Water constructions - as a design element in public spaces is the title of this Master thesis, with a focus on waters function and meaning in the urban environment. By way of introduction, mans relationship to places is described and the factors that contribute to the reality that we prefer some places more than others. A good place to stay is open but well defined, gives protection, offers a good view and is varying in topography and vegetation, together with contents of single landscape elements like visible water. This study then continues to discuss mans relationship to water and its means for our wellbeing. Despite the fact that people have a different relations to water due to personality, background and age, it?s an element that raises positive feelings, interest and aesthetic pleasure for most people.

AbstractIT can facilitate communication among individuals and connect people across geographical distances. On the contrary, citizens of the society who do not use communication technologies to some extent might feel excluded from the information society. As elderly citizens are already in a vulnerable position for the digital divide, communication technology becomes an important tool for interacting with friends and family. The social situation of elderly, 60 years of age and older, is a topic of current interest since they are the fastest growing age group in the world today. Further, social interaction becomes more important among elderly since it has a positive effect on well- being.

3D-modelling in AutoCAD This thesis is done in cooperation with LB-Hus in Bromölla, and have aimed to establish a digital AutoCAD model of one of the company?s house types and to find out what opportunities there are to do visualisations in the form of images directly from the programme. Modeling has been carried out so that the very construction of the house is included. Interiors and installations, with the exception of the ventilation system, have been left out in the model. The model has been created with solid models after a comparative study made between solid models and surface models to find out which option in this case was the easiest to handle and took up the least space.

The tsunami in Thailand in 2004, 9/11 and hurricane Katrina in New Orleans 2005 are all reminders that no organization is immune to crises, which also means that all organizations should be prepared and know how to handle a crisis if one was to occur. A case study has been conducted, on a crisis regarding a fire that occurred on the 31st of July 2014 in Västmanland, Sweden. Through Qualitative interviews empirical data was gathered and then analyzed together with our theories and previous research. The purpose of the study is to analyze how the municipalities affected and the County Administrative Board of Sweden handled and communicated with/to the public during the fire that spread in Västmanland 2014. Our study shows that a risk analysis and analysis of Surroundings is crucial in anticipating a crisis event and that it is essential for organizations to undergo training to prepare organization members on how to handle a crisis. Another conclusion is that the need for information is large during a crisis event and grows throughout the entire course of the crisis. The crisis that we studied had a lack of information, but at the same time the public?s need for information is a need that can?t be satisfied during a crisis.

The purpose of this Master Thesis has been to investigate the possibilities for a new type of noise reduction solution that could decrease the negative effects resulting from larger traffic roads. The idea has been to construct a noise barrier with a roof ? like a tunnel placed on a road. The choice of material has been focused on transparent materials in order to lower visual intrusion and barrier effects. This project idea is called the Noise tunnel.After having investigated the current offer of noise solutions, it has been concluded that these solutions rarely provide a sufficient level of noise reduction ? at least not when government regulations of acceptable noise levels are applied.

The purpose of this thesis is to inquire how a small town can be affected by some planned changes in the physical structure of the town, and how its inhabitants can benefit from those major changes. The town in question is Ulricehamn, and of the four projects considered, two concerns infrastructure. A new railway and a new locality for the major road, today passing through Ulricehamn. The other two projects are run by the local authorities, that is the planning of a modern town park by the lake, and a new public building for cultural purposes. There are no guarantees that any of the four projects will ever be realized, but in the process with this work, they have been considered as already a fact.

Lately it has become more common to question the companies? actions in how they affect their Surroundings. Today, the expression ?Corporate Social Responsibility? often is mentioned in this connection. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), is a concept whereby companies voluntarily integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operation.In Sweden there is a big difference between different businesses when it comes to their Corporate Social Responsibility.

We are more aware than ever about our impact on the common environment and the world's population. Consumption awareness can be one way to take social and environmental responsibility. This study aims to examine young adults' (19-30 years) attitudes toward consumption awareness in Sweden. Consumption awareness is treated in this study as the consumption of environmental and fair-trade labeled products that have been certified of a third party. The study is limited to everyday commodities, which in this case is groceries, household consumables and clothing.

