Journal Staff

This paper addresses the issue of R&D internationalisation of two multinationals in the electro-technical industry (GE and ABB), by means of a patent data analysis. The overwhelming majority of both companies R&D activities are concentrated in Western Europé and North America. The locational overlap between the two firms' activities is small. These results are consistent with findings from earlier studies that (1) there is little evidence to suggest that the 'production' of technology is globalised in a general sense and (2)that tapping knowledge from an industry's global lead location plays a very limited role in foreign R&D investments.Original Publication:Anna Bergek and Christian Berggren, Technological Internationalisation in the Electro-Technical Industry: A Cross-company comparison of patenting patterns 1986-2000, 2005, Research Policy, (33), 9, 1285-1306.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2004.09.004Copyright: Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam.http://www.elsevier.com

Modelling the distribution of the invasive Roesel’s bushcricket (Metrioptera roeselii) in a fragmented landscape

The development of conservation strategies to mitigate the impact of invasive species requires knowledge of the species ecology and distribution. This is, however, often lacking as collecting biological data may be both time-consuming and resource intensive. Species distribution models can offer a solution to this dilemma by analysing the species-environment relationship with help of Geographic information systems (GIS). In this study, we model the distribution of the non-native bush-cricket Metrioptera roeselii in the agricultural landscape in mid-Sweden where the species has been rapidly expanding in its range since the 1990s. We extract ecologically relevant landscape variables from Swedish CORINE land-cover maps and use species presence-absence data from large-scale surveys to construct a species distribution model (SDM). The aim of the study is to increase the knowledge of the species range expansion pattern by examining how its distribution is affected by landscape composition and structure, and to evaluate SDM performance at two different spatial scales. We found that models including data on a scale of 1 × 1 km were able to explain more of the variation in species distribution than those on the local scale (10 m buffer on each side of surveyed road). The amount of grassland in the landscape, estimated from the area of arable land, pasture and rural settlements, was a good predictor of the presence of the species on both scales. The measurements of landscape structure – linear elements and fragmentation - gave ambivalent results which differed from previous small scaled studies on species dispersal behaviour and occupancy patterns. The models had good predictive ability and showed that areas dominated by agricultural fields and their associated grassland edges have a high probability being colonised by the species. Our study identified important landscape variables that explain the distribution of M. roeselii in Mid-Sweden that may also be important to other range expanding orthopteran species. This work will serve as a foundation for future analyses of species spread and ecological processes during range expansion

Empowerment according to whom? A critical assessment of Coca-Cola’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiative Parivartan (5by20) in India

”In many parts of the world, opening a bottle of Coca-Cola means opening the doors to economic empowerment for women.” Thus, by founding their latest global campaign 5by20, an initiative aiming to empower five million women before 2020 in their position as small-scale entrepreneurs, Coca Cola engages itself in what is called Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This notion of businesses engaging in social and ethical issues has recently turned to incorporate the (previous lack of) gender equality measures such as women’s empowerment. In India a subprogram of 5by20, Parivartan, aims to empower female retailers through helping them overcome everyday challenges and barriers faced in business. Nevertheless, there is an absence of external research done on which kind of assistance Parivartan provides and which the alignments and misalignments are between this program and women’s empowerment. Thus, deriving from fieldwork conducted in Punjab, India, this study is based on data collected from interviews with beneficiaries and key informants of the Parivartan. Using a thematic analysis, it finds that the program reproduces socially constructed gender roles within the business sphere, described as a “Feminization of Business”. It also discusses how the program uses women’s empowerment as an instrumentalization of gender equality rather than of intrinsic reasons, which correlates with the ‘Smart Economics’ approach put forth by international development institutions

Judicializing Politics, Politicizing Law

Since WWII there has been a profound shift in power away from legislatures and toward courts and other legal institutions around the world. It is no surprise that appointments to both the US Supreme Court and to other federal courts have become partisan political issues. Ferejohn argues that what is at stake, institutionally, is the allocation of legislative power--the power to establish general rules of prospective application

Growth, survival and development of house crickets (Acheta domesticus) fed flowering plants

House crickets (Acheta domesticus) are increasingly being used as food. This has the potential for a more efficient food production that also may benefit agroecosystems. As the first study to compare feeds based on European wild flowering plants as feed for house crickets we examined five common plants known to support biodiversity of wild insects (white clover (Trifolium repens), white nettle (Lamium album), common nettle (Urtica dioica), rough comfrey (Symphytum asperum) and common gypsophila (Gypsophila paniculata). These plants and a control diet were fed as dried and sole feeds ad libitum to one-day-old house crickets for 62 days in a climate-controlled laboratory. Cricket weight, mortality and feed intake were recorded every 7 days. An additional test examined crickets preferences for forages and the effect on maturation and weight, by providing a free choice of rapeseed and wheat meal and either an early- or late-cut red clover (Trifolium pratense) or white nettle for 62 days. Mortality of crickets fed common nettle, rough comfrey and common gypsophila exceeded 80% in first 7 days, so these plants were removed from the trial after 14 days. Survival of crickets on white nettle and control feed was 59% after 28 days and average cricket weight was similar. By day 62, the weight of crickets fed white nettle and white clover was on average 32 mg, compared with 201 mg on control feed. In the free choice test, crickets consumed 15-30% red clover, 31-37% wheat meal and 39-64% rapeseed. Crickets with access to red clover showed a higher (P<0.001) proportion of adults (28%) compared with the control (5%). We conclude that white nettle has potential as feed for house crickets during the early growth stages, and that red clover supplementation increase cricket maturation. Using feeds including white nettle and red clover in cricket rearing additionally benefits to support wild biodiversity and lower feed costs

