Abstrakt:Barnkonventionen var länge den enda av FN:s kärnkonventioner som inte hade någon klagomålsmekanism, men år 2014 trädde en sådan mekanism i kraft. Denna C-uppsats ämnar belysa diskursen kring barnkonventionens tredje tilläggsprotokoll, om en individuell klagorätt för barn. Detta görs med hjälp av metoden argumentationsanalys, genom fallet Sverige. I uppsat¬sen analyseras pro-argumenten i diskursen, om huruvida barn har rätt till en klagomålmekanism. Då bedöms även dessa pro-arguments rimlighet och hållbarhet. Teorierna som kopplas till metoden är: viljeteorin, intresseteorin, maktteorin, men detta görs även genom teoretiker såsom Freeman, Archard, Dworkin, Guggenheim, Hobbes och Locke. Dessa teorier har valts ut, för att de är de mest framträdande inom diskussionen om barns rättigheter. Flera av argu¬menten som trätt fram under bearbetningen av dokumenten, liknar varandra till stor del och stöttas av flertalet teorier och teoretiker. Detta resulterar i att argumentens hållbarhet och rim¬lighet stärks. / Abstract:The Convention on the Rights of the Child was for a long time the only of the UN's core con-ventions that had no communications proceeding, but in 2014 such a mechanism went into force. This essay aims to shed light on the debate surrounding the CRC Third Additional Protocol, individual complaints procedure for children. This is done by applying the method of argument analysis on the case of Sweden. The paper analyses the pro-arguments in the dis-course about whether children should have the right to a communications procedure or not, and if these pro-arguments have fairness and sustainability. The theories that are used in rela-tion to the method are: will-theory, interest theory, power theory, but also by theorists such as Freeman, Archard, Dworkin, Guggenheim, Hobbes and Locke. These theories have been se-lected because they are the most prominent in the discussion of children's rights. Many of the arguments that emerged during the processing of documents are similar to a large extent and are supported by the majority of theories and theorists. This makes these arguments plausibility strengthened.

Although many colleges and universities use a wide range of criteria to evaluate and select admissions applicants, much of the variance in college student success remains unexplained. Thus, success in college, as defined by academic performance and student retention, may be related to other variables or combinations of variables beyond those traditionally used in college admissions (high school grade point average and standardized test scores). The current study investigated the predictive validity of a measure of motivational-developmental dimensions as a predictor of the academic achievement and persistence of college students as measured by cumulative undergraduate grade point average and retention. These dimensions are based on social-cognitive (self-concept, self-set goals, causal attributions, and coping strategies) and developmental-constructivist (self-awareness and self-authorship) perspectives. Motivational-developmental constructs are under-explored in terms of the predictive potential derived from their use in evaluating admission applicants’ ability to succeed and persevere despite the academic and social challenges presented by postsecondary participation. Therefore, the current study aimed to generate new understandings to benefit the participating institution and other institutions of higher education that seek new methodologies for evaluating and selecting college admission applicants. This dissertation describes two studies conducted at a large, urban public university located in the Northeastern United States. Participants included 10,149 undergraduate students who enrolled as first-time freshmen for the Fall 2015 (Study 1) and Fall 2016 (Study 2) semesters. Prior to matriculation, participants applied for admission using one of two methods: standard admissions or test-optional admissions. Standard admission applicants submitted standardized test scores (e.g., SAT) whereas test-optional applicants responded to four short-answer essay questions, each of which measured a subset of the motivational-developmental dimensions examined in the current study. Trained readers evaluated the essays to produce a “test-optional essay rating score,” which served as the primary predictor variable in the current study. Quantitative analyses were conducted to investigate the predictive validity of the “test-optional essay rating score” and its relationship to cumulative undergraduate grade point average and retention, which served as the outcome variables in the current study. The results revealed statistically significant group differences between test-optional applicants and standard applicants. Test-optional admission applicants are more likely to be female, of lower socioeconomic status, and ethnic minorities as compared to standard admission applicants. Given these group differences, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were computed to determine whether the test-optional essay rating score differentially predicted success across racial and gender subgroups. There was inconclusive evidence regarding whether the test-optional essay rating score differentially predicts cumulative undergraduate grade point average and retention across student subgroups. The results revealed a weak correlation between the test-optional essay rating score and cumulative undergraduate grade point average (Study 1: r = .11, p < .01; Study 2: r = .07, p < .05) and retention (Study 1: r = .08, p < .05; Study 2: r = .10, p < .01), particularly in comparison to the relationship between these outcome variables and the criteria most commonly considered in college admissions (high school grade point average, SAT Verbal, SAT Quantitative, and SAT Writing). Despite these findings, the test-optional essay rating score contributed nominal value (R2 = .07) in predicting academic achievement and persistence beyond the explanation provided by traditional admissions criteria. Additionally, a ROC analysis determined that the test-optional essay rating score does not predict student retention in a way that is meaningfully different than chance and therefore is not an accurate binary classifier of retention. Further research should investigate the validity of other motivational-developmental dimensions and the fidelity of other methods for measuring them in an attempt to account for a greater proportion of variance in college student success. / Educational Leadership

