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This article explores and displays some of the literacy events taking place in the context of early childhood education in Sweden. More specifically, the literacy events are part of the educational practices in the atelier of Reggio Emilia inspired preschools in Sweden. As parts of an ethnographic study of aesthetic activities, including digital technology, these literacy events awoke the researcher's interest. The literacy events are analysed from a sociocultural perspective reinforced by the use of multimodal theory. The results show how the literacy events in the ateliers become playful explorations. The children use the atelier's specific cultural and social potentiality to explore and develop written and oral language as part of the visual and aesthetic literacy practices taking place there.

Preschool teachers' read-aloud and writing practices were investigated using a questionnaire about how activities were planned and organized, and what their purpose was. The results indicate that early literacy practices were not planned systematically. Most of the preschool teachers (77%) reported having storybook read-alouds at least three times per week. A large minority (45.5%) reported never or seldom using writing activities, and rarely in play. The main aims of read-alouds were to promote learning and development, create a sense of community, and regulate group activities. The main aims of writing practices were to learn about letters, understand the function of print, and arouse interest in writing. We discuss the implications of these findings in relation to a need for a didactic approach, where play is the core of early literacy practices.

In this article, the focus is on the entangled relations between digital technology, art activities, mathematics, literacy and children in Swedish preschool ateliers. As part of an ethnographic study, the researcher follows how children use digital technologies and non-digital materials (such as shells, pens, paper, wood, bubble wrap and light) to create and make the visual and aesthetic aspects of the technology seen. In the analysis of the children's play-based and art-oriented activities in the atelier, the subjects of literacy and mathematics become visible. The analytical approach includes the use of sociocultural theory and multimodal theory, and looking at mathematics in accordance with the six organising principles described by Alan Bishop. The results show that the children's activities with digital technology and non-digital artefacts appear to activate, expand and transform their understanding and use of literacy and mathematics.

The Education Act from 2010 states that education in Sweden ought to be based on scientific knowledge and proven experience. The aim of this study is to explore practice-near school research published by Swedish researchers in the wake of the Education Act with the focus on the participation of teachers in research. As a background, the international and national roots of practice-near school research in Sweden are described. The study is focused on research projects in compulsory and upper secondary school, school years 1-12. 92 articles in 19 journals were detected through a literature search and purposive sampling. Based on the articles, a framework of aspects with categories was developed and the reported studies were analysed accordingly. The findings indicate a multifaceted research field; studies based on a variety of theories and methods and with different roles for teachers. The different categories for teacher's participation in research and how teacher roles were described in the articles did not give a clear picture on what teachers' roles could imply for the teachers involved. The article concludes with a discussion of the recent policy initiatives of practice-near school research in Sweden.

This longitudinal qualitative study followed a teacher team at an upper secondary school during the implementation of a mobile phone ban during class, which was an initiative the team had jointly decided upon. Data consist of audio-recorded weekly team meetings, during which the teachers discussed their initiative. The teachers' implementation strategy was to inform the students about the ban at the start of the semester, and to collect their mobile phones before starting each class with the motivation that the ban would improve the learning environment. This strategy failed. Exceptions were made to the ban for several reasons. The collection procedure was cumbersome, time-consuming, and caused negative tensions between teachers and students. The team discussions made it apparent that with the teachers' consent, the students' mobile phones were already used as pedagogical tools complementary to other digital technologies in class.

This article is based on a meta-approach to the results of two separate studies and concerns the areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) in early childhood education. One of the studies focuses on how preschool teachers understand STEM and how it is taught in the preschool. The other concerns children's perspectives and strategies in their use of digital technology as part of the preschool's arts activities. Methodologically, the researchers have developed the idea of reading one study through the other using a meta-approach design. The results from this analytical approach show how different aspects of children's agency in play and aesthetic activity in the art room (i.e. atelier) can develop and inspire the teachers' pedagogical content knowledge in the subjects of mathematics and science. The results of following children and their processes and actions in the atelier can also influence teachers' knowledge and didactic choices in selecting teaching content and strategies. The findings are considered useful for educators and researchers in the field of early childhood education.

In this study, a learning study was used to enhance prospective teachers' learning about how to teach a specific topic in mathematics or natural science to 4th-6th graders. It has been argued that participating in learning study can direct prospective teachers (PTs) towards the object of learning, and what needs to be enacted in teaching to make it possible for the learners to learn what is intended. However, less is known about what capabilities PTs develop from planning lessons in collaboration with peers and a teacher educator in learning studies. Our research question concerns what opportunities PTs have to develop pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) when participating in learning studies. We analyzed three groups' lesson planning on two occasions, once when planning without a teacher educator, and once when planning with a teacher educator in a learning study using theory-informed questions. The software NVivo was used as a tool to code their discussions concerning PCK. For the three groups studied, there were significant differences regarding possibilities for developing PCK under the two conditions.

