Today's perfect - tomorrow's standard

In this study the mechanisms influencing recycling rates around the system maximum are deliberated. On the one hand, Policies, System design and how Citizens understand the two aforementioned are pitted against each other. This is done in a setting where individual rewards from action are in turn set against the values of the community and the compliance measures/social marketing of recycling companies and policy makers. This is the dynamic setting of this dissertation. In the past much research into recycling has been focused on how to get recycling started. Sweden is in a bit of a different position with recycling levels often being very high in an international comparison. This means other challenges face citizens and policy makers alike. The determinants influencing recycling rates are studied and compared to contemporary research. Policy makers and social marketers that wish to see a system used to its fullest need to understand the determinants that remain to be influenced near the system optimum. The studied recycling system points to a trichotomy of determinants influencing recycling rates. Social or public marketing being one part; the community's understanding of recycling being a second part, and individual knowledge and understanding forming the third. Successive elimination of potential determinants in a Zwicky box, using statistical analysis, indicates that strengthening individual autonomy and ability to participate efficiently remains as the key to further and sustainable development in the field. The study suggests compliance rates can still be improved upon, even when recycling rates are in excess of 80%, although methods might have to change. Instead of an oft used emphasis on coercive compliance and "scare tactics", a careful study and propagation of the recycling techniques developed by the many efficient citizens is pivotal. In addition, further improvements in terms of recycling facilitation may offer policy makers a sustainable path to near system optimal recycling rates

Computation of multiple eigenvalues and generalized eigenvectors for matrices dependent on parameters

The paper develops Newton's method of finding multiple eigenvalues with one Jordan block and corresponding generalized eigenvectors for matrices dependent on parameters. It computes the nearest value of a parameter vector with a matrix having a multiple eigenvalue of given multiplicity. The method also works in the whole matrix space (in the absence of parameters). The approach is based on the versal deformation theory for matrices. Numerical examples are given. The implementation of the method in MATLAB code is available.Comment: 19 pages, 3 figure

The potential for networked learning in environmental assessment teaching in Sweden

This paper explores the current teaching of Environmental assessment (EA) in Sweden. EA processes aim at identifying the potential advantages and disadvantages of a proposed action mainly applied in physical landuse planning and for the approval of projects. EA not achieving best practice has been an issue within research for a long period of time. At the same time, the competence requirements on EA practitioners are very high. Recent court verdicts have raised a concern about the competence status among Swedish practitioners in the field of EA.The aim of this paper is to explore and analyse the current teaching in EA in Sweden in order to develop this field through influence from other disciplines, in this case Network Learning (NL). The paper builds on two different analyses. The first being an analysis of Swedish EA courses. The second being a comparison of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA) Best Practice Principles for Teaching, and the Design dimensions for NL.The analysis shows that most of the courses are leaning more towards practical training than integration of research contribution and research training. This means that there is a risk that the students will leave the university with a low absorptive capacity. The analysis has also identified that vital competences are lacking in current teaching. These are the awareness of EA being an interdisciplinary process and integrative and systems thinking. This despite, the ability to synthesize information from different sources to develop a holistic understanding is central to EA practise.The comparison with the design dimensions for NL experiences shows a clear correlation with the category pedagogy of the IAIA Principles an indirect correlation with content and skills. The social dimension in NL is not visible in the analysed course syllabuses, and notions of conflict management and reflective practice are weak.The backbone of EA teaching is the same in all countries and there are good opportunities, with technology, to build international teaching networks. This would enable more knowledge sharing in larger teaching communities in the field of EA teaching. Therefore, network learning offers a potential for EA teaching, bridging the gap between theory and practice

Blocked algorithms for the reduction to Hessenberg-triangular form revisited

We present two variants of Moler and Stewart's algorithm for reducing a matrix pair to Hessenberg-triangular (HT) form with increased data locality in the access to the matrices. In one of these variants, a careful reorganization and accumulation of Givens rotations enables the use of efficient level 3 BLAS. Experimental results on four different architectures, representative of current high performance processors, compare the performances of the new variants with those of the implementation of Moler and Stewart's algorithm in subroutine DGGHRD from LAPACK, Dackland and Kågström's two-stage algorithm for the HT form, and a modified version of the latter which requires considerably less flop

