The purpose of this master?s thesis is to examine virtual reading groups, and which meaning the users perceive that the virtual reading groups offer. In addition, the study inquires which details can be improved to further amend the needs and wants among the users of virtual reading groups. Through these outlines, it is discussed how libraries and librarians can make use of virtual reading groups as a resource. The study is based upon qualitative interviews, consisting of asynchronous e-mail interviews with a total of sixteen members in two different virtual reading groups.

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate and update load curves for Fortum Distribution AB. Theload curve method is a tool used to forecast the strain of an electric grid. The method is based oncustomer annual energy consumption, outdoors temperature as well as customer category. Theload curve method was established by Svenska Elverksföreningen at the start of the nineties andfocus was put on standardizing annual energyconsumption, in order to make the method usableacross the nation. Present consumption patterns have changed since the original load curves wereproduced, which leads to a need to update the load curves.The work began with an update of present load curves according to recommendation taken fromanother earlier thesis.

In 1999 the childbearing increased, which in combination with the closure of a number ofpreschools led to the shortage and reduced capacity in available places for youngchildren. The lack of places in preschools has led us to try to find a solution to theproblem and in order to solve the problem we have interviewed personnel of preschoolsin Halmstad. The persons we met were asked to list advantages and disadvantages oftheir preschool and also to come up with innovative solutions and new ideas of how todevelop a satisfactory preschool. This was the basis for us when we drew our drawingsand our main objective was to find a new template for the development of pre-fabricatedpreschools.When drawing a new and modern preschool a number of considerations have to be made,first of all the main objective for the children is play and playtime, a second objective issound reduction and laws about sound reduction. Another consideration is how toconstruct the building and which method to be used, for instance should industrialtechniques be considered and pros and cons be listed.The main disappointment amongst the preschool personnel was that they had noinfluence in the planning stage of the new development of the preschool.

The function of traditional leaders in the modern states of Africa has been under debate for decades. The dominant research discourse suggests that these institutions should be integrated into the state in order to minimize the amount of parallel political spheres, since the latters are considered to affect state legitimacy negatively. But are the states in a situation where they need to compete with the traditional institutions in order to gain more legitimacy? If so, is the struggle for legitimacy a zero-sum game where there can only be one winner? Or is it possible for these institutions to co-exist or even benefit from each other? The aim of this bachelor?s thesis is to research if, and to what extent, African citizens? confidence in traditional institutions has an effect on state legitimacy. This has been done by statistically analyzing the data from the latest completed round of the Afrobarometer survey, a study that has been conducted in 20 different countries across West- and Northeast Africa.

A performance measurement system can be used as a means to evaluate past performances and to communicate prioritizations. It has also been proposed that a performance measurement system can serve as a method to execute strategies, guide in operational decisions and constitute a tool for making the organization more efficient. Yet one may question if such a system will ever reach this capacity if operating managers do not utilize it as a management tool, but rather treat it as a mere report in the bunch. This paper explores how middle managers in fact apply performance measures and what obstacles there are to integrating them in the management of subunits. Furthermore it serves to investigate whether these managers experience a conflict between how they are expected to use the measures and what they deem possible to adopt.

Sväljkapacitet kan skilja sig åt mellan olika åldrar och kön. Detta kan inverka på prestationen på så kallade vattensväljtest. Ingen uttömmande studie har gjorts angående effekt av ålder, kön och vattenmängd på sväljförmåga hos friska vuxna i Sverige. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att presentera normdata för tre olika mått på sväljförmåga: sväljtid, sväljkapacitet och antal klunkar vid 1 respektive 2 dl vatten hos friska vuxna, samt att undersöka effekter av vattenmängd och ålder respektive kön på sväljförmågan. 239 vuxna deltagare stratifierades utifrån ålder och kön.

Man has always in one way or another had to take risks in order to survive, but in today's society, voluntary risks increased markedly. It is about both physical and financial risks. The aim of this essay is to problematize what it is for properties that drive people to extreme sports and adventure travel. We want to see how extreme sports performers own picture looks compared to how the media presents them. We have in this essay interviewed two long sailors, a BASE jumper and an ex-mountain climber to see how the performers own picture of reality looks.

