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This paper explores the relationship between neighbourhood level density of civil society organisations (CSOs), diversity, and deprivation. We compare the UK and Sweden, two countries with different civil society traditions and welfare state regimes. We use data on formal civil society organisations to examine whether diverse neighbourhoods have lower levels of civil society infrastructure. In the UK, contrary to what could be expected from Putnam's assertion that diversity has a negative effect on trust, thus limiting civil society activities at the neighbourhood level, we observe a positive relationship between the density of CSOs and diversity. In Sweden, we find different patterns. First, we observe a negative correlation between CSO density and diversity. Second, we find lower density of formal CSOs in areas with high diversity and high economic disadvantage and higher density in areas characterised by low diversity and high disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 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]

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]

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]

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]

Evidence is accumulating of the negative impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic and related public health measures on mental health. In this emergent field, there has been little research into the role of risk perception on depressive symptoms and the contribution of health‐care resources to model risk perception and mental health. The aim of this paper is to describe the relationship between individual‐level perception of risk and depression, controlling for a set of confounders and for country‐level heterogeneity. A cross‐sectional and observational online survey was conducted using a non‐probability snowball sampling technique. We use data on 11,340 respondents, living in six European countries (Italy, Sweden, United Kingdom, France, Poland, Czech Republic) who completed survey questionnaires during the first months of the pandemic. We used a fixed‐effect approach, which included individual and macro‐level variables. The findings suggest that a high proportion of people suffering from depression and heightened risk perception is positively associated with reporting depressive symptoms, even if this relationship varies significantly between countries. Moreover, the association is moderated by contextual factors including health‐care expenditure as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, hospital beds for acute care, and number of medical specialists per head of population. Investment in health care offers a concrete means of protecting the mental health of a population living under pandemic restrictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the experience of Europe's three most liberalised railways - Sweden, Germany and Britain - in opening-up rail passenger services to competition by means of competitive tendering, and seeks to draw lessons for countries that are just starting the process, such as France. It also comments on experience of competition in the market in these and other countries (this form of competition has been taken furthest in other countries - notably Italy and the Czech Republic, as well as on a single route in Austria). The paper fills an important gap in the literature - that has so far focused on econometric modelling of the impact of rail reforms - by considering how competition can best be introduced in practice. This investigation is important and timely given the requirements of EU legislation (4th Railway Package) which will require competition to be introduced into passenger rail services (by 2020 for commercial services, and 2023 for public transport contracts) across the whole of the EU. It finds evidence that competitive tendering has helped increase demand for and reduce subsidies to the rail passenger sector, but that there are many decisions that have to be taken as to how it is to be implemented. Short gross cost contracts may work well for regional services where the tendering authority takes the lead in planning and marketing such services. If services where ticket revenue recovers a larger share of costs – "more commercial services" – are to be tendered, long net cost contracts may make more sense. An alternative is to leave them operated by the incumbent but with open access for competitors to enter the market. Two particular issues face countries starting on the liberalisation process. Firstly, if existing rolling stock is owned by the incumbent rather than the franchising authority or an independent company; that remains a major barrier to entry. The second is the position of existing staff. If new operators are required to take them on at existing wages and conditions; that is a barrier to improved efficiency, but for new operators to recruit their own staff may also be problematic, particularly where the pace of change is fast. • In all three liberalised countries (GB, Sweden and Germany) there has been rapid growth in demand for regional services. • Subsidies per train-km and passenger-km have also fallen in all three countries, though in GB unit costs rose post-reforms. • Gross-cost contracts useful where regional body controls marketing/services; otherwise net-cost contracts may be preferred. • Where large-scale competition introduced for first time, treatment of rolling stock and existing staff biggest issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has re-analysed and compared data between three studies conducted in the United Kingdom and in Sweden (the OPUS 'Older People's Use of Unfamiliar Space' study in the United Kingdom and the Swedish studies 'Let's Go for a Walk' and 'Walking in Old Age') to provide a comprehensive account of the issues facing older people in the outdoor environment. All three studies draw on the 'fit' between the person and their environment as a guiding conceptual base – capturing the dynamics of the relationship between older people's personal needs and their wider environmental context. This common conceptual base allowed us to test theory against practice, and to explore the utility of this concept across different geographical contexts. Participatory research was also applied, highlighting the importance of the voice of older people and involving older people in research. The studies also used a mixed-method approach involving both quantitative and qualitative methods. The paper highlights that although not generalisable, you can compare cross-locales and cross-nationally using different methodology; it investigates the challenges of cross-national comparative analysis and draws on findings from the three studies to illustrate the different challenges and solutions and finally looks at lessons that are transferable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at the Karolinska 2 report which compared cancer survival rates in 25 countries and found that access to cancer drugs affected survival concluding that the licensing process should be speeded up with equitable access to all. British epidemiologist Michel Coleman who heads Cancer Research UK says the study is flawed and the conclusion questionable. Coleman claims that estimates rather than actual survival rates were used and the benefits from access to drugs information was skewed. Further, he suggested that study sponsor, Roche Pharmaceuticals, had input into the conclusion. The charges are denied by Roche and by the authors of the study.

