| 1. |
- Andersson, Janicke, 1975-
(författare)
-
Konsten att leva längre : Föreställningar om livets förändring i handböcker 1700-1930
- 2007
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The aim of this thesis is to explore discursive changes in conceptions of life course and ageing. I am particularly concerned with the relationship between knowledge and power in the distribution of prolongevity and body- technologies, and as referential frame in the definition of normal and deviant bodies and behaviour. Following the historical processes this study includes advisory literature in the field of prolongevity from 1700-1930. As a conclusion I have distinguished four categories of legends in the material. In analyzing the legends: Antediluvian legends, Hyperborean legends, Fountain legends, and Centenarian legends. The legends of prolongevity intermediate ideas of human ageing in, and between cultures, On a meta-level there has been three discourses intertwining each other in the making of present images on prolongevity and successful ageing: Religion, Science and The Natural. In e discursive struggle during the studied years those components have been competing for domination and space on the prolongevity agenda. The advices reflect a belief in the possibility to transform by means of moderation and harmony; a belief that grew in the eighteenth century and enhanced during the following centuries. The aim was to improve human nature to an ennobled version of her self according to divine standards. Prolongevity was in 1700-1930 a question of reaching a pre-designated length of life given by God or Nature. Today we do not believe in pre-designated life-length we only believe in prolongation. We do want the paradise but we want it here on earth, and we want to be in charge.
|
|
| 2. |
- Bengtsson, Jerker
(författare)
-
Models and Methods for Development of DSP Applications on Manycore Processors
- 2009
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Advanced digital signal processing systems require specialized high-performance embedded computer architectures. The term high-performance translates to large amounts of data and computations per time unit. The term embedded further implies requirements on physical size and power efficiency. Thus the requirements are of both functional and non-functional nature. This thesis addresses the development of high-performance digital signal processing systems relying on manycore technology. We propose building two-level hierarchical computer architectures for this domain of applications. Further, we outline a tool flow based on methods and analysis techniques for automated, multi-objective mapping of such applications on distributed memory manycore processors. In particular, the focus is put on how to provide a means for tunable strategies for mapping of task graphs on array structured distributed memory manycores, with respect to given application constraints. We argue for code mapping strategies based on predicted execution performance, which can be used in an auto-tuning feedback loop or to guide manual tuning directed by the programmer. Automated parallelization, optimisation and mapping to a manycore processor benefits from the use of a concurrent programming model as the starting point. Such a model allows the programmer to express different types and granularities of parallelism as well as computation characteristics of importance in the addressed class of applications. The programming model should also abstract away machine dependent hardware details. The analytical study of WCDMA baseband processing in radio base stations, presented in this thesis, suggests dataflow models as a good match to the characteristics of the application and as execution model abstracting computations on a manycore. Construction of portable tools further requires a manycore machine model and an intermediate representation. The models are needed in order to decouple algorithms, used to transform and map application software, from hardware. We propose a manycore machine model that captures common hardware resources, as well as resource dependent performance metrics for parallel computation and communication. Further, we have developed a multifunctional intermediate representation, which can be used as source for code generation and for dynamic execution analysis. Finally, we demonstrate how we can dynamically analyse execution using abstract interpretation on the intermediate representation. It is shown that the performance predictions can be used to accurately rank different mappings by best throughput or shortest end-to-end computation latency.
|
|
| 3. |
- Bengtsson, Ola
(författare)
-
Robust self-localization of mobile robots in dynamic environments using scan matching algorithms
- 2006
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The most fundamental task for any mobile robot is to perform self-localization in the world in which it is currently active, i.e. determine its position relative its world. Encoders that count wheel rotations are often used, which can be turned into relative position estimates by mean of integration. This process is commonly referred to as dead reckoning. Unfortunately, the errors in such position estimates grow over time due to the underlying measurements errors, which means that the errors in the dead reckoning estimates must be regularly corrected by absolute postion estimates provided by other sensors. The goal of this thesis is to evaluate the possibilities of using so called scan mathing algorithms for robust position estimation of a mobile robot, especially in environments that change over time. A scan is a set o range measurements of the environment provided by e.g. a laser scanner. By comparing a scan taken at the actual poition of the robot with a scan previously taken and stored in a map of the environment, an estimate of the absolute position of the robot can be obtained. It is important that scan matching algorithms are robust against changes in the environments, are robust against different types of environments and can judge their own results.The main contributions of the thesis are threefold. First, two new sector-based scan matching algorithms are presented that are based on two existing scan-matching algorithms known as the Cox's and IDC algorithm. The sector-based variants, Cox-S and IDC-S, increase the performance of the existing algorithms, especially in environments containing severe changes. Second, two new methods are presented for estimating the uncertainty of the IDC algorithm. These methods improve the self-judgment of the IDC and IDC-S significantly, as the existing method for estimating the uncertainty was not reliable. Third, the new sector-based scan matching algorithms are evaluated and compared to the existing algorithms on the basis of simulations and real world experiments made with two different mobile robots. The experiments focus on the performance of the algorithms in hanging environments, and on their performance as part of a complete loalization system, i.e. fusing the outcome with dead reckoning. The experiments show a clear advantage of using sector-based scan matching algorithms in terms of increased robustness against changed environments. The experiments show that use especially of a combination of the two sector based algorithms Cox-S and IDC-S, while also using the new method for estimating the uncertainty of the IDC-S, achieves significantly better performance in changing environments compared to the existing algorithms.
