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COVID-19 have caused a global pandemic that has taken the lives of millions. This studyexamines factors that contribute or inhibit its contagious nature. It is considered for the analysisfeatures of three groups: air pollutants, meteorological measurements and human mobilityindices. The research analyses the relationship between those features and the mortality ofCOVID-19 measured by daily excess of deaths between March 19, 2020 to July 20, 2020 (120observations). The results reveal air pollutants such as PM2.5, PM10 and CO have statisticallysignificantly positive relationship with excess of deaths. Additionally, meteorological variableslike temperature, solar radiation and relative humidity are negatively correlated to Coronavirusmortality. In consequence, it should be noted that cold and dry weather favors COVID-19lethality, while solar radiation in high degree, diminish it. Moreover, it was found that humanmobility is positively linearly correlated with excess of deaths. It is worth to mention that allthe dependencies anlysed, depicted delayed effects along 25 days lag represented by highrelative risk of excess of deaths in upper or lower extremes of the factors. Finally, the machinelearning algorithm, gradient boosting machine, reported the best accuracy on predicting theexcess of mortality shifted backwards 25 days (exposure to death period) from theaforementioned factors. The model depicted as the most important variable to google mobilityindex, explaining 75% of the variance and its marginal effect on the mean response indicatesif quarantine was maintained more than twice less people would die from COVID-19.

This qualitative study investigates the complex relation between wind power developments and municipal decision-making in two Swedish project cases. The study is investigating why the municipalities have changed their attitude towards the developments and thus used their veto-right to stop it. The two cases have been identified by the research company Westander. They recently published a report, commissioned by The Swedish Energy Association, showing that 78% of all planned wind turbines in 2021 got rejected by the municipal veto. The cases are Tönshult, in the Municipality of Hultsfred, and Skottfjället, in the Municipality of Munkedal. The resulting courses of events are discussed in relation to municipal decision-making. The purpose is thus to highlight possible influencing factors on the decision. The complex relation between local resistance and decision-making is thus forming the discussion of the study. The theoretical framework begins with a conceptualization of three main topics, which are: Public choice, Social acceptance, and Attitudes. These theories are forming the literature review and the topic of decision-making in municipalities. Local politicians have the power to make decisions that should be in harmony with the public interest. However, the relation between locals and politicians are complex, which can be seen as subjective attitudes are involved in the decision-making. The results show that local politicians decided to change their attitude toward the development as there were too many perceived negative consequences of it. The results of the study indicate that municipal decisions get effected by local resistance. The decision is affected in a direct way by locals opposing it, and in an indirect way as locals change the subject of the debate to the development. Both ways risk undermining the purpose of the municipal veto. The usage of the veto is supposed to be a way for municipalities to secure that their land is used for its intended purpose. The political statements and media coverage expressed in relation to the decision shows thus that the veto is not being used for this purpose. Instead, other arguments can be seen in the discussion, and in the political explanations behind decisions. That is the resulting interpretation of the political statements and other media coverage, in relation to the decision. However, it is difficult to establish any specific conclusion as clear interviews with decision-makers would have been required.

No description available.

No description available.

