Agricultural and forestry business owners’ perceptions of banks

Over the course of the past the agricultural sector has been characterized by radical market changes. Changing market conditions have forced owners of agricultural and forestry businesses to make further investments. This increase in investments has led to a greater need for external capital, which has increased the relationship between banks and owners of agricultural and forestry businesses. The financial sector is characterized by strong rivalry, which forces banks to create strategic positions in the financial market. Since agricultural and forestry businesses are generally seen as secure customers by banks, due to high property and land values, the competition between banks with agricultural and forestry businesses as customers has amplified. In order for banks to implement suitable strategies that will attract agricultural and forestry businesses, they need to maintain knowledge about the perceptions and expectations that agricultural and forestry businesses owners have of banks. The aim of this study is to identify the perceptions that owners of agricultural and forestry businesses have of banks. The study aims at examining which aspects, service and product attributes that owners of agricultural and forestry businesses value the most in a bank relationship and why. This study has used a qualitative methodological approach, with the following interview techniques: the Zaltman metaphor-elicitation technique and the Laddering technique. Nine in-depth interviews were conducted with owners of agriculture and forestry businesses in order to explore different customer perceptions of banks. The methods were chosen with the aim to provide a thorough understanding of the respondents’ thoughts and feelings concerning a bank relationship. The findings of the study indicate that owners of agricultural and forestry businesses value soft factors in a bank relationship prior to e.g. low interest rate. The most important indicator for the respondents was the trustworthiness of the bank. The respondents wanted to be able to trust their bank and their bank contact. In order for the bank to be trustworthy the respondents require the bank to obtain knowledge about the agricultural and forestry sector, the respondent’s individual business and personal characteristics. The bank and the bank contact should also act professionally, think long-term and act as a business partner. The respondents highly value one well-established bank contact for both private and business matters and to have personal connection with the bank contact. If the respondents trust their bank contact the respondents feel comfortable in a bank meeting, a more open dialogue can be exchanged and they are more likely to become long-term customers. Additionally, if the respondents trust their bank they are able to feel good, relaxed and safe.Skog- och lantbrukssektorn har under en längre tid präglats av stora marknadsförändringar, vilket ökat skog- och lantbruksföretagens behov av investeringar. Ett tilltagande investeringsbehov inom skog- och lantbrukssektorn har bidragit till ett ökat behov av externt kapital. I den finansiella sektorn råder stark konkurrens, vilket gör att banker idag måste inta en stark position på marknaden för att erhålla och behålla attraktiva kunder. Då skog- och lantbruksföretag anses av banker som säkra kunder på grund av stora fastighetsvärden, har konkurrensen mellan banker om skog- och lantbruksföretagare som kunder ökat. För att banker ska kunna implementera lämpliga strategier gentemot skog- och lantbruksföretag måste de besitta kunskap om kundernas efterfrågan och förväntningar på banker. Syftet med denna studie är att identifiera skog- och lantbruksföretagares efterfrågan och förväntningar på banker. Studien ämnar undersöka vilka aspekter, tjänst- och produktattribut, som ägare av skog- och lantbruksföretag värderar högst i en bankrelation och varför dessa attribut anses viktiga. Studien är kvalitativ och har genomförts genom Zaltman metaphor-elicitation tekniken samt Laddering tekniken. Nio intervjuer med skog- och lantbruksföretagare har genomförts för att undersöka vilka förväntningar som finns på banker i dagsläget. Metoderna valdes med syfte att skapa en djupare förståelse för kunders tankar och känslor kring en bankrelation. Resultatet av studien visar att skog- och lantbruksföretagare värderar mjuka värden högre än till exempel ränta i en bankrelation, den viktigaste faktorn anses vara pålitlighet. Intervjupersonerna som deltog i studien värderar att kunna lita på sin bank och sin bankkontakt högt. För att kunderna ska uppfatta banken som pålitlig, bör banken besitta kunskap inom skog- och lantbrukssektorn, den enskilda kundens företagsverksamhet samt kundens personliga egenskaper. Banken förväntas från kunders perspektiv agera professionellt, tänka långsiktigt och fungera som en affärspartner. Intervjupersonerna i denna studie vill ha en och samma bankkontakt för både privat- och företagsärenden, samt en god personkemi med bankkontakten. Om kunderna litar på sin bankkontakt, kan en öppen dialog föras, bankmötet blir gemytligt och kunderna blir i större utsträckning långsiktiga kunder i banken. Anledningen till att skog- och lantbruksföretagare efterfrågar pålitlighet i en bankrelation beror på att de då kan kännas sig trygga, slappna av och må bra

