| 11. |
- Freij, Ragnar, 1984
(författare)
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Enumeration on words, complexes and polytopes
- 2010
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis presents four papers, studying enumerative problems on combinatorial structures. The first paper studies Forman's discrete Morse theory in the case where a group acts on the underlying complex. We generalize the notion of a Morse matching, and obtain a theory that can be used to simplify the description of the G-homotopy type of a simplicial complex. The main motivation is the case where some group acts transitively on the vertex set of the complex, and G is some large subgroup of this group. In particular we are interested in complexes of graph properties. As an application, we determine the (C_2 x S_{n-2})-homotopy type of the complex of non-connected graphs on n nodes. The motivation behind the second paper is Gil Kalai's conjecture from 1989, that a centrally symmetric d-polytope must have at least 3^d non-empty faces. Looking for examples that are close to achieving the lower bound, we study the centrally symmetric Hansen polytopes, associated to perfect graphs. In particular, we study Hansen polytopes of split graphs. Among them, we find an infinite family of polytopes with 3^d+16 faces. We also prove that a Hansen polytope of a split graph has at least 3^d non-empty faces. The third paper studies the problem of packing a pattern as densely as possible into compositions. We are able to find the packing density for some classes of generalized patterns and all the three letter binary patterns. In the fourth paper, we enumerate derangements with descents in prescribed positions. A generating function was given by Guo-Niu Han and Guoce Xin in 2007. We give a combinatorial proof of this result, and derive several explicit formulas. To this end, we consider fixed point lambda-coloured permutations, which are easily enumerated. Several formulae regarding these numbers are given. We also prove that except in a trivial special case, the event that pi has descents in a set S of positions is positively correlated with the event that pi is a derangement, if pi is chosen uniformly in S_n.
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| 12. |
- Georgsson, Anna, 1964
(författare)
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Barns upplevelser av sin situation och sitt mående när mamma varit utsatt för våld av sin partner
- 2010
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of the present thesis is to describe the consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV) from the perspective of children. Being exposed IPV is a frightening experience that affects children’s development and wellbeing. Not all children, however, display symptoms, and differences connected to gender and age has been demonstrated. In this thesis three empirical studies that deal with children’s experiences of IPV are presented. Study I examines experiences of IPV from the perspective of children. Interviews with 14 children between 8 and 12 years old were analyzed using a thematic method. Three main themes were identified: how children talked about abuse of their mother, described their own actions, and related to or handled memories of violence. Most children confirmed that their mother had been the victim of abuse, but had difficulties describing these experiences. Narratives were often incoherent and difficult to fully understand. In contrast, most of the children seemed to find it easier to describe their own actions during violence and conflicts. Not thinking about IPV was a strategy aimed at reducing unwanted memories; a strategy that also might obstruct creating a narrative. Study II is an exploratory quantitative study, where children’s own reports of symptoms were used. The 41 recruited children, between 7 and 19 years old, were entered into a group program specially directed toward children with experiences of IPV. The children reported experiencing more symptoms overall compared with non-exposed children. The relationship to the abuser and children’s symptoms related differently for boys and for girls. Girls, who had continued contact with the abusive father, described more mental health problems than did other girls and more than did boys with continued contact. Among children with experiences of custody disputes or other judicial processes, age rather than gender was connected to differences in self-reported symptoms. Younger children with experiences of judicial processes reported more mental health problems than did those with no experience. Study III is a follow-up study, describing how children’s symptoms changed after participating in a support program for children with experiences of IPV. Of the 41 children in study II 32 also participated in the follow-up, an 21 children in one year follow-up. The children were positive to the program, but although symptoms had been reduced children still had emotional and behavioral problems in the one-year follow–up.
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| 13. |
- Grip, Karin, 1973
(författare)
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Våld och Trauma. Klientfokuserad utvärdering av behandling för våldsutsatta mammor och deras barn
- 2010
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The general purpose of this thesis was to evaluate a community-based treatment program targeted for mothers subjected to intimate partner violence (IPV) and their children. In an open study the treatment program was evaluated with a repeated measure design. With a patient focused approach the program was analyzed according to its statistical-, practical- and clinical significance. Study I included 42 mothers. At the start of treatment the mothers displayed trauma symptoms and psychiatric symptoms in the clinical range. Furthermore, the mothers had a low sense of coherence and the measure of parental locus of control indicated a high level of resignation concerning child issues. Results based on group means indicated that the mothers showed significantly reduced trauma and psychiatric symptoms and improved their sense of coherence after participating in the program. Surprisingly, no improvement regarding perceived parental locus of control was found. When the results were analyzed with the reliable change index (RCI) at the individual level the treatment gains were more uncertain. Far from the majority of mothers within the clinical symptom range were improved or recovered. Study II examined the mother´s perceived effectiveness of the group treatment for their 46 children (5-14 years old) exposed to IPV. Initially, about half of the children displayed behavioral problems in the clinical range and the majority of children showed posttraumatic stress symptoms. Children´s behavioral problems were reduced significantly following the program and the higher the mother´s initial trauma symptoms the greater were the reduction in child behavioral problems. However, results analyzed at the individual level presented a more complex picture. The majority of children did not show individual changes beyond chance levels on the outcome measure used. The conclusions drawn from the studies concerned the importance of monitoring the treatment progress for each individual and to report results at the group as well as the individual level.
