Forbrukere og bioenergi : virkninger av atferdsmessige faktorer på energibruk til oppvarming i norske husholdninger

How energy consumers behave, namely, what type and how much of different energy products and services they consume, direct and indirect affects the environment, as well as personal (and collective) well-being. Understanding the decision-making process behind energy consumption is thus important if we want to influence people’s energy consumption and achieve the goals of sustainable energy consumption. In this thesis, I study choices related to energy consumption for residential heating by using an integrated behavioural study approach that employs perspectives from economics, psychology and sociology. The analyses in this thesis are based on two Norwegian nation-wide household survey datasets, which are used in combination with a discrete choice econometric modelling framework. By modelling consumers’ choices, we may identify barriers and drivers for sustainable energy consumption. The analytical approaches are innovative, and the research results should shed light on how Norwegian households use energy in their homes. The dissertation consists of four empirical papers that have the following goals: (a) to evaluate the determinants of investments in heating equipment and investigate how motivations and environmental attitudes affect the heating investment choice in Norwegian households (paper I); (b) to explore a new methodology for modelling the consumption share of storable energy goods and examine the impact of perceptions of heating equipment and attitudes towards biomass consumption on the choice of the primary heat source in households (paper II); (c) to test the effect of lifestyle variables on households’ firewood demand (paper III); and (d) to identify the role of procrastination and environmental awareness on energy saving activities (paper IV). As a methodological assessment, I also use household characteristics (age, income, education, household size, etc.) and residence characteristics (dwelling size, age, type, etc.) as variables in the modelling process. The results indicate that perceptions concerning the appearance, efficiency, cost, required time and effort and environmental impact differ greatly between different types of heating equipment (woodstoves, pellet stoves, electric ovens and air-to-air heat pumps). Perceptions concerning the attributes of the heating equipment and attitudes towards different energy sources are both important in explaining the type of heating investment and the choice of primary heat source (paper I and II). People whose main motivation is to reduce costs are more likely to invest in heat pumps, whereas investors in pellet stoves are more concerned about the impact of the heating source on the environment (paper I). Furthermore, the annual costs and effectiveness of the equipment are the most important factors in explaining firewood consumption, while access to firewood and pellets and environmental considerations are important factors in explaining the share of pellet stove use in residential heating (paper II). In paper III, urban lifestyle and comfort concerns are shown to be negatively associated with firewood demand. Moreover, access to cheap firewood has a significant positive effect on the demand for firewood (paper III). Lastly, results from the study on the effect of procrastination on energy saving behaviour reveal that the degree of procrastination affects people’s heating energy saving behaviour. People with a higher tendency to procrastinate are less likely to engage in energy saving activities in general, especially with respect to activities that demand effort and time, such as investing in new equipment (paper IV). The estimation results illustrate the importance of taking into account internal motivational factors, such as attitudes and perceptions, in explaining people’s energy consumption. For example, it is important to employ measures that aim to reduce procrastination to realise the underlying energy saving potential in Norwegian households. The interdisciplinary study approach enriches our knowledge of individual decision making related to energy consumption. It can also improve the effectiveness of energy and environmental policy. We need more empirical studies that focus on energy end users’ behaviour from different social science perspectives, especially a behavioural economics perspective.Hva slags energikilder forbrukerne velger og hvor mye de forbruker, har direkte og indirekte virkning på miljøet, så vel som på personlig (og kollektiv) trivsel. Å forstå beslutningsprosessen bak folks energiforbruk er viktig hvis vi ønsker å påvirke deres energiatferd og oppnå mål om mer bærekraftig energiforbruk. I denne avhandlingen bruker jeg integrerte atferdsstudier til å utforske valg av ulike boligoppvarmingsløsninger ved å benytte tilnærminger fra økonomi, psykologi og sosiologi. Studien er basert på datasett fra to landsdekkende husholdningsundersøkelser i Norge, og bruker økonometriske modeller for diskrete valg. Ved å modellere forbrukernes beslutninger kan vi systematisk identifisere hindringer og drivere for bærekraftig energibruk. De analytiske metodene er innovative og forskningsresultatene belyser hvordan norske husholdninger bruker energi i sine hjem. Avhandlingen består av fire empiriske artikler som har følgende mål: (a) å identifisere faktorer som påvirker investeringer i oppvarmingsutstyr, og å undersøke hvordan motiver og miljøholdninger påvirker investeringsvalg relatert til oppvarming i norske husholdninger (artikkel I), (b) å utforske en ny metodikk for å modellere andelen av ulike energiformer brukt til oppvarming i husholdningene , og å undersøke effekten av ulike oppfatninger og holdninger til bioenergi på valg av husholdningens viktigste varmekilde (artikkel II), (c) å teste effekten av livsstilsvariabler på husholdningenes etterspørsel etter fyringsved (artikkel III), og (d) å undersøke i hvilken grad prokrastinering og miljøbevissthet påvirker iverksetting av energisparingstiltak (artikkel IV). Som kontrollvariabler har jeg også tatt in husholdningsegenskaper (alder, inntekt, utdanning, husholdningsstørrelse, etc.) og kjennetegn ved boligen (boligstørrelse, alder, type osv.) som variabler i modelleringen. Resultatene viser at oppfatninger om utstyrets utseende, effektivitet, kostnader, tid og innsats som kreves for å bruke utstyret og miljøpåvirkning varierer sterkt mellom de fire oppvarmingsløsningene (vedovner, pelletsovner, elektriske ovner og luft-til-luft varmepumper). Oppfatninger om utstyrets oppvarmingsegenskaper og holdninger til ulike energikilder er begge viktige for å forklare investeringer i nytt oppvarmingsutstyr og valg av hovedvarmekilde (artikkel I og II). Folk som har som sitt viktigste motiv å redusere kostnadene har størst sannsynlighet for å investere i varmepumper, mens de som investerer i pelletsovner er mer opptatt av miljøet (artikkel I). Videre er årlige kostnader og oppvarmingseffektivitet de viktigste faktorene bak økende forbruk av fyringsved, mens enkel tilgang til ved og pellets samt miljøhensyn er avgjørende for å øke andelen av pellets til boligoppvarming (artikkel II). I artikkel III fant vi at urban livsstil og ønsker om komfort var negativt assosiert med etterspørsel etter ved. Vi fant også at tilgang til billig brensel hadde en signifikant positiv effekt på etterspørselen (artikkel III). Til slutt viste resultatene fra studien av effekten av prokrastinering på energisparende atferd at graden av prokrastinering påvirker folks oppvarmings- og energisparende atferd. Folk som oppgir høyere tendens til å utsette ting har mindre sannsynlighet for å engasjere seg i energisparing generelt, og spesielt når det kommer til aktiviteter som krever innsats og tid som å investere i nytt utstyr. Det er derfor viktig å sette inn tiltak som tar sikte på å redusere prokrastinering for å realisere potensialet for energisparing (artikkel IV). Resultatene fra denne oppgaven og deres implikasjoner viser viktigheten av å ta hensyn til interne forhold, som for eksempel beslutningstakernes holdninger og oppfatninger, når man forklarer folks energiatferd. Den tverrfaglige studietilnærmingen beriker vår kunnskap om individuell beslutningstaking og valg av energiløsninger. Resultatene kan også brukes til å utvikle en mer effektiv energi-og miljøpolitikk. Vi trenger flere empiriske studier som fokuserer på energiforbrukernes atferd fra ulike samfunnsvitenskapelige innfallsvinkler, spesielt fra et atferdsøkonomisk perspektiv

