The ability to tackle NP-hard problems has been greatly extended by the introduction of Metaheuristics (see Blum & Roli (2003)) for a summary of most Metaheuristics, general problem-independent optimisation algorithms extending the hill-climbing local search approach to escape local minima. One of these algorithms is Iterated Local Search (ILS) (Lourenco et al., 2002; Stützle, 1999a, p. 25ff), a recent easy to implement but powerful algorithm with results comparable or superior to other state-of-the-art methods for many combinatorial optimisation problems, among them the Traveling Salesman (TSP) and Quadratic Assignment Problem (QAP). ILS iteratively samples local minima by modifying the current local minimum and restartinga local search porcedure on this modified solution. This thesis will show how ILS can be implemented for MSA.

When farm animals are transported there are several factors that can affect their welfare. If the vehicle has an accident the welfare of the animals transported will probably be compromised. The aim of this study was to make a survey of accidents with animal transportation vehicles in Sweden. The survey included the number of accidents from January 2000 to May 2014, the cause of the accidents and how the animal welfare was affected by the accident. The authorities which were likely to have reports about accidents involving animal transports were contacted. There were no collected records about transportation accidents and the authorities referred to eachother for information.

AbstractThis study explores how well teachers think they succeed in their mission to include children with special needs into their ordinary groups of children. Interviews were carried out with five teachers in practice of the public school (year 2,3,5 and 6). The teachers were asked what support they have got from the schools manager, initially and ongoing, (information, necessary education, supportive expertise personnel, assistant teacher to the child and schoolmaterial.) The teachers were also asked how inclusion is arranged by three indicators of participation: physically, socially (interaction) and didactically -in educational situations of reading and writing. One finding of the study was that inclusion is difficult to arrange if  parents of included children demand secrecy of the diagnosis their child has. Three cases reveal severe problems of acceptance for the included child by the peers.

This study focus on how two local news papers in the northen part of Sweden reported about the investigation of illegal hunting, called Kalixhärvan, in the years of 1983-1984. The study also adress how this newspapers presented the agents that is mentioned in the newsarticles, who played an importent part during the investigation. The study is based on the analysis of eight articles involving the investigation. The aricales is selected from march 1983 to march 1984. The analys is made using the method of critical linguistics and with the theoretical ground in theories of masculinity and stereotypes.

The present study deals with task-oriented conversations between a person with hearing loss and a relative or friend. The purpose was to investigate how the participants in the task-oriented context co-construct understanding, and to focus on different kind of repair strategies that the participants may use to make the hearing loss relevant in the conversation. The method used was Conversation Analysis (CA). The material consisted of eight videotaped task-oriented conversations between a person with hearing loss and their significant other. Altogether eight persons participated in the study ? four of them had a hearing loss and the other four had normal hearing.

The fork lifter chipper truck is a concept which has been developed for harvest and transport of bio fuel. The system consists of one fork lifter chipper truck and 1, 2 or 3 transport lorries, usually two, which serves the fork lifter chipper truck. The system is driven by the fork lifter chipper truck that produces chipped material into a container on the truck. When the container has been filled the truck drives to the landing site where it?s offloaded.

In the process laboratory of Metso minerals (Sala) AB, continuous tests have been made with a laboratory unit High-Rate thickener. The tests are made in order to compare three methods of thickening techniques of suspended solids. The three techniques are High-Rate thickening, conventional thickening and lamella thickening. The High-Rate and the conventional trials are based on a continuous method, while the lamella thickener is based on batch trials. Because the lamella thickener is based on batch trials and there were some optimization problems with the adding point of the flocculant at the continuous trials, it was not feasible to compare the lamella thickener with the other two thickener types.

Many dogs in Sweden are put up for adoption at the Swedish buy- and sales site?Blocket?. This because in Sweden, rescue shelters mostly takes in dogs that have been confiscated by the police. The aim of this study was to investigate what kind of dogs that are put up for adoption and why owners put their dog up for adoption and also compare the results with those from other countries. 800 dog advertisements from ?Blocket? were collected in the study between January 31st and April 10th 2012.

