| 1. |
- Bonderup Dohn, Nina, et al.
(author)
-
Conclusion : Emerging themes in sustainable networked learning
- 2023
-
In: Sustainable networked learning. - Cham, Switwerland : Springer Nature. - 9783031427176 - 9783031427183 ; , s. 265-279
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this concluding chapter, we point to themes that emerge from the chapters in this book on sustainable networked learning. The themes cut across different sections of the book, indicating their broader significance. These themes are the lasting effects of lockdown online teaching; Digital sustainability for the future; Future roles of networked learning in society; Balancing utopia and dystopia in visions of AI and open data; Speculative methods in research, education and design; and Balancing qualitative and quantitative data in the research of networked educational settings: Studies at the community and project levels.
|
|
| 2. |
- Frössling, Jenny, et al.
(author)
-
Application of network analysis parameters in risk-based surveillance - Examples based on cattle trade data and bovine infections in Sweden
- 2012
-
In: Preventive Veterinary Medicine. - : Elsevier. - 0167-5877 .- 1873-1716. ; 105:3, s. 202-208
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Financial resources may limit the number of samples that can be collected and analysed in disease surveillance programmes. When the aim of surveillance is disease detection and identification of case herds, a risk-based approach can increase the sensitivity of the surveillance system. In this paper, the association between two network analysis measures, i.e. ‘in-degree’ and ‘ingoing infection chain’, and signs of infection is investigated. It is shown that based on regression analysis of combined data from a recent cross-sectional study for endemic viral infections and network analysis of animal movements, a positive serological result for bovine coronavirus (BCV) and bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) is significantly associated with the purchase of animals. For BCV, this association was significant also when accounting for herd size and regional cattle density, but not for BRSV. Examples are given for different approaches to include cattle movement data in risk-based surveillance by selecting herds based on network analysis measures. Results show that compared to completely random sampling these approaches increase the number of detected positives, both for BCV and BRSV in our study population. It is concluded that network measures for the relevant time period based on updated databases of animal movements can provide a simple and straight forward tool for risk-based sampling.
|
|
| 3. |
|
|
| 4. |
- Håkansson, Nina, et al.
(author)
-
A strategic analysis of slaughterhouses and animal transportation in Sweden
-
Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The number of slaughterhouses in Sweden has decreased over time. Fewer slaughterhouses are expected to affect the transport time for animals and as a consequence animal welfare. We have analyzed the transportto- slaughter system, for pigs and cattle, using transport-data from 2008, geographical information for slaughterhouses and farms, and actual route distances between facilities. We made a strategic analysis of the existing slaughterhouses and tested the impact of numbers decreasing further. With strategic planning the potential reduction of transport distance is 25% for pigs and 40% for cattle. About 50% of the slaughterhouses in Sweden could be closed down with small effect on the total transport work. This implies that for the national total animal welfare which animals are sent where, is much more important than the number of slaughterhouses. However for the welfare (transport time and distance) of the animals in long transports number of slaughterhouses (regular or mobile) is important. Animal welfare weights of distances in the objective function decreases the amount of transports with long route times. We have investigated where in Sweden it would be beneficial to use mobile slaughterhouses. Animals are usually not sent to closest slaughterhouse; we show how slaughterhouse capacity must change if that transport strategy was applied.
|
|
| 5. |
- Håkansson, Nina, et al.
(author)
-
Generating structure specific networks
- 2010
-
In: Advances in Complex Systems. - : World Scientific Publishing Company. - 0219-5259. ; 13:2, s. 239-250
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Theoretical exploration of network structure significance requires a range of different networks for comparison. Here, we present a new method to construct networks in a spatial setting that uses spectral methods in combination with a probability distribution function. Nearly all previous algorithms for network construction have assumed randomized distribution of links or a distribution dependent on the degree of the nodes. We relax those assumptions. Our algorithm is capable of creating spectral networks along a gradient from random to highly clustered or diverse networks. Number of nodes and link density are specified from start and the structure is tuned by three parameters (gamma, sigma, kappa). The structure is measured by fragmentation, degree assortativity, clustering and group betweenness of the networks. The parameter gamma regulates the aggregation in the spatial node pattern and sigma and kappa regulates the probability of link forming.
|
|
| 6. |
- Håkansson, Nina, et al.
