Världar av vackra kvinnor och våldsamma män : En analys av två fantasyromaner ur ett genusmedvetet perspektiv

This essay explores whether the gender constructions in Joe Abercrombie’s Best Served Cold and Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest question or contribute to existing gender categories. The analysis is performed using Raewynn Connell’s gender structure model, Brian Attebery’s theory of fantasy as a "fuzzy set" and Maria Nikolajeva’s schedule for stereotypical gender traits. Thus, both of the texts were analyzed to determine if their contents, structures and reader responses create opportunities or act limiting, how the main characters are portrayed and how the books various power-, production-, emotional- and symbolic relations look like. The result of the analysis is that both of the books portray patriarchal worlds, sexual division of labor, misogyny and gender-binding statements. The characters in Daughter of the Forest are quite stereotypical, with some traits that exceed their gender, whilst the characters in Best Served Cold are all portrayed with traditionally manly traits (even the female main character). Therefor one can say that Best Served cold’s female protagonist is the only element in the books that fully questions prevailing gender categories.

A fuzzy rule-based decision support system for Duodopa treatment in Parkinson

A decision support system (DSS) was implemented based on a fuzzy logic inference system (FIS) to provide assistance in dose alteration of Duodopa infusion in patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease, using data from motor state assessments and dosage. Three-tier architecture with an object oriented approach was used. The DSS has a web enabled graphical user interface that presents alerts indicating non optimal dosage and states, new recommendations, namely typical advice with typical dose and statistical measurements. One data set was used for design and tuning of the FIS and another data set was used for evaluating performance compared with actual given dose. Overall goodness-of-fit for the new patients (design data) was 0.65 and for the ongoing patients (evaluation data) 0.98. User evaluation is now ongoing. The system could work as an assistant to clinical staff for Duodopa treatment in advanced Parkinson’s disease.