In the selection of candidates for CO2 absorption, solvent thermal degradation has become a general concern due to the significant impact on operational cost and the intention to use thermal compression from high temperature stripping to minimize the overall process energy. In this research, the impact of flue gas contaminants on Monoethanolamine (MEA) thermal degradation was investigated at elevated temperatures consistent with those in the CO2 stripper. Nitrite, fly ash, sulfate and thiosulfate were each added to 5.0 M MEA and the contaminant-containing MEA solutions were degraded at 125 °C, 135 °C and 145 °C. MEA degrades significantly more in the presence of nitrite (5000 ppm) than MEA alone at the same amine molar concentration for all three temperatures. MEA degradation activation energy of MEA-nitrite solution is approximately one-seventh of that of MEA solution without nitrite. Fly ash was observed to inhibit nitrite-induced MEA degradation and greatly increase the MEA degradation activation energy of MEA-nitrite solution. Fly ash, sodium sulfate and sodium thiosulfate by themselves were not shown to impact MEA thermal degradation rate. Sodium salts of glycine, sarcosine, alanine and ß-alanine were thermally degraded at 125 °C, 135 °C and 145 °C, respectively, to discover the structural reasons for their thermal stability. These four amino acids have enhanced thermal degradation rates compared to MEA. The stability order for amino acid salts tested to date is: sarcosinate > alaninate > ß-alaninate. Calculated activation energies for the degradation processes are lower than that of MEA. ß-Alaninate (ß-Ala) thermal degradation generates ß-Ala dimer (major degradation product), ß-Ala dimer carbamate and tetrahydro-1,3-oxazin-6-one. Functional groups, amine orders and steric effect were investigated for their impact on amine thermal degradation. Primary amines with chain structures showed a thermal stability trend as diamine > alkanolamine > amino acid salt. For alknolamine and diamine structural isomers, the primary amines are more stable than the secondary amines. Steric hindrance around the amine group plays a global positive role in protecting amines against thermal degradation.

Broad swaths of humanity have become richer, healthier, and better educated. More of the world’s poorest have access to affordable credit, enabling them to invest in a better future. But what are the consequences? Does greater wealth or greater access to credit make people happier or more fulfilled? This dissertation presents essays on the relationship between wealth and well-being, the welfare effects of both debt and debt relief, and the kinds of normative analysis that help to inform good public policy. The first essay, The Methodology of Normative Policy Analysis (joint with Richard Zeckhauser), concerns disagreements in policy analysis and discourse. It provides a simple taxonomy of disagreement, identifying distinct categories within both the positive and values domains of normative policy analysis. Using disagreements in climate policy to illustrate, it demonstrates how illuminating the structure of disagreement helps to clarify the way forward. It concludes by suggesting a structure for policy analysis that can facilitate assessment, comparison, and debate by laying bare the most likely sources of disagreement. The second essay, Wealth and Well-being, tests a fundamental prediction of economic theory: that greater wealth causes greater well-being. It uses a natural experiment to estimate the causal effect of income on subjective well-being. Among a population of indebted farmers in rural India, the marginal effect of income on life satisfaction is found to be positive. However, the source of income appears to exert an important and independent effect. In this study the source is agricultural debt relief, which features a positive marginal effect but also a countervailing negative effect (perhaps due to stigma). The third essay, Moral Hindrance, argues that the total cost of default borne by low-income borrowers, including social, psychological, and other sanctions, is likely to be excessive, giving rise to sub-optimal borrower risk-taking and excessive borrower effort. I call this the moral hindrance problem, to distinguish it from the moral hazard problem often presumed by economists. The essay argues that policy should promote competition among lenders, encourage broader use of collateral, and allow interest rates to rise as necessary to meet borrower demand for varying loan conditions.

