This field study examined how elderly and cognitively disabled people used and experienced a social companion robot. The following pages explores the questions: Which are the physical, social and affective qualities during the interaction? The aim was to through observations see how qualities of interaction could activate different forms of behavior. The results show that motion, sound and the eyes together created communicative and Emotional changes for users who felt joy and were willing to share the activity with others. The robot stimulated to some extent users to create their own imaginative experiences but often failed to involve user or group for a long time and was also considered too large and heavy to handle..

This thesis investigates young people's (16-21) preferences in reading through a surveyincluding interviews and questionnaires. The groups attitudes towards reading and libraries,their reading and library habits, and to what extent eight libraries had bought the preferredliterature were also examined.Some reports from the 80's were used to find the changes. The result shows that youngstersread and visit libraries somewhat more frequently. Trivial literature is not as dominant, moreteenage-books were read. Popular themes are love, history, reality, fantasy/sf, and detectivestories.

The purpose of this study was to examine experienced family counselors view regarding the concept of conflict avoidance in couple relationships. Twelve family counselors working in different parts of Sweden was interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. They were asked to reflect on the following: their description of the concept of conflict avoidance, the consequences of conflict avoidance in couple relationship, gender differences and their own view on how to create conditions for constructive, therapeutic work in this respect.The result shows that the fear of conflicts, difficulty in expressing needs, different perceptions and expectations together with a difficulty to negotiate about differences, creates a lack of Emotional and physical contact together with an absence of dialogue. The consequences of this in the long-term, a majority of the respondents perceived, are feelings of anger, resignation, powerlessness and unhappiness..

The largest project at the AICG lab at Linköping University, Cognitive models for virtual characters, focuses on creating an agent architecture for intelligent, virtual characters. The goal is to create an agent that acts naturally and gives a realistic user experience. The purpose of this thesis is to develop and implement an appropriate learning model that fits the existing agent architecture using an agile project methodology. The model developed can be seen as an online unsupervised reinforcement learning model that enhances experiences through reward. The model is based on Maes model where new effects are created depending on whether the agent is fulfilling its goals or not.The model we have developed is based on constant monitoring of the system.

BackgroundPeople with psychiatric problems, despite efforts in recent decades still experience vulnerability. Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), where self-harm is common, often live in difficult and complex social relationships because of their illness. Additional knowledge and studies about mental illness, self-harm, dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) and the therapeutic alliance are needed.Purpose and MethodThis study aims to examine how staff perceive and describe: DBT as a treatment method; the therapeutic alliance and the importance it has for treatment. The study utilises a qualitative approach with a qualitative content analysis method and presents earlier research on DBT and the therapeutic alliance. The empirical material consists of focus group interviews comprising three DBT - teams.

The main aim of this research was to investigate four humour styles, affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating humour, and compare these with Emotional perception. Forty-eight persons took part in the research, 27 women and 21 men living in the southern part of Sweden. Two humour tests were used: the Humour Scale Questionnaire ? HSQ, with 32 items, and a newly composed video test, assembled after pilot testing from 26 video clips, the Humour Video Questionnaire ? HVQ. To measure perception and interpretation of emotion, the revised version of the ?Reading the Mind in the Eyes? Test was used.

Purpose: To evaluate the management development course held at FöreningsSparbanken in Ronneby during 2000. The evaluation aims to map and describe what effects the course has had on the participants. We will assess to what degree the effects meets the objectives of the course set by the manager of the bank (future management recruitment, leadership, change catalyst, aligning the strive towards a shared organisational objective). Above mentioned also implies that the organisation should be influenced in some regards. Conclusion: Our conclusion is that all of the participants have as a result of the course increased their Emotional intelligence in varying levels.

