Topographic, Hydraulic, and Vegetative Controls on Bar and Island Development in Mixed Bedrock‐Alluvial, Multichanneled, Dryland Rivers

We investigate processes of bedrock‐core bar and island development in a bedrock‐influenced anastomosed reach of the Sabie River, Kruger National Park (KNP), eastern South Africa. For sites subject to alluvial stripping during an extreme flood event (~4470‐5630 m3 s‐1) in 2012, pre‐ and post‐flood aerial photographs and LiDAR data, 2D morphodynamic simulations, and field observations reveal that the thickest surviving alluvial deposits tend to be located over bedrock topographic lows. At a simulated peak discharge (~4500 m3 s‐1), most sediment (sand, fine gravel) is mobile but localized deposition on bedrock topographic highs is possible. At lower simulated discharges (<1000 m3 s‐1), topographic highs are not submerged, and deposition occurs in lower elevation areas, particularly in areas disconnected from the main channels during falling stage. Field observations suggest that in addition to discharge, rainwash between floods may redistribute sediments from bedrock topographic highs to lower elevation areas, and also highlight the critical role of vegetation colonization in bar stability, and in trapping of additional sediment and organics. These findings challenge the assumptions of preferential deposition on topographic highs that underpin previous analyses of KNP river dynamics, and are synthesized in a new conceptual model that demonstrates how initial bedrock topographic lows become topographic highs (bedrock core‐bars and islands) in the latter stages of sediment accumulation. The model provides particular insight into the development of mixed bedrock‐alluvial anastomosing along the KNP rivers, but similar processes of bar/island development likely occur along numerous other bedrock‐influenced rivers across dryland southern Africa and farther afield

The micromorphology of glaciolacustrine varve sediments and their use for reconstructing palaeoglaciological and palaeoenvironmental change

Former glaciolacustrine systems are an important archive of palaeoglaciological, palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic change. The annually laminated (varved) sediments that, under certain conditions, accumulate in former glacial lakes, offer a rare opportunity to reconstruct such changes (e.g. glacier advance and retreat cycles, glacier ablation trends, permafrost melt, nival events) at annual or even sub-annual temporal resolution. Data of this kind are desirable for their ability to guide and test numerical model simulations of glacier dynamics and palaeoclimatic change that occur over rapid time intervals, with implications for predicting future glacier response to climatic change, or the effects of weather and climate events on lake sedimentation. The most valuable records preserved in glaciolacustrine systems are continuous varved sequences formed in the distal parts of glacial lakes, where microscale lamination structures can accumulate relatively undisturbed. Technological advances, in the last few decades, have enabled improved characterisation of glaciolacustrine varve microfacies and the precise measurement of varve thickness at the micrometre scale. However, unlike in cognate fields (e.g. soil science), protocols for the robust and consistent description and interpretation of glaciolacustrine varve sediments are lacking. To fill this gap, and to provide a resource for future studies of glaciolacustrine varved sediments, this paper reviews the processes of sedimentation in glacial lake basins, and presents the defining microfacies characteristics of glacial varves using a descriptive protocol that uses consistent examination of grain size, sorting, structure, nature of contacts, development of plasmic fabrics and features such as dropgrains and intraclasts within individual laminations. These lamination types are then combined into lamination sets, whose structures can be interpreted as glaciolacustrine varves. Within this framework, we define five principal assemblages of glaciolacustrine varve microfacies which, if clearly identified in palaeoglaciolacustrine settings, enable more detailed palaeoenvironmental interpretations to be made. Finally, we discuss the utility and complexities of reconstructing the evolution of former glacial lake systems using varve microfacies and thickness datasets

Controls on tidal sedimentation and preservation : Insights from numerical tidal modelling in the Late Oligocene–Miocene South China Sea, Southeast Asia

