Luleå University of Technology Publications
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Exploring the attitudes toward receiving information on potential negative effects of psychological treatments: A mixed-methods study
No full textObjective: Potential negative effects of psychological treatments are recognized in research, yet the attitudes toward their disclosure during the informed consent procedure remain unexplored. This study examined individuals' perception of receiving such information, investigating the awareness regarding deterioration, non-response, and new symptoms, and how this knowledge affects willingness to initiate treatment. Method: A mixed-method approach was used in relation to an online survey of adults in Sweden (N = 500, 75.6% women, age M = 38.2), including both individuals with (76.6%) and without prior experience of psychological treatments. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson’s correlation tests were conducted to explore factors that might affect the willingness to initiate treatment, while thematic analysis was employed for open-ended responses. Results: The majority (72%) of respondents favored being informed, emphasizing the importance of transparency, realistic expectations, and preparedness. Common concerns included increased anxiety and hesitation toward treatment. No variable was related to the willingness to initiate treatment. Conclusion: Most respondents preferred disclosure of potential negative effects. Clinicians should incorporate information about potential negative effects into the informed consent procedure, balancing risks and benefits and explain the nocebo effect, thereby enhancing patient engagement, trust, and willingness to engage in treatment.Full text license: CC BY 4.0</p
Evaluating and improving the fire performance of radiative cooling balsa wood
No full textThe focus of this study is to investigate the fire performance of cellulose-based radiative cooling wood. Although offering passive cooling benefits, radiative cooling wood’s inherent flammability is a critical drawback. This research evaluated pristine balsa wood (PW), cooling wood (CW), and cooling wood flame-retarded with borax (FR CW). Fire performance was evaluated via cone calorimetry (20–50 kW m⁻²), thermal analysis (thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry), and Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) modelling. The results demonstrate significantly enhanced fire safety for FR CW wherein the Critical Heat Flux increased by up to 80 % and ignition temperature by up to 36 % compared to CW. Borax treatment extended ignition times, promoted charring, and substantially reduced Heat Release Rate. The Fire Growth Index for FR CW at 50 kW m⁻² decreased by ≈ 77–81 %. FDS simulations confirmed significantly lower compartment fire temperatures with FR CW. This research shows that borax, an eco-friendly mineral, effectively mitigates fire risks in radiative cooling wood, improving key safety parameters like Heat Release Rate, Maximum Rate of Heat Emission, carbon monoxide, and smoke production, thus enhancing its viability as a sustainable construction material.Validerad;2025;Nivå 2;2025-10-10 (u2);Full text: CC BY license;Funder: EU NextGenerationEU (project No. 09I03-03-V04-00459);</p
Revalorisation of recycled PLA through Halloysite nanotube integration for mechanical and thermal property improvement
No full textThis study investigates the effect of Halloysite nanotube (HNT) reinforcement on the mechanical, thermal, and structural properties of recycled polylactic acid (rPLA) composites. Composites were prepared with 1-5 wt.% HNTs and characterised using tensile, flexural, compressive testing, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Tensile strength increased from 42.98 MPa for neat rPLA to a maximum of 49.39 MPa at 2 wt.% HNT, while tensile modulus improved steadily from 2423.13 MPa to 2971.26 MPa at 5 wt.%. Flexural strength peaked at 78.54 MPa (22 % improvement compared to neat rPLA) at 3 wt.%, and the highest flexural modulus of 2292.30 MPa was achieved at 4 wt.% HNT. Under compressive loading, strength and modulus increased from 100.94 MPa and 2361.52 MPa for neat rPLA to 108.69 MPa and 2479.87 MPa, respectively, at 5 wt.% HNT, showing improved resistance to deformation. Thermal degradation temperatures rose from 452.12 °C for rPLA to 465.58 °C at 5 wt.% HNT, with char residue at 600 °C increasing from 4.23 % to 9.96 %, confirming the thermal barrier effect of Halloysite. XRD analysis showed enhanced crystallinity, increasing from 57.49 % (neat rPLA) to 59.22 % at 5 wt.% HNT, indicating effective nucleation and structural ordering induced by the nanotubes. Overall, the incorporation of 2-4 wt.% Halloysite offered the most balanced improvement in strength, stiffness, and thermal stability. These results demonstrate that rPLA-Halloysite composites can be suitable for sustainable, high-performance applications in packaging, automotive interiors, and structural bioplastics.Validerad;2025;Nivå 1;2025-12-01 (u5);Full text license: CC BY 4.0;</p
