Ryhmäidentiteetin mittaaminen verkkoroolipelissä World of Warcraft

The objective of the study was to explore the dimensions of group identity in the guilds of World of Warcraft. Previous research shows that social interaction has an important role in playing games for many players. Social identities are an important aspect of self-concept and since group related cues are more salient than personal clues in computer-mediated communication, the social gaming experience was approached through group identity. In the study a new scale will be developed to measure the group identity in games. Secondary goal is to study how different guild attributes affect the group identity and third goal is to explore the connection between group identity and gaming experience and amount of play. Subjects were 1203 guild members and 106 players not in a guild. The data was gathered by an Internet survey which measured group identity with nine scales, gaming experience with three scales and guild attributes with four scales. Also various background data was gathered. The construct of group identity was analyzed with explorative factor analysis. The typical experiences of group identity was analyzed with cluster analysis and effects of guild attributes with multivariate analysis of covariance. As a result of the study a new scale was developed which measured group identity on six dimensions: self-stereotyping, public and private evaluation, importance, interconnection of self and others and awareness of content. Group identity was experienced strongest in elder middle-sized guilds that had formal rules and that emphasized social interaction. The players with strong group identity had more positive gaming experience and played World of Warcraft more per week than the players who were not in a guild or identified to guild weakly. This result encourages game developers to produce environments that enhance group identity as it seems to increase the enjoyment in games. As a whole this study proposes that group identity in guilds is constructed from the same elements as in traditional groups. If this is truly the case, guild membership may have similar positive effects on individual’s mental well-being as traditional positively evaluated group memberships have.

Tablettien soveltuvuus annosjakeluun

Koneellinen annosjakelu on kasvava lääkehuollon osa-alue, jossa lääkkeet pakataan koneellisesti pieniin annoskertakohtaisiin pusseihin kahden viikon erissä. Aikaisemmin lääkevalmisteiden soveltuvuutta koneelliseen annosjakeluun ei ole systemaattisesti tutkittu. Tutkimus tehtiin yhteistyössä Espoonlahden apteekin annosjakeluyksikön kanssa ja sen tavoitteena oli määrittää annosjakeluprosessin kannalta optimaaliset ominaisuudet annosjaeltavalle tabletille rikkoutumisten ja siirtymien vähentämiseksi. Rikkoutuminen on lääkevalmisteen murentumista, puolittumista tai muuta rikkoutumista annosjakelun aikana. Siirtymä on lääkevalmisteen jakelu väärään annospussiin. Prosentuaalisesti rikkoutumisia ja siirtymiä on jakelumäärästä hyvin vähän, mutta määrällisesti paljon ja koko ajan enemmän koneellisen annosjakelun yleistyessä. Rikkoutumiset ja siirtymät aiheuttavat paljon lisätyötä pussien korjaamisen takia, joten niiden määrää on pyrittävä vähentämään. Lisäksi tavoitteena oli selvittää lääkkeiden valmistajilta kysyttävissä olevat asiat lääkevalmisteiden ominaisuuksista ja säilyvyydestä, jotta voitaisiin päätellä valmisteen soveltuvuus koneelliseen annosjakeluun kirjallisen tiedon perusteella. Tutkimuksen tulosten perusteella rikkoutumisten ja siirtymien vähentämiseksi optimaalinen tablettivalmiste annosjakeluun on pienehkö tai keskisuuri, päällystetty, luja ja jakouurteeton ja optimaalinen ilman suhteellinen kosteustaso annosjakeluyksikön tuotantotiloissa olisi noin 30 – 40 %. Lääkkeiden valmistajilta kysyttäviä seikkoja ovat koon, päällysteen, murtolujuuden ja jakouurteen lisäksi valmisteen säilyvyys alkuperäispakkauksen ulkopuolella sekä valmisteen valo-, lämpö- ja kosteusherkkyys. Rikkoutumisten ja siirtymien lisäksi tutkittiin myös kosteusherkän asetyylisalisyylihappovalmisteen (Disperin 100 mg) säilyvyyttä 25 °C ja 60 % RH olosuhteissa, koska tuotantotilojen ilman kosteustasoa ei ole säädelty. Säilyvyystutkimuksen kesto oli neljä viikkoa. Se on riittävä, koska se on enimmäisaika, jonka tabletit ovat annosjakeluprosessin yhteydessä pois alkuperäispakkauksestaan ennen käyttöä. Tabletteja säilytettiin avoimessa alkuperäispakkauksessa (purkki), suljetussa alkuperäispakkauksessa, annosjakelukoneen kasetissa ja kahdessa erilaisessa annospussissa (uusi ja käytössä oleva materiaali). Tulosten mukaan annosjakelukoneen kasetti suojaa kosteudelta yhtä huonosti kuin avoin purkki. Uusi pussimateriaali sen sijaan suojaa kosteudelta paremmin kuin tällä hetkellä käytössä oleva materiaali. Raman -spektroskopiamittausten perusteella asetyylisalisyylihappotableteissa ei ehdi neljän viikon seurannan aikana tapahtua asetyylisalisyylihapon hajoamista salisyylihapoksi. Kosteus heikentää tablettien murtolujuutta, mikä saattaa aiheuttaa enemmän rikkoutumisia. Kosteustaso olisi hyvä olla säädettävissä vakioksi tuotantotiloissa tai purkaa tabletit kasetteihin mahdollisimman lähellä jakelua rikkoutumisten ehkäisemiseksi, etenkin ilman kosteustason ollessa korkea. Lisäksi tutkittiin lääkevalmisteen lämpöherkkyyttä koska annosjakelukoneen saumauslaite altistaa annospussit noin 75 °C lämmölle, jos annosjakelukone pysäytetään kesken työn. Tutkimus tehtiin XRPD:llä, jolla voidaan säätää näytteen lämpötilaa. Lämpöherkkyystutkimusten perusteella 75 °C lämpö ei ehdi tunnin aikana aiheuttaa muutoksia karbamatsepiinitabletissa (Neurotol 200 mg). Tuloksista selvisi, että tutkitun valmisteen sisältämä karbamatsepiini ei kuitenkaan ole lämpöherkin muoto, joten muita lämpöherkkiä lääkevalmisteita tulisi tutkia lisätiedon saamiseksi lämmön vaikutuksista.

