This study elaborates on the concept of loyalty. Strategic work to increase loyalty such as loyalty programs is increasingly being questioned. Using a relational perspective, viewing loyalty as an ongoing process of social exchanges, the paradoxical relationship between loyalty strategies and customer loyalty is underlined. The empirical data comprised qualitative interviews with eight key managers in Swedish retail companies. The result shows that loyalty programs foster rational shopping behaviours, misinterpreted by the retailers as loyalty. Thus, the concrete nature of loyalty programs make the customers less loyal only returning the concrete resources given. Particular resources will not be given by customers if none are offered by retailers. From the perspective of social exchanges, a shift from tangible rewards to forming meaningful emotional bonds is needed in order to achieve customer loyalty.

This article presents a PhD supervisor's reflections on a didactic change in supervision. The change included adding digital collaborative supervision activities to meet expectations, demands, and prerequisites for PhD supervision. Small-scale changes in supervisor didactic practices, such as online monthly group meetings and online retreats, can be useful for the progress of PhD students and for improving the working situation for supervisors. Collaboration is a key feature that ensures shared responsibility, meaningful focus, and better use of both traditional and new supervision meetings and activities. Furthermore, PhD students appear to have positive outcomes regarding social life, academic belonging, academic skills, academic leadership, and academic friendship. The findings from this small, pragmatic quality improvement project provide useful insights for PhD supervision. Reflections on a supervisor's experience from a didactic change with digital, collaborative supervision can provide useful learning relevant to other PhD supervisors, PhD students, and graduate schools.

Wellness is a holistic, multidimensional, and process-oriented property on a continuum. It has been used interchangeably with and is undifferentiated from concepts such as health and well-being without an in-depth clarification of its theoretical foundations and a reflection on its meaning. The concept of wellness is frequently used, but its definition remains unclear.

Aim

To conceptually and theoretically explore the concept of wellness to contribute to a deeper understanding in caring science.

Method

Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis was applied to the theoretical investigation of data from publications of international origins. The focus was on antecedents, attributes, consequences, surrogate and related terms, and contextual references. A literature search was performed through a manual review of reference lists and an online search in CINAHL and PubMed via EBSCO, and in ProQuest. Abstracts were examined to identify relevant studies for further review. The inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed papers in English; papers published in scientific journals using the surrogate terms ‘wellness’, ‘health’, ‘health care’, and ‘health care and wellness’; and papers discussing and/or defining the concept of wellness. Twenty-six studies met the inclusion criteria.

Results

Based on the findings from this concept analysis, a definition of wellness was developed: ‘a holistic and multidimensional concept represented on a continuum of being well that goes beyond health’. Implications for nursing practice were correspondingly presented.

Conclusion

Wellness is defined as a holistic and comprehensive multidimensional concept represented on a continuum of being well, that goes beyond health. It calls attention by applying the salutogenic perspective to health promotion in caring science. It is strongly related to individual lifestyle and health behaviour and is frequently used interchangeably with health and well-being without an in-depth clarification of its theoretical foundation.

With the ongoing development of materials and manufacturing techniques, new product design opportunities manifest themselves. However, care must be taken when applying techniques and material where there is less inherent knowledge about different parameters’ effect on the integrity of the final component. In conjunction with destructive testing of components, non-destructive evaluation (NDE) provides valuable insight into the manufacturing process reliability, as well as the possibility for subsequent future in-service inspection. Phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) facilitates the inspection of complex geometries on a wide set of material. Mathematical modelling of ultrasonic signal facilitates the optimization of inspection procedures by e.g., maximizing the probability of detection (POD) of specific defect types. In this paper, the response from an immersion annular phased array probe is experimentally validated to the output of the simulation software simSUNDT. In order to only validate the probe model (as both transmitter and receiver) a set of well-defined defects are used. The validity of the simulated amplitude response from side-drilled holes at a depth range of 20-115 mm is investigated. A total of 14 SDH holes in one test piece of is used as cases for validation. The results show a good correspondence between simulated and experimental data for the case where the probe is normal to the component surface. 

