Auditing Industrial Safety Management: A Case Study

As industries are becoming increasingly self-regulatory, external auditing has become increasingly important to ensure that industrial practices are in line with regulations and the public good. This study asks if there is a fit between the industrial practices of safety management and external auditing. It concludes that while companies largely manage safety through operational-level experience and with a low level of formalisation, the audits have a primary focus on formal documentation and gathering audit evidence at the strategic and tactical levels in the organizations. This limits the effectiveness of auditing as a tool both for learning and regulating safety management

Bevisstgjøring om cybersikkerhet i nettselskap

I takt med at verden digitaliseres, vokser det stadig frem sårbarheter som aktører med onde intensjoner ser muligheter for å misbruke. I dag ser man en særlig vekst der cyberkriminelle utnytter sårbarheter ved mennesker for å svindle eller få tilgang til et system. Denne tilnærmingen brukes også på ansatte som arbeider i samfunnskritiske funksjoner, som eksempelvis kraftbransjen. Dette har ført til økt behov for bevisstgjøring av ansatte for å hindre og stå imot cyberangrep. Denne oppgaven har hatt som hensikt å studere hvordan digital opplæring er med på å bevisstgjøre ansatte omkring cybersikkerhet, og om denne bevisstgjøringen påvirker den digitale sikkerhetskulturen. På bakgrunn av dette er følgende problemstilling formulert: “Hvordan påvirker digital opplæring om cybersikkerhet den digitalesikkerhetskulturen i et nettselskap?”. For å besvare problemstillingen ble det gjennomført en case-studie ved bruk av Mixed Methods der vi samlet data gjennom både intervju og spørreundersøkelse. Det ble gjennomført intervju og spørreundersøkelse med ledelsen og superbrukere for å få innblikk i hensikten bak opplæringsmetodene og deres syn på hvordan den evner å påvirke den digitale sikkerhetskulturen i nettselskapet. Det ble også sendt ut en spørreundersøkelse til de ansatte for å kartlegge deres synspunkt og for å sammenligne svarene. Studien avdekker at nettselskapet benytter ulike former for digitale opplæring, hvor enkelte ser ut til å fremme læring hos ansatte, mens andre har svakheter som begrenser utbytte. Den digitale opplæringen ser ut til å påvirke digital sikkerhetskultur på en positiv måte både på individ- og gruppenivå. Som følge av den digitale opplæringen har mange ansatte utviklet forståelse for risikoen, samt viser årvåkenhet og kompetanse knyttet til cybersikkerhet. Det fremkommer også at den digitale opplæringen ikke oppnår en tilstrekkelig påvirkning på den digitale sikkerhetskulturen, som kunne styrket muligheten for å verne seg mot eventuelle cyberangrep. Studien avdekker flere årsaker til at digital opplæring ikke oppnår full effekt på digital sikkerhetskultur. Deriblant begrensninger ved nettselskapets bruk av den digitale opplæringen, påvirkning av andre læringsformer, og begrensinger innen hvorvidt et sikkerhetsstyringstiltak som digital opplæring evner å påvirke en kultur

Future changes in consumption: The income effect on greenhouse gas emissions

The scale and patterns of household consumption are important determinants of environmental impacts. Whilst affluence has been shown to have a strong correlation with environmental impact, they do not necessarily grow at the same rate. Given the apparent contradiction between the sustainable development goals of economic growth and environmental protection, it is important to understand the effect of rising affluence and concurrent changing consumption patterns on future environmental impacts. Here we develop an econometric demand model based on the data available from a global multiregional input-output dataset. We model future household consumption following scenarios of population and GDP growth for 49 individual regions. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from the future household demand is then explored both with and without consideration of the change in expenditure over time on different consumption categories. Compared to a baseline scenario where final demand grows in line with the 2011 average consumption pattern up until 2030, we find that changing consumer preferences with increasing affluence has a small negative effect on global cumulative GHG emissions. The differences are more profound on both a regional and a product level. For the demand model scenario, we find the largest decrease in GHG emissions for the BRICS and other developing countries, while emissions in North America and the EU remain unchanged. Decreased spending and resulting emissions on food are cancelled out by increased spending and emissions on transportation. Despite relatively small global differences between the scenarios, the regional and sectoral wedges indicate that there is a large untapped potential in environmental policies and lifestyle changes that can complement the technological transition towards a low-emitting society

The Shoulder Pain due to Metastatic Breast Cancer -A Case Report-

A rotator cuff tear causes shoulder pain and limits movement of the shoulder joint. A chronic degenerative change or impingement is the reason for a rotator cuff tear. Diagnosis is made based on medical history and, physical and radiological examinations. Other causes of shoulder pain include calcific tendinitis, degenerative arthropathy, joint dislocation, fracture, and primary or metastatic neoplasm. However, metastatic cancer in the shoulder joint is difficult to diagnosis. We experienced a case in which a 46-year-old female patient complained of left shoulder pain and limited joint mobility, and these symptoms were due to metastatic breast cancer in the shoulder

Divergent COVID-19 vaccine policies: policy mapping of ten European countries

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the fragmented nature of governmental policy decisions in Europe. However, the extent to which COVID-19 vaccination policies differed between European countries remains unclear. Here, we mapped the COVID-19 vaccination policies that were in effect in January 2022 as well as booster regulations in April 2022 in Austria, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain. Methods: National public health and health policy experts from these ten European nations developed and completed an electronic questionnaire. The questionnaire included a series of questions that addressed six critical components of vaccine implementation, including (1) authorization, (2) prioritization, (3) procurement and distribution, (4) data collection, (5) administration, and (6) mandate requirements. Results: Our findings revealed significant variations in COVID-19 vaccination policies across Europe. We observed critical differences in COVID-19 vaccine formulations authorized for use, as well as the specific groups that were provided with priority access. We also identified discrepancies in how vaccination-related data were recorded in each country and what vaccination requirements were implemented. Conclusion: Each of the ten European nations surveyed in this study reported different COVID-19 vaccination policies. These differences complicated efforts to provide a coordinated pandemic response. These findings might alert policymakers in Europe of the need to coordinate their efforts to avoid fostering divergent and socially disruptive policies

Identification of crystals forming on porcine articular cartilage: a new method for the estimation of the postmortem interval

Articular cartilage was examined to determine its decomposition sequence and its potential for assessing the postmortem interval. Scanning electron microscopy of articular cartilage from buried porcine trotters showed the presence of microcrystals on the synovial surface. These orthorhombic pyramidal or “coffin”-shaped crystals, appeared at 3 weeks (22 days) after interment and disappeared after 6 weeks. The disappearance of these crystals was linked to decompositional changes to the integrity of the synovial joint. The formation and disappearance of these crystals was associated with a pH change at the cartilage surface. Scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) analysis showed that the five main elements contained within these crystals were carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, magnesium, and phosphorous. Such elemental analysis suggested the crystals may be struvite (MgNH4PO46(H2O)). Bacteria cultured from the cartilage synovial surface produced struvite crystals when grown in suitable media and were identified by DNA analysis to be Comamonas sp