In the past two decades, robotics and autonomous vehicles have received ever increasing research attention. For an autonomous robot to function fully autonomously alongside humans, it must be able to solve the same tasks as humans do, and it must be able to sense the surrounding environment. Two such tasks are addressed in this thesis, using data from laser range sensors. The first task is recognising that the robot has returned to a previously visited location, a problem called loop closure detection. Loop closure detection is a fundamental part of the simultaneous localisation and mapping problem, which consists of mapping an unknown area and simultaneously localise in the same map. In this thesis, a classification approach is taken to the loop closure detection problem. The laser range data is described in terms of geometrical and statistical properties, called features. Pairs of laser range data from two different locations are compared by using adaptive boosting to construct a classifier that takes as input the computed features. Experiments using real world laser data are used to evaluate the properties of the classifier, and the classifier is shown to compare well to existing solutions. The second task is keeping track of objects that surround the robot, a problem called target tracking. Target tracking is an estimation problem in which data association between the estimates and measurements is of high importance. The data association is complicated by things such as noise and false measurements. In this thesis, extended targets, i.e. targets that potentially generate more than one measurement per time step, are considered. The multiple measurements per time step further complicate the data association. Tracking of extended targets is performed using an implementation of a probability hypothesis density filter, which is evaluated in simulations using the optimal sub-pattern assignment metric. The filter is also used to track humans with real world laser range data, and the experiments show that the filter can handle the so called occlusion problem.

Den här uppsatsen undersöker hur svenska mans-och kvinnojourer konstruerar genus i relation till offer-och förövarroller när det kommer tillvåldi nära relationer. Detta har gjorts med en kvantitativ och kvalitativ innehållsanalys avderas respektive hemsidor.Materialet har bestått av åtta kvinnojourer och åtta mansjourers hemsidor, och anledningen till att det är åtta av varje är attdet inte finns fler mansjourer att utföra en analys på.Tvåfrågeställningar har legat till grund för uppsatsen: (1) Talas det huvudsakligen om kvinnan som utsatt och mannen som förövare på de svenska kvinno-och mansjourernas hemsidor? I så fall hur? (2) Råder det någon skillnad mellan hur kvinno-och mansjourerna konstruerar kvinnor och män som offer och förövare? I så fall på vilket sätt? Uppsatsen utgår vidare från debatten om asymmetri och symmetri, samt socialkonstruktivism, genus och det ideala offret. Resultatet pekar på att kvinno-och mansjourernaförhåller sig till enasymmetrisk linje, det vill säga mannen som den huvudsakliga våldsutövaren och kvinnan som det huvudsakliga offret. Kvinnojourerna vänder sig till kvinnor som fallit offer för det manliga våldet, och de framställer män och kvinnor som motsatser –den skyldiga och den oskyldiga. Mansjourerna var lite mer neutrala i sin framställning. De talade inte om relationen mellan offer och förövare utan de talade snarare om stöd till de våldsutövande männen. Män som utsatts för partnerrelaterat våld glöms bort. / This essay explores how Swedish men’s and women’s aidsconstructs gender in relation to victim-and offender roles when it comes to intimate partner violence. This has been done using botha quantitative andaqualitative content analysis ofsixteen Swedish men’s and women’s aids websites. The reason why there haveonlybeen eightwebsitesper aid is that therearen’t more men’s aids websites to perform an analysis on. Twoquestions havebeen the basis for the essay:(1) Do the aids primarily talk about the women as victims and the men asoffenders, and if that is the case –why?(2) Isthere a difference between how men’sand women’s aidsconstruct women and men as victims and offenders and if so, why?The essay is based on the debate about asymmetry and symmetry, as well as social constructionism, gender and the ideal victim. The results showthat the men’sand women’s aidsare assuming anasymmetric perspective, whichmeans that the man is primarily seen as the offender and the woman primarily as the victim.Women’s aidsare targetingwomen who havebeen victims of intimate partner violenceand they are constructing men and women as opposites –guilty andinnocent. Men’s aidswere more neutral in this regard. They didn’t focus onthe relationshipbetween the victim and the offender, but rather onsupport forthe men who useviolence against their partners. Men who are the victims of intimate partner violence are forgotten.

Detta är en ”reseskildring”. Berättelsen handlar om min utveckling till pedagogisk process-hjälpare och lärarutbildare. Textarten är Husserlskt egologisk och pragmatisk. Min didaktik och roll som lärare har sitt rotsystem bl.a. i några skolforskningsprojekt. Det började med en forskarroll som deltagande observatör, en god grund för att bli en reflekterande praktiker; en observerande deltagare. I andra projekt var min roll aktionsforskarens, en god jordmån för läraren som handledare. Jag funderar över empati och makt, om vår skola som vår största friskvårdsinrättning. Jag förvånas över att lärares examensarbeten inte oftare bottnar i just den reflekterande praktikerns perspektiv, att den subjektivt levda lärarerfarenheten ännu inte kommer till uttryck i berättande texter. Det känns viktigt att studenternas röster blir synliga. Mina lärarstudenter saknar sådana texter, säjer dom. Därför skrev jag.

