Gothenburg Region Research Articles

Long-term follow-up of the effectiveness of one whole-cell and two acellular pertussis vaccines based on a randomised controlled vaccine trial in Sweden.

Sweden discontinued routine childhood vaccination against pertussis between 1979 and 1995. Meanwhile, various efficacy trials were performed in Sweden and elsewhere [1]. The larger of those trials was Stockholm Trial II, which included the whole country of Sweden except for the Gothenburg region.

Mitigating not-invented-here and not-sold-here problems: The role of corporate innovation hubs

Despite a growing number of Corporate Innovation Hubs (CIHs) in recent years, limited attention has been paid to understanding the key problems that arise among organizations collaborating through CIHs. In particular, organizations often experience Not-Invented-Here (NIH) and Not-Sold-Here (NSH) problems, i.e. negative attitudes towards absorbing external knowledge and towards sharing internal knowledge externally. Consequently, many CIHs fail to deliver and are regarded as “innovation theatres” rather than engines of renewal. By drawing upon an inductive multiple case study of five CIHs, their parent companies and associated startups, located in Silicon Valley (USA) and the Gothenburg region (Sweden), the article sheds light on how CIHs can mitigate NIH and NSH problems in knowledge transfer. Specifically, we investigate the causes, consequences and mitigating mechanisms of NIH and NSH problems among the organizations collaborating through a CIH. These findings are presented in a framework that connects causes and consequences with the corresponding mitigating mechanisms. We also present new theoretical implications for the literatures on NIH and NSH.

Core-city climate leadership in metropolitan contractual management agreements

ABSTRACT Metropolitan governance and planning increasingly are understood as essential in managing urban growth and fostering a sustainable and climate-friendly metropolitan development. Lately, a contractual turn can be observed in metropolitan governance, in which traditional coordination tools are supplemented by contractual management tools between governmental layers and sectors. This article analyses two cases of metropolitan contractual management agreements, one in the Oslo region and one in the Gothenburg region. The article finds that both agreements build on regional strategies and plans to commit national authorities to invest in infrastructure in these metropolitan areas. The Oslo agreement has more layers than the Gothenburg case, in trying to align national, regional and local authorities’ efforts in both land use and mobility politics. The agreements require advanced leadership competence from the core-city, curbing centre-periphery tensions in metropolitan areas and building local alliances to pressure national authorities in agreement negotiations. We argue that this requires a co-creational leadership role, which, in a multilevel governance setting, must be extended to include dimensions such as distributional balance sensitivity, delineation sensitivity and upward pressure.

Impact of Climate Change on Metal and Suspended Sediment Concentrations in Urban Waters

In order to study the impact of climate change on metal contaminant transport in urban waters and its relevance for water quality, we have analyzed variations in metal- and suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) in three urban rivers and one small creek in the Gothenburg region during various hydrological events such as spring flood, dry period, and wet period. To interpret river loads of metals and SSC we have furthermore followed meteorological trends since 1961 and additionally calculated future trends for the Gothenburg region, located on the west coast of Sweden. During periods of a short-term increase in precipitation we found an increased particle bound metal transport in urban watercourses of the Göta Älv River. In addition, a correlation between studied parameters indicates that surface runoff from brownfields most likely is the main source to the increased transport of pollutants in river systems rather than re-suspension of polluted river sediment.

Densification of station areas in order to promote sustainable mobility, health, well-being and energy efficiency- opportunities and obstacles. The case study of Mölnlycke urban centre in Gothenburg region, Sweden

The Mistra Urban Futures project “analysis of urban station communities” different forms of co-creation have been a common denominator for transdisciplinary collaboration between a wide range of stakeholders related to a number of planning cases on different levels [13]. Densification in combination with mixed-use, spatial configuration and other aspects, increases the options for sustainable mobility with public transportation, bicycling and walking, thus contributes to at least five of the SDGs: goal 11, goal 3, goal 7, goal 8 and goal 13 [6].The options for densification were extensively investigated during a series of co-creation workshops among stakeholders that are involved with the regeneration of Mölnlycke urban centre, located to the West of the City of Gothenburg. A number of different planning and design tools were used throughout this process. The result of the co-creation is an experience-based assessment of strengths and weaknesses, a desired density structure from different perspectives and evaluated density scenarios for the station area. The co-creative approach using a combination of planning and design tools has the potential to raise a number of different perspectives and experiences of the stakeholders involved, when considering density and associated ecological, socio-cultural and economic factors. The results for this process can serve as a valuable supplement to desk top analysis of density and related factors when planning urban areas around transportation nodes.

