| 1. |
- Berg, Jessica
(author)
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Mobility changes during the first years of retirement
- 2016
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In: Quality in Ageing and Older Adults. - : Emerald Group Publishing Limited. - 1471-7794. ; 17:2, s. 131-140
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose – Mobility is an important aspect of well-being, activity and participation. Retiring from paid work is a transition in later life when people need to adjust to a new daily structure and fill the day with activities other than work. Life-course transitions influence demands for mobility and choice of travel mode as people adapt to new circumstances and learning processes. The purpose of this paper is to explore how mobility strategies develop during the first years of retirement.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative analysis based on initial interviews with a total of 27 retired people during their first year of retirement and again, about three years later.Findings – Important changes during the first years of retirement included illness or a decline in physical health. Mobility had become a means of achieving certain goals after an illness, such as learning to walk, being able to drive or enjoying the time that was left. While some enjoyed not having commitments, others experienced difficulties in filling the day. The results indicate four dimensions of mobility: means of carrying out activities which are needed and desired; resources for creating activities; a leisure activity in itself; and subordinate to staying at home.Originality/value – Gives a deeper understanding of the mobility challenges people ultimately face in later life, and how these are managed, which is important for transport planning and public health policy aimed at improving mobility, activity participation and well-being in later life.
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| 2. |
- Hallvig, D., et al.
(author)
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Sleepy driving on the real road and in the simulator - A comparison
- 2013
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In: Accident Analysis and Prevention. - : Elsevier BV. - 0001-4575 .- 1879-2057. ; 50, s. 44-50
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Sleepiness has been identified as one of the most important factors contributing to road crashes. However, almost all work on the detailed changes in behavior and physiology leading up to sleep related crashes has been carried out in driving simulators. It is not clear, however, to what extent simulator results can be generalized to real driving. This study compared real driving with driving in a high fidelity, moving base, driving simulator with respect to driving performance, sleep related physiology (using electroencephalography and electrooculography) and subjective sleepiness during night and day driving for 10 participants. The real road was emulated in the simulator. The results show that the simulator was associated with higher levels of subjective and physiological sleepiness than real driving. However, both for real and simulated driving, the response to night driving appears to be rather similar for subjective sleepiness and sleep physiology. Lateral variability was more responsive to night driving in the simulator, while real driving at night involved a movement to the left in the lane and a reduction of speed, both of which effects were absent in the simulator. It was concluded that the relative validity of simulators is acceptable for many variables, but that in absolute terms simulators cause higher sleepiness levels than real driving. Thus, generalizations from simulators to real driving must be made with great caution.
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| 3. |
- Watling, Christopher N., et al.
(author)
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Do repeated rumble strip hits improve driver alertness?
- 2016
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In: Journal of Sleep Research. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0962-1105 .- 1365-2869. ; 25:2, s. 241-247
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Driving while sleepy is associated with increased crash risk. Rumble strips are designed to alert a sleepy or inattentive driver when they deviate outside their driving lane. The current study sought to examine the effects of repeated rumble strip hits on levels of physiological and subjective sleepiness as well as simulated driving performance. In total, 36 regular shift workers drove a high-fidelity moving base simulator on a simulated road with rumble strips installed at the shoulder and centre line after a working a full night shift.The results show that, on average, the first rumble strip occurred after 20 min of driving, with subsequent hits occurring 10 min later, with the last three occurring approximately every 5 min thereafter. Specifically, it was found that the first rumble strip hit reduced physiological sleepiness; however, subsequent hits did not increase alertness. Moreover, the results also demonstrate that increased subjective sleepiness levels, via the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, were associated with a greater probability of hitting a rumble strip. The present results suggest that sleepiness is very resilient to even strongly arousing stimuli, with physiological and subjective sleepiness increasing over the duration of the drive, despite the interference caused by rumble strips.
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| 4. |
- Thorslund, Birgitta, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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Hearing loss and a supportive tactile signal in a navigation system : Effects on driving behavior and eye movements
- 2013
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In: Journal of Eye Movement Research. - : INT GROUP EYE MOVEMENT RESEARCH. - 1995-8692. ; 6:5, s. 1-9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An on-road study was conducted to evaluate a complementary tactile navigation signal on driving behaviour and eye movements for drivers with hearing loss (HL) compared to drivers with normal hearing (NH). 32 participants (16 HL and 16 NH) performed two preprogrammed navigation tasks. In one, participants received only visual information, while the other also included a vibration in the seat to guide them in the correct direction. SMI glasses were used for eye tracking, recording the point of gaze within the scene. Analysis was performed on predefined regions. A questionnaire examined participant's experience of the navigation systems. Hearing loss was associated with lower speed, higher satisfaction with the tactile signal and more glances in the rear view mirror. Additionally, tactile support led to less time spent viewing the navigation display.
