Publikationer från Umeå universitet
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Mellan att veta och förklara : En kartläggning och deskriptiv analys av grammatikkunskaper hos ämneslärarstudenter i engelska
No full textThis student thesis explores the grammatical knowledge of pre-service English teachers by assessing their ability to identify errors and comprehend key grammatical concepts. The investigation was conducted using a two-part survey designed to measure explicit grammatical knowledge, following Ellis’s (2009b) criteria for implicit and explicit knowledge in second language acquisition. The findings indicate that participants were generally proficient in evaluating grammatical correctness, achieving an average score of 7.67 out of 10. However, their performance declined in the second part of the survey, which required them to identify and apply grammatical terminology and concepts, with an average score of 6.39 out of 10. A paired t-test confirmed the statistical significance of this difference (t(25) = 3.38, p = 0.0024), suggesting that participants excelled in recognizing correct language usage but faced challenges in articulating grammatical rules. The study’s pedagogical implications underscore potential concerns regarding the depth of respondents' grammatical knowledge in connection to their future roles as teachers
THE DIGITALIZED PREFABRICATED CONCRETE INDUSTRY OF THE FUTURE. : Digitalized planning and coordination – obstacles, opportunities and ways forward
No full textThe construction industry is increasingly expected to improve efficiency and coordination through digitalization. However, prefabricated concrete remains a sector with relatively low digital maturity, where system use is fragmented and digital initiatives are often isolated. This study explores the organizational and technical factors that influence the design and implementation of digital planning and coordination systems within the Swedish prefab concrete industry. A qualitative case study was conducted at a mid-sized company through semi-structured interviews and participatory observation. The analysis is informed by the SCOR model, Digital Options Theory, and a framework for understanding organizational change. The findings show that the main challenges to digital coordination lie not in the availability of technology, but in internal organizational structures. These include a lack of strategic direction, unclear responsibilities, insufficient integration between systems, and limited cross-functional collaboration. Although digital tools such as Trimble Connect and iNetto are in use, they are often limited to specific roles and disconnected from the broader planning chain. The study emphasizes the need to match IT investments with actual information requirements, while also ensuring that leadership, process ownership, and resource allocation support the intended digital transformation.
Navigating the winds of change : presentation of wind power development by regional newspapers in Northern Sweden and Finland
No full textBackground: Dramatic reductions in anthropogenic CO2 emissions are needed to mitigate the impacts of rapidly accelerating climate change. In Sweden and Finland efforts to realize the political ambitions to meet international climate objectives, and promote the growth of 'green' industries, have focused on rapid expansion of wind farms, but in both countries wind power developments have been controversial. These controversies are especially prominent in the northern regions of the countries which have become hotspots of wind power development. In this article, we focus on these regional wind power debates with the aim to extend scholarly understanding of the spatial justice dimensions of how 'just' and 'green' transitions unfold. We do this by examining representations of the ways in which the effects of regional wind power development, their management and the 'right' places for wind power are debated in 372 articles in Swedish and Finnish regional news media published during 2020–2023. Results: In regional media representations, wind power is discussed in terms of a wide range of experienced and potential impacts. Negative impacts including harm to the environment, biodiversity and human health are discussed. Yet, the positive effects are emphasized, including contributions to national policy goals and the regional socioeconomic benefits of the emergence of a green, low-carbon economy in both the Swedish and Finnish articles. However, envisioned means for managing wind power development in a fair manner differ: compensations and the right to municipal veto are strongly highlighted in the Swedish articles, while Finnish articles focus on the integrity of democratic processes and planning. As the green transition continues to unfold, northern regions are increasingly being represented as the 'right' places for wind power, both from outside and within those regions. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the perceived importance of local and regional socioeconomic benefits and local self-determination for positive perceptions of large-scale wind power developments in our focal administrative and legal contexts. Local and regional histories and encounters with earlier resource development continue to shape reactions to and interpretations of resource development projects in contemporary Euro-Arctic North.Blickar från periferin: När global energiomställning möter nordisk glesbyg
The voices of literary genres : A mapping of epic literature, lyric poetry and drama intextbooks for the Swedish upper secondary school course Svenska 3
