The purpose of this thesis is to understand and analyse the issues of grey water generation and disposal in peri-urban areas of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and to propose a suitable solution to which includes designing a treatment system for grey water (water from shower, washing and kitchen). The purification will eliminate the sanitation issues that are brought by exposing untreated grey water to the environment as well save freshwater. This will be implemented with regard to local conditions in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Water-borne and vector-borne diseases are mainly brought by untreated grey water, which sadly enough causes thousands of death cases every year in Tanzania. The year between 2004- 2005, 154551 cases of dysentery were reported with 170 deaths. It was also reported, 863488 cases of typhoid with 1167 deaths and last but not least 12923 cases of cholera from with 350 deaths. Deaths that were caused by diarrhoea were also reported, whereby, 90 % of them are children. According to the interviews that were conducted, people would not want to recycle the grey water for example for washing due to socio-cultural context where water is considered dirty even after treatment. They had difficulties in believing that the same dirty grey water can be purified and reused again for various domestic activities. The conducted characterisation of grey water showed the tested grey water has relatively high levels of BOD, basic pH, higher than average values of TSS, relatively low levels of DO, increased salinity and average level of FC. The analyses were performed on the most polluted grey water from every source. The volume of household produced grey water varies strongly, depending on socio-economic situation of the household and type of access to water supply. From estimation, the volume varies approximately between 60 -160 l/day and household for a low income household. Living wall was proposed as grey water treatment system, because of its suitability to the peri-urban settlement and tropical climate. The system consists of concrete boxes placed over each other, filled with inner porous material and planted with plants. The system purifies grey water as it percolates through it and at the same time provides a vertical space for growing plants. The plants for the treatment system were chosen to Typha latifolia and Scirpus species. The plants are growing in Tanzania and are being used for wastewater treatment purposes. The plants are tolerant to increased salinity and can grow in alkaline soil. The cleaning effectiveness of the system was not tested, but only roughly estimated with help of values from a similar treatment system build in Gotland, Sweden. Hence, the reuse of grey water in this geographical location suits best for irrigation in rural and peri-urban areas with potential for agriculture as well as groundwater recharge in the peri-urban and urban areas. Recharging groundwater with treated grey water has a potential to be observed as an indirect and long term reuse of the water as it reconnects in the hydrological cycle.

I samhället finns oro över den digitala utvecklingens framfart där fokus läggs alltmer på att skapa innovation, vilket är en tillgång ur konkurrenssynpunkt men där individers behov och förutsättningar bortses från. Den snabba utvecklingen kan medföra att individer med låg förståelse och acceptans av informations- och kommunikationsteknik riskerar att hamna utanför samhället. Seniorer är den åldersgrupp vilken har benägenhet att besitta en lägre förståelse och acceptans för den digitala utvecklingen. Detta är ett aktuellt dilemma eftersom ett fungerande samhälle förutsätter att alla individer ska kunna använda sig av de samhälls- och kommersiella tjänster som finns att tillgå. Till följd därav är det oumbärligt att utveckla användbar informations- och kommunikationsteknik vilken möter slutanvändares behov och förutsättningar. För att möjliggöra detta är det vitalt att involvera slutanvändare i innovationsprocesser. Däremot är det inte tillräckligt att enbart involvera dem för att uppnå användbar informations- och kommunikationsteknik utan det krävs därtill att få dem att uppleva sitt deltagande som meningsfullt och engagerande. Motivation är därmed avgörande och essentiellt för att utveckla användbar informations- och kommunikationsteknik. Syftet med uppsatsen var att genom en kvalitativ ansats av deskriptiv karaktär undersöka hur slutanvändare kan motiveras till deltagande och engagemang i innovationsprocesser. Studien genomfördes genom en litteraturstudie, en intervjustudie samt en fokusgruppstudie. Resultat och analys från dessa ledde till .ME-modellen vilken är ett förslag till hur processdeltagare praktiskt kan arbeta för att motivera slutanvändare i innovationsprocesser.

