Brand positioning strategies : an expiremental test ot two types of benefit differentiation

The purpose of this study is to examine associative- and instrumental benefit differentiation based on secondary associations as part of brand positioning. The field of brand positioning has been subject to extensive research, however, differentiation based on secondary associations and differences between instrumental- and associative benefit differentiation has received less attention. Instrumental benefit differentiation relates to benefits that are linked directly to product performance, while associative benefit differentiation relates to indirect benefits that evoke associations of consumption contexts, feelings, and emotions. We look at how the differentiation strategies vary in effectiveness with regard to creating positive brand attitude and their ability to generate benefit associations. We conducted a classical experiment on a convenience sample (N = 294) by utilizing six questionnaires to collect our data. Our research reveals that associative- and instrumental benefit differentiation does not differ in their positive effect on brand attitude, and that the associative strategy generates more benefit associations than the instrumental strategy. The results thus contradict the fundamental view of unique selling propositions and imply that brands could successfully acheive positive brand attitude with both differentiation strategies. Further, an associative benefit differentiation strategy should lead to a richer, more positive, and more sustainable network of associations. We failed to detect that the number of benefit associations positively mediates the effect of differentiation strategy on brand attitude. This could imply that one exposure is not sufficient in order to reveal such a relationship

Comparing AIDS governance: a research agenda on responses to the AIDS epidemic

The main argument in this paper is a call for empirical and comparative research to improve our understanding of which form of governance is most effective in reversing the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The notion of 'AIDS Governance' should not, as in much of the current literature, be a postulated ideal but a variable that, potentially, can help explain why some responses are more effective than others. Democratic governments, it is argued, can respond through one of two forms of AIDS Governance. An 'idealistic' response will maximise human rights, accountability and participation since such democratic ideals are understood to increase and ensure the effectiveness of the response. An 'authoritative' response will limit one or more of the democratic ideals with the argument that such limitations will enable the government to respond more effectively in the interest of public health. While AIDS is too complex a problem for any clever governance quick-fix, the suggested research agenda on AIDS Governance has the potential to generate new knowledge of which forms of AIDS Governance are better equipped at tackling different aspects of the response or phases of the epidemic. The paper represents an effort to strengthen the contribution by Political Science in the fight against HIV/AIDS

Capital and the nexus between the extreme-right and crime

En litteraturstudie om de sosiale, kulturelle og økonomiske mekanismene bak koblingen mellom høyreekstremisme og kriminalitet En undersøkelse av potensielle faktorer og subkulturer som potensielt kan bidra til overlap mellom høyreekstremisme og vanlig kriminalitet. Oppgaven trekker fra tidligere forskning fra feltet, "the crime-terror nexus", og ekstrem-Islamisme, og benytter Bourdieu`s konsepter av det sosiale rom, felt, kapital og habitus for å konseptualisere temaet.A literature-review about the social, cultural and economical mechanisms behind the nexus between the extreme-right and crime. An exploration of potential factors and subcultures facilitating the overlap between right-wing extremism and ordinary-crime. Drawing from previous research from the field of the crime-terror nexus and extreme-Islamism. Applying Bourdieu`s concept of social room, field, capital and habitus to conceptualize the theme

Evaluating Knowledge Management in Network Contexts - Applying the Strategic Knowledge Management Framework

Gaining and sustaining competitive advantage through knowledge sharing and network-based knowledge processes is a process involving the tasks of formulating a strategic vision, formulating a knowledge vision, identifying relevant knowledge, designing the knowledge process, catering for knowledge protection, implementing the process, and using the system. The focus of this paper is twofold. Firstly, we apply a strategic knowledge management framework, aimed at evaluating the effect of such processes, on an empirical case. Secondly, we discuss the results of our appliance of the framework and propose some further issues to be resolved

The impact of authors’ medical specialty on publication patterns and published results of adjuvant radiotherapy for WHO grade 2 meningiomas—a systematic review

Background The role of adjuvant radiotherapy after gross total resection (GTR) of WHO grade 2 meningioma remains unclear, and conflicting results have been published. We hypothesized that authors’ medical specialties could be associated with reported findings on the role of adjuvant radiotherapy after GTR of WHO grade 2 meningiomas. Method A systematic review was conducted in Embase and Medline databases, in addition to screening of all relevant bibliographies. Articles including patients aged 18 years or older, with histologically confirmed WHO grade 2 meningioma, were included. We extracted data on medical subspecialties using the author list. We registered study design, median follow-up, number of included patients, WHO classification in use, and years of study inclusion. Results Thirty-seven relevant studies were identified, where 34 (92%) were retrospective cohort studies, two studies (5%) were systematic reviews, and one study (3%) was a meta-analysis. If the last author was a radiation-oncologist, the study was more likely to favor adjuvant radiotherapy, and if a neurosurgeon was last author, the study was more likely to not advocate adjuvant radiotherapy (p=0.009). There was no significant association between study result and whether the study was published in a neurosurgical or oncological journal (p=0.802). There was no significant difference in follow-up time, years of inclusion, or number of included patients between studies favoring or not favoring adjuvant radiotherapy. Conclusions In this systematic review of the literature, we found that if a radiation-oncologist was the last author of the study, the study was more likely to favor adjuvant radiotherapy after gross total resection of WHO grade 2 meningioma. Clinicians and researchers should be aware of a possible genealogy bias in the neuro-oncological literature.publishedVersionThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

CO2 capture from offshore oil installations: An evaluation of alternative methods for deposition with emphasis on carbonated water injection

