Det finns ett missnöje och en kritik riktad mot hur Karolinska Institutet (KI) rekrytering av Paolo Macchiarini gick till och kritiker menar att det var personliga, informella kontakter som styrde istället för de formella kraven. Mot denna bakgrund väcktes ett intresse om hur nätverk inom Karolinska Institutet och forskningsvärlden i stort byggs och vad som skiljer ett professionellt nätverk från ett personligt. För att undersöka detta har denna etnografiska studie gjorts genom deltagande observationer av en forskargrupp på KI. Syftet med studien har varit att undersöka hur forskare på KI bygger professionella och personliga nätverk och hur dessa samspelar med varandra. De frågeställningar som studien utgår ifrån är; Hur bygger forskare på KI nätverk? Hur skiljer sig forskarnas professionella och personliga nätverk åt? På vilket sätt påverkar relationen mellan handledare och doktorand dessa nätverk? För att besvara dessa frågor har Actor Network Theory (ANT) och diskursanalys använts som teoretiskt ramverk. Teorierna ger en förklaring till hur forskare samspelar med varandra och dess omvärld inom en given kontext, samt vilka faktorer som påverkar deras agerande. Resultatet av studien visar på att forskare på KI bygger nätverk på flera olika sätt och är en del av olika nätverk samtidigt. Förutom de personliga och professionella nätverken kunde ytterligare tre nätverk identifieras och skillnaderna mellan dessa belysas. Resultatet visar även på hur relationen mellan handledare och doktorand skiljer sig från andra relationer. Vår slutsats är att det bland forskares vanligtvis rörliga nätverk finns ett mer bestående nätverk av familjär karaktär. Nyckelord: Actor Network Theory (ANT), subjektsposition, nätverk, akademiskt släktskap

Traditional clustering algorithms have different criteria and biases, and there is no single algorithm that can be the best solution for a wide range of data sets. This problem often presents a significant obstacle to analysts in revealing meaningful information buried among the huge amount of data. Ensemble Clustering has been proposed as a way to avoid the biases and improve the accuracy of clustering. The difficulty in developing Ensemble Clustering methods is to combine external information (provided by input clusterings) with internal information (i.e. characteristics of given data) effectively to improve the accuracy of clustering. The work presented in this thesis focuses on enhancing the clustering accuracy of Ensemble Clustering by employing heuristic optimisation techniques to achieve a robust combination of relevant information during the consensus clustering stage. Two novel heuristic optimisation-based Ensemble Clustering methods, Multi-Optimisation Consensus Clustering (MOCC) and K-Ants Consensus Clustering (KACC), are developed and introduced in this thesis. These methods utilise two heuristic optimisation algorithms (Simulated Annealing and Ant Colony Optimisation) for their Ensemble Clustering frameworks, and have been proved to outperform other methods in the area. The extensive experimental results, together with a detailed analysis, will be presented in this thesis.

Syftet med denna studie var att observera lärandet i ett aktör-nätverk mellan aktörerna i förskolors ateljéer. Detta för att observera hur nätverket ansluter till nya aktörer, vilka olika nätverk som kommer samman och hur aktörerna reagerar gentemot varandra. Studiens empiriska material är insamlat genom videoobservationer. Empirin är analyserad genom aktör-nätverksteorin (ANT), för att synliggöra icke-mänskliga och mänskliga aktörer i ateljéns nätverk. Begrepp som använts i bearbetningen av analysen är icke- mänsklig agens och generaliserad symmetri.  Studiens resultat visar på att materialets deltagande i ateljén kan bero på kompetensen hos pedagogen. Vid en högre kompetens hos pedagogen kan skapandeprocessen ge ett meningsfullt lärande i förskolans ateljé, detta då de icke-mänskliga aktörerna har möjlighet att deltaga i nätverket

