Hva kan en som sykepleier gjøre for at pasienter med KOLS skal oppnå best mulig livskvalitet?

Min bakgrunn for valg av tema var at jeg ønsket å lære mer om hva en som sykepleier kan gjøre for å bedre livskvaliteten til en pasient med KOLS. Det å hjelpe et menneske med en kronisk sykdom til å oppleve en best mulig hverdag er noe jeg som framtidig sykepleier ønsket å tilegne meg mer kunnskaper om. På bakgrunn av dette ble det viktig for meg å tilegne meg kunnskaper om KOLS, pleie og livskvalitet. Jeg har valgt litteraturstudie som metode for min oppgave. Jeg har brukt vitenskapelige artikler for å belyse min problemstilling. Ved drøfting av disse, har jeg funnet tiltak som jeg mener kan være aktuelle for en sykepleier å utføre for at en KOLS – pasient skal få en best mulig hverdag

Adapting to uncertainty : exploring the intersection of climate change adaptation, social justice, and stormwater challenges in Lillestrøm, Norway

As climate change presents escalating challenges in urban environments, the criticality of effective stormwater management intensifies. This study investigates the potential role of landscape architecture in amalgamating principles of social justice, sustainability, and adaptive capacity, aiming to ensure an equitable distribution of adaptation benefits and burdens. Adopting an interdisciplinary methodology and utilizing systems thinking, this research assesses current climate-related strategies, identifies potential areas for improvement, and explores the complexities of implementing nature-based solutions in urban areas at risk. The study integrates methodologies from multiple disciplines, including a comprehensive literature review, detailed document analysis of prevailing laws and local guidelines, and advanced spatial analysis employing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and landscape architecture spatial analysis methods, such as the SCALGO Live tool for analyzing hydrological risk. Through these methods, it seeks to highlight physical vulnerabilities in the landscape that significantly impact homeowners and residents under the existing stormwater management legislation. The case study of Lillestrøm, Norway—a city grappling with high homeownership rates, rapid urban densification, and vulnerable topography—provides the context for examining how socioeconomics, urbanization trends, and legal definitions intersect with climate change adaptation strategies. The research elucidates the implications of the emerging privatization trend in stormwater management, emphasizing its potential to increase hazard exposure and vulnerability among a significant portion of the population to cloudbursts and extreme rainfall events. Results suggest that although nature-based solutions contribute to sustainable urban development, their effectiveness is impeded by the lack of a shared understanding and clarity in management frameworks. Therefore, this study advocates for a common language and consensus on the principles of climate change adaptation, social justice, and sustainability within the field of landscape architecture. While the insights gleaned from this research are rooted in the specific context of Lillestrøm, they offer broader relevance, contributing to a nuanced understanding of urban climate change adaptation challenges on a global scale, and providing valuable insights for future climate justice and adaptation strategies.M-GL

How Efficient Are Ferries In Providing Public Transport Services? The Case Of Norway

In this paper we provide a yardstick for measuring the performance of ferries involved in the Norwegian trunk road system. We establish a best practice frontier from which individual ferries are measured against. The potentials for efficiency improvements can then be derived giving the decision makers knowledge of the magnitude of efficiency gains that can be achieved if the current subsidy regime is changed. The approach we use for establishing the frontier is the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) which is known to tackle problems of this type appropriately and which is now popular in assessing the efficiency of public transport services. Further, we use rich data comprising about 82 ferries operating throughout the country. The data are from the account years 2003 – 2005 and includes as inputs; fuel, labour, capital and maintenance costs, and as output ferry kilometres per year. Our results indicate that there is a large potential for efficiency improvements in the sector as whole. Further, we find that area of operation e.g. whether open sea or not has a significant impact on efficiency thus we warn the decision makers not to be indifferent concerning the area where services are provided when assessing performances of the ferry sector. Our findings if used appropriately could improve the ferry subsidy schemes which today are based on standard cost norms and that do not address special cost drivers such as area of operation and capacity of ferries.Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

The “dark side” of projectification: The impact of project work on the employees’ well-being : A quantitative study of the impact of project work exposure on employees’ work-related well-being.

Master's thesis Business Administration BE501 - University of Agder 2018Although project-based work is said to create dynamic environments for innovation and learning, it can also make the employees vulnerable, exhausted and reduce their personal worthiness. Some have even stated that it can be destructive to the employees’ well-being. Employees’ well-being impacts not only the individual itself, but also the organizations they work in and the society as a whole. Existing studies have explored how work in general impact employees’ well-being, but few have assessed the impact of project-based work on employees’ well-being. As the use of project-based work is constantly increasing it is highly relevant and interesting to explore its impact on individuals. By using the Job Demand- Control-Support model as the starting point of our study, we aim to explore the research gap of how project work exposure impact employees’ well-being using a quantitative approach. While the main hypothesis considers the impact of project demand on employees’ workrelated well-being, the direct and potential moderating effects of project control and coworker support are also included. In addition, project complexity is considered as a moderating variable. We have conducted a quantitative analysis, based on primary data collected through a webbased questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed by three leading project management associations in Scandinavia and answered by 136 respondents. The main data analysis was done applying PLS-SEM. Our findings demonstrate that all of the independent variables had a significant impact on employees’ work-related well-being, while the moderating variables did not have any significant impact. Nevertheless, the results contribute to a better understanding of the linkage between project work exposure and employees’ well-being

How Efficient Are Ferries In Providing Public Transport Services? The Case Of Norway

In this paper we provide a yardstick for measuring the performance of ferries involved in the Norwegian trunk road system. We establish a best practice frontier from which individual ferries are measured against. The potentials for efficiency improvements can then be derived giving the decision makers knowledge of the magnitude of efficiency gains that can be achieved if the current subsidy regime is changed. The approach we use for establishing the frontier is the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) which is known to tackle problems of this type appropriately and which is now popular in assessing the efficiency of public transport services. Further, we use rich data comprising about 82 ferries operating throughout the country. The data are from the account years 2003 – 2005 and includes as inputs; fuel, labour, capital and maintenance costs, and as output ferry kilometres per year. Our results indicate that there is a large potential for efficiency improvements in the sector as whole. Further, we find that area of operation e.g. whether open sea or not has a significant impact on efficiency thus we warn the decision makers not to be indifferent concerning the area where services are provided when assessing performances of the ferry sector. Our findings if used appropriately could improve the ferry subsidy schemes which today are based on standard cost norms and that do not address special cost drivers such as area of operation and capacity of ferries.Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

Economic impact assessment of regulatory changes : a case study of a proposed new ICAO standard for contaminated runways

The literature on economic impact assessments (EIA) of regulatory changes in the transport sector is scarce. This study examines how a change in the regulatory framework for air transport could affect transport costs. The case in question is the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) State letter AN 4/1.2.26-16/19that proposed to set a higher minimum friction on runways operated during slippery conditions. This may affect operations, particularly in the northern hemisphere. Four Norwegian airports that operate under severe winter conditions are used as examples. Sudden cancellations or transfers to another airport give additional costs per passenger, ranging from NOK 750 to NOK 5600 per return flight. If these results are generalized to all affected flights in Norway, the annual estimate is NOK 400–450 million. These numbers may not seem exorbitant. However, the costs are mainly borne by a limited number of airports. Some of them may have to close during winter, with severe consequences for local communities. This study illustrates how effects of a proposed regulatory change may be assessed in order to aid the decision-making process. The impacts on aviation safety are not considered. Data on aircraft accidents in Norway do not indicate significant effects from the proposed regulatory change. Keywords: aviation ; economic impact assessment ; cost benefit analysis ; regulatory changes ; runways.publishedVersio

Perception and appreciation of plant biodiversity among experts and laypeople

1. Plant biodiversity, which is fundamental for the delivery of ecosystem services, is in decline. Yet, knowledge about how plant biodiversity is perceived and appreciated is scarce. 2. We studied biologists' and laypeople's perception and appreciation for plant communities that differ in plant biodiversity,using ranges of plant biodiversity known to affect ecosystem services. We investigate species richness, species turnover and species evenness. A questionnaire based on photographs displaying artificial plant communities was used. 3. Perceived biodiversity was 12% more often congruent with actual biodiversity for biologists than for laypeople. Species richness was perceived congruently with actual species richness by 77% of all respondents, compared with 27% for species evenness and 29% for species turnover. Appreciation for the displayed communities correlated positively with their actual plant biodiversity, except for species turnover. Appreciation always correlated positively with perceived plant biodiversity and even stronger than with actual plant biodiversity. This was not the case for species richness, for which perceived and actual biodiversity were most often congruent. 4. Our results suggest that plant biodiversity is perceived most accurately when changes in species richness are considered, while changes in species evenness and species turnover are perceived less accurately. The respondents' answers indicate that perceived higher plant biodiversity is appreciated more than perceived lower plant biodiversity, even when perceived and actual plant biodiversity are not congruent. 5. We corroborate findings that people value plant biodiversity per se. But we also find that people largely perceive species evenness and turnover with low accuracy; and that people have low appreciation for these biodiversity dimensions that are lesser known but essential to ecosystem functioning. Our finding that biologists have higher accuracy in perceiving biodiversity suggests that biodiversity literacy is key to increasing people's awareness of changes in plant biodiversity

