Opin vísindi
Opin vísindi er varðveislusafn vísindaefnis og doktorsritgerða í opnum aðgangi á vegum íslenskra háskóla og Landsbókasafns Íslands - Háskólabókasafns.
Opinn aðgangur að rannsóknaniðurstöðum er í samræmi við 10. gr. laga nr. 3/2003 um opinberan stuðning við vísindarannsóknir sem og kröfur innlendra og erlendra rannsóknasjóða. Markmiðið með opnum aðgangi er að niðurstöður rannsókna séu aðgengilegar sem flestum óhindrað og án endurgjalds á rafrænu formi. Vistun í varðveislusafninu er varanleg og ætlað að tryggja aðgang að vísindaefni íslenskra háskóla í opnum aðgangi um ókomna tíð. Varðveislusafnið Opin vísindi er tengt við rannsóknagáttina IRIS og rannsóknaniðurstöður í opnum aðgangi sem eru skráðar í IRIS eru um leið vistaðar og gerðar aðgengilegar til framtíðar í varðveislusafninu. Með því að safna þessu efni saman í eitt safn verður aðgangur að því einfaldur og þægilegur fyrir alla sem vilja kynna sér það og geta þannig notið þess öfluga vísindastarfs sem fram fer í háskólum landsins.
Varðveislusafnið er OpenAIRE / OpenAIREplus samhæft og samrýmist kröfum sem gerðar eru um birtingu rannsóknaniðurstaðna úr verkefnum sem styrkt eru úr evrópsku rannsóknaáætlununum FP7 og H2020.
Varðveislusafnið notar opna hugbúnaðinn DSpace.
Opinn aðgangur að rannsóknaniðurstöðum er í samræmi við 10. gr. laga nr. 3/2003 um opinberan stuðning við vísindarannsóknir sem og kröfur innlendra og erlendra rannsóknasjóða. Markmiðið með opnum aðgangi er að niðurstöður rannsókna séu aðgengilegar sem flestum óhindrað og án endurgjalds á rafrænu formi. Vistun í varðveislusafninu er varanleg og ætlað að tryggja aðgang að vísindaefni íslenskra háskóla í opnum aðgangi um ókomna tíð. Varðveislusafnið Opin vísindi er tengt við rannsóknagáttina IRIS og rannsóknaniðurstöður í opnum aðgangi sem eru skráðar í IRIS eru um leið vistaðar og gerðar aðgengilegar til framtíðar í varðveislusafninu. Með því að safna þessu efni saman í eitt safn verður aðgangur að því einfaldur og þægilegur fyrir alla sem vilja kynna sér það og geta þannig notið þess öfluga vísindastarfs sem fram fer í háskólum landsins.
Varðveislusafnið er OpenAIRE / OpenAIREplus samhæft og samrýmist kröfum sem gerðar eru um birtingu rannsóknaniðurstaðna úr verkefnum sem styrkt eru úr evrópsku rannsóknaáætlununum FP7 og H2020.
Varðveislusafnið notar opna hugbúnaðinn DSpace.
Flokkar í Opnum vísindum
Veldu flokk til að skoða.
- University of Iceland
- University of Akureyri
- Bifröst University
- Hólar University College
- Reykjavík University
- IRIS
- Agricultural University of Iceland
- National and University Library of Iceland
- Iceland University of the Arts
Nýlega bætt við
The Devil's in the Detail: Diabolical Names in the Icelandic Place-Name Record
(2025-09) Lethbridge, Emily
In this article, Icelandic placenames associated with the Devil or demons are surveyed and discussed. 20thcentury placename records (örnefnalýsingar) that are now searchable and accessible online via nafnið.is comprise the primary source materials. Ultimately, the article seeks to show how minor names or microtoponyms can illustrate ways in which the everyday landscape of Icelanders in past times was marked or inflected informally by religious beliefs or ideas associated with the Devil, or evil spirits of one or another kind, at local, regional and national levels.
