ANALYSIS & STUDY OF AI TECHNIQUES FORAUTOMATIC CONDITION MONITORING OFRAILWAY TRACK INFRASTRUCTURE : Artificial Intelligence Techniques

Since the last decade the problem of surface inspection has been receiving great attention from the scientific community, the quality control and the maintenance of products are key points in several industrial applications.The railway associations spent much money to check the railway infrastructure. The railway infrastructure is a particular field in which the periodical surface inspection can help the operator to prevent critical situations. The maintenance and monitoring of this infrastructure is an important aspect for railway association.That is why the surface inspection of railway also makes importance to the railroad authority to investigate track components, identify problems and finding out the way that how to solve these problems. In railway industry, usually the problems find in railway sleepers, overhead, fastener, rail head, switching and crossing and in ballast section as well. In this thesis work, I have reviewed some research papers based on AI techniques together with NDT techniques which are able to collect data from the test object without making any damage. The research works which I have reviewed and demonstrated that by adopting the AI based system, it is almost possible to solve all the problems and this system is very much reliable and efficient for diagnose problems of this transportation domain. I have reviewed solutions provided by different companies based on AI techniques, their products and reviewed some white papers provided by some of those companies. AI based techniques likemachine vision, stereo vision, laser based techniques and neural network are used in most cases to solve the problems which are performed by the railway engineers.The problems in railway handled by the AI based techniques performed by NDT approach which is a very broad, interdisciplinary field that plays a critical role in assuring that structural components and systems perform their function in a reliable and cost effective fashion. The NDT approach ensures the uniformity, quality and serviceability of materials without causing any damage of that materials is being tested. This testing methods use some way to test product like, Visual and Optical testing, Radiography, Magnetic particle testing, Ultrasonic testing, Penetrate testing, electro mechanic testing and acoustic emission testing etc. The inspection procedure has done periodically because of better maintenance. This inspection procedure done by the railway engineers manually with the aid of AI based techniques.The main idea of thesis work is to demonstrate how the problems can be reduced of thistransportation area based on the works done by different researchers and companies. And I have also provided some ideas and comments according to those works and trying to provide some proposal to use better inspection method where it is needed.The scope of this thesis work is automatic interpretation of data from NDT, with the goal of detecting flaws accurately and efficiently. AI techniques such as neural networks, machine vision, knowledge-based systems and fuzzy logic were applied to a wide spectrum of problems in this area. Another scope is to provide an insight into possible research methods concerning railway sleeper, fastener, ballast and overhead inspection by automatic interpretation of data.In this thesis work, I have discussed about problems which are arise in railway sleepers,fastener, and overhead and ballasted track. For this reason I have reviewed some research papers related with these areas and demonstrated how their systems works and the results of those systems. After all the demonstrations were taking place of the advantages of using AI techniques in contrast with those manual systems exist previously.This work aims to summarize the findings of a large number of research papers deploying artificial intelligence (AI) techniques for the automatic interpretation of data from nondestructive testing (NDT). Problems in rail transport domain are mainly discussed in this work. The overall work of this paper goes to the inspection of railway sleepers, fastener, ballast and overhead.

Attraktivt arbete i offentlig sektor bland enhetschefer inom vård och omsorg

HR-funktionens uppgift i en organisation är att tillvarata den mänskliga resursen och se till att goda arbetsförhållanden uppnås. Detta för att kunna attrahera, rekrytera, behålla och utveckla kompetens (Kira 2003). På senare år har arbetsförhållanden och arbetsvillkor uppmärksammats på kommuner i Sverige för bland annat enhetschefer i äldreomsorgen. Arbetsförhållandena, arbetsvillkoren och framför allt den höga personalomsättningen bland dessa, har lett till en problematik som var en av valets viktigaste frågor 2014. Syftet med denna studie är att beskriva arbetsförhållanden för enhetschefer inom mindre kommuner i Sverige, inom den sociala sektorn och belysa hur dessa skulle kunna förbättras. Som studieobjekt har Orsa kommun använts. Resultatet av undersökningen visade att arbetssituationen för enhetschefer är övermäktig, då det är hög arbetsbelastning samt dålig struktur i arbetet. Enhetscheferna själva skulle gynnas av en assistent samt en arbetsbeskrivning för att minska arbetsbelastningen och få struktur i arbetet. Vår slutsats är att kommuner i Sverige borde arbeta med att skapa bättre arbetsförhållanden för enhetschefer samt arbeta för att underlätta arbetsbördan. Vårt förslag till Orsa kommun är att ta hjälp av vår handlingsplan och därmed anställa assistenter till enhetscheferna samt skapa arbetsbeskrivningar. Vidare forskning i ämnet skulle kunna belysa mentorskapets betydelse i den offentliga sektorn inom kommuner i Sverige samt organisationsstrukturens bemärkelse för arbetets attraktivitet.

