Oslo Area Research Articles

On the association between noise exposure and annoyance for road and rail traffic noise

There have been a number of small projects in the Oslo area attempting to determine how annoyance relates to noise exposure. There are several possible ways to measure annoyance, some of them are quantitative and some are qualitative. Noise exposure can be measured or calculated with acceptable accuracy in a given position. But it is still uncertain how the evaluation should be performed, as both outdoor and indoor levels should be taken into account. The subjective evaluation of noise immission for an exposed person also depends on other factors beside the physical noise. We will, however, claim that noise is a reasonable proxy for the total environmental exposure for a resident. It would also seem that a subjective evaluation requires grounding in objective facts in order to be useful. There are many possible reasons for a large variation between persons in the perceived annoyance due to the same noise exposure. We suggest a simple model with a wide range of uncertainty as a possible predictor of perceived annoyance within a given neighbourhood.

General practitioners’ knowledge and practice in consultations with (potential) torture victims: a qualitative pilot study from Norway

Background According to the UN Committee Against Torture, all state parties to the Torture Convention have a responsibility to meet the rehabilitation needs of torture victims who have sought asylum within their borders. General practitioners (GPs) can play a crucial role in identifying torture victims and securing rehabilitation when needed. There is a pressing knowledge gap on the knowledge and practices of GPs vis-à-vis potentially tortured patients, and an urgent need for research that investigates GPs’ practices of identification, referral, and rehabilitation – in Norway and beyond. This article presents an exploratory qualitative pilot study that investigates the experiences of GPs in Oslo vis-à-vis this patient group. Methods Semi-structured interviews with five experienced GPs in the greater Oslo area. Interview data was analyzed through thematic analysis and discussed within a theoretical framework seeing GPs as street-level bureaucrats. Results Issues that emerged in the pilot involve a consistent professional confidence and a particular concern for victims of sexual violence and sexualized torture. The pilot also found a troubling commonsensical reasoning about identification in the asylum process. The GPs asked for the re-establishment of specialist rehabilitation centers for refugees and torture victims to consult in case of need. Alas, the study also confirmed that GPs are a difficult profession to recruit for research. Conclusions This study indicates that GPs are important actors in terms of identifying torture victims after resettlement, but that there are shortcomings in their training and knowledge, in the overall organization of the healthcare system, and in specialized healthcare, that limit prospects for rehabilitation.

Monitoring urban construction and quarry blasts with low-cost seismic sensors and deep learning tools in the city of Oslo, Norway

The aim of this study is to collect information about events in the city of Oslo, Norway, that produce a seismic signature. In particular, we focus on blasts from the ongoing construction of tunnels and under-ground water storage facilities under populated areas in Oslo. We use seismic data recorded simultaneously on up to 11 Raspberry Shake sensors deployed between 2021 and 2023 to quickly detect, locate, and classify urban seismic events. We present a deep learning approach to first identify rare events and then to build an automatic classifier from those templates. For the first step, we employ an outlier detection method using auto-encoders trained on continuous background noise. We detect events using an STA/LTA trigger and apply the auto-encoder to those. Badly reconstructed signals are identified as outliers and subsequently located using their surface wave (Rg) signatures on the seismic network. In a second step, we train a supervised classifier using a Convolutional Neural Network to detect events similar to the identified blast signals. Our results show that up to 87% of about 1,900 confirmed blasts are detected and locatable in challenging background noise conditions. We demonstrate that a city can be monitored automatically and continuously for explosion events, which allows implementing an alert system for future smart city solutions.

Norwegian teachers’ perspectives on inclusive practices in the mathematics classroom

ABSTRACT In this paper, we explore Norwegian teachers’ perspectives on inclusive teaching practices in the mathematics classroom, defined as practices which maximise every pupil’s potential regardless of prior attainment. As previous research suggests, both mathematics teachers’ perspectives in general and the conceptualisation of inclusion, inclusive education, and inclusive practices are culturally situated, varying significantly across countries and educational systems. We draw on data from a large project in Norway focusing on the use of grouping by attainment and its relation to policy and pedagogical practices around inclusion in mathematics. Participants were 13 primary and lower-secondary mathematics teachers from six schools in the Oslo area. Analysis of semi-structured interviews focusing on strategies for inclusion of all pupils in mathematics classrooms reveals the cultural particularities of mathematics teachers’ perspectives on inclusive practices, highlighting the value of similar investigations in other cultural contexts.

