| 1. |
- Liwång, Hans, 1974-
(författare)
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Risk-based ship security analysis – an approach based on civilian and military methods
- 2012
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The demands on maritime operations today are increasingly higher in terms of control, efficiency and cost. The margins for accidents and security incidents are therefore decreasing. In the area of ship safety the regulations, guidelines and methods have a history and culture of systematic research, development and implementation. In contrast, international security is highly politicized and therefore not as transparent. The result is that a tradition of ship security is not as well established.The overall aim of this thesis is to propose a method for ship security analysis that increases the overall safety of the crew and the ship. The objective is to develop a method that is systematic in order to ensure that assessment and response are complete and effective, and that the process is documented to provide evidence of decision-making.The method used is probabilistic risk assessment where quantitative analysis is central. The proposed approach is consistent with the requirements of maritime safety work. However, in the work here, the proposed methods are specifically tested for security cases. This is because hazards (without intent) and threats (with intent) evolve in different ways into risk. Therefore, they must be analysed differently in order to capture the causal relationship.The proposed approach consists of three steps: the first step consists of a threat description that documents qualitative and quantitative aspects that together describe how the threat most likely will act in relation to the ship’s vulnerability; the second step uses the threat description to define the system studied as well as the scenarios that collectively describe the harmful consequences; the third step evaluates the risk with tools from probabilistic risk assessment.The overall conclusion is that the proposed method brings the procedure and results of ship security analysis into the open and therefore allows for criticism, improvements and shared risk knowledge, not possible with less structured methods. The results also show that the calculated probabilities agree with available statistics, which indicates that the analysis succeeds in describing the central causal relationships of the scenarios modelled.
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| 2. |
- McCrory, Gavin, 1990
(författare)
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In search of seeds: Exploring and classifying sustainability-oriented labs in real-world contexts
- 2021
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In 2015, the necessity of fundamental change was outlined in the universal, transnational agreement, Agenda 2030, under the headline of “transforming our world”. Underlying transformation, integration, and universality, Agenda 2030 calls for guided ethical and moral action in addition to earnest scientific and technological change. Sustainability transitions provide an organizing frame to conceptualize change at the level of systems. It does this within an explicitly normative field of research and practice, committed to understanding and navigating transitions towards sustainability. Alongside socio-technical niches and experiments, labs in real-world contexts have emerged as appealing entities that situate and localize around complex sustainability challenges. Their diverse form and positive connotations suggest a novel form of experimentation with purposeful and transformative aspirations. Yet, labs in real-world contexts hold different normative commitments, many of which are arguably tangential to sustainability. The purpose of this thesis is to establish a normative understanding of laboratories in real-world contexts through the adoption of sustainability as an organizing concept. Methodologically, my research emerged from and was shaped by one interconnected process, a systematic yet exploratory review. In this thesis, I generate knowledge claims on a collection of labs that intersect disciplines and areas of application. I derive seven research communities linked to sustainability-oriented labs in real-world contexts, and present labs as a combination of spaces, processes and ways of organizing. I develop an empirically grounded typology of labs according to engagement with sustainability as a generic matter of concern, substantiated in place. This typology illuminates similarities and differences across six different lab types. I then point towards reflexive governance as a helpful extension for further understanding labs in the context of transitions towards sustainability. Moving forward, I plan to adopt learning as a lens for qualitative case-based inquiry, enabling a contextual understanding of lab processes in practice.
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| 3. |
- Månsson, Stina, 1991
(författare)
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Creating an environmental sustainability profession
- 2021
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis it to problematize the professionalization processes of environmental sustainability roles by studying how professionals in the Swedish AEC industry actively participate in the continuous creation of an environmental sustainability profession. This is done by investigating how the role of environmental sustainability professionals, as carriers and executers of an environmental sustainability agenda, has developed since the early 1990s, and how they are maintaining a momentum for environmental sustainability practice. The research builds on the view of professions as a ‘shared doing in practice’. The practice is captured through a micro-level institutional perspective, which allows for studying professionalization processes as the institutional work of environmental sustainability professionals as they seek to establish themselves and environmental sustainability practice in the industry. The research for this thesis is based on a qualitative research design. In-depth interviews with 30 environmental sustainability professionals were conducted, which enabled a more detailed study on what they do in practice and how they have perceived the development of their role. Three papers are included. The findings show how environmental sustainability professionals have engaged in institutional entrepreneurship and in the creation of an environmental sustainability profession. They do so by adopting different strategies and by creating hybrid institutional logics that they learn to navigate within, depending on the situation and with whom they are interacting. This thesis contributes to both theory and practice. For theory it provides rich empirical examples of professionalization processes of environmental sustainability. For practice, it analyses and problematizes the role, which supports the future development of an environmental sustainability profession.
