A technical solution to the problem of unavoidable movements in bridge structures is the use of bridge bearings. Bridge bearings are small integral parts of the entire bridge structure serving several purposes, such as connection, transfer of forces, allowing movements, force damping etc. However, bridge bearings could create more problems for the bridge structure than it solves if not properly understood, especially when it receives less attention than it deserves. Technical and practical issues, such as selection of the right bearing type for use, merits and demerits of different bearing types, maintenance and monitoring, replacement, life cycle cost etc. are all imperative to ensure that bearings satisfy their purpose.   This study takes into consideration the practical and theoretical experience available for the use of bridge bearings. Two electronic surveys were used to garner knowledge and expertise from bridge engineers, bearing manufacturers and other stake holders in the course of this study, also practical knowledge concerning various types and problems of bridge bearings, maintenance, repair and replacement, life cycle costing etc. were employed in addition to physical investigation of bridge bearings in the Stockholm area of Sweden.   Generally, all bearing types were found to perform their functions satisfactorily when in good conditions, though inevitable problem of degradation reduces the life span of these bearings, especially the ones made mainly of steel being affected by corrosion. Those made of rubber components also degrade and perform poorly in low temperatures and under high load magnitude, though they are the most economical solution to many problems, especially in seismically active areas. Modern and enclosed bearing types such as pot, spherical, disc, LRB, FPB etc. are best used in critical conditions like high vertical load, extensive degree/extent of movement, seismic areas etc. but they are expensive solutions due to technicality in construction, and they are not exempted from various problems of degradation.

Forskningen har visat kunskapsbrister när det gäller användningen och nyttan av headhunting som strategiskt kompetensförsörjningsverktyg. Studiens syfte var att undersöka vilka strategiska verksamhetsmål, behov och förutsättningar som utgör grunden för beslutet att framgångsrikt rekrytera chefer och andra affärskritiska roller via metoden headhunting. För att besvara forskningsfrågorna samlades data in med hjälp av kvalitativa semi-strukturerade intervjuer där fem respondenter var delaktiga. Studiens resultat tydde på att den strategiska kompetensförsörjningens omfattning samvarierar med företagens storlek. Studien visade även på att rationella, situationsberoende beslut är ytterligare en parameter som styr valet av rekryteringsmetod. De förutsättningar som studien visade ligger till grund för valet av headhunting som rekryteringsmetod är brist på intern kompetens, behov av specifika, komplexa kompetenser, affärskritisk roll samt riskminimering. Identifierade framgångsfaktorer är en tydlig kravprofil, ett gediget förarbete, intern rekryteringskompetens och god kommunikation. / The research has shown deficiencies in the use and utility of headhunting as a strategic competence tool. The purpose of the study was to investigate which strategic business goals, needs and conditions form the basis for the decision to successfully recruit managers and other business-critical roles via the headhunting method. In order to answer our research questions, data were collected by using qualitative semi-structured interviews in which five respondents participated. The results of the study indicated that the scope of strategic competence supply varies with the size of the companies. The study also showed that rational, situation-dependent decisions are another parameter that governs the choice of recruiting method. The prerequisites that the study shows are the basis for the choice of headhunting as a recruitment method is a lack of internal competence, need for specific, complex skills, business-critical role and risk minimization. Identified success factors are a clear requirement profile, solid preliminary work, internal recruitment skills and good communication.

