Activation of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) retinoid X receptors by organic tin compounds

Masteroppgave i biologiBIO399MAMN-HAVSJMAMN-BI

Information Technologies for Cognitive Decline

Information technology (IT) is used to establish a diagnosis and provide treatment for people with cognitive decline. The condition affects many before it becomes clear that more permanent changes, like dementia, could be noticed. Those who search for information are exposed to lots of information and different technologies which they need to make sense of and eventually use to help themselves. In this research literature and information available on the Internet were systematically analyzed to present methods used for diagnosis and treatment. Methods used for diagnosis are self-testing, sensors, Virtual Reality (VR), and brain imaging. Methods used for treatment are games, websites with information and media, Virtual Reality (VR), sensors, and robots. The resulting concept of knowledge was the basis of an artifact whose main goal was to present the facts to the broad public. This implied that a user-friendly artifact was developed through three iterations using the Design Science framework. A total of nine users and IT usability experts have evaluated the artifact returning the SUS score of 85,83 for users and 87,5 for IT usability experts. Nielsen´s heuristics were assessed by IT usability experts only, returning an average score of 4,28. The general response was positive regarding both the content and the attempt to present methods used in cognitive decline. It reminds to be seen how to bring this knowledge to those who are most affected by the decline.Masteroppgave i informasjonsvitenskapINFO390MASV-INF

Morlille kan ikke flyve: Natursproglig semantik og datamater

This paper deals with natural language (NL) semantics an the computer. It presents two major theoretical vicwpoints in linguistic semantics: representational and denotational. In linguistic theory, these two issues are mostly understood as mutually exclusive, as can be seen from Chomskyan and Montague Grammar. The paper discusses representational semantics in connection with the autonomous syntax approach of mainstream transformational grammar, denotational semantics in connection with the model-theoretic approach of Montague grammar. In the next step, I consider the implementation of model-theoretic NL comprehension systems on the computer. In the present context, they are viewed principally as a means to make experimental studies in the formalizations of NL. It is shown that the correct handling of referential NL terms in such systems can be achicved only if these systems combine methods and techniques from both types of semantics. Finally, the cognitive meaning of the concept of computer understanding is touched upon.This paper deals with natural language (NL) semantics an the computer. It presents two major theoretical vicwpoints in linguistic semantics: representational and denotational. In linguistic theory, these two issues are mostly understood as mutually exclusive, as can be seen from Chomskyan and Montague Grammar. The paper discusses representational semantics in connection with the autonomous syntax approach of mainstream transformational grammar, denotational semantics in connection with the model-theoretic approach of Montague grammar. In the next step, I consider the implementation of model-theoretic NL comprehension systems on the computer. In the present context, they are viewed principally as a means to make experimental studies in the formalizations of NL. It is shown that the correct handling of referential NL terms in such systems can be achicved only if these systems combine methods and techniques from both types of semantics. Finally, the cognitive meaning of the concept of computer understanding is touched upon

A Pictorialist Practice: The Life and Times of Thelma Kent

Thelma Kent was a well-known pictorialist photographer of her day, highly regarded for her photographs of the landscape of the South Island. Born in 1899, she was active in the decades of the 1920s and 1930s and throughout the war years before her early death in 1946. Her short life encapsulates a fascinating period in the history of New Zealand photography and focuses this thesis on to a previously little studied window. Kent reflected a lot of the dominant ideals and passions of photographic practice and thus becomes an exemplar of her times. Only a small amount of research has previously been attempted on Kent‘s life and work because fragmentary photographic archives yielded few clues. I solved this by concentrating on her published photographs and writings in the nation‘s newspapers and magazines, which proved to be extensive, and provided new insights in to photographic practices of the era. I also used the tools of the biographer; electoral rolls, directories, and interviews with individuals with links to Kent to enable a broader view of my subject. Chapter one looks at Kent‘s early years and examines the biographical methods involved in researching an individual‘s life. Chapter two explores Kent‘s love of travel to remote corners of the South Island to capture photographs. These images fed the nation‘s craze for travel and recreation in an era where new forms of transport such as cars and rail opened up the countryside to droves of ordinary New Zealanders. Chapter three delves into Kent‘s more adventurous trips, particularly to regions in the Southern Alps, and looks at her written accounts and photographs from these journeys. Chapter four shows Kent‘s involvement with camera clubs, photographic salons and the paths that a pictorialist photographer could take to gain national and international exposure. The final chapter looks at Kent mature career during the war years, a time when photographers faced challenges to their practices in terms of limitations of materials and subject matter

