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

Det är inte bara snälla killar här - en intervjustudie om organisationers och myndigheters arbete med upprätthållandet av relationer mellan barn och deras frihetsberövade föräldrar

The purpose with this study was to examine organizations and governments work and approach in maintaining relationships between children and their incarcerated parent. Today there is little understanding of these children’s experiences and there is not much research about the organizations and governments working with these questions. This study is based on interviews with prison officers and staff working within “Bryggan” a non-profit association. We were interested in how it is that there is no clear legislation the deals with the maintenance of the relationship between a child and its incarcerated parent. It was clear after the interviews that there were a lack of collaboration between the organizations and governments. This might due to a lack of knowledge of one another’s work. It was also clear that the prisons that we visited had a clear safety approach and their focus was not on the children but the inmates. Having a child’s perspective or a parental perspective is something that all respondents pointed out as an important foundation. The children's needs, children's best interests and the children's sense of safety should always come first. Protecting children is the priority, but what that means differ between the organization Bryggan and the correctional facility. The difficulties in the criminal justice system and the platform of collaboration, we believe is due to a lack of understanding and transparency of each other's work

Proteolysis of Human Thrombin Generates Novel Host Defense Peptides

The coagulation system is characterized by the sequential and highly localized activation of a series of serine proteases, culminating in the conversion of fibrinogen into fibrin, and formation of a fibrin clot. Here we show that C-terminal peptides of thrombin, a key enzyme in the coagulation cascade, constitute a novel class of host defense peptides, released upon proteolysis of thrombin in vitro, and detected in human wounds in vivo. Under physiological conditions, these peptides exert antimicrobial effects against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, mediated by membrane lysis, as well as immunomodulatory functions, by inhibiting macrophage responses to bacterial lipopolysaccharide. In mice, they are protective against P. aeruginosa sepsis, as well as lipopolysaccharide-induced shock. Moreover, the thrombin-derived peptides exhibit helical structures upon binding to lipopolysaccharide and can also permeabilize liposomes, features typical of “classical” helical antimicrobial peptides. These findings provide a novel link between the coagulation system and host-defense peptides, two fundamental biological systems activated in response to injury and microbial invasion

Yersinia enterocolitica Serum Resistance Proteins YadA and Ail Bind the Complement Regulator C4b-Binding Protein

Many pathogens are equipped with factors providing resistance against the bactericidal action of complement. Yersinia enterocolitica, a Gram-negative enteric pathogen with invasive properties, efficiently resists the deleterious action of human complement. The major Y. enterocolitica serum resistance determinants include outer membrane proteins YadA and Ail. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-antigen (O-ag) and outer core (OC) do not contribute directly to complement resistance. The aim of this study was to analyze a possible mechanism whereby Y. enterocolitica could inhibit the antibody-mediated classical pathway of complement activation. We show that Y. enterocolitica serotypes O:3, O:8, and O:9 bind C4b-binding protein (C4bp), an inhibitor of both the classical and lectin pathways of complement. To identify the C4bp receptors on Y. enterocolitica serotype O:3 surface, a set of mutants expressing YadA, Ail, O-ag, and OC in different combinations was tested for the ability to bind C4bp. The studies showed that both YadA and Ail acted as C4bp receptors. Ail-mediated C4bp binding, however, was blocked by the O-ag and OC, and could be observed only with mutants lacking these LPS structures. C4bp bound to Y. enterocolitica was functionally active and participated in the factor I-mediated degradation of C4b. These findings show that Y. enterocolitica uses two proteins, YadA and Ail, to bind C4bp. Binding of C4bp could help Y. enterocolitica to evade complement-mediated clearance in the human host

Sensorstyrd pumpterapi : En studie om effekt på glykerat hemoglobin vid Diabetes Mellitus typ 1

