The aim of this study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate an instrument for measuring the impact from chronic pain on daily life. Traditionally psychometric evaluation is done with parametric methods even if the items are ordinal data. In this study the instrument to be developed is solely based on ordinal data, and the psychometrically evaluation is done with both traditional methods (i.e. parametric statistics) as well as with Non-parametric methods. These two different ways of psychometrically evaluation are then compared with each other.

In many biomedical contexts, e. g. when evaluating hearing disorders, the data obtained can be described as pairs (x1, y1), ?, (xn, yn) where x is a quantitative variable and y a 0/1 variable whose probability of taking the value 1 is a monotonic function of x. One way of analysing such data is to perform probit regression; thereby two parameters, b0 (= the constant) and b1 (= the slope) are estimated; the interest centres around m = -b0/b1, i.

This bachelor thesis project has been executed at Outotec Sweden AB in Skellefteå. Outotecs main business focus is selling mineral and metal processing technologies. A rest product from the metal process is particle-polluted gas and cyclone designs are today the most commonly used abatement device for particle control. A cyclone provides a simple design with high efficiency particle percolation by using air streams.The purpose of this work is to reduce the time it takes create new cyclone designs in Outotecs projects. An extensive construction work is needed for every new cyclone order due to new designs.

This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using different benchmarking models to measure and compare the efficiency of Swedish gas distributors. It also discusses to which extent the results of a benchmarking study should influence the revenue-cap which will be implemented in the gas distribution sector in Sweden from year 2011. The discussion is based on arguments from both theory and practical applications of benchmarking. The results suggest that benchmarking Swedish gas distributors against distributors in another country using a parametric model is most favorable, but the reliability will be increased if Non-parametric models are used also. Partial and total productivity measures could be used to confirm results of other benchmarking analyses.

The Swedish reindeer husbandry has had economic difficulties for some years. Due to this, and the fact that the reindeer husbandry plays an important role in Sámi culture, the Swedish state has chosen to support the industry. If these grants where to be withdrawn, the reindeer husbandry as well as the Sámi culture would decrease, which would cause welfare losses for the people living in Sweden. The aim of this study was to elicit what the Swedes are willing to pay to maintain the amount of reindeer husbandry and Sámi culture. By using Contingent Valuation and a survey the willingness to pay was estimated.

Forecasting is an important part in attempting to predict how companies will perform in the future. The more accurate the prediction, the more valuable are the results obtained from the forecast. This thesis aims to investigate forecasts of return on equity, and whether a disaggregation of the leverage formula into its underlying components affects the forecasting ability positively. This is conducted by comparing a model based on the leverage formula's components with a model solely based on return on equity from previous years. The study includes manufacturing companies on the Swedish Stock Exchange over the period 1998-2011.

Background: The population of the world is getting older and in the year of 2020, 1.2 billion people will be 60 years or older. A common health complaint affecting the quality of life in elderly persons are sleep difficulties. Physical activity is claimed to improve sleep quality and the maintenance of a normal circadian rhythm. Several studies have shown positive effects of physical activity on sleep quality, still the evidence of physical activity as sleep-promoter is insufficient. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate associations between physical activities and sleep quality in persons ?60 years of age.

Background: The population of the world is getting older and in the year of 2020, 1.2 billion people will be 60 years or older. A common health complaint affecting the quality of life in elderly persons are sleep difficulties. Physical activity is claimed to improve sleep quality and the maintenance of a normal circadian rhythm. Several studies have shown positive effects of physical activity on sleep quality, still the evidence of physical activity as sleep-promoter is insufficient. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate associations between physical activities and sleep quality in persons ?60 years of age.

This thesis has been done in collaboration with Höganäs Digital Metal. Höganäs Digital Metalwork with 3D printing of metal and need giveaway components that they can give tocustomers to show their development process.By making a parametric CAD model can we generate about 200 different designs of a?Höganäs brännvinskrus? in miniature. You can choose between different items that shouldbe in it and a variety of perforations to look into it..

