We contribute to the empirical literature on the debt bias of corporate income taxation through a firm-level evaluation of the European Commission's recent proposal of an Allowance for Growth and Investment (AGI). We use the introduction, the application and the repeal of a similar allowance in Austria during the early 2000s to evaluate the effects of the AGI on corporate equity and profit distribution. Our analysis provides evidence that such an allowance could increase corporate equity ratios by 5.5 percentage points and reduce profit distributions by 7.6 percentage points. These effects are stronger than those the previous literature for traditional Allowance for Corporate Equity (ACE) tax systems has identified. Additionally, we contribute to the recently expanding literature on the influence of ownership on tax planning as we find significant differences in the utilization of the AGI depending on individual specifics of the majority shareholder as well as depending on the number of shareholders of the respective firms. / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

This study examines the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Labour Market within the next decade. Methods and limitations in the technology and their correlation to work, as well as the possible developments likely to be seen in the coming decade, is presented. It also looks at whether Artificial General Intelligence (a system that meet human performance in all fields) could be invented in the next ten years. So far, methods like machine-, deep- and reinforcement learning has resulted in systems that sometimes exceed human performance but are narrow in skill and proficiency. Meaning that AGI is very unlikely to be achieved before 2030. AI is estimated to replace work in the production-, service-, care- and welfare-, transport-, and warehouse sector. The conclusion, however, is that transformation will happen in a pace such that society will be able manage it without the changes causing mass-unemployment.

No description available.

La région fos de la souche d’Escherichia coli pathogène aviaire BEN2908 permet le métabolisme des fructanes, des prébiotiques largement utilisés en alimentation humaine et animale. Ce métabolisme contribue à l’implantation de BEN2908 dans son réservoir, l’intestin. La région fos, située au sein de l’îlot génomique AGI-3, est composée de 6 gènes codant pour un transporteur de sucre et des enzymes impliquées dans le métabolisme des fructanes, et d’un gène transcrit de façon divergente codant pour FosR, un régulateur transcriptionnel de la famille LacI/GalR. Nous avons montré que l’expression des gènes fos est réprimée par FosR, contrôlée par la répression catabolique et induite en présence de fructanes. FosR se lie à 2 séquences opératrices de la région promotrice de l’opéron fos et cette liaison est inhibée en présence de fructanes, surtout par le 1-kestose. La région fos confère un avantage de croissance en présence de contenu cæcal et contribue à la colonisation des cæca in vivo. De plus, AGI-3 est mobile et transférable, ce qui suggère une possible diffusion du métabolisme des fructanes au sein de l’espèce E. coli. / The fos region of the avian pathogenic Escherichia coli strain BEN2908 is involved in fructan metabolism, prebiotics widely used commercially in food products for both humans and animals. This metabolism contributes to the establishment of BEN2908 in its reservoir, the intestine. The fos region, located within the genomic island AGI-3, is composed of six genes encoding a sugar transporter and enzymes involved in fructan metabolism, and of a divergently transcribed gene encoding a transcriptional regulator, FosR, belonging to the LacI/GalR family. We demonstrated that the expression of fos genes is repressed by FosR, controlled by catabolite repression and induced in the presence of fructans. FosR binds to two operator sequences of the fos operon promoter region. This binding to DNA is inhibited in the presence of fructans, especially by 1-kestose. The fos region strongly benefits growth on cecal content and colonization of the ceca in vivo. Moreover, AGI-3 is mobile and transferable, suggesting a possible dissemination of fructan metabolism within the species E. coli.

