By the end of the twentieth century, and after a long line of conflicting case law, the question about the basis of liability in nuisance was settled: in Scotland, damages are awarded only upon proof of fault (RHM Bakeries (Scotland) Ltd v Strathclyde Regional Council 1985 SC (HL) 17). Fault, in turn, can adopt many forms: malice, intention, recklessness, negligence, and conduct causing a special risk of abnormal damage (Kennedy v Glenbelle Ltd 1995 SC 95). Many aspects of this seemingly clear picture, however, remain problematic. On the one hand, the way in which this model is interpreted and applied gives place to particular forms of liability that can actually be characterised as strict. On the other hand, two other areas of the law of neighbours that overlap with the scope of nuisance do not fit entirely this model, namely the regulation of disputes over uses of water and of those arising from withdrawal of support. The main argument of this thesis is that damages claims in the context of neighbourhood are governed by two distinct rules: a general fault-based liability rule for nuisance, and an exceptional strict liability rule for abnormally dangerous conduct. For the first of these rules, the thesis offers an evaluation of the fault model adopted in Kennedy v Glenbelle Ltd, explaining the interaction between its different elements and highlighting the developments that can result in forms of strict liability. For the second of these rules, the thesis develops an analysis of its elements and nature, as well as a proposal that delineates its scope of application. This two-rule model offers a justification for the current structure of the law applicable to disputes over uses of water. The strict liability rule applicable to interferences with the natural flow of watercourses, traditionally explained as based upon the infringement of property rights, is better explained as danger-based. The regulation of disputes arising from withdrawal of support, however, is not consistent with this model, even though they have also been characterised as nuisances. It is argued that this framework entails unjustified inconsistencies, both internal and by reference to the model proposed, and that it should be adjusted accordingly.

The k-nearest neighbour (k-NN) classifier is one of the oldest and most important supervised learning algorithms for classifying datasets. Traditionally the Euclidean norm is used as the distance for the k-NN classifier. In this thesis we investigate the use of alternative distances for the k-NN classifier. We start by introducing some background notions in statistical machine learning. We define the k-NN classifier and discuss Stone's theorem and the proof that k-NN is universally consistent on the normed space R^d. We then prove that k-NN is universally consistent if we take a sequence of random norms (that are independent of the sample and the query) from a family of norms that satisfies a particular boundedness condition. We extend this result by replacing norms with distances based on uniformly locally Lipschitz functions that satisfy certain conditions. We discuss the limitations of Stone's lemma and Stone's theorem, particularly with respect to quasinorms and adaptively choosing a distance for k-NN based on the labelled sample. We show the universal consistency of a two stage k-NN type classifier where we select the distance adaptively based on a split labelled sample and the query. We conclude by giving some examples of improvements of the accuracy of classifying various datasets using the above techniques.

The Swedish educational reforms of the 1990s introduced a choice- and voucher-based system, which allowed students to choose schools regardless of their proximity to them. As a consequence, new opportunities for geographical disparities in educational provisions as well as in home-to- school mobilities have emerged. The following thesis addresses this development by focusing on compulsory school (grade 9) students’ home-to-school mobility patterns. More specifically, a Bourdieusian lens is applied to understand mobility in terms of both physical and social space. In contrast to the Bourdieusian tradition, articulations between social and physical space are operationalized by constructing individually defined, scalable neighbourhoods. The software EquiPop is used to compute neighbourhood context neighbours in the municipality of Stockholm (n = 779 079) using the k-nearest neighbour algorithm (k = 1 600). A k-means cluster analysis is applied to construct income-based neighbourhood types. On this basis, this thesis asks about the localizations and positions of schools and students as well as about the mobility patterns and predictors of students residing in low-income, and thus economic capital deprived, neighbourhoods (n = 2 346). Utilizing register data, the study finds an unequal distribution of educational provisions in relation to different providers, i.e. municipal schools and independent schools, as well as different school types. Furthermore, the results indicate that students from low-income neighbourhoods are unequally mobilized dependent on migration background and the educational background of mothers. Moreover, independent schools have been found to be a attractive alternative for students from low-income neighbourhoods. / Research project "On the outskirt of the school market" by Håkan Forsberg

