| 1. |
- Ghita, Cristina, 1986-
(författare)
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Technology in Absentia : A New Materialist Study of Digital Disengagement
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The rhetoric associated with society-wide digitalisation promises benefits such as increased quality of life, democracy, or sustainability, which point towards normative trajectories of increased automation and digitalisation of nearly all aspects of society. Meanwhile, there is evidence of a disenchantment with digital use, forming a movement that challenges the pervasiveness of digital artefacts such as the smartphone. This kind of scepticism towards digital technologies is currently informing and changing how we assume, understand, and conceptualise technology in our professional and private lives, leading to an emerging trend of volitionally reducing or postponing the use of digital devices – a practice often labelled as digital disengagement. In this dissertation the research lens is directed towards how the disengagement from ubiquitous digital devices unfolds and to what results. Thus, it investigates the productive potential of technology intentionally made absent, repositioning the traditional approach of articulating such absence as a deficit.Drawing on a new materialist perspective of technology use which combines assemblage theory with agential realism, this dissertation explores the search for meaningful technological encounters through a multi-sited ethnographic approach. More specifically, it combines autoethnography, a diary study, interviews, participatory observations, and netnography in which moments of disconnection are observed in order to understand experiences of digital disengagement at individual and collective levels. Through this lens, the performativity, temporality, and productivity of digital disengagement are made visible and analysed. Results show that digital disengagement is not an insular practice, including in its composition a myriad of external components. Digitalisation is shown to be in direct dialogue with practices of digital disengagement through their mutual dichotomic logics. Further analysis of such dichotomies suggests new manners of engaging with technology in which digital use and non-use are entangled, resulting in a novel type of technology engagement called diffractive digital use
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| 2. |
- Johnsson, Linus, 1978-
(författare)
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Trust in Biobank Research : Meaning and Moral Significance
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- What role should trust have in biobank research? Is it a scarce resource to be cultivated, or does its moral significance lie elsewhere? How does it relate to the researcher’s individual responsibility?In this thesis I draw four general conclusions. First, trust is still very much present in at least some biobanking settings, notably in Sweden, but possibly also internationally. Second, a morally relevant conception of trust entails that to be trustworthy, researchers must consider the normative expectations that people have of them, and renegotiate expectations that are mistaken. Third, this conception differs from “public trust” assessed through surveys. The main use of the latter is to legitimate policy, not to identify moral duties. Fourth, in spite of ethics review, guidelines and informed consent procedures, ethical issues will always arise during the course of a research project. Researchers can therefore never avoid their individual moral responsibility. Ensuring that one is adequately trusted is one step towards conducting morally acceptable research.Study I indicates that few Swedes refuse storage of samples in healthcare-associated biobanks and their use in research. Study II suggests that people are somewhat more willing to donate samples than surveys indicate, especially when approached face-to-face by health care personnel. Relationships of trust might thus be important in people’s decision-making. Study III investigates trust as a moral concept. The trustee is often in a unique position to determine what the other’s trust amounts to. When it is mistaken, the trustee has an obligation to counteract it, compensate for it, or renegotiate the expectations that cannot be met. In Study IV, I critique the feasibility of guaranteeing the trustworthiness of the research apparatus through formal measures such as ethics review and guidelines. Not only are there limitations of such measures to consider. They also risk blinding researchers to ethical issues that are not covered by the rules, fostering moral complacency, and alienating researchers to ethics.
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| 3. |
- Eriksson, Mikael, 1977-
(författare)
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The complex internationalization process unfolded : The case of Atlas Copco’s entry into the Chinese mid-market
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Despite its contemporary relevance, we still have limited empirical knowledge about the forces underlying complex internationalization processes as when multinational corporations (MNCs) seek to enter new growing markets. Based on a real-time process study comprising ninety interviews and two hundred hours of observation made between 2009 and 2012, Atlas Copco’s entry into the Chinese mid-market was investigated. The intra-organizational analysis showed that three inter-related processes were underlying Atlas’ market entry and the results suggest that multiple interrelated motors may drive many contemporary internationalization processes. The processes identified are a sequential strategy process, an evolutionary process which shows that routines changed, and a political process. A somewhat surprising finding is that the main driver of internationalization according to received theory, the firm’s accumulated experiences, not only can drive internationalization, but may also hamper MNC managers’ possibilities to enter many of today’s new and growing markets. The findings add to our knowledge of the internationalization process in an increasingly complex international business setting, and especially highlight the need to distinguish between the sequential strategy process – more in line with received theory – and the other processes, in order to get a more full-fledged picture of what internationalization in large MNCs is all about.
