| 1. |
- Boudreau, Jonna, 1980-
(författare)
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New methods for evaluation of tissue creping and the importance of coating, paper and adhesion
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The creping process and the conditions on the Yankee cylinder dryer are key factors in a tissue paper mill, and they therefore need to be kept under good control in order to maintain a high and uniform quality. To this end it would be valuable to be able to make on-line measurements of Yankee coating thickness as well as the crepe structure of the tissue paper. The adhesion of paper to the cylinder affects the creping process and more information about the parameters that affect the adhesion is therefore of interest. To perform trials on a full scale or in a pilot plant is very costly and laboratory creping equipment is therefore sought after in order to be able to measure the adhesion force.The coating layer for use on the cylinder was analysed. It contained a large amount of carbohydrates and could not be considered transparent. The thickness of the coating layer was measured on a laboratory cylinder with a method based on fluorescence. An optical brightener was added to the coating chemicals and the coating layer was subjected to UV-radiation. The intensity of the light emitted by the optical brightener was measured and gave an indication of the thickness of the coating layer. The equipment has to be further investigated before it is possible to implement the new sensor on-line.New creping equipment and an adhesion method were developed for use on a laboratory scale. The equipment can operate with different creping angles and the force needed to crepe the paper can be measured. The highest creping force was obtained for papers of high grammage, low dryness at adhesion, high drainability, high fines content and high hemicellulose content.A more direct method is to analyse the structure of the produced paper. Measurements were made on a tissue paper with an optical fibre sensor while the paper was travelling at low speed. The collected signal was mathematically analysed and the characteristic wavelength was calculated for different paper samples. These values were close to the wavelengths measured with an off line method by a commercial crepe analyser.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Abrahamsen Grøndahl, Vigdis, 1964-
(författare)
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Patients’ perceptions of actual care conditions and patient satisfaction with care quality in hospital
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- There are theoretical and methodological difficulties in measuring the concepts of quality of care and patient satisfaction, and the conditions associated with these concepts. A theoretical framework of patient satisfaction and a theoretical model of quality of care have been used as the theoretical basis in this thesis. Aim. The overall aim was to describe and explore relationships between person-related conditions, external objective care conditions, patients’ perceptions of quality of care, and patient satisfaction with care in hospital. Methods. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used. In the quantitative study (I-III), 528 patients (83.7%) from eight medical, three surgical and one mixed medical/surgical ward in five hospitals in Norway agreed to participate (10% of total discharges). Data collection was conducted using a questionnaire comprising four instruments: Quality from Patients’ Perspective (QPP); Sense of Coherence scale (SOC); Big Five personality traits – the Single-Item Measures of Personality (SIMP); and Emotional Stress Reaction Questionnaire (ESRQ). In addition, questions regarding socio-demographic data and health conditions were asked, and data from ward statistics were included. Multivariate statistical analysis was carried out (I-III). In the qualitative study 22 informants were interviewed (IV). The interviews were analysed by conventional content analysis. Main findings. Patients’ perceptions of quality of care and patient satisfaction ranged from lower to higher depending on whether all patients or groups of patients were studied. The combination of person-related and external objective care conditions explained 55% of patients’ perceptions of quality of care (I). 54.7% of the variance in patient satisfaction was explained, and the person-related conditions had the strongest impact, explaining 51.7% (II). Three clusters of patients were identified regarding their scores on patient satisfaction and patients’ perceptions of quality of care (III). One group consisted of patients who were most satisfied and had the best perceptions of quality of care, a second group of patients who were less satisfied and had better perceptions, and a third group of patients who were less satisfied and had the worst perceptions. The qualitative study revealed four categories of importance for patients’ satisfaction: desire to regain health, need to be met in a professional way as a unique person, perspective on life, and need to have balance between privacy and companionship (IV). Conclusions. Patients’ perceptions of quality of care and patient satisfaction are two different concepts. The person-related conditions seem to be the strongest predictors of patients’ perceptions of quality of care and patient satisfaction. Registered nurses need to be aware of this when planning and conducting nursing care. There is a need of guidelines for handling over‑occupancy, and of procedures for emergency admissions on the wards. The number of registered nurses on the wards needs to be considered. Healthcare personnel must do their utmost to provide the patients with person‑centred care.
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| 4. |
- Agnemyr, Helena, 1984-, et al.
(författare)
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Gör Vågen! : Samhällsentreprenörskap med värmländska förtecken
- 2011
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Rapporten handlar om samhällsentreprenörskap med värmländska förtecken. Idén om samhällsentreprenörer ges i rapporten sammanhang och perspektiv i en diskussion om tidsandan. Rapporten handlar både om teori och praktik. Den bygger på litteraturstudier och på samtal och dialoger med forskare, regionala aktörer och inte minst värmländska samhällsentreprenörer. Rapportens rubrik har hämtas från ett återberättande av ett möte om vad regeringen tänkte göra för näringslivet. Det förlösande svaret på en avslutande fråga om vad regeringen borde göra blev ”Gör vågen!”. Anekdoten berättades vid en av de två workshopar med värmländska samhällsentreprenörer som genomfördes under arbetet med rapporten. Tankar om samhällsentreprenörskapet syfte och sammanhang eller dess själ och djupare mening kan möjligen sammanfattas i två dikter av Tage Danielsson, nämligen; För den trötta samhällskroppen, vore kanske bästa boten, ifall tankarna från toppen kom från roten Och En droppe i livets älv har ingen kraft att flyta själv. Det ställs ett krav på varenda droppe. Hjälp till att hålla de andra oppe!
