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Sociology's tendency to branch into applied scientific disciplines is regularly debated. This debate focuses either on the organisation of sociology in academic institutions or on how the content of sociologically informed interdisciplinary research diverges from disciplinary sociology. This article bridges these debates in a study of the sociology of food in Sweden. The aim is to analyse how Swedish food sociology reflects the tension between disciplinary sociology and interdisciplinary research. The data comprise the doctoral dissertations and post-PhD career paths of Swedish sociologists whose dissertations are about food. The article finds that these dissertations treat food either as an inherently social phenomenon or as a social lens (i.e. a social phenomenon viewed as instrumental for analysing something else). Second, it is found that sociologists whose dissertations treated food as an inherently social phenomenon were more likely to pursue careers in food sociology but also to hold affiliations outside of sociology departments. The article concludes that the academic locus of Swedish food sociology is organised outside sociology departments but that its approaches are not necessarily any less sociological. Thus, the analysis questions the basis for arguments that interdisciplinary research represents a threat to the critical and analytical core of sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses individual-level panel data for all self-employed in the retail and service sectors to study how immigrant- and native-owned firms perform and contribute to job creation in Sweden. We use an individual fixed-effects model to explore how self-employment outcomes among immigrants and natives evolve with self-employment experience. The advantage of our approach is that it enables estimations of the returns to self-employment experience while controlling for unobservable time-constant individual factors. The results show that profits increase with self-employment experience and at a faster rate among immigrant men and women than for their native counterparts. Turnover and the likelihood of having employees both increase with experience and in a similar magnitude for immigrants and natives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to explore the parallels of fathering and foodwork among men in Sweden. The research question is: can foodwork be seen as "the new fathering"? The paper outlines the narrative of fathers in Sweden and gender progressiveness, and discusses gendered foodwork in Sweden up until the mid-1990s. Subsequently, statistical evidence from Statistics Sweden's three time-use studies is presented, complemented with evidence from quantitative studies about the gendered division of housework. Here, the data demonstrates change over time in men's and women's total housework, foodwork and childcare. Men are doing more and women less, although the absolute changes are greater among women who still do more. Such evidence is further discussed in relation to socio-demographics, household composition and paid work, pointing to the relevance of factors such as gender-egalitarian attitudes and having children. The quantitative section is then followed by an argumentation about cultural shifts in relation to qualitative studies on men's domestic foodwork. In the discussion it is concluded that foodwork can indeed be seen as "the new fathering". Not as a substitution for fathering or as something exclusive for fathers, but as an addition to the repertoire of cultural understandings and social expectations of a "modern" man in Sweden. However, the most substantial change is likely to be cultural--on the level of ideals--while statistics on behaviour mostly support slow and minor changes, with the overall social relation of men and women demonstrating significant stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the role of source country culture on gender roles for labor market assimilation of immigrant women in Sweden. Sweden ranks as one of the world’s most gender-equal countries and at the same time a recipient of many immigrants from countries with more traditional views on gender roles and gender equality. I find that the labor force participation of immigrant women in Sweden is related to their source country culture, in the sense that women from countries where women’s labor market participation is low (high) also have low (high) participation in the Swedish labor market. However, all immigrant women assimilate towards, but do not reach parity with, the participation rate of native women, and the difference between women from high- and low-participation countries diminishes with length of residence in Sweden. This indicates that source country culture on gender roles does not have a persistent effect on immigrant women’s labor market participation in Sweden. Furthermore, the results highlight the importance of taking into account unobservable time-constant individual and source country factors when estimating the relationship between source country culture and immigrants’ labor market outcomes. Neglecting to control for these factors could lead researchers to misrepresent the rate of assimilation and overstate the effect of source country culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feminist food studies have repeatedly identified a dichotomy of ‘masculine’ self-oriented cooking as leisure and ‘feminine’ other and care-oriented foodwork (meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up after meals). However, recent research suggests that there is a great deal of variety and contradiction in men’s accounts of their cooking practices. For example, men may find cooking a tedious and stressful responsibility and foodwork a fatherly duty. This article draws on interviews with 31 Swedish men from 22 to 88 years of age, and explores stories about cooking and foodwork as part of their everyday lives and their life transitions and how these relate to broader notions of food and gender equality. The data illuminating the men’s stories can be synthesised into two narratives of progress: a narrative of progress in gender equality in Sweden, where men’s participation in household labour has become taken for granted, and a narrative of culinary progress among Swedish men in general and among some of the interviewed men themselves. We agree with previous scholars who have argued for a reconsideration of the simplistic picture of men’s cooking as only being for the self and for leisure. We further show how the men express foodwork as a self-evident responsibility, regardless of whether the men find it fun or not, and that a desirable masculinity is represented by a man whose cooking skills have progressed beyond the survival level and who is more gender equal than what are perceived to be less-progressive men from previous generations and foreign cultural backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose —Several randomized controlled trials have not shown any added benefit of arthroscopy over placebo surgery or physiotherapy in middle-aged patients with knee symptoms