This thesis focuses on the industry wage differentials, rent-sharing and the gender wage gap. I empirically investigate: i) the interaction between inter-industry wage differentials and the gender wage gap in six European countries, ii) how rent sharing interacts with the gender wage gap in the Belgian private sector and iii) the existence of inter-industry wage differentials in Belgium, through the unobserved ability hypothesis. The first chapter is devoted to the analysis of the interaction between inter-industry wage differentials and the gender wage gap in six European countries, i.e. Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and the U.K. To do so, we have relied on a unique harmonised matched employer-employee data set, the 1995 European Structure of Earnings Survey. As far as we know, this paper is the first to analyse with recent techniques, on a comparable basis, and from a European perspective: i) inter-industry wage differentials by gender, ii) gender wage gaps by industry, and iii) the contribution of industry effects to the overall gender wage gap. It is also one of the few, besides Kahn (1998), to analyse for both sexes the relationship between collective bargaining characteristics and the dispersion of industry wage differentials. Empirical findings show that, in all countries and for both sexes, wage differentials exist between workers employed in different sectors, even when controlling for working conditions, individual and firm characteristics. We also find that the hierarchy of sectors in terms of wages is quite similar for male and female workers and across countries. Yet, the apparent similarity between male and female industry wage differentials is challenged by standard statistical tests. Indeed, simple t-tests show that between 43 and 71% of the industry wage disparities are significantly different for women and men. Moreover, Chow tests indicate that sectoral wage differentials are significantly different as a group for both sexes in all countries. Regarding the dispersion of the industry wage differentials, we find that results vary for men and women, although not systematically nor substantially. Yet, the dispersion of industry wage differentials fluctuates considerably across countries. It is quite large in Ireland, Italy and the U.K., and relatively moderate in Belgium, Denmark and Spain. For both sexes, results point to the existence of a negative and significant relationship between the degree of centralisation of collective bargaining and the dispersion of industry wage differentials. Furthermore, independently of the country considered, results show that more than 80% of the gender wage gaps within industries are statistically significant. The average industry gender wage gap ranges between -.18 in the U.K. and -.11 in Belgium. This means that on average women have an inter-industry wage differential of between 18 and 11% below that for men. Yet, correlation coefficients between the industry gender wage gaps across countries are relatively small and often statistically insignificant. This finding suggests that industries with the highest and the lowest gender wage gaps vary substantially across Europe. Finally, results indicate that the overall gender wage gap, measured as the difference between the mean log wages of male and female workers, fluctuates between .18 in Denmark and .39 in the U.K. In all countries a significant (at the .01 level) part of this gap can be explained by the segregation of women in lower paying industries. Yet, the relative contribution of this factor to the gender wage gap varies substantially among European countries. It is close to zero in Belgium and Denmark, between 7 and 8% in Ireland, Spain and the U.K., and around 16% in Italy. Differences in industry wage premia for male and female workers significantly (at the .05 level) affect the gender wage gap in Denmark and Ireland only. In these countries, gender differences in industry wage differentials account for respectively 14 and 20% of the gender wage gap. To sum up, findings show that combined industry effects explain around 29% of the gender wage gap in Ireland, respectively 14 and 16% in Denmark and Italy, around 7% in the U.K. and almost nothing in Belgium and Spain. In conclusion, our results emphasize that the magnitude of the gender wage gap as well as its causes vary substantially among the European countries. This suggests that no single policy instrument will be sufficient to tackle gender pay inequalities in Europe. Our findings indicate that policies need to be tailored to the very specific context of the labour market in each country. The second chapter examines investigates how rent sharing interacts with the gender wage gap in the Belgian private sector. Empirical findings show that individual gross hourly wages are significantly and positively related to firm profits-per-employee even when controlling for group effects in the residuals, individual and firm characteristics, industry wage differentials and endogeneity of profits. Our instrumented wage-profit elasticity is of the