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| 5. |
- Alfredsson, Stefan, 1976-
(författare)
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A Cross-Layer Perspective on Transport Protocol Performance in Wireless Networks
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Communication by wireless technologies has seen a tremendous growth in the last decades. Mobile phone technology and wireless broadband solutions are rapidly replacing the last-hop wireline connectivity for telephones and Internet access. Research has, however, shown that Internet traffic can experience a performance degradation over wireless compared to wired networks. The inherent properties of radio communication lead to a higher degree of unreliability, compared to communication by wire or fiber. This can result in an increased amount of transmission errors, packet loss, delay and delay variations, which in turn affect the performance of the main Internet transport protocols TCP and UDP. This dissertation examines the cross-layer relationship between wireless transmission and the resulting performance on the transport layer. To this end, experimental evaluations of TCP and UDP over a wireless 4G downlink system proposal are performed. The experiment results show, in a holistic scenario, that link-level adaptive modulation, channel prediction, fast persistent link retransmissions, and channel scheduling, enables the transport protocols TCP and UDP to perform well and utilize the wireless link efficiently. Further, a novel approach is proposed where a modified TCP receiver can choose to accept packets that are corrupted by bit errors. Results from network emulation experiments indicate that by accepting and acknowledging even small amounts of corrupted data, a much higher throughput can be maintained compared to standard TCP.
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| 6. |
- Algervik, Robert, 1981-
(författare)
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Embedding Theorems for Mixed Norm Spaces and Applications
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis is devoted to the study of mixed norm spaces that arise in connection with embeddings of Sobolev and Besov type spaces. We study different structural, integrability, and smoothness properties of functions satisfying certain mixed norm conditions. Conditions of this type are determined by the behaviour of linear sections of functions. The work in this direction originates in a paper due to Gagliardo (1958), and was further developed by Fournier (1988), by Blei and Fournier (1989), and by Kolyada (2005). Here we continue these studies. We obtain some refinements of known embeddings for certain mixed norm spaces introduced by Gagliardo, and we study general properties of these spaces. In connection with these results, we consider a scale of intermediate mixed norm spaces, and prove intrinsic embeddings in this scale. We also consider more general, fully anisotropic, mixed norm spaces. Our main theorem states an embedding of these spaces to Lorentz spaces. Applying this result, we obtain sharp embedding theorems for anisotropic Sobolev-Besov spaces, and anisotropic fractional Sobolev spaces. The methods used are based on non-increasing rearrangements, and on estimates of sections of functions and sections of sets. We also study limiting relations between embeddings of spaces of different type. More exactly, mixed norm estimates enable us to get embedding constants with sharp asymptotic behaviour. This gives an extension of the results obtained for isotropic Besov spaces by Bourgain, Brezis, and Mironescu, and for anisotropic Besov spaces by Kolyada. We study also some basic properties (in particular the approximation properties) of special weak type spaces that play an important role in the construction of mixed norm spaces, and in the description of Sobolev type embeddings. In the last chapter, we study mixed norm spaces consisting of functions that have smooth sections. We prove embeddings of these spaces to Lorentz spaces. From this result, known properties of Sobolev-Liouville spaces follow.
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| 7. |
- Almlöf Ambjörnsson, Heléne, 1968-
(författare)
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Mercerization and Enzymatic Pretreatment of Cellulose in Dissolving Pulps
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis deals with the preparation of chemically and/or enzymatically modified cellulose. This modification can be either irreversible or reversible. Irreversible modification is used to prepare cellulose derivatives as end products, whereas reversible modification is used to enhance solubility in the preparation of regenerated cellulose.The irreversible modification studied here was the preparation of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) using extended mercerization of a spruce dissolving pulp. More specifically the parameters studied were the effect of mercerization at different proportions of cellulose I and II in the dissolving pulp, the concentration of alkali, the temperature and the reaction time. The parameters evaluated were the degree of substitution, the filterability and the amount of gel obtained when the resulting CMC was dissolved in water. Molecular structures of CMC and its gel fractions were analysed by using NIR FT Raman spectroscopy. It was found that the alkali concentration in the mercerization stage had an extensive influence on the subsequent etherification reaction. FT Raman spectra of CMC samples and their gel fractions prepared with low NaOH concentrations (9%) in the mercerization stage indicated an incomplete transformation of cellulose to Na-cellulose before carboxymethylation to CMC. Low average DS values of the CMC, i.e. between 0.42 and 0.50 were obtained. Such CMC dissolved in water resulted in very thick and semi solid gum-like gels, probably due to an uneven distribution of substituents along the cellulose backbone. FT Raman spectra of CMC samples and their gel fractions mercerized at higher alkaline concentration, i.e. 18.25 and 27.5% in the mercerization stage, indicated on the other hand a complete transformation of cellulose to Na-cellulose before carboxymethylation to CMC. Higher average DS values of the CMC, i.e. between 0.88 and 1.05 were therefore obtained. When dissolved in water such CMC caused gel formation especially when prepared from dissolving pulp with a high fraction of cellulose II.The reversible modification studied was the dissolution of cellulose in NaOH/ZnO. Here the effect of enzyme pretreatment was investigated by using two mono-component enzymes; namely xylanase and endoglucanase, used in consecutive stages. It was found that although the crystallinity and the specific surface area of the dissolving pulp sustained minimal change during the enzymatic treatment; the solubility of pulp increased in a NaOH/ZnO solution from 29% for untreated pulp up to 81% for enzymatic pretreated pulp.
