The relationship between cultural intelligence and job performance

Master's thesis MBA Executive Master of Business administration ORG954 - University of Agder 2018Konfidensiell til / confidential until 01.01.202

Multifield inflation in random potentials and the rapid-turn limit

Cosmological inflation is a simple, and observationally well-supported, mechanism for generating a flat, spatially homogeneous universe with the statistical correlations in the cosmic microwave background we see today. Determining precisely how inflation happened, and how many fields were involved, are some of the main challenges of modern cosmology. The first part of the thesis, consisting of Chapters 2 and 3, addresses this question by looking at what future measurements of local non-Gaussianity will tell us. Local non-Gaussianity has been proposed as a key observable for distinguishing between single- and multifield inflation, as a large value of this parameter would rule out the former. However, a small value would not necessarily rule out the latter. Using a new technique for generating random functions with Gaussian random fields, which we also prove the validity of, we generate random potentials for as many as 100 fields for inflation. We look at the observables of these models and in particular compute the local non-Gaussianity. An overwhelming majority of these models give local non-Gaussianity compatible with single-field inflation, despite significant multifield effects on superhorizon scales, indicating that this observable may not be sufficient to distinguish between these types of models. The second part of the thesis, consisting of Chapters 4 and 5, addresses another aspect of this question by looking at other types of inflationary solutions than slow-roll, slow-turn. Slow-roll, slow-turn is an easily realised solution, but requires a very flat potential over large distances in field-space. The fine-tuning needed for this remains an Achilles heel of the inflationary paradigm. However, there are inflationary solutions which can be realised in steep potentials. `Hyperinflation' is a particularly interesting one of these, and we investigate this solution in detail. Using the techniques developed to study hyperinflation, we then show that there exists a new, completely general two-field attractor solution that is characterised by rapidly turning fields. This `rapid-turn attractor' does not require any particular background geometry, and explains how several recently studied two-field inflation models are related to each other.STF

Validation of the flow-through chamber (FTC) and steady-state (SS) methods for clearance rate measurements in bivalves

Summary To obtain precise and reliable laboratory clearance rate (filtration rate) measurements with the ‘flow-through chamber method’ (FTC) the design must ensure that only inflow water reaches the bivalve's inhalant aperture and that exit flow is fully mixed. As earlier recommended these prerequisites can be checked by a plot of clearance rate (CR) versus increasing through-flow (Fl) to reach a plateau, which is the true CR, but we also recommend to plot percent particles cleared versus reciprocal through-flow where the plateau becomes the straight line CR/Fl, and we emphasize that the percent of particles cleared is in itself neither a criterion for valid CR measurement, nor an indicator of appropriate ‘chamber geometry’ as hitherto adapted in many studies. For the ‘steady-state method’ (SS), the design must ensure that inflow water becomes fully mixed with the bivalve's excurrent flow to establish a uniform chamber concentration prevailing at its incurrent flow and at the chamber outlet. These prerequisites can be checked by a plot of CR versus increasing Fl, which should give the true CR at all through-flows. Theoretically, the experimental uncertainty of CR for a given accuracy of concentration measurements depends on the percent reduction in particle concentration (100×P) from inlet to outlet of the ideal ‘chamber geomety’. For FTC, it decreases with increasing values of P while for SS it first decreases but then increases again, suggesting the use of an intermediate value of P. In practice, the optimal value of P may depend on the given ‘chamber geometry’. The fundamental differences between the FTC and the SS methods and practical guidelines for their use are pointed out, and new data on CR for the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, illustrate a design and use of the SS method which may be employed in e.g. long-term growth experiments at constant algal concentrations

Growth-prediction model for blue mussels (<i>Mytilus edulis</i>) on future optimally thinned farm-ropes in Great Belt (Denmark)

A recently developed BioEnergetic Growth (BEG) model for blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), valid for juvenile mussels, has been further developed to an ‘extended model’ and an alternative ‘ad hoc BEG model’ valid for post-metamorphic mussels, where the latter accounts for changing ambient chl a concentration. It was used to predict the growth of M. edulis on optimally thinned farm-ropes in Great Belt (Denmark), from newly settled post-metamorphic mussels of an initial shell size of 0.8 mm to marketable juvenile 30–35 mm ‘mini-mussels’. Such mussels will presumably in the near future be introduced as a new Danish, smaller-sized consumer product. Field data for actual growth (from Day 0 = 14 June 2011) showed that size of ‘mini-mussel’ was reached on Day 109 (Oct 1) and length 38 mm on Day 178 (Dec 9) while the corresponding predictions using the extended model were Day 121 (Oct 13) and Day 159 (Nov 20). Similar results were obtained by use of the ad hoc BEG model which also demonstrated the sensitivity of growth prediction to levels of chl a concentration, but less to temperature. The results suggest that it is possible (when the conditions are optimal, i.e., no intraspecific competition ensured by sufficient thinning) to produce ‘mini-mussels’ in Great Belt during one season, but not the usual marketable 45-mm mussels. We suggest that the prediction model may be used as a practical instrument to evaluate to what degree the actual growth of mussels on farm ropes due to intraspecific competition may deviate from the potential (optimal) growth under specified chl a and temperature conditions, and this implies that the effect of thinning to optimize the individual growth by eliminating intraspecific competition can be rationally evaluated