Emotioner och värdegrundsarbete : Om lärare, fostran och elever i en mångkulturell skola

This thesis explores aspects of teachers’ obligation to implement and discuss what are referred to in the Swedish national school curricula as “fundamental values” (“värdegrunden” in Swedish). The aim is to describe and analyze dilemmas in interpretations of and teachers’ work with these fundamental values. Four questions are related to this aim. The first addresses difficulties discussed in conversations between seven upper secondary teachers, during nine meetings over the course of one year. In these conversations the teachers reflected upon how to interpret the fundamental values in relation to their daily practice. The second question focuses on the considerable diversity of Swedish schools and examines the work of the teachers through a perspective of intersectionality. The third question concerns how Martha Nussbaum’s theory of emotions as judgments of value could be used for an understanding of the identified dilemmas. The fourth question focuses on ways in which the participating teachers’ discussions may contribute to a wider discussion about possible aims and circumstances of teachers’ work with the fundamental values. Chapter 2 introduces the theoretical framework of the study, Martha Nussbaum’s (2001) ethical thinking on emotions as judgments of value. She argues that emotions have four common cognitive components. They have (1) external objects, and are directed towards these objects. They are (2) intentional, reflecting a person’s particular point of view, his or her special way of beholding the object, and (3) consist of judgments, i.e. views of how things in the world are. According to Nussbaum’s Aristotelian ethics, emotions also (4) mirror the individual’s vision of what a good human life is like, and the vulnerability of it. The concept of eudaimonia, a fulfilled or flourishing life, is central. Chapter 3 focuses on ideas of ethnicity, and on the specific obligation mentioned in the curriculum of counteracting xenophobia and intolerance in a multicultural society. Chapter 4 discusses various aspects of the teachers’ thoughts on religiosity within Swedish society (often depicted as one of most secular in the world) and within the educational system that is non-denominational. Chapter 5 draws attention to different ways in which the teachers view and teach pupils about sexual orientation. Chapter 6 presents conclusions on potential advantages of and challenges involved in Nussbaum’s Aristotelian theory of emotions, when applied to teachers’ views of and practical work with the fundamental values described in the curriculum. One advantage is that emotions may be intellectually scrutinized and morally assessed, on grounds that are known beforehand and discussed in a democratic process. The non-productive division between emotions, on the one hand, and intellectual and moral capabilities, on the other, is transcended by Nussbaum’s theory. An important challenge is to reflect upon when to discuss the cognitive content of pupils’ emotions, and when it is appropriate to state what is right or wrong, and try to influence pupils accordingly. Keywords: Emotions, vulnerability, values education, religious education, teaching, Martha Nussbaum, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation.

DEN KOMMUNALA FÖRVALTNINGENSOM RATIONALISTISKT IDEAL- en fallstudie om styrning och handlingsutrymme inom skola,barnomsorg och miljö- och hälsoskydd

DEN KOMMUNALA FÖRVALTNINGEN SOM RATIONALISTISKT IDEAL - en fallstudie om styrning och handlingsutrymme inom skola, barnomsorg och miljö- och hälsoskydd.(The municipal authority as a rationalist ideal - a case-study on steering and scope for initiative within child-care, education and environmental departments.)A municipal authority is a considerable producer of services in the local community and iscommonly perceived as an important sector of the Swedish welfare system. One aspect of awell-functioning municipal organisation is that its administrative organs function efficiently.This study examines how activities in municipal administration are steered. The focus is on how different methods are used within a vertical hierarchical perspective to influence the actions of the participants and how the latter try to create space for action. To analyse the problem an ideal-type steering model is used.The study consists of three sections. In the first the research problem and the aims of the study are introduced as well as the methodological and theoretical approach. The result of the study is presented in the second section and in the third conclusions are drawn and discussed.The study shows that the perceptions of the participants involved regarding the possibilities of steering the everyday activities with the support of the methods studied differ on a number of points depending on the sector studied. When control of the various steering methods is distributed in different organisational units in the municipality a number of steering mechanisms operate side-by-side, sometimes in harmony and sometimes independently or in pure conflict with their goals. Steering leads to clear restrictions but there is clearlyroom for initiative, a ‘free-zone’ where the individual has room to act independently. Is it possible based on this study to state whether the ideal-type model functions in the way intended? On many accounts it would seem doubtful whether the effects of steering lead to beneficial effects for the activity. Rather it would seem that the effects of steeringsometimes function more or less randomly because the administration exists in a complexcontext in which the staff can be expected to have its own expectations and act in accordancewith them.