Abstract The Old High German words tegal m. ‘tableware (of clay)’ and tegil m. ‘(melting) pot’ are generally seen as Romance loanwords. In the following it is shown that there is no need for this assumption because on the one hand Old High German tegal has a correspondence in Norn digel (in digel[s]mur ‘hard clayish ground’) and on the other hand the inherited words Icelandic deigla f. ‘(melting) pot’ and dialectal Norwegian deigla ‘id.’ show that a semantic development from ‘tableware (of clay)’ to ‘melting pot’ is possible.
Статья посвящена исследованию осетинского фольклора об ус-бирæгъ (ведьмах, ассоциируемых с волчицами) и его связи с охотой на ведьм как феноменом европейского Возрождения. Анализируются причины появления и развития феномена "охоты на ведьм" через средневековые исторические источники, процессы и психологию. Рассмотрен феномен аутодафе через средневековую литературу и библию, а также случаи применения похожих методов казни до инквизиционных процессов. Первый случай сожжения ус-бирæгъ на территории Северной и Южной Осетии зафиксирован Д.В. Сокаевой. В ходе собственных полевых исследований был выявлен случай убийства с использованием огнестрельного оружия женщины-волчицы в с. Кора-Урсдон. Был проанализирован образ волка в различных религиозных традициях (зороастризм, христианство, скандинавское язычество), и высказано предположение о синтезе аланской культуры в ходе исторического взаимодействия с представителями этих религий в разных регионах Европы. Высказываются предположения о зороастрийском следе в сюжете легенды о девочке-чародейке (записанной Дж. Шанаевым в 1869 г.), которую пытались сжечь с использованием колючек. В ходе исследования выясняется, что с образом волка, бытовавшего в культуре германских племен, аланы познакомились в эпоху Великого переселения народов. Вводится в научный оборот мысль о том, что об инквизиции аланы узнали через ясов, которые жили в Венгрии в период правления Габсбургов, на который приходится высокая активность антиведовских процессов. Предпринятое исследование способствует раскрытию новых аспектов взаимодействия аланов с западноевропейской культурой. The article is devoted to the study of Ossetian folklore about us-biræg (witches associated with she-wolves) and its connection with witch hunts as a phenomenon of the European Renaissance. The reasons for the emergence and development of the phenomenon of “witch hunts” are analysed through medieval historical sources, processes and psychology. The phenomenon of auto-da-fé is examined through medieval literature and the Bible, as well as cases of the use of similar methods of execution before the inquisition processes. Based on the case of burning of us-biræg in the territory of North and South Ossetia, first recorded by D.V. Sokayeva, our own field research was carried out and a new case of the murder of a female wolf was identified in the village Cora-Ursdon using a firearm. The image of the wolf in various religious traditions (Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Scandinavian paganism) was analysed, and it was suggested that Alan culture was synthesized in the course of historical interaction with representatives of these religions in different regions of Europe. Suggestions have been made about a Zoroastrian trace in the plot of the legend about a girl-sorceress (recorded by J. Shanaev in 1869), who was tried to be burned using thorns. During the study, it turns out that the Alans became acquainted with the image of the wolf, which existed in the culture of the Germanic tribes, during the era of the Great Migration of Peoples. The idea is introduced into scientific circulation that the Alans learned about the Inquisition through the Yases, who lived in Hungary during the reign of the Habsburgs, which saw a high level of activity in anti-witchcraft processes. The undertaken research helps to reveal new aspects of the interaction of Alans with Western European culture.
