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This thesis examines prerequisites for wind power diffusion in a county in Sweden that quite recently was concidered to be of interest for electricty production from renewable energy sources. Three different municipalities: Falun, Mora and Orsa in the county of Dalarna are highlighted.  Their view on permitting processes of wind power installations are investigated. Other actors, such as exploiters and local citizens are also being analysed. This study shows that the local acceptance was very high when the first wind power parks were built, much thanks to local politicians and local citizens. For the politicians the wind power symbolised a key to a better green society, for the local citizens the wind power meant some economical advantages. The first wind power parks were localised to areas because of good wind conditions and social factors, especially from local communities. However, results from this study shows that the acceptance for wind power the last few years, in generel, has decreased.  The local authorities have also been conscious of some negative consequenses from already built wind power parks.  As a response they started to add planning tools to the permitting process.

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The overall aim of this study is to understand how average daily individuals’ accessibility to other individuals has changed in Sweden and what the impact of changes in intra-travel time is on changes in daily individuals’ accessibility in Dalarna County. This thesis was conducted by applying quantitative research method via secondary data collection method. The required data for the purpose of this study were collected from Official Statistic of Sweden (SCB), Swedish Road Administration (NVDB) and Swedish National Travel Survey (RVU). Research population or target population for this study is all Swedish workforce population, aged 20-64. For the first part of the aim, the entire research population has been investigated and for the second part of the aim, non-probability sampling method (purposive sampling method) has been applied. The datasets have been applied to compute different variables. The variables were computed by using formulas extracted from previous empirical studies and with help of GIS and R software. The relationship between response and predictors variables has been statistically analyzed by multiple linear regression. The findings indicate that average daily individuals’ accessibility increased within the Swedish context between the years 1990 and 2008. It was found that the most increment was related to years 1995 to 2000. Also the statistical analysis showed that the relationship between the changes in average intra-travel time and changes in average daily individuals’ accessibility was not significant in municipalities in Dalarna County. Meanwhile, it was concluded that among predictor variables, changes in average daily mobility had a significant relationship with the changes in average daily individuals’ accessibility to other individuals within municipalities in Dalarna County.

Early medieval burials in ditches surrounding grave mounds from the Vendel Period and Viking Age are analyzed through three case studies from Dalarna in Sweden. The historical context during the late Iron Age and early Medieval Period is discussed to create an understanding of these graves. By making use of the theories constructed by Catherine Bell about ritualization as a strategic mode of practice to produce relationships of power, the early medieval graves are interpreted as an archaistic social strategy to justify the farm as the superior social unit during a time of change in Dalarna.

This thesis project is an attempt to learn from vernacular building traditions when designing sustainable homes for families in a contemporary rural setting. My proposal is a multi-generational home consisting of reused old log houses, which would otherwise be torn down, joined together through a composition of local materials for new rammed earth structures.  The site is located in Dalarna, a province known for its image based around traditions closely related to small-scale farming and tight knit local communities. Vernacular architecture has been, and still is, the icon of this region. Vernacular buildings in the north part of Sweden have been almost exclusively log houses. The widespread accessibility of good quality wood has enabled sturdy log structures to be built that may last for hundreds of years.  The construction method of stacking logs on top of each other, held together only by their own weight and the pieces interlocking, is a flexible building method. The house can grow if needed by adding on additional logs, or taken apart completely for easy transportation. This is something that has enabled me to gather existing building from different parts of Sweden and bring them new life. This proposal consists of seven log houses, all found for sale online.

