Byggsektorn är en bransch med höga produktionskostnader, som till stor del är baserat på resursslöseri. Ett av dessa slöserier är lager, som är nödvändiga inom de flesta organisationer men som ofta kan reduceras i storlek och förbättra sin struktur. Detta kan uppnås med hjälp av filosofin Lean, vars principer både gynnar företaget samt leder till en minskad miljöpåverkan (M. Kidwell 2006; J. Maxwell, 1996). Detta genom att eliminera slöserier och effektivisera processer, vilket också kan tillämpas inom lagerhantering. Projektet har genomförts i samarbete med Skanska och NCC, som båda upplevt problem med strukturen på deras lager. Det övergripande syftet med detta projekt är att ta fram och testa en tydlig metod som kan användas vid strukturering inom en verksamhet. Däremot har inte en fullständig implementering av Lean och 5S skett, utan en lättare version som enkelt kan bidra till struktur. Målet med detta projekt är framförallt att den framtagna metoden ska kunna användas av verksamheter som behöver ordning och reda. Ytterligare ett mål är att Skanska och NCC ska få förbättringsförslag om hur de kan förbättra sina lager. Dessa lösningar samt den framtagna metoden ska också bidra till de tre hållbarhetsmålen. För att kunna nå dessa mål har projektet framförallt använt workshops, men också observationer och intervjuer.  Företagen hade liknande resultat, däremot är de anpassade efter de olika verksamheterna. Ett nuläge, önskat läge och förbättringsförslag utifrån 5S kunde då tas fram. Nuläget visade dålig ordning och reda på lagren hos både Skanska och NCC. Även det önskade läget var liknande då de båda ville ha markerade platser för verktyg och material, en tydlig standard och att alla hjälps åt och engagerar varandra. Detta resulterade i att förbättringsförslag kunde tas fram. Den största slutsatsen som kunde dras av projektet var att en lättare implementering av 5S kunde användas om en verksamhet vill ha struktur på ett lager. Workshop visade sig också vara en effektiv metod för att åstadkomma ett resultat med hjälp av deltagarnas erfarenheter och idéer. Genom att praktiskt testat en workshop och sammanställt teori, intervjuer och observationer har en färdigställd guide tagits fram för hur 5S-metoden kan bidra till struktur på ett lager.

This study aimed to investigate the needs and challenges faced by visually impairedindividuals when using the internet and assess the compatibility of the challengesthey face with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0). By exam-ining these aspects, through analysis of existing literature, surveys and interview.The study sought to gain insights into the difficulties experienced by the visuallyimpaired community and provide recommendations for improving web accessibilityand contribute to the development of more accessible and user-friendly web content.This, in turn, can improve the quality of life for individuals with visual impairmentsand promote their active involvement in social, economic, and cultural activities.The study findings indicate common obstacles faced by individuals with visual im-pairments when accessing the internet, including difficulties in reading text, limitedcustomization options, insufficient color contrast, poorly structured content, inacces-sible forms or inputs, challenges in identifying images or icons, navigating web pages,and completing forms.Individuals with visual impairments have unique requirements when using theinternet, such as the use of assistive technologies and alternative text descriptions.However, they encounter various obstacles that hinder their access and engagementwith digital content and services.Although WCAG 2.0 serves as a foundationalframework for web accessibility, there is still room for improvement in terms ofawareness, implementation, and testing. Further efforts are necessary to enhanceinternet accessibility for individuals with visual impairments, facilitating their fullparticipation in social, economic, and cultural activities.

Societal awareness and general understanding of the diversity of geosciences environments and phenomena across regions is vital. The primary method to obtain information about geosciences is through mass media. However, there is little coverage of geosciences information and the public may not trust it because of low geosciences awareness. Geosciences are rarely included as part of K-12 curricula and are optional at the collegiate level, contributing to the public deficiency regarding awareness and understanding of the geosciences. This research study investigated methods utilizing outdoor resources in an effort to increase region-specific understanding and awareness of geosciences among diverse groups. A Mississippi K-12 educator professional development session and two middle-high schools were assessed for impact on understanding and interest related to geosciences. All participants utilized outdoor resources to model erosional processes and potential natural hazard events. Both participating schools have high underrepresented minority populations. Pre assessment evaluated participant awareness of Mississippi natural hazards. Teachers and student participants all demonstrated a low awareness of erosion processes specific to the region. Teachers completed erosion models indoors or outdoors, with indoor participants having a significant increase in earth science interest. All student participants completed the erosion model outside, with pre-post erosion comprehension resulting in significant increases for both the middle and high schools. The middle school had significant gains in earth science interest while the high school had a significant decrease regarding careers in geosciences. Virtual field guides developed by online graduate students demonstrating personal understanding of broad geosciences concepts in their local region were evaluated pre-post for impact on geosciences awareness, understanding, and confidence. Awareness factors included geographical community size and locations included in the field guide to demonstrate participant understanding. Significant increases in awareness regarding geoscience resources, including those outdoors, occurred. Significant increases also occurred in confidence utilizing geosciences resources and communicating about geosciences. The majority agreed that the experience of creating the field guide enhanced understanding of geosciences and interest in outdoor activities. Geographical size of participants’ residential communities was significantly related to awareness of regional locations, with urban residents including fewer outdoor locations in the field guide.

The use of new technologies is important in new product development and virtual reality is a technology that companies today are trying to find use for in their organizations. The problem present today is that there are tools ready to be used that are not because organizations are at different maturity levels of understanding how to work in virtual reality (VR). VR could not only make development cheaper but also greener. This thesis aims to bridge the gap within Volvo Construction Equipment (VCE) to make the use of VR more present in product development. That is why the thesis crafted a startup guide on how to work with VR. The value of this is to inform all stakeholders within VCE of the value of VR at a basic level as a tool. The guide explains the benefits of virtual reality as well as a general step by stepguide on how to use it to replace some physical prototypes. It is targeted to project leaders and product developers.