Yes / Automatic gender classification has become a topic of great interest to the visual computing research community in recent times. This is due to the fact that computer-based automatic gender recognition has multiple applications including, but not limited to, face perception, age, ethnicity, identity analysis, video surveillance and smart human computer interaction. In this paper, we discuss a machine learning approach for efficient identification of gender purely from the dynamics of a person’s smile. Thus, we show that the complex dynamics of a smile on someone’s face bear much relation to the person’s gender. To do this, we first formulate a computational framework that captures the dynamic characteristics of a smile. Our dynamic framework measures changes in the face during a smile using a set of spatial features on the overall face, the area of the mouth, the geometric flow around prominent parts of the face and a set of intrinsic features based on the dynamic geometry of the face. This enables us to extract 210 distinct dynamic smile parameters which form as the contributing features for machine learning. For machine classification, we have utilised both the Support Vector Machine and the k-Nearest Neighbour algorithms. To verify the accuracy of our approach, we have tested our algorithms on two databases, namely the CK+ and the MUG, consisting of a total of 109 subjects. As a result, using the k-NN algorithm, along with tenfold cross validation, for example, we achieve an accurate gender classification rate of over 85%. Hence, through the methodology we present here, we establish proof of the existence of strong indicators of gender dimorphism, purely in the dynamics of a person’s smile.

No / This chapter is concerned with the discussion of a computational framework to aid with gender classification in an automated fashion using the dynamics of a smile. The computational smile dynamics framework we discuss here uses the spatio-temporal changes on the face during a smile. Specifically, it uses a set of spatial and temporal features on the overall face. These include the changes in the area of the mouth, the geometric flow around facial features and a set of intrinsic features over the face. These features are explicitly derived from the dynamics of the smile. Based on it, a number of distinct dynamic smile parameters can be extracted which can then be fed to a machine learning algorithm for gender classification.

Yes / We present a technique for automatically acquiring operational knowledge on how to adapt assembly systems to new production demands or recover from disruptions. Dealing with changes and disruptions affecting an assembly station is a complex process which requires deep knowledge of the assembly process, the product being assembled and the adopted technologies. Shop-floor operators typically perform a series of adjustments by trial and error until the expected results in terms of performance and quality are achieved. With the proposed approach, such adjustments are captured and their effect on the station is measured. Adaptation knowledge is then derived by generalising from individual cases using a variant of the k-nearest neighbour algorithm. The operator is informed about potential adaptations whenever the station enters a state similar to one contained in the experience base, that is, a state on which adaptation information has been captured. A case study is presented, showing how the technique enables to reduce adaptation times. The general system architecture in which the technique has been implemented is described, including the role of the different software components and their interactions.

<p>In this thesis, I experimentally investigate feeding selectivity in fallow deer (Dama dama), with respect to plant secondary compounds, especially tannins, which can decrease the quality of foods. I found that fallow deer avoided foods with higher amounts of tannic acid and Quebracho tannin, even though the deer ate some high-tannin food. The food choice was strongly dependent on the context in which the food was presented, so that the food choice in relation to tannin content was relative rather than absolute. When high-tannin food occurred at low frequency, the deer ate proportionally less from this type of food, at least when the difference in tannin content between the two foods was large. A basic implication is that an unpalatable plant type could benefit from its unpalatability, especially when occurring at low frequency. In experiments with two patches, the finding of a stronger within- than between-patch selectivity was mirrored in associational effects. First, low-tannin, palatable food was more eaten when occurring in a high-tannin patch, which corresponds to neighbour contrast susceptibility. Second, high-tannin, unpalatable food in a less defended patch was less eaten, which corresponds to neighbour contrast defence. A proximate cause of the associational effects can be the presence of a simultaneous negative contrast, which was experimentally demonstrated in an additional study. Individual differences in selectivity were present early in life and were consistent over five years, and selectivity was correlated with foraging exploratory behaviour. The results from this thesis suggest that fallow deer are selective in their food choice with respect to tannins from the beginning, and that the frequency of occurrence of different foods, but also the distance between foods and the complexity of presentation, influence the food choice. It is also suggested that a foraging behavioural syndrome is present in mammalian herbivores.</p>

In this thesis, I experimentally investigate feeding selectivity in fallow deer (Dama dama), with respect to plant secondary compounds, especially tannins, which can decrease the quality of foods. I found that fallow deer avoided foods with higher amounts of tannic acid and Quebracho tannin, even though the deer ate some high-tannin food. The food choice was strongly dependent on the context in which the food was presented, so that the food choice in relation to tannin content was relative rather than absolute. When high-tannin food occurred at low frequency, the deer ate proportionally less from this type of food, at least when the difference in tannin content between the two foods was large. A basic implication is that an unpalatable plant type could benefit from its unpalatability, especially when occurring at low frequency. In experiments with two patches, the finding of a stronger within- than between-patch selectivity was mirrored in associational effects. First, low-tannin, palatable food was more eaten when occurring in a high-tannin patch, which corresponds to neighbour contrast susceptibility. Second, high-tannin, unpalatable food in a less defended patch was less eaten, which corresponds to neighbour contrast defence. A proximate cause of the associational effects can be the presence of a simultaneous negative contrast, which was experimentally demonstrated in an additional study. Individual differences in selectivity were present early in life and were consistent over five years, and selectivity was correlated with foraging exploratory behaviour. The results from this thesis suggest that fallow deer are selective in their food choice with respect to tannins from the beginning, and that the frequency of occurrence of different foods, but also the distance between foods and the complexity of presentation, influence the food choice. It is also suggested that a foraging behavioural syndrome is present in mammalian herbivores.

