As of 2022 the European Union introduced a new Eco Design legislation which states emission limits for stoves sold in the EU. There are already requirements on emissions, but as both legislation are to be harder and there is a higher interest in Eco friendly products, there is an interest to study different ways to reduce the emissions from wood stoves. As stoves are today primarily seen as furniture that can provide some heat, easy usage is expected.  The objective of this report is to explore this connection between emission reduction and how viable, feasible and sustainable it might be if it where to be implemented in a real product. Using design thinking and the design thinking methodology, concepts where developed and tested using test stoves which where equipped to measure emissions of carbon monoxide and organic gaseous compounds. The testing was done in accordance with EN 16510 and the developed prototype was a catalytic filter mesh which was designed to be rotated so that air could flow around it instead of through it during startups and refueling. The theory behind it was that previous studies on similar catalytic mesh filters showed promising emission reductions. However, these test where done on static catalytic filters which where always in the path of the air in the flue system. That meant pressure drops due to restricted airflow in the stoves could result in impaired combustion and increased emissions.  The Testing showed promising result with the variable filter outperforming a stationary filter setup. The variable filter showed 16\% reduced carbon monoxide emissions and 25\% reduced organic gaseous compound emissions compared to the stationary filter setup. Furthermore the benefits of variable filters is believed to increase as the amount of filters stacked increase since it would in a stationary setup provide a lot of air restriction which could have serious effect on how easy the product would be to start and maintain. As for usability the setup is believed to be implementable in such ways that no additional work would be necessary from a user perspective and thus not discourage new users from choosing a stove which produces less emissions. / Från och med 2022 inför Europeiska Unionen Eco Design direktivet med utsläppsgränser som måste föjlas vid försäljning av kaminer i EU. Det finns redan liknande krav på usläpp, men då de troligen ökar i framtiden och intresset för miljövänliga produkter ökar, så finns det det intresse att studera lösningar som minskar utsläppen från vedkaminer. Eftersom vedkaminer i dagens läge inte bara behöver värma ett hus, utan ses också som en möbel så är användarvänligheten av ytersta vikt.  Syftet med denna raport att utforska kopplingen mellan minsking av utsläpp och hur det skulle kunna implementeras på ett rimligt sätt i en verklig produkt. Genom användning av Desing thinking och Design research methodology, utvecklades koncept och testades i en kamin som mätte bl.a kolmonoxid och organiskt gasformiga föreningar. Testerna gjordes i enlighet med EN 16510 och den utvecklade prototypen var ett katalytiskt filternät som var designat för att roteras så att luft kan strömma runt den istället för genom vid uppstart och påfyllning. Teorin var att tidigare studier på liknande katalytiska nätfilter visade på lovande utsläppsminskningar. Dessa tester gjordes dock på statiska katalytiska filter som alltid var i vägen för luften i rökkanalen. Det innebar att tryckfall på grund av begränsat luftflöde i kaminerna kunde resultera i försämrad förbränning och ökade utsläpp.  Testningen visade lovande resultat med det variabla filtret som överträffade en stationär filteruppsättning. Det variabla filtret visade 16 \% minskade kolmonoxidutsläpp och 25 \% reducerade utsläpp av organiska gasformiga föreningar jämfört med den stationära filteruppsättningen. Dessutom tros fördelarna med variabla filter öka när mängden staplade filter ökar då en stationär uppställning skulle ge en hel del luftbegränsningar som kan ha allvarliga effekter på hur lätt produkten skulle vara att starta och underhålla. När det gäller användbarhet tros installationen vara genomförbar på ett sådant sätt att inget ytterligare arbete skulle behövas ur ett användarperspektiv och därmed inte avskräcka nya kunder från att välja en kamin som har linkande lösning.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the United Nations (UN) role in the resolution, management and termination of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with specific reference to the UN Organisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC). The aim emanates from the basic research question: To what extent did the deployment of MONUC contribute to the termination of internal conflict in the DRC and create conditions conducive for the holding of democratic elections? The research problem generated four subsidiary questions: Was the intention of the drafters of the Lusaka Agreement for the UN converted into a viable peacekeeping mission, especially in the early phases of the mission? Did MONUC receive adequate resources to fulfil its task, commensurate with the size and complexity of the operational theatre and its mandate? Why was a development such as the deployment of Interim Emergency Multi National Force (IEMF) in Ituri (2003) necessary, given the fact that MONUC was deployed? Were the expectations regarding MONUC involvement in the disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration, resettlement and repatriation (DDRRR) programme and the domestic disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration (DDR) programme realistic? Therefore four sub-problems were