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| 4. |
- Mallam, Steven, 1987
(författare)
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The Human Element in Marine Engine Department Operation: Human Factors & Ergonomics Knowledge Mobilization in Ship Design & Construction
- 2014
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Physical environments influence how individuals perceive, behave and perform within an operational space and system. Marine engine department operations have dramatically developed from the initial introduction of ship mechanization in the nineteenth century, to ever increasing levels of computerized and automated functions today. This development has contributed to a consistent and continuing reduction of crew numbers, as well as altering engine department work demands and organization. Previous research has revealed an array of occupational hazards and work-related challenges associated with engine department operations, including a growing disconnect between the physical design of the engine department and evolving end-user tasks. These challenges have shown to negatively impact engine crew productivity, safety, health and wellbeing, and moreover, has implications for overall engine department and ship operations. This licentiate thesis investigates three areas which connect physical design and engine department operation from a human-centric perspective: (i) critical analysis of minimum rules and regulations regarding ship design, construction and crew competencies, (ii) exploration of end-user perspectives on functions related to physical design, and (iii) operationalizing the end-user within traditional naval architecture and engineering ship design methods. Results indicate incongruence between the requirements for minimum design, safety and construction standards, and seafarer training and competency requirements. These discrepancies are further extended to their influences upon the conceptual planning and design processes of a new-build ship project. Difficulties in communication and lack of a common understanding between system end-users and design stakeholders hinder effective application of human element knowledge throughout a project’s development. Creating an inter-disciplinary, participatory approach to ship development by integrating human-centered design methods and solutions throughout conceptual ship design can ultimately contribute to safer, more efficient shipping practices once in operation.
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| 5. |
- af Hällström, Anna, 1987
(författare)
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If you want to go far, go with others – How using a collaborative project delivery model affects the project network in infrastructure construction projects
- 2021
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The growth of projects has elicited much interest in the last decades, both in academia and amongst practitioners. The increase in scale and complexity has further brought attention to the particulars of interorganisational collaboration: as projects grow, the relevance and impact of interdependencies between participating organisations rise to the surface. No organisation is an island and so a project becomes an archipelago of interconnected networks. Current literature on interorganisational collaboration focuses on contract and procurement, both important aspects of project management. There is, however, less research pertaining to project realisation and how these changes in interorganisational collaboration shape the project process. A field where this change has been especially noticeable is the infrastructure construction industry, where collaborative project management models have been introduced to reduce adversity and improve project outcomes. These new models necessitate a study of changes these new models bring with them to the conventional ways of work within the field, as they call for new processes and roles in the projects, thus changing how the actors engage with the project network. As such models are based on collaboration, the role of social ties within the project become an especially interesting question. In this work, I expand on the theory pertaining to project networks in the empirical setting of infrastructure projects applying a collaborative project management model, with the aim of examining and gaining a deeper understanding of the collaboration between interorganisational project actors in a collaborative project delivery model. The methods used in this thesis are based in the qualitative research tradition and emphasise interviewing and observation. During this work, 44 interviews were completed in a pre-study and two case projects and observation of both project’s shared office space was carried out. I also analysed project documents and analysed the social network between respondents in the case projects. My results show the importance of social relations as enablers of the realisation of expected benefits of collaborative models. They moreover illustrate the changes necessary for the models to be effective, as well as study how the use of such project models affect the actors’ engagement in the project network.
