Press releases

A fresh report that assessed the treatment at three youth homes run by the National Board of Institutional Care, abbreviated SiS in Swedish, shows that two thirds of the boys do fairly well. On the other hand, the choice of methods used does not appear to be crucial. The key factor is the competence and commitment of the staff and the boys’ relationship with their contact persons.

China’s local people’s congresses have recently become more active and been given more political power. By cooperating closely with the party, the partially popularly elected people’s congresses are increasing their capacity to monitor their local administrations. This puts more pressure on local politicians to follow the law and not abuse their power.

Entrepreneurs who are quick to think along new lines, invest in new technology, and who dare to take risks are more successful than more traditional small-scale business people. This was found in a study carried out among 14 manufacturing companies mainly in the Mälaren Valley in central Sweden.

A new report, “Part of a Context,” presents successful outcomes in the rehabilitation of female substance abusers with the help of a network model used at Fortuna House in Värnamo, Sweden. The project helped 18 of 20 women out of their abuse, that is, 90 percent.

EU agricultural policy has its roots in the post-war food shortages and is completely outmoded today. The problems of colossal surpluses of meat and butter and dramatically rising costs indicate that something must be done. But this requires planning models and methods to make it possible to carry out the necessary reforms in a sensible way.

Previous research has shown that paranormal experiences can be achieved via electromagnetic stimulation of the temple lobe. Now scientists from Uppsala and Lund universities are calling into question how the experiments were set up and therefore questioning the results. Their study involving identical magnetic field equipment produced no such relationship.

The question about a common European foreign policy is high on the political agenda. Two recent international events – the agreement on a European Constitution and the war in Iraq – have put the spotlight on the prospects for a common European foreign policy. In a comparative foreign policy study of the three largest EU member states – Britain, France and Germany – Lisbeth Aggestam at Stockholm University analyses how political elites in these three countries conceive of a European foreign policy after the end of the Cold War.

The citizens of the formerly communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe are satisfied with democracy as a form of government but dissatisfied with way the democratic system is working. This has been shown in a doctoral dissertation by political scientist Jonas Linde at Örebro University in Sweden. Linde has found a gap between support for the principles of democracy and how the political system is working in practice.

A VTI study performed in the driving simulator shows that using a mobile phone with a handsfree kit is no safer in traffic than using a hand-held mobile phone.

There is a clear co-variation between allergic symptoms in children and the concentration of softening agents in their homes. This is a finding made by a Swedish-Danish research team in a recently published study financed by Formas, the Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences, and Spatial Planning.