| 1. |
- Bratanova, Boyka, et al.
(author)
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Restoring drinking water acceptance following a waterborne disease outbreak: the role of trust, risk perception, and communication
- 2013
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In: Journal of Applied Social Psychology. - : Wiley. - 1559-1816 .- 0021-9029. ; 43:9, s. 1761-1770
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although research shows that acceptance, trust, and risk perception are often related, little is known about the underlying patterns of causality among the three constructs. In the context of a waterborne disease outbreak, we explored via zero-order/partial correlation analysis whether acceptance predicts both trust and risk perception (associationist model), or whether trust influences risk perception and acceptance (causal chain model). The results supported the causal chain model suggesting a causal role for trust. A subsequent path analysis confirmed that the effect of trust on acceptance is fully mediated by risk perception. It also revealed that trust is positively predicted by prior institutional trust and communication with the public. Implications of the findings for response strategies to contamination events are discussed.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Dahlström, Lukas
(author)
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Archetype identification in Urban Building Energy Modeling : Research gaps and method development
- 2023
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Buildings and the built environment account for a significant portion of the global energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing the energy demand in this sector is crucial for a sustainable energy transition. This highlights the need for accurate and large-scale estimations and predictions of the future energy demand in buildings. Urban building energy modeling (UBEM) is an analytical tool for precise and high-quality energy modelling of city-scale building stocks, which is growing in interest as a useful tool for researchers and decision-makers worldwide.This thesis contributes to the understanding and future development in the field of UBEM and multi-variate cluster analysis. Based on a review of contemporary literature, possible improvements and knowledge gaps regarding UBEM are identified. The majority of UBEM studies are developed for similar applications, and some challenges are close to universal. Difficulties in data acquisition and the identification and characterisation of building archetypes are frequently addressed. Drawing on conclusions from the review, a clustering methodology for identifying building archetypes for hybrid UBEM was developed. The methodology utilised the k-means cluster analysis algorithm for multiple diverse parameters, including socio-economic indicators, and is based on open data sets which eliminates data acquisition issues and allows for easy adaptation. Building archetypes were successfully identified for two large data sets, and proved to be representative of the sample building stock. The results of the analysis also show that the error metric values diverge after a certain number of clusters, for multiple runs of the algorithm. This property of the algorithm in combination with the use of both existing and novel error metrics provide a reliable method for determining the optimal number of clusters. The methodology developed in this thesis enables for an improved modelling process, as a part of a complete UBEM.
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| 4. |
- Engström, Emma, 1982-, et al.
(author)
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Applying spatial regression to evaluate risk factors for microbiological contamination of urban groundwater sources in Juba, South Sudan
- 2017
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In: Hydrogeology Journal. - : Springer Verlag. - 1431-2174 .- 1435-0157. ; 25:4, s. 1077-1091
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study developed methodology for statistically assessing groundwater contamination mechanisms. It focused on microbial water pollution in low-income regions. Risk factors for faecal contamination of groundwater-fed drinking-water sources were evaluated in a case study in Juba, South Sudan. The study was based on counts of thermotolerant coliforms in water samples from 129 sources, collected by the humanitarian aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières in 2010. The factors included hydrogeological settings, land use and socio-economic characteristics. The results showed that the residuals of a conventional probit regression model had a significant positive spatial autocorrelation (Moran’s I = 3.05, I-stat = 9.28); therefore, a spatial model was developed that had better goodness-of-fit to the observations. The most significant factor in this model (p-value 0.005) was the distance from a water source to the nearest Tukul area, an area with informal settlements that lack sanitation services. It is thus recommended that future remediation and monitoring efforts in the city be concentrated in such low-income regions. The spatial model differed from the conventional approach: in contrast with the latter case, lowland topography was not significant at the 5% level, as the p-value was 0.074 in the spatial model and 0.040 in the traditional model. This study showed that statistical risk-factor assessments of groundwater contamination need to consider spatial interactions when the water sources are located close to each other. Future studies might further investigate the cut-off distance that reflects spatial autocorrelation. Particularly, these results advise research on urban groundwater quality. © 2016, The Author(s).
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| 5. |
- Engström, Emma, et al.
(author)
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Prevalence of microbiological contaminants in groundwater sources and risk factor assessment in Juba, South Sudan
- 2015
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In: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier B.V.. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 515-516, s. 181-187
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In low-income regions, drinking water is often derived from groundwater sources, which might spread diarrheal disease if they are microbiologically polluted. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of fecal contamination in 147 improved groundwater sources in Juba, South Sudan and to assess potential contributing risk factors, based on bivariate statistical analysis. Thermotolerant coliforms (TTCs) were detected in 66% of the investigated sources, including 95 boreholes, breaching the health-based recommendations for drinking water. A significant association (p<. 0.05) was determined between the presence of TTCs and the depth of cumulative, long-term prior precipitation (both within the previous five days and within the past month). No such link was found to short-term rainfall, the presence of latrines or damages in the borehole apron. However, the risk factor analysis further suggested, to a lesser degree, that the local topography and on-site hygiene were additionally significant. In summary, the analysis indicated that an important contamination mechanism was fecal pollution of the contributing groundwater, which was unlikely due to the presence of latrines; instead, infiltration from contaminated surface water was more probable. The reduction in fecal sources in the environment in Juba is thus recommended, for example, through constructing latrines or designating protection areas near water sources. The study results contribute to the understanding of microbiological contamination of groundwater sources in areas with low incomes and high population densities, tropical climates and weathered basement complex environments, which are common in urban sub-Saharan Africa.
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| 6. |
- Frisk Garcia, Madeleine, et al.
