This report describes a Bachelor Degree project in product development completed in co-operation with the Royal Parks in London and submitted to the University of Skövde. The aim of the project was to design and develop a removable bollard intended to separate traffic in a bi-direction cycle lane in central London. The goal was to develop a lightweight yet robust removable bollard that complimented the historical surroundings and had a simple storage solution. With thorough background research, established ideation methods and strategic evaluation a suitable solution was found. The final design was an innovative bollard made out of recycled plastic and specially adapted for simple removal and storage. It is a bollard that would successfully mark the cycle lane and is both lightweight and stackable. / Denna rapport beskriver ett examensarbete i produktutveckling som utfört var i samarbete med the Royal Parks i London och inlämnat till Högskolan i Skövde. Syftet med projektet var att utforma och utveckla en borttagbar pollare tilltänkt för att separera trafik i en dubbelriktad cykelbana i centrala London. Målet var att utveckla en lätt men samt robust borttagbar pollare som passar in i Londons historiska miljö och har en enkel lagringslösning. Genom en detaljerad förstudie, kända idégenereringsmetoder och strategisk utvärdering hittades en lämplig lösning. Den slutliga designen var en innovativ pollar gjord av återvunnen plast och speciellt anpassad för enkel flyttning och förvaring. Pollaren är både lätt och stapelbar samt kan användas för att markera cykelbanor.

Sweden has one of the best elderly cares in Europe and the Swedish care work is also one of the best in terms of quality, compared to other European countries. In recent years, higher demands have been set on the care work and the number of privatizations of public services has increased. In 2009 a new law came into force, the Act on System of Choice (LOV) which increased individual’s right to a greater participation and a free choice in the selection of health and social care providers. This paper aims to highlight the impact of the law, system of choice. By using the method of qualitative surveys and interviews with care managers, and an exploration of relevant studies and reports, I was able to complete this study. With institutional theory and other sociological concepts such as isomorphism and street-level bureaucracy, I made an analysis of both the care managers and also at an organizational level. In the conclusions I argue that the system of choice has had a greater impact at an organizational level rather than on the care managers. The paper also highlights the fact that the knowledge of processes of implementation and political governance has had a significant role. The three main issues are how the law has influenced care managers work, how organizations have changed, how and if the active choices work in practice.

A critical task of social policy in most Western welfare states during recent decades has consisted of reducing the economic burden on society due to sick leave, by stimulating participation in the labour market. Many jurisdictions have introduced activation policies, based on the premise that work “per se” has a therapeutic effect on sick-listed workers. People are expected to be “active”, rather than “passive”, recipients of financial benefits. However, there is limited knowledge of how activation policies focusing on return to work (RTW) are carried out in local practice. Against this background, the overall aim of this thesis is to study the local practice of activation policies by analysing how they are received, implemented and experienced by welfare state organizations, employers and sick-listed workers. The analysis has been influenced by theories concerning organization fields, individualization, street-level bureaucracy and organizational governance. In this thesis, the overall aim is investigated in four interrelated papers. In Paper I, the aim is to analyse the perspectives of stakeholders (i.e. welfare state actors and employers) on work ability by studying multistakeholder meetings. Paper II sheds light on activation policy, focusing on early RTW in the context of modern working conditions; the aim is to analyse RTW practice in local workplace contexts, in relation to Swedish early-RTW policy. The third paper focuses on employers, with the aim of analysing their role and activities regarding RTW, in local workplace practice. In Paper IV, the aim is to analyse sick-listed workers’ experiences of the sickness insurance system in their contact with the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA) and their front-line staff. The empirical material comprises two empirical studies: 1) audio-recorded multi-stakeholder meetings from regular practice (n=9) and 2) semi-structured interviews with sick-listed workers and their supervisors in 18 workplaces (n=36). The analyses of the material have been performed in accordance with the principles of qualitative content analysis. Main findings of the papers reflect strong organizational boundaries in the implementation process of activation policies. Welfare state actors and employers appear to be governed by their own organizational logics and interests, so the actors involved fail to take a holistic view of sick-listed workers and do not share a common social responsibility for individuals’ RTW. This thesis illustrates how current activation policies focusing on RTW are based on a rather idealized image of the standard workplace. There is an explicit or implicit assumption that employers and work organizations are able to welcome sick-listed workers back to work in a healthy way. However, the intensity of modern working life leaves limited room for accommodating people with reduced work ability, who are not considered to have a business value to the workplace. In several cases, findings indicate that the SSIA’s focus on activation and early RTW clashes with the financially oriented perspective of employers. Economic considerations regarding their business take precedence over legal and ethical considerations, and employers have difficulty taking social responsibility for RTW. Sick-listed workers are encouraged to adjust to new workplace settings and environments to meet the demands of the workplace, and, if RTW is not possible, to the demands of the labour market. The findings also show that sick-listed workers experience that contacts with the SSIA are ‘standardized’; i.e., they perceive that the officials are loyal  to demands in their organizations rather than being involved actors who support workers’ individual needs. Sick-listed workers clearly experience that measures in Swedish activation policies have a strong focus on demanding aspects (financial work incentives) and less on enabling aspects (investments in skills). Overall, this thesis illustrates an emerging social climate where sick-listed workers are positioned as active agents who must take responsibility for their sick leave and their RTW process. In a Swedish context, RTW is a matter of activating the sick-listed rather than activating the workplace.

