Service-based Requirements for Future Mobile Networks

The mobile phone has, as a device, taken the world by storm in the past decade; from only 136 million phones globally in 1996, it is now estimated that by the end of 2008 roughly half of the worlds population will own a mobile phone. Over the years, the capabilities of the phones as well as the networks have increased tremendously, reaching the point where the devices are better called miniature computers rather than simply mobile phones. The mobile industry is currently undertaking several initiatives of developing new generations of mobile network technologies; technologies that to a large extent focus at offering ever-increasing data rates. This thesis seeks to answer the question of whether the future mobile networks in development and the future mobile services are in sync; taking a forward-looking timeframe of five to eight years into the future, will there be services that will need the high-performance new networks being planned? The question is seen to be especially pertinent in light of slower-than-expected takeoff of 3G data services. Current and future mobile services are analyzed from two viewpoints; first, looking at the gradual, evolutionary development of the services and second, through seeking to identify potential revolutionary new mobile services. With information on both current and future mobile networks as well as services, a network capability - service requirements mapping is performed to identify which services will work in which networks. Based on the analysis, it is far from certain whether the new mobile networks, especially those planned for deployment after HSPA, will be needed as soon as they are being currently roadmapped. The true service-based demand for the "beyond HSPA" technologies may be many years into the future - or, indeed, may never materialize thanks to the increasing deployment of local area wireless broadband technologies.

Ihanteena vapaaehtoisuus : Diakoniatyö Porvoon hiippakunnan seurakunnissa, erityisesti Iitin ja Tampereen rovastikunnissa vuosina 1897-1923

The Ideal of Volunteerism. An institutional approach to social welfare work in the parishes of the Diocese of Porvoo especially in the deaneries of Iitti and Tampere, Finland, in the years 1897-1923 Social welfare work (also known as diakonia) has achieved a high status in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Since 1944, provisions of the Finnish Church Act have obliged each parish to employ at least one deacon or deaconess. This study sets out to examine the background and development of social welfare work in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland from the 1890s to the 1920s, by which time social welfare work had become an established practice in the Church. The study investigates the development of social welfare work on the level of parishes. The main source material was collected from sixteen parishes in the Diocese of Porvoo especially in the deaneries of Iitti and Tampere. In the 1890s, two approaches were used in church social work in Finland. The dioceses of Kuopio, Savonlinna and Turku pursued a congregational approach to social work, while the Diocese of Porvoo employed an institutional approach, mainly because of the influence of Bishop Herman Råbergh. This study charts the formation of church social work in Finnish parishes, which took place during a period of tension between the two approaches. The institutional approach to church social work adopted by the Diocese of Porvoo was based on the German system of Asisters= houses@, in which deaconess institutes sent parish sisters to serve congregations. The parish or, in many cases, a separate association dedicated to church social work paid an annual fee to the deaconess institute, which took care of the parish sisters in old age. In the institutional approach, volunteers were recruited to carry out church social work. It was considered as inappropriate to use tax revenue or other public funding for church social work, which was supposed to be based on Christian love for one=s fellow humans and the needy, and for which only voluntary financial contributions were supposed to be used. In the congregational approach, church social work was directly based on the efforts of the parish. The approach relied on the administrative bodies of parishes and the Church, and tax revenue collected by the parishes, as well as other forms of public funding, could be used to carry out the social welfare work. The parishes employed deacons and deaconesses and paid their salaries. The approaches described above were not pursued in their ideal forms; instead, many variations existed. However, in principle, the social welfare work undertaken by the parishes of the Diocese of Porvoo was based on the institutional approach, while the congregational approach was largely employed elsewhere in Finland. Both of the approaches were viable. Parishes began to employ deacons and deaconesses as of the 1890s. The number of parishes which had hired a deacon or deaconess increased particularly in the 1910s, by which time 60% of parishes had employed one. This level was maintained until 1944 when each parish in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland was obliged to employ a deacon or deaconess. Deaconesses usually worked as travelling nurses. The autonomous status of Finland as part of the Russian Empire did not give Finns the right to develop legislation on social affairs and health care. Consequently, the legislation process did not begin until Finland gained its independence in 1917. The social welfare work carried out by parishes and a number of voluntary organisations satisfied the emerging need for medical treatment in Finnish society. Neither the government nor the municipalities had sufficient resources to provide this treatment. Based on the ideal of volunteerism, the institutional social work practiced in the Diocese of Porvoo ran into serious difficulties at the end of the First World War. Because of severe inflation, prices began to rise as of 1915 and tripled in 1917-1918. During the same period, Finnish society went through a deep crisis which escalated into Civil War in spring 1918. This period of economic and social turmoil marked a turning-point which led to a weakening of the status of institutional social work in parishes. Voluntary efforts were no longer sufficient to maintain the practice. In contrast, congregational social work, which was based on public funding, was able to cope with the changes and survived the crisis. The approach to social work adopted by the Diocese of Porvoo turned out to be no more than a brief detour in the history of social work in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. At the start of the 1920s, the two approaches were integrated into a common vision for establishing church social work as a statutory practice in parishes.

