Browsing by Author "Fredriksson, Sofie"

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Hearing-related symptoms among women - Occurrence and risk in relation to occupational noise and stressful working conditions
(2018-05-24) Fredriksson, Sofie
A considerable amount of research has been devoted to the risk of noise-induced hearing loss among industry workers – the majority of whom are men. Much less research has been done in female-dominated human service occupations, including obstetrical care and preschools. These work environments can be characterised by noise from intense speech communication and screaming and by stressful working conditions. To address the lack of studies in female-dominated workplaces we have assessed the occurrence and risk of hearing-related symptoms among obstetrical personnel (n 115), the diagnostic validity of self-reported symptoms (n 55), and the relative risk of hearing-related symptoms among female preschool teachers (n 4718) compared to women in the general population (n 4122). The main finding of this thesis was that women working in obstetrical care and preschools have an increased risk of hearing-related symptoms. We found that equivalent sound levels measured in the obstetrical ward exceeded 80 dBA in 45% and 85 dBA in 5% of the work shifts measured. Maximum levels >115 dBA were measured during ongoing labours. We found an increased risk of tinnitus and sound-induced auditory fatigue in association with occupational noise exposure among obstetrical personnel. Sound-induced auditory fatigue was also associated with noise annoyance. Work-related stress slightly missed significance in a multivariable model. We found an acceptable diagnostic validity for the questionnaire item assessing sound-induced auditory fatigue. It identified >85% of women with fairly mild hearing disorder diagnosed by pure-tone audiometry and by otoacoustic emissions and simultaneously correctly dismissed 70%. The items assessing hearing loss and tinnitus had a sensitivity around 70% in relation to pure-tone audiometry, but wide confidence intervals. Items had low validity in relation to very mild diagnosed hearing disorder. We also found that preschool teachers had higher prevalence of hearing-related symptoms and reported symptom onset earlier in life compared to women in the general population. The relative risk was more than twofold for sound-induced auditory fatigue, hyperacusis and difficulty perceiving speech and less pronounced for hearing loss and tinnitus. The risk of hyperacusis was pronounced among preschool teachers who reported exposure to loud noise. Stressful working conditions had a similar effect on sound-induced auditory fatigue, but the prevalence of sound-induced auditory fatigue was much higher among those reporting noise exposure. We found that working in equivalent sound levels in the range of 75–85 dBA (assigned by a Job-Exposure Matrix) increased the hazard of adult-onset hyperacusis among women in general, and particularly among women working in preschools who had a threefold hazard ratio compared to women working in exposure to equivalent sound levels below 75 dBA. Prospective longitudinal studies are needed to ascertain causality. Nevertheless, the pronounced risk of hearing-related symptoms in the occupations studied should be taken seriously and consequences need further study. In addition, our studies showed that hearing protection is rarely used by obstetrical personnel and by preschool teachers. Hence, suitable and acceptable hearing preventive methods and noise-mitigating measures need further development in communication-intense sound environments.
Språkets roll i bedömningen i samhällskunskap
(2019) Fredriksson, Sofie; Statsvetenskapliga institutionen
Det finns betygsskillnader mellan elever som har svenska som modersmål och flerspråkiga elever (Skolverket, 2018b, s.22). Denna studie visar att en av orsakerna till betygsskillnaderna är att lingvistiska aspekter i somliga fall påverkar den summativa bedömningen av flerspråkiga elevers skriftliga inlämningsuppgifter i samhällskunskap. Lingvistiska aspekter är exempelvis stavning och meningsbyggnad. Aspekterna ska enbart ingå i formativt syfte i samhällskunskapsundervisningen (Skolverket, 2011). Denna studie visar dock att de har en större roll än så. Undersökningens metod är ett surveyexperiment. Deltagarna har summativt bedömt två autentiska elevtexter genom att fylla i en bedömningsmatris och avlägga ett bokstavsbetyg. Efter avslutat experiment har deltagarna även besvarat en enkät som syftar till att besvara huruvida det finns en diskrepans mellan lärares upplevelse av språkets roll i bedömningen och hur de i verkligheten bedömer. Resultatet av experimentet och enkäten har således jämförts med varandra. Studien visar att elever som bristfälligt behärskar svenskans lingvistiska aspekter blir hårdare bedömda i samhällskunskap än elever som behärskar dessa väl. Effekten finns emellertid enbart om bristerna är betydande. Det finns även en diskrepans hos lärare mellan upplevelsen av språkets roll och verkligheten. Lärarens medvetenhet om språkets påverkan minskar effekten men den kvarstår alltjämt. Studiens resultat visar att bedömningens rättssäkerhet brister. En rättssäker bedömning är vitalt i synnerhet eftersom betygen bl.a. har en urvalsfunktion till högre studier.
Utveckling av de enstaviga ordlistorna för talaudiometri - begreppsanalys och teoriutveckling
(2008-10-29T09:11:00Z) Fredriksson, Sofie; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för neurovetenskap och fysiologi; Gothenburg University/Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology
The expression "phonetically balanced lists" or "PB-word lists" are often used related to the material intended for speech audiometry testing. This thesis looks into how these expressions can be related to the word material used in speech audiometry for speech recognition testing. The study concludes that phonemic balance, if any, is the preferred concept when describing the existing word lists. Further more the study shows that attempts to approximate a phonemic balance in word material intended for speech recognition testing has little relevance. Finally the study also indicates that word difficulty, word frequency and commonness has an impact on the recognition scores. These factors may be more relevant to consider in the development of a new material, but further research is needed before any conclusions can be drawn in relations to the material used for speech audiometry testing.