The objective of this report was to analyse and compare vulnerability and preparation in Swedish municipal drinking water production, in case the commonly used water sources were inoperative. Methods used were a questionnaire and a less extensive study of regulations for water protection areas. The questionnaire was answered by 41 Swedish municipalities. A handful of them were companies co-owned by a few municipalities. Only one out of four municipalities had source protection areas to all their water sources and for many sources the protection was not satisfactory.

The Swedish building contractor JMRegion Öst would like to to investigatethe possibilities of developing andstreamlining the production of singlefamilyhouses. JM are producing singlefamilyhouses with prefabricated framesat a rate of about two houses per week.During construction, the different tasksare performed by JM?s own productionstaff but also by varioussubcontractors.When examining the schedules of recentlyproduced projects, it appears that allthe houses are more or less completedeight weeks before the customer moves into the house. During those eight weeksseveral operations are conducted such asinspections, installation of appliancesand cleaning procedures. The inspectionperiod constitutes between 25 and 35% ofthe complete construction period.By conducting interviews, it has beendiscovered that this final phase is anessential security buffer for delays anderrors that often occur.

The concentration and storage of organic chlorine and chloride were determined in soil, to a depth of 40 cm, in a coniferous forest in the Stubbetorp catchment area in south-east Sweden. Also, the spatial distribution of the two forms of chlorine was determined. Soil samples were collected at 49 of the nodes in a grid with approximately 105 m between the nodes. The analysis of spatial variability suggested that no spatial autocorrelation was present either within the variable organic chlorine or chloride. This means that no sample was more influenced by another nearby sample, as compared to other samples further away.

Sweden is dependent on secure sea transport. Shorter disruption of imports of fuel and crude oil can be managed with an emergency stock, but a prolonged halt in imports creates problems. For industry, the vulnerability is greater. Fragmented production chains in combination with expenditure reductions in inventory causes a dependency on proper transport of intermediate goods in the manufacturing industry. A lengthy disruption thus involves disruption of production for both domestic consumption and for export goods containing imported parts.In order to secure shipping routes with a limited number of vessels, Mine Counter Measures (MCM) capacity is required, and according to the Armed Forces, developed with new sensors and autonomous vehicles.

Phosphorus is essential to all plants and is taken up from the soil as the ion H2PO4 - (and to some extent HPO42-). Plant availability depends on, among other factors, the soil pH. In order to provide for plant available phosphorus, it is applied as mineral fertilizers and farmyard manure. However, that causes phosphorus leaching from arable land to surrounding surface waters and lakes and contributes to the eutrofication. There are three types of soils in Sweden that are at higher risk of contributing to phosphorus leakage.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the Swedish municipal welfare system, in their capacity as discourse makers, construct Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in the relationships of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people. A discourse analysis of their official plans of action regarding IPV and the information directed towards their citizens through their webpages showed that the discourse surrounding IPV revealed a gender dichotomy, where the victim was mainly constructed as being female and the perpetrator as male. As a consequence of this, gay and bisexual men were rendered invisible from the discourse surrounding victims of IPV, although they could be included in the construction of perpetrators of it. Lesbian and bisexual women were often included in the understanding of victims of IPV, but in the discourse surrounding perpetrators of it they were made invisible. The discourse about IPV also excluded the experiences and vulnerability of people who identify as being transgendered.

Fuel pellets are a refined bio fuel mostly consisting of residues from sawmills and wood industry. At Rindi Västerdala AB's combined bio energy plant in Vansbro fuel pellets are produced, while the waste heat from the process is used for district heating. The pellets are produced from sawdust, wood shavings and dry wood chips that is dried, milled and pressed into small cylindrical rods. The advantage of refining the wood material in this manner is that the energy value is greater per unit volume and unit weight, thereby the cost of transportation per energy unit is reduced. Also, less storage space is needed.Pellet manufacturing is a complex process since many parameters affects the final results.

The main project Dry preservation of source-separated organic household wastes involves a new technique for treatment of biowaste through drying. Investigations are going on to determine how the dried biowaste best can be used to close the natural circular flow of nutrients. The objective of this degree project is to determine if the dried biowaste can be used as a soil conditioner. By restoring the nutrients in the material to the ground, the natural circular flow is closed. A declaration of contents, including the nutrient levels, C/N ratio, pH and the electrical conductivity of the dried biowaste, was constructed and a germination test was done to make sure that the material did not inhibit sprouting.