Cities are home to more than half of the world’s population, and this figure is set to continue to rise amidst ongoing global urbanization trends. Against this backdrop, urban development is increasingly confronted with multifaceted challenges. These range from public health emergencies, exemplified by the COVID-19 global pandemic, to the environmental hazards driven by climate change, including extreme heat waves and more frequent severe storms. Confronted with these substantial risks, the urgency of devising and implementing strategies for sustainable and resilient urban development has become paramount. Given this context, the work presented in this thesis aims to advance understanding of some critical urban sustainability challenges, and to develop models, tools, and sensing systems that can support progress towards a more sustainable and resilient urban future. The first part of the thesis focuses on the role and usage of urban parks during a global public health emergency. Urban parks became critical for maintaining the well-being of urban residents during the COVID-19 global pandemic. To examine the impact of COVID-19 on urban park usage, New York City (NYC) was selected as a case study, and SafeGraph mobility data, which was collected from a large sample of mobile phone users, was used to assess the change in park visits and travel distance to a park based on park type, the income level of the visitor’s census block group (visitor CBG) and that of the park census block group (park CBG). All analyses were adjusted for the impact of temperature on park visitation, and the research work was focused primarily on park visits made by NYC residents. Overall, for the eight most popular park types in NYC, namely – Community Park, Flagship Park, Jointly Operated Playground, Nature Area, Neighborhood Park, Playground, Recreation Field/Courts and Triangle/Plaza – visits dropped by 49.2% from 2019 to 2020. The peak reduction in visits occurred in April 2020. Visits to all park types, excluding Nature Areas, decreased from March to December 2020 as compared to 2019. Parks located in higher-income CBGs tended to have lower reductions in visits, with this pattern being primarily driven by visits to large parks, including Flagship Parks, Community Parks and Nature Areas. All types of parks saw significant decreases in distance traveled to visit the park, with the exception of the Jointly Operated Playground, Playground, and Nature Area park types. Visitors originating from lower-income CBGs traveled shorter distances to parks and had less reduction in travel distances compared to those from higher-income CBGs. Furthermore, both before and during the pandemic, people tended to travel a greater distance to parks located in high-income CBGs compared to those in low-income CBGs. Finally, multiple types of parks proved crucial destinations for NYC residents during the pandemic. These included Nature Areas to which the visits remained stable, along with Recreation Field/Courts which had relatively small decreases in visits especially for lower-income communities. Results from this particular research study can support future park planning by shedding light on the different users of certain park types before and during a global crisis, where access to green spaces can help alleviate the human well-being consequences associated with mitigating the crisis, including the type of “lockdown” or limited mobility policies implemented in 2020 during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The second part of the thesis investigates the role of urban greening and other land surface features in influencing the urban heat island effect in NYC. The urban heat island (UHI) effect describes the phenomenon whereby cities are generally warmer than surrounding rural areas. UHI effects can exacerbate extreme heat events, leading to an increase in heat-related illness and mortality. Here, the runoff coefficient was used as a numerical surrogate for urban greening, with lower runoff coefficients being associated with higher fractions of urban greening. Using a high-resolution landcover GIS dataset developed for New York City (NYC), which classified the city into more than 13 million land patches, the runoff coefficient of land use across the entire city was mapped down to a resolution of 30m×30m, along with five other variables including surface albedo, distance to water bodies, land surface elevation, building density and building height. Daytime land surface temperature (LST) in summer was used as a surrogate for the UHI effect in NYC, and the work investigated the relationship between the runoff coefficient and LST. The work also examined the relationship between LST and the variables of surface albedo, distance to a water body, land surface elevation, building density and building height. Results indicate that runoff coefficient can explain a large portion of variability related to urban LST, with lower runoff coefficients (more greenery) being associated with lower LST. Use of the five other variables improves the predictability of LST, although the influence each variable has on LST varies with urban setting and context. The research work presented in this part of the thesis also shows the disproportionately higher exposure to urban heat in lower-income communities in NYC. The findings can be used to develop strategies to mitigate UHI effects in NYC and other cities around the world. In the third part of the thesis, a wireless environmental sensing system is developed for monitoring urban green spaces, with demonstrated application for stormwater management. The monitoring of urban green spaces, including monitoring of soil conditions and soil health, is crucial for sustainable urban development and ecological resilience. Leveraging advances in wireless environmental sensing, a LoRaWAN-based system capable of measuring air temperature/humidity, soil temperature and moisture, and soil moisture dynamics is designed and deployed across seven diverse urban green spaces for a full year at Columbia University’s Morningside Campus in New York City. The data collected by this sensing network reveals notable variations in soil moisture across the seven monitored sites, which are influenced by a combination of vegetation type, soil conditions, and physical settings. Monitored lawns consistently showed higher soil moisture levels due to their slower draining soil type, underlying concrete structures, and lower canopy rainfall interception and transpiration loss, whereas one monitored tree pit site with a more rapidly draining soil type showed significantly lower soil moisture throughout the study period, despite having comparable physical settings with another monitored site. Seasonal trends indicated lower summer moisture in some monitored areas due to increased evaporation and transpiration under high temperatures, while others areas maintained higher soil moisture as a result of frequent irrigations. Models were developed to quantify soil moisture response to rainfall events. It was found that the increase in soil moisture at each monitored site was highly dependent on the rainfall depth and the initial soil moisture. Overall, the results show that a range of diverse green spaces can help retain and drain storms up to certain sizes of 30-50mm. However, proactively designed soil drainage systems are needed to handle extreme storm events above 50mm. The study highlights the effectiveness of LoRaWAN technology in urban environmental monitoring and provides valuable insights into how different urban green spaces can contribute to stormwater management. The findings presented in this portion of the thesis demonstrate the instrumental role that monitoring, data analysis and modeling can play in helping city planners and environmental managers optimize urban green spaces for ecological benefits and enhance urban resilience, including in the face of stressors such as climate change. Overall, with its data-driven, evidence-based insights, this work contributes to the understanding of the multifaceted urban sustainability challenges in a changing environment, including public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 global pandemic, and climate change induced environmental hazards such as extreme heat events and more frequent severe storms. Alongside deepening understanding, the developed quantitative models and sensing technologies presented in this thesis offer practical solutions to support urban development towards a more sustainable and resilient future.

