Increased investment in education to build capacity and quality is essential if the world is to meet its ambitious targets on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: Quality Education. There are 258 million school aged children out of school, of which 98 million are in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Low-income countries are experiencing dramatic growth in their populations and have severe limitations on their ability to fund the required infrastructure development. The financing gap is estimated to be US$ 1.8 trillion to achieve SDG goals (Education Commission, 2016). Low-Cost Private Schools (LCPS), accessible to children from poor families, are growing rapidly in SSA to fill this gap. This study is focused on the potential to increase the use of innovative financing to improve capacity and quality for LCPSs. Most innovative finance schemes utilise some form of a School Development Loan to achieve greater investment in capacity and quality of education. The study evaluates the effect of School Development Loans on several indicators which have been directly associated with capacity and quality, using data from Ghana and Uganda, countries estimated to need a combined 5 million new seats for children by 2023 (7% of their combined population) to account for population growth. Capacity indicators include the Number of Students enrolled in the school and the Number of Classrooms available for use. The indicators of school quality were Pupil Teacher Ratios (Lower), the Number of Washrooms, the Number of Washrooms Dedicated to Girls and the Number of Extracurricular Programmes Offered by the school. The study leveraged pairwise correlation and regression analysis to identify the most directly linked indicators, followed by a mean difference analysis. The study finds that schools taking out School Development Loans have more classrooms, higher enrolment, greater amounts of washrooms and extracurricular activities on offer, indicating that School Development Loans increase both capacity and quality at LCPSs. Despite the encouraging findings, it is early to assess whether the significance of the increase over time. The study recommends a fully coordinated Randomised Control Trial (RCT) for further research, where data is collected prior to the school receiving its first loan and again at the conclusion of the loan.

The human rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ) population is repeatedly violated in countries around the world. Discrimination, violence, and state-led persecution towards the LGBTIQ population takes a negative toll on development and will ultimately affect the outcome of SDG 10, reduced inequalities. In an African context, the needs of the LGBTIQ population often go unnoticed when not formally addressed and a lack of inclusion along with a discriminatory legal framework puts the LGBTIQ population at an increased risk of being left behind in the quest to achieve Agenda 2030.  Tanzania holds some of the highest punishments in the world for same-sex acts, with up to life imprisonment. This study is focused on challenges faced by the Tanzanian LGBTIQ group, perceived social inclusion, the current development of LGBTIQ rights, factors that affect this development, and how LGBTIQ rights can be improved. Through an abductive case study, this thesis draws on eighteen semi-structured interviews as its primary sources. It also employs current literature as secondary sources. To analyse the data Queer theory and a rights-based approach are employed to uncover structures that affect LGBTIQ inclusion. Findings suggest that LGBTIQ individuals are under immense societal pressure to conform to heteronormative gender roles to avoid discrimination. Further, LGBTIQ rights are found to be affected by political, cultural, religious, and generational factors. Findings also suggest that local context is important to consider in the process of making norms more favorable for LGBTIQ equality and inclusion. This thesis also highlights areas of improvement for LGBTIQ inclusion and equality in form of eradicating discriminatory laws, in line with SDG 10. As well as capacitating institutions to queer practices with a synergy of a bottom-up and top-down approach.

Uppsatsen är en fallstudie utförd på uppdrag av Arla ostmejeri i Kalmar med syfte att undersöka om en minskning av den höga vattenförbrukningen på anläggningen är genomförbar. För att svara på studiens frågeställning har samtal med systemtekniskt kunnig personal på mejeriet tillsammans med egen efterforskning och studiebesök utförts. Fokus har lagts på att undersöka möjligheten att öka användningen av biprodukten produktkondensat som vattenresurs, vilket redan används till en nyttjandegrad upp till ca 50%. Ökningen är tänkt att ske bland annat genom att använda produktkondensatet i ostrecepten vilket gör att kondensatet måste vara fritt från bakterier och orenheter. Tanken är att det ska uppnås med hjälp av avancerad filterteknik, så som omvänd osmos och ultrafiltrering. Även undersökning kring fullständig vattenåterföring genom total vattenrening har undersökts som alternativ, det visade sig vara ett kostsamt projekt med behov av större utbyggnader. Arbetet är aktuellt då många kommuner i Sverige kämpar med att hålla vattenförsörjning till invånare och industrier under särskilt torra somrar. / This is a case study commissioned by Arla cheese dairy in Kalmar, Sweden, with the purpose to examine if a decrease of the high water consumption on the dairy is possible. To answer the question formulation of the study dialogues with experienced personnel of the dairy together with research and visit at an adjacent water treatment plant. The research has focused on the possibility to increase the use of the bi product ”product condensate” as a water resource, which is used up to 50% today. The increase is supposed to be achieved with the use of product condensate in the cheese recipes which means that the condensate needs to be free from bacteria and impurities. To reach this cleanliness of the water advanced filter technique like reversed osmosis and ultrafiltration must be used. Total water recirculation with no water discharge in the factory was examined but it showed to be an expensive project with the need of big investments.This study is important today since a lot of areas in Sweden is struggling with high water consumption, especially warm and dry summers.

