Publikationer från Karlstads Universitet
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Battery storage in electricity-intense buildings as a tool for a more sustanable power system
No full textThis thesis has examined the potential of battery energy storage in three public buildings in Karlstad, Sweden, with the aim of reducing power peaks, increasing self-consumption of solarenergy, and analyzing both economic and environmental impacts. By developing five differentsimulation models in Simulink, each with varying control strategies and battery configurations,the study has identified how battery systems can be utilized for local energy management. The results show that for peak shaving, Battery Model 2 performed best, as it allowed chargingfrom the grid during periods of low demand. Depending on battery size and the peak-shavingthreshold, this model reduced the number of power peaks by 10 to 30%. It also achieved betteryear-round utilization of the battery compared to the other models. Battery Model 1, which only charges the battery using surplus solar power, increased selfconsumption of solar energy by up to 11%. In contrast, Battery Model 3, which prioritizes peakshaving with solar energy, led to a significant decrease in direct self-consumption. This highlights the importance of selecting a control strategy based on specific system goals. The economic results show that Battery Models 1 and 2 reduced the cost of purchased electricityby approximately 2% due to increased self-consumption. However, this also led to a reductionin income from selling surplus solar electricity to the grid. The environmental analysis indicates that if emissions from battery production decrease asprojected, and the SE3 electricity mix maintains its current climate profile, the climate impactof the battery can be offset through reduced reliance on grid electricity. Depending on batterycapacity (25–100 kWh), the climate payback time is estimated to be between 3 and 10 years. In conclusion, battery storage systems in building-connected grids have the potential to play akey role in future energy systems. To maximize the benefits, careful sizing, appropriate controlstrategies, and adaptation to the building’s unique load profile are essential. The results of thisstudy can serve as a decision-making basis for property owners, municipalities, and energycompanies seeking to invest in sustainable and resilient energy solutions
FLORENCE : Nurses' Scope of Practice, its Contextual Modulators and the Fundamentals of Care in Home- and Facility-based Care: A Mixed Methods Design
No full textBackground: Nurses’ scope of practice revolves around the ‘what‘ and ‘why’ of nursing. Within long-term care their scope of practice is largely centred on the domains of physical, relational and psychosocial needs of older people, that is, the fundamentals of care. The professional practice environment in which nurses deliver the fundamentals of care has been described as sensitive to contextual modulators shaping the nurses’ scope of practice, the fundamentals of care and their ability to think, feel and act like a nurse i.e., their professional identity. Despite, research into nursing tends to lack a contextual lens, whereas the domains of fundamentals of care are often investigated in isolation. Aim: To explore the scientific literature (I), nurses’ scope of practice in general and in relation to the fundamentals of care and contextual modulators (II-III) as well as registered nurses’ professional identity (IV) in long-term care. Methods: This thesis adopts a fixed sequential mixed methods design, underpinned by a pragmatic research philosophy. It integrates quantitative and qualitative data through a structured framework that supports incremental, contextually oriented research. Building on the premise that empirical nursing phenomena—such as those explored in this thesis, including nurses' scope of practice, the fundamentals of care, and professional identity—can be understood as events situated within a complex system (i.e., system events) that are intrinsically entangled with and shaped by their surrounding context (i.e., contextual modulators)–this thesis employs a multi-method scientific inquiry to capture and explore this complexity. Correspondingly, four different but complementary research designs were utilised in this thesis: a scoping review (I), structured direct observations (II), qualitative descriptive- (III), and cross-sectional design (IV). Results: While the literature primarily linked the fundamentals of care to physical needs (I), observations suggested that nurses integrated relational and psychosocial needs and strived to adopt a person-centred care. The clinical decision-making process was largely targeting physical needs, while contextual modulators were omnipresent in influencing the nurses’ practice (II). Nurses reported ambiguity, emotional strain, and challenging professional practice environments that limited their ability for a comprehensive fundamental nursing that eroded understanding of the scope of practice and professional identity (III). This was further underpinned by registered nurses reporting that aspects of their professional identity were seemingly less internalised, furthermore underpinned by generational belonging in which older registered nurses perceived a better internalised professional identity than younger generations (IV). Conclusion: Framing nurses’ scope of practice as a systems event supports the view of the entanglement between nurses’ role and function, the fundamentals of