Compliance of hand hygiene routines at an equine hospital in Sweden

Hästsjukvården har under årens gång börjat efterlikna sjukvården på humansidan, och i och med det har kraven på god vårdhygien blivit mer strikta. Ökande patientflöden och större patientantal på en begränsad yta leder till en ökad risk för smittspridning och en god handhygien är essentiell för att förhindra att smittsamma agens överförs mellan patienter. Syftet med denna studie var att observera och dokumentera hur handdesinfektion och handskanvändning efterföljdes på ett hästsjukhus i Sverige. Observationerna genomfördes av två observatörer utifrån ett standardiserat formulär. Momenten som observerades delades in i tre huvudkategorier i fallande riskbaserad ordning: “Kanylhantering”, “Omvårdnadsmoment med risk för smitta” och “Omvårdnadsmoment”, där utförande och kvalitet av handdesinfektion samt huruvida personalen behövde använda handskar noterades. Totalt observerades 16 individer; fyra djurvårdare, fyra djursjukskötare och åtta veterinärer. Handdesinfektion före ett moment hade en följsamhet på 15% (20/136), varav 10 procentenheter (14/136) utfördes korrekt. Handdesinfektion efter ett moment hade en följsamhet på 26% (39/149), varav 15 procentenheter (23/149) utfördes korrekt. Handskanvändning hade en följsamhet på 77% (75/98). Utslaget på alla tillfällen för handdesinfektion hade djurvårdarna en total följsamhet på 11% (11/100), djursjukskötarna på 35% (37/106) och veterinärerna på 14% (11/78). Utslaget på alla tillfällen för handskanvändning hade djurvårdarna en total följsamhet på 58% (17/29), djursjukskötarna på 79% (22/28) och veterinärerna på 88% (36/41). Studien visar att följsamheten till handdesinfektion var låg och att handskar verkade användas som ett substitut till handtvätt och handdesinfektion. Det finns utrymme för utveckling inom vårdhygien och smittskydd på detta sjukhus. Eftersom observationerna endast utfördes på ett hästsjukhus och på en mindre personalstyrka kan resultaten endast appliceras på detta specifika sjukhus. Fler studier inom området behövs för att kunna dra slutsatser om följsamhet för handhygienrutiner inom hästsjukvården.Equine healthcare has started to resemble human healthcare over the years, and thus the requirements for adequate infection control have become stricter. Increased patient flow and a larger number of patients in restricted areas leads to an increased risk of spread of infection and adequate hand hygiene is essential to prevent infectious agents from transmitting between patients. The purpose of this study was to observe and document the compliance of hand desinfection and glove use in an equine hospital in Sweden. The observations were documented by two observers and based on a template. The elements observed were divided into three main categories in descending order based on the level of risk: “Handling of cannulas”, “Nursing interventions with a risk of infection” and “Nursing interventions”, where occurrence and quality of hand disinfection and whether the staff needed to use gloves were noted. 16 individuals were observed in total: four veterinary assistants, four veterinary nurses and eight veterinarians. The compliance of hand disinfection before an element was 15% (20/136), of which 10 percentage points was conducted correctly (14/136). The compliance of hand disinfection after an element was 26% (39/149), of which 15 percentage points (23/149) was conducted correctly. The usage of gloves had a compliance of 77% (75/98). In total, the compliance of hand disinfection was 11% (11/100) for the veterinary assistants, 35% (37/106) for the veterinary nurses and 14% (11/78) for the veterinarians. In total, the compliance of glove usage was 58% (17/29) for the veterinary assistants, 79% (22/28) for the veterinary nurses and 88% (36/41) for the veterinarians. The study shows that the compliance of hand disinfection was low and that gloves were seemingly used as a substitute for hand wash and disinfection. There is much room for improvement in infection control at this hospital. Because the observations were made at one equine hospital and on a smaller workforce, the results can only represent this specific hospital. More studies are required in this field to be able to draw conclusions regarding compliance of hand hygiene routines in equine healthcare

Perturbation, extraction and refinement of invariant pairs for matrix polynomials

Generalizing the notion of an eigenvector, invariant subspaces are frequently used in the context of linear eigenvalue problems, leading to conceptually elegant and numerically stable formulations in applications that require the computation of several eigenvalues and/or eigenvectors. Similar benefits can be expected for polynomial eigenvalue problems, for which the concept of an invariant subspace needs to be replaced by the concept of an invariant pair. Little has been known so far about numerical aspects of such invariant pairs. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap. The behavior of invariant pairs under perturbations of the matrix polynomial is studied and a first-order perturbation expansion is given. From a computational point of view, we investigate how to best extract invariant pairs from a linearization of the matrix polynomial. Moreover, we describe efficient refinement procedures directly based on the polynomial formulation. Numerical experiments with matrix polynomials from a number of applications demonstrate the effectiveness of our extraction and refinement procedures

Change of the congruence canonical form of 2-by-2 and 3-by-3 matrices under perturbations and bundles of matrices under congruence

We construct the Hasse diagrams $G_2$ and $G_3$ for the closure ordering on the sets of congruence classes of $2\times 2$ and $3\times 3$ complex matrices. In other words, we construct two directed graphs whose vertices are $2\times 2$ or, respectively, $3\times 3$ canonical matrices under congruence and there is a directed path from $A$ to $B$ if and only if $A$ can be transformed by an arbitrarily small perturbation to a matrix that is congruent to $B$. A bundle of matrices under congruence is defined as a set of square matrices $A$ for which the pencils $A+\lambda A^T$ belong to the same bundle under strict equivalence. In support of this definition, we show that all matrices in a congruence bundle of $2\times 2$ or $3\times 3$ matrices have the same properties with respect to perturbations. We construct the Hasse diagrams $G_2^{\rm B}$ and $G_3^{\rm B}$ for the closure ordering on the sets of congruence bundles of $2\times 2$ and, respectively, $3\times 3$ matrices. We find the isometry groups of $2\times 2$ and $3\times 3$ congruence canonical matrices.Comment: 34 page