Challenging normality and breaking boundaries of prejudice

This thesis seeks to investigate how the protagonists with disabilities in John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time challenge society’s normative views of taboos and break the boundaries of prejudice and to underline the importance for young adult readers to read such literature. Additionally, I will seek to answer how teachers can utilize contemporary novels discussing controversial topics in teaching the interdisciplinary topic of “health and life skills.” To answer the thesis statement, I formulated three additional research questions: How are taboo subjects, such as mental and physical disabilities represented in each novel? Secondly, how do the writers challenge normality and normative views on disability, and how do they let their characters vocalize their points of view? Finally, how do these representational techniques make it easier for pupils to relate to the main characters’ viewpoints and issues concerning disabilities? In the novels, the protagonists’ disabilities represent the taboo subjects they seek to challenge the normative views of. Both protagonists succeed in altering the reader’s perspective of them for the better by inviting the reader to experience their journey from start to finish and view how they develop throughout the story. This development provides society with a different way of perceiving disabled individuals. By providing such development, the authors of both novels also succeed in enabling their protagonists to challenge normality. As for why young adult readers need to read literature like Green’s and Haddon’s that discusses controversial themes, it is because the novels can provide the young readers with necessary insight and inspiration which will develop their sense of compassion for people with other prerequisites than themselves

The Effects of Exchange Rates on Export Prices of Farmed Salmon

The CBS inverse demand system is extended to include exchange rates. Applying the extended model to trade data for farmed salmon, results suggest export prices are at least as sensitive to changes in exchange rates as to changes in trade volume. Exchange rate pass-through (absorption into export prices) is complete for the Chilean peso and the British pound, but incomplete for the Norwegian kroner and the US dollar. This suggests producers in Chile and the United Kingdom (UK) are more affected by short-term movements in relative currency values than are producers in Norway and Rest of World (ROW). Model simulations suggest currency realignments, especially the depreciation of the Chilean peso, contributed to the 2003-04 collapse in world salmon prices.Exchange rates, flexibilities, inverse demand system, Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade, Q13, M30, F10,

Determinants of trip duration for international tourists in Norway; a parametric survival analysis

Source at https://doi.org/10.1515/ejthr-2017-0008 .How long a tourist stays in a host country acts as an indicator of tourism industry’s contribution towards the national economy. The purpose of this study is to examine how socio-demographic characteristics of international tourists, their travelling purpose, tourism products and characteristics of the destination influence the length of stay in Norway, by estimating a parametric survival model. Total cost of trip, purpose of travel, type of accommodation and transportation, age of tourist and geographical area are key elements that explain the variation in the length of tourist stay in Norway. The Cox proportional hazard model with time-independent covariates indicates the survival probability of tourists with less budget constraints and younger ages is higher than that of low-spending tourists and elderly travelers. Moreover, tourists with the purpose of friend and family visitation are at lower risk of leaving Norway than are tourists with other purposes. In terms of tourism products, choosing camping sites as the type of accommodation and road transport as the mode of transportation are associated with the highest survival probability. Another key finding is that tourists stay longer in northern Norway than in southern Norway; hence, on average, tourists’ overall expenditures are higher in northern Norway

ShinyRBase: Near real-time energy saving models using reactive programming

To document energy savings from retrofitting a building, a reliable baseline model is needed. The development and implementation of the baseline model is an important step in the measurement and verification (M&V) process. Usually, an energy analyst enters the stage, collects data, do the estimation and delivers the baseline model. The modeling work of the energy analyst is done on either a proprietary or open-source statistical software, often using a coding script. If stakeholders want an updated report on energy savings, the analyst must re-do the whole process, for example on a monthly basis. This workflow is based on an imperative programming paradigm. The analyst holds on to the code that performs the analysis and re-run the code when agreed upon. The consequence of this workflow is that stakeholders are dependent on the energy analyst and that updated energy savings results must be planned and scheduled. However, emerging M&V 2.0 technologies enables automation of the energy saving reports. This paper demonstrates how energy savings from retrofitting’s in the Norwegian food retail sector is continuously monitored and documented in a web application. The application is built using open-source tools where the baseline model is delivered through a reactive programming framework. As an energy savings baseline model, the Tao Vanilla benchmarking model (TVB) was set into production in the web application. The TVB is a linear regression model with well specified features, easy to interpret and has a history of excellent prediction performance. The proposed web application framework allows for a fast development cycle without any need-to-know web programming languages like HTML, CSS or JavaScript. The reactive framework delivers several advantages. First, the stakeholders will always have a current and real-time report on the savings. Second, complex methodologies are dynamically used by the end-user. Third, increased involvement by stakeholders and interaction with the analyst related to the methods used in the energy savings analysis leads to collaborative benefits such as faster disseminating of knowledge. These synergy effect leads to a better technical understanding from the end user perspective and enhanced practical understanding for the analyst. Finally, the paper presents an integrated look at the energy kWh savings versus the cost of the retrofitting’s

