This study examines the cultural place and status of video and computer games in the Swedish public library. Using works on popular culture and the theories of Pierre Bourdieu, this study employs quantitative methods, as well as textual analysis, to analyze the results of an online questionnaire with 19 questions focusing on selection criteria, shelf placement, perceived competence, as well as reasoning for having or not having these games in the library. 286 out of the 440 libraries contacted is participating in the study, and the libraries consist exclusively of public libraries in Sweden that are found in the database of the Royal Library.The results of this study show that a larger number of libraries than previously indicated have started to provide electronic games to their patrons. At the same time, patterns in the data and comments suggests that these games in many cases still do not enjoy the same level of cultural recognition as other media. Indicative of this is the way most libraries seem to focus on the medium being exclusively for their young patrons, with seem-ingly very little in the way of investment for adults.

AbstractReading books to children is often an integral part in preschool activities. The purpose of thisstudy is to investigate how educators think about the educational function of literature inpreschool activities. I have in my study used qualitative interviews with active educators andobservations to answer my questions about why the educator reads to the children, how theeducator thinks about the choice of literature and if the literature can contribute to thechildrens development and if so, how. The knowledge- and research background presentsliterature and previous research done on the subject. The results of my study shows that theeducators have many thoughts about the importance of literature in preschool.

Background: Breastfeeding frequency decrease in Sweden and infants born preterm is a particularly vulnerable group to not be breastfed according to current recommendations. Mothers of preterm infants have an extra need of support from the health care system. Mothers' self-efficacy in breastfeeding affects the outcome of breastfeeding. Health professionals' attitudes to breastfeeding have an impact on the breast feeding support they provide to the mothers.Aim: To investigate whether an intervention could strengthen self-efficacy in breastfeeding among mothers of premature babies. A further aim was to investigate whether the intervention influenced health professionals' attitudes to breastfeeding.Method/Design: An experimental study with quantitative approach in the form of questionnaire survey was conducted.

In today?s technological society, there are increasingly less physical demands on the locomotor system. However, despite that notion strength and function in the hand?s complex biomechanical system are in fact both needed to cope with daily life. The grip function is a main function in the hand and is used in many examples of scientific research, for instance when assessing physical health and predicting the probabilities of premature mortality.

The connection between rune stones and churches is a known phenomenon. Unfortunately, very little is known about the previous function of the church sites, and consequently very little is known about what the connection between rune stones and churches means. The purpose of this study is to examine the rune stones connected to churches in the administrative province of Jönköping, in an effort to ascertain their purpose, symbolism and function. The aim is to find out if the rune stones connected to churches were primarily or secondarily placed on the site where the church was later built, and why some rune stones were built into the churches. Further, the inscriptions and iconography of rune stones have been analysed, and also their relation to their immediate surroundings.

It is mainly high levels of androstenone and skatole in adipose tissue that is the reason behind boar-taint, which is an unpleasant odor and taste from the meat of adult male boars. The purpose of this literature study is to provide an overview of current knowledge about the physioloical functioning of androstenone. There are several studies showing androstenone´s function as a pheromone, and that it is an important part of communication and mating behavior between pigs. Androstenone is produced in the testes of the boar and transported via the bloodstream to the salivary glands where it is excreted with the saliva. Sows sense the pheromone, not via the vomeronasal organ as previously considered, but via the olfactory mucosa.

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.

In theory, the management control of maintenance functions is described as problematic due to the nature of the work performed in the unit. The purpose of this thesis is to examine these predicted problems in practice. Further,the thesis aims at identifying how these control problems may affect the relationships between the maintenance department and its internal customers. A case study has been conducted in one of Sweden?s largest industrial companies to investigate the said control problems in practice.

AbstractThe Government´s guidelines found in the curriculum for pre-schools, recommend that music should be an important resource for children. To stimulate children´s language is also an important part of this curriculum. It is every teacher`s proffessional duty to ensure that these guidelines are followed. Language is of unparallel importance in assisting an individual to grow and to function within a society. In my work about music and languages in pre-school the purpose is to investigate how the studied teachers use music to stimulate of children`s developmt in language.

Today there are a big need for a system that delivers overview of all available units for different municipalities and shipping- and security companies due to the increasing requirements for efficiency. The purpose with this graduation thesis is to find out which systems that is suitable to use while developing cost-effective software for positioning and to produce a prototype for such solution.This assignment has been done at the request of PocketMobile Communications AB. PocketMobile is a company that are specialized on delivering modern mobile software solutions and systems to companies with their own vehicle fleet or mobile workers.This master thesis can be split into two separate parts, the theoretic- and the practical part.The theoretic part includes producing a number of functional requirements in cooperation with PocketMobile and comparing the available systems against the function requirements.The practical part deal with the development of a prototype that demonstrates the software recommended. The development tools that best matched the functionality requirements when the selection was made in May 2007 were Map24 and OpenLayers. The system that was selected to use while developing the prototype was Map24, because this product matches all of the requirements and it is also suited for professional usage regarding support, scalability and reliability.

This Master?s Thesis is an evaluation of the software Xilinx System Generator (XSG) and blockset for Matlab. XSG is a module to simulink developed by Xilinx in order to generate VHDL code directly from functions implemented in Matlab. The evaluation was made at Saab Avionics AB in Järfälla, north of Stockholm. In order to investigate the performance of this new module XSG to simulink, a model of a frequency estimator often used in digital radar receivers were implemented in Matlab using XSG.

Blekinge Hospital suffers from a budget shortage of 100 million SEK, while the government now requires that hospitals will no longer be running a deficit. Blekinge Hospital will then use their limited resources to survive in the future and the activity must be enhanced in order to keep costs low without having to lay off personnel. The idea is that the organisation should be more efficient with a more efficient resource usage. Performance measurement systems are important tools for achieving the policies set out within an organization, measuring and evaluating performance is a way to see where improvements in efficiency may be necessary in the business. Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is one of several measuring systems, where the focus is on measuring non-financial performances.

This report describes the development of a high-voltage connector at the request of Scandinova Systems AB in Uppsala. The development process is described from the making of a customer demand specification, to the making of drawings for the manufacturing of prototypes. Scandinova develops high-voltage modulators, hence the need for connectors that can handle very large power pulses. Their current connector has several weaknesses that may cause the connector to melt or catch fire. The development began with a number of studies that included the modulator structure and the current connector structure and functions.

AimThe specific questions in the theoretic part were:What is contained in the terms "balance and balance skill" and how can this skill be measured?The specific questions in the empirical part were:How does balance skill in different age categories of children correlate with biological and physiological parameters such as age, gender, body height, weight and level of physical activity?MethodsLiterature search based on books and scientific papers related to the questions posed above. Selection was made at libraries and on?line through "Pubmed". Specific search words were used.

The aim of this study was to investigate if a mechanical recruitment process could be a useful tool for employers to avoid discrimination. National and international law protect jobseekers from discrimination during the recruiting process. Despite this individuals frequently report that they are treated unfairly when they apply for a job. In line with this research shows that some individuals do not have the same opportunities in the labour market as the rest of the population. This study focus on discrimination based on ethnicity, age, gender or disability.Today most of the hiring decisions are based on employers professional judgement.