I am doing a PhD in Environmental Policy at the University of Eastern Finland. I hold an MSc in Environment and Development from the University of Reading, UK. Research interests include the role of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in averting food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa. Currently studying online from Malawi but hope to be in Finland along the way once funding is secured.

I am studying the role of African elephants in climate change by examining their feeding impacts on vegetation and above-ground carbon dynamics. My research aims to identify demographic and habitat degradation thresholds that could shift their ecosystem role from carbon accumulators to carbon releasers, while also addressing misconceptions about the two African elephant species and their hybrids. As elephants face increasing threats from poaching and escalating human-elephant conflict (HEC) across their range, my work further explores any synergies or trade-offs between climate change mitigation and conservation efforts, and how these are linked to HEC. Learn more on my website: http://www.samuelawini.com.

My research topic is Cross-Border AI Licensing and Royalty Classification: Rethinking International Tax Rules for API Access, Model Licensing, and AI-Driven Services. AI companies increasingly monetize their technology through API access, model licensing, subscription-based services, and usage-based pricing. These models generate cross-border payments that do not fit neatly within treaty categories such as royalties, technical services, or business profits. Existing treaty wordings were drafted for static, human-led software and location-based value creation, not for automated inference, cloud-based model delivery, or AI-generated outputs. As a result, tax authorities struggle to determine whether payments for AI model access constitute use of copyright, use of equipment, automated digital services, or a hybrid category not contemplated by current treaties. Divergent OECD and UN approaches and AI's reliance on distributed server infrastructure further increase interpretive uncertainty and the risks of double taxation/non-taxation, and tax planning based on contractual structuring or server location. Against this backdrop, the dissertation develops a doctrinal framework for classifying cross-border AI-related payments. Paper 1 analyses the legal nature of Income arising from AI models by proposing a taxonomy of AI-related rights—model weights, training data rights, inference rights, and deployment rights—and assessing whether API access is “use of copyright,” whether inference is “use of equipment,” whether fine-tuning transfers IP, and whether AI outputs qualify as automated services. Paper 2 evaluates the limits of the OECD and UN Model Conventions for income arising from AI models by analysing the relevant treaty articles and their applicability to modern AI transactions. Paper 3 proposes new treaty provisions for AI-based transactions, examining whether a dedicated article is needed, how taxing rights should be allocated, and how to prevent double (non) taxation. The Introduction will present the context, article summaries, and methods. Together, the papers provide a unified framework for future treaty reform.

Alex is a PhD student in social philosophy at Tampere University and an associate director - social specialist at Wardell Armstrong International. His research involves introducing critical theory approaches (e.g., Recognition theory, decolonial and critical gender theories), to implement novel practices in environmental, social, community health and human rights impact assessment studies. His work in ESG consultancy is largely conducted in the Global South, evaluating impacts from renewable energy, oil and gas, mining and infrastructure projects, with a focus on vulnerable groups.

Environmental health, analytical chemistry and toxicology relates studies related to plastic recycling, microplastics, sedimentology, mining, mining waters, mineral processing, geochemistry, geology and mineralogy.

Over 48 million people were internally displaced due to armed conflict, generalized violence or human rights violations, according to Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), at the end of 2020. The concept of internally displaced persons (IDP) can be understood as persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized border. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) stated in their 2021 Global Report on Internal Displacement that the pandemic increased the needs and vulnerabilities of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and measures to curb the spread of coronavirus have greatly hindered humanitarian efforts. In consideration of this and the fact that globally the pandemic has dealt a hard blow on the global economy that it is important that an examination on how citizens who have decided not to totally depend on humanitarian aids and build businesses in order to earn a living have been able to survive. This research will also be examining and theorize the idea of a growing economy within the IDP camps.

My research project contributes to sustainability and ethics discussions in organisation studies by exploring personal integrity through a posthumanist lens. It aims to redefine traditional concepts of integrity to foster new approaches to ethical decision-making. The study focuses on sustainability professionals (SPs) and their complex web of relationships within organisations, where human and non-human actors are intertwined and collaboratively shape decision-making. By examining the entanglements between SPs, food, technologies, and environments, the project seeks to understand how these interconnected relationships influence personal integrity.

Projects

Particulate matter in mines and mining environments (PARMAT)

Projects

The Politics of Corporate Resource Exploitation: Social Movement Influence on Paper- and Metal Industry Investments in Brazil and India

Projects

The politics of impact assessment in framing community 'development' in extractive projects