To tackle the current global climate and sustainability challenges, Sweden aims to transition to a circular economy and society. The purpose of this thesisis to explore and gain a better understanding of the current state of theentrepreneurial ecosystem on a national level that supports the transition to acircular economy in Sweden and explore potential collaborative activity between the components of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This thesis favours a qualitative approach and an inductive strategy, thus forty semi-structured interviews were conducted with components of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.The theoretical framework consists of a conceptual framework based on the two concepts entrepreneurial ecosystem (phenomena) and circular economy (context) which provide a springboard for the thesis. The findings outline that there is no consensus amongst the interviewees concerning the existence of the entrepreneurial ecosystem that supports the transition to a circular economy in Sweden. Thus, the entrepreneurial ecosystem that supports the transition to acircular economy in Sweden is still in the starting phase and needs to overcome several challenges in order to be able to provide a favourable and supportive entrepreneurial climate to transition to a circular economy in Sweden. This thesis makes a valuable academic contribution to the scarce literature on the topic and has practical relevance by providing a unique overview and understanding of the current state of the entrepreneurial ecosystem supporting the transition to a circular economy in Sweden and the collaborative activity within, which can be further useful to already existing and new components within the entrepreneurial ecosystem, as well as further useful for researchers.

This study is part of a feasibility study conducted by the Sustainability and Resilience Company (su-re.co), and is identified within this report as the sustainability vetting. This study aims to evaluate the sustainability of the natural indigo-dyeing process at a small medium enterprise (SME) batik dying community, Ciwaringin Batik, located in Cirebon, West Java, Indonesia. Following this, sustainable development strategies (SDS) based on the Circular Economy (CE) RESOLVE Framework will be created for Ciwaringin Batik to further empower the community and provide sustainable business growth initiatives. An iterative qualitative and quantitative data methodology is used when collecting and analyzing production data from Ciwaringin Batik. Data is collected from 9 Ciwaringin Batik craftsmen, who use natural indigo dye during batik production, in Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) format, questionnaires, and through a site-visit to Ciwaringin Batik. Water and indigo consumption data was thoroughly analyzed as it is directly related to a feasibility study conducted by su-re.co and is relevant to their future involvement with Ciwaringin. Current sustainable and “unsustainable” production practices were identified, 10 SDS’s were created following the RESOLVE framework structure, 6 SDS’s were explained and then prioritized regarding implementation feasibility.

The design of foundation in normal soil conditions is governed by bearing capacity, minimum depth of foundation and settlement. However, foundation design in karst regions needs to consider an additional criterion associated to the possibility of subsurface subsidence and ravelling sinkholes. Under this environment, alternative techniques are needed to improve the subsurface soil. In this study general background information is given to understand the geological characteristics of Central Florida and why this area is considered to be a karst region and susceptible to sinkholes formation. Traditional foundation design techniques on karst regions are addressed in this paper. Finally, the use of a network of three subsurface horizontal piles is proposed and the effect on stress increase and soil bearing capacity for footing due to the horizontal piles is investigated. Finite element computer software is used to analyze the stress distribution under different conditions and the results are discussed. The objective of this study is to determine whether or not horizontal piles under a circular footing at the sinkhole site is a viable solution to reduce the stress increase in the soil induced by the footing load. The horizontal piles located at a certain depth below the center of the footing intercepts the cone of pressure due to the footing load. Also, it is the purpose of this research to determine the effect on the soil bearing capacity for footing due to the proposed horizontal piles at the sinkhole prone area. In 1983 Baus, R.L and Wang, M.C published a research paper on soil bearing capacity for strip footing above voids. In their research, a chart for soil bearing capacity for strip footing located above a void was presented. However, in this paper we present a chart for circular footing size as a function void location and a design chart for circular footing size with a network of three underground piles. The result indicates that with the horizontal piles placed above the cavity, the stress increase caused by the footing load substantially decreases as compared to the situation of no horizontal piles, thus increases the soil bearing capacity for the normal design of footing size. The approach of using the horizontal piles placed in between the footing and the subsurface cavity is a new concept that has not been experienced previously. The results are strictly based on the analytical model of finite element program. Before full implementation for the construction practice, further research and experimental work should be conducted.

