The Norwegian Banks in the Nordic Consortia: A Case of International Strategic Alliances in Banking

Despite the scholarly interest in joint ventures and strategic alliances, the consortium bank movement represents an under-researched phase in post-war banking history. From 1964 to the mid-1980s, many of the largest banks in the world, including the Nordic banks, entered into international strategic alliances. Almost all of these alliances are now defunct. We follow the Norwegian banks in the Nordic consortia and find that domestic rivals do not cooperate but international rivals do. Legal prohibitions in the Nordic countries on entry by foreign banks underpinned the cooperation. The cooperation broke down when changes in domestic regulations permitted the Nordic banks to establish operations in each others' domestic markets.

UN Peace Operations and Intelligence : Can the Joint Mission Analysis Center succeed?

Can the Joint Mission Analysis Center (JMAC), as the dedicated and fielded UN intelligence capability, mitigate challenges in providing the United Nations (UN) Mission Leadership Team (MLT) intelligence that ultimately will improve the decision making process and enhance the ability of the UN to fulfill the will of the international community? Throughout this paper, this is the driving question. To address the question, the paper explores the JMAC concept as described in UN policy and guidelines as well as experiences of UN peace operations1 in the 21st century and particularly the ongoing operations in Mali and South Sudan. The paper will identify challenges that UN peace operations in general, and Mali and South Sudan specifically, have experienced. If the JMAC proves capable of mitigating these challenges properly, the JMAC concept can succeed. UN peace operations have experienced a transitional development from peacekeeping operations under chapter VI of the UN Charter towards more peace enforcement and protection of civilians in line with chapter VII. Both operations require analyzed information2 and information sharing at various levels, with various means, different actors, mandates and perceptions. There is extensive literature elaborating on Intelligence and the UN. Recently, the UN has produced Guidelines and Policy describing the role of intelligence and the JMAC, which, in combination with document studies and interviews, will serve as a theoretical basis for this paper. There have, furthermore, been several studies of JMACs in UN peace operation missions identifying numerous challenges. This study, however, might enhance our understanding of Intelligence in UN peace operations and to what extent the JMAC, using the Intelligence Cycle as a framework, is able to address intelligence challenges in the UN. Throughout the paper, and the discussion, the challenges are elaborated and discussed as to whether they pose limitations or possibilities for the JMAC to succeed in UN peace operations. The findings from the research indicates that, though the JMAC concept has vastly enhanced UN capabilities in peace operations, there are some grave challenges that cannot be addressed by the JMAC alone. Intelligence in the UN is contested with a lack of coherent terminology complicating the understanding and discussion. Furthermore, intelligence in the UN and all the steps in the Intelligence Cycle, can be more effectively addressed if there is a responsible and accountable strategic entity that ensures information sharing at all levels from the field to New York. The paper concludes that the JMAC cannot mitigate key UN Intelligence challenges, realize its potential and succeed without an overarching intelligence body

Neural redoubt

Increased numbers of returning service members from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) coincide with budgetary sequestration measures which directly impact the Department of Defense, jeopardizing available care for active duty service members and veterans. It is understood that well-integrated passive design techniques as well as the introduction of natural elements to the medical environment encourage positive physiological responses in patients. This thesis seeks to determine the manner in which satisfactory design quality may be maintained, while energy performance and budgetary constraints may be successfully accommodated

The role of bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue in respiratory immunity of chickens and turkeys: morphologic and functional studies

The structure, development, lymphoid cell types, and capacity for antigen uptake of bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) in chickens and turkeys were studied using light and electron microscopy, immunocytochemistry, and image analysis. The structure of avian BALT was very similar to mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues described in other species and tissue sites. Individual BALT nodules were composed of a population of lymphocytes covered by a modified epithelium. Age-related changes in BALT structure were observed, which may influence epithelial permeability to antigens and the potential for interaction between epithelial cells and lymphocytes;The number of IgA-, IgM-, and IgG-producing cells per unit area of BALT tissue was determined in 1-day, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 6-, and 8-week old chickens. Comparisons were made among immunoglobulin isotypes, ages, and two tissue regions (BALT-associated mucosa and mucosa not infiltrated with lymphocytes). There were no immunogobulin-producing cells in 1-day old chickens, IgG+ cells only in 1-week old chickens, and cells of all three isotypes in chickens 2 weeks of age and older;Monoclonal antibodies were used to label T lymphocyte subpopulations (CD4 and CD8) and B lymphocytes (CB3) in chicken BALT. In general, CD4+ cells formed tight clusters capping germinal centers and were associated with blood vessels in BALT. CD8+ cells were diffusely scattered throughout lymphoid nodules, extending up to and into the epithelium. CB3+ cells predominated in germinal centers and overlapped CD4+ clusters around germinal centers;To monitor ability of BALT epithelium to take up antigens, three tracers (ferritin, live Bordetella avium, and ultraviolet-killed B. avium) were instilled into tracheas of 3-week old turkeys. Ferritin was found in both ciliated and non-ciliated epithelial cells and in basal extracellular spaces. Both killed and live B. avium were taken up by ciliated and non-ciliated cells of the BALT epithelium, and by intraepithelial macrophages;The results of these studies support a role for BALT in initiation of respiratory humoral immune responses in chickens and turkeys

t-tests, non-parametric tests, and large studies—a paradox of statistical practice?

