In the farrowing pens the amount of bedding material and the quality of the concrete floor has a huge impact on both the sow and the piglets. In this study imbedding of rubber flooring on the solid area in the farrowing pen was used to see if it had any effects on the sows lying behaviour when compared to concrete. Another important aspect was to evaluate if the rubber floorings had a high enough durability to resist the normal wear in a farrowing pen. Concrete flooring is assumed to have a higher thermally conductive effect then rubber which can affect the sow?s chance to cool down.

Samtidigt som debatten kring jordens klimatförändring är i full gång har intresset för att miljöcertifiera byggnader vuxit oerhört. För fastighetsägare är det en möjlighet att bevisa för sina hyresgäster och köpare att byggnaden är hållbar. Är en byggnad miljöcertifierad har en oberoende part intygat att den uppfyller en nivå av hållbarhet som bestäms utifrån standardiserade kriterier. Fastighetsägaren kan alltså använda certifikatet i marknadsföringssyfte.Den här studien undersökte om en byggnad som är byggnadsminnesförklarad kan miljöcertifieras med Miljöbyggnad. Målet var att hitta kostnadseffektiva lösningar för att uppfylla de miljöcertifieringskriterier som eventuellt inte uppfylls idag.

A large amount of our time is spent indoors in an artificial climate. To make the experience pleasant there are requirements on the ventilation and the heating system. At the present time the most common form of heating is a radiator system complemented with a ventilation system. A ceiling heating system with combined heating and ventilation can replace the two separated systems. The benefit with a ceiling heating solution is that it saves space since the radiator system is no longer needed.

An energy study has been performed on two blocks in an area called Gävle Strand. The buildings are owned by a tenant-owner?s association called brf Carolina and were built by the company Skanska 2008. The builder as well as brf Carolina are pussled by the fact that electricity use is higher than expected while heating is less. Skanska is also very interested in finding out how much heat recovery from stale exhaust air through a geo-thermal heat pump is contributing to the general heating requirement and energy balance in four out of the ten buildings located on the properties.To find possible answers to the higher electricity use a literature survey on user behaviour was conducted.

This report describes a project carried out in cooperation with Klippan Safety AB. The purpose of this project has been to develop a product that facilitates the living area in a truck cabin for the customers. To be able to develop, in a structured way, that kind of product, the project has been based on different product development theories. The project contained of following parts: marketing research, product generation, product evaluation and prototyping. After information from the marketing research and discussions with the company, the decision was made that the task was going to consist an improvement of the existing product referred to as 'the comfort module'.

This study investigates the effects that commercial computer games have on young individuals social comfort and learning progress. As a systematic study of literature, scholarly articles have been analysed in order to illuminate the positive as well as negative effects on social comfort and learning progress that may come with playing computer games. The social effects have mainly been discussed with role-playing games, such as World of Warcraft, as starting point, while the learning effects have been coupled with strategy games, such as Civilization IV. The study does not simply declare how these games can be good for these factors, but also in what respect computer games may prevent the development of young individuals socials skills and learning progress. The study showed that in spite of perpetual prejudices against computer games in the technological age, computer games might actually be good to use as a tool in order to authorize the development of young individuals regarding learning and social aspects.

An energy study has been performed on two blocks in an area called Gävle Strand. The buildings are owned by a tenant-owner?s association called brf Carolina and were built by the company Skanska 2008. The builder as well as brf Carolina are pussled by the fact that electricity use is higher than expected while heating is less. Skanska is also very interested in finding out how much heat recovery from stale exhaust air through a geo-thermal heat pump is contributing to the general heating requirement and energy balance in four out of the ten buildings located on the properties.To find possible answers to the higher electricity use a literature survey on user behaviour was conducted.

Together with Attends in Aneby a thesis of 15 ECTS (credits) have been undertaken. The assignment was to develop a new incontinence product for single use. Users of the product value comfort, flexibility, softness, comfort and a discreet product. Users are for individuals with incontinence problems that usually receive the products via prescription. The product must also have an attractive price and good quality from the purchase / originator's perspective.Currently there are two models that Attends supplies, which the project intends to develop, (Slips / Briefs and Pull On's).

