Digital twin is an emerging technology that enhances digital transformation across many industries and domains. Most digital twins are made for a work context, and end users are the domain experts who carry knowledge in the work processes and products of which digital twin is part. The research gap for the present study is found in the missing adoption of a user-centered design approach and systematic evaluation of digital twins from the perspective of end users. User-Centered Design is a well-known design philosophy that engages users in the design process. By involving users, designers can better understand users and create situations where users can introduce their knowledge, needs and concerns into the products and systems. Emerging research questions for this study are: RQ1: What insights could be obtained with user-centered design and user involvement for the design of digital twin? RQ2: What limitations could user-centered design and user involvement incorporate in the design process of digital twins? This study will use both previous studies and empirical data from a scenario-based approach, workshops, observation, and interviews. Further, it will explore a theoretical framework combining User-Centered Design and Activity theory. This study aims to investigate what knowledge we can gain with users in focus and how that might help to fill the knowledge gap of previous research about user-centered involvement.

This thesis is about thwo papers related to extra dimensions. Paper A discusses extrinsic curvature effects, and paper B treats symmetries of supersymmetric membranes. In the part of this thesis related to paper A, we extend the theory of non-relativistic quantum particles confined to submanifolds to relativistic boson fields. We show that a Klein-Gordon field constrained to a submanifold of a Lorentzian manifold experiences an induced potential similar to the one for the Schr{\"o}dinger equation. We embedd the Schwarzschild solution and the Robertson-Walker space-time and derive the induced potentials. Possible physical consequences of these induced potentials are also discussed. The second part is related to paper B, we study the dynamics of supersymmetric membranes, which are higher dimensional generalizations of supersymmetric strings. We derive a supersymmetric analogue of a dynamical symmetry for bosonic membranes. / QC 20110427

The question of peatlands management in Ireland is characterised by tensions between environmental, social and economic concerns, making it of central relevance to the field of sustainable development. This thesis examines the complexities associated with the current peatlands landscape in Ireland through the analytical framework of social-ecological systems including the concepts of environmentalism, heritage and future agency. The landscape and its complexities are demonstrated through an analytical description, the analysis of interviews with Irish people involved in peatlands, and the development of future scenarios. The results show that the Irish peatlands landscape is a highly complex topic displaying clashes between rural communities, government and environmental authorities in numerous ways. They also indicate that the heritage associated with Irish peatlands is diverse and multi-dimensional. Within this context, there is a need for balance between environmental and social concerns. However, the question of sustainability might never be settled in the future and instead will likely require constant evaluation and re-evaluation by the various actors involved in carrying it out.

