Towards population counting of marine mammals based on drone images

In marine science, there is a need for tools for population counting of species. Through this thesis we aim to achieve the follow three objectives: first, briefly discuss the state-of-the-art object detectors that can be used for the detection of porpoises in drone images/videos. Second, test and compare a few stateof-the-art object detectors in both quantitative and qualitative manner. Third, based on our results propose a set of suggestions that can be used for future studies associated with population counting. To answer the second question we compared three state-of-the-art object detection models, two single-stage detectors, and one two-shot detector. The models chosen were the Faster RCNN, YOLOv4 and EfficientDet models, and they were trained and tested on a custom data-set consisting of 7300 labeled images of porpoises, where as 2300 of these were included in the test data set. Through our experiments, we have discovered that YOLOv4 outperforms Faster R-CNN and EfficientDet D1 with detection, where YOLO achieves a recall of 97%, compared to 80% recall with EfficientDet D1 and 75% recall with Faster R-CNN. We also find the average precision @50 values of YOLOv4 to be 0.778, which is greater than EfficientDet D1 with 0.695 and Faster R-CNN with 0.686. Through both qualitative and quantitative methods we discover that both EfficientDet D1 and Faster R-CNN suffers from poor recall especially when porpoises overlap in the images. In the case of Faster R-CNN it misses nearly all detections when the porpoises overlap, but rarely non-overlapping detections. EfficientDet misses a significant portion of the overlapping detections, but also misses a few of the singular. Through examination of the COCO detection metrics, which favor bounding box accuracy, we also show that Faster R-CNN has more precise bounding boxes than YOLOv4 and EfficientDet D1 by comparing the less strict AP@50 values, with the stricter AP@75 and [.50 : .05 : .95] values. These results imply that a one-stage detection model in YOLOv4 could be used for object detection of porpoises from drone images. Based on the results, a few important areas for further investigation is outlined in the discussion, and a framework was developed which allows marine researches to easily perform porpoise detection from images and videos

The Nordic Model and Management in International Corporations:A Scoping Review

The overall aim of this scoping review is to present empirical studies regarding how the Nordic model has been investigated in relation to management in international companies. The subse quent objective is to discuss the model’s robustness regarding internationalization. The question raised is how the Nordic model, in relation to management, is configured in empirical studies undertaken in international corporations. Using systematic literature searches to examine peer- reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2022, 15 out of 972 studies were eligible for a full review. Primarily, one facet of the model was investigated: workplace democracy. Foreign-owned companies operating in Nordic countries partly adopted the model, whereas the model was implemented to some extent in Nordic-owned companies abroad. Management’s support and employee involvement were considered important. This review indicates that there is pressure on the model, although it has extended beyond the Nordic border and appears to be adaptable to global working life

The Impact of Feet Callosities, Arm Posture, and Usage of Electrolyte Wipes on Body Composition by Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis in Morbidly Obese Adults

Objective: This study evaluated the impact of feet callosities, arm posture, and use of electrolyte wipes on body composition measurements by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) in morbidly obese adults. Methods: 36 morbidly obese patients (13 males, aged 28-70 years, BMI 41.6 ± 4.3 kg/m2) with moderate/severe feet callosities participated in this study. Body composition (percent body fat (%BF)) was measured while fasting using multi-frequency BIA (InBody 720®), before and after removal of callosities, with and without InBody® electrolyte wipes and custom-built auxiliary pads (to assess arm posture impact). Results from BIA were compared to air displacement plethysmography (ADP, BodPod®). Results: Median %BF was significantly higher with auxiliary pads than without (50.1 (interquartile range 8.2) vs. 49.3 (interquartile range 9.1); p < 0.001), while no differences were found with callosity removal (49.3 (interquartile range 9.1) vs. 50.0 (interquartile range 7.9); NS) or use of wipes (49.6 (interquartile range 8.5) vs. 49.3 (interquartile range 9.1); NS). No differences in %BF were found between BIA and ADP (49.1 (IQR: 8.9) vs. 49.3 (IQR: 9.1); NS). Conclusion: Arm posture has a significant impact on %BF assessed by BIA, contrary to the presence of feet callosities and use of electrolyte wipes. Arm posture standardization during BIA for body composition assessment is, therefore, recommended.This is an Open Access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC) (www.karger.com/OA-license), applicable to the online version of the article only. Distribution permitted for non-commercial purposes only