Jag fångades av enkelheten i inredningsarkitekten Hans Johanssons konstruktioner, flexibiliteten och den eleganta lättheten i hans möbler, de nätta dimensionerna och sättet han använder materialet trä. I mitt examensarbete undersöker jag möjligheten att vidareutveckla hans konstruktioner för att passa ett modernt liv på gränsen mellan ute och inne.Hans Johansson, som i år fyller nittio, började arbeta med sin idé om möbler konstruerade av ramar som ihopfogas utan skruv eller beslag för mer än ett halvt sekel sedan. Kanske är det först nu, i en ny sorts trångboddhet, som tiden är mogen för hans demonterbara möbler. Sparsamheten i material, flexibilitet, inhemska träslag och platta paket känns tidslöst och modernt. Jag vill lära mig att tänka om mitt hantverk i nya banor och Hans Johanssons arbete innehåller en del av det jag tror mig sakna. Mina studier av Johanssons möbler och desskonstruktioner resulterade i en demonterbar trädgårdsmöbel för fyra personer, ett bord och två bänkar som ryms i en låda bara 86 mm tjock. / I was captured by the simplicity of the interior designer Hans Johansson’s designs, theflexibility and the elegant lightness of his constructions, the petite dimensions and the way he uses wood as a material. In my thesis I investigate the possibility of developing his constructions to suit modern life on the border between outside and inside. Hans Johansson, who this year turns ninety, began working on his idea of furniture constructed by frames joined together without screws or fittings more than half a century ago. Perhaps it is only now, in a new kind of overcrowding that the time is ripe for his dismantled furniture. Frugality of materials, flexibility, native woods and flat pack feels timeless and modern. I want to learn to think about my craft in new ways and Hans Johansson’s work contains some of the aspects I wish to explore. My studies of Johansson’s furniture and its construction resulted in demountable garden furniture for four people, one table and two benches that can fit in a box only 86 mm thick.

This thesis examines if auditors, managers and workers see certification and auditing as tools to improve working conditions in the Kenyan cut flower industry. It scrutinizes if mentioned stakeholders think that certification has been effective, since the state of working conditions of the industry were brought to attention in 2002 by academics and non-governmental organizations. The study further examines what different stakeholders see as challenges with the certification process as well as with the auditing process. The theoretical framework for the study consists of several theories from previous studies, including Gereffi’s buyer-driven value chain and Barrientos and Smith’s distinction between outcome standards and process rights. The study is partly a literature review but focus of the study is on the findings from ten semi-structured interviews. Among the stakeholder groups there was not one commonly expressed understanding on if certification and auditing had improved the working conditions. All three stakeholders emphasized some positive changes because of certification although they saw remaining challenges with for example freedom of association and increasing the level of wages to becoming living wages. The main findings in the study support Barrientos and Smith’s distinction and certification and auditing are argued not to be effective tools alone to reach improvements in the industry.

Group and family living is an integral part of many animals’ ecology. Thus the behavior became associated with plenty of advantages as well as disadvantages. However, rarely has the actual concept of the group been investigated. Questions such as, “What constitutes a ‘group’?” and “Do the individuals within these ‘groups’ associate with each other frequently enough to actually enjoy the benefits of group living?” are seldom asked. With these questions in mind, the aim of this study was to use Siberian jay (Perisoreus infaustus) individuals in their territories to explore and shed more light on the issue of the extent of group living. A working definition of a ‘group’ was made and subsequently the birds were observed in their natural habitat in northern Sweden during several seasons. Consequently, a pair-wise coherence index (CI) was created to quantify the levels of association between the individuals within each territory in order to investigate which possible factors affect the extent of the observed cohesion. Results of the study indicate that pair-wise cohesion was strongly dependent on the kinship of the birds. Moreover, it was found that the alpha and kin birds had significantly higher coherence values than the non kin birds. Thus, within a territory, it was the alpha and the kin birds that formed the core of the group with the non kin birds being much less associated with the other individuals. This was in contrast to the hypothesis, which predicted alpha birds to form the core of the group solely, with kin birds having significantly lower coherence. Interestingly, no effect of habitat type and season was found on the cohesion of the territorial group. Moreover, further evidence of sub-grouping was found even on the kinship level, thus suggesting yet more complex interplay between group cohesion and the group members.  All in all, with the non kin birds having low coherence values, the study casts light on the fact that even if individuals are present in a territory, they might not necessarily be a tight unit and as such be unable to fully benefit from group living.