addressed, namely the issue of the mission mandate; the resourcing of the mission relative to the mandate and the operational theatre; the external augmentation of the mission; and the MONUC role in DDRRR and DDR. Following a definition of the concept internal conflict and a discussion of the factors contributing to internal conflict, the theory of peacekeeping was described to determine a framework for the evaluation of the UN peace mission in the DRC, based on the recommendations of the 2000 Brahimi Report. Emphasis was placed on the mandate, force levels and composition, and operational capability. A historic overview contextualised the complex conflict situation in the DRC that the UN was required to help ameliorate. MONUC made a contribution to the termination of internal conflict in the DRC by managing the conflict in a fashion that permitted democratic elections to be held. This was achieved despite the fact that the actual deployment of MONUC (in terms of its functioning, especially regarding DDRRR) did not meet the requirements for a UN force as envisaged by the signatories of the 1999 Lusaka Agreement. The expectations of the signatories regarding DDRRR were not realistic, but the UN response in terms of the mandate and allocation of resources also fell far below what was required to establish a credible UN peace mission. The graduated approach ensured a reactive MONUC posture in the field, but the reticence to provide adequate resources in response to political and operational developments necessitated the external augmentation of the mission on two occasions. While this development brought a new facet of ‘co-deployment’ in UN peacekeeping operations to he fore, it also served to highlight the MONUC deficiencies in terms of its ‘responsibility to protect’ civilians under threat of violence. MONUC was mandated from its inception to discharge this responsibility, without receiving the necessary resources to enable the conduct of operations to protect civilians. This inability resulted in the mission lacking credibility amongst the population of the DRC. Copyright / Dissertation (MSS)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Political Sciences / MSS / Unrestricted

A gap exists in organizational development strategies on why some individuals remain disengaged with their work. This study addressed whether a combination of specific contextual factors could support individuals, teams, and leaders to demonstrate the attitudes and behaviors consistent with work engagement. The theoretical frameworks of social constructivism, the conceptual framework of symbolic interactionism, and a hermeneutic inquiry approach were used to address how individual psychological traits/abilities of employees support work engagement. Nineteen employees of a Canadian provincial government ministry completed an engagement survey, MSCEIT, MBTI, and SDI assessments. They also participated in focus groups. Survey results showed high engagement scores. Focus group themes, derived from the Modified Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method centered on perceptions of personal choice, passive resignation, and trust. Spearman's correlation results indicated a moderate, nonsignificant association between the MSCEIT, MBTI, SDI scores, and work engagement. Study results suggested 5 factors necessary for individuals to sustain engagement: the ability to balance a focus on others and impressions with a focus on ideas and concrete data, the ability to perceive and manage emotions, motivational values consistent with a concern for others, and leader and organizational support. Results from this study are expected to increase possible social change efforts focused on developing highly engaged teams that demonstrate a positive, fulfilling work-related state characterized by high energy levels, mental resilience, dedication, and involvement in work.

In the United States Armed Forces, 30% of women in the military suffer physical assault each year; in 2009, there were 22 reported cases of sexual assault in the U.S. Central Command. Aggravated assault, gang violence, sexual assault, homicide, and suicide can damage the morale of military personnel at a deployed site and collectively cost millions of dollars over time. Interpersonal violence in the United States military is destructive to the military system and directly diminishes mission readiness. This study was designed to illuminate the environmental, cultural, and political influences that affect interpersonal safety among military women in the deployed environment of Afghanistan with the goal of discovering mechanisms to improve interpersonal safety for that population. Grounded theory was used to analyze data obtained from U.S. military women in Bagram, Afghanistan and their environment concerning interpersonal safety. This information was used to generate a relational social theory based on themes, patterns, and relationships; the theory of US Military Interpersonal Safety, Violence Prevention, and Response. This theory is intended to improve interpersonal safety as well as prevent and counter violence in the deployed setting. Applying this theory is expected to promote better assessment, development, implementation, and evaluation of violence prevention and response healthcare programs meant to mitigate violence and assist military members who have been victims of violence. This study promotes positive social change by identifying precursors of interpersonal violence in a deployed environment and creating a strong foundation for understanding how to prevent interpersonal violence and create response programs to address this issue.