An aerodynamic investigation was performed to assess the effectiveness of combined boundary layer suction and trailing edge blowing at reducing the blade profile losses and the wake momentum deficit of a cascade of tandem IGV's operating at realistic flow conditions. Two trailing edge blowing designs were tested: metal-angle blowing, which oriented the blowing jets very near to the blade exit angle, and deviation-angle blowing, which oriented the blowing jets at a significant deviation angle from the blade exit angle. Both blowing designs used the same boundary layer suction arrangement. A linear cascade of five IGV's was tested with a flap deflection angle of 40 degrees and an inlet Mach number of 0.3. The Reynolds number based on the overall IGV chord length for these experiments was greater than 500,000. The inlet and exit angles of the IGV at this flap setting were 0 degrees and 55 degrees, respectively. Tests performed with no flow control showed significant suction surface flow separation that generated large wakes with high losses and large momentum deficits. The application of boundary layer suction reduced the baseline pressure loss coefficient and wake momentum thickness by 22%. A suction mass flow of 0.4% of the passage flow was used to obtain these results. The addition of metal-angle blowing with the suction resulted in total reductions of 48% and 38% for the pressure loss coefficient and wake momentum thickness. A blowing mass flow of 3.1% of the passage flow was used in addition to 0.4% suction mass flow to obtain these results. The application of the deviation-angle blowing was detrimental to the aerodynamics of the IGV, as both the pressure loss coefficient and wake momentum thickness increased slightly over their suction-only values. This was attributed to a manufacturing defect which distorted the flow of the blowing jet. The results of the deviation-angle blowing experiments were not considered representative of the design intent and reinforced the importance of the hole design for creating a proper blowing jet. While low speed tests of this cascade showed results and trends very similar to those of previous research, the application of flow control proved to be less effective at higher speeds due to the generation of significantly larger wakes. / Master of Science

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Intelligibility is one of the major concerns among ESL learners due to its impact on their ability to communicate with native speakers of English (Derwing & Munro, 2005). Even though pronunciation is often addressed in classrooms, it is difficult to tackle all intelligibility issues relevant for each student. Therefore, it is crucial for ESL learners to spend some extra time outside of class improving their pronunciation. Faced with a daunting task of regulating and taking charge of their own learning, they often have questions with respect to what exactly they need to work on, what activities will help them achieve their goals, how they need to organize those activities, and how long they should practice until they can see results. In such an endeavor, issues like motivation to persist and put forth great effort arise and influence outcomes. In sum, many factors are in play when ESL learners strive to improve their intelligibility. The main purpose of creating Sofia’s ESL Pronunciation Lab is to guide ESL learners in improving intelligibility, while helping them feel confident and motivated about what they are doing. Thirty students participated in the pilot-testing phase of this project. They participated in six weeks of self-regulated instruction followed by the completion of a survey at the end of that period. The results show that Sofia’s ESL Pronunciation Lab accomplished its purpose. Students thought that the website guided them well in the creation and implementation of their own improvement plan. They also thought that the online guide was professional and informative. Several students gave constructive feedback to further enhance the website. Most suggestions were related to including more graphics and visuals as well as adding more content, such as examples and activities. Overall, students believed that the online guide was a helpful addition to the current instruction they were receiving as part of an intensive English language program of study.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is the most widely used surface analysis technique for chemically probing surfaces. Its popularity stems from the large amount of information that can be gathered about the electronic states of the atoms it probes, including core shell information and valence electron information. Simple qualitative analysis (peak identification) can often be performed, but quantitative analysis is a much more complicated process. Although XPS usage has increased dramatically, so has the amount of erroneous analysis observed in the literature. In my thesis, I first present a perspective on how to improve the quality of surface and material data analysis. This chapter focuses on responsible groups, using population biology models and the Prisoner's Dilemma to describe the situation and the potential changes that must be made to counteract error propagation. I quantify errors in XPS data analysis to provide perspective on the gravity of the situation. Over 400 publications in three journals were analyzed. Additionally, another 900 journals were surveyed to determine the quantity of information in the analysis. The parameters include experimental parameters, e.g., the pass energy, peak fitting parameters, the spot size, X-ray source, and the type of spectrometer. I found that over 40% of the publications had significant errors that could potentially change the conclusions of the publication. About 35% of all papers neglected to note the type of spectrometer used, and 85% did not mention the type of software used for analysis. The latter half of this work focuses on XPS peak fitting. I present a broad overview of peak fitting, including how to determine the appropriate background and peak shapes to use, how to quantify XPS data, and how to account for other phenomena associated with photoemission. The line shape chosen for peak fitting is critical, as it is the synthetic shape that is used to model observed physical phenomena. A detailed review on typical line shapes, including the Voigt and pseudo-Voigt functions is presented, along with how to apply them in peak fitting. How and why asymmetric peak shapes are required is also discussed, including which effects cause asymmetry, and if it is inherent to the material or the method of analysis. Finally, a discussion on using constraints to properly model known effects is presented. These efforts were guided by the findings in the former half of this work. The trends presented here are not unique to XPS. Other fields and techniques have similar reproducibility problems. This work discusses possible solutions and what efforts as a community need to be taken to remedy the reproducibility crisis. Additionally, this work includes guides that have original research to improve approaches to XPS analysis, including peak fitting, constraint parameters, and the appropriate use of line shapes.

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