Estimation of Heterogeneous Treatment Effects on Hazard Rates

Consider a setting where a treatment that starts at some point during a spell (e.g. in unemployment) may impact on the hazard rate of the spell duration, and where the impact may be heterogeneous across subjects. We provide Monte Carlo evidence on the feasibility of estimating the distribution of treatment effects from duration data with selectivity, by means of a nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator with unrestricted numbers of mass points for the heterogeneity distribution. We find that specifying the treatment effect as homogenous may yield misleading average results if the true effects are heterogeneous, even when the sorting into treatment is appropriately accounted for. Specifying the treatment effect as a random coefficient allows for precise estimation of informative average treatment effects including the program’s overall impact on the mean duration.duration analysis, unobserved heterogeneity, program evaluation, nonparametric estimation, Monte Carlo simulation, timing of events, random effects

Effektmåling i norsk PR-bransje

Det stilles økte krav til dokumentasjon av arbeidet PR-byråer gjennomfører. Både kunder, journalister, og offentligheten generelt er mer interessert i å vite hva som foregår i de store konsernhusene. Effektmåling er et relativt nytt fenomen, og er lite forsket på i Norge. Vi har derfor sett på internasjonal teori, men brukt norske PR-byråer som respondenter. Vi har sett på PR-bransjen igjennom historien og funnet forskjeller og likheter med dagens PR-bransje. Vi har blant annet sett på akademikerne Jim Macnamara, Scott Cutlip, Walter Lindenmann, Tom Watson og James Grunig. Problemstillingen vår er: «hvordan måler norsk PR-bransje effekt?» For å få svar på denne problemstillingen benyttet vi kvalitativ metode. Vi gjennomførte fem dybdeintervjuer samt et intervju med en informatant. De fem respondentene var både fra PRbyråer og på kundesiden. Vi valgte en blanding av respondenter slik at vi tydeligere kunne se eventuelle forskjeller og fordommer mellom byråer og kunder

Sponsing i langrennssporten: Veldedighet eller markedsføring?

Temaet for denne oppgaven er sponsing innen langrennssporten. Formålet med oppgaven er å få en bredere forståelse for hvordan sponsingen fungerer, hva bedrifter vil oppnå med den, og hvorvidt de oppnår det. Gjennom alle år har vi sett store bedrifter bruke millioner av kroner på sponsing og lurt på hva de egentlig får ut av det. I denne oppgaven ønsket vi å finne ut av nettopp det. Vår problemstilling ble derfor “hva får sponsorer av de norske langrennslandslagene ut av sitt sponsorat?” Med grunnlag i teori og data vi har hentet inn med kvalitative dybdeintervjuer kommer vi med konkrete resultater som besvarer problemstillingen. Teorien vår er basert på pensumbøker og annen faglitteratur rundt sponsing. Vi har gjennomført et kvalitativt casestudie for å belyse problemstillingen. Hensikten med dette har vært å få et helhetlig inntrykk og godt innblikk av sponsing innen langrenn. Primærdata samlet vi gjennom dybdeintervjuer av informanter med mye erfaring på hver sin side av sponsoravtaler. Vi analyserte dataene og så den opp mot teorien om sponsing for å belyse vår problemstilling. Vi har i oppgaven funnet ut at sponsorene i hovedsak får overført assosiasjoner, økt synlighet, mulighet for å danne B2B-avtaler og intern aktivering

Digital cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia in individuals with self-reported insomnia and chronic fatigue: A secondary analysis of a large scale randomized controlled trial