(author)
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Examining property and neighborhood effects on perceived safety in urban environments : Proximity to square and heights of buildings
- 2024
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In: Cities. - : Elsevier Ltd. - 0264-2751 .- 1873-6084. ; 150
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Residents’ perceived safety is key to improving livelihoods and reducing disparities between neighborhoods in Sweden. Neighborhood interventions may be more cost-effective than individual-level interventions in addressing major societal issues such as unequal levels of safety between neighborhoods. However, most studies investigating the impact of neighborhood characteristics on perceived safety suffer from either poor data quality, too few respondents per statistical unit, large units of analysis, or a lack of longitudinally collected data. This study aims to fill this gap by combining property-specific longitudinal sociodemographic data with customer satisfaction survey data (N = 147,965) collected between 2013–2014 and 2016–2021 in Gothenburg. Using two multilevel models, we examined the relationship between perceived safety and both property-level and area-level structural characteristics, testing three hypotheses. Consistent with prior research, we find that sociodemographic and urban environmental characteristics influenced perceptions of safety. The multilevel analyses reveal that proximity to the square is associated with lower levels of perceived safety, particularly among residents living within 0–100 m of the square in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Moreover, the results show that living in taller buildings of 10–16 floors is associated with lower levels of safety.
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| 7. |
- Gehlen, J., et al.
(author)
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First genome-wide association study of esophageal atresia identifies three genetic risk loci at CTNNA3, FOXF1/FOXC2/FOXL1, and HNF1B
- 2022
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In: Human Genetics and Genomics Advances. - : Elsevier BV. - 2666-2477. ; 3:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Esophageal atresia with or without tracheoesophageal fistula (EA/TEF) is the most common congenital malformation of the upper digestive tract. This study represents the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify risk loci for EA/TEF. We used a European case-control sample comprising 764 EA/TEF patients and 5,778 controls and observed genome-wide significant associations at three loci. On chromosome 10q21 within the gene CTNNA3 (p = 2.11 × 10−8; odds ratio [OR] = 3.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.10–5.00), on chromosome 16q24 next to the FOX gene cluster (p = 2.25 × 10−10; OR = 1.47; 95% CI, 1.38–1.55) and on chromosome 17q12 next to the gene HNF1B (p = 3.35 × 10−16; OR = 1.75; 95% CI, 1.64–1.87). We next carried out an esophageal/tracheal transcriptome profiling in rat embryos at four selected embryonic time points. Based on these data and on already published data, the implicated genes at all three GWAS loci are promising candidates for EA/TEF development. We also analyzed the genetic EA/TEF architecture beyond the single marker level, which revealed an estimated single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based heritability of around 37% ± 14% standard deviation. In addition, we examined the polygenicity of EA/TEF and found that EA/TEF is less polygenic than other complex genetic diseases. In conclusion, the results of our study contribute to a better understanding on the underlying genetic architecture of ET/TEF with the identification of three risk loci and candidate genes. © 2022 The Authors
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| 8. |
- Hagbert, Pernilla, et al.
(author)
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Paradoxes and possibilities for a 'green' housing sector : A swedish case
- 2013
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In: Sustainability. - : MDPI. - 2071-1050. ; 5:5, s. 2018-2035
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As global and local visions for sustainable living environments are increasingly supported by policies and concrete practices in construction, the building and housing sector is seeking to mitigate its environmental impact as well as assume a greater social responsibility. The overarching policy objectives set to concretize what a sustainable housing development entails, however, tend to rely on equivocal terminology, allowing a varied interpretation by key industry practitioners. Though in line with an ecological modernization paradigm in policy, the promotion of a market-driven environmentalism in housing faces multiple challenges as varying interests and perspectives collide. Supported by empirical findings of a semi-structured interview study conducted with housing developers in a new =green' urban district in Göteborg, Sweden, theoretical frameworks surrounding the paradoxical path towards a sustainable housing development are presented. Inconsistencies between outspoken ambitions; social dimensions; and the framing of efficiency in new housing are discussed. Possibilities for the housing sector are given in the recognition of new forms of development, where a systemic perspective is required in the alignment between how industry, policy and the market perceives housing development and what is actually sustainable.
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| 9. |
- Hagbert, Pernilla, 1986, et al.
(author)
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Reducing water consumption
- 2012
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In: 1st RESPONDER Knowledge Brokerage Event on Sustainable Housing, 28-30 March, 2012, Barcelona, Spain.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)
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| 10. |
- Harder, Robin, 1983, et al.
(author)
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Quantification of goods purchases and waste generation at the level of individual households
- 2014
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In: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Blackwell Publishing. - 1088-1980 .- 1530-9290. ; 18:2, s. 227-241
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Quantifying differences in resource use and waste generation between individual households and exploring the reasons for the variations observed implies the need for disaggregated data on household activities and related physical flows. The collection of disaggregated data for water use, gas use, electricity use, and mobility has been reported in the literature and is normally achieved through sensors and computational algorithms. This study focuses on collecting disaggregated data for goods consumption and related waste generation at the level of individual households. To this end, two data collection approaches were devised and evaluated: (1) triangulating shopping receipt analysis and waste component analysis and (2) tracking goods consumption and waste generation using a smartphone. A case study on two households demonstrated that it is possible to collect quantitative data on goods consumption and related waste generation on a per unit basis for individual households. The study suggested that the type of data collected can be relevant in a number of different research contexts: eco-feedback; user-centered research; living-lab research; and life cycle impacts of household consumption. The approaches presented in this study are most applicable in the context of user-centered or living-lab research. For the other contexts, alternative data sources (e.g., retailers and producers) may be better suited to data collection on larger samples, though at a lesser level of detail, compared with the two data collection approaches devised and evaluated in this study.
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