The aim of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate an instrument for measuring the impact from chronic pain on daily life. Traditionally psychometric evaluation is done with parametric methods even if the items are ordinal data. In this study the instrument to be developed is solely based on ordinal data, and the psychometrically evaluation is done with both traditional methods (i.e. parametric statistics) as well as with non-parametric methods. These two different ways of psychometrically evaluation are then compared with each other.

The main purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the understanding of information needs of eight vocational studies teachers at the Handicraft Programme at a senior high school. I have analyzed the teachers? needs of information and the empirical material has been collected through interviews with eight vocational studies teachers. To analyze the interviews I have used Lars Höglund and Olle Persson?s model for information needs and a model for information sources.

Stratego is a boardgame not very different from chess, that contains hidden information. Because of this, existing programs play at beginner level. The purpose of this thesis is to adjust a minimax algorithm so that it passes the demands of Stratego, and then build a Stratego agent around it. Tests with existing minimax algorithms leads to the development p-e-minimax. This algorithm uses two different values in its nodes to simulate the different information available to the agent and its opponent.

The purpose of this study is, on one hand, to obtain an understanding of how children in municipal music- and culture schools choose instruments and what forms of recruitment methods they are subjected to, and on the other hand, how you can make them continue to play once they have begun.To acquire this information, I have interviewed five music teachers and two principals at municipal music- and culture schools in Värmland. The questions treated, among other things, what affects children?s instrument preferences, recruitment methods and what you can do to keep interest for the chosen instrument alive.The result of the study shows some apparent tendencies. Even though some of the instruments have trouble recruiting students and other instruments have trouble keeping them, the old methods, which obviously do not work in a satisfactory manner, are still being used. Instead, increased commitment at the occasion of recruitment, more group teaching which strengthens the social bonds through role models and a will to have the courage to change the organization when it does not work, is required..

The character of a pattern carries through to the context in which it is placed. Each pattern tells a story. By interpreting our surroundingenvironments we become inspired, and the patterns in turn can become part of our own narratives. This project was fuelled by my fascination and desire to explore patterns. My method of exploration was based on prior knowledge of patterns and interior design.The question became how can I apply my knowledge of interior design to pattern design and how could I best translate the brief intoa language of colour and shapes? The aim was to develop my knowledge of pattern design as well as to use this opportunity to combine my design methods with those of a professional designer.

This is a diploma thesis executed as a part of the examination of the educationalprogram Building engineer ? Construction management at Halmstad University. The aim of the thesis is to compare and evaluate conventional open-cut pipe-laying withhorizontal directional drilling. The thesis includes a comparison of the economic,environmental and time-based aspects of both methods and discusses which factorsthat determine the optimal choice of method.The study is mainly based on previous studies regarding the subject and oninterviews with professionals from the industry.A fictional project with five realistic cases of pipe-laying scenarios was compiled,sent to different companies for calculation, evaluated and compared. Our conclusionregarding when it?s suitable to use which method is entirely dependent on thespecific project.

The purpose of this study is to search and analyze different logics that operators use in the work of helping juvenile delinquents to break their criminal behavior. New institutional theory is used in this study to analyze the results. The study was conducted through qualitative interviews of six professionals in two municipalities which work with juvenile delinquency. There are two questions that we want to address in this study. The first one is what methods the social workers are using in two middle large municipalities to help youth to brake there criminal behavior.

The purpose of this study is to find out what children think they learn of taking part in activities organized by the school. I started my study by summarize three essays about informal learning. The results are based on three interviews of totally six children in the age of nine at a school in Stockholm. I interviewed the children using a semi structured method and asked them what activities they prefer to do after school and what they think they learn there, and from their friends. The results emanating from essays which were investigating similar topic..

The aim of this master thesis is to study the students usage and experiences of the reference services at the university library at Linköping University. The four questions that I seek answers to are: - What kind of help do the students most often ask for at the reference desk? - To what extent do the students use the reference services for their studies? - What are the students experiences of the help they receive at the reference desk? - What are the students experiences of the treatment they receive from the librarians at the reference desk? I have studied literature that describes reference work and evaluation of reference work. I have also studied Christian Grönroos theory of service quality. I have distributed questionnaires to students at Linköping University.

The aim of this study was to describe nurses? knowledge of pain. The method used was a systematic literature study. Information was gathered from the databases Blackwell Synergy, Academic Search Elite and Medline, and the keywords used in the search were: pain, knowledge, nurses and nurses.The result was divided into three subgroups; Insignificant documentation and evaluation. More education is necessary.

AbstractThe overall aim of this study is to show how phonological awareness develops during the first school year and how this can be affected by different teaching materials and working methods. Two classes are compared in the study. One of the classes has digital teaching material and the other class has traditional teaching material. The study seeks to show to what extent there are differences between the groups? phonological awareness.

Background and problem: In the last few years the threat against the environment and especially the emissions of carbon dioxide has become increasingly debated. The government have set up a goal to lower the emissions of carbon dioxide with 40 percent until 2020 compared to the level in 1990. The emissions in the transportation sector have, in contrast to the total emissions, increased since 1990 and will continue to increase unless powerful control measures are implemented. The lorry centres have to use strategies to answer to these external threats which lead us to the two questions of this thesis: - What methods do the lorry centres use actively and which do they consider as the most important methods for fuel saving? - Are there any differences which methods small, medium and large centres considers as important? Purpose: The main purpose of this thesis is to examine which methods lorry centres use actively and which they consider as important for fuel saving.

There are several methods and models within the areas of software engineering on how to proceed during a software development process. For each of these methods and models there are benefits and drawbacks, depending on how you choose to look at them. A difference of principle between the different models is that they either advocate iterative development or not. In parts of software engineering one makes use of different methods depending on which is most fitting in a specific situation. There are several methods on how to recieve more qualitative data from the end-users during the requirement collection, but the reappearing pattern is still user centric participation, which means that the user participates more actively in part of or the entire development process.

Background: Our daily lives and personal interactions are increasingly featuring social media and social networks in particular. Topics regarding social media, its impact on society at large ? both on corporate as well as individual behavior ? has been the focus of many research papers. Personal use of social networks are regularly being mapped out by researchers aiming at clarifying concepts such as engagement, trust and interactivity, and mapped by companies seeking to maximize return on investment concerning their marketing efforts. The aim of our study is (i) to map how companies and/or organizations operating on the Swedish market use their company?s pages on the social media as a way of communicating with their followers and audience, as well as (ii) identifying whether ?Real-Time Marketing?, in our own definition, is used or not.Methods: The research methods used included both quantitative and qualitative content analysis.

In Dar es Salaam, as in many cities in developing countries, green areas are decreasing due to the fact that the growth of buildings, infrastructure and services has become a priority. As the population increases more buildings and infrastructure are needed and much of the building activity takes the form of uncontrolled settlements, which encroaches the public green space. Dar es Salaam has approximately three million inhabitants, of which about 70 percent are living in informal settlements. The aim with this study is to make a design proposal for a park and recreation area where the Msimbazi river basin in the centre of Dar es Salaam is today. The basin consist of a few playing fields, footpaths and some urban farming, but apart from this it mostly consists of unused grasslands, swamps and forests. Because it is an unsafe place and badly connected to the rest of the city infrastructure, it has become a barrier. The annual flood combined with the constant still shallow water creates a good breading ground for malaria mosquitoes.