without trauma. We studied the characteristics of the knee arthroscopies performed in southern Sweden. Patients and methods —From the orthopedic surgical records from 2007–2009 in the Skåne region of Sweden (with a population of 1.2 million), we retrieved ICD-10 diagnostic codes and selected all 4,096 arthroscopies that were diagnosed peroperatively with code M23.2 (derangement of meniscus due to old tear or injury) or code M17 (knee osteoarthritis). We extracted information on cartilage and meniscus status at arthroscopy, and we also randomly sampled 502 of these patients from the regional archive of radiology and analyzed the preoperative prevalence of radiographic or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-defined osteoarthritis. Results —2,165 (53%) of the 4,096 arthroscopies had the diagnostic code M23.2 or M17. In this subgroup, 1,375 cases (64%) had typical findings consistent with degenerative meniscal tear (i.e. that correspond to a degenerative meniscal tear in at least a third ofallarthroscopies). Of the randomly sampled patients, the preoperative prevalence of radiological knee osteoarthritis was 46%. Interpretation —There is a discrepancy between evidence-based medicine treatment guidelines and clinical practice regarding the amount of knee arthroscopies performed in patients with symptoms of degenerative knee disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study tipping behavior in residential mobility of the native population in Sweden between 1990 and 2007. Using regression discontinuity methods, we find that the native population growth in a neighborhood discontinuously drops once the share of non- European immigrants exceeds the identified tipping point. Native tipping behavior can be ascribed to both native flight and native avoidance. Natives with a high level of educational attainment and the highest labor earnings are more likely to move from neighborhoods that have tipped. We conclude that tipping behavior is likely to be associated with ethnic as well as to socio-economic segregation in Sweden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee can be defined as primary (non-traumatic) or secondary (post-traumatic). Both non-traumatic OA and post-traumatic OA have been described predominantly in the medial compartment of the knee. The objective of this study was to compare the location of structural radiographic changes in non-traumatic OA and post-traumatic OA. A non-traumatic cohort, consisting of 155 patients suffering from chronic knee pain without known major injuries, was compared with a post-traumatic cohort, consisting of 176 patients, all of whom had sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury while playing soccer. A standardized weight-bearing knee radiography of the tibiofemoral joint was performed. Joint space narrowing (JSN) and osteophytes were graded according to the radiographic atlas of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International. JSN and osteophytes were located predominantly in the medial compartment in the non-traumatic cohort. In the post-traumatic cohort, structural changes were evenly distributed between the lateral and the medial compartments. We were thus able to demonstrate radiological differences between post-traumatic and non-traumatic OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and identify predictors for NAFLD in an overweight paediatric population. Methods: The study group included 58 overweight (BMI-SDS 3.37 +/- 1) patients aged 8-18 years attending the paediatric obesity clinic. They underwent a clinical and biochemical work-up and liver ultrasonography. Grading of liver steatosis severity was done according to discrepancy in ultrasonographic liver-kidney densities. Results: The prevalence of NAFLD was 60.3%. There was a highly significant (p = 0.004) association between severity of obesity and the presence or absence of liver steatosis. The study cohort was divided into three groups: group 1 (patients with normal ultrasonographic liver structure and normal liver enzymes), group 2 (patients with ultrasonographic fatty liver and normal liver enzymes) and group 3 (patients with ultrasonographic fatty liver and elevated liver enzymes). The BMI-SDS was significantly higher in group 3 compared to group 1 (4.2 +/- 1.1 vs. 2.8 +/- 0.9, p < 0.001). The rate of obesity complications was more prevalent in group 3 compared to groups 1 and 2 (p < 0.001). The insulin resistance index was higher in group 3 compared to group 1 (0.75 +/- 0.2 vs. 0.47 +/- 0.3, p < 0.05). Conclusions: The prevalence of NAFLD in our study cohort was high (60.3%). Patients with steatosis and elevated liver enzymes had a higher risk for obesity complications. Measurements of liver enzymes alone are insufficient, and liver ultrasonography is required for early identification of NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the Swedish coastal fisheries are not sustainable from either a social, economic or ecological point of view. We propose the introduction of local fisheries management (LFM) as a tool for restructuring the present large-scale management system in order to achieve sustainability. To implement LFM two questions need to be answered: How to distribute the resource fish among different resource user groups? How to restructure present fisheries management to meet the criteria of sustainability? Starting from these questions we describe possible forms of LFM for Swedish coastal fishery supported by recent research. The biological and social preconditions for restructuring fisheries management are derived from an analysis of the ecological and managerial situation in Swedish fishery. Three types of LFM--owner based, user based, and community based management--are analyzed with regard to the tasks to be carried out in LFM, the roles of management groups, and the definition and optimal size of management areas. INSET: Local management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interviews with 72 pupils in grade 2–6 were used to investigate awareness of the relation between situation and computation in simple quotitive and partitive division problems as informally and formally experienced. The research approach was phenomenographic. Most second graders counted or made drawings, and related these methods to the situation described in the problems. Several of the older children, on the contrary, experienced a conflict between computation and situation in partitive division. Most second graders, but also some third, fourth and sixth graders, could still not carry out repeated addition, the precursor of multiplication. The data are finally viewed from two theoretical perspectives other than phenomenography. It was concluded that formal division, understood as related to everyday situations, only develops in interplay with informal knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on the Sustainable Coastal Zone Management (SUCOZOMA) program . Aim of the program; Background on marine and coastal research in Sweden; Limitation of the scope of the research of the program in cooperation with the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research.

