Suchergebnisse

The Ministers of the Environment from the Baltic Sea Countries and the High Representative of the European Commission in November 2007, within the framework of HELCOM, adopted the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) concerning the Baltic Proper, the Gulf of Riga and the Gulf of Finland. The goal of the action plan is to achieve good environmental status by 2021. The action plan consists of around 150 different activities in four main segments; eutrophication, hazardous substances, biodiversity and nature conservation including fisheries, and maritime activities. At the Ministerial Meeting in Moscow 2010 it was recognised that there is a need to support activities agreed in the BSAP and to follow up the implementation of the Russian NIP with regard to e.g. the eutrophication and hazardous substances segments (mainly heavy metals) and to do that it is most important to have reliable monitoring and assessment.In the Copenhagen Ministerial Meeting 2013 the ministers decided on further actions and recommendations adding to the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan including updated country-allocated nutrient reduction targets (CART). It further agreed to monitor and evaluate regularly the progress in implementing the measures to reduce the nutrient inputs and to develop and deliver operational assessments of pressures of e.g. nutrient and hazardous substances inputs (PLCs). In the review of the fifth Pollution Load Compilation (PLC 5.5) for the 2013 HELCOM Ministerial Meeting the PLC data sets were updated and for several countries also corrected and gap-filled. The Russian data were partly estimated due to serious gaps and uncertainties in data reported from the Russian Federation. The present document is a report from a joint co-operation project between Sweden and the Russian Federation "Capacity for Compliance with Baltic Sea Action Plan", named RusNIP II. The aim of the activities in RusNIP II is to contribute to the harmonisation of assessment methods in the Russian catchment area of the Baltic Sea in order to produce comparable and reliable data on pollution loads, mainly nutrients and selected hazardous substances. Such data are needed for use within HELCOM PLC assessments and the follow-up of measures taken to fulfil the BSAP requirements concerning nutrient reduction targets (CART). The project started in 2012, but the RusNIP II project has awaited the outcome of the EU BaltHazAR project before starting some of the RusNIP activities in order not to do any double work. The BaltHazAR II project was finalized 30 June 2012At the 2013 HELCOM Ministerial Meeting it was decided on new nutrient reduction targets for all HELCOM countries including both waterborne and airborne inputs to the Baltic Sea. Based on these figures new input targets (Maximum Allowable Inputs, or MAI) for waterborne nitrogen and phosphorus to sub-basins from Russia were calculated in order to estimate the distance o targets and the reductions required. Reduction targets for Russia are especially strict for phosphorus, and inputs has to be reduced by 50–60 % both for Gulf of Finland and Baltic Proper, as compared with the mean load during 1997–2003. For nitrogen a reduction of 11 % is required for Gulf of Finland and 19 % for Baltic Proper.Nitrogen waterborne load from Russia to Gulf of Finland is at present about 70,000 tons per year and it has not changed much during the period 1994 – 2010. The distance to target during 2008–2010 is about 5,000 ton/yr. For phosphorus a considerable reduction has occurred since 2005–2006, corresponding to about 1,500 tons of P/yr. or about half-way to the input target. The load development to the Baltic Sea from Kaliningrad area is uncertain due to lack of data.A main task of the project has been to assess if the Russian monitoring and assessment system can deliver data and information to HELCOM, in compliance with HELCOM PLC requirements. The overall conclusion is that this is not the case. Russia has not yet fulfilled the HELCOM requirements for annual reporting of PLC data. The main gaps are: a) loads from point sources are given in aggregated form, b) not all obligatory parameters are measured in monitored river, c) unmonitored areas are not reported. In perennial reportings (every 6 years) Russia has reported discharges from coastal point sources and the total riverine inputs, but no source apportionment of inland nutrient sources has been performed. The project has identified three main reasons for the above mentioned deficiencies: The first is that the organisational structure for collecting and compiling data for HELCOM PLC is very complicated and includes a large number of communication steps, from the regional up to the federal level. To simplify and improve the efficiency of data collection and reporting it is proposed that the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation develops and approves legal documents that establish obligations for executors at all levels with regard to participation and submission of data and information to the Helsinki Commission on a regular basis. A second reason is insufficient funding. It is necessary to allocate additional funding from the federal budget, as well as to make necessary changes in the legislation of the Russian Federation. The latter refers specifically to regulatory documents and /or regulations that defines how the flow of information and timing regarding submission of the data to HELCOM, and specify the responsibilities of all levels of performers. A third reason is a lack of methodological basis and responsible authorities for the calculation and assessment of loads from unmonitored areas, diffuse sources, background load and retention. Such a basis is needed in order to be able to make complete source apportionments of loads from the Russian part of the Baltic Sea catchment rivers to the relevant Baltic Sea sub-basins. The project proposes several new methods in this respect. In order to be able to regularly perform calculations of source apportionment of nitrogen and phosphorus loads to the Baltic Sea, it is recommendable to use numerical models. A system for regular data collection, as part of the state monitoring, is needed to supply the models with indata and to update this information regularly. Specifically, we propose that the FyrisNP, or a similar model, should be set up for long-term use in all monitored rivers; Neva (downstream Ladoga), Luga, Narva and Pregolya. For Narva River this issue must be negotiated with Estonia. However, many of the challenges concerning river monitoring have been dealt with successfully. From now on Russia is able to fulfill HELCOM requirements for monitored rivers. Russia has also taken part in an inter-calibration exercise on chemical analyses of wastewater and river water within the HELCOM PLC 6 project.Within the project we have worked with test cases for modelling using the Swedish FyrisNP model and the Russian ILLM model. Advantages and disadvantages with these two numerical models were identified as well as information needed in order to use the models. A three day training course on the FyrisNP model was arranged at SLU, Uppsala in May 2012. In the course 12 Russian experts from authorities and institutions were present. Before the training course started a number of manuals were made available in Russian language. Further, the project has formulated a number of more detailed conclusions and recommendations in order to improve monitoring and assessments of pollution load from the Russian catchment area of the Baltic Sea. The different reports elaborated within the project have been discussed in working group meetings with responsible authorities and institutions which have given valuable comments and amendments to the final report and its annexes.

