The motivational value of food is lower during satiety compared to fasting. Dynamic changes in motivational value promote food seeking or meal cessation. In obesity this mechanism might be compromised since obese subjects ingest energy beyond homeostatic needs. Thus, lower adaptation of eating behaviour with respect to changes in motivational value might cause food overconsumption in obesity. To test this hypothesis, we implemented a selective satiation procedure to investigate the relationship between obesity and the size of the behavioural devaluation effect in humans. Lean to obese men (mean age 25.9, range 19–30 years; mean BMI 29.1, range 19.2–45.1 kg/m2) were trained on a free operant paradigm and learned to associate cues with the possibility to win different food rewards by pressing a button. After the initial training phase, one of the rewards was devalued by consumption. Response rates for and wanting of the different rewards were measured pre and post devaluation. Behavioural sensitivity to reward devaluation, measured as the magnitude of difference between pre and post responses, was regressed against BMI. Results indicate that (1) higher BMI compared to lower BMI in men led to an attenuated behavioural adjustment to reward devaluation, and (2) the decrease in motivational value was associated with the decrease in response rate between pre and post. Change in explicitly reported motivational value, however, was not affected by BMI. Thus, we conclude that high BMI in men is associated with lower behavioural adaptation with respect to changes in motivational value of food, possibly resulting in automatic overeating patterns that are hard to control in daily life.

Durante la década de los noventa, el Perú implementó un plan de inserción al comercio internacional, el cual consistió en disminuir aranceles nominales e impulsar la competitividad de los sectores exportadores peruanos. Dicho plan contribuyó a que los flujos comerciales peruano presenten una tendencia creciente en el periodo mencionado y sean cuentas cada vez más representativas del producto interior bruto peruano. En consecuencia, la economía peruana presenta una mayor dependencia de factores externos. De esta forma, resulta necesario estudiar los factores que alteran la balanza comercial peruana para así establecer políticas económicas eficientes. Respecto a ello, una de la relaciones mas estudiadas en la literatura de comercio internacional es la existente entre el tipo de cambio y la balanza comercial. Por dicha razón, el presente trabajo tiene como objetivo determinar cuál es el impacto, de largo plazo, de las variaciones del tipo de cambio nominal sobre la balanza comercial de forma agregada y desagregada por sector económico en el contexto de la economía peruana durante el periodo de 2006-2018. Los principales resultados indican que los datos desagregados muestran de forma más detallada los efectos del tipo de cambio y de los ingresos (domésticos y extranjeros) sobre los flujos de comercio internacional peruano (exportaciones e importaciones). Por un lado, se obtuvo que la devaluación del tipo de cambio nominal tiene un efecto expansivo en la balanza comercial agregada peruana. Asimismo, se descubrió que el tipo de cambio nominal y los ingresos tienen efectos distintos en los sectores económicos peruanos. Por un lado, se halló que la devaluación cambiaria no tiene un efecto expansivo en todos los sectores económicos peruanos y existen sectores que no son sensibles a dicha devaluación. / During the 1990s, Peru implemented a plan for insertion into international trade, which consisted of reducing nominal tariffs and boosting the competitiveness of the Peruvian export sectors. Said plan contributed to the fact that Peruvian trade flows show a growing trend in the mentioned period and are increasingly representative accounts of the Peruvian gross domestic product. Consequently, the Peruvian economy has a greater dependence on external factors. Thus, it is necessary to study the factors that alter the Peruvian trade balance in order to establish efficient economic policies. Regarding this, one of the most studied relationships in the international trade literature is that between the exchange rate and the trade balance. For this reason, the present work aims to determine the long-term impact of variations in the nominal exchange rate on the trade balance in an aggregate and disaggregated manner by economic sector in the context of the Peruvian economy during the period. from 2006-2018. The main results indicate that the disaggregated data show in more detail the effects of the exchange rate and income (domestic and foreign) on Peruvian international trade flows (exports and imports). On the one hand, it was found that the devaluation of the nominal exchange rate has an expansive effect on the aggregate Peruvian trade balance. Likewise, it was discovered that the nominal exchange rate and income have different effects in the Peruvian economic sectors. On the one hand, it was found that the exchange devaluation does not have an expansive effect on all Peruvian economic sectors and there are sectors that are not sensitive to said devaluation. / Trabajo de investigación

