The promotion of education has long been a priority of the successive regimes of Ethiopia. Combined with the momentum of Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in recent years Ethiopia’s education sector has experienced a major expansion of primary school enrolment which has earned Ethiopia international acclaim and so much optimism in meeting the MDGs set for 2015. Despite this, however, large numbers of primary school aged children remain out of school, most of these are found in rural areas and many of them are girls. Many of the children that enrol do not stay on to complete the full cycle of their primary schooling. While there are numerous studies looking at rural children’s schooling, village-based ethnographic studies are rare, particularly in Ethiopia. The thesis offers a sociological insight as to why low enrolment and incompletion persist in rural areas. Drawing on an ethnographic approach study over extended period this thesis presents analysis of data from two local communities. Methodologically the analysis are anchored on the voices of the children, their parents and teachers and make a valuable contribution in emphasising not only the importance of bringing local people’s own voices into the debate, but also drawing attention to the ways voice may be utilised and calling for greater sensitivity to the way it is interpreted in scholarly and policy circles. Theoretically, the study shows the value of applying Bourdieu’s approach to social reproduction in analysing the challenges faced by rural children in completing primary school. Time spent with children, their families and their teachers suggests reproduction of educational inequality at all levels (home, school, community). While these are certainly important, this thesis argues that more attention needs to be paid to the social context in which children and their schooling are embedded. It suggests the challenges in schooling rural children are not simply explained either by the quantity of primary schools available, or a lack of value being accorded to education, or deliberate acts of discrimination (e.g. against girls). Rather, it has argued that discriminatory outcomes, or the reproduction of social inequality, have to be understood as the outcome of social practice, where ‘choices’ are made in circumstances of considerable constraint. Furthermore, it has shown that these patterns of social reproduction are as characteristic of teachers and the field of the school as they are of parents and children and the field of home and community. Rather than the school operating as an external change agent, as imagined in much of the education literature, the school is very much part of the local social context. The application of policies and the social practice of staff are significantly marked by their positionality within the communities which they serve.

A program slice consists of a subset of the statements of a program that can potentially affect values computed at some point of interest. Such a point of interest along with a set of variables is called a slicing criterion. Slicing tools are useful for several applications, such as program understanding, testing, program integration, and so forth. Slicing object oriented programs has some special problems that need to be addressed due to features like inheritance, polymorphism and dynamic binding. Alias analysis is important for precision of slices. In this thesis we implement a slicing tool for sequential Java programs in the Soot framework. Soot is a front-end for Java developed at McGill University and it provides several forms of intermediate code. We have integrated the slicer into the framework. We also propose an improved technique for intraprocedural points-to analysis. We have implemented this technique and compare the results of the analysis with those for a flow-insensitive scheme in Soot. Performance results of the slicer are reported for several benchmarks.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The majorities of industrial systems may be considered as dynamic hybrid systems, that is, described by variables in the continuous and discrete domains. Therefore, due to the need to obtain high quality products with losses minimization, to have safer and environmental friendly process operation, is what justies the development of tools for evaluating fault propagation eects. In this work, some tools for the representation of dynamic hybrid systems were studied in order to address the abnormal behavior propagation. The rst tools are Petri nets that allow a qualitative mathematical representation, the analysis of the models and supply useful information on the structure and the dynamic behavior of the system. Another tool is the signed directed graph - SDG that includes the mechanisms of fault propagation and the development of a theory of modeling based on the knowledge of complicated systems. In this context, it was presented the qualitative modeling of dynamic systems by using Petri nets and SDG, with the occurrence of faults and the evaluation of their propagation during process operation. These techniques were applied to Chemical Engineering problems such as mixing tanks and batch reactors for Petri nets, tank systems and faulty continuous reactors with the use of SDG. In those processes, simulations were performed and the faults eects were evaluated for several operational scenarios. SDGs were also used to determine the fault propagation path, with the evaluation of each aected process variable of interest both in open and closed-loop operation. / A maioria dos sistemas industriais pode ser classificada como pertencente _a classe de sistemas híbridos dinâmicos, ou seja, sistemas compostos por variáveis no domínio contínuo e discreto. Assim, devido à necessidade de se obter produtos de alta qualidade com mínimo de perdas possíveis, operar com segurança respeitando o meio ambiente, gerenciar ou tolerar falhas é que se tem a necessidade do desenvolvimento de ferramentas de investigação dos efeitos de falhas em processos. Neste trabalho foram estudadas algumas ferramentas para a representação de sistemas híbridos dinâmicos com a finalidade de representar o comportamento anormal desses sistemas. Uma dessas ferramentas _e a rede de Petri que permite a representação matemática, análise dos modelos e fornece informações úteis sobre a estrutura e o comportamento dinâmico dos sistemas modelados. Outra ferramenta estudada são os grafos orientados - SDG (Signed Directed Graph) que incluem os mecanismos de propagação de falhas e o desenvolvimento de uma teoria de modelagem baseada no conhecimento de sistemas. Nesse contexto, foram apresentados nesta dissertação a modelagem qualitativa dos sistemas discretos utilizando redes de Petri e SDG, com a ocorrência de falhas e a avaliação da sua propagação nos processos. Essas técnicas foram aplicadas em problemas simples da Engenharia Química como tanques de mistura e reator em batelada para redes de Petri e sistemas com um e três tanques e CSTR para o SDG. Em cada um dos processos estudados foram feitas as simulações acopladas aos modelos qualitativos em diversos cenários de falhas. Com isso comparam-se os resultados para o sistema operando sob diversos cenários e avaliam-se as informações do modelo qualitativo. Para ilustrar a aplicação das técnicas investigadas, esse trabalho avaliou, com a utilização de SDG, os caminhos de propagação das falhas, obtendo as variáveis afetadas em cada cenário operacional investigado. / Mestre em Engenharia Química

