| 1. |
- Ahlin, Karin, 1963-
(författare)
-
Benefits of Digital Technical Information
- 2020
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In our daily work life, we use a wealth of information, including a category of information produced as a part of products and their life-cycle phases, named digital technical information (DTI). Manufacturing organizations focus more often on the product than on DTI, because DTI’s impact seems almost invisible, despite its crucial role to the product and its life-cycle phases, development, production, maintenance, and destruction. Hence, the aim of this thesis is to describe DTI’s benefits and the research questions: “What are the benefits of the DTI?” and “What are the perceptions of how to measure benefits of DTI?” The thesis contains five studies related to identifying and measuring DTI’s benefits. The empirical material is based on semi-structured interviews and group interviews within five organizations and a survey among manufacturing organizations in Sweden.I used three characteristics of the DTI and two pairs of previously known benefit categories to analyse the benefits. The analysis shows that the benefits are recognized in the particular product’s life cycle phase where the DTI is published. However, the DTI continues to offer benefits in the product’s other life cycle phases. In relationship to the product, the benefits evolve from supporting an individual product to supporting more general product lines or all products and a more complex product is said to increase DTI’s benefits. DTI’s structure adds benefits as synthesized or aggregated DTI, where the DTI is synthesized or aggregated automatically or manually. The categorization predetermined benefits related to the change are less numerous than the emerging benefits. The predetermined benefits are strategic by nature, and the emerging ones are mainly used to achieve operational goals. Measuring DTI’s benefits is of importance for a formal comparison of its development and is of special interest for managers. Perceptions from the initial stages on how to measure show that to establish common interpretations among the stakeholders of the measurement process is of importance, especially when it comes to what is viewed as a benefit. The benefits are viewed as intangible by the respondents, which creates difficulties when one is evaluating, using conventional measurement methods. The only perceived way to measure is when DTI reduces co-worker’s workload and efficiency is achieved. The thesis’s contribution to academia consists of the analysis of DTI’s benefits, showing details of the relationships between the DTI and its benefits. For practice, the contributions focus on the systematic evaluation process, which can be used for further development of the DTI and comparison of the evolvement of the DTI itself and relating to other resources. One proposal for future research is to use the analysed benefits and compare various approaches to digitizing DTI, e.g. Industry 4.0. Another proposal is to list, in detail, various ways on how to measure DTI’s benefits and their usefulness. The latter can positively impact on any intangible benefits due to the general approach we have established of how to measure those benefits.
|
|
| 2. |
- Ahmad, Jawad, 1985-
(författare)
-
Development and Characterization of Large Area Pressure Sensors and Sitting Posture Monitoring Systems
- 2021
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- With the emergence of the Internet and rapid development of science and technology over the past few decades, many individuals worldwide now rely on the Internet to conduct daily activities ranging from education, business and creativity to communication and shopping. As we tend to spend more and more time on the Internet and engage less in physical activities, this persistent behaviour could result in some health-related issues within a relatively short period of time. This behaviour, known as sedentary lifestyle, may be related to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, obesity, anxiety, pressure ulcers and many other illnesses. As a consequence, there has been great interest in developing non-invasive and unobtrusive measurement techniques for a variety of health care-monitoring applications, such as for blood oxygen saturation, stress levels, electrocardiograms and glucose monitoring. In such systems, wearable and flexible electronics technologies may enable monitoring of vital signs, offering significant potential for early screening as well as long-term behaviour modelling.In this thesis, large area pressure sensors based on non-conventional materials are proposed and realised by screen printing technique for monitoring sitting postures. The developed pressure sensing system measures distributed pressure when an individual sits on a chair equipped with a pressure sensor array. This technology could provide grounding for the advancement of health-related monitoring systems for both able-bodied and disabled individuals and inform them of their sitting time and sitting posture, and this could be used to establish a sitting pattern. To accomplish this, pressure sensors have been designed using non-conventional flexible electronics. A blend of non-conductive and low-resistance ink is used as pressure-sensitive material to enable the realization of screen-printed sensors. To characterise the performance of the suggested pressure sensor, several tests, such as repeatability, drift and flexibility, are conducted. The sensor has also been exposed to different humidity and temperature conditions in a climate chamber to examine its functionalities.A graphical user interface was developed for real-time demonstration of data from distributed pressure points in the form of a pressure map to display the pressure values. Four sitting postures are identified: forward, backward, left, and right leaning. Furthermore, a stretchable pressure sensor is proposed that could follow slight stretching with regard to changes in the shape of the human skin. Machine learning algorithms have been employed to further enhance the sitting posture identification, and accuracy of 99.03% is attained. A standalone embedded system capable of illustrating real-time pressure data has been developed with the potential to be used in portable health monitoring systems. In summary, this work provides a promising framework for measuring pressure distribution and identifying irregular sitting postures that may help to reduce the potential risks of developing health-related issues associated with prolonged sitting time.
|
|
| 3. |
- Ahmad, Waqas
(författare)
-
High Efficiency Light Field Image Compression : Hierarchical Bit Allocation and Shearlet-based View Interpolation
- 2021
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Over the years, the pursuit of capturing the precise visual information of a scenehas resulted in various enhancements in digital camera technology, such as highdynamic range, extended depth of field, and high resolution. However, traditionaldigital cameras only capture the spatial information of the scene and cannot pro-vide an immersive presentation of it. Light field (LF) capturing is a new-generationimaging technology that records the spatial and angular information of the scene. Inrecent years, LF imaging has become increasingly popular among the industry andresearch community mainly for two reasons: (1) the advancements made in optical and computational technology have facilitated the process of capturing and processing LF information and (2) LF data have the potential to offer various post-processing applications, such as refocusing at different depth planes, synthetic aperture, 3Dscene reconstruction, and novel view generation. Generally, LF-capturing devicesacquire large amounts of data, which poses a challenge for storage and transmissionresources. Off-the-shelf image and video compression schemes, built on assump-tions drawn from natural images and video, tend to exploit spatial and temporalcorrelations. However, 4D LF data inherit different properties, and hence there is aneed to advance the current compression methods to efficiently address the correla-tion present in LF data.In this thesis, compression of LF data captured using a plenoptic camera andmulti-camera system (MCS) is considered. Perspective views of a scene capturedfrom different positions are interpreted as a frame of multiple pseudo-video se-quences and given as an input to a multi-view extension of high-efficiency videocoding (MV-HEVC). A 2D prediction and hierarchical coding scheme is proposedin MV-HEVC to improve the compression efficiency of LF data. To further increasethe compression efficiency of views captured using an MCS, an LF reconstructionscheme based on shearlet transform is introduced in LF compression. A sparse set of views is coded using MV-HEVC and later used to predict the remaining views by applying shearlet transform. The prediction error is also coded to further increase the compression efficiency. Publicly available LF datasets are used to benchmark the proposed compression schemes. The anchor scheme specified in the JPEG Plenocommon test conditions is used to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme. Objective evaluations show that the proposed scheme outperforms state-of-the-art schemes in the compression of LF data captured using a plenoptic camera and an MCS. Moreover, the introduction of shearlet transform in LF compression further improves the compression efficiency at low bitrates, at which the human vision sys-tem is sensitive to the perceived quality.The work presented in this thesis has been published in four peer-reviewed con-ference proceedings and two scientific journals. The proposed compression solu-tions outlined in this thesis significantly improve the rate-distortion efficiency forLF content, which reduces the transmission and storage resources. The MV-HEVC-based LF coding scheme is made publicly available, which can help researchers totest novel compression tools and it can serve as an anchor scheme for future researchstudies. The shearlet-transform-based LF compression scheme presents a compre-hensive framework for testing LF reconstruction methods in the context of LF com-pression.
|
|
| 4. |
- Alimohammadzadeh, Rana
(författare)
-
Eco-friendly and Catalytic Surface Engineering of Cellulose and Nanocellulose
- 2021
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The non-stop use of petroleum-based materials such as plastics can generate significant environmental problems, including pollution of the oceans and increased CO2 levels, and cause diseases like cancer due to the starting monomers. Consequently, increased use of sustainable and non-toxic polymers and monomers is required to address these issues. Cellulose, generously supplied by Mother Nature, is the most abundant biopolymer on Earth. Nanocellulose is a sustainable polymer extracted from the cellulose inwood or produced by bacteria and algae. This biodegradable nanomaterialhas recently been receiving intense research attention, since it has great potential for use in a broad range of industrial and biomedical applications. However, it has limitations such as moisture sensitivity and incompatibility with hydrophobic materials due to its hydrophilic nature. Chemical modification is necessary for it to fulfill the requirements for applications that require high moisture resistance and water repellency. Unfortunately, several of the existing methods involve harsh and toxic conditions or reagents. In this thesis, together with my co-workers, I have employed the toolbox of organocatalysis for accomplishing eco-friendly and innovative surface modification of cellulose and nanocellulose. The organocatalysts we usedmost in our research are the naturally abundant and industrially relevantorganic acids tartaric acid and citric acid.Direct catalytic esterification of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) with thioglycolicacid was performed either in suspension or on solid surfaces such as films and foams. We found that the reaction was accelerated by tartaric acid but could also be autocatalytic with respect to the thioglycolic acid under certain conditions. The synthesized CNC-SH was further exploited as a heterogeneous reducing agent as well as a handle for further nanocellulose modifications. This was demonstrated by using CNC-SH as a heterogenous reducing agent of Cu(II) to Cu(I), which is essential for allowing the Cu to actas a catalyst for 2,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions between azides andalkynes. We also showed that the thia-modified CNC could undergo further functionalizing via thiol-ene click chemistry reactions, for example, we attached fluorescent compounds such as TAMRA and quinidine.Herein we provide a fluorine-free method to prepare superhydrophobic CNC film with excellent water-resistance properties by combining self-assemblyand organocatalysis. Self-assembly of CNC via vacuum filtration resulted in xa film with a specific roughness at the microscale. Next, the catalytic silylation with a variety of alkoxysilanes in the presence of natural organic acids such as tartaric acid and citric acid was performed. The successful implementation of our method resulted in a super-hydrophobic CNC film (water contact angleover 150°) with excellent water-resistance. Thus, the combination of the selfassembly of a rough surface with catalytic surface modification resulted in a phenomenon like the “lotus effect” as exhibited by the leaves of the lotus flower. An investigation of the oxygen permeability of the octadecyltrimethoxysilane-modified CNC film revealed that it significantly decreased at high relative humidity compared with unmodified CNC films.In this thesis, the fabrication of hydrophobic and functionalized MTM/CNF nanocomposites using organocatalytic surface modification with a large variety of alkoxysilanes is also performed. The surface modifications are mildand the mechanical strength of the Nacre-mimetic nanocomposites is preserved. Elemental mapping analysis revealed that the silane modification occurred predominantly on the surface.A combination of organocatalyst and biopolyelectrolyte complex was appliedfor surface engineering of chemi-thermomechanical pulp (CTMP) and bleached sulfite pulp (BSP). The reaction was performed using a synergistic combination of an organocatalyst with a polyelectrolyte (PE) complex. Using this method, the strength properties of CTMP and BSP sheets were significantly increased (up to 100% in Z-strength for CTMP). Further investigations of the distribution of the PE complex were then performed using TAMRA and quinidine labeling and confocal laser scanningmicroscopy. This revealed that an even distribution of the cationic starch component of the PE complex had occurred within the CTMP-based paper sheets, which follows its lignin distribution pattern.
|
|
| 5. |
- Alirani, Gertrud, 1976-
(författare)
-
Miljöintegrering i praktisk tillämpning : En policystudie av två lokala stadsutvecklingsprocesser
- 2020
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Dealing with environmental problems has become one of the most challenging political issues of our time. Since the Brundtland report in 1987, environmental policy integration (EPI) that is, the mainstreaming of environmental issues in all policy sectors has emerged as a viable policy solution. This has meant that responsibility for implementing environmental policy rests to a large extent on local authorities where environmental problems with both local and global consequences are expected to be handled. However, there is still a disagreement on what EPI means in day-to-day decision making. With a theoretical framework drawing from theory on policy change, policy entrepreneurship and the neoinstitutional “logic of appropriateness” the aim of this dissertation is to analyze how the integration of environmental considerations manifests itself in local policy processes, highlighting what factors foster or hinder EPI. To reach this aim, I have followed two urban development processes in Kristianstad. This research offers insights on how EPI varies through the policy process and how focus is placed mainly on certain environmental issues and chiefly defined as of local importance. My study suggest that arenas for coordination are critical to overcoming the perceived “gap” between EPI on a strategic level and its implementation. This can help to clarify responsibility allocation among bureaucrats and their leeway for interpretation when new issues comes up continuously during the processes and affect the conditions for EPI. Furthermore, the dissertation gives insights on how acting “entrepreneurially” can enable an environmental issue to be included and given priority. This can also be a barrier if the ones acting entrepreneurially are not part of the entire process because the issue might receive less attention. In addition, if too much attention is given to one issue it might overshadow other environmental issues. Conversely, acting according to “the logic of appropriateness” can enable EPI by enhancing a more all-encompassing perspective on environmental considerations and also function as a cautious approach to radical change by preventing measures taken in absence of democratic legitimacy. By using the two theoretical perspectives, “entrepreneurial” and “appropriate” agency, this dissertation offers important insights into how different ways of acting interact and affect EPI and its outcome.
