Time out of work and skill depreciation

This paper investigates the role of skill depreciation in the relationship between work interruptions and subsequent wages. Using unique longitudinal microdata containing information on the ability to understand and practically employ printed information, we are able to analyze changes in skills for individuals as a function of time out of work. In general, we find statistically strong evidence of a negative relationship between work interruptions and skills. Our analysis suggests that depreciation of general information-processing skills is economically significant, with a full year of non-employment being equivalent to moving 5 percentiles down the skill distribution.Work interruptions; skill depreciation; wage differentials

Time Out of Work and Skill Depreciation

This paper investigates the role of skill depreciation in the relationship between work interruptions and subsequent wages. Using a unique longitudinal dataset, the Swedish part of the International Adult Literacy Survey, we are able to analyze changes in literacy skills for individuals as a function of time out of work. In general, we find statistically strong evidence on a negative relationship between work interruptions and skills. Our analysis suggests that depreciation of general (literacy) skills is economically significant. Our estimates imply that a full year of non-employment is associated with skill losses that are equivalent to moving 5 percentiles down the skill distribution.Work interruptions; Skill depreciation; Unemployment; Wage differentials

Cost-utility analysis in Alsheimer´s disease

Alzheimer s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder causing dementia, a syndrome of gradual loss of cognitive function causing impairment in social and occupational functioning. This leads to substantial loss in quality of life and premature death for persons with the disease, associated suffering for their families and large costs to society. In parallel to the aging of the population the world prevalence is predicted to threefold within the next 40 years, creating a challenge for researchers and decision-makers to make better treatments available. Further, improved methods for economic evaluation in AD are needed to identify the optimal treatment strategies. The overall objective of this thesis is to explore the application of cost-utility analysis in AD and address key methodological challenges and data needs. In paper I, prediction functions for simulating disease progression and economic endpoints in a decision-analytic model were estimated. Three year follow-up data from the Swedish Alzheimer Treatment Study (SATS) on the natural course of AD of 435 patients commencing treatment with donepezil and their care setting and costs of care was analyzed. A simplified model in which cognition (representing the underlying course of disease) and the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL) (representing patient care need) was assumed to predict the provision of care. According to the estimated statistical functions, cognition was found to be the key predictor of ADL-ability which itself was the main predictor of care setting and costs of care. In paper II, we used contingent valuation methods to elicit caregivers willingness-to-pay (WTP) for reductions in patient care need. In total, 517 caregivers of AD patients in four countries (Spain, Sweden, UK and US) were interviewed. The mean WTP for a one hour reduction per day was estimated at between £59 and £144 per month depending on country. The income of the caregiver was the only consistently significant determinant of WTP across all countries. In paper III, we assessed predictors of the costs of care of 1,222 AD patients in four countries (Spain, Sweden, UK and US), both residing in the community and in residential care settings. Cognition, ADL-ability, behavioural symptoms and costs of care (RUD-Lite) were assessed via a patient and caregiver interview. Cost estimates ranged between £1,000 to £5,000 per patient and month, increasing with disease severity and higher in residential care settings. ADL-ability was the most important predictor of costs but part of the variation was also explained by cognition and behavioural symptoms. In paper IV, the key components and drivers of costs of care in a clinical trial sample of 2,744 mild to moderate AD patients were identified. Costs were assessed with RUD-Lite at baseline and every 6 months over the 18 months trial. Informal care constituted 82-86 percent of total costs, whereas community care and patient accommodation constituted an equal share of 12-16 percent. Informal care also had the strongest correlation with disease severity measures including cognition, ADL-ability, global function and behavioural symptoms. In conclusion, cognition, ADL-ability and behavioural symptoms are all important indicators of care need in AD and should be considered in economic modelling. Caregivers have a substantial willingness to pay for reductions in care need. Informal care is the key cost component in clinical trials in mild to moderate AD. Health utility estimates of AD patients are highly dependent on the methodology including choice of instrument, respondent and utility tariffs