Japanese tourists’ relatedness and connectedness with nature

Accepted manuscript version. Published version available at https://doi.org/10.18261/ISSN.1504-3134-2018-01-01.Nature-based tourism continues to gain importance globally. Research on sustainability claims that disconnection between nature and humanity may contribute to the environmental problems that we face in the 21st century. It is, thus, quintessential to better understand the underlying variables for sustainable behaviour in a tourism context. Research suggests scales on nature relatedness (NRS) and connectedness to nature (CNS) to better understand people’s attitudes towards nature. The current paper tests the applicability of these scales in a tourism in an East Asian context. The study is performed on Japanese tourists. The scales seem, to a certain degree, appropriate in a Japanese tourism context, however they may need further refinement. In contrast to the conventionally recognized differences, which focus on the physical aspects of the human–nature relationship (relatedness) and affective community with nature (connectedness), relatedness and connectedness have different dimensions. According to the strong tendency of developing and selling outdoor activities among nature-based destinations combined with the strong increase of East Asian tourists, i.e., visiting Norway, further researching and testing of these aspects is recommended and directions are provided, taking into consideration of the new emergent markets in particular

Novelty in tourism experiences: the influence of physical staging and human interaction on behavioural intentions

Tourists’ tendency to choose new and different experiences and destinations is well known in tourism research and practice. By drawing on social exchange theory and service-dominant logic, the present study investigates how physical staging and human interaction influence behavioural intentions in experiences with varying levels of novelty. This relationship is tested using survey data collected from visitors to a theme park with structural equation modelling. The results confirm the relationship between the variables and the moderating effect of novelty; that is, the level of novelty in the experience influences the effect of both physical staging and human interaction on behavioural intentions. This study contributes to the tourism literature by comparing different experiences with varying levels of novelty and linking them to behavioural intentions. In addition, it differentiates between physical staging and human interaction in the experience. The findings have significant implications for the tourism industry, particularly for tourism companies

Smarttelefonen - fra vane til avhengighet

Mobilavhengighet er et relativt nytt problem som stadig får økt oppmerksomhet, både i Norge og utlandet. Vi ønsker å belyse en del av dette problemet med utgangspunkt i forbrukeratferd. Gjennom et eksperiment vil vi studere om smarttelefonen kan endre forbrukernes valg knyttet til kjøp. Dette måles ved bruk av variabelen selvkontroll, hvor vi ser om svikt i selvkontroll kan gi utslag på kjøpsatferd. I tillegg vil vi se om et individs personlighetstrekk kan styrke relasjonen mellom variablene (Raju 1980, 272). Variablene måles videre gjennom tre hypoteser som er med på å besvare problemstillingen. Vår målgruppe for studiet er generasjon Y, som er født mellom 1979 og 1995 (Schiffman, Kanuk og Hansen 2012, 355). Vi ønsker å forske på individer som har vokst opp sammen med den teknologiske utviklingen, og tatt til seg smarttelefonen i stor grad. Vi forutsetter at våre subjekter er svært knyttet til smarttelefonen, og dermed fremstår som mobilavhengige. Studiet baserer seg på forskningsartikler som tar for seg det overordnede temaet mobilavhengighet. Vi beskriver hvordan denne avhengigheten kan føles for enkelte, og det trekkes en parallell til andre avhengigheter, for eksempel stoffavhengighet (Massimini og Peterson 2009). Deretter beskrives begrepene selvkontroll, personlighet og kjøpsatferd hver for seg, og i sammenheng med hverandre. Studiet gir oss ingen signifikante funn, men hypotesene bør imidlertid ikke forkastes, ettersom det allerede er utviklet teorier som kan vise til sammenhenger mellom variablene. I siste del fokuserer vi på svakheter med studiet, for å vise hva som kunne vært forbedret. Dette studiet kan derfor sees på som et utgangspunkt for videre forskning, da det har vært med på å belyse viktige aspekter rundt fenomenet mobilavhengighet