|
|
| 6. |
- Almén, Niclas, 1971-
(författare)
-
Intervening Stress Recovery Behaviors in Everyday Life
- 2022
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background. High levels of perceived stress and stress-related ill health, such as burnout, are common in many countries. Several theories postulate that stress behaviors promote adaption to environmental changes and if sustained they are potentially harmful for the body. In accordance, impaired stress recovery behaviors, i.e., psychophysiological deactivation after periods of stress behaviors, have been suggested to be a critical factor in explaining stress-related ill health. Whereas research shows that interventions targeting stress reactivity can have beneficial effects on stress-related variables, studies on interventions targeting stress recovery are surprisingly few. Also, the number of validated instruments for measuring behaviors important for stress recovery are few, in particular easily used self-rating scales. Aims. The primary aim of the thesis was to evaluate stress and health-related effects of an intervention targeting stress recovery behaviors in everyday life among people perceiving high levels of stress in life. A secondary aim was to validate a self-report scale measuring behaviors important for stress recovery in everyday life. Method. Three empirical studies were conducted to evaluate effects of the behavioral stress recovery intervention “balance in everyday life”, which solely aims at strengthening stress recovery behaviors in everyday life. First, a brief version of the intervention was investigated through a small pilot study in which a single-subject experimental design was used (study 1). After that, the intervention was exploratively tested in a group format in which a quasi-experimental design was used (study 2). Due to the positive results of these two studies, a larger scale study using a randomized controlled design was conducted in order to further investigate the effects of the intervention when delivered in a group format (study 3). To fulfill the secondary aim of the thesis, the Recovery Experience Questionnaire was translated into Swedish and analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (study 4). Results. In study 1, data demonstrated immediate reduction of stress symptoms as a function of the intervention. The improvements were maintained at 1-year and 5-year follow-up assessments. In study 2, in comparison with a waiting-list-control group, the intervention yielded statistically significant improvements between pre- and postintervention assessment on eleven out of twelve stress and health-related variables. Medium to large between-groups effect sizes were demonstrated for the primary outcome measures covering (potential) recovery behaviors, perceived stress and rest and experiences of being recovered. In the third study, statistically significant improvements for all outcome measures at postintervention assessment and at the 3-month follow-up were demonstrated. The between-groups effect sizes for the primary measures - perceived stress, tension, and burnout - were medium-to-high at postintervention assessment and at follow-up. In addition, in all studies the intervention was associated with beneficial changes in levels of anxiety and depression. In the last study, support was found for the proposed four-factor structure of the Swedish version of the Recovery Experience Questionnaire. Conclusions. The results clearly indicate that the intervention “balance in everyday life” improves stress and health-related factors in a relatively satisfactory way among people perceiving high levels of stress in life. The empirical support is strongest for the reduction in tension, perceived stress, burnout, anxiety and depression, and to deliver the intervention in a group format. The studies demonstrated results that warrant further investigation of the effects of “balance in everyday life”, for example in different contexts, and to study other behavioral recovery interventions. To test (potential) recovery facilitating behaviors as mediators of intervention effects, such as reduction in burnout, the Swedish version of the Recovery Experience Questionnaire could be used.
|
|
| 7. |
- Alqaysi, Hiba
(författare)
-
Cost Optimization of Volumetric Surveillance for Sky Monitoring : Towards Flying Object Detection and Positioning
- 2022
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Unlike surface surveillance, volumetric monitoring deals with three-dimensional target space and moving objects within it. In sky monitoring, objects fly within outdoor and often remote volumes, such as wind farms and airport runways. Therefore, multiple cameras should be implemented to monitor these volumes and analyze flying activities.Due to that, challenges in designing and deploying volumetric surveillance systems for these applications arise. These include configuring the multi-camera node placement, coverage, cost, and the system's ability to detect and position flying objects.The research in this dissertation focuses on three aspects to optimize volumetric surveillance systems in sky monitoring applications. First, the node placement and coverage should be considered in accordance with the monitoring constraints. Also, the node architecture should be configured to minimize the design cost and maximize the coverage. Last, the system should detect small flying objects with good accuracy.Placing the multi-camera nodes in a hexagonal pattern while allowing overlap between adjacent nodes optimizes the placement. The inclusion of monitoring constraints like monitoring altitude and detection pixel resolution influences the node design. Furthermore, presented results show that modeling the multi-camera nodes as a cylinder rather than a hemisphere minimizes the cost of each node. The design exploration in this thesis provides a method to minimize the node cost based on defined design constraints. It also maximizes the coverage in terms of the number of square meters per dollar. Surveillance systems for sky monitoring should be able to detect and position flying objects. Therefore, two new annotated datasets were introduced that can be used for developing in-flight birds detection methods. The datasets were collected by Mid Sweden University at two locations in Denmark. A YOLOv4-based model for birds detection in 4k grayscale videos captured in wind farms is developed. The model overcomes the problem of detecting small objects in dynamic background, and it improves detection accuracy through tiling and temporal information incorporation, compared to the standard YOLOv4 and background subtraction.
|
|
| 8. |
- An, Siwen
(författare)
-
Spectroscopic and Microscopic X-ray Fluorescence Analysis for Environmental and Industrial Applications
- 2022
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Heavy metals are well-known environmental pollutants due to its potential impact on associated ecosystems and human health. Thus, it is important to monitor the levels of heavy metals in the environment. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis is a powerful and effective screening tool in measuring the concentration of multi-elements simultaneously.This thesis provides insight into development and implementation of XRF instruments for environmental monitoring and industrial process control. The XRF method was compared with a commercial scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) for fly ash samples. Qualitative analysis and semi-quantitative analysis of Na, S, Cl, K and Cd in incineration fly ash were performed with these two similar techniques. One of the challenges of using XRF is the scattering background noise from the primary beam, which decreases the detection limit and the sensitivity of the measurement system. Hence, an X-ray beam filter was chosen to suppress the background noise for a specific element, Cr, in leachate. Numerical simulations and experiments were developed to find the proper filter material and thickness by calculating the X-ray fluorescence intensities and the signal-to-noise ratio. The developed system is capable of online monitoring of Cr levels, to certify that the concentration is below the threshold level in leachate. An XRF prototype was built and calibrated for underwater Hg analysis in maritime wet sediment using a radioisotope source. The presented results show that it is possible to detect Hg by K-shell emission thus enabling XRF analysis for sediment underwater.For non-homogeneous samples, an image revealing the elemental distribution can be achieved by micro-XRF (µ-XRF). XRF mapping of element distributions on a microscopic level was obtained by using scanning XRF microscopy and full-field XRF projection microscopy (FF-XRF). The spatial resolution of the scanning XRF imaging setup using an X-ray tube is in the order of 100 µm, but need to be further improved to measure the homogeneity of S on individual fiber level in pulp and paper industry. For the scanning technique, it is a tradeoff between resolution and measurement time. Another technique is FF-XRF imaging, and a setup was implemented using an energy resolving pixel detector and X-ray optics. The capabilities and limitations of using X-ray optics in XRF imaging systems have been identified. These microscopy measurements can guide further comprehensive environmental and industrial monitoring missions, utilizing elemental distribution information.
|
|
| 9. |
- Aranda, Jesus Javier Lechuga
(författare)
-
Towards Self-Powered Devices Via Pressure Fluctuation Energy Harvesters
- 2021
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The growing interest in the Internet of Things has created a need for wireless sensing systems for industrial and consumer applications. In hydraulic systems, a widely used method of power transmission in industry, wireless condition monitoring can lead to reduced maintenance costs and increase the capacity for sensor deployment. A major problem with the adoption of wireless sensors is the battery dependence of current technologies. Energy harvesting from pressure fluctuations in hydraulic systems can serve as an alternative power supply and enable self-powered devices. Energy harvesting from pressure fluctuations is the process of converting small pressure fluctuations in hydraulic fluid into a regulated energy supply to power low power electronics. Previous studies have shown the feasibility of pressure fluctuation harvesting. However, for the development of self-powered sensor systems, the methods and techniques for converting pressure fluctuations into electrical energy should be further investigated.This thesis explores the methods, limitations, opportunities and trade-offs involved in the development of pressure fluctuation energy harvesters in the context of self-powered wireless devices. The focus is on exploring and characterizing the various mechanisms required to convert pressure fluctuations into electrical energy. In this work, an energy harvesting device consisting of a fluid-to-mechanical interface, an acoustic resonator, a piezoelectric stack, and an interface circuit is proposed and evaluated. Simulations and experimental analysis were used to analyse these different components for excitation relevant to hydraulic motors.The results of this work provide new insights into the development of power supplies for self-powered sensors for hydraulic systems using pressure fluctuation energy harvesters. It is shown that with the introduction of the space coiling resonator for pressure fluctuation amplification and a detailed analysis of the fluid interface and power conditioning circuits, the understanding of the design and optimization of efficient pressure fluctuation energy harvesters is further advanced.
|
|
| 10. |
- Bakar, Muhammad Abu, 1969-
(författare)
-
Wide Range Isolated Power Converters
- 2020
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Power electronics technology is rapidly growing in most industrialapplications. There is an increasing demand for efficient and low profilepower converters in the industry like automotive, power grids, renewableenergy systems, electric rail systems, home appliances, and informationtechnology. In some applications, there is an increasing demand for powerconverters showing a stable performance over a wide variation in inputvoltage, whereas in others the demand is for converters showing a stableperformance over a wide variation of output voltage. In this regard, not somuch work has been done to combine both requirements into one solution;this is the primary focus of the dissertation. It presents a unique solution tothe industry, which addresses both requirements. The technique can beapplied in a one size fits all solution which not only extends the range of theline voltage and the output voltage but also provides the flexibility to adjustthe required set of line/output voltage. The variation in line voltage severelydegrades the performance of power converters because of the extendedfreewheeling interval, more circulating current, narrow range of zero voltageswitching and increased EMI. To overcome this, the converter consists of tworeconfigurable modes on the input side that can be configured following thevariation in line voltage to maintain a stable performance. In addition, itproposes three reconfigurable steps for the output voltage, which can be usedto adjust the output voltage from base level X to 2X and 4X in discrete stepsand/or from X - 4X volt while showing stable performance. This makes theproposal a 2x3 reconfigurable modes power converter, which means that thegain of the proposed converter can be raised to 4 or 8. Furthermore, theflexibility in the reconfigurable structure simplifies the implementation of theproposed single solution in a range of applications. Each concept proposed inthe thesis is verified analytically, experimentally and modelling it into aSPICE simulation. Then the whole concept is confined into a single entity,which is applied in an example application of a phase shifted full bridgeconverter. The full converter is characterized for input voltage 100-400Vdc, theoutput voltage 24-96Vdc, and up to the load power of 1kW.
|
|
| 11. |
- Balliu, Enkeleda, PhD student
(författare)
-
Power Scaling of Highly Compact Single-Frequency Yb-Doped Fiber Amplifiers
- 2022
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Both scientific interests and industrial applications have stimulated the advance of single-frequency laser technology. The high spatial and temporal coherence of this technology has facilitated many applications such as gravitational wave detection, high-precision fiber sensors, high-resolution spectroscopy, holography, and nonlinear optical conversion. However, this is currently achieved through large footprint lasers with limited portability and mobility. Therefore, there is a need to reduce the size of these lasers into a compact format. Power performance of hundreds of watts in the near-infrared spectrum and tens of watts in the visible and UV spectra for continuous (CW) operation mode and pulse energies up to several tens of mJ in pulsed operation mode are needed. An amplification structure for single-frequency lasers that meets these requirements is the master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA). However, compactness imposes several constraints on the MOPA design. The main challenge is the limited output power of the single-frequency fiber MOPA due to the onset of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in the amplifier fiber. SBS arises from the interaction of acoustic phonons with the propagating signal wave and is converted into a frequency-shifted, backward-propagating wave. SBS is manifested through high-intensity pulses propagating in the backward direction, which can be very harmful for optical components and the seed laser itself. Hence, the suppression of SBS is crucial to the power optimization of the MOPA. This thesis therefore focuses on investigating different SBS suppression techniques that fit a compact MOPA design. More specifically, this is implemented by studying the efficiency of the strain distribution technique applied to the amplifier fiber and the use of custom and commercial highly Yb- doped fibers both in CW and pulse operating MOPAs. Using highly Yb-doped fibers presents challenges with respect to the composition of the fiber material and in high- power operation that can have undesirable degradational effects, such as photodarkening and thermal load generation, and these have been investigated and discussed in this thesis. As a result of the different mitigation approaches, output power approaching 100 W in CW mode operation and pulse energies near mJ in pulse mode operation are demonstrated in only one amplification stage, showing the feasibility of a MOPA design with high performance and a small footprint. This may facilitate many applications in the visible and UV spectral ranges that require mobility and portability.
|
|
| 12. |
- Bellman, Lina
(författare)
-
In the mind of the property appraiser : Studies of commercial property valuation
- 2022
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A transparent market provides participants with as much information as possible. In Sweden, where the environment of commercial properties is highly transparent various actors still need to minimise some continuing information asymmetry, and one possibility is to hire property appraisers.Transparent commercial property markets are often regulated by governments and professional institutions. The combination of regulation and socialisation through memberships in professional associations and shared educational backgrounds, training, work experience, and institutional frameworks serve to produce and reproduce professional values and identities. The overall aim of this thesis is to describe and analyse the Swedish profession of property appraisers as expressed through members’ perceptions and use of various standards and methods, ways of gathering information gathering, assessments of value-influencing factors, and their confidence in their own assessments when valuing commercial properties.The repertory grid technique was used to collect and analyse empirical data and to map the thought patterns of respondents in two main samples. The repertory grid interviews in 2010/2011 included about half of the appraisers in Sweden (67 of 138), and in 2015 just over half (81 of 145).This thesis concludes that Swedish authorised property appraisers use country dependent valuation standards and methods, but there are signs of their increased adoption internationally. Swedish appraisers gather and assess information in a similar way. Their aggregated thought patterns demonstrate relatively strong homogeneity and moderate complexity. However, the findings also reveal that appraisers’ thought patterns differ depending on the university from which they graduated. The appraisers graduated from the highest ranked university simplify their valuation judgements more than do other appraisers.During the valuation process, property appraisers gather and assess a large amount of information considered relevant for estimations of a property object’s market value. Four types of information (local environment, location, rental income, and discount rate) seem to have the greatest impact on the estimated market value. The appraisers further perceive that these information types is common in that the decisions in the information gathering stage is critical to the entire valuation process when using clients as information sources. This seems to affect their perceived confidence at the assessment stage and, in turn, the final estimated market value. In situations where the appraisers have low confidence, they are left dependent on the clients, which risks reducing their independence.
|
|
| 13. |
- Bergstrand, Ulrika
(författare)
-
Styrning och re-kontextualisering av värden i utbildningspolicy på nationell och lokal nivå
- 2022
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this study, governing as re-contextualization of values in Swedish educational policy has been described and analyzed. Two levels have been central to the study: the national level, in the form of the Swedish Schools Inspectorate's (SSI) survey to school personnel, and the municipal level, examined by interviews with superintendents in sparsely populated and rural areas. Three qualitative content analyses were performed, in two of which Rokeach’s theory of values as desirable actions and goals was used. The results presented that the dominant policy goal and the value expressed was that schools should promote students' knowledge, which is in line with the values underlying the PISA survey. The SSI survey expressed that schools should be quality assured to enhance students' knowledge development. Desirable actions to achieve this were: the principals evaluating, the teachers adapting to individual students, strengthening an environment conducive to learning with codes of conduct, and the guardians being informed about their children’s development. However, the superintendents expressed a lack of competence and qualified teachers for equivalent assessments, a need to upskill teachers, and that the information to the guardians did not always reach them. The study also showed an expressed value to include all students in teaching, which is in line with the values underlying the Salamanca statement. The SSI survey expressed this value as the students' participation in individualized teaching, an increased efficiency in special support, a socialization through codes of conduct, and that the students should know their rights. The superintendents expressed this value as motivating students, particularly boys, to study, adapting education for students in need of special support, preventing violations of newcomers, addressing girls' mental health, and the strengthening of democratic attitudes. In summary, the study shows that the values at the national level promoted increased individual rights, while at the local level, the values were expressed as a need to increase democratic values. Nonetheless, the values underlying the education of democratic citizens in sparsely populated and rural areas cannot be considered a closed chapter, even though policies at the national level continue to emphasize the values of promoting students' development of knowledge and their individual rights.
