Counting curves on orbifolds

We show that Mirzakhani's curve counting theorem also holds if we replace surfaces by orbifolds

Constitutional Law as an Instrument for Social Protection in Sweden

Social protection could refer to both social security and labour rights. From a Swedish  perspective the notion social protection in the first instance refers to social security rights. This paper will in the main deal with social security rights, but some words will also be said about labour rights

A longitudinal study of the working relationship and return to work: perceptions by clients and occupational therapists in primary health care.

The working relationship between client and therapist can be important to enhance outcomes from vocational rehabilitation for women with stress-related disorders in primary health care. The aim was to investigate the working relationship, as perceived by clients and therapists in the Redesigning Daily Occupations (ReDO™) program, and its relationships to return to work and satisfaction with the rehabilitation. Another aim was to compare the ReDO™ group and a "care-as-usual" (CAU) group regarding perceptions of the working relationship with the social insurance officer

Work outcomes and their predictors in the Redesigning Daily Occupations (ReDO) rehabilitation programme for women with stress-related disorders.

Previous research has shown that the Redesigning Daily Occupations programme reduced the degree of sick leave and increased return to work rates among women on sick leave for stress-related disorders when compared with "care as usual". To further investigate the Redesigning Daily Occupations intervention, this study explored changes in the work situation from baseline to a 12-month follow-up in the Redesigning Daily Occupations group compared with the "care as usual" group and analysed any predictors of change

Client perceptions of a work rehabilitation programme for women: The Redesigning Daily Occupations (ReDO) project.

Abstract Aim: The Redesigning Daily Occupations programme (ReDO) is a Swedish work rehabilitation programme for women on sick leave due to stress-related disorders. The aim of the study was to investigate the participants' perceptions of taking part in the work rehabilitation programme. Methods: Seven of the 38 women who completed ReDO were interviewed during and after the programme. The interviews were analysed by manifest and latent content analysis. Results: The informants were satisfied with the content of the programme and the support they received in the programme and when returning to work. The women thought they had become more aware of what they did during a day and how they performed their daily activities, which helped them to change their ways of performing them. The result highlighted different parts of their rehabilitation process which constituted four sub-themes: "Perceptions of the ReDO", "The intrinsic process", "Person-related changes", and "Perceptions of returning to work", and formed the core theme "Critical parts of the rehabilitation process". Conclusions: The findings may not be generalized to other settings and future research should further investigate work rehabilitation for the target group

Healthcare providers' experiences of comprehensive emergency obstetric care in Somaliland : An explorative study with focus on cesarean deliveries

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the experiences of healthcare providers (HCPs) regarding the provision of emergency obstetric care (EmOC) with a focus on cesarean deliveries in a referral hospital and maternal and child health centers in Somaliland. METHODS: An exploratory qualitative approach using focus group discussions was employed at the main referral and teaching hospital and four maternal and child health centers in Hargeisa, Somaliland. Twenty-eight HCPs were divided into groups of 6-8 for discussions lasting 1 to 2 h. All HCPs included in the study had experiences with the provision of EmOC. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Collective family decision making was identified by HCPs as a barrier to the provision of EmOC. This tradition of decision making at a group level was perceived as time-consuming and delayed HCPs from obtaining informed consent for EmOC. Low socioeconomic status and poor knowledge about maternal healthcare among users affected care seeking among women. Suboptimal EmOC at the hospital was reported to be due to miscommunication, inadequate interprofessional collaboration and lack of infrastructure. CONCLUSIONS: HCPs encountered difficulties with the provision of EmOC. A broad array of strategies targeting the community and healthcare system is needed, including training of HCPs on intracultural communication competence, interprofessional collaboration and use of alternative birth methods other than CS. Antenatal care can be used to prepare families for potential obstetric emergencies and as an opportunity to obtain written informed consent

Using a life-cycle perspective to assess potential social impacts of ICT services : a pre-study