What are the determinants of road users' experiences with congestion: Econometric assessment using ordered response models

We investigate factors that determine road users' experiences with congestion based on a questionnaire survey conducted in the Oslo area of Norway. The rationale is to add more knowledge on factors that determine users' experience with congestion. Furthermore, we use a succinct econometric framework to assess the data. We find that the following factors influence road users' experiences with congestion: (1) whether they experienced congestion on their reference trip; (2) how often road users undertake trips during congestion; (3) the extent to which road users had potential alternative modes of transport other than car use; (4) education; (5) whether respondents had time commitments at their destinations; (6) travel time used during their journey; (7) how often they experience congestion as a problem during their journey; (8) when participants begin to experience discomfort with congestion; and (9) age. The direction of these factors' impact on experience is explained in the results section. For example, those who did not experience congestion on their previous trip are 26 percentage points more likely to report a negative experience with congestion than those who did. The results provide new insight into the factors that determine road users' experience with congestion. Finally, we warn that one should not be indifferent regarding the logit models used, as the results can be quite different.

Adolescents' experiences with the food selection at the sports arena in the area of Oslo, Norway: a focus group study.

To investigate adolescents' experiences with the food selection at the sport arena. Four focus group interviews were conducted with 4-6 participants each. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were coded in NVivo and the analysis was guided by thematic analysis. Adolescents from handball and football clubs in Oslo and Viken, Norway, participated in the study. A total of nine boys (11-14 years old) and ten girls (11-14 years old) participated in the study. We identified four main themes: interest for healthy food; experiences with the food selection at the sports arena; factors influencing participants' food choices at the sports arena and expectations related to a healthy food selection at the sports arena. Adolescents across the focus groups experienced the food selection at the sports arena as unhealthy. Price, marketing and availability of unhealthy food were important factors that influenced their food choices at the sports arena. The trainer appeared to motivate the participants to eat healthy. Participants wished for a healthier food selection at the sports arena. Cost of food emerged as a factor that influenced their food choices. Our study also indicates that marketing of unhealthy food and beverages should be restricted, to influence adolescence food choice towards healthier alternatives.

Preliminary validity testing of the eHealth Literacy Questionnaire (eHLQ): a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) in Norwegian hospitalized patients

AimsTo perform the first psychometric analysis of the Norwegian version of the eHLQ using confirmative factor analysis (CFA) procedures in a population of patients admitted to hospital using a cross-sectional design. The eHLQ consists of 35 items capturing the 7-dimensional eHealth Literacy Framework (eHLF) which describes users' attributes, user's interaction with technologies and user's experience with digital health systems.MethodsThe 7 independent scales of the eHLQ was translated from Danish and culturally adapted into the Norwegian language following a standardised protocol. Assessment of construct validity of the eHLQ was undertaken using data from a cross-sectional survey of 260 patients hospitalized at a Norwegian University Hospital in the Oslo area during a two-week period in June 2021. The analysis included using correlation analysis (Pearsons R), internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).ResultsAll factor loadings were high to acceptable (i.e. > 0.6), except for five items which had somewhat lower loadings. Regarding internal consistency, alpha ranged from 0.73 to 0.90. For optimal CFA fit for the different scale models, correlated residuals were required for five of the seven scales. Overall our analysis shows an intermediate fit of the orginal construct. Scale intercorrelations were all below 0.8, indicating an overall acceptable discriminant validity between the 7 dimensions.ConclusionsThe results from the CFA analysis indicate that for almost all 7 eHLQ scales, an acceptable model fit was achieved. The 260 hospitalized patients included in this study represented a variety of diagnoses, recruited from a geographically limited area. Further studies on psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of eHLQ in larger samples, diverse settings and by using more comprehensive approaches are warranted.