|
|
| 4. |
- Berg, Martin, 1977-
(författare)
-
Självets garderobiär : självreflexiva genuslekar och queer socialpsykologi
- 2008
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Det övergripande syftet med föreliggande studie är tudelat. För det första syftar den till att på teoretisk väg etablera en dialog mellan queerteoretisk och socialpsykologisk teoribildning om aktörer och aktörsskap med utgångspunkt i en kritisk läsning av Judith Butler och George Herbert Mead. För det andra syftar den till att på empirisk väg utveckla och fördjupa denna dialog i syfte att demonstrera och resonera kring de möjligheter som uppstår i spänningen mellan dessa teoretiska perspektiv. På detta sätt är avsikten att föra ett bidrag till såväl den queer- och genusteoretiska debatten som dess socialpsykologiska motsvarighet. Ambitionen är att detta sammantaget kan utgöra ett ramverk i vilket möjligheterna med en queer socialpsykologi skisseras. I jämförelsen mellan dessa teoretiska perspektiv fokuseras på frågan om hur människor antas bli till som aktörer och under vilka villkor och genom vilka processer detta äger rum. I centrum för denna diskussion positioneras relationen mellan deras respektive antagande om struktur och aktör samt hur denna relaterar till och förutsätts vara uppburen genom något slags praktik. För det andra diskuteras individens möjlighet att omförhandla sitt förvärvade aktörsskap och genom vilka processer och praktiker detta eventuellt kan göras möjligt. Avhandlingen är uppdelad i fyra delar. Den inledande delen (del 1: Inledande ord) introducerar studiens övergripande bakgrund, teoretiska position, syfte, material och de metodologiska överväganden som har gjorts under forskningsresans gång. Den andra delen (del 2: Teoretiska interventioner) utvecklar i tre kapitel den diskussion om spänningen mellan queerteori och socialpsykologi som påbörjades i avhandlingens första och inledande kapitel. I ett första kapitel fokuseras på Judith Butler för att ringa in och granska några centrala argument och faktorer i hennes tänkande. I ett andra kapitel diskuteras George Herbert Mead för att, i likhet med föregående kapitel, presentera hans övergripande argument och huvudsakliga tankegångar. Avslutningsvis avrundas avhandlingens andra del med ett kapitel som syftar till att summera och utveckla den spänningsrelation som hittas mellan dessa två teoretiker samtidigt som en diskussion förs om de möjligheter en empirisk utveckling av den teoretiska problematiken skulle kunna bidra med. Den teoretiska spänning som lokaliseras mellan Mead och Butler kretsar i första hand kring deras förståelse av relationen mellan aktör och praktik och med utgångspunkt i denna formuleras arbetsbegreppen transaktör och transpraktik som genomgående används i presentationen av det empiriska materialet. Avhandlingens tredje del (del 3: Empiriska nedslag) är i första hand av empirisk karaktär och är uppdelad i två kapitel. I det första av dessa förs en diskussion om hur de självreflexiva genuslekarna inbegriper formulerandet av ett särskilt transgenus och på vad sätt det är möjligt att förstå iscensättandet av genus som en i första hand självkommunikativ praktik. Gradvis demonstreras hur det går att utläsa en önskan om att iscensätta genus tillsammans med andra människor och därför kretsar det följande kapitlet kring en diskussion om betydelsen av social interaktion för detta iscensättande. Med andra ord går det att utläsa en rörelse från självkommunikation till (önskad) social interaktion och detta är ett tema som tydligt ringar in en stor del av den teoretiska problematik som genomsyrar denna studie. I den fjärde och avslutande delen (del 4: Avslutande reflektioner) knyts i tre kapitel de resonemang som hittills har presenterats och diskuterats ihop. Det inledande kapitlet för en teoretiskt orienterad diskussion om den föregående genomgången av det empiriska materialet. I ett därpå följande kapitel fokuseras på olika aspekter av självreflexiva genuslekar i relation till den klädda kroppen för att visa hur den tidigare presenterade praktik- och aktörsproblematiken är avhängig den klädda kroppens genusprägling. I detta sammanhang visas hur det är möjligt att upprätta en relation mellan självets framväxt, subjektivitet och den klädda kroppen. Avslutningsvis förs ett kortfattat resonemang kring avhandlingens huvudsakliga argumentationslinjer och vilka möjligheter ett tänkande inspirerat av queer socialpsykologi för med sig.
