Developing a Sustainable Inventory Routing Model: A Case Study of a Norwegian Distributor with Multiple Vehicles and Products

This study addresses the inventory routing problem for the Norwegian distribution company Kåre Besseberg AS. The scope concerns the lack of scientific models integrating all three dimensions of sustainability. Key social concerns in the transport sector relate to working hours and mechanical exposure. This study aims to identify a sustainable delivery schedule that minimizes costs, CO2 emissions, and long working hours while adhering to individual working hours and physical capacity limitations. Through literature investigation and contextual analysis of the case company, a conceptual problem description and scientific model are developed. The model accommodates multiple vehicles and products in a one-to-many distribution network and integrates environmental and social concerns into a mixed-integer linear programming framework. The case company’s inventory routing problem is solved directly with a commercial solver, providing a sustainable delivery schedule for Kåre Besseberg AS in an aggregated state. Key performance indicators across six scenarios evaluate the model’s performance in response to changes in demand, number of customers, working hours, wage rates, and capacity limits. The aggregated delivery schedule provides managerial insight for assessing a transition to a vendor-managed inventory system. By incorporating social sustainability into the model, the manager is empowered to facilitate driver schedules that adhere to individual working hours and physical limitations. Results indicate that a vendor-managed inventory system will require low resource capacity, suggesting substantially increased productivity for the company. However, results must be interpreted as uncertain due to various delimitations and simplifications. Further model-based research is necessary to ensure the model’s validity in an established vendor-managed inventory system, applicability in other contexts and operational performance. Development of specialized solution algorithms is necessary for solving larger instances. Nevertheless, this thesis demonstrates the feasibility of fully integrating sustainability into the inventory routing problem and serves as a foundation for further research on sustainable delivery scheduling

Personvernutfordringer ved bruk av stordata i norsk offentlig sektor

Masteroppgave informasjonssystemer IS501 - Universitetet i Agder 2018Formålet med denne studien har vært å finne ut hvordan norsk offentlig sektor jobber med personvern tilknyttet stordata, og hvilke personvernutfordringer som oppstår. Vi har derfor utledet forskningsspørsmålet: “Hvilke personvernutfordringer oppstår ved bruk av stordata i norsk offentlig sektor?” Studien er gjennomført hos organisasjonene Skatteetaten, NAV, og SSB, der vi har fått innblikk i de ulike stordata-prosjektene de arbeider med. Vi har utført en kvalitativ case-studie med 14 semi-strukturerte intervjuer gjennomført høsten 2017 og våren 2018. Vi har også intervjuet Datatilsynet for å få innblikk hva de ser på som personvernutfordringer ved bruk av stordata. Gjennom studien finner vi at den offentlige sektor ser store muligheter i bruk av stordata for effektivisering, statistikkformål og forbedring av tjenester. Prosjektene som utarbeides nå er fremdeles i startgropen, der det jobbes med å avdekke potensielle personvernutfordringer. Vi ønsker å trekke frem noen sentrale utfordringer som går igjen hos organisasjonene, og blir sett på som spesielt viktige. ● Utilstrekkelige anonymiseringsteknikker som utgjør en fare for re-identifisering ved kobling av datasett. ● Sikring av tilgangskontroll og trygg lagring som sørger for at sensitiv informasjon beskyttes. ● Utfordringer knyttet til personvernprinsippene om dataminimering, formålsbegrensning og samtykke. ● Fare for bias og profilering ved feilaktige modeller og dårlig datakvalitet. Offentlig sektor samler inn mye personsensitiv informasjon som utgjør en trussel for norske innbyggeres personvern hvis denne informasjonen misbrukes. Offentlige organisasjoner har ofte hjemmel til å samle inn flere personopplysninger enn det private organisasjoner har lov til. Oppgaven konkluderer med at det er viktig at offentlig sektor tar disse utfordringene på alvor, for å sikre tillit til oss som brukere av deres tjenester. Stordata bringer nye personvernutfordringer, og det er viktig at organisasjonene finner de beste metodene for å håndtere innsamling, lagring og analyse av stordata. I praksis bidrar studien til å gi innsikt og bevisstgjøring om de personvernutfordringene offentlig sektor står overfor i sin videre utvikling av stordata-prosjekter. I teoretisk sammenheng kan studien bedre akademias forståelse av personvernutfordringer innenfor bruk av stordata i offentlig sektor

Verdighet: Anestesisykepleieres erfaringer i møte med pasienter med rusavhengighet

Hensikt: Formålet med studien var å utforske anestesisykepleieres erfaringer i møte med pasienter med rusavhengighet, og ivaretakelse av pasientens verdighet. Målet var å få en dypere forståelse av fagfeltet og bidra til økt bevissthet rundt denne sårbare gruppen. Metode: Studien ble gjennomført ved et universitetssykehus i Norge. Åtte anestesisykepleiere ble intervjuet ved individuelle, semistrukturerte intervjuer. Analyser av intervjuene ble gjennomført ved bruk av kvalitativ innholdsanalyse. Funn: Gjennom analysen fremkom det to hovedkategorier som beskrev hva som var viktig for anestesisykepleieren i møte med rusavhengige pasienter. Funnene våre indikerte at det var viktig for anestesisykepleieren 1) Å legge til side egne fordommer i relasjonsbygging, for å kunne se mennesket bak diagnosen, og at det er 2) Personlig krevende og faglig utfordrende å ha ansvar for pasienter med rusavhengighet. Konklusjon: For anestesisykepleierne kunne det oppstå oppgitthet, fortvilelse og usikkerhet i møte med den rusavhengige pasienten. Disse følelsene kunne føre til at anestesisykepleierne følte seg sårbare. Det var tydelig at anestesisykepleierne ønsket å ivareta pasientene på best mulig måte. Relasjonsbyggende faktorer som tid, tillit, ærlighet og gjensidig respekt var elementært for ivaretakelse av verdighet hos den rusavhengige pasienten. Det er essensielt at anestesisykepleiere har nok faglig kunnskap og personlige egenskaper til å møte disse pasientene.Aim: The purpose of the study was to explore nurse anesthetists' experiences in caring for patients with substance dependence, and the preservation of the patient's dignity. The aim was to gain a deeper understanding of the field and to increase the awareness of this vulnerable group. Method: The study was conducted at a university hospital in Norway. Eight nurse anesthetists were interviewed by individual, semi-structured interviews. Analysis of the interviews were carried out by using qualitative content analysis. Findings: Two main categories emerged from the analysis, describing what the nurse anesthetists' found important when caring for patients with substance dependence. Our findings indicated that it was important for the nurse anesthetist 1) To set aside their own prejudices in building relationships, in order to see the human behind the diagnosis, but at the same time it is 2) Personally and professionally challenging to have responsibility for patients with substance dependence. Conclusion: For the nurse anesthetists, frustration, despair and uncertainty could arise when caring for patients with substance dependence. These feelings could lead to the nurse anesthetists feeling vulnerable. It was clear that the nurse anesthetists wanted to look after the patients in the best possible way. Factors such as time, trust, honesty and mutual respect were essential in order to protect the patient's dignity when building relationships. It's essential that the nurse anesthetists have sufficient professional knowledge and personal qualities in order to safeguard these patients

Effect of Gastrointestinal Microbiota on Growth in Mangrove Killifish (Kryptolebias marmoratus) and Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua)

All animals live in symbiosis with complex microbial communities. The gastrointestinal system in vertebrates is a natural environment for microbes, and this leads to a complex and numerous microbiota. The gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota has several functions of importance to the host, and the development of molecular biological methods for investigation of microbial communities has lead to a new understanding of this environment. The hypothesis of this thesis was that growth rate in larval fish is partly explained by the composition of the GI microbiota. This was tested by comparing the GI microbiota of slow and fast growing Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and mangrove killifish (Kryptolebias marmoratus) of the same age. The GI microbiota was characterized by PCR/DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) and sequencing of bands from the DGGE gels. There was a significant difference between the GI microbiota in fast and slow growing individuals from cod and the mangrove killifish strain DAN. The mangrove killifish strain PAN-RS also showed differences, but these findings were only marginally significant. This can partially be explained by the low number of samples analyzed. The GI microbiota of the PAN-RS juveniles had similarities with the microbial composition of both the feed and water, and showed that the GI microbiota is affected by both. In an experimental test it was attempted to examine if exposure to the culturable microbiota from either slow or fast growing individuals could reproduce size differences. However, the cultured bacteria from fast and slow growing mangrove killifish PAN-RS larvae were not significantly different in composition. Thus it was not expected to find any size difference between the fish larvae supplied with the different cultured bacteria. This was confirmed analytically, but the fish larvae supplied with the bacteria had a larger variation in size than the control group.The results in this thesis indicate a difference in the composition of the GI microbiota between fast and slow growing fish in the early stages of development. Further studies are required to verify if this is a causal relationship where differences in the GI microbiota of individuals results in differences in somatic growth

Skolevandring og klasseledelse

Sammendrag Problemstilling og tema Skolevandring er et relativt nytt ledelsesverktøy i Norge og det finnes relativt lite forskning på dette området. Et av skolevandringens formål er å evaluere lærerens klasseledelse som har fått et nytt fokus etter PISA 2006 og bedre tall i PISA 2012. Denne oppgaven har som tema å se på mulige sammenhenger mellom skolevandringer og lærerens klasseledelse. Metode Det ble gjennomført observasjoner av åtte lærere på to ungdomsskoler under og etter skolevandringene, observasjoner av skolelederne og uformelle samtaler med skolelederne. Skolevandringens gjennomføring blir sammenlignet på tvers av skolene, mens skolevandringens gjennomføring og lærerens klasseledelse bare på de to skolene enkeltvis. Teoretisk Rammeverk Det blir hovedsakelig tatt utgangspunkt i teorier om god klasseledelse (Ogden), om lærerens fagdidaktiske kunnskap (Shulman) og om agency (Emirbayer og Mische, Biesta). Ledelsesperspektivet blir særlig ivaretatt ved å bruke Moos teori om «passende forstyrrelser» og Elstads teorier om strategisk samhandling og profesjonelle ansvarliggjøringsmekanismer. Funn og slutninger Til tross for retningslinjene i Skien kommune blir det gjennomført anmeldte og uanmeldte skolevandringer. Skolevandringene tar lengre tid enn anbefalt. Skolelederne intervenerer av og til direkte i undervisningen. Problemer i forbindelse med lærerens klasseledelse, for eksempel manglende læringsmål på tavla og forstyrrelser på grunn av elever som vil gå på toalett, har ikke blitt løst gjennom skolevandring. Noen av resultatene kan peke mot at uanmeldte skolevandringer gjør lærerne mer oppmerksomme på arbeidsro. Vår studie synliggjør at skolevandring kan ha en betydning for bruken av positive improvisasjoner. Mange lærere tyr til positive improvisasjoner, i noen tilfeller til tross for skolelederens intervensjoner. Det pekes på skolevandringens læringsøkologiske aspekt og en mulig sammenheng mellom skolevandring og utvikling av teacher agency

Circular Economy in the Norwegian Building Sector : To what extent is circular economy adapted in the Norwegian building sector, and what barriers need to be addressed to increase implementation of circular economy?

With a rapidly growing population, the world requires more access to natural resources, housing, and jobs. Natural resources have been extracted and used at a high pace over the years, and access to these resources have become more limited as years pass. If humans continue the use of virgin materials at the pace they do today, the world will not be able to regenerate enough of its resources to keep up with the demand. Hence, we argued there is a need for a more sustainable way of keeping these resources in check. We found circular economy to be a countermeasure to this, as circular economy aims to utilize resources and materials more efficiently. A product in circular economy is designed to last longer and to not generate waste. By designing the product to be utilized beyond its original life cycle, one can use materials and components over again, either with the same purpose or a new purpose. A result of this would create less waste and less use of virgin materials, and a greater focus on reusing what we already have available. We found the building sector to be fitting context for our study. Aside from the benefits the sector provides, such as jobs, housing and major contribution to the global economy, it also comes with a series of negative impacts on the world. These impacts are often related to climate and environmental challenges. As circular economy has gained more attention over the years, especially with the increased focus on sustainability, we found it interesting to see how circular economy was adapted in the building sector. The Norwegian Government reported that Norway should be a leading nation for circular economy. We also discovered that there was a low grade of implementation of circular economy in the Norwegian building sector and wanted to understand why. Hence this study seeks to develop a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of circular economy in the Norwegian building sector. This study aims to answer; “To what extent is circular economy being adapted in the Norwegian building sector, and what barriers need to be addressed to increase implementation of circular economy?” By developing an understanding of why the situation is as it is, we can provide the sector with an overview of what need to be addressed in order to move further with implementation of circular economy. This study could be helpful for the building sector finding a common ground, both with circular economy and potential barriers they need to address in order to evolve and become more sustainable. As the building sector is in a more or less dominant position, successful implementation of circular economy could serve as a great inspiration for other industries. From our theoretical framework, we discovered that circular economy was a term with vast and many definitions, as well as many surrounding concepts. On the area of implementation, the extent of research was somewhat insufficient, especially for the Norwegian building sector. The existing research were mainly focused on theoretical aspects, and there was a lack of examples on successful practical implementations. Some barriers were identified for the building sector in general in regard to implementation of circular economy. Barriers for implementation of circular economy in Norwegian building sector were an area much less researched. When we conducted our study, we gained a lot of insightful information to supplement our theoretical findings. We found that the focus on sustainability has increased in the Norwegian building sector, mostly due to the push from EU. The focus was somewhat varied, in central areas and bigger firms the focus was clearly higher. It was clear that the wheels have started to turn in order to shift towards a more circular economy in the Norwegian building sector. We were able to gather insight on specific measures towards this transition. What we realized was that there was a great focus on reuse, which is only a small part of what circular economy actually entails. We found that circular economy requires one to see the bigger picture, also from a long-term perspective. We still feel that the building sector has a long way to go, although the initiatives are there. Yet we also believe this to be a result of the unclarity of what circular economy entails. Currently the building sector is still in the process of trial and error, and some pilot projects have taken place. The current measures implemented is an enabler for shifting the way of thinking, and an important step in order to reflect on how things could be done differently. We found that measures ideally should be considered from an earlier stage, where design plays an essential part, and that this will result in a more long-term view, where you also could have a more holistic approach. The main barriers we found which needs to be addressed in order to increase further implementation were divided in to five areas. These barriers were; 1. Cultural, such as knowledge and the need for supply chain collaboration. 2.Economical, such as the costs of implementation. 3. Sectoral, mainly related to reuse, where challenges regarded existing buildings, lack of efficient processes for quality assurance and testing, and time. 4. Regulatory, mainly providing challenges for reuse. 5. Market barriers in regard to lack of demand from customers and the need for a market platform in order to perform more reuse

Isolated Hand Paresis: A Case Series

Background: Hand knob infarction is a well-known stroke entity. Based on very limited data, embolic stroke mechanism has been considered the most frequent cause; however, prognosis is considered good. We wanted to shed more light on this phenomenon by assessing a cohort of patients referred to a general hospital stroke unit. Methods: Every subject admitted to our stroke unit with an acute isolated hand paresis in the period from 2007 to 2012 was identified prospectively. Patients who had suffered from a stroke in the hand motor cortex or an adjacent area explaining the acute loss of hand function were included in the study. The Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment criteria were used to classify subtypes of stroke according to etiology. The patients were followed up during autumn 2012. Results: Seventeen subjects were admitted, but in 2 of them symptoms were transitory and magnetic resonance imaging was negative. Two patients were excluded due to persisting sensory deficits. The remaining 13 (11 males and 2 females) patients with an average age of 62.9 (±13.4) years were included, representing 1.5% of all ischemic strokes diagnosed at the stroke unit in the given period. All patients were right-handed, and the dominant hand was affected only in 4 (31%). The average Medical Research Council's scale score was 3.1 (±1.4) on admission, and classified as bad. On follow-up, which occurred on average 29.8 (±19.8) months after the stroke, the score was 4.6 (±0.4) and was classified as fair to good. No patient experienced a new stroke. The outcome was good to excellent in 10 patients (77%). Two patients died (15%), 1 of probable cardiac arrest and 1 of unknown cause. One patient did not participate in the follow-up. The majority of patients had evidence of both small artery (77%) and large artery (85%) disease. On average, there were 1.6 (±0.4) new ischemic lesions per patient. Six patients had a solitary lesion (46%). In 5 of them, small artery occlusion was considered the probable stroke mechanism. In 4 cases, the stroke was of undetermined etiology. Three patients had atrial fibrillation, and in 2 of them cardioembolism was the probable stroke mechanism. Two patients with definite large artery atherosclerosis underwent carotid endarterectomy, and 1 of them had comorbid atrial fibrillation. Conclusion: Strokes causing isolated hand paresis seem to have a heterogeneous etiology. Prognosis regarding hand function is good, but long-term outcome depends on stroke etiology and secondary prophylaxis

What is currently the best investigational approach to the patient with sudden-onset severe headache?

Presentation of Case – Ane Skaare Sjulstad, MD, Adult Neurology Resident, Nordland Hospital, Bodø, Norway A 48‐year‐old man with no previous medical history suddenly experienced severe intense retro‐bulbar pain of pulsating character on the right side, and was seen in the emergency department 7 hours later. He was then alert and oriented, but in excruciating pain. There was no neck stiffness and no fever. The blood pressure was 141/80 mm Hg, and the pulse regular with a frequency of 48. Neurological examination was normal

Supplementary Material for: Isolated Hand Paresis: A Case Series

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Hand knob infarction is a well-known stroke entity. Based on very limited data, embolic stroke mechanism has been considered the most frequent cause; however, prognosis is considered good. We wanted to shed more light on this phenomenon by assessing a cohort of patients referred to a general hospital stroke unit. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Every subject admitted to our stroke unit with an acute isolated hand paresis in the period from 2007 to 2012 was identified prospectively. Patients who had suffered from a stroke in the hand motor cortex or an adjacent area explaining the acute loss of hand function were included in the study. The Trial of Org 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment criteria were used to classify subtypes of stroke according to etiology. The patients were followed up during autumn 2012. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Seventeen subjects were admitted, but in 2 of them symptoms were transitory and magnetic resonance imaging was negative. Two patients were excluded due to persisting sensory deficits. The remaining 13 (11 males and 2 females) patients with an average age of 62.9 (±13.4) years were included, representing 1.5% of all ischemic strokes diagnosed at the stroke unit in the given period. All patients were right-handed, and the dominant hand was affected only in 4 (31%). The average Medical Research Council's scale score was 3.1 (±1.4) on admission, and classified as bad. On follow-up, which occurred on average 29.8 (±19.8) months after the stroke, the score was 4.6 (±0.4) and was classified as fair to good. No patient experienced a new stroke. The outcome was good to excellent in 10 patients (77%). Two patients died (15%), 1 of probable cardiac arrest and 1 of unknown cause. One patient did not participate in the follow-up. The majority of patients had evidence of both small artery (77%) and large artery (85%) disease. On average, there were 1.6 (±0.4) new ischemic lesions per patient. Six patients had a solitary lesion (46%). In 5 of them, small artery occlusion was considered the probable stroke mechanism. In 4 cases, the stroke was of undetermined etiology. Three patients had atrial fibrillation, and in 2 of them cardioembolism was the probable stroke mechanism. Two patients with definite large artery atherosclerosis underwent carotid endarterectomy, and 1 of them had comorbid atrial fibrillation. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Strokes causing isolated hand paresis seem to have a heterogeneous etiology. Prognosis regarding hand function is good, but long-term outcome depends on stroke etiology and secondary prophylaxis

ByggPOS : salgssystem for byggevarehandelen

Målet var å utvikle et enkelt og brukervennlig, men allikevel fullverdig, stabilt og pålitelig flerbruker salgsstøttesystem for byggevarehandelen. Systemet har kun den funksjonaliteten som faktisk er nødvendig for brukerne, og med et standard Windows brukergrensesnitt som gjør det enkelt for brukerne å benytte seg av systemet. Det er laget rabatt- og avtaleregister i systemet, hvor de respektive kundenes rabattsatser og eventuelle særavtaler finnes Det kan også registreres tilbud til kunder, disse kan senere effektiviseres som salg. Databasen er bygget opp med NOBB(Norsk Byggevarebase) som retningslinje for varestrukturen. NOBB er en database med produktinformasjon for bygg- og anleggsbransjen