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An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including human capital in Great Britain, industry renewal and restructuring in Sweden during the post-war era, and profit distribution in the restructuring of the Swedish pulp and paper industry.

The objectives of the study were: 1) Describe the thematic structure and evolution of the field of physical therapy; 2) identify the main research producers (i.e. countries and institutions); and 3) compare their research output and citation impact. Papers related to physical therapy indexed in Web of Science (2000–2018) were identified to delineate the field, using keywords, journals, and citation networks. VOSviewer software, advanced bibliometric text mining, and visualization techniques were used to evaluate the thematic structure. We collected data about the country and institutional affiliation of all the authors and calculated production and citation impact indicators. 85,697 papers were analyzed. Eleven thematic clusters were identified: 1) "health care and education"; 2) "biomechanics"; 3) "psychosocial, chronic pain and quality of life outcomes"; 4) "evidence-based physical therapy research methods"; 5) "traumatology and orthopedics"; 6) "neurological rehabilitation"; 7) "psychometrics and cross-cultural adaptation"; 8) "gait-balance analysis and Parkinson's disease"; 9) "exercise"; 10) "respiratory physical therapy"; and 11) "back pain." The United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia were the most productive countries. Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden had the highest citation impact. Our bibliometric visualization approach makes it possible to comprehensively study the thematic structure of physical therapy. The ranking of producers has evolved and now includes China and Brazil. High research production does not imply a high citation impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the normative and epistemic effects of dis/ability arts organisations in the UK and Sweden, when theorised as systemic innovations. Using an aesthetic philosophy of kynicism, this paper identifies disruptive potential in three case-study organisations within the settings of health, social care, and the arts. Data from interviews and/or presentations with managers from Moomsteatern (SE), Teater Interakt (SE), and Breathe Magic (UK) is analysed within a 'social model' of dis/ability, and finds the existing discourse of innovation inadequate. The resulting discussion identifies validations of the speech, expertise and bodily autonomy of persons of dis/abilities within hybrid organisational settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs demographically representative discrete choice experiments (DCEs) with owner occupiers in Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (UK) to estimate the effects of subsidies, heating cost savings, installation time (reflecting 'hassle costs') and warranty length on owner occupiersʻ propensity to invest in a new heating system. In particular, the paper explores whether owner occupiers value subsidies received from public funding sources differently than subsidies received from private funding sources. The results from estimating mixed logit models suggest that respondents not only value subsidies for new heating systems because they decrease the net price, but they also value receiving a subsidy per se. For participants from Sweden (but not from Poland and the UK), this non-monetary value was found to be higher for subsidies offered by a public than by a private funding source. The results for heating cost savings in the three countries imply implicit discount rates between about 11 and 13%. We further find that respondents in Poland dislike longer installation times, and that respondents in all three countries value longer warranty times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the UK Listing Review it is suggested that the LSE should allow companies with dual class share (DCS) structures to list on the Premium segment. In this paper, we discuss this proposal. First, we present an overview of the DCS-debate together with the proposition in the Review to allow for DCS-listings under certain conditions. Second, we discuss the arguments that are made against DCS-listings. For the sake of comparison and reference, we then give an overview of the Swedish DCS-regulation. From there, we discuss the conditions for DCS-listing recommended in the Review. Our conclusion is that several of the DCS-listing conditions suggested might not only hinder DCS-structures from being useful for companies that wish to utilise such structures but would in several cases disable the corporate governance mechanisms that would otherwise counteract several of the problems that DCS-structures can give rise to, most prominently the market for corporate control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data based on questionnaire measures from parents in New Zealand, the UK, and Sweden on attitudes toward advertising to children is presented. There is cross-national evidence that attitudes in this area are affectively strong and consistent and data is presented on responses to particular attitude statements that support this claim. An exploratory factor analysis on the Swedish and UK data suggests a factor structure in respondents with both positive and negative attitudinal clusters toward advertising to children. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research in order that the international debate on advertising and marketing to children is informed by cross-cultural research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws upon original research undertaken in the United Kingdom and Sweden. It considers the enforcement of regulations associated with the limitation of air emissions from shipping. Specifically, it considers the enforcement of regulations pertaining to the Baltic and North Sea emission control areas (ECAs). The paper outlines the steps that have been taken to ensure vessel compliance in these ECAs. It describes the effectiveness of such enforcement as well as current limitations and gives specific emphasis to the views of vessel operators. The paper ends with a series of recommendations that have been arrived at following discussion of the research findings with a select group of industry experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Property tax regimes in European states vary in design, yield and progressivity, but the sources of variation have been understudied. Through inductive process tracing of two diverse cases, the UK and Sweden, this paper explores the impact of the state's capacity to value property. It finds that, in Sweden, routine and regular property valuation was historically institutionalized. This enabled a progressive property tax regime until house prices rose rapidly in the 1990s. Thereafter this capacity became a political liability: translating increasing prices into higher tax liability for typical homeowners, generating political resistance and incentivizing reform. In the UK, valuation capacity was never institutionalized enabling regressive nineteenth-century property taxes to become path dependent. Without routine valuations capturing increasing house prices, tax liabilities for ordinary homeowners remained stable, containing dissent and enabling a higher yield but regressive regime. In both cases, but via different pathways, property taxes under tax the rich. