Oil and macroeconomic (in)stability

We analyze the role of oil price volatility in reducing U.S. macroeconomic instability. Using a regime-switching structural model we revisit the timing of the Great Moderation and the sources of changes in the volatility of macroeconomic variables. We find that smaller or fewer oil price shocks did not play a major role in explaining the Great Moderation. Instead oil price shocks are recurrent sources of macroeconomic fluctuations. The most important factor reducing macroeconomic variability is a decline in the volatility of other structural shocks (demand and supply). A change to a more responsive monetary policy regime also played a role

Interaction and coordinated nursing practices

Bachelor i sykepleie, 2012Problemstilling: Hvordan kan sykepleiere sikre sykepleiefaglig forsvarlighet til eldre pasienter med KOLS, som mottar koordinerte helsetjenester? Avgrensning og presisering av problemstillingen: Når det gjelder avgrensning i forhold til målgruppe, tar vi utgangspunkt i definisjonen som beskriver eldre som «67 år eller eldre», (Halvorsen, 2010, s.193). Koordinerte helsetjenester vil i oppgaven omhandle hjemmebasert omsorg og sykehus, (spesialisthelsetjenesten). KOLS er en kronisk sykdom som vi har valgt å rette fokus mot i oppgaven, men vi kunne ha valgt andre lidelser med langvarig forløp, som leddgikt, hjertesvikt, rusavhengighet eller sykelig overvekt. Eldre med KOLS er et eksempel på pasienter som vil kunne ha behov for innleggelse i sykehus som følge av en akutt forverring av sykdommen, samtidig som de mottar hjemmebasert omsorg. I samhandlingsreformen er det stor oppmerksomhet til forebyggende arbeid og tiltak i kommunen, som skal bidra til mestring av livssituasjonen for pasienter og brukere, (St.meld.nr.47, 2008-2009). Vi har tenkt å belyse hvordan sykepleietjenesten vil kunne fungere i fremtiden, sett i lys av samhandlingsreformen. I oppgaven tar vi i utgangspunkt i en pasient som eksempelvis har hatt KOLS i sju år, og som opplever en stadig forverring i sin sykdomstilstand. Her velger vi å se pasienten fra perspektivet til hjemmesykepleien, og hvordan sykepleiere kan gjøre overgangen fra sykehus til hjemmet, og fra hjemmet til sykehuset, best mulig for pasienten. Orem identifiserer åtte universelle egenomsorgskrav, hvor opprettholdelsen av tilstrekkelig inntak av luft, respirasjon, vil være et sentralt krav å forholde oss til i oppgaven. Svikt i dette behovet vil kunne påvirke andre egenomsorgsbehov som behovet for sirkulasjon, ernæring og trygghet, men vi velger å avgrense oss til behovet for respirasjon, (Kirkevold, 1992). En pasient med KOLS vil kunne ha behov for sykepleie på mange områder. I forhold til sykepleie tar vi utgangspunkt i Orems egenomsorgskrav knyttet til helseavvik. Pasienten i oppgaven har sykdom knyttet til helseavvik, og vi velger å fokusere på to av disse avvikene. Vi som sykepleiere må hjelpe pasienten å søke og sikre passende medisinsk assistanse i forbindelse med sykdom, skade og patologi og på en effektiv måte utføre medisinsk forordnede diagnostiske, terapeutiske og rehabiliterende tiltak, (Kirkevold, 1992). Sykepleiere har flere viktige funksjoner, blant andre en helsefremmende og forebyggende funksjon, en behandlende og lindrende funksjon. I oppgaven velger vi å avgrense oss til sykepleierens rehabiliterende funksjon, som retter seg mot mennesker som har akutt eller kronisk helse – eller funksjonssvikt, noe som gjenspeiler seg i valgte pasientgruppe, (Kristoffersen, et.al, 2008)

Oil and macroeconomic (in)stability

We analyze the role of oil price volatility in reducing U.S. macroeconomic instability. Using a regime-switching structural model we revisit the timing of the Great Moderation and the sources of changes in the volatility of macroeconomic variables. We find that smaller or fewer oil price shocks did not play a major role in explaining the Great Moderation. Instead oil price shocks are recurrent sources of macroeconomic fluctuations. The most important factor reducing macroeconomic variability is a decline in the volatility of other structural shocks (demand and supply). A change to a more responsive monetary policy regime also played a role

What possibilities and challenges can using an iPad in primary teaching entail?

Master in Buisness administration (MBA) - Nord universitet 201

Culture crash regarding nursing students' experience of implementation of EBP in clinical practice

Dette er en pdf av forlagets publiserte versjon etter avtale. Tidsskriftets side: http://www.vardinorden.no/vin/forsideAims: The aim of this study was to examine nursing students’ experiences of the implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) in a clinical setting. Background: Educating students in EBP is a challenge to both faculties and clinical practices, because EBP educational interventions may improve knowledge but do not ensure application of EBP in clinical settings. Becoming skilled in the application of EBP requires practice and nurses that motivate students to use EBP. Methods: Fourteen second-year students were divided into three focus groups according to the ward in which they undertook their clinical practice. Each group contained 4–5 students. Findings: The students were able to implement EBP according to the goals of the syllabus, but encountered a clinical setting that was insufficiently prepared, both structurally and in terms of knowledge, to mentor them regarding EBP. The findings indicate a culture crash between the students’learning goals of EBP at the faculty and the application of EBP in practice. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that EBP is feasible in clinical practice, but highlighted the various factors obstructing its implementation. There is a need to find pathways to reduce hindrance in implementation of EBP

