Sustainable Built Environments Senior Capstone Project / This paper provides a study on the configuration of Stirling engines and the effect using a solar dish as a heat source on efficiency. The Stirling engine was based on the MIT 2.670 design - a Gamma configuration, low temperature differential Stirling engine. Temperature and speed were measured for the base model Stirling engine to determine the initial efficiency. Modifications were planned to add a parabolic mirror as a solar dish and compare the efficiency to the initial design, however, the completed solar Stirling engine testing and data collection is to be performed in the following summer. The work performed by the engine was to be calculated using the Schmidt formula to then find the power output. Results from the completion of this study would indicate how the solar dish effects the power output of the Stirling engine.

A Thesis submitted to The University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Medicine. / Short‐term surgical missions (STSMs) provide an opportunity for the global health care community to address the surgical needs of developing communities worldwide. Conditions that require a one‐time intervention, such as cleft lip and palate, clearly demonstrate the positive impact these short‐term missions can have on the individual patient. However, the long‐term impact on the local health care system, economy, and community is less clear. Many in the global health care community believe that STSMs should seek to have a long‐term impact by establishing sustainable health care programs. Information regarding the impact of STSMs is scarce, however, due to limited regulation, research, and data from short‐term missions. This study investigates how short‐term international missions impact health care sustainability in low‐income and developing communities. This study uses a systematic review to investigate the impact of STSMs on health care sustainability. Additional outcomes included education and skills‐transfer, cost‐effectiveness, and cultural awareness. 15 articles were included in the study. The following outcomes were found: sustainability in 9 studies, education and skills‐transfer in 5, cost‐effectiveness in 4, and cultural awareness in 3. STSMs can successfully establish sustainable programs abroad. Factors that contribute to this success include education and training of host providers, cost‐effective services, and cultural awareness. Understanding the complex dynamic between STSMs and developing communities is key to developing effective and sustainable programs that offer long‐term benefits to those communities.

Abstract Background The organisations actions are continuing to be disconnected from Earth system research and to what level organisations have an impact, if all to minimize risk of collapse of Earth systems are unknown (Whiteman etl al 2013) this is the problem this paper is seeking to address. By connecting organizations sustainability work with Earth boundaries research by developing the Swedish SIQ business excellence model. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop SIQ model so it contains what is necessary to identify organizations impact on Earth 9 boundaries.  Method A qualitative research method has been used and the analysis has been done by using the Planetary Boundaries research and top-down & bottom-up perspective as a lens to identify problem, solution and to analyse the SIQ model, then data has been collected by literature studies. Results The result chapter is the presentation of a model than show the relation between the Earth system and boundaries. This is followed by the analysis of the SIQ model that suggest main development needs in the environmental management criteria. The development should incorporate a top-down & bottom-up perspective in order to effectively consider external criteria’s such as Earth boundaries in the management of the organization at management and activity level. Discussion For organisations to consider external factors such as Earth boundaries the SIQ criteria’s and goals has to interact. And by interacting Earth boundaries with the SIQ model the gap between organizations and environmental science are reduces. By reducing this gap the organizations activities can contribute to minimize the degradation on Earth systems and risk for collapse / Bakgrund Företagens aktiviteter fortsätter att vara särkopplade från vetenskapen om Jordens globala system och till vilken utsträckning företagen motverkar kollaps av Jordens system är oklart (Whiteman et al. 2014) och det är denna utmaning som denna uppsats söker att utforska genom att koppla företagens hållbarhetsarbete med Jordens 9 gränser genom at utveckla SIQ modellen. Syfte Syfte med denna uppsats är att utveckla SIQ modellen så den innehåller det som krävs för att företagen skall identifiera sin inverkan på Jordens 9 gränser. Metod En kvalitativ metod har använts och för att analysera har gjorts genom att använda Jordens 9 gränser och top-down/bottom-up perspektivet som lins för att identifiera problem, lösningar och analysen av SIQ modellen och datainsamlingen har gjorts genom litteraturstudier. Resultat Resultatkapitlet introducerar en modell som visar samverkan mellan Jordens system och 9 gränser ner till företagen aktiviteter. Modellen följs av analysen av SIQ modellen som visar störst utvecklingspotential i miljöledningskriterierna. Utvecklingen bör samverka med top-down/bottom-up perspektiven för att modellen skall på bästa sätt omhänderta externa faktorer såsom Jordens gränser i styrningen av företagen på överordnad och utförarnivå. Diskussion För att företagen skall kunna omhänderta alla externa faktorer såsom Jordens gränser så måste SIQ kriterierna och företagens mål samverka. Genom att integrera Jordens gränser med SIQ modellen så har gapet mellan företagen och miljövetenskapen minskats. Genom att minska detta gap kan företagens aktiviteter bidra till att minimera nerbrytningen och risk för kollaps av Jordens system.

