This study is a result of a participation in the Minor Field Study program where we interviewed inhabitants in Mahé, Seychelles, about environmental awareness and information sources and/or channels. Seychelles has a distinguished environment to preserve and protect for the sake of both human and nature and public awareness plays an important part in upholding this. Our aim with this thesis is to study the inhabitants' self-assessed awareness and perceptions regarding availability of information on environmental issues in Seychelles. Furthermore we hope that a by-product of our study will be an addition to the ongoing discussion and knowledge development regarding the global environmental and climate issues. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted and T. D. Wilson's information behaviour model from 1996 was used as theoretical framework when analysing the material. The results show a varied range of self-assessed awareness and perceptions regarding environmental issues and the availability of relevant information and information sources and/or channels.

The aim of this Bachelor thesis and Minor Field Study is, from the perspective of the Vietnamese children at The General Science Library in Ho Chi Minh City, to obtain a deeper understanding of the ways in which the reading environment of The Children's Room supports children's interest in reading and their reading experience. It is assumed that reading is a dynamic and social activity made possible by internal and external conditions. In this context limited freedom of expression is one of the external conditions that is taken into consideration. In order to obtain understanding of Vietnamese children's experiences of reading, I used Aidan Chambers' model of The Reading Circle as a theoretical framework. The methods used in this study were semi-structured interviews with Vietnamese young people at the library, four girls and five boys, aged between 10 and 15 years. The children in this study describe two types of reading experiences: 1) reading that gives feelings of excitement and joy, and makes them want to reread a book, talk about it with others, think of it, remember and analyse it. And 2) reading they describe as developing, either spiritually or intellectually, a form of reading for improvement. Four reading environments are identified that both enable and obstruct reading experiences, their homes, school, library and the bookstore. Primarily, The Children's Room enables reading.

This Thesis contains three essays on the economic behavior of individuals. The first essay, co-authored with Andreas Blume and Douglas DeJong is an experimental investigation into the contribution of cognition in a strategic setting where the goal is to coordinate by choosing different courses of action. Specifically, we study whether cognitive limits affect the ability of agents to achieve dispersion outcomes and; further, how these limits affect the means by which dispersion outcomes are attained. We find that in the self-play treatment when agents are allowed to play against themselves, dispersion outcomes are relatively easy to obtain; however, when paired with others, cognitive differences increase the difficulty in achieving a dispersion outcome. When we relax the cognitive constraints, the ability of participants to achieve dispersion outcomes increases to approximately the same level as those in the self-play treatment; further, the means by which dispersion outcomes are achieved does not differ from those in the self-play treatment. In the second essay I investigate how noise impacts incentives provided by contracts that are structured with option-style payoffs. Existing theory suggest that one cannot commit to not renegotiate based on the receipt of a non-contractible signal; however, others suggest that in the presence of a noise in the non-contractible signal may not result in partners wanting to renegotiate since the initial contract may still provide incentives for subsequent periods. Using an experimental economics approach I find that players who receive a perfect non-contractible signal do not put forth high effort in a subsequent period; however, the presence of noise in the signal may result in players continuing to put forth high effort in a subsequent period. A behavioral explanation is provided for these observations. In the final essay for which this Thesis is named, I employ a field study methodology to investigate the incremental role that social capital plays in both individual lending decisions and outcomes. I find that lenders are more likely to choose borrowers who have social capital; however, social capital does not impact the interest rate that borrowers pay or the rate of default.

<p>Abstract</p><p>Purpose/Aim: To describe in-classroom use of mobile phones amongst teenagers.</p><p>Material/Method: The data was collected through as use of focus groups and field studies.</p><p>Main results: The main findings confirm the findings of other studies on teens and mobile phones. Teens use their mobile phones for much more than just sending text messages and making calls, there are many different types of localized usages. There is also a strong emotional connection between the device, its content and the user.</p><p>Keywords: mobile phone, teens, classroom, focus groups, observation, field studies, mobility.</p>

Abstract Purpose/Aim: To describe in-classroom use of mobile phones amongst teenagers. Material/Method: The data was collected through as use of focus groups and field studies. Main results: The main findings confirm the findings of other studies on teens and mobile phones. Teens use their mobile phones for much more than just sending text messages and making calls, there are many different types of localized usages. There is also a strong emotional connection between the device, its content and the user. Keywords: mobile phone, teens, classroom, focus groups, observation, field studies, mobility.