Abstract This paper examines the issues related to the implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the construction industry and the various initiatives and approaches that are being used in various countries around the world to promote effective BIM implementation in their construction industries. Objectives of Study The effective implementation and use of BIM remains a major issue for the construction industry. Whilst the technology underpinning BIM has been around for well over a decade BIM implementation and take-up has been relatively slow in the construction industry compared to industries such as manufacturing and engineering. The purpose of this study is to investigate the initiatives and approaches that are being used by countries that are leading the way in the field. Methods The methodology for this paper is based on a literature review of the key global trends in relation to BIM implementation and then a detailed investigation of implementation strategies that have been developed in a range of countries and regions such as North America, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Australia. Results The research reveals that there BIM implementation has gained considerable momentum over the past few years. A number of countries are developing successful implementation strategies with North America, the United Kingdom and the Scandinavian region generally leading the way. A key finding was the importance of coordinated government support and leadership as a critical driver for BIM implementation. Other important strategies were found to be the development of national and global BIM standards, legal protocols to address liability issues, BIM certification, education and training and articulating the business case for BIM implementation. Conclusions The paper concludes with a range of strategies and recommendations that flow from the research findings.
A. Casanueva, C. Rodríguez‐Puebla, M. Frías
et al.
A growing interest in extreme precipitation has spread through the scientific community due to the effects of global climate change on the hydrological cycle, and their threat to natural systems' higher than average climatic val- ues. Understanding the variability of precipitation indices and their association to atmospheric processes could help to project the frequency and severity of extremes. This paper evaluates the trend of three precipitation extremes: the num- ber of consecutive dry/wet days (CDD/CWD) and the quo- tient of the precipitation in days where daily precipitation exceeds the 95th percentile of the reference period and the to- tal amount of precipitation (or contribution of very wet days, R95pTOT). The aim of this study is twofold. First, extreme indicators are compared against accumulated precipitation (RR) over Europe in terms of trends using non-parametric approaches. Second, we analyse the geographically opposite trends found over different parts of Europe by considering their relationships with large-scale processes, using differ- ent teleconnection patterns. The study is accomplished for the four seasons using the gridded E-OBS data set developed within the EU ENSEMBLES project. Different patterns of variability were found for CWD and CDD in winter and summer, with north-south and east-west configurations, respectively. We consider physical factors in order to understand the extremes' variability by linking large- scale processes and precipitation extremes. Opposite asso- ciations with the North Atlantic Oscillation in winter and summer, and the relationships with the Scandinavian and East Atlantic patterns as well as El Nino/Southern Oscilla- tion events in spring and autumn gave insight into the trend differences. Significant relationships were found between the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and R95pTOT during the whole year. The largest extreme anomalies were analysed by composite maps using atmospheric variables and sea sur- face temperature. The association of extreme precipitation indices and large-scale variables found in this work could pave the way for new possibilities regarding the projection of extremes in downscaling techniques.
AbstractWork in sociolinguistic typology and creole studies has established the theory that intensive language contact involving second language acquisition by adults tends to lead to grammatical simplification. This theory is built on many anecdotal case studies, including developments in the history of Continental North Germanic associated with contact with Middle Low German. In this paper, we assess the theory by examining two changes in the history of Norwegian: the loss of coda /Cr/ clusters and the loss of prepositional genitives. If the theory is correct, these changes should have been innovated in centers of contact with Middle Low German. We find that both changes in fact spread into southeastern Norwegian from Swedish. Since contact with Low German also took place in Sweden and Denmark, this is consistent with the theory. It opens questions for future research about the role of dialect contact in simplificatory change in North Germanic.
