A study of integrated operations on the norwegian continental shelf

Master's thesis in Offshore technologyIn the beginning of the 21st century the Norwegian petroleum industry was faced with two possible future scenarios, the "disintegration" and the "long term" path. The "disintegration" path would involve a stagnation of the petroleum production in a 10-20 year perspective. The "long term" path would involve an increase in the petroleum production until 2050. In order to avoid the decline in production that was predicted in the "disintegration" path, the companies in the Norwegian petroleum industry started to rapidly implement Integrated Operations. This Master’s thesis is studying Integrated Operations and how this has been implemented in the petroleum industry on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. It studies how Integrated Operations have influenced the organisations that have implemented this work processes. In the research part operational results from two pilot projects have been analysed. The idea behind this research is to show whether or not the Integrated Operations have increase the efficiency and results described by different organisations. The conclusion of this Master’s thesis is that Integrated Operations have provided results that have increased the efficiency, reduced the operational costs and reduced the exposure time in hazardous areas on the platform for offshore personnel. However it has not been proved that the HSE performance has improved as a result of the implementation of Integrated Operations

The Smart Way to Heat : Analysing the Performance of Smart Heating Compared to Established Heating Practices in Norwegian Homes

Europe’s rapid shift towards renewable energy and electrification has led to a global energy crisis with accelerating power prices. This development has raised our curiosity about whether smart heating can reduce consumer costs and prevent grid congestion. This thesis explores the performance of smart heating compared to non-smart heating practices in Norwegian homes. A case study of a demo house in Bergen is conducted using a mixed integer linear programming approach aiming to minimise cost. The interplay between technical building standards, climate, and electricity price fluctuations is considered. Furthermore, the performance of heating practices is evaluated based on total cost and electricity consumption. The study also considers two scenario analyses, which investigate the impact of building standards and price volatility on the performance of heating practices. Findings from the base case show that there is room for improvement in the heating behaviours in Norwegian homes. Smart heating reduces the total electricity cost and avoids grid congestion by utilising hours of low demand and the building’s heat-storing capacity. Although some of the non-smart heating behaviours have lower total electricity consumption, they impose an extensive load on the electricity grid at certain hours. Findings from the first scenario analysis show that a house’s construction standard is crucial for smart heating’s ability to heat efficiently. The higher heat loss of a TEK 97 house makes the smart behaviour less effective, indicated by the increased cost per kWh from NOK 1.84 to NOK 1.97. In addition, the second scenario analysis reveals that smart heating is superior during high price volatility, yet maintains a sustainable grid load distribution. This study conclusively reveals that smart heating is superior to non-smart heating in terms of cost efficiency and societal benefit. Findings show that implementing smart heating in Norwegian homes can save costs for householders while reducing the risk of grid congestion.nhhma

En god skolestart for alle elever En kvalitativ studie om hvordan kontaktlærere legger til rette for at alle elever skal oppleve en god skolestart, med særlig fokus på barn med spesialpedagogiske behov.

Master´s thesis in Education (PED511

Use of Off-Label Drugs and Nutrition Supplements among Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Norway

Background and Objectives. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a lethal neurodegenerative disease, characterized by gradual paralysis and muscle atrophy. Riluzole, the only approved treatment in Norway, increases mean survival by 3–6 months. The use of off-label medications and nutritional supplements is common in other serious conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease and dementia. The aims of this study were to investigate to what extent Norwegian ALS patients use supplements and off-label medications and whether this is related to their health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL). Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional questionnaire study was performed, where 41 ALS patients reported their use of off-label treatments, as well as self-perceived HRQOL using the RAND-12 questionnaire. Results. A majority of respondents used riluzole. Of the 41 respondents, 18 (43.9%) reported use of off-label medications and 18 (43.9%) used nutritional supplements. Low-dose naltrexone was the most commonly used off-label medication, whereas vitamins accounted for most of the nutritional supplements. The respondents’ RAND-12 component scores were significantly lower than those of the general population. Low-dose naltrexone and vitamin B were associated with a better physical component score. Conclusions. Most of the respondents in our study adhere to the recommended treatment protocols, as less than half of them reported using off-label medications or nutritional supplements against ALS. Positive correlations between physical HRQOL and use of low-dose naltrexone or vitamin B were demonstrated. These results warrant further investigations.publishedVersio

Mortality trends of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Norway 1951–2014: an age–period–cohort study