The total focusing method (TFM) is a post-processing imaging technique applied on full matrix capture (FMC) ultrasonic inspection (UT) dataset. In TFM the ultrasonic wave energy is synthetically focused on every pixel in the image region of interest (ROI). In terms of half-skip TFM (HSTFM), wave mode conversion happens when the wave rebounds at interface, such as specimen backwall. This paper aims to propose and evaluate a method that involves Snell’s law to address accurate estimation of distanceof-flight (DOF) of wave propagation when wave mode conversion appears in HSTFM. This HSTFM algorithm is applied to both experimental and simulated FMC dataset that inspects a surface-breaking notch for notch image reconstruction. Comparisons between images with and without considering Snell’s law in wave mode conversion show visible difference that could lead to misinterpretations in characterizing the defect. The sensitivity of TFM to varying defect features such as defect tilt angle is also studied using simulated FMC datasets.

This article reports part of a research project that investigated the learning and social inclusion conditions of ‘newly arrived students’ in Swedish primary schools in two municipalities. Newly arrived students are the category of students who have lived abroad and started their education in Sweden when they were seven years old or older within the last four years. Most of these children and youth have a history of migration. This article focuses firstly on the Swedish migration context, the ‘migration crisis’ in 2015 and the changes in the Swedish reception system that took place soon thereafter and, second, ethnographic observations from Primary Schools of two specific perspectives in education, namely a perspective on ‘Framing of the day and the lesson’ and ‘Study tutoring in the mother tongue in regular teaching’. The results indicated that strong supporting structures and structured social interaction are needed as well as caring and empathy on the part of teachers to promote learning and social inclusion of newly arrived students are required. Furthermore, study tutoring in the mother tongue in regular teaching seems to be important while the study tutors’ view of their mission varies.

The global pandemic, COVID-19 shattered everyday life as we know it and disrupted education globally. In this study, we explore an initiated digital transformation accelerated by the pandemic from school leaders’ perspectives in the context of Swedish high schools. The data consists of a questionnaire with 105 school leaders containing both fixed and open-ended response types. The results reveal significant differences in school leaders’ views on how the transition has worked, whether they and their staff have developed their digital competence, and, how it will affect the school onwards. Contributions include theorising about school leaders’ experiences of navigating an accelerated digital transformation prompted by the pandemic. We introduce four school leader profiles: (a) the enthusiast, (b) the affirmative (c) the skeptical, and (d) the hesitant. These profiles serve to encapsulate the nuanced perspectives of school leaders, thereby enriching our comprehension of their diverse requirements and priorities.

iteracy acquisition in children’s L1 and L2 contributes to academic success, and embraces and supports children’s backgrounds and identity formation. However, limited education can prevent bilingual children from developing their writing fluency on the same level in L1 and L2. An analysis of writing fluency can show aspects that require more or less effort in children’s L1 and L2 writing. Thus, it is important to examine writing fluency and the related reading, linguistic and cognitive skills across children’s languages. Our knowledge is limited regarding the skills that could influence children’s writing fluency. Previous studies have mainly focused on Latin scripts and/or one alphabetic and one non-alphabetic script. Furthermore, English has been the writers’ L1 or L2. This paper investigated reading, linguistic and cognitive skills related to the writing fluency of bilingual biscriptal children in two different alphabetic scripts: Persian (L1) and Swedish (L2) across two different genres: narrative and descriptive. 23 children in years 4–9 (aged 10–15) produced four texts each using the Eye and Pen tool. Standardised tests across both languages were used to explore the participants’ reading, linguistic and cognitive skills. Analyses showed that they were more fluent writers across both genres in L2. Word reading appears to contribute to writing fluency across both languages, whereas vocabulary knowledge only related to writing fluency in L1. No significant relationship was found between working memory and writing fluency in either L1 or L2. 

This thesis aims to contribute to understanding how contemporary Swedish manufacturing organizations can strategize industrial digitalization with an emerging focus on social aspects. It complements earlier research by highlighting Swedish manufacturing organizations as they stand at the intersection of Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0.

The thesis is a longitudinal case study of interviews and focus groups between early 2019 and spring 2023. The case study follows an explorative approach to give texture to industrial digitalization and to understand the social aspects of strategizing industrial digitalization. It is limited to the Swedish context and the characteristics of original equipment manufacturers.

