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GUJOURNALEN 5 | 2013

210 n on o 5 n|5rO| 2cot|coatbpoerbriel2r200 1321 3

She is jazzing like Bach Meet Karin Nelson, Sweden’s first female professor of organ interpretation Top 100

Government proposal

Varieties of democracy

They bring in the most money

A threat to free research?

Unique database with 22 million facts

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UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG

2

Vice Chancellor

A magazine for employees of the Universit y of Gothenburg

Much is going our way, but competition is getting stiffer

E d i to r a n d V i c e P u b l i s h e r

P h oto g r a p h y a n d R e p r o d u ct i o n

Johan Wingborg 031 - 786 29 29 johan.wingborg@gu.se G r a p h i c F o r m a n d L ayo u t

Anders Eurén 031 - 786 43 81 anders.euren@gu.se

Proofreading

Robert Ohlson, Välskrivit i Göteborg T r a s l at i o n

Janet Vesterlund

Li k e t h e e n ti r e

E v e n t h o u g h much is going our way right now, it’s important that we remain aware of the world around us and follow developments in our sector. For example, in a comparison with other big universities such as Lund, Uppsala, KI and Stockholm University, we have to keep in mind that the distribution of funds to them has increased more than to us. At the same time, we’re increasing our number of publications more than the other schools.

At the University of Gothenburg, we’ve

E d i to r - i n C h i e f a n d P u b l i s h e r

Allan Eriksson 031 - 786 10 21 allan.eriksson@gu.se

Eva Lundgren 031 - 786 10 81 eva.lundgren@gu.se

T h e t e r m h a s sta r t e d and our students are back. Happily, the University of Gothenburg had the highest number of first-choice applicants in the country. Sadly, however, more and more applicants aren’t accepted into any education program at all. I would not be opposed to the Government’s fall budget allowing a greater number of students as a part of a long term investment with possibilities to develop and create new programs and courses.

university and college sector, the University of Gothenburg has welcomed new external members into the board.

We were able to tell the University board at a first, long meeting that things are going well for us. Basic funding from the State is increasing in the areas of both education and research. We are succeeding in attracting external research funds, especially from the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, and we’ve never before had as much money as we do now. These funds can be used for different kinds of investments, not least to recruit top international researchers and promising, young research talents.

It’s also positive that there is an increase in the number of publications, which is reflected in the bibliometrics that’s a factor in the Government’s distribution of faculty funding.

This will most probably lead to an increase in external funding, which is the other factor in the distribution model. This is important, not least against the background of the university sector becoming exposed to more and more competition. An example of this is the Government’s decision to increase the performance based part of the basic funding from 10 to 20 per cent as of 2014.

October

Photogr aphy: Johan Wingborg

address

GU Journal

taken different measures in the past years to strengthen our position. We’ve asked external experts to evaluate all our research, which resulted in the RED 10 report. That showed that there was a good improvement potential but also that there were several areas in which we are world leaders. We’ve had a new vision since the turn of the year about goals and strategies, Vision 2020, that will guide us in the years ahead.

W e u n d e r sta n d that successful researchers help give us a successful University of Gothenburg and that one of the University’s most important tasks in the future is recruitment. This has primarily to do with international recruitment, where we have to improve our performance. I also hope that we’ll see more temporary positions for teachers who do research. I believe this will attract the best teachers and researchers, and it also creates good conditions for education programs connected with research and quality in both research and education.

It’s important to keep in mind that it takes time to build strength and competitiveness.

With all the actions that have been taken, the decisions that have been made and the common involvement and enthusiasm for the future among our employees, I’m convinced that the University of Gothenburg will continue its successful development.

University of Gothenburg Box 100, 405 30 Gothenburg e-post

gu-journalen@gu.se internet

www.gu-journalen.gu.se ISSN

1402-9626 issues

7 issues/year The next issue will come out on 5 November 2013 D e a d l i n e f o r m a n u s c r i pt s

18 October 2013 M at e r i a l

The Journal does not take responsibility for unsolicited material. The editorial office is responsible for unsigned material.

Feel free to quote, but give your source.

C ov e r

Karin Nelson, Professor of Organ Playing Photography: Johan Wingborg

Reg.nr: 3750M

Reg.nr: S-000256

Pam Fredman

Contents

GUJOURNAL 5 | 2013

Letter from the Vice-Chancellor

2 GU is on the right path despite stiff competition news

4 The researchers that have brought in the most money in the last five years.

We post the list.

6 An ideologically driven reform that’s stirring up feelings.

7 EBM took a large international prize. report 8 The world′s biggest democracy project is run from University of Gothenburg. profile 10 Karin Nelson teaches students to let go. news 13 Unexpected efforts in language.

10 8 Clear pictures of democracy Staffan I Lindberg leader of the largest database on democracy measures in the world.

Dare to improvise!

That’s the message Karin Nelson wants to give her students.

Take a MOOC course and get inspired!

A s yo u m ay h av e seen, Pam Fredman has started to blog on a regular basis, and it’s an initiative we applaud.

GU Journal has also started a blog (http://gujournalen.blogg.gu.se/) that just now has to do with a MOOC course that Eva Lundgren is taking.

The interactive course in social psychology is being followed by over 100 000 students all over the world. It has taped lectures with the charismatic professor Scott Plous, a chat forum and homework tasks. Of course, each

person decides how much time to put into it, but the course is so interesting that people want to concentrate on it.

At the start, students had to answer questions that are explained later as the course develops. It maintains a high level without being academically complicated. Take a course at Coursera or EdX and get inspired! The work there can surely be educational and innovative.

In this issue we give attention to the remittal about universities being

able to become foundations. This is a sensitive issue that will probably divide the University’s employees into two sides. We’ve developed a web questionnaire to take the temperature of the views, where GU’s employees take a position on the question. We’ll continue to ask questions and we would like here to thank all the people who have accepted being a part of GU Journal’s web panel.