magnitude 0.06 and it is not significantly different for men and women. Of the overall gender wage gap (on average women earn 23.7% less than men), results show that around 14% can be explained by the fact that on average women are employed in firms where profits-per-employee are lower. Thus, findings suggest that a substantial part of the gender wage gap is attributable to the segregation of women is less profitable firms. The third and final chapter contributes to the understanding of inter-industry wage differentials in Belgium, taking advantage of access to a unique matched employer-employee data set covering the period 1995-2002. Findings show the existence of large and persistent wage differentials among workers with the same observed characteristics and working conditions, employed in different sectors. The unobserved ability hypothesis may not be rejected on the basis of Martins’ (2004) methodology. However, its contribution to the observed industry wage differentials appears to be limited. Further results show that ceteris paribus workers earn significantly higher wages when employed in more profitable firms. The instrumented wage-profit elasticity stands at 0.063. This rent-sharing phenomenon accounts for a large fraction of the industry wage differentials. We find indeed that the magnitude, dispersion and significance of industry wage differentials decreases sharply when controlling for profits.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att undersöka hur väl IKEA Uppsalas identitet stämmer överens med företagets image i tre led: Skillnaden mellan hur varumärket uppfattas mellan ledningen och anställda Skillnaden mellan hur varumärket uppfattas mellan anställda och kunder Skillnaden mellan hur varumärket uppfattas mellan ledning och kunder Ett varumärke skapas genom interaktionen mellan dessa tre grupper. Hur starkt varumärke företaget lyckas skapa beror på om grupperna har samma uppfattning av varumärket och hur väl relationerna mellan dem fungerar. För att uppfylla syftet har dels en intervju genomförts för att ta reda på ledningens uppfattning av varumärket och dels två enkätundersökningar, för att ta reda på kunders respektive de anställdas uppfattning av varumärket. Resultatet av den empiriska undersökningen visade att alla tre grupperna har en liknande uppfattning om vad varumärket IKEA står för, vilket tyder på att IKEA har ett starkt varumärke. Förbättringar kan dock göras i varumärkeskommunikationen för att öka medvetenheten av varumärkets värderingar och förbättra relationerna mellan de tre grupperna.

Malachite green(MG), an N-methylated diaminotriphenylmethane dye, has been widely used as an antifungal agent in aquaculture. Malachite green is reduced to and persists as leucomalachite green(LMG) in the tisssues of fish. Concern over MG and LMG are due to the potential for consumer exposure, suggestive evidence of tumor promotion in rodent liver, and suspicion of carcinogenicity based on structure-activity relationships. Several hepatotxicants and liver carcinogens have been shown to alter cell-cell signaling by interference with gap junction intercellular communication (GJIC).This study wanted to determine if disruption of cell-cell interactions occurs in rat liver epithelial cells in response to MG and LMG treatment. Rat liver epithelial cells(WB) were treated with LMG(0~6£gg/ml) or MG.(0~5£gg/ml) for one hour and gap junction was analyzed using the scrape- loading/dye transfer assay. The viability and proliferation of rat liver epithelial cells treated with LMG or MG were determined by MTT and colony forming efficiency. In addition, expression and intracellular localization of connexin43, E-cadherin,£]-catenin,£\-tubulin, ZO-1 and occludin were determined by immunoblot and immunostain analysis. A clear decrease in the distance of dye transfer was evident following treatment with MG(0~5£gg/ml) or LMG(0~6£gg/ml). Treatment with LMG and MG at different concentrations resulted in a decrease in cell viability and cell proliferation. Preincubation of cells with protein kinase C(PKC) inhibitor decreased the inhibition of GJIC by 5ug/ml MG and the specific MEK 1 inhibitor decreased substantially the inhibition of GJIC by 5£gg/ml MG and 5£gg/ml LMG. On the other hand, the specific PI3 kinase inhibitor decreased the inhibition of GJIC only by 3£g/mlLMG and we treated WB cells with EDTA to chelate extracellular calcium ion. The decrease of free calcium ion caused the expression of GJIC. At the transcriptional level, 10£gg/ml LMG and 10£gg/ml MG after treatment for one hour caused no change in the level of connexin43 mRNA. At the translational level, the different concentrations of MG or LMG after treatment for one hour or 24 hours caused a decrease in the level of the concentrations of connexin43 protein, E-cadherin protein,£]-catenin protein,£\-tubulin protein, ZO-1 protein and changed the distribution of occludin and ZO-1. Therefore, these data speculated the hypothesis that disruption of cell-cell signaling by interference with GJIC may contribute to LMG and MG toxicity, carcinogenicity and apoptosis.

