Classification of Legal Documents A Topic Modeling Approach

Entering a civil dispute presents financial risks for all parties involved, and sometimes all parties may end up losing money. Eperoto is a legaltech start-up in Gothenburg that aims to solve this problem by providing a tool for risk analysis of outcomes of civil disputes. They want to use information about previous cases to improve their tool further and make better analyses of the current disputes. The category of a dispute could play an essential role in the risks involved in a dispute. It could also be used to make more accurate predictions of a dispute based on statistics from previous disputes of the same category. Manually annotating every case is a very time-consuming and costly task. In this thesis, we develop and evaluate an unsupervised system based on topic modeling for classifying civil dispute judgments into categories. The system presents similar results to previous similar supervised systems in terms of f1-score. The created system managed to classify 67% of the tested documents correctly. Overall, the system for categorizing civil disputes performed well, especially considering that it is an unsupervised system. Being able to automatically categorize the disputes with an accuracy of 67% significantly reduces the manual work needed to categorize disputes and contributes to improving Eperoto’s tool

Outcomes from new contracts with “strong” incentives for increasing patronage in bus transport in Stockholm

The Swedish Public Transport Association (SPTA) has taken initiatives to develop contract recommendations on incentives for increased patronage in tendered contracts. There is, however, currently a small evidence-base for recommendations for how public transport contracts should be designed to provide incentives to achieve the policy goals of the Regional Public Transport Authorities (RPTA). A review of public contracts from the government agency Transport analysis (2015) indicates that the use of patronage incentives so far is modest. The purpose of this study is to take first steps towards creating such a knowledge base by collecting and analyzing the performance in four bus contracts in Stockholm county spanning seven years. The study focusses on a new kind of contract called E20 where 100 percent of the payments to operators are tied to the number of boarding and paying passengers. The study compares the development of the E20-contract areas (formerly independent contracts) with the outcomes in same contract areas before and with two comparison areas covered by gross cost contracts. The stated goals for the E20 contracts are to increase patronage and customer satisfaction as well as to increase efficiency. With the use of available monthly outcome data, the outcomes in the E20 areas (three years) are compared with the period before (four years) and to how the comparison contracts using gross cost contracts have developed: • In two of the E20 contract areas (Sollentuna and Norrort) the operator tried to significantly increase the supply, without this leading to substantial increases in boardings. Thereafter, the supply was reduced to a level slightly above the level before the E20 contract started. In the other two E20-contract areas, supply has increased gradually but little. • In two other E20 contract areas (Bromma and Norrort) the share of canceled departures decreased, while they increased in (Sollentuna, Solna/Sundbyberg). These effects are small. • Cancelled departures have decreased more in E20 areas than in the comparison areas. • Punctuality has changed little in the E20 contract areas. • Perceived quality deteriorates initially but improved steadily to roughly recover to previous levels. • Costs have declined in two contract areas (Bromma and Sollentuna) but increased in two other (Solna/Sundbyberg and Norrort). On average, they increase slightly, but less Compared to the gross cost contracts in comparison areas, the operator of the E20 contracts performed better regarding in the dimensions of Costs, Customer satisfaction (initially worse but then better), Punctuality, Cancelled departures ..but inferior in Supply of number of departures ... and not better regarding the number of boarding passengers. Note that this describes the outcome with available data, in this specific case during this specific period. This single observation does not provide sufficient basis for generalization to other contracts or continuing events of the same contract. Neither does it exclude that a similar course of events could occur later or in other contracts.Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

Vattenbehov och olika system för vattentilldelning till nyavvanda grisar

We all know that water is very important for both animals and humans. When we are weaning the piglets from the sow we must guarantee that the piglets can start to drink more water instead of sow milk. The first thing to check is always the quality of the water that is to be used. To secure that, you must take a water sample. If the water is inadequate it can bring a lot of problems and diseases. It's also important to choose the right water system for the piglets, so that the water requirements is fulfilled. The faster the newly weaned pigs start to drink the faster will they begin to grow. The aim of the study, that was made in connection to this work, was to register differences between newly weaned pigs in two types of water systems. Two pens with ten pigs each were used. In one pen the piglets had a water nipple and in the other pen they had a water cup with a water mirror. Both pens were video taped and it was documented how many times the piglets visited the water place. Feed consumption and individual weight gain of the pigs were also registered in the two pens. The results for drinking behavior showed more drinking visits per pig in the pen with water mirror compared to the pigs who had water nipple. The number of noses spilled water was actually higher for the pigs with water nipple. You can see that the two groups of piglets had the same feed consumption but the piglets with water mirror gained more weight than the piglets in the other box. It was also less activity in the pen with water mirror.Att vatten är livsviktigt för både djur och människor, är vi väl medvetna om. När man inom grisproduktionen avvänjer smågrisen från suggan måste det garanteras att istället för suggmjölken kunna tillgodose vätskebehovet med vatten. Det finns en rad olika system för vattentilldelning att välja mellan, men i första hand bör man se till att kvalitén på vattnet är dugligt. Dåligt vatten kan sätta ner en hel besättning och orsaka stora problem. Behovet av vatten för nyavvanda grisar är mycket stort och i försök ser man samband mellan högre tillväxt och en tillräcklig vattenkonsumtion. Att smågrisen får i sig den vätskemängd den behöver kan avhjälpa och förebygga en del magproblem. Ju snabbare den nyavvanda grisen kommer igång att dricka det den dagligen behöver – desto större förutsättningar har den att växa bra. Syftet med den studie som gjordes i samband med detta arbete var att registrera eventuella skillnader i tillväxt, foderåtgång samt aktivitet kring vattenstället mellan de två boxarna som var med. Den ena boxen hade en vattennippel medan den andra boxen hade en vattenspegel. Båda boxarna hade tio nyavvanda grisar vardera som filmades och sedan dokumenterades antalet dricktillfällen varje gris gjorde. Resultaten för drickbeteende visade på fler drickbesök per gris i boxen som hade vattenspegel i jämförelse med de grisar som hade vattennippel. Antalet nosar spillvatten var däremot betydligt högre för grisarna med vattennippel. Foderåtgång och viktförändringar visade att grisarna i boxen med vattenspegel inte hade ätit mer foder än de med vattennippel, men att vikterna ökade betydligt i jämförelse med de grisar som hade nippel. Dessutom var det lugnare i boxen med vattenspegel

