Emotional intelligence, personality and sales performance

In this study, salespersons in a telecommunications company were tested for emotional intelligence (EI), additional dimensions of work motivation and personality, and work performance. It was found that EI was related as expected to other variables, most noticeably to life/work balance (positively), to positive affective tone (positively), and to materialistic values and money obsession (negatively). EI was most clearly related to citizenship behavior and less to core task performance, as expected. Core task performance was strongly related to conscientiousness and positive affect, and to willingness to work and work interest. Job satisfaction had a weaker relationship to performance, in agreement with much earlier work. EI emerged as a dimension possible to measure and with expected properties.emotional intelligence; personality; work motivation; sales performance

Sugar Subsidies in the European Union - Mechanisms and Effects

For various political and economic reasons European sugar farmers and producers have received large subsidies from the EU. The goal of this thesis is to analyze these sugar subsidies and their effect on world market prices and production level in the EU, using statistical data from the mid 1980’s and onward. The analysis encompasses the mechanisms and consequences of EU sugar subsidies with a particular emphasis on the world market price of sugar and domestic EU sugar production. Because the so called ACP countries have a special trade preference, their exports of sugar to EU will also have effects on the world market price. These are reviewed as well. Alleged fixed costs in the EU sugar industry, implying scale economies, are also checked for. Evidence of a negative correlation between export subsidies and the world price are found. There is also a correlation between production subsidies and production volume, especially when measuring subsidies as a percentage of costs. EU imports from ACP’s show virtually no correlation with the world market price, although the correlation is, as expected, negative. Some evidence of scale economies in the EU sugar industry has also been found

Has Brazilian Ethanol Production Displaced Food Crops?

In this thesis a first order differential supply response model, the Linear Approximate Acreage Allocation Model (Holt, 1999), is used to analyze the competition between ethanol (sugarcane) and food crops (soy, corn, cotton, rice and orange) in Brazil. In this linear multi-crop supply response model total land is assumed to exogenous, leaving the shares to be estimated along with elasticities between the crops. The empirical investigation is performed using Seemingly Unrelated Regression with panel data covering 27 regions over the years 2002 - 2007. Necessary restrictions (such as adding up, homogeneity and symmetry) imposed on the model are briefly treated. Findings indicate that soy has been displaced, i.e. it is a substitute to sugarcane, while other food crops analyzed are compliments

I'm also a piece. Biological parents' description of cooperation with family homes within the model family home living in a therapeutic context

Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur biologiska föräldrar som haft sina ungdomar placerade inom Familjevårdsstiftelsens verksamhet beskriver att samarbete mellan dem och familjehemsföräldrarna gjordes under tiden deras ungdomar var placerade. Vi undersökte vidare vad biologiska föräldrar uppfattar att Familjevårdsstiftelsen ”gör” för att få samarbetet att fungera. Undersökningen gjordes genom intervjuer med sex biologiska föräldrar som tidigare haft sina ungdomar placerade inom Familjevårdsstiftelsens verksamhet. Urvalet var strategiskt och det skedde genom att kontakt togs med biologiska föräldrar som fanns i kollegors kontaktnät. Materialet bearbetades genom tematisk analys. Resultatet visade att biologiska föräldrar uppskattar att rollerna runt den placerade ungdomen tydliggörs och att det skapar en grund för samarbete. De såg också vikten av att det finns en tredje part som hjälper till för att skapa utrymme för samarbete och ge stöd. De beskrev även värdet av att få se hur familjehemmet gör med deras ungdom och att det skapar tillit som en grund för samarbetet. Vidare framkom att biologiska föräldrar är väldigt nöjda med det sätt som samarbetet fungerade under placeringen på Familjevårdsstiftelsen, men att det också kunde se att samarbetet ibland behövde göras med mer distans, utifrån ungdomens behov

Förändringens påverkan på kunskapsöverföring.