According to the last World Health Organization report (1), chronic diseases (nowadays called non-communicable diseases, NCD) are responsible for 60% of all global deaths. Most of the countries (92%) have developed at least one policy or strategy to respond to NCD and/or their risk factors. Nevertheless, many of these strategies were not implemented. The WHO report concludes with a list of countermeasures, such as implementation and improvement of policies, including coverage of all risk factors and diseases and evaluation of goals. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer are among the main chronic diseases included in these statistics. Shift work has been associated with some NCD as well as with recognized risk factor for them [ie, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco use, unbalanced blood glucose, hypertension, and overweight/obesity (1)]. However, the association between shiftwork and chronic diseases is still not clear. The link between shiftwork and disease is questioned (ie, 2–3) thus it is important that the scientific community continues to contribute to the establishment of the main risk factors for NCD, as well as to suggest mitigation strategies. Thus, workplace interventions are excellent strategies to investigate appropriate measures that may support national government policies to prevent NCD, particularly those related to shift worker health. In the present issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health , Neil and co-workers (4) present the paper “Health-related interventions among night shift workers: a critical review of the literature” where they review interventional designs within four areas in working life to prevent negative health effects among shift workers, namely, controlled light and dark exposure, shift schedule changes, behavioral or lifestyle interventions, and pharmacological aids to promote sleep or alertness. Articles published before August 2012 were systematically searched (the oldest published in 1982) and the systematic review considered >5000 articles. Laboratory or simulated studies were excluded, resulting in 44 “real life” articles. The review included health outcomes such as sleep quantity or quality, markers of circadian disruption, biological markers of chronic disease, and WHO-identified risk factors for chronic disease. Overall, it was not fruitful to draw any major conclusions and to point towards specific health-related recommendations since the variety and directions of the studies differed. Even though most studies included in the review showed positive effects, for example for health promoting bio-markers and sleep, any long-term health effects were not reported or planned in the designs. Furthermore, the authors concluded that very few or no intervention designs use a combination of possible approaches to promote health, a strategy that could show stronger effects. They also suggest to develop the field using modern technology. One example is the use of smartphones approaching a spectrum of shiftwork-related behaviors in interventions as described by van Drongelen et al’s “Evaluation of an mHealth intervention aiming to improve health-related behavior and sleep and reduce fatigue among airline pilots” (5). The authors used a mobile phone app to direct airline pilots to websites offering either tailored advice or general advice only (control group). After six months, the intervention group showed improvements in fatigue, sleep quality, physical activity, and snacking behavior. Although some other health-related aspects were not affected, the authors conclude that tailored advice through an intervention is an effective mean to support employees coping with irregular flight schedules and circadian disruption. Viewed together, these articles show the difficulties of performing interventions in real life to promote long-lasting effects on shift workers’ health. Field studies are difficult to run in general, but the realization of an intervention for the prevention of chronic diseases is much more complex. Firstly, all countries face chronic diseases, it thus seems the causes of these diseases remain the same regardless of socioeconomic level and gender (1, 6). Secondly, in case of working life, there is a need to take into account that modifiable risk factors for chronic diseases such as unhealthy diet, tobacco use, and physical inactivity may be developed or aggravated by factors such as work organization, (ie, shift work schedules). This means shift work interventions should also include actions related to work organization. Alertness and cognition aids to avoid problems due to circadian misalignment and inverted sleep-wake cycle could be included in these actions to influence the worker’s lifestyle. In other words, chronic diseases are also affected by political, cultural, environmental, and social determinants. Thirdly, lasting effects of an intervention on health require longer follow-ups and information from representative samples of workers. To ensure that data is representative, there is often a strong dependence of the participation of workers at multiple time points. In future, we might have to seek methods to increase compliance. As outlined here, new technology could be an alternative but also other methods such as material incentives to support compliance with a study protocol (7) might be necessary. While many interventions are a first step in the prevention of NCD they also address other negative health aspects such as safety at work and absenteeism, necessitating medical care with high costs for society. Interventions addressing these problems are another important step towards improving shift worker health. Some of these areas are clearly related to shift work and not touched upon in the referred articles but are of growing importance, such as mental health problems (8), neuropsychological performance impairments (9), and problems related to the ageing shift worker (10). In short, the present issue of the Journal includes a useful overview of the effectiveness of shift work interventions to improve health. The issue also presents an example of how to include a broad variety of health-promoting strategies, individually systematized through use of modern technology. In the future, it is clear we need further interventions that include a broad spectrum of actions, but also consider a long-term perspective in order to demonstrate hopefully long-lasting effects. Although use of modern technology permits a tailored approach adapted to the individual, the authors of both mentioned articles argue there is still limited evidence that such methods have proven to be successful. The study by van Drongelen and co-workers (5) was presented at the 21 st Symposium on Shift Work and Working Time in Salvador, Brazil. Readers who wish to follow the line of research of shift work interventions more closely are hereby invited to the 22 nd Symposium to be held in Elsinore 40 km north of Copenhagen, Denmark, on 8–12 June 2015. The overall theme of the conference is “Challenges and Solutions for Healthy Working Hours” (www.shiftwork2015.net/).