El objetivo del presente plan de negocios está orientado a la creación de una empresa comercializadora de juguetes personalizados de manera audiovisual (Peluches, relojes despertadores, canciones, cuentos, videojuegos, etc.), partiendo de la obtención de la franquicia “Sing Your Name”. Para ello, se constituirá una empresa bajo el nombre de “Canta Perú S.A.C.” la cual nace a partir de ver diferentes oportunidades de negocios en un país en constante crecimiento como es el Perú. Se ha evaluado el comportamiento del sector juguetes en el país (crecimiento del 16.12% promedio), así como analizado las preferencias de sectores socioeconómicos B y C, donde se ha identificado, la necesidad de mayor oferta de productos para niños menores de 05 años, que cuenten con características educativas y de personalización. Estas características son muy valoradas por el público objetivo, de acuerdo a los resultados del sondeo realizado como parte de la investigación de mercado. Asimismo, entre las operaciones propias de la empresa, está la importación de los juguetes desde los Estados Unidos de Norteamérica, proceso vital para el éxito de la empresa, por las complejidades que éste tiene. Se cuenta con información sobre el gasto de la población que forma parte del público objetivo, (que oscila en promedio entre 151 y 460 Nuevos Soles en entretenimiento y otros), lo que coloca a los productos de la empresa “Canta Perú” dentro del rango de gasto de dichos sectores, especialmente entre aquellos que prefieren realizar su compras en centros comerciales o tiendas especializadas. La primera tienda de venta directa se planea instalar en el Centro Comercial Plaza San Miguel (facturación 2013 US$ 547 millones) , al estar dicho centro comercial dentro de los distritos tradicionales de Lima, en el que viven principalmente personas pertenecientes al público objetivo, y por la concurrencia con la que este cuenta, permitiendo mayor exposición y venta de los productos. La empresa empleará el marketing digital para la publicidad de sus productos, sacando provecho a herramientas que mayor difusión tienen en estos días, como son las redes sociales, páginas web, etc. para lograr impulsar sus productos. El marketing digital permitirá hacer conocida a la empresa sin tener que incurrir en elevados costos. A través del análisis financiero, este plan de negocios busca demostrar la rentabilidad del proyecto y las ganancias que puede otorgar a quienes inviertan en la empresa. Se ha considerado un financiamiento de S/. 60,000 a través de capital y S/. 75,000 por medio de un préstamo bancario con “Mi Banco” a una tasa de 28.59% efectivo anual. Mediante el Costo Promedio Ponderado del Capital, se ha logrado determinar que la tasa con la que descontarán los flujos es de 21.69% y servirá para hallar el valor actual neto del plan de negocios. De acuerdo a los indicadores financieros, se concluyó que, en un escenario positivo donde se espera abrir 2 nuevos puntos de venta en los años 3 y 4, la tasa interna de retorno (TIR) para un periodo de cinco (05) es de 48.36%, mientras que para el flujo de caja de los accionistas la TIR será de 57.25%, que considera el pago de todas las obligaciones financieras y del capital. El valor actual neto (VAN) de ambos flujos de caja libre serán de S/. 180,719 y para los accionistas S/.196,250. Teniendo en cuenta el Periodo de Recuperación de la Inversión (PRI), tomarían 3 años y 4 meses recuperar la inversión en el proyecto.

In this thesis, the recent development step of magnetron sputtering, termed high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) has been studied. Compared to conventional magnetron sputtering HiPIMS provides a higher plasma density which can ionise the sputtered material. The beneficial influence of the coating properties due to this ionisation has been extensively shown in academic publications. Here, industrial conditions, i.e. no substrate heating and high vacuum conditions have been used during the studies, of which one was performed in an industrial deposition system. For eight metallic targets, films were deposited with HiPIMS and conventional sputtering. The films were evaluated by Rutherford back scattering analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and profilometry. It was found that the density of the HiPIMS grown films exhibited a statistically significant higher density of approximately 5-15% in comparison to films deposited using DCMS under identical conditions. A global plasma model was employed to evaluate the degree of ionisation for some of the target materials, and process conditions used in the study. Conformity between density increase and degree of ionisation as assessed by the plasma model was confirmed. The influence of using HiPIMS during reactive sputtering of TiC was also studied. A metallic Ti target was sputtered in a gas mixture of Ar and C2H2. The coatings were evaluated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, 4 point probe resistivity measurements, and nanoindentation. The coatings were found to be nanocomposite TiC/a-C:H. For the HiPIMS process the transition zone between metallic and compound target states was found to be significantly expanded over a wide reactive gas flow range. The implications of choice of deposition method for coating composition, chemical structure, as well as electrical and mechanical properties were evaluated for DCMS and HiPIMS. The process behaviour was suggested to be due to the pulsed nature of the HiPIMS, the high plasma density, and ion content of the particles reaching the substrate.

