Social media and sharing economy platforms do not only disrupt industries. They also bypass democratic institutions. That’s not without risk, because the dominant Silicon Valley based online platforms are designed to create shareholder value, not to strengthen society or democracy. Which is unfortunate, …

Over the years the industrial production was transformed by steam power in the 19th century, by electricity in the early 20th century, and by automation in the 1970s (Lorenz, et al., 2015). Today’s society is on the verge of the fourth industrial revolution, the Smart Industry. The impact of the Smart …

Within this paper, biomass supply chains, with different shares of biomass co-combustion in coal fired power plants, are analysed on energy efficiency, energy consumption, renewable energy production, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and compared with the performance of a 100% coal supply chain scenario, …

This research investigates if the DCFTA between the EU and Ukraine has any significant impact on European energy security. From previous gas crisis experiences in 2006, 2009 and 2014 between Ukraine and Russia, left the EU in an uncertain situation in the area of energy security. In this regard, the …

The European Union (EU) and the United States of America (US) are currently negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). TTIP was launched in 2013. TTIP aims at developing trade rules under investment protection that encompasses arbitration as the method to resolve disputes …

This dissertation is focussed on the effects of two innovative budgetary approaches to the budgetary process of the European Union, more specifically on the impact of these approaches on gender mainstreaming. The central question aimed to be answered by this research is: How can gender responsive budgeting …

Improving smallholder farmers’ access to markets is critical in helping towards raising rural incomes and reducing poverty. Small-scale farmers in developing countries are excluded from formal markets due to power imbalance in the value chains, lack of transparency, and presence of too many intermediaries. …

More than ten years ago, the European Union established the EU Counter Terrorism Strategy. The aim of the strategy was to ‘’combat terrorism globally while respecting human rights, and make Europe safer, allowing its citizens to live in an area of freedom, security and justice’’ (Council of the European …

The aim of this dissertation is to analyze whether non-state actors, in the form of international governmental organizations, make states irrelevant within the global political arena. There has been a shift in the division of power in the political sphere as a result of trade openness. Indeed, international …

From the thesis: "Management Summary Cause: Easysize is a small technology company offering a size calculation tool for online shops. The company is successful, but their servers are reaching the top of their capacity. The company wants to overcome this problem before they are getting too big. While …