Vs30 and depth to bedrock estimates from integrating HVSR measurements and geology-slope approach in the Oslo area, Norway

In order to estimate well-constrained seismic hazard and risk on local scales, the knowledge of site amplification factors is one of several important requirements. Seismic hazard studies on national or regional scales generally provide the level of earthquake shaking only at bedrock conditions, thereby avoiding the difficulties that are caused through local site effects. Oftentimes, local site conditions are not well understood or even non-existent. In this study we investigate an efficient and non-invasive methodology to derive the local average shear wave velocity in the uppermost 30 m of the ground (Vs30). The Vs30 value is a useful parameter to define soil classes and soil amplification used in seismic hazard assessment and to extend the knowledge of the site to include the depth to basement rock. At the level of the municipality of Oslo, there is currently no map available that describes the Vs30, and as such any seismic risk study is lacking potentially critical information on local site amplification. The new proposed methodology includes the use of existing well databases (with knowledge on minimum basement depth), topographic slope derived from Digital Elevation Models (as a proxy for both depth to basement and Vs30, integrated with geological maps) and near-surface Quaternary geological maps. The Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) method and a statistics-based geological mapping tool (COHIBA) are used to integrate the various sources of data estimates. Finally, we demonstrate our new methodology and workflow with data from three different regions within the Oslo municipality and propose an approach to conduct cost-efficient mapping for seismic site amplification on a general municipality scale.

Do prospective longitudinal studies of bipolar disorder support the hypothesis of neuroprogression?

IntroductionBipolar I disorder is a mental disorder with the risk of severe clinical outcomes. Bipolar disorder was initially defined based on having a better outcome than schizophrenia. However, while recent longer-term findings in schizophrenia do not support neuroprogression, bipolar disorder is increasingly depicted as having neuroprogressive elements. There are, however, remarkably few prospective longitudinal studies of representative bipolar I cohorts followed from the first treatment.ObjectivesTo study the clinical development of a representative cohort of bipolar disorder patients recruited at their first treatment.MethodsPatients with DSM-IV Bipolar I or Bipolar NOS were consecutively recruited from in-and outpatient units in the larger Oslo area during their first treatment year and extensively clinically characterized at baseline. They then participated in personal one- and ten-year follow-ups.ResultsSixty-nine patients participated in the 10-year follow-up. Age at follow-up was 39.0 (+ 9.6) years, 59% were females. A total of 12% had unipolar mania, 58% had psychotic bipolar disorder, and 20% had experienced rapid cycling. At follow-up, 75% were in full affective remission, 60% had regained full functioning, and 54% were in stable full recovery.Mood episode relapses clustered around the first episode. Despite occasional relapses, 2/3 were mainly euthymic during the follow-up period. A small sub-group was highly affected from the first 2-3 years of treatment, but there were no apparent signs of kindling effects or indications of neuroprogressionConclusionsThe follow-up of this cohort of first-treatment Bipolar I patients does not support the hypothesis of neuroprogression.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Road users’ attitudes towards electric vehicle incentives: Empirical evidence from Oslo in 2014–2020

This paper examines participant attitudes towards battery electric vehicle (BEV) incentives. Our case study was conducted in the greater Oslo area. Oslo has ranked as the world capital of BEV usage since 2014. The Norwegian government currently leads the comprehensive use of BEV incentives to decarbonize road transport. The data set is from a questionnaire survey conducted annually between 2014 and 2020. A total of 6363 individuals divided equally into annual random samples were asked to express their attitudes towards the different BEV incentives in place in each year. Participants were aged 18 or older and were living in the larger Oslo area. Professional data collection companies used computer-assisted telephone interviews to conduct the survey. Generalized structural equation modelling (GSEM) was used to analyse the data. The sample was 49% women and 51% men, with a mean age of 51 years, ranging from 18 to 99 years old. People in greater Oslo increasingly disagree each year with beneficial BEV incentives such as toll exemptions, access to bus lanes without passengers and free public parking. However, internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) users are more likely to disagree than BEV users. The results provide new knowledge about attitudes towards BEV incentives from a longitudinal perspective.