Ways of seeing the role of an advanced teacher in relation to school development in Sweden In today's schools, the teachers' work and professional knowledge are increasingly challenged and questioned, and politicians tend to seek quick solutions to the schools' so-called crisis. One such solution was the implementation of a career position reform for advanced teachers in 2013.The 2013 career position reform for advanced teachers (SKOLF 2013: 147) allows schools to apply for state funding to establish careers for teachers in primary and secondary schools. Fully developed, the reform will include 17,000 teachers in 2016/2017. The reform includes a small number of lecturers (with a doctorate degree), but the project in which this study is carried out is restricted to research on the career positions of advanced teachers. The reform was introduced to offer support to individual teachers and their careers as well as contribute to school development. To what extent this is achievable depends on many different factors; including the conditions created for and by the teachers selected for this position, which, among others factors, is dependent on how the reform is interpreted by various actors. Research on School Effectiveness (see for instance Sammons, Hillman, & Mortimore, 1997)has contributed to knowledge of the characteristics of effective schools, namely schools that, in comparison to other schools, achieve good results. The starting point of the research is that something can be learned from schools that have proven to be successful. When effectiveness research starting points are transferred to local school practices, it seems essential to first identify effective teachers, teachers who, compared to others, achieve particularly good results with their students. And secondly, to work to ensure that their knowledge and teaching methods will be spread throughout the school. One way to interpret the reform is by equating the advanced teacher with the effective teacher, who has access to and can transfer knowledge to their colleagues on how to achieve good results. On the other hand, more process- and learning-oriented research about the development of schools has contributed to knowledge relevant for teachers learning in Professional Learning Communities (DuFour, 2004; Louise, 2006; Stoll & Louise, 2007; Wald & Castleberry, 2000), for teachers' engagement in knowledge building processes based on every day practices as grounds for development (Thelin & Scherp, 2014) and for schools' developmentinto Learning Organizations (Leitwood & Louise, 1998). Within such theoretical frameworks, school development takes the shape of a problem-solving process (Hameyer, 2001, Scherp, 2003). The perspective of school development as an open ended sense making process opens up for other interpretations of the role and work of the advanced teacher; than those based on the efficiency perspective. Instead of being considered a consumer of knowledge, the teacher is regarded as a producer or co-creator of learning and teaching knowledge.The aim of the study presented in this paper is to explore the ways in which the role of an advanced teacher is seen in relation to school development within Swedish educational context, by teachers selected for the position. Methods Qualitative research methods were used to construct and analyze the data. The data consisted of 40 responses to an open-question survey that was distributed to all advanced teachers in one Swedish municipality several months after commencing work. The municipality was chosen within my professional network through convenience sampling (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2011). From a total population of 106 teachers selected for an advanced teacher position in the municipality, 40 participated in the study. Further to the appointment process, which was carried out in two steps, data needed to be collected at two different occasions. From 28 teachers selected for the position in 2013, 19 responded to the survey. In 2014, 21 out of the 78 selected teachers responded. During the period 2013-2014 my research colleges and I conducted interviews with six advanced teachers working in different municipalities. The interviews included several semi-structured questions, which was followed up by unstructured questions (See Löfdahl Hultman, Thelin, Hjalmarsson & Westman, 2014). Thanks to the broader approach, the greater number of questions and the possibility to follow up on the answers, these interviews contributed to a richer and deeper understanding of the complexity of the reform and has thus been useful when interpreting advanced teachers' written answers in this study. Analysis was informed by variation theory (Marton & Tsui, 2004). Variation theory has also been used in defining ways of seeing as a research object. Tentative results Results suggest that variation in ways of seeing the advanced teachers' role in relation to school development can be described by the use of four categories. In this paper these categories are labeled Role model, Educator, Developer and Learning leader. Seeing the advanced teacher as a Role model means focusing on what has already been accomplished rather what needs to be further developed. Through the reform advanced teachers are rewarded for their good work. Seeing the advanced teacher as an Educator means focusing on the sharing of knowledge to other teachers. Advanced teachers are considered experts on teaching and instruction. This way of seeing is typically associated with lecturing or tutoring activities.Seeing the advanced teacher as a Developer means focusing on developing instruction. From this point of view, efforts can be directed towards on subjects such as mathematics or towards specific teaching methods like flipped classroom. Seeing the advanced teacher as a Learning leader means focusing on collegial learning as a foundation for school development. Seen this way the advanced teacher becomes a team leader responsible for organizing developmental processes throughout the whole school. If the variation described in this paper reflects a variation among advanced teachers in general, the effects of the reform can be expected to vary. The question then will be, not only if or to what degree it will have an impact on practice but rather what impact it will have. The results have implications for the conditions set up for the Advanced Teachers (as well as other teachers), the work carried out by the Advanced Teachers, the Advanced Teachers relationships to their teacher colleagues, the result of the carrier position reform. Based on the results of the study, school leaders and advanced teachers are advised to learn more about the various perceptions of the reform's intention as well as the role these teachers play in relation to school development. Different views need to be addressed and communicated.

YÖK Tez No: 638233 ; Kamu yönetiminin temel amacı vatandaşlara en iyi şekilde kamu hizmeti sunmaktır. Ancak devletlerin sunduğu kamu hizmetleri her zaman mükemmel bir şekilde işlememiştir ve bazı nedenlerden dolayı haksızlıklar yaşanmıştır. Vatandaşların, kamu yönetiminin eksik ve haksız uygulamaları karşısında başvurduğu denetim yollarından birisi de ombudsmanlık denetimdir. Özellikle İkinci Dünya Savaşı'ndan sonra devletlerin insan haklarının korunmasına yönelik daha duyarlı hale gelmesiyle dünyanın birçok devletinde ombudsmanlık kurumu hızla yaygınlaşmaya başlamıştır. Bu çalışmada ilk olarak üzerinde durulacak olan İsveç, modern anlamıyla ombudsmanlık kurumunu 1809 yılında anayasasında düzenleyen ilk ülkedir. İsveç ombudsman modeli, diğer ülkelerdeki ombudsman kurumlarının kurulmasında etkili olmuştur ve bundan dolayı literatürde önemli bir yere sahiptir. Çalışmada üzerinde durulacak ikinci ülke olan Fransa'da güçlü ve etkin bir idari yargı sistemi bulunmaktadır. Bu durum Fransa'da ombudsmanlık kurumu kurulmadan önce, kurumun uygulanabilirliğine ve etkinliğine dair olumlu ve olumsuz eleştiriler yapılmasına neden olmuştur. Sonuçta Fransa'da olumlu eleştiriler ağır basarak ombudsmanlık kurumu 1973 yılında kurulmuştur. Çalışmada üzerinde durulacak son ülke olan Rusya, 1990'lı yılların başında SSCB'nin dağılmasının ardından yeni oluşturulan devlet düzeninde, devletin genel anlamda demokratikleşmesi ve Rusya'nın insan haklarını koruma alanında uluslararası normlara uyma gayretinin sonucu olarak 1997 yılında ombudsmanlık kurumunu oluşturulmuştur. Bu çalışmanın amacı; İsveç, Fransa ve Rusya olmak üzere yönetim yapıları, hukuk sistemleri, siyasi gelenekleri farklı olan üç ülkenin ombudsmanlık kurumu uygulamalarına yönelik bir literatür taraması yaptıktan sonra çeşitli açılardan karşılaştırmalarını sunmaktır. ; The main purpose of public administration is to provide citizens with the best public service. However, the public services provided by the states have not always worked perfectly, and for some reason, injustice has been experienced. One of the ways of control that citizens use in the face of missing and unfair practices of public administration is ombudsman control. Especially after the Second World War, as the states became more sensitive to the protection of human rights, the ombudsman institution started to spread rapidly in many states of the world. Sweden, which will be emphasized in this study for the first time, is the first country to organize its ombudsman institution in its constitution in 1809. The Swedish ombudsman model has been effective in the establishment of ombudsman institutions in other countries and therefore has an important place in the literature. France, which is the second country to focus on, has a strong and effective administrative judicial system. This led to positive and negative criticisms of the applicability and effectiveness of the institution before the establishment of the ombudsman institution in France. As a result, the ombudsman institution was founded in 1973, with positive criticism in France. Russia, the last country to focus on, ın the newly created state order after the dissolution of the USSR in the early 1990s, general democratization of the state and as a result of Russia's efforts to comply with international norms in the field of human rights protection, an ombudsman institution was established in 1997. The purpose of this study; Three countries with different administrative structures, legal systems, political traditions, Sweden, France and Russia after conducting a literature review for ombudsman institution practices, it is to present its comparisons from various perspectives.

