https://www.mdu.se/

Study design: Triangulated mixed-methods validation study.

Objectives: To validate the Danish version of the Spinal Cord Lesion-related Coping Strategies Questionnaire (SCL-CSQ).

Setting: Community in Denmark.

Methods: Participants were invited via a patient organization and its specialized hospital. Eligibility criteria were having a spinal cord injury (SCI), being 18 years or older, and able to understand and respond in Danish. Quantitative data were collected to determine internal consistency and criterion validity of the three subscales of SCL-CSQ, i.e., acceptance, fighting spirit, and social reliance. The Three-Step Test-Interview approach was employed to determine whether items measured what they were intended to measure (i.e., construct validity based on response processes).

Results: The quantitative sample consisted of 107 participants, and the interview sample comprised 11 participants. The acceptance and fighting spirit subscales showed adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha of 0.72 and 0.76 respectively) and satisfactory criterion validity (expected correlations with quality of life and depression). The social reliance subscale showed inadequate internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha of 0.58) and criterion validity. All fighting spirit items and all but one acceptance items were interpreted congruently by most participants. Conversely, two social reliance items were only interpreted congruently by 9 and 27%.

Conclusion: The acceptance and fighting spirit subscales of the Danish version of the SCL-CSQ showed good psychometric properties, while the social reliance subscale showed serious issues and should be revised. Researchers and clinicians are urged to reflect on these findings when revising the SCL-CSQ or adapting it to other languages, cultural contexts, and rehabilitation settings.

 Date:                                      2023-05-30  Level:                                     Bachelor/Master thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr   Institution:                            School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen                                                 University   Authors:                                Daniela Abada                Naemi Estifanos                                                                           (99/12/11)                                       (01/06/12)  Title:                                  The influence of sales commission on the motivation of                        telemarketers  Supervisor:                       Johan Grinbergs  Keywords:                         3 keywords  Research questions          1.How do reward systems affect employee motivation? 2.What are the consequences of this impact?  Purpose:                            The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of sales commission as a reward and how it works as a motivational factor for employees   Method:                             Qualitative research method, face to face interviews. Thematic analysis and coding of data which is then analyzed in the analysis.  Conclusion:                       Sales commissions have an effect on employee motivation, possibly not in the long term as the majority of salespeople want to change workplaces due to the side effects that are the result of sales commissions such as stress, pressure and mental illness. Development opportunities are also motivating for salespeople, but not as extensive as the commission. The topic has divided thoughts between salespeople and the management team.

With the increase in food consumption, new ideas, and technologies began to be developed. Inaddition, the developments generated by Industry 4.0 technologies have started to be applied tothe entire manufacturing sector and the indoor farming industry, which is currently trending.Many studies and articles have been prepared on this subject, and the main goal of each study isto produce quality products and to ensure continuity in production to cover the nonendingincrease in demand.

This paper discusses how simulation technology, which is one of the industry 4.0 technologies,can be used in the production system development of the indoor farming industry. According tomany researchers, the biggest obstacle for the vertical farming industry is start-up cost, andsimulation technologies can be the solution for this since it allows future production systems tobe analyzed without any investment. To have a clear vision of how these technologies can beadapted in the indoor farming industry, this paper will find the answers to these questions, RQ1:How can simulation facilitate production system development and Industry 4.0 projects withinthe indoor farming industry? RQ2: What are the benefits and challenges when using simulationas a tool for production system development within the indoor farming industry? To reach thegoal of this paper, the case study method was used, and an indoor farming company was selectedto get more realistic data about the vertical farming system. BlueRedGold AB is a start-upcompany in the indoor farming industry, and it has a huge growth potential since they aim totransform its current production lines to be fully automated. Many articles and studies were usedto approach the solution of the research questions from a more technical and academic point ofview, and the analysis of these articles was carried out with the structured literature review method.

After conducting this research, answers have been obtained for the research questions. Theauthors' solution to the layout issue, one of the case company's main challenges as indicated inthis study, was developed after extensive simulation model testing. As highlighted in this paper,it has been stated by many researchers, there are several simulation approaches to follow.However, the authors have developed a simulation modeling approach to be followed in theindoor vertical farming industry to overcome the complexity of these systems as well as thesimulation program complexity. In addition, several challenges and benefits have beenhighlighted in this paper such as the lack of ready models of the equipment used in indoorfarming which requires a knowledge of a programing language to overcome. Finally, despitechallenges, simulation technology can provide an applicable solution for production systemproblems of vertical farming companies/organizations to obtain continuous improvementphilosophy which is the main principle of Lean thinking. The generated simulation model in thisthesis project was successfully implemented, demonstrating how this technology might be aneffective solution for complex production systems as in the indoor farming sector. 

Recommender systems for requirements are typically built on the assumption that similar requirements can be used as proxies to retrieve similar software. When a stakeholder proposes a new requirement, natural language processing (NLP)-based similarity metrics can be exploited to retrieve existing requirements, and in turn, identify previously developed code. Several NLP approaches for similarity computation between requirements are available. However, there is little empirical evidence on their effectiveness for code retrieval. This study compares different NLP approaches, from lexical ones to semantic, deep-learning techniques, and correlates the similarity among requirements with the similarity of their associated software. The evaluation is conducted on real-world requirements from two industrial projects from a railway company. Specifically, the most similar pairs of requirements across two industrial projects are automatically identified using six language models. Then, the trace links between requirements and software are used to identify the software pairs associated with each requirements pair. The software similarity between pairs is then automatically computed with JPLag. Finally, the correlation between requirements similarity and software similarity is evaluated to see which language model shows the highest correlation and is thus more appropriate for code retrieval. In addition, we perform a focus group with members of the company to collect qualitative data. Results show a moderately positive correlation between requirements similarity and software similarity, with the pre-trained deep learning-based BERT language model with preprocessing outperforming the other models. Practitioners confirm that requirements similarity is generally regarded as a proxy for software similarity. However, they also highlight that additional aspect comes into play when deciding software reuse, e.g., domain/project knowledge, information coming from test cases, and trace links. Our work is among the first ones to explore the relationship between requirements and software similarity from a quantitative and qualitative standpoint. This can be useful not only in recommender systems but also in other requirements engineering tasks in which similarity computation is relevant, such as tracing and change impact analysis.

Requirements prioritization plays an important role in driving project success during software development. Literature reveals that existing requirements prioritization approaches ignore vital factors such as interdependency between requirements. Existing requirements prioritization approaches are also generally time-consuming and involve substantial manual effort. Besides, these approaches show substantial limitations in terms of the number of requirements under consideration. There is some evidence suggesting that models could have a useful role in the analysis of requirements interdependency and their visualization, contributing towards the improvement of the overall requirements prioritization process. However, to date, just a handful of studies are focused on model-based strategies for requirements prioritization, considering only conflict-free functional requirements. This paper uses a meta-model-based approach to help the requirements analyst to model the requirements, stakeholders, and inter-dependencies between requirements. The model instance is then processed by our modified PageRank algorithm to prioritize the given requirements. An experiment was conducted, comparing our modified PageRank algorithm’s efficiency and accuracy with five existing requirements prioritization methods. Besides, we also compared our results with a baseline prioritized list of 104 requirements prepared by 28 graduate students. Our results show that our modified PageRank algorithm was able to prioritize the requirements more effectively and efficiently than the other prioritization methods.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur lärare resonerar didaktiskt kring SO-undervisning i årskurs f-3 i demokratifrågor och vilka möjligheter och utmaningar som kan finnas i den undervisningen.

För att kunna besvara detta syfte har semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts med fyra informanter med varierande yrkeserfarenhet och aktuella undervisningsårskurser.

Resultat för studien visar att informanterna har bra koll på varför det är viktigt att undervisa om demokrati, hur undervisningen ska genomföras och vad den ska innehålla. För att kunna uppnå skolans demokratiuppdrag behöver demokratiundervisningen genomsyra hela skolans verksamhet, utgå ifrån elevernas individuella förutsättningar, behov, intressen och erfarenheter, göra eleverna delaktiga i utformandet av sin utbildning och få de att inse att deras röst är betydelsefull. Kommunikation är a och o i demokratiundervisningen och ska ske både med och mellan elever, kollegor och vårdnadshavare.

Over the years, a range of Internet of Vehicles services has emerged, along with improved quality parameters. However, the field still faces several limitations, including resource constraints and the time response requirement. This paper extracts cost, energy, processing power, service management, and resource allocation parameters. Mathematical equations are then defined based on these parameters. To simplify the process complexity and ensure scalability, we propose an algorithm that uses the genetic algorithm for fault and cost management during resource allocation to services. The main concept is to pick resources for services using a genetic algorithm. We discuss the processing and energy costs associated with this function, which is the algorithm's objective function and is created to optimize cost. Our approach goes beyond the conventional genetic algorithm in two stages. In the first step, services are prioritized, and resources are allocated in accordance with those priorities; in the second step, load balancing in message transmission paths is ensured, and message failures are avoided. The algorithm's performance is evaluated using various parameters, and it was shown to outperform other metaheuristic algorithms like the classic genetic algorithm, particle swarm, and mathematical models. Different scenarios with various nodes and service variables are defined in various system states, including fault occurrences to various percentages of 10, 20, and 30. To compare methods, we consider different parameters, the most significant being performance success rate. Moreover, the cost optimization has a good convergence after iterations, and the rate of improvement in the big scenario has slowed down after 150 iterations. Besides, it provides acceptable performance in response time for services.

Industrial cybersecurity has risen as an important topic of research nowadays. The heavy connectivity by the Internet of Things (IoT) and the growth of cyberattacks against industrial assets cause this risen and attract attention to the cybersecurity field. While fostering current software applications and use-cases, the ubiquitous access to the Internet has also exposed operational technologies to new and challenging security threats that need to be addressed. As the number of attacks increases, their visibility decreases. An attack can modify the Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) quality to avoid proper quality assessment. They can disrupt the system design process and adversely affect a product’s design purpose. This working progress paper presents our approach to modeling, analyzing, and mitigating cyberattacks in CPS. We model the normal behavior of the application as well as cyberattacks with the help of Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) and threat modeling approach (STRIDE). Then verify the application and attacks model using a model checking tool and propose mitigation strategies to decrease the risk of vulnerabilities. The results can be used to improve the system design to overcome the vulnerabilities.

This article presents a runtime verification tool for embedded software executing under the open source real-time operating system FreeRTOS. The tool detects and diagnoses concurrency bugs such as deadlock, starvation, and suspension based-locking. The tool finds concurrency bugs at runtime without debugging and tracing the source code. The tool uses the Tracealyzer tool for logging relevant events. Analysing the logs, our tool can detect the concurrency bugs by applying algorithms for diagnosing each concurrency bug type individually. In this paper, we present the implementation of the tool, as well as its functional architecture, together with illustration of its use. The tool can be used during program testing to gain interesting information about embedded software executions. We present initial results of running the tool on some classical bug examples running on an AVR 32-bit board SAM4S. 

Accurate bladder monitoring is critical in the management of conditions such as urinary incontinence, voiding dysfunction, and spinal cord injuries. Electrical bioimpedance (EBI) has emerged as a cost-effective and non-invasive approach to monitoring bladder activity in daily life, with particular relevance to patient groups who require measurement of bladder urine volume (BUV) to prevent urinary leakage. However, the impact of activities in daily living (ADLs) on EBI measurements remains incompletely characterized. In this study, we investigated the impact of normal ADLs such as sitting, standing, and walking on EBI measurements using the MAX30009evkit system with four electrodes placed on the lower abdominal area. We developed an algorithm to identify artifacts caused by the different activities from the EBI signals. Our findings demonstrate that various physical activities clearly affected the EBI measurements, indicating the necessity of considering them during bladder monitoring with EBI technology performed during physical activity (or normal ADLs). We also observed that several specific activities could be distinguished based on their impedance values and waveform shapes. Thus, our results provide a better understanding of the impact of physical activity on EBI measurements and highlight the importance of considering such physical activities during EBI measurements in order to enhance the reliability and effectiveness of EBI technology for bladder monitoring.

