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The chapter traces the parallel histories of two Development Finance Institutions: the Danish Industrialisation Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) founded in 1967 and the Swedish Fund for Industrial Cooperation with Developing Countries (Swedfund) established in 1978. Both institutions, still operating today, have served as an official means by which to promote the increased flow of private capital, trade, and investments between their respective home countries and the Global South. We argue that by increasingly emphasising the role of venture capital, politicians, international organisations, and business leaders have gradually pushed ideas about neoliberal market-based business development to the forefront of national conversations. Venture capital has been discursively constructed as the future of aid - in contrast to implied past naïve failures of Cold War state-sponsored internationalism. In this way the Nordic aid regime on the whole remained largely intact by actively being reconceived as the progressive internationalist face of the competition state rather than, as it once had been, the logical humanitarian extension of redistributive welfare states. © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Jenny Andersson and Chris Howell; individual chapters, the contributors.

Det står skrivet i skollagen att barnet i förskolan ska ges en trygg omsorg, att barngruppernas storlek ska vara lämplig och miljön vara god (SFS 2010:800). Studiens syfte är att få en inblick i hur yngre barns behov av trygghet och anknytning tillgodoses i förskolan, utifrån förskollärares och barnskötares uppfattningar. Metoden som använts i datasamlingen är kvantitativ i form av enkät, som analyserats och diskuterats utifrån ett anknytningsteoretiskt perspektiv. Resultatet visar en hög andel pedagoger som upplever tillkortakommanden i förskolans miljö och struktur, i att leverera en barnomsorg där de yngre barnens behov utav trygghet tillgodoses i den mån den bör. Pedagogerna anser i hög grad att stora barngrupper och för låg personaltäthet är problemfaktorer som skapar utmaningar att ge de yngre barnen deras trygghetsbehov mötta. När pedagogerna anser att barngruppen är utav lämplig storlek, visar resultaten att mindre grupper om max 12 barn är det vanligaste. I denna svarsgrupp, återfinns också högre antal respondenter som anser att tillgodoseendet med trygghet för barnen är tillräckligt. När barn upplever trygghet, resulterar detta enligt anknytningsforskning, i att deras lärande och utveckling främjas. I enlighet med vad tidigare anknytningsforskningvisar, stöder resultatet i denna undersökning det faktum att mindre barngrupper i förskolan, är en förutsättning för att förskolan och pedagogerna ska kunna erbjuda trygghet åt de yngsta barnen.

Problemlösning är en central del av matematikundervisningen enligt läroplanen för grundskolan, förskoleklassen och fritidshemmet (Lgr22). Ett matematiskt problem definieras som en uppgift som inte kan lösas med en direkt metod utan kräver kreativt tänkande. Då problemlösningsuppgifter ofta presenteras i textformat är läsförståelsen avgörande för att lösa dem. Tidigare forskning visar dock att många elever har svårt att uppfylla dessa språkliga krav. Syftet med denna studie är därför att undersöka hur utformningen av textbaserade matematiska problemuppgifter påverkar högstadieelevers förmåga att lösa problem. I studien får högstadieelever lösa två problemlösningsuppgifter: en originaluppgift från ett tidigare nationellt prov och en omskriven uppgift. Den omskrivna uppgiften syftar till att förenkla språket och göra uppgiften mer verklighetsanknuten för eleverna. Utöver att lösa två problemuppgifter får eleverna även svara på enkäter. Elevlösningarna och enkätsvaren analyseras med hjälp av ett egenkomponerat analysverktyg baserat på ett teoretiskt ramverk för olika steg i problemlösning. Resultaten visar att de omskrivna problemuppgifterna i högre grad möjliggör för elever att visa sina matematiska kunskaper. Detta överensstämmer med Lgr22:s betoning på sambandet mellan språk och lärande, som lyfts fram i läroplanens inledande avsnitt om skolans värdegrund och uppdrag.

Background: Decades of steady improvements in life expectancy in Europe slowed down from around 2011, well before the COVID-19 pandemic, for reasons which remain disputed. We aimed to assess how changes in risk factors and cause-specific death rates in different European countries related to changes in life expectancy in those countries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We used data and methods from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2021 to compare changes in life expectancy at birth, causes of death, and population exposure to risk factors in 16 European Economic Area countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden) and the four UK nations (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) for three time periods: 1990–2011, 2011–19, and 2019–21. Changes in life expectancy and causes of death were estimated with an established life expectancy cause-specific decomposition method, and compared with summary exposure values of risk factors for the major causes of death influencing life expectancy. Findings: All countries showed mean annual improvements in life expectancy in both 1990–2011 (overall mean 0·23 years [95% uncertainty interval [UI] 0·23 to 0·24]) and 2011–19 (overall mean 0·15 years [0·13 to 0·16]). The rate of improvement was lower in 2011–19 than in 1990–2011 in all countries except for Norway, where the mean annual increase in life expectancy rose from 0·21 years (95% UI 0·20 to 0·22) in 1990–2011 to 0·23 years (0·21 to 0·26) in 2011–19 (difference of 0·03 years). In other countries, the difference in mean annual improvement between these periods ranged from –0·01 years in Iceland (0·19 years [95% UI 0·16 to 0·21] vs 0·18 years [0·09 to 0·26]), to –0·18 years in England (0·25 years [0·24 to 0·25] vs 0·07 years [0·06 to 0·08]). In 2019–21, there was an overall decrease in mean annual life expectancy across all countries (overall mean –0·18 years [95% UI –0·22 to –0·13]), with all countries having an absolute fall in life expectancy except for Ireland, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, which showed marginal improvement in life expectancy, and Belgium, which showed no change in life expectancy. Across countries, the causes of death responsible for the largest improvements in life expectancy from 1990 to 2011 were cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms. Deaths from cardiovascular diseases were the primary driver of reductions in life expectancy improvements during 2011–19, and deaths from respiratory infections and other COVID-19 pandemic-related outcomes were responsible for the decreases in life expectancy during 2019–21. Deaths from cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms in 2019 were attributable to high systolic blood pressure, dietary risks, tobacco smoke, high LDL cholesterol, high BMI, occupational risks, high alcohol use, and other risks including low physical activity. Exposure to these major risk factors differed by country, with trends of increasing exposure to high BMI and decreasing exposure to tobacco smoke observed in all countries during 1990–2021. Interpretation: The countries that best maintained improvements in life expectancy after 2011 (Norway, Iceland, Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden) did so through better maintenance of reductions in mortality from cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms, underpinned by decreased exposures to major risks, possibly mitigated by government policies. The continued improvements in life expectancy in five countries during 2019–21 indicate that these countries were better prepared to withstand the COVID-19 pandemic. By contrast, countries with the greatest slowdown in life expectancy improvements after 2011 went on to have some of the largest decreases in life expectancy in 2019–21. These findings suggest that government policies that improve population health also build resilience to future shocks. Such policies include reducing population exposure to major upstream risks for cardiovascular diseases and neoplasms, such as harmful diets and low physical activity, tackling the commercial determinants of poor health, and ensuring access to affordable health services. Funding: Gates Foundation. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license

Background: In response to rural nursing shortages, some traditional on-campus bachelor of science in nursing degree programs have transitioned to a blended learning approach at satellite campuses. This significant shift requires an understanding of how students view the learning activities involved in skills training. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess students in an education program in Southern Norway regarding their satisfaction in and self-confidence with skills training using blended learning. The program was hosted at satellite campuses of two universities. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, 54 students completed a Student Satisfaction and Self-confidence in Learning scale and open-ended questions. Quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and qualitative data assessed using content analysis. Results: Students who completed skills training reported high levels of satisfaction with the learning activities and support from their teachers. In addition, they demonstrated high self-confidence in practicing skills. Conclusion: The current findings indicate that students appreciate blended learning strategies and the availability of skills training on satellite campuses along with supportive teaching practices. © 2025 The Authors

Despite the universal social policies of Sweden's welfare state, recent decades have seen decreasing public benefits and increasing socio-economic disparities, affecting the financial wellbeing of older adults and their younger family members. This repeated cross-sectional study explores the development of intergenerational financial transfers in Sweden over the past two decades, examining transfers involving older parents and their children and grandchildren, and patterns related to gender and social class. It utilises data from the Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old, from 2002 to 2021, along with descriptive statistics and logistic regression models, to study shifts in donor-receiver proportions and gender/social-class disparities. The findings revealed that approximately one in four parents provided financial support to younger generations, while very few received such support. Downward financial transfers increased over time, with growing focus on grandchildren. No significant gender differences in providing were identified; however, women's contributions increased in frequency and amount, compared to previous cohorts of women. Men's contributions remained relatively stable over time. Parents in higher social classes were more inclined to provide financial support than parents in lower classes; this difference grew over time. Additionally, parents in higher social classes more frequently provided higher amounts than their counterparts. In conclusion, this study underscores changing gender and social-class patterns in financial contributions made by parents to their children and grandchildren in contemporary Sweden. Understanding these levels and subgroup differences is crucial for shaping policies and mitigating the potential growth of socio-economic inequality in future generations. © The Author(s), 2025.

