The purpose of this paper is to investigate the existence of the discipline Design Thinking in a project that aims to strengthen Sweden as a brand. The study will generate knowledge about Design Thinking, with the purpose to increase the understanding of how the discipline can be used as a strategic tool in the processes of strengthening Nation Branding. The authors have used a descriptive and qualitative approach where the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 was examined. The theoretical framework contains previous research in the field, data has been analysed in relation to Lockwood's ten principles of how an organization can become more design-minded and Anholt?s hexagon, which features the parameters that creates a country's Nation Branding.

The euthropthication of the Baltic Sea is a threat that is beginning to be taken seriously by the governments concerned. In Sweden, regulations concerning the allowed nitrogen (N) concentration in the effluent water from wastewater treatment plants are being tightened up. The Rimbo wastewater treatment plant has been imposed to reduce the annual mean concentration of total N in the effluent water to levels below 15 mg l-1. A more and more common way to reduce the nitrogen level in wastewater is to let the water pass through a wetland. This study investigates the possibility to build this kind of wetland at the outlet of the Rimbo wastewater treatment plant.A prestudy of the topography, soil characteristics and groundwater flow indicates that the land area in question is well suited for the construction of a wetland.

This project investigated the current market regarding wireless net and the communication between the tools used for diagnostics/maintenance and an embedded system. Based on documentation obtained through interviews a demo system was created based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication between an embedded system and an Android device.This report intends to describe the tools and methods used in the design of the demo system and the result of an analysis of the BLE communication.Bluetooth Low Energy is an exciting protocol with wide applicability within the industrial field. This project investigated the communicational possibilities between a Smartphone and a Raspberry Pi and based on the results that emerged the conclusion can be drawn that BLE is a protocol with many beneficial applications within industrial IT..

The aim of this small thesis is to investigate if the probability of business failure is higher at the time of divestment than at the time of acquisition for portfolio companies that have been subject to private equity ownership. The background for this thesis is the widespread critique aimed at private equity firms, claiming that they increase the risk in their portfolio companies. We have performed a study of 53 buyout transactions, involving Swedish manufacturing companies, covering a time span of 13 years, from 1995 to 2007. We find evidence of an increased risk of business failure for the portfolio companies with a short forecasting horizon (within one year). The absolute increase in the sample is however small.

Design är en stor del av vårt samhälle. Som studenter på slöjdlärarutbildningen vid Göteborgs universitet har vi upplevt att design får en allt större plats i undervisningen. Studien undersöker vilka kopplingar det finns mellan design och slöjd och hur man kan arbeta med det i skolan. I studien har 10 designstudenter vid Göteborgs universitet och Linköpings universitet blivit intervjuade. I studien användes kvalitativa intervjuer som metod.

The task given to us was to develop an industrial wheel with new thinking in terms of fresh design and construction, with the ability to brake. While the produced wheels of today only own the property of total braking, a wish was made to integrate the ability of directional locking.The time spent working with the project has been filled with multiple sketches of ideas and function analysis.Choices of material and ways of construction have been verified by calculations, tests and prototype building. The goal of this thesis has been to develop a unique caster with well thought-out design that would be adaptable to different areas of applications.The result was a hubless wheel with the ability of directional locking before total braking.A prototype of the wheel has been made to show the design and functions..

        This is a report that describes the entire process of design of a measuring station for rolling resistance. The report is structured with elements of Fredy Olsson's method.The report also includes a brief presentation of HGF, the company that will manufacture the machine. Requirements and preferences are set up and used in a weighting of criteria by which product suggestions are based. These suggestions are used in the evaluation to produce a final draft product. Solutions to major functions are produced by criteria?s. Component selection for all components is performed, a CAD-based model is developed and an economic analysis is set up. FMEA analysis is set up. The report ends with a brief summary, critical review and suggestions for further work..

This master?s thesis has the intent of showing that the tattoo can be regarded as an individuals document according to prevailing notions in archival science. Suzanne Briets definition of the concept of document is used in this thesis as a widening definition, a document does not have to presented in a defined form, it is only required to represent an object or intellectual phenomenon and to be informative.Tattoos are presented in this thesis as informative with regard to the status and position of russian/soviet convicts and as such presenting an individuals identity within a specific context. As documents they also provide the individual with the essential evidence of his or her endeavours in a criminal environment. Also, they have the ability to function as an individuals memories of relationships, hardships and comradeships.

Uppsats för avläggande av filosofie kandidatexamen i Kulturvård, Trädgårdens hantverk och design, 21 hp, 2010.

Pattern design is a territory which has been widely explored by many during a long period of time. With this project I hope to shine a new light on wallpaper design, the area on which I?ve applied my patterns to.The inspiration for this wallpaper collection originated in a past project in which I experimented with weaving strips of paper together in different ways. During this time I found myself curious to investigate how this kind of weaving could be applied to textiles, wallpapers, etc.My main focus in this project has been about creating interesting patterns in which unexpected motifs are woven together. I?ve also touched on the subject of creating a kind of conceptual wallpaper constructed by weaving strips of wallpaper together.I based my patterns on a series of drawings that I created during the course leading up to this project.

This thesis of 15 hp has been implemented at Halmstad University, in collaboration with Saab Dynamics in Linköping. Saab Dynamics is a company operating in the defence industry where competition is tough. This necessitates new ways to increase efficiency in the company, which is the basis for this thesis. Saab Dynamics wants to introduce simulation driven design. Since Saab Dynamics engineers have little experience of simulation, required a user methodology with clear guidelines.

Through a case study at an IT company we have attempted to ascertain how a company's organizational culture affects its designers' way of working. By examining what ?type? of designers the employees are and how this is reflected in their work, we hope to have correctly determined what their organizational culture looks like and thereby have achieved a plausible result in our study.Aside from two interviews with the company's CEO, we also performed eight observations at the company, where we tried to blend in with the employees, to better determine their way of working together.We have found that the designers' trust in their own instincts has led them to rarely act on feedback from clients ? they only pick out the proposals which have a ?mainstream? potential. We have also discovered that their design approach is something they don't feel inclined to discuss amongst themselves. As it is often ?indescribable?, they go with their intuition and unspoken design conventions..

Patients with mental illness experience dissatisfaction with their care due to lack of understanding and ignorance from the nurses. The nurses? approach might influence these patients' experience of their care. The purpose of the literature review was to describe nurses' approach in care of patients with mental illness. The literature review is based on an inductive approach and the result is based on 14 scientific papers, of which eight used a qualitative design and sex used a quantitative design.

This is a final project which makes up 20 credits at the Landscapearchitecture programme at SLU in Alnarp. The thesis is design based. My final project is comprised two parts; of a competition entry for ? A New Square in the Centre of Täby? as well as a theoretical study that derives from the competition proposal. The competiton itself was announced on March 1st 2007 with the final hand-in date on May 28th 2007. The program of the competition asked for a flexible urban square that offers a diverse range of activities that can be used during both night and day, all year around. I became interested in the term ?mutlifunctionality? and I went on to use the subject as a base for my design approach.

A carnival can not be stopped! A design pedagogical study of children and norms In Basel, the only Protestant carnival in Europe takes place. The carnival is called Fasnacht. For three days, there is a wild and uninhibited play with tradition, crossing borders and social criticism.The aim of this thesis is to expand the understanding of the concept of the carnival, and how to use it for an educational purpose. Three children from Basel have been involved in an workshop where they designed and talked about norms and power structures through the carnivalesque principle. The study is based on the questions: How can you use the carnival as a starting point for designing and talking about norms and power structures together with children? And; How can the design process support such a project? To spot this, I made arrangements for a design educational project.