Normative,authentic, and altruistic fruit and vegetable consumption as weblog discourses

The Internet is a growing information and communication channel for health- and diet-related issues. Keeping updated on the fruit- and vegetable-related (F&V) discourses among laypeople is important for health communicators in order to promote F&V consumption through tailored health messages. The aim of the present study was to identify F&V-related discourses in weblogs that were maintained, obviously, to influence diet. A theoretically chosen sample of weblogs were analysed applying critical discourse analysis. The analysis showed three partly overlapping F&V-related discourses: (1) normative consumption with a focus on single nutrients and physiological mechanisms; (2) authentic consumption with a desire for naturalness; and (3) altruistic consumption where ethical responsibilities are enhanced. Bloggers have clear perceptions on ideal F&V consumption, but it is a challenge for the reader to make a synthesis of the discourses presented. Filtering contradictory instructions requires health literacy, which may need more support from dietetic professionals.     

On the Gram series on Pearson's system of frequency functions

Abstract

Among the manifold frequency curves that may conceivably arise when it is assumed that, instead of the variate χ itself, a function of the latter, u = ψ(χ), is normally distributed, the logarithmic normal curve occupies a unique position for two reasons: it can be theoretically deduced from a slightly modified elementary error hypothesis and it is applicable in practice to different cases.     

Tourism as a mixed industry: Differences between private, public and not-for-profit festivals

This paper discusses important policy and management implications of tourism as a mixed industry in which public, not-for-profit, and private organisations such as festivals both compete and collaborate in creating the tourist product. To illustrate, four samples of festivals from the UK, Australia, Norway and Sweden are systematically compared in terms of their ownership, governance, structure, and content. Although the festivals offered a similar product and had similar mandates, they differed considerably in terms of revenue sources, cost structure, use of volunteers, corporate sponsorship, and decision-making. These differences are potentially important to destinations that view festivals as attractions and use them in place marketing. Implications are drawn for festival management and tourism policy, and recommendations are made for extending this line of inquiry to the tourism industry as a whole.     

On the validity and reliability of self-reported vote: validity without reliability?

Data from seven Swedish election study panels, 1973-1994, were analyzed to assess simultaneously the validity and reliability of self-reported vote. Eight categories were created, based on self-report at Time 1, an external check, and self-report at Time 2. Overall the validity and reliability of this measure were quite high. However, the cases in which the measure was valid but not reliable outnumbered those in which it was reliable but not valid. Subsequent turnout behavior was most strongly predicted by what people had done previously, but the two self-report measures were also significant predictors in the regression analysis. The eight categories were then compared on a series of demographic and political variables.     

Effective patent life of drugs in Sweden—a comparison with international studies

The effective patent life of all pharmaceutical New Chemical Entities registered in Sweden was investigated for the period 1965-88. Three-year moving average effective patent life was 12.3 years in the beginning of the period, while by the end of the period it had decreased to 8.3 years. If we exclude the increase in the nominal patent term which accompanied Sweden's entry into the European Patent Convention, the effective patent life decreases over the period by over 3 months per year. This coincides with the results of similar studies in other countries. If European research-oriented Pharmaceuticals companies are to maintain their international long-term competitiveness, patent term restoration measures appear to be urgently needed.     

NON‐LINEAR PRICING AND EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY

This paper investigates non‐linear pricing schedules that are based on Roemer's equality of opportunity (EOp) criterion, and compare them with the maximin and the utilitarian non‐linear pricing schedules. The main results suggest that the EOp policy offers a reasonable compromise between the maximin and the utilitarian policies in the sense that: (1) the consumption for each individual is highest under the utilitarian policy and lowest under the maximin policy, and (2) the individuals in the extreme positions rank the EOp policies between the maximin and the utilitarian policy in terms of utility level.     

芬兰明珠拉彭兰塔市

TheCityofLappeenrantahasalonghistoryasaniagnetfortourists,thegatewaytotheuniquelybeautifullakedistrictofEasternFinland.Nowadays,withnearly60,000inhabitantsLappeenrantaisamodernindustrial,administrativeandeducationalcentreoftheSouthKarelianRegion.Lappeenra…     

Measuring Price Effects of Concentration in Mixed Oligopoly: An Application to the Swedish Beef-slaughter Industry

Empirical studies of market power focus exclusively on industries with private firms. Yet, it is not uncommon to find private firms competing with public firms or cooperatives (coops) within the same market. We develop an empirical procedure for measuring market-power and cost-efficiency effects of concentration in mixed oligopoly consisting of coops and investment-owned firms (IOF) and apply the procedure to the Swedish beef-slaughter industry. We find that the cost-efficiency effect of coop concentration more than offset its market power effect, resulting lower beef prices. IOFs are found to be price-takers in both cattle procurement and beef sales.      

Born global or local? Factors influencing the internationalization of university spin-offs—the case of Halmstad University

A wealth of research in the past decades has examined born globals or international new ventures, which are firms that from inception view the whole world as a market and as a source to access resources. Many of these firms build their competitive advantage on high-tech knowledge. However, although many studies have shown how born globals can achieve success if they access resources through their relationships from actors in their networks, few studies have explored the relationship between born globals and universities. Universities are important actors in creating new technology knowledge, and many studies have shown how new firms, or so-called university spin-offs (USOs), are formed around universities. The current study explores why some USOs are successful in their international growth strategy and discusses the factors that influence and facilitate the internationalization process. The study investigates 10 USOs around the newly established Halmstad University in Sweden and finds that universities have a positive effect on firm creation and initial international growth. The regional competence base increases from the establishment of a local university, primarily by strengthening the regional human capital and by increasing university research. This study shows that researcher entrepreneurs’ ventures start as born globals, but that these firms do not continue to grow. Born global business models, per se, do not lead to competitive advantage and successful internationalization. Instead, a strategy built on customer focus and an ability to adapt to different customer demands lead to growth, and the location of growth is dependent on the size of the home market. This study also shows that student entrepreneurship can be a successful growth strategy for USOs focusing on both international and local markets.