Skateboarding in Umeå : Thoughts and dreams of the city

Skaters occupy spaces around the city, and they navigate their surroundings with an analysing gaze that differs from the average person’s perception of the city. They see possibilities in ordinary objects such as a curb, bike rack or planting pot and give these objects a new purpose and meaning. In this essay I aim to investigate and describe how the skaters of Umeå view their city. What are the places they prefer, and how do they value their surroundings. By interviewing skaters and observing the places they roam their experiences as skateboarders and active utilizers of the city will be put into the perspective of public space and the purpose of it as a whole. Can providing skateboarders with environments they enjoy be used as a tool to activate public spaces in the city and thus create more including spaces? The result shows that skaters are deeply investigated into the urban fabric of their city and that there are several places around Umeå in which they enjoy dwelling. It reveals that beyond the physical design and architecture of skatespots, the social structures and the senses of place are values that skaters highly regard. However, some of Umeå’s more central public spaces doesn’t provide the conditions that skateboarders crave, and they give their opinion on how these public spaces can better suit skateboarding. Keywords: Skateboarding, public space, urban architecture, including desig

Skateboarding in Umeå : Thoughts and dreams of the city

Skaters occupy spaces around the city, and they navigate their surroundings with an analysing gaze that differs from the average person’s perception of the city. They see possibilities in ordinary objects such as a curb, bike rack or planting pot and give these objects a new purpose and meaning. In this essay I aim to investigate and describe how the skaters of Umeå view their city. What are the places they prefer, and how do they value their surroundings. By interviewing skaters and observing the places they roam their experiences as skateboarders and active utilizers of the city will be put into the perspective of public space and the purpose of it as a whole. Can providing skateboarders with environments they enjoy be used as a tool to activate public spaces in the city and thus create more including spaces? The result shows that skaters are deeply investigated into the urban fabric of their city and that there are several places around Umeå in which they enjoy dwelling. It reveals that beyond the physical design and architecture of skatespots, the social structures and the senses of place are values that skaters highly regard. However, some of Umeå’s more central public spaces doesn’t provide the conditions that skateboarders crave, and they give their opinion on how these public spaces can better suit skateboarding. Keywords: Skateboarding, public space, urban architecture, including desig

How can SMB use searches in the patent literature as a tool to streamline the product development process and strengthen their industrial rights?

