För att vara konkurrenskraftig på marknaden behöver företag hitta och använda möjliga resurser för förbättringar. En grund för ett kostnadseffektivt och kundtillgängligt logistiksystem är transporter. Det är viktigt att ha fokus på både interna och externa transporter när processer ska optimeras och via detta erhålla lägre kostnader. Den enskilt största logistikkostnaden i många företag är transportkostnaden.   Studien har utförts på ett företag som är verksamma inom industrin. Fallstudieföretaget har ett fokusområde inom transporter, där syftet är att utveckla verksamheten inom specialtransporter. Denna studie ämnar att studera detta fokusområde. Med att effektivisera specialtransporter menas att öka kundservicen och minska kostnaderna. Specialtransporter innebär mestadels interna transporter, men externa transporter förekommer också. Specialtransporterna utför bland annat transporter av maskiner, maskindelar och kemikalier. Dessa är inte direkt kopplade till produktionen. Idag utförs beställningar av specialtransporter via telefon till ett orderkontor.   Syftet med studien är att identifiera faktorer som har betydelse för att erhålla effektiva specialtransporter. Detta ska ligga till grund för att ge rekommendationer till fallstudieföretaget för fortsatt arbete med effektivisering av specialtransporter. För att besvara syftet har litteraturstudier, observationer, dataanalys, intervjuer och benchmarking genomförts. Via litteraturstudierna har betydande faktorer för att erhålla effektiva specialtransporter identifierats. Utifrån övriga metoder har ett nuläge hos fallstudieföretaget kunnat beskrivas och genom detta har slöserier och förbättringsområden identifierats. Några betydande faktorer för att erhålla effektiva specialtransporter som har uppmärksammats i litteraturen är information, effektiv logistik och standardisering. De identifierade slöserierna hos fallstudieföretaget är bland annat bristande kommunikation, information och utnyttjande av resurser. Dessa identifierade slöserier på fallstudieföretaget överensstämmer väl med de betydande faktorerna som framkom från litteraturen. De betydande faktorerna som presenteras i denna studie kan företag ha i åtanke när de vill erhålla effektiva specialtransporter. / To be competitive in the market, companies need to find and use available resources for improvements. Transport is a source to cost-effective and customer accessible logistics system. Both internal and externals transports are important to focus on when processes are optimized in order to obtain lower costs. The main logistics cost in many companies constitutes of transports.   This case study has been conducted in an industrial company. This study intends to make the transports more effective, through better customer service and reduced costs. The transports that have been studied are not directly linked to the production. When a transport is needed an order is made by telephone.   The purpose of the study is to identify significant factors for effective special transports. The factors form a foundation for recommendations to the case company in the future work to have more effective special transports. To answer the purpose literature studies, observations, data analysis, interviews and benchmarking have been carried out. Some significant factors for effective special transports are information, effective logistics and standardization. Some identified waste in the case company is lack of communication and information and the utilization of resources. The significant factors have a correspondence with the identified waste.

The genus Chrysopsis (Asteraceae) contains eleven species native to Florida, including the newly described species, Chrysopsis delaneyi. Populations of this endemic plant species inhabit the Lake Wales Ridge (LWR) and the Atlantic Ridge (AR) of the Florida peninsula. Differences in morphology have been demonstrated within C. delaneyi, based on their locations. My objective was to determine the relationships between the LWR and the AR populations by analysis of chloroplast sequence and nuclear sequence variation. Approximately 160 samples of C. delaneyi and its sister species C. scabrella have been collected from fifteen sites throughout Florida. Six single base differences were detected, one insertion, and one variable short duplication. A total of four haplotypes (i.e.: groups that have different combinations of polymorphisms) have been found. For the most part, one haplotype is found in LWR populations and is indistinguishable from that found in C. scabrella. Another haplotype is found primarily in AR populations and is more similar to haplotypes found in the more distantly related C. highlandsensis and C. floridana. One haplotype is found within populations of C. scabrella. The last haplotype in one AR population contains two polymorphic loci, one site is representative of the AR populations, and the other site is that of the LWR populations. Only one mixed population has been found, at the northern end of the AR range. These results are not consistent with taxonomic relationships inferred from morphological characteristics; hence the results suggest that chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) relationships may be the consequence of one or more instances of chloroplast capture.

This study offers the so-called ”Choice-Based Perspective” of the choice-of-law question or “CBP”. Drawing on the legal philosophy of Immanuel Kant and through careful evaluation of comprehensive theory of Kant’s follower- Friedrich Carl von Savigny, CBP offers a purely private conception of the subject which rejects the conventional wisdom that choice-of-law has to be grounded on the principle of states’ sovereignty. Furthermore, it will be argued that the proposed approach holds much sway in practice, for the normative underpinnings of CBP are already embedded in many traditional and contemporary choice-of-law rules, doctrines, and concepts.