Porous cellulose nitrate membranes were impregnated with 8CB and PCH5 LCs (liquid crystals) and separations of solutes dissolved in aqueous phases were performed while monitoring solute concentration via UV-VIS spectrometry. The diffusing organic solutes, which consist of one aromatic ring and various functional groups, were selected to exclude molecular size effects on the diffusion and sorption. We studied the effects on solute transport of solute intra-molecular hydrogen bonding and solute/LC intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Hydrogen-bonding effects are a significant factor in the permeation selectivity of positional isomers. The reduction of available hydrogen-bond donors in aromatic ortho-isomers due to intramolecular H-bonding resulted in significant differences in the diffusion relative to the para-isomers which possessed more available H-bond donors. Solutes possessing multiple H-bonding interactions experienced a higher barrier to diffusion and, consequently, lower diffusivities. Diffusing solutes with a single available H-bond donor exhibited faster diffusion than solutes without H-bond donors. PCH5 embedded membranes showed higher solubility and diffusivity than the 8CB embedded membranes due to less dense molecular packing in PCH5 resulting from the bent cyclohexyl ring. The PCH5 LC membranes demonstrated enhanced permeation selectivity for hydroxybenzoic acid and aminophenol isomers primarily due to increased sorption selectivity. Shape selective absorption of rod-like para-isomers in the nematic phase was observed in both 8CB and PCH5 LCs. A nonchiral based HPLC-CD (High Performance Liquid Chromatography-CD) system was developed for the characterization of enantioselective separations. An enantioselective cholesteric liquid crystal membrane was fabricated and evaluated using the nonchiral HPLC-CD system. The cholesteric LC membrane showed enantioselectivity in the cholesteric phase where activation energies of permeation for 1-phenylethanol enantiomers were significantly increased due to the increased interactions between enantiomer and LC phase. The enantioselectivity increased with decreasing pore size of the membrane and increasing chiral dopant compositions. The selectivity decreases when there are no hydrogen bonding interactions between enantiomer and chiral dopant. / Ph. D.

The nonlinear static and dynamic response of circular and annular plates under electrostatic, thermal, and combined loading is investigated. The main motivation for the study of these phenomena is providing fundamental insights into the mechanics of micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS). MEMS devices are usually miniaturization of the corresponding macro-scale devices. The basic mechanics of the components of many MEMS devices can be modeled using conventional structural theories. Some of the most used and actively researched MEMS devices- namely pressure sensors and micropumps- use circular or annular diaphragms as principle components. The actuation and sensing principles of these devices are usually electrostatic in nature. Most MEMS devices are required to operate under wide environmental conditions, thus, a study of thermal effects on the performance of these devices is a major design consideration. There exists a wide arsenal of analytic, semi-analytic, and numerical tools for nonlinear analysis of continuous systems. The present work uses different tools for the analysis of different types of problems. The selection of the analysis tools is guided by two principles. The first consideration is that the analysis should reveal the fundamental mechanics and dynamics of the problem rather than simply generating numerical data. The second consideration is numerical efficiency. Guided by the same principles, the basic structural model adopted in this work is the von-Karman plate model. This model captures the basic nonlinear phenomena in the plate with minimal complexity in the equations of motion, thus providing a balance between simplicity and accuracy. We address a wide array of problems for a variety of loading and boundary conditions. We start by analyzing annular plates under static electrostatic loading including the variation of the plate natural frequencies with the applied voltage. We also analyze parametric resonances in plates subjected to sinusoidally varying thermal loads. We investigate the prebuckling and postbuckling static thermal response and the corresponding variation of the natural frequencies. Finally, we close by investigating the problem of a circular plate under a combination of thermal and electrostatic loading. The results of this investigation demonstrate the importance of including nonlinear phenomena in the modeling of MEMS devices both for correct quantitative predictions and for qualitative description of operations. / Ph. D.

