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An energy transition from centralised and fossil-fuelled installations towards decentralised and renewable energy has been advocated by governments, businesses and academia. In the EU it has become a regional strategy, and a desire of citizens, to enable communities to take an active role in the energy market in the hopes of transitioning to an increasingly local, renewable and participatory futur
This thesis researched the Cleantech Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (CIEE) of South Africa with the dual aim to improve and operationalise a conceptual framework as well as to identify areas for intervention in the specific case of South Africa. Supporting the growth of cleantech solutions in developing countries and emerging economies can be an important driver of inclusive and sustain
“The buck stops here”. Så stod det skrivet på det lilla plakatet på president Trumans skrivbord. Detta budskap, lika allmängiltigt idag som 1953, borde verka som en påminnelse om värdet av ansvar och möjligheten till utkrävande av detsamma från alla instutioner och personer med inflytande över människors liv och välmående. Privata militära aktörer är idag aktiva över hela världen och är involverad“The buck stops here”, as was the wording on the famous sign on President Truman’s desk, should remind us today - as it reminded all Americans of the virtues of accountability and responsibility in 1953 - that any office or person that holds influence over the lives of others needs to be able to be held accountable for their actions. Today, Private Military Companies - or PMCs for short - are depl
The decision by the European Union to enforce the Temporary Protection Directive to respond to the inflow of Ukrainian displaced people in member states has resulted in a peculiar governance system that sets Ukrainian displaced people as an exceptional category of vulnerable migrants. Their stay is temporary, but as it is impossible to predict a date for Ukraine to be deemed a safe country again,
In recent years, heat waves have begun to be perceived as one of the biggest problems due to climate change. The Public Health Agency, which is the national supervisory guidance regarding health effects, has therefore updated its guidelines to ensure that regions and municipalities have sufficient information to carry out inspections in accordance with the Environmental Code. This study focuses
As the population increases, so does the need for residential buildings, offices, schools and preschools. The construction industry accounts for about 20% of Sweden’s greenhouse gas emissions. While buildings become more energy-efficient the focus is shifted from the operational phase to the construction phase. The law on climate declaration is a Swedish law, which holds developers responsible for
The ongoing human impact in form of deforestation, urbanization and intense agriculture is affecting the natural hydrology and our freshwater lakes negatively. Both eutrophication and brownification has seen to increase with the ongoing environmental change which can potentially have large impact on our freshwater ecosystems. Using a mesocosm experiment, this study investigates the individual and
The spread of invasive alien species is one of the five major drivers of biodiversity loss according to IPBES. Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica ) is one of the most difficult invasive species to get rid of in Sweden. Its aggressive way of growth outcompetes native plants and it even alters the soil chemistry around its massive system of underground stems, known as rhizomes. Methods such as h
During the spring of 2020 the world was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic which led to unpredicted and interesting effects in the domestic tourism sector. As a result of travel restrictions and social distancing recommendations there was an increase in visitors to national parks, hiking trails and other recreational areas in Sweden. The amount of visitors to the High Coast trail located in the east of
An increase of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from rivers into coastal waters has been observed in previous studies, leading to an increase in hypoxic zonesin coastal areas when the bioavailable fraction of the DOC is degraded causing harm to ecosystems and negatively affecting ecosystem services vital for society. The first part of this study investigates if constructed wetlands can be used a
The transport sector is responsible for a third of Swedens’ total GHG emissions, where the private cars are a large part of this. Sweden is committed to reducing the emissions from the transport sector with 70 % until the year 2030. Shifting the vehicle fleet to electrical will be one important factor in achieving the goal, but such technical innovation will not be enough. To reach a more sust
The agricultural sector is both affecting and affected by climate change. Future climate is predicted to be warmer and wetter with more weather extremes. This is going to affect the already vulnerable agricultural sector and we need to strengthen our food production and food security. Therefore, agriculture needs to adapt to climate change to prevent negative effects but also to utilize the p
The production and use of chemicals has grown exponentially over the past 50 years. Although the knowledge of hazards and risks associated with chemicals towards humans and the environment has increased, we know frightenedly little about how dangerous these might become when part of finished products. Companies now need to be more concerned about which chemicals exist in their products. For the co
Increased carbon sequestration in agricultural land is an important measure to reduce global warming. Since the soil is a large carbon sink, a small change in the soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks can make a substantial difference to the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere. An increase in SOC improves the soil health and fertility which in turn gives better yields and a more secure food supply
The degradation of ecosystems and the loss of biodiversity occurs at an alarming rate. This results in an imbalance of ecosystem functions, leading to a loss of ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are benefits which humans can derive from ecosystems and their internal processes, thus vital to preserve from a societal perspective. The purpose of this study was to explore the possibilities for
Climate change is a global threat to human and animals’ well-being on Earth. The threat of climate change has been known for over 30 years and it is now a fact that humans are the main contributing factor to it. Despite this, in 2022 it is no longer an abstract phenomenon, but our reality. One of the reasons why so little has been done to save the environment is people’s lack of or insufficient kn
The anterior pituitary-derived hormone prolactin (PRL) signals through the PRL receptor (PRLR) and is important for female reproductive function in mammals. In contrast to the extensive studies of PRLR expression and regulation in human and mouse ovary and uterus, the mechanisms controlling the regulation of PRLR isoform expression in the fallopian tube are poorly understood. Because dynamic inter
We report a new strategy for on-fine monitoring of chemical reactions in ultrasonically levitated, nanoliter-sized droplets by Raman spectroscopy. A flow-through microdispenser connected to an automated flow injection system was used to dose picoliter droplets into the node of an ultrasonic trap. Taking advantage of the flow-through characteristics of the microdispenser and the versatility of the
The extraction procedure for analysis of the raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs) in blanched leguminous vine peas was optimized. For this purpose, 25 pea samples from different cultivars and of different maturity were chosen at random. The effect of blanching was also studied in four cultivars. The yield of oligosaccharides was almost double on average when extracted with 50% ethanol as compa
