Polytec Research (Norway)

Climate change is increasing the frequency of floods in Indonesia, thereby triggering the need for effective disaster management down to detailed levels such as the Destana Program. Madegondo Village, Sukoharjo Regency experiences floods every year. It has become the focus of research to improve community preparedness using the Participatory Action Research (PAR) method with Focus Group Discussion (FGD) as the main technique. This research revealed that Madegondo Village is vulnerable to tornadoes, fires, and dengue fever. Risk analysis indicates a moderate level of danger in affecting human, economic, infrastructure, environmental, and socio-political assets. Furthermore, the creation of flood disaster risk maps, the Disaster Risk Reduction Forum, and disaster management plans were also carried out based on community participation. An early warning system was also developed via telephone and WhatsApp based on data from Kaliwingko and Bengawan Solo River.

Abstract Measuring local temperature at the micro/nanoscale requires high resolution thermometery due to the ultra low thermal transport. Among practical temperature measurement methods, the optical method has demonstrated the highest temperature resolution (∼10−5 K). We present a sub micro-Kelvin resolution thermometry (∼10−8 K with a controlled environment, ∼10−6 K with a noisy open lab environment) that uses a 20 nm thick silicon nitride (SiN) membrane. The temperature resolution of the SiN membrane device is inversely proportional to the stiffness of the membrane. Analysis and measurements of the stiffness and noise equivalent temperature (NET) of the pre-stressed SiN membrane are presented. The achievable heat output resolution of the membrane device is sub nano-Watt (< 0.5 nW) and suitable for studying thermal transport at the micro/nanoscale.

Xaver was a severe cyclone that occurred over North Europe at the beginning of December 2013. The formation of a strong wind field during this event had an important impact in the energy sector. Some areas were benefited from the wind energy production during cyclone Xaver, while others encountered energy problems. The current study examines the spatial distribution of hydropower potential over Norway during cyclone Xaver as simulated by WRF model. WRF model provides a realistic representation of the movement of cyclone Xaver and the precipitation. The highest values of simulated precipitation were encountered at the western part of Norway. Precipitation exceeded 80 mm for several Norwegian regions and even reached 160 mm during the cyclone. The combination of high precipitation with the orography in Norway led to an increased hydropower potential for the west regions.

Desert roses are gypsum crystals that consist of intersecting disks. We determine their geometrical structure using computer assisted tomography. By mapping the geometrical structure onto a graph, the topology of the desert rose is analyzed and compared to a model based on diffusion limited aggregation. By comparing the topology, we find that the model gets a number of the features of the real desert rose right, whereas others do not fit so well.

Selection of an optimal knowledge assessment method appears to be a multiple criteria decision making problem among many other things. There is hardly any doubt that working with humans knowledge is always done in the presence of uncertainties. It is also not a secret that a large number of experts in the field of knowledge assessment feel much more comfortable expressing their opinions and statements in linguistic terms and number intervals rather than with crisp values. In this work we address the problem of ranking alternatives for students' knowledge assessment. Interval number theory seems to be an appropriate approach to begin with, when considering the nature of such investigations. While the method is definitely useful for handling interval data it certainly does not indicate what two or more alternatives have in common. This type of information is often required when in real life situations the best theoretically proven alternative cannot be taken. Therefore we propose application of formal concept analyses on the same data in addition to the work performed with interval number theory. Combining these two methods can facilitate multiple attribute decision making processes where for some reasons outcomes of alternatives' rankings with interval numbers have to be reconsidered.

Fracturing and refreezing of sea ice in the Kara sea are investigated using complex networkanalysis. By going to the dual network, where the fractures are nodes and their intersectionslinks, we gain access to topological features which are easy to measure and hence comparewith modeled networks. Resulting network reveal statistical properties of the fracturing process.The dual networks have a broad degree distribution, with a scale-free tail, high clusteringand efficiency. The degree-degree correlation profile shows disassortative behavior, indicatingpreferential growth. This implies that long, dominating fractures appear earlier than shorterfractures, and that the short fractures which are created later tend to connect to the longfractures.The knowledge of the fracturing process is used to construct growing fracture network (GFN)model which provides insight into the generation of fracture networks. The GFN model isprimarily based on the observation that fractures in sea ice are likely to end when hitting existingfractures. Based on an investigation of which fractures survive over time, a simple model forrefreezing is also added to the GFN model, and the model is analyzed and compared to the realnetworks.

This qualitative study among 591 business students from four European countries investigated cross-country differences in the kind of barriers people perceive to business start-up. In line with institutional theory, the most important perceived barriers in all countries related to regulative structures (lack of money) and cognitive conditions (lack of skills). Normative structures, defined as national culture, did not explain cross-country differences in perceived risk as start-up barrier. In Norway and The Netherlands, students reported risk perceptions more often than in Romania and Russia, whereas the latter countries are known to be more uncertainty avoidant. These results aid in developing a theory of entrepreneurial barriers, which could be used to extend current entrepreneurial intentions theories in order to predict actual start-up behaviour better. Concerning practical implications, results indicate that business start-up can be stimulated through improving regulative and cognitive institutional structures, but national differences need to be taken into account.