The circular economy (CE) is increasingly recognized as a pivotal driver for achieving sustainability. Nonetheless, it has been criticized for neglecting the social dimension of sustainability. While job creation is often touted as a significant social benefit of the CE, there is a conspicuous gap in discussions about the quality of the jobs it generates. By drawing on organizational behavior theory, this study investigates the quality of jobs in the CE with a specific focus on meaningfulness. The research questions explore the key factors contributing to job meaningfulness in CE roles, the impact of heightened awareness of the CE on workers' perceived meaningfulness, and the mechanisms through which such awareness affects meaningfulness. To address these questions, a pre-test post-test quasi-experimental study was conducted, involving employees from two CE companies in the United States. The study assessed factors such as autonomy, skill variety, co-worker relations, knowledge of the CE, perceived social impact, perceived social worth, and experienced job meaningfulness. An intervention was then implemented on a treatment group, consisting of a five-minute training video explaining the CE concept, its benefits, and the role of workers in the CE. The findings reveal that the video intervention effectively increased employees' perception of task significance, perceived social impact, experienced meaningfulness, and awareness of the CE's impact on society and environment, as well as their perception of their contribution to the CE, the organization's contribution to the CE, and the societal value of the CE. This study highlights the importance for CE companies to provide employees with general training on the CE. Additionally, it provides initial evidence of the potential of a CE to increase human well-being, especially when considered from the eudemonic perspective of what gives life meaning rather than purely economic measures of well-being. / Master of Science / This study looks at the kind of jobs created by the circular economy (CE) and how they affect sustainability and well-being. The CE is about making the best use of resources and, as a consequence, to reducing waste, but it has been criticized for not paying enough attention to how it affects people's lives and jobs. This research focuses on understanding what makes a job in the CE meaningful and how CE knowledge may affect how workers feel about their jobs. To do this, employees at two CE companies in the U.S. were studied. The research looked at how much control employees have over their work tasks, the variety of skills that are demanded by their work, and how they get along with their co-workers, as well as their familiarity with the concept of the CE. The sampled workers were separated into two groups (treatment and control). The treatment group watched a video that explained what the CE is and how their work contributes to it and to a better world. The study found this video made these workers feel that their work had a bigger impact and that their jobs were more meaningful. It also made them see the CE as something that helps society and the environment. The main research contribution is that companies in the CE should give their employees training and lessons about what the CE is. By doing so, workers may increase their experienced meaningfulness on the job, which could enhance an individual's overall happiness and productivity at work. This research also shows the need for discussions on sustainability and the CE to include what gives meaning to our lives when we are thinking of human well-being.

Yes / In this paper, single-element and MIMO microstrip antenna with two pairs of unequal slits is proposed as a circularly polarized antenna with negligible back radiation for 5G mid-band handsets. The unequal pairs of slits are engraved on the antenna patch to guarantee the presence of the circular polarization (CP). The proximity-coupled feeding technique is used to excite the proposed microstrip antenna in order to provide larger antenna -10 dB bandwidth which approaches 10.8% (3.48-3.87 GHz). A novel analysis technique is proposed in this paper that demonstrates the 3D axial ratio pattern in order to generate CP in the broadside direction without affecting the structure of the ground plane which ensures weak back radiation. The 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth (ARBW) is found to be equal to 4.1% extended along the range (3.58-3.73 GHz). To make the design more compatible with the 5G mid-band handsets, the 2 × 2 MIMO structure of the proposed antenna with reduced mutual coupling (less than -20 dB) is also presented in this work. The simulation and measured results are in good agreement, and both verify the CP characteristics and the weak back radiation of the proposed antenna. / This paper is partially funded by British Council “2019 UK-China-BRI Countries Partnership Initiative Programme” with project titled “Adapting to Industry 4.0 Oriented International Education and Research Collaboration”.

Yes / This study presents a compact broadband wide-slot antenna with broadband left-hand circular polarization compatible with both LTE 42 and LTE 43 standards of 5G mid-band applications. The proposed antenna is fabricated on an FR4 dielectric substrate with overall dimensions of , where is the free space wavelength at the resonant frequency of the antenna. The antenna ground plane is etched to form a square radiating slot with a pair of rectangular ground stubs that are diagonally placed inside the slot. On the other side of the antenna, the feed line is loaded by horizontal and vertical stubs to improve the coupling between the feed line and the square slot. To generate a circular polarization, the feeding stubs cooperate with the pair of rectangular ground stubs to excite the radiating slot of the antenna at two different feeding points whose currents have approximately equal amplitude and 90o phase shift. The measured impedance bandwidth (BW) of the proposed wide-slot antenna is 16.2% (580 MHz along the band 3.3-3.88 GHz), while the observed axial ratio bandwidth (ARBW) is 12.2% (440 MHz in the 3.4-3.84 GHz band). The measured gain values are found to be larger than 2.5 dB along both standards of the 5G mid-band applications. / This work was supported in part by the U.K. Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under Grant EP/E022936/1, and in part by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant H2020-MSCA-ITN-2016 SECRET-722424.