Anniversaries come in all sorts: some are occasions for reflecting on accomplishments and a job well done, others for questioning what might be improved or the direction in which new goals may lead. Anniversaries may also celebrate relatively short periods-five, ten, or fifteen years-or significantly longer periods. They may involve individuals, small groups, or a notably larger number of people. During 2011, an anniversary commemorating various noteworthy accomplishments by a society that now numbers in die hundreds will be observed in numerous ways. The year 1911 not only saw the first meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study in Chicago on die 26 and 27 of May, but also in the following month the publication of the first modest issue of the journal Scandinavian Studies, which ran a mere twenty-four pages. It began with a prefatory note quoting a letter sent to Scandinavian scholars throughout the country: "It is proposed to hold a meeting of those interested in Scandinavian study in this country for the purpose of organizing a Scandinavian Philological Society or a Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Stud)'" (3). Although efforts have been made over the years to change the name of the Society, it is worth noting that the name it now bears was proposed at die founding and has remained with the Society ever since. One can only wonder whether that hearty band of scholars' commitment to the study of Nordic cultures could ever have anticipated, on the one hand, the growth and the vitality of the society they organized or, on the other, the fact that die journal that carried die letter inviting membership in the society, die program of the first meeting in Chicago, and one article reporting on the study of topics relating to the Nordic region would ever become one of the preeminent scholarly journals in the discipline, published on a quarterly basis with issues going not only to North American scholars but also to the scholarly community extending throughout Europe and into Asia. Subscribers include individuals whose scholarly commitment is to the Nordic region, more casual readers with a marked fondness for Scandinavia, university libraries from the largest and most distinguished to those of smaller institutions with ties to the Nordic homeland of many of the students, community libraries where interest in the culture of northern Europe is particularly keen, and large commercial subscription agencies that are very quick to inquire about an issue whose appearance is even slightly delayed. One wonders whether they could have imagined that the journal would not only publish articles and reviews of scholarly distinction but also special issues on Bellman, Dinesen, dissemination of medical care, folklore, die influence of the small Nordic countries on European politics, the role of women's literature in contemporary Nordic culture, and the first issue in a scholarly journal devoted exclusively to Sami to name only a few of the more recent endeavors. Different types of publications seem to have been in the forefront of die minds of at least some of the participants in that first meeting. A committee on translation was appointed including among others Lee M. Hollander and Henry G. Leach. Three series of publications were also announced: Series I: Studies in Scandinavian Philology and Literature; Series II Proceedings of die Society (including short papers); and Series III: Translations. The publications of the Society during the early years were on an ad hoc basis: the volumes often encompassed multiple years, and thus the current issue-volume 83--does not correspond with the hundredth anniversary of the first issue. Anniversaries, though, are not just occasions to celebrate past achievements, but perhaps more importantly are also moments that offer auspicious occasions for looking toward the future. The first article of the constitution of the Society adopted on May 27,1911 reads, "The object of the society shall be to promote research in the languages, literature and culture of the Scandinavian North and to advance their study in North America" (10). …
Occupational medicine and occupational health are well-established research areas in various scientific journals with a longstanding tradition. Bibliometric methods can be used to identify the papers that have had a large impact on research. One metric for measuring this impact is the number of citations an article receives over time. Although this metric has attracted severe criticism, it is one of the few available metrics that allows a comparison across journals and research areas. An example of a bibliometric analysis is the paper “Citation Classics in Occupational Medicine Journals” by Gehanno et al in this issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health (1). These authors reviewed five occupational medicine journals with the highest impact factor in the field to find citation classics for the period 1949–2005 (ie, papers that have been cited at least 100 times in the scientific literature). They found 85 such papers and calculated that, between 0% and 1.02% of published papers in the five journals became a citation classic. The Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health did well in this respect, representing the highest value. Although the, by far, most-cited paper originated from 1960, most citation classics were published in the 1980s and 1990s. The United Kingdom was the prime producer of citation classics in earlier decades, partly due to the fact that the British Journal of