The thesis contributes by texturizing industrial digitalization through three social aspects, which are argued to be a way for manufacturing organizations to give shape to industrial digitalization. The social aspects elaborated on and presented in this thesis are: to look beyond digital technologies, to formalize a shared understanding, and to transcend organizational structures. These social aspects are thematic but also interlinked. Together, these social aspects bring insights into how managers can guide the organizational capabilities to ensure synergy between an organization’s actions and objectives when strategizing industrial digitalization. Strategizing industrial digitalization should, therefore, be texturized by each organization to define and redefine its organizational capabilities. This means each organization's social aspects are unique, making the manufacturing organizations' capabilities unique.

This report delivers a first systematic assessment of the implementation of the Swedish feminist foreign policy (FFP) over time and across policy areas, with a focus on bilateral development relations. The Swedish FFP was declared in 2014, as the first expressly feminist foreign policy in the world, which has since prompted a dozen other governments to follow suit. In addition to introducing feminist terminology at the highest level of foreign policy, the FFP was ground-breaking in Swedish foreign policy in at least two respects. For one, it was directed to all foreign policy areas of the foreign ministry. Whereas Swedish development policy had incorporated gender equality aims for decades, the FFP staked out a new direction for politics & security and for trade & promotion. Second, the FFP was to involve the entire foreign service and more, including not just the foreign ministry but also the public agencies executing foreign policy and the more than 100 embassies and delegations that represent Sweden in bilateral and multilateral fora around the world. A point of departure for this report is that policy is never selfexecuting. Original policy declarations need to be implemented, i.e. interpreted and put into concrete practice by civil servants in bureaucratic agencies and embassies that concretize and make something (or not) of policy aims. The overarching question at the center of this report is: given the incredibly complex Swedish foreign policy machinery, with well over one hundred relatively autonomous implementing actors in Sweden and around the world, what happened to the FFP in bilateral implementation practice? Were lofty declarations and feminist terminology converted into practical action? If so, in which policy areas and in what ways? The more specified questions are listed at the end of this summary, along with a brief answer to each question.  [. . . ]

Syftet med den här studien är att bidra med kunskap om svenska rektorers upp-fattningar om didaktikbegreppets innebörd i fritidshemmet. En tidigare studie har visat särskiljande uppfattningar hos rektorer i relation till andra aktörer inom fritidshemmet, varför behovet av en fördjupad studie av rektorers uppfattningar är relevant. Det empiriska materialet består av en webenkät besvarad av 51 rektorer omfattande öppna och slutna svarsalternativ. Det har analyserats med inferentiell och deskriptiv statistik samt innehållsanalys. Studien synliggör upp-fattningar rektorer har om innehållet i begreppet didaktik i fritidshem. Rektorer anser sig generellt sett ha goda kunskaper om begreppet, men deras beskrivningar av begreppet är relativt knapphändiga. Inga tydliga samband föreligger mellan rektorernas svar och deras ålder eller år inom yrket. Vidare visar resultatet få skill-nader mellan dem som anser sig ha goda kunskaper inom fältet och dem som an-ser sig ha mindre kunskaper. Den kvalitativa analysen av svaren genererade några olika teman om didaktik och undervisning med viss anknytning till didaktisk teoribildning. Slutsatsen är dock att rektorerna inte beskriver begreppet didaktik ingående eller mångfacetterat, men att det i viss mån sammanlänkas med under-visning, särskilt i skolmiljön. Gällande undervisningsbegreppet gör rektorerna mer explicita uttalanden, men dessa kan tolkas som tydligare länkade till rektors-rollen i grundskolan. Inga spår av didaktik i relation till fritidshemmets omsorgs-perspektiv kan skönjas. Ska rektorer leda verksamheten i fritidshemmet på ett framgångsrikt sätt krävs en samsyn mellan dem och personalen om hur upp-dragen ska förstås och genomföras. Där spelar didaktiken en avgörande roll. Av detta skäl ser vi behovet av intensifierad forskning på fältet som stort.  

