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Rapporten handlar om hantering av eget vatten och avlopp för fritidshus, baserat på intervjuer med representanter från olika norrbottniska kommuner. Rapporten innehåller utredningar kring krav och förutsättningar, inklusive nödvändiga steg för att skapa enskilt vatten och avlopp, vanliga problem och underhåll av systemet.I Luleå kommun framhålls att det är viktigt att minska negativ påverkan på miljön och skydda människors hälsa vid skapandet av enskilt vatten och avloppsystem. Kommunen påpekar också medvetenhet om planering och kostnaderna i förväg. I Piteå kommun framgår att det finns tydliga krav och metoder för vatten och avloppsbehandling för att säkerställa att systemet fungerar effektivt och miljövänligt. Kommunen betonar även att det är nödvändigt att söka tillstånd och att tekniken måste anpassas efter platsens förutsättningar. I Boden kommun understryks behovet av tillståndssökning för vissa typer av avloppsanläggningar och att avloppsystemet dimensioneras för minst fem personer. Platsens förutsättningar, som till exempel markens egenskaper, spelar en viktig roll vid val av teknik.Vanliga problem gällande enskilt vatten och avlopp kan inkludera felaktig placering av drickvattensbrunnar och avloppsanläggningar. Men även otillräckligt underhåll och felaktig användning av systemen räknas som vanliga problem för enskilt vatten och avloppsystem. För att underhålla vatten och avlopp för fritidshus rekommenderas regelmässig vattenprovtagning, installation och underhåll av reningssystem, tömning av slamavskiljare och underhåll av minireningsverk. Det är också viktigt att vara uppmärksam på växligheten runt avloppsanläggning och även kontrollera eventuella läckage och att det är nödvändigt att söka tillstånd.

Objective: The present study was aimed to explore perceptions of and reactions to music in young adults (18-25 years) using the theory of social representations (TSR). Design: The study used a cross-sectional survey design and included participants from India, Iran, Portugal, United States, and United Kingdom. Data were analyzed using various qualitative and quantitative methods. Study sample: The study sample included 534 young adults. Results: The Chi-square analysis showed significant differences between the countries regarding the informants’ perception of music. The most positive connotations about music were found in the responses obtained from Iranian participants (82.2%), followed by Portuguese participants (80.6%), while the most negative connotations about music were found in the responses obtained from Indian participants (18.2%), followed by Iranian participants (7.3%). The participants’ responses fell into 19 main categories based on their meaning; however, not all categories were found in all five countries. The co-occurrence analysis results generally indicate that the category “positive emotions or actions” was the most frequent category occurring in all five countries. Conclusions: The results indicate that music is generally considered to bring positive emotions for people within these societies, although a small percentage of responses indicate some negative consequences of music.

Background: Exposure to recreational noise, particularly music exposure, is considered one of the biggest public health hazards of our time. Some important influencing factors such as socioeconomic status, educational background, and cross-cultural perspectives have previously been found to be associated with attitudes toward loud music and the use of hearing protection. Although culture seems to play an important role, there is relatively little known about how it influences perceptions regarding loud music exposure in young adults. Purpose: The present study was aimed to explore cross-cultural perceptions of and reactions to loud music in young adults (18-25 yr) using the theory of social representations. Research Design: The study used a cross-sectional survey design. Study Sample: The study sample included young adults (n = 534) from five different countries (India, Iran, Portugal, the United States, and the United Kingdom) who were recruited using convenience sampling. Data Collection and Analysis: Data were collected using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using a content analysis, co-occurrence analysis, and also x(2) analysis. Results: Fairly equal numbers of positive and negative connotations (similar to 40%) were noted in all countries. However, the x(2) analysis showed significant differences between the countries (most positive connotations were found in India and Iran, whereas the most negative connotations were found in the United Kingdom and Portugal) regarding the informants' perception of loud music. The co-occurrence analysis results generally indicate that the category "negative emotions and actions" occurred most frequently, immediately followed by the category "positive emotions and actions." The other most frequently occurring categories included "acoustics," "physical aliment," "location," and "ear and hearing problems." These six categories formed the central nodes of the social representation of loud music exposure in the global index. Alt

Background and Objectives: Hyperbillirubinemia in infants have been associated with neuronal damage including in the auditory system. Some researchers have suggested that the bilirubin-induced auditory neuronal damages may be temporary and reversible. This study was aimed at investigating the auditory neuropathy and reversibility of auditory abnormalities in hyperbillirubinemic infants. Subjects and Methods: The study participants included 41 full term hyperbilirubinemic infants (mean age 39.24 days) with normal birth weight (3,2003,700 grams) that admitted in hospital for hyperbillirubinemia and 39 normal infants (mean age 35.54 days) without any hyperbillirubinemia or other hearing loss risk factors for ruling out maturational changes. All infants in hyperbilirubinemic group had serum bilirubin level more than 20 milligram per deciliter and undergone one blood exchange transfusion. Hearing evaluation for each infant was conducted twice: the first one after hyperbilirubinemia treatment and before leaving hospital and the second one three months after the first hearing evaluation. Hearing evaluations included transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) screening and auditory brainstem response (ABR) threshold tracing. Results: The TEOAE and ABR results of control group and TEOAE results of the hyperbilirubinemic group did not change significantly from the first to the second evaluation. However, the ABR results of the hyperbilirubinemic group improved significantly from the first to the second assessment (p=0.025). Conclusions: The results suggest that the bilirubin induced auditory neuronal damage can be reversible over time so we suggest that infants with hyperbilirubinemia who fail the first hearing tests should be reevaluated after 3 months of treatment.