(author)
-
Improvement of animal welfare by strategic analysis and logistic optimisation of animal slaughter transportation
- 2016
-
In: Animal Welfare. - : Universities Federation for Animal Welfare. - 0962-7286 .- 2054-1538. ; 25:2, s. 255-263
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The transportation of animals to slaughterhouses is a major welfare concern. The number of slaughterhouses has decreased over time in Europe due to centralisation. This is expected to increase transport time for animals and as a consequence negatively affect animal welfare. We propose an optimisation model based on a facility location model to perform strategic analysis to improve transportation logistics. The model is tested on the Swedish slaughter transport system. We show that, by strategic planning and redirection of transports while keeping the slaughterhouse capacities as of the originaldata, the potential exists to reduce transport distance by 25% for pigs and 40% for cattle. Furthermore, we demonstrated that approximately 50% of Swedish slaughterhouses can be shut down with a minimal effect on total transport distances. This implies that in terms of the overall welfare picture, the decision of which animals to send where plays a for more significant role than the number of slaughterhouses. In addition, by changing relative weights on distances in the optimisation function the amount of individualtransports with longjourney times can be decreased. We also show results from altered slaughterhouse capacity and geographical location of slaughterhouses. This is the first time an entire country has been analysed in great detail with respect to the location, capacity and number of slaughterhouses. The focus is mainly on the analysis of unique and detailed information of actual animal transports in Sweden and a demonstration of the potential impact redirection of the transports and/ or altering of slaughterhouses can have on animal welfare.
|
|
| 7. |
- Håkansson, Nina
(author)
-
Network analysis and optimization of animal transports
- 2012
-
Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis is about animal transports and their effect on animal welfare. Transports are needed in today’s system of livestock farming. Long transports are stressful for animals and infectious diseases can spread via animal transports. With optimization methods transport times can be minimized, but there is a trade-off between short distances for the animals and short distances for the trucks. The risk of disease spread in the transport system and disease occurrence at farms can be studied with models and network analysis.The animal transport data and the quality of the data in the Swedish national database of cattle and pig transports are investigated in the thesis. The data is analyzed regarding number of transports, number of farms, seasonality, geographical properties, transport distances, network measures of individual farms and network measures of the system. The data can be used as input parameters in epidemic models.Cattle purchase reports are double reported and we found that there are incorrect and missing reports in the database. The quality is improving over the years i.e. 5% of cattle purchase reports were not correctly double reported in 2006, 3% in 2007 and 1% in 2008. In the reports of births and deaths of cattle we detected date preferences; more cattle births and deaths are reported on the 1st, 10th and 20th each month. This is because when we humans don’t remember the exact number we tend to pick nice numbers (like 1, 10 and 20). This implies that the correct date is not always reported.Network analysis and network measures are suggested as tools to estimate risk for disease spread in transport systems and risk of disease introduction to individual holdings. Network generation algorithms can be used together with epidemic models to test the ability of network measures to predict disease risks. I have developed, and improved, a network generation algorithm that generates a large variety of structures.In my thesis I also suggest a method, the good choice heuristic, for generating non-optimal routes. Today coordination of animal transports is neither optimal nor random. In epidemic simulations we need to model routes as close to the actual driven routes as possible and the good choice heuristic can model that. The heuristic is tuned by two parameters and creates coordination of routes from completely random to almost as good as the Clarke and Wright heuristic. I also used the method to make the rough estimate that transport distances for cattle can be reduced by 2-24% with route-coordination optimization of transports-to-slaughter.Different optimization methods can be used to minimize the transport times for animal-transports in Sweden. For transports-to-slaughter the strategic planning of “which animals to send where” is the first step to optimize. I investigated data from 2008 and found that with strategic planning, given the slaughterhouse capacity, transport distances can be decreased by about 25% for pigs and 40% for cattle. The slaughterhouse capacity and placement are limiting the possibility to minimize transport times for the animals. The transport distances could be decreased by 60% if all animals were sent to the closest slaughterhouse 2008. Small-scale and mobile slaughterhouses have small effect on total transport work (total transport distance for all the animals) but are important for the transport distances of the animals that travel the longest.
|
|
| 8. |
- Håkansson, Nina, et al.