Proceedings of the 14th Háskóli Íslands Student Conference on the Medieval North (Reykjavík, April 11th-13th, 2025) Other Things
(Miðaldastofa Háskóla Íslands — University of Iceland Centre for Medieval Studies, 2025-09-12) Arnot, Brooklyn Frances; Fisher, Colin; Nuutinen, Essi; Loidl, Emilia; Menjivar, Julian ; Barruezo-Vaquero, Pablo; School of Humanities
The Háskóli Islands Conference for the Medieval North began in 2011 and has since then endeavoured to amplify the voices of upcoming scholars, primarily studying at a master's or doctoral level. This mission has facilitated the sharing of fresh and exciting scholarship over the past fourteen years, from voices which are new in Old Norse Scholarship, as well as from countries which are often underrepresented in the field. The mission of the conference has therefore always been focused on the peripheries of scholarship, a concept we decided to amplify with this year's theme, Other Things. The topics from this conference covered marginalised groups such as ethnic minorities, women, queer people, and the economically oppressed. Not only did it focus on other identities, but the subject of this year's conference invited its participants to consider other things. This could be taken in the broad sense of anything yet also pushed participants to consider the marginal nature of the material world. We, as humans, tend to consider the material world as secondary to the human, meaning the physical world and our environment is pushed aside as irrelevant. This conference has invited its participants to push against this tendency, by centralising the material and natural world.
Participation of children and young people in research. Opportunities and challenges.
(University of Iceland, School Education, Faculty of Education and Diversity, 2025-11) Árnadóttir, Hervör Alma; Guðrún Kristinsdóttir, Sissel Seim; Deild menntunnar og marbreytileika (HÍ); Faculty of Education and Diversity (UI); Menntavísindasvið (HÍ); School of Education (UI)
The aim of this doctoral thesis is to increase knowledge and understanding of how children and young people (CYP) can be supported to participate in social research on issues that concern them. Particular emphasis is placed on highlighting the challenges researchers face when seeking access to CYP, and how these challenges relate to methods, approaches and children's rights to participate in discussions and decisions concerning their own lives and circumstances. The study addresses the following questions: What ethical and methodological challenges do researchers need to overcome in order to obtain support of gatekeepers to gain access to CYP for participation in social research? How do practitioners in child protection services understand the practical implications of CYP’s participation in social research? How can research methods be adapted to overcome the challenges of involving CYP in research? The study is grounded in a perspective informed by critical social constructionism and childhood studies, in which CYP are regarded as key social actors who shape their environments. Accordingly, their participation is considered essential in research. The study discusses methods that have proven useful in eliciting CYP’s experiences and perspectives, particularly in sensitive contexts. To gain insight into the subject, the study examines the experiences and perspectives of child protection practitioners who serve as gatekeepers when researchers seek access to CYP, as well as the experiences of researchers who have conducted research involving CYP. It also draws on existing data to reflect the perspectives of parents and CYP regarding participation in research and data from CYP about the usefulness of creative methods when working with CYP. The study is based on four peer-reviewed papers. The first paper explores the current state of knowledge regarding the challenges faced by researchers in this field. The second paper examines researchers’ experiences in gaining access to CYP who receive support due to difficult life circumstances, and their interactions with formal and informal gatekeepers. The third paper focuses on practitioners working with CYP in child protection services and their perspectives on supporting researchers in gaining access. Lastly, the fourth paper discusses how creative and artistic methods can support CYP in discussing sensitive topics. The findings reveal a complex and challenging process for researchers seeking access to CYP in vulnerable situations for research participation. Applications for access must navigate a hierarchy of formal and informal gatekeepers who are responsible for safeguarding children's rights to protection and participation. Challenges are evident in the lengthy approval processes, often resulting in extended delays or rejections, frequently without clear justification. Researchers depend on the goodwill of practitioners occupying