| 1. |
- Aagerup, Ulf, 1969-
(författare)
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It’s Not What You Sell : It’s Whom You Sell it To: How the Customer’s Character Shapes Brands and What Companies Do About it
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this dissertation I investigate the effects of user and usage imagery on brands and how businesses employ user imagery to build brands. Over four articles I present results that suggest that user imagery affects brand personality and that companies under certain conditions adapt their behavior to optimize this effect. Although both mass market fashion and nightclubs are susceptible to the influence of user imagery, out of the two only nightclubs actively reject customers to improve its effect on brand perception. I relate these practices to the practical and financial feasibility of rejecting customers, the character of nightclubs’ brands, and to their inability to differentiate their brands through any other brand personality influencer besides user imagery. In this dissertation, I also discuss the ethical ramifications of user imagery optimization through customer rejection. In one study, the role of conspicuous usage imagery on socially desirable consumer behavior is investigated. It is concluded that conspicuousness increases consumers' propensity to choose environmentally friendly products, and that this tendency is especially pronounced for individuals that are high in attention to social comparison information. The conclusion is that consumers use green products to self-enhance for the purpose of fitting in with the group rather than to stand out from it.
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| 2. |
- Amberntsson, Pelle, 1973-
(författare)
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The Past of Present Livelihoods : Historical perspectives on modernisation, rural policy regimes and smallholder poverty - a case from Eastern Zambia
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This study is an enquiry into the processes shaping rural livelihoods in peripheral areas. The study is situated in the field of livelihood research and departs in the persistent crisis within African smallholder agriculture and in rural policy debates during the postindependence era. The research takes a critical stance to the way that people-centred and actor-oriented approaches have dominated livelihood research, thereby over-shadowing structural and macro-oriented features.The aim of this study is to, through a historical perspective on rural livelihoods and policy regimes, uncover the political and economic processes, with their discursive foundations, that shape contemporary rural livelihoods in peripheral areas. The analytical framework emphasises four key factors: ideas of development and modernity; the terms of incorporation into the global economy; rural policy regimes; smallholders’ ways of making a living. Inspiration is gained from critical political geography, world-systems analysis and different perspectives on rural livelihoods and development.The empirical study is based on fieldwork in Chipata District in Eastern Zambia, investigations at the National Archives of Zambia, the British National Archives and library research. The findings are presented in three parts. The first part looks into contemporary policies and the situation among smallholders in Chipata District. The second part examines the history of the area up to independence in 1964. The third part examines the post-independence period which links colonial experience to the contemporary situation.The findings suggest that smallholders’ livelihoods are shaped by long-term politicaleconomic- discursive processes, rooted in the terms of the study area’s integration into the world-economy in the colonial period. Colonial policies peripheralised the area through tax, labour, and market policies and the creation of native reserves, all of which have led to contemporary problems of food insecurity, soil depletion and a marginal role in agricultural markets. Since the inception of colonial rule, semi-proletarianisation has been a dominant process in the area. Current diversified livelihoods are more a contemporary expression of this semi-proletarianisation than a consequence of postcolonial policies. The households in the study area show preference for a farming way of life. However, the development goal of modernity has since long led to an ‘othering’ of smallholders, labelling them backwards and resistant to change. In the early twenty-first century this ‘othering’ has been played out through a development programme aimed at changing attitudes and mindsets among the farmers in line with individualistic and entrepreneurial behaviour. The ‘othering’ discourses of contemporary and colonial policymakers display striking similarities in this case.
