I dagens samhälle går den tekniska utvecklingen fort framåt. Artificiell intelligens och Internet of Things är två tekniker inom utvecklingen vars popularitet har ökat på senare tid. Dessa tekniker i integration har visat sig kunna bidra med stora verksamhetsnyttor, bland annat i form av ökad precishet vad gäller analyser, bättre kundvärde och effektivisering av ”downtime”. Med ny teknik kommer även utmaningar. I takt med att teknologierna ständigt växer uppstår frågor kring säkerhet och etik och hur detta ska hanteras. Målet med denna studien var att ta reda på hur experter värderar etiska frågor när artificiell intelligens används i kombination med Internet of Things-enheter. Vi fokuserade på följande forskningsfråga för att nå vårt mål: Hur värderas frågor om etik när artificiell intelligens används i kombination med Internet of Things? Resultatet vi kom fram till visar att både forskare och näringslivet värderar de etiska aspekterna högt. Studien visar även att de ansåg att teknikerna kan vara lösningen till många samhällsproblem men att etiken bör vara ett ämne som löpande bör diskuteras. / In today's society, technological developments are moving fast. Artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things are two technologies within the development whose popularity has increased in recent years. These technologies in integration have proven to be able to contribute with major business benefits, including in the form of increased precision with regard to analyzes, better customer value and efficiency of downtime. New technology also presents challenges. As the technologies are constantly growing, issues arise regarding safety and ethics and how this should be managed. The aim of this study is to find out how experts value ethical issues when using artificial intelligence in combination with the Internet of Things devices. We focused on the following research question to reach our goal: How are ethical issues evaluated when using artificial intelligence in combination with the Internet of Things? The result we found shows that both researchers and the business world value the ethical aspects highly. The study also shows that they considered the techniques to be the solution to many societal problems, but that ethics should be a topic that should be discussed on an ongoing basis.

Submitted by ANA PAULA MENESES ALVES null (anameneses@fclar.unesp.br) on 2016-08-22T21:27:16Z No. of bitstreams: 1 APMA_tese_final_agosto_2016.pdf: 3627932 bytes, checksum: 279cbab1f32dc1255fc97528c6918564 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Grisoto (grisotoana@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-08-24T17:16:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 alves_apm_dr_mar.pdf: 3627932 bytes, checksum: 279cbab1f32dc1255fc97528c6918564 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-24T17:16:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 alves_apm_dr_mar.pdf: 3627932 bytes, checksum: 279cbab1f32dc1255fc97528c6918564 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-07-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Contexto: Na realidade brasileira atual, tem ficado a cargo das universidades sanar ou reduzir as deficiências dos níveis de ensino fundamental e médio, o desconhecimento do uso ético da informação e a questão do plágio acadêmico. Diante desses problemas no cenário acadêmico brasileiro, é evidente a importância do desenvolvimento da Competência Informacional, em especial, sua dimensão ética. Este trabalho se propõe a verificar o engajamento do bibliotecário para enfrentar os problemas da falta de conhecimentos sobre uso ético da informação e do plágio acadêmico, por meio de ações que promovam o desenvolvimento da dimensão ética da Competência Informacional, com foco no uso ético da informação, propiciando aos usuários e aos próprios bibliotecários, um olhar mais crítico sobre a questão. Objetivos: O objetivo geral foi verificar como os bibliotecários e suas unidades de informação, em dez universidades brasileiras melhor classificadas no Ranking Universitário Folha (RUF), têm preparado as suas respectivas comunidades para o uso ético da informação e para o combate ao plágio no ambiente acadêmico, sob a ótica da Competência Informacional. Pretendia-se, assim, determinar se os bibliotecários das instituições selecionadas estão preparados para atuar em ações específicas de Competência Informacional, em particular aquelas relacionadas à sua dimensão ética; identificar quais ações têm sido desenvolvidas pelas bibliotecas selecionadas; levantar subsídios, que possam direcionar as iniciativas para programas/ações de Competência