Buying that new mobile phone may make your life easier, provide continuous access to the net and change your image, but what social impact will your action have on others? Different stakeholders along the life cycle of the mobile phone will be affected, in positive and negative ways. Who is responsible and how can we know the impact? Handling environmental impact with a life cycle perspective, for example using life cycle assessment (LCA), is today common practice. A similar technique for social impact, social and socio-economic LCA (S-LCA) is under development (Benoit and Mazijn, 2009). The aim of the current pre-study was to consider the use of S-LCA for information and communication technology (ICT) services to learn more about the product and facilitate consideration of social impact in different decision-making situations. From a company perspective, social responsibility is handled in various ways, often under the heading of CSR, corporate social responsibility. Firstly, the company’s own employees are easily targeted and acted on by providing good working conditions, fair wages and working hours, etc. Considering social impact throughout a product’s life cycle is the next step and here measures and responsibilities are less clear-cut. How is a product distributed (supply chain), how is it used and how is it finally disposed? Different stakeholders are differently affected, positively and negatively. Four companies and organisations, all partners in the Centre for Sustainable Communications, took part in this study. They currently have different experiences and degrees of activity regarding social responsibility. The telecommunications companies, Ericsson and TeliaSonera, have started to consider social aspects in their supply chain and for their consumers. Social aspects are not only considered in terms of impact of the company management but also of impact related to products (goods and services). The media organisations (Bonnier Group and the Swedish Media Association) have not handled social aspects to the same extent as the telecommunications companies, but of course their products also give rise to social impact throughout their life cycles. To enable a discussion on the usability of S-LCA, a simplified test was carried out, inspired by the ongoing work on including social aspects into LCA within the UNEP-SETAC Life Cycle Initiative (Benoit and Mazijn, 2009). This screening test was based on a selection of published and readily available information on potential social impacts along the life cycle of two defined ICT services. The goal was not to provide an assessment of social impact, but rather to give a rough sketch and reflect on possibilities and limitations with the method. The two ICT services in the test were mobile news and video conferencing, provided by a newspaper company and a telecommunications company respectively. An interesting feature of both these services was that the company providing the service was not providing the electronic device, the hardware platform of the service. This gives one more dimension in the consideration of who is responsible for social impacts with a life cycle perspective. There was a lot of information available on potential social impact for parts of the respective life cycles. This kind of information is gathered by scientists, NGOs and others. A small share of the information was compiled for the selected stakeholder groups: worker and consumer. This information indicated that there are social impacts all along the life cycle and that these may be positive or negative and of differing magnitude. As stakeholders become aware of the possible negative social impact, increasing engagement from organizations and companies in social responsibility will be requested. When companies start to consider social impacts in the supply chain, it is expected to be easier to reach the first and second tier of suppliers. However, ILO (2007) has established that the workers at the beginning of the supply chain (farthest away from the end-product) are generally the most disadvantaged. In some cases, handling e-waste is also leading to major negative social impacts. Raw material acquisition and waste management may have large implications on the social impact related to a product, with best case or worst case possibly leading to significantly different results. A life cycle perspective would facilitate identification of improvement potential. A key question is who is responsible, or rather who will accept responsibility. As there is information available for parts of the processes and stakeholders throughout the life cycle of the ICT services studied, the question remains how this information can be used by companies providing products for end-consumers. This pre-study indicates that it can be useful to apply a life cycle perspective and compile data in relation to a specific product also when considering potential social impacts. This would facilitate the inclusion of processes and stakeholders for example at the beginning of the life cycle, where impact may be considerable and negative, and make these more visible. Development of S-LCA is thus interesting in order to provide transparent and ‘standardised’ assessments of potential social impact. By providing guidelines or standards, the assessments of social impact could be interpreted and criticised more easily. The possibilities for using S-LCA to increase knowledge and ultimately improve social conditions should be further studied and developed. In the field of S-LCA there is plenty of future research to be carried out, examples of which are provided by Benoit and Mazijn (2009). One important way of getting more experience and enabling further development of the method and its practice is through performing case studies. ICT products would be an interesting field for this.QC 20101013Development of sustainability assessment tools for IC