Bladder monitoring, including urinary incontinence management and bladder urinary volume monitoring, is a vital part of urological care. Urinary incontinence is a common medical condition affecting the quality of life of more than 420 million people worldwide, and bladder urinary volume is an important indicator to evaluate the function and health of the bladder. Previous studies on non-invasive techniques for urinary incontinence management technology, bladder activity and bladder urine volume monitoring have been conducted. This scoping review outlines the prevalence of bladder monitoring with a focus on recent developments in smart incontinence care wearable devices and the latest technologies for non-invasive bladder urine volume monitoring using ultrasound, optical and electrical bioimpedance techniques. The results found are promising and their application will improve the well-being of the population suffering from neurogenic dysfunction of the bladder and the management of urinary incontinence. The latest research advances in bladder urinary volume monitoring and urinary incontinence management have significantly improved existing market products and solutions and will enable the development of more effective future solutions.

This paper presents a grid-connected double storage system (DSS) consisting of pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) and battery. The system is supplied by photovoltaics and wind turbines. In the proposed hybrid system, batteries absorb excess renewable energy that cannot be stored in PSH and they cover loads that cannot be supplied from the water turbine. To improve the system performance, a novel energy management strategy for the DSS is proposed. The strategy is based on an optimized factor that governs the charging process of the DSS. The problem of the optimal system design is solved by a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II). The multi-objective function considers simultaneously the minimal investment cost and minimal CO2 emissions. A comparative study of photovoltaic/wind/pumped-storage hydropower and photovoltaic/wind/double storage system is performed to show the effectiveness of the proposed strategy in terms of system economic and environmental performance. The considered location of the PSH station is on Attaqa Mountain at Suez (Egypt). The results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed energy management strategy for the storage system from economic and environmental perspectives. Coupling the battery with the PSH reduces the electricity cost by 22.2% and results in minimal energy exchange with the national grid (5% of the annual demand). A sensitivity analysis shows the largest variation of the electricity cost with changing the capital cost of the solar and wind generators. Also, it is observed that when the load increases, the optimal size of the system components increases, but it isn't proportional with the demand increase as could be expected. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Most construction companies want to deliver the best possible results for their customers while spending the least possible resources. Nevertheless, the construction industry has traditionally been full of unnecessary inefficiency regarding workflows. One of the most successful methods to prevent inefficiency workflow is lean construction. Lean construction consists of various methods that aim to streamline workflow as optimally as possible. Purpose: The purpose of the degree project is to use specific lean methods and tools to identify different waste and be able to use them to reduce downtime of a studied construction project. Method: A case study has been carried out where the project Heby - care homes has been studied. To gather more information a survey study has been done. To gather even further information about the project an interview was conducted with a person who has a leading role. Results: The result shows a analysis of the survey and the interviewe answers. It also includs working methods, transparency and waste minimization. Furthermore it includs solutions like identify problems, create order and structure, standardize and work on improvements. Conclusions: The conclusion that can be drawn is that standardizations in the form of checklists and guides need to be in each project. More openness and to review your chosen forms of agreement. To have a more dynamic working group that strives to achieve common goals and continuous improvements. These are the most important aspects of making a project effective.

In this paper, we present a hierarchical model for time predictable task scheduling in edge-cloud computing architecture for industrial cyber-physical systems. Regarding the scheduling problem, we also investigate the common problem-solving approaches and discuss our preliminary plan to realize the proposed architecture. Furthermore, an Integer linear programming (ILP) model is proposed for task scheduling problem in the cloud layer. The model considers timing and security requirements of applications and the objective is to minimize the financial cost of their execution.

This degree project studies implementation and comparison of different AI models to predict (1) solid biofuel elements including carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen as well as moisture content, ash content, and higher heating value (HHV) of the fuel and (2) flue gas compositions such as concentration of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, nitrogen oxides, and water content using near-infrared spectroscopy and chemometric approaches. The study executes these predictions by simulating the operation of a combined heat and power plant (CHP) that is equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS). The focus of this study is to investigate the possibility of using Near-Infrared spectroscopy (NIRs) technology to predict the emissions from a CHP plant, which can further improve the performance of the CCS system by providing the necessary fuel data in real time. The acquired NIR data is used to develop the Artificial Intelligence (AI) models using several regression algorithms including Linear regression, Gaussian process, Support Vector Machine, Artificial Neural Network, Ensemble Trees, and Tree regression. NIR data has been pre-processed using Savitzky-Golay (SG) and Multi scatter correction (MSC) techniques. Highest accuracy has been achieved for moisture content of the fuel using Exponential Gaussian Process, where an RMSE of 2.5687 and an R2-value of 0.9 has been obtained. Indeed, only a handful of regression algorithms have shown reasonable accuracy when predicting the fuel elements, where the HHV of the fuel has been predicted poorly as none of the algorithms have been able to execute the prediction successfully which leads to negative values of R2. Prediction of flue gas composition has been done resulting in reasonable accuracies for CO2 fraction with values of 0.1051 and 0.6 for RMSE and R2 respectively. Furthermore, the computational time of the algorithms has been investigated, which indicates that some of the pre-processing techniques could improve the computational time for a certain regression model, but not for all of them. It is conclusively possible to predict fuel elements and flue gas compositions based on data acquired from NIR spectroscopy. However, great effort must be put into model development including data treatment and AI model calibration to achieve desirable precision and reliable results.

