Blekinge Institute of Technology
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Parents’ views of the acceptability and efficacy of the Safe Environment for Every Kid model in the Swedish child health services
No full textBackground: Safe Environment for Every Kid (SEEK) is one of few evidence-based approaches to identify psychosocial problems and facilitate support to families within pediatric primary care. The Swedish version of SEEK, called BarnSäkert (“Child Safe”), is being evaluated as a complex intervention in the Swedish child health services (CHS) for children aged 0–6 years. Objective: Assessment of parents’ views of the acceptability and efficacy of the BarnSäkert/SEEK model within the CHS in Sweden. Participants and setting: Mothers and fathers (n = 353) whose children were enrolled in the CHS. Methods: An anonymous web-based survey posed questions regarding how parents perceived BarnSäkert/SEEK and whether services had been offered, accessed or planned as a result. Efficacy was measured as parents’ reports of an improved life situation or having been helped by the model. Results: Among parents who discussed their situation with the nurse, 80 % reported that it had helped, 24 % had received help that they otherwise would not have and 20 % that their situation had improved. Appropriateness of the model was scored at 91/100 by mothers and 86/100 by fathers. Logistic regression showed significantly higher odds ratios for efficacy measures and service uptake for parents who were younger, born outside of Sweden or had lower levels of education. Conclusions: Parents reported that the model was highly acceptable and efficacious in meeting their psychosocial needs. The findings lend support for application of the BarnSäkert/SEEK model in the Swedish CHS as an equitable approach to address psychosocial problems in families with young children.
Samhällsekonomiska effekter av avancerad försvarsindustri : En forskningsöversikt
No full textSveriges försvarsindustri har en lång historia som vuxit fram ur ett nära samspel mellan politiska ambitioner, högteknologisk kompetens och industriellt kunnande. I dag ställs beslutsfattare inom politik, akademi och näringsliv inför nya och komplexa frågor till följd av förändrade säkerhets- och geopolitiska förhållanden. En central utmaning är hur olika försvarspolitiska satsningar ska förenas med största möjliga samhällsnytta. För svenskt vidkommande aktualiseras frågan av det kommande försvarspolitiska beslutet angående fortsatt utveckling och produktion av stridsflyg. Finns det samhällsekonomiska skäl för att fortsätta med inhemsk tillverkning och vilka är i sådana fall dessa? I en serie rapporter kommer detta att belysas närmare. Föreliggande studie är den första och fokuserar på en genomgång av internationell och svensk forskningslitteratur om de samlade effekterna av offentliga försvarspolitiska satsningar. De viktigaste observationerna i forskningsöversikten kan sammanfattas enligt följande: • Betydande spridningseffekter kan konstateras av offentliga satsningar på försvarsrelaterad forskning och utveckling (FoU). Samtidigt är så kallade undanträngningseffekter, det vill säga att offentlig FoU ersätter näringslivets forskningssatsningar, små eller obefintliga. Tvärtom förefaller ”inträngningseffekterna” vara betydande, det vill säga offentliga FoU-satsningar genererar ytterligare FoU-investeringar i näringslivet. • De finanspolitiska multiplikatorerna visar att en kronas satsning på försvaret leder till BNP-ökningar på mellan 30 öre och 2,6 kronor. Den genomsnittliga storleken ligger runt ett. Den stora variationen beror bland annat på vilka satsningar som görs och vilken tidsrymd som avses. • Effekten är störst för satsningar på FoU och teknikutveckling. Dessa förefaller slå igenom fullt ut på medellång sikt (tio till femton år) och har störst påverkan på produktivitet och tillväxt. Multiplikatorer kopplade till offentlig konsumtion och även investeringar relaterade till försvarssatsningar verkar på kortare sikt och med mer begränsade effekt på långsiktig tillväxt. • Den försvarspolitiska spelplanen håller på att förändras. Tidigare var det avgörande att ett antal större, teknikintensiva företag kunde ta emot försvarsrelaterad kunskap. I dag är det minst lika viktigt att även mindre och entreprenörsdrivna företag deltar i processen. • Möjligheterna till civila tillämpningar av teknologier som utvecklats för militära ändamål – ”dual use” – har ökat. Kunskapsflödena mellan militära och civila sektorer framstår emellertid som mer ömsesidiga än tidigare – kunskap rör sig inte bara från det militära till det civila, utan även i motsatt riktning. En förutsättning för den dynamiken är dock att det finns inhemska ekosystem som kan ta emot och vidareutveckla den kunskap och de metoder som högteknologisk tillverkning skapar
Optimal Reduced Rank Modeling for General Noise Using Nullspace Estimation
No full textThe problem of optimal reconstruction of a low-rank matrix subject to additive noise of arbitrary noise color is addressed. We propose a non-iterative method based on modeling the nullspace of the data. The proposed technique is shown to yield statistically efficient estimates at sufficiently high Signal-to-Noise Ratio. Yet, the computational complexity is significantly reduced compared to existing methods. The empirical efficiency is verified using simulated data. In more difficult scenarios, the proposed NullSpace Estimator (NSE) can be used to initialize an iterative approach, and in the studied cases just one iteration of Alternating Least-Squares (ALS) was found enough.
