Degrees of choice?

Dominant theories on choice of higher education tend to regard students as rational consumers in an educational marketplace. Tracing the logic of student decision-making in South Africa shows the complexities of these processes

Mechanistic Modelling of Radial Polymer Flow in Porous Media

Polymer flooding is one of the most successful chemically enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods, and has primarily been implemented to accelerate oil production by sweep improvement. However, research from the last couple of decades have identified several additional benefits associated with polymer flooding. Firstly, improved polymer properties have extended their use in reservoirs with high temperature and high salinity. Secondly, improved understanding of the viscoelastic flow behavior of flexible polymers have revealed that they may in some cases mobilize capillary trapped oil as well. Despite of the recent progress, extensive research remains to quantify the appropriate flow mechanisms and accurately describe polymer flow in porous media. Simulations and history match operations performed in this thesis are aimed at improving the modelling of radial polymer flow in porous media. This has been achieved by (1) evaluating the accuracy and robustness of two different history match methods which are used to estimate the in-situ rheology of non-Newtonian fluids in radial flow, (2) investigating potential rate and memory effects (at the Darcy scale) of viscoelastic polymer solutions in radial flow, and (3) quantifying polymer in-situ rheology and polymer injectivity. The accuracy and robustness of both history match methods which are used to estimate the in-situ rheology of non-Newtonian fluids in radial flow was clearly demonstrated in radial flow experiments where effective (or cumulative) error was below 5 % of the maximum preset transducer pressure range. Thereby, the observed shear-thinning behavior of partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) at low flux in porous media could not be attributed to insufficiently accurate pressure transducers during in-house flow experiments, as suggested by some researchers. The estimation of polymer in-situ rheology showed invariance between excluding and including the polymer pressure data outside the near-wellbore region. Thus, it was proposed that the polymer in-situ rheology is mainly defined by the pressure data originating from the near-wellbore region during radial polymer flow. Results showed that not only could the polymer in-situ rheology be (quantitatively) estimated from measurements of stabilized pressure, but could also be (qualitatively) identified from the pressure build-up during radial flow experiments. Consequently, the anchoring data from the pressure build-up during radial polymer flow was proposed as an additional tool for history matching field injectivity tests. Rate and memory effects (at the Darcy scale) of several HPAM polymers were investigated in flow through Bentheimer sandstone discs. Results showed that no rate effects occurred for mechanically undegraded polymer (Flopaam 3330S). However, rate effects were observed for mechanically degraded polymers (Flopaam 3630S and Flopaam 5115SH) where the onset of shear-thickening increased with volumetric injection rate. While memory effects (at the Darcy scale) were absent for the mechanically undegraded and relatively low molecular weight polymer, Flopaam 3330S, the mechanically degraded and relatively higher molecular weight (18 MDa) polymer, Flopaam 3630S, exhibited memory effects in which apparent viscosity decreased with radial distance. As mechanical degradation is suggested to be confined to the near-wellbore region in radial polymer flow, the memory effect was proposed to originate from the elastic properties of the polymer. In accordance with recent literature, the in-situ rheology of HPAM was shown to depend on flow geometry. During single and two-phase polymer flow, the shear-thinning behavior of HPAM was much more pronounced, and the extent of shear-thickening significantly reduced in radial compared to linear flow. Furthermore, the onset of shear-thickening during single-phase flow occurred at significantly higher velocities in radial relative to linear flow. However, this behavior was not consistent during two-phase flow as the onset of shear-thickening during linear and radial polymer flow coincided. Moreover, comparative studies of polymer flow in radial versus linear flow geometries during single and two-phase flow revealed that the impact of oil was to reduce apparent in-situ viscosity of HPAM. The low-flux in-situ rheology behavior was addressed and showed Newtonian behavior in linear flow while significant shear-thinning was observed during radial flow. Thus, both flow geometry and presence of oil were suggested to be key factors for estimating polymer in-situ rheology

Det norske Private Equity-markedet : har Private Equity-fondenes tilnærming til porteføljeselskapet før investeringsbeslutningen foretas endret seg etter finanskrisen?