The purpose of the thesis is to investigate what the social services work process looks like when a child is in danger or is suspected to be in danger. The study consists of three questions and in order to provide answers to the purpose, a qualitative research method is used with the help of semi-structured interviews. The result is based on five social secretaries from five different municipalities in Central Sweden. When it comes to the social secretary's investigation process, the results of the study show that all county to witch the interviews belongs have the same goal but are based on different working methods. Some common challenges for the social secretaries are a heavy workload, low resources and the loss of the clients trust in social services. An additional result shows that the study demonstrates the secretary's description of the investigation process in relation to the theoretical starting point. The system theory is essential for the social worker to gather important information from the individuals and organisations in the child’s local environment. While the attachment theory shows the child’s attachment relationship to the caregivers. Empowerment is used in the investigation process by motivating clients to regain power over their situation. 

Date :  4th June 2023

Level : Masters thesis in industrial engineering and management, advanced level, 30 ECTS

Institution : School of Innovation, Design and Engineering, Mälardalens University  

Authors :

  Afnan Abdul Amir

9 Maj 1998Onel Nabeel Polus

24 November 1998

Title: How to identify Adaptability within SMEs: A case Study

Supervisor: Mikael Johnsson

Keywords: Change Management, Adaptability, SMEs

Research Question : How can consult agencies identify the adaptability within SMEs?.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a process for the identification of  SMEs adaptability.

Method: This study adopted a qualitative research methodology using a abductive approach. This method facilitated an iterative exchange between the theoretical framework and empirical observations. The theoretical framework was based on scientific articles and the study was conducted as a case study to help the company identify the adaptability within its clients. The empirical data was collected through structured and semi-structured interviews divided between the different clients. The empirical data was structured on 7 interviews with project managers, team leaders and CEOs.

Conclusion: The conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that the adaptability to various market changes can be identified when a company analyzes the following three key factors: Leadership, Communication, and Knowledge.

In order to meet future electricity demand, Sweden needs to increase its electricity production, particularly through renewable energy sources. By the end of 2022, solar power production reached 2 TWh, an increase of 75 percent over 2021. Over the past few years, solar power has grown significantly, and it is predicted to continue to grow in the future. Furthermore, by 2045, the Swedish government aims to provide 100% of its energy needs from renewable sources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero.

This study investigates whether agrivoltaic is feasible in Sweden, where solar power is coupled with agriculture. There is great potential in this technology, even though it is new. By testing different parameters, such as height and row distance, this study has also examined different agrivoltaic system designs and various geographic locations to estimate their true potential in optimizing electricity production. Using PVSyst simulations, we can then investigate how to optimize electricity and evaluate the economic feasibility based on levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and payback period of the best system. For a better understanding of this study, an extensive literature review was conducted. Although the modeling of bifacial modules is still relatively new research topic.

This study simulated three different cases using PVsyst software. Case A with a row distance of 5 meters and a system capacity of 222 kWp; case B with a row distance of 10 meters and a system capacity of 111 kWh; and case C with a row distance of 15 meters and a system capacity of 77,7 kWp. In addition, heights ranging from 0,5 to 1,5 meters were investigated, using bifacial modules. Irradiation data from PVsyst shows that the yearly global horizontal irradiance GHI in Västerås is 1004,6 [kWh/m^2] while the GHI in Trelleborg is 1023,4 [kWh/m^2]. According to the results, the most efficient system is the one-axis tracker, which produces approximately 25% more electricity than unlimited vertical sheds. It was also found that the maximum electricity was produced at 45° azimuth. The result also found a five percent increase in electricity production in Västerås over Trelleborg. Furthermore, the optimal row distance and optimal height were found to be 10 [m] and 0,5 [m]. Lastly, the most effective system was one-axis tracker system in Västerås with LCOE of 0,09 [Euro/kWh] and payback periods of 10,6 [Years].

Keywords: [Agrivoltaic, optimal system, row distance, levelized cost of energy, payback period]

This study aims to explain how many organizations in various fields are affected by the global pandemic Covid-19, which led to many organizational changes in the public sector, so those new strategies were implemented to counter these changes. Also, this research sheds light on the role of the leaders in crisis management through the sensemaking model that helps build a new story and provides logical explanations. It also seeks to study whether these new strategies are effective and how they affect the employee's performance.

The data collection for this paper uses qualitative and quantitative research through an inductive approach to answering the research questions by collecting primary and secondary data. Through qualitative research, six interviews were conducted with employees and leaders at KTH University. And the quantitative data were collected from a questionnaire sent to leaders at KTH University. 

The results show how the KTH University has faced several multiple organizational changes during the pandemic and how the leaders had a vital role in managing the crisis.

Some limitations were encountered, such as the response limitations of KTH leaders, so the researchers could not collect more than 6 interviews, which led to limiting the broad research and obtaining the required results.

Background: Compassion energy can contribute to nurses' conditions to provide patientswith meaningful care based on a compassionate approach. Nurses' empathy towards patients can mean a risk of compassion fatigue in nurses, which can impair patient safety. Nurses'responsibility over their own health is of great importance to minimize nurses' intention to leave work and to protect patients from care injury. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe nurses’ experiences of finding motivation in caring. Method: Systematic literature study according to Evans with a basis of ten different qualitative health science articles. Result: The result consisted of two themes, experiences of meaningfulness and experience sof a safe working environment. Experiences of meaningfulness yielded two subthemes,finding joy and being able to help. Experiences of a safe working environment released two subthemes, receiving emotional support from colleagues and having the opportunity for development. Conclusion: Nurses were motivated in caring by finding joy when acommunity was formed in the workplace and that joy facilitated difficult situations in caring. Being able to give help to another person in need of help was considered the basis for caring.Receiving emotional support from colleagues contributed to a sense of security in caregivingand having the opportunity for development gave the nurses a deeper understanding and facilitated different situation in care.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a leading cause of death worldwide, and hypertension is a major risk factor for acquiring CVDs. Early detection and treatment of hypertension can significantly reduce the risk of developing CVDs and related complications. In this study, a linear SVM machine learning model was used to classify subjects as normal or at different stages of hypertension. The features combined statistical parameters derived from the acceleration plethysmography waveforms and clinical parameters extracted from a publicly available dataset. The model achieved an overall accuracy of 87.50% on the validation dataset and 95.35% on the test dataset. The model's true positive rate and positive predictivity was high in all classes, indicating a high accuracy, and precision. This study represents the first attempt to classify cardiovascular conditions using a combination of acceleration photoplethysmogram (APG) features and clinical parameters The study demonstrates the potential of APG analysis as a valuable tool for early detection of hypertension.