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| 8. |
- Almlöf, Heléne, 1968-
(författare)
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Extended Mercerization Prior to Carboxymethyl Cellulose Preparation
- 2010
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is produced commercially in a two-stage process consisting of a mercerization stage, where the pulp is treated with alkali in a water alcohol solution, followed by an etherification stage in which monochloroacetic acid is added to the pulp slurry. In this thesis an extended mercerization stage of a spruce ether pulp was investigated where the parameters studied were the ratio of cellulose I and II, concentration of alkali, temperature and retention time. The influence of the mercerization stage conditions on the etherification stage, were evaluated as the degree of substitution (DS) of the resulting CMC and the filterability of CMC dissolved in water at a concentration of 1%. The DS results suggested that the NaOH concentration in the mercerization stage was the most important of the parameters studied. When the NaOH concentration in the mercerization step was low (9%), a high cellulose II content in the pulp used was found to have no negative impact on the DS of the resulting CMC compared with pulps with only cellulose I. However, when the NaOH concentration was high (27.5%), pulps with high content of cellulose II showed a lower reactivity than those with only cellulose I with respect to the DS of the CMC obtained after a given charge of NaMCA. The results obtained from the filtration ability study of CMC water solutions suggested that both the amount of cellulose II in the original pulp and the temperature had a negative influence on the filtration ability whereas the NaOH concentration in the mercerization stage had a positive influence. The filtration ability was assumed to be influenced highly by the presence of poorly reacted cellulose segments. A retention time between 1-48 h in the mercerization stage had no effect on either the DS or the filtration ability of the CMC. Using NIR FT Raman spectroscopy molecular structures of CMC and its gel fraction were analyzed with respect to the conditions used in the extended mercerization stage. Here it was found that the alkaline concentration had a very strong influence on the following etherification reaction. FT Raman spectra of CMC samples and their gel fractions prepared with low NaOH concentrations (9%) in the mercerization stage indicated an incomplete transformation of cellulose to Na-cellulose before carboxymethylation to CMC. Low average DS values of the CMC, i.e. between 0.42 and 0.50, were yielded. Such CMC dissolved in water caused very thick and semi solid gum-like gels, probably due to an uneven distribution of substituting groups along the cellulose backbone. FT Raman spectra of CMC mercerized with alkaline concentrations at 18.25 and 27.5% in the mercerization stage indicated, however, that all of the cellulose molecules were totally transferred to CMC of high DS, i.e. between 0.88 and 1.05. When dissolved in water such CMC caused gels when they were prepared from ether pulp with a high fraction of cellulose II.
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| 9. |
- Alvinius, Aida, 1979-
(författare)
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Bridging Boundaries in the Borderland of Bureaucracies : Individual Impact on Organisational Adaption to Demanding Situations in Civil and Military Contexts
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is to reach a deeper understanding of how boundary spanners are bridging boundaries between uniformed bureaucratic organisations and their environment, characterised by demanding conditions.The main part of this thesis is based upon empirical data gathered through 71 interviews with Swedish civil and military informants from several uniformed organisations. Four articles have been included in this thesis in order to address the overarching aim.The results show that boundary spanners are crucial to the adaption of uniformed organisations to demanding conditions. A number of aspects that are included in the process of organisational adaption have been identified. One of the tasks is to balance between structuring and improvisation where much is at stake. The other task is to create confidence among the involved actors and contribute in different ways to create a sense of symmetry between partners. Finally, the third task for boundary spanners is to recognise improvised roles such as spontaneous links in order to maintain stressful conditions and bridge a gap in the bureaucratic organisation. The present thesis contributes to sociological theory of emotions, disaster management and military studies through a common denominator, namely the demanding context. Taken together, the findings increase awareness of how organisations act towards their environments and how individuals, especially boundary spanners, adapt the organisation to its environment. For leaders and managers, it is important to make decisions, provide mandates and authorisation, as well as invest confidence in boundary spanners. The hierarchical chain may remain in existence, but it can be made shorter and more transparent through this kind of knowledge.