Towards Explaining the Tasks and Roles of the Boards of Directors

While previous research has helped to improve our understanding of corporate governance and boards of directors, less is known about the factors that affect boards’ tasks and roles and directors’ motivation and engagement. This requires knowledge of how board decisions are being made and the internal and external factors that affect the decision-making process. Large inferential leaps have been made from board demographics to firm performance with equivocal results. This thesis concentrates on how the institutional, behavioral and social identification factors impact the enactment of board roles and tasks. Data used in this thesis were collected in 2009 through a mailed survey to Finnish large and middle-sized corporations. The findings suggest that firstly, the national context of an organization is reflected in board roles and shapes how and for what reasons the board roles are carried out; secondly, the directors’ human and external social capital invariably impacts their engagement in board tasks and that conflicts among directors moderate those relationships; finally, directors’ identification with the organization, its shareholders and its customers affect the directors’ involvement in board tasks. By addressing the impact of organisational context, board-internal behaviour and social identification of board members on board roles and tasks, this thesis firstly complements the shareholder supremacy view as the only reason for the board’s involvement with specific tasks; secondly questions the existence of the board as separate from its institutional context; and thirdly questions the view that a board is a ‘black box’, subject to a selection of input demographic variables and producing quantifiable results. The thesis demonstrates that boards are complex organisational bodies, which involve much interaction among board members. Director behaviour and its influence on board decision making is an important determinant of board tasks and boards are likely subjected to inter-group tensions and are susceptible to the influence of internal and external social forces.

Leisure-time physical activity, health related functioning and retirement : a prospective cohort study among middle-aged employees

Physical inactivity has become a major threat to public health worldwide. The Finnish health and welfare policies emphasize that the working population should maintain good health and functioning until their normal retirement age and remain in good health and independence later in life. Health behaviours like physical activity potentially play an important role in reaching this target as physical activity contributes to better physical fitness and to reduced risk of major chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to examine first whether the volume and intensity of leisure-time physical activity impacts on subsequent physical health functioning, sickness absence and disability retirement. The second aim was to examine changes in leisure-time physical activity of moderate and vigorous intensity after transition to retirement. This study is part of the ongoing Helsinki Health Study. The baseline data were collected by questionnaires in 2000 - 02 among the employees of the City of Helsinki aged 40 to 60. The follow-up survey data were collected in 2007. Data on sickness absence were obtained from the employer s (City of Helsinki) sickness absence registers and pension data were obtained from the Finnish Centre for Pensions. Leisure-time physical activity was measured in four grades of intensity and classified according to physical activity recommendations considering both the volume and intensity of physical activity. Statistical techniques including analysis of covariance, logistic regression, Cox proportional hazards models and Poisson regression were used. Employees who were vigorously active during leisure time especially had better physical health functioning than those physically inactive. High physical activity in particular contributed to the maintenance of good physical health functioning. High physical activity also reduced the risk of subsequent sickness absences as well as the risk of all-cause disability retirement and retirement due to musculoskeletal and mental causes. Among those transferred to old-age retirement moderate-intensity leisure-time physical activity increased on average by more than half an hour per week and in addition the occurrence of physical inactivity reduced. Such changes were not observed among those remained employed and those transferred to disability retirement. This prospective cohort study provided novel results on the effects of leisure-time physical activity on health related functioning and changes in leisure-time physical activity after retirement. Although the benefits of moderate-intensity physical activity for health are well known these results suggest the importance of vigorous physical activity for subsequent health related functioning. Thus vigorous physical activity to enhance fitness should be given more emphasis from a public health perspective. In addition, physical activity should be encouraged among those who are about to retire.