The extraction of relevant features from the photoplethysmography signal for estimating certain physiological parameters is a challenging task. Various feature extraction methods have been proposed in the literature. In this study, we present a novel fiducial point extraction algorithm to detect c and d points from the acceleration photoplethysmogram (APG), namely “CnD”. The algorithm allows for the application of various pre-processing techniques, such as filtering, smoothing, and removing baseline drift; the possibility of calculating first, second, and third photoplethysmography derivatives; and the implementation of algorithms for detecting and highlighting APG fiducial points. An evaluation of the CnD indicated a high level of accuracy in the algorithm’s ability to identify fiducial points. Out of 438 APG fiducial c and d points, the algorithm accurately identified 434 points, resulting in an accuracy rate of 99%. This level of accuracy was consistent across all the test cases, with low error rates. These findings indicate that the algorithm has a high potential for use in practical applications as a reliable method for detecting fiducial points. Thereby, it provides a valuable new resource for researchers and healthcare professionals working in the analysis of photoplethysmography signals.

Photoplethysmography is a non-invasive technique used for measuring several vital signs and for the identification of individuals with an increased disease risk. Its principle of work is based on detecting changes in blood volume in the microvasculature of the skin through the absorption of light. The extraction of relevant features from the photoplethysmography signal for estimating certain physiological parameters is a challenging task, where various feature extraction methods have been proposed in the literature. In this work, we present PPGFeat, a novel MATLAB toolbox supporting the analysis of raw photoplethysmography waveform data. PPGFeat allows for the application of various preprocessing techniques, such as filtering, smoothing, and removal of baseline drift; the calculation of photoplethysmography derivatives; and the implementation of algorithms for detecting and highlighting photoplethysmography fiducial points. PPGFeat includes a graphical user interface allowing users to perform various operations on photoplethysmography signals and to identify, and if required also adjust, the fiducial points. Evaluating the PPGFeat’s performance in identifying the fiducial points present in the publicly available PPG-BP dataset, resulted in an overall accuracy of 99% and 3038/3066 fiducial points were correctly identified. PPGFeat significantly reduces the risk of errors in identifying inaccurate fiducial points. Thereby, it is providing a valuable new resource for researchers for the analysis of photoplethysmography signals.

Administering the medications and fluids intravenously is a frequent practice in modern medical procedures, which plays a vital role in the treatment of certain acute conditions which require immediate action by drugs or fluids. This paper covers the design of a low-cost, wireless drip monitoring system for use in the hospital environment. The device is equipped with the Bluetooth low energy based battery-operated microcontroller, an infrared based drops counting system and a digital servo motor to control the drip flow rate, and it is attached to an existing intravenous stand. A LabView graphical user interface has also been developed to provide sets of input to the system to calculate the desired drip rate and the amount of pressure that digital servo motor must apply to achieve it. The system shows an average accuracy of 96% when compared with the measured and calculated values. This allows accurate computation of the level of the drip.

This qualitative vignette study aims to examine how social workers within social services assess honor-related violence directed towards women, and whether the ethnic background of the victim affects the assessment. Additionally, the study aims to investigate the interventions offered by social services for victims living in an honor context and whether they differ from interventions for intimate partner violence. Data collection was conducted through six semi-structured interviews with social workers from different municipalities, based on a vignette. The results are analyzed using previous research and theoretical frameworks such as intersectionality and systems theory. The study's findings indicate that all participants identified honor in the case description, regardless of whether the woman had a Swedish-sounding name or a Middle Eastern-sounding name. The participants argue that ethnicity should not be decisive in the assessment, but it needs to be taken into account to evaluate the severity of honor practices. The interventions offered for victims in an honor context include sheltered accommodation and counseling support. It is also evident that the interventions for honor-related violence and oppression do not differ from interventions for intimate partner violence. Finally, all participants believe that more research and specialized interventions are needed for honor-related violence and oppression.

The purpose of this thesis is to be able to contribute a small insight into how first-generationSomali women experience higher education and what they experience as opportunities andobstacles. The data has been collected through a semi-structured qualitative telephoneinterview. The result is based on five interviews with first-generation Somali femalestudents who have lived in Sweden for less than ten years and who are currently pursuingbachelors or master's level of education. The results showed that higher education plays animportant role in the lives of all the students, it also shows that the students socio-culturalupbringing is the driving force behind their pursuing of higher education. Education is alsoseen as crucial for gaining social cultural and economic capital. The results also shows thatthe female students face challenges such as prejudices, socio-cultural barriers and evendifficulties in finding work after their education. 

Background: Person-centered caregiving aims to reorganize care with a different focus on the patient's experiences in purpose to give the patient more influence in their caretaking. The method has been shown to increase understanding between the caregiver and the patient. There are three core components of person-centred care; partnership, the patient's story and documentation. Purpose: The aim of this thesis was to describe nurses' experiences of working person-centred in hospital care. Method: A general literature review is conducted for this thesis where 10 scientific articles were chosen to be analyzed, of which seven are qualitative and three are quantitative. Results: The following themes was shown in the results of this thesis: the importance of participation, the importance of communication, the importance of communication in the care team, negative work environment and nurses' satisfaction. The teamwork and ability for dialogue between the professional groups also proved to be important for the development of person-centred caregiving as a method. Conclusion: Person-centred care was proved to be desirable according to the nurses' experiences. Existing legislation, regulations and the patients themselves requested the method. Although the nurses felt that the way of working was worth striving for, it was difficult to achieve and reliant on good working conditions. The nurses felt that they were dependent on both the organization and the patients to together create the best conditions for the method.