The purpose of this study was to provide an analysis of the major arias and ensembles of Jody Nagel's Fifty-Third Street for performance practice, drawing upon a case study of the premiere. The opera Fifty-Third Street was composed in 1992 by Nagel for his dissertation project at the University of Texas at Austin. The librettist is Seth Wolitz, then a University of Texas faculty member. The opera examines the lives of two homeless men on 53rd Street in New York City, between 5th and 6th Streets, and the reactions toward them from various facets of society, including the church, art institutions, businesses and tourists. The opera was premiered at Sursa Performance Hall on the campus of Ball State University on April 12, 2007 with a subsequent performance on April 15, 2007.Both the piano/vocal score and the chamber orchestra score from the premiere have been examined in the analysis of the opera, in addition to the original treatise by Jody Nagel. The analysis is conducted from a performer's perspective and examines vocal aspects, including potential technical challenges, range and tessitura; musical aspects, including formal analysis, tonality, melody, harmony and rhythm in relation to the text; drama and staging, and character motivation for each of the major arias and ensembles. Suggestions are offered for practice and performance based upon the analysis and informal interviews with the composer, conductor, directors, cast and crew of the premiere performance. Appendices include scene charts, costume lists, lighting and projection cues, original set and publicity materials, and a DVD recording of the world premiere performance.Many composers throughout the centuries have used opera as a way to comment on the world in which they lived and to challenge the status quo: Mozart, Le nozze di Figaro; Verdi, Un ballo in maschera; Berg, Wozzek; Britten, Peter Grimes. Jody Nagel has continued this tradition in a way that is powerful and compelling. Future directors will discover that Fifty-Third Street offers an invaluable tool for the musical development of students and professionals, for the growth of the American opera repertory, and for challenging the American way of life. / School of Music

Democracy Now! is an independently syndicated hour long daily audio and video program that is broadcast on 1179 radio, television, and internet stations throughout the world, as well as being freely available on their website under a Creative-Commons License. They are a global news organization based in New York City, with the stated goal of providing “rarely heard” perspectives in their coverage. Democracy Now! was one of the early independent news organizations to provide continuous coverage of the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York's Zuccotti park. Their early coverage of the movement is relevant to the extent that it helps to obviate the demographics of the OWS movement as well as highlight the potential for a “radically-democratic agonistic pluralism,” as conceptualized by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe. Through the dual frames of discourse and intersectionality theories, this qualitiative study examines the coverage of Occupy Wall Street by Democracy Now!, in an attempt to understand the interplay of the movement's demographic heterogeneity and the manner in which its public antagonism is characterized by this independent media outlet. The sociopolitical and historical context provided by Democracy Now! is used to understand where the outlet exists with in the media as well as if this coverage can be part of “radical democratic possibilities.”