Historical grain yield genetic gains in Norwegian spring wheat under contrasting fertilization regimes

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Genome-wide association mapping of septoria nodorum blotch resistance in Nordic winter and spring wheat collections

Septoria nodorum blotch (SNB), caused by the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Parastagonospora nodorum, is the dominant leaf blotch pathogen of wheat in Norway. Resistance/susceptibility to SNB is a quantitatively inherited trait, which can be partly explained by the interactions between wheat sensitivity loci (Snn) and corresponding P. nodorum necrotrophic effectors (NEs). Two Nordic wheat association mapping panels were assessed for SNB resistance in the field over three to four years: a spring wheat and a winter wheat panel (n = 296 and 102, respectively). Genome-wide association studies found consistent SNB resistance associated with quantitative trait loci (QTL) on eleven wheat chromosomes, and ten of those QTL were common in the spring and winter wheat panels. One robust QTL on the short arm of chromosome 2A, QSnb.nmbu-2AS, was significantly detected in both the winter and spring wheat panels. For winter wheat, using the four years of SNB field severity data in combination with five years of historical data, the effect of QSnb.nmbu-2AS was confirmed in seven of the nine years, while for spring wheat, the effect was confirmed for all tested years including the historical data from 2014 to 2015. However, lines containing the resistant haplotype are rare in both Nordic spring (4.0%) and winter wheat cultivars (15.7%), indicating the potential of integrating this QTL in SNB resistance breeding programs. In addition, clear and significant additive effects were observed by stacking resistant alleles of the detected QTL, suggesting that marker-assisted selection can greatly facilitate SNB resistance breeding.Genome-wide association mapping of septoria nodorum blotch resistance in Nordic winter and spring wheat collectionspublishedVersio

