Current research shows that water-related disasters are the most common natural disaster worldwide and these disasters are increasing in numbers. Water-related disasters cause negative consequences through damage to infrastructure and human health.  This thesis aims to provide an overview of the water-related disasters, floods, and landslides in Sweden by displaying the spatial distribution. Furthermore, the purpose is to analyze the consequences of occurred water-related disasters. By answering the following research questions:  How has landslides and floods been spatially distributed over time in Sweden?  How severe has the consequences of floods and landslides been in Sweden?  To answer these research questions a data study was conducted in ArcGIS and Excel to analyze the spatial distribution and the consequences of landslides and floods. The result shows that the three counties in Sweden with the highest number of affected areas by floods are: Västerbotten, Västernorrland and Örebro. These counties constitute 36% of the affected areas. These affected areas have occurred periodically with an increase since 1970. A detailed study over the years 2011–2017 showed that most floods in Sweden lead to consequences with a small extent and limited damages.  Furthermore, the counties Västra Götaland, Västernorrland and Värmland had the highest number of occurred landslides. In total, 83.7% of all landslides have occurred within these three counties. This means that the distribution of floods is more evenly distributed between different counties compared to landslides. Within these counties, the areas that have had notable high numbers of landslides are Ångermanälven, Norsälven, Klarälven and the areas nearby Göta älv. Overall, it has been most common that landslides have an extent in the range between 1000–10000 m2 and that an extent over 100000 m2 are rare. / Aktuell forskning visar att vattenrelaterade naturkatastrofer är de vanligaste naturkatastroferna över hela världen samt att dessa ökar i antal. Vattenrelaterade naturkatastrofer orsakar till negativa konsekvenser till följd av skador på infrastruktur och människors hälsa. Denna kandidatuppsats syftar till att ge en översikt av den geografiska utbredningen av inträffade vattenrelaterade naturkatastroferna skred och översvämningar i Sverige. Vidare, är syftet att analysera konsekvenserna av inträffade vattenrelaterade naturkatastrofer, genom att svara på följande frågeställningar:  Hur har skred och översvämningar varit utspridda över tid i Sverige? Hur allvarliga har konsekvenserna av översvämningar och jordskred varit i Sverige? För att besvara dessa frågeställningar utfördes en analys i ArcGIS och Excel för att undersöka den geografiska utbredningen och konsekvenserna av skred och översvämningar. Resultatet visar att de tre län med flest områden som blivit påverkade av översvämningar är: Västerbotten, Västernorrland and Örebro. Dessa län utgör 36% av de drabbade områdena. Antalet påverkade områden av översvämningar har inträffat periodvis med en ökning sedan 1970. En detaljerad analys över åren 2011–2017 visade att de flesta översvämningar i Sverige resulterade i konsekvenser med liten utbredning och små skador.  Vidare, hade Västra Götaland, Västernorrland och Värmlands län högst antal inträffade skred. Totalt har 83.7% av alla skred inträffat inom dessa tre län. Detta innebär att fördelningen av områden påverkade av översvämningar har varit jämnare fördelade mellan olika län jämfört med skred. Inom dessa län är de områden som har haft anmärkningsvärt högt antal skred: Ångermanälven, Norsälven, Klarälven och områdena i närheten av Göta älv. Överlag har det varit vanligast att jordskred har en utbredning mellan 1000–10000 m2 och att en utbredning över 100000 m2 är ovanlig.

INTRODUCTION: Epidemiological transition theory, first postulated by Omran in 1971, provides a useful framework for understanding cause-specific mortality changes and may contribute usefully to predictions about cause-specific mortality. However, understandings of mortality transitions and associated epidemiological changes remain poorly defined for public health practitioners due to lack of evidence from low- and middle-income countries. Therefore, understanding of the concept and development of epidemiological transition theory as well as population burden of premature mortality attributable to risk factors is needed. OBJECTIVES: This thesis aims to understand how epidemiological transition theory has been applied in different contexts, using available evidence on mortality transitions from high, middle- and low- income countries, as well as the contribution of risk factors to mortality transitions, particularly for premature mortality. METHODS: A Medline literature search from 1971 to 2013 was conducted to synthesise published evidence on mortality transition (paper I). A descriptive analysis of trends in cause of death using INDEPTH data was conducted, focusing on specific causes of death in 12 INDEPTH sites in Africa and Asia, using the INDEPTH 2013 standard population structure for appropriate comparisons across sites (paper II). A retrospective dynamic cohort database was constructed from Swedish population registers for the age range 30-69 years during 1991-2006, to measure reductions in premature non-communicable disease mortality using a life table method (paper III). Prospective cohort data from Västerbotten Intervention Programme from 1990 to 2006 were used to measure the magnitude of premature non-communicable disease mortality reductions associated with risk factor changes for each period of time (paper IV). FINDINGS: There were changes in emphasis in research on epidemiological transition over the four decades from 1971 to 2013, from cause of death to wide-ranging aspects of the determinants of mortality with increasing research interests in low-and middle-income countries, with some unconsidered aspects of social determinants contributing to deviations from classic theoretical pathways. Mortality rates declined in most sites, with the annual reductions in premature adult mortality varied across INDEPTH sites, Sweden, which now is at late stage of epidemiological transition stage, achieved a 25% reduction in premature mortality during 1991-2006. Overall downward trends in risk factors have helped to reduce premature mortality in the population of Västerbotten County, but some benefits were offset by other increasing risks. The largest mortality changes accrued from reductions in smoking, hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia. CONCLUSIONS: This thesis established patterns of current epidemiological transition in high, middle-and low-income countries (Asia and Africa), where the theory fits the transition patterns in some countries, but with some needs for further adjustments in other settings, as well as deviations from the classical ET theory in the last four decades. It highlights the need to identify the burden of mortality and morbidity, particularly for reducing mortality occurring before the age of 70 years and its attribution to risk factors, which are a major public health challenge. This informs shifting of public health priorities and resources towards prevention and control of chronic non-communicable disease risk factors.