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responses to the Great Recession are varied across welfare states and gendered in their consequences. Combining gender, social policy and social movement scholarship, this paper investigates how the differential policy responses to the Financial Crisis in three European countries shaped gender-differences in anti-austerity demonstrations. We compare the involvement and characteristics of women and men in anti-austerity protests using data collected at street demonstrations (2010–2012). We conduct cross-national multi-level analysis of demonstrators from countries representing different gender regimes (Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom). Our results show that gender regimes have a significant impact on women's and men's involvement in anti-austerity protests. We thus make an important contribution to research on gender differences in participation in anti-austerity demonstrations post-Great Recession. Our comparison of women's and men's participation in anti-austerity street demonstrations suggests that at the country or regime level resources matter more than grievances, but that grievances matter at the individual level. This innovative paper links scholarship on gender regimes with research on protest participation. Resources and experiences of grievances are shaped by gender regimes which provide access to decision-making and social support. We reveal novel insights into the connection between gender regimes and demonstration participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new method of deriving 9-parameter affine 3D datum transformations by ordinary least-squares. Unlike previous methods, it covers all versions of the transformation. Initially, an 'average' scale factor is computed by distance analysis. Removing the scaling effect, the 'RIGOPT' subroutine is applied to optimise the rigid transformation that consists of 3 translations and 3 rotations. Using an equivalent enlargement hypothesis, the number of scale factors is increased to 3 by a short series of single-search-direction optimisations. The minimisation of residuals is verified by enclosing-interval analysis. The case studies cover datasets in Western Australia, Great Britain and Sweden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends Meenagh and Minford (2021) to the four waves of infection in the UK by end-2021, using the unique newly available sample-based estimates of infections created by the ONS. These allow us to estimate the effects on the Covid hospitalization and fatality rates of vaccination and population immunity due to past infection: the latter was the most significant factor driving both trends, while the vaccination rate also had a significant short-run effect on the fatality rate. We also updated our policy comparison with Sweden for the most recent data, with similar conclusions: lower Swedish lockdown intensity relative to personal response in waves 1 and 2 caused much lower economic costs with no discernible effect on infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In recent years, a number of welfare reforms have been introduced in the UK by Conservative-led governments. The most high profile of these is Universal Credit (UC), which is currently being rolled out across the country. A key feature of UC is a change in the way the income-related housing allowance for social housing tenants (Housing Benefit) is administered, as under UC, it is paid directly to tenants (direct payment), who are responsible for paying their rent. This represents a step change for them as for more than 30 years landlord payment has been the norm in the UK. There has been little research into direct payment. This paper seeks to address this gap in knowledge by presenting the key findings of an initiative designed to trial direct payment. It finds that many tenants experienced difficulties on direct payment. Reflecting this, landlords' arrears rose markedly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shift towards the DJ as a mainstream performer challenges the possibilities of the live music eventscape. House music – a specific form of electronic music – represents a current trend in the UK, and this paper explores the nature of its consumption as a live event experience different to other types of music events. It aims to demonstrate the unique reality of an event as a combination of experiences (e.g. Petterson & Getz, 2009. Event Experiences in Time and Space: A Study of Visitors to the 2007 World Alpine Ski Championships in Åre, Sweden. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 9(2-3), 308–326.); arguably this can only be truly conceptualised by the individual, and so the 'Event Experience Mapping Model' (EEMM) methodology has been designed to conceptualise an individual's sensory and emotional 'immersion' within the eventscape. This is done primarily in the context of recreational habits, emotional responses and social engagement, thus combining multiple facets of event experience within one study in the milieu of twenty-first century house music. The EEMM used a questionnaire to garner broad themes associated with this event type; this produced an 'Experience Matrix' which can then be completed by an individual to produce an individual 'Experience Map'. Key to this principle is that this 'map' this will differ from person to person and thus the EEMM allows for this to be expressed in an individual 'map'. The map demonstrates the intersections of four aspects of experience and thus plots which aspects are more/ less prevalent within that individual's experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an EU-funded project under the Training and Mobility of Researchers (TMR) Programme, with a particular emphasis on the Oxford-based part. Involving six European universities, the overarching investigation was concerned with the tensions between standardization and tradition in education. In Oxford the focus was on aspects of EU education and training policy in four Member States: the United Kingdom, German, Sweden, and France. The paper describes the research undertaken and its outcomes, using the project as an example of EU funding programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discourses about the value of effort and hard work are prevalent and powerful in many western societies and educational contexts. Yet, paradoxically, in these same contexts effortlessachievement is often lauded, and in certain discourses is heralded as the pinnacle of success and a sign of genius. In this paper we interrogate discourses about effort and especially ‘effortlessness’ in Swedish and English educational contexts. Informed, in