The combination of corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of martensitic precipitation hardening stainless steels (MPHSS) makes them well suited for demanding applications in aerospace, high-pressure gas bottles, or in injection molding of corrosive plastics. Directed energy deposition methods and specifically the laser metal deposition process with powder as feedstock (LMDp) have the potential to be applied in the production of such components. It is well-known that the geometrical features of the deposited beads such as aspect ratio and dilution are crucial for process efficiency and deposition quality. Therefore, this work aims at understanding the influence of the process parameters and the resulting microstructure of a MPHSS modified PH 13-8Mo alloy when using LMDp. Design of experiment (DoE) was used to plan and analyze the influence and interaction of the different LMDp process variables in the geometry of the deposits. It was found that height, width, and depth were statistically significantly influenced by speed, while height was also considerably influenced by the powder feeding rate. In terms of laser power, it was the most significant factor for the width and the depth, but it did not significantly affect the height of the beads. The results showed that the as-deposited microstructure of the modified PH 13-8Mo under the LMDp conditions investigated in this work consists of a martensitic matrix with some amount of primary δ ferrite. The presence of a low amount of retained austenite and aluminum-enriched inclusions was confirmed. This work enhances the fundamental process and material understanding of LMDp of the modified PH 13-8Mo alloy as a first stage in the fabrication of additively manufactured components.

Doctoral education is transforming, along with societal changes, as it is no longer solely aimed at academic careers. A new landscape with various models for doctoral education is emerging with an increased alignment with industry. This study aims to deepen research by critically exploring industrial PhD education collaboration in Sweden. The perspectives of industrial PhD students, academia, and industry are integrated with work-integrated learning as a theoretical lens to identify benefits, challenges, and prerequisites for how to structure and manage such a collaboration. Qualitative methods are applied including a total of 38 respondents. Industrial PhD students embody PhD education, research, and university-industry collaboration, generating learning and understanding across sectors and industries. The current knowledge of PhD education is advanced by integrating multiple perspectives, to reveal prerequisites that are vital for how to structure and manage industrial PhD education collaboration, to promote work-integrated learning towards a way to build knowledge.

Adaptations to a fluctuating market and intensified customer demands for unique products are a challenge for manufacturers. Manual manufacturing is still the most flexible, nevertheless, automation ensures stable quality, minimizes wear and tear of the operators, and contributes to a safer and better working environment as the distance between the operator and the process can be increased and screened off. Hence, the manufacturing industry is searching for human-centric automation solutions that are flexible enough to handle these challenges. Conventional automation is tailored for one or a few similar variants of products, in addition, increased flexibility implies increased complexity to handle. This licentiate thesis demonstrates a flexible Plug & Produce automated manufacturing concept where the complexity is redirected to focus on the products and manufacturing processes by utilizing artificial intelligence. Together with digital threads that connect the product design to automatic manufacturing that enables manufacturing companies to manage new production scenarios with their in-house knowledge. Data is picked directly from the computer-based design of the products and process knowledge that normally exists within the manufacturing company is added through graphical user interfaces. The graphical configuration tools visualize the flow of sequential and parallel manufacturing operations together with process-bound information. Plug & Produce relies on pluggable process modules with re-cyclical manufacturing resources that can be plugged in and out as needed. As an example, a module with a robot can be plugged in to help an existing robot and thereby balance the production capacity. In Plug & Produce resources start working and cooperate with other resources automatically when they are plugged in. To achieve this, the resources are provided with distributed artificial intelligence together with intelligent products that know how to be finalized. In this concept, everything is digitally configurable by the in-house knowledge of the manufacturing companies. A Plug & Produce test bed was built to verify the concept in cooperation with industrial representatives.

In this article, we present findings from an analysis of social media users’ own descriptions of having lived with social media for over a decade. In doing so, we draw upon the users’ reflections as related in data collected over 10 years. We present findings from a unique dataset of 36 stimulated-recall interviews, where we have studied the same group of informants in 2012, 2017, and 2022. While previous work on reminiscing, memories, and social media have relied on descriptions of practices as they are remembered, our approach has allowed us to follow and examine how users reflect upon their own practices over time. In this article, we focus on social media reminiscing practices and show how social media users seek and engage with previously posted social media content to reminisce and how their reflecting upon how their social media practices have evolved over time evoke ambiguous feelings. Drawing upon previous work and our own empirical material, we define and discuss social media nostalgia. We describe how social media users experience both personal social media nostalgia (referring to how I was), and historical social media nostalgia (referring to how it was) when reflecting upon past social media practices and demonstrate how social media users nostalgize as they interact with and through social media memories. Finally, we discuss our findings in relation to the interplay between reminiscing practices and technology and point to how social media memories represent a detailed insight into an ongoing social transformation of everyday life.

