This study is made to understand the opportunities and challenges SMEs have to adopt GHG calculation tools. Adoption of GHG calculation tools are common by large organizations and have proven as a consequence to lower their GHG emissions, motivate their employees and establish sustainability goals. Even thou a large amount of large organizations have adopted GHG calculation tools, this is very rare in SMEs. Using the theoretical framework called Rogers diffusion of innovation theory and a survey, the factors behind why or why not SMEs have adopted GHG calculation tools were studied. The results showed that only 9% of SMEs have adopted GHG calculation tools and the reason for this is lack of resources, competence and data. The analysis showed that the characteristics of an organization that affects this the most are leadership, education and regulations. In order to overcome the challenges, organizations should prioritize to have a leadership that motivates employees to engage in sustainability actions. Organizations should enable skill development in the field of sustainability to increase the competence. This would enable more organization to adopt GHG calculation tools and most likely lower their GHG emissions. 

Nowadays, companies started to realize the impact of a good maintenance strategy on the production process. Quality, performance as well as availability are affected by maintenance; existing maintenance strategies help to optimize the production process to achieve high quality products with a low production cost. A new strategy of maintenance has immerged recently, e-maintenance provides an easy solution to follow up with maintenance, it provides condition monitoring, documentation, and it also gives you the best maintenance solution that fits your goals and vision. Articles related to e-maintenance was studied and analyzed to know the steps to implement a cost-effective e-maintenance. The authors came up with a model that describes the implementation process in three main steps.

The Master thesis explores the knowledge sharing that takes place during the requirement engineering phase of globally distributed information systems development. In recent years, due to globalization, information systems development activities have become increasingly distributed across different geographical locations. Requirement engineering is an important and knowledge intensive phase in the development of information systems. Requirement engineering is the process of identifying, analyzing, documenting, validating and managing the requirements of a system. Effective and efficient knowledge sharing during the requirement engineering is vital for the successful development of information systems. However, the global distribution of the stakeholders has affected knowledge sharing during requirement engineering in various ways making it more challenging.

Drawing on the theories of knowledge sharing within the field of information systems, this interpretive research study aims at exploring stakeholders’ perceptions about the challenges met during the knowledge sharing in requirement engineering phase of globally distributed information systems development projects. More specifically, this Master thesis explores the perceived challenges and generates a list of suggestions to overcome the challenges by conducting qualitative semi-structured interviews among the key stakeholders, both customers and business analysts.

The findings indicate that the knowledge sharing is influenced by challenges such as cultural differences, language barriers, communication issues, coordination issues arising from multiple stakeholders, time difference and difficulty in sharing tacit knowledge in the globally distributed settings. Participants’ suggestions for overcoming these challenges include cultural trainings, kick off meetings, language trainings, use of translator, face-to-face communication and interaction, video conferencing, scheduling important meetings in the common suitable timings, identification of the main stakeholders, having a mediator and making close observations with face-to-face interactions.

Keywords:  Information Systems, Information Systems Development, Requirement Engineering, Knowledge Sharing, Global Distribution, Outsourcing

Purpose This study focuses on applicable methods used in the Inventory Management of Fresh Food Products and challenges encountered in their implementation. The area of concentration is the Fresh Food Retailers. Secondly, the challenges encountered in the implementation of fresh food products is also addressed. Methodology The study employs a qualitative research technique with the use of a semi-structured interview for five companies to gather data. Theory The theory section of this study first gives a brief explanation of fresh food retailers’. Secondly, it addresses the keywords of the research questions: Fresh Food Products Inventory Management, highlighting the management of the shelf-life and technological innovations in use in the inventory management of Fresh Food Products. It moves on to address the challenges encountered in the implementation of inventory management systems Empirical This represents the outcome of semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted with five companies. It started with a brief description of the company. Analysis and Discussion The analysis portrays the techniques and models used in the inventory management of shelflife and technological innovations and identification and discussion of implementation challenges or drawback of implementation. Conclusion This addresses my contribution and a futuristic approach to the topic.

The aim of this study was to examine how pilots, vessel masters and tugboat masters perceive the importance of verbal communication with consideration to safety and efficiency.  This is based on the fact that the vast majority of accidents involving vessels occur because of human error, where lack of communication plays a large part. In the study semi-structured interviews were held with two pilots, two masters and two tugboat masters. After conducting these six interviews it became apparent at the use of standard phrasing and closed loop communication could vary. Based on the information collected one conclusion is that if the usage within these two areas improved safety could increase. It was also apparent in this study that the knowledge of the English language differed greatly which also could lead to misunderstandings with the giving of instructions. A better proficiency in English and better knowledge of verbal communication could be two possible ways of increasing safety.

This thesis compares the impact on disk performance in a GNU/Linux  environmentwith three encryption algorithms: AES,  Serpent and Twofish in three different implementations: DM-crypt, Loop-AES and Truecrypt. For all three algorithms a key length of 256 bits is used.

The thesis shows that the least performance impact during data encryption, and thus file writing, is reached by using AES or Twofish encryption implemented in DM-crypt or TrueCrypt. The thesis shows that some data operations with a sufficiently low processor utilization barely affects disk performance at all if encrypted using the optimal implementation and algorithm.

It is also discovered that the performance impact during data decryption, or file reading, can be minimized by using the most efficient implementation and algorithm. The best results are met with the AES or Twofish cipher, regardless of implementation.

An important conclusion that  is  drawn is that it is hard to determine a superior encryption solution for all purposes. However, by reviewing and examining the collected data from all aspects of disk performance the AES implementation in TrueCrypt is, with small marginals, determined to be the most optimal.

A shift in water monitoring approach from traditional grab sampling to novel wireless sensors is gaining in popularity not only among researchers but also in the market. These latest technologies readily enable numerous advantageous monitoring arrangements like remote, continuous, real-time, and spatially-dense and broad in coverage measurements, and identification of long-term trends of parameters of interest. Thus, a WSN system is implemented in a river in Kosovo as part of the InWaterSense project to monitor its water quality parameters. It is one of the first state of the art technology demonstration systems of its kind in the domain of water monitoring in developing countries like Kosovo. Water quality datasets are transmitted at pre-programmed intervals from sensing stations deployed in the river to the server at university via the GPRS network. Data is then made available through a portal to different target groups (policy-makers, water experts, and citizens). Moreover, the InWaterSense system behaves intelligently like staying in line with water quality regulatory standards.

