The Effects of Foreign Direct Investment on Local Companies. Case : The Polish Construction Sector

The entrance of Poland to the European Union (EU) will attract Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) to the country. These MNEs will invest in Poland and this will have its consequences for the local companies. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate how these foreign investments will affect the local companies in the construction industry in Poland. To describe the influence of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the Polish construction sector we divided the possible effects of FDI in: employment, competition, process innovation and resource-transfer effects. To collect primary data, we sent questionnaires and interviewed strategic managers of medium and large construction companies. The results indicate that companies in the construction sector expect to benefit from MNEs. The main problems in the construction sector are currently: a lack of financial resources, insufficient management skills and outdated equipment. The number of jobs in the sector is decreasing and the competition is fierce. In the short term, FDI will not be beneficial for all local companies in the sector. Many companies will have to implement new innovations or cooperate with other companies to stay in business. However, in the long term the construction sector will be more efficient and more productive. This dissertation contains a model, which has been created through literature, primary and secondary data and shows in detail how FDI will affect and be beneficial for the Polish construction sector

Retrospective Outcome Monitoring of ADHD and Nutrition (ROMAN) : The Effectiveness of the Few-Foods Diet in General Practice

Introduction: Double-blind placebo-controlled studies investigating the effect of a few-foods diet (FFD) on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have provided consistent evidence that ADHD can be triggered by foods, indicating the existence of a food-induced ADHD subtype. In 2001 the “few-foods” approach was included in an ADHD treatment protocol. This approach consists of (a) determining, by means of an FFD, whether food is a trigger of ADHD; (b) reintroducing, in FFD responders, foods to assess which foods are incriminated; (c) finally composing a personalised diet eliminating the involved foods only. In the Netherlands the few-foods approach is applied in practice. We aimed to retrospectively assess its effectiveness on ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in real life. Methods: Data from all children who started the few-foods approach in three specialised healthcare facilities during three consecutive months were included. Behavior was assessed at start and end of the 5-week FFD, using the ADHD Rating Scale and a structured psychiatric interview. Clinical responders (behavioral improvements ≥40%) proceeded with the reintroduction phase. Results: Data of 57 children, 27 taking medication and 15 following some elimination diet at start, were available. No differences were noted between parental scores of children with and without medication or some elimination diet at start. 21/27 (78%) children stopped taking medication during the FFD. 34/57 (60%) children were ADHD responders, 20/29 (65%) children meeting ODD criteria were ODD responders. 26/34 (76%) ADHD responders started the reintroduction phase; 14/26 (54%) still participated at six months. Teacher data were available of 18/57 (32%) children. 9/18 (50%) children were ADHD responders. Conclusion: The FFD, if applied by trained specialists, may lead to clinically relevant reduction of ADHD and ODD symptoms in general practice, and a concomitant decrease of ADHD medication. These results corroborate the existence of an ADHD subgroup with food-induced ADHD. Defining and eliminating the incriminated foods, i.e. the underlying causal triggers, may result in secondary prevention of food-induced ADHD. Research into underlying mechanism(s) is of vital importance: finding an easier method or biomarkers for diagnosing food-induced ADHD and ascertaining the incriminated foods may lead to redundancy of the few-foods approach.</p

Diet and ADHD, reviewing the evidence : A systematic review of meta-analyses of double-blind placebo-controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of diet interventions on the behavior of children with ADHD

Introduction: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a debilitating mental health problem hampering the child's development. The underlying causes include both genetic and environmental factors and may differ between individuals. The efficacy of diet treatments in ADHD was recently evaluated in three reviews, reporting divergent and confusing conclusions based on heterogeneous studies and subjects. To address this inconsistency we conducted a systematic review of meta-analyses of double-blind placebo-controlled trials evaluating the effect of diet interventions (elimination and supplementation) on ADHD. Methods: Our literature search resulted in 14 meta-analyses, six of which confined to double-blind placebo-controlled trials applying homogeneous diet interventions, i.e. artificial food color (AFC) elimination, a few-foods diet (FFD) and poly-unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation. Effect sizes (ES) and Confidence intervals (CI) of study outcomes were depicted in a forest plot. I2 was calculated to assess heterogeneity if necessary and additional random effects subgroup meta-regression was conducted if substantial heterogeneity was present. Results: The AFC ESs were 0.44 (95% CI: 0.16-0.72, I2 = 11%) and 0.21 (95% CI: -0.02-0.43, I2 = 68%) [parent ratings], 0.08 (95% CI: -0.07-0.24, I2 = 0%) [teacher ratings] and 0.11 (95% CI: -0.13-0.34, I2 = 12%) [observer ratings]. The FFD ESs were 0.80 (95% CI: 0.41-1.19, I2 = 61%) [parent ratings] and 0.51 (95% CI: -0.02-1.04, I2 = 72%) [other ratings], while the PUFA ESs were 0.17 (95% CI: -0.03-0.38, I2 = 38%) [parent ratings], -0.05 (95% CI: -0.27-0.18, I2 = 0%) [teacher ratings] and 0.16 (95% CI: 0.01-0.31, I2 = 0%) [parent and teacher ratings]. Three meta-analyses (two FFD and one AFC) resulted in high I2 without presenting subgroup results. The FFD meta-analyses provided sufficient data to perform subgroup analyses on intervention type, resulting in a decrease of heterogeneity to 0% (diet design) and 37.8% (challenge design). Conclusion: Considering the small average ESs PUFA supplementation is unlikely to provide a tangible contribution to ADHD treatment, while further research is required for AFC elimination before advising this intervention as ADHD treatment. The average FFD ES is substantial, offering treatment opportunities in subgroups of children with ADHD not responding to or too young for medication. Further FFD research should focus on establishing the underlying mechanisms of food (e.g. incrimination of gut microbiota) to simplify the FFD approach in children with ADHD.</p

Description of the six meta-analyses included in this review.

<p>Description of the six meta-analyses included in this review.</p

Characteristics and outcomes of the six diet meta-analyses included in this systematic review.

<p>All meta-analyses included DBPC trials only, conducted in children meeting the criteria of ADHD.</p

Recalculation and sub-analysis of Sonuga-Barke et al.’s FFD meta-analysis [24] (4A and 4B) based on the data derived from the original articles.

<p>Forest plot of FFD effects and homogeneity statistics.</p

Recalculation and sub-analysis of Benton’s FFD meta-analysis [50] (3A and 3B) based on the data derived from the original articles.

<p>Forest plot of FFD effects and homogeneity statistics.</p