particular, by interview data generated in upper secondary schools in Sweden and secondary schools in England, we address the questions: why is effortless achievement attractive, and for whom is it possible to be discursively positioned as an effortless achiever? We argue that the subject position of ‘effortless achiever’ is not available to all categories of students equally, and for some it would be almost impossible to attain; the intersections of gender, social class, ethnicity and institutional setting are influential. We end by considering the problematic implications of effortless achievement discourses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Transport projects have numerous consequences for the environment, society and economy, and thus an EU Directive has stated a number of impacts that need to be assessed prior to any major intervention. This paper is set in a Danish context where the EU requirements have been adopted in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulation along with national requirements. In recent years, however, the EIAs have been criticised for an inconsistent inclusion of impacts and unclear assessment process. A selection of EIAs is for this reason reviewed and compared to the EU Directive and corresponding works in Sweden and the UK to identify potential opportunities for improvements. From the literature study, an overview table with all potential relevant impacts for transport projects is set up to assist the EIA process. For the sake of simplicity and transparency, the impacts selected from this table should, however, be further reduced in number to ensure that only the most important impacts are included in the process. To further increase simplicity and transparency in the EIA process, a novel framework for assessing different types of impacts is proposed. In this framework, a comprehensive decision support tool involving stakeholders is in focus. The framework is supplemented with a procedure for generating objectives and presenting results in an appropriate way to the many stakeholders involved. The impacts overview table and the assessment techniques are applied to a case study to illustrate the process, and finally, conclusions and perspectives for future work within the field are set out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this paper was to highlight the importance of cultural infl uence in understanding hearing-help seeking and hearing-aid uptake. Design: Information on audiological services in different countries and ' theories related to cross-culture ' is presented, followed by a general discussion. Study sample: Twenty-seven relevant literature reviews on hearing impairment, cross-cultural studies, and the health psychology model and others as secondary resources. Results: Despite the adverse consequences of hearing impairment and the significant potential benefits of audiological rehabilitation, only a small number of those with hearing impairment seek professional help and take up appropriate rehabilitation. Therefore, hearing help-seeking and hearing-aid uptake has recently become the hot topic for clinicians and researchers. Previous research has identified many contributing factors for hearing help-seeking with self-reported hearing disability being one of the main factors. Although significant differences in help-seeking and hearing-aid adoption rates have been reported across countries in population studies, limited literature on the infl uence of cross-cultural factors in this area calls for an immediate need for research. Conclusions: This paper highlights the importance of psychological models and cross-cultural research in the area of hearing help-seeking and hearing-aid uptake, and consequently some directions for future research are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Framing has previously been studied in the field of pandemic preparedness and global health governance and influenza pandemics have usually been framed in terms of security and evidence-based medicine on a global scale. This paper is based on the pandemic preparedness plans, published after 2009, from eight European countries. We study how pandemic preparedness is framed and how pandemic influenza in general is narrated in the plans. All plans contain references to ‘uncertainty’, ‘pandemic phases’, ‘risk management’, ‘vulnerability’ and ‘surveillance’. These themes were all framed differently in the studied plans. The preparedness plans in the member states diverge in ways that will challenge the ambition of the European Union to make the pandemic preparedness plans interoperable and to co-ordinate the member states during future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Leaders are faced with challenges that are personally and professionally complex. In order to meet these challenges leaders need to be flexible, self-reflective and continually looking for new ways to deepen understanding of their own leadership. Engagement with art based learning enables an innovative and creative exploration of beliefs, values and experiences. The paper draws on mask making workshops that explore leadership style and behaviour as well as feelings and agendas that may be hidden. The paper argues that this constitutes qualitative research with the mask maker as both researcher and the researched. The activity, as well as being enjoyable and intriguing in itself, models creative and lateral thinking, develops self awareness and can enable access to information beyond the objective through the expressive metaphor of the mask. Working with visual, emotional and aesthetic literacies, further developed through non-directive professional dialogue, can lead to a more effective, authentic and therefore ethical leadership. Feedback from participants suggests that the exploration of experience through art based methods offers a valuable process, in parallel with more usual and logical approaches to reflection, and helps to explore both conscious and unconscious drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main question this paper seeks to tackle is whether men and women, as some argue, commit themselves to employment differently or for different reasons. The focus is thus on the mechanisms behind non-financial employment commitment (such as the possible effect of family situation, occupational position, and of different work-related preferences and experiences). The question is comparatively investigated in Sweden and Great Britain, where, in spite of many similarities, the existence of different societal/cultural contexts with relevance for gender and work has been suggested. The results in this paper suggest that the most important motivator for non-financial employment commitment is interesting work, which was found to have a positive effect both as a work goal and as experienced in the workplace. Although women and men in both countries displayed quite similar patterns, some country and gender differences appeared in the way occupational position and degree of education relate to this type of commitment. Higher occupational position