| 1. |
- Salzer, Corinna, 1984
(författare)
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Sustainability of Social Housing in the Urban Tropics: A Holistic Development Process for Bamboo-Based Construction
- 2018
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis is motivated by a tremendous need for more inclusive, sustainable and disaster resistant social housing in rapidly developing countries such as the Philippines. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the New Urban Agenda name the use of local raw materials as one area for action. In the Philippines bamboo is an available, culturally rooted material, which is frequently used by rural and urban low-income groups. However, its current use in buildings does not meet the regulatory, technical and social requirements of urban spaces. The general objective of this thesis is to guide the development, implementation, and continuous assessment of a bamboo-based building technology for social housing in the Philippines, according to the multi-dimensional requirements of sustainability. The conceptual framework of the thesis is aligned to the standards EN 15643 and ISO 15392 on the sustainability assessment of buildings. A localization of the standards has been achieved through a multi-stakeholder participatory process. Beyond stakeholders from within the Philippines, this process builds on a learning exchange with Latin America, where significant knowledge on bamboo-based building exists, as well as Europe, where timber frame construction is established. Issue-focused research captured the performances in technical, environmental, social, economic and governance dimensions. It was shown that the most common bamboo species in the Philippines is of a structural grade that is suitable for low-rise house construction. With quality selected, treated bamboo culms and climate-adjusted house designs, the construction of reliable and durable buildings was possible, designed to withstand the impacts of their surrounding environment. The walls received a fire resistance rating of 60 minutes and full-scale test houses withstood the storm impacts of four typhoons with 120–213 km/h wind speeds. A thorough life cycle assessment predicted that the building method results in a 74%-reduction in carbon emissions. Furthermore, surveys and physical measurements attested that a higher indoor thermal comfort is achieved. Active participation was applied throughout the research and implementation activities, and acceptance barriers were overcome among involved stakeholders. Beyond savings from a life cycle cost perspective of the buildings, the use of the renewable local material strengthened local economies and created rural-urban linkages. Sustainability theory was used as a tool for decision-making for the planning, implementation, and continuous improvement of 500 social houses across the Philippines. These were erected by the Base Foundation, an initiative supported by the Hilti Foundation, and its partners. In a continuous improvement process, the achievements and learning obtained in the research and implementation were exchanged in feedback loops over a period of 4 years. Sustainability is shown to be a continuous, balancing process that can be used to transparently discuss and evolve a holistic value proposition. Because adequate housing is only one of many components required for sustainable cities and resilient communities, this thesis aims to contribute to holistic integrated projects and policy advocacy.
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| 2. |
- Paramonova, Svetlana, 1986-
(författare)
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Re-viewing industrial energy-efficiency improvement using a widened system boundary
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Improved energy efficiency in industry is important for reaching the targets within the EU strategy for increased sustainability. However, energy efficiency is not always prioritised within companies, and the improvement potential remains large. This paradox called an energyefficiency gap is explained by energy-efficiency barriers. The low interest in energy efficiency is also explained by the fact that it is not within companies’ core competences and not perceived as strategic. The public policies aiming at closing the gap have thus far been concentrated on the faster diffusion of energy-efficient technologies. This is not sufficient, and the gap can be extended by including energy management practices. To bridge the extended gap, there is a need to introduce an extended system perspective. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the industrial energy-efficiency potential and possibilities for reaching this potential using an extended system boundary.In this thesis, the extended gap was quantified by means of classification of the energy data covering the most electricity-intensive Swedish industrial companies. The results show that technology-related measures represent 61% of energy savings, whereas management-related measures account for 38%. Energy efficiency due to management-related measures can be improved with lower costs. The energy-efficiency potentials for different levels of industrial motor systems were quantified, showing that the highest potential is found in the measures that include personal involvement and the optimisation of routines. This proves that the general approaches based on technological diffusion seem to not be sufficient to solve the energy paradox.The evaluation of the Swedish energy audit programme for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) proved that there is a lack of energy-related knowledge among SMEs. The implementation rate of measures proposed in the audits is only 54%, while there is also a need to reach the SMEs not covered by the programme. The international study of energy-efficiency potentials did not indicate energy management to be considered by SMEs at all.To bridge the extended gap, the external experts’ knowledge on how to work with energy efficiency has to stay within companies. For this, there is a need for methods based on longterm orientation as well as a systematic view of complicated processes. The methods should be universal and applied in a particular context. An example of such a method for large industries is presented in this thesis, whereas applying it to SMEs is problematic due to limited resources. Participating in networks for energy efficiency can be a way to initiate energy-efficiency work within SMEs on a continuous basis. Moreover, this thesis shows that there is a need for the development of a common taxonomy for energy data as well as the development of a central portal where energy data can be reported and stored. This would simplify the monitoring of energy end-use, the control of measures implementation and the comparison between processes, companies and sectors.
