<p>I denna uppsats behandlas ohälsans regionala utveckling och syftet är att analysera vad som påverkar den svenska ohälsan. Teori angående hushållens val mellan fritid och arbete används för att analysera resultaten från den empiriska undersökningen. Bakgrunden till denna uppsats bottnar i utvecklingen av ohälsotalen som har ökat med 5,1 dagar mellan åren 2000 och 2004. De empiriska resultaten påvisar att arbetslösheten har ett positivt samband med ohälsa och att kvinnor tenderar att vara mer sjuka än män. Vidare bekräftar resultaten att inkomsten har ett negativt samband med ohälsa och detta är även sant för stora företag. Följaktligen har små företag en positiv inverkan på ohälsotalen och en analys av kommuner belägna i den norra delen av Sverige påvisar ett högre ohälsotal än övriga kommuner. Vidare är individernas ålder en faktor som kan förklara utvecklingen av öhälsotalen. Dessa resultat bekräftar att arbetslöshet, kön, inkomst, företagsstorlek, ålder och kommuner belägna i den norra delen är faktorer som kan förklara ohälsotalens utveckling, men även andra faktorer är av betydelse.</p> / <p>This thesis examines the regional development of ill-health and the purpose is to analyse factors that tend to influence the Swedish ill-health. Theory of household choice between work and leisure is used when analysing the results of the empirical study. The background for this thesis is derived from the development of ill-health that has increased with 5.1 days between the years 2000 and 2004. The empirical findings show that unemployment has a positive relationship with ill-health and that women tend to be more ill than men. Furthermore, the results confirm that income has a negative relationship with ill-health and this is also true for large companies. Consequently, small companies have positive influence on ill-health and an analysis of the municipalities in the northern part of Sweden points out a higher number of ill-health than the other municipalities. Moreover, the individuals’ age is also a factor that can explain the development of ill-health. These findings confirm that unemployment, gender, income, size of company, age, and the municipalities in the north-ern part are factors that can explain the development of ill-health. However, other factors are important in the process as well.</p>

<p>Carbody tilting is today a mature and inexpensive technology allowing higher speeds in curves and thus reduced travel time. The technology is accepted by most train operators, but a limited set of issues still holding back the full potential of tilting trains. The present study identifies and report on these issues in the first of two parts in this thesis. The second part is dedicated to analysis of some of the identified issues. The first part contains Chapters 2 to 5 and the second Chapters 6 to 12 where also the conclusions of the present study are given.</p><p>Chapters 2 and 3 are related to the tilting train and the interaction between track and vehicle. Cross-wind stability is identified as critical for high-speed tilting trains. Limitation of the permissible speed in curves at high speed may be needed, reducing the benefit of tilting trains at very high speed. Track shift forces can also be safety critical for tilting vehicles at high speed. An improved track standard must be considered for high speed curving.</p><p>Chapters 4 and 5 cover motion sickness knowledge, which may be important for the competitiveness of tilting trains. However, reduced risk of motion sickness may be contradictory to comfort in a traditional sense, one aspect can not be considered without also considering the other. One pure motion is not the likely cause to the motion sickness experienced in motion trains. A combination of motions is much more provocative and much more likely the cause. It is also likely that head rotations contribute as these may be performed at much higher motion amplitudes than performed by the train.</p><p>Chapter 6 deals with services suitable for tilting trains. An analysis shows relations between cant deficiency, top speed, tractive performance and running times for a tilting train. About 9% running time may be gained on the Swedish line Stockholm – Gothenburg (457 km) if cant deficiency, top speed and tractive performance are improved compared with existing tilting trains. One interesting conclusion is that a non-tilting very high-speed train (280 km/h) will have longer running times than a tilting train with today’s maximum speed and tractive power. This statement is independent of top speed and tractive power of the non-tilting vehicle.</p><p>Chapters 7 to 9 describe motion sickness tests made on-track within the EU-funded research project<i> Fast And Comfortable Trains (FACT).</i> An analysis is made showing correlation between vertical acceleration and motion sickness. However, vertical acceleration could not be pointed out as the cause to motion sickness as the correlation between vertical acceleration and several other motions are strong.</p><p>Chapter 10 reports on design of track geometry. Guidelines for design of track cant are given optimising the counteracting requirements on comfort in non-tilting trains and risk of motion sickness in tilting trains. The guidelines are finally compared with the applied track cant on the Swedish line Stockholm – Gothenburg. Also transition curves and vertical track geometry are shortly discussed.</p><p>Chapters 11 and 12 discusses the analysis, draws conclusions on the findings and gives proposals of further research within the present area.</p>

Thesis (M.S.)--California Polytechnic State University, 2009. / Mode of access: Internet. Title from PDF title page; viewed on Jan. 20, 2010. Major professor: Dr. Lynne Slivovsky. "Presented to the faculty of the College of Engineering, California Polytechnic State University." "In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree [of] Master of Science in Electrical Engineering." "July 2009." Includes bibliographical references (p. 102-104).