Prenatal and Early Life Exposure to Stressful Life Events and Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders: Population-Based Studies in Sweden and England

Background and Aim Exposure to stressful life events during pregnancy has been suggested as a potential risk factor for offspring Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), but the literature is limited and inconsistent. We tested the hypothesis that maternal exposure to stressful life events would be associated with increased risks of offspring ASD, and that these risks would be highest for exposures during the prenatal period. Methods and Results We used prospectively collected data from two large population based studies in Sweden and England. In the Swedish study of 4429 ASD cases and 43277 controls, our exposure comprised the occurrence of any severe life event before and during pregnancy and the child's early life. In the English study (maximum n = 11554, ASD n = 72), we studied the risk of offspring ASD in relation to a combined maternal exposure to multiple (up to 42) common and rare life events, as well as their perceived impact upon the mother during pregnancy and early life. In crude and adjusted regression analyses in both studies, we found no evidence of an association between prenatal life events, or their number and perceived impact and the risk of offspring ASD. Sub-group analysis of ASD with and without intellectual disability in the Swedish study yielded similar results. Conclusion We found no evidence to support the hypotheses that exposure to stressful life events during the prenatal period is associated with an increased risk of offspring ASD

We are family--parents, siblings, and eating disorders in a prospective total-population study of 250,000 Swedish males and females.

OBJECTIVE: We examined how parental characteristics and other aspects of family background were associated with the development of eating disorders (ED) in males and females. METHOD: We used register data and record linkage to create the prospective, total-population study the Stockholm Youth Cohort. This cohort comprises all children and adolescents who were ever residents in Stockholm County between 2001 and 2007, plus their parents and siblings. Individuals born between 1984 and 1995 (N = 249, 884) were followed up for ED from age 12 to end of 2007. We used Cox regression modeling to investigate how ED incidence was associated with family socioeconomic position, parental age, and family composition. RESULTS: In total, 3,251 cases of ED (2,971 females; 280 males) were recorded. Higher parental education independently predicted a higher rate of ED in females [e.g., adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 1.69 (95% CI: 1.42, 2.02) for degree-level vs. elementary-level maternal education], but not in males [HR 0.73 (95% CI: 0.42, 1.28), p < 0.001 for gender interaction]. In females, an increasing number of full-siblings was associated with lower rate of ED [e.g., fully adjusted HR 0.92 (95% CI: 0.88, 0.97) per sibling], whereas an increasing number of half-siblings was associated with a higher rate [HR 1.05 (95% CI: 1.01, 1.09) per sibling]. DISCUSSION: The effect of parental education on ED rate varies between males and females, whereas the effect of number of siblings varies according to whether they are full or half-siblings. A deeper understanding of these associations and their underlying mechanisms may provide etiological insights and inform the design of preventive interventions

Cohort profile : Swedish Twin Study on Prediction and Prevention of Asthma (STOPPA)