Background: Because health professionals can end up being first responders to a mass casualty incident, they must train to improve preparedness and increase the preconditions of victim outcomes. Training and learning on how to handle a mass casualty incident is traditionally based on reading, lectures, training through computer-based scenarios, or sometimes through live simulations. Professionals should practice in realistic environments to narrow the theory-practice gap, and the possibility of repeating the training is important for learning. Virtual reality is a promising tool for realistic and repeatable simulation training, but it needs further evaluation. This study aimed to describe the acceptability and applicability of using VR for training in mass casualty incidents.

Methods: A mixed-methods evaluation design was used, where the qualitative and quantitative findings were embedded into the discussion with a realist inquiry approach. A virtual reality simulation with mass casualty incident scenarios, named GoSaveThem ( www.crash.nu ), was used, and the participants were directed to perform triage. After the simulation, the participants filled in a questionnaire with open-ended questions and ratings on technical aspects, learning experiences, and improvement of preparedness. Eleven of the participants underwent interviews. The qualitative data was analyzed either summarily or with a conventional content analysis. Data were extracted from computer recordings of how long it took for each participant to triage the first 10 victims and to what extent the triage for the first 10 victims was correct. Descriptive statistical analyses were done, and a comparison was made to see if there were any differences between age, sex, educational background, and previous experiences that affected the outcome of triaging.

Results: Training with virtual reality enables repeatable and realistic simulation training of mass casualty incidents. The participants expressed motivation to repeat the training and experience expanded virtual reality scenarios. This study shows that the acceptability and applicability of using VR for training MCIs were high overall in all examined dimensions for most users, with some exceptions.

På ett övergripande plan var målet med studien att bidra med kunskap om hur lärares tolkning av sitt läraruppdrag påverkar historieundervisningen. Mer specifikt var syftet med denna studie att bidra med kunskap om hur historielärare på mellanstadiet uppfattar sitt läraruppdrag att bedriva en historieundervisning som främjar jämställdhet och synliggör kvinnan i historien. Syftet besvaras genom tre forskningsfrågor som berör lärares ämnesdidaktiska uppfattningar. Uppfattningar kopplat till de ämnesdidaktiska valen, de möjligheter och hinder samt uppfattningen av läraruppdraget och dess inverkan på kunskapsstoffet i historieundervisningen. Detta för att bedriva en jämställd undervisning där kvinnan synliggörs.

För att besvara studiens syfte och frågeställningar genomfördes en kvalitativ studie genom fem semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem olika historielärare på mellanstadiet. Den insamlade empirin analyserades med hjälp av fenomenografin, där inkluderad variationsteorin, samt ett ämnesdidaktiskt perspektiv som teoretiska ramverk. Detta då studien ämnade undersöka lärares ämnesdidaktiska uppfattningar. Resultatet visar hur olika ämnesdidaktiska val påverkar vilket kunskapsstoff eleverna får möta i historieundervisningen. Resultatet visar att historielärarna i studien är eniga om vikten av att synliggöra kvinnan i undervisningen, men deras metoder och möjligheter varierar beroende på deras undervisningsstrategier, tolkningar av läraruppdraget samt de hinder de uppfattar sig ha.

Av studien framkom att en förutsättning för att bedriva en jämställd historieundervisning som synliggör kvinnans berättelser krävs kompletterande resurser vid sidan av läroboken. Av resultaten framkom även att historielärare som vill bedriva en jämställd undervisning behöver se bortom kursplanen i historia i planeringen av sin undervisning. 

This study examines the influence of financial development on the real sector in Nigeria, focusing on agriculture, manufacturing, and services. Nigeria faces many economic challenges, including limited access to credit, high borrowing costs, and financial inefficiencies. The aim of this research is to determine whether financial development helps the real sector grow or creates more barriers. The study uses Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to create a Financial Development Index (FDI) and applies the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model to examine both short-run and long-run effects. The Granger-causality test is also used to check whether financial development influences real sector growth or if the relationship works both ways. The results show that financial development negatively affects agriculture, manufacturing, and services in both the short and long run. This is different from traditional economic theories, such as the supply-leading hypothesis, which suggests that financial development should support economic growth. Instead, the findings suggest that problems like high interest rates, limited access to credit, and financial market inefficiencies prevent financial development from benefiting the real sector. The findings reveal that while financial development may have short-term negative effects on the real sector, these effects are not persistent over the long term. Further analysis was done by separating financial development into its main components, including broad money supply, private sector credit, stock market capitalisation, total debt securities, and bank assets. The findings confirm that private sector credit and total debt securities have the most negative impact on the real sector, showing that Nigeria’s financial system is not fully supporting business growth. This study suggests that financial policies should be improved to make credit more accessible and affordable, ensuring that financial development leads to real economic growth. Policies should focus on reducing borrowing costs, strengthening financial regulations, and supporting businesses in key sectors.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, videoconferencing rapidly shifted from being a time-liberating support tool to becoming a health concern. This article explores the phenomenon of Zoom fatigue from the perspective of a sample of first-wave blog posts, editorials and chronicles reporting on a drastic digital transition. Besides highlighted complaints over headaches and tiredness, the commentaries convey experiences of failed social relations, a double-burdened work life and a disrupted sense of self. Exploring these accounts, the article broadens the scope of inquiry beyond a media-psychological analysis of a human(body)-technology-problem. We approach Zoom fatigue not primarily in terms of the digital affordances of videoconferencing on the human brain, but as a cultural phenomenon tied to shifts and disruptions beyond the interface design, related to both the unique circumstances of the pandemic and to ongoing transformations in the organization of work life in digitized societies.

This study aims to deepen the understanding of the challenges students face in using theory during thesis writing in teacher education and to explore the potential of a systems theory approach to explain these challenges. Data were collected via focus group discussions, informed by the analysis of approximately 70 purpose statements used to develop an interview guide. Nine students participated in three focus groups. The writing process is viewed as an operationally closed, self-referential system, regulated by the internal logic emerging from students' communication and actions. Findings reveal that effectively using theory requires recognizing the mutual influence between theory and the phenomena being theorized, which necessitates non-linear and complex thinking. Students must adopt the perspective of an observer and consider the factors shaping their own knowledge creation. A significant insight is that theory is not merely a tool for understanding phenomena but also shapes how observers perceive knowledge. This highlights the importance of addressing "the blind spot"- what remains unseen in scientific processes - and the inherent limitations of language in articulating complex, interdependent relationships. These insights underscore the need for a reflective approach to theory in thesis writing.

Purpose The study aims to critically explore, from an organisational perspective, the intersections between where work takes place, invisible disabilities, gender and the prevailing norms around work within a public organisation.

Design/methodology/approach Ten participants between 34 and 60 years old, including employees with disabilities, managers with and without disabilities and human resource (HR) officers, shared their experiences of working from home in Sweden. The study used semi-structured interviews, photo-elicitation interviews, a written diary and policy analysis. A thematic analysis was performed.

Findings The study shows that working from home was perceived as an important workplace accommodation and an individual strategy about conforming to the norm and living up to the concept of the ideal worker. The organisation did not actively work on disability-related issues. There was also a lack of competence and structure.

Practical implications It is important to challenge the ideal worker norm and create organisational competence about the intersection of gender, disability and workplace location to create a sense of inclusion among employees.

Originality/value The study highlights the complexity faced by women employees with invisible disabilities when deciding where to perform work (home or co-located office) and explores HR officers’ and managers’ experiences regarding working with the inclusion of employees with invisible disabilities.

Human mobility plays a fundamental role in urban life, shaping the development of infrastructure, transportation systems, and public spaces. Understanding the dynamics of mobility patterns is essential for creating sustainable and inclusive urban environments. This study investigates the influence of gender and temporal variations on human mobility within a city in central Sweden, shedding light on how movement patterns fluctuate throughout the day and differ across gender groups. The findings reveal significant temporal shifts in mobility hotspots, with individuals travelling to different areas at varying intensities depending on the time of day. These variations highlight the dynamic nature of urban movement and emphasise the necessity of time-sensitive urban planning strategies. While overall journey patterns between genders exhibit relatively small differences, a closer analysis uncovers distinct gender-based disparities in mobility hotspots, indicating that men and women tend to frequent different locations with varying travel behaviours. These insights provide valuable input for urban planners, policymakers, and transportation authorities seeking to enhance accessibility, safety, and efficiency in urban mobility networks. Recognising the interplay between gender and temporal mobility patterns can lead to more equitable infrastructure design, ensuring that urban spaces accommodate diverse mobility needs. By emphasising the importance of these factors, this study contributes to a broader understanding of human mobility behaviour and underscores the need for data-driven planning approaches that address spatial and temporal variations in movement patterns.