Successful Projects - What Makes Them Work? A Cross-National Analysis

[Excerpt] This cross national analysis is based on national studies made by research teams in India, Kenya, Romania and South Africa. It aims to draw out the lessons learnt from successful social development processes in these countries. In each country, studies have been made of projects identified as interesting, successful and/or outstanding in the way they have improved the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities. In national reports, the respective teams have made their own national conclusions. This comparative report briefly describes the national studies. It then continues with a cross national analysis attempting to identify circumstances or factors that are common to these successful projects. Finally, the report summarises the conclusions and their implications. We hope that the findings presented in the report will be used as inspiration in future planning, implementation and funding of projects aiming at improving life conditions of groups that are marginalised in society. Chapter 1 and 2, describing the research process and the national reports have been written by Annika and Lennart Nilsson. Anders Gustavsson and Johans Sandvin are responsible for the cross national analysis in chapter 3 to 7. The conclusions and implications in chapter 8 have been written jointly. The study has been commissioned by Inclusion International and financed by the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida)

Large-Signal Equivalent Circuit for Datacom VCSELs – Including Intensity Noise

Optical interconnects (OIs) continue to require more and more sophisticated driver and receiver electronics as higher baud rates are pushed in datacom, mainly due to the bandwidth stagnation of the optoelectronic components such as the vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) in the transmitter as well as the photodetector (PD) in the receiver. Another important focus is maintaining high energy efficiency for the OIs. For both cases, a reliable equivalent circuit model for high-speed VCSELs is required for link optimization. This work is an extension of our previously presented large-signal VCSEL equivalent circuit model, where noise is added to the physical processes that the VCSEL model is based on. Thus, a new step is taken in the strive of developing an even more accurate physics-based large-signal VCSEL equivalent circuit model for datacom applications. Following a detailed description of the VCSEL noise modelling, a presentation is given on simulated results of VCSEL relative intensity noise (RIN) spectrum and eye diagrams under 28 Gbaud on-off keying (OOK) and pulse-amplitude 4 (PAM4) modulation, and that are compared with corresponding measurement results. Good agreement is found over a wide range of VCSEL driving conditions and temperatures. A 28-GHz-bandwidth VCSEL is applied for the demonstration, and the presented noise extended VCSEL equivalent circuit model was implemented in Verilog-A, and the simulations were performed using Cadence Spectre

The role of theory in disability research -springboard or strait-jacket?

This article is an elaboration of a key-note speech presented at the annual conference of the Nordic Network on Disability Research in Copenhagen 2001 discussing the role of theory in disability research. The discussion is based on reviews of disability research, mostly from Scandinavia and Britain. Two types of non-theoretical perspectives and three types of theoretical perspectives were found in the reviews. Strengths and weaknesses of the different perspectives are discussed and a typical Scandinavian perspective is identified

Fredrik Skott 2008. Folkets minnen. Traditionsinsamling i idé och praktik 1919-1964.

Fredrik Skott har framlagt en ämneshistorisk doktorsavhandling i historia i Göte­borg. Hans tema gäller insamling i idé och praktik av traditionsmaterial till det folkloristiska arkivet i Göteborg från dess start 1919 fram till 1964. Det var från början folkets, i betydelsen landsbygdsbefolkningens, muntligt traderade minnen som skulle räddas undan glömskan

Studying personal experiences of disability - What happened to verstehen when einfühlung disappeared?

For some time, disability researchers have shown a growing interest in personal experiences of disability. To some extent this interest can be understood as a response to the growing support for an emancipatory approach in disability research and the awareness that people with disabilities often have been deprived of their opportunities to speak for themselves. A striking characteristic of the studies of personal experiences is a lack of analysis and methodological discussions. It is argued that this, at least to some extent can be understood as a strategy of the researchers not to fall back into reproducing oppressive, outsiders’ perspectives. Furthermore, the absence of analysis seems to be the result of a 19th century paradigm of understanding based on the idea that the best way of understanding, for example, people with disabilities is through experiential closeness and cultural identification. However, according to current interpretative paradigms understanding demands a dialectics between experience-near and experience-distant descriptions. It is also argued that a true emancipatory approach in disability research demands the transcendence of personal experiences through in-depth analyses of the historical and socio-cultural conditions that influence the personal experiences of individuals with disabilities

Folklig religiositet som forskningsfält

Torunn Selberg 2011. Folkelig religiøsitet.àEt kulturvitenskapelig perspektiv. Spartacusàforlag AS. Oslo. 174 s