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| 6. |
- Sandberg, Rikard, 1984
(författare)
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The work of construction site managers: problematizing perceptions of embodied work practices
- 2017
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Over the past few decades, scholars have paid increasing attention to work of site managers in the construction industry. In particular, the work situations of site managers have been increasingly depicted as demanding and stressful. The reasons for these situations have been explained as arising from macro-level characteristics of the industry itself. This includes, for instance, the influence of structure (loose coupling) and culture (masculinity and paternalism) that is suggested to promote a particularly demanding work situations characterized by overwork, stress, fragmentation and pressure to be in control of all activities on site. This thesis takes a critical perspective on the assumption that the everyday work practices of site managers can be explained as causally derived from macro-level characteristics of the industry. Instead, a need to take into account the managers experiences, meaning-making and responses is called for. The aim of the thesis is to explore practical manifestations of site managers’ everyday work and how they experience and cope with their work life situations. For this aim, a case study design with an exploratory and interpretative approach has been chosen. The thesis discusses findings based on three appended papers. By applying an everyday practice lens on the managers work, the discussion highlights the emergence of four separate yet interrelated empirical phenomena that warrant further research. These are reproduction, normalization, autonomy and resistance. These phenomena are discussed in order to highlight nuances, complexities and paradoxes underlying site managers work and to conceptualize new understandings of work in the construction industry. Instead of viewing site managers work as derived from macro-level characteristics, the thesis argues for a need to increasingly consider how issues of overwork and workaholism become reproduced and resisted in context where these tendencies seem to be normalized. The thesis concludes by emphasizing the need for future research on site managers work situations to critically elaborate on the relationship between, on one hand masculine culture and identities vis-à-vis practices of (over)work, and on the other hand autonomy and resistance vis-à-vis control.
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| 7. |
- Shayboun, May, 1990
(författare)
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Toward Accident Prevention Through Machine Learning Analysis of Accident Reports
- 2022
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Occupational safety remains of interest in the construction sector. The frequency of accidents has decreased in Sweden but only to a level that remains constant over the last ten years. Although Sweden shows to be performing better in comparison to other European countries, the construction industry continues to contribute to a fifth of fatal accidents in Europe. The latter situation pushes towards the need for reducing the frequency and fatalities of occupational accident occurrences in the construction sector. In the Swedish context, several initiatives have been established for prevention and accident frequency reduction. However, risk analysis models and causal links have been found to be rare in this context. The continuous reporting of accidents and near-misses creates large datasets with potentially useful information about accidents and their causes. In addition to that, there has been an increased research interest in analysing this data through machine learning (ML). The state-of-art research efforts include applying ML to analyse the textual data within the accumulated accident reports, identifying contributing factors, and extracting accident information. However, solutions that are created by ML models can lead to changes for a company and the industry. ML modelling includes a prototype development that is accompanied by the industry’s and domain experts’ requirements. The aim of this thesis is to investigate how ML based methods and techniques could be used to develop a research-based prototype for occupational accident prevention in a contracting company. The thesis focus is on the exploration of a development processes that bridges ML data analysis technical part with the context of safety in a contracting company. The thesis builds on accident causation models (ACMs) and ML methods, utilising the Cross Industry Standard Process Development Method (CRISP-DM) as a method. These were employed to interpret and understand the empirical material of accident reports and interviews within the health and safety (H&S) unit. The results of the thesis showed that analysing accident reports via ML can lead to the discovery of knowledge about accidents. However, there were several challenges that were found to hinder the extraction of knowledge and the application of ML. The identified challenges mainly related to the standardization of the development process and, the feasibility of implementation and evaluation. Moreover, the tendency of the ML-related literature to focus on predicting severity was found not compatible either with the function of ML analysis or the findings of accident causation literature which considers severity as a stochastic element. The analysis further concluded that ACMs seemed to have reached a mature stage, where a new approach is needed to understand the rules that govern the relationships between emergent new risks – rather than the systemization of risks themselves. The analysis of accident reports by ML needs further research in systemized methods for such analysis in the domain of construction and in the context of contracting companies – as only few research efforts have focused on this area regarding ML evaluation metrics and data pre-processing.
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| 8. |
- Adam, Abderisak, 1988
(författare)
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Managing construction challenges: Viability of a dynamic capabilities approach for the public client
- 2016
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Construction clients in the public sector face a large number of challenges in designing, procuring and managing construction projects in a manner that is conducive to the organization’s overall goals. In particular, clients have faced challenges in delivering projects that satisfied the projects’ goals with respect to cost overruns, delays and sustainable construction. The role of the client in managing these challenges has more recently been emphasized with a growing number of studies and governmental reports calling for the development of the client’s capabilities.This thesis examines the capabilities of the construction client through a dynamic capabilities framework, particularly with respect to the activities of sensing, seizing and transforming. Furthermore, the thesis explores whether the concept of dynamic capabilities is a viable approach for understanding how to manage the clients’ capabilities in a way that ensures that construction-related challenges are addressed. The thesis is based primarily on a case study of a large public construction client located in Sweden.Findings are presented in three appended papers. The thesis concludes with a discussion on the viability of using a dynamic capabilities framework in the specific case described in this thesis. It is argued that the concept of dynamic capabilities is inadequate for capturing the specific context in which public client organizations operate. Suggestions for alternative approaches to understanding the management and development of capabilities are then discussed.
