The SSE Alumni Economic Forecast Spring 2010: SSE Alumni's Expectations about Economic Developments

As society changes and patterns of economic development – across regions, countries, markets, companies and other organizations – become more complex and intricate, there is a general wish for reliable and valid indicators of what is going on and where economic development is heading. This study represents a first step toward developing new indicators - forecasts - of economic developments, focusing on expectations among the alumni of the Stockholm School of Economics about the next six months, to be surveyed once a year. The study also aims at explaining how these expectations are formed – what influence the expectations. The expectations are also of interest in their own right, since they show how a specific group of professionals, of which many are rather influential in Swedish businesses and in the society, view the future, which influences their decisions, and which may – after being made known – influence other decision makers.economic expectations; economic forecast; investment forcast; explaining expectations

Excessive worry in adolescents and adults : development and evaluation of theory-driven treatments

Background: Worry is common among both adolescents and adults, and excessive worry is related to a number of mental health problems. Current pharmacological and psychological treatments for worry are moderately effective, and the processes involved in therapeutic change remain unclear. Building on theories of excessive worry could be a way forward in developing more streamlined and effective treatments. This thesis mainly concerns itself with two theories of worry: the intolerance of uncertainty model and the metacognitive model. Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to develop and evaluate streamlined psychological interventions for adolescents and adults, specifically targeting hypothesized causal mechanisms relevant in the maintenance of excessive worry. More specifically, the aims were (1) to develop a streamlined intolerance of uncertaintyfocused treatment (IU-CBT) for adolescents with excessive worry, and explore its feasibility and preliminary efficacy in face-to-face and online-delivered formats, (2) to explore the experiences of the adolescents and their parents who had received online IU-CBT with parental involvement, and (3) to develop internet-delivered metacognitive therapy for adult worriers (I-MCT), evaluate its clinical efficacy, and explore the mediating effects of negative beliefs about worry in treatment. Methods: Four studies (I-IV) were conducted within this doctoral project. To evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of face-to-face IU-CBT for adolescents, we conducted study I, an uncontrolled pilot feasibility trial (N = 12). The treatment protocol was subsequently transformed into an online version and its feasibility and preliminary efficacy was evaluated in a pilot feasibility study with a multiple-baseline design (N = 13; study II). In study III, eight adolescents and nine parents who had participated in study II were interviewed in a qualitative study and data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Study IV was a randomized controlled trial with mediation analysis where adult excessive worriers (N = 108) were randomized to either I-MCT or a wait-list control condition. Results: In study I, there were no drop-outs or adverse events, and most families described high treatment satisfaction. The results showed large reductions in self-rated worry and secondary outcomes, and the effects were maintained at three-months follow-up. In study II, all but one adolescent followed through with the online treatment, and treatment module completion rates were high. We found medium to large reductions in self-rated worry, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and impaired functioning at post-treatment and the changes were maintained at one and three-month follow-ups. Study III showed that even though the online format posed challenges to the families and many would have appreciated some additional therapist-support, online IU-CBT for adolescents with excessive worry can be acceptable for both the adolescents and their parents. Exposure to uncertainty could be difficult but was also experienced as worthwhile and both adolescents and parents described the parental involvement in treatment as important for the adolescents’ treatment adherence. In study IV, treatment retention was high and I-MCT appeared to be acceptable to patients. Change in negative beliefs about worry mediated change in worry (more so than did change in depression), and large effects favoring I-MCT were observed. Effects were maintained after six and twelve months. Conclusions: An IU-focused treatment for adolescents with excessive worry is feasible and potentially effective, when delivered face-to-face as well as online. I-MCT is also acceptable and effective for adults with excessive worry. Change in negative beliefs about worry appear to mediate change in worry outcomes in I-MCT, or put differently: if one does not believe that worry is dangerous or uncontrollable, one worries less. In conclusion, the findings lend further support to intolerance of uncertainty and negative beliefs about worry being promising treatment targets in novel interventions for excessive worry

Etiology and risk factors of febrile neutropenia in children during cancer treatment

