Abstract Maintaining biodiversity in boreal forest landscapes in conjunction with forestry is a challenging task. This requires ecological understanding that is based on empirical research. In this thesis, I examined spatial and temporal occupancy patterns as well as predictability of the occurrence of the Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans L.) in Finland. I used thematic maps which matched habitat requirements of the flying squirrel in forested landscapes and data on species presence and absence, which were gathered in suitable forest habitats. The results of this thesis provide applications for landscape management. First, the preferred habitat characteristics of the flying squirrel were linked to available forest data. In addition, some predictive habitat models could be used to estimate the distribution of the flying squirrel within a region. Second, based on a five year study the forests were classified as continuously occupied, continuously unoccupied and variable-occupancy patches. The dynamic occupancy pattern emphasizes the need for repeated surveys to also locate the seldom-used suitable habitats in a landscape. Third, a comparison of simulated future scenarios in long-term forest planning suggested that flying squirrel habitat might be maintained without considerable loss of timber in a landscape. Thus, a combination of ecological and economic goals in forestry planning is an encouraging alternative. Fourth, there were more polypore species in forests occupied by the flying squirrel. This suggests that conservation of the flying squirrel habitats would protect other naturally co-occurring species, and thus the flying squirrel could be assigned as an umbrella species in mature spruce-dominated forests. Based on these findings, I suggest that the flying squirrel could be used as one of the target species for forest management in boreal forest landscapes. Further research challenges are related to the examination of habitat thresholds and to the projection of future scenarios where ecological, economic and social aspects are combined to assist in complex decision making processes.

This thesis examined the future office by interviewing 16 participants according to the Delphi method. Participants were given the opportunity to share their individual opinions related to ten introductory questions. All participants then continued the interview by participating in a feedback session that would form the basis of a future scenario for the office. According to the participants, the spread of Covid-19 has been a catalyst for the office's development. Environmental focus is high in the future when employees can take meetings from any place they prefer, instead of traveling the world to meet customers. Efficiency enables work regardless of workplace and thanks to digital tools and platforms, the employee can work anywhere at any time. What was somewhat more difficult to discern was the development of demand for offices. Although there were some aspects that all participants agreed on, it was possible to distinguish a lot of aspects that they thought about in different ways. There were different opinions from each stakeholder group regarding demand, rental levels, vacancies and other market factors that drive the market forward, as well as who will win and lose if the market moves on to a market characterised by flexible work. / Detta examensarbete undersökte det framtida kontoret genom att intervjua 16 deltagare enligt Delphi-metoden. Deltagarna fick möjlighet att dela sina individuella åsikter tillhörande tio inledande frågor. Alla deltagare fortsatte därefter intervjun genom att delta i en feedback- session som skulle ligga till grund för ett framtida scenario för kontoret. Enligt deltagarna har spridningen av Covid-19 varit en katalysator för kontorets utveckling. Miljöfokus är högt i framtiden när anställda kan ta möten från vilken plats de helst föredrar, istället för att resa världen för att träffa kunder. Effektivitet möjliggör arbete oavsett arbetsplats och tack vare digitala verktyg och plattformar kan medarbetaren arbeta var som helst när som helst. Det som var något svårare att urskilja var utvecklingen av efterfrågan på kontor. Trots att det fanns en del aspekter som alla deltagare höll med varandra om gick det att urskilja en hel del aspekter som de tyckte mycket olika om. Det framkom olika åsikter från varje intressent angående efterfrågan, hyresnivåer, vakanser och andra marknadsfaktorer som driver marknaden framåt, liksom vem som kommer att vinna och förlora om marknaden går vidare till en marknad som kännetecknas av flexibelt arbete.

