The tension between fashion and sustainability has been recognized, as it has been argued whether fashion can be sustainable. This is due to the several ethical dilemmas the fashion industry is facing, including not only environmental but also social problems. These issues have gained an increasing amount of consumers' attention during the last years. Even if these problems are recognized, consumers are still having an attitude-behaviour gap towards sustainable consumption, where positive attitude does not reflect on actions. Therefore, this study takes a deeper look into the consumption behaviour of sustainable fashion consumers and aims to clarify, what motivates to purchase sustainable fashion products. With the help of a means-end theory, this exploratory research aims to understand consumers' values behind their purchasing behaviour. The empirical data was collected using an existing sustainable fashion company's customer base in the Netherlands, as their customers have already shown interest towards sustainable fashion. This study is based on nineteen qualitative in-depth laddering interviews, lasting around 25 minutes. The data resulted in several means-end chains that presented which attributes, consequences and values motivate and influence on consumers' purchasing of sustainable fashion. After collecting the data, content analysis was conducted and as a result emerged four dominant motivational themes that motivate consumers to buy sustainable fashion products: self-expression, protect the future, contribution as well as help, care and responsibility. These motivational themes show what consumers value when they make sustainable fashion purchases. In the end, the results of this research are contributing to the holistic understanding of sustainable fashion consumption as well as give insights to the under-researched topic of motivations to purchase sustainable fashion. / <p></p><p></p>

<p>‘Internationalisation of higher education’ is considered a significant issue in many countries.One effective way to achieve internationalisation is by having an exchange study program. Thisis something which has been promoted by universities all around the globe. It has been foundthat the experience of studying abroad is beneficial to the students. There has been a trend ofincreasing number of students going to study abroad. In Sweden, Jönköping InternationalBusiness School (JIBS) is one of the most internationalised business schools that promoteexchange studies extensively. To promote study abroad it is important to know what motivatesand influences the students to go on exchange. There has been previous research oninternationalisation and push-pull factors of student mobility which acted as a guideline for thisthesis. Thus it was appealing to study the reasons behind the phenomenon of students goingabroad for exchange studies.The purpose of this paper is to explore the push-pull factors influencing student’s destinationchoice for exchange study abroad. JIBS is the institution where the case study was conducted.The empirical data have been gathered by using a qualitative approach combining face-to-faceinterviews and focus groups with international exchange students and Swedish students. Toanalyse the findings, theories relating to marketing communications in service and productattribution were used.The results derived from the empirical findings show the push-pull factors which motivatestudents to go on exchange. The initial push factor is the promotion and encouragement tostudents for studying abroad by the university. Exchange studies helps to enhance students’personal development with intercultural communication, practicing language skills andtravelling. These skills and experiences add value to their CV.On the other hand the pull factors which the students take into consideration for deciding ontheir host countries and institutions are geographic location, weather, culture, and the economicand social position of the country. Living cost and the education system which includeslanguage used, courses offered, perceived image, communication and cooperation andrecommendations are factors influencing the choices of a student’s decision on the destinationfor studying abroad. The authors in this thesis summarised their findings in a model of pushpullfactors which is specialised only for exchange students. The process of considering thesefactors leads to the outcome of choosing the destination for studying abroad. The authorsbelieve the results of this study can be applied on other universities for further research andmay be appropriate for its own case to focus on areas where it needs to improve.ii</p>

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This thesis presents a theological account of homelessness and applies it to the state’s and the church’s responses to the problem. This is accomplished in three parts. Part I traces sociological and governmental understandings of homelessness in the United States and shows that government and activists have difficulties coming together on a definition due to the differing political, fiscal and moral commitments that may be required from a particular definition. An analysis of the sociologist Kim Hopper’s approach to homelessness, which claims that homelessness is best understood in the context of extreme poverty that results in residential instability, is then undertaken. Part II elucidates a thematic reading of Bonhoeffer’s theology of sociality. This includes highlighting such concepts as person, community, vicarious representative action, and ultimate and penultimate to describe the world as ordered by the Word for the coming of Christ. This leads to a discussion of the concept of the mandates of preservation – church, government, family, work – that form the world through concrete response to the Word. Then a theological understanding of poverty is defined as persons who are marginalized in society due to their lack of basic sustenance and freedom to flourish. After establishing this theological account of poverty, Hopper’s understanding of homelessness is revisited to expound a theological description. This allows for an application of particular content to what it means to be extremely poor and in what ways access to basic sustenance and freedom are compromised. Extending Bonhoeffer’s account of the power of sin, the forces that thwart freedom in such a way that homelessness may result are then detailed. Part III applies this theological understanding to the NAEH’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness and to Church on the Street’s outreach ministry to the homeless.