<p dir="ltr">Bias and fairness issues in artificial intelligence algorithms are major concerns as people do not want to use AI software they cannot trust. This work uses college admissions data as a case study to develop methodology to define and detect bias, and then introduces a new method for interactive bias mitigation.</p><p dir="ltr">Admissions data spanning six years was used to create machine learning-based predictive models to determine whether a given student would be directly admitted into the School of Science under various scenarios at a large urban research university. During this time, submission of standardized test scores as part of a student’s application became optional which led to interesting questions about the impact of standardized test scores on admission decisions. We developed and analyzed predictive models to understand which variables are important in admissions decisions, and how the decision to exclude test scores affects the demographics of the students who are admitted.</p><p dir="ltr">Then, using a variety of bias and fairness metrics, we analyzed these predictive models to detect biases the models may carry with respect to three variables chosen to represent sensitive populations: gender, race, and whether a student was the first in his/her family to attend college. We found that high accuracy rates can mask underlying algorithmic bias towards these sensitive groups.</p><p dir="ltr">Finally, we describe our method for bias mitigation which uses a combination of machine learning and user interaction. Because bias is intrinsically a subjective and context-dependent matter, it requires human input and feedback. Our approach allows the user to iteratively and incrementally adjust bias and fairness metrics to change the training dataset for an AI model to make the model more fair. This interactive bias mitigation approach was then used to successfully decrease the biases in three AI models in the context of undergraduate student admissions.</p>

La mondialisation de l’économie modifie les rapports sociaux. Face au poids grandissant des firmes multinationales, les organisations syndicales s’organisent au niveau international. De nouvelles stratégies de contre-pouvoir émergent dont les accords transnationaux d’entreprise ou de groupe sont le fruit. Résultats d’une négociation spontanée entre des acteurs dont la légitimité reste à prouver, ces accords aménagent les rapports sociaux dans les entreprises et les groupes à caractère transnational et édictent des règles de travail pour les salariés qui les composent, voire au-delà. D’abord envisagés comme de simples déclarations d’intention assurant, par-delà les frontières, la promotion des droits fondamentaux au travail, leur contenu se précise et engage plus fermement leurs signataires. Un cadre juridique propre s’impose. A défaut, ils seront régis selon le cadre national de réception. Malgré ces incertitudes, les signataires s’organisent conventionnellement pour donner effets aux accords. Des clauses spécifiques assurent leur mise en oeuvre et leur suivi. Pourtant le silence demeure sur les effets juridiques réellement produits. Dès lors, une certaine insécurité questionne les parties qui appellent parfois à la définition d’un cadre international de réception pour en définir les règles de conclusion, la portée et les recours envisageables en cas de violation. / The economic globalization changes the social relations. To face this growing importance of multinational firms, global unions get organized at international level. New strategies against this emerging power include the conclusion of international and European framework agreements. Result of a spontaneous negotiation between actors whose legitimacy remains to be seen, these agreements adjust any social relationships in transnational companies and groups and lay down rules for employees who work for the up, and beyond. First seen as mere declarations of intention promoting the Fundamental rights at work beyond borders, their content is taking shape and commitments are stronger for signatories. A legal framework is needed. Otherwise, agreements will be governed by the national legislations. Despite these uncertainties, signatories conventionally organize effects of their agreements. Specific provisions ensure their implementation and monitoring. Yet the silence remains on the legal effects actually occurred. Therefore, some insecurity questions the parties that sometimes ask for an international framework of reception to define the rules of conclusion, the scope of the agreement and possible remedies for violations.

