This thesis examines the relationship between gestational age and stillbirths, focusing on the effect of maternal age. Prolonged pregnancies have been associated with an increased risk of stillbirth, prompting the exploration of labor induction as a preventive measure. However, the existing literature suffers from limited sample sizes, leading to uncertainty in the findings.  This study utilizes regional variations in labor induction practices to in- crease the sample size substantially. Moreover, it incorporates the economical aspect by evaluating the cost of induction and how the current policy could be optimized. In Sweden, some regions modified their induction policies in 2019 while others did not, creating a quasi-experimental setting that is exploited in this thesis. The objective is to evaluate the impact of inducing labor before pregnancies are defined as prolonged on stillbirth rates. A panel from 2009 to 2021, comprising over 1.4 million laborers, is analyzed, focusing on approximately 13,500 prolonged pregnancies between 2019 and 2021.  The results suggest that implementing a new induction policy among mothers aged 30 or older would yield annual cost savings of 24.6 MSEK. Specifically, targeting this age group for induction reduces the number of inductions required in week 41 to prevent one stillbirth from 224 to 127, compared to inducing mothers of all ages. These findings contribute to understanding labor induction practices and their impact on stillbirth rates, especially how the current policy could be optimized from a monetary perspective, providing valuable insights to policymakers.

In today’s progressive technology development, it is imperative to engage the customer and transform them to become brand advocates. Firms need to ensure their brand’s longevity in this competitive market, at times putting noncustomers in hindsight. This thesis aims to explore how firms can utilise Gamification to engage noncustomers and make them advocate for a brand. To explore this phenomenon, this thesis takes the concepts Gamification, Customer Engagement, Online Brand Advocacy as its starting point and puts special emphasis on the Metaverse as it is an emerging digital engagement platform. Using a quasi-experimental research design with four-manipulation Gamification aspects, we discovered four key findings; (1) the Behavioural dimension of Customer Engagement is a key driver in Online Brand Advocacy compared to the other dimensions. In addition, it is the Behavioural dimension of Customer Engagement that gets noncustomers to advocate for a brand, while the Emotional and Cognitive dimension develops during the post-experience phase, (2) out of the three Gamification aspects, the Motivational Affordance motivated noncustomers the most to engage and advocate for the hypothetical brand, (3) Gamification aspects has a direct effect on noncustomers advocating behaviour without an established consumers-brand relationship, and (4) noncustomers are extrinsically motivated to engage with a brand based on behavioural factors. The contribution of this study is twofold. First, from a theoretical standpoint, it offers a conceptual model and empirically assesses the impact of Gamification utilising various gamified aspects. Second, from a pragmatic and practitioner perspective, the findings aid marketers in developing sustainable marketing strategies, and harness the power of Customer Engagement and Advocacy with the use of Gamification. Hence, this thesis yields new insights to the emerging research on Gamification, Customer Engagement, and Online Brand Advocacy. Therewith, this study offers a novel approach, by linking these three concepts, and introducing Customer Engagement and Online Brand Advocacy as an outcome of Gamification in a metaverse context.

Heterogeneity in the school education quality plays an important role for those who want to pursue a bachelor's degree in Peru since access to higher education is highly correlated with socioeconomic status. In that sense, an intervention for disadvantaged students took place for the first time in 2022 and was constrained to the assessment of a scholarship called “Beca 18”, the biggest scholarship that the public institution called PRONABEC addresses every year since 2012. The intervention included additional tools for a group of applicants: (i) full-time online classes for 2 to 4 months; (ii) an electronic device with an internet connection; and (iii) the admission exam payment fully covered up to 2 times. The objective of this thesis is to evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention in increasing the likelihood of the treated to access higher education through the 2022 “Beca 18” scholarship process. As the treatment was not randomly assigned, a control group was estimated using the Propensity Score Matching methodology based on individual characteristics. Results showed that there is no statistically significant effect of the intervention in the treated applicants and invite to re-evaluate its design and implementation.