Avfallstaxan är ett verktyg som kommunen kan använda för att genomföra det som man bestämt i sin avfallsplan, och därmed avspeglar dess utformning kommunens ambitioner och mål gällande avfallshantering. Den kan utformas på olika sätt genom fasta och/eller rörliga avgifter och får främja en miljöstyrning, men behöver följa självkostnads- och likställighetsprincipen. Syftet med denna rapport är att undersöka vilken effekt de olika utformningarna av avfallstaxor inom SÖRAB-regionen  i form av ekonomiska incitament och regleringar har på kvaliteten av avfall från hushåll.  Studien undersöker mängden restavfall som genereras, anslutningsgrad till matavfallsinsamling och andel av matavfall som hushållen sorterar ut, den mängd farligt avfall och elavfall som slängs av invånarna årligen samt hur stor andel av denna mängd som felaktigt slängs bland restavfallet.  Utöver detta har målet varit att utröna om andra faktorer utöver avfallstaxan, såsom arbetssättet inom kommunerna, påverkar de ovannämnda resultaten. Resultaten baseras på en tidigare utförd plockanalys och data från insamlingsstatistik, intervjuer med ansvariga inom avfallsområdet i respektive kommun, kommunernas avfallstaxor samt en litteraturstudie. Hushåll i de två kommunerna som använder vikttaxa genererar ej lägre mängder avfall, i motsats till vad majoriteten av tidigare litteratur redovisat. Då de vanligaste hämtintervallen i kommunerna kartläggs och jämförs med den mängd avfall som genereras, framkommer att det i tre av fyra kommuner där hämtning varje vecka är vanligast, skulle vara möjligt att övergå till hämtning varannan vecka. Detta talar för att det rådande ekonomiska incitamentet för denna typ av förändring för hushållet ej är tillräckligt, och det kan diskuteras huruvida detta har en negativ effekt på mängden avfall från hushållen. De kommuner som svarat att majoriteten av hushållen har hämtning av avfallet varannan vecka uppvisar ett samband, om än något svagt, gällande att ha lägre mängder restavfall. Den högsta anslutningsgraden till matavfallsinsamlingen för småhus ses i Sundbyberg (100 %) där ett obligatorium råder. Upplands Väsby uppvisar den lägsta anslutningsgraden för småhus (23 %),  där man får en ytterst marginell ökad kostnad vid anslutning. Den årliga kostnadsskillnaden för småhus i kommunerna varierar mellan en minskning på 1 455 kronor (-42,3 %), till en ökad kostnad på 5 kronor (+0,3 %) vid anslutning till matavfallsinsamling. Resultaten indikerar att det inte finns ett samband mellan högre procentuell kostnadsminskning mellan de olika kommunerna och en högre anslutningsgrad, däremot att en marginellt ökad kostnad verkar ge en lägre anslutningsgrad.  Denna avsaknad av samband gäller både för hushåll i småhus och i flerbostadshus. Generellt är dock avfallsavgiften i förhållande till andra hushållsavgifter relativt liten, vilket även framkom vid flera intervjuer i kombination med att hushåll nog ej är särskilt insatta i taxan, vilket kan förklara avsaknaden av ett samband. För flerbostadshus ses den högsta anslutningsgraden i Sollentuna (90 %) medan Vallentuna (22 %) har den lägsta anslutningsgraden. I den förstnämnda kommunen har matavfallsinsamlingen pågått minst 15 år längre än i övriga kommuner, vilket skulle kunna vara en påverkande faktor. Den ekonomiska besparingen är per hushåll lägre för flerbostadshus än för småhus, och varierar enligt beräkningarna mellan 387 kronor och 142 kronor. Den procentuella minskningen varierar för denna bostadstyp mellan -30,6 % och -10,8 %. Andelen utsorterat matavfall per anslutet hushåll varierar mellan cirka 31 % och 55 %. Dock är insamlingsmängderna inte åtskilda mellan de två olika bostadstyperna, vilket kan tänkas påverka resultatet då kommunen med högst andel utsortering även är den som har lägst andel hushåll i flerbostadshus, en bostadstyp som i intervjuerna indikerats vara svårare att nå fram till med information. Noterbart är att det i Upplands Väsby där det ej är ekonomiskt fördelaktigt för småhusen att ansluta sig, ej visar på en högre andel utsorterat matavfall per anslutet hushåll. Då beräkningen  istället baseras på andel utsorterat matavfall per invånare varierar värdet mellan drygt 16 % och 41 %,  vilket innebär att de kommuner som har de lägsta andelarna har en relativt lång bit kvar för att  uppnå dels regionens egna mål och det regionala målet. Tjänster för kostnadsfri hämtning av farligt avfall och elavfall i småhus används enligt intervjuerna i liten skala, och kan bero på informationsbrist eller att dessa hushåll främst själva slänger detta avfall på återvinningscentralen. I fem av kommunerna slängs större mängder farligt avfall felaktigt i soppåsen bland hushåll i flerbostadshus än i småhus, jämfört med elavfall där det i en kommun slängs större mängd i soppåsen i flerbostadshus. Den totala mängden farligt avfall respektive elavfall som slängs beräknat per invånare är minst i de två kommuner där andelen hushåll i flerbostadshus är högst, medan andelen som felaktigt slängs i soppåsen av de två avfallsfraktionerna är högst i dessa kommuner. Detta skulle kunna bero på att utslaget av ett felsorterat objekt blir större då totalmängden är lägre, alternativt att boendeformen har betydelse. Resultaten indikerar svagt att hushåll i flerbostadshus i de kommuner som inte erbjuder kostnadsfri hämtning av farligt avfall slänger  större mängder felaktigt i soppåsen jämfört med hushållen i småhus i samma kommuner.  