To understand which factors affect the perception of stress while driving is interesting since it would help us to get closer to comprehending how the street network design can avoid putting stress on the drivers. Earlier research has measured drivers’ perception of safety under different street conditions by using video clips of real street environments. This study, that is carried out in cooperation with ITRL and it forms part of the MERGEN project, aims to introduce HCI techniques in order to prove that these techniques can bring valuable and credible results when substituting the conventional means of carrying out experiments. The study focuses on how the level of car traffic and the presence or not of traffic signs and lights affect how the drivers’ perceive stress emotion. To extract relevant information, a perceptual experiment was conducted in which 29 subjects were exposed to stimuli that represented four different virtual street scenarios. Each scenario comprised a unique case that combined the two factors under examination. In order to measure the levels of the perceived stress, the subjects of the experiment were asked to answer questions on how they perceive the following four aspects: confidence, comfort, route information and manageability of traffic load. It was concluded that the presence of traffic signs and automated traffic lights has a big impact on every aspect that was examined since a significant difference on the responses given was measured. It was also concluded that the level of car traffic does not play a very significant role when it alters in street scenarios where traffic signs and traffic lights are present. Nevertheless, the level of car traffic becomes a factor on how drivers perceive stress when the street scenario does not include presence of traffic signs and lights. The use of HCI techniques with the goal to extract information on how drivers perceive emotions managed to give back descriptive results, something that can enhance the use of this kind of methods in the evaluation of not only street network designs but any Built Environment design in general. The study is conducted using virtual scenarios but is meant to help better understand emotions in real situations. / Att förstå vilka faktorer som påverkar uppfattningen av stress under körning är intressant eftersom det skulle hjälpa oss att begripa hur gatunätets design kan undvika att sätta stress på förarna. Tidigare forskning har mätt förarnas uppfattning om säkerhet under olika gatuförhållanden genom att använda videoklipp från verkliga gatumiljöer. Denna studie, som genomförs i samarbete med ITRL och ingår i MERGEN-projektet, syftar till att införa HCI-tekniker för att bevisa att dessa tekniker kan ge värdefulla och trovärdiga resultat när de ersätter konventionella metoder för att genomföra experiment. Studien fokuserar på hur nivån på biltrafik och närvaro av trafikskyltar och ljus påverkar hur förarna uppfattar stresskänslor. För att extrahera relevant information genomfördes ett perceptuellt experiment där 29 personer utsattes för stimuli som representerade fyra olika virtuella gatuscenarier. Varje scenario bestod av ett unikt fall som kombinerade de två faktorer som undersöktes. För att mäta nivåerna av den upplevda stressen ombads försökspersonerna att svara på frågor om hur de uppfattar de följande fyra aspekterna: förtroende, komfort, ruttinformation och hanterbarhet av trafikbelastningen. Man drog slutsatsen att närvaron av trafikskyltar och automatiserade trafikljus har stor inverkan på varje aspekt som undersöktes eftersom en signifikant skillnad i de givna svaren uppmättes. Man drog också slutsatsen att biltrafiknivån inte spelar en så viktig roll när den förändras i gatuscenarier där trafikskyltar och trafikljus finns. Ändå blir biltrafiknivån en faktor för hur förare upplever stress när gatuscenariot inte inkluderar närvaron av trafikskyltar och ljus. Användningen av HCI-tekniker i syfte att extrahera information om hur förare uppfattar känslor lyckades ge tillbaka beskrivande resultat, något som kan förbättra användningen av denna typ av metoder vid utvärderingen av inte bara gatunätdesign utan alla byggnadsmiljöer generellt. Studien genomförs med virtuella scenarier men är tänkt att hjälpa till att bättre förstå känslor i verkliga situationer.

The current study focused on examining the relationship between music media literacy and middle school students. The goal of the study was to bring awareness towards adding music media literacy in the middle school curriculum; in order to further educate middle school students on the potential negative effects of popular music on their attitudes and behaviors, help middle school students understand the processes involved in the creation of popular music, and help middle school students understand how popular music can reflect and impact society as a whole. Participants (n=20) were selected through social media ads, ads posted on listservs, and word of mouth. A series of analyses were conducted in SPSS to find any difference in how participants viewed music based on demographic factors. Results showed the students view the lyrics in music to be from real-life scenarios, such as sexualization, sexual activity, substance abuse, violence and aggression. As well, participants showed to view music as a portrayal of both men and women factually in the real-world. These findings support the need for music media literacy in middle school curriculum. Keywords : sexualization, high risk-behaviors, real-life scenarios

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In this master’s thesis project, future scenarios for year 2050 were constructed for Denmark, Finland and Sweden using an environmentally extended input-output analysis (EEIOA). Scenarios were constructed based on national sustainability targets. A case-specific five stage modeling approach was developed. Approach consists of changes in input-output tables for Electricity grid, Fossil primary energy, Industry sectors, Transport and Allocation of fossil fuel replacements. To represent business-as-usual development, EEIO tables for 2009 were used as reference and baseline scenarios. Constructed scenario models resulted in substantial CO2 emission reductions compared to baseline scenario. In scenario results for Denmark, emissions reduced 98.17 %, in Finland 81.41 % and in Sweden 77.90 %. Furthermore, based on Planetary Boundary framework, greenhouse gas emission carrying capacities were estimated in sectoral level for 2050. Carrying capacities for year 2050 for Denmark, Finland and Sweden were 9909.99 kton CO2-eq, 9049.42 kton CO2-eq and 18691.96 kton CO2-eq, respectively. Compared to radically reduced emissions in scenario results, Denmark and Sweden reached emission levels below estimated national carrying capacities. For Finland, carrying capacity level was exceeded by 2437.77 ktons. EEIOA was found to be an efficient tool for constructing and analyzing explorative long-term scenarios. In addition, it is possible to integrate absolute sustainability thresholds to EEIOA. Scenario results indicate that implementation of the existing national sustainability targets would lead to radical emission reductions in Denmark, Finland and Sweden by 2050 compared to business-as-usual development. Based on the scenario results, transport and industry sectors were identified as the emission hotspot sectors in 2050. EEIOA is a noteworthy method for decision-support for assessing sustainability strategies. With EEIOA, it is possible to allocate and study national sustainability targets on a sectoral level, and that way potentially substantially increase the effectiveness and implementation of defined sustainability targets. However, further research on modeling dynamics, data quality and underlined uncertainties are needed before studied approaches can develop into decision-support tools.

