I denna uppsats undersökte vi, inom ämnet sinnesmarknadsföring, dofters inverkan på produktuppfattning. Sinnesmarknadsföring har som mål att skapa en positiv och lojal relation mellan varumärket och kunden med hjälp av sinnena. Syftet med vår uppsats var att utifrån befintlig forskning samt ett egenutformat experiment, undersöka dofters inverkan på produktuppfattning och därmed potential som marknadsföringsmedel. Vi ville dels undersöka detta samband för dofter generellt, och dels för dofter som dessutom är produktrelaterade. Vi ville även lyfta fram eventuella svårigheter med att genomföra experiment inom detta område, baserat på vår egen undersökning. Experimentet genomfördes under sex dagar på två olika institutioner i Uppsala, där deltagarna delades in i två experimentgrupper för de två doftförhållandena, samt en tredje, doftfri kontrollgrupp. Resultatet från experimenten blev fyra signifikanta tester där våra hypoteser bekräftades, men vi fick också icke-signifikanta resultat. Resultaten analyserades och diskuterades, liksom eventuella metodproblem. Slutsatsen blev att en positiv doft, relaterad eller ej, har positiv inverkan på uppfattningen av produkten. Resultaten var dock inte så starka att vi kunde förkasta våra nollhypoteser mer än delvis, och då för de attribut där vi fick ett signifikant resultat.

Vi fick bekanta oss med en miljö som ger barnen nya möjligheter att upptäcka, forska och experimentera. Vi kunde se att den delen av utemiljön som den lilla kolonilotten är bidrar till barnens utveckling och lärande. Dessutom utvecklas barnens ”förståelse för sin egen delaktighet i naturens kretslopp” (Lpfö 98, s. 37). Vi blev inspirerade att undersöka saker ytterligare. Först och främst ville vi ta reda på hur man planerar och arbetar i en sådan miljö. Som exempel tog vi kolonilottens projekt på A-förskolan som vi fick inspiration av. Att utforska vilken betydelse kolonilotten har för barnens utveckling och lärande och vilka utforskande möjligheter finns där var det viktigt för oss. De frågorna ligger till grund för vårt examensarbete. Vi gjorde en djup kvalitativ undersökning. De intervjuer och samtal med pedagogerna på avdelning B, deltagande observationer och bearbetning av förskolans dokumentation gav ett bra resultat så att vi kunde uppnå målet. Vi fick fram att kolonilotten skulle fungera som en pedagogisk resurs krävs det mycket arbete och genomtänkt planering. Man planerar och utför arbetet på kolonilotten utifrån barnsperspektiv. Vi kunde se att arbetet på kolonilotten är intressant, roligt och meningsfullt för barnen. Genom att sköta sitt grönsaksland får barnen mängder av nya begrepp. Undersökningen visar att när barnen tar hand om växter upplever de naturen på ett speciellt sätt. Vi fick fram att arbetet utförs på ett utforskande sätt som engagerar barnen till aktivt deltagande, utmanar dem, väcker lust och stimulerar deras tankar. Genom det kreativa arbetet på kolonilotten skaffar barnen möjlighet att göra sina egna uppfinningar och får nya insikter. De skapande och utforskande aktiviteterna bidrar till barnens utveckling och lärande.

¡@¡@The purpose of this study was to devise the innovative science teaching material and to investigate the instruction effect of innovative science teaching material. Thus, there were two major parts in this study, including the development process of teaching material and the instruction experiment. Firstly, seven award-winning science teachers with average 24 years seniority were gathered and organized as ¡§an innovative science teaching material development team.¡¨ Through regular team discussion and sharing, the team devised three teaching units¡X ¡§the weather variety,¡¨ ¡§simple machine,¡¨ and ¡¨burning¡¨ based on Creative Thinking Instruction Model¡]CTIM¡^. Besides, we used case study as the method and through in-depth interviews, we realized the factors that contribute to an award-winning science teacher' creative teaching material based on Amabile's¡]1997¡^componential model of creativity. ¡@¡@Secondly, the purpose of the instruction experiment was to investigate how the teaching material executed. The experienment group teacher received a 3-day instruction demonstration and reflection from the workshop by the team, while the contrasted group teacher didn¡¦t. We selected 110 sixth graders in one Kaoshiung primary school and proceeded 8-week different instructions. We took a quasi-experiment design and used ¡¨Technology Creativity Test¡¨, ¡§Creative Problem Solving Test¡¨, and self-developed science achievement tests as assessment tools. The applied analysis methods were descriptive statistics, One-Way ANCOVA, One-Way MACOVA, and Rasch-analysis. ¡@¡@The main findings were as follows: (a) the creative product of the award-winning science teacher conformed to Amabile's theory; (b) it seemed that the creative instruction workshop facilitated teachers to learn from award-winning science teacher; (c) the innovative science teaching material had significant effects on enhancing sixth graders¡¦ technological creativity; (d) students in different groups did not perform differently on problem solving abilities; (e) the innovative science teaching material had partial significant effects on enhancing sixth graders¡¦ science academic performance. Finally, some suggestions were proposed for educational instruction and future studies.

