University of Stavanger

Background Providing healthcare for the elderly population is challenging due to a shortage of staff. The challenge is addressed by increased use of technology. The article explores the impact of welfare technology on healthcare personnel’s care ethical considerations in Norway’s primary healthcare sector. Through a qualitative study of how healthcare professionals, managers, and technology suppliers understand and perceive welfare technology in healthcare, we examine whether instrumental values displace care-ethical values in primary healthcare practices. Methods The study is based on a qualitative analysis of interviews with healthcare workers, healthcare managers and technology suppliers in primary healthcare in Norway. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers and quality developers at the municipal administrative level and healthcare managers and staff in healthcare units. Interviews with suppliers/manufacturers of welfare technology (GPS, pill dispensers and robotics) were also conducted. We combined an inductive approach with theoretical exploration as we alternated between the empirical data, a thematic approach, and theories of technology and care ethics. Results In the analysis of the empirical material, we identified two overarching themes that were related to our research question: 1) demands and solutions and 2) two sides of autonomy. The informants generally highlighted the benefits of welfare technology, but the informants were also ambiguous about the use of welfare technology. Autonomy was seen as an important value but was attached with ambivalence. Conclusion Care ethical considerations are significantly present within healthcare professionals’ understandings of technology even though managers and technology suppliers were advocating for welfare technology in a more instrumental sense. Despite extensive acclaim for user autonomy, healthcare personnel make decisions about care and technology use independently of the resource situation. They hold onto a professional room of freedom in between the patient’s needs, available resources, and suitable technology. They are sceptical about applying technological solutions if they suspect it will lead to potentially adverse consequences, such as loneliness or increased insecurity due to technological illiteracy. By engaging a relational autonomy approach in their care practices, healthcare professionals control technology rather than submit to technology and we see that rather than being displaced by technical-economic reasoning, care ethical reasoning also accommodates technology.

Analyzing wave diffraction by periodic structures is crucial in fluid dynamics, coastal engineering, and ocean engineering, with applications spanning wave–structure interactions, coastal protection, and wave energy utilization. Conventional numerical methods primarily utilize Green's functions formulated in cylindrical coordinate systems, which are restricted to two-dimensional geometries and are difficult to accommodate sharp corners. In this study, we present a novel numerical approach to investigate the multi-modal wave diffractions induced by three-dimensional periodic planar blocks within Cartesian coordinate systems. We first model wave diffraction for rectangular shapes using Fourier modal analysis and then reconstruct the boundary matching matrix as a classical Thomson–Haskell propagator, leveraging a block symmetry. To address computational challenges at high frequencies and for large block thicknesses, we implement cascaded transmission matrix algorithms, achieving a computational accuracy improvement of approximately 16 digits. Building on these rectangular block models, we extend the approach to periodic planar blocks with arbitrarily shaped cross sections by discretizing the shapes into finite rectangular elements. This robust numerical solver is valuable for the design of coastal breakwaters and ocean wave energy converter arrays.

Background Nursing students’ clinical learning is premised on experiences in clinical placements in nurse education, with the processes and outcomes of tripartite meetings among the student, nurse preceptor and teacher being central components. The tripartite meetings form the basis and framework for stakeholders’ dialogue and collaboration and have the central purpose of facilitating student learning and development and assessing the students’ achievement against predetermined learning outcomes for the placement period. Students’ experiences with tripartite meetings seems to be an underexplored field, and therefor this study aimed to explore first-year nursing students’ learning experiences within tripartite clinical placement meetings in nursing homes. Design and methods A qualitative explorative and participatory approach was adopted in this study, using the video-stimulated interview method “stimulated recall— dialog and reflection”. This method is based on video recordings with subsequent interviews, where video excerpts were used to support reflection and dialogue. Twenty-one video-stimulated recall interviews were conducted with first-year nursing students (n = 7) to explore their learning experiences within the tripartite meetings. Findings Data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis as described by Braun and Clarke. Four themes were identified: (1) the importance of structure and preparedness; (2) supportive relations and dialogue essential for learning; (3) a possibility to create a common learning focus; and (4) assessment needs to be comprehensive and performance focused. Conclusions This study highlights that tripartite meetings can be an excellent forum to support the nursing students’ learning process in their clinical placements. Still, consistent and systematic approaches to clinical placement supervision and assessment need to be developed continuously. Therefore, the study’s findings suggest that targeted efforts are warranted to optimise and enhance the learning potential offered in tripartite meetings in clinical education, such as paying a greater attention to the start-up conversation and facilitating comprehensive supervisory and assessment content in the meetings.