Background

School-based sexuality education is a core component of securing young people’s right to attain health equity regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights. This paper aims to explore how perceived knowledge (sufficient or insufficient) of taking care of one’s sexual health is associated with knowledge gained from school-based sexuality education and social determinants.

Methods

The data material is drawn from a population-based survey conducted in Sweden in 2015. The survey had 7755 respondents and a response rate of 26%. To explore the aim descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were used.

Results

Our results show that perceived insufficient knowledge from school-based sexuality education was associated with higher odds of reporting not being able to take care of one’s sexual health. The highest significant excess risk for insufficient knowledge was found among young people from sexual minorities.

Conclusions

Young people in Sweden do not have equal abilities to receive knowledge needed to take care of their sexual health and thus attain sexual health literacy. There is an unequal distribution of perceived knowledge, and LGBTQI+ youth particularly face barriers in using school-based sexuality education as a resource for sexual health literacy.

Nursing education has historically been designed in harmony with societal development. However, the world is becomingincreasingly complex, and we face ongoing global challenges. A new, progressive step towards a global nursing curriculum isneeded. This development is anticipated, and nursing students often request knowledge and perspectives that will preparethem to care in a sustainable way. To provide this and ensure equal health, intersectional perspectives must be at the foundationof future caring activities. There is thus a societal shift that makes it necessary to take a decisive step towards rethinking healththrough the lens of a sustainability paradigm.

Background and objectives: The relationship between pain and psychiatric conditions in children and adolescents has been understudied. This study aimed to investigate the influence of gender on the association between pain and psychiatric diagnoses, as well as the specific relationship between pain and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in a sample of adolescents from the general population. Additionally, the study explored whether pain frequency or intensity in individuals with ADHD was influenced by coexisting psychiatric disorders and ADHD medications. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1608 conveniently sampled Swedish upper secondary school students aged 15–19 years. Data were collected at the end of 2020 using the electronic "Mental and Somatic Health without borders" survey. Results: A significant positive association (p < 0.001) was observed between pain frequency, intensity, and the presence of any psychiatric diagnosis. Female adolescents reported more frequent and intensive pain in the groups with or without any psychiatric diagnosis and in those with ADHD, however the presence of a psychiatric diagnosis had a comparatively lesser impact on pain frequency in females when compared to males. In adolescents with ADHD, pain frequency, but not intensity, showed a significant further increase. Moreover, the presence of coexisting depression and/or anxiety further heightened the association between pain frequency and ADHD. Notably, common ADHD medications did not have a significant impact on pain experiences. Headache emerged as the most prevalent type of pain across all groups of adolescents. Back pain specifically appeared as the next most common type of pain among adolescents with ADHD. Conclusion: The findings suggest a positive association between pain and the presence of psychiatric diagnoses, including ADHD, in adolescents. Gender modified this association. Back pain arised specifically coupled to ADHD. Common ADHD medications did not show a significant impact on pain experiences in this study. These results highlight the importance of a holistic approach to child and adolescent care. © 2023 The Author(s)

I Sverige anordnar många kommuner kombinationsutbildningar, där elever läser kommunal vuxenutbildning i svenska för invandrare (sfi) (SKOLFS 2017:91) i kombination med yrkesutbildning. Trots omfattande satsningar på dessa utbildningar finns det få studier kring undervisning i kombinationsutbildningar.Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med forskning kring undervisning i kombinationsutbildningar genom att undersöka förekomsten av gränsobjekt och deras användning mellan sfi, yrkesämnet och arbetsplatspraktiken i kombinationsutbildningar samt att undersöka hur dessa kan skapa affordancesför språkinlärning. Forskningsfrågan är: Vilka affordances för språkinlärning kan,med hjälp av gränsobjekt, enligt deltagarna uppstå i de undersökta arbetsintegrerade sfi-utbildningarna? Studien bygger på intervjuer med tretton informanter. För bearbetning av datamaterialet användes deduktiv tematisk analys med utgångspunkt i ett analytiskt ramverk, skapat utifrån Akkerman and Bakkers (2011b) definitioner av gränsöverskridande. Resultatet visar att det i våra informanters beskrivningar fanns fem typer av gränsobjekt på de studerade utbildningarna, och dessa hade potential att bidra med både yrkesdomänspecifika affordances och affordances för muntlig kommunikation. Slutligen tas implikationer av studiens resultat upp.