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Human Nutrition / Weiqun Wang / Wheat lignans are phenylpropane dimers linked by β-β bonds with a 1, 4-diarylbutane structure. They are biosynthesized in the cell cytoplasm through action of enzymes of the phenylpropanoid pathway. Pinoresinol lariciresinol reductase (PLR) catalyzes the final steps of biosynthesis of wheat lignans. In epidemiological and clinical investigations, studies show that high plasma lignan amounts correlate with reduced risks of breast, colon, and prostate cancers. However, in some of the studies, the results are not consistent. More consistent results are observed when animal and cell culture models are used. Our previous studies in the Wang lab demonstrated that treatment of human colon cancer cells, SW480 with lignans results in a dose and time dependent inhibition of cancer cell growth. In the first paper, we investigated direct experimental cancer preventative characteristics of a wheat lignan, secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) vs. its metabolite enterolactone in human colon cancer SW480 cells. Treatment of cancer cells with 0-40 µM SDG or enterolactone resulted into inhibition of cancer cell growth as observed by reduction of cell numbers. The reduction appeared related to induction of S-phase cell cycle arrest rather than cytotoxic effect. Further analysis revealed that SDG was more stable in cell culture medium than enterolactone. HPLC-MS/ESI showed that enterolactone is the principle metabolite in cancer cells but undetectable SDG or its metabolites were in the cells treated with SDG. In the second paper, we investigated over expression of the PLR gene and enhancement of lignan levels in transgenic wheat. We transformed wheat cultivars (‘Bobwhite’, ‘Madison’, and ‘Fielder’ respectively) with the Forsythia intermedia PLR gene under the regulatory control of the maize ubiquitin promoter. Of the total 217 transgenic wheat lines, we successfully obtained 7 transformants with the inserted ubiquitin PLR gene as screened by PCR. Real-time PCR further indicated 109-117% PLR over expression over the transgenic control in 3 transformants of the 7 at T0 generation. In addition, the levels of SDG, as determined by HPLC was found to be significantly elevated in one of the 3 positive transgenic plants. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reported that genetically engineered wheat with over expressed PLR enzyme enhancing phytochemical lignan has been successfully achieved.

