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Will Sweden's municipal rescue services meet future challenges? How should small municipalities cope with increased requirements at the same time as the tax revenue is reduced? What are the incentives for municipalities to cooperate? The purpose of the thesis is to investigate what makes small municipalities choose to seek cooperation with other municipalities to solve their statutory task. In this essay, the municipal rescue service will be used as the case where the municipalities cooperate. The thesis has a theory-consuming method which means that the focus is on the different cases that are investigated. In the essay, the chairman of the municipal board in five smaller municipalities was interviewed to see what reasons, incentives and effects they see in their cooperation. The two incentives that clearly was higlighted by the municipalities are as follows:- To achieve sufficient quality of business- To improve the competence provision and recruitmentAll municipalities have chosen to highlight these areas as key incentives for why collaboration in municipal associations for the rescue service activities is important. In the interview part, most of the municipalities have highlighted these two areas that are difficult to manage on their own. / Kommer Sveriges kommunala räddningstjänster klara framtida utmaningar? Hur ska små kommuner klara av ökade krav samtidigt som skatteunderlaget minskar? Vad finns det för incitament för kommuner att samarbeta? Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka vad som gör att kommuner väljer att söka samarbete med andra kommuner för att lösa sin lagstiftade uppgift. I detta fallet kommer kommunal räddningstjänst att användas som verksamhet där kommunerna samarbetar. Uppsatsen tittar på vilka incitament och vad för effekter som upplevs göra att samarbete mellan kommuner uppstår. Uppsatsen tittar på befintliga samarbeten/samverkan mellan kommuner som finns etablerad och vad som lyfts fram varför de väljer att samverka. Uppsatsen har en teorikonsumerande metod som innebär att fokus ligger på de olika fall som undersöks. Fokus i uppsatsen är att synliggöra effekter och incitament till att ingå i samverkan mellan kommuner och hur det uppstår. I uppsatsen intervjuades kommunstyrelsens ordförande i fem mindre kommunerna för att se vilka skäl, incitament och effekter som dom ser i sitt samarbete. Vid intervjuerna framkommer två områden som tydligt lyfts fram både i intervjudelen samt graderingen av incitament. Dessa två områden är följande: - Att uppnå tillräcklig kvalité på verksamheten - Att förbättra kompetensförsörjning och rekrytering Samtliga kommuner har valt att lyfta fram dessa områden som nyckelincitament för varför samverkan i kommunalförbund för räddningstjänstverksamheten är viktig. I intervjudelen så har merparten av kommunerna lyft fram dessa två områden som svåra att klara av på egen hand. / <p>2022-05-25</p>

I takt med att det försvarspolitiska läget omkring Sverige försämrats, har regeringen sedan 2015 beslutat att man för första gången sedan kalla krigets slut aktivt ska jobba med planering av civilförsvaret. Redan 1995 kom dock en ny lag om det civila försvaret som flyttade ansvaret för räddningstjänst under höjd beredskap till kommunerna. Innan hade ansvaret varit statligt. Vilka uppgifter som ska lösas av räddningstjänsten under höjd beredskap regleras i LSO (Lagen om Skydd mot Olyckor), och innefattar, förutom de uppgifter som ska lösas under fredstid, även uppgifter om att indikera och sanera kemiskt eller nukleärt kontaminerade områden, samt att röja farliga områden från exempelvis oexploderad ammunition. Utöver att reglera vilka uppgifter som ska lösas vid höjd beredskap står det även i LSO att räddningstjänster ska tillvarata möjligheten att samarbeta med varandra, vilket kan bli problematiskt vid höjd beredskap, då räddningstjänsten är en kommunal resurs.  Syftet med rapporten har varit att belysa vissa svårigheter som kan komma att uppstå vid förhöjd beredskap, till en följd av sammanslagningar av till exempel räddningstjänster, och nedrustningen av civilförsvaret. Vidare har även studien syftat till att presentera hur landets räddningstjänster, räddningstjänstförbund och länsstyrelser idag jobbar med frågan. Rapporten har dock enbart berört den kommunala räddningstjänsten och omfattar inte fjäll-, flyg- och sjöräddningstjänst, efterforskning av försvunna personer i andra fall, miljöräddningstjänst till sjöss samt räddningstjänst vid utsläpp av radioaktiva ämnen, vilka alla är statliga resurser.  Dagligen råder det grundberedskap över hela Sverige, och då fungerar och leds samhället på det sätt man är van vid idag. Regeringen som är det högsta beslutande organet i Sverige kan vid behov besluta om att landet ska gå upp i höjd beredskap. Detta kan ske vid kriser eller i yttersta fall vid krig. Beredskapen behöver inte höjas i hela landet samtidigt utan kan höjas enbart på de ställen det behövs. Som en följd av beredskapsförändringen börjar vissa andra lagar gälla i Sverige och ledningsförhållandena i kommuner, regioner och staten ändras. Det är alltså hur planeringen inför eventuell beredskapshöjning ser ut som undersökts i denna rapport. Detta gjordes genom en enkätundersökning som gick ut till delar av landets räddningstjänster och länsstyrelser, där de fick besvara fyra frågor gällande planering av höjd beredskap. Majoriteten av de som svarat på enkäterna som skickats ut har svarat att de behöver styrningar från staten för att kunna genomföra planeringen på ett korrekt sätt. Vidare efterfrågas även fler resurser, både personella, materiella, ekonomiska och extra kompetens för att kunna lösa de tillkommande uppgifterna. Enkätfrågorna berör också ett nytt ledningssystem som börjat gälla 1/1 2022, som enligt svaren från enkäterna inte innehåller någon information om hur ledningen vid höjd beredskap ska fungera. Många menar också att det har gått för snabbt från det att regeringen ordersatt planering av höjd beredskap, till dess att planeringen påbörjades, varför det skiljer sig mycket mellan olika kommuner och län med hur planeringsarbetet går till. Därför har rapportens frågeställningar inte kunnat besvaras med något annat än att det i dagsläget inte finns något tydligt svar på hur planeringen och prioriteringar fungerar utan är en fråga som måste lösas på högre statlig nivå innan kommunerna kan starta upp och driva arbetet vidare.