Industrial Medicine commenced publication in 1949. Journals in other countries emerged from 1971 through 1980, and the balance shifted towards North America, Scandinavia, and the Netherlands in the later decades. An earlier bibliometric study, covering publications in eight occupational health journals in the period 1992–2001, reported that North America (40%), the United Kingdom (9%), and Sweden (9%) were the countries with the highest contribution to the total scientific production (2). The most recent evaluation analyzed papers and their citations in the “top 10” occupational health, work environment, or ergonomics journals during 2001–2005 (3). North America and Europe had produced the majority of published papers in these journals. When adjusted for general population size, the Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands were the most productive countries regarding occupational health journals, and Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Finland were the most productive regarding ergonomics journals. The citation rates per paper were, however, relatively low, ranging across countries between 2.1 to 3.7 citations per article over a period of 5 years (3). Recently, we analyzed how papers published in the Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment & Health were cited in the shorter and longer run (4). Musculoskeletal disorders, psychosocial factors, and occupational epidemiology were the major research areas. The first two also made a larger contribution to the citations than their proportion in the papers would have predicted. A closer look at inequalities in the citation rate of articles published in 2004 showed that citations to individual papers were extremely unevenly distributed, with one paper contributing 23% of all citations and the bottom 80% of the articles combined contributing about 40% of all citations. A further analysis covering the period of 1997–2006, in which we looked at the average citation rate per year, showed 6 papers with an annual citation rate of 10 or higher and 21 papers averaging between 5 to 10 citations per year. A substantial proportion of these papers will become a citation classic in the next 5 years. Reviews were cited more frequently than original papers, which may be a disappointing message for researchers who have painstakingly carried out the original studies included in these reviews. Reviews have become an important form of data synthesis with their own methods, such as the systematic review and meta-analysis (5). Contrary to earlier times, reviews are nowadays accepted in some countries as papers that make up a doctoral thesis, and making a review could indeed be a useful way for a talented doctoral student to become familiar with his or her research area. Well-done reviews could even serve as tutorial material, expanding the readership of occupational medicine or health journals. Shifts in the focus of occupational health research The review on citation classics by Gehanno et al (1) showed that asbestos, lead, and pesticides are truly classic occupational health issues. Solvents became an important topic during the 1970s and 1980s, and the area of musculoskeletal disorders emerged in the 1980s and increased markedly in the 1990s. Our own analysis of the Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment & Health demonstrated that psychosocial factors emerged as a frequently cited topic in addition to musculoskeletal disorders in the 1990s. Both topics are also widely studied in adjacent areas in public health and general medicine, and, as a consequence, articles have a higher probability of picking up citations. Workplace exposures play a major role for a range of disorders, and, consequently, it should be possible to reduce the incidence of these disorders by targeting appropriate interventions towards work-related factors. The paucity of intervention studies in the most cited papers in the analysis of Gehanno et al (1) and Burdorf & Viikari-Juntura (4) is striking and should be taken as a challenge by researchers in the field. There is an urgent need for studies that look at the feasibility, effectiveness, and costs and benefits of interventions at the workplace or in occupational health service settings (6, 7). Where should researchers in occupational medicine publish their work? The impact factor, a measure of the average citation rate over a 2-year period, is an important characteristic of a journal and perhaps the most decisive for the number and quality of papers that are being submitted. It is an interesting observation that the strongest predictor of citations per year for a particular article is the impact factor of the publishing journal, reflecting the tendency among authors themselves to put more value on the publishing journal than on the traditional measures of study quality (8). Another intriguing observation is that the average impact factor among the top five journals in public health has doubled over the past 20 years from 2 to 4, whereas the top journals in occupational health improved from 1.1 to 1.6 (9). Thus other journals seem to have increased their impact factor more rapidly than occupational health journals, and this circumstance may prompt prospective authors to make other journals their first choice for submission. The standing of a journal also has an impact on deciding the ranking of scientists for academic positions. A recent development is that, through available databases, such as the ISI Web of Knowledge or Google Scholar, the focus has shifted towards the numbers of