Browsing by Author "Ericsson, Anna"

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Fibromyalgia and chronic widespread pain. Dimensions of fatigue and effects of physiotherapy.
(2012-04-17) Ericsson, Anna
Aims. Fatigue is a severe problem for patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and chronic widespread pain (CWP). The general aims of the thesis were to describe the fatigue experienced by patients with FM and CWP, explore the usefulness of the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20) in women with FM and investigate the effects of different types of physiotherapy on fatigue and other health related aspects in patients with FM and CWP. Methods. The patients in the thesis were mainly recruited from primary health care. Two methodological studies were performed to investigate psychometric properties and usefulness of the Multidimensional fatigue inventory (MFI-20). Ratings of fatigue were also compared between different populations. Two randomized-controlled studies were conducted to evaluate effects of physiotherapy in patients with FM and CWP. Results. I. The study included 166 women and 44 men with FM and CWP (the analyses in men were additional in the thesis). All five subscales of the MFI-20 showed fair to moderate (women) and moderate to good (men) associations with the one-dimensional subscale of fatigue included in the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), indicating sufficient convergent validity. In analyses of 36 women and 26 men with FM and CWP, the MFI-20 was found to possess acceptable test-retest reliability and internal consistency. II. The study included 133 women with FM. The subscales of the MFI-20 were found to be associated with employment, physical activity and the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) (p<0.01), while the FIQ fatigue was not. The MFI- 20 and the FIQ fatigue were equally associated with pain, sleep and distress (r p<0.01). Women with FM (n=133) rated their fatigue higher (p<0.001) than the healthy women (n=158) in all fatigue dimensions. III. The randomized controlled trial included 166 women with FM or CWP. The FIQ total (p=0.040) and the FIQ pain (p=0.018) improved in the exercise-education group as compared to the control group which only received education. Patients with at least 60% attendance in exercise sessions improved in the FIQ total, the 6MWT and the FIQ pain compared with controls (p<0.05). Analyses within subgroups showed that patients with milder stress, pain or distress improved most by exercise on the FIQ total (p<0.05) compared with controls. Patients with more severe symptoms appeared to improve equally regardless of the type of intervention. IV. The pilot study comprised 44 men with FM and CWP and 28 men with CWP were included in the main analyses of the randomized controlled trial. Resistance training improved isometric force in right arm shoulder abduction (p=0.010) and knee flexion (right: p=0.005, left: p=0.002) as compared to pool exercise. Within-group analyses showed that the resistance training group also improved in general fatigue (p=0.035) and right hand grip force (p=0-009) and the pool exercise group improved in MFI-20 reduced motivation (p=0.008) and symptoms of anxiety (p=0.032). Conclusions. The MFI-20 was found to possess sufficient test-retest reliability, convergent validity and internal consistency in patients with FM and CWP. Assessment of multiple fatigue dimensions appears to be most useful in relation to aspects of employment and physical function in female patients with FM. Physiotherapy including exercise and education appears to improve health, including some dimensions of fatigue, in patients with FM and CWP.
IAS 1 Punkt 113 och 116 - betydende bedömningar och osäkerheter i uppskattningar
(2009-04-20T06:55:06Z) Ericsson, Anna; Kullberg, Jennie; Göteborg University/Department of Business Administration; Göteborgs universitet/Företagsekonomiska institutionen
Bakgrund och problem: IAS 1 innehåller krav på att företag skall lämna upplysningar om de viktigaste bedömningar företag gör vid tillämpning av dess redovisningsprinciper samt viktiga källor till osäkerhet i uppskattningar. Detta krav innefattas av punkterna 113 och 116. Information av denna typ är för företag en balansgång mellan öppenhet och att kunna behålla konkurrensfördelar. Kravet var efter implementeringen av IFRS år 2005 nytt för svenska noterade bolag. Det förekommer mer eller mindre lyckade försök att förverkliga tanken bakom upplysningskravet. Ett problem för företag kan vara att kartlägga vad som egentligen utgör ett osäkert antagande. Syfte: Uppsatsens syfte är att kartlägga de områden gällande IAS 1 punkt 113 och 116 som företag upplyser om. Vidare är syftet att få en bild av omfattningen och placeringen utav dessa upplysningar. Uppsatsen skall också redogöra för eventuella variationer som kan finnas mellan företag inom samma bransch samt mellan två olika branscher. De två branscher som undersöks är industri- och finansbranschen. Avgränsningar: Undersökningen är avgränsad till de företag inom Finans– och Industrisektorn listade på Stockholmsbörsen per den 16 november 2008, vilka i sin redovisning skall följa IFRS samt har ett räkenskapsår som sammanfaller med kalenderåret 2007. Metod: Uppsatsen bygger på en kvantitativ metod där 109 stycken årsredovisningar har undersökts. Denna undersökning gav material som användes för den statistiska analysen där det prövades för signifikanta skillnader. Studiens urval är de två branscherna industri och finans vilka är indelade på Stockholmsbörsen. Den information som insamlats överfördes till en av oss utvecklad mall. Resultat och slutsatser: Vad gäller placeringen av upplysningarna fann vi ingen signifikant skillnad om denna fanns bland redovisningsprinciperna eller i enskild not. En anledning till detta kan vara att IAS 1 punkt 113 tillåter placering både bland redovisningsprinciper och noter. Vi är dock av uppfattningen att placering i enskild not är optimalt. De områden företagen tenderar att oftast upplysa om är exempelvis nedskrivning av goodwill samt uppskjutna skattefordringar/skulder. Det föreligger en signifikant skillnad mellan branscherna med avseende på omfattning och hur ofta företagen upplyser inom vissa områden. Genomgående dominerar industribranschen vad gäller medelantalet ord och upplysningsområden. Vi ser därför företagen inom finans som mer restriktivt inställda till upplysningskraven. Vi har också dragit slutsatsen att företagen inom industribranschen anser att upplysningskraven är viktigare än företagen inom finansbranschen. Vidare dominerar också de större företagen inom de båda branscherna vad gäller föregående.
The Global Logistics Cluster - A mechanism to coordinate humanitarian logistics
(2015-10-02) Boström, Emma; Ericsson, Anna; University of Gothenburg/Department of Business Administration; Göteborgs universitet/Företagsekonomiska institutionen
Disasters are occurring more frequently and are affecting more people than ever, therefore humanitarian operations are becoming more important. The location of a disaster is difficult to predict which makes the use of effective logistics services a key function when it comes to distributing supplies. Time is an important factor, and therefore preparedness is important to organize an effective and efficient response. There are many different organizations involved in the humanitarian sector and the coordination of their efforts have been a problem, bad coordination have resulted in actors competing for recourses. The Global Logistics Cluster (GLC) is a coordination mechanism that has been developed within the humanitarian sector to address the issues that the lack of coordination has led to in the past. If a cluster is well developed and managed correctly, it might have a positive impact on the immediate response after a disaster. This would indicate that the GLC can improve the emergency preparedness by reducing confusion and inappropriate use of resources in the aftermath of a disaster. The discussion on the link between the use of a logistics cluster and emergency preparedness have been given very little attention both in literature and practice. We reach the conclusion that the GLC should be viewed as an important part of the preparedness activities. The purpose of the initiation of the GLC is clear, and as the case studies reveal that preparedness related activities are carried out, our interpretation is that more can be done in terms of preparedness. However, our research only show a small part of what can be done in the preparedness phase, and further research could reveal more important information concerning coordination and preparedness related activities. This could, in the long run, allow a more efficient and effective response and thereby save more lives.