To support uniform and fair assessment of Swedish students? English language competences, mandatory National tests are provided both for secondary and upper secondary education. The current thesis may be seen as a contribution to the further development and validation of these tests, with regard to the likely introduction of computerized testing methods. The aim is to gain further knowledge from current research in the field, to study and elucidate international experiences of implementation, and to gather and analyze feedback from students and teachers. Based on my findings, some tentative conclusions will be drawn, and recommendations made concerning future developments.

The effects of dexmedetomidine and butorphanol sedation on skin reactivity during intradermal testing in healthy dogs were evaluated. The effects of dexmedetomidine and butorphanol were compared to medetomidine, a sedative agent having scientific proof of not interfering with skin test reactivity, in a randomised, double blind, cross over study performed on 8 adult dogs. The dogs were sedated with medetomidine (Domitor vet.®, 0,01 ml kg-1) intravenously, or dexmedetomidine and butorphanol intramuscularly (Dexdomitor vet.®, 0,01 ml kg-1; Dolorex vet., 0,01 ml kg-1) after which they received intradermal injections of positive control solutions (histamine 0,1 mg ml-1, 0,05 mg ml-1, 0,025 mg ml-1), a negative control solution (0,9 % NaCl) and allergen extract (Dermatophagoides farinae, Cladosporium and Artemisia vulgaris). After a wash out period the trial was repeated with a reversed sedation protocol.Skin reactivity (wheal size, induration and erythema) and quality of sedation (immobilization, response to stimuli and injections as well as over all working conditions) were evaluated. The combination of dexmedetomidine and butorphanol provided reliable, good sedation and analgesia without adverse effects.

During the past few years there has been an observed decrease in physical fitness within different patient groups. As a part of the rehabilitating physiotherapy treatment it is important to acknowledge the physical condition of the patient. Physical fitness testing might be difficult due to physical limitations within different patient groups. A broad range of exercise tests is therefore of importance in clinical practice. The aim of this overview was to describe exercise tests used in rehabilitation contexts, and to define areas of use and restrictions.

This report's aim is that by field measurements determine the function of Aprobo soundproofing material dB2 for reducing impact sounds, the measurements is done in ?the school for fine art? in Umeå also known as ?konstnärligt campus building nine?. The construction technique is used in areas sensitive to impact sound between different floors in the building. The measurement?s is also to do a function control of the buildings sound quality compared to Swedish and European standard when it comes to air sound, impact sound and reverberation time .

There are several ways of conducting software testing where some may include users and others may include personnel whose work task is to execute test on systems. Although most developers and project managers understand the point of testing the system, it is not always being done and the most common reason is that there is no time for it. However, this is a false assumption as it may instead cause some bugs in the system that would not have been there in the first place if tests had been there to prevent bugs in the code.My purpose for this thesis was to find suggestions for changes in the development process in an ongoing project used by Acino and Svenska Försäkringsfabriken in order to increase the quality of the system used. In this thesis, I have approached the purpose by pursuing a case study of the two companies through observation and interviews. By doing this I acquired the relevant information to make suggestions for change.

Studies among parents of children with disabilities have shown that they experience a higher level of parenting stress as well as a lower degree of wellbeing, compared to parents of children without disabilities. However, there is a need to further explore parents? experience on this matter within a Swedish context. The aim of the current study was to examine how parents of preschool children, with and without disabilities, in Västerbotten, experience the impact of their child. A sample of 67 parents of children with disabilities and 134 parents of children without disabilities took part in the questionnaire study.