Detta samband ses ej gällande elavfall. Dock kan det diskuteras huruvida detta verkligen är en faktor som påverkar då tjänsterna ändå ej tycks nyttjas i särskilt stor utsträckning. Kommuner där invånare erbjuds fler insamlingsmöjligheter än endast återvinningscentralen och den mobila återvinningscentralen verkar, om än svagt, placera sig något bättre än andra kommuner gällande mängd farligt avfall som slängs i soppåsen, ett samband som dock ej uppvisas för elavfall. Generellt är det dock inte möjligt att dra statistiskt säkerställda slutsatser av resultaten då underlaget på nio kommuner är för lågt. En viss risk för felkällor finns även grundat på att resultat till viss del baseras på mängder från en plockanalys, där risken finns att slumpen har en påverkan på resultatet. Det är svårt att ge rekommendationer gällande om en viss utformning av taxan i en kommun även skulle fungera bra i andra kommuner i regionen, eftersom resultaten ur denna studie inte visat på starka samband. Detta kan nog bero på att olika aspekter av kommunernas arbete samverkar, vilket gör det svårt att peka på en specifik faktor som påverkar framgångsrikt. / The waste fee is an instrument that can be used by the municipality in order to achieve what has been decided in the municipality’s waste management plan, and reflects the municipality’s ambitions and objectives regarding waste management. It can be designed in multiple ways, comprised with a fixed fee and/or a fee depending on e.g. size of the waste bin and collection frequency. The municipality has a possibility to design the waste fee in order to encourage a more environmentally beneficial behaviour among the residents, however the waste fee has to fulfill the principle of cost-based pricing and equal cost for a comparable service. The aim of this study is to investigate how the different designs of a waste fee by municipalities in the SÖRAB-region, through economic incentives and regulations, impact the quality of the waste from households. The study investigates the amount of household waste, number of households enrolled in the food waste collection scheme and the share of the total amount of food waste generated by a household that is separately collected. Further the study investigates the amount of hazardous waste and electrical and electronical equipment waste that  yearly arise from households, and the share of this amount that is improperly disposed of with the household waste. The study also examines whether the results may be affected by other factors than the waste fee. The results are based on an earlier conducted waste composition study combined with statistics on collected amounts of waste, interviews with authorities regarding waste management in each municipality, the waste management plans of each municipality, and a literature study. Households in the two municipalities that apply a weight-based fee do not create lower amounts of household waste than households in other municipalities, which contradict a majority of the findings from the literature study. In several of the municipalities where a weekly-based collection of waste is most frequent it would, based on the amount of waste, be possible to change to a less frequent collection scheme. This therefore indicates that the current economic incentive to motivate this kind of change is not sufficient. It could also be discussed whether this lack of incentive for a frequency change has a negative impact on the amount of waste generated by the household. There is a link, although rather weak, between municipalities where a bi-weekly collection is most common and a lower amount of household waste. The highest percentage of households enrolled in the food waste collection scheme for single-family houses (SFH) is found in Sundbyberg (100 %), where it is mandatory for the households to separate their food waste. Upplands Väsby has the lowest percentage for SFH (23 %), where the yearly fee for a household that enrolls in food waste collection increases marginally. The yearly difference in cost for SFH among the municipalities ranges from a decrease of 1 455 SEK (-42.3 %), to an increase  of 5 SEK (+0.3 %) when a household joins the food waste collection scheme. The results indicate that there is no correlation between a large percentage decrease of the yearly