South Sweden Research Articles

Ageing, social participation, and everyday mobility – Facilitating age-friendly environments

Due to the increasing share of older people worldwide, the United Nations has directed an initiative towards a "decade of healthy ageing" to promote "age-friendly environments". This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of how to promote social participation and everyday mobility in later life. The ambition is to increase the knowledge about how to create more age-friendly environments and social inclusion – for everyone. The study focuses on a social centre for older people in the municipality of Trelleborg in the south of Sweden. The social centre is located in an area with several retirement homes and hosts a variety of opportunities for social interaction for older people in combination with other services. The municipality also arranges free excursions for older people in the municipality departing from the social centre. Another initiative is a pilot project testing an autonomous bus outside of the social centre to ordinary public transport. The study includes observations, interviews with older people and officials, as well as travel-alongs. The results show that a combination of social participation and mobility can facilitate a more active everyday life for older people, increase social connectedness, and contribute to the creation of age-friendly environments.

Conversation circles – an inventive way to talk about and address migratory related mental health

Abstract Refugees in European countries face psychological stressors stemming from pre-, peri- and post-migration experiences. In Sweden, a mental health promotion program for newly settled refugees “Ways Forward - After the escape”, was tried out to mitigate the consequences of negative migratory experiences. The program included training of course leaders and implementation of conversation circles for participants, i.e., short in-depth courses for smaller groups led by a trained leader. The objective of the program was to equip civic communicators working within the Introduction program for refugees with the necessary skills to lead conversation circles on mental health in cities in the south of Sweden. During 2020-2023, 43 course leaders were trained and 55 refugees participated in conversation circles. The course leader training included 50 hours of training on themes of the program “Ways Forward”; health and well-being, loss and identity, grief and forgiveness, reconciliation and acceptance, stress and stress management, trauma and trauma-conscious care. The conversation circles for participants were given in 3-hour modules x 10 occasions. 1. How did the course leaser perceive the utility of the training for their work with the target group? 2. In what ways has the intervention assisted the participants in navigating their mental and well-being in Sweden? The results showed that course leaders acquired new knowledge and practical skills and tools to lead reflective conversations about mental health related to migration. Participants reported a higher awareness of mental health issues, less stigma, trying out new coping techniques and increased motivation to seek help. Short training courses for civic communicators on migratory mental health increased knowledge and gave new skills and tools to lead conversation circles. Newly settled refugees reported higher awareness, new tools and less stigma to talk about mental health following participation in conversation circles. Key messages • Short training courses on mental health related to migration increased knowledge and gave new skills and tools to lead conversation circles. • Newly settled refugees reported higher awareness, new tools and less stigma to talk about mental health following participation in conversation circles.

It must not be dangerous to talk about it! Parents views of communication with schoolnurses on weight

Abstract Background The study aimed to describe parents’ experiences of communication with school nurses concerning the growth data and weight development of their children aged 8 and 10 years old in Sweden. Methods The design was descriptive and qualitative. 15 women and 3 men in south Sweden were included, with children who had performed health visits in the School Health Service (SHS). Data were collected through in - person semi structured interviews. Qualitative content analysis was used. Results The results illustrated the health visit’s purpose as unclear with need for improved dialogue and lacking feedback from the SHS. “To be able to get guidelines of what is the normal growth and what is a normal deviation and maybe a bit more about diet and lifestyle and movement.” The need for an improved channel for receiving information from SHS, and access to their child’s growth data. “Couldn’t they have a school nurse site or information page, where you get information about your child from the day they enroll in school until they leave.” Parents experienced a lack of a child-centered perspective, described the child’s context as not in focus, and desired collaboration. “I think that it is very important that children feel good in their bodies, and that is a really important task for health care.” Conclusions (a) Initiating a discussion regarding the preventive health work of school nurses and the main assignment of SHS. (b) Development of a child-centered perspective towards parents and children with focus on the child’s entire social context. (c) Implementation of evidence-based methods for communicating growth data and weight development between SHS and parents. Key messages • An increased dialogue between parents and SHS was requested, with a reachable way of communication via a digital platform. • A holistic view of the child, with positive professional attitudes seem essential to meet the needs of the child.