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| 3. |
- Hagbert, Pernilla, 1986
(författare)
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A sustainable home? Reconceptualizing home in a low-impact society
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis addresses the environmental and socio-economic impact of modern ways of living, focusing on home-related concepts and practices for transitions to a less environmentally harmful and more socially just society. Exploring diverse conceptualizations of a sustainable home, the aim is to broaden discourses on less resource-intensive ways of living and residing.Employing a primarily qualitative and explorative research approach, the thesis presents three empirical studies on how sustainability in housing and concepts of home are perceived among different actors: 1) developers and architects involved in a new “green” urban development; 2) “ordinary” residents in a tenant-owned multi-family housing association; and 3) “home-front transitioners” engaging in low-impact practices. The findings highlight the complexity of approaching a sustainable housing development. On one hand, the empirical insights reveal structural lock-ins in mainstream market-led development, with a techno-centered view of sustainability, conventional understandings of residents’ preferences and household configurations, and lack of competence regarding social dimensions. On the other hand, there appears to be a gap between a reported interest among residents in living in less resource-intensive ways (including living smaller, simpler, or more collaboratively), and relevant alternatives within the current housing market. Attempting to find ways of going beyond these unilateral interpretations and lock-ins, the thesis suggests conceptualizing home as a node, framing understandings of home and everyday practices as a starting point for transitions to a low-impact society, rather than seeing the dwelling as an object upon or in which sustainable technologies and solutions can be placed. This is further linked to exploring agency in and of the home, acknowledging residents as active agents rather than “end-users” or consumers. In conclusion, the thesis emphasizes the need to problematize contemporary discourses on sustainability in housing. It makes a case for the need to rethink how we view home in relation to a radically reduced resource intensity, proposing a reconceptualization of home in transitions to a low-impact society.
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| 4. |
- Ferdos, Fariba, 1966
(författare)
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InAS Quantum Dots for Laser Applications and Pedogogical, Gender, and Multicultural Aspects in Engineering Education
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis builds on new cross-disciplinary research between engineering and educational sciences. Recently, two other theses that combine research in physics and education (Åke Ingerman, 2002, and Tom Adawi, 2002) have been completed in Sweden. This thesis consolidates a trend that can benefit both disciplines. It is similar to the other theses in that it focuses on engineering education and investigates knowledge formation in a scientific subject. It differs in that the scientific study concerns a different area of physics. Its original contribution is that it focuses on the pedagogical, socio-cultural and gendered context in which learning in engineering education takes place and does so by means of a cross cultural, autobiographical case study and three action research projects. These projects deal with a pedagogy of e-learning (paper E), developing generic capabilities in online learning (papers C and E), learning in groups (papers B and G) and gender equity in physics (paper D). The thesis is divided into two parts. The study in engineering science (photonics) was successfully defended at the licentiate level and is reported in appended paper A and in published articles (papers H to M). The pedagogical study in engineering education is reported in the following chapters and in papers B to G.The scientific engineering study concerns the development of InAs Quantum Dot (QD) structures on GaAs substrate for 1.3 μm laser applications and investigations of how structural and optical properties of InAs QDs depend on the growth conditions and the choice of pre-layer and cap materials. Growth conditions for the best luminance intensity and line width were found for substrate temperatures (500-520oC) and nominal InAs layer thickness (3.3-3.7 monolayers). It was found that the QD size was considerably reduced during initial GaAs capping, resulting in a blue-shift of the emission wavelength. The density of the QDs also reduces significantly during GaAs capping. Using an Al-containing cap layer the size reduction can be suppressed, and therefore a longer emission wavelength can be obtained. The density of QDs can also be increased. Furthermore, introducing a thin InAlAs cap layer resulted in 1.3 μm emission with a large energy separation between the ground and the first excited state transmission. A record transition energy separation of 108 meV was demonstrated.