This paper explores the role of collaborative teacher agency in facilitating translingual adjustments in a linguistically diverse primary school in Sweden. We focus on three multicompetent language teachers, who taught minoritized languages in the marginalized Mother Tongue (MT) subject, Modern Languages, and offered Multilingual Study Mentoring. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork, including teacher interviews and fieldnotes from everyday MT practices and preparations for an annual musical performance, we investigated how the teachers adjusted to the students' multilingual repertoires through "relational agency" and "distributed expertise" (Edwards, A. 2011. Building common knowledge at the boundaries between professional practices: Relational agency and relational expertise in systems of distributed expertise. "International Journal of Educational Research" 50(1). 33-39). These adjustments affected the offered language provisions beyond what was required, based on students' linguistic competencies and parental involvement. Didactic adjustments also afforded migrant students literary experiences that starkly contrasted with the limited literacy content in beginner courses in Swedish. These "responsive professional actions" (Edwards, A. 2011. Building common knowledge at the boundaries between professional practices: Relational agency and relational expertise in systems of distributed expertise. "International Journal of Educational Research" 50(1). 33-39, p. 39) thus impacted on the students' opportunities for multilingual development, expanded language registers, including verbal art, and linguistic inclusion. Through these actions, language was reformulated as asset, and we find that "an ethics of care" (Watkins, M. 2011. Teachers' tears and the affective geography of the classroom. "Emotion, Space and Society" 4(3). 137-143) was closely intertwined with this relational agency. The findings contribute new knowledge on the role of collaborative teacher agency in diverse settings also of relevance to other national contexts.

The aim of this article is to discuss how a multimodal approach to meaning-making can contribute to language education and how multimodal meaning-making is supported in the Swedish curricula. Considering the rapid digitalization of contemporary communication, the aim and content of language education has been challenged. The article describes contemporary communication and meaning-making from a sociosemiotic, multimodal approach. Based on an example from a poetry assignment and students' solutions in a Swedish as a first language framework, we want to discuss the possibilities and challenges for meaningmaking and teaching, while opening up the subject of Swedish for multimodality. Two poems are viewed from a multimodal perspective showing the usage of different modes and media. Based on this the article investigates the support in the curricula for multimodal meaning-making. The article concludes by stressing the importance of recognizing multimodal meaning-making as learning in language education.

With this study we have a twofold aim. Firstly, to develop a model for identifying and analyzing the status of students' scholarly thinking, and secondly to design and evaluate an educational practice with the aim of supporting these skills. A series of webinars connected researchers and students from Finland, Norway and Sweden and gave the students access to an authentic Network of researchers, otherwise not accessible to them. The webinars were recorded and an analysis, inspired by variation theory, were conducted in order to identify signs of scholarly thinking in student reasoning when discussing students' final thesis. Findings were then used to construct a model for identifying variations of scholarly thinking as qualities of scholarly discernment, identified in students' communicative actions. Two critical aspects for stimulating scholarly thinking during webinars emerged from data. First the diversity of language and knowledge and secondly, a more informal framing. A carefully staged webinar using these two critical aspects, offers a socialization of students in professional training, to an academic discourse where the production and evaluation of knowledge is part of students' identity and constantly debated.

The study presented in this article investigates how the curriculum is implemented and transformed by teachers in mixed-age and age-homogeneous groups, the most common age-constellations in the Swedish preschool. The data was collected through groups interviews with preschool teachers. The interviews were transcribed and analysed with the support of thematic analysis and connected to a sociocultural perspective on learning. The findings show that the teachers in the different age formations use both the same and different teaching strategies, which means that the curriculum is implemented and transformed in different ways. The teaching and learning events in the age-homogenous groups appear to be more structured and planned, whereas in the mixed-aged groups the teaching is more spontaneous and embedded in the everyday activities.

This study investigates preschool student teachers' views on how early writing should be supported in preschool. The sample consists of 66 preschool student teachers from Finland, Norway, and Sweden, who participated in the study by responding to open-ended questions on a written questionnaire. Results show that the respondents' answers were underpinned by holistic views on children's learning; they value children's own initiative as a decisive learning factor. Further, the responses underscore the importance of a writing-inviting environment and the preschool teachers acting as role models. The respondents rarely offered explicit theoretical reasons and arguments for why they would encourage early writing. Based on the findings, it appears critical to discuss within the profession the issue why early writing should be encouraged.

