Cooperation or Conflict in Common Pools

Many of the world's common pool resources are located in poor countries, where consumption levels may be low enough to adversely affect the users' health. Under these circumstances, an agent's utility function may be described as an S-shaped function of consumption. Using non-cooperative game theory, very poor groups of users are shown to have lower probability of cooperative management of common pool resources than groups with adequate consumption levels. However, users that are only moderately poor have the greatest chance for cooperation. For this group, if resource productivity varies, cooperation may break down in periods of low productivity. The theoretical results concur with empirical evidence of cooperation in common pool resources.Common pool resource; developing countries; dynamic game; irrigation; natural resource; non-linear utility

Commentary on "Comparison of Word Intelligibility in Spoken and Sung Phrases" by Lauren Collister and David Huron

We note that the intelligibility of vowels is reduced at high pitches, and propose that decreased decoding of vowels may partially account for the reported findings. Analysis of performance as a function of pitch is recommended. We surmise that reverberation associated with the large microphone distance might have generated reverberation that interfered disproportionately with identification of consonants in sung stimuli, which usually have greater sound intensity than spoken stimuli. Finally, we note the potential relevance of vibrato for speech intelligibility

Hur unga kvinnor med depression upplever omgivningens attityder - fyra anekdoter tolkade ur ett livsvärldsperspektiv

How young women with depression experience attitudes from other people - four anecdotes interpreted from a lifeworld perspective The aim of this master thesis was to, through a lifeworld perspective, understand how young women with some form of depression, experience other people’s negative attitudes towards depression. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological method, as described by Max van Manen, four women were interviewed with a semi-structured questionnaire, containing questions that mainly highlighted an anecdote that the interviewees had experienced. The women were between the ages of 22-30. They had all been diagnosed with some form of depression by Swedish physicians. The interviews took place in Malmö in the south of Sweden. The results show that meeting negative attitudes from other people is experienced as emptiness, intensified depression, loss of control and an experience of nothingness and indifference

Brister i veterinär intygsskrivning

After having reviewed the cases in the Veterinary Disciplinary Board of Sweden regarding certificates year 2000 to October 2007 I have found that these cases more often than in all other cases result in disciplinary action. The punishment is to a greater extent the more serious form, i.e. warning. When I examined the reasons for imposing the punishments and the material that constituted the foundations of the reports, I came to the conclusion that the statistics above do not depend on a general lack of knowledge in the Swedish veterinary profession. A possible cause is that the demands set upon the veterinarian are exceptional and that the responsibility board has a physical object to examine (the certificate) and regulations that describe how the certificates are supposed to be formulated. The fact that the knowledge about how to write veterinary certificates does not generally seem to be lacking does not exclude that lessons can be learned by examining the mistakes made by others. Yet another errand in the responsibility board can then probably be avoided. This study can be used as a shortcut to the archives of the Veterinary Disciplinary Board, and it concludes with a summary of the experience gained, directed towards the practicing veterinarian.Efter att ha granskat samtliga fall rörande veterinär intygsskrivning i Veterinära Ansvarsnämnden från och med år 2000 till och med oktober 2007 har jag funnit att dessa ärenden i större omfattning än samtliga fall resulterar i disciplinpåföljd. Påföljderna är dessutom i större utsträckning än annars av den allvarligare formen, d.v.s. varningar. En naturlig följdfråga är om veterinärer generellt brister i sin kunskap om hur intyg ska utformas. Jag kan i detta material inte se att intygsärendena och de därpå följande disciplinpåföljderna i Veterinära Ansvarsnämnden beror på en sådan kunskapsbrist. En möjlig orsak till de uppgifter jag har fått fram är i stället att kraven som lagar, förordningar och rekommendationer ställer på en veterinär vid utförande av just intygsskrivning är exceptionella. Detta leder till att små misstag leder till större konsekvenser än vad små misstag i den övriga veterinära yrkesutövningen gör. Man kan även anta att Veterinära Ansvarsnämndens bedömningar i intygsfall blir enklare när man har ett fysiskt faktum (intyget) att utgå ifrån och relativt ingående regleringar om hur detta ska se ut. Att kunskapen inte kan anses brista rent generellt utesluter dock inte att den praktiserande veterinären kan dra lärdom av de misstag som faktiskt har gjorts. Ytterligare disciplinärenden kan då sannolikt undvikas. Detta arbete kan användas som en genväg in i Veterinära Ansvarsnämndens arkiv, och det avslutas med en sammanställning av de erhållna erfarenheterna, riktade direkt till den praktiserande veterinären

Full fart framåt eller dags att dra i nödbromsen? En studie om arbetsvilkoren i tågbranchen

Den andra juni 2014 utlöste fackförbundet Seko den omtalade tågstrejken som var en kamp om anställningsvillkor och anställningsformer. Avregleringen av järnvägen har blivit mycket kritiserad, då vinstdrivande intressen hos privata företag fått negativa konsekvenser för järnvägen. Denna kvalitativa studie handlar om de förändrade arbetsvillkoren i samhället och hur detta kommit att återspeglas i tågbranschen. Genom kvalitativa djupgående intervjuer har deltagarna i denna studie, som alla varit berörda av strejken, kunnat redogöra för sina egna arbetssituationer. Syftet med studien är att spegla problematiken som uppstår när individer mer och mer står inför osäkra arbetsförhållanden. Problemformuleringens fokus är förändringen i arbetsmarknaden och hur detta har påverkat anställda i järnvägen. För att kunna förstå och förklara problemet utgår studien från Michel Foucaults teoretiska begrepp om disciplin och makt, samt Karl Marx begrepp om klass och alienation. Resultatet i studien visar på hur avregleringen av järnvägen resulterat i vinstdrivande intressen som i det här fallet genererat försämrade arbetsvillkor

