The study set out to find how artists organize and use their personal collections from a Personal Information Management (PIM) perspective, and how that use affects their practice and their art production. A secondary object of the study was to articulate the ways that personal collections are utilized as tools by creative users.  The empirical data consisted of five qualitative, semi-structured interviews with Swedish and Norwegian sound artists. The constant comparative method was used for analysis, and Activity Theory was used as a theore- tical framework for the study. The study concluded that artists? personal collections, while diverse in content and structure, serve the same functions as tools in creative processes, and that attention to the uses of personal collections highlight needs that could be better met by integrated PIM-functionality.

New method for measuring road quality- A statisticalstudy of the relationship between road quality andsocioeconomic development A new tool with implications for road maintenance has the potential to yield statistical data for road quality in a large number of regions. This thesis investigates the possibility to develop a method, from this data, for evaluating the effects of road quality on socioeconomic development.The thesis is essentially divided into two parts. Part one looks to qualitatively establish the link between socioeconomic development and road quality and the second part focuses on how to develop a method for evaluating the effects of road quality on socioeconomic development. A method was devised using categorical data and a multinomial regression model. This method provides a comprehensive overview of the complex relationship between a variety of different variables.

To be allowed to sell Z-suspended vehicles with dipped beam Xenon or LED lighting, Scania have to develop automatic headlight level control. This master?s thesis aims to be the foundation to that development.The thesis consists of several parts; a market analysis of how competitors to Scania and the general vehicle industry solve this problem; several available principles for detecting the amount of control needed; the construction of a test station for sensors, a control unit and components connected controlled by the control unit; a further theoretical and practical development of one principle ? one rotational sensor connected between the chassis and the back drive axis; a state flow model programmed in Simulink that produces the control signal for the headlight leveling from the sensor input.Lastly the thesis gives some recommendations to the further development and implementation of automatic headlight level control on Scania vehicles..

Insufficient intake of vegetables is a reason for micronutrient deficiencies and malnutrition in developing countries. With urbanization, globalization and a growing world population it is of major importance to secure sufficient food supply for the world?s population. Part of the solution to increased food security among the world?s poor could be the introduction of vegetable home gardens, plots for small scale vegetable production which can provide households with sufficient vegetables as well as serve as an extra income source. The study Improving peri-urban home gardens aims at examining the existence of vegetable home gardens in the peri-urban areas of Hyderabad, India.

The aim was to find out teachers in Swedish as a second language in primary schools view on how they work with a language development teaching in a multicultural environment. I did a semi-structured interview where I both made questions before the interview and also used individualized follow-up questions during my interview. I did that because I really wanted to get answers to the subject and the aim of the essay. Two teachers in Swedish as a second language have been interviewed. The result shows that a holistic approach to language development is important, where great emphasis lies on understanding. Teachers say that communication and interaction are key factors and that it is important with good linguistically appropriate and understandable texts where the words/concepts are learned and used in the right context. .

This thesis examines the relationship between OECD-DAC and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) within an aid efficiency context. The ability for these two actors to cooperate is highly important and determines the outcome for a major part of the development aid in the new millennium. The development agenda for the new millennium emphasizes aid efficiency as a key to a more successful aid, and this requires increased cooperation between all actors. The analysis made is a discourse analysis. The discourse of aid efficiency is analyzed, both its preconditions and results.The analyze finds out that there is a gap between OECD-DAC and CSOs in terms of how to handle aid efficiency.

Subclinical mastitis (SCM) is a well-known problem in the dairy sector, where it causes severe economic losses mainly due to reduced milk production. This is a problem not only in the western world but also in developing countries. Surveys from different developing countries have shown a SCM prevalence of 52.4 ? 88.6 % at cow level and 26.7 ? 63.2 % at quarter-level. To combat mastitis is important to optimize the milk production of the cow.

This thesis treats the development of the European Union asylum- and migration politics and the EU member states transfer of authority to the European Union. The main purpose has been to look closer with the use of the application of theory of neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism on the European Union case. The focus will be to answer the following questions: How has the political development within EU asylum and migration policy developed through the period of The Single European Act to the ratification of the Stockholm program? And how can the chosen theory explain European countries transfer of national decision regarding asylum policy in favor of a supranational European asylum policy? Based on the available material of European Union programs and harmonization measures for this area I have attempted to understand to what extent the European Union?s development in the area of the asylum and migration politics can be explained through the theories of neofunctionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism. The result of my analysis is confirmation of the European Union development of the area of the asylum and migration policy and also a series of explanations according to the theories regarding the member states transfer of authority to the EU.

This study aims to investigate development and reasons behind sustainability reporting in large Swedish companies. By examining 15 companies? environmental and sustainability reports between the years 2000 and 2008, data was collected on matters such as frequency, scope and design. Identified trends were to a large extent in line with previous studies on international development; sustainability reporting is growing in several aspects. The authors have found one major reason for this development to be increasing requirements and expectations from stakeholders and a need for companies to legitimize their actions.

