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This research examined how the concept of sustainability was framed in ESG reports by large Norwegian companies and how knowledge of the topic could increase their sustainable performance. The research applied relevant concepts and theories to analyze ESG reports from eight Norwegian companies within four sectors. Semi-structured interviews were applied to triangulate the problem statement. Analysis was conducted by comparing data from document analysis and semi-structured interviews together with relevant concepts and theories on the topic of sustainability. The primary results were that the concept of sustainability was vast and complex. One way of addressing the too wide and complex use of the concept was to apply suitable frameworks, with the following result of enhanced sustainable performance for large Norwegian companies and better ESG reporting. The main findings were that the sustainable development goals and the European union’s taxonomy were the most applicable frameworks to meet the objective. The research is relevant for actors with interest in economics and sustainability. Results could be transferrable to other companies under the premise that the same overarching terms are present such as juridical and cultural frames.

Det kan være svært utfordrende å skape presise, nøyaktige grid-representasjoner av virkelige, kontinuerlige domener. Dette er spesielt sant når det kommer til modellering av geologiske formasjoner, ettersom de har en tendens til å være svært heterogene, ofte med kryssende forkastninger og brønner. Nøyaktige representasjoner er likevel kritiske for å skape realistiske simuleringer. Dette skaper et behov for programvare som kjapt og effektivt kan skape grids som representerer det virkelige domenet. I denne oppgaven diskuterer jeg teorien bak eksisterende metoder for å skape grids, inkludert en diskusjon om trianguleringer og deres relasjon til grids. Jeg presenterer videre to eksisterende verktøy for å skape grids - Gmsh og MRST, og hvordan de kan brukes per dags dato. Avslutningsvis introduserer jeg et nytt program for å kombinere disse to - gmsh4mrst, og diskuterer hvordan dette kan brukes, samt hvordan det kan videreutvikles i fremtiden. Denne oppgaven ble skrevet i samarbeid med SINTEF Digital. Creating an accurate, discrete grid representation of a real-life, continuous domain can be challenging. This is especially true when trying to model geological formations, as they tend to be highly heterogeneous, often with crossing faults or wells. Accurate grids are, however, crucial for creating realistic simulations. This drives a need for software that can quickly and efficiently generate grids conforming to constraints of the real-life domain. In this thesis, I discuss theory behind existing methods for creating grids, including a discussion of triangulations and their relationship to grids. I then present two existing tools for creating grids - Gmsh and MRST, and how they can be used. Finally, I introduce a new software module for combining the two - gmsh4mrst, and discuss how it can be used, as well as how it can be developed further in the future. This thesis was written in collaboration with SINTEF Digital.

People in cities have a need of recreation. Leisure activities are a big part of people’s health and well- being. Many leisure activities are practiced outside in the nature. Today many citizens do not own a car and public transportation fail to meet the peoples need to move out from the city center out into the wild nature. Public transportation run according to a certain timetable and an established route. They also come with restrictions of what you can bring on board. In other words, there is a need for agile transportation that transport people and their equipment from the city out to the nature; and the need will only increase as the urbanization continue. The whole idea of the project originated from the question, “How might future mobility adapt to fit people’s need for recreation?” The project started with a research. The author studied trends how cities will develop, what defines generation Z, how 6G can be used in the future transportation industry, how electrification changes the terms of car design, the current status of autonomous technology etc. The research also included Canoo, a car company that design, develop and build electric vehicles with focus on lifestyle, utility and sustainability. After completed research, the project moved into a creative phase which included analog sketches of the vehicle, testing of proportions in scale 1: 1 and a storyboard that describes how the vehicle can be used. When thecreative phase was done, the project moved to its final phase; visualization. A 3D model was constructed in Autodesk Maya, a polygonal modelling software, and rendered images of the 3D model was conducted with Autodesk VRED, a 3D visualization software. The project resulted in Canoo Link; Link, targeting year 2035, is an electric autonomous utility vehicle that you subscribe to. It can carry 4 passengers and has storage space to haul equipment and supplies for canoeing, mountain biking etc. With its robust design and high ground clearance it is ready to take on some tough terrain. The subscription offers the customer full disposal of the vehicle during the activities for convenience and security. It acts like a hub for your activities, not just as a vehicle for commuting. To summarize; Link is a design proposal of a vehicle that connect people living in cities to the nature. It is not just a car that takes you from one point to another, it is a lifestyle.

