Environmental issues and sustainable development is a high priority in today?s society and has received substantial attention lately. In the inaugural speech it is expressed that the goal for the IT?politics is a sustainable information society for everyone, which can be achieved by using IT to support sustainable growth. The Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications has developed a document which outlines three specific proposals on what the government should focus on during a three?year period (2008?2010) that with the use of IT will contribute to a sustainable society.

The economic development and industrialization that has taken place in many parts of the world during the past century has brought about a huge increase in economic welfare. During this process, it has repeatedly been debated whether the gains from economic development are shared by everyone or just a few. In the field of economics, vast research has been conducted on this particular subject ever since the 1950?s. The most famous contribution might be said to be Simon Kuznets article, Growth and Income Inequality from 1955 and the ?inverted U?-hypothesis that was formulated on the basis of that article.

This study focuses on aspects of cult experiences, given by deconverted formermembers of closed religious movements. Their testimonies were published inbooks or interviews. The aims of the study were to understand the interactionbetween the religious group and its members, living in high tension towardsmainstream society and their testimonies of altered self-esteem during attraction,membership, deconversion and defection. The purpose was to understand how aperson´s self-esteem is affected by inner mechanisms of closed religiousmovements and how these experiences affects a persons identity. Another aspectwas whether there might be differences in altered self-esteem, between those whoenlisted as adults, and those who were born into the closed religious contexts.Social Identity Theory, Sigmund Freud´s and Carl Rogers models of personal egowere used as models of interpretations.

There are numerous questions to be asked when your task is to plan a small community?s future development. Is it possible to suggest something new and modern? What considerations should be taken concerning the existing situation? What is an appropriate size for the new development? Where is it possible to build and what is the most appropriate method to use?In this master´s thesis I have tried to develop and describe a working-process where I execute a complete landscape character analysis for the whole community in question to get the answers to where and how it would be most appropriate to develop a village like Flädie without destroying its current character.Flädie is a typical small village in the countryside of Skåne, Sweden. It is strongly effected by the expansive and urban region it?s located in but is still rural in character.

In Based upon disciplinary foundation... ? A study on teachers? prerequisite for continuing pro- fessional development (CPD) I have examined the prerequisites that teachers in Nacka have for CPD, due to the new school law that states that all teaching must be based upon disciplinary foundation and proven experience. According to a recently published governmental report, as well as international research, not only structural aspects like time and financial compensation are crucial to whether teachers continue their development. Encouragement from the principal and colleagues are also a contributing factor; and not to mention those factors combined.There is a world wide shared consensus among educational researchers claiming that one very important piece in creating a successful school is having a well-educated and updated staff.

The author contacted designers Claesson Koivisto Rune Arkitektkontor in August 2007regarding his Master thesis at KTH. The company had discussed the possibility of creating achair made from molded pulp. The author was taken on as a manager for the project. Theobjective was to produce design documentation for a paper pulp chair which was to belaunched at the in 2008 Milan Furniture Fair. The purpose of the thesis was to develop aproduct with scientific methods as well as to investigate how to make collaboration betweendesigners and engineers easier through communication.The project went through four basic stages: Information, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation.Information on paper pulp, molded pulp, chair design, sitting postures and the existingmarket of molded pulp furniture.

This report describes the development of a web site for co-workers on leave of absence at Volvo Cars Engine AB and graduated students at Volvo Upper Secondary School in Skövde. The aim of the web site is to be a complement to existing communication channels in the promotion of the contact between the target group and the company. The work was divided into two parts; the first consisting of a preliminary study used to identify the information which the target group finds absent in their absence from their place of work/school, and the second part consisting of the development of a proposition of content layout and web site design. The finished proposition was presented along with a couple of alternatives for the technical implementation. The information department at Volvo Cars Engine AB in consultation with Volvo Cars IT will carry on the implementation, administration and further development of the proposed solutions..