Background: Isolation care may be necessary when a patient is carrying infection or is being inflicted with disease that causes deficit immune system. Being isolated means that the patient is in a confined space and may stay only there. Even in ancient times, people discovered the importance of isolating people carrying an infection from the rest of society. According to the Infectious Diseases Act, patients should be isolated in order to reduce the spread of infection both from the patient to the Surroundings as well as the opposite. Isolation care can be psychologically stressful for some patients.

The connection between body, soul and social Surroundings and their influence on health has, in the western world, been known for over a hundred years. The hospital social worker with tasks within the area of the psychosocial perspective is therefore now a part of Swedish healthcare. Yet both international as well as national research and literature show that social workers have a slow professionalizationprocess and difficulties describing their area of tasks and methods. This study aims to explore hospital social workers line of work, what they believe becomes help in their work with patients and put results in relation to professionalization in the medical environment. The results are problematized from perspectives like professionality, power and role.The study includes 86 hospital social workers at Sahlgrenska Universitetssjukhuset in Gothenburg Sweden and it contains both quantitative and qualitative parts.

Högstadietiden är en period då ungdomar ställs inför ökade krav och förväntningar, både från sig själv och omgivningen. Ofta blir stress en del av vardagen. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur ungdomar i årskurs nio upplever stress. Studien genomfördes genom fokusgruppsdiskussioner och innehållet bearbetades med kvalitativ tematisk innehållsanalys. Nio flickor och fyra pojkar deltog i studien.

Studien är en kvalitativ, empirisk undersökning som baseras på intervjuer med sex pedagoger som arbetar på Reggio Emilia-inspirerade förskolor. Reggio Emilia-filosofin växte fram i norra Italien efter andra världskriget och introducerades i Sverige under början av 1980-talet. Inom Reggio Emilia anser man att barn är rika och kompetenta och man arbetar kontinuerligt med att utvärdera och utveckla verksamheten genom att bland annat använda pedagogisk dokumentation som arbetsredskap. Syftet med studien är att undersöka om och i sådana fall på vilka sätt pedagoger på två Reggio Emilia-inspirerade förskolor anser att deras förhållningssätt förändrats jämfört med deras tidigare yrkesutövning inom förskoleverksamhet. I litteraturgenomgången redogörs för ursprunget till Reggio Emilia-filosofin, hur framväxten av den svenska förskolan sett ut, när och hur Reggio Emilia introducerades i Sverige samt de grundtankar vi funnit centrala inom Reggio Emilias filosofi.

The purpose of this study is to survey and evaluate if the individual contrast sensitivity and preferences for horizontal and vertical lighting level correspond to the values that standard SS-EN 12464-1 recommends for the workplace- and surrounding light levels.This study examines if lighting should be adapted after the individuals? need or if a general value can be found that will cover every individuals? need for a workplace and surrounding light level. This study also examines if parameters like sex, age and/or glasses/lenses have an effect on the amount of lighting that the test subjects need. Lastly we compared the values concerning the relationship between workplace- and surrounding light levels with standard SS-EN 12464-1?s recommendations.The study is carried out with an experimental design that surveys 220 test subjects who were chosen by a selection of convenience.

Sports facilities are a highly unexplored field, and as of the autumn 2008 no research is being conducted about sports fields at Swedish architecture universities. Very few people recognize the sports field as an area for the architecture profession, and to gain more information about sports fields I have discussed the subject with people with connections to architecture and/or sport. The sports field represents a type of sports facility, a permanent football and/or bandy field surrounded by running tracks with appropriate measurements. Like the city?s physical environment, the sports field is a public place, where outdoor activities take place.

Jällaskolans upper secondary School is situated on a big farm just outside Uppsala. The School is focused on agriculture, forestry, gardening, animal care and science. Jällaskolans staff has whished for a school garden for educational purpose where students can practice their gardening skills and learn more about plants. But most important, a specially adapted outside environment such as a garden, would be a great advantage for the students with special needs. This garden could even be an asset for other visiting school classes in the region.