abstract: In this study, the stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing method is used to manufacture honeycomb-shaped flat sorbents that can capture CO2 from the air. The 3D-printed sorbents were synthesized using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), propylene glycol, photopolymer resin, and an ion exchange resin (IER). The one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) design-of-experiment approach was employed to determine the best combination ratio of materials to achieve high moisture swing and a good turnout of printed sorbents. The maximum load limit of the liquid photopolymer resin to enable printability of sorbents was found to be 44%. A series of moisture swing experiments was conducted to investigate the adsorption and desorption performance of the 3D-printed sorbents and compare them with the performance of IER samples prepared by a conventional approach. Results from these experiments conducted indicate that the printed sorbents showed less CO2 adsorptive characteristics compared to the conventional IER sample. It is proposed for future research that a liquid photopolymer resin made up of an IER be synthesized in order to improve the CO2-capturing ability of manufactured sorbents. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Mechanical Engineering 2020

abstract: The current sustainability crisis is born from a specious notion that humans are separate from and in a position of control over nature. In response, this dissertation reconceptualizes education beyond its current anthropocentric model to imagine education as learning through relationality with all that is ‘beyond’ the human. The study leaves behind hegemonic binary distinctions (human/nature, teacher/student, formal/non-formal education) to reimagine education as a multidirectional process of learning as worlding and becoming-with Earth (Haraway, 2016a). It explores what matters in education and how it comes to matter. This dissertation introduces the concept of storyworlding to describe what occurs when multispecies, multi-mattered assemblages (re)write Earth’s narratives through their relationships with one another. Taking its inspiration from the work of the Common Worlds Research Collective, Donna Haraway, and Isabelle Stengers, storyworlding acknowledges that the relationships between and among all biotic and abiotic forces on Earth make stories through their interactions, and these stories make a pluriverse of worlds. The study is structured as a natureculture (Haraway, 2003) ethnography. This innovation on ethnography, a traditionally human-centered method, focuses on agential, multispecies/ multi-mattered assemblages rather than the description of human culture. Data is not generated and then labeled as fixed in this study. It is emergent in its assemblages as a co-narrator in sympoietic storyworlding (Haraway, 2016b). Data generation took place over 6 months in a small, coffee-producing region of Southeastern Brazil. Data generation methods included walking conversations with children and the more-than-human world, participation in a multi-grade, one-room schoolhouse, and the collection of visual and audio data such as drawings, photographs, videos, and audio recordings. Using an intentionally slow, messy, and fluid diffractive analysis, I follow the data where it leads as I think with the concept of storyworlding (Barad, 2007; Mazzei, 2014). Drawing inspiration from Donna Haraway, Isabelle Stengers, and Iveta Silova, the dissertation concludes with an Epilogue of speculative fabulation (SF) imaginings through which I invite the reader to engage in the thought experiment of reimagining not only what matters in education, but what education, itself, is. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2020

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Climate change is a global phenomenon that sees the rise in total global temperatures creating long-term change in average weather patterns affecting populations across the globe. Studies have shown that human activity is one of the main causes of the exacerbation of the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere that cause the earth to warm up faster than usual. Debates have emerged between developed and developing countries on who should take responsibility for dealing with the climate problem as both groups have a different stake in the climate change debate. Developed or industrialised countries are known to be the largest emitters of greenhouse gases and developing countries have lower levels of emissions. Regardless, on-going climate negotiations reveal that it is a global problem that needs participation from all countries to solve. Africa has taken to negotiating as a collective through the promotion of common African positions and the main question this paper aims to explore is if these common positions truly represent the interests of all 54 African states. This study is literature-based and uses a qualitative research approach supported by documentary evidence. The research uses a theoretical framework with the use of realism and social constructivism. / Mini Dissertation (MA (Diplomatic Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Political Sciences / MA (Diplomatic Studies) / Unrestricted

