79 research outputs found
Indoor environment and recurrent wheezing in young children
Recurrent wheezing is one of the most common causes of morbidity and hospitalisation among infants
and young children in many westernised countries. Respiratory infections and exposure to tobacco
smoke have been identified as important risk factors. The indoor environment is also clearly of importance
since we spend most of our time indoors. The aim of this thesis was to study the influence of various
ventilation systems on indoor air quality, and to elucidate the impact of outdoor and indoor environment,
primarily with focus on indoor air, on the development of recurrent wheezing in children up to
the age of two years. The thesis is based on two main studies:
The first study assesses the impact of various ventilation systems on the indoor quality of singlefamily
homes, located within a small residential area outside Stockholm. All houses were originally
designed for natural ventilation. Twenty-two of the 59 investigated houses had been refitted with
mechanical supply and exhaust ventilation systems. In another eight houses the original natural ventilation
had been adjusted in order to improve the air change rate.
In the second study, we followed a birth cohort (BAMSE), comprising 4,089 children, born in predefined
areas of Stockholm, during the two first years of the childrenâs lives. Both urban and suburban
districts were represented, including different types of buildings, dwellings with and without gas stoves
for cooking, different socio-economic groups, and areas with various types of traffic exposure. Information
on exposures was obtained from parental questionnaires. In addition, children with recurrent
wheezing, and two age-matched controls per case, were identified and enrolled in a nested case-control
study. Their homes were investigated and ventilation rate, humidity, temperature and NO2 measured.
In BAMSE, an increased risk of recurrent wheezing was shown for children living in apartment
buildings constructed after 1940 and single-family homes with crawl space/concrete slab foundation,
compared with those living in buildings erected before 1940, OR 2.5 (1.3-4.8) and OR 2.5 (1.1-5.4).
This was not primarily explained by differences in type of ventilation system, measured ventilation rate,
occurrence of house dust mite allergen in the home, or other known risk factors for childhood wheezing.
Air change rate (ACH) was inversely related to indoor humidity, and increased humidity above median
level 5.8 g/kg was associated with infant recurrent wheezing, OR 1.7 (1.0-2.9). In single-family
homes, both studies show that mechanical ventilation increases the possibility of reaching an ACH of
â„0.5, which in cold temperate regions protects buildings from increased indoor humidity, including levels
that promote mite survival. Furthermore, occurrence of windowpane condensation on the interior
side of double-glazed windows in wintertime indicated indoor humidity above 5.8 g/kg. Windowpane
condensation, reported consistently over several years in the same home, was also associated with an
increased risk of infant recurrent wheezing, OR 2.2 (1.1-4.5). There was also a higher proportion of recurrent
wheezing in children exposed to signs of dampness, prospectively reported by parents, OR 1.4
(0.9-2.2) or observed at home inspections 1.6 (1.0-2.5). Moreover, recently painted surfaces in the
childâs bedroom were associated with an increased OR for recurrent wheezing, 1.7 (1.3-2.6).
It was further suggested that exposure to air pollution including NO2, particularly in combination
with exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), increases the risk of recurrent wheezing in children:
the OR was 3.1 (1.3-7.3) among children exposed to the highest quartile of indoor (NO2) and ETS.
It may be concluded that various building-related exposures such as certain types of building constructions,
signs of dampness and newly painted interior surfaces, were associated with recurrent wheezing
in children up to the age of two. In addition NO2, especially in combination with ETS seems to increase
the risk of infant recurrent wheezin
Livelihood and transition to certified cacao production in the Peruvian Amazonas
Peru is recorded as the second largest organic cacao producer and the second largest coca producer
in the world. Consequently, the demand has made cacao an important alternative crop for coca.
Cacao can just be grown around the equator and is therefore an attractive cash-crop for export to
countries in Europe and North America. Therefore governments, enterprises and non-governmental
organisations are supporting organic cultivations of cacao.
This thesis has the objective to find out the situation of the livelihood of cacao producers in the
process of becoming certified cacao producers. What challenges and which hopes were considered
by the woman and man in the households? Would there be clear divides of work locations relating
to gender, and who was responsible for making the decisions in the family?
By the use of semi-structured interviews and participating practical methods, ten families in the
district of Irazola in the Peruvian Amazon were selected. The study proved customary roles of
women in charge of domestic work, children and small animals while men were more often
working in the fields and going to meetings. Off-farm work for women was found to be selling food
on the main street, while men were driving taxis and worked as technicians. Decision and opinions
were more similar within households than between women and men as a group. Although men often
had the main responsibility over money and decision for instance to become part of the certification
process. The farmers - women and men - wished to grow more cacao trees so they could afford
education for their children, a better house, move to other places, start a restaurant or shop.