Det kan vara svårt att som konsument bedöma en produkts kvalitet på objektiva grunder. När sådan osäkerhet uppstår fungerar ofta produktens pris som en lättillgänglig och lättföståelig kvalitetsindikator. En lågt prissatt produkt uppfattas då ha låg kvalitet, medan en högt prissatt produkt uppfattas besitta hög kvalitet. Detta är en kvantitativ studie där vi gjort ett experiment med 126 studenter vid Umeå Universitet i syfte att kartlägga relationen mellan pris och uppfattat produktkvalitet. Vi har formulerat ett antal hypoteser grundade i huruvida konsumenter använder sig av pris för att kvalitetsutvärdera en produkt. Vi testar sedan om ett sådant agerande beror på vilket sinne som används vid produktutvärderingen, samt om kön och hur ofta konsumenten använder produkten i fråga påverkar detta. I det experiment vi genomfört användes tre produktkategorier som alla svarar mot olika sinnen. Dessa produktkategorier var olivoljor (smaksinnet), utskrifter från skrivare (synen) och parfymer (luktsinnet). Inom varje produktkategori användes ett billigt, ett mellanprissatt och ett dyrt alternativ. En kontrollgrupp fick kvalitetsutvärdera produkterna utan att veta priset på dessa. Därefter jämfördes kontrollgruppens svar mot svaren från en experimentgrupp som fått veta priset på produkterna. Våra resultat från detta experiment visar att konsumenter faktiskt använder sig av priset som kvalitetsindikator. För samtliga tre produktkategorier fick det dyra alternativet högre kvalitetsomdömen när priset var känt och med ett enstaka undantag fick de billiga alternativen lägre betyg när priset var känt. Vidare har framkommit att både kvinnor och män använder priset som kvalitetsindikator och att det inte förekommer några skillnader mellan könen i detta agerande. Däremot tycks produktanvändningsfrekvens påverka kvalitetsuppfattningen, även om denna tendens inte kunnat säkerställas statistiskt i vårt experiment. Följande slutsatser kan dras utifrån våra resultat: Det finns ett generellt samband mellan pris och uppfattad kvalitet avseende produkter där smaksinnet främst används vid kvalitetsutvärderingen Det finns ett generellt samband mellan pris och uppfattad kvalitet avseende produkter där synen främst används vid kvalitetsutvärderingen Det finns ett generellt samband mellan pris och uppfattad kvalitet avseende produkter där luktsinnet främst används vid kvalitetsutvärderingen Det finns ingen skillnad mellan könen i sambandet mellan pris och uppfattad kvalitet Det finns inget statistiskt signifikant samband mellan pris och uppfattad kvalitet baserat på hur ofta en konsument använder den aktuella produkten, men tydliga tendenser på detta förekommer

Strip-tillage implements remove the residue from previous crops and form a seedbed ready for planting. An experiment was conducted to evaluate 5 row-cleaning devices. The proportion of residue removed by the implement was used as the performance indicator. Each of the 5 devices was evaluated at 2 speeds and orientations on the implement. The devices were tested in two blocks (fields) of corn residue (one high residue and one medium residue), and one field of wheat residue. An analysis was conducted, using a mixed-effects model, to compare the performance of the cleaners operating in the different conditions. All cleaners performed well, with no statistical difference in mean performance. All row cleaners performed more consistently in wheat residue, compared with performance in corn residue. Numerically, the consistency of the different cleaners was different, with one configuration performing less consistently than the other four. Edge-effects of the outside row unit of the implement had, in most cases, an insignificant effect on the row unit's cleaning performance.

Strip-tillage implements remove the residue from previous crops and form a seedbed ready for planting. An experiment was conducted to evaluate 5 row-cleaning devices. The proportion of residue removed by the implement was used as the performance indicator. Each of the 5 devices was evaluated at 2 speeds and orientations on the implement. The devices were tested in two blocks (fields) of corn residue (one high residue and one medium residue), and one field of wheat residue. An analysis was conducted, using a mixed-effects model, to compare the performance of the cleaners operating in the different conditions. All cleaners performed well, with no statistical difference in mean performance. All row cleaners performed more consistently in wheat residue, compared with performance in corn residue. Numerically, the consistency of the different cleaners was different, with one configuration performing less consistently than the other four. Edge-effects of the outside row unit of the implement had, in most cases, an insignificant effect on the row unit's cleaning performance.

