| 61. |
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| 62. |
- Stenberg, Ann-Charlotte, 1967
(författare)
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The Social Construction of Green Building: Diachronic and Synchronic Perspectives
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- AbstractAlthough environmental issues have been on the agendas of governments, businesses and scientists for at least three decades, there still remain conceptual difficulties concerning what environment or green actually encompass. The concepts are in constant flux, shifting as actors who represent different social relevant groups struggle to find support for their specific interests.The overall aim of this research is to contribute new insight concerning the processes through which environmental issues are represented and given meaning in the Swedish building sector. To fulfill this purpose, three research questions have been formulated, all of them focusing on different organizational levels: how are environmental issues (1) framed? (2) made sense of?, and (3) acted upon? Furthermore, to understand the social construction of green building, the topic has been addressed from a diachronic and a synchronic perspective. The thesis draws on theories of social construction of technology, institutional change, travel of ideas, sensemaking and identity construction to explicate the qualitative empirical data, which is mainly collected through interviews, written documents, and field observations.Green building is a contested discursive terrain, where relevant groups struggle for the preferential right of interpretation of green. The plurality of meanings enacted in several distinct logics can result in widely differing problem formulations and contradictory solutions. On organizational level, contesting views may mobilize counter-action or non-action, which is destructive for strategic environmental work. The trade magazines bias towards technical measures and their proclivity toward traditional definitions regarding environmental impacts may lock practitioners into a technocratic logic. Environmental areas that are not formulated areas of key concern risk being taken for granted, i.e., being black-boxed. Accordingly, development within these areas may stagnate, especially since those who make strategic environmental decisions in the companies are not the same people who possess environmental expertise. For environmental issues to be enacted at all levels of a company, the environmental experts would need to be empowered with a decision-making mandate. To succeed, the environmental work has to be given adequate resources and also be legitimized by the business management.To conclude, there is no one true notion of green building. Instead, it is a social construct with multiple interpretations, which is not only a constraint, but may also function as a driver for change and development.
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| 63. |
- Linder, Marcus, 1983
(författare)
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Capturing Value from Green Offers – An Examination of Environmental Differentiation and Economic Performance
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis examines how a number of Swedish firms try to create and appropriate economic value from offers that are differentiated by low environmental impact. It presents empirical, methodological and theoretical contributions to the environmental strategy literature, focusing on the appropriation of economic value by profit-seeking firms. Based on accounting and survey data and a novel methodological approach the thesis shows that, in small Swedish firms, environmental differentiation is negatively associated with economic performance. It shows also that for environmentally differentiated offers, a resource efficient design leading to low total cost of ownership for customers is positively associated with economic performance. Other hypothesized benefits related to environmental differentiation, such as increased sales from communicating environmental superiority, associated regulatory support and improved product quality, are not significantly related to economic performance.Based on a multi-level qualitative study of an established firm, the thesis explains how corporate visions and top managers’ explicit commitment to increased sustainability facilitate the commercialization of environmentally differentiated offers. This study shows that cleverly formulated environmental goals may enable a firm to accelerate and achieve wider diffusion of already developed, originally customized solutions to specific customer problems. A longitudinal study of a small manufacturing firm developing and launching a service-based, circular business model built on remanufacturing, provides a rare examination of the challenges and opportunities encountered during the development of such a business model. An important conclusion of this study is that service-based circular business models, by design, imply a larger business risk during their implementation than more traditional, so-called linear business models. The thesis proposes a theoretical framework of appropriation strategies specifically related to environmental differentiation. The framework draws on the problem-solving perspective of the firm and the social dilemma literature to derive four generic appropriation strategies in which many of the drivers of environmental differentiation reported in prior literature can be understood as special cases. The four appropriation strategies exploit the advantages from resource efficiency, reputational gains, regulatory fit and closer inter-firm value chain integration.
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| 64. |
- Westholm, Lisa, 1980, et al.
(författare)
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Assessment of existing global financial initiatives and monitoring aspects of carbon sinks in forest ecosystems – The issue of REDD
- 2009
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The objective of this report is to explore the topic of carbon sinks in forest ecosystems, focusing on the issue of REDD. The report covers different angles: i) an overview of existing financial and methodological initiatives that currently invest in preparation and capacity building of potential REDD host countries, but also in REDD pilot projects, ii) the preparedness of potential host countries (Bolivia, Cameroon, Costa Rica and Sri Lanka) to establish baselines and implement a REDD system that contributes to sustainable development, and iii) the funding structure and channels of a major investor country (Norway). The focus of our analysis lies on two REDD-related issues; baseline establishment and sustainable development.
