Fintech firms and incumbent banks: competition or collaboration? : What factors impact how and why fintech firms and traditional banks decide the extent to collaborate with each other in the peer-to-peer lending sector in Norway?

Master's thesis Business Administration BE501 - University of Agder 2019Introduction: The fintech sector has grown from a narrow area of interest to become a major area of interest in Norway. Fintech firms and traditional banks seem to have a symbiotic relationship,with theircomplementary strengths contributing to the success of both parties. This paper therefore studiesthefactorsthatimpact the extent of collaboration between fintech firms and traditional banks, focusing on the peer-to-peer crowdlending sector in Norway. Methods:We adoptedaqualitative research design, using multiple-casestudyanalysis.Through a purposive sampling technique, we identified and carefully selected four fintech firms and three incumbent banks.We selected three scenarios:(1) those who have been chosen to remain separate(no collaboration between fintech firms and traditional banks),(2) collaborate as allies, choosing a strategic alliance strategy, or (3) selected a Mergers and Acquisitions strategy. We conducted seven in-depthinterviews in total,by usingsemi-structured interviews in an attempt to answerthe research question. We created a coding tree that helped us to both analyze the studiedcases and eventually aid in a cross-casecomparisonanalysis. In order to achieve triangulation and consistency concerning our findings, we collected complementary information through multiple sources: in-depth interviews and archival documentssuch as company websites, business reports and the news.Results:We have developed two research modelsfrom both the fintech firms’ and the banks’ perspective. Ourfinal model,from the fintech firms’ perspective,includes the following factors; regulation, trust, customer-centric approach, organizational cultural fit, strategic fit, innovation, capital, brand image, growth and expertise. From the banks’ perspective,we have identified the following factors; regulation, customer-centric approach, financial inclusion, organizational cultural fit, strategic fit, innovation, survivability, brand image, growth,risk management, expertise and profitability. Conclusions: Some identifiedfactors support earlier findings in the academic literature, while otherscontradict earlier findings. Additionally, we have identified factors that to the best of our knowledge,have not yet been identified intheliterature, concerning the studied phenomenon. Hence, we suggestthat these newly identified factors should be further investigated in a quantitative study

Building library-based support structures for Open Science

Research institutions meet increasing demands for transparency, accountability, added value and reuse of all aspects of scientific production, from documenting the research process to sharing underlying data to open access to publications. Going beyond admirable slogans about openness there is a clear need for support infrastructures relating to the actual practice of Open Science – describing metadata, archiving datasets and publications and disseminating increasingly interdisciplinary research results. Research libraries, having always been stewards of research institutions’ collective knowledge and offering a variety of research support services, are in a unique position to offer future support for Open Science based on the core competencies already existing at the library. This paper describes the process of building a comprehensive research support structure for Open Science at the university library of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. It shows how the library identified stated, but not necessarily operationalized, university strategies for Open Access and Open Data, and proceeded to strengthen its existing competencies in this area with human resources and a targeted approach to linking the library to the central research infrastructure of the university. This resulted in the library assuming responsibility for new research support services and plans of action for Open Access and Open Data for the whole of NTNU

Hematophagy in the salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) : Characterization of genes and proteins involved in parasite blood-feeding

The salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) is an obligate, hematophagous ectoparasite infecting salmonid fish such as the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The parasite is at present the number one threat to the Norwegian salmon farming industry. There is a high density of hosts in salmon farms, and due to the high mutation rate and fecundity of the parasite, the salmon louse is currently ahead of the development of effective pest controls. Resistance has been reported against several available chemotherapeutants, and non-therapeutic interventions are as per now not sufficient to treat salmon louse infestations. Particularly adult female lice have blood as a major dietary component. This is a high-risk, high-reward strategy which the parasite is well-adapted to. Blood is highly nutritious and constantly renewed in the vertebrate host, but also contains toxic, yet necessary, compounds such as iron and heme (iron protoporphyrin IX). The salmon louse is likely a heme auxotroph, as many homologous enzymes of the conserved heme biosynthetic pathway are not found within its genome. As such, the salmon louse is innately dependent on its host for iron and heme supply. Blood-feeding and subsequent iron and heme trafficking are thus essential to study in the salmon louse, and could potentially reveal candidate proteins for pest management by e.g. vaccination or nutritional deprivation. Ferritin is a well-conserved multi-subunit iron storage and distribution protein that can be either cytosolic or secreted. In the present study, several ferritin-encoding genes were identified in the salmon louse genome (LsFer1, 2, 3 and 4). Secreted heavy chain homolog (LsFer1) and secreted light chain homolog (LsFer2) transcripts were found to be expressed in the salmon louse intestine, where the precursor protein is probably loaded with iron intracellularly before it is secreted to the hemolymph. RNA interference-mediated knockdown of these two transcripts resulted in severe phenotype alterations for the adult female salmon louse. In both knockdown groups, it was unable to produce proper egg strings, and with an almost complete egg hatching failure. Histological sections of knockdown animal genital segments revealed that the developing oocytes lacked the structure and integrity seen in normal developing oocytes. Furthermore, the knockdown animals lacked the ability to fully engorge in salmon blood. Additionally, in wildtype lice, the transcript levels of LsFer1 and LsFer2 were decreasing during starvation, further indicating the importance of these genes in relation to the blood meal. Further, an investigation of a CD36-like protein named L. salmonis heme scavenger receptor class B (LsHSCARB) was performed. The transcript and protein were located to the salmon louse intestine. The receptor has an extracellular domain likely facing the intestinal lumen. The postulation was that the domain could scavenge host-derived heme. The domain was able to bind to heme in silico as demonstrated by ligand docking using bioinformatical tools. The receptor was also able to bind heme in vitro, as shown using a recombinantly expressed protein in a hemin-agarose pull down assay. During a starvation period, the transcript levels of LsHSCARB in the adult female salmon louse decreased steadily, suggesting that the receptor is down-regulated by the absence of a food source. RNAi mediated receptor ablation in vivo led to a decrease in absorbed heme levels in salmon louse tissues, and knockdown animals had shorter egg strings with a lower hatching success. Because having blood as a diet requires proper handling of blood-components, a hypothesis was that initiating in blood-feeding would to a shift in the salmon louse transcriptome. Results in this thesis indicate that the salmon louse normally starts feeding on blood in the mobile preadult I stage, but that those lice that were attached to the vascular fish gills were feeding on blood already in the chalimus I stage. The lice attached to the gills also developed at a slower pace than those lice elsewhere on the host. Chalimus larvae located on gills were therefore sampled for RNA-sequencing and subsequent gene expression analyses, and compared to chalimus larvae from host fins and general body surfaces, that were of similar instar age. Several transcripts were found differentially expressed in chalimus larvae on gills, among these ferritins, digestive enzymes, genes of unknown functions and genes with FNII domains, to mention some. These genes could be vital for blood-feeding in the salmon louse. Combined, these results stress the importance for the salmon louse to maintain proper ways of handling the blood meal, particularly the micronutrients iron and heme. This thesis builds on the little knowledge on iron and heme biology in L. salmonis from earlier, and provides a further understanding of salmon louse hematophagy. The results of this thesis could possibly be used to lay the groundwork for future methods of controlling the salmon louse infestations in the salmon aquaculture

Observational Signatures of Simulated Reconnection Events in the Solar Chromosphere and Transition Region

We present the results of numerical simulations of wave-induced magnetic reconnection in a model of the solar atmosphere. In the magnetic field geometry we study in this article, the waves, driven by a monochromatic piston and a driver taken from Hinode observations, induce periodic reconnection of the magnetic field, and this reconnection appears to help drive long-period chromospheric jets. By synthesizing observations for a variety of wavelengths that are sensitive to a wide range of temperatures, we shed light on the often confusing relationship between the plethora of jet-like phenomena in the solar atmosphere, e.g., explosive events, spicules, blinkers, and other phenomena thought to be caused by reconnection.Comment: 13 pages, 22 figures. Submitted to The Astrophysical Journa

Karakteristika ved to territorier for hvitryggspett Dendrocopos leucotos i Telemark

I investigated two territories of the White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos situated in Skien and Notodden (Telemark). The territories are situated in the far east in the range of the Norwegian Sørlandet population. One territory (Notodden) was situated in a stand of grey alder. The amount of fallen and standing dead trees was investigated using two census plots. The density of fallen and standing dead trees (mostly grey alder) was 324 and 137 truncs/ha, respectively. A well defined area covering 33 ha of high quality foraging habitats represents an estimate of the home range during the nestling period. The other territory (Skien) was situated in a landscape where decidous forests are heavily fragmented. All suitable foraging habitats (stands of decidous forest with high density of dead and dying trees) were mapped within the area 0-3 km from the nesting site (a circular area of 28 km2). Patches of decidous forests occurs as 1-10 ha patches in a matrix of clearcuts and young stands of spruce. Decidous forest makes up only 4 % of the total area. The area within 1 km from the nest site showed the greatest abundance of suitable foraging habitats (480 ha, 15,4 % of the total area), while the density of suitable foraging habitats declined further away from the nest site. Changes in forest structure leading to reduced amount of suitable foraging habitats on a landscape level is believed to be the main reason for the decline in the population of the White-backed Woodpecker in eastern parts of Norway, as well as in Western Europe as a whole

Without a pinch of salt: effect of low salinity on eggs and nauplii of the salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis)

