Readiness assessment for the transition into meeting new requirements of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards.

From 2024, nearly 50,000 organizations will fall within the scope of the EU's new sustainability reporting frameworks. This change represents a substantial increase from the previous scope, which included 11,600 companies. According to recent reports, many organizations need to improve their knowledge of sustainability reporting, particularly at a more comprehensive and detailed level. This research has explored how ready three companies in the oil and gas sector are for the transition to the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) by the EU and what frameworks of sustainability are used amongst these companies to this date. Relevant theories and concepts have been used for the readiness assessment and content analysis to provide clear information on how this research is conducted. How to measure the readiness of companies is highly complex, and it is difficult to state what level of readiness of the participating companies firmly. This research has derived a readiness assessment model and scoring methods from supporting research. The main findings from this research indicate that the participating companies should implement further strategic steps to improve readiness for the transition to the upcoming guidelines by the EU. This research is relevant for actors of interest or those in the field of sustainability and environmental, social, and governance reporting

Effect of localized corrosion on welded steel joints

Master's thesis in Offshore structural engineeringWith steel structures placed in ever increasing depths in the oil industry, inspection of the structures are increasingly more challenging. Loss of coating on a weld exposes the weld to a corrosive environment, where the lack of cathodic protection will result in harmful corrosion on the weld. Localized corrosion like pitting corrosion results in small pits which acts as cracks in the surface. Corrosion in combination with low cycle fatigue can result in catastrophic failure of a structure prior to the designed fatigue life of the structure. This paper is based on the assumption that corrosion has an effect on the fatigue life of a welded steel joint. To investigate this assumption further an experiment was designed. The experiment was designed to check if localized corrosion had an effect on the fatigue life of a welded steel joint when subjected to loads in the plastic range. In cooperation with Worley Parson Rosenberg AS 15 steel members were prepared. Two different corrosive environments were chosen. The specimens were subjected to low cycle fatigue tests on three different stress levels. Specimen surface and fracture surface were investigated using a scanning electron microscope. The results of the fatigue testing initially showed that the specimens that were subjected to corrosion failed at lower cycles than the non-corroded specimens. This was disproven by the four corroded specimens that were tested later. Though the fatigue test was inconclusive with regards to number of cycles to failure, the investigation of corroded surface with the scanning electron microscope showed promising results with regards to pitting corrosion. The pictures obtained from the microscope showed over 20 individual pits formed over a period of four weeks. This shows the rapid formation and initiation of pits in the surface, and it is reasonable to state that the effects of this type of corrosion will play a significant role to estimated fatigue life on a welded steel joint

Reablement in community-dwelling older adults: a cost-effectiveness analysis alongside a randomized controlled trial

Background: In the face of a growing number of older adults in the population, policy-makers in high-income countries are seeking new ways to reduce the expected growth in long-term care expenditure. Research shows that disability is an important determinant of long-term care utilization. In this context, reablement has received increased attention. Reablement is a form of home-based rehabilitation, which focuses on improving independent functioning in daily activities perceived as important by the older adult. Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of reablement. Methods: The economic evaluation is based on data from a randomized controlled trial in which all participants were assessed at baseline and after 3 and 9 months. The intervention group participated in reablement, while the control group received usual care. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) was used to measure self-perceived activity performance and satisfaction with performance. Cost data were based on daily registrations of usage of home-based care personnel during a period of 9 months. Results: Reablement was found to be more cost-effective than usual care. The assessments of performance and satisfaction regarding daily activities were significantly higher in the reablement group compared with the control group and this was achieved at lower cost. Importantly too, in the post-trial period, the intervention group requested significantly fewer home visits which were, on average, of significantly shorter duration compared with the control group. Expenditure on home visits was significantly lower for the reablement group. Conclusions: Reablement is a more cost-effective intervention compared with usual care. Reablement has a potentially large effect on the demand for compensating home-based care services. Policy-makers should therefore consider implementing reablement on a larger scale

Driving forces for home-based reablement: a qualitative study of older adults’ experiences

Hva er drivkreftene i hverdagsrehabilitering slik de eldre opplever det.As a result of the ageing population worldwide, there has been a growing international interest in a new intervention termed ‘reablement’. Reablement is an early and time-limited home-based intervention with emphasis on intensive, goal-oriented and interdisciplinary rehabilitation for older adults in need of rehabilitation or at risk of functional decline. The aim of this qualitative study was to describe how older adults experienced participation in reablement. Eight older adults participated in semi-structured interviews. A qualitative content analysis was used as the analysis strategy. Four main themes emerged from the participants’ experiences of participating in reablement: ‘My willpower is needed’, ‘Being with my stuff and my people’, ‘The home-trainers are essential’, and ‘Training is physical exercises, not everyday activities’. The first three themes in particular reflected the participants’ driving forces in the reablement process. Driving forces are intrinsic motivation in interaction with extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation was based on the person’s willpower and responsibility, and extrinsic motivation was expressed to be strengthened by being in one’s home environment with ‘own’ people, as well as by the co-operation with the reablement team. The reablement team encouraged and supported the older adults to regain confidence in performing everyday activities as well as participating in the society. Our findings have practical significance for politicians, healthcare providers and healthcare professionals by contributing to an understanding of how intrinsic and extrinsic motivation influence reablement. Some persons need apparently more extrinsic motivational support also after the timelimited reablement period is completed. The municipal health and care services need to consider individualised follow-up programmes after the intensive reablement period in order to maintain the achieved skills to perform everyday activities and participate in society

Kunders dekning av tilkoblingsutgifter - Inntektsføring etter IFRS 15 : En studie av europeiske nettselskapers bransjepraksis

Masteroppgave revisjon og regnskap BE508 - Universitetet i Agder 2019Denne oppgaven søker å kartlegge regnskapspraksis vedrørende dekning av tilkoblingsutgifter etter IFRS 15 i europeiske nettselskaper, og karakteriseres som en eksplorativ undersøkelse. Med IFRS 15 ønsket en å oppnå en mer konsistent praksis enn tidligere, men likevel ser en at praksis er splittet, hvor problemstillingen relaterer seg til tolkningsrom i standarden. Spesielt diskuteres det hvorvidt tilkoblingstjenesten utgjør en separat leveringsforpliktelse, eller en samlet leveringsforpliktelse sammen med distribusjonstjenester. Oppgaven tar blant annet for seg innholdet i IFRS 15 og det konseptuelle rammeverket til IASB. Videre blir også særpreg ved strømdistribusjonsbransjen gjort rede for, herunder at nettselskaper er naturlige monopol, og ikke skal oppnå fortjeneste ved dekning av tilkoblingsutgifter. I denne undersøkelsenbenytteshovedsakelig kvalitativ data innhentet fra noteopplysninger i regnskapet til 53 europeiske nettselskaper, hvor det er undersøkt hvilke ulike praksiser som eksisterer, og hvilken praksis som er mest utbredt. Videre er det også undersøkt om praksis er konsistent blant selskapene i et land, samt om innføringen av IFRS 15 har medført endringer i praksis.Oppgavens drøftelse starter med å tolke IFRS 15, samt øvrige steg i veiledningshierarkiet til IFRS, hvor en vurderer ulike kriterier i henhold til regnskapsmessig behandling av dekning av tilkoblingsutgifter. Her fremkommer det at å anse tilkobling og distribusjonstjenester som én enkelt leveringsforpliktelse virker å være i høyere grad forenlig med IFRS 15. Vi finner at denne løsningen også er dominerende, og antageligvis vil være dominerende fremover. Videre drøftes ulike faktorer som kan forklare hvorfor det foreligger ulik praksis, hvor det argumenteres for at blant annet nasjonalitet kan ha en påvirkning, ettersom praksis stort sett er konsistent innad i landene. I forbindelse med undersøkte endringer som følge av IFRS 15 er det funnet at flertallet av selskapene beholder sin praksis fra før IFRS 15, men at det også er en del som endrer sin praksis. Til slutt fremkommer det at fordelingen av praksis, basert på inntektsføringsprofil, ikke har endret seg noe særlig som følge av innføringen av IFRS 15