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| 65. |
- Kåberger, Tomas, 1961
(författare)
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Du skall inte behöva betala för ren energi
- 2018
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Ingår i: Göteborg Studies in Educational Sciences. - 0436-1121. ; :2018-05-09, s. 2-2
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 66. |
- Wahtra, Julia, et al.
(författare)
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Economic valuation of drinking water quantity and quality: A literature review
- 2021
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This literature review is a part of the research project Risk-based prioritization of water protection in sustainable spatial planning (WaterPlan), funded by the Swedish research council Formas. The aim of the project is to enable well-informed analyses and prioritization of measures for protecting water sources as a part of future urban development. One key to prioritization is knowledge about the economic values of drinking water quality and quantity. The purpose of the literature review is therefore to map earlier studies of such values, and to use this mapping for (a) evaluating the opportunities to transfer results from earlier studies to a Swedish setting, and (b) learning from earlier experience how potential new primary valuation studies in a Swedish setting could be designed. The literature review allowed some main valuation situations among the studies to be identified. Based on these different situations, the following rough categorization of studies was performed: i. Improvements in water quality/quantity (10 studies) ii. Preservation of water quality/avoiding water quality deterioration (5 studies) iii. Avoiding quantity restrictions/ensuring stable supply (6 studies) iv. WTP to reduce risks to drinking water sources (5 studies) v. Meta and benefit transfer studies (8 studies) vi. National valuation studies (6 studies) The report includes a listing of all identified studies according to this categorization. The results from the literature review indicate that there is a lack of suitable value estimates to allow for benefit transfer to Swedish conditions to evaluate the drinking water service in relevant policy scenarios. It is therefore concluded that new valuation studies might be needed for fulfilling the objectives of the WaterPlan project. One possible approach for carrying out new valuation studies is to follow the demand function approach. This approach is therefore reviewed, but it is found that the approach entails some important weaknesses for the case of Sweden. One important reason is that there is not an actual well-functioning market for drinking water in Sweden. The report therefore also reviews the use of stated preference studies for valuing drinking water quantity and quality. This review indicates experiences that can be helpful in the development of new valuation studies in Sweden which follow the stated preference approach.
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| 67. |
- Abuimara, Tareq, et al.
(författare)
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Detailed Case Studies
- 2023
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Ingår i: Occupant-Centric Simulation-Aided Building Design. - 9781000865752 ; , s. 257-367
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Wireless body area networks (WBANs) are one of the key technologies that support the development of pervasive health monitoring (remote patient monitoring systems), which has attracted more attention in recent years. These WBAN applications requires stringent security requirements as they are concerned with human lives. In the recent scenario of the corona pandemic, where most of the healthcare providers are giving online services for treatment, DDoS attacks become the major threats over the internet. This chapter particularly focusses on detection of DDoS attack using machine learning algorithms over the healthcare environment. In the process of attack detection, the dataset is preprocessed. After preprocessing the dataset, the cleaned dataset is given to the popular classification algorithms in the area of machine learning namely, AdaBoost, J48, k-NN, JRip, Random Committee and Random Forest classifiers. Those algorithms are evaluated independently and the results are recorded. Results concluded that J48 outperform with accuracy of 99.98% with CICIDS dataset and random forest outperform with accuracy of 99.917, but it takes the longest model building time. Depending on the evaluation performance the appropriate classifier is selected for further DDoS detection at real-time.
