The knowledge about the shear strength of a soil is important because it is a key parameter that is used in many calculations in construction engineering. Some examples of what’s possible to calculate are slope stability, the soil pressure against retaining walls and the carrying capacity of building foundations. Great economic losses or, in the worst case scenario the risk for human lives, could be the result if the geotechnical properties of the soil are ignored. This report considers the undrained shear strength of clay from Uppsala. There are different methods based on empirical experiences which are used to determine the undrained shear strength of a clay. In this project the methods and the results in undrained shear strength are compared between CPT-probing, which is carried out in-situ, and the drop cone test which is done in a laboratory. The reason for this comparison is that they usually don’t show the same results.The tests had already been made before this project started and therefore it is only the comparison of the results between the methods that has been done. The comparison was done by creating charts in Excel where the results from CPT and the drop cone test from was put together from the same point. The shear strength values from the methods were also statistically analysed with a t-test to see if they show the same hypothetical expected value with 95 % significance in every test point / Kunskap om skjuvhållfastheten är viktig då den används för beräkningar inom byggoch anläggningsbranschen. Exempel på vad som kan beräknas är släntstabilitet, jordtrycket mot en spont eller bärförmågan hos en byggnadsgrund. Stora ekonomiska förluster och i värsta fall fara för människoliv kan bli resultatet om jordens geotekniska egenskaper ignoreras. Denna rapport tar upp den odränerade skjuvhållfastheten i Uppsalalera. Det finns olika metoder som bygger på empiriska erfarenheter som kan användas för att ta reda på den odränerade skjuvhållfastheten i lera. I föreliggandeprojekt jämförs metoderna och resultaten i odränerad skjuvhållfasthet mellan CPT-sondering som utförs in-situ och fallkonförsök som utförs på lerprover i ett laboratorium. Anledningen till studien är att metoderna inte alltid ger samma mätvärden. Undersökningarna utfördes innan projektet började. Jämförelsen har gjorts genom den statistiska jämförelsen t (student)-test. Resultatet från t-testet visar att skjuvhållfasthetsvärdena från CPT respektive fallkonförsöken från samma undersökningspunkt och från samma nivå har samma hypotetiska förväntade värde på 95 % signifikansnivå. Genom sammanställda grafer syns att metoderna i de flesta fall överensstämmer till ett djup på minst 20 m.

The use of visual data representation is increasing the possibilities to exchange information and communicate indifferent contexts all over the world. Communicating food wastage visually to influence consuming patterns isone of these possibilities. Food wastage is currently a much-prioritized topic in Sweden as well as globally due toits negative impacts on society, environment and the economy, and therefore there is much need to bringinnovative solutions supporting reduction of food waste. This thesis presents a qualitative research based on a casestudy of food waste management at Sala municipality in Sweden while exploring the current visual datarepresentation techniques and its further potential to make food waste management more sustainable. The researchframework used in this thesis is based on visual rhetoric and the innovation theories. The thesis analyzes foodwastage from an international perspective, its connection to sustainable development goals and how MatomaticAB uses a visual data representation tool to address food wastage.The thesis further explains how the users associated with Sala municipality interpret the existing tool, thechallenges they face and review their expectations to build a new visual data representation model. The results ofquestionnaires filled by user’s, state that 50% of the respondents understand the current tool to its full capacityand only 50% of the respondents are satisfied with the overall tool. When it comes to the choice of datapresentation 67% of the users showed interest in use of infographics instead of the conventional bar graphs, andtherefore some parameters like, making the tool more interesting using infographics, user friendly by limiting thedata displayed and interactive by giving user options to explore further as per their liking, were thought whiledesigning the new visual data representation model.

The four ‘Global Commons’ – the Atmosphere, Antarctica, the High Seas (Oceans) and Outer Space – are in international law identified and recognised as falling outside the jurisdiction of any state. Whilst crucial to mankind and the global ecosystem as a whole, the commons are severely impacted by the current anthropogenic climate change. This thesis argues that the global commons have a weak legal protection today. Given the significance of the global commons for the achievement of sustainable development, exploring possibilities to strengthen such protection through international law is crucial to secure the future of our world. The purpose of this thesis is to highlight the issues relating to the current legal protection of the global commons and to address them in the perspective of international law and sustainable development as intersecting conceptual and theoretical frameworks. By applying and analysing the acknowledged New Delhi Declaration of Principles of International Law Relating to Sustainable Development, this thesis will aim to provide insights, and maybe even a fresh point of view, as to how legal instruments could be structured and implemented in the strive for more effective and sustainable protection of the global commons.