abstract: Urban heat is a growing problem that impacts public health, water and energy use, and the economy and affects population subgroups differently. Exposure and sensitivity, two key factors in determining vulnerability, have been widely researched. This dissertation focuses on the adaptive capacity component of heat vulnerability at the individual, household, and community scale. Using a mixed methods approach and metropolitan Phoenix as a test site, I explored how vulnerable communities understand and adapt to increasing extreme urban heat to uncover adaptive capacity that is not being operationalized well through current heat vulnerability frameworks. Twenty-three open-ended interviews were conducted where residents were encouraged to tell their stories about past and present extreme heat adaptive capacity behaviors. A community-based participatory research project consisting of three workshops and demonstration projects was piloted in three underserved neighborhoods to address urban heat on a local scale and collaboratively create community heat action plans. Last, a practitioner stakeholder meeting was held to discuss how the heat action plans will be integrated into other community efforts. Using data from the interviews, workshops, and stakeholder meeting, social capital was examined in the context of urban heat. Although social capital has been measured in a multitude of ways to gauge social relationships, trust, and reciprocity within a community, it is situational and reflects a position within the formal and informal aspects of any issue. Three narratives emerged from the interviews illuminating differentiated capacities to cope with urban heat: heat is an inconvenience, heat is a manageable problem, and heat is a catastrophe. For each of these narratives, generic adaptive capacity is impacted differently by specific heat adaptive capacity. The heat action plan workshops generated hyper-local heat solutions that reflected the neighborhoods’ different identities. Community-based organizations were instrumental in the success of this program. Social capital indicators were developed specific to urban heat that rely on heavily on family and personal relationships, attitudes and beliefs, perceived support, network size and community engagement. This research highlights how extreme heat vulnerability may need to be rethought to capture adaptive capacity nuances and the dynamic structure of who is vulnerable under what circumstances. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Sustainability 2019

The ambition of this thesis is to fulfill two aims. The first aim is theory development, by presenting a theoretical framework where climate change adaptation (CCA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) are combined. The second aim is empirical, where the theoretical framework is used to analyze an example of DRR with an ambition to include CCA. An integrated approach is beneficial for the achievement of sustainable development and for strengthening resilience to hazards (Schipper 2009; Mitchell et al 2010). However, the two fields largely operate in separate which can cause reversed development outcomes and hamper the overall objectives of both DRR and CCA. The ambition of this thesis is hence to investigate to what extent the approach is used within humanitarian aid organizations today, with a specific focus on the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). The method used is a qualitative content analysis of the “Integrated Flood Resilience Programme” in Bangladesh (IFRP) conducted by the IFRC. The main finding of the study suggests a surprising progress of including CCA and climate change as components within DRR. However, there are still core aspects of an integrated approach missing in the project. For instance, there is no inclusion of an environmental risk assessment or alignment with climate frameworks, except for parts of the Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, the efforts associated with CCA are perceived unspecific in comparison to other parts of the project. This thesis therefore reaffirms some of the conclusions made by other scholars (e.g. Mitchell et al 2010; Schipper 2009: Thomalla et al 2006; Hammond 2017), implying that DRR and CCA still mostly operate separately.

This study examines communication about global warming with an emphasis on encouraging a change in a viewers behavior, and how this can be practically visualised on websites. The study first gathers research from the fields of climate change communication, marketing and psychology, then a survey is sent out and an overview of websites about global warming is made. The findings from all this is then applied to a Hi-fi prototype of a website. The study aims to answer the question: How could visualized messages and information about global warming encourage change in a viewer’s behavior? User tests of the finished prototype gave mixed results. The results suggest that the site succeeded in creating a positive tone and emotional impact, but were not as successful at encouraging change and raising perceived self-efficacy. It may have been successful at encouraging hopefulness, and informing, but it is a bit unclear due to contradicting results from quantitative personal ratings and qualitative interview answers. / <p>Examensarbetet är utfört vid Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap (ITN) vid Tekniska fakulteten, Linköpings universitet</p>

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Climate change will likely have impacts on disease vector distribution. Posing a significant health threat in the 21st century, risk of tick-borne diseases may increase with higher annual mean temperatures and changes in precipitation. We modeled the current and future potential distribution of the Ixodes ricinus tick species in Europe. The Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Prediction (GARP) was utilized to predict potential distributions of I. ricinus based on current (1990-2010 averages) and future (2040-2060 averages) environmental variables. A ten model best subset was created out of a possible 200 models based on omission and commission criteria. Our results show that under the A2 climate change scenario the potential habitat range for the I. ricinus tick in Europe will expand into higher elevations and latitudes (e.g., Scandinavia, the Baltics, and Belarus), while contracting in other areas (e.g., Alps, Pyrenees, interior Italy, and northwestern Poland). Overall, a potential habitat expansion of 3.8% in all of Europe is possible. Our results may be used to inform climate change adaptation efforts in Europe.