I detta Vinnovafinansierade forskningsprojekt, Interaktiv forskning för grön omställning, IFGO, har vi undersökt hur små och medelstora industriföretag (SMF) kan stöttas i sin gröna omställning för ökad resurseffektivitet, minskad klimatpåverkan och ökad konkurrenskraft. Forskningsprojektet genomfördes av Linköpings universitet under perioden september 2021 – december 2024. Projektet omfattar en förstudie och fyra efterföljande fördjupande delstudier som fokuserade olika aktörer som stöttar SMF (rapporteras i bilaga 1–5 i denna rapport). Samhällspolicyer på nationell och internationell nivå har ökat förväntningarna att näringslivet aktivt ska bidra till att lösa miljö- och hållbarhetsutmaningar. Många aktörer inklusive forskningsfinansiärer vill öka farten i denna gröna omställning. För att stötta SMF har ett stödsystem vuxit fram bestående av aktörer som på olika sätt hjälper företag och entreprenörer i deras omställningsarbete. Ett stödsystem kan definieras som ”alla aktörer, institutionella miljöer och resurser som hjälper entreprenörer att arbeta framgångsrikt med innovation och utveckling”. Några aktörer verkar på en övergripande nivå, andra främst regionalt eller lokalt. Rapporten fokuserar aktörer som är offentligt ägda eller delvis finansierade av offentliga medel. 

Min forskning handlar om lokal utveckling, politik och planering i områden som har ett vikande befolkningsunderlag, en svag ekonomi och som ligger långt ifrån de stora tillväxtnoderna. Ibland kallas sådana områden för glesbygd, landsbygd eller för krympande geografier. Ibland kallas de perifera, ibland för eftersatta, ibland för platser med geografiska lägesnackdelar. Min forskning handlar om hur det är att leva och verka på sådana platser. Den handlar om hur det är att vara kommunpolitiker eller att jobba i den kommunala förvaltningen där. Vad kan kommunerna göra för att få den lokala demokratin, beslutsfattandet, planeringen, verksamheten och utvecklingen att fungera även om man har lite uppförsbacke?

Syftet med min text är att synliggöra forskningens betydelse för dessa platser och för de som lever och verkar där. Men innan jag fördjupar mig i den uppgiften vill jag diskutera forskningens betydelse i samhället mer generellt.

The challenges of parameter optimization can be complex and require custom-made solutions for a specific problem. One such issue is within market surveillance frameworks. Market surveillance frameworks are tools for detecting potentially illegal market activity by analyzing stock market data. However, their detection functions called alert rules, use varying amounts of parameters that require time-consuming tuning, the work aims to develop an automated method for adjusting unique sets of parameters belonging to alert rules which detect suspicious activity in various financial marketplaces. This is to achieve a desired number of triggered alerts, to save time and therefore also resources when tuning. This thesis explores the approach of using Differential Evolution, a black-box optimization algorithm that has been successful in solving optimization tasks, to solve this problem. The thesis also looks into the key features of anomaly detection in surveillance frameworks and evaluates the effectiveness of implementing the Differential Evolution algorithm with mixed-variable handling. Differential Evolution will be assessed on convergence speed and fitness score with regard to data set size. By identifying an effective hyperparameter configuration for the algorithm, this research aims to contribute to improved market surveillance and thus also to a more transparent financial market. This thesis has been conducted in collaboration with the company Scila which specializes in market surveillance. The results show that a more exploitive approach is beneficial for the Differential evolution algorithm when optimizing the alert rule parameters. Mutation factors F ď 0.5 consistently displayed better mean fitness across generations, faster convergence, and better best solutions close to the desired target number of alerts. The proposed implementation was therefore successful in optimizing the problem’s objective function contributing to the development of tools that could enable a more transparent and even financial market for its participants while simultaneously aiding authorities in surveilling the aforementioned market by potentially decreasing the time requirement of manually tuning alert rules within a finance surveillance framework.

Approximately eight billion laying hens currently support the global demand for eggs. To sustain this growing worldwide commercial demand, a continuous supply of laying hens in their peak production stage is required. These hens begin their lives in large-scale commercial hatcheries, where, as newly hatched chicks, they undergo a highly efficient industrial process. Shortly after hatching in large incubators, chicks are transferred onto a conveyor belt system that moves them through several stations, each handling a specific task: separation from the eggshell, sex-sorting, vaccination, and machine-packing for transportation to the rearing farm. This process has previously been shown to elicit a stress response with both short- and long-term effects on behaviour, physiology, and affective states, which could lead to future welfare issues. The primary focus of this thesis revolves around mitigating the stress chicks have incurred at the commercial hatchery upon hatching.

In paper I, we enriched chicks by providing them with a more complex environment and a stuffed mother hen on which the chicks were imprinted. Among hatchery-hatched chicks, those provided with enrichment exhibited a reduced stress response to a restraint; however, no other effects of enrichment were found. Overall, hatchery chicks showed more pessimism and higher stress levels when socially isolated, which is consistent with previous studies indicating that the commercial hatching conditions are stressful.

Similarly, in paper II, we investigated whether enriching the early environment with natural-like elements could buffer hatchery stress. Enriched chicks completed a spatial memory test more quickly while making less immediate errors, were more optimistic in a cognitive judgment bias test, and had fewer feather fault bars, which indicate lower levels of acute stress. We concluded that the provided naturalistic enrichment helped reduce early stress and improved welfare.

In paper III, we explored whether stimulating play behaviours in an arena with objects during the first weeks of life could buffer early stress sustained during the commercial hatching process. Play-stimulated chicks exhibited reduced fear in response to a novel object; however, contrary to our expectations, they also showed more pessimism in a cognitive bias test. No effects of play were observed in the other assays. Our results suggest that play stimulation can help chicks tackle future challenges, but its impact on emotional states requires further research.

In the final paper, paper IV, we examined how the commercial hatchery process affected stress events that occur at later stages in a laying hen’s life, such as transportation and introductions to novel environments and new social groups. Control chicks exhibited reduced tonic immobility durations following transportation. Comb temperatures of hatchery-hatched chicks indicated both stress-induced hyperthermia after a regrouping procedure and a stronger autonomic response to an acute stressor. This demonstrates the long-lasting effects of commercial hatching on the hens’ abilities to cope with routine events encountered in rearing environments.

In summary, these findings further illustrate the negative impact commercial hatching procedures have on both the stress response and welfare of laying hens, even affecting their ability to cope with stressors encountered later in life. Fortunately, enriching chicks’ lives with more complex environments and providing opportunities to enhance play can moderate stress sensitivity, reduce fearfulness, and improve positive affective states which in turn enhances welfare outcomes. Together, these papers bring support to the need to refine the early-life environments of hens to help buffer stress and in turn improve their long-term welfare.

Denna rapport är en sammanfattning av de huvudresultat och praktiska implikationer från forskningsprojektet ”Att leda och samarbeta i team på distans - effekter av Covid-19 i projektbaserade organisationer” (200 354). Projektet har finansierats av AFA Försäkring och har pågått 2021–2024.

COVID-19 pandemin föranledde många organisationer att övergå till att arbeta i hybridformat. Denna övergång blev särskilt kännbar i projektbaserade kunskapsintensiva företag, som bygger på att medarbetarna samarbetar i team. Teamen är centrala för innovation, upplärning och kompetensutveckling, och utgör grunden för företagens fortlevnad. Projektet undersöker vilka konsekvenser övergången till hybridarbete får för hur teamen samarbetar, organiserar sitt arbete, och leds.

Projektet syftar till att utvinna ny teoretiskt och praktiskt relevant kunskap om hur samarbete och teamkänsla i projektbaserade kunskapsintensiva företag påverkas av att arbetet utförs via digitala verktyg istället för i fysisk närhet. Vi studerar hur arbetet organiseras och leds, hur rekrytering och insocialisering av nya medlemmar sker, hur teamen arbetar med kunskapsutveckling, lärande och innovation, samt hur känslan av tillhörighet påverkas av att arbeta på distans via digitala verktyg.

Vi har genomfört en kvalitativ flerfallsstudie av åtta konsultbolag inom management/strategi, teknik/IT, policy och HR, vilket genererat 65 intervjuer med konsulter i olika roller. Intervjuerna har givit nya insikter hur övergången till hybridarbete påverkar hur arbetet organiseras och leds, samt för kunskapsutveckling och innovation. Observationer har utförts på workshops och strategidagar i ett av fallföretagen. Vi har även samlat in dokument om processer, policies, etc, från fallföretagen.

Våra resultat visar att hybridarbete skapar spänningar och stress hos kunskapsarbetare, vilket gör det svårt att utveckla en tydlig professionell identitet. Organisationer som använder lärlingsmodellen är särskilt sårbara, då juniora medarbetare behöver mer vägledning från seniora kollegor. Hybridarbete påverkar också ledar- och följarrelationer, där digitala verktyg ersätter fysisk närhet och förändrar hur identiteter och tillhörighet konstrueras. Pandemin har dessutom skapat utmaningar för teamarbete, med både fördelar och nackdelar för distansarbete, och har påverkat socialiseringen av nyanställda negativt.

Vibration is a vital field in physics, especially within the aeronautical industry, where precise vibration prediction is crucial to prevent structural failures and equipment damage. During the conceptual phase of aircraft design, the prediction of the vibrational environment is highly valu-able. This thesis examines the vibrational environment in an aircraft structure subjected to cavity oscillations caused by an internal weapon bay. The study uses the ESDU 18011 standard to model a continuous non-deterministic excitation resulting from these oscillations. The aims are to in-vestigate the necessary model fidelity to accurately capture the vibrational environment in the frequency range, to model and install damping mats to investigate the influence on the dynamical behaviour, and to examine the effect of equipment mounting on local vibration responses. The methodology begins with designing the downstream wall of the internal weapon bay to withstand fatigue and resonance due to increased sound pressure. This redesigned wall is then incorporated into the aircraft structure. Structural fidelity is assessed by implementing reinforcements, point masses, and fuel. The effects of damping mats on the vibrational environment are evaluated by modelling and mounting them. Furthermore, the study analyses the local impact of the mount-ing of the equipment on vibrations. The results show that high model fidelity is crucial near the internal weapon bay, a dense mesh is required to accurately capture the wave propagation for higher frequencies, damping mats influence the dynamic behaviour, and equipment mounting substantially decreases local vibrational amplitudes.

