Varje dag fattas beslut som kan komma att förändra människors liv. Årligen berörs omkring 50 000 barn av föräldrars separation där cirka 7000 av fallen leder till en vårdnadstvist som löses i tingsrätten. Familjerättens utredning blir ofta avgörande för domstolsbeslutet om vem som tillskrivs vårdnaden över barnet. Följande studie fokuserar på att ur ett deskriptivt beslutsteoretiskt perspektiv finna vilka faktorer som influerar bedömningsprocessen med fokus på könsdiskriminering och presentationsordningseffekt, alltså huruvida ordningen av föräldrarnas utsaga påverkar bedömningen. För att undersöka hur individen blir påverkad i sitt beslutsfattande fick en deltagargrupp med högskolestudenter läsa ett vårdnadstvistfall där modern och faderns utsaga presenteras för att sedan ta ställning till bland annat vilken förälder de ansåg vara mest trovärdig. Resultatet visade ingen signifikant effekt av presentationsordning, men selektiva könseffekter framkom.

This research examines how competing factors determine the articulation of English stop-stop sequences across word boundaries in both native (L1) and nonnative (L2) speech. The two general questions that drive this research are 1) how is consonantal coordination implemented across English words? And 2) is this implementation different in L1 versus L2 speech? A group of 15 native English (NE) speakers and a group of 25 native Mandarin speakers (NM) who use English as a foreign language (ESL) participated in this study. The stimuli employed in this research were designed along four major parameters: 1) place of articulation, 2) lexical frequency, 3) stress, and 4) speech rate. The release percentages and closure duration ratios produced by English and Mandarin speakers were measured. The results showed that place of articulation had different effects on English and Mandarin speakers in their English stop-stop coarticulation, especially in heterorganic clusters. Specifically, a place order effect (i.e., more releases and more overlap in front-back clusters than in back-front clusters; POE) was only partially supported in native speech but not shown at all in nonnative speech in the current research. The results also confirmed a gradient lexical frequency effect, finding a significant correlation between self-rated frequency and overlap. A group difference was observed in the interaction between the effects of place of articulation and categorical frequency (real words vs. nonwords). In addition, the results showed, unexpectedly, a stronger stress effect for the NM group rather than for the NE group. Further analyses showed that increased speech rate did not systematically induce increased temporal overlap, because speakers from both groups varied in their behavior, having either more or less overlap at the fast speech rate than at the slow rate. Lastly, the analyses found no correlation between closure duration ratio and perceived accent in L2 speech. This finding was not predicted, given that timing features had always been considered critical to foreign accent perception. / Graduate

As the demand for electricity increases throughout the globe while we want to reduce the use of fossil fuels, the need for renewable energy sources is bigger than ever. In countries where solar power makes up a large part of the total energy production, the overall electricity spot price level has become lower. This thesis investigates the underlying mechanism that drives the energy market, and in specific, how the solar power impacts the electricity spot price. We present results from studies made in other markets, and introduce a Regime Switching model for explaining the impact in Sweden. We show that an increase of photovoltaics power has a price lowering effect on the daily price pattern in price area SE3 and SE4.

Wind power has been growing rapidly in Sweden over the past decade as the country focuses on 100% renewable energy by 2040. The thesis seeks to investigate if increased wind power has had a dampening effect on the hourly day-ahead spot prices in Sweden’s bidding area SE3. An empirical approach is undertaken to estimate the impact that wind power has had onprices. Hourly spot prices for bidding area SE3 for the years 2016-2019 are analysed using a multivariate regression method. Other important variables like hydropower and nuclear production which are very significant in the Swedish electricity market are controlled for in the study. The results confirm that in the period 2016-2019, bidding SE3 experienced a merit order effect on price caused by increased wind power. The study shows that a 1% increase inwind power production is estimated to have decreased SE3 hourly spot prices by between 0.0268% and 0.059% between 2016 and 2019.

