Swedish Case Research Articles

Accelerated learning for wood supply managers – the next generation of on-line training tools

ABSTRACT The Virtual Wood Supply Arena is an on-line training environment for managing roundwood purchase, production and transport in cut-to-length supply systems. The purpose of its development was accelerated training for coordination of these functions under realistic operating conditions. It offers 8- and 12-week scenarios for supplying five mills. Weekly planning is done for 10 harvesting teams and 10 trucks in a Swedish case geography while tracking mill delivery fulfillment under weekly trafficability restrictions. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the training environment and report the progression of student performance after 2 years of use in university-level training. Student teams reached full delivery fulfillment within three training runs. After familiarization during an introductory run, a complete 12-week scenario took four effective hours to complete. Delivery fulfillment increased from 82 to 95 and 100% between the first, second and third training runs. The progression of team performance included a 36% reduction of relocation distances for harvesting teams and 11% reduction of transport distances for hauling from forest to mill. By the third training run these performance levels were attained with less than 2 weeks of inventory for both the purchase bank and roadside stocks.

Association of childhood infections and perinatal factors with ankylosing spondylitis: a Swedish nationwide case–control and sibling study

ObjectivesTo identify perinatal and early-life risk factors for ankylosing spondylitis (AS), controlling for family-shared confounding with a sibling comparison design.MethodsIn this nationwide, register-based case–control study, we identified 5612 AS cases...

Evaluation of TSO–DSO Coordination Schemes for meshed-to-meshed configurations: Lessons learned from a realistic Swedish case study

Evaluation of TSO–DSO Coordination Schemes for meshed-to-meshed configurations: Lessons learned from a realistic Swedish case study

Freight modal shift: A means or an objective in achieving lower emission targets? The case of Sweden

For several decades, modal shift within the freight transport sector has been promoted by policy makers as an important basis for achieving lower transport emission targets. Even though the literature on mode choice is well established, there is less consensus about the volume of freight with the potential to shift and, more importantly, the actual contribution of freight modal shift to achieving less climate and air pollution impacts. The climate contribution of freight modal shift can be increasingly questioned, as decarbonization is taking place at increasing rates within road freight transport. In this paper, the role of modal shift policies in realizing climate objectives is scrutinized by focusing on the case of Sweden, which serves to illustrate some general insights. We highlight how modal shift is often analyzed and discussed in isolation, even though it forms an important part of a policy mix in which it may contribute to achieving climate objectives. Treating modal shift as an objective in its own right may render less effective and cost-efficient policy instruments.

Genotypic characterization of Staphylococcus chromogenes and Staphylococcus simulans from Swedish cases of bovine subclinical mastitis

Staphylococcus chromogenes and Staphylococcus simulans are commonly found in intramammary infections (IMI) associated with bovine subclinical mastitis, but little is known about genotypic variation and relatedness within species. This includes knowledge about genes encoding antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and potential virulence factors (pVF). The aim of this study was therefore to investigate these aspects by whole-genome sequencing of milk isolates from Swedish dairy cows with subclinical mastitis in an observational study. We also wanted to study if specific genotypes were associated with persistent IMI and the inflammatory response at udder quarter level. In total, 105 and 118 isolates of S. chromogenes and S. simulans, respectively, were included. Isolates were characterized using a 7-locus multilocus sequence typing (7-MLST), core genome analysis and in-silico analysis of AMR and pVF genes. Forty-seven sequence types (ST) and 7 core genome clusters of S. chromogenes were identified, and the most common ST were ST-6 and ST-109, both belonging to cluster VII. A 7-locus MLST scheme for S. simulans was not available, but 3 core genome clusters and 5 subclusters were described. Overall, substantial variation in ST and clusters among cows and herds were found in both species. Some ST of S. chromogenes were found in several herds, indicating spread between herds. Moreover, within-herd spread of the same genotype was observed for both species. Only a few AMR genes (blaZ, strpS194, vga(A)) were detected in a limited number of isolates, with the exception of blaZ coding for β-lactamase, which was identified in 22% of the isolates of S. chromogenes with ST-19, ST-102, and ST-103 more commonly carrying this gene compared with other STs. However, the blaZ gene was not identified in S. simulans. The average total number of pVF detected per isolate was similar in S. chromogenes (n = 30) and S. simulans (n = 33), but some variation in total numbers and presence of specific pVF or functional groups of pVF, was shown between ST/clusters within species. Differences in inflammatory response and potentially in persistent IMI at udder quarter level were found between S. chromogenes subtypes but not between S. simulans subtypes. In conclusion, the results from the present study generates new insight into the epidemiology of bovine S. chromogenes and S. simulans IMI, which can have implications for future prevention and antimicrobial treatment of infections related to these species.

