In order to increase the independence in everyday life of the elderly population, we have developed a lifting aid for loading in the private car trunk. Independence from outside assistance affects self-esteem in a positive direction and can help increase the quality of life for a large group of individuals. As people age and experience changes in performance, it is important that aids and support is available, particularly to reduce the experience of aging and it?s increasing physical limitations. The aim was to develop a function prototype characterized by simplicity, which facilitates loading of the private cartrunk.The project was conducted at the request of Autoadapt AB, which is one of the leadingactors in car adaptations for individuals with disablilities.

The ideas of Sokrates and Plato compared with the ideas in the Swedish curriculum from 1994..

DV01 is a bicycle concept aimed towards a contemporary target group, that considers the bicycle to be both a convenient means of transportation and a product with a high aesthetical value. A bicycle is for many people something that you attach to your own personal style, were not only the bicycles function but also its appearance plays a crucial role. It is also a product that consists of many different components and parts, which all affect the overall impression. The focus of the project has therefore been about finding a balance in the design. When form and function interact in a successful symbiosis, the result is often that the product may last longer and are more loved by its users..

The Master Thesis has been carried out in cooperation with Silva Sweden AB and the objective was to develop a new product concept within the product category for everyday exercise. The purpose of the thesis was to use and analyze methods and tools which aid creativity and concept creation in order to make method recommendations for future projects.During the thesis a number of customer needs were identified, which in turn were translated into 20 concepts. On a concept decision meeting a pedometer-based concept was chosen for development. The new pedometer is in addition to counting steps also able to measure and calculate the user?s total climbed height during a day and present this graphically in comparison to famous monuments or distances.

Organisations and projects use CSCW/Groupware systems for collaboration purposes. These systems and applications are in many cases using a non-transparent GUI, witch is also hard to learn. This paper present a novel system that aims towards being transparent and easy to use. This system, called CollMX, will be evaluated and different ideas for future development will be presented.  The evaluation and ideas are generated by an empiric evaluation and research in different areas related to CSCW. The research does not only focus on the area of CSCW, but also extends towards the Web 2.0 and ideas about awareness..

This thesis has been done at the Unversity of Örebro for Örebro University Hospital (USÖ). In our work we have developed a product for hearing tests to determine hearing thresholds of small children. Our product contains software and a control surface for controlling two separate screens. One of the demands was that our software could handle big file libraries. Reliability and simplicity were essential for the user.In our work we have utilized programming of both microcontrollers and Windows software.

In a society where adults set the conditions for children?s play and generate modern and at times technically advanced products, fundamental characteristics like simplicity, opportunities for motor skills training and learning tend to be neglected. Owing to this, the Linköping-based company Time In wants to introduce a new multifunctional product, which differs from other products in shape and function and lives up to the often overlooked, basic characteristics in a toy.With Time In as the assigner, the purpose of this master thesis has been to use simple means to produce a "learning by playing" concept. Since Time In sells toys and products suitable for children in nurseries and preschools, the development of the products has therefore included a study of nursery and preschool environments.The thesis has been carried out within the Product Design subject area at the Department of Management and Engineering at Linköping University. Concept development has been done in three phases: the Preparation phase, the Design phase and the Presentation phase.

The thesis focus on how organizations can improve the ability of absorbing coworkers ideas in purpose of gaining long term competitive advantage through innovations. The study was conducted at IKEA AB where a campaign to collect coworkers ideas was a big success given the quantity of ideas collected. This fact allows a comparative analysis of idea management in the shape of campaigns and in comparison, idea management in the everyday line-organization.The analysis show that fundamental factors for innovative environments such as organizational climate, culture and leadership perceives auspiciously by the respondents. However, lack of infrastructure such as systems and processes hinders coworkers ambitions to contribute with ideas.An important issue in idea management is the treatment of incentives for innovation. Results of the study show that the ?soft? incentives ?feedback, encouragement and attention have a higher impact in coworkers willingness to the contribution of ideas than for instance monetary rewards..

