Good comfort for the driver of a construction machine is crucial. Gearshift comfort is an important part of the total comfort. Volvo Construction Equipment Components has a simulation environment of the powertrain, SimPow, which is implemented in Matlab/Simulink. SimPow is mostly used for simulation of control strategies and performance. In order to be able to study gearshifting comfort, Volvo has an interest in developing new models for SimPow.

This study highlights the differences in articulation, nasality and intelligibility between twenty 16-year-olds and thirteen 19-year-olds born with isolated cleft palate and control groups. The test groups are compared in a longitudinal perspective and based on earlier evaluations of velopharyngeal impairment. Significant differences were found between test groups and control groups using quantitative comparisons based on SVenskt Artikulations- och Nasalitets-TEst and NasometerTM. The longitudinal comparison also showed a positive but not significant development of the speech. Differences emerged in the comparisons based on velopharyngeal impairment but no significance analysis was made.

Thesis purpose The study aims to examine the effects vertical and horizontal line extensions might have on the total parent brand equity in terms of strength and its baseline product regarding of market share, loyalty and penetration under an elapsed period of time. The study aims to investigate a number of actual conducted line extensions effect on the above mentioned aspects of Kellers (1993) definition of brand strength as a part of the total brand equity. Methodology The effect of a number of line extensions of the parent brands and the baseline products is being examined in terms of market share, loyalty rate, cannibalization and market penetration. The thesis is focused on the correlations between these different parameters during a certain elapsed time ratio in order to test our theoretically routed hypothesizes in a deductive manner. Occasional correlations are derived from an indexation of data collected from the Gfk database. Theoretical perspective The study is derived from Kapferers (2004) definition of brand equity, where he is dividing the concept into three parts. This study is focused on Brand strength in particular, which is one of the parameters in the above-mentioned theory.

Thesis purposeThe study aims to examine the effects vertical and horizontal line extensions might have on the total parent brand equity in terms of strength and its baseline product regarding of market share, loyalty and penetration under an elapsed period of time. The study aims to investigate a number of actual conducted line extensions effect on the above mentioned aspects of Kellers (1993) definition of brand strength as a part of the total brand equity. MethodologyThe effect of a number of line extensions of the parent brands and the baseline products is being examined in terms of market share, loyalty rate, cannibalization and market penetration. The thesis is focused on the correlations between these different parameters during a certain elapsed time ratio in order to test our theoretically routed hypothesizes in a deductive manner. Occasional correlations are derived from an indexation of data collected from the Gfk database.

The purpose of this study is to provide a longitudinal examination, within grocery retailing, of four marketing tools and their impact on enhancing customer loyalty. The study examines whether the relationship between the four marketing tools and customer satisfaction has a positive effect on attitude and behavior loyalty. The findings from this study show that the marketing tools have not helped enhancing loyalty between 2004 and 2007. Between these years, service quality has the most affect on loyalty. Self-scanning as an effective marketing tool could be questioned, the relation in this study is not supported.

The thesis mission is to investigate whether the swiveling laser that Vectura (former Vägverket Konsult) has in use to measure the road areas and straddle measuring can be used to detect differences in the reflective road markings function. This is to increase use of the swiveling laser and get rid of the manual measurements performed today.Currently, the measurement of road markings reflective function is performed with both mobile and handheld measuring instruments. The purpose of this thesis is to develop better methods for determination of road markings? reflective function, in order to facilitate the description and suggestions for improvements of the maintenance of road markings reflective function.The questions that the thesis has been to start with are:Can the swiveling laser detect differences in longitudinal and transverse road markings reflective function?The accuracy of measurement has been sweeping the laser over the reference instrument (LTL-2000)Is it necessary with a conversion factor for swiveling laser data against the reference instrument data?To answer the question 2 and 3, there has been a field work in Värnamo where a road stretch with longitudinal road markings and zebra crossing (transverse road markings) has been investigated with a swiveling laser and LTL-2000.The formulas and calculations contained in the thesis are drawn from scientific reports that are produced by VTI in Linköping. The same formula that was used to calculate the optical measurement data was also used for the swiveling laser data.

Some people who recovered from exhaustion disorder report that their lives feel more meaningful after the disease than before, despite residual symptoms and difficulties. This experience of increased meaningfulness has been linked to sense of coherence, SOC. The research question was whether individuals with exhaustion disorder at onset has a weak SOC, and if there is a general increase towards a higher SOC value ??during the recovery process. In a cross-sectional study, data were gathered on the SOC value via the SOC 29 form.