No / In this paper the sensitivity of the decoupling matrix used for mutual coupling compensation in small size uniform circular arrays has been studied. The compensation matrix is calculated using the receiving mode technique for a 5-element uniform circular array and applied to two groups of direction finding algorithms, namely phase comparison-based (interferometry) and subspace-based algorithms. In the tracking application considered the receiver array is deployed on a car roof or aircraft, so the geometry of the platform influences the compensation results. In this work, the effect of different ground plane geometries in terms of the standard deviation of angular error for each estimation algorithm using simulation results is investigated. The results show that the calibration conditions used to determine the compensation matrix affect the AOA estimation accuracy.

Nitrogen recovery from wastewater treatment for fertilizers is a research topic that exists at the intersection of multiple topics important to the future of sustainable society. First, nitrogen recovery from wastewater implies a departure from the current methods of nitrogen mitigation, which involve nitrogen removal by conversion of various aqueous species to inert nitrogen gas. Secondly, by recovering nitrogen from wastewater specifically, there is the opportunity to begin a circular economy where value added products can be obtained from material that has historically been seen as a “waste”. Current wastewater treatment involves nitrogen removal through the biological transformation of aqueous nitrogen species to inert nitrogen gas. This process is energy intensive and risks the production of air pollutants such as N2O as intermediates in the biological transformation. If this nitrogen can be captured in a form that can be reused, a valuable product can be achieved with the potential reduction of both the energy required at the wastewater treatment plant as well as the carbon footprint. Finally, by recovering nitrogen in a form that can be used in agriculture as a fertilizer, additional environmental benefits can be realized by reducing reliance on Haber-Bosch based ammonia production, which is also energy intensive and contributes harmful emissions to the atmosphere. The work described in the following licentiate aims to consider the current status of nitrogen recovery from wastewater for fertilizers as a research topic. Literature was analytically examined to compare different techniques in terms of energy requirements, cost for fertilizer production, market for final fertilizer product, and technological readiness. The most interesting findings from this review were that there seems to be a disconnect between the fertilizer product produced by nitrogen recovery techniques and the market, which will become a challenge if these techniques are implemented at a large scale. The attitude of the farmers with regards to fertilizers from waste was overall positive, with their concerns mainly focused on the performance ability and cost of the product. Additionally, many techniques such as microbial fuel cells and microbial electrolysis cells have been unable to move past the laboratory phase despite being researched for many years. This indicates there are cost and technological barriers that are preventing the further scale up and implementation of these techniques. Energy and cost analyses will be crucial to motivate investment into these processes, and these are missing for many of the techniques found around this topic. To contribute to this field, experimental work was also included to assess the potential for ammonium adsorption from concentrated wastewater for fertilizer production. The experimental work focused on the utilization of the solid product of pyrolysis of sewage sludge (biochar) for adsorption and explored the potential enhancement of the char with various chemical treatments. The char with the best ammonium adsorption performance was found to be using a treatment of HNO3 followed by and NaOH, with an adsorption capacity of 4 mg NH4/g biochar. This char was compared with commercially activated carbon and clinoptilolite for full scale applications. It was found that even with this increased adsorption capacity, the use of chemically enhanced sewage sludge biochar for full scale applications is not realistic. The amount of raw material required for the complete recovery of ammonium from reject water at the municipal wastewater treatment plants exceeds the total amount of sewage sludge generated. Therefore it is recommended that the goal of incorporating sewage sludge biochar with wastewater treatment is to produce a solid fertilizer product loaded with ammonium (which would provide ammonium-N and phosphorus for plant growth, as well as carbon and other minerals for soil amendment) rather than having the goal be complete ammonium recovery from the wastewater stream.