This paper is interdisciplinary in the approach to the stories found in Str8 Up and Gangs: The Untold Stories. Drawing from the knowledge of Indigenous Studies and the study of English Literature, this paper connects discourses of health and sickness, crime and punishment, and Canada's colonial legacy to Indigenous gangs in Canada. Finally, this paper demonstrates how narrative techniques have been applied in an attempt to help intervene and prevent the growth of Indigenous gangs in Canada.

Purpose of this study is to identify and to evaluate the main trends in the development of old-age pensions and sickness benefits schemes (by designing social insurance system models) and to determine the possible ways how to increase the efficiency in consumption smoothing policy and how to increase the financial sustainability of the old-age and sickness insurance schemes. This study searches for answers to the questions: how to maintain the consumption opportunities of beneficiaries, how to maintain a balance between the contributions paid and benefits received (the balance between the price paid and goods received), how to reduce the risk of budget deficit explosion and how to maintain the consumption opportunities of beneficiaries and insured. Consumption smoothing analysis focuses on the identity between the contributions paid and benefits received, on the analysis of replacement rates, on the analysis of pensioners to insured ratio (and on the possibilities of interpretation the analysis provide). The study determined the cycles of Lithuanian social insurance system development, examined and evaluated three different pensions' indexation policies, examined and evaluated the utility and performance of second pillar pension funds and carried out the study of possibilities of raising the efficiency in Lithuanian sickness benefits scheme. This study helps to deeper the understanding of how population aging affects the economy and provides the materials for future... [to full text] / Disertacijos tikslas – sudarant socialinio draudimo sistemos modelius, nustatyti ir išanalizuoti svarbiausias senatvės pensijų ir laikinojo nedarbingumo išmokų raidos tendencijas, atsižvelgiant į jas, pagrįsti efektyvumo ir tvarumo didinimo galimybes senatvės ir laikinojo nedarbingumo socialinio draudimo išmokų programose (srityse). Disertacijoje ieškoma atsakymų į klausimus: kaip palaikyti išmokų gavėjų vartojimo galimybes, kaip išlaikyti pusiausvyrą tarp sumokėtų įmokų ir gautų išmokų (pusiausvyra tarp sumokėtos kainos ir gautos prekių apimties), kaip sumažinti socialinio draudimo biudžeto deficito atsiradimo riziką ir palaikyti dirbančių asmenų ir išmokų gavėjų vartojimo galimybes. Vartojimo galimybių palaikymo efektyvumo įvertinimas apima tapatumo tarp sumokėtų įmokų ir gautų išmokų analizę, pakeitimo normos analizę, išmokų gavėjų ir dirbančių asmenų santykio analizę, šių rodiklių ir sąryšių interpretacijos atskleidžiamas galimybes. Disertacijoje nustatyti Lietuvos socialinio draudimo sistemos raidos ciklai, išnagrinėti ir įvertinti trys išmokų indeksavimo variantai, įvertintos antros pakopos kaupiamųjų pensijų fondų sistemos galimybės ir veiklos rezultatai, atliktas laikinojo nedarbingumo išmokų sistemos efektyvumo didinimo tyrimas. Šis darbas padeda geriau suprasti visuomenės senėjimo padarinius ir numatyti priemones būsimų procesų reguliavimui.

Fixed-base driving simulators are commonplace in research and training. Simulators provide safe and controlled environments to train users on vehicle and device operation, to evaluate the safety of devices and controls, and to conduct research on driving and driving behaviours. One drawback to simulators is simulator sickness. As with motion sickness, simulator sickness can cause nausea, but additionally it has symptoms such as headache and eyestrain. Simulator sickness is a problem for multiple reasons: it can skew experimental results, it can waste participants’ and experimenter’s time, and it can limit testable populations. In addition, participants may modify their behaviour to avoid sickness, affecting experimental results or impeding learning. While sickness can reduce over multiple exposures, it is not known if any observable behaviours accompany these reductions. It is also not known why there are such marked individual differences in susceptibility. To test for behaviours that could be responsible for reducing sickness, I examined participants across two sessions in a fixed-base driving simulator. I found that gaze behaviour (eye and head movements) changed along with sickness. To determine the cause for this finding I instructed participants (pre-drive) to fixate their gaze during the curves of a simulated drive. This gaze modification was effective in reducing sickness during a first-time experience in the simulator, supporting a causal link. Next, I attempted to replace the missing vestibular input in a fixed-base simulator, so that the visual and vestibular perceptions of motion matched. This experiment showed that by providing vestibular stimulation appropriate or opposite of what would occur in the real world reduced sickness. This provided support for the theory that distracting stimulation (electrical in this case) could reduce attention to visual motion cues and therefore reduce conflict, a novel finding for simulator sickness research. Finally, I tested for any correlations between individual differences and sickness. I found that history of motion sickness and current illness both correlated with sickness, potentially useful as a pre-screening tool. In addition, driving behaviours such as speed, braking, and acceleration all correlated with sickness, showing that how a person behaves in a simulation could also contribute to sickness. / CFI, OGS, Auto21

