Incentive and spill-over effects of supplementary sickness compensation

In 1998 the Swedish national sickness insurance policy changed to allow additional compensation from e.g. collective agreements after the 90th day of absence without a reduction of the public sickness benefit. We estimate the effects of this policy change on the duration of sickness absence for employees in the municipal sector. After the change in policy, this group received 10 percentage points additional compensation during day 91 to 360 in a sick leave. The results indicate that durations of at least 91 days increased by 4.7 days on average. As a consequence, the cost for the national sickness insurance increased by 3.0 percent. For the supplementary insurance to cover its total cost, insurance premiums should be increased by 22 percent.Social insurance; sickness absence; collective agreements

Observation of babbling in children with mild to moderate hearing loss at 9-19 months of age

The aim of this study was to investigate early speech in children with mild to moderate hearing loss. Previous research show that babbling in children with profound hearing loss differ from normal hearing children. Canonical babbling is a landmark in the development, and consonants with anterior place of articulation and plosive manner have been shown to predict later language development. Five children with mild to moderate hearing loss were recruited. The children were observed and their babbling noted in a validated observation form. Comparison with age-matched normal-hearing children showed that children with hearing loss produced a lower proportion of canonical babbling and fewer consonant types. This study has been conducted with very good control of reliability. Inter- and intra-rater reliability was good and contributes to further validation of the observation form. The research available today is mostly done on children with severe hearing loss and there is a need for research on speech and language development in children with mild to moderated hearing loss. This study should be considered as a pilot study with suggestions for future research.Syftet med studien var att undersöka tidig talproduktion hos barn med lätt till måttlig hörselnedsättning. Forskning har tidigare visat att joller hos barn med grav hörselnedsättning skiljer sig från normalhörande. Stavelsejoller är en lättidentifierad milstolpe i barns utveckling som tillsammans med konsonanter med främre artikulationsställe samt klusiler har visats predicera senare språkutveckling. Fem barn med lätt till måttlig hörselnedsättning rekryterades. Barnen observerades och deras ljudande noterades i ett validerat och normerat jollerscreeningsformulär. Jämförelse med köns- och åldersmatchade normalhörande barn visade att barnen med hörselnedsättning producerade en lägre andel stavelsejoller samt färre konsonanttyper. Denna studie har genomförts med mycket god kontroll av reliabilitet. Inter- och intrabedömarreliabiliteten var god och studien bidrar till ytterligare validering av jollerscreeningsformuläret. Behovet av forskning på tal- och språkutveckling hos barn med lättare hörselnedsättning är stort. Denna studie bör betraktas pilotstudie med förslag till framtida forskningsområden

Excess use of Temporary Parental Benefit

In this report we examine the excess use of Temporary Parental Benefit for parents who need to stay home from work when their children are sick. This study is based on a randomized experiment that took place during the spring 2006. The method used is rather new and more ambitious than those used in similar studies in the past. One advantage with this more elaborate technique is that a larger part of the veiled excessive use can be discovered. The result points to that as much as 22.5 percent of the costs for this social insurance are due to excess use. There are significant gender differences; women’s excess use amounts to 19 percent of their total use while the corresponding figure for men is 28 percent.Temporary Parental Benefit; randomized experiment

Rom for forskjell? Barnevernarbeideres forståelser, vurderinger og handlinger i arbeid med norske romer

