This paper deals with the difficulties of applying user-centered design practices as an independent developer, based on the visualization of a game concept in the form of a prototype. The aim is to evaluate the usability of user-centered design practices, specifically in the field of games development. Throughout this paper, I will give an account of the methods used for testing, as well as a review of previous research done in this field of study. Finally, I will end with a discussion regarding the pros and cons of user-centered design, as well as some thoughts about its importance in similar projects..

This paper works as an assignment from the Video On Demand Company Headweb, who wanted aninterface analysis of their own and their competitors VOD services. The purpose is to help Headwebwith their own interface by studying theirs and others interfaces and make an analysis on how theyfunction, how they look and how good the usability is with every service, with hope to findsomething that could make the VOD service of Headweb better.I have also studied how the interfaces of the VOD services look on different platforms, to see howthey are designed as a whole. This has been an expert analysis where I have studied the differentVOD-services by myself, without any external users.To find advantages and disadvantages with the services and their platforms, I have used differenttheories, models and design patterns to frame areas such as filmsearch, categorization, registrationand navigation. I have compared the VOD services with each other and drew conclusions for eacharea to see how the interfaces differ between the services, but also between platforms.My analysis has shown that all VOD services in this project have a very unique interface, eventhough they all have the same goal, to allow the user to control their viewing of film. They usevarious functions and structure and use their own page names and categorizations.

ABB and Prevas have initiated a collaboration to sell a system to optimize steel industry furnaces, called FOCS. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate possibilities for integrating Prevas FOCS and ABB 800xA.The result of the investigation is used for an implementation of a prototype of the integrated system. The study shows a general method that can be used when implementing two software systems. The prototype of the integrated systems is made with usability principles in mind. This is a very important aspect in order to create a good working environment for the operators of a steel plant.

The purpose of this study is to find out the viability in performing final felling in stands with high timber volume or if it´s more profitable to leave these stands to the next owner. Will he or she pay more for the standing stock then the industry? The prices of forest-land have increased significantly over the last couple of years in Sweden and some properties seem to go higher than others. Is this because of higher standing stock volume or can a certain volume/hectare bring a higher price? Maybe a combination of both? This study is based on the the sale-statistics for 2012 from real-estate agency Areal.

 IAS 40 allows two methods of valuation for investment properties, fair value model and cost model. The purpose of this paper is to investigate what drive property companies to disclose their investment properties at fair value. In order to understand their choice, we use accounting choice theory and the three factors this theory describes, information asymmetry, allowing opportunism and agency costs. To answer our purpose, we have from a qualitative approach performed semi-structured interviews with respondents from five of the largest listed property companies in Sweden. The results suggest that firms have chosen the method that is most effective in the valuation of investment properties.

The communication with government and municipality through Internet has in-creased during the last couple of years. Therefore we have chosen to focus our bachelor thesis in this particularly area and the needs for usable web services for the citizens. In this bachelor thesis we are studying a increasing group users, namely elderly citizens. During the study we have analysed E-governments ser-vices usability through usability tests. The combination of conversations and meetings with individuals, observations of interactions and literature studies give us the opportunity to explore the users needs.

According to the client, land survey of Sweden, there is no current information regarding other well developed property tax systems. This information is necessary in order to analyze the effectiveness and develop the Swedish system. The purpose of this study is to contribute with improvement proposals to the development of the Swedish property tax system through a survey of the English and Welsh property tax system.Methods used are: (1) a literature review where the English and Welsh valuation methodology and organization regarding property taxation is studied; (2) an interview with the client at the land survey of Sweden regarding existing problems with the Swedish property tax system; (3) An interview with a contact person of the Valuation Office Agency regarding the English and Welsh property tax system.In England and Wales there are two different property taxes for municipals, Council Tax and Rating. All domestic properties are included in Council Tax and commercial properties or part of commercial properties is included in Rating. Council Tax is based on the properties market value and Rating is based on the commercial property or part of the properties current rental value.

