<p>This master´s thesis consists of two parts. The first part is a study where the possibility to use existing tools from the market is assessed. The second part describes the design, development and usability test of a web based hardware configuration tool. The usability test made in the design process, was made in order to remove common usability problems and to assess whether or not the design decisions made during the thesis were good. The usability test that was performed followed the think aloud method and gave me very useful information that helped me improve the tool.</p><p>The study that was made in the beginning of the thesis was done in order to see if there were any programs on the market which already did the required tasks or could be adjusted to do them. I could not find a satisfying alternative amongst the five alternatives investigated. This lead to the decision to design a new tool. The main functions are the ability to save the current state the hardware is in, and at a later stage load this configuration back.</p><p>The tool was designed for the PRAN unit at Ericsson AB, in Linköping, Sweden.</p>

<p>The geometry of CMOS processes has decreased in a steady pace over the years at the same time as the complexity has increased. Even if there are more requirements on the designer today, the main goal is still the same: to minimize the occupied area and power dissipation. This thesis investigates if a prediction of the costs in future CMOS processes can be made. By implementing several processes on a test circuit we can see a pattern in area and power dissipation when we change to smaller processes.</p><p>This is done by optimizing a two-stage operational transconductance amplifier on basis of a given specification. A circuit optimization tool evaluates the performance measures and costs. The optimization results from the area and power dissipation is used to present a diagram that shows the decreasing costs with smaller processes and also a prediction of how small the costs will be for future processes. This thesis also presents different optimization tools and a design hexagon that can be used when we struggle with optimization trade-offs.</p>

<p>During the last years a great effort has taken place to create a common IT-strategy within the Swedish national police board. This to establish a foundation for decision making concerning strategy principles was formed on the activity. The principles describes how the technical architecture is going to be developed and shapes the major rule and direction that’s makes the decision possible. To investigate and use products that is used already within the organisation shall primary take in consideration. Also is the usage of established industrial standards important to create cooperation and exchange between application and platforms. The choose of programming language Java and the service oriented architecture is a direct cause of the IT-strategy and was adopted to make the organisation to be platforms independent</p><p>The purpose with this master thesis has been to draw up specifications of the demands for a developing tool for geographic information system (GIS) that are in line with the IT-strategy and in collaboration with affected personal on the Swedish national police board. A comparison study has been the procedure to examine the choice of GIS solution for similar organisations and it has been guiding in the work with specification of demands. In the first phase only the demands on Java have been significant on closed and open source software that has been investigated. Next the chosen developing tools has been verified against the specification of demands and resulted in a recommendation. Although the Swedish national police board doesn’t have an official policy for open source products the proposal of the software GeoTools is going to be feasible after up coming investigation about open source software is finished. Concerning the proposal for closed software has ended up in alternative solutions depending on short or long term solutions. MapXtreme Java and Oracle Spatial consider being equivalent alternitivs for a long term solution while MapObjects Java considers being appropriate choice for a short term solution.</p> / <p>De senaste åren har ett omfattande arbete lagts ner på att skapa en gemensam IT-strategi inom Rikspolisstyrelsen (RPS). För att få en stabil grund för att fatta beslut kring denna strategi har principer som grundas på verksamheten tagits fram. Dessa beskriver hur den tekniska arkitekturen ska byggas och formar de styrande regler och riktlinjer som möjliggör besluten. Att undersöka och använda produkter som redan finns inom organisationen ska komma i första hand. Likaså är användandet av etablerade industristandarder viktiga då de medför samverkan och utbyte av data mellan applikationer och plattformar. Valet av programspråket Java och en serviceorienterad arkitektur är en direkt följd av IT-strategin och gjordes för att organisationen ska vara plattformsoberoende.</p><p>Syftet med detta examensarbete har varit att utarbeta en kravspecifikation för ett utvecklingsverktyg inom geografiska informationssystem (GIS) som överensstämmer med IT-strategin och i samråd med berörd personal på RPS. En studie av tillvägagångssätt vid val av GIS-lösning för liknande organisationer har gett värdefull vägledning i arbetet med kravspecifikationen. I ett första skede har endast kravet på Java haft betydelse då både proprietära och öppna programvaror har studerats och jämförts. Därefter har utvalda utvecklingsverktyg ställts mot kravspecifikationen för att resultera i en rekommendation. Då RPS inte har någon uttalad policy för öppen programvara blir bedömningen av GeoTools som mest lämpade utvecklingsverktyg, aktuell först när kommande utredning om öppen programvara är avslutad. Angående bedömning av proprietär programvara har den lett till alternativa lösningar beroende på om inköpet av utvecklingsverktyg ska ha en kort- eller långvarig lösning. MapXtreme Java och Oracle Spatial bedöms vara likvärdiga alternativ för den långvariga lösningen medan MapObjects Java bedöms vara lämpligt val vid en kortvarig lösning.</p> / På grund av en olyckligt formulering har sista stycket på sidan 22 ändrats samt första stycket på sidan 23 tagits bort i den elektroniska versionen.

