Whist is one of the most played card games of the world. Though there have been many studies made in the field of game theory, whist is still somewhat of an unchartered territory. In this thesis some methods to obtain an optimal strategy for whist are discussed. Whist belongs to a group of games called logical games. For this group there exists algorithms which result in an optimal strategy.

There is a tough competition in food-stores these days. Storeowners have been forced to try something new to attract customers. One way to accomplish that is to add private labels to the assortment. There are several benefits with these labels; its higher margins for this type of brand and the brand can also strengthen the stores image in the customers mind. When private labels first entered the market, the customer had a relatively low attitude towards the brands.

För att förutsäga och förklara människors beteenden och intentioner har ?attityd? länge varit ett centralt begrepp inom socialpsykologin. En vanlig teori och modell för ändamålet är ?theory of planned behavior? (TpB), vilken säger att en individs beteende styrs av dess intention, som i sin tur är en funktion av den personliga attityden, det sociala trycket och den upplevda kontrollen att kunna genomföra aktuellt beteende. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka attityden och intentionen till att fullfölja nuvarande studier och göra en applikation av TpB-modellen via en Internetenkät riktad till studenter på Högskolan Dalarna (N = 1292).

The aim of the study was to examine how background factors, such as abuse earlier in life, affect depression and suicidal behavior, amongst persons who abuse alcohol or illicit drugs. The study was performed at the Social Service Center, Södermalm, department for adults. The data used in the study is based on Addiction Severity Index interviews (ASI) and includes 560 observations. The statistic methods used to analyse the data is chi² test and the result is presented in cross tables and charts. The main findings were that experiences of psychological, physical, or sexual abuse, earlier in life increase the risk for major depression and suicidal behavior later in life.

Background: According to us, obtaining reimbursement of expenses in connection with a representation is a ?forgotten? process, and we therefore find it interesting to look further into. In some cases we have not claimed for compensation since we consider the process as too complicated or that we lost the original receipt. Ernst & Young (2009) say in their research that within the financial management area, Swedish operations loses billions of Swedish crowns due to bad routines. Okada and Hoch (2004) mention that if time were not considered as a resource, time would not be a hinder.

Being physically active plays an essential role in ensuring good health and well-being. Motivation is a key factor for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and together with the help of today?s modern technology, facilitating new innovative approaches has made it easier to motivate people towards regular physical activity. This study aims to examine how a training application can increase motivation and how behavioral change occurs when using a training application. Qualitative data collection methods such as interviews and observations have been used in this study.

Background: An evaluation of analysts´ forecasting ability is interesting since their estimates constitute an important part in stock valuation and investment decisions. The recent years´ development in the stock market has lead to criticism of analysts? deficient forecasts. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate analysts´ forecasting ability concerning companies quoted at Stockholmsbörsen between 1987 and 2002. We also intend to discuss possible explanations for analysts? behavior in case of deficient accuracy.

Background: HIV is a worldwide spread disease with many deaths. People with the disease have previously been met with attitudes, stigma and discrimination in various contexts. A caring relationship should be built on empathy, respect and communication, where the patient is not seen as their illness, but as a person. Today, there are laws that are there to protect the patient, however, there is a lack of knowledge about what is current. Health care workers knowledge in the 2000s has improved, but there is still a lack of knowledge.Aim: To illustrate how patients with HIV experience health care.Method: The literature review was conducted with twelve scientific articles of which two articles were quantitative and the other qualitative.Results: The results revealed three main themes; Different expressions of fear, Perceived negative attitudes and stigmatization, as well as The wish to be lovingly treated in health care.

The aim with this study was to learn about the experiences of field workers and welfare officers in the field of possible self-harm behavior among young people.Our problem was: Do field workers and welfare officers treat young people with deliberate self-harm differently and - How do field workers and welfare officers describe deliberate self- harm?Our study was conducted through qualitative semistructured interviews with twelve interviewee?s.The result of this study shows that there is a difference in how young people with self-harm behavior are being treated - based on their gender.One possible cause for this result could be the old tradition mindset of viewing boys and girls differently ? and thus, treating them differently when they seek help.Our study shows there is a possibility of treating boys and girls differently ? which shows that we made a thought-provoking point.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om det finns ett samband mellan opredicerbara föräldrar och förekomsten av både interna och externa beteendeproblem hos ungdomar. I studien undersöks interna beteendeproblem såsom låg självkänsla och depression samt de externa beteendeproblemen brottslighet och aggression. Studien baseras på 1018 ungdomar i åldrarna 13- 15 år. Studien utgår från en enkätundersökning där fem olika skalor används för att mäta ungdomarnas självkänsla, depression, brottslighet och aggression samt hur konsekventa deras föräldrar är. Resultaten visar i allt väsentligt att de ungdomar som har både interna och externa beteendeproblem är de som rapporterar högst i opredicerbarhet hos sina föräldrar..