Today's research into entrepreneurship focuses largely on the influence of small-scale business enterpriseon regional development. How has this appeared from an historical perspective, and has small-scaleentrepreneurship been an important prerequisite of regional development? This dissertation is a casestudy and illuminates how changes in the local environment influence entrepreneurship in conjunctionwith new relationships and conditions over a protracted period of economic transformation. It analyses aninteraction between different factors at local level over a long period of time between changes ineconomic conditions and changes in the socio-cultural sphere from which the development of localentrepreneurship has benefited. In this interaction between such factors as the economic and sociocultural,new demarcation phenomena can arise in the enterprise culture. Such a demarcationphenomenon is whether the local environment in the Skellefteå region creates, to a greater extent than inother regions, a propensity to develop entrepreneurship in industrial enterprises. Norrland has often beencharacterised as a region of Sweden where lack of entrepreneurship has been considerable and animportant partial explanation of the economic problems of that province. How well does such anobservation accord with the facts, and is it the case that entrepreneurship has difficulty in developing inperipheral parts of the country because conditions are not good enough?The dissertation studies changes in business enterprise, business networks and entrepreneurship in aregion situated in the northern part of Sweden, i.e. in the Skellefteå region. The case study may beregarded as an attempt to test a thesis about how local entrepreneurship can develop in a region over aprotracted period. When the great international Boliden corporation was established in the 1930s, wasthere, either already or alongside it, a tradition of local entrepreneurship which subsequently developed inunison with the expansion of the corporation?The study shows that even at the beginning of the 1930s, there was already a more elaborateenterprise environment than was previously known, and that important changes occurred at an early stagein the entrepreneurial network which was built up in the region. What the study also shows is that theenterprise culture which developed in the Skellefteå region was largely a result of a combination ofNorrland and other entrepreneurial traditions for example from Småland. In this encounter at local levelbetween entrepreneurs from different peripheral parts of Sweden, where domestic manufactures andoccupational versatility had been prominent features, entrepreneurship did develop. The study gives aninsight into how local business networks can be changed and linked together in new constellations duringperiods of economic transformation. The results indicate that small-scale entrepreneurship is an importantprerequisite of regional development. / digitalisering@umu

This study ”What’s does the local news contain? - an analysis of a week’s local journalism on the web in Västerbotten, Sweden” examines the different discourses in the local journalism of newspapers and public service media. The aim is to find what makes the local news with the use of a quantitative content analysis combined with a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA).The study uses a theoretical framework that includes theories surrounding agenda setting, the power of the media, local journalism, news values and web based journalism. For the quantitative content analysis the online text tool Textometrica was used.The analysis found that the local news mainly consisted of news regarding sports and negative news such as crime, accidents and court cases. It also found that the local news mainly focused on a small part of the municipality of Västerbotten in its news coverage, where the biggest city in the region was of the most interest. When other parts were covered it was mostly for sport events or negative news. The qualitative analysis also found that there was a high frequency of updates on the websites and non-local news that made it into the local news due to being sensational. A difference between the newspapers and the public service media was also found where the papers focused more on local debates and public service media wasn’t as tied to earlier theories regarding news values.The study could also state that the content of the local media during the week differed from what is said to be good journalism and also what is said to be the journalistic responsibility that citizens rely on to make democratic decisions.