Optimal Train Rescheduling in Oslo Central Station

Real-time train dispatching (i.e., rescheduling and replatforming) in passenger railway stations is a very important and very challenging task. In most major stations, this task is carried out by hand by highly trained dispatchers who use their extensive experience to find near-optimal solutions under most conditions. With several simultaneous deviations from the timetable, however, the traffic situation may become too complex for any human to handle it far beyond finding feasible solutions. As part of a prototype for a dispatching support tool developed in collaboration with Bane NOR (Norwegian rail manager), we develop an approach for Optimal Train Rescheduling in large passenger stations. To allow for replatforming, we extend the standard job-shop scheduling approach to train-scheduling, and we develop and compare different MILP formulations for this extended approach. With this approach, we can find, in just a few seconds, optimal plans for our realistic instances from Oslo Central Station, the largest passenger train hub in Norway. The prototype will be tested by dispatchers in the greater Oslo area, starting from the fall of 2021.

Urban densification and exclusionary pressure: emerging patterns of gentrification in Oslo

ABSTRACT Urban densification is often advocated as one of the most desirable ways to develop sustainable communities. However, gentrification scholars have criticized densification, linking it to housing inequalities and displacement. As conceptualized by Peter Marcuse in 1985, displacement can occur through various forms. Some are more evident than others and have received greater attention in gentrification studies (e.g. direct displacement). Others (e.g. displacement pressure and exclusionary displacement) are more subtle and under-researched, both empirically and theoretically. Yet, a nuanced view of displacement is of great relevance, enabling better engagement with contextual diversity when dealing with gentrification-like dynamics. Through this article, I place critical attention on this matter. Drawing upon Peter Marcuse’s definition of exclusionary displacement, I elaborate the concept of exclusionary pressure – a process involving exclusionary housing markets and social and spatial filtering up within a neighborhood – and I use it as an indicator of possible emerging processes of gentrification around recently densified areas in Oslo.

Private taste and public space: the heated media debate about a privately initiated sculpture park in Oslo

ABSTRACT In 2003, billionaire and art collector Christian Ringnes launched an idea to fund a sculpture park in the Ekeberg area of Oslo, based around his private collection of female sculptures. The idea spurred heavy criticism for years leading up the park’s opening in 2013. Local residents, local politicians, artists, art professors, art critics and newspaper columnists were highly engaged in discussing the park, performing their critiques in newspaper articles, at the construction site, in City Hall, and through official complaints to Oslo Municipality and the County Governor. In seeking to understand why it became such a contested issue, I have followed the mediated public debate throughout the process from idea to realization. The analysis shows that the debate has been agonistic, influenced by deep stories and feeling rules. Nevertheless, the intense debate resulted in a number of unintended consequences leading up to the park’s successful integration into the art world upon its opening.

Sero-prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in blood donors during the third wave of infection in Norway, winter/spring 2021

Cross-sectional studies of the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 in representative groups are routinely used for surveillance of public health in Norway. The group of blood donors is easily accessible to provide an estimate over the infection prevalence. Repeated testing of returning donors also generates data about the duration of the antibody response following infection and vaccination.The aim of the current study was to provide updated information about the development of the pandemic in the blood donor population, and to estimate the number of asymptomatic donors visiting the blood center, in an effort to evaluate the measures to prevent virus spreading between donors and staff.In the two main blood banks in the Oslo area, all blood donors were offered antibody testing for a period of three months. Almost 12,000 donors were tested, and the mean weekly prevalence of antibody positive donors due to infection was 2.7 % (varied from 2.1 to 4.0 %). The number of donors presenting following vaccination was 810 (6.9 %). An average of 38 % of the infections had been asymptomatic, and 31 % of the antibody-positive donors were unaware of having been infected.In conclusion, the proportion of blood donors seropositive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 in our blood centers was stable whereas the number of vaccinated blood donors rapidly increased. This indicates that the virus spreading in the third wave of infection in the Oslo area mainly happened in groups underrepresented as blood donors. Health care workers prioritized for early vaccination may be overrepresented in the study period.