The purpose of this thesis project is to develop a set of interactive digital solutions designed to enhance the interest and knowledge intake of visitors at Skånes Djurpark (Zoo of Scania) in Höör. The project was carried out in collaboration with Skånes Djurpark and representatives from its visitors. Our thesis is based on academic works in the fields of interaction design, exhibit design and contextual learning. Ethnographical field studies have been conducted at Skånes Djurpark with additional field studies at Tropikariet in Helsingborg, Copenhagen Zoo and Regionmuseet Kristianstad. Existing information signs in Skånes Djurpark are primarily image- and textbased, forcing visitors to divert their attention from the different species of Nordic animals that inhabit the zoological park. Our proposed set of designs include interactive signage solutions using audiomedia, which allows visitors to learn by listening to stories while experiencing and physically looking at living animals.

Magistrantūros studijų baigiamajame darbe pateikiami padangų riedėjimo pasipriešinimo, lauko sąlygomis, tyrimo duomenys, esant skirtingiems atraminio paviršiaus tipams (pieva, ražiena, sausas žvyrkelis), įvairioms padangų vertikalioms apkrovoms (nuo 1,4 kN iki 5,9 kN) bei skirtingiems oro slėgiams padangoje (nuo 0,5 bar iki 2,0 bar). Darbo objektas – padangos riedėjimo pasipriešinimo koeficientas, jo reikšmės kitimas, esant skirtingiems padangos, apkrovos, ir atraminio paviršiaus parametrams. Tyrimas atliktas naudojant BELCHINA 7.50L – 16 ФБел – 253 padangą. Darbo metodai: padangos tyrimams atlikti buvo suprojektuotas ir pagamintas mobilus stendas, kuris buvo tvirtinamas prie savaeigės važiuoklės T–16M. Darbo rezultatai. Oro slėgis padangoje ir vertikalios apkrovos dydis turėjo įtakos riedėjimo pasipriešinimo koeficiento reikšmių kaitai, esant skirtingiems atraminiams paviršiams (pievoje, ražienoje, sausame žvyrkelyje). Mažinant padangos slėgį riedėjimo pasipriešinimo jėga yra tiesiogiai proporcinga vertikalios apkrovos jėgai ir atvirkščiai proporcinga slėgiui padangoje. Pievoje mažiausia riedėjimo pasipriešinimo jėgos Fp reikšmė gauta esant 1,0 bar slėgiui ir padangą apkrovus 1,4 kN vertikalia apkrova (Fp = 14,375 kN). Ražienoje – esant 0,5 bar slėgiui padangoje, ir 1,4 kN vertikaliai apkrovai (Fp = 22,283 kN). Bandymą atliekant ant žvyrkelio – minimali riedėjimo pasipriešinimo jėgos Fp reikšmė buvo tada, kai padangą veikė 1,4 kN vertikali apkrova ir oro slėgis... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The Master’s thesis presents findings of the study of tire rolling resistance under field conditions with different types of support surfaces (grassland, stubble, dry gravel-road), different vertical loads of tires (from 1.4 kN to 5.9 kN) and different air pressures in a tire (from 0.5 bar to 2.0 bar). Object of the thesis – tire rolling resistance coefficient f, change of its values with different parameters of a tire, load and support surface. The study was carried out using the tire BELCHINA 7.50L – 16 ФБел – 253. Methods of the thesis: in order to carry out the tire study, mobile stand was designed and manufactured and attached to self-propelled chassis T – 16M. Results of the thesis. Air pressure in the tire and the value of vertical load influenced the change of rolling resistance coefficient with different support surfaces (grassland, stubble, dry gravel-road). At the tire pressure being decreased, the rolling resistance force was directly proportional to the force of vertical load and is inversely proportional to pressure in the tire. The lowest value of rolling resistance force Fp on grassland was obtained at the pressure of 1,0 bar and vertical load of 1,4 kN on the tire (Fp = 14,375 kN). On stubble – at the pressure of 0,5 bar in the tire and vertical load of 1,4 kN (Fp = 22,283 kN). When the test was performed on dry gravel-road, the minimal value of rolling resistance force Fp was when the tire was affected by vertical load of 1,4 kN and air pressure in the... [to full text]

