Introduction

Historically, diseases and non-battle injuries (DNBI) typically stand for 70%‒95% of all medical events during military missions. There is, however, no comprehensive compilation of medical statistics for Swedish soldiers during deployment.

Method

During United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, climate data and medical outpatient health surveillance data were compiled for Swedish soldiers deployed to Timbuctoo, between 2015 and 2019. Correlations between climate data and medical outpatient health surveillance data were analysed.

Results

Battle injuries accounted for 0.4% of the visits to healthcare, while diseases accounted for 53.6%, and non-battle injuries for 46%, the majority being musculoskeletal injuries. The combination of high temperature, humidity, sun radiation and good visibility, during summer rotation weeks, caused more events of injuries and heat stress than any other period.

Conclusion

Musculoskeletal injuries were the major cause for visits to the Swedish camp hospital. Injuries and heat stress increased during periods of high temperature, humidity, sun radiation and good visibility. Lack of medical data, i.e. unknown number of unique patients seeking healthcare, cause codes not always connected to a primary diagnosis, and revisits not being connected to a diagnose, complicated interpretation of health risk factors.

The PhD period needs to provide work-integrated learning (WIL) in academia to enable the development of academic skills and handling situations of failure as well as success. During the Covid-19 pandemic there was increased risk for PhD students of losing pace in PhD projects, disconnectedness from academia and decreased well-being, while digitalisation in PhD education increased.

The purpose was to test and explore the experienced value of group-based online learning activities for PhD students, and how they relate to WIL in PhD education. The two tested online learning activities were online monthly meetings and online writing retreats. The project was performed with Plan-Do-Study-Act. Evaluation data included the number of participants, types of spin-offs from the learning activities, and participants’ feedback.

The data were analysed from the perspective of the experienced value of the learning activities and how they can relate to WIL in PhD education. The PhD students acquired increased academic and leadership skills, experienced less stress, enhanced self-efficacy, decreased dependency on supervisors and a safe social environment important for their well-being. In addition, there was good progress of the participants’ projects and joy at work.

Purpose:

Guidelines recommend starting glucose-lowering drug upon type 2 diabetes mellitus diagnosis together with lifestyle changes. Lifestyle changes are as essential as the drug, earlier recommendations allowed some months of lifestyle changes while being drug-free. Prescription on diagnosis may interfere with patients’ understanding and motivation for lifestyle changes if they cannot evaluate the effect on blood glucose.

Methods:

A phenomenographic approach and interviews were conducted with patients who started a glucose-lowering drug at diagnosis.

Results:

Three qualitatively different conceptions of being prescribed glucose-lowering drugs in connection to type 2 diabetes mellitus diagnosis were found: “Drugs as something unwelcome,” “Drugs as a support,” and “Drugs as a means to reach the goal”. These conceptions range broadly from drugs as unwelcome to drugs as a support for lifestyle changes and an opportunity to influence the course of the lifelong disease to reach a goal.

Conclusions:

This study has identified various perspectives of patients’ understanding of the role of lifestyle changes in managing their disease. The patients undergo a process, and the perspectives vary, providing a more extensive and nuanced understanding. It is, therefore, impossible to apply a routine protocol and a person-centred approach is required when prescribing a glucose-lowering drug.

The PH 13-8 Mo family of steels belong to the martensitic precipitation hardening stainless steels (MPHSSs) category, which exhibits a good combination of mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers advantages, including reduced material waste and the capability to produce complex, near-net-shape parts. Consequently, the application of AM techniques to the PH 13-8 Mo family is being increasingly explored across various industries. This review paper presents the existing literature on the topic and provides an overview. The review starts by presenting information about the PH 13-8 Mo family, including microstructure, chemical compositions, heat treatments, and mechanical properties. Afterwards, the work focuses on presenting the microstructure and resulting properties of PH 13-8 Mo family processed by three different additive manufacturing processes: Powder Bed Fusion using a Laser Beam (PBF-LB), Directed Energy Deposition using an Electric Arc (DED-Arc), and Directed Energy Deposition using a Laser Beam (DED-LB), both in their as-built condition and following post-processing heat treatments. The review concludes with a summary and outlook that highlights existing knowledge gaps and underscores the need for further research to tailor the microstructural evolution and enhance the properties. The findings indicate that AM of the PH 13-8 Mo family has the potential for industrial applications, yet further studies are necessary to optimize its performance.

This research presents a comprehensive framework for quantifying the benefits of Building Information Modelling in construction. Through industry insights and surveys, the study validates formulated equations and integrates case studies from the Swedish construction sector. Results reveal increased costs in the design phase but indicate time and cost savings during design and construction. Operational benefits, notably in maintenance planning and energy efficiency, constitute a substantial portion of the total estimated benefits. The study introduces a unified quantification methodology, demonstrating an investment rate of 16.1 % and 10.17 % for cases A and B, respectively. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on BIM adoption, offering valuable insights and methodological advancements for industry practitioners.

This qualitative study describes how reflection can be supported by using reflective tools in group education in type 2 diabetes. The changed conditions for living with a long-term illness may lead to increased anxiety and new demands that affect one’s current life situation. The didactic model, ‘The challenge – to take charge of one’s life with long-term illness’, has been developed into ‘Taking responsibility in life with type 2 diabetes – a model for group education in primary care’. Specialized diabetes nurses and dieticians received training, a manual and continuous guidance in applying the model. Reflection diaries, notes and interviews both from the patients and the caregivers were analyzed using a phenomenological hermeneutic method. The results show that using images as reflective tools engages thoughts and feelings in a way that appears to be important for one’s learning in life with a chronic illness. The images contribute to allowing a distance from one’s situation, actions, thoughts and feelings, which seems fruitful for investigating and discovering new ‘things’ about oneself. With the support of reflective tools and guiding questions, reflection is led to a deeper existential level where both caregivers and patients contribute by asking questions that support the reflection process.

Strategic urban planning has long been promoted as an important approach to transitioning to sustainable communities. However, previous literature on the Nordic context has critiqued strategic activities because they often take place outside of statutory planning procedures and therefore present legitimacy deficiencies. While the inclusion of both stakeholders and diverse expertise has been recognised as important in strategic planning, previous planning literature has focused either on the role of politics or knowledge in planning, but not as much on the relationship between the two. This paper aims to deepen our understanding of how political and epistemic authority affect the legitimacy of strategic planning by exploring how participants in an informal strategic planning process enact authority. By applying a theoretical framework of stakeholderness and boundary work, the paper shows how the balance between political and epistemic authority is important when legitimizing strategic planning processes. The paper concludes by suggesting the concept of knowledgeable stakeholders to describe actors’ enactment of political and epistemic authority. This paper argues for a need to repoliticise participation in strategic planning by illuminating the interrelatedness of politics and expertise, to which the concept of knowledgeable stakeholders can contribute

Surface asperities play a leading role in determining the fatigue life of as-built Ti-6Al-4 V components manufactured by electron beam powder bed fusion (PBF-EB). Several roughness parameters are available to characterize the surface asperities This study focuses on identifying the surface roughness parameter that correlates best with fatigue life. To this end, several fatigue test specimens were manufactured using the PBF-EB process and utilizing different contour melting strategies, thus producing as-built surfaces with varying roughness. The focus variation microscopy technique was employed to obtain surface roughness parameters for the as-built surfaces. Selected specimens were characterized using x-ray computed tomography (XCT). Tomography can detect surface-connected features obscured by other parts of the surface that are not visible through optical microscopy. The fatigue life of all specimens was determined using four-point bend testing. Through regression model analysis, maximum pit height (Sv) was identified as the statistically significant roughness parameter with the best fit affecting fatigue life. The fracture zone was closely inspected based on the data collected through XCT prior to fatigue tests. This led to another estimate of the worst-case value for the statistically significant roughness parameter Sv. The Sv parameter values obtained from optical microscopy and XCT were used as the initial crack size in a crack growth model to predict fatigue life. It is observed that life estimates based solely on optical measurements of Sv can be overly optimistic, a situation that must be avoided in predictive design calculations.

