Social inequalities,social trust and civic participation—the case of Norway

Comparative studies have generally demonstrated high levels of social capital in the Scandinavian welfare states. It has also been shown that social capital is generally higher among more privileged groups of people than among less privileged groups. However, less is known about how the different types of social inequalities relate to various types of social capital. The aim of this study is to go beyond the generally high Norwegian levels of social capital and study variations of social capital within a representative sample of the Norwegian adult population. The main question is whether and to what extent socio-economic indicators relate to measures of social capital, that is, social trust and civic participation. The data are based on a representative sample of the Norwegian adult population, comprising 3190 individuals. The results show that, whereas several of the socio-economic indicators are significant with respect to social trust, it is only the level of education that is significant for both types of social capital. These findings show that the associations between socio-economic indicators and social capital vary, based on the measures applied. Nevertheless, the strong associations between education and both social capital outcomes demonstrate that social capital is not equally available to all, emphasising the importance of social policies and societal institutions in building social capital.     

Conceptualising service integration for inclusive activation: Exploring transferal and translation of models from health care

Conceptual frameworks are important for advancing systematic understanding in a field of research. Many conceptual models have been developed to study service integration, but few have addressed activation. Based on an outline of the literature on the integration of labour market services, we explored two complementary conceptual models from integrated care and assessed whether the models could be transferred to the context of inclusive activation. The transferral of conceptual models is contingent upon whether the significant features of inclusive activation are like those of health care, and whether barriers to integrated labour market services are considered. We argue that the models facilitate a more analytical focus on service integration. Nevertheless, the models must be adjusted to account for the significant position of workplaces and employers, the importance of frontline professionals' knowledge base, the co-production of service provision and the values characterising the service encounters.     

Research approaches to networked employment services: A systematic review

Research on networked services aimed at the (re)employment of groups marginalised from the labour market has gained momentum in different scholarly traditions (e.g., public administration, healthcare and social policy), but the topic remains somewhat fragmented. In this paper, we systematise and synthesise this research with the aim of outlining distinct research approaches, facilitating increased cross-disciplinary understandings and promoting interdisciplinary research. Based on a systematic review of the literature (1990–2018, n = 273), we highlight four dominant research approaches: rehabilitation, disability, welfare and governance. We show that these research approaches involve distinct conceptualisations of labour market inclusion, networked services and the target groups. Nevertheless, the research approaches also apply similar terms and concepts (e.g., partnership, collaboration) but with different (more or less implicit) connotations, which lead to fragmentation. We do not suggest that there be a unified use of concepts across traditions; however, we argue for the necessity of increased awareness of the similarities and differences between these research traditions in order to increase understanding of the networked employment services available to marginalised groups.     

Estimation of parameters in DNA mixture analysis

In [7], a Bayesian network for analysis of mixed traces of DNA was presented using gamma distributions for modelling peak sizes in the electropherogram. It was demonstrated that the analysis was sensitive to the choice of a variance factor and hence this should be adapted to any new trace analysed. In this paper, we discuss how the variance parameter can be estimated by maximum likelihood to achieve this. The unknown proportions of DNA from each contributor can similarly be estimated by maximum likelihood jointly with the variance parameter. Furthermore, we discuss how to incorporate prior knowledge about the parameters in a Bayesian analysis. The proposed estimation methods are illustrated through a few examples of applications for calculating evidential value in casework and for mixture deconvolution.     

Child Abuse and Neglect inChina: What the Papers Say

In order to gain an insight into attitudes towards child abuse in China, a review of a number of newspapers for a period of 3 months was carried out. There was a dearth of relevant stories in national papers, but more in the local type of newspaper read by the majority of Chinese. Overall there were few reports relating to child abuse, especially in the intrafamilial setting. Of particular note is the number of reports of neglect of children following divorce. Violence towards students by teachers also features prominently. But by far the most reported issue is the damaging effect on children resulting from pressures for good academic performance in a highly competitive society.     