Hovedhensikten med oppgaven er å belyse hvordan SMB kan bruke søk i patentlitteratur som et verktøy for å effektivisere produktutviklingsprosessene sine og styrke sine industrielle rettigheter. Det er mye som kan tyde på at mange SMB kaster bort tid og resurser på å utvikle allerede kjente tekniske løsninger. I en tid der immaterielle verdier blir stadig viktigere, og bedriftene mer kunnskapsbaserte, fremstår dette som et vesentlig problem. For å undersøke hvordan dette problemet kan løses, er følgende tre forskningsspørsmål belyst i oppgaven: I. Hvordan utfører SMB søk i patentlitteratur i dag? II. Hvilke utfordringer har SMB med søk i patentlitteratur? III. Hvilke muligheter gir søk i patentlitteratur? Det er benyttet kvalitativ metode for å besvare spørsmålene. Dataene til oppgaven er hentet inn gjennom intervjuer av fem ressurspersoner innenfor IPR. Personene som er intervjuet har en utfyllende kompetanse, og de fleste har jobbet med IPR veiledning av SMB. I tillegg er en referansegruppe bestående av fire bedrifter benyttet. Ut fra analysene viser det seg at SMB i hovedsak benytter søk i patentlitteraturen til å avklare om de kan oppnå rettigheter, eller kan komme til å krenke andres rettigheter. SMB ser altså i svært liten grad på patentlitteraturen som en kilde til teknisk informasjon, til tross for at 70 - 80 prosent av alle tekniske nyvinninger kun er beskrevet i denne litteraturen. Mangel på kunnskap fremstår som SMBs største utfordring, knyttet til søk i patentlitteraturen. De bedriftene som får utført søk i patentlitteraturen gjør dette som regel alt for sent i produktutviklingsprosessen og klarer i liten grad å utnytte resultatene av søkene uten hjelp fra patentingeniører. Ved hjelp av en utarbeidet modell vises det i oppgaven hvordan SMB på en god måte kan bruke søk i patentlitteraturen igjennom hele roduktutviklingsprosessen, både til inspirasjon og for å hindre unødig tids- og ressursbruk. Dette vil også bidra til at eventuelle patentrettigheter styrkes. The main purpose of the thesis is to expose how SMEs can use search in the patent literature as a tool to streamline the product development processes and strengthen their industrial rights. There is in fact, evidence to suggest that many SMEs are wasting time and resources on developing already known technical solutions. In an era where intellectual property importunes is increasing, because the firms become more knowledge-based, it appears as a significant problem. To investigate how this problem can be solved. The following three research questions are examined in this thesis: I. How SMEs perform searches in patent literature today? II. What are the challenges SMEs have with searchesin patent literature? III. What are the opportunities given in search of patent literature? Qualitative research design is used to answer the questions. Data for the thesis is obtained through interviews of five IPR resource persons. The persons who are interviewed have a complementary expertise, and the majority have worked with IPR guidance of SMEs. A reference group consisting of four companies are also used. From the analysis it turns out that SMEs generally use search in the patent literature to clarify whether they can obtain rights or may infringe the rights of others. SMEs consider then, very little of the patent literature as a source of technical information, despite that 70 - 80 percent of all technical innovations is only described in this literature. Lack of knowledge appears to be the biggest challenge SMEs is facing by search in the patent literature. Those companies that have conducted search in the patent literature makes this usually too late in the product development process, and a small extent to exploit the results of searches without the help of patent engineers. Using a model shows how SMEs in a good way can use search in the patent literature through the entire product development process for inspiration and prevent wasting of time and resources. This will also strengthen potential patent rights

Skatepark i Gällivare

I mitt examensarbete har jag arbetat med att ta fram en design samt förfrågningsunderlag för en Skatepark i Gällivare. Arbetet presenterades för politikerna i Gällivare kommun. Arbetet inleddes under min praktik på LKAB Samhällsomvandling där jag hade erfarna projektledare som handledare. Därefter fortlöpte projektet på egen hand efter att praktiken avslutats. Grunden till att jag valde just detta område är att det finns ett beslut att uppföra en anläggning i Gällivare men projektet har lagts på is. Det tillsammans med ett eget brinnande intresse för skateboardåkning och en önskan att göra något positivt för kommunens invånare gjorde valet av exjobb till en självklarhet. I förfrågningsunderlaget skickades ut till företag som arbetar med helhetslösningar för skateparker i Sverige och norden, behövdes först förslag på en placering och olika områdesförslag för Skateparken ifråga tas fram.  För att få en någorlunda uppskattning på vad ett sådant här projekt kan tänkas kosta, var en av utmaningarna att ta fram en egen design på en anläggning baserad på de områdesförslag som tagits fram. Designen kom till liv med hjälp av medlemmar från den lokala skateboardföreningen efter att möten ägt rum där det diskuterades olika element som man önskade ingå i designen av den nya parken.  När arbetet med förfrågningsunderlaget var färdigt och efter att respons från företaget som jag skickat ut det till kommit in, förbereddes en presentation som sedan hölls för Gällivare kommuns Samhällsbyggnadsutskott. Efter presentationen var genomförd deltog jag samt medlemmar från Gällivare Skateboardförening i en Workshop för ett område som heter Sjöparken i centrala Gällivare. Sjöparken ingår i ett projekt där hela parken ska utvecklas och rustas upp. Projektledaren för upprustningen av Sjöparken tog sedan kontakt med mig för att boka in ett möte. Under mötet meddelades att en skatepark ingår i deras planering för framtida Sjöparken. Bästa möjliga utfall är nu att upphandlingen av skateparken kommer ske efter årsslutet och att arbetet med parken inleds till våre