This paper targets the aim of 'strengthening the students' multilingualism' in a second language subject in Sweden, "Swedish as a second language" (SSL), which represents a relatively rare L2 design internationally. The study investigates how "ideological space" for multilingualism with regard to this aim opens "implementational space" at the classroom level [Hornberger. 2002. "Multilingual Language Policies and the Continua of Biliteracy: An Ecological Approach." "Language Policy" 1 (1): 27-51]. We draw on ethnographic fieldwork in three linguistically diverse upper secondary schools in Sweden, where SSL is a parallel subject to Swedish, free of choice, and is taught by qualified teachers. Ideological and implementational space was found to be primarily for empowering students and valorizing their multilingualism and less for learning functions and pedagogical multilingual practices. Some students emphasized multilingual aspects as being empowering and as a reason for choosing SSL, indexing the performative function [Fairclough. 2014. "Semiotic Aspects of Social Transformation and Learning." In "The Discourse Studies Reader. Main Currents in Theory and Analysis," edited by Johannes Angermuller, Dominique Maingueneau, and Ruth Wodak, 378-387. Amsterdam: John Benjamins] of macro-level policy in combination with teacher agency. We argue that in spite of the brevity of the formulated multilingual macro policy and its restricted 'potential space' [Johnson 2011. "Implementational and Ideological Spaces in Bilingual Education Language Policy, Practice, and Research." In "Bilingual Education and Bilingualism: Educational Linguistics in Practice: Applying the Local Globally and the Global Locally," edited by Frances M. Hult and Kendall A. King, 126-139. Bristol, GBR: Multilingual Matters], it still had a significant bearing at the local level. This finding reinforces the importance of researching established macro-multilingual policies "in situ" in education.

Through the study of pedagogic discourse and practice in "introductory classes" (ICs) aimed at new migrant students at a linguistically diverse primary school in Sweden, we discuss pedagogic principles and power dynamics, drawing on Bernstein's conceptual frame. Our ethnographic data consist of teacher interviews and observational fieldnotes. A compound set of pedagogic principles was found, where the acknowledgement of the students' prior languages differs from previous research. Furthermore, the teachers' accommodations to the students' needs through a collaborative practice of care formed an important part of the "inner logic" of discourse and practice. We find this multilingual and emotional support to be contingent upon the IC teachers' multilingual competencies and long-term experience with ICs, multilingualism and migration, and support from school management. We welcome interrelated discussions of underpinning logics based on research within different educational contexts comprising migrant students.

This study investigates the physical literacy environment of preschools in three Nordic countries. The environments were assessed using an observation protocol in a total of 131 classrooms with children aged between one and seven in Sweden, Norway and Finland. The results showed that children's books were common and accessible in all three countries. Half of the preschools had a writing centre, and digital devices were available in less than half of them. Multilingual children were present in 82% of the classrooms, but texts and books in the multilingual children's first languages were rare. Taken together, the results suggest that children's books were the main gateway to literacy in these preschools, while artefacts supporting writing skills and digital literacy were less common. The findings indicate that the physical environment in these preschools did not reflect the ongoing societal changes towards increased multimodal literacy.

Drawing from an ethnographic project on the subject of "Swedish as a second language" (SSL) in three linguistically diverse upper secondary schools, the aim of this study was to investigate how three SSL teachers, one from each school, discursively constructed SSL, and whether and how they legitimated their role as SSL teachers, in relation to previously analyzed academic and public discourses on the subject (Hedman and Magnusson 2018). The teachers both co-constructed discourses motivating SSL and contested discourses on SSL as a low status and inferior subject compared to the "real" Swedish subject, through "expert authority" (van Leeuwen 2008), with regard to scaffolding of advanced literacy. In addition, "a role model authority" embedded in a "democratic professionalism" was claimed, linked to the construction of the students as unprivileged. The paper contributes new knowledge on how teacher discourse and its legitimizing functions can be scrutinized in greater detail in order to gain a deepened understanding of the complexity of educational policy, where it is important to account for "what" educational practice is being scrutinized. Such visibilization of practice and teacher voice strengthens a participative framing for teachers on issues concerning their own practices.

In this article, we will discuss how circumstances and requirements on a micro-level may be of relevance for the conditions for international student mobility within higher education. This will be done through examining similarities and differences in the organization of degree project courses at universities in Russia and Sweden, and how supervisors and course representatives described their experiences of working with them. International mobility is often described as having the potential of improving quality within higher education institutions and benefiting individuals by offering new experiences and perspectives. But the changing of academic contexts, which international mobility involves, demands a great deal of adjustment from the individual student and can be a complicated process. Through examining similarities and differences in comparable courses at universities in two countries, this article aims to say something about what characterizes different local academic contexts and thus the differences in expectations students may encounter when going between them, here in particular concerning academic writing and the relationship to the supervisor. The article is based on empirical material from a qualitative research project on journalism education and teacher education in Sweden and Russia, and the discussion will be related to the concept of academic literacies.