Labour market activation policies aimed at those with multiple barriers to employment require inter-agency collaboration between local organizations providing social and employment services. This local collaborative context is shaped by different institutional logics (state, markets, professions and community) that are crucial for policy implementation. Using case studies of nine German, UK and Swedish cities, it is argued that different institutional logics help shape the form and operation of local collaboration between different agencies and actors and thus the concrete support for service users at the local level. Although all three countries are characterized by centralized employment policies, each city shows a prevalence, but not exclusivity, of certain institutional logics over others. These differences, partly reflecting the local context, are likely to lead to local variations in understandings of solidarity, policy implementation, inter-agency collaboration and networks of actors and national–local tensions. The paper suggests that an institutional logics approach provides a useful framework for helping to understand local variations and potential national–local policy conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores trade union strategies to protect wages in the face of EU migration after the enlargement of the European Union. We argue that unions have three instruments at their disposal to deal with the risks linked to downward wage pressure: closure through immigration control, equalisation through collective bargaining and minimum wages, and the organisation of migrant workers. Using comparative case studies of Sweden, Germany and the UK, we show how different types of power resources shape union strategies: unions with substantial organisational resources (in Sweden) relied on a large membership to pursue an equalisation strategy and expected to be able to 'afford' openness. German unions with low membership but access to the political system pushed for a mix of closure and equality drawing on political intervention (e.g. minimum wages). British unions, unable to pursue either, focused their efforts on organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sleeping Beauties (SBs) are publications that are scarcely cited in the years immediately following publication but then suddenly become highly cited later. Such publications have unique citation patterns and can reveal important developments in the field in which they appear. Objectives: No holistic analysis of nursing SBs has been done yet. The aim of this study was to identify and analyze the SB phenomenon in the nursing research literature. Method: The corpus for the nursing SB identification was harvested from the Web of Science Core Collection (Thomas Reuters) for the period 1934-2015. Citation histories of 212,239 publications were screened. From those, 3,209 publications with more than 100 citations were selected for analysis. We used our own software and applied the van Raan (2004) and Baumgartner (2010) criteria for SBs-a 5-year sleeping period with at most 10 citations during that time, an average of at least five citations per year after the first 10 years, with at least 100 citations in total. The knowledge context for SBs was determined using citing papers. All citing papers were analyzed with the help of VOSviewer software. Results: Nine publications were identified as SBs (prevalence of 0.004%). The length of sleep duration ranged from 5 to 10 years (M = 6.8, SD = 2.0), depth of sleep ranged from 0.2 to 0.8 citations (M = 0.6, SD = 0.2), and awake intensity ranged from 6.4 to 15.0 citations (M = 11.0, SD = 3.8). The average number of citations to SBs was 229. Most nursing SBs were produced in the United States (n = 8) from top institutions in journals with high-impact factors. Nursing SBs covered topics including resilience, sampling in qualitative research, metasynthesis, postoperative pain in children, dementia rating scales, care of patients with Alzheimer's disease, nursing theory related to fatigue mechanisms in cancer patients, and family participation during resuscitation. Nursing SBs were cited by authors from a large number of institutions and countries; the number of publications citing nursing SBs is growing exponentially and showing increasing and global interest in the research presented in them. Discussion: This study demonstrated that SBs in nursing are similar to other scientific disciplines. Existence of SBs suggests that nursing knowledge accumulation is supported by research and professional processes similar to those that emerged in other academic disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the dynamics of debt-to-GDP ratio is analyzed for three countries with long fiscal records: Sweden, the UK and the US. A novel procedure of testing for recurrent explosive behavior is implemented in order to identify episodes of explosive debt dynamics. The detected periods of explosive debt growth can be attributed to changes in economic, political and institutional environment which required active policy responses subsequently followed by fiscal adjustments. The results of the study indicate that the long-run sustainability found for these countries in other studies can be interpreted as the outcome of fluctuating fiscal policies, some of which were unsustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undocumented migrants often experience how their spatial vulnerability continues across their life trajectories through different forms of displacements in the form of forced migration, being at risk of deportation and being victims of gentrification or policies that make it difficult to find a stable housing situation. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in Sweden and the UK, the paper shows how weak the position of undocumented migrants is on the housing market through recently established policies in the UK which criminalizes the letting of housing to undocumented migrants and the practice of sharing address information between the social services and the border police in Sweden. This intervention argues that these policies that construct spatial vulnerabilities locally are connected to national and transnational policies of displacement globally and suggest that "displaceability", the potential of being displaced, is a strategy for governing vulnerable groups at every scale where governing takes place. Consequently, this intervention suggests that displaceability can help us capture the universal, interconnected experience of spatial vulnerability shared by many differently positioned groups in the world who are susceptible to forced mobility or removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing the COVID-19 pandemic is a critical factor in developing effective policies to deal with similar challenges in the future. However, many parameters (e.g., the actual number of infected people, the effectiveness of vaccination) are still subject to considerable debate because they are unobservable. To model a pandemic and estimate unobserved parameters, researchers use compartmental models. Most often, in such models, the transition rates are considered as constants, which allows simulating only one epidemiological wave. However, multiple waves have been reported for COVID-19 caused by different strains of the virus. This paper presents an approach based on the reconstruction of real distributions of transition rates using genetic algorithms, which makes it possible to create a model that describes several pandemic peaks. The model is fitted on registered COVID-19 cases in four countries with different pandemic control strategies (Germany, Sweden, UK, and US). Mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) was chosen as the objective function, the MAPE values of 2.168%, 2.096%, 1.208% and 1.703% were achieved for the listed countries, respectively. Simulation results are consistent with the empirical statistics of medical studies, which confirms the quality of the model. In addition to observables such as registered infected, the output of the model contains variables that cannot be measured directly. Among them are the proportion of the population protected by vaccines, the size of the exposed compartment, and the number of unregistered cases of COVID-19. According to the results, at the peak of the pandemic, between 14% (Sweden) and 25% (the UK) of the population were infected. At the same time, the number of unregistered cases exceeds the number of registered cases by 17 and 3.4 times, respectively. The average duration of the vaccine induced immune period is shorter than claimed by vaccine manufacturers, and the effectiveness of vaccination has declined sharply since the appearance of the Delta and Omicron strains. However, on average, vaccination reduces the risk of infection by about 65–70%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Childhood aggression and its resulting consequences inflict a huge burden on affected children, their relatives, teachers, peers and society as a whole. Aggression during childhood rarely occurs in isolation and is correlated with other symptoms of childhood psychopathology. In this paper, we aim to describe and improve the understanding of the co-occurrence of aggression with other forms of childhood psychopathology. We focus on the co-occurrence of aggression and other childhood behavioural and emotional problems, including other externalising problems, attention problems and anxiety-depression. The data were brought together within the EU-ACTION (Aggression in Children: unravelling gene-environment interplay to inform Treatment and InterventiON strategies) project. We analysed the co-occurrence of aggression and other childhood behavioural and emotional problems as a function of the child’s age (ages 3 through 16 years), gender, the person rating the behaviour (father, mother or self) and assessment instrument. The data came from six large population-based European cohort studies from the Netherlands (2x), the UK, Finland and Sweden (2x). Multiple assessment instruments, including the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL), the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Multidimensional Peer Nomination Inventory (MPNI), were used. There was a good representation of boys and girls in each age category, with data for 30,523 3- to 4-year-olds (49.5% boys), 20,958 5- to 6-year-olds (49.6% boys), 18,291 7- to 8-year-olds (49.0% boys), 27,218 9- to 10-year-olds (49.4% boys), 18,543 12- to 13-year-olds (48.9% boys) and 10,088 15- to 16-year-olds (46.6% boys). We replicated the well-established gender differences in average aggression scores at most ages for parental ratings. The gender differences decreased with age and were not present for self-reports. Aggression co-occurred with the majority of other behavioural and social problems, from both externalising and internalising domains. At each age, the co-occurrence was particularly prevalent for aggression and oppositional and ADHD-related problems, with correlations of around 0.5 in general. Aggression also showed substantial associations with anxiety-depression and other internalizing symptoms (correlations around 0.4). Co-occurrence for self-reported problems was somewhat higher than for parental reports, but we found neither rater differences, nor differences across assessment instruments in co-occurrence patterns. There were large similarities in co-occurrence patterns across the different European countries. Finally, co-occurrence was generally stable across age and sex, and if any change was observed, it indicated stronger correlations when children grew older. We present an online tool to visualise these associations as a function of rater, gender, instrument and cohort. In addition, we present a description of the full EU-ACTION projects, its first results and the future perspectives. [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]