Researchers from the Sahlgrenska Academy bring in most money. We

present 100 in the top of successful researchers. We also write about the world’s largest database on democracy, V-dem, and about unexpected similarities between Bach and jazz.

We hope you enjoy this issue.

Please feel welcome to contact us with more tips and ideas.

Allan Eriksson & Eva Lundgren

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News

In the last five years, the 100 leading researchers have brought in 3.2 billion crowns. But those who bring in the really big funds are few. Why is this so?

GU Journal asked some of the people who are at the absolute top.

Joakim Larsson, professor of environ­ mental pharma­ cology

Gunnar C Hansson,­ professor of medical and physiological chemistry

What are the main reasons why you’ve succeeded in getting such large funding?

Joakim Larsson: – Everyone has a different recipe. I myself am a generalist who has the advantage of being surrounded by very competent specialists. I believe that scientific breadth is important for a research leader. The others have to stand for a great deal of the specific competence. Our group has also dared to follow our research results, even if it’s led us into areas that we didn’t have competence in from the beginning. We’ve also often chosen research tasks that are relatively easy to motivate and that have a clear use to society.

Kerstin Johannesson: – It’s a bit of an art to write big applications, but success brings success. Over the years, I’ve written applications for a number of big projects/programs, of which five have generated large funding (but at least as many have failed) – and you learn a lot with every application you write. That’s why even applications that don’t give money is good learning experience, and a valuable chance to practice formulating and explaining your visions in research.

Gunnar C Hansson: – There’s a simple, but often neglected reason: 25 years of hard and focused work in an area that you thought before was

Kerstin Johannesson,­ Ann Hellström, Gunnar Köhlin, uni­ professor of marine professor of pedia­ versity lecturer in ecology tric optomology economics, parti­ cularly environmental and development economics

ridiculous and laughed at.

Science is competitively oriented but also trendy in that different areas and types of funding are given priority by those who give funding. The time of the big centres is over now and the focus is now fortunately on the best research and researchers.

Ann Hellström: – Hard and fun work. Research is a life style, not ordinary work. A reason why we’ve succeeded as a group is simply that we’ve recruited the right people. Why I’ve succeeded maybe has to do with my style of leadership, which is clear, if a little unconventional.

Everyone in my research group has valuable and complementary knowledge in both our field and in other areas. The most important thing is that we’ve dared to follow our research results in a new direction. That means that many times we’ve found ourselves in unknown territory without being sure what will come next. We’ve often met a lot of obstacles but thanks to our group’s collective heart, senses and skills, the projects have succeeded.

Gunnar Köhlin: – We’ve cooperated with Sida for a long time on capacity development in environmental economics. The program, that engaged 33 people at the department last year, has gradually developed over more than 20 years. The

most important success factor has been that so many have supported it. The Department of Economics has also been very sensitive to the program’s needs and given it the possibility to develop.

How important is an individual research leader for the project’s success?

Joakim Larsson: – Without a group, no research, without research, no money. A research leader, at any rate in the experimental sciences, is dependent on skilled workers.

But you shouldn’t underestimate the importance of gathering strength in a research group in a certain direction, to make employees enthusiastic, build networks and not least be able to formulate sharp research applications under extreme competition. A research leader has a very important role there.

Kerstin Johannesson: – The research leader is quite decisive for getting financing but the group is decisive for the research that the leader dreams about becoming reality. And the parts can function only through a good interplay in the group. As a research leader, you don’t have the time to stand in the lab very much, but you have to be involved so that you don’t lose contact with the daily work.

Gunnar C Hansson: – Today’s research groups are and have to be dynamic; members come and go. The most important task is to recruit the right people who have an intense desire for the research area and who understand that the best results are achieved through cooperation.

Ann Hellström: – The best research leader lets new project leaders grow and inspires other members. It can sound like it’s obvious in the university world but actually it isn’t so easy since there’s competition over positions and funding.

A research leader has to be able to give the right conditions and see what needs there are in the group. Then the results come more quickly and can hopefully get published in better journals, which generates more funding.

Gunnar Köhlin: – In this case it’s sooner the group’s trust in me that’s been decisive. For a group to work there has to be many different types of skills. In our case we’ve come a pretty long way in terms of specialisation, which in turn requires a high degree of social capital and cohesion in the group.

According to Vision 2020, GU will strengthen external research financing, especially from other countries. Do you know how that can come about?

Kerstin Johannesson: – Attracting external research funds is a requirement for successful research in most disciplines today. We should promote an open and creative research environment where exciting new ideas can be discussed and refined and give stimulation and training for younger researchers in writing applications (with older ones as advisers). It’s good to have discussions with researchers from other fields, with businesses and authorities to understand the more general

News

GUJOURNAL 5 | 2013

Medicine dominates Top 100 These are the researchers who have brought in the most money to the University of Gothenburg during the past five years Project leader Faculty/dept.

Total

Project leader

Faculty/dept.

Total

24,0 24,0

(rounded to Swedish millions crowns with one decimal point)

1. Gunnar Köhlin 2. Fredrik Bäckhed

Economics Sahlgrenska Ac

132,2 105,5

51. Ali Harandi 52. Marie Lagerquist

Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac

3. Gunnar C Hansson 4. Richard Neutze

Sahlgrenska Ac Natural Sciences

103,1 85,4

53. Lena Gipperth 54. Magnus Simrén

Marine Environm. 24,0 Sahlgrenska Ac 24,0

5. Sven Enerbäck 6. Kerstin Johannesson 7. Ann Hellström

Sahlgrenska Ac Natural Sciences Sahlgrenska Ac

82,7 76,8 75,6

55. Magdalena P McIntyre 56. Ingmar Skoog 57. Jörgen Johnsson

Economics Sahlgrenska Ac Natural Sciences

23,6 22,6 22,5

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

Lauren Lissner-Östlund Peter Thomsen Joakim Larsson Roger Säljö Martin Bergö Kristian Kristiansen Thomas Nyström

Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac Education Sahlgrenska Ac Humanities Natural Sciences

65,7 61,7 57,8 55,1 52,6 49,2 48,5

58.