Politiske vedtak – barns læringsmiljø

Problemstilling: Hvordan møter pedagogiske ledere Rammeplanens mål om barns læringsmiljø, når kommunens politikere fatter vedtak som bidrar til lavere bemanning?bachelor-v201

Editorial: Advances in breeding for wheat disease resistance

Wheat is the most widely planted crop on the planet and contributes up to 20% of total calorie intake for humankind. Maintaining wheat yields is crucial to feeding the world’s people, especially as climate models suggest that rising global temperatures will negatively affect wheat production (Asseng et al., 2015). Diseases of wheat take an important toll, annually robbing humanity of 20% or more of the crop on a global basis (Savary et al., 2019; Savary and Willocquet, 2021). Changes in weather patterns may accelerate pathogen life cycles and escalate shifts in pathogen populations and virulence, posing significant challenges to disease resistance breeding. As well, global trade may increase the chances for a pathogen to spread rapidly and adapt to novel environments and even hosts, leading to emerging diseases. The release and use of wheat cultivars with effective and durable disease resistance is more important now than ever. This is so for multiple reasons. First, disease resistance stabilizes yields and reduces economic losses, saving money for producers who are already facing major challenges due to rising temperatures, more frequent and unpredictable natural disasters, and high and rising costs of inputs such as pesticides (FAO, 2021; Lüttringhaus et al., 2021; Miedaner and Juroszek, 2021). Second, greater reliance on disease resistance can slow pathogen spread and multiplication, prolonging the useful life of available pesticide chemistries so they will be effective when needed to manage severe epidemics (Brent et al., 2007). Third, the growing use of conservation tillage, which is vital for soil health and stabilization, has elevated the importance of diseases such as Fusarium head blight that cannot be completely managed with fungicides (Aboukhaddour et al., 2020). Breeding for disease resistance in wheat has made major technological advances, but still faces important challenges. Prominent among those challenges is the need to develop cultivars for a tremendous diversity of agro-ecological environments, production practices, and discrete market classes (Cowger, 2021). Another challenge is that major genes such as those traditionally deployed to manage wheat rust diseases are often rapidly overcome. This requires a focus on quantitative and race non-specific resistance that may be harder to introgress, select for, and retain in a multi-trait context (Cowger and Brown, 2019; van Esse et al., 2020). The more genes are identified and their mechanisms of action elucidated, the more tools will be available to researchers and breeders to assemble genetically novel germplasm with improved and more durable resistance. The authors who have contributed to this Research Topic tackle those challenges by providing new resources and tools to aid wheat breeders across the globe. The 18 original articles cover a good sample of the world’s most important wheat diseases and the state-of-the-art techniques applied by researchers to identify and evaluate the relevant disease resistance traits. For example, wheat blast is an emergent and damaging disease that has jumped continents from Latin America to Asia, as explained in a comprehensive review by Singh et al., 2021. A team of blast researchers has compared marker-assisted and genomic selection using precision phenotyping of blast resistance conferred by the 2NS translocation (Juliana et al., 2022), which is partial and sometimes background-dependent. Another major threat to global wheat production is Fusarium head blight. Three articles in this Research Topic offer important new resources for breeding cultivars with effective FHB resistance. The Brazilian spring cultivar Surpresa provides a new source of resistance not currently used (Poudel et al. 2022). Three resistance loci (Fhb1, Fhb4, and Fhb5) were introgressed as a pyramid into desirable Chinese white and red semi-winter wheat lines (Zhang et al., 2021). And a novel technique could speed up the development of FHB-resistant winter wheat germplasm, increasing breeding generations from two to three per year (Zakieh et al. 2021). Researchers used various approaches to identify new sources of resistance to the three wheat rusts (stem, stripe, and leaf). A new stem rust resistance gene was mapped in the durum wheat variety Kronos and introgressed into common wheat using co-segregating DNA markers (Li et al., 2021). The effects of combinations of leaf rust resistance genes were investigated in a Canadian wheat double-haploid population (McCallum and Hiebert, 2022) and in a durably resistant Canadian wheat cultivar (Bokore et al., 2022). A multi-parent advanced generation intercross (MAGIC) wheat population was used to map adult-plant and seedling resistance to stripe rust in Germany (Rollar et al., 2021). A genome-wide association study was used to identify stripe rust resistance loci in a panel of Chinese wheat landraces (Yao et al., 2021). And QTL mapping led to identification of stripe and leaf rust loci in an Afghan landrace (Zhang et al., 2022), a Chinese landrace (Wang et al., 2022), and the CIMMYT wheat line “Mucuy” (Lan et al., 2022; so far this is an abstract, need the URL to the full article when it’s available). Breeding wheat cultivars with resistance to powdery mildew requires a constant stream of new resistance sources, thanks to the pathogen’s ability to rapidly overcome host resistance through adaptation. The efficacy of a set of new resistance genes introgressed from Middle Eastern wild wheat relatives was measured using powdery mildew populations from various wheat growing regions affected by the disease (Kloppe et al., 2022). A more unusual wild relative of wheat, Psathyrostachys huashanica, which is found only in the Huashan Mountains of China, also furnished novel resistance to wheat powdery mildew (Liu et al., 2021). A previously unidentified source of resistance to Hessian fly was identified in spring wheat cultivars of the U.S. Pacific Northwest (Prather et al., 2022). And in a twist, a locus conferring not resistance but susceptibility, in this case to tan spot, was identified in U.S. bi-parental spring wheat mapping populations and narrowed to a region encompassing seven candidate genes (Running et al., 2022). Last but not least, an interesting look under the ground revealed that rhizosphere microbiomes differed among wheat genotypes and had an impact on pathogenicity of Rhizoctonia solani, suggesting the potential to manage Rhizoctonia root rot with wheat genotypes that recruit microbiomes associated with improved plant fitness and suppression of the fungal pathogen (Dilla-Ermita et al., 2021). For this Research Topic, we have collected articles that demonstrate how cutting-edge approaches to breeding are being brought to bear on some of the chief diseases threatening the world’s wheat production systems. The authors’ contributions are of the highest quality, and illustrate the strong international interest in this topic. These reports help breeders everywhere assess and employ novel and potentially durable resistance to wheat diseases. They will make a practical difference in helping safeguard global wheat yields in the challenging years to come

