This degree project undertakes a detailed examination of various algorithms used in Very Short-Term Load Forecasting (VSTLF) within network control systems, prioritizing forecasting accuracy and computational efficiency as critical evaluation criteria. The research comprehensively assesses a range of forecasting methods, including statistical models, machine learning algorithms, and advanced deep learning techniques, aiming to highlight their respective advantages, limitations, and suitability for different operational contexts. The study conducts a detailed analysis by comparing essential performance metrics such as Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), and execution time, before and after implementing adjustments to the formulations. This approach highlights how optimization strategies enhance the effectiveness of the models. Notably, the study identifies Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Multiple Linear Regression as frontrunners in terms of balancing accuracy with computational demand, making them particularly suitable for real-time forecasting needs. Meanwhile, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks demonstrate a commendable ability to capture complex, non-linear data patterns, albeit at a higher computational cost. The degree project further explores the sensitivity of these forecasting models to parameter adjustments, revealing a nuanced landscape where strategic modifications can significantly enhance model performance. This degree project not only contributes to the ongoing discourse on optimizing VSTLF algorithms but also provides actionable insights for stakeholders in the energy sector, aiming to facilitate the development of more reliable, efficient, and sustainable power system operations.

Text in Afrikaans / The purpose of the research is to compare the quantity and quality of reporting on the employees of companies with the profitability and size of the top 100 companies over a four year period. The research is limited to the availability of quality information on employees in the financial statements of companies. A literature study is followed by an emperical inquiry into a comparison of the reporting on employees with the profitability and size of companies. The results reflect the following: * the quantity and quality of reporting on the employees of companies does not inevitably show an increase; * a significant relationship exist between the size and profitability of companies; * the role of reporting on the employees of companies is significant with regards to profit determination; and * some of the companies performed uniquely with regards to the quantity and quality of reporting on the employees of companies. / Accounting / M.Comm.(Accounting)

Amphibians globally are declining with roughly a third facing extinction due primarily to threats linked to human impacts. One way in which this is being combated is by captive breeding programs. Nordens Ark in Sweden, in collaboration with other organizations, is attempting to breed one of the most threatened frogs for future reintroduction to the wild. The mountain chicken (Leptodactylus fallax) has unique characteristics related to its reproduction which make it challenging to breed successful offspring. Using Nordens Ark’s data on environmental conditions within breeding enclosures, this study attempts to determine which extrinsic factors are having the most influence on reproduction, in order to increase the success of the captive breeding program. Multiple linear regression analysis and model simplification using Stepwise regression and Akaike information criterion (AIC) were performed in order to determine which explanatory variables had the most influence in relation to foam nests. A reduced model with significant values for explanatory variables was deemed the best model based on the dataset. Of the 14 environmental variables tested, minimum temperature after nest construction had the most influence on foam nest length. When compared to wild habitats, temperatures within enclosures may be too high or lack seasonal cyclical patterns. Barometric pressure and humidity also had influence on foam nests, but the relationships between these environmental conditions is difficult to parse. Food supplements were also a significant factor and suggest that lack of vitamins or nutrients can have a negative effect on reproductive success. Ensuring the optimal conditions can be difficult for captive breeding programs, especially as amphibians are under-represented and face biases in conservation and research.

不景氣的年代，民間企業裁員、減薪或強迫員工休無薪假的事件層出不窮，襯托出公職相對起薪高、福利制度健全，任職免職程序有政府法令保障。在公職逐漸被當前的社會氛圍視為是兼具地位及幸福的工作時，愈來愈多的民眾競相投入公務人員的考試，而競相爭捧鐵飯碗的現象，也成為近期媒體報導的新聞焦點。 惟前述種種的論述都仍停留在主觀的聯想及推論上，國內鮮少針對經濟變數與公務人員考試錄取率間之關係，建立統計實證模型進行客觀量化分析。基於這樣的時空背景及社會氛圍，本研究遂以客觀的高普考錄取率表示公務人員考試競爭程度，觀察經濟環境變數對其造成的影響，是否誠如媒體所言，當景氣愈差時，公職考試就愈熱門的現象。 經過實證模型分析後，發現影響經濟變數對高考錄取率較普考錄取率變動數的影響較為顯著，包括：當期或前期的高考薪資占民間薪資比、當期或前期的失業率、前期臺股指數變動數、當期或前期臺股指數標準離差率以及時間趨勢等解釋變數，並且各自存在不同程度的影響及合理的正負關係。而普考錄取率變動數部分，僅受當期普考薪資占民間薪資比、前期失業率及時間趨勢等變數所影響。 本文最後，提出針對可能影響民眾報考公務人員的重要因素，提出相應政策建議，以期抒緩公職考試過熱的現象並精進政府政策。 / Recession-era, layoffs, pay cuting, and forcing employees to take unpaid leave are more and more in private sector, highlight the work of public sector is high starting salary, benefits sound system, and having protection by law in appointment and dismissal. More people want to participate in civil service examination, then civil service examination craze has become the focus of recent news. Provided the foregoing various opinions are still subjective conjecture, almost no study about relationship between economic variables and the qualification rates of civil service examination in domestic studies. In this context, this study used a senior and junior civil service examination qualification rates to represent the competitive of civil service examination, and to observe the effects of economic variables on the qualification rates of civil service examination, if consistent with the media reports, the worse economy is, the less qualification rates of civil service examination will be. After empirical model analysis, we found that the effects of economic variables on the qualification rates of senior civil service examination are more significant than the changes of the qualification rates of junior civil service examination. Finally, make recommendations to relief civil service examination craze.