Company's Ltd. "Vasara" Financial Reporting Data Analysis

Ekonomiskā, politiskā un sociālā sistēma, kas vērsta uz privātkapitālu piesaisti un tās radītie peļņas gūšanas taktiskie gājieni, pieprasa izglītotas personības, lai spētu pareizi uzturēt un palielināt savus aktīvus. Lielāks potenciālais ieguvums vienmēr saistās ar paaugstinātu risku tā iegūšanai. Atšķirībā no ierindas patērētājiem tikai skolots naudas pārzinātājs spēj novērtēt, cik svarīgi ir veidot iegribu robežas, lai beigās nepazaudētu ilga laika darbu. Šā rezultāta iespaidā darba autors izvēlas mudināt, ieinteresēt lasītājus būt aktīviem rīkojoties ar naudu. Darba mērķis ir uzņēmuma finanšu pārskatu analīze. Finanšu koeficientu teorētikskais raksturojums, pielietošana, analīze, pārbaude, secinājumi, priekšlikumi ir darba uzdevumi, kas darbā tiek vadīts par pamatuzdevumu. Ir jācenšās paraudzīties kā objektīvi iespējams novērtēt pieņemto lēmumu kvalitāti, lai mazinātu un saknē izskaustu risku zaudēt ieguldītos aktīvus, kas arī ir pamatuzdevuma izvirzītā problēma. Tas viss apkopots kā pētījums, kas palīdz netikai individuāliem investoriem, bet arī visai sabiedrībai kopumā. Darba noslēgumā apkopoti secinājumi un priekšlikumi, lai uzlabotu trūkumus un parādītu kopējo ainu, kas reizēm aiz emocionāliem aizspriedumiem paliek nepamanīta. Informācija tika ņemta no kvalitatīviem un uzticamiem avotiem. Darbs veidots, neskopojoties ar improvizācijas, inovācijas pieskaņu no autora puses, kas lielākoties saistīta ar mazu sākotnējo pieredzi darba tēmā. Tika ielikti naudas līdzekļi, laiks, emocījas, kas kopā tika mutēts par ļoti vērtīgu pievienoto vērtību darba autora personībā.Economic, political and social system, that focuses on attracting private capital, and the resulting profit-making tactical moves require educated personalities to be able to properly maintain and increase their assets. The larger potential benefit is always associated with an increased risk in its acquisition. Unlike ordinary consumers only schooled cash custodian can appreciate how important it is to build whims border, to not loose a long time job. In the influence of this result the author chooses to urge, interest readers to be active in dealing with money. The aim of the work is the company's financial statement analysis. The theoretical characteristics of financial ratio, application, analysis, testing, conclusions and recommendations are the tasks, which are the basic objectives of the work. You should try to look how it can be objectively possible to assess the quality of decision making, to reduce and eradicate the root of the risk of losing the invested assets, which is also a core problem raised. This is all summarized as the study, which helps not only individual investors, but also the society as a whole. In the conclusion of the work, findings and recommendations are summarized, to improve the weaknesses and show the overall picture, which sometimes remains unnoticed beyond the emotional bias. Information was taken from qualitative and reliable sources. Work was designed, without the stint in improvisation, touch of innovation from the author, which are mostly associated with low initial experience in the work's topic. Money, time, emotions were used, which together were mutated as a very valuable added value in the author's personality

Kuratorer prioriterar : Tillämpning av den nationella modellen för öppna prioriteringar