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]

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]

Aims and objectives This systematic review aims to synthesise the existing research on how patients participate in patient safety initiatives. Background Ambiguities remain about how patients participate in routine measures designed to promote patient safety. Design Systematic review using integrative methods. Methods Electronic databases were searched using keywords describing patient involvement, nursing input and patient safety initiatives to retrieve empirical research published between 2007 and 2013. Findings were synthesized using the theoretical domains of Vincent's framework for analysing risk and safety in clinical practice: 'patient', 'healthcare provider', 'task', 'work environment', 'organisation & management'. Results We identified 17 empirical research papers: four qualitative, one mixed-method and 12 quantitative designs. All 17 papers indicated that patients can participate in safety initiatives. Conclusions Improving patient participation in patient safety necessitates considering the patient as a person, the nurse as healthcare provider, the task of participation and the clinical environment. Patients' knowledge, health conditions, beliefs and experiences influence their decisions to engage in patient safety initiatives. An important component of the management of long-term conditions is to ensure that patients have sufficient knowledge to participate. Healthcare providers may need further professional development in patient education and patient care management to promote patient involvement in patient safety, and ensure that patients understand that they are 'allowed' to inform nurses of adverse events or errors. A healthcare system characterised by patient-centredness and mutual acknowledgement will support patient participation in safety practices. Further research is required to improve international knowledge of patient participation in patient safety in different disciplines, contexts and cultures. Relevance to clinical practice Patients have a significant role to play in enhancing their own safety while receiving hospital care. This review offers a framework for clinicians to develop comprehensive practical guidelines to support patient involvement in patient safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is limited consensus about what constitutes humanly sensitive care, or how it can be sustained in care settings. A new humanised care assessment tool may point to caring practices that are up to the task of meeting persons as humans within busy healthcare environments. This paper describes qualitative development of a tool that is conceptually sensitive to human dimensions of care informed by a life‐world philosophical orientation. Items were generated to reflect eight theoretical dimensions that constitute what makes care feel humanly focused. An action research group process in 2014–2015 with researchers, service users, healthcare professionals in two diverse clinical settings (stroke rehabilitation and dermatology) was used. Feedback on conceptual content, transparency of meaning and readability was then gained from a panel in Sweden and third‐year student nurses in the UK. The tool can be applied to attune staff to human dimensions of care, offering items which point to concrete examples of humanising and dehumanising features of practice in ways that have not yet been fully captured in the caring literature. Based on theoretically led experiential items, with dedicated focus on what makes people feel more, or less than human, it may offer improvement on available assessments of care. [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]

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]

