Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att kartlägga långtidssjukskrivnas hälsa före och efter avslutad intervention samt studera vilka faktorer som hindrat alternativt främjat återgång i arbete hos individer med tidsbegränsad sjukersättning. Metod: Studien baseras på data från EU-projektet ”SAMKLANG” som är en longitudinell interventionsstudie. Data har samlats in på 59 långtidssjukskrivna deltagare via enkäter både före projektstart och ett år efter och dels har data samlats in kvalitativt genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med 13 deltagare efter det att projektet avslutats. Intervjudeltagarna var indelade i två grupper (de som hade återgått i arbete/studier och de som fortfarande var sjukskrivna). Interventionen bygger på både behandling och samverkan mellan organisationer som är involverade i rehabilitering av personer som har ett år kvar av sin tid i sjukersättning. Resultatet från enkäterna analyserades fram via ANOVA upprepad mätning och data från intervjuerna analyserades via innehållsanalys. Resultat: Huvudresultaten från den kvantitativa delstudien visade att det inte fanns någon skillnad mellan de som efter ett år återgått i arbete/studier, arbetsträning alternativt de som fortfarande var sjukskrivna gällande kön, ålder eller utbildningsnivå. Den självskattade depressions- och ångestnivån minskade och självskattad hälsa och inre kontroll ökade signifikant över tid för den grupp som kommit ut i arbete efter projektet jämfört med de två andra grupperna. Den kvalitativa analysen av intervjuerna identifierade följande tema som stödjande faktorer för arbetsåtergång: att besitta egen drivkraft, ha en insikt om arbetets mervärde och att hitta en balans mellan krav- kontroll-stöd. Det tema som beskriver hur myndigheter kan hjälpa och stödja långtidssjukskrivna tillbaks i arbete är: trygghet med mer vårdkompetens och att synliggöra individuella behov. Slutsats: Att återgå i arbete för en tidigare långtidssjukskriven person kopplas till bättre självrapporterad hälsa med mindre depression och ångestbesvär, en starkare känsla av inre kontroll och en högre tilltro till egen förmåga jämfört med om personer fortfarande är sjukskrivna. Framgångsfaktorer för arbetsåtergång är balans mellan krav, kontroll och stöd för individen och en egen motivation att återgå i arbete. För att underlätta arbetsåtergång hos långtidssjukskrivna bör myndigheter och inblandade parter samverka med vård, erbjuda trygghet och synliggöra varje enskild individs behov av rehabilitering. / Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate long term sickness absentees’ health status before and after an intervention. Furthermore, to gain deeper understanding of factors related to promoting and preventing return to work for people with limited sick leave compensation. Method: The study is based on data from the EU-funded project ”SAMKLANG” which is a longitudinal intervention study. Data has been collected from 59 long term absentees though questionnaires conducted before and one year after the start of the project. Data has also been collected through semi structured interviews from 13 participants after the end of the project. They were divided into two groups (those who had returned to work/studies or had an internship and those who still were sickness absent). The intervention is based on treatment as well as cooperation between organizations involved in a rehabilitation process for people with one year of sick leave compensation remaining. The results from the surveys were analyzed with ANOVA for repeated measures and data from the interviews were analyzed using content analysis. Result: The main result from the quantitative part of this study showed no significant difference in return to work between those who had returned to work or studies, been on internships and those who still were sickness absent based on sex, age and education. The amount of self-rated depression and anxiety levels were reduced and the self-rated health and internal control were significant induced over time for the group who returned to work after the project compared to the other two groups. From the qualitative analyze of the interviews following theme was identified as supporting factors for returning to work: having own motivation, realized the positive in having a job and to have balance between demand-control-support. The theme that describes how the authority can help and support people with long term sickness absence back to work is: security with more competence in healthcare and make individual needs visible. Conclusion: Return to work for a former long term sickness absence is associated with better self-rated health with less depression and anxiety, a stronger feeling of internal control and a higher self-efficacy compared to if persons still were sickness absent. Factors for success in return to work is balance between demand-control-support for the individual and an own motivation to return to work. The authority can facilitate return to work among people with long term sickness absence by interact more with health-care services, offer security and make every individuals need for rehabilitation visible.

