This master deals with the theme youth and public libraries. The essay is based on observationsand qualitative interviews with young people at the ages of 13 to 16 years old, whovisited the public library of Skara, employees at the library, and politicians in the community.The main issue in the study is; what is and what can be done to increase youth utilization ofpublic libraries. I have emphasized on the media stock, the organization of books, theenvironment and the staff of the library, marketing, specific target group, activities, andcooperation with both internal and external forces.Theories about youth culture and some projects concerning young peoples behaviour in librariesare also presented..

Companies that invest in e-learning have different expectations regarding the outcome of the investment. According to literature and articles it is common that companies see reduction of costs as the primary benefit with e-learning. Therefore we ask ourselves the question if companies have attained the expected benefit of the investment in e-learning and to what extent cost reduction have been a determining factor in the investments? The purpose of the thesis is to examine if companies that invest in e-learning have attained the expected benefits. We also want to examine what the reason for investing in e-learning is and if cost reduction is the primary reason for investing.

The aim of this thesis is to describe and evaluate the usability of two Swedish systems, Sofie and Carlotta, which are used to organize and present data regarding museum objects on the web. This thesis also presents how objects are described and made accessible to the public in the two systems. To evaluate the usability, a heuristic method combined with Systematic Usability Evaluation has been used. The description and accessibility of object representations in the systems are evaluated using indexing and classification theories from the field of Library and Information Science. Additional theoretical background that has been used is how users search and browse information systems.

The main purpose of this Master?s thesis is to do a benchmarking study of the marketing activities at the public library of Valdemarsvik. The purpose is also to describe and get a deeper understanding of benchmarking as a method for improving library activity. Four major problem areas are addressed: How can one use benchmarking as a tool to achieve change? How can one learn with benchmarking? What similarities and differences are there between benchmarking and other similar methods for competence development? Is benchmarking better than other similar methods for competence development? The empirical approach was qualitative and the method chosen was action research.

This paper aims to describe and elaborate on a recent discursive change within the new-age movement. Since the seventies and the publishing of speculative popular science books like The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra and The self-aware universe by Amit Goswami, the idea that quantum physics resonates with spirituality has become the topic of hundreds of books and movies.The quantum-spiritual discourse has three distinct ways to approach quantum physics in its discussion on spirituality: The parallelistic approach which emphasizes the similarities between eastern philosophies and modern physics, the monistic-idealistic approach which tells us that mind is the foundation of matter and the scientific spiritual approach which tries to explain spiritual claims scientifically. In the quantum-spiritual discourse, quantum physical phenomena (e.g. non-locality and entanglement) are being called upon to validate metaphysical statements. The primary assumption of the discourse is that the shift of paradigm due to the establishment of modern physics also is a shift of paradigm of spirituality.With the object to examine the common claims made in the discourse, cross-references between spiritual arguments and facts of quantum physics are being made.

The object of this thesis is to direct attention onto female inmates who is a disregarded user group within the discipline of library and information sciences. This study has been performed on location at the Hinseberg correctional institution where nine female criminal offenders constitute the empirical foundation of our inquiry. The question proposed for solution is as follows: Is there a correlation between socio-cultural prerequisites and the reading habits of the female inmates - and if so how can it be described? Among the conclusions that we have drawn from our study is that the socio-cultural environment has an influence on the well-being of the inmates which in its turn has an impact on their reading. However, the effects on their mental state vary and consequently so does also their reading.

Today multi-touch technology is the basis for many new techniques designed to improve interactions with computers and mobile devices. It seems that multi-touch screen interface makes the user handling very natural in the sense that there is no need for a manual in how to interact with the object on the screen. The aim with this paper is to establish a fundamental set of design principles intended specifically for large multi-touch interfaces. To reach this goal we have implemented a couple of sub-goals beforehand: It was essential that we acquired a good understanding of the current state of the multi-touch interface and the different implementations that exist today. To make this possible we constructed a multi-touch display, "Rosie". Knowing how the hardware is produced today will help us understand the limitations and also the possibilities of the design implementations today and in the future. We also needed to devise a sound interaction design process that conveys the modern designers work.

