Pathways to Employment

Background This project’s aims are twofold (1) to uncover and define the underlying theories of change guiding competing active labor market programs (ALMP) in Sweden, and (2) to assess the relative effectiveness of these competing programs in a theory-based non-randomized controlled trial. The purpose is to assess the extent to which competing ALMPs are effective in moving long-term unemployed individuals (i.e. unemployed for 6 months or more) closer to the labor-market. Methods/Design This project will engage ALMP program administrators and service providers in semi-structured interviews. The transcribed interview material will be used as a basis for program theory reconstruction. All specified program theories will be presented back to program stakeholders for validation. ALMP program effectiveness will be assessed quasi-experimentally with pre- (T1) and posttest (T2) collection of self-reported data. Additionally, official register data from the Longitudinal integrated database for health insurance and labor market studies (LISA) will be collected for all participants. In addition, a matched sample will be collected from LISA to be used as a non-treated control group on final policy outcomes (e.g., employment, salary/wage). This study also assesses program implementation and economic outcomes of the included ALMPs. Discussion Long-term unemployment has profound impact of the health and wellbeing of individuals, families, and communities. In addition, the effects of long-term unemployment have been found to impact subgroups differently. Today we have scant knowledge on the mechanisms that are influential in moving individuals from long-term unemployment closer to the labor market. This study is designed to answer six research questions using a variety of methods (mixed-methods) and outcome measures (self-report, official register). In addition, this study leverages official register data to construct an untreated control group. This study will assess the extent to which an emerging theory of becoming job ready holds under experimental scrutiny

Neighborhood conditions in a Swedish context-Two studies of reliability and validity of virtual systematic social observation using Google Street View

IntroductionThe goal of these studies was to investigate the reliability and validity of virtual systematic social observation (virtual SSO) using Google Street View in a Swedish neighborhood context.MethodsThis was accomplished in two studies. Study 1 focused on interrater reliability and construct validity, comparing ratings conducted in-person to those done using Google Street View, across 24 study sites within four postal code areas. Study 2 focused on criterion validity of virtual SSO in terms of neighborhoods with low versus high income levels, including 133 study sites within 22 postal code areas in a large Swedish city. In both studies, assessment of the neighborhood context was conducted at each study site, using a protocol adapted to a Swedish context.ResultsScales for Physical Decay, Neighborhood Dangerousness, and Physical Disorder were found to be reliable, with adequate interrater reliability, high consistency across methods, and high internal consistency. In Study 2, significantly higher levels of observed Physical Decay, Neighborhood Dangerousness, and signs of garbage or litter were observed in postal codes areas (site data was aggregated to postal code level) with lower as compared to higher income levels.DiscussionWe concluded that the scales within the virtual SSO with Google Street View protocol that were developed in this series of studies represents a reliable and valid measure of several key neighborhood contextual features. Implications for understanding the complex person-context interactions central to many theories of positive development among youth were discussed in relation to the study findings

Rust expression browser: an open source database for simultaneous analysis of host and pathogen gene expression profiles with expVIP

BackgroundTranscriptomics is being increasingly applied to generate new insight into the interactions between plants and their pathogens. For the wheat yellow (stripe) rust pathogen (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, Pst) RNA-based sequencing (RNA-Seq) has proved particularly valuable, overcoming the barriers associated with its obligate biotrophic nature. This includes the application of RNA-Seq approaches to study Pst and wheat gene expression dynamics over time and the Pst population composition through the use of a novel RNA-Seq based surveillance approach called "field pathogenomics". As a dual RNA-Seq approach, the field pathogenomics technique also provides gene expression data from the host, giving new insight into host responses. However, this has created a wealth of data for interrogation.ResultsHere, we used the field pathogenomics approach to generate 538 new RNA-Seq datasets from Pst-infected field wheat samples, doubling the amount of transcriptomics data available for this important pathosystem. We then analysed these datasets alongside 66 RNA-Seq datasets from four Pst infection time-courses and 420 Pst-infected plant field and laboratory samples that were publicly available. A database of gene expression values for Pst and wheat was generated for each of these 1024 RNA-Seq datasets and incorporated into the development of the rust expression browser (http://www.rust-expression.com). This enables for the first time simultaneous 'point-and-click' access to gene expression profiles for Pst and its wheat host and represents the largest database of processed RNA-Seq datasets available for any of the three Puccinia wheat rust pathogens. We also demonstrated the utility of the browser through investigation of expression of putative Pst virulence genes over time and examined the host plants response to Pst infection.ConclusionsThe rust expression browser offers immense value to the wider community, facilitating data sharing and transparency and the underlying database can be continually expanded as more datasets become publicly available