and education where more clearly related to higher degrees of commitment for British women than for British men, while the Swedish gender pattern was reversed. In the concluding discussion, possible explanations and implications are discussed, and avenues for further research are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to explore the theoretical and practical implications of conducting comparative research in the realm of legal science. The endeavour is based on experiences gained from engaging in such activities as part of a research project in labour law. In order to allow for a critical evaluation of ways in which to regulate redundancy, the study mentioned sets Swedish collective agreements on employment security against British redundancy pay legislation and the Japanese Employment Stabilizations Fund system. The paper discusses the pitfalls and potentials of the chosen approach and presents some tentative conclusions regarding its benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a methodology for using survey data to understand the composition of elites, through analysing the pool of potential members. An occupational-based measure of ‘potential power elite’ (PPE) is created and compared with other measures of occupational advantage. It is argued that this measure can be utilised to explore if the processes causing certain social groups to be under-represented in elite positions are around selection or the population recruited from. We provide analysis of elite positions in the UK and Sweden, demonstrating differences in terms of the potential pool of elite members and the occupational histories of people of those employed in roles associated with elite recruitment. We argue that understanding the composition of the PPE provides a more nuanced analysis of the processes of meritocracy in accessing positions of power and social influence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article considers the place of theory within education in two contexts – Sweden and the UK – and advances the argument that both governments and academics themselves have contributed to a 'theoryless' education. Examples are offered from the fate of education science in Sweden and, in the UK, from responses to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and from the actions of a group of independent academics charged with producing guidelines for assessing qualitative research. Work with the Council of Europe in which theory was used to guide discussions with Government Ministers is described and the paper ends with some proposals for enabling academics to engage more fruitfully with theory. These involve a framework of ethics, informed by Levinas, and a 'creative ontology', developed by Simons and Masschelein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the prevention of alcohol problems and the involvement of local government in the process. The social problems associated with alcohol consumption are discussed. National and local policy decisions in Sweden and Great Britain are also examined. The example of the Alcohol Education and Research Council (AERC) in Great Britain regarding the prevention of alcohol abuse is given. Alcohol consumption, campaigns to educate young people about the dangers of alcohol abuse, and the commercial activities of the alcoholic beverage industry are also mentioned.

CliftonN., CookeP. and HansenH. K. Towards a reconciliation of the ‘context-less’ with the ‘space-less’? The creative class across varieties of capitalism: new evidence from Sweden and the UK,Regional Studies. The interplay between place, individuals and creativity has, in recent years, received much attention. National differences of how capitalism is organized can be drawn into this discussion, but they are seldom examined systematically. By investigating data from the UK as a liberal market economy and Sweden as a coordinated market economy, this paper develops and tests a set of hypotheses to analyse the role of ‘varieties of capitalism’ in relation to the location dynamics of the creative class. Results confirm the effect of the coordinated market economy in flattening the distribution of the creative class, tempered by the Swedish urban hierarchy which acts to concentrate it in a smaller number of (larger) locations. Through combining both contextual and spatial elements, this approach generates new insights into observed variations between the coordinated market economy and the liberal market economy around mobility, adjustment and quality of place, but it also serves to highlight where other additional factors may be influential. CliftonN., CookeP. and HansenH. K. “???” ? “???” ???????????????????:??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? CliftonN., CookeP. et HansenH. K. Vers une conciliation de ce qui est ‘sans contexte’ avec ce qui est ‘sans espace’. La classe créative à travers des interprétations du capitalisme: de nouvelles preuves provenant de la Suède et du Royaume-Uni,Regional Studies. L'interaction entre l'endroit, les individus et la créativité a prêté beaucoup d'attention au cours des dernières années. Les spécificités nationales de l'organisation du capitalisme peuvent être mêlées à ce débat, mais on ne les examine guère de façon systématique. En examinant les données auprès du Royaume-Uni en tant qu'une économie de marché libérale et de la Suède en tant qu'une économie libérale coordonnée, cet article développe et teste un ensemble d'hypothèses afin d'analyser le rôle des ‘variétés de capitalisme’ par rapport à la dynamique de localisation de la classe créative. Les résultats confirment l'impact de l'économie de marché coordonnée quant à l'aplanissement de la distribution de la classe créative, modérée par l'hiérarchie urbaine suédoise qui sert à le concentrer dans des endroits (plus grands) moins nombreux. En alliant à la fois les aspects contextuels et spatiaux, cette façon fournit de nouveaux aperçus sur les variations observées de l'économie de marché coordonnée par rapport à l'économie de marché libérale quant à la mobilité, à l'ajustement et à la qualité de l'endroit, mais sert aussi à mettre l‘accent sur l'influence des facteurs supplémentaires. Classe créative?Interprétations du capitalisme?Emplacement?Mobilité?Qualité de l'endroit CliftonN., CookeP. und HansenH. K. Auf dem Weg zu einer Versöhnung des ‘Kontextlosen’ mit dem ‘Raumlosen’? Die kreative Klasse in den verschiedenen Varianten des Kapitalismus: neue Belege aus Schweden und Großbritannien,Regional Studies. In den letzten Jahren wurde den Wechselwirkungen zwischen Orten, Personen und Kreativität starke Beachtung geschenkt. Zu dieser Diskussion können auch nationale Unterschiede hinsichtlich der Organisation des Kapitalismus gehören, die aber selten auf systematische Weise untersucht werden. Anhand einer Untersuchung von Daten aus Großbritannien als liberaler Marktwirtschaft und aus Schweden als koordinierter Marktwirtschaft wird in diesem Beitrag eine Reihe von Hypothesen entwickelt und erprobt, um die Rolle der verschiedenen ‘Varianten des Kapitalismus’ für die Standortsdynamik der kreativen Klasse zu analysieren. Die Ergebnisse bestätigen die abflachende Wirkung der koordinierten Marktwirtschaft auf die Verteilung der kreativen Klasse, was durch die schwedische Stadthierarchie abgeschwächt wird, die eine Konzentration auf eine kleinere Anzahl (größerer) Standorte verursacht. Durch die Kombination von Kontext- und Raumelementen ermöglicht dieser Ansatz neue Einblicke in beobachtete Abweichungen zwischen der koordinierten und liberalen Marktwirtschaft in puncto Mobilität, Anpassung und Qualität von Orten, macht aber zugleich auch zusätzliche Faktoren deutlich, die eine Rolle spielen könnten. Kreative Klasse?Varianten des Kapitalismus?Standort?Mobilität?Qualität von Orten CliftonN., CookeP. y HansenH. K.