Morganella morganii bloodstream infection affects the elderly in close contact with health care

ObjectivesWe aimed to fill the gaps of knowledge concerning incidence rates and temporal trend, clinical features and risk factors for death for Morganella morganii bloodstream infections (BSIs) in south Sweden. MethodsThis was an observational, population-based study including all patients with at least one blood culture positive for M. morganii between 2013 and 2023 in Skåne, south Sweden. ResultsA total of 211 episodes of M. morganii BSI in 201 patients were registered during the study period. A urinary tract–focused BSI was associated with a reduced risk of 90-day mortality (P = 0.0029), whereas a primary BSI was associated with 90-day mortality (P = 0.0112). A multivariate analysis including age, gender, Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), and immunosuppression revealed that higher CCI (odds ratio [OR] 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07-1.47, P = 0.0059) and immunosuppression (OR 3.26, 95% CI 1.45-7.47, P = 0.0045) was independently associated with all-cause mortality. ConclusionsM. morganii BSI is a disease among the elderly that most often acquired in individuals with comorbidities that are in close contact with health care. A urinary tract focus was associated with reduced risk of 90-day mortality, and higher CCI and immunosuppression were associated with 90-day all-cause mortality in a multivariate analysis.

LiDAR-Based Snowfall Level Classification for Safe Autonomous Driving in Terrestrial, Maritime, and Aerial Environments.

Studies on autonomous driving have started to focus on snowy environments, and studies to acquire data and remove noise and pixels caused by snowfall in such environments are in progress. However, research to determine the necessary weather information for the control of unmanned platforms by sensing the degree of snowfall in real time has not yet been conducted. Therefore, in this study, we attempted to determine snowfall information for autonomous driving control in snowy weather conditions. To this end, snowfall data were acquired by LiDAR sensors in various snowy areas in South Korea, Sweden, and Denmark. Snow, which was extracted using a snow removal filter (the LIOR filter that we previously developed), was newly classified and defined based on the extracted number of snow particles, the actual snowfall total, and the weather forecast at the time. Finally, we developed an algorithm that extracts only snow in real time and then provides snowfall information to an autonomous driving system. This algorithm is expected to have a similar effect to that of actual controllers in promoting driving safety in real-time weather conditions.

What matters for competent teaching? A multinational comparison of teaching practicum assessment rubrics

Practicum assessment rubrics have a backwash effect on preservice teachers' learning through the criteria they transmit. This article presents a documentary analysis of ten rubrics used across six countries: South Africa, India, England, Singapore, Canada, and Sweden. We compare the dispositions, knowledge, outcomes, and reasoning. We use Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) to show how practicum assessments are legitimated differently. Some rubrics emphasise preservice teachers’ dispositions and whether they implement protocols correctly. Others emphasise their capacity for reasoning in context. These positions call for teacher educators and policymakers to interrogate where the emphasis is in their own assessments.

The standardized, mechanized, and annotated body. Fragmentation as cultural technique in recent video works by Kajsa Dahlberg, Kalle Brolin, and Hanni Kamaly

ABSTRACT For several decades now, audio-visual artworks have routinely been described as “research” or “research based”. However, the relationship between image, research and theory is often unclear, particularly when the artwork in question is produced outside formal academic frameworks like practice-based PhD or MFA programs. This essay asks how we can understand and interpret artworks that use materials and methods that approximate those used by academic researchers but do so through audio-visual means. Four artworks are discussed: Kajsa Dahlberg’s Reach, Grasp, Move, Position, Apply Force (2015); Kalle Brolin’s I am Scania (2016) and I am the Sun (2018); and Hanni Kamaly’s HeadHandEye (2017/2018). All four highlight how image practices establish, reinforce, and subvert specific attitudes, ideas, and practices relating to work or the human body. The author’s key argument is that the selected artworks can be understood as examples of the media-theoretical method of analysis known as cultural techniques. Cultural techniques have been defined within media theory as the chains of operations that link humans, things, and media. The scholar who uses this perspective searches for the rules, procedures, and documented practices that preceded and directed the development and formats of specific media technologies. This essay proposes that the four selected artworks show how fragmentation operates as cultural technique in different contexts. Fragmentation is shown to be at work beneath efficiency studies of industrial workers in the early twentieth century and the early twenty-first (Dahlberg); in the relationship between the sugar industry and coal mines in the south of Sweden in the early twentieth century (Brolin); and in the de-subjectification practices among colonial rulers in the nineteenth century (Kamaly).

Prevalence of Mycoplasma genitalium and macrolide resistance in rectal and urine samples among men who have sex with men in Sweden

ObjectivesWhile Mycoplasma genitalium is reported as a common rectal infection among men who have sex with men (MSM), published data refer predominantly to urethral infections. Currently, most guidelines recommend M....

