Lichens are adapted to bright and sparse forests on oligotrophic ground. Due to a slow growth rate and high light demand lichens will suffer from competition in eutrophic environments. Therefore, lichens have disappeared from managed forests where the forest industry has increased the productivity. A reduced abundance of lichens will affect both biodiversity of the forest and the reindeer winter graze lands. It is important to understand how and for how long fertilization affects the abundance and diversity of lichens in order to protect lichen rich ecosystems. We have registered the biomass and number of lichen species in eight plots (four nitrogen rich and four nitrogen deficient) and compared fertilized Sami settlements with their oligotrophic surroundings in the nature reserves of Tjeggelvas.

Water constructions - as a design element in public spaces is the title of this Master thesis, with a focus on waters function and meaning in the urban environment. By way of introduction, mans relationship to places is described and the factors that contribute to the reality that we prefer some places more than others. A good place to stay is open but well defined, gives protection, offers a good view and is varying in topography and vegetation, together with contents of single landscape elements like visible water. This study then continues to discuss mans relationship to water and its means for our wellbeing. Despite the fact that people have a different relations to water due to personality, background and age, it?s an element that raises positive feelings, interest and aesthetic pleasure for most people.

This graduation thesis is about baths and beach like places in city centers. It focuses on recreation and the creation and development of public, social spaces in the city containing water as a visual and useable element. The thesis is divided into three parts; background, inspiration and application. The background examines four factors which we consider important for the occurrence of inner city baths; water, the history of bathing, inner city recreation and social life in public places. A discussion of the (future) importance of inner city baths and beach like places' is then presented. The inspirational part is divided into examples of existing places and examples of types of places. The first is used in an attempt to examine the function and importance of inner city baths and beach like places as well as the opportunities and challenges associated with them. The latter contains a presentation of six categories developed by us to facilitate the planning of inner city baths and beach like places.

Over the last few years, many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the aid sector have grown and become important economic, social and political actors in Sweden. However this sector has also been hard criticized in terms of aid effectiveness. Church of Sweden (CoS), a well established organization in this sector, has faced new challenges in form of demands from their environment regarding reporting aid work. These demands have pushed the International Department of Church of Sweden into a process for adapting the structure in order to meet the new effectiveness requirements. Using both, Contingency Theory and Resource Dependence Theory as theoretical framework and a single case study as research strategy, this master thesis goes in deep into the description of the change of the structure of the International Department. This work shows how the different parts of the organization functions and what impact will these changes in the structure mean for the future of the organization. The analysis of the empirical evidence related to the theoretical framework shows that the organization responds to external demands through a more centralized structure than before.

The energy that the earth receives from the sun hourly has potential to cover a year?s energy demand in the world. Further, this type of energy is environmentally friendly, natural and free of cost. This report covers solar energy in an urban environment and consists of a case study of installations of photovoltaic cells in a part of the city of Stockholm. It is mainly the economic aspects that are covered but there is also a discussion about the practical consequences and the sustainability as a result of integration of solar energy in an urban environment. The aim of the study is to present results from economic calculations for utilization of solar energy in chosen buildings in Kungsholmen in Stockholm.

Något händer när ny teknik gör intåg i klassrummet där undervisning, studier och lärande i olika ämnen står på schemat. I nästan varje elevs ficka finns idag en populär artefakt, mobiltelefonen. Att telefonen påverkar skolkulturen är förståeligt. Men hur anser lärarna att elevernas användning, kommunikationsrutiner och strategier för studier och lärande påverkar undervisningen och attityderna till skolarbetet? I skolan har man traditionellt alltid använt artefakter som myndigheterna har tillhandahållit, exempelvis böcker, penna och papper.

Mobiltelefoni har blivit allt vanligare i dagens samhälle och konkurrensen mellan operatörerna har ökat. Det är då viktigt att operatörerna har ett stabilt och kvalitetssäkert nät. För att åstadkomma ett kvalitativt nät är planeringen bakom viktigt. Idag sker planeringen med hjälp av ett framtaget predikteringsprogram, TEMS Cellplanner, som är ett beräkningsprogram. TEMS Investigation är ett program som används då kontroller av nätet görs ute i fält.

ABSTRACTThe principal aim of the study was to compare the feeding behaviour of cattle, sheep and goats on pasture and explain any differences between speices. Furthermore, I compared foraging behaviour between dry season and the beginning of the rainy season, in order to see any relationships between weather and behaviour.The study was carried out in Shompole in southern Kenya. Behavioural data were collected by observing herds of cattle, sheep and goats on pasture. The livestock were herded on pasture during the days and kept in bomas, where people live, during the nights. The weather in Shompole is characterized by high ambient temperature and low, bimodal rainfall.