This thesis presents the design and the optimization of a wireless remote monitoring and control system utilizing the ZigBee protocol. From the system architecture point of view, the remote wireless monitoring and control system is mainly combined by 3 parts, the wireless sensor network, the message gateway and the web service. In order to increase the system flexibility and the reconfigurability, each part communicates with each other by using the standard communication protocols. The wireless sensor network of the system can be deployed in many different locations. The network includes the sensor module, the message relay, the control module and the network coordinator. The sensor module calculates the sensor information (e.g., temperature) periodically and sends the message to the network coordinator. If the radio link of the sensor module is not long enough to reach the coordinator, a message relay could be utilized in between to forward the message to the destination. Meanwhile, the message relay can be utilized as a control module as well. For example, when connected with the air conditioning system (radiator or ventilation), the control device can generate control signal to adjust the temperature and the relative humidity. The network coordinator is the root of the network. When the network coordinator receives the sensor information from the sensor module, it forwards the message to the connected gateway. On the other hand, the coordinator also receives the control command from the gateway. When the control command is received, the network coordinator forwards the control command to the corresponding control device of the wireless sensor network to execute the command. Generally speaking, it is the wireless sensor network part provides the sensor information and executes the control commands in the system. The gateway works as a translator and synchronizer between the wireless sensor network and the web service. It communicates with the wireless sensor network via the connection of the network coordinator. When receiving the sensor information from the wireless sensor network, the gateway forwards the message to the web service through the Internet. On the other hand, the gateway also receives control commands from the web service. When the gateway receives the control command from the web service, it forwards the command to the network coordinator of the wireless sensor network. Moreover, the gateway also works as a local monitoring and control agent. The gateway can be utilized to monitor and control the local sensor network without login to the web service. During the network deployment, the gateway needs to be equipped for each wireless sensor network. Different gateways can communicate with the web service via the Internet at the same time. The web service contains the sensor information uploaded from different locations. When the control command is received from the user configuration, the web service forwards the control command to the correct local server. From the user point of view, the web service is a website which can be accessed by a normal web browser. Users can register the website to apply for monitoring and control privilege. The monitoring function provides the graphical presentation of the sensor information from different locations. The control function of the system includes the ON/OFF control, temperature control and humidity control. In order to increase the system reliability, extra optimizations are developed in different parts of the system. In the wireless sensor network, the power consumption of the battery powered sensor module is optimized. A method is discovered to manage the network topology and the message forwarding pattern. Moreover, an alternative routing algorithm is designed which could be utilized by the coordinator to communicated with the sensor network. This method is verified to be much more efficient than the original algorithm utilized by the sensor network. Finally, a general purpose communication reliability enhancement framework is developed for the wireless sensor network. It helps the wireless sensor network to handle the exceptions without interference to the sensor network applications. In the gateway part, the Internet connection status is checked all the time. When the Internet connection is broken, sensor messages sent from the coordinators are buffered in the gateway to avoid the message lost. Finally, the remote monitoring and control system has received a nomination for the Swedish Embedded Award 2010 and been demonstrated at the Scandinavia Embedded Conference 2010 in Stockholm.

Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka hur planerare i svenska städer kan arbeta för att minska invånarnas bilresande. I studien har Umeå kommuns arbete med hållbara resor analyserats genom att studera olika plandokument som tagits fram för att vägleda den samtida och framtida planeringen. Tidigare studier visar att det finns ett antal gemensamma nämnare för städer som visar på goda resultat för invånarnas val av hållbara resandet.  Planerarna har haft olika angreppssätt på prioriteringen av trafikstrukturen i dessa städer. Det gemensamma för städerna med goda resultat är att de har planerat långsiktigt, med ett hållbart resande i fokus. Av Umeå kommuns planeringsdokument framgår att visionen för tätorten har många delar gemensamt med dessa städer, varav målen för hur bilberoendet i staden ska byggas bort är det tydligaste. Efter att ha studerat Umeå tätorts nuvarande markanvändning, uppsatta planeringsmål och politiska beslut framgår det dock att översiktliga planeringsdokument och faktiska resultat ligger relativt långt ifrån varandra. Anledningarna till detta är många. Planerna är relativt nya och beskriver ett paradigmskifte, från att bilismen har varit en självklar del av stadsbilden till att hanteras med restriktioner, i framförallt stadskärnan.  Informanterna beskriver hur detta måste implementeras hos invånarna, men även hos tjänstemän på kommunen.