Background People with serious mental illness (SMI) often encounter physical health issues, a lack of focus on self-management, and persistent symptoms of mental illness. Strategies to empower people with SMI to self-manage their mental, physical, and social health are needed. The PeerTECH application is an American digital peer support intervention that can help manage health issues and promote self-management skills for people with SMI. This study aims to co-create a Norwegian version of PeerTECH, DigiPer, with service users, peer support workers, and professionals from Norwegian community mental healthcare. Methods This study employs a qualitative design using principles of co-creation to develop the Norwegian DigiPer. We conducted workshops, videoconference demonstrations, and application testing with key stakeholders in the co-creation process. The data collected were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Five themes and ten subthemes were developed in the data analysis. The first theme reflected feedback and challenges in DigiPer functioning, with the subthemes of Usability in DigiPer and Managing complexity in DigiPer classes. The second theme focused on the peer support worker's role, with subthemes of recognizing and addressing user challenges and balancing self-responsibility and support. The third theme focused on the content of DigiPer in addressing day-to-day challenges, with subthemes of supporting personal growth and goal setting and DigiPer as a tool to build supportive networks . The fourth theme highlighted the use of DigiPer to encourage a healthy lifestyle, with subthemes of addressing substance use and smoking habits and improving sleep and stress management. The fifth theme provided a holistic view of health, with subthemes of connecting users to relevant services and a need for support to overcome financial challenges. Conclusions DigiPer has good usability among community mental healthcare stakeholders and has proper functionality, which is relevant to the Norwegian context. Although challenges exist, all participants perceived DigiPer as a meaningful and promising tool to help people with SMI improve their self-management of their mental, physical, and social health. Future studies should assess the accessibility and feasibility of the Norwegian DigiPer.

Background Patterns of regional atrophy and hypometabolism have been observed in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). However, determinants of regional vulnerability to structural and functional neurodegeneration remain largely unexplored. First, we investigated the association between regional gene expression and grey matter volumes in probable DLB patients. Since hypometabolism presumably precedes overt brain atrophy, we additionally investigate the association between regional gene expression and hypometabolism in DLB. Method To investigate the association between gene expression and regional volumes, 165 DLB patients along with 165 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls from three European centres and the Mayo Clinic (USA) were included. Regional volumes were quantified from MRI using SPM12 in 112 cortical, subcortical, and cerebellar brain regions, and compared between groups, using w‐scores. Regional expression data of seven genes involved in the formation and degradation of pathological protein aggregates (APOE, APP, BIN1, GBA, MAPT, SNCA, TMEM175) was extracted from six healthy donors from the Allen Human Brain Atlas and correlated with regional volumetric w‐scores. To assess the predictive value of regional gene expression on regional volumes we used Gaussian stepwise backwards linear regression including all seven genes as predictors. To investigate the association between gene expression and hypometabolism, we are currently applying the same analysis pipeline to FDG‐PET data of 139 DLB patients from 8 European centres. Result Most brain regions showed lower volumes in DLB patients compared to healthy controls, with differences being most pronounced in occipital and parietal lobes. Regional expression of APOE correlated positively with regional volumes in DLB. Conversely, regional expression of MAPT correlated negatively with regional volumes. Both APOE and MAPT gene expression were significant predictors of regional volumes in the regression analysis. None of the other gene expression values was significantly associated with regional volumes in DLB. Conclusion Our findings show that regional expression of genes associated with the abnormal accumulation of amyloid and tau, common co‐pathologies in DLB, partially account for the brain atrophy pattern observed in DLB patients. Analyses are ongoing for the hypometabolism pattern. Our finding emphasises the relevance of co‐pathologies in predicting atrophy progression and identifying potential targets for future disease‐modifying treatments.

