84 research outputs found
Organisering av ekonomiskt bistånd – Perspektiv på en integrerad och en specialiserad kommun
No full textAuthor: Merima Colak Title: Organization of financial assistance - Perspective on an integrated and a specialized municipality [translated title] Supervisor: Håkan Johansson Assessor: Staffan Blomberg The purpose of this study was to examine how specialized and integrated social services manage their social assistance. In addition to this the aim was to examine how social workers and officials working within these two forms of organizations experience discretion. Furthermore, a goal of this paper was also to examine if the social workers felt that any of these two organizational forms had any impact on the workload and how that in such case manifested. The study was conducted through a qualitative research method. Six social workers and officials were interviewed for the study. The results from the study demonstrated that the employees in the integrated organization had more general work tasks and that those in the specialized organization had their tasks divided on different units that were more specialized. Findings also showed that employees in each municipality interpret discretion differently. The social workers from the integrated organization interpreted discretion in terms of being able to affect their client’s case. The social workers from the specialized organization, on the other hand, defined discretion as being able to influence their own daily work tasks. Conclusively, the study showed that workload exists in both municipalities and that it was manageable in each of the municipalities, the workload was however higher in the specialized one but it was no burden on the employees in neither the specialized nor the integrated. Key words: Discretion, organizational structure, integrated and specialized organizations, social assistance, workload. Key words: handlingsutrymme, organisationsstruktur, integrerade och specialiserade organisationer, ekonomiskt bistånd, arbetsbelastning
The effects of zoledronic acid treatment on depression and quality of life in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis: A clinical trial study
No full textBackground: Osteoporosis affects quality of life (QoL) and may lead to depression in women. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of zoledronic acid (ZA) treatment on depression and QoL in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis (PO). Materials and Methods: A total of 88 newly diagnosed women with PO were included in this study. All patients were treated with once-yearly ZA (5 mg). A QoL questionnaire from the European Foundation for Osteoporosis and Beck Depression Inventory were given to patients at baseline and at 12 months. The results for baseline and post - 12th month were compared, and bone mineral density (BMD) levels were compared. Results: The consumption of once-yearly ZA (5 mg) treatment increases BMD at levels of lumbers 1–4 (P = 0.026), total Hip T score's P value is same as femoral neck (P: 0,033). ZA 5 mg treatment also improved QoL (P = 0.001) and reduced depression (P = 0.001). Conclusion: ZA treatment increases BMD levels and QoL while reducing depression. Once-yearly ZA (5 mg) may be considered for postmenopausal women as a first-line treatment
Comparative analysis of on-load tap changing (OLTC) transformer topologies
No full textOld - EWI-ESE-DC&S DC systems & StorageElectrical Power Processin
The reliability of the augmented Lehnert-Schroth and Rigo classification in scoliosis management
No full textBackground: In pattern-specific scoliosis exercises and bracing, the corrective treatment plan differs according to different curve patterns. There are a limited number of studies investigating the reliability of the commonly used classifications systems. Objective: To test the reliability of the augmented Lehnert-Schroth (ALS) classification and the Rigo classification. Methods: X-rays and posterior photographs of 45 patients with scoliosis were sent by the first author to three clinicians twice at 1-week intervals. The clinicians classified images according to the ALS and Rigo classifications, and the data were analysed using SPSS V-16. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and standard error measurement (SEM) were calculated to evaluate the inter-and intra-observer reliability. Results: The inter-observer ICC values were 0.552 (ALS), 0.452 (Rigo) for X-ray images and 0.494 (ALS), 0.518 (Rigo) for the photographs. The average intra-observer ICC value was 0.720 (ALS), 0.581 (Rigo) for the X-ray images and 0.726 (ALS) and 0.467 (Rigo) for the photographs. Conclusions: The results of our study indicate moderate inter-observer reliability for X-ray images using the ALS classification and clinical photographs using the Rigo classification. Intra-observer reliability was moderate to good for X-ray images and clinical photographs using the ALS classification and poor to moderate for X-ray and clinical photographs using the Rigo classification
Presence of thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