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| 10. |
- Andersson K, Pernille
(författare)
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Changing the servicescape : The influence of music and self-disclosure on approach-avoidance behavior
- 2013
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and understand the effect of a servicescape’s ambient and social conditions on consumers’ Approach/Avoidance behavior in a retail context. More specifically, this thesis investigates the effect of music (ambient stimuli) and employees’ self-disclosure (social stimuli) on consumers’ Approach/Avoidance behavior in a retail store. Paper I comprised two experiments. Experiment 1 investigated the influence of the independent variable No music/Music. Likewise, experiment 2 studied the influence of the independent variable No music/Slow-tempo music/Fast-tempo music. The dependent variables in both experiments were pleasure, arousal, and the resulting Approach/Avoidance behavior. Paper II investigated the influence of the independent variable self-disclosure. The dependent variables were Approach/Avoidance behavior, measured by pleasure, arousal, liking, satisfaction, and reciprocity. The conclusions of this thesis are that both ambient and social stimuli in a servicescape affect consumers’ internal responses, which in turn affect their behavior. Depending on the situation (type of purchase), retail (bank, supermarket, or electronic retail store), and stimuli (ambient or social), the internal and behavioral responses are different.
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| 11. |
- Angulo, Julio, 1980-
(författare)
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Usable privacy for digital transactions : Exploring the usability aspects of three privacy enhancing mechanisms
- 2012
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The amount of personal identifiable information that people distribute over different online services has grown rapidly and considerably over the last decades. This has led to increased probabilities for identity theft, profiling and linkability attacks, which can in turn not only result in a threat to people’s personal dignity, finances, and many other aspects of their lives, but also to societies in general. Methods and tools for securing people’s online activities and protecting their privacy on the Internet, so called Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs), are being designed and developed. However, these technologies are often seen by ordinary users as complicated and disruptive of their primary tasks. In this licentiate thesis, I investigate the usability aspects of three main privacy and security enhancing mechanisms. These mechanisms have the goal of helping and encouraging users to protect their privacy on the Internet as they engage in some of the steps necessary to complete a digital transaction. The three mechanisms, which have been investigated within the scope of different research projects, comprise of (1) graphical visualizations of service providers’ privacy policies and user-friendly management and matching of users’ privacy preferences “on the fly”, (2) methods for helping users create appropriate mental models of the data minimization property of anonymous credentials, and (3) employing touch-screen biometrics as a method to authenticate users into mobile devices and verify their identities during a digital transaction. Results from these investigations suggest that these mechanisms can make digital transactions privacy-friendly and secure while at the same time delivering convenience and usability for ordinary users.
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| 12. |
- Annergren, Göran, et al.
(författare)
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Sulfate cooking - a commercially dominating and continously improving pulping process
- 2014
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Sulfite cooking was earlier the dominating pulping process but sulfate (kraft) cooking is today the most important process for the production of chemical pulps and high-yield pulps. One important reason for this development of the sulfate process is its ability to efficiently use different wood species, in particular different hardwood species. Another reason is that bleached hardwood sulfate pulps have become a strong competitor to bleached softwood sulfite pulps. The pros and cons of sulfate cooking are discussed in this report and compared with sulfite cooking.
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| 13. |
- Anselmo, Ana Sofia, 1980-
(författare)
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Materials aspects in spin-coated films for polymer photovoltaics
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Polymer-based photovoltaics have the potential to contribute to boosting photovoltaic energy conversion overall. Besides allowing large-area inexpensive processing, polymeric materials have the added benefit of opening new market applications for photovoltaics due to their low-weight and interesting mechanical properties. The energy conversion efficiency values of polymer photovoltaics have reached new record values over the past years. It is however crucial that stability issues are addressed together with efficiency optimization. Understanding fundamental materials aspects is key in both areas.In the work presented in this thesis, the morphology of polymer:fullerene films and its influence on device performance was studied, as well as the effect of light exposure on the surface of fullerene films. Several polyfluorene copolymers were used for the morphology studies, where the effects of changing spin-coating solvent and of side chain engineering were investigated with dynamic secondary ion mass spectrometry (dSIMS) and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. Polymer-enriched surfaces were found in all blend films, even in the cases with homogeneous distributions in the bulk. Side chain engineering of the polymer led to gradual changes in the compositional variations perpendicular to the surface, and to slight variations in the photocurrent. The electronic structure of the fullerene derivative PCBM was studied in detail and the spectroscopic fingerprint of the materials was analysed by comparison with theoretically simulated spectra. Photo-stability studies done in air showed that the surface of fullerene films underwent severe damages at the molecular level, which is evident from changes in the valence band and X-ray absorption spectra. These changes were explained by transitions from sp2-type to sp3 hybridization of the carbon atoms in the cage that resulted in the destruction of the fullerene cage.