59.

60.

61.

62.

63.

64.

Björn Thrandur Björnsson Henrik Zetterberg Carina Mallard Michael Nilsson Johan Norrback Eva Forssell Aronsson Mate Erdelyi

Natural Sciences Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac Fine Arts Sahlgrenska Ac Natural Sciences

21,9 21,7 21,7 21,6 21,4 20,8 20,8

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

Leif Klemedtsson Mats Lindegarth Andrew Ewing Jan Borén Ann-Mari Svennerholm

Natural Sciences Natural Sciences Natural Sciences Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac

47,4 47,0 45,9 45,6 44,3

65.

66.

67.

68.

69.

Nils Lycke Kjell Torén Sofia Thorsson Kristoffer Hellstrand Göran Landberg

Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac Natural Sciences Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac

20,7 20,5 20,0 19,5 19,0

0. Bo Rothstein 2 21. Johan Åkerman

Social Sciences Natural Sciences

44,1 44,0

70. Göran Larsson 71. Pär-Anders Granhag

Humanities Social Sciences

18,6 18,6

22.

23.

24.

25.

Sahlgrenska Ac Economics Sahlgrenska Ac Natural Sciences

43,9 41,7 38,7 36,8

72.

73.

74.

75.

Social Sciences Social Sciences Sahlgrenska Ac Natural Sciences

18,1 17,8 17,8 17,6

26. Lars Borin

Humanities

36,5

76. Arne Bigsten

Economics

17,3

27.

28.

29.

30.

Sahlgrenska Ac Natural Sciences IT-faculty Sahlgrenska Ac

34,9 34,9 34,8 33,3

77.

78.

79.

80.

Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac Natural Sciences Social Sciences

17,1 16,9 16,8 16,4

31. Christina T Thörnqvist

Humanities

33,0

81. Hans Jörgen Marker

National Data Serv. 16,0

32.

33.

34.

35.

Economics Sahlgrenska Ac Natural Sciences Economics

32,4 31,6 31,6 31,5

82.

83.

84.

85.

Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac

15,9 15,9 15,8 15,8

31,3

Ulf Smith Johan Woxenius Jan Lötvall Stefan Hohmann Maria Falkenberg Martin Hassellöv Thierry Coquand Göran Stenman Ulf Petrursson Christopher Gillberg Thomas Backhaus Thomas Sterner

Staffan Lindberg Annika Härenstam Agnes Wold Alexandre Antonelli Inga-Lill Mårtensson-Bopp Mats Hagberg Leif Andersson Håkan Thörn Lars Jacobsson Annika Rosengren Lena Hartelius Georg Kuhn

36. Milos Pekny

Sahlgrenska Ac

86. Philip Hwang

Social Sciences

15,6

37.

38.

39.

40.

Natural Sciences Sahlgrenska Ac Fine Arts Sahlgrenska Ac

31,3 28,3 28,0 27,9

87.

88.

89.

90.

Education Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac

15,4 15,4 15,4 15,3

41. Ulla Carlsson

Social Sciences

25,8

91. Abby Peterson

Social Sciences

15,3

42.

43.

44.

45.

IT-faculty Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac Natural Sciences

25,7 25,6 25,0 25,0

92.

93.

94.

95.

Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac Natural Sciences Sahlgrenska Ac

15,2 15,0 15,0 14,9

Sebastian Westenhoff Mikael Landén Ulf Sarner Suzanne Dickson Aarne Ranta Hans Carlsten Louise Andersson Kui Lui

Jan-Eric Gustafsson Gunnar Steineck Claes Ohlsson Elias Eriksson Ingrid Wernstedt Maria Bokarewa Hans Ågren Jan Holmgren

46. Martin Holmén

Economics

25,0

96. Åsa Tivesten

Sahlgrenska Ac

14,8

47. Claes Gustafsson 48. Mattias Lorentzon 49. Kaj Blennow

Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac

25,0 24,9 24,6

97. Kristina Eriksson 98. Anna Winkvist 99. Lars Westberg

Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac Sahlgrenska Ac

14,7 14,6 14,5

50. Anders Stigebrandt

Natural Sciences

24,5

100. Elisabet Ahlberg

Natural Sciences

14,4

Sahlgrenska Ac stands for Sahlgrenska Academy,

5

value of one’s research so that you can motivate the research from both a scientific and a social perspective.

Gunnar C Hansson: – There’s only one answer and that’s to make sure you have a group of internationally unique researchers who are leaders in their areas – then the money will come. But the road is long and hard. You have to create a whole other organisation that’s based on the researchers and is directed toward supporting and helping the individual researcher. You also have to give young, promising researchers the possibility to grow strong and encourage the most successful ones at the same time that you recruit some younger, promising researchers from the outside. The competition between universities is growing and then it’s important to have low competitive overhead costs.

Gunnar Köhlin: – It’s not so simple today. I think that universities should do much more to make it easy to cooperate in research groups and to create a more productive research environment. In the framework of GU’s new organisation it should be easy to share common support functions and make efforts to make the groups more visible. This is especially important for groups in the social sciences where the groups aren’t held together like in medical research, where things like investments in equipment are made.

Ann Hellström: – One idea would be to let successful research leaders meet and exchange experiences. This group could read and revise applications and then offer good, constructive advice, a kind of collegial cooperation in a positive spirit that could also lead to new research contacts.

Allan Eriksson

Funded re se arc h 2008–2012 The information is taken from EKO, contract database, and measures the size of the funds that each research leader has brought in during the period 2008–2012. In this analysis, sums that have been posted to a department or unit (only a very few) have been excluded.

The statistics thus do not show the extent to which the money has been used but are only a measure of contracted sums that have been registered in the accounting system (and posted under activities 24XXX and 25XXX).

6

News

A threat to free research?

A reform that threatens free research, according to many. Others see it as a way to create more modern and flexible universities. Opinions about the Government’s proposal to allow state universities be reorganised as private foundations stir up feelings. Several people that GU Journal has spoken with are critical.

