The aim of this study is to analyse the sexual power relations in contemporary urban novels of Swedish female writers.I have identified a discourse in these novels as a heteronormative matrix which power is ruled by norms and assumptions about normality in both the heterosexual and lesbian stories. For this purpose I have related to Ivar B. Neumanns theory that individuals always find a way to confront the discourse by three different strategies. These strategies are used in my study as tools to organise these novels, because it is possible to see that the protagonists find at least one of these strategy?s to her protest.The first strategy I studied was the docile.

The data acquisition system COMET developed by Saab AB contains a unit for signal conditioning and A/D conversion, called KSM. The varieties in signal conditioning constitutes of a number of specific PBAs and maintenance as well as reconfiguration of these are complicated not to mention costly. This thesis has aimed to investigating whether the signal conditioning circuits can be replaced by a general purpose, programmable solution. If so, how can this be done? The development has been carried out by evaluating ideas through the use of a laboratory environment and has resulted in an analog design for laboratory purpose.

Denna rapport omfattar ett examensarbete på 22,5 poäng. Examensarbetet har utförts inom ämnet integrerad produktutveckling vid Högskolan i Skövde tillsammans med Jai Designpartner AB. Målet med arbetet var att utveckla ett fällbord som enkelt kan fällas ihop, ha en längre livslängd och lägre vikt än företagets tidigare fällbord. Samarbetet genererade ett fällbord som inte följer de generella principerna av infällning av bordsben. Resultatet blev ett fällbord med minimal klämrisk, med en längre livslängd då infällning av bordsbenet sker med en vridning och med en mindre vikt då ramverk kan elimineras..

Följande projektarbetet har resulterat i en ny webbplats åt verkstadsföretaget Löfman & Co Verkstad AB,resultatet är sprunget ur WordPress och projektet vilar på en teoretiskt grund av läsbarhetsteori samtbeprövad erfarenhet kring ämnet responsiv design. Projektrapporten innehåller både information gällandedet teoretiska ramverket samt de slutgiltiga tekniska lösningarna som implementerades på webbplatsen.Två kvalitativa undersökningar på företagets gamla webbplats har bidraget med ytterligare underlag förskapandet utav företagets nya webbplats.. Utöver det ha en viktig del i utvecklingen gjorts av den ständigakontakten med kunden. Projektresultatet är ett bevis för att det finns en arbetsmarknadsmässig funktionför de studenter som läst Visuell Kommunikation och Design vid Karlstad Universitet..

e-Me projektet är ett innovativt forskningsprojekt där tillvägagångssättet co-design använts för att framställa en elektronisk assistent. e-Me realiserades i januari 2007 som ett pilotprojekt vid Högskolan i Borås. Den elektroniska assistenten är en artefakt som ska förenkla det administrativa och elektroniska livet för studenter. Målet med den här uppsatsen var att öka förståelsen kring co-designs grundidé, praktiska moment samt de kritiska roller som kan urskiljas i co-designprojekt. Studien är av intresse för alla som vill utvidga sin kunskapsbas inom både co-design samt e-Me.

The purpose of this study is to examine the mediatization of Swedish politics on a municipal level. We live in a world were media affects many aspects of life. One of those aspects is the communication between the citizens and the politicians.Our main research questions are:To what extent do politicians communicate with journalists and who initiates these contacts?Do politicians talk to some types of media rather than others?What factors make a politician choose to speak to media?To what extent do leading Swedish municipal politicians use media strategies?To answer these questions we have used various theories to help us understand media?s role oftoday. First we explain the transformation that has taken part in Swedish media over the last century, from political party press to independent media companies.

This thesis was carried out at Atlas Copco Tools and Assembly Systems. The purpose hasbeen to develop a design tool to be used for development of new electric motors for AtlasCopcos electric nutrunners. The focus of the thesis has been to increase productivity bydecreasing the power losses in an electric tool. The productivity is defined as themaximum number of tightenings a nutrunner can perform without becoming too hot.Before starting the development of this design tool an existing Matlab script, whichcalculates the losses in a slotless electric motor, has been studied and modified torepresent the real losses in a better way. The modification has been made by performingpractical studies of different losses and then adjusting existing parameters in the Matlabscript.Because design changes in one part of a mechatronic system can lead to a decrease inperformance of another part the choice of parameters that can be changed has been madeso that other parts of the system is affected as little as possible.A study of the existing tools efficiency during an entire tightening has been made toincrease the understanding of when and where the different losses appear and to comparethe modified Matlab script with the measured values.The design tool was formed so that it executes the Matlab script, that calculates thelosses, for a number of different design options and stores the alternative which producesthe least losses.

