A newspaper campaign tells

Around the time of 1998 a number of articles about the situation of the educational system appeared in the daily Swedish press. A large proportion of the articles (concerned with science journalism as well as general debate and narratives) centered on children with the neuro-psychiatric diagnoses DAMP, AHDH, Tourettes or Aspergers Syndrome. The occurrence could be described as a launch or a campaign in favour of a medical perspective on children's problems. This article is attempting to give some explanations to the large amount of attention given to these diagnoses. The rhetorical forms used to convince readers of the accuracy and humanity of diagnosing children are also analysed. Special emphasis is placed on the commercial terms that journalism operates under, and on its tradition as an educator. We can see, on the whole, that medicine, journalism and parents’ testimonies tell the same story. The material represents a wide consensus relating to the question of how diagnostics and the importance of placing these children into special areas are viewed. The study has been carried out within the framework of a social-constructivist perspective

Forskningsprogram för ett kulturarvsvetenskapligt institut

Varje förslag till forskningsprogram innebär någon form av inriktning. I denna text ligger fokus på kulturarvets plats i samhället i vid mening. Det handlar om hur företeelser, berättelser, föremål och platser produ¬ceras och används som kulturarv men också vilka kontaktytor som finns till andra politiska och sociala verksamhetsfält. Forskningsprogrammet har en betoning på möten mellan kulturarv och välfärdsfrågor i vår tid samt vilka former och uttryck detta tar. De centrala frågorna berör möten mellan det officiella kulturarvsfältet och medborgare, som enskilda eller som grupperingar, samt de inrikt¬nings- och legitimi¬tets¬processer som då aktualiseras. Forsknings¬programmet lägger också stor vikt vid mediala och utominstitutionella kulturarviseringsprocesser. Vi pläderar här genomgående för forskning med avstamp i vår samtid, med starka inslag av historiska och internationella komparationer

Predicting grain protein concentration in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) based on unpiloted aerial vehicle multispectral optical remote sensing

Prediction models for crude protein concentration (CP) in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) based on multispectral reflectance data from field trials in 2019 and 2020 in southern Sweden were developed and evaluated for independent trial sites. Reflectance data were collected using an unpiloted aerial vehicle (UAV)-borne camera with nine spectral bands having similar specification to nine bands of Sentinel-2 satellite data. Models were tested for application on near-real time Sentinel-2 imagery, on the prospect that CP prediction models can be made available in satellite-based decision support systems (DSS) for precision agriculture. Two different prediction methods were tested: linear regression and multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS). Linear regression based on the best-performing vegetation index (the chlorophyll index) was found to be approximately as accurate as the best performing MARS model with multiple predictor variables in leave-one-trial-out cross-validation (R-2 = 0.71, R-2 = 0.70 and mean absolute error 0.64%, 0.60% CP respectively). Models applied on satellite data explained to a small degree between-field variations in CP (R-2 = 0.36), however did not reproduce within-field variation accurately. The results of the different methods presented here show the differences between methods used and their potential for application in a DSS

Testing Cost Containment of Future Healthcare with Maintained or Improved Quality—The COSTCARES Project

Increasing healthcare costs need to be contained in order to maintain equality of access to care for all EU citizens. A cross-disciplinary consortium of experts was supported by the EU FP7 research programme, to produce a roadmap on cost containment, while maintaining or improving the quality of healthcare. The roadmap comprises two drivers: person-centred care and health promotion; five critical enablers also need to be addressed: information technology, quality measures, infrastructure, incentive systems, and contracting strategies

Healthcare workers' participation in a healthy-lifestyle-promotion project in western Sweden

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Healthcare professionals play a central role in health promotion and lifestyle information towards patients as well as towards the general population, and it has been shown that own lifestyle habits can influence attitudes and counselling practice towards patients. The purpose of this study was to explore the participation of healthcare workers (HCWs) in a worksite health promotion (WHP) programme. We also aimed to find out whether HCWs with poorer lifestyle-related health engage in health-promotion activities to a larger extent than employees reporting healthier lifestyles.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>A biennial questionnaire survey was used in this study, and it was originally posted to employees in the public healthcare sector in western Sweden, one year before the onset of the WHP programme. The response rate was 61% (n = 3207). In the four-year follow-up, a question regarding participation in a three-year-long WHP programme was included, and those responding to this question were included in the final analysis (n = 1859). The WHP programme used a broad all-inclusive approach, relying on the individual's decision to participate in activities related to four different themes: physical activity, nutrition, sleep, and happiness/enjoyment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The participation rate was around 21%, the most popular theme being physical activity. Indicators of lifestyle-related health/behaviour for each theme were used, and regression analysis showed that individuals who were sedentary prior to the programme were less likely to participate in the programme's physical activities than the more active individuals. Participation in the other three themes was not significantly predicted by the indicators of the lifestyle-related health, (body mass index, sleep disturbances, or depressive mood).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results indicate that HCWs are not more prone to participate in WHP programmes compared to what has been reported for other working populations, and despite a supposedly good knowledge of health-related issues, HCWs reporting relatively unfavourable lifestyles are not more motivated to participate. As HCWs are key actors in promoting healthy lifestyles to other groups (such as patients), it is of utmost importance to find strategies to engage this professional group in activities that promote their own health.</p

Global Alliance for the Promotion of Physical Activity: the Hamburg Declaration

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, dementia, depression and cancers, are on the rise worldwide and are often associated with a lack of physical activity (PA). Globally, the levels of PA among individuals are below WHO recommendations. A lack of PA can increase morbidity and mortality, worsen the quality of life and increase the economic burden on individuals and society. In response to this trend, numerous organisations came together under one umbrella in Hamburg, Germany, in April 2021 and signed the 'Hamburg Declaration'. This represented an international commitment to take all necessary actions to increase PA and improve the health of individuals to entire communities. Individuals and organisations are working together as the 'Global Alliance for the Promotion of Physical Activity' to drive long-term individual and population-wide behaviour change by collaborating with all stakeholders in the community: active hospitals, physical activity specialists, community services and healthcare providers, all achieving sustainable health goals for their patients/clients. The 'Hamburg Declaration' calls on national and international policymakers to take concrete action to promote daily PA and exercise at a population level and in healthcare settings

Testing Cost Containment of Future Health Care with Maintained or Improved Quality – The COST CARES project Running title: Cost Containment of Future Health Care

Abstract Background Increasing healthcare costs need to be contained in order to maintain equality of access to care for all EU citizens. A cross‐disciplinary consortium of experts was supported by the EU FP7 research programme, to produce a roadmap on cost containment, while maintaining or improving the quality of healthcare. The roadmap comprises two drivers: person‐centred care and health promotion; five critical enablers also need to be addressed: information technology, quality measures, infrastructure, incentive systems, and contracting strategies. Method In order to develop and test the roadmap, a COST Action project was initiated: COST−CARES, with 28 participating countries. This paper provides an overview of evidence about the effects of each of the identified enablers. Intersections between the drivers and the enablers are identified as critical for the success of future cost containment, in tandem with maintained or improved quality in healthcare. This will require further exploration through testing. Conclusion Cost containment of future healthcare, with maintained or improved quality, needs to be addressed through a concerted approach of testing key factors. We propose a framework for test lab design based on these drivers and enablers in different European countries