As the increase of competition levels, the ability of generating a continuous stream of innovation occupies an exceptionally important role in the development and manufacturing of companies, especially in bio-pharmaceutical industry in United States. This paper presents an empirical perspective on the nature of innovation of the U.S. bio-pharmaceutical companies. Several issues discussed here are central to a study of R&D expenditure's determinates of top listed bio-pharmaceutical companies sampling from U.S. market. It begins with the background information of innovation in overall bio-pharmaceutical sector, and then moves on to detail of R&D activities in bio-pharmaceutical industry. Next it discusses the estimated factors which influence R&D expenditures, following by previous literatures review. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and to test financial and non-financial factors determining R&D expenditures for individual top technique bio-pharmaceutical listed firms through literature review using data for the 2001 to 2010 periods by both single variable analysis and multiple variable analyses empirically. Moreover, the further step in this study is to investigate the real relations between those factor and R&D expenditures individually and synthetically. In this way, this work helps us have a more clear understanding on the relationship between firm performance and firm R&D expenditures. More specifically, the study provides evidence on three essential issues. To answer there three questions, the paper conducts both single variables analysis and multiple variable analysis. For single variable analyses, first step is to draw scatter plots based on 97 sets of data by using MARLAB software. Following this step, to illustrate the exact correlation between the given independent variable and dependent variable (the natural logarithm of R&D), after processing data filter the paper adopt curve fitting based on varying sets of data. According to the results from this study, the conclusions obtained can be divided into two streams. First type is the one that the hypothesis get support from this study. For instance, there is a significantly positive correlation between firm size and R&D expenditures as expected. Also, just as expected, a high sales growth rate is positively correlated with R&D expenditures based on given sample. Besides, it is proved in this paper that R&Di,t-1 have a lagged effect on the R&Dit expenditures. The other type is that hypothesis cannot be proved, no significant evidence have been found or not as effective as what have been estimated in hypothesis. For example, it is not reasonable to say the R&D expenditures and operating profit margin have a positive correlation. Moreover, the lnR&Dit and cash flow to sales income rate also have no obvious correlation. According to the analyses of two multiple variable models, all six variables can be regarded as the determinants of R&D expenditures; especially the variable of firm 3 / 105 size is the major. Additionally, some interesting findings provided in the end of this study.

Background: In today’s business climate, a growing number of corporations have chosen to explore markets outside their national boundaries. There has been a shift in marketing strategies from a domestic perspective to a global one. Of all the methods available for firms to internationalize, Foreign Direct Investment possesses several advantages; it stimulates employment; raises wages, and replaces declining market sectors. It acts as a stimulant for infrastructure development and technology transfer. For Sweden Saudi Arabia is the most important export market in the Middle East. As Saudi Arabia is a country that presents both huge business opportunities and challenges for Swedish firms, it is important to study how some firms have succeeded in entering this market and what attracted them there in the first place. Purpose: The author’s intent is to identify the advantages and disadvantages for Swedish firms of carrying out FDI in Saudi Arabia. Method: this thesis is based on a case study of two Swedish firms with operations in Saudi Arabia. The author has chosen to use a qualitative research method. Empirical data was gathered by e-mails and phone interviews. Conclusions:  To author answers the research questions; Why did Swedish firms decide to establish themselves in Saudi Arabia? & How did they manage to establish themselves through FDI in that region?  Swedish firms get into the Saudi market because of advantages related the economy, the considerable market size and revenue, improved business climate, business opportunities, their global marketing strategy and their ownership specific advantages. As for how they succeeded to establish their FDI, it was through an incremental approach aided by a good knowledge of the market, the ability of the firm, proactive steps to reduce the impact of cultural differences and the country of origin effect. Suggestions for future research: Future research could focus on doing broader studies involving a larger sample, focusing on one or a few FDI determinants to investigate how they affect the investment decision as well as the managerial implications of cultural distance.

