The actual status of the development of a Danish/Swedish system concept of a solar combisystem

At the beginning of 2003 the four year long research project REBUS on education, research, development and demonstration of competitive solar combisystems was launched. Research groups in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Latvia are working together with partners from industry on innovative solutions for solar heating in the Nordic countries. Existing system concepts have been analyzed and based on the results new system designs have been developed. The proposed solutions have to fulfill country specific technical, sociological and cost requirements. Due to the similar demands on the systems in Denmark and Sweden it has been decided to develop a common system concept for both countries, which increases the market potential for the manufacturer. The focus of the development is on systems for the large number of rather well insulated existing single family houses. In close collaboration with the industrial partners a system concept has been developed that is characterized by its high compactness and flexibility. It allows the use of different types of boilers, heating distribution systems and a variable store and collector size. Two prototypes have been built, one for the Danish market with a gas boiler, and one for the Swedish market with a pellet boiler as auxiliary heater. After intensive testing and eventual further improvements at least two systems will be installed and monitored in demonstration houses. The systems have been modeled in TRNSYS and the simulation results will be used to further improve the system and evaluate the system performance.

The concept of e-service from a social interaction perspective

Today’s e-services are complex phenomenon consisting of several different e-services linked together. The e-services are provided by IT systems and presented to customers through user interfaces. Within web design research criteria are laid out for the design of good user interfaces, but one problem is that these analyses are performed without a service focus. This lack of service focus can result in the designed user interfaces providing indistinct service concepts, especially where several e-services are intertwined with each other.In order to design IT system interfaces, we have to be clear about which e-services are provided by the IT system and how these e-services are related to each other. This paper presents a framework for the analysis of user interfaces in terms of focused e-service, service environment and two types of intertwined e-services; related e-services and interrelating e-services. The analyses are exemplified by an Internet based e-marketplace. The paper discusses how the framework can be combined with ordinary web design criteria and how it can be used for e-service development.

The Concept of ’Selling/Buying’ in the Russian Linguistic Picture of the World : from standard to sub-standard

The thesis belongs to the field of lexical semantics studies, associated with describing the Russian linguistic world-image. The research focuses on the universal situation of purchase and sale as reflected in the Russian lexical standard and sub-standard. The work deals also with subjects related to the sphere of social linguistics: the social stratification of the language, the structure of sub-standard, etc. The thesis is a contribution to the description of the Russian linguistic world-image as well as to the further elaboration of the conceptional analysis method. The results are applicable in teaching Russian as a foreign language, particularly in lexis and Russian culture and mentality studies.

Vägprojektering för minskade drift- och underhållskostnader : Brister och möjligheter

För att kunna bygga en ny väg måste den först planeras och projekteras. Vägplanering innebär att man undersöker förutsättningarna för att bygga vägen t.ex. konsekvenser för miljö, samhälle, trafiksäkerhet, framkomlighet, tillgänglighet samt tekniska och ekonomiska förutsättningar. Vägprojektering innebär att man bestämmer vägens utformning på detaljnivå t.ex. vägsträckning, bredd, profil, vägutrustning, etc. Planering och projektering av vägar är en komplicerad process med tanke på alla komponenter som en väg består av samt alla aspekter som man måste ta hänsyn till under vägens livstid. Planerings- och projekteringsprocessen utgör en avvägning av många aspekter för att hitta den optimala lösningen. Drift- och underhållsåtgärder på vägnätet föranleds ofta av att problem uppstått på ett fåtal ställen. Kostnaden för att åtgärda dessa ställen kan uppgå till stora belopp under vägens livslängd. Med en lämpligare utformning av vägen hade dessa problem i en del fall sannolikt kunnat undvikas. Bland de aktörer, som är inblandade i planerings- och projekteringsprocessen, finns det olika åsikter om orsaken till att man inte tar tillräcklig hänsyn till drift- och underhållaspekten under planerings- och projekteringsskedet. Vissa aktörer tycker att det är projektörens kunskapsbrister som leder till att vägen får olämplig utformning avseende drift och underhåll. Andra tycker att det är en kombination av olika brister hos väghållaren. Dessa brister kan då finnas i såväl planerings- och projekteringsprocessen som i drift- och underhållsprocessen. Denna rapport presenterar resultatet för en förstudie som har utförts inom doktorandprojektet ”Vägprojektering för minskade drift- och underhållskostnader”. Syftet med förstudien var att identifiera brister och problem på övergripande nivå som leder till att man inte tar tillräcklig hänsyn till drift- och underhållsaspekten vid planerings- och projekteringsprocessen. Ett annat syfte med förstudien var att föreslå förändringsbehov inom planerings- och projekteringsprocessen genom att analysera de identifierade problemen, analysera verksamheten vid planering och projektering, analysera verksamhetens mål, formulera nya mål för verksamheten och fastställa de nödvändiga förändringsbehoven.

Are schools able to bring sense into pupils' lives? - an experiment to use Antonovsky's concept sense of coherence from a school perspective. : Paper presented at the ENIRDEM conference in Kilkenny, Ireland 26th-29th September, 2002

Young people now spend a longer and longer period of their lives at school then ever before. Not always because that they want to, but because society has nothing else to offer. The situation in many schools may also, in different aspects, be seen as highly problematic. Andersson (2001) has, for example, found in a large longitudinal study - The Life Project – that schools seem to be adapted to the needs of only a minority of the students - around 30%. On the other hand school is badly adjusted to the requirements of another 30 %. This group of students often find school meaningless, uninteresting and boring. For these students school is mostly a waste of time. In such circumstances, it seems natural that society has a responsibility to offer young people a meaningful time at school, both here and now and to prepare them for a future live as adults, not only as a part of the work force.As a part of departure I briefly describe the model that Antonovsky has developed and try to use it in a school context instead. I have here, of course, no possibility to make a deeper analysis of a complex problem such as this.In Antonovsky’s spirit, using a salutogenic perspective, instead of asking ourselves why do pupils fail or perhaps also not like being at school we have to ask, instead: What it is that makes pupils successful? From this background the purpose of this paper is to discuss some aspects of how pupils may use different strategies to handle their school situation in a proper way.

Sustainability in nursing : a concept analysis

Aim. The aim of this study was to describe, explore and explain the concept of sustainability in nursing. Background. Although researchers in nursing and medicine have emphasised the issue of sustainability and health, the concept of sustainability in nursing is undefined and poorly researched. A need exists for theoretical and empirical studies of sustainability in nursing. Design. Concept analysis as developed by Walker and Avant. Method. Data were derived from dictionaries, international healthcare organisations and literature searches in the CINAHL and MEDLINE databases. Inclusive years for the search ranged from 1990 to 2012. A total of fourteen articles were found that referred to sustainability in nursing. Results. Sustainability in nursing involves six defining attributes: ecology, environment, future, globalism, holism and maintenance. Antecedents of sustainability require climate change, environmental impact and awareness, confidence in the future, responsibility and a willingness to change. Consequences of sustainability in nursing include education in the areas of ecology, environment and sustainable development as well as sustainability as a part of nursing academic programs and in the description of the academic subject of nursing. Sustainability should also be part of national and international healthcare organisations. The concept was clarified herein by giving it a definition. Conclusion. Sustainability in nursing was explored and found to contribute to sustainable development, with the ultimate goal of maintaining an environment that does not harm current and future generations' opportunities for good health. This concept analysis provides recommendations for the healthcare sector to incorporate sustainability and provides recommendations for future research.