Research on existing actor-networks has focused traditionally on outcomes, achievements and success at the expense of a detailed consideration of their formation and ability to function. In recognition of this lacuna, this study examined the formation and functioning of tourism-related actor-networks involved in environmental protection and the management of tourism in the coastal city of Hurghada, Egypt. More specifically, it applied the actor-network theory (ANT). In particular, the study applied its four moments of translation – problematization, interessement, enrolment and mobilization – and used Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to analyse the influencing factors, whether positively or negatively, and the degree to which the creation and operations of such collaborations were successful. This study employed a sequential, explanatory mixed-methods design, integrating both quantitative and qualitative data. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 510 employees of tourism-related organizations involved in managing tourism’s environmental impacts on Hurghada. Also, the researcher conducted fourteen semi-structured interviews with the managers and assistant managers of tourism-related organizations involved in environmental protection and the management of tourism. The SEM’s findings revealed the existence of a number of tourism-related actor-networks which were attempting to safeguard local community livelihoods through environmental protection, and of four key factors – trust, coordination, commitment, and communication – which were damaging their formation, functioning and outcomes. This study contributed to theory since it enhanced our knowledge and understanding of the relationships between four previously unconnected bodies of literature. These were, namely, ANT, tourism-related organizations, environmental governance, collaboration, and environmental protection. The study highlighted, also, the factors, both positive and negative, which influenced the formation and functioning of tourism actor-networks involved in managing tourism’s environmental impacts on Hurghada. In practical terms, this study analysed the role of tourism-related organizations in order to identify their main strengths and weaknesses In addition, the researcher considered how partnership networks could consolidate the strengths and overcome the weaknesses of the tourism-related organizations involved in environmental protection and the management of tourism in Hurghada. Also, this study will help these tourism-related organizations, through such networks, to adopt suitable activities, policies, strategies and laws for protecting the assets relating to the local community’s livelihoods. Therefore, knowing the key success factors of collaborative networks and good governance will help these networks of tourism-related organizations to improve their performance in terms of assisting Hurghada’s local community and the poor people in particular.

The Ant Colony Optimization belongs into the metaheuristic methods category and it has been developing quite recently. So far it has shown its capabalities to over-perform other metaheuristic methods in quality of the solutions. This work brings analysis of the possible applications of the method on the classical optimization combinatorial problems -- traveling salesman problem, vehicle routing problem, knapsack problem, generalized assignment problem and maximal clique problem. It also deals with the practical experiments with application on several optimization problems and analysis of the time and memory complexity of such algorithms. The last part of the work is dedicated to the possibility of parallelization of the algorithm, which was result of the application of the ACO method on the traveling salesman problem. It brings analysis of the crucial operations and data synchronization issues, as well as practical example and demonstration of the parallelized version of the algorithm.

Visando contribuir com o estado-da-arte de sistemas bioinspirados em formigas na robóotica, neste trabalho é abordado o problema do controle de um grupo de robôs para a solução coletiva das tarefas de exploração do ambiente e localização de objetos. Para isso, são utilizados algoritmos inspirados em colônias de formigas. O objetivo deste trabalho, portanto, é o desenvolvimento de um sistema de controle de navegação baseado em colônia de formigas para um time de robôs, de maneira que os robôs resolvam esses problemas utilizando estratégias de controle individuais e simples. Esse sistema tem como base a utilização de marcadores ou feromônios artificiais, que podem ser depositados pelos robôs para marcar determinadas posiçôes do ambiente / Aiming to advance the state-of-the-art of ant bioinspired systems in robotic applications, in this work we study the problem of controling a group of robots for solving colective tasks on environment exploration and object localization. To this end, we used algorithms inspired in ant colonies. Therefore, the objective of this work is to develop a navigation control system based on ant colony can solve the problems using simple control strategies. This system uses marks or artificial pheromones that can be released by the robots to mark specific positions in the environment