Insomnia is associated with fatigue, but it is unclear whether response to cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia is altered in individuals with co-occurring symptoms of insomnia and chronic fatigue. This is a secondary analysis using data from 1717 participants with self-reported insomnia in a community-based randomized controlled trial of digital cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia compared with patient education. We employed baseline ratings of the Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire to identify participants with more or fewer symptoms of self-reported chronic fatigue (chronic fatigue, n = 592; no chronic fatigue, n = 1125). We used linear mixed models with Insomnia Severity Index, Short Form-12 mental health, Short Form-12 physical health, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale separately as outcome variables. The main covariates were main effects and interactions for time (baseline versus 9-week follow-up), intervention, and chronic fatigue. Participants with chronic fatigue reported significantly greater improvements following digital cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia compared with patient education on the Insomnia Severity Index (Cohen's d = 1.36, p < 0.001), Short Form-12 mental health (Cohen's d = 0.19, p = 0.029), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Cohen's d = 0.18, p = 0.010). There were no significant differences in the effectiveness of digital cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia between chronic fatigue and no chronic fatigue participants on any outcome. We conclude that in a large community-based sample of adults with insomnia, co-occurring chronic fatigue did not moderate the effectiveness of digital cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia on any of the tested outcomes. This may further establish digital cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia as an adjunctive intervention in individuals with physical and mental disorders.publishedVersio

Dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep (DBAS) mediate outcomes in dCBT-I on psychological distress, fatigue, and insomnia severity

Objective/background Digital cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (dCBT-I) improves several sleep and health outcomes in individuals with insomnia. This study investigates whether changes in Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep (DBAS) during dCBT-I mediate changes in psychological distress, fatigue, and insomnia severity. Patients/methods The study presents a secondary planned analysis of data from 1073 participants in a randomized control trial (Total sample = 1721) of dCBT-I compared with patient education (PE). Self-ratings with the Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep (DBAS), the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS), the Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFQ), and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) were obtained at baseline and 9-week follow-up. Hayes PROCESS mediation analyses were conducted to test for mediation. Results and conclusion sDBAS scores were significantly reduced at 9-week follow-up for those randomized to dCBT-I (n = 566) compared with PE (n = 507). The estimated mean difference was −1.49 (95% CI -1.66 to −1.31, p < .001, Cohen's d. = 0.93). DBAS mediated all the effect of dCBT-I on the HADS and the CFQ, and 64% of the change on the ISI (Estimated indirect effect −3.14, 95% CI -3.60 to −2.68) at 9-week follow-up compared with PE. Changes in the DBAS fully mediated the effects of dCBT-I on psychological distress and fatigue, and the DBAS partially mediated the effects on insomnia severity. These findings may have implications for understanding how dCBT-I works and highlights the role of changing cognitions in dCBT-I.publishedVersio

HYPSO-1 CubeSat: First Images and In-Orbit Characterization

The HYPSO-1 satellite, a 6U CubeSat carrying a hyperspectral imager, was launched on 13 January 2022, with the Goal of imaging ocean color in support of marine research. This article describes the development and current status of the mission and payload operations, including examples of agile planning, captures with low revisit time and time series acquired during a campaign. The in-orbit performance of the hyperspectral instrument is also characterized. The usable spectral range of the instrument is in the range of 430 nm to 800 nm over 120 bands after binning during nominal captures. The spatial resolvability is found empirically to be below 2.2 pixels in terms of Full-Width at Half-Maximum (FWHM) at 565 nm. This measure corresponds to an inherent ground resolvable resolution of 142 m across-track for close to nadir capture. In the across-track direction, there are 1216 pixels available, which gives a swath width of 70 km. However, the 684 center pixels are used for nominal captures. With the nominal pixels used in the across-track direction, the nadir swath-width is 40 km. The spectral resolution in terms of FWHM is estimated to be close to 5 nm at the center wavelength of 600 nm, and the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) is evaluated to be greater than 300 at 450 nm to 500 nm for Top-of-Atmosphere (ToA) signals. Examples of images from the first months of operations are also shown.publishedVersio

The effect of the 2016 tax reform act on cum-cum trading in Germany : an empirical study on trading volume of the 100 most traded stocks from 2012 to 2018