The Subsea Shuttle Tanker (SST) was presented by the authors as an innovative and cost-effective solution in several research works. This new approach offers a viable alternative to subsea pipelines and shuttle tanker ships for transporting liquid CO 2 from onshore facilities to marginal offshore reservoirs. A previous technical–economic feasibility study found that the SST is generally economically competitive to the subsea pipelines and shuttle tanker ships for distances below 180 km and CO 2 transport volumes of one million tons per annum (mtpa). The economic cost models are based on those developed in Maritime UN-manned Navigation through Intelligence in Network (MUNIN) D 9.3 and the Zero Emission Platform (ZEP) projects. This paper will take this previous study further by focusing on performing the technical and economic feasibility analysis for operation in the Troll field on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS), which has a transport distance of 65 km and a CO 2 volume of 1.5 mtpa. Two SST design solutions are investigated by downscaling and upscaling the reference baseline design to evaluate SST’s technical feasibility. Using the abovementioned cost models, the CO 2 transportation cost per ton using SST is compared with subsea pipelines and tanker ships. The numerical results show that it is economically feasible to manufacture SST with cargo capacities of 4453 m ³ and 2203 m ³ . Furthermore, the results show that the SST is the most cost-effective option for transporting low-volume CO 2 (1.5 mtpa) over short distances.

Aim To explore patients and nurses' experiences of digital self‐management support following participation in a remote patient monitoring intervention. Design An exploratory qualitative multimethod study. Methods The study was conducted at two Norwegian university hospitals between January 2022 and February 2023. Data were obtained through semistructured interviews of 17 patients with heart failure, 10 patients surgically treated for colorectal cancer and eight nurses. The data collection also included excerpts from chat messages between patients and nurses obtained from the digital platform during January and February 2024. Data were analysed using abductive thematic analysis. Results The analysis revealed three themes: (1) raising illness awareness through RPM technology, (2) establishing a mutual collaboration in self‐management challenges and (3) fostering a continued engagement in health behaviour change. The themes captured patients and nurses' experiences of receiving and providing digital self‐management support. The analysis also identified a unifying key theme: ‘bridging technology and self‐management support through remote caring encounters’, which firmly connected the three themes. Conclusion Remote patient monitoring appeared to benefit both patients and nurses by altering patients' self‐management routines and the nurses' workflows. Furthermore, applying the theory of technological competency as caring in nursing to remote patient monitoring interventions may help ensure that the patient–nurse relationship is not weakened as technology advances. Implications for the Profession and Patient Care Remote patient monitoring interventions have the potential to become a valuable tool in modern healthcare, enabling effective communication and collaboration between patients and nurses while also ensuring patient‐centred care. However, future development of remote patient monitoring interventions should include nursing support. Impact This study addresses remote patient monitoring and digital self‐management support from the perspectives of both patients and nurses. The findings may have an impact on remote nursing, patient satisfaction and strategies to improve digital follow‐up care for patients with long‐term illnesses. Reporting Method The authors adhered to the EQUATOR guidelines through the SRQR reporting method. Patient or Public Contribution No patient or public contribution.

This study revisits the academic disagreement on the impact of resource rent tax design on oil and gas companies. The disagreement relates to whether the petroleum special tax on the Norwegian Continental Shelf leads to under- or over-investments. Ideally, to ascertain the degree of investment distortion, one would need to conduct an empirical analysis of the private investment decision information of oil and gas companies that is not publicly available. In this study, using a recent major petroleum resource rent tax overhaul as a case study, we adopt an alternative approach and examine information from the industry conveyed by oil and gas companies through the consultation process. If the underinvestment hypothesis is true, then the company should favor a change to a cash flow tax. At the same time, the opposite is true for the hypothesis that the special tax results in overinvestments – companies should be unfavorable towards a tax change. Analyses of oil and gas companies’ responses support the hypothesis that the previous tax regime provided investment disincentives.

