Högskolebiblioteket i Halmstad Publikationer
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Product Development for the Drying Process for Seaweed at Upcyclr AB : Theoretical Analysis and Possible Improvements
No full textThis thesis explores how to improve the drying process for seaweed at Upcyclr AB, a Swedish company dedicated to reducing food waste through sustainable upcycling technologies. Seaweed is increasingly valued as a nutritious and sustainable food source, but its high moisture content requires careful drying to preserve quality and nutrients. Upcyclr AB’s existing system uses a heat pump and tray drying method, but the company sought to further enhance energy efficiency, product quality, and sustainability. To address these goals, the thesis first analyzes the theoretical background and current operation of the company’s drying system, identifying how heat transfer, airflow, and process controls affect both energy use and seaweed quality. Next, alternative drying methods and technical improvements are evaluated, including solar-assisted heat pumps, microwave-vacuum drying, and adjustments to tray design and airflow. The study also examines how different drying parameters, such as temperature, air velocity, and humidity, impact the retention of vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds in seaweed. Notably, the research finds that moderate drying temperatures (50–60°C) and controlled airflow (1.5–2.0 m/s) best preserve sensitive nutrients like vitamin C and polyphenols, while excessive heat leads to significant losses. The integration of infrasound technology is also proposed, as it can be used alongside internal fans to enhance moisture removal and drying efficiency without disrupting existing airflow. Due to limitations in experimental access, the research is based on literature review, company documentation, and expert interviews. The thesis delivers actionable recommendations for Upcyclr AB, including optimizing drying parameters, adopting advanced or hybrid systems, and implementing real-time monitoring. These improvements are expected to reduce energy use, shorten drying times, and ensure high-quality, nutritious seaweed products. The findings benefit both Upcyclr AB and the broader seaweed industry by supporting more sustainable and efficient food processing
KL-trä och armerad betong i hybridkonstruktion : En studie om optimering av miljö- och hållfasthetsprestanda
No full textThis thesis investigates the potential to optimize both environmental and structural performance by combining cross-laminated timber (CLT) and reinforced concrete in a hybrid construction for a five-story residential building in Halmstad. Using life cycle assessment (LCA) conducted in accordance with ISO14040 and structural calculations through FEM-design modeling, three construction alternatives are analyzed: one made of entirely CLT, one reinforced concrete and one hybrid solution. The goal is to identify differences and improvements in structural performance and environmental impact among the three. The results show that hybrid construction achieves a significant reduction in both climate impact and structural weight, producing 85% less carbon dioxide emissions and weighing 80% less than the reinforced concrete construction. The CLT construction showed a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 87% and reduced the total weight of the construction by 82% in comparison to the reinforced concrete construction. These improvements are achieved while still meeting the structural requirements of Swedish building codes and Eurocodes regarding both ultimate and serviceability limit states. This work provides insight into which parts of the building can most effectively be designed using CLT to replace concrete and highlights the advantages of hybrid solutions in modern construction
Säkerhetslösning för GC-maskiner
No full textJohn Bean Technologies (JBT) is a global manufacturer of industrial freezing equipment, andtheir GC series consists of two-level spiral freezers used in large-scale food processing. Toaccess the upper level during service and cleaning, operators must climb a steep ladder andopen a hatch that functions as the entry point. This working posture creates an increased riskof falling, especially when operators carry tools or water hoses. JBT has therefore identifiedthe need for a safer and more ergonomic solution.The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to improve safety during climbing by developing a moreergonomic stair-ladder and by proposing a new opening mechanism for the hatch. The goalwas to create solutions compatible with all five sizes of the GC machine and to make dailywork easier for operators.The work was carried out in close collaboration with JBT and followed a structured processincluding a feasibility study, brainstorming, CAD modeling, and prototype development. Anew stair-ladder with a 65-degree angle was developed to reduce the risk of falling, and ahandrail was constructed and tested on the GC70 model. For the hatch, a concept using astainless-steel gas spring was proposed, suitable for cold and wet environments.Not all parts could be tested within the timeframe of the thesis, but JBT has received thecomplete material and plans to continue the development. The proposed improvements areexpected to increase safety, facilitate the work process, and have potential for implementationacross GC machines globally
