Trend, status or need? A study of men's fashion customer behaviour in Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish markets

Objectives The motivation for this study arises from the author's personal professional interest towards the differences in men's fashion customer behaviour as a Norwegian premium menswear chain "Volt", operating currently in Norway and Sweden is now entering the Finnish market. In order for the newcomer to offer the Finnish men the best possible shopping experiences the chain needs to know the local customer. The objective of this study is to understand if there are differences in men's fashion customer behaviour in the selected markets, what those differences are, and specifically what is the customer behaviour of a Finnish man as a fashion customer. Secondary objective of the study is to understand the Finnish fashion market from the viewpoint of a men's premium fashion shop chain that has operated previously in Norway and Sweden. Methodology The study combines the theories of customer behaviour with service design tools, in specific the customer journey tool, to form a theoretical framework for the entire study. The empirical part of the study is a qualitative research on the differences of Norwegian, Swedish, and Finnish men's fashion customers and markets. The study is conducted as interviews with several industry professionals operating in these areas. Interview results are analyzed within the theoretical framework, reflecting existing literature and studies on the topic. Key findings from the research are summarized and viewed from the perspective of a newcomer and in particular Volt, entering the Finnish market. The differences in Finnish market compared to Norway and Sweden are highlighted, specifically what should be taken into account when entering the market. Last, key conclusions are summarized and further studies are suggested around the topic. Results Norway, Sweden and Finland are indeed slightly different as markets for men's fashion. The main difference is in the very beginning of the purchase process as the Swedish man follows trends, the Norwegian values traditionality and status and the Finnish man values comfort and good customer service as he is shopping for a need. Though customer service was a key component in all of the markets, it was more prominent in Finland. Other highlighted findings of the study were the differences in customer behaviour regarding younger men and others, and the possibilities offered by webshops. The young men seem to reflect more women than traditional men with their fashion customer behaviour. As Finnish men are more comfort seeking and not necessarily as fashion conscious as their neighbours in Norway and particularly in Sweden, a new operator in the market should emphasize the high standards of customer service. The newcomer should also take into account the different initiatives of the purchase process by market and utilize this information in for example choices regarding their selection. With good customer service rising as one of the most highlighted topic in the results, it is suggested that further studies with service design perspective in the area would be valuable

To understand, prevent and deal with violations : one of the preeschool's most inmportent tasks

Most people tend to associate the concepts of bullying and abuse between children with something that occurs mainly in school. Research shows the prevalence of abuse and bullying among children already in preschool age with the risk of serious consequences later on. According to the National Agency for Education (Skolverket 2018), the preschool has assignments regarding values-related issues and to establish measures to prevent violations. Our study shows preschool teachers' experience of the phenomenon of abusive treatment and bullying among preschool children.  Research shows that children who experience bullying are in need of the support of both guardians and professionals so that the difficulties they experience will not follow them later in school age and perhaps even later in life. On the other hand, both previous research and our own study, indicate that guardians often do not know about the preschool's work to counteract abusive treatment.

Non-Coding RNAs in Human Breast Milk : A Systematic Review

Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition and hydration for the newborn infant but also plays an important role in the childs first immune defense. Additionally, several breast milk factors have been implicated in immune-related health outcomes later in life, including immunoglobulins, cytokines, chemokines, growth factors and, more recently, non-coding RNA (ncRNA) species. In this systematic review, we provide a comprehensive summary of the current literature on endogenous ncRNAs found in human breast milk. Thirty (30) relevant studies were identified and, whilst the majority studies focused on microRNAs (miRNAs), there is evidence that breast milk contains high quantities of RNA which also include long-coding RNAs, circular RNAs, as well as other short RNAs and fragmented tRNA and rRNAs. Among studies investigating miRNAs, miR-148a-3p, miR-30a/d-5p, miR-22-3p, miR-146b-5p, miR-200a/c-3p, and the 5p end of the let-7 miRNAs were commonly reported among the top 10 miRNAs in the cell, lipid, and skim milk fractions of breast milk. Methodological difference and small sample sizes limit the possibility of conclusively identifying which maternal and infant characteristics affect the miRNA profile. The highly expressed miRNAs were generally reported to be similar across lactational stage, milk fraction, maternal and infant characteristics, or infant growth and health. All the same, individual studies identify potential differences in miRNA expression levels which should be confirmed by future studies. Stability, uptake, and physiological functions of miRNAs were also considered in several studies. Breast milk miRNAs are relatively resistant to a range of harsh conditions and uptake experiments suggest that extracellular vesicles containing miRNAs and circular RNAs can be taken up by intestinal epithelial cells. Although the evidence regarding the functional effect of breast milk miRNAs is limited, the predicted functions range from metabolic and biosynthetic processes to signaling pathways, cellular adhesion, communication, growth, and differentiation. Finally, this systematic review highlights some of the methodological challenges and knowledge gaps which can help direct future research in this field. In particular, it is important to further investigate the bioavailability of miRNAs in different milk fractions, and to characterize other ncRNAs which are largely unstudied. Systematic Review Registration PROSPERO https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=138989, identifier CRD42020138989

Breast milk microRNAs: Potential players in oral tolerance development

Breast milk is an essential source of nutrition and hydration for the infant. In addition, this highly complex biological fluid contains numerous immunologically active factors such as microorganisms, immunoglobulins, cytokines and microRNAs (miRNAs). Here, we set out to predict the function of the top 10 expressed miRNAs in human breast milk, focusing on their relevance in oral tolerance development and allergy prevention in the infant. The top expressed miRNAs in human breast milk were identified on basis of previous peer-reviewed studies gathered from a recent systematic review and an updated literature search. The miRNAs with the highest expression levels in each study were used to identify the 10 most common miRNAs or miRNA families across studies and these were selected for subsequent target prediction. The predictions were performed using TargetScan in combination with the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery. The ten top expressed miRNAs were: let-7-5p family, miR-148a-3p, miR-30-5p family, miR-200a-3p + miR-141-3p, miR-22-3p, miR-181-5p family, miR-146b-5p, miR-378a-3p, miR-29-3p family, miR-200b/c-3p and miR-429-3p. The target prediction identified 3,588 potential target genes and 127 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways; several connected to the immune system, including TGF-b and T cell receptor signaling and T-helper cell differentiation. This review highlights the role of breast milk miRNAs and their potential contribution to infant immune maturation. Indeed, breast milk miRNAs seem to be involved in several pathways that influence oral tolerance development