Air transport demand and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa: Direction of causality

Air transport may be a key tool to advance economic development. However, it is uncertain whether air transport boosts economic development, or vice versa. Both views have theoretical and empirical support. In some countries and regions, air transport is important for initiating development, for example by attracting foreign direct investment or granting access to lifelines. Elsewhere, economic development drives air transport demand. Establishing the direction of causality for regions/countries segmented by income level may inform pragmatic policy. This study analyzes the causal relationship between air transport demand and economic development for six sub-Saharan African countries for the period 1981–2018. Vector error correction and vector autoregression models are employed to identify long- and short-run causalities. The results reveal heterogeneous, context-specific causal relationships. In the long-run, for South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya, the direction of causality runs from economic development to air transport demand; for Ethiopia, causality runs in the opposite direction, with increased demand for air transport promoting economic development; and for Senegal and Angola, the relationship is too weak to infer causal directions. Possible explanations for this heterogeneity include differences in per capita income, low-cost carriers' share of national aviation markets, the presence of large home-based airlines, and comparative geographical advantage as a natural hub. Keywords: air transport demand, economic development, cointegration, causality analysis, sub-Saharan AfricapublishedVersio

Effect of Muskox Carcasses on Nitrogen Concentration in Tundra Vegetation

We observed a steep gradient of nitrogen concentration in plants growing around carcasses of four adult muskoxen that had been lying for five or more years on the tundra in the Canadian Arctic. The gradient reached an asymptote at 2 m distance from the carcasses. The carbon-to-nitrogen ratio increased significantly from 1 to 3 m and then stabilized. These results suggest that the effects of carcasses last for several years on the tundra and create nitrogen-rich plant growth in their immediate surroundings. The lush growth around the carcasses in otherwise grazed areas indicated a low level of grazing on the fertilized plants.Nous avons observé un fort gradient de concentration en azote dans les plantes poussant autour de 4 carcasses de bœufs musqués gisant depuis 5 ans ou plus dans la toundra de l'Arctique canadien. Le gradient atteignait une asymptote à 2 m des carcasses. Le rapport carbone/azote augmentait de façon significative de 1 à 3 m, puis se stabilisait. Nos résultats suggèrent que les carcasses créent dans la toundra des micro-communautés de plantes riches en azote dans leur environnement immédiat et que cet effet dure plusieurs années. L'abondance de végétation autour des carcasses, dans des endroits autrement broutés, révélait que les herbivores utilisaient peu les communautés végétales fertilisées

Simulation of Condensation in Biogas containing Ammonia

Condensation in raw biogas during compression is a problem because the CO2 and water in the liquid phase is very corrosive. Raw biogas typically contains 60 mol-% methane, 40 mol-% CO2, is saturated with water and may contain contaminants as ammonia (NH3). In case of NH3, it is of interest whether it has influence on the dew point (condensation) temperature. The aim of this work is to calculate the dew point under different conditions using different equilibrium models. Phase envelopes showing the two-phase area are also calculated. For dry mixtures of methane and CO2 with up to 1 mol-% NH3 (a high value for biogas), the different models gave similar results. When the NH3 increased from 0 to 1 mol-%, the dew point temperature increased with approximately 3 K. When water was included, the amount of calculated NH3 dissolved in water varied considerably with the model. The electrolyte based models Sour PR, Sour SRK and Electrolyte NRTL did not calculate reasonable dew point temperatures, but the dissolved amounts of NH3 and CO2 were more reasonable using the electrolyte models compared to using PR or SRK. For biogas simulation including NH3, a simple equation of state as PR or SRK can be recommended to determine the dew point. If accurate composition of the condensed liquid is to be calculated, an electrolyte based model like Sour PR, Sour SRK or the Electrolyte NRTL is recommended.publishedVersio