Syftet med studien är att beskriva hur involverad skolpersonal och samverkande socialsekreterare arbetar för att kartlägga och motverka elevers ogiltiga frånvaro. Genom att undersöka personalens upplevelse av orsaker till ogiltig frånvaro, hur de upplever att de arbetar med ogiltig frånvaro och hur de tillsammans arbetar för att motverka ogiltig frånvaro. Den aktuella publicerade forskning som använts är både internationell och nationell. Styrdokument, lagtext, allmänna råd samt forskning av Skolverket och Socialstyrelsen har även beaktats. Det teorietiska perspektiv som ligger till grund för analys är inklusion och exklusion. Utifrån kvalitativa halvstrukturerade livsvärldsintervjuer med fem informanter som tillfrågats med utgångspunkt av dessas yrkesroll i skolan. De professioner som tillfrågats är rektor, kurator, socialpedagog, lärare samt samverkande socialsekreterare. Intervjuer med informanterna har spelats in med diktafon, transkriberats för att sedan analyseras. Analysen gjordes utifrån teman: orsaker, arbete med och arbete tillsammans med ogiltig frånvaro. Tolkningen av materialet har skett utifrån samstämmighet och olikheter i svaren. I studiens diskussion tas det upp att den främsta orsaken till ogiltig frånvaro är hemsituationen. I de fall eleven har en svår hemsituation visar forskningen att skolan kan vara en skyddsfaktor för att förhindra elevens exklusion. Där den ogiltiga frånvaron ändå är skolrelaterade beror det främst på andra elevers inflytande, grupptryck. Alla informanter upplever att de i sitt arbete har en medvetenhet om var eleverna med stor ogiltig frånvaro befinner sig utifrån skolans arbetsmodell. Studiens resultat är att de orsaker som ligger bakom ogiltig frånvaro huvudsakligen är relaterade till hemsituationen. Involverad personal upplever en förbättring utifrån arbetsrutinen i skoltrappan. Att arbeta tillsammans är en framgångsfaktor för att minska ogiltig frånvaro. / The aim of the study is to describe how school staff and social workers identify and prevent truancy in the Swedish compulsory school. The study explores the school workers professional experiances of the underlying causes of truancy and what measures are taken in collaboration with social authorities to prevent pupils´ absence from school. The study is based on current international and national research and takes into account policy documents, legal texts and general advice issued by the Swedish National Agency for Education and the National board of Health and Welfare. The theoretical perspective used in of the analyses are the terms inclusion and exclusion. Qualitative semi-structured lifeworld interviews with five professional categories (a school head master, a councelor, a  teacher and two social workers) working in school were performed. The interviews focused on causes of truancy and collaborative work involving both school professionals and social workers. The interviews were recorded and subsequently transcribed and analysed. The analysis was performed thematically, causes of truancy and collaborative work to prevent truancy. The interpretation of the data was based on consensus and differences in the responses. As can be seen from the discussion, the primary cause of truancy is related to the pupil´s home situation. Research shows that school can be a protective factor to prevent exclusion. In cases where truancy is related to the school situation it is principally a result of group pressure from other pupils. All respondents in the interviews stated that they have an awareness of where pupils with extensive absenteeism are in relation to the school´s work model to prevent truancy. Collaborative work is a success factor to reduce truancy.

This study concerns the experiences and feelings students in intermediate school gain from the changing room to sports class. It is a qualitative study with a socio-cultural approach, which has been analysed in a hermeneutic way. The students’ voices have been heard through interviews and questionnaires, and furthermore, to get a broader perspective, adults working in school, have also been interviewed. The study shows that many children feel discomfort without clothes in the changing room, furthermore that the absence of adults in this room may add to exercise of power amongst the student, like abuse, direct- and indirect threats or to exclude someone from the group. As a result, this could lead to consequences like students absence from school, lies and feelings of guilt. It could also influence other subjects in school if the absence is high or if the student has difficulties in concentrating in other subjects due to anxiety. The study also shows how important it is for all adults present in school to be observant and sensitive to what students say or to how they react in different situations since bullying and abuse is hard to talk about.

Syftet: Syftet med denna uppsats är att studera och kartlägga i vilken utsträckning användandet av formella styrmedel, i ambitionen att minska sjukfrånvaron, skiljer sig mellan stora och små företag. Metod: Vi har i denna studie tillämpat en kvantitativ forskningsmetod för att besvara uppsatsens forskningsfråga och syfte. Detta sker med hjälp av en explorativ studie, baserad på 60 slumpmässigt utvalda konsultföretag inom ekonomisk och juridisk verksamhet. Vi har utifrån befintliga teorier skapat hypoteser som testats på verkligheten och vi följer därför en deduktiv ansats. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in via telefonintervjuer och svaren har sedan sammanställts i olika tester i SPSS. Slutsats: Vi kan utifrån vår studie konstatera att användandet av formella styrmedel skiljer sig mellan stora och små företag i tre av fyra avseenden, nämligen användandet av nyckeltal, kalkyler som beslutsunderlag och användandet av förebyggande åtgärder. Detta trots att sjukfrånvaron inte skiljer sig åt mellan stora och små företag. / Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study and map out to what extent the use of management control systems vary between small and large companies in their ambition to decrease sick leave. Method: To fulfill the purpose of this study, we have used a deductive approach. We have conducted telephone interviews with 60 randomly selected consultancy companies within the accounting and legal field. The data has been analyzed using the computer software SPSS. Conclusion: We have come to the conclusion that the use of management control systems vary between small and large companies in three of four aspects, namely, the use of KPI’s, costs accounting and preventive measures.