Syftet med studien är att tydliggöra de problem som finns i många företags tjänsteerbjudanden där det uppkommer ett gap mellan vad kunderna förväntar sig samt vad de upplever att de får. En undersökning kring detta problem har genomförts genom kvalitativa intervjuer både med företaget, i detta fall Gavlegårdarna, och dess hyresgäster. Det teoretiska underlaget innefattande gap-modellen, kundförväntningar samt upplevd tjänst leder fram till det empiriska materialet, analys samt slutsats. Vi har med vår studie tagit fram konkreta förslag på hur Gavlegårdarna, kan gå till väga för att säkerställa överensstämmelse mellan vad kunderna förväntar sig och vad de upplever att de får. Bland annat framkom det att samarbetet som finns mellan Gavlegårdarna och Gefle Studentkår måste förbättras då det finns tydliga brister i kommunikationen. Förutom det, gav vi som förslag att Gavlegårdarna måste arbeta med att förbättra relationen till sina hyresgäster samt se över standarden på de lägenheter de hyr ut. Nyckelord: Gap-modellen, upplevelse, tjänsteerbjudande, kundförväntningar.

Bakgrund: En viktig del av företagsstrategin är marknadssegmentering. Genom den kan företag få bättre kunskap om sina kunder och deras behov och då kan kunderna nås effektivare. Marknadssegmentering är ett väl utforskat ämne och det har utvecklats hjälpmedel och modeller för att underlätta för företag att utarbeta en väl fungerande marknadssegmentering. Trots den akademiska världens försök att konkretisera teorier till praktiska riktlinjer, verkar de inte fungera i verkligheten. Företag vet inte hur de ska hantera den information som finns tillgänglig, vilket enligt oss återspeglar en brist i samspelet mellan den akademiska världen och företagsvärlden. Syfte: Med den här uppsatsen vill vi undersöka om det finns ett gap mellan den marknadssegmentering som har utvecklats i den akademiska världen och den marknadssegmentering som används i den praktiska företagsvärlden. Vi vill öka förståelsen för hur detta eventuella gap inom marknadssegmentering kan se ut och varför det har uppstått. Vi vill skapa en bättre medvetenhet om de olika synsätten och tillvägagångssätten och därigenom bidra till en ökad kunskap om hur gapet kan komma att minskas. Genomförande: Studien har genomförts genom en fallstudie på Sterisol. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom fem personliga intervjuer. Slutsats: Det existerar ett gap, eftersom synsättet och tillvägagångssättet på marknadssegmentering mellan den akademiska världen och företagsvärlden skiljer sig åt. Gapet kan beskrivas med teoretiska aspekter, som exempelvis behov och önskemål samt kundinformation, och empiriska aspekter, som exempelvis marknadsförändringar, konkurrenter och återförsäljare.