The salmon louse is an economically important parasite on Atlantic salmon and poses a major threat to aquaculture. Several treatment methods have lost their effect due to resistance development in the lice. A rather new method for combatting sea lice is freshwater treatment where the various life stages of lice are differently affected by this treatment. In this study, we analyzed the effect of freshwater on the egg strings. A 3-h treatment with freshwater had a detrimental effect on the egg strings. First, the water penetrated the string, widening it, then entering the eggs and enlarging them. Finally, the ordered structure of the egg strings collapsed, and no alive animals hatched. Shorter treatments had a lower effectivity, and treatments with brackish water also showed milder effects. The egg strings were found to have a protective effect against low salinities, as hatched nauplii died rapidly under conditions that embryos survived. We also found that embryos react to low salinity on a molecular level by changing gene expression of several genes, when incubated in brackish water. Additionally, the hatching of embryos treated with brackish water was delayed in comparison to seawater controls.publishedVersio

Life history of Leptagonus decagonus (Atlantic poacher) in Svalbard waters

Poster presented at the IPY 2012 From Knowledge to Action ConferenceThe demersal fish species Leptagonus decagonus (Atlantic poacher) is a commonly encountered species on the continental shelf in the Barents Sea and around Svalbard, but little is known about the life-history and population traits of the species in Svalbard waters. It is therefore important to investigate this species to understand its importance in the ecosystem. A total of 80 specimens were obtained during October 2010 and 2011. We measured gutted weight, caudal length, sex, gonad-length, -width and –weight, and weight of the liver. Eggs were counted and measured. Age was estimated by surface reading of otoliths. Preliminary data suggest that there is no significant difference in age distribution between the sexes, although males had a wider age distribution (2-14 years) than females (3-7 years). The majority of specimens were 4-7 years old (mean = 4.9 years). Both females and males are mature by the age of 4. The sex distribution in the population was 45 % female and 55 % male. Overall, females were larger than males with age. Both sexes had a length-weight relationship that gave a negative isomorphic body condition, indicating energy priority towards reproduction rather than tissue growth. There was little variation in the gonadosomatic index between the sexes, with length and age. This indicates that most of the specimens were mature. There was however a difference in the size of the liver between the sexes, where the males have a higher heptasomatic index than the females. The females had a relatively high fecundity, with an average of 2448 eggs, although at least half of the eggs were undeveloped

Wave Propagation and Jet Formation in the Chromosphere

We present the results of numerical simulations of wave propagation and jet formation in solar atmosphere models with different magnetic field configurations. The presence in the chromosphere of waves with periods longer than the acoustic cutoff period has been ascribed to either strong inclined magnetic fields, or changes in the radiative relaxation time. Our simulations include a sophisticated treatment of radiative losses, as well as fields with different strengths and inclinations. Using Fourier and wavelet analysis techniques, we investigate the periodicity of the waves that travel through the chromosphere. We find that the velocity signal is dominated by waves with periods around 5 minutes in regions of strong, inclined field, including at the edges of strong flux tubes where the field expands, whereas 3-minute waves dominate in regions of weak or vertically oriented fields. Our results show that the field inclination is very important for long-period wave propagation, whereas variations in the radiative relaxation time have little effect. Furthermore, we find that atmospheric conditions can vary significantly on timescales of a few minutes, meaning that a Fourier analysis of wave propagation can be misleading. Wavelet techniques take variations with time into account and are more suitable analysis tools. Finally, we investigate the properties of jets formed by the propagating waves once they reach the transition region, and find systematic differences between the jets in inclined field regions and those in vertical field regions, in agreement with observations of dynamic fibrils.Comment: 27 pages, 29 figures; accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa

Innovasjonssystemer i norsk reiseliv : en casestudie av NCE Tourism- Fjord Norway

Til tross for at tjenestenæringer står for over halvparten av verdiskapingen i Norge i dag, vet vi fremdeles lite om tjenesteinnovasjon i forhold til innovasjon i vareproduserende næringer. Spesielt er det forsket lite på innovasjonssystemer i tjenestenæringer. Reiselivsnæringen er en typisk tjenestenæring, der det hevdes at konkurransefortrinn i stor grad er avhengig av evnen til nyskaping. Denne evnen, hevder noen, kan forbedres ved hjelp av innovasjonspolitiske virkemidler. Formålet med denne oppgaven er å vinne innsikt i hvordan innovasjon foregår i reiselivsnæringen. Jeg ønsker også å finne om innovasjonsprogrammet ”Norwegian Cluster of Expertise” har bidratt til en mer systematisk tilnærming til innovasjonsarbeid i næringen. Jeg kan ikke konkludere med at man i dag finner et fullverdig innovasjonssystem innen NCE Tourism, men mine resultater viser at man i NCE Tourism har skapt en mer systematisk tilnærming til innovasjon. Det har blant annet etablert seg en norm for hvilke tema nyskapinger gjøres innen, og et system for kunnskapsdeling