My contribution is focused to a modest framework creation for asylum-immigration theory. By means of arms-export data from 17 Western European countries, tested against inflow of asylum seekers to these countries, covering the past 26 years, it is clear that arms-export from these countries do not contribute to their own asylum-inflow. The main theoretical contribution to existing literature on arms export and migration is therefore that I separate plausible causes of outgoing migration (arms export to countries from where asylum flows are generated) from determinants of asylum immigration. Empirically, I disprove such hypothetical indirect connections put forward both within academic literature and by NGOs like Amnesty International. Instead, I find the counter-intuitive, namely that increased arms export leads to less asylum immigration. Also, in contrast to previous literature on asylum immigration, I build on Granovetter (1973) and propose that diffusion of information through asylum networks depend on weak social connections as opposed to close relationships like ethnic bonds, family ties and friendships. In addition, I problematize the tendency of existing literature to treat asylum seekers as labor migrants and argue for a framework founded on principles which account for the unique circumstances and life situations faced by asylum seekers. In doing so I also extend on previous quantitative works and find that crucial determinants for inflow are signified by the generosity of the welfare state, absence of far right sentiments, and religious diversity. The wealth of a country, its general quality of life, its linguistic and ethnic fractionalization, do not appear to matter.

The incidence of adverse birth outcomes, such as low birth weight and preterm births, has steadily risen in recent years in Canada. Despite the fact that numerous individual and neighbourhood risk factors for low birth weight and preterm births have been identified and various person-oriented intervention strategies have been implemented, uncertainties still exist concerning the role that place and space play in determining adverse birth outcomes. In order to succeed in producing community-oriented health policy and planning guidelines to reduce both the occurrence and inequalities of adverse birth outcomes, the research presented in this thesis provides an approach to examining the pathways of various socio-economic, environmental, and psycho-social risks to LBW and preterm births. Using a modified multilevel binary-outcome mediational analysis method, case studies are conducted within three public health units in Ontario, namely the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Health Unit, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, and the Halton Region Health Unit. Different pathways are investigated given the available data and the theoretical assumptions of three health inequality pathway models, namely the behavioural model, the psycho-social model, and the materialist model, and the geographical and planning perspectives of health inequalities. A local spatial analysis process is also used to identify spatial clusters of incidence and to assess possible associated reasons in order to support public health polices and planning in community-oriented health interventions. Using Bayesian spatial hierarchical analysis and spatial clustering analysis, local clustering of high risks of adverse birth outcomes and spatial variations of associated individual risks within the study areas are identified. The analysis is framed around five hypotheses that examine personal vs. spatial, compositional vs. contextual, psycho-social vs. material, personal vs. cultural, and global vs. local effects on the determinants of adverse birth outcomes. The results of testing these hypotheses provide evidence to assist with multi-component multi-level community-oriented interventions. Possible improvements of current prenatal care policies and programs to reduce the spatial and social inequalities of adverse birth outcomes are suggested. Potential improvements, including early stage prenatal health education, local healthy food provision, and cross-sector interventions such as the combination of social mixing strategies with bottom-up community-based health promotion programs, are also suggested.

The impact of global economic policies on health equity and social development has been well-documented and, in the current phase of economic globalization, profound health inequities have been attributed to these policies. In response to these inequitable trade conditions, which are especially pronounced in the trade of boom-and-bust commodities like coffee, alternative trade models such as Fair Trade have proliferated. Although there is great potential for these alternative economic policies to achieve health and gender equity, these considerations have largely been left out of existing analyses, which focus on gender-blind economic, organizational, and environmental indicators. <p>To address these omissions, this study explores the experiences, perceptions, and aspirations of an organized group of coffee-producing women with regards to Fair Trade. The study was conducted in Northern Nicaragua in 2009 and focuses on the experiences of women supported by a local feminist organization, la Fundación Entre Mujeres, in an embedded, single case study design. It is informed by participant-observation, interviews, and dialogic focus groups. The study situates participants perceptions and aspirations in a globalization and health framework as well as an empowerment framework. Considered in this light, womens experiences provide valuable insights about the perceived and potential health and gender impacts of alternative models of trade and provide a vision for the future directions of these models. <p>The womens experiences reveal that although valuable benefits are being experienced as a result of participation in Fair Trade especially in terms of a higher income and a commitment to organic agriculture there are lingering doubts as to whether Fair Trade is actually "fair" or simply "better". The women supported by la Fundación Entre Mujeres aspire to more equitable trade characterized by solidarity, justice, a focus on womens rights, and a fairer valuation and recognition of womens efforts inside and outside of coffee. In order to move towards this "fair" system of trade, the current Fair Trade model must become more oriented towards equitable control for all of its stakeholders and must broaden its definition of empowerment so as to more actively and vocally participate in the broader contexts of international trade that are influencing health and gender equity for women around the world.