Background: Gamification is the application of game design elements in non-gameenvironments and is used to optimise experiences. Existing literaturedoes not explain which game design elements are applicable tosustainable grocery purchases or why. Grocers need to understandwhat motivates customers to purchase sustainably before applyinggame design elements in practice. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to gain an understanding about howgamification could be used to encourage sustainable grocerypurchases. Research Question: Which game design elements are perceived by customers as motivators for purchasing sustainable groceries? Methodology: This research took a qualitative approach with an exploratorypurpose. The research approach is situated in the inductiveinterpretivist methodological research tradition. The empiricalmaterial was collected in two focus group discussions. A systematiccoding process was applied to uncover the meaning of theparticipants' perspectives. Conclusion: The findings of this study were that positive attitudes toward thegame design elements were required to encourage sustainablegrocery purchases. Game design elements could also shift the sourceof motivation to purchase sustainable groceries from external causesto internal goal-fulfilment. Endless game structures and the lure ofextrinsic rewards in the form of coupons and discounts were found tobe necessities in this context. The three important aspects of gamedesign elements found in this context are informational, progressive,and social. Contribution: This study is the first to explore the motivational, value-based, and attitudinal reasoning that explains why and how certain game design elements could motivate customers in the context of sustainable grocery shopping

Date:                                       2022-06-01 Level:                                      Bachelor thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution:                              School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors:                                 João Vitor Barroso França          Karl Isaksson            Alex Josefsson                                                 (99/04/01)                                (97/10/31)                 (95/09/08) Title:                                        LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES FROM A CLEAN ENERGY PERSPECTIVE: The Case of Northvolt Supervisor:                              Konstantin Lampou Keywords:                               Northvolt, Lithium-Ion Battery, SDG, Sustainability, Clean energy Research question:                  How does a company in the Lithium-Ion Battery Industry contribute to affordable and clean energy for all? The case of Northvolt Purpose:                                  The purpose of this study aims at understanding what values and implementations Northvolt has in its business to integrate targets from the UN’s SDG number seven. Because of the complexity of the research area, the authors adopted an extensive literature review on articles concerning corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainable development (SD), and Lithium-Ion batteries. Method:                                   This research was conducted through interpretive, inductive, and exploratory logic, together with a qualitative case-study research approach, where six different managers from Northvolt were interviewed, and secondary data related to Northvolt, and the Lithium-Ion battery Industry was collected and analyzed. Conclusion:                             The authors concluded that, with a vertically integrated business model, Northvolt is a disruptor in the LIB industry. Additionally, the company focuses more extensively on reaching targets beyond the UN’s SDGs. As a booming market globally, challenges around sustainability, carbon footprint transparency, and reaching global demand for the products are extensive. Northvolt’s business revolves around innovation and the company has a strict sustainable approach in a very energy-intensive industry. Northvolt’s vision is to create the greenest battery on the market, which can indicate that CSR values overlap with business operations. Northvolt contributes to global goals by taking all elements of the supply chain into account.

The generation of solid waste is a natural consequence of human life. Its rate has increase rapidly along the years, mostly due to the population growth, urbanization process coupled to industrialization and economic development. The uncontrolled disposal of solid waste in unsuitable sites, dump sites, has poses a threat to public health and the environment. In this regard Global efforts has been made to rethink municipal solid waste management toward sustainability. Middle- and low-income countries, such as Brazil, should seize the opportunity and centre efforts in the development and strengthen of an inclusive municipal solid waste management, supported by an innovative public policy where all government levels are integrated and focused on resource recovery and recycling through the organization and strengthening of waste pickers, in order to act directly in the income improvement of a marginalized portion of society as a result of the revenue generated by recovered and recycled materials sales, as well as reduce the CO2eq emissions consequent from the disposal of solid waste, among others, hence moving these countries towards the achievement of the SDG goals. In this regard, a well managed inclusive municipal solid waste system requires a reliable data source to support decision makers in the design of public policies with effective actions in the field, otherwise innovative and modern public policies will be filled with fruitless actions, thus, wasting the aptitude of the municipal solid waste management system in help middle- and low-income countries to successfully carry out the SDGs goals. Nevertheless, the estimation methods are a valuable tool for decision makers in middle- and low income countries to outrun the lack of solid waste information and doing so, increase the effectiveness of public polices towards a sustainable and inclusive municipal solid waste system, focused on mitigate negative impacts in the environmental sphere and potentiate the positive outcomes in the public health and human development sphere in these countries. This research proposed an estimate method based on the nominal income which is able to provide a reliable estimate of the residential solid waste generation, as well as its spatial distribution in the municipal level and within the municipal boundaries. The proposed approach has the ability to differentiate spatial distribution of the residential solid waste generation, weighting not just the number of people living in a determined space, but also the purchase power of those people, providing a more accurate view of the issue, which benefits decision makers to design and plan their polices and actions. / Graduate

