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| 2. |
- Hytönen, Ann-Marie, et al.
(författare)
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Haplotypes of the interleukin-4 receptor alpha chain gene associate with susceptibility to and severity of atopic asthma
- 2004
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Ingår i: Clin Exp Allergy. ; 34:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Summary Background Development of asthma is likely to depend on a complex interaction between environmental and genetic factors. Several groups have suggested the gene of the IL-4 receptor alpha chain (IL4R) as a candidate gene for the development of asthma, although association with single polymorphisms has shown contradicting results. Objective We chose to analyse IL4R gene haplotypes and assess their possible relevance in susceptibility to asthma and to certain clinical phenotypes. Methods IL4R gene haplotypes were analysed, based on the three markers C-3223T, Q551R and I50V, using the expectation-maximization algorithm, in 170 atopic asthma patients and 350 controls, all adult Swedish Caucasians. Results Our data showed significantly higher levels of soluble IL-4R (sIL-4R) in asthma patients compared with controls (P<0.0001). Furthermore, we showed a significant association between the IL4R haplotype containing the alleles T-3223, V50 and R551 (TVR) of the IL4R gene, and susceptibility to atopic asthma, with a frequency of 6.5% in the patients compared with 1% in the controls (P<0.0005). A subgroup of patients with heterozygous or homozygous state for the T-3223, V50 and R551 alleles, also had lower levels of sIL-4R in their circulation compared with patients with homozygous state in the C-3223, I50 and Q551 alleles (P<0.05) and showed less severe asthma according to lung function test (P<0.05). Analysis of single markers showed the T-3223 IL4R allele to associate with lower serum levels of sIL-4 receptor (P<0.0001) and patients carrying the T allele also had more symptoms of active asthma (wheezing, P<0.01; coughing, P<0.05 and breathing difficulties, P<0.01). Conclusion Our data suggest that asthmatic patients with low levels of sIL-4 receptor may represent a genetically distinct subgroup of atopic asthma. TVR haplotype analyses confirm the importance of IL4R as a candidate gene for susceptibility to asthma. This finding may have implications for the understanding of the pathogenesis of asthma and possibly for the development of more specific therapies.
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| 3. |
- Lindgren, Monica, 1959-, et al.
(författare)
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A project-based view of entrepreneurship : Towards action-orientation, seriality and collectivity
- 2003. - 1
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Ingår i: New movements of entrepreneurship. - Cheltenham : Edward Elgar Publishing. - 1843762196 ; , s. 86-102
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Traditional entrepreneurship research often tends to view entrepreneurship in terms of individual actors starting enterprises, an approach which might limit further development of entrepreneurship theory. The project-based view of entrepreneurship proposed here instead focuses on the organising of entrepreneurial acts (action-orientation). Such entrepreneurial acts can be, but are not limited to, enterprise start-ups – entrepreneurship also happens in many other forms. Moreover, those acts are temporary by nature, which means that they can be analysed in terms of projects. Saying that entrepreneurial acts are temporary projects means that people can perform several entrepreneurial acts during a lifetime – in different ways and with different results (seriality). Entrepreneurial acts are also viewed as collective ones, organised by several actors in actor networks temporarily coupled together by a somewhat common mission (collectivity). From this reasoning, it also follows that empirical investigation of project-based entrepreneurship should be made with a narrative approach, understanding the entrepreneurial act as a part of the various actors’ construction of identity. With respect to every actor’s - socially constructed - view of reality we therefore can understand the social construction of the entrepreneurial act. By stressing a project-based view with a social constructionist perspective we hope to encourage pluralism and diversity in theory, practice and methodology.
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| 4. |
- Lindgren, Monica, 1959-, et al.
