17 research outputs found
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Session A5: Dam Removal: Enhancing or Degrading Ecological Integrity?
Abstract:
Removal of dams is increasingly being used to restore fragmented rivers and streams. The incentive is often to give migrating fish access to upstream spawning habitats, but dam removal may also bring other benefits, such as recovery of riparian vegetation and a more heterogeneous environment for aquatic invertebrates. Dam removal may also act as a disturbance on the system, releasing trapped sediments to downstream reaches. Depending on the amount of sediments in the former reservoir this disturbance may be transient or act over a longer time period. Whether dam removal is beneficial or not to the ecosystem may therefore depend on the type of organism. We have studied the effect of dam removal on riparian vegetation and benthic invertebrates in two Swedish streams over a period of 3 and 5 years respectively, and found that riparian vegetation generally benefitted from removal. Species richness increased, and species composition became more similar to a reference situation within a three year period. In contrast, benthic invertebrates seemed to be negatively affected by dam removal. While we saw no effects on community composition of benthic invertebrates, taxon richness decreased continuously over a five year period and total densities decreased initially but showed weak signs of recovery over the five year period. Our results also indicate that the response varies between invertebrate taxa
African Trypanosomiasis Gambiense, Italy
African trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense has not been reported in Italy. We report 2 cases diagnosed in the summer of 2004. Theses cases suggest an increased risk for expatriates working in trypanosomiasis-endemic countries. Travel medicine clinics should be increasingly aware of this potentially fatal disease
Ecosystem response to dam removal
This thesis aims to improve our understanding of how riverine ecosystems respond to dam removal. Riverine and particularly riparian ecosystems are among the most variable and important features of all landscapes. They connect landscape elements both longitudinally and laterally, and are governed by processes such as flooding, erosion and deposition that create dynamic, diverse and heterogeneous habitats. In fact, riparian zones are among the worldâs most species-rich habitats. Worldwide there are millions of dams that fragment stream and river systems, regulate flows and degrade ecosystems. Dams impact freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems and threaten biodiversity by disrupting organism movements and energy flows in the landscape. An important upstream effect of dams is inundation of habitats and development of new shorelines around impounded areas. Effects downstream of dams are mainly caused by changed hydrological regimes and retention of organic and inorganic materials in reservoirs, leading to reduced transport and dispersal of for example seeds to reaches downstream. The removal of dams create expectations that biota will eventually recover. We have studied a number of dam removal projects in Sweden. Our experimental results showed that following dam removal, newly exposed soils in former impoundments were rapidly colonized by pre-removal species. Their species richness increased slightly with time and their species composition indicated a slow change towards that in the reference site. In addition, the vegetation in formerly impounded areas showed a direction of change from lentic riparian plants (high proportion of aquatics) towards lotic ones, consisting of native perennials typical of free-flowing streams. We also found that the apprehensions that former impoundments would turn into pools of mud did not come true; in fact, a process towards more pristine channel morphology was observed. After removal there was erosion and downstream transport of sediment. We found only minor effects on macroinvertebrate communities. For example, a few species decreased over the years, suggesting that dam removal in itself might cause a temporary disturbance. This highlights the importance of long-term studies after dam removal, and also the importance of comparisons with pre-removal conditions and stretches unaffected by dams. Thorough documentation of executed dam removal projects and distribution of the results and experiences are tremendously important in the planning process of future decommissioning projects. Also, our experiences have taught us that in order to attain a successful dam removal it is important to involve stakeholders such as non-governmental organizations and local inhabitants in the process
Frihet- verklighet eller illusion? : En kvalitativ undersökning av journalisters grÀnslösa arbete