Residential segregation is a significant problem in most cities around Sweden. Resulting in political, social, and economic exclusion for citizens that live in residential segregated areas. Therefore, the purpose of this bachelor thesis is to create an increased understanding of what residential segregation means and highlight the consequences, and what it entails for citizens in ethnic and socioeconomic segregated areas. An additional purpose of this study is to examine how citizens in residential segregated neighborhoods experience residential segregation, and how inhabitants experience their citizenship in the context to residential segregation. We have also chosen to study how Västerås and Örebro municipalities designed policies contribute to preventing residential segregation. The chosen methodology for this study is qualitative research interviews. We have chosen to do ten semi-structured interviews, five from each neighborhood. This study has been narrowed down to only research citizens who live in Bäckby and Vivalla and are over the age of eighteen. 

The material collected will be analyzed and examined based on the municipal policies and the chosen theories. The chosen theories are citizenship and urban citizenship from Marshall and Bottommore (1992), Ruth Lister (2007), Patricia Burke Wood (2017)  and Gilbert & Phillips  (2003), and residential segregation from the view of Iris Young (1999) and (2002) and Irene Molina (1997). In conclusion, the participants feel that their life opportunities are affected by living in an ethnic-and socioeconomic segregated area, they also express that the opportunities they receive are not equal to people from areas with good conditions. The participants express that their citizenship differs in practice from in theory. An additional conclusion is that the policies were found to be deficient and the municipalities were incapable of not only implementing but also pursuing a strategy, for these reasons, we can not determine if the objectives of the policies were achieved. 

A work can be a risk or a protection factor and the demands it puts on the employee can have different consequences. Work environment includes both physical and psychosocial work environment, the physical part is about noise, ventilation and light. The psychosocial work environment is about social support, influence and demands. Work environment is an important pillar in public health because people spend a lot of time in their work. The purpose of this study is to describe the prison guards experience their work environment. The Demand-Control-Support-model have been used in this study as theoretical perspective.

To get the purpose answered, a qualitative method was done with a goal-directed selection where five prison guards were interviewed individually. All the interviews were semi-structured and recorded then transcribed, and afterwards analysed. The interview person who was interviewed are working in the same prison and have worked there for different amount of time.

The results showed that the interview persons felt that the management put a high pressure even if they are short of staff and nothing has changed even if the staff remarks it. The psychosocial work environment for the interview persons was that the work is psychologically stressful because of the high demands from the management and even the daily threat from the inmates. But the interview persons felt that collaboration among the colleagues is so good that the job satisfaction increase.

Keywords: Demand-Control-Support model, Prison guard, Qualitative method, Work environment.

Background: Stress can have both positive and negative effects on the human body. Prolonged stress without recovery can lead to public health issues. The use of social media is increasing among young people. Even lot of use of social media can lead to serious consequences. The stress-vulnerability model has been applied to this study as a theoretical framework.

Aim: The aim of the study was to study if there is a relationship between use of social media and stress among high school students. 

Method: A quantitative study with a cross-sectional design was conducted among high school students. Convenience selection was used, with a response rate of 100 precent among 105 respondents. Spearman's rho correlation was used to analyze the relationship. Three research questions were formulated to answer the purpose of the study.

Result: The majority of respondents use social media for at least three hours per day. Three out of four respondents experience daily stress. The study showed a weak positive correlation between social media use and stress.

Conclusion: The study showed that almost all respondents use social media. The majority spent more than three hours per day on social media. The study also revealed a weak positive significant associations between social media and stress.

Every individual ‍in Sweden should have the same right to work in everyday life, and that includes all individuals no matter what gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, education, or social class the individual has. These aspects should not be convincing to then be excluded from working. Working is considered part of a human right and individuals who are outside the labor market should be included regardless of the aspect they receive that is considered prejudice in society. Recruiters are considered to have a big role of hiring people of various qualities which in turn promotes diversity in companies, hereafter recruiters were selected to be a focus area in the present study. The aim of the present study is to increase the understanding of how different recruiters in Sweden work to promote diversity when recruiting for companies. A qualitative method applying semi-structured interviews was used. Ten interviews were conducted, and the respondents worked as recruiters in different industries, with different years of experience and education. The collected material has been analysed through a manifest content analysis. The result shows that recruiters follow their gut feeling about the candidate, but mostly based on the qualities that the candidate possesses that are also in demand from the position applied for; however, it is not excluded that discrimination may occur during recruitment. The thesis concludes that society makes demands on how companies should adapt when it comes to underrepresented groups in society and recruiters want to meet the needs that exist with the right tools. Several of them recognize that discrimination exists in their respective fields of work: they suggest that hiring people of ethnic minorities is sometimes regarded as a risk taking, and they describe a prevalence of a fear of conflicts based on cultural differences. The interviewees underline that diversity work should continue to be an active topic in working life. 

Sekundär traumatisering är ett tillstånd som kan uppstå till följd av att arbeta med att lyssna på klienters berättelser om traumatiska upplevelser. Personen som drabbas av sekundär traumatisering kan uppleva många fysiska och psykiska svårigheter i sitt liv. Studiens syfte är att undersöka uppkomsten och erfarenheterna av sekundär traumatisering bland professionella och på så sätt bidrar till kunskap om detta fenomen inom socialt arbete. I studien tillämpas en kvalitativ metodologi med semistrukturerade intervjuer för att erhålla en fördjupad förståelse för sekundär traumatisering och för att ge utrymme för professionella att uttrycka sina erfarenheter. För att förstå hur professionella hanterar de känslor som följer av exponeringen för traumaberättelser och uppkomsten av sekundär traumatisering används teorier om KASAM (känsla av sammanhang), empowerment och copingstrategier som teoretiska perspektiv. Studien genomfördes i tre olika kommuner och inkluderade sex intervjuer med professionella som arbetar inom området våldsutsatta klienter. Resultaten från studien indikerar att professionella upplever besvärande känslor till följd av klienternas traumatiserande berättelser. Resultaten betonar även att bristen på reflektion i arbetsmiljön och hög arbetsbelastning kan anses vara orsaker till uppkomsten av sekundär traumatisering. Å andra sidan identifieras vilka copingstrategier som används av professionella för att hantera symtomen av sekundär traumatisering