I denne oppgaven har vi sett på hvordan finanskrisen har påvirket Private Equity-fondenes tilnærming til porteføljeselskapet, ved å ta utgangspunkt i evalueringskriterier bransjen benytter seg av ved seleksjon av bedriftene. I kartleggelse av etablerte evalueringskriterier har vi studert tidligere litteratur på området for å finne fram til hvilke kriterier Private Equity-fondene vurderer porteføljeselskapet ut fra. Videre har vi utformet en spørreundersøkelse, som vi har sendt ut til alle Private Equity-fond registrert hos Norwegian Venture Capital Association (NVCA) per mai 2011. Vi har valgt å ta utgangspunkt i aktører registrert hos NVCA på grunn av at vi dermed kan i større grad anvende rapporteringen i NVCA sine aktivitetsrapporter som sparringspartner når datamaterialet fra PE-fondene tolkes. Videre har vi hatt intervju med Argentum, hvor vi både fikk bekreftet, avkreftet og diskutert tendensene i det norske Private Equity og forløpet frem til i dag. I drøftelsen har vi utført blant annet regresjonsanalyse for å studere hvordan Private Equity-markedet påvirkes av økonomiske konjunkturer, og dernest utformet en faktoranalyse for å identifisere dimensjoner Private Equity-aktørene vurderer som mer viktig i forhold til seleksjon av porteføljeselskap nå, kontra før, finanskrisen. Krysskorrelasjonsanalyse anvendes for å kartlegge hvordan respondentene besvarer ulike spørsmålskriterier. Våre resultater tenderer til at Private Equity-aktørene gir økt viktighet til hovedsakelig tre faktorer, hvilke er nåværende virksomhet, tiltro til produktet og markedsrisiko. Vi finner også at resultatene våre korresponderer til en viss grad overens med tidligere studier, samt at det tenderer til at Private Equity-aktørene angir større viktighet til evalueringskriterier, som litteraturen angir som viktige

Leaders’ Influence Tactics for Safety: An Exploratory Study in the Maritime Context

A growing body of research has pointed out effective leadership as an important influencing factor for safety performance in various high-risk industrial contexts. However, limited systematic knowledge is available about how leaders can effectively persuade rule compliance, and stimulate actions and participation. Recognizing effective means of influence is of value for safety leadership development and evaluation. This study seeks to empirically investigate leaders’ influence tactics for safety in a maritime context. Qualitative exploration is performed with data being collected through focus group discussions and individual interviews with 41 experienced shipboard leaders from various shipping sectors. Five core influence tactics—coaching, role modeling, pressure, consultation and exchange tactics—appeared to be the shipboard leaders’ effective tactics to influence subordinates’ safety compliance and participation behaviors in ship operations. Safety leadership influences flow from exemplification, expert and personal sources of power, and being pursued through soft and rational influence tactics rather than coercion or constructive inducements. The results indicate that the more relationship-oriented the leaders are, the more effective their safety leadership would be in influencing safety behaviors. The implication of the results for maritime safety leadership research, maritime education and training are discussed

Building Organizational Resilience Through Organizational Learning: A Systematic Review

With organizational environments becoming increasingly complex and volatile, the concept of “organizational resilience” has become the “new normal”. Organizational resilience is a complex and multidimensional concept which builds on the myriad of capabilities that an organization develops during its lifecycle. As learning is an inherent and essential part of these developments, it has become a central theme in literature on organizational resilience. Although organizational resilience and organizational learning are inherently interrelated, little is known of the dynamics of effective learning that may enhance organizational resilience. This study explores how to achieve organizational learning that can serve to promote organizational resilience. Our aim is to contribute to a more comprehensive knowledge of the relation between organizational resilience and organizational learning. We present the results of a systematic literature review to assess how organizational learning may make organizations more resilient. As both organizational resilience and organizational learning are topics of practical importance, our study offers a specifically targeted investigation of this relation. We examine the relevant literature on organizational learning and resilience, identifying core themes and the connection between the two concepts. Further, we provide a detailed description of data collection and analysis. Data were analyzed thematically using the qualitative research software NVivo. Our review covered 41 empirical, 12 conceptual and 6 literature review articles, all indicating learning as mainly linked to adaptation capabilities. However, we find that learning is connected to all three stages of resilience that organizations need to develop resilience: anticipation, coping, and adaptation. Effective learning depends upon appropriate management of experiential learning, on a systemic approach to learning, on the organizational ability to unlearn, and on the existence of the context that facilitates organizational learning.publishedVersio

