Combination inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting beta2-agonists for children and adults with bronchiectasis

BACKGROUND Bronchiectasis is a major contributor to chronic respiratory morbidity and mortality worldwide. Wheeze and other asthma-like symptoms and bronchial hyperreactivity may occur in people with bronchiectasis. Physicians often use asthma treatments in patients with bronchiectasis. OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of inhaled long-acting beta2-agonists (LABA) combined with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in children and adults with bronchiectasis during (1) acute exacerbations and (2) stable state. SEARCH METHODS The Cochrane Airways Group searched the the Cochrane Airways Group Specialised Register of Trials, which includes records identified from the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE and other databases. The Cochrane Airways Group performed the latest searches in October 2013. SELECTION CRITERIA All randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of combined ICS and LABA compared with a control (placebo, no treatment, ICS as monotherapy) in children and adults with bronchiectasis not related to cystic fibrosis (CF). DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two review authors extracted data independently using standard methodological procedures as expected by The Cochrane Collaboration. MAIN RESULTS We found no RCTs comparing ICS and LABA combination with either placebo or usual care. We included one RCT that compared combined ICS and LABA with high-dose ICS in 40 adults with non-CF bronchiectasis without co-existent asthma. All participants received three months of high-dose budesonide dipropionate treatment (1600 micrograms). After three months, participants were randomly assigned to receive either high-dose budesonide dipropionate (1600 micrograms per day) or a combination of budesonide with formoterol (640 micrograms of budesonide and 18 micrograms of formoterol) for three months. The study was not blinded. We assessed it to be an RCT with overall high risk of bias. Data analysed in this review showed that those who received combined ICS-LABA (in stable state) had a significantly better transition dyspnoea index (mean difference (MD) 1.29, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.40 to 2.18) and cough-free days (MD 12.30, 95% CI 2.38 to 22.2) compared with those receiving ICS after three months of treatment. No significant difference was noted between groups in quality of life (MD -4.57, 95% CI -12.38 to 3.24), number of hospitalisations (odds ratio (OR) 0.26, 95% CI 0.02 to 2.79) or lung function (forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC)). Investigators reported 37 adverse events in the ICS group versus 12 events in the ICS-LABA group but did not mention the number of individuals experiencing adverse events. Hence differences between groups were not included in the analyses. We assessed the overall evidence to be low quality. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS In adults with bronchiectasis without co-existent asthma, during stable state, a small single trial with a high risk of bias suggests that combined ICS-LABA may improve dyspnoea and increase cough-free days in comparison with high-dose ICS. No data are provided for or against, the use of combined ICS-LABA in adults with bronchiectasis during an acute exacerbation, or in children with bronchiectasis in a stable or acute state. The absence of high quality evidence means that decisions to use or discontinue combined ICS-LABA in people with bronchiectasis may need to take account of the presence or absence of co-existing airway hyper-responsiveness and consideration of adverse events associated with combined ICS-LABA.

'As many options as there are, there are just not enough for me': Contraceptive use and barriers to access among Australian women

OBJECTIVE A comprehensive life course perspective of women's experiences in obtaining and using contraception in Australia is lacking. This paper explores free-text comments about contraception provided by women born between 1973 and 1978 who participated in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH). METHODS The ALSWH is a national population-based cohort study involving over 40,000 women from three age groups, who are surveyed every three years. An initial search identified 1600 comments from 690 women across five surveys from 1996 (when they were aged 18-23 years) to 2009 (31-36 years). The analysis included 305 comments from 289 participants. Factors relating to experiences of barriers to access and optimal contraceptive use were identified and explored using thematic analysis. RESULTS Five themes recurred across the five surveys as women aged: (i) side effects affecting physical and mental health; (ii) lack of information about contraception; (iii) negative experiences with health services; (iv) contraceptive failure; and (v) difficulty with accessing contraception. CONCLUSION Side effects of hormonal contraception and concerns about contraceptive failure influence women's mental and physical health. Many barriers to effective contraception persist throughout women's reproductive lives. Further research is needed into reducing barriers and minimising negative experiences, to ensure optimal contraceptive access for Australian women.