Inledning: För patienter som behöver akut sjukvård är tiden till diagnos och behandling en viktig faktor. Röntgensjuksköterskornas roll är betydelsefull vid akut diagnostik då de ansvarar för att genomföra röntgenundersökningar. Idag är mobila röntgentjänster, främst konventionell röntgen, tillgängliga för till exempel instabila patienter. Detta bidrar till snabb diagnostik, men många akuta frågeställningar kräver en datortomografiundersökning (DT). Syfte: Syftet med studien var att sammanställa för- och nackdelar med mobil DT vid akut diagnostik. Metod: Studien genomfördes som en litteraturöversikt. Det gjordes en systematisk litteratursökning i tre medicinska databaser. Totalt kvalitetsgranskades och analyserades tio kvantitativa artiklar. Resultat: Det har visat sig i resultatet att fördelarna med en mobil DT är flera, som till exempel minskad tid till diagnos och behandling samt minskad arbetsbelastning för vårdpersonal. En mobil DT motverkar även transportrelaterade komplikationer hos högrisk-patienter. Det framgår dock även att nackdelarna, som till exempel ökad stråldos, sämre bildkvalitet och ökade kostnader, bör beaktas. Slutsats: Den mobila DT:n har visat sig höja patientsäkerheten, vilket är en viktig faktor inom vården. Denna enhet har, trots sina nackdelar, stor potential för att underlätta diagnostik hos patienter i kritiska situationer. Förhoppningsvis kommer denna enhet att utvecklas vidare för att användas i mer vardagligt bruk. / Introduction: For patients in need of urgent medical care, the time to diagnosis and treatment is an important factor. The role of the X-ray nurse is important in emergency diagnostics as they are responsible for conducting X-ray examinations. Today, mobile X-ray services, primarily conventional X-ray examinations, are for instance available for unstable patients. These services offer rapid diagnosis, but many urgent issues require examinations using a computed tomography (CT). Aim: The aim of this study was to compile the pros and cons of mobile CT in acute care diagnostics. Method: The study was conducted as a literature review. A systematic literature search was conducted in three medical databases. In total, ten quantitative articles were quality-reviewed and analyzed. Results: It appears in the results that the advantages of a mobile CT are several, such as reduced time for the diagnosis and treatment and reduced workload for the healthcare personnel. A mobile CT also counteracts transport-related complications in high-risk patients. However, it also states that the disadvantages, such as increased radiation dose, inferior image quality and increased costs, should be taken into account. Conclusion: The mobile CT has been shown to increase patient safety, which is an important factor in healthcare. The device, despite its drawbacks, has a great potential to facilitate diagnostics in patients in critical situations. Hopefully, this device will be further developed to be used regularly.

Purpose: The purpose of this degree project was to compare the differences in energy demand for three different sizes of smaller, detached one-family houses in Sweden, and to investigate the advantages and challenges of living in a significantly smaller house than the typical Swedish one-family house. Method: The comparison was made between one typical sized detached one-family house and two significantly smaller houses of the same technical standard. The differences in energy demand for the three houses focused on heat losses, passive heat gain and the demand for active heating. To investigate the advantages and challenges of living in significantly small houses information was gathered through different sources of literature and from other people’s experiences. Results: The result showed that the smallest of the three houses had 87 percent lower demand for active heating than the largest house, and the second smallest house had 59 percent lower demand for active heating than the largest house. In addition, the heating season for the smallest houses was three months shorter per year than for the other two houses. The advantages of living in a significantly smaller house than the typical Swedish one-family house was mainly economically and environmentally based. The challenges were mainly the limited space that a smaller living area entails. Conclusions: The project concluded that there is a significant amount of energy that can be saved by choosing to live in a smaller house than the typical Swedish one-family house, and that the advantages of living in a smaller house was greater than the challenges.

Solar energy is resourceful for many purposes, for example, harvesting renewable electricity with photovoltaic (PV) technology. The number of new grid connections of PV is continuously increasing, and the Swedish PV market for residential prosumers is growing. Providing accurate information about PV’s benefits and the installation’s technical details is essential to attract more prosumers to the PV market. One outlet for such information is providers of PV, who are also responsible for the technical details. From a technical perspective, how much of the produced electricity the prosumer can self-consume impacts the profitability of the investment. Higher self-consumption is associated with more savings, and a battery storage system has the potential to increase self-consumption. Two different approaches were used to carry out this thesis. Communication was studied with a qualitative approach, and the technical term self-consumption was analysed quantitatively. A discourse analysis with a pragmatic approach was performed to study what meanings are created when retailers communicate about the two genres within the discourse of PV: the benefits and the technical specifications. Qualitative data used for this part was collected from the websites of PV retailers. The quantitative part involved calculations of self-consumption levels and simulations of a battery storage system in MATLAB using an extensive data set over households with real PV systems. The identified research gap indicates no previous studies on how PV retailers communicate and few studies of self-consumption using data from real systems. The results from the discourse analysis of the benefits showed that some of the central meanings were: “a prosumer's roof is worth money if they can afford the investment”, “PV has a positive environmental impact”, and “adoption of PV is a trend that prosumers should follow”. The central meaning from the analysis of the technical specifications was that “a prosumer does not need to be concerned about the technical aspect of the installation because the company takes care of it”. The results from the quantitative study showed that from the available data, self-consumption was dependent on how the PV system size is matched to the consumption of the household. Depending on the ALR groups, the households had different mean values of self-consumption, whereas the most common group ALR=6 had a mean self-consumption level of 38%. The simulations with battery storage showed that systems with lower initial self-consumption (below 40%) could increase self-consumption faster with increasing battery capacity but could not reach maximum self-consumption values.