No full textAIM:To determine the prevalence of ophthalmopathy in Hashimoto’s patients and to make a comparison in subgroups of patientsMETHODS:The study involved 110 Hashimoto’s thyroiditis patients and 50 control subjects attending to the endocrinology department of the hospital. Subgroup classification of patientswas made as euthyroid, subclinic and clinic in Hashimato’s thyroiditis. All patients were evaluated by a single experienced ophthalmologist for the prevalence and characteristics of eye signs.RESULTS: The overall prevalences of eye changes were 22.7% (25 patients) in patients and 4% (2 persons) in control subjects respectively (P=0.002). In patients the most common symptom was retrobulbar eye pain with or without any eye movement. Thirteen patients had significant upper eyelid retraction (11.8%). Six patients had eye muscle dysfunction as reduced eye movements in up gaze. In control patients one person had proptosis and another had lid retraction. The clinical activity score and classification of the ophthalmopathy did not show any significant differences among subgroups.CONCLUSION:The eye signs were mostly mild (22.7%) and the most common eye sign was the presence of upper eyelid retraction (11.8%). Additionally six patients had eye muscle dysfunction as reduced eye movements in up gaze. Therefore we recommend to make a routine ophthalmic examination in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis patients in order not to omit the associated ophthalmopathy
Why ‘one size fits all’ is not enough when designing COVID-19 immunity certificates for domestic use: a UK-wide cross-sectional online survey
No full textCorina-Elena Niculaescu ORCID 0000-0002-8971-0812;
Isabel Karen Sassoon ORCID 0000-0002-8685-1054;
Irma Cecilia Landa-Avila ORCID 0000-0001-6107-6736;
Ozlem Colak ORCID 0000-0003-0813-2561;
Gyuchan Thomas Jun ORCID 0000-0002-0958-0107;
Panagiotis Balatsoukas ORCID 0000-0002-2454-0816.Data availability statement: Data are available in a public, open access repository. Data are available in the project Open Science Framework (OSF) repository (https://osf.io/jubv6/). Supplemental material: This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed.Copyright information: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Objectives: The present study explored public’s willingness to use COVID-19 immunity certificates across six different domestic scenarios.
Design: Cross-sectional online survey.
Setting: UK representative survey conducted on 3 August 2021.
Participants 534 UK residents over 18 years old.
Interventions: Participants replied to the same set of questions.
Primary and secondary outcome measures: The primary outcome measure was willingness to use immunity certificates across three different domestic settings: (1) visiting the general practitioner (GP) for a non-urgent health issue; (2) dining in a restaurant and (3) attending a performance in a theatre. For each setting two options, one prioritising convenience (option A) and the other privacy (option B), were offered. Our secondary outcome measures were computed indices from items adapted from the Health Belief Model; attitudes towards sharing immunity status with service providers; prior to COVID-19 lifestyle. In addition, we recorded data about respondents’ sociodemographic characteristics.
Results: Respondents were more willing to use immunity certificates that prioritised convenience (92%), rather than privacy (76%), when visiting their GP . However, privacy was more favourable in the other two settings (dining in a restaurant (84%) and going to a theatre (83%)) compared with convenience (38% and 39% respectively). Personal beliefs about COVID-19 and immunity certificates were associated with variations in willingness to use these across all scenarios. No variations were observed across sociodemographics and lifestyle.
Conclusions: The findings of this survey suggest that there is not one-size-fits-all solution for designing immunity certificates. Immunity certificates are complex sociotechnical systems, any attempt to implement these for domestic use should be tailored to different settings and user needs. The design of certification services requires a more evidence-based approach and further research is needed to understand how different settings, design elements (like convenience or privacy) and personal beliefs about the pandemic should inform their design.IMMUNE or Immunity Passport Service Design is a nine-month project funded by the AHRC/UKRI COVID-19 Rapid Response (Ref. AH/W000288/1)
Hamiltonian linear type centers of linear plus cubic homogeneous polynomial vector fields
No full textAgraïments: The first author has been supported by AGAUR FI-DGR 2010. The third author has been supported by AGAUR PIV-DGR-2010, FCT grant PTDC/MAT/117106/2010 and through CAMG SD.We provide normal forms and the global phase portraits in the Poincaré disk for all the Hamiltonian non-degenerate centers of linear plus cubic homogeneous planar polynomial vector fields
Hamiltonian linear type centers of linear plus cubic homogeneous polynomial vector fields
No full textAgraïments: The first author has been supported by AGAUR FI-DGR 2010. The third author has been supported by AGAUR PIV-DGR-2010, FCT grant PTDC/MAT/117106/2010 and through CAMG SD.We provide normal forms and the global phase portraits in the Poincaré disk for all the Hamiltonian non-degenerate centers of linear plus cubic homogeneous planar polynomial vector fields
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