This study investigated parental beliefs and experiences with cooperation among adults to overcome cyberbullying in Norwegian schools. Data comprised 17 semi-structured interviews conducted with parents of adolescents enrolled in primary or lower secondary schools in Norway. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed four themes: (1) individual and (2) organizational aspects influencing cooperation, (3) cyberbullying as a form of aggression, and (4) interactional dimensions of cooperation. These findings highlight the complexity of cyberbullying characteristics and mesosystemic cooperation, which require expertise in various fields. The viral and covert nature of cyberbullying requires adults to create spaces, online or offline, where children may safely report unwanted behaviors without the fear of retaliation. Any barriers to cooperation, such as language, lack of technological knowledge, and resource allocation, must be addressed. Immigrant parents contributed insights regarding barriers to cooperation due to cultural and linguistic differences. Attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes need to be addressed before cooperation based on trust, support, and realistic goals can be implemented.

For size‐sensitive catalytic reaction systems, precise control of geometric size of heterogeneous transition metal catalysts, especially for non‐noble metals, is in desperate need and also a great challenge. Here, highly dispersed Ni nanoparticles (NPs) anchored within mesoporous silica (MS) is fabricated through a hybrid strategy of amino‐modification and vacuum‐impregnation. The Ni NPs in Ni/MS catalyst can be precisely regulated from 2.2 to 12.6 nm, causing a variation in the proportion of low and high coordination sites of Ni atoms. The Ni/MS catalysts show a volcanic trend between 2‐methoxy‐4‐methylphenol (MMP) yield and Ni geometry size in hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of bio‐derived vanillin, and the Ni/MS‐4.8 catalyst with middle size (4.8 nm) shows optimal HDO performance with the highest MMP productivity of 19.5 gMMP gNi⁻¹ h⁻¹. DFT calculation demonstrates that the medium‐sized Ni/MS‐4.8 catalyst possesses abundant low/high coordinated Ni atoms, wherein the low coordinated Ni atoms facilitate the adsorption of H2 and vanillin, and the high coordinated Ni atoms promote the dissociation of H2 and activating of C═O and C─O bonds, thus displays superior performance in HDO reaction. This work paves a way in precise control of geometric size of heterogeneous catalysts applicating in size‐sensitive catalysis.

In the literature about bullying prevention and intervention, still little is known about teacher and school characteristics possibly affecting an implementation of a whole-school approach anti-bullying programme. This study investigates the relations of teachers’ anti-bullying components at classroom and individual levels with teachers’ sociodemographics (gender, age, work experience and teaching in primary vs lower and upper secondary school) and school features (size, and duration of working with a whole-school approach anti-bullying programme). Teachers (n = 1576) in 99 Lithuanian schools implementing the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program answered a standardised online self-administered questionnaire. Through an Exploratory Factor Analysis (Principal Axis Factoring extraction method), we individuated a model of teachers’ implementation of anti-bullying components, consisting of three dimensions: classroom management, tutorship (organisation of class meetings and work with parents) and direct intervention into bullying incidents. In multilevel analyses, significant associations emerged between the three dimensions, teacher socio-demographics and school characteristics. Female teachers put more effort than male teachers into classroom management, tutorship and intervention into bullying incidents. Younger teachers put more effort than older teachers into all the three dimensions. Primary school teachers put more effort into classroom management and tutorship dimensions. Teachers with more working experience put more effort into intervening into bullying incidents. Lastly, teachers from certified Olweus schools with a longer duration of implementing the OBBP put more effort into direct intervention into bullying incidents. These results shed light on relevant characteristics affecting teachers’ efforts within anti-bullying components that need to be considered when implementing interventions.