¿Hacia una reconciliación de cosas ‘sin contexto’ con cosas ‘sin espacio’? La clase creativa en las diferentes variedades de capitalismo: nuevos datos de Suecia y el Reino Unido,Regional Studies. La interacción entre lugar, individuos y creatividad ha recibido mucha atención en los últimos años. En este debate también se pueden analizar las diferencias nacionales de cómo se organiza el capitalismo, pero raras veces se examinan de modo sistemático. Al investigar los datos del Reino Unido como una economía de mercado liberal y Suecia como una economía de mercado coordinado, en este artículo desarrollamos y probamos una serie de hipótesis para analizar el papel de las ‘variedades de capitalismo’ con relación a las dinámicas de ubicación de la clase creativa. Los resultados confirman el efecto de la economía de mercado coordinado al reducir la distribución de la clase creativa, atenuado por la jerarquía urbana sueca que actúa para concentrarla en un número más pequeño de ubicaciones (más grandes). Al combinar los elementos contextuales y espaciales, este enfoque genera nuevas perspectivas en las variaciones observadas entre la economía del mercado coordinado y la economía del mercado liberal en cuanto a la movilidad, el ajuste y la calidad del lugar, pero también sirve para destacar dónde podrían influir otros factores adicionales. Clase creativa?Variedades de capitalismo?Ubicación?Movilidad?Calidad del lugar [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Increased political attention towards the built environment and its relationship to climate change has resulted in stricter building codes and mandatory energy labelling of dwellings. How is this issue reflected in the marketing process? Based on a study of online housing advertisements in Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom, respectively, an analysis examines which qualities dwelling advertisements emphasize, and how energy issues are addressed. Informed by theories of markets and the performativity of economics, insights are generated on how advertisements frame dwellings as objects of transaction and to what extent energy is made a subject of concern. The analysis demonstrates that the housing advertisements represent ‘qualculation devices’ specifically inviting consumers to engage in quality-based considerations about the dwelling. Dominant ‘modes of qualculation’ are: ‘aesthetics’, ‘comfort’ and ‘convenience’. Energy is only visible as comfort and convenience, while issues concerning energy conservation or low energy performance are omitted as qualculation possibilities. By analysing advertisements through the concepts of ‘framing’ and ‘qualculation’, this paper provides insights into the performativity of advertisements and the challenges of making energy saving or low energy performance visible in the marketing process. L'attention accrue des politiques à l'égard du cadre bâti et de ses relations avec le changement climatique a entraîné des codes de la construction plus stricts et un étiquetage énergie obligatoire des habitations. Comment cette question est-elle représentée dans le processus de commercialisation ? Sur la base d'une étude des annonces immobilières en ligne respectivement en Norvège, en Suède et au Royaume-Uni, une analyse examine les qualités mises en avant par ces annonces immobilières, et la manière dont les questions énergétiques sont traitées. Grâce à l'éclairage apporté par les théories des marchés et de la performativité de l'économie, il est généré de nouvelles perspectives, qu'il s'agisse de la manière dont les logements se trouvent cadrés en tant qu'objets de transaction par les annonces ou de la mesure dans laquelle il est fait de l'énergie un sujet de préoccupation. L'analyse démontre que les annonces immobilières représentent des « dispositifs de qualculation » invitant spécifiquement les consommateurs à entrer dans des considérations d'ordre qualitatif sur le logement. Les « modes de qualculation » dominants sont : l' « esthétique », le « confort » et la « commodité ». L'énergie n'est visible qu'en termes de confort et de commodité, alors que les questions relatives à la conservation de l'énergie ou aux performances basse consommation sont omises en tant que possibilités de « qualculation ». En analysant les annonces à travers les concepts de « cadrage » et de « qualculation», cet article apporte des perspectives nouvelles concernant la performativité des annonces et les enjeux liés à la nécessité de rendre les économies d'énergie ou les performances basse consommation visibles dans le processus de commercialisation. Mots clés: information du consommateur, consommation énergétique, logement, annonces immobilières, informations sur le marché, performativité, marchés immobiliers, dispositifs de « qualculation » [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the circulation of contemporary anxieties related to food through an engagement with sociological and geographical work on affect. The paper draws on four case studies of 'food scares' in the UK and Sweden to consider the emergence, circulation and expression of food anxieties. It suggests that existing analyses of food anxiety neglect its affective dimensions, and that the circulation of concerns about food is an affective and embodied process as well as a cognitive one, taking place through encounters between heterogeneous bodies at a range of temporal and spatial scales. However, it argues that the movement of affect should not be considered as a linear 'manipulation' of mute subjects, but rather as a circulation of affective intensity that moves through heterogeneous milieux and is open to 'modulation'. In contrast to manipulation, the modulation of affect is constituted through interactions and encounters, making its outcome unpredictable and uncertain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The right to request flexible working has previously been described as 'sound-bite' legislation. While it appeared to be a novel and innovative right, in reality it offered little of substance for the majority of working families. The more recent Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010 could possibly be classified in the same way. These Regulations aim to bring about a change in the landscape of UK work-family rights. However, like the rights to request flexible working, it can be questioned whether or