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| 3. |
- Bergman, Annika, 1972
(författare)
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On the genetics of hereditary breast/ovarian cancer. BRCA1, BRCA2 and beyond
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Most of the breast cancers are sporadic with no apparent inheritance factor but about 5-10% is believed to be caused by an inherited predisposition. Aims: This thesis aimed at defining the BRCA1/2 mutation spectrum of the west Swedish population and specifically to characterize the BRCA1c.3171ins5 mutation. We also wanted to evaluate and improve the mutation detection process and identify clinical characteristics associated with a germline BRCA1/2 mutation. Finally, we aimed at identifying novel breast cancer susceptibility genes. Results: Genotyping of markers flanking BRCA1 revealed a common haplotype of BRCA1c.3171ins5 carriers in 18 unrelated families. The haplotype was not found in a control material. Age estimations using founder allele fractions implied that the mutation originated in a founder individual 51 generations ago (95% CI, 31-71). The estimated penetrance of breast/ovarian cancer in BRCA1c.3171ins5 families was between 59-93% at age 70. The 5 years survival probability for women with BRCA1c.3171ins5-associated breast/ovarian cancer was 72% and 38% for breast and ovarian cancer, respectively. Evaluation of mutation analyses in paraffin-embedded tissue vs. blood provided completely congruent results. Mutation analyses of BRCA1 and BRCA2 in families with a high incidence of breast/ovarian cancer confirmed that BRCA1c.3171ins5 dominates the mutation spectrum and represents 65% (34/52) of all mutations detected. The detection rate of BRCA1/2 mutations was 39% (46/117) in high risk families, a high rate compared to many other populations. Ovarian cancer in the family greatly increases the detection rate (68%, 42/62). A genome-wide linkage scan in non-BRCA1/2 families yielded LOD scores of suggestive linkage on chromosome 10q23.32-q25.3 (HLOD 2.34). Markers on chromosome 12q and 19p produced HLOD ¡Ý 2.1. Affected members in one large family shared common haplotypes on 10q, 17p and 19q. TP53 and TGFBR2 were screened for mutations but no alterations were found. Conclusions: BRCA1c.3171ins5 is a true founder mutation originating in one single ancestor roughly 50 generations ago. The risk of developing breast/ovarian cancer by inheritance of BRCA1c.3171ins5 is similar to the risk conferred by BRCA1 mutations in general and the survival probability in affected carriers is comparable to that of age-matched breast cancer controls. Total agreement between paraffin-embedded tissue (PET) and blood analyses allows for using PET as the DNA source in clinical analyses. Complementary detection techniques are recommended in BRCA1/2 screening. Ovarian cancer provided the strongest indication for an inherited BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. Genes located in 10q, 12q, 17p, 19p and 19q may predispose to breast cancer but further investigation is required.
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| 4. |
- Carlsson, Peter
(författare)
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Teologi som kritik : Graham Ward och den postsekulära hermeneutiken
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The British theologian Graham Ward has since the 1990 ́s been one of the most prominent voices in the theological discussions of the Anglo-American cultural sphere. As one of the key figures in the academic field that has been known as “post secularism”, “the resurgence of religion” or “the new visibility of religion” Ward has developed an independent theological position that most properly could be described as a Christian cultural critique. Deeply informed by continental critical theory Ward has attempted to analyze and categorize contemporary culture in terms of Christian theology. The thesis argued for in the present dis- sertation is that there is a unique resource in Christian theology, as at least partly captured in Wards project, for imagining a vision of a better future. By drawing on a negative strand of the Christian tradition, theology can find a capacity to articulate visions of a better world that, which is the crucial warning of critical theory, does not give in to utopian dreams and wishful thinking.The dissertation aims to present and analyze Wards project in order to lay the foundation for a theological critique of culture – an activity that draws on the material aspects of a religious tradition. The first part of the dissertation (chapter 2–5) consists of a presentation and an immanent critical analysis of Graham Wards project. The analysis is pursued under four distinct categories: metaphysics, anthropology, politics and apologetics. In these chapters, Wards theology is presented and analyzed through a contextualization within the Christian tradition and critical theory. In chapter 6, Wards theology is brought into a critical dialogue with three other theologians who work in the intersection point between critical theory and Christian theology – Mark C. Taylor, John D. Caputo and Jean Luc Marion – but have come to different conclusions regarding how this relation is to be understood. The dissertation argues that a theology that makes visible the particular standpoint and stresses the material resources of religion stands the best chance of becoming at critical and transformative force in contemporary culture.The last chapter is organized around six conditions that, working as an ex- tension of Wards project, are necessary for a theological critique of culture; the particular proviso, affirmative critique, ontological critique, theology and practice, methodological pragmatism and critique of faith. This works toward sketching a post-secular hermeneutics – an interdisciplinary field of research that take the theological traditions in full consideration when interpreting the configurations of thought and actions that we refer to as culture.