Effects of ‘doctor shopping’ behaviour on prescription of addictive drugs in Sweden

Free choice of health care providers is aimed to improve the quality of health care by increasing both access to it and the competition between providers. However, it may also give patients possibilities for doctor shopping (DS) behaviour, i.e., visiting different providers to receive illicit drug prescriptions. Abuse of prescribed addictive drugs is a growing problem worldwide and is associated with increased mortality, lower quality of life and other problems on both the individual and societal level. We study DS behaviour for three categories of addictive drugs – opioid painkillers, benzodiazepine anxiolytics, and z-hypnotic sleeping drugs, in the outpatient care sector in V¨ asterbotten County, Sweden. Our dataset contains all drug prescriptions purchased by the residents of V¨ asterbotten in the period from January 2014 to April 2016 (approximately 160,000 observations). To identify signs of addictive prescription drugs abuse by DS, we analyse overlapping prescriptions. We use ‘Defined Daily Doses’ (DDDs), which is the average treatment dose of a specific drug per day for adults, as a proxy for the treatment duration. To control for medically legitimate overlaps, we compare overlapping prescriptions within a clinic with overlapping prescriptions between different clinics. Our empirical results suggest that there is a significant and positive relationship between the number of overlapping doses and the number of unique providers in the overlap. More specifically, we find that visiting different providers on average gives patients up to three additional DDDs per day. This is three times higher than the standard treatment dose. We discuss policy implications in the concluding discussion

Distribution of temperature, salinity and density in the Arabian sea along the South Malabar coast (South India) during the post-monsoon season

Physical oceanographic investigations form an important part of an integrated marine fisheries research programme. The Central Marine Fisheries Research Station in co-operation with the Indo-Norwegian Project has initiated a detailed oceanographic programme during the year 1957-58 in the waters off the Kerala Coast in order to obtain a detailed knowledge of the various Physical Oceanographic parameters in the Arabian Sea and their possible variations both in time and space

How exchange rate affects Chinese processing trade? The case of ground fish

As imports destined for primary processing and then exporting occur across industries, in this study we developed a structural model to examine how exchange rate affects the exports of processed ground fish from China. The home demand for processed goods is incorporated into the model in accordance with the fact that the share of processed goods remaining in China tends to increase over time. China is the world’s largest import-processing centre of ground fish. The fact that China produces almost no ground fish facilitates identifying the trade data. For exports with both foreign and domestic origins, the data issue is a big challenge for empirical studies. The simulated results indicate that a 7% appreciation of the Chinese currency would raise the export price of processed ground fish by 4.06%, corresponding to a share of 40% foreign content in the processed product. In addition, the increased share of home consumption would enlarge the responses of exports to changes in the exchange rate.submittedVersio

Asymmetric price transmission in a changing food supply chain

The farmed salmon supply chain in Europe is changing. There is a growing concentration at intermediary levels in the supply chain and more product differentiation in the market. This means that different price determination processes could apply in various product sub-markets. In this study, price transmission relationships in the salmon value chain were investigated at two different product levels. Specifically, a relatively unprocessed salmon product (fresh salmon) and a more processed product (smoked salmon) were investigated since processing costs might have a significant impact on a vertical price linkage. A threshold cointegration model was applied to estimate the price transmission between the Norwegian export market and the retail markets of France and Spain. The results indicated a price transmission relationship along the fresh salmon chain in both markets; but not along the smoked salmon chains in either market. Furthermore, for the fresh salmon value chain, asymmetric adjustment was observed in both markets

