Provision of health services to irregular migrants with a special focus on children

All European countries are now facing a situation where a part of the population consists of migrants without a permit to stay or reside. These persons may have health problems, and the question then rises regarding health services to irregular migrants. Normally, welfare benefits are offered those with a relationship to the country concerned, as citizen, asylum seeker, tourist, etc. Irregular migrants are outside the society, and it could be suggested that they therefore should be denied health services. On the other hand, common European standards of humanity lay obligations on the States, for example, where situations are life-threatening. This contribution gives an overview of relevant legal instruments, both from the UN, Council of Europe and the European Union. Although there are many similarities, the instruments have their differences, and there may even be some tensions regarding the underlying values.     

Parents as decision-makers--do the attitudes of Norwegian doctors conform to law?

This article studies whether the attitudes of Norwegian doctors regarding surrogate decision power in end-of-life care conform to legal rules, particularly as they apply to the protection of children. The article is based on a hypothetical scenario concerning a critically ill child, believed to be dying, presented to 406 doctors. The study indicates that doctors may permit parental/surrogate decision-making to a greater extent than justified by law, sometimes in contravention of the child's best interests, which should be a fundamental guideline in all decisions that concern children. This article suggests a need to improve knowledge of doctors concerning parents'/surrogates' right to participate in life-or-death decisions. We conclude that Norway needs a precedent decision from the Supreme Court that confirms the right of judicial review of end-of-life decisions, and which applies the principle of the child's best interests as a fundamental guideline in the final decision.     

Latent Profile Approach to Duration of Stalking

Abstract: Stalking behavior and victim–stalker relationship are often the principal known factors in a stalking case. Thus, they are of great importance when trying to identify factors contributing to stalking duration. The present study aims to identify distinct subgroups of stalking victims based on measures of behavioral stalking dimensions. These victim subgroups, stalking dimensions, and victim–stalker relationship are examined in relation to stalking duration. Using a sample of 137 university students, latent profile analysis (LPA) revealed five distinct victim subgroups based on stalker behavior dimensions: surveillance, low‐profile, social lurker, wide scope, and baseline stalkers. The subgroups were significantly related to stalking duration and explained a considerable amount of the variance along with the stalking dimensions and victim–stalker relationship. Connections to stalking literature and utility of person‐orientated methods in stalking research are discussed.     

Longitudinal Analysis of Links Between Bullying Victimization and Psychosomatic Maladjustment in Swedish Schoolchildren

Cross-sectional studies of bullying mask variability in categories of and persistence of bullying victimization. Longitudinal, individual-level data offers a greater insight into schoolchildren’s psychosomatic maladjustment as a consequence of bullying. Swedish schoolchildren (n = 3,349), with unique identifiers, in 44 schools (4th–9th grade), answered a questionnaire at baseline and 1-year follow-up. Longitudinal trends for nonvictims (88%), ceased victims (4.7%), new victims (5.7%), and continuing victims (1.6%) revealed that new victims had the largest decrease in well-being; continuing victims had a smaller though not significant decrease; while ceased victims showed a small, (nonsignificant) increase in well-being over the measurement period. It was also discovered that children not bullied at baseline but bullied subsequently, differed, at baseline, from their never-bullied peers through lower levels of overall well-being. It is argued that this finding has implications for prevention strategies.     

Conceptualizing the Tools of Government in Urban Network Governance

The alleged increase in new governance arrangements is often understood as a challenge, since public leaders are considered to be less able to influence and govern when government is only one out of several stakeholders. Some scholars argue that steering in such settings is fundamentally different from steering in a hierarchical context. This article aims to assess how a classic and generic analytical framework to tools of government, the NATO-scheme developed by Christopher Hood, fits in a setting where local governments attempt to influence networks. Based on in-depth studies of nine urban networks in Norway, we have assessed the toolbox and the use of different tools. The article demonstrates that the suggested generic framework makes sense in a network context. Thus, to bridge the classic literature on policy instruments and the growing discourse on meta-governance would probably be beneficial.     

Institutional Change and Professional Norms: A Study of Grading Behavior in Higher Education

This study investigates how an institutional exogenous change interacts with professional norms in relation to behavior in public organizations. We test how a new grading scale introduced in 2007 changed grade point averages and pass rates at two university departments. Data consist of register data on grading between 2004 and 2010. We find that the new grading scale both increased grade point averages and pass rates and halted the negative time trend in these variables. These effects are even greater for exams with an external examiner. The main conclusion is that grading systems affect grading both immediately and over time.     

Generalizability of a two-factor measure of young children's suggestibility in Norway and the USA

Abstract

We discuss the development of the Book Suggestibility Scale for Children (BSSC), a two-factor suggestibility measure developed as an alternative to the Video Suggestibility Scale for Children (VSSC; Scullin & Ceci, Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 843–856, 2001). In study 1, both the BSSC and the VSSC were administered to 60 American preschool children. Children responded affirmatively to inaccurate leading questions (Yield) and changed their answers in response to negative feedback from interviewers (Shift) in a similar manner on both scales. In study 2 we found that the BSSC was useful for studies of suggestibility in contexts other than America because 62 Norwegian preschool children responded to questions in a similar manner to an age-range and vocabulary matched group of 31 American children. Results support a two-factor model of suggestibility, although Yield appears to measure suggestibility across scales and situations more consistently than does Shift. American age-matched samples had significantly higher Shift and Yield 2 scores than the Norwegian sample.     

Making the Most of Smallness: Economic Policy in Microstates and Sub-national Island Jurisdictions

Recent research has shown how the economies of very small jurisdictions function differently from the economies of larger jurisdictions. Due to the small populations and small economic size of microstates and SNIJs (sub-national island jurisdictions), their governments function differently as well, tending to be disproportionately large relative to their populations. Although small economic size is often considered a disadvantage, microstates and SNIJs also possess competitive advantages in engaging in economic policy aimed at developing core competencies and nurturing economic diversity. This paper considers why such policies may be particularly effective in very small jurisdictions and explores examples (with a special focus on Shetland, UK) of how island jurisdictions are using place branding initiatives to turn tourism marketing into a means of diversifying their economies and expanding their innovative capacities. The paper also considers how such policies may be problematic in terms of tenets of good governance and democratic responsiveness.