As the digital transformation and the technological development progresses, the tools, methods and practices of activistsare changing and a unification of engineers and social reformers can be witnessed in contemporary forms of activism.This thesis presents a case study research that explores how practices from the Free and Open Source softwaremovement can lead to a democratisation of technology in the environmental activism project Precious Plastic.Furthermore it analysis the broader societal implications of this democratisation with a focus on human well-being andthe natural environment. By discussing Kelty’s (2008) concept of recursive publics and Haff’s (2018) work on OpenSource as a development model in the context of Feenberg’s (1992) critical theory of technology, central Open Sourcepractices were identified that have the potential to foster a democratisation of technology. This guided a qualitative textanalysis of the development discussions of two phases of Precious Plastic. Two major factors could be identified thatdetermine the extent to which the democratisation of technology through Open Source practices is possible. Theopportunity to contribute to a project and the power of a central gatekeeper. Other aspects, like an increased sense ofbelonging, the discussion of the own infrastructure and the projects future, or the efforts to involve as many actors as pos-sible in the technology, were found to have fostered a deeper and broader discussion among the participants. This studysuggests to extend the term Open Source activism (Aitchison and Peters, 2011), to describe a form of activismthat has the creation of technology at its core and brings together a variety of actors with similar practices who negotiateand shape the aim and the purpose of technology, leading to an increased compatibility of the technology with ournatural and human limits. However, this concept needs to be refined and improved with further studies before it can begenerally applicable.

The Hyaenodonta include a wide variety of carnivorous mammals ranging in age from late Palaeocene to middle Miocene. Although they reached a nearly global distribution, little remains of them today. Many of the taxa are based only on teeth and jaw fragments. If we are to understand how these animals lived and evolved, we must therefore make the most out of the material we have. Herein, I report on the first nearly complete skull of Anasinopa leakeyi (Teratodontinae), which was recently found in Northern Kenya. The skull is dorsoventrally compressed, but otherwise relatively undamaged. The aim of this study was to provide a first glimpse of teratodontine brain morphology by reconstructing the neurocranium of this skull and creating a digital endocast. The result was one of the most well preserved endocasts of any hyaenodont known to date, with many of the cranial nerves and blood vessels visible. The size of the optic foramen relative to the size of the brain is similar to that of the extant wolf, Canis lupus, suggesting that A. leakeyi may have had a similar visual acuity. The body mass of A. leakeyi was estimated to up to 25 kg, meaning that it may have hunted small or large animals, perhaps having the ability to shift to larger prey when needed, as do extant, similarly sized, Felidae and Canidae. Endocasts are known from only a handful hyaenodont species, many of which were described by Radinsky in 1977. However, little work has been done on hyaenodont brains since then. The second aim of this study, therefore, was to place these hyaenodont brains, and particularly that of A. leakeyi, in the most recent phylogenetic framework, to better understand how the brain evolved in this group. This suggests that the evolution of a larger, more convoluted neocortex occurred convergently in several clades of Hyaenodonta. Furthermore, the presence of only a single neocortical sulcus in the earliest hyaenodonts calls into question the previous hypothesis of an ancestral pattern with two sulci for Artiodactyla, Perissodactyla and Carnivora. This study provides a basis for future research on brain evolution in Hyaenodonta, as well as showcases the possibilities offered by 3D technology. / Hyaenodonterna var en grupp rovdjur som levde från ca 58 till 12 miljoner år sedan och som fanns på alla nordliga kontinenter samt Afrika. De varierade mycket i storlek, precis som nu levande rovdäggdjur, från ca 0.5 kg till över ett ton. Den här studien rapporterar ett nytt fynd från norra Kenya: den första skallen av Anasinopa leakeyi, en hyaenodont som levde för ungefär 17 miljoner år sedan. Skallen är tillplattad, men nästan komplett och i övrigt i relativt gott skick. Men hjälp av datortomografi och 3D-teknologi har neurokraniet, den del av skallen som omger hjärnan, kunnat byggas ihop igen och en digital avgjutning av hjärnskålen skapats. Genom att jämföra tjockleken på synnerven i förhållande till hjärnstorleken kan man få en uppfattning om hur väl utvecklad synen var hos Anasinopa. Resultaten tyder på att Anasinopa troligen hade ungefär lika bra syn som dagens varg. Genom att mäta tänderna har Anasinopas kroppsvikt kunnat uppskattas till upp till 25 kg, vilket är ungefär lika mycket som en europeisk bäver eller en manvarg. De rovdäggdjur som lever idag, och som väger lika mycket som Anasinopa, kan jaga antingen stora eller små bytesdjur. Det finns också djur i den här viktklassen, som t.ex. schakaler och lodjur, som kan skifta mellan att jaga små och stora djur, så det är möjligt att Anasinopa också kunde det. Vår kunskap om hur hjärnan såg ut hos hyaenodonter är begränsad till mindre än ett dussin exemplar. De flesta av dessa ”hjärnor” är naturliga avgjutningar i sten, som bildats när hjärnskålen fyllts med sediment för miljontals år sedan. En studie på 1970-talet jämförde flera hyaenodont-hjärnor och fann att neocortex, den del av hjärnan som hos däggdjur ansvarar för komplexa kognitiva funktioner, med tiden blev större och mer veckad hos de här djuren. Det vill säga, de tidiga hyaenodonterna hade en liten neocortex med ett enda veck, medan de som levde miljontals år senare hade en mycket större neocortex med flera veck. Sedan den studien har dock ganska lite forskning gjorts på hjärnan hos de här djuren. I den här studien jämfördes därför Anasinopas hjärna med den hos andra hyaenodonter, med hänsyn tagen till hur de olika arterna tros vara släkt med varandra, för att försöka förstå hur hjärnan utvecklades hos de här djuren. Resultaten tyder på att en större, mer veckad neocortex utvecklades parallellt i två separata grupper av hyaenodonter. Man har tidigare kunnat se att utvecklingen av fler hjärnveck skett parallellt hos, t.ex., olika grupper av hunddjur. Dock verkar inget än så länge tyda på att sådana veck lika lätt kan förloras när de väl utvecklats hos en art. Därför tyder det faktum att de första hyaenodonterna bara hade ett veck på att deras gemensamma anfader med dagens rovdjur också bara hade ett veck. Det går emot vad man tidigare trott, om att den gemensamma anfadern till hyaenodonter och nu levande rovdjur och hovdjur och hade en neocortex med två veck, som sedan bevarats hos alla dess ättlingar. Det här visar att det är mycket vi fortfarande inte vet om hjärnans utveckling. Studien visar samtidigt på möjligheterna som 3D-teknologin innebär och visar att det finns mycket kvar att lära från de fossil vi har.