cost and a higher percentage of households enrolled. The marginally increased yearly fee in Upplands Väsby however seems to negatively impact the percentage of enrolled households. The lack of correlation withholds for both SFH and multi-family dwellings (MFD). On a general level the waste fee is relatively low compared to other expenses for a household, which in combination with the fact that households generally according to the interviews lack awareness of the waste fee and waste management plan, could be factors that explain the lack of a correlation. The highest percentage of households enrolled for MFD is found in Sollentuna (90 %), while the lowest is in Vallentuna (22 %). The food waste collection scheme has been in progress for at least 15 years longer in Sollentuna than in the other municipalities, which could have had an impact on the results. The yearly economic incentive for each household in an MDF is lower than for SFH and the decrease of the fee when enrolling in food waste collection varies between 387 SEK and 142 SEK. The decrease of the fee for an MDF calculated as a percentage ranges from -30.6 % to -10.8 % between the municipalities. The share of food waste that is separately sorted by a household differs between the municipalities and ranges from approximately 31 % to 55 %. It is not possible to distinguish the share for SFH and MFD separately, which might have an impact on the differences that occur between municipalities since the municipality with a high share of households in MFD represents the lowest share of separately sorted food waste. It is, according to some of the interviews, often more difficult to reach out to households in MFD with information. The results of this calculation surprisingly show that the municipality in which the participation of a household in a SFH leads to a marginally increased yearly fee, does not show a higher share of food waste being separately sorted. Calculations based on share of food waste separately collected per capita results in a range from 16 % to 41 %, implying that municipalities in the lower range are relatively far off from the regional as well as the national objective. The cost-free services for collection of hazardous waste and electrical and electronical equipment waste offered to SFH are not used to a large extent, which could possibly depend on poor knowledge regarding the services, or that these households bring these kinds of waste to the recycling centers themselves. A larger amount of hazardous waste is improperly disposed of with the household waste in MFD than in SFH in five of the nine municipalities. This can be compared to electrical and electronical equipment waste, where a larger amount is improperly disposed of in MFD in one municipality. The amount of hazardous waste and of electrical and electronical equipment waste disposed of per capita is lowest in municipalities with the highest share of households living in MFD. The shares of these two waste fractions that are improperly disposed of are at the same time highest in these municipalities, indicating either a possible source of error due to the calculations or that the household type impacts the disposal patterns. The results show a slight correlation between larger amounts of hazardous waste being improperly disposed of with the household waste in MFD compared to households in SFH, in the municipalities that do not offer a cost-free collection service for this type of waste for MFD. This correlation does not appear for electrical and electronical equipment waste. It is however questionable whether this result is due to the lack of the cost-free collection services, since it does not seem to be used to a large extent. The municipalities where residents are offered additional collection systems beyond access to the recycling center and to the mobile recycling center seem to be ranked slightly higher than the other municipalities examined, regarding lower amounts of hazardous waste disposed of with household waste. There is no such correlation visible for electrical and electronical equipment waste. It is, due to the low number of municipalities examined, not possible to draw statistically significant conclusions from the results of the study. Furthermore there is a potential source of error in the  method used, since amounts of different types of waste presented and discussed are based on a  waste composition study where the results may be impacted by randomness. It is difficult to present recommendations regarding how to optimally design the waste fee, since the results in this study  do not seem to show any strong correlations between a particular design and successful results.  The lack of correlations is possibly due to the interaction of different aspects in a municipality’s work, making it difficult to pinpoint a single specifically effective factor.