Forskning har visat att unga vuxna med kognitiv funktionsnedsättning ofta har digitala spel som intresse samtidigt som de löper hög risk för socialt utanförskap med begränsade möjligheter att påverka insatser som berör dem. Fler studier som utgår från personer med kognitiv funktionsnedsättnings perspektiv behövs.

Syftet med studien är att utforska aktivitetsrepertoar och upplevelse av digitala spel hos unga vuxna gamers med kognitiv funktionsnedsättning, samt att undersöka deras upplevda möjligheter och hinder till arbete eller annan sysselsättning och värde av att ha ett arbete.

Studien bygger på sekundärdata. Genom ett strategiskt urval rekryterades 10 personer med kognitiv funktionsnedsättning i åldern 20 till 31 med ett självupplevt stort intresse för digitala spel och berättigade sysselsättning via LSS eller SoL. All data samlades in av forskargruppen under sommaren, hösten och vintern 2021 genom individuella intervjuer och fokusgruppsdiskussioner. I uppsatsen genomfördes en reflexiv tematisk analys av kvalitativa data som inte tidigare analyserats. Det gjordes även en deskriptiv sammanfattning av kvantitativa data som forskargruppen samlade in med instrumentet COPM i samband med intervjuer. 

Resultatet visade att deltagarnas aktivitetsrepertoar dominerades av fritid och centrerade runt digitala spel som möjliggjorde ett socialt och aktivt liv för deltagarna. Trots att aktiviteter inom produktivitet upplevdes begränsade drömde många deltagare om ett betalt arbete. Bristen på långsiktiga och individuellt utformade stöd samt bristande samverkan mellan olika aktörer upplevdes hindra deltagarnas möjligheter till arbete. En större förståelse för deltagarnas intressen och styrkor vid utformning av insatser och stöd behövs för att möjliggöra delaktighet i arbetslivet, vardagliga sysslor och fritidsaktiviteter utanför nätet. 

I denna studien undersöker vi hur eurocentrism tar form i historieläroböcker på högstadienivå. Arbetet presenterar tre frågeställningar och för att besvara dessa har vi använt oss av befintlig forskning som tagits fram genom en systematisk litteraturanalys. Frågeställningar behandlar de eurocentriska tendenser forskningen hittar i historieläroböcker, hur den riskerar att påverka undervisningen och vilka strategier skolan kan använda för att arbeta mot en interkulturell historieundervisning. Den tidigare forskningen har bearbetats med en innehållsanalys och genom analysmetoden skapades fyra kategorier för att besvara frågeställningen. De eurocentriska tendenserna som hittades var olika typer av vinklade representationer, felaktig historisk information och förskjutning av ansvar från historiska aktörer. Påverkan som riskerar att komma till följd av en eurocentrisk undervisning är att elever får ett "vi" och "dem"-perspektiv på historien och det riskerar att förvränga deras identitetsskapande process i samband med historia. Med den sista frågeställningen så togs det fram en punktlista med fyra olika strategier och åtgärder som kan tillämpas för att motverka eller arbeta runt en eurocentrisk historieundervisning.

Laboratoriearbete anses vara en viktig del av utbildningsprocessen eftersom eleverna därigenom får färdigheter och en fördjupad förståelse för materialens egenskaper och deras samverkan. Genom att med egna ögon se hur teoretisk kunskap tillämpas i praktiken, får de en bättre förståelse för ämnets innehåll. Målet är att bekräfta vikten av att öppna laboratorier i kemilektioner ur lärarnas perspektiv samt att identifiera de utmaningar och svårigheter de står inför.

Detta verifierades genom att genomföra en kvalitativ undersökning bland ett antal kvalificerade kemilärare på mellanstadiet och gymnasiet. De tillfrågades med hjälp av flera frågor om laboratoriernas betydelse och hur dessa bidrar till att höja elevernas förståelsenivå för att uppnå målen med kemistudier. 

Resultaten visade att lärarna är positiva till att öppna laboratorier i kemilektioner för eleverna och tror att eleverna får en ökad förståelse under laborationer. Resultaten visade också att det finns utmaningar som lärare stöter på under laborativt arbete, inklusive brist på resurser, kemikalier, tidsbegränsningar och variationer i elevernas nivåer, vilket orsakar stress för läraren. Vissa elever har svårigheter med förståelse eller språk, vilket försenar laborativt arbete eftersom de saknar kunskap och behöver mer tid.

When we speak, we carry out social actions that are mediated through spoken words. For example, through speech, we may ask for directions. These spoken actions are referred to as speech acts. We humans unconsciously understand and categorize speech acts all the time. But, how can we make computers do the same? 

 The objective of this thesis was to develop an automatic classifier for speech acts in Swedish sentences. To do this, I first annotated a test set of speech acts, following the MATTER development cycle. The sentences in this test set originate from online discussion forums. I then developed and trained a rule-based classifier using a subsample of these sentences. Finally, this rule-based classifier was used for automatically annotating a large training set, which was then used for training a neural network for classifying speech acts—essentially bootstrapping the network from the rule-based classifier. This neural network uses SBERT to compute the sentence embeddings of the sentences and then classifies their speech acts based on these embeddings. 

 The results indicate that using the MATTER cycle is a feasible approach for creating a test set for speech acts. Furthermore, the results show that the embedding-based classifier outperforms the rule-based classifier, but also that the rule-based classifier vastly outperforms the baseline. However, it was not possible to conclude if the embedding-based classifier's higher performance was due to the increase in data or because of its differing architecture. 

This thesis applies and evaluates a  framework for sound design drawing on ethnomethodology and conversation analysis (EMCA) to explore how sound design can enhance real-world human-robot interactions. The framework is applied on the case of delivery robots used for last-mile deliveries. After analyzing video material of real interactions involving the delivery robots, workshops were conducted where sound designs were developed using vocal sketching and digital sound prototyping. The sound designs and interactions during the workshops were transcribed and analyzed, resulting in a set of sound design suggestions. These were intended by the designers to enhance interactions by clearly communicating the robots' states and actions, potentially improving safety and accessibility in public spaces as well as positively affecting the perception of the robot. However, testing and broader application is necessary to validate and generalize the sound designs as well as the framework itself. Future work should involve implementing these sounds in real-world settings and exploring the framework's applicability to other robot contexts and other groups of designers.

The Swedish municipality of Växjö has set the ambitious climate goal of becoming a fossil fuel-free city by 2030. Växjö has long strived to become an eco-smart, green and healthy, growing and inclusive city, and create a community that stops causing any negative climate impacts by 2030. The study uses the qualitative research method of case study. The policy document and municipal published reports from Växjö municipality provide the empirical data. Four online interviews were conducted to provide the first-hand data. This thesis aims to critically analyze the challenges and constraints that Växjö faces in its process of fossil fuel-free ambition achievement. And answering three research questions: the current strategies, challenges (in technology, policies, and social aspects), and solutions implemented by Växjö Municipality. The conclusion shows that Växjö has fall behind in achieving carbon neutrality by other Swedish peer cities, and there are gaps between symbolic actions (e.g. green branding) and real sustainable practices. The transition to a just and inclusive framework is needed to reconcile the rhetoric with reality for Växjö. This research fills the gap of a deeper understanding of complex dynamics in a small municipality like Växjö to achieve carbon neutrality and fossil fuel-free ambition, contributes to understanding the complex dynamics of local sustainability efforts, and contributes to the growing literature on energy transition theory in a specific city. It also offers practical insights for other municipalities, especially the small cities that pursue the similar climate goals. 

Adolescent mental health is today a topic raising great concern, and reports of rising rates of mental health problems have led some to call the situation a mental health crisis. In parallel with this, there has been a realization that nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is something affecting an increasingly large share of adolescents. The fact that resources are limited together with the knowledge of the burden of mental health problems have spurred a great interest in prevention. Schools are seen as arenas with great potential for deploying preventive interventions targeting adolescents. The available evidence for such interventions is, however, limited and there is a need to better understand how they could be more effective. The present thesis aims to contribute to the scientific knowledge about school-based mental health prevention by investigating the effects of a whole-school prevention program, to explore adolescents’ experiences of taking part in such a program and to shed light on heterogeneity among adolescents with a history of NSSI as well as mechanisms underlying engagement in NSSI.

In Study I, the aim was to investigate emotion regulation and trauma symptoms as potential mediators of the association between childhood abuse and NSSI. In a sample (N = 3,169) of data from community adolescents, mediation was investigated using structural equation modeling. Both emotion regulation and trauma symptoms were found to partly mediate the relationship between childhood abuse and NSSI, and together to mediate this association completely. Study conclusions were that emotion regulation and trauma symptoms seem to be what drives NSSI rather than experiences of childhood abuse themselves.

Study II aimed to investigate characteristics of the subgroups of adolescents acknowledging NSSI when answering a dichotomous yes/no question versus a checklist with NSSI behaviors, in a sample (N = 266) of community adolescents. These groups were found to be large and to differ from each other in several respects, with implications both in clinical and research settings. Further, cluster analysis was employed in order to identify subgroups among adolescents with NSSI and, finding such subgroups to be different from each other, it was concluded that there was a need for greater awareness of the heterogeneity within NSSI.

In Study III, the effects of a whole-school preventive intervention were evaluated in longitudinal data from the same sample as in Study II (N = 183 with complete data from three points of measurement), harnessing the cluster-randomized, controlled design of the overall project. Effects were found on NSSI frequency, which decreased at post-intervention, and on Stigma Awareness, which increased. Conclusions of Study III was that a whole-school preventive intervention can be effective in reducing NSSI frequency and in increasing adolescents’ awareness of mental health stigma.

