Understanding Organizational Reforms in the Modern State: Specialization and Integration in Norway and France

This article examines the challenge Norway and France face in coordinating specialized government activities after 10 years of comprehensive reforms. The focus is on the tension between territorial and sectoral specialization and between vertical and horizontal specialization. We describe both sector-specific administrative reforms and more overarching general reforms, looking at similarities and differences in the reorganization choices made by the two countries and also at what drives change. We argue that a combination of factors is required to explain outcomes. These factors include not only home-grown reforms but also sectoral challenges, diffusion and learning from abroad, adaptation to the financial crisis and budget deficit, and choices made by powerful political executives. Sometimes these factors work together and reinforce each other, producing radical reforms; at other times they have a mutually constraining influence, resulting in only minor changes

Understanding Organizational Reforms in the Modern State: Specialization and Integration in Norway and France

This article examines the challenge Norway and France face in coordinating specialized government activities after 10 years of comprehensive reforms. The focus is on the tension between territorial and sectoral specialization and between vertical and horizontal specialization. We describe both sector-specific administrative reforms and more overarching general reforms, looking at similarities and differences in the reorganization choices made by the two countries and also at what drives change. We argue that a combination of factors is required to explain outcomes. These factors include not only home-grown reforms but also sectoral challenges, diffusion and learning from abroad, adaptation to the financial crisis and budget deficit, and choices made by powerful political executives. Sometimes these factors work together and reinforce each other, producing radical reforms; at other times they have a mutually constraining influence, resulting in only minor changes

22. juli kommisjonen. Organisering, styring og ansvar [The 22. July Commission. Organization, steering and accountability].

INNLEIING 22. juli 2011 vart Norge ramma av to sjokkerande terroristangrep. Ei bilbombe øydela fleire sentrale regjeringsbygningar i Oslo og 8 personar vart drepne i angrepet. Nokre få timar seinare vart 69 politisk aktive ungdomar frå Arbeiderpartiet si ungdomsorganisasjon massakrert på ein leir på Utøya – like nordvest for Oslo. Dei fleste av dei 69 offera var mellom 15 og 18 år. Terroristen vart arrestert på Utøya same kvelden og vedgjekk straks ugjerningane. Rettsaka vist at han var ein ‘einsam ulv’ som opererte åleine utan å vera tilknytt nokon organisasjon. 24. august 2012 vart han dømt til 21 års forvaring

Utilizing Electromyography (EMG) as an Input Modality for Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs)

Hodemonterte skjermer er en del av et hurtig voksende felt innenfor teknologi. Mange selskap har prøvd å kommersialisere såkalte smartbriller som tilbyr brukeren et heads-up display ved å overlappe et bilde over den virkelig verden. Ingen effektiv løsning for å interagere med slike enheter har dog blitt funnet. Mange løsninger har blitt forsøkt, fra berøringsflater og kontrollere til øyesporing og kamerasporing. Disse løsningene lider av å være for iøynefallende, som leder til lav sosial aksept og dermed lav akseptanse blant folk flest. Dette studiet undersøker hvorvidt neseelektromyografi er en levedyktig inngangsmodalitet for hodemonterte skjermer. En prototype bestående av både maskinvare og programvare ble utviklet for å utforske denne ideen ved å feste lite iønefallende elektroder på nesebroen og å utnytte de subtile bevegelsene utført ved å blusse opp neseborene. For å identifisere levedyktigheten til denne tilnærmingen blir prototypen sammenlignet med en etablert grunnlinje bestående av en berøringsflate montert på siden av smartbrillene. En brukertest blir gjennomført for å samle inn både objektive og subjektive data som kan analyseres for å svare på spørsmålet. I dens nåværende implementasjon ble ikke neseelektromyografi funnet å være en levedyktig løsning. Dette studiet gjør grunnarbeidet og foreslår hva som kan forbedres for å utforske neseelektromyografi som en inngangsmodalitet videre.Head-mounted displays are part of a rapidly expanding field of technology. Many companies have tried to commercialise so-called smart glasses, providing the wearer a heads-up display by superimposing an image on top of the real world. However, no effective method for interacting with such devices have been found. Many solutions have been attempted, from touch surfaces and controllers to eye tracking and camera tracking. These solutions suffer from being too conspicuous, leading to low social acceptability and thus low mainstream acceptance. This study investigates whether nasal electromyography is viable as an input modality for head-mounted displays. By attaching inconspicuous electrodes to the bridge of the nose utilising the subtle movement of nasal flares, a prototype consisting of both hardware and software is developed to explore this idea. To identify the viability of this approach, the prototype is compared against an established baseline consisting of a side-mounted touchpad. A user study is performed to collect objective and subjective data, which can be analysed to find an answer. In its current implementation, nasal electromyography is not found to be a viable solution. The study does the groundwork, and suggests what to improve to further explore nasal electromyography as an input modality