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis cases detected in on-call CT venographies in Sweden, 2019-2022.

No well-established criteria exist for assessing the risk of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). Here, we sought to gain an understanding of CVST cases and associated risk factors, based on the rates of emergency CT venographies (CTVs) performed after hours. Furthermore, we aimed to assess possible correlations between CVST rates and COVID-19, including at the start of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. We collected reports of emergency CTVs performed after hours at 56 Swedish hospitals between 1/1/2019 and 12/31/2022, and divided them into five groups: (I) from 1/1/2019 to 1/31/2020, before the emergence of COVID-19 cases in Sweden; (II) from 2/1/2020 to 12/26/2020, after the emergence of COVID-19 but before vaccination rollout; (III) from 12/27/2020 to 7/28/2021, from the start of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign until 50% of the adult population in Sweden had been vaccinated; (IV) from 7/29/2021 to 2/1/2022, from when 50% of the adult population was vaccinated until restrictions were lifted; and (V) from 2/2/2022 to 12/31/2022, after restriction measures were suspended. For all included patients, we collected information on demographics and clinical history, including pregnancy, recent partum, and use of oral contraceptives or post-menopausal hormone replacement therapy. In total, we collected 430 reports (92% female, 8% male). The CVST positivity rate was 22.2% in men vs. 2.3% in women. None of the pregnant (n = 49) or postpartum (n = 12) women had CVST positivity. The frequency of CTV examinations was lowest in group 2; during this period, the average time between patients being imaged was 7days. The frequency of CTV examinations was highest in group IV; during this period, a patient underwent this type of scan every 1.5days, on average. The frequency of CVST-positive scans was lowest in group II; during this period, a positive case was found every 66days, on average. The frequency of CVST-positive scans was highest in group IV; during this period, a positive case was found every 62days, on average, and no statistical difference with respect to group II was observed. Pregnancy and recent partum were not significant risk factors for CVST. The elevated CVST positivity rate observed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic suggested that patients with less likelihood for positive CVST had fewer emergency visits. The positivity rate did not increase with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic or the rollout of COVID-19 vaccination.

Developing welfare technology to increase children’s participation in child welfare assessments: an empirical case in Sweden

ABSTRACT The purpose of the article is to describe and problematise the practice-initiated idea of developing a digital tool for children in child welfare investigations and whether and how this welfare technology is useful for social workers. The results include interview data and descriptions of the research process. The social workers are of the opinion that the digital application increases the possibilities for children’s participation in child investigations, even though their main focus is to create an alliance with the parents. During the research process the digital tool has developed from an empirical idea to a conversation tool and been tested with different user groups. However, the law on procurement limits the possibilities for data storage if the digital tool is to be used in the future. In sum, in order to develop child protection work further, more practice-based research needs to be conducted so that researchers can develop the practice’s ideas and identify the obstacles, opportunities, organisational conditions and development needs. The social workers in this study believe that the digital tool is useful for accessing children's perspectives and experiences, even though relational work with children is not their main task in child welfare investigations.

Application of Artificial Intelligence for Predicting CO2 Emission Using Weighted Multi-Task Learning

Carbon emissions significantly contribute to global warming, amplifying the occurrence of extreme weather events and negatively impacting the overall environmental transformation. In line with the global commitment to combat climate change through the Paris Agreement (COP21), the European Union (EU) has formulated strategies aimed at achieving climate neutrality by 2050. To achieve this goal, EU member states focus on developing long-term national strategies (NLTSs) and implementing local plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in alignment with EU objectives. This study focuses on the case of Sweden and aims to introduce a comprehensive data-driven framework that predicts CO2 emissions by using a diverse range of input features. Considering the scarcity of data points, we present a refined variation of multi-task learning (MTL) called weighted multi-task learning (WMTL). The findings demonstrate the superior performance of the WMTL model in terms of accuracy, robustness, and computation cost of training compared to both the basic model and MTL model. The WMTL model achieved an average mean squared error (MSE) of 0.12 across folds, thus outperforming the MTL model’s 0.15 MSE and the basic model’s 0.21 MSE. Furthermore, the computational cost of training the new model is only 20% of the cost required by the other two models. The findings from the interpretation of the WMTL model indicate that it is a promising tool for developing data-driven decision-support tools to identify strategic actions with substantial impacts on the mitigation of CO2 emissions.