There have not been many studies of small-holding cacao producers in Latin America and therefore
this study is useful to draw examples from without making any generalisations
Indoor environment and recurrent wheezing in young children
Recurrent wheezing is one of the most common causes of morbidity and
hospitalisation among infants and young children in many westernised
countries. Respiratory infections and exposure to tobacco smoke have been
identified as important risk factors. The indoor environment is also
clearly of importance since we spend most of our time indoors. The aim of
this thesis was to study the influence of various ventilation systems on
indoor air quality, and to elucidate the impact of outdoor and indoor
environment, primarily with focus on indoor air, on the development of
recurrent wheezing in children up to the age of two years. The thesis is
based on two main studies:
The first study assesses the impact of various ventilation systems on the
indoor quality of singlefamily homes, located within a small residential
area outside Stockholm. All houses were originally designed for natural
ventilation. Twenty-two of the 59 investigated houses had been refitted
with mechanical supply and exhaust ventilation systems. In another eight
houses the original natural ventilation had been adjusted in order to
improve the air change rate.
In the second study, we followed a birth cohort (BAMSE), comprising 4,089
children, born in predefined areas of Stockholm, during the two first
years of the children's lives. Both urban and suburban districts were
represented, including different types of buildings, dwellings with and
without gas stoves for cooking, different socio-economic groups, and
areas with various types of traffic exposure. Information on exposures
was obtained from parental questionnaires. In addition, children with
recurrent wheezing, and two age-matched controls per case, were
identified and enrolled in a nested case-control study. Their homes were
investigated and ventilation rate, humidity, temperature and N02
measured.
In BAMSE, an increased risk of recurrent wheezing was shown for children
living in apartment buildings constructed after 1940 and single-family
homes with crawl space/concrete slab foundation, compared with those
living in buildings erected before 1940, OR 2.5 (1.3-4.8) and OR 2.5
(1.1-5.4). This was not primarily explained by differences in type of
ventilation systems, measured ventilation rate, occurrence of house dust
mite allergen in the home, or other known risk factors for childhood
wheezing.
Air change rate (ACH) was inversely related to indoor humidity, and
increased humidity above median level 5.8 g/kg was associated with infant
recurrent wheezing, OR 1.7 (1.0-2.9). In single-family homes, both
studies show that mechanical ventilation increases the possibility of
reaching an ACH of >=O.5, which in cold temperate regions protects
buildings from increased indoor humidity, including levels that promote
mite survival. Furthermore, occurrence of windowpane condensation on the
interior side of double-glazed windows in wintertime indicated indoor
humidity above 5.8 g/kg. Windowpane condensation, reported consistently
over several years in the same home, was also associated with an
increased risk of infant recurrent wheezing, OR2.2 (1.1-4.5). There was
also a higher proportion of recurrent wheezing in children exposed to
signs of dampness, prospectively reported by parents, OR 1.4 (0.9-2.2) or
observed at home inspections 1.6 (1.0-2.5). Moreover, recently painted
surfaces in the child's bedroom were associated with an increased OR for
recurrent wheezing, 1.7 (1.3-2.6).
It was further suggested that exposure to air pollution including N02,
Particularly in combination with exposure to environmental tobacco smoke
(ETS), increases the risk of recurrent wheezing in children: the OR was
3.1 (1.3-7.3) among children exposed to the highest quartile of indoor
(N02) and ETS.
It may be concluded that various building-related exposures such as
certain types of building constructions, signs of dampness and newly
painted interior surfaces, were associated with recurrent wheezing in
children up to the age of two. In addition N02, especially in combination
with ETS seems to increase the risk of infant recurrent wheezing
Quantifying uncertainty in health impact assessment: a case-study example on indoor housing ventilation.
Quantitative health impact assessment (HIA) is increasingly being used to assess the health impacts attributable to an environmental policy or intervention. As a consequence, there is a need to assess uncertainties in the assessments because of the uncertainty in the HIA models. In this paper, a framework is developed to quantify the uncertainty in the health impacts of environmental interventions and is applied to evaluate the impacts of poor housing ventilation. The paper describes the development of the framework through three steps: (i) selecting the relevant exposure metric and quantifying the evidence of potential health effects of the exposure; (ii) estimating the size of the population affected by the exposure and selecting the associated outcome measure; (iii) quantifying the health impact and its uncertainty. The framework introduces a novel application for the propagation of uncertainty in HIA, based on fuzzy set theory. Fuzzy sets are used to propagate parametric uncertainty in a non-probabilistic space and are applied to calculate the uncertainty in the morbidity burdens associated with three indoor ventilation exposure scenarios: poor, fair and adequate. The case-study example demonstrates how the framework can be used in practice, to quantify the uncertainty in health impact assessment where there is insufficient information to carry out a probabilistic uncertainty analysis
Indoor air quality in the Swedish housing stock and its dependence on building characteristics
Finns kulturreservat utanför Sverige? : - En introduktion till bevarande av kulturhistoriskt vÀrdefulla miljöer i utvalda europeiska lÀnder.
Verksamhetsförlagda studie
VĂ€gen till externhandel
Etableringen av externhandeln i svenska kommuner har ökat under senare Ă„r och flera kommuner har projekt som ligger i startgroparna. Mellan Ă„ren 2000 och 2005 dubblerades antalet omrĂ„den med handel i externa lĂ€gen (2008, LĂ€nsstyrelsen i SkĂ„ne lĂ€n). Sedan 2000 har 64 nya köpcentrum öppnats runt om i landet. Totalt finns nu 298 stycken och ytterligare 22 Ă€r planerade fram till 2016 (ncscnordic.org). Externhandelns föresprĂ„kare hĂ€vdar nödvĂ€ndigheten i externa köpcentrum för att kunna konkurera med andra orters utbud. De menar att handeln centraliseras och att de kommuner som inte satsar nu riskerar att missa tĂ„get. Det fĂ„r till viss del stöd av en utredning som gjordes av Handelns utredningsinstitut 2008. Den visar att 2007 stod 50 av landets 290 kommuner för 75% av den totala sĂ€llanköpsvaruhandeln, samtidigt som 100 kommuner delade pĂ„ 80% av den totala dagligvaruhandeln. Enligt handelns utredningsinstitut Ă€r konsumenter ocksĂ„ beredda att Ă„ka allt lĂ€ngre strĂ€ckor för att handla sĂ€llanköpsvaror som klĂ€der och möbler. FöresprĂ„karna menar vidare att externhandel lockar ett annat klientel och dĂ€rmed inte pĂ„verkar den befintliga handeln i staden. Kritiker hĂ€vdar istĂ€llet att antalet konsumenter Ă€r begrĂ€nsat och pengarna i deras plĂ„nböcker likasĂ„. De menar att handel utanför stadskĂ€rnan riskerar att slĂ„ ut handeln i centrum. De menar ocksĂ„ att externhandel bygger in kommuner i ett ökat bilberoende och en ohĂ„llbar utveckling som strider mot miljömĂ„l. En annan aspekt Ă€r att dagligvaruhandel flyttar ut frĂ„n centrum till externhandelsomrĂ„den och att det i hög grad pĂ„verkar dem som inte har tillgĂ„ng till bil och mĂ€nniskor som redan Ă€r socialt utstötta (LĂ€nsstyrelsen SkĂ„ne lĂ€n 2001). Handelns utredningsinstitut talar i sin rapport frĂ„n 2008 om substitutionseffekt och överspillningseffekt som tvĂ„ möjliga effekter av externhandel. Substitutionseffekt innebĂ€r att en konsument som bor i stadens centrum alternativt i grannkommunen ersĂ€tter sina inköp i stadskĂ€rnan, eller den egna kommunen, med handel i ett externt köpcentrum utanför centralorten. Ăverspillningseffekten innebĂ€r att konsumenten som reser till ett externt köpcentrum för att handla sedan ocksĂ„ handlar i stadens centrum. Substitutionseffekten leder till en utarmning av stadens centrum och kranskommuner medan överspillningseffekten leder till en positiv utveckling för bĂ„de den centrala och externa handeln. Vilka avvĂ€gningar gör kommuner inför en etablering av extern detaljhandel? Hur anvĂ€nder kommunen sig av sitt planmonopol och i vilken utstrĂ€ckning samarbetar kommuner och regioner i frĂ„gor om externhandel? Vilka förvĂ€ntningar har kommuner, representanter för handel och politiker pĂ„ utvecklingen i kommunen efter en nyetablering av externhandel? Hur pĂ„verkas de gamla stadskĂ€rnorna av att ny handel etableras utanför stadens centrum och erbjuder stora shoppingytor, lĂ€ttĂ„tkomligt frĂ„n motorvĂ€gen, med gratis parkering och tak som skyddar mot vĂ€der och vind
