This thesis describes new methods for automatic crack detection in pavements. Cracks in pavements can be used as an early indication for the need of reparation.Automatic crack detection is preferable compared to manual inventory; the repeatability can be better, the inventory can be done at a higher speed and can be done without interruption of the traffic.The automatic and semi-automatic crack detection systems that exist today use Image Analysis methods. There are today powerful methods available in the area of Computer Vision. These methods work in higher dimensions with greater complexity and generate measures of local signal properties, while Image Analyses methods for crack detection use morphological operations on binary images.Methods for digitalizing video data on VHS-cassettes and stitching images from nearby frames have been developed.Four methods for crack detection have been evaluated, and two of them have been used to form a crack detection and classification program implemented in the calculation program Matlab.One image set was used during the implementation and another image set was used for validation. The crack detection system did perform correct detection on 99.2 percent when analysing the images which were used during implementation.

Tidigare empirisk forskning förevisade samband mellan optimism och hälsa, likaså mellan self-efficacy och hälsa. Föreliggande undersöknings syfte var att utifrån könsskillnader mellan kvinnor och män undersöka hur op­timism och self-efficacy samverkar med deras självskattade hälsotillstånd. Deltagarna var 190 högskolestudenter, varav 113 kvinnor, i Mellansverige. Statis­tisk analys utfördes genom t-test, multipel linjär regressionsanalys och jämförelse mellan korrelationskoefficienter. Mätinstrumenten Life Orientation Test?Revised, General Health Questionnaire och General Self-efficacy Scale, samt ett påstående om fysisk hälsa användes.

Aim: The aim of this study was to study through papers if early intervention of children and adolescents with deaf-blindness can be facilitated through early intervention programs, cochlear implants (CI) and communication strategies.Method: The method that we used was a literature study of scientific articles through Pubmed and Cinahl databases. The articles reference lists were also studied which lead to that more papers were found.Results: Children and adolescents with deaf-blindness can benefit from early intervention programs, when their caregivers were educated to give appropriate response to the children?s behavior. The interaction between children and their caregivers can improve through an early intervention model. Children and adolescents with Deafblindness have variable results from CI.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilka orsaker det finns för ungdomar som avsluter sina studier på gymnasiet och hur studie- och yrkesvägledare följer upp ungdomarna efter avbrottet. Följande frågeställningar har formulerats: Vilka är de faktorer som gör att ungdomar avbryter sin gymnasieutbildning? Hur ser processen ut från att ungdomarna bestämmer sig för att hoppa av och till att den gör det? Hur arbetar studie- och yrkesvägledare med uppföljning av ungdomar efter avhopp från gymnasiet? Vi har använt oss av kvalitativ metod och genomfört fyra intervjuer med studie- och yrkesvägledare. Tidigare forskning finns kring orsaker till studieavbrott, hur man ska motverka avbrott, vilka konsekvenser avbrotten har och hur studie- och yrkesvägledare arbetar med det. För att analysera det empiriska materialet har teorierna Careership, Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) och Gottfredsons teori. Resultatet som vi fick fram var att det fanns olika orsaker till studieavbrott, de vanligaste var felval, påverkan av omgivning och mobbning. Ungdomarna befinner sig i en svår situation under valet och behöver stöd från omgivningen.

I denna studie undersöks sju skolor som saknar vägledare genom intervjuer med skolledarna. Syftet med studien att studera hur rektorer på skolor som saknar vägledare ser på och tolkar vägledning samt hur de organiserar och tillgodoser vägledning I studien används en kvalitativ metod, vilket är relevant för undersökningen eftersom målet är att få en helhetsförståelse och en djupare inblick i skolledarnas syn kring vägledning. I arbetets teoridel presenteras olika teorier och förklaringsmodeller om ledarskap, organisering och översättning (tolkning). Skolledarnas arbete innebär ledarskap inom skolan, organisering av skolan och tolkning/översättning av skolans styrdokument som skollag och läroplan. Resultatet visar i sin helhet att skolorna som saknar en utbildad vägledare kompenserar denna tjänst med annan personal, det kan vara allt från mentor till specialpedagog eller en konsult som redan har annan sysselsättning på respektive skola, detta för att spara på anställningskostnader. Skolledarna ser de knappa resurserna från kommunen som en orsak till att vägledning inte prioriteras och menar att staten och kommunerna därefter bör sats mer på vägledning genom att höja budgeten..

AbstractEssay in political science, C-level, by Line Säll, spring semester 2007.Tutor: Susan Marton.?To do things by the rule of law -A study in the discretion of front-line bureaucrats?This essay has it´s starting-point in the theoretical problem of social science to unite democracy and bureaucracy. The purpose is to illustrate the problems with the discretion of front-line bureaucrats in a democratic state. The theoretical approach is front-line bureaucracy-theory. Certain characteristics of the work of street-level bureaucrats makes it impossible to severly reduce discretion.

Ella Mathematics is a web portal that will completely replace the printed math text book in the Swedish elementary school. When the math education is moved in to the digital world the flexibility and adaptability will increase.In 2011 the Swedish government revised the Swedish school system, which contained a whole new curriculum for the elementary school math education. This has been the foundation for the development of Ella Mathematics and the design of the three different users; student, teacher and parent. The development has been done with Dynamic Product Development methods from the project start in September 2011 until the final exam in May 2012.Ella Mathematics has been developed with the pupil?s math knowledge in focus.

