Does cooperation improve implementation? Central-local governnment relations in active labour market policy in Sweden

Theory suggests that relations between authorities affect implementation. This article studies the link between central and local government agencies in the Swedish labour market sector. The analysis is based on new quantitative data. The results indicate that central and local government agencies have very different priorities, but they nonetheless cooperate to a considerable extent. However, cooperation and ‘good’ implementation only coincide under certain conditions. If the collaborative endeavours are explicitly designed to lead to implementation of a specific and demanding task, cooperation is positively related to implementation performance. Agencies that collaborate to a considerable extent at a general level do not, however, perform better than others. Thus, I argue that theories should be developed and tested to indicate when cooperation between public authorities will promote implementation, instead of assuming that cooperation, in general, is a ‘good thing’.Implementation; cooperation; public employment services; municipalities; active labour market policy

Decentralisation of Active Labour Market Policy: The Case of Swedish Local Employment Service Committees

Decentralisation of decision-making in active labour market policy makes it possible to use local information to the fullest, but may also impinge on the fulfilment of national objectives, as suggested by principal-agent theory. The purpose of this study is to ex-amine the effects of a Swedish pilot programme in 1996, which strengthened the role of the local authorities in labour market policy in parts of the country. Survey evidence suggests a non-negligible divergence between the objectives of the municipality repre-sentatives and the central government's goals. Regarding programme effects, our econometric findings do not indicate any increase in geographical lock-in of the unem-ployed, but decentralisation seems to spur local initiatives in the form of labour market programmes organised by the municipalities. In addition, targeting on outsiders is to some extent more common in municipal projects than in others.Active labour market policy; Decentralisation; Intergovernmental relations

Towards reason: political disputes, public attention and the use of expert knowledge in policymaking

This article examines expert knowledge utilization in public policy processes. We study how much expert knowledge is employed and the extent to which decision-makers deliberate on the information provided by the experts, under various conditions of political disputes and public attention. We suggest four hypotheses. It is proposed that expert knowledge will be used more, but that there will be less deliberation in situations of political disputes. It is also suggested that expert knowledge will be consulted more and the decision-makers will take a more deliberative approach when there is a lot of attention from citizens. Our empirical findings, based on original data from local politics in Sweden, are in line with the hypotheses. The findings highlight the importance of both studying the extent of expert knowledge use and the way expertise is utilized. Another important insight is that politics seem to matter in relation to the role expert knowledge plays in public policymaking.Expert knowledge; Public policy; Political disputes; Public attention; Deliberation; Local government Sweden

Framtiden för besättningar med bundna mjölkkor

De senaste åren har mjölkbesättningarna i Sverige förändrats. Det mest dominerande sättet har varit att hålla korna bundna men efterhand som mjölkgårdarna har rationaliserats och blivit modernare har det blivit vanligare att många lantbrukare ställt om till lösdrift. År 2007 bestämde jordbruksverket att alla nya stallar som ska byggas för mjölkkor ska vara lösdriftssystem, vilket innebär att våra bundna besättningar kommer försvinna i framtiden. Det här examensarbetet har ställt frågan till mjölkproducenter med bundna kor hur de ser på framtiden för sina besättningar. Idag (2011) finns det 348 100 mjölkkor i Sverige. Av dem står ungefär hälften i uppbundna system. De olika systemen som korna kan stå i är långbås, kortbås samt mellanbås. Det vanligaste systemet för bundna kor i Sverige är uppbundna kortbås. År 2007 kom en ny lag att alla nya mjölkstallar som byggs i Sverige måste byggas som lösdriftsstallar för att korna ska kunna uttrycka sina naturliga beteenden. Detta innebär att de bundna systemen kommer på sikt försvinna i Sverige. För att reda ut hur situationen ser ut just nu och hur den kommer förändras med de bundna mjölkbesättningarna skickades en enkät ut till just dessa gårdar. Enkäten skickades ut till gårdar som hade mellan 50 – 110 mjölkkor då dessa skulle svara för besättningar som har en rimlig storlek i Sverige. Gårdarna var slumpvis utvalda och låg någorlunda jämnt fördelat över landet. Svar inkom från totalt 34 gårdar och resultaten visade att snittålder hos de svarande lantbrukarna låg på ca 52 år. Medelkoantalet låg på 64 kor och det var 0,91 anställda per gård. Sammanfattningsvis så kommer ungefär hälften av gårdarna i undersökningen sluta med mjölkkor inom de närmaste åren för att istället ställa om till annat djurslag eller sluta. Den vanligaste orsaken för dem som skulle sluta var åldersskäl och att det inte fanns en yngre generation på gården som ville ta över, samt att det är för dålig lönsamhet för att bygga nytt. Positivt var att det fanns en bra framtidstro hos 1/3 av gårdarna som kommer att bygga nya stallar och fortsätta satsa på mjölkkorna och på de flesta av dessa gårdar fanns det också en yngre generation som ville ta över och driva gården vidare.The way to keep dairy cows has changed during the last decades in Sweden. Previously, dairy cows were mainly kept in tie-stall systems. Gradually, as herd size have increased and farms have become more rationalized and modern, the way farmers keep cows is shifting towards keeping them in cubicles or loose-housed. Authority regulations have since 2007 not allowing new tie-stall housing to be built, only loose housing or cubicles. Thus, tie-stall housing will be phased out. This diploma paper discusses this situation and tries to foresee the coming changes. . There are about 348 100 (in 2011) dairy cows in Sweden. About half of the dairy cows are kept in tie-stalls. There are three different principle tie-stall systems: Long-stalls, short-stalls and a mix of these two. The most common is the short-stall. But as pointed out, no new facilities where cows are kept in tie-stalls will be built. In order to describe the current situation of tie-stall herds, and to give some estimate of the future of existing herds, a questionnaire was sent to dairy farmers who kept cows in tie-stalls. The herd size of the farms varied between 50-110 dairy cows as this would represent a size of herd that is relatively economic sustainable. The herds were randomly selected from a list of herds with tie-stall housing and geographically evenly distributed. Out of 95 questionnaires sent out, 43 were returned. Farmers in the survey was on average 52 years old, herd size was 64 cows and there were 0,91 employee per farm. About 50 % of the farms will stop dairy production in the next 5 years. The others will either stop or change to other animal categories. There are many reasons to continue or stop dairy production at the studied farms but some will convert to some kind of loose-housing or cubicles and others will continue the present production in tie-stalls. The results are discussed in the paper

European older adults' use of the Internet and social networks for love and sex

What is the prevalence of using the Internet for love and sexual activities among older adults across Europe, and what predicts such use? Data were collected in probability samples among populations aged 60–75 years in Norway (N = 1271), Denmark (N = 1045), Belgium (N = 991), and Portugal (N = 509) using postal questionnaires. A total of 36% of men and 15% of women reported having used the Internet for sex and love purposes, most often to watch pornography. The use of the Internet for various love and sex purposes was higher in participants who had a partner, who had masturbation activity and who were satisfied with their current level of sexual activity. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that use of the Internet to find committed partners, watch pornography, buy sex products or seek information or advice was lower in Portuguese men than men in Norway, Denmark, and Belgium. Tailored websites to promote both sexuality and how to preserve a committed relationship are likely to prove important for the aging population

Preoperative biomarkers related to inflammation may identify high-risk anastomoses in colorectal cancer surgery : explorative study

