Social Influence in Stockmarkets: A Conceptual Analysis of Social Influence Processes in Stock Markets

This paper focuses on the role of social factors for booms-bubbles-busts cycles in stock markets. It is argued that indirect and direct social influences are important contributors by reinforcing stock investors’ cognitive biases exaggerated by affective influences. A review of herding research primarily undertaken by financial economists is followed by a demonstration that psychological theories of direct social influence (imitation) have bearings on the understanding of the herding phenomenon in stock markets. How to continue this research with relevance for regulations of stock markets is discussed.Social influence; stock investments; conceptual analysis

Stimulus-Section Coupling in Endocrine Cell Models

Detailed understanding of biological systems governing specific mechanisms and pathways is essential in the development of novel disease therapies. Stimulus-secretion coupling in hormone secreting cells is a complex system of pathways that link activation of cellular processes by i.e. nutrients to the release of hormone. Stimulus-secretion coupling in the insulin secreting beta-cell is intensely researched to improve our understanding of type 2 diabetes (T2D), a perpetually growing global pandemic. Such research requires availability of model systems that are metabolically and functionally faithful to the cell type they represent. In my research I have characterized, evaluated and applied cell models for metabolic research in endocrine cells. In studies I and II cellular function in response to nutrient stimuli in human and murine beta cell models and isolated islets was evaluated. In these studies I investigated functional aspects such as insulin secretion as well as metabolic changes such as changes in intracellular metabolite levels, oxygen consumption rates and energy production. I found that the response was qualitatively similar in human and rat beta cell models. The same was found when comparing a clonal rat beta cell model to isolated rat islets. Hence, I concluded that the similarities outweigh the differences and as such the in vitro models investigated lend themselves useful in metabolic studies, but with the recommend use of primary material for confirmation of key findings. Stimulus-secretion coupling has been widely studied in the beta cell, providing extensive knowledge on the mechanisms governing insulin secretion elicited by various nutrients. In study III and IV, I used established alpha, beta and L-cell models to investigate similarities and differences in stimulus-secretion coupling in different endocrine cell types. In study III, an important difference in mitochondrial shuttles was found between alpha and beta cells, highlighting the malate-aspartate shuttle to be critical for glucagon secretion. These findings were subsequently verified in mouse islets. In study IV, a striking difference in the activity of glutamate dehydrogenase was found between L and beta cells. Accumulation of glycogen in the beta cell has been associated with T2D. In study V, I investigated the potential role of glycogen metabolism in beta cells and its potential role in regulation of insulin secretion. This study revealed glycogen metabolism to be active and accumulation of glycogen to occurs in response to elevated glucose levels both in a clonal cell line and human islets. Moreover, perturbation of glycogen metabolism was shown to decrease insulin secretion in vitro. Stimulus-secretion coupling is highly complex as is the pathogenesis of T2D. These studies highlight how well-characterized metabolic models may be used to further the understanding of stimulus secretion coupling in endocrine cells

Impact of climate change and development scenarios on flow patterns in the Okavango River

This paper lays the foundation for the use of scenario modelling as a tool for integrated water resource management in the Okavango River basin. The Pitman hydrological model is used to assess the impact of various development and climate change scenarios on downstream river flow. The simulated impact on modelled river discharge of increased water use for domestic use, livestock, and informal irrigation (proportional to expected population increase) is very limited. Implementation of all likely potential formal irrigation schemes mentioned in available reports is expected to decrease the annual flow by 2% and the minimum monthly flow by 5%. The maximum possible impact of irrigation on annual average flow is estimated as 8%, with a reduction of minimum monthly flow by 17%. Deforestation of all areas within a 1 km buffer around the rivers is estimated to increase the flow by 6%. However, construction of all potential hydropower reservoirs in the basin may change the monthly mean flow distribution dramatically, although under the assumed operational rules, the impact of the dams is only substantial during wet years. The simulated impacts of climate change are considerable larger that those of the development scenarios (with exception of the high development scenario of hydropower schemes) although the results are sensitive to the choice of GCM and the IPCC SRES greenhouse gas (GHG) emission scenarios. The annual mean water flow predictions for the period 2020-2050 averaged over scenarios from all the four GCMs used in this study are close to the present situation for both the A2 and B2 GHG scenarios. For the 2050-2080 and 2070-2099 periods the all-GCM mean shows a flow decrease of 20% (14%) and 26% (17%) respectively for the A2 (B2) GHG scenarios. However, the uncertainty in the magnitude of simulated future changes remains high. The simulated effect of climate change on minimum monthly flow is proportionally higher