Can Regional-Scale Governance and Planning Support Transformative Adaptation? A Study of Two Places

The idea that climate change adaptation is best leveraged at the local scale is a well-institutionalized script in both research and formal governance. This idea is based on the argument that the local scale is where climate change impacts are “felt” and experienced. However, sustainable and just climate futures require transformations in systems, norms, and cultures that underpin and reinforce our unsustainable practices and development pathways, not just “local” action. Governance interventions are needed to catalyse such shifts, connecting multilevel and multiscale boundaries of knowledge, values, levels and organizational remits. We critically reflect on current adaptation governance processes in Victoria, Australia and the Gothenburg region, Sweden to explore whether regional-scale governance can provide just as important leverage for adaptation as local governance, by identifying and addressing intersecting gaps and challenges in adaptation at local levels. We suggest that regional-scale adaptation offers possibilities for transformative change because they can identify, connect, and amplify small-scale (local) wins and utilize this collective body of knowledge to challenge and advocate for unblocking stagnated, institutionalized policies and practices, and support transformative change.

Impact assessments of intelligent transport system performance in a freight transport corridor

Transport network infrastructure including the use of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) is fundamental to the mobility of people and shipments. This study aims at understanding how different ITS measures may impact multiple traffic engineering goals with respect to a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The ordering of KPIs is determined by the preferences of the decision maker. A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis framework is proposed for impact assessments of ITS measures. Data about KPIs is derived with the help of traffic data gathered from the Gothenburg Region. Comparing the contributions of ITS measures to different goals suggest that the management of flow and speed in a road network is crucial for improving capacity utilisation. The goal assessments are then projected onto different use-cases in terms of socio-economic impacts. The result indicates that corridor section traffic management, transport management (focusing on transit traffic) and urban gate-way will generate socio-economic effects, respectively, in a decreasing order. Urban gateway is particularly interesting because it is the least intrusive and less costly use-case.

Valuing the reduction of floods: Public officials’ versus citizens’ preferences

This paper analyses the preferences of public officials and citizens related to the impacts of floods in the Gothenburg region in Sweden. Citizens and public officials in the flood-prone region answered identical choice-experiment surveys characterized by the negative impacts of floods: property damage, traffic disturbances, and water supply security. By having citizens and public officials respond to identical surveys, it was possible to analyse whether and, if so, how priorities and monetary valuation differed in respect of the different negative effects of floods. The overall finding is that public officials’ and citizens’ preferences seem to converge, and that both citizens and public officials are willing to pay to reduce flood-related costs. Public officials have similar priorities to citizens, in that security of drinking water provision was given priority over property damage, while traffic disturbances were ranked lowest. In terms of their respective willingness to pay to avoid the negative impact of floods, public officials were willing to pay more than citizens to pay for securing the drinking water supply and for restoring damaged property, though these differences were not substantial. There are, however, some differences in preference between citizens and public officials: the latter preferred not to spend anything to reduce traffic disturbances caused by floods, whilst citizens were willing to do so. These results imply that decisions made within the public sector will not come to differ substantially from citizens’ preferences.

Commentary on ‘Risk of Recurrent Stroke in Patients with Symptomatic Mild (20–49% NASCET) Carotid Stenosis’

Commentary on ‘Risk of Recurrent Stroke in Patients with Symptomatic Mild (20–49% NASCET) Carotid Stenosis’

Risk of Recurrent Stroke in Patients with Symptomatic Mild (20–49% NASCET) Carotid Artery Stenosis