Title Becoming involved in the planning process - from the construction workers perspective.University/Institution Halmstad UniversityKeywordsEmpowerment through participation, construction workers involvement in decision making in the planning process, knowledge management and communication in the planning process, partnering, human resource managementAimThe aim of this bachelor thesis is to provide knowledge and examine how construction workers perceive involvement in the planning process of partnering projects, what they can contribute and what they get out of the planning process.Methodology The study was conducted with a qualitative approach in the form of semi-structured interviews.          The interview studie consist of 10 interviews with construction workers who are specially educated in participating in the planning process at the company ByggDialog AB.ConclusionAll respondents are positive to be involved in the planning process. The main advantages they can see is that they are able to influence technical solutions and methods that will be used later on in the production. Therefore it is important to consider when construction workers should be involved in the planning process so that they get the chance to influence in this decisions.When it comes to the decision making the construction workers should be involved in the decisions that are related to their tasks in the production such as technical solutions, choice of methods and materials. Their main duties and working hours should be in the production.Involvement in planning does not automatically mean that the construction workers are involved in the decision making, it is up to them how much they participate.

Examensarbetet utfördes på NCC Halmstad under våren 2010. Syftet med examensarbetet var att klargöra vad visuell metodik kan tillföra byggbranschen och hur det upplevs av personer som utför byggprojektArbetet innefattar en kvalitativ och en litteraturstudie. Den kvalitativa studien genomfördes med hjälp av sju intervjuer inom Region Syd med personer som arbetat med den visuella metoden NCC Projektplanering. Intervjuerna har ägt rum för att ta reda på hur den visuella metodiken fungerar i praktiken.Litteraturstudien innefattar en utredning av begreppen Lean, Lean Production, Lean Construction, Last Planner och NCC Projektplanering. Den röda tråden från Lean till NCC Projektplanering är att genom ständigt förbättringsarbete skapa engagemang och ökad delaktighet.Den generella uppfattningen av NCC Projektplanering är positiv, dock varierar uppfattningen av metoden efter aktörernas inställning.

SVENSKA: Vårt kandidatarbete gick ut på att ta reda på om det var möjligt att utveckla ett kort spel i hög teknisk kvalitet och ändå skapa ett djupt intryck på spelaren. Under projektets gång utvecklade vi, med hjälp av UDK (Unreal Development Kit), ett skräckspel i 3D till PC vid namn The Horror at MS Aurora. För att erhålla den höga tekniska kvaliteten som vi var ute efter användes metoder som räknas som standard för stora speltitlar på marknaden: Animationer spelades in med Motion Capture och musiken skrevs med en full symfoniorkester i åtanke. Innan produktionsfasen tog vid gick alla gruppmedlemmarna igenom en research-fas, där var och en satte sig in i de områden som skulle komma att vara aktuella under produktionen (d.v.s. hur UDK fungerar, musikteori och orkestrationsteknik, hur man arbetar med Motion Capture-data o.s.v.).

 AbstractSystem methodology is in the very heart of system development, it is a crucial part of how you define your work, how you choose to approach the actual problem at hand and how to solve it. Researchers in the system development field has shown that not all methods in theory are in compliance with how it is practiced by the companies who use them. In our thesis we have studied a larger international IT- company and one of their local offices in Sweden, who some years back changed their system development method from a more traditional to an agile one. Our aim of this study has been to establish whether both of these methods has differed between theory and in actual use, and if so, why this has occurred and what the underlying rationality might have been to promote this change. Our questions that we sought to answer were; 1.

A large part of the Namibian low income population lack access to grid distributed electricity. This mean they are effectively shut out from basic functions such as lighting, information technologies and hygienic food handling. Hence, finding ways of providing affordable off-grid electricity is an important, not to say critical, task.This master thesis is an innovation and concept development project that has been carried out in cooperation with organisations in Sweden and Namibia. The purpose of the project has been to (1) develop a concept for off-grid electricity supply in Namibia and (2) to gain a deeper knowledge within the area of innovation and product development for the Base of the Pyramid population, i.e. the poorest, but largest, socio-economic part of the global population.Essential in this project has been to acquire user understanding and to identify user needs to create a foundation for developing the concept.

There's no doubt today that mankind has contributed to the changing climate byher use of fossil fuels. This must change in the nearby future. The Europeanleaders are expressing concern that renewable energy sources are not beingused to their full potential. The 2001/77/EC Directive on Electricity Productionfrom Renewable Energy Sources was accepted in 2001 to encourage thedevelopment of energy production from renewable sources, which isconsidered a step towards the fulfillment of the goal of the Union, that 12% ofthe gross energy consumption should come from renewable energy sources bythe year 2010.The objective of this thesis is to illuminate the common legislation of the EUregarding renewable energy with regard to goal fulfillment, judicial quality,conflicts with other goals of the EU and other faults. The objective is reachedby a hermeneutic study in which interpretation of written text is the mainmethod.