El uso creciente de dispositivos móviles, infraestructuras inalámbricas e Internet está cambiando nuestra vida diaria, no solo la manera en que nos comunicamos o compartimos información, sino también cómo nos relacionamos con el entorno. A través de nuestras interacciones con estas tecnologías, accedemos y generamos una membrana de información que se cierne sobre los espacios donde vivimos y que visitamos. Sin embargo, esta capa de información solo modela de manera imperfecta la realidad debido a una digitalización tosca y a limitaciones tecnológicas, que hacen peligrar la interacción humana. Por otro lado, la presencia de esta información geográfica ubicua generada por los usuarios abre nuevas perspectivas para la comprensión de las actividades humanas en el espacio y el tiempo. Esta tesis acepta el reto de investigar estos aspectos de las interacciones humanas con la información geográfica ubicua. Con un enfoque cualitativo y cuantitativo, discernimos las implicaciones de la integración de información geográfica ubicua y las resultantes estrategias de los usuarios para hacer frente a la incertidumbre espacial. Entonces, explotamos esta contribución para analizar enfoques novedosos con el objetivo de inferir actividades espacio-temporales de individuos y grupos respetando su privacidad. Demostramos la aplicabilidad de nuestras soluciones en los ámbitos de la investigación de mercados y el urbanismo. / The increasing use of mobile devices, wireless infrastructures, and the Internet is changing our daily lives, not only in the way we communicate with each other or share information but also how we relate to the environment. Through our interactions with these technologies we access and generate an informational membrane, hovering over the spaces we live in and visit. However, this information layer only imperfectly models the reality due to coarse digitization and technological limitations, challenging the human interaction. On the other hand, the presence of this user-generated ubiquitous geographic information opens novel perspectives in understanding human activities over space and time. This thesis takes on the challenge of exploring these aspects of human interactions with ubiquitous geographic information. Through qualitative lenses, we discern the implications of the integration of ubiquitous geographic information and the resulting users strategies to cope with spatial uncertainty. Then, we exploit this contribution to explore novel approaches to infer individuals and groups time-space activities with respect to their privacy. We demonstrate the applicability of our solutions in the domains of market research and urbanism.

Electric field studies, electrochromism, were used to obtain excited-state data for analogous divalent sulfur compounds. The sulfides investigated were dimethyl sulfide and small cyclic sulfides including the three to six member ring compounds. The excited-state dipole moments and polarizabilities are reported for the first s, p, and d Rydberg absorption bands which occur in the near vacuum ultraviolet region from 230 to 170 nm. The excited-state data are interpreted in terms of the particular excited-state (s, p, or d) for the molecules and the bending differences due to the presence of the ring and the number of atoms in the ring. The next section describes the use of electrochromism to investigate the pressure effect of argon, carbon tetrafluoride and sulfur hexafluoride on the spectra for molecular Rydberg states.

Intranet is today a common technical groupware to communicate in many organisations. People can interact through the Intranet and communicate within the organization and get relevant information according to their workplace. It can be difficult to get everybody to use the Intranet as an information- and communication tool. This causes problems when people want to reach out with information. With these thoughts we entered our work at Luftfartsverket at Arlanda airport. The main goal for us has been to find out how they reach out with information in a large company where there are many different employees with different work situations. We choose to be in a department where the computer is not used in their daily work situations. The reason for our choice of department was because the problem of information is most common where the computer is not used as a natural extension of their work situations. We have also focused on how the employees get information today, and which ways they appreciate the most. To find out the reasons why the Intranet is not used as much as the head of department wishes, we have used several qualitative methods such as interviews, mock-up, Future Workshop etc. From the reflections and results of our methods we have found several solutions on how the presentation of the information can be improved