Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD) is characterized by paradoxical vocal cord movement during inspiration or expiration, and generally affects adolescents and predominantly women. Previous studies have shown a large inconsistency concerning terminology, definitions, etiology, assessment, differential diagnosis, co-morbidity and treatment. The purpose of this study was to map knowledge on and management of VCD in Sweden. The study was conducted as a written survey addressed to speech-language pathologists and physicians, and attained an answer percentage of 79 percent. The results showed that several professions were involved in the management of these patients, but no clear pattern of referral could be observed.

Background: The need for structured practice has in recent years appeared in connection with the request for a more evidence-based nursing. In psychiatric care with its complex disabilities, it is important to have methods to identify these. Research has demonstrated the importance of patient participation in nursing that has been shown to affect their mental health. It is essential to get to know how patients with mental illness are capable of involvement in their life situation. The ICF emerged as a useful theoretical framework for development of questionnaires of patient participation.Aim: The aim of the present pilotstudy was to develop and test a questionnaire for participation, based on ICF.

The last years? financial situation has contributed to an increased willingness from the banks to handle risks. The most important risk to cope with is a risk that is related to a customer?s ability to repay loans. Forecasts indicate that in the future, Swedish farmers will be facing profitability challenges, which points to a need to reconsider the banks procedures considering risk management in credit granting for agricultural businesses.Today?s risk management will be given two complements in this study.

This study examines the effects of credit risk and information disclosure in the new bank regulating system Basel II on bank and bank customer. The effects are then discussed in a perspective of the economic man and information asymmetric theories. Furthermore is the Basel II effects on the capital adequacy of Andelsbanken för Åland examined.The approach of the study is qualitative and several interviews with individuals on different levels of the examined bank, Andelsbanken för Åland, have been carried out during the collecting of empirical facts about the effects of the regulating change from the Basel I system to Basel II.The research findings are as follows:Andelsbanken för Åland have increased its capital adequacy ratio from 12,7 percent to 14,4 percent, mostly due to lower risk weights on housing mortgages compared to Basel I. Andelsbanken för Åland have started to use a completely new credit risk and customer assessment system which classifies every customer and gives them a credit rating. The system cause a much heavier information gathering of the customers profile as well as a much better assessment of risk than the previous system, which the bank finds positive.

Syftet med vår studie var att undersöka, analysera och diskutera lärarens, elevers och föräldrars medvetenhet och engagemang om elevernas progression inom läsinlärningen. Analys och slutsatser byggde vi på våra resultat och modern forskning om barns språkinlärning. Detta gjorde vi med hjälp av en klass bestående av 1 lärare, 19 elever och deras föräldrar. Vi använde oss av kartläggningsmetoderna God Läsutveckling och Ordkedjor, enkäter och intervju. Resultatet av vår studie visade att kartläggningsmetoden var betydelsefull, men metodvalet inte var det avgörande för läsutvecklingen hos eleverna.

The last years? financial situation has contributed to an increased willingness from the banks to handle risks. The most important risk to cope with is a risk that is related to a customer?s ability to repay loans. Forecasts indicate that in the future, Swedish farmers will be facing profitability challenges, which points to a need to reconsider the banks procedures considering risk management in credit granting for agricultural businesses.Today?s risk management will be given two complements in this study.

Background: The lack of knowledge regarding preschool children's mental health prompted Uppsala University, in collaboration with Uppsala Kommun, to start a study in which children aged 3, 4, and 5 years are screened using the "Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire" (SDQ). This screening method has been introduced into the majority of Uppsala County child care centers (BVC), and the nurses' experience of working with this method is examined in this paper.Method: A qualitative approach with semi-structured questions was used to interview ten nurses who pioneered the SDQ Method. The interviews where recorded, transcribed and analyzed using content analysis.Results: Three themes and nine categories were identified from the interviews. The themes were: "Attitude and motivation are important when working with the form", "Clearer overall picture with preschool answer", and "A tool to identify difficulties". The results show that the nurses were satisfied with the form.

Studies indicate that between 6-9% of all children has some type of voice problems. Voice problems in children may have different etiology and can affect all ages. In Sweden, there is a lack of a standardized questionnaire addressed to children with voice problems and their legal guardians. The purpose of this study was to translate and validate the Pediatric Voice Handicap Index (pVHI) in Swedish children aged 6 to 10 years. The study was carried out through an internet-based assessment form for children referred to speech and language pathologist/ phoniatrican due to voice disorders in Sweden and a matched control group of children without voice problems.

