The Effect of Uncertainty on Investment Empirical evidence from listed Norwegian firms 2005-2018

The relationship between uncertainty and investment is an extensively explored topic in economic and financial literature. Regardless, the dramatic events of recent years have reinvigorated the need to garner a greater understanding of this relationship. Diverse and often competing theoretical literature on the effects of uncertainty on investment has not managed to provide a conclusive answer on the direction of this relationship, underscoring the need for additional empirical research. This thesis aims to investigate the relationship between uncertainty and investment on a panel of listed Norwegian firms from 2005 to 2018. In addition, we analyse potential differences in the direction and magnitude of this relationship between business sectors. Controlling for both firm-specific and macro-specific characteristics, we find evidence of a negative relationship between both firm-specific and an aggregate uncertainty on firm-level investment. Furthermore, when conducting a comparative analysis, we observe indications that there are differences in the magnitude of the effect between business sectors. Lastly, our results suggest that manufacturing firms are less responsive to demand shocks during times of higher uncertainty. Our findings shed light on the effect of uncertainty on firm investment behaviour in a Norwegian context. As with earlier empirical literature, our findings could have important implications for fiscal and monetary policy.nhhma

A qualitative investigation of psychological need-satisfying experiences of a mobile-learning application: A Self-Determination Theory approach

Much research on mobile learning is cross-sectional or lacks a theoretical basis for investigating the mechanisms of mobile learning and achievement. This may be a concern as well-formulated theoretical frameworks allow results to be interpreted and contextualized in a coherent and integrated fashion that could then be valuable when interpreting findings in educational contexts. The main aim of this study was to investigate biology students’ experiences of using a mobile application for learning about species identification. We use Self-Determination Theory as a guiding framework to investigate students’ experiences of need-satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness within a mobile application, and whether this influences students’ learning processes. We conducted four focus groups with 26 biology students in higher education. Based on our thematic analysis, we find that students experienced the satisfaction of all three psychological needs while using the mobile application. Specifically, students’ needs were satisfied by experiencing choice, feedback, mastery, cooperation, and discussion. These elements in turn were related to the process of identifying species. Contradictory to what we expected, students reported more learning from a traditional textbook, compared to the mobile application. Our results provide useful information for learning designers, which suggests that it is important to take need-satisfaction into consideration when designing technology. Our study offers new insight into the underlying need-satisfying experiences of mobile learning, and it provides an understanding of how the different elements of need-satisfaction contribute to different species identification processes.publishedVersio

Ikke helt efter bogen — tømrerlærlinges håndtering af arbejdsmiljøet i byggebranchen

Gennemførelse af et byggeprojekt kræver planlægning, overblik og projektstyring, men for mange lærlinge i branchen er arbejdet snarere kendetegnet ved tilfældighed, ad hoc-løsninger og usikkerhed. Med udgangspunkt i et etnografisk feltarbejde blandt tømrerlærlinge i Dan-mark fokuserer artiklen på, hvordan lærlinge i praksis håndterer deres arbejdsmiljø i den ofte uforudsigelige arbejdskontekst, som en byggeplads er. Artiklen viser, hvordan regler om håndtering og planlægning af arbejdsmiljøet støder ind i en daglig praksis, hvor det mere handler om at få arbejdet til at glide og føle sig tryg end om at sørge for, at den formelle sikkerhed er på plads. Artiklen peger på betydningen af kropslige og tavse måder at etablere sikkerhed på i byggebranchen, som kan have betydning for forebyggelse af ulykker.The completion of a construction project presupposes planning, overview and project management, albeit in the experience of apprentices in the industry, work in construction is to a great extent contingent, ad hoc, and uncertain. The construction industry is also one of the industries with the highest numbers of accidents at work. Efforts to address this challenge are numerous, and regulations related to the working environment are a cornerstone in these efforts. Based on ten months ethnographic fieldwork among carpenter apprentices in Denmark the article contextualizes the experiences of the apprentices in relation to the work environment issues that they face in their daily work. The article illuminates how the apprentices handle the challenges in their working environment by negotiating formal safety regulations in relation to situated and embodied ways of establishing trust in their ability to do the job and finish their tasks. The analysis shows that in the experience of the apprentices, rule-following does not per see guarantee a safe working environment. Instead of trusting compliance with regulations to keep them safe, they apply a strategy of practically ignoring risk and dangers in an effort to concentrate on the actual task at hand. In this way they aim to build trust in their own ability handle the job, and thereby establish a feeling of security and confidence doing the job. In their experience the work they do can be dangerous, but if they focus on dangers and risks that will create and enhance insecurity and ultimately make the job unsafe. The arti- cle points to the importance of integrating bodily and tacit forms of knowledge related to health and safety in the effort to prevent accidents in the construction industry

Testing the METUX Model in Higher Education: Interface and Task Need–Satisfaction Predict Engagement, Learning, and Well-Being