FYSISK PLANERING OCH FĂREBYGGANDE AV ĂVERSVĂMNINGSKONSEKVENSER
Arbetet undersöker hur man genom fysisk planering kan reglera förebyggande för att minska risken för och konsekvenserna av översvÀmning
Visions and dreams in polycentric regions of Sweden : The importance of railway commutations in Linköping/Norrköping
Regioner har alltid funnits. Det har stĂ„tt för det intermediĂ€ra, en funktion mellan det lokala och det centrala styret. Den geografiska omfattningen har varit allt frĂ„n lĂ€nsindelningar till stora internationella eller kulturella regioner. Historiskt sĂ€tt, kan regioner vara funktionella, administrativa eller kulturella. NĂ€r Sverige övergick till att bli ett industrisamhĂ€lle, blev regioner en viktig utgĂ„ngspunkt för att förĂ€ndra de nationella nĂ€ten. För att förstĂ„ regioners utveckling, kan vi dela upp den i nyregionalism och gammal regionalism. Den gamla regionalismen innebar att staten hjĂ€lpte regioner att utvecklas genom att ge dem statliga bidrag. Detta var en process under 1960-1980-talet. Nyregionalismen, som kom dĂ€refter, utgjordes av att regioner fick större makt att sjĂ€lva förĂ€ndra sin situation. Samtidigt i vĂ€rlden, började en in-ternationaliseringsprocess att mĂ€rkas allt tydligare. Ekonomin i vĂ€rlden, pĂ„verkade Ă€ven ekonomin i Sverige. Det lokala och det globala pĂ„verkade varandra och regioner började konkurrera globalt. Regioner styrdes inte lĂ€ngre av bara staten, utan av flera aktörer. Regioner skapas med hjĂ€lp av olika drivkrafter, samt de möjligheter som finns förankrade pĂ„ platsen. Samtidigt som de mĂ„ste drivas av en tro pĂ„ sig sjĂ€lva och vĂ„ga satsa pĂ„ det de tror pĂ„. Ett annat sĂ€tt att förstĂ„ samhĂ€llsutvecklingen Ă€r genom Törnqvists uppdelning av regionalisering och globalisering. Regionalisering förutsĂ€tter att regionala eller lokala band gör att verk-samheter och mĂ€nniskor binder sig till vissa platser. Globalisering innebĂ€r tvĂ€rtom att verk-samheter och mĂ€nniskor Ă€r beroende av sin stora rörlighet och ett nĂ€tverk utan grĂ€nser. BĂ„de globalisering och regionalisering pĂ„verkas av suverĂ€na stater, nĂ€tverk och sjĂ€lvmedvetna regioner (som har kraft att styra sitt eget omrĂ„de, utan en Superior makt). Ohmae talar för att vĂ€rlden idag bestĂ„r av regioner och överstatliga/suverĂ€na stater. Vi har ingĂ„tt en andra globaliseringsfas, dĂ€r vĂ€rlden Ă€r grĂ€nslös och digital. Ăven om regioner idag pĂ„verkas av landets lagar för att kontrollera mĂ€nniskor och varor, sĂ„ att samhĂ€llet upprĂ€tthĂ„ller sĂ€kerhet och ord-ning. I regioner mĂ„ste det finnas noder, dĂ€r den globala vĂ€rlden knyts ihop och mĂ€nniskor kan trĂ€ffas i verkligheten. Regioner mĂ„ste dessutom vara flexibla för att kunna anpassa sig efter den globala utvecklingen. En region Ă€r en social konstruktion som skapas genom mĂ€nniskorna som vistas dagligen i den, samt hur de som ser den utifrĂ„n. Dess identitet skapas genom det sĂ€tt som den sĂ€rskiljer sig frĂ„n andra regioner. Enligt Soja förstĂ„r vi regioner ge-nom dess formation i landskapet och inte genom dess historia. Ett sĂ€tt att förstĂ„ regioner Ă€r genom att se dem som en polycentrisk urban region. Det vill sĂ€ga, som ett stort geografiskt omrĂ„de med flera centrala punkter som gör att omrĂ„det hĂ€nger ihop, utan att nĂ„gon punkt/nod dominerar. Genom omrĂ„dets gemensamma resurser och till-gĂ„ngar, blir den polycentriskt urbana regionen en starkare global konkurrenskraft. Ett sĂ€tt att stĂ€rka regionen Ă€r internt genom dess infrastruktur. De starka förbindelserna bygger bland annat upp