The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of recurrent ischaemic stroke in patients with ultrasound assessed symptomatic mild carotid artery stenosis (20-49% NASCET) treated solely with modern medical treatment. This was a retrospective, observational register cohort study. Three groups of patients were recruited from a database of all carotid Doppler ultrasound examinations performed in the Gothenburg region between 2004 and 2009. Patients with symptomatic mild carotid artery stenosis (n=162) were compared with patients with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis (n=301) of equal degree and a group of patients with surgically (CEA) treated symptomatic moderate or severe carotid artery stenosis (n=220). Kaplan-Meier estimates and Cox proportional hazard models were used to compare the primary outcome (ipsilateral ischaemic stroke) between groups. After a 3 year follow up, the cumulative incidence of recurrent ipsilateral stroke in patients with symptomatic mild carotid artery stenosis was 7.4%. Patients with symptomatic mild carotid artery stenosis had a substantially increased risk of recurrent ipsilateral stroke compared with asymptomatic patients with equal degree of stenosis (HR 5.5. 95% CI 1.8-17.1; p=.003) as also compared with patients with CEA treated symptomatic moderate or severe stenosis (HR 7.8. 95% CI 1.62-37.8; p=.011). The present study on patients with symptomatic mild carotid artery stenosis, as determined by Doppler ultrasound, shows that there is still a substantial risk of recurrent stroke in this group.

The Gothenburg congestion charge scheme: A pre–post analysis of commuting behavior and travel satisfaction

The article uses the Gothenburg congestion charge scheme, implemented in 2013, as a case study to analyze the effects and perceptions of a policy instrument directly aimed to change the travel behavior of individuals. For the study, a survey was conducted including measures of commuting habits, attitudes (toward the congestion charge, the environment, automobility, and public transport), and satisfaction with travel, along with socio-demographic and geographical variables. The survey was distributed to a panel of 3500 car owners in the Gothenburg region before the implementation of the scheme, with a follow-up one year later. The analysis use group comparisons and a binary logistic regression analysis and results show that the difference in accessibility of different societal functions using private versus public transport affected the propensity to reduce car travel, whereas socio-demographic variables had a low statistical significance, with the exception of women who were twice as likely to reduce their car travel than men. All studied groups reported a more positive view of the scheme at follow-up, although this effect was more pronounced among those adapting their commuting behavior. In none of the studied groups did the implementation of the congestion charge scheme correlate with any significant change in satisfaction with travel.

Helmet use and injuries in children’s bicycle crashes in the Gothenburg region

AimTo investigate the use and protective effect of helmets in children injured in bicycle crashes and changes in injury patterns during a period of increased helmet use. MethodInjuries in 4246 children below 16years of age, who attended an A&E ward after a bicycle crash in the Gothenburg region during 1993–2006, were analyzed. The injury severity was classified according to the Abbreviated Injury Scale. The occurrence of skull/brain injuries and facial injuries was analyzed for 3711 children with respect to injury severity, helmet use and demographic and crash-related factors. Changes in injury patterns during the period were analyzed for 4246 children with no regard to helmet use. The ratio of the number of subjects with head injuries to the number of subjects with extremity injuries of any severity and of at least moderate severity was used to estimate the protective effect of helmet at a population level. ResultsHelmets were used by 40% of the injured children at the beginning of the period and by 80% at the end; much less frequently by teenagers, especially girls. The adjusted odds of serious or more severe skull/brain injuries and moderate or more severe facial injuries with a helmet were about one fourth of those without a helmet. The proportion of children with skull/brain injuries did not change significantly during the period. Serious or more severe skull/brain injuries were noted more often during the latter half of the period, most often in children without a helmet. The proportion of children with facial injuries decreased, and the proportion with injuries to the upper extremities increased, also for moderate and severe injuries. The ratio between the number of children with head injuries and the number with extremity injuries decreased for injuries of any severity and for moderate or more severe injuries. ConclusionsBicycle helmets have an obvious protective effect against head injuries in children, regardless of the crash circumstances. Teenagers must be informed about the high risk of skull/brain injuries in bicycle crashes without a helmet. The increasing occurrence of injuries to the upper extremities needs attention.