The current study was aimed at understanding the social representation of hearing aids in India, Iran, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. We also compared these results to explore the cross-cultural differences and similarities among these countries. The study involved a cross-sectional design, and the data were collected from four different countries using the snowball sampling method. Data were analyzed using a content analysis to identify the most-similar categories of responses reported, a co-occurrences analysis to see which of these categories are reported commonly, and a chi-square analysis to study if there was any association between positive, neutral, and negative connotations among participants in different countries. The current study revealed four different social representations of hearing aids from India, Iran, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, and also a global index. The study results provide very useful insights into how hearing aids are represented in the society. These findings may have important implications for public education and also for manufacturers from the viewpoint of designing and marketing hearing aids in different countries.

Vinaya Manchaiah,1 Berth Danermark,2 Vinay,3 Tayebeh Ahmadi,4 David Tomé,5 Rajalakshmi Krishna,6 Per Germundsson7 1Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas, USA; 2Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden; 3Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway; 4Department of Audiology, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 5Department of Audiology, School of Allied Health Sciences, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal; 6All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, University of Mysore, Mysore, India; 7The Department of Health and Welfare Studies, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden Background: The current study was aimed at understanding the social representation of hearing aids in India, Iran, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. We also compared these results to explore the cross-cultural differences and similarities among these countries. Methods: The study involved a cross-sectional design, and the data were collected from four different countries using the snowball sampling method. Data were analyzed using a content analysis to identify the most-similar categories of responses reported, a co-occurrences analysis to see which of these categories are reported commonly, and a chi-square analysis to study if there was any association between positive, neutral, and negative connotations among participants in different countries. Results: The current study revealed four different social representations of hearing aids from India, Iran, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, and also a global index. Conclusion: The study results provide very useful insights into how hearing aids are represented in the society. These findings may have important implications for public education and also for manufacturers from the viewpoint of designing and marketing hearing aids in differe

Vinaya Manchaiah,1 Berth Danermark,2 Tayebeh Ahmadi,3 David Tomé,4 Fei Zhao,5 Qiang Li,6 Rajalakshmi Krishna,7 Per Germundsson8 1Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX, USA; 2Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden; 3Department of Audiology, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 4Department of Audiology, School of Allied Health Sciences, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal; 5Centre for Speech Language Therapy and Hearing, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, UK; 6Department of Social Science and Law, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China; 7All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, University of Mysore, Mysore, India; 8Department of Health and Welfare Studies, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden Background: Hearing loss is one of the most common chronic conditions in older adults. In audiology literature, several studies have examined the attitudes and behavior of people with hearing loss; however, not much is known about the manner in which society in general views and perceives hearing loss. This exploratory study was aimed at understanding the social representation of hearing loss (among the general public) in the countries of India, Iran, Portugal, and the UK. We also compared these social representations.Materials and methods: The study involved a cross-sectional design, and participants were recruited using the snowball sampling method. A total of 404 people from four countries participated in the study. Data were collected using a free-association task where participants were asked to produce up to five words or phrases that came to mind while thinking about hearing loss. In addition, they were also asked to indicate if each word they presented had positive, neutral, or negative associations in their view. Data were analyzed using var

Objective: Patient-centredness has become an important aspect of health service delivery; however, there are a limited number of studies that focus on this concept in the domain of hearing healthcare. The objective of this study was to examine and compare audiologists preferences for patient-centredness in Portugal, India and Iran. Design: The study used a cross-sectional survey design with audiologists recruited from three different countries. Participants: A total of 191 fully-completed responses were included in the analysis (55 from Portugal, 78 from India and 58 from Iran). Main outcome measure: The Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS). Results: PPOS mean scores suggest that audiologists have a preference for patient-centredness (ie, mean of 3.6 in a 5-point scale). However, marked differences were observed between specific PPOS items suggesting these preferences vary across clinical situations. A significant level of difference (pless than0.001) was found between audiologists preferences for patient-centredness in three countries. Audiologists in Portugal had a greater preference for patient-centredness when compared to audiologists in India and Iran, although no significant differences were found in terms of age and duration of experience among these sample populations. Conclusions: There are differences and similarities in audiologists preferences for patient-centredness among countries. These findings may have implications for the training of professionals and also for clinical practice in terms of optimising hearing healthcare across countries.