Nematode community structure suggests perennial grain cropping cultivation as a nature‐based solution for resilient agriculture

AbstractIntroductionConventional agricultural land‐use may negatively impact biodiversity and the environment due to the increased disturbances to the soil ecosystem by tillage, for example. Cultivation of the perennial grain intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium, IWG, Kernza®) is a nature‐based solution for sustainable agriculture, improving nutrient retention mainly through its extensive root system. Nematodes serve as sensitive bioindicators, detecting early changes in the soil food web, reflecting in changes in their community structure.Materials and MethodsIWG and annual wheat sites in South France, Belgium and South Sweden were investigated in April 2022 for two depths (5–15 cm; 25–35 cm) to evaluate the difference in nematode community structure among the cropping systems.ResultsSites with IWG cultivation held an accumulation of structure indicators (c‐p 3–5 nematodes) compared to sites with annual wheat cultivation. A generalised linear mixed model revealed significantly more root feeders, especially for the subsoil, under IWG as a result of the perennial cultivation. The maturity index, plant‐parasitic index, channel index and structure index were greater for IWG sites. The enrichment index was greater for annual wheat sites due to the dominance of bacterivores and enrichment indicators (c‐p 1 nematodes). The nematode community structure (weighted faunal profile analysis) indicates IWG sites as being a generally undisturbed system with efficient nutrient cycling and balanced distribution of feeding types, as well as higher metabolic footprint values for root feeders (including plant‐parasitic nematodes) and fungivores. Annual wheat sites, on the other hand, held indicators of a disturbed system with increased occurrence of opportunistic species and a more bacterial driven pathway. The topsoil had an increased occurrence of structure indicators in both cropping systems.ConclusionIWG creates favourable conditions for a diverse food web, including improved nutrient cycling and a heterogeneous resource environment, regardless of climatic conditions, establishing it as a stable and resilient agricultural management system.

Mismanagement and misinterpretations in asylum interviews: Perspectives from South Africa and Sweden

Abstract This article explores the interactions between key actors in asylum interviews in South Africa and Sweden. It is based on forty-one interviews with asylum seekers, interpreters, state officials, and legal representatives. The analysis is guided by theories on professional encounters, bureaucratic violence, and interdependence. The result is presented in two themes: the emergence of mismanagement due to repressive policies and cost-cutting measures, and misinterpretation due to poor interpretation services and failure to recognize the hermeneutic aspects of asylum seekers’ claims. These issues lead to mistrust in the asylum system and in each other’s capacities, as key actors fail to take joint responsibility for the interview act and its outcome. The conclusion is that all key actors operate within a destructive process of mistrust, reinforced by an increasingly repressive political framework as its strongest driving force.

Exploring PV adoption by Non-Residential Property Owners: Applying Social Practice Theory

This article investigates the adoption of Photovoltaics (PV) systems by non-residential property owners in Sweden using a social practice theory approach. 25 semi-structured interviews were conducted with private and public non-residential property owners in the south of Sweden. The results show that about half of the property owners had had PV systems installed for a long period and had developed a PV adoption practice. These property owners had established routines within the company, aggregated relevant knowledge, and had established trusted relationships with PV installers which supported the PV adoption process. On the contrary, first-time installers and non-adopters were missing these elements and had not yet established a PV adoption practice. This study is the first step towards understanding PV adoption as a practice for non-residential property owners and contributes to an analysis of the elements that are required for a PV adoption practice to emerge. The practical relevance of the study is that it can facilitate and support non-residential property owners to adopt PV systems and contribute to a renewable electricity transition.

Effect of drought and pine weevil damage on mechanically protected Norway spruce seedlings

Pine weevils (Hylobius abietis L.) pose a significant threat to conifer seedlings by feeding on the bark, thus damaging or killing seedlings. Historically, insecticides were used to suppress such damage, but were slowly phased out in Sweden due to environmental and health concerns. This study aimed to assess field performance of an alternative protection method: mechanical coating applied to the stem of planted Norway spruce (Picea abies) seedlings. Field trials were conducted on 14 sites in south Sweden, using four different types of mechanical protection (Cambiguard, Conniflex, Ekovax, Hylonox), standard insecticide (Merit Forest), and ambient control. Seven sites were established in the drought year of 2018 and seven more in 2019. This allowed for additional investigation of the effect of drought on seedling establishment and possible interaction with pine weevil damage. Seedlings were surveyed for survival and height after the first, second and fourth growing season. Results show drought as the main source of damage for seedlings planted in 2018, with no significant effect of insecticide or mechanical protection on survival of seedlings. However, mechanical protections performed equally well as insecticide and positively increased survival by 30 %, compared to untreated, four growing seasons after planting for seedlings planted in 2019. Seedling height was not significantly affected by planting year or any of the treatments, suggesting no adverse effects of coating application. However, a synergistic effect between pine weevil damage and drought was observed, where even low levels of pine weevil damage resulted in high mortality for seedlings planted in 2018, compared to those planted in 2019. Additionally, for seedlings planted in 2019, damage to the top of the stem did not result in significant mortality, until high damage levels were reached (40 % and above). The opposite was found for seedlings planted in a 2018 drought year, where both damage to the top and the bottom of the stem followed a linear response. In conclusion, we show that investigated mechanical protection methods can be considered a viable replacement for insecticides, but our results also highlight the importance of considering multiple environmental stressors such as drought and pest damage on seedling establishment.