Grön infrastruktur påstås ha möjligheten att minska mängden dagvatten längs hårdgjorda ytor i stadsmiljöer och därigenom höja städernas motståndskraft mot ökade nedbördsmängder. Denna undersökning har undersökt hur grön infrastruktur kan höja fem stadsmiljöers resiliens mot översvämningar och hur stadsmiljöerna kan få större inslag av ekologi. Undersökningen har visat att det förvisso är en möjlighet att den gröna infrastrukturen kan längs med gator, parker och hustak minska mängden dagvatten längs hårdgjorda ytor i stadsmiljöer. Satsningen på grön infrastruktur kan bli otroligt dyr i en större stad om hela stadens dagvatten ska tas om hand om och det gick inte att ta fram en mall för grön infrastruktur som enkelt kan kopieras från en stad till en annan. Det krävs även uträkningar av flödesemängder för att säkerställa hur stor del av staden som skyddas mot ökade nederbördsmängder. / It is claimed that green infrastructure has the ability to reduce the amount of storm water in urban areas and by extension increasing the resilience of urban areas. This study has investigated how the resilience against flooding can be strengthened and at the same time how an increase in ecological wildlife within five urban areas can be increased with greeni nfrastructure given the limitations of an urban area with preexisting buildings. The study concluded that it is possible to implement green infrastructure alongside roads, parks and rooftops with the desired effects of increased resilience and ecological wildlife in urban areas. The issues found were several. One of the issues was the lack of generalized city patterns which lead to that no generalized model for implementing green infrastructure could be concluded. Another issue was the issue of cost, it is not easy nor a cheap undertaking to remodel the road network of a preexisting city. Furthermore, it is required that every contribution of green infrastructure has its potential of storm water consumption calculated to match the local demand.

In this thesis the pioneer settlement of northern Dalarna is investi­gated by means of a local study of lithic technology and raw material use on the Orsa 527 site in the area. This newly excavated site will be presented, for the first time in completion, in this thesis. The technological traits and raw material distribution on the site, which directly relate to the prehistoric people moving in this area during the Middle Mesolithic, are subsequently put into a larger regional perspective by comparing these results with other Middle Mesolithic sites in northern Dalarna and eastern Norway.             Through the theoretical framework of chaîne opératoire and methods, such as dynamical classification of blades, the study of knapping properties of local raw materials and the study of raw material composition on five other sites in the area, questions regarding cultural transition, mobility and contacts can be discussed.             The results of this work indicate that both technological and raw material parallels exist between eastern Norway and northern Dalarna during the Middle Mesolithic. This places these areas in a larger cultural sphere that was based on contacts and mobility during the pioneer settlement of the area.

Outlying forest and mountain areas in the inland of middle and north Scandinavia have for a long time been seen as marginal areas of little importance to the main Scandinavian historical narrative. However, in recent time, the importance of the outland has increasingly been in the focus of archaeological research. It has been suggested by several scholars that the emergence of centralized power structures in various parts of Scandinavia during the mid Iron Age can be explained by an extensive trade of resources like antler, bone, and iron. However, much is still unknown about the broader context of these activities and the people that performed them. The aim of this study is to analyse the character of these activities and exchange networks in a study area consisting of areas on both sides of the present Swedish-Norwegian border. This is done by analysing the pattern of archaeological remains in the outland and how they relate to landscape characteristics like topography, water courses and sediment types. The main archaeological remains studied are graves, pitfalls for moose and reindeer hunting and iron working sites. The results show the use of graves as territorial markers in the landscape and the existence of central places in the outland, possibly used for trade and social activities. The study also suggests that the relations between people from the hunter-gatherer and the agrarian communities changed during the late Iron Age, which is indicated by a dislocation of graves further up in the valleys to the north.

The dissertation deals with political culture in the Age of Liberty as it is manifested in the uprising in Dalarna in 1743. The object of the study is the political repertoire used by the peasants – a combination of utilisation of political institutions and different forms of protest such as tax boycotts and a march from Dalarna to the capital. Emphasis has been placed on the interactive aspects of the movement. Thereby, the repertoire used by central authorities to suppress the movement is equally important. Results show that the peasants formed their actions in close connection with the reactions they were met with by the authorities. Initially, the attempts to demobilise the peasants’ movement actually facilitated its mobilisation. As the peasants’ political repertoire is uncovered, it has been possible to study the movement’s mobilisation process through the use of mobilising structures, political opportunities, and interpretative processes. Hence, the significance of the uprising to the protesters is clarified. The protesters viewed their actions as part of an ongoing political debate, legitimised by the government’s neglect of its obligations towards the people, rather than as a subversive uprising. The Dalarna uprising of 1743 was an integral part of political culture in the Age of Liberty through its combined use of formal and informal political institutions and arenas. The uprising is an eloquent expression of the increasing political assertiveness among the peasantry and the peasant estate in Sweden in the eighteenth century.