cometadata/datacite-titles-descriptions-related-identifiers huggingface dataset:
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2483-v1
title: Municipal Youth Surveys, 2010-2016

description: Ungdata is a cross-national data collection scheme, designed to conduct youth surveys at the municipal level in Norway. The surveys are adjusted for students in comprehensive school. Ungdata cover various aspects of young people's lives, e.g. relationship with parents and friends, leisure activities, health issues, local environment, well-being, and school issues. The survey is collected online during school hours. The questionnaire has a fixed part which is similar in all surveys, in addition to a number of elective questions that municipalities can choose from based on interest and need. The questionnaire is reviewed every three years. The questionnaire was similar in all surveys during the period 2010-2012, 2013-2015 and 2016. Key parts of the questionnaire have been similar throughout the period 2010-2016. NOVA is responsible for the national coordination of the project, while the regional Drug and Alcohol Competence Centers are responsible for conducting the municipal surveys. Norwegian Directorate of Health, Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, Ministry of Justice and Public Security and Ministry of Education and Research has supported the development of Ungdata financially. From 2015, Ungdata is financed through the national budget. For more information about the survey, please see http://www.ungdata.no/English
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2484-v1
title: Towards an Integrated Tailored Food Policy: Consumer-level Mitigation Using a Hybrid Analysis of Meat Choice and Behavioural Change, 2015

description: The meat industry has been a significant contributor to greenhouse gases and a main cause of climate change. Dietary changes could play an important role in climate change mitigation policies. Existing practical measures were not targeted and tailored to the consumers. This project contended that we could no longer afford to use reactive stand-alone approaches. Consumers were important here and their individual food choices and habitual dietary changes had a high impact on reducing CO2 emissions. Despite this very little research were available on consumer-level mitigation. How could consumers change if they did not know what to change, how to change and what support were available for their change or what difference they were making with their change on CO2 emissions? This project was an attempt at covering the gaps of knowledge in this area.
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2485-v2
title: What Works? Why? And for Whom? Impact of Norwegian and Chinese Development Assistance in Malawi and Zambia, 2016

description: Even among the most ardent supporters of foreign aid, there is a recurring desire to ensure that disbursed funds are used efficiently and effectively to meet project and programme goals. Thus, we have witnessed, in recent years, a growing interest among aid agencies and consultants to monitor and evaluate what is often termed as “aid effectiveness”. The purpose of this study was to go beyond typical project evaluations and single case studies and develop new research-based knowledge on the comparative impacts of aid on two crucial pillars of development – gender equality and food security. Towards this goal, the study contributed to a more knowledge-based Norwegian development policy based on an examination of development theories on the one hand, and development policy objectives, practices and effects on the other. The project thus adapted an integrated (theory-policy-practice) and interdisciplinary approach. This dataset includes data from two surveys collected in Malawi and Zambia.
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2486-v2
title: Quality, Accessibility and Coordination of Health Care in Norway for People with Chronic Illnesses - Seen From the Users Point of View, 2013

description: While modern biomedicine revolutionised doctors ability to diagnose, treat and cure a wide range of diseases, health services in the western world struggle to meet the needs of an increasing number of people with complex chronic illnesses in need of long- term coordinated care. Patients with chronic conditions which are difficult to explain, diagnose and cure, including so-called medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS), are especially challenging. When a clear etymology, precise diagnostic tools and efficient treatments are lacking, the medical encounter becomes difficult for both doctor and patient. This project was designed to gain knowledge about how this user group experience the quality, accessibility and coordination of primary and secondary health care in the Norwegian National Health System. The main questions were: How do chronically ill persons perceive the quality, accessibility and coordination of national health services? Are their experiences systematically associated with gender, age, place of residence, or socioeconomic position? And what needs to be done to improve services offered to patients with complex chronic conditions? Cases chosen for the empirical study were people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and people with coeliac disease (CD). Special attention were given to women with ME. The project involved an international collaboration with a multidisciplinary group of researchers from three countries with similar National health systems: England, Canada and Norway.
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2487-v1
title: Effects of Changes in Leadership and Management Structures in Nordic Higher Education, 2016

description: There is a general assumption amongst policy makers and university managers that reforms in the internal management and leadership structures of universities positively contribute to increasing performance. Yet, few studies have so far shed light on this relationship, despite the continuing external calls for internal reform and "modernization" of Nordic universities. This study (2014-2017) investigated the performance effects - in both teaching and research - of changes in leadership and managerial structures of public universities across four Nordic countries: Norway, Finland, Denmark and Sweden. The study is comparative in nature and focused on three key aspects: (i) drivers, e.g. governmental mandated reforms; (ii) actors, both within universities and at the system level; and (iii) effects, both direct and indirect. The study aimed at providing clarity on the link between internal change and performance within public universities, as well as shed light on the consequences (including unintended ones) associated with the modernization of Nordic higher education. The research problem driving the inquiry was the following: To what extent are changes in leadership and management structures related to shifts in teaching and research performance in public universities across the Nordic countries in the last decade?
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2488-v1
title: Role of Government, Norwegian part of ISSP 2016

