Optimizing Managerial Decision-Making Through Agile Practices : A Software Engineering Management Team Perspective

In today's landscape of rapidly evolving software engineering, managers face a multitude of challenges and complex decision-making scenarios. Within the Swedish Transport Administration (STA), software engineering managers take on dual roles as both strategists and traditional managers, increasing the complexity of their decision-making environment. We investigate how management teams in this context can use and adopt agile practices for better decision-making. The aim is to explore if agile software development team practices can be used for software engineering management teams, with the goal of identifying agile success factors that can be mapped to management success. We employ an industrial case study with a mixed-method research approach, combining quantitative agile data using project tracking software, and qualitative data using structured interviews with the management teams. Unlike previous research that has primarily examined agile adoption within software development teams or emphasized the manager's supportive role, this work investigates management teams themselves as adopters of agile practices and metrics. To our knowledge, this is the first study to develop a mapping model that systematically connects Scrum-based practices, roles, and metrics to the context of software engineering management teams. Our study showed that Scrum-based agile practices, such as stand-ups and retrospectives, can be adapted to software engineering management teams, and that certain agile software development metrics can be transformed into a managerial setting using our proposed model. © 2026 The Author(s). Journal of Software: Evolution and Process published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Parents' experiences of interactions with child welfare services : A scoping review

Objectives: This study aimed to summarize and highlight previous research on parents' experiences of interactions with child welfare services in a Scandinavian context, specifically Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Method: A scoping review with a qualitative and inductive approach was conducted. Literature was systematically searched across multiple databases using the PEO model. The data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify patterns and themes in parents’ experiences. Results: No studies from Sweden were identified in the final sample and the included studies were limited to Norway and Denmark. The study showed that parents’ experiences of interactions with child welfare services could be understood through two main themes: the functioning interaction and the non-functioning interaction. The functioning interaction was characterized by respect, empathy, and responsiveness, which created trust and confidence. Parents experienced a sense of security when they received support and help. The non-functioning interaction was characterized by a lack of participation, information, and support. Parents experienced frustration, powerlessness, and mistrust, which led some to avoid contact despite needing support.Syfte: Denna studie syftade till att sammanställa och belysa tidigare forskning om föräldrars upplevelser av möten med den sociala barnavården i en skandinavisk kontext, specifikt Sverige, Norge och Danmark. Metod: En scoping review med kvalitativ och induktiv ansats genomfördes. Litteratur söktes systematiskt i flera databaser med stöd av PEO-modellen. Materialet analyserades med tematisk analys i syfte att identifiera mönster och teman i föräldrars upplevelser. Resultat: Inga studier från Sverige inkluderades i denna scoping review och de inkluderade studierna var begränsade till Norge och Danmark. Studien visade att föräldrars upplevelser av möten med den sociala barnavården kunde förstås utifrån två huvudteman: de fungerande mötena och de ickefungerande mötena. De fungerande möten kännetecknades av respekt, empati och lyhördhet, vilket skapade tillit och förtroende. Föräldrar upplevde trygghet när de fick stöd och hjälp. De ickefungerande mötena kännetecknades av brist på delaktighet, information och stöd. Föräldrar upplevde frustration, maktlöshet och misstro, vilket gjorde att vissa undvek kontakt trots behov av stöd

Insamling och visualisering av IoT-sensordata för hemsjukvård Stöd till äldre vuxna

The growing ageing population has increased the need for scalable and non-intrusive approaches to homecare monitoring that preserve privacy and autonomy. Smart-home environments equipped with Internet of Things (IoT) sensors provide continuous behavioral data; however, real-world sensor streams are typically event-based, irregularly sampled, unlabeled, and subject to strict privacy and data governance requirements. These characteristics limit the applicability of supervised activity recognition methods and motivate the use of unsupervised, privacy-preserving approaches.  This thesis proposes an end-to-end, label-free framework for collecting, processing, modeling, and visualizing daily behavioral patterns from raw ambient IoT sensor data collected in real residential environments. Data were obtained from five individuals living independently over a four-week period using motion and contact sensors. Raw sensor streams were temporally aligned onto a uniform two-second grid, encoded using feature-engineering-light preprocessing, and segmented into fixed-length, non-overlapping windows. Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU), and Transformer-based autoencoder models were trained independently for each user to learn personalized baseline routines. Behavioral deviations were quantified using reconstruction-error–based daily deviation ratios derived from training-period thresholds and visualized to support interpretable inspection of routine changes without clinical or diagnostic assumptions.  Results show that unsupervised sequence reconstruction captures individual routine structure and highlights short-term deviations from learned baselines. Transformer models achieved superior reconstruction accuracy and deviation separation for most users, while recurrent architectures provided clearer deviation contrast for specific individuals, emphasizing the need for per-user model selection. Overall, the study demonstrates that raw, unlabeled IoT sensor data can be ethically structured and analyzed using unsupervised methods to support interpretable, privacy-aware monitoring of routine behavior in home environments

AI– ett verktyg eller en utmaning? : Lärares perspektiv på artificiell intelligens i svenskundervisning i årskurs F–3