A method to assess the inter-annual weather-dependent variability in air pollution concentration and deposition based on weather typing

Annual anomalies in air pollutant concentrations, and deposition (bulk and throughfall) of sulphate, nitrate and ammonium, in the Gothenburg region, south-west Sweden, were correlated with optimized linear combinations of the yearly frequency of Lamb Weather Types (LWTs) to determine the extent to which the year-to-year variation in pollution exposure can be partly explained by weather related variability. Air concentrations of urban NO2, CO, PM10, as well as O3 at both an urban and a rural monitoring site, and the deposition of sulphate, nitrate and ammonium for the period 1997–2010 were included in the analysis. Linear detrending of the time series was performed to estimate trend-independent anomalies. These estimated anomalies were subtracted from observed annual values. Then the statistical significance of temporal trends with and without LWT adjustment was tested. For the pollutants studied, the annual anomaly was well correlated with the annual LWT combination (R2 in the range 0.52–0.90). Some negative (annual average [NO2], ammonia bulk deposition) or positive (average urban [O3]) temporal trends became statistically significant (p < 0.05) when the LWT adjustment was applied. In all the cases but one (NH4 throughfall, for which no temporal trend existed) the significance of temporal trends became stronger with LWT adjustment. For nitrate and ammonium, the LWT based adjustment explained a larger fraction of the inter-annual variation for bulk deposition than for throughfall. This is probably linked to the longer time scale of canopy related dry deposition processes influencing throughfall being explained to a lesser extent by LWTs than the meteorological factors controlling bulk deposition. The proposed novel methodology can be used by authorities responsible for air pollution management, and by researchers studying temporal trends in pollution, to evaluate e.g. the relative importance of changes in emissions and weather variability in annual air pollution exposure.

The role of visibility for a minority’s exposure to (hate) crime and worry about crime – a study of the Traveller community

This study examines Travellers, a subset of the Roma minority; exposure to (hate) crime; and worry about criminal victimization in Sweden. Previous research has shown that the Roma in many respects constitute a marginalized group that is vulnerable to both discrimination and other criminal acts. This is problematic since there is a risk that minorities who are victims of crimes may be further stigmatized and may also lose cultural expression. The data are collected from a sample of Travellers living in the Gothenburg region of Sweden ( N = 121). Approximately one fifth of the respondents stated that they had experienced anti-Roma motivated victimization during the previous 12 months and as many as 84% stated that they had been the victims of such a crime at some point during their lifetime. The respondents also reported a high level of worry about criminal victimization, and 3 out of 10 respondents stated that their quality of life was highly affected by worry about crime. Further, a tendency was noted toward a higher degree of victimization, but a lower degree of worry, among those respondents who were open about their ethnicity by comparison with those who were not.

My urban idol 2050 - the city of Gothenburg

In this paper, the author sketches a scenario for a possible future development path for the City of Gothenburg and its surrounding labour market region - the Gothenburg region and a scenario for what the city and the region might look like in 2050. The author does not use a traditional scenario technique containing several different scenarios based upon rather extreme assumptions for a number of central variables. Instead, the author presents one scenario for the development path and one scenario for the year 2050 based upon: 1) information about the city and the region that he has collected from various sources; 2) ideas found in the literature in the field; 3) ideas developed by the SWECO team during the RiverCity workshop in Gothenburg in June 2011. Certainly, nobody knows what the future will bring but the author hopes that his contribution will stimulate thinking and discussions about urban development in general and in particular in the City of Gothenburg and the Gothenburg region.

Sustainability aspects of water regulation and flood risk reduction in Lake Vänern

A modern feature of flood risk management is to integrate ecological, economic and social aspects in risk prevention and mitigation. Risk-reducing measures can be in conflict with ecosystem functions and complicate upstream/downstream relations. Flood risks are also influenced by processes in the catchment, such as changes in climate and land-use, or increases of vulnerable urban areas. Lake Vänern in Sweden has high ecological and social values but is also flood-prone, which in this article has been analyzed from a perspective of sustainable development. Lake Vänern and the Göta älv River are used for drinking water supply, shipping, hydropower production, fishing, tourism, as a recipient for industries and wastewater plants, etc. The flood risks are connected to landslide and industrial risks. One interest at stake is the drinking water supply for 800,000 persons in the Gothenburg region. According to climate scenarios, flood risks will increase in the 21st century due to increased precipitation. Recent studies in the region were used to identify relevant interests and values connected to Lake Vänern. The study reveals differing interests in relation to water level regimes. From a flood protection perspective (risks around the lake and downstream to Gothenburg) a low and stable water level is beneficial. For shipping and hydropower, a stable medium-high water level is wanted, whereas from an ecosystem and landscape development perspective larger water level amplitudes are optimal. One out of a few reasons for this is the need to prevent a massive increase in vegetation in coastal areas. There are good reasons to have a broad decision-support, representing different values and interests, when the permanent water regulation scheme will be decided. This study also addresses the potential to reconcile the concept of flood risk management with that of a sustainable development.