citations for particular papers of individual scientists. Metrics, such as the Hirsch Index, have been developed to summarize the number of citations and number of papers of an individual author into one figure (10). Since the impact factor and citations have become important drivers in decisions concerning the selection of scientific journals for submission, journals are considering ways to improve, for example, by speeding the processing of manuscripts and increasing the accessibility to papers. Some journals publish papers as “online first” on their internet site as an unedited version after acceptance. This process adds the months between the “online first” publication day and the appearance of the printed or online version to the paper’s “exposure time” for citations. Another development is the open access approach, whereby accessibility no longer depends on subscription to the journal. Some attempts have been made in areas other than occupational health to assess the difference that improved accessibility may have on the citation rate. It has been seen that, in some areas, the most prominent and citable authors are more likely to make their papers available in the open access model. When controlled for this selection bias and early view possibility that “online first” offers, there seems to be little or no effect of open access per se on citations. It should be noted, however, that the effect may not be similar in different scientific areas (11). The analyses of Gehanno et al (1), as well as our own (4), show that the role of occupational health journals is limited in the scientific literature. In journals such as the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health and the Occupational and Environmental Medicine , one or two papers per year will, with time, become a citation classic. Comparable analyses have not been made for occupational health papers published in public health, epidemiology, or general medical journals. What message should a researcher in this area take home? Should one continue to publish in occupational medicine journals or should one strive for the higher-impact general medical or epidemiology journals? There seems to be no absolute hindrance for a paper published in an occupational health journal to be highly cited, as is demonstrated by Gehanno et al (1). One should attempt to publish in a journal that will attract the potential readers. This journal may not be the one with the highest citation rate. Occupational health journals have a wide readership also among practitioners, who—unlike researchers in the field—are not likely to cite an article in a scientific paper, but may, instead, apply the information in practice. This possibility may result in a societal impact of research that should be more appreciated than receiving many citations is.
Sickness absenteeism is a significant problem both for employees and for employers. Sometimes the discussion is more directed towards the economic consequences than the individual suffering caused by disabling diseases. Another relevant issue is the extra burden to supervisors and colleagues when lacking resources are being replaced. All of these factors have prompted many workplaces to create their own procedures to diminish lost worktime due to sick leaves. The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions has published a model for sickness absenteeism (1). It presents two crucial steps in the process, the “absenteeism barrier” between work and taking sick leave, and the “reintegration barrier” between sick leave and return to work. When an individual makes the decision of whether to take sick leave or to stay at work despite illness, the severity of the symptoms is only one factor in the decision-making process. In order to clarify this step, Johansson & Lundberg introduced an “illness flexibility model” (2), which was later expanded in an article by Hansson et al (3). The negative consequences of absence for the disabled employee, colleagues, or customers, as well as the high level of adjustment latitude at work (providing opportunities for an employee to continue to work despite illness) might prevent sickness absence. In addition, incentives for staying at work (eg, perceived stimulation, social support) or at home (eg, time with relatives, more rewarding domestic activities) have an impact on the final decision. Finally, the decision might depend on the absence requirements, referring to the negative consequences of staying at work while ill (eg, fear of transmitting an infection or not being wanted at work). The second step in the model for sickness absenteeism, “reintegration barrier”, has been the focus of intense return-to-work research. In their recent review (4), Hlobil and his colleagues, confirmed that return-to-work interventions are equal or more effective than usual care regarding absence from work due to subacute low-back pain. The recommendation of the authors, as supported by Loisel in his editorial (5), was to open the “black box” of return-to-work interventions in order to understand which are the most important components to shorten work absenteeism. The magnitude of the problem indicates that better policies and procedures are urgently needed to return temporarily or permanently disabled employees to work more safely and efficiently. This need has been addressed in the systematic review written by MacEachen and her co-workers (6) in the present issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health with its focus on the results of qualitative return-to-work research