Norske bankkrav og kapitalbehov under det dansk-norske eneveldet Den Danske og Norske Speciesbank av 1791 og de norske filialene 1797-1798

Denne oppgaven gir et nyansert bilde av de reelle kreditt- og kapitalbehovene i Norge på 1790-tallet. Intensjonen var å kunne avdekke hvor i Norge, og for hvem kreditt- og kapitalbehovene virkelig gjaldt. En bank kjent som Speciesbanken, opprettet i 1791, men som stoppet innlånsvirksomhet i 1799, etablerte filialer i Christiania (1797), Bergen (1798) og Trondheim (1798). Christiania skulle opprinnelig få et fond på 300 000 rd.sp., Bergen 300 000 rd.sp og Trondheim 200 000 rd.sp., men større summer kunne gis dersom situasjonen krevde dette. Det viser seg at Christiania-filialen mottok 384 000 rd.sp. i løpet av 1797-1798, Bergen 100 000 rd.sp. og Trondheim 108 000 rd.sp. i løpet av 1798. Funn i denne oppgaven viser at Speciesbanken totalt lånte ut 392 814 rd.sp. i løpet av driftsårene 1797-1798. Dette betyr at Christiania virkelig hadde et behov for kreditt og kapital. Kun 21 626 rd.sp. (5,4 %) av det totale fondet var igjen i kassabeholdningen til Christiania-filialen per 31. desember 1798. Den største gruppen låntakere ved Christiania-filialen var sivile embetsmenn. Sivile embetsmenn hadde trolig behov for kreditt og kapital fordi disse ikke var begrenset av sitt embete til også å kunne utføre en egen forretningsvirksomhet. De sivile embetsmennene, uten de samme kredittkildene som kjøpmenn og storborgerskapet, måtte derfor henvende seg i stor grad til Speciesbanken for ervervelse av kreditt og kapital. Sivile embetsmenn var også den største låntakergruppen i Trondheim, hvor denne gruppen lånte 51 780 rd.sp. og 57,57 % av den totale utlånsmengden i 1798. Embetsmenn i Trondheim var naturligvis underlagt de samme føringene for ervervelse av kreditt og kapital som embetsmennene i Christiania. Trondheim-filialen hadde 24 858 rd.sp. og dermed kun 22,56 % av totale disponible verdier. Et totalt sett høyt lånebehov i Trondheim kan trolig forklares med at få personer og familier satt på store summer, men som valgte å ikke låne ut av sine formuer ved forståelse av Sogner (1962). Penger sirkulerte i så tilfelle også dårlig i Trondheim. Speciesbankfilialen i Begen skiller seg ut ved at denne filialen har utestående kapital per 31. desember 1798 på kun 20 080 rd.sp. I Bergen var det dessuten gruppen, kjøpmenn den største låntakergruppen med totalt 37 200 rd.sp. (80,76 %) av den totale utlånsmengden i 1798. Men hva gjorde at det var lite behov for Speciesbankfilialen sin utlånsvirksomhet i Bergen? Forklaringen ligger at det allerede eksisterte gode systemer for kreditt i Bergen både fra offentlige og private kredittkilder. Dessuten var den bergenske eksporten av fisk trolig mindre kapitalkrevende enn trelastnæringen i Christiania. Bergenske kjøpmenn benyttet seg også av et system for handelen med utlandet kalt kommisjonshandel, et system som fungerte utmerket for begge involverte parter kjøper og selger. Denne oppgaven har gitt følgende bidrag til norsk historieforskning: De norske bankkravene på 1700-tallet var virkeligheten ikke var et nasjonalt spørsmål, og behov, men var geografisk begrenset til å gjelde Christiania, og til dels også for Trondheim. Det var heller ikke de rene kjøpmennene som hadde størst behov for en bank i Norge, men i hovedsak embetsmenn hvor det store "bankspørsmålet" kan omtales å ha vært et "embetsmannskrav" under 1790-årene.This thesis is a study of the need for credit and capital in Norway during the 18th century. The intention of this thesis was to show how these needs really were in Norway and who it concerned. A bank which is known as "Speciesbanken", founded in 1791, but stopped lending money in 1799, established branches in Christiania (todays Oslo) in 1797, Bergen and Trondheim in 1798. The "Speciesbank" decided that Christiania should be given 300 000 rd.sp., Bergen 200 000 rd.sp and Trondheim 200 000 rd.sp., but even more if the circumstances demanded it. In fact Christiania received 384 000 rd.sp. in the period of 1797-1798, Bergen 100 000 rd.sp. and Trondheim 108 000 rd.sp. in 1798. The branch in Christiania lent a total of 392 814 rd.sp. in the period of 1797-1798, when the off all incomes and outcomes is taken into consideration. Meaning that the city of Christiania had severe need for credit and capital. Just 21 626 rd.sp. (5,4 %) of it's available bank fund were in this branch own cash holdings per 31 of December 1798. The largest part of the borrowers in Christiania were civil servants. The civil servants were must likely in need of money because they were not limited not to have a right to a private life and could therefore have a business while at the same time serving the King of Denmark-Norway. The civil servants did not have the same sources for credit and capital as the merchants meaning that they had to borrow from the branch in Christiania. Civil servants were also the largest group of borrowers in Trondheim borrowing 51 780 rd.sp. (57,57 %) by the year of 1798. This branch had 24 858 rd.sp. (22,56 %) left in cash holdings per 31st of December 1798. The need for money in Trondheim was probably high because only a few persons had a lot of money which they did not borrow to others, meaning the money did not circulate. The amount of money lent in Bergen were no larger then 20 080 rd.sp. (19,96 %) per 31 of December 1798. Merchants borrowed the most with 37 200 rd.sp. (80,76 %) when the whole of the year of 1798 is taken into consideration. But what made Bergen an exception, not needing the branch by the "Speciesbank"? Bergen already had other good sources for credit and capital, both governmental and non-governmental, and the demands for money were smaller due to export of fish, which was less costdemanding then exportation of wood, which was important in Christiania. Bergen also used a system called "tradecommision", which was beneficial both for the buyer and for the seller. This thesis shows that the Norwegian demands for a own bank in the 18th century really wasn't a national demand but was geographical limited mainly to Christiania, but also to some extent to Trondheim. This thesis also shows that merchants were not in most need of a bank institution in Norway, but it was confined mainly for the civil servants.Master i HistorieMAHF-HISHIS35