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| 14. |
- Anselmo, Ana Sofia, 1980-
(författare)
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The morphology of polyfluorene : fullerene blend films for photovoltaic applications
- 2011
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Polymer photovoltaic systems whose photoactive layer is a blend of a semiconducting polymer with a fullerene derivative in a bulk heterojunction configuration are amongst the most successful organic photovoltaic devices nowadays. The three-dimensional organization in these layers (the morphology) plays a crucial role in the performance of the devices. Detailed characterization of this organization at the nanoscale would provide valuable information for improving future material and architectural design and for device optimization.In this thesis, the results of morphology studies of blends of several polyfluorene copolymers (APFOs) blended with a fullerene derivative are presented. Near-Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy was combined with dynamic Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (dSIMS) for surface and in-depth characterization of the blend films. NEXAFS was performed using two different electron detection methods, partial (PEY) and total (TEY) electron yield, which provide information from different depth regimes. Quantitative compositional information was obtained by fitting the spectra of the blend films with a linear combination of the spectra of films of the pure components. In blends of APFO3 with PCBM in two different blend ratios (1:1 and 1:4 of polymer:fullerene) NEXAFS data show the existence of compositional gradients in the vertical direction for both blend ratios, with clear polymer enrichment of the free surface. A series of APFOs with systematic changes in the side-chains was studied and it was shown that those small modifications can affect polymer:fullerene interaction and induce vertical phase separation. Polymer-enrichment of the free surface was clearly identified, in accordance with surface energy minimization mechanisms, and a compositional gradient was revealed already in the first few nanometers of the surface of the blend films. dSIMS showed that this vertical phase separation propagates throughout the film. It was possible to determine that as the polar character of the polymer increases, and thus the polymer:fullerene miscibility is improved, the tendency for vertical phase separation becomes stronger.
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| 15. |
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Aquatic Conservation with Focus on Margaritifera margaritifera : Proceedings of the International Conference in Sundsvall, Sweden, 12-14 August, 2009
- 2012
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Proceedings (redaktörskap) (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera (L.) has attracted a large human interest, since the mussel is fascinating from biological, cultural andenvironmental perspectives. The mussel has a complicated life cycle dependingon host fish, and has great demands on its habitat. Furthermore, the mussel is anenvironmental indicator, and is used as an umbrella and flagship species. Pearl fishing has been described in Sweden as early as in the 16th century and by Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century.Many freshwater pearl mussel populations have insufficient recruitment and therefore decrease in numbers, and many populations are even extinct. Therefore, conservation work on the freshwater pearl mussel is going on all over Europe. Actions to preserve the freshwater pearl mussel will also favour other aquatic species – freshwater pearl mussel conservation is aquatic biodiversity conservation! WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) Sweden implemented the project “The Freshwater Pearl Mussel and its habitats in Sweden” during 2004-2009 (LIFE04NAT/SE/000231). The overall objective was to improve the habitats of juvenile freshwater pearl mussels and the host fish brown trout Salmo trutta in21 streams. The actions were improvements of the biotopes, re-introduction of mussels, information to the stakeholders, and development of planning methods. An international conference “Aquatic Conservation with Focus on the Freshwater Pearl Mussel Margaritifera margaritifera” was held in Sundsvall 12–14 August, 2009. In these proceedings, presentations from the conference are published.
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| 16. |
- Arnesen, Trine, 1969-
(författare)
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Are they ready for this? : Experiences on implementing educational behavior-analytic interventions in Norwegian kindergartens
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis describes an investigation into experiences connected to the implementation of educational behavior-analytic interventions (ABA) for children with autism in kindergartens. The research questions and the methodological choices in this investigation evolved based on new experiences over the course of the research project. Three sub-studies were conducted: a single case study on the implementation of ABA teaching programs specifically targeting joint attention skills for children with autism in kindergartens (Study 1); a questionnaire survey on the experiences of ABA supervisors in implementing ABA in kindergartens (Study 2); and an interview study on the experiences of ABA teachers in implementing ABA in kindergartens (Study 3). During Study 1, it appeared that the teaching intensity of the targeted ABA teaching programs varied largely from what was initially planned for all four of the participating children. Under those conditions, the learning outcomes of the children also varied. With regard to Study 2, the survey data obtained from 29 ABA supervisors indicated that many children with autism who receive ABA in Norwegian kindergartens do not receive the number of teaching hours being planned for them. There also seems to be quite a large number of kindergartens that lack teaching teams and who receive supervision less than what is generally recommended to obtain the optimal outcome from ABA. With regard to Study 3, the interview data obtained from 10 ABA teachers illustrated how implementation factors such as compatibility, complexity, client responsiveness, and supervision can be manifested when ABA is implemented in the kindergarten. A main finding was that in some cases there seem to be conflicting opinions within the kindergarten about whether ABA is right for the child, something that was interpreted to reflect a conflict between the categorical and the relational perspectives of special education.