Informacional, empreendidas pelas bibliotecas e, por fim, caracterizar e comparar quais as dimensões da Competência Informacional são aplicadas pelos bibliotecários universitários em sua atuação. Métodos: Trata-se de uma pesquisa quanti-qualitativa, descritiva e exploratória. O universo foi composto pelas universidades brasileiras e a amostra são constituídos pelos sistemas de bibliotecas das 10 universidades brasileiras melhor classificadas no RUF (USP, UFMG, UFRJ, UFRGS, Unicamp, Unesp, UnB, UFSC, UFPR e UFSCar). A população é constituída por bibliotecários dessas instituições. Realizamos uma revisão da literatura e utilizamos três técnicas de coleta: 1) um formulário de coleta de informações dos sites das bibliotecas; 2) um questionário para os bibliotecários, com o objetivo de determinar percepções, conhecimentos, habilidades e atitudes em relação à Competência Informacional e sua dimensão ética; 3) um questionário para dirigentes dos sistemas de biblioteca para verificar, a partir do ponto de vista do gestor, ações específicas relacionadas à dimensão ética realizadas pela rede de bibliotecas e pela instituição em geral. Resultados: Por meio das informações divulgadas nas páginas das bibliotecas e das respostas dos informantes, foi possível observar que a maioria das ações de Competência Informacional é incipiente e atendem aos níveis iniciais de formação de usuários, com especial atenção para o desenvolvimento de competências vinculadas à busca e à localização da informação, ou seja, relacionadas às técnicas de pesquisa, de recuperação e de análise da informação. Aspectos, como o reconhecimento e a definição da necessidade informacional, as habilidades para identificar, organizar e sintetizar informações e as questões econômicas, legais e sociais que cercam o uso, o acesso e a comunicação de informações, não são plenamente contemplados, isto é, são propostas solitárias, muitas vezes desconhecidas dentro da própria instituição. Dentre os informantes, a maioria dos profissionais não se sente apto a lidar com o tema. No entanto, muitos estão se preparando para atender essa nova demanda por meio de uma educação continuada do profissional. A preparação efetivamente realizada, pela maioria das bibliotecas avaliadas, observa a formação de usuários, visa orientar o uso da biblioteca, das formas de normalização acadêmica e de bases de dados, a disponibilidade de um programa de detecção de plágio, além das sanções penais sobre desagravo as leis de direitos autorais e a realização de plágio acadêmico. Para o combate ao plágio, o foco dado pelas melhores bibliotecas brasileiras consiste na divulgação de medidas diagnósticas (como o uso de software de detecção de plágio) e medidas corretivas (penalização, advertência, suspensão, expulsão e criminalização). Com relação aos subsídios que possam direcionar as novas iniciativas para programas/ações de Competência Informacional com foco no uso ético da informação, o primeiro deles é de desenvolver, no profissional, habilidades que o capacitem para realizar estas proposições como as habilidades de ensino, liderança, integração, design instrucional, planejamento, ética e política. O segundo também trata da preparação e/ou educação continuada do profissional e tem como objetivo discutir o aprimoramento dos aspectos éticos nas atividades informativas e no uso ético da informação. O terceiro consiste no posicionamento mais efetivo contra os impedimentos que inviabilizam as novas ações, como o excesso de atividades da rotina da biblioteca, o pouco conhecimento sobre o tema, a falta de funcionários, a dificuldade de diálogo com a instituição e com as chefias das bibliotecas, a dificuldade de motivação da equipe e a falta de recursos financeiros, são os pontos principais que devem ser trabalhados pelas instituições, pelos dirigentes e pelos próprios bibliotecários com o intuito de abrir espaço a novas atividades que abordem a temática estudada. Com relação a caracterizar e comparar as dimensões de Competência Informacional aplicadas pelos bibliotecários universitários em sua atuação, as informações encontradas nos sites das bibliotecas apontam para a dimensão técnica da Competência Informacional, enquanto que as respostas dos questionários indicam que a dimensão ética foi considerada a mais importante pelos bibliotecários, seguida pela dimensão técnica, política e estética. Conclusões: Em suma, os profissionais demonstraram que realmente compreendem e reconhecem a importância do seu papel e da biblioteca com relação às questões éticas, sob a ótica da Competência Informacional, mas o domínio dos bibliotecários sobre esses temas ainda é basilar e os