Decision making for sustainable development

This thesis’ aim is to investigate Norwegian construction firms’ processes and frameworks for sustainable development, and how this may affect their eco-efficiency. Our analysis’ overall purpose is to answer the following research question: “How is Norwegian construction firms’ decision making for sustainable development, and how does this affect the eco-efficiency of the industry?” To answer our research question, data has been retrieved through by using several methods. First, we conducted a cross sectional case study. The qualitative data has been collected through in-depth interviews with 8 different respondents with different positions, representing 8 different firms in the Norwegian construction sector. Second, we analysed the firms’ financial performance and their environmental data by using the firms’ annual- and sustainable reports, in order to retrieve quantitative data in form of net sales and CO2 emissions. Our analysis shows both similarities and differences in decision making for sustainable development in the construction sector. First contingency factors such as the firm’s size, owners and employees all influence the environmental strategy and focus of the organization. Motivation for sustainable measurement, reporting and development are emphasised as a result from stakeholder pressure, oncoming legislations, financial gains, and the desire to guide the industry towards a more sustainable future. However, based on our findings, we argue that today’s environmental measurement and reporting is inconsistent and of low quality. Analysing the Norwegian construction firms’ annual- and environmental reports depicts the vast differences in environmental data measured and reported. Moreover, our calculation of the eco-efficiency performances illustrates the dissimilarities regarding measurement and reporting of environmental data in the Norwegian construction industry. We urge the legislator to impose stricter regulations for measurement and reporting of sustainable data, facilitating for the resources available for the organizations, in order to help the industry to direct its efforts towards sustainable development

Decision making for sustainable development

This thesis’ aim is to investigate Norwegian construction firms’ processes and frameworks for sustainable development, and how this may affect their eco-efficiency. Our analysis’ overall purpose is to answer the following research question: “How is Norwegian construction firms’ decision making for sustainable development, and how does this affect the eco-efficiency of the industry?” To answer our research question, data has been retrieved through by using several methods. First, we conducted a cross sectional case study. The qualitative data has been collected through in-depth interviews with 8 different respondents with different positions, representing 8 different firms in the Norwegian construction sector. Second, we analysed the firms’ financial performance and their environmental data by using the firms’ annual- and sustainable reports, in order to retrieve quantitative data in form of net sales and CO2 emissions. Our analysis shows both similarities and differences in decision making for sustainable development in the construction sector. First contingency factors such as the firm’s size, owners and employees all influence the environmental strategy and focus of the organization. Motivation for sustainable measurement, reporting and development are emphasised as a result from stakeholder pressure, oncoming legislations, financial gains, and the desire to guide the industry towards a more sustainable future. However, based on our findings, we argue that today’s environmental measurement and reporting is inconsistent and of low quality. Analysing the Norwegian construction firms’ annual- and environmental reports depicts the vast differences in environmental data measured and reported. Moreover, our calculation of the eco-efficiency performances illustrates the dissimilarities regarding measurement and reporting of environmental data in the Norwegian construction industry. We urge the legislator to impose stricter regulations for measurement and reporting of sustainable data, facilitating for the resources available for the organizations, in order to help the industry to direct its efforts towards sustainable developmen

Fabrication and Characterization of Supercapacitors toward Self-Powered System

Ever increasing energy demand urges to impelled extensive research in the development of new eco-friendly energy harvesting and storage technologies. Energy harvesting technology exploiting renewable energy sources is an auspicious method for sustainable, autonomous, and everlasting operation of a variety of electronic devices. A new concept of an integrated self-powered system by combining an energy harvesting device with an energy storage device has been established to harvest renewable energy and simultaneously store it for sustainable operation of electronic devices. In this chapter, describes the fabrication of a self-powered system by integrating the supercapacitor with energy harvesting devices such as nanogenerator and solar cells to power portable electronic devices. Initially synthesis and electrochemical characterization of various electroactive materials for supercapacitors and further, fabrication of supercapacitor device were discussed. In conclusion, this chapter demonstrates self-powered system by the integration of energy harvesting, energy storage module with portable electronic devices. The various result validates the feasibility of using supercapacitors as efficient energy storage components in self-powered devices. The proposed self-powered technology based on energy conversion of renewable energy to electrical energy which stored in energy storage device and it will be used to operate several electronic devices as a self-powered device