No full textThe aim of this study is to analyse the representation of the literary genres epic literature, lyric poetry and drama in three textbooks within the framework of the course Svenska 3 for Swedish upper secondary school. The analysis is based on the course curriculum, implemented by the Swedish National Agency for Education, which requires that students come into contact with fiction written by both men and women from different times and cultures. Furthermore, the results are interpreted using intersectional gender theory and theories regarding literary canon. The study shows that epic literature dominates the textbooks, followed by lyric poetry, while drama is least represented or not represented at all. Represented authors are predominantly Western men, particularly Swedish men. Female and non-Western authors are underrepresented. Although the curriculums' requirements can be fulfilled using the textbooks, the uneven representation of genres and authorships may limit teachers' ability to provide students with a diverse literary experienc
Externt avkylningskabinett för användning vid additiv tillverkning
No full textThe focus of this project was to explore a way of reducing the manufacturing cost of 3D-prints by testing a method to relieve the 3D-printer of the cooling process. The idea was to create an external cooling chamber where prints can be placed once they are unloaded from the printer, enabling new prints to start earlier, which in turn increases productivity. To design an external cooling chamber, a method of reverse engineering was used to mimic the environment of the cooling chamber in the printer. Temperature probes were employed continuously to monitor the change in temperature at different locations inside the 3D printer during the cooling process, and the data gathered were plotted to visualize the temperature in the printer during the cooling process. The thermal properties of the printer were studied and the internal construction of the printer was evaluated. During research for the project it was found that crystallization plays a big part in the behavior of plastic during the cooling process. The focus on this material parameter was based on its strong temperature dependency, which is fitting for the project. This was used to hypothesize about test results during the project. With data from the temperature measurements, specifications for a test chamber were determined. The test chamber was built using insulating elements approximately matching those of the printer. External cooling was tested in this chamber and the results of this test were used to evaluate if this concept can be used in production. The test results from the external cooling test chamber show that the dimensions of the 3D prints met the tolerances required by Cytiva and thus the concept of using an external cooling chamber is feasible. Through iteration and further development, the concept could evolve from the test stage to production. Projektets fokus var att utforska ett sätt att minska tillverkningskostnaden för 3D-printade delar genom att testa en metod för att avlasta 3D-skrivaren från kylprocessen. Idén var att skapa en extern kammare där utskrifter kan placeras när de kan lossas från skrivaren, vilket möjliggör att nya utskrifter kan starta tidigare, vilket i sin tur ökar produktiviteten. För att designa en extern kylningskammare har en metod baserad på reverse engineering använts för att efterlikna miljön i skrivaren under kylningen. Temperaturgivare användes för att kontinuerligt övervaka förändring i temperaturen på olika platser i skrivaren, insamlad data plottades för att visualisera temperaturen i skrivaren under avkylningsprocessen. Skrivarnas termiska egenskaper har studerats och den interna konstruktionen av skrivaren har utvärderats. Under efterforskning inför projektet upptäcktes att kristallisering har en stor inverkan på plastens beteende under avkylningen. Att lägga fokuset på denna material parameter baserades på att den är starkt temperaturberoende, vilket är passande för projektet. Detta användes för att bilda hypoteser gällande test utförda under projektet. Med data från temperaturmätningarna, bestämdes specifikationerna för en testkammare. Testkammaren byggdes med isoleringselement som ungefär motsvarade de som finns i skrivaren. Extern kylning testades sedan i denna kammare, och resultatet användes för att utvärdera huruvida detta koncept kan användas i produktion. Testresultaten från den externa testkammaren visar att de utskrivna delarnas dimensioner håller toleranserna som krävs av Cytiva och att konceptet sannolikt är användbart. Genom iteration och vidareutveckling kan konceptet sedan utvecklas från teststadiet till användning i produktion
Between norms and reality – : Swedish upper secondary social studies teachers’ opportunities and obstacles in teaching about sexual violence