The Urban Freight Transportation System faces many uncertainties and challenges in its future development. In the discussion regarding how to mitigate the challenges, the implementation of Urban Hubs is often brought up. However, most of the literature that exists within the field focuses on the logistic system as a whole, rather than the actual hubs specifically. The research gap regarding how Urban Hubs should be designed in order to be efficient with regards to multiple future scenarios, but also easy to adapt once so is needed, has been targeted throughout this study. The importance of robustness and adaptiveness has been underlined, and these concepts have in turn been linked to modularization, and the use of future scenario frameworks, respectively. This study has resulted in a proposed framework for constructing robust Urban Hubs, which was obtained by adapting a modularization framework, and integrating a future scenario framework for Urban Freight Transportation. The proposed framework has an extensive evaluation process, incorporating both Customer Values and future scenarios in the metrics, thus shedding extra light on this part of the construction process. The proposed framework was also tested in the study, through constructing and evaluating four different hub configurations, spanning from small to large, in order to determine which hub that performed best in the largest number of scenarios. The evaluation results could in turn contribute with indications as to what characterizes such a Hub configuration. In order to be able to construct the proposed framework, an understanding of Urban Hubs' layouts, functionalities included, and flow of goods, had to be obtained. This was done through conducting interviews with relevant stakeholders connected to Swedish Urban Hubs. Through the interviews, similarities and differences between Swedish Urban Hubs could be identified, thereby describing how the Swedish Urban Hub landscape looks today. Since the literature describing Urban Hubs is scarce, the study thus contributes towards filling that research gap as well. / Hållbara urbana godstransportssystem står inför många osäkerheter och utmaningar under sin fortsatta utveckling. I diskussionen kring hur dessa utmaningar ska kunna mildras, nämns ofta implementationen av Urbana Hubbar. Den existerande litteraturen inom området fokuserar dock mest på hela logistiksystemet, snarare än de Urbana Hubbarna specifikt. Avsaknaden inom forskningen vad gäller hur Urbana Hubbar bör bli designade i syfte att både vara robusta med avseende på flera olika framtidsscenarion och samtidigt även lätt kunna anpassas när så krävs, är vad denna studie har syftat till att undersöka. Vikten av både robusthet och möjligheten att anpassa sig har blivit underbyggd i studien, och koncepten har i sin tur kopplats till modularisering, respektive användandet av ramverk för framtidsscenarion. Studien resulterade i ett föreslaget ramverk för att konstruera robusta Urbana Hubbar, vilket erhölls genom att anpassa ett modulariseringsramverk, och integrera det tillsammans med ett ramverk för framtidsscenarion inom Urbana Godstransporter. Det föreslagna ramverket innefattar en omfattande evalueringsprocess, som både har integrerat Kundvärden och scenariospecifika parametrar i sina mått, och därmed tydligt visar på vikten av denna del under konstruktionsprocessen.  Det föreslagna ramverket testades dessutom i studien, genom att kontruera och utvärdera fyra olika hubbkonfigurationer, som tillsammans spände upp en rymd från mindre konfigurationer till större, mer komplexa varianter. Detta för att kunna fastställa vilken av dem som presterade bäst i flest scenarion. Resultaten från utvärderingen kunde i sin tur bidra med indikationer på vad som karaktäriserar en sådan hubbkonfiguration. För att kunna konstruera det föreslagna ramverket, krävdes djup förståelse för Urbana Hubbars layout, vilka funktionaliteter de innefattar, samt hur processflödet inuti hubbarna går till. Detta erhölls genom intervjuer med relevanta aktörer som var kopplade till svenska Urbana Hubbar. Genom intervjuerna kunde likheter och skillnader mellan svenska Urbana Hubbar identifieras, och från det kunde en kartläggning över svenska Urbana Hubbar göras. Eftersom litteraturen som beskriver Urbana Hubbar är knapp, bidrar studien dämred även till att fylla det forskningsgapet inom området.

