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This master’s thesis explores the sustainability and the circularity of industrial packaging of components for complex electronic products. The research aims to gain insight into the structure of the packaging system between the suppliers and the manufacturers (EMS) and evaluate its circularity to identify the opportunities and challenges for future improvement. The study examines the packaging
This master’s thesis explores the sustainability and the circularity of industrial packaging of components for complex electronic products. The research aims to gain insight into the structure of the packaging system between the suppliers and the manufacturers (EMS) and evaluate its circularity to identify the opportunities and challenges for future improvement. The study examines the packaging fo
Low tax revenues in many African countries are hindering sustained economic development and aid could have an inhibiting effect on the development of fiscal capacity. This paper will use newly published high-quality data on tax revenues to dive deeper into the effects of aid on hard-to-collect taxes in Africa between 1960-2015. Previous aid literature has mostly focused on short-term effects on re
This research aims to investigate the motivational aspects of gamification elements on the in-ter-organizational knowledge-sharing platform, Stack Overflow. The study addresses the gaps in existing research by providing an in-depth analysis of gamification elements' effects and exploring top contributors' motivation to share knowledge. It follows a qualitative approach, conducting semi-str
Sand and dust storms (SDS) represent a significant and widespread obstacle to sustainable development, affecting its economic, social, and environmental dimensions. SDS pose severe challenges to achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the eradication of poverty, the achievement of zero hunger, the improvement of health and well-being, the provision of clean water and sani
This thesis investigates if dependence on natural resources causes a delayed demographic transition. The Plurinational State of Bolivia is taken as an example as it is a country with a high share of Mining \& Oil activities in its economy. The method of investigation is a time series analysis covering the period 1900--2010. The results suggest that Bolivia's resource-depleting activities d
A majority of all infectious diseases manifest some climate-sensitivity. However, many of those sensitivities are not well understood as meteorological drivers of infectious diseases co-occur with other drivers exhibiting complex non-linear influences and feedback. This makes it hard to dissect their individual contributions. Here we apply a novel deep learning Explainable AI (XAI) compartment mod
Probabilistic models of imposed loads require adjustments to reflect current knowledge and experience. To do so, relevant data about their spatial and temporal variability must be collected. Structural Health Monitoring allows to estimate loads acting on bridges by measuring the relevant strains or deflections. Adapting this approach to buildings is not straightforward due to the increased complex
Diabetes is a growing global problem, with hundreds of millions of people living with the disease worldwide. Diabetes can be divided into two major subtypes, autoimmune type 1 diabetes (T1D), and type 2 diabetes (T2D), which has stronger causal links in obesity, lifestyle, and age. Although immunity and inflammation are clearly defined in T1D, it is also understood that inflammation has a role in
Collective action by small-scale farmers can contribute significantly toward rural development. One important aspect that remains relatively neglected, especially in research set in Africa, is the role of farmer collectives in political processes. We study the local-level dynamics of a farmer-based organization mobilizing for agroecology and food sovereignty in Uganda. Through qualitative, collabo
This chapter builds upon three streams of experience by its author: (a) one related to his six-year term as the first UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism (2005-2011), namely the identification of the absence of a proper international definition of terrorism as an important source of human rights abuses, (b) his observation of actual court practice and media coverage where de
Young adults presenting with knee pain, instability, or both after twisting the knee during sports or at work are commonly seen in primary care. If the symptoms and injury history correspond with suspicion of a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or meniscal injury, sometimes in combination with positive findings on magnetic resonance imaging, patients are often referred for surgical treatment.
Urban areas provide a promising context for upcycling due to the concentration of consumers and existence of bulky waste resources. Hence, upcycling initiatives emerge across European cities, but little is known about their manifestations. Building on interviews with twenty-four stakeholders from the urban upcycling ecosystem and three focus groups sessions, a morphological model was created with
The striatum is the main input nucleus of the basal ganglia. Striatal subregions, which play different roles in motor functions, receive inputs from different cortical regions. Regulation of synaptic plasticity at the level of corticostriatal synapses is believed to underlie habit formation and motor learning. Alteration of plasticity at the level of corticostriatal synapses has been associated wi
With increasing competition and noise level in the third sector, Germany’s non-profit organisations have to start considering alternative ways of how to be heard by their target audiences and how to raise funds for their projects. Additionally, with technological developments and the rise of Web 2.0 this becomes particularly challenging. Strategic planning of communication and public relations act
Purpose: Adolescents with congenital heart disease transition from childhood to adulthood and transfer from pediatric-oriented to adult-oriented care. High-level empirical evidence on the effectiveness of transitional care is scarce. This study investigated the empowering effect (primary outcome) of a structured person-centered transition program for adolescents with congenital heart disease and s
This paper presents solutions to the modelling of frequency data of species labels, but the data is incomplete in the sense that some rarely-occurring species labels give zero observed frequency. The data can be modelled by a monotone probability function with parameters to be estimated, and yet, due to the order constraints and the incomplete data, using conventional parameter estimation methods
Objective: Previous research using personality traits to predict life outcomes has typically utilized the Big Five factors and, occasionally, their facets. However, recent research suggests that using items (reflecting personality nuances) can account for greater predictive variance. The present study examines the predictive validity of the different levels of the personality trait hierarchy (fact
This study aims to forecast the Swedish FCR-D Down A2 market prices through a hybrid model combining a volatility model and a machine learning approach, and compares its performance with a standalone machine learning model. We further examine the impact of different lag orders (1-Hr vs. 24-Hr) on volatility estimates and forecast performance. Evaluation metrics include root of mean squared error (