Ett utvecklingsarbete av en miljövänlig färdigmatsförpackning, lätt att öppna för reumatiker, har utförts i samarbete med CC Pack i Tibro. Förpackningen är tänkt för bruk inom äldrevårdens hemtjänst. Utvecklingsarbetet utfördes genom främst fokusgruppsundersökningar och tester av funktionsmodeller. En livscykelanalys med referens i dagens plasttråg som används på hemtjänsten i Skövde har utförts för att ta reda på vilket av de två slutkoncepten som var mest miljövänlig. Tydligt vid intervjuer och studiebesök var att en rundare och mer färgglad förpackning önskades.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how a children's book is suggested to be prepared in order to be accepted for publication by a publishing house in Sweden today.My questions was first to clarify the concept of a "children's book". Secondly, to understand if there are any guidelines to follow regarding the design and illustration of a children´s book, and how to proceed with the best chances of getting a mauscript published.To answer the question, I have chosen to use a qualitative method containing questionnaire items involving eleven Swedish publishers of children's literature.My results show that children's books includes all literature that has an target audience of people between 0-18 years of age. The most important thing is that the book's material is appropriate to the target group's level of mental perceptions and Emotional competence. The material which then is submitted to the publisher will need to be of the highest quality and the author must investigate a consistent niche in order to submit the material to a publisher..

The Trappan Model is one of the most implemented treatment programs for children who have experienced domestic violence. This study undertakes a wider evaluation of the model through a pilot study. The approach is both quantitive and qualitative. Theory as well as the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire have been used to fulfil the aim. The design is pre-post.

Background: Spinal Cord Injuries impacts sexuality. In a healthcare environment sexual issues are complicated and not allways easy to answer. Purpose: The purpose has been to highlight how the patient experiences sexuality after sustaining spinal cord injury. Method: A literature study through systematic review of scientific articles. Result: Five main categories were identified: Relationship, Physical problems, Emotional experiences, Coping, Counselling and information.

Uppsatsens syfte är att analysera och diskutera varför och på vilka sätt ett detaljhandelsföretag bör erbjuda kunden en multisensorisk varumärkesupplevelse. Uppsatsen kommer att ge företag ökad förståelse för Sinnesmarknadsföring och vad det får för konsekvenser vid utformandet av servicelandskapet.Vi har använt oss av både en kvantitativ och en kvalitativ metod. Den kvantitativa metoden innebar ett experiment där vi undersökte doft- och ljudets påverkan på kundbeteendet. Experimentet utfördes på en utvald yta på EM Kalmar Severins i samband med den specifika produktgruppen soffa. Den kvalitativa undersökningen genomfördes med observationer, 15 kundintervjuer samt en intervju med varuhuschefen..

This study examines gender differences in the perception and utilization of social support in traditional female- and male workplaces. This study confirms results from earlier studies which suggest that there are gender differences. The survey instrument measures four types of social support: informational, instrumental, appraisal and Emotional among 314 working women and men. Women report higher levels of social support on all four types. There is a significant difference in instrumental support between women working in female dominated workplaces compared to men working in male-dominated workplaces and between some of the trades.

Bakgrund: Hjärtinfarkt är den vanligaste dödsorsaken bland kvinnor i världen. Män och kvinnor har i regel inte sammasymtom, kvinnor får oftast ont i höger skuldra, känner illamående samt åtstramning vid käkarna. Eftersom hjärtat är starkt förknippat med livet upplever många kvinnor olika känslomässiga upplevelser. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva kvinnors upplevelser av vardagslivet efter hjärtinfarkt. Metod: En allmän litteraturstudie som grundades på kvalitativa vetenskapliga artiklar gjordes.

Stress and burnout is a common healthproblem among different workcategories today. The aim of this study was to investigate possible presence of stress and burnout among radiographers and if there was a connection to number of years in the profession. Maslach Burnout Inventory was used as an instrument to investigate the possible presence of  burnout, supplemented with questions about stress. The instrument contained a total of 33 questions and was handed out to two hospitals in south of Sweden with a total of 51 respondents. The study showed that the most stressful situations arose due to workload, negative stress, bad working environment and high time pressure.