Kvalitetsvurderinger av laks og ørret: En kvalitativ studie av forbrukeres kjøp med fotoanalyse som verktøy

Norske forbrukeres sjømatkonsum viser en negativ trend, og sjømatprodusenter søker etter svar på hvordan man kan øke salget av laks og ørret. For å snu den negative trenden må man forstå hva forbrukerne vektlegger når de velger sjømat. Studier viser at matkvalitet stadig blir viktigere, der kvaliteten oppfattes gjennom produktets intrinsiske (indre) og ekstrinsiske (ytre) attributter. Formålet med oppgaven var dermed å undersøke hvilke kvalitetsattributter som påvirker forbrukeres valg av laks og ørret. Det teoretiske rammeverket gir et forståelsesgrunnlag for relevante attributter som man i forkant av studien antok ville påvirke valg av produkt. Disse var smak, sunnhet, farge og fersk vs. frossen, samt pris, merkevare, emballasje, opprinnelse og bekvemmelighet. Studiens eksplorerende design hadde som hensikt å finne ny informasjon om feltet gjennom fotoanalyser av forbrukernes kjøpte produkter, i kombinasjon med deres åpne svar om hvorfor de kjøpte produktet. Forbrukerne tok bilder av sitt kjøpte produkt som en projektiv teknikk for å hjelpe dem å reflektere over hvorfor de kjøpte produktet, og for å gi en dypere innsikt i fenomenet. Studiens funn viste at pris, smak, pakningsstørrelse, bekvemmelighet og sunnhet var de viktigste attributtene for forbrukernes produktvalg. Flere av funnene støtter allerede eksisterende teori på temaet, mens overraskende funn slik som pakningsstørrelse og bekvemmelighet viste seg å være viktigere enn blant annet merkevare, som motstrider andre studier. Studien bidrar til økt forståelse av norske forbrukere, som sjømatprodusenter kan dra nytte av for å utvikle nye produkter og for å kommunisere mer effektivt mot markedet