Critical Perspectives on HyFlex Teaching
No full textThe HyFlex (hybrid + flexible) course design promises increased learning choice, accessibility, and improved student performance. Yet it also raises concerns about diminished informal learning and the reinforcement of extrinsic, goal-oriented behaviors. When COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, we tested HyFlex teaching in a large undergraduate public administration course (N = 96) at Umeå University, Sweden. Using a consistent final exam, we compared student outcomes across three modes: pre-pandemic (face-to-face), during the pandemic (remote), and postpandemic (HyFlex). Results show the highest student performance and satisfaction in the HyFlex format. However, concerns remain about how HyFlex may contribute to a performative culture in higher education and normalize expectations of combining full-time studies with extensive work commitments. © 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Ethical Social Robot Moderators for Traffic Management : Integrating Automated Vehicles and Vulnerable Road Users
No full textUrban traffic environments are rapidly evolving with the adoption of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs), yet challenges remain regarding interactions between these vehicles and vulnerable road users (VRUs). This paper introduces the concept of an Ethical Social Robot Moderator (ESRM) that facilitates coordination and communication in mixed-traffic contexts. By consolidating insights from research on robot trust and tele-operation, vehicular communication systems, and ethical frameworks for autonomous driving, the proposed ESRM aims to reduce collision risks, enhances cooperation among heterogeneous road users, and provides transparent decision-making based on well-defined moral principles. The proposal is a structured design for the ESRM, extending simulation strategies in the CARLA environment with detailed metrics, and integrating references from prior literature to illustrate how these social robots can bridge multiple technological domains. This work serves as a unifying contribution to a broader field that spans robotics, communication networks, and ethical AI in urban mobility. © 2025 IEEE.This work has been funded as part of the KIT Future Fields project "V2X4Robot". This paper is part of the CulturalRoad project, funded by the European Union under grant agreement No. 101147397. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.</p
Contrastive Learning for Anomaly Detection in Industrial Production Settings
No full textAnomaly detection in multivariate time series is a critical task in industrial production environments, where timely identification of abnormal behavior can prevent costly failures. Recent advances in contrastive representation learning promise robust and generalizable embeddings for such data. This thesis integrates TS2Vec, a hierarchical contrastive learning model, together with additional contrastive learning variantsinto the Exathlon benchmark framework for anomaly detection and explanation discovery. To assess their effectiveness, the models are compared against an Autoencoder baseline using Exathlon’s anomaly detection metrics. A reference-based nearest-neighbor distance scoring method on the learned embeddings was developed and incorporated into the pipeline to generate anomaly scores. Beyond detection accuracy, the study examines model-agnostic explanation techniques and explores the potential of model-intrinsic mechanisms to improve interpretability. Results highlight the strengths and limitations of contrastive approaches compared to reconstruction-based methods and provide insights into the trade-offs between accuracy and explainability in anomaly detection
Foundational Model For TimeSeries Forecasting : Adaptation Mechanisms for Short-horizon Downstream Time-Series Forecasting
No full textTime-series forecasting plays a crucial role across multiple domains,including energy, finance, and climate analysis. However, traditionalmodels often struggle to generalize across diverse temporal patterns,especially when training data is limited. This thesis explores the in-tegration of STL (Seasonal-Trend Decomposition using Loess) intotransformer-based foundation models to enhance adaptability andforecasting performance.We propose a decomposition aware learning pipeline that modelsthe trend and seasonal components extracted via STL separately, en-abling the model to focus on simpler substructures of the time se-ries. A few-shot learning strategy is employed to assess model gen-eralization under data-scarce conditions using only 200, 100, and 50training examples. The architecture incorporates a frozen pretrainedencoder, parallelized STL preprocessing, and multi loss optimizationwith early stopping.Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach im-proves trend prediction accuracy, achieving a 25% reduction in MSEcompared to raw-input baselines. Nevertheless, challenges persist inindependently modeling seasonal components, motivating future ex-ploration of hybrid fusion mechanisms for enhanced performance.
