'It's like a Sentence before the Sentence' - Exploring the Pains and Possibilities of Waiting for Imprisonment

AbstractThis article explores the implications of the ‘imprisonment queue’ in Norway. Based on interview data (N = 200), we show that while interviewees waiting to serve their sentences enjoy certain benefits such as being able to prepare for or negotiate the terms of their imprisonment, they also suffer from uncertainty and powerlessness. The suspension of their lives while they wait hinders them in pursuing their ground projects, things that really matter to them. This peculiar phenomenon has not received attention from prison scholars generally, as well as scholars writing on Nordic Exceptionalism specifically. This article addresses that gap and poses questions about the relative mildness of the short Norwegian sentences, and more broadly, about what constitutes punishment.</jats:p

Guarding, guiding, gate opening: Prison officer work in a Norwegian welfare context

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Storsalamanderen og trafikk. Utfordringer for en myk trafikant

Dervo, B.K. & Mjåland, J. 2019. Storsalamanderen og trafikk. Utfordringer for en myk trafikant. NINA Rapport 1633. Norsk institutt for naturforskning. Vi har overvåket vandringene av storsalamander ved Lahelldammen i Lier kommune i Oslo og Viken fylke i perioden 2012 til 2017. I denne perioden er det gjort observasjoner av vårvandringene, trafikktetthet og antall påkjørte voksne storsalamander. Tidspunktet for starten på den årlige vandringen av storsalamander til yngleplassen varierte fra 27. februar til 11. april. Det er til dels stor variasjon i vandringsperioden mellom år på grunn av forskjellen i temperatur (summen av døgngrader og temperaturen om kvelden og natta) og nedbør (snømengde om våren og regn). I de fleste årene vandrer mer enn 50 prosent av dyrene i løpet av tre døgn. Tidlig i sesongen (1. mars) starter vandringene omkring kl. 19:00 på kvelden, mens seint i sesongen (1. mai) rundt 22:30. Gjennomsnittlig vandringshastighet for storsalamander ble målt til 0,4 m/min, dvs. at de bruke fra 7 til 11 min avhengig av lufttemperatur på å krysse den fem meter brede asfalterte vegen rundt Lahelldammen. Det var en klar sammenheng mellom antall påkjørte individer av storsalamander, antall passerende biler og antall vandrende dyr. Samlet ble omkring tre prosent av individene som krysset vegen rundt Lahelldammen påkjørt. Dette til tross for at trafikktettheten og hastigheten generelt er veldig lav, dvs. færre enn 5 biler i gjennomsnitt pr time og en bilhastighet på under 30 km/t. Påkjørslene var flest i et område i nordøst hvor dyrene krysser vegen skrått i forhold til bilenes fartsretning. For Lahelldammen er problemene med påkjørsler av amfibier relativt små og de mest kostnads-effektive tiltakene vil være skilting og eventuelt informasjon til beboerne i området på dager med stor vandringsaktivitet. En tommelfinnerregel kan være at andre tiltak bør vurderes når biltettheten blir større enn 10 biler per time i gjennomsnitt i vandringsperioden om kvelden.Dervo, B.K. & Mjåland, J. 2019. Great crested newt and traffic. Challenges for a vulnerable road user. NINA Report 1633. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. The migration of Great crested newts has been monitored at Lahelldammen from the year 2012 to 2017. Lahelldammen is located in Lier municipality, Oslo and Viken county. In this period the yearly spring migration, density of the traffic and number of killed animals have been monitored. The starting point of the yearly migration varied from February 27th to April 11th. This variation depended on the temperature (average temperature and the temperature in the evening and night) and rainfall (snow in the spring and rain). Normally more than 50% of the animals migrate during 3 nights. Early in the season (March 1st) the migration starts at 19.00 in the evening, later in the season (May 1st) it starts at 22.30. Average speed for the Great crested newts was 0,4 m/minute, i.e. they spent 7 to 11 minutes (depending on temperature) to cross the 5 meter wide road that surround the pond. It is a clear correlation between the number of killed animals, number of cars and number of crossing animals. All together about 3% of the animals were killed. This occurred despite very low traffic (about 5 cars per hour), at very low speed (less than 30km/h). Most of the animals were killed in the north-east corner where the animals cross the road more parallel to the road. At Lahelldammen the problem with traffic and amphibians is relatively small, and the most cost-effective way to reduce the problem could be road signs and information to the locals in the evenings during the migration period. A rule of thumb can be that other actions must be considered when the traffic is more than 10 cars in the evening in the migration period

Cholecystectomy in Sweden 2000 - 2003 : a nationwide study on procedures, patient characteristics, and mortality

Background: Epidemiological data on characteristics of patients undergoing open or laparoscopic cholecystectomy are limited. In this register study we examined characteristics and mortality of patients who underwent cholecystectomy during hospital stay in Sweden 2000 – 2003. Methods: Hospital discharge and death certificate data were linked for all patients undergoing cholecystectomy in Sweden from January 1st 2000 through December 31st 2003. Mortality risk was calculated as standardised mortality ratio (SMR) i.e. observed over expected deaths considering age and gender of the background population. Results: During the four years of the study 43072 patients underwent cholecystectomy for benign biliary disease, 31144 (72%) using a laparoscopic technique and 11928 patients (28%) an open procedure (including conversion from laparoscopy). Patients with open cholecystectomy were older than patients with laparoscopic cholecystectomy (59 vs 49 years, p &lt; 0.001), they were more likely to have been admitted to hospital during the year preceding cholecystectomy, and they had more frequently been admitted acutely for cholecystectomy (57% Vs 21%, p &lt; 0.001). The proportion of women was lower in the open cholecystectomy group compared to the laparoscopic group (57% vs 73%, p &lt; 0.001). Hospital stay was 7.9 (8.9) days, mean (SD), for patients with open cholecystectomy and 2.6 (3.3) days for patients with laparoscopic cholecystectomy, p &lt; 0.001. SMR within 90 days of index admission was 3.89 (3.41–4.41) (mean and 95% CI), for patients with open cholecystectomy and 0.73 (0.52–1.01) for patients with laparoscopic cholecystectomy. During this period biliary disease accounted for one third of all deaths in both groups. From 91 to 365 days after index admission, SMR for patients in the open group was 1.01 (0.87–1.16) and for patients in the laparoscopic group 0.56 (0.44–0.69). Conclusion: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is performed on patients having a lower mortality risk than the general Swedish population. Patients with open cholecystectomy are more sick than patients with laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and they have a mortality risk within 90 days of admission for cholecystectomy, which is four times that of the general population. Further efforts to reduce surgical trauma in open biliary surgery are motivated