care, professional identity, and contextual modulators, highlighting the intricate nature of nurses’ scope of practice. The nurses’ scope of practice defines their roles and functions, addressing the fundamental physical, relational, and psychosocial needs of individuals requiring care. This understanding is conceptually linked to what nursing is and serves as an expression of professional identity. While the fundamentals of care are central to nursing, the scope of practice for addressing older people’s fundamental care needs in long-term care is sparsely described in the literature and often viewed in isolation rather than within the systems and contexts in which it occurs. This thesis explores nursing practice in long-term care, employing a contextual lens to examine how environmental factors influence the professional working environment, nurses’ scope of practice, and their activities related to the fundamentals of care. Insights are based on a pragmatic, fixed sequential mixed-methods design, employing diverse approaches to explore the core concepts underpinning this work. The findings are applicable to nurses, leaders, managers, educators, and policymakers, offering insights to improve the professional working environment, enhance the scope of practice, and elevate the quality of fundamentals of care in long-term care settings
Generative AI conditions influencing customer and service co-worker outputs : The core role of Human−GenAI service interactions
No full textThis paper contributes to service research by exploring the role of human−GenAI interactions for enhancing service co-worker and customer outputs. It adds to the limited body of research on human−GenAI interactions in customer support service operations, expanding on Parasuraman’s (2010) conceptual model and Ferraro et al.’s (2024) study of chatbot responses to customers’ enquiries. The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model of Human−GenAI service interactions influencing service outputs in a triadic actor perspective. Illustrative examples from a mixed-methods approach case study of two support centers of a European electric vehicle manufacturer are provided
Democratic deficit in the EU's regional policy : A document analysis of the Democratic Deficits in the EU's regional policy
No full textThis thesis examines the democratic deficit in the European Union’s cohesion policy during the 2021–2027 programming period, with a focus on the principles of participation, transparency, and accountability. Drawing on a qualitative content analysis, the study investigates how these principles are articulated and implemented across four levels of governance: the EU level (through the Common Provisions Regulation), the national level (through Sweden’s Partnership Agreement), the regional level (through the operational programmes for Upper Norrland and Skåne–Blekinge), and the local level (through documents from Malmö and Luleå municipalities). The results reveal a consistent gap between normative ambitions and practical implementation. Participation is often consultative rather than decision-making, transparency is extensive but largely technical and difficult to access for broader publics, and accountability is fragmented due to diffuse responsibilities across multiple governance levels. These findings indicate that the legitimacy of cohesion policy relies more on output effectiveness than on input-oriented democratic processes. By situating the analysis within key theoretical frameworks—including input/output legitimacy (Scharpf, 1999), deliberative democracy (Habermas, 1996), accountability in multilevel governance (Papadopoulos, 2003, 2024), and post-democracy (Crouch, 2004) — the study shows that democratic limitations are not coincidental but structurally embedded in the governance model. The conclusion is that cohesion policy, while effective in terms of resource allocation and project implementation, continues to reproduce democratic deficits throughout the governance chain. Strengthening meaningful participation, qualitative transparency, and clear accountability mechanisms is therefore essential for enhancing its democratic legitimacy.
REST APIs in focus : An interview study on performance and security
No full textAPI:er är en grundläggande komponent för innovation i dagenssamhälle. De används i en radolika områden från banker, detaljhandel, transport och självkörande bilar till mobila enheter.Men när vi blir alltmer beroende av API:er för kritiska uppgifter, blir vi mer sårbara om deutsätts för attacker. Denna studie undersöker prestanda och säkerhetsaspekter inom RESTAPI:er genom kvalitativa intervjuer med 6 erfarna API-utvecklare. Studien fokuserar på attidentifiera vad som påverkar fördröjning i REST API:er, samt att kartlägga de viktigastesäkerhetsmekanismer och risker. Resultatet visade att REST API:ers prestanda påverkas främstav ineffektiv och dålig skriven kod, dålig databasstruktur, integration med tredjepartssystemoch brist på cachelagring samt övervakning. Den viktigaste säkerhetsmekanismen ärautentisering och auktorisering, där olika metoder nämns såsom API-nycklar, JWT och OAuth2.0. Säkerhetsriskerna inkluderade SQL-injektioner, DDoS-attacker och överhämtning av datavid överföring. Studien avslutas med rekommendationer för att optimera API-prestanda, samten diskussion om framtida forskningsmöjligheter. Studien riktar sig till systemutvecklare, IT-säkerhetsspecialister och studenter inom informatik och datavetenskap, såväl som praktiskainsikter i att hålla säkra och snabba REST API:er