WC-Co coatings, with and without chromium additives, are widely used in the industry for severe tribological applications. However, concerns about cobalt supply and its environmental and health impacts have led industries to explore sustainable binder alternatives. As a deposition technique, high velocity air-fuel(HVAF) spraying technology offers a promising solution by producing dense WC-based coatings with minimal material degradation during spraying. Moreover, the combination of high velocity and low flame temperature in HVAF enables the deposition of finer powders, which are more susceptible to thermal damage, with minimal decarburization. This results in denser coatings with improved properties compared to conventional spraying techniques. Therefore, this thesis aims to evaluate more sustainable approaches to depositing WC-based wear resistant coatings involving (a) HVAF as a less energy-intensive technique compared to other methods like high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF), (b) alternative Co-lean/free binders, and (c) fabrication of thin ('flash') coatings from finer feedstock powders.

In HVAF spraying, particles’ in-flight temperature and velocity can be influenced by the process variables including nozzle configuration as well as feedstock particle size distribution. On the other hand, the chemistry of metallic binder can also play a key role in determining both properties and performance of these coatings. In this thesis, characteristics and tribological behaviour of HVAF sprayed WC-CoCr coatings were investigated by spraying feedstock powders with varying particle sizes (ultra fine: 15/5, fine: 20/5, medium: 30/5 and coarse: 45/5um) employing different nozzle configurations (various lengths and divergence convergence configurations). Additionally, different WC-based feedstocks, comprising alternative binders to traditionally used CoCr (namely NiMoCrFeCo, FeNiCrMoCu and FeCrAl) were investigated. Results showed that the HVAF spraying excelled in processing WC-based powders with various size distributions, enabling the deposition of thinner coatings from fine powders ('flash' coatings) with similar properties/performance as thick coatings. This leads to reduced material usage while offering potential for considerable component life extension, both of which are important elements of sustainability. Additionally, it was concluded that the Co-lean/Co-free binders demonstrated comparable, and in some cases superior performance than the reference Co-based binder under various wear conditions. All of these together can represent a significant step forward towards more sustainable approaches for protecting surfaces against wear.

In recent years, an extensive effort has been made to leap European aviation towards more sustainable transportation. Conventional manufacturing methods used in aerospace industry require significant amounts of raw materials, whose extraction, processing, and utilization have adverse environmental impacts. Thus, there is a strong motivation to develop novel, more material efficient fabrication methods. Additive Manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D-printing, offers the advantage of manufacturing near-net-shape structures by adding material only where it is needed, minimizing waste, and improving material efficiency. However, introducing AM fabricated structures as components in safety-critical aerospace systems poses a significant challenge due to the inherent complexity of AM processes. This complexity can result in variations that may lead to defects or inconsistencies in the fabricated structures. Thus, increasing automation by developing in-process monitoring, and control solutions is the vital step to reach the necessary reliability and repeatability.

This thesis presents development towards multi-sensor monitoring and control of Directed Energy Deposition (DED) using a Laser Beam (LB). DED-LB is an advanced technology that allows to manufacture large-scale, near-net-shape metallic parts. In this work, in-process monitoring solutions for DED-LB with feedstock powder and wire were investigated. The set-up of the latter was complemented by resistive pre-heating of the feedstock wire (hot-wire) which provided means of fine-tuning the heat input and improving metal fusion. Formonitoring purposes, three different in-situ techniques were investigated to monitor process stability and variability. Machine vision and electrical sensing were utilized during DED-LB with feedstock wire (DED-LB/w) depositions,while optical emission spectroscopy was used for monitoring processes with feedstock powder (DED-LB/p) as well as wire. A multi-sensorsystem based on the three sensing technologies was tested during DED-LB/w depositions. The vision system gave clear indications of variations from nominal conditions. Voltage and current sensors indications correlated to changes in process parameters and reflected well the metal transfer (liquid bridge) condition.The spectrometer system indicated well changes related to heat input. In addition, analysis of obtained spectra allowed to detect losses of vital alloying element during DED-LB/p. The main conclusion from the results underlines the need for simultaneous multi-sensor monitoring as it allows not only to detect and estimate process changes but also to better interpret their root causes. Such setup will positively enable a future robust, fault tolerant control system.