This study explores how newly qualified physical education (PE) teachers experience the meaning of feedback through reflections on their assessment practices. We focus on the use, purpose, and content of feedback in PE practice. Assessment practices in PE have generally been used for grading purposes, often with little connection to the preceding teaching and learning. The educational quality of feedback depends on teachers' knowledge of what is supposed to be learned and how learners understand what they are supposed to know. Hence, it is important to investigate whether and how PE teacher education (PETE) prepares pre-service teachers for their professional work with feedback in PE. Individual stimulated recall interviews, a focus group interview and individual interviews with eight newly qualified teachers were conducted, and the data was analysed through a phenomenographic approach. The findings reveal that feedback is experienced in various ways, some comprising content that helps students learn what is supposed to be learned. Other ways of experiencing feedback generate content that does not relate to any intended learning goal other than being physically active in the here and now. The findings are discussed in relation to Hattie and Timperley's (2007) model of feedback as well as in relation to PETE and the significance of providing possibilities for future teachers to learn about the ways in which feedback can be educationally worthwhile.

This study investigates the microstructural, mechanical, corrosion, and biological behaviors of spark plasma sintered (SPS) zinc (Zn) samples for biomedical applications. The findings reveal that SPS significantly refines the grain structure of pure Zn compared to the conventional casting method. The SPS process, conducted at a lower sintering temperature of 300 degrees C and a high uniaxial pressure of 50 MPa, produces fine and uniform equiaxed grains with an average size of 19 mu m. The resulting Zn samples exhibit a calculated density of 7.1 g cc-1 due to complete densification. The sintering process disrupts the initial texture strength, and the uniform grain orientation achieved during SPS contributes to an isotropic microstructure, enhancing the mechanical properties. The compressive yield strength and ultimate strength of the SPS samples are 115 +/- 4 MPa and 191 +/- 6 MPa, respectively. The long-term biodegradation behavior of SPS Zn in simulated body fluid indicates controlled and gradual corrosion, supporting its potential for biodegradable implant applications, while potentiodynamic polarization analysis further confirms similar corrosion rates compared to cast Zn due to the formation of a stable corrosion product film. In vitro studies with MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast cells show healthy proliferation in culture media containing the degradation products of SPS Zn. Due to its unique microstructural, mechanical, and corrosion properties, along with its biocompatibility, SPS-processed Zn is a promising candidate for tissue engineering applications.

The teaching profession is complex and encompasses both knowledge transfer, administration and more emotionally demanding parts. Through the reforms of recent decades, the nature of teaching has changed, and previous research shows that the focus of schools has to some extent shifted from theoretical studies to student care. This affects what it means to be a teacher and how teachers experience the profession. The purpose of this study is to investigate the experiences of emotional strain in the profession among Swedish teachers in upper secondary school and how they perceive this to affect their ability to create a classroom environment that is beneficial to learning. This was investigated through a single case study including semistructured interviews and short observations. The study concludes that although the Swedish teaching profession can be emotionally rewarding and energizing through students, positive feedback, colleagues and the work itself, it is also emotionally stressful and takes energy in many ways. According to the teachers in the study, the emotional strain comes mainly from the fact that the profession has to do with people and that the teacher is expected to deal with both students and parents but also colleagues, school management and authorities at the same timeas changes are taking place in the schools through various reforms and political decisions. Teachers give a lot of their energy at work, which means that they do not always have much energy left for family and friends. This implies that the distribution of resources becomes uneven and work/private life competes for resources rather than support each other. The teachers believe that the physical environment is important for learning to be beneficial, but that relationships in the classroom play a very large role in both positive and negative emotions.

Historically, women's offending has received minimal attention in research, which mainly has focused on male offenders. Recently, there has been a shift to include women's offending more in research. The aim of this study is to increase the understanding of the needs and situation of women in prison during reintegration, with the aim of identifying areas where support can be improved to facilitate women's reintegration into society. We examine the impact of structural gender factors on reintegration, the importance of social ties, the role of the turning point in motivational change, and the effects of stigmatization and labelling. The empirical material is based on five qualitative, semi-structured interviews with professionals in the Prison and Probation Service and three different voluntary organizations. Important results that emerged in the study include that women are labeled more harshly by society than men when reintegrating after release, and that supportive and conventional relationships are factors that can help the individual to a legal life through encouragement and motivation. The conclusion is that more work is needed to combat prejudice and stigmatization, more efforts to connect women to conventional social ties that create networks and connections to society.

PURPOSE: Self-management has increased in recognition in stroke research and rehabilitation along with growing trends of shorter hospital stays and more patient-centred care. Family members are key persons in the self-management process, but their views and experiences of self-management have not been studied in detail. This study aimed to explore family members' understanding of self-management, the strategies they use and the challenges they face when providing support.

METHODS: For this descriptive study, semi-structured interviews with family members (n = 27) were conducted. Data were analysed using inductive content analysis.

RESULTS: The analysis resulted in three main categories and eight subcategories. Most family members saw self-management as performing practical tasks, such as daily living activities and rehabilitation training. However, family members described a broad range of actions to support self-management, including emotional and motivational support. They found it challenging to give the right amount of support and expressed a need of more information after discharge.

CONCLUSIONS: Family members' conceptualisations of self-management differ from the strategies they use to provide support. A clearer understanding of self-management as a collective process can benefit the development and delivery of efficient self-management support.

In public buildings located in geographies with extreme and highly variable environmental conditions, such as Sweden, managing lighting systems reliably presents unique challenges. These arise not only from technical concerns like lifespan and energy use, but also from the need to ensure human well-being under seasonal extremes of natural light availability. This paper proposes a novel, context-driven framework for asset diagnostics and performance monitoring using two metrics: Critical Integrative Levels (CIL) — which classify lighting zones based on user activity, exposure time, and age group — and Mean Time of Exposure (MTOE), a newly introduced variable that quantifies user interaction with light in space and time. Three case studies across Swedish public libraries (from Luleå to southern Sweden) were used to validate the approach. The results show that integrating human-centric parameters into lighting diagnostics enables more responsive, context-aware threshold setting, compared to traditional functionality-based criteria (e.g., luminous flux percentage). Practical implications include earlier anomaly detection, prioritization of maintenance, and the ability to tailor lighting reliability metrics to real user needs, particularly under non-stationary environmental conditions. The proposed model provides a scalable structure for use in smart public infrastructure, aligning with Industry 5.0 principles. Future research will focus on extending the framework to automated digital twin environments, as well as exploring generalization across sectors such as healthcare, education, and transportation hubs.

Human Resource Analytics (HRA) is a technology-enabled organisational practice that utilises quantitative data and analysis to enhance HR decision-making. While HRA has gained increasing interest among HR practitioners, its adoption has been predominantly concentrated in technology-intensive private sector companies. At the same time, academic research on HRA remains limited, particularly in the public sector. Although factors such as low technological maturity and a lesser focus on profit maximisation and competitive advantage may hinder its implementation, HRA holds significant potential for public sector organisations due to their distinct characteristics. These include large workforces generating extensive HR-related data, political authority, governmental ownership, and a strong emphasis on transparency, accountability, and efficiency in areas such as competence supply, workforce recruitment, and retention.This thesis comprises four papers that collectively conceptualise and investigate the practice of HRA, exploring the reasons, preconditions, and processes involved in its implementation within public sector organisations. Empirical data were collected from three Swedish public sector organisations at the national, regional, and local levels. The study employs an engaged scholarship research design, allowing for the pragmatic application of multiple theoretical perspectives best suited to address the overarching research question: How is HRA being implemented in public sector organisations? This research aims to contribute to the existing HRA literature while also offering practical insights for organisations and HR practitioners operating in this under-researched context.By adopting a practice-based approach, informed by institutional legitimacy concept, the AMO (Ability, Motivation, Opportunity) framework, and organisational translation perspective, this thesis reveals that HRA practices undergo significant adaptation during implementation. In the public sector, HRA has primarily been limited to improving HR reporting and the visualisation of descriptive HR data. HRA practitioners, driven by contextual factors and the need to ensure the legitimacy of HR activities through economic rationality, face constraints related to analytical skills, organisational resources, and sector-specific characteristics.Given the rapid advancements in technology, including the growing influence of AI, future research should explore how these developments, alongside challenges such as employee privacy and data protection, impact the further evolution of HRA practices in the public sector.

