Career identity, an entrepreneurial perspective : a qualitative study of entrepreneurship students’ career identity

Bakgrunn: Politikkutformingen og forskningen har fokusert på oppstartsvirksomhet og selvansettelse som suksessindikatorer for entreprenørskapsutdanninger. Dermed har flertallet av studentene, de som ikke velger å bli gründere, paradoksalt nok vært neglisjert som fokus i forskningen. Hurtig digitalisering og gjentatte finansielle kriser har de siste årene ført til turbulente verdensmarkeder og skapt økt etterspørsel i arbeidsmarkedet etter kandidater med entreprenørielle kunnskaper. Utvikling av karriereidentitet blir ansett som en nødvendig prosess for å fremme entreprenørielle motiver og handlinger, og er en kritisk brikke i et individs evne til å tilpasse seg arbeidsmarkedet. I litteraturen er det likevel svært begrenset forskning på hvordan karriereidentitet utvikles i løpet av entreprenørskapsutdanningen og hvorvidt dette påvirker karriereaspirasjoner. Det kreves derfor mer forskning for å forstå hvordan entreprenørskapsutdanning påvirker utviklingen av karriereidentitet og studentenes evner til å tilpasse seg arbeidsmarkedet. Hensikt: Formålet med denne oppgaven har vært å skape en forståelse for hvordan entreprenørskapsutdanning påvirker utviklingen av karriereidentitet blant entreprenørskapsstudenter, og videre hvordan entreprenørskapsstudenter tester, tilpasser og videreutvikler sin karriereidentitet i arbeidslivet etter endt utdanning. Vi har søkt å skape denne forståelsen gjennom å svare på følgende problemstilling: Hvordan utvikler entreprenørskapskandidater sin karriereidentitet gjennom studieløpet og i møtet med arbeidslivet? Metode: For å besvare problemstillingen har vi gjennomført en fenomenologisk studie med individuelle dybdeintervju av alumni fra entreprenørskapsutdanning. Anerkjent identitetsteori knytter utvikling av karriereidentitet til utviklingen av “fortellinger om seg selv”. Intervjuene ga oss innsikt i informantens repertoar av selvfortellinger som i stor grad speiler informantens identitet og gir et bilde av informantens utvikling i konteksten av karrierevalg og kulturen valgene er gjort i. Funn og implikasjoner: Funnene i oppgaven bekrefter og viderefører etablert identitetsteori inn i et entreprenørskapsperspektiv. Gjennom deltakelse i ulike sosiale arenaer utfører entreprenørskapsstudentene en utviklingsprosess i tre steg der de skaffer seg en økt mulighetsforståelse, eksperimenterer med provisoriske væremåter og evaluerer utfall. Gjennom denne utviklingen på entreprenørskapsutdanningen formes studentenes entreprenørielle identitet, som senere blir tatt med inn i arbeidslivet. Vi har videre lansert begrepene Endringsagent og Stabilisator. Disse er karakteristikker av individer med henholdsvis høy og lavere grad av entreprenøriell identitet. Gjennom disse begrepene avdekkes sammenhenger mellom informantenes entreprenørielle identitet, karrierevalg og strategier for tilpasning og videreutvikling i arbeidslivet. Med utgangspunkt i funnene legger vi frem en ny konseptuell modell for entreprenørskapsstudenters utvikling av karriereidentitet gjennom utdanningen og arbeidslivet. Funnene viser blant annet sammenhenger mellom entreprenørskapsutdanningen, utviklingsprosesser og påvirkningsfaktorer som har praktiske implikasjoner for utdanningsinstitusjoner. Videre bidrar funnene til å skape en forståelse av hvordan den entreprenørielle identiteten fremstår i arbeidslivet og gir anbefalinger for videre forskning.Background: Policies and previous research have focused on start-up activities and self-employment as success indicators for entrepreneurship education. The majority of the students, those who do not choose to become entrepreneurs, have thus paradoxically been neglected as a focus of research. In recent years, rapid digitization and repeated financial crises have led to turbulent world markets and created an increased demand in the labor market for candidates with entrepreneurial knowledge. The development of a career identity is argued to be a necessary process to promote entrepreneurial motives and actions, and is a critical piece of an individual's ability to adapt to the labor market. In the literature, however, there is limited research on how career identity is developed during entrepreneurship education and whether this affects career aspirations. More research is needed to better understand how entrepreneurship education affects the development of career identity and the students' ability to adapt to the labor market. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis has been to create an understanding of how entrepreneurship education influences the development of career identity among entrepreneurship students, and how entrepreneurship students test, adapt and further develop their career identity in their working life after graduation. We have sought to create this understanding by answering the following research question: How do entrepreneurship candidates develop their career identity through their studies and their encounter with work life? Method: To answer the research question, we conducted a phenomenological study including individual, in-depth interviews of alumni from entrepreneurship education. Recognized identity theory links the development of career identity to the development of “stories about oneself”. The interviews gave us insight into the informant's repertoire of self-narratives that largely reflect the informant's identity and provided us an understanding of the informant's development in their career. Findings and implications: The findings of the thesis confirm and extend established identity theory in an entrepreneurial perspective. Through participation in various social arenas, entrepreneurship students carry out a three-step development process in which they gain a greater understanding of opportunities, experiment with provisional behaviors and evaluate outcomes. Through the entrepreneurship education, the students' entrepreneurial identity is formed, and later brought into the working life. We have then introduced the terms Change Agent and Stabilizer. These are characteristics of individuals with high and lower degrees of entrepreneurial identity, respectively. Using these terms we reveal relationships between the entrepreneurial identity, the candidate’s career choices and their strategies for adaptation and further development in the workplace. Based on the findings, we present a new conceptual model of entrepreneurship students' development of career identity through education and working life. The findings show, among other things, connections between entrepreneurship education, development processes and influencing factors that have practical implications for educational institutions. Furthermore, the findings help to create an understanding of how the entrepreneurial identity is expressed in the workplace and make recommendations for further research.M-E

