This Master?s thesis examines library courses, a relatively new form of user education. Our focus is on the pedagogical point-of-views reflected in the text in these library courses. The primary purpose of the study is to analyze the pedagogical discourse displayed in the library courses to determine if the perspective is behavioural, cognitive, constructive or socio cultural. We are investigating if the pedagogical discourse differs from course to course, and if so, how are they different? In addition we aim to find out how the pedagogical discourse in the library courses relates to university websites and governmental and legal texts, at the discursive and social practice level.

This thesis focuses on the mass media cover of ?Smart textiles?. The Swedish?smart? textiles are developed in Borås and are a mix of ordinary textile and new technology.  I analyse the article with a text analysis method, looking at themes and the language?s propositions in focus. Context and the actors in the articles are also important in the analysis.Many women occur as developers of the new smart technical product, a field often knowed as a typical male subject.

The main objective of this thesis was to develop appropriate strategies and find factors that affect the usability of parameterized designs. This was accomplished by investigate the user-interface and how it is designed to meet the user's information needs. The thesis also embraces the basic theories in terms of investigation, cognitive design principles and human behavior patterns in the interaction with the machine. The approach has led to an explorative investigation in this subject area.The thesis also had the purpose to achieve more efficient ways for development of motor chainsaws at Husqvarna AB's department Global Cutting Equipment. That can be achieved through reduce costs of development per sold unit.

The Smart Grid technology has during the last decade been established as a way to create a greater flexibility on the electricity grid that will be needed as the development moves towards an increased share of renewable primary energy sources in the electricity production. One part of the Smart Grid technology is the ability to shift loads in time, to adapt to either price or emissions, known as Demand Response. This project, which was conducted at KTH in collaboration with the consulting corporation Capgemini, examines the economic, environmental and social aspects of the Demand Response technology. In the project, three household products are used in a model that derives the potential savings in costs and emissions of CO2e. The results show that the actual savings measured in SEK are small, but that the savings measured in percent can be as high as 20 percent. Reduction of CO2e emissions is slightly lower.

The manufactory industry, due to decline in profit margins, is seeking new business opportunities by moving towards servitization and value-adding services in after-sales. We have therefore conducted a case study to investigate a manufacturing company in their current transformation towards servitization. By studying the management perspective, we aimed to understand how Information Technology, by adding value, could play a role in the transformation process. This study shows that information technology can take an integrating role, by supporting new value-adding services to provider and customer, as well as a co-creating role, where both provider and customer benefits by learning from each other, in the changing work process initiated by new services. The study has also shown that Information Technology, together with organization, information and people, are crucial components in the manufactory industry?s transformation towards servitization.  Furthermore, the study has also shown that the value chain has the potential to drastically change due to the value-adding that the information technology brings to the progress of servitization..

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 purpose of this paper is to identify the current status of fuel cell technology and to establish whether said technology is mature enough to be implemented into the Swedish Armed Forces. The question to be answered in this paper is as follows: Can hydrogen gas and fuel cells be used as an alternative source of energy within the Swedish Armed Forces?This paper is based on theoretical studies and reports from prior research done on fuel cells. By studying these facts a predictive answer has been obtained. The answer I have come to, is that the maturity of fuel cell technology is currently inadequate for the Swedish Armed Forces to implement, especially considering its harsh working conditions..

Teknikämnet har, sedan det fick en egen kursplan, åsidosatts i skolorna. Deltagande observationer och intervjuer med lärare verksamma i varierade åldersgrupper, visade samma resultat gällande tankar kring teknikundervisningen som de uppfattningar som litteraturstudien visat. Det framgår att många lärare inte uppfattar sin ämneskompetens som tillräcklig och att de inte vet hur de ska förhålla sig till ämnet i undervisningen. Resultaten av dessa studier ligger till grund för ett läromedel, bestående av en elevbok och en lärarhandledning, som utgår både från Lpfö 98 och centrala innehållet för år 1-3 och 4-6 ur kursplanen i teknik i Lgr 11..

The purpose of this study is to understand the factors that are affecting students at the Technology and Electricity- and energy programs in their choice of studies and vocation. The study is a comparative case study and quantitative method has been used in the form of questionnaires. The result shows that students do not like to be affected by another person but believes that they themselves have made their choice. Interest turns out to be the biggest influence factor of choice for both students at the Technology and Electricity- and energy program. For Electricity- and energy students have also access to work had some impact.The parents' education level was higher for Technician students and their parents worked with occupations requiring university degrees.

Without being aware of it, cognitive processes continuously take place in our heads. We are forced to fill in the information gaps that we meet in our everyday life in order to create an understanding and to form a whole, and that?s where the importance of inference comes in. To create inference implies creating meaning from something that is not explicitly given. Having knowledge about this process offers great possibilities, while not taking it into account may involve risks.

Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) is currently used more and more within construction design and planning as well as construction as a streamlining tool aiming to improve communication and decrease the number of construction defects. VDC is constantly developing, but what comes next? The augmented reality (AR) technology is currently not used within construction in Sweden but should be considered as the next step in line regarding the integration of reality and digital information. Using this technology design can become reality even before it?s actually built.The purpose of this study has been to carry out an inventory of the existing AR technology and its shortcomings, and also to identify possible applications within the construction phase.

This is a study about the communication interaction in the context of the reference work at some public university-libraries and some private company libraries in Gothenburg and Borås. The primary purpose of the study is to investigate the communication interaction in a library situation. The second purpose is to deepen the knowledge, understanding and to establish what is important in this communication. Focus has been on how the intermediaries communicate and how she or he perceives this communication. The intermediary needs to manage the communication with all the different patrons and different information needs of the patrons.

With the increased significance of information technology (IT) in today?s society the term ?electronic democracy? (e-democracy) has gained much importance within the democracy theory. Naturally, there are several competing views on how the technology should be used for democratic purpose. One aspect of this is the somewhat revitalized claim for direct democracy in accordance with the hypothetical opportunity to finally realize it as a democratic system. The ideal of direct democracy combined with the almost total credence in the potential of technology constitute the idea of a ?push-button democracy?.

In hydropower plants it is necessary to always have local power supply. Therefore, the plants are equipped with batteries as stationary back up power. Vattenfall Vattenkraft is using lead acid batteries but has been investigating alternatives to replace them. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential of using Li-ion technology as back up power.The study showed that Li-ion batteries have many qualities. The Li-ion technology will decrease the space and maintenance demand.

Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) is the definition for using BIM in the construction process to simulate and analyse the building. Resulting use of the technology will according to proponents lead to fewer construction errors, a better understanding between stakeholders for the construction project, less communication problems and a smoother construction process. Although BIM has according to researchers a big potential, few companies have succeeded in broad and continues implementation. The study aims to identify the factors affecting the implementation. More precisely identify what factors influencing the decision to adopt VDC and potential barriers in the diffusion process. The empirical findings are based on a case study of NCC Construction Sweden.