abstract: Employees are directly involved in work tasks and processes which are necessary to accomplish unit or organizational goals, and accordingly, they may become aware of key mistakes, slips, and failures that are unbeknownst to the leader or supervisor responsible for the work unit or organization. Given that errors or deviations in work tasks or processes can have far-reaching effects within the organization, it may be essential for employees to share bad news with their leader or supervisor so that steps can be taken to address the issue or ameliorate negative consequences. However, although employees' sharing of bad news may be important to the organization and should be encouraged, supervisors may respond to the messenger in ways that discourage the behavior. Unfortunately, we lack an explanation of why and under what conditions supervisors respond positively or negatively to employees who share bad news. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to address this gap in our understanding. I draw from social exchange theory and the transactional theory of stress to develop a conceptual model of sharing bad news. I suggest that sharing bad news can be cast as a transaction between employees and supervisors that is mediated by supervisors’ appraisals of employees’ sharing the message. The quality of the relationship between an employee and supervisor, or leader-member exchange (LMX), is strengthened when supervisors appraise the sharing of bad news as challenging, or potentially rewarding; however, LMX is weakened when supervisors appraise the sharing of bad news as hindering, or potential harmful. In turn, LMX influences supervisor responses to the sharing of bad news in the form of evaluations of the employee’s effectiveness. In addition to these main effects, I also consider how aspects of the message delivery, such as the timeliness with which messages are conveyed and extent to which employees incorporate solutions when they share bad news, can influence supervisor appraisals of sharing bad news. Finally, I suggest that the extent to which the messenger is responsible for the bad news moderates the relationships between appraisals of sharing bad news and LMX. I test this model in three studies. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Business Administration 2017

Background: Sudden cardiac arrest is the third most common cause of death in Europe. The nurse has a significant role in the work of the resuscitation team. It is often the nurse who is the first among the medical staff to discover cardiac arrest. In the last two decades, research has shown the importance of family presence during resuscitation (FPDR), it can for example aid the family members in their grieving process as well as allow them to support the patient. Family presence is routine if the patient is a child, but not if the patient is an adult. Aim: The aim was to map the nurse's experiences and perceptions of NBHLR in adult patients in hospital wards. Method: A literature review with qualitative content analysis based on research-based on both qualitative and quantitative data on thirteen original articles. Two themes and subthemes emerged in the result. Results: The research in this area showed no clear explanations for why CPR is not used more frequently for adult patients. Education or lack of education, for example, did not have a significant impact on the use of NBHLR. Several of the nurses were worried about how the family members would be affected by attending CPR. Conclusion: More research and knowledge are needed regarding NBHLR. An important area of research could be to find out more in detail about why NBHLR works well in some cases and what would convince the nurse to invite family members to attend.

Bakgrund: Vårdrelaterade infektioner är ett globalt problem som orsakar ett onödigt lidande för patienten samt stora kostnader för vården och samhället. Den mest primära åtgärden för att förebygga vårdrelaterade infektioner är basala hygienrutiner där handskar ingår. Sveriges kommuner och regioner utför årligen undersökningar kring följsamheten till basala hygienrutiner. Ytterligare undersökningar behövs dock för att identifiera vad som underlättar eller försvårar användningen av handskar. Syfte: Syftet var att belysa vilka främjande och hindrande faktorer som påverkar hälso- och sjukvårdspersonalens attityder och följsamhet till användningen av handskar inom omvårdnaden i slutenvården. Metod: Examensarbetet utfördes som en allmän litteraturstudie med en induktiv ansats där tio vetenskapliga artiklar granskades och inkluderades i resultatet. Data bearbetades och sammanställdes därefter genom en innehållsanalys. Resultat: Resultatet visade att den mest förekommande främjande faktorn för handskanvändning av hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal inom slutenvården var att skydda sig själva. Den mest förekommande hindrande faktorn var stress som relaterade till tid- och personalbrist. Konklusion: Ytterligare forskning inom området behövs då ämnet är begränsat utforskat de senaste tio åren. / Background: Nosocomial infections is a global issue that causes the patient unnecessary suffering and a major cost to the healthcare. Standard precautions, which includes glove use, are the most essential measure to prevent nosocomial infections. Measurements of the compliance to standard precautions are performed every year in Sweden. However, research is needed to illustrate factors that promote or hinders the use of gloves. Aim: The aim of the study was to illustrate factors affecting health care personnel’s attitudes and compliance to glove use in nursing in the inpatient care. Method: This literature study was conducted as a general literature review with an inductive approach. Ten articles were analysed and included in the result. The data was processed and compiled through a content analysis. Result: The result showed that the most common promotive factor of glove use among health personnel in the inpatient care was to protect themselves. The most common hindering factor was stress caused by lack of time and health personnel. Conclusion: Due to the lack of research of the subject in the past ten years, further research is needed.

