The research work performed in this thesis has been carried out at the Production Tech-nology Centre where the Thermal Spray research group of University West has its work-shop and labs.This research work has been performed in collaboration with the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad, India.First of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to my supervisors Dr. Nicolaie Markocsan and Dr. Nicholas Curry for their guidance, great support and valuable suggestions without which this work could not have been possible. I would also like to thanks Prof. Per Nylén for keeping faith in me and providing me an opportunity to work at PTC, which is a great place to perform research.

AbstractTitle: Den mångtydiga svenskheten: En studie av det svensk-amerikanska föreningslivet i Kalifornien utifrån en etnisk aspekt 1910 & 1915. (The multiplicity of Swedishness: A study of the Swedish-American society?s associations in California from an ethnic point of wiew 1910 & 1915.Author: Joakim FranssonMaster Thesis in History (10p)Växjö UniversityThe purpose of this thesis is to examine the Swedish-American associations in San Francisco and Los Angeles and how they withheld or/and formed a Swedish or American ethnic identity. The primary source for obtaining that objective is the newspapers Vestkusten and California Veckoblad were the announcements from the associations are analysed. The thesis main questions are as following: Which ethnic aspects appears in the announcements from the Swedish-American associations in the newspapers Vestkusten and California Veckoblad 1910 and 1915? And What similarities and differences in the ethnic expressions appears in the primary sources during these periods?The conclusions can be briefed as there was a great variety of Swedish-American associations during the examined periods, there was a frequent occurrence in both religious and secular movements.

AbstractThe aim of this essay is to explore how teachers and leisure educators can strengthen and increase students? self-confidence in different ways in their line of work. I chose this inquest for personal reasons and also because it will be of great aid for me since this is what I intend my future profession to be. For this inquest I have chosen to do five qualitative interviews and two unstructured observations. The inquest was also based on relevant literature connected to its purpose.The results show that self-confidence is linked to something the individuals accomplish and that self-esteem is the way they see themselves, an inner feeling.

Foot rot is a severe claw disease which occurs among sheep and goats in most parts of the world, with outbreaks in hot and humid weather. It is a contagious bacterial infection caused by Dichelobacter nodosus in association with Fusobacterium necrophorum. Foot rot has a negative impact on both animal welfare and economy.This thesis presents how Australia, Nepal, Norway, Switzerland, Great Britain, Sweden and Uruguay handle foot rot. In the selection of countries the focus was on countries that have control- or eradication programs against foot rot. There are differences in the climate, animal husbandry practices, animal welfare and economic resources in the countries that are presented.

Fleets have the ability to affect an adversary?s use of the seas for transportation. Nations have in numerous occasions exercised this power in order to ravage their opponent?s trade in times of conflict with the purpose of diminishing their military might. Great naval thinkers like Mahan and Corbett have described this use of seapower during conflicts in great depth but theories regarding the use of seapower to affect a nation?s peacetime economy in order to achieve limited political goals is lacking.

Millions of animals are annually affected by human activities; in the food industry, zoos and animal shows, clothes and shoes production, furniture and pharmaceutical industry, research, as well as pet and sports animal industry. Companies working with Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, have become more common and within this area there are great possibilities for companies to work with animal welfare. In this study five companies were interviewed and 27 companies participated in a survey regarding CSR and animal welfare. The aim of this study was to investigate opinion and approach among companies towards implementing animal welfare as a part of their work with CSR. Furthermore the aim of the study was to investigate how companies may implement animal welfare. The result showed that the vast majority of the companies participating in the study works with CSR and the main part of the companies also answered that they have implemented animal welfare. The way of working with animal welfare varied among the participants; e.g.

Canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a disease with high morbidity and mortality and with a high prevalence in certain breeds. Predominatly large breeds are affected, such as Great danes, Newfoundlands, Deerhounds and Dobermanns. One exception is Cocker spaniels, where both American and English Cocker spaniels are affected in a quite high frequency. Cardiomyopathy is characterised as a disease that affects the myocardium and gives an impaired heart function. To diagnose DCM following criteria have to be observed: 1. Dilation of the left ventricle. 2. Reduced systolic heart function. 3. Increased sphericity of the left ventricle. To be certain of the diagnosis, alternative reasons for the symptoms such as lung- and heart diseases with other etiologies have to be excluded Two different types of DCM have been found upon histological examination.