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| 5. |
- Heidbrink, Jakob
(författare)
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Logistikavtalet : Allmän kontraktsrätt i transporträttslig miljö
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Avhandlingens syfte är att fastställa huruvida logistikavtalet ekonomiskt och juridiskt kan ses som en avtalstyp som följer för avtalstypen enhetliga regler. Utgångspunkten utgörs härvid av en analys av den transporträttsliga marknaden. Författaren argumenterar att logistikavtalet på marknaden ses som ett sammanhållet avtal om outsourcing av en transportavdelning. Från denna utgångspunkt undersöks huruvida detta ekonomiskt enhetliga åtagande också från juridiskt perspektiv kan ses som en avtalstyp.Enligt den traditionella transporträttsliga metodiken måste avtal av logistikavtalets slag ses som blandade avtal med transporträttsliga inslag, vilket medför att transporträtten anses vara tvingande tillämplig på avtalet. Enligt författaren bör detta synsätt inte överföras till logistikavtalet, då det vilar på en analys som inte är hållbar med avseende på logistikavtalet. Även om författarens syn inte skulle delas, anses åtminstone de delar av logistikavtalet som inte regleras av transporträttslig lagstiftning utgöra ett enhetligt åtagande. I det senare fallet framstår logistikavtalet som ett blandat avtal med dels transporträttsliga, dels logistikrättsliga inslag.Skillnaden mellan resultatförpliktelser och förpliktelser att visa omsorg läggs till grund för en analys av vilka påföljder som den kontraktsbrottslidande parten i ett logistikavtal kan göra gällande. Varje påföljds bakgrund i den allmänna kontraktsrätten analyseras grundligt och resultatet av denna analys läggs till grund för en undersökning av huruvida påföljden lämpligen bör komma ifråga vid logistikavtal.Författaren anser att endast skadestånd och hävning lämpar sig som påföljder vid åtaganden om logistik. Detta resultat vilar på hänsynstaganden som vid en juridisk bedömning av logistikavtalet återkommer, och logistikavtalet anses därför även enligt allmän svensk kontraktsrätt utgöra en avtalstyp.
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| 6. |
- Holmqvist Andersson, Elisabeth
(författare)
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Mild traumatic brain injuries : the impact of early intervention on late sequelae
- 2004
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Aims: Studies I & II:To assess the incidence of Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) in western Sweden and to investigate health-related quality of life and post-concussion symptoms (PCS). Study III: To test the hypothesis that a programme of early rehabilitation for selected Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) patients would reduce late sequelae. Study IV: To investigate the parallel reliability, concurrent validity and inter-observer reliability of the Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (PCSQ). Methods: Studies I & II: Data were collected prospectively and retrospectively. 173 patients aged between 16 and 60 and collected consecutively at Södra Älvsborg Hospital received two mailed questionnaires three months and one year after injury. Study III: 1719 patients were registered at Södra Älvsborg Hospital and 395 MTBI patients were selected. Patients allocated to the control group (n=131) received regular care. Patients assigned to intervention (n=264) were contacted 2-8 weeks (median 3 weeks) after injury and offered rehabilitation. The intervention was designed according to their perceived individual needs. Outcome was measured as the change in the occurrence of PCS, life satisfaction, health-related quality of life and daily activities one year after injury, as compared with before injury for the different groups. Study IV: In the parallel reliability and concurrent validity study, 35 patients filled in the PCSQ, answering, “Yes” or “No”. The patients were than interviewed to check the certain “Yes” or “No” answers. In the inter-observer study, the observers filled in their ratings independently. Results: Studies I & II: 753 cases were identified, representing an incidence of 546 per 100,000 a year in western Sweden. A statistically-significant correlation was found between an increasing number of PCS and reduced health-related quality of life. Study III: No statistical differences were found between the intervention and control groups with respect to intervention. Patients who experienced few PCS 2-8 weeks (median 3 weeks) after the injury and declined rehabilitation recovered and returned to their pre-injury status. Patients who suffered several PCS and accepted rehabilitation did not recover during the period of one year. Study IV: The parallel reliability and concurrent validity ranged from 82-100 per cent of agreement between the two questionnaires. The range of agreement was 93-100 per cent in the inter-observer study. Conclusions: Study I: The incidence of TBI is high in western Sweden, 546 per 100,000. Study II: There is a statistically-significant correlation between a higher increase in the number of PCS and reduced health-related quality of life. Study III: In this particular MTBI sample, early active rehabilitation did not change the outcome to a statistically-significant degree. Study IV. The PCSQ is a reliable and valid instrument for screening PCS after an MTBI.
