The scope of this master´s thesis is the issue of usability in relation to interface design,in particular the interface of a university library´s online public accessed catalogue, orOPAC. Since the OPAC can be seen as the library´s ?shop window? to the world, it isof great importance that the interface to the OPAC can be used by patrons witheffectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction.The master´s thesis is based on a qualitative study performed at Karolinska InstitutetsUniversity library, and contains both a usability evaluation and an interview study. Twointerfaces were evaluated: a standard web interface provided by the system supplier, andan interface developed in-house by Karolinska Institutet´s systems department. The twointerfaces are both connected to the same online library catalogue, thus making possiblea comparative study..

The major focus in this study is structural inequalities in primary school in Sweden. UNESCO points out that in many developing countries, up to 40% of the children perform at or below the lowest proficiency level in language and mathematics. Sweden has been criticized by the UN about the large differences in educational achievements between different regions. Based on an official study Sweden considers that those differences are related to ethnically segregate residential areas. My research question is whether the Swedish government takes adequate consideration of the impact that socioeconomically aspects have on educational achievement.

Company X develops a laboratory information system (LIS) called System Y. The informationsystem has a two-tier database architecture consisting of a production database and a historicaldatabase. A database constitutes the backbone of a IS, which makes the design of the databasevery important. A poorly designed database can cause major problems within an organization.The two databases in System Y are poorly modeled, particularly the historical database. Thecause of the poor modeling was unclear concepts.

Lattelement AB in Ornskoldsvik is one of the leading companies in Sweden in composite elements in walls, floors and roofs in particular. The company supplies elements to buildings located with a wide geographical variation, which means that the products are subjected to very different climate with regard to snow, wind and humidity. This places high demands and requires the elements to withstand large variable loads.The elements are made of lightweight beams with flanges of structural timber and beam webs made of OSB. These are bound together by nogging pieces with the same kind of structure. On top of the beams a nailed and glued plywood is added to absorb compressive forces and on the underside of the element a sheet of steel is added for tensile absorption.These elements are then attached to the building framework in different ways depending on the particular element height, loads and the structual supporting material of the frame work.

The purpose of this study is to examine senior high school students? strategies and reasoning when solving mathematical problems and make a review of the concept problem solving. The purpose is also to examine if the students? choice of strategies are influenced when their mathematical knowledge is improved.The study was conducted in two science classes at a senior high school. All the students were asked to individually solve two mathematical problems.

Svenska såväl som utländska myndigheter har insett vikten av att utveckla webbsidor för bland annat lokala myndigheter. Forskare på Nya Zeeland har sammanställt ett antal nyckelfaktorer som de funnit användbara vid utveckling av e-myndigheter i USA och därefter undersökt om dessa är användbara även på Nya Zeeland. Deras resultat visade på ett behov av ytterligare forskning och den här uppsatsen har därför använt en kvantitativ metod i form av en webbaserad enkät för att undersöka dessa nyckelfaktorers betydelse i Sverige. Undersökningen visade på att flera av nyckelfaktorerna anses viktiga men att det i vissa fall saknas förståelse för dem på lokal nivå. De slutsatser som dragits visar på ett fortsatt forskningsbehov om de 16 nyckelfaktorerna men även på att det krävs utbildning och stöd åt de lokala myndigheterna för att alla i landet skall få likvärdig service oavsett vilken kommun man är bosatt i..

The female dog has a unique reproductive endocrinology, with high levels of progesterone throughout the 70-day long luteal phase. In this project, markers of glucose metabolism were studied and compared from the aspects of breed group and time in oestral cycle. The parameters studied were: glucose, insulin, progesterone, fructosamine and the newly introduced analysis of HbA1c. Hba1c was also further evaluated and discussed as a diagnostic tool in canine medicine.No differences in terms of glucose markers were found between a group of purebreed dogs of various breeds compared to a group of dogs with high risk of dioestrus diabetes, namely the Norwegian and Swedish elkhounds.No differences were found between the two sample occasions, anoestrus and dioestrus, concluding that there is no need for relating test results to the time of the oestrous cycle in middle-aged intact female dogs.There were statistically significant higher values of all glucose markers in diabetic dogs than in non-diabetic dogs. When it came to HbA1c, however, there was a larger overlap between the two groups, compared to fructosamine.

Background: The Swedish Police authorities have accomplished several changes the last years. We have studied one of these changes, the co-ordination of two supporting functions, economy and staffadministration at the Police authorities in Östergötland, Jönköping, Södermanland and SKL (Swedish crime technical laboratory). The initiative to this change was taken in 2002 and in 2003 a decision was made to create a joint servicecenter.Purpose: The purpose of this rapport is, in a collaborator perspective, to study the employees´ experiences of the change process.Method: The empirical material was collected throw interviews with the employees who have taken part in the change process. Even the leader of the project has been interviewed.Results: We have distinguished five central aspects in the change process. These are information/communication and understanding, the project leader, teamwork, timeaspect/reflexion and the leadership.