This dissertation consists of three essays on Hedonic price method which is widely used in non-market good evaluation. The first chapter outlines three topics involved and briefly discusses the motivations and methods, as well we some conclusions in each of the following chapters. Chapter 2 uses a conventional first stage hedonic price method to estimate the effect of an aquatic invasive species (Eurasian watermilfoil) on lakefront property values at selected Vermont lakes. Results indicate that as the primary component of total aquatic macrophyte growth in a lake Eurasian watermilfoil significantly and substantially affects lakefront property values. As Eurasian watermilfoil infests a lake, adding to the total macrophyte growth, property values can diminish by <1% to 16% for incremental increases in the infestation level. Hence, policies that successfully prevent infestations have significant economic benefits to owners of lakefront properties and local communities. Chapter 3 focused on a previously unexplored potential impact of 9/11—the impact it may have had on housing prices near mosques. Using a unique dataset that combines the locations of functioning mosques with housing transactions near the time of 9/11, combined with a generalized difference-in-differences framework, we find that housing prices decreased by approximately 7% ($10,559 for the average home) in areas near mosques along the east coast of the U.S. on average in the two years following the attacks. However, on the west coast we find no evidence that 9/11 caused a systematic decrease in housing prices near mosques. Chapter 4 begins from a conventional model of hedonic equilibrium where a nonmarket amenity is conveyed as an attribute of a differentiated traded good. Different metropolitan areas may have different equilibrium price functions due to geographic variation in consumer preferences, income, and production costs. We demonstrate that under relatively mild restrictions on the geographic extent of taste-based sorting, indicator variables for metro areas define "imperfect instruments" that can be used to identify bounds on demand curves. Bounds on demand curves correspond to ranges of partial equilibrium welfare measures for non-marginal changes in environmental quality. We find these ranges to be informative in a preliminary application to evaluating the benefits of reducing cultural eutrophication of lakes in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The last chapter concludes and discusses the insights for future research. / Ph. D.

Both literature and practice have investigated how the vast amount of ever increasing customer information can inform marketing strategy and decision making. However, the customer data is often susceptible to modeling bias and misleading findings due to various factors including sample selection and unobservable variables. The available analytics toolkit has continued to develop but in the age of nearly perfect information, the customer decision making has also evolved. The dissertation addresses some of the challenges in deriving valid and useful consumer insights from customer data in the digital age. The first study addresses the limitations of traditional customer purchase measures to account of dynamic temporal variations in the customer purchase history. The study proposes a new approach for representation and summarization of customer purchases to improve promotion forecasts. The method also accounts for sample selection bias that arises due to biased selection of customers for the promotion. The second study investigates the impact of increasing internet penetration on the consumer choices and their response to marketing actions. Using the case study of physician’s drug prescribing, the study identifies how marketers can misallocate resources at the regional level by not accounting for variations in internet penetration. The third paper develops a data driven metric for measuring temporal variations in the brand loyalty. Using a network representation of brand and customer the study also investigates the spillover effects of manufacturer related information shocks on the brand’s loyalty.

This thesis consists of four empirical essays. The first essay evaluates the impact on crime of a large scale experimental scheme in which all state monopoly alcohol stores in selected Swedish counties kept open on Saturdays. We show that the experiment significantly raised both alcohol sales and crime. The effect is confined to Saturdays and tentative evidence indicates a displacement of crime from weekdays to Saturdays. The experiment had no significant impact on crime over the entire week. The second essay examines the effect of income inequality on health for newly arrived refugees. The results reveal no statistically significant effect of income inequality on the risk of being hospitalized. This finding holds for most population subgroups and when separating between different types of diagnoses. The conclusions do not change when we consider long-term exposure to inequality. Our estimates are precise enough to rule out large effects of income inequality on health. The third essay examines the effect of relative income differences on criminal behavior. There is a positive effect on the propensity to commit property crime. The effect is small and mainly driven by past offenders, low educated and young individuals. I only find weak evidence that relative income differences increases the likelihood to commit violent crime. The empirical analysis further reveals that differences in gross labor earnings are more strongly related to crime than disparities in disposable income. The fourth essay describes the patterns of intergenerational transmission of education among immigrant mothers and their daughters. The results show that the persistence is slightly lower among immigrants compared to natives, and that the relationship is weaker among those who start out disadvantaged. I find large variations across different immigrant groups, but these differences are partly explained by the fact that groups belong to different parts of the educational distribution.