May the Accent Be with You: An attitudinal study of language use in the Star Wars trilogies

Føremålet med denne studien har vore å analysere bruken av engelske uttalevariantar i dei tre Star Wars trilogiane, for å finne potensielle systematiske korrelasjonar mellom karakterane sin aksent, og deira karaktertrekk. Slike korrelasjonar kan avdekke bakanforliggande haldningar til ulike uttalevariantar, og dermed seie noko om korleis samfunnet ser på og behandlar ulike aksentar. Den aller første Star Wars-filmen vart utgjeven i 1977, og den nyaste filmen kom i 2019. Dette store tidsspennet mellom dei ulike trilogiane gjer Star Wars- filmane unike i sitt slag. I tillegg til å undersøkje korrelasjonar mellom aksent og karaktertrekk, ser denne oppgåva også på potensielle endringar i framstillinga av ulike aksentar, og om filmane over tid har blitt meir mangfaldige og inkluderande, i tråd med samfunnsmessige endringar dei siste 50 åra. Forsking tyder på at haldningar til språk blir forma tidleg i livet, gjennom blant anna opplevingar, media og personane ein har rundt seg (Garrett, Coupland, and Williams 2003). Star Wars trilogiane har blitt sett over heile verda, av folk i alle aldrar, og har vakse til å bli eit enormt populært univers. Filmane spelar potensielt ei viktig rolle i sosialiseringsprosessen til barn og unge, og er dermed ein påverknadsfaktor til haldningane dei utviklar. Måten ulike aksentar og lingvistiske grupper blir framstilt på i media og film er difor sentral for korleis dei blir oppfatta i samfunnet, og kan ha stor påverknad på korleis språkbrukarar ser på seg sjølve. Analysen av filmane viser at somme korrelasjonar mellom uttalemåte og karaktertrekk kan identifiserast i Star Wars-filmane, særleg når det gjeld kor sofistikert ein karakter er, kor stor rolle den har i filmane, samt om den er god eller vond. I tillegg kan ein sjå at ei endring har funne stad mellom den første trilogien og den siste, men det var til dels ikkje den endringa som var forventa. Filmane har utvilsamt blitt meir inkluderande når det gjeld etnisitet og kjønn, men har bevega seg i motsett retning når det gjeld språkleg mangfald, då standard britisk og standard amerikansk dominerer meir enn nokon sinne i den nyaste trilogien. Standard britisk har særleg hatt ei drastisk auke, medan bruken av standard amerikansk har minka. Ein kan spekulere i at grunnen til den store auka av standardaksentar, og då særleg britisk, er fokuset på politisk korrektheit i samfunnet, samt at desse moglegvis er lettare å forstå for eit internasjonalt publikum enn regionale og sosiale uttalevariantar. Samstundes kan ein hevde at lite mangfald av ulike uttalevariantar potensielt kan vere negativt for dei språkbrukargruppene som ikkje ser seg sjølve representerte i media og film.Engelsk mastergradsoppgåveENG350MAHF-ENGMAHF-LÆF

Long-term effects of clear-cut forestry on predation of artificial caterpillars in boreal forests of southeastern Norway

Predator-prey interactions are one of the key ecological interactions contributing to ecosystem structure and stability within complex forest ecosystems. Intact forest ecosystems contain high abundances and diversity of prey and natural enemies, but impact from forest management intensities could potentially threaten these interactions. I used 640 artificial caterpillars made from brown or green plasticine to compare predation rates between 10 pairs of boreal near-natural (NN) forests and former clear-cut (CC) forests in the southeastern parts of Norway. Half of them were placed on tree stems, and the other half on bilberry bushes. Artificial caterpillars were placed out in two periods, from late May to late June 2022. Predation was measured in two ways: by recording the presence or absence of attack marks on caterpillars, which could indicate predation rates by arthropods, mammals, or birds; and by counting the number of arthropod attack marks per caterpillar. I also assessed the abundance of predatory beetles in traps and the occurrence of anthills in late June. 108 caterpillars were fully removed by unknown predators. From the remaining caterpillars, were 88% attacked by arthropods, 46% by mammals, and 14% by birds. Almost twice as many caterpillars were removed from the former clear-cut forests as near-natural forests (21% vs. 13%), especially on bilberry bushes, and during the second period. Forest type was a significant predictor of both presence of arthropod predation, and number of arthropod attack marks per caterpillar. The arthropod predation rates of caterpillars were highest in the near-natural forests, especially the first period, but caterpillars in clear-cut forests suffered more attack marks per caterpillar, specifically brown ones. Arthropod predators significantly preferred caterpillars on tree stems, particularly the first period. The colour preference of arthropods was only pronounced the second period, with significantly less predated green caterpillars. Both anthills and predatory beetles significantly increased arthropod attack marks per caterpillar. Bird and mammal predation did not differ significantly between the two forest types, they only showed a preference for caterpillars placed on bilberry bushes. My results indicate that different predators react differently to forest management regimes, caterpillar colour, and placement, highlighting the importance of further investigations towards impacts from forest type and other potential ecological interactions on predation rates

Experimental studies: Formulation of a New Geopolymer and Investigation of Effect of Nanoparticles

Master's thesis in Petroleum EngineeringWell integrity survey from the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) indicated that out of the 75 production and injection wells, cement recorded about 11% integrity issue. According to the NORSOK D-10 requirement for cement properties, the conventional Portland cement does not fulfil all the criteria. Integrity issues associated with cement is also documented in other parts of the word. In recent years, there has been a high focus on searching a cost-effective and reliable alternative material to the Portland cement as a well barrier. The application of geopolymers is one of the best candidates that is attracting the oil and gas industry. However, the work is still under research and development phases. In this thesis work, during the first phase of the project, with the considered screening and qualifying criteria, three new geopolymer mixtures were formulated and characterized. During the second phase of the research, the effect of titanium oxide (TiO2) and –COOH functionalized multi-walled-carbon-nanotube (MWCNT-COOH) on the neat geopolymers were investigated. Furthermore, the neat -and nanoparticle treated geopolymer were compared with Portland class G cement. The alkaline activator for the geopolymer consisted of 10M NaOH along with a home-made synthesized sodium metasilicate liquid made with different concentrations of (45.1%, milky color), (30%, clear color) and (45.1%, clear color). Moreover, a commercial sodium silicate solution was tested. The application of the neat geopolymer to be utilized for construction and oil well cementing is based on the pumpability of the slurry and strength development. All the plugs cured at 62oC and room pressure. The slurries were mixed by hand, which comprised of a lot of air. Despite these worst-case conditions of the geopolymers formulated in this thesis work, the results obtained are interesting and satisfactory. However, by reducing the uncertainties associated with the geopolymer slurry mixing, the author feels that even more improved results can be achieved. Moreover, the effect of TiO2 and MWCNT-COOH nanoparticles solutions showed both positive and negative impacts on the mechanical and elastic properties of the neat geopolymers. The optimum and positive synergy of the nanoparticles with geopolymer were determined from the considered experimental condition