As estratégias de mapeamento utilizando múltiplos robôs móveis possuem uma série de vantagens quando comparadas àquelas estratégias baseadas em um único robô. As principais vantagens que podem ser elucidadas são: flexibilidade, ganho de informação e redução do tempo de construção do mapa do ambiente. No presente trabalho, um método de integração de mapas locais é proposto baseado em observações inter-robôs, considerando uma nova abordagem para a exploração do ambiente. Tal abordagem é conhecida como Sistema de Vigilância baseado na Modificação do Sistema Colônias de Formigas, ou IAS-SS. A estratégia IAS-SS é inspirada em mecanismos biológicos que definem a organização social de sistemas de enxames. Especificamente, esta estratégia é baseada em uma modificação do tradicional algoritmo de otimização por colônias de formiga. A principal contribuição do presente trabalho é a adaptação de um modelo de compartilhamento de informações utilizado em redes de sensores móveis, adaptando o mesmo para tarefas de mapeamento. Outra importante contribuição é a colaboração entre o método proposto de integração de mapas e a estratégia de coordenação de múltiplos robôs baseada na teoria de colônias de formigas. Tal colaboração permite o desenvolvimento de uma abordagem de exploração que emprega um mecanismo não físico para depósito e detecção de feromônios em ambientes reais por meio da elaboração do conceito de feromônios virtuais integrados. Resultados obtidos em simulação demonstram que o método de integração de mapas é eficiente, de modo que os ensaios experimentais foram realizados considerando-se um número variável de robôs móveis durante o processo de exploração de ambientes internos com diferentes formas e estruturas. Os resultados obtidos com os diversos experimentos realizados confirmam que o processo de integração é efetivo e adequado para executar o mapeamento do ambiente durante tarefas de exploração e vigilância do mesmo / The multiple robot map building strategies have several advantages when compared to strategies based on a single robot, in terms of flexibility, gain of information and reduction of map building time. In this work, a local map integration method is proposed based on the inter-robot observations, considering a recent approach for the environment exploration. This approach is based on the Inverse Ant System-Based Surveillance System strategy, called IASSS. The IAS-SS strategy is inspired on biological mechanisms that define the social organization of swarm systems. Specifically, it is based on a modified version of the known ant colony algorithm. The main contribution of this work is the fit of an information sharing model used in an mobile sensor network, adapting the method for mapping tasks. Another important contribution is the collaboration between the local map integration method and the multiple robot coordination strategy based on ant colony theory. Through this collaboration it is possible to develop an approach that uses a mechanism for controlling the access to pheromones in real environments. Such mechanism is based on the integrated virtual pheromones concept. Simulation results show that the map integration method is efficient, the trials are performed considering a variable number of robots and environments with different structures. Results obtained from several experiments confirm that the integration process is effective and suitable to execute mapping during the exploration task

As redes de sensores sem fio estão presentes nos mais diversos setores, formando um conjunto de elementos colaborativos que realizam o transporte da informação em cenários urbanos, agricultura de precisão, saúde e automação industrial. Sua utilização enfrenta desafios como necessidade constante de adaptações a alterações de topologia, baixas taxas de comunicação e uso eficiente de energia. Dessa forma, as aplicações dessas redes precisam suportar estas características dinamicamente. Esta tese propõe, então, um novo protocolo de roteamento: o HOFACO (Hybrid Objective Function based on Ant Colony Optimization), com base no funcionamento do padrão RPL (Routing Protocol for Low Power and Lossy Networks) aplicado à eficiência energética. Este protocolo proposto preserva as interfaces já consolidadas de roteamento e faz uso de uma informação heurística baseada em swarm intelligence (inteligência de enxames), por meio do uso de agentes - colônia de formigas -, para a composição híbrida de métricas utilizadas na avaliação do rank durante a construção de topologias. Esta proposta foi validada por meio de implementações em simulações e dispositivos reais em duas plataformas distintas: o Contiki e o OpenWSN. O processo de validação utilizou parâmetros como número de mensagens de controle, alterações de configurações topológicas, latência da rede e taxa de entrega de pacotes comparando-se a proposta a soluções tradicionais. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram um funcionamento compatível com estes parâmetros e uma melhoria em torno de 7,6% no sentido de redução do tempo de estabilização da rede. Adicionalmente, foi feito um teste comparativo de consumo de energia, evidenciando uma melhoria em termos de eficiência enérgica de até 20,9% da proposta com relação a protocolos tradicionais. / The wireless sensor networks are present in the most diverse sectors, forming a set of collaborative elements that perform the transport of information in urban scenarios, precision agriculture, health and industrial automation. Its use faces challenges as a constant need for adaptations to topology changes, low communication rates and efficient energy use. In this way, the applications of these networks must support these characteristics dynamically. This thesis proposes, therefore, a new routing protocol: the HOFACO (Hybrid Objective Function based on Ant Colony Optimization), based on the RPL (Routing Protocol for Low Power and Lossy Networks) applied to energy efficiency. This proposed protocol preserves the already consolidated routing interfaces and makes use of heuristic information based on swarm intelligence, using ant colony agents for the hybrid composition of metrics used in rank evaluation during the construction of topologies. This proposal was validated through implementations in simulations and real devices in two different platforms: Contiki and OpenWSN. The validation process used parameters such as number of control messages, changes of topological configurations, network latency and packet delivery rate, comparing the proposal to traditional solutions. The results showed a functioning compatible with these parameters and an improvement around 7.6% in the sense of reducing the time of stabilization of the network. In addition, a comparative test of energy consumption was made, evidencing an improvement in terms of energetic efficiency up to 20.9% of the proposal with respect to traditional protocols.