I Sverige finns sedan 1997 en etisk plattform som beskriver vad som ska vara grunden för prioriteringar inom hälso- och sjukvård. För att underlätta tillämpningen av plattformens principer och intentioner används idag alltmer en systematisk metod vid namn nationella modellen för öppna prioriteringar inom hälso- och sjukvård. Många olika typer av verksamheter har prövat modellen. Fram tills nu har det dock inte funnits någon kuratorsverksamhet som bedrivit ett prioriteringsarbete med modellen som grund. Den var med andra ord oprövad inom verksamheter som arbetar med sociala och psykosociala behov inom hälso- och sjukvård. Denna rapport syftar till att inspirera och vägleda i första hand kuratorer i sjukvården genom att beskriva två konkreta exempel på hur kuratorer tolkat och tillämpat den nationella modellen i sina verksamheter. Exemplen är hämtade från Kalmar läns landsting och Norrbottens läns landsting, som ovetandes om varandra har genomfört varsitt prioriteringsarbete. I båda verksamheterna har syftet med arbetet varit att tydliggöra kuratorernas roller och försäkra sig om att deras kompetens används på ett optimalt sätt. Arbetena har varit länsövergripande och omfattat samtliga kuratorer inom specialistsjukvård (ett 20-tal i respektive landsting) under 1,5 års tid. Hur olika tillstånd och åtgärder som så småningom blev föremål för en prioritering (rangordning) skulle beskrivas och kategoriseras var inte uppenbart från början. Det som kom att ha betydelse vid kuratorernas rangordning var inte vilken sjukdom eller skada olika patientgrupper hade utan de psykosociala konsekvenserna av dessa. I Kalmar läns landsting användes etablerade klassifikationer som Världshälsoorganisationens internationella klassifikation av funktionstillstånd, funktionshinder och hälsa (ICF) samt Socialstyrelsens Klassifikation av vårdåtgärder (KVÅ). I Norrbottens läns landsting skapades istället egna typindelningar för att beskriva tillstånd och åtgärder. För att bedöma svårighetsgraden av olika tillstånd har kuratorerna i båda landstingen använt sig av en matris som tagits fram inom rehabilitering i Kalmar läns landsting, men prövats inom många andra typer av verksamheter. Matrisen beskriver olika aspekter på svårighetsgrad såsom funktionsnedsättning, aktivitetsbegränsning, delaktighetsinskränkning, varaktighet och framtida risker. Kuratorerna i Kalmar läns landsting listade dessutom komplicerande faktorer (t ex tidigare trauman) som ytterligare kan öka svårighetsgraden vid olika tillstånd. Patientnyttan med kuratorers åtgärder har bedömts utifrån samma parametrar som svårighetsgrad– i vilken grad ger t ex insatsen en förbättrad delaktighet? I Kalmar läns landsting utkristalliserade sig så småningom definitioner av skalstegen mycket stor, stor, måttlig och liten patientnytta. När det gäller kostnadseffektivitet konstaterade kuratorerna i båda landstingen att det saknas en tradition där den enskilde kuratorn tar hänsyn till kostnadseffektivitet för olika insatser i det dagliga arbetet. Under prioriteringsarbetet fördes diskussioner om alternativkostnader vid uteblivna kuratorsåtgärder samt hur längden och formen för kuratorns insatser påverkar kostnadseffektiviteten. Det saknades även erfarenhet av att söka vetenskaplig evidens för åtgärder. Kuratorerna rustade sig genom olika utbildningsinsatser men har i huvudsak grundat sina bedömningar på erfarenhetsbaserad kunskap och de lagar som delvis reglerar deras verksamhet. Flertalet av de tillstånd och åtgärder som kuratorerna arbetar med har överlag tilldelats hög prioritet i de båda prioriteringsarbetena. En möjlig orsak till det var att kuratorerna upplevde att ransonering av lågt prioriterade åtgärder redan utförts. En annan orsak kan vara att ovanan att öppet diskutera prioriteringar har lett till en försiktighet att differentiera svårighetsgrad och patientnytta. Arbetena har dock i viss grad utkristalliserat vad som bör ha högre respektive lägre prioritet samt även vad som inte längre ska ingå i kuratorns uppdrag. Sammanfattningsvis uppfattar kuratorerna att det har varit värdefullt att prioriteringsarbetet bidragit till att den erfarenhetsbaserade kunskapen ("tyst kunskap") har verbaliserats och diskuterats. Kuratorerna har satt ord på de tillstånd och åtgärder de arbetar med dagligen vilket förväntas leda till en ökad möjlighet att kommunicera kuratorns uppgift, såväl inom hälso- och sjukvården som till patienter och närstående. Kunskapsbasen för olika ställningstaganden har ökat likväl som samsynen i prioriteringar. Framtida utmaningar för de kuratorer som medverkat i dessa två arbeten är att verkställa och följa upp sina prioriteringar och att tålmodigt fortsätta att utveckla prioriteringsarbetet på lång sikt.Since 1997, an ethical platform has been available in Sweden describing the grounds for priority setting in health care. A systematic method, i.e. the National