This research presents a comprehensive framework for quantifying the benefits of Building Information Modelling in construction. Through industry insights and surveys, the study validates formulated equations and integrates case studies from the Swedish construction sector. Results reveal increased costs in the design phase but indicate time and cost savings during design and construction. Operational benefits, notably in maintenance planning and energy efficiency, constitute a substantial portion of the total estimated benefits. The study introduces a unified quantification methodology, demonstrating an investment rate of 16.1 % and 10.17 % for cases A and B, respectively. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on BIM adoption, offering valuable insights and methodological advancements for industry practitioners.

Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) is developing rapidly inrecent years due to its advantages, such as higher productivity, lower cost,acceptable quality, and the availability of advanced welding processes. Cold MetalTransfer (CMT), as the most well-known Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) process,is widely used in WAAM. The uniqueness of CMT lies in minimizing the heat inputof the process. However, there is a drawback to the lower heat input, impacting thequality of the geometry of the welding bead, sharp transitions at the weld toe,inclusions, etc., particularly for higher alloyed steel, e.g., tool steel. In this study,two processes were employed: CMT and Pulse Multi Control (PMC). Two types ofshielding gases were used, namely 2% CO2 + 98% Ar and 20% CO2 + 80% Ar.Two levels of wire feed speed were selected: high and low levels. A full-fractionfactorial experimental matrix was created, and bead-on-plate samples wereproduced with different GMAW processes, i.e., CMT and PMC. The geometry ofthe bead-on-plate, including penetration, bead width and height, and toe angle, wasevaluated and analyzed. A correlation between the process factors (shielding gas,type of process, and wire feed speed) and the geometry of the bead was analyzedand determined. A protocol is proposed based on the study results for the selectionof WAAM processes.

The thesis project focuses on developing a dynamic obstacle avoidance system for collabo-rative robots using machine vision technology, integrated with ROS (Robot Operating Sys-tem) and MoveIt framework.

The primary aim is to enhance safety and efficiency in shared workspaces where humans and robots interact closely.

The research addresses several investigative questions, including the implementation of machine vision to improve human-robot collaboration and safety, the system's ability to de-tect and navigate around humans, and its real-time responsiveness in dynamic scenarios. The system utilizes 3D depth vision systems and dynamic path planning algorithms to achieve real-time responsiveness in human-robot interaction scenarios.

The vision system is central to the setup, two Kinect 2.0 cameras are used for environ-ment perception, providing RGB-D data. The cameras are calibrated for intrinsic, extrinsic, and hand-eye parameters to ensure accurate 3D mapping. The captured point clouds are processed through filters such as passthrough, voxel grid, and statistical outlier removal to create a clean and accurate representation of the workspace, which is then converted into an Octomap occupancy map. The Universal Robot UR10e serves as the collaborative robot (cobot). It is integrated with ROS using the Universal Robots ROS Driver, which allows for direct control and com-munication between the robot and the ROS ecosystem via Ethernet.

The system utilizes the RRT-Connect algorithm within the MoveIt framework for real-time path planning. This algorithm enables the robot to dynamically adjust its path in re-sponse to detected obstacles, ensuring collision-free operation.

The entire system is configured on a high-end laptop with ROS Noetic running on Ub-untu 20.04.6 LTS.The testing phase involves evaluating the system's performance in detecting and avoiding both stationary and dynamic obstacles. The response time and accuracy of the obstacle detection and path planning components are critical metrics measured during the tests.Results indicate the system's efficiency in detecting and reacting to humans but highlight challenges in detecting smaller or slim objects due to filtering processes. Response time anal-ysis reveals potential limitations in scenarios requiring quick reactions to unexpected events. Despite challenges, the system demonstrates potential in detecting human body shape and effectively generating collisionfree trajectories, aligning with the project's goal of human detection and avoidance.

This thesis investigates the implementation of digital twin-based virtual commissioning, suitable for practical applications within manufacturing systems. The study aims to identify the challenges in adopting virtual commissioning, highlight its benefits, and develop an instructing framework to streamline its implementation process. The research is conducted in collaboration with GKN Aerospace Engine Systems Sweden.

A simplified approach to virtual commissioning process is developed and utilized to demonstrate a practical implementation of a use case scenario based on an industrial research cell at PTC. A virtual model is developed to simulate the manufacturing process, emphasizing the importance of tool selection for modelling, simulation, and control system development. The software tools utilized for this implementation are Beckhoff TwinCAT 3 and ABB RobotStudio. The virtual model is extensively tested and validated to ensure system readiness before physical commissioning.

The findings highlight the importance of interoperability and real-time data integration within virtual commissioning and show the effective utilization of the framework to simplify the implementation process. The study provides several strategic recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of virtual commissioning practices across industries and suggests areas for future research to refine and expand the use of virtual commissioning in manufacturing. This research therefore contributes to a deeper understanding of virtual commissioning’s potential to optimize and improve the normal commissioning process and in assisting GKN to avail its benefits by incorporating this practice in their current procurement of new automated cells

Digital twin technology is increasingly vital across various industries, offering a sophisticated virtual representation of physical assets. These models integrate real-time data to reflect their real-world counterparts as accurately as possible, facilitating operational optimizations, enhancing decision-making, and boosting productivity, particularly in manufacturing, digital twins improve efficiency, anticipate maintenance needs, and optimize resource use, thereby reducing costs and enhancing the automation sector.

Virtual commissioning is gaining prominence as a complementary methodology that can be amalgamated to exiting manufacturing and automation methodology. By simulating production processes virtually, it allows for extensive testing, analysis, and optimization without the need for physical prototypes. This approach not only identifies and resolves bottlenecks but also optimizes resource deployment and improves overall production efficiency The early detection and resolution of issues minimize downtime and deployment risks, significantly reducing costs and accelerating market readiness.

In conclusion, the findings emphasize the critical role of digital twins and virtual commissioning in enhancing real-time data integration and interoperability. The study demonstrates how these technologies can streamline the implementation process and provides strategic recommendations to improve virtual commissioning practices across various industries. It also identifies future research areas to further refine and expand the application of digital twins and virtual commissioning in manufacturing. Consequently, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of how virtual commissioning, supported by digital twins, can optimize and improve traditional commissioning processes. Moreover, it assists GKN in leveraging these advanced practices in their procurement of new automated cells, maximizing the associated benefits.