A growing understanding of wear behavior of various thermally sprayed ceramic–metallic matrix coatings has occurred over recent years. This has resulted from the continuous evolution in spraying methods as well as material feedstock, and the corresponding new aspects of the field that have been thoroughly explored. This paper aims to review recent developments in thermally sprayed tungsten carbide-based coatings, with specific emphasis on evaluating alternative binders, processing routes and tribological behavior of the coatings. A comprehensive evaluation of various compositions as binders for WC-based coatings, considering environmental concerns and market requirements has been carried out. The properties and performance of various potential alternatives for cobalt as a conventional binder for these coatings have been assessed. Moreover, different thermal spray methods have been reviewed, particularly highlighting the role of processing parameters, phase change and feedstock characteristics in the high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) and high-velocity air fuel (HVAF) techniques. A comparison is made between HVAF and HVOF coatings in terms of their performance under different wear environments. Finally, various scenarios of material removal in HVAF and HVOF coatings, under various wear conditions, have also been reviewed.

This new book deals with, as its titles says, the analysis and process of gravity field of the Earth. The book is mathematically oriented, and the authors have explained how Mathematics is used for local analysis of the gravity field. The basic and required background knowledge, needed for understanding the book, are given in early chapters as well as appendices. They are used for explaining gravity field analysis from measurement surveys, corrections, and processes to direct and inverse problems in exploration Geophysics with interesting exercises, numerical and real examples.

Satellite digital elevation models (DEMs) are used for decision-making in various fields. Therefore, evaluating and improving vertical accuracy of DEM can increase the quality of end products. This article aimed to increase the vertical accuracy of most popular satellite DEMs (i.e., the ASTER, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission [SRTM], Forest And Buildings removed Copernicus DEM [FABDEM], and Multi-Error-Removed Improved-Terrain [MERIT]) using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. For this purpose, at first, the vertical error of DEMs was estimated via ground truth data. Next, a second-order polynomial was applied to model the vertical error in the study area. To select the polynomial with the highest accuracy, employed for vertical error modeling, the coefficients of the polynomial have been optimized using the PSO algorithm. Finally, the efficiency of the proposed algorithm has been evaluated by other ground truth data and in situ observations. The results show that the mean absolute error (MAE) of SRTM DEM is 4.83 m while this factor for ASTER DEM is 5.35 m, for FABDEM is 4.28, and for MERIT is 3.87. The obtained results indicated that the proposed model could improve the MAE of vertical accuracy of SRTM, ASTER, FABDEM, and MERIT DEMs to 0.83, 0.51, 0.37, and 0.29 m, respectively. © 2023 the author(s), published by De Gruyter.

Wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) offers multiple benefits, such as high metal deposition, low capital cost, suitable mechanical properties, and reasonable costs. In the present work, Gas metal arc welding (GMAW) based WAAM was employed to manufacture a multi-walled component of 1.25Cr-0.5Mo at optimized parameters using metal-cored wire. The fabricated multi-walled structure was observed with seamless fusion and free from disbonding. The fabricated multi-walled component was studied through microstructure investigations, mechanical properties such as microhardness (MH), tensile test, and impact test at various positions (top side, middle side, and bottom side) of the built structure. Microstructure results have shown a tempered martensite structure in the bottom zone with coarse grains and finer microstructures in the middle and top zones. MH values throughout the component were uniform and thus indicated a similar nature to the multi-walled component. A comparison of tensile properties was carried out among the results of metal-cored wires and multi-walled structures to check the internal eminence of the obtained component. For all sides of the multi-walled structure, all the tensile properties were found to be in the range values of 1.25Cr-0.5Mo metal-cored wire. The results of all three conditions for impact toughness showed far better strength than the requirement. Fracture surface morphologies of tensile and impact test parts showed the presence of large dimples with the homogenous distribution. Thus, all the obtained results have suggested the suitability of the GMAWAM process for the fabrication of a multi-walled structure of 1.25Cr-0.5Mo metal-cored wire for various industrial applications.  