Bakgrund: HR-funktionens roll inom organisationen har utvecklats under hela 1900-talet för att mot slutet av seklet grena ut sig i trenden HR-transformation. Trenden har inneburit att HR blivit alltmer strategiskt och därav har många HR-processer delegerats till cheferna i linjen. Denna trend har inte alltid varit uppskattad eller önskad av de chefer som nu förväntas leda HR-processerna. Idag ses en problematik kring att chefer är missnöjda av det nya stödet utifrån den mer strategiska HR-funktionen vilket försvårar chefers arbete. Forskning gällande ämnet har påtalat vad som kan tänkas ligga till grund för den rådande problematiken. Dock verkar problematiken kvarstå på den svenska arbetsmarknaden. Syfte: Att beskriva chefens förutsättningar att leda HR-processer vid en svensk organisation. Metod: Studien är en intensiv fallstudie där kvalitativa data har samlats in genom sju semistrukturerade intervjuer. För att beskriva den data som framkommit kring informanternas upplevelser av sina förutsättningar att leda HR-processer, har data analyserats genom en tematisk analys med en induktiv roll av teori. Slutsats: Studien beskriver de fyra centrala förutsättningarna: Medarbetaransvar, Kunskap, Olika behov av stöd och Samarbete. Förutsättningarna är beroende av att cheferna leder samtliga HR-processer vid organisationen samt att cheferna upplever det som positivt att stå som processägare. Studiens beskrivna kunskapsbidrag tillhandahåller en förståelse för vad som kan råda bot på chefernas missnöje kring det nya stödet av en mer strategisk HR-funktion. Den nya kunskapen kan tillämpas av organisationer inom likande kontext som har eller planerar att genomföra en HR-transformation för att skapa rätt förutsättningar för sina chefer att implementera och leda HR-processer. / Background: The role of the HR function within the organization has developed throughout the 20th century. However, towards the end of the century it has become known as the trend HR transformation. The trend has meant that HR has become increasingly strategic and hence many HR processes have been delegated to the managers in the line. This trend has not always been appreciated or desired by the managers who are now expected to lead the HR processes. Today, a problem is seen around managers being dissatisfied with the new support based on the more strategic HR function, which makes their work more difficult. Research on the subject has highlighted what may be the basis for the prevailing problem. However, the problems seem to persist in the Swedish labor market. Purpose: To describe the manager's prerequisites for leading HR processes at a Swedish organization. Method: The study is an intensive case study where qualitative data were collected through seven semi-structured interviews. To describe the data that has emerged about the informants' experiences of their ability to lead HR processes, the data has been analyzed through a thematic analysis with an inductive role of theory. Conclusion: The study describes the four key prerequisites: Employee responsibility, Knowledge, Diverse needs for support and Cooperation. The prerequisites depend on that the managers are leading all HR processes at the organization, and that the managers are perceiving it positive to be the process owner. The study's described knowledge contribution provides an understanding of what can remedy managers' dissatisfaction with the new support from a more strategic HR function. The new knowledge can be applied by organizations in similar contexts that have or plan to implement an HR transformation to create the right conditions for their managers to implement and lead HR processes.

The objective of this thesis on the paid feminized domestic work is to describe the two current forms of employment of the live-inside maids and the live-outside domestic workers of paid domestic work in Lima Peru. The live-inside employment, cama adentro is the traditional form of maids living inside the household, and secondly, the live-outside employment, cama afuera, describes the working woman as an independent worker who lives outside the household. By focusing on the two forms of employment in the 1970s, the 2010s and the 2020s, this study aims to describe the changes on the urban labor market wherein 95% are women and almost 87% have informal employment. The feminized domestic work and the women domestic workers are objects of devaluation and subjects of discrimination. The critical case in this study is to understand the impact of informality and the informal working conditions. Vulnerability and precariousness are concepts frequently used in the current debate and research which describes the feminized remunerated domestic work as a forced labor. Who are the domestic working women, and how do they describe their work and life situation? What are the preferences or the facts of the persisting informality in the domestic labor sector that still have a great impact on the work situation as well as the women’s life situation? By considering women’s right to decent occupation this study also focuses on female empowerment, autonomy, economic independence in the urban domestic sector with influence from the market-oriented labor market in Lima. This case study is grounded in feminist care economy theory and Pierre Bourdieu’s human capital theory.

