Transdermal drug delivery, besides painfulinjections with syringes, has long been associatedwith small size particle pharmaceuticals, which candiffuse through the skin. This method of drugadministration has only been applicable on a smallnumber of drugs, where active molecules are smalland delivery time should or can be long.Other drug delivery options are oral administrationand injection with hypodermic needles (ordinaryhospital syringes). In oral administration thestomach and liver tend to dissolve the drug and theeffect becomes more difficult to anticipate, anddrug delivery rates difficult to control. Hypodermicneedles are used as a mean of drug injectiondirectly into the bloodstream. This method ispainful and risks infection due to tissue damageand skin penetration.One way to get a painless non-damaging techniquewith high delivery rate that still can delivery largemolecules is to manufacture an array of microscopichollow needles and equip them with a pumping unitthat delivers the correct amount of drugs.This thesis shows the technique and possibility ofmanufacture micromachined needles using low costtechniques of Ion Track Technology (radiation ofheavy ions creates porous materials), electrolessdeposition (non-current activated wet chemistrymethod of depositing metal) and electroplating.

Changes in swallowing function are common in elderly and chronically ill individuals. Therefore it is important to be aware of these changes and their prevalence. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of dysphagia in nursing homes in the municipality of Linköping, and to correlate dysphagia with variables that can be a cause or a consequence of dysphagia. These variables were gender, age, MMT-result, dentition, weight loss, medical diagnose or number of medications. The intention was also to examine the additional information regarding dysphagia supplied by pulse oximetry.Sixty nursing home residents aged 74-101 years were chosen to participate in the study.

Syftet med den här magisteruppsatsen är att få en bild av hur skolledare och lärare ser på kommunikationsformen medarbetarsamtalet, kopplat till skolutveckling, i den svenska gymnasieskolan. Uppsatsen följer en fenomenologisk forskningsansats, i vilken en etnografisk modell med åtta kvalitativa intervjuer av tre skolledare och fem lärare på två gymnasieskolor setts som en fallstudie. Materialet har analyserats med hjälp av en narrativ metod och kritisk diskursanalys (CDA) och resultatet visar att skolledare och lärare talar om skolutveckling på disparata sätt i medarbetarsamtalet men också att förberedelser och feedback på medarbetarsamtalet skiljer sig åt och upplevelsen av medarbetarsamtalet är därför att det inte påverkar skolutvecklingen på de två gymnasieskolorna..

This final thesis was performed at Ericsson in Gävle between April and June of 2008. Ericsson is a world leading manufacturer of radio base stations (RBS), which handles mobile phone traffic with 2G and 3G technology. The main purpose of this study is to examine if two different types of products (RBS and site material) should have different terms and conditions, today the terms and conditions are the same for both types. During the course of our study we have tried to think of the terms reliability, validity and generalization. The intention in doing that was to keep the thesis at a high academic level. To name an example of this we have tried to keep our minds at an objective level during the interviews and informal conversations.

The aim of this essay is to examine fan culture?s role in Swedish public libraries. I have interviewed, via email, six librarians who encounter and use fan culture in their daily work. The theoretical elements of my essay are based on a modified set of theories by Dorte Skot-Hansen that identifies six ideal types of cultural political rationalities. My study reveals that fan culture is used in Swedish libraries as a tool in increasing user participation in library activities.

This study examines gender differences in the perception and utilization of social support in traditional female- and male workplaces. This study confirms results from earlier studies which suggest that there are gender differences. The survey instrument measures four types of social support: informational, instrumental, appraisal and emotional among 314 working women and men. Women report higher levels of social support on all four types. There is a significant difference in instrumental support between women working in female dominated workplaces compared to men working in male-dominated workplaces and between some of the trades.

The goals of this essay are to identify rituals and ritual behavior at the department of archaeology and ancient history at Lund University. To do this a series of empirical examinations was conducted. Observations, interviews and polls revealed that some ritual behavior is in fact present. Two types of rituals were identified; the interaction ritual, as presented by Erving Goffman in the book Interaction Ritual, Essays on Face-to-Face Behavior, in 1967. The second type of ritual is a ?problem solving? ritual, such as meetings.

denna studie undersöks hur ledare arbetar med medarbetarsamtal för att utvecklamedarbetare och organisationer. Studien har genomförts med utgångspunkt i ledarnasuppfattning om hur de använder medarbetarsamtalet som ett hjälpande verktyg för att få greppom hur medarbetare och organisationen kan arbeta mot samma mål och utveckling. För att tareda på vår fråga har vi använt oss av en kvalitativ undersökningsmetod medsemistrukturerade interjvuer. Vi har pratat med 7 olika ledare som arbetar på två olikaorganisationer. I vår studie har de tillfrågade varit positiva och ansett att medarbetarsamtal ärett viktigt verktyg för att utveckla medarbetare och organisationen men även ett viktigt sätt attfå fram feedback på hur medarbetarena uppfattar ledarna.