Maritime insurance is a collective name for a multiple insurances a shipping company must have in order to conduct maritime operations. The two most common ones that affect the ship itself and its operation are Kasko and P&I. Using the RMS TITANIC case, the study intends to determine whether the policyholder of the vessel is entitled to insurance compensation or not according to modern Swedish maritime insurance. The study looks more closely at how insurance companies apply the terms for identification and what differentiates negligence from gross negligence, in order to determine whether compensation should be paid to the owner of RMS TITANIC. The study uses a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews and literature study. The result shows that Swedish insurance companies apply identification to a small extent, which allows insurance coverage for shipowners not to be affected if a crew acts carelessly on board, but the same does not apply if the act was grossly negligent. This means that the policyholder of RMS TITANIC is entitled to compensation according to modern maritime insurance.

This study aims to investigate how the students on the Master Mariner Programme perceive the quality of the ship-based training based on the type of vessel and how it differs between different types of ships. Utilizing a qualitative method in the form of semi-structured interviews, a total of six interviews were conducted with students at the Kalmar Maritime Academy. The results show that students are generally satisfied with the quality of the ship-based training. Tankers are described as the vessel type with the highest quality of ship-based training, where students have more opportunities to take personal responsibility and develop their skills as future officers. However, some aspects are highlighted as areas where students would like more time and room to improve on, such as mooring operations and voyage planning. Respondents identify several factors that influence the quality of the ship-based training, including the mentoring, crew engagement and what tasks are assigned to the cadets.

Human error has been a key factor in grounding- and collision incidents in the past and continues to present a challenge to the maritime industry in the present day. The feasibility of a pilot framework for Bridge Resource Management (BRM) training lies at the heart of this study, its objective being to gauge the possibility of the construction of such a model. The result is thought to open up for further research and highlight the most relevant and effective BRM tools that can be used, by the bridge team, to prevent collision and grounding. The study was carried out in two stages. Firstly, four key personnel within the shipping industry were interviewed. These respondents were tasked with prioritising what they regarded as the most effective BRM tools. Secondly, the effectiveness of these tools was tested on marine incident cases. A document analysis was carried out on six collision and grounding cases, as investigated by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB). The majority of the respondents were in agreement regarding which three BRM tools they regarded as the most relevant and effective. The result from the interviews was repeated in the result from the document analysis.  The conclusions that were drawn are that: it is possible to construct a pilot framework for BRM training and it is also possible to measure the effectiveness of the BRM tools. Additionally, suggestions for further research that arose from this thesis pertain to the study of the relationship between different BRM tools.

This work has been carried out to show how it is possible to combine accessibility in buildings of cultural heritage and historical value. In this case, three local buildings have been studied on Storgatan in Växjö, with a focus on people with reduced mobility. 

The work was carried out by studying laws that apply accessibility, making a site visit and interviewing experts on the subject. The goal was to come up with a proposal for each selected premises. Solutions should be able to be an inspiration to implement in real projects for buildings with the same characteristics.

The results of the study showed that there is a lack of accessibility in three selected entrances. Inaccessible buildings can mean restrictions for people with reduced mobility to be able to carry out daily activities. There is also a need to include accessibility in buildings that have a building memory.

This research examines the effects of using 3D virtual shopping malls and shows the user interaction and experience in this type of virtual environments. Technology developments and the use of the Internet made users to expect more services, which help to improve the user's life. Using a 3D virtual environment and adding a shopping idea to it is considered as very interesting, especially if it reflects the real world in a virtual reality that make its users attached to it. Furthermore, the possibility of having an avatar to represent themselves in computer-mediated virtual environment help users to explore the virtual environment. Another advantage is that users have the possibility to invite friends and to navigate inside a 3D Virtual-shopping mall not alone but together, which gives the user the capability to socialise inside the mall. Besides, changing of the customer's profile and chatting with friends is supported, too. Moreover, the transformation process from a two-dimensional environment to a three-dimensional environment is considered to be convenient for both, customers and mall owners.

I have used phenomenology to investigate this new phenomenon. In addition the data was gathered by interviewing several participants from different educational levels as well as business owners of 3D virtual malls. The research will show the potential of using a 3D virtual shopping mall from the user's perspective as well as from the business' owners and having a 3D virtual shopping mall is not only considered entertaining, but also convenient.

As a future work I recommend to interview the merchants in this research to grasp this idea completely.

Most of the detached houses in Sweden were built more than 30 years ago, and most of them are oldand need a deep renovation. The renovation is an excellent opportunity to apply the energy measure witha combination of renewable energy such as PV solar, which could be a great option to reduce energyconsumption and contribute to reducing greenhouse emissions. For this reason, selecting effectiverenovation scenarios for buildings could be important and challenging. One of these challenges isapplying typical scenarios for one archetype's buildings. A building could be in the same archetypeswith similar geometry and properties but in different directions. In this study, the researcher aims toinvestigate the yearly heat demand energy saving of buildings from one archetype, the same renovationscenario, and the same area but in four different directions, 0-30-60-90 degrees from the south (casestudies).This project's additional aim is to examine the electricity generation from PV when installedon one and both sides for four houses in the same area in four different directions, 0-30-60-90 degreesfrom the south.

Design Builder software was used as a graphical user interface through the Energy Plus engine. In thisway, the heat demand of case studies was simulated for different scenarios (Standard renovation andadvanced renovation) in the Växjö region. The results from the simulation of the houses with differentdirections showed that the heat demand energy decreased by, on average, 20% for standard and 28% foradvanced renovation. The comparison of the case studies with the same renovation scenario concludesthat they are no differences in the heat energy savings, which means the direction of the building has nobig impact on the energy saving of the renovation scenario in the Växjö region. The installation side ofthe PV has no impact on the annual electricity generation from PV for the house with a direction of 0degrees from the south. For the other houses, the yearly electricity generation from the PV increased by36.8% with one side on the roof (South direction). House number 4 is the best direction to install PVwith one side on the roof (south direction), and house 3 is the next best direction to install PV on oneside.