Purpose |!|#8211; The purpose of this paper is to discuss performance in postgraduate education in Sweden and Scotland. Drawing on two cases, the paper considers three themes: differences in students|!|#39; performance by study mode, differences in students|!|#39; performance by length of study, and finally comparing performance by study mode between modules in Scotland with an entire programme in Sweden. Design/methodology/approach |!|#8211; The empirical setting from Scotland builds on an evaluation of online and on-campus study groups with exactly the same module syllabus. The Swedish setting is also based on an evaluation of distance and on-campus study groups with exactly the same module syllabus. The data compiled in both countries arise from student performance scores and grades. Findings |!|#8211; The results indicate that students in both countries foremost use the virtual learning environment (VLE) as a forum for accessing information, to access asynchronous postings in the forums and access streaming-synchronous online lectures which are also accessed asynchronously in the VLE. The results show that there are no differences between the grades or test scores between campus students with face-to-face education and distance students with electronically (VLE) mediated education. These differences and similarities will form the basis of these reflections in this paper. Research limitations/implications |!|#8211; The study is limited because the examples given are only a few cases and small samples and there is a need to more rigorously investigate different educational programs in different academic disciplines. Originality/value |!|#8211; The paper contributes to quality issues in distance, online and campus education by taking into account, in the first case, different student performance in the same course over a longer period and in the second case, changes over time within the same educational program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: How next-generation access (NGA) deployment can be encouraged is a challenge that many countries are facing, and one that has been widely and actively discussed around the globe. This discussion has highlighted a dilemma that ultimately shapes investment—how to encourage the widespread deployment of NGA while enabling operators to achieve reasonable returns. This paper focuses on the tensions that arise as a consequence of this investment challenge in three countries – the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom (UK) – and uses the analysis of extensive data collection with k7ey actors to argue the case for the injection of public or private incentives. The paper finds that markets with competitive infrastructure will not benefit from public investment while markets with geographical constraints are in need of public support. The paper also explains that regulatory intervention is necessary in the early stage of NGA roll-out, even in currently competitive markets. In all the discussions it becomes evident that, among the three cases, the UK is most in need of public intervention. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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]

Abstract: The literature on environmental champions emphasises the effective action of environmentally committed individuals. This paper draws on case studies of process technology investment projects in chemical and dairy companies in the UK and Sweden. The analysis is based on a political process perspective on organisations. By analysing the career histories of environmental champions as well as their behaviour in the investment projects, the paper shows how their championing behaviour is shaped by dynamic interaction with the organisational context, as well as a broader range of motivations and interests, including career opportunities and private life concerns. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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 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]

Substantial cross-national differences in poverty alleviation are well documented. But the extent to which different parts of the social transfer system account for this variation is still relatively unexamined. This paper analyses the redistributive effects of specific social policy institutions in a comparative perspective. The main question is to what extent non-means-tested entitlements and means-tested benefits reduce relative economic poverty in different institutional settings. It is shown that the structure of non-means-tested benefits is more important than that of means-tested benefits in explaining differences in poverty alleviation across countries. The paper also presents a new method for estimating the anti-poverty effects of separate parts of the social transfer system. This method decomposes the anti-poverty effects of a set of social transfers into independent and combined effects, which produces more valid results than prevalent methods used to assess the impact of a particular transfer on poverty. The countries included in this study are Canada, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. The empirical analyses are based on data from the Social Citizenship Indicators Programme (SCIP) and Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) describing the situation in the mid-1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 focusses on coping strategies employed by children and adolescents with diagnosed short stature, assesses the impact of socio-demographic and clinical characteristics on coping, examines the relationship between coping and health related quality of life (QoL) and investigates the role of coping strategies in mediating the relationship between height and QoL. Coping with a disease (CODI) and quality of life in short stature youth (QoLISSY-QoL) questionnaires were completed by 137 short-statured children and adolescents between 8 and 18 years, participating in the crosssectional European QoLISSY study. Clinical and socio-demographic data were collected to examine differences in coping via variance and regression analyses, associations between CODI and QoLISSY were inspected using correlation and mediation analyses. Most frequently employed coping strategies in the CODI were 'Acceptance' and 'Wishful Thinking', with 'Emotional Reaction' used least. Significant effects of age, diagnosis and treatment status on coping strategies were detected. CODI scales 'Acceptance' and 'Distance' were associated with higher QoLISSY-QoL scores, 'Emotional Reaction' and 'Wishful Thinking' with lower scores. Coping strategies predicted 60 % of the QoLISSY-QoL variance. Relationships between height deviation and QoLISSY-QoL were mediated by the coping strategies of 'Wishful Thinking' and 'Distance'. Findings suggest that coping efforts vary with socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, that protective coping strategies in terms of QoL can be identified and that coping mediates the relationship between short stature and QoL. Future longitudinal research should focus on the adaptive function of coping in relation to QoL over time. [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]