Software deployment is all of the activities that make a software system available for use. An examaple of such activites can be installations, updating and removing of software. Each deployment platform can differ in quality attributes such as performance, maintainability, etc. Docker, a deployment platform using container technology offering a more modular way of deployment has become increasingly popular over the past few years. The aim of the project is to find out how a deployment with Docker would affect the performance of a client­server application from the mining industry. Three scenarios were performed in a simulated environment for the existing as well as the potential deployment platform. Measures of round­trip time were made for both sets of the scenarios. Results show a general decrease in performance when running the application on Docker. This is especially seen in early stages of each scenario, where Docker in average has 15 times higher round­trip times than the existing platform. However, results gathered from each scenario suggests that while Docker does start much slower than the existing platform, in later stages of each scenarios, Docker manages to narrow the gap and be at most 1.14 times higher than the existing platform. In conclusion, while the deployment in which the existing platform is deployed on does out perform Docker, it still shows some promise and could potentially be a worthy option to look at for further work.

No description available.

Cybercriminals' digital threats to security are increasing, and organisations seek smarter solutions to combat them. Many organisations are using artificial intelligence (AI) to protect their assets. Statistics show that the adoption of AI in cyber security worldwide has grown steadily over the past few years, demonstrating that more and more companies are searching for more effective methods than traditional ones. At the same time, some are cautious about its implementation. Previous research shows this is a topic of discussion in the cyber security branch. Researchers seek to understand further how AI is used, uncovering how it may benefit security and the challenges organisations face. Sweden is a country known for its high level of technological advancement and innovation, and it has seen a particularly significant increase in the integration of AI in cyber security practices. Using semi-structured interviews as the primary research method, a diverse range of companies, were interviewed regarding their viewpoints on the topic, both those implementing AI-based cyber security solutions and those who do not. The research objectives were to examine how companies in Sweden understand and perceive AI in cyber security, identify their perceived risks associated with any potential opportunities with AI adoption, and explore possible future developments in the field. Through in-depth interviews, participants discussed their experiences, concerns, and expectations surrounding the topic, showing anywhere from mixed to negative opinions from companies not utilising AI cyber security. This study shows how more research is needed to advance our understanding of AI cyber security and how it is implemented in companies. The study concludes that when showing interest in strengthening their security with the help of AI, organisations should consider the ethical and legal issues as well as the importance of choosing the right AI solutions. Professionals recommend AI implementation for companies wishing to increase cyber security defences in the rising and ever-changing cyber threats landscape. / Cyberbrottslingarnas digitala hot mot säkerheten ökar, och organisationer söker smartare lösningar för att bekämpa dem. Många organisationer använder artificiell intelligens (AI) för att skydda sina tillgångar. Statistik visar att användningen av AI inom cybersäkerhet världen över har ökat stadigt under de senaste åren, vilket visar att allt fler företag söker efter mer effektiva metoder än de traditionella. Samtidigt är vissa försiktiga vad gäller AI:s implementering. Tidigare forskning visar att detta är ett diskussionsämne inom cybersäkerhetsbranschen. Forskarna vill förstå mer om hur AI används, hur det kan gynna säkerheten och vilka utmaningar organisationerna står inför. Sverige är ett land som är känt för sin höga nivå av teknisk utveckling och innovation och man har sett en särskilt betydande ökning av integrationen av AI i cybersäkerhetspraxis i landet. Med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer som primär forskningsmetod intervjuades en rad olika företag om deras syn på ämnet, både de som implementerar AI-baserade cybersäkerhetslösningar och de som inte gör det. Målet var att undersöka hur företag i Sverige förstår och uppfattar AI inom cybersäkerhet, att identifiera deras upplevda risker i samband med eventuella möjligheter med AI-adoption och utforska möjlig framtida utveckling inom området. Genom djupintervjuer diskuterade deltagarna sina erfarenheter, farhågor och förväntningar i ämnet, som visade allt från blandade till negativa åsikter från företag som inte använder AI i cybersäkerhet. Studien visar att det behövs ytterligare forskning för att öka vår förståelse för AI-cybersäkerhet och hur den ska implementeras i företag. Studien drar slutsatsen att organisationer som visar intresse för att stärka sin säkerhet med hjälp av AI bör ta hänsyn till etiska och juridiska frågor samt vikten av att välja rätt AI-lösningar. Experter rekommenderar att AI implementeras för företag som vill stärka sin cybersäkerhet i det ständigt ökande och föränderliga cyberhotslandskapet.

