This master thesis is a study of a new electronic library reference service-project called Speak instantly to a librarian and the purpose of the thesis is to investigate a new electronic reference service and how the librarians who work with it experience it. This should be seen from an informational society point of view. The study is conducted from two questions: - What needs do the libraries have and how do they argue for the project and the chat-reference service Speak instantly to a librarian? - How do the librarians experience the personal work situation in the new reference service, and its use of chat technology? Together with interviews of a selected group of librarians from the public libraries of Göteborg, Malmö, Nacka and Stockholm, this thesis includes aspects such as the theory of the informational society by Manuel Castells, as well as literary studies of the history of library reference, the development of electronic reference service and the virtual library, and the background and the beginning of the studied project Speak instantly to a librarian. The thesis also contains an overlook of other similar library projects in the United States of America.

The aim of this project was to develop a product which gives one or more objects of daily use an additional function. Thru the creativity of children the object shall transform into a new source for play for pre-school children.The purpose of this work was to research how fantasy and free play of children could be enhanced. I wanted to know how I can motivate children to use their fantasy transforming objects into new sources for play.This was achieved by means of developing a number of different prototypes which I tested in Kindergarden. My observations lead to the development of a cloth-wrap for the chair which provides the required source for ongoing role-play. The chair suddenly transforms into a new landscape and multi-purpose object where children?s fantasy is stimulated and creative play is supported..

The purpose of this Master?s thesis is to investigate how librarians solve difficult reference questions. The aim is to discuss the nature of reference work ? do librarians make conscious decisions regarding search strategies or do they rely principally on their instincts, or simply chance. The thesis is a qualitative study.

This Master thesis discusses the development of a virtual human soft tissue object for use in exercise applications of various medical procedures.The soft tissue object to be developed shall look like, feel like and behave as living human tissue. It shall give the user a realistic feeling of weight, softness and roughness, and shall behave in a correct way for exercise purposes. The soft tissue model is to be used in a three dimensional stereo graphic environment with haptic feedback. A prototype for practicing the procedure of inserting a catheter is built. The prototype is used to evaluate the potential of the virtual environment for medical exercise applications, and to assess the realism and usability of the soft tissue object.

Catecholamines are stress hormones that are produced and released by a rare tumor called pheochromocytoma. This tumor can cause hypertension which if undiagnosed and untreated leads to death. Since good therapy is available, it is important to find the tumor in time. The most common way to diagnose the tumor is measurement of the biochemical markers; catecholamines and their metabolites, methylated catecholamines.After observation that almost all normetanephrine results for women were higher than the upper reference limit and therefore pathological, the accuracy of the present reference intervals was questioned. Therefore new reference intervals for both urinary catecholamines and methylated catecholamines were developed by analysis of 46 samples using HPLC.

The web is a constantly growing medium that presumably plays an increasing role in public library reference services. In order to provide high quality reference service the librarians need to be able to master this medium. Therefore it is interesting to get an understanding of how librarians actually use the web. The aim of this Master s thesis is to investigate what web search tools are used by public librarians in reference service. Furthermore, the aim is to get an understanding of how the librarians think about those tools and what background factors influence their selection of tools.

The purpose of this thesis is to study how some librarians working at a public library experience problems that can occur at the reference interview, slightly focusing on communication difficulties. Therefore I interviewed three librarians working at the reference desk on a daily basis. I chose to limit the study to public libraries and to the south of Sweden. My main question is: what difficulties can a librarian encounter during a reference interview and what can he/she do to treat these? In support of my main question I have three subordinated questions:What reasons can there be to a librarian not understanding a user?s information need?What methods are useful for a librarian to enhance the condition of the reference interview? What attitudes and qualities can be of use for the librarian at a difficult reference interview?For the collection of empirical data I chose to use semi-structured interviews.

Simplicity, intimacy, freedom and one single threadcharacterize the knitting technique.In my project, I have studied ways of creating three-dimensional shape and structure using single threads and various knitting techniques. I applied my ideas in a collaboration with the singer Sofia Karlsson. The focus has been to design a portable object that can be used in pictures for the cover and promotion of her upcoming album.The material I studied, processed and used in creating the three-part object was linen. In the center stands a collar, that changes expression depending on how it is worn and which side is turned towards the outside. The collar interacts with a cylinder for her hands and a hairnet.

The availability of digital models of real 3D objects is becoming more and more important in many different applications (e-commerce, virtual visits etc). Very often the objects to be represented cannot be modeled by means of the classical 3D modeling tools because of the geometrical complexity or color texture. In these cases, devices for the automatic acquisition of the shape and the color of the objects (3D scanners or range scanners) have to be used. The scanner presented in this work, a Shape from silhouette scanner, is very cheap (it is based on the use of a simple digital camera and a turntable) and easy to use. While maintaining the camera on a tripod and the object on the turntable, the user acquires images with different rotation angles of the table.

Modelica is a multi-domain and equation-based modeling language. Modelica is based on object-oriented principles and non-causal modeling. The language is constructed to facilitate reuse and decompose models. The models and the modellibrary can modified to design a new nonlinear components.Object-oriented modeling is an excellent way to analyze and study large complex heterogeneous physical systems. The object-oriented modeling approach build on reusing and decomposition of models and non-causal modeling.Modeling physical systems often leads to a DAE system with index 2 or 3.

The aim of this report was to quantify the accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) in ice-covered lakes in winter (October-March) during three consecutive years, and to assess whether the concentrations of DIC and CH4, as well as the ratio DIC:CH4 differs between years and between lakes affected by clearcutting and untreated reference lakes. Water- and gas samples were collected from four boreal lakes (two affected by clearcutting and two untreated reference lakes) located in Västerbottens inland in spring. The lakes were found to accumulate on average 91, 55, and 84 mgCm-2d-1 during winters 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and 2014-2015, mostly originating from CO2. The concentrations of DIC (autumn and spring) were higher in the affected clear-cut lakes compared to reference lakes for all years, including the reference year (2012-2013) before clear-cutting. No such difference was found for CH4 or the ratio DIC:CH4.

The aim of this study was to examine the social relationships between children and librarians during reference interviews. Using qualitative interviews with five children's librarians I illustrate attitudes and behaviours during a reference situation which take place in psychological, social and even in pedagogical contexts. The literature review comprises studies of the reference interview with children and youth, a description of interpersonal communication and finally social interaction and dialog between teachers and pupils. The main result of this study was the demonstration of a dichotomy in modes of interpersonal communication. In one mode, the social frame is emphasized.

The Hunter?s Bend project is about how our personal possessions affect our perceived identity and in what way the value of an object may increase with the relationship that is built up towards the user. I have looked upon traces of time as an extension of an existing object. The outcome is a series of leather cases made out of one piece of folded leather, hardened and locked within itself. The history contained in leather, as a living material has been an important part of the project as well as how its features are used in the making and then allowing the product to change after use..

The aim of this master?s thesis is to examine the virtual reference service Ask the Library [Bibblan svarar] from a postmodern perspective. Ask the Library is a Swedish online reference service that is run by the country?s public libraries. The postmodern theories of Jean-François Lyotard are used to study how information is managed and transmitted within the service.

We understand the world around us through categorization and classification. But things are morecomplex than that, life is mixed up, flowing and unable to stick to labels. The main purpose ofcorpus is to contain, organize and control food and beverages. Corpus objects are also socialmarkers that have a tradition of being elitist; in both choice of material and in that they imply acertain way of usage. Corpus objects are heavily loaded with tradition and rituals.