Em uma perspectiva evolutiva, a emergência e a manutenção de comportamentos altruísticos e de cooperação não é de fácil entendimento. O impulso por ajudar um indivíduo desconhecido não pode significar um prejuízo na capacidade reprodutiva, o que muitas vezes parece ser o mais óbvio. Muito se tem feito no sentido de compreender os ganhos indiretos da cooperação, ou o que se espera em retorno por este comportamento. A espera por reciprocidade é um dos modos de se tornar a cooperação atraente. Os seres humanos possuem uma capacidade singular de expandir a reciprocidade para interações organizadas em que não necessariamente se recebe a retribuição de um favor, mas sim o favor de um terceiro indivíduo. Para estes sistemas, de reciprocidade indireta, são necessários elaborados processos cognitivos que sustentam uma capacidade para linguagem, julgamentos morais e organização social. Entende-se que esta forma de cooperação é um fator essencial para a evolução do intelecto e da estrutura social atuais dos seres humanos. A teoria dos jogos evolucionária é uma ferramenta matemática muito utilizada na sistematização analítica dos problemas envolvendo cooperação e processos evolutivos no geral. A capacidade reprodutiva é traduzida em termos de funções matemáticas, sendo possível realizar dinâmicas populacionais que modelam a pressão seletiva. Neste trabalho, utilizamos métodos de teoria dos jogos evolucionária para explorar modelos de reciprocidade indireta, expandindo o tratamento de um modelo para interações opcionais envolvendo estratégias de cooperadores condicionais. Mostramos que a presença de cooperadores incondicionais ameaça a estabilidade da cooperação e que erros de execução podem ser uma solução. / At an evolutionary perspective, the emergence and maintenance of altruistic and cooperative behaviours is of no easy understanding. The impulse of helping an unrelated individual cannot mean a loss of reproductive fitness, as many times may seem the obvious. Much has been done in the way of knowing the indirect benefits of cooperation, or what to expect in retribution for this behaviour. To expect reciprocity is one way of looking at cooperation as more attractive. Human beings have a singular capacity of expanding reciprocity to organized interactions where retribution of a favour is not necessary, but one can expect the favour of a third-party. For these systems, of indirect reciprocity, elaborate cognitive processes are necessary, ones that maintain the capacity for language, moral judgements and social organization. One can understand this form of cooperation as an essential factor for the evolution of humans nowadays´ intellect and social structure. Evolutionary game theory is a mathematical tool that is largely used in the analytical systematization of problems involving cooperation and evolutionary processes in general. Reproductive fitness is understood in terms of mathematical functions, making possible the work on population dynamics that model selective pressure. In this work, we use methods in evolutionary game theory to explore models of indirect reciprocity, expanding the treatment of a model for optional interactions involving conditional cooperators strategies. We show that the presence of unconditional cooperators threatens the stability of cooperation and that execution errors might be a solution.

Une entité qui remplit les critères classiques de l’État, en se constituant en une autorité gouvernementale stable et indépendante qui exerce un contrôle effectif sur une population déterminée dans un territoire délimité, est un État selon le droit international, et ce indépendamment de la question de savoir si elle est reconnue par les autres États ou autres sujets du droit international. Une non-reconnaissance discrétionnaire, opposée par certains États à une telle entité étatique, signifie tout au plus un refus d’entrer en relations diplomatiques et autres avec cet État non-reconnu. En revanche, une non-reconnaissance imposée par le droit international général ou par une résolution contraignante d’une organisation internationale se traduit non seulement par le refus d’entretenir des relations facultatives avec l’entité non-reconnue, mais aussi par la négation de son statut étatique. L’étude de la situation juridique des entités étatiques non-reconnues montre que le droit international ne considère pas ces entités comme des zones de non-droit qui ne peuvent générer aucun acte ou aucune relation dans l’ordre international. Tout au contraire, les États prennent acte de l’existence des entités non-reconnues et établissent des relations avec elles dans le cadre défini par le droit international général ou les résolutions des organes des Nations Unies. La non-reconnaissance représente seulement la position hostile adoptée par les États non-reconnaissants envers une entité étatique pour des raisons politiques ou comme réaction à une violation du droit international. / An entity that fulfils classical criteria for statehood, in constituting a stable and independant governmental authority having an effectif control on a certain population in a certain territory is a State in terms of international law, notwithstanding its recognition by other States or other international law subjects. A discretionary non-recognition adopted by certains States towards such an entity means atmost a refusal to enter in diplomatical or other relations with this unrecognised entity. On the other hand, a non-recognition imposed by general international law or by a mandatory resolution of an international organisation signifies not only a refusal to enter in optional relations with the unrecognised entity but also a denial of its state status.The study of the legal situation of unrecognised entities shows that international law does not consider these entities as a land without law that can produce no act or relation in international order. On the contrary, the States take notice of the existance of unrecognised entities and establish relations with them in the framework of general international law or the resolutions of United Nations organs. Non-recognition represents only an unfriendly position adopted by non-recognising States towards the unrecognised entity for political reasons or as a response to an international law violation.