When installed on both sides of the roof, the annual electricity generation from the PV decreased by5,3% with four houses in different directions. The changes are not so high may be due to the weather ofthe Växjö, which is 65 % cloudy according to the weather data file from TMY. Another reason is thatthe PV was installed on both sides of the pitched roof. When the houses have different directions, 0 to90 degrees from the south, that may be increased the electricity generation from the PV on one side andreduce it on the other.

The purpose of the web is that it should be accessible to everybody, however, there are people with some type of disabilities that makes them unable to access or use certain websites because of the lack of accessibility that is implemented in them. This means that these websites are not user-friendly for users with disabilities. In order to highlight the problem, areas such as user-experience, usefulness, accessibility and WCAG 2.0 were explored in order to gain a better understanding of these areas and get a better picture of the important factors in them. Based on the theories, the study showed that these previously mentioned areas are part of  each other and that accessibility is good for both users with and without disabilities.

There is a challenge when designing digital environments that promotes activities for the purpose to creates routines and habits leading to the growth of a community. Online communities could sometime lack objective management, resulting in lowered engagement and motivation amongst the members to contribute. Members in these environments sometimes struggle to see how their contribution can make an impact. The importance of online communities has a greater role in society while attitude towards distance collaborations are becoming familiar, consequently investigating these issues is relevant. Previous research has observed this behavior and defines it as social loafing, groups and communitys lack contribution even though they have many members. What has been found as a prevention to this negative development shows that individuals are more likely to contribute when their value are acknowledged. What also has a motivating and positive effect is when they are assigned group-oriented goals rather than just assigned goals individually. Establishing routines, habits, and common ground between members of a collaboration has a role in this development. This study explores activities amongst creators that are active in creative online communities oriented in game development, music production and other types of distance collaborations dependent on computer supported collaborative work (CSCW). The results gathered from interviews and user-surveys, has been analyzed through Activity theory, to better understand the habits that leads to successful creative collaborations in online communities. We propose design guidelines for development of digital platforms that serves the purpose for online communities and stems through the activities that establishes common ground and a culture for participation. We also present a best practice example based on the finding, describing a distance facilitated competition in music production that promotes participation and establishment of common ground. Taking to account the wide variety of different technical and individual needs and goals of multidisciplinary creators serves as a suggestion for further research.

För att få en djupare förståelse för hur yta kan frigöras och användas har en studie genomförts på Villa VIDA som idag inte har tillräckligt med fri yta för kapacitetsökning. När nuläget analyserades kunde det konstateras att lagerbildningar på produktionsyta och ett måleri var det som hindrade företaget från att expandera. Baserat på det nuvarande läget genererades två alternativa layouter. I det ena förslaget valdes outsourcing av måleriet för att frigöra ännu mer yta och få plats med en kapacitetsökning på 50 % istället för 25 % som hade blivit resultatet om måleriet bevarats. Åtgärder som frigjorde yta innebar reducering av antal lagringspunkter och minskade orderkvantiteter. Vid utvärdering blev resultatet att företaget bör satsa på förslaget där måleriet är outsourcat då detta bidrar med ekonomiska så väl som flödesrelaterade fördelar samtidigt som ytan används på ett effektivare sätt.

In Sweden seven courts has been appointed to specialize in admiralty law cases. These cases are either civil or criminal cases with connection to shipping on Swedish territory.

The objective was to examine and describe the admiralty law verdicts over time with focus on what types of cases, differences between courts and variation over time. The study focused on merchant shipping.

Study of literature was chosen as method and with follow-up questions interviews were made with agencies and experts. The literature in this study was the 153 verdicts that were announced between 2009 and 2013.

Of all verdicts collected were five civil cases and 148 criminal cases with 13 classifications. The largest difference between the courts was the sum of verdicts. A change over time could not be observed.

Other conclusions that were made were that ships’ masters, that have the utmost responsibility, avoided prosecution when they were not present for the event of the prosecution. 

In this paper a sequential method for the selection of maintenance technique for mechanical systems is presented. It is based on technical knowledge concerning component failure mechanisms and failure causes. Classification of failures according to their consequences is stated. A modified version of failure modes, effects and criticality analysis is given and a way to identify significant components is discussed. Analysis of collected data is discussed and a method to identify a replacement level of a monitoring parameter is proposed. Criteria for the selection of a monitoring technique based on the intrinsic information of monitoring parameters are introduced. Finally, a decision rule for the selection of a suitable maintenance technique is suggested and a modified expression of the long run average cost per unit time is used as a distinguishing criterion between applicable strategies.

Profitable production demands continuously improved maintenance decision accuracy to reduce unplanned stoppages, prolong components/machines  life length and maintain production continuity. When CM, e.g. vibration level or oil temperature, value exceeds a warning level, it demands a clear understanding of what happened and how it will develop to avoid failures. It demands also reliable information, e.g. probability of failure, residual  life and when is the most profitable time for maintenance. Companies strive to reduce production cost through reducing non-value adding times, e.g. failures, for offering customers lower prices and generating additional competitive advantages. In this paper, a new tool (Prediction of Vibration and oil temperature, PreVib) for predicting the condition of a turbine, generator and gearbox is introduced,  discussed and tested. The solution offers a unique opportunity to achieve just in time dynamic and cost-effective maintenance by selecting the most profitable time for maintenance. PreVib is tested in a power plant. The major results: Failures can appreciably be reduced thanks the high precision of prediction ( + 90%), i.e. a negligible difference from the real measurement: PreVib does not demand extensive or additional data, and not replace available maintenance systems. The major conclusion is that applying PreVib, it is possible to reduce failures appreciably, prolong life length of components/equipment and perform profitable maintenance

In this paper a graphical method for the selection of a cost-effective monitoring technique is suggested. Also, a graphical method to estimate the level at which components should be replaced when using a cost-effective technique, i.e. threshold level, is proposed. These two methods are based on the concept of the Total Time on Test, TTT-plot on age and condition dependent replacement is discussed.

The cycle between two replacements based on condition monitoring is discussed. Models representing a condition dependent failure rate function reflecting the information in a monitoring parameter are suggested. For the selection of a cost-effective technique, a modified version of the Proportional Hazards Model, PHM, is proposed. Utilizing this modified model, it is possible to reveal the effect of monitoring parameters and operating conditions on the failure rate function. General comments on the application of the cost equation are given.