Despite a large prevalence of rotator cuff impingements or tears in the elderly population, little research has focused on understanding how this population adapts to perform tasks of daily living. Past research has focused on the analysis of upper limb kinematics of young healthy individuals while performing these essential tasks (Magermans, 2004, Murray and Johnson., 2004). The purpose of this thesis was to identify kinematic and shoulder loading differences between elderly mobile individuals and elderly individuals with rotator cuff impingements during specific activities of daily living. Motion capture techniques were used in combination with the Shoulder Loading Analysis Modules (Dickerson, 2005, Dickerson et al., 2007) to estimate thoracohumeral kinematics and calculate external joint moments. Two-tailed t-tests with injury status as the factor determined that differences in active range of motion in flexion/extension and humeral rotations existed between the two populations. Results of the ADL analysis showed that the impinged population tended to have decreased plane of elevation and humeral rotations during ADLs. Task was also a main factor for most variables examined. Perineal care, hair-combing and reaching tasks were the most demanding in terms of range of motion necessary to complete the task. The reaching tasks resulted in the highest shoulder moment. K-means clustering techniques proved to be unsuccessful in identifying different motion strategies between the two study groups. This investigation showed that developing adaptations for perineal care, hair-combing and reaching tasks should be considered a priority when working with patients with rotator cuff impingements, as these tasks demanded the largest ranges of motion as well as high shoulder moments.

Welcome to CityPlace. Thirty-five hectares of formerly unoccupied rail-lands in downtown Toronto are currently undergoing a transformation into an instant neighbourhood. Eventually, CityPlace will be the home to over 15,000 people within 23 buildings, sequestered by the Gardiner Expressway on its southern border and by the still functioning rail-lines on its northern border, it is truly an island of suburban stacked living which is at once surrounded and yet at a distance from downtown Toronto. In CityPlace we are witnessing what the Belgian philosopher Lieven De Cauter describes as the rise of the capsular civilization. Impossible to ignore, condominiums have become the dominant form of new housing in the city of Toronto; a process that has been driven by demographics, political imperative and most of all by the pursuit of profits in the high-stakes game of real-estate development. But lost in this torrent of development is a genuine dialogue about the city we are building. This thesis explores the current state of condo development in downtown Toronto; from the myriad of political, economic and physical factors that have led to Toronto’s vernacular condo typology to the marketing onslaught that targets the base consumerist hyper-individual within all of us and aims to hide the fact that these buildings are more similar than distinct. From the optimistic aims of a city council which seeks to achieve civic benefits from increased density, to the cynical de urbanizing and social polarization that the type typically brings into the downtown. The thesis explores the promise of downtown condominium living and the hybridisation of programme that accompanies the rising real estate values of the downtown core. Programmatic promiscuity and complexity are exploited to bring different user-types from the outside city into the tower. With its unique vertical properties and inherent density, the residential high-rise tower presents new opportunities for urban collective spaces. From introvert to extrovert, the new condo becomes a catalyst for urbanity in the instant neighbourhood of CityPlace.

