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- Floderus, Birgitta, et al.
(författare)
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Work status, work hours and health in women with and without children
- 2009
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Ingår i: Occupational and Environmental Medicine. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 1351-0711 .- 1470-7926. ; 66:10, s. 704-710
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: The authors studied self-reported health in women with and without children in relation to their work status (employed, student, job seeker or homemaker), work hours and having an employed partner.Methods: The study group comprised of 6515 women born in 1960–1979 who were interviewed in one of the Swedish Surveys of Living Conditions in 1994–2003. Self-rated health, fatigue and symptoms of anxiety were analysed.Results: Having children increased the odds of poor self-rated health and fatigue in employed women, female students and job seekers. The presence of a working partner marginally buffered the effects. In dual-earner couples, mothers reported anxiety symptoms less often than women without children. Few women were homemakers (5.8%). The odds of poor self-rated health and fatigue increased with increasing number of children in employed women, and in women working 40 h or more. Poor self-rated health was also associated with the number of children in students. Many mothers wished to reduce their working hours, suggesting time stress was a factor in their impaired health. The associations between having children and health symptoms were not exclusively attributed to having young children.Conclusions: Having children may contribute to fatigue and poor self-rated health particularly in women working 40 h or more per week. Student mothers and job seeking mothers were also at increased risk of poor self-rated health. The results should be noted by Swedish policy-makers. Also countries aiming for economic and gender equality should consider factors that may facilitate successful merging of work and family life.
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| 2. |
- Hampe, M., et al.
(författare)
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Transatlantic dual bachelor's degree programs between two European and an American university
- 2007
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Ingår i: 2007 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings. - : American Society for Engineering Education.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ATLANTIS project joins the European Union and the United States of America in an unpreceded endeavor to foster international education on the undergraduate level. Technische Universität Darmstadt (TUD), Germany, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden, and Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University (VT), Blacksburg, VA, will jointly establish Dual Bachelor of Science Programs in Mechanical Engineering between 2007 and 2010. The objective of the project is to produce highly competent graduates in the field of Mechanical Engineering (BSME) that are uniquely prepared to successfully engage and excel in the new global engineering economy. Another objective is to demonstrate that graduation is possible without delaying graduation to the extent that it delays the start of a consecutive master's program. Thus, the study program will be 4 years for students from Virginia Tech and 3 years and a few months for students from TUD and KTH. The language of instruction will be German for students staying at TUD, English for students staying at Virginia Tech, and Swedish or English for students staying at KTH. The program consists of two transatlantic dual BSME degree programs: VT-TUD and VT-KTH. The third combination TUD-KTH is basically an intra-European exchange and not considered here. The general model for these two dual degree programs is that (1) the students complete their introductory courses at their home universities; (2) they spend a summer at the third university that they will not receive a degree from; and (3) they spend their final year (senior) at the second university that they are receiving a degree from.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Tornqvist, E. W., et al.
(författare)
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The influence of working conditions and individual factors on the incidence of neck and upper limb symptoms among professional computer users
- 2009
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Ingår i: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. - 1432-1246. ; 82:6, s. 689-702
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: To assess the influence of working conditions and individual factors on the incidence of neck and upper limb symptoms among professional computer users. METHODS: The study is a prospective cohort study with an observation period of 10 months. A baseline questionnaire about symptoms in the neck, shoulder and arm/hand during previous month, individual factors, work content, physical and psychosocial work-related exposures was answered by 1,283 computer operators (response rate 84%). Incidence data were collected by ten monthly questionnaires regarding the occurrence of symptoms categorized into three gross body regions: neck, shoulders and arms/hands. A case, in the specific gross body region, was defined as a subject who was classified as non-symptomatic in that region at baseline or during minimum one follow-up period and later reported symptoms (>or=3 days). Univariable and multivariable incidence rate ratios with 95% confidence intervals for first occurrence of neck, shoulder and arm/hand cases, respectively, were calculated with Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: The incidence rate was 67, 41 and 47 cases per 100 person years for neck, shoulder and arm/hand symptoms, respectively. In the multivariable analyses, comfort of the computer work environment and gender were related to the incidence of symptoms in all body regions (RR = 1.5-1.9 for low comfort and 1.8-2.1 for females, respectively). Duration of mouse use predicted arm/hand symptoms (RR = 1.7 for >or=3 h/day) and job strain (high demands and low decision latitude) predicted neck symptoms (RR = 1.6 and 2.2 for medium and high strain, respectively). Additionally, age was related to neck and shoulder symptoms. CONCLUSION: Preventive strategies to reduce neck and upper limb symptoms among computer users should include measures to reduce mouse use, to increase the comfort of the work environment and to reduce job strain. Although the effect estimates were relatively weak to moderate, preventive measures may have a marked impact on the incidence of neck and upper limb symptoms in the general population because of the widespread use of computers in working life as well as at home.
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