<p>In the scope of future population support, agricultural productivity, in particular in sub-Saharan Africa, has to increase drastically to meet the UN’s millennium development goals of eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. Water availability in the root-zone limits crop production in large parts of the developing world. As competition for fresh water increases, water of lower quality, for example saline or polluted water, is often used for irrigation. Low-cost drip systems are suitable for saline water irrigation because they effectuate a minimisation of salt accumulation, leaf burn and peaks in salt concentration. Nonetheless, all types of saline water irrigation contain the risk for causing soil salinisation. Thus, in order to achieve long-term sustainability of these systems, appropriate management strategies are needed. The choice of management practices may be influenced by local conditions such as climate, soil and irrigation water salinity. A litera-ture review showed that there is a potential for saline water irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa in water scarce areas. Low-cost drip irrigation with saline water (6 dS m-1) was successfully used to irrigate two consecutive crops of tomato in semi-arid South Africa. An integrated ecosystems model was developed to simulate long-term yield and salt accumulation in a drip-irrigated agricultural system for a range of salinities, climates and management techniques. Crop, salt and water balance data from two field experiments conducted in Israel and South Africa, respectively, were used to parameterise and test the model. Emphasis was placed on testing the usability of the model as a tool for evaluating the importance of certain plausible management options of low-cost, drip-irrigation systems. Therefore, particular focus was directed towards correctly describing soil salinity stress on plant growth and soil evaporation from a distributed (wetted and dry) surface. In addition, the model was developed to function for different climates without having to change any other parameters or variables except for the actual climatic data. Simulations were subsequently run over a 30-year period to study long-term yield and salt accumulation in the soil profile for two sites in South Africa, demonstrating the applicability of the model. Model simulations showed that high soil salinities reduced crop growth and thus increased both drainage and soil evaporation. Further, covering the soil with a plastic sheet led to a reduction of soil evaporation and a subsequent increase in both transpiration and drainage. Rainfall was crucial for the leaching of salts from the soil, and thus in regions with low levels of rainfall, a higher leaching fraction of supplied saline irrigation water has to compensate for the lack of rain. However, a high leaching fraction also causes large amounts of salt leaching, which could potentially pollute underlying groundwater and downstream ecosystems. This risk can be mitigated using mulching, which minimises non-productive water losses, thereby lowering irrigation water needs. The choice of irrigation water salinity, frequency of irrigation and soil coverage may differ between the farmer and the regional water manager due to different preferences. Furthermore, the study highlighted how environmental variables such as water use efficiency and radiation use efficiency can be used as indicators of system performance. Whereas the latter is first and foremost a general stress indicator, water use efficiency more precisely describes specific factors such as plant size, allocation patterns and evaporative demand, which will affect the exchange of carbon dioxide and water through the stomata.</p>