Weight at first detection of retinopathy of prematurity predicts disease severity

ObjectiveTo investigate whether postnatal weight at first detection of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) can predict preterm infants who will develop severe ROP warranting treatment.DesignThis modern, population-based cohort included 147 infants...

Comparison of Public and Private Home Care Services for Elderly in Gothenburg Region, Sweden 2013

The purpose of this study is to compare and evaluate the public and private home care services for elderly given economic limitations after delegating them to municipality in the Gothenburg Region. The additional aim is to make politicians conscious about this development. The theoretical model of delegation and decentralization by Cristiano Castelfranchi and Rino Falcone (1998) and the Resource Dependency Theory by Pfeffer and Salancik (1978) constitute the theoretical reference frame. The study is based on an analysis of state regulation, policy documents and semi-structured interviews with the chief responsible for public and private home care services for elderly at the municipal level. This study reveals that the delegation of care for elderly to the municipalities faced some serious problems not to be solved until 2013 and surprisingly that these problems are especially seen where the recipients of such care don’t have a choice on their service provider. The lesson drawn from the research is that if politicians or other authorities take away the right from people to make their own decisions about their own lives, this inevitably results in dissatisfaction and subsequent reforms.

Quantitative Environmental Footprints and Sustainability Evaluation of Contaminated Land Remediation Alternatives for Two Case Studies

Since the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) launched its “green remediation” program and EU member states began to reassess their national regulations for environmental remediation in order to reach a Europe‐wide consensus on policy and standards, the need and interest for sustainable remediation of contaminants from brownfields has grown considerably. Concomitantly, the ability to calculate and assess the suitability as well as the environmental footprints and associated risks of a growing number of remediation techniques has become a priority. The authors quantitatively evaluate the differences between various remediation techniques, and for this purpose, a number of ex situ and in situ remediation techniques are adapted to model 21 remediation scenarios for two contaminated sites in the Gothenburg region of Sweden: the Bohus Varv site on the Göta älv river bank and the Hexion site in Mölndal. A wide range of quantitative results for these models are presented, compared, and analyzed.Based on the results from both projects, it is concluded that: (1) remediation techniques requiring long distance residual transportation have significant footprints, except the transportation of contaminated residuals by train due to Swedish energy production conditions; (2) residual transportation by ship results in much higher SOx, NOx, and particle releases compared to the other alternatives; and (3) residual transporation by truck results in high accident risks. Finally, activities powered by electricity result in a reduced footprint compared to activities powered by fossil fuels, considering Swedish energy production conditions.The authors conducted a cross‐benefit analysis of SiteWiseTM applications which recognizes its potential as a tool for presenting life cycle assessment analyses with appropriate system boundary definitions and an easy inventory analysis process. Results from this tool provide valuable support to decision makers aiming at more sustainable remediation. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Localisation of freight consolidation centres serving small road hauliers in a wider urban area: barriers for more efficient freight deliveries in Gothenburg

This paper discusses the negative impacts of freight transport growth, especially in and around urban areas. Over time, a growing number of road freight vehicles have delivered less freight over longer distances, while average load factors have been reduced. This development is unsatisfactory, as transport capacity that could have been used more efficiently is lost. To mitigate negative impact, it has been suggested that freight consolidation and better planned localisation of freight consolidation centres (FCCs) would improve city logistics. Based on primary data, this paper investigates the potential to establish urban FCCs intended for small road hauliers (SRHs) delivering goods to the retail sector in a wider geographical area, the Gothenburg region in Sweden. While the findings show that a large majority of SRHs could reach potential FCC locations in a short time, congestion affects deliveries and several factors, many of which were observed already in the 1970s, restrict FCC establishments. Under present conditions, there is little scope for SRHs to successfully deliver goods to retailers in the Gothenburg region from FCCs; therefore, a more efficient urban transport system from a business or societal perspective is unlikely. Policy makers need to take into consideration the different segments, requirements, and characteristics of different cities before venturing into costly FCC projects.