This thesis is about a language-stimulating activity, called the Book Teddy, which take placein Markaryd, a small municipality in southern Sweden. The activity is described and someexamples given of the Book Teddy's visits to the homes of parents and their preschool children.Similar activities in Värnamo, Kumla and Borås, which have been inspired by the BookTeddy are also described.Facts about children's psychology, language development and child language illustrate theimportance of stimulating language acquisition in the early years. An important example is"The Bristol Study", a Longitudinal study of preschool children.A questionnaire was sent to 93 parents, whose children were bom in 1991. 53 parents or57% answered. The analysis was made out of these 53 questionnaires.

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) has been claimed to be the single most reliable indicator of firm growth and has gained wide adoption among companies in a broad range of industries. This is despite a lack of rigorous scientific testing. The purpose of this study is to examine the predictive strength of the question "How likely are you to recommend [.] to your friends and colleagues " that the metric is based on: how well does it actually predict future consumer behavior Furthermore, the report aims to create a greater understanding of the factors that explain a person's word of mouth (WOM) intention and which behaviours cause that intention to change. A Longitudinal study was conducted of 304 consumers' WOM intention regarding two non-carbonated drinks and their subsequent WOM and purchase behavior. The analyses show that the behaviors are captured by the metric to some extent.

The aim of this study was to examine sexual behavior, contraceptive use, self-rated health, lifestyle factors and the prevalence of HPV vaccination among last year high school students. The study was a quantitative cross-sectional study which was a substudy of the Longitudinal study " Pornography, Youth and Health". Results showed that the majority of students had had sexual intercourse (75 %, n=524) and both performed (67 %, n=479) and received oralsex (70 %, n=498). Forty percent (n=282) of the students had had one night stand, a quarter (n=159) anal sex and 29 (n=202) percent sex with a friend. The contraceptive use increased from the first to the last intercourse while the use of condoms decreased.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how patients who had undergone Hallberg's  TIA-school at Enköpings Lasarett rate their physical and mental health 18 months after participation. Another purpose was to examine whether they re-diagnosed with a TIA or suffered a stroke. The design of the quantitative study was longitudinal and descriptive. In the study 16 patients participated and to measure their mental and physical health the questionnaire SF36 was used. The results showed that none of the participants suffered a new TIA or stroke since participation in the TIA-school.

Aim: Through the review of scientific articles, this study aimed to identify which oral health-related quality of life instruments that have been used in studies to measure the oral health-related quality of life in older individuals and the application of such instruments.Method: The study is based on a systematic literature review, where 14 articles have been chosen and evaluated against a checklist. Result: The oral health-related quality of life instruments that have been used on individuals, 65 years and older, are OHIP-49, OHIP-14, OHIP-20 or OHIP-EDENT, GOHAI and OIDP. The instruments are used to examine factors associated with the oral health-related quality of life. Significant associations have been identified, among other things, between the number of teeth in static occlusion, dry mouth and the quality of the dentures, and oral health-related quality of life. Social and cultural associations have also been revealed.Conclusions: Today there exist several well functioning instruments that are used for research purposes.

This thesis investigate how energy efficient measures has spread throughout the data centers in Sweden. These questions are put up against a theoretical use of such concepts such as green IT, technological evolution, large technical systems and knowledge dissemination. These theories are used to answer the questions that are encountered during the study, such as how green IT is approached, how big of a role environmental thinking has had in the evolvement of these new technologies. The study has been conducted in a longitudinal manner, it is an observation of the phenomenon that is data centers over a longer period of time. 23 non structured interviews spanning over 27.5 hours of recorded material have been conducted alongside a study of archived material.

Aim: Through the review of scientific articles, this study aimed to identify which oral health-related quality of life instruments that have been used in studies to measure the oral health-related quality of life in older individuals and the application of such instruments. Method: The study is based on a systematic literature review, where 14 articles have been chosen and evaluated against a checklist. Result: The oral health-related quality of life instruments that have been used on individuals, 65 years and older, are OHIP-49, OHIP-14, OHIP-20 or OHIP-EDENT, GOHAI and OIDP. The instruments are used to examine factors associated with the oral health-related quality of life. Significant associations have been identified, among other things, between the number of teeth in static occlusion, dry mouth and the quality of the dentures, and oral health-related quality of life. Social and cultural associations have also been revealed. Conclusions: Today there exist several well functioning instruments that are used for research purposes.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between adult attachment, denoted as mental representations of childhood experiences, and social relations. A secondary purpose was to examine the impact of prematurity on attachment and social relations in adult age. The study is part of a larger Longitudinal study carried out by professor Karin Stjernqvist and Anne-Li Hallin, candidate for the doctorate, at the Department of Psychology, Lund University. Participants of the present study were 30 individuals randomly selected from the larger study. Of these, 16 individuals were premature born and 14 individuals were full-term born.