Each minute of software system crashes and downtime in critical systems is often expensive or dangerous for both humans and the environment. Research reveals an intimidating large effort for maintenance; up to 90% of software cost is derived to maintenance and evolution. The attention on software maintenance has increased due to the safety aspect and its significant economic importance on information technology. Applying a statistical model for planning regular software maintenance action and modification can be misleading because similar software behave and age differently at various operating conditions. Standards that are used for software development and software maintenance do not treat software condition-based or proactive maintenance explicitly. Detecting deviations in the condition and performance of software systems at an early stage should decrease the economic losses.

In this paper, different aspects of critical IT systems have been considered. The major result of this study is; a literature review, classification and analysis of maintenance approaches applied in industry and those in software reinforce that industrial approaches are conceptually comparable with software approaches. Also, investigating the possibility of adapting experiences from industry in the development of a new condition-based maintenance approach regarding software systems is viable. The main conclusions are that static and dynamic properties of software condition can be obtained by using tools and techniques, and if identifying and monitoring software degradation parameters it would be possible to apply a CBM policy on software. Consequently more research effort needs to be accomplished on condition-based software maintenance with a proactive-predictive approach.

A profession at sea involves alternating away/home periods, which means a special situation for the seafarer in reconciling profession and family life. This rotation system can also be assumed to have consequences fot those who live with a seafarer. Against this backgrund, the purpose of this study was to illustrate how the rotation system may effect the partners´daily lives ande thier ralationship with the saefarer. A qualitaive approach was used because I wanted to understand and describe the respondents´personal experiences. The results showed that the perception among the respondents varied. The problematic aspects that emerged were above all the absence of acxact dates for the serfarer to sign on and off the vessel. Thay found it difficult to be proactive and make common plans when the dates often changed. The positive aspects that were highlighted included; quality time together, own time and natural breakes in the realtionship which could lead to positive emotions of renewal. The key to getting the relationship to work was seen as a positive attitude and a common compromise from both parties.

Recent studies in science and engineering education support that inductive learning activities encouraging active student involvement may improve students’ motivation, development of soft skills and academic performance, compared to traditional lectures. Until recently, several technology-enhanced learning environments have been proposed to facilitate such activities in classrooms. However, these commonly depend on dedicated hardware devices, such as clickers or tablet PCs. Contrastingly, smartphones are being massively adopted by society as these become increasingly powerful and inexpensive. Even so, the use of smartphones as learning tools in lecture halls has still not been widely adopted. In this paper we present CollPhoto, a paper-plus-smartphone environment that supports face-to-face problem solving activities in the classroom. CollPhoto provides the instructor with instant visibility of students’ work, and facilitates him/her conducting discussions, based on a selection of students’ responses. We report on the design and initial validation of CollPhoto in the context of two computer science courses.

Nowadays, becoming data-driven is the vision of almost all organizations. However, achieving this vision is not as easy as it may look like and there are many factors that affect, enable, support and sustain the data-driven ecosystem in an organization. Among these factors, this study focuses on data democracy which can be defined as the intra-organizational open data that aims to empower the employees getting faster and easier access to data in order to benefit from the business insight they need without the interfere of external help. 

In the existing literature, while the importance of becoming data-driven has been widely discussed, when it comes to data democracy within organizations, there is a noticeable gap. As a result, this master’s thesis aims to justify the importance and role of the data democracy in becoming a data-driven organization, focusing on the case of a Swedish bank. Additionally, it intends to provide extra investigation on the role of data analytics tools in achieving data democracy. 

The results of the study show that there is a strong connection between the benefits of the empowering different actors of the organization with the needed data knowledge, and the speeding up of the data-driven transformation journey. Based on the study, shared data and the availability of data to a larger number of stakeholders inside an organization result into a better understanding of different aspects of the problems, simplify the data-driven decision making and make the organization more data-driven. In the process of becoming data-driven, the organizations should provide the analytics tools not only to the data specialists but even to the non-data technical people. And by offering the needed support, training and collaboration possibilities between the two groups of employees (data specialists and non-data specialists), it should be attempted to enable the second group to extract the insight from the data, independently from the help of the data scientists. 

An organization can succeed in the path of becoming data-driven when they invest on the reusable capabilities of its employees, by discovering the data science skills across various departments and turning their domain experts into citizen data scientists of the organization. 

The purpose of this thesis was to analyse the reported work-related accidents in shipping by using frequency combined with consequence. Thereafter the purpose was to reach conclusions regarding which work-related accident was the most serious. The thesis also aimed to find if there were any connections between these accidents. Statistics were ordered from the Swedish Work Environment Authority. These statistics were processed in several ways, for instance demarcations regarding position onboard was made. Since the conditions of reporting workrelated accidents had changed during time, relevant years was chosen after consideration. The result of the study shows that when a person experiences an accident where he or she stumbles, trips, slips or treads heavily, the person is more likely to have a long sick-leave. These types of accidents are also the most common ones. To lose control of equipment or to lose control of equipment used to move material is also a common accident leading to a long sickleave. The only connection found is that the external factor hawser is present at several accidents with different consequences and cause.

The main purpose of this study was to measure and evaluate the air quality onboard two Swedish ships, and compare the results with the exposure limits laid out by the Swedish Work Environment Authority (Arbetsmiljöverket) and the Swedish population’s exposure to various substances. The results of this study were also meant to be helpful to form new advice and recommendations to minimize exposure and also to provide material for future studies.

During approximately one week onboard the two ships data were collected using passive samplers to register levels of benzene, nitrogen dioxide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The results indicated that the air quality onboard the two ships were generally good. All measured concentrations were well below safety applications and it did not differ very much neither between ships nor compared with the Swedish population’s exposure. In conclusion, Swedish sailors onboard Swedish ships are not in greater danger of toxic air pollutants onboard compared to when they are at home.