Changing Lived Worlds of Contemporary Amazonian Native Young People : Manchineri Youths in the Reserve and the City, Brazil-Acre

This thesis discusses the contemporary construction of the lived worlds of indigenous Amazonian youths. Today’s native peoples are considerably affected by the processes of globalization and urbanization, which have led to new ways of relating to their cultural traditions. This work presents a case study of Manchineri youngsters aged between 14 and 24 years old living in Acre state in Brazilian Amazonia. The Arawak-speaking Manchineri number some 1,000 people; their legally demarcated reserve is situated next to the River Yaco. The research is based on ethnographic material collected in the Mamoadate reserve and in the state capital, Rio Branco. By comparing the youth in different physical and social environments (the reserve and the city), my attempt has been to search for the most typical elements maintained, altered and created in the current lived worlds of Manchineri youths. Fieldwork methods included interviews, participant observation, photographs, video recordings, and drawings. The material was analyzed within the multidisciplinary framework of the social and cultural construction of knowledge. The study applies the concepts of social field, symbolic capital, and habitus as they have been used by Pierre Bourdieu; perspective as developed recently in Amazonian ethnology; the sacred as a cultural category as understood in the study of religion; and individual and person as concepts central to anthropology and sociology. Additionally, the study can be contextualized within youth studies, Latin American studies, and urban studies. The results of the study show that the everyday lives of young Amazonian native people are formed by a complex mixture of ‘modernity’ and ‘tradition’, fragmentation, and transitions between different conceptual frameworks. Part II discusses the ethnographic material in depth and shows that indigenous adolescents act from a variety of social perspectives: the native youth’s own ethnic group, divided into sub-groups, especially into urban residents and those living in the reserve; ancestors, super-human agents and spirits; other indigenous groups and non-natives. Consequently, besides the traditional initiation ritual, we find various contemporary rites of passage to adulthood: state-education, learning traditional practices, shamanism, matrimony, and transitions between the reserve and urban areas. According to these results, new social roles, political organization, responsibilities, and in general the desire to be respected, require both ‘modern’ and ‘traditional’ abilities. In Part III, the study shows that the current power relations constituted by new social contacts, ethnic recognition, and cooperation with different institutions have resulted in the formation of new social fields: youth cultures, the ethnic group, shamanic practices, the ethnopolitical movement, and indigenous students. The capacity of young Amazonian Indians to act in contemporary social fields produces them as full persons. The study also argues that the elements of the lived worlds can be divided into these social fields. When focusing on these fields, it became evident that these comprise the strategies adopted by young Indians to break through social and cultural barriers.

"Four Ways of Writing the City" : St. Petersburg-Leningrad as a Metaphor in the Poetry of Joseph Brodsky

The present study discusses the theme of St. Petersburg-Leningrad in Joseph Brodsky's verse works. The chosen approach to the evolving im-age of the city in Brodsky's poetry is through four metaphors: St. Petersburg as "the common place" of the Petersburg Text, St. Petersburg as "Paradise and/or Hell", St. Petersburg as "a Utopian City" and St. Petersburg as "a Void". This examination of the city-image focusses on the aspects of space and time as basic categories underlying the poet's poetic world view. The method used is close reading, with an emphasis on semantical interpretation. The material consists of eighteen poems dating from 1958 to 1994. Apart from investigating the spatio-temporal features, the study focusses on exposing and analysing the allusions in the scrutinised works to other texts from Russian and Western belles lettres. Terminology (introduced by Bakhtin and Yury Lotman, among others) concerning the poetics of space in literature is employed in the present study. Conceptions originating from the paradigm of possible worlds are also used in elucidating the position of fictional and actual chronotopes and heroes in Brodsky's poetry. Brodsky's image of his native city is imbued with intertextual linkings. Through reminiscences of the "Divine Comedy" and Russian modernists, the city is paralleled with Dante's "lost and accursed" Florence, as well as with the lost St. Petersburg of Mandel'shtam and Akhmatova. His city-image is related to the Petersburg myth in Russian literature through their common themes of death and separation as well as through the merging of actual realia with the fictional worlds of the Petersburg Text. In his later poems, when his view of the city is that of an exiled poet, the city begins to lose its actual world referents, turning into a mental realm which is no longer connected to any particular geographical location or historical time. It is placed outside time. The native city as the homeland in its entirety is replaced by another existence created in language.