The study considers whether blended finance helps scale up private investment in southern Africa's community-based conservation. It examines what are stakeholder's perspectives on the opportunities, barriers and risks of using blended finance to help scale up private investment in this context. Further, it delves into which, if any, of the revenue- generating activities available to communities from conservation are most viable to upscale with blended finance, and via which blended finance tools. The questions were answered via an exploratory sequential mixed methods design, utilising interviews in Phase 1 and a survey completed by 104 respondents in Phase 2. The output from the research is a publicly available inventory of blended investment options for community-based conservation, including seven types of non-tourism, conservation-related revenue streams. Five of these are ranked positively for scalability, wildlife economy, Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) in carbon and restoration, and forestry and agriculture related supply chains. The study suggests some viable space between demand and supply for conservation finance at the community level and provides insight into how to overcome the barriers to these; particularly in the context of communal land, which is a common arrangement for southern African conservation. There are limited first-hand examples of blended finance being used for community-based conservation. The research points to a gap in using insurance and guarantees as blended finance tools to address the challenges of credit risk for investors on communal land; such tools could be catalytic in unlocking private investment in conservation that returns environmental and development benefits in this region. The study addresses the missed opportunity for communities to benefit from conservation at a much greater scale than presently experienced. It also serves to update the working theory of conservation finance to the context of community-based conservation.

The main aim of this study was to isolate and characterise antifungal and antibacterial compounds from leaf extracts of Combretum molle which belonging to the Combretaceae family. C. molle is one of the commonly used medicinal plants in southern Africa for numerous ailments. Three animal fungal pathogens, namely, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus and five plant fungal pathogens, namely, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus parasiticus, Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium janthinellum, Rhizoctonia solani and four nosocomial bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were used as test microorganisms for bioactive compounds in leaf extracts of C.molle. Experiments for phytochemical analysis were done using different C. molle leaf extracts which were made using acetone, methanol, ethanol, ethyl acetate, chloroform, butanol and hexane as extractants. Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) fingerprints of different leaf extracts were developed in three mobile phase systems, EMW, CEF and BEA and detected with vanillin-sulphuric acid spraying agent. The different extracts of C. molle showed the presence of many different compounds with distinct retardation factors (Rf), separated according to their polarities. Bioautography was carried out to determine the number of active compounds and their Rf values. The TLC plates were developed in three mobile systems, each sprayed with either fungal or bacterial strains. In BEA bioautograms of A. fumigatus, clear zones of inhibition were observed at Rf values of 0.12, 0.23, and 0.40. In EMW bioautogram of C. albicans, clear zones of inhibition were observed at Rf value of 0.73, 0.81, 0.87. C. neoformans had weak growth inhibition. Most of the fungal and bacterial strains tested in the bioautography displayed susceptibility to the active compounds, with P. janthinellum and P. aeruginosa showing exceptional sensitivity. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) values ranged from 0.02 to 2.5 mg/ml against the tested pathogens. The acetone and ethyl acetate extracts had the best inhibitory activity against P. janthinellum with an MIC value of 0.02 mg/ml. The acetone extract of C. molle gave the highest total activity (775 ml/g) against P. janthinellum. C. albicans was the most resistant pathogen with an average MIC value of 0.56 mg/ml compared with the other tested strains. Extracts were active against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains. P. aeruginosa extracts had the highest average MIC value (0.24 mg/ml) among the tested bacterial strains. In general, there was good overall inhibitory activity by different extracts of C. molle. Bioassay-guided fractionation of DCM extract of the leaves of C. molle yielded 32 fractions. Further fractionation led to the isolation of five compounds (C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5). Compound C1 was selected for structure elucidation due a larger quantity isolated and higher antimicrobial activity compared with the other isolated compounds. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy (MS) was used to show that compound C1 was taraxerol, belonging to the taraxerane group. Antimicrobial activity of the isolated compound against P. janthinellum had an MIC value of 0.08 ug/ml. Although the compound taraxerol have been discovered in other plant species, it is reported for the first time from C. molle in the study. The results illustrate that crude extracts and compound taraxerol from C. molle can be used as either an antibacterial or antifungal, and warrants further investigation. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Paraclinical Sciences / MSc / Unrestricted