Circular economy has emerged as a new economic paradigm to solve problems of natural resource scarcity and environmental pollution by using resources more efficiently and designing products to minimize waste. This study examines the potential of circular economy to enable the achievement of sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals in Europe. This thesis, through a qualitative content analysis of four overarching European reports related to circular economy strategies, uses a social-ecological systems perspective to: (a) analyze how the three aspects of sustainable development are addressed in the reports and (b) pointing out at missing elements in the European circular economy project that could hinder the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. Circular economy is a good start to change habits in terms of recycling, reusing and repairing but it also raises awareness about the link between our level of consumption and production and its impact on the environment. However, the results of this study show that the link between Sustainable Development Goals and circular economy is weak and that the economic aspects are highlighted in all the reports to the detriment of environmental and social aspects. As a consequence, the current application of circular economy in Europe does not provide systemic and structural changes, fails to address the root of the problem and reflects a weak vision of sustainability.

Mining-induced resettlements, and local impacts from mining activities, are often associated with a variety of negative outcomes. At the same time, there is a notable growth of ethical guidelines for businesses and an increasing incorporation of international best practices within corporate operations. A resettlement of displaced villages within the Kalumbila area in Zambia was carried out by a multinational mining corporation, which reportedly invested heavily into the creation of an ethically sound resettlement procedure. Yet, a number of issues connected to this resettlement have been continuously reported after its implementation. This study has aimed to investigate two main themes relating to the  resettlement in Kalumbila. First, a comparative examination was done in order to explore differences and similarities in terms of social sustainability between two different resettlement communities in the area. Second, the current status of social sustainability was explored within the two resettlements by applying an analytical framework for strategic social sustainability. The methods consisted mainly of primary research through interviews in the studied area, but was also complemented with qualitative text analysis when suitable. The findings indicated both similarities and differences between the two resettlements in terms of social sustainability-related issues, which were identified through the application of universal social sustainability principles. Policy recommendations were also derived by conducting a backcasting procedure in the analysis of the findings. The study found that there is a presence of the mining company in almost every issue identified within this study. This presence has both positive and negative characteristics. It was concluded that future studies should keep this nuanced view in mind, as well as the complex interrelations in the studied system. As such, it was argued that policy implementors ought to investigate targeted issues with suitable analytical tools before taking any action in order to not create new problems elsewhere within the social system.