not they will offer anything more to working families. This paper examines the likely impact that the legislation will have using Fineman's understanding of family care, drawing comparisons with the different approaches adopted in Sweden and the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper systematically reviews published randomised controlled trials, to determine the educational focus and effectiveness of type 2 diabetes multi-component self-management interventions. PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science and reference lists of included studies were searched for English-language articles published 2000–2010. Descriptive information was summarised; when possible, effect sizes were calculated. Fourteen studies, described in 19 articles, were reviewed: six one-on-one interventions; six group interventions; two interventions comprising both intervention types. Four studies used learning as an intervention method; seven used learning and planning; three used learning, planning and practising. Self-management interventions seemed effective for diet, self-monitoring of blood glucose, knowledge and diabetes specific quality of life (QoL) there were mixed results for exercise and clinical outcomes. Findings showed that dietary behaviour seemed relatively easy to change with self-management interventions. Group interventions with a practise component had the greatest potential to improve metabolic control. Self-management interventions had positive effects on diabetes-specific QoL, and interventions using a collaborative learning approach improved knowledge. Multi-component self-management interventions potentially lead to clinically relevant improvements in behaviour and some clinical parameters. Further research is needed to explain the mixed effects on exercise and to identify processes underlying behaviour change. Copyright © 2010 FEND [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Martin Innes (2006) has called attention to a recent revitalization of community policing in the Anglo-American policing sphere, albeit in new forms and variations. The discursive and concomitant policy shift in Britain away from 'community policing' towards notions of 'reassurance' and 'neighbourhood' policing has not gone unnoticed in Sweden. Good ideas appear to travel readily eastwards from their British contexts to find translations in the Swedish context. Subsequently, in 2006 the regional police commander in the Stockholm metropolitan area initiated a new community policing programme with the establishment of 10-15 so-called local police offices in targeted depressed areas of the region, and by the end of 2009 there will be a total of 27. The overall goal of the programme is to create a sense of security among residents in these areas and to build upon and sustain the residents' trust and confidence in the police, while at the same time working towards achieving a reduction in crime and maintaining respect for law and order. In this paper I interrogate the translation processes whereby the notions of 'reassurance' and 'neighbourhood' policing have been partially adopted, adapted, and implemented in a Swedish policing context—collective translation processes that have been wrought with points of friction, i.e. both creative and unproductive resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the conditions under which commissions succeed in influencing policy change. The paper tackles three questions: What do governments gain by establishing a commission? What are the tools employed by commissions in order to make their recommendations and ensure that their output will have political significance? And how do commissions influence policy outcomes? Five different types of influence are introduced and tested by focusing on the role of pension commissions in France, Sweden, and the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. European countries practice a wide range of car driving license renewal procedures. These range from issuing lifelong licenses without subsequent medical checks, to issuing a license to age 70 and for 3- or 5-year periods thereafter based on self-declarations of medical fitness, to requiring medical examinations for renewal, to renewal every 5 years from the age of 45. This paper presents a case study of the different older driver licensing procedures in seven European countries and addresses the association between these procedures and older driver safety. Method. The seven countries studied consist of France, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. The first-mentioned three countries have the most relaxed license renewal procedures and least demanding medical examination requirements. Results. There is no evidence that any license renewal procedure or requirement for a medical examination has an effect on the overall road safety of drivers aged 65+, though undoubtedly there are individual drivers who should no longer be driving who might be detected by stringent renewal procedures. Considering the three countries with the most relaxed licensing procedures, The Netherlands and United Kingdom have the lowest fatality rate for car drivers aged 65+, and the rate for France is falling rapidly. Conclusions. There is also evidence that stringent renewal procedures and demanding medical examinations at renewal reduce the level of car driving licenses among older people. France, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have the highest level of driving license holding by people aged 65+, which has direct implications for the independent mobility of older people. Reduced mobility also has safety implications: in about half the European countries for which road accident fatality data have been analyzed, people aged 65+ are at greater risk of death as a pedestrian than as a car driver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In pursuing an historical and comparative approach, the article aims at exploring the relation between local government and ‘local community’. For comparative purposes, the paper draws primarily on the UK/England, Germany and Sweden as pertinent examples. The explicitly historical approach of the article promises to recognise (and perhaps even rediscover) the distinct and, at the same time, symbiotic and dialectic development and relation which have existed between local government and local community throughout their evolution—from the ‘founding period’ of modern local government during the 19th century, through its development under the (centralised) welfare state in the (mid) 20th century, to the present-day. The historically educated perception should be helpful to identify and assess the dynamics and perspective of the recent ‘rise’ of the local (political, social and economic) community and its impact on redefining and recalibrating the relation and balance between local government and what, in the current social science debate, is called ‘governance’—with the ‘re-emerging’ local community and its manifold political, social and economic actors becoming part-and-parcel of the expanding and multiplying networks