This study investigates the sound structure of the dialect of the Rödåliden area in the province of Västerbotten in Northern Sweden. The aim is to describe the phonological system with a structural approach. The theoretical framework is based on the ideas that have developed from the Prague Linguistic Circle, where speech sounds are looked upon as functional units. One method used to determine phonemes is by way of commutation tests; another is the distribution method.The chief aim is to describe the phonemes of the Rödåliden dialect on the lexical level including prosodic features such as stress, tonal accent and quantity. The prosodic feature of short verbal phrases is also described. The material consists of words and phrases from a dictionary (not yet published) with more than 3 000 entries. The vocabulary in the dictionary was collected between 1988 and 2010 by a group of local people speaking the dialect. Thirteen informants have been interviewed and confronted with problems concerning phonological issues that are typical for the dialect in question. The study is based on auditory perception, i.e. the speakers’ idea of what is “right or wrong” or if there are alternative versions of a segment. The phonemes of the dialect are compared with the phonological system of standard Swedish. A thorough description of the phonology of the dialect is presented. Each phoneme is described as well as the most frequent allophones. Certain areas have been the focus of special interest. In standard Swedish as well as in the dialect the tonal accents acute (accent 1) and grave (accent 2) are used. In addition to these accent types, circumflex accent is used in the dialect. Circumflex is for example the only distinctive feature between the infinitive form [^fry:s] and the present tense form [fry:s] of the verb frys ‘to be cold’. The sequences ka- and ga- where /a/ is a front vowel reveal phonological distinction between velar k and g and palatal k and g, e.g. /kal:/ ‘old man’ ≠ /kal:/ ‘cold’ and /+gal:/ ‘was possible’ ≠ /gal:/ ‘infertile’. The cacuminal /ɽ/ and dental /l/ are in certain distributional contexts, e.g. after some long vowels, phonologically relevant. In other contexts, e.g. after short vowels, the different l-sounds are allophones due to complementary distribution. In standard Swedish the retroflex consonants (supradentals) are not considered to be phonematic but in the dialect in question they are phonologically relevant.

The subject of this bachelor thesis is the study of the artefact type called simple shaft-hole axe (Swedish: enkel skafthålsyxa) that have been found in the northern region of Sweden, Norrland. In contrast to finds in southern and middle Sweden, axes of this type in Norrland have not been extensively studied. Therefor the aim of this paper is to tabulate their number and distribution and see if the axes have any spatial relation to ancient monuments (Swedish: fornlämningar) dated to the same period and to see if the axes have any spatial relationship to any specific type of geography/terrain. This study also analyzes how they compare to the axes found in the rest of Sweden and thus what they may be able to tell us about prehistoric society in Norrland. This paper can be viewed as an extension of Per Lekberg’s dissertation Yxors liv, människors landskap: en studie av kulturlandskap och samhälle i Mellansveriges senneolitikum which is the most modern and extensive analysis of axes found in southern and middle Sweden and has provided a blueprint for the research done in this paper.

Introduction: Currently, there are one billion migrants worldwide, with Sweden being a common host country. In Swedish primary care, physiotherapists are usually the first instance for patients with musculo-skeletal complaints, ASPs included. Currently, there are no physiotherapeutic guidelines addressing the management and treatment for ASPs. Furthermore, there are some qualitative studies discussing the interaction between health care providers and ASPs or migrant patients, however, none of them are exclusively exploring the phenomenon from the physiotherapists’ perspective. The aim of this study was to explore Swedish primary care physiotherapists’ experiences and professional needs when encountering ASPs. Methods: Using a qualitative methodology with an inductive approach, a case-study consisting of four semi-structured interviews with primary care physiotherapists located in Västerbotten county were conducted between the 13th of March and the 6th of April 2018. Thematic analysis (TA) was used to analyze data. Results: Two main themes were identified; Our most challenging patient group and Demand for knowledge and frameworks. These were discussing the reasons behind the challenges when encountering ASPs, and the desire for an increased organization on a higher level to prepare physiotherapists for their encounters with ASPs. Conclusion: Findings suggest there are challenges and a request for an increased knowledge among primary care physiotherapists when encountering ASPs. These findings serve as a foundation for further research in the matter and for future adjustments in how the physiotherapeutic bachelor program is designed, how employers and the Physiotherapy union (Fysioterapeuterna) provide their employees and members with adequate knowledge, preparing them for encountering ASPs in the best possible way.

Finland and Sweden share a common history that dates back to the 12thcentury, when the two countries were one. Sweden has throughout time, for numerous reasons, been a more well-developed country and has had a larger economy than Finland, which has made moving and travelling to Sweden amongst Finns a rather common demographic feature. The effects of this historical relationship, and of these events, still to this day influencethe travel patterns between the two countries; More Finns visit Sweden than Swedes visit Finland.Throughout this thesis I analyse and describe the uneven passenger transportation patterns between the Swedish city of Umeå and the Finnish city Vaasa. By analysing inhabitants personal background together with the motives for travelling to-, the knowledge about-, and the perceived mental distance between Umeå and Vaasa of inhabitants in both cities, I strive to find answers to the Bothnian disparity routes. The results of the study points towards social bonds, various cultural factors, possession of knowledge, and perceived mental distance playing asignificant role in shaping the travel patterns between the two cities. Furthermore, the result of the study also provides a perspective on how geography is not just a physical structure but also a significant factor in understanding human mobility and interaction in cross-border contexts.