Risikostyring og HMS i naturbasert reiseliv - en håndbok

Håndboken beskriver hvordan naturbaserte reiselivsbedrifter kan bygge opp et risikostyringssystem som tilfredsstiller kravene til den norske HMS lovgivningen. Samtidig tar systemet hensyn til særlige forhold innenfor reiseliv. Mer presist tas det hensyn til at risiko kan være en del av produktet noe som innebærer at risiko ikke alltid kan minimaliseres, men kontrolleres, reduseres eller aksepteres. Videre vektlegger systemet at bedrifter bør ha sterkt fokus på handlingskompetanse mer enn regelstyring. Dette vil kunne øke sjansen for at det blir tatt optimale beslutninger under skiftende omstendigheter. Systemet tar også hensyn til at ivaretakelse av natur er særlig viktig i denne bransjen og at sikkerhetsarbeidet bør fokusere på sikkerheten for gjester. Sistnevnte er relatert til at gjestene ofte er uerfarne både med hensyn til aktivitetene som utøves, klima og andre ytre omstendigheter. Systemet er en del av «Varde – opplevelseskvalitet» et nasjonalt kvalitetssystemet for reiselivsbedrifter innen natur og kulturbasert reiseliv. Dette innebærer at mange av de krav og forslag som vi redegjør for i forhold til sikkerhet, vil bli kontrollert og bedømt av Vardes «mystery shoppers» som en del av nasjonal kvalitetssikring. Boken har følgende innhold: - Innledende del hvor det er en overordnet drøfting av risiko og opplevelsesproduksjon i reiselivsbransjen. Målet er å skape forståelse for fenomenet risiko og særegne behov innen sikkerhetstenking i naturbasert reiseliv. - Hvordan fastsette mål for HMS og sikkerhetsarbeid - Hvordan gjennomføre risikoidentifikasjon - Hvordan gjennomføre risikoanalyse - Hvordan lage en sikkerhetsplan for produkter/turer - Eksempler på sikkerhetsplaner - Hvordan skrive rapporter etter uønskede hendelser og ulykker Systemet og håndboken er laget i samarbeid med en rekke reiselivsbedrifter fra Sogn og Fjordane, Nordland, Troms og Svalbard. Arbeidet er en del av et større prosjekt ledet av Universitet Nord og finansiert av Regionale forskingsfond og egenandeler fra bedrifter

Rekkevidden av konkursunntaket i Luganokonvensjonen. En analyse av norske domstolers kompetanse i grenseoverskridende konkurs.

I løpet av de siste tiårene har globaliseringsprosessene bidratt til at stadig flere selskap har virksomhet på tvers av landegrenser. Selv om utviklingen kan være positiv i mange henseender, medfører økende kommersiell utvikling uten territoriale grenser også økende faktisk forekomst av grenseoverskridende insolvenser. Dette medfører at nasjonale domstolers kompetanse i grenseoverskridende konkurs er særlig aktuelt i dagens samfunn. Avhandlingens kjerne er i hvilken utstrekning Luganokonvensjonen gir norske domstoler kompetanse til å behandle de ulike spørsmålene som oppstår i forbindelse med konkurs, i tilfeller der skyldneren driver virksomhet eller har eiendeler i flere stater. Bakgrunnen er at Luganokonvensjonen inneholder et «konkursunntak» i artikkel 1 nr. 2 bokstav b, som unntar konkursrettslige spørsmål fra konvensjonens anvendelsesområde. Rekkevidden av konkursunntaket er derfor avgjørende for hvilken kompetanse norske domstoler har i grenseoverskridende konkurs. Bildet kompliseres imidlertid ytterligere av at konkursunntaket har sin parallell i EU, og at norske domstoler skal ta «tilbørlig hensyn» til EU-domstolens avgjørelser ved tolkning av Luganokonvensjonen. I tillegg til å analysere konkursunntakets rekkevidde etter gjeldende norsk rett, behandler avhandlingen derfor om konkursunntakets rekkevidde er gjenstand for enhetlig tolkning i Norge og i EU