profissionais apresentam dificuldades para realizarem as suas atividades de maneira adequada. Suas ações práticas ainda são marcadas pela insegurança da falta de domínio teórico e da falta de interação com o corpo docente. Mesmo nas melhores universidades brasileiras, as ações realizadas são orientações básicas, não focam efetivamente o desenvolvimento da Competência Informacional, nem no uso ético da informação e muito menos o combate ao plágio acadêmico. Os bibliotecários não se sentem completamente preparados para lidar com as questões e cobram um apoio mais contundente da instituição, dos dirigentes de sistemas de bibliotecas, dos docentes e dos outros colegas. Desse modo, ainda há muito a se fazer, principalmente no que diz respeito à formação do bibliotecário. O cenário identificado por nosso estudo está longe da perfeição, mas contamos que os aspectos apresentados e discutidos oferecem subsídios teórico-práticos para o planejamento de ações, tanto para as comunidades universitárias quanto aquelas destinadas à educação continuada dos bibliotecários, com vistas a fortalecer as bibliotecas universitárias brasileiras e as suas comunidades. / Context: In Brazil today, universities are in charge of offsetting or reducing primary and secondary school weaknesses, as well as of compensating for the lack of awareness concerning the ethical use of information and academic plagiarism. With these problems in the Brazilian, the importance of developing information literacy seems obvious, especially in its ethical dimension. The present study aims at examining librarian engagement to face problems regarding the lack of knowledge about the ethical use of information and academic plagiarism. This would be done through actions that promote the ethical dimension of the information literacy, focusing on the ethical use of information and providing users and librarians with a more critical view. Objectives: The main objective of our research was to verify, from the information literacy perspective, how librarians and their information units prepare their academic communities for the ethical use of information and the fight against plagiarism. The study was conducted in ten of the best qualified Brazilian universities on the University ranking Folha (RUF). In this way, our aims were to determine whether these librarians were prepared for action in the information literacy field, especially concerning the ethical use of information; to identify which actions were developed by the selected Brazilian university libraries; to gather evidence that could be useful to guide information literacy initiatives launched by Brazilian university libraries; finally, to describe and compare which dimensions of information literacy are applied by university librarians in their daily use. Methods: This is a descriptive and exploratory research, based on qualitative and quantitative analysis. The universe was composed of Brazilian universities and the sample consisted of librarian systems between ten of the best qualified Brazilian universities on the RUF (USP, UFMG, UFRJ, UFRGS, Unicamp, Unesp, UnB, UFSC, UFPR e UFSCar). The population was made up of librarians working on those institutions. After examining the literature, we used three data collection tools; 1) a form to gather information about the library websites; 2) a questionnaire, applied to the librarians, aiming at determining perceptions, knowledge, abilities and attitudes towards information literacy and its ethical dimension; 3) a questionnaire, applied to library directors, designed to verify, from a manager point of view, specific actions related to the ethical dimension and implemented by libraries and institutions as a whole. Results: Thanks to the information gathered on the library websites and the answers of the participants, it was possible to observe that the majority of the actions concerning information literacy is still emerging and responds to basic levels of trainings for users. More specifically, they are related to the competences regarding the research and location of information. In other words, they are associated with research, recuperation and analyses techniques. However, other aspects are not completely considered, such as recognizing and defining information needs, the abilities to identify, organize and summarize information and also economic, legal and social issues that reduce the use, access and the communication of information. That is to say that they are isolated proposals, many times unknown within the institution. Among the participants, most of them do not feel competent enough to deal with the topic. Nevertheless, many