Ag is a widely used electrical contact material due to its excellent electrical properties. The problems with Ag are that it is soft and has poor tribological properties (high friction and wear in Ag/Ag sliding contacts). For smart grid applications, friction and wear became increasingly important issues to be improved, due to much higher sliding frequency in the harsh operation environment. The aim of this thesis is to explore several different concepts to improve the properties of Ag electrical contacts for smart grid applications. Bulk Ag-X (X=Al, Sn In) alloys were synthesized by melting of metals. An important result was that the presence of a hcp phase in the alloys significantly reduced friction coefficients and wear rates compared to Ag. This was explained by a sliding-induced reorientation of easy-shearing planes in the hexagonal structure. The Ag-In system showed the best combination of properties for potential use in future contact applications.  This thesis has also demonstrated the strength of a combinatorial approach as a high-throughput method to rapidly screen Ag-based alloy coatings. It was also used for a rapid identification of optimal deposition parameters for reactive sputtering of a complex AgFeO2 oxide with narrow synthesis window. A new and rapid process was developed to grow low frictional AgI coatings and a novel designed microstructure of nanoporous Ag filled with AgI (n-porous Ag/AgI) using a solution chemical method was also explored. The AgI coatings exhibited low friction coefficient and acceptable contact resistance. However, under very harsh conditions, their lifetime is too short. The initial tribotests showed high friction coefficient of the n-porous Ag/AgI coating, indicating an issue regarding its mechanical integrity. The use of graphene as a solid lubricant in sliding electrical contacts was investigated as well. The results show that graphene is an excellent solid lubricant in Ag-based contacts. Furthermore, the lubricating effect was found to be dependent on chemical composition of the counter surface. As an alternative lubricant, graphene oxide is cheaper and easier to produce. Preliminary tests with graphene oxide showed a similar frictional behavior as graphene suggesting a potential use of this material as lubricant in Ag contacts.

AI is entering clinical care and the healthcare sector in a big way, at the same time, a growing number of scholars are concerned that this technology cannot adhere to current bioethical principles. In particular, there are increasing concerns that AI poses a threat to the autonomy of patients by being irreconcilable with the practice of informed consent. In this essay, I shall defend the thesis that some applications of AI can be reconciled with a revised version of informed consent – what I call AI Adapted Informed Consent. This solution shall not rest on the idea of making black box AI more transparent or explicable. Instead, I shall argue that black box AI does not necessarily withhold the kind of information necessary for informed consent. Rather, patients can be given epistemic access to the kind of information necessary to make an informed decision, as well as being informed as to how the AI is used in the medical decision-making and in the assessment of their medical situation. Hence, this solution offers a re-interpretation of informed consent as information about contextual functioning and role of AI in medical decision-making. Drawing on republican interpretations of freedom as nondomination, I argue that demands for informed consent can only be restrained if it preserves the voluntariness of our decisions. Hence, I shall conclude that my adapted informed consent thesis allows for the possibility that some applications of black box AI in clinical care can be reconciled with informed consent and due respect for patient autonomy – if three specific conditions can be met.

No description available.

Passive sampling, as opposed to the conventional spot or bottle water sampling technique, has shown to be reliable and efficient in monitoring the toxicologically relevant, freely dissolved (e.g. bioavaialable) concentrations of a wide range of organic contaminants in water. At the same time, partitioning controlled delivery (passive dosing; PD) techniques promise to overcome many of the challenges associated with toxicity testing of hydrophobic substances that may bias the interpretation of toxicity data. The present study investigated the feasibility of coupling silicone rubber passive sampling devices (SR-PSDs) with bioassay techniques for both chemical and ecotoxicological assessment of complex mixtures of organic contaminants in the aquatic environment. SR-PSDs were deployed in water at various locations within the Ythan catchment (north east, Scotland, UK), Forth estuary and the Firth of Forth (east coast of central Scotland, UK) for 7 to 9 weeks. Following retrieval, extracts from the SR-PSDs were analysed for dissolved concentrations of a variety of organic contaminants including PAHs and PCBs using GC-MS and GC-ECD respectively and were screened for a wide range of pesticides using GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS. The extracts were further evaluated for acute cytotoxicity (i.e. neutral red uptake assay) and EROD induction potential using rainbow trout liver cell line (Oncorhynchus mykiss; RTL-W1) and for phytotoxicity and developmental toxicity potential using algal growth inhibition test (with a marine phytoplankton, Diacronema lutheri) and fish embryo toxicity test (with embryos from zebrafish Danio rerio) respectively. Overall, the individual and total dissolved concentrations of PAHs (ΣPAH40; parent and branched) and PCBs (ΣPCB32; ortho and mono-ortho) measured in water from the Ythan, Forth estuary and Firth of Forth were relatively low compared with other studies using PSDs. A number and level of pesticides, including insecticides, herbicides and fungicides of varying hydrophobicity (log KOWs ~2.25 to ~5.31) were detected in the silicone rubber (SR) extracts from the Ythan catchment, the Forth estuary and the Firth of Forth, suggesting input mainly from agricultural run-off and possibly from direct discharges. No statistically significant (p<0.05) acute cytotoxicity was observed following 48 h exposure of RTL-W1 cells to SR extracts from the Ythan catchment. But, on a sublethal level, for every site, statistically significant EROD activity was observed to some degree following 72 h exposure. In addition, developmental and algal toxicities on embryos of D. rerio and D. lutheri respectively, were measured in all the deployed samples compared with the procedural controls (undeployed samples). Interestingly, extracts of SR-PSDs from the Forth estuary and the Firth of Forth exhibited growth inhibitions on D. lutheri that were similar to those of extracts from the Ythan, even though, fewer numbers of pesticides were detected in the Forth estuary and Firth of Forth than the Ythan. This suggests that pesticides were not solely responsible for the observed effects in the Ythan catchment. To further improve data from toxicity testing of hydrophobic substances, the study identified the use of SR O-rings as a suitable passive dosing format in in vitro toxicity tests and was partially validated through their use in dosing RTL-W1 cells with two individual PAHs and subsequently determining cytotoxicity and EROD-activity.