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| 14. |
- Hammar, Oscar, 1977
(författare)
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Inference in a Partially Observed Percolation Process
- 2010
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this licentiate thesis, inference in a partially oberved percolation process living on a graph, is considered. Each edge of the graph is declared open with probability $\theta$ and closed with probability $1-\theta$ independently of the states of all other edges. The inference problem is to draw inference about $\theta$ based on the information on whether or not particular pairs of vertices are connected by open paths. Consistency results under certain conditions on the graph are given for both a Bayesian and a frequentist approach to the inference problem. Moreover, a simulation study is presented which in addition to illustrating the consistency results, also indicates that the consistency results might hold for percolation processes on more general graphs.
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| 15. |
- He, Haoran, 1981
(författare)
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Essays in Environmental Policy Evaluation
- 2010
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Paper 1: The Effects of an Environmental Policy on Consumers – Lessons from the Chinese Plastic Bag Regulation Abstract: In an attempt to reduce plastic bag litter, China introduced a nationwide regulation requiring all retailers to charge for plastic shopping bags on June 1, 2008. By using the policy implementation as a natural experiment and conducting two surveys before and after the implementation, we investigate the impact of the regulation on people’s plastic shopping bag use. We find that the regulation has had a remarkable impact, causing a 49% reduction in the use of new plastic shopping bags and it has also affected various other aspects of plastic shopping bag use behaviors. Nevertheless, the effects of the regulation differ largely among groups of consumers and among places. Paper 2: Can Stated Preference Methods Accurately Predict Responses to Environmental Policies? The Case of a Plastic Bag Regulation in China Abstract: By using a plastic bag regulation implementation as a naturally occurred policy change with between-subject design, this study investigates the validity of stated preference (SP) estimates to predict the change in consumption of an everyday good. Before the regulation, plastic bags in China were provided by shops free of charge for carrying sold commodities back home. We utilized a stated preference (SP) survey technique to elicit consumers’ contingent bag consumption behaviors in certain hypothetical regulation scenarios of bag pricing. Moreover, after the regulation, we conducted another survey using a comparable sample pool for collecting information on actual use of the bags and other relevant information. We thus have unique data to compare consumers’ stated contingent behavior with their revealed actual behavior in connection to a regulation implementation. The comparison results show that consumers’ behavioral reactions to a policy change can be reasonably well predicted by a stated preference (SP) technique.
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| 16. |
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| 17. |
- Jeeweshwara Räsänen, Bahirathy, 1973
(författare)
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Caste transformation. A case study on Vellalah identity in relation to the Tamil nation project in Jaffna, Sri Lanka
- 2010
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The study explores the meanings and practices associated with Vellalah identity in relation to the Tamil nation project in Jaffna, in the northern part of Sri Lanka, with a focus on caste transformation. Given that caste is a culturally sensitive identity and practice of Tamils, the inescapable engagement with the Tamil nation project is investigated here via a case study on Vellalah, the protagonist and hegemonic caste among Tamils. The study in a sense tries to unpack the Sri Lankan conflict as an inside account of Tamils who, as one of the major conflictants of the ethno-national war of more than three decades. It also theoretically sheds light on dynamics, interplay, networking and articulations of a cultural identity while national identity was being sharpened. Three main research questions were addressed in order to capture Vellalah identity transformation: What is meant by Vellalah identity? How do Vellalah perceive caste transformation in terms of their identity and power? How has Vellalah identity been influenced by the elite? Field work was conducted in Jaffna during the period 2004-2007. Narrative methodology has designed the entire project, based on an emic perspective. At a theoretical level, this study discusses the articulations of identity, identity in relation to power, collective identity and thus identity in relation to identification. The nation project is as a comact pack, in this study encompassed by national elite, cultural homogenity, modernity and post national forces, which examines the inter-manoeuvrings of caste. Caste identity in this study is understood through the theoretical notion of habitus, which Bourdieu articulated, together with the theory of cultural schema. As its conclusion , the study highlighted the implicit dimension of identity lingers in the mental stucture lasts longer and is more defiant since it has been internalized compared to the external carriers of identity. The study also showed identity as not being prominent or vigorous in a sense as it is highly tabooed and discrete, has vivacious dynamics in national identity. The Tamil nation project, when it transformed from a constitutional to a militant phase in tha late 1970s, especially in the hands of LTTE, caste was forced to sit on the back seat of the national room. Yet this study captured the motion of caste during this phase, which was vigorous, multiplex and insurmountable, and hence it could not be alleviated. It also showed how Vellalh, as a hegemonic identity construction of Tamil culture in Jaffna had dominated the domains of politics, leadership, relgion, education, land ownership, and thus others castes with their unique lifestyles. It has shown overall how a cultural construction of hegemonic identity had been reproduced the superiority via caste, and hence an 'us and them' within through multiple ways.
