Projects in humanities and social sciences

How can IT systems deliver operational benefits faster in healthcare?

Is it possible to find a scientific model for setting rent?

The Malmö model, the Helsingborg model and the Stockholm rent model are all examples of local attempts at innovative forms of rent setting. Approximately 40% of housing in Sweden is rental housing. Rent setting models are of great importance to not only the millions of people living in rental housing, but also those who want to be able to rent a place to live. A common component of these models is agreements on which parameters should be used to set rent, such as geographical location, services and apartment standard.

The aim of systematising rent setting is to create transparency and predictability in the process. Uppsala does not yet have such a model for systematised rent setting. The municipal housing company Uppsalahem is now working with the Institute for Housing and Urban Research to see whether it is possible to create such a model with a scientific foundation.

This study will design, test and conduct a field experiment in Uppsala among residents and housing seekers that looks at individuals’ willingness to pay. The hope is that it will be possible to analyse the data at a later stage and then publish the results scientifically.

Using Lebanon’s Age of Dinosaurs for research and sustainable development

Some of the world’s most spectacular fossils from the Age of Dinosaurs are found in Lebanon – a country that has suffered war and economic hardship since the 1970’s.

Government funding for geosciences in Lebanon is minimal, which has led to a lack of education and training, as well as inadequate facilities and equipment. Nonetheless, fossil quarries at Hakel, Hajoula and Nammoura in Lebanon are famous for producing 98-million-year-old remains of flying reptiles, birds, limbed snakes, marine lizards, turtles, fishes, sharks and octopus that preserve rare soft tissue and pigment traces.

Unfortunately, most of these specimens are sold to private collectors and institutions overseas, which limits access for research and sustainable development through museums, geoparks and geotourism.

This Swedish-Lebanese collaboration will therefore integrate science with museum-based education outreach to innovate fossil geoheritage conservation in the Middle East.

Development of knowledge and methods to limit the impact of violence on quality of life

The project aims to develop, test and evaluate a programme of practical exercises to boost the inner strength of people affected by domestic violence. The work combines knowledge from several different disciplines, such as psychology, philosophy, social work and pedagogy, with solid practical experience to respond to and support people affected by domestic violence.

The programme is intended to complement current working methods by adding a greater focus on strengthening individuals’ own life-affirming powers and potentials, as well as motivation to restore and realise them.

The project aims to contribute to meeting the need for more research on effective interventions that help those affected by domestic violence to re-establish and further develop their own capacities so they can continue moving towards a new, sustainable life situation.

Case study of Region Uppsala's communication during the pandemic

This project focuses on the role of communication in crisis situations. Reaching all citizens with the necessary government information is a challenge that came to a head during the corona pandemic.

The need for targeted communication efforts has become evident, and has also been identified in connection with the CRUSH Covid collaborative project. The aim of the case study is to improve targeted communication efforts linked to health-related challenges, with a particular focus on the pandemic.

Reviewing and learning from Region Uppsala’s past and current communication efforts during the pandemic can not only contribute to reducing the spread of infection here and now, but also provide important knowledge for future health communication challenges.

World culture becomes a digital learning experience

How can cultural heritage be made available to more people and become a force that unites a multicultural society? This project seeks to harness the potential of digital technology to help bring collections and objects to life in a way that includes and engages school pupils, regardless of their gender and cultural and socioeconomic background.

The project is being led by Anna Foka, a researcher with the Department of ALM (Archives - Libraries - Museums) in partnership with the National Museums of World Culture (NMWC), which includes four museums in Sweden: the Museum of Ethnography, the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities, the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities and the Museum of World Culture.

NMWC preserves a large part of the international cultural heritage held by the government in Sweden and this project gives the National Museums of World Culture an opportunity to experiment along with expert researchers in the field of virtual learning to further develop the museums’ offerings of digital learning experiences.

For the researchers, the project will further spread and increase the impact of their knowledge gained in previous and ongoing research projects. Drawing on the researchers’ deep expertise in the digital humanities and intersectionality, the project will develop content, learning formats and technical solutions.

The goal is to develop a prototype of a virtual learning platform that will be tested and evaluated by the team and school pupils. A central idea is that the learning platform should promote greater acceptance of cultural differences and contribute to social sustainability.

Digital daily activities

How can good digital meetings be designed in the context of daily activities for people with intellectual and multiple physical disabilities? This is an urgent question in the light of the ongoing pandemic, as daily activities programmes have also had to switch over to digital activities. This requires digital skills on the part of service users and staff alike, as well as access to smoothly functioning digital media, aspects that make the transition more difficult.

The Danvikstull daily activities programme quickly switched to digital meetings so that it could offer much-needed structure to the daily lives of its service users, despite the pandemic. How has it gone and how can digital daily activities be developed going forward in a way that benefits people with intellectual disabilities and improves their conditions for social engagement? Kristina Engwall, researcher at the Centre for Social Work (CESAR) at the Department of Sociology and the staff at the Danvikstull daily activities programme are coming together around these issues in a joint project that focuses on practice-based research and organisational development. Based on activities including workshops, interview studies and surveys, the partnership is meant to result in a learning conference for daily activities programmes, a manual containing recommendations for digital daily activities and a scholarly article.

Lesson-based assessment practice: legal compliance, knowledge and well-being

Is it time to move pupil exams back to the classroom? Can a change in assessment practice help to strengthen the school’s equivalence and legal compliance, and promote the knowledge development and health of young people?

This question is the focus of the ongoing collaboration between the upper-secondary school Katedralskolan in Uppsala, where pupil examinations have only been taking place during school hours for the past several years, and Stina Hallsén, Senior Lecturer in Teaching and Learning at the Department of Education. In both research and practice, problems have been noted in how grading is structured.

Above all, the issue has been equivalence and whether the grades actually reflect the pupils’ knowledge. By capturing the experiences gained at Katedralskolan thus far and examining how the school’s work with lesson-based examinations is structured, the project can develop knowledge about both expectations of the function of the school and the school’s ability to handle the difficulties with grading. Like other Swedish upper-secondary schools, Katedralskolan has been conducting distance learning since mid-March. This has created new conditions and challenges for the school’s assessment practice, which is addressed within the framework of the project.

The collaboration is expected to give the lesson-based assessment practice method an anchor in research that enables it to be strengthened, refined and spread to other schools

Digital development of the Gotland business community

The wireless network intended to cover the whole of Gotland is currently undergoing expansion. At the same time, a mobile lab is being built in order to illustrate the various technological gadgets found in the Internet of Things.

The latter will take place as part of a collaboration between Region Gotland and researchers at the Department of Informatics and Media at Campus Gotland. With Associate Senior Lecturer Jonas Sjöström at the helm, the lab will help different industries, particularly agriculture, gain understanding and inspiration about how the Internet of Things can be used to strengthen and develop operations.

The modern infrastructure now being established on the island enables use of a type of sensor that has a very long battery life of up to ten years – and that can be used practically everywhere. The potential for developing services, products and working methods through the application of the Internet of Things is therefore very large, and entrepreneurs interested in exploring the possibilities of the technology are more than welcome to use the lab – regardless of industry.