This study offers the so-called ”Choice-Based Perspective” of the choice-of-law question or “CBP”. Drawing on the legal philosophy of Immanuel Kant and through careful evaluation of comprehensive theory of Kant’s follower- Friedrich Carl von Savigny, CBP offers a purely private conception of the subject which rejects the conventional wisdom that choice-of-law has to be grounded on the principle of states’ sovereignty. Furthermore, it will be argued that the proposed approach holds much sway in practice, for the normative underpinnings of CBP are already embedded in many traditional and contemporary choice-of-law rules, doctrines, and concepts.

This thesis aims to discover possibilities of using products that mechanically transform to support environmentally significant behaviour (ESB), a term that refers to intentional behaviour of an individual to change the natural world. The first half of the work explored the potential relationship between mechanical transformation principles and certain ESBs. This exploration found that implementing transformative mechanisms in products enabled spontaneous use of the products in unanticipated situations. For example, a collapsible reusable shopping bag helped users avoid purchasing disposable bags when they went to grocery stores impulsively. The second half studied a variety of organisms to identify transformation patterns in nature. These patterns were summarized in a two-dimensional matrix to facilitate conceptual design of transformable products. In summary, this work showed that mechanical transformation facilitates at least three types of ESB, and also developed a new tool to assist designers in developing conceptual transformable products that can support ESBs.

This thesis aims to discover possibilities of using products that mechanically transform to support environmentally significant behaviour (ESB), a term that refers to intentional behaviour of an individual to change the natural world. The first half of the work explored the potential relationship between mechanical transformation principles and certain ESBs. This exploration found that implementing transformative mechanisms in products enabled spontaneous use of the products in unanticipated situations. For example, a collapsible reusable shopping bag helped users avoid purchasing disposable bags when they went to grocery stores impulsively. The second half studied a variety of organisms to identify transformation patterns in nature. These patterns were summarized in a two-dimensional matrix to facilitate conceptual design of transformable products. In summary, this work showed that mechanical transformation facilitates at least three types of ESB, and also developed a new tool to assist designers in developing conceptual transformable products that can support ESBs.

Prevalence studies around the world show that men are the largest group at risk of becoming problem gamblers and that men gamble more than women. However, gambling research has long been gender blind. The gambling market is rapidly changing, with the Internet making gambling more accessible. Further, despite the well-documented presence of health, social and financial problems among the concerned significant others (CSOs) of someone close with gambling problems in clinical and help-seeking samples, there is little research investigating on this population. This thesis aims to examine the relation between gender and problem gambling among regular gamblers and CSOs, and to determine whether there was a convergence of men’s and women’s gambling behavior between 1997/98 and 2009/10 in Sweden. A further aim is to examine health problems associated with Internet gambling and CSOs. The data collections were taken from three different but linked gambling and health representative national population based studies in Sweden, all using the same methods: telephone interviews supplemented by questionnaires. The studies are as follows: 1) prevalence study 1997/98, age 15-74 years, n = 10,000, response rate 72% (n = 7,139) 2) prevalence study 2008/09, age 16-84 years, n = 15,000, response rate 63% (n = 8,165); and 3) incident study 2009/10, the 8,165 participants from the 2008/09 prevalence study were contacted again, response rate 74% (n = 6,021). Gambling was generally merged into domains based on the axis chance-strategy and public-domestic. The dichotomy of public and private spheres is relevant in since there is a link between the public sphere and notions of masculinity and a link between the private and femininity. Further, the literature suggests that men are attracted to gambling that involves features of strategy, whereas women generally prefer game of chance. Problem gambling was measured using SOGS-R and PGSI. Health variables included measures such as self-reported health, psychological stress, social support, alcohol consumption, and financial situation as a determinant of health. There were very few indications of a convergence between men’s and women’s gambling behavior. Men and women generally gambled in different domains. Men gambled more than women and dominated all domains except the domain of chance-domestic, a domain associated with less risk and Internet gambling. However, men and women who gambled regularly were just as likely to be problem gamblers. No gender differences were found in the score from separate PGSI analyses in the chance-public domain (games of chance in public spaces, such as gambling machines and bingo in halls). This domain was also the only domain associated with problem gambling for women who gambled regularly. Men and women were just as likely to report that they were CSOs and they constituted a large proportion of the Swedish population (18%). CSOs experienced a range of social, economic and health related problems including psychological stress, risky alcohol consumption, exposure to violence, and separations. For women who were CSOs, no relation with own problem gambling was found. This thesis suggests that the presence of gambling machines must be addressed to prevent problem gambling and that separate analyses for men and women are required to identify important differences between genders. The findings indicate that gambling domains produce and reinforce gender. Further, to be able to prevent problem gambling we require further knowledge about these gendered processes. However, it is also important to see the overall similarities between men and women to avoid reinforcing stereotypical images of gender which would have an negative impact on the preventive work. Male and female gamblers are both very heterogeneous categories where the specific gambling site, context and life circumstances must be acknowledged. Prevention, research and interventions should also target CSOs if a public health approach is applied because they require help and support in their own right. CSOs also play an important to the problem gambler. More qualitative research is required to understand gendered processes in gambling, as well as further research on interventions that go beyond the individual and address gambling and problem gambling at various levels. When addressing the harmful effects of gambling from a public health perspective, it is imperative to recognize the ethical principles of justice, autonomy, doing no harm and beneficence. / -