A clue to invasion success: genetic diversity quickly rebounds after introduction bottlenecks

One of the fundamental questions in invasion biology is to understand the genetic mechanisms behind success or failure during the establishment of a species. However, major limitations to understanding are usually a lack of spatiotemporal population data and information on the populations' colonisation history. In a large-scale, detailed study on the bush-cricket Metrioptera roeselii 70 groups of founders were introduced in areas outside the species' distribution range. We examined how (1) the number of founders (2-32 individuals), (2) the time since establishment (7 or 15 years after introduction) and (3) possible gene flow affected establishment success and temporal genetic changes of the introduced populations. We found higher establishment success in introductions with larger propagule sizes but genetic diversity indices were only partly correlated to propagule size. As expected, introduced populations were more similar to their founder population the larger the propagule size was. However, even if apparent at first, most of the differentiation in the small propagule introductions disappeared over time. Surprisingly, genetic variability was regained to a level comparable to the large and outbreeding founder population only 15 generations after severe demographic bottlenecks. We suggest that the establishment of these populations could be a result of several mechanisms acting in synergy. Here, rapid increase in genetic diversity of few introductions could potentially be attributed to limited gene flow from adjacent populations, behavioural adaptations and/or even increased mutation rate. We present unique insights into genetic processes that point towards traits that are important for understanding species' invasiveness

Poisoning caused by lilies in cats

Vissa liljors njurtoxiska effekter på katter har beskrivits i litteraturen i snart 25 år, trots detta är den toxiska komponenten i liljan inte identifierad. Toxinet verkar dock vara vattenlösligt och själva blomman har i studier visat sig vara mer toxisk än bladen, även om hela växten är giftigt. Symptom som ses vid liljeförgiftning hos katt är kräkningar, anorexi och depression. Om förgiftningen inte blir behandlad utvecklas njursvikt till följd av tubulär nekros. Studier har visat att pankreatit kan uppkomma och att vissa arter av lilja kan ha toxiska effekter på levern. I dagsläget behandlas liljeförgiftade katter genom att att förhindra upptag av toxinet med emetika, magpumpning och aktivt kol. Vätsketerapi används även för att eliminera toxinet snabbare. I svårare fall när förloppet har fortskridit har hemodialys visat sig vara den enda behandling med viss effekt. Prognosen är dålig om behandling inte startas inom 18-24 timmar efter att katten har intagit växten. Den behandling som i dagsläget är praxis är dock inte nämnvärt specialiserad utan den är mer allmän behandling vid förgiftning. Fler studier behövs inom området för att kunna utöka kunskapen om vilka ämnen i liljan som är toxiska och utveckla den medicinska behandlingen av katter förgiftade av lilja. Studier visar att kattägares kunskap om liljors toxicitet är bristfällig.The nephrotoxic effects that some ingested lilies have on cats have been known in the literature for almost 25 years. Despite this, the toxic component of lilies is not yet known. The toxin is most likely water-soluble and, though the entire plant is toxic, the petals of the plant seem to be more poisonous than the leaves. The symptoms associated with lily poisoning in cats are vomiting, anorexia and depression followed by kidney failure caused by tubular necrosis. Studies have also shown that pancreatitis can occur and that some species of lily may cause liver damage. Cats poisoned by lilies are currently treated with fluid therapy and decontamination: vomiting, gastric lavage and active coal. When the intoxication have progressed hemodialysis seem to be the only effective treatment. The prognosis is very unfavorable if treatment is not started within 18-24 hours after the cat have been exposed. The current treatment is not very specific; it follows the standard treatment when an animal has been poisoned. More studies are needed in order to increase the knowledge of what the specific toxin in lilies consists of and improve the treatment of cats poisoned by lilies. Studies have shown that cat owners’ knowledge of the poisonous effects of lilies is lacking

Growth and survival of reared Cambodian field crickets (Teleogryllus testaceus) fed weeds, agricultural and food industry by-products

This study evaluated survival and growth of Cambodian field crickets (Teleogryllus testaceus) during captivity when fed a set of local weed species, agricultural and food industry by-products. Wild individuals were caught at two locations in Cambodia, kept in pens and fed commercial chicken feed until the second generation off-spring hatched. First larval stage nymphs from this generation were collected and used in a 70-day feeding trial with one control treatment (chicken feed) and 12 experimental treatments (rice bran, cassava plant tops, water spinach, spent grain, residue from mungbean sprout production, and Alternanthera sessilis, Amaranthus spinosus, Commelina benghalensis, Cleome rutidosperma, Cleome viscosa, Boerhavia diffusa and Synedrela nodiflora). The crickets were kept in plastic cages and feed intake, weight and survival of crickets were recorded weekly. Overall survival did not differ between chicken feed and the experimental treatments with the exception of crickets fed B. diffusa, which had lower survival. From day 35 to day 49, survival on A. sessilis was also lower (P<0.05) than on chicken feed. There was no difference in weight between crickets fed chicken feed, cassava tops and C. rutidosperma. However, crickets fed A. sessilis, A. spinosus and B. diffusa weighed less than those fed chicken feed already at day 21. The feed conversion rate ranged from 1.6 to 3.9 and was ≤1.9 in crickets fed chicken feed, cassava plant tops and C. rutidosperma. Thus this study shows that it is possible, using simple means, to rear Cambodian field crickets. Cassava plant tops and C. rutidosperma both have great potential as cricket feed and the other weeds, with the exception of A. sessilis, A. spinosus and B. diffusa, agricultural and food industry by-products tested, also showed potential