(author)
-
Route planning reduces the costs of animal transportation : Animal welfare versus economics
- 2007
-
In: XIII International Congress in Animal Hygiene, June 17–21, 2007, Tartu, Estonia. - 9789949426300 ; , s. 1044-1048
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Animals are more stressed on long transport routes with stops at many farms. The positions of farms and abattoirs are the basic properties that set the limits for route planning. Mobile abattoirs can reduce the cost of transportation and increase the welfare for the animals. The trade-offs between welfare and profit can be reduced by effective route planning. We have, by computer simulations, investigated how trade-offs differs between areas in Sweden and in general landscapes. The general results are applicable to any area and hence for animal transportation in general.
|
|
| 9. |
- Jaldemark, Jimmy, Docent, 1970-, et al.
(author)
-
Introduction
- 2023
-
In: Sustainable networked learning. - Cham, Switwerland : Springer Nature. - 9783031427176 - 9783031427183 ; , s. 1-15
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The present book has emerged from the 13th International Conference on Networked Learning (NLC, 2022), held 16–18 May 2022 at Mid-Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden. The conference had a high number of interesting, high-quality research papers, which made it a difficult task to select papers to be further developed into chapters for this book. To aid our editorial decisions, in the final plenary session of the conference, we encouraged the delegates to discuss what themes and ideas they had found most interesting and/or thought-provoking during the many presentations. Comments were collated on an online board (a padlet), creating a rich plethora of potential focal points for this volume. With this as the outset, we found a set of overarching themes that each encompassed a sufficient number of papers corresponding to delegates’ articulated interests. From there, the process leading to the present collection included several rounds of reviews and revisions through which authors of the chosen papers further developed their contributions.
|
|
| 10. |
- Lennartsson, Jenny, et al.
(author)
-
Is a Sampled Network a Good Enough Descriptor? Missing Links and Appropriate Choice of Representation
-
Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Missing links due to sampling difficulties can be a limitation in network analysis. Measurements and analysis of networks with insufficient data may make the actual properties indistinct and thus include too much uncertainty to lead to accurate inferences. In addition, in dynamical networks with low link degrees and high stochasticity one sample of the network structure during a finite time window may not be sufficient for general conclusions. Our interest here is to examine the possible consequences of analysis of networks with insufficient data. We studied how mean link degree in sampled networks affects predictions of the spread of disease. Networks with weighted links were used to run scenarios that assumed distance-dependent probabilities of disease transmission when applying general simulation methodology. These scenarios were compared with scenarios including randomly drawn probabilities of disease transmission. For both types of scenarios, we also tested two link-forming methods, one based on distance-dependence and the other on a random approach. Our findings imply that sampled networks must be improved by using statistical measures before attempting to estimate or predict the spread of disease. We conclude that, under the assumption of weighted links, predictions about the extent of an epidemic can be drawn only at mean degrees that are much higher than found in empirical studies. In reality, neither sampling procedures nor disease transmissions are completely dependent on distance. Our results show how this aspect enforces an even higher level of mean degree to be present in order to achieve reasonable predictions.
|
|
| 11. |
- Lennartsson, Jenny, et al.
