GUPEA

Gothenburg University Publications Electronic Archive

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THE WEAVER’S TASK: How Actors in Swedish Municipalities Trans late Digitalization Strategies into Practice
(2026-10-07) Ivonne Alexis Rojas Florez; Seyedehneda Mosadeghi; Institutionen för tillämpad informationsteknologi; Department of Applied Information Technology
Digital transformation has become a strategic priority for Swedish municipalities, yet the gap between formal policy ambitions and everyday administrative practice remains persistent. This study examines how technological, organizational, and environmental conditions shape the way actors in the Swedish municipalities of Trollhättan and Gothenburg translate digital strategies into everyday practice. Drawing on six semi-structured interviews and primary municipal policy documents, the study integrates the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework with Scandinavian Institutionalist Translation Theory to provide a structural and actor-centric explanation of the strategy-practice gap. The findings suggest that the gap cannot be explained solely by weaknesses in strategy design or by actor reluctance. Instead, participants’ accounts indicate that translation is constrained by limited organizational continuity, technological transparency, and legal and institutional clarity. Consequently, actors engage in defensive translation and systematically edit high-level strategic ambitions into familiar low-risk operational routines. The TOE dimensions operate as nested, compounding filters. Environmental legal ambiguity narrows what actors believe they may attempt; organizational instability disrupts re-embedding before routines stabilize; and technological opacity limits what remains of strategic ambition at the material level. Theoretically, the study indicates that TOE conditions act as filters that influence which of Røvik's editing rules actors can apply. It conceptualizes defensive translation as a response to legal caution and professional identity threats. It reframes legacy infrastructure as functioning simultaneously as a material constraint and a legitimizing scapegoat. Practically, the study argues that closing the strategy-practice gap requires building structural translation conditions, which include weaver roles, governance audits, permitted-use guidelines, and routinization metrics.
Risken i – och med – en bristfällig utredning för vem? HFD 2025 ref. 55 om utredningsskyldighet och återförvisning i den förvaltningsrättsliga prövningskedjan
(2026-10-07) Franck, Lasse; Göteborg University/Department of Law; Göteborgs universitet/Juridiska institutionen
När en förvaltningsdomstol finner att en myndighet inte har uppfyllt sin utredningsskyldighet har den i princip tre alternativ. Ett är att – med hänvisning till instansordningsprincipen – återförvisa ärendet till underinstansen med instruktion om att vidta de åtgärder som är nödvändiga för att utredningsansvaret ska uppfyllas (gör om, gör rätt!). Ett annat är att överinstansen själv läker den bristfälliga utredningen genom att vidta de utredningsåtgärder som den anser att underinstansen borde ha vidtagit (domstolen gör om och rätt – i myndighetens ställe). Ett tredje är att låta myndigheten lida förlust för att den inte har gjort det den borde och bifalla motpartens yrkanden (myndigheten får inte göra om – och chansen att göra rätt – utan måste bära risken och ”ta smällen”). I sitt avgörande från december 2025, HFD 2025 ref. 55, rörande ett ärende om återbetalning av omvårdnadsbidrag, klargör HFD att domstolen ska välja det tredje alternativet ovan och låta myndigheten stå sitt kast – i de fall då bevisbördan ligger på myndigheten och inte på den enskilde. Med officialprincipen, instansordningsprincipen och rättssäkerheten inom förvaltningsrätten som teoretisk ram genomförs i uppsatsen en rättsfallsanalys/prejudikattolkning av HFD 2025 ref. 55 samt en kvalitativ rättsfallsstudie av hittills efterföljande underrättsavgöranden. Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka prejudikatets innebörd, räckvidd och möjliga konsekvenser för ansvarsfördelningen mellan förvaltningsmyndighet och förvaltningsdomstol. Syftet är också att bedöma om avgörandet främst bekräftar en redan etablerad ordning eller om det innebär en ny begränsning av möjligheten att återförvisa mål när beslutsmyndigheten har brustit i sin utredning. I uppsatsen förs också resonemang om förvaltningsprocessens funktion. I uppsatsen visas att HFD:s nya prejudikat innebär att en brist i myndighetens ursprungliga utredning inte i sig medför sakprövningshinder och att möjligheten att använda återförvisning som ett sätt att ge myndigheten en andra chans att styrka sitt beslut därmed begränsas. Det visas också att avgörandet varken är ett fullständigt brott med tidigare praxis eller enbart en upprepning av redan klar rätt. Av domskälen framgår att HFD tar fasta på att ärendet är myndighetsinitierat, att beslutet är betungande och att myndighetens utredningsansvar är omfattande när den konstaterar att målet inte ska återförvisas till myndigheten när utredningen brister avseende omständigheter för vilka myndigheten själv har bevisbördan, utan i stället avgöras med hjälp av bevisbörderegler. Uppsatsen argumenterar för att samma princip bör få genomslag i andra fall där denna ansvarsfördelning föreligger. Rättsfallsstudien visar också att prejudikatet redan har börjat användas analogt utanför sin uttryckliga kärna och återkrav av socialförsäkringsförmåner. Slutsatsen är att prejudikatet stärker den enskildes rättssäkerhet – trots att det ger uttryck för en syn där det inte är det materiellt riktiga beslutet som är domstolens främsta ledstjärna – eftersom domen tydliggör att ansvaret ska placeras där det hör hemma när myndighetens utredning brister och att myndigheten inte kan ges en andra möjlighet att reparera sin brist på den enskildes bekostnad.