Artificial Intelligence och robotar tar en allt större plats i samhället och viktiga arbeten automatiseras för att effektivisera processer. Digitala assistenter som är en AI-teknik tillämpas inom många verksamheter och underlättar många uppgifter. Digitala assistenter har en positiv påverkan på företag då en verksamhet kan få högre kundnöjdhet eftersom att digitala assistenter är tillgängligt jämt och på så sätt får kunden hjälp snabbt och smidigt. Det sänker även kostnaderna i ett företag. Detta minskar ärenden till kundservice och själva bemanningen kan optimeras hos kundservice. Digitala assistenter har en stor påverkan på samhället eftersom det är en av vår tids teknologier. I nuläget anser man att digitala assistenter agerar som stöd och förstärker människan inom dess roller genom att hjälpa till med enklare uppgifter som t.ex. mottagning av personuppgifter innan vidarekoppling för telefonsamtal med en människa. Syftet med denna studie är att analysera fördelarna och nackdelarna med användandet av digitala assistenter. Det genomfördes en kvalitativ studie med djupgående intervjuer men även en litteraturstudie av forskningsartiklar. De gjordes fyra intervjuer med verksamheten, Talking to me, och en intervju med deras kund, Telia ACE. Det genomfördes sedan en jämförelse mellan praktiken och litteraturen för att se ifall det fanns några samband mellan dem samt för att kunna dra en slutsats kring hur det ligger till. Studien resulterade i att man fann fler fördelar än nackdelar med användningen av digitala assistenter inom t.ex. verksamheter. Bland annat såg man att arbetsbelastningen minskade samt att en effektivare resursfördelning ägde rum. De inom verksamheten och även deras kunder såg digitala assistenter som en positiv teknik som underlättar många processer. De var måna om att det fanns brister med digitala assistenter också men det var inte något som påverkade dem negativt, utan det kunde skapa bland annat irritation. Men trots detta blev kunderna nöjda och återkom för fler projekt. / Artificial Intelligence and robots are taking an increasing place in society and important jobs are being automated to make processes more efficient. Digital assistants, an AI technology, is applied in many businesses and facilitates many tasks. Digital assistants have a positive impact on businesses and can help increase customer satisfaction due to many reasons. It also minimizes costs in a company as it reduces customer service calls and the staffing itself can be optimized in customer service. Digital assistants have a great impact on society as it is one of the technologies of our time. At present, digital assistants are considered to act as support and reinforce humans within their roles by helping with simple tasks such as receiving personal data before forwarding for phone calls with a human. The purpose of this study is to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of using digital assistants. A qualitative study was carried out with in-depth interviews but also a literature study of research articles. They were given four interviews with the business, Talking to me, and one interview with their customer, Telia ACE. A comparison was then carried out between the practice and the literature to see if there were any connections between them and to be able to draw a conclusion about how it is. The study resulted in finding more advantages than disadvantages with the use of digital assistants in e.g. companies. Among other things, it was seen that the workload was reduced and that a more efficient distribution of resources took place. Those within the business and also their customers saw digital assistants as a positive technology that facilitates many processes. They were concerned that there were shortcomings with digital assistants as well, but it was not something that affected them negatively, but it could create, among other things, irritation. But despite this, the customers were satisfied and returned for more projects.

From start-ups and small businesses to enterprises, cloud computing significantly impacts their operations. Many studies and research projects on cloud computing have been carried out to assess the impact of how organizations deliver IT services. This study has been conducted in organizations in Rwanda, one of the fastest-growing African countries in the ICT sector, which is turning the nation into a knowledge-based economy. Cloud computing provides several advantages to organizations, and the future also seems promising. However, organizations face several risks and challenges in using this technology. Therefore, they must be aware of challenges when migrating the workload to the cloud. This may alleviate not only the challenges but also create a graceful transition to the cloud. Therefore, this study will measure the perceptions of the challenges and benefits of using cloud computing technology in organizations in Rwanda. As the study shows, the major challenge organizations face is a shortage of cloud experts in the industry. The study revealed that migration is complex and risky, data security and privacy are concerns, and a high-speed internet connection is required and costly. The benefits include: minimizing IT costs with a pay-as-you-go model, better performance and speed, flexibility and scalability as the needs change, collaboration, and communication in the organization. It was concluded that, as cloud computing technology is a new concept to organizations, challenges in its implementation may occur. To help Rwanda's ICT sector grow, policymakers, organization managers, and executives should develop a comprehensive solution policy to address these challenges.