description: This survey is carried out on the basis of the research collaboration in "The International Social Survey Programme" (ISSP). ISSP is an international organisation that prepares and coordinates annual surveys in its member countries, mainly within the fields of political science and sociology. The topic of the surveys varies, but are repeated at intervals of a few years. In this way, changes in behavioral patterns and attitudes over time as well as differences between countries and cultures, are possible to be detected and measured. NSD became a member of ISSP in 1989 and have since been responsible for carrying out the surveys in Norway. ISSP «Role of Government» was conducted in 1985, 1990, 1996, 2006 and 2016, and NSD has participated the last four times.
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2488-v2
title: Role of Government, Norwegian part of ISSP 2016

description: This survey is carried out on the basis of the research collaboration in "The International Social Survey Programme" (ISSP). ISSP is an international organisation that prepares and coordinates annual surveys in its member countries, mainly within the fields of political science and sociology. The topic of the surveys varies, but are repeated at intervals of a few years. In this way, changes in behavioral patterns and attitudes over time as well as differences between countries and cultures, are possible to be detected and measured. NSD became a member of ISSP in 1989 and have since been responsible for carrying out the surveys in Norway.

ISSP «Role of Government» was conducted in 1985, 1990, 1996, 2006 and 2016, and NSD has participated the last four times.
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2489-v1
title: Maternal-Fetal Interactions. The Role of the Placenta, 2017

description: This dataset is derived from "Maternal-Fetal Interactions. The Role of the Placenta, 2017". The main objective was to study how maternal and fetal nutritional, metabolic and pathological factors interact with the placenta, and provide new insight to the conditions for fetal development. The project is a translational research project, combining clinical data and laboratory studies to understand normal placenta function and important conditions such as preclamp and diabetes in pregnancy.
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2490-v4
title: Municipalities' Role in Prevention and Health Promotion, 2014

description: «Municipalities' Role in Prevention and Health Promotion, 2014» addressed one of the two main areas of Samhandlingsreformen; namely public health - understood as health promoting and disease preventing measures. In parallel with the efforts of undertaking specialist health functions and sub-finance hospitalizations, the municipalities also promote health and prevent lifestyle-related illnesses such as diabetes 2, overweight and cardiovascular disease. In the longer term, the goal is that health promotion and prevention will reduce municipal expenses for hospitalization. The municipalities have a number of agencies that carry out public health-related work. We wanted to investigate how the public health work was organized, coordinated, which cooperative relations were developed and what type of measures were implemented. Some diseases are particularly common among parts of the immigrant population, and the project had a particular focus on this. We wanted to study municipalities with large amounts of immigrants to see if they introduced special measures towards this group. Public health work is both costly and labor-intensive. The main question is if the grips of the reform itself - economic incentives, regulations and demands for cooperation - are enough to create the desired pressure on such work.
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2492-v1
title: Menopause and Respiratory Health: The Role of Sex Hormones, Life Style Factors and Hormone Therapy, 2012

description: There is growing understanding of the importance of reproductive factors for respiratory health. Preventable factors such as smoking, obesity, physical activity and hormone therapy are known to affect both menopause and the airways. However, there is scarcely any knowledge on respiratory health changes during menopause, how sex hormones mediate such changes, or the potential for intervention. The issue is complex, and few study cohorts have sufficient information and numbers in the right age range. Understanding respiratory health changes during menopause is important, as women expect to live longer and with better life-quality, obesity is increasing globally with unknown consequences for reproductive and respiratory health, and obstructive lung diseases remain high in spite of decreasing smoking prevalence. The aim of this project was to study how menopause and the menopausal transition influences respiratory health (asthma, COPD, allergy and lung function), how potential changes are mediated by sex hormones, to identify effects of hormone therapy and of life-style factors (smoking, obesity, physical activity), and to design intervention strategies. Data from RHINE (Respiratory health i Northern Europe) and ECRHS (European Cohort Respiratory Health Survey) were used. These cohorts include extensive longitudinal data about respiratory and reproductive health, and blood samples from two time points 5-10 years apart available for hormone analyses. 