I n J u n e , Jan Björklund, Minister of Education, put forward a proposal about how state universities and colleges can be re-organised as private university foundations with the possibility to enter agreements in the same way as other legal partners and thereby be eligible for EU’s research funds. A foundation also has the right to receive donations and to own companies.

The universities themselves may apply to the Government for re-organisation, but no extra funds will be provided.

Professor of literature Lisbeth Larsson is critical and sees it as an ideologically driven reform that would threaten free research and education.

“I can’t see any advantages of re-organising state universities as foundations. If the reform goes through it means a further step into the management culture that is being introduced in the university system.”

She feels that the argumentation in the referral text isn’t convincing.

“It says several times that the foundation reform will make universities more flexible. I have a hard time seeing that greater flexibility wouldn’t be able to be developed in the present governmental system. The comparisons that are made are also lame. It speaks about countries where higher education is run by private actors in competition with one another but forgets to mention that it isn’t cost free as in Sweden.”

Li s b e t h L a r s s o n thinks that it is unfortunate that such an important question is pushed through quickly and without debate.

“If the referral goes through it will be effectuated before the next election.”

The ST union is also worried that it will be difficult to maintain free research and instruction in the form of a foundation.

“A privatisation risks leading

to poorer conditions for all staff categories and also for students,” says ST’s Chairman Stefan Schedin at GU. H e a l s o t h i n k s that the argumentation about flexibility is poor and compares it with the current school debate.

“Why must schools be privatised to offer choices and different educational models? It’s absolutely possible to consider increasing the variation in publicly owned enterprises instead.”

The actual ownership reform isn’t the most important issue, according to Börje Haraldsson, professor at the Sahlgrenska Academy.

“More important is the question how we can renew our way of working. Personally I don’t see any reason to move all of the University of Gothenburg with no change in its tasks from federal ownership to a private founda-

“But there are bigger and more serious problems,” Börje Haraldsson points out. “Swedish research has gone from being financed by funds to being almost completely dependent on external funding. This change has required large resources for exposure to competition, writing applications, evaluation, making priorities and reporting. The risk is that administration of research takes considerably more time and resources than the research itself.

Many employees experience a significant imbalance where research is losing ground. There are also important problems with the present system. One difficult thing is researchers’ insecurity, with greater stress, worry and anxiety. This short-termism also leads to researchers being tempted to choose not to work on risk projects and put effort into surer cards that give publications.

Börje Haraldsson

university hospitals work these days. At the present, regulations don’t allow ownership of that kind, but it would be exciting to discuss a creative solution like that with the Government.

The question is whether the University of Gothenburg can manage a solution like that internally. My judgement is that the University of Gothenburg has everything to win!”

Yes:13 Don’t know:45

Do you think that the University of Gothenburg should become a foundation?

GU Journal asked 500 randomly selected employees. 189 answered (38 per cent).

No:131

B ö r j e H a r a ld s s o n interprets the Government’s proposal as a way to force the universities to change in a time when the external pressure is getting increasingly strong.

Pam Fredman

Lisbeth Larsson

H ow e v e r , he feels that there are parts of GU that would benefit by being run in another form. Börje Haraldsson refers to a government investigation that shows that Sweden’s university hospitals today have lower quality in

research and healthcare because they’re run by two parallel management organs: universities and healthcare.

“Sadly, the Government hasn’t taken consideration to the investigator’s suggestions. A possibility would be if Sahlgrenska University Hospital were run in the form of a cooperatively owned foundation or company with GU and the Västra Götaland region as owners. Then things could be run in a more rational way. That’s how the world’s best

Stefan Schedin

»It is an ideologically ­driven ­reform that would threaten free research and ­education.«

GU Journal’s Web Panel

tion. Since the question hasn’t been treated in GU’s board yet, I haven’t taken a position on the matter. But the most important thing isn’t the package but the contents. How do we modernise GU to be better at research, instruction and cooperation?”

Lisbeth Larsson

V i c e- c h a n c e llo r Pam Fredman doesn’t want to discuss how the University of Gothenburg will respond to the referral.

“It’s a complex and broad issue and we have to carefully analyse the consequences of the proposal. If the referral proposal goes through, it will be up to each university to decide whether it will apply to become a foundation or not.”

Allan Eriksson

facts The Government has extended the referral period until November 15. It is university director Jörgen Tholin that is in charge of the work to put together the response to the referral. A number of experts have been asked to look more closely at different parts of the proposal.

There are several questions that must be carefully analysed, among them the consequences for education and research, but also legal and labour issues. Other areas have to do with legal questions and students’ influence.

7

News

Radical conversion gave an international award Great environmental benefits. But also improvements to the work environment and the animals’ wellbeing has turned EBM, the laboratory for experimental biomedicine, into an international example.

the installation of boilers. Safety has also improved in a number of ways.”

But the work has only begun, according to Morgan Lidén, who estimates that EBM can decrease energy use by a further 15 per cent thanks to continued investments.

The efforts at EBM have contributed to the University being able to manage the climate goal of decreasing total emissions by at least 20 per cent up to 2015, from the levels of 2008.

To g e t h e r w it h the property owner, Akademiska hus, the University has received an award from the organisation International Sustainable Campus Network, ISCN, for the conversion of EBM. The award has received a great deal of attention internationally, according to Morgan Lidén, administrative manager.

“It’s fantastic. The university in Bergen made a study visit recently and there’s great interest in China, Great Britain and New Zealand too.”

A f t e r t h e co n v e r s i o n , energy

use in the building decreased by 24 per cent between 2009 and 2012.

For example, use of natural gas has stopped, which decreased emissions of carbon dioxide by 300 tons during 2012. The energy saving measures have decreased the costs of

ALLAN ERIKSSON facts

International award to the University of Gothenburg for its conversion of EBM.

Akademiska hus by 2.5 million crowns during the period.