Urban areas are facing huge environmental challenges due to an increase in the population from 50% to 70% until 2050. The European Commission promotes the European Green Capital Award to give European cities motivation to facilitate a change towards urban sustainable development in medium-sized cities, where the city Umeå in north Sweden is applying for the third time. The aim of this study is to see whether the award is a useful tool for the environmental work in Umeå and if there are controversies among the stakeholders of the city. Interviews have been conducted where interviewees from several areas, both pro and against the award, have been interviewed. It is shown that the award has several impacts where most of them are beneficial for the environmental work in the city, such as structuring the environmental work. The main challenge with the award is a communication failure between the project group and other stakeholders of the city. The conclusion is that the award in itself seem to be good for the environmental work in Umeå but that the communication between the project group and the citizens needs to be improved.

This thesis focuses on eGovernance – the use of ICT as a means to improve public sector practice. Previous research has shown that there is a lack of long-term discussion on the purposes and directions of eGovernance development, often outlining it as unequivocally positive, while missing to consider the complexities and conflicts involved in this process. In order to understand the complexities of eGovernance a future-oriented perspective is needed. In other words a perspective that not only focuses on using ICT to be responsive to present needs but also making it possible to discuss which goals public sector ICT initiatives should strive for and how these correspond to goals and means in the public sector as a whole. In order to do this I employ a sustainability perspective. The aim of this thesis is to understand how eGovernance can be sustainable in such a complex organizational environment. This is approached in four papers; based on two case studies, situated in the public sector of Sweden, and a structured literature review of the use of the sustainability concept in eGovernance research. The findings of this thesis include a framework of sustainable eGovernance, including an outline of the different dimensions of sustainability: social, economic, environmental and technical. These dimensions are seen as carriers of different values and goals which are in a process of continuous dialogue and conflict. Cutting across these four dimensions are two themes: decision making and information infrastructure, which make up the backbone of how ICT can be used in order to improve public practice. The theoretical lens of sustainability widens our understanding and helps in the questioning of motivations, directions and implications of eGovernance initiatives. This thesis thus contributes with a theoretically and empirically founded framework, which is suitable as a foundation for sustainable eGovernance development and further research into that area.

The organizational structure of Holacracy has been gaining popularity in recent years, but a lack of academic research on Holacracy called for a systematic approach to assessing its merits and shortcomings. The need Holacracy fills, is that of organizations dealing with a complex world and rapidly evolving technology. While Holacracy is not tailored to address sustainability issues, there are many components that made it a candidate for the researchers to examine it through a social sustainability lens. This study examines the effect of specific components of Holacracy with elements of adaptive capacity – a theory from which the research definition of social sustainability was built. With the goal of determining the effect of Holacracy on social sustainability, a questionnaire directed at employees and practitioners of holacratic organizations was utilized. The findings implied that Holacracy does positively influence the experience of the elements of adaptive capacity; with the relationship to the adaptive capacity element of self-organization being a standout. The importance of trust is also identified. The link to the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development can be elucidated through adaptive capacity’s influence to the social sustainability principles. Because of the importance of social sustainability and social capital to organizational performance and longevity, this research is of value to any business using, or considering using Holacracy.

Land areas being used unsustainably are depleted and/or degraded. To prevent this from happening and/or to reverse the effects, we need to restore these environments. However, not all restoration practices are equal, and some do not adhere to rigorous standards of sustainability. In this study, restoration guidelines and opinions from field experts were analysed from an SSD perspective. The focus of this thesis was limestone quarries in northern Europe due to quarries’ impacts to the socio-ecological system and the sensitivity of northern ecosystems. The results were divided into two sub-sections: FSSD comparison to guidelines, which included an SP analysis to principles in guidelines, and interviews. The conclusion was that the SSD approach could enhance these quarry restoration guidelines by incorporating the recommendations formulated from the results and discussion. One recommendation was having the eight SPs as overarching boundaries for success. Incorporating these recommendations would fill the sustainability gaps, aiding in the practitioner's ability to be strategic and have long-term success within sustainable limits.