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| 4. |
- Hansson, Edvin, 1987-
(författare)
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Internal Dosimetry in Nuclear Fuel Fabrication : Occupational Exposure to Uranium Aerosols
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The production of nuclear fuel can be associated with occupational exposure to ionizing radiation from radioactive decay of uranium. Such exposure must be sufficiently low and radiation doses adequately determined. Radiation doses from internal exposure, i.e., following intake (usually inhalation), cannot be estimated using dosimeters, but must be calculated based on indirect measurements in combination with biokinetic models.Such biokinetic models have been developed and refined for decades. Good knowledge of the material characteristics is crucial. However, the physicochemical properties of chemical compounds can vary between different production facilities. Aerosol size distributions and dissolution characteristics in lung fluid are of particular importance. The latter is important since dissolved material is absorbed to blood, whereupon a large fraction reaches the urine after filtering by the kidneys. This enables urine sampling as a method to monitor occupational exposure.The aim of this thesis was to investigate the physicochemical properties of uranium aerosols and their implication on internal dose assessments at a nuclear fuel fabrication plant in Sweden. Uranium aerosols were sampled and size fractionated using personal cascade impactors carried by workers at the factory’s different main workshops. Aerosols were studied using scanning electron microscopy in Paper I. In Paper II the activity size distributions were determined and in Paper III dissolution rates in simulated lung fluid were investigated. Paper IV is an internal dose assessment based on records of urine sample analyses from about 10 years of routine occupational exposure monitoring of uranium pelletizing workers at the site.For a median worker, the urinary daily excretion rate of uranium increased due to chronic exposure for about 1000 days, after which the excretion rate stabilized. This suggests that inhaled material dissolves in the respiratory tract rapidly enough to prevent a net buildup in the lung after several years of exposure. This could be modelled using the default recommendations for uranium oxide materials provided by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. However, the best model fit to measurement data was obtained using a different set of parameters, that showed some discrepancies with results from Papers II-III. For individual cases, excretion rates could vary between sampling occasions to a greater extent than predicted using the default recommendations, which could indicate a more rapid body clearance than expected. Whether this is an effect of experimental methods or simplifications in the biokinetic models should be further investigated in future work.
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| 5. |
- Kambugyiro, Doris Kwesiga, 1981-
(författare)
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Exploring the Under Reporting of Pregnancy and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in Population and Health Surveys : A Multi-Country Qualitative Study
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Introduction: Globally in 2021, an estimated 2.3 million newborn deaths and 1.9 million stillbirths occurred, with highest mortality in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia. True mortality is likely higher due to under reporting of pregnancies and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes (APOs). Accurate data are critical for monitoring and preventing these events but many countries rely on Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), despite measurement challenges. Few studies have explored reasons for under reporting pregnancy and APOs in low income countries, within surveys and surveillance settings.Objective: To explore enablers and barriers to reporting pregnancy and APOs during population and health surveys in multi-country contexts, informing measurement improvements.Methods: The study was conducted in Uganda, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Ethiopia and Bangladesh between 2018 and 2021. Focus group discussions (Study I and II), narratives (Study III) and cognitive interviews (Study IV) were undertaken. Thematic analysis was done for the first three studies and qualitative description for Study IV.Results: Methodological challenges included question framing, where double barrelled questions resulted in wrong answers. There were incorrect definitions for miscarriages and stillbirths. Enablers were mostly around interviewers’ skills like building rapport, probing and empathy. Community barriers comprised socio-cultural factors that encouraged silence, including fear of witchcraft. Stigma towards APOs was common, with some foetal deaths viewed as not human, thus less reported. Informal reporting of APOs within social networks sometimes resulted in social support. Individually, APOs left women and men with negative psychosocial effects like depression, thus their reluctance to report. Nevertheless, some respondents said interviews left them feeling better, especially if the interviewer comforted them. Respondents accepted interviews hoping to receive health education about pregnancy loss.Conclusions: Many adverse pregnancy outcomes are avoidable, but they must be accurately measured before designing appropriate interventions. Surveys like the DHS are globally trusted but this study demonstrates that they have weaknesses and sometimes inaccurate data. Improving measurement requires precise questions, strengthened interviewer training, embedded counseling and health education. Supportive policies encouraging reporting are critical, alongside sensitizing citizens on its importance. Otherwise, APOs shall remain invisible and a continued burden to the mental health of those who experience them.