Tidigare forskning visar att inköpsprocessen på företag fått en allt större och mer strategisk betydelse, med en avgörande roll för dess lönsamhet och framtida konkurrenskraft. Samtidigt visar forskningen att det trots detta spenderas för lite tid på strategiskt inköpsarbete, där en av orsakerna förklaras bero på att operativa och administrativa inköpsuppgifter tar upp för mycket av arbetstiden. Med denna utgångspunkt undersöker uppsatsen kvalitativt, genom en fallstudie på en inköpsavdelning i kombination med en litteraturstudie, vilka motsvarande arbetsmoment i inköpsprocessen som kan effektiviseras för att förbättra situationen. Utöver ämnets relevans stärks uppsatsens betydelse av att det endast återfunnits begränsat med litteratur som undersöker ämnet i praktiken och i det material som hittats ges inga förslag på vilka specifika arbetsmoment som bör effektiviseras. I huvudsak fokuserar uppsatsen på tillverkande företag och från fallstudien och tillhörande litteraturstudie presenteras två förbättringsområden i relation till ovanstående. Det första handlar om inköp av material till projekt för tillverkning av nya produkter, här dras slutsatsen att materialbehovsplaneringen för dessa bör kommuniceras till inköpsavdelningar genom ett företags reguljära materialplaneringssystem. Det andra området berör inköp av MRO-material och här dras slutsatsen att det många gånger kan vara effektivare om den interna användaren ansvarar för delar av inköpsprocessen. Sammantaget konkluderas att dessa förfaranden inte enbart kan effektivisera inköpsarbetet och frigöra mer tid åt strategiskt inköpsarbete, utan också effektivisera arbetet för övriga avdelningar som är inblandade i ett företags materialanskaffningsprocess. Slutligen, uppsatsen diskuterar även att mer tid åt strategiskt inköpsarbete inte enbart påverkar ett företags lönsamhet och ekonomiska aspekter, utan att det också spelar en viktig roll när det kommer till de miljömässiga och sociala aspekterna av hållbar utveckling. Prior research shows that the purchasing process for corporations has gained a greater and more strategic importance, with a crucial role for its profitability and future competitiveness. At the same time, research shows that despite its growing strategic importance not enough time is spent on strategic purchasing activities, where one of the reasons addressed is that operational and administrative purchasing tasks are too time consuming. Accordingly, this thesis is through a qualitative approach based on a single case study combined with a literature study, evaluating which corresponding tasks in the purchasing process that can be made more efficient. In addition to the relevancy of the subject, the value of the thesis is by the authors viewed to be enhanced as only limited literature has been found that explores the subject in practice, and the material found does not provide any suggestions on which specific activities that can be made more efficient. The thesis mainly focuses on manufacturing corporations and from the case study and associated literature study, two areas of improvement are presented in relation to the above stated. The first area of improvement concerns purchasing of materials intended for projects to manufacture new products, here the conclusion is drawn that the materials requirements planning for projects should be communicated to purchasing departments through a corporation’s regular material planning system. The second area of improvement concerns purchasing of MRO materials, where the conclusion is drawn that in many cases it is more effective if the internal user of the material is responsible for a share of the purchasing process. Overall, it is concluded that these procedures not only can increase the efficiency of the purchasing department and enable more time to be spent on strategic purchasing activities, but also increase the efficiency of other departments involved in a corporation’s procurement process. Lastly, the thesis also discusses that more time spent on strategic purchasing activities not only affects a corporation’s profitability and economical aspects, but that it also plays an important role when it comes to the environmental and social aspects of sustainable development.

Recent years more and more works are being automatised or made more efficient with the help of robots. In a world where more and more things are digitalized, robots must be able to work in environments that are populated with people.To be able to adapt to their environment, robots need to learn the flow of traffic. For a robot to do this they can use maps of dynamics (MoD), but today there exists no comparison between current implementations.In this thesis, two MoD’s will be implemented and compared foremost for the ILIAD project but also for everyone that needs it. Along with the implementation and comparison, we will also explain what future work to be done on these two implementations.