Independence is a concept of scholarly interest in relation to higher education, especially when it comes to undergraduate projects. At the same time independence is characterised by a certain conceptual ambiguity, and, consequently, tends to be understood differently in different academic contexts, both nationally, internationally and interdisciplinary. Based on the existing research in the field, we see a need for more studies on how supervisors of undergraduate projects handle this conceptual ambiguity. The aim of this article is, thus, to examine how supervisors from two different education programmes, teacher education and journalism, in two different countries, Sweden and Russia, understand the concept of independence within higher education in connection with the supervision of undergraduate projects. The analysis is based on 12 focus-group interviews with supervisors at different universities in the two countries. In our results, we highlight and discuss seven different understandings of independence that were recurrent in our material and in which phases of the undergraduate project they were seen as most significant. Using Wittgenstein's ideas on family resemblances, we conclude with a discussion of how the concept independence may be understood in relation to some associated concepts that are also significant within higher education.

This article analyzes and compares the curricula of Swedish and Swedish as a second language for primary and secondary school. The school subject of Swedish as a second language is young, and its ideological foundation has not been debated to any large extent, in contrast to Swedish. This article analyzes the curricula of both subjects in terms of "paradigms", i.e. beliefs and conceptions on a school subject, and the Appraisal system developed within the framework of Systemic functional linguistics. In comparison, the curriculum of Swedish as a second language turns out to be more oriented towards skills and communicative paradigms, at the expense of paradigms related to personal growth, literature or "Bildung." Also, the curriculum seems to have weak connections to research on second language development or education. The article also gives an overview of the Swedish school system with special focus on education for immigrants and multilingual students.

The focus of this article is on mathematics teaching in a play-based and goal-oriented practice, such as preschool, and on how different lines of actions may impact children's learning opportunities. Video recordings of authentic play activities involving children and nine teachers from different preschools were analyzed qualitatively to answer the following research questions: (1) What lines of action do teachers use when they teach mathematics in play? and (2) What implications may different ways of teaching have for children's learning opportunities? The analysis revealed four different categories: confirming direction of interest; providing strategies; situating known concepts; and challenging concept meaning. As these differ regarding both the mathematics content focused on and the kind of knowledge emphasized, they have implications for children's learning opportunities.

The overarching interest of this study concerns how to outline learning opportunities and support in early childhood education (ECE) without losing its play-based character. More specifically, the study reports an empirical investigation into the evolving activity of a 6.5-year-old child and an adult conversing about the child's drawing of "Numberland." What the child's drawing and his discussion about it with the adult tell us about his emergent mathematics skills is analysed. How the child shifts between speaking and enacting "as if" and "as is," and how the adult supports his mathematics understanding through entering into the play-frame are analysed. How imaginary, play-based activities like this can provide the means for ECE and what this implies for the teacher are discussed.

Drawing from a survey and focus group interviews, this study explores how Swedish upper secondary students reason about the usage of their personal mobile phones in school. As a contribution to the debate around the mobile phone's role in school, we present the students' own voices relative to the question of regulating mobile phone use. We use the notion of infrastructure for learning (Guribye and Lindström 2009) to analytically approach the social and technological dimensions of the students' narratives on their use of mobile phones in school practice. The students' narratives present an intricate account of students' awareness and concern of the implications of mobile phone presence in school. The students describe that the mobile phone is both a tool that facilitates their school work and a distraction that the teachers pursue. In school, the students are balancing their mobile phone usage with the teachers' arbitrary enforcement of policy. Despite this process, the mobile phone is becoming a resource in the students' infrastructure for learning. The findings from this study add to the limited body of research on the use of mobile phone in upper secondary school from a student perspective.

In this empirical study we analyse how children (aged four- to six-years-old) through communicative engagement with their teachers around their own drawings are supported in developing representational insight, that is, going from indicative sign-making to symbolic understanding. Theoretically, the analysis is informed by a sociocultural perspective, particularly Vygotsky's work on concept development. The empirical data consist of approximately five hours of video observations of teacher-child communication in preschool. The activities analysed were designed by the teachers according to two different principles for facilitating discernment of the conventional meaning of symbols: contrast and induction. While one design is seen to be more powerful than the other in supporting children's symbolic development, these patterns are, in the study and in everyday early childhood practice, intertwined with other communicative features such as establishing intersubjectivity. The implications for research and educational practice are discussed.

People with severe disabilities (SD) communicate in complex ways, and their teachers, parents and other involved professionals find it difficult to gain knowledge and share their experiences regarding the person with SD's communication methods. The purpose of this study is to contribute to our understanding of how parents and professionals share learning about communication and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for people with SD by participating in blended learning networks (BLNs). Thirty-six parents and professionals participated in online web-based BLNs according to a prepared format; four groups were formed, and all of the groups participated in four discussion sessions and an evaluation session. Detailed minutes from the 16 BLN sessions, an evaluation session and course evaluation data were thematically analysed. The theoretical frameworks were different perspectives on disability within communication research and special education research, and theories about shared learning in networks. The analyses revealed themes that focused on communication partners' knowledge, attitudes and strategies regarding communicating with people with SD; the importance and power of using multimodal AAC; and the universality, user-friendliness and empowering aspects of iPads and apps. The findings suggest that participants perceive communication and AAC with people with SD from relational, dialogical and interactional perspectives, whereas the categorical perspective was less pronounced. In accordance with other professional competence research, the use of online web-based BLNs with mixed groups that was described in this paper yielded positive evaluations from the participants. The opportunity for meeting others involved in caring for people with SD, the actual blended groups and the sharing of technology and AAC experiences in particular were highlighted.