|
|
| 14. |
- Björk, Annette
(författare)
-
Stödjande gemenskap : Utveckling och utvärdering av en intervention för livsstilsförändring bland vuxna med adhd
- 2020
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The entire project revolves around a lifestyle intervention that has been developed, implemented and evaluated. The intervention included adults with ADHD and comorbid mental illness. ADHD (Attention Deficiency Hyperactive Disorder) is a neuropsychiatric diagnosis/disability characterized by attention problems, impulsivity and hyperactivity and can affect education, working life, social relationships and form the basis for impaired lifestyle habits. Previous research shows shortened life expectancy in adults with ADHD, which related to deteriorating lifestyle habits. In the long run, the disability may be the basis for impaired living conditions and lifestyle habits and contribute to the individual's well-being and quality of life. In the field of health sciences, it is important to alleviate suffering, promote health and prevent ill health. Thus, the overall aim of this dissertation is to analyze living conditions among people with ADHD and mental illness, as well as to develop and evaluate a lifestyle intervention for this group.The PhD project includes four sub-studies: Study I, a qualitative interview study (n = 20) of adults with ADHD and mental illness, aimed at describing experiences of everyday suffering in this group. The analysis showed experiences of both suffering and well-being in living with ADHD. The focus of the suffering was the experience of loneliness, both regarding relationships in life, relationships in health care, but also to ADHD diagnosis and mental illness. Well-being was experienced when diagnosed with ADHD but also in relation to supportive social relationships. Study II, a quantitative descriptive and comparative study, aimed to gain more knowledge about people withADHD and their health situation. One group of people with ADHD (n = 48)was compared to the normal population without ADHD (n = 42). The results showed poorer health outcomes regarding self-perceived general health and the group with ADHD was less weekly physical active but nevertheless had no decreased aerobic fitness compared to the normal population. Study III, aquantitative descriptive study (n = 25), aimed to examine the degree of acceptance of the intervention and its impact on lifestyle habits, health and well-being, MBI and physical fitness. The tests before and after completing intervention showed small positive effects regarding weekly physical activity, quality of life and general- and mental health. Study IV, a qualitative study(n = 15), with adults with ADHD and comorbid mental illness aimed to investigate the experience of participating in a nurse-led lifestyle intervention. The analysis, based on material from interviews, showed that the participants perceived the intervention as supportive, which is related to the interpersonal relationships that arose in the intervention. Through supportive kindship with the other participants in the intervention, lifestyle habits and health experience were improved.The conclusion of the thesis is that the lifestyle intervention, based on interpersonal relationships and supported kindship, can be useful for making lifestyle changes in adults with ADHD and mental illness. Such support is important because adults with ADHD and mental illness experience a lack of and a desire for social support and has an increased risk of deteriorating health and unhealthy lifestyles. However, future adjustments to the content of the intervention must be made to improve the lifestyle intervention towards more sustainable lifestyle changes. Above all, the lifestyle intervention ought to be continuous. It is also of great importance for further research that insider perspective is used, that is, investigate the professionals' experiences regarding the intervention.
|
|
| 15. |
- Conti, Eugenio, 1987-
(författare)
-
Digital technocultures in Nature-based tourism
- 2023
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis investigates the influences of digital technologies on nature-based tourism (NBT) experiences. I acknowledge that the holistic digitalization of human lives increasingly impacts nature-based tourism. Particularly, I argue that it impacts tourists’ experiential valuation of nature, as well as tourists themselves as experiencers of nature in NBT in ways that need to be further understood.Following contemporary consumer-dominant perspectives on tourism experiences, I argue that tourists’ multi-dimensional valuation of experiences depends greatly on ex-situ factors that exist outside service encounters in NBT and within digitally networked lifeworld experienced by tourists, which informs how they value themselves and what they experience. However, such lifeworlds are poorly acknowledged in research on NBT experiences. Building on consumer culture theory, I argue that NBT tourists are cultural agents, and their NBT experiences are highly affected by how their lifeworlds are ingrained in marketplace cultures that discipline what is valuable and experienced in NBT. Such marketplace cultures, which are becoming increasingly digital and technological, can be conceptualized as digital technocultures. More than simply enhancing experiences, as extant literature suggests, digital technology provides lifestyle scripts, ideologies, identity myths, symbolic universes, and stories associated with the everyday, tourism, and consumption of nature. The latter are powerful actors in shaping consumers’ meaning making, sensescapes, emotions, behaviors, and ultimately experience valuations of nature in NBT. Across the four papers and the additional discussion that compose it, this thesis investigates how digital technocultures shape the identity of tourist experiencers in NBT and how they impact the valuation of nature in NBT. The thesis adopts a mix of novel, in-depth, thick, and interpretive methodologies to gain such knowledge. Findings offer thick consumer knowledge and a high-level consumer insight into NBT tourists. In digital technocultures, NBT tourists and their experiences of nature are contested among different digital and disconnected selves. Tourists appropriate digital technocultures and NBT according to identity projects that aim to assemble valued digital “experiencers” and at taking part in valued in e-tribes reflecting them in one’s lifeworld. At the same time, tourists negotiate digital technocultures disciplining their lifeworlds in order to build a valued escapist, liberated and disconnected Self in nature. Moreover, digital technocultures discipline, abstract, and extremify specific aspects of nature. These are sought, desired, imagined, and experienced as digital hyperrealities in NBT. This thesis explores the implications of digital technocultures of experience for NBT, which have so far been insufficiently acknowledged.
|
|
| 16. |
- Dahlström, Helene
(författare)
-
Förutsättningar för elevers textskapande : En studie om digitala resurser, multimodalitet och elevers handlingsmöjligheter
- 2020
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Modern society is characterised by change. Humans’ ways of communicating have changed in many ways due to society’s social, linguistic, cultural and textual plurality. The digitalisation of society has contributed considerably to the changed conditions for communication and representation that have emerged. Given these new conditions, it is crucial to increase the body of knowledge about how digital resources shape possibilities for students’ participation in text activities in school. The purpose of this thesis was to increase the understanding about the role of digital resources for middle school students' meaning-making as they create text in school. The theoretical point of departures includes multimodal social semiotics and multiliteracies. The participants included 111 Swedish middle school students. A multiple methods design was used in this thesis and included multimodal text analysis, interviews, a survey and multimodal analysis of video observations. Four studies were conducted. Overall, the results of the thesis indicated that the use of digital resources enabled students to create texts on more equal terms an dactively participate in writing activities. When designing texts with access to multiple modes, students used digital resources and various modes in diverse ways. Some students chose to use only writing, whereas others utilised the whole range of available resources. Students appeared to choose modes based on previous experiences and modal preferences. The availability of multiple modes during the digital text design process could mean that some students’ text design experiences in the home environment were recognised in the school context. For a few students, the allowances offered by digital and modal resources enabled them to actually create stories, which was rather difficult when using the mode of writing alone. An analysis of the content of students’ texts indicated that many students were influenced by the popular culture texts that they engaged with in informal settings. The pedagogical implications for literacy practices include and recognising students’ experiences from engaging with texts in informal settings, whether popular or not, in the classroom environment to connect students’ life and classroom experiences. This form of education is built on plurality and students’ resources.
|
|
| 17. |
- Danielsson, Tatiana
(författare)
-
Further Investigations of Convergence Results for Homogenization Problems with Various Combinations of Scales
- 2020
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis is based on six papers. We study the homogenization of selected parabolic problems with one or more microscopic scales in space and time, respectively. The approaches are prepared by means of certain methods, like two-scale convergence, multiscale convergence and also the evolution setting of multiscale convergence and very weak multiscale convergence. Paper I treats a linear parabolic homogenization problem with rapid spatial and temporal oscillations in perforated domains. Suitable results of two-scale convergence type are established. Paper II deals with further development of compactness results which can be used in the homogenization procedure engaging a certain limit condition. The homogenization procedure deals with a parabolic problem with a certain matching between a fast spatial and a fast temporal scale and a coefficient passing to zero that the time derivative is multiplied with. Papers III and IV are further generalizations of Paper II and investigate homogenization problems with different types of matching between the microscopic scales. Papers III and IV deal with one and two rapid scales in both space and time respectively. Paper V treats the nonlinearity of monotone parabolic problems with an arbitrary number of spatial and temporal scales by applying the perturbed test functions method together with multiscale convergence and very weak multiscale convergence adapted to the evolution setting. In Paper VI we discuss the relation between two-scale convergence and the unfolding method and potential extensions of existing results. The papers above are summarized in Chapter 4. Chapter 1 gives a brief introduction to the topic and Chapters 2 and 3 are surveys over some important previous results.
|
|
| 18. |
- Dima, Elijs, 1990-
(författare)
-
Augmented Telepresence based on Multi-Camera Systems : Capture, Transmission, Rendering, and User Experience
- 2021
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Observation and understanding of the world through digital sensors is an ever-increasing part of modern life. Systems of multiple sensors acting together have far-reaching applications in automation, entertainment, surveillance, remote machine control, and robotic self-navigation. Recent developments in digital camera, range sensor and immersive display technologies enable the combination of augmented reality and telepresence into Augmented Telepresence, which promises to enable more effective and immersive forms of interaction with remote environments.The purpose of this work is to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how multi-sensor systems lead to Augmented Telepresence, and how Augmented Telepresence can be utilized for industry-related applications. On the one hand, the conducted research is focused on the technological aspects of multi-camera capture, rendering, and end-to-end systems that enable Augmented Telepresence. On the other hand, the research also considers the user experience aspects of Augmented Telepresence, to obtain a more comprehensive perspective on the application and design of Augmented Telepresence solutions.This work addresses multi-sensor system design for Augmented Telepresence regarding four specific aspects ranging from sensor setup for effective capture to the rendering of outputs for Augmented Telepresence. More specifically, the following problems are investigated: 1) whether multi-camera calibration methods can reliably estimate the true camera parameters; 2) what the consequences are of synchronization errors in a multi-camera system; 3) how to design a scalable multi-camera system for low-latency, real-time applications; and 4) how to enable Augmented Telepresence from multi-sensor systems for mining, without prior data capture or conditioning. The first problem was solved by conducting a comparative assessment of widely available multi-camera calibration methods. A special dataset was recorded, enforcing known constraints on camera ground-truth parameters to use as a reference for calibration estimates. The second problem was addressed by introducing a depth uncertainty model that links the pinhole camera model and synchronization error to the geometric error in the 3D projections of recorded data. The third problem was addressed empirically - by constructing a multi-camera system based on off-the-shelf hardware and a modular software framework. The fourth problem was addressed by proposing a processing pipeline of an augmented remote operation system for augmented and novel view rendering.The calibration assessment revealed that target-based and certain target-less calibration methods are relatively similar in their estimations of the true camera parameters, with one specific exception. For high-accuracy scenarios, even commonly used target-based calibration approaches are not sufficiently accurate with respect to the ground truth. The proposed depth uncertainty model was used to show that converged multi-camera arrays are less sensitive to synchronization errors. The mean depth uncertainty of a camera system correlates to the rendered result in depth-based reprojection as long as the camera calibration matrices are accurate. The presented multi-camera system demonstrates a flexible, de-centralized framework where data processing is possible in the camera, in the cloud, and on the data consumer's side. The multi-camera system is able to act as a capture testbed and as a component in end-to-end communication systems, because of the general-purpose computing and network connectivity support coupled with a segmented software framework. This system forms the foundation for the augmented remote operation system, which demonstrates the feasibility of real-time view generation by employing on-the-fly lidar de-noising and sparse depth upscaling for novel and augmented view synthesis.In addition to the aforementioned technical investigations, this work also addresses the user experience impacts of Augmented Telepresence. The following two questions were investigated: 1) What is the impact of camera-based viewing position in Augmented Telepresence? 2) What is the impact of depth-aiding augmentations in Augmented Telepresence? Both are addressed through a quality of experience study with non-expert participants, using a custom Augmented Telepresence test system for a task-based experiment. The experiment design combines in-view augmentation, camera view selection, and stereoscopic augmented scene presentation via a head-mounted display to investigate both the independent factors and their joint interaction.The results indicate that between the two factors, view position has a stronger influence on user experience. Task performance and quality of experience were significantly decreased by viewing positions that force users to rely on stereoscopic depth perception. However, position-assisting view augmentations can mitigate the negative effect of sub-optimal viewing positions; the extent of such mitigation is subject to the augmentation design and appearance.In aggregate, the works presented in this dissertation cover a broad view of Augmented Telepresence. The individual solutions contribute general insights into Augmented Telepresence system design, complement gaps in the current discourse of specific areas, and provide tools for solving challenges found in enabling the capture, processing, and rendering in real-time-oriented end-to-end systems.
|
|
| 19. |
- Ehrhart, Anna
(författare)
-
Between Strategic Political Power and a Daunting Task : Exploring Dimensions of Women’s Political Participation in Hybrid Regimes
- 2023
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Hybrid regimes combine elements of both democratic and authoritarian governance, with potentially flawed democratic processes, suppressed civil liberties and uneven political playing fields. Increasingly, scholarship signals the longevity and resilience of hybrid regimes, especially within broader discourses on rising authoritarianism and democratic decline around the world. The lack of gender perspectives in hybrid regimes research is notable. This oversight largely neglects women's roles and their impact in such regimes and fails to focus on the potential implications these regimes may have on women's opportunities for effective participation. However, recent research has increasingly highlighted the gendered aspects of policymaking in hybrid regimes, such as shrinking and changing civic space and democratic backsliding. Moreover, women also face challenges in hybrid regimes that are tied to contested norms and less access to important social networks.This dissertation explores women's political participation (WPP) in hybrid regimes. It proposes a framework that conceptualizes WPP as occurring in two interconnected dimensions, civil society and formal political institutions. Therefore, it draws on three previous and emerging research fields: feminist institutionalism (FI), women's organizing research, and gender and democratization research. Each of these perspectives solely and taken together provide entry points to conceptualize the mechanisms that illustrate how women participate in and across both dimensions – despite and because of the challenges to WPP experienced in hybrid regimes. The dissertation asks the following research questions: first, what is the association between women's political participation in formal institutions such as parliaments and civil society across different hybrid regimes and over time? Second, what opportunities for political participation in formal political institutions and civil society do women perceive in hybrid regimes? Finally, what obstacles to their political participation in formal political institutions and civil society do women experience in hybrid regimes? In this article-based dissertation, a mixed-methods approach is employed to study the dimensions of WPP, combining a quantitative study of hybrid regimes over time with three qualitative studies focused on the empirical case of contemporary Turkey. Turkey is a typical example of a hybrid regime with both democratic and authoritarian characteristics, and the incumbent government's strategic targeting of gender politics and its actors makes Turkey a significant case to better explore challenges and opportunities for women's political participation in hybrid regimes. The dissertation's findings suggest three main aspects of women's political participation and political influence in hybrid regimes. First, exploring women's political participation across civil society and formal political institutions illustrates the interlinked nature of both dimensions and the relevance of these linkages for women's opportunities to participate in hybrid regimes. Second, hybrid regimes pose complex contexts for women's political participation, where opportunities to exert influence may change but where incumbent government actors retreat to different strategies targeting women and (anti-) gender equality claims. Hence, women's political participation across both dimensions must be dynamic to adapt and resist such changing circumstances. Last, the dissertation illustrates the importance of exploring how informal structures, such as norms or gendered practices, interfere with women's political participation in hybrid regimes. In sum, the dissertation advances gender perspectives in hybrid regime research and illustrates insights from the Turkish case that are relevant for other regime settings.