Bakgrund: Syftet med triage på akutmottagningen är att säkerställa att patienter med störst behov av vård får det inom rimlig tid och på ett korrekt sätt. Triageprocessen inleds med att skapa en första kontakt mellan sjuksköterska och patient där kommunikationen är av stor betydelse. Att kunna delge andra människor information och dessutom kunna tolka och läsa av meddelanden är en del av kommunikationen samt att lyssna och ge svar på andra personers uttryck. Även icke-verbal kommunikation är en stor del av det som kommuniceras. Akutmottagningen är en stressig miljö och det finns mycket att lära angående vad som kan förbättra kommunikationen mellan sjuksköterska och patienter. Syfte: Att belysa hinder och befrämjande av kommunikation mellan sjuksköterska och patient vid triage och på akutmottagning. Metod: En allmän litteraturstudie baserad på tio kvalitativa artiklar. Resultat: Två huvudteman med sju underrubriker identifierades. Huvudtemana var: Befrämjande av kommunikation och Hinder för kommunikation. Underrubrikerna var: Verbal kommunikation, Icke-verbal kommunikation, Delaktighet i vård, Icke-delaktighet, Bristande individfokus, Tidsbrist och Informationsbrist. Slutsats: Av resultatet framgår att fler faktorer inom triage och akutsjukvård utgör hinder för kommunikation. Resultatet tyder på att patienterna saknar information om rutinerna på akutmottagningen samtidigt som sjuksköterskorna inte alltid anser sig ha tid för att ge informationen till patienterna. De faktorer som påverkar befrämjandet av kommunikationen stämmer överens med Habermas (1981/1990) teori där kommunikation baseras på öppenhjärtig grund, ärlighet och samförstånd. Klinisk betydelse: En mer patientcentrerad kommunikation och bättre information kan behövas på akutmottagningarna för att patienterna ska få bra vård och för att arbetet ska bli enklare för sjuksköterskorna. / Background: The purpose of triage in the emergency department is to ensure that patients with the greatest need of care receive it within a reasonable time and in a proper manner. The triage process starts by creating an initial contact between nurse and patient, where communication is a vital part. Being able to communicate information to other people and to interpret messages is a part of the communication and also to listen and provide answers to other people's expressions. Non-verbal communication is also a great part of what is communicated. The emergency room is a stressful environment and there is much to learn in what can make communication between nurses and patients better. Aim: To highlight what hinders and promotes communication between nurses and patients in triage and at the emergency department. Method: A general literature study based on ten qualitative articles. Results: Two main themes and seven subthemes were identified. Main themes were: Promoting communication and Obstacles for communication. Subthemes were: Verbal communication, Non-verbal communication, Participation in care, Non-participation, Lack of individual focus, Lack of time and Lack of information. Conclusion: The results of the study show that more factors in triage and emergency care became hindrance of communication. The patients lack information about the routines in the emergency department and the nurses do not have enough time to inform the patients. The factors that affect promotion of communication consist with Habermas (1981/1990) theory where communication is based on open-hearted grounds, honesty and understanding. Clinical implication: A more patient-centered communication and better information may be needed at the emergency departments to secure good care of the patients and thereby facilitate the nurses work.

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The social aspects of older adults lives are strongly linked to well-being outcomes. Social relationships in older adulthood are rewarding, but also complex, and to maintain a positive social environment, older adults must reconcile long relationships histories, negotiate changing roles, and deal with increasing dependencies. Older adults are known to be particularly effective at regulating their social environments under these circumstances to maximize satisfaction, but some are more successful than others. Older adults manage their social environments through processes of relationship regulation, where individuals actively work towards social goals to customize their social environments and close relationships to meet developmental and emotional needs. Importantly, relationship regulation is embedded in older adults’ social environments, which are not only an outcome, but also the context that inspires, motivates, and hinders efforts to change the social environment. Within the proximal social environment older adults may experience support, hindrance, and satisfying contact with close social partners. Although supportive social environments are related to health and well-being in old age, and evidence suggests that older adults regulate their relationships, little is known about how these goals are worked towards and achieved on a daily basis and within the context of older adults' daily lives. The current study had two distinct aims: (a) to understand the intraindividual processes of regulating social goals within daily context of the social environment; and (b) to examine how interindividual differences predict between-person differences in social regulatory processes. Specifically, this study investigated the degree to which older adults depend on daily support and contact with a close social partner to make progress towards a meaningful social goal, and also the extent to which perceptions of social hindrance impede goal progress. On an interindividual level, this study examined how differences in the proximal social environment and goal orientation are linked to differences in social regulatory processes. Data from the Personal Understanding of Life and Social Experiences (PULSE) project, a 100-day, internet-based microlongitudinal study of 100 Oregon residents age 52 to 88 (M = 63.13, SD = 7.8), were used to explore processes of relationship regulation. At the beginning of the study, participants created a meaningful social goal, and mapped their social convoy. Participants then tracked their daily goal progress and feelings of social support, hindrance and satisfaction over a 100-day time period. Analysis was conducted using multilevel random coefficient models, and was structured to examine within person processes. Daily experiences of goal progress were positively related to social support and contact satisfaction, and negatively related with social hindrance. Importantly, these associations varied greatly between participants, in part as a function of convoy composition and goal orientations. The results from this study suggest that relationship regulation is (a) embedded in the social context of daily life; (b) differs based on the structure of the proximal social environment; (c) contingent on regulatory strategies selected by older adults to work towards their goals; and (d) differentiated by mean tendencies. The linkages between support, hindrance and contact satisfaction with daily goal progress found in this study suggest that the process of working towards a social goal is dependent on older adults' daily social contexts. This has implications for populations with varying access to social support and exposure to social hindrance. Further, individual differences in social regulatory processes were only partially explained by convoy structure and goal orientation. Future research is needed to search for the mechanisms that drive these between person differences in social regulatory processes. / Graduation date: 2012

