Development and Evaluation of the FUEL Program : A Sports Nutrition Intervention for Female Endurance Athletes at Risk of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDs)

Det kan være utfordrende for kvinnelige utholdenhetsutøvere å få i seg nok energi fra mat til å støtte deres helse og prestasjon, noe som kan føre til en tilstand kjent som relativ energimangel i idrett (REDs). Denne tilstanden kan resultere i ulike helse- og prestasjonsutfordringer, inkludert menstruasjonsforstyrrelser, redusert benhelse og økt risiko for skader. Det trenges ytterligere forskning for å undersøke mulige REDs risikofaktorer. Videre, gitt den høye estimerte utbredelsen av REDs blant kvinnelige utholdenhetsutøvere og manglende dokumenterte forebyggende intervensjoner, er det viktig å utvikle forebyggende strategier som evalueres grundig. Dette prosjektet hadde som mål å utvikle og evaluere FUEL-programmet, en digital ernæringsintervensjon designet for kvinnelige utholdenhetsutøvere med REDs bestående av ukentlige leksjoner i idrettsernæring og individuell kostholdsveiledning annenhver uke i 16 uker. Prosjektet hadde til hensikt å: 1) identifisere forekomsten av REDs og potensielle risikofaktorer, og utforske sammenhenger i en europeisk flernasjonal kohort av kvinnelige utholdenhetsutøvere, 2) undersøke effektene av FUEL-programmet på kunnskap om idrettsernæring og kostholdsinntak, 3) undersøke effektene og langsiktige endringer av FUEL-programmet på REDs-symptomer og at 4) evaluere utøvernes erfaringer med programmet. Studien fant at 65% av utøverne var i risiko for REDs, 21% hadde forstyrret spiseadferd, og 23% ble kategorisert med treningsavhengighet. FUEL-deltagerne hadde stor forbedring i sin kunnskap om idrettsernæring med mindre effekter på kostholdsinntaket. Seks og tolv måneder etter intervensjonen hadde FUEL deltagerne bedret menstruasjonsfunksjon og magefunksjon, samt redusert risiko for forstyrret spiseatferd og treningsavhengighet. Utøverne rapporterte høy tilfredshet med FUEL-programmet, og beskrev det som motiverende og lærerikt. Det digitale formatet ble sett på som en fordel, og deltakerne opplevde positive fysiske og mentale endringer. Denne studien fremhever kompleksiteten av REDs blant kvinnelige utholdenhetsutøvere og behovet for forebygging og behandling. Resultatene på ernæringskunnskap, atferd og REDs-symptomer kombinert med den positive deltaker-evalueringen tyder på at FUEL-programmet kan være et verdifullt verktøy for å håndtere REDs, og understreker viktigheten av skreddersydde kunnskapsoppdateringer og rådgivning innen idrettsernæring.publishedVersio

Phase transformation and electronic structure modulation of 1T-MoS2 with electronegative non-metal doping as anode material for enhanced potassium-ion battery

The scarcity and high cost of lithium resources drive the search for sustainable alternatives, positioning potassium-ion batteries (KIBs) as promising energy storage solutions due to the natural abundance and advantageous electrochemical properties of the potassium. This study investigates the enhancement of KIB anodes through phase transformation and electronic structure engineering of monolayer 1T-MoS2, achieved via doping with highly electronegative non-metal elements: carbon (C), nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), and fluorine (F). Density functional theory (DFT) simulations reveal that electronegative atom doping enhances phase stability, structural robustness, and thermal resilience, which are key properties for high-performance KIB anodes. Among the doped configurations, F and N-doped 1T-MoS2 (MoS2-F and MoS2-N) exhibit superior electrochemical performance, showing optimal adsorption energies and significantly improved electronic conductivity, attributable to favorable charge redistribution and increased active potassium adsorption sites. Specifically, MoS2-F and MoS2-N achieve the highest specific capacities of 339.65 and 339.17 mAh/g, respectively, while maintaining stability within an ideal open circuit voltage range, outperforming undoped MoS2. This work underscores the potential of electronegative atom doping in 1T-MoS2 to enable sustainable, high-capacity energy storage solutions, offering key advancements in the electrochemical and structural properties of KIB anodes.publishedVersio