Study IV was a qualitative group interview study employing thematic analysis in order to explore adolescents’ experiences of taking part in the whole-school preventive intervention as well as their perspectives on mental health. Key findings were the identification of a autonomy/help-seeking dilemma, and the perceived need of interventions targeting mental health among adolescents.

In conclusion, the present thesis adds to the knowledge about prevention targeting NSSI and mental health among adolescents by documenting effects of a whole-school prevention program. Further, the thesis provides insights related to school-based prevention, including adolescents’ experiences, information on NSSI measurement and subgroups among individuals with a history of NSSI.

Autonomous vehicles are thought of as tools for increasing safety on the roads. However, automated vehicles have on multiple occasions been involved in accidents. This thesis is centered around the experience of safety drivers who test autonomous trucks. The aim is to improve safety for safety driver. I approach the task with acceptance of the fact that errors will occur due to being human (formerly known as human error). Studies in the field of human factors indicate that automation can result in decreased levels of situation awareness and mental underload, and overtrust or undertrust. There is also an increased risk of mode confusion and difficulties sustaining attention, which is a problem since the automation level of the vehicle in question is rising and the safety driver will still be neededfor the foreseeable future. I take a research through design approach and use observation,contextual interviews, co-creation, workshops, the wizard of oz method, enactment, back-casting and user testing. Through these methods, my participants and I identify critical traffic situations and propose design solutions that can make the work of the safety driver safer. The proposed design solutions are as follows: reducing the mental workload of the handover process by simplifying it; adding a feature that allows safety drivers to see what the system perceives through its sensors, which can improve their situational awareness (SA) and foster appropriate trust levels; using a colored bar on a screen behind the steerin wheel to communicate the mode; and enabling safety drivers to receive instructions for engaging auto mode.

As the need for autonomous and on-site renewable power sources grows, developing efficient energy solutions for distributed sensors, wearable electronics, cooling systems, and other low-power applications has become increasingly critical. Organic thermoelectric generators (TEGs), which convert low-grade heat into electrical energy through the Seebeck effect, offer a promising solution for powering these devices. Organic TEGs possess some advantages over inorganic TEGs in the context of sustainable energy harvesting because the active materials are often solution-processable at room temperature, which enables scalable patterning and printing techniques. Furthermore, these semiconductors are typically derived from Earth-abundant, non-toxic elements, making them environmentally friendly and sustainable. Among organic semiconductors, conducting polymers, particularly PEDOT (Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)), emerge as pivotal materials in organic TEGs due to their favorable electrical and thermal properties. Thus, a deep understanding of these polymers is essential for guiding material design and optimizing device performance. In this regard, computational methods represent an important tool in studies of organic thermoelectric materials and devices since they not only provide insights into the electronic and thermal properties of materials on atomic and molecular levels but also allow for the prediction of the device's performance without the need for extensive experimental work.

This thesis employs multi-scale computational modeling to advance the understanding and optimization of organic thermoelectric materials and devices, including: (I) Finite element method modeling to analyze and optimize the micro-TEGs, (II) Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to investigate charge transport mechanisms in PEDOT conducting polymer, and (III) Machine learning approaches to predict and study the electronic properties of PEDOT thin films.

Part (I) presents that achieving power densities in the range of mW cm−2 at a temperature gradient of 10 K is feasible through geometrical optimization and utilizing advanced organic thermoelectric inks. Particularly, we simulated the PEDOT:PSS/BBL:PEI micro-TEGs and improved device efficiency under varying thermal gradients using COMSOL software.

In part (II), we developed a computational technique based on ab initio molecular dynamics to trace the temporal motion of charge carriers in a single PEDOT chain and in coupled chains with varying degrees of interaction. Subsequently, we used ab initio molecular dynamics to demonstrate that charge transport along the chains is band-like, while transport across chains follows a hopping-like mechanism. The calculated polaron mobility along the chains reached 4 cm2V−1s−1, providing a theoretical upper limit for thiophene-based conducting polymers. Also, we quantified the hopping rate between chains, consistent with Marcus theory, by analyzing polaron jumps.

Part (III) integrates computational modeling with machine learning to explore changes in morphological and transport properties of PEDOT:Tos prepared using different solvents. We employed convolutional neural networks to achieve high accuracy (r2>0.99) in predicting electronic coupling values and significantly accelerated the analysis compared to density functional theory calculations. This approach enabled detailed investigations into how different solvents affect the electronic coupling of PEDOT dimers.

We believe that our findings on organic thermoelectric material and devices provide a comprehensive framework for improving the performance and scalability of organic TEGs and open new avenues for further research.

Syftet med föreliggande rapport är att beskriva bostadsområdena och stadsdelarna Skäggetorp i Linköpings kommun och Navestad i Norrköpings kommun. Båda områden är socioekonomiskt utsatta och tidigare forskning visar att digitalt utanförskap kan kopplas till ett socioekonomiskt utanförskap. Digital delaktighet kan således vara ett sätt att öka inkludering och välstånd, därför står det särskilt i fokus i denna rapport. Digital delaktighet avgränsas till begreppen tillgång, kompetens och användning av digital teknik.

Skäggetorp och Navestad beskrivs först med hänsyn till geografiska attribut och statistik om invånarna. Stadsdelarna jämförs främst med andra stadsdelar inom respektive kommun, men även med varandra. Skäggetorp är befolkningsmässigt större än Navestad men de har liknande förutsättningar i form av geografiskt läge, där områdena befinner sig utanför stadskärnorna. Invånarna i båda stadsdelarna skiljer sig från andra stadsdelar och kommunen som helhet i att andelen med utländsk bakgrund är högre, utbildningsnivåer lägre och den socioekonomiska standarden är generellt sett lägre, bland annat.

Utifrån invånarna själva genom fokusgrupper, och intervjuer med professionella som arbetar i Skäggetorp och/eller Navestad beskrivs här områdena och upplevelser och praktiska erfarenheter av digital delaktighet. Totalt deltog 26 respondenter i studien. Trots olika erfarenheter och bakgrund delade respondenterna flera upplevelser om situationen kring digital delaktighet i Skäggetorp och Navestad, samt vad som behöver utvecklas.

Tillgång till digital teknik är, enligt invånarna, inte ett stort problem. Däremot de som arbetar med service och i olika verksamheter i stadsdelarna har mer delade meningar om tillgången till digital teknik. Det är därmed inte självklart att invånare i Skäggetorp och Navestad har tillgång till telefoner och datorer, men trots bristerna så upplevs det som ett mindre hinder.

Det största hindret för vuxna invånare i Skäggetorp och Navestad är kunskap om digital teknik. I ett samhälle där välfärdstjänster har digitaliserats och att kunna använda tekniken är grundläggande för att kunna ansöka om bidrag, deklarera och söka jobb utgör denna kunskapsbrist ett mycket akut problem. Det påpekar såväl invånare som professionella. Att tekniken utvecklas snabbt gör att de digitala klyftorna i samhället ökar i samma takt. Ungdomar och unga vuxna invånare har däremot mycket god kunskap om digital teknik, vilket gör att de måste hjälpa vuxna och äldre invånare.

För att invånare i Skäggetorp och Navestad ska kunna använda digitala välfärdstjänster, och för att öka jämlikheten, krävs utbildande insatser och stöd från offentlig sektor i den digitala omställningen. Ett förslag som väckts av våra respondenter var att inkludera digital kompetens i SFI-utbildningen och möjlighet till fortsatta kurser i datorkunskap.

I diskussioner om politisk delaktighet menar såväl invånare som professionella att tillit till politiker är låg generellt i Skäggetorp och Navestad. Misstro mot socialtjänsten är ytterligare ett problem som är utbrett i stadsdelarna. Det finns behov av att politiker och tjänstepersoner besöker områdena och pratar med invånarna om frågor som berör dem. Sådana insatser har tidigare gett resultat. Skriftlig information ger inte effekt enligt respondenter, utan det behövs mer frekventa besök, inte endast under valår. Dessa slutsatser är viktiga för dem som utvecklar policyer och stöttar dem som bor i utsatta stadsdelar, men även för fortsatt forskning.

Email categorization is a significant challenge in today's digital workplace, where sorting through messages may become complicated. This thesis addresses this problem by developing and evaluating the Thunderbird email client's autonomous email categorization system.

Specifically, the study explores several machine learning models: Traditional algorithms (Logistic Regression, Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forest, XGBoost) and a Deep Learning model, Distil-BERT.

The study also showcases the development of a custom Thunderbird extension that integrates fine-tuned machine learning models through a FastAPI backend service, providing empirical verification of the proposed approach. This implementation supports single and ensemble model predictions, offering flexibility in dealing with the trade-off between accuracy and computational resource usage.

The findings of this research provide insights and lessons learned regarding the implementation, practical challenges, and future opportunities of automated email categorization, enriching the general understanding of using machine learning solutions for everyday productivity problems. 

Organisatorisk innovation förknippas sällan med krishantering. Ändå omfattar lärandet från organisering i kriser ofta nya insikter, kunskaper och arbetssätt om det tas till vara. I det här kapitlet diskuteras samverkan i situationer där mycket står på spel. I kris och räddning möts för varandra obekanta organisationer i respons på oväntade och ofta oönskade situationer. Med utgångspunkt i den för sin tid största sökinsatsen i Sverige efter ett försvunnet barn, identifieras i det följande samverkansformer som fungerar i kris och räddning respektive sådana som inte gör det.

I denna avhandling undersöks historieundervisningen i årskurs 4–6 med fokus på vilka värden och normer som (re)produceras hos elever i klassrummet. Syftet är att belysa historia som fostrande praktik och att förstå vilka ”vi” är och blir genom en historieundervisning i en grundskola som både ska upprätthålla och utveckla en särskild värdegrund. Studien bygger på 70 klassrumsobservationer i årskurs 4, 5 och 6, intervjuer, läromedel, elevtexter och prov insamlade 2020–2021. Med stöd i teorier om nationalism, social identitet och meningserbjudande förstås och analyseras historiebruk som en institutionell praktik.

