Sweden

Tourism is often identified as able to provide opportunities for indigenous populations. In northern Sweden, correspondingly tourism has been proposed to create employment opportunities and help preserve Sámi indigenous culture. Although there are numerous studies on the topic, they are lacking in a time dimension and comprehensiveness. Often they are based on limited case studies and narratives of those members of the indigenous population who have engaged in new activities successfully. Therefore, this work aims to investigate on a national scale how widespread are tourism occupations among reindeer herders and what are some of the characteristics of those engaged in them. This paper uses detailed census and population register data containing personal and professional information on reindeer herders in Sweden and their families spanning 50 years. The findings suggest that involvement in tourism is more common among reindeer herders than farmers. Moreover, involvement in tourism is highly gendered with women being more likely to be engaged in it. Findings also show that the type of tourism professions people are engaged in is more a result of the available geographical resource than an inherent inclination among reindeer herders to work with specific ields such as nature-based attractions.

Research on blockchain technology implementation within civil engineering is quickly emerging. The use of blockchain for the integration of the material and economic flows within construction supply chain – thus creating a new digital business model for the related actors – to enhance a construction project’s production, logistics management, and constructability, has been only scarcely investigated. In this paper, this shortage is documented through a comprehensive literature review. Then, the potential of Swedish independent third-party logistics consultants as a fertile ground for such a digital business model, is examined. Finally, conclusions about the pursuance of this potential paradigm shift are drawn.

Funding models influence provision and development of palliative care services. As palliative care integrates into mainstream health care provision, opportunities to develop funding mechanisms arise. However, little has been reported on what funding models exist or how we can learn from them. To assess national models and methods for financing and reimbursing palliative care. Initial literature scoping yielded limited evidence on the subject as national policy documents are difficult to identify, access and interpret. We undertook expert consultations to appraise national models of palliative care financing in England, Germany, Hungary, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States and Wales. These represent different levels of service development and a variety of funding mechanisms. Funding mechanisms reflect country-specific context and local variations in care provision. Patterns emerging include the following: Pr...

This qualitative study used the grounded theory method to investigate district nurses' experiences of caring for leg ulcers in accordance with clinical guidelines at seven primary health care centres in Stockholm, Sweden. Group interviews were conducted with 30 nurses. The results describe how district nurses strive to stay on track in order to follow clinical guidelines and remain motivated despite prolonged wound treatment and feelings of hopelessness. Three main obstacles to following the guidelines were found. District nurses used compensating strategies so the obstacles would not lead to negative consequences. If the compensating strategies were insufficient, perceived prolonged wound treatment and feelings of hopelessness could result. District nurses then used motivating strategies to overcome these feelings of hopelessness. Sometimes, despite the motivating strategies, treatment in accordance with guidelines could not be achieved. With some patients, district nurses had ...

Previous studies have lacked sufficient power to assess associations between early-life socioeconomic position and adult cause-specific mortality. The authors examined associations of parental social class at age 0-16 years with mortality among 1,824,064 Swedes born in 1944-1960. Females and males from manual compared with nonmanual childhood social classes were more likely to die from smoking-related cancers, stomach cancer, respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Males from manual compared with nonmanual social classes were more likely to die from unintentional injury, homicide, and alcoholic cirrhosis. The association with stomach cancer was little affected by adjustment for parental later-life and own adult social class or education. For other outcomes, educational attainment resulted in greater attenuation of associations than did adjustment for adult social class. Early-life social class was not related to suicide or to melanoma, colon, breast, brain, or lym...

Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (HED) is a genetic disorder characterized by defective development of teeth, hair, nails and eccrine sweat glands. Both autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive forms of HED have previously been linked to mutations in the ectodysplasin 1 anhidrotic receptor (EDAR) protein that plays an important role during embryogenesis. The coding DNA sequence of the EDAR gene was analyzed in two large Swedish three-generational families with autosomal dominant HED. A non-sense C to T mutation in exon 12 was identified in both families. This disease-specific mutation changes an arginine amino acid in position 358 of the EDAR protein into a stop codon (p.Arg358X), thereby truncating the protein. In addition to the causative mutation two polymorphisms, not associated with the HED disorder, were also found in the EDAR gene. The finding of the p.Arg358X mutation in the Swedish families is the first corroboration of a previously described observation in an American f...