Arkeen pudonnut sibylla : Modernin naisen identiteetin rakentuminen Marja-Liisa Vartion romaanissa Kaikki naiset näkevät unia

A Sibyl fallen into everyday life. The enfolding of the identity of modern woman in Marja- Liisa Vartio s novel Kaikki naiset näkevät unia ( All Women Have Dreams ). --- Marja-Liisa Vartio played a remarkable part in renewing Finnish literature. My thesis examines her novel Kaikki naiset näkevät unia (1960), which describes the life of a middle-aged housewife, Mrs. Pyy ( Mrs. Hazel Hen ). She has moved from country to city and lives now in a suburb, in the Helsinki of the 1950 s. In Finnish literature, the novel is the first significant description of a modern city woman accomplished by modernistic means. My research examines the identity of a woman in the Finland of the 50 s, an epoch marked by the inevitable transition into modernity. My aim is to look into the ways in which the female identity enfolds in Kaikki naiset näkevät unia, how it takes its form, how it is described and commented. The primary method is contextual close reading; the novel is seen in the social, cultural and historical context of the time it was published. Essential elements in this study are literary motifs and images in the novel, and particularly transtextual relations as defined by Gérald Genette. The focus is on hypertextuality, intertextuality and paratextuality. Kaikki naiset näkevät unia emerges as a modern version of Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. A woman s life spent in illusive dreaming is transferred from a 1900th century bourgeois town in France to a middle class Finnish suburb in the 1950 s. Vartio s novel is a variant of an ancient Finnish ballad I, a bird without a nest , making it into a modern narration of transition. The inner, mental journey from country to city is of great length, and the liminal life in a suburb does not make the passage any easier. Like the lyrical voices in the poetry of Edith Södergran, also Mrs. Pyy finds it hard to discover any values of sisterhood or those of ideal femininity in modern times. In earlier studies of Marja-Liisa Vartio s prose, stress has been laid on the discourse of her narrators and characters, as well as on its modern literary form. In this research, however, urgent allusions to paintings, old and new, are taken into account, since Mrs. Pyy mirrors herself against art, both classical and modern. Principal images in this context are Michelangelo s Sibyls in the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and a modern painting, which remains unidentified. Mrs. Pyy turns out to be a tragicomic character, who has magnanimous illusions about herself, but is compelled to accept the fact the she is only a mediocre person. She is nothing more than a first generation city dweller; she is not a modern, aloof outsider but a mere dilettante, who desperately tries to live out modern city life. Kaikki naiset näkevät unia is a striking picture of the 1950 s, a picture that is construed in the consciousness of Mrs. Pyy. We are shown everyday life growing more and more modern after the war and woman s role growing more and more subject to increasing pressure for change.

The Influence of Constantinople on Middle Byzantine Architecture (843-1204) : A typological and morphological approach at the provincial level.

The influence of the architecture of the Byzantine capital spread to the Mediterranean provinces with travelling masters and architects. In this study the architecture of the Constantinopolitan School has been detected on the basis of the typology of churches, completed by certain morphological aspects when necessary. The impact of the Constantinopolitan workshops appears to have been more important than previously realized. This research revealed that the Constantinopolitan composite domed inscribed-cross type or cross-in-square spread everywhere to the Balkans and it was assumed soon by the local schools of architecture. In addition, two novel variants were invented on the basis of this model: the semi-composite type and the so-called Athonite type. In the latter variant lateral conches, choroi, were added for liturgical reasons. Instead, the origin of the domed ambulatory church was partly provincial. One result of this study is that the origin of the Middle Byzantine domed octagonal types was traced to Constantinople. This is attested on the basis of the archaeological evidence. Also some other architectural elements that have not been preserved in the destroyed capital have survived at the provincial level: the domed hexagonal type, the multi-domed superstructure, the pseudo-octagon and the narthex known as the lite. The Constantinopolitan architecture during the period in question was based on the Early Christian and Late Antique forms, practices and innovations and this also emerges at the provincial level.