Numerical tidal modelling, when integrated with other geological datasets, can significantly inform the analysis of physical sedimentation processes and the depositional and preservational record of ancient tide-influenced shoreline–shelf systems. This is illustrated in the Oligo–Miocene of the South China Sea (SCS), which experienced significant changes in basin physiography and where tide-influenced, shoreline–shelf deposition is preserved in ca 10 sub-basins. Palaeogeographic reconstructions, palaeotidal modelling and regional sedimentary facies analysis have been integrated in order to evaluate the spatial–temporal evolution and physiographic controls on tidal sedimentation and preservation during the ca 25 Myr Oligo–Miocene record in the SCS. Palaeotidal modelling, using an astronomically forced and global tidal model (Fluidity) at a maximum 10 km resolution, indicates that spring tides along Late Oligocene–Middle Miocene coastlines were predominantly mesotidal– macrotidal and capable of transporting sand, which reflects two main conditions: (1) increased tidal inflow through wider ocean connections to the Pacific Ocean; and (2) tidal amplification resulting from constriction of the tidal wave in a ‘blind gulf’ type of basin morphology. Since the Middle–Late Miocene, a reduction in the amplitude and strength of tides in the SCS was mainly due to diminishing tidal inflow from the Pacific Ocean caused by the northward movement of the Philippines and Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc. Sensitivity tests to palaeogeographic and palaeobathymetric uncertainty indicate that regional–scale (100–1000s 29 km) palaeogeographic changes influencing tidal inflow versus outflow can override local30 scale (1–100s km) changes to tidal resonance and convergence effects (funnelling and shoaling), such as shelf width and shoreline geometry. Palaeotidal model results compare favourably to the distribution and sedimentary fabric of Oligo–Miocene, tide-influenced, shoreline–shelf successions in peripheral SCS basins. However, the preservation potential of tidal deposits is lower in open coastline environments, probably due to enhanced reworking during storms and river floods

Individanpassad undervisning : Hinder och utmaningar utifrån ett ramfaktorteoretiskt perspektiv

Syftet med undersökningen var att med bakgrund i en ramfaktorteoretisk ansats studera vad nio lärare på gymnasienivå tycker om möjligheterna och förutsättningarna att kunna bedriva individanpassad undervisning i skolan, framförallt med fokus på formativ bedömning. De ramfaktorer som valdes att studera rörde framförallt läroplanens innehåll, gruppsammansätt- ningen, gruppstorlek och förutsättningar med avseende på tid till undervisning. Studiens undersökningsmetod har varit semistukturerade intervjuer med nio legitimerade gymnasielärare och resultatet i studien är uppbygd kring en tematisk analys kring studiens frågeställning; Vilka hinder finns för att bedriva individanpassad undervisning? Hur löser lä- rare dessa hinder? Varför uppstår dessa hinder? Finns det möjligheter att förbättra lärares ramvillkor? Studien visar på att lärare tycker att det finns stora svårigheter att jobba efter de förutsättning- ar som nu erbjuds i skolan i relation till de krav från läroplanen som finns för att bedriva en individanpassad undervisning. De framhäver framförallt en vilja att få bättre förutsättningar eller mer avsatt tid för att kunna fokusera större del av arbetet i skolan mot arbetet med for- mativ bedömning

Autonomous agents in Industry 4.0 : A self-optimizing approach for automated guided vehicles in Industry 4.0 environments

Automated guided vehicles are an integral part of industrial production today. They are moving products to and from shelves in storage warehouses and fetching tools between different workstations in factories. These robots usually follow strict pre-determined paths and are not good at adapting to changes in the environment. Technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning are currently being implemented in industrial production, a part of what is called Industry 4.0, with the aim of increasing efficiency and automation. Industry 4.0 is also characterized by more connected factory environments, where objects communicate their status, location, and other relevant information to their surroundings. Automated guided vehicles can take advantage of these technologies and can benefit from self-optimizing approaches for better navigation and increased flexibility. Reinforcement learning is used in this project to teach automated guided vehicles to move objects around in an Industry 4.0 warehouse environment. A 10x10 grid world with numerous object destinations, charging stations and agents is created for evaluation purposes. The results show that the agents are able to learn to take efficient routes by balancing the need to finish tasks as fast as possible and recharge their batteries when needed. The agents successfully complete all tasks without running out of battery or colliding with objects in the environment. The result is a demonstration of how reinforcement learning can be applied to automated guided vehicles in Industry 4.0 environments.Automatiserade styrda fordon är en integrerad del av dagens industriproduktion. De flyttar produkter till och från hyllor i lagerlokaler och hämtar verktyg mellan olika arbetsstationer i fabriker. Dessa robotar följer vanligtvis strikta förutbestämda vägar och är inte bra på att anpassa sig till förändringar i miljön. Teknik som artificiell intelligens och maskininlärning implementeras just nu i industriproduktion, en del av det som kallas Industri 4.0, i syfte om ökad effektivitet och automatisering. Industri 4.0 kännetecknas också av mer uppkopplade fabriksmiljöer, där objekt kommunicerar sin status, plats och annan relevant information till sin omgivning. Automatiserade styrda fordon kan utnyttja de här teknikerna och kan dra nytta av självoptimerande metoder för bättre navigering och ökad flexibilitet. Förstärkningsinlärning används i detta projekt för att lära automatiserade styrda fordon att flytta runt föremål i en Industri 4.0 lagermiljö. En 10x10 stor rut-värld med flertalet destinationer, laddningsstationer och agenter skapas i utvärderingssyfte. Resultaten visar att agenterna kan lära sig att ta effektiva vägar genom att balansera behovet av att slutföra sina uppgifter så fort som möjligt och ladda upp sina batterier när det behövs. Agenterna slutför framgångsrikt sina uppgifter utan att få slut på batteri eller att kollidera med föremål i miljön. Resultatet är en demonstration av hur förstärkningsinlärning kan tillämpas på automatiserade styrda fordon i Industri 4.0-miljöer