Analyzing public transit accessibility to marginalized communities is critical to exploring the link between transportation inclusion and wellbeing in automobile-centered cultures. This study is an attempt to examine public transit accessibility to Indigenous residents in Winnipeg's North End. Apart from analyzing the current level of transit accessibility, the study explores barriers that hinder the use of public transit in the North End and examines strategies to improving transit accessibility to its residents. This study adopts a holistic approach to understanding 'accessibility' and recognizes the importance of socio-economic, perceptional, and demographic factors in shaping the demand for transit facilities in an area. Findings of the study illustrate the need to include transportation inclusion as an essential component of the urban Indigenous welfare policies in the country. The lessons learned will also provide an initial framework to understand the link between community wellbeing and transportation inclusion of other socio-economically vulnerable communities. / February 2017

Gene expression is the conduit by which genetic information is connected into cellular phenotypes. Recently, it was shown that gene expression in mammalian cells is governed, at least in part, by the expression of short double stranded RNA (dsRNA). This mode of gene regulation is influenced by a large group of dsRNA binding proteins that could either stabilize or trigger the degradation of dsRNA. Indeed, double stranded RNA (dsRNA) specific ribonucleases (RNases) play an important role in regulating gene expression. In most eukaryotes, members of the dsRNA specific RNase III family trigger RNA degradation and initiate cellular immune response. Disruption of human . RNase III (Dicer) deregulates fetal gene expression and promotes the development of cancer. However, very little is known about the housekeeping function of eukaryotic RNase III and the mechanism by which they distinguish between exogenous and endogenous cellular RNA species. This thesis elucidates how dsRNAs are selected for cleavage and demonstrates their contribution to RNA metabolism in yeast as model eukaryote. Initially, the reactivity determinants of yeast RNase III (Rnt1p) were identified in vitro and used to study the global impact of Rnt1p on the processing of non-coding RNA. The results indicate that Rnt1p is required for the processing of all small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) involved in rRNA methylation and identify a new role of Rnt1p in the processing of intronic snoRNAs. It was shown that Rnt1p cleavage helps to coordinate the expression of some ribosomal protein genes hosting intronic snoRNAs. Direct snoRNA processing from the pre-mRNA blocks the expression of the host gene, while delayed snoRNA processing from the excised intron allows the expression of both genes. In this way, the cell can carefully calibrate the amount of snoRNA and ribosomal proteins required for ribosome biogenesis. In addition, a global analysis of snoRNA processing identified new forms of Rnt1p cleavage signals that do not exhibit a conserved sequence motif but instead use a new RNA fold to recruit the enzyme to the cleavage site. This finding led to the conclusion that Rnt1p may use a wide combination of structural motifs to identify its substrates and thus increases the theoretical number of potential degradation targets in vivo . To evaluate this possibility, a new search for snoRNA independent Rnt1p cleavage targets was performed. Interestingly, many Rnt1p cleavage signals were identified in intergenic regions devoid of known RNA transcripts. In vivo , it was shown that Rnt1p induce the termination of non-polyadenylated transcripts and functions as a surveillance mechanism for transcription read-through. This finding directly links Rnt1p to the transcription machinery and provides a new mechanism for polyadenylation independent transcription termination. Together the work described in this thesis presents an example of how eukaryotic RNase III may identify its substrates and present a case study where transcription, RNA processing and stability are linked.

Les pertes liées à la capacité fonctionnelle, au réseau social et à l'approche de la mort, sont autant de menaces pour le bien-être en général mais représentent aussi des opportunités de transformation et de croissance par l'intégration des parties de sa vie en un tout cohérent et l'acceptation que la mort représente la fin naturelle de la vie. Ainsi la recherche d'un sens à sa vie est importante à n'importe quel âge et plus encore dans le grand âge. La présente étude s'est intéressée au rôle que joue le sens de la vie dans les stratégies d'adaptation et les attitudes face à une mort prochaine. Elle se divise en quatre chapitres. Le premier chapitre présente la problématique sous-jacente à la recherche, la question de recherche, la recension des écrits sur les principaux thèmes, les objectifs ainsi que le cadre théorique. Le deuxième chapitre traite de la méthodologie utilisée, des stratégies d'observation et d'analyse, des obstacles méthodologiques et des considérations éthiques. Le troisième chapitre présente les caractéristiques des participants, le processus d'analyse, les résultats et leur interprétation. Le quatrième chapitre présente la synthèse des résultats, une comparaison avec les autres études, le modèle exploratoire du lien entre sens de la vie, stratégies d'adaptation et attitudes face à la mort, la portée et les limites de la recherche ainsi que les pistes de recherches. La conclusion comprend des recommandations pour l'intervention tant au niveau du personnel soignant que pour les personnes âgées et leur entourage.