A Neuro Fuzzy Algorithm to Compute Software Effort Estimation

Software Effort Estimation is highly important and considered to be a primary activity in software project management The accurate estimates are conducted in the development of business case in the earlier stages of project management This accurate prediction helps the investors and customers to identify the total investment and schedule of the project The project developers define process to estimate the effort more accurately with the available mythologies using the attributes of the project The algorithmic estimation models are very simple and reliable but not so accurate The categorical datasets cannot be estimated using the existing techniques Also the attributes of effort estimation are measured in linguistic values which may leads to confusion This paper looks in to the accuracy and reliability of a non-algorithmic approach based on adaptive neuro fuzzy logic in the problem of effort estimation The performance of the proposed method demonstrates that there is a accurate substantiation of the outcomes with the dataset collected from various projects The results were compared for its accuracy using MRE and MMRE as the metrics The research idea in the proposed model for effort estimation is based on project domain and attribute which incorporates the model with more competence in augmenting the crux of neural network to exhibit the advances in software estimatio

Clinical encounters about obesity: Systematic review of patients' perspectives.

Guidelines recommend clinicians intervene on obesity but it is unclear how people with overweight react. In this systematic review, we searched 20 online databases for qualitative studies interviewing people with overweight or obesity who had consulted a primary care clinician. Framework synthesis was used to analyse 21 studies to produce a new theoretical understanding. Consultations in which patients discussed their weight were more infrequent than patients would have liked, which some perceived was because they were unworthy of medical time; others that it indicated doctors feel being overweight is not a serious risk. Patients reported that doctors offered banal advice assuming that the patient ate unhealthily or was not trying to address their weight. Patients reported doctors assumed that their symptoms were due to overweight without a proper history or examination, creating concern that serious illness may be missed. Patients responded positively to offers of support for weight loss and active monitoring of weight. Patients with overweight internalize weight stigma sensitizing them to clues that clinicians are judging them negatively, even if weight is not discussed. Patients' negative experiences in consultations relate to perceived snap judgements and flippant advice and negative experiences appear more salient than positive ones

Amine impregnated porous silica gel sorbents synthesized from water-glass precursors for CO2 capturing

In this work, porous silica gel-solid beads have been made from economically affordable water-glass precursors via sol-gel nano casting technique. A stable nanometric silica sol was prepared first from water glass and studied for surface potential and sol to gel transition. A free-flow, injectable gel was obtained upon aging the sol which was then assembled into spherical silica beads in a chemical bath. A surface area of 304.7m2g-1 was obtained for water glass derived silica gel beads. These gel beads were impregnated with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) and polyethylenimine (PEI) active functional groups at different percentages for turning the gel beads as sorbents for CO2 gas adsorption. The effect of amine loading on the thermal stability, morphology as well as porosity was studied and was correlated with CO2 adsorption values. Depending upon the amount of amine loaded in the gel support CO2 uptake was found varied. These amine modified silica gel porous adsorbents showed CO2 adsorption capacity at temperatures as low as 100°C; samples modified with 15wt% PEI had CO2 adsorption capacity of 1.16mmolg-1 at 50°C. © 2015 Elsevier B.V

Productivity Optimization In A Diverse Working Environment: The Case Of Pec-My Sdn Bhd

This paper’s main objective is to identify the main problems that caused PEC-MY not being able to meet their challenge goals in terms of productivity and failure cost management. Secondly, this project also takes a look into the possible solutions that can be implemented to overcome these problems in three different strategic phases which is deemed suitable and matching to the organizations cost competitiveness and cost advantageous business strategy. This thesis starts by describing briefly on the industry and its advantages and later moves on to the issues encountered by the company towards achieving productivity optimization and meeting the organizations target and challenge goals

Compositional and structural studies of ion-beam modified AlN/TiN multilayers

This work was supported the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development (project ON 171023), ERC Advanced Investigator grant (226470 SILAMPS), and the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (CRP 12024). We thank Petro Parisse and Loredana Casalis of the NanoInnovation Laboratory of Elettra – Sincrotrone Trieste SCpA for the AFM measurements