The aim of this study has been to examine the role of control mechanisms when it comes to building relationships in a small business network. In order to reach this goal, we have performed a case study of a Swedish supplier of machines to the engineering industry, which acts as the exclusive representative of a foreign manufacturer on the Swedish market. Main results: A number of control mechanisms, both formal and informal, could be identified in the network. Their specific use, as well as relative importance differ between different actors in the network. In general, the importance of formal control mechanisms decreases as the relationship evolves over time and the importance of informal ones, mainly trust, increases in a corresponding manner..

In soundscape research, the field?s methods can be employed in combination with approaches involving sound quality attributes in order to create a deeper understanding of sound images and soundscapes and how these may be described and designed. The integration of four methods are outlined, two from the soundscape domain and two from the sound engineering domain. This study has shown that by combining these methods the understanding of both the entire soundscape and the specific sounds increase. The study also shows that when the methods are used, there is a qualitative change of the description and understanding of soundscapes and the concrete description becomes more elaborate..

More than 90 % of all business activity in the world market consists of small and midsized companies today. Recent studies have shown that there has been an increase in small companies? certification to ISO's management standards. Smaller organizations tend to have more limited amounts of resources at their disposal than larger ones. This can result in difficulties during the implementation process of ISO 9001.

The aim of this study is to investigate a specific form of Special Interest Tourism (SIT), namely health- and fitnesstravels. This kind of travelling is studied from a Swedish perspective and includes aspects like gender and age in active tourism. It also includes which travel motivations that lies beyond the choice of an active vacation.The study is based on a survey that was sent in an e-mail to the health tourism company InShapeTravel´s customers. The answers to the survey has been analyzed and related to earlier research about active tourism.The result shows that more women than men participate in the kind of healthy travels that InShapeTravel offers. A majority of the respondents are between 41-60 years old and the most common travel motivation was ?Better physic/psychic wellbeing?. .

The topic of interest is why Swedish unemployment after OPEC - 1 remained exceptionally low, compared to the OECD average. The object of study is the evolution of welfare institutions, like the Rehn ? Meidner model, after WWII, and the aim is to explore why the institution of solidaristic wage bargaining collapsed coming the nineties. Deployed theoretical perspectives are how domestic institutions determine a country's adaptation to alterations of the international economic system. However, equally important are how policy objectives, like full employment, becomes institutionalized and therefore guides the actions undertaken.

Around the world, forests are generally being fragmented and as plant populations decline in both sizeand number of individuals, the genetic variation will also decrease whitch in the end leads to totalextinction of the plant. In this paper, I wanted to investigate what specific species of trees and shrubsyou usually find in the edge and core habitats in some of the forests in the Baltic Sea region. I alsowanted to identify the edge effects and their sources and finally compare the results between thedifferent regions.The data sources used are derived from the ongoining research project Landscape structures, patterns ofbiodiversity and conservation strategies in the Baltic Sea region by Kari Lehtilä, Patrik Dinnétz ochTiina Vinter who have made a record of all herbaceous plant species in four randomly chosen forestregions situated around the Baltic Sea: Estonia, Skåne, Södermanland and Germany. I made statisticalanalyses, using the computer program R, concerning the distribution of species in the edge habitats ofthe forests as well as in the core habitats. I performed generalized linear models and then variationanalyses with the factors light and biomass in order to investigate wether edge effects might appear dueto these factors.

This bachelor thesis in science Informatics contains the qualifications for the applying of IT in education for students in elementary school, grade 1-3. By empirical case study on an existing elementary school, whose success on IT use is noticed, describes how to apply IT in the classroom in an adequate way. We look at different theoretical frameworks in interaction and design of systems designed for learning purposes, and satisfies their specific needs and situations within the classroom's four walls. The current lack of statistical measurements on students' results and effects of the use of IT in teaching, prevents further improvements. If we simultaneously work to develop more well-designed systems that are designed for this purpose, it is possible that the effects become more and better.

Drawing on earlier research, and using observations as the method, this study presents a design of a nature playscape for children. Applying outdoor pedagogy to the fundamental structure of a specific location, the study proposes a design of a playscape, over a more obvious design, for instance one based around a quiz walk.The theoretical framework is Gibson?s theory of affordance, and the goal has been to create a "play flow". The study concludes that spatial rhetorics can be an important tool when teaching children about nature..