Virtual Reality is an emerging technology which offers immersive and exciting experiences.

This study investigates the different factors and social functions of virtual reality which affect the adoption of virtual reality. To identify these factors and social functions a qualitative study has been conducted where people knowledgeable and interested in virtual reality have been interviewed. The interviews have later been analysed and processed to identify themes and connections with prior research.

Factors that have been identified include attitude & approach, application area, comfort & physical environment, distractions, nausea, personality, price, psychological side effects, social influence, technical knowledge and accessibility & user-friendliness. Further, social functions that have been identified are customization possibilities, avatars and interaction possibilities.

These factors and social functions contribute to a better understanding of how people interact with VR and what makes people want to adopt the technology.

This thesis investigates hybrid learning in higher education institutions in India, focusing on postgraduate courses, to understand its impact and effectiveness.

The study identifies key challenges, including network connectivity, student engagement, and technological barriers. It proposes innovative strategies such as affordable internet solutions through partnerships with telecom companies, improved public Wi-Fi infrastructure, and the provision of necessary devices to address these issues.

The study also suggests adopting Udemy, a leading destination for online courses that empowers professional growth, to enhance the academic experience.To promote digital equity and improve education quality and accessibility, the thesis emphasizes enhancing student support systems, developing robust digital infrastructure, and creating inclusive learning environments, considering scalability and feasibility. Applying the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) framework, the research highlights the importance of performance expectancy and facilitating conditions in technology acceptance among students and teachers.

The study underscores the need for collaboration between educational institutions, governments, and private companies to develop scalable and sustainable solutions for hybrid learning. However, the study's focus on postgraduate courses in Indian higher education potentially limits its generalizability. Future research should expand to different educational levels and regions, both within and outside India, and employ long-term studies to assess the sustainability of the proposed strategies. Incorporating mixed-methods approaches and exploring emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality can provide a more comprehensive understanding and foster innovative improvements in the current digital education landscape.

This thesis project introduces machine vision to automate the testing and verification of watch hands and its digital display functionalities. Conventionally, the verification process in this watch manufacturer involved manual inspection by operators, a method that is time consuming and involves many manual phases to get done. This project introduces a level ofautomation to increase testing efficiency by introducing one standalone environment and testing capacity by increasing production capability and speed.

This project included a development of a prototype testing environment built from 3D printed components, controlled by a RaspberryPi 4 model B processor, and utilizing its default camera module for achieving the machine vision part necessary for automation. The project's aim is: first, to verify the testing of watch hands' functionality, and second, to ensure the OLED display operates as intended, utilizing image processing techniques via machinevision

The degree project focused on automating industrial processes in heavy truck manufacturing using machine learning (ML) and computer vision. Specifically, it addressed the challenge at the Volvo Trucks plant in Tuve, Gothenburg, of accurately measuring the height of finished trucks. Manual measurement methods that were in use were prone to errors and inefficiencies, prompting the need for an automated solution implemented through the Volvo Vision System (VVS).

The project developed and evaluated a proof-of-concept (POC) system that could be integrated into VVS for automated truck height measurements. The system incorporated camera calibration, ML models, and computer vision techniques. Testing on various truck models and configurations demonstrated that the system provided reliable detection of trucks cabs, variations of addons that were random and variable in geometry and perform measurements within an acceptable error margin 90% of the time, with a mean deviation of 2.25 cm and a standard deviation of 2.36 cm. The automated system significantly outperformed manual methods, reducing the measurement time per truck from 60 seconds to 120 milliseconds.

The study concluded that the enhanced VVS could reliably measure truck heights within the required industrial error margins. The automation of the measurement process not only increased accuracy but also improved efficiency, aligning with Volvo’s goal of reducing man-ual interventions.

The project highlighted the potential of integrating AI and computer vision in industrial applications, paving the way for future enhancements and broader applications in similar settings. Future research could focus on expanding the system's capabilities and adapting it to other industrial environments.

This study investigates the integration of Agile approaches with hightech advancements such as digitalisation, automation, interconnected systems, and IoT within the automotive industry.

The primary aim is to provide a comprehensive framework for Agile approaches tailored to the advanced automotive industry. It addresses the growing need for adaptability in development processes to meet market demands and rapid technological overevolving as vehicles transform into computers on wheels.

The study begins with a thorough literature review of both Agile approaches and emerging industrial technologies. This theoretical foundation identifies gaps in existing research and underscores the necessity for a framework to integrate agile approaches with high techniques.

Empirical data were collected by a qualitative case study, through interviews with professionals from large, global automotive companies, including Volvo Cars and Volvo Construction Equipment (VCE). These interviews provided realworld insights into Agile approaches' opportunities, challenges, and tailoring to meet industryspecific needs.

A framework for agile implementation in the automotive industry is constructed and comprised of an extensive literature review and profound insights from the results of the content analysis of the interviews. This framework emphasises cultivating an Agile mindset, leveraging modern technologies, fostering customer collaboration, streamlining documentation processes, embracing changes promptly, improving planning methodologies, increasing flexibility, and acquiring relevant skills.

Key findings reveal that process development methods must evolve alongside advancing technologies. Industries must adapt by tailoring Agile approaches and incorporating hybrid approaches, as reverting to previous methods is not a choice.

This research contributes to both theory and practice by providing a comprehensive framework for Agile approaches in the automotive industry. It bridges the gap between hightech solutions and Agile approaches, offering actionable insights for enhancing the development process, operation and operation, and competitiveness. Despite its contributions, the study acknowledges limitations, such as focusing on large automotive companies in Sweden and relying on just only a qualitative approach. These factors may impact the generalizability of the findings.

Future research should expand the scope, incorporate mixed methods, and validate the framework in diverse industrial settings.

The thesis explores the development and implementation of an automated height measurement system for trucks using computer vision and AI at Volvo's Tuve plant. The manual measurement process, currently a bottleneck, is prone to errors and inefficiencies. The proposed system leverages advanced technologies like YOLOv8 and Mask R-CNN for real-time, accurate height measurement.

The study includes detailed investigation methods, data collection, model training, interface development, and extensive testing to ensure system reliability. The system demonstrated high accuracy, reducing the error margin significantly compared to manual methods, and improved operational efficiency by reducing measurement time from 60 seconds to 120 milliseconds. The system was capable of measuring the height of the truck within the range of -+5cm of variation which is 50% lower compared to current manual measurement.

This advancement not only enhances productivity but also aligns with Volvo's commitment to technological innovation and is submitted as a proof of concept, mostly replacing the current measurement method.

The main goal of the thesis is to develop an automated anomaly detection system for vessel data to enhance monitoring and reporting of vessels' energy management.

The thesis is driven by existing research in the field to find common anomalies in maritime sensors and get motivation to select an appropriate machine learning model that can be used as an anomaly detector without much human intervention.