Estimating rainfall and water balance over the Okavango River Basin for hydrological applications

A historical database for use in rainfall-runoff modeling of the Okavango River Basin in Southwest Africa is presented. The work has relevance for similar data-sparse regions. The parameters of main concern are rainfall and catchment water balance which are key variables for subsequent studies of the hydrological impacts of development and climate change. Rainfall estimates are based on a combination of in-situ gauges and satellite sources. Rain gauge measurements are most extensive from 1955 to 1972, after which they are drastically reduced due to the Angolan civil war. The sensitivity of the rainfall fields to spatial interpolation techniques and the density of gauges was evaluated. Satellite based rainfall estimates for the basin are developed for the period from 1991 onwards, based on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) data sets. The consistency between the gauges and satellite estimates was considered. A methodology was developed to allow calibration of the rainfall-runoff hydrological model against rain gauge data from 1960-1972, with the prerequisite that the model should be driven by satellite derived rainfall products for the 1990s onwards. With the rain gauge data, addition of a single rainfall station (Longa) in regions where stations earlier were lacking was more important than the chosen interpolation method. Comparison of satellite and gauge rainfall outside the basin indicated that the satellite overestimates rainfall by 20%. A non-linear correction was derived used by fitting the rainfall frequency characteristics to those of the historical rainfall data. This satellite rainfall dataset was found satisfactory when using the Pitman rainfall-runoff model (Hughes et al., this issue). Intensive monitoring in the region is recommended to increase accuracy of the comprehensive satellite rainfall estimate calibration procedur

Effects of socialising piglets on sow and piglet performance and behaviour of entire male piglets

Entire male pigs show more aggressive behaviour and mounting than female pigs. By sorting growing pigs into male and female pens, at least half of the pigs are protected from the aggressive behaviour and mounting of the entire males. Mixing of unknown pigs provokes them to perform such behaviours which increase the risk for injuries. The idea behind socialising piglets is to create groups of piglets from several litters that become familiar with each other and thus show less aggressive behaviour and mounting later, when housed together after weaning. The effect of socialising piglets on animal welfare was studied on 24 sows and their 235 piglets. Male piglets were not castrated. Sows were housed in individual farrowing pens without crates. A small door was opened between two adjacent pens at a piglet age of two weeks for half of the litters (12 litters), and the other half was regarded as a control (12 litters). At weaning, control piglets were kept in groups of eight litter mates whereas socialised piglets were kept in groups of either eight entire males or eight females from two litters. Sow weight, body condition and health were recorded together with nursing events and social behaviour of piglets (aggressive, mounting, contact). There was no effect of socialisation on udder lesions or sows' relative change in body reserves. Socialised and control piglets did not differ in daily weight gain before weaning, but socialised piglets tended to have higher growth rate during the week after weaning (P = 0.07). The day after opening between pens, skin lesions were more common among socialised piglets (as compared to control piglets at the same age, P = 0.02) but at weaning, skin lesions were more common among control piglets than socialised piglets (P = 0.01). Almost all lesions were mild. No aggressive behaviour of sows towards piglets was observed. No difference between control and socialised piglets in social behaviour was seen before weaning. The frequency of aggressive and mounting behaviours was low after weaning for both socialised and control piglets, but socialised piglets showed more contact behaviour (P = 0.02). Socialised entire males showed as little aggressive and mounting behaviour as females. Nursing frequency was not affected by piglet socialisation and cross-suckling was rare. Based on the performance of piglets and sows, nursing frequency, and health of piglets and sows, we conclude that socialising entire male piglets (and their sisters) improve piglet welfare without any negative effect on the sows. CO 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Animal Consortium. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