Street-involved women with co-occurring disorders experience distinct and overwhelming health and social issues, while facing considerable barriers to appropriate and helpful services. Street Connections, a Population and Public Health program, provides services to this and other street-involved aggregates using Harm Reduction and mobile outreach to prevent sexually transmitted infections and blood borne pathogens. Three conceptual frameworks, Gender-based Analysis, the Comprehensive, Continuous, Integrated System of Care, and Harm Reduction guided the practicum. The purpose of the practicum was to develop policy/practice recommendations for Street Connections regarding service enhancement for this aggregate. Literature-based best-practices were compared to three agency case studies of programs providing services to this aggregate including Street Connections, the Program of Assertive Community Treatment, and Dream Catchers. Data, consisting of agency documents and person-centered interviews with nine staff, were analyzed using open coding to identify themes. Recommendations incorporate gender-based analysis, recovery, access, engagement, screening, integrated services, and staff development/support.

This research explores culture-led regeneration; specifically, how and why small, community-based culture-led regeneration projects potentially affect their respective communities. Methodology is founded on an in-depth case study of The Edge Artist Village in Winnipeg, supported by a literature review, quantitative research examining property values, and archival research. The practicum shows that The Edge Artist Village has had a tremendous impact on the community of North Main Street. While various stakeholders interpreted The Edge‘s impact in different ways, perceptions of safety in the community have improved, and long vacant buildings in the neighbourhood are finding new tenants. This study makes recommendations as to how planners can potentially play a role in encouraging culture-led regeneration projects such as The Edge Artist Village, and suggests ways in which private developers and municipal government can collaborate more effectively to support their communities.

Harsh Reality is a print resource aimed toward the population of street-involved youth. Created by a working group of street-involved youth in partnership with a research nurse, Harsh Reality is a unique hybrid of factual information, and art and written experienced submitted by street-involved youth themselves. Harsh Reality contains information about a variety of topics, notably sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS. A case study method was used to evaluate aspects of both project process and outcomes. The case study was guided by three areas of study: street-involved youth's perceptions of the resource, retention of specific knowledge outcomes from the resource, and method of resource distribution. The primary sources of data were street-involved youth themselves. Findings of this study include a description of the target audience's perception of the resource, an analysis of specific knowledge uptake, an assessment of various methods of resource distribution, and possible suggestions for future resources.

This research explored the impact of yoga on the lives of youth who were street-involved. The study is supported by recent qualitative research that focuses on the strengths and coping strategies of youth who are street-involved. Nine youth who were street-involved and attending weekly yoga classes, at a local drop-in centre, were interviewed using a semi-structured format. Additionally, a yoga instructor and an outreach worker who work with the yoga programme were interviewed to provide historical and philosophical background. The narrative methodology used allowed the stories of the youth to be brought to the forefront. The youth are introduced individually and themes common to more than one youth are discussed. Through their stories the youth explored the themes of change and calm related to their experiences with yoga. Finally, considerations for including yoga in a programme working with youth who are street-involved are addressed.

Our main objective in this thesis is to investigate three methods: Principal Component Analysis, Vector Space Model, and Signal Analysis, to establish system behaviours of an electromechanical system based on its historical operation data. The system behaviours are constituted by an aggregate number of similar actions which can be represented as patterns or clusters. The results show that we are also able to observe normal behaviours by interpreting a high percentage of similar actions inside patterns or clusters. Any deviations from the established normal behaviours could be interpreted as abnormal which warrant further investigation with respect to fault pre-emption and detection.