As innovation today is one of the keys to success for firms, creativity among employees becomes an important asset and the understanding about what motivates employees in ideation is consequently of high interest. This article addresses differences in motivation among high and low performers in ideation and contributes to existing theory by enhancing the understanding about what characterizes motivation among ideation high performers. The empirical data used in the article is based on a study performed at a multinational consumer goods company with headquarter in Sweden, surveying employees' performance, motivation, and their preferences toward collaboration and competition. Among the key findings is the possible combination of collaboration and competition mechanisms as a motivating means in firms' ideation management.

We explored the use of the learning study (LS) model in developing Swedish pre-school science learning. This was done by analysing a 3-cycle LS project implemented to help a group of pre-school teachers (n?=?5) understand their science educational practice, by collaboratively and systematically challenging it. Data consisted of video recordings of 1 screening (n?=?7), 1 initial planning meeting, 3 analysis meetings, 3 interventions, and 78 individual test interviews with the children (n?=?26). The study demonstrated that the teachers were initially uncomfortable with using scientific concepts and with maintaining the children's focus on the object of learning without framing it with play. During the project, we noted a shift in focus towards the object of learning and how to get the children to discern it. As teachers' awareness changed, enhanced learning was noted among the children. The study suggests that the LS model can promote pre-school science learning as follows: by building on, re-evaluating, and expanding children's experiences; and by helping the teachers focus on and contrast critical aspects of an object of learning, and to reflect on the use of play, imagination, and concepts and on directing the children's focus when doing so. Our research showed that the LS model holds promise to advance pre-school science learning by offering a theoretical tool useable to shift the focus from doing to learning while teaching science using learning activities.

Prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke is suggested as a potential risk factor for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Previous epidemiological studies of this topic have yielded mixed findings. We performed a case-control study of 3,958 ASD cases and 38,983 controls nested in a large register-based cohort in Sweden. ASD case status was measured using a multisource case ascertainment system. In adjusted results, we found that maternal smoking during pregnancy is not associated with increased risk of ASD regardless of presence or absence of comorbid intellectual disability. Apparent associations were attributable to confounding by sociodemographic characteristics of parents such as education, income, and occupation.

Objective: Epidemiological studies in the United States consistently find autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to be overrepresented in high socioeconomic status (SES) families. These findings starkly contrast with SES gradients of many health conditions, and may result from SES inequalities in access to services. We hypothesized that prenatal measures of low, not high, parental SES would be associated with an increased risk of offspring ASD, once biases in case ascertainment are minimized. Method: We tested this hypothesis in a population-based study in Sweden, a country that has free universal healthcare, routine screening for developmental problems, and thorough protocols for diagnoses of ASD. In a case-control study nested in a total population cohort of children aged 0 to 17 years living in Stockholm County between 2001 and 2007 (N = 589,114), we matched ASD cases (n = 4,709) by age and sex to 10 randomly selected controls. We retrieved parental SES measures collected at time of birth by record linkage. Results: Children of families with lower income, and of parents with manual occupations (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.3-1.6) were at higher risk of ASD. No important relationships with parental education were observed. These associations were present after accounting for parental ages, migration status, parity, psychiatric service use, maternal smoking during pregnancy, and birth characteristics; and regardless of comorbid intellectual disability. Conclusions: Lower, not higher, socioeconomic status was associated with an increased risk of ASD. Studies finding the opposite may be underestimating the burden of ASD in lower SES groups. (Contains 1 figure and 7 tables.)

Purpose: This article describes an innovative practice called Blended Learning Networks (BLNs) whose aim is to enable older people, their families, and care providers to exchange knowledge, learn together, and support each other in local development work so that care is improved for older people. BLNs were established in 31 municipalities, headed up by a local facilitator. They were supported by a national themed network consisting of virtual meetings between local facilitators and national facilitators at the Swedish National Family Care Competence Centre. Design and Methods: An evaluation was conducted to explore the utility of the BLNs so that any improvements to the model could be instigated. Focus group interviews were conducted with members of 9 BLNs, and self-evaluation questions were discussed in 16 BLNs. Limitations are that not all BLN members participated in the evaluation, and local facilitators conducting self-evaluations were not trained in focus group dynamics. Virtual focus groups were carried out with 26 of the 31 local facilitators and with the national facilitators. Results: Participants reported an increased understanding of caregiver issues and of each group's roles. Of particular value were the stories shared by caregivers and the potential for change locally due to the involvement of decision makers. The practice demanded considerable skills of the local facilitators. An initial education for new local facilitators was deemed necessary. Implications: BLNs is a unique practice of community communications and knowledge transfer as it creates partnerships among all key stakeholder groups that act as a catalyst for improving care for older people.

