FoU Tunnelutvikling: Sluttrapport Fase 1: Brann- og frostsikring

Statens vegvesen har gjennom FoU prosjektet "Tunnelutvikling" i perioden 2005 - 2007 hatt fokus på brann- og frostsikring av tunnelkledninger. Et ønske om å finne alternativer til PE skum har vært hovedmålsetningen. Prosjektet har brukt mye tid og ressurser til møter med industrielle aktører innenfor vann- og frostsikringsmiljøet i Norge. Det har vært en forutsetning at industrien skulle engasjeres i dette arbeidet. Prosjektet har brukt mye ressurser på fullskala branntesting av typegodkjente vann- og frostsikringskledninger. Testene har først og fremst vist at PE skum med godkjent brannbeskyttelse av sprøytebetong tilsatt PP fiber gir en fullgod beskyttelse gitt de betingelser som testene forutsatte. I prosjektperioden er det utviklet ett alternativ med ubrennbar isolasjon bak veggelementer av betong. Alternativer til PE-skum i tunneler med lavere forstmengder er også blitt typegodkjent. Prosjektet har ikke funnet et optimalt alternativ som dekker lave så vel som høye frostmengder slik som PE skummet gjør i dag. Imidlertid har resultatene så langt vist at man er godt i gang med å tilfredsstille deler av målsetningen. Arbeidet er tidkrevende og man må ha et langsiktig perspektiv for å kunne lykkes. Man vil intensivere/videreføre arbeidet med å utvikle nye ubrennbare løsninger. På bakgrunn av det arbeidet som er utført vil prosjektet foreslå at policyvedtaket i VLM i møte 5/2004 blir opphevet og at ny policy innebærer at PE skum med godkjent brannbeskyttelse aksepteres i alle eksisterende tunneler. For nye tunneler derimot vil man videreføre/intensivere arbeidet med å utvikle nye ubrennbare løsninger som endelig målsetning

Street-level alcohol policy: Assessing intoxication at drinking venues in Oslo

This article examines liquor inspectors' assessment of intoxication at drinking establishments in Norway. It draws upon Lipsky's theory of street-level bureaucrats (1980) to study a situation where laws and informal norms seem to pull in opposite directions. We conducted 26 ethnographic observations of liquor inspectors' visits to drinking venues in Oslo, as well as qualitative interviews and field conversations with liquor inspectors. The study reveals that inspectors interpret the Norwegian Alcohol Act in four main ways that lead to lenient enforcement of the law. (1) Inspectors translate the wording of the Act into their everyday language. (2) They use significant discretion when assessing a patron's intoxication level. (3) The inspectors identify with patrons. (4) They find it hard to spot deviance when everyone is drunk. Research on alcohol policy usually focuses on the national level. Decisions made at the ‘street level', however, might also lead to over-serving, alcohol-related harm and violence. The street-level alcohol policy allows a level of intoxication far above that allowed by the law. In this way, the inspectors support and maintain a liberal drinking culture

Psychological Safety in Agile Software Development Teams: Work Design Antecedents and Performance Consequences

Psychological safety has been postulated as a key factor for the success of agile software development teams, yet there is a lack of empirical studies investigating the role of psychological safety in this context. This study examines how work design characteristics of software development teams (autonomy, task interdependence and role clarity) influence psychological safety and further how psychological safety impacts team performance, either directly or indirectly through team reflexivity. We test our model using survey data from 236 team members in 43 software development teams in Norway. Our results show that autonomy boosts psychological safety in software teams and that psychological safety again has positive effect on team reflexivity and a direct effect on team performance

Skal det være noe mer før vi stenger? Evaluering av Ansvarlig Vertskap i Trondheim

Rapporten presenterer evalueringen av Ansvarlig vertskap i Trondheim. Ansvarlig ve rtskap har som mål å redusere rusrelatert vold, overskjenking og skjenking til mindreårige. Målet skal nås gjennom kursing av ansatte i mer ansvarlig alkoholservering. Midt -Norsk kompetansesenter for rusfaget hadde ansvar et for gjennomføringen i Trondheim. Evalueringen er utført på oppdrag fra Sosial- og helsedirektoratet. I utgangspunktet ba direktoratet om en effektevaluering, men vi valgte å utvide evalueringsoppdra get til også å gjelde selve gjennomføringen av prosjektet, a l tså en pros essevaluering. Prosessevalueringen har en tod e lt hensikt. For det første gir den et su pplerende forklaringsgrunnlag for effektevalueringen. For det andre er pr osessevalueringen viktig i seg selv fordi den får frem overførbar kunnskap om hva som hemmer og hva som fremmer gjennomføringe n av slike pr osjekter. I den sammenhengen har det også vært viktig for o ss å kunne sammenlikne prosessen i Trondheim med gjennomføringen a v Ansvarlig vertskap i andre kommuner. Andre spørsmål er knyttet til målopp nåelse og effekt. For å svare på dem er det gjennomført datainnsamlinger ved to tidspunkt. Slik ka n vi måle i hvilken grad Ansvarlig vertskap kursene har hatt effekt på vold, overskjenkin g og serverin g til mindreårige. Mange datak ilder er benyttet for å gi svar på ulike problemstillinger. Vi har bygget på et stort skriftlig materiale i form av prosjektskis ser, frem- driftsplaner, møtereferater, interne ra pporter og liknende. I tillegg har vi foretatt intervjuer som grunnlag for situasjonsbeskrivelser og prosess- beskrivelser. Spørreskje maer til byens serveringssteder har vist bransjen s erfaringer og synspunkter. Offentlig statistikk er benyttet for å studere omfanget av rusrelatert vold og lovbrudd avslørt ved kommunes skjenke- kontroll. Til slutt har vi benyttet testkjøp for å avdekke omfanget av overskjenking og servering til mindreårige. Det s i ste innebærer at "over- stadig berusede" skuespillere eller ba rnslig utseende ungdommer forsøke r å bestille øl ved serverings stedene

Work Engagement in Agile Teams: The Missing Link Between Team Autonomy, Trust, and Performance?

To have engaged and high-performing agile teams are what most organizations strive for. At the same time, there is little research on the drivers of team work engagement in the software context. Team autonomy and trust are crucial for agile teams and are suggested as potential boosters of team work engagement and performance. In this study, we apply the Job Demands-Resources model to examine the role of autonomy and trust and their impact on work engagement and team performance in agile teams. We analyze quantitative survey data from 236 team members in 43 agile teams to examine how team autonomy and trust relate to team work engagement and how engagement mediates the relationship between these factors and performance. Our results show that while both autonomy and trust are positively related to team work engagement, team trust plays a more critical role than team autonomy. Teams with high team trust showed higher engagement, which enhanced team performance. Our results highlight the importance of social factors such as trust in creating conditions for high performance in agile teams through its effect on team work engagement.publishedVersio

The role of national trade logistics in the export trade of African countries

Background: This article critically examines the role of trade logistics in the exports of African countries. The performance of the trade logistics of African countries was analysed using the World Bank logistics performance index (LPI) and its components. The study was conducted based on the performance statistics of countries around the world in 2016. Objectives: The aim of this study was to identify African countries’ inefficient trade logistics areas based on LPI components for future improvement; and to investigate the relevance of trade logistics performance of African countries on export values in order to boost the region’s merchandise export share in the global market. Method: The methodological approach employed in this study is a combination of both descriptive and inferential data analysis. The African countries’ logistics performance in international trade was summarised using LPI median values. The effect of the performance of trade logistics on exports was explored based on a gravity model of international trade. For the estimation, the Heckman selection approach was applied to incorporate zero bilateral trades. Results: On average, African countries experience the lowest LPI score, particularly in terms of quality of trade and transport-related infrastructure, and customs and border clearance. A successful improvement in these areas would enhance African countries’ supply chain deliveries including on-time delivery, tracking and tracing and international shipments in cross-border transactions. Conclusion: The evidence from the gravity model estimates of this study suggests that an improvement in any of the LPI components can lead to significant growth in the export of African countries. This could then increase the African merchandise export share in global trade. The gravity model results also show that landlocked countries have lower trade flows than their coastal neighbours. Keywords: African, logistics performance index, export, landlocked countries of Africa, global trade, gravity modelpublishedVersio

Death Holds No Fear: Overdose Risk Perceptions Among People Who Inject Drugs

Drug overdose is an important public health problem. Despite well-known risk factors and various preventive measures, the overdose mortality rate has increased substantially in several countries worldwide over the past decade. There is therefore a need to understand overdoses on the basis of how people who inject drugs (PWID) perceive and experience risk. Based on qualitative interviews with 80 PWID recruited from low-threshold settings in Norway, this study explores the complex lived experiences and perceptions of overdose. The qualitative approach is sensitive towards lived experiences and provides new understandings of overdoses. The analysis revealed three types of accounts concerning perceived overdose risk. First, interviewees described death as natural and not frightening, based on perceptions of death as universal, a part of their high-risk lifestyle and their previous overdose experiences. Second, they presented accounts of how they perceived others to be at greater risk of overdose than themselves, in respect of experience, skills and tolerance. Finally, interviewees described an indifference towards death, on a continuum between the wish to live and death as relief from various life challenges. This study illustrates how PWID inhabit drug-using environments which entail a high-risk lifestyle. Faced with these risks, the interviewees presented stories which may serve several functions, such as neutralizing feelings of risk and stigma and gaining a sense of agency and control. They also created symbolic boundaries in order to form positive perceptions of self, by distancing themselves from other stereotypical people who use drugs. The participants additionally expressed an indifference towards overdose death. This may entail that avoiding death, the main rationale of overdose interventions, is viewed with indifference by some PWID. This is important for understanding the complexity of overdose mortality and should be reflected in future harm-reduction initiatives

Field conversations as a data source in qualitative social research

publishedVersio