Comparing the New Zealand and Swedish National Surveys of Gambling and Problem Gambling

National surveys of gambling and problem gambling have recently been completed in New Zealand and Sweden. These studies are unique in that data collection was undertaken by official government statistical agencies, involved large, nationally representative samples, and attained high response rates. Comparison of the findings is facilitated by the use of similar procedures and instrumentation and is of interest in that both countries have similar per capita gambling expenditure and welfare states that have recently undergone major economic and social restructuring. Data on gambling participation, problem gambling prevalence and risk factors for problem gambling are presented and discussed. While there are a number of similarities and differences, the Swedish findings are more similar to those of an earlier national survey conducted in New Zealand during 1991. This suggests that risk factors are changing over time in relation to evolving patterns of gambling participation and attitudes towards gambling, a finding that has implications for future patterns of gambling and problem gambling in these and other countries.     

The sense-of-coherence and the capability of performing daily occupations in persons with chronic pain

OBJECTIVES: It may be helpful for occupational therapists who promote enabling occupations among persons with chronic pain, to understand the relationship between the persons feelings of meaningfulness, comprehensibility and manageability in life and their capability to perform daily occupations. AIM: The aim of this study was to describe and investigate how these concepts of person and occupational performance of 27 daily occupations in terms of "effort", "inconvenience", "avoidance", "give up", "frequency" and "satisfaction" were related to each other. DESIGN: A prospective correlative study was conducted. METHOD: A consecutive series of eighty-four patients with chronic pain completed a structured interview and responded to the self-assessment instruments Sense-of-Coherence Scale (SOC-13) and Capability of Performing Daily Occupations (CPDO). RESULTS: Weak but significant correlation (p < 0.05) were found between the SOC-13 sub-scale "manageability" and the specific occupations "physical exercise / training" (r = - 0.24), "climb stairs" (r = - 0.27) "social activity" (r= - 0.25) and "wash the laundry" (r = - 0.30), as well as between the SOC-13 sub-scale "meaningfulness" and the CPDO occupations "grocery shopping" (r = -0.22), "performing meals" (r = - 0.24), and "wash the laundry" (r = - 0.31) and the CPDO question "frequency of performing occupations" r = -0.22). The participants' mean value (mean = 58) of SOC-13 was below the other populations represented in a literature review. The mean values for CPDO (3.4-4.3) (optimal score is zero) showed that the participants perceived themselves having activity limitations concerning performance of daily occupations, and the performance area of work productive activities were experienced as more disabling. The degree to which the participants perceived themselves having a strong sense of coherence or being disabled by pain varied greatly both for the results of SOC-13 ( range 32-90 points) and CPDO (range 1.1-7.8 points). CONCLUSION: The expected significant relationship between a person's sense of coherence and the performance of daily occupations was partly verified with weak significant correlations. In clinical practice the assessment instruments are suggested to be of value in rehabilitation clinics for occupational therapists who work with people with chronic pain.     

Who suspects and reports child maltreatment to Social Services in Sweden? Is there a reliable mandatory reporting process?

This article deals with the mandatory report process in Sweden. The components that are analysed are who makes the reports, what is reported and the outcome for the reports. Data were collected in a Swedish county in the year 2000 by means of locating every report made to the Social Services during one year (1998). The net sample consisted of 1,570 reports regarding 1,051 children. A follow-up study was carried out in 2003 of all the children for whom a report in 1998 did not lead to an investigation being initiated. We found in these study indicators that the process might not be secure. The professionals reported 1% of the children in the municipality; 22% of the reports from professionals were not investigated. The five-year follow-up study shows that 53% of the children that these reports concerned had been the subject of an investigation. This could be an indicator that children continue to be maltreated after being reported since the assessments are not accurate. In this study, 67% of ‘crime reports’ were ‘not indicating’ child maltreatment. There should be a questioning of ‘crime reports’ automatically entering the mandated report process as, if registered nationally, this could lead to a deflation of mandatory reports. Administration needs to change introducing a national form for filing reports.     

The experience of returning to work

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore from an environmental perspective the experiences of returning to work of former unemployed sickness absentees. Five separate focus-group interviews were carried out with themes concerning different environmental areas. The findings showed that the participants in their process of being off work and then attempting returning to work experienced a personal transition manifesting itself as a negative self-image, change of life-rhythm and restrictions in their roles and activities. In their progression, the participants experienced a need for reorientation and expressed feelings of alienation, and for that reason felt need of support from a network, especially a professional one. Regarding attitudes in society, the participants reported experiences of social stigmatization, both in mass media and in their immediate social environment, and an increasing egocentricity among their fellow-workers. They perceived their progression back to work as a 'time quarantine' and as a long and destructive wait for support. The findings indicate that the phenomenon of 'returning to work' after unemployment and sick leave could not be reduced to a single issue. It should rather be seen as a dynamic problem with individual and structural, environmental aspects.     

A comparison of perceived health, attitudes to work, leisure time, and social welfare systems among people in a rural area in the north of Sweden and among people in the city of Stockholm

A problem attracting considerable attention in Sweden today is the substantial regional differences in sickness absence. The aim of the study was to investigate and compare how people, from a random sample of the population in both a rural area in the north of Sweden and the Swedish capital Stockholm, perceive their health, and what their attitudes are to work, leisure time and social welfare systems. Results showed that a larger proportion of those answering in Stockholm considered their health status to be "very good", compared with those in the rural area (p<0.0001). A majority in the rural area compared to the city of Stockholm reported a high or very high level of aches/pain (p<0.0001) and that work causes them physical problems p<0.0001). The population in both Stockholm and the rural area is of the opinion that the increase in sickness absence is mainly due to deterioration in the work environment. Almost half of the individuals in both the rural area and in Stockholm are of the opinion that many of those sick-listed are not actually ill. It may be that in the rural area in north Sweden people are more inclined to put their opinions to practice than those in Stockholm are.     

Clustering of electrical transmission systems based on network topology and stability

A proper understanding and modelling of the behaviour of heavily loaded large-scale electrical transmission systems is essential for a secure and uninterrupted operation. In this paper, we present methods to cluster electrical power networks based on different criteria into regions. These regions are useful for the efficient modelling of large transcontinental electricity networks, switching operation decisions or placement of redundant parts of the monitoring and control system. In alternating current electricity networks, power oscillations are normal, but they can become dangerous if they build up. The first approach uses the correlation between results of a stability assessment for these oscillations at every node for the cluster criterion. The second method concentrates on the network topology and uses spectral clustering on the network graph to create clusters where all nodes are interconnected. In this work, we also discuss the problem how to choose the right number of clusters and how the discussed clustering methods can be used for an efficient modelling of large electricity networks or in protection and control systems.     

Estimating Particle Shape and Orientation Using Volume Tensors

We develop statistical procedures for estimating shape and orientation of arbitrary three‐dimensional particles. We focus on the case where particles cannot be observed directly, but only via sections. Volume tensors are used for describing particle shape and orientation, and we derive stereological estimators of the tensors. These estimators are combined to provide consistent estimators of the moments of the so‐called particle cover density. The covariance structure associated with the particle cover density depends on the orientation and shape of the particles. For instance, if the distribution of the typical particle is invariant under rotations, then the covariance matrix is proportional to the identity matrix. We develop a non‐parametric test for such isotropy. A flexible Lévy‐based particle model is proposed, which may be analysed using a generalized method of moments in which the volume tensors enter. The developed methods are used to study the cell organization in the human brain cortex.