of (non-public) actors that are captured under the term and concept ‘governance’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper proposes a nine‐component analytical framework for developing, comparing, and evaluating road safety strategies. The nine components are: (1) vision; (2) objectives; (3) targets; (4) action plan; (5) evaluation and monitoring; (6) research and development; (7) quantitative modelling; (8) institutional framework; and (9) funding. While the first four components are essential for the formulation of a road safety strategy, the remaining components are key to its successful implementation. To demonstrate the usefulness of this comparative framework, we examine the road safety strategies of six selected administrations: Australia, California, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, and Sweden. In these case studies, we extract and highlight good practices in the formulation and implementation of their road safety strategies. The proposed framework also provides a systematic approach for assessing road safety strategies in other administrations. The evaluation of the six case studies forms a benchmarking platform for the planning, formulation, and implementation of good practices for road safety strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The disclosure behaviour for a sample of quoted Swedish and UK pharmaceutical companies is investigated in the paper. The sample consists of three Swedish (Astra, Gambro and Pharmacia) and three UK (Glaxo, SmithKline Beecham and Wellcome) pharmaceutical companies, whose annual financial reports have been studied over the fifteen-year period 1984-98. The results show that the companies in both countries consistently have provided voluntary disclosures relevant for the assessment of competitive advantages, in particular with regard to research and development activities. Disclosures concerning business growth, dividend policy and earnings persistence, have been more prevalent among the Swedish companies, indicating a stronger concern about stock market investors. Voluntary segmental disclosures have been similar over time, with a reluctance to disclose line-of-business and geographical segment profits. Finally, voluntary disclosures explicitly indicating any accounting measurement biases have been rare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops work carried out under the aegis of a European Commission-funded university continuing education (UCE) network. It compares the ways in which UCE has developed in three countries within Northern Europe. The authors firstly review the developments of university education in general in Finland, the UK and Sweden, paying particular attention to the factors that historically have influenced UCE. They then focus on developments and policy imperatives of the last decade. A number of convergences and divergences in policy and practice in the three countries are pointed to. In both Finland and the UK, UCE is well defined by state or quasi-state agencies and is an activity that has been located within well-defined structural units in most institutions. Universities in these two countries have a diverse mission based on a national lifelong learning agenda. By contrast, in Sweden, whilst there is a longstanding international tradition of adult education rooted within democratic movements and a recognition of the importance of equality of access, the provision is to a large extent embedded in universities and not manifest as UCE. What provision that does exist as UCE is patchily distributed across the university sector and nonuniform in character. UCE provision within Finland and UK to varying degrees in becoming more diverse in its make-up. The presence of new providers in a 'CE market', an emphasis on UCE as an economic instrument, moves towards the accreditation of provision and the loss of a particular identity for UCE are amongst factors creating increasing heterogeneity of provision in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper compares recent developments in income inequality in Canada, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In addition to describing cross-national variation in changes in income inequality, the paper examines different explanatory factors for these recent developments. The findings reported indicate that there is substantial cross-national variation, not only with regard to the level of inequality, but furthermore with regard to changes in inequality. The results indicate that the equalizing effect of welfare state redistribution did not decrease in all countries. By contrast, in all countries there was a universal tendency towards increased inequality in the pre-tax and transfer distribution, although the magnitude of the change differs from country to country. Even though a polarization of the earnings distribution is reported, the results still give no support to cross-national convergence with regard to income inequality during the 1980s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports results of an empirical study on the effectiveness of labour market policy. Data from Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Sweden and the United States are used to apply a simultaneous equation model with wages and employment being the endogenous variables. In order to explain employment, the amount of unemployment benefits per unemployed (passive labour market policy) and payment for wage subsidies and training per employed and unemployed person (active labour market policy) are used in addition to real wages and output. Wages and output have their expected impact on total employment. It turns out that passive labour market policy has a negative, and active labour market measures a positive, effect on the number of persons employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to examine employee involvement in a comparative context against a background of increased HRM practices, using Poole's framework of power in workers' participation as a tool of analysis. Since the 1980s the concept of employee involvement has assumed a position of central importance in human resource management and the aim of this research was to examine these contentions in a British bank, which has consciously adopted HRM policies over the past six years, and a Swedish bank, which could be said to be typical of the Swedish service sector in its employee relations practices. From the research a picture emerged in which the Swedish work-force felt that they had a greater degree of involvement in their workplace (micro level) than their British counterparts. Of particular significance was that, at organizational level (macro level), the Swedish work-force felt as much estrangement as the British work-force from participation and involvement on strategic issues despite the existence of co-determinational structures. Explanations of these findings, it is suggested, lie in an understanding of the wider convergent and divergent forces such as societal structures and economic changes influencing corporate life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world's