Policy impact for nonindustrial private forest landowners : the case of deregulating private forest accounts

An ongoing investigation initiated by the government of Sweden is examining the tax structure for private entities and persons who are owners or partners in trading companies. It investigates whether current tax structure is too complex, and if there is a need to simplify the current tax structure. Nonindustrial private forest landowners own 52 % of the forestland areas in Sweden (Nilsson, 2015, p. 92), and they are often running their business as private entities. It becomes interesting to examine which sanctions the revised tax structure could have on private entities that have forests revenue as part of the total revenue. The study examines the financial effects that the revised tax system would have compared to the current tax system through a future simulation. The study finds that the proposed changes in the investigation will have a negative effect on the total profit for nonindustrial private forest landowners. They would contribute with further tax funds to the government through the proposed changes, but also that the revised tax system might have negative effects for the overall short-term supply on Swedish wood products.En pågående utredning initierad av Regeringskansliet utreder skatteregler för enskilda näringsidkare och fysiska personer som är ägare eller delägare i handelsbolag. Utredningen undersöker huruvida avsättningsmöjligheterna är för komplexa, och om det nuvarande skattesystem bör förenklas. Privata skogsägare äger tillsammans 52 % av den totala skogsarealen i Sverige (Nilsson, 2015, p. 92), och den vanligaste företagsformen för dessa är enskild firma. Vilket har gett intresset till att undersöka vilka påföljder det reviderade skattesystemet kan få för enskilda firmor som har skog som en del av intäkten. Studien försöker därför genom en framtidssimulation jämföra nuvarande skattesystem med det reviderande skattesystemet för att identifiera finansiella effekter. Studien visar slutsatser som menar att nuvarande skattesystem har bättre planeringsmöjligheter att skjuta upp beskattningen på resultatet till följande år, och kan även få konsekvenser på utbudet av skogsprodukter eftersom det blir mindre lönsamt att avverka skog

Följsamhet till handhygienrutiner hos sjuksköterskor inom slutenvården

Idag vårdas 10 % av alla patienterna på vårdavdelning till följd av vårdrelaterad smitta, ofta relaterat till ofullständig handhygien, vilket leder till onödigt lidande för patienterna och extra vårdkostnader. Sjuksköterskor har ett stort ansvar då de arbetar nära patienter varje dag. Syftet med studien var att beskriva betydelsen av följsamhet samt konsekvenser avseende sjuksköterskans handhygien vid patientkontakt inom slutenvård. Metoden som användes var litteraturstudien som baserades på 10 artiklar. Tre teman framkom under granskningsprocessen som visade faktorer som både försvårar och främjar följsamheten till handhygienrutiner; kognitiv förståelse och praktiskt handlande, samspel mellan sjuksköterskor samt påverkande arbetsmiljöfaktorer och betydelsen av den fysiska miljön. Generellt hade sjuksköterskor brist på kunskap om adekvat handhygien. Utbildningsprogram om handhygien visade sig ha god effekt. Oerfarna sjuksköterskor såg generellt sjuksköterskor med mer erfarenhet som förebilder inom arbetet, inkluderat handhygien

Solar cells for Uppsala’s sports facilities

The aim of this project was to evaluate the possibilities for solar panels on Uppsala’s sporting facilities and to suggest an expansion strategy. The project was based on a literature study concerning solar panels in general, an investigation of the most established solar panel manufacturers and an evaluation of their panels on a variety of factors. Additionally, an evaluation of Uppsala Sport- och Rekreationsfastigheters sporting facilities was made and combined with a field trip to gain more information about the buildings. The results from these investigations were used in the simulation programme PV*SOL, where five different facilities where simulated in two different scenarios with three different solar modules. The main difference between the two simulated scenarios was the amount of electricity sold to the grid. The simulation results show that facilities with large roof areas and high electricity consumption are most suited for installation. PV-modules of the manufacturer Sonnenstrom are recommended and a dimensioning of the installation according to scenario 2, where some electricity is sold to the grid, is proposed

EcoSonic: Auditory Displays supporting Fuel-Efficient Driving

Hammerschmidt J, Tünnermann R, Hermann T. EcoSonic: Auditory Displays supporting Fuel-Efficient Driving. In: Thomas O, Ebba H, eds. NordiCHI '14 Proceedings of the 8th Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction: Fun, Fast, Foundational. Helsinki, Finland: ACM New York, NY, USA; 2014: 979-982.In this paper, we present our work towards an auditory display that is capable of supporting a fuel-efficient operation of vehicles. We introduce five design approaches for employing the auditory modality for a fuel economy display. Furthermore, we have implemented a novel auditory display based on one of these approaches, foussing on giving feedback on the engine’s optimal rpm range, which is a major factor for eco-driving. Finally, we report on the development of a simple but physically realistic car simulator, which allows for a reproducible evaluation of prototype auditory displays as well as a comparison to state-of-the-art visual fuel efficiency indicators