The intensity and frequency of hurricanes and storms increase due to climate change, leaving destruction in their trail. After a hurricane happens, it is fundamental to respond as quickly as possible, and Search and Rescue operations occur to limit human damage further. The operations take place in hostile environments and extreme situations, where speed and efficiency are essential. Indeed, rescuers must be able to have a shared mental model of the situation and act immediately. This study focuses on visualizing situational awareness in such environments to optimize decision-making.  This study has been conducted in collaboration with Frog design and Sony and is part of the broader project FindMe Tag, a system composed of a wearable device that tracks civilians’ location and biometric data. The tag is connected to an app for civilians to handle which data to share. The data is shared to the rescuers’ dashboard for optimizing Search and Rescue operations, which is the focus of this thesis.  Following a Research through Design approach, this thesis project aims to contribute to the interaction design field by proposing a way to visualize situational awareness during extreme and dynamic situations. The process resulted in a dashboard prototype to support Search and Rescue operations by providing a way to visualize data concerning civilians’ status and rescuers, communicate among teams, and encourage connectedness among civilians.

Among viral diseases affecting cultivated tomato, Tomato yellow leaf curl disease (TYLCD) is one of the most devastating. This disease is caused by a complex of viruses of which Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) is regarded as the most important species. Current control strategies to fight viral diseases in tomato are mainly based on genetic resistance derived from wild relatives. In the present thesis, resistance derived from S. chilense and S. peruvianum has been exploited in breeding for resistance to TYLCD. In a previous study, TYLCV-resistant breeding lines derived from LA1932, LA1960 and LA1971 S. chilense accessions were developed. Therefore, the first objective of this thesis was to study the genetic control of the resistance derived from these accessions. With this aim, response to viral infection was assayed in segregating generations derived from the aforementioned resistant lines. The results obtained were compatible with a monogenic control of resistance. Resistance levels were higher in LA1960- and LA1971-derived F2 generations, as shown by slighter symptoms in the resistant plants and a higher number of asymptomatic plants compared with the results obtained in the LA1932-derived F2 generation. It is noteworthy that the level of resistance present in our materials is comparable to or even higher than the levels found in tomato lines homozygous for Ty-1. The response in plants heterozygous for the resistance gene was comparable to the response in homozygous plants for all three sources employed. This implies that the resistance genes derived from all three sources seem to be almost completely dominant. This effect was stronger for LA1971-derived resistance. The results were similar when comparing viral accumulation, as was expected, since a positive correlation was found in these families between viral accumulation and symptom scores. This has important implications in breeding, since the resistance will be used mostly for hybrid development. Our second objective was to map the loci associated with the major resistance genes identified. A total of 263 markers were screened, 94 of them being polymorphic between both species. Recombinant analysis allowed the resistance loci to be localized on chromosome 6, in a marker interval of 25 cM. This interval includes the Ty-1/Ty-3 region, where two S. chilense-derived TYLCD resistance loci were previously mapped. In order to test if the resistance genes identified in our populations were allelic to Ty-1 and Ty-3, further fine mapping was carried out. A total of 13 additional molecular markers distributed on chromosome 6 allowed 66 recombinants to be identified, and the resistance region to be shortened to a marker interval of approximately 950 kb, which overlaps with the Ty-1/Ty-3 region described previously by other authors. Therefore, the results obtained indicate that closely linked genes or alleles of the same gene govern TYLCV resistance in several S. chilense accessions. The third objective of the present thesis was to start the construction of a set of introgression lines (ILs) derived from Solanum peruvianum accession PI 126944 into the cultivated tomato genetic background. Once this collection of ILs is developed, it will represent