Skateboarding in Umeå : Thoughts and dreams of the city

Skaters occupy spaces around the city, and they navigate their surroundings with an analysing gaze that differs from the average person’s perception of the city. They see possibilities in ordinary objects such as a curb, bike rack or planting pot and give these objects a new purpose and meaning. In this essay I aim to investigate and describe how the skaters of Umeå view their city. What are the places they prefer, and how do they value their surroundings. By interviewing skaters and observing the places they roam their experiences as skateboarders and active utilizers of the city will be put into the perspective of public space and the purpose of it as a whole. Can providing skateboarders with environments they enjoy be used as a tool to activate public spaces in the city and thus create more including spaces? The result shows that skaters are deeply investigated into the urban fabric of their city and that there are several places around Umeå in which they enjoy dwelling. It reveals that beyond the physical design and architecture of skatespots, the social structures and the senses of place are values that skaters highly regard. However, some of Umeå’s more central public spaces doesn’t provide the conditions that skateboarders crave, and they give their opinion on how these public spaces can better suit skateboarding. Keywords: Skateboarding, public space, urban architecture, including desig

Muntlig framställning : övningar och arbetsmetoder som en amerikansk skola använder för att förbättra elevers muntliga framställning

Validerat; 20101217 (root

Oral Health Status of Older Adults in Sweden Receiving Elder Care Findings From Nursing Assessments

Background: Frail elderly people often have poor oral hygiene, contributing to oral health problems that can detract significantly from quality of life. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe oral health status of frail elderly individuals using the Revised Oral Assessment Guide-Jonkoping (ROAG-J), a mouth assessment instrument that can be used in daily nursing care Methods: Data were obtained from the Swedish Senior Alert quality registry in one Swedish municipality. ROAG-J assessments on admission to elder care and one subsequent occasion were used. ROAG-J measurements documented oral health in nine areas: voice, lips, oral mucosa, tongue, gums, teeth, saliva, swallowing, and presence of any prostheses or implants. Assessments were made by nursing staff during the course of daily nursing care Results: Individuals 65 years of age or older and receiving elder care services (N = 667) were involved; 1,904 assessments made between November 2011 and March 2014 were used for the analysis. On the basis of both assessments, less than one third of participants had oral health problems. No significant difference in any of the oral health variables was found between first and subsequent assessments. At first assessment, men and women differed in tongue health (p < .01); at the subsequent assessment, gender differences in voice (p < .05), mucous membranes (p < .003), tongue (p < .01), and saliva (p < .006) were observed Discussion: Most participants had good oral health. Assessments made by nursing staff using the ROAG-J demonstrate that this tool can be used in daily nursing care, where different, important oral conditions may be encountered. However, knowledge about oral health conditions and the ROAG-J instrument is important to ensure high validity. The ROAG-J enables nursing staff to detect problems in the mouth and to guide decisions related to oral health intervention

Oral health matters for the nutritional status of older persons : a population-based study

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the association between oral health and nutritional status in the context of daily care for older people. BACKGROUND: Oral problems often increase with age and affect a person's ability to chew and swallow. They might also influence the ability to maintain a satisfactory nutritional status. Oral health awareness is therefore of great importance in nursing care for older people. METHODS: Data from the Swedish quality register, Senior Alert, were used, including structured assessments of both oral and nutritional status using the Revised Oral Assessment Guide - Jonkoping (ROAG-J) and the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA). In total, 1156 persons (mean age: 82.8+/-7.9) had both oral and nutritional assessments registered by the nursing staff in daily care. RESULTS: Approximately 29% of participants had moderate oral health problems. Another 12% had severe problems. Over 60 percent of the persons were considered at risk of malnutrition or were malnourished. There was a weak correlation between poor nutritional status and poor oral health, and approximately one-third of the persons who were at risk or malnourished had simultaneous oral problems. A multivariate logistic regression revealed that when problems involving voice and swallowing were present, there was also a greater possibility of being assessed as at risk of malnourishment or being malnourished. CONCLUSION: There is a relationship between oral health problems and nutritional status, indicating the importance of evaluating oral health status in older persons with nutritional problems. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved