Designing burial monuments to increase emotional awareness in product design

The motivation for writing this paper is the growing concern in society towards the amount of products we produce containing low utility and sustainability. Through emotional awareness the student can design meaningful artifacts which extend being more than consumer goods. The hypothesis is that Product Design students designing burial monuments increase their awareness of emotional and meaningful artifacts, and increase their emotional awareness in the design process. Twenty students worked designing burial monuments for a stonemasonry. Their design process was researched trough use of archival studies and participatory observations. The study shows the theme affected the students emotionally, which again influenced their design process. The research indicates that designing burial monuments led to an increased emotional awareness for the majority of students participating in the project

A comparative volatility analysis and an enquiry into the future of Bitcoin

Master's thesis in Industrial EconomicsThe main object of this thesis is to investigate if Bitcoin has matured as a financial asset. We intend to do this by comparing the volatility of Bitcoin to the volatility of gold and S&P500 using the best fitting GARCH models. By doing this we can examine whether the volatility is decreasing, suggesting a maturing market. We will also look at the correlation between these assets. As part of this thesis we will provide a clear picture of what Bitcoin is, and how it functions. We are also going to uncover some of the opportunities and limitations that faces Bitcoin. This will be done by giving a thorough explanation of the technical aspects of Bitcoin to get a clear image of the security and reliability of Bitcoin and the blockchain-technology. To answer the questions presented in this thesis we used a variety of GARCH models to model the volatility of Bitcoin and other assets. This revealed that Bitcoin exhibits an extreme volatility, which does not seem to be decreasing or stabilizing. This lead to the conclusion that Bitcoin is not yet maturing as a financial asset.submittedVersio

Maritime Emergency Preparedness – Drifting Ships

The Norwegian Coastal Administration registers maritime incidents in Norwegian waters. Drifting ships and drifting objects may cause serious incidents and possible disasters. By analysing ship traffic in Norwegian waters, it is documented that the frequency of drifting ships has been approximately 0.15% of the registered ship transits, or 150–165 drifting cases annually. In addition to a possible grounding when a vessel reaches the coastline, the increased use of the ocean space for wind farms, floating solar installations, and fish farming structures (moving from sheltered coastal sites to exposed locations) increase the risk of collision with different types of ocean structures, including offshore oil and gas installations. The need for adequate emergency preparedness to prevent drifting ships from colliding with different types of ocean structures or a final grounding can be solved through different types of mitigating measures. One measure could be to have dedicated emergency towing vessels for handling vessels drifting towards ocean structures or on a course leading to a possible grounding. A reliable tool for predicting a drifting vessel's path is important for planning an emergency towing operation. Systems to provide a fast and safe setup of an emergency towing connection under different environmental conditions are needed, while the competence of the crew on the emergency towing vessel and the ship to be towed is a critical factor for a successful emergency towing operation under adverse conditions.publishedVersio

Manoeuvring Study – Norwegian Double-Ended Ferry

The Norwegian coastline has many long fjords where crossings are necessary for transportation of goods and passengers. In the last decade, the focus on reduced travel time along the main roads in coastal areas has increased the building of bridges and subsea tunnels. However, at present and in the future many fjord crossings will depend on ferries. The Norwegian government [7] requires that ferries, like all coastal ships in Norwegian waters, should be designed for zero or low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to meet the national goal of 50% reduction of GHG from coastal shipping by 2030. As ferry services are regulated by national or local governmental bodies, all new ferry operations should be performed using zero- or low-emission ferries. Thus, ferry companies require new and innovative ferry designs with reduced resistance, resulting in reduced installed propulsion power. This paper describes work done by the ship designer HAV Design AS (former Havyard Design & Solutions AS (HDS)) to meet the governmental request for ferries with a low environmental footprint. Work on a double-ended ferry design is described. In the early design phase manoeuvring performance is not a priority item, partly due to lack of a simple and reliable manoeuvring performance prediction tool for unconventional ship designs. It is well known that optimization of resistance can be at the cost of manoeuvring performance. In this paper, a specific double-ended ferry design will be used as a case. Outcomes of design simulation of manoeuvring performance are compared to manoeuvring full-scale tests in deep, calm water. Full-scale test results will later be used to tune a simulation model for a future training simulator for double-ended ferry, where full-scale manoeuvring tests have been performed, will be used as a test case. This paper shows how the designer has worked with these two topics in parallel in the final design stage where both experimental and numerical tools have been used for design verification.publishedVersio

Complication following frenectomy: A case report

When performing a frenectomy in patients with an increased risk of exposing bone dehiscence, it is essential that the distance between the incisions is not too wide and that they are mainly made in the movable mucosa to secure optimal wound closure.publishedVersio