In many countries globally, Integrated Care is a key focus, known in Sweden as Good Quality, Local Health Care (Nära vård). Within Good Quality, Local Health Care, ambulance service is described as having an important role and Person-Centered Care (PCC) is a central component. Research shows that there is a need for increased person-centeredness within the ambulance service, while there is also uncertainty about what PCC means – both in general and specifically within ambulance service – as well as how its implementation can be supported. To introduce PCC, changes in working methods are required, which in turn necessitate structured support and guidance. Previous research has identified facilitation as a potentially beneficial strategy to support such implementation processes. Therefore, this thesis aimed to increase knowledge about how PCC can be operationalized and integrated into the ambulance service, using facilitation as the overarching implementation strategy.

An intervention study was conducted at four ambulance stations in Sweden, where eight nurses were selected and trained to act as facilitators with the responsibility to support the implementation of PCC. Study I explored how the facilitators described PCC in the ambulance service through an interview study with an inductive approach. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Study II evaluated how PCC was integrated into the daily work of the ambulance personnel. The study was conducted with a deductive approach, using Normalization Process Theory as a theoretical framework. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed with qualitative content analysis.

The findings show that PCC was perceived as an ethical approach that was difficult to operationalize and implement in the ambulance service. The facilitators described PCC as a vague concept but also identified opportunities to work more person-centered. However, the implementation efforts did not lead to a successful integration of PCC. The reasons included a lack of shared understanding and various approaches to PCC among the ambulance personnel, insufficient leadership support, and scarce evaluation of the implementation work. Another challenge was the Covid-19 pandemic, which changed priorities within the ambulance service.

Overall, this thesis shows that PCC has potential within the ambulance service, but no actual integration took place within the actual study. For lasting change, stronger organizational support and better conditions for ambulance personnel to work according to PCC principles are necessary.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a widespread issue, affecting one in three women worldwide. This study explores IPV from women's perspectives by analyzing how they describe the violence they endure and how they explain the causes of the violence. Using a qualitative approach, a thematic analysis was conducted on two autobiographies from women who lived in violent relationships. The results reveal four types of violence: physical, sexual, psychological, and coercive control. The causes are linked to the man's self-absorption, emotional and sexual deficiencies and reactions to the autonomy of the women. These findings were analyzed through feminist standpoint theory and the normalization process, highlighting power structures within gender dynamics. The study emphasizes the importance of understanding IPV from women's perspectives and calls for further research on IPV.

The involvement of children and young people in crime is a frequently discussed topic in society. This thesis aims to highlight the experiences of mothers and the coping strategies they use to manage the emotional and social challenges associated with their children’s involvement in criminal activity. Through a thematic analysis of two autobiographies written by mothers, data has been collected to provide a deeper understanding. The thematic analysis resulted in two main themes:"Living in an emotional storm" and "Managing an uncertain everyday life." From these main themes, four sub-themes emerged: "Feeling maternal emotions in a powerless situation," "Protecting oneself," "Feeling inadequate in motherhood," and "Finding the strength to continue." In summary, the results show that mothers often experience a struggle between wanting to protect their children and protecting themselves. Furthermore, the results indicate that mothers develop resilience through their relationships and interests. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of mothers’ situations and provides insights into areas of improvement within social work to offer better and more effective support in the future. 

In recent years, financial inclusion has gained a very strong factor of economic growth to reduce inequality, yet significant gaps remain in understanding its multidimensional nature and impact across income groups. This thesis addresses the gap by constructing a comprehensive Financial Inclusion Index (FII) for 47 developing countries, using panel data from the World Bank's Global Findex database for 2014, 2017, and 2021. Employing a two-stage Principal Component Analysis (PCA) methodology, the study captures two essential dimensions of financial inclusion: access and usage of financial services. The findings reveal a positive relationship between financial inclusion and economic growth. Furthermore, it also shows significant disparities in financial inclusion, with low income countries disproportionately facing challenges in access and usage compared to the upper middle-income. Moreover, this study has also used different variables of the access and usage of financial services to better assess their impact on economic growth. The results not only fill a gap in existing literature but also emphasize the important role for policymakers to implement targeted financial inclusion strategies especially in developing countries. By Addressing social challenges, enhancing financial infrastructure, and promoting digital and traditional financial solutions, we can get closer to narrow the financial inclusion gap and driving equitable economic participation.

Aim: To investigate control and exercise of power as an aspect of disability-related abuse inrelation to individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) in a Swedish context, and to analyze how this phenomenon can be understood from the perspective of epistemic injustice.

Method: A literature study with an abductive approach was conducted as a scoping review.Theoretical thematic analysis was used.

Results: Individuals with ID face negative power dynamics at multiple levels, both active and passive, with primary and secondary effects. They are silenced by prejudiced stereotypes and overprotection. This deprives them of access to knowledge and from being recognised as holders of knowledge, which also hinder their personal development. Disability-related abuse targets their intellect, directly or indirectly, consciously or unconsciously, by exploiting or attacking their intellectual limitations. 

The study´s purpose was to gain a deeper understanding of how school social workers work with pupils that have neuropsychiatric disabilities, with a focus on barriers and opportunities. The study's questions are about participation, accessibility and approach. The study was conducted through six semi-structured interviews and analyzed through a thematic analysis. The results showed that school social workers work with pupils that have neuropsychiatric disabilities look different and they have different conditions. Both positive and negative conditions emerged, it was about the environment and the school social workers room for action, such as lack of knowledge development, internal tutorial to reach more pupils and functioning cooperation between the professions. The school social workers working methods were also a large part of the results and highlighted, for example, how the tone is adapted based on the situation, lifting questions to the organizational level and exercises for body awareness and identity strengthening. 

Sweden has a long history of migration, which during the so-called “migrationcrisis” of 2015 faced significant challenges. Sweden had difficulties maintaining the standard that had previously existed within the reception process. The study aims to examine how individuals who migrated to Sweden in 2015 experienced the reception process and which aspects of it hindered or promoted integration. The study is qualitative, identified through semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, revealing four main themes: living in uncertainty, insufficient social support gave rise to self-drive, strong formal support for a good start, and the significance of social contacts. The results reveal, among other things, personal motivation and social contacts as clearly facilitating factors for integration. Furthermore, it clarifies how the long waiting times at the Migration Agency created a hindering effect on integration. Beyond the uncertainty created by the waiting, the interviewees view the reception process positively.

What are the main findings?

• An overview of sustainable renovation practices in Sweden's multi-family buildings was provided
• Energy use and investment costs are key evaluation methods.

What is the implication of the main finding?

• Standardized decision-making tools are needed.
• Findings highlight areas for improvement in current practices.

Abstract Energy-efficient renovation of the existing building stock is essential for achieving the ambitious sustainability goals set by the European Commission for 2030. However, implementing sustainable renovation has proven challenging, as numerous studies have concluded. Multi-family buildings are a significant part of Sweden's building stock and require renovations to meet energy efficiency standards. This study aims to provide an overview of sustainable renovation practices in Sweden's multi-family buildings. A semi-open structured questionnaire was developed to examine the adoption of these practices, with data collected from 11 housing companies. The responses reveal that Swedish housing companies are well aware of the three key aspects of sustainability and actively consider them in their renovation projects. Notably, specific energy use and investment costs are the most commonly used methods for evaluating the environmental and economic aspects, respectively. However, there is a lack of a common method for assessing the social aspects of renovation projects. Additionally, this study highlights the need for standardized decision-making tools in multi-family building renovations.

Detta examensarbete undersöker ämneslärares och vårdnadshavares uppfattningar om undervisning om sexualitet, samtycke och relationer i grundskolan, med särskilt fokus på implementeringen av de senaste riktlinjerna i Lgr22. Syftet är att identifiera överensstämmelser och skillnader i deras uppfattningar och attityder till undervisning inom detta ämnesområde. Studien bygger på en kombination av kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoder där intervjuer genomfördes med ämneslärare och enkäter distribuerades till både lärare och vårdnadshavare. Insamlade data analyseras för att belysa gemensamma teman, utmaningar och möjligheter för en framgångsrik implementering av undervisningen. Resultatet visar att de flesta ämneslärare inte har fått utbildning eller fortbildning för att undervisa sexualitet, samtycke och relationer, samt att vårdnadshavare inte visste om de nya riktlinjerna i Lgr22. Slutsatsen är att ämneslärare behöver mer fortbildning och att kommunikationen mellan skolan och vårdnadshavare behöver förbättras.

