What makes print more readable for the visually impaired?
Type size is the most critical factor in being able to read printed text, but it doesn’t have to be as big as you might think.
Society
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Silence as a superpower
Silence is not an empty space. It has its own purpose, both in psychotherapy and in music. Olga Lehmann is working to build a theory of silence.
Chinese courage meets Norwegian daily life
Many Chinese students come to Norway with big ambitions. But everyday life can be hard and lonely. Some find solace in religion.
How attentive are children in traffic?
The answer is “not very” if we’re to believe the results of research trials carried out last year involving 59 children.
Five Nordic universities look into the crystal ball
The Nordic Five Tech, an alliance of the leading technical universities in the Nordic countries, celebrated its tenth anniversary this June with a high level summit to plot a strategy for its next decade. There was talk of horses, cars, and swimming robot snakes.
NTNU builds bridges to Japan
Starting today, Hiroshito Matsumoto will work from a base in Toyko on behalf of NTNU and the University of Bergen to build new research partnerships between Japan and Norway.
Household consumption significant driver of climate, other environmental impacts
You won’t make big cuts in your environmental impact by taking shorter showers or turning out the lights. The real environmental problem, a new analysis has shown, is embodied in the things you buy.
Drones help find lost sheep
Looking for sheep can be done a lot more effectively than today. A drone may be a farmer’s next tool in finding their lost lambs.
Hacking Trondheim to cut greenhouse gas emissions
NTNU and Norway’s technological capital—Trondheim—hosted a Climathon to give the city the tools it needs to make ambitious greenhouse gas cuts. The results might be helpful to other cities around the globe that face the same problem.
Food waste recycling not always the best idea
With Norway as a case study, a first-ever effort to quantify the benefits of recycling food waste versus preventing it shows prevention is the best policy. But Norway continues to invest significant funds in biogas facilities for food waste recycling.
The Paris summit is over— now what?
The climate summit in Paris ended with an agreement. But how do we ensure that the agreement is translated into action?
Why we struggle to change our climate habits
Overfishing is part of the climate problem. There is little doubt that we need to change our habits, but what exactly do we need to do, and why is it so difficult?
Climate: a challenging type of justice
What makes a fair climate agreement? The fight for justice has been one of the biggest problems in all international climate discussions. The summit in Paris will likely be no exception.
Awash in trash at the top of the world
Every year, an estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic waste blows, falls or flows into the world’s oceans. Earlier this autumn, participants in the annual Svalbard Course plucked up 512 kg of the stuff from just one beach in two hours.
“Beeting” high altitude sickness with beet juice
The human body isn’t made to operate at high altitude, but drinking beet juice may help the body acclimatize.
Turning political pledges into action on climate change
Beginning on 30 November, the nations of the world will gather in Paris to discuss a new global agreement on climate change. But what will it take to transform international political will into real action to curb global warming?
Language and perception in children with autism
An EU-funded research programme coordinated out of NTNU called LanPercept looks at language and perception in autism as just one of 15 projects.
Self-training to discourage the jobless from returning to the benefits system
Unemployed people who have spent long periods on benefit become passive, and surrender responsibility for their situation to others. Research is now being carried out to develop a system to help them obtain a sense of empowerment.
X-ray scanning to guarantee meat tenderness
Consumers may soon have a guarantee for the quality of meat they’re paying for.
Achieving effective peace agreements
Surveys will reveal what peace agreements following civil wars ought to contain in order to be respected.
Using rooftop rainwater to make drinking water
Climate change will lead to water scarcity in large parts of Africa. But there is hope – on African rooftops.
Extreme weather in the Arctic causes problems for people, wildlife
The last week of January 2012 brought wild weather to the Norwegian arctic island archipelago of Svalbard and its largest town, Longyearbyen. A new cross-disciplinary study provides a comprehensive look at the effects of this extreme weather event on everything from town infrastructure to the natural environment.
Low-carbon electricity future is clean and feasible
The countries of the world wrapped up preliminary climate talks in Lima, Peru this weekend with an agreement on how the UN’s 194 countries will tackle climate change. The agreement comes in advance of major negotiations scheduled for Paris next year to designed to curb the world’s production of greenhouse gases. In a publication from earlier this year, researchers at NTNU’s Industrial Ecology Programme report that the low-carbon future that would result from curbing greenhouse gas emissions is both feasible from a practical standpoint, and will also substantially reduce air pollution.
Healthy working environment is a salvation
Contract workers in Norway often face the worst and most unpredictable working conditions. But good management and support from colleagues makes these workers more robust.