Syfte: Syfte med uppsatsen är att öka vår kunskap om product displacement samt att utreda den påverkan product displacement har på mottagaren sett ur ett marknadsföringsperspektiv. Pararellt undersöks om fenomenet kan vara en fördel eller nackdel i marknadskommunikationen. Utgångspunkten i utredningen är att varumärkesinnehavare själva använder sig av product displacement.Metod: Denna studie har genomförts med en kvalitativ metod och induktiv ansats. Metodvalet har sin utgångspunkt i den bristande teorin då fenomenet product displacement är ett nytt begrepp sett ur ett marknadsföringsperspektiv. Undersökningen bygger på tjugo kvalitativa intervjuer med mottagare av product displacement samt två respondenter med yrkesanknytning inom marknadsföring.Avgränsningar: Denna uppsats behandlar endast product displacements effekter på mottagaren som i vårt fall är begränsat till studenter i ålder 20-25 år.

Wavecraft AB develops medical equipment for heating of organic synthesises. The heating is done with microwaves, which improves the process in both speed and accuracy compared to the more traditional methods where heating elements are used. This report discusses the developement of an automatic lid mechanism for one of Wavecraft's product prototypes. The company assumes that the final product will be integrated by customers into fully automated systems, and the upgrade from a manually to an automatically controlled lid is therefore an important step in the product's developement process.The first stage och the project was an idea generation process. The ideas generated here were organized into five different concepts of which the best one was selected through the use of a concept matrix.

Profit in first commercial thinnings of today is hard to achieve. This is because of prevailing pulpwood prices and because of high costs of logging and transport. To reduce these costs higher productivity is advocated. One way to increase the productivity is the use of multi-tree handling harvester heads. The aim of this study was to calculate logging and transport costs in first thinnings, where multi-tree handling has been used.

More often consumers demand instant dry soup that can be prepared with a water temperature below 100o C, which is currently not possible, because the dry soup becomes too thin when using water with a lower temperature. In this study, various kinds of starch studies were made to optimize the starch used in the existing product to make it more viscous at both high and low temperatures. The result was that one of the two starches present in the existing product was retained by change in quantity as it contributed to important flavor parameters. The second was removed and replaced with a starch that made the product more viscous at lower temperatures. To find out if the new product differed from the existing product a viscosity measurement and a sensory paired preference test were made.

Trees in urban environment are exposed to extreme conditions, foremost the ones that grow in the hard packed soil along our streets. They are also exposed to damaging insects and fungal diseases both local and new ones spreading from South Europe. The global warming with warmer temperatures provides a longer growing season, making it easier for insects and fungus to establish a habitat. Based on these facts new tree species need to be available for future urban plantings.To determine what these trees would be an interview study began. Six people were selected who have experience in the field of urban environment planting.

The aim of this essay is to illustrate a modern phenomenon, the Olympic Games, by applying the ideas of Mircea Eliade concerning space, time and myth. This literature study is mainly divided in two parts, one descriptive and one analytic. In the first part Eliade?s ideas and some criticism, which has been pointed against his theoretical approaches as well as his character, are presented. In the second part an analysis is carried out, based on the previously presented ideas and elements essential for the Olympics; the idea of the Olympics, the place, the ceremonies, the competition and the concept of individual idolism.I have discussed what seems like gnostic tendencies in Eliade?s ideas, in the sense that both Eliade?s ideas and the concept of Gnosticism argue that knowledge is a necessary condition for salvation, as well as the fact that Eliade and his ideas have not always a pro-Christian approach.

Existing studies concerning private labels are unclear as to whether private label manufacturers carry out product development themselves. Furthermore, there is a lack of studies comparing product development processes in private label companies and national brand manufacturers. This study highlights a set of critical product development factors and assesses their prevalence in four different companies in the Swedish retail business. The study is based on a number of qualitative interviews with key personnel responsible for various table fats. Findings indicate two levels of involvement in the product development process on the private label side.