The purpose of the study is to determine whether absenteeism is a real concern amongst the educators in South African schools. Although there are sufficient and appropriate policies in place, the rate of absenteeism is on the increase on a daily basis. Through the literature and investigations, the study tries to unravel the causes of absenteeism and the solutions thereof. The study revealed that 66% of the educators abused the current leave policy. Great majority (64%) of the educators were in favour of the introduction of some form of incentives and seventy eight percent of the educators wanted the re-introduction of the accumulation of leave policy. Eighty four percent of the respondents also agreed that teacher absenteeism contributes to poor learner performance. Workload of educators was not a major contributing factor in the high rate of teacher absenteeism. Some of the reasons attributed to absenteeism are depression, redeployment, ill health, lack of motivation and self esteem, low salary, demoralizing learners and poor working conditions. All levels of educators suggested solutions to this ever-increasing problem, which is becoming difficult to manage. Recognition of least absenteeism, effective implementation of the policy, strong management team, motivating the staff, offering fringe benefits, organizing workshops to manage absenteeism and to equip educators and building team work are some of the noticeable and common solutions suggested by all levels of educators. The study recommends the re-introduction of accumulation of leave policy and linking the school database of educators with departmental database so that on a daily basis the leave statistics can be l:Jpdated and appropriate actions effected with out delay. / (MBA) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

La grande variété et l'hybridité de l'œuvre durassienne ne sont plus à prouver. Dès lors, la question de l'art poétique de Marguerite Duras se pose de manière particulièrement probante ; elle est l'occasion de réenvisager différemment cette pratique artistique hétérogène, de dépasser les clivages traditionnels pour découvrir une conception intérieure et injonctive de l'écriture. Cette thèse propose d'analyser l'art poétique de Marguerite Duras à travers tous les modes d'expression utilisés par l'écrivain : écrits, films, mais aussi entretiens de toutes natures. L'objectif est de montrer que cet art poétique se construit dans la pratique et donc au fil de l'œuvre. L'écriture y devient métadiscours, elle est pensée comme processus incessant de dénaturation et de réécriture et ainsi confrontée à la métamorphose perpétuelle de sa forme. Ce travail aura pour fondement le phénomène de l'ombre interne, métaphore récurrente du métadiscours durassien, processus originel de l'écriture, déterminé par le mouvement, le commencement et la fin sans fin. Dans un premier temps, nous verrons que le paratexte durassien commente le phénomène de l'écriture mais se livre aussi à un véritable travail de création. Nous montrerons ensuite que les œuvres de nature générique indécidable et les pratiques extralittéraires de Marguerite Duras contribuent à faire du lieu de l'écriture un lieu en mouvement permanent, recourant à une altérité poétique fondamentale. Enfin, les textes fictionnels seront étudiés au regard de cette notion de fiction qui s'insinue dans le discours et dans le narratif et place l'écriture dans une zone particulièrement instable, requérant une absence indispensable.

The aim of this study was to investigate if the experiences of work environment of employees in the elder care in the municipality of Umeå can be linked to high or low sickness absence. The method used was semi-structural qualitative interviews. Six retirement homes participated in the study and were divided into two groups, based on whether they had high or low figures of sickness absence. 28 elder care workers of different educational levels were interviewed. The interview questions were divided into categories. For the key phrases; “Have great possibilities of influencing one´s schedule” (category influence), “Is offered education” (category development and challenge), “The work pace depends on the wellbeing of the residents” (category physical and psychological workload), “Reflect/Do not reflect on work at home” (category physical and psychological workload), “Difficult to resolve conflicts” (category working climate and wellbeing) and “Stressful work” (category working climate and wellbeing) statistically significant differences between the groups were detected. Risk factors in the work environment, such as, time pressure, conflicts and physical and psychological strain are described by employees at retirement homes with both higher and lower figures of sickness absence. Differences between the sexes could not be investigated, but that does not exclude possible differences. Based on the results the conclusion is drawn that aspects of influence, development and challenge, physical and psychological workload and working climate and wellbeing can be factors that impact on sickness absence in the elder care in the municipality of Umeå.