Background and purpose: The main goal was to examine which factors in the psychosocial work environment that would predict turnover intention among engineering employees in a larger global company within the oil and gas industry. The second goal was to examine if the predictors would differ for employees under the age of 40, compared to employees over the age of 40. Method: Data was collected using a self-reported electronic questionnaire designed by Mille Myhre and myself. The analyses included three control variables and seven independent variables, which also encompassed a new aspect of the psychosocial work environment research in relation to turnover intention, namely the personal resources optimism and selfefficacy. The questionnaire was distributed through an e-mail sent from the Vice President HSE, and a sample of 128 participants was used in the analyses conducted in SPSS. Key findings: The predictors were job satisfaction, leadership and sickness absenteeism, and were found to have different rank of importance for the employees in the two age groups, regarding the predictor’s beta value. Optimism and self-efficacy were not found as predictors of turnover intention in the current sample. Conclusion: To manage the employee’s turnover intention the leaders should focus on the employee’s satisfaction with their work, keeping a high qualitative transactional leadership and be observant to the employee’s sickness absenteeism, but control for the employee’s age if they were to initiate actions to control for turnover intention.

A critical task of social policy in most Western welfare states during recent decades has consisted of reducing the economic burden on society due to sick leave, by stimulating participation in the labour market. Many jurisdictions have introduced activation policies, based on the premise that work “per se” has a therapeutic effect on sick-listed workers. People are expected to be “active”, rather than “passive”, recipients of financial benefits. However, there is limited knowledge of how activation policies focusing on return to work (RTW) are carried out in local practice. Against this background, the overall aim of this thesis is to study the local practice of activation policies by analysing how they are received, implemented and experienced by welfare state organizations, employers and sick-listed workers. The analysis has been influenced by theories concerning organization fields, individualization, street-level bureaucracy and organizational governance. In this thesis, the overall aim is investigated in four interrelated papers. In Paper I, the aim is to analyse the perspectives of stakeholders (i.e. welfare state actors and employers) on work ability by studying multistakeholder meetings. Paper II sheds light on activation policy, focusing on early RTW in the context of modern working conditions; the aim is to analyse RTW practice in local workplace contexts, in relation to Swedish early-RTW policy. The third paper focuses on employers, with the aim of analysing their role and activities regarding RTW, in local workplace practice. In Paper IV, the aim is to analyse sick-listed workers’ experiences of the sickness insurance system in their contact with the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA) and their front-line staff. The empirical material comprises two empirical studies: 1) audio-recorded multi-stakeholder meetings from regular practice (n=9) and 2) semi-structured interviews with sick-listed workers and their supervisors in 18 workplaces (n=36). The analyses of the material have been performed in accordance with the principles of qualitative content analysis. Main findings of the papers reflect strong organizational boundaries in the implementation process of activation policies. Welfare state actors and employers appear to be governed by their own organizational logics and interests, so the actors involved fail to take a holistic view of sick-listed workers and do not share a common social responsibility for individuals’ RTW. This thesis illustrates how current activation policies focusing on RTW are based on a rather idealized image of the standard workplace. There is an explicit or implicit assumption that employers and work organizations are able to welcome sick-listed workers back to work in a healthy way. However, the intensity of modern working life leaves limited room for accommodating people with reduced work ability, who are not considered to have a business value to the workplace. In several cases, findings indicate that the SSIA’s focus on activation and early RTW clashes with the financially oriented perspective of employers. Economic considerations regarding their business take precedence over legal and ethical considerations, and employers have difficulty taking social responsibility for RTW. Sick-listed workers are encouraged to adjust to new workplace settings and environments to meet the demands of the workplace, and, if RTW is not possible, to the demands of the labour market. The findings also show that sick-listed workers experience that contacts with the SSIA are ‘standardized’; i.e., they perceive that the officials are loyal  to demands in their organizations rather than being involved actors who support workers’ individual needs. Sick-listed workers clearly experience that measures in Swedish activation policies have a strong focus on demanding aspects (financial work incentives) and less on enabling aspects (investments in skills). Overall, this thesis illustrates an emerging social climate where sick-listed workers are positioned as active agents who must take responsibility for their sick leave and their RTW process. In a Swedish context, RTW is a matter of activating the sick-listed rather than activating the workplace.