The aim of this qualitative study was to examine how women’s shelter staff understand the phenomenon post-separation violence and how they experience the work with women exposed to post-separation violence by a former male partner. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted with women’s shelter staff in central Sweden. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis and feminist theory was used as a theoretical framework. The findings suggest that the staff perceive post-separation violence as continuing despite the woman leaving the relationship and that the violence changes character and escalates. The staff worked according to a woman-to-woman logic and their work was based on the women’s needs, including need of counselling. The staff experienced their work as frustrating and challenging when the laws and guidelines of the authorities can become contradictory. One possible improvement is to change the laws that enables violence.

In light of the fact that the National Board of Health and Welfare highlights social work's ignorance of eating disorders, this study delves into expert discourses on the subject, which play a crucial role in how eating disorders are talked about and viewed. The purpose of the study is to identify and analyze expert discourses on eating disorders in the podcast Ätstörningspodden and the “truths” they produce about eating disorders, as well as to examine the role and positioning of social work within the field of eating disorder treatment. Bacchi's discourse-analytic WPR approach and Foucault's theory of power and knowledge were used to identify and analyse the discourses. The results and analysis shows that representations of eating disorders are primarily rooted in biomedical discourses, which has implications for social work. The national guidelines highlight ignorance of eating disorders, but this study points to a need to highlight social work's unique contribution, including the importance of preventive work.

In this qualitative scoping review we interpret refugees' experiences of entering the Swedish labor market through a thematic analysis of published research, focusing on opportunities and challenges they may face throughout the process. We examine nine articles describing qualitative studies carried out in Sweden in which refugees are interviewed on their experiences. Resilience and motivation among refugees are common factors as they try to adjust to a new society. Despite governmental interventions such as the Swedish integration programme the findings indicate that the integration process in the labor market is complex. Refugees face significant barriers such as: a lack of individualized support; a lack of recognition of earlier qualifications; discrimination and structural barriers. The findings from this study deepen our understanding of refugees’ integration process while also highlighting the importance of individualized and tailored support that is aligned with the refugees’ needs.

Studien har sin utgångspunkt i att undersöka hur lärare i årskurserna 4–6 arbetar med handstil inom svenskundervisningen och vilka möjligheter elever har för att utveckla en tydlig handstil. Detta har undersökts genom att intervjua tre lärare som undervisar på mellanstadiet samt den klass de undervisar. Eleverna i dessa klasser har genomfört och svarat på en enkät. Resultatet visar att förutsättningarna för att eleverna ska utveckla en handstil är olika beroende på vilken lärare som undervisar. Det har sin utgångspunkt i hur mycket läraren värdesätter handstilen samt hur mycket tid som de är villiga att ge eleverna detta skrivsätt. Studien har därmed också kretsat kring handstilens motsats digitalt skrivande. Studien visar också att digitalt skrivande öppnar upp nya möjligheter för elevernas skrivande och underlättar anpassningar i klassrummet. Däremot arbetar lärarna olika kring kontrasten mellan digitalt skrivande och handstil, vilket ger eleverna olika möjligheter. Eleverna i studien anser att digitalt skrivande är ”roligare” och att skriva för hand kan ”bli jobbigt efter en stund”. Slutsatsen av studien är att elever i årskurs 4–6 har möjlighet att utveckla sin handstil, däremot olika mycket beroende vilket lärare som undervisar och hur de värdesätter handstilen. Lärarna i studien fokuserar på att elevernas handstil ska bli ”läslig” men anser att tiden inte finns vilket gör att möjligheten att utveckla en tydlig handstil inte är fullt möjligt. 

BACKGROUND: Informal caregiving is a crucial-albeit often invisible-part of the support system that enables older people with chronic diseases, disability, or age-related conditions to live in the community. However, providing informal care can affect caregivers' lives.

AIMS: To explore 1) the level of care intensity among older caregivers, 2) the relationship between the intensity of caregiving and the negative experiences reported by caregivers, and 3) the variations in unmet support needs depending on the intensity of caregiving.

METHODS: Between May and September 2023, we conducted a national representative survey to map informal caregivers in Sweden. A total of 25,776 older adults aged ⩾65 years were sampled. Marginal probabilities were calculated to obtain results adjusted for age, sex, and level of education.

RESULTS: A total of 15,129 people aged ⩾65 years responded to the survey (58.7%), of which 2157 were informal caregivers (14.3%). During a typical week, 68.6% of caregivers provided 1-10 h of informal care, 14.6% provided 11-29 h, and 16.8% provided at least 30 h of care. Women (63.1%) and caregivers aged ⩾75 years (64.1%) were overrepresented in the group providing high-intensity informal care. A higher intensity of care was related to reporting more negative experiences and worse health, as well as to experiencing more unmet support needs.

CONCLUSIONS: While most older informal caregivers reported low-intensity engagement and overall good satisfaction with their situation, a non-negligible fraction provides high-intensity help and has unmet needs that should be addressed by targeted interventions rather than one-size-fits-all policies.

Functional bowel and bladder disorders are prevalent among children. In 2019 our research group launched the BABITT study (Bowel and Bladder function in Infant Toilet Training), a randomized intervention study to investigate whether introduction to assisted infant toilet training reduces the prevalence of functional bowel and bladder disorders in children up to 4 years of age. Diagnostic criteria for gastrointestinal disorders are defined by the ROME Foundation, while the International Children’s Continence Society (ICCS) provides definitions of functional bladder disorders. Preceding the larger ongoing BABITT study, the aim of this present observational study is to construct, assess content validity and evaluate feasibility of a questionnaire for parent report.

METHODS: A web-based questionnaire was developed in three consecutive steps. In Step 1, the questionnaire was outlined based on literature review and expert panel discussions. In Step 2, the questionnaire was validated for relevance and simplicity by content validity index (CVI) using 4-point Likert scales. With dichotomized data, an index level ≥ 0.78 was considered as acceptable. In Step 3, the respondent burden was analysed and a pilot phase allowed for evaluation of feasibility in the clinical study setting.

RESULTS: In Step 1, the Rome IV criteria and ICCS frameworks were selected for items comprising the primary outcomes in the BABITT study. After the final assessment round in Step 2, the item-level content validity index (I-CVI) was excellent, ranging from 0.88 to 1.00 in most items, in all domains, for both relevance and simplicity. In the pilot phase Step 3, the response rate was 95% and the parents' acceptance of replying to the questionnaire was satisfactory.

CONCLUSION: A web-based questionnaire was developed to evaluate parent-reported bladder and bowel function in children who are introduced to assisted infant toilet training. The BABITT questionnaire emerged as valid and feasible in its context.

INTRODUCTION: Participatory, emergent, and reflective approaches are needed in research on person-centred integrated care. This paper describes and explores the process of developing a complex care transition intervention for stroke survivors, along with the lessons learned.

DESCRIPTION: This study concerns the Missing Link project, which aimed to develop and evaluate a care transition intervention from hospital to home. The care transition was developed according to the Medical Research Council (MRC) Framework and included studies on context, co-design workshops, and prototype development.

DISCUSSION: The development process faced challenges relating to understanding the emergence within the studied context and the complex adaptive systems. We failed to have a continuous and sustained involvement of healthcare professionals, patients, and significant others during the different phases of the project. Hence, a lack of shared understanding is conceivable as the emergence might have been interpreted and understood differently by the actors.

CONCLUSION: Challenges in achieving shared understanding throughout the project underline the importance of investing in relationship building, meaningful interaction, and continuous feedback loops. While the MRC framework provides guidance for developing complex interventions, the phased approach may only partially capture the emergence and self-organisation within complex adaptive systems.

BACKGROUND: Bangladesh continues to grapple with a persistently high infant mortality rate, currently at 38 deaths per 1,000 live births. Adolescent pregnancy poses significant health risks for both mothers and infants globally, yet its specific impact on infant mortality in Bangladesh remains underexplored. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the association between adolescent pregnancy and infant mortality in Bangladesh.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study analyzed data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2017-18, focusing on 8,759 infants born to women aged 15-49 years. Adolescent pregnancies were categorized into four groups: <16 years, 16-17 years, 18-19 years, and >19 years. Potential covariates included sociodemographic factors (mothers' age, fathers' occupation, religion), contextual factors (place of delivery, access to media and technology), and healthcare utilization (antenatal and postnatal care). Bivariate logistic regression assessed associations between adolescent pregnancy and infant mortality, presenting adjusted odds ratios (AOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) while controlling for these covariates.

RESULTS: The mean age of mothers at first birth was 18.53 years. Among the 8,759 infants studied, 328 (3.74%) died before reaching 12 months of age. Infants born to mothers younger than 16 years initially showed higher odds of mortality (AOR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.05-2.01); this association persisted even after adjusting for sociodemographic and contextual factors (AOR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.01-1.96). However, after controlling for healthcare utilization, the relationship was no longer statistically significant (AOR: 1.06, 95% CI: 0.56-1.99).