Approximate genome-based kernel models for large data sets including main effects and interactions

The rapid development of molecular markers and sequencing technologies has made it possible to use genomic prediction (GP) and selection (GS) in animal and plant breeding. However, when the number of observations (n) is large (thousands or millions), computational difficulties when handling these large genomic kernel relationship matrices (inverting and decomposing) increase exponentially. This problem increases when genomic × environment interaction and multi-trait kernels are included in the model. In this research we propose selecting a small number of lines m(m < n) for constructing an approximate kernel of lower rank than the original and thus exponentially decreasing the required computing time. First, we describe the full genomic method for single environment (FGSE) with a covariance matrix (kernel) including all n lines. Second, we select m lines and approximate the original kernel for the single environment model (APSE). Similarly, but including main effects and G × E, we explain a full genomic method with genotype × environment model (FGGE), and including m lines, we approximated the kernel method with G × E (APGE). We applied the proposed method to two different wheat data sets of different sizes (n) using the standard linear kernel Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Predictor (GBLUP) and also using eigen value decomposition. In both data sets, we compared the prediction performance and computing time for FGSE versus APSE; we also compared FGGE versus APGE. Results showed a competitive prediction performance of the approximated methods with a significant reduction in computing time. Genomic prediction accuracy depends on the decay of the eigenvalues (amount of variance information loss) of the original kernel as well as on the size of the selected lines m.publishedVersio

