Abstract  Erik Samuelsson: A View Towards the Sea – Towards a Changed Understanding of the Culture and Social Life of the Middle Neolithic in Eastern Central Sweden.  The objective of this essay is to undertake an investigation and critical review of the Neolithic cultural groups as defined by contemporary archaeologists. This will be achieved through the analysis of empirical material derived from the Neolithic site of Tibble, located in the Björklinge parish of Uppland, Sweden. The primary aim is to develop a more comprehensive understanding and interpretation of not only the specific site but also the cultural and social aspects of the Neolithic period as a whole. Key questions addressed in this study include the impact of material studies on the overall interpretation of Neolithic culture and social life, as well as the potential for attaining a more holistic understanding of a time and place through an analytical approach that oscillates between detailed analysis and broader contextual perspectives. The primary sources utilized in this research consist of material artifacts, reports, and relevant literature pertaining to the Middle Neolithic settlement at Tibble, Björklinge parish, Uppland, Sweden. The theoretical framework employed in this study, as well as the chosen methodology, is rooted in the hermeneutic spiral. Previous investigations into the Stone Age have been largely characterized by the classification of cultural groups, with limited consideration given to the criticism of the concept of culture itself. Consequently, substantial changes in the interpretation of the Neolithic period and its inhabitants have not been extensively pursued. In this essay, the integration of hermeneutics and interdisciplinary approaches is demonstrated as a valuable means to foster a transformative understanding of both specific sites and broader chronological periods. By doing so, it becomes possible to harness the knowledge embedded in material studies.It is important to note that this essay does not aspire to provide an ultimate solution to the perceived problem but rather represents an initial step towards a new direction of inquiry. This process is not necessarily confined to a singular location or region but can be applied to the interpretative work concerning other Neolithic sites as well.

One of the current testing method (the Dry Flow test) to qualify resin for use in production in the rotomolding process has been shown to have many flaws in both equipment and procedure. Research was done here to investigate a possible alternative that could eliminate some of these testing deficiencies. By reducing equipment and operator errors, the testing of materials becomes more valuable of an exercise. The Angular Flow test developed in this research can increase repeatability. By coming to understand the rotational molding process better, an evaluation that can give more valid information was devised.

Companies are always trying to increase their sales and revenue, but nowadays due to technology advancement, competence and the fast moving economy this task becomes more difficult as time goes by. This is where innovation walks in, to find new ways to add value to customers, increasing profit and even find new potential markets. As part of implementing innovative practices, many companies have added corporate entrepreneurship to their structure, to look for new business models that reach diverse customers within the same industry. Getting in the mind of customers, trying to decipher unspoken needs and matching problems to new solutions is part of the insighting process that has to be done when attempting idea incubation. This research seeks to provide a methodology to make the insighting process for early idea validation, in a corporate environment, less manual and more mechanical. For this purpose the Stockholm division of Telia Company was used as study case and main source of data recollection, which brings the research results to a practical use and analysis.

The industrial marketing strategy in many industries has been largely influenced by the coming of digital marketing over the past decade. The trends are changing from the traditional to a digital era and companies are being forced by this digitalization shift. The manufacturing and marketing consultant industry is no exception. Since previous research has often been towards SMEs as a whole instead of specific industries. The research gap that the authors would like to investigate is brand equity development through digital marketing among two B2B SME industries, manufacturing and marketing consulting firms in Sweden. Moreover, the authors used a series of research methods to collect primary data and secondary data, as well as a computer-assisted coding software used for qualitative data analysis and coupled with benchmarking analysis for the secondary data analysis. Theories of brand equity and digital marketing ( marketing funnel and digital channels) are connected to the empirical findings of digital communication and business relationship to uncover what differentiates manufacturers from marketing consultants in brand equity building through digital marketing channels. The manufacturing industry has gained knowledge over the last few years when it comes to branding and digital marketing but is still split over the subject because of no clear direct benefits. They also lack the motivation that would have given them access to this knowledge, but somehow they have started outsourcing. Overall it seems that the manufacturing industry is working hard to become more digital. Lastly, a proposed model is recommended by the authors through the findings from both industries.