To achieve the aim of an autonomous machine learning-based anomaly detector for vessel data, the data is pre-processed with feature selection, and popular unsupervised anomaly detection algorithms like Isolation Forest (iForest), k-nearest neighbours (KNN), and the Local Outlier Factor (LOF) are tested with a dataset with synthetic anomalies. The models are trained with clean data (data without anomalies) and tested with synthetic anomalies closer to real-world anomalies. Different types of anomalies are manipulated for testing purposes. A linear regression model has been tried and has exhibited overfitting phenomena.

The acceptable performances needed for anomaly detection are achieved by eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) with proper thresholding for the residuals from the prediction. Thus, a model for an autonomous anomaly detection system is proposed.

The TV series Heartstopper, based on the graphic novels by Alice Oseman, has engaged viewers and critics all over the world with its strong focus on representation and identity formation. This linguistic study on conversation analysis aims to present how adjacency pairs are used between the two main characters Nick and Charlie and to describe how this affects the show in terms of atmosphere and reception. By using the methodology of conversation analysis and the theoretical framework about adjacency pairs and preference structure, this qualitative study focuses on examples from actual dialogue rather than numbers.

The studied material consists of dialogue between Nick and Charlie from four episodes of the show’s first and second season.

The results show that the language used between Nick and Charlie in Heartstopper is kind and gentle with mostly preferred answers in the found adjacency pairs. Foremost, the analyzed adjacency pairs were questions and answers, compliments, greetings and apologies, which all point in the same direction regarding tone and content. The language is respectful, honest and smooth without bad language. It stays this way throughout the series, even as the boys’ relationship deepens. By using this type of language with less irony and hard words, Heartstopper creates a loving atmosphere different from many other TV series.

This thesis project, titled "Tungsten Inert Gas Equipment Integration in Production," investigates the feasibility of implementing robotic solutions for TIG welding to advance industrial automation at Siemens Energy in Trollhättan through a framework composed of a structured approach that includes a detailed needs assessment, a thorough technology evaluation, and a practical validation through simulation to design and implement robotic TIG welding cells specifically tailored for large components.

Driven by a need to balance productivity and precision in welding processes, particularly for complex geometries, the study aims to provide practical insights for the internal implementation of TIG robotic welding.

The research included engaging with Siemens Energy workers to optimize hardware placement for better accessibility and workflow efficiency, and simulations in RobotStudio offered a practical visualization of the proposed robotic welding cell. Key hardware components were meticulously identified, optimal layouts designed, androbotic welding scenarios simulated.

The findings reveal significant advantages of robotic integration in TIG welding operations. Automating the welding of the inner liner proved to be a very promising idea, offering enhanced efficiency and precision. However, the automation of welding for more complex components, such as the outer cooler, presented greater challenges due to their intricate geometries and accessibility issues.

This work offers valuable recommendations for improving manufacturing processes within Siemens Energy and across various industries. It addresses the challenges and opportunities in robotic welding automation, presenting a solid foundation for future applications and developments in industrial automation.

The thesis contributes valuable knowledge to guide industrial applications towards improved operational performance and sustainable growth.

Laser metal deposition (LMD) is recognized as a critical technique in Additive Manufacturing (AM) that allows the production and repair of components in a high-quality, efficient, and cost-effective manner. However, defects may still arise in the deposited components. While conventional architectures like Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have shown satisfactory results in detecting these defects using images captured during the process, transformer-based models remain relatively underexplored in this context.

This study focused on designing a transformer-based architecture that could achieve high accuracy in identifying anomalies through melt pool images obtained during the wirefed LMD process. Upon its development, it was used to crossreference the predictions of an existing powerful CNN approach to ensure the reliability of its outcomes.

Initially, the algorithm was trained using a custom Vision Transformer-decoder architecture with no labels involved, resulting in an accuracy of 92.66%. By utilizing the captured information from the classification token, its ability to identify anomalies was significantly improved, achieving 99.78% in a 900-image dataset.

However, when evaluated on 6,497 unseen frames from the process with ground truth predictions generated by the CNN model, ViT’s accuracy decreased to 97.83%, a result attributed to the specific training method and the variability in the test set. Despite this reduction, the results were considered satisfactory, given the relatively new application of transformers on images, which has not been extensively explored in the field of anomaly detection.

Overall, this research offers a comprehensive explanation of the proposed model architecture and outlines the necessary modifications required to achieve near-perfect performance on a transformer-based architecture, paving the way for future enhancements in anomaly detection.

The reason for this thesis is the study of solutions to improve the workflow of companies dealing with machine breakdown logs. The current ways of working with these logs is tedious and not very efficient as it requires manual work, task duplication and highly trained operators.

Through an iterative process of problem analysis and solution deployment, the key points of the study are reached, leading to the proposed solutions.

The study demonstrates the potential of using NLP and LLMs for the simplification and explanation of robot breakdown logs as well as the usefulness of automated alert generation based on benchmark breakdown data and the potential improvement of workflow through the automation of the maintenance work order creation.

The thesis has resulted in contributions from the practical as well as the scientific per-spective. The thesis contributes to the practical field by solving concrete problems from the two case companies, and thus providing real solutions that are directly applicable and can be extrapolated to be used by other companies and in other fields. The thesis contributes to the research in the field by creating a new method of using AI technologies to optimize maintenance workflows.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a revolutionary innovation that has transformed the manufacturing industry and has applications in a wide variety of fields. The aerospace industry uses metal AM because of the design freedom it offers and its ability to produce lightweight parts. However, like any other manufacturing technique, AM is also susceptible to faults and defects. Ensuring the quality of the manufactured component is extremely important in the aerospace industry because of its conservative nature.

This thesis presents a system that can identify anomalies in the Wire Feed Directed Energy Deposition/Laser Beam (W-DED/LB) process using acoustic emission (AE) sensors and machine learning (ML). The experiment was done by melting a Waspaloy® wire during the W-DED/LB process onto an Inconel® 718 substrate.

Four acoustic emission sensors and a free-field microphone were used to monitor the experiment. Since nickel-based superalloys are prone to cracking during the AM process, the AE sensors are capable of detecting the elastic waves produced by these cracks within the ultrasonic frequency range. Vallen AE Suite, a companion software for data ac-quisition and analysis provided by the AE sensor manufacturer, and LabVIEW software were used to record data from the AE sensor and microphone, respectively. Two unsupervised clustering algorithms were used to analyse the AE data:

1) HDBSCAN clustering; and 2) Agglomerative hierarchical clustering.

Agglomerative clustering was effective in identifying the anomalies, whereas HDBSCAN did not perform well on the dataset.

The results were evaluated using the transient waveforms of the points identified as anomalies and through X-Ray and X-Ray Computed Tomography (CT) inspection. Anomalies were detected during both X-Ray and CT inspections. The proposed system, which uses AE sensors and machine learning, shows promise for monitoring the W-DED/LB process of Waspaloy®.

This work is conducted in collaboration with Sandvik Coromant to enhance their existing Bulldog machine, located in a robot cell that includes an additional Bulldog machine and a separate drying machine. The current design consists of three chambers: a central blast chamber and two chambers for flushing inserts with water, complemented by a standalone drying machine to complete the process.