Asthma is a common childhood disease and several risk factors have been identified, however the impact of genes and environment is not fully understood. The aim of the Swedish Twin study On Prediction and Prevention of Asthma (STOPPA) is to identify environmental (birth characteristics and early life) and genetic (including epigenetic) factors as determinants for asthmatic disease. Based on the Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden (parental interview at 9 or 12 years, N~23,900) and an asthma and/or wheezing algorithm, we identified a sample of monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) same-sexed twin pairs. The twin pairs were identified as asthma concordant (ACC), asthma discordant (ADC) and healthy concordant (HCC). A sample of 9- to 14-year-old twins and their parents were invited to participate in a clinical examination. Background characteristics were collected in questionnaires and obtained from the National Health Registers. A clinical examination was performed to test lung function and capacity (spirometry with reversibility test and exhaled nitric oxide) and collect blood (serology and DNA), urine (metabolites), feces (microbiota) and saliva (cortisol). In total, 376 twin pairs (752 individual twins) completed the study, response rate 52%. All participating twins answered the questionnaire and >90% participated in lung function testing, blood and saliva sampling. This article describes the design, recruitment, data collection, measures, background characteristics as well as ongoing and planned analyses in STOPPA. Potential gains of the study include the identification of biomarkers, the emergence of candidates for drug development and new leads for prevention of asthma and allergic disease.NonePublishe

Birth weight and grip strength in young Swedish males: a longitudinal matched sibling analysis and across all body mass index ranges

Low birth weight is associated with a lower grip strength later in life. However, associations between birth weight among infants born at-term and factors driving associations between birth weight and grip strength are largely unknown. A cohort of 144,369 young men born at-term, including 10,791 individuals who had at least one male sibling/s, were followed until conscription where they performed a grip strength test. We used linear and non-linear regression analyses in the full cohort, and fixed-effects regression analyses in the sibling cohort, to address confounding by factors that are shared between siblings. After adjustment, each unit increase in birth weight z-score was associated with increases of 17.7 (95% CI, 17.2-18.2) and 13.4 (10.1-16.6) newton grip strength, which converts to approximately 1.8 and 1.4 kilogram-force in the full and within-families cohorts, respectively. The associations did not vary with young adulthood BMI. Birth weight, within the at-term range, is robustly positively associated with grip strength in young adulthood among men across all BMI categories and associations appears to be mainly driven by factors that are not shared between siblings. These findings underline the importance of recognizing the influence of low birth weight, also within the at-termrange, on young adulthood muscle strength

Migration and risk of intellectual disability with and without autism:A population-based cohort study

Objective To investigate whether parental migration, parental region of origin, timing of child's birth in relation to maternal migration and parental reason for migration are associated with intellectual disability (ID) with and without autism. Methods We used a register-based cohort of all individuals aged 0–17 years in Stockholm County during 2001–2011. General estimating equation logistic model and additionally sibling comparison were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The models were adjusted for child's sex and birth year and parental age at child's birth, and additionally for migrant-specific variables in the analyses including only children with migrant parent(s). Results Within the eligible sample of 670,098 individuals, 3781 (0.6%) had ID with autism, and 5076 (0.8%) had ID without autism. Compared with children with Swedish-born parents, children with both parents born abroad had an increased risk of ID with autism (OR = 1.6, CI 1.5–1.8) and ID without autism (OR = 1.9, CI 1.7–2.0). Among these children with both parents born abroad, it was protective of ID with autism when the child's birth occurred before and later than four years after maternal migration, which was replicated in the sibling comparison. The associations with both conditions were more pronounced with parental origin in regions comprising low- and middle-income countries and with reasons other than work or study. Conclusions Parental migration is associated with ID regardless of co-occurrence of autism. Our results indicate an association between environmental factors during pregnancy related to migration and offspring ID with autism, although further confirmative studies are needed

Maternal smoking and smokeless tobacco use during pregnancy and offspring development:Sibling analysis in an intergenerational Swedish cohort