The loss of such great wetlands, which has arose in Sweden the last decades, has created a situation that threats both the function and the biological diversity within the wetlands. Many ecological niches can be found in the wetlands and it is one of the habitats where most different species exist. In the 17th Century people started to ditch damp environments, such as bogs, to create a productive cultivated ground. Further ditches were made when the forestry gave large economical profits. The wetlands were impoverished from both groundwater and nourishment, and this led to a great loss of species.In a corporation with WWF and Skogsstyrelsen in Arvika, the University of Karlstad has participated in the Laskerudproject, a hydrological restoration-project in a forest landscape.

The Kedertruss is the loadbearing part in the Keder weatherprotectionsystem and it has been analyzed concerning its loadbearing capacity. The Kedertruss is produced and manufactured by Wilhelm Layher GmbH & Co. KG and this report has been made for their Swedish division Layher AB.  The Kedertruss, designed in Germany according to German designcode, has been recalculated concerning Swedish conditions according to Eurocodes and a ongoing European standardization project. The two-dimensional program Winstatik Frame Analysis has been used for evaluation of load effects. Capacity has been calculated by hand-calculations and it has been verified that the Kedertruss in its larger spans isn?t able to withstand the loads.

The Kedertruss is the loadbearing part in the Keder weatherprotectionsystem and it has been analyzed concerning its loadbearing capacity. The Kedertruss is produced and manufactured by Wilhelm Layher GmbH & Co. KG and this report has been made for their Swedish division Layher AB.  The Kedertruss, designed in Germany according to German designcode, has been recalculated concerning Swedish conditions according to Eurocodes and a ongoing European standardization project. The two-dimensional program Winstatik Frame Analysis has been used for evaluation of load effects. Capacity has been calculated by hand-calculations and it has been verified that the Kedertruss in its larger spans isn?t able to withstand the loads.

The Kedertruss is the loadbearing part in the Keder weatherprotectionsystem and it has been analyzed concerning its loadbearing capacity. The Kedertruss is produced and manufactured by Wilhelm Layher GmbH & Co. KG and this report has been made for their Swedish division Layher AB.  The Kedertruss, designed in Germany according to German designcode, has been recalculated concerning Swedish conditions according to Eurocodes and a ongoing European standardization project. The two-dimensional program Winstatik Frame Analysis has been used for evaluation of load effects. Capacity has been calculated by hand-calculations and it has been verified that the Kedertruss in its larger spans isn?t able to withstand the loads.

Övergången från CATIA V4 till CATIA V5 innebär nya möjligheter för konstruktörerna på Scania att arbeta med Knowledge Based Engineering, KBE, för att effektivisera och kvalitets-säkra sitt arbete. Då CATIA V5 är en ny plattform som innehåller verktyg med samlingsnamnet knowledgware, för att bygga in kunskap i modeller ville Scania undersöka potentialen i att arbeta med KBE, och hur detta skulle kunna ske på Scania. Vid traditionell produktutveckling tas en helt ny artikel fram vid behov och ofta innebär detta att arbete som tidigare utförts, görs om igen. Syftet med arbetet är därför att undersöka huruvida KBE i CATIA V5 kan erbjuda möjligheter att återanvända kunskap från tidigare arbete och samtidigt kvalitetssäkra denna, samt utreda vilka knowledgewarelicenser som i så fall kan vara lämpliga för Scania.För att göra detta har en litteraturstudie genomförts för att undersöka vad som har gjorts inom området, och även en intervjustudie har utförts inom R&D på Scania. Vidare har sakkunniga på Linköpings Universitet och Tekniska Högskolan i Jönköping intervjuats.

Evaporation is a part of the chemical recovery department at wood pulping mills. The purpose of evaporation is to remove water from the black liquor, which makes the liquor combustible. The process is very energy demanding, and having a well-functioning model of the system is of greatest interest. The model can then be used to study energy consumption and to test different control strategies. Two models have been developed during the master thesis.