Residue products often pose a huge challenge to material recycling industry. Especially heterogenic and fine granular residues. It increases the cost and reduces the efficiency of material separation and recovery. Currently, the most common practice is to landfill such residue products. However, decreasing availability of landfills, increasing landfill costs, and new policy instruments require higher rates of resource recovery. In spite of that, business initiatives for recovering secondary raw material from residue products are often deterred by stringent environmental legislation emphasizing human toxicity concerns. Shredding industry plays a huge role in the context of circular economy via recycling important waste streams such as end-oflife vehicles (ELVs), municipal white goods, construction and demolition waste, and different industrial wastes. The core business model of industrial shredding is driven by recovering different metals while a variety of residue products including plastics, rubber, foam, wood, glass, and sand are generated. Shredder fine residue (also called shredder fines) is a fine granular residue product with intrinsic heterogeneity, which is produced by the shredding industry. A share of 15-20% of the input would end up as shredder fines in a typical plant. The overall aim of this study is to draw technical, market and regulatory boundary conditions for improved material recovery from shredder fines. Thereby to build a framework of principal guidelines to support systematic identification, development, and evaluation of different valorization options for shredder fines. The outcome of this study is also envisioned to provide generic conclusions to the valorization of heterogenic residue products in general. The study is performed in collaboration with a major shredding company in Sweden. The methodology reflects the Swedish context and consists of two phases. During the initial phase, firstly, the overall shredding industry structure of Sweden is studied to understand the governing regulatory framework, level of competition, and the scale of operation. Secondly, the collaborating company is studied to gain knowledge on technical feasibility of implementing recovery processes, economic, business and market aspects, and implications of national and local legislation, from the shredding company perspective. Empirical methods such as interviews and study of documentation are used in this phase. During the second phase, detailed material and elemental characterization tests are performed on shredder fine samples. Thereby the distribution of basic elements, metals, heating value, and ash, in shredder fines as well as across different size fractions of shredder fines is established. The results are compared and contrasted against literature values. An extensive survey is also carried out to identify potential users for different materials which are possibly recoverable from shredder fines. Such potential users are then mapped against materials. Leaching tests are also performed to assess the mobility of heavy metals and thereby the potential environmental risk and human toxicity. As the main contribution of this study, knowledge is developed and synthesized, boundary conditions are set, and principal guidelines of general relevance are drawn in order to facilitate improved valorization of fine granular residue products.

Background Terminal a2-3 and a2-6 sialylation of glycans precludes further chain elongation, leading to the biosynthesis of cancer relevant epitopes such as sialyl-Lewis X (SLe X ). SLe X overexpression is associated with tumor aggressive phenotype and patients' poor prognosis. Methods MKN45 gastric carcinoma cells transfected with the sialyltransferase ST3GAL4 were established as a model overexpressing sialylated terminal glycans. We have evaluated at the structural level the glycome and the sialoproteome of this gastric cancer cell line applying liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. We further validated an identified target expression by proximity ligation assay in gastric tumors. Results Our results showed that ST3GAL4 overexpression leads to several glycosylation alterations, including reduced O-glycan extension and decreased bisected and increased branched N-glycans. A shift from a2-6 towards a2-3 linked sialylated N-glycans was also observed. Sialoproteomic analysis further identified 47 proteins with significantly increased sialylated N-glycans. These included integrins, insulin receptor, carcinoembryonic antigens and RON receptor tyrosine kinase, which are proteins known to be key players in malignancy. Further analysis of RON confirmed its modification with SLe X and the concomitant activation. SLe X and RON co-expression was validated in gastric tumors. Conclusion The overexpression of ST3GAL4 interferes with the overall glycophenotype of cancer cells affecting a multitude of key proteins involved in malignancy. Aberrant glycosylation of the RON receptor was shown as an alternative mechanism of oncogenic activation. General significance This study provides novel targets and points to an integrative tumor glycomic/proteomic-profiling for gastric cancer patients' stratification. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Glycans in personalised medicine" Guest Editor: Professor Gordan Lauc. ; We acknowledge the support from the European Union, Seventh Framework Programme, Gastric Glyco Explorer initial training network: grant number 316929. IPATIMUP integrates the i3S Research Unit, which is partially supported by FCT, the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. This work is funded by FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors-COMPETE (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER028188) and National Funds through the FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology, under the projects: PEst-C/SAU/LA0003/2013, PTDC/BBB-EBI/0786/2012, and PTDC/BBB-EBI/0567/2014 (to CAR). This work was also supported by"Glycoproteomics" project grant number PCIG09-GA-2011-293847(to DK) and the Danish Natural Science Research Council and a generous grant from the VILLUM Foundation to the VILLUM Center for Bioanalytical Sciences at the University of Southern Denmark (to MRL). Grants were received from FCT, POPH (Programa Operacional Potencial Humano) and FSE (Fundo Social Europeu): SFRH/BPD/75871/2011 to AM; SFRH/BPD/111048/2015 to JAF; SFRH/BPD/96510/2013 to CG. The UPLC instrument was obtained with a grant from the Ingabritt and Arne Lundbergs Research Foundation (to NK). C.J. was supported by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. The mass spectrometer (LTQ) was obtained by a grant from the Swedish Research Council (342-2004-4434) (to NK).

Abstract: Autobiography can be thought of as, among other things, a speech of defence. The Estonian-Finnish author Hella Wuolijoki started writing her autobiography in prison and it very much reads as a legitimization of her political life choices. The article investigates how Wuolijoki depicts her own politicization, and how she plays with different author names in order to destabilize a taken-for-granted author position. The material used is her three part autobiography/memoirs, in which she explicitly declares that she is less interested in the facts of her life, but rather wants to keep them in their original memory-form. This gives her the freedom to recount events she deems important for her self-formation, rather than events or general interest. Feminist and autobiographical theory is used as a tool to investigate how dislodging the authorial position can open new ways of emphasising a woman's political development. Thus, the literary formation of a political and feminist persona can be studied through her works. In this article I relate Wuolijoki's writing to a way of theorizing the position of the political woman that could be found in Alexandra Kollontai's pamphlet on the socialist New Woman written in 1918. The article analyses how Wuolijoki legitimizes her political activities by recounting her life as always intricately connected to contemporary political events. The article shows that political autobiography is a concept that can open new perspectives on women's life writing and that the construction of an autobiographical persona that combines the concepts of woman and political may rely, as in this case, on types or models found in literature rather than life. Swedish: Självbiografi kan ses som, bland annat, ett försvarstal. Den estnisk-finska författaren Hella Wuolijoki började skriva sin självbiografi i fängelset för att legitimera sina politiska livsval. Artikeln undersöker hur Wuolijoki skildrar sin egen politisering och hur hon leker med olika författarnamn för att destabilisera en förgivet tagen författarposition. Det analyserade materialet utgörs av hennes självbiografi/memoarer i tre band i vilka hon explicit deklarerar att hon är mindre intresserad av fakta och snarare vill behålla händelserna så som hon minns dem. Detta ger henne friheten att behandla skeenden som hon anser viktiga för sin egen formering snarare än sådant som kan vara av allmänintresse. Feministisk och självbiografisk teori används som ett verktyg för att undersöka hur förskjutningen av författarens ställning kan öppna nya sätt att betona en kvinnas politiska utveckling. I artikeln jämför jag Wuolijokis skrivande med Alexandra Kollontajs sätt att teoretisera den nya kvinnan i pamfletten den socialistiska Nya Kvinnan från 1918. Artikeln analyserar hur Wuolijoki legitimerar sina politiska aktiviteter genom att ständigt relatera till samtida politiska händelser. Artikeln visar att en läsning ur ett politiskt självbiografiskt perspektiv kan öppna för nya perspektiv för kvinnors life-writing och att konstruktionen av ett självbiografiskt persona som kombinerar begreppen kvinna och politik, åtminståne i det här fallet, är beroende av typer och modeller som finns i skönlitteraturen snarare än livet.