This research explores if Sweden, a country with high trust in the political system could be challenged by social media. The study focuses on one spectrum of social media, TikTok, that exploded during the covid-19 pandemic and is proof of how fast social media develops and reaches out to human beings. The study addresses a research gap regarding this new social media platform as it examines exposure to political content and impact on political behavior. Specifically, the study focuses on first-time voters voting behavior in the Swedish election 2022. This thesis is based on a digital survey sent out to 139 respondents during November 2022. The result indicates that there is a relationship between viewing time on TikTok and voting behavior among young voters in the Swedish election 2022. The study ends with a discussion about how specific political content the respondent was exposed to on TikTok could have had an impact on the political behavior in the Swedish election 2022.

In the past decade, the integration of spatiotemporal constraints into control systems has emerged as a crucial necessity, driven by the demand for enhanced performance, guaranteed safety, and the execution of complex tasks. Spatiotemporal constraints involve criteria that are dependent on both space and time, which can be represented by time-varying constraints in nonlinear control systems. Funnel-based control methods provide computationally tractable and robust feedback control laws to enforce time-varying constraints in uncertain nonlinear systems. This thesis begins by exploring the application of funnel-based control designs to address performance specifications in coordinate-free formation control of multi-agent systems. Moreover, we develop new robust feedback control schemes dealing with coupled spatiotemporal constraints in uncertain nonlinear systems that cannot be directly addressed by conventional funnel-based control methods. In the first part of the thesis, we present a novel coordinate-free formation control scheme for directed leader-follower multi-agent systems, exhibiting almost global convergence to the desired shape. The synthesis of fully decentralized robust controllers for agents is achieved through the application of the Prescribed Performance Control (PPC) method. This method imposes spatiotemporal funnel constraints on each agent's formation errors, ensuring a predefined transient and steady-state performance while maintaining robustness to system uncertainties. The core idea in this work is the utilization of bipolar coordinates to achieve orthogonal (decoupled) formation errors for each follower agent. This approach not only ensures the global convergence to the desired shape but also facilitates the effective application of the PPC method. In the second part of the thesis, first, we introduce a novel approach that extends funnel-based control schemes to deal with a specific class of time-varying hard and soft constraints. In this work, we employ an online Constraint Consistent Funnel (CCF) planning scheme to tackle couplings between hard and soft constraints. By satisfying these CCF constraints, we ensure adherence to hard (safety) constraints, while soft (performance) constraints are met only when they do not conflict with the hard constraints. Subsequently, we directly employ the PPC design method to craft a robust, low-complexity control law, ensuring that the system's outputs consistently stay within the online planned CCF constraints. In subsequent work, we tackle the challenge of satisfying a generalized class of potentially coupled time-varying output constraints. We show that addressing multiple constraints effectively boils down to formulating a single consolidating constraint. Ensuring the fulfillment of this consolidating constraint guarantees both convergence to and invariance of the time-varying output-constrained set within a user-defined finite time. Building on the PPC design method, we introduce a novel, robust low-complexity feedback control framework to handle this issue in uncertain high-order MIMO nonlinear control systems. Additionally, we present a mechanism for online modification of the consolidating constraint to secure a least-violating solution when constraint infeasibilities occur for an unknown time interval. / Under det senaste decenniet har integrationen av bivillkor i tid och rum för reglersystem framstått som en nödvändighet, driven av efterfrågan på förbättrad prestanda, garanterad säkerhet och utförandet av komplexa uppgifter. Bivillkor i tid och rum för icke-linjära reglersystem kan representeras av tidsvarierande bivillkor. Trattbaserade reglermetoder ("funnel-based control") tillhandahåller beräkningsmässigt hanterbara och robusta återkopplingslagar för att garantera tidsvarier-ande bivillkor i osäkra icke-linjära system. Denna avhandling börjar med att utforska tillämpningen av trattbaserade kontrollmetoder för att hantera prestanda-specifikationer i koordinatfri formationskontroll av multiagentsystem. Dessutom utvecklar vi nya robusta återkopplingslagar som hanterar kopplade bivillkor i tid och rum för osäkra icke-linjära system som inte direkt kan hanteras av konventionella trattbaserade kontrollmetoder. I den första delen av avhandlingen presenterar vi en ny koordinatfri formationskontrollmetod för riktade ledare-följare multiagentsystem, vilken uppvisar nästan global konvergens till den önskade formen. Syntesen av helt decentraliserade robusta regulatorer för agenter uppnås genom tillämpning av Prescribed Performance Control (PPC)-metoden. Denna metod lägger på trattbivillkor i tid och rum på varje agents formationsfel och säkerställer en fördefinierad transient och stationär prestanda samtidigt som robusthet mot systemosäkerheter bibehålls. Kärnan i detta arbete är användningen av bipolära koordinater för att uppnå ortogonala (frikopplade) formationsfel för varje följande agent. Detta tillvägagångssätt säkerställer inte bara global konvergens till den önskade formen utan underlättar också en effektiva tillämpning av PPC-metoden. I den andra delen av avhandlingen introducerar vi först ett nytt tillvägagångssätt som utökar trattbaserade kontrollmetoder för att hantera en specifik klass av tidsvar-ierande hårda och mjuka bivillkor. I detta arbete använder vi en online Constraint Consistent Funnel (CCF)-planeringsmetod för att tackla sammankopplingar mellan hårda och mjuka bivillkor. Genom att uppfylla dessa CCF-bivillkor säkerställer vi efterlevnad av hårda (säkerhets-) bivillkor, medan mjuka (prestanda-) bivillkor uppfylls endast när de inte strider mot de hårda bivillkoren. Därefter tillämpar vi direkt PPC-designmetoden för att utforma en robust reglerlag med låg komplexitet som säkerställer att systemets utsignal konsekvent håller sig inom de online planerade CCF-bivillkoren. Därefter hanterar vi utmaningen med att uppfylla en generaliserad klass av potentiellt kopplade tidsvarierande utsignals-bivillkor. Vi visar att effektiv hantering av flera bivillkor i grund och botten handlar om att formulera ett sammanfattande bivillkor. Uppfyllandet av detta sammanfattande bivillkor garanterar både konvergens till och invarians av den tidsvarierande mängden som uppfyller utsignalsbivillkoren, inom en användardefinierad begränsad tid. Baserat på PPC-designmetoden introducerar vi en ny, robust återkopplingsregulatorstruktur för att hantera detta problem i osäkra högordnings MIMO icke-linjära reglersystem. Dessutom presenterar vi en mekanism för online-modifiering av det sammanfattande bivillkoret för att säkra en lösning med minsta möjliga kränkning då bivillkoren blir omöjliga att uppfylla under en okänd tidsperiod. / <p>QC 20231229</p>