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| 17. |
- Asghari, Hamid, 1967-
(författare)
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Från uppväxt till lärargärning : En livsberättelsestudie med åtta yrkeslärare på industritekniska programmet
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The thesis is based on eight vocational teachers’ life stories with the aim to provide knowledge about vocational teachers and their work with pupils in teaching in the industrial-technology programme, in the context of both a working life and a vocational education which is continuously changing. The thesis answers two research questions: 1) the themes that recur in vocational teachers’ life stories about how they meet and teach their pupils and 2) the teaching goals and strategies which emerge from vocational teachers’ life stories. All in all fifteen interviews were conducted from which life stories and teacher profiles were constructed.Results show five recurring themes in the teacher profiles. The themes are; to be a caring adult for vocational pupils, to teach them basic knowledge considered important for the education, to teach them respect and discipline, to teach them the value of fighting and not giving up, and to show them the possibility of international employment. Moreover, the teacher goals and strategies emerging from the life stories show that the teachers can be said to educate different types of industrial workers. In line with these results, vocational education can be seen as more than a preparation for working life. Vocational teachers with different life experiences create different relationships with their pupils in order to create opportunities for them to manage school and to succeed in a life after school. In an industrial-technical education and in a working life which is constantly changing, vocational teachers have received various educations and worked in various industries during different time periods. They both educate their pupils and prepare them for a future working life based on these experiences.
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| 18. |
- Asplund, Stig-Börje, 1973-
(författare)
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Läsning som identitetsskapande handling. : Gemenskapande och utbrytningsförsök i fordonspojkars litteratursamtal.
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this dissertation literature discussions which include students of Vehicle Engineering at a Swedish upper secondary school will be discussed. The students are all boys. The study is focused on these boys’ small-group literature discussions, and the aim of the study is to describe what happens when they discuss four of the novels that form an integral part in the context of their Swedish studies. Principal fields of interest are the readings and the reception that the boys give utterance to in the literature discussions, as well as the identity-constructing processes which set in when they interact in the light of what they have read.The empirical material consists of eleven video recorded small-group discussions, and a conversational analytic perspective is combined with a reception theory perspective in the dissertation.The study shows that a sense of community is vital to the core of the boys’ literature discussions, and this has an influence on the reception and the readings that come up in the discussions. The boys are anxious to come to an agreement and voices which threaten to shatter the sense of community that has been constructed in the discussions are opposed in different ways. The literature discussions are not only arenas where the boys construct themselves as readers but are also considered as a forum where various identity-constructing practices take place.As readers these boys are bound to what can be read, and what cannot be read, in literary texts, but it is possible to see a certain development in their readings towards a more complex attitude, such as they find expression in the discussions. The boys also carry out the literature discussions, and the constructed sense of community is based on the reading of the novel to be discussed in a small-group discussion. Thus the boys take on the responsibility for their own learning as well.Many of the processes in which the boys are involved during the literature discussions could be described as processes of social reproduction, but various dividing lines which could be identified in the study also show that there are openings for other directions of the discussions.
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| 19. |
- Backe, Stefan, 1963-
(författare)
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Safety promotion and injury surveillance with special focus on young people´s club sports : Challenges and possibilities
- 2014
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Physical activity in youth has many benefits, but parallel to these benefits, sport related injuries pose considerable risks. It is important to public health to address sport related injuries, particularly those affecting young people, who comprise the majority of participants in organised sport in Sweden. The first study in this research showed that inspections of local sport environments, where injuries often occur, did not occur uniformly. Two additional studies pointed out the need for better surveillance of injuries, and described the use of ambulance attendance reports as a possible improvement to current surveillance systems, with a possibility to improve safety for youth and other sport participants. Two other studies identify risk factors that were specific to football and climbing sports, which can be used to guide targeted safety interventions for the young participants of these sports. The studies, taken as a whole, provide new information about the factors associated with sport related injuries, particularly for young people, and point out the need for better sport injury surveillance, improved inspection strategies for fields maintained by organised sport clubs in local communities, and the need to address risk factors specific to different sport activities.
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| 20. |
- Ballangrud, Randi, 1959-
(författare)
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Building patient safety in intensive care nursing : Patient safety culture, team performance and simulation-based training
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Aim: The overall aim of the thesis was to investigate patient safety culture, team performance and the use of simulation-based team training for building patient safety in intensive care nursing.Methods: Quantitative and qualitative methods were used. In Study I, 220 RNs from ten ICUs responded to a patient safety culture questionnaire analysed with statistics. Studies II-IV were based on an evaluation of a simulation-based team training programme. Studies II-III included 53 RNs from seven ICUs and ten RNs from a post-graduate programme (II). The data were collected with questionnaires (II) and measurement scales (III), and analysed with statistics. In Study IV, 18 RNs were interviewed and the data were analysed with a qualitative content analysis.Main findings: The RNs had positive perceptions of the overall patient safety culture in the ICUs. Hence, a potential for improvements was identified at both the unit and hospital level. Differences between types of ICUs and between hospitals were found. The dimensions at the unit level were predictors for the outcome dimensions (I). The RNs evaluated the simulation-based team training programme in a positive way. Differences with regard to scenario roles, prior simulation experience and area of intensive care practice were found (II). The expert raters assessed the teams’ performance as advanced novice or competent. There were differences between the expert raters’ assessments and the RNs’ self-assessments (III). One main category emerged to illuminate the RNs’ perceptions of simulation-based team training for building patient safety: Regular training increases the awareness of clinical practice and acknowledges the importance of structured work in teams (IV).Conclusions: Patient safety culture measurements have the potential to identify areas in need of improvement, and simulation-based team training is appropriate to create a common understanding of structured work in teams with regard to patient safety.