In this empirical study, the appropriation of a symbolic skill by a five-year old child is analysed. His evolving production and understanding are investigated through his sign-making and his explanations of these when speaking with a researcher. The child is studied in his home. A contrasting case of another child of the same age also making graphical signs in his home is used to clarify the nature of this evolving skill. The child goes from using deictic references, and in other ways indicating that he takes his signs to be self-evident to anyone, to becoming capable of formulating abstract principles. The productive use of physical separation in scaffolding the child to make an intellectual distinction is also noticed, and the issue of meta-communication, that is, communication about one's communication (representation, sign), appears to be the key not only to the development of the researcher's understanding of the child's skill but also to the child's development. (Contains 4 figures and 5 excerpts.)

Examined adjustment problems from late childhood to early adulthood among 500 Swedish girls. Found a diversified pattern of multisyndrome formation in late childhood. The syndrome structure in early adolescence identified externalizing adjustment problems and peer problems. An externalizing syndrome was stable between late childhood and early adolescence, increasing risk of severe maladjustment in adulthood. (Author/KB)

• Nationwide study assessed individual residential greenspace longitudinally. • More greenspace around the home linked to less antidepressant medication. • Greenspace linked to lower incidence of antidepressant use over time. • Immediate greenspace (50 m) notably impacts incident antidepressant use. The objective of the current study was to investigate, for the first time, the association between individual-level residential greenspace and redemption of antidepressant drugs in a longitudinal nationwide population-based sample in Sweden. A nationwide population-based sample of adults residing in Sweden was studied during 2013–2016 (N individuals = 108716; N observations = 324378). Residential greenspace land cover was assessed via high resolution geographic information systems, at 50, 100, 300, and 500 m buffers around individual residences. Antidepressant redemptions were assessed through the Swedish National Prescribed Drug Register. Greenspace-antidepressant associations were analyzed using generalized estimating equations (GEE), adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic and urban factors. Higher greenspace within 50–500 m residential buffer zones was associated with lower levels of prevalent antidepressant redemptions (50 m, odds ratio [OR] 0.878; 100 m, OR 0.891; 300 m, OR 0.873; 500 m, OR 0.899), while only greenspace in the 50 m buffer was associated with incident antidepressant redemptions (OR 0.853), in covariate-adjusted models. In conclusion, residential greenspace is associated with statistically significantly lower prevalent and incident antidepressant medication redemptions. The association is particularly salient for greenspace in the closest buffer zone around the residence. The results underscore the importance of green infrastructure and greenspace in the immediate residential-surrounding environment for mental health, and further point towards the need for an environmental psychiatry framework, and the importance of integrating health and environmental policies, urban planning and greening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between biological maturation, as evidenced by skeletal growth, during adolescence and the development of drinking habits and alcohol abuse was studied for a representative group of Swedish males (N=88). Early and late maturers had more advanced drinking habits at age 14 years than did normally maturing subjects. (TJH)

Patient with dizziness are challenging in prehospital care. The aim was to describe final diagnosis among patients assessed by EMS as suffering from dizziness with focus on time-critical conditions. Consecutive patients assessed by an EMS clinician during 12 months in a single large EMS system in Gothenburg, Sweden (660,000 inhabitants), were assessed. The study comprised patients given ESS code 11 dizziness. The main end-point was the final diagnosis (ICD code). There were 58,575 primary missions, of which 2,048 (3.5%) were assessed as ESS code 11 (dizziness). Of these, 161 (8%) were excluded. Among the remaining 1887 cases, there were 230 different ICD codes and 96 (5%) had a time-critical condition. The majority (88%) had a cerebrovascular disease. The most typical symptoms among time-critical conditions were an acute onset (63%) and nausea, vomiting (61%). When compared with non-time-critical conditions, those with time-critical conditions were older and had a higher median systolic blood pressure at EMS arrival. Among primary missions by the EMS, 3.5% had dizziness. Of these, 5% had a time-critical condition and the majority had a cerebrovascular disease. Instruments to identify time-critical conditions among patients seen by EMS due to dizziness are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper outlines a conceptual framework that describes the shaping of sustainable markets. • The framework comprises three market-shaping processes: enabling exchange practices, proving the system and constructing the narrative. • The framework is illustrated with a case analysis of market-shaping processes for biogas in Sweden. • The case analysis shows how public and private actors have engaged in a multitude of activities in the market-shaping processes. • The recursive nature of sustainable market-shaping is highlighted. By merging findings from transition studies with recent literature on market-shaping, this paper outlines a conceptual framework that describes the shaping of sustainable markets. The framework comprises three critical processes: enabling exchange practices, proving the system and constructing the narrative. Individually, these processes generate different kinds of value – traded, demonstrated and expected value – and the value output from each process serves as input to the other two processes. Hence the value streams link the processes together. We illustrate the framework by analyzing market-shaping processes for biogas in Sweden. The case analysis shows how public and private actors have engaged in a multitude of activities that have built up the market-shaping processes. The analysis highlights the recursive nature of sustainable market-shaping, showing how key actors must repeatedly respond to tensions resulting from growth and aspirations of growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Findings from 1,027 subjects followed longitudinally from age 10 through age 26 revealed strong connection between aggressiveness ratings at early ages and adult delinquency for boys. Aggressiveness was not predictive of later crime for girls until they reached age 13. For both genders, relation between aggressiveness and crime was largely independent of intelligence and family education. (Author/NB)