|
|
| 5. |
- Bilstrup, Urban, 1971-
(författare)
-
Bluetooth and Wireless Multihop Networks in Industrial Communication Systems
- 2008
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The objective of this thesis is to investigate the use of short-range wireless communication technology in industrial communication systems where there is a need for guaranteed timely delivery of correct information. Methods for achieving such capability are developed in the context of the physical layer, the data link layer and the application layer. Based on the insight that it is impossible to achieve strict determinism in a wireless communication system, a probabilistic definition of hard real-time systems is suggested, and thus a guarantee is given in the form of the probability of fulfilling a certain goal. Since a wireless channel is time variant, it is also necessary to continuously keep track of available resources. Allocation and link management methods for wireless communication systems therefore need to be dynamic and of an online character. An exhaustive resource allocation method with redundancy is first proposed for single message delivery and then extended for the operation of a single Bluetooth piconet. However, many devices in an industrial automation system have limited computational resources, especially if wireless sensors/actuators powered by battery or wireless power are considered. This implies that methods used for resource allocation must be of low computational complexity. The complexity issue becomes evident when large systems are implemented, even if each individual sensor generates small amounts of data. The upstream and downstream flows of data grow rapidly in a hierarchical system with many sub-systems, sensors and actuators. It is empirically shown that the aggregated data flow in a monitoring system requires powerful communication nodes already at low levels in the industrial communication hierarchy. A predictable system requires that representative entities for the available resources are defined. In a communication system with a single broadcast domain, such as a single Bluetooth piconet, the resource space is often limited to the time domain. When a multihop wireless network with multiple broadcast domains is considered, the spatial domain is added as an available resource and, if a multi-channel radio transceiver is used, the frequency is also added as an available resource domain. These three domains represent the physical resource space that is available for a wireless multihop network. These are subject to trade-off in all of the three lowest protocol layers, and one of the most challenging problems in the design of a wireless multihop network is how to achieve efficient sharing of these resources. This problem is addressed by proposing a clustered architecture based on a dual-radio node that enables dynamic use of these resource domains.
|
|
| 6. |
- Blomkvist, Marita, 1959-
(författare)
-
Entreprenörer som redovisare : bokslutsprocessen i Gasellföretag
- 2008
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Entrepreneurs seem to be highly valuable for the firms in which they are involved. However, the knowledge of the role of accounting in a context of entrepreneurship is limited. In fact, some literature on entrepreneurship indicates that the role of accounting is only about the past and therefore not of interest for entrepreneurs in the entrepreneurial process.This dissertation reports the results of two empirical studies. The first study is a qualitative pilot study of five entrepreneurs in fast growing firms and their participation in the year-end procedure. The respondents were presented the adjustments in the final step of the recording process and the annual report in order to assess their participation and to focus on how the entrepreneurs as producers of accounting reflect and act in relation to other actors and to the process of reporting. The pilot study found that the entrepreneurs were certainly involved in use and produce of certain accounting in the year-end procedures. The second study is based on the result from the pilot study and on agency theory the study aimed to describe and explain how and why entrepreneurs in successful fast growing firms, i.e. Gazelle firms, compared with a control group of managers in not growing firms, are participating in the year-end procedures. Also, the study aimed to analyse differences between entrepreneurs´ participation and other managers´ participation in this process. The study focused on the activities in the year-end procedures concerned with the values of R&D, stock and work-in-progress and accounts receivables. In order to find entrepreneurs the survey was sent to a sample of 257 managers of Gazelle firms and to a sample of 227 managers in not growing firms. Also, the annual report from the firms where the respondents where involved were collected. This data was also included in the study. The responding rate was 50% from both groups. The most notable finding is, in contradiction to literature on entrepreneurship, that entrepreneurs in Gazelle firms use and produce formal financial accounting information. Entrepreneurs in Gazelle firms spend more time and they are also involved in discussions with more actors compared with managers in not growing firms. Further, the results indicate that entrepreneurs in Gazelle firms will participate to a larger extent when the profitability in the firm decreases compared to managers in not growing firms. Finally, the dissertation gives insight in the role of formal financial accounting in the context of entrepreneurship, a research area we know little about.