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| 5. |
- Jonsson, Ulf, 1974-, et al.
(author)
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Diagnosis-specific disability pension predicts suicidal behaviour and mortality in young adults : a nationwide prospective cohort study
- 2013
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In: BMJ Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 3:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objectives: Increasing rates of disability pension (DP), particularly owing to mental diagnoses, have been observed among young adults in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. There is a lack of knowledge about the health prognosis in this group. The aim of this study was to investigate whether DP in young adulthood owing to specific mental diagnoses or somatic diagnoses predicts suicidal behaviour and all-cause mortality.Design: A nationwide prospective cohort study.Setting: A register study of all young adults who in 2005 were 19-23 years old and lived in Sweden. Registers held by the National Board of Health and Welfare, Statistics Sweden and the National Social Insurance Agency were used.Participants: 525 276 young adults. Those who in 2005 had DP with mental diagnoses (n=8070) or somatic diagnoses (n=3975) were compared to all the other young adults in the same age group (n=513 231).Outcome measures: HRs for suicide attempt, suicide and all-cause mortality in 2006-2010 were calculated by Cox proportionate hazard regression models, adjusted for sex, country of birth, parental education and parental and previous own suicidal behaviour.Results: The adjusted HR for suicide attempt was 3.32 (95% CI 2.98 to 3.69) among those on DP with mental diagnoses and 1.78 (95% CI 1.41 to 2.26) among those on DP with somatic diagnoses. For the specific mental diagnoses, the unadjusted HRs ranged between 2.42 (mental retardation) and 22.94 (personality disorders), while the adjusted HRs ranged between 2.03 (mental retardation) and 6.00 (bipolar disorder). There was an increased risk of mortality for young adults on DP in general, but only those with mental DP diagnoses had a significantly elevated HR of completed suicide with an adjusted HR of 3.92 (95% CI 2.83 to 5.43).Conclusions: Young adults on DP are at increased risk of suicidal behaviour and preterm death, which emphasises the need for improved treatment and follow-up.
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| 6. |
- Anund, Anna, 1964-, et al.
(author)
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Are professional drivers less sleepy than non-professional drivers?
- 2018
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health. - : SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL WORK ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH. - 0355-3140 .- 1795-990X. ; 44:1, s. 88-95
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective It is generally believed that professional drivers can manage quite severe fatigue before routine driving performance is affected. In addition, there are results indicating that professional drivers can adapt to prolonged night shifts and may be able to learn to drive without decreased performance under high levels of sleepiness. However, very little research has been conducted to compare professionals and non-professionals when controlling for time driven and time of day.Method The aim of this study was to use a driving simulator to investigate whether professional drivers are more resistant to sleep deprivation than non-professional drivers. Differences in the development of sleepiness (self-reported, physiological and behavioral) during driving was investigated in 11 young professional and 15 non-professional drivers.Results Professional drivers self-reported significantly lower sleepiness while driving a simulator than nonprofessional drivers. In contradiction, they showed longer blink durations and more line crossings, both of which are indicators of sleepiness. They also drove faster. The reason for the discrepancy in the relation between the different sleepiness indicators for the two groups could be due to more experience to sleepiness among the professional drivers or possibly to the faster speed, which might unconsciously have been used by the professionals to try to counteract sleepiness.Conclusion Professional drivers self-reported significantly lower sleepiness while driving a simulator than non-professional drivers. However, they showed longer blink durations and more line crossings, both of which are indicators of sleepiness, and they drove faster.
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| 7. |
- Rantonen, Osto, et al.
(author)
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Trends in work disability with mental diagnoses among social workers in Finland and Sweden in 2005-2012
- 2017
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In: Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences. - : Cambridge University Press. - 2045-7960 .- 2045-7979. ; 26:6, s. 644-654
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Social workers report high levels of stress and have an increased risk for hospitalisation with mental diagnoses. However, it is not known whether the risk of work disability with mental diagnoses is higher among social workers compared with other human service professionals. We analysed trends in work disability (sickness absence and disability pension) with mental diagnoses and return to work (RTW) in 2005-2012 among social workers in Finland and Sweden, comparing with such trends in preschool teachers, special education teachers and psychologists.Records of work disability (>14 days) with mental diagnoses (ICD-10 codes F00-F99) from nationwide health registers were linked to two prospective cohort projects: the Finnish Public Sector study, years 2005-2011 and the Insurance Medicine All Sweden database, years 2005-2012. The Finnish sample comprised 4849 employees and the Swedish 119 219 employees covering four occupations: social workers (Finland 1155/Sweden 23 704), preschool teachers (2419/74 785), special education teachers (832/14 004) and psychologists (443/6726). The reference occupations were comparable regarding educational level. Risk of work disability was analysed with negative binomial regression and RTW with Cox proportional hazards.
