Our language bear traces of who we are and of the culture we live in. As human beings we create language in interaction with other people and with our society. Media and commercials are other factories that strongly influence our everyday life as well as our language. With this study we would like to illuminate how our surroundings influence our language. We focus on the language of young people and their use of symbols, phrases and expressions when they reflect on relations.

This essay discusses people's perception of what is important for their well-being where they live. The main aim has been to find out what factors in the outdoor environments of the city are appreciated and why they are valued positively. A comparison has been made between Uppsala in Sweden and Tarapoto in Peru to see if, and in that case what, differences can be found in the values of people. I chose to carry out a survey study that got a response rate of 57 persons in Tarapoto and 63 in Uppsala. The results show that there are some common basic values, but on the whole the outdoor environments are valued differently in the two cities. In short, the Peruvians value functionality, cleanliness, small distances to family and service, while the Swedes value a central location and short distances to friends apart from functionality and good service opportunities. Conceivable reasons for this might be for example different cultural prerequisits, material standard and climate. .

A few hundred metres from the beach on Fårö, Gotland, is a small lot with pine trees, green moss and wild fl owers situated, owned by my brother and sister. Eventually they would like tobuild a summerhouse here, in close proximity to their relatives. My project is a proposal for the summerhouse at the site, within the restrictions of 61 m² building area, with focus on interior,exterior and the environment.My proposal is a house close to the surrounding nature, with reference to the the building tratition on the island and with local materials. Orientation to the sun, road and neighbours hasall infl uenced my ideas of this house and the relation between inside and outdoor living, were important in my creative work. The aim was to create a house made for the family and theirholiday lifestyle and allowed consideration for the possibility of a growing family with more children.

Can landscape architecture be seen as an economical asset rather than as a cost? Can well designed outdoor environments affect real estate values? This study investigates the economical value of landscape architecture and its influence on real estate prices. Research results on the relation between landscape architecture and real estate values are here compiled together with a survey made among players on the Swedish real estate market of their attitudes towards the problem. This study shows that the players on the Swedish real estate market often are unaware of the economical effects of landscape architecture pointed out in the compiled research. The study also shows that to use this information in actual projects several steps need to be taken: better knowledge of the problem, more and better compilations of research results, effective channels to spread the compiled information, proper employment and implementation of the knowledge. Extended knowledge of the relation between landscape architecture and real estate values will result in new ways of making money on outdoor environments. This would in turn have consequences for how the real estate business treat outdoor environments and how landscape architects work. The study is divided into four main questions: 1: Is there a relation between good landscape architecture and real estate prices? 2: What is the view of the players on the real estate market in this matter? 3: Is there more knowledge, research and practical models at hand? 4: What future steps can be taken to broaden the knowledge and apply it to real situations?.

The control of indoor temperature must be able to handle large time constants and both measureable disturbances like outdoor temperature, and non-measurable disturbances, like waste heat from appliances. Due to cheaper microcontrollers (small computers with designated tasks) with better performance, more advanced and computation-demanding methods for control can be used.In this thesis, Generalized Predictive Control (GPC) has been implemented and tested on a theoretically derived model of a house. GPC states that a model of the system is estimated in every sample, and the control is carried out simultaneously, based on predictions of the model. Disturbances like solar radiation can be estimated and used in the control as well. The control signals are determined by quadratic programming, which makes it possible to consider conditions, for example limitations on the control signals.GPC requires a number of parameters to be defined, like model order and control signal penalty, but is relatively robust for variations in them.

This investigation is aimed to analyze and gain insight into how young people of the "second generation immigrants" identify themselves in a society where they are seen as immigrants of the environment in view of the name. Also, how they identify themselves during trips to their home/country of origin are of relevance to see if they are affected in their own identification, depending on how they believe they are seen from the outside.Through a survey, the statistics were produced, which serves as a preliminary to the larger part of the investigation where six individuals were interviewed in order to give deeper answers to the questions sought. The answers that emerged were then analyzed in relation to selected theories.In connection with the investigation it has emerged that the young people in question often identify themselves in such a way that they think that the surroundings look at them. It is in relation to how others see them as they see themselves, which creates a distance between the surroundings and themselves. With increased knowledge on both sides, this distance between the environment and the young people in this investigation maybe could reduce..

In this Master thesis an effective method is presented to find out what is requested in a forest or outdoor recreation. The aim with the study is to find out how Sveaskog can increase the general interest for experiences in nature and improve the access for recreation. Some questions that have been used to answer this purpose are: Who is visiting/not visiting the recreation area? How is it possible to increase the number of visits? The study is carried out in Kilsbergen and mainly centered around Ånnaboda, which is the natural place for people to meet at and undertake recreational activities. The method that is used is a mail-survey that was sent to visitors and people living in Örebro. People living in Örebro represent potential visitors who live close to the recreation area.