Bakgrund: En viktig del av företagsstrategin är marknadssegmentering. Genom den kan företag få bättre kunskap om sina kunder och deras behov och då kan kunderna nås effektivare. Marknadssegmentering är ett väl utforskat ämne och det har utvecklats hjälpmedel och modeller för att underlätta för företag att utarbeta en väl fungerande marknadssegmentering. Trots den akademiska världens försök att konkretisera teorier till praktiska riktlinjer, verkar de inte fungera i verkligheten. Företag vet inte hur de ska hantera den information som finns tillgänglig, vilket enligt oss återspeglar en brist i samspelet mellan den akademiska världen och företagsvärlden. Syfte: Med den här uppsatsen vill vi undersöka om det finns ett gap mellan den marknadssegmentering som har utvecklats i den akademiska världen och den marknadssegmentering som används i den praktiska företagsvärlden. Vi vill öka förståelsen för hur detta eventuella gap inom marknadssegmentering kan se ut och varför det har uppstått. Vi vill skapa en bättre medvetenhet om de olika synsätten och tillvägagångssätten och därigenom bidra till en ökad kunskap om hur gapet kan komma att minskas. Genomförande: Studien har genomförts genom en fallstudie på Sterisol. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom fem personliga intervjuer. Slutsats: Det existerar ett gap, eftersom synsättet och tillvägagångssättet på marknadssegmentering mellan den akademiska världen och företagsvärlden skiljer sig åt. Gapet kan beskrivas med teoretiska aspekter, som exempelvis behov och önskemål samt kundinformation, och empiriska aspekter, som exempelvis marknadsförändringar, konkurrenter och återförsäljare.

This thesis presents designs and fabrication algorithms for 3D photonic band gap (PBG) material synthesis and embedded optical waveguide networks. These designs are suitable for large scale micro-fabrication using optical lithography methods. The first of these is a criss-crossing pore structure based on fabrication by direct photo-electrochemical etching in single-crystal silicon. We demonstrate that a modulation of the pore radius between pore crossing points leads to a moderately large PBG. We delineate a variety of PBG architectures amenable to fabrication by holographic lithography. In this technique, an optical interference pattern exposes a photo-sensitive material, leading to a template structure in the photoresist whose dielectric-air interface corresponds to an iso-intensity surface in the exposing interference pattern. We demonstrate PBG architectures obtainable from the interference patterns from four independent beams. The PBG materials may be fabricated by replicating the developed photoresist with established silicon replication methods. We identify optical beam configurations that optimize the intensity contrast in the photoresist. We describe the invention of a new approach to holographic lithography of PBG materials using the diffraction of light through a three-layer optical phase mask (OPM). We show how the diffraction-interference pattern resulting from single beam illumination of our OPM closely resembles a diamondlike architecture for suitable designs of the phase mask. It is suggested that OPML may both simplify and supercede all previous optical lithography approaches to PBG material synthesis. Finally, we demonstrate theoretically the creation of three-dimensional optical waveguide networks in holographically defined PBG materials. This requires the combination of direct laser writing (DLW) of lines of defects within the holographically-defined photoresist and the replication of the microchip template with a high refractive index semiconductor such as silicon. We demonstrate broad-band (100-200~nm), single-mode waveguiding in air, based on the light localization mechanism of the PBG as well as sharp waveguide bends in three-dimensions with minimal backscattering. This provides a basis for broadband 3D integrated optics in holographically defined optical microchips.

Attityd har setts som en tillförlitlig variabel i syfte att förutspå ett visst beteende. Undersökningar kring etiskt märkta livsmedel har dock funnit att en positiv attityd i många fall inte resulterar i ett positivt köpbeteende. För att utreda om ett sådant attityd-beteende-gap föreligger även gällande Fairtrademärkt kaffe genomför vi en enkätstudie där vi mäter attityden till Fairtrademärkt kaffe och jämför detta resultat med köpbeteendeobservationer. Vi finner en övervägande positiv attityd i enkätundersökningen men trots detta visar observationerna på en låg köpfrekvensen av Fairtrademärkt kaffe. Vi kan således konstatera att ett attityd-beteende-gap existerar i vår studie. Intervjuer genomförs sedan för att utreda tänkbara förklaringar till gapet och vi finner att den mest frekvent förekommande orsaken till gapet är att konsumenten väljer bekvämlighet framför etik och låter därigenom priset och smaken avgöra valet av kaffe vid köptillfället. Brist på information framkommer som en ytterligare orsak till attityd-beteende-gapet samt att konsumentens ofta väljer kaffe rutin- eller vanemässigt.