“The project has shown that it’s possible to decrease the University’s environmental effects and improve

the work environment for employees at the same time that we save money.

The conversion has led to many positive side effects, such as better ventilation, new washing equipment and

ISCN is a network for cooperation and experience exchange from work with sustainable development at universities the world over. The University of Gothenburg is a member of ISCN together with several world leading universities such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT, Cambridge and Oxford. Each year, ISCN gives awards in the categories of buildings, campus, integration and student leadership. The University of Gothenburg received the award for the category of buildings.

Agreement with Shanghai extended When the city of Gothenburg renewed its agreement with its sister city Shanghai this spring, two representatives of the University of Gothenburg travelled to China. Among other places, they visited Tongji University.

O n Ap r i l 14 –1 9 , about 40 representatives of the municipality of Gothenburg and its businesses visited our sister city Shanghai.

The purpose was to renew the cities’ cooperation agreement up to 2015. The delegation also included four representatives of Chalmers and two researchers from the University of Gothenburg. Deliang Chen, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, and Jonas Emanuelsson, head of the Department of Pedagogical, Curricular and Professional Studies.

Some of their activities were to participate in roundtable discussions about

marine issues, waste management, energy effectiveness, transports, urban futures and research, education and innovation.

At Chalmers’ initiative, a visit to Tongji University was also included in the program.

“Both schools have cooperated for a long time and GU has also been included a bit,” says Deliang Chen. “It has to do with sustainable city development via Mistra Urban Future. But we could cooperate more, for example, in terms of technology transfer, innovation and entrepreneurship.”

Exchange of experiences in the schools was also discussed, where Chinese and Swedish traditions differ a great deal.

“There should be greater interest on our part for how things work in China; my picture is that we have a

lot to learn,” says Jonas Emanuelsson.

“I was able to visit representatives of the Shanghai Academy of Educational Sciences and the East China Deliang Chen Normal University.

There’s an interest at the city of Gothenburg in supporting a school development project according to a Chinese model, and I hope it results in concrete cooperation.”

Fu r t h e r co o pe r ati v e projects between Shanghai and Gothenburg in education, research and innovation should be encouraged, according to Deliang Chen.

“The Chinese are especially interested in cooperation… on science parks and business incubators.”

But why do employees of the

»The Chinese are especially interested in cooperation…« University of Gothenburg need to go on delegation trips all the way to China?

“It’s easier to establish contacts if you’re there,” Emanuelsson explains.

“And sister city work is an important platform that gives a legitimacy for further cooperation.”

TORSTEN ARPI & THE EDITORIAL OFFICE

8

Feature

Democracy

– more than just the right to vote Will next year be extra democratic? Elections will be held for the European Parliament, the Swedish Parliament, counties and municipalities. Furthermore, the people of Gothenburg will most likely get the opportunity to vote on congestion charge.

But democracy isn’t only about voting.

It’s also about 329 other factors – at least according to Varieties of Democracy, the world’s largest research project on democracy.

A tota l o f 4 0 0 0 p eo ple from all over the world are involved in the project, which is led by Staffan I Lindberg, political scientist at the University of Gothenburg, together with Jan Teorell, Lund University, Michael Coppedge, the Kellogg Institute, and John Gerring, Boston University. The project started as a reaction to the democracy measurements that are made today. The institutions that dominate, Freedom House and Polity IV, are financed by the CIA and the American Department of Foreign Affairs and measure democracy in a very narrow sense.

“For example, it’s sufficient if 40 per cent of the population has the right to vote for a country to be viewed as democratic.

That means that Sweden achieved a perfect power of the people in 1917, before women were able to vote,” says Staffan Lindberg.

Varieties of Democracy instead measures democracy in both broader and deeper senses, with different measures for seven separate models of democracy: election democracy (degree of free elections), liberal democracy (degree of individual freedom and limitations to the executive power), participative democracy (degree of breadth and depth of participation in decision processes), deliberative democracy (degree of respect and rationality in political discussions prior to taking decisions), equality democracy (degree of equality in conditions, for example education, healthcare and economy), majority democracy (quorum and clear majorities) and consensus democracy (degree of representation and participation in the executive power of many groups). 206 countries or political units are included, which means that the project has created the world’s absolutely largest democracy database. The base already has 9 million pieces of data but there will be 22 million.

“Since we measure different kinds of

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democracy that in certain cases exclude one another, no country can be perfectly democratic seen from all the criteria. For example, Sweden ranks high in terms of equality but lower in liberal democracy.

Instead, the US ranks high there. Our thought is also to measure democracy from all possible perspectives, both in theory and in practice. In addition to the four research leaders, 15 leading democracy researchers participate as project leaders and 31 regional leaders. There are a further 194 researchers who are coordinators for the work in the different countries. is 329 indicators of democracy,” explains Staffan Lindberg. “Of these, 152 are pure facts, such as what the constitution looks like, how many parties the country has, whether referendums are common and so forth. The other 177 factors are completely new for our project and have to do with things that aren’t usually included in investigations because they’re hard to put numbers to. But to still make what is non-observable measureable, we have the help of over 4 000 people, 20 for each country, who give answers about things that you have to be very familiar with the country in order to judge. It may have to do with whether people feel worry over expressing an opinion, whether torture is used in prisons, whether the educational system works for everyone, whether there is just a small well-educated group that decides while the masses have no influence and so forth. These questions that are difficult to capture are the ones that are actually most important – that is, how the system actually works for ordinary people in their everyday life.”

“ W h at w e m e a s u r e

T h e e x pe r t s i n each country consist of 60 per cent national researchers and 40 per cent international. While the national experts most often live in the country about which they report, there are exceptions.

“In certain dictatorships, the experts have to live outside the country, partly because we can’t guarantee their safety and partly for scientific reasons. An observer in North Korea or Saudi Arabia may have to lie in order not to be exposed to danger and therefore give reports that can’t be used.

The project also has a historical dimension.