Powerful knowledge, school subjects and the curriculum : an international and comparative perspective
No full textThis introductory essay presents a special issue that foregrounds school subjects as purpose-built educational enterprises and reconsiders the role of powerful knowledge in national curricula. Framed against the marginalization of knowledge in both global policy reforms and contemporary curriculum theory, it argues for renewed attention to the educational purpose, content, and construction of school subjects by engaging with questions such as: What are the purposes of school subjects? How should powerful knowledge be conceived in the curriculum? How are school subjects conceptualized and constructed? The issue includes four articles examining the purposes and content of school subjects-geography, history, religious education, and biology-in national curricula across Sweden, Finland, and England. It also features two articles exploring changes in business and management education in Poland and the 'life and death' of Liberal Studies as a school subject in Hong Kong. This special issue advances two key propositions: first, that school subjects are structured to fulfil multiple academic, civic, social, and personal aims; and second, that powerful knowledge should be understood not only in terms of its epistemic structure but also in relation to the intellectual and ethical capabilities it enables
Standing by Their Child’s Side: Parents’ Experiences of Palliative Care : A Literature Review of Parental Experiences
No full textBakgrund: Palliativ vård syftar till att förbättra livskvaliteten för personer med obotliga sjukdomar och ge stöd till deras närstående. När det gäller barn är föräldrar ofta djupt involverade och deras erfarenheter påverkas starkt av vårdens kvalitet, kommunikation och delaktighet. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att belysa föräldrars erfarenheter av att ha barn i palliativ vård. Metod: Studien genomfördes som en systematisk litteraturstudie enligt Forsberg och Wengströms modell. Datainsamlingen utfördes i CINAHL och PubMed. Totalt identifierades 281 artiklar, varav 11 kvalitativa artiklar inkluderades efter kvalitetsgranskning. Analysen genomfördes med induktiv ansats. Resultat: Analysen visade tre huvudkategorier: Trygghet, Delaktighet och En förändrad föräldraroll. Föräldrar upplevde trygghet genom samordnad vård och god kommunikation, medan brister skapade oro. Delaktighet stärktes när de erkändes som experter på sitt barn. Föräldrar beskrev även skuld och utmattning, men också närhet och mening i relationen till barnet. Slutsats: Föräldrar till barn i palliativ vård befinner sig i en känslomässigt krävande situation. Sjuksköterskans stöd, närvaro och goda kommunikation framstår som avgörande för att föräldrarna ska känna trygghet, kunna hantera svåra beslut och bevara relationen till sitt barn.
Konflikten i skuggan av Ådalen 1931 : Marmakonflikten 1930–1931
No full textThis study has studied a labour dispute in Marmaverken, Hälsingland during the interwar period in Sweden from the years 1930-1931 that escalated to sympathy dispute to Ådalen 1931. This study has focus to analyse the origin of the labour conflict in Marmaverken that started as a latent conflict that was expanded to a manifest conflict. Marma started as a latent labour dispute then later expanded to ha manifested conflict do to lowering salary. This labour dispute intensified to a solidary sympathy strikes that spread alongside the northern cost of Norrland Sweden. The original conflict in Marma escalated to a regime change in the local district in Söderhamn and the workers in the district tuck over. This study used a quality type of research called text analysis; this type of method uses the hermeneutic spiral to uncover new type of information and patterns from the used sources. The kind of empirical sources that was used during this study was local newspapers and labour protocols during the years that the labour dispute was manifested in. The theoretical framework in this study is based on Ralf Dahrendorfs Toward a theory of social conflict. The theory is based on that workplace in society has a hierarchy and that the employer has the absolute power and the workers are subordinate that most followed orders from the employer. That are two types of conflicts in this theory, the latent conflict that’s not an open conflict against the employer but have underlying factors that lie on the surface. The second type of conflict is the manifest conflict that’s a latent conflict that escalate to an open conflict against the employer. The result of this study is that the labour dispute in Marma wasn’t all about economics, but also ideological & political values do to the Sillénska communist tried to fight the bourgeoisie. This study illuminates that the working dispute in Ådalen was caused by the original conflict in Marma. The workings dispute in Marma was overshadowed by the dispute in Ådalen and this study found that Marmas dispute caused a wave of social problems in Swedish society after the shooting in Ådalen.
The forced educational migration of Ukrainians during the war (a series of journalistic materials)
No full textПримусова освітня міграція українців під час війни є одним з найбільш актуальних та важливих соціальних явищ наших днів. Під час початку повномасштабної агресії Росії проти України тисячам українських студентів довелося залишити свої родини, навчальні заклади та звичайне академічне оточення. Це не лише змінило їх життєві шляхи, але й поставило перед системою вищої освіти в Україні новì виклики