Background: Previous studies suggest that dietary protein might play a beneficial role in combating obesity and its related chronic diseases. Total, animal and plant protein intakes and their associations with anthropometry and serum biomarkers in European adolescents using one standardised methodology across European countries are not well documented. ; Objectives: To evaluate total, animal and plant protein intakes in European adolescents stratified by gender and age, and to investigate their associations with cardio-metabolic indicators (anthropometry and biomarkers). ; Methods: The current analysis included 1804 randomly selected adolescents participating in the HELENA study (conducted in 2006–2007) aged 12.5-17.5 y (47% males) who completed two non-consecutive computerised 24-h dietary recalls. Associations between animal and plant protein intakes, and anthropometry and serum biomarkers were examined with General linear Model multivariate analysis. ; Results: Average total protein intake exceeded the recommendations of World Health Organization and European Food Safety Authority. Mean total protein intake was 96 g/d (59% derived from animal protein). Total, animal and plant protein intakes (g/d) were significantly lower in females than in males and total and plant protein intakes were lower in younger participants (12.5-14.9 y). Protein intake was significantly lower in underweight subjects and higher in obese ones; the direction of the relationship was reversed after adjustments for body weight (g/(kg.d)). The inverse association of plant protein intakes was stronger with BMI z-score and body fat percentage (BF%) compared to animal protein intakes. Additionally, BMI and BF% were positively associated with energy percentage of animal protein. ; Conclusions: This sample of European adolescents appeared to have adequate total protein intake. Our findings suggest that plant protein intakes may play a role in preventing obesity among European adolescents. Further longitudinal studies are needed to investigate the potential beneficial effects observed in this study in the prevention of obesity and related chronic diseases. ; The HELENA-study took place with the financial support of the European Community Sixth RTD Framework Programme. This work was also partially supported by the European Union in the framework of the Public Health Programme, the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS), the Spanish Ministry of Education, and the Spanish Ministry of Health, Maternal, Child Health and Development Network and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation AGL2007-29784-E. The content of this paper reflect only the authors' views and the rest of HELENA-study members and the European Community is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. Augusto César F. de Moraes is in receipt of a PhD scholarship from the São Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP: proc. 2011/11137-1 and 2011/20662-2) and Postdoctoral Research Fellow scholarship from National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq: proc. 313772/2014-2); Luis A. Moreno was given scholarship of Visiting Professor from Brazilian government by Science without Borders Program by CNPq and CAPES (Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) (proc. 007/2012). The GENUD Research Group co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (MICINN-FEDER).

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common form of cancer in Europe, and population based screening for colorectal cancer is recommended by the European Union. Screening enables detection of precursor lesions, i.e. adenomas, and cancer at an early stage, and randomised trials have demonstrated that screening reduces mortality in colorectal cancer. In rectal cancer, oncological results after abdominal resection surgery have improved over many years, but the morbidity, mortality and negative functional side effects following surgery and oncological treatment are considerable. Local excision techniques, on the other hand, demonstrate excellent functional results and a low morbidity and mortality but have high local recurrence rates, mainly since the technique does not allow for excision of mesorectal lymph nodes, which could be exposed to metastatic disease not detectable in the preoperative radiological staging. Since further expansion of population based screening programs for CRC will increase the detection of early cancer, local excision techniques are of great interest, provided that an adequate oncological out-come can be ensured. In paper I all patients in Sweden undergoing surgery for stage I rectal cancer 1995-2006 were assessed regarding survival, local recurrence rates and risk factors for death. Patients undergoing local excision had a higher local recurrence rate and a poor survival, especially in the age group ≥ 80 years, compared to patients undergoing abdominal resection surgery. Paper II analysed risk factors for lymph node metastases in patients with rectal cancer. All patients in Sweden 2007-2010 with histopathologically confirmed radical resections of pT1-2 rectal cancer follow-ing abdominal resection surgery without (neo)adjuvant treatment were included. T2 stage, poor differen-tiation and vascular infiltration were identified as risk factors for lymph node metastases. A model calcu-lating the total risk depending on the number of risk factors included, displayed a risk range of 6-65 % and 11-78 % in T1 and T2 tumours respectively. In paper III all Swedish patients aged 60-69 years with screening detected colorectal cancer were com-pared to those with non-screening detected cancer diagnosed 2008-2012. Pre- and postoperative staging, MDT-assessment, surgical and oncological treatment were compared between the groups. Patients with screening detected cancer were staged and MDT-assessed to a higher extent compared to those with non-screening detected cancer and tumours were found at an earlier stage in the screening group. Surgical and oncological treatment did not differ between the groups. Patients with endoscopically resected can-cer did not undergo staging and MDT-assessment to the same extent as did patients with surgically re-sected cancer. Paper IV included all individuals with a positive FOBT in the Stockholm screening programme, January 2008 - June 2012. Complications and mortality within 30 days after interventions, i.e. colonoscopies or surgery for adenomas or cancer, subsequent to a positive screening test were assessed. Total complica-tion rates were acceptable and mortality was low, but the rate of anastomotic leakage, which was 13 % and 12 % in the adenoma and cancer surgery groups respectively, was higher than expected.

This research initially sprung out of a natural curiosity for the emerging phenomenon of open data with its combination of democratic perspectives, since it is based on freedom of information legislation, and its potential for a multitude of citizen driven innovations. Research showed that while open data repeatedly was being envisioned for having immense potential of leading to a multitude of innovations and societal impacts, most of the attention still remained on challenges related to enable a broad realisation of open data, that is, putting more data on the web. At the same time, research and reports indicated that open data was a more complex matter than expected, and that the release of open data was guarded by myths saying that opening up of data equalled instant benefits from open data use, and that open data initiatives were emerging too slowly. In general, the understanding of how to address open data so that the envisioned innovative potential was enabled remained a pressing issue. Therefore this research set out to explore how the public sector open data phenomenon is being shaped to address societal opportunities and challenges, and thereby enabling both practical and theoretic contributions. The field of Social Shaping of Technology (SST) was chosen as main theoretic lens since it provided good models for approaching technology development and innovation in general, and also includes social and political dimensions without being limited by organisational borders or managerial dimensions. By engaging in a case study of two Swedish municipalities and their respective open data initiatives in combination with a study on European policies and reported open data use, a number of research papers has been written, of which four is included in this thesis.Findings reveal that the highly heterogeneous evolvement of open data can advantageously be seen as shaped into a metaphorical open arena for innovation and value creation, inspired by a SST concept called arenas for development. The arena concept enables us to bring together processes and entities that otherwise are dislocated, and to gain a holistic view of the shaping processes at stake for this yet immature ICT-phenomenon. Also, it allows us to address the evolvement of open data in a way that intertwines with social, political and technical aspects. Within the overall concept of an open arena for innovation and value creation, the research revealed two concepts for understanding how societal challenges and opportunities were addressed with the help of open data; multidirectional and multicentre evolvement, of which the latter is a contribution to SST theory. As a final reflection, this thesis provides some thoughts on future implications and possibilities of the democratic stance of open data. ; Godkänd; 2014; 20141121 (joslas); Nedanstående person kommer att hålla licentiatseminarium för avläggande av filosofie licentiatexamen. Namn: Josefin Lassinantti Ämne: Informatik / Social Informatics Uppsats: Public Sector Open Data -Shaping an Arena for Innovation and Value Creation Examinator: Professor Birgitta Bergvall-Kåreborn Institutionen för system- och rymdteknik Avdelning: Datavetenskap Diskutant: Professor Debra Howcroft Manchester Business School Tid: Torsdag den 4 december 2014 kl 09.30 Plats: A1547, Luleå tekniska universitet ; System förAnvändardriven TjänsteInnovation Etapp 2