The park at Djäkneberget and its surroundings is a beloved area in the city of Västerås. The area is one of the most popular sites for outdoor life and recreation of all sorts and it attracts different kind of people at different times during the day. The park includes a pond-system where protected species of frog and toad live and breed. These animals have been the objects for many discussions concerning whether to explore the closeby areas or not. The prospected area is situated just next to one of the main ponds and consists of valuable foundationwalls were experts predict that the frogs and toads spend the winter. The municipality has now decided to restore this area to parkland. Because of the areas fascinating history I have chosen to do some research and give a short resume about it. For example are the existing park of Djäkneberget and its founder described together with a short description of the watersystem with the watertower that is situated in the area.

Navigating to different locations isn?t always easy. Imagine then how it is for people with a visual impairment to walk across the street or to get from one point to another. The Swedish Association of the Visually Impaired (SRF) has pointed out that today's society is not sufficiently accessible to people with visual impairment and there are improvements that need to get done. Technology is something that has evolved a lot this last decade and occurs today almost everywhere in our environment.In some areas, technology has facilitated people's daily life very much and we have therefore chosen to examine whether a combination of several technical functions integrated into the fictive artifact called Eyenavster can facilitate outdoor orientation and increase the accessibility for people with a visual impairment.Qualitative data collection methods have been used in this study by six interviews to answer our question.

This is a qualitative study that has investigated four people's experiences of making a physical change of life. With narrative depth interviews, the study was characterized by the informants own experience of their experiences and thoughts. With questions surrounding their experiences of alienation, belonging to the standard, people's attitude and prejudices against their appearance. The investigation revealed that the informants experienced shared experiences and things that separated them. The conclusion based on the people in this study was that people with low self-esteem are at greater risk for experiencing alienation.

The connection between rune stones and churches is a known phenomenon. Unfortunately, very little is known about the previous function of the church sites, and consequently very little is known about what the connection between rune stones and churches means. The purpose of this study is to examine the rune stones connected to churches in the administrative province of Jönköping, in an effort to ascertain their purpose, symbolism and function. The aim is to find out if the rune stones connected to churches were primarily or secondarily placed on the site where the church was later built, and why some rune stones were built into the churches. Further, the inscriptions and iconography of rune stones have been analysed, and also their relation to their immediate surroundings.

A substantial part of the Swedish outdoor education is being practiced in so called ?school forests?. The concept school forest was first introduced in the 1980?s by the organization Skogen i Skolan. The definition of a school forest is an area that is being used for educational purposes, over which the school and the land owner has reached an agreement of how the school may utilize it.

Through observations of the childrens play, I have made notes of all activities at the pre-school playground. The intention of the observations was to see if the playground environment invites and stimulate the childs motorie development. The study will be a part of a future planning work of the preschool environment.The results show that the pre-school playground environment invites to physical activities that stimulate the childs motory development. The variation of activities is dependent on the design of the landscapes. The pedagogues taking part of the childrens activities are one of the factors which contributed to the childs choice of activity.The preschool plays an important part in the childrens development so it is important that all personnel have basic knowledge on the importance of outdoor activities.Keywords: Fundamental movement, motorie development, preschool playground, outdoor enviroment.

The subject of this project focuses on how Landscape Architects by their profession can explore and directly make a difference in the cityscape. This paper documents the process of art - based research practice. The purpose of installing temporary activities is to encourage people in the city to discover, participate and invite people to be more playful in the city. My experience of interaction in public spaces comes primarily from the education within landscape architecture, from site-specific art installations I have performed in different cities and from observations of landscape architecture, street art and urban life in the cities of Vienna, Berlin and Linköping. It is fascinating and inspiring to see how the urban space can invite and allow visitors to participate and therefore feel invited to the open space. As a landscape architect I wish to create urban spaces that are useful and inspiring for their visitors. The projects main question: How can you make temporary landscapes that encourage outdoorinspired activities at selected locations in the city? is answered by practice based research, an approach in which theoretical research are developed through practical experiments in the designing- and implementation process.

Glass has sophisticated front properties and are used as facades in high buildings. During cold periods, these glass facades could cause thermal discomfort, due to cold downdraught. Cold downdraught can be countered by placing heaters under glass surfaces. Nowadays technology offers highly insulating windows, which is why there is an interest to investigate the indoor climate with only underfloor heating. The research in this area is limited, and few empirical methods are available.