Hverdagsliv i en ny kontekst: En intervjustudie med enslige mindreårige flyktninger bosatt i et norsk bygdesamfunn

Denne masteroppgaven handler om enslige mindreårige flyktninger og deres hverdagsliv i det norske samfunn. En personlig interesse og engasjement for en gruppe mennesker man sjelden høres stemmene til i den offentlige debatt er bakgrunnen for at oppgaven ble til. Å tydeliggjøre enslige mindreåriges perspektiver rundt sin egen situasjon har vært et av målene med denne studien. Hensikten med oppgaven er å se på forholdet mellom individ og samfunn, og hvordan samfunnets strukturer påvirker unge flyktningers opplevelse av sitt hverdagsliv. Problemstillingen er ment å favne dette; Hvordan opplever og beskriver enslige mindreårige flyktninger sitt hverdagsliv i det norske samfunn? Det empiriske materialet består av livsformsintervju med fire enslige mindreårige gutter som er bosatt i en norsk bygdekommune. De teoretiske perspektivene og begrepene som er brukt er med på å belyse hvordan samfunnet er strukturert og hvilke muligheter som er tilgjengelig for disse ungdommene. Det er teori om kulturforståelse, andregjøring, marginalisering og kategorisering samt ulike identitetsformer. Utdrag fra Bourdieus felt- kapital teori er også brukt. For å få frem de personlige meningskonstruksjonene har jeg benyttet meg av aspekter fra narrativ teori, interessefeltet er hvordan informantenes fortellinger viser til deres forståelse av seg selv og sine muligheter. Analysen består av tre deler som først tar for seg informantenes beskrivelse av den daglige organiseringen av hverdagslivet. Den neste delen ser på hvordan informantene beskriver å bo i et lite lokalsamfunn. I den siste delen bruker jeg narrativ teori samt begrepene kategorisering, andregjøring og hybridisering for å belyse informantenes selvoppfattelse og meningskonstruksjoner. Det kommer frem at informantene deltar i samfunnet i ulik grad. Flere forteller om få nære relasjoner, og utfordringer ved å bli kjent med nordmenn. Samtidig uttrykker alle en viss tilknytning til bygda de bor i. De oppgir også at de har mennesker rundt seg som hjelper dem hvis de har behov for det. Flere av informantene gir uttrykk for at de opplever seg selv som både tilhørende sin egen kultur fra hjemlandet og samtidig føler en viss tilhørighet til den norske kulturen og det norske samfunn. Dette forstås som betydningsfullt for hvordan de opplever seg selv i det norske samfunn.This thesis is about unaccompanied child refugees and their daily life in the Norwegian society. The background of the paper is arising of a personal interest and commitment to a group of people that are rarely heard voices in the public debate. To clarify knowledge of unaccompanied minors' perspectives about their own situation has been one of the goals of this study. The aim of the study is to illuminate the relationship between individual and society, and how society structures affecting young refugees experience of their everyday lives. The research question intended to capture this is: How do unaccompanied minor refugees experience and describe their everyday life in the Norwegian society? The empirical material consists of life interview with four unaccompanied minor boys living in a Norwegian rural community. The theoretical perspectives and concepts that are used helps to illuminate how society is structured and what opportunities that are available for these young people It is theory of cultural understanding, othering, marginalization, categorization and different identity forms. Excerpt from Bourdieu's field - capital theory is also used. To illuminate the personal meaning structures I have used aspects of narrative theory. The field of interest is to see how the informants' narratives appear to their understanding of themselves and their opportunities. The analysis consists of three parts which first examines the informant's description of the daily organization of their everyday life. The next section looks at how the informants` perceive and experience living in a small community. The last part uses narrative theory and concepts of categorization and othering to illuminate the informants' self-perception and meaning structures. It appears that the informants is participating in society in varying degrees. Several are telling about few close relationships and challenges around getting to know Norwegians. At the same time they all expresses some connection to the village they live in. They also state that they have people around them who help them when needed. Several of the interviewees express that they perceive themselves as belonging to their own culture from their homecountries and at the same time feel a certain affinity for the Norwegian culture and Norwegian society. This is understood as significant to how they perceive themselves in the Norwegian societyMaster i sosialt arbei