Resultaten visar att undervisningen konstruerar kollektiva identiteter och påverkar elevers förståelser av det förflutna. Den ”historiske andre” framträder både som oönskad och oumbärlig för skolans värdefostran – ett hot mot ordningen men nödvändig för att definiera vad som är normalt och önskvärt. Tre delvis konkurrerande historiebruk och ”vi:n” identifieras i klassrummet: ett ”demokrati-presentistiskt”, där ett mörkt och svårt förflutet kontrasteras mot ett upplyst och moraliskt värdegrundsdrivet nu; ett ”storsvenskt”, där elever socialiseras in i traditionella dygder via ett tidsöverskridande svenskt pronomen, berättelser med kontinuitet och estetik med rötter i 1900-talets tidiga folkskola; samt ett ”individualistiskt” bruk, där agens och persona betonas i elevers och lärares tolkningar av historiska aktörer såsom drottning Kristina. Tillsammans formar dessa en samhällsbevarande och ”nygammal” värdegrund som bekräftas av majoriteten av eleverna.

Samtidigt finns motstånd, med elever i etniskt heterogena klassrum som ställer sig utanför det svenska ”vi:et” och ifrågasätter skolans bild av ett moraliskt fulländat Sverige genom att lyfta erfarenheter av rasism och ojämlikhet. Sammantaget bidrar avhandlingen med en praktiknära förståelse för hur historia används i fostrande syften och hur svenskhet reproduceras genom undervisningen i grundskolan.   

Frivilliga som deltar i räddningsinsatser är inte ovanligt i dagens samhälle, och vissa typer avfrivilliga väntas öka kommande år. Organisationen av de frivilliga kan variera och ibland kanorganisation saknas helt. Det finns exempelvis frivilliga i föreningar, frivilliga som har anslutitsig till appar och frivilliga som saknar tillhörighet överhuvudtaget. Arbetsmiljöansvaret kanvariera över de frivilliga baserat på de organisatoriska skillnaderna.

Regler om räddningsinsatser och vem som ansvarar för räddningsinsatserna finns i lagen omskydd mot olyckor (2003:778). Lagen fastställer att det huvudsakligen är kommunen somansvarar för räddningsinsatser enligt 3 kap. 7 § lagen om skydd mot olyckor. Ansvaret kanibland även ligga på staten. Det finns dessutom vissa skyldigheter för en enskild att medverkai en räddningsinsats. Möjligheter finns även för kommuner att delegera vissa åtgärder till andra,både frivilligt och genom att begära att enskilda fullgör sin tjänsteplikt.

Arbetsmiljölagen (1977:1160) är som huvudregel tillämplig för arbetsgivare som hararbetstagare vilka utför arbete för dennes räkning enligt 1 kap. 2 § arbetsmiljölagen. Närfrivilliga som deltar i räddningsinsatser inte är arbetstagare i traditionell mening omfattas deinte av huvudregeln. Det finns även krav på en verksamhet att tillämpa reglerna om arbetsmiljö,även om den inte omfattas av huvudregeln. Om en verksamhet antingen yrkesmässigt bedriververksamhet eller innehar ett rådighetsansvar ska den tillämpa arbetsmiljölagen i vissutsträckning.

Inom arbetsmiljöområdet får föreskrifter meddelas av Arbetsmiljöverket och dessa föreskrifterdetaljreglerar arbetsmiljön eftersom arbetsmiljölagen är en ramlag. Föreskrifterna kan påverkavilka krav som ställs på arbetsmiljön för de typer av räddningsinsatser som frivilliga deltar i.Vilka föreskrifterna är tillämpliga för kan variera från föreskrift till föreskrift.

I uppsatsen presenteras en analys av rättsläget avseende arbetsmiljö kopplat till frivilliga inomräddningsinsatser. För att frivilliga inom räddningsinsatser ska omfattas av arbetsmiljöreglernaoch kunna ta del av skyddet som lagen erbjuder, konstateras att det krävs att någon annanbestämmelse är tillämplig än huvudregeln. Ansvar kan därtill ligga hos räddningstjänsten somansvarar för räddningsinsatsen.

I regeringspropositionen Politik för gestaltad livsmiljö från 2018, kopplas arkitekturen till frågor om kvalitet, hållbarhet och demokrati. Men vad innebär egentligen en ”omsorgsfullt gestaltad livsmiljö” och hur kan det omsättas i praktiken? Är de sociala, upplevelsemässiga kvaliteterna förenliga med resurseffektiva lösningar? Hur hanterar man energikraven utan att göra avkall på andra arkitektoniska värden?

Byggsektorns materialtillverkning och uppförandeprocesser står för en betydande del av klimatavtrycket, men även energiförbrukningen i våra bostäder. Energin, som i Sverige används för att värma upp våra hem under höst, vinter och vår samt för att skapa svalka under sommaren, är resurskrävande. Därför är energiförbrukning i relation till en behaglig inomhustemperatur i våra bostäder, men också upplevelsen av boendekvalitet viktigt att lyfta fram. Om inte byggnadernas orientering, design och installerad energiteknik svarar mot de boendes förväntningar, kan det även i lågenergihus leda till att kylanläggningar installeras – vilket motverkar syftet att sänka energiförbrukningen.

Med utgångspunkt från tidigare forskning och konkreta exempel på passivhus i Linköpings Vallastaden vill vi här peka på några utmaningar i skärningspunkten mellan arkitektur, hållbarhet och boendekvalitet.

Syftet med denna litteraturstudie var att undersöka hur läraren kan stötta särskilt begåvade elevers matematikutveckling. Datainsamlingen skedde genom databassökning i UniSearch och ERIC samt genom manuell sökning. Litteraturen granskades och analyserades med avsikt att besvara frågeställningen och syftet. Studiens resultat konstaterar att motivation är avgörande för elevernas prestation. Lärarens kunskap om särskilt begåvade elever samt lärarens förmåga att differentiera undervisningen är några av de viktigaste faktorerna för matematikutveckling eftersom eleverna behöver acceleration och berikning. Läraren kan stötta eleverna genom att stimulera högre ordningens tänkande, skapa en trygg klassrumsmiljö och ge utmanande uppgifter. Dessutom framkommer det att undervisning i grupp med likasinnade är gynnsamt.

The transition to sustainable energy systems necessitates innovative approaches to energy generation, conversion, and utilization. This dissertation explores the integration of opto-thermal and ionic thermoelectric effects to develop energy-efficient solutions for thermal management and energy harvesting.

In this thesis, we explore how temperature gradients—established and controlled through opto-thermal processes—can drive ionic thermoelectric energy conversion and be leveraged for practical applications. By integrating solar heating, radiative cooling, and evaporative cooling effects, we aim to develop a comprehensive framework for managing thermal energy to enhance energy harvesting, storage, and utilization.

We begin by investigating how passive cooling and solar heating can be combined to generate temperature gradients, enabling continuous ionic thermoelectric energy conversion. By tuning the solar absorption and thermal radiation, we demonstrate a strategy to optimize temperature differentials for energy harvesting. Building on this study, we then introduce evaporative cooling as an additional mechanism to dynamically modulate temperature gradients. This allows for intermittent thermal regulation, which is particularly advantageous for applications requiring periodic thermal energy input, such as ionic thermoelectric supercapacitors (iTESCs).

With these controlled thermal gradients, we then explore their application in self-powered electronics. We develop an approach that directly applying the charging/discharging current signal from iTESCs to operate resistive sensors, demonstrating a pathway toward energy-autonomous sensing technologies. These sensors harness naturally occurring temperature variations to sustain operation, reducing reliance on external power sources.

Through this integrated approach, we establish a systematic methodology for utilizing solar-thermal-electrical pathways to drive energy applications. By coupling material design with energy conversion strategies, we hope the findings in this thesis advances the potential of ionic thermoelectric systems for sustainable power generation and adaptive energy management.

Stochastic model predictive control addresses uncertainties by incorporating the probabilistic description of the disturbances into joint chance constraints. Yet, the classic methods for handling this class of constraints are often computationally inefficient and overly conservative. To overcome this, we propose to replace the nonconvex inverse cumulative distribution function of the standard normal distribution in the deterministic counterpart of these constraints with a highly accurate, exponential cone-representable approximation. This allows the constraints to be formulated as exponential cone functions, and the problem is solved as an exponential cone optimization with risk allocation as decision variables. The main advantage of the proposed approach is that the optimization problem is efficiently solved with off-the-shelf software, and with reduced conservativeness. Moreover, it applies to any problem with linear joint chance constraints subject to normally distributed disturbances. We validate our method with numerical examples of stochastic model predictive control applications.

Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) is a disease that often appears in elderly population, causing gait and/or balance disturbance, cognitive decline and urinary incontinence. The prevalence of iNPH is around 3.7% and there are a lot of patients with the disease without receiving a shunt. The diagnosis of iNPH is based on International Guidelines which are updated twice since 2005. The disease has an insidious onset and progress gradually. The patients describe that the symptoms may were caused by age-related reason. The major difference of iNPH with other neurodegenerative diseases is that it is treatable with a shunt surgery and that could improve patients’ symptoms up to 84% raising the hypothesis of reversibility. Hence, iNPH is a big challenge for the neurologists. Additionally, the pathophysiological mechanism behind this disease is still unclear.

The overall aim of this thesis is to increase the knowledge of the clinical and radiological signs in patients with iNPH and identify predicting factors for better shunt surgery outcomes.

Paper I

To identify any disturbance of circadian rhythm in iNPH-patients. The aim was to study any changes of the diurnal rhythm (mesor and circadian period) as well as any changes of the diurnal amplitude and acrophase of the activity in iNPH-patients before and after a shunt operation.  