Allt fler aktörer uppkommer på den redan konkurrenskraftiga marknaden vilket ställer höga krav på utveckling av nya innovativa produkter för företag inom mjukvarubranschen. Detta leder till att företag måste förändra sin struktur och sitt arbetssätt för att kunna anpassa sin produktutveckling efter kunderna och marknaden. Ett sätt för företag att kunna fortsätta vara konkurrenskraftiga och bemöta marknadens behov är att implementera agila arbetssätt. Syftet med detta arbete är att bidra till ökad kunskap kring hur produktutvecklingsprocessen för en agil transformation från beslut till implementation kan ske i mjukvarubranschen. Arbetet har undersökt tre frågeställningar relaterade till agil transformation i mjukvarubranschen. Inledningsvis genomfördes en litteraturstudie för att erhålla en ökad förståelse för produktutveckling i mjukvarubranschen och för det agila arbetssättet. Vidare utfördes en kvalitativ semistrukturerad intervjuundersökning med fyra respondenter från tre företag där samtliga arbetar med agila arbetssätt och produktutveckling inom mjukvarubranschen. Den kvalitativa studien undersökte vilka utmaningar och potentiella fördelar en agil transformation kan generera samt vad som kännetecknar en lyckad agil transformation. Utifrån resultatet av denna studie utformades ett antal kategorier som kan användas som riktlinjer för hur en organisation kan gå tillväga vid en agil transformation i mjukvarubranschen. Studien visar att en agil transformation är en komplex och tidskrävande process. Utmaningar med agil transformation innefattar att ett agilt arbetssätt ofta blir beroende av en nyckelperson, det kräver en hög samverkan och ökad förståelse för varandras arbetsuppgifter samt ett anpassningsbart tankesätt som är mottagligt för förändring. Däremot genererar den agila transformationen fördelar så som en ökad produktivitet och användarnöjdhet, minskat antal defekter och en kortare ledtid hos samtliga företag. För att lyckas med en agil transformation visar studien på att ett företags medarbetare bör vara mottagliga för förändring och att motivet till transformationen borde komma inifrån organisationen. Sammanfattningsvis resulterade den agila transformationen i en förbättrad mjukvaruutveckling. / A large number of businesses are emerging on the already competitive market which places high demands on the development of new innovative products for companies in the software industry. As a result, companies must change the structure of the organization and their methods. Due to this, they have to customize their product development in order to meet the requirements of the customers and the markets demand and maintain their competitiveness. One way for companies to stay competitive is by implementing agile working methodologies. This study aims to contribute with knowledge and investigate the processes of an agile transformation from decision-making to implementation in the software industry. The study has examined three problem statements related to the agile transformation in the software industry. Initially a literature review was performed to gain an insight into product development in the software industry and the agile working methodologies. Furthermore, a semi structured qualitative interview was conducted which involved four respondents from three companies that work with agile working methodologies and product development in the software industry. This qualitative study examined the challenges and possible opportunities that an agile transformation generates as well as the characteristics of a successful transformation. Based on the result of this study, several categories were chosen and treated as guidelines for how an organization in the software industry can approach the agile transformation and proceed with it successfully. The results of the study demonstrate that an agile transformation is a complex and time-consuming process. The many challenges involving the agile transformation includes that the agile working methodology often becomes dependent of a single key person, it also requires collaboration, an increased understanding of each other’s work as well as an adaptable mindset that is receptive towards change. However, the agile transformation enables advantages amongst all the companies such as an increased productivity and user satisfaction, decreased number of defects as well as a reduced leadtime. To succeed with an agile transformation, it is of importance that a company’s employees are receptive towards change and that the motive behind the transformation comes internally within the organization. In conclusion, the agile transformation improved and strengthened the companies’ software development.

