Learning Embedded in Structures: Facilitating Systems for Learning within Offshore Drilling Operations

Purpose: The current study examines the contribution of formalised planning to ensure success in drilling operations seen in the light of organizational learning theory. Methodology: The applied methodology is observational fieldwork including interviews, document studies and informal talks on a drilling rig on the Norwegian continental shelf conducted by the authors lasting for 6 days including 120 hours of observational fieldwork. Findings: It is described how procedures are adapted to the specific context in which a job is performed and how the adaption of procedures is integrated into the formalised organisational learning processes. Originality: Organizational learning is seen through praxis and the dialectical relationship between formalised work and work as done, that is, the formal structures involved when planning work and how procedures materialise during actual work, and the relationship to learning per se.publishedVersio

Growth and stress factors in ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) larval development

Ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) is a specialized cleaner fish used in salmon farms as a biological treatment against sea lice. Its commercial rearing is at present mostly experimental. A number of key aspects, including the molecular and physiological mechanisms that promote its growth and development, are still largely unexplored. In this study histological, biometric, biochemical and molecular approaches are combined for the first time to investigate the changes in growth (insulin-like growth factor 1 and 2 and myostatin) and stress (heat shock protein 70 and cortisol) markers that occur during ballan wrasse larval development by relating them to larval stages and feed changes. The real-time PCR data demonstrated that igf1 transcripts rose from 1 day post-hatching (dph) and were no longer detectable 38 dph, whereas igf2 and myostatin transcripts were low and stable until 28 dph, then rose in late larval stages. The biometric and histological data matched the molecular findings, documenting rapid growth and development of the larval digestive tract and assimilation ability. Cortisol was lowest at hatching, it rose slightly at first feeding, and then increased during larval development; a similar trend was detected for hsp70 gene expression. The low cortisol levels found at the earliest larval stages reflect a poor stress-coping ability, a feature that may actually protect larvae from the elevated metabolic demands involved by stress responses and promote faster growth and survival. The present data can be applied to improve the rearing performances of this important cleaner species and reduce captures from the wild

Bruk av e-læring i spesialisthelsetjenesten - hva nå?

Masteroppgave i helse- og sosialinformatikk HSI 500 Universitetet i Agder 2014Background The demand for efficiency and collaboration in the health care industry is ever increasing. There are requirements for increased skills among health care workers. Web-based learning is a form of training that is increasingly used. The purpose of this study was to review the use of web-based learning in specialist health care services. This study aims to answer following research questions: 1) How well is it facilitated for web based learning in the health care industry, 2) How is web-based learning perceive by the user, and 3) What are the learning outcomes after having conducted web-based learning. Method The method chosen was a questionnaire, consisting of 47 questions. As theoretical framework, a proposal for a global model for evaluation of e – learning in health care was applied. 31 questions were based on literature review findings. Additional 16 questions from “Pedagogically Meaningful Learning Questionnaire”( PMLQ ) was translated and included in questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to two hospitals within a Regional Health Authority area in Norway. Results Findings showed that it was not always easy to conduct web-based learning in working hours. Lack of time was the main reason that commenced courses were not completed. There was also too little time given to complete courses the management wanted the employees to conduct. Courses of poor quality and with little relevance to working tasks provide limited user motivation. Conclusion Some work has been done with regards to development and use of web-based learning in both of the hospitals that were included in this study. However, regional strategies, action plans and guidelines are missing. Lack of time is a major challenge when it comes to completing web-based learning. It is important that leaders have the will and resources to create a culture of implementation of e - learning. When developing courses it is important to have good technical knowledge, user involvement and continuous evaluation. In addition, the courses should contain knowledge tests and well defined learning objectives

Comparative study of antioxidant defence mechanisms in marine fish fed variable levels of oxidised oil and vitamin E

The aim of the study was to compare the antioxidant systems in juvenile marine fish of commercial importance in European aquaculture, namely turbot (Scophthalmus maximus), halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) and gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). The present dietary trial was specifically designed to investigate the antioxidant effects of vitamin E under moderate oxidising conditions, including high dietary levels of highly unsaturated fatty acids and the feeding of oxidised oils. The objective was to induce a stressful pro-oxidant status to enable characterisation of the biochemical responses to peroxidative stress without causing unnecessary suffering to the experimental animals or high mortalities during the trials. Both sea bream and turbot showed excellent growth, whereas growth was poorer in halibut. Dietary oxidised oil significantly reduced growth in turbot and especially in halibut, but not in sea bream. Vitamin E improved growth in sea bream fed oxidised oil but not in turbot or halibut. However, vitamin E supplementation appeared to improve survival in all three species. In sea bream and turbot, liver antioxidant defence enzyme activities were generally increased by feeding peroxidised oil and reduced by vitamin E. Conversely, in halibut, the liver antioxidant defence enzyme activities were not increased by feeding peroxidised oil and only superoxide dismutase was reduced by feeding vitamin E. Consistent with these data, feeding oxidised oil increased lipid peroxidation products in halibut, but generally not in sea bream or turbot. Furthermore, lipid peroxidation products were generally reduced by dietary vitamin E in both sea bream and turbot, but not in halibut. Therefore, halibut liver antioxidant defence enzymes did not respond to dietary oxidised oil or vitamin E as occurred in turbot and, especially sea bream. This resulted in increased levels of lipid peroxides in halibut compared to turbot and sea bream in fish given dietary oxidised oil. In addition, supplemental vitamin E did not reduce lipid peroxides in halibut as it did in turbot and sea bream. The increased peroxidation stress in halibut may account for their poorer growth and survival in comparison to turbot and especially sea bream. Halibut were reared at a lower temperature, although relatively high for halibut, than either turbot or sea bream but they were also slightly younger/smaller fish and possibly, therefore, more developmentally immature, and either or all of these factors may be important in the lack of response of the liver enzymes in halibut