African horse sickness (AHS) was reported in the south-western Khomas Region, central Namibia (22° 24.063´ S, 17° 01.791´ E; 23° 32.617´ S, 15° 53.870´ E), contrary to expectations that the arid conditions in the area would limit its occurrence. This prompted investigation into the occurrence of AHS in horses, a possible reservoir animal, the Hartmann’s mountain zebra (Equus zebra. hartmannae) and the occurrence of the Culicoides midge vector (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) of the disease in the area. Questionnaires were used to explore the geographic characteristics of the study area, the occurrence of an expected AHS virus reservoir animal, E. z. hartmannae and AHS in horses in the study area. According to the questionnaire, rainfall patterns seem to follow topography of the area, where the north-east formed the higher rainfall (420 mm/a) high-ground and the south-western formed the lower rainfall (120 mm/a) pediment zone in the south-west. Cases of AHS occurred mostly in mid-rainfall zones. E. z. hartmannae were present throughout the area. They migrated from the southwest towards the north-eastern high-grounds during droughts, presumably along ephemeral river beds. E. z. hartmannae were sampled for blood and tissues and analysed for evidence of African Horse Sickness Virus (AHSV) infection by indirect ELISA, RT-PCR and virus isolation techniques. All useable samples tested positive for anti-AHSV antibodies. Viral RNA was demonstrated in 26% of all the zebra sampled. No viable viruses were isolated from these samples, however further research is required, as difficult sampling conditions may have yielded false-negatives. From 6 July to 21 September 2009, Culicoides midges were collected during the dry winter season in suction UV-light traps installed at five selected sites along a rainfall gradient. In 38 collections, a total of 9091 Culicoides individuals, representing 25 species were collected. The dominance of the proven vector of AHSV, Culicoides imicola Kieffer, varied in dominance from 94% near Windhoek with high altitude and relatively higher annual rainfall, to 12% at the site situated farthest southwest, with the lowest altitude and annual rainfall. From what was observed of the occurrence of AHS in horses, E. z. hartmannae and the distribution and abundance of the AHSV vector (Culicoides spp.), it was concluded that AHS can be maintained in the south-western Khomas Region even in the lowest mean annual rainfall zones. / Thesis (MSc (Environmental Sciences))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

African horse sickness (AHS) was reported in the south-western Khomas Region, central Namibia (22° 24.063´ S, 17° 01.791´ E; 23° 32.617´ S, 15° 53.870´ E), contrary to expectations that the arid conditions in the area would limit its occurrence. This prompted investigation into the occurrence of AHS in horses, a possible reservoir animal, the Hartmann’s mountain zebra (Equus zebra. hartmannae) and the occurrence of the Culicoides midge vector (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) of the disease in the area. Questionnaires were used to explore the geographic characteristics of the study area, the occurrence of an expected AHS virus reservoir animal, E. z. hartmannae and AHS in horses in the study area. According to the questionnaire, rainfall patterns seem to follow topography of the area, where the north-east formed the higher rainfall (420 mm/a) high-ground and the south-western formed the lower rainfall (120 mm/a) pediment zone in the south-west. Cases of AHS occurred mostly in mid-rainfall zones. E. z. hartmannae were present throughout the area. They migrated from the southwest towards the north-eastern high-grounds during droughts, presumably along ephemeral river beds. E. z. hartmannae were sampled for blood and tissues and analysed for evidence of African Horse Sickness Virus (AHSV) infection by indirect ELISA, RT-PCR and virus isolation techniques. All useable samples tested positive for anti-AHSV antibodies. Viral RNA was demonstrated in 26% of all the zebra sampled. No viable viruses were isolated from these samples, however further research is required, as difficult sampling conditions may have yielded false-negatives. From 6 July to 21 September 2009, Culicoides midges were collected during the dry winter season in suction UV-light traps installed at five selected sites along a rainfall gradient. In 38 collections, a total of 9091 Culicoides individuals, representing 25 species were collected. The dominance of the proven vector of AHSV, Culicoides imicola Kieffer, varied in dominance from 94% near Windhoek with high altitude and relatively higher annual rainfall, to 12% at the site situated farthest southwest, with the lowest altitude and annual rainfall. From what was observed of the occurrence of AHS in horses, E. z. hartmannae and the distribution and abundance of the AHSV vector (Culicoides spp.), it was concluded that AHS can be maintained in the south-western Khomas Region even in the lowest mean annual rainfall zones. / Thesis (MSc (Environmental Sciences))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012