578 research outputs found
Midttun, Loten, Norway
No full textPhotograph shows Midttun, a large home built in 1907 that is typical of Norwegian rural architecture
The Changing Role of Government in Corporate Responsibility. A report for practitioners
No full textThis report explores the role of government in promoting CR through the interactions between business, government and civil society organizations and it has been written to help practitioners in these three sectors better understand the different public
policies that exist to promote CR in Europe
Eco-modernity nordic style : The challenge of aligning ecological and socio-economic sustainability
No full textThis chapter explores the Nordic countries’ attempts to reconcile their environmental front-runner ambitions with their high productivity as advanced welfare states. On the one hand, the Nordics have taken leading positions in promoting environmental issues on the international stage. On the other hand, however, their high productivity, which is needed to support their welfare aspirations, has made them reluctant to promote and implement ecological measures that would limit economic growth. The chapter shows how this Nordic dualism may also be ecologically justified. In terms of biological capacity, three of the large Nordic countries - Finland, Norway and Sweden - are capable of absorbing their ecological footprints, given their vast territories and small populations. In terms of climate emissions per capita, however, the Nordics- apart from Sweden - are mediocre performers. When it comes to the implementation of climate policy, there is considerable Nordic diversity. Most of the Nordic countries have embarked on a path towards lowering their carbon emissions. However, their trajectories have varied greatly, reflecting differences in industrial structure and resource bases. Nevertheless, a belief in urban greening is widely shared, and the Nordic capitals top European green city rankings. Based on a green growth agenda, urban greening may provide an attractive opportunity for bridging ecological preservation and economic development, and allow the Nordics to transcend their ecology-versus-growth dilemma
Governance and business models for sustainable capitalism/ Atle Midttun.
No full textIncludes bibliographical references and index."Governance and Business Models for Sustainable Capitalism touches upon many of the central themes of today's debate on business and society. In particular, it brings attention to a recurrent tension between efficiency, innovation and productivity on the one hand, and fairness, equity and sustainability on the other. The book argues that we need radical rethinking of business models and economic governance, beyond the classical doctrine which sees social and ecological responsibility as lying with public policy regulation of purely profit-seeking firms. In spite of the popular CSR agenda, business - as we know it today - is both too transient and too limited in its motivation to carry the regulatory burden. We need to adopt a much wider concept of "partnered governance", where advanced states and pioneering companies work together to raise the social and environmental bar. The book suggests that civil engagements based on moral rather than formal rights, and amplified through the media, may provide a healthy challenge both to autocratic planning and to solely profit-centered commercialization. The book also proposes a triple cycle theory of innovation for sustainability: a novel framing of the efficacy of green and prosocial entrepreneurship as intertwined with political visions and supportive institutions. In addition, the book offers reflections on the ways in which further digital robotizaton may enable transition to an 'Agora Economy' where productive efficiency is combined with expanded civic freedoms. Aimed primarily at researchers, academics and students in the fields of political economy, business and society, corporate governance, business ethics, corporate social responsibility and sustainability, the book will additionally be of value to practitioners, supplying them with information regarding the challenges associated with the shaping of sustainable or 'civilised' market capitalism for a better world"--1 online resource
The Changing Role of Governments in Corporate Social Responsibility: Drivers and Responses
No full textThe aim of this article is to contribute to understanding the changing role of government in promoting
corporate social responsibility (CSR). Over the last decade, governments have joined other
stakeholders in assuming a relevant role as drivers of CSR, working together with intergovernmental
organizations and recognizing that public policies are key in encouraging a greater sense of CSR. This
paper focuses on the analysis of the new strategies adopted by governments in order to promote, and
encourage businesses to adopt, CSR values and strategies. The research is based on the analysis of an
explanatory framework, related to the development of a relational analytical framework, which tries to
analyze the vision, values, strategies and roles adopted by governments, and the integration of new
partnerships that governments establish in the CSR area with the private sector and social
organizations. The research compares CSR initiatives and public policies in three European countries:
Italy, Norway and the United Kingdom, and focuses on governmental drivers and responses. The
preliminary results demonstrate that governments are incorporating a common statement and discourse
on CSR, working in partnership with the private and social sectors. For governments, CSR implies the
need to manage a complex set of relationships in order to develop a win–win situation between business
and social organizations. However, the research also focuses on the differences between the three
governments when applying CSR public policies. These divergences are based on the previous cultural
and political framework, such as the welfare state typology, the organizational structures and the
business and social and cultural background in each country