Various cases of sophisticated tax-motivated trading practices have recently received public attention all across Europe. These practices, some of them considered frauds, have deprived the targeted jurisdictions of tremendous tax income. In Germany the size amounts to billions of euros, and authorities have throughout the last years introduced several legislations in order to prevent these practices. In this thesis we investigate the effect of the 2016 Tax Reform Act, aimed at combatting cum-cum trading in Germany. The intention behind the reform is to reduce trading between foreign and domestic market participants around ex-dividend date, who have previously capitalized on a loophole that allowed foreign participants to avoid paying withholding tax on dividends. The Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern) in Germany introduced this reform only four years after prohibiting cum-ex trading, a similar, nonetheless more sophisticated tax-avoiding practice. We conduct an event study to investigate whether the legislation has achieved its intended effect by analysing the trading volume for the 100 most traded German stocks in the period January 2012 to July 2018. By analysing the trading volume in a seven-day window around the stock going ex-dividend, we find a significant decrease in the trading volume for five out of the seven days for taxable dividends, after the tax legislation was introduced. We have further analysed whether the decrease in trading volume around ex-dividend date has been greater for high yielding dividends than low or medium yielding dividends, but our results are inconclusive on the matter. Whether the tax legislation introduced in 2016 has achieved its desired effect will need further research, but we argue that the preventative reform is an improvement in reducing the cost to the German state and its taxpayers.nhhma

The stock market effect of Cybercriminals : an empirical study of the price effects on US listed companies targeted by a data breach

This study investigates the effect of a data breach with more than 30 000 records stolen on publicly US listed companies' share price. Utilizing the market model, we examine abnormal returns after an announcement of a data breach in the period between 2010 and 2019. Further, the study focuses exclusively on data breaches that either was officially confirmed by the targeted company through a press release, statements to the media or confirmed through independent media reports. We find a negative and statistically significant average reduction in the share price on the day of and following the announcement of a data breach. The cumulative effect of a data breach on the share price stabilizes at day six in the event window after the announcement of the data breach. Our findings are consistent over the analyzed event windows, indicating a negative abnormal return following a data breach. Furthermore, we find a considerable variance in the reduction in share price within the sample. Hence, we are looking closer into the heterogeneity of the data breaches. First, we investigate the differences between industries and find that the finance industry experiences the most severe decline. Secondly, in line with the increased media attention we explore the average market reaction of a data breach in the two periods 2010 to 2014 and 2015 to 2019. Our findings indicate a greater reduction in the market value in the period 2015 to 2019. Furthermore, we run a regression that accounts for firm-specific traits and variables that attempt to capture the individual data breaches' characteristics. The regression finds that the data sensitivity, number of records stolen, customer segment and firm size influence the market reaction. Lastly, a data breach can have large consequences for the management team as job losses are relatively common.nhhma

Internal Branding - En systematisk oversikt over påvirkning av ansattes merkevarestøttende engasjement og adferd