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| 7. |
- Jonsson, Björn
(författare)
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Graffitins spänningsfält. En studie av graffitikultur och interventioner på en lokal arena
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall aim of the thesis is to explore and analyse graffiti in a translocal context, by asking questions about the actors' view on activity, meaning and interaction. The study has been located to a physical place, Jönköping, where actors with different interest perform graffiti-related activity. The study is based on qualitative data where participant observation and interviews form the two main methods. The study also utilizes other materials, such as newspaper articles and municipal documents. Central for the theoretical orientation is that empirical data has been collected that is first-hand information on how the actors themselves find meaning in graffiti. This implies a constructivist perspective on knowledge where meaning shifts depending on whose perspective is analysed. Theoretically, the study also is linked to Becker and his arguments that research in deviance must take notice of the interaction between actors who are perceived to deviate and those actors who respond to the deviant group.The actors consist of two main groups; graffiti writers and interveners. Graffiti writers mainly consist of young men who describe themselves as belonging to a global graffiti culture. The word “interveners” has bee selected as a generic name for actors who are involved in graffiti issues due to professional duties. Similar to the graffiti writers' interveners find the meaning in graffiti by actively select information from an “outside”, which corresponds with their professional commitment. The analysis links different approaches to perspectives of combating crime, confirming art and caring for the young men's socialisation. From those different understandings, three parallel patterns of interaction are observed. Interaction developed around graffiti as a crime has elements of a battle situation. From the graffiti writers' perspective, this fight is important when designing the local scene as an integral part of a global graffiti context. At the same time there are disadvantages managing an enemy. On a personal level, individual graffiti writers have to make an estimate how graffiti writing will affect life in the long term. Interaction developed around graffiti as an art form unites graffiti writers and interveners in an ideological consensus where graffiti can be seen as an art form that adds creative qualities to urban space. One significant difference is that the graffiti writers find the local arena as an important place. This local orientation is not necessary when actors from a cultural sector put attention on graffiti. Youth workers way of caring for graffiti writers follows a tradition of social work. This approach focuses the graffiti writers themselves and how to redirect them to accepted forms of artistic expression. The youth workers have good potential to make contact, but it seems difficult to establish long-term relations because graffiti writers themselves do not find it necessary to formalize graffiti as a scheduled activity.A conclusion made is that there is something locked up about graffiti issues because actors see graffiti from their "own" perspective, and at the same time they remain critical of alternative approaches. Somewhat contradictory to an interaction structured around distinctive perceptions, the study shows that actors express uncertainty about what they are doing. Such critical self-reflections seem to be perceived as personal objections and are not shared with others. This, together with the fact that interest in graffiti comes and goes in waves, adds ambivalence to the conflictual field of graffiti. The thesis ends with a hypothetical discussion of how the conflict level could change if graffiti would be met with a differentiated policy.
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| 8. |
- Malm, Dan, 1954-
(författare)
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Health-related quality of life in patients with pacemakers. A descriptive and experimental study
- 2004
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The general aim of this thesis was to describe and evaluate the health-relatedquality of life (HRQoL) of patients with pacemakers, as well as to determine theeffects of a nurse-led intervention regarding health-related quality of life in theform of a self-care program for these patients. Descriptive designs were used todescribe (I) quality of life (n=182) as well as (II) HRQoL (n=697) of pacemakerpatients based on a nursing perspective. In order to describe the life situation ofthese patients from a deeper perspective (III) and examine the experiences ofdaily living with a pacemaker, patients (n=13) were interviewed and data wereanalyzed according to the grounded theory method, using constant comparativeanalysis. Finally (IV), 212 patients from three hospitals were allocated, using anexperimental, multi-center, randomized design, to either a control (n=115) or anexperimental group (n=97) to evaluate the effects of a nurse-led intervention, a10-month self-care program, on the HRQoL of patients with pacemakers.The total QoL for patients with pacemakers was acceptable. Through applicationof Orem s self-care theory, information, support and education can be providedin such a way that nursing care affects the entire QoL of patients withpacemakers. Measures should be taken on behalf women, those living alone, theelderly, blue-collar workers and retired persons, all of whom have a lower QoL(I, II). Experiences of daily living with a pacemaker generally indicate thatpatients with pacemakers can attain emotional stability and social participationunder the condition that there is understanding, empathetic treatment and insightconcerning the patient s new situation (III). There were no significantdifferences in HRQoL when comparisons were made between the experimentaland the control group. Two main findings for patients in the self-care program(experimental group) were: a significantly better HRQoL in terms ofexperiencing the symptoms that were the reason for pacemaker implantation ashaving decreased or disappeared, and a higher level of perceived exertion in a 11/2-minute stair test compared with patients who had standard checkups (controlgroup) (IV).In order to increase the HRQoL of patients with pacemakers it is important thathealth care professionals support the patient in a kind and professional mannerby providing clear, relevant information, and by planning a self-care programbased on a nursing assessment of the patient s needs using a comprehensiveapproach.