After going through the literature on entrepreneurship we found that very little studies have been done whether culture and family business traditions influence the decisions of entrepreneurship. Most people from the South and Southeast Asia had cultural and family business backgrounds. The purpose of our study is to investigate if culture and family business traditions of South andSoutheast Asian immigrants affect their decision to become self-employed and if so how. This will enhance the understanding of whether this factor is also important to motivate the entrepreneurs to be self-employed. Most of the studies have pointed out the motivational factors such as pull factors and push factors as being the main influencing factors for immigrant entrepreneurs to choose self-employment. Although, there are various literatures on entrepreneurship and its motivating factors, cultural and family based business traditions, limited study has focused on showing how the cultural and family business background affect the decision making abilities of the entrepreneurs. We have focused on the immigrant entrepreneurs born in South and Southeast Asian region operating their businesses in Umea city. For conducting this study we have used semi-structured interviews from our six respondents to collect the data. Based on our findings we found that the entrepreneurs are influenced by culture and family business traditions. Their social identity plays an important role in motivating them to become entrepreneurs. These immigrants are exposed to business environment from a very early age which helps shape up their business minds. The experience gained from their parents and the cultural and family business traditions act as business opportunity for them in the host country. We believe that this study would be helpful in the future for other scholars who are willing to conduct further research on this particular topic of interest. Our findings have increased the understanding of how the cultural and family business traditions of South and Southeast Asian region do affect the entrepreneurs’ decision to become self-employed in Umea.

The global flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) to Africa have increased steadily in recent years but the research on what determines the location of these investments is scarce. Research focusing on FDI flows from small and open economies such as Sweden is even more uncommon. From the locational factors found in the OLI paradigm we developed a model that was tested on a dataset of 25 African countries over the period of 2007 to 2010. The model proved inadequate in explaining the African inward FDI flows from Sweden. However, it well explains the aggregated inward FDI flows from firms around the world to Africa. Our results implies that the locational determinants derived from the OLI paradigm are inadequate in explaining Swedish FDI flows to Africa and maybe even in explaining flows from a small and open economy to developing countries. The answer to the question of what locational determinants are important for Swedish companies investing in African countries should perhaps be sought for elsewhere.