a powerful tool for exploiting the resistance to different pathogens found in this particular accession in addition to other possible characters of interest. The starting plant material consisted of several segregating generations that were derived from two interspecific hybrids previously obtained by our group. Many crosses and embryo rescue were required to obtain subsequent generations due to the high sexual incompatibility that exists between tomato and PI 126944. Several mature fruits from the most advanced generations produced a few viable seeds, although embryo rescue was also employed to obtain progeny. As only a few plants were obtained by direct backcrossing, additional crosses were made in order to increase the number of descendants. A high degree of incompatibility was also found in crosses between sib plants. A total of 263 molecular markers were tested in some generations, 105 being polymorphic between tomato and PI 126944. Available generations were genotyped with these polymorphic markers in order to determine which alleles of S. peruvianum were already introgressed. On average, 79, 78 and 84 % of the S. peruvianum genome was represented in the pseudo-F2, pseudo-F4 and pseudo-F5 generations, respectively, for the markers analyzed. A reduction in the S. peruvianum genome was observed in more advanced generations, such as BC1 (56 %), pseudo-F2-BC1 (60 %) and pseudo-F3-BC1 (70 %). A greater reduction was observed in the pseudo-F3-BC2 generation (33 %). As a consequence of the reduction in the S. peruvianum genome, a loss of incompatibility was observed in some cases. The S. peruvianum genome was almost completely represented among the different plants of the most advanced generations. An evaluation for resistance to TYLCD and Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) was carried out in some of the advanced generations, some of which were resistant to one or both viruses. In conclusion, we have conducted a successful and deeper exploitation of two wild species with proved resistance to TYLCD, S. chilense and S. peruvianum, identifying and fine mapping new genes of resistance. / Julián Rodríguez, O. (2014). Exploitation of Solanum chilense and Solanum peruvianum in tomato breeding for resistance to Tomato yellow leaf curl disease [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/36867

Los pimientos, chiles y ajíes suponen uno de los productos de mayor importancia económica del mundo, ocupando la séptima posición en superficie entre las hortícolas. Bajo estas denominaciones se engloba un grupo de cinco especies cultivadas y más de veinte especies silvestres pertenecientes al género Capsicum. Entre las especies domesticadas, C. annuum es la más relevante económicamente y su cultivo se extiende por casi todo el mundo. C. chinense (Ej. Tipo Habanero) y C. frutescens (Ej. Tipo Tabasco) son filogenéticamente cercanos a C. annuum y los tres conforman el complejo annuum-frutescens-chinense. Las otras dos especies, menos conocidas son C. baccatum (Ej. Tipo Ají) y C. pubescens (Ej. Tipo Rocoto), siendo esta última la más alejada filogenéticamente del resto de las especies domesticadas. Dada la compleja cruzabilidad que presentan estas especies, la mejora del pimiento común (C. annuum) se ha restringido principalmente al germoplasma primario (intraespecie). Sin embargo, en diferentes estudios de cribado en especies relacionadas -germoplasma secundario- como C. chinense, C. frutescens y C. baccatum se han encontrado diversos genes de interés para estreses bióticos (resistencia a plagas y enfermedades) y abióticos (tolerancia a salinidad, estrés hídrico). Así, el desarrollo de estudios dirigidos a mejorar la eficiencia de la hibridación interespecífica, tales como determinar y superar barreras a la hibridación, aumentan en gran medida la variabilidad genética disponible para los mejoradores. Por otra parte, los principales métodos de mejora en pimiento (autofecundación, retrocruces, selección recurrente) requieren sucesivas generaciones de selección y fecundación (retrocruzamientos y/o autofecundaciones), requiriendo entre 7 y 8 años (asumiendo una generación por año) para desarrollar una nueva variedad. Así, estudiar y optimizar técnicas tales como el cultivo in vitro de embriones inmaduros, evitarían la espera de la maduración del fruto, lo que podría reducir el tiempo generacional y aceleraría el programa de mejora, reduciendo los costos para las empresas productoras de semillas. / Manzur Poblete, JPA. (2014). Técnicas y estrategias de mejora para facilitar la hibridación interespecífica y el acortamiento del ciclo generacional en el género Capsicum [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/37197