The structural rationalization of rural firms in Sweden has led to many new creative ways of developing companies. The agriculture sector is characterized by the need of capital in form of buildings, labor and inventory. The rationalization process has led to free capacity in rural firms when new technology make buildings and inventory not longer necessary for the production process. To get a better cost coverage this free capacity can be used to start-up new business areas that help the rural firm to growth.The study aims to identify factors that motives entrepreneurs in rural firms to develop new business areas. The purpose is also to analyze driving forces that lies behind development of rural firms and the forces that support or not support development in rural firms.The study is built upon five cases that all can be categorized as firms with different size and orientation.

Adolescence is more and more characterized by messages containing allusions and attitudes through social agents (family, friends, school and media). Therefore the purpose of this study was to investigate what significance the social agents and their messages, concerning sexuality, have in relation to young people's thoughts, questions and socialisation.The study is made from the young people's perspective. Our target group was 15 to 16-year-olds in ninth grade at a compulsory school in Sweden. The quantitative part of the study consisted of an anonymous and voluntary questionnaire among the students. To achieve a greater variety we made an interview as a complementary addition in which nine students participated.We found our main theoretical starting point in Anthony Giddens's theories about social agents, modernity, post modernity and sexuality.The conclusion was that the young people in our study foremost associated sexuality to sex, love, relationships and sexual orientation.

Det nya arbetslivet har blivit alltmer komplicerat och kravfyllt. Nya kunskapskrav har växt fram i takt med arbetsmarknadens strukturomvandling och samhällets individualisering (Allvin, 2006). Individer förväntas bli ?sin egen agent? och ständigt sträva efter att hålla sig anställningsbara och ?anställningsbarhet? har således blivit ett policybegrepp som används flitigt inom den politiska debatten kring utbildning och arbete (Berglund & Fejes, 2009). Som blivande karriärvägledare är det relevant att förstå vad det innebär att vara anställningsbar för att på bästa sätt se till individens behov.

The subject of this master thesis concerns the area of change in libraries, with special orientation towards privatisation. Its aim is to investigate how privatisation is portrayed in one of Sweden?s largest library magazines, Biblioteksbladet, in order to gain insight into why these portrayals are what they are, and what consequences they might get. Three theoretical viewpoints create the general base of the thesis; first, Fairclough?s critical discourse analysis (CDA) theory on the relations between text and society; second, Audunsson?s theory concerning how change is dealt with in public libraries; and third, a conceptual framework on privatisation consisting of definitions and perspectives of the phenomenon.

Young councillors are currently under-represented in Sweden's municipalities. Young councillors are also stepping down in greater numbers than older members. This paper explores the reasons why young councillors choose to resign from their mission, so to identify possible remedies to the problematic trend of underrepresentation of younger people in local authorities in Sweden.This qualitative essay intends, through interviewing politically-active young people who has left their assignment, to study the reasons for resignations from elected posts. To see what could be the reason I have looked at previous studies and theories about opting out but also tried to remain open to identifying new and emerging trends previously undetected in existing surveys.The results showed that the political assignment proved to be too time-consuming, with young people choosing to spend their time on career and leisure. Those who resign from political life often express criticism towards the Municipal Council; they consider it tedious and many complain of having little influence.

The purpose of this essay is to explore how social media affect the political orientation and commitment of youths. Three scientific questions highlight the purpose from different angles. The didactic perspective is discussed in the initial and closing discussion, and is analyzed in the corresponding chapter. Two methods are involved in the study; one survey and one interview with a focus group. The survey had a total of 98 respondents from four different classes, all in the first grade of upper secondary school.

Abstract Before the choice of upper secondary school in the ninth grade, young people need to have knowledge of themselves and the world. In this tough choice, the parents are the main support. The supporting role, which are their thoughts on how much they influence in their children?s choice of study? Based on these issues, we seek the answer to the question; which vision have the parents on their involvement in their children's choice of upper secondary school? Which visions have the parents on the impact on their children's upper secondary school? Do the parents think that the children's upbringing has influenced their choices? Young people's career decisions take place in interaction with their parents and with very different cultural, economic, social and symbolic capital. The concepts are Pierre Bourdieu's theory that intends to be our toolbox for this thesis.

The main purpose of this C-essay is to answer the question: What have been the consequences and effects of the merit point system on language studies and the parties concerned (teachers, students and principals) during the school year of 2010/11?The merit point system is the result of a political decision and was implicated for the first time in the Swedish upper secondary school during the school year 2010/2011. Being a completely new phenomenon it is of great interest and importance to study its effects.The study in this essay also aims to verify, falsify or nullify two hypotheses very often referred to in the political discussions regarding the merit point system:The merit point system will replace affection and interest as main reasons for language studies in upper secondary school and cause a rectification amongst the students choices of additional courses.The merit point system will have a segregating effect upon society and make it harder for people to rise in society through education in the future.A verification of these hypotheses would imply the appearance of an increased rectification amongst students as well as an orientation towards an in the future more segregated society.The empiric material has been collected and examined with qualitative as well as quantitative methods (questionnaires and interviews) and belongs epistemologically to the phenomenological and hermeneutical traditions..