|
|
| 20. |
- Eivergård, Kristina
(författare)
-
Språkets makt : en studie av vårdpersonals tal om psykiatriska patienter och brukare
- 2020
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The purpose of this dissertation was to critically examine, based on three selected psychiatric care environments, how healthcare staff talk about patients and users with a focus on how notions of gender are produced and reproduced during rounds and in reportings.Reportings and rounds are daily activities in almost all healthcare practices. It takes place three to four times a day and is ideally aimed at creating continuity and alignment in the care. In psychiatric contexts, the reportings and rounds constitute important tools in assessing which approach and treatment are most appropriate. Studies on verbal reporting have mainly been carried out in somatic care and have been focused on the reportings’ content, type, cost and time required. Research also suggests that healthcare staff find it difficult to move away from a strictly medical perspective and that reporting and rounds take place in a ritualized way where the staff are socialized into what is valid information to pass on. The reportings can also serve as a way for healthcare staff to support each other in their work. The research also applies in psychiatric care contexts where different power structures also become apparent in the use of language. However, how psychiatric care staff talk about patients and users in reportings and on rounds based from a gender perspective has not been studied to any great extent.The dissertation is based on four sub-studies, all with qualitative research design. The empirical material in all sub-studies consisted of sound recordings from rounds and reports in three different psychiatric care contexts; general psychiatry, forensic psychiatry and municipal psychiatry. In sub-study I and II, content analysis was employed and in sub-study III and IV, discourse analysis was employed. Sub-study I showed how the healthcare staff used everyday words and concepts in both reports as in the rounds. The words and concepts formed the basis for assessing the patient's behaviour and mental condition and decisions about nursing and treatment. Sub-study II showed that the language discourse of the healthcare staff reproduced a gender order in which the female patients were expected to behave according to feminine norms in order to be acceptable as women and, as patients. In sub-study III, the statements studied showed a family oriented caring practice and how power techniques in terms of discursive norms around masculinity contributed to the subordination of men cared for in. The results also revealed how the healthcare staff reproduced a heteronormativity gender order through the language used. In sub-study IV, the statements showed a discourse of care where various techniques of power such as intimacy and confession were used to persuade the users to behave according to feminine or masculine norms. The statements also showed a heteronormative and heterosexual order in which the paradox between the need for support and maintaining one's dignity was clarified.The conclusion of the sub-studies together was that the reports and rounds was a scene for which everyday words and concepts were used to describe and assess patients and users. These everyday words and concepts reproduced power orders in which different disciplining power techniques were displayed. The language also reproduced a heteronormative gender order in which notions of femininity and masculinity participated in the assessments of patients and users´ mental states. Because the patients were not involved in the conversations about themselves, healthcare staff were given the possibility to describe and position the patients and users in ways that they themselves were not aware of. In order to create opportunities to break with stereotypical gender patterns as well as patterns of dominance and subordination in psychiatric nursing and care, students, as well as healthcare staff, should work with awareness and critical reflection on discursive norms and how language constructs the patient and user.
|
|
| 21. |
- Ekdahl, Ann
(författare)
-
Women’s experiences of living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease stage III or IV and the experiences of their close relatives
- 2023
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This doctoral thesis is in nursing and the overall aim was to explore, describe, and generate knowledge about women’s experiences of living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) stages III or IV, and about the experiences of their close relatives. Living with a serious long-term illness such as COPD profoundly affects a person’s everyday life and thereby their health and well-being. Data have been collected through qualitative individual interviews (I, IV) and narrative interviews (II, III). The interviews have been analyzed via qualitative content analysis (I, IV) and phenomenological hermeneutical interpretation (II, III). The findings show that women with COPD stage III or IV and their close relatives experienced both suffering and moments of health during their everyday lives (I–IV), despite the unpredictability of their severe illness and their ever-present breathlessness (I). Women were the experts of their own illness, managing their everyday lives to enable moments of feeling well (II). In addition, being seen as diagnosis rather than as a person made the women feel ignored by healthcare personnel which influenced their health and well-being in negative way (III). Close relatives experienced difficulties in fully understanding the women’s struggle of living with COPD. In efforts to comprehend their ill health and stress, they must contend with a lack of tailored information and uncertainty while providing practical and emotional support (IV). The findings in this doctoral thesis show that women with COPD stages III or IV were living with an unpredictable ever-present breathlessness that causes suffering in their everyday lives. Despite this woman experienced moments of feeling well. Meanings of healthcare encounters for women with COPD stage III or IV showed that women wished to be seen as a person and not as a diagnosis. Feeling disrespected and unjust leaves women unsupported and could mean serious health risks. Close relatives asked for tailormade information and knowledge to further understand women’s ill health.
|
|
| 22. |
- Ekholm, Sara
(författare)
-
Föräldraskap och klimatoro – betydelsen av omsorg
- 2023
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of the thesis is to study the relationships between parenthood, care and worry about the consequences of climate change and how these relate to climate behaviour. The thesis is based on the argument that care affect the degree of worry for the person to whom the care is directed and that the social context surrounding the individual has an influence on their experiences and worries about risks, in this case climate risks. In relation to climate change worry, it addresses differences in care practice between parents and people who are not parents, and between mothers and fathers. Time and practice with caring responsibilities may differ between these groups and may therefore also relate to levels of worry. Care practice can thus be one of several aspects that can be significant for climate change worry. Four studies have jointly addressed the overall purpose of the thesis and a ‘mixed methods’ approach has been used where quantitative and qualitative methods have been combined. The studies have thus complemented each other through four different sets of empirical material: three sets of quantitative survey data with random samples and one set of qualitative interview data. The empirical context of the survey studies includes a regional and a national survey in Sweden and a European survey. The qualitative material is based on interviews with respondents from several regions in Sweden that are vulnerable to climate change. The results of the thesis as a whole show a recurring pattern, in a Swedish context, regarding the relationship between parenthood and worry about the consequences of climate change. They show that parents in general are more worried about climate change than people who are not parents (Articles 1, 2 and 3). So, this pattern is reflected in the three independent surveys mentioned above, conducted at different times over a six-year period. The results also show that women are generally more worried than men are about the consequences of climate change. Fathers, on the other hand, are significantly more likely to experience climate change worry than men who are not fathers, a difference that is not evident between mothers and women who are not mothers (Articles 2 and 3). One of the studies (Article 3) examine whether the role of parenthood, as well as the role of mothers and fathers, differs between three care regimes (Orloff, 2002), in relation to climate change worry. Regimes here refer to normative and regulatory systems that are not reduced to individual institutions in society (Hood, Rothstein & Baldwin, 2001). It is only in the care regime prevailing in Sweden that parenthood reveals a significantly greater degree of climate change worry, both between parents and people who are not parents and between fathers and men who are not fathers. One possible explanation for this may be the nature of care regimes and how they relate to the individual, including the regulation of care time structures for both men and women through parental insurance. The fact that climate change worry increases for men who become fathers may be about the development of “caring masculinities” (Elliot, 2016) that relate to men’s emotional experiences such as worry, here through their spending time with their children. This seems to be particularly evident for men who become fathers in contexts where men are given more time for care practice, as shown in the Swedish context. Parents’ worry about the impact of climate change thus appears to be linked to care practice. A term for this kind of worry is referred to in the thesis as care-worry (Article 4) and includes a worry rooted in caring for and having a responsible attitude towards other people, both towards the specific child being cared for, and a concern for people in general and for future generations. This is supported by van Manen’s (2002) argument that worry is part of caring. People’s care-worry is also shaped by the specific context of discourses about caring, worry and risk (see Lupton, 2013; see also Giritli Nygren, Olofsson & Öhman, 2020). Based on parents’ experiences of climate change, the concept of care-worry has been empirically explored (Article 4) and reveals four ideal types that can illustrate parental care-worry in different ways. These are the worrying type, the trusting type, the calculating type and the security-seeking type. Differences between the ideal types are evident in the degree of worry, sense of uncertainty about the future and desire for control or security, with the common link of taking responsibility for the climate situation. Parents’ different types of climate behaviour can also be related to their type of care-worry. The worrying type talks about the climate situation with others, while the trusting type cares about sustainable consumption and is confident that global climate action will solve the climate situation. The calculating type focuses primarily on a climate-mitigating approach, such as reduced energy consumption, and the security-seeking type on a lifestyle adapted to the climate by means of such things as sustainable housing. Parents’ care-worry thus seems to relate to practical action with climate behaviour that takes personal responsibility for limiting the impact of climate change on future generations. The overall conclusions and contributions of the thesis are thus essentially that parenthood is significant for worry about climate change in the Swedish care regime, i.e. that parents have greater climate change worry than those who are not parents. It is also the case that in Sweden fathers’ climate change worry is greater than that of men who are not fathers, a difference that does not appear in women who become mothers. Caring for children can thus increase worry about the consequences of climate change, i.e. parents experience care-worry in relation to future climate risks that their children and other people may face. A further conclusion is that care-worry can also be a motivating aspect to act on climate change by limiting one’s climate impact for the sake of future generations.
|
|
| 23. |
- Eriksson, Lina J. K.
(författare)
-
An Exploration of the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), Response Inhibition, and Possible Implications in Sports
- 2021
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Large parts of human behaviors are oriented towards achieving a particular goal. Motivational factors in the form of approach and avoidance motivated behavior and executive functions (EFs) such as inhibition are central for goal-directed behavior. There are individual differences in the inhibition of prepotent behavior and the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) can be viewed as a neuropsychological system that has been proposed to be a personality trait that explains those individual differences. Inhibition is an EF that is involved in the control of impulses and enable us to choose how to react and behave. Sport is a context in which the cognitive demands can be high and there is a growing body of research trying to pinpoint the cognitive mechanisms behind superior athletic performance. Response inhibition is suggested to be one of the mechanisms that is of importance for performance in sport.The general aim of this thesis was to explore the BIS, response inhibition and the possible implications in sports. A theoretical framework of approach and avoidance motivation, the revised RST (Gray & McNaughton, 2000; McNaughton & Corr, 2004) was combined with a paradigm for assessment of response inhibition; the stop-signal paradigm (Logan & Cowan, 1984). In addition, different instruments for assessment of the BIS was investigated and designs of the stop-signal task for assessment of response inhibition was used. Study I and III aimed to examine the relationship between response inhibition and the BIS. Study I used a sample of non-athletes and Study III used a sample of non-athletes, and athletes from two different interceptive sports, biathlon and alpine skiing. The aim of Study II was to test the factor structure of a Swedish version of the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST – PQ; Corr & Cooper, 2016). The results from Study I indicated that when the ability to inhibit prepotent response and behavioral precision (i.e., accuracy) is central for task performance, higher levels of BIS could be a vulnerability factor when the individual’s inhibitory ability simultaneously is poor. Due to ceiling effects in the variable accuracy, this was not possible to replicate in Study III. The results in Study II suggest that the RST-PQ has considerable promise since it, for example, provides an opportunity to distinguish between the individual differences between fear and anxiety, although there were issues concerning the convergent validity. Study III showed that athletes with experience in interceptive sports do not outperform non-athletes on response inhibition. The implications of these results are that it is possible that other aspects than being an athlete or non-xathlete need to be considered and that individual differences in the BIS could be one of these aspects.Taken together, results from these three studies indicated that that it is possible to combine a theoretical framework of approach and avoidance motivation and a paradigm for the assessment of response inhibition, the stop-signal paradigm, with the purpose of exploring the BIS, response inhibition and possible implications in sport. It has also showed the complexity with using self-report instruments for assessment of neuropsychological systems that, in theory, underlies personality and the difficulties with using SSTs for assessment of an estimated measure (i.e., SSRT) of response inhibition. By exploring the BIS and response inhibition, this thesis offers an approach to view sport expertise and show the value of focusing on individual differences in the personality trait BIS since, at least theoretically, the BIS has the potential to serve as an explanation for variations in response inhibition and the possible association with behavioral precision (i.e., accuracy).
|
|
| 24. |
- Farag, Hossam
(författare)
-
Enabling Industrial IoT Applications : Supporting Reliable and Real-Time Data Delivery
- 2020
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has become a promising technology for the improvement of the productivity, efficiency, and intelligence of the manufacturing process. Industrial Wireless Sensor Networks (IWSNs) represent a main pillar of IIoT to support communications within the field network level. For several IIoT applications, IWSNs are defined by strict communication requirements in terms of latency and reliability to support the proper functioning of the industrial system and avoid production loss. However, there are many challenges in efficiently satisfying these requirements. The key challenges investigated in this thesis are related to the shortcomings of the existing IWSN standards to enable timely delivery of aperiodic critical data, support traffic differentiation, and maintain reliable end-to-end communications. The overall objective of this work is to improve the reliability and real-time communication at the field network level in IIoT applications, particularly in process automation scenarios. Specifically, the proposed solutions represent improvements within the data-link and network layers of the IWSN protocol stack. The work in this thesis introduces the following contributions. The first part of the thesis focuses on improving real-time delivery for critical traffic and enabling traffic differentiation for mixed-criticality systems. The contribution in this part comprises three approaches. The first approach introduces a deterministic priority-based channel access mechanism for emergency data in time- and mission-critical applications. The approach is based on a dynamic deadline-aware schedule to provide a delay-bounded performance for the unpredictable emergency traffic along with efficient channel utilization. In the second approach, a priority-based wireless fieldbus protocol is proposed to enable traffic differentiation in mixed-criticality systems, where each traffic flow is given a transmission priority according to its corresponding criticality level. The third approach presents an optimized retransmission scheme to maximize the probability that an emergency packet is successfully delivered within its deadline bound. The results of the proposed schemes prove their effectiveness in providing real-time delivery for critical traffic and efficient service differentiation for mixed-criticality systems. The second part of the thesis introduces a routing framework to improve the connectivity and the end-to-end communication reliability of 6TiSCH networks. The proposed solutions in this part are mainly designed on the basis of the standard Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL). The proposed framework comprises the following approaches: 1) a reliable mobility-aware routing scheme to support node connectivity and reliable routing in mobile 6TiSCH networks, 2) a congestion control and detection strategies to enhance packet delivery performance under imbalanced network and heavy load scenarios, 3) a hybrid multi-cast method to maintain downlink connectivity and mitigate routing memory limitations in large-scale 6TiSCH networks. The conducted performance evaluations prove the effectiveness of the proposed approaches to enhance network performance in terms of reliability and delay metrics. The proposed approaches manage to improve routing performance of 6TiSCH networks in terms of connectivity and end-to-end data delivery, which in turn improves the real-time communication in IIoT.