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| 8. |
- Hughes, Ben P., et al.
(author)
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A comprehensive conceptual framework for road safety strategies
- 2016
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In: Accident Analysis and Prevention. - : Elsevier BV. - 0001-4575 .- 1879-2057. ; 90, s. 13-28
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Road safety strategies (generally called Strategic Highway Safety Plans in the USA) provide essential guidance for actions to improve road safety, but often lack a conceptual framework that is comprehensive, systems theory based, and underpinned by evidence from research and practice. This paper aims to incorporate all components, policy tools by which they are changed, and the general interactions between them. A framework of nine mutually interacting components that contribute to crashes and ten generic policy tools which can be applied to reduce the outcomes of these crashes was developed and used to assess 58 road safety strategies from 22 countries across 15 years.The work identifies the policy tools that are most and least widely applied to components, highlighting the potential for improvements to any individual road safety strategy, and the potential strengths and weaknesses of road safety strategies in general. The framework also provides guidance for the development of new road safety strategies, identifying potential consequences of policy tool based measures with regard to exposure and risk, useful for both mobility and safety objectives.
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| 9. |
- Ahlström, Christer, et al.
(author)
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Video-based observer rated sleepiness versus self-reported subjective sleepiness in real road driving
- 2015
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In: European Transport Research Review. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1867-0717 .- 1866-8887. ; 7:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Observer-rated sleepiness (ORS) based on video recordings of the driver’s face is often used when analysing naturalistic driving data. The aim of this study is to investigate if ORS ratings agree with subjective self-reported sleepiness (SRS).Forty raters assessed 54 video-clips showing drivers with varying levels of sleepiness. The video-clips were recorded during a field experiment focusing on driver sleepiness using the same cameras that are typically used in large-scale field studies. The weak results prompted a second test. Ten human factors researchers made pairwise comparisons of videos showing the same four participants in an alert versus a very sleepy condition. The task was simply to select the video-clip where the driver was sleepy.The overall average percentage of video segments where ORS and SRS matched was 41 % in Test 1. ORS 0 (alert) and ORS 2 (very sleepy) were easier to score than ORS 1 and it was slightly harder to rate night-time drives. Inter-rater agreement was low, with average Pearson’s r correlations of 0.19 and Krippendorff’s alpha of 0.15. In Test 2, the average Pearson’s r correlations was 0.35 and Krippendorff’s alpha was 0.62. The correspondence between ORS and SRS showed an agreement of 35 %.The results indicate that ORS ratings based on real road video recordings correspond poorly with SRS and have low inter-rater agreement. Further research is necessary in order to further evaluate the usefulness of ORS as a measure of sleepiness.
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| 10. |
- Gidlöf-Gunnarsson, Anita, 1957, et al.
(author)
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Good sound environment in green areas modify road-traffic noise annoyance at home
- 2009
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In: Proceedings of the 8th European Conference on Noise Control 2009 (EURONOISE 2009). - uo : Curran Associates, Inc.. ; , s. 1579-1587
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Conference paper (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- There has been a growing recognition among noise researchers that natural elements and natural areas of the built environment have potentials to reduce annoyance due to traffic noise. It has been suggested that presence of vegetation (e.g., trees, bushes, grass, flowers) contributes to an aesthetically pleasing environment, which influence overall residential satisfaction and people?s perception of the noise. Other expected benefits of natural elements/areas are prevention or modification of adverse effects of work-, personal-, or environmental stress (e.g., noise) through restoration processes. Within the large TVANE-project, the present study examined the effect of green areas (park or similar at walking distance) on noise responses in residential settings (n=468) exposed to road traffic noise (LAeq,24h 45 to 65 dB). A binary multiple logistic regression analysis, with sound exposure as the prime variable assumed to predict general noise annoyance at home, indicated that presence of green areas, a closer distance to it from the subject?s home, and perceived green-area characteristics (good sound environment, high attractiveness and potentials for recreational activities) significantly lowered noise annoyance. The results suggest that the exposure-response relationship between noise and annoyance is influenced by access to nearby green areas provided that they have good environmental quality, particularly regarding the perceived sound environment
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