Impact of level densities and γ\gamma-strength functions on rr-process simulations

Studies attempting to quantify the sensitivity of the $r$-process abundances to nuclear input have to cope with the fact that the theoretical models they rely on, rarely come with confidence intervals. This problem has been dealt with by either estimating these intervals and propagating them statistically to the final abundances using reaction networks within simplified astrophysical models, or by running more realistic astrophysical simulations using different nuclear-physics models consistently for all the involved nuclei. Both of these approaches have their strengths and weaknesses. In this work, we use the reaction network code SkyNet to run $r$-process calculations for five trajectories using 49 different neutron-capture rate models. Our results shed light on the importance of taking into account shell effects and pairing correlations in the network calculations.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

‘It's not really Michael who wears me out, it's the system’ : The hidden work of coordinating care for a disabled child

The parents, especially mothers, of disabled children play a crucial role in coordinating care for their children. This article investigates families’ coordination work using qualitative accounts of the parents of disabled children in Norway. The theoretical concepts of the third shift, hidden work and a broad definition of care are applied. We present a typology of coordination work, consisting of writing, meetings, administration of services, learning, monitoring and emotional work. We describe three cases to show the nature and consequences of having to coordinate the everyday lives of disabled children. The findings show that coordination work is gendered, individualised and taken for granted in service provision. We argue that coordination work should be better recognised in social policy design for these families to provide adequate services and avoid reproducing social inequality.publishedVersio

Culture, Cultural Distance and Cultural Intelligence : A Multilevel Hierarchical Linear Model Analysis of Contextual Business Cultural Intelligence Quotient Antecedents

Master's thesis Business Administration BE501 - University of Agder 2019Purpose –The purpose of our master thesis is to investigate contextual antecedents to Cultural Intelligence development. Particularly, we assess the ability of cultural distance to predict Business Cultural Intelligence Quotient scores.Design / methodology / approach–Given our literature review, we hypothesize that cultural distance significantly affects BCIQ in a positive way. For this matter, we split our hypothesis into three sub-hypothesis and measured cultural distance in three ways: having at least one foreign parent, the Mahalanobis cultural distance, and the delta of each GLOBE’s practices dimensions expressed as the difference in birth and residence country scores. Due to having variables at the individual and country level, we utilize a multilevel Hierarchical Linear Model to run our analysis on a sample consisting of 3474 individuals from 54 home and 45 host countries.Findings –In general, we found support for our overarching hypothesis; nevertheless, cultural distance impacts BCIQ in complex ways. On one hand, having a multicultural background has a negative effect on BCIQ; on the other hand, Mahalanobis distance impacts positively but weakly BCIQ. Furthermore, from the nine GLOBE delta practices, only Future Orientation dimension affects positively BCIQ; however, Uncertainty Avoidance and Institutional Collectivism dimensions show a negative impact on BCIQ development. These intricate results are congruent with previous studies. We discuss them under the light of the Social Learning Theory, the nature of cultural distance and empirical studies that confirm contextual characteristics of cultures.Originality / value –We presenttwo main contributions to International Business. Firstly, we map business cultural intelligence quotient globally with our BCIQ Index40; secondly, we employ environmental antecedents, e.g. cultural distance, to explain BCIQ variation among countries.Keywords: Business Cultural Intelligence Quotient, cultural distance, Mahalanobis distance multicultural background, GLOBE, cultural intelligence, C

Comprehensive test of nuclear level density models

For the last two decades, experimental information on nuclear level densities for about 60 different nuclei has been obtained on the basis of the Oslo method. While each of these measurements has been typically compared to one or a few level density models, a global study including all the measurements has been missing. The present study provides a systematic comparison between Oslo data and six global level density models for 42 nuclei for which $s$-wave resonance spacings are also available. We apply a coherent normalization procedure to the Oslo data for each of the six different models, all being treated on the same footing. Our quantitative analysis shows that the constant-temperature model presents the best global description of the Oslo data, closely followed by the mean-field plus combinatorial model and Hartree-Fock plus statistical model. Their accuracies are quite similar, so that it remains difficult to clearly favour one of these models. When considering energies above the threshold where the experimental level scheme is complete, all the six models are shown to lead to rather similar accuracies with respect to Oslo data. The recently proposed shape method can, in principle, improve the situation since it provides an absolute estimate of the excitation-energy dependence of the measured level densities. We show for the specific case of $^{112}$Cd that the shape method could exclude the Hartree-Fock plus statistical model. Such an analysis remains to be performed for the bulk of data for which the shape method can be applied to the Oslo measurements before drawing conclusions on the general quality of a given nuclear level density model.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, published in PR

Microplastics Removal from a Plastic Recycling Industrial Wastewater Using Sand Filtration

The removal of microplastic from wastewater collected from a plastic recycling facility was investigated, using a laboratory scale sand-filter. Wastewater samples were collected before and after the onsite sand-filter, for characterization for different polymer types, sizes, and shapes. A considerable difference in the characteristics and concentrations of microplastics was observed before and after onsite sand-filtration, demonstrating differences in the source of microplastics and/or potential contamination of the sand-filter operated at the facility. The distribution of different polymers showed polyethylene and polypropylene to be the main microplastics present in the wastewater samples. In the next stage, the samples were passed through a laboratory scale sand-filter column, to investigate the removal of microplastics. The laboratory scale sand-filter showed high efficiency (up to 100%) in removing microplastics of all polymer types, shapes, and sizes, demonstrating the effectiveness of this well-developed, and widely adopted, method for the removal of microplastics from wastewater. As the green shift and circular economy will result in more plastics being recycled, this study demonstrates the need for quantification of microplastic in effluents from plastic recycling facilities. This is important for devising appropriate microplastic removal strategies, and meeting potential discharge regulations that may come into effect in the future.publishedVersio

Analyse av mikroplast i marine sedimentprøver

Prosjektleder Cecilie Singdahl-LarsenSedimentprøver, både overflateprøver fra det øverste laget (0-2 cm) av sedimentet og kjerneprøver (fra 0 til 30 cm), ble analysert for mikroplast på NIVA. Prøvene ble opparbeidet ved tetthetsseparasjon med natriumjodid (NaI, ρ=1,5-1,6 g/cm3) og behandlet med 10 % eddiksyre. Etter opparbeiding ble prøvene analysert med stereomikroskop for å bestemme lengde (μm), form (fiber, fragment, kule), og farge til mikroplastpartiklene. Deretter ble mikroplastpartiklene analysert med FTIR (Fourier-Transform infrarød spektrometri) for å bestemme polymertype. Resultatene er presentert i denne rapporten.Norges geologiske undersøkelse, NGUpublishedVersio