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| 68. |
- Sanz-Velasco, Stefan, 1970
(författare)
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Entrepreneurial learning: Developing opportunities and business models
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this dissertation is to explore and describe the entrepreneurial process with an emphasis on how technology-based entrepreneurs learn as they perceive and exploit opportunities. The thesis draws on a variety of entrepreneurship-oriented literature such as Austrian economics, entrepreneurial learning and the resource-based view, and it features four empirical studies, primarily among start-up ventures in the emerging Swedish mobile Internet industry.The results indicate that the dominant opportunity discovery conceptualisation can be reconceptualised as opportunity development to better represent the processual nature of technology-based entrepreneurship. This would also enhance our possibilities to develop tools and models of use for practitioners. The initial opportunity perceptions in these start-ups are often rudimentary, and then substantially developedin processes that may be iterative, intrusive and interactive. Another conclusion is the need to attend to entrepreneurial learning in order to better understand opportunity development, thereby rendering our view of the entrepreneurial process more dynamic. In doing so, the thesis illustrates how entrepreneurial learning can be analysed at the infrequently used venture level, and thereby contributes to entrepreneurial learning literature.A concept that has been derived from a number of theories is presented: the business model. The concept allows analyses of entrepreneurial learning, but also captures the development of opportunities over time, partly because it addresses core dimensions of the entrepreneurial process. The value of using the business model as an analytical tool is accentuated by its role as a boundary object between researchers and practitioners. The empirical studies also suggest that entrepreneurial learning in the venture often takes place through experimentation with different business models. In view of the observed need for business model changes in early phases, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists might advantageously delay committing large resources until the business model of a venture has stabilised. The idea of business modelling as a disciplined method for developing the business model is launched. It concerns making important assumptions explicit and turning them into hypotheses that are tested on the market. Unsuccessful ones are refuted, whereas success is considered to demonstrate viability.Depicting business modelling as a method leads to the concept of learning methodologiesrecurrent patterns of thought and actionwhich is suggested as a contribution to entrepreneurial learning literature. To discuss the association of learning with performance, it is argued that we must first determine what learning methodology is present. The dissertation shows one example of learning methodologies that correlate positively with venture growth. Analogously to earlier research aiming to correlate individual traits with success, it is consequently suggested that learning methodologies might serve as a complementary approach.
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| 69. |
- Sjöstrand, Karin, 1975, et al.
(författare)
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När vattentillgången brister
- 2019
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Access to good quality water in sufficient quantity is essential for people’s everyday life and for most businesses and economic sectors. However, water scarcity and drought are emerging as some of the most important global risks to society with both short-term and long-term effects on people, ecosystem services, biodiversity and the economic activities that depend on a reliable water supply. This is a global problem, and Sweden is not spared. The low precipitation and high summer temperatures that hit Sweden for three consecutive years between 2016 and 2018, caused a vastly reduced access to water and led to major consequences for the Swedish society. In most Swedish regions, however, there is usually more than enough water to meet the growing needs of society and at the same time maintain a good environmental status even during drought. But to ensure a long-term sustainable water supply, all parties, i.e. households, water-dependent businesses and authorities, need to take measures. Drought and water scarcity are challenges that do not only affect, or can be solved by, the municipal drinking water supply. Each and everyone who uses and is dependent on water, regardless of whether the water is supplied through public or private systems, is part of the problem and should therefore also be part of the solutions. This report provides information and material to help companies contribute to a better water situation in areas with low water availability. The report describes the water usage and water availability in Sweden today and how they are expected to change in the future. Incentives and driving forces for water savings are described as well as methods for identifying inefficient water usage and improvement measures. A review of studies from various countries provides information on challenges as well as good examples of water scarcity mitigation measures in various economic sectors. Examples of decision support methods that can be used to evaluate and prioritize between alternative measures are also described. Finally, potential implementation barriers are discussed and examples of policy instruments which can facilitate implementation of beneficial measures are given.
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| 70. |
- Florén, Henrik, 1972-
(författare)
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Managerial work and learning in small firms
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis deals with how managerial work sets the agenda for managerial learning in small firms. Although studies of learning in organizations are numerous, research on managerial learning in the small-firm context is limited. In particular, our knowledge of managerial learning suffers from an insufficient understanding of what top managers in small firms do. The primary purpose of this thesis is to describe how the work of small-firm managers sets the agenda for managerial learning, and how their learning can be supported. Additionally, the thesis explores the use of so-called “Action Technologies” in supporting managerial learning in small firms.Drawing on an observational study of six owner-managers in small (17-43 employees) manufacturing firms, and a synthesis of earlier studies, this thesis shows that three features of managerial work shape managerial learning in small firms: The small firm’s top manager (i) operates in context with specific structural conditions that affect his/her behavior, (ii) have certain cognitive predispositions guiding his/her behavior, and (iii) have certain behavioral preferences directing his/her behavior.The main argument in this thesis is that managerial learning in small firms is made difficult due to features that make it hard to come to a point where learning (in terms of reflection and conceptualization) is given time and resources, as the manager has trouble in finding time for learning, and as learning risks to become low-priority. Learning is also difficult due to barriers related to the learning process: the work of the manager fosters a superficial learning orientation, makes it difficult to probe deeply into and to develop complicated understandings of issues at hand, and makes peer-learning rarely possible.Drawing on an action research project of managerial learning in four networks of small-firm owner-managers, the thesis also explores, in a concrete manner, how managerial learning might be supported in a way that circumvents the deficient situation for managerial learning in this kind of firm. More specifically, it seems that Action Technologies by their design constitute a learning context that supports the learning of the small-firm top manager by dissolving the barriers to learning identified above.
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