Paper II

To identify, with the use of DTI, significant changes in hydrocephalus patients compared to controls. To correlate the radiological DTI results with the clinical features (cognition and gait) before and after a shunt surgery. To investigate early white matters changes in patients with iNPH and possibly reversibility after a shunt surgery. To establish a new technique in investigation of patients with iNPH and early identify this group. A significant correlation between ROIs results in one or more brain areas with the iNPH-results will give us the opportunity to use a specific DTI protocol to easier identify iNPH-patients who will have positive results with a shunt operation.

Paper III

To identify any retinal changes (retinal nerve fiber layer [RNFL] thickness, ganglion cell layer [GCL] thickness, optic disc area, rim area, and optic volume) in patients with iNPH compared with healthy individuals. Additionally, to identify any changes in the clinical symptoms before and after a CSF tap test corresponding to the OCT findings.  

Paper IV

To identify possible urinary and bowel symptoms in patients with iNPH and compare them to healthy individuals. The secondary aim is to evaluate possible improvement after the shunt operation.  

Internationella rapporter vittnar om sjunkande resultat hos svenska elever. Ett av områdena där man sett denna tendens är läsförståelse. Svenskundervisningen ska ge elever möjlighet att läsa, analysera och resonera kring olika typer av texter, och dessutom är läsning en väsentlig del genom hela skolgången. Läroplanen fastslår också skolans ansvar att bemöta och stötta elever i behov av stöd. Syftet med denna systematiska litteraturstudie är därför att granska och sammanfatta vad forskning säger om hur lärare i grundskolan kan hjälpa elever med lässvårigheter till ökad läsförståelse. Studiens resultat bygger på fyra teman som har identifierats under läsning av befintlig forskning. Dessa fyra teman är: undervisning av språkliga baskunskaper, undervisningsmetoder, självreglerat lärande genom metakognition och digitala hjälpmedel. Majoriteten av forskningen visade på att interventionerna som implementerades gav förbättrade resultat under tiden som studien pågick. Däremot kan det inte konstateras att dessa implementeringar har gett långsiktiga resultat eller att det skulle fungera i en klassrumskontext. Studien ger insikter om vikten av att våga sätta in stöd i ett tidigt skede. Samtidigt som skolan ska hjälpa varje enskild elev att utvecklas behöver också läraren ha en kritisk syn på sin egen undervisning och våga förändra den.

How and why do inequalities become reproduced in interventions that aim to combat them? In my thesis, this question about recursive dynamics is explored with a focus on the complexity of, and ambiguity in, practical labor that is carried out around aims to change how work for change is enacted. I consider these dynamics both around the organization of labor of addressing and intervening in inequalities, and around various modes of framing gendersexed inequalities (what they are, what they do, and how they are most efficiently combated). Drawing on accounts from gender equality practitioners about their practical labor around Trans-inclusive enactment of gender equality aims, I follow their situated criticality and articulations about promises and fears around what interventions to combat gendersexed inequalities do. At sites of complication, as formal aims are to be translated into transformed organizational practice and actions, I study how practitioners experience friction both as resistance to, and as traction for, their re-framing efforts. I argue that it is through attending to such sites of dense texture that insights can be gained into the recursive dynamics through which inequalities persist despite contestation. Through an interdisciplinary inquiry, I want to speak both to institutionalization of gender equality work and aims in public organizations in Sweden, and to how some ideas of Trans-inclusive enactment become possible, desirable, and hopeful, while others become impossible, undesirable, and fearsome.

Smart grids (SGs) revolutionize existing power grids by using a wide range of developing disruptive technologies to generate clean, efficient, and predictable energy. Our study uses an action research method and focuses solely on the first two stages of the action research process, diagnosis and action planning, to evaluate ways to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) applications in SGs for predictive analytics in practice. The diagnosis stage of the study entails conducting a systematic literature review on AI applications in SGs, highlighting four areas of potential for predictive analytics: power outage prediction, demand response, control and coordination, and AI-enabled security to optimize decision-making, diagnose faults, and improve grid stability and security. The action planning step included a document analysis to devise methods to enable the practical implementation of AI in smart grids for predictive analytics. Finally, we address practical ways for implementing transparent AI for predictive analytics, followed by a conclusion and future research direction. The study’s key conclusion is that more research is needed to complete the action taking (implementing the solution), evaluation (assessing the results), and learning (reflecting on lessons learned) phases of the action research cycle.

Flaky tests, which intermittently pass or fail when no changes have been made to the code, are a significant challenge in regression testing. Such flakiness affects the reliability of test outcomes, forcing developers to debug false alerts. Current research suggests that some test flakiness is associated with computational resource availability. In this thesis, we investigate the impact of computational resource availability, specifically CPU time, on the frequency of test flakiness in an industrial C++ codebase. We conduct experiments by rerunning tests under simulated CPU usage to quantify this impact. Furthermore, we analyze test source code characteristics and known flakiness root causes to provide insight.

The findings reveal that CPU usage significantly influences certain types of flakiness. While concurrency-related flakiness is varyingly affected, flakiness associated with waiting asynchronously is shown to be completely dependent on CPU usage. Additionally, the study suggests that maintainability and thread sleep-related software characteristics could serve as predictors of resource-affected flakiness. These insights highlight the importance of considering computational resources in test design and suggest potential areas for improving test reliability through resource management and code analysis practices.

Recent advances in machine learning (ML) have demonstrated that statistical models can be trained to recognize complicated patterns and make sophisticated decisions, often outperforming human capabilities. However, current ML-based systems sometimes exhibit faulty behavior, which prevents their use in safety-critical applications. Furthermore, the increased autonomy and complexity of ML-based systems raise additional trustworthiness concerns such as explainability. To mitigate risks associated with these concerns, the European Union has agreed on a legal framework called the AI Act that governs ML-based products that are placed on the European market.

To meet the goals set out by the AI Act with diligence, manufacturers of critical systems that leverage machine learning need new rigorous and scalable approaches to ensure trustworthiness. One natural pathway towards this aim is to leverage formal methods, a class of reasoning approaches that has proved useful in the past when arguing for safety. Unfortunately, these methods often suffer from computational scalability issues, a problem that becomes even more challenging when applied to complex ML-based systems.

This dissertation seeks to assess and improve the trustworthiness of a class of machine learning models called tree ensembles. To this end, a reasoning engine based on abstract interpretation is developed from the ground up, exploiting unique characteristics of tree ensembles for improved runtime performance. The engine is designed to support deductive and abductive reasoning with soundness and completeness guarantees, hence enabling formal verification and the ability to accurately explain why a tree ensemble arrives at a certain prediction.

Through extensive experimentation, we demonstrate speedup improvements of several orders of magnitude compared to current state-of-the-art approaches. More importantly, we show that many classifiers based on tree ensembles are extremely sensitive to additive noise, despite demonstrating high accuracy. For example, in one case study involving the classification of images of handwritten digits, we find that changing the light intensity of a single pixel in an image by as little as 0.1% causes some tree ensembles to misclassify the depicted digit. However, we also show that it is possible to compute provably correct explanations without superfluous information, called minimal explanations, for predictions made by complex tree ensembles. These types of explanations can help to pinpoint exactly which inputs are relevant in a particular classification. Moreover, we explore approaches for computing explanations that are also globally optimal with respect to a cost function, called minimum explanations. These types of explanations can be tailored for specific target audiences, e.g., for engineers trying to improve robustness, for system operators making critical decisions, or for incident investigators seeking the root cause of a hazard.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common and lethal forms of cancer, and the Western world is experiencing an increase in the incidence among adults aged under 50 years. Up to one third of these patients, referred to as ´early-onset colorectal cancer´ (EOCRC) have a family history of the disease. Lifestyle-related risk factors and a personal history of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, are other important risk factors. The aim of this thesis was to explore hereditary and non-hereditary risk factors associated with early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) and to study the outcomes for patients with IBD coinciding with colorectal cancer.

Study I was a population-based observational study that evaluated the awareness of hereditary colorectal cancer, measured by the number of patients referred for genetic counselling. Patients diagnosed with EOCRC in the South-Eastern Healthcare Region of Sweden from 2008 to 2017 were included, and all electronic medical records were reviewed. Of the 278 patients, 116 (42%) had been referred to genetic counselling, among whom 74 (64%) completed their genetic investigation. In 13 (18%) patients, a germline mutation was found.

Studies II, III, and IV used the Swedish Colorectal Cancer Database as a data source, which provided multi-linkage between several national health registers.

Study II was a case– control study of non-hereditary risk factors, such as metabolic and autoimmune disorders, and their association with EOCRC. The study examined data from 2,626 patients with EOCRC who were diagnosed in Sweden between 2007 and 2016, along with 15,759 comparators matched for age, sex, and county of residence. Metabolic disease nearly doubled the incidence of EOCRC, and IBD was associated with a sixfold increase in the incidence of EOCRC. Presence of non-inflammatory bowel disease was not associated with an increased incidence of EOCRC.

Study III compared the recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates for patients who underwent surgical resection for rectal cancer, diagnosed between 1997 and 2021, with or without IBD. Flexible parametric survival models were used and were adjusted for time since surgery, year of diagnosis, sex, age at diagnosis, and Charlson comorbidity index score. Of the 22,082 patients included, 323 (1.5%) had IBD. Neoadjuvant radiotherapy and chemoradiotherapy were administered to 55% and 63% of patients, respectively. The overall RFS was similar between the groups (HR 1.05, 95% CI 0.87–1.26); however, a poorer RFS was observed during the first year after surgery (1-year HR 1.36, 95% CI 1.06–1.73) in patients with IBD.