How emotional, existential, and relational factors influence the wish to die among chronically ill patients : A general literature review
No full textBakgrund: Den ökade andelen äldre i Sverige har lett till ett större behov av vård i livets slutskede. Denna vård syftar till att lindra lidande och öka livskvalitén utifrån ett helhetsperspektiv där fysiska, psykiska och sociala behov tas i beaktning. Fokus ligger på kronisk sjuka patienternas erfarenheter av emotionell och existentiell sårbarhet och hur detta påverkar deras upplevelse av värdighet, relationer och meningsfullhet. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur emotionella, existentiella och relationella faktorer påverkar önskan att dö hos kroniskt sjuka patienter. Metod: En allmän litteraturstudie med induktiv ansats som baserades på åtta vetenskapliga artiklar med kvantitativ och kvalitativ metod. Resultat: Tre teman identifierades: (1) Förlust av värdighet, kontroll och mening, (2) Samtal och känslan av att vara en börda, (3) Ambivalens mellan att leva och dö. Konklusion: Sjuksköterskor har en central roll i att stödja patientens autonomi och värdighet genom personcentrerad vård, närvaro och öppna samtal som möjliggör uttryck för existentiella behov. En fördjupad förståelse kan bidra till förbättrad palliativ vård.Background: The increasing proportion of older adults in Sweden has led to a growing need for end-of-life care. This care aims to alleviate suffering and enhance quality of life from a holistic perspective in which physical, psychological, and social needs are taken into consideration, with a focus on chronically ill patients’ experiences of emotional and existential vulnerability and how these influence their perceptions of dignity, relationships, and meaningfulness. Aim: The aim of the study was to examine how emotional, existential, and relational factors influence the desire to die among chronically ill patients. Method: A general literature review with an inductive approach was conducted, based on eight scientific articles using quantitative and qualitative methods. Results: Three themes were identified: (1) loss of dignity, control, and meaning, (2) communication and the feeling of being a burden, and (3) ambivalence between living and dying. Conclusion: Nurses play a central role in supporting patients’ autonomy and dignity through person-centred care, presence, and open communication that enables the expression of existential needs, and a deeper understanding of these factors may contribute to improved palliative care.
SoCap YMH – Social Capital, Help-Seeking and Youth Mental Health
No full textRationale: Novel strategies are needed to address the public health priority of strengthening youth mental health. Social capital is considered an important determinant of mental health among youths, connecting the individual to their social environment. Social capital can be seen as a valuable asset that can help guide youths during challenging times and help them sustain a balanced mental health. As adolescents navigate their social environments, the connections they establish and the networks they engage with might serve as crucial determinants shaping their attitudes and behaviours towards seeking help. Bonding relationships offer support and foster mental health awareness, while the structure of the social network determines which resources and guidance that are accessible. Help-seeking competency may be nurtured by creating a social environment supportive of open discussions about mental health. Consequently, youths with higher levels of social capital might find seeking help a more viable and normative course of action. Gaining a deeper knowledge on how social capital connects to help-seeking in relation to mental health aligns with the broader aspiration of ensuring that youths receive timely and appropriate support. Objectives: The overall aim of this project is to investigate social capital in relation to help-seeking and mental health in close collaboration with youths and key stakeholders in the southern part of Sweden. The following research questions will be explored: · What is the role of social capital for youth mental health? · How does social capital shape youths’ help-seeking and the social pathways leading to timely intervention and support the help-seeking process? · How can the knowledge generated throughout the project be translated into practice? Methods: This project is ongoing and in the phase of instrument development in collaboration with youths, 15 years old. Then, about 800 youths, aged 15, will be followed over time in school settings that represents rural and urban parts of southern Sweden. The newly developed and validated instruments on social capital and help-seeking respectively will be used in a longitudinal questionnaire study along with self-reported mental health. A collaborative process that involves youths and stakeholders takes place during the project to ensure relevance and applicability of the findings. Results: Two newly developed and validated instruments will be presented, one instrument that captures social capital as youths have described it and one instrument that captures the complexity of mental health help-seeking of youths today. We also expect to present preliminary results on the role of social capital for youths’ mental health and how this is linked to help-seeking. Policy implications: The project promotes collaborative work, involving youths and stakeholders, where knowledge, different perspectives and experiences are shared to discuss the practical implications of the project, short- and long term, and help bridge the gap between research and practice. Conclusions: Our hope is that this project will increase our knowledge on the social dimension of mental health in the adolescent population and generate practical implications that will help adolescents to thrive.
Resilience-Building Along NATO’s Eastern Flank : The Case of the Ukrainian-Hungarian Borderland
No full textThe chapter analyses resilience-formation in borderlands and its relation to societal security. By investigating the case of regions located at the Ukrainian-Hungarian border, we argue for a nested borderland perspective which views this as an increasingly important cross-border region in the context of the NATO Eastern flank. The chapter starts with a theoretical discussion on resilience and how it can be conceptualised in a borderland setting, emphasising the distinction between bouncing-back and bouncing-forward capacities. After an analysis of the bordered realities of this part of NATO’s eastern flank, the chapter continues with a scenario-based analysis of how resilience might develop in the short- and long-term in the selected border region and the implication for NATO policy-makers at different levels of government. The chapter concludes with the argument that resilience-building needs attention to the sub-national level in general, and borderlands in particular © 2025 IOS Press