Many successful professionals, recognized for their experience, knowledge, competence and commitment to their field, experience a contradiction when they realize that their contributions are no longer valued by decision-makers in their organizations. Professionals, regardless of gender, position, education, race or profession, who experience workplace devaluation agree that this experience devalues their contributions and demeans their sense of self. This study illuminates the professionals' perspective of workplace devaluation through their experience. Within the framework of grounded theory methodology, this research examined three research questions: (a) What is the experience of professionals' workplace devaluation? (b) How did professionals learn from the experience? (c) What did professionals learn from the experience? The unit of analysis is the professional within an organization. Four participants were selected who (a) had several years experience with their organization; (b) were previously valued by the organization; (c) were current in their field; (d) had experienced workplace devaluation; and (e) were able to articulate insights, thoughts, and emotions on their experience. Multiple interviews with each participant provided the data. A comparative, iterative analysis of the data yielded: (a) a seven-phase process of the experience; (b) six constructs embedded in the process, and (c) four categories of learning. The dialogic interview method facilitated the participants' apperception, reflection, and progress through the process. Three emotions--fear, powerlessness, anger--and their interaction with the other constructs (autonomy, communication, personalization, authority, and recognition) influenced coping strategies and actions taken by each participant. The four narratives explicate the interrelationships of the findings. Three major conclusions are: (a) A rich description of the workplace devaluation experience offers a glimpse into the complexity of this topic and into the professionals' "lived world." (b) The learning process, grounded in the data, depicts how these four professionals used the power of their emotions to create balance within themselves as they attempted to explicate their situation of workplace devaluation. (c) The results indicate that greater learning occurred in organizational knowledge and intrapersonal knowledge for these professionals. Questions for further research are noted along with practical suggestions and recommendations for the praxis of adult educators, decision-makers, and professionals. / Ph. D.

The thesis analyses forms and levels of social exclusion of Zimbabwean migrants in the South African labour market and society. The research reveals that migrants face social exclusion through unruly practices of public officials and institutional bias. At community and individual level migrants are devalued and stigmatised by the local South Africans and other Zimbabwean migrants. To some extent Zimbabwean migrants participate in their own exclusion as they are divided along regional and ethnic lines. The thesis proposes an analytical framework for understanding the social exclusion of Zimbabwean migrants emphasising on how devaluation of migrant identity narrows the existing structure of opportunity, leading to various coping mechanisms some of which are deviant. The thesis proposes a moral and pragmatic view in understanding the social exclusion of migrants from a cosmopolitan perspective where migrants are citizens of a global world. Using a qualitative methodology the research provides an in-depth analysis of the life histories of fifty eight (58) ‘documented’ and ‘undocumented’ Zimbabwean men and women in Kempton Park and Tembisa. The research was carried out in 2012. Migrants respond to social exclusion by using social capital in the form of family/kinship, ethnic and church networks. Zimbabweans mainly rely on bonding rather than bridging social capital. To a greater extent, migrant networks help them to ‘get by’ and simply survive. The few that have managed to ‘get ahead’, have made use of networks with South African residents and other individuals outside their migrant network systems. These have facilitated acquisition of fake identity documents, jobs and other necessities. Family networks are beginning to repel migrants because of the economic pressures they face leading to the weakening of ties among Zimbabwean migrant family members. / Sociology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