As digital gaming technology has evolved and the games has become more advanced, the amount of information that the player can get about their avatar (the player's digital representation) has increased. Depending on the layout and design of the game, this information is more or less readily available. The information that always seems to have a more or less evident place in HUD (static parts of the graphical interface) is the avatar's state of health. There are several guidelines on how to visualize this information, but game designers are constantly exploring new ways to apply it. Pros and cons of how the information is implemented is discussed by players and game journalists in several forums. Frequently focusing on what it does for the game's challenge and the gaming experience.Previous research that attended the avatar's health has investigated how different mechanics behind the graphic visualization affect the gaming experience. However, there is a research gap when it comes to how the graphic visualization of the avatar's health affects the player's performance.This study examines how a player's performance is influenced by obtaining information about the avatar's health through the graphical interface. The study is based on an ongoing discussion of how the mechanics of the avatar's health and its visualization affects the game's challenge.A literature study was conducted on the subject game design focusing on how the graphic interface of a game should be designed. After that, a game prototype was developed for the study in which the literature study formed the basis for how a graphic representation of the avatar's health was implemented. In the prototype, functionality was added to completely exclude the graphic representation of the avatar's health every other time the game started. Functionality was also applied in the prototype to collect data during the game. The data was saved in a database set up for the study.With use of the two game modes of the prototype, a qualitative preliminary study was conducted in the form of supervised game sessions with follow-up semi-structured interviews. A comparative study was conducted by letting half of the participants play with a visible health bar and the other half without. The participant's reasoning on issues related to the research question was analyzed to give a deeper understanding of the quantitative data that was collected by making the prototype available through the web.After each completed game of the prototype, it was registered alongside the score if the game had been played with a visible health bar or not. Other information intended to answer the research question for the study was also registered. After the preliminary study was conducted the prototype was published on the web, this resulted in data from 259 game rounds was collected and stored in the database. After selection according to study delimitations, data from 62 game rounds have been used for the for the study's quantitative research backing.To conclude, the results differ between the qualitative and the quantitative studies. During the qualitative study, a distinction was made in the reasoning between those who played with a visible health bar and those who had been playing without. This was used to analyze and compare the collected data from the web-based prototype. The collected quantitative data, however, does not show any statistically safe difference in performance between those who played with a visible health bar and those who played without one.

The purpose of this study is to investigate possible challenges regarding multicultural leadership at sea, and to see if these differ from challenges connected to multicultural leadership ashore.

Considering the special conditions onboard a ship, and based on previous studies and literature, five components for successful multicultural leadership at sea has been identified. These five components have been the base of an interview guide, which has been used to conduct interviews with twelve seafarers onboard a Swedish flagged ship. The seafarers were asked what they consider to be good leadership, their expectations on leadership and how they feel affected by the environment onboard.

According to the interviews, the seafarers feels that the most important traits for a leader is to be fair, kind and knowledgeable. The seafarers appear to be aware of the expectations connected to their roles onboard, but they do not seem to contemplate that people from different cultures may have different expectations on their role. Based on the literature study and the interviews, one can make out that a ship-specific culture rules the social environment onboard. The crewmembers seem to primarily adapt and adjust to this ship-specific culture, and their own national culture comes in second hand.  In conclusion, the biggest challenge of multicultural leadership at sea is recognized to be the ability to be a fair and kind leader in an isolated and wearying environment.

During the last decades there have been several great ship disasters where rescue capability has not been sufficient to save all or even a majority of the victims of a number of larger marine disasters. This is despite the fact that great efforts have been made to improve the life-saving equipment on board. Merchant ships which encounter any other ship in distress are required by law to assist in the rescue. This study was made to illustrate what resources exist in Sweden to handle major ship emergencies at sea and to what extent the merchant fleet is able to help. The study was done as a literature study with a few additional questions to shipping companies. Both merchant ships and the Swedish Maritime Administration's specialized rescue units have proven to be far too poorly equipped or too few to handle their task in rough weather conditions, which are often associated with ship disasters. Much of the responsibility for getting crew and passengers to safety after an accident is instead transferred to helicopters which fly out to the emergency location from land. Many technical problems have been found that makes it difficult to evacuate via helicopters during multiple ship disasters, as helicopters are sensitive to severe weather. A development of equipment that can be used in rough weather conditions without having to move people one by one between different crafts needs to be developed. Relying solely on helicopters for mass evacuation has proved to be too time-consuming and vulnerable.

Ship safety drills are a central part of shipboard operations. Through drills, the crew can improve their knowledge and be prepared for possible emergencies. The study aims to investigate and find factors that affect the crew's interest and motivation linked to drills. The study is conducted as a qualitative interview study with six Swedish nautical officers in merchant shipping. The study uses an expert sample, this was considered advantageous as the sample group contributes to relevant information to answer the study's questions. The study has shown that lack of motivation can be a problem during drills, which is something that must be considered when a drill is planned and carried out. The lack of motivation may, for example, be due to the crew member feeling that drills are of a repetitive nature, are done in the crew member's free time, and that the person conducting the drill may also be unmotivated. The officers play an important role in the outcome of the drill, depending on their attitude towards the exercises. With the understanding that the problem exists, there are, according to the officers, techniques to increase motivation, for example a quiz or a point walk. The results of the study are expected to contribute to a greater understanding of the factor of motivation when it comes to shipboard drills. With a greater understanding of the impact of motivation, exercises can be developed to increase the motivation and participation of the crew.

Every year, several sailors choose to leave their profession at sea. This is due to several different reasons such as being homesick, stress, a high workload and lack of communication. Seven interviews were conducted in this qualitative survey in order to investigate which methods and strategies exist at the Swedish shipping companies to keep their onboard personnel. It appears that a strict plan usually does not exist, instead the company chooses to look after the needs of individuals if they are failing in development and if they are about to leave their job. The result revealed that these issues are handled differently depending on which sector of Swedish shipping they operate in. It also revealed that the size of the shipping company plays a role as the bigger companies tend to ask their senior officers to help in developing the junior officers. Concurrently the smaller shipping companies tend to take on the responsibility themselves to develop and have good communication with their junior officers.

