DENMARK - Scepticism over government’s one-year masters degree plan [University World News, October 2022]

Title:

Scepticism over government’s one-year masters degree plan

 

Author:

Jan Petter Myklebust

 

Published:

University World News, 8 October 2022

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20221006151508259

 

From the article:

Proposed reforms to masters degree programmes, which will reduce the period of study for up to 50% of masters degrees from two years to one, have been met with scepticism by many higher education stakeholders.

Estimates of excess mortality for the five Nordic countries during the Covid-19 pandemic 2020-2021 [Preprint - medRxiv, May 2022]

Title:

Estimates of excess mortality for the five Nordic countries during the Covid-19 pandemic 2020-2021

 

Authors:

Kasper P. Kepp, Jonas Björk, Kristoffer T. Bæk & Tea Lallukka

 

Published:

medRxiv, 7 May 2022

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.07.22274789v1

 

Abstract:

Excess deaths during the covid-19 pandemic are of major scientific and political interest. Here we review excess all-cause death estimates from different methods for the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden), which have been much studied during the covid-19 pandemic. In the comparison of the methods, we use simple sensitivity estimates and linear interpolations of the death data to discuss uncertainties and implications for reporting ratios and infection fatality rates. We show using back-calculation of expected deaths from Nordic all-cause deaths that a recent study in Lancet, which is a clear outlier in the overviewed estimates, most likely substantially overestimates excess deaths of Finland and Denmark, and probably Sweden. The other estimates are more consistent and suggest a range of total Nordic excess deaths of approximately half of that in the Lancet study, a more uniform ability to identify covid-19-related deaths, and more similar infection fatality rates for the Nordic countries.

Vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection with the Omicron or Delta variants following a two-dose or booster BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 vaccination series: A Danish cohort study [Preprint - medRxiv, December 2021]

Title:

Vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection with the Omicron or Delta variants following a two-dose or booster BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 vaccination series: A Danish cohort study  

 

Authors:

Christian Holm Hansen, Astrid Blicher Schelde, Ida Rask Moustsen-Helm, Hanne-Dorthe Emborg, Tyra Grove Krause, Kåre Mølbak & Palle Valentiner-Branth

 

Published:

medRxiv, 21 December 2021

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.20.21267966v1

 

Note: 

This article is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed. 

 

Abstract:

In this brief communication we are showing original research results with early estimates from Danish nationwide databases of vaccine effectiveness (VE) against the novel SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) up to five months after a primary vaccination series with the BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 -19 vaccines.  Our study provides evidence of protection against infection with the Omicron variant after completion of a primary vaccination series with the BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 vaccines; in particular, we found a VE against the Omicron variant of 55.2% (95% confidence interval (CI): 23.5 to 73.7%) and 36.7% (95% CI: 69.9 to 76.4%) for the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 vaccines, respectively, in the first month after primary vaccination. However, the VE is significantly lower than that against Delta infection and declines rapidly over just a few months. The VE is re-established upon revaccination with the BNT162b2 vaccine (54.6%, 95% CI: 30.4 to 70.4%).

New digital tool helps caseworkers navigate complex legislation [IT University of Copenhagen, October 2021]

Title:

New digital tool helps caseworkers navigate complex legislation

 

Author:

Jari Kickbusch

 

Published:

IT University of Copenhagen, 4 October 2021

https://en.itu.dk/About-ITU/Press/News-from-ITU/2021/Ecoknow-afslutning-UK

From the article:

Caseworkers and clients in the Danish municipalities struggle with IT systems that cannot take individual needs into account and are difficult to adapt to the ever-changing legislation. The inflexible systems are expensive to maintain and make it difficult for the caseworkers to meet the legal requirements.  

 

A four-year project 

In 2017, Innovation Fund Denmark invested DKK 16 million in the four-year project Ecoknow, which aimed to investigate ways to make digital casework processes more intelligent, flexible, and transparent. The project, anchored at the IT University of Copenhagen, has just been completed and Principal Investigator, Professor and head of the software, data, people and society research section at Department of Computer Science at Copenhagen University, Thomas Hildebrandt, is proud of the achievement.

Technical University of Denmark (DTU) - Student project may improve Great Belt ice warnings (by Tobias Sydradal Lund)

Title:

Student project may improve Great Belt ice warnings

 

Author:

Tobias Sydradal Lund

 

Published:

Technical University of Denmark (DTU), 8 March 2021

https://www.dtu.dk/english/news/Nyhed?id={C5B6994D-128D-4966-B238-3903C9E4C6BD}

From the article:

Student has found a new method that can determine—using laser technology—when ice on the Great Belt Bridge melts. The result can contribute to reducing the risk of bridge closures.

Landmark Danish study finds no significant effect for facemask wearers by Prof Carl Heneghan & Tom Jefferson

Title:

Landmark Danish study finds no significant effect for facemask wearers

 

Authors:

Prof Carl Heneghan & Tom Jefferson

[Both from the University of Oxford]

 

Published:

The Spectator, 19 November 2020

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/do-masks-stop-the-spread-of-covid-19-

 

From the article:

Do face masks work? Earlier this year, the UK government decided that masks could play a significant role in stopping Covid-19 and made masks mandatory in a number of public places. But are these policies backed by the scientific evidence?  

 

Yesterday marked the publication of a long-delayed trial in Denmark which hopes to answer that very question. The ‘Danmask-19 trial’ was conducted in the spring with over 6,000 participants, when the public were not being told to wear masks but other public health measures were in place. Unlike other studies looking at masks, the Danmask study was a randomised controlled trial – making it the highest quality scientific evidence.

Short Article: 'Language death' in Denmark blamed on 'humanities bashing'

Title of short article:
'Language death' in Denmark blamed on 'humanities bashing'

Author:
Ellie Bothwell

Published:
Times Higher Education, 15 January 2020

From the article:
"The Danish National Centre for Foreign Languages (NCFF) estimates that 32 language degree programmes in Denmark have closed over the past five years."

To read this article:
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/language-death-denmark-blamed-humanities-bashing