Capture and storage of CO2 from gas turbine power plants can be an alternative to electrification from shore to reduce the emissions from petroleum production facilities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The objective of this work was to analyse and rank various options for storage using technical economic analyses. The following alternatives were considered: 1. Dissolution of CO2 in sea water and aquifer storage of carbonated water 2. Injection of pure CO2 into an aquifer 3. Compression of CO2 and pipeline transport to a collection centre 4. Liquefaction of CO2 and ship transport to a collection centre 5. Dissolution of CO2 in sea water and injection into oil fields (carbonated water injection, CWI) For each alternative the investment costs and operating costs were estimated, and the net present values were determined. Credit for saved CO2 tax was included as incomes for all alternatives. The CO2 tax is expected to increase significantly from present level to Year 2030. For Alternative 5, CWI into oil fields, incomes from incremental oil production was also included. This required more comprehensive analyses. Using both a heterogeneous and a homogeneous field scale simulation model incremental oil productions and CO2 retention were estimated for CWI into both green and brown fields cases. The economic calculations show that alternatives 1 – 4 have negative net present values. A higher future CO2 tax than presently envisaged will be needed to make the alternatives economically viable. All cases related to Alternative 5 (project lifetime, heterogeneous and homogeneous reservoir models, green and brown fields) exhibit positive net present values due to incremental oil production. Most, but not all, injected CO2 remained in the reservoir, depending on the injection period. Oxygen in the captured CO2, formation of gas hydrates and corrosion of well materials may cause operational problems of injecting sea water with dissolved CO2. These aspects have been briefly discussed. Some additional measures may have to be taken to alleviate undesired effects, but none of the issues are likely to prohibit implementation of CWI. The results obtained suggest that CWI into producing oil reservoirs offers an economic viable and safe way for disposal of CO2 captured from offshore petroleum production plants provided that a capture plant can be installed, and that the remaining lifetime of the reservoir is so long that the benefits of improved oil recovery can be realised.publishedVersio

A meta-Ethnography on Parents’ Experiences of the Internet As a Source of Health Information

The Internet is increasingly being used as a health information resource. This meta-ethnography aimed to synthesize the literature on how parents of children aged below 5 years’ experienced using the Internet for health information purposes. We employed an interpretive meta-synthesis approach—meta-ethnography—according to Noblit & Hare’s seven phases. A total of 22 articles met the inclusion criteria, representing four continents and with 650 participants, mainly mothers. We analysed and synthesized the primary studies into the following lines-of-argument synthesis representing a novel conceptual understanding of the phenomenon: Parents experience the Internet as “A cyber partner for child caring” being a 24/7 available “go-to” among other confined sources. Parents find ways of “patching together” trustworthy information in solicitude for their child’s health while navigating between trust and anxiety. They relate online and share their experiences and secrets without being rejected. Clinicians and parents may benefit from “partnering” with this resource.publishedVersio

Effect of Folic Acid Supplementation on Levels of Circulating Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 and the Presence of Intravascular Ultrasound Derived Virtual Histology Thin-Cap Fibroatheromas in Patients with Stable Angina Pectoris

Background:Virtual Histology Intravascular Ultrasound (VH-IVUS) may be used to detect early signs of unstable coronary artery disease. Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein-1 (MCP-1) is linked with coronary atherosclerosis and plaque instability and could potentially be modified by folic acid treatment.Methods:In a randomized, prospective study, 102 patients with stable angina pectoris (SAP) received percutaneous coronary intervention and established medical treatment as well as either homocysteine-lowering folic acid/vitamin B12 (±B6) or placebo (±B6) for 1 year before VH-IVUS was performed. The presence of VH-Thin-Cap Fibroatheroma (VH-TCFA) in non-intervened coronary vessels was registered and serum levels of MCP-1 were measured. The patients were subsequently followed for incident myocardial infarction (MI).Results:Patients treated with folic acid/vitamin B12 had a geometric mean (SD) MCP-1 level of 79.95 (1.49) versus 86.00 (1.43) pg/mL for patients receiving placebo (p-value 0.34). VH-TCFA lesions were present in 7.8% of patients and did not differ between intervention arms (p-value 0.47). Serum levels of MCP-1 were 1.46 (95% CI 1.12 to 1.92) times higher in patients with VH-TCFA lesions than in those without (p-value 0.005). Afterwards, patients were followed for median 2.1 years and 3.8% experienced a myocardial infarction (MI), which in post-hoc Cox regression analyses was independently predicted by both MCP-1 (P-value 0.006) and VH-TCFA (p-value 0.01).Conclusions:In patients with SAP receiving established medical treatment, folic acid supplementation is not associated with either presence of VH-TCFA or levels of MCP-1. MCP-1 is however associated with VH-TCFA, a finding corroborated by increased risk for future MI.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00354081

Hematology reference intervals in 6-12-year-old children: the health-oriented pedagogical project (HOPP)

Reference intervals are essential for correct interpretation of laboratory test results, supporting clinicians in distinguishing between healthy and sick individuals. The present study aims to establish pediatric reference intervals for hematological parameters based on a large population of healthy schoolchildren. Blood samples were obtained from 1351 children 6–12 years of age participating in the Health-Oriented Pedagogical Project (HOPP). Reference intervals for hematological parameters were estimated by the nonparametric method following the CLSI C28-A3 guidelines. Reference intervals were estimated as 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles with corresponding 90% confidence intervals. While hematocrit and MCV required age and sex partitioning, hemoglobin and erythrocytes were partitioned for age. The remaining parameters, MCH, MCHC, platelets and white blood cell counts did not require partitioning. While red blood cell parameters exhibited an increasing trend with age, there was a slight decrease in leukocytes, lymphocytes, basophils and platelets with age. The remaining parameters were stable across our age span.publishedVersio