Evaluation of decentralized energy recovery from aquaculture sludge

Fiskeoppdrett er en bransje i vekst som følge av en global etterspørsel etter fett og proteiner. Laks dominerer den norske oppdrettsnæringen, og salget av laks har doblet seg fra 2012 til 2016. Laksen produseres i landbaserte settefiskanlegg før den overføres til merder i sjøen. Ved settefiskanlegg produseres slam. Slam består av fekalier og uspist fôr og inneholder næringsstoffer som fosfor og nitrogen. Disse næringsstoffene kan benyttes som gjødsel og de kan føre til eutrofiering om slammet slippes ut i vannmiljø. Målsetningen til denne oppgaven er å evaluere potensialet til lokal forbrenning av fiskeslam som en egnet avhendingsmetode. Potensialet blir vurdert på brennverdi, masse og energistrømmer, energigjenvinning, teknologiske løsninger og gjenbruk av aske. Forbrenning blir så sammenlignet med nøkkelparametere fra gjødsel- og biogassproduksjon. Som en del av oppgaven ble øvre brennverdien til fiskeslam bestemt til 18.5 MJ/kg ved hjelp av bombekalorimeter. Brennverdien ble brukt for å utarbeide et forslag til en forbrenningsprosess som demonstrer at fiskeslam har potensiale som biobrensel for lokal varmeproduksjon. Videre er det også kartlagt teknologi som uten store inngrep burde kunne benyttes til forbrenning av fiskeslam. Avhending av restproduktet fra forbrenningen, asken, ser ut til å være det største problemet knyttet til forbrenning av fiskeslam. Askemengde er estimert til å utgjøre 20 % av tørrstoffet til det forbrente slammet, og den kan trolig ikke brukes ubehandlet som gjødsel på grunn av tungmetallinnhold. Videre analyser på asken fra forbrenning av fiskeslam er foreslått for å bestemme fosforinnhold og tungmetallinnhold i ulike askefraksjoner. Dette vil kunne vise om fosforinnholdet i asken kan gjenvinnes ved separering av flygeasken. Lokal forbrenning av fiskeslam med energigjenvinning vurderes som en behandlingsmetode som er verdt å undersøke nærmere. Energigjenvinningen bør kunne redusere oppdrettsanleggets energiforbruk for oppvarming. Volumet på produktstrømmer fra forbrenning små, som begrenser kostnadene ved etterfølgende lagring og transport. Forbrenning med energigjenvinning kan derfor være aktuelt dersom det ikke finnes andre lokale disponeringsmuligheter.Salmon is the predominant species in Norwegian fish farming, and salmon sales have doubled from 2012 to 2016. Salmon are hatched and grown in land-based farms, before they are transferred to seacages. Sludge is produced in the land-based hatcheries and farms. The sludge consists of fecal matter and uneaten fish food, and contains nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. The sludge can therefore be utilized as a fertilizer, and will lead to eutrophication if released to water bodies. The purpose of this report is to evaluate local incineration as a treatment method for fish sludge. The process is evaluated by considering the net calorific value of the sludge, the volume and application of the biproducts, the potential for heat generation, and available technology. Production of fertilizer and biogas are the prevailing methods of disposal for fish sludge, and the incineration process is therefore compared to these, weighting key parameters. The calorific value of fish sludge from “Senter for fiskeforsøk” was determined. An analysis using a calorimeter showed a calorific value of 18,5MJ/kg. This value is used to develop a proposed incineration and heat recovery process. The process demonstrates the potential for fish sludge to be used as biofuel in decentralized incineration with heat recovery. Available technology for use in the process is described in the report. The disposal of ash from the incineration process is problematic. Ash is estimated to constitute 20% of the mass of the incinerated sludge, and unprocessed ash will likely not be eligible for agricultural use, due to high concentrations of heavy metals. Further studies of the ash is recommended to establish the phosphorus and heavy metal concentration in the different fractions of ash. Such studies could determine if the phosphorus is recoverable by separating bottom ash from fly ash. Local incineration of fish sludge seems to warrant further study. Recovery of heat from the incineration should reduce the fish farms energy consumption for the purpose of heating. The reduction of solid mass resulting from the incineration will ease the storage and transportation. Incineration might therefore be attractive, especially if other possibilities of disposal does not exist.M-MP

Teacher self-efficacy and reasons for choosing initial teacher education programmes in Norway and New Zealand

publishedVersio

Rate of avoidable deaths in a Norwegian hospital trust as judged by retrospective chart review.

BACKGROUND: The proportion of avoidable hospital deaths is challenging to estimate, but has great implications for quality improvement and health policy. Many studies and monitoring tools are based on selected high-risk populations, which may overestimate the proportion. Mandatory reporting systems, however, under-report. We hypothesise that a review of an unselected sample of hospital deaths will provide an estimate of avoidability in-between the estimates from these methods. METHODS: A retrospective case record review of an unselected population of 1000 consecutive non-psychiatric hospital deaths in a Norwegian hospital trust was conducted. Reviewers evaluated to what degree each death could have been avoided, and identified problems in care. RESULTS: We found 42 (4.2%) of deaths to be at least probably avoidable (more than 50% chance of avoidability). Life expectancy was shortened by at least 1 year among 34 of the 42 patients with an avoidable death. Patients whose death was found to be avoidable were less functionally dependent compared with patients in the non-avoidable death group. The surgical department had the greatest proportion of such deaths. Very few of the avoidable deaths were reported to the hospital's report system. CONCLUSIONS: Avoidable hospital deaths occur less frequently than estimated by the national monitoring tool, but much more frequently than reported through mandatory reporting systems. Regular reviews of an unselected sample of hospital deaths are likely to provide a better estimate of the proportion of avoidable deaths than the current methods