This thesis and report has addressed and focused on identifying the interaction effect that occurs when an information system's interface is scaled off and is minimalistic. This case study is based on a web-based writing tool called Writer. The purpose of the research has been to clarify the personal interaction effect in an interactive usage situation and how it in turn affects the user experience. The theoretical field and framework of the study is Actability , focusing on the interactive action level in connection with The Elementary InterAction Loop . The Elementary InterAction Loop consists of four steps where the user asks, does, gets an answer and then evaluates. In conjunction with the theory, five interaction criteria have been incorporated, which are; Clear Action Repertoire , Intelligible Vocabulary , Action Transparency , Clear Feedback , and Amendability . These five criteria have been the thematization of the empirical work.

Through both targeted selection and snowball sampling, six journalists/writers have been involved in collecting data. In the method work, user test was performed on the writing tool with tasks formulated in accordance to the five interaction criteria. In the method work, user tests was performed on the writing tool. Thereafter the tasks was formed according to the five interaction criteria from the theoretical framework. All informants evaluated their experience and made thirteen statements based on a user experience questionnaire where concepts such as easy to learn/not easy to learn and effective/ineffective were asked for. Following these two steps in the empirical study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen questions based on the five interaction qualities. In order to analyze the collected data, the content analysis method was applied which resulted in 25 categories with descriptions and quotes. Based on a content analysis and its results, the categories were then analyzed using the D.EU.PS model and its 18 classes. The analysis resulted in ten interaction effects placed in seven different classes. The result and the ten interaction effects are: Security, Previous references, Terminology, Recognition, Understanding of sequence/action, Perception, Simplicity, Efficiency Availability and Grouping (proximity). Based on personal behavior as a perspective, these effects are the result of a minimalistic writing tool that contributes to a good user experience.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur och vilka agila principer som kan appliceras i projekt inom tillverkningsindustrin. Studien har skett på fallföretaget KalmarGlobal och resultatet visar att det inte går att implementera agila projektmetoder rakt av, men att det däremot finns principer inom det agila som kan och bör implementeras för att få företagets projektarbete mer effektivt. Dessa är bl a enklare dokumentering, stå-upp-möten och självstyrande grupper.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether an AI-CDS tool's work process and results can be explained in a way that is relevant to the user in their context. The study focuses on the empirical understanding of users' experience in clinical everyday life. In order to investigate this, the study was carried out using a selected company's AI-CDS tool and the healthcare providers who use this tool in Swedish primary care and Finnish corporate care. 

The AI-CDS tool is used to automatically record the patient's medical history, prioritize the need for care and a list of suggested diagnoses. With the aim of investigating the healthcare staff's use, perception and need for explanations of the AI-CDS tool's results, a qualitative research approach was chosen. Semi-structured interviews were chosen as the primary method of data collection and the interview questions were designed with the support of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) theoretical framework. The framework was adapted to better address the context of the healthcare staff and their individual needs and to ask more relevant questions. 

The results from the interviews were then analyzed thematically and it turned out that the need for explanations of the tool's diagnosis suggestions is primarily about limitations in human communication. Therefore, the healthcare staff's workflow can be improved if they are informed about which parts of the patient's input information the tool used in its analysis. It would primarily improve the healthcare staff's workflow and reduce their cognitive load, but also improve trust in the tool. 

Another conclusion is that explanations in the company's tools do not need to be technical because their effectiveness seems to be as much linked to the individual's decision-making and different needs for explanations in each individual patient case.

Bullying and abusive treatment are considered a serious societal problem. If bullyingdoes not receive more targeted attention and greater intervention, a silent approval forthe violation of another person continues. Therefore, this study aimed to investigatehow a potential mobile application could help and prevent bullying in primary school.The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of the potential use ofa mobile application that could be used to prevent bullying in primary school, andwhat would be the desired design characteristics for such a mobile application fromthe perspective of primary school students. The research questions that the studyintended to answer were: What suggestions do elementary school students have toprevent and deter bullying? How do primary school students perceive the potentialuse of a mobile application to prevent bullying? How do elementary school studentsdescribe the desired design features of a mobile application to prevent bullying? Inorder to gain a broader understanding of the research area, a literature study wasconducted on the phenomenon of bullying, the digital society and designing for theuser. In the study, the theoretical framework HMSAM was also applied. In order tosucceed in answering the study's research questions, the study took a qualitativeapproach where individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with eightprimary school students aged 15-17 years. Based on the study's discoveries togetherwith the framework's theories on user friendliness and usability, recommendationsemerged for a potential mobile application to prevent bullying, which can thus beseen as the answer to the study's three research questions.

Purpose: Corporations experience difficulties positioning themselves on the web as a result of not developing their websites in a way that is inline with their overall business strategy. The purpose of this study is to explore how corporations should apply design strategy, based on a user-centered design perspective, to support their overall business strategy on the web.

Originality/value: This study has identified a knowledge gap in terms of how corporations define and apply design strategy in order to support their overall business strategy on the web.

Methodology: This study aims to research the application of design strategy by creating a prototype through the use of a user-centered design process. This was done by interviewing experts as well as evaluating websites, in order to explore the domain of a car manufacturers retailers, which was based on the corresponding strategy of leading the visitor to the car manufacturers offerings that are represented by the retailers and their websites. This data collection was the foundation in the creation of a persona and context scenarios that was translated into identified needs that represented the products design strategy. The design strategy in turn was the foundation for the creating phase of the user-centered design process, where iterative design lead to refining framework sketches and an interactive prototype.

Findings and conclusion: The study which resulted in an interactive prototype shows that user-centered design, which applies design strategy by defining the corporations and the users goals and needs, is an alternative that allows for structured refinement to the point that the website fulfills its design strategy. The results also show that depending on how well the domain exploration is executed as well as how well the design strategy is defined will affect the resulting website and to what extent it fulfills its purpose, whether it’s is still a prototype or if it’s the end result.

Allt fler verksamheter med mål att skapa samhällspositiva värden har på grund av ökad konkurrens behövt frångå en finansieringsmodell som bestått av bidrag och donationer till att omfamna en mer affärsliknande finansieringsmodell. Ett sätt att i större utsträckning skapa inkomstkällor som de själva kan styra över är att utveckla verksamhetens affärsmodell (Ko & Liu, 2020). 

