MENVSC (Geography) / Department of Geography and Geo-Information Science / Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has devastating impacts on different parts of the environment and is a source of environmental degradation and contamination. ASGM degrades water resources, contaminate soil, sediments and water and lead to serious land degradation problems. ASGM activities are also associated with socio-economic issues such as child labour, prostitution and health and safety concerns. Insufficient understanding of the environmental and social problems of ASGM in Giyani Greenstone Belt has led to lack of mitigation strategies to reduce such problems. The main aim of this research was to assess and manage the environmental and socio-economic impacts of ASGM in Giyani Greenstone Belt. Remote sensing and GIS and Normalised Differential Vegetation Index were used to assess the effects of mining activities on vegetation cover. Assessment of the effects of ASGM on water, sediments and soil quality involved collection of samples in order to establish their physical and chemical properties. The concentration of toxic and trace metals were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) instruments. The pH meter was used to determine the pH level of the collected samples. Questionnaires, interviews and SPSS were used to assess socio-economic impacts of ASGM. The study culminated in devolvement of NDVI maps and this was used to assess the effects of ASGM on vegetation cover. Results showed that the mining activities in the area had caused extensive environmental degradation due to serious removal of vegetation cover in the site. ASGM had serious effects on soil, water and sediments quality such as environmental contamination by toxic and trace elements. Soil samples were found with high concentration of As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn as compared to the recommended South African Soil Quality and WHO threshold values for plants. It was found that Klein Letaba had high concentration of Ba, La, V, and Ce above the World Soil Averages for plants. Sediments were heavily contaminated with Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn, As and Ba as compared to the recommended standards prescribed by US EPA and WHO. The pH of water, soil and sediments samples collected from both mining sites were found to be strongly alkaline which affects the plants growth as well as aquatic flora and fauna. Socio-economic issues such as child labour, injuries, educational problems, health and safety issues, police disturbance, creation of jobs and income generation were identified at mine sites. ASGM had serious effect on vegetation cover through environmental degradation. ASGM also had serious environmental contamination by toxic and trace elements. ASGM had both positive and negative socio-economic issues at mining site which include employment opportunities, income generation, occupational health and safety, police disturbance and arrests and the use of child labour. Mine site rehabilitation is recommended in this study to reduce environmental degradation. The remediation of contaminated area by concentrated toxic and trace elements should be applied at both mining sites. ASGM should be legalised to enhance positive aspects of the mining such as increase in income generation and creation of more employment opportunities. However, there should be enforcement of mining policies to reduce social and environmental problems.