Lukemaan opettamisen haasteet

Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tarkoituksena oli selvittää, onko lukemaan opettaminen muuttunut 1970-luvulta 2010-luvulle. Tutkimukseni rajautui näihin vuosikymmeniin haastateltavien opettajien työkokemuksen perusteella. Tehtävänä oli tarkastella mahdollisia tekijöitä, jotka ovat olleet yhteydessä lukemaan opettamisen muutokseen sekä kuvailla sitä, miten lukemaan opettaminen on mahdollisesti muuttunut. Toisena tutkielmani tavoitteena oli saada tietoa siitä, tarvitaanko eriyttämistä lukemaan opettamisessa sekä miten eriyttämistä mahdollisesti toteutetaan tämän päivän alakoulun lukemaan opettamisessa. Tutkimuksen aineisto koostui kahdeksan opettajan haastattelusta. Haastateltavat olivat Pirkanmaalla työskenteleviä alakoulun luokanopettajia, erityisopettajia tai laaja-alaisia erityisopettajia. Haastateltaviksi pyrin saamaan alkuopettajia tai alkuopettajina toimineita luokanopettajia, joilla on lukemaan opettamisesta vahva kokemuspohja sekä erityisopettajia, joilla on erityisosaamista lukemaan opettamisesta. Tutkimusmenetelmäni oli laadullinen asennetutkimus ja haastattelut toteutettiin seitsemän asenneväittämän avulla, joita haastateltavat saivat vapaasti kommentoida. Haastatteluista analysoitiin haastateltavan kannanottoja ja perusteluja jokaista väittämää kohtaan. Analysointi tapahtui kahdella tasolla. Luokittavassa analyysissa havaintoja tunnistettiin ja ryhmiteltiin. Tässä vaiheessa huomio kiinnittyi siihen, onko vastaajan kannanotto myönteinen, kielteinen vai neutraali sekä siihen, miten vastaaja perusteli kantansa. Analyysin tulkitsevassa vaiheessa saadut tulokset johdettiin pidemmälle pelkistämällä ja hahmottamalla aineistoa teoreettisten näkökulmien avulla. Tutkimustulokset osoittivat, että lukemaan opettaminen 1970-luvulta 2010-luvulle on muuttunut. Monikulttuurisuuden lisääntyminen ja luokkien heterogeenistyminen nousivat selittäviksi tekijöiksi lukemaan opettamisen muutoksessa. Haastatteluissa nousi esiin se, että lukutaitoisten osuus koulu- tulokkaissa on kasvanut ja lukuinnokkuus on hajaantunut ääripäihin. Nykyään lukemaan opetuksessa painotetaan ymmärtävää lukutaitoa teknistä lukutaitoa enemmän sekä KÄTS-opetusmenetelmän (Kirjain-Äänne-Tavu-Sana -opetusmenetelmän) käyttöä. Tulosten mukaan eriyttäminen lukemaan opetuksessa on tärkeää suurien tasoerojen ja oppilaiden yksilöllisiin tarpeisiin vastaamisen vuoksi. Eriyttämistä opettajat toteuttivat muun muassa luokansisäisiä tasoryhmiä muodostamalla, yksilöimällä tehtäviä sekä tekemällä yhteistyötä erityisopettajan ja kodin kanssa. Lukutaidon vaatimukset ovat kasvaneet. Ymmärtävän ja kriittisen lukemisen osaaminen korostuu yhä enemmän. Kodin rooli on merkittävä lapsen lukemaan oppimisessa, joten koulun ja kodin väliseen yhteistyöhön tulee panostaa. Lukemaan oppiminen rakentaa perustan muille lukuaineille ja vaikuttaa lapsen koulupolkuun. Ennen kaikkea lukemaan oppimisen tulee olla lapselle motivoivaa ja tuottaa iloa. Tulevaisuudessa eriyttämisen merkitys lukemaan opetuksessa tulee kasvamaan, koska suuntana on inklusiivinen, kaikille yhteinen, koulu. Opettajankoulutuksessa tulisi ottaa huomioon tämä suunta ja lisätä koulutukseen erityispedagogiikan sisältöjä, jotta luokanopettajat saisivat tietoa eriyttämisen mahdollisuuksista käytännön työelämään. Eriyttämisen haastetta tulisi tarkastella myös laajemman näkökulman kautta ja päättäjien tulisi tiedostaa eriyttämisen tarve. Suuret luokkakoot sekä opettajien pätkätyöt ovat este eriyttämisen toteutumiselle