Experimental and Simulation Efforts in the Astrobiological Exploration of Exooceans

The icy satellites of Jupiter and Saturn are perhaps the most promising places in the Solar System regarding habitability. However, the potential habitable environments are hidden underneath km-thick ice shells. The discovery of Enceladus’ plume by the Cassini mission has provided vital clues in our understanding of the processes occurring within the interior of exooceans. To interpret these data and to help configure instruments for future missions, controlled laboratory experiments and simulations are needed. This review aims to bring together studies and experimental designs from various scientific fields currently investigating the icy moons, including planetary sciences, chemistry, (micro-)biology, geology, glaciology, etc. This chapter provides an overview of successful in situ, in silico, and in vitro experiments, which explore different regions of interest on icy moons, i.e. a potential plume, surface, icy shell, water and brines, hydrothermal vents, and the rocky core

Enhetspriser och behandlingskostnader för behandlingar mot våld i nära relationer : en kostnadsanalys av 29 behandlingar som ingick i tre nationella utvärderingar

Våld mot kvinnor i nära relationer är ett vanligt och allvarligt samhällsproblem som medför ett stort lidande för kvinnor, barn och andra närstående. Vidare medför våld mot kvinnor i nära relationer stora ekonomiska kostnader. Under 2007 fick Socialstyrelsen uppdraget att utvärdera metoder och arbetssätt i socialtjänstens arbete med våldsutövande män samt metoder och arbetssätt i socialtjänstanknutna verksamheter för våldsutsatta kvinnor och barn som bevittnar våld. Vidare planerades analyser av kostnadseffektivitet i anslutning till dessa tre utvärderingar. Det är de ekonomiska analyser som denna studie fokuserar på. Den ekonomiska analysen baseras på data som samlats in i samband med Behandling av män som utövar våld i nära relationer – en utvärdering (Socialstyrelsen, 2010), Utvärdering av Socialtjänstens insatser för våldsutsatta kvinnor (Schaffer Lindgren, Bergkvist, Dufort & Tengström, 2010; FORUM, 2011), och Utvärdering av behandlingar som stödjer barn som bevittnat våld mot mamma (Broberg, Almqvist, Axberg, Almqvist, Cater & Eriksson, 2010; Broberg, Almqvist, Axberg, Grip, Almqvist, Sharifi, m fl, 2011). Alla tre utvärderingar använde sig av en kvasiexperimentell design där deltagarna följdes för att undersöka förändringar över tid. De ekonomiska analyserna omfattar 29 verksamheter för barn, kvinnor och män. För den ekonomiska analysen samlades uppgifter in om verksamhetskostnader, produktion hos verksamheterna, och resursanvändning av utvärderingsdeltagare för att estimera behandlingskostnaden för utvärderingarnas deltagare. Jämförelser gjordes mellan behandlingsgrupper för att undersöka kostnaden för att uppnå de resultat som redovisas i ovan nämnde utvärderingarna. Resultaten tyder på att Kriscentrums verksamhet erbjuder behandling till det lägsta enhetspriset och också erbjuder den minst intensiv behandling för män som har utövat våld i nära relationer. En behandling hos Kriscentrum kostade i genomsnitt mindre (8 363 kr) än en behandling hos Alternativ till våld (ATV) (28 373 kr) och Utväg (34 043 kr) med samma behandlingseffekt. Verksamheterna med särskild inriktning mot barn som hade upplevt våld mot mamma hade ett lägre enhetspris för sina behandlingar till barn som hade bevittnat våld mot mamma trots att de träffade sina klienter 2 – 5 gånger mer än de ordinarie verksamheter med respektive utan stöd till barn. Även om det inte fanns några större skillnader mellan de särskilda och de ordinarie verksamheter i de totala behandlingskostnader, uppnådde klienter i de särskilda verksamheterna större förbättringar i psykisk ohälsa och sociala förmågor än klienter i de ordinarie verksamheterna med stöd respektive de utan stöd. Det saknades tillräckligt underlag för att uppskatta kostnadseffektiviteten hos de verksamheter som erbjuder behandlingar till våldsutsatta kvinnor. Det finns ett stort behov av att utveckla metoder och procedurer inom socialtjänst och socialtjänstnära verksamheter för registrering av grundläggande verksamhetsstatistik om antal behandlade individer, typ av behandling individerna får och hur mycket behandling som individerna får. Endast fyra av de 29 verksamheterna kunde presentera alla nödvändiga uppgifter för fullständiga kostnadsanalyser och åtta saknade all relevant information och måste därför exkluderas ur analyserna