To be allowed to sell Z-suspended vehicles with dipped beam Xenon or LED lighting, Scania have to develop automatic headlight level control. This master?s thesis aims to be the foundation to that development.The thesis consists of several parts; a market analysis of how competitors to Scania and the general vehicle industry solve this problem; several available principles for detecting the amount of control needed; the construction of a test station for sensors, a control unit and components connected controlled by the control unit; a further theoretical and practical development of one principle ? one rotational sensor connected between the chassis and the back drive axis; a state flow model programmed in Simulink that produces the control signal for the headlight leveling from the sensor input.Lastly the thesis gives some recommendations to the further development and implementation of automatic headlight level control on Scania vehicles..

The aim of this paper is to examine the youth library PUNKTmedis' work methods to adapt itself to the youth. Improved communication with this user group is the starting point for the new work methods. We have chosen to view the increased cooperation between the library and the youth as an adjustment to market demands. We have noticed the possible existence of an antagonism between on the one hand the traditional role of the public library of adult education and on the other hand an adjustment to the market demands. Adult education and the adjustment to market demands is seen as contributing to the image of PUNKTmedis.

The white-backed woodpecker is a forest bird being critically endangered in Sweden. The species is dependent on older forests rich in deciduous trees and dead wood. The main problem for the survival of this species is present shortage of habitat. Conservation work on this umbrella species is at present focused on finding remaining or emerging habitat networks. Large areas are scrutinized in search for suitable habitats to be protected or managed for the species sake.

The purpose of this thesis is to identify the factors that drive efficiency and effectiveness in technical development projects performed at A?F?s department of product development. In addition to identifying and analyzing these factors, the thesis also analyzes what needs to be taken in to account in order to implement a measurement system that is able to both monitor and control the identified factors.The thesis has been performed in a qualitative manner. It is based on interviews with people from several different technological companies, within different lines of business, all of which are customers to A?F?s department of product development.The results show that there are seven critical factors for project efficiency and effectiveness.

The purpose of this thesis is to identify the factors that drive efficiency and effectiveness in technical development projects performed at A?F?s department of product development. In addition to identifying and analyzing these factors, the thesis also analyzes what needs to be taken in to account in order to implement a measurement system that is able to both monitor and control the identified factors.The thesis has been performed in a qualitative manner. It is based on interviews with people from several different technological companies, within different lines of business, all of which are customers to A?F?s department of product development.The results show that there are seven critical factors for project efficiency and effectiveness.

AbstractThis study deals with motivation as an overall concept, from a student perspective. It encompasses factors that could directly affect students and their positive or negative motivation, concepts such as relationships, communication, expectations and interactions and their importance to my informants.The study also discusses certain theories to show the different ways of defining motivation, specifically in relation to my informants and their and my conclusions. My ambition is to establish the importance of the concepts mentioned above, as well as perspective changes to the enhancement of the performance standards of a good teacher.The purpose of this work is to describe, understand and clarify the external and internal factors that affect motivation. In order to achieve this purpose, I chose to use a method of qualitative interviews with three students, with different backgrounds, schools and conditions but with a lack of motivation as a unifying characteristic. The research questions were as follows:What factors influence students' motivation?   What impact do achievement targets have in relation to the pupils? own motivation to learn?How important are teachers' expectations for the individual student's motivation?Within this study sub-concepts such as importance of expectations, relationships, and significant others are, according to my analysis, of great importance.

In today?s competitive market, design is an important element for the companies. They must succeed with delivering an increased value and an experience for the consumer to be able to survive. The Swedish company?s have become better in the design area, the higher standards the consumer?s demands forces the company to invest more in design.

Requirements management is an important part of the software development process. The success of a project may depend on how this is handled. Even though several research studies indicates that more attention should be paid on non-functional requirements, the primary focus in practical projects still regards identifying functional requirements. Especially the prioritization of the non-functional requirements has been proven to be of great importance for the success of a project.This report investigates basics in agile requirements management involving opinions from experts from a software development company. This is done with help of existing literature and interviews with key actors involved in prioritization at the company.