Denna litteratur studie syftar till att undersöka hur hållbar utveckling implementeras i undervisning utifrån de globala målen samt milleniemålen. Hur lärare samt lärarstudenter arbetar med hållbar utveckling men även på vilka sätt tidigare forskning visar hur elever har nytta av undervisning för hållbar utveckling. Materialet utgörs av nio artiklar som är relevanta för denna konsumtionsuppsats. De frågor som ställs till materialet är; på vilka olika sätt inkluderas hållbar utveckling i undervisning, hur beskriver tidigare forskning att ansvar för undervisning för hållbar utveckling fördelas mellan lärare och elever. I tidigare forskning diskuteras bland annat hur lärare jobbar med hållbar utveckling i undervisning och vart det avviker från undervisningen med mål som fastställts i vissa länders läroplaner som nämns i denna uppsats. Unga elever hade även svårt att koppla hållbar utveckling begrepp som etik och moral, där svårigheter för att koppla kunskapen till verkliga händelser uppstod. Resultatet visar att lärarna i vissa studier har haft mer utmaningar än andra, medan andra studier visar att lärarna har haft mer möjligheter än oförutsägbara och komplexa hållbarhetsproblem. Men det lärarna hade gemensamt i de olika studierna var att de inte visste vad de skulle undervisa i inom hållbar utveckling då de vid vissa fall blir givna för mycket information om hållbar utveckling utan att veta hur de ska kunna hantera den informationen. Däremot med handlingskompetensen för hållbar utveckling ökar förståelse och fördjupning bland elever och studenter där deras kunskapsutveckling bidrar till en förmåga och vilja att påverka de sociala, ekonomiska och miljöfaktorerna. Skapa en medvetenhet om vad hållbar utveckling är och varför den behövs, är ett steg till att kunna påverka. / This qualitative literature study is aiming to analyze how sustainable development has been included in teaching from the millennium goals to the global goals for sustainable development. It focuses on previous research on how teachers and student teachers work with sustainable development in their classrooms. This study also comprehends previous research studies on the utility of sustainable development for pupils in their education. The material that has been used consists of nine articles that are relevant for this thesis. The questions we have treated are: in what ways have sustainable development been included in teaching, how does previous research describe that the responsibility should be allocated and divided between teachers and students. In previous research the discussion that has been about how teachers work with sustainable development in their teaching and where teaching diverges from established curriculums. Children also found it difficult to couple notions with sustainable development, for example ethics and morals, not seeing a pattern to relate the notions to real life. The results from our literature study show that teaching about sustainable development is different and some teachers found more challenges then others, while other studies showed that teachers have had more opportunities then unpredictable and complex sustainable problems in teaching. Something that the teachers found in common in the research articles were that they were not so sure about how they were going to implement sustainable development in their teaching, at some occasions they were given information about sustainable development but without knowing how to use the information. In the thesis we use the concept action competence. However, the action competence for sustainable development increases the understanding as well as in the education system overall, it would result in an increase of knowledge and recess among pupils and students, where their knowledge contributes to the ability and will to influence the social, economic and the environmental elements of sustainable development. Creating awareness about what sustainable development is and why it’s needed, is a step towards awareness will to influence.

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) put forward 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to beachieved by 2030. Each member state should spare no effort to fulfill the goals for better lives. Thefirst objective of this study was to explore how Big Data could be used to monitor the progress,including the opportunities and challenges that such novel technologies brought. Previous studieswere reviewed critically for the first objective. The second objective was to find out what datainfrastructures were helpful in monitoring the achievement of SDG 7. A systematic mapping studywas performed to accomplish the second objective. 53 SDG-related academic papers were obtained.Their research data and where they were sourced from were manually analyzed and categorized togenerate data infrastructures for SDG 7. Besides, the automated qualitative coding was conductedbased on the manual structure to verify the manually identified data infrastructures and comparetheir frequencies in the selected papers. The methodology of combining manual and automatedqualitative analysis proposed in this study helped find a list of SDG 7 related data infrastructures.Although there were differences between the manual and automated results, the World Bank, UNdatabases, Eurostat, and IEA were considered the most frequently referred data sources; electricitydata and satellite imagery were regarded as the most commonly used data types.