Utvecklingen av artificiell intelligens (AI) har under senaste åren haft stor påverkan på samhället och börjar även få en allt tydligare roll inom skolan. Samtidigt är kunskapen om hur AI används i undervisningen i de yngre skolåren fortfarande relativt begränsad. Syftet med denna studie är därför att fördjupa kunskapen om hur lärare i årskurs F–3 förhåller sig till och använder AI i svenskundervisningen utifrån didaktiska och etiska aspekter. Studien genomfördes med en kvantitativ forskningsdesign där data samlades in genom en anonym enkät. Resultaten visar att en majoritet av lärarna använder AI–verktyg i svenskundervisningen men att användningen främst sker i planeringsarbetet, genom exempelvis skapandet av lektionsupplägg och undervisningsmaterial. Samtidigt visar studiens resultat på flera upplevda möjligheter såsom effektivisering av arbetet och inspiration till varierat undervisningsmaterial. Studien visar också att lärare upplever vissa utmaningar med tekniken kopplade till exempelvis felaktigt genererat innehåll, risk för fusk samt brist på kunskap och fortbildning kring hur tekniken kan användas på ett pedagogiskt och etiskt sätt. Liknande aspekter framkommer i resultaten från de lärare som inte använder AI i sin undervisning, då de också kan se potentiella fördelar och nackdelar med tekniken. Sammanfattningsvis visar studiens resultat att AI har börjat etablerats i lärares pedagogiska förarbete men att användningen i själva undervisningen fortfarande är relativt outforskat. Resultaten pekar på att ett behov av ökad kompetensutveckling och tydliga riktlinjer för hur AI kan integreras i undervisningen i de tidiga skolåren, på ett strukturerat och ansvarsfullt sätt

Supporting someone after their stroke : family members' views and experiences of self-management

PURPOSE: Self-management has increased in recognition in stroke research and rehabilitation along with growing trends of shorter hospital stays and more patient-centred care. Family members are key persons in the self-management process, but their views and experiences of self-management have not been studied in detail. This study aimed to explore family members' understanding of self-management, the strategies they use and the challenges they face when providing support. METHODS: For this descriptive study, semi-structured interviews with family members (n = 27) were conducted. Data were analysed using inductive content analysis. RESULTS: The analysis resulted in three main categories and eight subcategories. Most family members saw self-management as performing practical tasks, such as daily living activities and rehabilitation training. However, family members described a broad range of actions to support self-management, including emotional and motivational support. They found it challenging to give the right amount of support and expressed a need of more information after discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Family members' conceptualisations of self-management differ from the strategies they use to provide support. A clearer understanding of self-management as a collective process can benefit the development and delivery of efficient self-management support

Nurses' Experiences of Communicating with Children in Inpatient Care : A Literature Review

Bakgrund  Kommunikation är en central del av sjuksköterskans profession och har stor betydelse för att skapa trygghet, delaktighet och förståelse hos barn inom slutenvården. För att kommunikationen ska vara meningsfull behöver den anpassas efter barnets ålder, mognad och individuella behov. Tidigare forskning visar dock att sjuksköterskor ofta upplever utmaningar kopplade till tid, erfarenhet och kulturella aspekter.  Syfte  Syftet med denna litteraturöversikt var att beskriva sjuksköterskans upplevelse av att kommunicera med barn inom slutenvården.  Metod  Studien genomfördes som en systematisk litteraturöversikt med kvalitativ ansats. Artiklar söktes i databaserna CINAHL och PubMed och kvalitetsgranskades enligt granskningsmall för kvalitativa studier. Tolv vetenskapliga artiklar analyserades med inspiration från Fribergs (2022) modell för kvalitativ innehållsanalys.  Resultat  Analysen resulterade i fyra huvudkategorier: Förmågan att vara anpassningsbar, Negativ påverkan av tidsbrist, Känslan av tillfredsställelse och Känslan av otillräcklighet. Resultatet visar att sjuksköterskor upplever kommunikationen med barn som både meningsfull och utmanande. Förmågan att anpassa samtalet efter barnets behov framstod som central, medan tidsbrist, språkbarriärer och organisatoriska begränsningar påverkade kommunikationen negativt.  Slutsats  Kommunikation med barn inom slutenvården är en komplex och betydelsefull del av sjuksköterskans arbete. För att stärka barnets delaktighet och trygghet behöver sjuksköterskor ges bättre förutsättningar i form av tid, utbildning och organisatoriskt stöd. Resultatet belyser vikten av en personcentrerad och barnrättsbaserad kommunikation i enlighet med Barnkonventionen och omvårdnadens etiska värdegrund.Background  Communication is a central aspect of the nursing profession and plays a vital role in creating trust, participation, and understanding among children in inpatient care. For communication to be meaningful, it must be adapted to the child’s age, maturity, and individual needs. Previous research shows that nurses often experience challenges related to time constraints, limited experience, and language barriers. Aim  The aim of this literature review was to describe nurses’ experiences of communicating with children in inpatient care. Method  This study was conducted as a systematic literature review with a qualitative approach. Articles were searched in the databases CINAHL and PubMed, and quality was assessed using a checklist for qualitative studies. Twelve scientific articles were analyzed using Friberg’s (2022) model for qualitative content analysis. Results  The analysis resulted in four main categories: The ability to be adaptable, The negative impact of time constraints, A sense of satisfaction, and A sense of inadequacy. The results show that nurses experience communication with children as both meaningful and challenging. The ability to adapt communication to the child’s needs was identified as essential, while time pressure, language barriers, and organizational limitations negatively affected the communication. Conclusions  Communication with children in inpatient care is a complex and important part of nursing practice. To strengthen the child’s participation and sense of security, nurses need improved conditions in terms of time, education, and organizational support. The results highlight the importance of person-centred and child-rights-based communication in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the ethical values of nursing