Konsumentens val av fastighetsmäklare

Titel: Konsumentens val av fastighetsmäklare Ämne: Kandidatuppsats i företagsekonomi. Författare: Elin Hjulström Nyckelord: Marknadsföring, relationer, tjänst, lojalitet, fastighetsmäklare. Problemformulering: Vilka kriterier anser småhussäljare påverkar deras val av fastighetsmäklare och vilka av dem är avgörande i valet? Hur ska fastighetsmäklaren agera i och inför en fastighetsaffär för att skapa förtroende och för att få kunden att återkomma? Syfte: Att beskriva vilka kriterier som är viktiga och avgörande när en bostadssäljare väljer fastighetsmäklare. Teori: Som utgångspunkt används en modell över tjänstemarknadsföringsprocessen. Teori behandlas kring de olika stegen i modellen; önskemål och behov, utveckla och kommunicera tjänsterbjudandet, kundens förväntningar, kundmötet samt skapandet av kvalitet och lojalitet.  Metod: Kvalitativa intervjuer har genomförts med fem konsumenter som nyligen har anlitat en mäklare. Respondenterna har relativt fritt fått berätta om deras val av fastighetsmäklare samt om hur de anser att processen har fortlöpt. Slutsats: Tre faktorer har visat sig vara avgörande i valet av fastighetsmäklare. Den första är förtroende för mäklaren som person framför allt men att mäklarfirmans rykte och image speglar seriositet spelar också en stor roll. Den andra gäller personkemin mellan säljaren och fastighetsmäklaren. De måste trivas tillsammans och det måste fungera att arbeta tillsammans under den period som försäljningen tar. Den tredje är fastighetsmäklarens bemötande mot kunden, att mäklaren uppträder professionellt och har förståelse för kundens behov. Mäklaren ska vara engagerad och hela tiden hålla säljaren uppdaterad och informerad om vad som händer i affären. Till skillnad från tidigare studier på området har även hårde värden som arvodets storlek och tjänstens innehåll visat sig ha betydelse

School - A good place for learning, but maybe not for making mistakes : Students' perceptions of formative assessment and feedback

The purpose of the study was to examine seven upper-secondary school students' perceptions of teachers' use of formative assessment and feedback in the classroom. The basis for the study was Wiliam (2017) and Hattie's (2008) theories on formative assessment and visible learning. The study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with seven students from six different schools to find out what their perceptions were about the use of formative assessment in the school environment. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results of the study show that most students experience a fear of failure in their studies. More specifically, the students reported that they had difficulty understanding and using the teachers’ feedback and that this feedback was often perceived as negative. They also find it difficult to interpret what the teacher wants to say with their feedback and they do not dare to challenge themselves in the tasks they are given by teachers due to the fear of making mistakes. There are challenges in how teachers give students feedback and also how feedback is used by students. Mostly the challenge concerns the time it takes for students to get feedback from their teachers, also the difficulty for teachers and students to work formatively with learning platforms. The students reported that learning platforms risk acting more as a way for students to see what level they are reaching in courses, rather than helping students to develop