Background During the last 30 years, the median sample size of research studies published in high-impact medical journals has increased manyfold, while the use of non-parametric tests has increased at the expense of t-tests. This paper explores this paradoxical practice and illustrates its consequences. Methods A simulation study is used to compare the rejection rates of the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney (WMW) test and the two-sample t-test for increasing sample size. Samples are drawn from skewed distributions with equal means and medians but with a small difference in spread. A hypothetical case study is used for illustration and motivation. Results The WMW test produces, on average, smaller p-values than the t-test. This discrepancy increases with increasing sample size, skewness, and difference in spread. For heavily skewed data, the proportion of p<0.05 with the WMW test can be greater than 90% if the standard deviations differ by 10% and the number of observations is 1000 in each group. The high rejection rates of the WMW test should be interpreted as the power to detect that the probability that a random sample from one of the distributions is less than a random sample from the other distribution is greater than 50%. Conclusions Non-parametric tests are most useful for small studies. Using non-parametric tests in large studies may provide answers to the wrong question, thus confusing readers. For studies with a large sample size, t-tests and their corresponding confidence intervals can and should be used even for heavily skewed data

Sing a Song o\u27 Syntax

Can music be an effective tool for teaching grammar to ESL students? While some believe that grammar should not be approached through music, since the two are processed in opposite hemispheres of the brain, a review of literature on neural processing suggests that a normal brain readily transfers information between hemispheres via the corpus callosum, and such transfer is facilitated by repetition. If an ESL student leans a song that correctly places certain grammatical forms in context, the student should be able to transfer those patterns correctly to speech, especially if the music imitates natural spoke intonation, rhythm, and emotion. Music should create an advantage for children from 7-10 years of age, for females, and for students who first language is tonal. This study, conducted with over 100 first- through fourth-grade ESL students in the St. Cloud area, examines the correlation between learning and the use or non-use of music to teach four specific grammar structures: reflexive pronouns; there is/there are; (another) and I; and plurals ending with s. The control group subjects were taught without music, while the test group subject were taught with music written by the researcher specifically for this project. A pre-test and post-test were used to determine gains in learning and to make comparisons between the groups. Music appears to have given the test group only a slight edge over the control group in most aspects evaluated. Further analysis of the data when research subjects were grouped by moderator variables reveals that test fourth graders and test subjects with tonal home language made substantial gains, not only beyond their counterparts in the control group, but also beyond test group subjects of other ages or with tonal home languages

Pro-Social Behaviour in Times of Crisis and Uncertainty : An Empirical Study of Local COVID-19 Restrictions and the Donation Rate in the Norwegian Recycling Lottery

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the relationship between local COVID-19 restrictions and the donation rate in the Norwegian recycling lottery, employing donations to the lottery as a proxy for pro-social behaviour. The thesis aims to study whether the enforcement of local restrictions has an impact on the donation rate and if separate categories of restrictions impact the donation rate differently. Additionally, the thesis explores whether the effect on the donation rate varies based on the duration of the local restrictions enforcement and whether there is a long-term impact after their termination. The final dataset consists of 461,115 observations that contain data on recycling and the enforcement of local COVID-19 restrictions. The panel dataset also comprises information on municipal affiliation, total transactions, and infection numbers. Regressions on the data are conducted with fixed effects estimation with week and store fixed effects, and total transactions and the infection rate per 100,000 as control variables. The findings reveal a positive effect of local COVID-19 restrictions on the donation rate. The results suggest that the enforcement of local restrictions will increase the donation rate by approximately 0.25 percentage points. Certain categories of restrictions, for instance, those related to travel and the ban on serving alcohol, are also found to have a greater effect than other categories. Furthermore, the thesis reveals that the duration of the local restrictions has a significant and increasing effect from the second week on. There is no evidence that local restrictions have a long-term impact on the donation rate. An additional survey conducted on donation motivation demonstrates that there are diverse motives for contributing to the recycling lottery. Although local restrictions are found to have a positive effect on the donation rate, it remains undetermined whether these restrictions in fact have an impact on pro-social behaviour.nhhma

Subjektiv skriving med utgangspunkt i psykisk helsearbeid

When writing a scientific essay, it is necessary for the author herself to be visible. In the case of writing in and about mental health work, this means that the intuitive perspective of the writer/practitioner be attended to.  The aim of this process is the development of theory that is grounded in reflection upon lived experience and the narratives of practice. In this sense, it is perhaps necessary to take up a perspective informed by the human sciences since this perspective is one that can fully make space for the ethical, aesthetic and empirical considerations

Assessment of Indoor Positioning System (IPS) technology

Indoor Positioning Systems (IPS) have lead to increased e ciency in many types of organizations and industries, and more and more companies embrace the new opportunities and functionality found in IPS solutions. Because of IPS's importance and usage potential in creating new services, there is a signi cant interest in the industry for IPS and Real Time Locating Systems (RTLS). The market potential for companies that develop and sell IPS and RTLS systems are thus predicted to be large in the coming years. An IPS system may consist of only one technology, or be a hybrid of two or more technologies. Although the biggest di erence between IPS systems are the technology they are based on, it is often the performance, usage, ease of deployment, cost, or a combination of these, that matters. Examples of technologies that are used in IPS systems and assessed in this thesis are Radio Frequency Identi cation (RFID), Wi-Fi, Ultrasound and Ultra-Wideband (UWB). The technology assessment showed that UWB is probably the best technology for use in indoor positioning systems. Ultra-Wideband is however in its early phases and are therefore not regulated for use in all countries, for instance Norway. Wi-Fi is on the other hand a good choice for open indoor environments such as o ce or class rooms where some level of positioning error is accepted as long as the decreased performance is reflected in the price of the system. The testing program build in this thesis, including the proposed positioning methods, show that it is possible to create a low cost indoor positioning system by re-using the existing wireless network infrastructure and still achieve an acceptable level of accuracy