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Inom matematikämnet har e-bedömningar, aktiviteter där digitala tekniker används för att bedöma studenters kunskaper, inte utvecklats i samma takt som e-bedömningar inom andra områden. Detta beror sannolikt på det stora inslag av symboler och icke-standardiserade tecken som karakteriserar matematiskt språk och särskiljer det från traditionellt skriftspråk. Ett problem som har noterats i samband med e-bedömningar inom matematik är att inmatningen av matematiska uttryck i ett digitalt system i många fall varit långsam och svår att begripa. Den här rapporten syftar till att undersöka tre kategorier av inmatningsmetoder utifrån aspekterna snabbhet, korrekthet och upplevd lätthet för att på så sätt skapa en bild av vilken av teknikerna som lämpar sig bäst att implementera i en e-bedömningsapplikation riktat mot den svenska gymnasieskolan. För att uppnå syftet har jag granskat tre familjer av tekniker genom att låta gymnasieelever genomföra inmatningar av matematiska uttryck och analysera dessa inmatningar baserat på inmatningstid, korrekthet och upplevd lätthet.Resultaten visar på att det finns tydliga skillnader mellan de undersökta teknikerna med avseende på samtliga undersökta aspekter. Noterbart är att medelvärdet för genomförandetiden sett över samtliga tekniker och uttryck är 1 minut och 32 sekunder vilket satt i relation till den verksamhet teknikerna är tänkta att konkurrera med, att skriva matematiska uttryck med papper och penna, är högt. Andra noterbara resultat är att av undersökningens totalt 127 inmatade uttryck så var 49,6 % av dessa inte korrekt inmatade med den här rapportens syn på korrekthet. Trots att ingen av dagens tekniker är perfekt finns det bra inslag att bygga vidare på. Bland dessa kan nämnas ASCIIMathML´s, av eleverna upplevda, naturliga inmatning och dess förmåga att avgöra om ett uttryck tolkas matematiskt eller ej samt Math Input Panels förslag på alternativa uttryck, goda korrektionsmöjligheter och dess likhet med traditionell inmatning. Det finns också frågor av mer praktisk karaktär som rör exempelvis licenser och exportering av data man behöver adressera innan man beslutar sig för en specifik inmatningsteknik för en applikation. / E-assessment, activities in which digital techniques are used to assess students’ knowledge, in mathematics is an area that has not developed as fast as e-assessments in other areas. This is likely caused by the large elements of symbols and non-standard characters, which is characteristic of mathematical language and distinguishes it from ordinary written language. One problem that has arisen is that the input of mathematical expressions in a digital system in many cases has been slow and difficult to comprehend. This report aims to investigate three categories of input methods from three different aspects: speed, correctness and perceived ease in order to get an idea of which of the technologies are best suited to implement in an e-assessment application directed against the Swedish upper secondary school. To meet this objective three interrelated techniques where investigated by allowing upper secondary school students to use these techniques to input mathematical expressions and analyze these entries based on time, correctness and perceived ease.The results show that there are clear differences between the studied techniques for all examined aspects. Notably, the average time viewed over all techniques and expressions is 1 minute and 32 seconds which in relation to the activity these techniques are meant to compete with, writing mathematical expressions with pen and paper, is high. An additional notable finding is that in this survey a total of 127 expressions were processed and of those 49.6 % were not properly entered with this report's view of correctness. Although none of today's technologies are perfect, there are good elements to build on. These include ASCIIMathML's perceived ease and its ability to determine whether an expression is mathematically or not and Math Input Panels suggested alternative expressions, good correction ability and its similarity to traditional input. There are also questions of a more practical nature relating to things such as licenses and export of data which need to be addressed before deciding on a specific input technology for an application.

Fatigue assessment of welded joints using finite element methods is becoming very common. Research about new methods is being carried out every day that show a more accurate estimation of the fatigue life cycle than the previous ones. Some of these methods are investigated in this thesis for a thorough understanding of the weld fatigue evaluation process.The thesis study presents several methods as candidates for analysis of selected case studies for comparison. The sensitivity of methods towards FE model properties was studied. The ease of implementation for further automatization of the method was highly considered from the early stages of the project. A comparison study amongst feasible methods was then performed after analysis.The selected three case studies provided a wide range of difficulties in terms of geometry and loading and made them suitable for the methods to be evaluated. It should be noted that case studies only with fillet welds were considered during the literature study and analysis. Implementation of some methods on a case study where they have not previously been tested before gave a challenging task during the analysis phase. The proposed method after comparison and ranking of the methods based on several criteria such as accuracy, robustness, etc. was the hot spot stress method. The main advantages of this method are its low computational time, less complexity during both pre- and post-processing, and the ability to work for both solid and shell models.Finally, the report gives a walk-through of several functionalities of the post-processor tool built to enhance workflow for the hot spot based fatigue assessment of welds. Pseudo-codes for some functions of the tool are given for clarity. A summary of the workflow is presented as a flowchart. The outputs of the case studies were then evaluated using the tool and compared with the manual evaluation to check the effectiveness of the tool on different scenarios. The tool shows flexibility in handling different types of weld geometry with good agreement to the results obtained manually but only for welds lying on a flat surface. Some of the advantages of the tool are its capability to handle multiple welds simultaneously and the flexibility to the user in selecting the way the results are presented. Most of the postprocessing steps are automatized, while some require user inputs.