Anastomotic leakage is a major complication after colorectal surgery, presumed to correspond with a process of failed wound healing, involving inflammation. Circulating levels of inflammation-related biomarkers were investigated in preoperative samples from 41 patients with leakage, who had elective treatment with a primary anastomosis for non-disseminated colorectal cancer, matched to 41 complication-free controls. A total of 15 inflammation-related proteins were elevated before surgery in patients with rectal cancer with leakage, of which C-X-C motif chemokine 6 and C-C motif chemokine 11 remained significantly increased after controlling for multiplicity. As a corresponding expression pattern difference did not emerge when tissue adjacent to the anastomosis was evaluated with immunohistochemistry, findings may reflect a systemic rather than a local host response. While these findings require validation before implementation into surgical practice, they highlight the need for further translational investigations as a promising research area to help decrease leakage rates. Background Colorectal anastomotic leakage can be considered a process of failed wound healing, for which related biomarkers might be a promising research area to decrease leak rates. Methods Patients who had elective surgery with a primary anastomosis for non-metastatic colorectal cancer, at two university hospitals between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2015 were included. Patients with an anastomotic leak were identified and matched (1:1) to complication-free controls on the basis of sex, age, tumour stage, tumour location, and operating hospital. Preoperative blood samples were analysed by use of protein panels associated with systemic or enteric inflammation by proteomics, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Multivariable projection methods were used in the statistical analyses and adjusted for multiple comparisons to reduce false positivity. Rectal cancer tissue samples were evaluated with immunohistochemistry to determine local expression of biomarkers that differed significantly between cases and controls. Results Out of 726 patients undergoing resection, 41 patients with anastomotic leakage were matched to 41 controls. Patients with rectal cancer with leakage displayed significantly elevated serum levels of 15 proteins related to inflammation. After controlling for a false discovery rate, levels of C-X-C motif chemokine 6 (CXCL6) and C-C motif chemokine 11 (CCL11) remained significant. In patients with colonic cancer with leakage, levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were increased before surgery. Local expression of CXCL6 and CCL11, and their receptors, were similar in rectal tissues between cases and controls. Conclusion Patients with anastomotic leakage could have an upregulated inflammatory response before surgery, as expressed by elevated serological levels of CXCL6 and CCL11 for rectal cancer and hs-CRP levels in patients with colonic cancer respectively. Preoperative inflammation-related serum proteins were evaluated in a case-control study of 41 patients with anastomotic leakage matched 1:1 with 41 complication-free controls. The chemokines C-X-C motif chemokine 6 and C-C motif chemokine 11 were significantly increased before surgery in patients with rectal cancer and leakage, a finding requiring further validation.Peer reviewe

Compton Scattering by the Nucleon

The status of Compton scattering by the nucleon at energies of the first and second resonance is summarized. In addition to a general test of dispersion theories and a precise determination of polarizabilities, the validities of four fundamental sum rules are explored. {\it Recommended} averages of experimental values for the electromagnetic polarizabilities and spin-polarizabilities of the nucleon are determined: $\alpha_p=12.0\pm 0.6$, $\beta_p=1.9\mp 0.6$, $\alpha_n= 12.5 \pm 1.7$, $\beta_n= 2.7 \mp 1.8$ (unit $10^{-4}$fm$^3$), $\gamma^{(p)}_\pi= -38.7 \pm 1.8$, $\gamma^{(n)}_\pi = 58.6 \pm 4.0$ (unit $10^{-4}$fm$^4$).Comment: version appearing in the conference proceeding

Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 and gelsolin identified as novel invasion-modulating factors in conditioned medium of pancreatic cancer cells

Conditioned medium (CM) from clonal sub-populations of the pancreatic cancer cell line, MiaPaCa-2 with differing invasive abilities, were examined for their effect on in vitro invasion. Conditioned medium from Clone #3 (CM#3) strongly promoted invasion, while CM from Clone #8 (CM#8) inhibited invasion in vitro. 2D DIGE followed by MALDI-TOF MS analysis of CM#3 and CM#8 identified 41 proteins which were differentially regulated; 27 proteins were down-regulated and 14 proteins up-regulated in the invasion-promoting CM#3 when compared to CM#8. Western blotting analysis confirmed the down-regulated expression of gelsolin and the up-regulation of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 in CM#3. Down-regulation of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 in Clone #3 CM and gelsolin levels in Clone #8 CM by siRNA transfection revealed an important involvement of these proteins in promoting and inhibiting invasion in these pancreatic cancer cell lines