Objectives. Ascertain if there has been a secular trend in 3-months prevalence of casually reported back pain. Evaluate if such back pain predicts concurrent health as well as future sick leave, disability pension, hospitalization and survival. Study differences in diagnostic assessment and labelling between physicians. Evaluate if a comprehensive manual therapy programme reduces sickness absence. Materials and methods. Combined population samples from 1973 to 2003 with a total of 12,891 observations with self-reported back pain and covariates. 7,074 of these individuals were followed for an average of 8.5 years and outcomes were self-reported health as well as official register data on sick leave, disability pension, hospitalisation and mortality. The Gotland Low Back Pain Study, a randomised controlled trial with participation of two general practitioners and two orthopaedic surgeons treating 160 patients with acute/subacute low back pain, with 10 weeks diagnostic evaluation and treatment and a two-year follow up. Results. Back pain prevalence increased 16% per ten years (OR 1.16, 95%CI 1.11-1.22). Back pain was negatively associated with self-rated health (p<0.0001), increased the risk of disability pension (p<0.002), and hospital admissions (p<0.0005), but not number of days in hospital, sick leave or mortality. General practitioners used terms from manual medicine and reported more pseudoradicular pain, while orthopaedic surgeons used non-specific pain labels, reported more true radicular pain and used more x-ray examinations. Among those on sick leave at baseline, manual therapy patients showed faster return to work (HR 1.62, 95%CI 1.006–2.60) and a lower point-prevalence of sick leave than reference patients at end of treatment period (ratio 0.35, 95% CI 0.13–0.97) but not after two years. Conclusions. There was a strong secular trend towards increase in self-reported back pain from 1973 to 2003. Such pain had a negative effect on some of the health outcomes and does not appear to be harmless. Physicians from different specialities labelled the condition differently. The manual therapy programme proved to be more effective than the established treatment regarding return to work.

A growing international research base is suggesting that there can be no more serious sanction taken against children of primary school age than to withdraw their rights to attend school through suspension and exclusion - referred to in Queensland as School Disciplinary Absence (SDA). The short and long-term detrimental consequences of SDA to student recipients, their families, and social structures are well documented. Yet, SDA remains as a controversial, often policy-supported means to manage challenging student behaviour increasingly used by Queensland government schools. To contribute to this growing research, this project examines the potential influence of an array of principals' and teachers' beliefs on their decisions regarding the use of SDA within five government primary schools in Queensland. The study adopts a multi-method, case-study approach and is informed by social constructionist and critical theory perspectives. It draws from Rokeach's (1968) conceptualisation of the human belief system as having a number of sections where particular stated beliefs may be influenced by more powerful beliefs situated within another part of the system, which may (in turn) influence decisions and actions. Data were drawn from school documents, surveys, and interviews. Survey data revealed strong support for the use of SDA but interview data suggested that most participants believed that SDA was ineffective and held overriding concerns for the wellbeing and education of students exhibiting challenging behaviours. In some cases, particular beliefs were shown to override this unfavourable view of SDA and cause educators to become more likely to endorse its implementation. The study examines the complex construction of a variety of educator beliefs regarding SDA in general, the types of students who are more at risk of SDA, school and educator responsibility for supporting these students, and factors believed to prevent or make it difficult to avoid the use of SDA. Also, participants' concerns and recommendations regarding SDA are examined and implications for professional practice and school reform are considered.

Through the sculptural object, this thesis, in|form: The per formative object, explores the relationships between body and object, viewer and artist, performance and the per formative. By exploring the performativity of an object (and questioning how an object performs in relation to the body), the documented performances activate an inter-relational act between artist and object (I perform the object, the object performs me simultaneously). The work that unfolds from this investigation considers the placement of the viewer’s body in relation to the artist’s. A dialogue is formed between the three bodies: object, artist and viewer, creating a sense of embodiment within the work through this relationship. in|form explores this embodiment through the role of video documentation. The performances are constructed to be viewed solely through the documentation, which creates a discussion between the ‘live’ moment and the documented event, and how the viewer then relates to this. The performances take place as solo acts, but are constructed with the viewer in mind. As the viewer watches the documented performance of the action between artist and object in space, the relational nature of the work creates a second performance which embodies the viewer. This sole action, recorded and then viewed, considers the relational value of the body, specifically engaging with the abstraction of bodily formlessness within the object to reveal a bodily nature. Using the object to trace the movement of the body creates a language that communicates to, and about, both viewer and artist: through the awareness of passing time, through the large scale projection of the documentation, through the bodily nature of the object, and through the performativity of the object’s responsive nature to the artist’s body as the pair navigate through space. in|form explores how the absence of the body (in a literal sense) considers the body as an object bound by time, at once physical yet transient. By tracing the motion of the body through object, the viewer experiences the body through sensibility. Ultimately, the function of the body negotiating as a time-bound object is imitated through the performativity of the object with artist, and the elusiveness of this action emphasized by its documentation.