Examensarbetet syftar till att bidra med kunskap kring vilka framgångsfaktorer och hinder det kan finnas vid utvecklingsprojekt i skolor och hur resultatet av ett projekt kan upplevas av pedagogerna. Syftet är även att undersöka på vilket sätt specialpedagogerna varit delaktiga i utvecklingsprojektet. Vid utvecklingsarbete i skolan är det bland annat viktigt med ett fungerande systematiskt kvalitetsarbete som grund för utvecklandet av verksamheten. Rektors roll och ledarskap har stor betydelse liksom hur man i utvecklingsarbete tar sin utgångspunkt i den dagliga verksamheten. Annat som kan vara av vikt är till exempel kontinuitet, vilka normer och värderingar som råder på skolorna samt om specialpedagogen har en roll i arbetet. Vi har undersökt ett befintligt projekt som bedrevs i sju skolor i en svensk stad under ett läsår. På fyra av skolorna har vi gjort kvalitativa undersökningar genom intervjuer med pedagoger och specialpedagoger. Vi använde oss av chatintervjuer genom delade dokument i Google Drive. Lärande i organisationer inom organisationsteorin och den institutionella teorin användes för att analysera vårt resultat. Resultatet visar att det fanns många hinder som gjorde projektet mindre lyckat. Till exempel var målen otydliga, pedagoger kände en brist på ledarskap, rektorer slutade, dåliga organisatoriska förutsättningar och svag koppling till verksamheternas vardagsarbete. Målen för projektet nåddes ej och det arbete som sattes igång avstannade på samtliga skolor. Specialpedagogerna var inte delaktiga i arbetet med projektet. En slutsats är att skolan är en komplex verksamhet och varje skola har olika förutsättningar, både organisatoriskt och gällande värderingar och normer. Detta påverkar arbetet i skolan och måste tas hänsyn till vid utvecklingsarbeten. / The purpose of our study is to contribute with knowledge about factors that can hinder and promote developing projects in schools and how the teachers can experience results of a specific project. Our purpose is also to study the participation of special educational needs coordinator, SENCO, in this specific project. When we want to develop our schools it is important to have a systematic circle of analysis and evaluation. The role and leadership of the principal is of great importance as well as how well the developing project is founded in the daily activities of the school. Key factors can also be continuity, norms and values as well as to what degree the SENCO is involved. Our study is of an existing project that were carried out in seven schools in a Swedish city during one year. We have made qualitative studies in four of the schools through interviews with teachers and SENCOs. We used chatinterviews with a shared document in Google Drive. Learning organization in Organization theory and Institutional theory were used to analyze our results. Our results shows that the project were not very successful due to many hindrances. The objectives of the project were for example not explicit, there were lack of leadership, some of the principals ended their jobs, the organizational structures for the teachers were unsatisfying and there were weak correspondence with the daily work of the schools. The objectives for the project were not met and the work that were launched in the beginning of the year stopped after one year in all of the studied schools. The SENCOs did not participate in the project. Our conclusion is that every specific school has its own organizational foundation as well as its own set of values and norms. This has to be taken in consideration when we want to make changes and work with developing projects.

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