Sustainability and the traffics impact on the environment have become increasingly central within spatial planning. For many years, planning has been focusing on building new roads - this has resulted in increased use of automobiles, which many believe is unsustainable in the longer term. Therefore, authorities at national, regional and local level want to increase the use of alternative transport modes – such as walking, cycling and traveling by bus. The thesis intends to study if the Municipality of Umeå’s policies for sustainable development have led to an increased use of public transportation. The use of public transport in Umeå is also compared with developments at national level, in order to see if there are differences in the level and trend. The thesis is mainly descriptive and based on material such as scientific literature, public strategy documents and statistical data sets. The study shows that the Municipality of Umeå has set clear goals and strategies to increase the use of public transportation. Some of these goals and strategies have emerged in recent years and the study show that they also led to an increased number of trips by public transport. / Hållbarhet och trafikens miljöpåverkan har kommit att bli allt mer centralt inom samhällsplaneringen. Under många år har planeringen fokuserat på att bygga nya vägar, vilket resulterat i att antalet bilar har ökat. Någonting som bedöms som ohållbart i längden. Instanser på nationell, regional och lokal nivå vill därför istället öka användandet av alternativa färdmedel – till exempel att promenera, cykla och åka buss. Uppsatsen ämnar studera om Umeå kommuns strategidokument för hållbar utveckling har lett till ett ökat kollektivt resande. Kollektivtrafiksresandet i Umeå jämförs även med utvecklingen på nationell nivå, för att se om det finns skillnader i nivå och utveckling. Uppsatsen är i huvudsak deskriptiv och baseras på material som vetenskaplig litteratur, offentliga strategidokument samt statistiskt datamaterial. Studien visar att Umeå kommun har satt upp tydliga mål och strategier för att öka användandet av kollektivtrafiken. Vissa av dessa har tillkommit de senaste åren och studien visar att de också lett till ökat antal kollektiva resor.

The forest is characterized by many different values such as those related to forest productivity which are of a big importance for Swedish economy. History has proved that forest resources had helped the country in the transition from the agricultural to the industrial society. Today Swedish forest industry is among the strongest in Europe and significantly contributing to the Swedish export. The industry provides many direct and indirect job opportunities and is one of the biggest employers in the industry sector. It is also worth to notice that the forest can also generate an additional income for the owners, even if the forestry isn’t their primary income source. In this paper I have analyzed the production values of the forest, their influence on current forest industry, and their economic importance for Sweden both on national level and in an international context. Additionally I have studied historical importance of forestry and job opportunities. The forest sector is constantly developing and the forest can even contribute to countries transition into a bio-based society for example by processing of timber based products in chemical industry. The analysis is based on literature review, combined with secondary data from trade association statistical yearbooks and other statistical sources.

During centuries, places and cities have made efforts to make their land more attractive, efficient, democratic and secure. This aspire has accelerated due to globalization and other external factors. Today, there is fierce and global competition between cities and nationalities to create arenas for more investments, productive inhabitants and vibrant culture. The place brand has been a good tool and a key for success. Nevertheless, place branding is challenging; it includes the investment of all stakeholders – possessing different agendas and target markets – and at the same time their coordination and collaborations to ensure there would be no conflicting messages, misusing the place and harming the brand. Therefore, strong collaboration among stakeholders and consistent perceptions – about the city potentials – is substantially important. There are debates among scholars to choose the best initiative for involving all the groups, cultures, interests of a society into branding a city and exploit the potential of the city simultaneously. Place branding is a relatively new but growing field of research. The topic is multifaceted and therefore is considered advantageous to study place branding from a stakeholder perspective. In this current study, the stakeholders are viewed as the actors that are engaged in the act of presenting Umeå based on the cultural potential of the city during its hosting the European Capital of Culture event in 2014. Based on the purpose and research problems of this thesis, it is aimed to provide a framework to examine the gaps between the stakeholders’ perceptions about their city cultural potential during a cultural event. For this qualitative research, a single case study design is used and eight stakeholders – divided in two main groups – are identified for the data gathering by using in-depth interviews. The identity-reputation gap model is used as an analytical tool and gives guidance to the research. This study fills other research gaps by contributing with an understanding of the stakeholder’s role by studying place branding in the context of a mid-size city. With regard to the empirical contribution, this study offers a range of insights for Umeå – the image and the branded potential of the city – and findings can be regarded as a starting point for brand managers as well as cultural coordinators working to develop the place brand identity consistently in other contexts.