<p>Spider monkeys (<em>Ateles</em> sp.) are common in zoological parks, but rare in scientific publications. Studies on tool use in primates have mostly focused on impressive tool users such as chimpanzees. Spider monkeys fulfill several criteria that are known to be associated with tool use. To be able to give an appropriate environment and enrichment for spider monkeys in captivity more knowledge is needed about their cognitive abilities. In this study we wanted to see if five male spider monkeys kept in a zoo could learn to use tools to reach a reward. Experiment 1 examined the subjects’ ability to learn to use a stick-tool to extract honey from a tube and experiment 2 their ability to learn to use a rake-tool to reach a reward. Each experiment consisted of three parts; A – monkeys got tools and treat next to each other; B – monkeys were shown how to use tool to get treat by a keeper and then got tools and treats next to each other; C – monkeys got tools and treats so they just could pull out the tool and get the treat. In both experiments at least two different spider monkeys succeeded with the zero-order manipulation task to pull out the tool and get treat in part C. Longer studies need to be conducted to be able to say if spider monkeys are able to learn a more complex tool using behavior as needed in part A and B.</p>

<p>There is a gap between low-fidelity prototyping using paper and high-fidelity prototyping using computers in web design. Both serve well in different stages of web design, but are not well integrated. Prior studies have examined the practice of web designers. The studies resulted in a number of alternative prototyping tools, which focus on informal representation and try to prolong sketching in the design process.</p><p>The thesis proposes a design of a prototyping tool that makes use of existing paper sketches. In paper prototyping, a human who acts as the “computer” makes the sketches interactive. In the prototyping tool put forward in the thesis, the interactivity of the sketches is instead created on the computer. The novel prototyping tool needs to support the interactions and behaviours used in web design, and it must be easy to use so that the web designers do not have to invest too much time learning it.</p><p>The prototype of the tool is a sketch-and-scan interface, thus allowing the use of paper the way it is. The functionality supports both documentation and computer interactivity. Usability tests and expert reviews were conducted, involving students, lecturers and researchers in human-computer interaction.</p><p>The results elaborate previous research on prototyping practice, and a designers’ wish list was formulated. A prototyping tool is expected to support communication between users, designers and developers; as well as to reduce a designer’s need to change his work practice when using the tool.</p>

<p>Rodon is a diagnostic tool developed by Sörman. SAAB’s interest in Rodon regards the possibility to use the tool for development and operations of aircraft systems. The main goal of this thesis was to evaluate the capacity of Rodon and determine how SAAB can use the diagnostic tool during development and operations.</p><p>The tool uses model based diagnosis with artificial intelligence for fault isolation which is a powerful approach. If Rodon is introduced at SAAB, then detailed models of systems will be necessary to create, including the nominal behavior of the system and different faulty behaviors. In order to achieve high quality fault isolation, it is necessary to have complete and consistent models. To be able to use all applications that Rodon feature for a modeled system, preferable characteristics are that the model should be static, have discrete control signals, and have well defined system behavioral modes.</p><p>During development of a system Rodon can be used to improve and easy the work for failure analysis, guidance of sensor placements, evaluation of tests, generation of decision structures, and fault isolation. Since design of tests during development is a desirable application that Rodon does not have, two different methods are presented that utilizes Rodon to generate all possible limit checking tests.</p><p>In conclusion, Rodon can be very useful in several different aspects if introduced, but benefits gained by using Rodon will have to be compared to the labor cost of creating good models.</p>