Data are collected from 1900 until the present, from as many countries as pos-

sible, which makes it possible to follow the growth of democracy in different states and regions.”

But why is it so important to measure different aspects of democracy? Among other things, in order to increase our understanding that a democracy is something that is complicated, not something that’s once and for all, according to Staffan Lindberg.

“There are strengths and weaknesses in all systems. Do we want a democracy where the individual has influence or do we instead emphasise the importance of equality? These are important questions, such as when we discuss support for democracy or support for the development of the civil society in different countries.”

C e r ta i n r e s u lt s may perhaps be seen as provocative. For example, it can be thought that freedom of speech was greater in some countries when they were colonies or that Botswana is better than Sweden in terms of participative democracy.

But isn’t there a risk that hard dictatorships, such as North Korea, can use the project to show that they’re actually good at at least something, such as equal schools or healthcare? Staffan Lindberg says this isn’t the case at all.

“The opposite – inhuman dictatorships are disclosed even better. For example, today North Korea can maintain that they have freedom of speech since no journalists are in prison. Our project will show clearly that this is instead dependent on the fact that the regime is so hard that no criticism at all can be aired.”

All the data are collected in Varieties of

How does Varieties of Democracy work in practice? Go to https://v-dem.net/ DemoComp/en/ visualizations. You can choose which countries you’re in­ terested in and what questions about democracy you want to know more about.

We’ve chosen to in­ vestigate how things are with women’s freedom of speech in Afghanistan, Benin and India. 0 means hardly any freedom while 4 means com­ plete freedom to say what one thinks.

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Democracy’s huge database.

“And everything is open for all people to read; the only thing that’s secret is the identity of our 4 000 national experts. It’s possible right now for anyone to look at graphs and tables with results for over 40 countries on our homepage using our online tool. We hope that the database will give new democracies help in discussing what they in fact want to work toward and old democracies the tools to analyse what they’ve achieved.”

But not least important for the project is increasing interest among the general public in what democracy can be.

“There are strongly worrisome tendencies that young people, both in the US and in Sweden, think that a dictatorship doesn’t need to be so bad,” says Staffan Lindberg.

“It may have to do with greater segregation and more and more exclusion from society, but it probably isn’t the whole explanation.

So is democracy worth fighting for? I hope that Varieties of Democracy will show that.”

TEXT: EVA LUNDGREN PHOTOGRAPHY: JOHAN WINGBORG Varietie s of Democ r acy Varieties of Democracy is the largest political science democracy project in the world at any time and measures democracy on the basis of 329 indicators. Over 4 000 persons participate from all the countries of the world. In addition to the usual data on democracy, others things that are measured are education, healthcare, experienced freedom of speech and the economic situation.

Historical facts starting in the year 1900 are also included in the project. The database, soon with 22 pieces of data, will be available open and costfree for everyone.

The leader of the project is Staffan I Lindberg, University of Gothenburg, Jan Teorell, Lund University, Michael Coppedge, the Kellogg Institute and John Gerring, Boston University. Among the financers are the University of Gothenburg, Vetenskapsrådet, Sweden’s foreign ministry, Denmark’s foreign ministry, the Danish science council, the European Commission, the University of Notre Dame and the Canadian International Development Agency, https://v-dem.net/

Welcome to the international café The International Café takes place on the first Monday of every month 5pm-7pm.

It is an informal meeting place for international researchers, international staff, PhD students, their families and hosts.

Location: Ågrenska villan, Högåsplatsen 2, Gothenburg More information in the calendar at www.gu.se/guestservices UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG

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Profile

The smallest corner of the Ohlin hall at Artisten fills with tones from the organ’s many pipes. The music billows and rises and then sinks back again.

Karin Nelson, new professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts, sits behind the music stand. But why isn’t she playing according to the notes?

T h e r e ’ s a n oti c e on the door: “Do not disturb. Recording” but still only the rehearsal has started. So we sneak in, the photographer and I, just when François Lemonnier puts the trombone to his lips.

Karin Nelson’s head sticks up from behind the beautiful organ in French 19th century style but Biggi Vinkeloe, the trio’s saxophonist, hasn’t come yet.

Just as the sun breaks through the high blinds, the organ takes over again, and I understand just then than a jam session doesn’t only have to do with jazz.

But just as well with Bach.

And that’s just what Karin Nelson, Sweden’s first female professor of organ interpretation, tries to teach her students at the Academy of Music and Drama.

“Those who study an instrument in the Western music tradition have to put a lot of time into learning exactly what the notebooks say, such as fingering, tempo and phrasing. And sometimes details are discussed such as whether it should be a C or C sharp in a special pace. But the very ambition to play correctly leads paradoxically to it’s being wrong. Around the turn of the century 1800, there was a change in the attitude to written music. It became a complete product that shouldn’t be

changed. But some of the early noted organ music was used for an educational purpose.

It was memorised and studied and used as ideas in improvisations. Just as many of our time’s jazz musicians do: they listen to a cd to learn a special style but then improvise according to their own ideas.”

It can be likened to a parachute, the bank of music pieces in one’s head that gets a talented musician to dare to let go and start to associate freely. “ S o o n t h e o n e h a n d I want my students to learn how a piece of music probably sounded when Bach played, for example.

On the other hand I think that each person has the right to use the old masters in his or her own way.”

Together with bassist Anders Jormin and flutist Jonas Simonson, Karin Nelson has worked in an improvisation project.

“Since Anders plays predominantly jazz and Jonas mostly folk music, the project has used music that crosses borders. But it’s actually no news to me that different music styles have a lot in common.”

For Karin Nelson, who grew up with a father who was a self-taught cantor in Boviken and a neighbour that often stopped by to play the violin, there has never been a great difference between fine arts music and ordinary everyday music.

