The aim of this master thesis is to gain greater knowledge of interpersonal communication. This study explores on one hand how interpersonal communication can be used as an important part of reference work in a Swedish electronic synchronous reference service, and on the other how interpersonal communication affects the relationship between user and librarian. By using communication theory and establishing a positive relational contact with the user in the electronic environment, the outcome of the reference encounter can be successful for both the librarian and the user. Furthermore, the importance of recognising relational barriers is of great relevance to the relational contact. The scope of this master thesis is to find what relational factors are used and can be used in the interaction between user and librarian.

SUMMARYThere was no previous study in what high level dressage riders had for ideas of how to best prepare for their training sessions with an instructor. Neither any study of how high level dressage riders seemed to be more or less susceptible to the instructions from their instructor during their training sessions. If the sport had more knowledge about this, it might result in more riders on a higher level. The purpose of this study was to find out how high level dressage riders are preparing themselves for the best result for an instructor led training session and how they could bring as much as possible instructions from the coach. The two questions of the study were: How are high level dressage riders preparing themselves for a training session with an instructor, practically and mentally, and how can they affect their susceptibility to instructions?The study was carried out both by reviewing existing literature and studies in general education and pedagogy in the riding education, and by a qualitative interview study of six dressage riders who rode on a difficult level at the competitions, during the year of 2009.

This master thesis investigates attitudes toward electronic publishing of fiction among the key participants authors and publishers in Sweden with the overall purpose of analysing the nature of these attitudes and what sort of tensions that exist between the two groups. The major areas of concern were formulated as: what sort of attitudes do authors and publishers display toward electronic publishing of fiction?, how do these attitudes affect the way the two groups relate to electronic publishing and to each other? and how do they perceive the future of this practice?. Everett Rogers diffusion of innovations theory was applied to characterise electronic publishing as an innovation cluster, and to investigate innovation attributes in form of relative advantages and disadvantages, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability. Data was gathered using quantitative questionnaires, but respondents were also given the opportunity to elaborate freely on some of the questions.

The market of electronic commerce is under constant growth and change. New technology makes it possible for the consumer to obtain digital products in a quick and easy manner. Record companies adjust more and more to this ever changing environment. The purpose of this thesis was to evaluate how Swedish retailers of MP3 work with bundling strategies. A case study was conducted on two Swedish retailers, CDON and Homedownloads.

The combustion engines in today?s vehicles are getting more and more advanced and there are increasing demands on that the engines should operate during optimal conditions. Examples of internal combustion engine parameters which may be carefully controlled are the rate between fuel and air, that this gas mixture is homogenous enough and that it is ignited at the correct moment. Moreover, the requirements of these parameters vary depending on, among other, engine speed and load. To meet these requirements in all occurring operation conditions, it is required that many subsystems work together.

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze how companies offering tailor made products on the internet, can work with their marketing and their customer relationships. The study will answer the purpose from a service management perspective and there will also be presented theories from an Electronic Commerce perspective.The starting point for this study was the qualitative method. The essay builds its empirical material from interviews with knowledgeable persons in the subject and the owner of the company whose products are tailor made and sold on the internet. It was conducted seven interviews, four of which were face-to-face, two conducted by mail and finally there was made a telephone interview.Conclusions have been drawn based on the empirical material and theory. The study has been able to identify three concepts that are central to this type of product: Site-building, customer involvement and promotion & relationship management..

The purpose of this study is to analyse the significance of the national assessment in highschool education, including what the teachers express about the new instructions currently coming from the Swedish National Agency of Education, concerning a more central control of grading the national assessments. This study also covers the teachers individual responsibility when it comes to grading the national assessments. The purpose of the national assessment is to secure that grading and the education level in the country is equal. This is a qualitative study useing the method of a group discussion intervju (focusgroup intervju). Five highschool teachers took part in the discussion with questions that had been decided beforehand.

The transition from paper to electronic journals in induces a major change in academic libraries. The library must focus on customising the service to meet user needs in order to compete with other actors on the market. This situation entails the need for a marketing and management approach in library organisations. Linda Ashcroft has in previous research focused on marketing of electronic journals. She has stated the importance of simplifying the user environment of electronic journals and the importance of regaining control over electronic journals from publishers and vendors.