Utilizing LiDAR data to map tree canopy for urban ecosystem extent and condition accounts in Oslo

LiDAR-based segmentation of urban tree canopies and their physical properties (canopy height, canopy diameter, 3D surface and volume) is a replicable, complementary and useful information source for urban ecosystem condition accounts, and an important basis for ecosystem service modeling and valuation. However, using available LiDAR data collected for municipal purposes other than vegetation mapping (such as for example engineering) entails a level of accuracy which may limit the usefulness of the data for change detection in ecosystem accounts. To account for changes in the urban tree canopy of Oslo (capital city of Norway) between 2011 and 2017, a segmentation model was developed based on available airborne LiDAR data scanned for general purposes. The results from the entire built-up area of Oslo indicate a general increase in the number of tall trees (>15 m) and a moderate increase in the number of small trees (<15 m), with the exception of trees between 6 and 10 m which seem to have a relatively constant development over the given period. The total tree canopy area within the built-up area increased by 17.15%, with a corresponding 21.35% increase in the tree canopy volume. The results for the Small House plan area, a policy focus area subject to urban densification and special regulations for felling of large trees, indicate a large increase in small trees (<10 m) and a moderate decrease in tall trees (>10 m). The total tree canopy area within the Small House plan area decreased by 1.04%, with a corresponding 2.13% decrease in the tree canopy volume. With respect to the segmentation accuracy, the changes in aggregate tree canopy cover are too small to determine canopy change with confidence. This study demonstrates the potential for identifying ecosystem condition indicators as well as the limitations of using general purpose LiDAR data to improve the precision of urban ecosystem accounting. For future ecosystem service accounting in urban environments, we recommend that municipalities implement data acquisition programs that combine concurrent field data sampling and LiDAR campaigns designed for urban tree canopy detection, as part of general urban structural inventorying. We recommend using LiDAR and satellite remote sensing data depending on canopy densities. We also recommend that future tree canopy segmentation is done within a cloud-computing environment to ensure sufficient geoprocessing capacity.

Optimal policies for electromobility: Joint assessment of transport and electricity distribution costs in Norway

This paper develops a stylized economic model for passenger transport in the greater Oslo area, in which the agents' choices of car ownership, transport pattern, and electric vehicle (EV) charging are jointly determined. If enough EVs charge during peak hours, costly grid expansions may be needed. We examine how the distribution system operators can mitigate these costs with different pricing schemes and how this, in turn, affects the transport market equilibrium. We find that applying tariffs differentiated between peak and off-peak periods will help strike a better balance between grid investment costs and EV-owners’ disutility of charging during off-peak hours.

Women’s experience with receiving advice on diet and Self-Monitoring of blood glucose for gestational diabetes mellitus: a qualitative study

Objective We aimed to explore how women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) experience advice about diet and self-monitoring of blood glucose received in primary health care (PHC) and secondary health care (SHC) with a focus on how women perceived the care coordination and collaboration between healthcare professionals. Design, setting and subjects Individual interviews were conducted with 12 pregnant women diagnosed with GDM. Six women had immigrant backgrounds, and six were ethnic Norwegian. Women received GDM care in the area of Oslo, Norway. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Women described feeling shocked when they were diagnosed with GDM and feeling an immediate need for information about the consequences and management of GDM. Most of the women felt that their general practitioner (GP) had too little knowledge about GDM. Women with an immigrant background felt that the PHC midwives provided them with sufficient dietary advice related to GDM. Ethnic Norwegian women appreciated receiving more individually tailored dietary advice in SHC. Self-monitoring of blood glucose influenced women’s daily lives; however, they perceived the training in PHC and SHC as adequate. The women experienced poor collaboration between healthcare professionals in PHC and SHC, which implied that they sometimes had to initiate follow-up steps in their GDM care by themselves. Conclusions Ideally, women diagnosed with GDM should meet healthcare professionals with sufficient knowledge about GDM as soon as possible after being diagnosed. The collaboration between healthcare professionals involved in the care of women with GDM should be improved to avoid having women feel that they need to coordinate their own care. KEY POINTS Current awareness •The management of gestational diabetes mellitus requires appropriate follow-up by healthcare professionals Main statements •Pregnant women’s need for information about the consequences and management of gestational diabetes mellitus was highest immediately after diagnosis •Women perceived that they received more individually tailored information about diet and self-monitoring of blood glucose in secondary health care compared to primary health care •Women felt that general practitioners had insufficient knowledge about gestational diabetes mellitus •Based on our results, care coordination and collaboration between healthcare professionals involved in the care of women with gestational diabetes mellitus should be improved