Small stock farming and production accounted for approximately 8.4% of total animal product based agricultural output in the 2011 / 2012 season in South Africa. Large scale commercial farming aside, small stock farming also takes on an important role in poorer and developing rural areas of South Africa, where small stock are kept for a combination of economic and non-economic reasons including financial investment or security, food and resource production, as well as religious or traditional reasons. Blowflies are Dipterids with complex life cycles and complete metamorphoses, causing damage to hides and frequent death in their ovine hosts, as a result of cutaneous myiasis caused by the larval stages. All economically important blowfly species causing veterinary myiasis belong to the superfamily Oestroidea, which contains the three major families Oestridae, Calliphoridae and Sarcophidae. The two most significant blowfly genera in South Africa, Lucillia and Chrysomya, both belong to the family Calliphoridae. Chemical means of preventing and treating blowfly strike by topical application remains the most widely used method and appears to be indispensable at this stage. New molecules or formulations effective against blowfly strike are constantly being sought and form part of an active field of research. Bayer currently manufactures and markets Drastic Deadline Extreme ®, a pour-on formulation containing flumethrin and fluazuron for the control of blue ticks (Rhipicephalus decoloratus) in cattle; its possible action against blowflies in sheep was investigated in an in-vitro model, subsequent to a pilot pharmacokinetic study evaluating the kinetics of fluazuron when applied topically to sheep in this particular combination. The first objective of the project was to determine whether fluazuron has any effect at all on the development of blowfly larvae. An active ingredient from the same family of compounds, namely triflumeron, has been successfully used for several years to control blowfly strike in sheep in South Africa (Zapp ® Pour on - Bayer), but it was uncertain whether or not fluazuron would be effective. Raw fluazuron was applied to six pieces of beef according to a dose calculation based on the registered dose of the test product in cattle, while another six pieces were treated with saline in a similar fashion (n=6). Each piece of beef was placed in its own container along with six late instar larvae and placed in the incubator at 35°C for a further nine days. In this instance, the treated group demonstrated significant development defects with regard to pupation (uneclosed pupae) when analysed using the Mann-Whitney non-parametric t-test (p = 0.002). / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Paraclinical Sciences / MSc / Unrestricted

Diatoms have a successful history of use in assessments of wetland biological condition. In North America and across Europe, diatom assemblages are used for routine wetland condition assessments to meet the statutory requirements of the European Water Framework Directive and the National Aquatic Resource Survey by the US Environmental Protection Agency. In South Africa, the use of diatom assemblages as indicators of wetland condition may be a promising alternative to the traditional biotic assemblages employed, such as macroinvertebrates or macrophytes, which have proven to be ineffective. We present a preliminary investigation on the feasibility of diatoms in wetland biological assessments in South Africa by evaluating the use of diatoms as indicators of biological condition for depressional wetlands in the Mpumalanga Highveld region of South Africa. Depressional wetlands typically found in this region are either temporary (seasonally inundated) or permanent depressions. Temporary depressional wetlands are expected to be affected by natural environmental disturbances (e.g., seasonal fluctuations in water-level which may cause changes in water chemistry) as compared to relatively stable permanent ones. Establishing whether diatoms are suitable indicators of natural environmental disturbances in temporary depressional wetlands in this region is necessary for further investigations of anthropogenic disturbances. We sampled epiphytic diatoms from three least human-disturbed temporary depressional wetlands during various stages of inundation and showed that the species composition of epiphytic diatom communities were strong indicators of temporally changing environmental conditions. Using the same diatom and physical and chemical data, we also demonstrated that simplifying the taxonomy by using the functional composition (ecological guilds, life-forms) of the epiphytic diatom communities, can assess temporally changing environmental conditions as effectively as the species composition. Moreover, these functional groups provide valuable ecological information that is not available from the species data. Acid mine drainage (AMD) is the predominant stressor in permanent depressional wetlands of the Mpumalanga Highveld region, where coal mines utilise these wetlands for storage of AMD, which has severe impacts on the structure and function of the ecosystem. In order to develop an approach for impact assessment and management of depressional wetlands in the region, we developed an epiphytic diatom multimetric index (MMI) for AMD impacted permanent depressional wetlands. This is also the first diatom index to quantify AMD impacts in wetland habitats. Data collected from 34 sites that represented a range of conditions along an AMD gradient within the Mpumalanga Highveld was used to select responsive diatom metrics which we combined into a multimetric index. We developed separate MMIs for classes of depressional wetland types in order to account for natural variation among diatom assemblages, and compared their performance with an MMI that did not account for natural variation. To account for natural variation, we classified reference sites based on diatom typologies and hypothesised that by using this approach, we would improve MMI performance. Overall, all MMIs performed considerably well, although grouping sites by diatom typology to account for natural variation improved MMI performance, especially the precision, responsiveness and sensitivity to disturbance. We conclude that diatoms have strong potential for use in wetland ecological assessments in South Africa. The experimental and statistical approaches used in this study should expand our knowledge of diatom ecology and further advance the research and development of diatom bioassessment. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Paraclinical Sciences / PhD / Unrestricted