|
|
| 7. |
- Bolse, Kärstin
(författare)
-
Caring for Patients with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Experiences of Patients and Healthcare Professionals
- 2009
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: An Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) is a technical device used in the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias. After the implantation of an ICD the entire life situation can be affected with psychological and social consequences for the patient and his/her next of kin. The healthcare professionals play a vital role in providing educational information, support, and technical follow-up of the device. During recent years more and more hospitals have introduced a more team based organisation where the physicians collaborate with specialised ICD nurses. Aim: The overall aim of the thesis was to explore how patients with an ICD experienced their life situation and howhealthcare professionals described their experiences of delivering care to ICD patients. Methods: The design was descriptive, combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches, and the data was collected from Sweden and the USA. The Uncertainty of Illness Scale (MUIS-C) and Quality of life Index (QLI) instruments were used to determine the level of uncertainty and satisfaction with life (I), in-depth interviews with a phenomenographic approach was used to describe how Swedish and US patients living with an ICD conceived their life situation (II, III) and how healthcare professionals’ experienced delivering care to patients with an ICD, (IV). Finally, to explore clinical aspects of ICD care in Sweden, the Delivery of ICD Questionnaire (DOIQ) was used to describe the healthcare professionals’ experiences and a content analysis was used to describe the written educational information material provided to patients (V). Results: There were no differences in uncertainty between pre and post ICD implantation either in Swedish or the US patients. Satisfaction with life was significantly higher among US patients compared to Swedish patients both before and after ICD implantation within the health-functioning, socio-economic and psychological-spiritual domains. The Swedish ICD patients experienced a significantly higher satisfaction with life within the socioeconomic domain after 3 months. (I). The patients felt safe in having an ICD implanted, but the conceptions varied from seeing the device as a life saver to being worried about what could happen. Gratitude at having an ICD varied from happiness at being alive to something that was alien and disturbed the patient. Being more or less dependent included how patient experienced feelings from well-being to grief. Having a network varied from having sufficient support to loneliness. Having a belief in the future ranged from having confidence to look forward to resignation. Gaining awareness described patients’ adaptation to living with an ICD and limitations due to the ICD (II). The patients also underwent a transition from becoming aware of the restriction in the life situation through a process of adaption and having trust in the ICD. This phase was followed by a reorientation phase where they adapted to their life situation and the patient and his/her family regained of their lives (III). The healthcare professionals strove to provide competent and individualised care and infuse confirmation to the patients in form of information, education and support. They gave the patients tools to handle their life situation, through existential support and mediating security (IV). Half of the hospitals had nurse-based clinic and others planned to introduce them. Three hospitals performed follow-up in the form of remote home monitoring. The nurse had specific ICD education from ICD companies and/or various university courses. In the educational information material the biophysical dimensions dominated while the emotional dimension was scarcely described, and the spiritual-existential was not referred to at all (V). Conclusions: This thesis offers a further contribution to the scholarly discussion about the relationship between technology and human existence and how to cope with this transition. Our studies revealed that the embodiment of the ICD reflects a merger of experiences about its presence and potential from both patients’ and healthcare professionals’ perspective. This research hopefully encourages healthcare professionals to carefully reflect on what it is like to live with an ICD and to consider practice improvement for the patients’ and the next of kin.