Perceiving gendered organizations: positions, power, and gender in geoscience
No full textThis article explores inequality in European geoscience organizations through the perspective of geoscience women professionals and their perception of gendered positions in academia and industry. Male dominance in geoscience organizations has previously been demonstrated within US and Canadian organizations, often in relation to gender inequality in STEM subjects and rarely in relation to the specific ideals and practices that shape geoscience. The current study contributes a European context, as well as a comparative approach to gendered positions in the organizational contexts of academia and industry. Using participatory research methods and visualization techniques, the study collected 42 organizational maps of academic and industry organizations in 16 European countries. The results reveal perceptions of gender inequality in academic and industrial geoscience organizations through women’s limited access to positions of power, i.e. women geoscience professionals perceived underrepresentation in senior management positions in industry and in senior positions in academic organizations. Within the growing demand for geoscience expertise in the green transition, the results raise questions about what the perceived structures of gender inequality mean in relation to sustainable employment and good working conditions in European geoscience.Godkänd;2025;Nivå 0;2025-11-28 (u4);Fulltext license: CC BY</p
Modification of seismic waves and particle velocity close to the excavation surface from mining-induced seismicity at Kiirunavaara Mine, Sweden
No full textRockbursts are a major problem in deep hard rock mines and one of the ways to mitigate them is to apply a well-designed rock support system. The rock support design needs to withstand not only potential energy, but also kinetic energy, which has been related to the ejection velocity of the rock mass, assumed to be equal to the peak particle velocity. It has been observed that peak particle velocities can be higher on the surface of an excavation than in solid rock and velocity amplifications up to 10 times were already recorded. Although extensive research has been done on estimation of the velocity amplification of seismic waves, there is no standard methodology to evaluate the velocity amplification factor. Seismic events recorded in Kiirunavaara Mine were studied and methodologies for estimation of the amplification of the particle velocity in time and frequency domains were developed. The velocity amplification factors calculated in both time and frequency domains by using the methodologies were compared considering dynamic response of the excavation in both roof and sidewalls, and dominant frequencies in time and frequency domains. The amplifications studied in this paper were further verified by using previous numerical simulation results. It was concluded that the dynamic response of the excavation depends on the loading situations and the fracturing status of the rock; high frequencies are filtered by fractures, and dominant frequency is higher than the corner frequency of the seismic source; amplification usually occurs in frequency range from 100 Hz to 600 Hz; it is easier and faster to calculate velocity amplification factor in time domain with less fluctuation and less overestimations in comparison with the amplification factor in frequency domain.Validerad;2025;Nivå 2;2025-08-05 (u5);Full text license: CC BY 4.0;Funder: LKAB (2014-01944, 2017-02228, 2020-04459); Boliden (2014-01944, 2017-02228, 2020-04459); Zinkgruvan Mining (2014-01944, 2017-02228, 2020-04459); Brazilian National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development;</p
Supporting Design for Additive Manufacturing: Insights from Product Development Practices in the Aerospace Industry
No full textAdditive manufacturing (AM) enables the production of innovative, lightweight component designs in the aerospace industry. However, AM processes introduce new production feasibility considerations that must be addressed during product development. Therefore, engineers require effective design support and a new design approach to fully exploit AM’s capabilities while balancing its constraints. Through an interview study involving 20 AM aerospace industry professionals from nine countries and 10 organisations, this research identifies AM design opportunities and challenges and explores the design supports used to achieve and overcome them. The findings indicate that Laser Powder Bed Fusion is a predominant AM process in aeronautical and space applications. Further, the study identifies practical and computational design supports, describes how AM design is approached during product development and provides a model outlining a general AM design approach. Key AM design challenges identified include insufficient knowledge of material properties, limited sharing of design knowledge and a lack of understanding of the relationship between AM design and post-processing requirements. Consequently, skills gaps and educational needs for Design for AM in aerospace engineering are highlighted. Additionally, the study suggests that further AM aerospace standards, enhanced computer-aided engineering software for AM and artificial intelligence integration could improve design support.Validerad;2025;Nivå 1;2025-11-28 (u4);Fulltext license: CC BY;This article has previously appeared as a manuscript in a thesis.</p