In this exploratory study, we documented the variety of meanings and ranges of experiences that people associate with the word “silence”. The research involved developing premises for a “qualitative-first” content analysis, based on the anonymous responses of 116 participants to six incomplete sentences prompts. If a participant described two or more features of silence in their response, we coded these entries separately. We analyzed 890 codes via the social representations theory. The analysis of the data suggests that social representations of silence are not purely sensory but rather are constructed. In other words, they are mediated by specific activities, intentions, emotions, values, and interactions with others or the self. Regardless of whether moments of silence occur intentionally or unexpectedly, they appear to influence attention and focus on different tasks. These moments can also serve as a necessary contrast and variation during. One of the key aspects of the data concerns the relational dimensions of silence and their potential to deepen or jeopardize our relationship with the self, others, the environment, or even God for some. The value of contextual and sociocultural approaches to the study of silence in everyday life is further discussed considering these findings.

This research contributes to the ongoing dialogue on sustainable product categorization and representation in social media. Companies and consumers are increasingly favoring eco-friendly, green, or sustainable products due to their environmentally friendly lifecycle. This study examines a dataset of more than 30,000 tweets labeled with hashtags such as #sustainableproducts, #ecoproducts, #ecofriendlyproducts, and #greenproducts. The dataset covers ten years and includes Twitter data from around the world. The study employs content and sentiment analysis to reveal that conversations around sustainable and green products often emphasize environmental impact and responsible consumption, reflecting consumer preferences and business strategies. Discussions on eco-friendly and eco-products center on sustainable materials and waste reduction, highlighting consumer choices and the need for eco-conscious product design. The general sentiment expressed in these tweets is primarily positive or neutral, although negative sentiments are frequently associated with environmental concerns such as plastic pollution. The study not only highlights the significance of digital platforms in influencing public discussions on sustainability but also emphasizes the informative power of social media in shaping sustainable narratives. It suggests the need for a comprehensive strategy encompassing transparent and balanced communication, active consumer and business engagement, and collaborative efforts among stakeholders to promote sustainable consumption on digital platforms, thereby contributing to the achievement of climate neutrality. By shedding light on the complexities and nuances of online discourse, it provides a foundation for future scholarly inquiries and informs practical efforts to promote sustainable consumption and production in the digital age.

When beginning readers read aloud, the teacher’s feedback affects their reader identities. Teacher’s feedback may also imprint a strong model of what reading is and what proficient readers do. This systematic review investigates the characteristics of teachers’ feedback on elementary students’ reading and furthers its potential to support students’ agency in learning to read. A total of 52 empirical studies in K–5 settings were identified and analyzed. Findings suggest clear associations between how feedback was presented and what aspects of reading were targeted: typically, either explicit feedback on decoding or implicit feedback on meaning. Further, support for student agency was more strongly associated with implicit feedback practices. Finally, two groups of students—struggling readers and L2 learners—tended to receive feedback that does not promote agency. The review concludes by discussing the potential of feedback practices to support students in becoming proficient and independent readers.

Introduction Enhancing the proficiency of healthcare workers (HCWs) in handling birth-related complications is crucial for reducing maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality. To achieve this, the Safer Births Bundle of Care offers a comprehensive set of innovative, simulation-based training interventions designed to strengthen the skills and competencies of HCWs working as skilled birth attendants. Objective To describe the use of in-situ low-dose, high-frequency simulation-based training, and the experiences of this usage among HCWs and stakeholders at facilities in Tanzania. Methods This mixed-methods study included quantitative and qualitative data collected between July 2021 and July 2022 across 30 health facilities in five regions of Tanzania. NeoNatalie Live (NNL) simulators were installed for independent skills and scenario training, and in-situ facilitator-led team simulations were introduced. The training frequency was analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics, and mentorship and supervision reports were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results A large and sustained number of in-situ NNL skill-training sessions (n = 35,101) and facilitator-led team simulations (n = 266) were conducted during the first year. Clinical burden per HCW did not affect the frequency of NNL skills training at the health facility level (r = −0.16, p = .40) nor facilitator-led team simulations. There was a positive but weak correlation between the frequency of facilitator-led team simulations and NNL skills training (r = 0.34, p = .05). Qualitative data showed a high degree of motivation and participation among all stakeholders, and active use of hospital data, both clinical indicators and training data, was perceived as a success factor. Conclusion Facilitator-led in-situ simulation training was more likely to occur where individual skills-training sessions were recorded. Training sessions took place regardless of the increased workload.