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The future is here. New digital, disruptive innovations are changing and affecting industries across society. And the emerging Quantum Computing (QC) industry is not an exception. Billions of dollars have been invested by actors such as governments, large enterprises like IBM and AWS, and by smaller to medium firms towards achieving a fully working QC-technology. Therefore, firms who are looking to adopt it must address the barriers that come with it. This thesis therefore explores what barriers, with the objective on key ones, that exist when firms are adopting QC-technology as a service into their business strategy. The geographical scope of this study is the European and North American industries. The applied method is qualitative and based on the methodology of grounded theory where six semi-structured interviews are carried out with key experts in the field . Furthermore, the analytical PESTLE-framework was used to systemically code and categorize the barriers found from the interviews to analyze the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors connected to the research question. By using key experts from different parts of the industry and this framework, it resulted in a holistic view of the industry’s barriers. The findings of this study are that the QC-industry is still in its early era with 34 barriers of adoption identified and eight of them deemed to be the key ones because of their significance and frequency of mentions. The eight key barriers are QC-technology is costly, impatient investors, funding issues, lack of consistent revenue streams, lack of awareness from top management, insufficient ecosystem, lack of skilled labor and immature technology. The most important minor barriers of the other 26 include lack of standardization and benchmarks, lack of collaboration between certain geographical parties, misinformation from vendors and not using external advisors. Nonetheless, the QC-technology is on the up-rise and is projected to affect industries across the world. Firms in these industries must therefore learn to adopt to the dynamic changes that come with what the QC industry brings. Therefore again, it is the intention of this thesis to explore the key barriers and mitigation strategies to overcome them. / Framtiden är här. Nya digitala, disruptiva innovationer håller just nu på att förändra och påverka industrier över hela samhället. Den växande kvantdatorindustrin är inte ett undantagsfall. Flertalet miljarder dollar med målet att uppnå en fullt funktionell kvantdator har investerats av aktörer som stater, stora företag som IBM och AWS samt små till medelstora företag. Därför bör företag som kommer att påverkas av effekterna adressera barriärerna som finns. Den här uppsatsen undersöker därför vilka barriärer, med fokus på de essentiella, som existerar för företag när de ska adaptera kvantdatorteknologi som en service i deras affärsstrategi. Den geografiska omfattningen berör den nordamerikanska samt den europeiska marknaden. Metodiken som användes var ”Grounded theory”- metodologin där sex semi-strukturerade intervjuer utfördes med nyckelexperter i industrin. Fortsättningsvis så användes PESTLE-ramverket för att systematiskt koda samt kategorisera de identifierade barriärerna utifrån politiska-, ekonomiska-, sociala- , teknologiska-, legala- samt miljöaspekterna. Genom att ha erhållit data från nyckelexperter från olika delar av industrin samt använt ramverket så gav det en holistisk bild av industrins barriärer. Resultatet av studien är att kvantdatorindustrin är i ett tidigt skede med 34 barriärer identifierade och åtta av dem som anses vara de mest essentiella på grund av deras signifikans samt frekvens av omnämnanden. De åtta nyckelbarriärerna inkluderar att kvantdatorteknologin är dyr att investera i, otåliga finansiella investerare, finansieringsproblem, brist på konsistenta intäktsflöden, brist på medvetenhet av ledningen, bristfällande ekosystem, brist på kompetent personal och icke-mogen teknologi. De viktigaste mindre barriärerna utav de 26 inkluderar brist på standardisering samt riktmärken, brist på samarbete mellan vissa geografiska områden, felaktig information från industrin till köparna, samt att inte ta hjälp av externa rådgivare. Vidare, så är kvantdatorteknologin samt industrin i helhet i en uppgång och förväntat att förändra industrier över hela världen. Företagen i dessa industrier bör därför lära sig redan idag att adaptera sig till de dynamiska förändringarna som kvantdator industrin medför. Därför är syftet för det här examensarbetet att utforska nyckelbarriärerna och strategierna som i syfte för att överkomma dem.

In recent years, the frequency of disruptive events in supply chains has increased. This is partly due to the fact that supply chains are more globalized and more complex, with deeper tiering among suppliers. This makes the supply chain more vulnerable to risks. Supply chain risks that come with the dependencies of global suppliers have been evident due to unexpected global events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the obstruction in the Suez Canal, and the Russia-Ukraine war. To mitigate supply chain risks, a company needs to have a resilient supply chain. Volvo Construction Equipment, a world-leading manufacturer of premium construction equipment, has experienced some particularly challenging years due to global occurrences with material shortages, capacity constraints, and supply routes disruption. This has built up stress in the organization, both among processes and employees. To be able to plan for the coming years of high uncertainty, Volvo CE wants to investigate how they can anticipate and mitigate various risks and resist market fluctuations to create a more resilient supply chain. Therefore the purpose of the research was formulated as: The purpose of the research is to suggest how Volvo Construction Equipment AB can mitigate supply chain risks to secure the future supply chain in a volatile market. To facilitate the fulfillment of the research’s purpose, three research questions were developed concerning risk identification, assessing resilience capabilities, and assessing risk mitigation strategies. The first research question, RQ1, identified Volvo CE’s supply chain risks and the vulnerability of the risks. The supply chain risks were identified through focused group discussions with Volvo CE employees and the most vulnerable risks were determined through a survey with responses from the participants in the group discussions. Three risks were considered the most vulnerable in Volvo CE’s supply chain; lack of raw material and component shortage, lack of labor and competence in production at supplier, and shutdown of supplier factory due to unexpected events. The second research question, RQ2, answered which resilience capabilities Volvo CE possesses today and which should be improved. The resilience capabilities were assessed qualitatively through semi-structured interviews. The interview answers were then interpreted into what SCRES elements Volvo CE possess. It was concluded that all resilience capabilities can be improved but two out of five capabilities, ability to anticipate and ability to recover, were considered to have the most improvement potential as they contain a large proportion of SCRES elements that are not fully possessed today. Through semi-structured interviews and a cross-question analysis with RQ1 and RQ2, the third research question, RQ3, regarding the assessment of risk mitigation strategies could be answered. Based on the result of all research questions, five risk mitigation strategies were suggested for Volvo CE. These aimed to improve Volvo CE’s resilience capabilities with the most improvement potential to be able to mitigate the most vulnerable supply chain risks. The suggested risk mitigation strategies were supply chain understanding, SCRM culture, supplier relationship, backup supplier, and scenario planning. By working with these strategies, Volvo CE could significantly increase its resilience and thus create an organization better able to mitigate supply chain risks to secure the future supply in a volatile market.