Artificiella ekosystem är en tillämpning av artificiell intelligens som har funnits länge. Användningsområden för artificiella ekosystem innefattar främst biologiska simulationer men även andra typer av simulationer förekommer. Genom att simulera individuella djur blir den artificiella intelligensens uppgift att styra djurens beslut utifrån dess individuella förutsättningar och kamp för överlevnad. Detta arbete behandlar frågeställningen vilken beslutsalgoritm som är bäst lämpad att för att använda till ett artificiellt ekosystem i ett spel. Två beslutsalgoritmer jämförs, en dynamisk som bygger på maskin inlärning och en statisk som inte är kapabel att lära eller minnas.

The purpose of this paper has been to examine the ways in which professionals describe their work with pregnant drug-addicts. The paper raises the following questions;· How does the deviant behavior, that using drugs during pregnancy can be described as, affect the professionals in their work with pregnant drug-addicts?· How do the professionals experience their own role, and the roles of other professionals?· In what ways do they work in order to reach a favorable result with these clients?The paper is based on qualitative material, gathered through 14 interviews with professionals. By using theories of deviant behavior and attachment-theory between a child and its mother, our intention was to analyze the empirical results.From our interviews we have learned that the professionals consider some factors as more important than others for a favourable result in their work with pregnant drug-addicts. Such factors are for example the significance of a cooperation between different authorities and ethical awareness in meeting with the client..

The purpose of this study is that through a discourse theoretical perspective, analyze young girls 'statements about living with self-injuring by sexual behavior. The aim is to locate the discourses that surround them, visualize how discursive constructions affect these young girls' identity as victims and/or actors in relation to self-injury, the sexual violence and in meetings with the professionals within the health authorities. In addition discourse theory as an analyze method, the authors also use Nils Christie's (2001) theory of the ideal victim and Ingrid Landers (2003) theoretical perspectives on normative femininity. The authors of the study show a diversity of discourses that surround the young girls. All discourses contain normative actor- and victim?s positions that young girls constantly are obliged to relate to, which partially conflict with social constructions of the idea of victim and femininity.

There is currently no activity or behavior meters validated for sows under Swedish conditions where the sows are loose-housed during farrowing and nursing. An activity meter could in particular be used to detect sows that are getting ready for farrowing. Assistive technology in order to register different behaviors would be extremely useful in research and breeding. In this study, a HOBO Pendant G data logger was validated for two different functions. First, the function as a pure activity meter in which the accelerometer's ability to detect an upcoming farrowing was evaluated, and second, the accelerometer's ability to distinguish between the behaviors standing up, sitting down, lying ventrally and lying laterally on the right and left sides was evaluated. The accelerometer was attached to a collar around the sow's neck, and was recording its location every two seconds for six hours a day for ten days on a total of twelve sows.

The objective of this project was to develop the visual identityof Halleluja, a brand new booking agency representing approximatelytwenty minor artists within a wide range of contemporarymusic styles.The outcome has been applied to business cards and awebsite yet to be produced. To attract the audience and differentiateitself from other booking companies, Halleluja featuresa minimalist design that speaks of dedication, breadth ofgenres and exclusive taste. Although my sketches have beenapproved by Lars Olsson and Erik Sundfeldt, the co-foundersof Halleluja, I have had the privilege of working quite freely andstarting from scratch, since there was no earlier work done onthe company.Some of the issues I have faced during my process wasabout finding the right tone of voice in type and colour, ordealing with the semantics of the corporate name (meaning»praise the Lord«). I?ve also been struggling to come to termswith my own self-censorship and my slighly suspicious view onbranding..