This thesis develops an econometric model of the Canadian clothing and textile industry for the purpose of investigating its structure, the market it faces, linkages between the market and the industry and the sensitivity of the industry to external factors. Using the model, several simulation experiments are conducted with the primary focus centered on the issues of protection accorded the industry. The future prospects of the industry under various alternative scenarios are evaluated. Empirical support is indicated for most of the hypotheses underlying the specification of the model. Some of the hypotheses are: the firms in the industry engage in imperfect competition; the industry operates under constant return to scale; price competitiveness is a significant factor in explaining the level of imports; domestic production capacity has an influence on imports. It is found in the thesis that clothing imports respond with a relatively high elasticity to changes in price as well as income, revealing a source of instability inherent in the clothing industry. As a system, the model is found to trace the history of the industry with reasonable accuracy. The model is also found to display a considerable degree of consistency and stability in its responses throughout the simulation experiments. The thesis thus provides a dynamic, structural and simultaneous economic system that can be validly used either as a forecasting tool or frame of reference in analyses. An ex-ante simulation intended as a reference forecast of the industry suggests that despite the present quota protection, the past downward trend observed in the clothing industry will likely continue in the future, while the textile industry will maintain a status quo. A simulation with a complete removal of tariff protection appears to support the argument that consumer gains will outweigh losses on the labour and production side. Another simulation suggests that there are policy options available that may be considered as effective means of stimulating the industry. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Progressive scholars have found in community-engaged research and participatory methodologies a synergistic approach for pursuing transformative co-production of knowledge to understand the complexity of critical social and environmental issues. According to Jasanooff (2004), the co-production of knowledge is "the simultaneous process through which modern societies form their epistemic and normative understandings of the world." This dissertation project has sought the co-production of geographic knowledge in socio-environmental research on stream restoration, co-produced between academics and community activists in Medellin, Colombia. Specifically, the intent of the research has been to examine the latent power of affect and feeling to promote the ecological care of streams and their surrounding basins, and to understand the possibilities of mapping the desires that local ecological actors have for stream restoration. Papers one and two also made key contributions to understanding how environmental and social actors surrounding La Honda stream are or could contribute to a scenario of the stream basin’s ecological care. In paper three I detailed my work on the ElAtlas initiative. There I documented the rich historical process we went through to build ElAtlas. I described how the initiative involved the convergence of different participatory approaches in GIS, such as Public Participatory GIS (PPGIS), and Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI), and richly detailed the three different stages of the initiative. / Geography

Recent research has provided empirical support for counseling guidelines for pediatric gun safety and has demonstrated that some parental behaviors increase children's risk of gun injury. However, few data exist on patterns of gun-injury risks, especially for children younger than age 10, children from middle-class and non-urban families, and children of non-gun-owning vs. gun-owning parents. Part I of the study presents data on gun injury risks in a middle-SES sample of rural and suburban gun-owning and non-gun-owning parents and their 5-8-year-old children (N=60). Gun-owners (38.3% of the sample) endorsed an average of 10.57 out of 21 assessed gun injury risks, and evinced variable patterns of gun injury risks. Gun injury risks were much lower among non-gun-owners. However, a small number of non-gun-owners reported their children to have gun exposure risks more typical of gun-owners' children (e.g., child goes hunting/shooting). Part II of the study presents data on the children's responses to a crisis scenario involving a threat associated with defensive gun use (home intrusion). Children's crisis response plans were categorized as competent, passive, bold, or aggressive/gun. Competent plans were common (38.6%). However, most children generated non-competent crisis responses, including passive plans (21.1%), bold plans (19.3%), and aggressive/gun plans (21.1%). These results may help to identify styles of crisis response for targeted preventive interventions and emergency response training. The common theme in these results is that encouraging safe behavior, whether by young children responding to a crisis or by parents who own guns, requires an understanding of motivations for unsafe behavior and barriers to safer behavior. / Ph. D.