Denne masteroppgaven er en kvalitativ systematisk oversikt over internal branding-prosessers påvirkning på ansattes merkevarestøttende engasjement og adferd. Internal branding er et relativt nytt og voksende konsept som har fragmentert forskningen på flere måter. Blant annet er det manglende konsensus i litteraturen om konseptets faktiske implikasjoner. Det er likevel noen ting som det er konsensus om i litteraturen om internal branding. Blant annet at kjernen i internal branding-prosesser er å få de ansatte til å internalisere organisasjonens merkevare, og ”å leve merkevaren” og dens verdier og holdninger. Denne masteroppgaven tar sikte på å beskrive forskningen om konseptet internal branding i håp om å forbedre praksis, samt å utvikle større klarhet på feltet generelt. Masteroppgavens hovedproblemstilling er som følger: Fører internal branding-prosesser til at ansatte i en organisasjon får økt engasjement til merkevaren samt viser merkevarestøttende adferd? Oppgaven tar altså for seg hva forskningen sier om effekten av internal branding-prosesser fra de ansattes perspektiv, hva som fungerer eller ikke, og om det er noen generelle fellestrekk. Datasettet som analyseres består av både kvantitativ og kvalitativ data, og ble innsamlet via intensiv litteratursøk i de elektroniske databasene Scopus og ProQuest. Utvalget består av 26 artikler, hvorav over halvparten baserer seg på kvantitative data, og alle stammer fra land med kulturelle likheter. På bakgrunn av teori om internal branding, organisasjonskultur, merkevarebygging, og implementeringsteori, analyseres data fra disse 26 utvalgte artiklene for å belyse hvordan internal branding-prosesser påvirker ansattes merkevarestøttende engasjement og adferd. Studiens hovedfunn er at forskningen på feltet indikerer at internal branding-prosesser har oftere positiv påvirkning på ansattes merkevarestøttende engasjement og adferd, men på grunn av manglende forskning på flere områder blant de utvalgte artiklene kan dette vanskelig kan generaliseres. Likevel er det flere sammenlignbare fellestrekk i artiklene som ser ut til være viktige aspekter for vellykkede internal branding-prosesser: Ledelsens funksjon. For at internal branding-prosessen skal implementeres på en best mulig måte, viser artiklenes resultater til at ledelsen selv må levere væremåte og tale som tilsvarer ønsket endring. Det er også ledelsens ansvar å tilrettelegge for implementeringsprosessen ved å skape fora for kommunikasjon, slik at de ansattes ønsker, synspunkter, og lignende blir hørt og sett. Medvirkning og samskaping. Inkludering og medvirkning av de ansatte i merkevarebyggingen viser seg å være avgjørende for vellykket implementering av internal branding-prosesser. Dette øker sjansen for at de ansatte føler et personlig eierskap og tilknytning til merkevaren, og øker dermed sjansen for at merkevaren blir internalisert. Det er også viktig for at merkevarebyggingen og organisasjonens verdier og mål skal reflektere praksis. Organisasjonskultur. Organisasjonskultur som fostrer åpenhet og inkludering av alle ansatte har stor positiv effekt på merkevarestøttende engasjement og adferd. Dette øker også ansattes trivsel på arbeidsplassen, ifølge flere av de utvalgte artiklene. Bransjespesifisitet. Noen bransjer har lettere for å adoptere nye organisatoriske trender, og disse er også mer fremtredende i forskningen om internal branding. Majoriteten av de utvalgte artiklene tar for seg tertiærnæringer og bransjer som historisk sett oftere adopterer nye management teknikker og -trender. De utvalgte artiklene indikerer også at det er manglende forskning på internal branding-prosessers effekt på ansatte i offentlige virksomheter

Attention outcome in the acute stage following uncomplicated and complicated mild traumatic brain injury

This thesis examined the consequences mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) has on neuropsychological measures of attention two weeks after injury, using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB). Most studies report attention to be impaired after mild TBI. Moreover, attention might be more impaired in patients with findings on neuroimaging, characterized as having a complicated mild TBI, because networks controlling attention are widespread in the brain and axonal injuries like traumatic axonal injury are suggested pathophysiology after mild TBI. Mild TBI patients do also often report psychological complaints. Psychological and other mild TBI comorbid factors make it difficult to determine the effect neuropathology has on neuropsychological performance. The CANTAB is potentially better suited to assess neuropsychological functioning after mild TBI, since traditional neuropsychological measures have been criticized. It was hypothesized that I) Mild TBI patients would perform worse on neuropsychological measures of attention and report more distress on selected self-reported measures than healthy matched controls 2 weeks after injury. II) That complicated mild TBI patients would perform worse on neuropsychological measures of attention than uncomplicated mild TBI patients and healthy matched controls 2 weeks after injury. A final sample of 62 patients with mild TBI and 49 healthy matched controls were compared on performance in the CANTAB analyzed with multivariate and univariate analysis. The participants answered questionnaires assessing self-reported symptoms, these were analyzed with univariate measures. All patients were examined with MRI at 3 Tesla within 72 hours after injury. There was no statistical significant difference between patients with mild TBI and matched healthy controls on measures of attention. CT and MRI results identified 7 patients with complicated mild TBI, a group too small to analyze statistically. The patients reported significantly more complaints on concentration, memory and pain compared to controls. It was concluded that the sample in this thesis was representative for the mild TBI population and that although some patients reported complaints on some self-reported measures, most patients with mild TBI show good neuropsychological outcome of attention two weeks after injury