of them are preparing themselves through continuous trainings to attend this new demand. Trainings, carried out by the majority of the libraries studied, are concerned about the user and their goal is to orientate the use of the library, the standardization academic forms and the data base, and the availability of a plagiarism detection program, beyond criminal charges for disrespecting copyright and academic plagiarism laws. The effort made by the best Brazilian libraries to fight plagiarism consists of publishing diagnostic and corrective measures (such as the use of software to detect plagiarism and punishments, warnings, suspensions, expulsions or criminalizations). The first evidence that can guide new initiatives related to programs/actions regarding information literacy, focused on the ethical use of information, has to do with developing abilities in the professionals that make them able to implement some actions. They refer to abilities/skills such as teaching, leading, integrating, instructional design, planning, ethics and politics. The second one is also connected with the continuous professional training and/or education and it aims at discussing the improvement of ethical aspects during informative activities and the ethical use of information. The third evidence consists of adopting a more effective attitude against the impediments that make it difficult to take actions, such as the excessive daily activities at the library, the lack of knowledge about the topic, the lack of employees, the difficulty of discussing with the institution and the directors of the libraries, the lack of motivation between the team work and the financial needs. These are some of the main issues that should be addressed by the institutions, directors and librarians if it is to create new spaces dealing with the studied issue. Describing and comparing the dimensions of information literacy implemented by university librarians, the data collected on library websites points out the technical dimension, whereas for the answers of the questionnaires the ethical dimension stands out as the most important, followed by the technical, political and esthetic ones. Conclusions: All in all, professionals proved that they actually understand and recognize the importance of their role, as well as the one of the library, regarding to ethical issues, from an information literacy point of view. However, their abilities concerning this topic are still limited and they find difficulties in accomplishing their tasks appropriately. Their daily actions are still marked by the insecurity, the lack of theoretical support and the need for discussion with the teaching faculty. Even in the best Brazilian universities, actions are basic orientations that focus neither on the development of information literacy, nor on the ethical use of information, let alone on the fight against academic plagiarism. Librarians do not feel completely prepared to deal with these issues and they require more support from the institutions, directors, teachers and colleges. Therefore, there is still a lot to do, especially in terms of librarian trainings. The scene of this research is far from being perfect, but we hope that the presented and discussed aspects will offer theoretical and practical knowledge to plan actions, both for the university communities and the continuous education of librarians, so as to empower Brazilian university libraries and their communities. / Contexto: En la realidad brasileña actual, las universidades se han encargado de subsanar o reducir las deficiencias en los niveles de enseñanza primaria y secundaria, el desconocimiento del uso ético de la información y la cuestión del plagio académico. Con estos problemas en el panorama académico brasileño, surge la importancia de desarrollar la Alfabetización Informacional, en especial, su dimensión ética. El presente trabajo pretende analizar el compromiso del bibliotecario para enfrentar los problemas relacionados con la falta de conocimientos sobre el uso ético de la información y del plagio académico, mediante acciones que promuevan el desarrollo de la dimensión ética de la Alfabetización Informacional. En concreto, en lo que respecta al uso ético de la información, propiciando a los usuarios y a los propios bibliotecarios una visión más crítica sobre dicha cuestión. Objetivos: El objetivo general consistió en verificar de qué forma los bibliotecarios y sus unidades de información, en diez universidades brasileñas de las mejor clasificadas en el ranking universitario Folha (RUF), han preparado a sus respectivas comunidades académicas para hacer un uso ético