本研究操弄受試的食物剝奪程度以及鋰鹽（LiCl）去價值程序，觀察此兩種實驗操弄對於大白鼠舔舐行為的影響，以探討飢餓驅力調節完結行為的機制。實驗一連續觀察8天大白鼠舔舐15%蔗糖液的表現，結果顯示初期兩天剝奪受試和自由吃食受試的舔舐表現並沒有顯著差異，第三天起剝奪組才顯著高於自由吃食組。實驗二待大白鼠習於食物剝奪狀態下舔舐15%蔗糖液之後，進行僅舔舐空管的消除情境測試。實驗結果顯示將剝奪狀態改為自由吃食，不論有無接受誘因學習都不能降低受試舔舐空管的表現。實驗三則待大白鼠習於食物剝奪狀態下舔舐25%蔗糖液之後，接受空管測試（實驗三A、B、C）與舔水消除情境測試（實驗三B、C）。實驗三結果如同實驗二，將剝奪狀態改為自由吃食，不論有無接受誘因學習都不能降低受試舔舐空管或舔水的表現。實驗四使用柳橙香料配加蔗糖液（20%）進行舔舐訓練，以僅含柳橙香料水進行消除情境測試。實驗結果顯示受試不論是由剝奪狀態轉為自由吃食，或由自由吃食轉為剝奪，都顯示出當驅力高舔舐表現高或驅力低表現低的現象。實驗五進行鋰鹽去價值實驗，大白鼠先擁有舔飲柳橙香料糖精液（實驗五A）或草莓香料食鹽水（實驗五B）的經驗後，再進行鋰鹽去價值程序。實驗結果顯示大白鼠唯有舔舐香料糖精液或香料食鹽水後接受鋰鹽注射才能降低其舔舐香料水的表現；糖精－鋰鹽配對、糖精－鋰鹽配對後再舔飲一次糖精液，以及香料水－鋰鹽配對都無法降低受試舔飲香料水的表現。糖精或食鹽水只要和鋰鹽配對過，便能產生味覺嫌惡。本研究結論如下：（1）飢餓驅力調節舔舐行為的能力只顯現在舔飲蔗糖液以及舔舐柳橙香料水的消除情境測試中；（2）香料與糖精或香料與食鹽必須同時呈現與鋰鹽配對才能降低香料引發舔舐行為的能力。 / The effects of food deprivation and lithium chloride (LiCl)-induced devaluation on licking behavior were studied for the regulatory mechanism of hunger drive on licking behavior. The first experiment for measuring the licking of 15% sucrose solution for 8 days and found that deprived subjects did not lick more than non-deprived ones until the third day. In the second experiment, the rats trained to lick 15% sucrose in a food-deprivation state were shifted to a non-deprivation state and tested under extinction procedure by using the empty tube. This shift in deprivation did not suppress licking in empty tube test for subjects with or without incentive learning experiences. In the third experiment, the rats trained to lick 25% sucrose in a food-deprivation state were shifted to a non-deprivation state and tested in empty tube (Exp. 3A, B, C) or water-licking test (Exp. 3B, C) conditions. Independent of incentive learning, the shift in deprivation did not suppress licking in these two kinds of extinction conditions although the concentration of sucrose was increased. In the fourth experiment, rats were trained to lick 20% sucrose mixed with orange flavor and tested in orange flavor water-licking test condition. Deprived rats licked more than non-deprived ones in the test condition whether they were trained under deprivation or non-deprivation. In the fifth experiment, rats were trained to lick orange flavor saccharin solution (Exp. 5A) or strawberry flavor sodium chloride (NaCl) solution (Exp. 5B) and then tested by the LiCl devaluation procedure. Flavored saccharin or flavored NaCl paired with LiCl suppressed rats to lick flavored water. But none of saccharin paired with LiCl, incentive learning after saccharin devaluation, and flavored water paired with LiCl had any significant effect. Saccharin or NaCl paired with LiCl could induce taste aversion. In conclusion, hunger drive modulating licking behavior was only found in licking sucrose or the flavored water-licking test condition. Further, only flavored saccharin or flavored NaCl solutions paired with LiCl could suppress licking flavored water.

The thesis analyses forms and levels of social exclusion of Zimbabwean migrants in the South African labour market and society. The research reveals that migrants face social exclusion through unruly practices of public officials and institutional bias. At community and individual level migrants are devalued and stigmatised by the local South Africans and other Zimbabwean migrants. To some extent Zimbabwean migrants participate in their own exclusion as they are divided along regional and ethnic lines. The thesis proposes an analytical framework for understanding the social exclusion of Zimbabwean migrants emphasising on how devaluation of migrant identity narrows the existing structure of opportunity, leading to various coping mechanisms some of which are deviant. The thesis proposes a moral and pragmatic view in understanding the social exclusion of migrants from a cosmopolitan perspective where migrants are citizens of a global world. Using a qualitative methodology the research provides an in-depth analysis of the life histories of fifty eight (58) ‘documented’ and ‘undocumented’ Zimbabwean men and women in Kempton Park and Tembisa. The research was carried out in 2012. Migrants respond to social exclusion by using social capital in the form of family/kinship, ethnic and church networks. Zimbabweans mainly rely on bonding rather than bridging social capital. To a greater extent, migrant networks help them to ‘get by’ and simply survive. The few that have managed to ‘get ahead’, have made use of networks with South African residents and other individuals outside their migrant network systems. These have facilitated acquisition of fake identity documents, jobs and other necessities. Family networks are beginning to repel migrants because of the economic pressures they face leading to the weakening of ties among Zimbabwean migrant family members. / Sociology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