The aim of this study was to develop, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a behavior based, theory driven multi-component nutrition education Intervention promoting healthy eating among two (17 to 19 year old) Lebanese adolescent samples from contrasting socioeconomic statuses. The effects of the intervention were examined in a quasi-experimental control design trial among two hundred and nine adolescent males and females from Beirut, Lebanon: one hundred and ten belonged to a high socioeconomic status (HSES) population and ninety nine belonged to a low socioeconomic status (LSES) population of adolescents. There were four study groups: two intervention and two control. The intervention groups received twelve nutrition lessons, one hour each, involving class based teaching, print materials and activities delivered by a dietitian. Intervention Mapping protocol was applied and constructs from the Social Cognitive Theory were used for the development of the intervention. At baseline and after the intervention, food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) were administered and three 24-Hour Dietary Recalls were used to examine dietary practices and nutrient intakes while semistructured interviews were conducted to gain insight to underlying determinants of food choice. Quantitative data were analyzed using Mann Whitney U Test and Chi-Square analysis. Post intervention, adolescents in both the HSES and LSES intervention groups showed a significant improvement (p<0.05) in some dietary practices and nutrient intakes; however, the impact was higher in the HSES group. In both intervention groups, positive changes were observed in some personal determinants of food choice but none were noted for external factors. These results propose that the developed nutrition education intervention is a promising instrument to promote healthy eating among similar groups of Lebanese adolescents; however, further research is needed for interventions that specifically target LSES groups.

Validation of an adventure programme with cooperative elements in school P.E. lessons Summary of the thesis The thesis deals with validating an innovative motor program with adventure and cooperative elements at a Czech elementary school. The aims of the thesis was to observe possible changes under the influence of the programme in social acceptance of children in class, in their self-concept and the amount of physical activities in their leisure time. The study was a quasi-experiment, concretely a cross classification with repeated testing. It was realized in classes of 6th , 7th and 8th grade (12-14 year old boys) (N=154) in physical education lessons. The research was realized during 6 month, intervention time was 3 months and data were gained in three time intervals. We have used the Social acceptance questionnaire and Self-concept and quality of life questionnaire as main research methods. Results brought two statistically significant values, however, in practical significance they explain a small number of results. Values in the sub-scale Pupil-classmates relationship were statistically significant (p=0,031), which explained 3% of results, and values in the item Evaluation of satisfaction with factors effecting self-concept had the statistical significance p=0,002 explaining 6,5% of results. In the...

Validation of an adventure programme with cooperative elements in school P.E. lessons Summary of the thesis The thesis deals with validating an innovative motor program with adventure and cooperative elements at a Czech elementary school. The aims of the thesis was to observe possible changes under the influence of the programme in social acceptance of children in class, in their self-concept and the amount of physical activities in their leisure time. The study was a quasi-experiment, concretely a cross classification with repeated testing. It was realized in classes of 6th , 7th and 8th grade (12-14 year old boys) (N=154) in physical education lessons. The research was realized during 6 month, intervention time was 3 months and data were gained in three time intervals. We have used the Social acceptance questionnaire and Self-concept and quality of life questionnaire as main research methods. Results brought two statistically significant values, however, in practical significance they explain a small number of results. Values in the sub-scale Pupil-classmates relationship were statistically significant (p=0,031), which explained 3% of results, and values in the item Evaluation of satisfaction with factors effecting self-concept had the statistical significance p=0,002 explaining 6,5% of results. In the...

Yes / Attempts to apply marketing theory and principles to place have become a legitimate area of academic and 'real world' practice. However, place marketing does not typically incorporate all elements of the traditional 7 Ps, focusing far too often on just one of these - promotion. Besides this rather myopic approach, place marketing suffers from an overly strategic view of the world that ignores the meaning and lived experience of places to individuals, especially residents. The purpose of this article is twofold - first, we investigate the impact of litter on place attitudes. Litter is a common, but negative, element of place, which is intimately connected to the lived experience of a place but typically far removed from the positive promotional activity favoured by place marketing efforts and the study thereof. In this sense, the article reframes place marketing from a strategic to a micro-marketing endeavour. We found that exposing respondents to litter significantly lowers their place attitudes. Our second contribution is to demonstrate the relevance of classic marketing research approaches, such as attitudinal measures, to investigate litter and its impact on place evaluations, through quasi-experimental design (with 662 respondents). Through this, we extend the range of theory and method applied in place marketing - away from controllable promotional endeavours investigated through case-studies to a more holistic and robust interpretation of place marketing, which has a measurable impact upon the places where people live and visit.