Artificiell intelligens (AI) inom marknadsföring har haft en ökad tillväxt de senaste åren. Marknadsföringen blir i allt större utsträckning datadriven, den tekniska utvecklingen har ständigt påverkat marknadsföringen och visat att AI-baserad marknadsföring kan göra skillnad. Det finns däremot många frågor som behöver besvaras innan AI kan användas på ett etiskt och effektivt sätt. Forskare uppmanar att analysera faktorer som påverkar konsumenters attityder till AI-baserad marknadsföring. Syftet med studien är därför att analysera hur upplevd integritetsrisk, upplevt förtroende och upplevda fördelar påverkar svenska konsumenters attityder till AI-baserad marknadsföring inom e-handel. Konsumentattityderna beskrivs i termer av känslomässig respektive kalkylmässig attityd. Metoden som användes var kvantitativ med en deduktiv ansats. Studien tog grund i en tvärsnittsdesign där en enkätundersökning utfördes. Webbenkäten publicerades på Facebook, Instagram och Snapchat där 102 respondenter besvarade den, varav 99 svar analyserades. Korrelationsanalys och regressionsanalyser skapades sedan i det statistiska dataprogrammet SPSS. Därefter bekräftades eller förkastades hypoteserna. Studien resulterade i att två av fyra hypoteser kunde bekräftas, vilka var hypoteserna H3a och H3b. Därmed blev slutsatsen, att upplevda fördelar påverkar svenska konsumenters attityder till AI-baserad marknadsföring inom e-handel positivt. Faktorerna upplevd integritetsrisk och upplevt förtroende är inte drivande faktorer för svenska konsumenter med en känslomässig attityd till AI-baserad marknadsföring. Upplevda fördelar påverkar den känslomässiga attityden vilket indikerar på att konsumenters känslomässiga attityd drivs av de praktiska aspekterna. Nyckelord: / Artificial Intelligence (AI) within marketing has had an increased growth in recent years. Marketing is becoming increasingly data-driven, the technological development constantly influences marketing and shows that AI-based marketing can make a difference. However, numerous questions need to be answered before AI can be used in an ethical and effective way. Researchers urge to examine factors that affect consumer attitudes towards AI-based marketing. The purpose of the study is therefore to analyze how perceived privacy risk, perceived trust and perceived benefits affect Swedish consumers attitudes to AI-based marketing within e-commerce. Consumer attitudes are described in terms of affective respective calculative attitude. The method used was quantitative with a deductive approach. The study was based on a cross-sectional design where a survey was carried out. The web survey was published on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat where 102 respondents answered, of which 99 answers were analyzed. Correlation analysis and regression analyses were then created in the statistical data program SPSS. The hypotheses were then either confirmed or rejected. The study resulted in two out of four hypotheses being confirmed, the ones that could be confirmed were hypotheses H3a and H3b. Thus, the conclusion was that perceived benefits positively affect Swedish consumers’ attitudes towards AI-based marketing within e-commerce. The factors perceived privacy risk and perceived trust are not driving factors for Swedish consumers with an affective attitude to AI-based marketing. Perceived benefits affect the affective attitude which indicates that the consumer’s affective attitude is driven by the practical aspects.

Through a comparative case study of the European identity in Spain and Italy, the thesis aims to gain a better understanding of the formation of a European identity and the factors that explain variations in the degree of European identity between individual member states. As the degree of European identity differs between member states which in other respects are relatively similar, Spain and Italy are studied as two cases with different outcomes to investigate what might explain their different degrees of European identity. The empirical comparison is based on four hypotheses derived from previous research examining the relationships between the following independent variables and European identity; cognitive mobilization, Euroscepticism, political trust and economic benefits. The systematic comparison of explanatory factors between Spain and Italy finds that the existence of Euroscepticism, economic benefits and higher education leads to a higher degree of European identity. Explanatory factors from previous research are partly confirmed and partly non-confirmed and the thesis illustrates that established relationships that explain differences at the aggregated EU level do not explain differences between individual countries to the same extent. The study finds that differences at the Member State level partly explain variations in European identity, but concludes that further studies at the individual level are needed to understand the formation of the individual European identity. / Genom en jämförande fallstudie av den europeiska identiteten i Spanien och Italien ämnar uppsatsen få en bättre förståelse för formandet av en europeisk identitet och vilka faktorer som förklarar variationer i grad av europeisk identitet mellan enskilda medlemsländer.. Baserat på tidigare forsknings konstaterande om att det finns skillnader i europeisk identitet mellan relativt lika EU-medlemsländer, studeras Spanien och Italien som två fall med olika utfall för att undersöka vad som kan förklara skillnaden mellan dem. Den empiriska jämförelsen utgår ifrån fyra hypoteser härledda från tidigare forskning som undersöker sambandet mellan följande oberoende variabler och europeisk identitet; kognitiv mobilisering, euroskepticism, politisk tillit och ekonomiska fördelar. Resultaten från den systematiska jämförelsen av förklaringsfaktorer mellan Spanien och Italien finner stöd för att förekomsten av euroskepticism, ekonomiska fördelar samt högre utbildning leder till en högre grad av europeisk identitet. Uppsatsen delvis bekräftar och delvis bekräftar inte förklaringsfaktorer från tidigare forskning och illustrerar att etablerade samband som förklarar skillnader på den aggregerade EU-nivån inte i samma utsträckning förklarar skillnader mellan enskilda länder. Undersökningen konstaterar att skillnader på medlemsstatsnivå till viss del förklarar variationer i europeisk identitet, men att fortsatta studier på individnivå krävs för att förstå formandet av enskilda individers europeiska identitet.