In this dissertation, we study two important problems related to additive manufacturing (AM). In the first part, we investigate the economic feasibility of using AM to fabricate biomedical implants at the sites of hospitals AM versus traditional manufacturing (TM). We propose a cost model to quantify the supply-chain level costs associated with the production of biomedical implants using AM technology, and formulate the problem as a two-stage stochastic programming model, which determines the number of AM facilities to be established and volume of product flow between manufacturing facilities and hospitals at a minimum cost. We use the sample average approximation (SAA) approach to obtain solutions to the problem for a real-world case study of hospitals in the state of Mississippi. We find that the ratio between the unit production costs of AM and TM (ATR), demand and product lead time are key cost parameters that determine the economic feasibility of AM. In the second part, we investigate the AM facility deployment approaches which affect both the supply chain network cost and the extent of benefits derived from AM. We formulate the supply chain network cost as a continuous approximation model and use optimization algorithms to determine how centralized or distributed the AM facilities should be and how much raw materials these facilities should order so that the total network cost is minimized. We apply the cost model to a real-world case study of hospitals in 12 states of southeastern USA. We find that the demand for biomedical implants in the region, fixed investment cost of AM machines, personnel cost of operating the machines and transportation cost are the major factors that determine the optimal AM facility deployment configuration. In the last part, we propose an enhanced sample average approximation (eSAA) technique that improves the basic SAA method. The eSAA technique uses clustering and statistical techniques to overcome the sample size issue inherent in basic SAA. Our results from extensive numerical experiments indicate that the eSAA can perform up to 699% faster than the basic SAA, thereby making it a competitive solution approach of choice in large scale stochastic optimization problems.

Setting up one's software environment and ensuring that all dependencies and settings are the same across the board when deploying an application, can nowadays be a time consuming and frustrating experience. To solve this, the industry has come up with an alternative deployment environment called software containers, or simply containers. These are supposed to help with eliminating the current troubles with virtual machines to create a more streamlined deployment experience.The aim of this study was to compare this deployment technique, containers, against the currently most popular method, virtual machines. This was done using a case study where an already developed application was migrated to a container and deployed online using a cloud provider’s services. Then the application could be deployed via the same cloud service but onto a virtual machine directly, enabling a comparison of the two techniques. During these processes, information was gathered concerning the usability of the two environments. To gain a broader perspective regarding the usability, an interview was conducted as well. Resulting in more well-founded conclusions. The conclusion is that containers are more efficient regarding the use of resources. This could improve the service provided to the customers by improving the quality of the service through more reliable uptimes and speed of service. However, containers also grant more freedom and transfers most of the responsibility over to the developers. This is not always a benefit in larger companies, where regulations must be followed, where a certain level of control over development processes is necessary and where quality control is very important. Further research could be done to see whether containers can be adapted to another company’s current environment. Moreover, how different cloud provider’s services differ. / Att sätta upp och konfigurera sin utvecklingsmiljö, samt att försäkra sig om att alla beroenden och inställningar är lika överallt när man distribuerar en applikation, kan numera vara en tidskrävande och frustrerande process. För att förbättra detta, har industrin utvecklat en alternativ distributionsmiljö som man kallar “software containers” eller helt enkelt “containers”. Dessa är ämnade att eliminera de nuvarande problemen med virtuella maskiner och skapa en mer strömlinjeformad distributionsupplevlese. Målet med denna studie var att jämföra denna nya distributionsteknik, containrar, med den mest använda tekniken i dagsläget, virtuella maskiner. Detta genomfördes med hjälp av en fallstudie, där en redan färdigutvecklad applikation migrerades till en container, och sedan distribuerades publikt genom en molnbaserad tjänst. Applikationen kunde sedan