The practice of eating together, commensality, is often considered as something positive in later life, particularly regarding peoples' nutritional status and psychosocial well-being. Eating alone, in contrast, is treated as a risk factor, although literature indicates that it is not necessarily something negative. Still, analyses that specifically target older peoples' varied experiences and notions of eating alone are scarce. This study has explored perceptions and experiences of eating alone among older people in Sweden, a country considered highly individualistic, yet with relatively low levels of loneliness in the older population. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 community-living and retired Swedes, 70–90 years of age. A thematic analysis identified three themes: i) 'Eating alone as a manifestation of loss'; ii) 'Eating alone as an everyday routine'; and iii) 'Eating alone as independence and contentment'. General perceptions of eating alone were often related to the current living situation (e.g., cohabiting or single-living). One key finding was an identified tension between the idea of eating alone as something problematic among those living and eating with a partner and the practical experience of an uncomplicated routine among those living and eating alone. Eating together is discussed as a possible social need for many, but perhaps not for all. Some can feel content with eating alone or even enjoy it. Future studies should approach potential disadvantages of eating alone among older people as an open empirical question that is likely to depend on both the individual and the cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Factors associated with early onset of wheeze have been described, but there is limited knowledge on which of these infant wheezers who will have developed asthma in school age. The aim was to identify clinical risk factors for asthma in the 8-yr-old children that wheezed during infancy in a population-based setting., Methods: Three thousand two hundred and fifty-one children from a population-based birth cohort followed prospectively from infancy until age 8 yr were included in the study. Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis., Results: Parents reported any wheeze episode before age 2 yr in 823 subjects (25%). Infant wheezers had an almost fourfold risk of asthma at age 8 [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 3.68, 95% CI 2.74-4.96], equivalent to an asthma prevalence of 14% compared with 4% among non-wheezers (p < 0.001). After adjustments for sex, exposure to tobacco smoke and indoor dampness/mould, allergic heredity (aOR 1.53, 95% CI 1.02-2.30), increased frequency of wheeze (aOR 3.41, 95% CI 2.09-5.56 for children with ≥3 episodes compared with ≤2 episodes during the first 2 yr of life), infant eczema (aOR 2.31, 95% CI 1.52-3.49), and recurrent abdominal pain (aOR 2.33, 95% CI 1.30-4.16) remained risk factors for school age asthma in the infant wheezing group., Conclusions: Among infant wheezers, allergic heredity, increased severity of wheeze, infant eczema, and recurrent abdominal pain were independent risk factors for asthma at age 8 yr. Among children with three or four of these risk factors, 38% had asthma at school age., (© 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: The predictive value of reported early symptoms to pollen or fruits on later allergic disease is unclear. Our aim is to evaluate if symptoms to pollen and/or to fruits early in life are associated with allergic disease and sensitization to pollen at 4 years., Methods: The study included 3619 children from the Barn (Children), Allergy, Milieu, Stockholm, Epidemiology project (BAMSE) birth cohort. Reported symptoms of wheeze, sneeze or rash to birch, grass or weed, symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, rash, facial edema, sneeze, or wheeze) to fruits including tree-nuts at 1 or 2 years of age, and definitions of asthma, rhinitis and eczema at 4 years were derived from questionnaire data. Sensitization to pollen allergens was defined as allergen-specific IgE-antibodies to any pollen (birch/timothy/mugwort) > or =0.35 kU(A)/l., Results: At 1 or 2 years of age, 6% of the children were reported to have pollen-related symptoms, 6% had symptoms to fruits, and 1.4% to both pollen and fruits. Children with symptoms to both pollen and fruits at 1 or 2 years of age had an increased risk for sensitization to any pollen allergen at age 4 (OR(adj) = 4.4, 95% CI = 2.1-9.2). This group of children also had a substantially elevated risk for developing any allergic disease (asthma, rhinitis, or eczema) at 4 years irrespective of sensitization to pollen (OR(adj) = 8.6, 95% CI = 4.5-16.4)., Conclusions: The prevalence of reported symptoms to pollen and fruits is very low in early childhood. However, children with early symptoms to both pollen and fruits appear to have a markedly elevated risk for allergic disease.