Extended realities and discrete events simulations : A systematic review to define design trade-offs and directions
No full textExtended Reality (XR) technologies are increasingly popular to support the engagement of different audiences and stakeholders with Discrete Event Simulations (DES) due to their capability to deliver more accessible visual and immersive experiences. XR applications can be developed either using modules integrated into DES software or game engines, providing different sets of opportunities in the environment design. However, there is a lack of development guidelines for such environments, considering visualization, information presentation, interaction, and navigation aspects. The paper presents a systematic review of the use of XR for DES, relating the results to XR design heuristics to identify and discuss major design tradeoffs. Finally, a case study from the mining sector is exemplified to illustrate possible. solutions to balance the trade-offs. © 2024 The Author
Economic Consequences of Varying Weight Distribution : Case Study for a Third-Party Logistics Company
No full textBackground: The processing of food products to maintain the quality of the products have been developing through time, since the foundation of the agricultural society. Modern day food logistics has many facets of processing. One of the main processes is freezing of goods, to preserve the quality of the perishable good. This is done either internally, by the producer of the goods, or by third parties. The third party has a higher degree of possibility to achieve economies of scale, by being able to process multiple goods at a time.Objectives: The study aims to evaluate the economic impact of differing weight distributions, which the third-party processes through a freezer, stores in a freezer, and then thaws, using two methods of thawing on differing energy efficiencies. Specifically, the objective is to analyze the impact of three different weight categories of meat packaging; frozen, stored and thawed using either a microwave, or an air blaster.Methods: The study is based on a case study approach, where it analyses the data provided by a specific third-party company which provides these services. The study examines the revenue, costs, alternative costs, and costumer choice, as per what the economic consequences of the differing meat packaging provides. The data provided by the company has been further extrapolated, based on existing literature, to fill in the gaps in data.Results: Variations in packaging significantly affect processing time for the air blaster, which includes increased operational time, leading to a higher degree of alternative costs. This method should be more used by companies that don’t have a high degree of lead time costs, since it’s the cheaper one, but also provides less profit than the microwave, for the third-party company. The microwave is faster, more profitable, but has a somewhat higher impact on the maintenance of meat quality, where the quality seems to be lower after thawing compared to other methods. Furthermore, the microwave method has higher sensitivity of energy usage based on the weight distribution, but is less time sensitive based on the weight distribution. It is also more expensive for customers to use, but companies that have higher degree of lead time costs could benefit from this faster method of thawing.Conclusion: The weight distribution has a high impact on the speed of processing, energy efficiency, and economic outcome for both parties, but mainly the third party. Optimizing this variable and being knowledgeable of the consequences of your choices for both parties involved, could result in a more profitable and more understanding relationship between the producer and the third-party. There also needs to be more research done on the subject of weight distribution and its economic impact on multiple areas, since this is not the only sector of which this is an important variable for economic outcome
The illustrative case of the HYBRIT fossil-free steel production initiative in the perspective of industrial symbiosis and convergence
No full textThis article attempts to bridge the gap between the concepts of Industrial Symbioses (IS) and Industrial Convergence (IC) by arguing that the two concepts can jointly help to understand the role of industrial structures and value chains that embody transformation processes through which technologies evolve in response to transformation pressure. On one hand, IS with a focus on inter-firm collaborations and resource exchange has become a useful framework to understand and capture the mechanisms that foster sustainable industrial and technological development, while on the other hand IC has been used to analyze technological development that blurs traditional borders between firms in terms of innovations and business development. However, although interrelated the two concepts have been discussed separately. This paper is using the HYBRIT initiative as an illustrative case of a climate change mitigation and as such a “flagship” project in Sweden in an effort to replace the traditional blast furnace technology as the core unit processing technology in steelmaking. It is advocated that whilst many aspects of the conceptual models of IS and IC appear to be congruent with the on-going HYBRIT eco-industrial transformation process, the overall impression is that in future eco-industrial transformations, it could be of interest to develop and deploy a more specific transformation model adapted and capturing unique process-industrial conditions for product and process innovation
The growth and development of Nordic regional science research 1982-2022 : bibliometric evidence from thirteen regional science journals
No full textIn a paper published in 2020, Philip McCann gives a qualitative overview of "the Nordic contribution to regional science", which, however, only includes contributions by Swedish regional science researchers. The purpose of this paper is to complement McCann's overview by highlighting Nordic contributions to regional science in the period 1983-2022 through a bibliometric analysis of publications in a set of thirteen regional science journals indexed in Web of Science, using several standard bibliometric tools. Our most interesting and surprising result is that the number of "Nordic" publications in the chosen set of journals has grown more than six times faster than the total number of publications in these journals between 1983-1992 and 2013-2022. This implies that the "Nordic" regional science researchers have increased their "market share" from 1.9 to 9.1 per cent. During the same period, the share of co-authored papers increased from 50.0 to 82.9 per cent and the share of international co-authorships increased from 0 to 50.0 per cent and went from being a mainly intra-European activity to a global activity. This process is also reflected in a certain international influence on the research topics during the four periods analysed, but to a considerable extent it seems that the Nordic regional scientists have pursued their own Nordic research themes. In terms of individual research productivity, there was the expected skewed distribution with a small number of researchers with a large research output. At the institutional level, there were notable changes in the ranking of institutions in terms of number of authorships, but one institution-Ume & aring; University-ranked among the Nordic top-2 in all four periods.A correction to this paper has been published:DOI10.1007/s00168-025-01385-3</p
Göteborg borgar för tillväxt : Vad händer i väst och vad betyder det?