(author)
-
SpecNet : A Spatial Network Algorithm that Generates a Wide Range of Specific Structures
- 2012
-
In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science. - 1932-6203. ; 7:8
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Network measures are used to predict the behavior of different systems. To be able to investigate how various structures behave and interact we need a wide range of theoretical networks to explore. Both spatial and non-spatial methods exist for generating networks but they are limited in the ability of producing wide range of network structures. We extend an earlier version of a spatial spectral network algorithm to generate a large variety of networks across almost all the theoretical spectra of the following network measures: average clustering coefficient, degree assortativity, fragmentation index, and mean degree. We compare this extended spatial spectral network-generating algorithm with a non-spatial algorithm regarding their ability to create networks with different structures and network measures. The spatial spectral networkgenerating algorithm can generate networks over a much broader scale than the non-spatial and other known network algorithms. To exemplify the ability to regenerate real networks, we regenerate networks with structures similar to two real Swedish swine transport networks. Results show that the spatial algorithm is an appropriate model with correlation coefficients at 0.99. This novel algorithm can even create negative assortativity and managed to achieve assortativity values that spans over almost the entire theoretical range.
|
|
| 12. |
- Lindström, Tom, et al.
(author)
-
A spectral and Bayesian approach for analysis of fluctuations and synchrony in ecological datasets
- 2012
-
In: Methods in Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 2041-210X. ; 3:6, s. 1019-1027
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Autocorrelation within ecological time series and synchrony between them may provide insight into the main drivers of observed dynamics. We here present methods that analyse autocorrelation and synchrony in ecological datasets using a spectral approach combined with Bayesian inference. To exemplify, we implement the method on dendrochronological data of the pedunculate oak (Quercus robur). The data consist of 110 years of growth of 10 live trees and seven trees that died during a synchronized oak death in Sweden in c. 2002-2007. We find that the highest posterior density is found for a noise colour of tree growth of gamma approximate to 0.95 (i.e. pink noise) with little difference between trees, suggesting climatic variation as a driving factor. This is further supported by the presence of synchrony, which we estimate based on phase-shift analysis. We conclude that the synchrony is time-scale dependent with higher synchrony at larger time-scales. We further show that there is no difference between the growth patterns of the alive and dead tree groups. This suggests that the trees were driven by the same factors prior to the synchronized death. We argue that this method is a promising approach for linking theoretical models with empirical data.
|
|
| 13. |
- Lindström, Tom, 1977-, et al.
(author)
-
Splitting the tail of the displacement kernel shows the unimportance of kurtosis
- 2008
-
In: Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0012-9658 .- 1939-9170. ; 89:7, s. 1784-1790
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Animals disperse in space through different movement behaviors, resulting in different displacement distances. This is often described with a displacement kernel where the long-distance dispersers are within the tail of the kernel. A displacement with a large proportion of long-distance dispersers may have impact on different aspects of spatial ecology such as invasion speed, population persistence, and distribution. It is, however, unclear whether the kurtosis of the kernel plays a major role since a fatter tail also influences the variance of the kernel. We modeled displacement in landscapes with different amounts and configurations of habitats and handled kurtosis and variance separately to study how these affected population distribution and transition time. We conclude that kurtosis is not important for any of these aspects of spatial ecology. The variance of the kernel, on the other hand, was of great importance to both population distribution and transition time. We argue that separating variance and kurtosis can cast new light on the way in which long-distance dispersers are important in ecological processes. Consequences for empirical studies are discussed.
|
|
| 14. |
- Lindström, Tom, et al.
(author)
-
The shape of the spatial kernel and its implications for biological invasions in patchy environments
- 2011
-
In: Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences. - : Royal Society. - 0962-8452 .- 1471-2954. ; 278:1711, s. 1564-1571
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Ecological and epidemiological invasions occur in a spatial context. In the study presented we tested how these processes relate to the distance dependence of spread or dispersal between spatial entities such as habitat patches or infective units. The distance dependence was described by a spatial kernel which can be characterized by its shape, quantified by kurtosis, and width, quantified by the kernel variance. We also introduced a method to analyze or generate non randomly distributed infective units or patches as point pattern landscapes. The method is based on Fourier transform and consists of two measures in the spectral representation; Continuity that relates to autocorrelation and Contrast that refers to difference in density of patches, or infective units, in different areas of the landscape. The method was also used to analyze some relevant empirical data where our results are expected to have implications for ecological or epidemiological studies. We analyzed distributions of large old trees (Quercus and Ulmus) as well as the distributions of farms (both cattle and pig) in Sweden. We tested the invasion speed in generated landscapes with different amount of Continuity and Contrast. The results showed that kurtosis, i.e. the kernel shape, was not important for predicting the invasion speed in randomly distributed patches or infective units. However, depending on the assumptions of dispersal, it may be highly important when the distribution of patches or infective units deviates from randomness, in particular when the Contrast is high. We conclude that speed of invasions and spread of diseases depends on its spatial context through the spatial kernel intertwined to the spatial structure. This implies high demands on the empirical data; it requires knowledge of both shape and width of the spatial kernel as well as spatial structure of patches or infective units.
|
|
| 15. |
- Lundegren, Nina, et al.