I denne bacheloroppgaven har vi gjennomført en investeringsanalyse gjennom en casestudie for ferdigplenprodusenten Nordre Gjølstad AS. Analysen hadde som formål å beregne lønnsomhet for tre ulike plenskjærere gjennom nåverdi- og internrentemetoden. Videre har vi diskutert den mest økonomisk lønnsomme investeringen opp mot andre kritiske faktorer som Nordre Gjølstad legger til grunn for sine investeringer. Vi har benyttet oss av kvalitative intervjuer med oppdragsgiver og uformelle samtaler med ulike produsenter, leverandører og eksterne aktører for å samle inn nødvendige data til oppgaven. De kvantitative dataene er brukt til å utarbeide kontantstrømmer og lønnsomhetsberegninger, mens vi har benyttet de kvalitative dataene til å kartlegge bedriftens strategi og beslutningstankegang. Konklusjonen viser at den mest økonomisk lønnsomme investeringen ikke harmonerer med de kritiske investeringsfaktorene som Nordre Gjølstad fokuserer på ved en slik investering. Bedriftens strategiske preferanser overveier resultatene fra lønnsomhetsberegningene. In this bachelor assignment we have conducted an investment analysis through a case study for the turf producer Nordre Gjølstad AS. The purpose of the analysis was to calculate the profitability of three different sod harvesters through the present value- and internal yield method. Furthermore, we discussed the most economically viable investment against other critical criterias that Nordre Gjølstad underlying for its investments. We have used qualitative interviews with the client and informal conversations with different manufacturers, suppliers and other external actors to collect necessary data for this project. The quantitative data are used to calculate cash flows and other profitability calculations, while we have used the qualitative data to map the company’s strategy and decision thinking. The conclusion shows that the most economically viable investment does not harmonize with the other critical investment criterias that Nordre Gjølstad focuses on in such an investment. The company’s strategic preferences consider the results from profitability calculations.

Riskanalysen beskriver grundvattenförekomsten längs väg 42, söder om Vårgårda tätort, och bedömer de risker som vägtrafiken innebär för förorening av grundvattnet. Analysen utmynnar i att det föreligger en hög risk för förorening. Rapporten föreslår att täta diken anläggs längs delar av vägsträckan.

Riskanalysen beskriver grundvattenförekomsten längs väg 40, i och öster om Landvetter samhälle, och bedömer de risker som vägtrafiken innebär för förorening av grundvattnet. Analysen utmynnar i att det föreligger en viss risk för förorening. Rapporten föreslår att delar av vägsträckan förses med kantsten och räcken.

This thesis will examine the thought of G.S. Skovoroda (1722-1796), M.M. Kheraskov (1733-1807) and I.V. Lopukhin (1756-1816) as constitutive of a Mystical Enlightenment in Russia. Anglophone, and to a lesser extent, Russian literature has often conceived of the Russian Enlightenment as a single project of predominantly rational orientation. However, increasing attention to the presence of multiple Enlightenments in Western Europe and of the importance of religious debates in the formation of various reform movements, necessitate a reconsideration in the role of spirituality in Eighteenth-century Russia. For this reason, this thesis contributes to the recent re-evaluation of the ways in which Russia appropriated foreign discourses, and provides thereby a more detailed account of the extent to which mysticism was able to radically redefine religious, personal and ethical organisational forms. Specifically, this thesis offers an analysis of normative arguments based on three inter-linked concepts of ecclesia, personhood and ascetic ethics. These were the constitutive elements of a sustained mystical critique of the Russian Polizeistaat. By means of a close reading of a select number of primary sources, this thesis provides an explanation of why mysticism had such a strong mobilizational capacity in comparison to more rational discourses in late Eighteenth-century Russia. By doing so, the thesis demonstrates how Eighteenth and early Nineteenth-century mystical writers were able to successfully orient the mind towards rational worldly action. From this analysis, a more complete picture emerges of how religiously-minded thinkers in Russia grappled with the imperative to rethink and rejustify their commitments to important worldly institutions, concepts and practices. I have, almost exclusively, focused on ideas rather than on their context. Because of this, broader social ramifications of mysticism have not been explored in this thesis. Future research needs to consult Russian archival material in order to remedy this. Hopefully, however, my research offers fresh perspectives on the trajectories of Enlightenment in Russia and raises a range of issues for further examination and debate.