Samtidigt som det vuxit fram ett behov av ekonomisk utveckling inom den ideella sektorn har nya digitala teknologier förändrat hittills beprövade sätt att göra affärer (Nahrkhalaji et al., 2018; Volberda et al., 2021). Många verksamheter påbörjar en digital transformation, men flertalet upplever att slutresultatet inte medför den måluppfyllnad som är önskvärd (Volberda et al., 2021).Det finns nämligen risker med att implementera en affärsmodell med fokus på digitala teknologier utan att affärsmodellen först utvärderats i tillräcklig omfattning, till exempel att den digitala affärsmodellen utformas utan att förstå det faktiska kundvärdet den ska leverera, att utökad nytta utlovas utan att till fullo ha implementerat nödvändig organisatorisk infrastruktur eller kompetens, att den digitala möjligheten omfamnas utan att förstå hur vinst- eller kostnadsstrukturen fungerar (Linde et al., 2020).

Med bakgrund i avsaknaden av ett ramverk för utvärdering av digitala affärsmodells-möjligheter gällande verksamheter som söker kombinera samhällspositiva värden och en mer affärsliknande finansieringsmodell har denna kollaborativa studie genomförts. Syftet har varit att undersöka i vilken omfattning Linde et al., (2020) ramverk för utvärdering av digitala affärsmodellsmöjligheter är applicerbart för verksamheter som söker kombinera samhällspositiva värden och en mer affärsliknande finansieringsmodell. Studien har även haft som syfte att undersöka vilka eventuella andra frågeställningar än de som finns i Linde et al., (2020) skulle behöva formuleras avseende ett ramverk anpassat till den här typen av verksamhet. 

Med utgångspunkt i Ribeiro et al., (2021) Digital Social Innovation Strategy Canvas har en digital produktstrategi och en digital affärsmodellsmöjlighet formulerats. Affärs-modellsmöjligheten har sedan utvärderats utifrån Linde et al., (2020) ramverk för utvärdering av digitala affärsmodellsmöjligheter. 

Resultatet visar på den utmaning som samhällsvärde som värdeerbjudande kan vara. Där det nödvändigtvis inte är den grupp som omfattas av samhällsbehovet som är den faktiska kunden i sammanhanget (den som betalar för att samhällsbehovet ska åtgärdas). Vid produktstrategiformulering och vid utformning av ett ramverk för utvärdering av den här typen av verksamhet blir det därför viktigt att nyansera målgruppsarbetet i syfte att särskilja mellan betalare, användare (deltagare) och de som har nytta av att samhällsbehovet tillgodoses. Annars är risken att en digital affärsmodellsmöjlighet formuleras där inkomstströmmarna blir lidande eller helt uteblir. 

Abstract

Kalmar Maritime Academy has a boiler that is used for educating marine engineers, technicians and service engineers. The boiler is used to provide students with training in programming of the control system and also to gain practical knowledge of the control equipment. The original electrical installation for the control and monitoring system was impractically designed, where a switching of cable connections in the system was required when changing between different exercises. There were also absences of real documentation for the installation. Due to these circumstances, the Maritime Academy’s planned expansion of the facility was deemed to be too complicated in its current state. The purpose of our assignment was to develop a solution for a new electrical installation for the boiler and also the practical implementation of this new installation. The goal was for the operator to easily be able to operate the boiler and also to simplify the changeover between the different types of exercises without having to reconnect any cables. The electrical installation would also get a new look with a new housing that would better represent a modern electrical installation. To achieve the objectives for the assignment a project method was chosen, which is preferred when planning and for completion of a specific task. The result of this project where a new electrical installation to the Maritime Academy’s steam boiler that has an improved safety, better ease of use for the operator and has a new modern design.

Context awareness means sending the right information to the right user at the righttime. Context is our environment, which can be anything around us such as location,lights, noises etc. To make the context interact with our mobile devices or sensors,there must be protocols for communication and data formats for the “sent” or “received”contextual information so we can give very specific context information tothe user. Since this communication and adaptive part is not well understood, in thispaper we are interested in investigating the technology used for adaptation. We willalso explain how this technology works to adapt itself to changes in the environment.

Abstract

Den här studien syftar till att undersöka och beskriva sök-och resultatmönster för svensk sjöbefälsutbildning under åren 2008 till 2018. Nationella statistiska data har analyserat med avseende på antal sökande respektive antagna till sjöbefälsutbildningar, deras kön, ålder och utbildningsmässig bakgrund. Via tidsseriestudier av register för utfärdade examina och förstagångsutfärdade sjöbefälsbehörigheter har också studenternas resultatutveckling analyserats. Vidare syftade studien till att ur det statistiska materialet försöka prognostisera framtida sök- och resultatutveckling på nämnda utbildningar.

Resultaten visar att sökande till utbildningarna domineras av män under 24 år med huvudsakligen gymnasial bakgrund. Sökande med folkhögskola eller högskoleprov som bakgrund är ovanliga. Det är också män under 24 år som till största del slutat söka till nämnda program. Andelen kvinnliga sökande är förhållandevis liten och har minskat ytterligare särskilt till sjöingenjörsprogrammen.

Den minskande sökpopulationen har också resulterat i färre examina och förstagångsutfärdade behörigheter. Prognosen är att antalet examina och förstagångsutfärdade behörigheter kommer fortsätta falla i allt snabbare takt de närmaste åren på grund av allt färre sökande.

På grund av den relativt smala sökpopulationen, som i huvudsak utgörs av män under 24 år, har utbildningarna gjort sig helt beroende av denna grupp. När denna grupp sökanden sviktar blir utfallet mycket påtagligt.

Orsakerna till att allt färre söker till sjöbefälsutbildning har inte närmare undersökts i denna studie. Teoretiskt är incitamenten för val och skäl till utbildning komplex men en mängd underliggande faktorer. Delvis kan det finnas demografiska orsaker till fallande söktryck. Dessutom har det förekommit massmedialt uppmärksammade fall med kränkande särbehandling vilka kan ha påverkat såväl sökintresse som genomförandet av påbörjad utbildning. Anledningen till att studenter inte fullföljer utbildningen kan också bero på att studenternas föreställningar om sjöbefälsyrket och dess utbildningar inte införlivas vilket skapar frustration och avhopp. Andra studier visar att hälsoproblem eller andra personliga problem är en källa till att inte slutföra sina studier. Det behövs emellertid ytterligare studier för att stärka kunskapsläget avseende sjöbefälsstudenter, deras motivation och sökargument.