Health,Wealth and Wisdom: Exploring Multidimensional Inequality in a Developing Country

Despite a broad theoretical literature on multidimensional inequality and a widespread belief that welfare is not synonymous to income—not the least in a developing context—empirical inequality examinations rarely includes several welfare attributes. We explore three techniques on how to evaluate multidimensional inequality using Zambian household data on consumption, education, health and land. The examination indicates that level and changes in non-monetary inequality are at odds with consumption inequality. Moreover, assessment of a multidimensional index shows evidence of that dimensions of wellbeing compensate and reinforce each other with respect to inequality. However, a majority of the results using this technique are sensitive to the degree of substitution between attributes. In applying a stochastic dominance method few combinations fulfill the required dominance conditions. Accordingly, less imposed structure come at a cost. Clearly, sensitivity analyzes, explicitness and analyzes involving more than one technique are constructive in portraying multidimensional inequality.     

Long periods with uninterrupted muscle activity related to neck and shoulder pain

The aim was to analyze the relationship between periods with uninterrupted neck muscle activity for ≥ 4 min and neck and shoulder pain. The trapezius muscle activity was recorded bilaterally on 40 young workers and students during a full shift. Neck and shoulder pain, mechanical work load and decision control were reported at the same time as the muscle activity recording and 6 months later. A dose-response relationship was found between uninterrupted muscle activity and neck and shoulder pain, with a ten-fold higher risk for the group with more than half, compared to less than a third, of the shift with uninterrupted muscle activity. Self-reported mechanical work load showed a small but protective effect related to pain. Gender and decision control did not emerge as important risk factors in this model. In conclusion, this study indicates that work or other exposures that contains long periods with uninterrupted neck muscle activity of 4 min duration or longer should be minimized to reduce risk of neck and shoulder pain.     

Preferences,constraints or schemas of devotion? Exploring Norwegian mothers' withdrawals from high‐commitment careers1

Despite decades of focus on gender equality and work–family balance, parenthood still affects mothers' and fathers' careers differently. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with Norwegian mothers who are relinquishing high‐commitment careers of law and consultancy, this paper questions the adequacy of established explanations emphasizing constraints vs. individual preferences. Our sample of female professionals living in a well‐developed welfare state is particularly apt to explore the processes and mechanisms upholding the statistically gendered pattern of women reducing their work commitment after childbirth. These doubly privileged mothers might be considered to have the best odds for combining career and work commitment with motherhood. Thus, we argue that the approach emphasizing practical constraints does not sufficiently account for the withdrawal from high‐commitment careers among these female professionals. Nevertheless, we are not content with the claim of Preference Theory that this shift in commitment is merely a matter of ‘not‐so‐dedicated’ women discovering their ‘genuine’ preferences. Rather, in order to understand why and how this shift occurs, we explore the culturally constructed rationalities and schemas of both work and family devotions. We specifically examine the circumstances, mechanisms and steps in a seemingly individual process of making the shift in commitment from a promising career to a family‐friendly job. Moreover, the analysis demonstrates how generous parental leave arrangements designed to enhance gender equality and work–family balance by simply reducing practical constraints may have limited – or even counterproductive – impact within high‐commitment occupations where the ‘irreplaceability’ of workers is taken for granted. Our findings indicate that unless the culturally (re)produced discourses, demands and expectations of both work and family are exposed and challenged, even intentionally gender neutral work–family policies will continue to facilitate mothers' career withdrawals, expressed as modified individual preferences.     

Implications for nursing of the new national curriculum in personal,social and health education and education in citizenship

This article examines implications for nursing of the recent Government initiative to revise the National Curriculum in personal, social and health education (PSHE) in primary and secondary schools and to provide education in Citizenship for children and young people. Health education is but one strand of child health promotion which is rightly the concern of multidisciplinary team members. This initiative crosses the boundaries of health, education and social policy. It presents the challenge of new health promotion roles for child health nurses working in partnership with teachers in schools where the central focus will be empowerment of children and young people to fill their potential for achievement. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.