Between 1965 and 1975 a major housing project was carried out in Sweden to resolve a major housing crisis, the so-called one million housing program (Swedish: miljonprogrammet). To raise the standards and create a more attractive housing in these areas is currently a very relevant topic in Sweden.Evidence-based design is the process of basing decisions of the built environment on credible research and studies to achieve the best possible outcome. This method is primarily used in the healthcare sector to improve quality of care and reduce costs by creating healthy environments.The possibility of refurbish apartment buildings from miljonprogrammet using evidence-based design has been studied by means of an extensive literature review and a closer examination of the residential area, Husby in Stockholm, which has been chosen to represent the miljonprogrammet in its entirety. Furthermore, the evidence-based research has been limited to seven fields; nature, noise, color, wayfinding, safe environment, daylight and Thermal comfort which has been assessed to be applicable on housing. In order to obtain a comprehensive overview of the different fields, four different subjects were chosen to investigate further within each field; research and studies, laws and regulations, constructional aspect and Husby.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to highlight what is perceived as- and what is not perceived as- supportive and comforting, by the sick child in palliative care, and by its family. Method: Systematic literature review in which only scientific articles from the years 2001-2010 have been included. Analysis: A method inspired by qualitative content analysis was used. Results: The analysis revealed five categories of what the sick child and its family experienced as supportive and comforting - and what was perceived negatively - in the context of palliative care for children. The results showed that it was very important to have competent, dedicated and compassionate staff that not only care for the child but also see to the whole family.

This project was led on behalf of Bombardier Transportation in Västerås, Sweden, incollaboration with KTH Stockholm and EPFL Lausanne. This project is connected to thedevelopment of a new and simplified tilt system for rail vehicles.Growing competition from other means of transportation has forced railway companiesthroughout the world to search for increased performances.Travelling time is the mostobvious performance indicator that may be improved by introducing high-speed trains.They require very large curve radii and long transitions curves not to impairridecomfort, another performance indicator. Building new tracks adapted to high speedtrains is very costly and can only be justified where the passenger base is large.Trains with the capability to tilt the carbodies inwards the curve is a more cost efficientalternative. The tilt inwards reduces thelateral force felt by the passengers allowing thetrain to pass curves at enhanced speed with maintained ride comfort but increases thefrequency ofmotion sickness.The benefits of tilting trains are improved speed capability in curves and enhancedpassengers comfort, but at higher buying and maintenance cost. As the conventionaltrains increase their speed in curves, the performance advantage of tilting trains isreduced while their prize is still kept significantly higher and constant.

A lot of houses built during the Million Homes Programme are in need of major renovation. Today?s technology and materials are better than in the 60?s and 70?s. Both Swedish government and the European Union have set climate goals regarding energy consumption by 2020 and 2050. Achieving these goals would require better standards in buildings than the Building regulations demands, such as Umeå municipality?s construction requirements for new buildings.The report aims to investigate if a renovation of apartment buildings from the Million Homes Programme can reach Umeå municipality?s construction requirements.

The purpose of this thesis is to achieve a greater understanding of how the social workers at the family unit in one of Stockholm municipalities comprehend the work environment at the workplace. Our aim is also to find out how the work environment can affect the health of the social workers in the form of their wellbeing and comfort at the workplace. In order to answer our purpose we conducted interviews of all social workers at the family unit in one of Stockholm municipalities that describe how they experience the work-environment in the workplace and how it influences their health.  We have analyzed the interview material in a thematic analysis based on three theoretical perspectives; SOC, claim ? control - support and Human relations. We have also coupled the interview material to the background chapter in this thesis that describes how a good working environment should be structured.  The chosen method characterizes an abductive process.

When drivers overnight in the truck lots of electric energy is consumed by heaters, fans, lights and other extra equipment. If the engine is not running, this energy is taken from the lead/acid batteries of the truck which then needs to be recharged during operating hours. The fact that the charge acceptance of the lead/acid batteries is dependent on the temperature makes it hard to fully recharge the batteries at lower temperatures. A negative charge balance can lead to starting problems within a few days use in cold climate.In this thesis work, the effects of different battery charging concept are evaluated on the most common Scania battery (175Ah). A battery model is implemented in Matlab and some simulations of charging are made.

The district heating load is seasonally dependent, with a low load during periods of high ambient temperature. Thermal energy storage (TES) has the potential to shift heating loads from winter to summer, thus reducing cost and environmental impact of District Heat production. In this study, a concept of high temperature borehole thermal energy storage (HT-BTES) together with a pellet heating plant for temperature boost, is presented and evaluated by its technical limitations, its ability to supply heat, its function within the district heating system, as well as its environmental impact and economic viability in Gothenburg, Sweden, a city with access to high quantities of waste heat.The concept has proven potentially environmentally friendly and potentially profitable if its design is balanced to achieve a good enough supply temperature from the HT-BTES. The size of the heat storage, the distance between boreholes and low borehole thermal resistance are key parameters to achieve high temperature. Profitability increases if a location with lower temperature demand, as well as risk of future shortage of supply, can be met.