Polymorphisms in a desaturase 2 ortholog associate with cuticular hydrocarbon and male mating success variation in a natural population of Drosophila serrata

Elucidating the nature of genetic variation underlying both sexually selected traits and the fitness components of sexual selection is essential to understanding the broader consequences of sexual selection as an evolutionary process. To date, there have been relatively few attempts to connect the genetic variance in sexually selected traits with segregating DNA sequence polymorphisms. We set out to address this in a well-characterized sexual selection system - the cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) of Drosophila serrata - using an indirect association study design that allowed simultaneous estimation of the genetic variance in CHCs, sexual fitness and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) effects in an outbred population. We cloned and sequenced an ortholog of the D. melanogaster desaturase 2 gene, previously shown to affect CHC biosynthesis in D. melanogaster, and associated 36 SNPs with minor allele frequencies > 0.02 with variance in CHCs and sexual fitness. Three SNPs had significant multivariate associations with CHC phenotype (q-value < 0.05). At these loci, minor alleles had multivariate effects on CHCs that were weakly associated with the multivariate direction of sexual selection operating on these traits. Two of these SNPs had pleiotropic associations with male mating success, suggesting these variants may underlie responses to sexual selection due to this locus. There were 15 significant male mating success associations (q-value < 0.1), and interestingly, we detected a nonrandom pattern in the relationship between allele frequency and direction of effect on male mating success. The minor-frequency allele usually reduced male mating success, suggesting a positive association between male mating success and total fitness at this locus.

A role for nocturnal serum testosterone surge in regulating spermatogenesis in the adult non-human primate

Adult male bonnet monkeys exhibit nychthemeral rhythms in testosterone (T) secretion but the precise role of this heightened level of T secretion in regulating spermatogenesis is not known. Intranasal administration of microdoses (500 mu g or 250 mu g/day) of Norethisterone (IN-NET) to adult monkeys (n = 6) at 1600 h each day selectively and completely suppressed the nocturnal surge levels of serum T. Concomitant with this was a significant reduction (P<0.01) in serum LH but not FSH levels. DNA flow cytometric analysis of testicular biopsy tissue showed by week 10 of IN-NET treatment an arrest in meiotic transformation of primary spermatocytes (4C) to round/elongate (1C/HC) spermatids and by week 20 there was a complete absence of 4C, 1C and HC cells (with a relative accumulation in 2C cells). The accumulated meiotic (4C) cells at week 10 showed an increase (>80%, P<0.01) in coefficient of variation and a decrease in intensity of DNA-bound ethidium bromide fluorescence, parameters characteristic of degenerating 'apoptotic' subpopulation of germ cells. While two monkeys exhibited acute oligozoospermia 4 became azoospermic by 20 weeks of IN-NET treatment. A complete, qualitative reversal in the regressive changes in spermatogenesis and near-normal sperm output were apparent at the end of a 20-week recovery phase. These data demonstrate that prolonged, selective suppression of nocturnal surge levels of serum T secretion exerts a primary effect on meiosis in spermatogenesis leading to oligo/azoospermic status in adult bonnet monkeys.

Medication adherence of individuals with a first episode of psychosis

Objective To determine rates of adherence to antipsychotic medication in first episode patients and the correlates of adherence in this group. Method Subjects were the first 200 admissions to an Early Psychosis Program. Adherence was determined on a three-point scale. Symptoms, medication side-effects, quality of life, substance use and family involvement were examined longitudinally. Results In their first year in the program 39% were non-adherent, 20% inadequately adherent, and 41% adherent. Non-adherent patients demonstrated more positive symptoms, more relapses, more alcohol and cannabis use, reduced insight, and poorer quality of life. They were younger, had an earlier age of onset and less likely to have a family member involved in treatment. Conclusion Results for this group are similar to those reported in the literature. Correlates are often the consequence of non-adherence. Non-compliance has to be anticipated and relationships maintained with patients and families to intervene as soon as possible to minimize the consequence of non-compliance.

The first episode of psychosis: The experience of relatives

Objective The aim was to determine the extent of and the correlates of the distress and impact of care families of patients with first episode psychosis were experiencing when they first came for treatment. Method Subjects were 238 individuals who had presented with a first episode of psychosis and their family members. Family members were assessed with the Psychological General Well-Being Scale, and the Experience of Caregiving Inventory. Patient data included assessment of positive and negative symptoms, depression, quality of life, and substance use. Results Family members of these first-episode patients were experiencing distress and difficulties. It was the family's appraisal of the impact of the illness that was associated with their psychological well-being. Conclusion As the majority of these first episode families are keen to be involved early and have engaged in an intervention programme, the next step should be an evaluation of their involvement to determine if it is effective.