BACKGROUND: The association between maternal smoking in pregnancy and offspring intellectual disability (ID) is less well understood than that of smoking and fetal growth restriction. As fetal growth and cognitive development may share similar confounding structures, comparison of the two associations may improve understanding of the causal nature of the association with ID. Furthermore, comparisons of smoking with smokeless tobacco use may aid identification of mechanisms of action. METHODS: This was a cohort study of all Swedish births between 1999 and 2012 (n = 1 070 013), with prospectively recorded data. We assessed the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring outcomes ID and born small for gestational age (SGA). Analyses were repeated for snus use in pregnancy. Using a sibling design, we estimated within-family effects that control for shared sibling characteristics. RESULTS: Those exposed to maternal smoking in pregnancy had increased odds of ID [odds ratio (OR) = 1.24, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.16-1.33] and SGA (OR = 2.19, 95% CI: 2.11-2.27) after confounder adjustment. Within-family effects were found for SGA (OR = 1.44, 95% CI: 1.27-1.63) but not ID (OR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.74-1.14). For snus use, the results for ID were similar to smoking. We found increased odds of offspring SGA among mothers who used snus in pregnancy in sensitivity analyses but not in primary analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings are consistent with a causal effect of maternal smoking in pregnancy on risk of offspring born SGA but not on risk of ID. We found no evidence for a causal effect of snus use in pregnancy on ID and inconclusive evidence for SGA

Perinatal exposure to traffic-related air pollution and autism spectrum disorders

Background: Studies from the United States indicate that exposure to air pollution in early life is associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children, but the evidence is not consistent with European data. Objective: We aimed to investigate the association between exposure to air pollution from road traffic and the risk of ASD in children, with careful adjustment for socioeconomic and other confounders. Method: Children born and residing in Stockholm, Sweden, during 1993–2007 with an ASD diagnosis were identified through multiple health registers and classified as cases (n = 5,136). A randomly selected sample of 18,237 children from the same study base constituted controls. Levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter with diameter ≤ 10 μm (PM10) from road traffic were estimated at residential addresses during mother’s pregnancy and the child’s first year of life by dispersion models. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for ASD with or without intellectual disability (ID) were estimated using logistic regression models after conditioning on municipality and calendar year of birth as well as adjustment for potential confounders. Result: Air pollution exposure during the prenatal period was not associated with ASD overall (OR = 1.00; 95% CI: 0.86, 1.15 per 10-μg/m3 increase in PM10 and OR = 1.02; 95% CI: 0.94, 1.10 per 20-μg/m3 increase in NOx during mother’s pregnancy). Similar results were seen for exposure during the first year of life, and for ASD in combination with ID. An inverse association between air pollution exposure and ASD risk was observed among children of mothers who moved to a new residence during pregnancy. Conclusion: Early-life exposure to low levels of NOx and PM10 from road traffic does not appear to increase the risk of ASD.Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE), 2012-0573, 2015-00289Swedish Research Council, 2011-3060Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS)Swedish Innovation Agency (VINNOVA), 259-2012-24Swedish Research Council, Swedish Initiative for Research on Microdata in the Social And Medical Sciences (SIMSAM), 340-2013-5867HKH Kronprinsessan Lovisas förening for barnasjukvårdStrategic Research Program in Epidemiology at Karolinska InstitutetPublishe

Dangerous dads? Ecological and longitudinal analyses of paternity leave and risk for child injury

BACKGROUND: In 1974, Sweden became the first country to permit fathers to take paid parental leave. Other countries are currently following suit issuing similar laws. While this reform supports the principles of the United Nations convention of the right for children to be with both parents and enshrines the ethos of gender equality, there has been little systematic examination of its potential impact on child health. Instead, there is uninformed debate that fathers may expose their children to greater risks of injury than mothers. In this Swedish national study, the authors therefore assess whether fathers' parental leave can be regarded as a more serious risk factor for child injuries than that of mothers. METHODS: Nationwide register-based ecological and longitudinal studies of hospitalisation due to injury (and intoxication) in early childhood, involving the Swedish population in 1973-2009 (ecological design), and children born in 1988 and 1989 (n=118 278) (longitudinal design). RESULTS: An increase in fathers' share of parental leave over time was parallelled by a downward trend in child injury rates (age 0-4 years). At the individual level, the crude incidence of child injury (age 0-2 years) was lower during paternity as compared with maternity leave. This association was, however, explained by parental socio-demographic characteristics (multivariate HR 0.96, 95% CI 0.74 to 1.2). CONCLUSION: There is no support for the notion that paternity leave increases the risk of child injury.The Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research and the Swedish Research Council.http://jech.bmj.com/hb2013ay201