Through discourse analysis of twelve Library and Information Science theses, covering the period between 1975 and 2007, this thesis examines representations of homosexuality and homosexual identities. By using queer theory as a point of reference aspects such as essence/construct, equality/difference, notions of gender and views on the historical and contemporary situation of homosexuals are brought to the fore in the analysis. It is shown how the material unequivocally posits the contemporary situation of homosexuals favourably in comparison to a past signified by prejudices and oppression. This can be seen as an implicit essentialism in the texts, though ambivalences open up the possibility that it in some cases may be only strategically used while explicitly adhering to constructionist views. In linking concepts of a homosexual difference to prejudices, frequently involving notions of inverted gender performances or sexual ?extremes?, the discourse of progression posits normalcy and assimilation as positive values.

ABSTRACT Tobacco Rattle Virus (TRV) is a soilborne plant virus. It is an important pathogen in potatoes where it causes spraing disease. This disease can lead to significant economical loss for the farmer, so it is imperative to get the proper diagnose before planting. TRV is spread naturally by free-living nematodes (Trichodorus and Paratrichodorus). Transference of TRV to a plant occurs when the virus-carrying nematodes feed on plant roots. The relationship between virus, nematodes and plants is complicated, and has to these days not been fully characterized. The diagnostic methods available today do not work sufficiently.

This report deals with the theory and empirical evidence of how knowledge generated within a project is to be captured and shared with other projects and the surrounding organization, after the end of a project. A number of authors have highlighted knowledge management within a company as a key component in building a unique competitive advantage and knowledge should therefore be considered a very important resource within companies. The difficulties of ensuring that knowledge generated within a project can benefit other projects are many. The nature of the project form has been highlighted as one of the biggest problems, due to the fact that budget and time requirements often restrict the propensity to work with knowledge transfer. Other difficulties that this report highlights are in particular the lack of a knowledge sharing culture within the organizations, as well as human cognitive and psychological limitations and lack of tools design for knowledge transfer.

A one-cylinder research engine has been used for studies with a Diesel Dual Fuel concept (DDF). DDF is a concept that utilizes a pilot diesel injection to ignite a homogenous natural gas/air mixture. Emissions and engine efficiency have been analyzed in an emission cycle called European Stationary Cycle (ESC) and the knock/pre-ignition problems with this type of engine have been investigated.At low and mid torque levels, an early diesel injection around 60 crank angles degrees (CAD) before top dead center (TDC) was used. At these loads raw NOxemissions was below EURO 6 level (0.2 g/kWh). NOxwas at EURO 5 level over the complete ESC without after treatment and with SCR at high loads it should be possible to reach EURO 6.One issue with DDF is the high HC emission levels.

This thesis was conducted to assess how the privatization of Iran Air process managed in last efforts and how should it be in right way. It increases the knowledge about privatization in Iran and the need for it. Iran air as our case study is a flag-carrier airline company that is protected by government regulations and subsidies. We try to find the reasons for failure of privatization in Iran Air and their attempt on privatization.The method used to collect data was a qualitative methodology, consisting of semi-structured interviews with relevant managers, and knowledgeable professors and the official sites and press. In conclusion, we find that privatization is an important need for Iran Air Company and the main problems that are against Iran Air can be categorized to political, financial, and social.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate if vacuum insulation panels are a competitive alternative to traditional insulation.Vacuum insulation has been used as insulation in buildings in Germany and Switzerland for a few years. In Sweden the high-performance insulation material is mainly used in refrigerators, freezers and vacuum thermoses. The development is proceeding well and vacuum insulation is becoming more common in the construction industry. Since it is a relatively unexplored material on the market there are many flaws and problems with the material.The questions we have chosen to answer in this report include an increased knowledge of vacuum insulation, various problems that may arise when handling/installation and the pros and cons of vacuum insulation compared to standard traditional insulation.The methods we have chosen to use in this report is a literature study, interviews with various suppliers and manufactures and calculations to show the differences between traditional and vacuum insulation. Vacuum insulation is 5-10 times better insulation than standard traditional mineral wool insulation, mainly at the beginning of its lifetime.Vacuum insulation panels (VIP) have a service life of approximately 50 years, whereas traditional insulation has a service life of approximately 100 years.

Background:Homeless persons who suffer of mental illness are one group which is marginalized worldwide. Homeless people have a fragmentary contact with healthcare and many of those who have drug abuse problems and mental illness are still undiagnosed. Still, this is not their only issue when various state agencies argue about who will take responsibility for this persons. Aim: To describe the factors that are perceived supportive or restrictive by homeless people with mental illness. Method: The material has been gathered via systematic and unsystematic searches and the study was designed as a literature review.