Choices of degree or degrees of choice? : a sociological analysis of decision-making in tertiary education.

Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.Dominant theories on choice of higher education, such as the rational action theory, view prospective students as rational consumers operating in an educational and vocational marketplace. This approach is founded on the assumption that young people are logical, self-interested and utility-maximising beings, and that choice of career or field of study is the outcome of a technically rational process. A growing number of studies are, however, challenging the central assumption of this approach. Recent studies on educational and vocational choice-making indicate that aspiring students may not be as calculating as the dominant research and policy discourse suggests. They emphasise that the decision-making process is, in fact, far more complex and unpredictable than traditionally assumed by the conventional models. As a result, there have been calls for the need to develop an alternative approach. The pragmatic rationality model by Hodkinson and Sparkes is one example. This study employs an unconventional approach to the logic of choice-making. Instead of drawing up a quantitative assessment of a large sample of students – the most common method of inquiry in this field of research – it uses case study research to investigate, in depth, how students from two specific vocational disciplines made their choices. The research is based on qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 26 first-year students in the Civil Engineering and Social Care programmes at the Durban University of Technology and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The study explores the applicability of the pragmatic rationality framework in the South African context, and investigates its potential impact on higher education policy. The analysis finds that there are general processes by which all the students had been affected, summed up in the framework of pragmatic rationality. The endorsement of this approach can be read as an implicit rejection of the rational action theory and the dominant assumption of aspiring students as rational agents. Although pragmatically rational decision-making was detected throughout the sample, the students were found to have made very different kinds of choices within very different types of circumstances. These differences were identified particularly in the levels of knowledge upon which the students had based their decisions. The observations made in this study are useful in terms of developing a more accurate understanding of educational and vocational choice-making in South Africa

Facilitation of activities for people with dementia in day care : a qualitative study exploring the experiences of staff

Background: Day care service (day care) is recommended as an activity service for home-dwelling people with dementia in Norway. However, there is limited knowledge about strategies to promote engagement and participation in activities at day care. The aim of this study was to gain understanding of the staff’s experiences on how to enhance engagement and participation in activities for attendees. Methods: The study has a qualitative design, using group interviews with staff and field observations at day care designed for people with dementia. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze interviews, and the findings from the observations were used to illuminate the findings in the interviews. Three group interviews including a total of 10 staff participants were conducted. Additionally, 35 attendees were observed during 2 days of field observations at each day care. Results: The main theme that emerged from the analysis was the staff’s primary objective to make meaningful days for the attendees. To achieve this, the importance of having individual knowledge about the attendees to enhance relationships, creating a balanced group composition, personal competence and skills of the staff, and the importance of using activities in different ways, was highlighted. Most findings from the field observations coincide with those in the interviews. However, the observations revealed that the staff seemed to have insufficient knowledge of offering individual tailored and structured meaningful activities to the attendees. There is a potential of including the attendees even more in the ongoing activities. Conclusion: Staff play an important role in promoting and facilitating activities to increase engagement and participation in activities. There is a potential for greater structured use of activities and cognitive stimulation. To avoid occupational injustice and the risk of decreased health and well-being among home-dwelling people with dementia, more differentiated and individual tailored services are needed.publishedVersio