatial‐lag model (dynamic SAR). The results show that a conversion of coniferous and broadleaf forests into grazing land increases game harvests and could offset the negative impact of large carnivores on hunting outcomes. Yet, such conversion is likely to be associated with a net social cost. In contrast, there are both increased game harvests and net economic gains from conversion of coniferous forests into broadleaves. Our findings are informative for policymaking on land use and wildlife management. Summary In Sweden, land use conversion between forests of different tree characteristics and agricultural land may impact roe deer densities and the associated economic benefits from hunting. This is because land use changes in one location can displace roe deer to neighboring locations. Replacing forest land with conifers by broadleaves can have the potential to generate larger harvests of roe deer. There are large economic gains when converting forest to grazing land. This occurs even though the roe deer is to a larger extent found in forests, which is likely explained by the better opportunities for hunting on open areas and the value of grazing land for roe deer feeding. Moreover, the scarcity of grazing land in the country could potentially boost the positive effects for both roe deer feeding and hunting opportunities.

The sport of sambo is the result of the Soviet legacy, embedded in a rich historical tradition that seek to guide its practitioners through life. Here, I explore how this legacy is expressed through its practitioners, specifically, post-socialist sambo-practicing migrants. I conceptualize sambo’s imprint as a structural and cultural conditioner according to Archer’s (1995) analytical dualism, predisposing them towards certain situational logics. When the sambo practitioners interact with local sport environments, several courses of action are discerned. For the first-generation migrants who are born into the ‘sambo way’, the influence of sambo weighs heavily in their decision-making. This is negotiated, and the agency plays a vital part when integrating into the mainstream sports-sphere. However, for migrants not born into the sambo doctrine, the influence is peripheral and diminished in favor of other, stronger, belief systems. In conclusion, sambo exerts a strong normative force, but the transmission between generations severely hampers the meaning and impact of sambo.