This thesis presents designs and fabrication algorithms for 3D photonic band gap (PBG) material synthesis and embedded optical waveguide networks. These designs are suitable for large scale micro-fabrication using optical lithography methods. The first of these is a criss-crossing pore structure based on fabrication by direct photo-electrochemical etching in single-crystal silicon. We demonstrate that a modulation of the pore radius between pore crossing points leads to a moderately large PBG. We delineate a variety of PBG architectures amenable to fabrication by holographic lithography. In this technique, an optical interference pattern exposes a photo-sensitive material, leading to a template structure in the photoresist whose dielectric-air interface corresponds to an iso-intensity surface in the exposing interference pattern. We demonstrate PBG architectures obtainable from the interference patterns from four independent beams. The PBG materials may be fabricated by replicating the developed photoresist with established silicon replication methods. We identify optical beam configurations that optimize the intensity contrast in the photoresist. We describe the invention of a new approach to holographic lithography of PBG materials using the diffraction of light through a three-layer optical phase mask (OPM). We show how the diffraction-interference pattern resulting from single beam illumination of our OPM closely resembles a diamondlike architecture for suitable designs of the phase mask. It is suggested that OPML may both simplify and supercede all previous optical lithography approaches to PBG material synthesis. Finally, we demonstrate theoretically the creation of three-dimensional optical waveguide networks in holographically defined PBG materials. This requires the combination of direct laser writing (DLW) of lines of defects within the holographically-defined photoresist and the replication of the microchip template with a high refractive index semiconductor such as silicon. We demonstrate broad-band (100-200~nm), single-mode waveguiding in air, based on the light localization mechanism of the PBG as well as sharp waveguide bends in three-dimensions with minimal backscattering. This provides a basis for broadband 3D integrated optics in holographically defined optical microchips.

La present tesi doctoral analitza l'evolució i els factors determinants de la competitivitat de les manufactures catalanes a la UE-25 en el període 1999-2004. La contribució principal del treball és l'aplicació de l'indicador del quality gap a l'anàlisi de la competitivitat. Aquest indicador, que es construeix a partir de les dades de comerç dels estats membres i de Catalunya amb la UE per a més de 10.000 productes manfuacturats, permet comparar la qualitat de les exportacions (estimada a partir del valor unitari) de cada un dels territoris amb la mitjana de la UE.L'anàlisi empírica, que s'emmarca en el debat actual sobre la competitivitat, s'estructura en quatre grans objectius:1. Analitzar la competitivitat de les manufactures catalanes a la UE de l'euro i l'ampliació i posar de relleu els problemes de competitivitat.2. Identificar els determinants dels problemes de competitivitat.3. Contrastar que el quality gap és un indicador rellevant de competitivitat.4. Analitzar els patrons de competitivitat de les manufactures catalanes a la UE amb al quality gap.Així mateix, les conclusions de la tesi doctoral es poden agrupar en quatre grans blocs:Un primer conjunt de conclusions té a veure amb la relació del quality gap i l'evolució de la competitivitat. Per als 25 estats membres es contrasta l'estreta relació entre capacitat d'innovació, productivitat i quality gap. A més, es contrasta que el quality gap permet explicar millor les diferències en productivitat que altres indicadors més habituals, com l'especialització intraindustrial o interindustrial. El quality gap també contribueix a explicar l'evolució de la taxa de cobertura exterior, en canvi la relació entre quality gap i evolució de la quota de mercat és menys directa, en un període marcat per l'ampliació de la UE als països de l'Europa central i oriental. En el període 1999-2004 Catalunya ha millorat el seu quality gap i la seva quota de mercat, però la seva taxa de cobertura s'ha mantingut estancada a uns nivells relativament baixos.El segon grup de conclusions està vinculat a la productivitat. A Catalunya els problemes de productivitat no s'expliquen tant per l'especialització interindustrial, que és similar a la de la UE, com per l'especialització intraindustrial, condicionada per una menor capacitat d'innovació. L'anàlisi realitzada apunta cap a un canvi en l'especialització de les exportacions manufactureres catalanes cap a sectors més intensius en tecnologia i amb una productivitat més elevada, però en els quals Catalunya està posicionada en un segment de qualitat inferior. El canvi d'especialització es detecta particularment en el comerç intraindustrial, amb una elevada i creixent tendència a l'especialització en el segment de qualitat inferior i en els mercats competitius en preus, que ha contribuït al deteriorament de la relació d'intercanvi en preus amb la UE.Un tercer grup de conclusions està relacionat amb el comerç de productes intermedis, que contribueix a explicar l'estancament de la taxa de cobertura. En el període 1999-2004 s'incrementa la propensió a importar de les empreses manufactureres catalanes i la qualitat de les importacions en relació amb les exportacions. La importació de productes intermedis de més qualitat afavoreix la millora del quality gap de les exportacions i la millora de la quota de mercat a la UE, però dificulta l'equilibri exterior de l'economia catalana.Finalment, l'indicador del quality gap aporta informació rellevant i addicional a la dels indicadors tradicionals de competitivitat i permet realitzar una anàlisi sistemàtica dels patrons nacionals de competitivitat a la UE a un nivell de desagregació elevat. / The present doctoral thesis analyses the evolution and the determining factors of the competitiveness of the Catalan manufacturing sector in the EU-25 in period 1999-2004. The main contribution of the work is the application of the quality gap indicator to the competitiveness analysis. This indicator allows to compare the quality of the exports of each one of the territories with the EU average through the comparison of the unit values of exports for more than 10.000 manufacturing products. The empirical analysis has four main objectives: 1. To analyse the competitiveness of the Catalan manufacturing sector in the EU and to point up the competitiveness problems. 2. To identify the determinants of the competitiveness problems. 3. To contrast that quality gap is a good indicator of competitiveness. 4. To analyse the patterns of competitiveness of the Catalan manufactures in the UE with the quality gap. The conclusions of the doctoral thesis can be grouped in four blocks. A first set of conclusions has to do with the relation between the quality gap and the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector. For the 25 member states we verify the narrow relation among innovation capacity, productivity and quality gap. In addition we verify that quality gap explains better the differences in productivity than other more habitual indicators, like the intraindustrial or interindustrial specialization. The quality gap also contributes to explain the evolution of the external balance, although the relation between quality gap and evolution of the EU market share is less direct, in a period marked by the EU enlargement to the Central and Eastern European countries. In the period 1999-2004 Catalan manufactures have improved their quality gap and their market share in the EU, but the trade deficit has remained high. The second group of conclusions is related to the productivity. In Catalonia the productivity problems are not explained so much by the interindustrial specialization, that is similar to the one of the EU, like by the intraindustrial specialization conditioned by a lower innovation capacity. The analysis for the period 1999-2004 points at a change in the specialization of the Catalan manufacturing exports towards sectors more intensive in technology and with higher productivity, but in which Catalonia is positioned in a lower quality segment. The change of specialization is detected particularly in the intraindustrial trade, with a high and increasing tendency to the specialization in the segment of inferior quality and in the markets dominated by price competition. A third group of conclusions is related to the trade of intermediate products, that contributes to explain the high Catalan trade deficit. In period 1999-2004 the Catalan manufacturing companies have increased their propensity to import and the quality of their imports in relation to exports. The higher quality of the intermediate products favours the improvement of the exports quality gap and consequently the improvement of the market share, but it makes difficult the external balance of the Catalan economy. Finally, the indicator of quality gap provides relevant and additional information to the one of the traditional competitiveness indicators and allows to make a systematic analysis of the national patterns of competitiveness in the UE at a high level of disaggregation.