Browsing by Author "Ahonen, Emmaleena"

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Lastenvaate- ja lastentavaraliikkeen optimaalisen valaistuksen luomisen vaikutukset ja edellytykset
(2020-09-01) Ahonen, Emmaleena
Sähkötekniikan korkeakoulu | Bachelor's thesis
The sustainability of digitalization: Methods for the analysis of digital processes.
(2023-06-12) Ahonen, Emmaleena
Sähkötekniikan korkeakoulu | Master's thesis
Two major themes of the modern world in all industries include sustainability and digitalization. The impacts digital processes have on sustainability goals have been evaluated in many studies focusing on different aspects of sustainability. However, the overall picture considering the enablers and challenges digitalization conveys on sustainability, still requires more analysis. Five significant themes collecting together the impacts of digitalization on sustainability are identified in this thesis. These themes are identified through the analysis of the enablers and challenges of digitalization regarding the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Namely the themes are Accessibility and Equitability, Economy, Education, Environment, and Strong Institutions. Together these five themes form a basis for analyzing the sustainability of digital processes introduced in this thesis. The resulting pipeline can be used to analyze the sustainability of new or existing digital processes to develop them to become more sustainable. This thesis aims to identify methods for analyzing the sustainability of digital processes through a literature review studying the essence of the interlinkage between digitalization and sustainability. The pipeline suggested in this thesis approaches the sustainability of digital processes from two different angles. Firstly, the pipeline for each theme includes a step evaluating whether the process at hand can be described as a process for sustainability, meaning that the process itself furthers sustainability goals. This section of the pipeline for each theme could be further developed into another tool for supporting the establishment of new innovations for sustainability. The second part studies the sustainability of the process regardless of whether the process itself is meant for forwarding sustainability. However, the second part has limited coverage due to the large size of both themes, sustainability and digitalization, and could also be developed through more extensive literature reviews. When applied to digital processes, the pipeline has the potential to further sustainability goals through digitalization and enable curbing challenges that digitalization opposes for sustainable development. This conclusion was demonstrated through a case study considering a digital archiving tool, Arkki. Through the case studies, strengths and weaknesses of the digital process were identified, and future considerations for developing the strategy to become more sustainable were established. This demonstration supports the conclusion that the aim of the thesis was met, and the results formed in the thesis can be used to analyze the sustainability of digital processes, resulting in the more sustainable development of the digital world. Yet the pipeline could be further developed through more profound studies of the interlinkages between sustainability and digitalization, and it should be developed as new impactful technologies emerge.