Hydrogeological hazards are quite diffuse rainfall-induced phenomena that affect mountain regions and can severely impact these territories, producing damages and sometimes casualties. For this reason, hydrogeological risk reduction is crucial. Mitigation strategies aim to reduce hydrogeological risk to an acceptable level and can be classified into structural and non-structural measures. This work focuses on enhancing some non-structural risk mitigation measures for mountain areas: debris-flow rainfall thresholds, as a part of an Early Warning System (EWS), multivariate rainfall scenarios with multi-hazard mapping purpose and public awareness. Regarding debris-flow rainfall thresholds, an innovative calibration method, a suitable uncertainty analysis and a proper validation process are developed. The Backward Dynamical Approach (BDA), a physical-based calibration method, is introduced and a threshold is obtained for a study area. The BDA robustness is then tested by assessing the uncertainty in the threshold estimate. Finally, the calibrated threshold's reliability and its possible forecast use are assessed using a proper validation process. The findings set the stage for using the BDA approach to calibrate debris-flow rainfall thresholds usable in operational EWS. Regarding hazard mapping, a multivariate statistical model is developed to construct multivariate rainfall scenarios with a multi-hazards mapping purpose. A confluence between a debris-flow-prone creek and a flood-prone river is considered. The multivariate statistical model is built by combining the Simplified Metastatistical Extreme Value approach and a copula approach. The obtained rainfall scenarios are promising to be used to build multi-hazard maps. Finally, the public awareness within the LIFE FRANCA (Flood Risk ANticipation and Communication in the Alps) European project is briefly considered. The project action considered in this work focuses on training and communication activities aimed at providing a multidisciplinary view of hydrogeological risk through the holding of courses and seminars.

This report analyzes the current greenhouse gas emissions inventory for The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin), reviews the carbon reduction strategies being implemented at UT-Austin and other peer institutions, and offers recommendations for strategies that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions at UT-Austin in the future. / text

Klimatförändringarna är en av vår tids största utmaningar och stater har samlat sig för att begränsa de bakomliggande orsakerna och dess konsekvenser. Genom avtal, agendor och deklarationer planerar stater för gröna ekonomier fria från utsläpp av växthusgaser, med målsättning att förhindra ytterligare störningar i klimatsystemet. Omställningsarbetet för att minska utsläppen av växthusgaser har sipprat ner på kommunal nivå, eftersom deras lokala expertis och förmåga att verka på gräsrotsnivå är avgörande. Forskarsamväldet har synliggjort vikten av att basera omställningen på rättviseaspekter, men definitioner av en rättvis omställning är tvetydiga inom området. Den här studien syftar till att undersöka om och hur miljö- och klimaträttvisa framställs i svenska kommuners strategier för att motverka klimatförändringar. För att uppfylla studiens syfte har tillgänglig strategisk dokumentation av fyra svenska miljö- och hållbarhets-topprankade kommuner analyserats. Med vägledning av JUST-ramverket, som representerar principerna för miljö- och klimaträttvisa, visar resultatet att även om rättviseprinciper inte är huvudsyftet med deras strategier, är aspekter av rättvisa relativt närvarande. Resultatet visar dessutom att kommunernas olikheter och förutsättningar påverkar deras strategiska arbete med klimatförändringar och likaså förekomsten av miljö- och klimaträttvisa. / Climate change is one of the main challenges of the 21st century, and states are coming together intending to mitigate its causes and consequences. Through agreements, agendas and declarations, states aim towards green economies to prevent further disruptions within the climate system. Furthermore, the transition work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has trickled down to a municipal level, as their local expertise and ability to operate at a grassroots level is vital to the transitional work. Scholars have highlighted the importance of making the transition based on aspects of justice, even though the definition of a just transition is unclear within the field. Therefore, this study aims to investigate how and if environmental and climate justice are occurring in Swedish municipalities' strategies towards climate change mitigation. To do so, available strategic documentation of four top-rated sustainability and climate-aware municipalities in Sweden has been analyzed and interpreted. Through the lens of JUST-framework, representing principles of environmental and climate justice, the results reveal that while justice is not a central point in these strategies, elements of justice are relatively present. The findings indicate that the municipalities' differences and circumstances affect their strategic work with climate change mitigation and whether justice is occurring.