It's an everyday experience shared by many that nature can be of help in relieving pain, reducing stress, support mental recovery etc. In the last three decades or so this experience has also found support in a large number of scientific investigations. Among other things the experience of nature has been shown to reduce stress and pain in patients and to boost concentration and reduce impulsive behavior in children. Most of this research however has mainly been concerned with the visual modality. In this thesis the aim has been to focus on the auditory modality in this context by trying to reveal some effects on people from the exposure of nature sounds played indoors in three different environments: a grammar school class room, a kindergarten play room and a post-surgery wake up room at an intensive care unit.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how social workers perceive the concept of knowledge within social services, particularly within children and youth services. Our goal is also to study the employer's expectations and demands on graduate social workers. The main questions we address in this thesis are; What knowledge is seen as useful by employers and graduate social workers working in social welfare offices? To what extent does university education bring useful knowledge to the work being done by social workers? What practical knowledge is there in the workplace for social workers to learn? When recruiting, what expectations does the employer have of graduate social workers? What challenges are there with recruiting a graduate social worker?We have interviewed six social workers and four employers in the social childcare division in different municipalities in Skåne region, Sweden. We have used epistemology in our analysis.

Today´s roofing of dwelling houses is a very time consuming procedure, which includes a lot of different steps on the construction site. Not only does it cost a lot of money, but often do problems with rot and mold occur in the attics of houses today. The use of prefabricated modules has seen a great breakthrough in the field of construction of dwelling houses; at least when it comes to foundations and walls, where this type of approach makes the construction process way more efficient. What no one previous has succeeded to develop is a corresponding system for roofs that meets the demands of a dwelling house. Accordingly the goal of PlusTak has been to come up with a proper module system for roofing of dwelling houses, where the roofing is completed to meet the demands of the Scandinavian market. During the project a lot of effort has been put into customer contacts and the usability of the product, as well in the manufacturing process as on the construction site. This development has gone hand in hand with several practical tests and tryouts.

Future emission legislation puts great emphasis on increasing the efficiency of the engine, thereby reducing fuel consumption. The tribological contact between cylinder liner and piston ring is where an great amount of energy is lost due to friction, and by reducing these losses an reduction in fuel consumption can be achieved.The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the tested piston ring coatings against a plasma sprayed cylinder liner and rank these combinations of materials for friction and wear resistance. The coatings that were tested was Cr + Al2O3, (Al,Cr)N, two types of CrN and WC / C.The experimental tests were performed with a so-called pin-plate, where used oil with addition of an acidic mixture of sulfuric and nitric acid to mimic the acidic condensate formed when exhausts recirculate, were added with a continuous flow. The results were then analyzed by weighing, studies by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and profile measurements.The results from each material combination were that the plasma coated cylinder liner wears too aggressively in order to yield a ranking of the piston ring coatings based on the parameters of friction and wear resistance. It is therefore proposed that an alternative coating on the cylinder liner should be developed, lacking the large abrasive wear on piston rings and that can withstand the corrosive environment resulting in engines equipped with EGR.

"Outstanding" or "They ought to know more about computers" : A study on computer support at university libraries.The main purpose of this study is to investigate the support computer users are given at university libraries. Further, the aim is to find out if the users thought they received the support that they needed. The study is carried out at two different university libraries. The data is obtained through interviews with the librarians, observations of the daily work at the information counters and questionnaires handled out to the users.The study indicates that variables such as knowledge, time and equipment play a central role in making the computer support successive. To a great extent the computer support is synonymous with information search, but it also deals with word processing and technical support connected with computer errors.

Former studies have shown that a considerable part of industries? energy usage can stem from idle times in the production. This thesis, carried out at Siemens Industry sector, evaluates the potential for using the control system to automatically put machines into energy saving mode during idle times. The main part of the thesis consists of a case study performed on machine tools at a Scania production site in Södertälje. Through load measurements the potential for energy savings was determined.The results show that there is a great potential for energy savings during idle times at the site.

Work has a great influence on most of individuals in society. It influences both identity as well as the structure of the day. Unemployed people are often affected in a negative way through economic and psychological problems. In order to help people with reduced work capacity back to the labour market and decrease unemployment, the Labour Market Board works with vocational rehabilitation. The aim of this study is to investigate experiences of vocational rehabilitation within the Labour Market Board among unemployed people.

What is it that drives a person with criminal behavior to change their lifestyle? What are the obstacles to a lifestyle change? These issues have been guiding us during this study. In the introduction, we describe the previous research that has been done among crime in men. The themes that will follow us through the course of the study are as follows; cause of crime, Self-efficacy, social network and lifestyle change. The aim of the study was to investigate the factors that a former prison convicted individual believes has been significant, as they break their criminal behavior associated with a lifestyle change.