Research where personality in animals is studied is becoming more and more common. In this area there are different concepts like behavioural syndrome and animal personality and they usually talk about consistency in behaviour over time and situations. This consistent individual behaviour can be used as an indicator of how individuals can handle and adjust to new situations in the environment. Because of this, personality studies in animals are very important in animal welfare. In this study personality in dairy cattle in lose housing were studied.

The purpose of this Master Thesis was to study the reader in the informal reading group. To fulfil our purpose we have used the following questions: how did the reader become a reader and what does her reading look like, why do people choose to participate in a reading group, how may the group influence the individual member in her reading and interpretation of a book, does the reading group have a therapeutic function, how does the informant find the group dynamics and different roles in the reading group, and finally how does the informant experience the discussion in the reading group. We have used two studies about reading groups, one by Elizabeth Long and one by Jenny Hartley. Our theory is divided into reading and group psychology. We have interviewed seven women belonging to different reading groups.

 Genotyping can be used to link genetic variation among individuals to certain diseases or conditions. Some known disorders and states that are dependent on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) are lactose intolerance, venous thrombosis, hereditary hemochromatosis and the difference in sensibility among people to metabolise drugs.In this project a new kit, TaqManÒ Sample-to-SNP KitÔ for extraction of DNA and preparation of the extract for genotyping with real-time PCR and allelic discrimination, was evaluated. QIAamp® DNA Blood Biorobot® MDx Kit was used as the reference method.The purpose of the comparison was to find a method that makes DNA extraction from blood samples cheaper and faster, but with the same reliability as the reference procedure.The results of the evaluation showed a complete agreement of the genotype results between the methods tested, which means that the new method was as reliable as the reference method. The costs of reagents and material would be reduced with 52% if the new method is adopted, that alone would result in a cost reduction of 144 000SEK a year with a sample volume of 650 samples/month. The time for DNA extraction would also be reduced with the new procedure. .

The aim of this study was to develop a load prognosis model for Uppsala district heating system to be used as a tool for heat production optimization. The methodwas to build three models for the different customer types; housing, industry andoffices and then scale them for the total system using data from Uppsala districtheating system. The heat load consists of two parts, one that is temperaturedependent and one that is dependent of the social behavior of the customers. Thetemperature part was modelled with an ARX model using an outdoor temperatureprognosis as input signal. The social behavior part was modelled using the mean ofthe social behavior from some days before and additionally by distinguishing betweenweekdays and weekends.

This paper deals with institutional and structural factors' influence on democratic transition in limited multiparty regimes in Sub-Saharan Africa. Comparing the cases Kenya and Tanzania, of which the former has made a transition to democracy and the latter has not, this paper reaches the conclusion that political traditions, the coalescing of the opposition, and the elites ability to learn from the electoral process is essential for a transition to democracy. In the specific cases, the harshness of the Moi regime and the Tanzanian vision of national unity may possibly carry some explanatory power, alongside the pressure from international actors.These results have been reached through the application of a comparative case study, where democratic transition constitutes the dependent variable. It should be noted that a harsh definition of the term transition has been applied, according to which the incumbents actual loss of an election is a necessary indicator for transition. However, the Freedom House and Polity scores have been brought up as complement of this definition.

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the productivity effects of multiple tree handling in thinnings. Other important elements have been to investigate in which extent multi-tree handling is used in stands with different stem volumes and the impact of collecting partially delimbed fuelwood assortments has on harvesting performance. The study is based on data from thinnings in Sydved and contractors' operating activities. Collection and compilation of operating schedules, number of stems and surveyed volumes from several contractors and a large number of executed orders underlying the results. Multiple tree handling is used to a much greater extent at lower average stem volumes. Prediction models for productivity of the multiple-tree handling harvesters in the study differ from the productivity models for single-tree handling. In the model developed in this study productivity is not as dependent of stem volume as reference models.