The study examines to what extent Levitsky & Ziblatt’s theory of democratic backsliding, as a universal three-step sequential process of democratic deterioration, can explain the novel phenomena of Covid-19 autocratization, in the context of Poland. Via said aim, the research serves as an explorative investigation into the strategies and methods used to invoke democratic backsliding amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. The theory’s external validity is assessed by analyzing the most blatant and far-reaching policies of Polish Covid-19 autocratization, targeting the presidential election, health personnel, and civil servants. To structure said analysis Vedung’s goal-attainment evaluation model is utilized. Results conclude that the theory lacks significant explanatory power. While the targets of democratic deterioration remained relevant, theoretical conformity only occurred for one of the analyzed policies, while the rest revealed tactics of democratic deterioration not theoretically applicable. Moreover, substantial parts of the theory remained irrelevant, and the theory’s sequential aspect did not apply. Consequently, the study proposes a revised version of the theoretical framework, encompassing strategies of democratic deterioration specific to the examined context and that disregards the sequential aspect. The likely explanation for the lack of theoretical conformity is attributed to the structural component; the theory suggests democratic backsliding as a gradual and strategic process, whereas Covid-19 autocratization occurred more chaotically and opportunistically, instigating autocratization whenever and wherever possible. The opportunistic structure also elucidates the novel and imaginative strategies through which autocratization was invoked, capitalizing on the alternative prospects of democratic deterioration presented by the crisis.