Interstitial emergence of national defence entrepreneurial firms and re-configuration of the state as a defence actor: the case of Sweden’s Vesper Group

ABSTRACT Does growing reliance on private military and security companies (PMSCs) lead to the re-configuration of the state as a security and defence actor in Europe? Building on the multiple-networks-approach in organisation theory (Padgett and Powell), the current paper develops an analytical approach for studying the rise of new organizational forms in interstitial spaces via mechanisms including extension and differentiation; fusion and hybridity; transposition and refunctionality; and multivocality. The empirical analysis focuses on the rules and practices of Vesper Group - a PMSC working closely with the Swedish government. Several findings are reported. First, a new organizational form seems to be emerging as a result of the ongoing multiple network dynamics – national defence entrepreneurial firm. This is a type of a firm different from mainstream PMSCs in that it is owned by venture capital companies from their home state and also in that it is closely associated with its respective state in terms of its personnel policies, expertise and operational goals and scope. Second, the case of Sweden’s Vesper Group and its cooperation with the Swedish government indicates that some EU member states may also be in the process of structural and institutional mutation as providers of defence and crisis management capabilities.

Academic teachers’ experiences of technology enhanced learning (TEL) in higher education – A Swedish case

Academic teachers’ experiences of technology enhanced learning (TEL) in higher education – A Swedish case

Challenges of replacing train drivers in driverless and unattended railway mainline systems—A Swedish case study on delay logs descriptions

Currently, the challenges of driverless or unattended train operation have not been described in detail and are often grouped into one category. This paper contributes to filling a knowledge gap regarding the roles of the train driver about the potential use of automatic train operation (ATO) on high grade of automation (GoA) levels. The results contribute to a better understanding of the challenges with driverless or unattended train operation to support strategies on how to utilize ATO on a wider range of trains than is presently the case. We use the Swedish railway network as a case study and delay logs written by train dispatchers for 2019. Our research quantifies how often unplanned events occur in which the train driver is needed, and the role of the train driver in solving these problems. In addition to this we elaborate on existing GoA levels definitions and propose a revised model that highlights more aspects of the train drivers’ roles. We have identified six categories in which an action by the driver is required: Detect, Report, Inspect, Adjust, Manage passengers, and Respond to train orders. The study illustrates some of the challenges with driverless or unattended train operation, and points to the need to develop strategies not only for the driving aspects of ATO but also for the more general technical operational management of rolling stock in high GoA levels.

Branding ‘progressive’ security: The case of Sweden

Contemporary research on so-called Nordic branding has provided crucial insights into the social power of states and how various actors use and circulate ‘progressive’ nation brand tropes for political and commercial goals. Hitherto, the literature on Nordic branding has focused on a wide range of substantive issues, among other things, human rights, gender equality, social welfare and foreign aid, but considerably less attention has been paid to the topic of security. The present article adds to a small but established literature on how the security sphere is increasingly entangled with nation branding. In the Nordic region, we argue, the latter is particularly evident in the case of Sweden – one of the world’s largest per-capita arms exporters in the post-Cold War era but also a country known and often revered for its peaceful and progressive image. Focusing on the case of Sweden, the article contributes to knowledge of how defence industry-related actors (both public and private) draw on and frame nation branding tropes to sell and legitimise their products and services to both insiders (domestic constituents) and outsiders (the global security market).

Draft Genome Sequences of Heavy Metal-Resistant Listeria monocytogenes Strains of Sequence Type 14 (Clonal Complex 14) from Human Listeriosis Cases in Sweden.

Listeria monocytogenes of clonal complex 14 (CC14) is a potentially hypervirulent clone of serotype 1/2a but remains poorly characterized. We report the genome sequences of five sequence type 14 (ST14) (CC14) strains from human listeriosis cases in Sweden, which harbor a chromosomal heavy metal resistance island that is generally uncommon in serotype 1/2a.