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| 21. |
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Barn, barndomar, rättigheter och utbildningar : Vänbok till Solveig Hägglund
- 2012. - 1
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Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Bidragen i den här vänboken handlar alla om de teman som ständigt varit aktuella i Solveigs Hägglunds vetenskapliga gärning. Det vill säga, texterna handlar om barn och barndomar, om barns rättigheter och om de villkor som är förenade med utbildning för barn. Bidragen belyser den forskning som våren 2012 är aktuell vid avdelningen för utbildningsvetenskap vid Karlstads universitet författade av före detta doktorander och av kollegor till Solveig.Denna vänbok tillägnas vår kollega Solveig Hägglund, professor emerita i pedagogik vid Karlstads universitet.
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| 22. |
- Beckman, Linda, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
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Hur mår barn och ungdomar i Sverige? : Analys av den officiella bilden, mediebilden och bilden från forskningen
- 2010
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Rapport (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- De senaste 20 åren har den det blivit vanligt att tidningsrubriker möter oss med ”Larmrapporter” om ungas psykiska ohälsa. Frågorna har fått allt större utrymme i samhällsdebatten både medialt och politiskt. I folkhälsopropositionen från 2008 framhålls det att barn och ungdomar är en av de viktigaste målgrupperna och psykisk hälsa ett av de mest angelägna satsningsområdena inom folkhälsopolitiken. Föreliggande rapport tar sin utgångspunkt i en till synes generell uppfattning om att barn och unga mår allt sämre psykiskt. Här presenteras och beskrivs den bild som förmedlas av ohälsan och hur förändringen över tid sett ut. Tre samhälliga aktörer; Riksdag, regering och de myndigheter som arbetar med dessa frågor, dagspress och forskning analyseras utifrån deras ställningstagande till barns och ungdomars psykiska hälsa med avseende på trender, sociodemografiska samt regionala skillnader, och vilka källor detta kommer ifrån. Underlaget till analysen med avseende på den mediala bilden har samlats in genom en systematisk genomgång av tidningsartiklar från åren 1988 till 2008 via två elektroniska databaser. Den officiella bilden har beskrivits utifrån olika dokument från myndigheter. För att få underlag till forskningen har vetenskapligt publicerade artiklar, epidemiologiska studier och så kallad ”grå litteratur” använts. Resultatet visar att överensstämmelsen mellan den officiella bilden, mediebilden och bilden från forskningen är påfallande stor, men att bilderna är långt ifrån identiska. Källorna som används visar sig återkomma och tenderar att cirkulera runt bland aktörerna. Resultatet visade också att flickor och unga kvinnor var de grupper som belyses mest, oavsett år. Etnicitet och regionala skillnader diskuteras i princip inte över huvud taget. Underlaget från forskningen har visat sig vara mycket tunt och det råder brist på epidemiologiska data. Dock pekar mycket på att svenska ungdomar i det stora hela mår bra men att självupplevd stress och psykisk ohälsa blivit vanligare särskilt bland flickor och unga kvinnor. Det är viktigt att reflektera över begrepp och uttryck i mätningar som jämförs över ett 20-års perspektiv - hur tidsbundna är dessa och överensstämmer innebörden, över en tidslinje på tjugo år? Vare sig medias bilder eller de officiella bilderna kan påstås vara fabricerade konstruktioner, utan baseras mer eller mindre på rapporter som forskare och utredare publicerat. Omvänt kan sägas att den officiella bilden och mediebilden också kan antas spegla det som inte publicerats liksom de svarta hålen i forskningen.