Background: In an increasingly market-driven and global higher education industry, characterized by growing international competition and the emergence of disruptive mobile technologies, higher education institutions (HEIs) are challenged to adopt innovative ways of marketing for student recruitment to sustain student enrollment numbers. Within this new landscape the concept of mobile marketing for student recruitment has become an important issue for HEIs. Mobile devices are playing an increasingly significant role in the decision-making process of potential students and this trend has created the need to adopt new forms of marketing through mobile devices to stay relevant with a new mobile generation of students. Purpose: Despite the growing significance of mobile marketing for HEIs, little is still known about the phenomenon of mobile marketing for student recruitment within a higher education setting. Hence, the purpose of this thesis was to fill this knowledge gap by exploring how and why mobile marketing can be used during the student recruitment process from the perspective of education-marketing practitioners. Method: The research gap addressed in this thesis called for existing mobile marketing concepts to be introduced to the field of higher education marketing. Hence, in alignment with abductive reasoning, the starting point of the research was the creation of a theoretical framework that integrates theory on mobile marketing tools with the student recruitment process. Subsequently, through a collective case study design, exploratory qualitative research was undertaken amongst ten universities and four education-marketing agencies to learn about exemplary cases of mobile marketing practice in HEIs. Empirical data was collected from semi-structured interviews with 16 informants, as well as relevant documents to gain a rich understanding of the phenomenon of mobile marketing for recruiting new students. Results &amp; Contribution: This thesis extends the higher education marketing literature by making a first contribution towards conceptualising mobile marketing for student recruitment. The empirical study revealed ten major categories of mobile student recruitment tactics to engage with potential students on mobile devices, and provides new insights on how and for what purpose these tools can be used to recruit new students. Furthermore, a conceptual model of mobile marketing for student recruitment was developed, which helps to understand how mobile marketing can be applied to the student recruitment process. The study is particularly relevant for education marketers, as it provides practitioners with new knowledge about the opportunities presented by mobile marketing channels to communicate with their main target audience. Specifically, the study provides empirical evidence of mobile marketing practices in the industry and a set of specific recommendations. Additionally, the new model may provide a framework for developing a mobile recruitment strategy for HEIs.