Embodied carbon savings of co-living and implications for metrics

In light of the climate crisis and conflicting political ambitions in many countries to rapidly increase the number of dwellings, what housing strategies could reduce emissions? Co-living is one strategy sometimes highlighted but rarely implemented in mainstream construction practices. Using two Swedish case studies, the potential embodied carbon savings are explored for co-living designs. When comparing building designs, normalisation of impacts or energy use per floor area is unequivocally the norm. The present comparison between co-living and traditional apartment design indicates an embodied carbon savings at the building level of 10–20% depending on whether embodied carbon is normalised per gross or residential floor area. However, normalisation per capita (inhabitant) shows substantially higher savings of 21–36% depending on the case studied. The effect of different metrics is illustrated to quantify potential embodied carbon savings of non-mainstream building design solutions such as co-living. Even more substantial embodied carbon savings can be achieved by avoiding new construction through the ability of enabling a more efficient use of indoor space. The need for rethinking carbon and space metrics will help the building sector meet emission targets. Practice relevance Evidence is provided to show that design for co-living could be one way to offer a climate-efficient and qualitative housing alternative for single households in many countries. However, to visualise such potentials, developers are recommended to use additional metrics when evaluating how resource or climate-efficient are alternative designs. Traditional metrics such as kW h or kg CO2e/m2 of gross or heated floor area ought to be complemented by displaying resource use or embodied carbon per designed number of building user and per accessible floor area for each user. Up-to-date generic values are provided for the embodied carbon of different types of space. These can be used in early planning to display the consequences of the number of kitchens and bathrooms and their space occupation in client decisions and early architectural design.

L’inoculation dans les périodiques suédois au dix-huitième siècle

This article examines the views on the inoculation of smallpox as they were presented in the Swedish periodical press during the second half of the eighteenth century. The analysis is based on digitized newspapers available in the online press databases of the Swedish and Finnish national libraries. The historical Swedish realm is an interesting case with regard to inoculation. First, extensive and systematic population records and statistics exist for both parts of the realm – Sweden and Finland – since the eighteenth century, an era when also the elementary foundations of a medical infrastructure and administration were cast. Second, as a part of the political and scientific interest in demography, inoculation was strongly promoted by the central administration and became a central element of public health policies that involved both medical professionals and local officials, including ministers and sacristans of the Lutheran church. Third, during the latter half of the 1760s, Sweden experienced an unprecedented moment of freedom of the press, which resulted in a strong development of the periodical and daily printed press. The newspapers analysed here very clearly reflect the proximity of politics, academia, and the press, in a large country with a relatively small but rapidly growing population and an even smaller educated elite. From the very first mentions in the 1750s onwards, inoculation was presented exclusively positively in the Swedish press, which reported the progress of the procedure in England and on the European continent. It was described as a victory of science and as an enlightened invention that could reduce excess mortality particularly among children. During the decade following the first inoculation in Sweden in 1754, no critical or sceptical views on inoculation appeared in the press, and the only concerns expressed were on how to counter religious arguments against the procedure and how to convince the peasants to inoculate themselves and their children. After the initial enthusiasm and optimism, the press expressed an increasingly acute awareness of the huge challenges associated with the necessity to inoculate the rural populations. In the 1790s and early 1800s, the press thus reported in detail on the situation of specific dioceses and parishes and on the number of inoculations and deaths respectively, which strengthens the impression that inoculation and demography were not only politically relevant but also something that would engage the enlightened reader. The interest of the Swedish case is precisely here: inoculation was presented extremely positively, as a matter of utmost importance for national progress, welfare and public health. The same enthusiasm and faith in the redemptive potential of science can be observed in the press immediately after the introduction of vaccination in the first years of the nineteenth century.

The British Conservative Party, the Scandinavian Conservative Parties, and Inter-Party Cooperation in Europe, 1949-78

ABSTRACT This article explores the links between the British and Scandinavian Conservative parties in Europe between the late-1940s and the late-1970s. Its findings show that these parties were closer to each other than has been assumed. The British and Scandinavian Conservative parties built up significant relationships with each other at the organisational level throughout the 1950s, which led to transfers of political knowledge and information mostly from Britain to Scandinavia. From the 1960s the circulation of knowledge started to flow in both directions, but it was strongest in the Swedish case. The British Conservative Party then bridged the gap between the Scandinavian Conservative parties and the West German CDU/ CSU and the Austrian ÖVP in Europe, helping to cement the parties into a new centre-right international known as European Democrat Union. This gave the British and Scandinavian Conservative parties more contacts abroad and reinforced the view that British Conservatism was not an ideological outlier in Europe. But the history of inter-party cooperation shows that the British and Scandinavian Conservatives were mostly at odds with the greater integrationist and federalist ambitions of Christian democrats. Therefore, the article offers us another way of explaining the persistence of Euroscepticism in the British Conservative Party.

