A segmented market, according to traditional methods, appears increasingly difficult in mature consumer markets. A common explanation is that the mature markets are often characterised by over-supply which results in a great variety of choices for the consumer. Furthermore, the consumer of today has a more complex and flexible purchase behaviour which is difficult to catch. This makes consumer segmentation difficult. International studies indicate that dividing consumers into generation cohorts might be advantageous in understanding consumers of today.

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.

This essay focuses on the term usability while conducting a user centred system design. Usabilitymeans to what extent a user can use a product to achieve effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction.Development using a user centered system design means that knowledge about the end-users andit?s opinions becomes a crucial part of the development process. The question of this essay is if usinguser centred system design will lead to good usability.We used methods from a user centered system design point of view while developing an applicationfor a Swedish bookstore company called Bokia AB. This included user and task analysis following by aclose relationship between the developers and end-users by using sketches and showing themprototypes of the system while collecting feedback.After concluding our case study we determined that using methods from user centered systemdesign could be used as a great tool to further improve the usability and to improve an applicationssuccess chances..

The purpose of this study is to examine how teachers and pupils experience the use of fictional literature as a tool for language development in the teaching of English as a foreign language. Through surveys and interviews and with Vygotsky?s theory on development in a social environment as a theoretical base, I examine which methods are used to promote language development and also which functions pupils and teachers consider fictional literature to have in the teaching of English. Results show that teachers consider fiction to be among the top methods to get pupils to learn English. Teachers and pupils both favour the use of fun and stimulating reading activities as well as group activities where learning is social to go along with the reading of fiction.

This paper is a qualitative study on the influence of the residents in a special communitydwelling within the care system for elderly. The purpose of the study is to describe and analyse with a user perspective how particularly staff members but also a group of retired people living in this dwelling interpret and articulate the concept of resident influence. How the retirees can influence the design and the content of the activities and the organization. How today the residents influence is carried out with the ideas and visions of the future.My methods include qualitative structured, semi-structured and non-structured interviews within a general frame of a resident questionnaire. The staff members present the current situation and reflect on the reasons for obstacles for resident influence.The group of retired people who lives in structures originating in the Swedish long-term care system and homes for the elderly tends to adjust to given routines and express a low-voiced wish for increased influence.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of streamlining the test process by utilizing pair programming. During the process, pair programming has been practiced as is defined by the Extreme programming (XP) software development methodology, with the other aspects of XP discarded. The focus of the testing itself has been toward unit testing. The methods applied has been with an experimental approach where 93 cases were attempted to be solved by either single programmers or pair programmers. What has been investigated in these experiments was the time needed to complete a case, how many test attempts were needed to solve the case, and how high a percentage of the cases were solved.

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.

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.

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.

The purpose of the master thesis was to reflect and analyze music library activities and policies in the public libraries in the area around the city of Borås, in the south-western part of Sweden. With this thesis I also wanted to look at the interaction between the public libraries, the music school and the music associations in the same area. To investigate these matters, qualitative method was used in the form of interviews with seven librarians from seven different libraries and five representatives of different local music organizations. Other methods used were observations and source studies. The literature used discusses the role of the music department of public libraries as well as that of a music librarian working in a public library.

This work concerns children with reading- and writing difficulties/dyslexia. My purpose is to investigate the practical experience of teachers as well as their everyday work with these children.My questions are:How do teachers work with children aged 4-9 who have reading- and writing difficulties/dyslexia?Which various teaching aids exist for children who have reading- and writing difficulties/dyslexia?Which subjects are affected by reading- and writing difficulties/dyslexia?To answer the above questions I have used the qualitative method. I have performed interviews and observations. Previous research has shown that reading- and writing difficulties/dyslexia is one of our most common disabilities.

One must consider cost effectiveness when deciding how resources within the health sector should be distributed. Quality adjusted life years (QALYs) are used to measure the value of different medical treatments. QALY is based on utility maximization theory, which suggests that a QALY is always a QALY regardless of who receives it. Therefore, a produced QALY is worth the same regardless of the age or the initial health of the patient. Previous research has shown that these assumptions do not seem to fit the real preferences of individuals.

There exist several known methods for calculation of radio coverage for ground-based systems. As far as we know there are no equivalent methods for the case of flying platforms when the altitudes and speeds are significantly different to those of ground-based systems. This thesis describes the theoretical concepts behind calculations of radio coverage for flying platforms. An investigation is made to sort out what is important and possible to employ in a model for simulations. A method is described and implemented in a program for evaluation of flying radio systems.

This paper describes the evolutionary development of an information system for a small company. The company performs overhaul of forklifts and cleaning machines. The company has already an information system that handles the reports from these overhauls but it needs a supplementary tool that assist the chief planner to plan forthcoming overhauls.It should be able to display coming overhauls in a timetable and eventually print them, either to a PDF file or to a document. The timetables this function produces will help the chief planner and the assemblers to get a good overview of their day-to-day work.The tool needs to be intelligent in that way that it takes into consideration were in the country different assignments will be performed. So that time consuming travels over great distances can be avoided.

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.