Intresset för sömlösa stålrör med stora ytterdiametrar i förhållande till tunna väggtjocklekar har ökat tillsammans med att högre hållfasthet i olika stålsorter tillkommit. Detta gör det möjligt att tillverka lättare, billigare och mer materialeffektiva stålprodukter med samma eller högre hållfasthet som tidigare. Denna nya utvecklingsriktning medför förändringar och utmaningar i en av företaget Ovakos produktionslinor i Rörverk 5 Hofors, vilket de har behov av att samarbeta med maskinkonstruktionsföretaget BEKAB för att utvärdera och utveckla. I Ovakos produktionslina i Rörverk 5 finns en del av ett asselvalsverk som kallas för "förreducerare". Denna del av asselvalsverket ser Ovako ett stort intresse i att utvärdera och utveckla för att bättre anpassas till den nya utvecklingsriktningen.  En känd utmaning hos förreduceraren sen tidigare är att den från början är framtagen för att reducera ner ett kvalitetsproblem hos rörprodukterna som kallas för trattbildning. Projektet fördjupar sig därför inom trattbildning för att bättre förstå grunden till förreducerarens nuvarande design för att därefter genomföra en redesign av förreduceraren. I en nulägesanalys av nuvarande förreducerare framkommer ett flertal olika produktionsutrustningsproblem med tillhörande kvalitetsproblem hos rörprodukterna. Projektet väljer därmed att fokusera på de produktionsutrustningsproblem som ger störst effekt för förreduceraren om de löstes. Detta resulterar i ett nytt produktkoncept av förreduceraren i form av en visuell 3D-CAD-modell med tillhörande hållfasthetsberäkningar och materialoptimering. Studien behandlar ämnen som design, konstruktion, produktutveckling, hållfasthet samt materialoptimering. / The interest in seamless steel tubes with large outside diameters in relation to thin wall thickness has increased along with the strength improvements in various steel grades. This makes it possible to produce lighter, cheaper and more material-efficient steel products with the same or greater strength as before. These new development directions bring changes and challenges in one of the company Ovako's production lines in Tube Mill 5 Hofors, which they need to cooperate with the design agency BEKAB to evaluate and develop. In Ovako's production line in Tube Mill 5 there is a part of an assel mill called "förreducerare". Ovako sees a lot of interest in evaluating and developing this part of the assel mill in order to better adapt to the new development directions. A well-known challenge of the existing reduction equipment is that it was initially developed to reduce a quality issue with the tube products called funnel formation. The project therefore immerses itself into the funnel formation in order to better understand the foundations of the current design of the reduction equipment and to then implement a redesign of the reduction equipment. A situation analysis of the current reduction equipment reveals a number of different production issues with their accompanying quality issues in the tube products. The project thus chooses to focus on the production issues that would have the greatest impact on the reduction equipment if they were resolved. This results in a new product concept of the reduction equipment in the form of a visual 3D-CAD-model with associated strength calculations and material optimization. The study covers topics such as design, engineering, product development, material strength calculations and material optimization.