Globaliseringen och den informationstekniska utvecklingen har lett till att organisationer effektiviserats och blivit mer kostnadsmedvetna. För individerhar det inneburit mer flexibla arbetsvillkor vilket kan innebÀra bÄde för-och nackdelar. Syftet med detta examensarbete var att ur ett medarbetarperspektiv undersöka hur individer upplever grÀnslöst arbete och om de anvÀnder sig av strategier för att hanterade allt mer flexibla och det grÀnslösa arbetet.Studien har en deduktiv ansats med krav-kontroll-och stödmodellen (Karasek & Theorell, 1990), KASAM (Antonovsky, 2005), den allostatiska modellen (McEwens,1998, refererad iAllvin, Aronsson, Hagström, Johansson och Lundberg, 2006),grÀnsdragningsstrategier (Allvin et al.,2006)och copingstrategier (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) som teorigrund.En kvalitativundersökning med semistrukturerade intervjuer utfördes bland journalister som Àr en yrkesgrupp som handskas medtidspress, höga krav och otydliga grÀnser mellan arbete och privatliv.Resultatet som framkomvisade att de trotshöga krav och stÀndig tidspress upplevde detflexibla arbetet som en ovÀrderlig frihet. Till de mer negativa upplevelserna framkom ett resonemang om en tillgÀnglighet dygnet runt,ibland egenvald men ocksÄ en upplevd förvÀntad tillgÀnglighet frÄn arbetsgivaren. Strategierna som anvÀndes handlade mestadels om grÀnsdragning mellan de olika sfÀrerna. Slutsatsen blev att erfarenhet och anvÀndandet av strategier spelar en avgörande roll för upplevelsen av grÀnslöst arbete
Fritidspedagogens roll utifrÄn tre yrkesperspektiv : rektor, lÀrare och fritidspedagog
Detta Àr en intervjustudie om fritidspedagogers yrkesroll i skolan med fokus pÄ samverkan mellan olika yrkesgrupper. Resultatet av studien visar att den aktuella skolan uppvisar grund för goda samarbeten mellan samtliga medverkande yrkesroller. Efter flertalet Är av samarbete har personal frÄn olika yrkeskategorier utformat ett vÀl fungerande arbetssÀtt. Det finns en gemensam syn pÄ fritidspedagogens roll i skolan, samt att fritidspedagogen och dess kompetens behövs under skoldagen. En önskan frÄn samtliga medverkande Àr avsatt tid för gemensam planering för lÀrare och fritidspedagoger
Bevittnad job incivility och dess samband med begynnande arbetsrelaterad utmattning, commitment, utövad incivility samt intentioner att lÀmna organisationen
The purpose of the study was to seek relations between witnessed job incivility from coworkers and manager and six different aspects of work-related exhaustion, lower commitment, tendency to exercise incivility and intentions to leave organization. An internet survey was sent to 174 employees within five public psychiatric departments which gave a response rate of 49 %. The questionnaire consisted of scales measuring six dimensions of emerging work-related exhaustion, commitment, perceived incivility from coworkers and managers, exercised incivility, and intentions to leave the organization. The result revealed that witnessed job incivility could explain the variance in four out of six dimensions of emerging work-related exhaustion. Witnessed incivility from both coworkers and managers seems to be related to health problems. Incivility from coworkers was a unique predictor of lack of social support and control while incivility from manager was related to the dimension work-leisure time. No variance could be explained regarding the dimensions sleep and privacy. Only job incivility from coworkers could explain variance in commitment. Both witnessed incivility from coworkers and managers explained variance in exercised incivility. Witnessed job incivility could not explain variance in intentions to leave the organization
Callcenter outsourcing : Krav och kvalitetssÀkring
Outsourcing och specifikt callcenter outsourcing diskuteras bland företag. Tyngden i diskussionen ligger pĂ„ kvalitĂ©n, som Ă€r en aktuell aspekt av fenomenet callcenter outsourcing. FrĂ„gan berör flera parter; de företag som outsourcar, callcenter och konsumenter. Callcenters Ă€r organisationer som Ă€r specialiserade inom kundkontakt och har i uppgift att kommunicera med företags konsumenter, genom att svara pĂ„ frĂ„gor eller bidra med övrig information och hjĂ€lp som konsumenten Ă€r i behov av. Teorier som ligger till grund för vĂ„r uppsats, rör callcenter outsourcing, kvalitet och kvalitetssystem. Vidare har vi diskuterat var forskningen stĂ„r idag och utifrĂ„n det identifierat vĂ„rt valda forskningsomrĂ„de, dĂ€r vi Ă€mnar besvara frĂ„gan gĂ€llande vilka olika kvalitetskrav som kunden stĂ€ller och hur dessa sĂ€kerstĂ€lls hos den outsourcade callcenterfunktionen, det vill sĂ€ga leverantören av tjĂ€nsten. Kvalitetsaspekten Ă€r av stor vikt, dĂ€rför att dĂ„lig service direkt reflekteras pĂ„ det företag som outsourcar tjĂ€nsten, trots att det inte sjĂ€lva utför den. Bristande kvalitet kostar stora summor för verksamheter, nĂ€rmare bestĂ€mt 10 â 30 procent av dess omsĂ€ttning och dĂ€rav Ă€r det av vikt att företag som outsourcar tjĂ€nster och leverantörer som levererar tjĂ€nsterna, Ă€r införstĂ„dda i vikten av kvalitetsaspekten. Det slutsatser vi dragit i uppsatsen, Ă€r att kunderna stĂ€ller olika krav pĂ„ leverantörerna beroende pĂ„ den typ av tjĂ€nst som ska levereras. Kraven kan handla om bemötande, sekretess, tillgĂ€nglighet och att hĂ„lla en specifik standard. Dessutom har vi i uppsatsen kommit fram till att leverantörerna anvĂ€nder sig av