This paper investigates the usability of the intelligence test Wechsler Nonverbal Scale of Ability (WNV). Twenty four children in two different age-groups were tested with WNV, 10 children between ages 5 - 6, and 14 children between ages 9 - 10. The WNV turned out to be a useful test when some verbal communication was used in the test situation. This was especially apparent among the younger children, who needed extra verbal instructions and verbal support through the different subtests. The test also contained standardized verbal instructions for all ages.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the phenomenon of ?electronic bullying?, and furthermore to describe how this phenomenon is perceived by teenage girls with language disorders in combination with autism spectra. The conclusions and result from this study is derived from six in-depth interviews, thereof four being with girls with autism spectra diagnosis and all but one diagnosed with language disorder in addition (referred to as main respondents). The two reminding girls neither had language disorder nor autism spectra (referred to as comparing respondents). They were added to the study for the purpose of comparing their experiences and descriptions of those with language disorder and/or autism spectra diagnosis. For interpretation and analysis of study result, I have applied the method of phenomenology.                              The study?s main respondents had own experiences in the area of electronic bullying, albeit their level of knowledge of the subject were very limited and they had problems to interpret information given.

The  change that has occurred during the past few decades concerning the development of electronic records, information technology and the constantly increasing quantity of information, have confronted the archival discipline with new challenges. In the digital world, the concept of ?record? has changed from representing something lasting and physical to something much more abstract and transient. The way to approach archival description has also changed, from focusing on the static preservation of archival records, to documenting the transactions of organisations, and to clarify operational processes. The discussion about the general purpose of the archival discipline, and its place in a changing world, has led to a new approach to archival description.

ABB Capacitors Ludvika started their LEAN-project in november 2010, but still has not the whole factory been introduced to the LEAN-tool called 5S. 5S is only implemented on the ?easiest? work-areas.By implementing 5S, at the workingstation called inburkningen, would make the workstation and the area around it much more structured, clean and systematized. The operators are a little bit skeptical to the work that includes continuous improvement today, because they can not see any progresses. If 5S were implememted the operators would be able to avoid searching for tools because with 5S, each tool will have a specified place at the workstation.5S would simplify the cooperation between the shifts, because 5S includes clear instructions for how the workstations will be cleaned after each shift.This report will include my recommendations, thoughts and opinions regarding however ABB Capacitors Ludvika should implement or not implement the LEAN-tool 5S.

Chunks and Tasks is a programming model based on the C ++ programming language. This programming model is used for electronic structure calculations, among other things.The purpose of this project is to improve the CHT-MPI software library for Chunks and tasks, so that calculations of matrix-matrix multiplications are performed more efficiently than they do with the existing software library. The software library is based on the work stealing method, which is a method the software library for Chunks and Tasks uses for the distribution of the calculation work. The considered way to improve the software library is by modifying the work stealing method in a way that makes the distribution of calculation work happen in a more efficient way , which will lead to calculations performed faster than before.Two different modifications of the work stealing method were tested and it led to two new methods, Method 1 and Method 2, which distributed the calculation work differently. Method 1 did not give results that were compatible with the theory, since the calculation time with this method was much longer than the previous method.

The Swedish consumer electronic industry has recently experienced an increasingly intensive price war. The price war has forced some operators in the business to declare bankruptcy, as the only way to compete has been by driving down prices. A challenge that retail chains in the consumer electronics industry is facing is to increase their margins. If store personnel can success with upselling, the companies will increase their profits. The purpose of this paper is to examine if the sales people in the consumer electronic industry can influence the customer to buy a more expensive product and what the effects the upselling has on the customers' attitudes.

The aim of this Master?s thesis is to analyse how adult students in Swedish adult education seek information for school tasks. The focus is on how they use the public library and electronic information sources and their reflection on information and sources in this process. Also of interest in the study is the help they receive from staff in the public library and their teacher. Methods used in collecting and analysing data for this study were of qualitative nature.