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| 6. |
- Lindkvist, Emma, 1984-
(författare)
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System studies of biogas production : comparisons and performance
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Biogas has the potential to be part of the transition towards a more sustainable energy system. Biogas is a renewable energy source and can play an important role in modern waste management systems. Biogas production can also help recirculate nutrients back to farmland. Besides all this, biogas is a locally produced energy source with the potential to increase global resource efficiency, since it can lead to more value and less waste, as well as decreased negative environmental effects. However, biogas production systems are complex, including different substrates, different applications for biogas and digestate, and different technology solutions for digestion, pre-treatment and for upgrading the raw gas. To increase the development of biogas production systems, knowledge sharing is a key factor. To increase this knowledge sharing, comprehensible analysis and comparisons of biogas production systems are necessary. Thus, studies are needed to verify the resource efficiency of biogas production systems from different perspectives.The aim of this thesis is to perform a systems analysis of biogas production systems and to explore how to analyse and compare biogas production systems. An additional aim is to study biogas production systems from a systems perspective, with a focus on environment, energy and economy. Studying biogas production systems from different system levels, as well as from different approaches, is beneficial because it results in deeper knowledge of biogas systems and greater opportunities to identify synergies.Systems studies of biogas are important, since biogas systems are often complex and integrated with other systems. In this thesis, biogas systems analyses are performed at different levels. In the widest system study, classifications of different biogas plants are analysed and classifications in different European countries are compared, with the prospect of paving the way for a new common classification for biogas plants in Europe. Today, classifications vary between countries, and hence comparisons of plants in different countries are difficult. In the narrowest system study, a new methodology for analysing energy demand at different biogas production plants has been developed. The aim was to develop a methodology that is applicable for all kinds of biogas plants with energy inputs. The methodology describes the process of analysing energy demand and allocating energy to sub-processes and unit processes.Further, an approach for assessing the resource efficiency of different treatment options for organic waste was designed. The approach includes environmental, economic and energy perspectives, and was applied to five different regions with several food manufacturing companies. A study of treatment options for organic waste from a single food company was also conducted. The results showed that biogas production is a resource-efficient way to treat waste from the food industry. The approach enables a wider analysis of biogas systems, and the results from the applications show the complexity of assessing resource efficiency. It is also shown that it is important to understand that the resource efficiency of a system is always in relation to the substituted system.In this thesis, three different approaches to analysing biogas production systems are presented: categorization, resource efficiency analysis and energy demand analysis. These approaches all contribute to the understanding of biogas systems and can help, in different ways, to increase knowledge about biogas systems in the world. If knowledge about different biogas systems can be easily disseminated, more of the unused potential of biogas production may be realized, and hence more fossil fuels can be replaced within the energy system.
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| 7. |
- Privalov, Roman
(författare)
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After Space Utopia : Post-Soviet Russia and Futures in Space
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Since the early 2000s, new projects of space expansionism have emerged, including the commercial-, military-driven and scientific projects to colonize the Moon and Mars. The new space expansionism followed a period of comparatively lower attention to space in international politics, and it is sometimes called the New Space Race by analogy to the 20th century Space Race between the USSR and the US. With the first Space Race, outer space became explicitly politicized and served as a locus of futuristic utopian social and political imagination, not least in the USSR and the socialist bloc. In this dissertation, I investigate the possible ways of constructing alternative social and political futures in and through space in post-Soviet Russia. Drawing theoretically on postcolonial critique of space expansionism, the concepts of biopolitical production and of assemblage, and methodologically on narrative analysis, I argue that social and political futurism in and through space today presupposes changing attitudes to space and time in a way that challenges analyses from the angles of political science and IR. In this thesis, I highlight socially and politically futuristic practices which exist on the margins of political power and have greater autonomy from official discourse, arguing for the understanding of utopia in postmodernity as an assemblage.
