TIPping the Scales towards Greater Employment Chances? Evaluation of a Trial Introduction Program (TIP) for Newly-Arrived Immigrants Based on Random Program Assignment

A Trial Introduction Program (TIP) for newly-arrived immigrants to Sweden was implemented from October 2006 to June 2008 in order to meet the main criticisms directed at existing introduction programs. Two primary innovations were introduced, flexible language instruction parallel with other labor market activities at the Public Employment Service (PES) and intensive counseling and coaching by PES caseworkers with considerably reduced caseloads. Within participating municipalities, newly-arrived immigrants were randomly assigned into TIP (treatment) or regular introduction programs (control). Results indicate significant treatment effects on the probability of attaining regular employment as well as the probability of entering intermediate PES training programs. Hazard rates into PES training programs were also significantly higher for participants in TIP in comparison to participants in regular introduction programs.labor market policy evaluation, integration, introduction programs, experiment

TIPping the Scales towards Greater Employment Chances? Evaluation of a Trial Introduction Program (TIP) for Newly-Arrived Immigrants based on Random Program Assignment

A Trial Introduction Program (TIP) for newly-arrived immigrants to Sweden was implemented from October 2006 to June 2008 in order to meet the main criticisms directed at existing introduction programs. Two primary innovations were introduced, flexible language instruction parallel with other labor market activities at the Public Employment Service (PES) and intensive counseling and coaching by PES caseworkers with considerably reduced caseloads. Within participating municipalities, newly-arrived immigrants were randomly assigned into TIP (treatment) or regular introduction programs (control). Results indicate significant treatment effects on the probability of attaining regular employment as well as the probability of entering intermediate PES training programs. Hazard rates into PES training programs were also significantly higher for participants in TIP in comparison to participants in regular introduction programs.Labor Market Policy Evaluation; Integration; Introduction Programs; Experiment

Konsumenter om märken på mat

Miljöproblemen har blivit alltmer komplexa och en mängd olika budskap riktas till konsumenterna i deras val av mat. En rik flora av märkningar används för att informera om miljöriktiga och klimatsmarta inköp. En synpunkt som kom fram i samband med de konsumentundersökningar som publicerats i tidigare faktablad kring frukt, grönsaker och potatis var att konsumenten har svårt att skilja mellan olika budskap och märkningar som finns på frukt och grönt och på livsmedel i allmänhet. I detta faktablad presenteras en enkätstudie med syfte att testa konsumenters intresse för och kännedom om märken, logotyper, som förekommer på den svenska marknaden, med fokus på miljömärkningen. Produktmärkningar på livsmedel är viktiga för konsumenterna i studien. Resultatet visar också att kännedomen och kunskapen om miljömärkningen är relativt låg, med undantag för KRAV, som de flesta känner till. Sju av tio säger sig veta vad KRAV står för, men när frågan ställs direkt till ett trettiotal av konsumenterna kan knappt hälften ge en godtagbar definition. Trots en hög igenkänningsgrad är kunskapen relativt låg om Änglamark, som har angivist som Sveriges grönaste varumärke. Sju av tio känner till Svenskt Sigill men knappt tre av tio tror sig veta vad det står för och få kan ge en egen godtagbar beskrivning. Det råder en viss förvirring kring nuvarande märkning och man blandar ihop miljömärken, hälsomärken och etisk märkning. Nyckelhålet är ett framgångsrikt hälsomärke och två tredjedelar känner också till ICA Gott liv. Fair Trade känns igen av knappt sex av tio. Dagligvaruhandeln skulle kunna vägleda konsumenten till klimatsmarta livsmedelsval genom olika kommunikationsmedel och i studien anger en majoritet att det vore bra med ett märke som graderar i stället för att certifiera. Konsumenterna tittar lika mycket på innehållsförteckningar som på märken. Ett alternativ till logotyper och ”trafikljus” är innehållsdeklarationer med mer detaljerad information om produktionsmetoder och miljöeffekter. Detta förutsätter att det finns objektiv information som konsumenten kan tolka. Även om mer information alltid antas vara bra kan man ändå ställa sig frågan om konsumenterna inte till sist går efter relativt enkla signaler. Det finns en stor tilltro till deras förmåga att fatta rationella beslut baserade på den information som märkningen kommunicerar, inte minst bland avsändarna till de olika märkena. Dessa kan förhoppningsvis finna resultaten intressanta i sitt strategiska utvecklingsarbete. Den utbredda okunskap som resultaten visar på aktualiserar också frågan om statens roll i samband med informationsspridning och produktmärkning

Effect of delayed versus early umbilical cord clamping on neonatal outcomes and iron status at 4 months: a randomised controlled trial

Objective To investigate the effects of delayed umbilical cord clamping, compared with early clamping, on infant iron status at 4 months of age in a European setting