This report describes how the process has evolved during the creation of a new web page forthe company Scandinavian Travel Agent DMC. The design methods that have been used aredescribed and also how parts of the webpage have been created by using the design methodresults. Our reflections around design and functionality are explained and how usability hasbeen our main focus during the master thesis. We also describe how it has been to work withan external costumer and how the tasks constantly have changed and been added as theprocess has continued.The background to this work is that AB Scandinavian Travel Agent DMC need to improve theircurrent web page. This to give the clients better needed information about destinations, butalso to stand out in the competitive travel business.

This aim of this thesis is to measure the effect of the user interface in real searches on the Internet through a small experiment. Theories on web and search usability and psychological factors concerning usability were first explored. Then three interfaces were constructed, one "good" that followed usability guidelines and had multiple search functions, one "bad" that completely disobeyed those guidelines and had only a simple and small search field, and one "intermediate" interface that was a mix of the two. The search field was set to different sizes, with the shortest in the "bad" interface, a medium field in the "intermediate" interface and several long fields in the "good" interface. All three interfaces were then attached to the same web search engine, Altavista.

This paper investigates the usability of the intelligence test Wechsler Nonverbal Scale of Ability (WNV). Twenty four children in two different age-groups were tested with WNV, 10 children between ages 5 - 6, and 14 children between ages 9 - 10. The WNV turned out to be a useful test when some verbal communication was used in the test situation. This was especially apparent among the younger children, who needed extra verbal instructions and verbal support through the different subtests. The test also contained standardized verbal instructions for all ages.

Nanotechnology, one of the most interesting sciences today will no doubt have an enourmous impact on tomorrow's society and industry. One of the most interesting nanomaterial that has been discovered is the semiconductor quantum dot (QD). This material shows interesting novel properties such as a size-dependent band gap, which is an effect caused by the quantum confinement effect in all three dimensions. Due to this phenomenon the absorption spectrum can be tuned to the desired value by adjusting the size of the QD.This thesis aims to investigate how the solvent ratio of H2O/Ethanol affects the optical and structural properties of copper sulfide QDs manufactured in a chemical synthesis way using modern microwave heating. The process of manufacturing QDs using chemical synthesis often involve a capping-agent to prevent the QDs from agglomerate into bigger structures.

Real estate is defined as ground, which is divided into property. Ground means every part of the surface, which is situated within the country. There is no legal definition of property to be found. Property is usually explained as every unit, which legally should be registered in the register of landed properties. To constitute a property the property must permanently be suited for its purpose.

Clinicians in veterinary practice have responsibilities for the development of global antibiotic resistance. In some cases, antibiotics are contraindicated or even useless in wound treatments and therefore other options are needed. Antiseptics may be another option but their use are controversial and may be questioned by owners. As professionals, it may be very difficult to be able to motivate this choice of treatment. The aim of this paper is to gain knowledge about four antiseptics; iodine, silver, polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) and honey to make it easier for veterinary nurses and other clinicians in veterinary practices to decide their potential use. The assessment will be made with consideration of the available evidence concerning the properties, usability and the animal?s experience. The results showed a lack of evidence in in-vivo studies in horses, particularly studies within the field of veterinary nursing.

Internet is the future and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is growing in use. Companies are starting to realise the benefits with VoIP. Skype is the number one soft phone on the market but it doesn't satisfy the needs of companies (e.g. transfer calls, redirects calls and so forth) and leaves therefore a gap. The purpose of this master thesis is to provide Objektor AB (thesis initiator) with tips on how to design a usable soft phone that they know is based on relevant human computer interaction research.The method used in the thesis has been iterative development.

This report describes how the process has evolved during the creation of a new web page forthe company Scandinavian Travel Agent DMC. The design methods that have been used aredescribed and also how parts of the webpage have been created by using the design methodresults. Our reflections around design and functionality are explained and how usability hasbeen our main focus during the master thesis. We also describe how it has been to work withan external costumer and how the tasks constantly have changed and been added as theprocess has continued.The background to this work is that AB Scandinavian Travel Agent DMC need to improve theircurrent web page. This to give the clients better needed information about destinations, butalso to stand out in the competitive travel business.