literature. The same research group has also participated in the previously published systematic review of quantitative literature on workplace-based return-to-work interventions (7). According to this review, there is strong evidence that work disability duration is significantly reduced by work accommodation offers and contact between the health care provider and the workplace. Moderate evidence was found for the effectiveness of early contact with the worker by the workplace, ergonomic worksite visits, and the presence of a return-to-work coordinator. The previous review of quantitative studies receives substantial support from the systematic review of MacEachen et al (6), which aims at a better understanding of the dimensions, processes, and practices of return to work. The qualitative methods used in the included studies focus on discovering the key elements of successful return-to-work interventions and, at the same time, on describing the related possibilities and threats. Instead of asking what should be done, they give extensive guidance on what could lead to the best return-to-work practices. From the workplace point of view, both quantitative and qualitative information is needed. The former helps to invest in interventions that have proved to be effective. The latter deepens the insight into the various aspects of collaboration and social networks. In the 13 eligible articles, the review found eight key concepts to be relevant in relation to successful return to work. It is evident that no intervention as such is successful without sufficient commitment of those involved. Consequently, the main finding of MacEachen et al is that “goodwill and trust” form the overarching condition to return-to-work arrangements. As intangible as these concepts are, the authors give some practical examples of their components, one of the most relevant being the willingness of the employer to invest time and effort in the return-to-work process (eg, organizing accommodating work). Another finding that is relevant to reallife situations is the timing, nature, and contents of the contacts between various stakeholders in order to assist the absentee’s earlier return to work. Contact of the workplace with the absent employee can include much encouragement, but it can also be perceived negatively if not properly planned and if performed by supervisors without sufficient training and support. It has already been shown in everyday life that conveying relevant information on the employee’s health condition from the physician to the workplace is really a challenge in order to facilitate adequate adjustment. Because MacEachen et al also show that individual workers can easily get lost in the complexity of various systems related to disability, the benefits of a return-to-work coordinator are easy to see. In countries like Finland, with its high coverage of occupational health services, the situation creates an ideal opportunity for occupational health professionals to play a crucial role as return-to-work coordinators. MacEachen et al also discuss the role of unions and colleagues, as well as that of supervisors, in the return-to-work process, especially in relation to modified work. It seems that the same prerequisite of goodwill and trust among all stakeholders in the workplace is the key to successful collaboration. This situation is reflected by the attitude of other employees towards the disabled colleague with reduced workload, by the role of the supervisor in managing daily social relations and physical conditions in the work environment, and, finally, the ability of union representatives to participate constructively in return-to-work activities. Finally, but not of the least importance, MacEachen et al list the organizational environment as one of the key elements. Once again, the goodwill and trust of the workplace are needed to maintain humane values, even in the midst of financial constraints. If the company wants to show social responsibility, the commitment must not change according to the market situation. In order to “walk the talk”, practical procedures must be created to give credibility to the company’s commitments. Goodwill and trust are reflected by the participation of all stakeholders in the process of creating the disability management system for the workplaces, and respecting each other’s expectations and their fulfillment. Most of the studies MacEachen et al included in their review originated from North America and Australia. In the future, more research is needed from other countries to verify the results in other social security systems. Another urgent need is to widen the scope of return-to-work interventions to disabling mental disorders, which were excluded by MacEachen et al. The review by MacEachen et al offers scientific guidance on how to construct effective return-to-work practices in the workplace. When the conclusions of the review are considered, it can be presumed that the same key elements lowering the “reintegration barrier” also have an effect on the “absenteeism barrier” by modifying adjustment latitude, attendance incentives, and absence requirements through improved communication between different stakeholders. This improved communication reinforces the positive effect of evidence-based return-to-work practices on sickness absenteeism. Once this kind of systematic evidence is available, one can only hope that all of the stakeholders at workplaces are made aware of these results and that evidence-based principles will be applied as widely as possible in practice.