“As a child I learned to play the harmonium and piano by ear. When I was going to play at the school commencement in the first grade, an older girl asked where I had my notes; but I didn’t have any simply because I didn’t know how to read notes. I had to learn of course a couple of years later when I took piano lessons from Bengt-Arne

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»Sitting alone around midnight at an old organ and testing my way at the instrument – that is true luxury.«

Harlin, the organist in the country church in Skellefteå. But when as a 14-year-old I was going to play in an evening arrangement I discovered that I’d forgotten my notes. So I played as far as I could remember and then improvised. Already then I did, without knowing it, what musicians have always done. Because music that’s locked in, complete once and for all, that doesn’t exist.”

B e i n g a n a r ti st and at the same time doing research on one’s art is still seen by many people as pretty strange – because shouldn’t research be objective and not have to do with oneself?

“But just personal experiences can lead to new discoveries,” explains Karin Nelson. “An example is when I studied a few pieces of the baroque composer Heinrich Scheidemann. A couple of the manuscripts don’t have his signature but they’ve anyway been ascribed to him. But when I played these pieces I noticed that something felt wrong in my fingers. I studied the manuscripts more carefully, compared with other composers and came to the rather surprising discovery that it was probably another person, Matthias Weckmann, who had written those pieces. If I hadn’t felt that something was strange, I never would have

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questioned who the composer was.”

Unlike most other musicians who take their own violin or clarinet with them to the concert, an organist has to learn new instruments all the time.

“So, before a concert, it’s important that I play for a few hours on the organ so that I find the instrument’s sounds and weight,” Karin Nelson explains. “Since organs often stand in churches that are open to the public during the day I have to wait until rather late before I can practice. Sitting alone around midnight at an old organ, like the one in Nidarosdomen in Trondheim, and testing my way at the instrument – that is true luxury.”

A m o n g t h e m a n y instruments that she’s played, the organs in the gigantic San Petronio Basilica are among the most spectacular.

“I was asked if I wanted to play on the old or the new organ. The old one was from 1460, but new one wasn’t very modern either, from 1590. The stairway up to the chancel had been tramped by thousands of feet, the organ stool showed traces of earlier musicians and the keyboard was worn so that you could see which keys had been used most. The reverberation in the huge church is a full 12 seconds; you have to play slowly. But the effect is powerful.”

D e p e n d i n g o n w h e r e they come from, northern Germany, Italy or perhaps Spain, organs can look quite different.

“If you know a little about the organ’s construction it’s easier to understand how you should play. If you even know who built the organ, it makes it even easier. And

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Profile

»It doesn’t seem like people understand that it has to do with a multi education where the students get to learn to sing, play and direct«

Karin Nelson improvising together with François Lemonnier.

I might be more aware of this than many other people because I’ve lived together with an organ builder for 20 years.”

They met in 1991, Karl Nelson and Karin.

He had just come to Sweden from the US to build an organ in Haga Church, where Karin was the organist.

“After a time, he took over an old organ building shop in Lidköping where he makes all the parts himself, from pipes of tin plates to keys of French cow bones. Two of my records have been recorded on instruments that he built. But our both being interested in organs provokes protests from the children. During a vacation in Salzburg when they were 10 and 12 years old, we looked at ten organs in one single day. We hardly had time to eat, and they still describe that trip as among the worst they’ve taken.”

I n v e sti g ati n g o rg a n s in different countries is instructive of course. But, still, Karin Nelsen feels best at home.

“We’re redoing the kitchen just now and for some reason Bill Evans is good renovation music. I also like to listen to the great masters like Bach and Olivier Messiaen.

But since I can’t stop myself from analysing music it’s often most pleasant when it’s completely quiet.”

She frequently uses the time on the train to Gothenburg to read her supervisor texts, and she thinks that the students are the most fun thing about her job at the Academy of Music and Drama.

“I teach on both the Bachelor and Master levels. There are relatively few students in the program for church musicians on the Bachelor level, but there are many more in the Master program. All our students get jobs, and the occupation is exciting; a church musician plays for a public several times a week, leads choirs and produces concerts. The educational program is questioned on a regular basis, however.

Many people seem to think that it’s wrong of the University to offer an education for the needs of the church. But we have the education for the opera, orchestras, theatre and also of course for hospitals, schools and private business, for work life quite simply.

And the church belongs to that too.”

T h e c h u rc h m u s i c education program has for some time cost the same as other education programs at the Academy of Music and Drama. Only the opera program gets more money.

“It doesn’t seem like people understand that this is a multi education where the students get to learn to sing, play and direct.

That costs. It’s always the students that get short-changed when there are savings and instruction time is reduced to a minimum.”

Karin Nelson doesn’t either have any research time. That’s one reason why she’ll be taking a leave of absence next year to be a professor at Norway’s college of music.

“There I’m guaranteed at least 30 per cent research and my own work room instead of sharing with two other professors, like I do here. But I won’t be able to commute so I’ll have to rent a room in Oslo.”

Karin Nelson points out that every time old music is played, it’s woken to life again.

But our ears change. “ I n o ld e r ti m e s it must have been an enormous experience to come to church and hear organ music flow down from the ceiling and fill the room. Today we hear music all day long and it worries me that most of it is so one-sided and commercial. At the same time, there are of course wonderful possibilities to listen to fantastic recordings that can reach a greater public than ever before.

Two years ago I played in the project Bach in the city when about 20 concerts were held in the German church in Stockholm.

Lectures on the pieces were also put on

Youtube. I though that was a fantastic idea that the Faculty of Fine Arts should be able to develop to increase interest in our different areas of music.”

Saxophonist Biggi Vinkeloe has now come and the recording in Ohlin hall can start. It will be improvisations of Gregorian songs and Swedish folk songs, which will result in a cd next year.

“Interestingly enough, it’s almost always improvisations that the public appreciates most at my concerts,” says Karin Nelson.

“Maybe they simply feel more a part of it when the music is created here and now.

When everything works the way it should and I can let go and just let the music flow, it feels like I lift from the ground; I close my eyes and fly.”

TEXT: EVA LUNDGREN PHOTOGRAPHY: JOHAN WINGBORG

K arin Nelson New: Sweden’s first female professor of organ interpretation.