key positions within this hierarchy, each of whom must dedicate time and energy to determine whether or not to support access to the target group. Researchers associate these delays and reluctance with a perceived lack of interest in research among practitioners and with assumptions about children's competencies, both of which significantly influence whether applications for access are considered or granted. Practitioners working in child protection, who act as gatekeepers, report limited time for engaging with research-related tasks and criticise researchers for submitting unclear research plans. These plans often lack sufficient explanation of researchers' competence in working with CYP, strategies to ensure child safety and justifications for involving CYP directly rather than relying on adults as informants. Frequently, the plans also fail to adequately describe researchers' prior experience or use of appropriate methods. Many practitioners consider it inappropriate to burden CYP in vulnerable circumstances by asking them to participate in research, particularly when discussing matters of which they may have limited understanding. According to practitioners, researchers should avoid compromising CYP’s safety through participation and instead focus on utilising existing data collected by practitioners. To enhance CYP's direct participation in research, researchers must prioritise the careful and professional development of their research designs. They need to invest time in building relationships and trust with gatekeepers, demonstrate how they will ensure children's safety and exhibit competence in using appropriate creative methods that can foster meaningful participation. Safeguarding CYP's rights requires enhancing researchers' competence in working with CYP and improving practitioners' knowledge of childhood studies and the concept of participation. Such efforts are necessary to challenge dominant protectionist attitudes among practitioners that limit CYP’s actual opportunities to influence their lives and circumstances
“Trafficking is a heavy word” Quranic education for knowledge, liberation and power in Guinea-Bissau
(University of Iceland, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Sociology, Anthropology and Folkloristics, 2025-10-05) Boiro, Hamadou; Jónína Einarsdóttir; Félagsfræði-, mannfræði- og þjóðfræðideild (HÍ); Faculty of Sociology, Anthropology and Folkloristics (UI); Félagsvísindasvið (HÍ); School of Social Sciences (UI)
Þessi doktorsritgerð í mannfræði fjallar um Fulbe drengi frá Gíneu-Bissá sem eru sendir í kóranskóla í Senegal. Um er að ræða umdeilda venju sem hefur víða verið stimpluð sem mansal barna vegna þess að drengirnir betla á götum úti sem hluta af kórannámi sínu. Yfirgrípandi rannsóknarspurning snýr að því hvers vegna heimamenn telji að hugtakið „mansal“ í þessu samhengi sé „þungt orð“ og hvernig þeir bregðast við alþjóðlegum aðgerðum til að hefta för drengjanna til Senegal, banna betl og senda þá aftur heim til Gíneu-Bissá. Aðgerðrirnar eru umdeildar og stangast á við trúar- og menningarlegar hefðir og félagslegar aðstæður þar sem drengirnir búa. Rannsóknin byggir á langtíma vettvangsrannsókn að hætti mannfræðinnar sem fram fór á árunum 2009 til 2020, þar sem notast var við þátttökuathuganir, viðtöl og rýnihópa. Þátttakendur voru trúarlegir leiðtogar og kennarar (cerembe) sem hafa verið sakaðir um mansal, kóranskóladrengir (almube) sem flokkaðir eru sem fórnarlömb mansals, foreldrar þeirra og annað heimafólk.
Niðurstöðurnar storka ríkjandi frásögnum frjálsra félagasamtaka og alþjóðastofnana um að sárafátækt og vanþekking séu meginástæður þess að foreldrar sendi syni sína í kórannám til Senegal. Andstætt slíkum hugmyndum þá sýnir rannsóknin að fjölskyldur, sérstaklega meðal Fulbe Djiahabe sem eru afkomendur þræla, velja trúarlega menntun sem leið til félagslegs hreyfanleika, valda og frelsis. Rannsóknin sýnir hvernig trúarleg þekking eykur táknrænt vald trúarleiðtoganna og gerir jaðarsettum hópum kleift að bæta virðingarstöðu sína og vinna gegn fordómum. Doktorsritgerðin kallar eftir afnýlenduvæðingu aðgerða gegn meintu mansali barna og sýnir hvernig þær bæti ekki stöðu drengjanna, nema að síður sé. Aðgerðirnar taka ekki tillit til menningarbundinna hugmynda, t.d. um betl sem gagnkvæma athöfn og hugtaksins merkingarbær þjáning, sem er þjáning sem leiðir til jákvæðrar niðurstöðu. Rannsóknin sýnir að heimsending drengjanna til Gíneu-Bissá leiðir til ringulreiðar, stimplunar og átaka í samfélagi þeirra. Samtímis þjónar heimsendingin mörgum, stundum andstæðum, hagsmunum. Frjáls félagasamtök tryggja áframhaldandi fjármögnun sína, ekki síst þegar þau snúa sama hópi drengja aftur og aftur til heimalandsins. Þá hafa fjölskyldur drengjanna og kóranskólakennarar byrjað að nýta sér hana sem ókeypis far heim fyrir drengina áður en árstíðabundnir annatímar byrja, en þeir snúa svo aftur til Senegal að þeim loknum.