An energy study has been performed on two blocks in an area called Gävle Strand. The buildings are owned by a tenant-owner?s association called brf Carolina and were built by the company Skanska 2008. The builder as well as brf Carolina are pussled by the fact that electricity use is higher than expected while heating is less. Skanska is also very interested in finding out how much heat recovery from stale exhaust air through a geo-thermal heat pump is contributing to the general heating requirement and energy balance in four out of the ten buildings located on the properties.To find possible answers to the higher electricity use a literature survey on user behaviour was conducted.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how Digital Signage systems such as public info kiosks can be designed to better fulfill its main use; to enlighten, encourage and influence the public with information. The challenges presented from earlier studies shows that the public interests and goals, together with proper and relevant content displayed in info kiosks have impact on the attention the public have towards public displays. Qualitative methods such as interviews, usability testing and observations were conducted to further examine how a public info kiosk can be designed to draw attention and grow interest amongst students at K3, Malmo University. Usability testing were used on the digital prototypes that were developed to ensure that the gestural user interface meet the requirements of a proper interaction from the users. Important insights were made concerning; the attention and interest to relevant content, the aspects of the gestural user interface along with the placement of the info kiosk in terms of context.

Modern semiconductor design methods makes it possible to design increasingly complex system-on-a-chips (SOCs). Testing such SOCs becomes highly expensive due to the rapidly increasing test data volumes with longer test times as a result. Several approaches exist to compress the test stimuli and where hardware is added for decompression. This master?s thesis presents a test data compression method based on a modified facsimile code.

Studies among parents of children with disabilities have shown that they experience a higher level of parenting stress as well as a lower degree of wellbeing, compared to parents of children without disabilities. However, there is a need to further explore parents? experience on this matter within a Swedish context. The aim of the current study was to examine how parents of preschool children, with and without disabilities, in Västerbotten, experience the impact of their child. A sample of 67 parents of children with disabilities and 134 parents of children without disabilities took part in the questionnaire study.

An energy study has been performed on two blocks in an area called Gävle Strand. The buildings are owned by a tenant-owner?s association called brf Carolina and were built by the company Skanska 2008. The builder as well as brf Carolina are pussled by the fact that electricity use is higher than expected while heating is less. Skanska is also very interested in finding out how much heat recovery from stale exhaust air through a geo-thermal heat pump is contributing to the general heating requirement and energy balance in four out of the ten buildings located on the properties.To find possible answers to the higher electricity use a literature survey on user behaviour was conducted.

Studies among parents of children with disabilities have shown that they experience a higher level of parenting stress as well as a lower degree of wellbeing, compared to parents of children without disabilities. However, there is a need to further explore parents? experience on this matter within a Swedish context. The aim of the current study was to examine how parents of preschool children, with and without disabilities, in Västerbotten, experience the impact of their child. A sample of 67 parents of children with disabilities and 134 parents of children without disabilities took part in the questionnaire study.

The focus of this thesis is primarily in electronic construction and describes the design process for a microcontroller circuit board from concept development to prototyping. The client develops test fixtures for automated testing of products within the electronics industry and needs a new controller circuit for the test fixtures that can handle controls and basic testing. An investigation into the needs of such a system is conducted and a prototype printed circuit board assembly is manufactured.The prototype is developed with focus on protection against electrostatic discharges and overvoltage. Among the functions that are included are voltage measurements, communication interfaces and control of input and output currents. Firmware for the prototype is developed and configured to communicate with a PC through USB interface for control and collecting of measurements..

This essay examines pull-out strength of threaded rods fixed into glulam timber. The technology is intended to be used in hidden joints between glulam components. The work began with a study of literature focusing on current research within the topic, mainly to create a base of knowledge before the testing was initiated. Studies of scientific articles reveals a lack of research within this area, which makes it difficult to develop standards and calculation models for these joints. The drill holes in the tests have a diameter of 7 mm.

The purpose of this thesis was to design an electrical system for use in a ballistic test at the Swedish National laboratory of forensic science (SKL). The detector unit would use four main parts: coilsystem, transmitter, reciever and indicator. The coilsystem would be based on a balanced system using three coils. One that creates a magneticfield and the other two will sense the differences when a metallobject is in the coilsystem. This report starts out by investigating possible solutions for this specific task followed by a description of the physics that the metaldetector use.