Side effects due to chemotherapy is still a major issue during cancer treatment. Febrile neutropenia and associated microbiological defined infections (MDIs) are dreaded complications, and still a cause of death during pediatric cancer treatment. In many of the febrile neutropenia episodes the cause of the fever is unknown, and risk factors of developing febrile neutropenia are poorly characterized. To be able to pin-point children at risk of febrile neutropenia and anticipate those at risk of more severe episodes could lead to more individualized treatment. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was two-fold: to investigate the microbiological causes of febrile neutropenia episodes and to investigate risk factors of developing this condition and associated MDIs. In papers I and IV, causes of febrile neutropenia episodes were assessed. In paper I, we identified a respiratory virus in 45% of the episodes, which was in line with earlier reports. In addition, followup nasopharyngeal sampling showed that only rhinovirus and coronavirus were persistent and all other viruses cleared from the nasal cavity. This indicated that the respiratory virus identified was indeed the cause of the fever. However, causality could not be established. Therefore, paper IV investigated the innate immune response during these episodes. By using gene-expression profiling, the aim was to investigate specific innate signatures in blood. Unfortunately, due to the immunosuppression, there was insufficient RNA from ~30% of the samples and a specific innate signature, similar to that of immunocompetent children, could not be identified. Therefore, the feasibility of using geneexpression profiling to correlate the microbiological findings to an active infection and as a diagnostic tool in children treated for cancer remains challenging. In papers II and III, risk factors of developing neutropenia and febrile neutropenia with associated MDI and low end doses of 6-Mercaptopurine (6-MP) during pediatric ALL treatment were addressed. In paper II, genetic variants in important enzymes involved in drug metabolism were investigated. Here, TPMT genetic variants were associated with a decreased risk of developing neutropenia and febrile neutropenia during the maintenance II period, and deficiency in ITPA (rs1127345) to a decreased risk of developing febrile neutropenia (unadjusted). In addition, genetic variants in NUDT15 were associated with decreased end doses of 6-MP. From the results from paper II, we could still not fully understand the role of TPMT and ITPA and the risk of febrile neutropenia. In addition, NUDT15 seem to play an important role for the 6-MP doses. However, due to the small samples sizes, our results need further investigation in larger cohorts. In paper III, the febrile neutropenia episodes were characterized and genetic variants in important innate immune proteins were investigated. Viral infections were the most common detected infection during febrile neutropenia episodes. However, in the majority of the episodes the cause of the fever remained unknown. TLR4 genetic variants increased the risk of viral infections and variants in the IL-1Ra gene decreased the risk of developing bacterial bloodstream infection. There were no association between MBL and the investigated genetic variants. Therefore, TLR4 and IL-1Ra seem to have a role during infectious episodes in children treated for cancer, however, the results needs to be confirmed in future studies. In conclusion, respiratory virus are common during febrile neutropenia. However, additional more sensitive methods are needed to be able to identify and prove causality between the microbiological findings and the febrile neutropenia episode. Some of the investigated genetic variants seem to play a role in the risk of developing febrile neutropenia and infections. However, some of these need to be further evaluated before any modifications of the management of febrile neutropenia could be recommended

The influence of the secondary electrons induced by energetic electrons impacting the Cassini Langmuir probe at Saturn

The Cassini Langmuir Probe (LP) onboard the Radio and Plasma Wave Science experiment has provided much information about the Saturnian cold plasma environment since the Saturn Orbit Insertion in 2004. A recent analysis revealed that the LP is also sensitive to the energetic electrons (250–450 eV) for negative potentials. These electrons impact the surface of the probe and generate a current of secondary electrons, inducing an energetic contribution to the DC level of the current-voltage (I-V) curve measured by the LP. In this paper, we further investigated this influence of the energetic electrons and (1) showed how the secondary electrons impact not only the DC level but also the slope of the (I-V) curve with unexpected positive values of the slope, (2) explained how the slope of the (I-V) curve can be used to identify where the influence of the energetic electrons is strong, (3) showed that this influence may be interpreted in terms of the critical and anticritical temperatures concept detailed by Lai and Tautz (2008), thus providing the first observational evidence for the existence of the anticritical temperature, (4) derived estimations of the maximum secondary yield value for the LP surface without using laboratory measurements, and (5) showed how to model the energetic contributions to the DC level and slope of the (I-V) curve via several methods (empirically and theoretically). This work will allow, for the whole Cassini mission, to clean the measurements influenced by such electrons. Furthermore, the understanding of this influence may be used for other missions using Langmuir probes, such as the future missions Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer at Jupiter, BepiColombo at Mercury, Rosetta at the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and even the probes onboard spacecrafts in the Earth magnetosphere

Talent Management in Academia Evidence From a Spanish Public Technical University

