Usability studies are not a central field of research in library and information science. Although literature in library and information science treats the importance of usable user interfaces quite extensively, the literature does not significantly treat potential problems in measuring usability. The aim of this master thesis is to investigate, through a critical analysis, the methods used when conducting usability studies in library and information science. The critical analysis is based on potential problems in measuring usability identified through a literature review from the field of studies Human-Computer Interaction, the concept of usabilitys original domain. The material which is to be analysed, is chosen from one library and information science journal Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology.

Background: Type 2 diabetes is a disease which causes vascular damage, stroke and premature death.Oxidative stress may play a role in the development of insulin resistance and diabetes. Selenium is amineral involved in the protection against oxidative stress, and has been thought to be favorable in theprevention of the disease. However, this has changed since trials observed positive correlationsbetween high selenium levels and incidence of type 2 diabetes.Objective: To examine the studies that investigates seleniums effect on the incidence of typ 2 diabetesSearch strategy: Searches have been done in PubMed and Scopus.Selection criteria: Included studies were human studies in English/Swedish with RCT or cohortdesign with the aim to investigate the correlation between selenium and incidence of type 2 diabetes.Excluded studies were studies whose aim was to investigate the role of selenium in patients withexisting diabetes. Studies regarding pregnant women, animals or children and with in vitro design werealso excluded. Of the studies found in Scopus where MeSH terms were available, the ones who did notinclude relevant terms were excluded.Data collection and analysis: Studies were collected according to the aforementioned criteria.

The purpose of this master's thesis is to investigate how the students at Chalmers University of Technology at Lindholmen in Gothenburg use libraries in their schoolwork. The empirical material consists of the answers of questionnaires that were handed out to two classes of students, on the second year of their education. To illustrate the topic there are a theoretical frame and examples of earlier studies. The theoretical frame is Limbergs texts that deal with for example information seeking and how important it is in all education. The earlier studies are about student's different ways of using libraries.

The main purpose of this Master?s thesis is to investigate how the transfer from academic studies into professional life is experienced in retrospect by professional librarians. The aim is also to examine in which context the studies in library- and information science in Sweden has been formed. To attain the purpose of the thesis four main questions is being asked: In which context has LIS-studies from the period 1993-2007 been formed? Which competence does the professional librarian consider to be the most fundamental in professional life? Does the professional librarian experience that the knowledge attained from LIS-studies is sufficient for the actual tasks? Which are the differences between tasks at different types of libraries? The study is performed through a questionnaire survey in which 94 professional librarians express their experiences of their LIS-studies in retrospect.

The visual representation of management (board of directors, chief executive officer and executive management) in annual reports is an area of scholarship that has not been explored much. In the present study a sample of 87 annual reports from business enterprises within a Swedish context, comprising about 300 photographs, was analyzed using an explorative method of analysis based on semiotics and grounded theory. The influence of the context on images raises a question discussed in the study: Should the photographs in the annual report be categorized as portraits, advertisements and others or should the annual report be regarded as a genre of its own? The photographs showed patterns of homogeneity regarding gender, dress, gestures, colours, pictorial compositions et cetera. The position of the (male) CEO is privileged, but he is also connected to the group through various means like dress and style, thereby further underscoring management as a male enterprise and demonstrating the importance of the suit and necktie in creating homosocial bonds.

Background: Sweden is a country where vitamin D deficiency seems to be common, partly because of its geographical position, which reduces the availability of UVB radiation, but also that people avoid sunlight due to increased skin cancer risk. Research shows that vitamin D plays an important role in the prevention of many diseases such as cancer as well as autoimmune and neuropsychiatric diseases.Vitamin D is a fat soluble pre-hormone and a collective name for closely related compounds which act as hormones after undergoing a transformation in the body.Humans can utilize vitamin D through diet and produce it in the body by exposing the skin to the sun. Previous observational studies and epidemiological studies have established a hypothesis that there seems to be an association between vitamin D supplementation and reduction of depressive symptoms.Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate if vitamin D supplements may decrease depressive symptoms.Methods: This work is organized as a literature review and article search is made in the database PubMed in January 2012. Keywords used were ?vitamin D and depression? and inclusion criteria were: randomized clinical trials, be conducted on humans, written in English.

This thesis deals with tactics for information seeking in electronic databases. An important aspect is knowledge of the relative value of different subject access points. The method used here is literature studies. Nineteen empirical studies are described and analysed with the purpose to compare the relative value of different subject access points. The studies examined compare the relative value of subject access points in relation to each other or in relation to different scientific disciplines.