No full textRapporten Göteborg borgar för tillväxt undersöker om Sveriges ekonomiska centrum håller på att förskjutas västerut till Göteborgsregionen
Participants' Quality Experiences and Behavior in 360° Videos
No full textIn the rapidly evolving virtual reality (VR) field, assessing video quality on head-mounted displays (HMDs) for 360° videos presents unique opportunities and challenges. As immersive multimedia becomes increasingly widespread, understanding how users perceive and evaluate the quality of 360° videos is essential. This thesis investigates the subjective quality assessment tests of 360° videos, examining how participants' VR experiences, viewing conditions, and exploration behaviors shape perceptions of quality. This thesis aims to perform subjective quality assessment tests to study and understand how participants perceive the quality of 360° videos on an HMD. The thesis starts with an extended summary of the field of subjective quality assessment for 360° videos, followed by eight key publications, and unfolds into three main parts. The first part of the thesis focuses on data collection to establish ground truth. It includes a comprehensive survey of annotated 360° images and videos datasets related to subjective quality assessment. It also presents a set of datasets collected specifically for subjective quality assessment tests for 360° videos with different test methods and viewing conditions conducted as part of the research. The second part of the thesis investigates how varying levels of VR experience affect participants' video quality assessments. It compares two test methods, the absolute category rating (ACR) and the modified ACR (MACR) method, to evaluate 360° video quality. Furthermore, this part evaluates simulator sickness in participants viewing 360° video on an HMD and explores how their prior VR experience levels correlate with the occurrence of these symptoms. The third and final part of the thesis focuses on assessing viewing conditions and rating consistency. It involves conducting subjective quality assessment tests for 360° videos under different viewing conditions, such as standing and seated viewing, and providing a statistical analysis of the psychophysical and psychophysiological measures. This part also investigates the consistency of 360° video quality assessments through repeated subjective quality assessment tests under opportunity-limited conditions. It examines how quality assessments vary between the standing and seated viewing conditions and explores whether participants' subjective evaluations of 360° videos change over time or remain stable across repeated exposures
Objective Sleep Monitoring at Home in Older Adults : A Scoping Review
No full textInadequate sleep in older adults is linked to health issues such as frailty, cognitive impairment, and cardiovascular disorders. Maintaining regular sleep patterns is important for healthy aging, making effective sleep monitoring essential. While polysomnography (PSG) is the gold standard for diagnosing sleep disorders, its regular use in home settings is limited. Alternative objective monitoring methods in the home can offer insights into natural sleep patterns and factors affecting them without the limitations of PSG. This scoping review aims to examine current technologies, sensors, and sleep parameters used for home-based sleep monitoring in older adults. It also aims to explore various predictors and outcomes associated with sleep to understand the factors of sleep monitoring at home. We identified 54 relevant articles using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and an AI tool (Research Rabbit), with 48 studies using wearable technologies and eight studies using non-wearable technologies. Further, six types of sensors were utilized. The most common technology employed was actigraphy wearables, while ballistocardiography and electroencephalography were less common. The most frequent objective parameters of sleep measured were Total Sleep Time (TST), Wakeup After Sleep Onset (WASO), and Sleep Efficiency (SE), with only six studies evaluating sleep architecture in terms of sleep stages. Additionally, six categories of predictors and outcomes associated with sleep were analyzed, including Health-related, Environmental, Interventional, Behavioral, Time and Place, and Social associations. These associations correlate with TST, WASO, and SE and include in-bed behaviors, exterior housing conditions, aerobic exercise, living place, relationship status, and seasonal thermal environments