Fluid Structure Interaction Analysis of Abnormal Wave Slamming Events

I ekstreme sjøtilstandar kan bølgeslag påføre marine konstruksjonar store deformasjonar. Bølgeslag påfører konstruksjonen høge trykk med store variasjonar i tid og stad. Samankoplinga mellom hydrodynamiske laster og strukturell respons påverkar begge element, noko som fører til eit komplekst ikkje-lineært problem. Det finst analytiske modellar som beskriv både den elastiske og elasto-plastiske responsen til konstruksjonar, men desse er idealiserte. For ei fullstendig forståing av fenomenet er det derfor viktig med både eksperimentelle og numeriske studiar av bølgeslag. Gjennom SINTEF Ocean prosjektet SLADE KNP ble det gjennomført eksperimentelle fall-testar av ei ustiva plate i stilleståande vatn som ei idealisering av bølgeslag. Plata vart sleppt med vinkel 0◦ og 4◦ mellom plate og vassoverflate. Disse eksperimenta har blitt modellert numerisk i LS-DYNA ved hjelp av ein ALE-metode. Deformasjonane til plata målt frå eksperimenta og dei numeriske simuleringane samsvarte godt. Dette verifiserte den numeriske modelleringsteknikken. Vidare vart bølgeslag mot ei sylindrisk flytande vindturbinfundamentsøyle analysert ved hjelp av numerisk simulerte fall-testar. Ein ikkje-deformerbar modell vart simulert som samanlikning med teori, noko som gav godt samsvar for trykkimpuls påført konstruksjonen under prosessen. Simuleringar av ei deformerbar søyle gav store permanente deformasjonar og spenningskonsentrasjonar med størrelse nær flytspenning. Det er forventa at dette gir redusert kapasitet i den skada tilstanden. Grensetilfelle for den fysiske representasjonen av bølgeslaget er presentert, noko som gir avgrensingar for responsen til konstruksjonen. Designtrykk frå DNV OTG-14 blei også påført søyla. Dette gav elastiske vibrasjonar og ingen permanente deformasjonar. Samalikna med relevante fall-simuleringar undervurderer denne metoden deformasjonane til konstruksjonen, noko som gir ikkje-konservative resultat. Dette illustrerer behovet for vidare studiar av designmetodar som tek høgde for bølgeslag.During extreme sea conditions, slamming impact from large waves may cause significant damage to marine structures. Wave slamming induces high pressures with large spatial and temporal variations on the structure. During the impact, coupling between the hydrodynamic loads and structural response is important, and leads to a complex non-linear problem. While analytical models for describing both elastic and elasto-plastic response of the structures exist, these are idealised. Experimental and numerical assessments of wave impact are therefore necessary for sufficient understanding of the phenomenon. Experimental drop tests of an unstiffened plate into still water were performed in the SINTEF Ocean project SLADE KNP to simulate wave impact. Plate impact with deadrise angles 0◦ and 4◦ were studied. These experiments have been numerically modeled using an ALE method in LS-DYNA and simulated. The numerical simulations found good accuracy between numerically and experimentally measured deformations of the impacting plate, verifying the modeling technique. Further, slamming impact of a cylindrical floating wind turbine foundation column has been studied trough numerically simulated drop tests. A rigid model was simulated for comparison against theory, finding good accordance in pressure impulse acting on the structure. During deformable impact simulations of the column, significant permanent damage was caused to the structure. Residual stresses in the range of yield stress were also found, which are expected to decrease capacity in the damaged condition. Limiting cases for the physical representation are presented, giving limits for structural response. Design pressures according to DNV OTG 14 were also applied to the cylindrical column, causing elastic vibrations and no permanent deformations. Compared to relevant drop simulations, the pressure impulse method is found to severely underestimate the structural response, providing unconservative results. This illustrates a need for further studies into design principles against slamming impact

Killer whale (Orcinus orca) fibroblasts: optimizing cell culture conditions and unveiling toxicological properties of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

Masteroppgave i biologiBIO399MAMN-HAVSJMAMN-BI