|
|
| 25. |
- Ferritsius, Olof
(författare)
-
Beyond averages – some aspects of how to describe a heterogeneous material, mechanical pulp, on particle level
- 2021
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- For a more profound understanding of how a process works, it is essential to have a relevant description of the material being processed. With this description, it will be easier to evaluate and control processes to produce more uniform products with the right properties. The focus of this thesis is on how to describe mechanical pulps in ways that reflect its character.Mechanical pulps are made from wood, a highly heterogeneous material. Common practice within the pulping industry and academy is to describe mechanical pulps and its wide variety of particles in terms of averages. The energy efficiency of the mechanical pulping process is usually calculated without taking into account the characteristics of the wood fed to the process. The main objective of the thesis is to explore ways to make more detailed descriptions of mechanical pulps. A second objective is to propose useful ways to visualise these descriptions.The studies were carried out in full-scale mill operations for TMP of publication grades and CTMP for board grades with Norwegian spruce as raw material. The particles in the pulps were analysed in an optical particle analyser for several properties such as length, curl, wall thickness, diameter,and external fibrillation for 10,000 to 60,000 particles per sample to cover their wide property variation. The data was analysed by factor analysis, a method to reduce the multidimensional data space, and also compared with data simulations.Several examples were identified where averages based on wide and skewed distributions may hide useful information and therefore result in misleading conclusions regarding the fibrous material and process performance. A method was developed to calculate the distribution of a common bonding factor, BIND (bonding indicator) for individual particles. This factor is calculated from external fibrillation, wall thickness and diameter measured in an optical particle analyser. Distributions of BIND is one way to characterize and visualise the heterogeneity of mechanical pulp. A characteristic BIND-distribution is set in the primary refiner stage, depending on both wood and process conditions and remains mostly intact through the process.It was demonstrated that both BIND-distributions and 4D maps of the measured property distributions could be used to assess the tails of the distributions (extreme values), energy efficiency, and fractionation efficiency in a new way. It was even possible to get a measure for energy efficiency for a primary stage refiner, since a method was developed where the wood raw material was evaluated in the same way as the pulp discharged from the refiner.It was demonstrated that the average length-length-weighted fibre length, commonly referred to as the average weight-weighted fibre length, is a relevant way to express the amount of long fibres, i.e. “length factor”. The commonly used average length-weighted fibre length may lead to erroneous conclusions. Through data simulations of curl and fibre length on particle level it was found that today’s analysers may underestimate the true length of the particles, especially if they are prone to be curled. As a result, theranking of pulps may be altered.It was concluded that although there is an ISO standard, or long-time used property, it does not necessarily imply that it is a relevant method. Misleading conclusions may be drawn based on current methods; here, modifications of these methods are suggested.The main contribution of this study is the finding that that a highly heterogeneous material such as mechanical pulps could be described in new ways through visualisation of data in 4D maps. These maps reveal casualconnections and more pertinent questions may be raised in thecommunication along the chain product-pulp-wood.Going beyond averages may reveal discrepancies in the process and material that were previously unknown, and lead to a more profound understanding. It seems that the mechanical pulping process can be even further simplified than previously expected. It has been concluded that to operate the process more efficiently, and for make products with just the right quality, the main focus should be on the raw material and the primary refiner stage from a heterogeneity point of view.
|
|
| 26. |
- Godtman Kling, Kristin
(författare)
-
Access to Nature through Tourism : A Study of Four Perspectives on Inclusive Nature-based Tourism
- 2021
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Nature experiences and participation in nature-based activities are increasingly recognised as beneficial to public and individual health, yet in most societies, the ability for people to take advantage of opportunities to acquire these benefits is unequal. Social constructs such as gender and disability, as well as levels of income and education, influence to what extent individuals can engage with nature, and there is growing concern over the increased disconnectedness from nature in urbanised societies. Nature-based tourism and outdoor recreation is argued to have an important role to play in rekindling this relationship between humans and the natural environment. Based on this, there is a real need to examine people’s access to nature through nature-based tourism. This thesis studies access to nature through the four perspectives of infrastructure, conflicts of interests, exclusion and collaboration, in order to broaden the scope of how nature-based tourism can support equal opportunities to nature experiences. The included papers employ mixed-methods research from three case study areas in Sweden, with a particular focus on the southern Jämtland mountains. The four perspectives that constitute the framework of this thesis are expressed in each of the papers. Paper I reviews research on infrastructure for touristic purposes, and lays the foundation for paper II, where I examine the role of recreational trails in handling issues of collaboration and conflicts of interests in a mountain area affected by land-use conflicts. Paper III investigates exclusion from outdoor recreation activities from a gender perspective, and paper IV researches how accessible infrastructure, intended for people with disabilities to access protected areas, can give rise to conflicts between the competing interests of nature conservation and accessibility. Together, the findings in these papers suggest that although equal access to nature is desirable, there is a need to problematize the many layers of the concept. Improved access for one group can reduce access for another, and facilitated access to natural areas can cause problems of crowding and environmental degradation. This paradox requires further highlighting. Moreover, I argue that the call for a reconnection with nature to foster environmental responsibility, and to counteract declining public health in societies is exclusive, as constructs of gender and disability give unequal prerequisites to nature engagement. Despite this, access to nature is a democratic right, so although there is a need to recognise the complexity of access, I advocate for collaborative efforts to enhance access to nature for marginalised groups, and to consider aspects of access in land-use conflict management.
|
|
| 27. |
- Granholm, Martina, 1969-
(författare)
-
Verksamhetens påverkan på post-adoptiva teknikval
- 2022
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Digitalisering beskrivs som en möjlighet att lösa samhällsproblem genom att stödja och utveckla verksamheter. Det visar sig bland annat genom investeringar i informationsteknologiska lösningar i samhället. Ny teknik skapas och befintliga digitala lösningar vidareutvecklas men hur kan vi veta att dessa digitala lösningar kommer att användas? Hur teknik sprids och hur individer och organisationer väljer att börja använda ett verktyg (adoption) är frågeställningar som informationssystemforskare har studerat under många årtionden. Tidigare forskning har fokuserat på teknikens, individens eller organisationens egenskaper och hur dessa inverkar på både teknikspridning och adoption av teknik. Den här avhandlingen väljer att förflytta perspektiv på två sätt. Det första perspektivet handlar om adoption. Adoption av teknik handlar om valet att börja använda en ny teknik. I den här avhandlingen har fokus varit inställt på post-adoption. Det vill säga vad är det som påverkar ett val mellan olika tekniker som användaren redan har börjat att använda. Den andra förflyttningen av perspektiv är att inte fokusera på teknikens, individens eller organisationens egenskaper. Istället har den här avhandlingen fokuserat på verksamheten som aktivitet. Avhandlingens studieobjekt har varit den lokala nivån i den svenska krisberedskapen. Syfte har varit att förstå hur verksamheten påverkar medarbetarnas val mellan befintliga tekniker. Följande fråga har drivit arbetet:Hur påverkar krisberedskapspraktiken de institutionella aktörernas post-adoptiva teknikval? Arbetet har haft en kvalitativ ansats där data har genererats genom observationer, intervjuer och dokumentstudier. Avhandlingen omfattar sju artiklar som var och en presenterar resultat som framkommit under de studier som genomförts. Den genererade datamängden har i avhandlingen aggregerats för att möjliggöra en övergripande analys ur ett aktivitetsteoretiskt perspektiv. Resultatet visar att ett verksamhetsperspektiv ger goda insikter i de val av teknik som görs av medarbetarna. Verksamhetsbaserade faktorer som normskillnader, regelverk och arbetsfördelning kan ses påverka medarbetaren i dennes val av teknik. Även platsen där verksamheten bedrivs påverkar teknikvalet genom sina möjligheter och begränsningar.
|
|
| 28. |
- Große, Christine, Fil.Lic, 1974-
(författare)
-
Towards Systemic Governance of Critical Infrastructure Protection : State and Relevance of a Swedish Case
- 2020
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The protection of infrastructure that is critical to society’s functionality, survival and progression has gained significance for both national security and research because of its large-scale and interdependent nature. Critical infrastructure can be viewed as a complex, socio-technical system-of-systems that imposes extensive requirements on governance efforts to foster critical infrastructure protection (CIP), regardless of whether it involves public organisations, private organisations or both.This dissertation investigates how systemic thinking can develop understandings of CIP and its governance. For this purpose, the dissertation presents research that was conducted in the context of an unexplored Swedish governance approach for CIP against power shortages.The dissertation consists of a three-part thesis and six peer-reviewed publications.Part A of this thesis presents the results of a substantial review of scientific literature on the concepts of systems, infrastructure and governance. Because of their recursive nature, the concepts encounter a common challenge in characterising their key elements, structures and processes. The multi-level character of CIP provokes governance to systemically address the behaviours of adaption, emergence and entropy which the complex system exhibits. Apart from contributing nuanced knowledge of systems, infrastructure and governance, Part A provides a novel frame of reference for research in the area in the form of a kaleidoscope for integrative system analysis – KISA.Part B presents the key results of a case study on the Swedish Styrel approach. The investigation is based on an examination of documents that relate to the case, interviews with 66 responsible experts and a survey among all 21 County Administrative Boards and 10 power grid operators that are responsible for stabilising the power grid during disturbances. The contri¬bution of Part B is threefold. First, it originates an extensive representation of an unexplored case of CIP governance. Second, it offers a new comprehen¬sion of practical challenges in CIP governance due to the complex nature of the system and the entangled processes. Third, it provides empirical evidence that indicates areas for development of CIP governance practices.Part C presents the results of the synthesis of theoretical and practical findings. It coalesces perspectives of critical infrastructure and system protection to elaborate on the concept of systemic governance. Fundamentally, systemic governance of CIP integrates the nexus of governance, management and leadership to address challenges regarding key properties of complex systems: entropy, emergence and adaption. Part C defines the theoretical contribution of this dissertation, namely the concept of systemic governance of CIP.
|
|
| 29. |
- Gunnars, Fabian
(författare)
-
Smartbands, artificial intelligence, and special educational needs: Multifarious behaviorist design for primary education
- 2024
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Exploring data from various disciplinary-linked methodologies with many different data types and many different data collection sources is common in multimodal learning analytics research. Such data nowadays include previously unobservable measurements that have the potential to expand our knowledge about student learning. Exploration and manipulation of such data are relevant alongside a complex shift in future education systems fueled by increasingly powerful digital technology that enables Artificial Intelligence (AI). These developments impact research on students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in primary education. This thesis aims with a multimodal learning analytics approach and radical behaviorist emphasis to relate AI and SEN to educational design and research of primary education. Further, foundational aspects of methodological and scientific approaches are explored in related research fields. Beside in-depth philosophical explorations, three notable knowledge contributions for educational sciences methodological purposes include (a) the empirical study of biometrical understanding of students' stress as related to SEN and learning in primary education classrooms, (b) educational exploration of the management and manipulation of large amounts of data through complex sorting algorithms across databases, and (c) applied AI-related modeling and analysis with networked learning analytics visualizations related to the research of primary education. Potential aspects of the impact of AI on research are discussed, such as vast changes to literature review practices and beneficial aspects of mobile adaptive, behaviorist, and predictive digital technology. Ethical implications are also discussed, such as transparency risks that may contribute to large-scale misinformation and integrity-abusing means of control.
|
|
| 30. |
- Haller, Stefan, 1982-
(författare)
-
Towards Low-Voltage, High-Current : A pioneering drive concept for battery electric vehicles
- 2021
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The first electric low-voltage vehicles were constructed in the mid-19th century, but by the early 20th century they were progressively replacedby successors with internal combustion engines. As the consequences ofusing fossil fuels are better understood, our society is now transitioning back. The strong driving force towards electric transportation can be traced to several events and trends. The foremost of these is perhaps the rising awareness of climate change and the necessary reduction of the environmental footprint, as well associated political will for change. Alongside this, the pioneering automotive company Tesla, Inc. showed what electric cars are capable of and how to easily charge them along the road. The diesel gate unearthed in 2015, also played a major role. This transition is not without challenges, however. An electric car is expected to be reasonable priced, sustainable, environmentally friendly and electrically safe, even in case of an accident. Overnight charging at home should be possible, as well as the ability to quickly charge while in transit. While the industry has long experience with high-voltage electrical machines, the required battery technology is quite new and low-voltage in nature. Currently, the battery is the most costly part of an electric drivetrain and it has the highest environmental impact. Efficient battery use is therefore key for sustainability and a responsible consumption of the resources available. Nonetheless, most electric vehicles today use lethal high-voltage traction drives which require a considerable isolation effort and complex battery pack. Previous research results showed that a 48 V drivetrain compared to a high-voltage one, increases the drive-cycle efficiency. Hence, similar driving range can be reached with a smaller battery. This thesis provides an introduction to low-voltage, high-current, battery-powered traction drives. With the aim of increasing efficiency, safety and redundancy while reducing cost, a solution that breaks with century-old electric machine design principles is proposed and investigated. An overview and motivation to further investigate 48 V drivetrains with intrinsically safe and redundant machines is provided. The main focus of this work is the practical implementation of multi-phase low-voltage but high-current machines with integrated power electronics as well as components for a 48 V drivetrain. With this work, it is confirmed that today’s MOSFETs are not the limiting factor towards low-voltage, high-current drives. In the first part of this work, two small-scale prototype machines were constructed and tested. The air-cooled, small-scale 1.2 kW proto-type reached a copper fill-factor of 0.84. The machine’s low terminal-to-terminal resistance of 0.23 mΩ, including the MOSFET-based power electronics, allowed continuous driving currents up to 600 A. The resistive MOSFET losses stayed below 21 W. The second part focuses on the key components for a 48 V high-power drivetrain. A W-shaped coil for a multiphase 48 V machine with direct in-conductor cooling was designed and tested. With glycolwater, it reached a current density of 49.5 A/mm2 with 0.312 l/min flowrate. Furthermore, a reconfigurable battery pack for 48 V driving andhigh-voltage charging was investigated.
|
|
| 31. |
- Hammarström, Lars, 1983-
(författare)
-
“To see the person behind the crime, through the eyes of the person behind the keychain” : - Carers lived experiences of patient encounters in forensic inpatient care.
