Luleå University of Technology Publications
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Patients’ experiences of group-delivered sleep restriction therapy in primary care: a qualitative study undertaken alongside a randomized controlled trial
No full textBackground Sleep restriction therapy (SRT) is an effective and brief behavioral treatment for insomnia and could serve as a valuable complement to insomnia care. This study explores patients’ experiences of being offered and attending group-SRT at their primary care centers, including experiences of feasibility and mechanisms of impact. Methods This qualitative study was undertaken alongside a randomized controlled trial on nurse-led group-SRT in Swedish primary care, involving adults with insomnia disorder. Semi-structured interviews were conducted within three months post-intervention with fourteen patients. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using qualitative content analysis before trial results were examined. The study was guided by the Medical Research Council framework for process evaluation of complex interventions. Results The result is presented in two themes: Increased knowledge, motivation, and flexibility in enhancing adherence to group-SRT and Struggles, solutions, and group dynamics: A path to empowerment. Patients found that understanding sleep reinforced their commitment to group-SRT by providing a rationale for participation. Adherence was influenced by treatment flexibility, personal motivation, and group dynamics. Patients experienced that while group-SRT was challenging, it also offered solutions for better sleep. However, life circumstances and depressive symptoms hindered compliance. Conclusions Patients' experience of group-SRT were influenced by the patient-provider relationship, motivation, and comorbid depression, all which impacted engagement. This study provides valuable insights into how patients perceive group-SRT, contributing to the refinement of future insomnia treatments. Further research should explore healthcare providers’ perspectives on both the challenges and opportunities for implementing group-SRT in primary care.Godkänd;2025;Nivå 0;2025-09-26 (u2);Full text: CC BY license;Funder: Region Stockholm, Sweden [936149, and 1003604]; Karolinska Institutet, Sweden [Rut and Arvid Wolff Memorial Foundation 2023–02472, and Research Foundation Grants 2020-01644]; Swedish Association of Sleep Research and Sleep Medicine, Sweden;</p
Multiple-crosslinking-reinforced ionogel electrolytes for safe and high-performance quasi-solid-state lithium metal batteries
No full textQuasi-solid polymer electrolytes (QSPEs) are promising electrolytes for next-generation high-energy-density lithium metal batteries, benefiting from their flexibility and intimate interfacial contact with electrodes. However, conventional QSPEs encounter challenges such as limited Li+ mobility and poor mechanical properties. Herein, we design a multiple-crosslinked ionogel electrolyte, featuring a high Li+ transference number of 0.74, superior stability against oxidation up to 4.8 V, and high mechanical strength (0.8 MPa) simultaneously. The ionogel electrolyte constructs rapid Li+ conductive pathways and promotes the formation of lithium fluoride (LiF), lithium nitride (Li3N), and lithium sulfide (Li2S)-enriched passivation layers during Li deposition, greatly enhancing the reversibility of lithium metal deposition. Consequently, the Li‖Li cell demonstrates superior lithium plating/stripping stability for 5000 h, and the Li‖LiFePO4 cell shows stable cycling performance with 80% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at a rate of 0.5C. Remarkably, the high-voltage Li‖NCM532 cell maintains about 76% of its capacity over 200 cycles at 4.2 V.Validerad;2025;Nivå 2;2025-12-03 (u5);Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China (52333002, 52503102); Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20240805);Full text license: CC BY</p
Efficient and Predictable Context Switching for Mixed-Criticality and Real-Time Systems
No full textContext switching is both a highly utilized and highly repetitive routine in interrupt-driven systems, such as safety-critical control systems. Conventional context switching routines are sequential and dependent on data memory access, which may be detrimental to time-predictability. This publication explores the use of stacked register files for efficient and predictable context switching. Two complementary microarchitectures are characterized: combinationally addressed register windowing, and a novel parallel context stack (PCS). Both implementations enable minimal latency and inherent predictability in context switching. To efficiently utilize the benefit of stacked register files while limiting hardware costs, the heterogeneous interrupt (HETI) architecture is proposed. HETI integrates a small stacked register file for accelerating a dynamically selected subset of high-priority interrupts. Automatic firmware generation is contributed to enable seamless utilization of the HETI architecture. A total of four HETI configurations on an open-source RISC-V microcontroller are evaluated against the baseline platform and an implementation of Cortex-M style hardware-assisted stacking. Implementations on a TSMC 22nm technology demonstrate low area overhead for small HETI configurations and favorable frequency characteristics against the hardware-assisted stacking implementation. A representative layout of the full system with a HETI-4 instance is presented with a gate count overhead of 1.2% and no frequency detriment in relation to the baseline design. The functional performance evaluated in a synthetic case study demonstrates how the HETI design can reduce retired instruction count by up to 26% and allow for 21% more sleep in comparison to the software baseline and Cortex-M style solution, promising significant improvements to real-time response and energy efficiency.Validerad;2025;Nivå 2;2025-12-01 (u5);Funder: Together for RISC-V and Applications (TRISTAN) (1010959479; European Union (20366918);Full text license: CC BY</p
