Many sensor nodes are scattered in the sensor network,which are used in all aspects of life due to their small size, low power consumption, and multiple functions. With the advent of the Internet of Things, more small sensor devices will appear in our lives. The research of deep learning neural networks is generally based on large and medium-sized devices such as servers and computers, and it is rarely heard about the research of neural networks based on small Internet of Things devices. In this study, the Internet of Things devices are divided into three types: large, medium, and small in terms of device size, running speed, and computing power. More vividly, I classify the laptop as a medium- sized device, the device with more computing power than the laptop, like server, as a large-size IoT(Internet of Things) device, and the IoT mobile device that is smaller than it as a small IoT device. The purpose of this paper is to explore the feasibility, usefulness, and effectiveness of long-short-term memory neural network model value prediction research based on small IoT devices. In the control experiment of small and medium-sized Internet of Things devices, the following results are obtained: the error curves of the training set and verification set of small and medium-sized devices have the same downward trend, and similar accuracy and errors. But in terms of time consumption, small equipment is about 12 times that of medium-sized equipment. Therefore, it can be concluded that the LSTM(long-and-short-term memory neural networks) model value prediction research based on small IoT devices is feasible, and the results are useful and effective. One of the main problems encountered when the LSTM model is extended to small devices is time-consuming.

The development of hydroelectric power production and the damming of water courses that ensues causes a threat to the migration patterns of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), by altering their habitat and compromising river connectivity. Because the species’ survival heavily depends on the completion of their migration between rivers and oceans, the design of guidance structures that promote successful passages around dams is a critical goal. Physical structures have been used to steer downwards-migrating smolts through safe fishways but they have not always proven effective, both from an ecological and economical perspective. In this study, the potential of bubbles in guiding salmon trajectories around a hydropower dam was tested as an alternative to existing guiding systems. Here the hypotheses were: i) bubbles guide downstream-migrating smolts around dams; ii) the reaction of smolts to a bubble barrier is linked to their individual boldness; iii) bubbles have varying effects on different school sizes. The first and third hypotheses were tested in the field, by recording sonar footage at the entrance of a fishway, downstream of a bubble barrier. The second hypothesis was evaluated by conducting a scototaxis experiment and an assessment of the reaction of young salmon to bubbles in the laboratory. My analysis of the fish abundance data collected in the river confirmed the first and third hypotheses. In the field, the presence of a predator (Esox lucius) was revealed to be a more influential factor than bubbles in regulating the number of smolts steered towards the fishway, indicating that predators generated a larger anxiety-like response in smolts than bubbles. In the controlled laboratory setting, there was no significant correlation between anxiety-like behaviour and reaction to bubbles and the second hypothesis did not appear to be valid. Therefore, the cause of avoidance of the barrier remains unclear, but bubble barriers seem to be an efficient and cost-effective structure for guiding downstream-migrating salmon smolts.

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In the Arctic tundra, wood ants play an important ecological role in aerating the soil, cycling nutrients, for seed dispersal and, as biological control by preying on forest pest insects during outbreaks. The increase in temperature, caused by climate change, is positively associated with ant abundance.  This could accelerate the wood ants’ effects on the ecosystem, with potentially dramatic consequences for associated taxa. It is, however, still unclear to what extent the ants influence the vegetation and arthropod community. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects ants have on the Arctic tundra ecosystem and how climate change may modify these effects. The study was conducted in Abisko national park, north Sweden, were two study sites were selected: one at low altitude and one at high altitude. I found that wood ants had a substantial effect on the vegetation community close to the mound, with a positive effect on different kind of vascular plant species, and a negative effect on rushes, mosses, and lichens. All the arthropods taxonomic orders and most of the families were positively affected by the presence of ant mounds. Ant mound abundance and volume were positively related with annual insolation and GPP, which indicates that climate change will increase ant abundance in the Arctic tundra. Thus, my results suggest that future climate change will have significant effects on Arctic tundra vegetation and arthropod communities, via positive effects on ant abundance.

China’s development model is gaining traction across the developing world, particularly in Africa. As China’s role grows larger in importance for the future development of the African continent, it becomes of significance to examine what this role actually entails. This study explored areas where Chinese development cooperation could have an institutional impact. It did so by conducting elite interviews in one of the countries with most extensive Chinese cooperation in Africa – Sudan. The study found the most prevalent area for institutional impact to be corruption. The case of Sudan showed how China potentially could have introduced a whole new practice of corruption in the Sudanese repertoire. That said, while institutional theory shows it could be possible, the evidence is unreliable. The results does however emphasis the importance for policy-makers, especially in institutional reform, to pay attention to whether China is actively cooperating with the nation of interest, as it possibly could mean a more challenging institutional environment. The future development of the African continent are in many ways uncertain, but it is safe to say China will play their part. Academia could, and should, continue to assist in shedding light on their practices and the significance they could hold.