Bakgrund: Idag är alkohol- och drogmissbruk ett av våra största samhällsproblem. Ett missbruk är en sjukdom med överväldigande konsekvenser för missbrukaren men även dess närstående. Socialt stöd från närstående kan minska risken för återfall och gynna behandlingskontinuitet hos personer med missbruk eller beroendeproblem. Syfte: Att belysa hur sjuksköterskan involverar närstående i omvårdnaden av missbrukare. Design: Fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer med sjuksköterskor verksamma inom beroendevården utfördes för att belysa deras upplevelser av hur närstående involveras i vården av missbrukare. Resultat: Tre teman kunde utläsas varav ett av dessa fick tre underteman. Dessa var Hinder för involvering (underteman: Besöksförbud, Sekretess och Brist på resurser), Relationer och närstående och Fungerande involvering. Resultatet visade att involvering av närstående fungerade till viss del men att de flesta fynden fanns under temat Hinder för involvering. Samtidigt som viljan att involvera närstående fanns så begränsades sjuksköterskorna av olika hinder. Slutsats: Samtliga sjuksköterskor ansåg att närstående kan ha en viktig del i vården av missbrukare men fann det svårt att involvera dem så ofta som de önskade. De främsta anledningarna till detta var besöksförbudet på avdelningarna, sekretess och brist på resurser. Med bättre förutsättningar och tydligare rutiner på avdelningarna borde sjuksköterskorna på ett bättre sätt kunna involvera närstående i omvårdnaden av missbrukare. / Background: Today, alcohol and drug abuse is one of our biggest social problems. An addiction is a disease with overwhelming consequences for the addict but also its significant others. Social support from people important to the addict can reduce the risk of relapse and promote continuity of treatment in people with substance abuse and dependence problems. Purpose: To illustrate how the nurse involves significant others in the care of addicts. Design: Four semi-structured interviews with nurses working in addiction treatment was performed to illuminate their experience of how significant others are involved in the care of addicts. Results: Three themes could be seen and one of those had three sub-themes. These were Barriers to involvement (sub-themes: Restraining order, Secrecy and Lack of resources), Relationships and significant others and Functional involvement. The results showed that the involvement of significant others was functioning to a certain level but most of the findings could be found under the theme Barriers for involvement. While the desire to involve significant others were there the nurses where limited by various obstacles. Conclusion: All the nurses believed that significant others may have an important part in the care of addicts but found it difficult to involve them as often as they wished. The main reasons for this was the restraining orders of the department, secrecy and lack of resources. With better conditions and clearer routines of the department nurses should be better able to involve significant others in the care of addicts.

It has been said that the difference between involvement and commitment is like a ham and egg breakfast – the chicken was involved but the pig was committed. To better understand teacher commitment to inclusion, this study examined the perspectives and experiences of 8 elementary teachers who had included students with significant disabilities in their general education classrooms. A questionnaire was developed to determine prior and current opinions about inclusion and participants were assigned to one of the following categories: (a) those who were optimistic about inclusion prior to their experience of including a student with a significant disability and who have remained optimistic, (b) those who were optimistic about inclusion prior to their experience but who have become sceptical as a result of their experience, (c) those who were initially sceptical about inclusion prior to their experience of including a student with a significant disability but who have become optimistic as a result of their experience with inclusion, and (d) those who were initially sceptical about inclusion and who remain sceptical. Interviews were conducted to explore the effect their experiences had on their opinions about inclusion and the factors that facilitated or hindered teacher engagement. Qualitative analysis of the data suggested that teachers who are able to include students with significant disabilities are more engaged, are generally satisfied with their experiences and have become more optimistic about inclusion and more committed to it. Implications for teacher education and professional development are discussed.

It has been said that the difference between involvement and commitment is like a ham and egg breakfast – the chicken was involved but the pig was committed. To better understand teacher commitment to inclusion, this study examined the perspectives and experiences of 8 elementary teachers who had included students with significant disabilities in their general education classrooms. A questionnaire was developed to determine prior and current opinions about inclusion and participants were assigned to one of the following categories: (a) those who were optimistic about inclusion prior to their experience of including a student with a significant disability and who have remained optimistic, (b) those who were optimistic about inclusion prior to their experience but who have become sceptical as a result of their experience, (c) those who were initially sceptical about inclusion prior to their experience of including a student with a significant disability but who have become optimistic as a result of their experience with inclusion, and (d) those who were initially sceptical about inclusion and who remain sceptical. Interviews were conducted to explore the effect their experiences had on their opinions about inclusion and the factors that facilitated or hindered teacher engagement. Qualitative analysis of the data suggested that teachers who are able to include students with significant disabilities are more engaged, are generally satisfied with their experiences and have become more optimistic about inclusion and more committed to it. Implications for teacher education and professional development are discussed.