Browsing by Author "Gustavsson, Mikael"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

20 years of bibliometric data illustrates a lack of concordance between journal impact factor and fungal species discovery in systematic mycology
(2024) Nilsson, Henrik; Jansson, Arnold Tobias; Wurzbacher, Christian; Anslan, Sten; Belford, Pauline; Corcoll, Natàlia; Dombrowski, Alexandra; Ghobad-Nejhad, Masoomeh; Gustavsson, Mikael; Gómez Martinez, Daniela; Kalsoom Khan, Faheema; Khomich, Mariya; Lennartsdotter, Charlotte; Lund, David; Van Der Merwe, Breyten; Mikryukov, Vladimir; Peterson, Marko; Porter, Teresita M.; Põlme, Sergei; Retter, Alice; Sanchez-Garcia, Marisol; Svantesson, Sten; Svedberg, Patrik; Vu, Duong; Ryberg, Martin; Abarenkov, Kessy; Kristiansson, Erik; University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Centre, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Box 463, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
Journal impact factors were devised to qualify and compare university library holdings but are frequently repurposed for use in ranking applications, research papers, and even individual applicants in mycology and beyond. The widely held assumption that mycological studies published in journals with high impact factors add more to systematic mycology than studies published in journals without high impact factors nevertheless lacks evidential underpinning. The present study uses the species hypothesis system of the UNITE database for molecular identification of fungi and other eukaryotes to trace the publication history and impact factor of sequences uncovering new fungal species hypotheses. The data show that journal impact factors are poor predictors of discovery potential in systematic mycology. There is no clear relationship between journal impact factor and the discovery of new species hypotheses for the years 2000-2021. On the contrary, we found journals with low, and even no, impact factor to account for substantial parts of the species hypothesis landscape, often discovering new fungal taxa that are only later picked up by journals with high impact factors. Funding agencies and hiring committees that insist on upholding journal impact factors as a central funding and recruitment criterion in systematic mycology should consider using indicators such as research quality, productivity, outreach activities, and teaching ability directly rather than using publication in high impact factor journals as a proxy for these indicators
Digital Platforms as dislocators On digitalization and limits of discourse
(2017-09-14) Gustavsson, Mikael; Institutionen för tillämpad informationsteknologi; Department of Applied Information Technology
In the ever evolving digital landscape, the platform has been of significant importance. The questions of what constitutes a digital platform as well as the effects that follow in the wake of the same have been discussed extensively. The focus has primarily been on companies and how their business are affected, how businesses can create and capture value, and how the digital platform enable the invention of new business models. But maybe not that much attention have been given to the possible transformative power of the digiatal platform from a broader perspective? Although the well-being of a society depends on the success of companies, the social body itself has been formed and built according to former relationships between companies and states. These structures can now be challenged and it is against this background I have written this thesis. Through the conduct of two discourse analyzes, I sought to answer the question: How does the emergence of digital platforms affect incumbent firms and institutions? The short answer is that they are affected, but to varying degrees both in relation to time as well as magnitude. Consequently, the comprehension of digital platform is context-dependent.
Platformization: Digital Materiality at the Limits of Discourse
(2023-04-13) Gustavsson, Mikael
The digital platform has served us well as a metaphor for an imaginary ‘something’ made comprehensible through theories such as matchmaking, externalities, and network effects. But as much as metaphors and theories can help us imagine and understand some aspects of a phenomenon, they can also limit us in seeing others. To understand and explain these formations of digital technology in a more nuanced way, existing theories on digital platforms need to be supplemented. In this thesis, I contribute to this emerging body of knowledge by, for example, building on and developing the concept of platformization. This thesis also illuminates, discuss, and theorize the ambivalent ontology of digital artifacts more broadly. A practice that highlights the somewhat indeterminate modes of existence of digital artifacts and the discursive work needed to make them intelligible. Hence, the thesis emphasizes and pays attention to the continuous dance between digital technology and our understanding of the same. For example, innovations and developments in a technological field may influence the meaning of an already established concept (e.g., deep learning and “AI”). Consequently, evolving material aspects of digital technology challenge prevailing discursive expressions of what ‘digital technology’ means. Therefore, we must be receptive to technological changes and reflect on whether these changes have consequences for our already established theories and concepts.
Risk assessment of chemical mixtures in the aquatic environment
(2017-04-26) Gustavsson, Mikael
The total chemical production within the European Union amounts to more than 300 million tonnes per year, of which 140 million tonnes are considered as hazardous to the environment. In order to ensure that these chemicals do not have harmful effects under normal use, likely environmental concentrations are compared to assumed environmentally safe concentration, and only if the resulting risk is deemed acceptable is the product or chemical allowed for use. Depending on the use category of the chemical or product, market approval might require authorization from competent authorities, or a registration by the producer/importer. However, neither of the approval systems considers the combined risk from the coincidental mixtures which will be formed when several individually approved substances co-occur in the environment. This thesis first analyses the hazard from chemicals from different regulatory classes. Thereafter the combined risks from coincidental mixtures detected in the Swedish aquatic environment from three different monitoring programs are estimated. When using Swedish water quality objectives and a Kaplan-Meier adjustment to account for non-detects, 73% of 1308 samples taken in Swedish agricultural streams were estimated to be at risk. In contrast, using hazard-values calculated specifically per trophic level (algae, aquatic invertebrate and fish) according to the current pesticide guidelines, only 4% of the samples are estimated to be at risk. This demonstrates the risk estimates dependence on how hazardous concentrations are determined, a single substance issue which gets incorporated into the mixture risk assessment. The thesis also demonstrates that despite the Swedish national goal (adopted 1999) of a non-toxic environment, there is no perceivable trend in the estimated risk in the agricultural streams between 2002 and 2013. Similarly, samples taken along the Swedish west coast and analyzed for 172 organic chemicals show exceedances of estimated safe concentration at five out of five locations. Also concentrations measured in fish tissue exceed concentrations thresholds set for human consumption, both for individual compounds and for their mixtures. The thesis adds to a growing body of literature which demonstrates that chemical concentrations detected in the environment frequently exceeds concentrations perceived as safe. This indicates that the current chemical load in the environment should, at least, be considered during market approval.