According to Jon Elster, mechanisms are frequently occurring and easily recognizable causal patterns that are triggered under generally unknown conditions or with indeterminate consequences. In the absence of laws, moreover, mechanisms provide explanations. In this paper I argue that Elster’s view has difficulties with progressing knowledge. Normally, filling in the causal picture without revising

Popular Abstract in Swedish I avhandlingen presenteras en teori om social makt, baserad på nya utvecklingar inom fältet social ontologi. Jag argumenterar för att en begreppsanalys av social makt kan berikas genom att dra nytta av resultaten inom social ontologi, men även att detta fält kan berikas, och faktiskt kräver, en analys av maktbegreppet. Social makt beror på existensen av andra sociala fThis work presents an account of social power based on recent advances in social ontology. It is argued that a conceptual analysis of social power can be informed by developments in social ontology, but also that this field can be enriched, and in fact requires, an analysis of this central social concept. Social power is dependent on the existence of various kinds of social phenomena, such as ins

Popular Abstract in Swedish Ett av dagens stora miljöproblem är de höga halter av koldioxid som ackumuleras i atmosfären. En stor del av samhällets koldioxidutsläpp kommer från förbränning av fossila bränslen som kol, olja eller bensin. Ett av de mest lovande alternativa bränslen som kan ersätta dagens stora bensinförbrukning är bioetanol. Cellulosainnehållande restprodukter från skogsbruk (t.ex. Ethanol produced from cellulose is a promising future alternative fuel. The production process has three main steps: (i) pretreatment of raw material to increase degradability; (ii) enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose to produce glucose; (iii) fermentation of glucose into bioethanol. This thesis contains studies with the aim to improve the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose from steam pretreated spru

Popular Abstract in Swedish Nya möjligheter att förutsäga sjukdomsutvecklingen vid tidig ledgångsreumatism. I denna avhandling presenteras resultaten från sex studier av patienter med tidig reumatoid artrit (RA) – ledgångsreumatism. Syftet med avhandlingen var att i det tidiga sjukdomsskedet, så snart som möjligt efter diagnos, försöka skaffa information om hur sjukdomen kommer att utvecklas - om Objective: To investigate the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), assessment of bone mineral density (BMD) and antibodies to citrullinated proteins (anti-CCP) in predicting radiologic outcome in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients: All patients were included in the BARFOT programme (baseline). The patients had rheumatoid arthritis of recent onset with mean disease duratio

The article analyses the narrative structures in which the Holocaust has been situated in Russian historical culture.

Gifts have been given and received in all eras and societies; gifts are part of a universal human exchange. The importance of creating and sustaining social bonds with the help of gifts is widely acknowledged by social scientists, not only from anthropological but also from economic, sociological, and political science perspectives. Contemporary anti-corruption campaigns, however, have gifts to be

The HASTA indicator framework, covering the three dimensions of sustainability, i.e. Economic, Environmental and Social, to monitor sustainability of transport in Swedish cities was elaborated. Under the three sustainability dimensions, there are 6 sustainability aspects (indicator groups), 2-3 per dimension; these are Efficiency, Accessibility (Economic dimension), Accessibility, Safety, Liveabil

A heavy-duty diesel engine operating case producing no engine-out smoke was studied using combined simultaneous optical diagnostics. The case was close to a typical low-load modern diesel operating point without EGR. Parallels were drawn to the conceptual model by Dec and results from high-pressure combustion vessels. Optical results revealed that no soot was present in the upstream part of the je

The aim of this study was to find sorption filters with a capacity to remove heavy metals from landfill leachate. Initially a batch test was performed with granular activated carbon, CAP meal derived from animal bones, iron fines, a non-metallic part of bottom ash from a municipal solid waste incineration plant, metal residues from the same bottom ash, lime stone and peat. Activated carbon, CAP me

The hunter-gatherer groups of Southeast Asia represent a diverse range of adaptations. The so-called Negritos of the Andaman Islands, the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines have attracted particular attention because of long-standing claims that they represent traces of pre-agricultural Southeast Asia. Research on Andaman and Philippine prehistory has tended to maintain at least some components o

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This thesis investigates structure-acoustic problems, which involve a flexible structure coupled to an enclosed acoustic fluid. In the literature, this type of problem is usually referred to as vibroacoustic problems or structure-acoustic problems with fluid interaction. The thesis consists of two parts. The first part provides an introduction into the field of structure-acoustic analysis withi

High resolution real time heat release analysis will become increasingly important in the future development of engine control systems. The increased demands on efficiency and emissions will put high demands on future engine control. Future engine concepts, for example the HCCI engine concept might crave cylinder pressure based Closed-Loop Combustion Control (CLCC). The analysis of cylinder pressu

A key advantage of Grid systems is the ability to share heterogeneous resources and services between traditional administrative and organizational domains. This ability enables virtual pools of resources to be created and assigned to groups of users. Resource awareness, the capability of users or user agents to have knowledge about the existence and state of resources, is required in order utilize