Dialect change in South‐East Norway and the role of attitude in diffusion

A common claim in the literature is that the local dialects in South‐East Norway are being leveled towards the dialect of the upper social classes in Oslo. A meta‐analysis of previous studies on dialect change in this region demonstrates that this assertion is incorrect, and that linguistic features have diffused from the dialect of the lower social classes in Oslo. Attitude studies show that people in South‐East Norway have strongly negative views on the upper Oslo speech community, and this can largely explain why they do not adopt new linguistic features from this community. Within Oslo, however, linguistic features diffuse from the upper classes down to the lower classes, and the overall picture that can be drawn from these diffusion patterns is that the lower‐class dialect of Oslo is spreading its features outwards from the capital, at the same time as it is gradually disappearing as a distinct sociolect. Det er vanleg å hevda at dei lokale målføra i Søraust‐Noreg vert tiljamna talemålet i dei øvre sosiale laga i Oslo. Ein metaanalyse av tidlegare språkendringsundersøkingar i dette området syner at den påstanden ikkje er rett, og at måldrag i staden spreier seg frå talemålet i dei lægre sosiale laga i Oslo. Haldningsundersøkingar syner at folk i Søraust‐Noreg tykkjer ille om dei frå dei øvre sosiale laga i Oslo, og då kan dét vera mykje av grunnen til at dei ikkje tek imot nye måldrag frå talemålet deira heller. Men innanfor Oslo spreier måldraga seg frå dei øvre til dei lægre sosiale laga, og hovudbiletet frå desse observasjonane vert då at måldrag frå talemålet i dei lægre sosiale laga i Oslo spreier seg utetter Søraust‐Noreg samstundes som det same talemålet noko om senn vert borte i hovudstaden. [Norwegian]     

Communicating risk to parents and those living in areas with a disaster history

This study explored how publics respond to risk communication in high probability but time-indeterminate natural disaster situations when parts of the area have been involved in a similar disaster before. An impending rockslide is expected to produce a tsunami in the fjord around Åknes in Norway. Waves may run up above sea level as high as 82 m or 269 ft. All residents (18 and older) of the four most threatened communities received a questionnaire to determine what they perceived to be useful risk information. Three hundred and eighty-two (43.6% of 875) responded. Results indicated that parents of children living within the tsunami risk zones perceived the risk information to be the most useful. Those who lived in communities that experienced a similar disaster in 1934 reported public meetings less useful than written or mediated information. Publics who lived in communities with such disaster history and those who were not parents posed special challenges in risk communication because they perceived information from the government agencies as lacking in usefulness. Therefore, committing the resources necessary to foster dialogues with a diversity of publics exposed to risk would be well served to fully understand the nature of risk communication responses, and to be able to save human lives.     

The Relationship Between Aversive Conditioning and Risk-avoidance in Gambling

This study investigated the relationship between aversive conditioning, heart rate variability suppression, behavioral activation system/behavioral inhibition system and risk-avoidance on the Iowa gambling task (IGT) in a nonclinical sample (29 male, 29 female, mean age = 20.7). A laboratory based Pavlovian aversive conditioning paradigm was used where a 1500 Hz tone (CS+) was followed by a burst of loud white noise (US), and a 850 Hz (CS−) tone was never followed by the US. In a subsequent extinction phase where the CS+ and CS− were presented without the US, conditioned skin conductance responses to the CS+ indicated aversive conditioning. The results showed that the participants who did not show aversive conditioning (N = 26) exhibited significantly less risk-avoidance compared to participants who did show aversive conditioning (N = 32). Regression analysis showed that among the study variables, only aversive conditioning contributed significantly to explaining variance in risk-avoidance. These results may have implications for understanding risk-taking in gambling in general, and may be a starting point understanding the role of aversive conditioning in the development and maintenance of gambling problems.     

A decision support methodology for strategic planning in maritime transportation

This paper presents a decision support methodology for strategic planning in tramp and industrial shipping. The proposed methodology combines simulation and optimization, where a Monte Carlo simulation framework is built around an optimization-based decision support system for short-term routing and scheduling. The simulation proceeds by considering a series of short-term routing and scheduling problems using a rolling horizon principle where information is revealed as time goes by. The approach is flexible in the sense that it can easily be configured to provide decision support for a wide range of strategic planning problems, such as fleet size and mix problems, analysis of long-term contracts and contract terms. The methodology is tested on a real case for a major Norwegian shipping company. The methodology provided valuable decision support on important strategic planning problems for the shipping company.     

The periphery of care: Emergency services for homeless people in rural areas

Until recently, homelessness in rural areas has received little recognition because of overwhelming assumptions about the urban-centredness of homeless people and their needs. This paper seeks to build on recent research that has begun to uncover some of the problems and characteristics of rural homelessness, by suggesting two significant dynamics which together can shape the experience of different groups of homeless people in rural environments. First, rural places reflect particular local qualities which contextualise both the circumstances of homelessness and the provision of services in response to those circumstances. Secondly, the contemporary governance of homelessness unfolds rather unevenly in different rural areas, producing distinct local service environments with varying degrees of ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ status in relation to joined-up responses to the needs of homeless people. These dynamics are articulated through three case studies: a remote friary in a deep rural area of southern England; a small hostel run by a vibrant non-statutory organisation in a small town in the west of England, and two advice centres in a coastal resort in the north-east of England. Through these case studies we highlight the importance of both local reactions to the homeless other, and local relations between central government funding, local authority initiatives and charitable organisations, in the production and consumption of spaces of care in settings set in, or serving, rural environments.     

The redefinition of family farming: agricultural restructuring and farm adjustment in Waihemo, New Zealand

The process of agricultural restructuring embarked upon by the New Zealand government in the mid-1980s precipitated a period of financial hardship for many of the nation's farmers. It was not uncommon for families to adapt major adjustment strategies in order to maintain the viability of their enterprise at this time. Drawing upon a detailed case study of farm-level responses in a small rural locality, this paper argues that farm adjustments employed during and since this period have altered the character of family farming in the area in fundamental ways. Such change has been evident in the increasing heterogeneity of farm structure, and the alteration of farming goals and household labour arrangements, together with the evolution of local cultural norms. These transformations not only raise important questions about the future structure and sustainability of family farming in the area, but also inspire a conceptual reconsideration of the family farm unit as traditional linkages between the farm enterprise, household and property are weakened.     

A Conceptual Model for Researching the Creation and Operation of Supply Networks1

This paper presents a conceptual model for the creation and operation of supply networks. Existing conceptual research relating to interorganizational relationships and networks is reviewed in terms of its relevance to understanding supply networks; this research is drawn from the fields of strategic management, channel management, industrial marketing and purchasing, organizational behaviour and supply‐chain management. The different perspectives each field has on networks are highlighted. Contributions made by each in assisting to understand supply networks are discussed and synthesized. Findings from an exploratory survey are used to structure the design of a conceptual model for analysing the processes involved in the creation and operation of supply networks. The authors identify nine different types of networking activities and discuss the nature of these activities in the context of supply. Four different types of contextual factors relating to supply networks are identified. The model is tested in eight in‐depth case studies and a validating survey of 58 focal firm networks. It is concluded that it provides a robust structure that enabled complex, cross‐case analysis of multi‐variable, multi‐disciplinary data from interorganization product/service supply networks, but that further testing by other researchers is required.