de la información y combatir el plagio en el ambiente académico, bajo la perspectiva de la Alfabetización Informacional. De este modo, se pretendía: determinar si los bibliotecarios de las instituciones seleccionadas están preparados para actuar en acciones específicas de Alfabetización Informacional, en especial aquellas relacionadas con su dimensión ética; identificar qué acciones han sido desarrolladas por las bibliotecas universitarias brasileñas seleccionadas; recopilar informaciones que puedan orientar las iniciativas destinadas a programas/acciones de Alfabetización Informacional, emprendidas por las bibliotecas universitarias brasileñas; describir y comparar qué dimensiones de la Alfabetización Informacional aplican los bibliotecarios universitarios en su práctica. Metodología: La investigación siguió una metodología mixta (cuantitativa y cualitativa), descriptiva y exploratoria. El estudio se realizó con universidades brasileñas y la muestra estaba formada por los sistemas de bibliotecas de las diez universidades brasileñas mejor posicionadas en el RUF (USP, UFMG, UFRJ, UFRGS, Unicamp, Unesp, UnB, UFSC, UFPR e UFSCar). Los participantes fueron los bibliotecarios de dichas instituciones. Para la recogida de datos, después de haber realizado una revisión de la literatura, empleamos: 1) un formulario para recolectar información sobre las páginas web de las universidades; 2) un cuestionario para los bibliotecarios, con el objetivo de determinar percepciones, conocimientos, habilidades y actitudes en relación a la Alfabetización Informacional y su dimensión ética; 3) un cuestionario para los directores de los sistemas bibliotecarios con el objetivo de analizar, desde el punto de vista del gestor, acciones específicas relacionadas con la dimensión ética e implementadas por la red de bibliotecas y por la institución en general. Resultados: Gracias a la información divulgada en las páginas web de las bibliotecas y de las respuestas de los informantes, fue posible constatar que la mayoría de las acciones de Alfabetización Informacional son incipientes y atienden al nivel de formación inicial de los usuarios, con especial atención al desarrollo de competencias vinculadas a la búsqueda y a la localización de la información. O sea, están relacionadas con las técnicas de investigación, de recuperación y análisis de la información. Aspectos como el reconocimiento y la necesidad informacional, las habilidades para identificar, organizar y sintetizar información y cuestiones económicas, legales y sociales que limitan el uso, el acceso y la comunicación y de la información no están contemplados en su totalidad. Esto es, se trata de propuestas aisladas, muchas veces desconocidas incluso dentro de la propia institución. En cuanto a los informantes, la mayoría de ellos no se sienten preparados para lidiar con el tema. Sin embargo, muchos de ellos se están preparando para atender a esa nueva demanda mediante la formación continua. De hecho, la preparación llevada a cabo por la mayoría de las bibliotecas analizadas se destina a la formación del usuario con la finalidad de orientar el uso de la biblioteca, las formas de normalización académica y de bases de datos, y la disponibilidad de un programa de detección de plagio, más allá de sanciones penales por el desagravio ante las leyes de derechos de autor y del plagio académico. Para combatir el plagio, las mejores bibliotecas brasileñas se han centrado en divulgar medidas de diagnóstico (como el uso de softwares para detectar el plagio) y correctivas (penalización, advertencia, suspensión, expulsión y criminalización). En relación a los indicios que puedan orientar las nuevas iniciativas para programas/acciones de Alfabetización Informacional centrada en el uso ético de la información, el primero de ellos consiste en desarrollar habilidades que capaciten al profesional para realizar estas acciones, como las habilidades de enseñanza, lideranza, integración, diseño de la formación, planificación, ética y política. El segundo también concierne a la preparación y/o la formación continua del profesional y tiene como objetivo discutir la mejora de los conocimientos sobre los aspectos éticos en las actividades informativas y en el uso ético de la información. El tercero consiste en una actitud más efectiva contra los impedimentos que inviabilizan las nuevas acciones, como el exceso de actividades en la rutina de la biblioteca, el desconocimiento del tema, la falta de empleados, la dificultad de dialogar con la institución y con los dirigentes de las bibliotecas, la falta de motivación del equipo de trabajo y la ausencia de recursos financieros. Esos