<p>This study was made at the localization section at Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications and investigates the part of a localization process where language issues are handled. The purpose of the thesis is to investigate which main factors influence the language quality in a real world localization of a mobile phone.</p><p>The study is divided into two parts, one initial study and one main study. In the initial study, the five tasks of the localization process were identified as organization, coordination, technical preparation, creation of source text, and creation of target text.</p><p>In the main study, the employees’ views on language-specific quality issues in the process of localizing mobile phones were mapped out through deep-interviews. The results from the interviews were divided into the categories organization, technical preparation, linguistic</p><p>issues, and language tools. Organizational prerequisites for achieving high quality were awareness, updated material and structured communication. The linguistic issues were unambiguous and understandable language, correct language level, standardization of</p><p>terminology, providing sufficient context to the translators and validation of the target text. Concerning the language tools, both manual and repetitive labor as well as the absence of spell and grammar checkers were two main factors considered to influence the quality of the final text strings.</p><p>To contribute to the overall picture of the process, some parts should be further investigated, like the translators’ working situation and the end-users’ expectations of the product.</p><p>To conclude, the most challenging part is determining what the highly subjective term quality means in the context of language, which demands clear guidelines for expected outcomes and especially for whom. Only then can it be determined how it should be done.</p> / <p>Denna studie utfördes på Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications och inriktar sig mot den specifika del av lokaliseringsprocessen som hanterar språkliga problem. Syftet med uppsatsen är att i en verklig lokaliseringsprocess undersöka vilka huvudfaktorer som påverkar den språkliga kvaliteten i den slutgiltiga produkten.</p><p>I förstudien identifierades de fem huvudsakliga uppgifterna i denna del av processen som organisering, koordinering, teknisk förberedelse, skapande av källtext och skapande av måltext.</p><p>I huvudstudien kartlades de anställdas syn på språkliga kvalitetsaspekter i lokaliseringsprocessen genom djupintervjuer. Resultaten delades in i kategorierna organisation, teknisk förberedelse, lingvistiska aspekter och språkverktyg. Nödvändiga organisatoriska förutsättningar var: medvetenhet, uppdaterat material och strukturerad kommunikation. Avgörande lingvistiska faktorer var: tvetydigt och förståeligt språk, korrekt språknivå, standardisering av terminologi, tillräcklig kontext till översättarna och validering av måltexten. Vad gäller språkverktygen ansågs manuellt och repetitivt arbete samt frånvaron av stavnings- och grammatikkontroll vara två faktorer som påverkar den slutliga kvaliteten hos textsträngarna i en mobiltelefon.</p><p>Vidare undersökning om översättarnas arbetssituation och slutanvändarnas förväntningar på produkten skulle ge en bättre bild av processen som helhet. Den största utmaningen är att fastställa vad begreppet språklig kvalitet innebär, vilket är problematiskt och kräver tydliga riktlinjer för vad det är som ska uppnås och för vem. Först därefter kan man tala om hur det ska utföras.</p>

<p><strong>Purpose</strong> – The purpose of our thesis is to introduce a new approach to help small and medium third party logistics service providers (3PLs) to develop and improve their Reverse logistics.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Design/methodology/approach</strong> – A case study was adopted, and a qualitative questionnaire and face-to-face interview were used to collect the fundamental data. In addition, the multi-criteria decision-making tool-AHP and the Reverse Logistics audit model were used to analyze the case and to solve the problem of 3PLs in Reverse Logistics improvement.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Findings</strong> – Under the fierce competition and in today’s volatile market, the Reverse Logistics is considered as a new competitive advantage to many 3PLs. However, the effective solutions in instructing 3PLs how to develop and improve their Reverse Logistics competence are still very scarce. Based on these, a new approach will be presented in this thesis to help 3PLs to solve problem.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Limitations – </strong>There are two main limitations in our paper, which emerge in the two models we adopted. Regarding the Reverse Logistics audit model, we need more data of the case company to support our research. For the AHP method, the limitation is:  the fact that general assumptions were used to provide correlative data in computation, and complex computation was simplified in order to show calculative processes clearly.<strong></strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Practical implications – </strong>FLB, the case company will be researched to verify the practical implication of our new approach. We believe through our approach, lots of small and medium size 3PLs will find it easier to get a holistic view of their RL competence, and know how to develop or improve it.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Originality/value</strong> – How to evaluate and assess the RL competence will be presented separately from inside view of 3PLs and outside view of their customers. AHP and self-made RL audit model will be used to achieve then respectively.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Keywords</strong> Reverse logistics, Analytic hierarchy process, Assessment tool, and 3PLs </p><p> </p><p><strong>Paper type</strong> Case study/ Research paper</p>

<p>The change in the present global world puts pressure on companies to develop new strategies for gaining competitive advantage. The new fast technology leads companies to try to outshine one another to reach further into the world of innovation. Sharing knowledge online demands brave and huge changes from managers and employees. The use of new tools for faster more open communication requires a change of mindset from the involved parties. Our aim was to determine if the internal open communication was the solution to a more open knowledge sharing work climate. The Purpose of our study is to investigate if knowledge sharing indirectly foster a more learning and innovative organization. Which leads us to one of our main questions: can a wikis- tool for internal communication be an enabler for a more open and knowledge sharing working climate? In this thesis we are focusing on the new communication tool for a better internal collaboration which has the ability to facilitate the work for employees if it is implemented in a positive manner. All our research was performed in Ramböll a global company that gave us useful access and information for our thesis. We performed our study by using qualitative research such as interviews, dialogue and observations<em>.</em> The result from our study showed us how the open communication and knowledge sharing can strengthen the core communication to foster a more learning and innovative company. Open communication as enabler of the power of innovation in global companies.</p>

<p><strong>Purpose:</strong> my aim was to explore ways that teachers can support students with dyslexia and what/ which tools some teachers / special education teachers use to facilitate students.</p><p><strong>Method:</strong> I used a quantitative method by interviewing some regular teachers and special education teachers</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> In my study, I learned how some teachers can support students by reading loud to them; a main task for the teachers could be to create the love of reading for the students. That task was reinforced by students' self-image.</p>