The Havoc of Good Intentions: Destructive Leadership through the Gender Lens

One important objective of the Swedish Armed Forces, which is expressed in the plan for implementing gender mainstreaming from 2015, is to increase the number of women in the organization and especially in the higher ranks. Recruiting more women to the officers’ program, while at the same time ensuring that women who have already enrolled as officers will remain in their occupation, is therefore of utmost importance. This chapter is based on a previously made qualitative study where six female cadets were interviewed regarding experiences of their time in training to become officers at the Swedish military academy, as well as how they perceive a future career in the Swedish Armed Forces. The result that emerged was analyzed as three factors: ambition, culture, and visibility. When reviewing the material from a leadership perspective, destructive leadership behaviors at strategic levels were identified as influencing the experiences of the cadets. Seen through a gender lens, destructive leadership in the Swedish Armed Forces describes a pattern where the design of equality work, which is based on good intentions, in some cases fosters leadership behaviors that have a negative impact on the room of action of women in the organization

Assessing long-term effects of CAP investment support on indicators of farm performance

In this study of Swedish farms from 2007 to 2016, we estimate the effects of investment support from the Common Agricultural Policy on indicators of farm performance, focusing on long-term effects. To isolate the impact and alleviate problems of selection bias, we employ a counterfactual empirical design using Coarsened Exact Matching and dynamic panel fixed-effects estimations. The average treatment effect on the treated estimates show a positive and significant long-term improvement of farm performance with regard to productivity and turnover. However, the results indicate significant time lags between investments and accumulated observable effects, as we find most short-term effects of the subsidy to be insignificant

”Try to relax” - A survey study in Sweden among native Swedes and Arabic immigrants concerning views on stuttering

Studies performed in various countries have shown that negative attitudes and beliefs towards stuttering and People Who Stutter (PWS), which can lead to stigmatization, discrimination and social anxiety, are widespread across different societies. It is important that clinicians are aware that patients can meet different attitudes in their daily life, affecting health care seeking behavior and self-image. These can also be affected by the cultural background. Combined with different views on disorders and individualist versus collectivist societal constructions, this has clinical impacts for the treatment. For measuring these attitudes and beliefs, a questionnaire (POSHA-S) has been developed in the USA with the aim of being a worldwide instrument. We translated POSHA-S to Swedish and conducted a survey among native Swedes and immigrants with an Arabic background, as the latter group is one of the largest, and growing, minorities in Sweden. We contacted schools around Sweden for the distribution of the survey. They received either a paper version or an online version of the questionnaire. We obtained answers from 42 native Swedes, seven Arabic immigrants and 13 respondents with a background in another country. The results show that in an international comparison, native Swedes have a positive/accurate view on stuttering and PWS; notwithstanding, the attitudes towards the PWS abilities at the labor market were negative. The Arabic group holds a more negative/inaccurate view on certain items, specifically regarding the cause of stuttering and the traits attributed to PWS. The low number of Arabic respondents, however, prevents us from drawing general conclusions as the statistical power is too low

Determinants of customer satisfaction with socially responsible investments: Do ethical and environmental factors impact customer satisfaction with SRI profiled mutual funds?

Although much research has been published on green/ethical consumer behaviour, the question of how consumers evaluate pro-socially positioned products in the post-purchase stage is still virtually unexplored. This is troubling given the significance of post-purchase evaluations within general marketing theory. To address this gap in the literature, this study examines how a set of technical and functional quality attributes contribute to customer satisfaction in a socially responsible investment (SRI) setting. The results of the study show that perceived financial quality of the SRI mutual fund is the most important predictor of customer satisfaction. However, perceived social, ethical, and environmental (SEE) quality is also positively related to satisfaction for the SRI mutual fund. Based on these results, it is argued that although SEE quality is important to customers, marketers of pro-socially profiled products should primarily focus on conventional quality attributes, as a good SEE record unlikely to generate customer satisfaction alone.Customer satisfaction; ethics; perceived quality; socially responsible investment; mutual funds

Interrelationship of emotional stability, hassles, uplifts, coping and stress-related symptoms in Swedish female and male military veterans

Drawing on previous research, two hypotheses were tested: (1) the higher the frequency of daily uplifts and use of functional coping strategies, and the lower the frequency of daily hassles and use of dysfunctional coping strategies, the lower the prevalence of stress‐related symptoms will be, and vice versa; and (2) the direct relationship between the personality dimension emotional stability and stress‐related symptoms, will be moderated by daily hassles, daily uplifts and coping processes. A quantitative test of a qualitatively developed model was performed. A questionnaire was sent to all Swedish military veterans who had served in the period 2011–2015 and 1859 individuals (1,614 men and 199 women, 46 individuals did not mark gender) responded (40.5% total response rate). All analyses were made separately for men and women. Comparisons between theoretically favorable and unfavorable profiles across the model variables, daily uplifts, daily hassles, functional coping and dysfunctional coping (based on a cluster analysis), showed considerable differences regarding the prevalence of stress‐related symptoms as predicted by the model and supporting the first hypothesis. Regression and moderation analyses yielded limited support for the second hypothesis. As predicted, female veterans reported a higher frequency of physical, emotional and cognitive stress‐related symptoms than male veterans. The main conclusion is that the theoretical model stood up well when empirically tested and offers a promising approach to future studies on everyday stress and health. The results contribute with new knowledge of military veterans compared to the main stream PTSD, depression and drug abuse‐oriented studies.publishedVersio

