This paper is based on a literature review and interviews made with managers in small-scale nurseries for pot plant production. The review helped to identify the worst occupational hazards in pot plant production. The interviews provided a way to investigate how the nurseries act so as to avoid the worst hazards and what they do to even out work intensive periods during the season in order to get a more even distribution of work over the year. According to available statistics problems with back and shoulders are the most common of the physical disorders and the risk for occupational accidents are high for greenhouse workers. Most of the occupational injuries are connected to musculoskeletal problems. The handling of material is often manual and involves frequent lifting and carrying of heavy loads, the strenuous work postures and static muscular tensions these Repetitive tasks are associated with causes straining and overloading.

The largest project at the AICG lab at Linköping University, Cognitive models for virtual characters, focuses on creating an agent architecture for intelligent, virtual characters. The goal is to create an agent that acts naturally and gives a realistic user experience. The purpose of this thesis is to develop and implement an appropriate learning model that fits the existing agent architecture using an agile project methodology. The model developed can be seen as an online unsupervised reinforcement learning model that enhances experiences through reward. The model is based on Maes model where new effects are created depending on whether the agent is fulfilling its goals or not.The model we have developed is based on constant monitoring of the system.

Most descriptions of stereotypic behaviours have in common that these Repetitive behaviours only has been observed in captive animals and therefore it has been proposed that stereotypies exist because we house animals in environments that are sub-optimal to them. Some scientists claim that performance of stereotypies in itself decreases the animal's welfare due to costs in time, energy and health and a poorer quality of life. Other scientists assert that individuals performing stereotypies may have a better welfare compared to the rest of the animals in the same environment, since these individuals have developed strategies to cope with stress. Studies have estimated the prevalence of abnormal behaviours in horses to 18-30 % of the population. Several studies on cribbing have revealed a prevalence of 4-5 %, although some results indicate that more than 10 % of the horse population performs this stereotypy.

AbstractAuthors: Mikaela Magnusson & Malin StenströmTitle: Jolly women and ugly men - a study of the way men and women are portrayed in the magazines Filter and FokusLevel: BA Thesis in JournalismLocation: Linnaeus UniversityLanguage: SwedishNumber of pages: 78 Everyday we're exposed to gender roles. It can take the form of our immediate family, our classmates, the books we read, the teve series we watch or the magazines we read. Everyday the world around us shape the way we think of men and women and how they're supposed to be. As a part of either (or neither) of those genders we are all shaped into the mold that society has set for us. The media is one of the largest contributors to this socialization and therefore we felt it necessary to study two, critically acclaimed, media outlets and shed some light on their portrayals of gender. We chose to study Filter and Fokus, two social magazines with close to a corresponding amount male as female readers and a reputation of being modern and free of prejudice.

AbstractAccording to research made by Statistics Sweden on the members of the labor union IF Metall the number of reported musculoskeletal disorders for employees working under the collective bargaining agreement for the automotive industry has almost doubled since 2003. During 2004- 2006 and 2008 male assembly workers were the occupational group with the highest amount of reported work related disorders in Sweden. To prevent musculoskeletal disorders is according to Rose and Orrenius important both for the individual, the society and the industry by reducing economic and personal costs. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze how the manufacturing industry is affected by musculoskeletal disorders that occur when working with line assembly and how companies can prevent them. The report aims to provide the reader with an understanding of what musculoskeletal disorders are, to which extent they occur in assembly, how companies are directed by laws and regulations and how they affect the Swedish manufacturing industry and their employees.

AbstractIntroduction: Hand Arm Risk Assessment Method (HARM) is a tool to assess the risks of deve­lo­ping complaints of the arm, neck or shoulders during manual work. The method was developed in the Netherlands primarily for employers, but is also used as an aid to work environment in­spec­tors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the HARM-method for assessment of biomecha­nical exposure of the upper limbs when performing manual tasks as well as its suitability to be used within work environment inspection. Methods: Ten labour inspectors conducted assessments of five video-recorded work tasks. Assess­ments made with HARM were compared with those made with the Assessment of Re­pe­titive Tasks (ART) tool and with ACGIH Hand Actvity Level (HAL) - both methods for assess­ment of bio­mecha­nical exposure of the upper limbs - and with the model for the assessment of re­pe­titive work in the pro­visions of the Swedish Work Environ­ment Autho­rity on ergonomics for the prevention of mus­culo­skeletal disorders, AFS 1998:1.

The mouse (Mus musculus) is the most commonly used mammal in biomedical research and can easily be restrained by both hand and by a device. Restraining animals causes stress that not only decreases the animal?s wellbeing, but may also influence the research results. The first aim of this study was to train mice to voluntarily stand still using positive reinforcement training. Another benefit of teaching a mouse to stand still is that you can avoid anaesthesia for some procedures.