The largest project at the AICG lab at Linköping University, Cognitive models for virtual characters, focuses on creating an agent architecture for intelligent, virtual characters. The goal is to create an agent that acts naturally and gives a realistic user experience. The purpose of this thesis is to develop and implement an appropriate learning model that fits the existing agent architecture using an agile project methodology. The model developed can be seen as an online unsupervised reinforcement learning model that enhances experiences through reward. The model is based on Maes model where new effects are created depending on whether the agent is fulfilling its goals or not.The model we have developed is based on constant monitoring of the system.

Micro-power wind energy convertors have recently increased in popularity. The reasons for this are among other things the increasing cost of electric energy and enviromental concern.In this thesis the connection of these micro-power wind energy convertors to the utility network is discussed. Electric standards for the connection of small production units is presented. Finally some calculations and measurements of electric quality are also presented. The utility network used in the calculations is part of Halmstad Energi och Miljö network..

The original promise behind the Internet Protocol was to deliver data from a sender to the receiver using a best-effort approach. This means that the protocol makes no guarantees except that it will try to deliver the data to the destination. If some problem occurs the packet may be discarded by the network without any notice. No guarantees are made regarding the time it takes to deliver the data, the rate at which data will be delivered or if data is delivered in the same order it was sent. The best-effort approach is arguably the reason behind the success of the Internet Protocol and is what makes IP scalable to networks the size of the Internet.

This piece of work develops a solution that automates protection against software keystroke loggers. Keystroke loggers can be used illegally to register a user's keystrokes and in that way acquire sensitive information. The solution was tested on two different networks and the efficiency was measured. The network represents an enterprise network that uses the operating system Windows along with the directory service Active Directory. A script was developed to solve the automation matter.

During the last years, the importance of sourcing in firms has increased. Globalization, fierce competition and an increased level of outsourcing are common explanations to why firms have highlighted the potential to realize savings and the value creation that the Purchasing department can generate. One trend that follows in parallel with globalization is an increased pressure from society on firms to take responsibility for the impact that its products and services have on the environment. This responsibility creates even more attention as outsourcing involves trade with suppliers in low wage countries, where the level of environmental and social responsibility is not always satisfying. The Purchasing department, the firm?s interface with suppliers should therefore, together with the firm?s Environmental department, play a key role in the firm?s contribution towards sustainable development.

In industry applications, such as power supply plants, the issue of interaction between fluid and structure is always presented. More precisely, the fluid flow affects the structure by applying force(s) on it and vice versa. As a result, the structure can move (vibrate) or deform. A good understanding of this problem can help to design the system in term of safety, stability and efficiency.This project aims to optimize and test the Unicorn FSI solver from the FEniCS project [1] to simulate the interaction of fluid and structure in an experiment, which was carried out at Vattenfall Research and Development. The target is to improve the Unicorn FSI solver to cope with a real industrial problem.

The theses discuss information seeking with a focus on Google and social networks. Students attending the librarian program in Lund have been examined by means of two methods; diaries and information horizons, where they had to solve a specific assignment. The information horizon as a method contributes to getting a structural perspective on the information search process instead of viewing information search as a procedure. Information horizons use social network analysis.The aim of the theses is to investigate the importance of the social network in information search, with a particular focus on Google as a search tool. Our hypothesis is that Google acts as a compensator to the social network when the students search for information and in the educational program.The research indicates that there is no direct correlation between usage of the social network and usage of Google.

During the past year it has been made possible to buy back a company?s outstanding stock. This is done in order to change the capital structure towards a situation with less equity. A change in capital structure means a change in the cost of capital for a company and by that a change in the value for the stockholder. This Master Thesis studies the relation between capital structure and business risk.

AbstractTitle: Network communication for equal opportunities (Nätverkskommunikation för jämställdhet)Number of pages: 47 (54 with enclosures)Author: Hillevi GoodTutor: Ylva EkströmCourse: Media and Communication Studies DPeriod: Spring Semester 2007University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala UniversityAim: The aim of this essay is to study the possibilities to bring about change by the means of communication in two networks, focusing on the implementation of the Swedish Equal Opportunities Act.Material and method: The study draws on data collected in an electronic survey among representatives of two networks consisting of representatives from trade unions and employer?s associations. The material is analyzed using descriptive tools, cross tables and correlation matrices in which general characteristics as well as individual understandings of the network communication are presented and discussed.Main results: The general results indicate that the network communication serves important purposes, such as providing support and motivation for the members and changing attitudes towards equal opportunities. The analysis suggests that the network members have good communicative possibilities to serve as agents of change within their organisations. Moreover, there is an observed relation between, on the one hand, organizational context and, on the other hand, the network members? own communicational behaviour and their experienced possibility to influence their organizations.Keywords: network communication, diffusion of innovations, behaviour change, Equal Opportunities Act.

This study intends to illuminate women?s experiences of their own self-harm. Self-harm is mostly associated with women and research shows that women mostly are over-represented. This study describes women?s experiences about their self-harm but also how they perceive the elements around them during their illness.

In this paper, a small business network with around 30 users is analyzed with respect to security, performance and usability. Based on this analysis, two suggestions on how to solve the problems listed are given. The first suggestion focus on keeping a low budget, while the other tries to deal with the problems more thoroughly. One advantage of the first suggestion is, in addition to not straining the company's budget more than nessecary, it does not involve too great changes in the way the network is used and administered. On the other hand, the smaller budget leads to certain compromises, and there is a risk that similar problems occur again if, for example, the company would grow.

Destination branding is becoming increasingly acknowledged by regions working with tourism. Underlying is the fragmented web of actors in the supply chain of which the tourism product consists of. The main purpose of our thesis was, from a management perspective, to gain an understanding and describing how a network and the actors within it can build a consistent brand. We therefore chose to make a case study research on The Kingdom of Chrystal, or Glasriket, which is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Sweden. Our research is based on theoretical and empirical data.

The aim of this study has been to examine the role of control mechanisms when it comes to building relationships in a small business network. In order to reach this goal, we have performed a case study of a Swedish supplier of machines to the engineering industry, which acts as the exclusive representative of a foreign manufacturer on the Swedish market. Main results: A number of control mechanisms, both formal and informal, could be identified in the network. Their specific use, as well as relative importance differ between different actors in the network. In general, the importance of formal control mechanisms decreases as the relationship evolves over time and the importance of informal ones, mainly trust, increases in a corresponding manner..

This thesis follows a qualitative method and aim to describe firms? international business at an emerging market seen from a network perspective. The purpose of the thesis is to study in what way business relations and networks influence the process of internationalization and describe the way in which companies handle the external network in relation to acquisitions. Further does our purpose include analyzing if a firm?s network may be the main factor for why international business occurs.

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