Miniaturized Devices for Reaction Monitoring Using Online Mass Spectrometry and Developments Towards Reaction Control

Understanding the mechanism of chemical reactions brings possibilities to optimization of reaction conditions. Microreactors coupled online to mass spectrometric detection provide a system highly suitable for mechanistic studies, enabling sensitive, selective, and rapid detection. By combining the information obtained with this experimental system with theoretical density functional theory investigations of the potential energy surface of the system, detailed information about the mechanism of a reaction can be obtained. On the other hand, molecularly imprinted polymers are useful tools for facilitating selective synthesis. This is achieved by formation of cavities within the polymer matrix, which are able to stabilize the transition state of the desired reaction. In this thesis, three different miniaturized reactors fabricated with additive manufacturing were combined online with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry for monitoring chemical reactions (Studies I-IV). The different miniaturized reactors were found to be variably suitable for this task. Overall, three different reactions were studied using miniaturized reactors coupled to a mass spectrometer – an inverse electron-demand Diels-Alder, followed by a retro Diels-Alder reaction (Studies I and II), an oxidation of a heptafulvene into the corresponding tropone by meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (Study III), and an acetylation reaction yielding the antibiotic drug linezolid (Study IV). The online mass spectrometry results obtained for the heptafulvene oxidation reaction were furthermore used as a basis for density functional theory studies of said reaction (Study III). Nine reaction pathways were investigated. The key step of the mechanism with the lowest energy barrier for oxidation of the studied heptafulvene into its corresponding tropone was identified as a Criegee-like rearrangement, while the overall reaction follows a Hock-like mechanism. Furthermore, highly porous molecularly imprinted polymer systems, which in flow injection quartz crystal microbalance studies exhibited enantioselectivity for a proposed transition state analogue of a transamination reaction, were developed and assessed (Study V). The molecularly imprinted systems prepared with n-heptane as porogen, and polystyrene beads, which, when extracted out, formed pores in the polymers that were imprinted with a molecule having either a D or L conformation of a proposed transition state analogue of a transaminase reaction, showed a clear selectivity for the transition state analogue enantiomer that they were imprinted with in flow injection quartz crystal microbalance studies. Otherwise these systems exhibited similar selectivity for the other analytes screened. The results presented in this thesis demonstrate that online combination of additively manufactured miniaturized reactors and mass spectrometry provides a convenient system for monitoring reactions online. At the same time, the results highlight limitations of the system such as memory effects arising from rough surfaces of the miniaturized reactors in combination with (from a mass spectrometry viewpoint) high concentrations of reactants used. However, the results from the oxidation study show that combinations of several methods can aid in overcoming limitations that one single approach may present. Finally, the developed hyperporous molecularly imprinted systems for enantioselective transamination reaction are promising for introduction into miniaturized reactors in the future.Förståelse av mekanismen för hur kemiska reaktioner sker möjliggör optimering av reaktionsförhållandena. Mikroreaktorer kopplade online (direkt) till masspektrometrisk detektion erbjuder ett experimentellt system som är väl lämpat för mekanistiska studier då det möjliggör sensitiv, selektiv och snabb detektion. Genom att kombinera informationen som fås med hjälp av detta experimentella system med teoretiska täthetsfuktionalteoretiska studier av den potentiella energiytan för systemet ifråga, kan detaljerad information om en reaktions mekanism erhållas. Molekylärt imprintade polymerer är, å andra sidan, användbara verktyg för att främja selektiv kemisk syntes. Den ökade selektiviteten för en syntes fås genom att selektiva ”fickor”, som har egenskaper som kan stabilisera den önskade reaktionens övergångstillstånd, skapas i en polymermatris. I denna avhandling har tre miniatyriserade reaktorer, som tillverkats genom friformsframställning (3D printning), kombinerats online med masspektrometri för monitorering av kemiska reaktioner (Studie I-IV). De olika reaktorerna visade sig vara varierande lämpade för detta ändamål. Sammanlagt studerades tre reaktioner genom att koppla miniatyriserade reaktorer online till en masspektrometer – en inverst elektronbehovs-Diels-Alder, följd av en retro Diels-Alder reaktion (Studie I och II), en oxidering av en heptafulven till dess motsvarande tropon med hjälp av meta-kloroperoxybensoesyra (Studie III), och en acetyleringsreaktion för framställning av det antibiotiska läkemedlet linezolid (Studie IV). Masspektrometriresultaten för heptafulven-oxidationen användes som utgångspunkt för täthetsfuntionalteoristudier av reaktionens mekanism (Studie III). Nio reaktionsvägar undersöktes med denna metod. Nyckelsteget i mekanismen med lägst energibarriär för reaktionen fastställdes vara en Criegee-liknande omlagring, emedan den sammantagna mekanismen för oxidationen följer en Hock-liknande mekanism. Vidare utvecklades och utvärderades hyperporösa molekylärt imprintade polymersystem, som i kvartskristallmikrovågsexperiment uppvisade enantioselektivitet för en föreslagen övergångstillståndsanalog i en transaminasreaktion (Studie V). De molekylärt imprintade systemen som förberetts med n-heptan som porogen och innehöll polystyrenkulor, som då de extraheras ut ur polymermatrisen, lämnar porer i polymeren som visade en tydlig selektivitet för övergångstillståndsanalog-enantiomeren som den imprintats med. För andra analyter uppvisade dessa system liknande selektivitet. Resultaten som presenteras i denna avhandling visar att online-koppling av 3D printade miniatyriserade reaktorer till masspektrometri är ett användbart system för att följa kemiska reaktioner online. Samtidigt belyser resultaten att detta system har begränsningar, så som problem med minneseffekter av analyter i systemet, vilket uppkommer från reaktorernas ojämna ytor kombinerat med (från ett masspektrometriskt perspektiv) användning av höga koncentrationer av reaktanter. Dock visar resultaten från oxidationsstudien att kombinerande av flera olika metoder kan bidra till att kompensera för begränsningarna som en viss metod kan medföra. Slutligen så är de utvecklade hyperporösa molekylärt imprintade systemen för enantioselektiv transaminasreaktion lovande för framtida introducering i miniatyriserade reaktorer