- 2022
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: Forensic psychiatric care (FPC) encompasses involuntary care and treatment of those who have committed a crime. On the one hand, FPC is constructed regarding the respect for the individual’s freedom and autonomy, and on the other hand, it is constructed on societal protection. Being a carer in FPC is intertwined with being faced with a distinct ethical dimension of care, as it involves caring for patients who are deprived of their freedom, meaning dealing with the tension of care and custody. Caring means often finding oneself in encounters with individuals with inevitable elements of rules, coercion, threats, and violence. In this complex environment, a caring relationship is to be established, which is intended to be built on trust, as a forensic nurse’s main purpose is creating wellbeing and care, based on the patient’s perspective. It is in the everyday encounters that occur often spontaneously that the carer–patient relationship should be established. It is in these encounters that the carer is given the opportunity to relive suffering. The encounter becomes the focal point where the lifeworlds of the carer and patient meet. Dealing with the duality of FPC and contradictory emotions requires a deeper understanding, which encourages to self reflect the meaning of these encounters and oneself as a carer. Aim: The overarching purpose of the thesis was to obtain a deeper understanding of carers’ lived experience of encounters with patients with mental illness in forensic inpatient care. Method: The thesis consists of four studies (I, II, III, IV) with qualitative design, based on ontological and epistemological reasonings of phenomenology and hermeneutics. The studies illuminated the lived experience and are conducted with phenomenological hermeneutics (I, III), hermeneutics (II), and reflective lifeworld research (IV). Findings: Encounters with patients are characterised with the duality of acting upon the patients’ needs and managing rules and norms stipulated in laws and regulations that govern FPC and societal protection. Encounters in FPC and being a carer is intertwined with being put in a position of power, where the carer also must be allowedviito be fragile and deal with vulnerabilities and not play a role. The encounter means being in a duality and having the insight of the tension of impressions of expressions of suffering, being in the “space in-between”. In this space, there is room and a possibility for carer’s personal growth, and achieving a phenomenological attitude and to truly embrace the patients’ lifeworld. Discussion: A comprehension of the studies (I, II, III, IV) revealed four topics, having trust or feeling distrust, being compassionate or being indifferent, having courage or being afraid, and being genuine or pretending. These were reflected upon against the theoretical framework of K. E. Lögstrup. The duality of FPC and the space in-between that arises in the encounter suggests that the carer is forced to be confronted with existential phenomena that constitutes one’s world. By being active in the space in-between and reflecting upon openness, the carer moves between this duality that exists in the continuum that the opposite phenomenon contains. The space in-between may become a place and a possibility for personal growth by being active and obtaining a phenomenological approach. This is obtained by an openness and consciousness to the impression by self-reflection to convey its meaning. If carers can do this by openness and compliance, there is a possibility for the encounter to become a place for personal growth, that encourages the sovereign utterances of life, and carers may to a greater extent understand themselves as well as patients’ expressions of suffering.
|
|
| 32. |
- Hasselblad, Annika, 1991-
(författare)
-
Unraveling the Socio-Technical Tensions of Performance Measurement in Public Welfare Organizations
- 2024
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In the name of efficiency, performance measurement has gained traction in public welfare organizations. The idea of performance measurement originates from views of all organizations rooted in scientific management notions that emerged during industrialization, as kinds of production units, according to an industrial logic. However, the primary objectives of public welfare organizations are to meet situational needs of individuals. Thus, applying performance measurement in public welfare organizations has resulted in tensions between social and scientific perspectives that have led to devaluation of welfare professionals’ reasoning and judgement in relation to performance measures. The purpose of the thesis is to unravel the sociotechnical tensions between performance measurement and public welfare practice by addressing the underlying logics in theory and praxis. In addition, the knowledge acquired from theory and praxis used to reflect on a practical case of performance measurement design, to advance the design of performance measurements in public welfare organizations and avoid dysfunctional effects. All six papers have contributed to elucidation of important aspects of the socio-technical tensions. First, they have provided theoretical insights regarding underlying logics and values (Paper I), and constructive and deconstructive approaches (Paper II) in public performance measurement research. Second, they have provided practical lessons showing how industrial values have obtained precedence in design, decision-making and management, as well as in the choice of data. In this sense, although they are based on a welfare logic, public welfare organizations are haunted by the ghost of industrialization, which has fueled anxiety among welfare workers, with dysfunctional consequences, as they have had to adjust to a measurement regime that does not sufficiently value their reasoning and judgement. Thus, welfare logic needs to be integrated into definitions of performance and its measurement. Third, they have informed reflections on the design of performance measurements from an empirical case study. Together with the theoretical insights and practical lessons, the reflections reveal in detail how a welfare logic can be easily subordinated in the construction of performance measurement as welfare workers are often only involved in the use stage. In summary, this thesis makes a multi-level contribution to unraveling the socio-technical tensions of performance measurement in public welfare organizations, which I hope will be useful for public welfare performance measurement researchers, measurement practitioners, welfare professionals, and managers.
|
|
| 33. |
- Helgesson, Elin, 1990-
(författare)
-
The Many Faces of Public Affairs : A Study of Constructs, Conditions and Claims in a Disputed Field of Practice
- 2023
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis explores the communicative constructs and practices of public affairs in Sweden. As a mainstream communication function, public affairs is undertaken by a wide range of actors who wish to influence public policy, and the opportunity to do so is a vital part of any democratic system. At the same time, the practice of public affairs is closely associated with secrecy, inequality and accusations of poor ethics, which makes critical voices question whether lobbyists impede democratic processes. To join the conversation on the role of public affairs in society, this thesis approaches public affairs from several perspectives. The main focus is a specific group of public affairs practitioners, namely consultants. The thesis illustrates how lobbying has been framed and discussed in the media and considers how these discourses relate to the debate on lobbying in general. Further, it describes values, attitudes and conceptualizations amongst public affairs practitioners through the study of role conceptions. The studies in the thesis present new nuances or categories of roles and hence adds to previous research on the modelling of roles. Moreover, the results show that many public affairs consultants are claiming a proactive role where they pursue clients and assignments based on their own independent agendas and on personal ethics, and I discuss whether consultants should act as political agents or impartial advocates in their occupational role. The dissertation further engages with the issue of legitimacy and stigma surrounding public affairs and shows how the tainted image of public affairs serves as a resource and impediment in the construction of an occupational identity. Overall, the contribution of the dissertation is a more nuanced and varied understanding of various constructs of public affairs, conditions for public affairs work, and the consequences the practices have for society and the building of democratic cultures.
|
|
| 34. |
- Hemmingsson, Olov, 1982-
(författare)
-
Dynamics of a Risk Regulation Regime : the Case of Head Injuries in Swedish Ice Hockey
- 2023
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis explores the risk regulation regime related to head injuries in Swedish ice hockey, primarily by utilizing a corpus linguistic methodology. More specifically, three empirical studies were conducted. The first one aimed to cover the media narrative regarding head trauma and its potential long-term effects on the game of ice hockey, including whether and how this has changed over time. The method used a corpus-assisted discourse study, based on the media coverage of concussions in ice hockey from the Swedish media archive. The second study aimed to map information from the Swedish ice hockey community regarding long-term effects on athletes’ health related to head trauma, including possible changes over time. For this study, activity reports from the Swedish ice hockey association were analyzed using traditional quantitative content analysis. The third empirical study aimed to map the contexts surrounding municipal political records that explicitly mention the game of ice hockey. This was achieved through collocation network analysis, where linguistic networks drawn from municipal political records relevant to sports and leisure activities were analyzed. The thesis aims to make a methodological contribution by applying corpus linguistics to a given risk regulation regime, as well as a theoretical contribution by adding to the studies of these types of regimes.The results from the three empirical studies were analyzed using a theoretical framework, in which risk regulation regimes were the central analytical concept. Additionally, the concept of organizational legitimacy, as used in the general assumptions of neo-institutional theory, was used as a supporting framework. This was due to the nature of the risk, which could be assumed to be not only to lacking regulation, but even encouraged by public entities. The findings included increased coverage of the risk in Swedish media and an increased tendency to promote the positive societal effects of ice hockey among the ice hockey community. Additionally, the political contexts in which the game of ice hockey was mentioned were mostly related to economics. It was also found to be a crucial part of the general context of sports and other leisure activities for which the benefits are emphasized. This was thoroughly analyzed by applying the theoretical framework and focusing on the dynamics of the risk regulation regime. The applied methodology, mainly corpus-based methods, was deemed as working satisfactorily in relation to the specific research problem as well as for studying risk regulation regimes in general.
|
|
| 35. |
- Holmström, Pontus
(författare)
-
Protective Responses to Freediving Reveal High-Altitude Tolerance
- 2022
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- High-altitude mountaineers - just as freedivers - are exposed to hypoxia. During freediving, the diving response leads to reduced oxygen consumption, and splenic contraction increases circulating hemoglobin concentration (Hb), which enhances freediving performance. It is unknown whether these responses relate with altitude-induced responses and what role the spleen has at high-altitude. My thesis aimed to explore whether associations exist between these apnea-induced responses and tolerance to high-altitude. In five studies, I investigated the diving response and splenic contraction during apnea in a range of groups, including recreational trekkers, elite climbers, indigenous Sherpa (living high and living low) and endurance athletes, at low-altitude and at high-altitude. My primary finding was striking: the diving response and splenic size were associated with tolerance to high-altitude; lowlanders with a strong diving response and large spleen showed less symptoms of acute mountain sickness at high-altitude. I also found that groups often exposed to high-altitude have larger spleens compared with groups who reside at sea-level. Interestingly, the Sherpa living high had larger spleens compared with Sherpa living low. Another important finding was that the spleen is reduced in size by ~14% per 1000 m of ascent in lowlanders, which was associated with enhanced baseline Hb. I also found that endurance athletes, who are dependent on efficient oxygen delivery, have larger spleens compared with untrained individuals. I conclude, that a strong diving response and a large spleen may be characteristics of high-altitude tolerant lowlanders, and could possibly be used to predict high-altitude sensitivity. Studies 1-4 suggest that a large spleen is a favourable trait in several groups to tolerate high-altitude hypoxia, likely by its ability to regulate circulating Hb. Sherpa had larger spleens compared with lowlanders, indicating that genetic factors influence splenic size, while the finding that Sherpa living high had larger spleens than Sherpa living low indicate that splenic size also is influenced by environmental exposure. Study 4 revealed a tonic splenic contraction in lowlanders at high-altitude, suggesting that the Hb regulating function may be important before EPO-induced red cell increase occurs, thereby aiding individual acclimatization.
|
|
| 36. |
- Hoppstadius, Helena, 1970-
(författare)
-
Mäns våld mot kvinnor : Diskurser och kunskap i det sociala arbetets praktik
- 2020
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- I avhandlingen analyseras vilken kunskap och diskurser som vägleder socialtjänstens arbete med mäns våld mot kvinnor. Avhandlingens övergripande frågeställningar fokuserar på: diskurser om mäns våld i Socialstyrelsens utbildningsmaterial, socialarbetares kunskapsbehov och hur dessa tillgodoses, samt socialarbetares uppfattningar om mäns våld mot kvinnor. Avhandlingen har ett feministiskt och intersektionellt perspektiv och bygger på två delstudier. I den första delstudien används kvalitativa metoder, och empirin består av fem utbildningsmaterial om mäns våld mot kvinnor som publicerats av Socialstyrelsen. Empirin analyserats med hjälp av Carol Bacchis policy approach What’s the Problem Represented to be?, och Norman Faircloughs kritiska diskursanalys. Empirin i den andra delstudien utgörs av enkätdata som inhämtats bland 153 socialarbetare verksamma i socialtjänsten i tre svenska kommuner med olika demografi och geografisk placering. Avhandlingen visar tre centrala resultat. För det första framställs mäns våld i könsneutrala termer och våldet beskrivs som ett relationsvåld och/eller familjevåld. För det andra problematiserar utbildningsmaterialens texter inte mäns överordning, de fäster inte heller någon särskild vikt vid strukturella orsakssammanhang. För det tredje centreras kunskapen och diskurserna kring individuella behov och orsaker. Främst fokuseras behoven hos de grupper av kvinnor som Regeringen menar är särskilt sårbara för våld. Det senare leder till att kvinnor kollektiviseras och att mäns ansvar för våldet, i synnerhet svenska män, och sambandet mellan våld, jämlikhet och andra sociala strukturer förbises. Professionell erfarenhet i ärenden där våld förekommer och utbildning inom området är faktorer som socialarbetarna anser bidragit till att öka deras kunskap. Trots detta uppger respondenter med lång arbetslivserfarenhet, hög utbildning, och fortbildning att de saknar kunskap om mäns våld mot kvinnor. Även fast att socialarbetarna upplever kunskapsbrist, visar resultatet att socialarbetarna endast tagit del stöddokument i begränsad omfattning. Den här avhandlingen bidrar med kunskap om vikten av språkanvändning och hur vi förstår mäns våld mot kvinnor. Resultatet kan användas för att ifrågasätta och utmana rådande normer om mäns våld i samhället.
|
|
| 37. |
- Humble, Niklas
(författare)
-
Programming in grade 7-9 : Action possibilities and constraints from the perspective of mathematics and technology teachers
- 2023
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The idea of using programming in fields outside of computer science is not new, but it has received renewed attention with the global trend of integrating programming in school curricula. In the Swedish context, mathematics and technology teachers for grades 7-9 have been significantly affected by the integration of programming. Previous research has highlighted the opportunities and challenges presented by this integration and shown that programming is a relevant skill for students to acquire, but it also shows that teachers often lack knowledge, skill and guidance for this integration. The knowledge object of the thesis is to develop knowledge about teachers’ perceived affordances (action possibilities) and constraints in using programming in grade 7-9 mathematics and technology. The thesis includes five papers and uses a qualitative approach to identify action possibilities and constraints of using programming in grade 7-9 mathematics and technology. These action possibilities and constraints relate to three aspects of teaching and learning: subject content, motivation and engagement, and digital competence. Together, the findings provide a conceptual model for what programming can be used for in grade 7-9 mathematics and technology. This conceptual model, which incorporates action possibilities and constraints of programming related to the three aspects of teaching and learning mentioned above, represents the contribution of the thesis. The thesis provides new insights into the understanding of teachers’ use and perceptions of programming for teaching and learning in grade 7-9 mathematics and technology (the study object). The thesis also has practical implications for the future design of professional development courses on programming for teachers and how programming should be used and integrated in an educational context.