Text in Afrikaans / The purpose of the research is to compare the quantity and quality of reporting on the employees of companies with the profitability and size of the top 100 companies over a four year period. The research is limited to the availability of quality information on employees in the financial statements of companies. A literature study is followed by an emperical inquiry into a comparison of the reporting on employees with the profitability and size of companies. The results reflect the following: * the quantity and quality of reporting on the employees of companies does not inevitably show an increase; * a significant relationship exist between the size and profitability of companies; * the role of reporting on the employees of companies is significant with regards to profit determination; and * some of the companies performed uniquely with regards to the quantity and quality of reporting on the employees of companies. / Accounting / M.Comm.(Accounting)

Natural forests are characterised by great vegetation diversity and create habitats for a major part of Earth’s terrestrial organisms. Plantation forests, which are mainly composed of a few genera of fast-growing trees, constitute an increasing fraction of global forests, but they only partly compensate for loss of area, habitat and ecological functions in natural forests. Plantation forests established near natural forests can be expected to serve as buffers, but they seem to be relatively poor in invertebrate species and it is not clear why. This bachelor’s degree project aimed at establishing the ecological and edaphic factors that correlate with soil invertebrate diversity in dry upland forests and surrounding plantation forests in eastern Africa. Some aspects of the above-ground vegetation heterogeneity were investigated since this was assumed to influence the heterogeneity of the soil environment, which is considered as critical for soil biodiversity. The obtained knowledge may be valuable in conservation activities in East African forests, which are threatened by destruction, fragmentation and exotic species. The study area was Karura Forest, a dry upland forest in Nairobi, Kenya. Three different sites were investigated; a natural forest site characterized by the indigenous tree species Brachylaena huillensis and Croton megalocarpus, and two different plantation forest sites, characterized by the exotic species Cupressus lusitanica and Eucalyptus paniculata, respectively. For each forest type, six plots were visited. Soil invertebrates were extracted from collected soil and litter samples by sieving and Berlese-Tullgren funnels. The invertebrates were identified, and the taxonomic diversity calculated at the order level. The ecological and edaphic factors, measured or calculated for each plot, were tree species diversity, ratio of exotic tree species, vertical structure of trees, vegetation cover, vegetation density, litter quality, soil pH, soil temperature and soil moisture. One-way ANOVA was used to compare soil invertebrate diversity and other variables between different forest types. Akaike’s Information Criterion and Multiple Linear Regression were used to establish linear models with variables that could explain measured variations of the diversity. There was some evidence for higher soil invertebrate diversity in natural forests than in surrounding plantation forests. The abundance of soil invertebrates was also clearly higher in natural forests, which indicates that natural forests are more important than plantation forests for conservation of soil invertebrate populations. Soil invertebrate diversity (in terms of number of orders present) was found to be influenced by forest type and litter quality. The diversity was higher at places with high amounts of coarse litter, which here is considered as more heterogenous than fine litter. The dependence on forest type was partly a consequence of differences in soil pH since Eucalyptus trees lower soil pH and thereby also soil biodiversity. No relation to heterogeneity of above-ground vegetation was found. For future conservation activities in Karura Forest Reserve it is recommended to continue removing exotic plant species and replanting indigenous trees, to prioritize the removal of Eucalyptus trees before Cypress trees, to only remove a few trees at a time and to establish ground vegetation when doing so.