Medicines information sources and services for consumers : A special focus on the Internet and people with depression

The range of consumer health and medicines information sources has diversified along with the increased use of the Internet. This has led to a drive to develop medicines information services and to better incorporate the Internet and e-mail into routine practice in health care and in community pharmacies. To support the development of such services more information is needed about the use of online information by consumers, particularly of those who may be the most likely to use and to benefit from the new sources and modes of medicines communication. This study explored the role and utilization of the Internet-based medicines information and information services in the context of a wider network of information sources accessible to the public in Finland. The overall aim was to gather information to develop better and more accessible sources of information for consumers and services to better meet the needs of consumers. Special focus was on the needs and information behavior among people with depression and using antidepressant medicines. This study applied both qualitative and quantitative methods. Consumer medicines information needs and sources were identified by analyzing the utilization of the University Pharmacy operated national drug information call center (Study I) and surveying Finnish adults (n=2348) use of the different medicines information sources (Study II). The utilization of the Internet as a source of antidepressant information among people with depression was explored by focus group discussions among people with depression and with current or past use of the antidepressant(s) (n=29, Studies III & IV). Pharmacy response to the needs of consumers in term of providing e-mail counseling was assessed by conducting a virtual pseudo customer study among the Finnish community pharmacies (n=161, Study V). Physicians and pharmacists were the primary sources of medicines information. People with mental disorders were more frequent users of telephone- and Internet-based medicines information sources and patient information leaflets than people without mental disorders. These sources were used to complement rather than replace information provided face-to-face by health professionals. People with depression used the Internet to seek facts about antidepressants, to share experiences with peers, and for the curiosity. They described that the access to online drug information was empowering. Some people reported lacking the skills necessary to assess the quality of online information. E-mail medication counseling services provided by community pharmacies were rare and varied in quality. Study results suggest that rather than discouraging the use of the Internet, health professionals should direct patients to use accurate and reliable sources of online medicines information. Health care providers, including community pharmacies should also seek to develop new ways of communicating information about medicines with consumers. This study determined that people with depression and using antidepressants need services enabling interactive communication not only with health care professionals, but also with peers. Further research should be focused on developing medicines information service facilitating communication among different patient and consumer groups.

Straw Performance Studies and Quality Assurance for the ATLAS Transition Radiation Tracker

The Transition Radiation Tracker (TRT) of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC is part of the Inner Detector. It is designed as a robust and powerful gaseous detector that provides tracking through individual drift-tubes (straws) as well as particle identification via transition radiation (TR) detection. The straw tubes are operated with Xe-CO2-O2 70/27/3, a gas that combines the advantages of efficient TR absorption, a short electron drift time and minimum ageing effects. The modules of the barrel part of the TRT were built in the United States while the end-cap wheels are assembled at two Russian institutes. Acceptance tests of barrel modules and end-cap wheels are performed at CERN before assembly and integration with the Semiconductor Tracker (SCT) and the Pixel Detector. This thesis first describes simulations the TRT straw tube. The argon-based acceptance gas mixture as well as two xenon-based operating gases are examined for its properties. Drift velocities and Townsend coefficients are computed with the help of the program Magboltz and used to study electron drift and multiplication in the straw using the software Garfield. The inclusion of Penning transfers in the avalanche process leads to remarkable agreements with experimental data. A high level of cleanliness in the TRT s acceptance test gas system is indispensable. To monitor gas purity, a small straw tube detector has been constructed and extensively used to study the ageing behaviour of the straw tube in Ar-CO2. A variety of ageing tests are presented and discussed. Acceptance tests for the TRT survey dimensions, wire tension, gas-tightness, high-voltage stability and gas gain uniformity along each individual straw. The thesis gives details on acceptance criteria and measurement methods in the case of the end-cap wheels. Special focus is put on wire tension and straw straightness. The effect of geometrically deformed straws on gas gain and energy resolution is examined in an experimental setup and compared to simulation studies. An overview of the most important results from the end-cap wheels tested up to this point is presented.

Kaikki vaikuttaa kaikkeen : Kausatiiviset lauserakenteet terveysaiheisessa internet-aineistossa

Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan sellaisia kausatiivisia lauserakenteita, joissa kausaation osapuolet ovat ei-inhimillisiä olioita. Työn tavoitteena on tarkastella eri kausatiivirakenteiden yhteneväisyyksiä ja eroavaisuuksia sen suhteen, miten ne kausaatiota kuvaavat, sekä luoda tämän analyysin pohjalta jonkinlainen kokonaiskuva siitä, miten suomen kielessä käsitteistetään kausaatiota. Työn aineistona on valikoima terveysaiheisia artikkeleita verkkosivuilta www.tohtori.fi ja www.verkkoklinikka.fi. Tästä tekstimassasta poimittiin käsin kaikki sellaiset lauseet, jotka kuvasivat kahden ei-inhimillisen olion välistä kausaaliyhteyttä. Tämä lauseaineisto jaoteltiin eri kausaatiorakenteisiin sen mukaan, mikä oli kunkin esiintymän kausaaliyhteyttä kuvaava keskusargumentti. Kausatiiviset rakennetyypit ovat seuraavat: aineistossa keskeiset AIHEUTTAA-rakenne, MUUTTAA-rakenne, VAIKUTTAA-rakenne, AIHEUTUA-rakenne ja LIITTYÄ-rakenne sekä esiintymämäärältään edellämainittuja harvinaisemmat JOHTAA-rakenne, ESTÄÄ/MAHDOLLISTAA-rakenne, EDISTÄÄ-rakenne, RIIPPUArakenne, OLLA SYYNÄ/SEURAUKSENA -rakenne ja OLLA TAUSTALLA -rakenne. Rakenteita analysoidaan kognitiivisen kielentutkimuksen ja konstruktiokieliopin metodein. Kielitieteellisistä kausaation tutkimuksista tärkeimpinä teorialähteinä ovat Talmy (1976) sekä Kemmer ja Verhagen (1994). Aineiston rakenteista tarkastellaan erityisesti perussyntaksia, predikaation osallistujien semanttisia rooleja sekä rakenteen avulla kuvatun kausaalisuhteen luonnetta ja sen osapuolten ominaisuuksia. Näin tuodaan ilmi, miten eri tavat kielellistää kausaatiota eroavat toisistaan. Päätelminä todetaan, että kausaation kielellistämiskeinot ovat monipuolisia ja tarkastellut rakenteet eroavat toisistaan monessa suhteessa. Kausatiivirakenteita voi luokitella mm. sillä perusteella, onko niiden keskusargumenttina predikaattiverbi vai nomini ja kopula, ovatko ne aineistossa yleisiä vai marginaalisia ja kuvaavatko ne vahvaa vai heikkoa kausaalisuhdetta. Kaikkiaan on tuloksena, että aineiston kausatiivirakenteet ovat joko transitiivisia lauserakenteita tai käyttävät hyväkseen spatiaalisuutta syy seuraus-suhteen ilmaisemisen keinona. Työstä nousee esiin monenlaisia jatkotutkimusaiheita: Ovatko kausatiivisuuden keinot samanlaisia myös muissa kirjallisissa tekstilajeissa ja puhutussa kielessä? Miten suomen ilmaisukeinot vertautuvat muihin kieliin? Etenkin esiintymämäärältään vähäisistä rakenteista voisi lisäksi löytää uusia ominaisuuksia tutkimalla niitä tätä työtä laajemmasta aineistosta.

Internet- karttapalveluiden arviointi ja kehitys strategisessa maankäytön suunnittelussa, tapaustutkimuksena Esikaupunkien renessanssi -hanke

Participation is located in a living and complex environment. Traditional means of participation are only partially able to meet the new environmental requirements. In need are forms of participation which take into account the new opportunities of the environment and residents expertise. Internet map applications are an important channel of participation which potential is in many respects as unexplored and unutilized. They are commonly in inventory the perspectives, bringing out the concerns of the area, and only little for discussing about solutions. Interpretation is usually made by designer. This study focuses on evaluation and development of Internet map applications in strategic land use planning. Subject matter is dealt from designer and the inhabitants point of view. City Planning Department of Helsinki s Esikau-punkien Renessanssi -project and the associated SoftGIS survey acts as the case study. In the beginning of the study I tried to recognize the new environment in which the Internet map applications are placed. The research question is, what kind of challenges and opportunities the e-participation confronts in information society, and what kind of requirements the environmental creates for development of an application. In chapter three I evaluate how successfully these requirements are met in Esikau-punkien Renessanssi -project. I m trying to examine how the application would look like if the environment and the characteristics of the project are met better. The approach is experimental and I try to find new ways to take advantage of Internet maps. I try not to be too limited to current projects and studies. For example, I try to examine how social media and Web 2.0 opportunities can be utilized, and how the learning and shaping nature of planning may be reached in Internet map environment. In chapter four I have developed a new concept for the Esikaupunkien Renessanssi map application, and made images to visualize its operation in practice. I collect all the data in the research and gather it into a new service. The aim is to create a better application for Esikaupunkien Renessanssi -project, which takes into account the living and complex environment of participation and responds to threats and opportunities arising from it. The presented outcome is in many respects different from the current query. In the new service the role of residents is to interact and learn. The traditional standing of the Internet maps and the position of resident as one-sided information donor are questioned. In the concept, the residents innovate and make interpretations too. Influences are taken from a number of modern applications and for example services that make use of social media. The user experience is intended to be interactive, fast and easy. The idea is that the service keeps you up to date with planning matters, not the other way around. Service guides inhabitants, striving to achieve a deeper knowledge of the project's objectives as well as the dynamics and realities that different individuals experience.