This thesis investigates the remanufacturing and automation of an older machine, using the Bulldog machine as an example. The project's goal is to integrate new systems within the machine's existing framework, specifically incorporating the drying process into the Bulldog machine. ABB RobotStudio simulation software was used to develop and compare simulations of both the existing and new designs, assessing operational parameters such as cycle Time, throughput, and energy consumption effectively.

Simulation results disclosed considerable improvements in the performance of the redesigned Bulldog machine. Notably, operational efficiencies are evident in the more balanced processing times for blasting, drying, and flushing, which suggest an enhanced sequential operational flow and shorter cycle times.

Energy consumption by the robot in the robot cell was also reduced with the redesigned Bulldog machine, where fewer robot movements are required, indicating a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly operation. Furthermore, incorporating the drying process directly into the machine has optimized the layout and space usage in the production area, potentially enhancing workflow and safety.

In an era where digitalization reshapes the landscape of industries, leadership in navigating the digital territory becomes paramount. This thesis delves into the realm of work-integrated learning (WIL) in shaping the competencies of leaders poised for the digital age, with a specific focus on Västra Götalandsregionen, Sweden.

The primary aim of this thesis was to examine the importance of WIL for developing digital leadership skills and competencies through analyzing existing leadership behaviors. Based on that, the research question was formed: How does work-integrated learning (WIL) contribute to developing leadership skills and competencies among leaders in Sweden, specifically tailored for the digital age compared to traditional leadership approaches?

Conducting interviews with six leaders across different companies, this study spelled out the profound impact of WIL on fostering digital leadership capabilities. By employing qualitative thematic analysis, key themes emerged, illuminating how WIL experiences intricately intertwine with the development of digital leadership proficiencies.

The results highlighted WIL's diversity and provided a foundation for enhancing not only technical proficiency but also the vital soft skills necessary for successful leadership in the digital age.

The tradition of physical presence in higher education has existed for years. Hybrid learning designs have emerged in recent years as a complement to the traditional way of teaching. This has created flexibility in education independent of time and place. The increasing number of students underscores an ambition to obtain high-quality education. Hence, it becomes critical understand how distance students residing in other countries perceive online-teaching in a synchronous hybrid-form, interconnected with traditional classroom teaching. The purpose is thus to gain an in-depth understanding of the factors affecting the experience of learning and engagement through Zoom. The data consists of 22 hours’ observation of Zoom lectures, supplemented by interviews with two distance students, to enable an in-depth understanding of the Zoom teaching model. The theoretical approach used is Community of Inquiry. The results highlight key conditions for the learning experience in the studied course and show that participation through Zoom in a hybrid classroom affects social and cognitive presence. This limits the interaction between physical classrooms and Zoom rooms and causes limited access to ongoing classroom activities, which slows down the learning process.

 UHR: Webbinarium Kvalitetsdrivet: Måndagen den 27 maj kl 13:00-13:45

Högskolan Väst presenterar en studie där de undersökt normer och representation i marknadsföringsbilder på svenska lärosätens webbplatser. Studien har genomförts inom ramen för forskningsprojektet ”Bilden av – normer i utbildning”. Materialet i studien baseras på bilder från ingenjörsutbildningar, ekonomiutbildningar och sjuksköterskeprogram från olika lärosäten, totalt 78 program i Sverige. Studien visar att bilderna inom högre utbildning till viss del reproducerar stereotypa normer. Genom att öka kunskapen om bildernas betydelse och sträva efter en mångfald kan vi undvika stereotypiska könsnormer och inkludera fler personer till de olika programmen. Webbinariet vänder sig framförallt till dig som är intresserad av och arbetar med breddad rekrytering och deltagande inom högskolesektorn. Du kan både arbeta med stöd, kommunikation, marknadsföring, administration och samverkan inom förvaltning eller arbeta inom akademien med utbildning och forskning. Det kan också vara intressant för dig inom skolsektorn på olika nivåer.

Background:

According to WHOs recommendations, the World Health Organization, babies between 0 and 6 months should be exclusively fed breast milk if possible. The primary care nurse's goal was to promote breastfeeding in cases where the family expressed a desire for this and contribute to the parents' knowledge of breastfeeding. A family-centered approach could help the nurse together with the parents understand the factors behind difficulties breastfeeding and thus provide individual breastfeeding support.

Aim:

The aim of this study was to illustrate nurse's experience of supporting families associated with breastfeeding.Method: Based on the purpose of the study an integrative literature review with systematic search and descriptive design was chosen.

Results:

The result was based on 6 studies with qualitative method and 6 studies with quantitative method. The studies were published between 2000–2024. Three main themes were identified; To be affected by the work environment, To be a professional nurse and To meet the family's expectations.

Conclusion:

Nurses experience of supporting families with breastfeeding was influenced by several crucial factors. The nurses described that they have an important role in achieving participation in health care and helping families achieve a sense of coherence when breastfeeding.

Background:

Mental illness has affected almost one billion individuals worldwide and is the most common cause of sick leave in Sweden. Despite mental illness being prevalent, stigmatization against individuals, seeking help for and somatic symptoms are encountered. In order for nurses and nursing students to provide the best possible care for these individuals, knowledge and understanding of mental illness are needed.

Aim:

The aim is to highlight the experiences of nurses and nursing students in encounters with patients with mental illness.

Method:

The method used is a literature review based on ten articles, six of which were qualitative and four quantitative. The analysis was based on Friberg (2017) three-step model.

Results:

The results are presented with two main themes: Beliefs about patients with mental illness and Own and surrounding barriers. The results show that nurses and nursing students lacked basic knowledge and understanding of mental illness, but also lacked support. This resulted in mixed feelings when encountering individuals with mental illness.

Conclusion:

This literature study showed that challenges in encountering and caring for individuals suffering from mental illness were experienced. The challenges were summarized as a lack of knowledge and understanding of mental illness and deficiencies in the operations that would need improvement to provide better care. This study contributes to increased knowledge about the challenges nurses and nursing students experience regarding mental illness. By offering education on mental illness, increased understanding can arise, and care for individuals with mental illness can be improved.

The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the vulnerability of our health care systems as well as our societies. During the year of 2020, we have witnessed how whole societies globally have been in a turbulent state of transformation finding strategies to manage the difficulties caused by the pandemic. At first glance, the health promotion perspective might seem far away from handling the serious impacts caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. However, as health promotion is about enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, paradoxically health promotion seems to be ever more important in times of crisis and pandemics. Probably, in the future, pandemics will be a part of the global picture along with the non-communicable diseases. These facts strongly demand the health care services to reorient in a health promoting direction.

The IUHPE Global Working Group on Salutogenesis suggests that health promotion competencies along with a reorientation of professional leadership towards salutogenesis, empowerment and participation are required. More specifically, the IUHPE Group recommends that the overall salutogenic model of health and the concept of SOC should be further advanced and applied beyond the health sector, followed by the design of salutogenic interventions and change processes in complex systems.

Background

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a global problem and the thirdleading cause of death worldwide. The biggest risk factors that can lead to development of COPD are smoking, old age, and occupational exposure to dust. COPD is a palliative disease with no cure. Through patient education, patients' health can be improved, and the burden of the disease can be reduced.

