Are agency and responsibility solely ascribable to humans? The advent of artificial intelligence (AI), including the development of so-called ?affective computing,? appears to be chipping away at the traditional building blocks of moral agency and responsibility. Spurred by the realization that fully autonomous, self-aware, even rational and emotionally-intelligent computer systems may emerge in the future, professionals in engineering and computer science have historically been the most vocal to warn of the ways in which such systems may alter our understanding of computer ethics. Despite the increasing attention of many philosophers and ethicists to the development of AI, there continues to exist a fair amount of conceptual muddiness on the conditions for assigning agency and responsibility to such systems, from both an ethical and a legal perspective. Moral and legal philosophies may overlap to a high degree, but are neither interchangeable nor identical.

This project investigated how elevation and vegetation type influences variation in plant litter phenolic content and protein precipitation capacity among and within common plant species for two different vegetation types, heath and meadow, in a subarctic ecosystem in the Abisko region of northern Sweden. As nutrient availability generally decreases with increasing elevation as a result of decreasing temperature, I hypothesised that phenolic content would increase with elevation and be higher on the heath than the meadow. To test this, the total phenolic content and protein precipitation capacity was estimated in leaf litter from 13 species in both heath and meadow vegetation across an elevational gradient ranging from 500 to 1000 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.) in the study region. The results showed that elevation and vegetation type both had a strong impact on both variables. Total phenolic concentrations decreased with elevation for the meadow, and were greater for the heath than the meadow.

The first of the dual purposes of this work has been to describe the research that has been done regarding the root causes of terrorism and second, using a general causal theory and examining the political dimensions of it, to discuss whether or not general causal theories (grand-theories) are helpful for researchers and policy-makers when reacting to social developments in the form of terrorism. The essay is a qualitative literature analysis and I have based my studies on mostly new books treating root causes of terrorism. I have concentrated on discussing international terrorism and how political dimensions may impact the occurence of this form of political violence. The conclusions I have made is that there is no widespread consensus among researchers and scholars as to what really causes terrorism. Neither can the general model examined in chapter 5 be used to predict when and where terrorism will occur next.

This work reveals the results of BAL performed on horses included in a larger study that assessed the relationship of amount and type of inhaled particles in equine stable air on indices of respiratory inflammation in horses and people. During this study an unanticipated and marked elevation in lung eosinophils was detected in a number of the horses. The possible significance and cause of this pulmonary eosinophilia was investigated further, and is the main focus of the work presented.

Abstract This Concept Analysis according to Walker & Avant (1995) studies the concept of uncertainty in the nursing context. It consists of four parts where uncertainty in general have been encircled in a semantic analysis (part one) and a qualitative content analysis consisting of an questionnaire, distributed to the staff members at one nursing and medicine institution, with an open question about the meaning of uncertainty (part two). The third part is a literature study of the nursing context to find out how uncertainty is described (part three). Part four is the actual concept analysis based on the three first parts. Uncertainty in the nursing context is an individual conscious experience witch is changeable and impressionable. It is chained together with its antecendents and consequences.

This thesis aims to develop a control system for measuring electromagnetic compability (EMC). This has meant that a controller designed around an ATmega8 microcontroller has been manufactured and programmed. It has also meant the development of a comprehensive control software in the program MATLAB. The control system has been tested with satisfactory results and can now, monitor and control measurements of the EMC-type..

The thesis deals with consumers behaviour in the use of online services and the cultures effect on it. It is a study of Swedes and Danes use of online job data bases. The thesis is based on a quantitative study. A questionnaire were used sent out to 80 Swedes and 80 Danes. The theory concerns areas of online consumer behaviour, decision making and services theory as well as theories within culture in relation to services and behaviour.