Study IV compared the overall survival, RFS, and cancer-specific survival rates for patients with and without IBDs, who were diagnosed with colon cancer from 2007 to 2021 and surgically resected with curative intent. The Cox proportional hazards model was used, adjusted for sex, age, date of colon cancer surgery, Charlson comorbidity index score, and primary sclerosing cholangitis. Among the 35,640 patients studied, 675 

Chapter 3 assesses the literature and a set of cases on how transformative change occurs. Based on this assessment, it identifies six broad approaches to transformative change and synthesizes key insights for achieving the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity and global sustainability. In combination, these six approaches can promote, accelerate and scale transformative change for global sustainability in diverse contexts. Chapter 3 recognizes that transformative change takes place in a complex world and that navigating such change calls for adaptability, agility, transparency, continuous monitoring, evaluation and adaptive learning across multiple scales. Other elements for navigating transformative change are delineated by the findings of the assessment below.  

The delays of the exchanging of the water and sewage systems in Sweden is as of today a fact that emerge two questions, how did we end up in this situation and what can be done to catch up? The purpose of this thesis has been to investigate, analyze and to find answers to some of the underlying questions regarding why we are where we are today, and what we can do to get back on track. The objective of the thesis has been to map out both the historical and the current as well as the future perspective to identify potential efficiency measures that can be taken within the exchange of the water and sewage networks. The method of the study has been to investigate three question formulations, the investment situation, strategies, and communication in dialogue with two different water and sewage operators, Tekniska Verken in Linköping, and Nodra in Norrköping, and an engineering consultancy firm, Sweco. The approach of the study has been to break down the question formulations into multiple underlying questions and answer these with literature review and data collection through surveys and interviews. The theory section points out that the major problem of the current investment situation is that the operators are not allowed to create funds for future use. Also, the section states that the most successful strategy is to have long-term plans and how the communication should be conducted in shorter and more direct chains. The result section summarizes the responses gathered in the surveys and interviews. In the analysis of the results some short comings were identified that can be directly tied to what the theory section discusses about how the current legislation regarding funding is an obstacle as well as that the communication chain currently is too long, complex, and ineffective. Multiple conclusions can be drawn with these findings at hand, for instance regarding how the current investment situation needs an overhaul and that the legislation may have to change, to make sure that the operators can keep up with the need of increased exchange rate. Concerning strategies the two operators have partly different approaches, that both have their pros and cons, and that an exchange of strategies and knowledge between the two of them could be beneficial. Lastly, regarding the communication, a conclusion is drawn that there are room for improvement in the usage of better tools and that there is a need for training and education to be conducted throughout the different instances of the chain. In the discussion section some ideas are presented that could be of use to find ways to further increase the efficiency in the exchange of the water and sewage systems with implementation of IoT-systems as one example.

Background

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease have an increased risk of colorectal cancer. There is a scarcity of large studies with a focus on rectal cancer in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. This study aimed to compare survival in resected patients with rectal cancer with and without inflammatory bowel disease.

Methods

This national population-based study used the Colorectal Cancer Data Base. All Swedish patients ≥18 years of age with a diagnosis of stage I–III rectal cancer between 1997 and 2021, surgically treated with curative intent, were included and followed up until 2022. The outcome of interest was recurrence-free survival. Flexible parametric survival models adjusted for time since surgery, year of diagnosis, sex, age at diagnosis, and Charlson Co-morbidity Index were used to estimate proportional and time-dependent hazard ratios of recurrence-free survival with 95% confidence intervals.

Results

Overall, 22 082 patients with rectal cancer were included, among whom 323 (1.5%) had inflammatory bowel disease. Neoadjuvant radiotherapy/chemoradiotherapy was given to 55% and 63% of patients with and without inflammatory bowel disease respectively. The median follow-up time was 5.2 years (interquartile range (i.q.r.) 2.3–10) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and 5.9 years (i.q.r. 2.9–10) in patients without inflammatory bowel disease. Based on the adjusted proportional hazards model, no overall difference in recurrence-free survival was found (HR 1.05, 95% c.i. 0.87 to 1.26). In the time-dependent adjusted model, patients with rectal cancer with inflammatory bowel disease experienced a lower recurrence-free survival during the first year after surgery (1 year HR 1.36, 95% c.i. 1.06 to 1.73), after which there was no difference in comparison with patients without inflammatory bowel disease (5 years HR 0.77, 95% c.i. 0.56 to 1.06).

Conclusion

Despite lower recurrence-free survival during the first year among those with inflammatory bowel disease, there were no long-term differences between patients with or without inflammatory bowel disease.

Drones, like many other mechanical systems, operate under closed-loop control to ensure safety and economic efficiency. Real-time feedback is crucial for a drone to follow its predefined missions and to deal with hazardous conditions. Achieving optimal performance in such systems often requires a mathematical model, typically obtained using system identification techniques. Furthermore, monitoring changes in the system is essential, before an unexpected change leads to a fault and eventually a failure, causing costly disruptions of the system.

This thesis investigates ways of obtaining robust fault detection and accurate parameter estimation in a closed-loop system. In detail, we focus on subsystems of larger systems where the parameters or changes are observable. This approach, referred to as submodeling, is adopted since examining the entire system dynamics can be challenging due to the complexities and interconnections between components. Moreover, it involves selecting and measuring only a subset of signals, which reduces the number of sensors required. However, the resulting submodels use certain measurements as the outputs and others as the inputs, yielding closed-loop errors-in-variables (EIV) problems.

The first contribution addresses fault detection in closed-loop EIV systems. We apply a projection-based nonadditive fault detection method where the residual is projected to a subspace that is orthogonal to additive faults and disturbances. By doing so, we demonstrate that additive and nonadditive faults can be decoupled, making residuals sensitive only to the nonadditive ones. This allows the nonadditive fault to be detected accurately despite the occurrence of additive faults, closed-loop effects, and disturbances.

In the second contribution, we establish a specific equivalence concept related to the residuals of models concerning input-output repartitionings, which is useful for studying estimators. Moreover, we show that the basic instrumental Variable (IV) estimator can yield equivalent estimates which are independent of the input-output partitionings, unlike other standard system identification methods. The algebraic equivalence of the basic IV estimates holds regardless of the true system structure, noise properties, and data length.

The third contribution is to utilize the approach to derive submodels of a quadcopter. More specifically, we exploit the cancellation of shared dynamics between actual inputs and measured outputs, allowing for the elimination of some input signals. These submodels, addressing various aspects of the quadcopter’s dynamics, are simpler than a complete model but still sufficient for the intended applications.

The fourth contribution is to validate all methods developed in this thesis using simulated and experimental data from a quadcopter. To do so, we apply a standard motion-planning framework based on the simulation model of the drone to establish a detailed experimental procedure. This procedure allows us to define scenarios similar to real-world tasks of the drone in a testbed and to obtain excitation trajectories that produce informative data. Both the simulated and experimental data-based validations show promising results.

Det övergripande syftet med denna avhandling är att bidra med ny kunskap om hur lärare kan skapa utrymme för förundran i grundskolans NO-undervisning och hur detta kan påverka elevers engagemang i, och meningsskapande om, ett planerat lärandemål. Förundran är ett känslotillstånd som uppstår då en person konfronteras med något som går utanför det man förväntar sig eller i mötet med något som upplevs som obegripligt. Förundran kan också uppstå i samband med en oväntad insikt om komplexiteten eller skönheten i något vanligt eller om man plötsligt ser något ur ett helt nytt perspektiv. Denna känsla klassificeras som epistemisk eftersom den ofta leder till en vilja att förstå mer och ett engagemang i att utforska och inhämta ny kunskap. Avhandlingen fokuserar på hur förundran kan användas som ett pedagogiskt verktyg i samband med evolutionsundervisning, ett ämnesområde som visat sig vara utmanande både för elever och lärare.

Tidigare forskning om förundrans roll för elevers lärande och engagemang är till övervägande del baserad på teoretiska och filosofiska resonemang eller genomförda som kliniska studier eller via enkäter. I avhandlingens delstudier prövas föreslagna undervisningsupplägg från dessa studier i klassrumssituationer. Avhandlingens studie bygger på så kallade formativa interventioner, där lärare och forskare samarbetar om hur undervisning kan planeras och genomföras. Avhandlingen innefattar två delstudier, båda genomförda vid en F-9 skola i Mellansverige. Den första delstudien involverade elever och lärare i årskurs 2, 3 och 4 och fokuserade på att utveckla och pröva de teoretiskt beskrivna undervisningsuppläggen samt metoder för empiriinsamling och analys. Den andra delstudien genomfördes i en årskurs 7 under ett avsnitt om evolution.

Empirin samlades in genom videofilmade klassrumsobservationer, ljudinspelade lärar- och elevintervjuer samt skriftliga elevreflektioner. Empirin analyserades med hjälp av kvalitativa innehållsanalyser samt fördjupande multimodal analys av filmat material i delstudie två.

Sammanfattningsvis visar resultaten på några gemensamma förhållningssätt som gav utrymme för elevers förundran; att använda berättande för att skapa en miljö som gynnar förundran, att ge eleverna möjlighet att påverka hur objekt eller processer undersöks, att skapa en trygg miljö där känslor får uttryckas och att ge eleverna möjlighet att stanna upp och stanna kvar i sitt meningsskapande.  

Resultaten pekar även på att undervisningsformer som inkluderade tävlingsmoment eller tidspress begränsade elevernas möjligheter att uppleva förundran. I vissa fall gav detta dock utrymme för andra epistemiska känslor, såsom förvirring, frustration och nyfikenhet, som tillsammans bidrog till att fördjupa elevernas resonemang kring komplexa evolutionära begrepp.