Denne masteroppgaven handler om barnevernarbeideres erfaringer med å arbeide med norske romer. Formålet med prosjektet er å belyse hvordan barnevernarbeidere forstår norske romer, og hvordan forståelsen kan få konsekvenser for barnevernets arbeid. Prosjektets empiriske materiale er produsert ved semistrukturerte kvalitative intervju med seks barnevernarbeidere, fra fire ulike barnevernskontor. Deres forståelser, vurderinger og handlinger analyseres gjennom ulike aspekter ved barnevernarbeid; hjelpetiltak i hjemmet, vurdering av omsorgsevne, fosterhjemsplasseringer og ivaretakelse av kulturell kontinuitet etter omsorgsovertakelse. For å utforske mening i dybden, har barnevernarbeidernes forståelse av manglende skolegang, marginalisering og diskriminering blitt tematisert i egne kapittel. Barnevernarbeiderne er representanter for en offentlig tjeneste som er bygget på majoritetsbefolkningens normer og verdier. For å analysere barnevernarbeidernes fortellinger, anvendes blant annet perspektiv om det norske likhetsidealet og distinksjonen mellom mangfold og forskjell når det gjelder å forstå kulturell variasjon (Hylland Eriksen 2007). Teori om rasisme og antisiganisme anvendes også. Analysen viser tendens til at barnevernarbeiderne forstår romer delvis med utgangspunkt i en kulturell fortolkningsramme bygget på stereotypier, og sosiale problemer knyttes i større grad til påståtte indre forhold ved romgruppen, enn til strukturelle forhold slik som fattigdom og klasse. Ut fra denne forståelsen fører en oppfattelse av at gode liv kan oppnås dersom deler av det som forstås som «romsk levemåte», tilpasses en implisitt majorietsnormativ levemåte. Materialet viser samtidig at barnevernarbeiderne på et teoretisk nivå mener at romer ikke skal assimileres. Når dette idealet synes å være vanskelig å følge i praksis, må det sees på bakgrunn av en oppdeling i akseptabel og uakseptabel kulturell variasjon, der akseptabel kulturell variasjon kan forstås å skulle hindre assimileringspress. Disse vurderingene skjer imidlertid på majoritetssamfunnets premisser, og hvilke praksiser som defineres som uakseptable må også sees på bakgrunn av majoritetsnormative idealer. Assimileringspress gjelder spesielt for romske barn som er under barnevernets omsorg. Selv om barnas rett til kulturell kontinuitet trer sterkere frem ved en omsorgsovertakelse, viser materialet at denne rettigheten sannsynligvis ikke blir godt nok ivaretatt.The aim of this master thesis is to investigate child welfare workers perspectives on working with Norwegian Roma. The purpose is to shed light on how child welfare workers perceive Norwegian Roma, and how these perceptions in turn may have implications for child welfare work. The thesis builds on semi-structured qualitative interviews, conducted with six child welfare workers, from four different child welfare offices. Their perceptions, evaluations and actions are analyzed through various aspects of child welfare work: in-home services, assessment of parenting skills, foster care placement and safeguarding continuity in children's cultural background after out-of-home placement. In order to investigate the empirical material in depth, child welfare workers' understandings of lack of school attendance, marginalization and discrimination were discussed in separate chapters. Child welfare workers are representatives of a public service that is based on the norms and values of the population's majority. In order to analyze child welfare workers' narratives, different perspectives were used, amongst others, the ideal of equality and the distinction between diversity and difference when it comes to understand cultural variation (Hylland Eriksen, 2007). Theories of racism and antiziganism were also used. The analysis shows that child welfare workers partly understand Roma on the basis of a cultural framework built on stereotypes, and that social problems are mainly linked to alleged internal factors of the Roma community – rather than structural factors such as poverty and class. Based on this perception, the conception that follows is that the “good life” can be achieved if parts of what is considered the “Roma way of life” are adapted to the idea of the “majority's way of life”. The material shows at the same time, that the child welfare workers argue against assimilation. When this ideal seems to be difficult to achieve in practice, it must be seen on the background of a division into acceptable and unacceptable cultural variation, where acceptable cultural variation is thought of as relieving the pressure to assimilate. However, these assessments are made on the premises of the majority, and the practices that are defined as unacceptable must also be seen with reference to the ideals of the majority. The pressure to assimilate is strongest for Roma children in foster care. Although the children's right to cultural continuity becomes more relevant after out-of-home placement, the material shows that this right is probably not well enough ensured.Master i sosialt arbei

Sample identification and pedigree reconstruction in Wolverine (Gulo gulo) using SNP genotyping of non-invasive samples