(author)
-
Dental Treatment Need Among 20 to 25-year-old Swedes : Discrepancy Between subjective and Objective Need
- 2004
-
In: Acta Odontologica Scandinavica. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0001-6357 .- 1502-3850. ; 62:2, s. 91-96
-
Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Our aim was to analyze variables from a questionnaire sent to 20 to 25-year-old Swedes to determine how they perceive their oral treatment need, and to determine which variables affect this perception. The questionnaire was sent to 650 individuals randomly selected from the database of the National Social Insurance Board of Sweden. The response rate was 78%. Another questionnaire was sent to the dentists of these young adults in order to collect clinical information. The response rate was 66%. The respondent's answer to the question 'How do you rate your dental treatment need today?' was dichotomized and used as a dependent variable in a multivariate logistic regression model. Each increase in number of decayed- filled teeth led to a 13% increased treatment need, bad oral hygiene a 2.24-fold increase, and no periodontal disease an 80% reduction in treatment need. A higher education beyond comprehensive school increased the perceived treatment need 7.16 times; a poorer dental health than one's contemporaries led to a 14.47-fold increase. When dentist and patient assessments were combined, variables related to the patients' self-assessments were the only significant contributors to the statistical model. A lack of concordance between patients' and dentists' assessments of treatment need was found which highlighted the differences between patients' and dentists' views on treatment need. This study shows the importance of communication between dentist and patient.
|
|
| 16. |
- Lögdberg, Frida, et al.
(author)
-
The Importance of Distance-Dependent Synchrony of Coloured Noise
-
Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Local populations in patches close to each other would probably be influenced by similar environmental conditions. When increasing the distance between the patches the local population will experience less synchronized environments. Since, the degree of synchrony is important for the overall extinction risk it is probably likewise important to include distance dependence in environmental variation when studying environmental forcing on spatially subdivided populations. Thus, we will investigate the importance of including such distance dependent synchrony when studying coloured environmental variation applied to populations in explicit landscapes. We will introduce a method based on controlling the phases when generating 1/fnoise. The results showed large differences between fast or slow density regulation responses in populations. Extinction risk was several magnitudes larger when including distance dependent synchrony compared to randomly distributing environmental time series for overcompensatory dynamics. There was one exception; it is not necessary to include distance dependent synchrony for landscape with random patch distribution. For undercompensatory dynamics the effect from distant dependent synchrony was only apparent in the most aggregated patch configurations.
|
|
| 17. |
- Mahmutovic Persson, Irma, et al.
(author)
-
Longitudinal Imaging Using PET/CT with Collagen-I PET-Tracer and MRI for Assessment of Fibrotic and Inflammatory Lesions in a Rat Lung Injury Model
- 2020
-
In: Journal of Clinical Medicine. - : MDPI AG. - 2077-0383. ; 9:11, s. 1-21
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Non-invasive imaging biomarkers (IBs) are warranted to enable improved diagnostics and follow-up monitoring of interstitial lung disease (ILD) including drug-induced ILD (DIILD). Of special interest are IB, which can characterize and differentiate acute inflammation from fibrosis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate a PET-tracer specific for Collagen-I, combined with multi-echo MRI, in a rat model of DIILD. Rats were challenged intratracheally with bleomycin, and subsequently followed by MRI and PET/CT for four weeks. PET imaging demonstrated a significantly increased uptake of the collagen tracer in the lungs of challenged rats compared to controls. This was confirmed by MRI characterization of the lesions as edema or fibrotic tissue. The uptake of tracer did not show complete spatial overlap with the lesions identified by MRI. Instead, the tracer signal appeared at the borderline between lesion and healthy tissue. Histological tissue staining, fibrosis scoring, lysyl oxidase activity measurements, and gene expression markers all confirmed establishing fibrosis over time. In conclusion, the novel PET tracer for Collagen-I combined with multi-echo MRI, were successfully able to monitor fibrotic changes in bleomycin-induced lung injury. The translational approach of using non-invasive imaging techniques show potential also from a clinical perspective.
|
|
| 18. |
|
|
| 19. |
- Nöremark, Maria, et al.