Perceived personal safety in relation to urban woodland vegetation – A review

Urban woodland vegetation provides people with many aesthetic, ecological and psychological benefits, but can also generate problems concerning people’s perception of safety. This paper reviews existing knowledge about perceived personal safety in relation to vegetation, particularly woodland vegetation, in urban green spaces such as parks and residential areas. Individual and social factors, but also vegetation character, maintenance and design, proved to be important for perceived personal safety. Vegetation-related aspects identified as being of particular importance include landscape design, possibilities for overview and control, vegetation density, and vegetation character and maintenance. Vegetation of an open character with low density undergrowth might have positive effects on perceived personal safety without reducing other benefits. Issues for future research include context-based studies to consider several aspects of vegetation and their interactions

Segmentation-based detection of allelic imbalance and loss-of-heterozygosity in cancer cells using whole genome SNP arrays

A strategy is presented for detection of loss-of-heterozygosity and allelic imbalance in cancer cells from whole genome SNP genotyping data

The effect of additional noradrenergic and serotonergic depletion on a lateralised choice reaction time task in rats with nigral 6-OHDA lesions

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients often suffer from visuospatial deficits, which have been considered a disruption of the representation of external space. The lateralised choice reaction time (CRT) task is an operant task for rodents in which similar deficits can be assessed. It has been demonstrated that specific parameters in this task is disrupted after unilateral injections of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), which have been associated with the dopamine (DA) depletion that inevitably follows this type of lesion. However, studies have demonstrated that this type of lesion also affects the serotonergic (5HT) and noradrenergic (NA) systems. However, the impact of these systems on parameters in the CRT task had not yet been investigated. To this end, rats were pretrained on the CRT task before receiving selective lesions of the DAergic system, either alone or in combination with depletion of the NA or 5HT system. All rats with a 6-OHDA lesion displayed a gradual decline in the selection, initiation and execution of lateralised movements compared to sham-lesion controls on the side contralateral to the lesion. They also displayed a reduced number of useable trials as well as an increased number of procedural errors. Interestingly, the group with an additional noradrenergic lesion was significantly slower in reacting to lateralised stimuli throughout the testing period compared to the other two groups with a 6-OHDA lesion. There was however no difference between the three different lesion groups in the other parameters assessed in the task. These data confirm previous findings demonstrating that the majority of the parameters assessed in the lateralised CRT task are strongly dependent on DA. However, this study has also shown that the NAergic system may play an important role in contributing to the attentive performance influencing the capacity to react to the presented lateralised stimuli

Primary and metastatic ovarian cancer: Characterization by 3.0T diffusion-weighted MRI

OBJECTIVES We aimed to investigate whether apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) measured by 3.0T diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) associate with histological aggressiveness of ovarian cancer (OC) or predict the clinical outcome. This prospective study enrolled 40 patients with primary OC, treated 2011-2014. METHODS DWI was performed prior to surgery. Two observers used whole lesion single plane region of interest (WLsp-ROI) and five small ROIs (S-ROI) to analyze ADCs. Samples from tumours and metastases were collected during surgery. Immunohistochemistry and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to measure the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors. RESULTS The interobserver reliability of ADC measurements was excellent for primary tumours ICC 0.912 (WLsp-ROI). Low ADCs significantly associated with poorly differentiated OC (WLsp-ROI P = 0.035). In primary tumours, lower ADCs significantly associated with high Ki-67 (P = 0.001) and low VEGF (P = 0.001) expression. In metastases, lower ADCs (WLsp-ROI) significantly correlated with low VEGF receptors mRNA levels. ADCs had predictive value; 3-year overall survival was poorer in patients with lower ADCs (WLsp-ROI P = 0.023, S-ROI P = 0.038). CONCLUSION Reduced ADCs are associated with histological severity and worse outcome in OC. ADCs measured with WLsp-ROI may serve as a prognostic biomarker of OC. KEY POINTS • Reduced ADCs correlate with prognostic markers: poor differentiation and high Ki-67 expression • ADCs also significantly correlated with VEGF protein expression in primary tumours • Lower ADC values are associated with poorer survival in ovarian cancer • Whole lesion single plane-ROI ADCs may be used as a prognostic biomarker in OC