Energy cooperatives have become an important player in the German energy transition. After two legal amendments in the Renewable Energy Act in 2012 and 2014 the number of new foundations dropped sig-nificantly. Several studies have investigated potential barriers and opportunities for energy cooperatives to expand their business model beyond energy production and adapt to the legal changes. This study aims to identify relevant factors that lead energy cooperatives to have a high or a low level of diversification. To this end, I interviewed board members of eight energy cooperatives and complemented the findings by the assessment of firm documents and newspaper articles. While no single factor seems to be decisive, the founding initiative, in particular a clear vision and concrete business goals correlate with the level of di-versification. Important is, that a high level of internal resources or strong support from the local govern-ment alone cannot explain a high level of diversification. Instead, I identified two important aspects, in-teractive effects and threshold effects, that help to understand why energy cooperatives have a high or low level of diversification. Interactive effects mean, that a negative performance in one factor, such as a low level of internal resources, can be outbalanced by a very positive performance in another factor, such as external resources or local political environment. Threshold effects mean, that apparently a certain perfor-mance of a factor might be sufficient to achieve a high level of diversification, whereas a high performance of all factors, also leads to a very high level of diversification, as was shown with one cooperative, that serves as best practice example and corresponds to the theoretical model as forecasted. That means future research should deal with the complex nature of energy cooperatives, as diversification and probably de-velopment in general cannot be explained by looking at single factors, such as the level of internal re-sources. The findings also suggest, that for some energy cooperatives the plan to adopt new business mod-els was already laid at the foundation and did not spontaneously emerge as response to the legal changes. A future study should investigate, whether that applies to energy cooperatives more generally, or was just found  to be  true  for the eight cases  studied  here. The role of external resources  to adopt  new  business models has to be emphasized and calls for more cooperation among energy cooperatives and with external partners, to continuously be important players for the energy transition.

An interview study was undertaken to explore Swedish broiler producers´ views for the potential of hops (H. lupulus L.) to reduce reliance on ionophorous coccidiostats in broiler production. The design was a mixed methodology between grounded theory and case study with a semi structured interview method. Nine producers, four using ionophorous coccidiostats and five without reliance in production accepted interview. During interviews participants were presented to research conducted with hops in production and consequences from ionophores in production. All participants thought the risk from pathogen pressure was too great to cut reliance in intensive production owed to the lower efficacy of hops. Therefore owed to how actors in the Swedish food system behave only small producers with enough economical freedom for reduced stocking densities were regarded to be able to uphold animal health with hops. Six parameters within food systems were regarded as leverage points for a potential of hops in production on a larger societal scale if encouraging a more extensive nationwide production system. Those were: purchase will, small local production, increased responsibility within trade, law, elevated consumers and research. Law was seen as a necessity to enforce all other denominators since economical in food systems tend to override social and ecological dimensions. Consequences from power struggle in food systems disfavoring producers has although resulted in a great distrust towards other system actors such as consumers, legal institutions or wholesalers. That has created a reluctance to interact with other system actors even for common goals. A stronger position to other actors in food systems was regarded as increasing a meaningful outcome from interaction. Four parameters emerged as impacting power relations in a system the most: Purchase will, contracts, own designed production and law. Favorable purchase will and law would contribute the most for increasing adaptivity for alternatives in production by impacting on power relations. No producers had observed indicators of bacterial resistance from ionophorous coccidiostat usage. Lack of research for many years in the field was troublesome for how to develop the enterprise according to participants. Especially in relation to Norway that has abolished the static use of ionophorous coccidiostats in production. About half of the participants although regarded a shift in research towards consequences from intensive production as equally important as focusing on alternative antimicrobials.

In the context of the critical sustainability problem of marine plastic pollution, the present paper presents a quasiexperimental research that explores the effects that participating on beach clean-up has on students’ knowledge,awareness and behavioural intentions. Considering this intervention as an outside of school practical implementation of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), this research aims to determine if the addition of direct experiences with nature within ESD programs can lead to a behavioural change in favour of the environment. Analysing the factors that influence pro-environmental behaviour and the role that ESD has on transforming society towards a more sustainable one, a one-time pre-test post-test research with non-equivalent groups was performed. A questionnaire on beach litter and self-reported behaviour, implemented in two schools of the Amalfi Coast, Italy, indicate that in comparison to a group which only received a lecture, a group that participated in a beach clean-up increased their knowledge and awareness towards marine plastic pollution, in addition to their willingness to participate in another beach clean-up. This supports the theory that learning in nature can have a higher influence in shaping pro-environmental behaviour, and therefore the inclusion of this type of activities within ESD programs can help beat marine plastic pollution.