Les nouveau-nés ne sont pas des patients comme les autres. Contrairement aux patients plus âgés, il existe pour les nouveau-nés des recommandations qui guident leur prise en charge ou leur non-prise en charge dès la naissance en fonction de critères spécifiques, notamment l’âge gestationnel. Or l’âge gestationnel est imprécis, et demeure un mauvais prédicteur de la survie ou du pronostic des nouveau-nés. De tels critères ne sont pas utilisés pour les patients plus âgés. En plus d’être réanimés différemment, les nouveau-nés décèdent aussi autrement. Contrairement aux patients plus âgés qui décèdent majoritairement en recevant des soins actifs à visée curative, de nombreux nouveau-nés décèdent suite à une décision de réorientation de soins, et souvent ceux-ci meurent malgré une relative stabilité physiologique, en raison d’inquiétudes se rapportant à leur qualité de vie future. Lorsqu’interrogés, malgré le fait qu’une majorité d’intervenants en santé croient que la réanimation d’un nouveau-né fragile ou à risque à la naissance est dans son meilleur intérêt, une majorité presqu’équivalente d’intervenants seraient prêts à redéfinir ce meilleur intérêt en fonction de la famille et à malgré tout à lui offrir des soins de confort. Ceci n’est pas le cas avec les patients plus âgés. Cette dévalorisation est expliquée par le fait que les nouveau-nés sont perçus comme moralement différents des patients plus âgés. Les raisons de ce statut moral particulier sont multiples, mais incluent notamment le contexte historique et socioculturel, l’absence de relations sociales préexistantes, un attachement perçu comme étant moindre, et l’influence de biais, de valeurs et d’expériences personnelles et professionnelles défavorables aux nouveau-nés. Nous croyons que cette différence de statut moral doit être identifiée et reconnue, et doit alimenter certaines réflexions professionnelles et sociales, notamment par rapport à sa désirabilité et aux conséquences qui en découlent. / Neonates are different. Contrary to older patients, professional guidelines specifically addressing the resuscitation or the non-resuscitation of neonates have been established and are being used by healthcare institutions worldwide. These guidelines are mostly built around gestational age criteria. Unfortunately, gestational age is imprecise and is not a good predictor of survival or long-term prognosis. This may not be the typical perspective when dealing with older patients. Not only are neonates resuscitated differently, their modes of death are also not the same. Unlike older patients who mostly die while receiving acute care, many neonates die following a decision to withdraw or withhold care, and the majority of these die in a condition of relative physiologic stability because of concerns for their future quality of life. When investigated or surveyed, even though a majority of health care providers believe resuscitating a fragile neonate is in the baby’s best interest, a similar majority is also willing to redefine this best interest according to family wishes and to accept comfort care. This is not the case with older patients. This devaluation is explained by the fact that neonates are perceived as being morally different. The reasons explaining this difference in moral status are many but include the historical and socio-cultural context, the absence of long standing pre-existing social relationships, an attachment to neonates that is perceived as being inferior, and the influence of professional and personal biases, values, and experiences that are unfavorable to neonates. We believe this difference in conferred moral status needs to be recognized and acknowledged, and should further professional and social reflections about its desirability and consequences.

This study examined the impact of real exchange rates on economic growth in South Africa. The study used quarterly time series data for the period of 1994 to 2010. The Johansen cointegration and vector error correction model was used to determine the impact of real exchange on economic growth in South Africa. The explanatory variables in this study were real exchange rates, real interest rates, money supply, trade openness and gross fixed capital formation. Results from this study revealed that real exchange rates, gross fixed capital formation and real interest rates have a positive long run impact on economic growth, while money supply and trade openness have a negative long run impact on economic growth in South Africa. From the regression results, it was noted that undervaluation of the currency significantly hampers growth in the long run, whilst it significantly enhances economic growth in the short run. As such, the policy of depreciating the exchange rates to achieve higher growth rates is only effective in the short run and is not sustainable in the long run. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher recommended that misalignment (overvaluation and undervaluation) of the currency should be avoided at all costs. In addition, the results of the study showed that interest rates also have a significant impact on growth and since interest rates have a bearing on the exchange rate, it was recommended that the current monetary policy in South Africa should be maintained.