Tau Positron Emission Tomography for Predicting Dementia in Individuals With Mild Cognitive Impairment

An accurate prognosis is especially pertinent in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), when individuals experience considerable uncertainty about future progression. To evaluate the prognostic value of tau positron emission tomography (PET) to predict clinical progression from MCI to dementia. This was a multicenter cohort study with external validation and a mean (SD) follow-up of 2.0 (1.1) years. Data were collected from centers in South Korea, Sweden, the US, and Switzerland from June 2014 to January 2024. Participant data were retrospectively collected and inclusion criteria were a baseline clinical diagnosis of MCI; longitudinal clinical follow-up; a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score greater than 22; and available tau PET, amyloid-β (Aβ) PET, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan less than 1 year from diagnosis. A total of 448 eligible individuals with MCI were included (331 in the discovery cohort and 117 in the validation cohort). None of these participants were excluded over the course of the study. Tau PET, Aβ PET, and MRI. Positive results on tau PET (temporal meta-region of interest), Aβ PET (global; expressed in the standardized metric Centiloids), and MRI (Alzheimer disease [AD] signature region) was assessed using quantitative thresholds and visual reads. Clinical progression from MCI to all-cause dementia (regardless of suspected etiology) or to AD dementia (AD as suspected etiology) served as the primary outcomes. The primary analyses were receiver operating characteristics. In the discovery cohort, the mean (SD) age was 70.9 (8.5) years, 191 (58%) were male, the mean (SD) MMSE score was 27.1 (1.9), and 110 individuals with MCI (33%) converted to dementia (71 to AD dementia). Only the model with tau PET predicted all-cause dementia (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC], 0.75; 95% CI, 0.70-0.80) better than a base model including age, sex, education, and MMSE score (AUC, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.65-0.77; P = .02), while the models assessing the other neuroimaging markers did not improve prediction. In the validation cohort, tau PET replicated in predicting all-cause dementia. Compared to the base model (AUC, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.69-0.82), prediction of AD dementia in the discovery cohort was significantly improved by including tau PET (AUC, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.79-0.89; P < .001), tau PET visual read (AUC, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.78-0.88; P = .001), and Aβ PET Centiloids (AUC, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.78-0.88; P = .03). In the validation cohort, only the tau PET and the tau PET visual reads replicated in predicting AD dementia. In this study, tau-PET showed the best performance as a stand-alone marker to predict progression to dementia among individuals with MCI. This suggests that, for prognostic purposes in MCI, a tau PET scan may be the best currently available neuroimaging marker.

TBE In Denmark

Since the 1950s tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) has been endemic in Denmark but only on the island of Bornholm. Bornholm is situated east of mainland Denmark, south of Sweden (Figure 3) and has a different fauna and flora from the rest of Denmark. Bornholm has about 45,000 inhabitants, but about 500,000 tourists visiting every year.

A population-based study of the appearances of enteric Campylobacter and non-typhoidal Salmonella infections on computed tomography

Background Swift identification and diagnosis of gastrointestinal infections are crucial for prompt treatment, prevention of complications, and reduction of the risk of hospital transmission. The radiological appearance on computed tomography could potentially provide important clues to the etiology of gastrointestinal infections. We aimed to describe features based on computed tomography of patients diagnosed with Campylobacter, Salmonella or Shigella infections in South Sweden. Methods This was a retrospective observational population-based cohort study conducted between 2019 and 2022 in Skåne, southern Sweden, a region populated by 1.4 million people. Using data from the Department of Clinical Microbiology combined with data from the Department of Radiology, we identified all patients who underwent computed tomography of the abdomen CTA two days before and up to seven days after sampling due to the suspicion of Campylobacter, Salmonella or Shigella during the study period. Results A total of 215 CTAs scans performed on 213 patients during the study period were included in the study. The median age of included patients was 45 years (range 11–86 years), and 54% (114/213) of the patients were women. Of the 215 CTAs, 80% (n = 172) had been performed due to Campylobacter and 20% (n = 43) due to Salmonella enteritis. CTA was not performed for any individual diagnosed with Shigella during the study period. There were no statistically significant differences in the radiological presentation of Campylobacter and Salmonella infections. Conclusion The most common location of Campylobacter and Salmonella infections was the cecum, followed by the ascending colon. Enteric wall edema, contrast loading of the affected mucosa, and enteric fat stranding are typical features of both infections. The CTA characteristics of Campylobacter and Salmonella are similar, and cannot be used to reliably differentiate between different infectious etiologies.