Aim

The aim of this study was to describe experiences of patient education in patients with COPD.Method A qualitative literature-based study with ten scientific articles was included and analyzed with Friberg´s five-step model.

Results

The analysis resulted in three themes. "The hand that is always there" showed when the healthcare staff had a deep knowledge of COPD, it generated that the patients learned how they could manage the disease on their own. "A challenging struggle" pointed out that lack of knowledge about COPD, in both patients and healthcare professionals negatively affected the patient's management of their disease. "Paths to good disease management" emerged that all patients had different conditions for how to process information which required person centered care.

Conclusion

It was important for patients that the healthcare staff had a good knowledge of COPD as this reflected the information that patients then absorbed. When the healthcare staff lacked knowledge about COPD it led to uncertainty about self-care and management of the disease.

Background:

Covid-19 came to Sweden at the beginning of January 2020, by March 11 2020 it was classified as a pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic had a severe impact on health care and entailed a comprehensive change in the care work for nurses in home health care. The number of seriously ill patients increased rapidly as nurses had to work in an exposed environment with the risk of becoming infected and passing the infection on to other patients, colleagues and relatives. Nurses was exposed to a heavily burdened working environment with reduced collegial support and guidance from doctors.

Aim: The aim was to describe nurses' experiences of care work within home health care during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Method:

The study has been carried out as an integrative literature study. Analysis was conducted using Whittemore and Knafls integrative analysis method.Results: The result of the study shows that the majority of nurses in home health care experienced extensive changes in their daily work that affected patients, relatives and nursing staff. Furthermore, nurses experienced a deterioration in physical and mental health with varying symptoms. The result was presented with the metaphor "We are all waves of the same sea" where two themes emerged, Nurses' conditions in the work environment and Nurses' emotional stress. These themes were based on respectively four and three sub-themes.

Conclusion:

The Covid-19 pandemic led to an altered work experience for nurses working within home care. New challenges arose on a daily basis, as guidelines and routines were subject to sudden changes. Nurses lived in constant fear being exposed of infection or transferring the infection on to patients, colleagues and family members. The lack of protective equipment and medical supplies was considerable at the start of the pandemic, which lead to an increased spread of infection as well as a deterioration of working conditions. The nurses found themselves feeling alone and powerless, without support from doctors, as the responsibility regarding home care was handed over to the nurses alone. The Covid-19 pandemic lead to nurses experiencing fear and uncertainty regarding the new situation, this in turn led to deteriorating health and working conditions for these nurses.

Background:

Crime rates have significantly increased recently, coinciding with a heightened awareness of neuropsychiatric disorders in relation to criminality. Additionally, there has been a considerable focus on ADHD diagnoses as a whole, rather than on the potential risks of individual ADHD symptoms that may lead to criminal behavior.

Purpose:

The aim of the study was to investigate ADHD symptomatology and behavioral patterns as risk factors for criminality.

Method:

A systematic literature review was conducted with searches between 2014 and 2024, supplemented by an unsystematic search. A total of nine articles were included and analyzed according to Friberg's four-step model.

Results:

Two main themes were identified, each with two subthemes. The results revealed a strong connection between ADHD symptoms, particularly inattention and impulsivity, and an increased propensity for norm-breaking behavior and criminality. Substance abuse often serves as a coping mechanism for ADHD symptoms and reinforces negative behavioral patterns, thereby increasing the risk of criminal involvement. Environmental and social factors, such as schooling and social bonds, also influence the risk of norm-breaking behavior in individuals with different ADHD-symtoms, which can subsequently elevate the risk of criminality.Conclusion: To identify and prevent risk factors for criminal behavior in individuals with ADHD symptoms and associated behavior patterns, individualized interventions are required. By understanding and addressing these factors, preventive measures and interventions can be designed to reduce the risk of deviant behavior and criminality in these individuals.

The Swedish national cadastral index map administrated by Lantmäteriet contains deficiencies in the positional accuracy of property boundaries. These deficiencies affect several parts of society and hinders progress toward a digital urban development process. Using modern methods, Lantmäteriet aims to accelerate the digital transition and is currently exploring the possibility of enlisting the public's help to collect property information through crowdsourcing.

This thesis aims to clarify how property law legislation should be applied when handling information collected through crowdsourcing, with a focus on property boundary markers. This is investigated through a legal dogmatic method, investigating primarily the Swedish Real Property Formation Act (1970:988), Real Property Register Act (2000:224), and the Real Property Register Ordinance (2000:308). Furthermore, the practical opportunities and risks associated with crowdsourcing, as perceived by professionals in the geodata sector, are examined through a qualitative interview-based method.

The study shows that there are no legal obstacles to this type of information collection. However, Lantmäteriet has a clear legal responsibility to insert and remove information in the real property register and must therefore ensure the legal certainty and quality of the information.

The authors of this thesis conclude that there need to be clear considerations regarding when it is appropriate to use crowdsourcing to achieve legal certainty.

Background:

Endometriosis is a complex gynecological condition affecting millions of women worldwide. Despite its prevalence, diagnosing endometriosis poses significant challenges due to a lack of awareness and understanding among healthcare professionals. Aim: This study aims to explore the diagnostic challenges associated with endometriosis and the crucial role of nurses in providing care for women with this condition.

Method:

A systematic literature review was conducted to identify relevant studies addressing endometriosis diagnosis challenges and the role of nurses in patient care. Electronic databases such as PubMed and CINAHL were searched using specific keywords related to endometriosis and nursing care.

Results:

The review revealed significant gaps in the diagnosis of endometriosis, including delays in diagnosis and mismanagement of symptoms. Nurses play a critical role in supporting women with endometriosis through education, emotional support, and symptom management.

Conclusion:

Improved education and awareness among healthcare professionals, including nurses, are essential for timely diagnosis and effective management of endometriosis. Nurses' involvement in the care of women with endometriosis is crucial for enhancing patient outcomes and quality of life. 

Föreliggande studie handlar om hur socialt stöd i form av en psykisk hälsahund kan underlätta livssituationen för personer med psykisk ohälsa. Socialt stöd anses kunna hjälpa mot sociala problem såsom stigma, isolering och låg tro på den egna förmågan. Eftersom psykisk ohälsa kan leda till utanförskap har relationen mellan förare och hund en viktig betydelse eftersom den kan verka som ett socialt stöd i vardagen för föraren och öka förutsättningarna för delaktighet och psykiskt välbefinnande. Delaktighet som begrepp inom socialpedagogiken ses som en motpol till utanförskap och har kommit att vidga förståelsen för vad utanförskap är.

Syftet med studien är således att förstå relationen mellan förare och psykisk hälsahund och hur den kan fungera som socialt stöd och skapa bättre förutsättningar för delaktighet och psykiskt välbefinnande. Föreliggande studie har använt semistrukturerade intervjuer och tematisk analys som metod.

Resultatet visade att assistanshundförarna som deltog i studien upplever relationen sina psykisk hälsahundar som socialt stödjande. De upplever även, med visst förbehåll, att relationen skapar förutsättningar för delaktighet och psykiskt välbefinnande.