Demand, Control and Support at Work Among Sick-Listed Patients with Neck or Back Pain: A Prospective Study

Purpose The main aim of this study was to assess changes in perceived demand, control and support at work of neck and back pain patients over 1 year. We also hypothesised that perceived changes in demand, control and support at work were associated with clinical improvement, reduced fear-avoidance beliefs and successful return to work. Methods Four hundred and five sick-listed patients referred to secondary care with neck or back pain were originally included in an interventional study. Of these, two hundred and twenty-six patients reported perceived psychosocial work factors at both baseline and 1-year follow-up, and they were later included in this prospective study. Changes in demand, control and support dimensions were measured by a total of nine variables. Results At the group level, no significant differences were found among the measured subscales. At the individual level, the regression analyses showed that decreases in fear-avoidance beliefs about work were consistently related to decreases in demand and increases in control, whereas decreases in disability, anxiety and depression were related to increases in support subscales. Conclusions The perception of demand, control and support appear to be stable over 1 year in patients with neck and back pain, despite marked improvement in pain and disability. Disability, anxiety, depression and fear-avoidance beliefs about work were significantly associated with the perception of the work environment, whereas neck and back pain were not. The published version is available at link.springer.co

Serum Levels of Dihomo-Gamma (γ)-Linolenic Acid (DGLA) Are Inversely Associated with Linoleic Acid and Total Death in Elderly Patients with a Recent Myocardial Infarction

Dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA) is an n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) derived from linoleic acid (LA). The LA:DGLA ratio reflects conversion from LA to DGLA. Low levels of DGLA in serum have been related to poor outcome in myocardial infarction (MI) patients. Aims: To assess the association of DGLA and LA:DGLA with total death as a primary aim and incident cardiovascular events as a secondary objective. Methods: Baseline samples from 1002 patients, aged 70 to 82 years, included 2–8 weeks after an MI and followed for 2 years, were used. Major adverse clinical events (MACE) consisted of nonfatal MI, unscheduled coronary revascularization, stroke, hospitalization for heart failure or all-cause death. Cox regression analysis was used to relate serum n-6 PUFA phospholipid levels (%wt) to the risk of MACE, adjusting for the following: (1) age, sex and body mass index (BMI); (2) adding baseline cod liver oil supplementation; (3) adding prevalent hypertension, chronic kidney disease and diabetes mellitus. Results: Median DGLA level in serum phospholipids was 2.89 (Q1–Q3 2.43–3.38) %wt. DGLA was inversely related to LA and LA:DGLA ratio. There were 208 incident cases of MACE and 55 deaths. In the multivariable analysis, the hazard ratio (HR) for the total death in the three higher quartiles (Q2–4) of DGLA as compared to Q1 was 0.54 (0.31–0.95), with p = 0.03 (Model-1), 0.50 (0.28–0.91), with p = 0.02 (Model-2), and 0.47 (0.26–0.84), with p = 0.012 (Model-3), and non-significant for MACE. Risk of MACE (Model 3) approached borderline significance for LA:DGLA in Q2–4 vs. Q1 [HR 1.42 (1.00–2.04), p = 0.052]. Conclusions: Low levels of DGLA were related to a high LA:DGLA ratio and risk of total death in elderly patients with recent MI.publishedVersio

