In Sweden, injuries due to falls are the most common cause of injury-related hospitalization and injury-related death amongst elderly. Also, during the 20th century, increasing trends in fall-related injuries have been observed in many high-income countries. Whilst fall-related injury trends have been reported from national studies in other comparable countries, no studies from Sweden using national data have been published, despite this issue sometimes being pointed out as one of the most important emerging societal risks both in Sweden and elsewhere. With large individual and societal costs, as well as prognosticated continued increases in high-income countries, the aim of this thesis is to update the knowledge on the trends of fall-related injuries amongst elderly in Sweden and to determine whether the issue is still to be considered an emerging risk. National injury morbidity and mortality data from Sweden can show that with regards to all hospitalized fall-related injuries as well as hip fractures, the risk is decreasing. However, diverging trends are observed in age- and sex-specific groups, with younger elderly now having considerably lower rates of fall-related injuries, whilst older elderly are increasingly hospitalized due to minor fall-related injuries. Also, amongst older elderly, increasing hip fracture mortality trends are observed. With regards to sex-specific groups, although fall-related injuries in general are more common amongst women, the injury trends for women are generally decreasing at a quicker rate than for men. Also, contradictorily to almost all fall-related injury morbidity, hip fracture mortality risk is higher amongst men. This thesis can show a change in trend in fall-related injuries amongst elderly in Sweden since the turn of the century, apart from amongst older elderly and with regards to hip fracture mortality. The implications on prognoses needs to be studied further as do the underlying causes behind this shift in trend. / BAKSIDESTEXT Injuries due to falls are the most common cause of injury-related hospitalization and injury-related death amongst elderly. During the 20th century, although increasing trends in fall-related injuries have been reported from other high-income countries, no studies from Sweden using national data have been published, despite this issue being pointed out as one of the most important emerging societal risks in Sweden. National injury morbidity and mortality data from Sweden can show that in terms of hospitalized fall-related injuries as well as hip fractures, the risk is decreasing. However, diverging trends are observed in age- and sex-specific groups, with younger elderly now having considerably lower rates of fall-related injuries, whilst older elderly are increasingly hospitalized due to minor fall-related injuries. Also, amongst older elderly, increasing hip fracture mortality trends are observed. This thesis can show a change in trend in fall-related injuries amongst elderly in Sweden since the turn of the century, apart from amongst older elderly and with regards to hip fracture mortality. The implications on future prognoses needs to be studied further as do the underlying causes behind this shift in trend.

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The lack of information about the relationship between homicide and violence was identified as a gap in knowledge almost 30 years ago. Despite this, little research has been conducted worldwide regarding this relationship on a national level since then, and the results of that research have been very contradictory. This lack of research includes Scotland, despite its unenviable reputation of being the most violent country in the Western world. Even so, many studies make unsupported assumptions regarding the relationship between the trends in homicide and wider violence. In order to fill this gap in research, the aim of the thesis is therefore to examine the changing characteristics and patterns of homicide in Scotland and to determine the extent to which changes in homicide reflect the changing characteristics and patterns in wider violence. Overall, both homicide and violence have more than halved over the past twenty years in Scotland. But this is not just a numbers game. Due to the heterogenous nature of these crimes, although the overall picture is one of decline, there might be certain types of homicide and violence that have remained stable, or even increased over this time. In order to examine the relationship between homicide and violence in Scotland, subtypes of both homicide and violence were identified and compared over time. Two datasets were used in the current study; a homicide dataset gathered from the Scottish Homicide Database, spanning from 1990-2015, and a violence dataset gathered from pooled survey sweeps of the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey, spanning from 2008- 09 to 2014-15. Multilevel latent class analysis was used to identify subtypes of both homicide and violence using classifying variables relating to the victim, offender and to the incident of lethal and non-lethal violence. This study presents the first use of this type of multilevel latent class analysis in all criminological research. The results identified four main types of homicide (Stabbing homicides, No Weapon-bludgeoning homicides, Rivalry homicides and Femicides) and four main types of violence (Domestic, Public No Weapon, Public Weapon, and Work-related). When the homicide typology and the violence typology were compared over time it was found that although there are some differences in the subtypes identified, the overall trends in these two crimes seem to follow a similar pattern over time. A key finding from this study is that the general decrease in both homicide and violence was driven by a reduction in the same type of violence, namely violence committed by young men in public places and involving the use of sharp instruments. However, this general decrease in violence masks a hidden relative increase in both lethal and non-lethal forms of domestic violence over time. This thesis will argue that the trends in homicide and violence indeed do follow a similar pattern over time, but that an overall picture of decline does not mean that all types of violence or homicide are decreasing equally. This has vital implications for violence policy. Improved and specific prevention strategies are needed for certain types of lethal and non-lethal violence, such as domestic violence, in order to ensure that all types of violence are prevented equally. This study will also make important theoretical contributions, in that all theories making assumptions about the trends in homicide and violence should examine disaggregated subtypes of these crimes in order to provide a holistic explanation of the changes in these crimes. Limitations of the study are discussed as well as future implications of these findings for policy and theory.