Learning from Venice : What a unique city can teach about the aesthetic

Learning from Venice is a philosophical learning diary on what a highly original city can teach urban aesthetics. Throughout history, classical cities have been interpreted and experienced in various ways. But aesthetics has never been accentuated as much as today. Venice has been an important center of commerce, a naval power, and it has had a lot of influence in arts and culture. But in our days it is a tourist trap and a cluster of so called world heritage. The development of tourism is the main reason for the fact that many old cities have become venues for leisure and entertainment, sometimes so that everyday life itself has been pushed to the margins. There is a lot one can learn by studying the history of the aesthetic appreciation of a city. Sometimes the way a city has been enjoyed has changed following the development of traffic. In Venice water buses have replaced the slow and silent gondolas, and since the building of the railway tourists have been approaching the city from a new direction, so that her façade which was built for seafarers has almost become forgotten. There are also themes of change and mobility which are peculiarly Venetian. What is the nature of a city where there are more tourists than inhabitants? And how does one experience a city where water dominates? These questions, and many more, are discussed in Learning from Venice, and side by side with applied aesthetics, the work of philosophers like Walter Benjamin, Gianni Vattimo, and John Dewey, among many others, enter a dialogue with this extraordinary city. Themes discussed include also e.g. walking, surface and depth, Venice as kitsch, and Venice as a museum.

Noviisiopettajana peruskoulussa : Aloittelevien opettajien autenttisia kokemuksia ensimmäisestä opettajavuodesta

As a Novice Teacher at Comprehensive School: The authentic experiences of the beginning teachers during their first year of teaching The aim of this study is to explicate the novice year of teaching in the light of teachers´ authentic experiences. The subject of this investigation is the teachers´ subjective world of experience during their first academic year of teaching and the sharing of these experiences in collaborative consulting meetings. The themes discussed in the meetings were introduced into the collaborative group by the novice teachers themselves, and the progress of discussion was con-trolled by them. The research data was gathered in a consultative working group where the way a novice teacher starts to interpret, analyze and identify his/her own complex and dynamic teaching situations was observed. The research data gathered in this way illuminates novice teachers´ world of experience and mental picture as well as the unconscious sides of school life. In a theoretical frame of reference, the work of a teacher is identified, according to systemic scientific thought, as a dynamic triangle in which the basic elements are the personality of the teacher, the role of the teacher and the school as an organization. These basic elements form a whole within which the teacher works. The dynamics of this triangle in a teacher’s work are brought to light through the study of the phenomena of groups and group dynamics since a teacher works either as a member of a group (working community), as a leader of a group (teaching situations) or in a network (parent – teacher cooperation). Therefore, tension and force are always present in teaching work. The main research problem was to explain how a novice teacher experiences his/her first working year as a teacher. The participants (n=5) were teaching at five different comprehensive schools in the city of Helsinki. This was their first long-term post as a teacher. The research data consists of seven collaborative consulting meetings, as well as recordings and transcripts of the meetings. A classificatory framework was developed for data analysis which enabled a sys-tematic qualitative content analysis based on theory and material. In addition to the consulting meetings, the teachers were interviewed at the beginning and at the end of the process of collecting the research material. The interviews were used to interpret the meanings of the content analysis based on raw data. The findings show that there is a gap between teacher education and the reality of school life, which causes difficulties for a novice teacher during his/her first teaching year. The gap is rather a global educational problem than a national one, and therefore it is independent of cultural factors. Novice teachers desire a well-structured theory of teacher education and a clear programme where the themes and content delve deeper and deeper into the subject matter during the study years. According to the novice teachers, teacher education frequently consists of sporadic and unconnected study and class situations. An individual content weakness of teacher education is the lack of insufficient initiation into evaluation processes. The novice teachers suggest that a student must be provided good-quality and competent guidance during the study years and during his or her induction. There should be a well-organized, structured and systematic induction program for novice teachers. The induction program should be overseen by an organization so that the requirements of a qualified induction can be met. The findings show that the novice teachers find the first year of teaching at comprehensive school emotionally loaded. The teachers experienced teaching as difficult work and found the workload heavy. Nevertheless, they enjoyed their job because, as they said, there were more pleasant than unpleasant things in their school day. Their main feeling at school was the joy of success in teaching. The novice teachers felt satisfaction with their pupils. The teachers experienced the more serious feelings of anger and disgust when serious violence took place. The most difficult situations arose from teaching pupils who had mental health problems. The toughest thing in the teacher´s work was teaching groups that are too heterogeneous. The most awkward problems in group dynamics happened when new immigrants, who spoke only their own languages, were integrated into the groups in the middle of the school year. Teachers wanted to help children who needed special help with learning but restated at the same time that the groups being taught shouldn’t be too heterogeneous. The teachers wished for help from school assistants so that they could personally concentrate more on teaching. Not all the parents took care of their children according to the comprehensive school law. The teachers found it hard to build a confidential relationship between home and school. In this study, novice teachers found it hard to join the teaching staff at school. Some of the teachers on staff were very strong and impulsive, reacting loudly and emotionally. These teachers provoked disagreement, conflicts, power struggles and competition among the other teachers. Although the novice teachers of the study were all qualified teachers, three of them were not interested in a permanent teaching job. For these teachers teaching at a primary school was just a project, a short period in their working life. They will remain in the teaching profession as long as they are learning new things and enjoying their teaching job. This study is an independent part of the research project on Interplay – Connecting Academic Teacher Education and Work, undertaken by the Department of Applied Sciences of Education at the University of Helsinki. Key words: novice teacher, emotions, groups and group dynamics, authority, co-operation between home and school, teacher community, leadership at school, induction, consulting