For further information about ”Menopause and Respiratory Health: The Role of Sex Hormones, Life Style Factors and Hormone Therapy, 2012”, please contact the principal investigator.
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2494-v1
title: Situated Reference in Language Acquisition: Visual and Emotional Information in L1 and L2 Language Comprehension, 2016

description: Understanding referential relations is a vital prerequisite to successful communication. This understanding emerges through a multi-modal sensory interaction with the environment and rests crucially on the ability to understand cues to other people's intentions and joint attention, e.g., eye-gaze and emotions. As language learning is largely input driven and adult language processing is modulated by visual and emotional information, it is reasonable to predict that these factors affect learner language processing and the emerging adult system, both in L1 and L2, in very important ways. Yet, there is very little research on how children process reference and no research on how this ability develops through the interaction of their linguistic and sensory experience. This project contributed to a more psychologically real understanding of how children process language in the world-context. Through cross-sectional design, they identified factors acting as predictors of children's performance later in language learning. 

For further information about ”Situated Reference in Language Acquisition: Visual and Emotional Information in L1 and L2 Language Comprehension, 2016", please contact the principal investigator.
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2495-v1
title: Studies of Humoral and Cell-Mediated Immune Protection During Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Infection in Human Population in an Endemic Setting, 2014

description: Tuberculosis (TB) causes an estimated 2 million people per year globally. However, despite technological advances of the 21st century, there are no efficacious vaccines that prevent TB transmission. The protective efficacy of BCG varies from zero to 80%, depending on the study population. Immune effector mechanisms that lead to protection or susceptibility are poorly known. It is generally believed that T cell immunity is critical for protection against Mtb. However, the role of humoral immunity in protection against Mtb infection has been neglected based on early classical experiments that lacked standard protocols, and the Th1/Th2 paradigm. In recent years, however, major discrepancies in this paradigm have been observed. A substantial body of data suggest that there is synergy and mutual interdependence between the two arms of acquired immunity. Studies on B cell deficient mice and SCID mice and responses to specific mycobacterial antigens in human subjects indicate that specific antibodies are not only protective but also modulate CMI against TB. This is a prospective study in which TB patients, their contacts (&gt;100h), and endemic controls (CCs) were selected from TB endemic communities, and their immune status determined. The immune profile of TB patients was determined before treatment, and six months and 12 months after treatment. The immune profile of HHCs and CCs was determined upon entry into the study and at 12 month intervals for two years. RT-PCR was used to determine the level of cytokine mRNA, whereas ELISA was employed to determine the level of specific cytokine and antibody responses. An appropriate statistical model was used to determine association of immune effector molecules with clinical disease or immune protection. Rapid TB diagnostic tests (under development in Norway) were evaluated. This project was the first of its kind to explore the protective role of antibodies in human cohorts in an endemic setting.
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2496-v1
title: The Function of Special Education, 2017

description: The main issue raised in this study was the teaching of pupils identified as having special needs in school. In 2017 about 18 % of the available lesson-resources were allocated to special education, which represented a noticeable increase compared to the year 2004, when 5,4 % of the pupils received special education. The school year 2010-2011 a total of 51 853 compulsory school pupils - or 8,4 % of the pupil population - received special education in Norway. The main question in the SPEED-project was how special education is functioning in Norwegian schools: The quality of teaching, how pupils who received special education experienced school and what the outcomes were. Pupils in special education and their teachers were the main informants. In addition, data was collected among classmates and from the classroom in which the pupils participated. Audio and partly video recording were used, together with observation forms, interviews and questionnaires. In order to compare development in learning outcomes for different groups of learners, all children in the involved classes were tested by means of national tests on two occasions (T1 and T2).
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2497-v2
title: Mechanisms for Vascular Disease in Women - Inflammation in Pre-eclampsia and Atherosclerosis, 2015

description: Pre-eclampsia (PE) is a major cause of maternal disease/death in pregnancy and affects about 5% of pregnant women. In severe cases, PE may also involve the fetus, causing premature deliveries and fetal growth restriction. Enhanced systemic inflammation and vascular endothelial activation are characteristic findings in pre-eclamptic women. Similar hallmarks are found in cardiovascular disease (CVD), and in accordance with this; women with previous pre-eclamptic pregnancies, have doubled risk for later-life CVD. In many ways pregnancy may be considered a metabolic stress test and PE may be the first clinical manifestation. This suggests that apparently healthy young women have abnormal metabolic/inflammatory responses. In this project, mechanisms underlying PE and CVD were explored by focusing on inflammation. Both initiating signals (endogenous damage/danger signals and pathogen components) and receptivity (pattern recognition receptors (PRRs)) of cases and controls were investigated. The genetic influence was assessed by genotyping PRR-related genes in women with and without PE in Norwegian cohorts, including the HUNT study. The role of local inflammatory responses at the maternal-fetal site was studied in placental and decidual tissues and in vitro studies of fetal trophoblasts. The aim was to study and compare inflammatory mechanisms associated with both PE and CVD in women. Findings may potentially open for tests for risk assessment, useful for a maternity care aiming to increase attention to pregnant women at risk. Development of CVD appears to have gender-specific mechanisms, which remain to be elucidated. Knowledge gained from the combined study of PE and CVD may generate useful insight in mechanisms underlying the female way of developing CVD.
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2498-v1
title: Structures and Patterns in Sami Ornamentations as Basis for the Teaching of Discrete Mathematics in Lower Secondary School, 2014

