This thesis deals with a construction of modified RepRap 3D printer Rebel II which operates with Fused Deposition Modeling technology and selection of suitable criterion for printing. It mainly focuses on the temperature of the material being printed and speed of printing for three selected materials. Materials were selected based on availability in the market and their application. An experiment, focusing on surface changes of products as well as on the look of a fibre after passing through a nozzle, was performed.

The case of the National Liberation Army (NLA) in Macedonia, taking up arms against the state in 2001, is a largely underrepresented in the literature. Thus, basing this study on the theory of contingent events and a relational perspective, the purpose of this study is to examine the processes and motives behind individuals joining the National Liberation Army in Macedonia. This was done by conducting semi-structured interviews with former rebels and combatants from Macedonia and analysing the material qualitatively, using the constant comparative method through the lens of the theory. The study of civil wars and rebel participation and mobilisation have long been dominated by quantitative studies and rational choice theory, which is why this study instead is qualitative in nature and based on the personal and individual perspectives of former combatants. I found that the main reasoning behind joining the NLA was to increase the rights for Albanians in Macedonia. Further, rebel participation, as well as the development of the motives behind it, were the result of a process of experiencing discrimination and contingent events. The eruption of violence can be contributed to the relationship and interactions between the Albanians experiencing discrimination and the Macedonian state, having acted as an oppressor. Thus, the results include not only understanding why individuals joined the NLA, but also how.

No description available.

<p>Rebel attacks on civilians constitute one of the gravest threats to human security in contemporary armed conflicts. But why do rebel groups kill civilians? The dissertation approaches this question from a strategic perspective, trying to understand when and why rebel groups are likely to target civilians as a conflict strategy. It combines quantitative studies using global data on rebel group violence with a case study of the civil war in Mozambique. The overall argument is that rebel groups target civilians as a way of improving their bargaining position in the war relative to the government. The dissertation consists of an introduction, which situates the study in a wider context, and four papers that all deal with different aspects of the overall research question. Paper I introduces new data on one-sided violence against civilians, presenting trends over time and comparing types of actors and conflicts. Paper II argues that democratic governments are particularly vulnerable to rebel attacks on civilians, since they are dependent on the population. Corroborating this claim, statistical evidence shows that rebels indeed kill more civilians when fighting a democratic government. Paper III argues that rebels target civilians more when losing on the battlefield, as a method of raising the costs for the government to continue fighting. A statistical analysis employing monthly data on battle outcomes and rebel violence, supports this argument. Paper IV takes a closer look at the case of Mozambique, arguing that the rebel group Renamo used large-scale violence in areas dominated by government constituents as a means for hurting the government. Taken together, these findings suggest that violence against civilians should be understood as a strategy, rather than a consequence, of war.</p>

No description available.

Rebel attacks on civilians constitute one of the gravest threats to human security in contemporary armed conflicts. But why do rebel groups kill civilians? The dissertation approaches this question from a strategic perspective, trying to understand when and why rebel groups are likely to target civilians as a conflict strategy. It combines quantitative studies using global data on rebel group violence with a case study of the civil war in Mozambique. The overall argument is that rebel groups target civilians as a way of improving their bargaining position in the war relative to the government. The dissertation consists of an introduction, which situates the study in a wider context, and four papers that all deal with different aspects of the overall research question. Paper I introduces new data on one-sided violence against civilians, presenting trends over time and comparing types of actors and conflicts. Paper II argues that democratic governments are particularly vulnerable to rebel attacks on civilians, since they are dependent on the population. Corroborating this claim, statistical evidence shows that rebels indeed kill more civilians when fighting a democratic government. Paper III argues that rebels target civilians more when losing on the battlefield, as a method of raising the costs for the government to continue fighting. A statistical analysis employing monthly data on battle outcomes and rebel violence, supports this argument. Paper IV takes a closer look at the case of Mozambique, arguing that the rebel group Renamo used large-scale violence in areas dominated by government constituents as a means for hurting the government. Taken together, these findings suggest that violence against civilians should be understood as a strategy, rather than a consequence, of war.

Why do some rebel groups perpetrate conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) while others do not? A growing body of research has suggested various explanations, but offers no consensus regarding this puzzling question. At the same time, recent studies have recognized how foreign fighters impact rebel groups’ violence against civilians. Yet, to what extent the presence of foreign fighters could also explain rebel-inflicted CRSV remains unexplored. In this study, I argue that rebel groups with foreign fighters are more likely to perpetrate CRSV than rebel groups without foreign fighters, based on two causal mechanisms. Firstly, foreign fighters pose a risk to the internal cohesion of rebel groups, which is why CRSV is initiated as a socialization tool. Secondly, foreign fighters alleviate the rebel groups dependency on the local civilian community, thereby enabling such violence. The results from logistic regressions, based on a sample of 45 rebel groups between 1989 and 2014, indicate that there is indeed covariation between the presence of foreign fighters and CRSV occurrence. The findings contribute to the ongoing scholarly debate trying to explain variations in CRSV, as well as to the emerging field of foreign fighters' effect on violence against civilians. The results also have relevant policy implications for the international efforts in preventing CRSV.