Substitutional electronegative element defects-induced modification of silicene's electronic structures as high-performance cathode material for water splitting

The growing global energy demands, and environmental concerns underscore the need for innovative green and sustainable energy conversion technologies. Water splitting, an advanced method for green hydrogen production, offers exceptional energy density with zero carbon emissions, and can significantly alleviate environmental pollution and crisis. This study explores the modification of silicene's electronic structure through substitutional defects involving electronegative elements (P, Se, S, and C) to enhance its efficacy as a cathode material for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Density functional theory (DFT) simulations reveal that defect-induced modifications significantly alter the electronic structure of silicene, optimizing active sites. Among the various configurations, SiC3-silicene emerges as a superior catalyst, exhibiting an unprecedented Gibbs free energy (ΔGH) of 0.008 eV for HER, surpassing the performance of traditional platinum-based catalysts. Furthermore, SiC3-silicene demonstrates a minimal overpotential of 172 mV at current densities of 500 mA/cm2, affirming its potential for industrial-scale applications. A comprehensive charge transfer analysis shows that the incorporation of electronegative dopants induces substantial charge redistribution, markedly increasing charge concentration at the active sites. This enhanced charge transfer plays a pivotal role in stabilizing hydrogen adsorption, thereby improving catalytic efficiency. Additionally, the structural stability of doped silicene confirms that the SiC3-silicene configuration maintains robust structural integrity, which is essential for practical deployment. This simulation-based study introduces SiC3-silicene as a novel, high-performance cathode material for sustainable hydrogen production, paving the way for its practical implementation in sustainable energy systems.publishedVersio

Supporting first-year nursing students’ learning experiences in nursing home placement – a qualitative study