littorals is an important theater for all sorts of human interaction. So, also for naval warfare, which increasingly has led defense planners to focus on littoral capabilities rather than on Mahanian high-sea battles. We address the question of what littoral warfare means for different types of states. To that end, we develop a set of opposing ideal-types with regards to each type's operational environment, aims, methods, and means for littoral warfare. We then use these ideal-types to analyze the naval doctrines of Sweden, the UK, and the US. This comparison generates some interesting results. For blue-water navies, littoral warfare is an additional burden and a high-risk endeavor, since the littoral, which the planning concerns is somebody else's. For the small coastal state, correspondingly, littoral warfare is the sole purpose of its navy, and it can focus all its resources there as well as on cooperation with its air force and army, which are necessarily nearby. For blue-water navies, the objective of littoral warfare is to defeat the enemy, whereas for the small coastal state, it is deterrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People have a fair idea of how they are supposed to behave to slow down the spread of COVID-19. But what about people's perception of their own compared to others' adherence to the guidelines? Building on prior research on self-enhancement biases, we predicted that people perceive themselves to adhere more strictly to the COVID-19 guidelines than others. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a large-scale online experiment (N = 1,102), using a sample from four countries (UK, US, Germany, Sweden). As predicted, people perceived themselves to adhere to the COVID-19 guidelines more strictly than both the average citizen of their country and their close friends. These findings were robust across countries. Furthermore, findings were not moderated by whether people first thought about themselves or about others. In conclusion, our study provides a robust demonstration of how a long-standing psychological effect perseveres, even during a once-in-a-lifetime health crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We question why child poverty still prevails even in high-income countries, such as Japan, Sweden and the United Kingdom. We address the intersection between social relations and individual experiences that should be considered when optimising children's capability. The study is therefore aimed at exploring compensatory societal actions taken to optimise children's capability among these affluent countries. In order to do so, we operationalised children's capability by including key societal domains along with statistical indicators and variables from relevant sources. A secondary quantitative method was adopted by drawing upon data sources from 2000 up to almost 2020 from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Bank and the United Nations Children's Fund, with these being complemented by governmental data. Given a lack of currently available and comparable data for those three countries, four key societal domains were explored in an absolute descriptive analysis. It is obvious that child poverty prevailed over the focal 20 years in these three high-income countries. Also, the exploratory data analysis revealed a lack of sufficient supporting social services in each societal domain. This demonstrates that optimising children's capability should not just be about subsidising economic resources, but also supporting all initiatives aimed at addressing the lack of interactions between each domain of children's capability. The study shows how essential it is to consider societal compensatory measures along with supporting the financial circumstances. We therefore argue that optimising children's capability should not only be about subsidising economic resources, but also ensuring adequate social resources and relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the way in which the Holocaust was linked to the process of the birth of Israel between 1947 and 1948 in the mainstream British, Swedish and Finnish press. By utilising a framework of comparative cultural history, this essay seeks to understand why different countries responded to the suffering of the Jews during the Second World War in such diverse ways. This essay also seeks to question the popular belief that the two events were intimately linked, and that the link was recognised in a straightforward manner. Hence, the study argues that although the press coverage sometimes managed to establish the connection between the two events, more typically the news was domesticated. In other words, the news had a transcendental and meta-historical character, working as an extension to each country's own self-understanding of Jews, Zionism and the Holocaust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that sharp distinctions between formal ritual action and everyday practice cannot always be sustained. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among British Quakers and Swedish charismatic Protestants, we seek to show that both groups manifest an experiential aesthetic that constructs and is constructed by engagement in daily life. The Quaker aesthetic we call 'the plain', and the charismatic aesthetic we term 'the positive'. In presenting our argument, we adopt Bourdieu's concept of habitus and extend its meaning to take account of material culture in the establishment of religious commitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper represents an attempt to compare the incidence of relative deprivation and poverty in Sweden and Great Britain. The study goes beyond the limitations of traditional income-based comparisons and the method applied builds on Mack & Lansley's (1985) direct consensual definition of deprivation. The analyses show that deprivation is more prevalent and more unevenly distributed in Britain compared with Sweden. However, more detailed analyses reveal that the probability of being poor is distributed in a similar way in the two countries. Low income households, the unemployed, those dependent on means-tested benefits and lone parents are worse off in both countries. Thus, it is very much the same processes that generate deprivation and poverty. However, Swedes are less deprived because incomes have been distributed more equally, unemployment has been lower, means-tested benefits have been more generous, and the situation for lone parents has been better in Sweden than in Britain during the 1980s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the revolution in the approach to the design of urban green areas, such as parks, housing landscapes, shelter-belts, roadside plantings and incidental open spaces which together make up the landscape framework of towns and cities in Holland, Sweden and Great Britain. It states that the revolution was manifest in the exuberant use of naturalistic design approaches and ecological techniques, and was fuelled by a reaction to the barren housing schemes of the fifties and sixties.