Optomechanical cooling with coherent and squeezed light: the thermodynamic cost of opening the heat valve

Ground-state cooling of mechanical motion by coupling to a driven optical cavity has been demonstrated in various optomechanical systems. In our work, we provide a so far missing thermodynamic performance analysis of optomechanical sideband cooling in terms of a heat valve. As performance quantifiers, we examine not only the lowest reachable effective temperature (phonon number) but also the evacuated-heat flow as an equivalent to the cooling power of a standard refrigerator, as well as appropriate thermodynamic efficiencies, which all can be experimentally inferred from measurements of the cavity output light field. Importantly, in addition to the standard optomechanical setup fed by coherent light, we investigate two recent alternative setups for achieving ground-state cooling: replacing the coherent laser drive by squeezed light or using a cavity with a frequency-dependent (Fano) mirror. We study the dynamics of these setups within and beyond the weak-coupling limit and give concrete examples based on parameters of existing experimental systems. By applying our thermodynamic framework, we gain detailed insights into these three different optomechanical cooling setups, allowing a comprehensive understanding of the thermodynamic mechanisms at play.Comment: 28 pages, 14 figures, 2 tables Small revision of the main text, corrected typos in the appendices, added study of the stability of the systems and comparison with absorption refrigerators in appendi

Robust T cell immunity in convalescent individuals with asymptomatic or mild COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cells will likely prove critical for long-term immune protection against COVID-19. Here, we systematically mapped the functional and phenotypic landscape of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses in unexposed individuals, exposed family members, and individuals with acute or convalescent COVID-19. Acute-phase SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells displayed a highly activated cytotoxic phenotype that correlated with various clinical markers of disease severity, whereas convalescent-phase SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were polyfunctional and displayed a stem-like memory phenotype. Importantly, SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells were detectable in antibody-seronegative exposed family members and convalescent individuals with a history of asymptomatic and mild COVID-19. Our collective dataset shows that SARS-CoV-2 elicits broadly directed and functionally replete memory T cell responses, suggesting that natural exposure or infection may prevent recurrent episodes of severe COVID-19

Hållbarhetsredovisning inom den svenska konfektionsindustrin (16/17:46)

Bakgrund och problemdiskussion: Konfektionsindustrin är en arbetskraftsintensiv bransch vilket kan kopplas till sociala problem som överträdelser av mänskliga rättigheter. Samhällets ökade medvetenhet om problemet har lett till en högre efterfrågan på information. Företagens främsta sätt att offentliggöra informationen är genom hållbarhetsrapporter men då rapporteringen ofta styrs av företagens vilja att visa upp en bra bild varierar innehållet, vilket kan påverka jämförbarheten mellan företagens hållbarhetsrapporter. Frågeställningar: • Hur jämförbara är svenska konfektionsföretags hållbarhetsredovisningar gällande mänskliga rättigheter under en femårsperiod? • Vilka skillnader och likheter i redovisningen gällande mänskliga rättigheter kan identifieras och hur förklaras dessa? Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka om tre svenska konfektionsföretags redovisning gällande mänskliga rättigheter är jämförbar med varandra under en femårsperiod. Studien syftar också till att undersöka vilka skillnader och likheter som förekommer samt hur dessa kan förklaras. Metod: En kvalitativ textanalys har gjorts där tre konfektionsföretags hållbarhetsredovisningar studerats. De valda företagen är H&M, KappAhl och Hemtex. För att kunna analysera vad som står i hållbarhetsredovisningarna gällande mänskliga rättigheter har GRI-G4 standarder använts som riktmärke. Empiri och slutsats: Vad som framkommit av studien är att Hemtex, KappAhls och H&M:s hållbarhetsredovisningar gällande mänskliga rättigheter inte är jämförbar. Det som kan motivera skillnaderna är att GRI-G4 är ett principbaserat ramverk och informationen redovisas inte på ett konsekvent sätt. Sökande efter olika former av legitimitet kan bidra till skillnader samt pressen från olika intressentgrupper. Likheter kan förklaras genom institutionell press som gör att företag inom samma kontext efterliknar varandra. Förslag till vidareforskning: Förslag till vidarestudier är att undersöka om konfektionsföretags hållbarhetsredovisningarna tar upp väsentlig information. Ett annat område som kan studeras är om den nya lagen om hållbarhetsrapportering har förbättrat jämförbarheten mellan konfektionsföretags hållbarhetsrapporter gällande mänskliga rättigheter