Introduktion Diabetes Mellitus typ 1 är en autoimmun sjukdom som så småningom leder till total insulinbrist vilket är livshotande. Insulinbristsjukdomen är kronisk och är i Sverige en av de vanligaste folksjukdomarna. I världen insjuknar i dagsläget flest antal i Sverige och Finland. Vad gäller behandling vid Diabetes Mellitus typ 1 får alla patienter i dagsläget insulininjektioner antingen via insulinpenna eller via insulinpump. Glukosnivån i blodet bör mätas kontinuerligt för att kunna optimera behandlingsterapin. En annan typ av behandlingsterapi vid Diabetes Mellitus typ 1 är SAP (Sensor- augmented pump). Denna metod innebär att insulinpumpsbehandling kombineras med kontinuerlig glukosmätning (continuous glucose monitoring, CGM).Att mäta glykerat hemoglobin (HbA1c) har blivit en viktig del för att följa samt utvärdera hur behandlingen av Diabetes Mellitus fungerar. Ett lågt HbA1c ger en minskad risk för komplikationer och är ett tydligt mål i behandlingen samtidigt som risken för hypoglykemi måste tas i anspråk. Syfte Syftet med denna litteraturstudie är att undersöka om HbA1c-värden kan förbättras hos patienter med Diabetes Mellitus typ 1 vid användning av SAP-behandlingsterapi jämfört med CSII-behandlingsterapi (continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion) kombinerat med SMBG (self monitoring of blood glucose) och MDI-behandlingsterapi (multiple daily injections) kombinerat med SMBG. Syftet är även att undersöka om det finns något samband mellan användningsfrekvens av CGM-sensorer och förbättrat HbA1c-värde. Metod Denna litteraturstudie baseras på åtta stycken artiklar som hittades via databasen PubMed. Resultat och diskussion Resultatet, av de utvalda originalstudierna, visar att SAP-behandlingsterapi har en bättre effekt på optimering av HbA1c-värden, hos patienter med Diabetes Mellitus typ 1, om det jämförs med MDI-behandlingsterapi kombinerat med SMBG. Om förbättringen beror på SAP-terapibehandlingen eller om CSII och CGM separat hade gett effekten är svårt att avgöra. Däremot ses ingen signifikant skillnad, i resultatet i de originalstudier som valts ut, av denna effekt vid jämförelse av SAP-behandlingsterapi mot CSII kombinerat med SMBG. Ytterligare studier med ett större antal deltagare behövs som underlag för att kunna avläsa detta. Vad gäller relationen mellan frekvens av CGM-sensoranvändning och förändring i HbA1c-värden finns både studier som stödjer och studier som förkastar. Vid ett eventuellt byte av behandlingsterapi bör hänsyn tas till andra aspekter än surrogatmåttet HbA1c. Slutsats Resultatet av denna litteraturstudie visar att SAP-behandlingsterapi i vissa fall kan reducera HbA1c-värden i jämförelse med andra metoder. En del resultat stödjer även sambandet mellan ökad användningsfrekvens av CGM-sensorer och reducering av HbA1c-värden. Det måste tas hänsyn till andra parametrar vid eventuellt byte av behandlingsterapi. Det är av stor vikt att patienterna känner sig tillfreds med sin behandlingsterapi då det kan bibehålla motivationen till att optimera sina HbA1c-värden

Ringspännen i Lund : skiftande traditioner mellan Östersjön och Kontinenten

This article concerns ring brooches from Lund, discussing similarities and differences in the material with respect to ring brooches from Gotland, Denmark and Norway. Ring brooches are commonly used in almost all parts of Northern Europe during both the Viking Age and the Middle Ages. The entire material of ring brooches from Lund has not been analysed before and is therefore a missing piece in the research field. This article is also a contrast to other similar studies of ring brooches. The material indicates regional differences between places in Scandi-navia and Northern Europe and implies a shift from Viking Age traditions to a new medieval society. In this article, the focus is on changes over time, both in design and in meaning, and regional differences between places in Scandinavia, something that should be taken into consideration to a higher degree when studying urban medieval material

Ringspännen i Lund - Förändringar i materiell kultur i Norden under sen vikingatid och medeltid

This essay concerns ring brooches in Lund from late Viking age and the Middle ages, 10th to 16th century. The purpose is first and foremost to typologize the ring brooches and to investigate the similarities and differences between them. Moreover, this essay investigate why the brooches change in form and decoration over the period of time and what these changes can disclose about Lund and how it contradicts from other places in northern Europe. Initially, the ring brooches from Lund are typologized and put into a chronological order where the divided subgroups in the material are dated with brooches from both Lund and other places in northern Europe. Ring brooches from Denmark, Norway, Gotland and other places in northern Europe are compared with the material from Lund to observe similarities and differences. In this essay, three major observations have been made concerning the ring brooches from Lund. The first observation concerns when the ring brooches change from open to closed rings in the 12/13th century, secondly that the category closed rings contains a lot of different types, some of them found during a long period of time and in great numbers, and thirdly that the distribution of open and closed rings are different, where the closed ones are found throughout northern Europe. Finally, these observations are connected to the process of standardization and Europeanisation during the Middle ages. Some of the ring brooches are mass-produced and some of them could symbolize an individualistic identity. The material shows that Lund possibly is part of a greater European culture in an early point, where new material culture and the new medieval society are quickly accepted

Dress brooches and identities - a comparative study of collective identities and dress brooches in early medieval urban and rural sites in South West Scania

This thesis concerns early medieval dress brooches from urban and rural sites in South West Scania. The purpose is to investigate similarities and differences between urban and rural sites as well as between the rural places in particular. The main research questions concern the reasons for the similarities and differences, what connections and contact areas are observable according to the dress brooches and how this material can contribute to the discussion about urban and rural identities. The material has not been studied to a large extent before, especially not in any compiling project and is therefore an important piece in understanding the early medieval material culture and the inhabitants in towns and villages in South West Scania. This study is based on the notion that dress brooches were a medium from which people could express their identity. The dress brooches are examined both in terms of types as well as specific objects. Three observations are noticeable in the material in particular; a greater number of objects and types have been retrieved in Lund and more objects with Continental connotations as well as a divergent material among the rural sites. These observations are probably connected to the number of people that were present and visited each site, especially the number of foreign persons. It indicates stronger connections with Continental areas in Lund than among the rural places, especially ‘German’ areas. Lund was therefore a multicultural area with an intensity of social interactions between a lot of different persons. It probably differentiated itself from the villages in terms of contact areas and the kind of people that were present at the site. The material from rural places does instead indicate a strong connection with the urban centre. Collective identities are therefore visible both on a societal level, where the same types of dress brooches have been used in all parts of South West Scania, and on a local level, where different contact areas are visible, leading to varied social interactions at each site. Therefore, urban and rural identities are different on a social level but similar in terms of consumption patterns