First Steps to Cyber Maturity: A NIST CSF 2.0-Inspired Guideline for SMEs Bridging High-Risk Mitigation and Build Foundation for Compliance
No full textObservations from Cycles of Varying Reservoir Levels on an Experimental Embankment Dam
No full textIn 2019, Vattenfall AB together with several researchers, built an experimental embankment dam in Älvkarleby, Sweden. The dam was a four metres high small-scale conventional rockfill dam. The design and construction methods followed the Swedish dam safety guidelines for conventional dams. The dam was zoned, with a core made of glacial till, surrounded by fine and coarse filter zones and shoulder material. The dam was built and finalized in November 2019. Pore pressure, seepage, deformations and strains have been monitored in the dam. The impoundment of the dam was conducted in the first half of 2020, thereafter the water level in the reservoir was kept constant until early 2022. Then five cycles of emptying and filling up of the reservoir were conducted to evaluate the effects on the cyclic conditions of the embankment dam. In this contribution, the effects of varying reservoir levels on the dam body are assessed, based on the results from the monitoring of the pore pressures. Varying reservoir levels in hydropower dams, in a larger extent is usual today due to the new more flexible energy market, and are thus relevant for existing dams in the green transition.Full text license: CC-BY-NC-ND;Funder: Swedish Centre for Sustainable Hydropower – SVC;</p
Vibration-based fault diagnosis of automotive suspension systems using voting-based ensemble learning
No full textThis study presents a voting-based ensemble learning approach for the fault diagnosis of vehicle suspension systems using vibration signals captured under three load conditions: no-load (0 psi), half-load (200 psi), and full-load (400 psi). The objective is to accurately classify eight suspension conditions (seven faulty and one healthy) using two types of time-domain features: statistical and histogram-based. The J48 algorithm was employed for initial feature selection. Eight machine learning classifiers namely, Support Vector Machines (SVM), Logistic Model Tree (LMT), Naïve Bayes (NB), Logistic Regression (LR), Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), K Nearest Neighbour (KNN), J48 and Random Forest (RF) were first evaluated individually to identify three top-performing models under each load condition. Subsequently, the best-performing classifiers were combined using voting ensembles across multiple configurations (two to three classifiers) and five voting schemes. Results showed that the highest classification accuracy for statistical features was achieved by LMT (91.25 %) under no load, RF (81.25 %) under half load, and J48 (85.00 %) under full load. For histogram features, LMT yielded 89.37 % (no load) and 83.75 % (half load) while Naïve Bayes achieved 75.00 % (full load). The ensemble voting approach significantly enhanced performance: (i) Statistical features – LMT+RF (92.50 %, no load), RF+J48+NB (82.50 %, half load), J48+NB (85.62 %, full load); (ii) Histogram features – LMT+SVM (90.00 %, no load), LMT+SVM (84.37 %, half load), NB+MLP+RF (77.50 %, full load). These results confirm that the voting-based ensemble method consistently improves classification accuracy over individual models and demonstrates robust performance across varying operational conditions.Validerad;2025;Nivå 1;2025-12-01 (u5);Full text license: CC BY 4.0</p
Understanding opposition: arguments for and against a meat tax in Sweden and their effect on policy attitudes
No full textMeat taxes could reduce emissions and improve health but risks facing opposition due to concerns about fairness, effectiveness, and autonomy. While policy-specific beliefs influence attitudes, less is known about how specific arguments in the public discourse shape these beliefs and policy acceptability. This study identifies arguments from media archives and analyzes argument endorsement of Swedish voters (N = 3233) and politicians (N = 1253). Counter-arguments, particularly financial concerns for farmers and low-income households, are more strongly endorsed than pro-arguments. While voters and politicians show similar agreement, right-wing respondents generally support counter-arguments more than left-wing respondents. To gain broader support, a meat tax should minimize financial burdens, for example, through cost-neutral reforms or subsidies for sustainable farming. The results also indicate that most arguments relate to multiple policy-specific beliefs, suggesting that policy-specific beliefs offer limited guidance on how to improve policy design.Godkänd;2025;Nivå 0;2025-11-20 (u4);Fulltext license: CC BY</p