Driving can provide independent and efficient mobility. However, according to the driving license directive (91/439/EEC) are persons with locomotor impairments are only allowed drive if their disabilities can be compensated. Compensation can be realised by vehicle adaptations. The directive provides meagre guidance on how vehicles should be adapted or how to verify that the compensatory requirements are fulfilled. This is a gap in the current process for licensing drivers with physical disabilities. Furthermore, the Swedish process from driver assessment to driver licensing and adaptation approval is complex, fragmented, and suffer from lack of communication between involved authorities. The objective of this thesis was to contribute to the development of a method to evaluate vehicle adaptations for driver with physical disabilities. The focus was on the evaluation of adaptations for steering, accelerating and braking. Three driving simulator experiments and one manoeuvre test with adapted vehicles were conducted. A group of drivers with tetraplegia driving with hand controls were compared to able-bodied drivers in the first experiment. Even if the drivers with tetraplegia had a longer brake reaction time they performed comparable to the able-bodied drivers. However, they spent more effort and were more tired in order to perform as well as the able-bodied drivers. It was concluded that the adaptation was not sufficient. An Adaptive Cruise Controller (ACC) was tested in the second experiment in order to find out if it could alleviate the load on drivers using hand controls. It was found that the ACC decreased the workload on the drivers. However, ACC systems need to be adjustable and better integrated. The results from the first two experiments were used to provide some guidelines for ACCsystems to be used by drivers with disabilities. The third experiment was preceded by a manoeuvre test with joystick controlled cars. The test revealed some problems, which were attributed to time lags, control interference, and lack of feedback. Four joystick designs were tested with a group of drivers with tetraplegia in the third experiment. It was concluded that time lags should be made similar to what is found in standard cars. Lateral and longitudinal control should be separated. Active feedback can improve vehicle control but should be individually adjusted. The experiments revealed that drivers with the same diagnose can be functionally very diverse. Thus, an adaptation evaluation should be made individually. Furthermore, the evaluation should include a manoeuvre test. Finally, it was concluded that the evaluation approach applied in the experiments was relevant but needs to be further developed.

No description available.

This thesis investigates the implementation of the ‘Team-Teach’ behaviour support training programme in New Zealand. This school-wide training package develops generalised skills in behaviour management and de-escalation for students who are exhibiting extreme and violent behaviour. The Team-Teach framework also provides training in physical interventions that are designed for use in schools, and with children. The legal issues associated with the use of physical intervention are also addressed during the training in addition to recommended best practice for the development of policies and procedures. Prior evidence suggests that behaviour support training with a physical intervention overlay can result in increased confidence and safety for staff members and a reduction in the levels of physical intervention and incidents. The purpose of this study was to investigate participant opinion of Team-Teach training immediately after course delivery and further into implementation in addition to an investigation into the barriers and facilitating factors affecting the impact of Team-Teach within two New Zealand special schools. The research employs a mixed method pragmatic paradigm utilising document analysis, questionnaire and interview survey to ascertain the impact and implementation issues related to Team-Teach training. Quantitative analysis of course feedback ratings and attitudinal scales were combined with the qualitative thematic analysis of written comments and interview transcripts to inform the discussion. The results present a positive endorsement of Team-Teach training both immediately after the training course and further into implementation and compare favourably with the findings of previous international studies. Research participants reported a significant increase in personal confidence and a perceived reduction in incidences of extreme behaviour and physical intervention. The perceptions of research participants to initial training in New Zealand varied considerably between training providers and there were also notable differences between groups in different work roles and with different levels of experience. Research participants expressed concern over the lack of adaptation of the Team-Teach syllabus to embrace the New Zealand context. Research participants endorsed use of the ‘positive handling plan’ (PHP) as a way to legitimatise and standardise practice in difficult situations. It was however clear that neither school had developed genuine parental partnerships in either the creation or effective communication of these plans. There was a general agreement that parents should be able to access Team-Teach training but significant concerns were highlighted over how this could be achieved in practice. Research participants endorsed the Team-Teach model of training ‘in-house’ tutors to provide contextual and responsive internal capacity. There was a general agreement that the physical interventions taught were effective and appropriate for use with children. Participants clearly expressed concerns related to the teaching of too many physical interventions that were not required and recommended that training in physical interventions should be in class teams and specific to actual need. There was a clear indication that research participants believed this training should receive official recognition at the highest level as an acknowledgement that physical intervention is sometimes necessary in schools and that there is a legitimate way to achieve this.