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| 5. |
- Taghavi Nejad Deilami, Naghmeh, 1985
(författare)
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Toward the Sustainable Development of Operations: Improving Energy Efficiency as a Means to Sustainability as Practice
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Addressing the challenges of sustainable development demands companies to understand the “how” to actualize sustainability-related objectives and cultivating conditions that encourage practicing sustainability. It also demands companies to structure their operations around less costly economic processes while maintaining the efficient use of resources and standards for workers’ well-being at the operational level. Given companies’ reliance on and increasing demand for energy-dependent operational processes to produce and transport products and services, sharp upward pressure on energy bills for industries directly exposed to rising prices, and shortages and supply chain disruptions, requires companies to make unprecedented changes. Therefore, as the need to use alternative energy sources has increased, the importance of accelerating improvements in energy efficiency in operations as an energy source itself has been increasingly acknowledged. In response, this thesis seeks to expand current understandings of improving energy efficiency in operations in order to facilitate sustainability as practice, namely by embedding the concept of sustainable development into the theoretical framework of operations management. First, improving energy efficiency is analyzed as a firm-based practice that results in the actualization of corporate-level objectives for energy efficiency in operations by utilizing resources and influencing individual and/or collective action. Second, operations strategy is the analytical construct used to analyze the strategic–operational alignment of the resources needed to allow engaging in and replicating such an improvement-oriented process constructed and enacted by multiple individuals within and across organizational levels. Third and last, the thesis focuses on development via changes in individual and collective actions and understandings toward promoting sustainability as practice by building up people’s skills and competencies. Drawing from findings in the five appended papers, the thesis first characterizes the improvement of energy efficiency in operations as a practice. Second, the thesis analyzes strategic–operational alignment in organizations by investigating the improvement of energy efficiency in operations as a practice in relation to organizations’ strategic intentions for sustainability as well as existing operations strategy. The results showcase examples of the bidirectional perspective on synergy between operations management and energy management. Last, whereas energy efficiency indeed requires focusing on the improvement process, the thesis argues that it also sustains such improvement and creates a constellation of practices that result in changes in people’s behavior. Achieving such continuity creates a context for practicing sustainability and gaining leverage to accomplish the sustainable development of operations.
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| 6. |
- Ekström, Daniel P T, 1976
(författare)
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Integrated structural and construction engineering – A study of project team performance in Swedish bridge design
- 2019
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Swedish Transport Administration (STA) ambitiously strives to increase the level of productivity and innovation within its operations while meeting and surpassing national sustainability objectives. In this effort, the STA has concluded that climate gas emissions from construction, operation, and maintenance of the infrastructure must be reduced for Sweden to maintain its position as a pioneer and to reach both national and global climate goals. Emissions from road, rail, and other civil works is mainly related to the production of construction materials, such as construction steel, concrete and reinforcement in bridges, retaining walls, and other structures. For bridges, normally designed for a long service-life, the environmental impact of all stages after realization is greatly dependent on and constrained by decisions made during design and construction of the structure. To succeed in realizing effectiveness in bridge construction project is only possible by close cooperation between all project participants, i.e. client, consultant(s), and contractor(s). The construction industry is often described as complex, multidisciplinary, and project-focused but with no clear boundaries of who actually owns processes and, consequently, the development of them. The overall purpose of this research is, therefore, to contribute to framing a systematic and holistic design approach fostering many kinds of project-settings and pre-requisites. This research aims to further understand how to introduce construction knowledge in the early design stages through utilizing an approach with integrated projects teams. The thesis is based on several studies exploring how integration is related to the bridge construction process and the key features are for such integration. Further, this thesis explores the prevailing interprofessional dialogue in the Swedish bridge construction process and how this may both support and hinder knowledge and experience transfer in the interprofessional interface. Given the complexity in construction today, all participants involved, individually, will lack some pieces of the puzzle, but that collectively, they can gather their knowledge and resources to achieve success for all parties involved. When integration is seen from this perspective, the following key features crystallize; skills to collaborate and communicate; interdependency between the parties; importance for the structural engineer to receive feedback from, and to have a dialogue with, the contractors; teams to be provided with the right people. The contribution of this thesis is that it provides further knowledge to develop and improve the contemporary approach in the design and construction of bridges.