Svenska konsumenters attityd till potatis : möjligheter för potatisbranschen

Until the sixties potatoes have had a unthreatened position at the Swedish dining tables, but then different alternatives such as rice and pasta have become popular. In 2005 the Swedish potato-consumption have more than hafted compared with the sixties, we have gone from circa 90 to 40 kilograms per person and year. This paper aims to provide those who are involved within the potatoe business with an overview of the attitude and behaviour towards potatoes that are being held by Swedish consumers. In order to reach to the conclusion, in- store interviews had been held with customers in the cities of Stockholm and Malmö. The interviews showed that the typical potato-consumer prefers to choose and in pick their own potatoes to a bag in the store in favour of the pre-packed alternatives. Based on the outcome of the interviews a number of conclusions could be drawn. The consumers were of the perception that the pre-packed alternatives were too big for their households. Furthermore the potato-business should gain from putting efforts to work with product differentiation and by that also provide the market with more exclusive alternatives.Fram till 1960- talet har potatisen haft en självklar position på svenska matbord, därefter har olika substitut som ris och pasta gjort entré. År 2005 har svenskens potatiskonsumtion mer än halverats jämfört med 60-talet, från ca nittio till fyrtio kilo per person och år. Konsumentstudien i det här arbetet syftar till att ge potatisbranschen insyn i konsumenters attityd och beteende kring potatis som produkt. Detta för att möjliggöra framtida produktutveckling och ge förslag på vidare marknadsföringsstrategier inom branschen. En enkätundersökning har genomförts på plats i butiker i Stockholm och i Malmö där potatisköpare har tillfrågats om deras attityder och beteenden kring potatis. Resultatet visar t.ex. att konsumenterna i första hand väljer potatis i lösvikt eftersom förpackningarna anses för stora samt att man inte har möjlighet att se själva produkten. Utifrån resultatet i enkäterna har ett antal slutsatser dragits, t.ex. att det finns möjlighet att differentiera produkten från att vara mer än en bulkvara till att i framtiden kunna erbjuda konsumenterna en rad potatisalternativ i form av olika premiumvaror

Development of existing scoring systems to assess behavioural coping in shelter cats

Assessing how cats cope with the housing and husbandry at shelters is an important part of maintaining good animal welfare. There are non-invasive methods to assess how cats cope with their environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability of the behaviours used in an extended Stress Assessment protocol for cats to detect stress. Looking at which behaviours are salient and possible to observe accurately, and which correlate with time until adoption. The study was carried out at a non-governmental medium sized cat rescue shelter in Midwestern USA. The shelter had a no-kill policy with screening of cats before intake from county shelters. The observed cats were either group-housed in five rooms (n = 70) or singly housed in double cages (n = 13). Observations were carried out during both morning and afternoon sessions, during which two 1-min observations recorded if cats performed any of 85 behavioural elements (BEs). Time at shelter and if cats were declawed or not were collected from shelter records after the observations. Statistical analysis of the BEs that best predicted the total time at shelter was calculated using the Survival Analysis based on the Cox proportional hazards regression model using a stepwise regression analysis separately for each scoring. The median time at shelter for group-housed cats was 26 days (IQR = 6-54) and for single-housed cats 29 days (IQR = 7-97). In total, 24 % of the BEs (20 of 85) were never recorded, however there were significantly more BEs recorded in group-housed cats (63 BEs) than in single-housed cats (49 BEs, p < 0.05). The survival analysis found 16 unique BEs to predict "Short time at shelter" (14 BEs in group-housed, two in single-housed), 14 were positively correlated meaning that they increased the chance of early adoption and two were negative meaning that they decreased the chance of early adoption. The survival analysis also calculated "Long time at shelter" and found 14 unique BEs where 12 BEs were in group-housed cats and three BEs were in single-housed cats. Seven of these were positively correlated meaning that they decreased the chance of early adoption, whereas seven were negatively correlated meaning that they increased the chance of early adoption. The conclusion is that the extended Stress Assessment could be used to detect BEs indicating stress of cats at shelters, and that there are BEs that can predict shorter time at the shelter. However, further investigations could help reduce the number of BEs needed

NMR solution structure and position of transportan in neutral phospholipid bicelles

AbstractTransportan is a chimeric cell-penetrating peptide constructed from the peptides galanin and mastoparan, which has the ability to internalize living cells carrying a hydrophilic load. In this study, we have determined the NMR solution structure and investigated the position of transportan in neutral bicelles. The structure revealed a well-defined α-helix in the C-terminal mastoparan part of the peptide and a weaker tendency to form an α-helix in the N-terminal domain. The position of the peptide in relation to the membrane, as studied by adding paramagnetic probes, shows that the peptide lies parallel to, and in the head-group region of the membrane surface. This result is supported by amide proton secondary chemical shifts

Strategiskt beslutsfattande vid påtvingade förändringar - en fallstudie av studentnationerna i Lund

En kvalitativ fallstudie där syftet har varit att undersöka hur tjänsteorganisationer i stabila miljöer strategiskt hanterar en omvälvande extern förändring och vilka problem de ställs inför i samband med detta