The credibility of unsupervised exams, one of the biggest challenges of e-learning, is currently maintained by proctoring. However, little has been done to determine whether expensive and inconvenient proctoring is necessary. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether the use of security mechanisms, based on the taxonomy of cheating reduction techniques rooted in the fraud triangle theory, can be an effective alternative to proctoring. A quasi-experimental 1 group sequential design was used to answer the research questions whether the format, proctored versus unproctored, order in which the exams are administered, course delivery mode, and instructor make a difference in student performance. The archival scores of 850 Californian community college students on 2 sets of equivalent proctored and unproctored web-based exams in face-to-face, hybrid, and online introductory statistics courses taught by 7 instructors were compared. The format effect was tested with repeated-measures ANOVA; the order, course delivery mode and instructor effects were tested with mixed ANOVA. No significant difference in scores in Set 1, and significantly lower scores on unproctored exams in Set 2 indicated that the used security mechanisms allowed for maintaining the credibility of the exams without proctoring. There was no significant difference in scores across the course delivery modes in both sets and instructors in Set 2, but significant order effect was observed. Further research on order effect was recommended. With the use of the utilized security mechanisms education will get an inexpensive and convenient way to increase the credibility of unsupervised web-based exams, and the society will gain more online college graduates with credentials that reflect their knowledge.

This thesis investigates the feasibility and benefits of integrating Thermochemical heat Storage (THS) into a CHP (Combined Heat and Power) plant. A case study is done for the CHP-plant in Sala, Sweden, with a maximum heat output of 20.9 MW and maximum electricity output of 9.6 MW. The THS type considered is calcium oxide in a hydroxide system. The fluctuations in electricity price for years 2020, 2030 and 2040 are considered and low-price electricity is used as a charging source for THS. During charging the superheated steam (endothermic reaction) is used to cover some of the district heating demand. The high temperature discharge from the THS is used as reheat in the Rankine cycle. The operations are modeled in Ebsilon and optimization is done in MATLAB using genetic algorithm with the objective to achieve maximum annual revenue. The results suggest that it is not feasible to introduce THS with electricity as a charging source in year 2020, but in 2030 and 2040 THS shows promising potential. The biggest increase in revenue comes from reduced fuel consumption, and, to a lesser extent, increased income from electricity. It is concluded that Calcium hydroxide is a promising candidate for integration into CHP during large electricity price fluctuation. The main drivers for the feasibility of this combination are high fuel price and large fluctuations of electricity price.

The present dissertation investigates grammatical gender representation and processing in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) as a first (L1) and a second (L2) language. It mainly examines whether L2 can process gender agreement in a native-like manner, and the extent to which L2 processing is influenced by the properties of the L2 speakers’ L1. Additionally, it examines whether L2 gender agreement processing is influenced by noun animacy (animate and inanimate) and word order (verb-subject and subject-verb). A series of experiments using both online and offline techniques were conducted to address these questions. In all of the experiments, gender agreement between verb and nouns was examined. The first series of experiments examined native speakers of MSA (n=49) using a self-paced reading task (SPR), an event-related potential (ERP) experiment, and a grammaticality judgment (GJ) task. Results of these experiments revealed that native speakers were sensitive to grammatical violations. Native speakers showed longer reaction times (RT) in the SPR task, and a P600 effect in the ERP, in responses to sentences with mismatched gender agreement as compared to sentences with matched gender agreement. They also performed at ceiling in the GJ task. The second series of experiments examined L2 speakers of MSA (n=74) using an SPR task, and a GJ task. Both experiments included adult L2 speakers whom were divided into two subgroups, -Gender and +Gender, based on whether or not their L1s has a grammatical gender system. The results of both experiments revealed that both groups were sensitive to gender agreement violations. The L2 speakers showed longer RTs, in the SPR task, in responses to sentences with mismatched gender agreement as compared to sentences with matched gender agreement. No difference was found between the L2 groups in this task. The L2 speakers also performed well in the GJ task, as they were able to correctly identify the grammatical and ungrammatical sentences. Interestingly in this task, the -Gender group outperformed +Gender group, which could be due to proficiency in the L2 as the former group obtained a better score on the proficiency task, or it could be that +Gender group showed negative transfer from their L1s. Based on the results of these two experiments, this dissertation argues that late L2 speakers are not restricted to their L1 grammar, and thus, they are able to acquire gender agreement system of their L2 even if this feature is not instantiated in their L1. The results provide converging evidence for the FTFA rather than FFFH model, as it appears that the -Gender group was able to reset their L1 gender parameter according to the L2 gender values. Although the L2 speakers were advanced, they showed slower RTs than the native speakers in the SPR task, and lower accuracy in the GJT. However, it is possible that they are still in the process of acquiring gender agreement of MSA and have not reached their final stage of acquisition. This is supported by the fact that some L2 speakers from both -Gender and +Gender groups performed as well as native speakers in both SPR and GJ tasks. Regarding the effect of animacy, the L2 speakers had slower RT and lower accuracy on sentences with inanimate nouns than on those with animate ones, which is in line with previous L2 studies (Anton-Medez, 1999; Alarcón, 2009; Gelin, & Bugaiska, 2014). The native speakers, on the other hand, showed no effect of animacy in both SPR task and GJT. Further, no N400 effect was observed as a result of semantic gender agreement violations in the ERP experiment. Finally, the results revealed a potential effect of word order. Both the native and L2 speakers showed longer RTs on VS word order than SV word order in the SPR task. Further the native speakers showed earlier and greater P600 effect on VS word order than SV word order in the ERP. This result suggests that processing gender agreement violation is more complex in the VS word order than in the SV word order due to the inherent asymmetry in the subject-verb agreement system in the two-word orders in MSA.