Understanding the differences in occupational injuries due to accidents among native-born and immigrant workers in Sweden: a repeated cross-sectional register-based study
No full textBackground: Immigrants continue to face challenges after entering the labor market and remain overrepresented in ‘3-D jobs’ (dirty, difficult, degrading). This study aims to investigate the differences in occupational injury due to accidents (OIA) among immigrants compared to native-born workers in Sweden, and to examine the role of migrant-specific and work factors in these differences. Methods: This repeated cross-sectional study used nationwide registers including all gainfully employed individuals in 2004–2020 (average annual sample 4.5 million individuals). OIA was treated as a binary outcome and migrant status was categorized based on region of birth and reason for immigration. OIA odds were estimated using pooled logistic regression analyses, where the crude model was adjusted for sociodemographic factors, time since immigration, and work factors. Results: First-generation immigrants (odds ratios [OR] 1.41; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.40, 1.42) and second-generation immigrants (OR 1.10; 95% CI 1.09, 1.11) had higher odds of OIA than native-born workers. Among the first-generation immigrants, the strength of the association varied depending on region of birth and reason for immigration. Immigrating to Sweden for work reasons was associated with lower odds of OIA among first-generation immigrants (OR 0.62; 95% CI 0.61, 0.64). The elevated odds of OIA among immigrants relative to native-born workers remained after adjusting for important covariates. Conclusions: The differences in OIA underscore the disparities among native-born and immigrant workers in Sweden. The current findings highlight the importance of addressing these issues to ensure a safe work environment for all.Validerad;2025;Nivå 2;2025-09-30 (u5);Full text license: CC BY 4.0;</p
CO2 capture and electro-reduction with the aid of ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents
No full textThe development of CO2 capture and electro-reduction technologies offers a promising way to mitigate CO2 emissions and enable CO2 utilization under mild and sustainable conditions. However, current technologies still face challenges, including the high energy usage associated with CO2 capture, and the low selectivity and limited reaction rates in CO2 electro-reduction. Ionic liquids (ILs) and deep eutectic solvents (DESs), owing to their tunable nature, high thermal stability and CO2 solubility, have emerged as versatile materials for addressing these bottlenecks. In our work, a series of ILs and DESs were systematically designed and modified with co-solvents or porous materials to enhance CO2 capture performance. Comparative studies with conventional sorbents demonstrated the superior CO2 capture performance of IL/DESs-based systems, highlighting their potential for industrial application. In addition, ILs/DESs were also employed as electrolytes in CO2 electro-reduction, facilitating the conversion of CO2 into value-added products. A techno-economic analysis was conducted for several possible products. Among them, CO was identified as the most economically product. To further enhance the catalytic performance, novel electrocatalysts were developed and evaluated, showing significant improvements. Nevertheless, continued innovation is still required to achieve a technological breakthrough toward scalable and efficient CO2 capture and electro-reduction technologies.Validerad;2025;Nivå 1;2025-11-20 (u4);Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China; European Union;Fulltext license: CC BY</p
Rening av dagvatten med en kompakt reningsanläggning
No full textI takt med en accelererande urbanisering har dagvattenhantering i städer gått från att enbart fokusera på vattenkvantitet till att även ta hänsyn till vattenkvalitet. Traditionellt implementerade system som dagvattendammar erbjuder effektiva reningslösningar, men kräver ofta stora markområden för att implementeras vilket är en utmaning i täta stadsmiljöer. Underjordiska dagvattensystem kan erbjuda mer kompakta lösningar. Dock sakas det vetenskapliga studier som undersöker deras effektivitet när det gäller att rena dagvatten. Denna studie utvärderar reningsprestandan hos två parallella EcoVault®-system som är ett exempel på sådana prefabricerade underjordiska anläggningar. De parallella systemen har samma design och består av ett sedimenteringssteg och ett filtersteg. Anläggningar implementerades i två olika dagvattenledningsnät som avvattnar två urbana avrinningsområden i Sundvall. Systemen utvärderades med avseende på deras förmåga att rena dagvatten från suspenderade ämnen, metaller, näringsämnen och organiska föroreningar. Under 15 regntillfällen var den genomsnittliga avskiljningsgraden för totalt suspenderat material (TSS) 40% respektive 46% för de två systemem. Avskiljningsgraden för metaller varierade, där den ena anläggningen visade bättre prestanda i genomsnittlig metallrening (53% för Cu och 58% för Zn). Inget av EcoVault®-systemen renade dock lösta metaller. I stället observerades ofta en ökning av koncentrationen av lösta metaller i utflödet. Filtersteget bidrog inte till reningen av föroreningar, vilket sannolikt berodde på igensättning och den höga hydrauliska belastningen av filtret. Vattnet kom till stor del inte i kontakt med filtermaterialet utan bräddades över filtret redan vid låga (bas-)flöden. Studien visade på potentialen i underjordisk dagvattenrening i områden med begränsad tillgång till utrymme, samtidigt som den identifierade utmaningar främst gällande rening av lösta föroreningar. Dessutom visar studie att filtren sätter igen snabbt och kräver mycket underhåll vilket gör sådana underjordiska system till en ganska dyr reningsteknik.Dag&Nä