Publication bias, time-lag bias, and place-of-publication bias in social intervention research: An exploratory study of 527 Swedish articles published between 1990–2019

Publication and related biases constitute serious threats to the validity of research synthesis. If research syntheses are based on a biased selection of the available research, there is an increased risk of producing misleading results. The purpose fo this study is to explore the extent of positive outcome bias, time-lag bias, and place-of-publication bias in published research on the effects of psychological, social, and behavioral interventions. The results are based on 527 Swedish outcome trials published in peer-reviewed journals between 1990 and 2019. We found no difference in the number of studies reporting significant compared to non-significant findings or in the number of studies reporting strong effect sizes in the published literature. We found no evidence of time-lag bias or place-of-publication bias in our results. The average reported effect size remained constant over time as did the proportion of studies reporting significant effects

The push-door for measuring motivation in hens: An adaptation and a critical discussion of the method

Animals should be given the opportunity to perform behaviours that they are motivated to show if we are to maximise their welfare. Research studies into motivation and appropriate methods of studying it are therefore important. Different factors may need to be taken into consideration depending on the form of the behaviour being studied. Certain commodities, such as a perch for night-time roosting, have a value only if the animal is given full access to them until it has completed the behaviour. For other commodities, such as food and water, the amount can be varied along a continuous scale without affecting the animalsí demand for that resource. The commonly used operant techniques generating demand curves are based on the assumption that demand is not affected by the size of the reward (ie how much of the commodity the animal gains access to). As a consequence, these techniques are appropriate only for assessing motivation for resources of which the size can be varied. Resources of the ëall-or-noneí type, on the other hand, require a different approach. We discuss different adaptations of the push-door technique as a measure of motivation, and we present results that validate a version with fixed, individually adapted levels of resistance. The method was validated using laying hens (Gallus gallus domesticus) tested at different levels of food deprivation and exposed to two series of increasing door resistances. The results show that the level of food-deprivation affects the amount of resistance that is overcome. We conclude that this method could be used to study hensí motivation for commodities of the ëall-or-noneí type

The five-year costs and benefits of extended psychological and psychiatric assessment versus standard intake interview for women with comorbid substance use disorders treated in compulsory care in Sweden

Abstract Background Women with comorbid substance use disorders are an extremely vulnerable group having an increased relative risk of negative outcomes such as incarceration, morbidity and mortality. In Sweden, women with comorbid substance use disorders may be placed in compulsory care for substance abuse treatment. Clinical intake assessment procedures are a distinct aspect of clinical practice and are a foundation upon which client motivation and continued treatment occurs. Method The current study is a naturalistic quasi-experiment and aims to assess the five-year costs and benefits of a standard intake interview versus an extended psychological and psychiatric assessment for a group of chronic substance abusing women placed in compulsory care in Sweden between 1997 and 2000. Official register data on criminal activity, healthcare use, compulsory care stays and other services was retrieved and all resources used by study participants from date of index care episode was valued. In addition, the cost of providing the intake assessment was estimated. Results Results show that the extended assessment resulted in higher net costs over five years of between 256,000 and 557,000 SEK per person for women placed in care via the Law on Compulsory Care for Substance Abusers (LVM). Higher assessment costs made up a portion of this cost. The majority of this cost (47–57%) falls on the local municipality (social welfare) and 11.6–13.7% falls on the individual patient. Conclusions Solid evidence supporting the clinical utility or incremental validity of assessment for improving treatment outcomes in this setting was not confirmed