son los principales puntos que deben abordar las instituciones, los dirigentes y los propios bibliotecarios con la finalidad de abrir camino a nuevas actividades que traten la temática estudiada. Conclusiones: En definitiva, los profesionales demostraron que realmente comprenden y reconocen la importancia de su papel y el de la biblioteca en relación a cuestiones éticas, bajo la perspectiva de la Alfabetización Informacional. No obstante, el dominio de los bibliotecarios respecto a esos temas todavía es limitado y los profesionales presentan dificultades a la hora de realizar sus actividades de manera adecuada. Sus prácticas todavía están marcadas por la inseguridad en cuanto a la falta de dominio teórico y de interacción con el cuerpo docente. Incluso en las mejores universidades brasileñas, las acciones realizadas consisten en orientaciones básicas y no están centradas ni en el desarrollo de de la Alfabetización Informacional ni en el uso ético de la información, y mucho menos en combatir el plagio académico. Los bibliotecarios no se sienten completamente preparados para lidiar con estas cuestiones y exigen un apoyo más contundente por parte de la institución, de los dirigentes de sistemas bibliotecarios, de los docentes y del resto de colegas. Por tanto, todavía resta mucho por hacer, principalmente en lo relativo a la formación del bibliotecario. El escenario estudiado está lejos de ser perfecto. No obstante, esperamos que los aspectos presentados y discutidos ofrezcan conocimientos teórico-prácticos para la planificación de acciones, tanto para las comunidades universitarias como para la formación continua de los bibliotecarios, de tal forma que se fortalezcan las bibliotecas universitarias brasileñas y sus comunidades. / CAPES BEX: 7035/14-4

<p dir="ltr">In my dissertation, “Scanlonian Contractualism and Animals,” I take T.M. Scanlon’s ethical contractualism, convert it into a political theory, and apply it to deriving the duties of justice we owe to nonhuman animals. Here is the narrative structure of my dissertation. First, I argue in chapter 1 that nonhuman animals should be included within the scope of morality, or justice, as contractualism construes this notion. Animals are some of the “others” to whom we owe duties, particularly duties of justice. To this effect, I defend a revised version of the argument from marginal cases. </p><p dir="ltr">Second, I tell the reader how contractualism works in detail in chapters 2 and 3, making modifications and conversions into political philosophy along the way. Crucial for my discussion will be the debate between Derek Parfit and Scanlon over issues such as how to take numbers into account within contractualism. Scanlon’s considered view is that personal reasons should be added up to determine what we ought to do, but this is not the aggregation of impersonal value, for example, as in utilitarianism.</p><p dir="ltr">In chapter 4, a major step taken is the conversion of political contractualism into a form of Rawlsian political liberalism. Political liberalism takes the fact of reasonable pluralism of comprehensive doctrines on life’s important questions as a permanent feature of liberal democracy. In order to address this pluralism, political liberalism seeks to provide a political conception of justice that can be endorsed by people who differ on fundamental ethical, philosophical, and religious matters. My version of animal rights contractualism adopts this framework, but it takes work to show how animal rights and political liberalism are compatible.</p><p dir="ltr">Third, in chapter 5, a neutral metric for the harm of death will be suggested, following the requirements of political liberalism to offer a political conception of various aspects of our theories. This needs to be done because the harm of death is a complex, contested philosophical issue. The contractors need this metric to figure out what burdens are imposed by death. A neutral metric is meant to be one that can be endorsed by adherents of different comprehensive philosophical viewpoints in an overlapping consensus.</p><p dir="ltr">Fourth, and finally, some of the specific political duties we have to nonhuman animals will be stated. I survey some of the most common topics that are usually explored here, such as factory-farming, medical research, and hunting. The hope is that at the end of the work, the reader will be convinced that contractualism provides a plausible account of what we owe to each animal.</p>