Subsite-Specific Dietary Risk Factors for Colorectal Cancer: A Review of Cohort Studies

Objective. A shift in the total incidence from left- to right-sided colon cancer has been reported and raises the question as to whether lifestyle risk factors are responsible for the changing subsite distribution of colon cancer. The present study provides a review of the subsite-specific risk estimates for the dietary components presently regarded as convincing or probable risk factors for colorectal cancer: red meat, processed meat, fiber, garlic, milk, calcium, and alcohol. Methods. Studies were identified by searching PubMed through October 8, 2012 and by reviewing reference lists. Thirty-two prospective cohort studies are included, and the estimates are compared by sex for each risk factor. Results. For alcohol, there seems to be a stronger association with rectal cancer than with colon cancer, and for meat a somewhat stronger association with distal colon and rectal cancer, relative to proximal colon cancer. For fiber, milk, and calcium, there were only minor differences in relative risk across subsites. No statement could be given regarding garlic. Overall, many of the subsite-specific risk estimates were nonsignificant, irrespective of exposure. Conclusion. For some dietary components the associations with risk of cancer of the rectum and distal colon appear stronger than for proximal colon, but not for all

Pygmy resonance and low-energy enhancement in the γ\gamma-ray strength functions of Pd~isotopes

An unexpected enhancement in the $\gamma$-ray strength function, as compared to the low energy tail of the Giant Dipole Resonance (GDR), has been observed for Sc, Ti, V, Fe and Mo isotopes for $E_\gamma<4$ MeV. This enhancement was not observed in subsequent analyses on Sn isotopes, but a Pygmy Dipole Resonance (PDR) centered at $E_\gamma\approx8$ MeV was however detected. The $\gamma$-ray strength functions measured for Cd isotopes exhibit both features over the range of isotopes, with the low-energy enhancement decreasing- and PDR strength increasing as a function of neutron number. This suggests a transitional region for the onset of low-energy enhancement, and also that the PDR strength depends on the number of neutrons. The $\gamma$-ray strength functions of $^{105-108}$Pd have been measured in order to further explore the proposed transitional region. Experimental data were obtained at the Oslo Cyclotron Laboratory by using the charged particle reactions ($^{3}$He, $^{3}$He$^{\prime}\gamma$) and ($^{3}$He, $\alpha$$\gamma$) on $^{106,108}$Pd target foils. Particle$-\gamma$ coincidence measurements provided information on initial excitation energies and the corresponding $\gamma$-ray spectra, which were used to extract the level densities and $\gamma$-ray strength functions according to the Oslo method. The $\gamma$-ray strength functions indicate a sudden increase in magnitude for $E_{\gamma}>4$ MeV, which is interpreted as a PDR centered at $E_{\gamma}\approx8$ MeV. An enhanced $\gamma$-ray strength at low energies is also observed for $^{105}$Pd, which is the lightest isotope measured in this work. Further, the results correspond and agree very well with the observations from the Cd isotopes, and support the suggested transitional region for the onset of low-energy enhancement with decreasing mass number. The neutron number dependency of the PDR strength is also evident

Welfare technology interventions among older people living at home—A systematic review of RCT studies

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.The main goal of health services is for the elderly to maintain their mental and physical health and live at home independently for as long as possible. Various technical welfare solutions have been introduced and tested to support an independent life. The aim of this systematic review was to examine different types of interventions and assess the effectiveness of welfare technology (WT) interventions for older people living at home. This study was prospectively registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020190316) and followed the PRISMA statement. Primary randomized control trial (RCT) studies published between 2015 and 2020 were identified through the following databases: Academic, AMED, Cochrane Reviews, EBSCOhost, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Ovid MEDLINE via PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Twelve out of 687 papers met the criteria for eligibility. We used riskof-bias assessment (RoB 2) for the included studies. Based on the RoB 2 outcomes that showed a high risk of bias (>50%) and high heterogeneity of quantitative data, we decided to narratively summarize the study characteristics, outcome measures, and implications for practice. The included studies were conducted in six countries, namely the USA, Sweden, Korea, Italy, Singapore, and the UK. One was conducted in three European countries (the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland). A total of 8437 participants were sampled, and individual study sample sizes ranged from 12 to 6742. Most of the studies were two-armed RCTs, except for two that were three-armed. The duration of the welfare technology tested in the studies ranged from four weeks to six months. The employed technologies were commercial solutions, including telephones, smartphones, computers, telemonitors, and robots. The type of interventions were balance training, physical exercise and function, cognitive training, monitoring of symptoms, activation of emergency medical systems, self-care, reduction of death risk, and medical alert protection systems. The latter studies were the first of their kind and suggested that physician-led telemonitoring could reduce length of hospital stay. In summary, welfare technology seems to offer solutions to supporting elderly people at home. The results showed a wide range of uses for technologies for improving mental and physical health. All studies showed encouraging results for improving the participants’ health status.publishedVersio