SUMMARY A surgery ward is one of the crucial departments in the České Budějovice Hospital. It provides a highly specialized care not only to patients from the district of České Budějovice, but also to people from the whole South-Bohemian region. Nearly 4,000 patients are treated in this ward every year. In my work I focused on a group of people who are able to work, but at the time of hospitalization they had no job and were registered in the employment agency and they came to the surgical ward for optional surgeries. The reasons why they did so could be as follows: they either neglected the care of their health due to a large amount of tasks at work, or they postponed the surgery since they were worried that they could lose their job due to a long sick leave. The objective of the work was to identify the influence of employment on decisions of clients to undergo surgeries. Questionnaires were used to gather data; they were distributed to patients hospitalized in the surgical ward of Nemocnice České Budějovice a.s. (the České Budějovice Hospital). The hypothesis which assumed that people registered in the employment agency for a short time have more surgeries than people registered in the employment agency for a long time was confirmed in the degree work. The second hypothesis assuming that people registered in the employment agency have more optional surgeries than employed people was confirmed as well. The third hypothesis where I assumed that the fees charged for hospital stays would influence the length of hospitalization of unemployed people was not confirmed since political changes resulted in the conclusion of a donation agreement between Nemocnice České Budějovice, a.s. and the South-Bohemian region; the agreement enables people to take advantage of the South-Bohemian region{\crq}s donation to cover the hospital fees starting from 1 February 2009. The results of my work could be used as arguments in solving the unemployment policy.

Em uma perspectiva evolutiva, a emergência e a manutenção de comportamentos altruísticos e de cooperação não é de fácil entendimento. O impulso por ajudar um indivíduo desconhecido não pode significar um prejuízo na capacidade reprodutiva, o que muitas vezes parece ser o mais óbvio. Muito se tem feito no sentido de compreender os ganhos indiretos da cooperação, ou o que se espera em retorno por este comportamento. A espera por reciprocidade é um dos modos de se tornar a cooperação atraente. Os seres humanos possuem uma capacidade singular de expandir a reciprocidade para interações organizadas em que não necessariamente se recebe a retribuição de um favor, mas sim o favor de um terceiro indivíduo. Para estes sistemas, de reciprocidade indireta, são necessários elaborados processos cognitivos que sustentam uma capacidade para linguagem, julgamentos morais e organização social. Entende-se que esta forma de cooperação é um fator essencial para a evolução do intelecto e da estrutura social atuais dos seres humanos. A teoria dos jogos evolucionária é uma ferramenta matemática muito utilizada na sistematização analítica dos problemas envolvendo cooperação e processos evolutivos no geral. A capacidade reprodutiva é traduzida em termos de funções matemáticas, sendo possível realizar dinâmicas populacionais que modelam a pressão seletiva. Neste trabalho, utilizamos métodos de teoria dos jogos evolucionária para explorar modelos de reciprocidade indireta, expandindo o tratamento de um modelo para interações opcionais envolvendo estratégias de cooperadores condicionais. Mostramos que a presença de cooperadores incondicionais ameaça a estabilidade da cooperação e que erros de execução podem ser uma solução. / At an evolutionary perspective, the emergence and maintenance of altruistic and cooperative behaviours is of no easy understanding. The impulse of helping an unrelated individual cannot mean a loss of reproductive fitness, as many times may seem the obvious. Much has been done in the way of knowing the indirect benefits of cooperation, or what to expect in retribution for this behaviour. To expect reciprocity is one way of looking at cooperation as more attractive. Human beings have a singular capacity of expanding reciprocity to organized interactions where retribution of a favour is not necessary, but one can expect the favour of a third-party. For these systems, of indirect reciprocity, elaborate cognitive processes are necessary, ones that maintain the capacity for language, moral judgements and social organization. One can understand this form of cooperation as an essential factor for the evolution of humans nowadays´ intellect and social structure. Evolutionary game theory is a mathematical tool that is largely used in the analytical systematization of problems involving cooperation and evolutionary processes in general. Reproductive fitness is understood in terms of mathematical functions, making possible the work on population dynamics that model selective pressure. In this work, we use methods in evolutionary game theory to explore models of indirect reciprocity, expanding the treatment of a model for optional interactions involving conditional cooperators strategies. We show that the presence of unconditional cooperators threatens the stability of cooperation and that execution errors might be a solution.