Education field has been affected by Covid-19 pandemic, same as many other aspects of our lives during this period. Many universities and schools had to close for physical education and had to find different kinds of solutions to continue their educational activities. Therefore, the purpose of this master's thesis is to study students' experiences of using M-learning in higher education during the pandemic to see how they have been affected by this type of learning in their education during the time that Covid-19 changed the routine lives of students. To conduct this master's thesis an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach is used in order to get a deeper understanding of the students' learning experience. The results of this research show that using M-learning during the Covid-19 pandemic has positive effects on learning experiences of most of the participants, and a great number of the students have not seen any effects on their grades. Advantages of using M-learning are ease of use, convenience, understanding the concepts by searching on their own and independent learning experience, being able to participate in lectures from anywhere, even in time of sickness, and easily accessing course materials. On the other hand, the disadvantages of this type of learning are losing physical face-to-face interactions with teachers and other students, low level of activeness from the other students in discussions in the online lectures, losing motivation, and missing learning physical experience in some courses. The challenges that students have experienced with M-learning are low internet connection, problems with batteries of mobile devices, small screen of smartphones for reading files, some technical problems regarding the online lectures, and experiencing different types of distractions by using mobile devices and attending online classes. Finally, participants agree to recommend M-learning in times of crisis.

The purpose of this study is to examine how elite sports clubs and broad sports clubs inSweden, have been affected and managed the covid-19 pandemic. Also to do a comparative study in how broad-versus-elite sports clubs have been affected and handled the pandemic. The empirics were collected with the help from eight qualitative, semi-structured, digital interviews with various high-ranking people in eight different sports clubs. The essay is based on three different theories and models, namely Pettigrews model, the contingency theory and the situation-adapted leadership.  The study shows a number of differences in how broad-versus-elite sports clubs have been affected and handled the pandemic. Elite sports clubs have been allowed to carry out their activities to a greater extent than the broad sports clubs. Financially, the broad sports clubs have performed better than the elite sports clubs. The motivation among the employees has been lower among the broad sports clubs during the pandemic. The management of the pandemic´s various effects has mainly been handled through an increased digitization process.  In summary, it is possible to distinguish that the broad and elite sports clubs have been affected and handled the pandemic and the restrictions in different ways. / Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur elitidrottsklubbar och breddidrottsklubbar i Sverige, har påverkats och hanterat covid-19 pandemin. Samt att göra en komparativ studie i hur bredd- kontra elitidrottsklubbarna har påverkats och hanterat covid-19 pandemin. Empirin samlades in med hjälp av åtta stycken kvalitativa, semi-strukturerade och digitala intervjuer med diverse högt uppsatta personer i åtta olika idrottsklubbar.  Uppsatsen utgick ifrån tre olika teorier och modeller, nämligen Pettigrews modell, kontingensteorin och det situationsanpassade ledarskapet.  Studie visar på ett antal skillnader i hur bredd- kontra elitidrottsklubbarna har påverkats och hanterat pandemin. Elitidrottsklubbarna har fått utöva sin verksamhet i större utsträckning än breddidrottsklubbarna. Ekonomiskt har breddidrottsklubbarna klarat sig bättre än elitidrottsklubbarna. Motivationen bland medarbetarna har varit lägre hos breddidrottsklubbarna under pandemin. Hantering av pandemins olika effekter har främst hanterats via en ökad digitaliseringsprocess.  Sammanfattningsvis går det att urskilja att bredd- och elitidrottsklubbarna har påverkats och hanterat covid-19 pandemin och restriktionerna på olika sätt.