Kaukainen rakkaus : Saavuttamattomuuden semantiikka Kaija Saariahon oopperassa

L Amour de loin: The semantics of the unattainable in Kaija Saariaho s opera Kaija Saariaho (born 1952) is one of the most internationally successful Finnish composers there has ever been. Her first opera L Amour de loin (Love from afar, 1999-2000) has been staged all over the world and has won a number of important prizes. The libretto written for L Amour de loin by Amin Malouf (born 1949) sets the work firmly in the culture of courtly love and the troubadours, which flourished in Occitania in the South of France during the Middle Ages. The male lead in the opera is the troubadour Jaufré Rudel, who lived in the twelfth century and is known to have taken part in the Second Crusade in 1147-1148. This doctoral thesis L Amour de loin: The semantics of the unattainable in Kaija Saariaho s opera, which comes within the field of musicology and opera research, examines the dimensions of meaning contained in Kaija Saariaho s opera L Amour de loin. This hermeneutic-semiotic study is the first doctoral thesis dealing with Saariaho to be completed at the University of Helsinki. It is also the first thesis-level study of Saariaho s opera to be completed anywhere in the world. The study focuses on the libretto and music of the opera, that is to say the dramatic text (L Amour de loin 1980), and examines on the one hand the dimensions of meaning produced by the dramatic text and on the other, the way in which they fix the dramatic text in a historical and cultural context. Thus the study helps to answer questions about the dimensions of meaning contained in the dramatic text of the opera and how they can be interpreted. The most important procedural viewpoint is Lawrence Kramer s hermeneutic window (1990), supplemented by Raymond Monelle s semiotic theory of musical topics (2000, 2006) and the philosophical concept of Emmanuel Levinas (1996, 2002) in which the latter acts as an instrument for semantic interpretation to build up an analysis. The analytical section of the study is built around the three characters in the opera, Jaufré Rudel, Clémence the Countess of Tripoli, and the Pilgrim. The study shows that the music of Saariaho, who belongs to the third generation of Finnish modernists, has become distanced from the post-serial aesthetic towards a more diatonic form of expression. There is diatonicity, for instance, in the sonorous individuality of the male lead, which is based on the actual melodies of the historical Jaufré Rudel. The use of outside material in this context is exceptional in the work of Saariaho. At the same time, Saariaho s opera contains a wealth of expressive devices she has used in her earlier work. It became apparent during the study that, as a piece of music, L Amour de loin is a many layered and multi-dimensional work that does not unambiguously represent any single stylistic trend or aesthetic. Despite the composer s post-serial background and its abrasive relationship with opera, L Amour de loin is firmly attached to the tradition of western opera. The analysis based on the theory of musical topics that was carried out in the study, shows that topics referring to death and resurrection, used in opera since the seventeenth century, appear in L Amour de loin. The troubadour topic, mainly identified with the harp, also emerges in the work. The study also shows that the work is firmly attached to the tradition of western opera in other aspects, too, such as the travesti or trouser role played by the Pilgrim, and the idea of deus ex machina derived from Ancient Greek theatre. The study shows that the concept of love based on the medieval practices of courtly love, and the associated longing for another defined by almost 1,000 years of western culture, are both manifested in the semantics of Kaija Saariaho s opera which takes its place in the contemporary music genre.

"Secoituxesta järjettömäin luondocappalden canssa" : Perversiot, oikeuselämä ja kansankulttuuri 1700-luvun Suomessa

Bestiality was in the 18th century a more difficult problem in terms of criminal policy in Sweden and Finland than in any other Christian country in any other period. In the legal history of deviant sexuality, the phenomenon was uniquely widespread by international comparison. The number of court cases per capita in Finland was even higher than in Sweden. The authorities classified bestiality among the most serious crimes and a deadly sin. The Court of Appeal in Turku opted for an independent line and was clearly more lenient than Swedish courts of justice. Death sentences on grounds of bestiality ended in the 1730s, decades earlier than in Sweden. The sources for the present dissertation include judgment books and Court of Appeal decisions in 253 cases, which show that the persecution of those engaging in bestial acts in 18th century Finland was not organised by the centralised power of Stockholm. There is little evidence of local campaigns that would have been led by authorities. The church in its orthodoxy was losing ground and the clergy governed their parishes with more pragmatism than the Old Testament sanctioned. When exposing bestiality, the legal system was compelled to rely on the initiative of the public. In cases of illicit intercourse or adultery the authorities were even more dependent on the activeness of the local community. Bestiality left no tangible evidence, illegitimate children, to betray the crime to the clergy or secular authorities. The moral views of the church and the local community were not on a collision course. It was a common view that bestiality was a heinous act. Yet nowhere near all crimes came to the authorities' knowledge. Because of the heavy burden of proof, the legal position of the informer was difficult. Passiveness in reporting the crime was partly because most Finns felt it was not their place to intervene in their neighbours' private lives, as long as that privacy posed no serious threat to the neighbourhood. Hidden crime was at least as common as crime more easily exposed and proven. A typical Finnish perpetrator of bestiality was a young unmarried man with no criminal background or mental illness. The suspects were not members of ethnic minorities or marginal social groups. In trials, farmhands were more likely to be sentenced than their masters, but a more salient common denominator than social and economical status was the suspects' young age. For most of the defendants bestiality was a deep-rooted habit, which had been adopted in early youth. This form of subculture spread among the youth, and the most susceptible to experiment with the act were shepherds. The difference between man and animal was not clear-cut or self-evident. The difficulty in drawing the line is evident both in legal sources and Finnish folklore. The law that required that the animal partners be slaughtered led to the killing of thousands of cows and mares, and thereby to substantial material losses to their owners. Regarding bestiality as a crime against property motivated people to report it. The belief that the act would produce human-animal mongrels or that it would poison the milk and the meat horrified the public more than the teachings of the church ever could. Among the most significant aspects in the problems regarding the animals is how profoundly different the worldview of 18th century people was from that of today.

