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This thesis describes methods for transforming applicative programs with the aim of improving their efficiency. The general justification for these techniques is presented via the concept of abstract interpretation. The work can be seen as providing mechanisms to optimise applicative programs for sequential von Neumann machines. The chapters address the following subjects. Chapter 1 gives an overview and gentle introduction to the following technical chapters. Chapter 2 gives an introduction to and motivation for the concept of abstract interpretation necessary for the detailed understanding of the rest of the work. It includes certain theoretical developments, of which I believe the most important is the incorporation of the concept of partial functions into our notion of abstract interpretation. This is done by associating non-standard denotations with functions just as denotational semantics gives the standard denotations. Chapter 3 gives an example of the ease with which we can talk about function objects within abstract interpretive schemes. It uses this to show how a simple language using call-by-need semantics can be augmented with a system that annotates places in a program at which call-by-value can be used without violating the call-by-need semantics. Chapter 4 extends the work of chapter 3 by showing that under some sequentiality restriction, the incorporation of call-by-value for call-by-need can be made complete in the sense that the resulting program will only possess strict functions except for the conditional. Chapter 5 is an attempt to apply the concepts of abstract interpretation to a completely different problem, that of incorporating destructive operators into an applicative program. We do this in order to increase the efficiency of implementation without violating the applicative semantics by introducing destructive operators into our language. Finally, chapter 6 contains a discussion of the implications of such techniques for real languages, and in particular presents arguments whereby applicative languages should be seen as whole systems and not merely the applicative subset of some larger language.

SAMMANFATTNING Bakgrund: Ett bråck, också kallat aortaaneurysm på stora kroppspulsådern beror på en försvagning i kärlväggen och följden blir en onormal vidgning av kärlets diameter. Detta är en sjukdom som främst drabbar män över 65 år. Opereras inte dessa patienter är dödligheten hög, cirka 80 procent. En fungerande, för patienten tydlig kommunikation när den preoperativa informationen delges, har en central betydelse för patientens förståelse och för resultatet av vården.   Syfte: Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie var att undersöka hur patienterna som genomgick elektiv endovaskulär operation upplevde information före och efter operationen.   Metod: En kvalitativ design användes. Fem patienter inkluderades i studien. Semistrukturerade intervjuer gjordes i ett tyst och avskilt rum på en kirurgavdelning.   Resultat: En värdefull preoperativ information är lagom och anpassad efter personens behov. Informationen bör bland annat innehålla uppskattad väntetid, operationstid samt eventuella risker med operationsmetoden. På internet kan man också själv söka fördjupad information. Känslorna inför operationen är av varierande orosgrad men oftast är det en lättnad att äntligen opereras. Informanterna vill helst sova under operationen. Bemötandet av personalen upplevs positivt.   Slutsats: Individanpassad information till patienter behövs då krav och förväntningar varierar. Modern teknik kan vara ett värdefullt komplement och hjälpmedel till den traditionella informationen. Informanterna var nöjda med den muntliga informationen och föredrog att få den genom ett personligt möte med personalen. Det behövs fler studier om hur informationen kan förbättras ytterligare.

<p>In this age, too much information is provided to the users. So that they face information overload problem and spend more time in finding the right information according to their needs. The information available to the right person on the right time can make significant difference in the work tasks and business processes in an organisation.</p><p>This thesis work is on improving information flow within an organisation for a person having a certain role. The concentration of the work is on finding the factors (Qualifiers) which affect the information needs of the user and the actions which should be carried out to fulfil them, as well as suitable IT tools. All these have been presented as Final Result Table. This table shows the information needs, their qualifiers, and suggested actions that can be taken tocarry out a specific need. Besides, we found that there are some General Actions. These kinds of actions are not related to any specific need. Rather, while working to fulfil any of the needs, they can be taken for enhancing the work quality and speed. Further, these actions were classified into two groups: Information System Classification and Organisational Measures.</p>