The Covid-19 pandemic has put Sweden in a new and challenging situation. Several of thewomen's shelters in Sweden have reported an alarming pressure as a result of increased casesof women and children in vulnerable situations. Based on a qualitative research strategy, thisstudy examines how women's shelter workers experience and handles the practical andemotional work due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To examine this study's purpose and researchquestions, five semi-structured interviews were conducted with women’s shelter workers fromvarious women's shelters in Sweden. During each interview, the study subjects were given theopportunity to share their own experiences regarding the work situation due to the Covid-19pandemic. The gathered empirical material was analyzed using Arlie Hochschild's theoryregarding emotional work. The results of the study show that the majority of the study subjectsexperience changes in the number of abused women in need of help and support and that thepractical work has been limited and challenged. Furthermore, the study subjects experiencetheir jobs as even more emotionally demanding during the Covid-19 pandemic, but this had noeffect on the way of dealing with the emotional work. Several different coping strategies couldbe identified in the way of handling the emotional work, including recovery, previousprofessional experience, surface or deep emotional acting and the support from colleagues.With the help of different approaches, the study subjects distinguish themselves from theirprofessional role in order to not identify themselves too strongly with the emotional work. Theresults of the study proved that different coping strategies are of importance to be able to handleand complete emotional work. / Coronapandemin har resulterat i en ny och utmanande situation för Sverige. Många av landetskvinnojourer har rapporterat om ett alarmerande tryck på sina verksamheter till följd av ökadefall av kvinnor och barn i utsatta situationer. Utifrån en kvalitativ forskningsstrategi undersökerdenna studie hur jourkvinnors praktiska respektive emotionella arbete upplevs och hanteras tillföljd av coronapandemin. För att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar genomfördes femsemistrukturerade intervjuer med jourkvinnor från olika kvinnojourer i Sverige. Underrespektive intervjutillfälle fick jourkvinnorna möjlighet att dela med sig av sina egnaupplevelser gällande arbetssituationen under coronapandemin. Det empiriska materialetanalyserades med hjälp av emotionssociologiska begrepp från Arlie Hochschilds teori somberör emotionellt arbete. Resultaten visar att majoriteten av jourkvinnorna uppleverförändringar i antalet stödsökande och att det praktiska arbetet kommit att resultera ibegränsningar och utmaningar. Vidare visade det sig att jourkvinnorna utför ett än meremotionellt krävande arbete under coronapandemin, detta hade däremot ingen påverkan påjourkvinnornas sätt att hantera de emotionella påfrestningar som uppstår i arbetet medvåldsutsatta kvinnor. Arbetet som jourkvinnorna utför kunde även liknas med etthärbergeringsarbete i takt med att de bär på både sina egna och andras känslor. Flera olikahanteringsstrategier kunde identifieras i jourkvinnornas sätt att hantera det emotionella arbetet,däribland återhämtning, tidigare yrkeserfarenhet, ytligt respektive djup emotionellt agerandesamt stödet som återfinns hos jourkvinnornas kollegor. Det framgick att jourkvinnorna medhjälp av olika förhållningssätt kan skilja på sig själva och sin yrkesroll för att inte identifierasig för starkt med det emotionella arbetet. Olika hanteringsstrategier visade sig således vara avstor vikt för att jourkvinnorna ska kunna hantera och fullfölja det emotionella arbetet.

<p>  </p> <p>The rapid growth of the English Language Learner (ELL) population in Indiana has raised challenges for English language arts (ELA) instruction. This research adopts collective case studies and mixed-methods studies to explore the quality and quantity of ELA instruction (time allocation to literacy components and group configuration) for ELLs in Indiana elementary classrooms. Study one aims to further the understanding of the quality and quantity of ELL literacy instruction in Indiana first-grade classrooms through a collective case study. Then, a sequential mixed methods study is designed to examine the effect of professional development on ELL literacy instruction in second-grade classrooms (Study 2). To gain a deeper understanding of how Indiana schools have been coping with the COVID pandemic, another sequential mixed-methods study is designed to explore how the pandemic has impacted the quality and quantity of literacy instruction compared with the pre-pandemic era in K-5 classrooms (Study 3). These serial inquiries hold important implications for literacy educators with ELL students on how best to structure and plan for their English language arts (ELA) instruction. Also, they will inform schools on how to select professional development that yields significant transformations in teachers’ literacy practices, as well as how to better address ELL needs during the pandemic.</p>