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| 7. |
- Andersson, Johnn, 1983
(författare)
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Shape it until you make it: A conceptual foundation for efforts to analyze and shape technological innovation
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- These are times of accelerating climate change and mass extinction of species on planet Earth. We are in the midst of an ecological crisis that will have profound consequences for human society and its natural environment. While the conditions for life have changed abruptly in the past, the current situation is characterized by the increasing power of a single species. Human beings are not only to blame for the unsustainable practices that brought us here, but also capable of harnessing their combined ingenuity to develop technology that may reduce environmental impacts and provide additional benefits for society. At the same time, the answer to the ecological crisis and other grand challenges is not found in the blind expansion of new technologies. Our success in accomplishing social and environmental objectives rather depends on how, where and when innovation influences patterns of production and consumption. This calls into question the focus of academics and policymakers on stimulating technological innovation. And it highlights the need for analytical tools that can be used to explore how policymakers and other actors may shape the direction of change. The research presented in this thesis therefore aims to develop a conceptual foundation for analyzing and shaping technological innovation. This effort draws on three qualitative case studies that investigate emerging renewable energy technologies from a Swedish perspective. The thesis is situated in the sustainability transitions research community and takes the literature on technological innovation systems as a theoretical point of departure. However, the research adopts a critical perspective and gradually departs from the core concepts used in this literature, over the course of a learning process that unfolds in five appended research papers. In the end, the thesis proposes the technological systems framework as a set of concepts that offers a multidimensional perspective on the dynamics and outcomes of technological innovation. It also presents empirical findings that demonstrate different development trajectories, reveal some of their underlying dynamics and highlight policy implications. This will hopefully contribute to an ongoing shift in academia and politics – from stimulating the expansion of new technologies, to shaping the direction of change.
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| 8. |
- Börjesson, Martin, 1980
(författare)
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Techno-Economic Perspectives on Biofuel Futures – Modelling Transport Sector Strategies in an Energy System Context
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The high oil dependence and the continuous growth of energy use in the transport sector have in recent years triggered interest in transport biofuels as a measure to mitigate climate change andimprove energy security. This work aims to examine techno-economic interactions linked totransport biofuel strategies in national and regional energy systems and their implications for thecost-effective realisation of energy policy objectives. The work applies an explorative,quantitative modelling approach, in which applications of the optimising energy system modelMARKAL are developed and utilised. The thesis is based on four papers. Paper I and Paper IIapply a regional perspective with the Västra Götaland region of Sweden as the geographicalfocus. Paper I studies system aspects of biomass gasification technologies, and Paper II examinesthe prospects for biogas from anaerobic digestion and the implications of different strategies forgas distribution. Paper III and Paper IV model the Swedish road transport sector as an integratedpart of the national energy system. Paper III assesses the impact of transport fuel tax designs onthe competitiveness of different fuel and technology options, and Paper IV investigates potentialtransport fuel pathways for oil reduction in the passenger car fleet.Both at the regional and national scale, the results show that limitations in low-cost biomasssupply induce a trade-off between biomass use in the transport sector and biomass use in thestationary energy system. The latter option is often a more energy-efficient way of reducing CO2emissions. However, which is the more cost-effective measure depends on energy marketconditions in general and the oil price in particular. Higher energy service demands and morestringent climate targets increase the incentives for energy-efficient resource utilisation. Suchdevelopment pushes biomass use towards stationary applications (heat and power) and increasesthe competitiveness of energy-efficient vehicle technologies such as hybrids and electric vehicles.However, in the medium term, transport fuel pathways based on biomass gasification show largepotential of being a cost-effective option for lowered oil dependence.From a techno-economic perspective, biogas from anaerobic digestion is generally better used astransport fuel than for heat and power generation. Due to limitations in local vehicle gas markets,enhanced conditions for biogas distribution imply a somewhat higher cost-effective total biogasutilisation but, in particular, a shift from biogas use in heat and power generation to biogas use inthe transport sector. An expansion of the natural gas grid implies possibilities of higher cost-effectivebiogas utilisation levels due to increased opportunities for low-cost biogas distribution tolarge potential markets. However, from a bioenergy perspective, a grid expansion also involvesrisks due to increased competition from natural gas.Transport fuel taxation provides important incentives for acceleration of the competitiveness ofenergy-efficient vehicle technologies such as hybrids and electric vehicles. Tax exemptionsincrease the attractiveness of biofuels from a vehicle user perspective, but can lead to increasedCO2 emissions in the stationary energy system. As a consequence, the CO2 abatement costsassociated with biofuel tax exemption policies can be high; however, cost reductions are possiblethrough concurrent schemes for vehicle energy efficiency. For a given CO2 reduction, the resultsindicate (for a range of scenarios) that the incremental energy and technology costs of a completeoil phase-out in the Swedish passenger car fleet are lower than about one-fourth of the currentgovernmental transport fuel tax revenues.