Frontfigurer og merkevarer: Ideelle egenskaper for et vellykket samarbeid

Bakgrunnen for denne bacheloroppgaven er den økende trenden ved å bruke “influencers” eller kjente personer som frontfigur for en merkevare. Vi ønsket å undersøke hvilke egenskaper disse frontfigurene ideelt burde ha for et vellykket samarbeid. Ut i fra dette utviklet vi en problemstilling med fire tilhørende hypoteser, og problemstillingen ble som følger; “Hvilke(n) egenskap(er) er viktig for å være en god frontfigur for en merkevare?” Vi utførte en kvantitativ spørreundersøkelse via sosiale medier som ble besvart av totalt 230 respondenter. Undersøkelsen var et verktøy for å belyse problemstillingen vår samt de tilhørende hypotesene. Undersøkelsen og hypotesene er knyttet til et case hvor moteprofil Jenny Skavlan har gått inn på eiersiden i rubrikkannonse-appen Tise og frontet denne. Vår forskning viser at våre respondenter generelt sett mener at Jenny Skavlan er en passende frontfigur for Tise. Videre har vi fått støtte for alle våre fire hypoteser som sier at en god frontfigur for en merkevare bør inneha følgende fire egenskaper; samsvar med merkevare, troverdighet, ekspertise og kredibilitet. Dette underbygges også av vårt teorigrunnlag. Det er viktig å påpeke at dette kun er gjeldende for vårt case på undersøkelsestidspunktet. Alle fire egenskaper viste signifikans på ,000 som vil si at det er 95% sannsynlighet eller høyere for at disse fire egenskapene påvirker hennes rolle som passende frontfigur

General disease resistance loci against biotrophic pathogens in wheat

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Arquitectura, apresentada ao Departamento de Arquitectura da Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra, sob a orientação do Prof. Doutor Walter Rossa.Um ano depois de a UNESCO inscrever a “Universidade de Coimbra - Alta e Sofia” na lista do Património Mundial da Humanidade e face ao desafio académico de Coimbra Capital Europeia da Cultura em 2027, este trabalho tem como objectivo analisar e perceber como se alterou a imagem urbana da cidade e de que maneira o branding que proponho para a mesma vai clarificar essa imagem, de forma a criar uma linguagem coerente e clara, que traga valor para Coimbra. O trabalho divide-se em quatro partes. A primeira exibe a importância do branding para as cidades, entendendo que este conceito é fundamental para que Coimbra construa uma visão de futuro, com uma melhoria no espaço público e com uma linguagem coerente entre a Universidade a tudo o que a dinamiza. A segunda parte, analisa a evolução da imagem e do sistema urbano do espaço que escolhi como exemplo de trabalho, a antiga Quinta de Santa Cruz, onde foi criado o “boulevard” da cidade, a Avenida Sá da Bandeira e a Praça da República. Na terceira parte, vou analisar criticamente estes dois espaços de maneira a perceber como alterar a imagem suja que a cidade tem hoje, clarificando-a e sabendo que esta zona tem tudo para ser o verdadeiro centro cosmopolita de Coimbra. Por último, associo a esse exemplo um de outra natureza, mas com ele coerente no compto geral do processo, a criação de um logótipo que vai qualificar a cidade e que vai estar presente na mudança do sistema urbano, ajudando a clarificar a imagem da cidade.One year later that UNESCO aggregated “Universidade de Coimbra - Alta e Sofia” at the list of World Heritage Site and the academic challenge of Coimbra European Capital of Culture in 2027, this work aims to analyze and understand how changed the image of urban city , and that way, how the branding that i’ll propose for the city, will clarify this image in order to create a coherent and clear language that bring value to Coimbra. The work is divided into four parts. A first that displays the importance of branding for cities, and how these concept is fundamental to Coimbra build a vision of future, with an improvement in public space and with identical language between the University and everything that surrounds it. The second part examines the evolution of the urban system and the image of the space that i found as an example to work, the old Quinta de Santa Cruz, where the “boulevard” of the city with the Avenue Sá da Bandeira and Republic Square was created. In the third part i will analyze and criticize these two spaces so that you can understand how to clean the soiled image that the city transpires today, in order to make clear that this space has everything to be the true cosmopolitan center of Coimbra. Finally i will associate this example to other of a diferent nature, but coherent in the overall process, the creation of a logo that will qualify the city and that will be present in the changing of urban system helping to clarify the city’s image

Evaluation of strategies to optimize training populations for genomic prediction in oat (Avena sativa)

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