Accounting for financial instruments can either be based on a transactions approach or an eco-nomic approach. Under a transactions approach instruments are reported at cost whereas under an economic approach instruments are reported at fair value. Hence, under a transactions approach realization becomes a criterion for recognizing fair value fluctuations as revenue whereas under an economic approach it does not. A mixed model is defined as a combination of the transactions approach and the economic approach insofar it records some accounting items at cost and other items at fair value. The mixed model gives rise to an issue commonly referred to as an accounting mismatch.

Introduktion: Många patienter är beroende av en förändrad kost för att förebygga hjärt- och kärlsjukdomar, stroke, metabolt syndrom och diabetes typ II. Andel vuxna med fetma har fördubblats sedan 1990 och en ökning av fetma fortsätter än idag, trots en ökad fysisk aktivitet bland populationen. För att motivera för förändring av levnadsvanor bör hänsyn tas till tre begrepp; värdighet, self-efficacy och empowerment. Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka om ökad upplevelse av self-efficacy kan främja hälsosamma levnadsvanor och hur sjuksköterskan kan arbeta för att stödja patienter. Metod: Vald metod är en litteraturöversikt.

The forestry companies? operational planning process is these days dependent on reliable, efficient and user-friendly computer-based support systems. This study is an evaluation of Holmen Skog's current computer-based systems. The aim of this study is to: ? investigate the work pattern of the production managers when using the information system to plan the harvesting operation; ? investigate the efficiency and user friendliness of the information system with the different work patterns and to find the strengths, weaknesses and bottlenecks in the current system; ? find out if the type of object, the volume, the area of the harvesting object affects the time and work pattern; ? examine how this type of study is met by the employees and what factors that is critical to avoid feelings of intrusion. The conclusions of the study were: ? there is a large variation between the work patterns of the production managers and the time spend to perform the operational planning; ? the mainframe computer system used by Holmen Skog is clear, has short response times, is robust and conveys relevant information; ? the computer systems are however divided in many subsystems.

The project involves implementing a finished dispersion model into ArcGIS. The goal of the tool is to show how dangerous and toxic substances will travel in the ground after long periods. The goal of the project is to understand GIS in general, what it is used for and gain an insight into how developing tools for ArcGIS is, what challenges might exists. Understanding the type of data that can be stored and accessed in ArcGIS a long with the tools and functionality offered by the system when using Python as the main language for development. A prototype of the tool is created..

Beef cattle wintering outdoors should be provided a shelter, e.g. a type of barn or corresponding. This type of production requires appropriate soil types and secured animal welfare. For example, a clean and dry resting place needs to be provided to the animals. To receive an exemption for buildings the farmer has to have something equivalent that provides an adequate shelter.

Assisted living is a relatively new form of housing that received a government definition in 2007 in conjunction with a government appointed investigation of future alternative accommodation for senior citizens. The type of accommodation is intended for seniors who have the need for increased security, which may be a consequence of that they feel anxious or lonely. It concerns ordinary homes with qualities that suit needs of seniors. There is no allowance from the local municipality required in order for seniors to apply for these homes and so assisted living should not be confused with nursing homes/ sheltered housing. The purpose of this study is to identify success factors for a winning concept for assisted living in the Gothenburg region, on behalf of Skanska Project development.

More than 1000 Swedish Warmblood foals are shown every year at foal inspections which are arranged around the country. Six traits are evaluated at these inspections: type, head-neck-body, correctness of legs, walk, trot and canter. No previous genetic studies have been done on the data from these evaluations. The purpose of this study was to do genetic analyses of the traits which are evaluated at foal inspections. The purpose was also to see if there are any correlations between the results of the foal inspections and the results from the tests of three-year-old horses.

Information is essential in order for pharmaceutical companies to be successful. This essay focuses on the information provision of pre-clinical scientists at AstraZeneca R&D Lund, and the role of the company library in this process. In semi-structured interviews, four pre-clinical scientists were asked to describe their information provision regarding what type of information they need, how they find it and what sources of information they use. Four librarians from the company library were also interviewed to give their perspective on the information provision of pre-clinical scientist. The study also aimed at comparing the image of the process as described by the scientists themselves and the librarians.