Wood pellets are an upgraded product of residuals from several wood processing industries, for example saw mills and pulp industries. The pellets are produced by pressing the milled and dried sawdust to cylindrical units with a higher density than the initial raw material. Pellets have great benefits compared to the raw material: high energy per volume, good transport and storage properties and homogeneity. Several parameters collaborate in the whole process, which makes it complex. Wood is a heterogeneous material, chemically and structurally dependent on wood parts, habitat and storage procedures.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur fem pedagoger i en utvald förskola arbetar med lek och matematik, samt hur pedagogerna anser att förskolans verksamhet påverkar barnens matematiska lärande nu och i framtiden. De metoder som jag använt mig av är att söka relevant forskning och litteratur som behandlar ämnet. Jag har gjort en kvalitativ intervjustudie med ovan nämnda pedagoger. Studien visar att pedagogerna tycker att leken är viktig för barnens lärande av matematik och de anser att matematiken finns överallt i leken. Samtliga pedagoger anser att det är viktigt att barnen få med sig en grund för matematiskt tänkande till skolan, så att det blir en vana och en självklarhet för barnen.

The female dog has a unique reproductive endocrinology, with high levels of progesterone throughout the 70-day long luteal phase. In this project, markers of glucose metabolism were studied and compared from the aspects of breed group and time in oestral cycle. The parameters studied were: glucose, insulin, progesterone, fructosamine and the newly introduced analysis of HbA1c. Hba1c was also further evaluated and discussed as a diagnostic tool in canine medicine.No differences in terms of glucose markers were found between a group of purebreed dogs of various breeds compared to a group of dogs with high risk of dioestrus diabetes, namely the Norwegian and Swedish elkhounds.No differences were found between the two sample occasions, anoestrus and dioestrus, concluding that there is no need for relating test results to the time of the oestrous cycle in middle-aged intact female dogs.There were statistically significant higher values of all glucose markers in diabetic dogs than in non-diabetic dogs. When it came to HbA1c, however, there was a larger overlap between the two groups, compared to fructosamine.

There are two species of potato cyst nematode (PCN), the yellow, Globodera rostochiensis, and the white, Globodera pallida. Each of them can appear in different pathotypes. These are separated by testing the nematode ability to multiply on a number of potato cultivars with different resistance properties. The aim of this project was to examine the virulence of Swedish and foreign PCN populations and to compare two test methods. Biotests are today the only available tests used to study virulence.

Objektorienterade databaser har en fördel gentemot relationsdatabaser när det gäller hantering av komplexa datatyper, dessa datatyper används inom till exempel applikationsområdena CAD, CAM och CASE. Trots detta är det relationsdatabaser som används mest inom dessa områden. Syftet med denna uppsats är att ta reda på vilka faktorer som påverkar att valet av lagringssätt inte faller på objektorienterade databaser. Vi har valt att enbart titta på företag som utvecklar CAD-system och genomförde fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer på sådana företag. Vi kom fram till att de faktorer som påverkar att objektorienterade databaser inte används är att systemets kod inte är helt objektorienterad, att det inte förmedlas tillräckligt med information om objektorienterade databaser, att det inte finns någon benägenhet hos företagen att prova på ny teknik på grund av begränsad ekonomi samt att prestandafrågor har minskat i betydelse..

Det här är en litteraturstudie som undersöker hur forskningsfältet kring utomhusmatematik ser ut, samt de olika resultat som forskningen kommit fram till.Genom systematiska sökningar har tretton artiklar i sin helhet valts ut för granskning, samt nio artiklar som ej finns tillgängliga i fulltext. Dessa inkluderades för att bidra till en mer komplett beskrivning av karaktären för hela det aktuella forskningsfältet. Resultatet visar framför allt att det finns relativt lite forskning inom området. Endast fem artiklar kunde bedömmas uppfylla kriterierna som vetenskapliga och därmed får dessa stå till grund för att visa vad forskningen för området säger. Dessa artiklar konkluderade att elever spontant upplever utomhusmatematik som roligt, att de lär sig lättare samt får en djupare förståelse för matematiken.

I denna studie har vi undersökt brister inom nättidningar ur ett användbarhetsperspektiv. Vi har även undersökt redaktioners syn på användandet av nättidningar. Två metoder har använts för genomförandet av undersökningarna. Vi har dels intervjuat redaktioner och dels utfört en observationsstudie på slutanvändare. Vi kom fram till att nättidningar är klart användbara.