L'obiettivo della ricerca è, da un lato, quello di definire un quadro conoscitivo di sfondo rispetto al fenomeno della tratta e dello sfruttamento sessuale di donne che approdano nel contesto italiano, dall'altro quello di esaminare gli interventi politici e legislativi posti in essere per contrastare il fenomeno e per tutelarne le vittime. Dopo uno sguardo alle caratteristiche strutturali della tratta, alla normativa italiana, europea e internazionale connessa al suo contrasto e alla protezione delle vittime e ai modelli di intervento sociale nel settore posti in essere nel nostro Paese, l'analisi si è concretizzata prendendo in considerazione i risultati emersi dall'attività di ricerca. L'analisi delle storie di vita delle vittime, di nazionalità nigeriana, albanese e serba ha permesso, da un lato, di evidenziare la complessità dei loro percorsi di vita e dall'altro di tracciare un quadro delle modalità organizzative e di sfruttamento utilizzate dal racket nigeriano e da quello albanese. Sul versante legislativo, invece, le interviste ai ricercatori svedesi sono state volte a comprendere se la normativa che punisce l'acquisto di prestazioni sessuali potesse avere un potere deterrente e, quindi, se potesse rappresentare una risposta efficace per arginare il fenomeno della prostituzione schiavizzata. In ultimo, dal punto di vista processuale, l'analisi delle sentenze giudiziarie penali emesse dal Tribunale di Rimini è stata utile per individuare le principali dinamiche che caratterizzano il rapporto tra l'autore e la vittima di reato e, non di meno, per sottolineare l'importanza del ruolo della vittima nel processo penale. ; In my thesis, I engage in two main research strands. On the one hand, I outline a reference frame in which I map the features of women trafficking in women for sexual exploitation in Italy. On the other hand, I investigate the political and legislative interventions that have been undertaken in order to contrast this phenomenon and to protect its victims. At first, my analysis encompasses various aspects such as the structural features of trafficking, the Italian, European and international legislations adopted to contrast trafficking and to protect its victims, and an analysis of the models of intervention adopted in Italy. Thereafter, I focus on the evaluation of the results that I have obtained thanks to my research activity. Through the biographical approach to several victims of trafficking from Nigeria, Albania and Serbia, I highlight common features characterising the lives of the victims and depict the organisational structure that lies behind the Nigerian and Albanian racket. From the legislative point of view, I report about the interviews that I have conducted with Swedish scholars, which aimed at verifying if a legislation that disciplines the purchasing of sexual services can have an actual deterrent effect and thus can represent an incisive measure to restrain sexual slavery. Finally, I offer a representation of the main dynamics characterising the relationship that occurs between the author and the victim of the crime through the study of the sentences of the Court of Rimini about prostitution. This also gives me the possibility to portray the role of the victim within the trial.

"This is not a contribution to nation-building. I hope it helps disrupt nation-building". These words by film-maker Zackie Ahmat gave a kick-start to the discussions at the international conference on "National Identity and Democracy" held at the University of the Western Cape 14-18 March 1997, and they also introduce the theme for the book with some of the best contributions to the conference. Ahmat's understanding of "nation-building" was the kind of cultural homogenisation ordered from above which has been the rule in many parts of the world, not least in Africa. Nation-building has here often been been a hypocritical cloak for the hegemony of an elite, sometimes mobilising support from just one cultural group. By the title of the conference the organisers wanted to invite a discussion both on the insight that building a nation and building democracy are not necessarily twins, and on the risks of the misuse of power in the name of the nation. South Africa represents a possible and hopeful departure from the homogenisation model, with its explicit pluralism expressed in the adoption of 11 official languages. Six of the papers deal with the South African experiment, with an examination of the policy of non-racialism and the specific challenges posed by migrant workers, group identities and the themes of gender and nation. Other chapters are case studies from national identity formation on the contested cultural terrain in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Angola, Nigeria, and Tanzania. The book also contains an annotated bibliography. ; CONTENTS: Preface -- Introduction -- PART I. INVENTING THE NATION'S PAST -- History, the Arts and the Problem of National Identity: Reflections on Kenya in the 1970s and 1980s / Kimani Gecau, Harare -- How the National Became Popular in Tanzania / Siri Lange, Bergen -- The National landscape: a Cultural European Invention / Svend Erik Larsen, Odense -- The Question fo identity during the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) in the Fiction of Flora Nwapa and Ken Saro-Wiwa / Raisa Simola, Joensuu -- Part II. IDENTITIES AND TRANSFORMATION -- The Language of Africa-Centered Knowledge in South Africa: Universalism, Relativism and Dependency / Ousseina Alidou & Alamin Mazrui, Columbus Ohio -- War and the Negotiation of Gendered Identities in Angola / Horace Campbell, Syracuse -- Conceptualising Coloured Identitites in the Western Cape Province of South Africa / Zimitri Erasmus & Edgar Pieterse, Cape Town -- Intimate Transformations: Romance, Gender and Nation / Maria Olaussen, Åbo -- From Masters to Minoirites: The Swedish-speaking Finns and the Afrikaans-speaking Whites / Mai Palmberg, Uppsala -- Part III. THE SOUTH AFRICAN EXPERIMENT -- Nation-building Discourse in a Democracy / Bredan P. Boyce, Durban -- The Notion of 'Nation' and the Practice of 'Nation-building' in Post-Apartheid South Africa / Gerhard Maré, Durban -- Do Diverse Social Identitites Inhibit Nationhood and Democrasy?: Initial Considerations from South Africa / Robert Mattes, Cape Town -- Strangers at the Cattle Post: State Nationalism and Migrant Identity in Post-Apartheid South Africa / Michael Neocosmos, Gaborone -- Advancing Non-racialism in Post-Apartheid South Africa / Rupert Taylor, Johannesburg and Don Foster, Cape Town -- Select annotated bibliography / Petra Smitmanis, Stockholm -- About the authors.

BAUMOL, HILDA and BAUMOL, WILLIAM J. Inflation and the Performing Arts New York/London: New York University Press 1984.CASSON, MARK Economics of Unemployment. An Historical Perspective, Oxford: Martin Robertson 1983FISHER, FRANKLIN M. Disequilibrium Foundations of Equilibrium Economics (Econometric Society Publication, No. 6.), Cambridge/London/ New York: Cambridge University Press 1983FOLKERTS‐LANDAU, D.F.I. Intertemporal Planning, Exchange, and Macroeconomics Cambridge/London/New York: Cambridge University Press 1982JACK E. ADAMS Little Rock FREY, BRUNO S.: International Political Economics, Oxford: Basil Black‐well 1984CHARLES P. KINDLEBERGERLincoln Center, Massachusetts GEORGE, REV. DR. P. P.: Economics of Higher Education in Tamil Nadu, Madras: Centre for Research on New International Economic Order 1984J ANDHYALA B. G. TILAK New Delhi, India DE GIJSEL, PETER et al. (Hrsg.): Ökonomie und Gesellschaft. Jahrbuch 2: Wohlfahrt und Gerechtigkeit, Frankfurt M./New York: Campus 1984WOLFGANG BRANDES/MANFRED KRAFT Paderborn GÖBEL, DIETER: Lebenseinkommen und Erwerbsbiographie. Eine Längs‐schnittuntersuchung mit Daten der gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung (Sonderforschungsbereich 3 der Universitäten Frankfurt und Mannheim), Frankfurt M./New York: Campus 1983SIEGFRIED F. FRANKEFachhochschule für Öffentliche Verwaltung Hamburg GOODWIN, R. M.; KRÜGER, M. and VERCELLI, A. (eds.): Nonlinear Models of Fluctuating Growth. An International Symposium, Siena, Italy 1983 (Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, Vol.228), Berlin/Heidelberg/New York: Springer 1984JOHN T. HARTMANIndiana University GORRES, PETER ANSELM: Die Umverteilung der Arbeit, Beschäftigungs‐, Wachstums‐ und Wohlfahrtseffekte einer Arbeitszeitverkürzung (Reihe Sozialwissenschaftliche Arbeitsmarktforschung, Band 6), Frankfurt/New York: Campus 1984HEINOVMEYER Frankfurt M. HAGEN, OLE and WENSTØP, FRED (eds.): Progress in Utility and Risk Theory (Theory and Decision Library, Vol. 42), Dordrecht/Boston/Lancaster: D. Reidel 1984GEORGES BERNARD CNRS, Paris HOLMLUND, BERTIL: Labor Mobility. Studies of Labor Turnover and Migration in the Swedish Labor Market (The Industrial Institute for Economic and Social Research), Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell 1984OLAF HOBLER Hannover KLAMER, ARJO: The New Classical Macroeconomics. Conversations with the New Classical Economists and their Opponents, Brighton: Wheat‐sheaf Books/Harvester Press 1984ALFRED H. BORNEMANNEnglewood LACHMANN, WERNER: Wirtschaftspolitik im Ungleichgewicht (Europai‐sche Hochschulschriften, Reihe V, Band 422), Frankfurt M./Bern/ New York: Peter Lang 1983MCKENZIE, RICHARD B.and TULLOCK, GORDON: Homo oeconomicus. Ökonomische Dimensionen des Alltags, Frankfurt M./New York: Campus 1984MANFRED GÄRTNERBasel MOSLEY, PAUL: The Making of Economic Policy. Theory and Evidence from Britain and the US since 1945, Brighton: Wheatsheaf Books 1984ROMASCO, ALBERT U.The Politics of Recovery: Roosevelt's New Deal, New York: Oxford University Press 1983ROSENSTOCK, ADOLF H.Stabilizing Real Exchange Rates and Rational Expectations (Europäische Hochschulschriften, Reihe V, Band 532), Frankfurt M./Bern/New York: Peter Lang 1984SCHMID, ULRICHWahlkampffinanzierung in den USA und in der Schweiz (Zürcher Beiträge zur Politischen Wissenschaft, Band 8), Diessenhofen: Verlag Rüegger 1985SCHNEIDER, G. and SPRENGER, R.U. (Hrsg.): Mehr Umweltschutz für weniger Geld. Einsatzmöglichkeiten und Erfolgschancen ökonomischer Anreizinstrumente in der Umweltpolitik (ifo‐Studien zur Umweltoko‐nomie, Bd.4), München: ifo‐Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung 1984SIEBERT, HORST (ed.): The Resource Sector in an Open Economy (Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, Vol. 200), Berlin/Heidelberg/New York: Springer 1984.VICARELLI, FAUSTO: Keynes: The Instability of Capitalism, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press 1984WAGNER, GERT: Umverteilung in der gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung. Eine theoretische und empirische Analyse zum Versicherungsprinzip in der gesetzlichen Rentenversicherung (Sonderforschungsbereich 3 der Universitäten Frankfurt und Mannheim), Frankfurt M./New York: Campus 1984WENZEL, HEINZ‐DIETER: Defizitfinanzierung ah Instrument einer ziel‐orientierten Finanzpolitik. Eine dynamische Analyse (Schriften zur öffentlichen Verwaltung und öffentlichen Wirtschaft, Band 61), Baden‐Baden: Nomos 1983