In this introductory essay, we build on the articles in this special issue to provide a novel theoretical framework for the understanding of current and future trends in the digitalisation of teaching and learning in Nordic higher education (HE). We highlight three key elements. Context is critical and should be systematically expanded to include not only the immediate context of the virtual and blended classroom, but also the broader organisational and national contexts within which digital learning takes place. The involvement of individual actors, higher education institutions and national policy-making agencies in the development and implementation of digitalisation policy ideas and practices is also shaped by multiple mediations, which include the mediating role of technology itself, but also of other human, organisational and policy actors, ideas and practices. Finally, digitalisation of HE teaching and learning can lead to a variety of gradual or more radical digital transformations, operating at multiple scales and with multiple potential positive or negative effects. This framework helps put into focus the key question of how to go about searching for a flexible set of "Nordic characteristics" that might affect digitalisation of teaching and learning in the Nordic region, albeit in uneven and diverse ways. While it is too early to provide a systematic analysis of the impact of the rapid digitalisation of Nordic HE teaching and learning spurred by the Covid-19 pandemic, we make some preliminary observations that offer this emerging theoretical framework as a way to assess these trends both before and after the pandemic.

Biosecurity measures are important tools to maintain animal health in pig herds. Within the MINAPIG project, whose overall aim is to evaluate strategies to raise pigs with less antimicrobial use, biosecurity was evaluated in medium to large farrow-to-finish pig herds in Sweden. In 60 farrow-to-finish herds with more than 100 sows, the biosecurity level was evaluated using a previously developed protocol (BioCheck). In a detailed questionnaire, internal and external biosecurity was scored in six subcategories each. An overall score for biosecurity was also provided. Information regarding production parameters as well as gender and educational level of personnel working with the pigs was also collected. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the recorded data. The median scores for external and internal biosecurity were 68 and 59, respectively, where 0 indicates total absence of biosecurity and 100 means maximal possible biosecurity. The subcategories for external and internal bi...

Summary: This article discusses the Swedish discourse on futures studies in the late
1960s and early 1970s. It focuses on the futures discourse of the group appointed by
the Prime Minister, Olof Palme, in 1967 under the chairmanship of Alva Myrdal.
The Swedish futures discourse focused on futures studies as a democratic means of
reform in defence of the Swedish model and ‘‘Swedish’’ values of solidarity and
equality, in opposition to an international futurology dominated by the Cold War
and dystopic narratives of global disaster. The article suggests that the creation of
Swedish futures studies, culminating in a Swedish institute for futures studies, can
be seen as a highpoint of postwar planning and the Swedish belief in the possibility
of constructing a particularly Swedish future from a particularly Swedish past.

G protection in the 39 Gripen aircraft is provided by a full coverage anti-G suit, a pressure-breathing system, and anti-G straining maneuvers (AGSM). The purpose was to study (1) the interaction of pressure breathing and AGSM while wearing an anti-G suit; and (2) the G-protective properties of the anti-G suit alone and in combination with the pressure-breathing system. During rapid onset rate G-time profiles (< or =9 G), 10 subjects were investigated in 5 conditions: (I) sitting relaxed, without any G-protective garment; (II) sitting relaxed and wearing an anti-G suit; (III) sitting relaxed, wearing an anti-G suit, and pressure breathing; IV) wearing an anti-G suit and performing AGSM; and V) wearing an anti-G suit, pressure breathing, and performing AGSM. In supplementary experiments (n=9), the share of the anti-G suit protection afforded by the abdominal bladder was investigated. G tolerance was 3.4 Gz (range: 2.8-4.3) in condition I, > or = 6.5 Gz (4.5-9.0) in II, > or ...

The horse industry in Sweden has rapidly expanded in recent years. This increasing number of horses implies a greater need for more farriers. Shoeing a horse is hard physical work, and includes awkward work postures and repetitive movements. It is well known that hard physical work increases the risk of injuries and musculoskeletal problems. The risk is especially high for musculoskeletal disorders when certain movements are constantly repeated. Heavy or repeated unilateral loads lead to considerable stress on the muscles, which can lead to rupture and fatigue that can cause long term problems. A case study showed that farriers worked 75% of their work time with their backs in bent positions (often more than 70 degrees). Farriers are also exposed to risk factors in their physical environment like dust, noise and poor lighting. Risk of kicks and bites, eye injuries and burns are other factors that make their work environment hazardous. There are only a few studies available that have...