Improved beam extraction for a negative hydrogen ion source for the LHC injector chain upgrade, Linac4
No full textIn the scope of an upgrade of the injector chain of CERN’s accelerator complex, a new linear accelerator, Linac4, is under construction. This accelerator will replace the existing 50 MeV proton linac, Linac2. By increasing the beam energy to 160 MeV, Linac4 makes it possible to double the brightness in the PSB, and ultimately increase
the luminosity in the LHC. Linac4 will accelerate beams of negative hydrogen (H−) to be injected into the PSB
by multi-turn, charge exchange injection. The ion source was initially based on the non-caesiated RF-volume source from DESY. However, the beam extraction from this source could not handle the 45 keV beam energy required by the RFQ. A new beam extraction system has therefore been designed, via IBSimu simulations [1], to extract and transport the H− ion beam respecting the Linac4 requirements. Key features of the extraction system is a tuneable puller voltage to adapt the extraction field to the ion and electron beam currents, and a magnetized Einzel lens to dump the co-extracted electrons with an energy below 10 keV. This new extraction system has been successfully commissioned at the Linac4 ion source test stand, and is currently being used during the commissioning of the components of Linac4. An H− beam peak current of 60 mA has been measured at the test stand, and long-term stable H− beams of 35 mA have been demonstrated. The extraction system is flexible for the connection of different plasma generators, and can also be used to extract a proton beam by inverting the polarities of the high voltage transformers
Behavioural effects of the common brain-infecting parasite Pseudoloma neurophilia in laboratory zebrafish (Danio rerio)
No full textResearch conducted on model organisms may be biased due to undetected pathogen infections. Recently, screening studies discovered high prevalence of the microsporidium Pseudoloma neurophilia in zebrafish (Danio rerio) facilities. This spore-forming unicellular parasite aggregates in brain regions associated with motor function and anxiety, and despite its high occurrence little is known about how sub-clinical infection affects behaviour. Here, we assessed how P. neurophilia infection alters the zebrafish´s response to four commonly used neurobehavioral tests, namely: mirror biting, open field, light/dark preference and social preference, used to quantify aggression, exploration, anxiety, and sociability. Although sociability and aggression remained unaltered, infected hosts exhibited reduced activity, elevated rates of freezing behaviour, and sex-specific effects on exploration. These results indicate that caution is warranted in the interpretation of zebrafish behaviour, particularly since in most cases infection status is unknown. This highlights the importance of comprehensive monitoring procedures to detect sub-clinical infections in laboratory animals
Brain‐infecting parasites leave lasting effects on behaviour even in resistant hosts
No full textParasites can have profound effects on intra- and interspecific interactions at the population and community levels through their influence on host behaviour, physiology and fitness. While host phenotypic changes are typically thought of in terms of established infections, parasite encounters may be sufficient to induce behavioural changes, even when no viable infections are established. Here, we use the Japanese rice fish medaka Oryzias latipes and the brain-infecting microsporidan parasite Pseudoloma neurophilia to understand how parasite resistance influences behaviour. Although a previous study suggested that medaka are a suitable host for P. neurophilia, an eight-week parasite exposure regime resulted in no detectable infection in our study. Both parasite-exposed and control (no parasite exposure) medaka were tested in behavioural assays that assessed boldness, activity and sociality. We detected considerable changes in medaka behaviour following parasite exposure, with parasite-exposed fish being more active, less bold and more social when compared to control fish. These data indicate that parasite encounters may induce behavioural alterations even in non-susceptible hosts. In addition to established infection, individual differences in parasite exposure must also be considered in studies of host responses across ecological scales. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.</p
Quantifying precision loss in targeted metabolomics based on mass spectrometry and non-matching internal standards
No full textIn mass spectrometry, reliable quantification requires correction for variations in ionization efficiency between samples. The preferred method is the addition of a stable isotope-labeled internal standard (SIL-IS). In targeted metabolomics, a dedicated SIL-IS for each metabolite of interest may not always be realized due to high cost or limited availability. We recently completed the analysis of more than 70 biomarkers, each with a matching SIL-IS, across four mass spectrometry-based platforms (one GC-MS/MS and three LC-MS/MS). Using data from calibrator and quality control samples added to 60 96-well trays (analytical runs), we calculated analytical precision (CV) retrospectively. The use of integrated peak areas for all metabolites and internal standards allowed us to calculate precision for all matching analyte (A)/SIL-IS (IS) pairs as well as for all nonmatching A/IS pairs within each platform (total n = 1442). The median between-run precision for matching A/IS across the four platforms was 2.7-5.9%. The median CV for nonmatching A/IS (corresponding to pairing analytes with a non-SIL-IS) was 2.9-10.7 percentage points higher. Across all platforms, CVs for nonmatching A/IS increased with increasing difference in retention time (Spearman's rho of 0.17-0.93). The CV difference for nonmatching vs matching A/IS was often, but not always, smaller when analytes and internal standards were close structural analogs.</p
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