In the last decade, social movements have demonstrated their power of bringing change to societies, often in terms of democratization. At the same time, the level of democracy in the world has been established as decreasing. It is therefore interesting to study whether the increase of social movements is related to the decline of democracy. The aim of this thesis was thus to explore the perception of democracy amongst activists in a social movement calling for democratization. This was done by conducting semi-structured interviews with activists of varying degrees of participation in the Hong Kong protests 2019 – 2020. The results of the study indicated that a majority of the activists regarded democracy from the perspective of liberal democracy, stressing the importance of elections and protection of human rights through a well-grounded constitution. Nevertheless, some of the respondents sought more than a fundamental description of democracy, incorporating elements of deliberation and participation as well. The Hong Kong protests 2019 – 2020 have not seen the end yet. Likewise, the existence of social movements will forever remain through variations of repertoires. The significance of what conception of democracy motivates activists to organise themselves through civil society movements remains to be academically covered in full. Thus, future studies of democratization should continue to shed light on the role of the civil society in democratization processes.

The issue of immigration is arguably one of the most loaded political issues. Not only for several member states of the European union but since the Dublin-agreement fell apart, maybe also for the union as a whole. The growing number of anti-immigrant parties on the rise have intensified the interest by scholars in the issue of anti-immigrant sentiments and its explanations, and recently, trust has been found to constitute one of the strongest explanatory variables for the attitudes toward immigration.    But although the theoretical arguments and empirical evidence are there from separate fields of research, the link between voluntary associations, trust and support for immigration has not yet been connected. The idea of associations as a generator for “civic virtues” has been influential in the field of political science. But could the virtues fostered in associations have an impact in the attitudes toward immigration as well?    By using data from the SOM-institutes national survey of 2016, this study conducts a quantitative investigation on an individual-level to the relationship between associations, trust and anti-immigrant sentiments. The study’s findings suggest that there is a significant positive relationship between membership in associations that partially is mediated by trust, and somewhat surprisingly, the study finds there may be something else to associational membership that has an significant impact on trust. Lastly, some theoretical arguments are provided to attribute this “something else”-effect to Putnam’s second civic virtue “generalized reciprocity”.

The main purpose of this thesis is to empirically describe the extent to which and how countries affected by natural hazards refer to these natural hazards as drivers for policy change. In order to realize this, a systematic large-N extensive study with the innovative method of narrative analysis was used to analyze the national progress reports on the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2013-2015 by searching for the extent to which and how countries affected by natural hazards refer to these natural hazards as drivers for policy change. With a starting point in theories derived from previous research on policy change and natural hazards, focusing events, and policy windows, two positions on the connection of natural hazards and policy change are described. With one position on natural hazards as a driver for policy change and one position as a non-driver for policy change, they are opposing. The results of this study showed that there is an absence of a general pattern regarding the extent to which and how countries affected by natural hazards refer to these natural hazards as drivers for policy change in the national progress reports on the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2013-2015. Hence, partial support could be given to both positions on the connection of natural hazards and policy changes. These results are highlighting new potential research openings for future studies.

In international humanitarian discourse, gender-based violence against women have long been recognised as a human rights violation and described as the most extreme expression of unequal power relations between men and women (UN 1993). Using a qualitative content analysis to examine the GREVIO reports of Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, the aim of this thesis is to outline the differences between and within these states regarding their response to violence against women. Drawing on insights from feminist political theory, and especially Nordic feminist theorists, these differences are made visible using the three concepts: hegemonic discourse, contradictory effects, and boundaries (Kantola and Dahl 2005). The theoretical background is complemented by theoretical contributions from feminist understandings of violence against women. In analysing the main differences between the states, many of these differences can be derived from the fact that the three states frame the violence differently, with Sweden adopting a gender-based frame while Denmark and Finland adopt gender-neutral frames of the violence. In analysing differences within states, there are two distinct forms of differences: differences due to a gap between principle and practice, and differences between various parts of the country. The findings of this thesis may provide a base for future in-depth studies of the Nordic, women-friendly, welfare states.

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