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
- Josefsson, Torbjörn, 1965
(författare)
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Mindfullness and meditation experience in relation to attention performance and psychological well-being among meditators and non-meditators
- 2010
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The main purpose of this research project was to study mindfulness and its relation to attention and psychological well-being. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the construct of mindfulness and the mental health benefits associated with mindfulness based programmes, the relation between mindfulness and its proposed core component, self-regulation of attention, was studied. In addition, the hypothesis that meditation practice improves the ability to be mindful in daily life which in turn promotes psychological well-being was also tested. Buddhist and Western mindfulness meditators were compared with non-meditators on tasks of sustained (SART) and executive attention (The Stroop Task). The relation between self-reported mindfulness (FFMQ) with regard to sustained and executive attention was analyzed as well as the relation between meditation experience, five mindfulness facets and psychological well-being. The results showed no significant differences between meditators and non-meditators either in sustained or executive attention. Mixed results were found regarding the relation between self-reported mindfulness and attention. Experienced meditators scored higher than non-meditators on all mindfulness facets except Describe, but when age and gender were controlled for there were significant differences only on two facets. The multiple mediation analysis showed that the five mindfulness facets completely mediated the relation between meditation experience and psychological well-being but no single facet contributed significantly. Simple mediation analyses indicated, however, that Non-React was the primary mediator. Significant directs effects of meditation experience were only found on Non-React and Observe, with a similar trend for Non-Judge, suggesting that these facets are the ones most strongly associated with mindfulness meditation practise. Meditators may have an increased awareness of internal processes and the ability to quickly attend to them but this type of refined attentional ability does not seem to be related to performance on attention tests requiring responses to external targets. The result from the multiple mediation analysis supports the notion that meditation experience is related to increased mindfulness, which in turn is associated with improved psychological well-being.
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| 20. |
- Kalogirou, Stefan, 1981
(författare)
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Fish Community Structure and the Role of Non-Indigenous Species Associated to Seagrass Ecosystems of Eastern Mediterranean
- 2010
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Temporal and spatial variation in density, biomass and body size of littoral fish species associated with near shore Posidonia oceanica meadows were studied throughout an annual cycle in an area of eastern Mediterranean. Approximately 109350 littoral fish were collected, belonging to 34 families and 88 species. Density of fish peaked during the summer due to high densities of juveniles. Season was found to be an important factor in discriminating density of species, while number of species and biomass did not show any obvious seasonal pattern. Temporal variations in density and body size of fish were used to assess the seasonal and ontogenetic habitat use of each species and the affinity to seagrass was assessed in a comparison with each species distribution on sand. Four functional guilds were created to describe the habitat use of P. oceanica meadows for each species encountered including juvenile migrants, seagrass residents, seasonal migrants and occasional visitors. Several species associated with P. oceanica meadows mainly used this habitat for spending their juvenile stages during summer although many species were found to use this habitat both as adults and juveniles at the same time. Among the species encountered, eleven were found to be non indigenous of Indo-Pacific origin, three of them using segrasses mainly as juveniles, and four as residents. In an earlier study the composition of the diet of the Indo-Pacific cornetfish Fistularia commersonii from the SE Aegean Sea was described. Dietary comparisons were made reflecting the relationship between diet composition, time of year, and fish size. Correlation between predator length and prey length was significant. The diet of the blue cornetfish consists of 96% by number and 99.95% by weight of fish. Size classification and habitat of prey groups (benthic, supra-benthic, and pelagic) showed that with increased body length the blue cornetfish extended its diet to larger prey and more generalist feeding.
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