The main purpose of this master thesis is to investigate the information seeking of lay politicians, part-time politicians and professional politicians in connection with the possible upcoming fusion of the two administrative regions, Västra Götaland and Värmland. The focus of this study has been to study how politicians use and evaluate information and sources of information, and to investigate if there are any differences in how different categories of politicians seek information. Seven politicians were interviewed using semi-structured questions, and a phenomenographic approach was used to analyze the data. In Sweden there are few available studies of how politician seek information, but some international studies have focused on information needs, information sources, selection and evaluation of information. I have used previous research, and data from respondents to compile and analyze my results in three descriptive categories.

AbstractAim: The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper knowledge of how nurse anesthetists feel about their own profession. It was hoped that by gaining a deeper understanding of how the nurse anesthetist is experiencing its own profession, it will create better conditions for development and evolution of the nurse anesthesia profession and skills. Method: for the study a qualitative approach was used in which ten anesthesia nurses were interviewed, aged 27-55 years, four men and six women participated in the study. The interviews were processed and analyzed based on qualitative content analysis. As a theoretical framework Patricia Benner seven skill domains was used.

The purpose of this study is to show the importance of task texts for students in grades 5 when solving mathematical problems. It was conducted in a class 5 (where the children are 11 years old). The pupils were assigned two different tests with mathematical problems; one where the problems were described in text and one where the problems were presented with numbers and mathematical signs. Previously done research, done on bilingual children, (Bernardo, 2002) shows that pupils tend to do better on mathematical tests when no text is presented. My research supports that theory even though the correlation is not that strong.

The oral sensory ability in children can be assessed through test of intraoral stereognosis and two-point discrimination. Currently, these two tests are not frequently used in clinical settings, and normative data are not always available. The aim of this study was to establish normative data for these two tests in children aged 5;6 to 7;0 years. Further, intention was to compare the results with respect to age and gender. In total 103 children participated, 49 boys and 54 girls.

To automate software testing is an investment, and that makes it important to have good knowledge about automation before an implementation is made. In this master thesis a study about automated testing is carried out. The study also includes a closer look at the testing tool TestComplete. TestComplete is one out of many tools on the market that is developed for automated GUI testing and the goal is to get a picture of how well the tool can adjust to CC Systems own applications. Studies show that it is hard to write lasting test scripts.

The thesis was done in collaboration with EAB situated in Smålandsstenar. In the initial discussion faze on doing a thesis with them there was a need to analyze and ensure the strength of an existing product, cantilever racks. This included performing FEM calculations on a model and comparing the results with physical tests.EAB has two models of cantilever racks, a light duty and a heavy duty. Within the heavy duty model series there are five product variants that differ in both size and load capacity. We will be working with the product variant with a load capacity of 1000 kg/arm which is the variant that is in the middle of the series.When we started work on the thesis we did a literature study and couldn?t find any well defined methodology that integrates both product development and computer aided design analysis.

The first part of the thesis consists of a brief introduction to the general principles of target detection and the sensor-systems used. In the following part there is a theoretical description of the algorithms this thesis focuses on. The detection algorithms described in this paper are called Cell Average, Ordered Statistics, 2parameter and Gammadetector. Two different discriminators called Extended Fractal Features and Quadratic Gamma Discriminator are also described. The algorithms are tested on three different types of data, simulated SAR-pictures, authentic SAR-targets and IR-pictures.

After the honor killings of Fadime and Pela, an extensively discussion started in the media, debating honor-related violence and oppression. This debate also made us, the authours of this paper, to pay attention to the problem. As a professional in social work, there are several good points to be made by having an in-depth knowledge in the field, both to discover individuals exposed to honor-related violence and to be able to protect them. The study was conducted by four qualitative interviews with professionals in social work with a professional experience of honor-related problems. Through the interviews, the social worker's view of honor problems emerged.