olika kvalitetssystem för att sĂ€kra kvalitĂ©n pĂ„ tjĂ€nsterna som outsourcas, allt frĂ„n kvalitetssystemet ISO9000 och COPC till egenutformade kvalitetssystem och avtal.Outsourcing, especially call centre outsourcing, is discussed in many companies. One topic in the discussion is the quality of the service provided. The quality is important for all involved parties, companies who outsource their call centre, the call centre and especially for the consumers. Call centres are companies specialized in customer contact, undertaking the communication between the consumer and the company, through answering questions, providing information or support. The theories that initiates this essay is based on call centre outsourcing, quality and quality systems. Through a discussion of previous research, we specify our main area of the study. We intend to answer the question of how the quality requirements set by the company is guaranteed by the call centre. Quality is an important topic since the company outsourcing is directly affected by bad service quality. Poor quality is a high cost driver for companies, and research has shown that deficient quality can reduce the companyâs turnover by 10-30 percent. The conclusion in this essay is that companies set different demands on the call centre, depending on what type of service they agree on. The demands could be about behaviour, secrecy, availability or maintaining a specific level of standard and quality. To secure the level of quality, call centres use different quality systems, such as ISO9000, COPC, systems developed by the call centre it self or service level agreements
Revisorns oberoende och analysmodellen - skillnader mellan globala och regionala revisionsbyrÄer
Bakgrund: PĂ„ senare Ă„r har revisionsbyrĂ„ernas och revisorernas arbete blivit alltmer uppmĂ€rksammat, frĂ€mst pĂ„ grund de senaste Ă„rens redovisningsskandaler. I samband med det började oberoendelagstiftningen att ifrĂ„gasĂ€ttas och 1/1 Ă„r 2002 infördes en ny revisorslag i Sverige. Syfte: UtifrĂ„n intervjuer med revisorer pĂ„ regionala och globala revisionsbyrĂ„er vill vi undersöka hur revisorns oberoende tolkas, vilken instĂ€llning byrĂ„erna har till rĂ„dgivning och kombiuppdrag, vilka hot byrĂ„erna upplever samt hur analysmodellen anvĂ€nds och uppfattas. Avsikten Ă€r att utreda om det finns skillnader och om dessa skillnader beror pĂ„ om byrĂ„erna Ă€r globala eller regionala. Problemformulering: Skillnader mellan globala och regionala revisionsbyrĂ„ers uppfattning avseende: âą Hur tolkas begreppet oberoende? âą Hur ser byrĂ„erna pĂ„ förĂ€ndringsarbetet och anvĂ€ndningen av analysmodellen i samband med dess införande? âą Vilken instĂ€llning har byrĂ„erna till revisionsnĂ€ra och fristĂ„ende rĂ„dgivning samt kombiuppdrag? âą Vilka hot mot oberoendet, relaterade till analysmodellen, upplever byrĂ„erna? Slutsats: De globala byrĂ„erna anser att en gemensam tolkning av begreppet oberoende bör finnas, vilket de regionala inte sĂ€ger nĂ„got om. I förlĂ€ngningen bör det innebĂ€ra att de globala arbetar mot att utveckla samsyn kring begreppet sĂ„som FAR önskar. Majoriteten av byrĂ„erna, sĂ„vĂ€l globala som regionala, upplever inte att analysmodellen utgör ett stöd i det dagliga arbetet, vilket förmodligen beror pĂ„ att modellen Ă€r generellt utformad och inte anger hur specifika problem ska behandlas. VĂ„r slutsats blir att modellen bör bli tydligare och utgöra ett större stöd i takt med att praxis vĂ€xer fram eftersom att hotens innebörd kommer att tydliggöras. Respondenterna i de regionala byrĂ„erna Ă€r betydligt mer restriktiva gĂ€llande rĂ„dgivningstjĂ€nster. BĂ„da grupperna poĂ€ngterar dock att den revisionsnĂ€ra rĂ„dgivningen Ă€r nödvĂ€ndig för att kunna genomföra en bra revision. GĂ€llande kombiuppdrag kan vi inte se nĂ„gra skillnader mellan globala och regionala revisionsbyrĂ„er. Ă
sikterna om vilka hot mot oberoendet, relaterade till analysmodellen, som byrÄerna har Àr vÀldigt spridda. DÀrmed kan ingen slutsats dras kring skillnader mellan grupperna globala och regionala
Conflicts associated with dam removal in Sweden
The increasing number of deteriorating old dams that need renovation or have lost their function make dam removal a viable management option. There are at least four major reasons for dam removal: safety, law and policy, economy, and ecology. Here we discuss 17 Swedish dams that were recently considered for removal. Because dam removal usually causes controversy, dam removal initiatives may succeed, fail, or result in a compromise such as a bypass channel for migrating fish. We identify and discuss three major obstructions to dam removal: funding, cultural-historical values, and threatened species. To facilitate dam removal, the reasons for, and the effects of, dam removal must be carefully explained, and the public and stakeholders must be kept informed. In complicated cases in which compromise solutions may be the most feasible outcome, the integration of the knowledge of different stakeholders is crucial. The involvement of diverse stakeholders increases their willingness to find compromises, thus avoiding conflicts and failures