"Att swipea tills tummen blir trött" - En kvalitativ studie om hur konsumtionsfaktorer kommer till uttryck på dejtingapplikationen Tinder

This study intends to increase the understanding of students' usage of the online dating application Tinder and how consumption and personal marketing manifests themselves on the application. This study was conducted from a user perspective and the empirical material has been acquired through focus group interviews, which subsequently were thematised. The empirical material was later contextualized in the analysis through the following theories in the field of strategic communication: consumption, innovation, interaction in the new media society, self-presentation and personal marketing. This study revealed that users desire continuous affirmation from people whom they consider as objects and they never feel completely satisfied. It stands clear that users, through personal marketing, want to present an idealized image of themselves, with the aim of affirmation. The empirical material was primarily analyzed through Bauman´s theories about the consumer society and Goffman´s discussion of the interplay between the private and the public aspects. This study thus concludes that Tinder is a result of the needs of individuals and factors within the consumer society and that interpersonal relationships have been affected by new communication channels for dating.Denna studie ämnar öka förståelsen för studenters användande av dejtingapplikationen Tinder samt hur konsumtion och personlig marknadsföring kommer till uttryck på applikationen. Studien utgår från Tinderanvändarnas perspektiv och därmed har det empiriska materialet införskaffats via fokusgruppsintervjuer. Empirin tematiserades för att sedan kontextualiseras i analysen via följande teorier inom området strategisk kommunikation: Konsumtion, innovation, interaktion i dagens mediesamhälle, självpresentation och personlig marknadsföring. Genom studien klargjordes det att användarna strävar efter ständig bekräftelse från människor de ser som objekt, att de aldrig nöjer sig, och att de, genom personlig marknadsföring, vill presentera en idealiserad fasad i strävan efter bekräftelse. Det empiriska materialet analyserades framförallt genom Baumans teorier om konsumtionssamhället och Goffmans diskussioner om växelspelet mellan det privata och offentliga och det konstaterades det att Tinder är ett resultat av individers behov och faktorer inom konsumtionssamhället. Studiens resultat visar därmed att mellanmänskliga relationer har påverkats av konsumtionssamhället vilket tagit sig uttryck via onlinedejtingforum. Arbetet kring detta examensarbete har till lika stora delar utförts av båda författarna

Interaktív fonetikai eszköz az artikulációs csatorna keresztmetszet-függvényének meghatározására

A projekt célja annak az eldöntése volt, hogy a SuperCollider programozási környezet mennyire alkalmas egy interaktív artikulációs modell implementálására. Az elkészült szoftver az APEX nevű, kétdimenziós modellt használja, amit az artikulációs csatorna alakja és a formánsok közötti összefüggés vizsgálatára hoztak létre

Brandtekniskt Riskvärdering Bråhögshallen

This report is a fire safety assessment of Bråhögshallen, a multi-sport facility located in Staffanstorp in the south of Sweden. The building consists of one larger and one smaller sports hall, a bowling alley and other smaller facilities used for a variety of different sports. Bråhögshallen was built in 1969, and the regulations regarding fire safety has since changed. The assessments in this report are based on current legislations and recommendations. In the evaluation of the fire safety it is only the occupant safety that is being considered. A risk analysis has been performed to determine the fire scenarios which represents the worst credible cases. This evaluation resulted in three scenarios; one in a storage on the stand in the large hall, one in a storage in the small hall and one in the kitchen in the bowling alley. Computer simulation, calculations and qualitative reasoning lies behind the quantification of available time and time to evacuation. Some of the considered factors regarding safe evacuation during fire exceeds the requirements presented in this report. Therefore a series of suggested measures is proposed to improve the evacuation conditions

Electroformation in a flow chamber with solution exchange as a means of preparation of flaccid giant vesicles

A recently described technique (Estes and Mayer, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1712 (2005) 152--160) for the preparation of giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) in solutions with high ionic strength is examined. By observing a series of osmotic swellings followed by vesicle bursts upon a micropipette transfer of a single POPC GUV from a sucrose solution into an isoosmolar glycerol solution, a value for the permeability of POPC membrane for glycerol, P = (2.09+/-0.82) x 10^{-8} m/s, has been obtained. Based on this result, an alternative mechanism is proposed for the observed exchange of vesicle interior. With modifications, the method of Estes and Mayer is then applied to preparation of flaccid GUVs.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerface

Strengthening the integration of midwifery in health systems; a leader-to-leader collaboration

Barriers and facilitators for quality midwifery care exist on different levels in the health systems. After decades of challenges and varied degrees of success, a stakeholder leader-to-leader collaboration could provide added value through knowledge sharing on how to integrate the midwifery cadre into an existing health system. Initiated by The Midwifery Society of Nepal, Dalarna University Sweden and MAMTA - Health Institute for Mother and Child India, a research network focusing midwifery has been formed. The background, purpose and activities of this network has been described in this News and Events paper