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka lärares uppfattningar om det nationella provet i engelska, samt hur dessa lärare arbetar med provet för att kunna hjälpa eleverna att nå sina kursmål. Undersökningsmetoden är kvalitativ då vi intervjuat fyra lärare i engelska på en högstadieskola. Intervjufrågorna har innefattat allt från hur lärare arbetar med det nationella provet och hur de ser på provet, till hur målen med det nationella provet uppfylls. Resultatet av undersökningen är att det nationella provet underlättar lärarnas arbete. Lärarna anser även att provet fungerar som ett bra stöd då de ska betygsätta eleverna.

Human capital is professional service firms' most valuable resource and its quality is closely linked to the quality of its services. The purpose of this study is to investigate how professional service firms appraise their employees. A comparative study between an architecture firm and a management consulting firm is conducted with the aim to identify and explain similarities and differences in performance appraisal. Two qualitative case studies are performed and interviews as well as documents are used to explore the area. The thesis builds on a critical perspective and it has an explorative approach.

The aim of this study was to examine how newly qualified social workers from Linnaeus University in Kalmar feel that the school has prepared them with the professional skills to meet the demands that exist within social work. Social work education is a generalist training that will result in a professional qualification. With a qualitative approach eight newly qualified social workers were interviewed.We used the sociology of knowledge as an overall theoretical approach. We also used experience- based knowledge as a theoretical approach. One of the study's conclusion was that the graduates had difficulty linking theory to practice.

This paper examines the professional role of the music journalist and how it has been affected by the expansion of the Internet. The study aims to examine  the profession's outlook and how professional music journalists are working to reach the public with interesting information, despite the fact that the audience of today often can be first to deliver the news. Through qualitative research interviews with three current music journalists the professional role and its development is examined. Based on theories and previous research on journalism, how the media communicates and its importance to society, what it is to be a music journalist and the spread of digitization and the impact of file sharing the results are analyzed. The conclusions of the study are that it isn?t a profession that is disappearing but rather a profession that is working towards a new future.

An investigation of the heat impact of laser cutting on the material properties when producing tensile and impact test specimens of different steel types of varying thickness has been performed. The purpose of the thesis project was to provide recommendations regarding how much material that needs to be milled from the laser cut edge before tensile and impact tests. The study has been performed partly by investigating the test specimens by heat camera when the specimens were cut in the laser cutting line and partly by performing hardness tests, investigation by microscopy, and tolerance and roughness measurements and tensile tests of the laser cut material and material produced in the traditional multi operation machine. The results show that the heat affected zone in the thicker materials is greater than previously thought of, and that the currently used recommendation has to be adjusted. The study clearly shows that the thicker the material, the greater the heat affected zone, independently of the steel type, since the thicker material takes longer time to cut.

The project was based on a request to improve an already existing program and hardware at the electrical engineering department at the royal institute of technology. For maximum ease of use, tests have been done on students to properly design the program for what it is meant to be used for. These tests have been transcribed and analysed, then brought back to the group in a discussion and then transcribed and analysed again, I call this process the ?four step process? (this process is presented and explained in chapter 6.4.). A part of this master thesis was also to analyse the four step process to enhance validity of this research.The project resulted in a new program with a new graphical view and features to help students and researchers to work with the technical tool for electromagnetic readings of planar objects.

This study finds that the Swedish Government has a process for purchasing financial advisory services that is more transaction-oriented than the corresponding process at a Swedish private equity firm. The conclusion is supported by previous research comparing public and private sector purchasing processes. However, the differences between the two purchasing processes are not as significant as one might believe given the fact that the Government, unlike the private equity firm, has to operate under the Public Procurement Act (LOU). The tendency of the Swedish Government to apply a more relationoriented purchasing approach than expected is most likely driven by the fact that this represents the established professional norm for purchasing of professional services in the private sector. As LOU and the professional norm impose contradictory influences on the Swedish Government?s purchasing of financial advisory services, the final outcome depends on which of the two forces that dominate..