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| 9. |
- Mårtensson, Jan
(författare)
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The life situation of patients with heart failure in primary health care. An explorative and interventional study
- 2002
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The general aim of this thesis was to obtain a deeper understanding of the life situation of patients with mild to severe heart failure and their spouses, and to determine the effects of a nurse-led intervention on patients with heart failure in primary health care. A phe-nomenographic approach was used to describe how male (N=12) and female (N=12) patients with heart failure conceive their life situa-tion (I, II), and the critical incident technique was used to describe spousal (N=23) experience of factors that influence their support of the patient with heart failure.(III) A study of patients (n=48) and spouses (n=48) was conducted to compare their levels of depression and health-related quality of life, and to identify those factors that contribute to depression and health-related quality of life in patient-spouse pairs.(IV) Finally, 153 patients from eight primary health care districts were matched using a randomised block design to either a control (n=75) or an intervention group (n=78) to determine the effects of a nurse-led intervention on patients with heart failure in the primary health care setting regarding life satisfaction, health-related quality of life, and depression.(V) Men with heart failure conceived that the physical limitations caused by heart failure restricted the way they lived and that they were continually reminded of this in their everyday lives. They also experienced social restrictions in their work and leisure activities, hindering them from taking part in activities that previously had been a natural part of their lives.(I) Women with heart failure also described physical and social restrictions due to lack of energy. Difficulties in performing household tasks and providing support as usual to those close to them were difficult things to accept.(II) When spouses of patients with heart failure were given attention and treated like valued individuals, they experienced a sense of involvement with others. In these cases, spouses had someone to turn to and were included in the care. In contrast, when spouses were kept at a distance by the patient, were socially isolated, and received insufficient support from children, friends, and health care professionals, they felt like outsiders.(III) Patients with heart failure were significantly more depressed and had poorer physical quality of life compared to spouses.(IV) Patient depression was correlated with the patient's own functional status and mental quality of life, with the combination of the six-minute walk distance and mental health-related quality of life contributing 51% of the variance in patient depression. Spousal depression and health-related quality of life did not significantly influence patient depression. The mental component of spousal health-related quality of life and the age of the patient accounted for 33% of the adjusted variance in spousal depression. The nurse-led intervention in primary health care (V) showed a limited difference in effect between the groups, with significant differences in the socio-economic and physical dimensions, as well as in depression. In comparisons within groups at the 3- and 12-month follow-ups, the intervention group, particularly the women, maintained their life satisfaction, their health-related quality of life, and their subjective experience of depression to a significanly greater extent than in the control group. Findings from both an inside and an outside perspective obtained from this thesis suggest that caring for elderly patients with heart failure involves taking the family situation, gender differences and diverse experiences in living with a chronic illness into consideration. Heart failure limits the life situation of elderly male and female patients in a very similar manner, but there are a number of differences in how the situation is managed, with women having more feelings of being a burden to those around them, and men having more feelings of resignation. By given spouses insufficient support, the fact that they can be an asset in the care of patients with heart failure is often overlooked. The findings further demonstrate that an intervention directed by primary health care nurses with special training in heart failure can have a positive impact on the life situation and the health-related quality of life of these patients.
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| 10. |
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