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| 8. |
- Iqbal, Zafar
(författare)
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Optical Sensing With an Ordinary Mobile Phone
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A major portion of the world’s population (≈ 80% of the total) lives in developing countries where lab instruments such as spectrophotometers are not widely available as their purchasing as well as maintenance is normally unaffordable. On the other hand, there are now around five billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide and the current generation of standard mobile phones has several capabilities to perform user-defined analysis. This thesis contains work with respect to asses potentials and weaknesses of a standard mobile phone for use as a simplified spectrophotometric unit (as both the light source and detector) to perform analysis in the visible region (400-700 nm). A part of the work has been the development of the necessary software to be able to use an ordinary mobile phone to study diffuse and specular reflectance properties of the targeted samples using phone’s screen as controllable illumination source and the front view camera for simultaneous collection of spectral information.Papers I-III contain exploratory work performed to assess the potential of using the mobile phone as an optical sensor system. Papers IV and V present studies of more basic character of the interactions between the light from the phone screen and the sample, in particular for liquid samples.In paper I, tests with a virtual array of chemical indicators having areas with different colours were performed. Optimization of the alignment of the sample and the distance between the camera and the sample were carried out and the influence of ambient light was investigated. The lateral resolution of the images enables optical readout of sensor arrays as well as arrays for diagnostics.In paper II, the potential of using the technique for direct measurement of properties related to the quality of drinking water, food and beverages was investigated. Liquid samples were prepared in deionized water. Coloured compounds such as iron(III)chloride and humic acid were analyzed in the concentration range 0-10 mg/liter and were classified by their reflectance profiles with respect to the contamination type and its concentration. Colourless arsenic(III) was analyzed by its bleaching reaction with iodine/starch. An alternative arsenic detection method based on measurement of discolouration of iron containing sand was demonstrated.In paper III, it has been demonstrated that mobile phones can be used for qualitative analysis of foods and beverages, such as cold drinks, meat, vegetables and milk in terms of general food quality, safety and authenticity.In paper IV, the ability of the mobile phone system to measure absorption properties of liquid solutions is investigated. Different concentrations of colored solutions (reactive blue 2, Congo red and Metanil yellow) give rise to measurement data that are well described by the Beer-Lambert law. This is surprising since the measurement conditions were far from ideal, with a light source that was strongly polychromatic and an illumination that was not a collimated light beam with homogeneous light intensity. By analyzing red, green and blue light that was transmitted through the liquid a unique signature for classification and quantification was obtained. Also the repeatability and accuracy of the measurements were investigated and were surprisingly good for such a simple system. Analyses of reflectance properties of colored solid samples are also included and were more complex with results being dependent on the morphology and colorimetric properties of the different types of these samples.In paper V, it is found that different parts of the image data contain different information about liquid samples. While one part of the image gives information about the absorption properties as investigated in detail in paper IV, another part gives information about the refractive index of the sample. Measurements of samples with varying refractive index show trends expected from the Fresnel equations at zero incidence angle. Combined information from the two areas of the image offers new possibilities to classify samples.
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| 9. |
- Janné, Mats, 1979-
(författare)
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Construction Logistics in a City Development Setting
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- With the current urbanization trend, there is an increased need for city development, i.e. to build apartment buildings, hospitals, schools and infrastructure in cities and urban areas to meet the rising demands. At the same time, land is increasingly seen as a finite resource. This has led to the regeneration of decommissioned industrial-use land for development purposes. This means that multiple individual construction projects are being built in the same or nearby areas during the same time-period. However, the end products of construction projects are produced at their place of consumption, which means that large quantities of materials and resources need to be delivered to, and removed from, each construction site. This leads to new transport flows being created in connection to city development. These transport flows need to be coordinated to ensure efficient construction productivity and reduce the transports’ environmental and social impact on the urban transport system. At the same time, it is important to ensure that construction sites can be managed from a logistics perspective without impairing efficiency due to the challenges of building in urban environments.One way of managing logistics to and from construction projects in city development is through so-called construction logistics setups (CLS). However, the implementation of CLS’s affect many different stakeholders and the interorganizational relationships between them. The implementation of CLS’s therefore faces three challenges; management of transport to and from construction sites, management of logistics at construction sites, and managing the interorganizational relationships amongst construction project stakeholders. The development of CLS’s is often undertaken