Kan Slottsskogens dammar bidra till främjandet av flodkräfta (Astacus astacus)?
(2026-10-06) Eneroth Winberg, Simon; University of Gothenburg / Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences; Göteborgs universitet / Instiutionen för biologi och miljövetenskap
The noble crayfish (Astacus astacus) is Sweden’s only native freshwater crayfish and carries ecological and social importance. Since the introduction, in the early 1900s, of the pathogenic water mold, the crayfish plague (Aphanomyces astaci), and the later introduction of the plague-bearing, north American signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus), the population of noble crayfish has drastically decreased. The noble crayfish is classified as Critically Endangered (CR). That is why Slottsskogen wants to explore their possibilities for contributing to the national efforts of conservation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether three ponds in Slottsskogen could provide the proper conditions for the noble crayfish, in their current state. The study also aimed to answer what measures Slottsskogen can take to make the ponds viable, if that is not already the case. The hypothesis was that, in their current state, none of the ponds meet the requirements that crayfish place on their environment. To achieve the aim of the study, several parameters of water quality were analyzed, such as pH and levels of dissolved oxygen. The presence of crayfish plague was also investigated, through a method called “sumpning” and select individuals were sent for PCR-analysis. A field study of the ponds’ physical qualities was done as well. Some results: the higher than neutral pH, low nitrate-levels, high alkalinity, and the negative results from the PCR analysis, indicate suitable conditions. Other results, the high levels of phosphate and the somewhat low amounts of dissolved oxygen, indicate the opposite. Overall, the results suggest that the current state of the ponds do not meet the environmental requirements of noble crayfish. The literature, however, gives several suggestions such as creating hiding spots, dredging, and establishing better oxygenation to ensure the ponds’ betterment as crayfish environments.
Fairness in the Age of Automation: Auditing Second Language Assessment Systems for Bias and Fairness
(2026-10-06) Muñoz Sánchez, Ricardo
The past few decades have seen algorithmic automation permeate multiple aspects of life. Language asessment is no exception to this trend: several standardised testing organisations have already integrated such systems into their workflows. However, AI models are known for their lack of transparency and for reproducing biases in the data. This clashes with the concept of fairness in language assessment, which enshrines ideals such as explainability and nondiscrimination. We must therefore ask ourselves whether it is possible to have fair systems for automated language assessment or whether that concept is paradoxical by nature. In this thesis, we explore this question from multiple facets: whether these systems tend to commit mistakes when classifying texts, which linguisitc aspects the underlying models rely on, and whether they make spurious correlations based on aspects that should not be relevant when determining language proficiency. We focus on systems that assign proficiency levels aligning with those from the Common European Frame of Reference (CEFR). While we mostly center around Swedish learner essays, we also consider texts written by learners of English and French. The backbone of this thesis comprises five articles. The first two explore which features of learner language are encoded by language models for CEFR level classification. The third and fourth articles focus on whether these systems present ethnicity or gender-related biases based on names appearing within the texts of learner essays. The final article rounds out this thesis by showing how the knowledge and insights gathered from the previous studies can be ported to another domain, namely reporting and social biases. We conclude that even though CEFR level classification systems appear to rely on learner language characteristics rather than non-relevant ones, the underlying models show much lower performance than what would be acceptable for any high stakes application. Furthermore, there are multiple societal and ethical considerations regarding automation of language assessment in real-world settings. Due to these reasons, the development of systems for automated language assessment should be approached in a critical manner.
THE RUSSIA–UKRAINE WAR AND THE RETURN OF GREAT POWER RIVALRY:
(2026-10-06) Abulahma, Ali; Göteborgs universitet/Statsvetenskapliga institutionen; University of Gothenburg/Department of Political Science
This study aims to analyze the evolution of Russian-Western relations since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, culminating in the military escalation represented by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It seeks to understand the structural and political factors that contributed to the escalation of this conflict. The study employs an analytical approach based on realist theory in international relations to interpret the strategic motives driving Russian behavior and to assess the nature of the European response in coordination with the United States. It also draws on a review of previous literature to trace the trajectory of Russian-Ukrainian relations and their historical transformations. The study's findings indicate that the Russian invasion of Ukraine stemmed from a confluence of security and strategic considerations. These included NATO's eastward expansion, the expansion of the European Union, the spread of democracy, Russia's perception of a direct threat to its sphere of influence, and shifts in the balance of power on the European and international stage. The findings also reveal that the Western response was characterized by political, economic, and military coordination, with a deliberate effort to avoid direct military encounter. The study concludes that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict represents an embodiment of a protracted geopolitical conflict with deep roots, and it affirms the ability of realist theory to provide a deep analytical interpretation of the dynamics of contemporary international crises.