Purpose - This study explores how Covid-19 may affect audit quality and provide early insights if the pandemic has already affected audit quality in Sweden. Design/methodology/approach - This paper uses qualitative data obtained through semi-structured interviews with eight Swedish authorized auditors within Big Four to explore possible impacts on three key aspects for audit quality. These include Going-concern assessments, Auditor-client relationship, and Auditor-independence. Findings - Even though the Covid-19 pandemic is not over, it has had fewer effects on audit quality than experts and researchers predicted. Even though the pandemic has changed the communication and the relationship between the auditor and client, the findings state no significant effect on audit quality within the auditor-client relationship. The same goes for auditor-independence. However, the findings of this study indicate that making accurate going-concern assessments has and will be more complex and thus threaten audit quality. Practical contribution – We anticipate that auditors need to provide a greater focus on GC assessments as stakeholders require greater disclosure. Further, auditors and clients should gain on the increased use of digital communication by using it as a complement to physical meetings in the future. Originality/Value - This study is, to the best of our knowledge, one of the first studies that explore the potential impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on audit quality with empirical evidence. Since this study is conducted in the middle of the pandemic (Spring 2021), the results can be seen as indications for future researchers that beyond the pandemic seek to explain how the Covid-19 pandemic affected audit quality as it is crucial for the audit community to follow the consequences of the pandemic.

Although the level of automation in the automotive industry is currently high, real humans are still required for assembly tasks, for example, during overhead tasks. This type of work can cause injuries in workers in this sector, especially musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), being a cause for the inability to work in developed countries and, in turn, becoming a significant health problem. There is an aim to reduce the risk for these type of injuries during the development processes of this type of assembly operations. Various options are currently being considered where technology and the human factor can be combined. Among them, we find the object of study for this project, an exoskeleton.The aim of this project is to study the biomechanical effects as well as the ergonomics of a passive exoskeleton called Paexo Shoulder, developed by the company Ottobock, with the aim of relieving tensions in the shoulder joints and upper part of the shoulders, during its use in assembly tasks. For this purpose, an experiment will be designed in which several participants will carry out a series of tasks both with and without the exoskeleton, in such a way that the effects of its use and how they affect the users of the product can be observed. For this purpose, an experiment was designed to evaluate the effects of the use or non-use of this exoskeleton on 10 participants when performing a task similar to an overhead task in an assembly line. For the evaluation of the product, the Xsens motion capture system, in particular the Awinda model, was used together with the ScaleFit software to evaluate the results obtained through the motion capture recordings. In addition, in order to improve Digital Human Modelling (DHM) tools, the same task was simulated with the IPS-IMMA software, where the results were later analysed and compared with the motion capture results through ScaleFit.The results showed relatively large improvements in the respective moment reduction at the shoulder joint when using the exoskeleton. However, it was also observed that due to the upward force exerted by the exoskeleton on the arms, participants spent less time in low-risk areas evaluated by ScaleFit and therefore, this effect needs to be studied further.

Sweden is often seen as a pioneer when it comes to children’s rights. Despite this, there is a lack of children's participation in issues that affects them. The aim of this study is to explore how social workers in the Swedish social services enable children’s participation in assessments and which factors that can affect this. The study has used a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews with six social workers. The interviews have been analyzed by using Shier’s pathways to participation model and Lipsky ́s theory of street level bureaucrats. The result shows that social workers enable children's participation by using different methods and tools, the two most common being BBIC and Signs of Safety. Factors that can affect the work with children’s participation are implementation of different methods into the organisation which have a positive effect and a lack of time due to a high workload which have a negative effect. The conclusion of this study is that the social workers have a lot of methods and tools to enable children’s participation but that factors like lack of time due to a high workload makes it impossible for the social workers to enable children’s participation in the way that they should.

Education reform in schools has focused on inclusion of all students in general education environments and accountability measures. Students with cognitive impairments are mandated to participate in standards-based alternate assessments. Special education teachers in a school district in a southeastern state in this study have been faced with the challenge of implementing these assessments. A bounded case study design was used to examine their perceptions of the use of standards-based alternate assessments for students with cognitive impairments. Guiding research questions focused on the nature and process of implementing alternate assessments. Resistance to change was the conceptual framework. The bounded case included 3 elementary, 1 middle school, and 4 high school special education teachers who have taught students with mild to moderate cognitive disabilities in self-contained classrooms in the district. Teachers were interviewed and data were coded and analyzed for common themes. Results included implementation concerns such as time for administration, scoring issues, lack of usefulness of assessment results, inappropriate expectations for performance, and lack of validity of assessments for cognitively impaired students. Recommendations included decision makers' reconsideration of the procedures for implementation and establishing validity and usefulness of standards-based alternate assessments. Findings in this study reflected teachers' resistance to change, but were informative in providing local decision makers with an opportunity for social change that includes examination of where current policy fails to accommodate students with cognitive impairments and creation of appropriate policy and assessments that actually benefit those students.