A longitudinal study of approximately 1,000 students aged 10-16 showed high stability of intelligence and creativity. Stability coefficients for intelligence were higher than those for creativity. Results supported the construct validity of creativity. (MH)

Studied the stability of cross-situational anxiety reactions over six months to determine the stability of cross-situational patterns of behavior. Inventory and self-report description data analysis indicated a high and significant stability of cross-situational profiles for reactions across verbally described anxiety provocative situations. (RC)

Metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) remains controversial, since the underlying mechanisms behind this phenotype remain unclear. We aimed to investigate the characteristics of MHO, as well as prospective risks. A cross-sectional analysis was carried out in a subsample of 3812 obese subjects selected from the Malmo diet cancer study (n = 28,403). Subjects with MHO (n = 1182) were defined by having no records of hospitalization for somatic disorders prior to baseline examination. MHO subjects were further compared to subjects with metabolically unhealthy obesity, MUO (obese individuals with at least one recorded hospitalization: n = 2630), and all non-obese cohort controls (NOC; n = 24,591). Moreover, prospective risk analyses for incident cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality were carried out. Compared to MUO individuals, MHO individuals reported a significantly lower proportion of sedentary life style (p = 0.009), but also significantly lower HbA 1c (p = 0.012), fasting glucose (p = 0.001) and triglyceride levels (p = 0.011) than MUO. Cox-regression analysis (follow-up 20 ± 6 years) showed both a significantly lower all-cause mortality risk for MHO individuals as compared to MUO (p = 0.001), as well as lower incident CV morbidity risk (p = 0.001). When comparing MHO individuals to NOC, there were no significant differences in neither mortality risk nor incident CV morbidity risk. Compared to MUO individuals, MHO individuals presented with a higher level of physical activity, a more favorable lipid- and glucose profile and a lower prospective risk of total mortality and CV morbidity during 20-years follow-up. Notably, no significant differences could be seen in mortality and CV morbidity risks when comparing MHO subjects to non-obese controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A framework of allometric models for maximum knot size prediction is presented. • The model framework is valid for uneven-sized Norway spruce dominated stands. • Basal area of larger competitors is a significant predictor to branch length. • Branch length can be predicted with crown ratio as a proxy for competition impact. • Branch diameter is a function of age, length and relative position of the branch. The size of knots is negatively correlated with bending strength in sawn timber and it is therefore used as a quality grading criterion in national roundwood grading standards. Some standards even use the size of the largest knot as the sole estimate for individual log knottiness. The size of knots is determined by crown horizontal extension, which in turn is dependent on the impact of competing trees. Thus, with knot size models that are competition-dependent, roundwood quality due to knottiness can be simulated for different management alternatives. However, these types of models, calibrated on uneven-sized Norway spruce in Fennoscandia, are currently not available. Therefore, the objective of this study is to develop a competition-dependent model framework for prediction of the largest knot size per stem height section, for application within uneven-sized Norway spruce stands. Data from terrestrial laser scanning of an uneven-sized stand in southern Sweden are used to calibrate a modular prediction framework, consisting of interlinked allometric statistical models. Alternative framework sub-models are presented and the preferred model combination can be selected according to context and available input data. The flexible modular format enables further development of separate sub-components for adaptation to growing conditions not covered by the current calibration range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to sustainability transitions theories, innovation policies should create protective spaces (‘niches’) for promising new technologies. Moreover they should support a cumulative process of market formation and growth. Based on results from comparative case studies of two competing technological innovation systems for heavy transport (biogas and electrification), this paper argues that these recommendations are contradictory when technology alternatives with different degrees of maturity compete for the same niche. Should innovation policies open up the niche for the promising but immature alternative, or should they continue to support the technology that already has attained a niche position? If this contradiction remains unsolved, there is a risk for conflicts that block the progress of both alternatives. The paper suggests that there is a need for differentiated policies to resolve the contraction. In order to facilitate further development of both systems, the paper suggests that niche nurturing for immature systems needs to be combined with redeployment into new market segments for more mature systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational downsizing may be a risk factor for morbidity among both the displaced and those who remain in work. However, the knowledge is limited regarding its impact on clinically relevant mental health problems. Our objective was to investigate purchases of prescription antidepressants across 5 years in relation to workplace downsizing. We studied all Swedish residents 2004 throughout 2010, 22-54 years old in 2006, gainfully employed, and with a stable labor market position up to 2006. People primarily employed at a workplace with ≥18% staff reduction were considered exposed to major downsizing (in 2006-2007, 2007-2008, or 2008-2009). We applied repeated measures regression analyses through generalized estimating equations, calculating odds of any purchase of prescription antidepressants (inferred from the prescribed drug register) within five 12-month periods from 2 years before to 2 years after the period of major downsizing and compared the trends for newly exposed (n = 632,500) and unexposed (n = 1,021,759) to major downsizing. The odds of purchasing prescription antidepressants for exposed increased more than for nonexposed, mainly peridownsizing (1 year before to 1 year after), and postdownsizing (1 year after to 2 years after) for survivors (odds ratio 1.24 vs. 1.14 peridownsizing and 1.12 vs. 1.00 postdownsizing) and those changing workplace (odds ratio 1.22 vs. 1.14 peridownsizing and 1.10 vs. 1.00 postdownsizing) with no previous sickness absence or disability pension (≥7% more than unexposed peri- and postdownsizing). This large-scale study indicates that downsizing is associated with a slight increase in the odds of purchasing prescription antidepressants among people without previous sickness absence or disability pension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance: Depression is a common cause of morbidity and disability worldwide. Parental depression is associated with early-life child neurodevelopmental, behavioral, emotional, mental, and social problems. More studies are needed to explore the link between parental depression and long-term child outcomes.Objective: To examine the associations of parental depression with child school performance at the end of compulsory education (approximately age 16 years).Design, Setting, and Participants: Parental depression diagnoses (based on the International Classification of Diseases, Eighth Revision [ICD-8], International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision [ICD-9], and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision [ICD-10]) in inpatient records from 1969 onward, outpatient records beginning in 2001, and school grades at the end of compulsory education were collected for all children born from 1984 to 1994 in Sweden. The final analytic sample size was 1,124,162 biological children. We examined the associations of parental depression during different periods (before birth, after birth, and during child ages 1-5, 6-10, and 11-16 years, as well as any time before the child's final year of compulsory schooling) with the final school grades. Linear regression models adjusted for various child and parent characteristics. The dates of the analysis were January to November 2015.Main Outcome and Measure: Decile of school grades at the end of compulsory education (range, 1-10, with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest).Results: The study cohort comprised 1,124,162 children, of whom 48.9% were female. Maternal depression and paternal depression at any time before the final compulsory school year were associated with worse school performance. After covariate adjustment, these associations decreased to -0.45 (95% CI, -0.48 to -0.42) and -0.40 (-0.43 to -0.37) lower deciles, respectively. These effect sizes are similarly as large as the observed difference in school performance between the lowest and highest quintiles of family income but approximately one-third of the observed difference between maternal education of 9 or less vs more than 12 years. Both maternal depression and paternal depression at different periods (before birth, after birth, and during child ages 1-5, 6-10, and 11-16 years) generally were associated with worse school performance. Child sex modified the associations of maternal depression with school performance such that maternal depression had a larger negative influence on child school performance for girls compared with boys.Conclusions and Relevance: Diagnoses of parental depression throughout a child's life were associated with worse school performance at age 16 years. Our results suggest that diagnoses of parental depression may have a far-reaching effect on an important aspect of child development, with implications for future life course outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a highly heritable neuropsychiatric disorder of complex genetic etiology. Previous genome-wide surveys have revealed a greater burden of large, rare copy number variations (CNVs) in SCZ cases and identified multiple rare recurrent CNVs that increase risk of SCZ although with incomplete penetrance and pleiotropic effects. Identification of additional recurrent CNVs and biological pathways enriched for SCZ CNVs requires greater sample sizes. We conducted a genome-wide survey for CNVs associated with SCZ using a Swedish national sample (4719 cases and 5917 controls). High-confidence CNV calls were generated using genotyping array intensity data, and their effect on risk of SCZ was measured. Our data confirm increased burden of large, rare CNVs in SCZ cases as well as significant associations for recurrent 16p11.2 duplications, 22q11.2 deletions and 3q29 deletions. We report a novel association for 17q12 duplications (odds ratio=4.16, P=0.018), previously associated with autism and mental retardation but not SCZ. Intriguingly, gene set association analyses implicate biological pathways previously associated with SCZ through common variation and exome sequencing (calcium channel signaling and binding partners of the fragile X mental retardation protein). We found significantly increased burden of the largest CNVs (>500 kb) in genes present in the postsynaptic density, in genomic regions implicated via SCZ genome-wide association studies and in gene products localized to mitochondria and cytoplasm. Our findings suggest that multiple lines of genomic inquiry-genome-wide screens for CNVs, common variation and exonic variation-are converging on similar sets of pathways and/or genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]