Early academic drift in teacher education in esthetic school subjects from the 1940s to 1970s – a Swedish case

The “academic drift” of professional education is an international phenomenon typically associated with the 1960s and 1970s and reflects an approach to problem-solving whereby science is regarded as the single-most important element while solving practical problems. Specifically, we focus on how esthetic school subjects from our media ecology perspective are challenged when some mediations, both theory- and script-based, are rewarded at the expense of action-based knowledge forms. In the study, we consider Official Reports of the Swedish Government (SOU), a type of authoritative policy text intended to influence an activity, but which govern less formally than “governing policy texts”, such as bills, which are legislative in nature. Our study shows that scientifically based content obtained greater space in various Techer Education programmes, while at the same time practical issues were theorized and given greater prominence. We conclude that the mentioned reforms have challenged the subject paradigm, and future subject ecology, involving changed recruitment patterns of teacher educators and shorter preparation studies for teacher students in the practical/esthetic subjects but also opportunities to develop new content and new methods.

Reconceptualizing coastal fisheries conflicts: a Swedish case study

Fisheries conflicts have often been interpreted as arising from disputes over access to fish. Competition for fishing stocks among resource users (human and non-human) and fisheries managers’ attempts to control access to fish are depicted as main causes of conflicts. From this perspective, rampant environmental degradation, climate change, and a growing human population will only exacerbate tensions in fisheries. Yet is it only competition for fish that drives conflicts? Research on coastal and small-scale fishers has shown that they fish not only to achieve economic (material) goals but also to fulfill social and immaterial needs. Drawing on Burton’s theory of human needs, in this exploratory study, we consider how attention to coastal fishers’ material and immaterial needs might illuminate aspects of fisheries disagreements that are missed when conflicts are theorized solely in terms of material interests. Our data comes from 46 voluntary written statements provided at the end of a self-administered survey on the fishing sector sent to all holders of a Swedish commercial fishing license in June 2019. Results suggest that coastal fisheries conflicts are not solely about access to fish but also about social and emotional needs for respect, identity, belongingness, and status. In particular, fishers’ demands for actions to boost the number of coastal fishers – and subsequently the number of potential competitors – challenges the narrowly emphasis on materiality. We argue that an overemphasis on material needs may divert attention away from other causes of tension and thus prevent actions that could alleviate or mitigate fisheries conflicts.

Organizing Expertise During a Crisis. France and Sweden in the Fight Against Covid-19

Abstract In the fight against the Covid-19 virus, France and Sweden stood at opposing ends along a continuum: one country went for lockdowns; the other relied on voluntary measures. Both strategies were shaped by the governing structures in each country: in France complex and fragmented organizational arrangements focusing on health security, in Sweden a single dominant agency maintaining a broad public health perspective. Using concepts from organization theory – loose versus tight coupling and exploitation versus exploration – we show how the divergent strategies evolved in both countries. While loosely coupled organizational arrangements were rapidly tightened in Sweden, the system in France went in the opposite direction becoming loosely coupled. While the Swedish case was mainly one of exploitation of existing knowledge and expertise, more unchartered territories were explored in France. While alignment across actors in Sweden took place with one dominant agency in the center, alignment in France was related to actions of neighboring countries. Evidently, there was more than one way to fight the pandemic.

Using data-driven indoor temperature setpoints in energy simulations of existing buildings: a Swedish case study

Building energy analyses of large samples or building stocks commonly use National building stock temperature averages in their calculations. However, such averages may not be representative of the conditions in a specific building type and may mask meaningful information found at building or dwelling level. Analysis of indoor temperature data from the Swedish housing stock showed that 25% out of approximately 1000 dwellings were heated at a temperature ≥23°C in wintertime. If indoor temperature management is considered as a potential energy saving measure for the building stock it may be more effective to explore implementation in these specific dwellings, than considering average temperature reduction across the entire building stock. This however would require more detailed input data on indoor temperatures. Would such an approach be worthwhile? To answer this question, two types of Swedish multifamily buildings were simulated with i) business-as-usual scenarios and ii) setpoints based on indoor temperature data from the last Swedish National Survey. The study shows that using data-driven, dwelling-specific indoor temperatures could lead to more effective decision making on indoor temperature management, targeting buildings and dwellings where temperature reduction would most likely cause the least compromise on comfort. Such a strategy however should be complementary to a wider plan of improved energy efficiency measures across the building stock.