|
|
| 38. |
- Jangdal, Lottie, 1966-
(författare)
-
Hype or Hope? : The Democratic Values of Swedish Hyperlocals in the Media Ecology
- 2022
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Local media are often credited with an integral role in the local community, tying individuals together in a shared identity or community, where local news can foster community engagement and audience participation, providing more agency in democratic processes (Lie, 2018b; Nelson & Kim, 2020; Wenzel, 2019).This doctoral compilation thesis focuses on so-called “hyperlocal media”, which are typically citizen-led, participatory and largely independent (Turner, 2015), with content concentrated to a small geographically defined community (Radcliffe, 2012).Earlier research about hyperlocals has mostly concentrated on presence and sustainability (Harte, Howells, & Williams, 2019), but the most relevant aspects today are not only where they exist or their financial issues. Instead, it is more interesting to analyse their democratic contributions and triangulate how they fit into today’s hybrid media system, where hyperlocal media is a comparatively new tributary in the so-called “media ecology”.Herein, five adjacent studies aim to address areas that are less researched. Swedish hyperlocal media are studied from several vital democratic perspectives: geographic placement, media density, owner autonomy, audience interaction, source representation and civicinformation.They are further analysed in the context of the main media functions as defined by a Swedish press inquiry (SOU 1995:37). The results combined clearly indicate that news from a close range has an important function in the media ecology, and that hyperlocal media can be significant to their audiences if they shoulder a gap not covered by other media providers.Positioning the hyperlocals in today’s fragmented media landscape is an important contribution of this dissertation, shedding new light on autonomous news producers and their audience in the enormous competition between information providers, including traditional media such as newspapers, TV and radio with their digital platforms, international tech giants, social media, citizens distributing content and alternative media.
|
|
| 39. |
- Joelsson, Tove
(författare)
-
The influence of Pulp Type and Hot-pressing Conditions on Paper Strength Development
- 2021
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The hot-pressing technology has proven to have the potential for manufacturing of strong, wet stable materials based on eco-friendly renewable and recyclable lignocellulose. The purpose of this work was to study how the pulp characteristics and the hot-pressing conditions affect the dry and wet strength properties of paper. Two different devices for hot-pressing were used. One using felted nip and a heated cylinder with a temperature limit at 200°C and one new design using a hard nip and an IR-heated steel belt with a temperature limit of 300°C.The results showed that dry strength can increase up to 150% for high yield pulp (HYP) based sheets at pressing temperatures well above the softening temperature of lignin. The maximum dry tensile strength obtained was 70 kNm/kg at 200°C pressing temperature and the corresponding value for a lignin-rich kraft pulp was about 130 kNm/kg, an increase of 30%. For all lignin-rich pulps the dry strength increased linearly with density up to 200°C whereafter it levelled off and was reduced.The wet tensile strength for paper based on HYP increase from 2 to 28 kNm/kg and for paper based on unbleached kraft pulp from 5 up to 60 kNm/kg in the temperature interval 20-270°C. The increase in wet strength independently of pulp grade seemed to be exponential to the pressing temperature with the steepest slope above 150°C. For unbleached kraft pulp a lignin content of minimum 7% seemed to be necessary for improved wet strength but 12% gave the highest value within the studied interval. In HYPs the lignin content is 25-28% depending on the pulping process but the level of wet strength was lower which is probably related to the lower density and lower dry strength compared to unbleached kraft pulps.Dry strength of lignin-rich paper is enhanced by improved fibre-fibre contact that can be improved by compression at high temperature, well above softening temperature (Tg) of moist lignin, native or chemically modified. It is known that sulfonation of lignin lowers the Tg in moist conditions. It was observed that at 150°C temperature the dry strength increased by 15% to a level of 71 kNm/kg for the high sulfonated pulp compared to the lower sulfonated pulp that had a dry strength of 60 kNm/kg at the same density. The level of wet strength was however not found to be affected by the sulfonation.Paper strength is to a large extent related to pulp fibre morphology and fines content. In this work studied these aspects where briefly studied with respect to hot-pressing and the results indicate that the relative influence of fibre morphology seems to be reduced with increasing pressing temperature. Hot-pressed sheets based on a coarse fines free fibre fraction showed 100% dry strength increase and wet strength increase up to 20 kNm/kg. The dry and wet strength were however also shown to be favoured by the presence of fines fraction.Wet strength development as a function of temperature was fitted to an Arrhenius type of equation and activation energies were found to be similar for very different pulp grades provided that the lignin content is above 7%. This could indicate that the process(es) giving wet strength were similar.It was found that the ratio wet:dry strength was about 35-60% for all lignin containing pulp grades. A rule of thumb for an efficient wet strength resin is that the wet: dry strength ratios are 15%. This means that it should be possible to manufacture wet-strong paper from lignin-rich pulps by means of hot-pressing without using wet strength chemicals. The concern regarding repulpability of such material led to an initial test to disintegrate this paper showing that re-pulping under vigorous mixing at room temperature is possible.The connection between dry and wet strength, high pressing temperature, and lignin content of pulp fibres is suggested to be related to some redistribution mechanisms of surface lignin between adjacent fibres. The improved wet strength and water resistance could be due to intermixing of lignin polymers across the interface between contacting fibre surfaces, or it could be lignin sufficient to cover the fibre-fibre bonds and/or chemical modifications, but these remain open questions.
|
|
| 40. |
- Jonsson Kårström, Malin
(författare)
-
Physiological and biomechanical aspects of rifle carriage during biathlon skiing
- 2023
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Biathlon is an endurance-based winter sport that combines crosscountry (XC) skiing with rifle marksmanship. While skiing, biathletes carry the rifle (weighing ≥ 3.5 kg) on their backs. However, research regarding the effects of rifle carriage in biathlon is lacking. Therefore, the aim of this body of work was to investigate how rifle carriage in biathlon affects physiological and biomechanical variables related to biathlon skiing performance, and possible sex differences associated with rifle carriage. Physiological (Study I) and kinematical (Study III) effects of rifle carriage were tested in a laboratory using treadmill roller-skiing, whereas the effects of rifle carriage on gear distribution were tested in the field on snow (Study IV). In addition, the effects of supplementary rifle-carriage training on physiological variables and skiing performance were investigated (Study II).The results of this thesis show that rifle carriage affects both physiological and biomechanical variables during biathlon skiing. From a physiological perspective, skiing with the rifle (WR) increased respiratory variables (oxygen uptake, ventilation rate and carbon dioxide production) and blood lactate concentration (BLa) at workloads around or above the lactate threshold during submaximal skiing, while the speed at 4 mmol of BLa (speed@4mmol) decreased compared to skiing without the rifle (NR) (Study I). During maximal treadmill roller-skiing the anaerobic metabolic rate (MRan) decreased when skiing WR, and MRan together with speed@4mmol explained ~ 80% of the variation in time trial (TT) performance WR (Study I). Rifle carriage also impaired TT performance during both treadmill rollerskiing in the laboratory (Study I) and on-snow skiing in the field (Study IV). From a biomechanical perspective, skiing WR decreased flexion/extension range of motion (ROM) in the shoulder and thorax, while abduction/adduction and internal/external rotation ROM in the shoulder and thorax increased compared to NR (Study III). Rifle carriage also decreased the maximal height of the shoulders during skiing (i.e., exhibiting a lower body position), which was related to a more forward tilt of the thorax compared to skiing NR (Study III). During the on-snow TT, skiing WR increased the use of gear 2, while the distance and time spent in gear 3 was decreased (Study IV). Although the relative mass of the rifle was greater for the women compared to the men (Study I–IV), the physiological, performance and biomechanical responses to rifle carriage were similar for both sexes. The only exception was a larger decrease in flexion/extension ROM in the thorax during skiing WR for the women compared to the men (Study III). During the training intervention, only ~ 10% of the endurance-based training was performed WR for the control group. Compared to the control group, one additional training session per week (~ 2 h∙week-1) WR over a 16-week period did not affect physiological variables or improve roller-skiing performance (Study II).This body of work showed that rifle carriage affects physiological, biomechanical and performance aspects of biathlon skiing, and that a relatively low amount of the training is performed WR. This thesis contributes new knowledge of the unique demands of biathlon skiing, which can inform development of sport-specific training. To improve biathlon skiing performance, training WR may be individualized to each athlete, with specific focus on training intensities and technique development when skiing with the rifle.
|
|
| 41. |
- Kaiheng, Zhang
(författare)
-
Highly enantioselective synthesis of lactam and sugar derivatives by chiral aminocatalysis and merging with transition metal catalysis
- 2023
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis presented novel methodologies for enantioselectivesynthesis of highly functionalized lactam and sugar derivatives.Asymmetric organocatalysis, cooperative dual catalysis and one-pot multicomponent reaction strategies were applied for the construction of continuous and quaternary stereogenic center.In Chapter I, an unique strategy for enantioselective synthesis of bicyclic lactam N,S-acetals scaffolds was developed. The reaction intiates from an aminocatalyzed transformation. Next, the addition of thiol amine leads to the construction of bicyclic lactams via aimine/N,S-acetal formation/lactamization cascade sequence.Chapter II focuses on a stereodivergent synthesis of fluorinated lactams bearing two vicinal stereogenic centers by multicomponent reaction. The reaction proceeds via enantioselective Michael addition/imine formation/lactamization cascade process. The reaction solventused in the lactamizarion step gives switchable diastereoselectivity to the fluorinated quaternary stereocenter. DFT calculation revealed a mechanistic insight into the unexpected diastereoselectivity. The usefulness of fluorinated lactams was demonstrated in fluorinated drug analogue synthesis.Chapter III illustrates a new enantioselective allylic alkylation of acetonide protected trioses and furanosides by merging enamine catalysis with transition metal catalysis. An intrinsic sugar-assistedkinetic resolution mechanism between aldehyde and aminocatalystwas proposed and monitored in NMR studies.Chapter IV is about a new chiral amine-catalyzed C4’ α-aminomethylaction of furanoside and nucleoside derived C5’ aldehydes. The C4’ aminomethyl functionalized furanoside precursors have potentials fornew nucleoside analogue synthesis.
|
|
| 42. |
- Karlsson, Øyvind, 1989-
(författare)
-
Monitoring Health Problems and Training to Support Performance in Competitive Cross-Country Ski Athletes
- 2022
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Competitive cross-country (XC) ski athletes (defined hereafter as XC skiers and biathletes combined) are vulnerable to developing various health-related symptoms and conditions due to several factors, such as high physiological and psychological demands, extreme competition and training environments, high training loads, demanding competition schedules, and frequent travel. On initiating this work, we (the author and supervisory team) were approached by the Swedish Ski Association (SSF) and the Swedish Biathlon Federation (SSSF) to investigate the relationships between training, racing, and health problems, with a specific focus on illnesses (rather than injuries), and an ultimate goal of improving future support practices and athletic performance. The project coincided with the teams’ Olympic-cycle preparations for the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games, which were held at an altitude of ~ 1700 m. Therefore, optimizing preparation to competitions at altitude was also a key concern for the two sports organizations.The project comprised four studies (Study I–IV). In Study I we examined the endurance training, performance, and illnesses characteristic in a group of highly-trained XC skiers throughout their transition from junior to senior level. In Study II we investigated the prevalence of injuries and illnesses in national team XC skiers over a competitive XC ski season. In Study III we monitored the daily variations and time course of changes in selected subjective and objective variables during an altitude training camp at ~ 1800 m in national team XC skiers and biathletes. Finally, in Study IV we explored whether the resting metabolic profile or changes in the metabolic profile in response to an exercise test can discriminate between athlete groups with different physiological, performance, and illness characteristics.The skiers in Study I progressively increased their endurance training volume in a linear fashion from age 16 to 22 years old by ~ 50 h per year from ~ 470 h at age 16 to ~ 730 h at age 22 years old. The increase in endurance training volume was primarily achieved through an increase in low-intensity training and sport-specific training, rather than high-intensity and non-specific training. Furthermore, the skiers in Study I reported an average of three illness episodes per year, each typically lasting four days, which is comparable to senior elite-level athletes and the general population. During the competitive season health problems, especially illnesses, were relatively common, with approximately one in five skiers (19%) reporting at least one problem in any given week (Study II). Moreover, while the prevalence of all health problems was similar between performance levels, illnesses were less prevalent and overuse injuries were more prevalent in senior compared with development level skiers. Health problems, especially illnesses, were also more prevalent among female than male XC skiers.In Study III, we observed that measures typically recommended to monitor acclimatization and responses to altitude in athletes, such as resting peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2rest) and resting heart rate (HRrest), did not follow the patterns suggested in the literature (e.g., an increase in SpO2rest and a decrease in HRrest over time at altitude). We also observed that 11 out of 15 illness episodes were reported within four days of the outbound or homebound flight. In addition, the biathletes who remained free of illness improved submaximal endurance performance from before to after the camp by ~ 4%.Study IV showed that acute changes in the metabolic profile in response to a standardized exercise testing session could distinguish athletes based on performance level in sprint skiing competitions, and illness susceptibility in the subsequent 33 weeks. This information is particularly valuable for susceptible athletes and their coaches, as preventive measures, such as vaccination, hygiene education, and social distancing, can be implemented to reduce the risk of illness.Overall, this thesis expands upon previous knowledge about the health and training of competitive XC ski athletes and provides insights that can improve the support practices and athletic performance within the sports of XC skiing and biathlon.
|
|
| 43. |
- Kronenberg, Kai
(författare)
-
New perspectives on socio-economic impacts of tourism : A study on the distributive effects of tourism and events on regional employment and income
- 2022
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In the broad field of the economic impact of tourism and events, most studies seek to understand regional tourism development by only focusing on a growth-oriented perspective and highly aggregated indicators, such as increases in GDP. Such a narrow view, however, systematically overlooks and disregards the negative socio-economic consequences that accompany economic growth, such as income inequality and precarious working conditions. Thus, understanding tourism development should include broader perspectives related to the social aspects of regional economic activities, and particularly their implications for the tourism workforce. This thesis demonstrates how current approaches for estimating the economic impacts of tourism and events can be extended towards a more distributive perspective that encompasses issues that are most relevant for the tourism workforce. The aim is to better understand the role of tourism and sport events in the socio-economic development of the tourist and event region of Jämtland Härjedalen, Sweden from 2008 to 2017. In this thesis, tourism encompasses general events, particularly large-scale sporting events, as events are considered key elements for regional tourism development. A mixed-methods approach was employed to estimate the socio-economic impact of tourism and events. Growth-oriented indicators were supplemented with leakage effects, and disaggregated as well as distributive perspectives in tourism employment and income. These macro-level findings were enriched with institutional meso-level perspectives of the regional tourism and events industry. The results indicate that tourism demand continuously grew in the region and thus played a significant social and economic role for the regional population. However, the tourism industry’s ability to generate employment and income continually weakened over time. The negative outcomes of growth related to an increase in income inequality and a growing share of low income occupations with precarious working conditions. Thus, continuous institutional efforts that foster conditions for tourism development and regional events are crucial for guiding tourism development in a more socio-economically sustainable direction.