For conservation genetic studies using non-invasively collected samples, genome-wide data may be hard to acquire. Until now, such studies have instead mostly relied on analyses of traditional genetic markers such as microsatellites (SSRs). Recently, high throughput genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) has become available, expanding the use of genomic methods to include non-model species of conservation concern. We have developed a 96-marker SNP array for use in applied conservation monitoring of the Scandinavian wolverine (Gulo gulo) population. By genotyping more than a thousand non-invasively collected samples, we were able to obtain precise estimates of different types of genotyping errors and sample dropout rates. The SNP panel significantly outperforms the SSR markers (and DBY intron markers for sexing) both in terms of precision in genotyping, sex assignment and individual identification, as well as in the proportion of samples successfully genotyped. Furthermore, SNP genotyping offers a simplified laboratory and analysis pipeline with fewer samples needed to be repeatedly genotyped in order to obtain reliable consensus data. In addition, we utilised a unique opportunity to successfully demonstrate the application of SNP genotype data for reconstructing pedigrees in wild populations, by validating the method with samples from wild individuals with known relatedness. By offering a simplified workflow with improved performance, we anticipate this methodology will facilitate the use of non-invasive samples to improve genetic management of many different types of populations that have previously been challenging to survey

Wolverine denning behaviour and its implications for monitoring reproductive females

Knowledge about the number of reproductive females is important for monitoring population dynamics, and can be critical for managing human-wildlife conflicts. For wolverines Gulo gulo, counts of reproductive females is the basis for estimates of population size in Scandinavia, as well as a key measure for compensation payments to Sami reindeer-herders in Sweden. However, documenting wolverine reproductive events in the field is challenging and requires knowledge of female denning behaviour. Furthermore, females may shift den sites, presenting difficulties in determining whether two den sites belong to the same or two neighbouring females. In this study, we used data from 18 GPS-collared wolverine females, monitored intensively during the denning season (15 February-31 May) in 2004-2014, to provide baseline information on denning behaviour. We documented reproductive events in 32 of 54 potential denning seasons, and identified a total of 245 den sites. Females used 8.8 +/- 8.5 (mean +/- SD) den sites per denning season (median = 6, range: 1-28). The number of den site shifts, the distance between subsequent den sites, and the time and distance females spent away from a den site increased during the denning season; while distances between neighbouring females' den sites remained constant. From late April, the distance between consecutive den sites used by the same female overlapped with distances between neighbouring females' den sites, resulting in increased uncertainty regarding whether two den sites belonged to one or two females. Using Bayesian modelling we calculated probabilities that two den sites belonged to the same female, or neighbouring females, conditional on the time of season and the distance between den sites. These findings will allow the monitoring program to adapt its methods for determining if multiple den sites belong to one or two reproductive events, using seasonally-dynamic threshold based on an understanding of wolverine denning behaviour

Hästunderstödd terapi ur ett arbetsterapeutiskt perspektiv

Bakgrund: Hästen har sedan länge använts som terapeutiskt redskap för att förbättra motorik och sociala färdigheter hos individen. Arbetsterapeuten med sitt klientcentrerade arbetssätt och kunskap om samspelet mellan person, aktivitet och miljö skulle kunna vara en tillgång i hästunderstödd terapi för att förbättra individens aktivitetsutförande. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur samspelet mellan person, aktivitet och miljö tas i beaktande i hästunderstödd terapi. Metod: Kvalitativ metod i form av semi-strukturerade telefonintervjuer genomfördes med sex respondenter som arbetade med hästunderstödd terapi. De transkriberade intervjuerna analyserades genom kodning, meningskoncentrering och kategorisering av gemensamma områden. Resultat: I resultatet framkom det att respondenterna beaktade samspelet mellan person, aktivitet och miljö genom att det alltid skulle finnas en god relation mellan hästen och deltagaren, att aktiviteter utformades efter individens förutsättningar samt att miljön skulle vara tillgänglig och framkomlig för alla. Det framkom att hästen bidrog till att förbättra deltagarnas fysiska och sociala förmågor. Slutsats: Respondenterna har ett perspektiv med utgångspunkt i PEO-modellen utan att vara arbetsterapeuter. Arbetsterapeuten kan med sin kunskap dock bidra med en djupare analys av individens förmågor i förhållandet till aktivitetens och miljöns krav

Recolonization following past persecution questions the importance of persistent snow cover as a range limiting factor for wolverines