Change in pain, disability and influence of fear-avoidance in a work-focused intervention on neck and back pain: a randomized controlled trial

Background Neck and back pain are among the most common causes of prolonged disability, and development of interventions with effect on pain, disability and return to work is important. Reduction of fear avoidance might be one mechanism behind improvement after interventions. The aim of the present study was to evaluate changes in pain and disability at the 12-month follow-up of patients with neck and back pain treated with a work-focused intervention compared to patients treated with standard interventions, and the influence of improvement fear avoidance beliefs during the interventions on pain, disability and return to work at 12-month follow-up. Methods 413 employed patients with back or neck pain referred to secondary care, and sick-listed between 4 weeks and 12 months, were randomized to a work-focused rehabilitation or control interventions. Follow-up was conducted 4 and 12 months after inclusion. The groups were compared (independent sample t-test) regarding differences in disability scores (Oswestry disability index/neck disability index) and pain (numeric rating scale) from baseline to 12-month follow-up. Changes in fear avoidance beliefs (FABQ) from baseline to 4 month follow-up were calculated, and the association between this change and return to work, pain and disability at 12 months were tested in stepwise multiple logistic regression models. Results Pain and, disability scores decreased to in both the work-focused and control intervention to 12-month follow-up, and there were no significant differences between the groups. FABQ decreased similarly in both groups to 4 month follow-up. The logistic regression model revealed an association between a reduced FABQ work score at 4 months and return to work within one year (adjusted OR 3.60, 95% CI 1.19 to 10.88). Reduced FABQ physical activity score at 4 months was associated with decreased disability after 12 months (adjusted OR (3.65. 95% CI 1.43 to 9.28). Conclusions Short work-focused rehabilitation had the same effect on pain and disability as control interventions. Reduction in FABQ-W score after treatment seems to be an important predictor for return to work in both groups

Associations of overweight, obesity and osteoporosis with ankle fractures

Background: Studies exploring risk factors for ankle fractures in adults are scarce, and with diverging conclusions. This study aims to investigate whether overweight, obesity and osteoporosis may be identified as risk factors for ankle fractures and ankle fracture subgroups according to the Danis-Weber (D-W) classification. Methods: 108 patients ≥40 years with fracture of the lateral malleolus were included. Controls were 199 persons without a previous fracture history. Bone mineral density of the hips and spine was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, and history of previous fracture, comorbidities, medication, physical activity, smoking habits, body mass index and nutritional factors were registered. Results: Higher body mass index with increments of 5 gave an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 1.30 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03–1.64) for ankle fracture, and an adjusted OR of 1.96 (CI 0.99–4.41) for sustaining a D-W type B or C fracture compared to type A. Compared to patients with normal bone mineral density, the odds of ankle fracture in patients with osteoporosis was 1.53, but the 95% CI was wide (0.79–2.98). Patients with osteoporosis had reduced odds of sustaining a D-W fracture type B or C compared to type A (OR 0.18, CI 0.03–0.83). Conclusions: Overweight increased the odds of ankle fractures and the odds of sustaining an ankle fracture with possible syndesmosis disruption and instability (D-W fracture type B or C) compared to the stable and more distal fibula fracture (D-W type A). Osteoporosis did not significantly increase the odds of ankle fractures, thus suffering an ankle fracture does not automatically warrant further osteoporosis assessment.publishedVersio

Cementing techniques for total knee arthroplasty in Norwegian hospitals; a questionnaire-based study

Background - Cementing technique in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) may influence implant survival. There is limited knowledge about the results with clinically used techniques. The aim of this study was to investigate cementing techniques for TKA in Norwegian hospitals, to compare widely used techniques to recommendations from the literature, and to investigate variation within hospitals. Methods - A questionnaire requesting information about cementing techniques were distributed to all Norwegian orthopedic surgeons performing TKAs regularly in 2020. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. Results - We acquired 121 responses out of 257 surgeons. They were from 45 out of 56 hospitals, and at least half of the TKA surgeons from 20 hospitals, constituting 79 surgeons. All responders used pulsatile lavage. Cement application to both the tibial plateau and stem (full cementation) was practiced by 61%. Application of cement to both implant and bone was done by 70% of surgeons. Techniques to improve cement penetration were used by 86%. Only 35% of surgeons aimed to get a cement mantle thickness between 3–5 mm. Flexing the knee joint to remove excess cement was done by 82%. We found that in 55% of 20 hospitals the surgeons did not agree on the use of common guidelines in their ward. Conclusions - The majority of the responders used recommended techniques from the literature when cementing TKA. At more than half of the eligible hospitals, surgeons disagreed about their hospitals’ use of common guidelines. Focusing on developing evidence-based guidelines would be beneficial for TKA-quality