As the largest third-party payment platform in China, Alipay has joined the team of making the world greener with the embedded cute mini APP--Ant Forest. Why are so many Alipay users willing to plant trees through Ant Forest? What are the motivations that affect their continued planting for months or even years? Based on the previous literature, we outlined a new framework to investigate the motivation in Ant Forest. The data were collected through a pilot study and semi-structured interviews with fourteen Chinese Alipay users; at the same time, they are Ant Forest participants. This article analyzes how intrinsic motivations (enjoyment, fulfillment, altruism, social interaction, identification), extrinsic motivations (external rewards, reciprocity, competition) influencing Chinese users to participate in Ant Forest, and whether these motivations have different influences and relationships when motivating participants. What’s more, we can through intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation to know how a mini-app that aggregates multiple features can attract users' continued participation, and give suggestions to the firm.

Carbon is a metric at the centre of contemporary debates. It is invoked to explain responses to climate change and justify political decisions over the economy and environment. Its ubiquity might suggest that the definition of carbon is broadly agreed upon, but along with greenhouse gas (GHG) measurements, articulating carbon as a commodity has incorporated debates over sustainable development (SD). The use of market-based mechanisms to manage carbon quantities results in articulations of the concept that reinforce consumption as a means to achieve public policy aims, but these are also contested. This research examines the concept of carbon to explore what might be taken-for-granted or overlooked when carbon is invoked. The research takes an ethnographic approach to carbon by examining offsetting – paying for reductions in GHG emissions at one location to make up for a continuation or increase of emissions at another. The novelty, complexity and lack of trust in carbon offsetting have resulted in numerous voluntary standards to improve consumer confidence in this commodity. The standard organisations’ position in codifying, measuring and accrediting carbon makes them valuable sites at which to describe the materialities of the concept. I use data collected from the administrative offices of two voluntary carbon offset standards in 2010-11 to explore what is included and excluded within carbon as it was enacted at these sites. Carbon is described in this research as an assemblage and a multiplicity – it is articulated in varying ways by actors within offset markets. Through the work of standards organisations, the “orthodoxies” of offsetting are identified as taken-for-granted features of carbon. In contrast, the position of SD is identified as variable across different articulations of carbon. Using a post-Actor Network Theory approach innovatively combined with Suchman’s typology of legitimacy, this diversity in carbon is not normatively evaluated; instead the focus is on how assemblages of carbon differentiate the legitimacy of SD as a feature of offsetting. Some take SD for granted as an inherent aspect of offsetting, for others it is a desirable feature, but not necessary. Alternatively it could be offered as an add-on possibility without suggesting SD implied better offsetting, and for others offsetting was best enacted without assembling SD concerns. Exploring carbon as an assemblage demonstrates the continuous and flexible constructions of carbon as a commodity and concept. When examined in detail, the marketing strategies and technical rules of different standards produce varying articulations of carbon. Furthermore, this research explores how the work of voluntary carbon offset standards excludes the scrutiny of sites of consumption of offsets. This exclusion, as with the integration of SD, is notable for the differences in how it is articulated by standard staff – challenged by some, taken-for-granted by others but with diverse rationales for each position. These features are informative in relation to the roles ascribed to voluntary standards across other commodities as well as in relation to carbon. Attending to the multiplicity that exists in the daily practices of offset markets suggests possibilities for those looking to stabilise or reform the concept of carbon as well as understanding the activities of voluntary standards.