Risk factors for open angle glaucoma; a clinical and molecular genetic study

Glaucoma, optic neuropathy with excavation in the optic nerve head and corresponding visual field defect, is one of the leading causes for blindness worldwide. However, visual disability can often be avoided or delayed if the disease is diagnosed at an early stage. Therefore, recognising the risk factors for development and progression of glaucoma may prevent further damage. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate factors associated with visual disability caused by glaucoma and the genetic features of two risk factors, exfoliation syndrome (ES) and a positive family history of glaucoma. The present study material consisted of three study groups 1) deceased glaucoma patients from the Ekenäs practice 2) glaucoma families from the Ekenäs region and 3) population based families with and without exfoliation syndrome from Kökar Island. For the retrospective study, 106 patients with open angle glaucoma (OAG) were identified. At the last visit, 17 patients were visually impaired. Blindness induced by glaucoma was found in one or both eyes in 16 patients and in both eyes in six patients. The cumulative incidence of glaucoma caused blindness for one eye was 6% at 5 years, 9% at 10 years, and 15% at 15 years from initialising the treatment. The factors associated with blindness caused by glaucoma were an advanced stage of glaucoma at diagnosis, fluctuation in intraocular pressure during treatment, the presence of exfoliation syndrome, and poor patient compliance. A cross-sectional population based study performed in 1960-1962 on Kökar Island and the same population was followed until 2002. In total 965 subjects (530 over 50 years) have been examined at least once. The prevalence of exfoliation syndrome (ES) was 18% among subjects older than 50 years. Seventy-five of all 78 ES-positives belonged to the same extended pedigree. According to the segregation and family analysis, exfoliation syndrome seemed to be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with reduced penetrance. The penetrance was more reduced for males, but the risk for glaucoma was higher in males than in females. To find the gene or genes associated with exfoliation syndrome, a genome wide scan was performed for 64 members (28 ES affected and 36 controls) of the Kökar pedigree. A promising result was found: the highest two-point LOD score of 3.45 (θ=0.04) in chromosome18q12.1-21.33. The presence of mutations in glaucoma genes TIGR/MYOC (myocilin) and OPTN (optineurin) was analysed in eight glaucoma families from the Ekenäs region. An inheritance pattern resembling autosomal dominant mode was detected in all these families. Primary open angle glaucoma or exfoliation glaucoma was found in 35% of 136 family members and 28% were suspected to have glaucoma. No mutations were detected in these families.