Detta examensarbete är på grundnivå som har genomförts under en period av 20 veckor undervåren 2023 och motsvarar 15 högskolepoäng. Projektet har haft som syfte att utveckla ett konceptför en kontaktor och tillämpa additiv tillverkningsteknik som en tillverkningsmetod för konceptet.Uppdragsgivaren för projektet har varit ABB Control Products i Västerås och de har identifieratbehovet av en lämplig lösning för limproblemet i släckpaketet för kontaktorer av storlek nio. Dennuvarande användningen av lim i kontaktorerna ansågs vara ohälsosam och uppfyllde intemiljökraven.

Inom ramen för projektet genomfördes en konceptutveckling för att lösa det identifieradeproblemet. Dessutom undersöktes möjligheten att tillämpa additiv tillverkningsteknik ochgenomföra en förenklad kostnadsbedömning för att visa skillnaden i kostnad mellan den nuvarandetillverkningsmetoden och additiv tillverkningsteknik. Produktutvecklingsmetoder användes för attgenomföra projektet, vilket resulterade i ett fungerande teoretiskt koncept. För att sålla ut idéeroch koncept användes en prioriteringsmatris och ett poängsystem. Det resulterande konceptetrepresenteras av CAD-modeller som består av metallplåtar och två delar av det utveckladekonceptet. Konceptet möjliggör en ny design utan användning av lim vid montering. Det har ocksåvisat sig att det är möjligt att ändra tillverkningsmetoden genom att använda additivatillverkningstekniker. Även om prototyperna ännu inte har testats, anses de teoretiska lösningarnavara fungerande.

Tests are important artifacts in the software development process. Testing activities such as test automation, test maintenance, and test suite optimization mainly rely on an in-depth understanding of test specifications. The manual process of writing testspecifications in natural language can create many different quality issues such as ambiguous, incomplete, redundant, or inconsistent test cases. Nowadays, the concept of test smells is proposed by several researchers to be used as indicators of low-qualityattributes in test specifications. Quality assurance processes for test specifications often rely on manual reviews to detect these smells. The manual process of detecting these smells is considered time consuming and costly. However, there is currently no work that implements a comprehensive quality model that classifies and identifies these smells by using a systematic strategy. As a result, there is a need for machine-supported analytical measures that decrease the time and effort needed to detect these smells manually, especially when it comes to reviewing and validating large test specifications.This study aims to investigate which natural language smell metrics implemented in NALABS can be found in test specifications and to measure the sufficiency of those smellmetrics. It also aims to extend these smell metrics by exploring, proposing, or combining with new bad smell metrics to cover more aspects of natural language test quality. The results of the study show that the smell metrics exists in real-world test specifications and can uncover many potential quality issues by assisting test designers in identifying certain types of quality issues pertaining to for example the understandability and complexity of test specifications. Moreover, the results show thatthe list of smell metrics implemented in NALABS is incomplete and can be extended to cover more aspects of test quality.

This thesis first and foremost investigates how entrepreneurial teachers today work with teachingcreativity to young entrepreneurs, at upper secondary level in Sweden. To then come toconclusions on how to improve and developed teaching of creativity in young entrepreneurs. Forthat purpose, this thesis, has the following research questions.Research question 1; How UF (entrepreneurial teachers) use creative tools today?Research question 2; How the learning of creative tools can develop in the future?The method of investigation used in this thesis is a “semi-structured interview” where sixdifferent respondents where interview two at time, separately, the process took a month to becompleted. These six respondents are teachers working in three different high schools in theMälar region of Sweden. The duration of each interview was between 20-30 minutes, theseinterviews were then analyzed, transcribed, and categorized.The answers were then analyzed by the authors and categorized with connection to the theoriesthat have formed the basis of this work. The empirical evidence could then be fed into a tablethat showed the similarities and differences in the working methods between the variousinterviewed respondents. This is to make it easier for the reader.The results of this work show that UF teachers today use creativity as a tool during the businessidea phase of UF entrepreneurship. After this phase, entrepreneurial teachers no longer see anypurpose in teaching creativity to entrepreneurial students. The authors of this thesis concludedthat creativity does not lose its value or utility after the idea generation phase ofentrepreneurship. The current way of teaching creativity creates an environment where creativityis "strangled" and there is no free space left for innovative thinking. The authors associate thislack of innovation to a lack of communication between the UF teachers and therefore the authorscall on the UF teachers to collaborate 3 times per business year.The examiner for this work is Bengt Köping Olsson, researcher in creativity, innovation anddesign at Mälardalen University. 

Research questions: How does the company's CSR communication affect consumers' purchase intention and brand attitude?

Purpose: The study aims to examine the relationship between how companies' work with CSR (marketing) influences brand attitude and further purchase intention among consumers in the fashion industry.

Method: The study was conducted using a quantitative method and a deductive research approach. A survey was carried out, and 149 responses were collected for data analysis.

Conclusion: The results show that CSR is an effective marketing strategy for strengthening the brand, as the majority of respondents consider it important for clothing companies to take responsibility. However, it is not an easy task to effectively and credibly communicate these efforts. This study reveals that, in the case of H&M, few respondents were aware of what the company does regarding CSR and they were skeptical about the overall accuracy of H&M's claims. Thus, many respondents are still consumers with a positive brand attitude, likely due to reasons other than CSR.