I gymnasieskolans språkintroduktionsprogram läser nyanlända elever i åldrarna 16–19 år, vilka varit bosatta i Sverige 0–4 år. Dessa elever saknar godkända betyg för vidare läsning på ett nationellt gymnasieprogram och målet med språkintroduktionen är att bli behöriga för vidare studier.

Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie är att belysa dessa elevers lärande med fokus på gynnsamma faktorer, sett ur ett andraspråksperspektiv, för lyckad språk- och kunskapsutveckling i de samhällsorienterande ämnena i gymnasieskolans språkintroduktionsprogram. Undersökningen har fokuserat på studenters upplevelser av undervisningen sett till både kunskapsinhämtande och språklig utveckling samt bidragande, positiva faktorer kopplade till känslan av lyckad undervisning med särskild hänsyn till parallell språk- och kunskapsutveckling.

I studien intervjuades fyra elever i gymnasieskolans språkintroduktionsprogram och resultatet av studien visar att eleverna upplever att undervisningen i de samhällsorienterande skolämnena sällan främjar deras kunskapsinhämtning eller språkutveckling. Studien visar att undervisande lärare ofta betonar vikten av att först och främst lära sig det svenska språket för att sedan kunna lyckas med sina ämnesstudier. Eleverna i studien upplever ett utanförskap vad gäller placeringen av språkintroduktionsprogrammets lokaler, vilket minimerar naturliga mötesplatser med skolelever från andra gymnasieprogram och skapar en distans mellan eleverna samt ett slags ideal för språkintroduktionselever att eftersträva.

This study investigates the attitudes of Swedish business leaders towards the opportunities and challenges of conversation training in VR.

The results show that leaders’ knowledge of VR technology is generally low, which may affect their attitudes towards the technology. The study also identifies potential problems with VR’s perceived legitimacy and technical sophistication. Leaders express a desire for emotional realism in the training environment, which could lead to hesitation in using AI.

Despite this, the leaders are positive about the possibility of training in VR, but see it primarily as a complement to other forms of training. The study also shows a need for leaders to train in stressful situations. The validity of the study is limited to the leaders’ attitudes and therefore provides limited insight into the actual possibilities with VR for conversation training.

Future research could include practical leadership training with a real VR application and compare the results with traditional training methods.

I denna kvalitativa studie har jag för avsikt att fokusera på att förstå fenomen i sin naturliga miljö och i dess komplexitet, med syfte att beskriva och tolka olika aspekter av människors liv, upplevelser och interaktioner. Genom att intervjua sex svenska som andraspråkselever med liten eller ingen skolbakgrund har jag eftersträvat att förstå den sociala kontexten och tolka deltagarnas upplevelser. Studien visar att de första två åren i den svenska skolan präglas av en kombination av positiva och negativa erfarenheter. Det gäller till exempel skolkulturen och lärarnas didaktiska, interkulturella och relationella kompetens och erfarenhet, men också tillgången till studiehandledare, modersmålslärare och svenska som andraspråkslärare samt att det finns en organisation som främjar samverkan mellan lärare och studiehandledare, och även andra yrkesgrupper (Korp et al., 2019). Negativa aspekter speglar sig genom dålig uppföljningen och att det innebär brist på tillit, otillräcklig information om resurser och bristande gemenskap. Dessa resurser, så som kvalificerade modeller för studiehandledning och god kompetens hos lärare om flerspråkighet och språkutvecklande arbetssätt, finns framför allt i skolor som ofta är stigmatiserade och isolerade ”i staden” (Nilsson Folke, 2015; Bunar, 2011). Ett återkommande mönster vad gäller internationella studier som fokuserar på direktplacering i ordinarie klasser är att modellen framstår som ett attraktivt tillvägagångssätt i teorin, men att problem oftast uppstår vid den praktiska implementeringen (Taylor, 2008; Block m.fl.) Studien ger en bredare förståelse för de erfarenheter och utmaningar som nyanlända svenska som andraspråkselever med kort skolbakgrund möter under sin första tid i den svenska skolan.

Background: 

As a nurse, providing guidance and counseling to close relatives is an important part of the mission, this also includes the children of the patient. Being a child to a parent with a terminal disease implies a major life crisis. Research shows that nurses find it difficult to meet children as relatives because nurses lack both knowledge and experience and have a fear of being emotionally affected.

Aim:

The purpose was to describe children's experiences when facing the impending death of a parent.

Method:

A qualitative systematic literature study constituted the design of the study. Datacollection was conducted through a literature search in the databases Cinahl, Psycinfo, Pubmed and Scopus, which resulted in 12 scientific articles. Data was analyzed using the Bettany-Saltikov and McSherry (2016) analysis method.

Results:

The analyses resulted in three main categories. The first category, The importance of communication, consisted of two subcategories: To obtain adequate information and To establish relationships. The second category, The importance of support, consisted of two subcategories: To spend time with family and friends and To have someone to talk to. The third and last category, Importance of normality, consisted of two subcategories: To maintain everyday life and To receive more responsibility.

Conclusion:

To reduce the negative consequences when a parent is suffering from a terminal disease, children have the need for adequate information, some kind of support and thepossibility of a maintained everyday life. Study results illuminates the experience of children and what they value as important facing the impending death of a parent, which can be of aid to nurses interacting with these children.

Background:

Alcohol and drug use during youth can lead to problems with addiction later in life, affect neurocognitive functions, lead to problems in social life, and have other negative health effects. Previous research shows that lgbt youth have a higher frequency of alcohol and drug usage than non-lgbt youth. Research has partly answered what these differences in usage look like, but there is a need for a compilation of existing knowledge in order to be able to present more valid conclusions on the topic. It’s also been shown that minorities that experience minority stress may turn to drug usage as a coping mechanism. This literature review maps out how previous research has used the term minority stress in order to explain disparities in alcohol and drug use of lgbt youth.

Aim:

The aim of this literature review is to compile existing current research about the alcohol and drug use of lgbt youth, within lgbt subgroups and in relation to non-lgbt youth. The aim is further to map out how research has applied the term minority stress to analyse disparities and which variables related to minority stressors show a correlation to lgbt-youths use of alcohol and drugs.

Method:

The used method is a systematic literature review of nine peer reviewed, quantitative articles.

Results:

Lgbt youth have a higher risk for alcohol and drug use than non-lgbt youth, specifically regarding tobacco, e-cigarettes, alcohol, heavy episodic drinking (HED), cannabis, metamphetamines, cocaine, inhalants and illegal use of prescription medication. Bisexual youth have in several studies been shown to have a higher alcohol and drug use than heterosexual youth and homosexual youth, and trans youth have a higher risk than cis youth. With variables that measure social stressors related to minority stressors, it is clear that there are correlations between lgbt youth experiencing minority stress and their risk of alcohol and drug use.

Conclusions:

Minority stress is a relevant theoretical framework to mediate differences in alcohol and drug use within the lgbt group and in relation to non-lgbt youth. Further research is needed with the aim of forming guidelines for implementing treatment specifically for lgbt youth with risk behaviors.