description: The project focused on relations between mathematics and culture. Etnomathematics is a new and growing field of research. Sámi ornamentation formed the foundation for instructions in discrete mathematics. Discrete mathematics is the mathematical language used in the field of informatics. The focus of the project was to design lessons and evaluate the effect and potential for improvement. The instructions were designed by the principal investigator, sami mathematic teachers, duodjars and a research fellow. The project had four phases: 1) Patterns and structures in sami ornamentation were identified and described as discrete mathematics. This phase culminated in a teaching experiment. 2) In the presence of the principal investigator and the research fellow, the teachers tested the experiment on their students. 3) Analyse of the experiment and design of an improved version. 4) A video was produced based on the improved experiment. For further information about ”Structures and Patterns in Sami Ornamentations as Basis for the Teaching of Discrete Mathematics in Lower Secondary School, 2014”, please contact the principal investigator.
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2499-v2
title: SENCANCER: Sensing Iillness in Everyday Life: Care-Seeking and Perception of Symptoms Among Chronic Cancer Patients, 2015

description: The purpose of the SENCANCER project was to investigate how people who have had cancer notice and experience symptoms and bodily changes. We have investigated how everyday life developed, what experiences lead to consulting a doctor, who is used as a help in their social networks (therapeutic pathways) and how to experience the transition from healthy to worried and ill. In the project we also looked at how people who previously had cancer experienced different health services at different levels in the healthcare sector.
Two PhD candiates have conducted parallel studies focusing on urban and rural areas in order to make comparative analyzes. Methodologically, both studies are based on anthropological fieldwork. The two PhD candidates performed fieldwork in two different places from January 2014 to January 2015. The one, in a larger municipal municipality, and the other in a smaller rural municipality, both in Northern Norway.
We came to different understandings of how bodily symptoms are both interpreted and ignored, which are important when it comes to consulting a doctor. Another finding regards who the informants share their existential uncertainty with and how it constitutes social relations. How nature and homeliness in landscapes are used as dealing with concern, and howto use their social relationships differently with concern regarding the return of cancer are other significant findings. All studies provide an extended understanding of post-cancer life in various social contexts.

For further information about ” SENCANCER: Sensing Iillness in Everyday Life: Care-Seeking and Perception of Symptoms Among Chronic Cancer Patients, 2015”, please contact the Principal Investigator.
DOI: 10.18712/nsd-nsd2499-v3
title: SENCANCER: Sensing Iillness in Everyday Life: Care-Seeking and Perception of Symptoms Among Chronic Cancer Patients, 2015

description: The purpose of the SENCANCER project was to investigate how people who have had cancer notice and experience symptoms and bodily changes. We have investigated how everyday life developed, what experiences lead to consulting a doctor, who is used as a help in their social networks (therapeutic pathways) and how to experience the transition from healthy to worried and ill. In the project we also looked at how people who previously had cancer experienced different health services at different levels in the healthcare sector.
Two PhD candiates have conducted parallel studies focusing on urban and rural areas in order to make comparative analyzes. Methodologically, both studies are based on anthropological fieldwork. The two PhD candidates performed fieldwork in two different places from January 2014 to January 2015. The one, in a larger municipal municipality, and the other in a smaller rural municipality, both in Northern Norway.
We came to different understandings of how bodily symptoms are both interpreted and ignored, which are important when it comes to consulting a doctor. Another finding regards who the informants share their existential uncertainty with and how it constitutes social relations. How nature and homeliness in landscapes are used as dealing with concern, and howto use their social relationships differently with concern regarding the return of cancer are other significant findings. All studies provide an extended understanding of post-cancer life in various social contexts.

For further information about ” SENCANCER: Sensing Iillness in Everyday Life: Care-Seeking and Perception of Symptoms Among Chronic Cancer Patients, 2015”, please contact the Principal Investigator.