No full textEvery day, 80 sexual crimes are reported in Sweden, making sexual violence a significant societal issue. Schools play an important role in preventing and addressing this, and the purpose of this study is therefore to examine the obstacles and opportunities social studies teachers face when teaching about sexual violence. The study also explores how the topic is currently addressed in the classroom and the strategies teachers employ. Using norm criticism as a theoretical framework, this study investigates how social science teachers handle the topic of sexual violence and the norms that influence their teaching. Norm criticism provides tools to challenge the norms and beliefs that sustain harmful power structures. The study combines quantitative and qualitative methods through a digital survey, which collected data from 29 teachers. The survey included both closed and open-ended questions and provided a broad picture of teachers' experiences and views. The main findings show that sexual violence is often treated in a superficial and sporadic manner in education. The reasons for this include a lack of professional development, uncertainty about the sensitive nature of the topic, and a lack of clear guidelines and support from school leadership. Despite these challenges, many teachers consider the topic to be very important and have developed their own strategies for addressing it in the classroom. These strategies include creating a safe classroom environment, adapting the teaching to the student group, and using methods to create distance from the topic. The conclusions emphasize the need for increased professional development for teachers and that schools and school leadership must develop clearer guidelines and structures for handling sexual violence in education. To make the work effective, a greater focus on norm-critical pedagogy and stronger support from school leadership is needed to create more inclusive and equitable teaching
Understanding and Enhancing Queue Experience for Children in Digital Chats: A Study on AI-powered Interactive Solutions
No full textWith the growing use of digital platforms for professional chat support, waiting time before receiving help has become a significant source of frustration and disengagement. This is particularly challenging in digital mental health services for children, where children tend to leave the queue before receiving support. Research indicates that AI-driven interactive elements may help maintain engagement. This thesis investigates how an AI-powered interactive feature can improve the queue experience for children by identifying key design and functional requirements and examining its impact on engagement, boredom, and perceived waiting time. Using a Design Thinking process, two iterations were conducted: the first focused on creating and co-designing a low-fidelity prototype based on prior research, a semi-structured interview with a counselor, and a co-design session with children. The second iteration involved the development of a high-fidelity prototype featuring a large language model (LLM)-based storytelling agent, evaluated with children to assess its impact. Findings highlight the importance of safety boundaries and transparency in designing child-AI systems, while also showing that children value emotional expression, creativity, and personalization in queuing experiences. Additionally, the storytelling conversational agent reduced boredom and perceived waiting time while maintaining engagement. This work contributes to the field of child-AI interaction by presenting design and functional requirements for AI features and by demonstrating the potential of storytelling agents to both engage and emotionally support children during digital chat queue experience
A source-based theory of variation in judicial reasoning : evidence from Sweden
No full textWhy do judges disagree about judicial reasoning – i.e., the use of legal reasoning in adjudication – and how can such disagreement be studied empirically? We propose a general theory of variation in judicial reasoning that focuses on a core element of legal analysis – the choice of authoritative sources. In particular, we argue that source-based disagreement is likely to manifest itself on two dimensions: The degree to which extra-national versus national and extra-legislative versus legislative sources should be relied on. Where judges place themselves on these dimensions have important normative implications for the origin of and power over law, and in particular the status and power of the national legislator. We demonstrate the strength and usefulness of our theory with original data from more than 3400 judicial opinions of the Swedish Supreme Court over a 40-year period. We find that Justices’ backgrounds, in terms of when they went to law school and professional pre-appointment experience, are correlated with their placement on these two dimensions in theoretically expected ways
The climate battle in America : war metaphors alarm Republicans but Democrats more likely to act
No full textMetaphorical frames are commonly used in public discourse in the United States of America to communicate about climate change and promote climate action. Previous work found climate metaphors to resonate more so with Democrats than with Republicans. Democrats are also more likely to increase their support for climate action. The present study investigated if tailoring climate metaphors to conservatives’ affective domain and personality traits may trigger metaphor realisation. It experimentally tested, for the first time, if a war frame for climate change which better fits with conservatives’ worldview, can induce fear and anger, and if these emotions alongside personality trait aggressiveness predict increasing support for climate action in both liberal (n = 63) and conservative (n = 63) respondents. The findings showed that the war frame induced fear in both groups, especially among Republicans, but not anger, and that it directly impacted climate attitudes, primarily among Democrats. Trait aggressiveness predicted lower support for climate action at baseline but did not predict attitudinal changes. These novel findings show conservatives are not climate apathetic and encourage further research into how the fear triggered by climate metaphors can be channelled into attitudinal changes in climate inactive populations