Oral Health among Young Adults and the Middle-aged in Iran

The aim of the present study was to assess oral health and treatment needs among adult Iranians according to socio-demographic status, smoking, and oral hygiene, and to investigate the relationships between these determinants and oral health. Data for 4448 young adult (aged 18) and 8301 middle-aged (aged 35 to 44) Iranians were collected in 2002 as part of a national survey using the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for sampling and clinical diagnoses, across 28 provinces by 33 calibrated examiners. Gender, age, place of residence, and level of education served as socio-demographic information, smoking as behavioural and modified plaque index (PI) as the biological risk indicator for oral hygiene. Number of teeth, decayed teeth (DT), filled teeth (FT), decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT), community periodontal index (CPI), and prosthodontic rehabilitation served as outcome variables of oral health. Mean number of DMFT was 4.3 (Standard deviation (SD) = 3.7) in young adults and 11.0 (SD = 6.4) among middle-aged individuals. Among young adults the D-component (DT = 70%), and among middle-aged individuals the M-component (60%) dominated in the DMFT index. Among young adults, visible plaque was found in nearly all subjects. Maximum (max) PI was associated with higher mean number of DT, and higher periodontal treatment needs. A healthy periodontium was a rare condition, with 8% of young adults and 1% of middle-aged individuals having a max CPI = 0. The majority of the CPI findings among young adults consisted of calculus (48%) and deepened periodontal pockets (21%). Respective values for middle-aged individuals were 40% and 53%. Having a deep pocket (max CPI = 4) was more likely among young adults with a low level of education (Odds ratio (OR) = 2.7, 95% Confidence interval (CI) = 1.9–4.0) than it was among well-educated individuals. Among middle-aged individuals, having calculus or a periodontal pocket was more likely in men (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.6–2.0) and in illiterate subjects (OR = 6.3, 95% CI = 5.1–7.8) than it was for their counterparts. Among young adults, having 28 teeth was more (p < 0.05) prevalent among men (72% vs. 68% for women), urban residents (71% vs. 67% for rural residents), and those with a high level of education (73% vs. 60% for those with a low level). Among middle-aged individuals, having a functional dentition was associated with younger age (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.7−2.5) and higher level of education (OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.6−2.1). Of middle-aged individuals, 2% of 35- to 39-year-olds and 5% of those aged 40 to 44 were edentulous. Among the dentate subjects (n = 7,925), prosthodontic rehabilitation was more prevalent (p < 0.001) among women, urban residents, and those with a high level of education than it was among their counterparts. Among those having 1 to 19 teeth, a removable denture was the most common type of prosthodontic rehabilitation. Middle-aged individuals lacking a functional dentition were more likely (OR = 6.0, 95% CI = 4.8−7.6) to have prosthodontic rehabilitation than were those having a functional dentition. In total, 81% of all reported being non-smokers, and 32% of men and 5% of women were current smokers. Heavy smokers were the most likely to have deepened periodontal pockets (max CPI ≥ 3, OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.8−4.7) and to have less than 20 teeth (OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 1.5−3.6). The findings indicate impaired oral health status in adult Iranians, particularly those of low socio-economic status and educational level. The high prevalence of dental plaque and calculus and considerable unmet treatment needs call for a preventive population strategy with special emphasis on the improvement of oral self-care and smoking cessation to tackle the underlying risk factors for oral diseases in the Iranian adult population.