The total worldwide base of installed wind energy peak capacity reached 94 GW by the end of 2007, including 1846 MW in Canada. Wind turbine systems are being installed throughout Canada and often in mountains and cold weather regions, due to their high wind energy potential. Harsh cold weather climates, involving turbulence, gusts, icing and lightning strikes in these regions, affect wind turbine performance. Ice accretion and irregular shedding during turbine operation lead to load imbalances, often causing the turbine to shut off. They create excessive turbine vibration and may change the natural frequency of blades as well as promote higher fatigue loads and increase the bending moment of blades. Icing also affects the tower structure by increasing stresses, due to increased loads from ice accretion. This can lead to structural failures, especially when coupled to strong wind loads. Icing also affects the reliability of anemometers, thereby leading to inaccurate wind speed measurements and resulting in resource estimation errors. Icing issues can directly impact personnel safety, due to falling and projected ice. It is therefore important to expand research on wind turbines operating in cold climate areas. This study presents an experimental investigation including three important fundamental aspects: 1) heat transfer characteristics of the airfoil with and without liquid water content (LWC) at varying angles of attack; 2) energy losses of wind energy while a wind turbine is operating under icing conditions; and 3) aerodynamic characteristics of an airfoil during a simulated icing event. A turbine scale model with curved 3-D blades and a DC generator is tested in a large refrigerated wind tunnel, where ice formation is simulated by spraying water droplets. A NACA 63421 airfoil is used to study the characteristics of aerodynamics and convective heat transfer. The current, voltage, rotation of the DC generator and temperature distribution along the airfoil, which are used to calculate heat transfer coefficients, are measured using a Data Acquisition (DAQ) system and recorded with LabVIEW software. The drag, lift and moment of the airfoil are measured by a force balance system to obtain the aerodynamics of an iced airfoil. This research also quantifies the power loss under various icing conditions. The data obtained can be used to valid numerical data method to predict heat transfer characteristics while wind turbine blades worked in cold climate regions. / October 2008

This study investigates the nature of semantic compatibility between constructions and lexical items that occur in them in relation with language use, and the related concept, coercion, based on a usage-based approach to language, in which linguistic knowledge (grammar) is grounded in language use. This study shows that semantic compatibility between linguistic elements is a gradient phenomenon, and that speakers’ knowledge about the degree of semantic compatibility is intimately correlated with language use. To show this, I investigate two constructions of English: the sentential complement construction and the ditransitive construction. I observe speakers’ knowledge of the semantic compatibility between the constructions and lexical items and compared it with empirical data obtained from linguistic corpora and experiments on sentence processing and acceptability judgments. My findings specifically show that the relative semantic compatibility of the lexical items and the construction is significantly correlated with the frequency of use of their co-occurrences and the processing effort and speakers’ acceptability judgments for the co-occurrences. The empirical data show that a lexical item and a construction which are less than fully compatible can be actually used together when the incompatibility is resolved. The resolution of the semantic incompatibility between the lexical item and its host construction has been called coercion. Coercion has been invoked as a theoretical concept without being examined in depth, particularly without regard to language use. By correlating degree of semantic compatibility with empirical data of language use, this study highlights that coercion is an actual psychological process which occurs during the composition of linguistic elements. Moreover, by examining in detail how the semantics of a lexical item and a construction interact in order to reconcile the incompatibility, this study reveals that coercion is semantic integration that involves not only dynamic interaction of linguistic components but also non-linguistic contexts. Investigating semantic compatibility and coercion in detail with empirical data tells about the processes by which speakers compose linguistic elements into larger units. It also supports the assumption of the usage-based model that grammar and usage are not independent, and ultimately sheds light on the dynamic aspect of our linguistic system.

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The massive volumes and the huge variety of large knowledge bases make information exploration and analysis difficult. An important activity is data filtering and selection, in which both querying and visualization play important roles. Interfaces for data exploration environments normally include both, integrating them as tightly as possible. But many features of information exploration environments, such as visual representation of queries, visualization of query results, interactive data selection from visualizations, have only been studied separately. The intrinsic connections between them have not been described formally. The lack of formal descriptions inhibits the development of techniques that produce new representations for queries, and natural integration of visual query specification with query result visualization. This thesis describes a formalism that describes the basic components of information exploration and and their relationships in information exploration environments. The key aspect of the formalism is that it unifies querying and visualization within a single framework, which provides a foundation for designing and analysing visual query interfaces. Various innovative designs of visual query representations can be derived from the formalism. Simply comparing them with existing ones is not enough, it is more important to discover why one visual representation is better or worse than another. To do this it is necessary to understand users’ cognitive activities, and to know how these cognitive activities are enhanced or inhibited by different presentations of a query so that novel interfaces can be created and improved based on user testing. This thesis presents a new experimental methodology for evaluating query representations, which uses stimulus onset asynchrony to separate different aspects of query comprehension. This methodology was used to evaluate a new visual query representation based on Karnaugh maps, and showing that there are two qualitatively different approaches to comprehension: deductive and inductive. The Karnaugh map representation scales extremely well with query complexity, and the experiment shows that its good scaling properties occur because it strongly facilitates inductive comprehension.