Artificial neural networks, so far, have not been used for designing modular cells. Therefore, Self-organizing neural network (SONN) is used in the present research to design minicell-based manufacturing system. Two previously developed methods were studied and implemented using SONN model. Results obtained are compared with previous results to analyze the effectiveness of SONN in designing minicells. A new method is then developed with the objective to design minicells more effectively and efficiently. Results of all three methods are compared using machine-count and materialhandling as performance measuring criteria to find out the best method

Purpose: The aim of the study is to investigate how the material flow, of a high-frequent component family, to an assembly line with volume and product mix variations, can be streamlined. In order to examine this, the aim has been divided into two defined queries. Which factors affect the efficiency of the material flow, for a high-frequent component family, to an assembly line?    How can an effective material flow, for a high-frequent component family, be designed? Methodology: Both a case study and a literature study has been performed, in order to answer the queries. Literature in the areas of material and inventory control, transportation and material handling has been studied. The case study, which was carried out at a company, was based on process mapping combined with interviews and observations. Collected data from the case study have been analysed with support of literature. Findings: Different factors that are restricting the efficiency of the material flow for an assembly line has been identified. Unnecessary operations and inefficient material handling resulted in high cycle times for the material flow. Furthermore, the layout and control of the inventory resulted in long lead time and unnecessary inefficient transportations. Inadequate design and integration of the logistic subsystems has shown to be a significant cause, resulting in limited effectiveness of the studied material flow. On this basis, a new design of the material flow has been proposed, where the holistic perspective and integration are central. A new inventory design and a tugger-train transportation solution along a timed route, reduce the material handling and the number of deliveries. In addition, a pull flow system where consumption controls material replenishment, reduces both inventory levels and the number of inventory buffers. Implications: The purpose of the study has been achieved by solving the defined queries. By identifying factors that reduce the effectiveness of the material flow, a more efficient solution can be designed. The study shows that there are several possible improvement opportunities for the studied material flow. However, only one case study was performed, therefore its ability to create scientific value, can be regarded as limited. Recommendations: For further studies, it may be of interest to study several companies with similar problems to be able to draw general conclusions with scientific depth. / Syfte: Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur materialflödet för en högfrekvent komponentfamilj till en volym- och produktmässigt varierad monteringslina kan effektiviseras. För att kunna besvara denna frågeställning har syftet delats in i två problemfrågor: Vilka faktorer påverkar materialflödets effektivitet för en högfrekvent komponentfamilj fram till monteringslina? Hur kan ett effektivt materialflöde för en högfrekvent komponentfamilj utformas? Metod och genomförande: För att kunna besvara studiens syfte har en fallstudie genomförts parallellt med en litteraturstudie. Litteratur inom områdena material- och lagerstyrning, transporter och materialhantering har studerats. Fallstudien, som har genomförts på ett fallföretag, baseras på en processkartläggning i kombination med intervjuer och observationer. Insamlad data från fallstudien har analyserats med stöd från studerad litteratur. Studiens resultat: Faktorer som begränsar ett materialflödes effektivitet fram till monteringslina har identifierats. En stor andel av materialflödets totala cykeltid kunde kopplas till onödiga arbetsmoment och ineffektiv materialhantering. Ytterligare bidrog lagrets utformning och styrning till långa ledtider samt onödiga och ineffektiva transporter. Bristande utformning och integration av materialflödets delar visade sig vara en betydande orsak till begränsningen av dess effektivitet. Med detta som utgångspunkt har en ny utformning föreslagits där helhetsperspektiv och integrering har varit centralt. En ny lagerutformning, i form av materialtorg, samt en transportlösning med trucktåg utefter tidsbestämd rutt, reducerar materialhantering och antalet transporter. Tillämpningen av ett dragande flöde där monteringslinornas efterfrågan styr materialpåfyllnad, reducerar lagernivåer samt antalet buffertlager i materialflödet. Implikationer: Studiens syfte har uppnåtts genom att båda problemfrågorna har besvarats. Genom att identifiera negativa påverkansfaktorer kan förutsättningar skapas för utformningen av ett effektivt materialflöde. Studien visar att det på fallföretaget finns förbättringsmöjligheter för effektivisering av materialflödet fram till monteringslina. Då enbart ett företag studerats kan resultatet av studien och dess förmåga att skapa vetenskapligt värde, ur ett större perspektiv, anses begränsad. Rekommendationer: För vidare studier kan det vara av intresse att studera flera företag med liknande problematik för att öka studiens generaliserbarhet och förmåga att kunna presentera slutsatser med vetenskapligt djup.

No description available.

