Who marries whom? Educational homogamy in Norway

A number of previous studies have documented a fairly high level of marital homogamy in Norway. Most of these studies, however, have been local and ethnographic, or based on national data measuring homogamy within a limited time period. This study is based on a sample of 129 651 individuals from the 1980 Census. From this data bank, a sample of couples is constructed. Patterns of educational homogamy across five ten-year cohorts, born between 1900 and 1949, are compared. The results show a decline in educational homogamy across these cohorts, both in absolute terms and when controlling for the general increase in educational level during the period.assortative mating, cohort analysis, homogamy, marriage

Educational homogamy in Norway: Trends and patterns

This paper focuses on trends and patterns in educational homogamy over time. A number of previous studies have documented a fairly high level of homogamy in Norway. Most of these studies, however, have been local and ethnographic, or based on national data measuring homogamy within a limited time period. Based on a 10 percent sample of the 1980 Census, we are comparing patterns of educational homogamy across six cohorts, where the oldest is born between 1900-1909. The results show a decline in educational homogamy over time, both in absolute terms and when controlling for the general increase in educational level during the period

Asymmetric electroosmotic pumping across porous media sandwiched with perforated ion-exchange membranes

To have non-zero net flow in AC electroosmotic pumps, the electroosmosis (EO) has to be non-linear and asymmetric. This can be achieved due to ionic concentration polarization. This is known to occur close to micro-/nano-interfaces provided that the sizes of the nanopores are not too large compared to the Debye screening length. However, operation of the corresponding EO pumps can be quite sensitive to the solution concentration and, thus, unstable in practical applications. Concentration polarization of ion-exchange membranes is much more robust. However, the hydraulic permeability of the membrane is very low, which makes EO flows through them extremely small. This communication shows theoretically how this problem can be resolved via making scarce microscopic perforations in an ion-exchange membrane and putting it in series with an EO-active nano-porous medium. The problem of coupled flow, concentration and electrostatic-potential distributions is solved numerically by using finite-element methods. This analysis reveals that even quite scarce perforations of micron-scale diameters are sufficient to observe practically-interesting EO flows in the system. If the average distance between the perforations is smaller than the thickness of the EO-active layer, there is an effective homogenization of the electrolyte concentration and hydrostatic pressure in the lateral direction at some distance from the interface. The simulations show this distance to be somewhat lower than the half-distance between the perforations. On the other hand, when the surface fraction of perforations is sufficiently small (below a fraction of a percent) this “homogeneous” concentration is considerably reduced (or increased, depending on the current direction), which makes the EO strongly non-linear and asymmetric. This analysis provides initial guidance for the design of high-productivity and inexpensive AC electroosmotic pumps.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

A taxonomy of tool-related issues affecting the adoption of model-driven engineering

Although poor tool support is often blamed for the low uptake of model-driven engineering (MDE), recent studies have shown that adoption problems are as likely to be down to social and organizational factors as with tooling issues. This article discusses the impact of tools on MDE adoption and practice and does so while placing tooling within a broader organizational context. The article revisits previous data on MDE use in industry (19 in-depth interviews with MDE practitioners) and reanalyzes that data through the specific lens of MDE tools in an attempt to identify and categorize the issues that users had with the tools they adopted. In addition, the article presents new data: 20 new interviews in two specific companies—and analyzes it through the same lens. A key contribution of the paper is a loose taxonomy of tool-related considerations, based on empirical industry data, which can be used to reflect on the tooling landscape as well as inform future research on MDE tools

Samhandlingsreformen og bruk av digitale verktøy på Fosen. En innledende kartlegging

-Informasjons- og kommunikasjonsteknologi (IKT), som høykvalitets videokonferanser, sensorteknologi etc., kan være viktige hjelpemidler i gjennomføringen av Samhandlingsreformen (SHR). Gjennom kvalitative intervjuer av 53 personer ble det undersøkt hvilke strukturelle og kulturelle forhold som det er viktig å ta hensyn til i Fosenkommunene i gjennomføringen av SHR ved hjelp av digitale verktøy. Det eksisterende kommunesamarbeidet på Fosen er et meget godt utgangspunkt for realisering av SHR. Det gis også i dag et relativt avansert helsetilbud som inkluderer bruk av IKT, særlig gjennom Fosen Distriktsmedisinske Senter, men også ved sykehjemmene. Ansatte i helsetjenestene er generelt positive til utviklingsprosjekter og til å ta i bruk ny IKT. Det er imidlertid noe skepsis knyttet til bruk av IKT mellom behandler og pasient, og også generelt til hvorvidt brukerstøtten vil være tilstrekkelig. Det anbefales at innføring av nye IKT-løsninger tas i avgrensede steg. Ved hvert steg bør det sikres tilstrekkelig opplæring, mestring og brukerstøtte for å ivareta tilliten til løsningene. Sykehjemmene kan være ”noder” i utvidelsen av samarbeidet mellom Fosenkommunene ved hjelp av IKT. Det beskrives noen utfordringer som bør søkes løst, blant annet knyttet til opplæring av mange deltidsansatte, tilgjengelighet til videokonferanseutstyr, brukerstøtte og organisatoriske forhold i spesialisthelsetjenesten

Duration of BCG protection against tuberculosis and change in effectiveness with time since vaccination in Norway: a retrospective population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about how long the BCG vaccine protects against tuberculosis. We assessed the long-term vaccine effectiveness (VE) in Norwegian-born individuals. METHODS: In this retrospective population-based cohort study, we studied Norwegian-born individuals aged 12-50 years who were tuberculin skin test (TST) negative and eligible for BCG vaccination as part of the last round of Norway's mandatory mass tuberculosis screening and BCG vaccination programme between 1962 and 1975. We excluded individuals who had tuberculosis before or in the year of screening and those with unknown TST and BCG status. We obtained TST and BCG information and linked it to the National Tuberculosis Register, population and housing censuses, and the population register for emigrations and deaths. We followed individuals up to their first tuberculosis episode, emigration, death, or Dec 31, 2011. We used Cox regressions to estimate VE against all tuberculosis and just pulmonary tuberculosis by time since vaccination, adjusted for age, time, county-level tuberculosis rates, and demographic and socioeconomic indicators. FINDINGS: Median follow-up was 41 years (IQR 32-49) for 83 421 BCG-unvaccinated and 44 years (41-46) for 297 905 vaccinated individuals, with 260 tuberculosis episodes. Tuberculosis rates were 3·3 per 100 000 person-years in unvaccinated and 1·3 per 100 000 person-years in vaccinated individuals. The adjusted average VE during 40 year follow-up was 49% (95% CI 26-65), although after 20 years, the VE was not significant (up to 9 years VE [excluding tuberculosis episodes in the first 2 years] 61% [95% CI 24-80]; 10-19 years 58% [27-76]; 20-29 years 38% [-32 to 71]; 30-40 years 42% [-24 to 73]). VE against pulmonary tuberculosis up to 9 years (excluding tuberculosis episodes in the first 2 years) was 67% (95% CI 27-85), 10-19 years was 63% (32-80), 20-29 years was 50% (-19 to 79), and 30-40 years was 40% (-46 to 76). INTERPRETATION: Findings are consistent with long-lasting BCG protection, but waning of VE with time. The vaccine could be more cost effective than has been previously estimated FUNDING: Norwegian Institute of Public Health and London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine