Lever kvinner frå høgare sosiale lag i Zambia med meir moderne haldningar, enn kvinner frå lågare sosiale lag?

I denne oppgåva har eg skrive om kvinner sin posisjon i den zambiske familien. Ut i frå dette er mi problem stilling: ”Lever kvinner frå høgare sosiale lag i Zambia med meir moderne haldningar, enn kvinner frå lågare sosiale lag?”. Gjennom praksis opphalde mitt i Zambia, opplevde eg store skilnadar mellom rike og fattige. I samtalar med zambiske kvinner frå ulike samfunnslag, oppdaga eg forskjellege prioriteringar og haldningar. Eg brukte kvalitative intervju for å forske på desse skilnadane, og om kvinner var meir moderne i høgare sosiale lag. Eg har brukt teori og empiri som eg meiner er relevant for å belyse denne problemstillinga. Som resultat fann eg ut at kvinner i høgare sosiale lag i stor grad, lever med meir moderne haldningar enn kva kvinner i lågare sosiale lag gjer

Ten-year tenure as a physician CEO at a Nordic university hospital: Five lessons learnt

Background - I was a 42-year-old neurosurgeon with experience as department head when I took chair as chief executive officer (CEO) at the University Hospital of North Norway to lead a comprehensive organisational and financial restructuring. This article aims to develop lessons learnt during my 10-year tenure. Methods - I restructured the organisation and hired a new executive team. We developed a new strategy and measures to implement it. I describe the results, a strategic disagreement that developed and my resignment, and reflect critically over my actions as a leader. Results - Measures of safety and quality in clinical processes, cost-effectiveness and financial equity improved. We expedited investments in medical equipment, information technology and hospital facilities. Patient satisfaction was stable, but employees’ job satisfaction decreased. After 9 years, a politicised strategic disagreement with superior authorities developed. I was criticised for attempting to influence inappropriately, and resigned. Lessons learnt -(1) Data-driven improvement works, but comes at a cost. Healthcare organisations should consider to prioritise resilience over efficiency. (2) It is inherently difficult to recognise when and how an issue changes from a professional to a political logic. I should have used contacts in politics and surveilled local media better. (3) During conflict, role clarity is crucial. (4) CEOs should be prepared to resign when strategically unaligned with superior authorities. (5) A CEO tenure should not last more than 10 years. Conclusion - My experiences as a physician CEO was intense and immensely interesting, but some of the lessons were painfully learnt

Organizational Renewal: The Management of Large-Scale Organizational Change in Norwegian Firms

A study of large organizational change projects was done in 228 private and public sector firms across Norway to examine the causes and consequences of renewal efforts and the strategies used by firm level management and union leaders to involve the workforce in the planning, design and execution of change. The research focus was on management\u27s choice of different forms of worker participation and their effects on the project outcomes. Data came from structured interviews with the top manager and an elected employee representative in each firm. The results showed that most major changes occurred in organizational structures and administration, undertaken primarily to increase efficiency and as a response to financial difficulties. In the private sector, the planning and design phases of change projects were dominated by top management, with very little involvement by non-managerial employees. Public sector employees played a larger role in the early phases of the projects, mostly through their elected representatives in legally prescribed forums. In both the private and public sector, there was more worker participation in the execution of change, both through elected representatives and more direct worker involvement of an ad hoc, firm-specific, nature. Neither the extent nor form of participation contributed to the success of the change projects. Instead, the project outcomes were primarily a function of external pressures experienced by the organization, the importance of renewal for organizational survival, and the flexibility of management and labor to accommodate to change. Resistance to change did not decrease as a function of worker participation, but it was influenced by the degree of labor-management agreement in the firm

Thermodynamics of condensed matter with strong pressure-energy correlations

We show that for any liquid or solid with strong correlation between its $NVT$ virial and potential-energy equilibrium fluctuations, the temperature is a product of a function of excess entropy per particle and a function of density, $T=f(s)h(\rho)$. This implies that 1) the system's isomorphs (curves in the phase diagram of invariant structure and dynamics) are described by $h(\rho)/T={\rm Const.}$, 2) the density-scaling exponent is a function of density only, 3) a Gr{\"u}neisen-type equation of state applies for the configurational degrees of freedom. For strongly correlating atomic systems one has $h(\rho)=\sum_nC_n\rho^{n/3}$ in which the only non-zero terms are those appearing in the pair potential expanded as $v(r)=\sum_n v_n r^{-n}$. Molecular dynamics simulations of Lennard-Jones type systems confirm the theory

Vegetative propagation of Solidago canadensis from populations in Eastern Norway

Solidago canadensis is a well-established invasive alien plant species in the lowlands and coastal areas from Østfold to Agder in Norway, with an expanding range. It spreads with small wind-dispersed seeds, and rhizomes. It is commonly found on cultivated land and road verges, where it alters the landscape and displaces native species. Rhizomes and cuttings from S. canadensis were collected from three populations in Eastern Norway. The rhizomes and cuttings were planted in a pot experiment to examine their ability to propagate vegetatively, and thereby use this knowledge in managing their spreading. The rhizomes were buried at 0, 10 and 30cm, at two fragment lengths: 5 and 10cm. The cuttings were planted as 15cm stems, where the bottom 5cm where pushed into the soil. The experiment lasted from June 17th to August 12th. The probability of surviving, attaining a well-developed root system and attaining inflorescence for rhizomes was estimated statistically using ‘integrated nested Laplace approximations’ (INLA). The results showed that increasing burial depth has a significant negative effect on rhizome survivability, although sprouting occurred at all burial depths. In addition, there was a significant difference in survivability between the populations. However, rhizome length did not have a significant effect on survivability. The number of aerial shoots had a significant positive effect towards attaining a well-developed root system, and the height of the tallest shoot increased with increasing root development. Many of the tallest shoots developed inflorescence, and the probability of inflorescence was estimated to be 90% at 600mm shoot length. The results suggest that if the rhizomes manage to sprout, they have a high likelihood of attaining a well-developed root system and thereby develop inflorescence.Solidago canadensis er en godt etablert fremmed invaderende planteart i lavlandet og kystområder fra Østfold til Agder, med økende utbredelsesområde. Den spres med små vindspredte frø, samt rhizomer. Den vokser vanligvis i kulturmark og langs veikanter, hvor den endrer tilstanden i landskapet og fortrenger stedegne arter. Rhizomer og stiklinger fra S. canadensis ble samlet fra tre populasjoner i Øst-Norge. Rhizomene og stiklingene ble plantet i et potteeksperiment for å undersøke deres evne til vegetativ formering, i det øyemed å bruke denne kunnskapen til å begrense dens spredning. Rhizomene ble begravet på 0, 10 og 30cm, med to fragmentlengder: 5 og 10 cm. Stiklingene ble plantet som 15cm lange stengler, hvor de nederste 5cm ble dyttet ned i jorda. Eksperimentet varte fra 17. juni til 14. august. Sannsynligheten for å overleve, å oppnå et velutviklet rotsystem samt å oppnå blomstring for rhizomene ble estimert statistisk ved hjelp av ‘integrated nested Laplace approximations’ (INLA). Resultatene viste at økende jorddybde hadde en signifikant negativ effekt på rhizomenes overlevelse, selv om spiring forekom på alle jorddybdene. Det var også en signifikant forskjell i overlevelse mellom populasjonene. Rhizomenes fragmentlengde viste seg å ikke ha noen signifikant effekt på overlevelse. Antallet overflateskudd hadde en signifikant positiv effekt på oppnåelsen av et velutviklet rotsystem, og høyden på det høyeste skuddet økte med økende rotutvikling. Mange av de høyeste skuddene utviklet blomstring, og sannsynligheten for blomstring ble estimert til å være 90% ved 600mm skuddlengde. Resultatene tyder på at dersom rhizomene klarer å spire, har de en høy sannsynlighet for å få et velutviklet rotsystem og dermed utvikle blomstring. M-P

Effects of gross motor functioning and transition phase on health related quality of life in Norwegian adolescents with cerebral palsy

Adolescents with cerebral palsy meet great challenges in the transition from childhood to adulthood. As young adults they lag behind their able-bodied peers in housing, employment and intimate relationships, and their health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is more impaired than in healthy individuals. Previous studies have yielded evidence for gross motor functioning as a predictor for impaired HRQOL for individuals with cerebral palsy. In this study we therefore examine the predictability of gross motor functioning, as measured by the Gross Motor Function System (GMFCS) and transition phase, as measured by the Rotterdam Transition Profile (RTP) on HRQOL, as measured by the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 (PedsQL). 57 Norwegian adolescents between the ages of 15 to 17 years drawn from the Norwegian Cerebral Palsy Register (CPRN) participated in the current study. Results showed significant effects of the GMFCS as a predictor for HRQOL. Transition phase had very little effect on HRQOL. It is suggested that the RTP is more suitable for measuring older subjects

Improving Navigation with LiDAR Scanners: A Concept Study on the Use of Point Cloud Registration to Enhance and Evaluate Absolute Accuracy

This thesis is written as a collaboration with the Norwegian Mapping Authorities, with the aim of improving a navigation solution for a mobile mapping vehicle, based on data from a LiDAR scanner. A navigation system often consists of several different sensors, like GNSS receivers, Inertial Measurement Units, and an odometer. However, these sensors do not always give flawless observations. Therefore, other sensors can be necessary to contribute to the overall performance. The thesis aims to explore the use of Point Cloud Registration algorithms to align a georeferenced point cloud with a raw LiDAR point cloud, and further use the predicted points to establish a quality measure of the navigation solution of the vehicle. The program made to solve the problems is based on the Iterative Closest Points algorithm and is implemented to work on point clouds with absolute coordinates. The results show that aligning point clouds using Point Cloud Registration algorithms will increase the absolute accuracy of a navigation solution with poor accuracy. However, this alignment is not optimised for real-time use cases. A Kalman filter must be used to combine the result from the alignment with the other sensors, and be optimised for speed, in order to establish a fully operative navigation solution. Using the program to establish a quality measure for a navigation solution has shown to be a viable option if the absolute accuracy is unknown, as the model manages to differentiate between a higher and lower absolute accuracy. This could be beneficial to explore further, since quality control of navigation solutions from mobile mapping projects will, as a result, be a quality control of the delivered project itself