Electronic document handling was first used in the automotive industry in the early 1970’s, the way of communicating electronic at the time was concerned with the communication way of EDI (Hsieh, 2004). In the beginning of 2000 a new way of communicating electronic documents was introduced with the emergence of VAN-operators (Hsieh, 2004). This technology of communicating electronic invoices has shown to be less complex for the businesses than the previous EDI connections. The VAN-operators enable companies regardless of size, ERP, also known as Enterprise Resource Planning, system, formats or transaction volume to send and receive electronic invoices. The subject of electronic invoice handling have become increasingly debated, mainly because of the legislations taking place all over Europe, and as well as the environmental impact by business transactions being sent by paper. The objective of this thesis is to examine the challenges, solutions and outcomes for companies switching to electronic invoice handling. The data collected for the thesis is divided into two parts. The first part consist of information retrieved by previous literature as well as internet sources. The second part concerns the case studies conducted for the thesis in respect to our research questions. For this reason Scandinavian companies have been interviewed, with different precondition as in size, industry, transaction volume and IT structure. The findings from the first and second part have been analyzed and conclusion have been made, we suggest using a VAN-operators, which have shown to be the most appropriate alternative for companies that are implementing electronic invoice handling. The result of this thesis can be used as a guideline for companies when considering a switch from manual to electronic invoice handling.

I dagsläget har alla människor en sorts relation till sin bank. Relationen kan vara alltifrån sparande, lån, aktier och med mera. Produkter och tjänster mellan de olika bankerna har blivit likartade efter avregleringen år 1986. Detta har medfört att det har blivit alltmer viktigare för banker att vara konkurrenskraftiga i sina produkter och tjänster till sina kunder. I detta fall har fler banker investerat mycket på sina resurser för att få lojala kunder. Relation skapas i en bank då sammanhängande faktorer såsom kommunikation, åtagande, kompetens samt konflikthantering uppnås. Detta leder till studiens syfte, vilket är att utforska huruvida bankrådgivarna använder sig utav de psykografiska- och relationsfaktorerna för att kunna uppnå en god relation till sin kund. I studien har man använt sig utav hermeneutisk forskningsfilosofi, detta tillsammans med en abduktiv ansats, samt en kvalitativ metod. Denna metod används för att skapa en djupare inblick och förståelse för forskningsområdet. Genom intervjuundersökningarna har denna uppsats analyserats för att kunna ge svar på uppsatsens forskningsfråga, samt syfte. Grunden till intervjufrågorna kommer ifrån olika teorier. Intervjuerna ägde rum på Sparbanken 1826 i Kristianstad, där bankkunder, privatrådgivare samt personalansvarige intervjuades. Studien indikerar på om de psykografiska- och relationsfaktorerna används i en svensk bank. Studien påvisar att alla fyra relationsfaktorer används utav banken, däremot används inte samtliga psykografiska faktorer, då det endast är värdering som verkställs på banken. / Nowadays customers have a sort of relationship with their bank. The relationship can be from savings, loans, stocks and more. Products and services between the different banks have become similar after deregulation in 1986. For that reason, it is significantly important for banks to offer competitive products and services to their customers. This has resulted to more banks have invested many of their resources in order to have more satisfied and loyal customers. Relationship is created in a bank when interrelated factors such as Communication, Commitment, Competence and Conflict handling are achieved. This leads to the purpose of this research, which is to explore if the psychographic factors have an impact on the advisers relationship with the customers. The study has used hermeneutic research philosophy combined with an abductive and a qualitative approach. The method is used to create a deeper insight and understanding of the research area. This study has been analyzed through field studies in order to provide answers to the study´s problems and purposes. The bases of the interview questions were selected and gathered from different theories. The interviews were conducted at Sparbanken 1826 in Kristianstad, where bank customers, private advisors and staff officer were interviewed. The study indicates if the psychographic- and relationship factors are used in a Swedish bank. The study demonstrates that all four relationship factors used by the bank, however, all the psychographic factors are not used, where there were only valuations executed on the bank