The Timed Up and Go dual-task test’s cognitive and motor outcomes show promising test-retest reliability in older adults with perceived memory impairment

Background: It is of utmost importance to identify older adults at risk of cognitive impairment at the earliest possible stage. Previous research supports the potential of investigating step parameters and turn duration during Timed Up and Go (TUG) during single and dual-task (TUGdt) conditions to detect subtle impairment. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the test-retest reliability and measurement error of novel outcomes related to TUG and two TUGdt tests, TUGdt-NA (naming animals) and TUGdt-MB (reciting months in reverse order), in older adults with perceived memory impairment. Methods: Thirty-four participants (18 women, mean age 76) were included and assessed with TUG, TUGdt-NA and TUGdt-MB on two different occasions, 5–10 days apart. Tests were video recorded for data extraction of spatiotemporal step parameters and turn duration. Reliability of motor and cognitive outcomes were analyzed with intraclass correlations (ICC2.1), standard errors of measurement and minimal detectable change (MDC). The proportional measurement error was presented with MDC%. Results: The results showed very good reliability (ICC2.1 ≥ 0.85) regarding total completion times, although the measurement error and proportional measurement error (MDC%) was higher during TUGdt conditions than TUG. The reliability of cognitive outcomes during TUGdt favored TUGdt-MB (ICC2.1 ≥ 0.77, MDC% ≤39.8). Step length was the step parameter with highest reliability (ICC2.1 ≥ 0.86) and lowest proportional measurement error (MDC% ≤21.4) across conditions, whereas turn duration showed good reliability during TUG and TUGdt-MB (ICC2.1 ≥ 0.74, MDC%≤38.9). Conclusion: The results support the potential of including TUG and TUGdt outcomes in cognitive risk evaluations among older adults. Trial Registration Number: Uppsala-Dalarna Dementia and Gait Project | ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT05893524

Obstacles and challenges nurses face caring for patients who self-harm : A litterature review

Bakgrund Självskadebeteende innebär att individen medvetet eller omedvetet skadar sig själv och kan ofta vara ett sätt att undvika svåra samt obehagliga känslor. Det kan också vara ett sätt att fly från svåra minnen eller upplevelser. Självskadebeteende är ett växande hälsoproblem och en ledande faktor till allvarliga skador samt ett tecken på psykisk påfrestning. Syfte Att beskriva hinder och utmaningar sjuksköterskor möter i omvårdnaden av patienter med självskadebeteende. Metod Designen för detta arbete utgörs av en strukturerad litteraturöversikt med inslag av metodologi som används vid systematiska översikter. De databaser som används är CINAHL och PubMed där 10 vetenskapliga artiklar inkluderades. Resultat Resultatet av studien identifierade tre huvudkategorier vilka var: sjuksköterskans perspektiv, organisatoriska faktorer och kommunikation. De identifierade huvudkategorierna framträder som centrala utmaningar i omvårdnaden av patienter med självskadebeteende. Slutsats Litteraturöversikten visar att sjuksköterskor ofta upplever osäkerhet i vården av patienter med självskadebeteende, vilket främst är kopplat till sjuksköterskans perspektiv, organisatoriska faktorer och kommunikation. Organisatoriska faktorer, tillgång till resurser och arbetsmiljön spelar en avgörande roll för sjuksköterskors förmåga att ge respektfull och professionell vård till patienter med självskadebeteende.Background Self-harm behavior means that the individual consciously or unconsciously harms themselves. Self-harm can often be a way to avoid difficult and unpleasant feelings. It can also be a way to escape difficult memories or experiences. Self-harm is a growing health problem and a leading factor in serious injuries and a sign of psychological distress. Aim The purpose of this study is to highlight the obstacles and challenges professional nurses face in caring for patients with self-harm behavior Method The design of this work consists of a structured literature review with elements of methodology used in systematic review. The databases used were CINAHL and PubMed, and 10 scientific articles were included in the results. Results The study´s result identified three main categories: Nurse´s perspective, organizational factors and communication. The identified main categories emerged as central challenges in the care of patients with self-harm. Conclusions The literature study shows that nurses often experience uncertainty in the care of patients with self-harm, which is mainly linked to nurse´s perspective, organizational factors and communication. Organizational factors, resource availability, and work environment play a crucial role in nurses' ability to provide respectful and professional treatment to patients with self-harm