CONCLUSIONS: Delaying childbirth from adolescence to adulthood may reduce infant mortality in Bangladesh. However, adolescent pregnancy alone does not increase infant mortality risk after accounting for healthcare utilization, such as antenatal and postnatal care. Improving access to quality healthcare is crucial for lowering infant mortality. Future cohort studies are needed to better understand the relationship between maternal age and infant health outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to explore women's experiences of societal support during and after prostitution in Sweden. By analyzing the autobiographies of four women about their experiences of prostitution, both positive and negative aspects of the support they received from various societal actors emerged. The key findings from the study showed the importance of a non-judgmental, empathetic, and supportive reception, which has often been crucial for the women to feel comfortable sharing their experiences. The results also showed how negative experiences prevent women’s ability to receive adequate support. The study has a qualitative approach, and a thematic analysis was used to analyze the data material. The study emphasizes the need for increased knowledge and awareness among professionals to better meet the needs of women with experiences of prostitution.

The aim of the study was to increase understanding of how violence became an integral part of the everyday lives of women in violent relationships. The study applied a qualitative thematic analysis of autobiographies, in which women shared their experiences of violence from male partners. The main findings revealed that the normalization process played a central role in women remaining in violent relationships. At the same time, societal power structures contributed to men justifying their power and control over women. Digital violence allowed women to be constantly subjected to abuse and control. The conclusion emphasized the importance of social work developing a deeper understanding of the complex situations faced by women who were victims of violence in order to provide appropriate support and assistance. This was particularly relevant as digitalization was changing the nature of violence and expanding its reach.

Informal carers in paid work are known as working carers (WKCs). This combination of care and work is particular to them, and their support needs may differ from other informal carers. This exploratory study describes the caregiving-related factors associated with experiencing caregiving as demanding and a decreased ability to work in WKCs. The Swedish National Carer Survey was conducted in a stratified random sample (N = 30,009) of the population (>= 18 years) between October 2018 and January 2019. Of 11,168 respondents, 818 (7.32%) met the study criteria for WKCs, i.e. they provide informal care to another person on a regular basis, and they work full time. Almost half (49.3%) of WKCs report experiencing caregiving as demanding, while 40.4% indicated that their ability to work had been reduced due to providing informal care. Two ordinal logistic regression models were developed, one each for caregiving is demanding and ability to work is decreased. Psychological stress and financial problems caused by caregiving increased the odds of both experiencing caregiving as demanding and having one’s ability to work decrease, while finding caregiving satisfying decreased the odds of both. Further research is needed to establish how caregiving-related factors affect WKCs in both their care and working roles.

Bakgrund: Hög fysisk belastning är en av de främsta arbetsrelaterade orsakerna till problem i rörelseorganen, funktionsnedsättningar och sjukskrivningar. Riskfaktorerna för arbetsrelaterade belastningssjukdomar är väl kända och innefattar tunga lyft, repetitiva rörelser och obekväma arbetsställningar. Organisatoriska och sociala faktorer i arbetsmiljön har också en betydande inverkan på riskerna. För att kunna identifiera relevanta åtgärder för att minska risken för belastningsskador hos anställda, krävs en riskbedömning av den fysiska belastningen. Att objektivt och kvantitativt mäta belastningen har tidigare varit praktiskt svårt och tillförlitligheten hos subjektiva observationer och expertbedömningar har visat sig vara låg. Smarta arbetskläder är en relativt ny metod för att kvantifiera fysisk belastning under arbete. Tekniken består av ett trådlöst system som automatiskt samlar in, analyserar och riskbedömer belastningar i överkroppen via en t-shirt med integrerade sensorer som mäter vinklar och rörelser i överarmar och rygg. Metoden ger säkrare resultat och är mindre tidskrävande jämfört med traditionella bedömningar av fysisk belastning och den kräver inte tillgång till tränad expertis för bedömningarna. I Sverige finns ca 425 ridklubbar som bedriver ridskoleverksamhet. Ridskolornas anläggningar har ofta låg mekaniseringsgrad och stallarbetet utförs vanligtvis manuellt och kännetecknas av tungt, ensidigt arbete och besvärliga arbetsställningar. Trots att det är känt att anställda på ridskolor har en hög förekomst av belastningsbesvär, främst i axlar, ländrygg och nacke, är riskexponering, arbetsrelaterade skador/sjukskrivningar samt förebyggande åtgärder för denna yrkesgrupp ännu relativt outforskat.

Syfte: Syftet med studien är dels att utvärdera användbarheten av en metod med en smart tröja för att kvantitativt mäta arbetsställningar, dels att öka kunskapen om arbetsställningar och belastning samt relaterade riskfaktorer hos yrkesverksamma på ridskolor.

Metod: I studien har 8 ridskolor ingått, som representerar olika grad av mekanisering och organisering av arbetet. Datainsamlingen inkluderar kvantitativa mätningar av arbetsställningar och rörelsehastighet för bål och överarmar samt av puls med hjälp av en smart tröja (Wergonic). Systemet kan med hjälp av algoritmer och vetenskapligt framtagna rekommenderade gränsvärden ge en riskbedömning för en hel arbetsdag. Parallellt med dessa mätningar har forskarna gjort observationer av arbetsmoment och forskningspersonerna har fått skatta sin ansträngning i olika arbetsmoment enligt Borgs RPE-skala. Efter varje arbetsdag fick forskningspersonerna skatta sin stress- och energinivå. De ridskoleanställda har fått svara på frågeformuläret COPSOQ, som bidrar till en förståelse för respektive arbetsplats organisatoriska och sociala arbetsmiljö.

Resultat: Analysen av data är pågående och avser att beskriva arbetsställningar och riskexponering hos ridskoleanställda under olika arbetsuppgifter och över hela dagar. Resultatet kommer relateras det till deltagarnas upplevda arbetsförmåga, arbetstempo och fysiska ansträngning. Data inkluderar 44 personer och 75 heldagsmätningar. En preliminär analys för rygg och överarmar indikerar att urvalsgruppen generellt sett låg inom acceptabla ergonomiska gränsvärden, även om vissa risker kan ses. Resultatet för enskilda personer belyser individuella avvikelser vilket, trots acceptabla genomsnittliga nivåer, understryker vikten av riktade insatser för att effektivt hantera risker för specifika individer.

Bakgrund: Det är väl känt att en hälsosam och säker arbetsmiljö med anständiga arbetsvillkor är avgörande för både individers hälsa och välbefinnande som för företags och organisationers framgång. Ett systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete är tillsammans med delaktighet och inflytande två viktiga utgångspunkter för att skapa attraktiva, hälsosamma och hållbara arbetsmiljöer och för att främja verksamhetsutveckling. Dessutom är det en lagstadgad skyldighet genom arbetsmiljölagen (SFS 1977:1160) som bland annat föreskriver kraven på ett systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete (AFS 2023:1). Forskning har dock visat på dålig efterlevnad och uppföljning vad gäller det systematiska arbetsmiljöarbetet. Vidare verkar införandet av lagar och regler inte vara tillräckligt för att påverka medarbetarnas aktiva deltagande i arbetsmiljöarbetet. Flera studier har i stället visat på att motivation har en avgörande roll för medarbetarnas följsamhet till rutiner och riktlinjer samt engagemang och deltagande i arbetsmiljöarbete. 

Arbetsmiljöproblemen som finns inom svensk hästnäring är förhållandevis välkända. Däremot var kunskapen om effektiva praktiska metoder och verktyg och tillämpningen av dessa för att uppnå ett framgångsrikt systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete bristfällig. Resultatet bygger på erfarenheter från två avslutade forskningsprojekt; Förbättrad arbetsmiljö inom hästnäringen genom nya metoder och verktyg (2018–2022) och Säker hästnäringen (2020–2023).

Syfte: Det övergripande syftet med projektet var att öka kunskapen om hur ett långsiktigt förebyggande och systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete praktiskt kan integreras och vara kontinuerligt fungerande inom den svenska hästnäringen.

Metod: En interventionsstudie på sex ridskolor och sex travstall med det specifika syftet att utveckla och utvärdera metoder och verktyg för systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete anpassat för hästnäringens behov, med särskilt fokus på att främja motivation. Datan samlades in genom enkäter, observationer och semistrukturerade intervjuer både med medarbetare och chefer. 