Bakgrunn: Praksisstudier utgjør en kritisk del av sykepleierutdanningen. I praksisstudier gis sykepleierstudenter muligheter til å anvende og integrere teoretisk kunnskap, praktiske ferdigheter, klinisk vurdering og etisk kompetanse med pasienter i en klinisk hverdag. Omfanget av og kompleksiteten i studentens læringserfaringer i praksisstudier krever pedagogiske tilnærminger og veiledning og vurderingsstrategier. I Norge representerer sykehjem tradisjonelt sykepleierstudentenes første praksissted. I praksisstudier i sykehjem kan studenter tilegne seg både grunnleggende og spesialiserte sykepleieferdigheter til en voksende geriatrisk pasientpopulasjon. Studenters erfaringer fra praksisstudier i sykehjem kan påvirke fremtidige yrkesvalg. Forskning på ulike aspekter ved studenters læringserfaringer i praksisstudier i sykehjem anses derfor som viktig for å bygge et kunnskapsgrunnlag for videreutvikling av denne sentrale læringskonteksten i sykepleierutdanningen. Mål: Det overordnede formålet var å få kunnskap om og forståelse i første års sykepleierstudenters erfaringer med læring i praksisstudier i sykehjem. Videre er avhandlingens formål å få kunnskap om og innsikt i hvordan trepartsmøter og en digital utdanningsressurs tilpasset denne praksisperioden kan bidra til å støtte studentenes læring. Design og metoder: Et prosjekt med et kvalitativt og eksplorativt design bestående av tre komplementære studier ble gjennomført fra januar 2020 til april 2022. I studie 1 ble det gjennomført observasjon (173 timer) og dybdeintervju (n = 7) for å utforske første års sykepleierstudenters levde erfaring med læring i praksisstudier på sykehjem. Feltnotater og transkriberte intervjuer ble integrert og analysert samlet ved bruk av van Manes hermeneutiske fenomenologiske tilnærming. Studie 2 utforsket sykepleierstudenters læringserfaringer i trepartsmøter gjennom 21 individuelle videostimulerte intervju. Syv sykepleierstudenter ble intervjuet tre ganger hver i løpet av praksisperioden. De genererte dataene ble analysert ved bruk av refleksiv tematisk analyse. Studie 3 hadde som mål å utforske sykepleierstudenters erfaringer med en digital utdanningsressurs utviklet for å støtte læring i praksisstudier i sykehjem. 23 første års sykepleierstudenter deltok i gruppeintervjuer før og etter praksisperioden (n = 6). De transkriberte gruppeintervjuene ble analysert med refleksiv tematisk analyse. Hovedfunn: Det å skulle navigerer i en ny og kompleks læringskontekst gjorde at studentene hadde behov for forberedelser før praksisperioden. Forberedelse til nye situasjoner i løpet av praksisperioden, slik som trepartsmøtene, ble også fremhevet som viktig. I møte med følelsesmessig utfordrende situasjoner på sykehjemmet, var det avgjørende at læringsstøtten inkluderte emosjonell støtte i tillegg til profesjonell støtte. Å delta i refleksjon og få tilbakemeldinger fra praksisveileder og praksislærer var også viktig for studentenes læring. Det ble imidlertid funnet variasjoner knyttet til studentenes erfaringer med læringsstøtte, både i den daglige veiledningen og i trepartsmøtene. Den digitale utdanningsressurs la til rette for forberedelser før praksisperioden, samt refleksjons og vurderingspraksis. Likevel varierte bruken av ressursen. Den kritiske komponenten i at alle involverte deltar aktivt i studentenes læring er tydelig i funnene. Konklusjon: Avhandlingen demonstrerer viktigheten av forberedelser til praksisstudier i sykehjem, inkludert kontekstuelle, relasjonelle og individuelle aspekter. Verdien av at veiledningen omfatter refleksjon som virkemiddel for å lære sykepleie i praksisstudier fremheves. Studenter kan utvikle sykepleiekompetanse og profesjonelle identitet ved å reflektere over pasientsituasjoner i en praktisk sykehjemshverdag. En reflekterende praksis legger til rette for aktiv læring og støtter dermed utviklingen av livslang læringskompetanse. Vurdering som inneholder tilbakemeldinger fungerer som et verdifullt pedagogiske verktøy for å støtte og bekrefte studentenes læring og utvikling gjennom praksisperioden. Veiledning og vurderingssituasjoner i trepartsmøtene kan være verdifulle læringssituasjoner i seg selv. Ved å bli konfrontert med sterke følelser i praksisstudiene på sykehjem, trenger studentene både emosjonell og profesjonell støtte. Studentene er avhengige av praksisveiledere og praksislærere når de skal lære sykepleiekompetanse i praksisstudier. Hvordan studenter velger å engasjere seg i læringssituasjoner som tilbys ved sykehjemmet, påvirker samtidig også læringsutbyttet av praksisstudiet. Digitale utdanningsressurser kan støtte sykepleierstudenters læringserfaringer ved å legge til rette for forberedelser, veiledning og vurderingspraksis i praksisstudier på sykehjem.publishedVersio

Exploring nursing students’ learning experiences within tripartite meetings in nursing home clinical placements: a qualitative study using video-stimulated recall interviews

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 therefore 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. Twentyone 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.submittedVersio

Resilience Through Crisis Management Transitions: A process organization study of support information systems in public service, the case of social media analytics

