One Hundred Years of Inertia: An Exposé of the Concept of the Psychosocial Work Environment in Swedish Policy and Research

The purpose of this article is to describe a broader concept of the psychosocial work environment, a concept that not only is limited to the individual and her immediate environment but also takes into account a broader context that includes production technology as well as work organization and learning. Based on examples from Sweden, we discuss concepts and approaches to psychosocial work environment and how these have changed over time (e.g., how knowledge about the psychosocial work environment is used to understand and discuss health, management, and development—for individuals, groups, and organizations). The knowledge presented is not new; it has been around a long time. The title of the article—One Hundred Years of Inertia—shows some impatience on the part of its authors given that the pace of change in the work environment has not always been great

The One Stop Shop to Open Access Journals - DOAJ

The initiative to start the project Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) was taken in 2002 at the first Nordic Conference on Scholarly Communication (NCSC). The idea was to develop a one stop shop service which made it easier for libraries and aggregators to integrate OA-journals data in their services, for OA-publishers to get their journals visible and for readers to find OA-material. Initially Open Society Institute and SPARC funded the project which was launched in 2003 containing around 300 journals

“Advice and Consent” in Historical Perspective

In recent years, commentators have complained about what they regard as an increasingly dysfunctional confirmation process for judges and high-ranking executive officials, and the proper role for the Senate in the confirmation process has been much debated. This Article suggests that confirmations have been contentious throughout American history, and that the focus on ideological issues in today’s confirmation proceedings is not anomalous. Indeed, historically, both Republicans and Democrats have used the confirmation process to delay or oppose nominations when the President hails from a different political party, and, sometimes, even when the President comes from the same party but there are ideological objections to the nominee. That the appointments process has, at times, been difficult and contentious should come as no great surprise. The Framers of the United States Constitution intentionally created a governmental structure that was more prone to obstructionism than other comparable systems. Relying on concepts like “separation of powers,” and “checks and balances,” the Framers sought to constrain the federal government in ways that would limit the possibilities for governmental abuse. The appointments power reflects this approach. Like many other constitutional powers, it is a shared power. Although the President has the power to nominate Article III judges, as well as ambassadors and “officers,” nominees can only be confirmed with the “advice and consent” of the Senate. By placing the power to appoint in two politically elected entities, the Constitution establishes a system whereby political influences will sometimes have a major impact on the confirmation process. Although contentiousness can arise during any type of nomination, some Supreme Court nominations have been particularly bitter. Both the Senate and the American public have increasingly become aware that the courts make law and that the political and judicial attitudes of nominees matter. Under such circumstances, the Senate’s inquiry quite naturally goes beyond the simple question of whether a nominee is qualified or unqualified. However, the confirmation process is more difficult today, even for nonjudicial nominees, because of the bitter partisanship that has infected the U.S. political system

Moving Usability Testing onto the Web

Abstract: In order to remotely obtain detailed usability data by tracking user behaviors within a given web site, a server-based usability testing environment has been created. Web pages are annotated in such a way that arbitrary user actions (such as "mouse over link" or "click back button") can be selected for logging. In addition, the system allows the experiment designer to interleave interactive questions into the usability evaluation, which for instance could be triggered by a particular sequence of actions. The system works in conjunction with clustering and visualization algorithms that can be applied to the resulting log file data. A first version of the system has been used successfully to carry out a web usability evaluation

Design Science in Action: Developing a Framework for Introducing IT Systems into Operational Practice

The paper presents an example of using design science research for solving a problem arising from local practice. The problem concerns adoption of new technology. The paper aims to integrate existing approaches and theories of technology acceptance and change management in a framework useful for practical purposes. It is based on the idea that the successful introduction of an IT-system requires a number of conditions to be satisfied as well as means for bringing about the satisfaction of these conditions. The level of satisfaction of the conditions can be measured by a set of parameters, such as the level of strategic, tactical and operational understanding of the system by the users. Means include various types of actions, tools and strategies. The introduction process is steered via periodically measuring the parameters, and applying means that help to change the level of satisfaction of the conditions

Perceptions of providing safe care for frail older people at home: A qualitative study based on focus group interviews with home care staff

Background: Providing safe care is a core competence in healthcare. The concept usually refers to hospitals but, consistent with the increasing importance of integrated care, the provision of safe care needs to be extended to the context of home care, and more research is needed concerning home healthcare providers’ perspectives in this context. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe care providers’ perceptions of providing safe care for frail older persons living at home. Method: A qualitative methodology was chosen. In total, 30 care providers agreed to participate. Data were collected through five focus group interviews and analysed using a phenomenographic approach. Results: Three themes regarding care providers’ perceptions of providing safe care emerged from the data: ‘safe care is created in the encounter and interaction with the older person’, ‘safe care requires responsibility from the caregiver’ and ‘safe care is threatened by insufficient organisational resources’. The findings show that providing safe care is an endeavour that requires a holistic view among the care providers as well as effective collaboration within the team, but insufficient competence or a lack of time can make it difficult to safeguard the psychological and existential needs of older persons. Conclusion: Providing safe care in home environments encompasses more than just risk reduction. The findings highlight the importance of establishing and integrating team-based and person-centred care into home care settings. Traditional communication structures for inpatient care also need to be adapted to the cross-disciplinary work in municipalities. Care providers should be given the opportunity to develop and maintain their competences and to prioritise relationship-oriented care

Reorientation to more health promotion in health services – a study of barriers and possibilities from the perspective of health professionals

Aim: The objective of this study is to analyze the commitment to a more health-promoting health service and to illuminate important barriers for having a health-promoting role in daily practice, among Swedish health care professionals. Material and method: Out of a total of 3751 health professionals who are working daytime in clinical practice in the province of Västerbotten, 1810 were invited to participate in a survey. The health professionals represented eight different occupational groups: counselors, dieticians, midwives, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, and physicians. A questionnaire that operationalized perceptions found in a previous qualitative study was mailed to residential addresses of the participants. Results: The majority believed that health services play a major role in long-term health development in the population and saw a need for health orientation as a strategy to provide more effective health care. Willingness to work more in health promotion and disease prevention was reported significantly more often by women than men, and by primary health care personnel compared to hospital personnel. Among the professional groups, psychologists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists most frequently reported willingness. The most common barriers to health promotion roles in daily practice were reported to be heavy workload, lack of guidelines, and unclear objectives. Conclusions: This study found strong support for reorientation of health services in the incorporation of a greater health promotion. A number of professions that are not usually associated with health promotion practices are knowledgeable and wish to focus more on health promotion and disease prevention. Management has a major role in creating opportunities for these professionals to participate in health promotion practices. Men and physicians reported less positive attitudes to a more health-promoting health service and often possess high positions of power. Therefore, they may play an important role in the process of change toward more health promotion in health services.Originally included in thesis in manuskript form with title: Re-orientation to more health promotion in health services - a study of barriers and possibilities from the perspective of health professionals</p