This thesis investigates how educational attainment influenced men’s and women’s employment in the industrial sector of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) between 1970 and 1989. While the GDR’s socialist ideology promoted gender equality, reflected in near-universal female labour participation and widespread access to education, persistent gender disparities in employment outcomes raise question

This thesis investigates why tariffs, once the backbone of U.S. federal revenue, cannot replace income taxes as the primary revenue source in the modern American economy. Using a systematic literature review and secondary data analysis approach, the study contrasts the structural conditions of the pre-1913 tariff regime, characterized by a goods-dominated economy and minimal federal spending, with

Advances in Earth observation capabilities mean that there is now a multitude of spatially resolved data sets available that can support the quantification of water and carbon pools and fluxes at the land surface. However, such quantification ideally requires efficient synergistic exploitation of those data, which in turn requires carbon and water land-surface models with the capability to simulta

This paper presents a relational approach to the study of poverty (. Mosse, 2010), and uses this to critically evaluate state strategies for identifying and alleviating poverty in Kerala, India. It traces these from national planning documents through to their point of implementation, drawing on qualitative research in two of Kerala's poorest Districts. Ideas of participatory poverty classificatio

Assertions are one of the most useful automated techniques for checking program’s behaviour and hence have been used for different verification and validation tasks. We provide an overview of the last two decades of research involving “assertions” in software testing. Based on a term-based search, we filtered the inclusion of relevant papers and synthesised them with respect to the problem address

We present an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) human-robot interaction simulation environment to evaluate operator situational awareness (SA) during Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. We have developed a modular simulator that functions as a testbed for the design of custom scenarios and the study of human-robot interaction. This simulator facilitates data collection and allows for the c

The automotive domain is becoming increasingly complex through the integration of new technologies. As a result, cybersecurity is recognized as a pressing issue. This study focuses on the ISO/SAE 21434:2021 standard for road vehicles cybersecurity engineering, evaluating the effectiveness of the standard’s risk assessment approach. The standard suggests a set of assessment steps, and previous rese

One of the benefits often claimed for 'moving' the state closer to people through the institutional reforms of democratic decentralisation is an improvement in the inclusion of politically marginalised groups. Decentralisation promises to deliver both the closer physical presence of centres of government and the formalisation of practices of representation at the grassroots. These changes in turn

Satellite remote sensing offers global-scale soil moisture (SM) estimation to assess water and energy cycles. However, the coarse resolution of SM products from microwave remote sensing is unsuitable for fine-scale analysis. This study explored spatial downscaling methods to refine the 0.25° ESA CCI SM product to a 1-km resolution, utilizing optical and thermal remote sensing data, including the n

Despite ongoing global political uncertainties, international trade and maritime shipping continue to expand, underscoring the urgent need for integrating sustainability in the growing port industry. This thesis applies the leverage points framework to assess sustainability initiatives at the Swedish seaports of Gothenburg, Helsingborg, and Ystad, which collectively manage over one-third of the na

In Denmark food production is dominantly influenced by industrial agriculture, which has been increasingly scrutinized for its negative environmental impacts making it evident that alternative food systems must be explored. This could, for example, be permaculture which guides people to live in harmony with nature. This thesis investigates what eight Danish permaculture practitioners wish to chang

This thesis explores the backgrounds and socio-ecological systems of ethnic communities in rapidly growing coffee destinations in Chiang Mai province, Thailand. Using a political ecology approach, it investigates the resilience of coffee-producing villages where ethnic minorities maintain unique cultures and identity. The study highlights ecological vulnerability and socio-political marginalisatio

Geographical peripheries have long faced marginalization and degradation, enhanced by global trends such as urbanisation. Recently, their revitalization has gained urgency within sustainability discourse, seen as key to achieving global sustainable development. Yet, interventions often focus narrowly on economic recovery, overlooking the social dimension, particularly social cohesion, which is ess

Chile’s exposure to multiple natural hazards and its fragmented resilience governance highlight the urgent need for a standardised measurement tool. This thesis adapts an Australian framework to develop the Resiliencia Sistémica, Integral, Social y Territorial para Emergencias (RESISTE), a top-down, indicator-based framework rooted in socio-ecological system thinking and tailored to Chile’s contex

Climate change threatens plant persistence due to geographic shifts in climatic conditions. Across Sweden’s Western Taiga, these changes pose risks to vascular plant species and threaten the effectiveness of protected area management. This thesis investigated how climate change affects the distribution of 12 vascular plant species using species distribution models, and reviewed to what extent Swed

Energy communities are increasingly recognised as key actors in the energy transition, but concerns remain about their ability to promote equitable processes and outcomes. Justice issues within energy communities risk undermining their transformative potential. This thesis uses an adapted energy jus-tice framework to systematically assess procedural and distributional justice challenges in energy

Dead wood is a key element in forest ecosystems and a wide range of organisms are dependent on this substrate for development and reproduction. Saproxylic beetles are important decomposers of dead wood and serve as food for many organisms. Due to the significant forestry-related decrease of dead wood in rural areas, many species of saproxylic beetles are considered threatened. Thus, other spaces h

Arctic coastal fishing communities face rapid environmental, social, and regulatory changes that challenge their adaptive capacity and resilience. Focusing on Moskenes on the Lofoten islands in northern Norway and approaching the case with a critical perspective on social resilience theory, this study investigates the adaptability of coastal fisheries and how their adaptive capacity is affected by

The global fashion industry causes severe environmental and social harm, underscoring the urgent need for a sustainability transition. Circular Business Models, such as Fashion Rental Services (FRS), represent a promising yet currently limited alternative with reduced environmental impacts. This study presents a case study of the fashion industry’s sustainability transition by exploring FRS in Swe

Indigenous communities in the Amazon are facing rapid socio-ecological changes that threaten traditional land management practices and food sovereignty. Indigenous knowledge and practices, essential for biodiversity conservation, are quickly being lost. I examine how changes in traditional land management affect Indigenous food sovereignty and its impact on the growth of women's leadership in