Barnhälsovårdssjuksköterskornas uppgift är att arbeta för att främja barns hälsa och utveckling. De ska identifiera och initiera lämpliga åtgärder vid problem i barns hälsa och utveckling. I deras uppdrag ingår även att vara ett stöd för barnet och föräldrarna. När Covid-19 pandemin spreds påverkades hela världens befolkning och även hälso- och sjukvården berördes av den uppkomna situationen. Syftet med studien var att beskriva barnhälsovårdssjuksköterskornas erfarenheter av att ge barn och deras föräldrar stöd under Covid-19 pandemin. En kvalitativ metod med en fenomenologisks ansats användes. Öppna intervjuer tillämpades för att besvara studiens syfte. Vid analysen av intervjuerna användes en kvalitativ beskrivande innebördsanalys. Resultatet visade att essensen av fenomenet som undersöktes var att förmågan att bibehålla stödet gav nöjdhet. Essensen av fenomenet byggs upp av två innebördsteman, Betydelsen av att vara flexibla och Möta ett behov av ökat stöd. Slutsatsen är att det är nödvändigt att vara flexibel vid en pandemi och att stöd behöver utökas och kunna ges i olika former till barn och föräldrar. / The task for specialist nurses in health care service for children is to promote children´s health and development. They must identify and initiate appropriate interventions when there is problem in children's health and development. Their mission also includes being a support for the child and the parents. When Covid-19 pandemic spreads, the entire world's population was effected and health care was also effected of the upcoming situation. The purpose of the study was to describe the child health care nurse's experiences of providing support to children and their parents during the Covid-19 pandemic. A qualitative method with a phenomenological approach was used. Open interviews were applied to preserve the purpose of the study. In the analysis of the interviews, a qualitative descriptive meaning analysis was used. The results showed that the essence of the phenomenon of study was that the ability to maintain support provided satisfaction. The essence of the phenomenon is built up by two main themes, The importance of being flexible and Meeting a need for increased support. The conclusion is that it is necessary to be flexible in the event of a pandemic and that support needs to be expanded and given in various forms to children and parents.

The globalization of business has contributed to an increased risk within companies' supply chains. To manage these changes and risks within the supply chain, Supply Chain Risk Management has been important for businesses in order to be able to better detect, predict, avoid or reduce effects with a negative impact within the supply chain.The Covid-19 pandemic has caused disruptions and risks to companies' supply chains on a global level, which has put robustness and resilience to the test. For this reason, it is necessary to investigate how companies handle risks and disruptions as a result of Covid-19 in the supply chain.The aim of this study was to identify and prioritize disruptions that have been caused as a result of global disruptions such as the Covid-19 pandemic with the aim of being able to contribute with risk reduction measures for these types of disruptions. This was carried out through a case study at a manufacturing company in the forest industry, where the risks were identified through a review of documents, theory and proposals from the head of department at Supply Chain Management Logistics. Semistructured interviews with a total of ten informants were conducted in order to obtain information on how several of these risks have caused disruptions and consequences.In order to be able to prioritize the risks, risk assessments have been carried out by the same informants from the case company where the risks were valued and classified in risk matrices. The study showed that risks related to disrupted production, staff shortages, political disruptions, natural disasters, uncertain business scenarios, fully booked ferries, driver shortages, delivery disruptions, cargo shortages and risks linked to contractors at the production unit have caused consequences within the global supply chain.The two aggregated risk matrices showed that the risks related to staff shortages, natural disasters, disrupted production and risks linked to contractors in the production unit were the most serious and should therefore be prioritised and require risk mitigation measures.

My aim with this essay is to investigate if Australia's approach; implementation of lockdown, vaccine passport and restriction of the right of assembly and the impact on public protest is compatible with John Stuart Mill's harm principle. I found a conflict between the individual freedom and harm to others. One the one hand, to implement restrictions intervenes with the autonomy of an individual; of one’s body, freedom to move around freely and with freedom of speech. But on the other hand, not implementing these restrictions could potentially harm others by letting the virus spread in the society. My interpretation of Mill's harm principle is that liberty originates from the individual as a progressive being, hence I claim that allowing people to live their life as they chose -”experiment of living”, will lead to a better and happier society. I argue that the Australian government's approaches during the Covid 19 pandemic was not compatible with the harm principle’s individualistic core as I claim Australia neglected individual freedom. However, I argue that some restrictions might be compatible to the harm principle if they are proportional, time limited and properly scrutinised.

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