Feministisk utrikespolitik? ja ⎕ nej ⎕ kanske ⍁ : En idéanalys av utredningen om ett tillträde till TPNW

This bachelor thesis takes off in Sweden's declared feminist foreign policy and how these ideas are found in relation to nuclear weapons. Traditional security policy today is characterized by a realistic perspective where states' power and security are placed at the top of the agenda. In contrast, the research field Feminist Security Studies often criticizes this view of security by pointing out that it is national security that is being discussed, not human security. The aim of the study is to discern what kind of security policy is portrayed in the inquiry and intends to answer the question,how is the inquiry presented in relation to feminist and traditional security policy? By using idea analysis as method and ideal types as a tool of analysis, the aim is to be able to understand what ideas regarding security that can be distinguished in the material, which is Utredning av konsekvenserna av ett Svenskt tillträde till konventionen om förbud mot kärnvapen (Inquiry of the consequences of a Swedish entry into the Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons). The data is collected through qualitative and quantitative content analysis and is presented in tables and charts. The study shows that Sweden has a realistic view of the international system in which the state is portrayed as the central actor which should be protected from possible threats. The threats that are portrayed in the inquiry are mainly those that threaten to harm the state's sovereignty. Despite Sweden's pronounced feminist foreign policy, nor women or the people of the state are hardly mentioned. However, we can discern feminist ideas when it comes to what measures to take to maintain security, where cooperation and disarmament are highlighted as two central parts. The study contributes to increased insight into Sweden's view of security and the declared feminist foreign policy and how it works in practice. The result of the study shows the importance of trying to integrate the feminist foreign policy in more parts of the Foreign Ministry's work

Feministisk utrikespolitik? ja ⎕ nej ⎕ kanske ⍁ : En idéanalys av utredningen om ett tillträde till TPNW

This bachelor thesis takes off in Sweden's declared feminist foreign policy and how these ideas are found in relation to nuclear weapons. Traditional security policy today is characterized by a realistic perspective where states' power and security are placed at the top of the agenda. In contrast, the research field Feminist Security Studies often criticizes this view of security by pointing out that it is national security that is being discussed, not human security. The aim of the study is to discern what kind of security policy is portrayed in the inquiry and intends to answer the question,how is the inquiry presented in relation to feminist and traditional security policy? By using idea analysis as method and ideal types as a tool of analysis, the aim is to be able to understand what ideas regarding security that can be distinguished in the material, which is Utredning av konsekvenserna av ett Svenskt tillträde till konventionen om förbud mot kärnvapen (Inquiry of the consequences of a Swedish entry into the Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons). The data is collected through qualitative and quantitative content analysis and is presented in tables and charts. The study shows that Sweden has a realistic view of the international system in which the state is portrayed as the central actor which should be protected from possible threats. The threats that are portrayed in the inquiry are mainly those that threaten to harm the state's sovereignty. Despite Sweden's pronounced feminist foreign policy, nor women or the people of the state are hardly mentioned. However, we can discern feminist ideas when it comes to what measures to take to maintain security, where cooperation and disarmament are highlighted as two central parts. The study contributes to increased insight into Sweden's view of security and the declared feminist foreign policy and how it works in practice. The result of the study shows the importance of trying to integrate the feminist foreign policy in more parts of the Foreign Ministry's work

Growing Inwards : Densification and Ecosystem Services in Comprehensive Plans from Three Municipalities in Southern Sweden

This article analyses how urban densification, primarily in relation to ecosystem services, is addressed in comprehensive plans from three cities in southernmost Sweden: Malmö, Lund and Helsingborg. The aim was to investigate and problematise how the comprehensive plans articulate and negotiate how to build dense cities while preserving and enhancing ecosystem services. A qualitative content analysis was performed on the comprehensive plans in use during the study period. The comprehensive plans were all ambitiously formulated. However, three recurrent issues were found. Planners struggled to address the issue of scale: Ecosystem services in the city were addressed when planning for densification, while ecosystem services for the city were either omitted or mentioned in the passing. The timeframe in relation to sustainable urban development was also not clarified. Most importantly, there were profound unclarities regarding priorities. Densification was suggested to provide all positive qualities simultaneously, including enhancing and supporting ecosystem services, which is, from a systems viewpoint, not possible. We suggest that when planning for sustainable cities, based on best available research, politicians should bring the prioritisation process to the fore, to clarify and address how to plan for dense, healthy cities with functioning ecosystem services in a more holistic manner