Fræðilegi rammi ritgerðarinnar sameinar kenningar Quijano um nýlenduvæðingu valds og þekkingar, kenningu Foucault um tengsl valds og þekkingar og hugmyndum Bourdieu um táknrænt vald. Þessi samruni fræðilegra sjónarhorna varpar ljósi á hvernig alþjóðleg og staðbundin valdakerfi, þekkingarsköpun og andstaða eru að verki samtímis, og opinberar hvernig alþjóðleg barnavernd einkennist af nýlenduhugarfari sem heimamenn mæta með andstöðu. Rannsóknin dregur fram misræmi á milli alþjóðlegra aðgerða gegn mansali, byggðar á vestrænum, lagalegum og siðferðilegum viðmiðum lituðum af nýlenduhugsun, sem leiða til glæpavæðingar hefða og samfélaga, og staðbundinna sjónarmiða um hvað teljist vera virðingarvert uppeldi barna.
Doktorsritgerðin er framlag til mannfræði og umræðu um alþjóðlega stefnumótun og varpar ljósi á takmarkanir algildra inngripa og lagalegra aðgerða til að bæta aðstæður barna sem búa við erfiðar aðstæður. Hún hvetur til aðgerða sem taka mið af aðstæðum, vinnu gegn kerfislægum ójöfnuði, og stuðningi við staðbundna valkosti til menntunar. Forsenda árangurs er að umgangast trúarleiðtoga, foreldra og annað heimafólk af virðingu. Rannsóknin er ákall um afnýlenduvæðingu alþjóðlegrar barnaverndar og hvetur fræðimenn og fagfólk til að viðurkenna fjölbreytileika bernskunnar og óskir foreldra um fjölþætta menntun fyrir börn sín á sama tíma og velferð þeirra er tryggð.
Patterns and processes of birch establishment in space and time; Implications for large-scale woodland restoration
(0022-10-25) Behrend, Anna Mariager; Ása L. Aradóttir, Agricultural University of Iceland; Kristín Svavarsdóttir, Land and Forest Iceland; Þóra Ellen Þórhallsdóttir, University of Iceland; Faculty of Environmental and Forest Sciences
The continuous global ecosystem loss and degradation calls for extensive ecological restoration. Iceland
has lost more than 95% of its original native mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. tortuosa) woodlands
since the country’s settlement in the 9th century CE. This has prompted an ambitious pledge for their
restoration by the Icelandic government with the acceptance of the Bonn Challenge, aiming to increase
the native birch woodland cover from 1.5 to 5%. This is only going to be possible through passive and
low-intensity restoration strategies, and such strategies must be grounded in an in-depth knowledge of
colonization processes of the targeted woodland species.
The overall aim of this thesis was to improve knowledge on the patterns, processes and drivers of
mountain birch woodland expansion through natural processes in order to guide their restoration. The
thesis encompasses studies at different scales, including field surveys, seeding experiments and remote
sensing, based on ten study areas covering most lowland areas of Iceland.
Analysis of aerial photos from different years showed that the studied birch woodlands expanded on
average by 1,5% annually over a period of 38-65 years. Areas that had been protected from grazing
generally had higher expansion rates than those open for grazing, and the area with the highest expansion
rate had also undergone revegetation. This expansion has mainly happened through natural colonization,
as revealed by surveys of colonization patterns: a process mainly limited by local environmental factors
at the early seedling establishment phase. This includes microsite availability, wind and soil type, and
disturbance in the form of presence of domestic grazers. Seedling densities were greatest within 20 m
of the woodland edge, indicating dispersal limitation, with varying patterns among areas. However, most
areas had densities of more than 100 seedlings m-2 out to at least 100 m from the woodland edge. The
results also show a positive effect of greater woodland heights on the effective colonization range of
birch, and on the morphology of saplings growing at the woodland edge. Seeding experiments confirmed
the importance of favourable microsites (safe sites) for recruitment. Recruitment of mountain birch was
furthermore highly variable among different land classification types (habitat types), dependent on safe
site availability and partly on origin of the seed source used. These are factors that can be controlled in
restoration to improve conditions for birch establishment and survival.
The results show the feasibility of upscaling mountain birch woodland restoration by applying knowledge
on natural processes to promote natural colonization and regeneration. The increased knowledge on
birch colonization processes supports more targeted guidance on how natural recovery processes can be
enhanced by limited interventions.