This thesis deals with a methodological phenomenon called order effect. This effect creates a situation where the preceding questions influence answers of the subsequent questions. During cognitive responding process, the preceding questions may evoke specific mental associations and ideas that are more easily accessible afterwards during responding of the following questions. This induced information may be used during answer selection process which may cause bias in answers. The same questions placed in different order can generate different answers. Different question order can have different cognitive burden. The aim of this thesis is cognitive burden assessment of different question orders. Data collection was conducted by cognitive interviews which helped to detect how respondents work with particular questions during questionnaire responding process, and to identify specific types of order effect. There are four types of order effect: carryover effect, backfire effect, assimilation and contrast effect. A specific question preceding a general question evokes information which is more accessible for interpretation of a general question therefore this question order is less burdensome. Also the order from negative to positive question is less burdensome than the opposite order because it evokes...

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xi, 108 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Micro-level survey data are widely used in applied economic research. This dissertation, which consists of three empirical papers, demonstrates challenges in empirical research using micro-level survey data, as well as some methods to accommodate these problems. Chapter II examines the effect of China's recent public health insurance reform on health utilization and health status. Chinese policy makers have been eager to identify how this reform, characterized by a substantial increase in out-of-pocket costs, has affected health care demand and health status. However, due to self-selection of individuals into the publicly insured group, the impact of the reform remains an unresolved issue. I employ a Heckman selection model in the context of difference-in-difference regression to accommodate the selection problem, and provide the first solid empirical evidence that the recent public health insurance reforms in China adversely affected both health care access and health status for publicly insured individuals. Chapter III examines the construct validity of a stated preference (SP) survey concerning climate change policy. Due to the fact that the SP survey method remains a controversial tool for benefit-cost analysis, every part of the survey deserves thorough examination to ensure the quality of the data. Using a random utility approach, I establish that there is a great deal of logical consistency between people's professed attitudes toward different payment vehicles and their subsequent choices among policies which vary in the incidence of their costs. Chapter IV employs the same survey data used in Chapter III, but demonstrates the potential for order effects stemming from prior attitude-elicitation questions. In addition, it considers the potential impact of these order effects on Willingness to Pay (WTP) estimates for climate change mitigation. I find the orderings of prior elicitation questions may change people's opinions toward various attributes of the different policies, and thereby increase or decrease their WTP by a substantial amount. Thus, this chapter emphasizes the significance of order effects in prior elicitation questions, and supports a call for diligence in using randomly ordered prior elicitation questions in stated preference surveys, to minimize inadvertent effects from any single arbitrary ordering. / Adviser: Trudy Ann Cameron