This quantitative study, with qualitative elements, intended to investigate the empathic ability among students and its change during social work education in Sweden. The study used a self-assessment form in the form of a questionnaire sent out to 8 of the 15 universities around the country. Respondents who participated in the survey studied in semester 1 & 2 and semester 6 & 7. The instrument which were used, measure the empathy level of the respondents and was a Swedish translation of the instrument, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) which is a proven self-assessment form. IRI consists of 28 questions divided into 4 areas (subscales), which together provide a score, where a higher score corresponds to a greater capacity for empathy.

Volvo Cars in Skövde manufacture and assemble Volvo engines. When attaching the ignition coil to all 4-cylinder engines, a special mounting tool is required. This mounting tool is currently manufactured from injection-molded polyoxymethylene (POM), a thermoplastic. It has been noted that the life span of the tool is shortened as a result of abrasive wear that occurs during the attachment process of the ignition coil.An investigation of the possibility of manufacturing the mounting tool with a 3D-printer is undertaken in cooperation with ÅF, a consultant to Volvo Cars. A literature study is first presented to introduce broader knowledge on the subject.

Följande arbete handlar om bedömning som ett pedagogiskt verktyg för att främja elevers lärande och kunskapsutveckling, en så kallad formativ bedömning eller bedömning för lärande. Arbetets forsknings- och litteraturgenomgång behandlar, utifrån syftet, vilka förutsättningar som krävs för en formativ bedömning och hur lärare kan arbeta med en sådan bedömning. Skolans styrdokument förespråkar en formativ bedömning, varpå undersökningens syfte är att beskriva hur denna bedömning upplevs av elever för att kunna analysera och påvisa vilka förutsättningar eleverna ges till att utveckla sitt lärande.Utifrån arbetets inriktning fokuserar undersökningen på elevers upplevelser av den formativa bedömningen i de samhällsorienterade ämnena, i grundskolans tidigare år. Arbetets syfte är uppdelat i de preciserade frågeställningarna:Vad innebär det att arbeta med formativ bedömning?Hur upplever elever bedömningen i de samhällsorienterade ämnena?På vilka sätt blir eleverna involverade i bedömningsarbetet i de samhällsorienterade ämnena?Undersökningen genomfördes med fokusgruppsintervjuer, med totalt 15 elever i årskurs 5-6 uppdelade i fyra olika fokusgrupper.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate if there is a difference in maximal aerobic power (VO2-max) between walking with poles and without poles. Thirty-four healthy women between the ages of 22 and 60 years participated. They were randomised into two groups, seventeen individuals walked with poles and seventeen walked without poles. Both groups walked four kilometres three times a week, for eight weeks. Each completed a submaximal cycle ergometertest before and after the exercise period.

This study highlights the problematic situation fathers encounter when they require help and support in a custodial dispute. Previous research shows the emergence of a new, more involved father. In the light of this earlier research, this study will show a father that is willing to fight for his rights to be a present and engaged parent in the case of a separation from the mother. The aim was to analyze the subjective perceptions of five fathers in custodial dispute. This analysis did not only show how they perceive their role as a father and their masculinity but also the way they feel about the help they got from social services and other institutions.

Over the course of the past the agricultural sector has been characterized by radical market changes. Changing market conditions have forced owners of agricultural and forestry businesses to make further investments. This increase in investments has led to a greater need for external capital, which has increased the relationship between banks and owners of agricultural and forestry businesses. The financial sector is characterized by strong rivalry, which forces banks to create strategic positions in the financial market. Since agricultural and forestry businesses are generally seen as secure customers by banks, due to high property and land values, the competition between banks with agricultural and forestry businesses as customers has amplified.

In this paper, a navigation support approach for speech-only interaction based on auditory icons for room-based designs is presented, i.e. naturally occurring sounds that have a natural mapping to the system's underlying design metaphor. In contrast to many recent investigations that have focused on multi-modal or augmented reality systems, this paper concerns a unimodal speech and sound-only system. An auditory icon based prototype system for buildings maintenance support using a room-based metaphor was developed. The design was evaluated in a comparison with earcons and no-sound designs.