Primary school students’ perception of technology

Research on students’ perceptions and understanding of technology has shown that students have a narrow view of technology: for example, technology is often manifested in students’ descriptions as artefacts or objects. This paper aims at investigating how students develop understanding of how technology is manifested during classroom activities in technology. The study was conducted at a compulsory primary school with eight-year-old students. The data (video and audio recordings) were collected in small-group interactions and whole-class discussions. In the interactions, the students utilised self-taken photographs to visualise their understanding and perception of technology. The analysing process is grounded in Mitcham’s (1994) manifestations of technology: object, activity, volition, and knowledge. Based on the students’ prior knowledge, they perceived technology as contemporary electrical artefacts. The findings indicate that students achieve a more nuanced perception and understanding of technology as objects during classroom activities in technology

On the Entropy of a Two Step Random Fibonacci Substitution

Nilsson J. On the Entropy of a Two Step Random Fibonacci Substitution. Entropy. 2013;15(9):3312-3324.We consider a random generalization of the classical Fibonacci substitution. The substitution we consider is defined as the rule mapping, a → baa and b → ab, with probability , and → ba, with probability 1 – p for 0 < p < 1, and where the random rule is applied each time it acts on a . We show that the topological entropy of this object is given by the growth rate of the set of inflated random Fibonacci words, and we exactly calculate its value

Memory for Stimulus Sequences: a Divide between Humans and Other Animals?

Humans stand out among animals for their unique capacities in domains such as language, culture and imitation, yet it has been difficult to identify cognitive elements that are specifically human. Most research has focused on how information is processed after it is acquired, e.g. in problem solving or ‘insight’ tasks, but we may also look for species differences in the initial acquisition and coding of information. Here, we show that non-human species have only a limited capacity to discriminate ordered sequences of stimuli. Collating data from 108 experiments on stimulus sequence discrimination (1540 data points from 14 bird and mammal species), we demonstrate pervasive and systematic errors, such as confusing a red–green sequence of lights with green–red and green–green sequences. These errors can persist after thousands of learning trials in tasks that humans learn to near perfection within tens of trials. To elucidate the causes of such poor performance, we formulate and test a mathematical model of non-human sequence discrimination, assuming that animals represent sequences as unstructured collections of memory traces. This representation carries only approximate information about stimulus duration, recency, order and frequency, yet our model predicts non-human performance with a 5.9% mean absolute error across 68 datasets. Because human-level cognition requires more accurate encoding of sequential information than afforded by memory traces, we conclude that improved coding of sequential information is a key cognitiv

Kyckling från uppfödning till konsument

The aiming with this project is to find out if a small scale chicken production can be profitable, from day-old chicks to a processed smoked product out to stores and consumers. The products will not be available in the stores all the time because we will give the customers quality rather than quantity, so when the product can't be found in the stores the customers will ask for it. The conclusion I found out is that it might be hard to raise chickens in these scale from an economic point of view the costs for transport, logistics, slaughter and marketing are to high.Detta arbete syftar till att få en uppfattning om det är ekonomiskt relevant att föda upp kyckling småskaligt, från daggammal kyckling till förädlad/rökt produkt ut till konsument. Vidare vill man se om produktionen kan vara utvecklingsbar och ge företaget underlag för fler betalda arbetstimmar. Litteraturstudier i kycklingproduktion och studiebesök hos uppfödare och slakteri har gjorts. Arbetet ger även en bild av hur förädlingen av kycklingen och marknadsföringen kommer att gå till. När de ekonomiska kalkylerna var gjorda framkom det att det kan vara svårt att få ekonomi på en småskalig produktion då bland annat kostnaden per kilo kyckling i slakttransport, slakt, distribution och marknadsföring blir hög. Det visade sig dock att inköp och slutuppfödning av 33 dagar gamla kycklingar gav ett bättre ekonomiskt resultat

Explaining farmers' adoption of mastitis control practices using psychological constructs from the theory of planned behavior

Mastitis control options (MCOs) are management actions that are adopted to prevent mastitis in dairy herds. In this study, the psychological constructs attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are used to explain farmers' adoption of MCOs. So far, little research has used psychological constructs to explain adoption of MCOs. Based on recommendations by a Swedish dairy association (Va center dot xa) aimed at farmers, a total of 15 different management areas, representing MCOs for contagious and environmental bacteria, were used to characterize adoption behaviors. A total of 286 Swedish full-time farmers specializing in dairy production participated in the survey. Four different farmer groups were identified through a cluster analysis of similarities in how farmers adopted MCOs together with data on bulk milk somatic cell count and subjectively evaluated somatic cell counts on the farms. Regression analyses were performed to test whether the psychological constructs could explain differences in adoption across the MCO groups. Results revealed that farmers' decisions about which set of mastitis control options to adopt as preventive actions were explained by the farmers' perceived behavioral control of the situation and by differences in subjective norm. The attitude construct did not contribute to predicting the adoption of mastitis control options. Results suggest that work aimed at implementing MCOs should be complemented by programs specifically designed to improve the ability of farmers to use and/or combine MCOs to both alleviate and prevent mastitis. They also suggest that there is little to gain from programs aimed at fostering attitudes to prevent mastitis. We interpret the findings as indicating a need to strengthen perceived behavioral control as well as subjective norms among Swedish farmers' regarding their preventive work with mastitis. Understanding how to affect farmers' behavior, and thus reducing and controlling mastitis, will have positive effects on animal health and welfare in general

The concept of the sustainable port – ports becoming enablers of sustainability in trans-ports and logistics