by mimicking previous setups as there is currently no guiding procedure for developing and implementing CLS’s. To reduce the ad hoc approach to developing and implementing CLS’s, the purpose of this dissertation is to propose a framework for developing construction logistics setups. The purpose is fulfilled with the aid of the following four research questions:RQ1: Taking the perspectives of different stakeholders’, why are CLS’s implemented?RQ2: What type of CLS services are offered?RQ3: How can performance effects of CLS’s be measured?RQ4: How do CLS’s affect the identified challenges of managing the transports to and from construction sites, managing logistics at construction sites, and managing the interorganizational relationships amongst construction project stakeholders?To answer the research questions, three main methodologies have been used; literature reviews to inform the background of the studies and develop analytical frameworks, and case study and Delphi research for the empirical studies. In fulfilling the research purpose, the findings of this dissertation suggests that when developing a CLS, three activities need to be considered; 1. setting the scope of the CLS, 2. deciding on the structure of the CLS, and 3. managing the interorganizational relationships of the CLS. These activities are the foundation of the developed framework. The contents of the activities were derived through the research questions.When answering RQ1, it was found that contractors implement CLS’s to ensure construction productivity, developers implement CLS’s to reduce disturbances to businesses and residents nearby, and municipalities implement CLS’s to reduce disturbances to third-parties and to reduce the impact from construction logistics on the urban transport system. These stakeholder drivers for implementing CLS’s will impact the scope of the CLS. Furthermore, the scope of the CLS was found to be dependent on both the contextual considerations of the CLS in terms of physical context at site and in terms of what is being built, as well as the organizational context in terms of what stakeholders are part of the project, where in the hierarchy the CLS is located, and what level of mandate the CLS has. The scope will also set the terms for how transports are managed through the CLS. If for instance there is limited space at site, this can imply that time-planned deliveries are favoured. In answering RQ2, it was found that as a consequence of what transport management approach is chosen, the structure of the CLS will differ. This dissertation shows that asset-based setups are similar to traditional logistics outsourcing and TPL in which physical distribution services are offered. Non-asset based services on the other hand act more as supply chain orchestrators similar to fourth-party logistics service providers. In these cases, supplied services are aimed more at ensuring that the right services and capabilities can be procured for the CLS. One value-adding service that was found crucial to include in CLS’s is a joint booking and planning system. Having this type of support systems will allow the CLS to coordinate the different stakeholders connected to the CLS. Related to the structure of the CLS, RQ3 suggest that performance needs to be monitored for deliveries, on-site logistics, and the coordination of logistics activities on and off site. The performance monitoring needs to be developed from a logistics point-of-view, taking into consideration the different stakeholders’ perspectives. Finally, in answering RQ4, it was found that a CLS can affect the identified challenges positively. In essence, a CLS aims at managing construction logistics and if developed and implemented from this notion, transports to and from site as well as on-site logistics management can become more efficient. Additionally, the dissertation shows that CLS’s can help in managing the interorganizational relationships within the construction project(s). However, this builds on the notion of having well-developed and communicated service offerings and regulations, e.g. through business and governance models. It was also found that the activities of the framework are interrelated and dependent on one another, suggesting that developing construction logistics setups is an iterative process. The proposed framework should thus be seen as a guideline for how to develop the setup, allowing for adaptations of the setup to the context for which it is developed.
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| 10. |
- Lindbergh, Jessica
(författare)
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Overcoming Cultural Ignorance : Institutional Knowledge Development in the Internationalizing Firm
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis studies how experiences influence the development of institutional knowledge within business relationships. It contributes to international business research by clarifying how experience develops the institutional knowledge of firms and what outcome such knowledge development has on firms’ internationalizations. The thesis identifies a need to distinguish between different types of experiences when investigating institutional knowledge development. In addition, the thesis compares different types of knowledge with institutional knowledge as to understand how firms learn to overcome cultural ignorance.The empirical setting consists of quantitative research of small- and medium sized firms. The findings show that market-specific experiences increases a firm’s institutional knowledge whereas experiences of multiple markets contribute to the firm’s perception of a greater need of institutional knowledge when conducting business with their specific partner. However, these experience effects are influenced by firms’ mode of operation (export vs. subsidiaries) in the international markets and mediated by cultural distance. Furthermore, the results show that despite the increased complexity that experiences of multiple markets lead to, such experiences increase a firm’s competence in foreign institutional environments. In addition, the findings show that firms lacking in ability to adapt their business also perceives a lack of knowledge about a country’s institutions and the customer.
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