Injuries are considered to be a major public health issue. More than 4600 people die each year and 10 % of all hospitalization in Sweden is related to injuries. The cost in a societal perspective is estimated to 59 billion a year. Injuries are possible to prevent. However it needs knowledge that the injury has occurred and the surrounding circumstances. This study used data from an accident and injury registration in outpatient health care, in the Swedish municipality of Gotland. The purpose of this study was to describe the injury patterns regarding place and cause of injury focused on age and gender differences. Data from the registration were categorized and statistically processed in SPSS after content analysis of narrative text.  Statistical measures used where frequencies, incidences and significances. The results show that there are more men than women who are injured in the ages 0-63 years. The largest number of injuries was found in the age group 0-19 years. Fall was the leading cause of injuries. Home was the most common place where injuries occurred. Existing statistics on a national level may have limited use in local injury prevention program. There could be specific determinants of injuries locally that have to be addressed. Local injury registration and analyzes that include demographic and socioeconomic factors could increase the potential for effective injury prevention. / Skador är ett stort folkhälsoproblem, drygt 4 600 personer dör varje år och 10 % av all sjukhusvård i Sverige är orsakade av skador. Samhällskostnaderna uppskattas till 59 miljarder kronor på år. En förutsättning för att kunna förebygga skador är att få vetskap om dem. Det krävs även kunskap kring hur olyckan har gått till. Denna studies data inhämtades från en olycks- och skaderegistrering, inom den öppna hälso- och sjukvården, på Gotland. Syftet med studien var att beskriva kontaktorsak, skadeplats och skadeorsak med fokus på ålders- och könsskillnader. Data från registreringsblanketter kategoriserades och behandlades statistiskt i SPSS efter att fritextbeskrivningar tolkats innehållsanalytiskt.  Statistiska mått som användes vid bearbetning av materialet var frekvenser, incidenser och signifikanser. Resultatet visar att det är flera män än kvinnor som skadar sig i åldrarna 0-63 år. Störst antal skadade återfanns i åldersgruppen 0-19. Fall var den främsta orsaken till skador. De flesta olyckor skedde i bostaden. Existerande statistik på riksnivå kan ha begränsad användning lokalt eftersom det kan finnas specifika bestämningsfaktorer för skador som påverkar skademönster. Lokala skaderegistreringar och analyser som innefattar demografiska och socioekonomiska faktorer kan öka möjligheterna till ett effektivt skadepreventivt arbete.

Foreign Direct Investment is seen as a critical source of capital inflow and a stimulant of economic growth in many developing nations. It brings with it benefits such as job creation, technology and knowledge transfers just to mention a few. Thus many African countries are keen in finding ways of attracting FDI. The main objective of this paper is to empirically examine the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) by incorporating an econometric method based on cross-sectional data from 41 African countries over the period 2002-2007. More precisely, this research intends to answer the following question: what are the relevant determinants that promote FDI inflows in Africa? Among the several determinants of FDI, the finding suggests that market size and natural resource predominance are the main determinants of FDI into Africa.