Denna uppsats utför en samhällsekonomisk analys av att investera i en utbyggnad till dubbelspår på den nästan 50 mil långa Malmbanan, med fokus på hur detta skulle påverka det svenska gruvbolaget LKAB:s verksamhet. Genom att använda kostnads-nyttoanalyser (CBA) och känslighetsanalyser, undersöks de ekonomiska fördelarna och kostnaderna av ett sådant projekt. Denna studie bidrar med en kompletterande synvinkel till Trafikverkets tidigare analyser genom att inkludera potentiella ökningar i exportintäkter och långsiktiga ekonomiska fördelar för den svenska ekonomin. I norra Sverige sker omfattande industriinvesteringar om ca 880 miljarder SEK och Malmbanan anses enligt flera aktörer spela en kritisk roll för den svenska ekonomiska utvecklingen. Undersökningen noterar den mängd aktörer som påverkas av investeringar i Malmbanan men väljer att enbart fokusera på LKAB:s påverkan av ett eventuellt dubbelspår. Analysen visar att en utbyggnad till dubbelspår ger betydande ekonomiska vinster för LKAB, vilket motiverar projektet trots de höga initiala investeringskostnaderna om 120 miljarder SEK. Huvudkalkylen visar på en nettolönsamhet på +213 miljarder för LKAB under 20 år med diskonteringsräntan 3.5% och +172 miljarder med diskonteringsräntan 6%. Projektet bidrar med flera positiva effekter som ej kvantifierats, som bland annat färre förseningar och urspårningar, utveckling i enlighet med de transportpolitiska målen och positiv påverkan för andra aktörer. Känslighetsanalyser som tar hänsyn till lägre export med förhöjda investeringskostnader visar på en netto lönsamhet på -93 miljarder SEK med positiva, ej kvantifierade, effekter.  Arbetet konkluderar att investeringen med stor sannolikhet bör genomföras men att vidare forskning behövs då denna studie inte kan garantera att en utbyggnad till dubbelspår är den bästa allokeringen av resurser.

Background and objective: Researchers have been looking for a way to predict future emission rates, and come up with explanations on how to tackle the issue of global warming through changes in individual behavior for decades. The focus of these studies have, on the other hand, focused more on nutritional bases rather than cultural. This study’s objective is to provide a method, as a useful tool in further analysis on GHG-emission based on cultural behavioral factors such as socio-economic status as well as age, sex, etc. with diet as emission prediction factor. This could be a stepping stone toward future research on Co2e related to e.g. physiological factors such as BMI, blood pressure and diseases. Method: With the use of data obtained from the FFQ questionnaire within the VIP-program, combined with estimates of greenhouse gas-emission (Co2e) attributed to specific diets obtained from Röös, estimations of individual Co2e emission-levels were calculated using the software “R”. The dataset contained 159 687 observations and 152 different variables. The data was obtained from the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine at Umeå University. Portions sizes were mainly collected from the Swedish Food Composition Database. Box-plots and regression analysis were made to illustrate the main findings. Result: The result was a new dataset that could be applied to any population to estimate Co2e-emission on individual level based on an FFQ, given that the FFQ have the same structure as the one in the VIP. The variables that contributed to the highest amount of Co2e were animal products i.e. butter, milk and meat. Chicken, pork and fish were not nearly as Co2e heavy as the meat products containing beef such as “steak”, “minced meat” and “hamburgers”. The regression analysis showed that higher age had a positive effect on reducing emission, as well as being a woman. Education showed an increase in Co2e for higher education. There were some small differences among municipalities. Marital status gave a slight decrease in the regression, meaning married couples emits more than singles. Exercise showed an increase in Co2e for active individuals in the regression analysis. However, the most noticeable result were sex, yielding a relatively big decrease in Co2e-emission for women compared to men. Conclusion: People at younger ages, within the observed age groups 40-60, seemed to reduce their carbon footprint more in relation to the higher age groups over the last 20 years. Overall, the general diet-based carbon footprint in Västerbotten seems to have increased slightly during the last 17 years. A remarkable dip were noticed in 2003, however this might not have been due to any behavioral changes, since the trend broke in 2006 and instantly receded back to the normal levels. This study confirms the fact that meat and dairy products are responsible for a significant amount of the diet-based emission. This topic needs to be studied more, and with this method of applying GHG-emission measures to individual diet-based data, a gate has been opened for a new field of research.