Mobile phone data in transportation research: methods for benchmarking against other data sources

The ubiquity of personal cellular phones in society has led to a surging interest in using Big Data generated by mobile phones in transport research. Studies have suggested that the vast amount of data could be used to estimate origin–destination (OD) matrices, thereby potentially replacing traditional data sources such as travel surveys. However, constructing OD matrices from mobile phone data (MPD) entails multiple challenges, and the lack of ground truth hampers the evaluation and validation of the estimated matrices. Furthermore, national laws may prohibit the distribution of MPD for research purposes, compelling researchers to work with pre-compiled OD matrices with no insight into the methods used. In this paper, we analyse a set of such pre-compiled OD matrices from the greater Oslo area and perform validation procedures against several sources to assess the quality and robustness of the OD matrices as well as their usefulness in transportation planning applications. We find that while the OD matrices correlate well with other sources at a low resolution, the reliability decreases when a finer level of detail is chosen, particularly when comparing shorter trips between neighbouring areas. Our results suggest that coarseness of data and privacy concerns restrict the usefulness of MPD in transport research in the case where OD matrices are pre-compiled by the operator.

Autonomous buses: Intentions to use, passenger experiences, and suggestions for improvement

Research on the use of autonomous vehicles as a mode of public transport in a city context is lacking. This paper focuses on the use of recently established autonomous buses (self-driving electric shuttle buses) running along a regular public transport line in a residential area of Oslo, Norway. We use a mixed-methods approach based on survey and interview data from two independent studies. The paper examines intentions to use autonomous buses before and after these were introduced in the case area as well as how passengers experience traveling by autonomous bus. Results show that the intention to use the autonomous buses was mostly positive both before and after using them. Most users felt safe while traveling by autonomous bus. Two suggestions for improvement made by the users were to: increase the speed and reduce the abrupt breaking of the autonomous buses. Overall, outcomes from this paper suggest that residents would be willing to use autonomous buses if these offer more frequent bus departures than the existing ones. However, as full automation has not been achieved yet and there is a host on board who can control the vehicle if necessary, passenger experiences and intentions to use should be reassessed with fully automated buses in future studies.

Self-Reported Illicit Drug Use Among Norwegian University and College Students. Associations With Age, Gender, and Geography.

Background and Aims: Several studies have pointed to relatively high levels of illicit drug use among students in higher education compared to the general population. The aim of the present study was to provide an updated examination of self-reported illicit drug use among Norwegian University and college students.Methods: Data stem from the SHoT study (Students' Health and Well-being Study), a nationwide cross-sectional survey for higher education in Norway including Norwegian full-time students aged 18–35. Self-reported illicit drug use across a range of specified drugs comprised the outcome variables. Information on gender, age, and study location (geographical area) was also collected and used as stratification variables. The SHoT-survey from 2018 (N = 50,054) was used for the analyses of associations between demographical variables and illicit drug use, while trends in illicit drug use were estimated by comparing the 2018-results with data from the SHoT-surveys conducted in 2010 and 2014.Results: The proportion of students reporting having ever tried illicit drugs increased from 2014 to 2018, for both males (30.8 vs. 36.7%) and females (17.5 vs. 24.0%, both p < 0.001), while only minimal changes occurred between 2010 and 2014. The most commonly used illicit drugs during the past 12 months in 2018 were cannabis (15.2%), followed by MDMA (4.0%), cocaine (3.0%), and LSD/psilocybin (2.1%). Illicit drug use showed both linear increase with age, and inverted U-shaped relationships that peaked in the age span from 23 to 28 years of age. Males reported higher illicit drug use compared with females for all drugs. Proportions of illicit drug use varied across geographical areas within the country, with the highest use being reported in the Oslo area (the largest city and capital of Norway).Conclusions: The present study reports an increase from 2010 to 2018 among Norwegian University and college students in the proportion of those reporting to have tried illicit drugs. Despite varying proportions of use across type of drug, age, gender, and geographical location, the overall high levels of illicit drug use past 12 months confirm the need to address illicit drug use in this population.