REAR SEAT SAFETY IN FRONTAL TO SIDE IMPACTS – FOCUSING ON OCCUPANTS FROM 3YRS TO SMALL ADULTS

ABSTRACT This study presents a broad comprehensive research effort that combines expertise from industry and academia and uses various methodologies with applied research directed towards countermeasures. The project includes real world crash data analysis, real world driving studies and crash testing and simulations, aiming at enhancing the safety of forward facing child occupants (aged 3y to small adults) in the rear seat during frontal to side impacts. The real world crash data analyses of properly restrained children originate from European as well as US data. Frontal and side impact crash tests are analyzed using different sizes of crash test dummies in different sitting postures. Side impact parameter studies using FE-models are run. The sitting posture and behavior of 12 children are monitored while riding in the rear seat. Also, the body kinematics and belt position during actual braking and turning maneuvers are studied for 16 rear seat child occupants and for various child dummies. Real world crash data indicates that several of the injured children in frontal impacts, despite being properly restrained, impacted the vehicle interior structure with their head/face resulting in serious injury. This was attributed to oblique crashes, pre-crash vehicle maneuvers or high crash severity. Crash tests confirm the importance of proper initial belt-fit for best protection. The crash tests also highlight the difficulty in obtaining the real world kinematics and head impact locations using existing crashtest dummies and test procedures. The side impact parameter studies indicate that the vehicle’s occupant protection systems, such as airbags and seat belt pretensioners, play an important role in protecting children as well. The results from the on-road driving studies illustrate the variation of sitting postures during riding in the rear seat giving valuable input to the effects of the restraint systems and to how representative the standardized dummy seating positioning procedures are. The results from the maneuver driving studies illustrate the importance of understanding the kinematics of a child relative to the seat belt in a real world maneuver situation. Real world safety of rear seat occupants, especially children, involves evaluation of protection beyond standard crash testing scenarios in frontal and side impact conditions. This project explores the complete context of rear seat protection in impact situations ranging from front to side and directions in between highlighting the importance of pre-crash posture and behavior. This research project at SAFER (Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre at Chalmers), where researchers from the industry and universities cooperate with the aim to further improve safety for children (from 3y) to small adults in the rear seat, speeds up the process to safety implementation due to the interaction between academic and industrial researchers

A comparative study on fertility among the descendants of immigrants in Europe

This study investigates the childbearing patterns of the descendants of immigrants in selected European countries, with a focus on ethnic minority women whose parents arrived in Europe from high-fertility countries. While the fertility levels of immigrants to Europe have been examined in the recent literature, the childbearing patterns among their descendants have received little attention. Using longitudinal data from eight European countries and applying Poisson regression models, the study shows that many descendants of immigrants exhibit first-birth levels that are similar to the ‘native’ population in their respective countries; however, first-birth levels are elevated among women of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin in the UK and for those of Turkish descent in France and Belgium. Transition rates to a second child vary less across ethnic groups. Most ethnic minority women in the UK, France and Belgium show significantly higher third-birth levels than ‘natives’ in those countries. The inclusion of women’s level of education in the analysis has little effect on fertility differences across the ethnic groups. Overall, the childbearing behaviour of the descendants of immigrants falls in between the fertility pathways experienced by their parents’ generation and the respective ‘native’ populations. The analysis supports the idea that both the mainstream society and the minority subculture shape the childbearing patterns of the descendants of immigrants in Europe

Use of participatory scenario modelling as platforms in stakeholder dialogues

A participatory methodology, based on dialogues between stakeholders and experts has been developed and tested in the drainage area to Kaggebo Bay in the Baltic Sea. This study is focused on the EU Water Framework Directive, with emphasis on reduction of eutrophication. The drainage area is included in the WFD administrative area of the Motala Ström River basin. A similar approach is now applied in a recently initiated project in the Thukela River basin, with focus on impacts of climate change on water resources. The methodology is based on the idea that a catchment model serves as a platform for the establishment of a common view of present conditions and the causes behind these conditions. In the following steps, this is followed by model-assisted agreement on environmental goals (i.e. what do we want the future to look like?) and local agreement on a remedy or mitigation plans in order to reduce environmental impact (e.g. eutrophication); alternatively to adapt to conditions that cannot be determined by local actions (e.g. climate change). By involving stakeholder groups in this model-supported stepwise process, it is ensured that all stakeholder groups involved have a high degree of confidence in the presented model results, and thereby enable various actors involved to share a common view, regarding both present conditions, goals and the way to reach these goals. Although this is a process that is time- (and cost-) consuming, it is hypothesised that the use of this methodology is two-pronged: it increases the willingness to carry out remedies or necessary adaptations to a changing environment, and it increases the level of understanding between the various groups and therefore ameliorates the potential for future conflicts. Compared to traditional use of model results in environmental decision-making, the experts’ role is transformed from a one-way communication of final results to assistance in the various steps of the participatory process.Keywords: participatory, catchment, coastal zone, modelling, nutrient