The digital era has led to technical advances that have transformed the role of the public library from being a place that is used only through physical visits and material, into also being a virtual space that can be accessed by users from outside the library through Internet-based access to e-media such as e-books and streamed or downloadable audiobooks.The aim of this study is to examine how the role of public libraries in Stockholm County has changed in the process of developing into digital libraries: how this has affected their organisation, work methods and strate- gies, as well as their accessibility. The theoretical framework of the study draws on Michael K. Bucklands theory of information accessibility, which is based on six factors of access that are determined by different types of barriers. The methodology is based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Primary data was gathered through an empirical survey, which consisted of a structured questionnaire distributed to most of the public libraries in Stockholm County and semi-structured interviews with selected librarians and experts for further in-depth understanding.

Barn med Down syndrom (DS) har problem med hypotonus och hyposensitivitet som begränsar rörligheten i ansiktets och munnens muskulatur, vilket därmed försvårar tal och sväljning. Målet med en intra- och extraoralsensorisk behandling är att öka medvetenheten och kontrollen av munnens muskulatur, dess rörelser, spänning och känsel.  Syfte med föreliggande studie var att undersöka effekten av en intra- och extraoralsensorisk intensivbehandling med eltandborste hos en grupp barn med DS och hypotonus. Effekten valdes att studeras utifrån områdena orofacial funktion, läppslutning, talproduktion och oralsensorik. Nio barn i åldrarna 6 till 12 år genomgick behandlingen med fyra behandlingstillfällen i veckan under fyra veckor.

SammanfattningDetta är en kvalitativ fallstudie av fem specialpedagogers arbete med specialundervisning i matematik. Syftet är att kartlägga deras arbete och uppfattningar genom att beskriva och analysera hur de organiserar sin undervisning i matematik, hur de undervisar ämnesinnehållet och hur de ger feedback till eleverna i klassrummet, samt hur de själva beskriver det de uppfattar som det specialpedagogiska inslaget i sin undervisning. För insamling av empirin har en kvalitativ metod med halvstrukturerade djupintervjuer samt observationer i form av ljudinspelningar och ostrukturerade fältanteckningar under lektioner gjorts. Ramfaktorteorier, fenomenografiska teorier, inlärningsteorier samt fallstudien, har styrt mitt sätt att bearbeta och analysera det empiriska materialet. Resultatet visar att det lärande som erbjuds eleverna av fyra av specialpedagogerna bidrar till ett ytinriktat lärande, och feedback som erbjuds bidrar till yttre motivation.

This study aims to examine the effect the evaluation system used by the Stockholm County Council, has on how the healthcare providers themselves conduct the evaluation regarding their own operations. This is done through a qualitative case study of the evaluation systems of the Stockholm County Council and of four primary healthcare producers concerning one primary healthcare contract. The evaluation systems were analysed using Merchant and Ver der Stede's (2007) framework for different types of control. In order to give a more detailed picture this framework was complemented with different types of performance measurement. The evaluation that the Stockholm County Council conducts was found to have little influence on the providers own evaluation with the exception of the quality indicators that are rewarded with a monetary bonus..

The choice between bare-rooted and containerized seedlings in southern Sweden affects the investment costs as well as growth and survival. It is important to take these differences into account when choosing seedling type for reforestation. The most important differences between the two seedling-types is that bare-rooted seedlings has open root systems whereas the roots of containerized seedlings are grown in a container which may contain water and nutrients that are available for the seedling during the first period after planting. Moreover, bare-rooted seedlings are often older which results in thicker stembase and better resistance to attacks of pine-weevil (Hylobius abietis). In order to study differences in survival and growth between bare-rooted and containerized seedlings a survey study of newly planted clearcuts in south-western Sweden was made. In the study tree seedling types was included, one bare-rooted and two containerized with different ages. The population of pine weevils was probably low during the studied period which resulted in lower pine-weevil damage than normally found in this area.

In this paper respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was examined in relation to two kinds of threatening pictures, biological and nonbiological. Based on the results of prior research the hypothesis was claimed to note a difference between the two types of pictures regarding RSA and gender differences regarding cardiac activity due to the emotional stimulus. ECG and respiration were collected from 36 adults, 17 women and 19 men. There were no significant relationship between the different types of threatening pictorial stimuli, and no significant effects of gender were found. The results support some of the prior research on the topic but are in conflict with other.

Syftet med denna litteraturstudie var att belysa sväljningssvårigheter hos patienter som genomgått kirurgisk behandling på grund av munhålecancer genom att undersöka vad som bidrar till sväljningssvårigheter, hur patienterna upplever sväljningen samt hur vårdpersonalen kan hjälpa dessa patienter. Studien baserades på 12 vetenskapliga artiklar som söktes fram i databaserna PubMed och Cinahl. Resultatet indelades utifrån vilket metodologiskt tillvägagångssätt som använts i studierna, videofluoroskopi respektive frågeformulär. Förekomst och resektion av tumör i orofarynx, särskilt tungbasen, gav större sväljningsdysfunktion jämfört med orala tumörer i flera av videofluoroskopistudierna. När frågeformulär användes för att undersöka patienternas självupplevda sväljning sågs att strålbehandling var en viktig negativ faktor för sväljningen.