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-02-12T12:16:55Z No. of bitstreams: 1 diogosennacanongia.pdf: 2323385 bytes, checksum: a99ec9ad446059cd7c7ca2917bcf56d5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-02-26T12:11:14Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 diogosennacanongia.pdf: 2323385 bytes, checksum: a99ec9ad446059cd7c7ca2917bcf56d5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-26T12:11:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 diogosennacanongia.pdf: 2323385 bytes, checksum: a99ec9ad446059cd7c7ca2917bcf56d5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-26 / FAPEMIG - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / A partir de Modigliani e Miller (1958) foi iniciada uma vasta discussão sobre a estrutura de capital das empresas. Entre as teorias que emergiram ao longo dos anos, destacase aquelas baseadas no equilíbrio (trade-off) entre benefícios e custos da dívida e a Pecking Order Theory, cuja criação é atribuída a Myers e Majluf (1984). Por outro lado, Almeida e Campelo (2010) apontam o fato de que as teorias até então abordadas negligenciavam o papel da restrição financeira na decisão dos gestores, afirmando que o comportamento das empresas financeiramente restritas poderia ser substancialmente distinto das demais. Shyam- Sunders e Myers (1999) mostram ainda que a maioria dos testes empíricos que confirmam, ora uma teoria, ora outra, carecem de poder estatístico, visto que uma teoria poderia mostrarse correta, ainda que as empresas se comportem de acordo com a teoria alternativa. Dessa forma, propõem um novo teste baseado em simulações para confrontá-las. A partir de uma base de dados com empresas brasileiras de capital aberto, entre 2000 e 2013, é proposto um teste amplo, que visa avaliar simultaneamente as principais proposições teóricas sobre trade-off. Num segundo momento, é proposto um novo teste para a Pecking Order Theory, que incorpora em sua forma funcional a questão da restrição financeira, levantada por Almeida e Campelo (2010). Posteriormente, objetiva-se confrontálas a luz do teste do poder estatístico proposto por Shyam-Sunders e Myers (1999). As teorias baseadas em trade-off apontam para a presença de custos de ajustamento, havendo ainda uma folga financeira de 7% para realocação de dívida em direção a um ponto ótimo, de acordo com suas características. A Pecking Order Theory com restrição financeira também é confirmada, de modo que as empresas que não sofrem restrição assumem dívida exatamente na proporção de seu déficit (incluído o investimento pretendido) enquanto nas demais empresas, sob restrição, o endividamento não se mostra correlacionado com o referido déficit. Por fim, entretanto, ambas as teorias falham para o teste do poder estatístico, mostrando-se “corretas” mesmo sob bases de dados simuladas pela teoria alternativa. Ademais, é proposto um teste para a determinação da estrutura da dívida per si, considerando a determinação simultânea entre o curto e o longo prazo, assim como a opção entre a dívida privada e a emissão pública de títulos. / Modigliani and Miller (1958) has initiated a wide discussion on the capital structure of companies. Among the theories that have emerged over the years, there are the theories base on equilibrium (trade-off) between debt costs and benefits. Also the Pecking Order Theory, which creation is attributed to Myers and Majluf (1984). According to Almeida and Campelo (2010) these theories have neglected the role of financial constraints on decision makers, concluding that the behavior of financially constrained firms could be substantially different from others. Yet, Shyam-Sunders and Myers (1999) demonstrate most empirical tests have, confirming this or that theory lack on statistic power, due to the fact that a theory coud be confirmed even if companies behave according to the alternative theory. The authors propose a new test, using simulations, to confront both theories. Using a data base of Brazilian publicly traded companies, between 2000 and 2013, an extensive test is proposed to simultaneously evaluate the main theoretical proposals about trade-off. Afterwards, a new test is proposed to the pecking order theory, with a formula that incorporates financial constraint, brought up by Almeida and Campelo (2010). Finally, both theories are confronted with the statistic power test proposed by Shyam-Sunders and Myers. Trade-off theories suggests adjustment costs and a financial slack of 7% for debt relocation towards optimal point, according to its characteristics. Pecking Order Theory with financial constraint is also confirmed and suggests that companies witch do not suffer from constraint undertake debt exactly in proportion of its deficit (including pretended investment) while in the other companies, under constraint, debt ratio is not correlated with deficit. Finnaly, both theories fail the statistic power test, because they are confirmed even when the database is simulated from the alternative theory. Moreover, another test is proposed, regarding the structure of de debt itself, considering the short term and long term debt are chosen simultaneously. Same logic applies for the simultaneous choice between private debt and issuing public debt.