Social-class inequalities in ill health - the contribution of physical workload

Tutkimuksen aiheita olivat yhteiskuntaluokkien väliset erot sairastavuudessa ja alentuneessa toimintakyvyssä, sekä fyysisen työkuormituksen ja joidenkin muiden työolojen vaikutus sairastavuuteen. Empiirisestä työstä on raportoitu myös neljässä kansainvälisissä tieteellisissä aikakauskirjoissa julkaistussa artikkelissa. Tässä julkaistu yhteenveto sisältää tulosten yhteenvedon lisäksi myös tutkimusta koskevien käsitteellisten ja teoreettisten kysymysten sekä tutkimustradition kriittisen katsauksen. Työn päätavoitteita olivat 1) tutkia fyysisesti kuormittavan työn, ja jossain määrin muiden työolojen osuutta yhteiskuntaluokkien välisiin eroihin sairaudessa ja toimintakyvyn alentuneisuudessa; 2) tutkia työn fyysisen kuormittavuuden, työhön liittyvien vaikutusmahdollisuuksien ja hallinnan (decision latitude), luokka-aseman, iän ja sukupuolen yhteisvaikutuksia heikentyneeseen terveydentilaan; sekä 3) tutkia missä määrin mekaanisten työaltisteiden ja tuki- ja liikuntaelinsairastavuuden välinen yhteys voi selittää yhteiskuntaluokkien välisiä eroja heikentyneessä yleisessä terveydentilassa. Tutkittavat olivat keski-ikäisiä Helsingin kaupungin työntekijöitä. Analyysit perustuivat poikittaisasetelmaan, ja käytetty aineisto oli Helsinki Health Studyn vuosien 2000 ja 2002 välillä kerättyä aineistoa. Analyyseihin käytetyssä aineistossa oli 3740:stä 8002:een tutkittavaa. Tulosten perusteella fyysisillä (sekä fysikaalisilla) työoloilla on merkittävä vaikutus yhteiskuntaluokkien välisiin eroihin yleisessä sairastavuudessa, toimintakyvyn heikentymisessä, tuki- ja liikuntaelinsairastavuudessa sekä itsearvioidussa terveydentilassa. Naisilla lähes puolet heikentyneen toimintakyvyn ja koetun terveydentilan luokkaeroista vaikutti olevan selitettävissä fyysisellä työkuormituksella. Hallintamahdollisuuksien ei havaittu merkittävästi muuttavan fyysisen kuormituksen vaikutusta toimintakykyyn. Fyysisen kuormittavuuden terveysvaikutus voimistui kasvavan iän mukaan enemmän naisilla kuin miehillä. Osa, mutta ei koko fyysisen kuormituksen vaikutus yhteiskuntaluokkien eroihin heikentyneessä terveydessä vaikutti välittyvän tuki- ja liikuntaelinsairastavuuden kautta. Terveys ja sairaus eivät ole yhtenäisiä tiloja, ja siksi monet eri sosiaalisesti ja rakenteellisesti määräytyvät olosuhteet todennäköisesti vaikuttavat yhteiskunnallisten terveyserojen syntymiseen. Fyysis-materiaalisten olojen vaikutusta terveyserojen syntyyn nyky-yhteiskunnassa on mahdollisesti aliarvioitu. Yhteiskuntaluokkien väliset erot fyysis-materiaalisissa olosuhteissa eivät ole kadonneet, ja nämä erot todennäköisesti vaikuttavat terveyserojen syntyyn.

Associations among working conditions and behavioral risk factors : The Helsinki Health Study with International Comparisons

Adverse health behaviors as well as obesity are key risk factors for chronic diseases. Working conditions also contribute to health outcomes. It is possible that the effects of psychosocially strenuous working conditions and other work-related factors on health are, to some extent, explained by adverse behaviors. Previous studies about the associations between several working conditions and behavioral outcomes are, however, inconclusive. Moreover, the results are derived mostly from male populations, one national setting only, and with limited information about working conditions and behavioral risk factors. Thus, with an interest in employee health, this study was set to focus on behavioral risk factors among middle-aged employees. More specifically, the main aim was to shed light on the associations of various working conditions with health behaviors, weight gain, obesity, and symptoms of angina pectoris. In addition to national focus, international comparisons were included to test the associations across countries thereby aiming to produce a more comprehensive picture. Furthermore, a special emphasis was on gaining new evidence in these areas among women. The data derived from the Helsinki Health Study, and from collaborative partners at the Whitehall II Study, University College London, UK, and the Toyama University, Japan. In Helsinki, the postal questionnaires were mailed in 2000-2002 to employees of the City of Helsinki, aged 40 60 years (n=8960). The questionnaire data covered e.g., socio-economic indicators and working conditions such as Karasek s job demands and job control, work fatigue, working overtime, work-home interface, and social support. The outcome measures consisted of smoking, drinking, physical activity, food habits, weight gain, obesity, and symptoms of angina pectoris. The international cohorts included comparable data. Logistic regression analysis was used. The models were adjusted for potential confounders such as age, education, occupational class, and marital status subject to specific aims. The results showed that working conditions were mostly unassociated with health behaviors, albeit some associations were found. Low job strain was associated with healthy food habits and non-smoking among women in Helsinki. Work fatigue, in turn, was related to drinking among men and physical inactivity among women. Work fatigue and working overtime were associated with weight gain in Helsinki among both women and men. Finally, work fatigue, low job control, working overtime, and physically strenuous work were associated with symptoms of angina pectoris among women in Helsinki. Cross-country comparisons confirmed mostly non-existent associations. High job strain was associated with physical inactivity and smoking, and passive work with physical inactivity and less drinking. Working overtime, in turn, related to non-smoking and obesity. All these associations were, however, inconsistent between cohorts and genders. In conclusion, the associations of the studied working conditions with the behavioral risk factors lacked general patters, and were, overall, weak considering the prevalence of psychosocially strenuous work and overtime hours. Thus, based on this study, the health effects of working conditions are likely to be mediated by adverse behaviors only to a minor extent. The associations of work fatigue and working overtime with weight gain and symptoms of angina pectoris are, however, of potential importance to the subsequent health and work ability of employees.