Šiame bakalauro darbe bandėme atskleisti IT teigiamas savybes, kurios efektyvina mokinių mokymąsi, gerina mokymosi rezultatus. Suformuluota hipotezė: tikėtina, kad naudojant IT pamokose, gerėja mokinių mokymosi motyvacija. Tyrime dalyvavo 130 respondentų, iš kurių 80 bendrojo lavinimo mokinių, 30 bendrojo lavinimo mokytojų ir 20 tėvų. Anketinės apklausos metodu tirta IT teikiama nauda mokymuisi įvairių dalykų pamokose, ką mano apie IT naudojimą pamokose, kokias IT naudoja, kokių dalykų pamokose. Tyrėme tris grupes respondentų, kadangi norėjome įžvelgti IT teikiamą naudą iš trijų pusių: mokinių, mokytojų ir tėvų. Tyrimu nustatyta mokinių gebėjimai panaudoti informacines technologijas. Mokiniai, taip pat ir specialiųjų ugdymosi poreikių turintys mokiniai sugeba IT (kompiuterius) naudoti ne tik kompiuteriniams žaidimams žaisti, bet ir jį pritaikyti mokymuisi. Sugeba rasti reikiamos informacijos, moka naudotis įvairiomis kompiuterinėmis programomis. Tyrimu atskleidėm IT teikiamą naudą mokymosi rezultatams gerinti. Buvo nustatyta, kad naudojant IT pamoka tampa įdomesnės, efektyvesnės. Skatina mokinių teigiamą motyvaciją mokymuisi, ugdo kūrybiškumą. Atliktu tyrimu išaiškėjo, kad IT naudojamos įvairių dalykų pamokose, efektyvina mokymąsi, kadangi labiau įsimenama informacija, atsiranda didesnis noras mokytis, labiau įsigilinama į užduotis. Tai užtvirtino ir visų trijų grupių respondentų panašios nuomonės dėl IT teikiamos naudos. Iškelta hipotezės didžia dalimi pasitvirtino... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This bachelor work we tried to reveal the positive qualities of IT, the more effective pupils learning, improve learning outcomes. Hypothesis was formulated: it is likely that the use of IT classroom and improve pupils learning motivation. The presence of 130 respondents, of which 80 general education pupils, 30 general education teacher and 20 parents. Questionnaire survey method was studied in the IT benefits of classroom learning different things, what you think about the use of IT lessons, which uses IT, what things in class. We analyzed three groups of respondents, because we wanted to see the benefits of IT from three sides: the pupils, teachers and parents. The study found pupils' ability to use information technology. Pupils, as well as special needs pupils can IT (computers) to use not only computer games but also to adapt it for learning. Able to find the necessary information, can use various computer programs. The investigation reveal benefits of IT to improve learning outcomes. It was found that the use of IT becomes more interesting lesson, more efficient. Promotes positive pupils motivation for learning, fosters creativity. A study carried out revealed that the use of various IT subjects, more effective learning, as more information is memorized, there is a greater desire to learn more into the task. It is sealed and all three groups of respondents to a similar view on the benefits of IT. The hypothesis is largely confirmed that the use of IT is... [to full text]

Both physiological and emotional arousal can increase romantic attraction towards a desirable potential partner. Such attraction reflects relationship-initiation motivation, a connection motivation directed at a new partner, because attraction increases the drive to pursue a social interaction or relationship with another person. Therefore, arousal appears to influence the need to belong, the inherent motivation for positive social interactions. A large body of research also reveals that self-esteem influences people’s pursuit of belongingness, especially during relationship initiation. Yet the literature linking arousal and attraction and the research linking self-esteem and attraction have never been connected. The present research shows that self-esteem moderates how arousal influences relationship-initiation motivation. To examine the moderating effect of self-esteem on the relation between arousal and relationship-initiation motivation, I conducted three studies. Study 1 involved manipulating women’s physiological arousal in an anticipated social interaction. Results showed that arousal directly increased relationship-initiation motivation for higher self-esteem individuals (HSEs) but not lower self-esteem individuals (LSEs). Study 2 replicated Study 1 with men, showing that arousal increased relationship-initiation motivation for HSEs but not LSEs, but in this case, the effect wholly depended on men applying a positive emotional label to their arousal. Study 3 involved manipulating both men’s and women’s arousal in an imagined social interaction. For women, arousal directly decreased HSEs’ but increased LSEs’ relationship-initiation motivation, the opposite result to Study 1. For men, arousal directly increased HSEs’ but decreased LSEs’ relationship-initiation motivation, replicating the results of Study 2. My package of studies connects self-esteem and arousal research, unifying two formerly separate subject areas. These findings provide an underlying mechanism (i.e., arousal) that explains how social risk interacts with self-esteem to influence relationship-initiation motivation. Consequently, my research increases the breadth and depth of current self-esteem theories. / Graduate