The main purpose of this examination paper has been to do a review of recent scientific and evaluated studies performed on children 0-15 years of age, treated with an animal as an assistant to the therapist/professional. The key term is Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT). Our focus has been to describe in what fields these kinds of studies have been performed, what the results are and how effective they have been. As a supplement to our study we have performed 8 short telephone interviews with professionals in the same field of occupation corresponding to the studies we have summarized. Our results concerning the studies show that there has been a positive outcome in the treatment of children and adolescents and AAT.

Background: Myocardial infarction is the most common individual disease among people in the west world. In Sweden there are over 50 000 women and men who get myocardial infarction every year and about 40 % of them dies. Exercise training is one part of cardiac rehabilitation and since 1980 Sweden use the guidelines from that time. Aim: The aim was to review exercise-training modalities in cardiac rehabilitation after myocardial infarction and the physiologic- and psychological effects. Method: Facts were obtained by searching through the database PubMed for articles published from 1994 and ten years forward.

The main object of this master thesis is to examine whether domain-analysis could be used toorganize the collections in a library serving interdisciplinary studies, and in that case - howthat could be done. The thesis is based on a case study of a library for Asian studies, which alsoserves as a library specialized in that subject in the Nordic countries. The author has used, i.e.interviews and observations examining who the users of the library are and how these seekinformation. A theory part deals with some earlier studies of information users within arts andsocial sciences, and these are compared to the users of the examined library.The thesis states that one has to look at the different disciplines in which research is done (andcould be done) at the institute to which the library belongs, and that subject terms could beadded to the various documents from the view of those domains..

Background: Traditional oral health education is seldom enough in order for dental care personnel to motivate their patients to good, long-lasting oral health care habits and there is a need for evaluation of other more efficient methods. One of these methods is motivational interviewing. An overview of its origin, definition, theoretical background and practical methods is given by way of introduction. Aim: The aim of the investigation was to review studies that had used motivational interviewing in order to obtain oral health, focusing on prevention and treatment of gingivitis, periodontitis and dental caries. Method: Systematic review. A search question was run through the databases ASSIA, ERIC, PsycINFO, Social Services Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts and PubMed. The articles were reviewed based on defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: Five publications (based on three studies) met the inclusion criteria.

Anders Rådén: Liszt & Alkan: the virtuoso piano study ? practice study or monstrous mutation? Uppsala: Musikvetenskap, 1998. C-uppsats (60 p).The purpose of this essay is to analyse a selection of studies by Franz Liszt (1811-1886) and Charles- Valentin Alkan (1813-1888). Can they be definedas practice studies, or are they reshaped in such a manner, as to establish a larger form reminiscent of the concert study? First of all, typical study characteristics of this time period are determined, then such characteristics are looked for in three of either Liszt's and Alkan's studies (from Douze grandes études S137 and Douze études dans les tons mineurs Op.

This thesis examines Swedish composers' modes of work and production within the Swedish film industry. It starts off with a historical overview treating live music in early silent film, the conversion to sound and the Swedish production climate until present time. The analysis consists of contemporary empirical studies; interviews with people writing music for film, TV and commercials. The musician's perspective is in focus but directors and other film workers are heard as well. The situation for female composers in a male-dominated industry is also discussed.

AbstractThe debate on grammar has been on the agenda for thousands of years. Several different arguments and theories have been used in order to explain the importance of grammar in school. Some newer arguments have been added, while others have stayed, either in their original version, or in a modernised one.This essay aims to clarify the role grammar play in school. In order to do that we have looked into its history, the curriculum, modern research and interviews made with active teachers.The results of the literary studies, the studies of the curriculum and the field studies show that the very presence of grammar in school is disputed. The curriculum of today speaks of an orientation in language, with grammar as a part of it, based on the students? own language.

AbstractThis paper is a comparative study of the final reports of the Norwegian and Danish power studies performed in 2003. While the Danish study found that democracy is thriving, the conclusion of the Norwegian power study was that democracy is in a crisis. The purpose of this paper is to find explanations to why the studies in two Nordic countries arrived at such different results.Methodologically, the paper consists of an ideological text analysis and critical analyses of the discourse. In order to study how the results of the power studies can differ so considerably, the following aspects have been surveyed; 1) external contexts (government inquiries); 2) work process (the researchers? background, role and co-operation); 3) the problem areas and themes studied; and 4) power perspectives.