This thesis follows the design process of a back end. The purpose of this back end is to interface a radar front end, developed by Acreo Swedish ICT, and stream it’s digitalized output to a PC using Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.0. The front end, which acts as a basis for this project, is a Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) radar which is connected to the back end by a header. The header connects the digitalized radar signals, together with two SPI-buses and a few GPIO pins. Thus, enabling configuration and set up of the front end board via a PC. The result of the thesis is a data acquisition board that can be used to interface with the front end. The implemented back end features an FPGA to handle the ADC data from the front end, so the board has DSP capabilities, but can also stream the raw radar data. The FPGA is connected to a USB 3.0 controller through a 32-bit parallel interface. The configuration of the front end, via the produced board, is verified in it’s functionality and can be controlled by a PC using a simple GUI. Commands are sent through the USB 3.0 controller to a front end controller which handles the communication. Since getting the hardware functional has been the main objective of the thesis, the project has been deemed to be successful. The final result is a back end radar prototype, which has the requested core hardware functionalities. In addition to this, the prototype has the capacity to act as a platform for further expanding its functionality after a hand over of the project to Acreo Swedish ICT.

Cleavage and polyadenylation are essential pre-mRNA processing reactions maturing the 3’end of almost all protein encoding eukaryotic mRNAs. Analysis of the sequences required for cleavage and polyadenylation in the human melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) and the human transcription factors JUNB and JUND pre-mRNAs revealed that, at least for some mammalian genes, 3’end processing of the primary transcript is independent of previously described auxiliary sequence elements located upstream or downstream of the core poly(A) sequences. The analysis of the MC4R poly(A) site, contrary to the current understanding of mammalian poly(A) sites, showed that mutations of the AUUAAA hexamer sequence had no effect on 3’end processing levels while mutations in the short DSE severely reduced cleavage efficiency. The MC4R poly(A) site uses a potent DSE and to direct maximal cleavage efficiency requires only a short upstream adenosine rich sequence. Furthermore, analysis of the endogenous A-rich human JUNB poly(A) signal validated upstream A-rich core sequences as genuine 3’end formation directing sequences in human non-canonical 3’end formation signals. The results show that a minimal human poly(A) site, similar to yeast and plants, can be defined by an adenosine rich sequence adjacent to a U/GU-rich sequence element and a cleavage site. These findings further imply that some human non-canonical poly(A) sites may be recognised via a similar DSE-dependent mechanism and may not require additional auxiliary sequence elements. Finally, results on the analysis of the EDF1 poly(A) signal show that, in a spliced environment, A-rich sequences are also 3’end formation effectors but depend on an competent upstream splicing reaction for efficient definition of the 3’end processing site.

The present study investigates the role of the Front-End phase within the context of Innovative Small and Medium-sized Enterprises through the project management lens, focusing on what practitioners can do to manage this phase. Taking a cue from the assumption that the Front-End phase of a project is a very critical and important stage, this study begins with a literature review on innovation and on its role among the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, and moves to the identification of the main challengesthat an Innovative Italian Small and Medium Enterprise has to face in the Front-End phase. Particularly, the research focuses on the strategies that a project manager can implement to deal with the fuzzy nature of the Front-End phase, originated by uncertainty, equivocality and complexity. The study has an inductive approach and a cross-sectional time-horizon. A case study strategy has been employed, together with semi-structured interviews as data collection technique, involving six Italian Innovative Small and Medium-sized Enterprises identified through the framework of legal requirements provided by the European Union. Although literature poses on the same level all three elements, results show that there is a general consensus about the main role played by uncertainty. Practitioners identify several strategies to employ in order to deal with uncertainty, while the number of strategies identified to reduce equivocality and complexity is limited. Furthermore, this study identifies a correlation between the size of a company and the type of strategies employed to deal with the fuzziness. The more resource a company allocates on a project, the wider is the range of possible strategies project managers can adapt.