Methodologies designed to support new product development are receiving increasing interest in recent literature. A significant percentage of new product failure is attributed to a mismatch between designed product features and consumer liking. A variety of methodologies have been proposed and tested for consumer liking or preference prediction, ranging from statistical methodologies e.g. multiple linear regression (MLR) to non-statistical approaches e.g. artificial neural networks (ANN), support vector machines (SVM), and belief rule-based (BRB) systems. BRB has been previously tested for consumer preference prediction and target setting in case studies from the beverages industry. Results have indicated a number of technical and conceptual advantages which BRB holds over the aforementioned alternative approaches. This thesis focuses on presenting further advantages and applications of the BRB methodology for consumer liking prediction. The features and advantages are selected in response to challenges raised by three addressed case studies. The first case study addresses a novel industry for BRB application: the fast moving consumer goods industry, the personal care sector. A series of challenges are tackled. Firstly, stepwise linear regression, principal component analysis and AutoEncoder are tested for predictors’ selection and data reduction. Secondly, an investigation is carried out to analyse the impact of employing complete distributions, instead of averages, for sensory attributes. Moreover, the effect of modelling instrumental measurement error is assessed. The second case study addresses a different product from the personal care sector. A bi-objective prescriptive approach for BRB model structure selection and validation is proposed and tested. Genetic Algorithms and Simulated Annealing are benchmarked against complete enumeration for searching the model structures. A novel criterion based on an adjusted Akaike Information Criterion is designed for identifying the optimal model structure from the Pareto frontier based on two objectives: model complexity and model fit. The third case study introduces yet another novel industry for BRB application: the pastry and confectionary specialties industry. A new prescriptive framework, for rule validation and random training set allocation, is designed and tested. In all case studies, the BRB methodology is compared with the most popular alternative approaches: MLR, ANN, and SVM. The results indicate that BRB outperforms these methodologies both conceptually and in terms of prediction accuracy.

Plusieurs études ont montré que la collaboration interprofessionnelle (CIP) produit des retombées positives pour les usagers, les professionnels de la santé et les organisations de soins. Cependant, les chercheurs estiment que son adoption dans les organisations et les services de santé est insuffisante. Cette situation conduit à des conflits souvent nuisibles entre les professionnels, à des erreurs médicales, à une augmentation des coûts de soins de santé et à des taux de mortalité élevés. Il existe un besoin de recherche pour identifier les variables associées à la CIP, particulièrement dans le domaine de la santé mentale (SM). La présente thèse vise à combler les lacunes susmentionnées et à permettre d’approfondir les connaissances que nous avons à l’heure actuelle sur la CIP. Trois cent quinze (315) professionnels œuvrant dans les équipes interdisciplinaires de soins primaires (N=101) et spécialisés (N=214) de SM, localisées dans quatre réseaux locaux de services (RLS) du Québec, ont participé à l’étude. Plusieurs variables reconnues comme étant fortement associées à la CIP dans la littérature scientifique du domaine de la santé ont été prises en compte et catégorisées dans un cadre conceptuel inspiré du modèle de Bronstein (2003). Trois objectifs spécifiques ont été fixés, et chacun a fait l’objet d’un article scientifique. Le premier article visait à identifier les variables associées à la CIP dans les équipes interdisciplinaires de SM implantées dans les RLS. Des analyses de régression linéaire ont été effectuées. Cinq variables liées aux caractéristiques interpersonnelles (l’engagement affectif envers l'équipe, le climat d'équipe, l’autonomie de l'équipe, le partage et l’intégration des connaissances), une variable liée au rôle professionnel (l’identification multifocale) et une autre liée aux caractéristiques personnelles (l’âge) étaient associées à la CIP. Le deuxième article visait à identifier les profils de professionnels de la SM selon leurs perceptions de la CIP ainsi que les variables associées pouvant les différencier. À l'aide de l’analyse typologique, quatre profils de professionnels en SM ont été identifiés. Deux profils présentaient un niveau élevé de perception de la CIP, un profil présentait un niveau moyen et un autre présentait un niveau faible. Le support organisationnel, la participation à la prise de décisions, la confiance mutuelle, l’engagement affectif envers l’équipe, les croyances aux bénéfices de la collaboration interdisciplinaire, le partage et l’intégration des connaissances étaient associés aux profils ayant des scores élevés de la CIP. Enfin, le troisième article a porté sur la comparaison des variables associées à la CIP selon le contexte de soins, à savoir : les soins primaires de SM (SP-SM) et les services spécialisés. Deux modèles de régression multivariée ont été réalisés, et ont permis d’identifier les variables significativement associées à chacun des contextes. Il s’agit du partage des connaissances pour les équipes de SP-SM, du soutien organisationnel et de l’âge pour les services spécialisés. Au regard de ce qui précède, des recommandations ont été formulées à l’intention des gestionnaires des services de SM, aux CSSS et organisations de soins. / Studies have shown that interprofessional