This research investigates Talent Management in academia and serves both as an evaluation of the scientific research on the topic to this day and as an attempt to identify Talent Management practises in academia and comparing the theory of existing research with the reality in academic context. The purpose of this research is to explore the subject of Talent Management with regards to the practises of identification, selection and retention of academic talent. The research aims to provide contribution to the existing research within the subject of Talent Management. This research consists of a literature review of the current research available on Talent Management in academia. To examine the application of the theory found in the literature review a survey was conducted at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona, Spain. The results of the survey show that there exists both similarities and differences between the existing research and the applications at UPC. Regarding the identification of talent, it can be concluded that the definition of talent is not unanimous. Furthermore, the perception on if and how talent can be measured is also divided. To reach a stronger conclusion, more research must be conducted, preferably within different contexts. The results also show that in the selection of academic talent, recruiting through networks is the most common practice. In the practices of retaining academic talent, the results from the survey display that individuals in an academic environment seem to value flexibility and networking as key factors for wanting to stay employed at their current university. In order to continue the research in Talent Management in academia, we suggest that more focus should be invested in understanding the contextual differences that may exist due to different contexts and environments.Incomin

Introduction to Construction Tools and Equipment Course Concept

The current Cal Poly Construction Management curriculum covers nearly all areas of the construction industry with a wide range of materials along with how, where and why they are used. However, no class is specifically geared towards educating students to learn about the tools and equipment that are required to complete most of the jobs in these industries. By offering a technical elective course that allows students to not only visualize but recognize what tools and pieces of equipment are most effective and acceptable for various applications, we can enable students to further understand issues of constructability and safety on jobsites. This paper will analyze student intellect about both basic and specialized forms of equipment utilized on projects, why that knowledge is important and what should be done to ensure new graduates are well-versed in this area of construction

Exploring alternative economic pathways: a comparison of foundational economy and Doughnut economics

A number of intersecting crises are currently ongoing at multiple scales, including increasing inequality, environmental degradation, and climate destabilization, as well as new surges of populism and mounting public health threats. These emergencies question our economic model of past decades and provoke a rethinking of the general approach to economic policy from a multi-scalar perspective. In this article, we compare two approaches aiming to rethink economic development policy: foundational economy and Doughnut economics, and consider if and how they complement each other. We conclude that the two approaches are potentially complementary, most prominently in their call for high-income countries to refocus from growth per se to purpose-driven economic strategies that prioritize public services and redistribute incomes. However, they differ in respect to their geographical focus, environmental concerns, and application. To properly address tradeoffs between social needs and environmental effects, foundational scholarship would benefit from deeper engagement with the socioenvironmental perspective presented in Doughnut economics, which stresses the need to consider human-nature interlinkages. In sum, combining different aspects of the two approaches promises to provide a more robust response to contemporary challenges, especially for local policy making.publishedVersio

The role of energy democracy and energy citizenship for participatory energy transitions: A comprehensive review

Increasingly, scholarly debates and policy developments on citizen participation in energy transitions have included calls for ‘energy democracy’ and active forms of ‘energy citizenship’. The concepts are tightly connected to the debate on energy transition, and the need for a decentralised energy system, based on renewable energy and increased local energy ownership. The two concepts exist in parallel and are sometimes used as synonyms and sometimes with clear distinctions made between them. This spurred an interest to systematically investigate them further. The aim of this paper is to identify similarities and differences between the two concepts and synthesise their contributions to debates on citizen participation in energy transitions. We review the literature thematically, finding that the concepts often refer to participation in domestic energy technologies, energy communities, energy transition movements, and energy policy. Energy citizenship tends to emphasise behaviour change and ways for individuals to participate in energy systems, thereby often focusing on individuals as agents of change. In contrast, energy democracy tends to focus on institutionalisation of new forms of participative governance and often placing collectives as central agents of change. The review also highlights some weaknesses of the literature: a bias towards decentralised energy systems, a lack of attention to representational democracy, and an underrepresentation of studies from outside Europe and North America

Structure of Titan's mid-range magnetic tail: Cassini magnetometer observations during the T9 flyby

We analyze the magnetic structure of Titan's mid-range magnetic tail (5-6 Titan radii downstream from the moon) during Cassini's T9 flyby. Cassini magnetometer (MAG) measurements reveal a well-defined, induced magnetic tail consisting of two lobes and a distinct central current sheet. MAG observations also indicate that Saturn's background magnetic field is close to the moon's orbital plane and that the magnetospheric flow has a significant component in the Saturn-Titan direction. The analysis of MAG data in a coordinate system based on the orientation of the background magnetic field and an estimation of the incoming flow direction suggests that Titan's magnetic tail is extremely asymmetric. An important source of these asymmetries is the connection of the inbound tail lobe and the outbound tail lobe to the dayside and nightside hemispheres of Titan, respectively. Another source could be the perturbations generated by changes in the upstream conditions