distribueras via samma molnbaserade tjänst men på en virtuell maskin istället, vilket möjliggjorde en jämförelse av de båda teknikerna. Under denna process, samlades även information in kring användbarheten av de båda teknikerna. För att få ett mer nyanserat perspektiv vad gäller användbarheten, så hölls även en intervju, vilket resulterade i något mer välgrundade slutsatser. Slutsatsen som nåddes var att containrar är mer effektiva resursmässigt. Detta kan förbättra den tjänst som erbjuds kunder genom att förbättra kvalitén på tjänsten genom pålitliga upp-tider och hastigheten av tjänsten. Däremot innebär en kontainerlösning att mer frihet, och därmed även mer ansvar, förflyttas till utvecklarna. Detta är inte alltid en fördel i större företag, där regler och begränsningar måste följas, en viss kontroll över utvecklingsprocesser är nödvändig och där det ofta är mycket viktigt med strikta kvalitetskontroller. Vidare forskning kan utföras för att undersöka huruvida containers kan anpassas till ett företags nuvarande utvecklingsmiljö. Olika molntjänster för distribuering av applikationer, samt skillnaderna mellan dessa, är också ett område där vidare undersökning kan bedrivas.

Vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) is a special case of mobile networks, where vehicles equipped with computing/communicating devices (called "smart vehicles") are the mobile wireless nodes. However, the movement pattern of these mobile wireless nodes is no more random, as in case of mobile networks, rather it is restricted to roads and streets. Vehicular networks have hybrid architecture; it is a combination of both infrastructure and infrastructure-less architectures. The direct vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication is infrastructure-less or ad hoc in nature. Here the vehicles traveling within communication range of each other form an ad hoc network. On the other hand, the vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communication has infrastructure architecture where vehicles connect to access points deployed along roads. These access points are known as road side units (RSUs) and vehicles communicate with other vehicles/wired nodes through these RSUs. To provide various services to vehicles, RSUs are generally connected to each other and to the Internet. The direct RSU to RSU communication is also referred as I2I communication. The success of VANET depends on the existence of pervasive roadside infrastructure and sufficient number of smart vehicles. Most VANET applications and services are based on either one or both of these requirements. A fully matured VANET will have pervasive roadside network and enough vehicle density to enable VANET applications. However, the initial deployment stage of VANET will be characterized by the lack of pervasive roadside infrastructure and low market penetration of smart vehicles. It will be economically infeasible to initially install a pervasive and fully networked iv roadside infrastructure, which could result in the failure of applications and services that depend on V2I or I2I communications. Further, low market penetration means there are insufficient number of smart vehicles to enable V2V communication, which could result in failure of services and applications that depend on V2V communications. Non-availability of pervasive connectivity to certification authorities and dynamic locations of each vehicle will make it difficult and expensive to implement security solutions that are based on some central certificate management authority. Nonavailability of pervasive connectivity will also affect the backend connectivity of vehicles to the Internet or the rest of the world. Due to economic considerations, the installation of roadside infrastructure will take a long time and will be incremental thus resulting in a heterogeneous infrastructure with non-consistent capabilities. Similarly, smart vehicles will also have varying degree of capabilities. This will result in failure of applications and services that have very strict requirements on V2I or V2V communications. We have proposed several solutions to overcome the challenges described above that will be faced during the initial deployment stage of VANET. Specifically, we have proposed:  A VANET architecture that can provide services with limited number of heterogeneous roadside units and smart vehicles with varying capabilities.  A backend connectivity solution that provides connectivity between the Internet and smart vehicles without requiring pervasive roadside infrastructure or large number of smart vehicles.  A security architecture that does not depend on pervasive roadside infrastructure or a fully connected V2V network and fulfills all the security requirements. v  Optimization solutions for placement of a limited number of RSUs within a given area to provide best possible service to smart vehicles. The optimal placement solutions cover both urban areas and highways environments