This work presents the evaluation of the interlayer temperature (IT) with travel speed (TS) combined effect for a given wire feed speed (WFS) on operational, geometrical, and metallurgical features of thin walls with the same width deposited by wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) with a low alloy steel, using or not active cooling. A preliminary experimental design was carried out to define a range of IT that could prevent the molten pool from running down and, then, be used in the main experimental design. The main tests were planned and performed to find different IT and TS combinations for a given WFS capable of depositing walls with the same target effective wall width. After selecting the parameters, six walls were deposited, three under natural cooling (NC) and three under near immersion active cooling (NIAC). A more significant temperature variability along the layer length (ΔT/ΔLL) is observed in increasing IT-TS combination and under NIAC. Regardless of the cooling approach, a worse surface aspect was observed with lower IT and TS. However, NC or NIAC do not affect the wall width (effective or external) or the layer height. On the other hand, they are affected by the IT with TS combination. A shorter production time was obtained on the walls with NIAC and higher IT-TS. No marked microstructural differences were observed comparing the walls, regardless of the cooling approach. However, microstructure tempering (hardness reduction) was observed in the walls deposited with NC using higher IT levels.  

Contemporary research on so-called Nordic branding has provided crucial insights into the social power of states and how various actors use and circulate ‘progressive’ nation brand tropes for political and commercial goals. Hitherto, the literature on Nordic branding has focused on a wide range of substantive issues, among other things, human rights, gender equality, social welfare and foreign aid, but considerably less attention has been paid to the topic of security. The present article adds to a small but established literature on how the security sphere is increasingly entangled with nation branding. In the Nordic region, we argue, the latter is particularly evident in the case of Sweden - one of the world’s largest per-capita arms exporters in the post-Cold War era but also a country known and often revered for its peaceful and progressive image. Focusing on the case of Sweden, the article contributes to knowledge of how defence industry-related actors (both public and private) draw on and frame nation branding tropes to sell and legitimise their products and services to both insiders (domestic constituents) and outsiders (the global security market).

This article aims to map out and analyse how Sweden’s security economy is shaped and sustained through security policies, political decisions, and personal connections amongst commercial and state elites. We treat the arms and security service industries as two sides of the same coin. In doing so, we address a shortcoming in the security literature that often analyses these two fields as separate areas of study with their own set of logic, research questions, theories, and methodologies. By bringing these two areas together, our study contributes to knowledge of the relationship between commercial defence and security actors and the state and a deeper understanding of Sweden’s security economy.  

Responses to climate change have often been found to lag behind the rate of warming that has occurred. In addition to dispersal limitation potentially restricting spread at leading range margins, the persistence of species in new and unsuitable conditions is thought to be responsible for apparent time-lags. Soil seed banks can allow plant communities to temporarily buffer unsuitable environmental conditions, but their potential to slow responses to long-term climate change is largely unknown. As local forest cover can also buffer the effects of a warming climate, it is important to understand how seed banks might interact with land cover to mediate community responses to climate change. We first related species-level seed bank persistence and distribution-derived climatic niches for 840 plant species. We then used a database of plant community data from grasslands, forests and intermediate successional habitats from across Europe to investigate relationships between seed banks and their corresponding herb layers in 2763 plots in the context of climate and land cover. We found that species from warmer climates and with broader distributions are more likely to have a higher seed bank persistence, resulting in seed banks that are composed of species with warmer and broader climatic distributions than their corresponding herb layers. This was consistent across our climatic extent, with larger differences (seed banks from even warmer climates relative to vegetation) found in grasslands. Synthesis. Seed banks have been shown to buffer plant communities through periods of environmental variability, and in a period of climate change might be expected to contain species reflecting past, cooler conditions. Here, we show that persistent seed banks often contain species with relatively warm climatic niches and those with wide climatic ranges. Although these patterns may not be primarily driven by species’ climatic adaptations, the prominence of such species in seed banks might still facilitate climate-driven community shifts. Additionally, seed banks may be related to ongoing trends regarding the spread of widespread generalist species into natural habitats, while cool-associated species may be at risk from both short- and long-term climatic variability and change.