Model for Transparent Prioritisation in Swedish Health Care, is increasingly being used to facilitate implementation of the platform’s principles and intentions. Although many different types of services have tested this model, heretofore no social work services had used the model as grounds for a priority setting process. Hence, the model had been untested in services addressingsocial and psychosocial needs in health care. This report aims to inspire and guide mainly medical social workers by describing two concrete examples of how medical social workers have interpreted and applied the national model in their organisations. These examples have been taken from the Kalmar County Council and the Norrbotten County Council, each of which conducted their prioritisation process without being aware of each other. In both instances, the aim was to clarify the roles of medical social workers and ensure optimum utilisation of their expertise. Each process was countywide and included all medical social workers in tertiary care (approximately 20 individuals in each county council) for 1.5 years. Initially it was not clear how to describe and categorise the various conditions and interventions to be prioritised (ranked). What became important for the medical social workers ranking was not the illness or injury of the various patient groups, but the psychosocial consequences of illness and injury. In Kalmar County Council they used established classifications, such as the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) and the National Board of Health and Welfare’s Classification of Health Interventions (KVÅ). In Norrbotten County Council they used concepts normally applied in their daily work, which had been accepted by the social work group in an earlier review of social work services. In addition, they classified cases according to the expected duration of the contact. To determine the severity level of different conditions, the medical social workers in both county councils used a matrix that had been developed for rehabilitation services in Kalmar County Council, but tested in many different types of services. The matrix describes different aspects regarding severity levels, e.g. impairment of body functions, activity limitations, participation restriction, duration, and risk of not intervening. Moreover, the medical social workers in Kalmar County Council listed complicating factors (e.g. previous trauma) that could further increase the severity levels of different conditions.　 The patient benefits of social work interventions have been appraised using the same parameters as those used for severity levels – e.g. to what degree does the intervention improve participation? In Kalmar County Council definition of the steps in the patient benefit scale (very high, high, moderate, and low) was worked out and unanimously used. Regarding cost effectiveness, medical social workers in both county councils reported that it was not traditional for the individual social worker to consider the cost effectiveness of different interventions in their daily work. During the prioritisation process they discussed the opportunity costs of excluding social work interventions and how the duration and type of social work interventions affect cost effectiveness. Experience in searching for scientific evidence concerning the interventions was also lacking. The medical social workers equipped themselves through various educational activities, but based their assessments mainly on experience-based knowledge and the laws that partially regulate their activities. Both services gave high priority to most of the conditions and interventions that medical social workers deal with. One possible reason for this was that low- priority interventions were already being rationed. Another reason could be that unfamiliarity with openly discussing priorities led to caution in differentiating severity levels and patient benefits. However, the priority processes to some degrade crystalised what should receive high and low priority respectively, and what should no longer be included in medical social workers’ tasks. In summary, the medical social workers reported that the prioritisation processes had been valuable since they contributed to verbalising and discussing experienced-based knowledge ("tacit knowledge"). They articulated the conditions and interventions they work with daily, which is expected to further improve communication about medical social workers’ tasks, both within health services and with patients and next of kin. Furthermore, the knowledge base for interventions has increased, as has the consensus concerning priorities. Future challenges for members that participated in these two projects include implementing and following up their priorities and patiently continuing to improve the process of priority setting over the long term