The main aim of this study is to test the validity of the Motivation, Engagement, and Thriving in User Experience (METUX) model (Peters et al., 2018) in higher education. We propose a process model in which we investigate how the need-satisfaction of digital learning tools within the interface sphere and task sphere accounts for engagement, learning, and well-being. A total of 426 higher education students drawn from two subsamples participated in this cross-sectional study. A structural equation model shows that interface autonomy and competence satisfaction positively predict task autonomy and competence. Task competence, in turn, negatively predicts focused attention and positively predicts perceived usability and well-being. Task autonomy positively predicts perceived usability and reward. Based on our results, we provide some initial support for the METUX model in higher education. However, more validation work is needed to improve the scale that measures need-satisfaction in the interface and task spheres. Moreover, we find no support for the effect of task sphere on learning. Further investigations are needed into how METUX can be used in domain- and situation-specific contexts to account for increases in engagement, learning, and well-being. Finally, future studies need to include all aspects of the METUX model in order to fully test its validity.publishedVersio

The effects of a goal-framing and need-supportive app on undergraduates´ intentions, effort, and achievement in mobile science learning

In this study we investigate the effect of manipulating intrinsic goals, relative to extrinsic goals, in a mobile learning tool and traditional textbook for biology students. Using Self- Determination Theory, we hypothesized that framing intrinsic goals in a need-supportive mobile learning app would enhance motivation, intentions, effort, and achievement, relative to extrinsic goals in a traditional tool (textbook). We randomized 128 undergraduate students learning to identify species in this 2 × 2 experiment. Using Bayesian analyses, results show a credible interaction effect between the mobile app and intrinsic goal-framing for intentions and identified regulation. For effort and achievement, the main effect of mobile learning is credible with substantial effect sizes. We argue that these findings are due to the need-supportive features within the mobile app and need-satisfying experience of pursuing intrinsic goals. For intrinsic motivation and amotivation, however, extrinsic goal-framing and intrinsic goal-framing, respectively, are credible and positive main effects, which is unexpected. More research is needed to investigate if this contradictory finding is replicated by others, or if students are pursuing extrinsic goals for autonomous motivation. Bayesian multigroup path analysis found across both groups that identified regulation predicted intentions, and intrinsic motivation predicted effort and achievement. For the extrinsic goal-framing group, amotivation predicted achievement, identified regulation predicted effort and achievement, and intrinsic motivation negatively predicted intentions. The results of our study provide theoretical implications for how goal-framing energizes different types of motivation within the mLearning context, and how manipulation within technology may have a differential effect on motivation than a physical agent.publishedVersio

Without a Safety Net: Precarization Among Young Danish Employees

Precarisation’ is one of the concepts that has become important in efforts to explain how neoliberal politics and changed economic conditions produce new forms of marginalization and increased insecurity. The aim of this article is to examine how subjectivity is produced among young Danish employees through socio-material processes of precarization at workplaces and employment projects. Drawing on ethnographic observations and qualitative interviews with 35 young employees and young people ‘Neither in Education, Employment or Training’ (NEET), the three case examples show how processes of precarization, rooted in global economic and political conditions, can be understood as situated contextual practices. It is demonstrated how being positioned as an easily replaceable source of labor is shaping young people’s processes of subjectification

Unfenced Borders Cause Differences in Vegetation and Fauna Between Protected and Unprotected Areas in a Tropical Savanna

Protected areas generally occur within a matrix of intensively human-modified landscapes. As a way to maintain the biodiversity in these areas, enclosure by fencing is often preferred. This strategy, however, is costly and little is known about the effectiveness of the alternative of unfenced borders on the vegetation and fauna. The objectives of this study are to assess whether there is a distinct difference in biodiversity and composition of plants and mammals between the protected Lake Mburo National Park and the adjacent ranchlands across an unfenced border and to determine the associations between vegetation and faunal species over the same border. We recorded herbaceous vegetation, woody vegetation, and mammal species composition in plots 300 to 500 m away from the border both inside the protected area and in the adjacent ranchlands. The species composition of herbs and mammals in the protected area differ from the adjacent ranchlands, but there is no difference for trees and shrubs. After accounting for land-use type, distance from the border did not significantly account for any additional variation. We also find a correlation between the species composition of vegetation and fauna. Our results suggest that unfenced borders around protected areas create a clear effect.publishedVersio

ECKOchain: A FAIR blockchain-based database for long-term ecological data

1. Open data practices in ecology are increasingly accepted, yet primary long-term ecological data remain hard to find. Barriers preventing open long-term ecological data include social and economic constructs such as a sense of data proprietor-ship and fear of misuse of complex datasets. 2. To incentivise open primary ecological data and ensure long-term preservation, we propose a decentralised data management approach using blockchain technol-ogy. The blockchain- based database is governed by transparent and immutable data management protocols, agreed on by members of the network. Specialised protocols ensure agreement in the network before new data is accepted, and no entity can single- handedly alter existing data. 3. We introduce the ECKOchain, a ‘proof of concept’ ecological blockchain- based database created with the Hyperledger Fabric framework. While metadata and access policies are distributed to all network members, primary data remains with data owners and are served on-demand to approved parties according to speci-fied usage licences. Details of data requests are preserved indefinitely on the blockchain and serve as auditable data usage agreements. 4. With the distributed blockchain- based database we advocate for open science and transparency in long-term management of ecological data. The ECKOchain is also suitable for other scientific fields where auditability and transparency are considerations to long-term data management. blockchain, database, dataset, decentralisation, ecology, open sciencepublishedVersio