Recent studies suggest that the incidence and mortality of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are increasing. Changing environmental factors could influence disease risk differently throughout life span, and also between genders, birth cohorts, and seasons of birth. We aimed at describing long-term ALS mortality trends in Norway between 1951 and 2014 using age–period–cohort analysis. The Norwegian Cause of Death Registry provided ALS mortality data that were age- and sex-adjusted through direct standardization. Poisson regression analyses were used for identification of mortality trends and potential month of birth effects. We identified 5345 ALS cases, of which 54.7 % were men. ALS mortality increased throughout the whole period (p < 0.001), with a mean annual increase of 1.14 %. The increase was confined to those older than 60 years, but rates consistently dropped amongst the absolute oldest. The increase was mainly driven by birth cohort effects that increased from 1860 until 1934 (p < 0.001). No month of birth effect or change in sex ratio was found. The continuous increase in ALS mortality since 1951 is best explained by the long-term changes in exposure to risk factors or in case ascertainment, affecting men and women equally in the generations born since 1860 and at least into 1934.acceptedVersio

Comparative evaluation of UNEX-based DNA extraction for molecular detection of Cyclospora cayetanensis, Toxoplasma gondii, and Cryptosporidium parvum as contaminants of berries

Abstract The potential public health impact of foodborne parasites transmitted via contaminated fresh produces indicates the necessity for robust and reliable laboratory methods for their detection and identification on this infection vehicle. Standardization of methods for detection of common FBP in fresh produce is to be expected and ensuring that the DNA extraction approach is most appropriate for the FBP of interest and for the matrix being analyzed is also important. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of two commercially available DNA extraction procedures, the UNEX-based method and DNeasy PowerSoil kit in the detection of three protozoan parasites, C. cayetanensis, C. parvum, and T. gondii, on contaminated berries. Oocysts of each parasite were spiked into the pellets of raspberry and blueberry washes. The spiked pellets were then randomly assigned to DNA extraction using either the PowerSoil or UNEX method, with DNA extraction with both methods performed by two independent analysts. The detection rate when berry washes were spiked with 20 oocysts of C. cayetanensis, T. gondii, and C. parvum was 95%, 85%, and 40%, respectively, when using the PowerSoil kit; whereas the equivalent results using the UNEX method were 55%, 60%, and 5%, respectively. In addition, significantly lower Cq values were achieved for each parasite in the samples spiked with 500 oocysts when the PowerSoil kit was used. Possible reasons for these results are discussed, and include the composition of both the beads and the buffers in each method

Treatment against helminths in Norwegian sheep: a questionnaire-based survey

A questionnaire was distributed to 5487 farmers throughout Norway in order to obtain information about management practices regarding helminth infections in sheep. In addition, the farmers' perceptions of helminths and anthelmintic efficacy were investigated. Most farmers (80%) treated prophylactically against nematodes, and 24% also used prophylactic treatment against Fasciola hepatica. Overall, few farmers (11%) used parasitological analysis as a tool to assess the timing of treatment, but rather based it on other factors such as previous experience (70%). In the surveyed sheep flocks, the use of benzimidazoles was reduced from 2018 (52%) to 2019 (47%) (p < 0.01), whereas the use of macrocyclic lactones increased from 2017 (23%) to 2019 (36%) (p < 0.001). Poor anthelmintic efficacy was suspected by 10% of the farmers, and 11% reported that helminths were an increasing problem in their flocks. The majority of farmers (72%) considered their veterinarian as the most important advisor for treatment of parasites, but reported a high level of uncertainty regarding which parasites were present in their flocks, with unknown status most frequently reported for Haemonchus contortus (71.5%). This is probably related to the fact that very few farmers (15%) regularly test their animals for parasites. The present study provides up-to-date information on treatment practices for helminths in Norwegian sheep flocks

Virksomheters bruk av styringsverktøy og faktorer som påvirker bruk av moderne styringsverktøy