Early identification and targeted intervention during the preschool years can help to prevent later reading difficulties among school-age children. The GRTR! was developed by the Applied Research Partners and the National Center for Learning Disabilities. It is a quick, reliable measure developed for paraprofessionals to assess deficits in pre-literacy skills among preschoolers. Most of the research on this measure has been limited to preschoolers primarily from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds and authored by the developers of the GRTR! The current study examined the Get Ready to Read! (GRTR!) screening tool as an assessment of emergent literacy skills of 206 preschoolers attending either a private preschool (M range = 38.04 - 71.04) or a public preschool (M range = 41.04 - 72) and relating their performance to standardized measures of language skills (vocabulary and print knowledge) and phonological awareness. The effects of SES, age, school, and gender on the performance of GRTR! were assessed. Students attending the private preschool outperformed those from the public preschool and those from the standardization GRTR! sample, although the public preschool group scored within the average range. Age was a significant predictor of GRTR! scores for participants ages three through five years. The GRTR! correlated positively and significantly with more comprehensive measures of language abilities. Results demonstrate that the GRTR! is a valid and reliable tool for screening children's emergent literacy skills in preschool centers. Results underscore the notion that SES does not necessarily dictate a child's competence in a specific area. Further research linking the GRTR! to strategic and cost-effective interventions, which include parental involvement and teacher support is needed. Studies including a wider range of SES, racial/ethnic, and linguistic groups would also improve upon the measure's validity.

In a multicultural society such as South Africa, there is a need for valid and reliable instruments measuring personality. Most personality instruments currently used in South Africa are imported from abroad and therefore have limited utility in the South African context as they have been developed for a specific group. The introduction of technology has resulted in personality measuring instruments increasingly being administered by means of computer-based assessments. The dramatic increase in computer-based assessments has sparked debate regarding the use of various response scale categories in personality assessment. The present study, which forms part of the broader South African Personality Inventory (SAPI) project, focused on the preliminary qualitative personality structure produced by the SAPI project, which is categorised into nine clusters. The current study aimed to determine whether a dichotomous or a polytomous response scale administered by means of computer-based assessments would be more suitable for measuring the preliminary personality structure of the SAPI. The participants were first- and second-year undergraduate students enrolled at a tertiary institution (N = 490). The inventory consisted of 262 closed-ended personality statements and was administered in both the dichotomous (“agree” and “disagree”) and polytomous (“strongly agree”, “agree”, “somewhat agree/disagree”, “strongly disagree” and “disagree”) response scale form. The results, which were based on an exploratory factor analysis, revealed that 37.2% of the items in the dichotomous response scale were problematic, whereas only 3.6% of the items in the polytomous response scale were problematic. By comparing the factor structures of the dichotomous and polytomous response scales, the polytomous response scale was determined to be more suitable for measuring the preliminary personality structure of the SAPI. The conclusion was based on two specific criteria. Firstly, the factor structure across the polytomous response scale loaded similarly to the qualitative personality structure that was conceptualised in the first phase of the SAPI project. Secondly, Cronbach alpha coefficients, ranging from 0.60 to 0.87 across the nine factors, with the exception of the Integrity and Openness clusters with values of 0.45 and 0.53 respectively, for the polytomous response scale were higher than those yielded by the dichotomous response scale. / Mini Dissertation (MCom (Industrial Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Human Resource Management / MCom (Industrial Psychology) / unrestricted

This study is designed to gather information concerning a possible relationship between how dental students prefer to take in and communicate new information and how they prefer to be assessed. Though there are numerous references in the literature regarding the learning styles of students there are also references to the inaccuracy of such studies. Part of the problem is in the definition of what construes a particular learning style and how to match the outcomes of one study based on one set of criteria with another study based on a dissimilar set of guide lines. This study focuses on learning preferences that make up just a part of a learning style. To gather information two quantitative surveys were utilized that involved three class years of dental students attending the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. Both surveys were designed to be voluntary and anonymous assuming that the results would be fewer but more accurate. The first survey (VARK Survey), based on the principles of the modes represented by VARK (Visual, Aural, Read-write, and Kinesthetic), gathered information regarding how dental students prefer to take in and give out information when learning is the goal. The second survey (Survey II) gathered information validating the results of the first survey along with information regarding how dental students prefer to be assessed. One hundred forty five students responded to the VARK Survey and one hundred students responded to the Survey II. Results of the VARK Survey indicated that dental students rely heavily on using a combination of modes, a category termed “multimodal.” Responses to singular VARK modes resulted in Kinesthetic followed by Read/write, Aural, and Visual. The preferred methods of assessment in descending order were: Multiple-Choice, Combination of Methods, Essay, Oral Exam, Fill-in-the-Blanks, and True/False. The majority of dental education is presenting information and assessing the results of the teaching. Teaching and assessing strategies should be formulated to achieve optimal results when educating students is the goal. Understanding the interconnection between learning preferences and assessment methods is critical when striving to achieve optimal results educating dental students.