Relative Performance Information and Employee Performance: The Role of Need for Cognition

Relative performance information (RPI) can be a valuable performance feedback mechanism within a management control system. However, it is likely that not all types of employees respond similarly to the implementation of RPI. Since firm resources are constrained and RPI requires considerable resources, our study seeks to understand what type of employees benefit most from the expectation of RPI. Specifically, we examine the personality trait of need for cognition (NFC). Using a laboratory experiment, we predict and find that an expectation of RPI results in increased performance for individuals low in NFC because it increases the amount of time they spend seeking out information in an effort-sensitive decision-making task. In contrast, an expectation of RPI has no effect on individuals high in NFC as they naturally seek performance-relevant information in the absence of expecting RPI. In an effort to increase the application of our findings, we employ a broadly-distributed survey to gather descriptive information on NFC by industry and job types. The results of this study provide important nuance to our understanding of RPI and how managers can better implement RPI to achieve the greatest effect

A Learning Missional Church Reflections from Young Missiologists

This book is compiled by contributions from young missiologists from different parts of the world. It is written from the persepective of youth to be a fresh breath of air into more traditional mission thinking and mission paradigmshttps://scholar.csl.edu/edinburghcentenary/1001/thumbnail.jp

Trends and drivers in global surface ocean pH over the past 3 decades

We report global long-term trends in surface ocean pH using a new pH data set computed by combining fCO2 observations from the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT) version 2 with surface alkalinity estimates based on temperature and salinity. Trends were determined over the periods 1981–2011 and 1991–2011 for a set of 17 biomes using a weighted linear least squares method. We observe significant decreases in surface ocean pH in ~70% of all biomes and a mean rate of decrease of 0.0018 ± 0.0004 yr−1 for 1991–2011. We are not able to calculate a global trend for 1981–2011 because too few biomes have enough data for this. In half the biomes, the rate of change is commensurate with the trends expected based on the assumption that the surface ocean pH change is only driven by the surface ocean CO2 chemistry remaining in a transient equilibrium with the increase in atmospheric CO2. In the remaining biomes, deviations from such equilibrium may reflect that the trend of surface ocean fCO2 is not equal to that of the atmosphere, most notably in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, or may reflect changes in the oceanic buffer (Revelle) factor. We conclude that well-planned and long-term sustained observational networks are key to reliably document the ongoing and future changes in ocean carbon chemistry due to anthropogenic forcing.publishedVersio

Temperature, precipitation and biotic interactions as determinants of tree seedling recruitment across the tree line ecotone

Seedling recruitment is a critical life history stage for trees, and successful recruitment is tightly linked to both abiotic factors and biotic interactions. In order to better understand how tree species’ distributions may change in response to anticipated climate change, more knowledge of the effects of complex climate and biotic interactions is needed. We conducted a seed-sowing experiment to investigate how temperature, precipitation and biotic interactions impact recruitment of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) seedlings in southern Norway. Seeds were sown into intact vegetation and experimentally created gaps. To study the combined effects of temperature and precipitation, the experiment was replicated across 12 sites, spanning a natural climate gradient from boreal to alpine and from sub-continental to oceanic. Seedling emergence and survival were assessed 12 and 16 months after sowing, respectively, and aboveground biomass and height were determined at the end of the experiment. Interestingly, very few seedlings were detected in the boreal sites, and the highest number of seedlings emerged and established in the alpine sites, indicating that low temperature did not limit seedling recruitment. Site precipitation had an overall positive effect on seedling recruitment, especially at intermediate precipitation levels. Seedling emergence, establishment and biomass were higher in gap plots compared to intact vegetation at all temperature levels. These results suggest that biotic interactions in the form of competition may be more important than temperature as a limiting factor for tree seedling recruitment in the sub- and low-alpine zone of southern Norway.acceptedVersio

Management Forecasts, Analyst Revisions, and Investor Reactions: The Effect of CEO Gender

In this study, we examine whether CEO gender affects the likelihood of management forecast issuance, forecast properties, and subsequent reactions from analysts and investors. We use a panel data set of CEO transitions between 2000 and 2015 to test our hypotheses. We find that while women CEOs are more likely to issue earnings forecasts after a CEO transition, the characteristics of forecasts issued by women and men CEOs do not differ. Furthermore, we find that CEO gender significantly affects analyst and investor reactions. In particular, we find that analysts and investors demonstrate a more tempered reaction to good news forecasts issued by women CEOs compared to men CEOs. Overall, our findings suggest that analysts and investors find management forecasts issued by women CEOs to be less credible than forecasts issued by men CEOs despite no apparent differences in their forecast properties

Kompetansegullet - en lønnsom investering. En studie av motivasjon i offentlig og privat sektor

Master i bedriftsledelse (MBA) - 201

Cultural sensitivity and tourism Report from Northern Norway

publishedVersio

Frosttoleranse og vernaliseringskrav i ulike sorter av høsthvete

Denne rapporten omtaler testing av seks ulike høsthvete-sorter for vernaliseringskrav og frosttoleranse. Undersøkelsen ble gjennomført som en del av ProHøst-prosjeket (NFR 320694) med tilleggsfinansering fra Graminor, for å skaffe mer kunnskap om maksimalt oppnåelig frosttoleranse og lengde på vernaliseringskrav hos ulike sorter av høsthvete på det norske markedet. Frysetesten viser at sortene Magnifik, Jantarka og Praktik har en genetisk høyere grad av frosttoleranse enn Kuban, Bernstein og Nordkapp. De fleste av de seks testede sortene ser ut til å ha et vernaliseringskrav som ligger rundt ± 50 vernaliseringsdager, men Praktik ser ut til å ha et noe lenger vernaliseringskrav. Med både god frosttoleranse og et langt vernaliseringskrav har Praktik to gunstige egenskaper som gjør den bedre rustet for norske vintre.Frosttoleranse og vernaliseringskrav i ulike sorter av høsthvetepublishedVersio

Kognitiv semantikk og nettverksmodellen møter praktisk leksikografi

The network model of linguistic meaning was developed within the framework of cognitive linguistics as a tool for visualising the semantic structure of polysemous units. The model is based on the notion that linguistic knowledge is grounded in categorisation, and that linguistic units are typically characterised by structured polysemy.We explore the potential usefulness of the network model in the structuring of word senses in a dictionary by transferring two medium-sized entries in the monolingual Norwegian dictionary Norsk Ordbok into semantic networks. Prototypicality and links between senses based on either extension or schematicity are made explicit in the two networks. We argue that the network model is a valuable tool for the dictionary editor faced with the task of identifying word senses and arranging them in a hierarchy