Telepresence and Belonging – Incorporating Robots in Distance-based and Digitised Teacher Education
No full textMining Geology : Gendered Work in Geological Occupations and Organizations
No full textThe aim of this dissertation is to explore gendered work in the intersection of geological occupations and work organizations, particularly within the masculine organizations of the mining industry. By exploring processes and practices of gendering in work, the dissertation examines how gendered work can be understood in geoscience and geological occupations, and within academic and industrial organizations. The dissertation rests on four studies differing in empirical focus and methods. Through a systematic literature review on gender in mining, the gendered characteristics of mining organizations are explored, adding empirical and theoretical context to the dissertation’s aim. It also identifies a research gap regarding how middle-class occupations in mining organizations can be understood in relation to the gendered practices and processes of male-dominated organizations. In the second study, a European-wide survey of women professionals in geoscience is presented in relation to the concept of gendered work as ‘hard work’. The study concludes that women in geoscience experience othering in their work organizations, expressed through narratives of hard work that encompass four distinct processes of subordination: making one’s work visible and valued; compensating for actual or assumed family responsibilities; proving physical capacity and managing gendered bodies; and building and maintaining certain relations while avoiding others. Hard work as gendered work is primarily understood as the social (rather than productive) work required to succeed as a woman in the masculine work cultures of academia and mining. The third study introduces two types of geoscience organizations, academic and industrial, as perceived organizational arenas of gendered power structures and positions. Through a workshop series conducted in 16 national contexts across Europe, women in Geoscience occupations mapped their work organizations in relation to occupational positions, gendered characteristics (masculine, feminine, neutral) and perceived placement in organizational hierarchy. The study demonstrates how male dominance permeates geoscience work organizations with masculine positions centered in top hierarchical positions while feminine and neutral positions are concentrated in low and mid-level positions of organizational hierarchy. The study concludes that positions in industrial organizations are perceived as more gendered (as either masculine or feminine) the more power is ascribed to a position. As such, expert positions in mid-level organizational hierarchy are perceived as more gender neutral, indicating possible openings and variations in relation to how gender is enacted in expert positions in male-dominated industries, particularly mining. In the final study of the dissertation, the expert position of geologists working within a mining organization in the Nordics is studied through interviews and ethnographic fieldwork. By exploring how gender is done within a working group of mining geologists, the study demonstrates how the inequality regime of the mine shapes geological work in relation to occupational gender regimes of geoscience professions. Specifically, the study demonstrates how class and gender intersect through middle-class gendered ideals of work-family balance and organizing practices enabling reproductive work. As a general contribution, the dissertation demonstrates how analyzing gendered organizations from the perspective of occupation contributes with a positional understanding of gendered practices and processes in organizations and how male-dominance and masculine culture may exist as dominant structures yet be contested and challenged through the classed privilege of certain occupations.
Sustainability Dev Tycoon: A Serious Game For Software Sustainability Education
No full textAs sustainability is increasingly an important topic in software engineering, tools that enable actual, domain-based insight into sustainable design are still missing. This thesis introduces Sustainability Dev Tycoon, a serious game that simulates the trade-offs of creating sustainable software systems across five domains: Healthcare, Mining, Fitness, Social Media, and Accommodation and Booking. The game models sustainability with three components - Dimension Alignment Score (DAS), Software Quality Contribution Score (SQCS), and Design Pattern Contribution Score (DPCS) - all derived from expert-informed priorities and architectural principles. A mixed-methods approach for ascertaining expert ratings and feedback guided the scoring model and validated the educational applicability of the game. Results suggest that sustainability priorities vary by domain, and architectural choices have context-dependent impacts on outcomes. Expert feedback confirmed the model's usefulness and consistency, though problems such as a small sample and no classroom assessment were present. The project indicates that simulation-based tools have the potential to contribute to learning sustainable software design