Today’s competitive global market has placed companies under great pressure and the focus on production systems has been more prominent. Although there are several claimed benefits with using frameworks in the development of production systems, companies are reluctant to use these. Consequently, a relevant question formulation is: Are frameworks in the development of production systems usable? The purpose with this thesis work was therefore to evaluate the usability of production system development frameworks (PSDFs) in practice. In order to achieve this purpose, two research questions were established: RQ1.  How can usability of frameworks be evaluated? RQ2.  How does the use of a framework contribute to the development of a new production system? In order to answer the posed research questions, Bellgran and Säfsten’s PSDF was used in the production system development (PSD) process of a new production system at Xylem. Based on the PSD process, a meta-study was performed to evaluate the practical usability of the PSDF. Usability was defined and evaluated based on the five usability terms learnability, memorability, efficiency, effectiveness, and satisfaction. The result showed that all the five usability terms contribute to the usability evaluation of PSDFs. However, memorability was considered difficult to use on only one study since the user has to think a step further and make a qualified guess to answer if it is possible to memorize a framework. Therefore, it was considered memorability is only appropriate to use in a multiple study. The results also showed that Bellgran and Säfsten’s PSDF contributed most in the beginning of the PSD process by putting emphasis on the planning phase and providing a structure to follow. Due to the nature of a framework (i.e., to serve as a guide for structures to follow), this was not unexpected. However, the contributions from a structure or plan are hard to exactly distinguish. Since companies most often want tangible and accurate evidences, frameworks’ vague contributions are considered to be a major reason to why companies do not use frameworks more frequently.

Patterns of articles accepted for publication in the Journal of College Counseling from the past 12 years were reviewed in this metastudy. Results were described and statistically analyzed to identify trends over time in characteristics of authors, including sex, institutional classifications, employment setting, and domicile, and characteristics of articles, including article type, research design, sample size, types of participants, and statistical procedures.

The considerable risk to human life associated with modern military operations in urban terrain (MOUT) and urban search and rescue (USAR) has led professionals in these domains to explore the use of robots to improve safety. Recent studies on mobile robot use in the field have shown a noticeable lack of reliability in real field conditions. Improving mobile robot reliability for applications such as USAR and MOUT requires an understanding of how mobile robots fail in field environments. This paper provides a detailed investigation of how ground-based mobile robots fail in the field. Forty-four representative examples of failures from 13 studies of mobile robot reliability in the USAR and MOUT domains are gathered, examined, and classified. A novel taxonomy sufficient to cover any failure a ground-based mobile robot may encounter in the field is presented. This classification scheme draws from established standards in the dependability computing [30] and human-computer interaction [40] communities, as well as recent work [6] in the robotics domain. Both physical failures (failures within the robotic system) and human failures are considered. Overall robot reliability in field environments is low with between 6 and 20 hours mean time between failures (MTBF), depending on the criteria used to determine if a failure has occurred. Common issues with existing platforms appear to be the following: unstable control systems, chassis and effectors designed and tested for a narrow range of environmental conditions, limited wireless communication range in urban environments, and insufficient wireless bandwidth. Effectors and the control system are the most common sources of physical failures. Of the human failures examined, slips are more common than mistakes. Two-thirds of the failures examined in [6] and [7] could be repaired in the field. Failures which resulted in the suspension of the robot's task until the repair was completed are also more common with 94% of the failures reported in [13].

This thesis presents a comparative and theoretical meta-study of a beneficial phenomenon experienced in some therapeutic and pastoral relationships, which I describe as a ‘moment of deep encounter’. The phenomenon is distinguished and defined, the research aims and approach described, and the research’s underpinning theoretical frame explained. The relevant data, being various deep-moment accounts and insights already existing within some pertinent areas of the literature, were analysed through a qualitative, three-stage meta-study. The development of some thematic coding, to identify and thematically analyse relevant data, is explained, and the collated thematic findings set out. These were then compared and critiqued through a meta-analysis, the findings from which were themselves meta-synthesised into an explanatory framework in order to map and relate various deep-moment experiences, perspectives, and understandings. The study identifies the patterns of occurrence of moments of deep encounter, their constituent aspects and the factors involved in their facilitation, some pertinent boundary issues and relevant theoretical perspectives, and the nature, relationship and cogency of various competing interpretations. Methodological, theoretical, and practical contributions are set out; the study is evaluated; and future research suggested. As far as I am aware, this research provides a larger overview and deeper analysis than any previously undertaken regarding moments of deep encounter. Moreover, such moments provide a lens into wider issues of theory and practice. The research invites a greater awareness of the beneficial effects of moments of deep encounter, greater attentiveness to their constituent aspects and characteristics, and greater openness to their interpretive possibilities, so as to enhance therapeutic and pastoral practice.