Addmaster has been acquired by Sweden-based company Polygiene, making it a dominant player in the supply of antimicrobial solutions for both soft and hard surfaces. The acquisition will allow both companies to offer the market a comprehensive solution of antimicrobial functions, with Polygiene offering textiles while UK firm Addmaster's Biomaster brand offers solutions for polymers, paints, coatings and paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines differences in work restrictions of midlife family carers of older people in terms of prevalence, gender and explanatory variables, in six European countries: Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. A sample of 2,897 carers aged 45–64 was extracted from the EUROFAMCARE (Services for Supporting Family Carers of Older People in Europe: Characteristics, Coverage and Usage) European project database, in order to analyse four possible work restrictions experienced in connection with the activity of care-giving: the reduction of working hours; giving up working; difficulties in career developments and forced occasional work. The results show that work restrictions are experienced differently between countries especially by women: they are reported to a higher degree in the United Kingdom, Germany and Greece, less so in Italy, and seldom in Poland and Sweden. Gender differences within countries are not so marked. Country differences are explained in the light of the different welfare regimes characterising the countries under investigation, in order to elucidate how policy makers may act to improve working carers' conditions through appropriate policies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An increase in the number of people living independently with dementia across the developed world has focused attention on the relevance of neighbourhood spaces for enabling or facilitating good social health and wellbeing. Taking the lived experiences and daily realities of people living with dementia as a starting point, this paper contributes new understanding about the relevance of local places for supporting those living with the condition. The paper outlines findings from a study of the neighbourhood experiences, drawing on new data collected from a creative blend of qualitatively-driven mixed methods with people living in a diverse array of settings across three international settings. The paper details some of the implications of neighbourhoods as sites of social connection based on material from 67 people living with dementia and 62 nominated care-partners. It demonstrates how neighbourhoods are experienced as relational places and considers how people living with dementia contribute to the production of such places through engagement and interaction, and in ways that may be beneficial to social health. We contend that research has rarely focused on the subjective, experiential and 'everyday' social practices that contextualise neighbourhood life for people living with dementia. In doing so, the paper extends empirical and conceptual understanding of the relevance of neighbourhoods as relational sites of connection, interaction, and social engagement for people living with dementia. • Presents new data from 129 individuals; 67 living with dementia and 62 care-partners. • Neighbourhoods are sites of social interaction, connection and engagement. • Neighbourhoods are important sites of support for people living with dementia. • People living with dementia can be socially active in neighbourhood locations. • Neighbourhoods should be understood as relational places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Previous research suggests that, despite a desire to introduce environmental concerns into New Product Design, many companies in the northwest of England have not done so. In order to understand more about why companies do or do not take on sustainability methodologies, an entirely new and rigorous approach was taken. This paper therefore presents the results of a questionnaire investigating the up-take of Eco/Sustainable Design in manufacturing companies in Sweden – a country that might be considered more environmentally progressive than the UK – and discusses them alongside the results of an identical questionnaire in the UK. The results are presented in the context of risk and risk aversion/management – in particular the risk associated with taking on board Design for Sustainability as a design method or a company strategy. It is found that there is no clear “winner” in sustainability between UK and Swedish engineering companies; there is encouraging news in both countries, with a desire to practice sustainability, but some that is not so good with the number of companies that actually implement relevant methodologies. It is apparent that there are still hindrances and perceived risks preventing companies taking sustainability fully on board, despite the recognition that sustainability is a “good thing”; the importance of the implementation of sustainability has not yet been fully grasped by industry and by those with the responsibility required to effect any changes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Total water intake is seldom reported in dietary surveys and hydration status is rarely measured. Although adequate intake (AI) levels have been suggested by the European Food Safety Authority, the World Health Organization and the Institute of Medicine, uncertainties and confused messages abound regarding optimum intake. This paper reviews data on water intake internationally and examines associations with beverage consumption habits of adults in the UK, as determined from secondary analysis of individual diet records. On