The aim of this thesis is to analyze all the activities of the Alliance of municipalities of Novoborsko in the period between 1998 -- 2008. First part is dedicated to examine the actions taken by optional Alliance of municipalities in Czech Republic, in concrete their legislation, economy, positive and negative features of their mutual cooperation. Next part analyzes the Alliance of municipalities of Novoborsko and the way it works in practice, its financial situation, sponsors of projects, cooperating partners; its comprehension by local citizens, and its contribution to the individual municipalities and the whole region in general. The implementation of projects carried out by the Alliance during its 10 year existence and valuation of all its activities is depicted as well, together with the examination of its consequences on the development of the above mentioned region.

[pt] Linguagens dinamicamente tipadas, tais como Lua, não usam tipos estáticos em favor de simplicidade e exibilidade, porque a ausência de tipos estáticos significa que programadores não precisam se preocupar em abstrair tipos que devem ser validados por um verificador de tipos. Por outro lado, linguagens estaticamente tipadas ajudam na detecção prévia de diversos bugs e também ajudam na estruturação de programas grandes. Tais pontos geralmente são vistos como duas vantagens que levam programadores a migrar de uma linguagem dinamicamente tipada para uma linguagem estaticamente tipada, quando os pequenos scripts deles evoluem para programas complexos. Sistemas de tipos opcionais nos permitem combinar tipagem dinâmica e estática na mesma linguagem, sem afetar a semântica original da linguagem, tornando mais fácil a evolução de código tipado dinamicamente para código tipado estaticamente. Desenvolver um sistema de tipos opcional para uma linguagem dinamicamente tipada é uma tarefa desafiadora, pois ele deve ser o mais natural possível para os programadores que já estão familiarizados com essa linguagem. Neste trabalho nós apresentamos e formalizamos Typed Lua, um sistema de tipos opcional para Lua, o qual introduz novas características para tipar estaticamente alguns idiomas e características de Lua. Embora Lua compartilhe várias características com outras linguagens dinamicamente tipadas, em particular JavaScript, Lua também possui várias características não usuais, as quais não estão presentes nos sistemas de tipos dessas linguagens. Essas características incluem funções com aridade flexível, atribuições múltiplas, funções que são sobrecarregadas no número de valores de retorno e a evolução incremental de registros e objetos. Nós discutimos como Typed Lua tipa estaticamente essas características e também discutimos nossas decisões de projeto. Finalmente, apresentamos uma avaliação de resultados, a qual obtivemos ao usar Typed Lua para tipar código Lua existente. / [en] Dynamically typed languages such as Lua avoid static types in favor of simplicity and exibility, because the absence of static types means that programmers do not need to bother with abstracting types that should be validated by a type checker. In contrast, statically typed languages provide the early detection of many bugs, and a better framework for structuring large programs. These are two advantages of static typing that may lead programmers to migrate from a dynamically typed to a statically typed language, when their simple scripts evolve into complex programs. Optional type systems allow combining dynamic and static typing in the same language, without affecting its original semantics, making easier this code evolution from dynamic to static typing. Designing an optional type system for a dynamically typed language is challenging, as it should feel natural to programmers that are already familiar with this language. In this work we present and formalize the design of Typed Lua, an optional type system for Lua that introduces novel features to statically type check some Lua idioms and features. Even though Lua shares several characteristics with other dynamically typed languages such as JavaScript, Lua also has several unusual features that are not present in the type system of these languages. These features include functions with exible arity, multiple assignment, functions that are overloaded on the number of return values, and the incremental evolution of record and object types. We discuss how Typed Lua handles these features and our design decisions. Finally, we present the evaluation results that we achieved while using Typed Lua to type existing Lua code.