My essay begins with a story in which I portray different communicative situations at the preschool unit Myran. The children in my story are at an early stage of development and they all suffer from multiple disabilities which inhibit their ways of communicating. Through my story, I describe how I perceive different communication dilemmas in my work place. A difficulty I cover in my essay is how the educator knows if he or she has interpreted a child correctly when it does not have a verbal communication and therefore is completely dependent on the educators? interpretations of its communication efforts.

To sort, is the meaning of the word ?triage?. Triage is used at emergency departments to facilitate prioritization of patients according to the urgency of the chief complaint. The aim of this study was to investigate how the nurses experience the triage model at the emergency department at Uppsala university hospital.Twelve nurses were interviewed. The mean age was 40 years and the mean work experience was three years and four months.

The aim of this study was to examine how individuals who have left a criminal lifestyle may experience their present life. A symbolic interaction approach was the theoretical framework for this research. Qualitative interviews were conducted with seven individuals who have stated having had and left a criminal lifestyle. The results showed that how individuals experience their present life is highly dependent on individuals? own view of themselves as well as on how others view them.

Traditionellt utvärderas effekter av kognitiv träning med objektiva prestationsmått. Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka självskattad exekutiv funktion som ett alternativt mått för att utvärdera effekter av kognitiv träning. Som utfallsmått valdes The behavior rating inventory of executive functioning - self report (BRIEF-SR). Vidare användes blandad design med för- och eftermätning samt tre oberoende grupper. Gymnasieelever (n = 63) delades in i; aktiv träningsgrupp, aktiv placebogrupp och passiv kontrollgrupp.

The subject of this bachelor thesis is the debate regarding privatization of public libraries. The purpose is to investigate howprivatization is portrayed in different articles and by different participants. The articles used are from two of Sweden?s largest national daily papers: Dagens Nyheter and Svenska Dagbladet and two of Sweden?s largest library magazines: Biblioteksbladet and Tidskriften BiS: Bibliotek i Samhälle. The questions asked are: how is privatization portrayed? Whatdiscourses can be traced in the texts? And: can one foresee a future aiming towards privatization? In order to answer these questions Norman Fairclough?s critical discourse analysis was used as atheoretical and methodological viewpoint.The discourses found were named: The value ground discourse, the market liberal discourse and the pragmatic discourse.

Cochleaimplantat (CI) är ett tekniskt hjälpmedel som ges till personer med dövhet eller grav hörselnedsättning. Ett CI kan hos barn ge en möjlighet till ökad utveckling av kognitiva och språkliga förmågor. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att undersöka utvecklingen av kognitiva och språkliga förmågor hos barn med CI. Studien är en del av en longitudinell studie som tidigare genomförts 2007 och 2008. Deltagarna var sju barn med CI mellan 8;8 och 14;5 år.

The purpose of this study is to examine the information seeking behaviour among unestablished archaeologists. Special attention has been directed to the areas of informal communication and the development of personal networks. As a former archaeology student I have been able to apply my previously acquired knowledge when writing this thesis. The empirical study is based on nine interviews with archaeologists each with more than one and less than four years of professional experience. They all have various experience of working as a fieldarchaeologist and five have simultaneously worked as university researchers.

The aim of this study was to examine the relations between women?s perceived stress off the job (dependent variable), responsability for household chores, emotional support, number of children living at home, neuroticism and age (independent variables). Comparisons between the present sample and two independent samples from previous research were made with regard to perceived stress and neuroticism. The sample of this study consisted of 186 women working in the fields of health care and geriatric care. The results showed that perceived stress correlated positively with neuroticism and number of children and negatively with emotional support, though the effectsizes for number of children and emotional support were fairly small.

In today's society social movement are dependent on media as a channel to com-municate their political message and their discourse. Media is an arena for dis-courses but at the same time, along with Attac, one of the actors who struggle to be part of the dominant discourse of the society. This struggle is uneven due to media and the relationship is to some content hegemonic.Attac Sweden was constituted in January 2001 and got an enormous amount of attention in media. But after the riots during the Göteborg European Council in June 2001, that Attac was partly blamed for, the attention in media has faded out. This paper shows that the images of Attac in media hasn?t been favouring the movement, especially during and after the meeting in Gothenburg.