Borealis is a petrochemical company that produces base chemicals and plastics (polyethene and polypropylene). The production processes are very energy-intensive, and much electric energy is required. Borealis has several hundred distribution transformers worldwide to feed the necessary low-voltage switchgears. So far, no detailed recommendation has been made on how the distribution transformers should be protected, including how the earth should be connected. This means that every time a new distribution transformer is installed, the protection implemented depends on the engineering contractor and the Borealis responsible engineer.

This thesis evaluates the different protections required for distribution transformers in an industrial power grid.Focus has been on how the downstream protective earth (PE) and neutral (N) are connected, what type of earth fault and short circuit protections that are recommended, and what kind of overload protection is recommended (overload, thermal image, or temperature measurement). Also, the “normal” vendors' typical protection devices (Buchholz, overpressure, etc.) has been described.

A complete overview of the necessary protection has been achieved by describing the types of faults that can occur structurally and the protection required for each type. To decide what kind of earth fault protection that can be installed, the type of earthing system must be known. In the case of redundant feed switchgear, the type of circuit-breaker that is used for low voltage switchgear incomers and bus-tie (sectionizer) also need to be known, to identify where the earthing point can be made and what type of earth fault protection that can be installed. Another essential part of the distribution transformer protection is the selectivity scheme. Heavy process industries like Borealis have large direct online starting motors installed in their low-voltage switchgear and therefore a combined time-graded selectivity with inverse characteristics was deemed the most suitable.

The aim of the present study was to examine the leader's role in creating a learning culture within the public sector. The study has a social constructivist starting point and considers learning culture as created in interaction between leaders and employees and sees organizations as practice-based communities. In order to answer the study’s purpose, 16 semi-structured interviews have been conducted with both unit managers, first-linemanagers, employees with both with and without leadership responsibilities and an administrator within five municipal and one government organizations in Sweden.

Based on the results of the study, a learning culture is created through daily interaction between leaders and employees through participation, dialogue, task orientation and assumes collective learning. One of the study's important contributions, which is in line with previous research and the theoretical model, is that learning culture is something that is created daily through both formal and informal interactions, not with the support of isolated investments in the form of education and courses.

The empirical evidence shows, however, that the basis for the learning culture needs to be created through formal interactions, joint meetings, method meetings, reflection times for which time is formallyset aside. To create the learning culture, both managers and employees need to build systems and processes that enable learning. This is because the learning otherwise risks being reserved only for certain forums, but not others and thus does not pervade the entire organization. The second contribution is about the role of leaders in the creation of the learning culture and which leadership is thus best suited for the learning culture.

The study shows that the organizations whose leaders apply trust-based, servant and relationship-oriented leadership have been shown to have more engaged employees who participate in several activities that create and encourage learning. This leadership can advantageously be judged to be learning-oriented.

In February 2024, an open letter was sent to the United Nations (UN) and world governments ahead of the upcoming global event "Summit of the Future – Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow," hosted by the UN General Assembly on September22–23, 2024. The letter underscores the UN's knowledge base as an intangible asset crucial for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Agenda 2030. It emphasizes that the UN's efforts should be founded on and informed by various types of knowledge (KM4Dev et al., 2024).

Concurrently, substantial resources are be inginvested in initiatives and programs aimed at poverty reduction (Miković et al., 2020). In this context, the thesis aims to provide a deeper understanding of how three different UN organizations strategically manage knowledge as an organizational resource and asset. The study is based on a content analysis of the knowledge management strategies of UNDP, UNICEF, and WFP.

The content of the documents is analyzed and coded based on the concepts of knowledge (Polanyi, 1958) and organizational learning (Argyris, 1977; Senge, 1990), as well as the SECI model (socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization) (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). The analysis of the empirical data indicates that these strategies have distinct visions and goals. The concepts of knowledge, knowledge management, and organizational learning are discussed, defined, and applied differently across these organizations. When coding the action plans of the documents, the analysis reveals that the organizations adopt diverse approaches to operationalize their strategies.

The study concludes that UNDP, UNICEF, and WFP have different objectives for knowledge management, and there is a varying understanding among these UN organizations regarding the practicalities of knowledge management work. Although the organizations use the same terminology, they imbue these terms with different meanings, potentially leading to confusion in interorganizational collaboration. The conclusions of this thesis can contribute to the policy debate on the role of knowledge as a strategic resource within the UN.

This study has examined the work environment of first-line managers in the public sector. The public sector in Sweden employs almost 1.4 million people. Focusing on first-line managers therefore ought to be in the interest of all organizations. First-line managers provide a key function in mediating between upper management and coworkers in the public sector. In spite of this, there are problems with both recruiting and retaining first-line managers.

The purpose of this study is to contribute with an additional understanding of how to create a sustainable work environment for first-line managers in the public sector. The study is qualitative with a thematic analysis approach. A total of 10 semi-structured interviews with first-line managers in the public sector have been conducted. The theoretical framework rests on two models, JD-R as well as job embeddedness.

The empirical data is outlined using three main themes, with additional sub-themes: 1. work environment, 2. requirements and resources, 3. motivation and sustainability. The analysis presents suggestions on how the work environment could be improved for first-line managers, which in turn enables the recruitment and retainment first-line managers in the public sector. The conclusion highlights the answer that arises from the study's aim and the framing of the question.

In addition, the conclusion shows of a concrete need of additional research areas delving into strategies as a factor for determining first-line managers' view oft he sustainability of their work environment.

Research on gamers in multiplayer online-games show that men are more likely than women to play as a character of the opposite sex. Playing video/computer games alone in your room has presented an opportunity for gender-swapping while being anonymous and free from judgement. Although games are heavily represented by male character, and the female ones are often overly feminine and sexualized - making men less prone to recognize themselves in the character. Still one in three men play games as a character of the opposite sex.

Other work has shown many theories on why this is. Some saying that society is more strict on men violating gender norms and therefore men are more likely to explore their gender identity in digital environments, that men simply play as the opposite sex because they are attracted to the female character or that female characters are perceived as weaker by other players and therefore is given an advantage because people underestimate them, or even helps them and treats them better than if they played as a male characters.

To further investigate this; in depth Interviews were conducted on six responders in Sweden too see if these theories were found to be true for any of these individuals. Rather than looking at and comparing data like previous surveys had done, the purpose of this study is to paint a picture of the individual; to see what could motivate guys on an individual level in the choice of game character, considering the anonymity that arises in online games.

The results showed that all respondents could testify to how male and female characters were treated differently in the games. This could be a reason why boys choose to play as a female character. There are particularly thoughts about the advantages of playing as a woman. One respondent pointed out that finding a character attractive is a reason, while another respondent completely opposes the idea of playing as a female character. The results were discussed in the context of previous research. 

Even though, the human resource management literature has highlighted the importance of having employees that are committed to the organization, research on strategic human capital has yet to fully consider how commitment is related to human capital resources.

In order to overcome the dominant individual-level conceptualization of commitment and to detail how commitment affects human capital resources, we develop the unit-level concept of commitment capital, which we divide into three levels: affiliative commitment capital, affinitive commitment capital, and absolute commitment capital. These conceptualizations are based on a 10-year case study and incorporate commitment into a strategic human capital framework, thus bridging the current gap between organizational commitment and human capital resources.