We introduce a framework that would enable using autonomous aerial vehicles in search and rescue scenarios associated with missing person incidents to assist human searchers. We formulate a lost person behavior model and a human searcher model informed by data collected from past search missions. These models are used to generate a probabilistic heatmap of the lost person's position and anticipated searcher trajectories. We use Gaussian processes with a Gibbs' kernel for data fusion to accurately model a limited field-of-view sensor. Our algorithm thereby computes a set of trajectories for a team of aerial vehicles to autonomously navigate, so as to assist and complement human searchers' efforts. / Master of Science / Our goal is to assist human searchers using autonomous aerial vehicles in search and rescue scenarios associated with missing person incidents. We formulate a lost person behavior model and a human searcher model informed by data collected from past search missions. These models are used to generate a probabilistic heatmap of the lost person’s position and anticipated searcher trajectories. We use Gaussian processes for data fusion with Gibbs’ kernel to accurately model a limited field-of-view sensor. Our algorithm thereby computes a set of trajectories for a team of aerial vehicles to autonomously navigate, so as to assist and complement human searchers’ efforts.

Unfavorable environmental and (or) human displacement may engender the need for Search and Rescue (SAR). Challenges such as inaccessibility, large search areas, and heavy reliance on available responder count, limited equipment and training makes SAR a challenging problem. Additionally, SAR operations also pose significant risk to involved responders. This opens a remarkable opportunity for robotic systems to assist and augment human understanding of the harsh environments. A large body of work exists on the introduction of ground and aerial robots in visual and temporal inspection of search areas with varying levels of autonomy. Unfortunately, limited autonomy is the norm in such systems, due to the limitations presented by on-board UAV resources and networking capabilities. In this work we propose a new multi-agent approach to SAR and introduce a wearable compute cluster in the form factor of a backpack. The backpack allows offloading compute intensive tasks such as Lost Person Behavior Modelling, Path Planning and Deep Neural Network based computer vision applications away from the UAVs and offers significantly high performance computers to execute them. The backpack also provides for a strong networking backbone and task orchestrators which allow for enhanced coordination and resource sharing among all the agents in the system. On the basis of our benchmarking experiments, we observe that the backpack can significantly boost capabilities and success in modern SAR responses. / Master of Science / Unfavorable environmental and (or) human displacement may engender the need for Search and Rescue (SAR). Challenges such as inaccessibility, large search areas, and heavy reliance on available responder count, limited equipment and training makes SAR a challenging problem. Additionally, SAR operations also pose significant risk to involved responders. This opens a remarkable opportunity for robotic systems to assist and augment human understanding of the harsh environments. A large body of work exists on the introduction of ground and aerial robots in visual and temporal inspection of search areas with varying levels of autonomy. Unfortunately, limited autonomy is the norm in such systems, due to the limitations presented by on-board UAV resources and networking capabilities. In this work we propose a new multi-agent approach to SAR and introduce a wearable compute cluster in the form factor of a backpack. The backpack allows offloading compute intensive tasks such as Lost Person Behavior Modelling, Path Planning and Deep Neural Network based computer vision applications away from the UAVs and offers significantly high performance computers to execute them. The backpack also provides for a strong networking backbone and task orchestrators which allow for enhanced coordination and resource sharing among all the agents in the system. On the basis of our benchmarking experiments, we observe that the backpack can significantly boost capabilities and success in modern SAR responses.

Autonomous robots have proven to be useful for search and rescue (SAR) by being deployed in emergency situations and removing the need for direct human presence. However, there remains a need for effective communication between the robot and human operator to cooperate as a team. This thesis investigates the question of when to explain an autonomous agent’s behaviour in the setting of human-robot teaming. A game environment is developed to conduct a virtual SAR experiment to test the effect of explanation timings between two conditions: (1) always explaining - the robot provides explanations whenever possible, and (2) anticipatory explaining - the robot determines when to explain based on the context. When to explain is determined through the construction of argumentation frameworks modelling the context. The effect of anticipatory information pushing is tested on two metrics: team performance and explanation experience. Results indicate anticipatory explaining does not have a significant effect on team performance and participants’ explanation satisfaction. Additionally, participant feedback shows they prefer to be in control instead of cooperating as a team. These findings underline the importance of studying explanation presentation in high-demanding environments and indicate a need for interdisciplinary discussion on the design of human-robot teaming.

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