Recombustion of ash originating from a biomass-fueled grate-fired boiler
No full textThis study investigates the potential for large-scale re-combustion of ashes from a biomass-fired grate boiler (P6), located at Umeå Energi’s facility, in a biomass-fired circulating fluidized bed boiler (Dåva 2), which is also operated by Umeå Energi. The aim was to increase overall energy efficiency and reduce the need for landfilling, while ensuring compliance with environmental legislation that prohibits the disposal of organic waste. Initial laboratory analyses were conducted to characterize the properties of the ash, focusing on moisture content, elemental composition, and the amount of unburned material. These results formed the basis for developing a suitable ash-fuel mixture for re-combustion trials. The fuel used in P6 consists of forest-based biomass, primarily wood chips. Ashes were collected from P6 under different load conditions and analyzed with respect to moisture content, unburned material content, as well as through SEM-EDS and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results showed significant variations in both moisture and unburned content, indicating incomplete combustion—most likely due to the fact that the boiler was originally designed for oil combustion and later converted to biomass. Despite high moisture levels (up to 60–80%), re-combustion is considered feasible, as some drying is expected during storage. The elemental analysis revealed typical characteristics of biomass ash, with high levels of calcium and potassium, and the presence of silicon, likely originating from sand and soil contamination. To evaluate practical feasibility, two large-scale trials were conducted in Dåva 2 using controlled mixtures of added ash and fresh fuel. Risk assessments and operational adjustments were carried out to ensure safe and stable feeding of the ash. The trials demonstrated that Dåva 2’s high-performance combustion system can effectively process the added ash without operational disturbances, provided that blending and feeding are properly controlled. In addition to the technical results, the study also addresses economic and legal aspects. The proposed solution can reduce costs associated with ash handling and the purchase of virgin fuel, in line with circular economy principles. A review of current legislation indicates that re-combustion of ash is permitted under existing environmental regulations, as long as the process does not result in increased emissions or environmental risks. In summary, this thesis shows that the re-combustion of ash from P6 in Dåva 2 is a technically, economically, and legally feasible solution. Moreover, the methods and findings are considered relevant to other biomass-fired plants aiming to improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental impact through ash recycling.Denna studie undersöker möjligheten till storskalig återförbränning av askor från en biobränsleeldad rosterpanna (P6), belägen vid Umeå Energis anläggning, i en biobränsleeldad cirkulerande fluidiserad bäddpanna (Dåva 2), även den i drift hos Umeå Energi. Syftet var att öka den totala energieffektiviteten och minska behovet av deponering, samtidigt som efterlevnad av miljölagstiftning som förbjuder deponi av organiskt avfall säkerställs. Inledande laboratorieanalyser genomfördes för att karaktärisera askans egenskaper med avseende på fukthalt, grundämnessammansättning samt innehåll av oförbränt material. Resultaten låg till grund för framtagning av en lämplig blandning av aska och bränsle för återförbränningsförsök. Bränslet som används i P6 består av skogsbaserat biobränsle, huvudsakligen flis. Askor samlades in från P6 vid olika lastfall och analyserades med avseende på fukthalt, halt oförbränt material, samt med SEM-EDS och termogravimetrisk analys (TGA). Resultaten visade stora variationer i både fukt- och oförbräntinnehåll, vilket indikerar ofullständig förbränning – sannolikt till följd av att pannan ursprungligen konstruerades för oljeeldning och senare konverterats till biobränsle. Trots höga fukthalter (upp till 60–80 %) bedöms återförbränning vara möjlig, då viss torkning förväntas ske under lagring. Elementanalysen visade typiska drag för biobränsleaska med höga halter kalcium och kalium, samt kisel som sannolikt härstammar från sand och jordföroreningar. För att utvärdera den praktiska genomförbarheten genomfördes två storskaliga försök i Dåva 2 med kontrollerade blandningar av tillsatt aska och färskt bränsle. Riskbedömningar och driftsanpassningar genomfördes för att säkerställa en säker och stabil inmatning av askan. Försöken visade att Dåva 2:s högpresterande förbränningssystem effektivt kan hantera den tillsatta askan utan driftstörningar, under förutsättning att inblandning och matning sker kontrollerat. Utöver de tekniska resultaten behandlas även ekonomiska och juridiska aspekter. Den föreslagna lösningen kan minska kostnader kopplade till askhantering och inköp av jungfruligt bränsle, i linje med cirkulära ekonomiska principer. En genomgång av gällande lagstiftning visar att återförbränning av aska är tillåten enligt nuvarande miljöregler, så länge processen inte medför ökade utsläpp eller miljörisker. Sammanfattningsvis visar detta examensarbete att återförbränning av aska från P6 i Dåva 2 är en tekniskt, ekonomiskt och juridiskt genomförbar lösning. Metodiken och resultaten bedöms dessutom vara relevanta för andra biobränsleeldade anläggningar som vill effektivisera resursanvändningen och minska sin miljöpåverkan genom återvinning av aska