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| 23. |
- Beckman, Linda, 1980-
(författare)
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Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying among Swedish Adolescents : Gender differences and associations with mental health
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to study the differences between traditional bullying and cyberbullying among adolescents, focusing on gender, psychosomatic problems, and disability, and to gain insight into health staff’s experience of bullying in schools.The four studies in this thesis were based on surveys undertaken among 3,800 adolescents in Grades 7, 8 and 9 in Sweden, as well as focus groups of 16 people consisting of school social workers and school nurses.While almost no gender differences were found among traditional victims, Study I showed that girls were more likely than boys to be cybervictims. Boys were more likely than girls to be traditional bullies, while girls were equally as likely as boys to be cyberbullies. Study II showed that psychosomatic problems were associated with being a victim, a bully or a bully-victim. Cyberbullying showed no stronger association with psychosomatic problems than traditional bullying. Study III: Three main categories emerged from school health staff’s experience: 1) “Anti-bullying team”; 2) “Working style”; and 3) “Perspectives on bullying”. The last two each comprised two sub-categories: “Team member”/“Single worker”; and “Contextual perspective”/“Individual-oriented perspective”. Study IV showed that, regardless of gender and grade, students with a disability were more likely to be bully-victims and, more particularly, bully-victims involved in both traditional bullying and cyberbullying. No differences between disabled adolescents and others were found with respect to the association between bullying and psychosomatic health.The results show that some adolescents are more likely to experience higher levels of psychosomatic health problems than others. They also show that some adolescents are more likely to be involved in bullying, either as victims, bullies or bully-victims. This thesis also discusses contextual and individual approaches adopted by schools in preventing bullying.
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| 24. |
- Bellström, Peter, 1971-
(författare)
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Schema Integration : How to Integrate Static and Dynamic Database Schemata
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Schema integration is the task of integrating several local schemata into one global database schema. It is a complex, error-prone and time consuming task. Problems arise in recognizing and resolving problems, such as differences and similarities, between two schemata. Problems also arise in integrating static and dynamic schemata. In this thesis, three research topics are addressed: Maintaining Vocabulary in Schema Integration, Integration of Static Schemata and Integration of Static and Dynamic Schemata, while applying the notation in the Enterprise Modeling approach. In Maintaining Vocabulary in Schema Integration an analysis of what semantic loss is and why it occurs in schema integration is conducted. Semantic loss is a problem that should be avoided because both concepts and dependencies might be lost. In the thesis, it is argued that concepts and dependencies should be retained as long as possible in the schemata. This should facilitate user involvement since the users’ vocabulary is retained even after resolving similarities and differences between two schemata. In Integration of Static Schemata two methods are developed. These methods facilitate recognition and resolution of similarities and differences between two conceptual database schemata. By applying the first method, problems between two schemata can be recognized that otherwise could pass unnoticed; by applying the second method, problems can be resolved without causing semantic loss by retaining concepts and dependencies in the schemata. In Integration of Static and Dynamic Schemata a method on how to integrate static and dynamic schemata is developed. In the method, focus is put on pre- and post-conditions and how to map these to states and state changes in the database. By applying the method, states that are important for the database can be designed and integrated into the conceptual database schema. Also, by applying the method, active database rules can be designed and integrated into the conceptual database schema.
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| 25. |
- Bengtsson, Peder
(författare)
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Increasing the value of household appliances by adding a heat pump system
- 2014
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Historically, domestic tasks such as preparing food and washing and drying clothes and dishes were done by hand. In a modern home many of these chores are taken care of by machines such as washing machines, dishwashers and tumble dryers. When the first such machines came on the market customers were happy that they worked at all! Today, the costs of electricity and customers’ environmental awareness are high, so features such as low electricity, water and detergent use strongly influence which household machine the customer will buy. One way to achieve lower electricity usage for the tumble dryer and the dishwasher is to add a heat pump system.The function of a heat pump system is to extract heat from a lower temperature source (heat source) and reject it to a higher temperature sink (heat sink) at a higher temperature level. Heat pump systems have been used for a long time in refrigerators and freezers, and that industry has driven the development of small, high quality, low price heat pump components. The low price of good quality heat pump components, along with an increased willingness to pay extra for lower electricity usage and environmental impact, make it possible to introduce heat pump systems in other household products.However, there is a high risk of failure with new features. A number of household manufacturers no longer exist because they introduced poorly implemented new features, which resulted in low quality and product performance. A manufacturer must predict whether the future value of a feature is high enough for the customer chain to pay for it. The challenge for the manufacturer is to develop and produce a high-performance heat pump feature in a household product with high quality, predict future willingness to pay for it, and launch it at the right moment in order to succeed.Tumble dryers with heat pump systems have been on the market since 2000. Paper I reports on the development of a transient simulation model of a commercial heat pump tumble dryer. The measured and simulated results were compared with good similarity. The influence of the size of the compressor and the condenser was investigated using the validated simulation model. The results from the simulation model show that increasing the cylinder volume of the compressor by 50% decreases the drying time by 14% without using more electricity. Paper II is a concept study of adding a heat pump system to a dishwasher in order to decrease the total electricity usage. The dishwasher, dishware and water are heated by the condenser, and the evaporator absorbs the heat from a water tank. The majority of the heat transfer to the evaporator occurs when ice is generated in the water tank. An experimental setup and a transient simulation model of a heat pump dishwasher were developed. The simulation results show a 24% reduction in electricity use compared to a conventional dishwasher heated with an electric element. The simulation model was based on an experimental setup that was not optimised. During the study it became apparent that it is possible to decrease electricity usage even more with the next experimental setup.
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