collaboration (IPC) has a positive impact on service users, health professionals and healthcare organizations. However, researchers believe that the adoption of IPC in organizations and health services is insufficient, leading to conflict among professionals, medical errors, increased costs of care and higher mortality rates. While IPC has emerged over the past several years as a best practice, research is needed to identify variables associated with IPC, particularly in mental health (MH) which has received relatively little attention. The present thesis aims to fill these gaps and to deepen the present state of knowledge about IPC, particularly in the MH field. Three hundred and fifteen (315) MH professionals working in interdisciplinary primary care teams (N = 101) and specialized MH teams (N = 214) located in four Quebec local service networks (RLS) participated in the study. Many of the variables recognized as strongly associated with IPC in the health sciences literature, were integrated and categorized within a conceptual framework inspired by the Bronstein model (2003). Three specific study objectives were established, with each one the subject of a scientific article. The first article aimed to identify variables associated with IPC in interdisciplinary MH teams. Linear regression analyzes were performed. Five variables related to interpersonal characteristics (emotional commitment to the team, team climate, team autonomy, knowledge sharing and integration), one variable related to professional role (identification multifocal) and another related to personal characteristics (age) were associated with IPC. The second article aimed to identify profiles of MH professionals according to their perception of IPC as well as other distinguishing variables. Using Cluster Analysis, four profiles of MH professionals were identified. Two profiles had high levels of IPC, one profile an average level, and the other profile a low level of IPC. Organizational support, participation in decision-making, mutual trust, emotional commitment to the team, belief in the benefits of IPC, knowledge sharing, and knowledge integration were associated with the profiles that revealed high IPC scores. By contrast, team conflicts were associated with the profile of MH professionals with the lowest IPC score. Finally, the third article focused on a comparison of IPC-related variables by care settings: primary health care (PHC) and specialized MH care. These two contexts of care differ in terms of their activities, clients served, the actors involved in care episodes of care and the roles of team members. Two multivariate regression models were performed, identifying the following variables as significantly associated with each of the care settings: knowledge sharing for PHC teams, and organizational support and age for specialized MH teams. Considering the above, recommendations have been made to managers, health and social service centers and care organizations for promoting IPC in interdisciplinary MH teams.

Public procurement amounts to a significant part of Sweden's GDP. Nevertheless, it is an overlooked sector characterized by low digitization and inefficient competition where bids are not submitted based on proper mathematical tools. This Thesis seeks to create a structured approach to bidding in cleaning services by determining factors affecting the participation and pricing decision of potential buyers. Furthermore, we assess price prediction by comparing multiple linear regression models (MLR) to support vector regression (SVR). In line with previous research in the construction sector, we find significance for several factors such as project duration, location and type of contract on the participation decision in the cleaning sector. One notable deviant is that we do not find contract size to have an impact on the pricing decision. Surprisingly, the performance of MLR are comparable to more advanced SVR models. Stochastic dominance tests on price performance concludes that experienced bidders perform better than their inexperienced counterparts and companies place more competitive bids in lowest price tenders compared to economically most advantageous tenders (EMAT) indicating that EMAT tenders are regarded as unstructured. However, no significance is found for larger actors performing better in bidding than smaller companies. / Offentliga upphandlingar utgör en signifikant del av Sveriges BNP. Trots detta är det en förbisedd sektor som karakteriseras av låg digitalisering och ineffektiv konkurrens där bud läggs baserat på intuition snarare än matematiska modeller. Denna avhandling ämnar skapa ett strukturerat tillvägagångssätt för budgivning inom städsektorn genom att bestämma faktorer som påverkar deltagande och prissättning. Vidare undersöker vi prisprediktionsmodeller genom att jämföra multipel linjära regressionsmodeller med en maskininlärningsmetod benämnd support vector regression. I enlighet med tidigare forskning i byggindustrin finner vi att flera faktorer som typ av kontrakt, projekttid och kontraktsplats har en statistisk signifikant påverkan på deltagande i kontrakt i städindustrin. En anmärkningsvärd skillnad är att kontraktsvärdet inte påverkar prissättning som tidigare forskning visat i andra områden. För prisprediktionen är det överraskande att den enklare linjära regressionsmodellen presterar jämlikt till den mer avancerade maskininlärningsmodellen. Stokastisk dominanstest visar att erfarna företag har en bättre precision i sin budgivning än mindre erfarna företag. Därtill lägger företag överlag mer konkurrenskraftiga bud i kontrakt där kvalitetsaspekter tas i beaktning utöver priset. Vilket kan indikera att budgivare upplever dessa kontrakt som mindre strukturerade. Däremot finner vi ingen signifikant skillnad mellan större och mindre företag i denna bemärkning.