Resultat: Projekten gav insikter om framgångsfaktorer för ett hållbart arbetsmiljöarbete, där de viktigare var medarbetarnas motivation och delaktighet, kunniga och intresserade chefer, en tillåtande kultur med en öppenhet till förändring samt tillräckliga resurser i form av personal, tid, ekonomi, och utrustning. Resultatet visade även på att det fanns ett signifikant samband mellan ett fungerande systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete, enligt de bestämmelser som finns framskrivna i föreskriften, och en hög grad av motivation för arbetsmiljöarbete bland medarbetarna. Det kan förstås som att ett systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete är ett användbart arbetssätt för att öka medarbetarnas engagemang och motivation för arbetsmiljöförbättrande åtgärder. Likväl är medarbetarnas delaktighet helt avgörande för utfallet av det systematiska arbetsmiljöarbetet. 

Projektet resulterade i några användbara och uppskattade metoder och arbetssätt för att öka motivation för och kunskaper om arbetsmiljöarbete, exempelvis Visit, SAM-pusslet och Ergonomiplanschen. Metoderna, som utgår från Arbetsmiljöverkets föreskrifter och allmänna råd om systematiskt arbetsmiljöarbete (AFS 2023:1) och Belastningsergonomi (AFS 2012:2), är lättillgängliga, enkla att använda för praktiken och anpassade till branschens förutsättningar.

Ett intressant resultat var att de arbetsplatser som lyckats med sitt arbetsmiljöarbete inte exakt följde det som föreskrifterna kräver (exempelvis vad gäller dokumentation, skriftliga rutiner och riskbedömningar). De hittade andra arbetssätt som passade deras verksamheter. Framgångsfaktorer var istället att arbetsmiljöarbetet genomsyrade hela verksamheten och involverade alla medarbetare.

SUMMATIVE STATEMENT: 

The work environment in the equine sector has been described as labor-intensive with physical, mental, and emotional strain. Furthermore, stable work includes hazardous postural work exposure and studies have shown a high prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms for employees at Swedish riding schools. The objective of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of a novel method using smart workwear to measure and to quantitatively describe postural exposure during work with horses. The over-all aim is to increase the knowledge of the postural exposure and related risk factors in the equine sector to reduce hazardous exposure, which should decrease musculoskeletal disorders and work-related sick leave.

PROBLEM STATEMENT: 

Globally, the costs of work-related illnesses and accidents are estimated to be 4 percent of a country's gross domestic product annually. For Sweden, this corresponds to approximately SEK 164 billion. Physical strain is one of the most common work-related causes of musculoskeletal disorders, functional impairments, and sick leave. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders can occur when the body is exposed to repetitive movements, heavy lifting, hazardous work postures and/or vibrations. Even though the risk factors are known, too many people still work in unhealthy work conditions that put them at risk of work-related disorders and illnesses.

Employees in the Swedish equine sector is an important empirical setting for exploring and describing postural work exposure and ergonomics. Much of the work tasks in horse stables are still performed manually with old-fashioned equipment and methods. Thus, the work in horse stables continues to involve heavy lifting, awkward work postures, and repetitive work, all identified risk factors for developing musculoskeletal disorders, and studies have shown a high prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints for employees at riding schools.

Over the years, risk assessment methods have been developed and improved. However, these have been largely based on observation, something that has hampered reliability and credibility of the results. Technical measurements have previously been too complicated and resource-demanding for practical usage. With smart work clothes, measuring postural work exposure throughout working days at the workplaces should be easier.

OBJECTIVE/QUESTION: 

The overall aim is to increase the knowledge of postural exposure and related risk factors in the equine sector to reduce hazardous exposure, which could reduce musculoskeletal symptoms and work-related sick leave within horse-related occupations in the long run. By enabling simple objective full-day registrations of, e.g., back and arm angles, during the performance of different activities, specific measures to reduce exposure can likely be identified and evaluated.

The specific aims of this study are to 1) evaluate the usefulness of a novel method to measure and quantitatively describe postural exposure during work, 2) map the work postures and hazardous postural exposure, in different work tasks, for employees in riding schools, and 3) relate the work postures and hazardous postural exposure to factors related to the physical work environment (e.g., mechanization and tools) and the organizational and social work environment (e.g., management, stress, and variation in work).

METHODOLOGY: 

The study will be conducted in 8-10 riding schools, and it will include approximately 40 employees involved in stable work. The riding schools have been selected to represent a range of technically advanced facilities and variations in work organization. The participants will be asked to answer the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ), a validated questionnaire covering questions about e.g., organization and content of work, relationships, leadership, health and well-being. Full-day postural exposure will be registered for all participants using a technical measurement system, the Smart Workwear System (Wergonic). The Smart Workwear System is designed as a t-shirt with embedded pockets where inertial measurement units (IMUs) are placed. The t-shirt can be worn comfortably during the whole workday while registering the arms and trunk angles. In parallel, the participants will wear sensors for heart rate measurements. The researchers will registrate work task durations during the workday as well as stress rates and perceived physical exertion.

RESULTS:

The data collection is ongoing, and preliminary results will be presented and discussed at the conference. The result intends to describe working postures and postural exposure of riding school employees during various work tasks, the full-day exposure, and variation over the day, and relate it to the participants’ perceived work ability, work pace, and physical exertion. The project is also expected to indicate associations between the organizational and social work environment and the physical work environment. The results will aid in identifying potential measures to improve the work environment and thereby, thereby, the health and well-being of equine professionals. Since limited research has been conducted on this subject, it is important to disseminate the results to other researchers nationally and internationally. The results will be relevant to multiple sectors as the novel method to measure work postures can be used in any context.

Varje dag tar vi alla ställning i frågor som baseras på naturvetenskaplig kunskap. Det kan handla om små frågor som relaterar till väderleksprognoser och huruvida däcken skall bytas eller inte? Det kan handla om stora frågor som att ta ställning i vaccination-, klimat- och hållbarhetsfrågor. I dessa ställningstaganden är det av betydelse att ha med sig en förståelse från skolan av vad som är karaktäristiskt för naturvetenskaplig kunskap. Denna studie belyser vikten av att lärare kopplar samman ett undersökande arbetssätt och naturvetenskapens karaktär för att nå målet att utveckla elevers helhetsbild av naturvetenskap. Syftet med denna studie var att skapa förståelse för hur lärare kopplar samman naturvetenskapens karaktär och undersökande arbetssätt i NO-undervisningen i årskurs 1–3. För att besvara syftet genomfördes tio kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med verksamma lärare i årskurserna 1–3. Resultatet visar att två av informanterna kopplar samman naturvetenskapens karaktär och undersökande arbetssätt, genom att använda sig av reflektion eller systematiska arbetssätt och begrepp. Studiens resultat visar även att samtliga intervjuade informanter, aktivt undervisar sina elever i NO-undervisningen med hjälp av undersökande arbetssätt. En slutsats från denna studie är att lärare med lätthet beskriver ett undersökande arbetssätt men att begreppet naturvetenskapens karaktär inte låter sig beskrivas med lätthet. Ytterligare en slutsats är att studien stärker uppfattningen av att det är viktigt att teori och praktik kopplas samman för ett optimalt lärande.

Simulation-based education is commonly used in undergraduate training but has gained increased utilization in postgraduate education. Ambulance nursing programs struggle to provide suitable simulations, as ambulance care can involve any possible situation. Simulation-based education in ambulance nursing programs commonly includes basic assessment and treatment of various conditions. However, there seems to be a lack of knowledge regarding students’ experience of simulating pediatric emergency care in an ambulance care setting. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore specialist nursing students’ experiences of simulating pediatric emergency care in an ambulance care setting. A qualitative design was deployed, utilizing field notes, individual and group interviews to capture the students’ experiences. The results show that students immerse themselves in the simulations when the environment and facilitators support this. The simulation can elicit both emotional and physical responses among the students. Students gain insights into their knowledge deficit regarding certain topics, such as pediatric emergency care, as well as the rules and regulations governing what they are allowed to do for a child’s safety and well-being. During simulation, students understand the importance of using adequate communication and recognize that there might be several aspects influencing this. Finally, the students gain insight into their emotional and behavioral responses when encountering patients and relatives in situations that conflict with their own views. In conclusion, simulation-based education can be a useful pedagogical tool if barriers to immersion are reduced. It can provide students with insights into their emotional and behavioral responses when encountering unexpected events. If properly discussed in debriefing sessions, these matters lead to increased learning that students can carry with them into their future careers. However, more research is needed on the feasibility of this kind of simulation in the ambulance nurse education setting.