Weighted average regression and environmental calibration as a tool for quantifying climate-driven changes in vegetation

Aims: Studies of the climatic responses of plant assemblages via vegetation-based environmental reconstructions by weighted averaging (WA) regression and calibration are a recent development in modern vegetation ecology. However, the performance of this technique for plot-based vegetation datasets has not been rigorously tested. We assess the estimation accuracy of the WA approach by comparing results, mainly the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) of WA regressions for six different vegetation datasets (total species, high-frequency species and low-frequency species as both abundance and incidence) each from two sites. Methods: Vegetation-inferred environment (plot elevation) calibrated over time is used to quantify the elevational shift in species assemblages. Accuracy of the calibrations is assessed by comparing the linear regression models developed for estimating elevational shifts. The datasets were also used for the backward predictions to check the robustness of the forward predictions. Important Findings: WA regression has a fairly high estimation accuracy, especially with species incidence datasets. However, estimation bias at the extremes of the environmental gradient is evident with all datasets. Out of eight sets (each set with a model for total species, low-frequency species and high-frequency species) of WA regression models, the lowest RMSEPs are produced in the four models based on the total species datasets and in three models based on the high-frequency species only. The inferred environment mirrored the estimation precision of the WA regressions, i.e. precise WA regression models produced more accurate calibrated environmental estimates, which, in turn, resulted in regression models with a higher adjusted r2 for estimating the elevational shift in the species assemblages. Reliable environmental estimates for plot-based datasets can be achieved by WA regression and calibration, although the edge effect may be evident if species turnover is high along an extensive environmental gradient. Species incidence (0/1) data may improve the estimation accuracy by minimizing any potential census and field estimation errors that are more likely to occur in species abundance datasets. Species data processing cannot guarantee the most reliable WA regression models. Instead, generally optimal estimations can be achieved by using all the species with a consistent taxonomy in the training and reconstruction datasets.acceptedVersio

Kreativitet i kreativ næring

Formålet med denne oppgaven, «Kreativitet i kreativ næring», er å øke forståelsen for hvordan organisasjoner i den kreative næringen tilrettelegger arbeidsmiljøet for kreativitet. Vi har valgt å utforske temaet kreativitet i kreativ næring fordi det er gjennomført relativt lite forskning på dette, og fordi det er manglende kunnskap om tema. Det er forsket på kreativitet i organisasjoner, men ikke spesifikt på kreativitet i organisasjoner som er en del av den kreative næringen. Oppgavens problemstilling er derfor: Hvordan kan vi bedre forstå kreativitet i kreativ næring? For å utforske dette temaet har vi innhentet empiri om tre organisasjoner i kreativ næring og sett på hvilke dimensjoner i etablerte teorier om kreativitet i organisasjoner som er sentrale i deres tilrettelegging av et kreativt arbeidsmiljø. Dermed utforsker vi mulighetene for at kreativ næring inneholder andre dimensjoner i arbeidsmiljøet enn de som dekkes i etablerte modeller for kreativitet i organisasjoner, og hva som i så tilfelle kan være årsaken til slike eventuelle forskjeller. Vi kan også undersøke om det er noen dimensjoner som er mindre sentrale enn andre. For å besvare problemstillingen har vi valgt å benytte en kvalitativ tilnærming med et eksplorativt design og åpen problemstilling. Det har vi valgt fordi vi utforsker et fenomen som har vært lite forsket på. Vi har holdt ni dybdeintervjuer i tre etablerte organisasjoner i kreativ næring. Forarbeidet til intervjuene bestod av å benytte et kvantitativt spørreskjema utviklet av James Moultrie & Alasdair Young (2009) for å generere innsikt om interessepunkter vi kunne utforske under intervjuene. Datamaterialet som ble innhentet fra intervjuene ble kodet og sortert etter spørreskjemaets struktur. Funnene fra dette datamaterialet blir i denne oppgaven presentert med empirigrunnlag, før vi tar for oss analyse, drøfting og diskusjon av funnene opp mot teori. For å bedre validitet og reliabilitet i oppgaven har vi forsøkt å på transparent vis å redegjøre for alle valg vi har tatt. Til slutt besvarer vi problemstillingen og kommer med anbefaling på videre forskning Vi har konkludert med at alle dimensjonene i de etablerte teoriene om kreativitet i organisasjoner er sentrale også for de etablerte organisasjonene som driver i kreativ næring. Vi kan også se at kunden er en ekstern påvirker med innflytelse på det interne kreative klimaet i organisasjonene. Det forenklede spørreskjemaet til Moultrie & Young (2009) kan benyttes til å se på kreativ næring, men må videreutvikles for å fange opp dybden i de etablerte modellene