Klimatiltak i Klubben næringspark

Senja kommune regulerer planarbeidet for Klubben næringspark på Senja. Næringsparken er forbeholdt blågrønn næringsvirksomhet og så langt er det to aktører som har besluttet å etablere seg på området, herunder slakteri og bearbeidingsanlegg, og EPS-fabrikk. Videre er anlegg for videreforedling av biprodukter og biogassproduksjon øvrige aktøre som har vært nevnt i forbindelse med Klubben næringspark, men som foreløpig ikke har tatt beslutning om etablering. Formålet med prosjektet har vært å identifisere og evaluere synergier der uutnyttede material- og energistrømmer kan anvendes på tvers av aktørene i næringsparken, eller som utgangspunkt for å introdusere ny industriaktivitet. Kartleggingen av material- og energistrømmer har kulminert i en prioritert liste over klimatiltak, og det er gitt anbefalinger for videre arbeid. Det vurderes å være grunnlag for videre utredning av blant annet produksjon av marine organismer og utnyttelse av varme og CO2 i veksthus. Biogassproduksjon kan være en driver for sirkulære verdikjeder, og en videre utredning bør ses i sammenheng med øvrig planlagt aktivitet i næringsparken. Videre kan fiskefôrproduksjon være et interessant tilskudd til næringsparken som kan utredes nærmere.publishedVersio

BONE DEVELOPMENT IN ATLANTIC BLUEFIN TUNA Thunnus thynnus AND SKELETAL EFFECTS OF FIRST FEEDING WITH COPEPODS Acartia tonsa OR ROTIFERS Brachionus ibericus

Juvenile production of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) is characterized by high mortalities and low growth rates during the larval stage. Startfeeding of Bluefin tuna larvae in hatcheries depends on the traditional food organisms rotifers and Artemia nauplii (Biswas et al., 2006), and skeletal malformations have been observed in 70% of larvae and juveniles (Libert et al., 2013). When copepods are used as live food, the results are generally improved compared to the use of traditional live feed organisms (Evjemo et al., 2003), with higher survival, increased growth, normal development, earlier onset of ossification and less skeletal anomalies compared to larvae fed rotifers and Artemia (Imsland et al., 2006). The aims of this study were to describe the bone development in the Atlantic Bluefin tuna fed copepods, and to evaluate the effects of start-feeding with enriched rotifers or with cultivated copepods on skeletal deformities

First feeding of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) with copepods (Acartia tonsa) or rotifers /artemia - larval prey size preferences, growth, and development

The increase of dry weight, standard length and low incidence of skeletal anomalies clearly show that A. tonsa represents an optimal live food organism for tuna larvae

n-3 PUFA biosynthesis by the copepod Apocyclops royi documented using fatty acid profile analysis and gene expression analysis

The cyclopoid copepod Apocyclops royi (Lindberg 1940) is one of two dominant mesozooplankton species in brackish Taiwanese aquaculture ponds. Periodically low n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content in seston could potentially be a limiting factor for zooplankton diversity. Apocyclops royi’s potential ability to biosynthesize n-3 PUFA was investigated through a short-term feeding experiment on four species of microalgae. Furthermore, we analyzed the expression of genes encoding putative fatty acid elongase (ELO) and desaturase (FAD) enzymes in A. royi on long-term diets of the PUFA-poor Dunaliella tertiolecta and the PUFA-rich Isochrysis galbana. The copepods exhibited high contents of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6n-3) (>20% of total fatty acid) even when DHA-starved for two generations, and no significant differences were found in absolute DHA content between treatments. Transcripts correlating to the four enzymes Elovl4, Elovl5, Fad Δ5 and Fad Δ6 in the n-3 PUFA biosynthetic pathway were identified. Gene expression analysis revealed a significantly higher expression of two desaturases similar to Fad Δ6 in copepods fed PUFA-lacking algae compared to copepods fed algae with high PUFA content. These findings suggest a highly active n-3 PUFA biosynthesis and capability of DHA production in A. royi when fed low-PUFA diets