Divorce and parity progression following the death of a child: A register-based study from Finland

Most studies that have examined whether a child’s death influences parental relationship stability have used small-scale data sets and their results are inconclusive. A likely reason is that child loss affects not only the risk of parental separation, but also the risk of having another child. Hence parity progression and separation must be treated as two competing events in relation to child loss. The analysis in this paper used Finnish register data from 1971 to 2003, covering over 100,000 married couples whose durations of both first marriage and parenthood could be observed. We ran parity-specific Cox regressions in which process time started from the birth of each additional child. All marriages included women of childbearing age, none of whom had experienced any child death on entering the analysis. We find that child loss only modestly influences the divorce risk, whereas its effect on the risk of parity progression is considerable.     

The Persistence of High Levels of Living Alone Among Adults with Disabilities in Sweden, 1993–2011

Population Research and Policy Review - This study investigates how the probability to live alone has developed among working age individuals with and without disabilities in Sweden during the...     

Gambling motivations and superstitious beliefs: a cross-cultural study with casino customers

The expansion of legalized commercial gaming in Macau has motivated stakeholders to explore opportunities in other Asian countries. However, there is a lack of research focusing on casino customers in these markets. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore gambling superstitious beliefs and motivations of those visiting a casino in South Korea, and how these factors are different across four ethnic groups. The researchers surveyed 323 casino customers in the lounge area on the casino floor, including Americans, Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans living abroad. This study found American gamblers could be characterized as more superstitious than Japanese gamblers, while the Chinese and American gamblers exhibited many similarities regarding the pattern of superstitious beliefs that they were most likely to endorse. The findings also suggest the culture and the area around the casino might be more important to Chinese, while novelty to Japanese and winning money to Korean gamblers are seen as most important. This study contributes to gambling literature by examining gamblers’ beliefs and motives in a different setting with more diverse populations than those in previous studies. The findings of this study will help casino operators properly develop and adjust strategies to thrive in the Asian marketplace.     

Eye- and neck/shoulder-discomfort during visually demanding experimental near work

Frequent use of digital information technology has an impact on eye- and neck/shoulder-discomfort. Studies with cross sectional and intervention design indicate an association between the two symptom categories. Still, whether visually demanding near work, per se, contributes to increased neck/shoulder discomfort remains a question of debate. The aim of this laboratory study was to assess if visually demanding experimental near work affects eye- and neck/shoulder-discomfort when the posture was adjusted for comfort and no movements were allowed. Thirty-three healthy subjects performed a visually demanding computer screen task (viewing task) under four different optical lens conditions: binocular -3.5 D and monocular -3.5 D, +3.5 D and ± 0 D. During the experiment subjects were seated in an office chair (with neck support) that was individually adjusted for comfort. At baseline and after each viewing task, subjects reported their perceived eye- and neck/shoulder discomfort on Borg's CR-10 scale. Results show a significant increase of eye discomfort between baseline and the first viewing task, and a significant increase in neck/shoulder discomfort from baseline throughout the first three viewing tasks. Further analysis is required to determent whether the neck/shoulder discomfort was induced by the demanding near work or the static posture, or a combination.     

Work–Family Conflict and Well-Being Across Europe: The Role of Gender Context

This study analysed whether gender context is important to differences in the relationship between work–family conflict (WFC) and well-being across Europe. We hypothesised that in countries that support equality in work life and where norms support women’s employment, the relationship between WFC and low well-being is weaker than in countries with less support for gender equality. Cohabiting men and women aged 18–65 years from 25 European countries were selected from the European Social Survey. A multilevel analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between well-being and WFC, and two measurements were used to represent gender context: gender equality in work life and norms regarding women’s employment. Contrary to the hypothesis, the results showed that the negative relationship was stronger in countries with high levels of gender equality in work life and support for women’s employment than in countries with a relatively low level of gender equality in work life and support for traditional gender relations. The context in which gender is constructed may be important when studying the relationship between WFC and well-being. In addition, emphasis should be placed on policies that equalise both the labour market and the work performed at home.     

Visualization of regulations to support design and quality control--a long-term study

The aim of the study was to visualize design regulations of furniture by means of interactive technology based on earlier studies and practical examples. The usage of the visualized regulations was evaluated on two occasions: at the start when the first set of regulations was presented, and after six years of usage of all regulations. The visualized regulations were the result of a design process involving experts and potential users in collaboration with IKEA of Sweden AB. The evaluations by the different users showed a very positive response to using visualized regulations. The participative approach, combining expertise in specific regulations with visualization of guidelines, resulted in clear presentations of important regulations, and great attitudes among the users. These kinds of visualizations have proved to be applicable in a variety of product areas at IKEA, with a potential for further dissemination. It is likely that the approaches to design and visualized regulations in this case study could function in other branches.     

Co-variation in time between near-far accommodation of the lens and trapezius muscle activity

Visual strain and discomfort may contribute to the generation of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among e.g. computer workers. A positive correlation on a group level between eye-lens accommodation and trapezius muscle activity has been reported. In this study we investigated the possibility of a direct, fast, connection between lens accommodation and trapezius muscles activity. The subjects focused alternately on Near and Far targets, with a mean switch time of 5 s, through four different lenses. The cross-correlation, R(tau) was computed, between the time signals of accommodation and electromyography (EMG) from 23 subjects. In the overall mean R(tau) of 736 curves, a small but significant correlation peak (0.019) with a delay (of the EMG signal) of about 0.3 s, revealed a small common component in the two signals. Among the lenses, the positive lens (3.5 D), showed the highest correlation peak (0.040). The correlation may be caused by a direct "hard-wired" connection between the ciliary and trapezius muscles. But it could also be caused indirectly by the subject's need for a more stable head in a more demanding visual task. The latter is supported by the result that the correlation was the highest in the positive lens condition. The present correlation is however weak and it has probably a low practical importance.     

Bayesian System Reliability Prediction

In system reliability studies a common problem is the coherent assessment of system reliability, based on generic database information from components and on failure data from a system and its components in a common, but unknown, environment. A solution to this problem is given.     

Mortality and economic fluctuations

Using wavelet methods, this paper analyzes the relationship between the age-adjusted, infant, and cause-specific mortality rates and the business cycle in Sweden over the period 1800–2000 (1911–1996 for cause-specific mortality). For the period 1800–2000, an increase in GDP by 1% decreased mortality by 0.7%. This overall relationship is due to a strong counter-cyclical relationship in the nineteenth century, which disappeared in the twentieth century. In contrast, in the twentieth century higher mortality in economic upturns is found for mortality caused by circulatory diseases (including stroke) and accidents.