Purpose: From an activity-perspective examine the meaning of housing accessibility and older persons´ perception of participation. Method: Systematic literature review of articles searched in the databases, Medline, Pubmed, Ahmed, Cinahl, Scopus and Google Scholar. Search on individual keywords, and in various combinations of the words home environment, home modification, occupational therapy, aging, accessibility and participation. Nine scientific articles were examined. Results: The articles were published between 2005 and 2009. Housing accessibility is important for a better well-being and independence in daily activities of elderly persons. Older persons´ participation and perceived satisfaction with participation, become lower with reduced ability to perform daily activities. Conclusion: Interventions designed to increase accessibility in the home environment may be important for older persons´ well-being. Interventions should be preceded by careful assessment of what is important for the individual as older persons´ perception of participation are individual and change over time.Further knowledge on this subject is needed, particularly studies with participants in very old age and poor health.

Den här studien undersöker vad det finns för samband mellan akademikers identitet i stockholmsområdet och deras vardagsrum. Fyra intervjuer har gjorts hemma hos akademiker för att undersöka hur deras förhållande till vardagsrummet speglar synen på den egna identiteten. Fokus i uppsatsen ligger på att analysera hur vardagsrummen hjälper informanterna att visa upp sin identitet och hur de själva pratar om rummet. I uppsatsen tar jag också upp informanternas förhållande till tv och hur det hänger samman med deras identitet. Slutsatsen i min uppsats är i korthet att mina informanter verkar ha en uppfattning om vad deras egen identitet innebär och att försöker inreda sina vardagsrum så att de ska spegla denna bild både för andra och sig själva. Det kan dock ibland råda dissonans mellan hur informanten talar om rummet och hur rummet verkar användas. / This study examines what the connection is between academics identity in the Stockholm area and their living rooms. Four interviews were conducted at the home of scholars to examine how their relationship to the living room reflects their perception of one's identity. The focus of this paper is to analyze how the living rooms help informants to show off their identity and how they talk about the rooms. In the essay, I also examine the informants' relationship to television and how it relates to their identity. The conclusion of my essay is briefly that my informants appear to have an idea of what their own identity means and that they are trying to decorate their living room, so that they reflect that image both to others and themselves. However, it can sometimes be a dissonance between the way the informant are talking about the room and how the rooms are being used.

This dissertation is a narrative inquiry of the ways in which cultural values, norms, and expectations shape the aging experience of elderly adults living independently in Kasson, a small rural town in southeastern Minnesota, and within Prairie Meadows, Kasson's residential assisted living facility. Despite significant evidence of the reciprocal relationship between community connectedness, successful aging, and healthy communities, we know relatively little about the ways in which contextual meanings of old age influence long-term care and perceptions of well-being in late life. I therefore utilized a variety of interpretive methods, including participant observation, textual analysis, in-depth interviews, and photovoice, to complement and enlarge existing research. Ultimately, I engaged crystallization methodology to co-construct with my participants a multivocal, multigenre text of layered accounts, photographs, stories, and personal reflections. My research design and presentation highlight the inherent possibilities of participatory methods, aesthetic ways of knowing, and asset-based community development for influencing policy and practice at individual, community, and societal levels with typically disenfranchised populations in future communication scholarship. My narrative analysis uncovered three overarching narratives - the "small town" narrative, the "aging in place" narrative, and the "old age" narrative - that guide communicative practices within and between Kasson and Prairie Meadows. Overall, elderly adults in these communities negotiate community connectedness in late life by drawing from or re-storying each of the three narratives. First, they co-construct personal and relational identities through social interactions and shared understandings (e.g., civic engagement, church membership, neighborliness, collective history) of what it means to live in a small town. Second, they face uncertainty (e.g., health and dependency issues) by turning to the past to make sense of the present and future. Third, they embrace old age through membership in age-specific contexts (e.g., Red Hats, senior center, Prairie Meadows) while resisting it in others (e.g., tensions between independence, isolation, and communal life). In total, their stories illuminate the ways in which personal meanings and cultural ideologies support and constrain interactions and decisions in late life as individuals strive for long-term living and a meaningful, supportive place in which to grow old.