Balcony Art is an idea for a new kind of furniture group for those who have limited space on their balcony. This report will discuss conceptual and part of primary construction of the chair and table for use on balconies, how the products developed from an idea to primary, preliminary products.In the conceptual design part, the report will discuss how product requirements and specifications are developed and how these controls the design.In the primary construction, the report will discuss the products journey from sketch to functional CAD models and how the products of individual parts are designed and how the durability calculations affect the design..

The computer consultant company Create in Lund AB wishes to facilitate their invoice routines, as it at present is required that the administration finds and compares information from two different systems.The purpose of this thesis is to develop an invoice management system that simplifies the invoice management process for the administration at Create. During the development of the system, I have chosen to follow the software development process Unified Process and also tried to find design patterns that can be applied to the integration.The result of my project is a self-contained application developed using the Java programming language that communicates with the databases of the other two systems and presents relevant information to the user as a set of invoices. Of the 23 design patterns I studied, I used four of them in the invoice management system. However I couldn?t find any connection between any design pattern and the integration of systems.

The purpose of this paper is to compare two different portfolio strategies consisting of insider transactions and stock recommendations and examine whether they posses any information advantage.  The portfolios are balanced once every three-, six- and twelve- months in the period of 2007-2009. Our results show a pattern for these investment strategies. The portfolio consisting of insider transactions generates a positive return in equity in a negative market environment and the opposite reaction in a positive environment. The result for the portfolio consisting of stock recommendations show a positive return of equity in positive environment and the opposite effect in negative environment. The pattern that has been observed can be classified as an anomaly.

The thesis was performed at the lighting company Zpecta AB. Zpecta needed to develop alternative attachment of their LED-luminaire Capella. Today Capella attaches in metal ceilings with four magnets. Zpecta got indications from their customers that there was a need for other attachments. The purpose is to determine the customer?s requirements and the interfaces that are considered for Capella.During the thesis, Capella was only on the market for testing and evaluation.The thesis was initiated to create a specification.

Hidden away in the pristine landscape on the northeast shore of the Dominican Republic, the remote village of Miches is on the verge of shifting its economic resource base from traditional fishing into what could become an international model for sustainable tourism. The aim of this thesis was to produce a vision of a waterfront park near the center of the village; demonstrating concept-based landscape design that reflects the goals of sustainable development originating from the local incentive structure. A composite landscape analysis and design concept both served to inform and guide the design work, which was executed through model building, hand drawings, and production of a visual presentation in the format of an architectural competition entry. The design concept, All invited, signifies the distinction between the development that is about to take place in Miches and the otherwise common all-inclusive resorts, where tourists are set apart from the local community and spend most of their time within the fenced-off premises of the hotel. All invited also captures the typical Dominican hospitality, and mirrors the aspirations of turning Miches into a safe and welcoming place for visitors. The result is a public park design that is equally inviting local residents as it is to tourists, and where the unique qualities of the site are emphasized without being exploited.

The goal of this thesis is to design an attachment between a duct and a pod. A pod is what could be compared to an outboard engine for larger vessels. The pod is placed on the outside of the ship?s hull and can rotate 360 ?. A duct is a large steel ring that can be placed around the propeller on the pod to increasethe propulsion force of the ship in lower velocities.

Background: The theater market has matured ? supply now exceeds demand. Government funds are on a decrease, replaced by other means of financing. The city of Stockholm will be introducing a bonus system that will benefit independent theater groups that succeed to increase their revenue and attendance. Hence, the audience will play an even greater role, a tendency some free theater groups come to terms with by interacting with the audience to create value.Thesis statement: What factors lead to the long-term survival of the independent theater groups, allowing them to benefit from the imminent bonus system?Purpose: To analyze and evaluate the marketing strategies of the independent theater groups, in reference to their capability of long-term survival through value creation along with the audience, thereby increasing attendance and ticket revenue.Methodology: The study combines quantitative and qualitative approaches and methods.

The aim of this study was to explore how young students can be taught during their first year of learning English towards the A1 level according to The European Framework of Reference for Languages, and how the students understand their own learning. The study was carried out in two different classes but with the same teacher, who is qualified to teach English to young learners. The result is based on the analysis of a total of twelve observations of English lessons in two classes in school year one and eight group interviews with the students. Recurrent ingredients through all lessons were activities such as listening to teacher talk, watching films or film clips, singing songs and doing rhymes, using drama activities, talking about the meaning of learning English, practicing guessing competence and learning new vocabulary. The teacher consistently talked about and taught different strategies for language learning.