Secretoneurin Is an Endogenous Calcium/Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase II Inhibitor That Attenuates Ca2+-Dependent Arrhythmia

BACKGROUND: Circulating SN (secretoneurin) concentrations are increased in patients with myocardial dysfunction and predict poor outcome. Because SN inhibits CaMKII delta (Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II delta) activity, we hypothesized that upregulation of SN in patients protects against cardiomyocyte mechanisms of arrhythmia. METHODS: Circulating levels of SN and other biomarkers were assessed in patients with catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT; n=8) and in resuscitated patients after ventricular arrhythmia-induced cardiac arrest (n=155). In vivo effects of SN were investigated in CPVT mice (RyR2 [ryanodine receptor 2]-R2474S) using adeno-associated virus-9-induced overexpression. Interactions between SN and CaMKII delta were mapped using pull-down experiments, mutagenesis, ELISA, and structural homology modeling. Ex vivo actions were tested in Langendorff hearts and effects on Ca2+ homeostasis examined by fluorescence (fluo-4) and patchclamp recordings in isolated cardiomyocytes. RESULTS: SN levels were elevated in patients with CPVT and following ventricular arrhythmia-induced cardiac arrest. In contrast to NT-proBNP (N-terminal proB- type natriuretic peptide) and hs-TnT (high-sensitivity troponin T), circulating SN levels declined after resuscitation, as the risk of a new arrhythmia waned. Myocardial pro-SN expression was also increased in CPVT mice, and further adeno-associated virus-9-induced overexpression of SN attenuated arrhythmic induction during stress testing with isoproterenol. Mechanistic studies mapped SN binding to the substrate binding site in the catalytic region of CaMKII delta. Accordingly, SN attenuated isoproterenol induced autophosphorylation of Thr287-CaMKII delta in Langendorff hearts and inhibited CaMKII delta-dependent RyR phosphorylation. In line with CaMKII delta and RyR inhibition, SN treatment decreased Ca2+ spark frequency and dimensions in cardiomyocytes during isoproterenol challenge, and reduced the incidence of Ca2+ waves, delayed afterdepolarizations, and spontaneous action potentials. SN treatment also lowered the incidence of early afterdepolarizations during isoproterenol; an effect paralleled by reduced magnitude of L-type Ca2+ current. CONCLUSIONS: SN production is upregulated in conditions with cardiomyocyte Ca2+ dysregulation and offers compensatory protection against cardiomyocyte mechanisms of arrhythmia, which may underlie its putative use as a biomarker in at-risk patients.Peer reviewe

Detailed stratified GWAS analysis for severe COVID-19 in four European populations

Given the highly variable clinical phenotype of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a deeper analysis of the host genetic contribution to severe COVID-19 is important to improve our understanding of underlying disease mechanisms. Here, we describe an extended genome-wide association meta-analysis of a well-characterized cohort of 3255 COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure and 12 488 population controls from Italy, Spain, Norway and Germany/Austria, including stratified analyses based on age, sex and disease severity, as well as targeted analyses of chromosome Y haplotypes, the human leukocyte antigen region and the SARS-CoV-2 peptidome. By inversion imputation, we traced a reported association at 17q21.31 to a ∼0.9-Mb inversion polymorphism that creates two highly differentiated haplotypes and characterized the potential effects of the inversion in detail. Our data, together with the 5th release of summary statistics from the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative including non-Caucasian individuals, also identified a new locus at 19q13.33, including NAPSA, a gene which is expressed primarily in alveolar cells responsible for gas exchange in the lung.publishedVersio

Data Descriptor : Collocated observations of cloud condensation nuclei, particle size distributions, and chemical composition

Cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentrations alongside with submicrometer particle number size distributions and particle chemical composition have been measured at atmospheric observatories of the Aerosols, Clouds, and Trace gases Research InfraStructure (ACTRIS) as well as other international sites over multiple years. Here, harmonized data records from 11 observatories are summarized, spanning 98,677 instrument hours for CCN data, 157,880 for particle number size distributions, and 70,817 for chemical composition data. The observatories represent nine different environments, e.g., Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean maritime, boreal forest, or high alpine atmospheric conditions. This is a unique collection of aerosol particle properties most relevant for studying aerosol-cloud interactions which constitute the largest uncertainty in anthropogenic radiative forcing of the climate. The dataset is appropriate for comprehensive aerosol characterization (e.g., closure studies of CCN), model-measurement intercomparison and satellite retrieval method evaluation, among others. Data have been acquired and processed following international recommendations for quality assurance and have undergone multiple stages of quality assessment.Peer reviewe