The Nordic model and management in international corporations : A scoping review

publishedVersio

Experiences of WNGER II Ph.D.Fellows During the COVID-19 Pandemic – A Case Study

Since January 2020 there have been over 97 million reported cases and 2 million deaths worldwide from COVID-19 and it is not over yet. In many ways, the COVID-19 pandemic is a slow-motion disaster and an ‘external intervention’ that suddenly began in early 2020 and has maintained its grip on the world. The pandemic has influenced the education sector strongly as well, and Ph.D. candidates enrolled in Ph.D. programs during COVID-19 (‘the Ph.D. corona generation’) at Western Norway Graduate School of Educational Research II (WNGER II) were examined in this case study. WNGER II is a research school consortium with seven universities and universities colleges, 97 Ph.D.-candidates, and 48 supervisors and was established in 2018 to complement the Ph.D.-programs and strengthen the Ph.D. education in Western Norway. A pilot phase (2016–2017) was used to identify and address specific challenges in Ph.D. education as experienced in the seven universities and university colleges in Western Norway. The pandemic has presented an urgent need for a better knowledge base to understand the professional, social, and existential conditions for doctoral fellows when society is shut down for an extended period. This explorative case study examined what the doctoral fellows experienced when home office, digital teaching, and digital supervision suddenly replaced physical presence in the workplace (more or less) from March 12, 2020 to November 30, 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed-methods research, formative dialog research, and case study design was applied to try to bridge the conceptual and contextual understanding of this phenomenon. The main data sources were a survey (N = 62, 85% women, 15% men, response rate 70%) and semi-structured interviews (with six Ph.D. fellows). Supplementary data collection was based on formative dialog research and comprised field dialog (13 seminars, eight Ph.D. courses, three Ph.D. supervision seminars, and two Ph.D. gatherings, N = 26), one focus group (n = 11), 21 online observations, and document analysis of Ph.D. policy documents and course evaluations (N = 15). The explorative case study found that the WNGER II Ph.D. fellows are satisfied with the educational quality concerning digital teaching and supervision (micro-level) but have experienced several research-related and psycho-social challenges during the pandemic (meso-level). These changed frame factors have impeded their feasibility and doctoral progression. Even if the WNGER II Ph.D. fellows experienced support during the pandemic, it seems like it entailed incremental measures that have not been sufficient. The Ph.D. regulations were created before the pandemic under normal conditions for normal conditions, but it appears that no substantial adjustments have been made for these extraordinary pandemic conditions in which frame factors attached to data collection, publication delays, childcare responsibilities, social distancing, etc. have changed the premises for their feasibility. This has been particularly critical for these Ph.D. fellows, who have been in this slow-motion disaster for up to 20 months (55% of their 3-year scholarship). Therefore, results from the case study indicate it is more important than ever to understand the gap between formulation, -transformation, and realization arena when it comes to the distinction between incremental, semi-structural changes and fundamental changes in Ph.D. regulations and guidelines caused by societal crises. Even if time compensation has been offered, it seems like the overall Ph.D. guidelines, regulations, and assessment norms have remained unchanged in the transformation arena (meso-level), which might have given some unforeseen implications for some Ph.D.-candidates, which calls for better crisis preparedness on a doctoral level in the years to come.publishedVersio

Exploring the digital competence of pre-service teachers on entry onto an initial teacher education programme in Ireland

peer-reviewedThis study aimed to explore the digital competence of recent entrants into a pre-service teacher education programme in an Irish University. The participants were drawn from a cohort of 208 undergraduate teacher education students. The study employed an online survey that captured both self-reported levels of digital competence and knowledge of key areas of cyber ethics and digital technology. The respondents were active users of technology and very frequent users of social media but reported levels of skills in the use of other digital technologies was lower. In addition, their knowledge of cyber-ethics and associated practices varied. The study also found that they were positively disposed to technology in teaching. The paper argues that, while there are limitations to surveys that aim to capture one’s level of digital competence, they can help guide teacher educators in responding to pre-service teachers. However, digital competence is an evolving concept and care must be taken to ensure that frameworks and tools used to assess it do not stifle teachers’ autonomy in relation to their utilisation of technology

AMACO is a component of the basement membrane-associated fraser complex

Fraser syndrome (FS) is a phenotypically variable, autosomal recessive disorder characterized by cryptophthalmus, cutaneous syndactyly, and other malformations resulting from mutations in FRAS1, FREM2, and GRIP1. Transient embryonic epidermal blistering causes the characteristic defects of the disorder. Fras1, Frem1, and Frem2 form the extracellular Fraser complex, which is believed to stabilize the basement membrane. However, several cases of FS could not be attributed to mutations in FRAS1, FREM2, or GRIP1, and FS displays high clinical variability, suggesting that there is an additional genetic, possibly modifying contribution to this disorder. An extracellular matrix protein containing VWA-like domains related to those in matrilins and collagens (AMACO), encoded by the VWA2 gene, has a very similar tissue distribution to the Fraser complex proteins in both mouse and zebrafish. Here, we show that AMACO deposition is lost in Fras1-deficient zebrafish and mice and that Fras1 and AMACO interact directly via their chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) and P2 domains. Knockdown of vwa2, which alone causes no phenotype, enhances the phenotype of hypomorphic Fras1 mutant zebrafish. Together, our data suggest that AMACO represents a member of the Fraser complex

Digital nødundervisning under covid-19-nedstengning: Lærerutdanneres utvikling av profesjonsfaglig digital kompetanse

Denne studien handler om hvordan digital nødundervisning og samhandling med studenter under covid-19-nedstengningen har påvirket lærerutdanneres profesjonsfaglige digitale kompetanse. 222 tekstresponser fra en spørreundersøkelse distribuert til lærerutdannere ved 5 grunnskolelærerutdanninger i Norge er analysert. Den tematiske analysen viser at følgende forhold har hatt påvirkning på kompetanseutviklingen: lavere terskel og større verktøykasse, drivkraft for didaktisk refleksjon og digital interaksjon og relasjon. Resultatene fra studien viser at omleggingen fra fysisk til heldigital undervisning utfordret lærerutdanneres undervisningspraksis og profesjonsfaglige syn på undervisning og læring med digital teknologi.publishedVersio