Bakgrund: Den psykiatriska öppenvården präglas av låg bemanning och långa vårdköer. Det finns stora svårigheter med att både rekrytera och behålla personal, vilket har medfört minskad kompetens och en mer krävande vårdmiljö. När vårdkvaliteten har minskat faller fler patienter “mellan stolarna”. Vissa sjuksköterskor har en tro på att vården kan utvecklas, och de vågar göra saker annorlunda. De kan även övertyga sina kollegor att göra saker annorlunda, speciellt när omvårdnaden står på spel. Dessa sjuksköterskor står ut och går mot strömmen, de bryter normer och regler. Deras önskan är att förbättra vården för patienterna samtidigt som de vill bidra till en mer positiv arbetsmiljö för sina kollegor. Dessa sjuksköterskor kallas för “rebellsjuksköterskor”. Genom denna studie kan en ökad förståelse fås för dessa rebellsjuksköterskor, och hur de ska uppnå sin önskan om att utveckla patientarbetet. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av rebelledarskap i psykiatrisk öppenvård. Metod: Studien har genomförts genom deskriptiv design med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Datainsamlingen har skett genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med 9 sjuksköterskor med erfarenhet av rebelledarskap i den psykiatriska öppenvården. Resultat: Resultatet består av trehuvudkategorier (1) Att rebellsjuksköterskan önskar stöd i sitt arbete (2) Att rebellsjuksköterskan har förmågan att hantera motstånd (3) Att rebellsjuksköterskan är självständig och tar ansvar för patientens vård. Slutsats: Genom att hitta lösningar för att göra vården mer anpassad efter patientens behov kan en rebelledare bidra till att utveckla den psykiatriska öppenvården. Sjuksköterskors rebelledarskap har inte tidigare belysts inom denna kontext. Mer forskning behövs för att ta reda på vilket sätt rebellsjuksköterskans arbete påverkar en patients återhämtningsprocess. Genom att påvisa en positiv effekt finns en större möjlighet att mer utrymme kan fås för vidare utvecklingsarbete.

The task of training AIs for imperfect-information games has long been difficult. However, recently the algorithm ReBeL, a general framework for self-play reinforcement learning, has been shown to excel at heads-up no-limit Texas hold 'em, among other imperfect-information games. In this report the ability to adapt ReBeL to a downscaled version of the strategy wargame \say{Game of the Generals} is explored. It is shown that an implementation of ReBeL that uses no domain-specific knowledge is able to beat all benchmark bots, which indicates that ReBeL can be a useful framework when training AIs for imperfect-information wargames. / Det har länge varit en utmaning att träna AI:n för spel med imperfekt information. Nyligen har dock algoritmen ReBeL, ett generellt ramverk för självspelande förstärkningsinlärning, visat lovande prestanda i heads-up no-limit Texas hold 'em och andra spel med imperfekt information. I denna rapport undersöks ReBeLs förmåga att anpassas till en nedskalad version av spelet \say{Game of the Generals}, vilket är ett strategiskt krigsspel. Det visas att en implementation av ReBeL som inte använder någon domänspecifik kunskap klarar av att besegra alla bottar som användes vid jämförelse, vilket indikerar att ReBeL kan vara ett användbart ramverk för att träna AI:n för krigsspel med imperfekt information.

Although a relatively new research field, many quantitative studies have over the past decade been undertaken examining rebel governance as an insurgent practice in intrastate conflicts around the globe. Nevertheless, gaps persist in the understanding of how common aspects of rebel governance, such as inclusive service provision, affect competing non-state actors in multi-rebel group conflict landscapes. Hitherto, this is the research puzzle of interest. This study asks the question: how is rebel group violence against civilians affected by a rival rebel group practising inclusive service provision? The hypothesis is that the level of violence against civilians practised by a rebel group decreases if a rival rebel group engages in inclusive service provision. The applied research method is a qualitative structured focused comparison between ELN in Colombia and GIA in Algeria from 1994 to 1999. The study does not find support for the hypothesised causal relationship, although forms of attempted emulation and outbidding of rival actors seem present in both studied cases. Further research is needed to fully dismiss the possibility of rival rebel group inclusive service provision sharing a negative variable relationship with rebel group violence against civilians.