Tag: licentiate thesis

104 – Off-gassing in wood pellets

Today, wood pellets are often used as fuel for heat and power generation. However, when stored, fresh wood pellets produced from fresh sawdust can self-heat and emit gasses (off-gassing). Self-heating may lead to fires while off-gassing of toxic gasses such as carbon monoxide is a human health and environmental hazard. Workson Siwale’s research focuses on off-gassing and investigates how wood extractives influence the emission of gasses. Understanding the mechanisms behind off-gassing better, can inform raw material selection and pre-treatment so as to produce pellets with reduced off-gassing abilities. In our conversation, Workson explains the contributions of his research for sustaining product quality, and we learn more about the environmental and health benefits that can come out of improvements in pellets handling.

Workson Siwale’s licentiate thesis can be downloaded from DiVA: Understanding the Influence of Wood Extractives on Off-Gassing during Storage of Wood Pellets

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102 – Students’ art-based exploration of science in a third space

Research shows that due to contextual differences between museums and schools, teachers often find it difficult to adapt their teaching to museum settings. Therefore, there is a need for museums to develop and improve student experiences of school trips to their institutions. Against this backdrop, museum educator and researcher Harald Raaijmakers‘ has developed a museum programme which aims to bridge borders between educational contexts and school disciplines. Harald’s research aims at validating the programme and to analyse students’ aesthetic experiences and imagination in art-based exploration of science issues. In our conversation, Harald explains that elaborated museum-school partnerships can create a third space where science education becomes integrated with society and students’ lived experiences.

Harald Raaijmakers’ licentiate thesis can be downloaded from DiVA: Powerful eyes, imaginative minds: Experiencing contemporary art and science in a third space

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97 – Privacy and security of digital health technologies

During the early phase of the Corona pandemic public health actors rapidly deployed contact tracing applications for mobile phones. The apps aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, by aiding manual contact tracing. In Samuel Wairimu’s research in Computer Science he investigates the security and privacy risks of these apps and how patients can be harmed by those risks.

In his licentiate thesis, Samuel has used an experimental approach to assess the risks and combined it with a theoretical approach which goes on to assess what impacts and consequences a state-sponsored cyberattack could have to the healthcare sector, and to patients especially.

In our conversation, Samuel explains the results of his study and he argues that more emphasis needs to be put on information security in the healthcare sector, as it is prone for experiencing cyberattacks and the risks for patients can be severe. 

Samuel Wairimu’s licentiate thesis can be downloaded from DiVA: Privacy and Security Analysis : Assessing Risks and Harm to Patients

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48 – Human aspects of data privacy

Securing data privacy on the internet is a wicked problem. It is wicked in that technological, legal, and human aspects of privacy are entangled. In her licentiate thesis Ala Sarah Alaqra has focused on the human aspects of data privacy. By letting users test a privacy enhancing scheme – redactable signatures – designed by Ala and her colleagues, her research investigates user perceptions and opinions of data privacy in eHealth. In our conversation Ala let us know more of redactable signatures, and how it can help increase data privacy in eHealth and possibly in other sectors as well. Ala Sarah Alaqra’s licentiate thesis can be downloaded from DiVA: The Wicked Problem of Privacy : Design Challenge for Crypto-based Solutions

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44 – Mathematical analysis of multiscale systems

If you pour a liter of water in an already half filled two liter bottle, you’ll usually fill it up completely. But what if the bottle wasn’t filled with liquids, but with sand and air? The mathematics you need to calculate such processes is complex and requires a so-called multiscale approach: calculating the interactions between objects with vastly different sizes. In his research, Ph.D. candidate Omar Richardson is developing a mathematical framework to analyze these and other multiscale systems. In our conversation, Omar explains how and why we do mathematical research, and describes some practical implications of his work. Omar Richardson’s licentiate thesis can be downloaded from DiVA: Mathematical analysis and approximation of a multiscale elliptic-parabolic system

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43 Privacy friendly mobile apps

Mobile phone applications can be great for a range of different everyday purposes. However, most users are unaware of what the apps are doing while they are unattended. In his research, Ph.D. candidate Nurul Momen has investigated how apps behave, and how they use the personal data users authorise them to access. In our conversation, Nurul describes the dangers of personal data craving apps, and he explains how his research can help increasing transparency and protect user privacy. Nurul Momen’s licentiate thesis can be retrieved from DiVA: Towards Measuring Apps’ Privacy-Friendliness

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41 – Improving transparency in personal data processing

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation has been implemented to protect citizens’ data privacy by, for example, increasing control over their personal data. However, computerized systems and web services are not always effectively designed to give users the control they are legally entitled to in a usable way. In her thesis, Farzaneh Karegar, Ph. D. student in computer science, develops new solutions that enhance transparency and make it easier for users to give better-informed consent to service providers handling personal data. In our conversation Farzaneh lets us know more about the solutions, and why it is important to continue to work to improve the gap between legally-compliant and usable services. Farzaneh Karegar’s licentiate thesis can be retrieved from DiVA: Towards Improving Transparency, Intervenability, and Consent in HCI 

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