(author)
-
Network analysis of cattle and pig movements in Sweden : Measures relevant for disease control and risk based surveillance
- 2011
-
In: Preventive Veterinary Medicine. - : Elsevier. - 0167-5877 .- 1873-1716. ; 99:2-4, s. 78-90
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Registration ofcattle and pigmovements is mandatory in Sweden and all registered movements between farms in the years 2006–2008 were investigated using network analysis. The networks were analysed as monthly and yearly networks, separately per species and with the two species together. Measures that have been previously discussed in relation to outbreaks and disease control were calculated; moreover a measure of the ingoing infection chain was constructed.The ingoing infection chain captures in going contacts through other holdings, taking the temporal aspect and sequence of the movements into account. The distribution of the contacts among the holdings was skewed.Many farms had few or no contacts, while others had many, a pattern which has also been described from other countries. The cattle network and the combined network showed a recurring seasonal pattern, while this was not seen in the pig network.The in-degree was not equivalent to the ingoing infection chain; there were holdings with limited direct contacts, but a large number of indirect contacts.The ingoing infection chain could be a useful measure when setting up strategies for disease control and for risk based surveillance as it identifies holdings with many contacts through live animal movements and thus at potentially higher risk for introduction of contagious diseases.
|
|
| 20. |
- Sellman, Stefan, et al.
(author)
-
Reducing the amount of slaughter transports in modern Swedish cattle production systems
- 2012
-
In: Tackling the Future Challenges of Organic Animal Husbandry. - Braunschweig : Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut. - 9783865760944 ; 362, s. 262-265
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Two methods that can help to reduce the distances involved in transportation of cattle to slaughter are presented, route optimization and spatial redistribution of slaughter capacities. In a comparison ot three route optimization techniques we show that RuttOpt is the most effective and that the number of stops on routes can be reduced compared to what is the case today. We also find that transport distances can be reduced by 40 % compared to the real transports of 2008 if animals are sent to the closest available facilities. We believe that the metods highlighted here can help improve the sustainability and animal health in both organic and conventional farming.
|
|
| 21. |
-
Sustainable Networked Learning : Individual, Sociological and Design Perspectives
- 2023
-
Editorial collection (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The present book has emerged from the 13th International Conference on Networked Learning (NLC, 2022), held 16–18 May, 2022 at Mid-Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden. The conference had a high number of interesting, high-quality research papers, which made it a difficult task to select papers to be further developed into chapters for this book. To aid our editorial decisions, in the final plenary session of the conference, we encouraged the delegates to discuss what themes and ideas they had found most interesting and/or thought-provoking during the many presentations. Comments were collated on an online board (a padlet), creating a rich plethora of potential focal points for this volume. With this as the outset, we found a set of overarching themes that each encompassed a sufficient number of papers corresponding to delegates’ articulated interests. From there, the process leading to the present collection included several rounds of reviews and revisions through which authors of the chosen papers further developed their contributions.
|
|
| 22. |
- Torrens, J., et al.
(author)
-
Advancing urban transitions and transformations research
- 2021
-
In: Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions. - : Elsevier. - 2210-4224. ; 41, s. 102-105
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Urban transitions and transformations research fosters a dialogue between sustainability transitions theory an inter- and transdisciplinary research on urban change. As a field, urban transitions and transformations research encompasses plural analytical and conceptual perspectives. In doing so, this field opens up sustainability transitions research to new communities of practice in urban environments, including mayors, transnational municipal networks, and international organizations.
|
|