Atrial Electric Signal During Sinus Rhythm in Lone Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common tachyarrhythmia and is associated with substantial morbidity, increased mortality and cost. The treatment modalities of AF have increased, but results are still far from optimal. More individualized therapy may be beneficial. Aiming for this calls improved diagnostics. Aim of this study was to find non-invasive parameters obtained during sinus rhythm reflecting electrophysiological patterns related to propensity to AF and particularly to AF occurring without any associated heart disease, lone AF. Overall 240 subjects were enrolled, 136 patients with paroxysmal lone AF and 104 controls (mean age 45 years, 75% males). Signal measurements were performed by non-invasive magnetocardiography (MCG) and by invasive electroanatomic mapping (EAM). High-pass filtering techniques and a new method based on a surface gradient technique were adapted to analyze atrial MCG signal. The EAM was used to elucidate atrial activation in patients and as a reference for MCG. The results showed that MCG mapping is an accurate method to detect atrial electrophysiologic properties. In lone paroxysmal AF, duration of the atrial depolarization complex was marginally prolonged. The difference was more obvious in women and was also related to interatrial conduction patterns. In the focal type of AF (75%), the root mean square (RMS) amplitudes of the atrial signal were normal, but in AF without demonstrable triggers the late atrial RMS amplitudes were reduced. In addition, the atrial characteristics tended to remain similar even when examined several years after the first AF episodes. The intra-atrial recordings confirmed the occurrence of three distinct sites of electrical connection from right to left atrium (LA): the Bachmann bundle (BB), the margin of the fossa ovalis (FO), and the coronary sinus ostial area (CS). The propagation of atrial signal could also be evaluated non-invasively. Three MCG atrial wave types were identified, each of which represented a distinct interatrial activation pattern. In conclusion, in paroxysmal lone AF, active focal triggers are common, atrial depolarization is slightly prolonged, but with a normal amplitude, and the arrhythmia does not necessarily lead to electrical or mechanical dysfunction of the atria. In women the prolongation of atrial depolarization is more obvious. This may be related to gender differences in presentation of AF. A significant minority of patients with lone AF lack frequent focal triggers, and in them, the late atrial signal amplitude is reduced, possibly signifying a wider degenerative process in the LA. In lone AF, natural impulse propagation to LA during sinus rhythm goes through one or more of the principal pathways described. The BB is the most common route, but in one-third, the earliest LA activation occurs outside the BB. Susceptibility to paroxysmal lone AF is associated with propagation of the atrial signal via the margin of the FO or via multiple pathways. When conduction occurs via the BB, it is related with prolonged atrial activation. Thus, altered and alternative conduction pathways may contribute to pathogenesis of lone AF. There is growing evidence of variability in genesis of AF also within lone paroxysmal AF. Present study suggests that this variation may be reflected in cardiac signal pattern. Recognizing the distinct signal profiles may assist in understanding the pathogenesis of AF and identifying subgroups for patient-tailored therapy.

Personnel Managers and Crisis Situations. Emotion-handling Strategies

This study focuses on personnel managers in crisis situations. The interviewed personnel managers referred to emotions as a central element to be dealt with in a crisis. However, until recently, the exploration of emotions in organisational life has been de-emphasised or ignored. This study aims to bring to the surface aspects of personnel work that have so far been neglected or remained invisible. It specifically examines how personnel managers handle employees’ and their own emotions in a crisis. Based on the interviews, a number of emotional episodes were constructed. They describe the type and context of the crisis and the person(s) whose emotions are handled. The main findings of the study are the five emotion-handling strategies that could be constructed from the data. The negotiation-like manner in which personnel managers handled emotions in crisis situations proved especially interesting. They were actually negotiating emotional value for their organisations. Further, they handled their own emotions within the frame of two logics of appropriateness labelled mothering and guide-following. The episodes described also enabled identification of the values enacted by the personnel managers in handling emotions. The study provides descriptive information on emotion handling, a current and relevant feature in the practice of personnel management. It seeks to offer a frame for developing practical principles that can be helpful in a crisis. It also offers the opportunity to consider a variety of difficult situations that personnel managers may confront in their work.

What is A Virtual Service?- Broadening the Perspective on Technology-Based Services

This article expands the discussion of the impact of technology on services and contributes to a broader comprehension of the nature of virtual services. This is done by discovering dimensions that distinguish physical services from virtual services, i.e. services that are distributed by electronic means and where the customer has no direct human interaction with the service provider. Differences in the core characteristics of services, servicescape and service delivery are discussed. Moreover, dimensions that differentiate between virtual services are analysed. A classification scheme for virtual services is proposed, including the origin of the service, the element of the service offering, the customisation process, stage of the service process performed, and the degree of mobility of the service.