Despite the increased spread of mis-and disinformation, segmentation and polarization, social media is part of our day-to-day life and makes a compelling and cost-effective source of data that when processed continues to provide insights into what communities are thinking, doing, and feeling. Since its inception, social media has been not only a source of entertainment but also a rich (mostly) human sensor-based source of information and a vehicle for mass communication for those affected by or looking for information about crises during times of uncertainty. The massive amounts of data generated in social media channels enable analytics through processes of extraction, classification, analysis, and reporting. Then, big data is processed to provide insights about features of users, discover trending topics of conversation, and monitor the evolution of events through the content generated by users and housed in social media channels. The usefulness of analytics urges the design and development of methods and tools to turn data into actionable insights. However, social media is constantly changing and thus organizations that rely on this type of support information systems (SIS) are called to continuously revise their processes and strategies. The cyclical nature of crises and the need for continuity in organizations exacerbates the importance of robust processes that rely on SIS, especially in the provision of public services at different levels, namely local, regional, national, and international. Public service organizations (PSOs), organizations that are public in nature with a duty to provide services to the communities they serve during crisis and non-crisis times, have their own mandates, objectives, and services. Crisis management is an important aspect of continuity but not necessarily the focus or raison d'être of PSOs. Information systems play a role in supporting the continuity of service provision under unstable circumstances far removed from day-to-day activities. In the case of social media analytics, the support activities are evidenced throughout the crisis life-cycle in the ability of the organization to obtain situational awareness, maintain two-way communications, support early warning of events and addressing mis- and dis-information. This dissertation explores the reasoning behind the not-uniform adoption of social media analytics in the public sector contrasted with the importance of SIS for continuity. To do so, a process organization studies approach is adopted, assuming a dynamic, relational, and non-dualistic ontology to analyze experiences of use of social media analytics in PSOs placed in different geographical contexts. The diversification of contexts is justified by the uniformity of social media channels in that functionalities and features are available for users around the world regardless of location or context of use; however, experiences of use are different and not-uniform. PSOs’ experiences of use are contrasted with views from designers and developers of analytics technologies that rely on publicly available information. Through abductive reasoning, an overview of processes of use of social media as SIS are extracted and analyzed to answer the following research question and sub-questions: How can processes leveraging social media analytics and listening contribute to the continuity of services as public service organizations navigate crisis management and strive for resilience? SRQ1. What is the status-quo of the use of social media in support information systems for crisis management? SRQ2. How do public organizations exhibit unstable equilibrium while transitioning to, from and within crisis response? SRQ3. What are the attributes, principles and signals that can enable continuity exemplified through the use of support information systems while transitioning between stages of steady state operations and crisis response in public service organizations? To answer these questions, this study generated data through literature reviews, the collections of experiences described above, and participatory workshops. Through the back-and-forth dance between data and theory proper of abductive reasoning, six publications document both findings and the evolution of the research process. The conceptual foundation of this thesis is based on a multidisciplinary view of social media in crisis management and its contribution to resilience. The analysis led to the understanding of the environment, ecosystem, configurations, and principles in which processes relying on social media analytics are performed under crisis management conditions. The empirical analysis was accompanied by unstable and punctuated equilibrium theories to frame the subsequent findings, namely, a framework of continuity through transitions between non-crisis and crisis states, and the proposition of signals of transition, that respond to attributes of continuity and attitudes of learning which define resilience in SIS processes in PSOs. The signals, attributes, and attitudes revealed in this dissertation contribute to the understanding of factors that determine resilience in processes of use of SIS. While the articles make their own contributions, as a whole and through the displayed creativity in the research design, this dissertation provides: • A transitions approach to crisis management with emphasis on the crisis state and multiple hazards. • It highlights learning and mindfulness as the key factors of resilient processes which combined with the signals and the attributes and explains the differences in experiences of use. • Finally, this dissertation formulates evidence-based principles for the continuous use of support analytics systems to sustain service provision in the public sector. In this way, future processes relying on SIS in PSOs can be contrasted against these results to better understand transitions, continuity, crisis management cycles and resilience in pursuit of public services. Other types of SIS such as generative AI, chatbots or sensors can take a transitions approach to promote a more holistic understanding of continuity and resilience.publishedVersio

Experiences and impact from participating in Education Support Program/ Education Support Unit

Education is a fundamental human right and an investment in human capital that benefits individuals, families, communities, and nations. It influences various aspects of life, including attitudes, behaviour, health, income, and overall well-being. Access to education breaks the cycle of poverty by increasing employment and income opportunities. However, poverty and the lack of a supportive learning environment hinder educational attainment, especially in underprivileged families globally. Africa, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa, faces significant educational challenges, with low completion rates and high dropout rates. In Tanzania, the education system includes seven years of primary education and six years of secondary education. Despite compulsory and free primary education, issues such as insufficient infrastructure, poor policy implementation, and lack of political will affect the quality of education. The Education Sponsorship Program (ESP) and its successor, the Educational Support Unit (ESU), aim to increase the number of educated youths in the Tanga region of Tanzania. This program, supported by donors, provide financial and material support to vulnerable children, including orphans and those from low-income families, to help them attend and complete their education.publishedVersio