This thesis is concerned with the study of sustainable mobility in rural tourism areas. In particular, it aims to: i) contribute to a better understanding of the transport challenges faced by rural tourism areas; and ii) explore how to plan for sustainable mobility in such places. The overarching research question that has guided this investigation is as follows: How can rural tourism regions promote sustainable mobility? To achieve the aim of this thesis, two main aspects of sustainable mobility are addressed. Firstly, by incorporating perspectives from various stakeholder groups, including tourists, residents, second-home owners and practitioners involved in transport planning, the study seeks to gain a comprehensive understanding of transportation challenges and the travel practices of the various groups. Secondly, the thesis explores how Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) – a rarely-used participatory land use planning method in tourism studies - can aid in sustainable mobility planning. The thesis draws from several concepts and a theory. The concepts include monomodalism, car dependency, wicked problems, (un)desirable transport futures, automobility and public participation in planning processes. The theory is that of social representation. The thesis is based on a case study approach, focusing on four selected locations in Sweden: Sälen; Malung-Sälen; Älvdalen; and Åre. These locations are prominent rural tourism regions that face significant transport-related challenges for which they seek to implement sustainable solutions. A mixed-methods approach is employed, integrating both qualitative and quantitative techniques to address the objectives outlined in the five papers that make up the thesis. The findings of the thesis collectively show that the main challenge to sustainable mobility in rural tourism regions is one that can be termed a crisis of uncontested poly-challenges. In other words, these regions simultaneously face a conundrum of transport challenges, including the hegemony of the private car coupled with poor public transport services as well as a shortage of policy frameworks for developing sustainable mobility. In addition, the regions included in this study have historically been marginalised when it comes to transport planning research and policy, a situation which further exacerbates their peripheral position with regard to promoting sustainable mobility. This thesis makes a theoretical contribution to the fields of tourism and transport research. It does so by applying contemporary concepts in sustainability discussions and social representation theory to inform our understanding of transport challenges. Furthermore, by investigating the potential of the PPGIS method as a tool for sustainable rural mobility planning and how to design effective PPGIS studies for such planning, this thesis makes a methodological and practical contribution to the fields.

I denna studie undersöks lågstadielärare uppfattningar om konkret material i problemlösning och vilka faktorer som lärarna uppfattar påverkar deras val att använda konkret material för undervisning i problemlösning. Studien bygger på en fenomenografisk ansats där åtta lågstadielärare intervjuats om deras uppfattningar om konkret material, problemlösning och konkret material i problemlösning. Urvalet av lärare grundades i att de undervisar, eller har undervisat, i matematik för årskurs två och tre. Resultatet visar att de uppfattningar lågstadielärarna har påverkar hur de väljer att använda konkret material och problemlösning i sin undervisning.

Sedan 1992 har forskare Centrum för civilsamhällesforskning vid Marie Cederschiöld högskola genomfört befolkningsundersökningar för att följa utvecklingen av ideellt arbete och andra former av engagemang. Denna rapport presenterar resultaten från den sjunde undersökningen som genomfördes 2024 vilken är central del av vår forskning om det svenska civilsamhället. Resultaten erbjuder en unik inblick i civilsamhällets mest värdefulla resurs – de ideella krafterna.

Denna första delrapport från den sjunde undersökningen fokuserar på ideellt arbete. Här analyseras omfattningen av och förändringarna i ideellt arbete sedan tidigt 1990-tal och undersöker faktorer som kan förklara varför medborgare engagerar sig ideellt. Rapporten belyser även skillnader i hur ideellt arbete utövas i städer jämfört med på landsbygden.

Background: Accurate assessments of current and future fertility—including overall trends and changing population age structures across countries and regions—are essential to help plan for the profound social, economic, environmental, and geopolitical challenges that these changes will bring. Estimates and projections of fertility are necessary to inform policies involving resource and health-care needs, labour supply, education, gender equality, and family planning and support. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 produced up-to-date and comprehensive demographic assessments of key fertility indicators at global, regional, and national levels from 1950 to 2021 and forecast fertility metrics to 2100 based on a reference scenario and key policy-dependent alternative scenarios. Methods: To estimate fertility indicators from 1950 to 2021, mixed-effects regression models and spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression were used to synthesise data from 8709 country-years of vital and sample registrations, 1455 surveys and censuses, and 150 other sources, and to generate age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) for 5-year age groups from age 10 years to 54 years. ASFRs were summed across age groups to produce estimates of total fertility rate (TFR). Livebirths were calculated by multiplying ASFR and age-specific female population, then summing across ages 10–54 years. To forecast future fertility up to 2100, our Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) forecasting model was based on projections of completed cohort fertility at age 50 years (CCF50; the average number of children born over time to females from a specified birth cohort), which yields more stable and accurate measures of fertility than directly modelling TFR. CCF50 was modelled using an ensemble approach in which three sub-models (with two, three, and four covariates variously consisting of female educational attainment, contraceptive met need, population density in habitable areas, and under-5 mortality) were given equal weights, and analyses were conducted utilising the MR-BRT (meta-regression—Bayesian, regularised, trimmed) tool. To capture time-series trends in CCF50 not explained by these covariates, we used a first-order autoregressive model on the residual term. CCF50 as a proportion of each 5-year ASFR was predicted using a linear mixed-effects model with fixed-effects covariates (female educational attainment and contraceptive met need) and random intercepts for geographical regions. Projected TFRs were then computed for each calendar year as the sum of single-year ASFRs across age groups. The reference forecast is our estimate of the most likely fertility future given the model, past fertility, forecasts of covariates, and historical relationships between covariates and fertility. We additionally produced forecasts for multiple alternative scenarios in each location: the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for education is achieved by 2030; the contraceptive met need SDG is achieved by 2030; pro-natal policies are enacted to create supportive environments for those who give birth; and the previous three scenarios combined. Uncertainty from past data inputs and model estimation was propagated throughout analyses by taking 1000 draws for past and present fertility estimates and 500 draws for future forecasts from the estimated distribution for each metric, with 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs) given as the 2·5 and 97·5 percentiles of the draws. To evaluate the forecasting performance of our model and others, we computed skill values—a metric assessing gain in forecasting accuracy—by comparing predicted versus observed ASFRs from the past 15 years (2007–21). A positive skill metric indicates that the model being evaluated performs better than the baseline model (here, a simplified model holding 2007 values constant in the future), and a negative metric indicates that the evaluated model performs worse than baseline. Findings: During the period from 1950 to 2021, global TFR more than halved, from 4·84 (95% UI 4·63–5·06) to 2·23 (2·09–2·38). Global annual livebirths peaked in 2016 at 142 million (95% UI 137–147), declining to 129 million (121–138) in 2021. Fertility rates declined in all countries and territories since 1950, with TFR remaining above 2·1—canonically considered replacement-level fertility—in 94 (46·1%) countries and territories in 2021. This included 44 of 46 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which was the super-region with the largest share of livebirths in 2021 (29·2% [28·7–29·6]). 47 countries and territories in which lowest estimated fertility between 1950 and 2021 was below replacement experienced one or more subsequent years with higher fertility; only three of these locations rebounded above replacement levels. Future fertility rates were projected to continue to decline worldwide, reaching a global TFR of 1·83 (1·59–2·08) in 2050 and 1·59 (1·25–1·96) in 2100 under the reference scenario. The number of countries and territories with fertility rates remaining above replacement was forecast to be 49 (24·0%) in 2050 and only six (2·9%) in 2100, with three of these six countries included in the 2021 World Bank-defined low-income group, all located in the GBD super-region of sub-Saharan Africa. The proportion of livebirths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa was forecast to increase to more than half of the world's livebirths in 2100, to 41·3% (39·6–43·1) in 2050 and 54·3% (47·1–59·5) in 2100. The share of livebirths was projected to decline between 2021 and 2100 in most of the six other super-regions—decreasing, for example, in south Asia from 24·8% (23·7–25·8) in 2021 to 16·7% (14·3–19·1) in 2050 and 7·1% (4·4–10·1) in 2100—but was forecast to increase modestly in the north Africa and Middle East and high-income super-regions. Forecast estimates for the alternative combined scenario suggest that meeting SDG targets for education and contraceptive met need, as well as implementing pro-natal policies, would result in global TFRs of 1·65 (1·40–1·92) in 2050 and 1·62 (1·35–1·95) in 2100. The forecasting skill metric values for the IHME model were positive across all age groups, indicating that the model is better than the constant prediction. Interpretation: Fertility is declining globally, with rates in more than half of all countries and territories in 2021 below replacement level. Trends since 2000 show considerable heterogeneity in the steepness of declines, and only a small number of countries experienced even a slight fertility rebound after their lowest observed rate, with none reaching replacement level. Additionally, the distribution of livebirths across the globe is shifting, with a greater proportion occurring in the lowest-income countries. Future fertility rates will continue to decline worldwide and will remain low even under successful implementation of pro-natal policies. These changes will have far-reaching economic and societal consequences due to ageing populations and declining workforces in higher-income countries, combined with an increasing share of livebirths among the already poorest regions of the world. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license