Salt caverns are widely regarded as a suitable option for the underground storage of hydrogen. However, an accurate assessment of the hydrogen leakage through the walls of salt caverns into the surrounding formations remains crucial. In this work, the flow of hydrogen into the surrounding formation is evaluated by assuming that salt rock consists of bundles of tortuous nano-capillary tubes. A formulation was then proposed to model the flow in linear and radial domains. The formulations are based on a newly proposed unified gas flow model that is valid for the entire range of Knudsen numbers and accounts for gas slippage, bulk diffusion, and Knudsen diffusion. A finite-difference approximation with an iterative procedure was then used to treat the nonlinearity and solve the presented formulations. The formulations were validated against the experimental data reported in the literature. The results obtained indicated that for hydrogen flow over a wide range of pore radii and operating pressures and temperatures, the slippage flow regime must be considered. In a salt cavern with relevant dimensions and operating conditions, the cumulative hydrogen leakage after 30 years of cyclic storage was only 0.36% of the maximum storage capacity. It was also noticed that most of the leaked hydrogen would flow back into the salt cavern at times when the pressure in the salt cavern is lower than the surrounding pressure, e.g. during production and subsequent idle times. At low storage pressure and very tight salt rock, diffusion was the most important mechanism for hydrogen transport. At a high pressure though, viscous flow became the predominant leakage mechanism. The presence of a thin interlayer such as mudstone, carbonate, and anhydrite in the body of the salt rock can have a significant impact on the amount of leakage. It appeared that although increasing the maximum operating pressure from 120 to 135 bar only led to an 11.9% increase in the maximum storage capacity, the hydrogen loss increased significantly from 0.007% at 120 bar to 0.36% at 135 bar. Furthermore, although the absolute leakage rate for natural gas storage was higher than that for hydrogen storage, the relative leakage rate in relation to the maximum salt cavern capacity was much lower. The leakage range was also lower for natural gas storage compared to hydrogen storage. The formulations presented and the results obtained in this study can help to have a better understanding of the salt caverns when it comes to large-scale hydrogen storage.

This article addresses the challenges of assessing pedestrian-level wind conditions in urban environments using a deep learning approach. The influence of large buildings on urban wind patterns has significant implications for thermal comfort, pollutant transport, pedestrian safety, and energy usage. Traditional methods, such as wind tunnel testing, are time-consuming and costly, leading to a growing interest in computational methods like computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. However, CFD still requires a significant time investment for such studies, limiting the available time for design modification prior to lockdown. This study proposes a deep learning surrogate model based on a MLP-mixer architecture to predict mean flow conditions for complex arrays of buildings. The model is trained on a diverse dataset of synthetic geometries and corresponding CFD simulations, demonstrating its effectiveness in capturing intricate wind dynamics. The article discusses the model architecture and data preparation and evaluates its performance qualitatively and quantitatively. Results show promising capabilities in replicating key wind features with a mean error of 0.3 m/s and rarely exceeding 0.75 m/s, making the proposed model a valuable tool for early-stage urban wind modelling.

A bstract We study the cohomology of an elliptic differential complex arising from the infinitesimal moduli of heterotic string theory in the supergravity approximation. We compute these cohomology groups at the standard embedding, and show that they decompose into a direct sum of cohomologies. While this is often assumed in the literature, it had not been explicitly demonstrated. Given a stable gauge bundle over a complex threefold with trivial canonical bundle and no holomorphic vector fields, we also show that the Euler characteristic of this differential complex is zero. This points towards a perfect obstruction theory for the heterotic moduli problem, at least for the most physically relevant compactifications.