Heath star moss (Campylopus introflexus) is an alien species in Sweden and is currently classified as composing a "very high risk? of becoming invasive in the country according to SLU, and has in several parts of the world taken over large areas in a short time. The moss is characterized by its preference for disturbed and burned land, something that occurs on the heathland in the Sandsj?backa nature reserve, when burning for nature conservation purposes is carried out annually. Sandsj?backa's heathland is a valuable ecosystem and is one of the few heathlands in a favorable condition that remains in Sweden after strong reforms in modern agriculture in the last century, which led to forest succession of these cultural environments.

  Aim. The aim of the study was to describe how nurses in home care experience to pursue palliative care in ordinary housing. Methods. The study had a descriptive design with qualitative approach and was carried out through semi-structured interviews with 14 nurses in home health care from two medium-sized Swedish municipalities. The material was analyzed with manifest and latent content analysis. Findings. The underlying theme that emerged in the study was: Working with palliative care in the patient´s own homes is positive but challenging. Informants describe among other things that they perceived palliative home care as meaningful and that relatives have a central role in the palliative home care since they are close to the patient around the clock. The stress that emerges from the heavy work load and the long geographic distances are described as strenuous and to affect the care in a negative way. Informants describe the home environment as challenging as it is often not adapted for care and the collaboration with the palliative team is described to be experienced as both positive and negative.

In process oriented organizations, it is important to have well-functioning work processes tosupport the work being performed. In order to accomplish this, the organization has to makecertain decisions regarding the design and usage of the processes. This master thesis is based ona case study of a work process that is being used for the industrialization of products at Ericssonin Katrineholm. The aim of the study is twofold. One aim is to improve the studied process byidentifying improvement opportunities and carrying out the required adjustments.

Borderlands. A study of the aesthetic-practical environment, its pedagogical and therapeutical properties based on the outline of two practices/institutions: the workshops at Hagastiftelsen and the bookbindery at the Kristofferschool. The perspective on education, pedagogy and therapy taken is an existential one where the main aims of an educational-therapeutic intervention is to support biographical development and integrity. In the process action research in my own bookbinding workshop as well as hermeneutic research at the workshops at Hagastiftelsen where adults with autism and other neuropsychological disorders work have been the sources of primary empirical data. Secondary sources are patient-histories written by Oliver Sacks as well as autobiographical narratives of some adults with autism.

The goal of this thesis is to investigate the W3C Geolocation API from a developer?s perspective, focused on whether it makes development of location-based applications more accessible to developers. This has been investigated by looking at available ways to locate, possible uses, the functionality offered, the necessary level of prior knowledge needed for a developer and requirements on developer tools. This has been achieved through studies in relevant areas, a thorough introduction to W3C Geolocation API functionality, and by using the API to develop two different location-based applications as a demonstration. Testing of applications, on different platforms and in different environments, in conjunction with investigation of the rest of the material has shown that W3C Geolocation API in many ways actually makes development of location-based applications more accessible for developers. The API also provides fully adequate functionality and quality to meet the requirements for development of both simple and very advanced location-based applications. Målet med denna uppsats är att undersöka W3C Geolocation API ur ett utvecklarperspektiv, fokuserat på om den gör utveckling av positionsbaserade applikationer mer tillgänglig för utvecklare.

Children at the age of six, has since 1991 been allowed to start their tuition in the Swedish school system. Studies reveal that; the first school year (preschool) can be a stressful task dueto the new environment, new friendships and higher expectations.The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze how the teachers perceive their own role in the transitioning process from preschool to school. This purpose required a method of qualitative complexion and therefore qualitative interviews were used. The material is based on four interviews with four different teachers. The teachers were asked the same question considering; the transition from preschool to school from a pupil point of view, their own role in that transition and their opinions on different educational tools.

Two ecological models of nitrogen processes in treatment wetlands have been evaluated and compared. These models have been implemented, simulated, and visualized in the Modelica language. The differences and similarities between the Modelica modeling environment used in this thesis and other environments or tools for ecological modeling have been evaluated. The modeling tools evaluated are PowerSim, Simile, Stella, the MathModelica Model Editor, and WEST. The evaluation and the analysis have been performed using McCall?s factors for software quality (McCall et al, 1977), a correlation analysis and the Constant Comparative Method (Glaser&Strauss, 1999).