Denna artikel bygger på resultat från ett samverkansprojekt där en högstadie-lärare och forskare gemensamt genomförde formativa interventioner för att undersöka epistemiska känslor – särskilt förundran – som pedagogiskt verktyg i undervisning om evolutionära processer. Förundran beskrivs ofta som en känsla med stor potential att stärka elevers engagemang och förståelse av naturvetenskap. Trots detta finns det få empiriska studier som har undersökt fenomenet i autentiska klassrumssammanhang. I denna studie analyserades ljud- och videoinspelningar av en lektion som utformats för att främja upplevelser av förundran. Genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys i kombination med multimodal interaktionsanalys identifierades hur elever skapade mening om, och uttryckte känslor i relation till undervisningens innehåll. Resultaten visar att eleverna resonerade mer djupgående kring begreppen konkurrens, variation och anpassning – processer som de även visat känslomässigt engagemang inför. Studien belyser den pedagogiska potentialen i att skapa utrymme för epistemiska känslor i undervisning om komplexa naturvetenskapliga processer.

Learning about evolution can be challenging for students, as a full understanding may require them to see the world in new ways, to master a disciplinary language and to understand complex processes. Drawing on a long line of theoretically grounded arguments of philosophers and researchers for including wonder in science teaching, we report on the results of an empirical study with the primary aim of investigating the role of wonder in students’ learning about evolution. The study was carried out through a formative intervention in which two researchers in science education collaborated with a seventh-grade teacher. Over a period of six weeks, 45 students participated in lessons and workshops aimed at eliciting a sense of wonder in relation to concepts that are known to impact the learning of evolution. We incorporated four ‘triggers’ to elicit students’ wonder in the science class: aesthetic experiences, defiance of expectations, agency and awareness of a mystery within the ordinary. Logbook entries and interviews with student pairs provided empirical material for a qualitative analysis of the role of wonder in the students’ meaning-making about, learning of and engagement in evolu-tion. The results show that it is possible to design science teaching that triggers students’ wonder in relation to an intended learning object. The results also reveal that the participating students described their sense of wonder in qualitatively different ways and that they still struggle

Agricultural residues and lignocellulosic materials (such as manure and plant residues) are important resources due to their abundance. Their extended usage in anaerobic digestion (AD), at which organic matter (OM) is degraded in the absence of oxygen to produce biomethane, is important in the effort to increase both Sweden’s biomethane production towards 10 TWh by 2030 and reaching EUs goal of 350 TWh by 2030. Agricultural residues are known to be hard to degrade in AD processes, therefore exploring new ways to improve their degradation is strategic to expand biogas production, mainly consisting of biomethane and carbon dioxide. AD has many applications, such as nutrients recovery in waste management, biofuel production, renewable heating and electricity generation, and production of green chemicals and fodder. Promoting the use of AD processes is an important step towards the establishment of sustainable waste handling of organic residues as well as industrial and agricultural activities.

In this thesis, novel approaches are evaluated to enhance the biogas production from agricultural residues. The thesis focuses on post-processing of residues from AD, so called digestate, to harness biogas potentials from organic resources rich in lignocellulose that are currently underutilized. The potential for improving the degradation of residual OM through post-treatment and post-digestion was investigated through several long-term studies using semi-continuously fed stirred reactors and a batch study. For the first study semi-continuous-stirred tank reactors were used to evaluate moderate thermal treatment (70 °C, 1 h) on different types of digestate from full-scale biogas plants (food waste, agricultural waste and mainly manure-based agricultural waste) to target residual OM. In the second study the solid fraction of phase-separated agricultural digestate was post-digested with starch in batch to determine if a priming effect (i.e., increased turnover of OM due to the addition of easily degradable carbon) could be obtained. In the third experimental study priming was investigated in a semi-continuous system and a main digester and post-digester were operated using a substrate mix of agricultural waste and manure. Starch was added every other day to evaluate if a priming effect was detected. In the final study, the effects on recirculation of digestate were evaluated to stabilize a perturbed system consisting of a main digester and post-digester operating on plant based agricultural waste, highlighting the advantages of a post-digester for a perturbed system. For all studies biogas and biomethane production was evaluated, in addition to process parameters such as pH, total solids, volatile solids, and ammonium-nitrogen concentrations. Microbial communities were analyzed to investigate if any structural community changes occurred when a priming agent was added, and how the microbial community changed during process disturbances.

The results showed that moderate thermal treatment efficiency varied depending on the type of digestate origin. Food waste digestate showed the highest improvement (21-22 %) in biomethane production, followed by the plant based agricultural waste (9 %). The manure and agricultural digestate gave inconclusive results due to process disturbances. A significant increase in the dissolved organic carbon due to thermal treatment was observed for all three digestate types (110-200, 24-92 and 4-73 % for food waste, agricultural waste, and manure-based agricultural waste, respectively). Priming effects, due to small share of starch amendment, could be observed both in batch and semi-continuous systems which had a positive impact on the rate of the process as well as the overall biogas production and specific methane production. Starch addition led to a shift in the microbial community structure, which likely benefited lignocellulolytic activities as an increased degradation of cellulose, hemicellulose and total sugar were detected. Finally, recirculation of whole digestate from the post-digester was proved to stabilize the perturbed AD process by increasing the pH, ammonium-nitrogen concentration, and alkalinity in the main digester. Mechanistically, the post-treatments can be related to increased dissolution of organic matter (thermal treatment), increased hydrolytic, fermentative, and methanogenic activity (priming) and recirculation of nutrients and biomass as well as increased solids content (recirculation).

The thesis highlights the advantages that post-treatments and post-digestion can provide, both for increased degradation of residual organic structures but also overall stabilization for agricultural processes. All the post-treatments investigated relate to current processes such as hygienization, redirection of substrates and digestate management which highlights their opportunities for further applications in full-scale.

Today's classical planners are powerful, but modeling input tasks in formats such as PDDL is tedious and error-prone. In contrast, planning with Large Language Models (LLMs) allows for almost any input text, but offers no guarantees on plan quality or even soundness. In an attempt to merge the best of these two approaches, some work has begun to use LLMs to automate parts of the PDDL creation process. However, these methods still require various degrees of expert input. We present NL2Plan, the first domain-agnostic offline LLM-driven planning system. NL2Plan uses an LLM to incrementally extract the necessary information from a short text prompt before creating a complete PDDL description of both the domain and the problem, which is finally solved by a classical planner. We evaluate NL2Plan on four planning domains and find that it solves 10 out of 15 tasks — a clear improvement over a plain chain-of-thought reasoning LLM approach, which only solves 2 tasks. Moreover, in two out of the five failure cases, instead of returning an invalid plan, NL2Plan reports that it failed to solve the task. In addition to using NL2Plan in end-to-end mode, users can inspect and correct all of its intermediate results, such as the PDDL representation, increasing explainability and making it an assistive tool for PDDL creation. 

This compilation thesis investigates how international actors make sense of the roles of artificial intelligence (AI) systems in environmental policy in their broader geopolitical context. Sense-making refers to the processes by which actors understand, describe, and relate to a phenomenon. In this work, I take ideas as an important tool through which sense-making occurs. I rely on the tools developed by discursive institutionalism to explore ideational power. AI is often defined as a general-purpose technology. This means that there is a variety of ways AI can be used, developed, with multiple opportunities and risks. As such, “AI” can be defined, steered, regulated, utilised and developed in a multitude of ways with a variety of governance implications. As a strong component of policymaking and institutions, ideas suggest (1) practical suggestions for action to (2) defined problems, and (3) what values and parameters should be considered. Ideas are consequently important factors in how AI is made sense of, both as a tool and as an object of environmental governance.

To explore how AI is made sense of in environmental policy, I focus on how international actors construe their ideas about AI in and for environmental governance (Paper I, Paper II, and Paper III). In addition, I explore how these ideas reflect broader geopolitical dynamics, in particular the power relations and the climate security perspectives that are upheld by them (Paper III and Paper IV). Finally, I seek to identify potential shortcomings and suggest some path forward to make sure the governance of AI will truly support sustainability transformation. This is done by exploring how researchers working with or on AI understand sustainability within responsible AI discussions (Paper V). Overall, I pay attention to ideas about AI -both as a tool and as an object of global environmental governance- and the broader discursive, institutional and geopolitical context within which they are constituted.

This research has a theoretical and an empirical contribution. Theoretically, it contributes to the discursive institutionalist literature by using AI as a case to explore three features of ideational power: power through, in and over ideas, paying particular attention to what ideals and perceived challenges motivate the use or governance of AI, and how these ideas are articulated within broader institutional, geopolitical and discursive contexts. Empirically, this research provides an overview of different ideas linking AI and global environmental governance, with a particular focus on climate policy.

Countries with nuclear facilities are considering ways to safely store radioactiveleftovers from their nuclear activities over long timescales, including spentnuclear fuel. In Sweden, this work has come relatively far with the constructionphase now beginning for a deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel at Forsmark. In parallel to the development of storage technologies, work is being carried out internationally to develop ways of communicating the long-term hazards of the radioactive remains to future generations. One such approach for communicating information about repositories and their content is called the Key Information File (KIF), a concept advanced through international expert groupsled by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

This is the concluding report about the work to write a Key Information File for the prospective Forsmark Spent Fuel Repository, in a project commissioned by the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) over theperiod 2021-2024. It outlines project activities, insights gained, and recommendations for further work. In the report, it is argued: (1) for the KIF tosuccessfully work as tool for information transfer to future generations means accepting it is a document aimed at the widest possible audience, and therefore must be presented in a manner open to various readers; (2) that there is a need for a mechanism that supports the continuous renewal of the KIF, and here the projectuniquely proposes the SHIRE method, which stands for Share-Imagine-Renew; and (3) that the KIF also has an important role to play in contemporary conversations around memory transfer concerning nuclear waste repositories. This is because the work to rewrite a given KIF will in itself form a social practice, which could keep complex and critical questions about the memory of underground repositories relevant through time.

Ever since the advent of computer graphics, procedural generation of content has been part of its diverse toolbox. At first, its only field of application was in off-line, software rendering, because CPUs didn’t have enough processing power to render procedural content in real time, and hardware acceleration had its development focus put elsewhere. In recent years, however, we have seen an introduction of massively parallel and programmable graphics hardware with absolutely astoun­ding processing power. This means that procedural methods can now be quite useful even in real time rendering, and there is renewed interest in the field.