Konformitet ses som att människor anpassar sitt beteende utifrån andra och betraktas ofta som något negativt i västerlänska samhällen. Syftet med undersökningen var att framhäva om konformitet gynnade människor när andra ansågs bidra med nyttig information, konstruera ett mätinstrument för normativ och informativ social influens samt undersöka samband mellan personlighetsindexar och konformitet. En enkätstudie genomfördes med totalt 83 deltagare från en högskola i Mellansverige. Deltagarna delades in i två grupper, där konformitetsgruppen fick, tillskillnad från kontrollgruppen, en procentsats vid varje kunskapsfråga. Resultaten visade att konformitet förekom och att det gynnade sig att följa strömmen vid lätta och medelsvåra kunskapsfrågor. Ytterligare förekom det inga samband mellan personlighetsindexarna och konformitet. Slutsatsen var att människor inte borde se konformitet som något negativt, utan bör ibland ta del av det majoriteten har att erbjuda i vardagliga situationer. Förhoppningsvis kommer det konstruerade mätinstrumentet användas i framtida forskningar.

Previous empirical research and anecdotal accounts suggest that “subclinical narcissism” or “average Joe’s narcissism” is one of the most prevalent social phenomena in many parts of the world. Research also suggests that there will be an unprecedented escalation “in average Joe narcissists” among future generations of consumers. The objective of this study is two-fold. The first objective of this study is to explore the moderating effect of the individual’s level of narcissistic personality on their word-of-mouth (WOM) communications. The second objective of this study is to explore the boundary conditions of the first objective. The data were collected from a large number of consumers through Amazon Mechanical Turk. The results support many of the hypotheses accordant with the characteristics of the subclinical narcissistic individual. Specifically, the moderating effect of an individual’s level of narcissistic personality trait on the decision to engage in different types of WOM communications varies across the tested contexts. This study is intended to respond to social scientists' recent call for studies that investigate the fundamental motives behind the individual’s propensity to engage in WOM communication as a function of individual characteristics. The results of this study provide some prescriptive guidance to help companies target appropriate consumers to increase the effectiveness of WOM communication. In addition, this study explores the effect of individual and contextual differences on consumers’ willingness to engage in different types of WOM communication.

Unterschiedliche (lern-)kulturelle Hintergründe und Bachelorabschlüsse der Studierenden führen zu einem heterogenen Kursgefüge und zu großen Niveauunterschieden bei den Vorkenntnissen. Dem hohen Bedarf an individueller Förderung und der Notwendigkeit, die Wirksamkeit von Übungsaufgaben als Klausurvorbereitung zu erhöhen, kann mit dem Einsatz von E-Learning-Angeboten begegnet werden. Im hier vorgestellten Lehr-Lern-Projekt lag der Schwerpunkt auf der Erstellung eines Wikis als Lösungsskizze einer ehemaligen Klausur.

States have historically used Certificate of Need (CON) regulations to regulate cost, quality, and access to healthcare services. Federally mandated in 1974, the regulation required the states to review requests for new healthcare construction and services. In theory, community-level planning backed by the state-level CON review and health planning process would prevent unnecessary duplication of services and the accompanying costs (Smith-Mellot, 2004). However, none of the published studies have examined the association of CON regulation on volume and outcomes of solid organ transplants. In 1984, the federal mandate ended, and each state was allowed to determine whether or not to maintain its CON programs; more than one-third of the states eliminated them (Altman & Ostby, 1991). Currently, 37 states including the District of Columbia have CON programs (American Health Planning, 2010). Of those states, 21 include organ transplant as a reviewable, regulated service. Although several studies have investigated whether CON regulation has affected healthcare cost, to date very little has been written about the impact of CON on volume and quality of care; the data that does exist is contradictory. In 1988, investigators studied the effects of CON regulation on mortality and observed that greater regulatory stringency was a positive and significant predictor of hospital mortality rates (Shortell & Hughes, 1988). In contrast, DiSesa et al (2006) found no significant difference in risk-adjusted mortality for cardiac surgery patients in states with and without CON regulations. The gap between evidence and decision-making and the large number of states that use CON to regulate healthcare services indicate a need for a study on the quality of healthcare services. Solid organ transplantation is a complex, high-cost treatment that was performed over 27,000 times in 2008. The purpose of this study is to assess the association of solid organ transplant CON regulations using clinically rich data available from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). This study tests the hypotheses that states with solid organ transplant CON regulations have fewer transplant centers, higher volumes of heart and kidney transplants per center, lower graft failure rates and lower patient mortality rates per center. In addition, this study assesses these hypotheses using two different transplant procedures (heart and kidney). This study provides additional information for transplant centers to use in their strategic decision making. Moreover, with the presence of minimum volume standards for transplant procedures mandated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) now, the policy implications of continuing or repealing CON regulations should be examined.