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Africans with disabilities |
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Photo: SINTEF Helse |
For some time, figures describing the living conditions of people with disabilities in much of the Third World have been lacking, in spite of the fact that obtaining such data has been a priority for the UN and the national authorities of the countries concerned.
Now, voluntary organizations in Africa have produced documentation that they can use with the authorities in their battle on behalf of disabled people. In the course of the past ten years, and in collaboration with several African universities and the Norwegian Federation of Organisations of Disabled People (FFO), SINTEF has mapped the living conditions of disabled people in six countries in southern Africa.
Now SINTEF has signed a memorandum of understanding with Stellenbosch University, which is recognized as one of the four best research-driven universities in South Africa. The two partners are already mapping living conditions of disabled people in other southern African countries. Their ambition is to carry out studies of this type in ten countries there, and extend cooperation to other disciplines.
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Photo: Thor Nielsen |
While the regulations for securing children in private cars have been tightened, public school transport still permits children to travel standing and to occupy seats without seat-belts. At least 130,000 Norwegian children travel in school buses every day, and 12,000 of them have to stand. About a year ago, in a SINTEF study of around 7000 injuries in school buses every year, it was found that 85 per cent could have been avoided if all pupils had been seated.
The SINTEF report estimated that providing all school children with seats with seat-belts would cost about NOK 82 – 121 million. Many parents regard school buses as unsafe. However, they have not got anywhere with their demands for better safety measures when they take up the subject with the authorities. County councils point out that current school transport is legal and they cannot afford to do any better.
 NEW PRODUCT: Using a bicycle when delivering mail and parcels in inner city areas is often very effective - and environmentally friendly. Mats Mathisen at NTNU’s Department of Product Design and Technology developed a delivery bicycle for Norway Post for his thesis project. The cycle enables postal workers to carry large amounts of mail.
Flexible options allow the bike to be adapted to different postal workers’ needs. The bike is primarily driven by muscle power, but also has an electric propulsion system that helps on hills and going over kerbs. The design also protects both the postal carrier and packages from the weather.
Unemployed Scandinavian women in a poor state |
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Photo: Morguefile |
If you are an unemployed Scandinavian woman, the findings of SINTEF sociologist Terje Andreas Eikemo and Clare Bambra of Durham University may depress you. They studied differences in self-perception of health by unemployed and working women and men in various parts of Europe. Generally speaking health problems were more common among unemployed persons than those in work.
But the greatest difference was found in Scandinavian women. The material analysed by the two researchers comes from the European Social Survey, one of the most comprehensive comparative population surveys carried out in Europe. Among the possible reasons for these results are that women are more likely than men to suffer from poor health when they are out of work, or that Scandinavia is a region in which women in poor health are more likely to lose their jobs than anyone else in Europe.
Faster, greener air transport |
Together with SINTEF ICT, industrial companies from Ireland, Sweden and Norway have established an alliance that will help provide faster and greener air transport routes across Europe. SINTEF has joined Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems from Norway, Swedish SAAB and Airtel ATN from Ireland, in a newly established company called NATMIG AS (North European ATM Industry Group). The partners in this alliance will join the race to develop new technology for air traffic control, i.e. intelligent information systems that will literally lead air transport into new routes in Europe’s overburdened airspace.
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Power play for wild salmon |
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Photo: Stock Photo |
Output power is an approach to generating electricity from hydropower that involves higher electricity production over short periods. However, no one knows how this approach will affect the salmon population in a river over time. Researchers at SINTEF and NTNU's Centre for Environmental Design and Renewable Energy have decided to study the situation by examining the relationship between Trondheim Energy’s power regulation regimes and salmon conditions in the Nidelva River in Trondheim. They will tag wild salmon and follow how the river’s overall salmon population changes over time. The goal is to identify measures that will enable energy production and fish to coexist.
Got the “old and sick in the city” blues |
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Photo: Stock Photo |
If you are old and sick, you are less likely to become depressed if you live in a rural area. That’s what was found by an NTNU survey of 500 patients between 65 and 101 years old who had been admitted to a rural hospital. Only ten per cent of the patients were depressed. This is low compared to similar figures from studies done in densely populated areas. The study compared the risk of depression in different age categories and found clear gender differences: For men, the risk of depression tripled when they were older than 80, while the oldest women suffered the least.
Associate Professor Anne-Sofie Helvik thinks this may be due to an aspect of rural culture: Gender differences in rural areas are often clearer than in urban areas, as in the countryside, more women are more likely to be working at home. This may mean that a woman's life situation in rural areas changes less dramatically than a man’s as they age.
NTNU and the University of Stavanger are the first Nordic universities to launch their own sites on iTunes U, with video filmed lectures and talks available for free download. The videos can be downloaded and viewed on iPods that have video capability, as well as iPhones, Macs and PCs. The purpose is to offer the public access to lectures, and to spread the word about the universities’ research efforts. Eventually, the plan is for the channel to be used to support traditional instruction.
Norwegian jazz quintet CD |
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Photo: Gorm Kallestad, Scanpix/NTNU Info |
The Bjørn Alterhaug Quintet was formed in 2007, and consists of a group of internationally renowned jazz musicians from NTNU. The quintet has released a new CD called “Songlines”.
The quintet consists of John Pål Inderberg, baritone sax. Frode Nymo, alto sax. Vigleik
Storaas, piano. Erik Nylander, drums. Bjørn Alterhaug, bass. The quintet uses a special combination of baritone and alto saxophone which results in an unusual sound that has rarely been heard in the history of the jazz combo.
Since the late 1960s, Bjørn Alterhaug has led a number of different combos bearing his name, and has accompanied many visiting international jazz musicians. These include Ben Webster, Lee Konitz, Chet Baker, Joe Henderson, Sheila Jordan and others. He has contributed to numerous LPs and CDs, and has written about 250 compositions for different instrumental combinations and occasions.
Songlines was recorded and mixed at Rainbow Studio. For more info: www.poncajazzrec.no
Norwegian jazz quintet CD |
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Photo: Norwegian Seafood Export Council |
It is almost eleven times as dangerous to be a fisherman on board a small inshore fishing boat than on an ocean-going fishing vessel. An analysis by SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture presented earlier this year concluded that almost 60 per cent of of fatalities in Norwegian fisheries are the result of accidents on board boats less than 13 metres l.o.a.
Many of these deaths are due to cargo shifting, which may suddenly alter the stability of the boat, leading it to capsize. This shows that there is a need for better knowledge about life at sea for active fishermen as well as owners of pleasure boats. Professional small boat fishermen who are 50 to 59 years old see themselves as “world champions” who rely on their own evaluation of a situation rather than regulations and safety requirements.
When members of this group operate alone on board a small boat, it can be dangerous. In the SINTEF study, the fishermen said that easily accessible rescue equipment on board, and better safety measures in port are the most important ways of promoting safety and environmentally friendly operation. In contrast, the need for swimming lessons scored well below 50 per cent in the study.
Published October, 2009
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