Artificial lighting is an integral part of our everyday life. Nowadays, a large number of people spend practically all their productive time in the presence of the artificial lighting system. This places considerable demands on the quality of this artificial lighting system. One of the indicators of the quality of the lighting system is the evaluation of glare. The UGR evaluation methodology is currently used to evaluate glare. However, the UGR rating has its limitations. These limitations include ambiguous assessments of luminaires with non-uniform luminous surface (so - called non - uniform luminaires). This diploma thesis deals with the issue of discomfort glare of non-uniform luminaires. The aim is to make a literature review of this issue. The first part focuses on theoretical knowledge of glare and its evaluation. Another part is an analysis of recent studies on the topic about glare from non-uniform types of luminaires. The last chapters of the thesis deal with own practical evaluation of glare.

The Voice Foundation Vocal fatigue is a frequent symptom and a debilitating condition affecting individuals with voice disorders. In spite of the various attempts to define and quantify vocal fatigue, this complex trait has not been well understood. Mokken scaling was performed on the Vocal Fatigue Index (VFI) to develop a hierarchical understanding of the latent trait of vocal fatigue. Two hundred nine patients with voice disorders completed the VFI and provided the item responses necessary to complete the Mokken scaling. Results revealed a moderately strong Mokken scale and that the VFI presents a hierarchical structure to the underlying trait of vocal fatigue. Mokken scaling contributes to the ongoing investigation to the underlying construct of vocal fatigue and may provide additional information about specific complaints within the population of those with voice disorders.

Abstract Background: Musculoskeletal discomfort is common among professional orchestra musicians and according to the literature some anatomical areas, such as the neck, upper back and upper extremities, seem to be more frequently affected than others. There are also suggestions made that general joint hypermobility could be a potential risk factor for musculoskeletal discomfort among musicians. Furthermore, there seems to be a higher perceived feeling of psychosocial demands and stress among musicians in comparison to the general workforce. Aim: Investigate the prevalence of, and associations between, musculoskeletal discomfort, general joint hypermobility, psychosocial factors and stress among Swedish big band musicians. A further aim was to investigate associations between musculoskeletal discomfort, general joint hypermobility, psychosocial factors and stress, respectively. Method & Material: This study was part of a larger national survey on professional orchestra musicians in Sweden. This study focused on professional jazz musicians and included data from all three professional big bands in Sweden. The study presents the prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort, general joint hypermobility, psychosocial factors and stress among professional Swedish big band musicians. 32 musicians completed the survey. Results: The study showed a high prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort and general joint hypermobility. There were no statistically significant relationships between musculoskeletal discomfort and general joint hypermobility but between psychosocial demands and musculoskeletal discomfort in the anatomical subgroup low back/hip, and between negative stress and musculoskeletal discomfort in the anatomical subgroup low back/hip. Conclusion: In accordance with existing studies on classical orchestra musicians, this study found a high prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort and general joint hypermobility among Swedish big band musicians. There was a statistically significant association with the relationship between psychosocial demands and musculoskeletal discomfort in the anatomical subgroup low back/hip and between negative stress and musculoskeletal discomfort in the anatomical subgroup low back/hip. Key words: big band musicians, musculoskeletal discomfort, general joint hypermobility, psychosocial factors, stress.

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Background: There is an increased demand for professions in sustainability assurance due to the forthcoming directives of CSRD coming in 2024. Currently, there is a lack of knowledge of what a sustainability auditor does to build audit comfort and ensure audit quality in a sustainability report. Therefore, it is important to devote time and attention to this developing industry as studies have found issues in reporting on sustainability.    Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to get a better understanding of how sustainability auditors may build their comfort in sustainability auditing despite its complexity, and variability and that they are challenging to fully comprehend due to a lack in standardization. This study aims to extend existing research by contributing with a deeper theoretical and empirical knowledge of sustainability auditing, based on structure as well as professional judgment.    Methodology: An explanatory purpose and an abductive approach have been applied to the method. The study is based on a qualitative research method as nine interviews have been conducted in a narratively and semi-structured way. These interviews, together with one participant observation have formed the empirics.    Conclusion: The thesis builds an understanding of the comfort theory in combination with sustainability assurance in the comparatively new area of practice within auditing. The findings show that the sustainability auditors find comfort in a combined use of professional judgment and structure, but today the professional judgment is mainly used to conduct the audit comfort because of the lack of structure.

In manufacturing, emerging digital technologies related to industry 4.0 are playing an assisting role for operators, and just as in previous industrial revolutions the paradigm for operators in the industry is changing. This study has two key goals. The first is to look into the impact of the worker's psychosocial impacts under the operator 4.0 typologies during assembly, training, and maintenance operations, and the second is to look into the potential changes in the operator framework as the industry progresses from 4.0 to 5.0. This study proposed a theoretical framework for assessing psychosocial impacts in operator 4.0 typologies. The proposed framework can be utilized by the company managers, researchers, production engineers, and human resource personnel for the psychosocial risk assessment of the operators in assembly, training, and maintenance operations as self-report questionnaires. This study employed a systematic literature review strategy to answer the study objectives. The findings reveal that the nature of work, the social and organizational environment of work, and individual impacts are all key categories, that might impact operators’ psychosocial environments in assembly, training, and maintenance operations under the operator 4.0 typologies.This study focuses on determining the psychosocial consequences of the operator 4.0 typologies and helps the operators to become more aware, and equipment designers should consider operator psychosocial work conditions when designing new augmented equipment for assisting operators in the work environment. Most advanced technologies are unfamiliar to operators, and they have exhibited a reluctance to accept new technology because it significantly changes their working environment. Which necessitates the training and awareness of operators regarding advanced technologies. Operator 4.0 typologies were introduced with a vision to create a socially sustainable environment for operators. However, the identified psychosocial impacts make it favorable and unfavorable to the operators.

The following essay explores the connection between pandemic dystopian fiction and a pedagogy of discomfort through a critical reading of The White Plague by Frank Herbert. It is advocated in this essay that a critical reading of the novel can give rise to uncomfortable topics related to living in a pandemic reality, which in turn can be incorporated in an ESL setting to encourage critical inquiry and action. Grounded in a thematic analysis of the novel, it is demonstrated that The White Plague can be used to discuss uncomfortable topics such as fear of biogenetic engineering, fear of others, nationalism, national identity, deglobalisation, violence against women, patriarchy, and traditional gender roles. Contextualised withincontemporary history, tradition, ideology, and recontextualised with the current COVID-19 pandemic, the essay confirms that a critical reading of The White Plague carries the potential to promote a pedagogy of discomfort inside an ESL classroom.

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Neck pain and injuries remain prevalent in many occupational categories. Risk factors include non-neutral neck postures and head loads. Most ergonomic tools do not account for the changes associated with these risk factors, or the effects that head position and load can have on the upper extremities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different neck postures and head loads on cervical discomfort and upper extremity functional integrity. Participants maintained flexed, extended, protracted, and neutral neck postures for a total of 4 minutes each. These trials were done both with and without a 3.68 kg head load. After each trial, measures of cervical discomfort, changes in hand sensation, hand and pinch grip strength, and holding forces were recorded. Cervical discomfort was found to increase in non-neutral postures and with the addition of a head load. Extension resulted in the greatest levels of discomfort, followed by flexion and protraction, with similar levels of discomfort, and neutral, which caused the least discomfort. Sternocleidomastoid activity increased in a loaded, non-neutral posture compared to an unloaded, neutral posture. These data could be implemented into current ergonomic tools to more comprehensively assess task demands and reduce the risk of injury. / Thesis / Master of Science in Kinesiology