This paper explores the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it can be used by organised crime orterrorist organisations. It exploresthe fundamentals of AI, its history and how its use is affecting the waypolice operate. The paper shows how the development rate of AI is increasing and predicts how it willcontinue to evolve based on different parameters. A study of different types of AI shows the different usesthese systems have, and their potential misuse in the near future. By using the six pillars approach, aprediction concerning AI and the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is explored, andits ramifications to our society. The results show that in a world with AGI, AI-enabled crime as we knowit would cease to exist, but up until that point, the use of AI in crime will continue to impact our daily livesand security / Denna uppsats undersöker framtiden för AI och hur den kan användas av organiserad brottslighet ellerterroristorganisationer. Den utforskar grunderna för AI, dess historia och hur dess användning påverkarpolisens verksamhet. Uppsatsen visar hur utvecklingshastigheten för AI ökar och förutsäger hur denkommer att fortsätta utvecklas baserat på olika parametrar. En studie av olika typer av AI visar de olikaanvändningsområdena dessa system har och deras potentiella missbruk inom en snar framtid. Genom attanvända metoden sex pelare undersöks en förutsägelse om AI och utvecklingen av Artificiell Generellintelligens (AGI) och dess konsekvenser för vårt samhälle. Resultaten visar att i en värld med AGIkommer AI-aktiverad brottslighet som vi vet att den skulle upphöra att existera, men fram till den tidenkommer användningen av AI i brottslighet att fortsätta att påverka vårt dagliga liv och säkerhet.

The overall objective of this thesis is to fill a gap in art historical research as well as in the history of women in a more general sense. The main focus is the life and work of artist Anna Berglund (1857-1946), who’s artistic practice spanned the fields of design, decorative art, calligraphy and watercolour painting. The thesis is the first attempt to conduct research into Berglund’s artistic practices. Primary sources from and about Berglund are scarce, as not much has survived the test of time in terms of personal documents such as letters, notes or diaries. Therefore, the political, social and cultural conditions of Berglund’s time and environment have complemented and contextualised the primary source material. Biographical method, archival research, and the application of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory have formed the foundation of the thesis. In addition, the thesis is built around questions into 19th century women’s development of social networks and adaptation of strategies to navigate and establish themselves as professionals. The research show that Anna Berglund’s habitus and economic, cultural and social capital enabled her to enter and navigate the field. Furthermore, Berglund developed and adapted professional strategies to navigate the field and to build a network that enabled her to push her career forward. The nature of pattern drawing as a new and quickly expanding professional field in the late 1800s contributed and enabled Anna Berglund, as well as others, to enter, navigate and establish themselves on the field and as entrepreneurs.