Mother's country of birth and prescription of psychotropic medication in Swedish adolescents: a life course approach.

Besides medical needs, psychotropic medication use in adolescence might be conditioned by the cultural context of the family. This knowledge is relevant for both detecting inequities in healthcare, and identifying information bias in epidemiological studies using psychotropic medication as a proxy for impaired psychological health. Therefore, we investigated whether, independent of needs, the socioeconomic characteristics of the mother's country of birth are associated with psychotropic medication use in Swedish-born adolescents

The role of collaboration and external knowledge for innovation in small food firms

In this study, we use unique purpose-built survey data to show that small food firms are more innovative when externally engaged. To capture this, we apply a broad classification of innovative activities, including new products, processes, markets, organization, and distribution channels, and examine them against types of external interactions. The analysis, an ordered logit estimation, controls for heterogeneity across firms as well as geographic conditions. The results demonstrate a positive relationship between external interaction and firm innovation, though there are differences across types of external engagement and innovation activities. Product innovation benefits from knowledge from extra-regional firms, while several of the other forms of innovation show a positive relationship with support from regional and municipality boards. Additionally, firm collaboration regarding transports and sales enhances most types of innovation, but there are few relationships of benefit with research-intensive organizations. We conclude that, to be effective, innovation strategies of both the firms themselves and policymakers need to consider local context, access to intra- and extra-regional knowledge sources, and what types of innovation activities the firms are engaged in

Upplevelser av stigmatisering i vården hos patienter med Borderline Personlighetstörning. En litteraturstudie.

Problemområde: Patienter med Borderline Personlighetsstörning (BPD) beskrivs i litteratur som svåra att vårda, och studier har identifierat negativa attityder om patientgruppen. Negativa attityder kan bidra till upplevelser av stigmatisering. Bakgrund: Studiens utgångspunkt grundas i Joyce Travelbees omvårdnadsteori. Studien utförs enligt den humanistiska forskningstraditionen. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur patienter med BPD upplever stigmatisering i vårdsituationer. Metod: En litteraturstudie har genomförts och en integrerad analysmetod har tillämpats. Resultat: Resultatet omfattar tre huvudrubriker; Fördomar i bemötandet, Svikande Vård, och Maktlöshet, som beskriver upplevelser av stigmatisering i vården. Slutsats: Många BPD-patienter har upplevelser av stigmatisering vilket påverkar deras vårdupplevelser negativt. Bemötandet upplevs inte holistiskt och vården uppfattas inte tillgodose patienternas individuella behov

Åtgärder och metoder för att minska smärta och stickrädsla hos barn

Bakgrund: Många barn känner obehag och rädsla inför medicinska åtgärder inom sjukvården. Studier har visat att nålrelaterade moment är det som upplevs mest skrämmande. Barn kommer till en röntgenavdelning för att undersökas och ofta behöver kontrastmedel injiceras. Stickrädsla hos barn är ett vanligt förekommande problem och det är därför viktigt att åtgärda det. Syfte: Studiens syfte var att undersöka åtgärder och metoder som kan minska smärta och stickrädsla hos barn. Metod: För att sammanställa åtgärder valdes litteraturstudie. Totalt ingick 14 vetenskapliga artiklar som analyserades genom en integrerad analys. Resultat: Genom olika åtgärder såsom läkemedel, förberedelser, information och delaktighet, distraktion, hjälpmedel för smärtlindring och distraktion samt föräldrarnas medverkan kunde smärta och stickrädsla minska. Slutsats: Det är viktigt att tillämpa metoder för att öka barnets välbefinnande vid en nålinsättning. Studien ska bidra till ökad förståelse och kunskap hos sjukvårdspersonal