Bakgrund: Förändringar i konsumtionsmönster har på senare år uppkommit i vårt dagliga liv. Ju mer vi efterfrågar och konsumerar, desto mer ökar transporterna vilket skapar negativa konsekvenser på vår omgivning. Ökat avfall, onödiga kostnader, osunda arbetsförhållanden och ineffektiv användning av tillgångar är exempel på när företag inte tar sitt ansvar på de miljömässiga, ekonomiska samt sociala hållbarhetsområdena. Logistikföretagen har en direkt negativ påverkan på sin omgivning genom dess koldioxidutsläpp från fordonen, och har därmed en direkt möjlighet att kunna påverka detta. Logistikbranschen står idag inför olika utmaningar, men kan genom ett integrerat hållbarhetsarbete erhålla förmåner i både monetära och icke-monetära former. Företagen kan ta ansvar för de miljömässiga, ekonomiska samt sociala aspekterna, vilket benämns som Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Den effektiva resurshanteringen som kan implementeras i logistikföretagen utgörs av modellen cirkulär ekonomi och grundas i att reducera, återanvända och återvinna resurser inom verksamheten. CSR och cirkulär ekonomi utgör därmed grunden i denna studie för att ta reda på hur ett hållbarhetsarbete kan tillämpas på bästa möjliga sätt hos företag inom logistikbranschen i Sverige. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur logistikföretag i Sverige arbetar med hållbarhet. Vidare avser vi att identifiera och undersöka vilka möjligheter och förutsättningar som finns för implementering av cirkulär ekonomi inom logistikföretag för att skapa ytterligare resurseffektivitet och hållbarhet. Genomförande: Studien har genomförts med en kvalitativ karaktär genom intervjuer med insatta aktörer som har en direkt koppling till logistikbranschen i Sverige. Detta val grundas i att erhålla en ökad förståelse baserad på olika källor från branschen med respondenter som har varierade befattningar och kunskaper. Slutsats: Resultatet av denna studie innebär att en effektiv resurshantering baserad på den cirkulära ekonomins modell kan först uppnås när fyra delar är förverkligade tillsammans med ett hållbart ansvarstagande. Första kravet behandlar en hållbar strategi, det andra kräver att transportbeställaren efterfrågar hållbara transporter. Dessutom krävs även att företagen implementerar hållbara logistikaktiviteter som optimerar verksamhetens resurser. Slutliga kravet begär att intressenter ser incitament till att investera i verksamheten och långsiktiga samt branschöverskridande samarbeten tillsammans med att lagar stiftas för att driva hållbarhetsarbetet framåt. / Background: A shift in consumption has been noted in recent years. The more we demand and consume, the more increases the number of transports which leads to negative consequences in our environment. Logistic firms have a direct effect on the environment through their carbon emissions from their vehicles, therefore they have a direct possibility to influence this. The logistic sector is facing multiple challenges, but can through integrated sustainability actions acquire benefits, in both monetary and non-monetary forms. The companies can be responsible regarding the environmental, economic and social aspects, which is called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The efficient resource management that can be implemented in logistic firms constitutes of the circular economy model, which is based on reducing, reusing and recycling resources within a company. CSR and circular economy compose the base in this study for the investigation of how a logistic firm can in the most optimal approach, implement sustainability actions within the logistic sector in Sweden. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how logistic firms in Sweden work with sustainability. Furthermore, we aim to identify and investigate what are the possibilities and conditions for an implementation of circular economy within logistic firms to create a more resource efficient and sustainable sector. Completion: The study has a qualitative outline through interviews with competent actors that have a direct connection with the logistic sector in Sweden. This decision is based on the aim of obtaining a greater understanding from different sources in the sector with persons that obtain varied positions and knowledge. Conclusion: The results of this study implies that an effective resource management based on the circular economy model only can be achieved when the following four elements are realized with sustainable responsibility. The first requirement deals with a sustainable approach, the second requires that there is a demand for sustainable transports, it also requires that companies implement sustainable logistic activities that optimize business resources. The final requirement is that stakeholders seeks incentives to support and invest in the business both long-term and with cross-sector collaborations together with the laws enacted to drive the sustainability agenda forward.

The aim of the work is to compare with the help of appropriately chosen procedural parameters the work efficiency of work groups, which are managed in a different way under the conditions of a change, and at the same time to establish possible connection between the management style and work efficiency. The research was made in Rohde & Schwarz Company, branch Vimperk Ltd.

The thesis discusses very actual issues concerning the management of the 3E principle in decisions related to the public funds expenditure decisions, especially in context of EU funding, and expands on the problems and deficiencies in the actual system of publicly funded procurement and related control. In the theoretical part, the thesis provides an insight into the basic terms and the relevant theoretical, legislative and methodological framework. The practical part then analyzes and assesses the conclusions of a review of 33 publicly funded projects financed both from EU funds and/or the national budget, in a cumulated value of 11.3 billion CZK. Further on, the thesis detects fraudulent schemes occurring repeatedly in the mentioned population of reviewed projects which are then categorized by the author. In the thesis's conclusion the author defines public funding fraud detection methods and delimits several proposals and recommendations on how to amend the identified deficiencies, both on the system and organizational levels.