As an alternative to current trends in literary criticism, this thesis argues that the rigorous methods of obtaining knowledge as well as the concepts and insights developed in systematic psychology and psychoanalysis can and should be applied to both creative writers and their texts. Though the relationship between writer and text is a complicated one, a synthesis of well documented evidence from psychology can illuminate confusing aspects of the personality infused in the work and can thus move the critic closer to scientific literary truth, without dehumanizing literature. The introduction outlines some of the reasons why psychological findings and insights should be useful and why there has not been widespread application of them in the humanities. Biography in particular, as an art form, can benefit from being psychologically informed. Conversely, the discipline of psychology has much to learn from the in-depth study of extraordinary individual lives" The first chapter provides a more detailed inquiry into the methodological problems associated with psychobiography and suggests some applications of scientific method to biography. The example of Virginia Woolf, whose life and works are particularly intricately connected, will be foremost amongst those used to demonstrate the specific problem of hypothesis testing. Some of the proposed strategies will be executed in the second chapter through a case study of the early life of Bertrand Russell, who provides a good example of some of the difficulties likely to be encountered, as well as the advantages of a psychological approach, especially since his life spans the entire development of modern psychology. The hypothesis about the origins cf Russell's creative impulse will be subsequently tested in the light of his creative works in the period from 1904 to 1914. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

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This study was undertaken to determine the use and quantities of new and recovered wood materials utilized by the United States pallet and container industry in 1999. Wood use trends were identified by comparing the results of this study with that of three previous studies (1992, 1993, and 1995) conducted by Virginia Tech and the United States Forest Service. Also, information was gathered on firm employment, plant operations, and production. A mail survey of 3,507 manufacturers of wood pallets and/or containers in the United States was used to obtain primary data. It was found that the pallet and container industry consumed an estimated 6.54 billion board feet of solid wood in 1999, of which 4.41 billion was hardwood and 2.13 billion was softwood. It was further estimated that 3.7 billion board feet of the hardwood was purchased or processed as lumber and cants, and an additional 707 million board feet as hardwood parts. Approximately 51% of the hardwood consumed was a mixture of hardwood species. Oak accounted for 31% of the hardwood used by the industry. For softwood, an estimated 1.52 billion board feet was consumed in the form of lumber and cants, and another 610 million board feet as parts. Southern Pine (48% of the total softwood volume) and Spruce-Pine-Fir (25%) were the solid softwoods most commonly used by the pallet and container industry. Of the estimated 289 million square feet of wood panels that went into the production of pallets and containers, nearly 208 million square feet of it was softwood plywood, followed by oriented strand board (77 million square feet), and hardwood plywood (5 million square feet). The pallet and container industry produced approximately 429 million new pallets in 1999. Approximately 80% of these pallets were stringer type and 12% were block type. The pallet industry was responsible for the recovery of 299 million pallets in 1999. Furthermore, it was estimated that the pallet industry returned to service nearly 218 million pallets through either repair or recycle. Of the wood use trends identified, the most significant are the large increases in pallet recovery, repair, and recycling during the 1990s. The production of landscape mulch has become the leading use of ground or chipped pallets. A small increase was seen in new pallet production. Increases in new wood use were modest, and primarily limited to softwood parts and oriented strand board. The use of Southern Pine by the pallet and container industry continues to grow relative to other softwood species and in terms of total volume used. / Master of Science

<p>Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 2001. Härtill 6 uppsatser.</p> / digitalisering@umu

Published Article / While the adoption rate of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is increasing, mass-market adoption will not be achieved until a few major challenges are addressed. These challenges are: privacy, security and costs from the end-user's view point and limited power supply to the tag from the engineering perspective. We discuss the research efforts aimed at addressing these challenges. We focus our attention on research in: RFID privacy and security, antennas, polymer electronics-based RFID devices, power management circuits and techniques, and efficient RF spectrum utilization. We conclude by drawing attention to three additional areas that we believe are in need of more research.

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