Family: Husband Karl and children Erik, 19, and Elsa, 17.

Grew up: In Boviken, north of Skellefteå.

Lives: In Lidköping.

Age: 52 years.

People who have been an inspir ation: My deceased parents, who always encouraged me, and organist Bengt-Arne Harlin in Skellefteå.

Interests: Music.

L atest book: Långsamhetens lov by Ove Wikström.

L atest film: Searching for Sugar Man. Favourite food: Something from the north of Sweden, almond potatoes, reindeer filet, Västerbotton cheese and, to finish, cloudberries.

Future pl ans: Leave of absence from the Academy of Music and Drama to take a professorship at the college of music in Oslo.

News

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We are in principle satisfied The classical languages will remain at the Department of Languages and Literatures. But several other languages will be given increased resources.

That was the decision at the Humanities Faculty at their ­meeting in June.

A f t e r fo u r y e a r s of investigation that led to a protracted conflict, the Faculty of Arts has now made a decision about the classical languages. Latin, Greek and Old Church Slavonic will stay at the Department of Languages and Literatures.

Russian, another language that has been threatened, will also be kept, but reduced by a third.

“It’s unfortunate that Russian will lose students, but otherwise

Gunnar Bergh

we are in principle satisfied with the decision,” says Gunnar Bergh, head of the Department of Languages and Literatures.

T h e Fac u lt y i s also making efforts in English, which has had different problems, primarily in terms of research connections.

English will now have the opportunity to recruit two new professors and two new post docs.

Efforts are also being made in Arabic, Chinese and the translating program. For instance, it will be possible to choose Chinese as the chief subject in a Bachelor degree.

But the difficulties in language studies have led to great problems in the work environment. The union Saco thus demanded in the spring that the Faculty make a risk and consequence analysis. Now the dean and head of the department together have contacted Previa, who will take eight weeks to interview all employees and the Department about how they view their work situation.

“The cooperation climate between the Faculty and the Department has gotten better in recent months,” says Gunnar Bergh. “The new Faculty board has worked to take its responsibility.”

The new efforts in the languages will be evaluated in three years.

New research vessel on the way Modern, flexible, safe and environmentally friendly – the requirements for the University of Gothenburg’s new research vessel are high. Negotiations will be finalised in the middle of October. Then it has to be built, which is expected to take about one and a half years. shall be able to go in the same areas as old Skagerak. That means that it can’t be longer than 45 meters. It will have cabins, meeting rooms and workshops but also be equipped with measure­ment instruments for marine research, a possibility for a remote controlled, unmanned submarine and refrigerators and freezers.

The quarterdeck has to be large enough for there to be room for example for cranes that can lift heavy equipment, such as advanced sonars, wet and dry laboratories and winches for taking samples from at least 1500 meters below the surface.

The ship must also be economical and fuel-efficient and easy to maintain.

Grand Prix in Research Who’s best in Gothenburg at describing their research? You can help to decide. On Friday, September 27, it’s again time for the Grand Prix in Research. The first round, where the participants have three minutes to make their research understandable, will be held at 2 pm at Universeum.

The four best lectures will go on to the final at the Book fair, at 6.45 the same day.

Participants from the University of Gothenburg are Helen Nilsson Sköld, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Mia Ericson, Section of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, and Palle Dahlstedt, Department of Applied Information Technology. Participants from Chalmers will be Cecilia Berlin, Måns Henningson and Carina Persson.

GU at the book fair Take the opportunity to listen to researchers at the University of Gothenburg at this year’s book fair, September 26–29. The lectures will deal with dangerous connections between the state and business, knowledge of the media and democracy, if it is possible to sky jump if you have heart problems and wanting to have children at any cost.

You can also learn more about how small vessel disease in the brain affects everyday life, about land grabbing and about what is necessary in order to succeed as a researcher.

Time for Global Week

The ship

T h e v e s s e l w i ll also be safe, even in bad weather. The environ­ mental requirements are very important as it may be used in particularly sensitive marine areas.

“The ship also has to be able to be modified and upgraded as new technology comes into

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The old ship will soon go into retirement.

use,” says project leader Anders Backman, who has previous experience of negotiations about ships, among them the icebreaker Oden at the beginning of the 1980s.

T h e r e w i ll b e room for a fiveman crew and about 20 researchers.

“The demands on the ship we have now, Skagerak, just keep getting bigger, so we’ll recruit one further crew. But we’ll also train the old crew so that they learn all the new technology thoroughly.”

The crew will also be involved when the new vessel is built.

“They’re going to make sure that everything is as functional as possible,” says Anders Backman.

“People who work in an environment have a great deal of knowledge about what is practical and functional that we need to use. It

doesn’t cost more to place a valve correctly than to place it where it’s hard to reach.”

W h at n a m e will the ship be given? The Vice-chancellor will soon decide. About 20 suggestions have come in to the office of the Faculty of Sciences from employees of the University.

Eva Lundgren facts The research vessel Skagerak is 45 years old and will go into retirement.

A new vessel will be built. The demands for environmental friendliness, safety and flexibility are extremely high. Construction will take about 18 months, which means that the expected delivery time is the spring of 2015. The estimated cost is about 100 million crowns.

Globalisation is the fitting theme for this year’s Global Week, which will be held November 11–15. This year’s Annual Lecture will be held by Sida’s general director, Charlotte Petri Gornitzska. Another lecturer is Professor Hélèn Rey, expert in macroeconomics from the London Business School. GU’s own researchers will also participate, for example Arne Bigsten, professor of development economics, who will explain the challenges of globalisation.

Fairs will also be held on exchange studies and programs for guest employees from other schools.

“Primarily we want to reach students, researchers and employees of the University, but several lectures will be open to the public,” says Helena Åberg, project leader.

There will also be a follow-up of last year’s Science Slam in English. Participants have to present their research in three minutes.

“Last year mostly international doctoral students and researchers participated. It would be fun this year to have more Swedish participants.”

You can register program points up to October 15.