Integrating technology into schools is a complex issue. Educators do not just use a single technology in their classroom, but they plan and design their instructional activities so that the use of one technology can be combined with other instructional activities relevant to the topic at hand. This research was conducted as part of a master's thesis that aimed to investigate and understand the integration of technology and its challenges in Swedish elementary school. The framework in which educational technologies are to be introduced, accepted, and successfully used in the classroom needs to be right. To achieve this goal, the study posed three research questions. These questions are, "What educational technologies are used in elementary schools? How do teachers use or integrate educational technologies when planning and implementing activities to achieve learning objectives? What are the factors/challenges that influence the integration of technology in elementary classrooms from the teachers' perspective?" 

The researcher explored these research questions through a thematic analysis of five semi-structured interviews, one face-to-face interview, and four Microsoft forms interviews, as well as three classroom observations. 

The results of this study indicate that teachers have a positive view of the use or integration of technology in the classroom, with the exception of one teacher who expressed reservations about the use of ICT in grades 4 and 5. Furthermore, the results show that there is a lack of both knowledge and competence regarding the use and integration of educational technology in the classroom. 

As shipping develops, the training for the personnel who will work on board must also be developed. Ahead of a major revision of the Maritime Engineering program at Linnaeus University we have on behalf of programme director Tobias Hedin investigated what Chief Engineers think that students and newly graduated Maritime Engineers lack or are overeducated in.

The investigation, which was completely anonymous, was carried out with the help of a survey where the Chief Engineers had to answer six different questions. The survey was distributed to the Chief Engineers with the help of the shipping companies HR departments, this to hopefully achieve a higher response rate.

It appeared that the general opinion was that, among other things, further training in electricity, automation, more basic knowledge in workshop technology as well as maintenance of commonly used equipment on board is desirable.

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to evaluate an early stage survey skill developed for the social robot Furhat, and look into how the user experience (UX) and voice user interface (VUI) of that skill can be improved. Several qualitative methods have been used: expert evaluations using heuristics for human-robot interaction (HRI), user evaluations including observations and interviews, as well as a quantitative questionnaire (RoSAS – Robot Social Attribution Scale). The empirical findings have been classified into the USUS Evaluation Framework for Human-Robot Interaction. The user evaluations were performed in two modes, one group of informants talked and interacted with Furhat with the support of a graphical user interface (GUI), and the other group without the GUI. A positive user experience was identified in both modes, showing that the informants found interacting with Furhat a fun, engaging and interesting experience. The mode with the supportive GUI could be suitable in noisy environments, and for longer surveys with many response alternatives to choose from, whereas the other mode could work better for less noisy environments and for shorter surveys. General improvements that can contribute to a better user experience in both modes were found; such as having the robot adopt a more human-like character when it comes to the dialogue and the facial expressions and movements, along with addressing a number of technical and usability issues.

Studien är utförd på ett fallföretag med syftet att skapa en djupare förståelse för hur stabilisering av en produktionsprocess påverkar kapacitetsutnyttjandet.

Nuläget analyserades genom observationer, intervjuer och företagets egen dokumentation. Två experiment utfördes vilket resulterade i att ett samband hittades mellan variationer och kapacitetsutnyttjandet i en produktionsprocess. Vidare avgränsades vilka produktionsförutsättningar som gav högst kapacitetsutnyttjande. Slutligen presenteras hur det ökade kapacitetsutnyttjandet påverkar de ekonomiska resultaten samt studiens slutsats och rekommendationer till fallföretaget. 

Abstract

Much of cancer patients treated in Sweden feel that they receive inadequate information in connection with disease notification and treatment. Previous research has shown that a majority of these patients feel that they received too little information and they do not understand the information they received.

The purpose of this project is to investigate whether information technology, in the form of an application,  can obtain personalized context-based quality information whenever the need arises. The application should also make it possible for the patient to be able to come in contact with the caregiver, via email, telephone or voice and video calls.

To get a cancer diagnosis usually leads to a traumatic crisis which, in varying degrees, limit the ability to assimilate information. This, together with a very demanding treatment, both physically and mentally, places the patient in a very vulnerable situation. Being well-informed about the disease and treatment may help patients to more easily manage their situation and to improve mental well-being.

In this work, pre-treated cancer patients were interviewed to determine what they feel is important for cancer patients to feel well informed, and the way in which an application could contribute to this. All the interviews showed that participants experienced that there was inadequate information in connection with their disease and treatment. The interviewees were aware that they had received information during their illness but their experience was that it was incomplete and performed at a time when they could not assimilate it.

The interviews revealed proposals on the content of an imaginary application, all in one way or another related to information. The proposals were sorted under six headings which then became the inputs on the intended application's home page. A mockup was designed to demonstrate a proposal on the home page.

The purpose of the study is to identify work hazards by analyzing the work activities and work environment during a separator overhaul onboard a ship. To identify risks the study used the Swedish Work Environment Authority´s regulation AFS 2012:02, the assessment form KIM 1 and a biomechanical program ALBA. The results show that there are risks for stress load on the body and that there is room for improvements. An example of an improvement is to design an additional workbench to allow proper work postures and decrease the number of lifts. The results also show the importance of using the right technique while lifting to reduce the chance of stress load. The study can be used for further studies on the work environment hazards onboard ships.

The purpose of this thesis was to examine which techniques exists to fight fires in electrical vehicles aboard ships and which harmful substances electrical vehicles releases when burning.

To answer these questions, we performed a meta-analysis to understand some of the harmful gases that will be present during an EV fire, how to minimize the health hazard that comes with fires in lithium-ion batteries using certain equipment and what measures that can be taken aboard ships. 

Li-ion batteries have also proven to be problematic to extinguish, but there have emerged certain extinguishing agents to fight these types of fires. In this thesis we look at some of these extinguishing agents.

As technology being used in battery powered vehicles is still new and just becoming common on our streets, there is not a whole lot of directives on how to be effective in extinguishing them, prevent reignition and protect the health of people abord ships. That is why we have chosen to look at what is being used on shore and see if it can be applied on ships.