I have taught pupils in several schools in eighth and ninth grade in ?weak? groups in mathematics. Most of them seemed to possess potential, but lacked motivation. Even though I tried several pedagogical methods, these approaches failed to engage the students. This prompted thoughts that this may reflect a broader structural problem about the organisation of education in Sweden.

Recent years there has been discussed how the critical situation in the housing market threatens the Stockholm region's growth. The thesis objective is to examine whether there is a scientific link between the lack of housing supply and growth. The thesis also intends to identify solutions for increased housing construction, for instance by examining the conditions for a greater regional perspective and influence on the region's housing supply. The thesis empirical study is based on semi-structured interviews with representatives from the Government, municipalities and the housing industry.In Sweden, research on the relationship between housing shortages and growth has not been conducted to that extent it can be said to exist scientific evidence regarding the growth threat. However, in Britain and the U.S, empirical studies show that a lack of housing supply has hindered growth through negative impact on countries' gross domestic product.

In our study we examined recurrent patterns and changes in the representation ofhomosexual persons in Swedish daily newspapers 1987, 1997 and 2007.We analysed articles about HIV-infected persons and articles with a view to portray thelife conditions of gay and lesbian persons from the three different years. We chose toonly analyze news articles that intend to represent real human beings, which mean thatwe did not analyze reports that only reproduce abstract knowledge from authorities.With analytical tools from semiotics and discourse analysis we identified some recurrentpatterns in the representation of homosexual people. We found that a recurrent pattern inthat when homosexual people are seen as groups, they are described as deviant,discriminated and some times as a threat. When portrayed as individuals the nonanonymouspersons appear in articles and pictures as normal, strong and healthy. Lesbianwomen are not represented in the articles from 1987, but in articles from 1997 and 2007they appear as unhappy when single and happy in a relationship.The results also showed some interesting differences in news representation ofhomosexual persons between the three investigated years.

Sedan industrialismens start har människan påverkat klimatbalansen genom förbränning av fossila bränslen. Rökgasemissionerna förorsakade av internationell sjöfart kan inte tillskrivas någon särskild nations ansvar på grund av dess globala och komplicerade verksamhet. FN:s sjöfartsorgan IMO har således åtagit sig ansvaret att minska sjöfartens miljöpåverkan. Införandet av nya miljömål har resulterat i strängare globala och nationella regler som tvingar sjöfartsnäringen till omfattande anpassningar under kort tid. Som lösning för att uppfylla kommande krav gällande rökgasemissioner har flertalet alternativa bränslen diskuterats.

This study reflects on the swedish model and the models future. The swedish modelmeans that legisilation acts with the collective agreements . The wage issue is notregulated by law instead it is managed by the social partners in the form of collectiveagreements. In 2008, a report was presented by the Commission on a joint regulation ofthe minimum wage for all EU countries. The issue has become increasinglycontroversial and was especially disccused for the election of candidates to theEuropean Parlament last spring.

When stormwater occurs near human activity the water gets polluted. The purity and composition vary widely depending on the types of activities in the area, the type of surface the water comes in contact with, precipitation and many more parameters. It has long been known that stormwater quality can affect both human health and the environment as stormwater is a major contributor to pollution of receiving waters.A human activity that has an impact on the environment in several different ways is traffic and stormwater is no exception. Airborne gases that react with precipitation, oil leaks and fuel systems that drops down on the ground, metals from brake linings and rubber particles from tire wear are some of the aspects you have to take into account when categorizing the relationship between traffic and polluted stormwater.In this project, stormwater samples from a parking lot in Halmstad, Sweden were collected and analyzed with an atomic spectrophotometer. The presence and relationship between copper, cadmium and zinc with different rainfall parameters have been studied.

Deposited waste material degrades within a short period in anaerobic environments. The methane gas that is formed provides a harmful contribute to the greenhouse effect, 23 times larger impact than carbon dioxide. It is therefore desirable to minimize the emissions of methane gas from landfills. This may be achieved by drain the landfill of gas. In this thesis the amount of produced methane gas at the landfill at Örebro has been calculated. Estimations have also been made of the amount of methane gas that might be produced in the landfill in the future.

Denna uppsats unders?ker hur inf?randet av metrobussar (Bus Rapid Transit, BRT) kan f?r?ndra motortrafikledernas roll inom G?teborgsregionens kollektivtrafiksystem, omfattande G?teborg, M?lndal och Partille (GMP). Syftet ?r att belysa planerares perspektiv p? metrobussarnas potential att fr?mja en h?llbar transportinfrastruktur. I en tid d?r h?llbara transportalternativ blir allt viktigare, utforskar studien hur metrobussar kan integreras i regionens befintliga system.