Globally, climate is changing rapidly, which causes shifts in many species' distributions, stressing the need to understand their response to changing environmental conditions to inform conservation and management. Northern latitudes are expected to experience strongest changes in climate, with milder winters and decreasing snow cover. The wolverine (Gulo gulo) is a circumpolar, threatened carnivore distributed in northern tundra, boreal, and subboreal habitats. Previous studies have suggested that wolverine distribution and reproduction are constrained by a strong association with persistent spring snow cover. We assess this hypothesis by relating spatial distribution of 1589 reproductive events, a fitness-related proxy for female reproduction and survival, to snow cover over two decades. Wolverine distribution has increased and number of reproductive events increased 20 times in areas lacking spring snow cover during our study period, despite low monitoring effort where snow is sparse. Thus, the relationship between reproductive events and persistent spring snow cover weakened during this period. These findings show that wolverine reproductive success and hence distribution are less dependent on spring snow cover than expected. This has important implications for projections of future habitat availability, and thus distribution, of this threatened species. Our study also illustrates how past persecution, or other factors, that have restricted species distribution to remote areas can mask actual effects of environmental parameters, whose importance reveals when populations expand beyond previously restricted ranges. Overwhelming evidence shows that climate change is affecting many species and ecological processes, but forecasting potential consequences on a given species requires longitudinal data to revisit hypotheses and reassess the direction and magnitude of climate effects with new data. This is especially important for conservation-oriented management of species inhabiting dynamic systems where environmental factors and human activities interact, a common scenario for many species in different ecosystems around the globe

No Allee effect detected during the natural recolonization by a large carnivore despite low growth rate

Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) have recently naturally recolonized southern Sweden. The first documented reproduction of lynx in recent times occurred in 2003, and the population increased from 2 to 48 family groups (the unit of measurement in Swedish monitoring) during its first 18 years (2003/2004-2020/2021). We did not detect any Allee effect, that is, lower growth rate at low population density, during the recolonization of southern Sweden, although our population simulations revealed a non-negligible (30%) chance that population observed development could include an Allee effect. The probable absence of an Allee effect was likely because colonizing females did not lack mating partners, as a larger number of wide-ranging males were established in the area before documented reproduction took place. Despite the absence of an Allee effect, the growth rate during recolonization was lower in southern Sweden (lambda = 1.20) than in central Sweden (lambda = 1.29). We have no evidence of higher mortality, including that from poaching, or lower reproduction in southern Sweden could explain the lower growth rate. Instead, we suggest that the lower growth rate during the recolonization of southern Sweden was explained by fewer immigrants arriving from central Sweden due to areas of less suitable habitat between central and southern Sweden, partially preventing immigration southward. From a conservation point of view, it is positive that this small population could recover without being negatively influenced by an Allee effect, as small populations with an Allee effect experience lower viability than those without

Quality indicators of nutritional care practice in elderly care

Objectives: The aim is to explore the effects of antecedent, structural and process quality indicators of nutritional care practice on meal satisfaction and screened nutritional status among older adults in residential care homes. Design: Data for this Swedish cross-sectional study regarding older adults living in residential care homes were collected by i) a national questionnaire, ii) records from the quality registry Senior Alert, iii) data from an Open Comparison survey of elderly care in 2013/2014. The data represented 1154 individuals in 117 of 290 Swedish municipalities. Measurements: Meal satisfaction (%) and adequate nutritional status, screened by the Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF), were the two outcome variables assessed through their association with population density of municipalities and residents' age, together with 12 quality indicators pertaining to structure and process domains in the Donabedian model of care. Results: Meal satisfaction was associated with rural and urban municipalities, with the structure quality indicators: local food policies, private meal providers, on-site cooking, availability of clinical/community dietitians, food service dietitians, and with the process quality indicators: meal choice, satisfaction surveys, and 'meal councils'. Adequate nutritional status was positively associated with availability of clinical/community dietitians, and energy and nutrient calculated menus, and negatively associated with chilled food production systems. Conclusion: Municipality characteristics and structure quality indicators had the strongest associations with meal satisfaction, and quality indicators with local characteristics emerge as important for meal satisfaction. Nutritional competence appears vital for residents to be well-nourished