<div>Anthropogenically driven global change is disrupting ecosystems and habitats of many plant species, straining the ability of native species to survive and reproduce. The overarching goal of this research was to holistically work towards restoration of a threatened tree species by connecting research from different disciplines. In order to do so, the threatened butternut tree (<i>Juglans cinerea</i>) and its hybrids were used as a case study. Hybridization can incorporate stress tolerance in plants and could be a potential restoration tool. Evidence in some wild butternut populations indicates that naturalized hybrids of butternut with Japanese walnut (<i>Juglans ailantifolia</i>) may be more tolerant to butternut canker disease (BCD) than butternut, but this has not been formally tested. Thus, chapter 2 examined potential BCD tolerance within and between unadmixed and hybrid butternut inoculated with two BCD fungal isolates. Differences in canker growth were observed by fungal isolate, which could help to explain some differences in BCD severity found among butternut populations. Smaller and fewer cankers and greater genetic gains were detected in hybrid families, demonstrating that hybrids warrant further evaluation as a possible breeding tool for developing BCD-resistant butternut trees.</div><div>However, even with increased disease tolerance, hybrids must possess similar ecophysiological tolerances to their native progenitor to be an effective replacement. Butternut is extremely cold hardy, but Japanese walnuts are native to a warmer ecosystem, indicating potential disparities in extreme temperature tolerances between the two species and their hybrids. Thus, samples from mature trees were subjected to cold and heat treatments to compare relative extreme temperature tolerances within butternut and between butternut, Japanese walnut, and their hybrids. Within butternut, trees from colder areas exhibited less cold damage than those from warmer areas. Differences in heat damage among provenances occurred but did not follow a clear trend. Butternut exhibited greatest cold tolerance, Japanese walnut exhibited greatest heat tolerance, and hybrids were intermediate. Thus, the utility of hybrids for restoration could be limited at the extremes of the species’ distributions.</div><div>A second, but different type of freeze test was conducted for chapter 4 using seedlings to gain a more nuanced understanding of cold tolerance within butternut and between butternut and its hybrids. No survival or damage differences were detected in butternut provenances, although seedlings from the coldest provenances experienced more delayed budbreak at the two warmest treatments than those from warmer provenances. Interspecific differences were not observed in dieback but were detected in survival and budbreak. The hybrids had greater survival than butternut from warmer provenances at the lowest temperature treatment (-38 °C), but given that temperatures that low are extremely unlikely to occur in those provenances, it is not anticipated to give the hybrids an advantage if planted in those areas. However, the hybrids’ earlier budbreak could limit the success of restoration with these hybrids in the coldest extents of butternut’s range. </div><div>If hybrids, as well as genetically modified (GM) trees, are successfully developed for effective disease tolerance and to serve as an ecologically suitable replacement, success of restoration using hybrids will ultimately depend on those directly responsible for replanting efforts. A survey was administered to land managers in 46 organizations in Indiana to gauge perceptions of hybrid and GM trees, as well as current use of hybrid trees. Land managers had stronger concern for ecological, rather than economic, issues. Agreement was highest for using hybrid and GM trees for “conservation and restoration of at-risk species”, “timber production”, and “non-timber products (fruit, syrup, etc.)”. However, perceptions varied by characteristics, such as concern type, age, and the type of land they managed. Ecological concern and the type of land being managed most strongly predicted current hybrid use. Overall, results indicate the majority of land managers in Indiana would likely be agreeable to recommendations towards using hybrids. However, most nonetheless had strong ecological concerns about their suitability as a native replacement. It is important to note, though, that consistent with the results of previous studies, great variation was seen within the performance and characteristics of the butternut hybrids in chapters 2-4. Thus, it may be possible with careful selection and breeding to harness this variation to develop disease tolerant and ecologically similar hybrids acceptable to land managers.</div>