|
|
| 44. |
- Larsson, Emelie
(författare)
-
Risky distances : Peripheralisation and normalisation in the case of a maternity ward closure in Sweden
- 2021
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis explores risk, peripheralisation and normalisation in the case of the maternity ward closure at Sollefteå Hospital, located inland in the Swedish region of Västernorrland. When the ward closed in 2017, it drew significant media attention and political discussions on the continuous cuts to Swedish maternity care and the growing economic gap between urban and rural areas – discussions that actualised questions of power and risk. This thesis, building on newspaper articles and interviews with expectant parents and midwives in Sollefteå, uses feminist risk theory to 1) investigate the experiences of those directly affected by the closure, i.e. expectant parents and midwives at the ward and 2) explore how the theoretical approach of ‘doing risk’ can be used to deepen our understanding of the processes of peripheralisation and normalisation. The two aims are addressed in four empirical studies and in the Discussion and Concluding remarks. I conclude that three peripheralisation processes were at work in the closure of BB Sollefteå: peripheralisation of women’s risks, periheralisation of people in rural municipalities from the welfare state and peripheralisation of small-ward work practices in the healthcare discourse. I also found that the closure made Swedish norms on childbirth and discourses on family visible, predominantly manifested through the ‘gender-equal nuclear family’ norm, which repeated in the material. Further, addressing the thesis’ second aim, I conclude that normalisation and peripheralisation can be seen as regulatory practices, which in different ways are structured around risk and power. In this context, ‘doing risk’ helps to theorize how these concepts intersect, and relate to ideology, and thus contributes to a better understanding of ideological processes in contemporary societies.
|
|
| 45. |
- Larsson Gerdin, Anna
(författare)
-
Experiences of care encounters in Swedish home care setting: perspectives from older persons and home care nurses
- 2024
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: The Swedish healthcare organisation for older persons has shifted its focus towards home care. Receiving care at home offers comfort and security, allowing older persons to remain in familiar surroundings. The care encounter in home care is the core of everyday care practice. However, what happens during these care encounters is often unknown due to its private nature and is sparsely researched. Aim: The overall aim of this doctoral thesis was to explore, describe, and gain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of care encounters in home care, as perceived by older persons and home care nurses, to generate knowledge for nursing practice. Method: The design is qualitative, and data has been collected through interviews at both descriptive (I, III) and in-depth narrative levels (II, IV). Participants were purposefully sampled to ensure a diverse range of perspectives and experiences relevant to the research aim. The interview text has been analysed through Qualitative content analysis (I, III), Hermeneutic interpretation (II), and Phenomenological hermeneutic interpretation (IV). Findings: While older persons appreciated the convenience of receiving care at home, the findings revealed challenges such as nursing routines conflicting with everyday life routines (I, II), unclear communication, and being dependent on support (I). Although receiving vital support, older persons strove to uphold independence (II) but were subordinate to their home care nurses which posed a challenge in this regard (I, II). Home care nurses encountered a wide range of patient needs, which spanned from medical requirements to emotional support (III). Each of their patients brought unique challenges and circumstances, necessitating home care nurses to flexibly adjust their approaches (IV). However, they struggled with balancing their expectations and desires related to the quality and extent of care they intended to provide to their patients, against what was realistically achievable given the constraints of time, legislative requirements, and organisational demands (III, IV). Conclusion: An examination of the findings alongside the overall aim of this doctoral thesis, relevant literature, and Kari Martinsen’s philosophy of caring, reveal the complexity of care encounters in this context. For example, the quality of these care encounters varies based on the assigned home care nurse, affecting the equality and effectiveness of care. Older persons lacked involvement in their care decisions, impacting the person-centred approach. Dependency on home care nurses complicates matters, as it can lead to a loss of autonomy and dignity. Additionally, tight schedules limit home care nurses’ time with each of their patients, reducing opportunities for meaningful interactions. The unique nature of care at home blurs personal and professional boundaries. Providing relational, moral, and practical care enhances dignity and empowerment for older persons. Effective implementation of this approach requires adequate time and resources for home care nurses.
|
|
| 46. |
- Larsson Hult, Karin, 1985-
(författare)
-
En skola för alla, eller? : Om diskursiva dilemman i ett (o)möjligt värdegrundsprojekt
- 2023
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to discuss the possibility for schools in Sweden to be “a school for all”. More specifically, the study follows a four-year long project at a secondary school, aiming at implementing the idea of being “a school for all.” The Swedish education system has long engaged with the idea that education systems should be for all pupils and that teaching should be adapted according to pupils’ differentials needs. There is wide recognition for such adaptive and inclusive education within Sweden and internationally. However, there is little conceptual consensus, among scholars and educators, on the practical educational and administrative characteristics of “a school for all”. This openness means that the efforts to be ”for all” can be interpreted in different ways and be translated differently by actors within schools. This dissertation is based primarily on document analysis, observations, and interviews with actors related to the project. The study shows that “a school for all” is variously understood by school staff through discourses of rationality, giving rise to discursive dilemmas related to justice and inclusion. As the Swedish education system is founded on the notion of an “ideal” pupil, these dilemmas make “a school for all” a practical impossibility. This study contributes the conceptual framing of “a school for everyone’s learning”. This is supported by a model depicting the dimensions forming schools’ possibilities of being “for everyone’s learning”. Also, the discourses underlying the understanding of “a school for all” need to be discussed. The combination of these measures is suggested as a means to increase the possibilities of reaching an education system fit for all pupils. That is where the discussion needs to start. If it does not, it will be difficult to reach consensus regarding how the Swedish school will be “a school for all”.
|
|
| 47. |
- Leiler, Anna
(författare)
-
Mental Health and Quality of Life Among Individuals in Asylum Accommodations : Screening and Intervention
- 2021
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Refugees have often experienced traumatic events that could be classified as disasters before leaving their home countries. They are further distressed by difficult experiences while in flight and after reaching the new country. Since the experience of traumatic events is associated with an increased risk of subsequent mental health problems, recommendations regarding psychosocial support after disasters have been established. Two examples are the screen and treat approach, and active monitoring. According to these recommendations, individuals who have experienced a disaster ought to be screened for mental health problems one month after the disaster, and those with persisting symptoms of distress should be offered treatment. The general aim of this thesis is to assess the possibility and appropriateness of applying a screen and treat approach to the mental health of refugees.Four studies are included in the thesis. The first study assessed the mental health and quality of life among individuals living in refugee housing facilities in Sweden. The results showed that the prevalence of symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD was high, and that the included participants rated their quality of life as low. Individuals without residence permits generally had worse outcomes than those who had received a residence permit. In the second study, the ability of the Refugee Health Screener (RHS, an instrument developed for assessment of emotional distress among newly arrived refugees) to distinguish between different levels of symptom severity was assessed. By comparing the scores on the RHS with scores on other established scales with cutoffs indicating symptom severity, we identified cutoff values for mild, moderate, and severe distress. In the third study, these cutoffs were further assessed by an investigation of the association between suicidal ideation and symptom severity. The odds of an individual having suicidal ideation increased notably at each severity level. More than half of the individuals with severe distress had suicidal ideation, indicating that they needed support. The fourth study is a pilot study assessing potential effectiveness, acceptability and feasibility of a group psychoeducational intervention delivered at asylum accommodations. The results showed that the intervention was promising in alleviating symptoms of distress and insomnia. It also seemed to be acceptable to both participants and staff, even though some sessions require further elaboration. To deliver the intervention in the midst of the asylum process was demanding, but feasible. This was an early evaluation but shows that the transition to an RCT is reasonable. Taken together, the results of the four studies indicate that the mental health needs among newly arrived refugees are considerable, that the RHS can be used to identify individuals with differing needs of mental health care, and that high levels of distress are associated with suicidal ideation. The results also indicate that it is possible and meaningful to provide psychosocial interventions to individuals at asylum accommodations. This indicates that it could be possible to implement a screen and treat approach to the mental health of refugees. However, if access to treatment cannot be assured, only implementing the screening would neither be ethical nor appropriate.
|
|
| 48. |
- Lindblom, Terje
(författare)
-
Bakom bilderna : Bildjournalister och bildjournalistik i ett marknadsorienterat journalistiskt fält
- 2020
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The restructuring of Swedish newspapers due to technological and economic changes in the last decade has hit journalists, and especially photojournalists, very hard. In 2017, Sweden's 165 daily newspapers only employed a total of 60 photojournalists combined, with 70 newspapers left with no photojournalist on staff at all. However, during the same time period the use of images in Swedish newspapers increased.Using Bourdieu’s field theory, the purpose of this dissertation is to analyse the positions of photojournalism and photojournalists in the Swedish journalistic field during a crucial and important time for the media industry, through 40 interviews with respondents in swedish newspaper as well as with freelancers in the field. The actors varied in age, gender and number of years in the field, and most importantly through different amounts of symbolic capital, in accordance with Bourdieu’s theory.The study shows that Swedish photojournalists’ ideal was to document the world and produce in-depth visual news stories. However, these time-consuming ideals comes into conflict with emerging market-oriented ideals described by other actors in the Swedish journalistic field. This also meant that although photojournalism itself is described as having an increased importance in the field, the photojournalists hadn’t received a correspondingly higher status. The study concludes that the commercial importance of photojournalism to the market-oriented journalistic field, as described by actors in the field, shows how it has become a professional boundary object which in turn exposes an on-going professional boundary work and symbolic power struggles between, on the one side, media managers, reporters and multi-skilled journalists and on the other side, photojournalists, concerning the doxa and ethos of photojournalism which in turn is affecting the professional position of photojournalists in the Swedish journalistic field.
|
|
| 49. |
- Linnell, Mikael, 1976-
(författare)
-
Scenarios we live by : Theorizing anticipatory practices for societal security
- 2020
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis explores and theorizes practices for generating knowledge and experience of possible futures in the present. Often, our unreflected everyday actions are clearly focused on the future. We plan future events into calendars, buy insurances, follow weather forecasts, and practice for performances of various kinds, all to reduce the uncertainties that the future brings. Various societal areas have developed specialized and systematic ways of generating knowledge in order for people to prepare for possible future events. A particular and extensive area is that involving societal security and preparedness for extraordinary events. The thesis explores various aspects of futures-making practices in the overall field of societal security, with a special focus on recent measures to strengthen the public's emergency preparedness. The overall aim is to deepen knowledge about the contemporary use of futures-making practices (such as imagination and enactment) and related techniques (such as scenario writing and simulations). Societal security and emergency preparedness have recently come to be recognized nationally and globally in ways that we have not experienced since the Cold War era. The empirical backdrop of the thesis tells about some major events that occurred during the first five years of the new millennium. During this period, a number of terrorist attacks and natural disasters occurred which greatly affected futures-making practices in areas related to societal security and preparedness. Following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, many actors in the security business began to implement new, or revived, ways of relating to the future. From previously focusing mainly on plausible events, interest now turned to possible and unexpected events. Following the criticized management of hurricane Katrina in 2005, a visionary work was initiated with the aim of creating an inclusive and all-encompassing culture of preparedness, a culture that would involve all sectors and actors of society, including the public. The examples may by from a unilateral American context, however the events can also be perceived as part of a global trend with local variations. A trend that includes new ideas about public participation in societal preparedness, as well as new ways in which we create preliminary representations of possible futures in order to prepare for them. In order to clarify different ways in which we relate to the future, I apply cultural geographer Ben Anderson’s (2010) classification of anticipatory practices. Anderson highlights three principal practices: imagination, calculation, and performance. The thesis explores how futures are imagined and enacted through the techniques of scenario writing and simulation, in four separate studies (articles I-IV). Studies I and II examine how imaginations of future emergencies are articulated in interviews with local safety coordinators and volunteers in Sweden, as well as in institutional exercise scenarios in the US. The first study shows how collaboration between the public and professionals is perceived as an ideal for managing societal stress and, furthermore, how various forms for organizing the voluntary public may facilitate for or interfere with fruitful collaboration. The second study investigates how governmental authorities has popularized emergency preparedness through a campaign aiming to prepare people for a possible zombie invasion. The study shows how the campaign makes use of a dynamic interplay between reality and fiction, realism and irrealism, and affirmation and distancing. Studies III and IV examine the meanings of spatiality, materiality, and affect in large-scale disaster simulations for the public. The studies are based on documents and observations collected and conducted in Japan and Turkey in 2014 and 2015. With the third study, I wish to contribute to existing debates on experience design and affective atmospheres in disaster simulation, while in the fourth study I explore enactment-based exercises and experience design through a lens of Foucauldian governmentality and spatial rationality. The four articles are given a common theoretical framework consisting of sociological perspectives on time and temporality, which highlight how the conditions for futures-making practices has evolved through changes in people’s relation to the future. The overall results in the thesis indicate that possibilities for the public to participate in enactment-based exercises are currently limited. However, when made publicly available, exercises are most often designed as entertaining, sensory, and affective learning experiences. Present imaginaries and enactments of negative futures are thus enmeshed with considerations regarding what is possible and probable, real and unreal, near and distant. Furthermore, facilities for public exercises are part of a complex apparatus involving political, economic, and educational perspectives, as well as aspects of entertainment, urban planning, educational technology, and public space.
|
|
| 50. |
- Ljunggren, Joel
(författare)
-
Some Approaches to Eco-Friendly Products from Natural Matrices
- 2020
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Since the onset of the industrial and chemical revolution, humans have caused immense damages to the surrounding flora and fauna. Effective methods for wood protection measures proved to be toxic; fossil fuels contribute to global warming and pesticides can be detected in the air, water, and soil. It is abundantly clear that efforts to find eco-friendly products are needed, while simultaneously providing the necessary incentives for sustainable worldwide development. Using renewable resources play a critical role in this shift towards circular economies.Wood has long been used as a renewable resource in high demand, but its susceptibility to attack by wood-decaying fungi mean that most European woods need to be protected against these fungi before outdoor use. We showed that fractionating turpentine, a pulp and paper mill by-product, increased antifungal efficacy by concentrating bioactive oxygenated sesquiterpenes. Based on this result, recombinations of the fractions were shown to exhibit synergistic effects that enable a more efficient product utilisation. In addition, this approach enabled putative identifications of previously unknown Picea abies turpentine constituents present at low levels.For a carbon-neutral society, production of biofuels using oleaginous yeast to convert lignocellulosic biomass into fuel has been hailed as a next-generation source of bioenergy. However, lignocellulose biofuel production by microorganisms is not straightforward and one challenge is the formation of microbe-toxic monomers, such as vanillin, during lignin degradation. The oleaginous yeast Cystobasidium laryngis and other potential oil-producing yeasts were screened for their viability and vanillin biotransformation capabilities. To this end, a mass chromatographic peak extraction tool termed TMATE was developed. Vanillyl alcohol was found to be the main product following vanillin degradation.The detrimental health and ecological effects of pesticides highlight the urgency for alternative crop protection measures, such as biological insect control and semiochemicals. In this regard, we present an essential step towards understanding the varied chemical ecology of microbe-insect interactions. Our methodology and findings provide cues with high information value that can be used to develop well-informed and potentially sustainable pest management regimes by, for example, the push-pull methodology using live yeasts.
|
|