Analysis of National Early Childhood Curriculum in South Korea and Sweden through the Perspective of ESD

Analysis of National Early Childhood Curriculum in South Korea and Sweden through the Perspective of ESD

Message from the Editor-in-Chief

The IJHE continues to be the choice of journal for many global researchers. As such, the strength of the IJHE journal is reflected in this issue’s eight research articles from South Africa, America, China, and Sweden. This issue has a strong focus on student approaches to learning, language development and developing an understanding of how victims of natural disasters cope post-trauma. Whilst societies and communities are challenged by global events, the IJHE provides an important platform for the development of theory, the addressing of policy questions, and the dissemination of innovative practice in the field of tertiary education, specifically widening participation and lifelong learning.

Drygt 100 kronor. Is it a bit more than, a bit less than, or around 100 kronor?

The Swedish adverb drygt is often used as an approximator in expressions like drygt 1 meter, where it means ‘a bit more than’ according to dictionaries and most speakers. Here, we show that drygt is undergoing semantic change and being reinterpreted as meaning ‘around’, ‘about’ or even ‘a bit less than’. To study this ongoing semantic reinterpretation, a questionnaire was circulated, reaching some 2 700 participants. The participants were asked about their linguistic intuitions about drygt: does drygt 100 kronor best correspond to 97 kronor, 97–102 kronor or 102 kronor? The results show that younger speakers are more likely than older to prefer the reinterpretations. The change has gone farthest in the south of Sweden, where half of the young speakers interpret drygt as ‘around’ or ‘a bit less than’. The comments to the questionnaire show that most participants are unaware that interpretations other than their own exist. The study also reveals that in translations of Swedish novels made available as parallel corpora, drygt is often translated into equivalents of ‘around’ or ‘a bit less than’. Furthermore, the Danish and Norwegian equivalents of drygt – godt og vel and drøyt – are undergoing a semantic change similar to that of drygt. We discuss how these findings relate to semantic change in general and argue that the change we observe is due to ambiguous contexts and possibly to speakers having different underlying cognitive representations.

Children’s everyday recreational mobilities – growing up in a densifying Swedish small town

ABSTRACT Access to urban open space is of large importance for the child-friendliness of built environments and might also play an important role in children’s sustainable recreational mobilities. Yet, little is known about how children’s everyday recreation and associated mobilities are affected by planning projects and densification processes, where ideas of sustainable mobility often focus on a transit-oriented development (TOD) based on densification in areas around transport nodes. In this study, we examine the current rapid development of a small town in the south of Sweden, affected by TOD ideals. The case is studied through the perspectives of local children aged 10–11, focusing on their recreational mobilities and the current development, using walking interviews. The children described the current projects as happening fast, diminishing their spaces and increasing car traffic without their perspectives being included. Compared to a study conducted 5 years earlier in the same small town, the children appeared to find less places for them and to focus more on formal places programmed for their use. There are reasons to be critical to how densification is being realised in relation to sustainable recreational mobilities, if leading to continuous car dependence but with less access to sufficient and varied open spaces of interest to children. This study also shows the importance of including children of various ages in both research and practice to strive for sustainability.

The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (SWEMWBS) - A psychometric evaluation of adolescents in Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic

The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (SWEMWBS) is effective in assessing positive aspects of mental health. Despite its advantages, little is known about group differences in the interpretation of SWEMWBS items across age groups, especially during the adolescence period. Hence, this study examined the psychometric properties of the SWEMWBS through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Rasch analysis and network analysis of Swedish adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 5548 participants from the south of Sweden (i.e., Jönköping County) took part in this cross-sectional study through an online platform between September 2020 and October 2020. The CFA, Rasch (including differential item functioning, DIF) analysis and network analysis were used to examine the psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the SWEMWBS. The SWEMWBS had a unidimensional structure with robust psychometric properties. The CFA demonstrated measurement invariance across gender, school year and country of birth, which was also confirmed by Rasch DIF. Furthermore, considerable associations between the items of the SWEMWBS, general health and COVID-19 impact items were observed in network analysis. The SWEMWBS showed robust psychometric properties capable of assessing positive aspects of mental health and well-being among adolescents.