The nearest neighbour problem is of practical significance in a number of fields. Often we are interested in finding an object near to a given query object. The problem is old, and a large number of solutions have been proposed for it in the literature. However, it remains the case that even the most popular of the techniques proposed for its solution have not been compared against each other. Also, many techniques, including the old and popular ones, can be implemented in a number of ways, and often the different implementations of a technique have not been thoroughly compared either. This research presents a detailed investigation of different implementations of two popular nearest neighbour search data structures, KDTrees and Metric Trees, and compares the different implementations of each of the two structures against each other. The best implementations of these structures are then compared against each other and against two other techniques, Annulus Method and Cover Trees. Annulus Method is an old technique that was rediscovered during the research for this thesis. Cover Trees are one of the most novel and promising data structures for nearest neighbour search that have been proposed in the literature.

Iš vandens paukščių gausiausiai Lietuvoje paplitę yra Antinių Anatidae šeimos paukščiai. Šis darbas pasirinktas norint išanalizuoti Lietuvoje perinčių ančių rūšių migracinius kelius bei jų pokyčius Vakarų Palearktikoje ir sudaryti žieduotų ančių radimviečių žemėlapius. Migracinių kelių nustatymas gali praversti aplinkosaugos srityje ar kitose srityse, pvz., paukščių gripo ar kitų paukščių pernešamų ligų prevencijai. Šiame darbe nusprendžiau aprašyti antinių šeimos genčių – Tadorna, Anas, Aythya, Bucephala bei Mergus Lietuvoje perinčias rūšis. Šios rūšys pasirinktos dėl Lietuvoje esamų jų žiedavimo duomenų. Darbo metu gauti žiedavimo duomenų analizės rezultatai rodo, kad per paskutiniuosius dešitmečius, kintant aplinkos sąlygoms ir dėl antropologinio poveikio, patikimai kinta daugelio ančių rūšių migraciniai keliai (atstumai tarp žiemaviečių ir perimviečių, sustojimo vietos) ir formuojasi dalinai migruojančios ar sėslios populiacijos. Išnagrinėjus gausiausių Europoje žiemojančių ančių rūšių pasiskirstymą, žiemavietes ir ilgalaikius jų pokyčius, nustatyta, kad pastaraisiais metais ženkliai sutrumpėjo Lietuvoje žieduotų didžiųjų ančių Anas platyrhynchos migracinis kelias. Jeigu 1950-1970 metais Lietuvos didžiosios antys žiemodavo daugiausia Prancūzijoje ir Anglijoje, tai pastaraisiais dešimtmečiais dauguma jų žiemoja Lenkijoje ir ties pietrytine Baltijos pakrante (Švažas ir kt., 2001). Tą patvirtina ir mano darbe atliktos žiedavimo duomenų analizės rezultatai. Vienas iš šio... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The overview of the status of several duck species breeding in Lithuania (Shelduck Tadorna tadorna, Mallard Anas platyrhynchos, Shoveler Anas clypeata, Teal Anas crecca, Garganey Anas querquedula, Wigeon Anas penelope, Pintail Anas acuta, Gadwall Anas strepera, Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula, Pochard Aythya ferina, Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca, Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula, Common Merganser Mergus merganser and Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator) was provided, using analysis of available published data. The analysis of migratory routes of these species in the Western Palearctic based on literature analysis is presented. Ringing recoveries maps of duck species ringed in Lithuania and found in foreign countries, or ringed in foreign countries and recovered in Lithuania, were produced by means of analysis of all available long-term data collected in the Lithuanian Bird Ringing Centre. The direct ringing recoveries maps were produced for most common in Lithuania duck species. Particularly informative ringing recoveries maps, produced by means of analysis of large number of long-term recoveries, were provided for Mallard, Tufted Duck, Pochard and certain other species wintering mainly in Europe. For long-distance migrants (Shoveler, Pintail and Garganey) ringing recoveries available in Lithuania reflect only staging sites of these species, as there are almost no recoveries available from their key wintering sites located in Africa. The mitochondrial DNA (D-loop of mtDNA)... [to full text]