regionens ekonomiska och sociala nĂ€tverk. Det har hĂ€vdats att det inte kan finnas polycentriska noder, utan att det alltid mĂ„ste finnas en central punkt i samhĂ€llet. Exempelvis mĂ„ste det finnas centrala noder i ett globalt nĂ€t-verk. Linköping/Norrköping utgör ett undantag. DĂ€r har tvĂ„ lika stora storstĂ€der gĂ„tt ihop och börjat skapa sig en identitet genom att marknadsföra sig som Sveriges fjĂ€rde största Stor-stadsregion. StĂ€derna har tidigare drivits av en stor konkurrenskraft sinsemellan, men har pĂ„ senare tid börjat inse vĂ€rdet i att arbeta tillsammans och dĂ€rmed bilda ett flerkĂ€rnigt centrum i regionen. Detta för att Ă„stadkomma en starkare konkurrenskraft, inte bara mot andra stĂ€der och storstadsregioner i Sverige, utan Ă€ven internationellt och globalt. Tillsammans utgörs de bĂ„da kommunerna av ungefĂ€r 250 000 invĂ„nare och 22 300 dagliga in- och utpendlare. Norrköping har vĂ€xt mycket tack vare att de fick utlokaliserat en del av Linköpings universitet för ungefĂ€r tio Ă„r sedan. Studenterna i staden har lyft fram industrilandskapet och attraherat bĂ„de kultur och företag. Utbildning och infrastruktur Ă€r enligt mĂ„nga det som skulle utveckla Linköping/ Norrköpingsregionen bĂ€st. Ett utvecklat transportnĂ€t skapar grunden till den funktionella regionen. DĂ€rför behövs infrastrukturen i Sveriges nya storstadsregion stĂ€rkas. NĂ€r de fysiska nĂ€tverken fungerar, Ă€r det Ă€ven möjligt att skapa en fullt integrerad arbetsmarknad i regionen. DĂ€rför Ă€r det viktigt att projektet med att binda ihop Norrköping och Linköping med en snabbtĂ„gsförbindelse, den sĂ„ kallade OstlĂ€nken, genomförs. OstlĂ€nken Ă€r en del av bĂ„de Europakorridoren och den nordiska triangeln. Den stöds till viss del av medel frĂ„n EU-fonden Transeuropeiska nĂ€tverket â transporter (TEN-T), vars uppgift Ă€r att förbĂ€ttra inf-rastrukturen i Europa (se bilaga 1-3). OstlĂ€nken ska bli 15 mil lĂ„ng, byggnationen planeras att starta 2010-2015 och vara klar 2025-2030 (se bilaga5). Med den hĂ€r studien vill jag visa att OstlĂ€nken Ă€r en viktig förutsĂ€ttning för att regionen i Linköping/Norrköping ska kunna bli en bĂ€rkraftig Storstadsregion.In Sweden during the 1960s to 1980s, regions became an important aid to arrange a more uniform distribution of work. The northern parts of Sweden had lost ten thousands of job opportunities in a period of five years. The government decided to react and supported the northern regions, and this was the start of regional development in Sweden. Since then regional development has become more of a bottom up issue where regions are believed to have an ability to change their position by themselves, even if they still are very affected by different authorities like the European Union. Today regions are often understood as policy areas in-between the local and central government. But according to Ohmae, we have also entered a second global stage, which means that the world is increasingly dependent on digital technologies and in some respect less depend-ent on traditional borders. At the same time, the rate of urbanisation is speeding up in many places. This has brought about the development of various forms of metropolis and polycentric regions. There are different kinds of polycentric regions, such as the functional which is a region that is made up of good communication abilities. This could be physical infrastructure such as railroads. As an empirical example of this, I have chosen to examine the visions concerning a polycentric region in Sweden, i.e. the new region uniting Linköping and Norrköping. In the summer of 2006 this urban space was officially recognized by Nutek, the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, as a potential new urban region. Both city regions have started a co-operation which strives to identify the two cities as a twin-city. The essay concludes that for the region to become an attractive and integrated new polycentric region, it is essential to develop functional commuting opportunities, such as the vision of the railway communication OstlĂ€nken
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