Bakgrund: Som sjuksköterska är det mycket vanligt att bemöta anhöriga när en närstående har avlidit. Flera anhöriga känner sorg och chock efter dödsfallet, samt vittnar om bristande kunskap och kompetens om kommunikation och bemötandet hos vårdpersonalen. Flertalet anhöriga anser också att de blir dåligt bemötta av vårdpersonalen. Samtidigt har sjuksköterskor ett ansvar att ta hänsyn till de anhöriga enligt riktlinjer. Eftersom flera anhöriga vittnar om ett dåligt bemötande från vårdpersonalen verkar det vara värdefullt att få en djupare kunskap om hur sjuksköterskor bemöter anhöriga i samband med dödsfall. Syfte: Att skapa en översikt över sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att bemöta anhöriga i samband med dödsfall. Metod: En litteraturöversikt bestående av elva artiklar. Åtta artiklar var kvalitativa, två var mixade och en var kvantitativ. Resultat: Artiklarnas syften, deltagare, datainsamlingsmetoder och resultat jämfördes. Det framkom tre olika teman genom analysen av artiklarnas resultat. Temana var, Att ha förutsättningar för att ge stöd till anhöriga vid dödsfall, Att ge stöd samt Att bilda relation med anhöriga. Slutsatser: Stödet till anhöriga ansågs delvis vara bristfälligt på grund av otillräcklig kompetens och utbildning hos sjuksköterskorna.

Nyckelord: anhöriga, bemötande, dödsfall, erfarenheter, litteraturöversikt, sjuksköterska

Studiens syfte var att fördjupa kunskaperna om hur yrkesverksamma ledare beskriversin egen betydelse för kunskaps- och kompetensutveckling hos sina medarbetare i enkontext präglad av digitalisering och teknisk utveckling. Metoden som användes vartematisk analys av semistrukturerade intervjuer. Analysen utgick från åtta intervjuer och242 utsagor och resultatet visade att ledarna beskriver sin betydelse för medarbetarnaslärande genom att de skapar handlingsutrymme, ställer krav, kontrollerar och visaromsorg. Tekniska artefakter beskrivs få konsekvenser för verksamheterna och dessanställda. De slutsatser som dras är att ledarna har betydelse för sina medarbetareslärande, men inte till vilken grad. Det lärande som erbjuds och sker inomverksamheterna beskrivs delvissom ett anpassningsinriktat lärande och som ettredskapför produktion. Relevansen som studien har är insikter i ledares beskrivningar av sinbetydelse för sina medarbetares lärande samt hur den tekniska utvecklingen fårkonsekvenser både för medarbetarnas integritet och arbetsprestationer.

I denna studie undersöks regeringens utredning angående utökade preventiva tvångsmedel. Utredningen i frågan är delbetänkande om införandet av utökade preventiva tvångsmedel (SOU 2022:52). Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur argumentationen gällande utökade preventiva tvångsmedel i utredningen ställs i förhållande till de grundläggande fri- och rättigheterna samt rättsstatens principer. För att kunna genomföra det vetenskapliga arbetet har studiens tillvägagångssätt bestått av en argumentationsanalys med en pro- och contra modell tillsammans med en idéanalys för att kunna besvara forskningsfrågan. Vidare i studien presenteras resultatet i en pro- och contra-modell där de centrala argumenten framförs i en tabell. Resultatet fördelas in i teman och förklaras i en text under tabellen, med hjälp av citat och exempel från utredningen. Detta i syfte att tydliggöra för argumentets innehåll. Resultatet utvärderas under avsnittets analys utifrån de två teorierna, utilitarism och rättighetsteorin. Här diskuteras och övervägs för- och emot argumenten utifrån teoriernas synsätt. Slutligen presenteras den sammanställda analysen i en slutsats som tydligt besvarar de framställda frågeställningarna. Detta genomförs med hjälp av en diskussion av studiens resultat. 

I dagens samhälle har sociala medier stort inflytande på människor. Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur unga kvinnor upplever att deras mentala hälsa påverkas till följd av användning av sociala medier. Tio semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med unga kvinnor mellan 20–35 år som är aktiva på Facebook och Instagram. Analysen visade på två centrala teman: positiva mentala effekter och negativa mentala effekter med subteman ökad stressnivå och beroendeframkallande. Deltagarna upplever att deras psykiska hälsa påverkas både positivt och negativt. Dock visar resultatet att det var övervägande negativt. Vilket är i linje med tidigare studier. Författarna resonerar att social gemenskap vid användning av sociala medier var en gemensam positiv faktor för deltagarna, medan minskad självkänsla var en gemensam negativ faktor. Vi kommer att diskutera resultat i enlighet med den sociokulturella teorin, då det diskuterades att sociala medier har en viktig roll gällande hur de påverkar unga kvinnors mentala hälsa utifrån samtida kultur.

Bakgrund: Vård i livets slutskede handlar om att lindra lidande och öka patientens välbefinnande under sista tid i livet. I sjuksköterskans ansvarsområde ingår det att lindra lidande, främja hälsa och att verka för ett fridfullt och värdigt avslut för patienter. Tidigare forskning visade att patienter uppskattade sjuksköterskors goda omhändertagande och bemötande. Det framkom att patienter erfor att den terminala sjukdomen omkullkastar livet och det uppstod en förlust av kontroll och självbild. Syfte: Syftet var att översiktligt beskriva sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att vårda patienter vid livets slutskede. Metod: En allmän litteraturöversikt tillämpades med sammanlagt elva vårdvetenskapliga artiklar, varav åtta var kvalitativa, två kvantitativa och en mixad metod. Resultat: Det identifierades fyra olika teman som besvarade sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att vårda patienter i livets slutskede som var; Kommunikation och utmaningar i vårdandet, Sjuksköterskans behov av utbildning och kompetens, Betydelsen av ett tvärprofessionellt samarbete och slutligen Emotionell påfrestning. Slutsats: Sjuksköterskor erfor att en god kommunikation var grunden för en högkvalitativ vård i livets slutskede. Dock uppstod det kommunikationsutmaningar när patienter och närstående hade olika mål för vården. För att erbjuda säker och god vård där patienters behov tillgodosågs erfor sjuksköterskor behov av specialiserade kunskaper och färdigheter inom palliativ vård.