Human rights advocates have expressed their concern about the marginalisation of human rights principles and the actual or potential human rights implications of WTO agreements. The international economic law and human rights law have been developed as two parallel regimes, yet trade and economics have been at the centre of most developing agendas in modern time. There has been a persistent desire to achieve a universal multilateral trading system by both Global North and Global South. The Agenda 2030 is not an exception to emphasise the importance of such a trading system as one of its targets calls for a ‘universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory, and equitable multilateral trading system’. Furthermore, the desired multilateral trading system is presumed to facilitate other development goals of the Agenda. Although peoples’ living standards are increasing worldwide, substantial inequalities remain between and within countries. If we only focus on legal rights and freedoms, people may live on the verge of an adequate standard of living and are thus not able to improve one’s well-being beyond that and lead the life one has reason to value. Hence, this study aims to go beyond the legislative protection of human rights by applying Amartya Sen’s capability approach which focuses on the ethical notion of human rights. Additionally, the approach focuses on the expansion of peoples’ capabilities and freedoms to achieve what one value doing and being. If a universal multilateral trading system is assumed to be beneficial for trade, economy, and to achieve development goals, will the outcomes of such system be beneficial for all peoples’ capabilities to lead the lives they have reason to value? The main findings of this study suggest that the political economy of world trade facilitates a subordination of countries in which some are benefitted, while others are stuck with the production of goods associated with low wages and unhealthy work conditions. This may affect the distribution of intergenerational equity and sustainability, affecting capabilities of many generations to come. One significant conclusion of this study is that legislative protection of human rights is not enough to target detrimental structures and to ensure everyone the kind of life and living standards one has reason to value.

This research was a minor field study that took place during eight weeks in Kathmandu, Nepal, with a research focus on the country’s dyeing industry. Methods like qualitative interviews, observation, and analyses through the connections to the UN’s sustainable development goals was used to meet the research aim and objectives. The objectives of the research were to clarify what areas that are slowing down and what areas are creating opportunities for sustainable development within the industry. To identify these areas could be one part of knowing how and where change has to be made to achieve a more sustainable dyeing industry in Nepal. There are mainly three different ways to work with dyeing in Nepal; AZO dyeing, AZO free dyeing, and natural dyeing. Each technique comes with different issues and benefits connected to them, some on a more socio-economic level and some health-related. The established industry is more or less a lawless industry, with an absence of knowledge about the connected environmental and health effects. Due to a rough history of poverty and natural disasters, the industry is until today neglected and the issues connected has not been prioritised.  Today the industry is driven by the market and at the same time anchored by governmental corruption and outdated methods, which makes it hard for the industry to build its value and to develop sustainably. This sector is connected to the UN’s sustainable development goals 4,6,9 &amp; 12 and their targets. However, today the industry awareness about the goals are low, and the lack of defined action in the government's plan for implementing the sustainable development goals states that they will not be a driving force towards a more sustainable dyeing industry. Awareness and customer demand is what is expected to move the industry towards a more sustainable future, according to the interviews. Nepal's dying industry does not have the bad reputation that other countries nearby have, which opens up for opportunities. But for the industry to be able to handle this opportunity, more accurate and a more in-depth research has to be made, to more clearly appreciate what the industry looks like today, since it is missing data. It would also mean that the government has to acknowledge the situation and clean up its act to make it easier for businesses to grow in a sustainable way. / <p>2018-06-08</p>

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The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 and consists of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainable development was adopted in 2003 as an overall objective of Swedish government policy. This study focuses more closely on gender-equal parenting as an aspect of social sustainability. According to the Swedish government’s national policy on gender equality, the work of family centers must be characterized by a gender equality perspective as a step towards creating social sustainability. However, several studies show that female dominance in family centers, together with traditional norms linked to parenthood, entails a challenge related to the pursuit of equal parenthood. For example, fathers tend to feel excluded and not welcome in the center. Hence, this study especially aims to find out how family centers and their professionals work to create conditions for including fathers in their activities and thereby stimulate equal parenting. The study used a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews with a total of six interviewees at two family centers. The result shows that the personnel at the family centers are working for social sustainability diligently, in this case, gender-equal parenting. Still, the execution of the work varies between professionals and family centers. Therefore, it is safe to say that a national effort is needed to create greater equality in family centers' approach to gender-equal parenting.