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| 9. |
- Ahlborg, Helene, 1980
(författare)
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Electricity for better lives in rural Tanzania and Mozambique. Understanding and addressing the challenges
- 2012
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Provision of electricity is essential for economic and social development. It renders possible modern communications, industrial and business development and provision of public services such as improved education and healthcare. But in rural Tanzania and Mozambique, less than 5% of the people have access to electricity from the national grids, and at the current pace it is unlikely that the majority of the rural population will be connected to the grid within a foreseeable future. Therefore decentralized, off-grid electrification is needed as a complement. These countries are rich in renewable energy sources, which could be utilized to meet the energy needs of rural people. The overall aim of the thesis is to identify and understand – from the perspective of involved actors – country-specific drivers and barriers, and prerequisites, to rural electrification in general, and off-grid electrification using renewable energy technologies in particular. The thesis includes a review of previous literature, presenting an exhaustive list of barriers to rural electrification (RE) in sub-Saharan Africa. The theoretical contribution is a bridging between research fields, done by a conceptualization of RE processes that combines a socio-technical system perspective with a user perspective that focus on how actors gain, control and maintain access to electricity and related benefits. It opens up for a valuable discussion on system functionality and sustainability. There is also a methodological contribution and discussion, developed in article 3, which highlights the importance of scale of observation and epistemology in research on complex processes of societal, technological and environmental change. The empirical work is based on qualitative interviews, project site visits in Tanzania and Mozambique and literature review. The results are presented in articles 1 and 2. The findings are in line with previous studies, but some barriers not previously emphasized in literature come out as important and ambiguous. The thesis also discusses why productive uses of electricity, which are seen as highly important, do not occur as much as hoped for and the multiple roles that private sector actors can take in RE, as producers, electricity consumers and service providers. So far, RE projects have not paid enough attention to what happens after introduction of electricity, and to possibilities for enhancing the capabilities of local actors to make full use of development potentials. Keywords: Rural electrification, Africa, Rural development, Renewable energy, Off-grid, Drivers and barriers, Access to electricity, Socio-technical systems
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| 10. |
- Andersson, Morgan, 1965
(författare)
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Användning och användbarhet i särskilda boendeformer för äldre. Aspekter på användning och användbarhet i boendemiljöer för äldre inom den kommunala äldreomsorgen i Göteborg.
- 2011
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Assisted living facilities for elderly represents the major costs within the budget for eldercare for municipalities in Sweden. As the municipalities are responsible for public eldercare, which consumes a fifth of the total municipal budget, the consequence of the demographic development within the coming decades will imply major challenges for this sector. It also stresses the importance of creating adequate living conditions for the growing number of frail, elderly people. Political measures are underway and involve new housing concepts for senior citizens and changed conditions for assisted living.This PhD-project is ongoing 2009-2013 and is jointly financed by the City of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology. The City has a great interest in research about assisted living facilities, being responsible for the construction and maintenance, as well as the daily use represented by the eldercare providers. It is therefore crucial to understand the prerequisites for usability in existing facilities, in order to create new and adequate environments. The project is expected to contribute to building programming, eldercare facilities planning and property management in the eldercare sector. This thesis is based upon an observation study in five assisted living facilities in Gothenburg. The results provide partial answers to the question: "How are the environments used and how is the usability affected by the physical environment and by the users’ activities?" The results highlight a number of discrepancies between the actual use and the intended use of the environments and their various functions. It also highlights a number of conflicts in use between different users or groups of users, along with differing purposes for the use of the premises.The thesis points to the complex relationship between use and activity and emphasizes the need for adequate planning concerning eldercare facilities. Particular attention must to be given to the relationship between facilities, staff and elderly and their use of the facilities. From a practical point of view the study shows how changes in use over time can have a negative effect on the daily activities. To develop an understanding of processes evolving in daily use of assisted living facilities, further studies needs to include the users' attitudes in order to better understand the context for activities in the facilities.
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