Is the welfare state in need of caregiving? Labor supply effects for informal caregivers in Sweden

This paper estimates labor supply effects for informal caregivers in Sweden using four waves of the SHARE data panel. To give daily or weekly care to a parent, step parent or parent in law is found to be more common among women than among men and is associated with lower employment probability for daily caregivers although the causal direction of the relationship is unclear. No negative effect of caregiving is found on working hours. Further, no support is found for the hypothesis that reduced availability of public eldercare in Sweden has caused labor market consequences for caregivers to become more severe over time. The results from this paper raise the question if the substitution of public eldercare with informal care in Sweden has caused caregivers to carry the double load of both market work and caring responsibilities and which consequences this will have for gender inequality in the long run

A pigovian tax on beef - consumption effects and consequence analysis

Meat production accounts for approximately 18 per cent of the total GHG emissions in the world and beef is the kind of meat associated with the highest emissions. This paper derives the beef demand and elasticities in Sweden using regression analysis. Further, it calculates the effects of a hypothetical pigovian consumption tax on beef to reduce beef consumption and the associated emissions. The short (long) run own-price elasticity was estimated to: -0,69 (-1,74) and the short (long) run income elasticity to 1,41 (3,58). When assuming a tax level of 28,1% the short run consumption reduction was 19,25% or 2,44 Kg per person per year. The reduction was illustrated to depend not only on own-price elasticities but also on assumptions made of the costs of environmenal problems in the future affecting the optimal tax level. In the second part of the paper potential use of the tax revenue was discussed. The conclusion was that a lowering of the tax on green substitutes to meat was likely to be more efficient than a lowering of the tax on labour

Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamic Effects of Flunixin after Intravenous, Intramuscular and Oral Administration to Dairy Goats

The pharmacokinetics and the prostaglandin (PG) synthesis inhibiting effect of flunixin were determined in 6 Norwegian dairy goats. The dose was 2.2 mg/kg body weight administered by intravenous (i.v.), intramuscular (i.m.) and oral (p.o.) routes using a cross-over design. Plasma flunixin content was analysed by use of liquid chromatography and the PG synthesis was evaluated by measuring plasma 15-ketodihydro-PGF(2α )by a radioimmuno-assay. Results are presented as median (range). The elimination half-lives (t(1/2·λ)) were 3.6 (2.0–5.0), 3.4 (2.6–6.8) and 4.3 (3.4–6.1) h for i.v., i.m. and p.o. administration, respectively. Volume of distribution at steady state (Vd(ss)) was 0.35 (0.23–0.41) L/kg and clearance (CL), 110 (60–160) mL/h/kg. The plasma concentrations after oral administration showed a double-peak phenomenon with the two peaks occurring at 0.37 (0.25–1) and 3.5 (2.5–5.0) h, respectively. Both peaks were in the same order of magnitude. Bioavailability was 79 (53–112) and 58 (35%–120)% for i.m. and p.o. administration, respectively. 15-Ketodihydro-PGF(2α )plasma concentrations decreased after flunixin administration independent of the route of administration

An examination of the construct validity of the Generalized Pliance Questionnaire

The Generalized Pliance Questionnaire (GPQ) was originally validated against measures of psychological flexibility and psychological distress. However, measures which have substantial conceptual overlap with the GPQ (e.g., the Need to Belong Scale [NTBS], Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale [BFNE]) were not examined. The present study seeks to investigate the construct validity of the GPQ-9. As expected, data from a survey of 272 participants indicated significant large correlations between the GPQ-9 and NTBS and BFNE respectively. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the unidimensional structure of the GPQ-9. A structural equation model revealed that the BFNE (and not the GPQ-9 or NTBS) was significantly associated with psychological flexibility and psychological distress. Implications of these tentative preliminary findings suggest that the GPQ may be a more sensitive measure than the BFNE for ACT research

Using conceptual developments in RFT to direct case formulation and clinical intervention: Two case summaries

The current paper is part of an ongoing effort to better connect RFT with the complexities of clinical phenomena. The paper outlines two broad areas, referred to as ‘verbal functional analysis’ and the ‘drill-down’, in which we believe the basic theory is showing increasingly direct application to therapy. The paper also comprises two case summaries in which verbal functional analysis and the drill-down featured strongly in case formulation and clinical focus. Case 1 involves an adult woman who presented with paranoia, had been diagnosed with psychosis, and had an extended history of familial and other abuse. Case 2 describes a teenager who had been placed in foster care, following parental neglect. For comparative purposes and to provide exemplars of similar functional-analytic processes, both case summaries are presented in a similar format. The article attempts to illustrate how therapeutic work can be connected to the basic theory and argues that it will be important in future work to further expand these connections with ongoing developments in RFT

Psychometric properties of the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire in Colombia

AbstractThe Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ) is a recently published measure of cognitive fusion – a key construct in the model of psychopathology of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). This study presents the psychometric properties and factor structure data of a Spanish translation of the CFQ in Colombia. Three samples with a total of 1,763 participants were analyzed. The Spanish CFQ showed psychometric properties very similar to the ones obtained in the original version. Internal consistency across the different samples was good (Cronbach's alpha between .89 and .93). The one-factor model found in the original scale showed a good fit to the data. Measurement invariance was also found across sample and gender. The mean score of the clinical sample on the CFQ was significantly higher than the scores of the nonclinical samples. CFQ scores were significantly related to experiential avoidance, emotional symptoms, mindfulness, and life satisfaction. The CFQ was sensitive to the effects of a 1-session ACT intervention. This Spanish version of the CFQ shows good psychometric properties in Colombia