The subject is deeply fascinating to me: challenging but rewarding, visually creative in a hands-on manner, and fun. Alongside my academic work in the field, it has been an enjoyable hobby over the years.

It’s not a universal tool, far from it, but it deserves to be considered. Like with all tools, it’s useful to know about its capabilities as well as its limitations so that you can make an informed decision on what to use for a particular task.

This book aims at teaching you how to create procedural content, to give you the clues you need in order to decide when to use procedural methods, and also to know when you are better off leaving this particular creative tool in the drawer.

With increasing age, the risk of frailty rises due to deterioration of several physiological systems, reducing the body’s reserve capacity. Recognising this vulnerability during care encounters is important both for understanding prognosis and recovery goals, and for planning care to reduce adverse outcomes.

Traditional emergency department (ED) risk stratification methods often fail to detect risks related to frailty, which is why interest in incorporating frailty assessment in EDs has grown. Several instruments have been developed, including the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). The CFS has been evaluated across many specialties and is recommended for use in the ED. However, no such research has been conducted in Swedish EDs, and studies under real clinical conditions remain limited.

Therefore, this thesis aims to examine whether the CFS is a useful tool for assessing frailty in older ED patients in Sweden. Specifically, we sought to evaluate its interrater reliability, prognostic accuracy, feasibility and the perspectives of patients.Study I was an observational study assessing IRR by collecting independent CFS assessments from the physician, registered nurse, and assistant nurse responsible for the patient. IRR was assessed in 100 patients, with 300 assessments conducted. IRR was moderate to good, with an ICC of 0.78 (95% CI 0.72–0.84).

Study II examined the prognostic value of the CFS by collecting staff-assessed CFS scores for 1840 older patients. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality, compared between patients with and without frailty. We found that 30-day mortality was significantly higher in patients with frailty compared to those considered robust (7.9% vs 0.9%). Frailty was independently associated with 30-day mortality, with an odds ratio of 6.0 (95% CI 3.0–12.2) after adjusting for confounding factors.

Study III employed a mixed methods design to examine the feasibility of the CFS in an ED setting. We collected data on 4235 ED visits and explored staff experiences through a questionnaire. The overall assessment completion rate was 47%, with more completed in older age groups. The most frequently reported barrier to assessment was high workload. Staff generally perceived the CFS to be relevant, although some questioned its benefits for patients in the ED.

Study IV had a qualitative design and included video-recorded CFS assessments and interviews with patients. A thematic analysis was conducted. Most older patients perceived frailty screening as positive or indifferent, though the experience could further benefit from a better understanding of the assessment’s purpose and consequences. Patients emphasised the importance of relationship-oriented communication, influencing their willingness to share information about their lives.

The CFS demonstrates moderate to good IRR and a strong association with mortality, supporting its usefulness in the ED. However, barriers such as high ED workload and mixed staff perceptions regarding its relevance to ED care impact routine use. Older patients generally respond positively to CFS while it is indicated that it can be further improved with clearer explanations of its purpose and potential consequences.

Air Traffic Management (ATM) faces significant challenges in ensuring efficiency, safety, and sustainability. Among these, weather conditions and Air Traffic Controller (ATCO) workload play crucial roles in overall system performance. Adverse weather frequently disrupts operations, leading to inefficient flight trajectories, increased fuel consumption, and environmental impact. It also elevates ATCO workload, thereby complicating ATCOs’ ability to maintain safe and efficient air traffic flow. This thesis explores data-driven and analytical approaches to address these challenges, focusing on the impact of weather on flight efficiency, airspace capacity, and ATCO scheduling in remote tower centers. Additionally, it examines ATCO workload prediction using behavioral and physiological data. The study covers applications in airspace capacity management, staff scheduling, and ATCO workload assessment.

The thesis examines historical flight and weather data from Stockholm Arlanda and Gothenburg Landvetter airports over a two-year period (2019–2020), revealing persistent inefficiencies in arrival operations despite the overall reduction in traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic. It presents a methodology grounded in statistical analysis to identify the key factors influencing arrival performance, with particular emphasis on the impact of adverse weather conditions and traffic intensity. The proposed approach systematically determines the most influential variables affecting arrival performance in both the horizontal and vertical flight dimensions.

Adverse weather conditions, such as convective weather, can lead to restrictions on aircraft movements, reduce available routes, and necessitate adjustments in ATM strategies. As a result, understanding and predicting weather-related impacts on airspace capacity is essential for optimizing air traffic flow and minimizing delays. In this thesis, we develop a methodology, based on the continuous maxflow/mincut theory, to estimate reductions in Air Traffic Control (ATC) sector capacity due to predicted convective weather activity. The uncertainty in meteorological forecasts is quantified using Ensemble Weather Forecasting. We demonstrate the application of this methodology for assessing congestion in ATC sectors, using a realistic sector and a full sector configuration as examples. Additionally, we introduce a probabilistic framework for presenting congestion status, aimed at supporting decision-making processes at the Flow Management Position.

The thesis presents probabilistic models that incorporate the impact of adverse weather conditions into a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming framework for ATCO shift scheduling in remote and conventional towers. Building on previous project developments, these models specifically address the influence of weather on ATCO operations in remote towers. Probabilistic weather products are used to generate ensembles of staffing solutions, enabling the derivation of probability distributions for the required number of ATCOs. The modeling approach leverages recently developed techniques to tackle challenges associated with weather uncertainty. The proposed solutions are validated using historical flight and weather data from five Swedish airports designated for future remote operation.

The final part of this thesis focuses on developing unobtrusive methods for predicting ATCO workload by exploring the feasibility of non-intrusive data collection techniques combined with machine learning algorithms. Eye-tracking data, previously identified as a promising indicator of ATCO workload, were collected from controllers in simulated environments and used as predictive features. Subjective workload assessments, based on self-reported Cooper-Harper scale ratings, serve as label variables. Multiple machine learning models are evaluated for workload prediction, and feature selection techniques are applied to identify a minimal yet effective set of eye-tracking features. This approach provides a seamless, non-intrusive means of continuously assessing workload, making it a valuable tool for both research and operational applications in ATC environments.

By addressing critical challenges in ATM, this thesis contributes to a safer, more efficient, and environmentally sustainable air transport system. The findings of this thesis have significant implications for the future of ATM, particularly in an era of increasing air traffic demand and evolving weather challenges. The integration of data-driven techniques, optimization, and probabilistic modeling offers a powerful framework for improving decision-making in ATM. The methodologies proposed in this thesis can serve as a foundation for future research and industry applications, enabling continuous improvements in ATM performance and resilience against external disruptions.

I svenska kommuner har mobilitetshubbar kommit att bli en del av den strategiska planeringen för en hållbar stad. Som ett led i den strategiska planeringen har kommunerna kommit att experimentera genom att testa nya lösningar. Här har mobilitetshubbar vuxit fram som en ny trend för att skapa attraktiva städer och mer hållbara resor. En mobilitetshubb kan beskrivas som en plats där olika färdmedel är paketerade i kombination med olika tjänster för att på så sätt förenkla för ett hållbart resande. I Sverige är planeringen och implementeringen av mobilitetshubbar ett relativt nytt fenomen. Det har dock genomförts ett fåtal pilotstudier och det finns ett antal olika exempel där implementering har skett. I denna bok visar vi hur fyra kommuner, på olika sätt, planerar för en hållbar mobilitet genom att studera mobilitetshubbar. Vi vill med denna bok inspirera planerare på kommunal och regional nivå, samt andra samhällsaktörer som vill leda förändring genom att testa (experimentera) för en hållbar energi- och mobilitetsomställning.

A thermoelectric material can be used to convert heat to electricity, and vice versa, all without moving parts. Thermoelectric devices can be used for a multitude of applications, such as thermoelectric generators (TEGs) and Peltier heaters/coolers. TEGs can be used to generate electricity from e.g. waste heat, and small and efficient Peltier coolers could have a use in microelectronics. The lack of moving parts means that thermoelectric devices generally are robust.

Transition metal nitrides are versatile, durable, and have found use in many different applications. CrN, for instance, is known for its hardness, corrosion resistance, near room-temperature magnetic phase transition as well as its thermoelectric properties. Especially crystalline CrN has interesting thermoelectric properties, including a high power-factor and low thermal conductivity. These properties are essential for the constituent materials of thermoelectric devices. For durability, the stability and mechanical properties of CrN would be a bonus. The thermoelectric properties of CrN have a strong correlation to the stoichiometry, which then becomes crucial to control.

The focus of this thesis is on the thermoelectric properties of CrN, with and without alloying transition metals V and Mo. Doping and alloying can help change properties, both electrical and thermal. I have grown thin films of CrN with and without alloying elements, using reactive magnetron sputtering. Film growth using this technique happens far from thermodynamic equilibrium and thus, not all aspects are easy to control, stoichiometry being one. The films were grown on c-plane sapphire (Al₂O₃ (0001)) substrates.

I investigated thin, epitaxial films of CrMoVN, i.e. CrN thin films co-doped with Mo and V. They were grown on c-plane sapphire substrates, which allows the rock-salt cubic structured CrN to be grown epitaxially, albeit with a non-negligible strain. I investigated the effect of co-doping on phase composition and thermoelectric properties. While the effects of singly doped films (CrVN and CrMoN) were similar to other reports, co-doping with V and Mo resulted in the retention of the rock-salt cubic phase at much higher Mo-content than what has previously been reported. Furthermore, I tackled the issue with stoichiometry, motivated by discrepancies in literature correlating thermoelectric properties and stoichiometry of CrN. After growing sets of thin films of CrN, some epitaxial and some mix-phased, the samples were annealed in ammonia environment to approach the thermodynamic equilibrium of Cr:N = 1:1. The films that were closest to stoichiometry before annealing turned insulator – in line with theory and some articles. The films with larger under-stoichiometry got significantly improved thermoelectric properties, one by as much as 900%.