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With genetic engineering desirable characteristics can be introduced or enhanced in organisms. Furthermore, transgenic trees have shown promising results in greenhouse and field trials. Results on transgenic trees in field trials have been published but international and detailed compilations of what has been carried out are limited. To get an overview of the development of genetic engineering and genetically modified trees in the field, a meta-study has been carried out with information from public databases, books, and other publications. The study focused on transgenic trees in field experiments, excluding fruit trees. Traits that have been modified have been compiled. Furthermore, trends, patterns, and deviations were analyzed for the following parameters: tree species, characteristics and the years in which field trials were conducted or permitted. The countries included in this study were the EU (European Union), USA, and Brazil. Results indicate that different species of poplar and eucalyptus were the most studied tree species while resistance, growth and wood properties were the mainly investigated traits. When comparing the number of field trials that were started and got permission until 2000 and after 2001 respectively, there was an increasing trend in all study areas. However, significant results were demonstrated only for the USA. When comparing field trials until 2010 respectively after 2011, there was an increasing trend in the EU and Brazil, but not in the USA. The difference was only significant for the EU.

The PhonicStick is a joystick which has been developed as a communicative device to be used by people with severe physical disabilities. During the developmental phase the possibility of using this device in order to train the phonological awareness of 6 – 8 year old children was examined. The studies conducted did not show any statistical difference in phonological awareness when this was tested with current tests after the children had trained with the PhonicStick. One explanation for this could be that the children had already begun to read and write in school. Therefore, a part of the present study was aimed at investigating if a difference in results on the norm referenced tests could be obtained if the children were 4-5 years old instead of 6-8. Parts of a norm referenced test for phonological awareness and an adapted test material for the PhonicStick were used for this evaluation. The 10 examined children were equally divided into a test and a control group.In addition, a meta study was performed, where all the studies relevant to phonological awareness and the PhonicStick were evaluated. Data from these studies were summarized, and processed statistically. Only two statistically significant (p<0.05) differences could be shown after the training with the PhonicStick: both the test group and the control group obtained better results in the posttest in the test of “phoneme identification” and the test group performed better at the test “word production” then the control group. A possible interpretation of the results could be that there might be an intuitive phonological awareness that can not be tested with the current tests for phonological awareness. / The PhonicStick är en joystick som utvecklas med avsikt att bli ett kommunikationshjälpmedel att användas för människor med grava fysiska funktionsnedsättningar. Under utvecklingsarbetet undersöktes om det även kunde användas för att träna fonologisk medvetenhet hos 6-8-åringar. Undersökningarna visade inte någon statistisk skillnad i fonologisk medvetenhet när detta undersöktes med gängse normerade tester efter träning med the PhonicStick. En förklaring kunde vara att dessa barn redan tränats i att läsa och skriva i skolan. Därför undersöktes i en delstudie i detta arbete om en skillnad i resultat på de normerade testen kunde hittas om barnen var 4-5-år istället för 6-8. Delar av ett normerat test för fonologisk medvetenhet och ett bearbetat testmaterial för the PhonicStick användes vid utvärderingen. De 10 undersökta barnen var jämt fördelade på testgrupp och kontrollgrupp. Dessutom utfördes en metastudie, i vilken alla inom området fonologisk medvetenhet relevanta studier med the PhonicStick utvärderades. Data från dessa studier sammanfattades och bearbetades statistiskt. Endast två skillnader kunde med statistiskt säkerhet (p<0,05) visas efter träning med the PhonicStick: både testgruppen och kontrollgruppen var bättre på posttestet i deltestet ”fonemidentifiering” och testgruppen presterade bättre på deltestet ”ordproduktion” än vad kontrollgruppen gjorde. En möjlig tolkning av resultaten kan vara att det kan finnas en intuitiv fonologisk medvetenhet som inte kan testas med gängse test för fonologisk medvetenhet.