Global transportation is one of the major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Portsplay an important role for the leap towards a more sustainable transport ecosystem. Overthe years, empowered by the Swedish innovation project I.Hamn, a concept for thesustainable port has been developed by the Swedish ports (see Appendix 1). This efforthas been financed by the Swedish Transport Administration’s industry programmeSustainable shipping managed by Lighthouse. The project is coordinated by the ResearchInstitutes of Sweden (RISE), and University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University ofTechnology are project partners.The result is a vision of the sustainable port, including a roadmap - developed togetherwith Lighthouse Focus group for Ports - supporting Swedish ports, in which the threepillars of sustainability have been addressed, i.e., economic, social, and environmentalsustainability.Globala transporter \ue4r en av de st\uf6rsta bidragsgivarna till utsl\ue4ppen av v\ue4xthusgaser. Hamnarna spelar en viktig roll f\uf6r spr\ue5nget mot ett mer h\ue5llbart transportekosystem. Genom insatser i innovationsprojektet I.Hamn har ett koncept f\uf6r den h\ue5llbara hamnen tagits fram av de svenska hamnarna (se Appendix 1). Satsningen har finansierats av Trafikverkets branschprogram H\ue5llbar sj\uf6fart som f\uf6rvaltas av Lighthouse. Projektet har koordinerats av Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) tillsammans med G\uf6teborgs universitet och Chalmers tekniska h\uf6gskola.\ua0Resultatet \ue4r en vision om den h\ue5llbara hamnen, inklusive en f\ue4rdplan - framtagen tillsammans med Lighthouse Fokusgrupp Hamnar - som st\uf6djer svenska hamnar, d\ue4r de tre pelarna f\uf6r h\ue5llbarhet har tagits upp, det vill s\ue4ga ekonomisk, social och milj\uf6m\ue4ssig h\ue5llbarhet

The personal music collection in a music streaming perspective

Bacheloroppgave i musikkproduksjon 2017Markedet for musikkstrømmetjenester er i stadig vekst. Musikksamlingen fortsetter å distansere seg fra å være en personlig eiendel til å bli en tjeneste vi abonnerer på. Hva gjør dette med verdien av en personlig musikksamling, og er dette et begrep som har blitt mindre relevant i verden av musikkstrømmetjenester? Vi analyserer kvantitative data fra en omfattende spørreundersøkelse gjennomført i Norge, hvor vi ser nærmere på fenomenet switching costs fra et brukerperspektiv. De fleste musikkstrømmetjenester har et stort verdensomspennende bibliotek med millioner av utgivelser. Er brukeren likegyldig til å bytte tjeneste, eller lever den personlige musikksamlingen i beste velgående inne i musikkstrømmetjenesten? Vi diskuterer bakenforliggende forskjeller mellom musikk i et strømmeperspektiv og musikk som personlige eiendeler. Hvor går grensen, og hvordan gjenspeiles disse forskjellene i brukerens opplevde switching costs? Vi lener oss på det vi finner relevant av tidligere forskning, men ser også at mye av forskningen som er gjort på musikkstrømmetjenester og atferd knyttet til musikk er ut fra et markedsførings- eller økonomiperspektiv. Vår oppgave dreier seg mer om eksistensielle spørsmål i krysningen mellom musikksamleren og musikksamlingen. Det mest oppsiktsvekkende resultatet er den store forskjellen mellom opplevde switching costs i relasjon til bruksgraden av fysiske formater sett i forhold til bruksgraden av strømmetjenester.Engelsk sammendrag (abstract) The market for music streaming services is continuously growing. Recorded music in itself is becoming a service rather than a tangible object. What implications does this transition have in relation to our personal music collections? How are we to view the personal Music collection from the perspective of music streaming? We analyse quantitative data from a major research project conducted in Norway, where we have chosen to examine the term 'switching costs' from a consumer perspective. Most music streaming services have a vast music library spanning across millions of releases. Knowing that it is all there to Access anyway, is the streaming user totally indifferent to the idea of switching to another service? Where does the personal music library fit into this equation? Does it exist within the streaming service, and what inherent value does it possess? We discuss fundamental differences between music in the access based perspective of streaming, versus the more tangible perspective of music as personal possessions. Where do you draw the line, and how are these differences (if any) reflected in the user's perceived switching costs? While taking into account existing terminology and previous research in the field, we also found that most of this research is conducted through the lense of arketing or economics. We would argue that our research examines a more existential question in the intersection between the music collector and the music collection. The most interesting discovery was the difference in perceived switching costs between users of physical formats and users of streaming services

Social learning through associative processes: a computational theory

Social transmission of information is a key phenomenon in the evolution of behaviour and in the establishment of traditions and culture. The diversity of social learning phenomena has engendered a diverse terminology and numerous ideas about underlying learning mechanisms, at the same time that some researchers have called for a unitary analysis of social learning in terms of associative processes. Leveraging previous attempts and a recent computational formulation of associative learning, we analyse the following learning scenarios in some generality: learning responses to social stimuli, including learning to imitate; learning responses to non-social stimuli; learning sequences of actions; learning to avoid danger. We conceptualize social learning as situations in which stimuli that arise from other individuals have an important role in learning. This role is supported by genetic predispositions that either cause responses to social stimuli or enable social stimuli to reinforce specific responses. Simulations were performed using a new learning simulator program. The simulator is publicly available and can be used for further theoretical investigations and to guide empirical research of learning and behaviour. Our explorations show that, when guided by genetic predispositions, associative processes can give rise to a wide variety of social learning phenomena, such as stimulus and local enhancement, contextual imitation and simple production imitation, observational conditioning, and social and response facilitation. In addition, we clarify how associative mechanisms can result in transfer of information and behaviour from experienced to naive individuals