Morphological evidence supports splitting of species in the North Atlantic Sebastes spp. complex

The redfishes (genus Sebastes) are long-lived, commercial species in the North Atlantic. Excessive harvest through decades has led to a decline in the mature population of golden redfish (Sebastes norvegicus) in Norwegian waters, which is currently considered severely depleted. Accumulating genetic evidence suggests a more complex structure within this genus in the North Atlantic, which has recently inspired the hypotheses of cryptic species within S. norvegicus. Despite apparent genetic divergence between two types, they have yet to be verified morphologically. The morphology of genetically assigned fishes from Norwegian and Greenland waters was investigated using traditional morphometric methods, applying Linear Discriminant Analysis and Random Forest classification procedures to identify and evaluate the performance of descriptive characters. Combined with non-parametric meristic analysis, the results show that features such as beak length and eye diameter provide sufficient discrimination between the proposed cryptic species as well as separating them from the sympatric species S. mentella and S. viviparus. These findings support the presence of an additional redfish species in the North Atlantic, distinguishable both by morphological and genetic characters. This needs to be taken into consideration in future monitoring and management strategies for North Atlantic redfish.publishedVersio

Rethinking participation in urban planning: analytical and practical contributions of social network analysis

Citizen participation is essential in urban development, but existing participation methods often neglect the complex informal relationships among stakeholders, limiting broader engagement. This study uses a narrative review to explore how relational approaches and social network analysis (SNA) affect participation in urban planning. It proposes an analytical framework combining relational approaches and SNA to understand the role of social interactions in decision-making. Unlike traditional methods that focus on individual or group attributes, SNA emphasizes social connections and interactions. The study shows how urban development decision-makers can use SNA to foster inclusive practices, improve coordination, and build trust between planners and residents. SNA enables better information f low, addresses power imbalances, and enhances community representation, especially for marginalised groups. This approach leads to more resilient and equitable urban environments. The findings suggest that urban planners can use SNA to design more inclusive decision-making processes, aligning with the sustainable development goals.publishedVersio

Spin Dynamics in Antiferromagnetic Systems

This dissertation presents three research papers on spintronics-related effects. Two of the papers discuss dynamic spin phenomena in noncollinear antiferromagnets (NCAFMs). The third paper investigates the equilibrium properties of collinear antiferromagnets (CAFMs) with broken spatial inversion symmetry. The most central part of the presented work discusses the spin dynamics of NCAFMs. To this end, we develop effective action descriptions that capture the dynamics of the SO(3)-valued antiferromagnetic order parameter in response to applied currents and magnetic fields. We first theoretically investigate the ac spin pumping of NCAFMs. Starting from an effective action description of the spin system, we derive the Onsager coefficients that represents the coupling between the NCAFM and spin currents. When our theory is applied to kagome AFMs, we show that the three spin-wave bands of the material can generate ac spin currents with mutually orthogonal polarization directions when driven into resonance by an external magnetic field. Additionally, we demonstrate that the reactive and dissipative STT parameters of the kagome AFM can be extracted from the spin signal measured via the Inverse spin-Hall effect. Second, we investigate magnetic self-oscillations driven by electrically induced spin-orbit torques in kagome AFMs with broken spatial inversion symmetry. We show that the chirality of the noncollinear antiferromagnetic ground state strongly influences the dynamics. One chirality displays gapped excitations, while the opposite chirality provides gapless self-oscillations whose frequencies can be tuned from 0 Hz to the terahertz regime. Thus, the NCAFMs offer unique chiral magnetic properties that makes them especially appealing for bridging the gap between technologies operating in the microwave and infrared regions. Motivated by recent observations of magnetic surface twist states induced by Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) in noncentrosymmetric ferromagnets, we study the effects of DMI at the boundaries of noncentrosymmetric CAFMs. We demonstrate that the DMI leads to a boundary-induced twist state in the antiferromagnetic order parameter and a large surface magnetization. The magnetization couples directly to the variation in the order parameter field. As a result, the surface magnetization demonstrates ultrafast THz dynamics and offers effective means to investigate and control the spin dynamics of AFMs and detect the antiferromagnetic DMI.publishedVersio