We present measurements of the properties of the central radio source in M87 using Event Horizon Telescope data obtained during the 2017 campaign. We develop and fit geometric crescent models (asymmetric rings with interior brightness depressions) using two independent sampling algorithms that consider distinct representations of the visibility data. We show that the crescent family of models is statistically preferred over other comparably complex geometric models that we explore. We calibrate the geometric model parameters using general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (GRMHD) models of the emission region and estimate physical properties of the source. We further fit images generated from GRMHD models directly to the data. We compare the derived emission region and black hole parameters from these analyses with those recovered from reconstructed images. There is a remarkable consistency among all methods and data sets. We find that >50% of the total flux at arcsecond scales comes from near the horizon, and that the emission is dramatically suppressed interior to this region by a factor >10, providing direct evidence of the predicted shadow of a black hole. Across all methods, we measure a crescent diameter of 42 ± 3 μas and constrain its fractional width to be <0.5. Associating the crescent feature with the emission surrounding the black hole shadow, we infer an angular gravitational radius of GM/Dc2 = 3.8 ± 0.4 μas. Folding in a distance measurement of ${16.8}_{-0.7}^{+0.8}\,\mathrm{Mpc}$ gives a black hole mass of $M=6.5\pm 0.2{| }_{\mathrm{stat}}\pm 0.7{| }_{\mathrm{sys}}\times {10}^{9}\hspace{2pt}{M}_{\odot }$. This measurement from lensed emission near the event horizon is consistent with the presence of a central Kerr black hole, as predicted by the general theory of relativity.© 2019. The American Astronomical Society. ; The authors of this Letter thank the following organizations and programs: the Academy of Finland (projects 274477, 284495, 312496); the Advanced European Network of E-infrastructures for Astronomy with the SKA (AENEAS) project, supported by the European Commission Framework Programme Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation action under grant agreement 731016; the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung; the Black Hole Initiative at Harvard University, through a grant (60477) from the John Templeton Foundation; the China Scholarship Council; Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (CONICYT, Chile, via PIA ACT172033, Fondecyt 1171506, BASAL AFB170002, ALMA-conicyt 31140007); Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT, Mexico, projects 104497, 275201, 279006, 281692); the Delaney Family via the Delaney Family John A. Wheeler Chair at Perimeter Institute; Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico-Universidad Nacional 9 The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 875:L1 (17pp), 2019 April 10 The EHT Collaboration et al. Autónoma de México (DGAPA-UNAM, project IN112417); the European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant "BlackHoleCam: Imaging the Event Horizon of Black Holes" (grant 610058); the Generalitat Valenciana postdoctoral grant APOSTD/2018/177; the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (grants GBMF-3561, GBMF-5278); the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) sezione di Napoli, iniziative specifiche TEONGRAV; the International Max Planck Research School for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Universities of Bonn and Cologne; the Jansky Fellowship program of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO); the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho: MEXT) Scholarship; the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Research Fellowship (JP17J08829); JSPS Overseas Research Fellowships; the Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences, Chinese ; Academy of Sciences (CAS, grants QYZDJ-SSW-SLH057, QYZDJ-SSW-SYS008); the Leverhulme Trust Early Career Research Fellowship; the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG); the Max Planck Partner Group of the MPG and the CAS; the MEXT/JSPS KAKENHI (grants 18KK0090, JP18K13594, JP18K03656, JP18H03721, 18K03709, 18H01245, 25120007); the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) Funds; the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of Taiwan (105-2112-M-001-025-MY3, 106-2112-M001-011, 106-2119-M-001-027, 107-2119-M-001-017, 107- 2119-M-001-020, and 107-2119-M-110-005); the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, Fermi Guest Investigator grant 80NSSC17K0649); the National Institute of Natural Sciences (NINS) of Japan; the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant 2016YFA0400704, 2016YFA0400702); the National Science Foundation (NSF, grants AST-0096454, AST-0352953, AST-0521233, AST0705062, AST-0905844, AST-0922984, AST-1126433, AST1140030, DGE-1144085, AST-1207704, AST-1207730, AST1207752, MRI-1228509, OPP-1248097, AST-1310896, AST1312651, AST-1337663, AST-1440254, AST-1555365, AST1715061, AST-1615796, AST-1614868, AST-1716327, OISE1743747, AST-1816420); the Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 11573051, 11633006, 11650110427, 10625314, 11721303, 11725312, 11873028, 11873073, U1531245, 11473010); the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC, including a Discovery Grant and the NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships-Doctoral Program); the National Youth Thousand Talents Program of China; the National Research Foundation of Korea (grant 2015-R1D1A1A01056807, the Global PhD Fellowship Grant: NRF-2015H1A2A1033752, and the Korea Research Fellowship Program: NRF-2015H1D3A1066561); the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) VICI award (grant 639.043.513) and Spinoza Prize (SPI 78-409); the New Scientific Frontiers with Precision ; Radio Interferometry Fellowship awarded by the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), which is a facility of the National Research Foundation (NRF), an agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of South Africa; the Onsala Space Observatory (OSO) national infrastructure, for the provisioning of its facilities/observational support (OSO receives funding through the Swedish Research Council under grant 2017-00648); the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics (research at Perimeter Institute is supported by the Government of Canada through the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and by the Province of Ontario through the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade); the Russian Science Foundation (grant 17-12-01029); the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (grants AYA2015-63939-C2-1-P, AYA2016-80889-P); the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the "Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa" award for the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (SEV-2017-0709); the Toray Science Foundation; the US Department of Energy (USDOE) through the Los Alamos National Laboratory (operated by Triad National Security, LLC, for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the USDOE (Contract 89233218CNA000001)); the Italian Ministero dell'Istruzione Università e Ricerca through the grant Progetti Premiali 2012-iALMA (CUP C52I13000140001); the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 730562 RadioNet; ALMA North America Development Fund; Chandra TM6-17006X ; Peer reviewed