Bakgrund: Att beröra någon annan ger känslor och känslouttryck hos både individen som utför handlingen och mottagaren. Mellanmänsklig beröring är ett uttryck för kärlek eller tillgivenhet inom familjer och även i andra miljöer. I kliniska sammanhang är beröring viktigt p.g.a. den lugnande effekt och emotionella påverkan som sker. Att lägga handen på någon som lider kan skapa trygghet. Inom omvårdnad är beröring det viktigaste av alla icke-verbala beteenden. Beröring lugnar, tryggar, ger värme och stimulerar patienten. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att beskriva patienters och sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av expressiv beröring. Metod: Litteraturöversikt innehållande 10 vetenskapliga artiklar varav nio kvalitativa och en kvantitativ. Artiklar söktes i databaserna CINAHL, MEDLINE samt manuell sökning i Google scholar. Resultat: Beröring var ett centralt behov för patienter. Vid beröring kände de sig sedda som individer. Sjuksköterskorna hade ett behov av att beröra patienter och att bli berörda. Sjuksköterskor använde beröring för att anknyta emotionellt. Sjuksköterskor och patienter hade behov av att beröra och att bli berörda på ett sätt som passade dem och beröringen gjorde att patienterna och sjuksköterskorna fick en samhörighet på ett djupare existentiellt plan. Det fanns skillnader i hur kvinnor och män uppfattade beröring. En god relation var avgörande för hur beröringen uppfattades. Slutsats: Sjuksköterskorna ser expressiv beröring som något positivt medan patienternas uppfattningar varierar stort. Relationen med sjuksköterskan som utför beröringen är avgörande för hur beröringen uppfattas. Detta visar på nödvändigheten i att stämma av med patienten vid fysisk kontakt och att anpassa beröringen individuellt. Klinisk betydelse: Att vara medveten om hur beröring används gör att sjuksköterskor kan skapa goda vårdrelationer från första ögonblicket och snabbt undvika missförstånd. / Background: Touching provides emotional expression to both parties involved. Human touch is an expression of love or affection within families and other environments. Expressive touch in a clinical context is important due to its calming and emotional effect. Laying a hand on a suffering individual can provide comfort. Touch is the most important non-verbal behavior in caring. Touching calms comforts and stimulates the patient. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe patient´s and nurse´s experiences of expressive touch. Method: A literature review of 10 scientific articles consisting of nine was qualitative and one was quantitative. Articles were found using the databases CINAHL, MEDLINE and manually searched in Google scholar. Result: Touch was a central need for patients. When they were touched, they felt that they were seen as individuals. Nurses also had the need to touch and to be touched by the patients. Nurses used touch to connect emotionally with patients. The touch made nurse´s and patient´s feel solidarity on a deeper existential level. There was a difference in perceptions of touch between men and women. A good nurse patient relationship was crucial to how the touch was perceived. Conclusion: The nurses see expressive touch as something positive whilst the patient's perceptions vary. The nurse patient relationship is crucial to how the touch is perceived. This shows the necessity of checking with the patient while engaging in physical contact and to adapt the touch to the individual. Clinical significance: Being aware of how expressive touch should be used enables nurses to establish good nurse patient relationships and quickly avoid misinterpretations.

Syftet med denna studie är att visa hur pragmatiska didaktiska modeller, framförallt analys av praktiska epistemologier (PEA) och organiserande syften, kan användas för att komplettera learning study i lärares arbete för att utveckla matematikundervisningen. Därmed försöker studien svara på forskningsfrågan: Hur kan pragmatiska perspektiv stödja lärares användning av learning study för att utveckla en undervisning där eleverna når målen bättre? Denna fråga besvaras genom att svara på följande frågor: 1. Kan man visa att eleverna lär sig bättre efter ändringarna i de tre cyklerna? 2. Kan man visa hur lärarnas analys med hjälp av learning study och pragmatiska perspektiv har varit ett stöd i att eleverna lär sig bättre? För att undersöka detta används ett case som handlar om lösning av enkla ekvationer i åk 1 på gymnasiet. Den forskningsmetoden som används i denna studie är learning study, där tre cykler genomförs i tre olika klasser i åk 1. För att bättre få syn på de kritiska aspekterna i elevernas lärande och för att öka tillförlitligheten i studien används ett flertal datainsamlingsmetoder. Det analyserade materialet består av 98 elevtester, cirka 50 elevintervjuer, åtta skriftligt dokumenterade planeringstillfällen om vardera 60 minuter, sex ljudinspelade lektioner samt två video- och ljudinspelade lektioner. Ett pragmatiskt perspektiv på lärande används som teoretiskt ramverk för att planera, analysera och utveckla undervisningen kring ekvationslösning. Elevernas kunskaper inom ekvationslösning förbättrades under studiens gång. Följaktligen har studien visat att eleverna lär sig bättre efter ändringarna i de tre cyklerna. Studiens resultat synliggör också att vad eleverna erbjuds att lära sig är beroende av om läraren skapar kontinuitet mellan närliggande syften och det övergripande syftet. I och med det visar studien att learning study, analys av praktiska epistemologier) och organiserande syften kan fungera som effektiva verktyg för att planera, analysera och utvärdera undervisningen. Alltså, lärarnas analys har med hjälp av learning study och pragmatiska perspektiv varit ett stöd i att eleverna lär sig bättre. Utifrån vad som nämnts ovan har studiens syfte uppfyllt.