In Sweden we have the highest rate of nontraditional students among Europe. Coincidently, we also have the highest rates of drop outs among OECD. In this particular field, drop out from higher education, there is a need fore more qualitative studies that can support the "statistics". Studies about experiences of drop outs are significant for society, university and individual. The aim of this study is to describe and understand how nontraditional student experiences drop out from higher education.

The aim of the study was to illustrate how care managers reflect and act in regards to self-determination and integrity when caring for residents over 65 years old who have a dementia diagnosis. Our main questions dealt with how care managers handle the right to self-determination and integrity when a person has dementia, to which extent the care managers listen to the person with dementia and how the care managers look upon the residents with dementia?s ability of self-determination. To find the answers to our questions, we interviewed ten care managers within the elderly care in Gothenburg, Sweden. We used qualitative interviews based on a semi-structured interview guide.

The aim of this thesis is to study preschool-teachers? experiences from using the computertablet as a tool for learning and teaching, in order to gain knowledge of how the integrationalprocess of information and communications technology (ICT) in preschool has progressedsince its instatement. The background that caused interest to make this study was the rapidprogression of the use of ICT-tools in childrens? everyday lives and the troubles that havesurrounded the process of integrating these tools into preschool-practices. The theoreticalbasis for the analysis of the research lies within the socio-cultural perspective.

The impact of classroom enviroment with respect to learning.

In today?s business environment, cost-cutting practices such as downsizing and layoffs remains a widespread phenomenon. Although, the understanding of the effects that these practices has on the remaining individuals, defined as the survivors, is poor. The focus in this paper is therefore to examine how survivors of layoffs can be affected on an individual level, and by what causes.The study was conducted using open-ended, qualitative interviews with three individuals with different experiences of layoffs. The empirical data was analyzed by extracting quotations from the interviews.The study found that layoffs affected the morale and attitude towards management of the individual, and that perceived justice and uncertainty are two causes of negative effects from layoffs..

The development of five individual pupils? writing abilities, as reported by six of their teachers, is analysed. The thoughts and reflexions inspired by the everyday interaction between the teacher and the pupil suffering from some kind of reading and writing disability are presented. The purpose is to capture what was unique and characteristic in the measures that triggered a positive response in the pupils. Some of the questions answered in this study are: How does the phenomenon of reading and writing disabilities manifest itself in the classroom, and what are the consequences for the individual pupil of the various pedagogical measures available?One conclusion that may be drawn from this study is that there is no cut-and dried method for working with pupils suffering from reading and writing disabilities.

Med utgångspunkt i variationsteorin valde vi ett naturvetenskapligt lärandeobjekt (materians egenskaper) och genomförde en så kallad Learning study. Elevernas förståelse av lärandeobjektet före och efter undervisning har undersökts med hjälp av intervjuer. Elevernas lärande har jämförts med de möjligheter som erbjudits i den videofilmade undervisningen. Två klasser i skolår fem har deltagit i studien. Efter genomförd undervisning i den första klassen analyserades lärandet med avseende på specifika kritiska aspekter.

Horses respond individually to challenges, and the possibility to use these reactions to evaluate equine temperament with an objective instrument would have several advantages. Horse welfare could be improved by making it possible to find individuals best suited for a specific use, and understanding of the development of abnormal behaviours, such as stereotypies, could be increased. Management routines and training could be adjusted tosuit each individual horse and it could facilitate the selection of individuals appropriate for breeding. There are also economic implications, as horse buyers consider temperament important and after evaluating temperament, money can be spent solely on specific horses with all the right qualities. During the last decade, many attempts have been made to measure different aspects of temperament in horses, and the first aim of this project was to look at these studies and see which methods were used and which temperamental characteristics they measured.

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.

The purpose of my study is to examine how four preschool teachers go about using the term play in children's early mathematical development. In order to fulfill the purpose of this study, I have the following questions:How the preschool teachers visualize mathematics in children?s play?What reflections have the preschool teachers about the importance of play for children's mathematical learning in preschool?How do the preschool teachers see on their own role in the children's play?In this study, I have conducted a semi-structured qualitative interviews based on the interviews with four preschool teachers from various departments in a preschool. I have also conducted some observations to complete my study. Whereas in my analysis of the researched material, I have used Vygotsky's theory.The survey shows that the preschool teachers are aware of the use of mathematical language and concepts in children?s different activities which were conducted daily in the preschool.

Facial expressions are a part of our body language that helps us to clarify the verbal communication between humans. We use our facial expressions every day, both consciously and unconsciously, to express emotions and attitudes depending on the situation. The hypothesis of the study is: Given a facial expression, how well can Microsoft Kinect, as an input method, determine a person?s feelings with the two algorithms Naive Bayes and Sequential Minimal Optimization? The feelings are limited to happy, sad, surprised and disgusted. With the help of Kinect, a person?s facial data, both coordinates of the face and parameterized data, were saved and used for machine learning.

This study attempts to look into and discuss if there are motivation factors involved whentrying to achieve a seeond language, which might effect the acquisition in any direction. Theeducation provided in Halmstad in Swedish as a seeond language is also studied on bases ofthe IDs (Individual Differences) that might occur. The study is carried out by interviews witheight informants. The interviews are analyzed and the results, which support previous researchin the area, are presented; and finally, in the conclusion part, suggestions for future researchare given, along with propos als on how to expand a study in this area..

Purpose: From an activity-perspective examine the meaning of housing accessibility and older persons´ perception of participation. Method: Systematic literature review of articles searched in the databases, Medline, Pubmed, Ahmed, Cinahl, Scopus and Google Scholar. Search on individual keywords, and in various combinations of the words home environment, home modification, occupational therapy, aging, accessibility and participation. Nine scientific articles were examined. Results: The articles were published between 2005 and 2009.

The main purpose of this essay is to study how classroom interaction can take place in a class for Second Language Learners (SLL).1 I have applied a case study methodology on a linguistic method used by a Teacher in Swedish as Second Language working on a primary school situated in the Southern suburbs of Stockholm. The learning method is based on extensive reading of books which comprehend several learning techniques organized into a process that support the development of linguistic skills such as discussing in a group, writing, reading and thinking in a second language. The methodology applied is based on observations, on an interview with a Teacher in Swedish as Second Language and on a questionnaire answered by 11 students that participated on ?Boksamtal?.Based on a theoretical framework about socio cultural theories on learning and scaffolding,2 I attempt to integrate theory and practice to investigate how the Teacher succeed on applying effective methods for second language learning. Through the analyses of the data is also my intention to emphasize the advantages and disadvantages of such a method.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the collaboration of four learners of Swedish as a second language during a pair-writing task, as well as their experiences of the process, in order to draw conclusions about how to execute pair-writing in the L2 classroom. The study has found that the establishment of compatible partners are of great importance to achieve success and learning through pair-writing. One of the pairs studied managed to work well together and use each other?s knowledge to improve their text, while the other pair continuosly battled for dominance, which had a negative impact on their performance. The two successful students had enjoyed the task and believed they had learned something from it and that pair-writing can be a useful source of knowledge.