average, total water intake among British adults was equivalent to the European AI (2 l/day for women, 2.5 l/day for men) and 75% of this was derived from beverages. Factors that correlated with high total water intake included the consumption of a variety of beverages and drinking in the evening. Total water intake (and the contribution from soft drinks) is markedly higher in the USA than in Europe. Beverage consumption habits and trends were also reviewed. In the past 10 years, water beverages have become more popular and as such the overall energy contribution from beverages has declined slightly. Most people could be encouraged to drink a variety of beverages to maintain adequate hydration and to balance the energy content according to their needs. However, further work is needed to refine recommendations for water intake, as basing these on observational epidemiological data is essentially a circular argument. A standardized measurement tool, validated against biomarkers of hydration status, would be a step forward in assessing the adequacy of water intakes at a population level. Research may also be warranted to explore the context of drinking occasions (including time of day, weekdays weekends, lifestyle and meal patterns) as these may have an impact on water intake, hydration and also energy balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: OECD countries over the past two decades have implemented a range of labour market integration initiatives to improve the employment chances of disabled and chronically ill individuals. This article presents a systematic review and evidence synthesis on effectiveness of government interventions to influence employers’ employment practices concerning disabled and chronically ill individuals in five OECD countries. A separate paper reports on interventions to influence the behaviour of employees. Methods: Electronic and grey literature searches to identify all empirical studies reporting employment effects and/or process evaluations of government policies aimed at changing the behaviour of employers conducted between 1990 and 2008 from Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the UK. Results: Few studies provided robust evaluations of the programmes or their differential effects and selection of participants into programmes may distort the findings of even controlled studies. A population-level effect of legislation to combat discrimination by employers could not be detected. Workplace adjustments had positive impacts on employment, but low uptake. Financial incentives such as wage subsidies can work if they are sufficiently generous. Involving employers in return-to-work planning can reduce subsequent sick leave and be appreciated by employees, but this policy has not been taken up with the level of intensity that is likely to make a difference. Some interventions favour the more advantaged disabled people and those closer to the labour market. Conclusions: Future evaluations need to pay more attention to differential impact of interventions, degree of take-up, non-stigmatizing implementation and wider policy context in each country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows new evidence of a steady long-term decline in age of male sexual maturity since at least the mideighteenth century. A method for measuring the timing of male maturity is developed based on the age at which male young adult mortality accelerates. The method is applied to mortality data from Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Italy. The secular trend toward earlier male sexual maturity parallels the trend toward earlier menarche for females, suggesting that common environmental cues influence the speed of both males' and females' sexual maturation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport is one of the fastest growing sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. Some European countries have adopted comprehensive 'sustainable transport' policies, in which climate change is addressed. This paper looks into how sustainable transport policy frameworks deal with climate change challenges in three countries: the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In particular, the focus is on the role of follow-up and monitoring systems to keep the policies on track. For the United Kingdom, a critical analysis is made of strengths and weaknesses of the policy monitoring regime. The analysis shows that the monitoring approach, while ambitious, has suffered some deficits that may have weakened the role of the high-level strategies. Current efforts to strengthen the system are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Domestic express coach services in Germany have long been heavily restricted by regulation, although offerings comparable to countries like, for example, Great Britain or Sweden bear substantial opportunities for competition, the environment, and mobility. In this paper, we motivate market entry in the German express coach market for local public and integrated transport companies by high profitability rates in other countries and the availability of bus facilities and skills. This is followed by the evaluation of supply and demand. Supply is represented by an analysis of external and internal costs showing that express coaches have significant cost advantages that are intensified by the possible internalization of external costs. Demand is represented by a survey of customers that is evaluated with a conjoint analysis. Our results suggest a market share for express coach services in Germany of at least 5.3%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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]