(författare)
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A Project-based View of Entrepreneurship : Serial Entrepreneurs and Collective Action
- 2001
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- One important concern of the ongoing debates within entrepreneurship research is the tendency of operationalising entrepreneurship as enterprise start-ups. However, some researchers have noted that entrepreneurship and enterprise start-up are not always connected - entrepreneurial acts do not always result in a formal enterprise and not all enterprises are the result of an innovative entrepreneurial act. Moreover, the individual entrepreneur is usually identified from a single start-up, which means that serial entrepreneurship and/or other entrepreneurial acts in their life paths are neglected. If an enterprise start-up is an entrepreneurial act or not should be regarded as context-dependent; to start a traditional enterprise in an established and legitimate industry should not be regarded as ”entrepreneurial” as starting an innovative one in a context characterised by scepticism and hostility. In addition, there is also a tendency in society to organise innovative processes in terms of projects rather than as enterprises, and there are also research results indicating that some individuals handle enterprise start-ups as a sequence of projects in which the entrepreneur goes on to new start-ups when the enterprise has been established on the market. To summarise, there are several reasons for analysing both entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial acts in terms of project-based work. The aim of the paper is thus to discuss and argue for a project-based view of entrepreneurship, which means that the ongoing entrepreneurial acts of the individual is studied in terms of time-limited courses of action. Our analysis of a number of narratives from individuals working in creative projects (theatres and musicals, regional development and independent schools) shows that their entrepreneurship is most evident both in terms of idea generation and project organising, and that a lot of non-standardised project work is in fact entrepreneurial acts according to most definitions. These individuals also tended towards serial entrepreneurship, where projects, endeavours in private life, community work and also enterprise start-ups were mixed over time. In order to further our understanding of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship, it seems most important to study series of entrepreneurial acts in the life path of an individual rather than each act as a single event. An additional conclusion from these empirical data is that these entrepreneurial acts cannot always be ascribed single individuals only. To realise innovative ideas, it is often necessary that several individuals are involved in terms of teams or social networks. To put forward an creative and/or innovative idea should in itself be regarded as an entrepreneurial act (speaking is also an act), but to transform it into successful action teamwork is required where issues concerning practical implementation, organising, marketing etc must also be subject to entrepreneurial thinking and action. From this, we conclude that entrepreneurship should be studied in terms of serial projects in the life course of individuals. In order to understand this process we argue that qualitative studies, of narrative character, are necessary. By such an approach, the concept of entrepreneurship is extended from enterprise start-up as an empirical phenomenon to the individual and collective creative and innovative acts that individuals and groups of individuals perform during their lives in different dimensions, forms and societal sectors.
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| 7. |
- Lindgren, Monica, 1959-, et al.
(författare)
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Entrepreneurship inside and outside community : On the promises and problems of deviating
- 2004
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this article is to contribute to a developed understanding of the phenomenon of entrepreneurship as deviating from its local cultural context. This is done through the analysis of an in-depth case study made from a social constructionist perspective. Entrepreneurial individuals and collectives define themselves - and are defined by others - in relation to general expectations on what an entrepreneur is and how he or she should behave, and we therefore claim that the entrepreneurial process is about identifying, challenging and breaking institutionalized patterns, to temporarily de-socialize from society rather than socialize into it.In this paper, we present an in-depth study of the Hultsfred rock festival in Sweden and how the actors behind the festival has initiated a number of entrepreneurial processes over the years. The study is based on recurrent interviews, participant observation and documentation. In the interviews with the (inter)actors in the Hultsfred organisation, a number of narrative themes on the relation between the entrepreneurial processes and the context emerged. One such theme was the image of rock music and rock culture as rebellious and different as compared to the local culture of sports. Another theme was the massive lack of local understanding for the special characteristics of the music industry, this due to the traditional industrial structure of the region. The relation between the RockCity people and their context has also been characterised by an ongoing debate on the relation between culture and commercial business (cf also Mort et al, 2003), which has also led to severe internal conflicts. It appeared that when met by scepticism on the local arena, RockCity instead focused on networking and collaboration on other arenas; regionally, nationally and internationally. Still, they all share a basic desire to make Hultsfred a better and more prosperous place to live, which represents an aim to contribute and be respected, to be seen as an important and relevant part of community development.
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| 8. |
- Lindgren, Monica, 1959-, et al.
(författare)
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Identity construction among boundary-crossing individuals
- 2001
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Management. - : Elsevier. - 0956-5221 .- 1873-3387. ; 17:3, s. 357-377
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this article we describe a study of boundary-crossing individuals (individuals who change organisation frequently) and the way they construct identities through interaction and self-reflexion. It is argued from a social constructionist perspective that studies of the way individual identities are constructed are important to our understanding of the complexity of the identity phenomenon. Identities cannot simply be reduced to certain stable institutionalised aspects such as profession or gender. Rather life should be seen as an ongoing process of identity construction, whereby reflexion upon life episodes and the pattern of such episodes shape identities. The results suggest different patterns of articulations through narratives. These narratives are associated with different underlying ontological discourses that describe diverse ways of reasoning among boundary-crossing individuals.
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| 9. |
- Lindgren, Monica, 1959-, et al.
(författare)
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Interactive entrepreneurship : Studying entrepreneurship as projects, in projects
- 2002
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- While the development of mainstream entrepreneurship research has been quite successful in academic terms, the field has adopted some taken-for-granted assumptions and views hampering its further development, e.g. the polarisation between individual voluntarism and institutional determinism, the focus on single individuals, the focus on enterprise start-ups etc. Contrary to that, we propose a social constructionist epistemology in entrepreneurship research, according to which entrepreneurship is collectively organised by individuals in interaction, i.e. as projects. In this paper, two issues connected to the notion of ‘interactive entrepreneurship’ are discussed; the meaning of innovative social processes and the empirical inquiry on innovative projects. It is concluded by a discussion on how recent developments in project management can be beneficial to entrepreneurship research.
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