The multi-million-dollar medical uniform industry has not utilized advancements in garment and textile technology that could positively impact the protection of healthcare professionals and patients. In most cases the uniforms meet basic requirements – they clothe the professional in a recognizable way. Little innovation in design, function and performance, has been applied to these garments. This is particularly evident in the case of the stereotypical white lab coat worn by many physicians, despite evidence indicating that these lab coats may carry contamination and play a role in the spread of deadly bacteria. Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) are among the most serious problems facing modern medical care, costing millions of lives and dollars annually worldwide. This research investigates the design and use of the physician’s lab coat – an immediately recognizable symbol of Western medicine. The research identifies the medical, functional, cultural and symbolic roles of the lab coat within the hospital environment and beyond, to the larger the global society. This thesis examines the extent to which the design of medical wear can impact the effect of hospital-acquired infections, support doctor/patient relationships and enhance the performance and behavior of the healthcare professional by envisioning a future lab coat which offers increased protection for physician and patient, aids in communication and enhances the performance of the doctor by utilizing digital technologies incorporated into the lab coat whereby the lab coat becomes the only tool necessary for the physician.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T18:15:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Nadia Maria Lebedev Martinez Moreira.pdf: 4678006 bytes, checksum: 73d01e7fc9a37307118ccc3bbf867acb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-11 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / The research aim to establish a direct relationship between its subjects, the Oracle and the Media. The main hypothesis is that the media has an oracular character. This reflection seems to be new within the Media Theory studies, and speculates that the future has a present event status. The oracles, or oracular character figures, when performing their predictions, design the future in the present, building scenarios that guide both the individual in his private life, as the society as a whole. The adopted methodological strategy sought to develop an archeology of the oracles in the West - especially the Oracle of Delphi, given its importance to the emergence of Western civilization and its institutions, including the media itself understanding them as backers of information, also a defining characteristic of the media. Researches concepts proposed by the Theory of Media in the reflections of Norval Baitello, Harry Pross and Flusser. Anxiety about the future is read from Soren Kierkegaard and Carl Gustav Jung. Within the concept of cultural anxiety Rafael Lopez-Pedraza, thinks the relationship of individuals and society in the future, this relationship also studied by Julian Jaynes in his deconstruction of the bicameral mind. Also Norbert Elias, who investigates what he calls a society of individuals. The hypothesis is tested trough media examples that analyze topics such as the economic crisis brought by the US housing bubble; Brazilian water crisis in 2015; and predictions about games results in sporting championships / A pesquisa procurou estabelecer uma relação direta entre seus objetos de estudo, o Oráculo e a Mídia. A hipótese principal é que a mídia possui um caráter oracular. Essa reflexão parece ser nova dentro dos estudos da Teoria da Mídia, e especula sobre o futuro como um estado de acontecimento presente. São os oráculos, ou de figuras de caráter oracular, que ao realizarem suas previsões, projetam o futuro no presente, construindo cenários que orientam tanto o indivíduo em sua vida particular, quanto à sociedade como um todo. A estratégia metodológica adotada buscou elaborar uma arqueologia dos oráculos no Ocidente principalmente do Oráculo de Delfos, dada sua importância fundante para o surgimento da civilização Ocidental e de suas instituições, entre elas, a própria mídia , entendendo-os como veiculadores de informações, característica também definidora do midiático. A pesquisa estuda conceitos propostos pela Teoria da Mídia nas reflexões de Norval Baitello, Harry Pross e Vilém Flusser. A angústia com relação ao futuro é lida a partir de Soren Kierkegaard e Carl Gustav Jung. Com o conceito ansiedade cultural de Rafael Lopez-Pedraza, pensa-se a relação dos indivíduos e da sociedade com o futuro, relação essa estudada também em Julian Jaynes com sua desconstrução da mente bicameral. Além de Norbert Elias, que investiga o que ele mesmo denomina de sociedade dos indivíduos. A hipótese é testada a partir de exemplos midiáticos que analisam temas como a crise econômica instaurada pela bolha imobiliária americana; a crise hídrica brasileira em 2015; e previsões feitas sobre resultados de jogos em campeonatos esportivos