Staphylococcus aureus ist einer der bedeutendsten Erreger boviner Mastitiden. Die Vielgestaltigkeit der Resistenzmuster und Virulenzfaktoren seiner Stämme macht ihn zu einem Problemkeim aus therapeutischer und prophylaktischer Sicht. Seine Fähigkeit zur Bildung hitzestabiler Enterotoxine verleiht ihm lebensmittelhygienische Relevanz. Mehrfachresistente Stämme stellen gefährliche Zoonose-Erreger dar. Ziel der durchgeführten Untersuchung war es daher, Aufschluss über Resistenzdeterminanten und Virulenzfaktoren der in Thüringer Milchviehherden vorkommenden Staphylococcus aureus zu erhalten, wobei eine Microarray-gestützte Genotypisierung zum Einsatz kam. Weiterhin sollte analysiert werden, ob der Genotyp der Isolate mit dem Phänotyp korreliert. In 34 Thüringer Milchviehherden wurde der gesamte Bestand der laktierenden Kühe zweimal auf Basis von Viertelgemelksproben bakteriologisch untersucht. Die Beurteilung der Kulturen erfolgte im Nativausstrich nach 48-stündiger Bebrütung und zusätzlich nach Voranreicherung in einer Glucose-Bouillon mit anschließender 24-stündiger Bebrütung. Staphylococcus aureus-positiv waren 1902 von insgesamt 81 567 Milchproben. Aus diesen wurden 189 für die Herden repräsentative Isolate ausgewählt und mittels Microarray-Technologie umfassend charakterisiert und klassifiziert. Zudem wurde der Phänotyp der Isolate auf Äskulin- und Columbia-Blutagar erfasst und das Resistenzverhalten mittels Agardiffusionstest ermittelt. Die 189 typisierten Staphylococcus aureus konnten elf verschiedenen klonalen Komplexen (CC) zugeordnet werden. Der Großteil der Isolate (80,4 %) zählte zu CC133, CC151 und CC479. Diese Isolate besaßen mit einer Ausnahme das Leukozidin-Gen lukF-P83/lukM. Die übrigen Isolate, die negativ auf lukF-P83/lukM getestet wurden, gehörten acht vergleichsweise sporadisch vorkommenden CC (CC7, CC9, CC20, CC45, CC50, CC97, CC101, CC398) an. In nur 0,7 % der zu den drei dominanten CC zählenden Isolate war das Beta-Laktamase-Gen blaZ vorhanden, während es bei 54,1 % der sporadisch vorkommenden CC detektiert wurde. Das Methicillin-Resistenzgen mecA wurde bei lediglich vier Isolaten (2,1 %) nachgewiesen, die alle CC398 angehörten. Sie verfügten neben Resistenzen gegenüber β-Laktam-Antibiotika über eine Tetrazyklin-Resistenz. Darüber hinaus wurde in einem Isolat das Makrolid/Lincosamid/Streptogramin-Resistenz vermittelnde vgaA und in einem Isolat das Aminoglykosid-Resistenz vermittelnde aacA-aphD detektiert. Humanmedizinisch relevante Enterotoxin-, Exfoliatin- oder PVL-Gene wurden in den vier Methicillin-resistenten Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nicht gefunden. Im Agardiffusiontest zeigten diese Isolate eine Penicillin- und eine Tetrazyklin-Resistenz, jedoch keine Resistenz gegenüber Oxacillin, welches als MRSA-Marker gilt. Die Gene der klassischen, humanmedizinisch bedeutsamen Enterotoxine A, B und C waren bei 12,7 % der Isolate vorhanden, wohingegen die Gene von Enterotoxin D und E nicht vorkamen. Insgesamt fanden sich Enterotoxin-Gene bei 78,3 % der typisierten Staphylococcus aureus, wobei die für Enterotoxin G, I, M, N, O und U kodierenden dominierten. Phänotypisch unterschieden sich die CC bezüglich Hämolyse und Pigmentierung, wobei alle CC398-Isolate als eierschalenfarben mit doppelzoniger Hämolyse auftraten. Hämolysin-Gene besaßen alle Isolate, ein Zusammenhang zu den phänotypisch ausgeprägten Hämolysezonen bestand jedoch nicht. Die vorliegende Untersuchung zeigt, dass in Thüringer Milchviehbeständen zwei epidemiologisch unterschiedliche Varianten von Staphylococcus aureus existieren. Die in dieser Studie dominierenden, lukF-P83/lukM-positiven CC133, CC151 und CC479 verursachten einen Großteil der Infektionen und gelten als auf das Euter beschränkte Erreger. Sie können daher als „euterassoziiert“ angesehen werden. Dagegen verfügten die anderen in dieser Untersuchung detektierten, lukF-P83/lukM-negativen CC über Charakteristika „umweltassoziierter“ Keime. Sie besitzen ein breites Wirtsspektrum und treten auch außerhalb des bovinen Euters in der Umgebung der Kühe auf. Die Prüfung auf lukF-P83/lukM erwies sich als zuverlässige Methode, zwischen beiden epidemiologischen Varianten zu unterscheiden. Folglich lässt die An- oder Abwesenheit dieser Genkombination einen Rückschluss auf die in der Herde verbreiteten CC zu. Das ermöglicht die Berücksichtigung der CC-spezifischen Erreger-Eigenschaften bei der Etablierung von Sanierungsprogrammen, die somit effizient gestaltet werden können. MRSA waren in Thüringer Milchviehbeständen wenig verbreitet und nur schwach mit Resistenzdeterminanten und humanmedizinisch bedeutsamen Pathogenitätsfaktoren ausgestattet. Diese MRSA aus Rohmilchproben sind daher nicht mit multiresistenten Isolaten aus der Humanmedizin zu vergleichen. Gene für humanmedizinisch relevante Enterotoxine, für die ein Zusammenhang mit Lebensmittelintoxikationen belegt ist, wurden selten, andere Enterotoxin-Gene jedoch häufig nachgewiesen.