Covid-19 has affected the supply, demand, and image of public transport in unprecedented ways. This report aims to investigate the short- and long-term effects of Covid-19 on public transport and its funding models, with specific focus on the Swedish context. Three research questions are in focus: How does Covid-19 impact on revenues and costs for public transport? What measures have public transport agencies made in response to these challenges? How does changes or stability in public transport due to Covid-19, in the longer run impact on the possibility to reach regional political aims of sustainable transport? The research questions are approached with both quantitative and qualitative methods, including interviews and a scenario workshop with mobility actors in Sweden. The three Swedish metropolitan regions, Stockholm, Västra Götaland and Skåne, are used as cases. The report shows very clearly how farebox revenues drastically decreased in all three regions, as many people listened to the recommendations from authorities to avoid public transport. At the same time, costs remained largely unchanged. This resulted in a widened gap between costs for operating the system, and revenues that could finance those costs. To compensate for the loss of ticket revenues, earmarked state contributions were introduced on several occasions on an ad-hoc basis. Even with state contributions, regional subsidies to public transport increased. The so-called cost-recovery ratio declined in unprecedented ways. Thus, the share of public subsidies coming from tax-money, both regional and national, increased. The three regions responded in similar ways to the funding challenge, but with some variations. Region Skåne was the only region that downsized operations at an early stage to reduce costs, which caused some political turmoil. Stockholm and Västra Götaland decided to maintain operations unchanged. Increased problems with fare evasion added to the problem of reduced revenues. To meet changes in demand, with more people working from home, new tickets were introduced. Several other measures were implemented to reduce congestion and transmission of disease, such as dispersed school start and improved traffic information. Such measures can impact costs in the longer-term perspective if adopted at larger scale and over longer time. Future implications of the pandemic on public transport and its funding are difficult to assess. The report includes an analysis based on four different scenarios developed within the project – "Downward spiral", "Return", "New mobility systems" and "Public transport as backbone". The analysis indicates that he public transport actors in particular should try to avoid and be prepared to handle the scenario of "Downward spiral", but also "Return" and "New mobility systems", since these scenarios are judged to include difficulties. Based on institutional theory, three more general reflections are made concerning the impact on future funding models. A first reflection is that the national level has stepped in as an important funder of public transport in Sweden. If demand for public transport remain on a significantly lower level compared to the pre-pandemic situation, continued national funding might be needed to prevent a development in line with the "Downward spiral" scenario. If so, national funding may be part of a new institutional equilibrium that influence power relations and actor's behavior in the future. A second observation is that the pandemic might change ideas about public transport's role in society in ways that transform the existing institutions from within. A larger focus on individual, demand responsive solutions, and measures to reduce crowding will impact funding models. Increased working from home change the basic idea of a public transport system serving a rather fixed commuting behavior. More flexibility will be needed for public transport to remain relevant. We have already seen examples of institutional adjustments in ticket regimes, which is something that may continue at a larger scale. A third reflection is that the widened funding gap change the cost-benefit equation in public transport. This may have repercussions for the institutional frameworks. In the "Downward spiral" scenario institutions may change mainly from within, with a shift from a focus on societal development and sustainability towards a more budget oriented way of thinking, with cost reductions, revenue maximization, increased ticket prices, and similar measures. To avoid such a development, the national level may need to take a more active role in funding, but also take a more active role as a "meta-governor" that steer the direction of public transport actors. The scenarios, "New mobility systems" and "Public transport as backbone" will require larger institutional makeovers where new funding models are needed to support other forms of shared transport modes. This may in more fundamental ways change the perception of what public transport is and how it should be funded. ; Covid-19 har påverkat såväl efterfrågan på som bilden av kollektivtrafiken på ett unikt sätt. Denna rapport undersöker effekterna av Covid-19 för kollektivtrafiken och dess finansieringsmodeller på både kort och längre sikt, med särskilt fokus på den svenska kontexten. Tre forskningsfrågor är i fokus: Hur påverkar Covid-19 intäkter och kostnader för kollektivtrafiken? Vilka åtgärder har kollektivtrafikmyndigheterna vidtagit som svar på finansiella utmaningar? Hur kan förändringar av kollektivtrafiken, till följd av Covid-19, påverka möjligheten att uppnå regionalpolitiska mål om hållbara transporter? Forskningsfrågorna hanteras med både kvantitativa och kvalitativa metoder, inklusive intervjuer och en workshop där olika scenarier analyserats med mobilitetsaktörer i Sverige. De tre svenska storstadsregionerna Stockholm, Västra Götaland och Skåne används som fall. Rapporten visar tydligt hur biljettintäkterna drastiskt minskade i alla tre regionerna, eftersom många resenärer följt myndigheternas rekommendationer att undvika kollektivtrafik. Samtidigt har kostnaderna för kollektivtrafiken varit i stort sett oförändrade. Detta resulterade i ett ökat gap mellan kostnader för driften av kollektivtrafiken och intäkterna som behövs för att finansiera kostnaderna. För att kompensera för förlusten av biljettintäkter infördes öronmärkta statliga bidrag vid flera tillfällen på ad hoc-basis. Trots statliga bidrag ökade även regionala subventioner till kollektivtrafiken. Således ökade andelen både nationella och regionala subventioner till kollektivtrafiken. Den så kallade kostnadstäckningsgraden minskade dramatiskt. De tre regionerna svarade på finansieringsutmaningen på liknande sätt, men med vissa variationer. Region Skåne var den enda regionen som i ett tidigt skede minskade utbudet för att minska kostnaderna, vilket orsakade viss politisk diskussion. Stockholm och Västra Götaland beslutade att behålla utbudet oförändrat. Ökade problem med plankning bidrog ytterligare till minskade intäkter. För att möta efterfrågeförändringen, med fler resenärer som arbetade hemifrån, introducerades nya biljettyper. Andra åtgärder genomfördes i syfte att minska trängsel och smittorisk, till exempel spridda skolstarter och förbättrad trafikinformation. Sådana åtgärder kan påverka kostnaderna på längre sikt om de genomförs i större skala och över längre tidsperioder. Framtida konsekvenser av pandemin för kollektivtrafiken och dess finansiering är svåra att bedöma. Rapporten innehåller en analys baserad på fyra olika scenarier som utvecklats inom projektet - "Nedåtgående spiral", "Återgång", "Nya mobilitetssystem" och "Kollektivtrafik som ryggrad". Analysen indikerar att kollektivtrafikaktörerna särskilt bör försöka undvika och vara beredda att hantera scenariot med "Nedåtgående spiral", men också "Återgång" och "Nya mobilitetssystem", eftersom dessa scenarion bedöms innehålla svårigheter. Baserat på institutionell teori görs i rapporten tre övergripande reflektioner om effekterna på framtida finansieringsmodeller. En första observation är att den nationella nivån har gått in som en viktig finansiär för kollektivtrafiken i Sverige. Om efterfrågan på kollektivtrafik förblir på en betydligt lägre nivå, jämfört med situationen före pandemin, kan fortsatt nationell finansiering behövas för att förhindra en utveckling i linje med "Nedåtgående spiral" -scenariot. I så fall kan nationell finansiering vara en del av en ny institutionell jämvikt som påverkar maktrelationer och aktörers beteende i framtiden. En andra observation är att pandemin kan förändra idéer om kollektivtrafikens roll i samhället på ett sätt som förändrar de befintliga institutionerna inifrån. Ett större fokus på individuella, efterfrågestyrda lösningar och åtgärder för att minska trängsel kommer att påverka finansieringsmodellerna. Ökat arbete hemifrån förändrar grundtanken om ett kollektivtrafiksystem som servar ett ganska fast pendlingsbeteende. Mer flexibilitet kommer att krävas för att kollektivtrafiken ska förbli relevant. Vi har redan sett exempel på justeringar i biljettutbudet, vilket är något som kan fortsätta i större skala. En tredje reflektion är att det ökade finansieringsgapet ändrar kostnads-nytto-ekvationen inom kollektivtrafiken. Detta kan få konsekvenser för de institutionella ramarna. I scenariot "Nedåtgående spiral" kan institutioner förändras huvudsakligen inifrån, med en förskjutning från fokus på samhällsutveckling och hållbarhet mot ett mer budgetorienterat tankesätt, med kostnadsminskningar, intäktsmaximering, ökade biljettpriser och liknande åtgärder. För att undvika en sådan utveckling kan den nationella nivån behöva ta en mer aktiv roll i finansieringen, men också ta en mer aktiv roll som en "meta-governor" med ambitionen att påverka riktningen för kollektivtrafikens aktörer. Scenarierna, "Nya mobilitetssystem" och "Kollektivtrafik som ryggrad" kommer att kräva större institutionella omställningar där nya finansieringsmodeller behövs för att stödja andra former av delade transportsätt. Detta kan på mer grundläggande sätt förändra uppfattningen om vad kollektivtrafik är och hur den ska finansieras.