Det började faktiskt redan hösten 2004, när jag satt och arbetade med ett av de otaliga projekt man gör under sin skolgång. Projektet gick ut på att skapa en hemsida med en digital katalog, och voilá, där föddes idén. Sedan fortsatte jag att fundera, vända och vrida på idén, ett system för att skapa digitala kataloger och mindre presentationer som vemsomhelst skulle kunna använda. Just detta att inte exkludera de som inte kan ?Flash? från de som skall kunna redigera systemet har varit en av mina stora grundpelare, ett slags digital demokratitanke. För att skapa systemet har jag använt ?Macromedia Flash MX? och dess inbyggda programmeringsspråk ?ActionScript?. Programmeringsspråket är inte ursprungligen tänkt att användas för att göra system, men jag tycker personligen att jag lyckats bevisa att det fungerar även för det ändamålet.

A recent trend in the technological evolution has been to increase the mobility of the end-user. A contributing factor is the fast rate of improvement in the smartphone area. This, in turn, has changed the expectations end-users have on the availability of services, which has allowed mobile applications, apps, to find their place in everyday life.This study has been conducted at Scania?s Fleet Management department that offers a web-based service where haulage contractors can administer, monitor and follow up on their vehicle fleets. The purpose of this study was to investigate if Scania?s existing web service should be extended into the mobile area, and if so, what organizational and technical challenges app development imposes.

The most common method for identifying merchandise in the commerce is by barcodes. Symbian OS is an advanced operating system aimed at cell phones and the most commonly used in smart phones. Opportunities to a full range of new services are given through barcode recognition in a Symbian OS based device. Therefore the purpose of this degree project was to create an application which would contribute to a future solution aimed at shopping where the cell phone constitutes a reader of items? identification numbers.

Kantzoner har en lång tradition i odlingslandskapet och används i dag som en miljöåtgärd som finansieras med ersättningar för att minska näringsläckage från åkrarna och bevara biologisk mångfald. Behovet av denna typ av åtgärder är en konsekvens av människans utnyttjande av naturen, där denna formats för att anpassa mänskliga behov med begränsad hänsyn för hur naturen påverkas av detta. Metoder för hållbar utveckling efterfrågas och med detta i åtanke tillägnas fokus i denna litteraturstudie kantzonernas potential att bidra med värden för både miljö och människa.Studien riktar sig mot möjligheten att skapa naturliga habitat där de mänskliga insatserna bidrar med positiva värden för naturen, samtidigt som hon kan ta del av de värden som produceras i kantzonen. Resultatet visar på att det finns en god möjlighet att producera biomassa samtidigt som produktionen i sig gynnar inbindningen av kol, minskar näringsläckage och ökar den biologiska mångfalden. Potentialen för kolinbindning beräknas vara 31% högre i gräsmarker jämfört med åkermark vilket genererar en möjlig kolinlagring på 95 ton/hektar.

Regulations on the exhaust emissions of HD-diesel engines are becoming more and more stringent, and therefore, emission after-treatment systems are commonly used. These systems rely on catalytic conversion of NOx,CO , and HC emissions, and are thus dependant on temperature. At low load of the engine, exhaust temperatures are not sufficient for the after-treatment components. Therefore, means to increase the exhaust temperature while maintaining low emissions and fuel consumption are needed.The focus of this project has been to develop strategies for the lift profiles of exhaust and intake valves in the engine, with the goal to raise exhaust temperature in combination with low emissions and fuel consumption. The strategies have been tested in a single-cylinder research engine equipped with a hydraulic variable valve actuation system.

The aim of this present study was to determine and evaluate whether the presence of brooktrout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and sediment load may be a threat against the reproduction anddistribution of freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) in a creek located innorthern Sweden. Freshwater pearl mussel is an endangered species and is dependent ofbrown trout (Salmo trutta) to reproduce. Therefore there are concerns of indirect effects onthe population of pearl mussel by competition between brown trout and brook trout. Ditchesfrom a nearby gravel road have been fixed to lower the sediment load into the creek. I tried toevaluate this action plan.

In this study, I have examined the previous Social Democratic government?s communication with the voters, focusing on its promises during election campaigns, and the presentation of achieved results. The theories used are the mandate- and sanction theory; the first focuses on voters comparing manifestos to find the most agreeable, whilst the latter concentrates on voters evaluation the work of the previous government, to either discharge or support it. For the sanction theory to work, voters must have the necessary information to evaluate the government in progress. The question is; did the previous government provide the voters with such information?This has been done through scrutinizing the Social Democrats? election manifestos that was used between 1994 and 2006, to examine what the party promised to achieve in economics and the labor market.