This paper examines the effect of technological innovation in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics on unemployment levels in Sweden. The paper collects over 1350 AI and Robotics patents from 2010 to 2020 and carefully matches the patent applicant’s address with the respective municipality and county to construct a panel data set. The panel data is then used to analyze the relationship between unemployment and technological change across counties. The empirical design consists of Pooled Fixed Effects and Fixed Effects Models. The study finds a negative association between unemployment levels and AI and Robotics innovations in the former design and insignificant results in the latter.

The importance of technology transfer to produce structural change in developing regions has been well established. However, most previous transfers to developing regions have been unplanned or triggered by actions rather than decisions. Most previous inquiries have been based on unidimensional, sectorial and mostly economic views of technology transfer; this author believes these to be inadequate representations of the transfer process. This dissertation proposes a new inquiring system for technology transfer; one which emphasizes a multidimensional viewpoint of the technology transfer process. Further, this dissertation claims to make three unique contributions: 1. a new hierarchical structure for examining the technology transfer problem. 3. a demonstration example of the suggested methodology. Special emphasis is placed on the needs of planners and policymakers who are considered the clients of the proposed inquiring systems. The hierarchical structure has three levels, each emphasizing the three critical dimensions of technology transfer: 1) resources, 2) transfer mechanisms, and 3) economic and sociocultural consequences. The goals and/or results at each of the three levels of the hierarchical structure are: 2. three measures for assessing thle performance of technology transfer. Level 1: At this level, a novel generalized morphological tree is developed to indicate structural differences of technology transfer along the three critical dimensions. Level 2: At this level, interactious between the variables specified in Level l are considered. These interactions are expressed in the form of self-interaction and cross-interaction matrices. The proposed structure of technology transfer is established in terms of these matrices. Level 3: This level specifies, in a flowgraph form, the decision, information and logic requirements to design a "most satisfactory" technology transfer. The development of these three levels combines quantitative and qualitative viewpoints, since a strictly quantitative approach would lead to an incomplete, unrealistic representation of the problem. The three measures to assess the performance of technology transfer are: feasibility in terms of resources required for transfer,efficiency expressed in terms of applicability of transfer mechanisms, and desirability in terms of the consequences of transfer. Policy statements, in the form of logic or assignment statements, are developed to estimate the nature and magnitude of the three performance measures. A horizontal transfer, specifically the transfer of computer technology to India, is considered to illustrate the proposed methodology. The hierarchical structure is developed and performance measures for the transfer are estimated. The results indicate: (a) the transfer is feasible in terms of most resource requirements, but under the constraints of domestic availability, productivity and cost, (b) the channel direct investment by business -- is most applicable for the transfer. The channels -- entrepreneur and licensing arrangements -- are of limited applicability. The mechanism -- direct investment by Indian government is applicable if long transfer times can be tolerated, and (c) the economic consequences of the transfer are significant and desirable. However, the transfer is found to have little impact on such important sectors as literacy, food, communication and characters of social organization.

Fluctuation in the demand for electrical power and the intermittent nature of the supply of energy from renewable sources like solar and wind have made the need for energy storage a dire necessity. Current storage technologies like batteries and supercapacitors fall short either in terms of power output or in their ability to store sufficient energy. Pseudocapacitors combine features of both and offer an alternative to stabilize the power supply. They possess high rates of charge and discharge and are capable of storing much more energy in comparison to a supercapacitor. In the quest for solutions that are economical and feasible, we have investigated Prussian Blue in aqueous electrolytes for its use as a pseudocapacitor. Two different active materials based on Prussian Blue were prepared; one that has just Prussian Blue and the other that contains a mixture of Prussian Blue and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Four electrolytes differing in the valence of the cation were employed for the study. Cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge were used to characterize the electrodes. Our experiments have shown specific capacitances of Prussian Blue electrodes in the range of 140-720 F/g and that of Prussian Blue-CNT electrodes in the range of ~52 F/g. The remarkable capacity of charge storage in Prussian Blue electrodes is attributed to its electrochemical activity ensuring surface redox and its tunnel-like structure allowing ease of entry and exit for ions like Potassium. Simple methods of synthesis have yielded specific capacitances of the order of hundreds of Farads per gram showing that Prussian Blue has promise as an electrode material for applications needing high rates of charge-discharge.

On previous occasions in society when the labor market has changed due to new technology, there has been concern that people would lose their jobs. Over the past year, the development of various AI tools has emerged, which has affected people both in their personal lives and professional careers. By examining previous research in conjunction with interviewing individuals working as programmers, a depiction is presented of how the perception of AI looks within the specific professional role. Six semi-structured interviews were conducted, where individuals with different experiences and roles shared their perceptions of the development. The data from the interviews was analyzed and compared with the theory and previous research presented. The respondents' overall perception is positive, and they believed that AI would rather serve as an aid in their profession in the future. According to all respondents, the industry will undergo some changes, but primarily through streamlining and reducing manual work, rather than taking over their roles. Some of the respondents believed that AI could pose a threat to the programming profession, but it will take longer than ten years for that to happen.