After a review of the theoretical justifications of the fiscal criteria and the different concepts of sustainability the fiscal position of the EU countries selected as members of the EMU is examined. Firstly, the assessment by the Commission and the EMI is critically reported. After identifying countries with successful consolidations and those without success conclusions about the implications for sustainability are drawn. It turns out that the effort towards fiscal consolidation is not yet over for a long time. Here, the Stability and Growth Pact draws the line. In particular in countries with presently very high debt to GDP ratios the next decade in the EMU could become a hard one. Secondly, macromodel simulations shall demonstrate how asymmetric shocks (one supply and one demand shock) may hamper the ambitions towards sustainability. Similarly, a single monetary policy can have detrimental effects when the business cycles are not synchronized in Euroland. This problem is touched upon with model simulations of a change of the common interest rate. (author's abstract) / Series: EI Working Papers / Europainstitut

Sustainable approaches have been extensively proposed in product, process and system levels. However, a lack of applicable solutions for these methods is identified in the existing research. This research considers uncertainties affecting sustainable systems and comprehensively discusses the need for the optimal design in product and system levels under uncertainty. Based on the economic, social and environmental requirements of a sustainable product, and uncertainties in engineering systems, two innovative methods are proposed. The methods, including agent-based modeling (ABM) and Big Data, quantify effects of users’ preference changes as a significant uncertainty source in a product design process. The effect of quantified uncertainties on the product sustainability is then evaluated, and solutions to reduce the effects are developed. Through a novel control engineering method, uncertainties are modeled in the design process of a product. Using two mathematical models, the cost and environmental impacts in the design process are minimized under users’ preference changes. The models search for an optimal number of iterations in the design process to achieve a sustainable solution. The methods have been extended to model and optimize the sustainable system design under uncertainties. Design of Eco-Industrial Parks (EIPs) is a practical and scientific solution to achieve sustainable industries. To improve the feasibility of flow exchanges between industries in an EIP under several uncertainties, this research provides a perspective analysis for establishing flow exchanges between industries. The sources of uncertainties in the EIPs are then comprehensively studied, and research gaps are highlighted. Finally, models to optimize flow exchanges between industries are presented and the validity of models is evaluated using real data. A major is including all sustainability pillars in the proposed approach. The research addresses users’ preferences to highlight the role of individuals in the society. Moreover, the economic and environmental objective functions have been considered for optimal decision making in the design process. This research underlines the role of uncertainty studies in the sustainable system design. Multiple classifications, perspective analysis, and optimization objectives are presented to help decision makers with the optimal design of sustainable systems under uncertainties. / February 2017

<p> Evaluating trends of historical rainfall on a weekly and seasonal basis is needed for optimizing the design and implementation of lawn water conservation strategies like outdoor water restrictions. While &ldquo;day of the week&rdquo; water restrictions are a typical strategy to limit the frequency and duration of urban lawn water use, they may not necessarily result in more conservative behaviors from end-users. Because weekly rainfall and local climate variables are seldom taken into account in water restriction strategies, they are not connected to actual lawn water demand. However, since lawn water demand is directly related to weekly rainfall totals, not to a particular number of watering days per week, water restriction schedules have the potential to unintentionally promote overwatering. This study investigated the weekly patterns of average seasonal rainfall and evapotranspiration in South Florida to determine the typical variability of weekly net irrigation needs and found that typical wet season weekly rainfall often provides a significant amount of water to meet the demand of residential lawns and landscapes. This finding underscores opportunity to reduce supplemental overwatering in residential landscapes if watering guidelines were modified to recognize seasonal average weekly rainfall in this region. </p><p> This study also tested a rainfall-based water conservation strategy to determine if providing residents with information about how local rainfall could promote more effective lawn watering behavior than just water restrictions alone. Experimental households reduced lawn water use by up to 61% compared to the control group by the end of the study. These results demonstrate that the neighborhood &ldquo;rain-watered lawn&rdquo; signs helped experimental study group households become more aware of rainfall as the primary input of water to their lawns. This study also investigated the role that lawn irrigation from self-supplied sources plays in the urban lawn water demand and investigates how the lawn water use and lawn watering behaviors of households that source from self-supply differ from those who source from the public supply.</p>