Studien undersöker förändringens påverkan på kunskapsöverföring utifrån en fallstudie av distanshandelsföretaget Haléns implementering av ett nytt informationssystem. Vi har genom en kvalitativ ansats och en abduktiv metod ämnat ge vårt bidrag till redan existerande teori. Studiens problem definieras av den inneboende hotande naturen som förändringar innebär. I synnerhet ny informationsteknologi kan av medarbetare ses som något främmande om den teknologiska osäkerheten i organisationen är hög. Då det är av stor vikt för organisationer att en ny teknologi på ett bra sätt implementeras i organisationen är det viktigt att bemöta detta förväntade förändringsmotstånd. Studien tar sin grund i teori kring Knowledge Management, Change Management samt vetenskapliga artiklar om implementering av informationssystem. Våra resonemang, baserade på existerande teori och empiri, mynnar ut i en normativ implementeringsmodell. Denna belyser faktorer som vi anser vara viktiga att ta i beaktande på management-nivå under implementeringsfasen. Vi tar i vår studie utgångspunkt i teorier som diskuterar olika typer av kunskap, samt vilka olika kunskapsöverföringsprocesser dessa är naturligt kopplade till. Då tidigare teori framhåller tyst och explicit kunskap som två ytterligheter har vi i vår studie fokuserat på i vilken del av processen de olika typerna av kunskap får betydelse. Vi har utifrån Masinos (1994) resonemang om att betrakta informationsteknologi som en process snarare än en produkt kommit fram till att den tysta kunskapen är av stor vikt då nya arbetsprocesser växer fram under implementeringen av det nya informationssystemet. Vår empiri har även styrkt vår problematisering kring att de nya arbetsprocesserna, samt svårigheten med att förankra dessa i organisationen, är de primära utmaningarna för företaget. Studien går vidare med att utifrån förändringsteorier diskutera möjligheter för ledning att möta det förändringsmotstånd som ofta uppstår vid införandet av nya teknologier. Detta gör vi främst utifrån Melones (1995) grundpelare för förändringsframgång kombinerat med mer specifik teori om motivation, kommunikation, delaktighet, processerfarenhet, ansvarsbenägenhet och teknologisk osäkerhet i organisationer

Diabetes and the Risk of Developing Parkinson’s Disease in Denmark

Objective: Insulin contributes to normal brain function. Previous studies have suggested associations between midlife diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease. Using Danish population registers, we investigated whether a history of diabetes or the use of antidiabetes drugs was associated with Parkinson’s disease. Research Design and Methods: From the nationwide Danish Hospital Register hospital records, we identified 1,931 patients with a first-time diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease between 2001 and 2006. We randomly selected 9,651 population control subjects from the Central Population Registry and density matched them by birth year and sex. Pharmacy records comprising all antidiabetes and anti-Parkinson drug prescriptions in Denmark were available. Odds ratios (ORs) were estimated by logistic regression models. Results: Having diabetes, as defined by one or more hospitalizations and/or outpatient visits for the condition, was associated with a 36% increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease (OR 1.36 [95% CI 1.08–1.71]). Similarly, diabetes defined by the use of any antidiabetes medications was associated with a 35% increased Parkinson’s disease risk (1.35 [1.10–1.65]). When diabetes was defined as the use of oral antidiabetes medications, effect estimates were stronger in women (2.92 [1.34–6.36]), whereas when diabetes was defined as any antidiabetes drug prescription, patients with early-onset Parkinson’s disease were at highest risk (i.e., Parkinson’s disease diagnosed before the age of 60 years; 3.07 [1.65–5.70]). Conclusions: We found that a diagnosis of, or treatment received for, diabetes was significantly associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, especially younger-onset Parkinson’s disease. Our results suggest a common pathophysiologic pathway between the two diseases. Future studies should take age at Parkinson’s disease onset into account

Increasing body mass index at diagnosis of diabetes in young adult people during 1983-1999 in the Diabetes Incidence Study in Sweden (DISS).

Objective. To study trends in body mass index (BMI) at diagnosis of diabetes in all young Swedish adults in the age range of 15-34 years registered in a nation-based registry. Design. The BMI was assessed at diagnosis in diabetic patients 15-34 years of age at diagnosis, for a period of 17 years (1983-1999). Islet cell antibodies (ICA) were measured during three periods (1987-1988, 1992-1993 and 1998-1999). Setting. A nationwide study (Diabetes Incidence Study in Sweden). Subjects. A total of 4727 type 1 and 1083 type 2 diabetic patients. Main outcome measures. Incidence-year specific BMI adjusted for age, gender and time of diagnosis (month). Results. Body mass index at diagnosis increased significantly both in type 1 (21.4 ± 3.6 to 22.5 ± 4.0; P < 0.0001) and in type 2 (27.4 ± 6.8 to 32.0 ± 6.0; P < 0.0001) diabetic patients, also when adjusted for age, gender and month of diagnosis. A similar significant increase in BMI was found in type 1 diabetic patients and in type 2 diabetic patients in the periods 1987-1988, 1992-1993 and 1998-1999; years when ICA were assessed and considered in the classification of diabetes. Despite this increase in BMI, there was no increase in the incidence of diabetes in young-adult people in Sweden. Conclusion. Body mass index at diagnosis of diabetes in subjects 15-34 years of age has substantially increased during 1983-1999 in Sweden when adjusted for age, gender and month of diagnosis