Styring av virksomheter er utfordrende, og styringsverktøy spiller en sentral rolle i den økonomiske styringen av virksomheter. Bruk og nytte av styringsverktøy har vært gjenstand for debatt i mange tiår, og det er gjort mye forskning på dette området (Bjørnenak & Kaarbøe, 2011). Formålet med denne studien er å kartlegge bruk av styringsverktøy i en norsk sammenheng, og i tillegg undersøke hvilke faktorer som påvirker bruken av moderne styringsverktøy. Dette undersøker vi gjennom følgende problemstilling: Hvilke moderne styringsverktøy bruker mellomstore og store norske virksomheter, og hvilke faktorer påvirker bruken? Problemstillingen drøftes i lys av Upper Echelon-perspektivet og betingelsesteori. Tidligere forskning og studier (Bobe & Kober, 2020; Hambrick & Mason, 1984; Hiebl, 2014; Lill et al., 2021; Naranjo-Gil et al., 2009; Otley, 1980, 2016; Pavlatos & Kostakis, 2018) har vist at egenskaper og karakteristikker ved ledere og økonomiavdeling, samt betingelsesfaktorer kan påvirke bruken av moderne styringsverktøy. Vi har gjennomført en kvantitativ spørreundersøkelse hvor totalt 189 ledere eller sentrale ansatte fra norske store og mellomstore private virksomheter har svart på undersøkelsen. Når det gjelder kartlegging av hvilke styringsverktøy som brukes, fant vi en tendens til at flere virksomheter tar i bruk alternativer til budsjettet, men det er fortsatt det mest utbredte styringsverktøyet. I tillegg til budsjettet brukes rullerende prognoser og ikke-finansielle prestasjonsmål i stor grad. Det ble gjennomført en faktoranalyse der vi endte opp med to kategorier av moderne styringsverktøy. Den ene er målstyring og prognose, og inneholder balansert målstyring, rullerende prognoser og ikke-finansielle måltall. Den andre er aktivitets- og kvalitetsbaserte styringsverktøy, som består av total quality management, target costing, lean, aktivitetsbasert kalkulasjon og aktivitetsbasert ledelse. Disse to faktorene brukte vi videre i vår regresjonsanalyse. Oppsummert fant vi signifikante sammenhenger for ansiennitet, aktiv økonomiavdeling, ekstern usikkerhet, press fra interessenter og konkurranse, og resultatene fra vår studie indikerer derfor at dette er faktorer som påvirker bruken av moderne styringsverktøy.Management control is challenging, and management accounting play a central role in the financial management of companies. The use and benefit of management accounting has been the subject of debate for many decades, and much research has been done on this area (Bjørnenak & Kaarbøe, 2011). The purpose of this study is to analyze the use of management accounting in a Norwegian context, and in addition to examine which factors influence the use of modern management accounting. We examine this through the following research question: Which modern management accounting do medium-sized and large Norwegian companies use, and which factors influence the use? The research question is discussed in the light of the Upper Echelon perspective and contingency theory. Previous research and studies (Bobe & Kober, 2020; Hambrick & Mason, 1984; Hiebl, 2014; Lill et al., 2021; Naranjo-Gil et al., 2009; Otley, 1980, 2016; Pavlatos & Kostakis, 2018) have shown that values and characteristics of managers and the finance department, as well as contingency factors, can influence the use of modern management accounting. We have carried out a quantitative survey in which a total of 189 managers or central employees from Norwegian large and medium-sized private companies have responded to the survey. When it comes to the use of management accounting, we found a tendency for more companies to use alternatives to the budget, but it is still the most used management accounting. In addition to the budget, rolling forecasts and non-financial performance measurements are used to a large extent. A factor analysis was carried out where we ended up with two categories of modern management accounting. One is scorecard and forecasting, and contains balanced scorecard, rolling forecasts and non-financial performance measurements. The second is activity- and quality-based management accounting, which consist of total quality management, target costing, lean, activity-based calculation and activity-based management. We further used these two factors in our regression analysis. In summary, we found significant relationships for tenure, active finance department, external uncertainty, pressure from stakeholders and competition, and the results from our study therefore indicate that these are factors influence the use of modern management accounting

Parkinson’s disease clinical milestones and mortality

Identification of factors predicting and driving mortality in PD is important for patient information, disease management, and design of future clinical trials. This study included newly diagnosed PD patients and normal controls (NC) from a population-based study with repeated assessments over a 10-year period. We used the Kaplan–Meier method to estimate survival, Cox proportional hazards regression models to identify baseline risk factors of mortality, and Cox regression models with time-dependent covariates to evaluate the impact of four clinical milestones of advanced PD (visual hallucinations, recurrent falls, dementia, and nursing home placement) on mortality risk. During the 10-year study, 65 (34.2%) of 190 patients and 25 (12.3%) of 203 NC died, with an unadjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 2.85 (95% CI 1.80–4.52) and a HR of 2.48 (95% CI 1.55–3.95) when adjusted for confounders, including comorbidities. Higher age, more severe motor impairment, and postural instability-gait difficulty (PIGD) phenotype were independent baseline predictors of mortality. Each clinical milestone alone more than doubled the risk of death and had a cumulative effect on mortality, with a HR of 10.83 (95% CI 4.39–26.73) in those experiencing all four milestones. PD patients have an increased mortality risk that is disease-related and becomes evident early during the course of the disease. While motor severity and PIGD phenotype were early risk factors of mortality, clinical milestones signaled a substantially increased risk of death later during the disease course, highlighting their potential significance in clinical disease staging and prognosis.publishedVersio

Forslag til ny jernbanetrasé mellom Ranheim og Midtsanden

Parallelltittel: Proposition for new railway line between Ranheim and Midtsanden Norsk og engelsk teks