|
|
| 8. |
- Brorsson, Sofia
(författare)
-
Biomechanical studies of finger extension function. Analysis with a new force measuring device and ultrasound examination in rheumatoid arthritis and healhty muscles
- 2008
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Aims: The overall aim of this thesis was to further our understanding of extensor muscles and their role for hand function. The aims of the studies were: To develop and evaluate a new device for finger extensor force measurements. To evaluate ultrasound as a tool for assessment of muscle architecture. To determine the correlation between extensor muscle force and hand function. To evaluate the degree of impaired finger extensor force in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the correlation to impaired hand function. To analyse the effect of hand exercise in RA patients and healthy subjects with ultrasound and finger extension force measurements. Method: A new finger extension force measuring device was developed and an ultrasound based method was used to be able to objectively measure the finger extension force and analyze the static and dynamic extensor muscle architectures. Measurements were made of healthy volunteers (n=127) and RA patients (n=77) during uninfluenced and experimental conditions. A hand exercise program was performed and evaluated with hand force measurements, hand function test, patient relevant questionnaires (DASH and SF-36) and ultrasound measurements. Results: The new finger extension force measurement device was developed and then validated with measurements of accuracy as well as test-retest reliability. The coefficient of variation was 1.8 % of the applied load, and the test-retest reliability showed a coefficient of variation no more than 7.1% for healthy subjects. Ultrasound examination on m. extensor digitorum communis (EDC) showed significant differences between healthy men and healthy women as well as between healthy women and RA patients. The extension and flexion force improved in both groups after six weeks of hand exercise (p<0.01). Hand function improved in both groups (p<0.01). The RA group showed improvement in the results of the DASH questionnaire (p<0.05). The cross-sectional area of the EDC increased significantly in both groups. Conclusions: A new finger extension force measuring device has been developed which provides objective and reliable data on the extension force capacity of normal and dysfunctional hands and is sufficiently sensitive to evaluate the effects of hand exercise. US provide useful information about muscle architecture. A significant improvement of hand strength and hand function in RA patients was seen after six weeks of hand training, the improvement was even more pronounced after 12 weeks. Hand exercise is thus an effective intervention for RA patients, providing better strength and function.
|
|
| 9. |
- Byttner, Stefan
(författare)
-
Real-time control of an SI engine using ion current based algorithms
- 2005
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Reducing emissions and improving fuel efficiency in automobiles are today important issues. New sensor techniques are developed to extract detailed combustion information to enable closed loop engine control. This thesis is about a virtual sensor; measuring an ion current inside the cylinder by using the already existing spark plug, followed by signal processing for estimation of combustion parameters. First, the thesis aims to show that the ion current signal can be used for closed loop control of Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR). Use of EGR is very common in modern automobiles because of the potential reduction of NOx emissions and fuel consumption, but using too much EGR can have the reverse effect (e.g. increased fuel consumption and driveability problems). Algorithms for estimating combustion variability are proposed and a closed loop scheme for controlling an EGR valve is demonstrated for driving on the highway in a SAAB 9000. Estimation of the pressure peak position is treated for closed loop control of ignition timing. Such estimation can be performed with the ion current but may not work if a fuel additive is used. Different methods are compared and it is shown that using a fuel additive may even improve the estimation accuracy of the pressure peak position with about 25%. An algorithm is also proposed to estimate the pressure peak position even in presence of EGR. Strategies for transient control of the air-fuel ratio are also compared. Air-fuel ratio control is important because even small deviations from the stoichiometric value can result in significantly increased emissions. It is found that a neural network based controller had the best performance with approximately 23% lower RMS error than the adapted standard control module.
|
|
| 10. |
- Englund, Cristofer
(författare)
-
Modelling and controlling an offset lithographic printing process
- 2007
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The objective of this thesis is to provide methods for print quality enhancements in an offset lithographic printing proess. Various parameters characterising the print quality are recognised, however, in this work print quality is defined as the deviation of the amount of ink in a sample image from the reference print.The methods developed are model-based and historical data collected at the printing press are used to build the models. Inherent in the historical process data are outliers owing to sensor faults, measurement errors and impurity of the material used. It is essential to detect and remove these outliers to avoid using them to update the process models. A process modelbased outlieer detection tool has been proposed. Several diagnostic measures are ombined via a neural network to achieve robust data categorisation into inlier and outlier classes.To cope with the slow variation in printing process data, a SOM-based data mining and adaptive modelling technique has been proposed. The technique continously updates the data set characterising the process and the process models if they become out-of-date. A SOM-based approach to model ombination has been proposed to permit the cration of adaptive - data dependet - committees.A multiple models-based controller, which employs the process models developed, is combined with an integrating controller to achieve robust ink feed control. Results have shown that the robust ink feed controller is capable of controlling the ink feed in the newspaper printing press according to the desired process output. Based on the process modelling, techniques have also been developed for initialising the printing press in order to reduce the time needed to achieve the desired print quality. The use of the developed methods and tools at a print shop in Halmstad, Sweden, resulted in higher print quality and lower ink and paper waste.
|
|