Introduction: Distributed Research Infrastructures are becoming increasingly more salient as science expands and universities continue to look for new means to cooperate and share expertise and expenses on large-scale projects. One area which has seen much development in recent years is biobanking, as there have been numerous attempts to harmonise the different biobanking standards over the years, none of which have been entirely successful. BBMRI.se was an EU-initiative that sought to harmonise the biobanks nationwide. BBMRI.se, was thus selected as a case for studying how a distributed Research Infrastructure was set up. At the time of its creation, the organisation constituted the largest investment ever made by the Swedish Research Council in a medical Research Infrastructure. The organisation involved all Swedish universities with a medical faculty, in addition to two other universities. However, the organisation was marred by a number of controversies and would eventually fold in 2018. Aim: This dissertation is to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the construction of a medical large-scale distributed Research Infrastructure, and to understand the motivations and rationale of the experts who activate themselves in constructing it. Thus, the overall aim of this doctoral thesis is to identify the benefits and constraints of forming a large-scale medical, distributed Research Infrastructure. Specifically, this dissertation looks at a real-life case while comparing it to the available literature covering the development of Research Infrastructures as well as some of the theories covering mindsharing and collective entrepreneurship. The ambition is to contribute knowledge on the determining factors in bringing a large-scale infrastructure together as well as the risks associated with it. Hence, this dissertation asks the following research question: What are the principal lessons for researchers, entrepreneurs and funders that can be inferred from the formation of a large-scale distributed Research Infrastructure towards securing more sustainable prospects for similar, future endeavours? More precisely, this dissertation seeks to determine what the most debated topics are within the academic discourse on Research Infrastructures (study I), after which it looks at the factors involved in constructing shaping a distributed Research Infrastructure (study II). The study then endeavours to looks at some of the pitfalls and how managerial self-governance affects organisational failure (study III). The study then seeks to investigate the mind-set of the managers/pioneers involved in setting up BBMRI.se and if they perceive the organisation in a similar fashion for the other managers (study IV) and how they have reasoned behind their motivations for joining the initiative in the first place (study V). The overall results have endeavoured to elucidate what components are at work when forming such an infrastructure at an organisational level, but also to understand the reasoning and motivation that the individuals responsible in setting up the infrastructure might have had, and how their visions and/or actions may have impacted on the organisation. Method: Some various designs and data collection methods were used in this dissertation. Study I was a literature study carried out as a narrative review using the PRISMA statements as a guideline. Both the Web of Science (WOS) and PubMed databases were scoured for articles. Study II-V used qualitative, semi-structured interviews with BBMRI.se managers. All of these studies took on the form of iterative, directed content analyses, with the exception of study III, which was an inductive, directed content analysis. Results: Study I found that the most commonly discussed topics concerned the need for developing and expanding the use of "infrastructures". The findings indicated that the future of scientific research calls for a deeper and more widespread multidisciplinary forms of collaboration. Study II found that it is crucial to identify the potential collaborative and deliberative organisational elements of organisational team building already at the outset of establishing a distributed Research Infrastructure. The study also found that, contrary to suggestions of extant literature, the establishment of a distributed Research Infrastructure does not necessarily counteract organisational fragmentation. Study III identified that an organisation with high levels of task uncertainty and low levels of organisational integration will suffer from organisational fragmentation. The type of fragmentation manifested in BBMRI.se is best identified as a "fragmented adhocracy". This means that the organisation's mission statement is subject to diverse views, leading to goals that are separate, unstable and sometimes even conflicting, while also lacking in co-ordination. The study also found that the organisation lacked a "liaison device" and instead depended on a more traditional model of planning and control systems through its reliance on strategy documents and interim evaluation reports. This was in spite of the fact that this model is better suited for a more vertical organisational structure. Study IV investigated how managers/associates of BBMRI.se perceived the organisation's brand and the role of "mindsharing". The results showed that mindsharing occurred throughout the initial two stages ("Brand Strategic Analysis" and "Brand Identity"), but would disspate throughout the remaining two final stages ("Brand Operationalising", and "Post Implementation Reflections"). This resulted in a fragmented brand perception, which resulted in the failure of generating a "pull-effect" for the BBMRI.se brand. Study V looked at how collective entrepreneurial team cognition of the instigators behind BBMRI.se changes throughout the process of establishing the organisation. The study devised a new "action phase model", known as the "4 I's" of entrepreneurship, where each "I" elaborated on the entrepreneurial rationale behind the various stages of the creation process. These were "Intention", "Initiation", "Implementation" and "Introspection". The results illustrated that the respondents agreed that there was a need for BBMRI.se, while disagreeing on what the organisation should be doing and what its challenges consisted of. The homogenous mind-set would begin to dissipate once the "Initiation" stage was reached, declining further throughout the Implementation stage. Conclusion: The overall conclusions from study I-V have shown that distributed Research Infrastructures carries potential to form a platform to pool scientific research in the face of the ever-expanding sciences, where the demands of co-financing and scientific co-operation are becoming ever so pressing. In addition, distributed Research Infrastructures have the benefit of utilising initial synergy effects and using multidisciplinary teams. In line with the contention of Gibbons et al. (1994), this carries the potential of opening up new possibilities of scientific knowledge production. Provided there is a political incentive in place to allocate the necessary funding, the process of establishing a distributed Research Infrastructure can be done in a considerably swift timespan. However, there are several inherent risks. Most notably, there was a lack of "infrastructuring", as defined by Star and Bowker (2002). This means that scientists as well as the policy- makers should gradually learn together through a learning process about how to creating an effective large-scale infrastructure. This may have prevented mindsharing from becoming consolidated throughout the formation process (Aaker, 1996; Acuña, 2012; Azevedo, 2005; J. Griffin, 2009; Holt, 2016; Krishnan, Sullivan, Groza, & Aurand, 2013; Stevens, 2003). This, in turn, would also put an end to the collective entrepreneurship that had up till that point characterised BBMRI.se, in which the motivations and drivers of the initiators/managers, as well as their respective recollections of the same, were instrumental features (Cardon, Post, & Forster, 2017; Czarniawska-Joerges & Wolff, 1991; Sakhdari, 2016). Moreover, the integration of autonomous "National Champions" (leading scientists within their field) carries a risk of the "principal-agent" problem, which in turn can lead to "moral hazard" as the "National Champion(s)" may elect to undertake added risks, since someone else bears the cost of those risks (Holmstrom, 1982; Laffont & Martimort, 2002; Steets, 2010). There is also an over- whelming risk of organisational fragmentation, which, coupled with managerial neglect, may cause the eventual failure of the organisation.