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No description available.

Administrative courts’ view on children’s human rights are actualized when the courts rule that children should be taken into the care of society. It is a legal decision and, moreover, it is an intricate moral issue where fundamental values such as protection, autonomy and equality are at stake. Domestic violence and child abuse are grounds for custody in more than half of the judgments when Swedish Care of Young Persons (Special Provisions) Act (SFS 1990:52) (commonly referred to as LVU) are applied in the courts (Lundström et al. 2020, s. 290). Child abuse is a criminal act and a violation of human rights. Since January 1, 2020, the Convention on the Rights of the Child has been incorporated into Swedish legislation, which means that it must be applied in the administrative courts’ decisions on custody judgment, alongside the Act (SFS 1990:52). Children’s human rights must therefore be considered when such cases are decided.   This thesis aims to examine and compare the administrative courts’ view on children's rights, for children subjected to child abuse, before and after the Convention on the Rights of the Child was incorporated into Swedish legislation, when the courts apply Act (SFS 1990:52) to decide whether to separate a child from their families. The study is done through a discourse analysis of 20 judgments; 10 judgments before (between 2012-2014) and 10 judgments after (between 2020-2022) the Convention on the Rights of the Child became Swedish law. The theoretical framework is based on children’s rights, and mainly three of the governing principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: the best interests of the child (art. 14), the right to participation (art. 12), and the right to development (art. 6). Ideologies, values, and moral stances are made visible in the analysis of the application of these principles.   In the judgments, generally, a view of children's rights emerges as essentially related to protecting basic needs. The so-called interest perspective on rights, where rights correlate with protecting needs, rather than protecting the expressed will of the person (Maccormick, 1976, s. 306), is the overriding tendency in the study of the judgments. Implicitly, the understanding of the child perspective emerges where the children's best interest and the children's right to development become dominant over the right to participation. The administrative courts understand the children’s best interest and the right to development as mutually dependent and as protectionist principles, where security, care, and emotional support become central expressions in the judgments in general. Family law theorist John Eekelaar (1994, s. 47-48) establishes that the assessment of a child's best interests requires that an objective and a subjective element are brought together, i.e., general knowledge about the child and, also, the child's own experiences and opinion. The objective perspective is prominent in the administrative courts’ assessment of the children's best interests, and the children's needs and narratives are formulated from an adult perspective.   A distinctive change in the judgments after the Convention on the Rights of the Child became Swedish law is that the children's feelings and thoughts are given more space in the administrative courts’ reasoning. The children are referenced to as subjects, and it is thus possible to see increased tendencies towards a children's rights discourse. Also, detailed and advanced reasoning about the children's needs, vulnerability and development appears to a greater extent. Descriptions of how different areas of the children's lives are affected appear frequently in the judgments after the Convention on the Rights of the Child became Swedish law. When using Martha Nussbaum's capability approach (Nussbaum, 2013, s. 30), it is possible to discern in the judgments a view of children's rights where the protection of basic needs, such as physical and mental health, is fundamental to being able to develop autonomy and self-determination. Although the children's experiences, stories and needs are at the center of the judgment, it is formulated from an adult perspective. The children's opinions and expressed wills do not have a prominent role in most judgments. The view that eventually becomes dominant is a protectionist attitude to the rights of children. The protectionist attitude towards children's rights risks increasingly becoming paternalistic in its application when the children's opinions and wills are excluded in the judgments. The understanding of participation that appears is basically connected to participation as a procedural right that aims to protect the needs of the child. Participation as a substantial right has no impact in any of the 20 judgments. Based on an understanding of participation as an expression of human autonomy and dignity, the child does not appear as a subject of his own rights and thus indicates an incomplete children's rights discourse in the judgments both before and after the Convention on the Rights of the Child became Swedish law.