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| 9. |
- Eriksson, Linnea
(författare)
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Policy Integration for Sustainable Transport Development : Case Studies of Two Swedish Regions
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- It has been argued that for the management of complex issues such as sustainability, which transcend traditional policy sectors and require coordination between several different interests and actors, policymaking depends upon collaboration and integration processes between different sectors and tiers of government. The overall aim of this thesis is therefore to study how and why (or why not) policy integration processes are being developed in regional policymaking and what this means for the achievement of sustainable transport. The thesis consists of two separate qualitative case studies of policymaking in two Swedish regions, one representing a least likely case and the other a most likely case of policy integration. The focus has been on the organizational actors involved in policymaking processes for the regional transport system. For the general discussion the theoretical framework of policy integration, complemented by the analytical concepts of policy logics, organizational identities and boundary object are used. The findings are presented in four articles. An overall conclusion is that policy integration processes do not necessarily result in policy for sustainable transport. If policy integration becomes a goal in itself and the same as joint policy, it risks neglecting sustainable values and becoming the smallest common denominator that a number of actors can agree on. For developing sustainable transport solutions, collaboration for the coordination of policy may be beneficial, but the aim of such processes should not be joint policy.
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| 10. |
- Johansson, Maria
(författare)
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Business as Usual? : Doing gender equality in Swedish forestry work organisations
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The title of this thesis is Business as usual? Doing gender equality in Swedish forestry work organizations and while the latter part, the subtitle, is rather self-explanatory, the former part can be read in different ways. The aim of the thesis is to increase the understanding of the doing of gender equality in the male dominated work organizations of the Swedish forestry sector, and thereby contribute both theoretical and empirical understanding regarding how doing gender equality in the forestry sector relates both to notions of gender and notions of organizations. Forestry has traditionally been characterized by physically demanding, manual harvesting work, with practical and symbolic associations with men and certain forms of masculinity. The forestry sector still remains one of the most gender segregated labour forces in Sweden, all while gender equality has been addressed to some extent during the 2000s. The theoretical frame of reference of the present thesis is rooted in feminist organizational research and the doing gender framework. Based on a perspective of reality as socially constructed and by deploying a feminist participatory action research methodology, my analysis focuses on how complexities of meanings are ascribed to the actions and processes, that are framed as gender equality and I have qualitatively analysed empirical material, such as policy documents, interviews and written testimonies of sexual harassment, that explicate these aspects of doing gender equality in organizations. The thesis is built experiences from two different research- and development projects and consists of 5 articles and a synthetizing chapter.The results highlight how doing gender equality relates to notions of gender as well as notions of organization. In both Article I, where policies were studied and in Article II, that builds on interviews, women are in general constructed as the “other”, as people who lack (forestry) skills and competences and who are in need of help or as contributors of social and emotional competence. Men and masculine norms are mainly absent from the doing of gender equality in this material, just as notions of the organization. But, deploying a feminist participatory action research methodology can bring forward other perspectives on gender equality, as shown in Articles IV and V, such as the articulations of men and masculinities. Further, this thesis shows that gender equality is in general understood by the organizations studied as a process that regards gender, predominantly women, rather than the organization. Put differently, gender equality work in the forestry sector does not to any significant extent, affect what is perceived as the core activities in these organizations. However, the overarching depoliticized and degendered business case framing that mainly evades accounting for the role of the organization when doing gender equality, is disrupted by the testimonies of #slutavverkat explored in Article III. Here, the political dimension of gender equality is highlighted by stories of men’s behaviours (reprehended but at the same time sanctioned) in organizations that come at the expense of women’s rights to a workplace free from condescending comments, harassment and sexual violence. While previous research has pointed to the importance of gender awareness, and gender aware leadership, in organizations that wish to succeed with their gender equality work, this thesis suggests that there is also a need for “gendered organization awareness” in order to understand and discuss not only how gender is done in organizations but also how everyday organizational life, such as notions of competence, is done and how that in turn relates to gender and power. This underlines the need for organizations to make room for conflicts and politics and to let the otherwise marginalized voices contribute to more nuanced interpretations of gender equality.The title Business as usual? encompasses the starting points for the thesis work as well as the main findings. Read with an emphasis on business, the seemingly all-embracing business case rhetoric’s that encloses the official narratives of gender equality in the forestry sector are visualized, while emphasizing as usual denotes to the sectors resistance to do other than what it usually does. Read as the hole saying, business as usual, that title signals that gender equality work is done in ways that not interfere with forestry core activities, thus making gender equality work in the organizations side streamed or de-coupled. Yet, read with emphasis on the question mark, opens up for the subversive potential that nevertheless exists when more multifaceted ways of making sense of gender equality are articulated and as the findings suggests that there are ways to re-gender and re-politicize organizational gender equality work in the context of forestry work organizations.
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