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This study aims to understand how, and if, women use smartphones to enhance their safety when out of the home. Proven safety is difficult to measure, especially through a cross-sectional study; this research will assess how and if women feel safer through adapting how they use their smartphone. The primary research is predominately focused on gathering data from within the UK to understand and assess smartphone behaviours there and the impact these behaviours have on safety.  Existing research also focuses on the UK but takes lessons and development findings from across the globe to be applied as a proxy to the study and to better inform the research in the wider communication for development spectrum.   The key questions being addressed are to understand if women feel their safety is enhanced using their smartphone and if so, how they think this safety is being improved by using their smartphone. The final question addresses how these issues are answered and how communication could be enhanced to promote future safety developments within the sphere of women’s physical safety.    Data was conducted through carrying out primary research through quantitative online surveys and qualitative focus groups. The first offered robust data collection for men and women across age ranges, the second enabled for more detailed finding to be uncovered. This research was carried out in the UK (which is the initial focus of the study); this was a practical approach in terms of geographical location and language barriers, but in follow up analysis, it was also possible to find UK specific information on both smartphone usage and women’s safety. This resulted in there being a range of data to work with and analyse. This was useful to then apply comdev theories to and understand potential ways existing approaches could be developed and utilised around the world. Existing literature within the fields of women’s safety and smartphone usage was assessed to glean a more robust understanding and worldly viewpoint. Theoretical themes were addressed through literature research.    The results indicated that women were wary of their physical environments and adjusted or adapted their behaviours through their smartphone usage more so than men did to improve their safety   As this can be considered a broad and complex topic, there are several theories incorporated. For many women across the globe, the digital revolution, and smartphones, have acted as a means of empowerment. They enable humans to connect with one another regardless of where they are. For women, this has had a massive impact on safety by being able to quickly connect with other, they used messaging options with selected friends/family to notify their whereabouts to enhance their safety, others chose location sharing apps; both of which tie in with the idea of an invited space (Tufte); in this case a virtual space of safety, where the outside physical space may pose as danger. To coincide with this, many of the apps mentioned work through participatory methods, whereby users opt in to improve their safety and the safety of others.

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Philosophers of technology have often considered only the tools and processes used and conducted by humans, but natural structures and man-made structures are not always easily discernable from one another. The complexity of a spider web is not matched by many human-made technologies. Beaver dams, beehives, and ant hills are great creations made by non-human animals. Davis Baird has argued that our scientific instruments bear knowledge in important ways, and the idea of technological knowledge bears interestingly on discussions of natural artifacts. Baird thinks his argument for instruments bearing knowledge can be extended, but how far can it be taken? Do "natural" technologies, like spider webs, bear technological knowledge of some sort? This move to consider whether natural artifacts might bear knowledge rubs interestingly against current definitions of technology which include human agency or progression as important. If we find that some natural artifacts seem to bear knowledge in the way Baird describes, technological knowledge would not be the exclusive domain of humans. Our current definitions of technology seem incongruent with our view of knowledge and our knowledge of natural artifacts. The purpose of this paper is to sort out the inconsistencies between current philosophical literature on knowledge and on technology. In sorting out the inconsistencies we find, I recommend a spectrum approach with regard to technology based on the epistemological status of the artifact. Using observations from anthropology and biology, I suggest a scale with regard to technological behavior, tool use, and technology. / Master of Science

Yes / In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, organizations increasingly invest in different technologies to enhance their innovation capabilities. Among the technological investment, a notable development is the applications of big data analytics (BDA), which plays a pivotal role in supporting firms’ decision-making processes. Big data technologies are important factors that could help both exploratory and exploitative innovation, which could affect the efforts to combat climate change and ease the shift to green energy. However, studies that comprehensively examine BDA’s impact on innovation capability and technological cycle remain scarce. This study therefore investigates the impact of BDA on innovation capability, technological cycle, and firm performance. It develops a conceptual model, validated using CB-SEM, through responses from 356 firms. It is found that both innovation capability and firm performance are significantly influenced by big data technology. This study highlights that BDA helps to address the pressing challenges of climate change mitigation and the transition to cleaner and more sustainable energy sources. However, our results are based on managerial perceptions in a single country. To enhance generalizability, future studies could employ a more objective approach and explore different contexts. Multidimensional constructs, moderating factors, and rival models could also be considered in future studies.