What was behind the bark? : An assessment of decay among urban Tilia, Betula and Acer trees felled as hazardous in the Helsinki City area

Old trees growing in urban environments are often felled due to symptoms of mechanical defects that could be hazardous to people and property. The decisions concerning these removals are justified by risk assessments carried out by tree care professionals. The major motivation for this study was to determine the most common profiles of potential hazard characteristics for the three most common urban tree genera in Helsinki City: Tilia, Betula and Acer, and in this way improve management practices and protection of old amenity trees. For this research, material from approximately 250 urban trees was collected in cooperation with the City of Helsinki Public Works Department during 2001 - 2004. From the total number of trees sampled, approximately 70% were defined as hazardous. The tree species had characteristic features as potential hazard profiles. For Tilia trees, hollowed heartwood with low fungal activity and advanced decay caused by Ganoderma lipsiense were the two most common profiles. In Betula spp., the primary reason for tree removal was usually lowered amenity value in terms of decline of the crown. Internal cracks, most often due to weak fork formation, were common causes of potential failure in Acer spp. Decay caused by Rigidoporus populinus often increased the risk of stem breakage in these Acer trees. Of the decay fungi observed, G. lipsiense was most often the reason for the increased risk of stem collapse. Other fungi that also caused extensive decay were R. populinus, Inonotus obliquus, Kretzschmaria deusta and Phellinus igniarius. The most common decay fungi in terms of incidence were Pholiota spp., but decay caused by these species did not have a high potential for causing stem breakage, because it rarely extended to the cambium. The various evaluations used in the study suggested contradictions in felling decisions based on trees displaying different stages of decay. For protection of old urban trees, it is crucial to develop monitoring methods so that tree care professionals could better analyse the rate of decay progression towards the sapwood and separate those trees with decreasing amounts of sound wood from those with decay that is restricted to the heartwood area.

The community of medium-sized carnivores: the interactions between species, habitats and rabies

The composition of the carnivore community influences the different forms of inter-specific interactions. Furthermore, inter-specific interactions of carnivores have important implications for intra-guild competition, epidemiology and strategies of species-specific population management. Zoonooses, such as rabies, are diseases that can be transmitted from wildlife to people. Knowing the ecological characteristics of the species helps us to choose the right preventive actions and to time them accurately. In this thesis, I have studied how raccoon dogs Nyctereutes procyonoides, European badgers Meles meles, red foxes Vulpes vulpes and domestic cats Felis silvestris catus act as members of carnivore community, and how these interactions relate to the transmission risk of rabies. In the study area, these species form a community of medium-sized and rather generalist predators. They live in the same areas, in spatially and temporally overlapping home ranges and use the same habitats and dens and even have similar diets. However, there is no direct evidence of competition. Shared dens point to good tolerance of other species. Numerous observations of animals moving in each other’s proximity give similar clues. However, overlapping home ranges and similar habitat preferences lead to frequent inter-specific contacts, which increase the risk of possible rabies transmission. Also, the new insight of habitat use gained by this study illustrates the similar favouring of deciduous forests and fields by these sympatric medium-sized carnivores, creating a basis for contact zones, i.e. risky habitats for rabies transmission and spread. This study is so far the only simultaneous radio tracking study of raccoon dogs, badgers, foxes and cats. These results give new insight of the interactions in the carnivore community, as well as of the behaviour of each individual species. Also, these results have significant implications for the planning of rabies control. In order to reach viable management decisions, not only one or two species should be taken into consideration, but the whole community. In particular, this changes the perspective to inter-specific contacts, animal densities, densities of individuals susceptible to diseases and the magnitude of preventive actions. Rabies should be considered as a multi-vector disease, at least in Finland and the Baltic states. It is of interest for disease management to be able to model an epizootic with local parameters to reflect the real situation and also to suite best the local management needs.