Natural forests are characterised by great vegetation diversity and create habitats for a major part of Earth’s terrestrial organisms. Plantation forests, which are mainly composed of a few genera of fast-growing trees, constitute an increasing fraction of global forests, but they only partly compensate for loss of area, habitat and ecological functions in natural forests. Plantation forests established near natural forests can be expected to serve as buffers, but they seem to be relatively poor in invertebrate species and it is not clear why. This bachelor’s degree project aimed at establishing the ecological and edaphic factors that correlate with soil invertebrate diversity in dry upland forests and surrounding plantation forests in eastern Africa. Some aspects of the above-ground vegetation heterogeneity were investigated since this was assumed to influence the heterogeneity of the soil environment, which is considered as critical for soil biodiversity. The obtained knowledge may be valuable in conservation activities in East African forests, which are threatened by destruction, fragmentation and exotic species. The study area was Karura Forest, a dry upland forest in Nairobi, Kenya. Three different sites were investigated; a natural forest site characterized by the indigenous tree species Brachylaena huillensis and Croton megalocarpus, and two different plantation forest sites, characterized by the exotic species Cupressus lusitanica and Eucalyptus paniculata, respectively. For each forest type, six plots were visited. Soil invertebrates were extracted from collected soil and litter samples by sieving and Berlese-Tullgren funnels. The invertebrates were identified, and the taxonomic diversity calculated at the order level. The ecological and edaphic factors, measured or calculated for each plot, were tree species diversity, ratio of exotic tree species, vertical structure of trees, vegetation cover, vegetation density, litter quality, soil pH, soil temperature and soil moisture. One-way ANOVA was used to compare soil invertebrate diversity and other variables between different forest types. Akaike’s Information Criterion and Multiple Linear Regression were used to establish linear models with variables that could explain measured variations of the diversity. There was some evidence for higher soil invertebrate diversity in natural forests than in surrounding plantation forests. The abundance of soil invertebrates was also clearly higher in natural forests, which indicates that natural forests are more important than plantation forests for conservation of soil invertebrate populations. Soil invertebrate diversity (in terms of number of orders present) was found to be influenced by forest type and litter quality. The diversity was higher at places with high amounts of coarse litter, which here is considered as more heterogenous than fine litter. The dependence on forest type was partly a consequence of differences in soil pH since Eucalyptus trees lower soil pH and thereby also soil biodiversity. No relation to heterogeneity of above-ground vegetation was found. For future conservation activities in Karura Forest Reserve it is recommended to continue removing exotic plant species and replanting indigenous trees, to prioritize the removal of Eucalyptus trees before Cypress trees, to only remove a few trees at a time and to establish ground vegetation when doing so.

The possibility of using high-frequency electromagnetic radiation in the construction sector is a common knowledge. Various experiments have been carried out to dry construction materials, or even to destroy biotic pests. However, the majority of these experiments have been executed in laboratory conditions. It means they have been carried out under exact limiting conditions, often very far off those conditions in real building practice. Therefore, this dissertation aims at exploring the possibility of utilizing microwave technology in drying and heating of construction materials, in disposing of biotic pests and sterilizing building materials under real conditions in building practice. The thesis will explain that microwaves are a term given to a part of electromagnetic radiation. Electromagnetic radiation is based on the principle that the radiated energy is absorbed by water molecules present in moist building material. In the mass of the irradiated material, the radiated energy is transformed into thermal energy, where a so-called “motion” of water molecules occurs with the energy then being transformed into kinetic energy. The microwave technology itself offers a very wide range of use, which can be easily achieved, thus making the technology available to use in the future. Part of the experiments and the necessary measurements, too, has been carried out on selected types of building materials in the premises of the Faculty of Civil Engineering of Brno University of Technology. They have been executed under conditions which most closely correspond to the conditions in real buildings. Part of the experiments and the necessary measurements were carried out on particular constructions, by the so-called in situ method. As stated in the conclusion of the dissertation, laboratory measurements and the in situ measurements differ considerably in some cases.