Aineellista ja aineetonta turvaa : Ruokakunnat, ekologis-taloudelliset resurssit ja kontaktinmuodostus Valkealassa 1630 1750

Material and immaterial security. Households, ecological and economic resources and formation of contacts in Valkeala parish from the 1630s to the 1750s. The geographical area of the thesis, Valkeala parish in the region of Kymenlaakso, is a very interesting area owing to its diversity, both in terms of natural setting and economic and cultural structure. The study begins by outlining the ecological and economic features of Valkeala and by analysing household structures. The main focus of the research lies in the contacts of the households with the outside world. The following types of contacts are chosen as indicators of the interaction: trade and credit relations, guarantees, co-operation, marriages and godparentage. The main theme of the contact analysis is to observe the significance of three factors, namely geographical extent, affluence level and kinship, to the formation of contacts. It is also essential to chart the interdependencies between ecological and economic resources, changes in the structure of households and the formation of contacts during the period studied. The time between the 1630s and the 1750s was characterized by wars, crop losses and population changes, which had an effect on the economic framework and on the structural variation of households and contact fields. In the 17th and 18th centuries Valkeala could be divided, economically, into two sections according to the predominant cultivation technique. The western area formed the field area and the eastern and northern villages the swidden area. Multiple family households were dominant in the latter part of the 17th century, and for most of the study period, the majority of people lived in the more complex households rather than in simple families. Economic resources had only a moderate impact on the structure of contacts. There was a clear connection between bigger household size and the extent and intensity of contacts. The jurisdictional boundary that ran across Valkeala from the northwest to the southeast and divided the parish into two areas influenced the formation of contacts more than the parish boundaries. Support and security were offered largely by the primary contacts with one s immediate family, neighbours and friends. Economic support was channelled from the wealthier to the less well off by credits. Cross-marriages, cross-godparentage and marital networks could be seen as manifestations of an aim towards stability and the joining of resources. It was essential for households both to secure the workforce needed for a minimum level of subsistence and to ensure the continuation of the family line. These goals could best be reached by complex households that could adapt to the prevailing circumstances and also had wider and more multi-layered contacts offering material and immaterial security.

Timing of fungicide applications for control of husk spot caused by Pseudocercospora macadamiae in macadamia

Pseudocercospora macadamiae is an important pathogen of macadamia in Australia, causing a disease known as husk spot. Growers strive to control the disease with a number of carbendazim and copper treatments. The aim of this study was to consider the macadamia fruit developmental stage at which fungicide application is most effective against husk spot, and whether application of copper-only applications at full-size fruit developmental stage toward the end of the season contributed to effective disease control. Fungicides were applied to macadamia trees at four developmental stages in three orchards in two subsequent production seasons. The effects of the treatments on disease incidence and severity were quantified using area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) and logistic regression models. Although disease incidence varied between cultivars, incidence and severity on cv. A16 showed consistent differences between the treatments. Most significant reduction in husk spot incidence occurred when spraying commenced at match-head sized-fruit developmental stage. All treatments significantly reduced husk spot incidence and severity compared with the untreated controls, and a significant positive linear relationship (R2 = 73%) between AUDPC and severity showed that timing of the first fungicide application is important for effective disease control. Application of fungicide at full-size fruit stage reduced disease incidence but had no impact on premature fruit drop.

Double-Edged Imitation : Theories and Practices of Pastiche in Literature

This study concentrates on the contested concept of pastiche in literary studies. It offers the first detailed examination of the history of the concept from its origins in the seventeenth century to the present, showing how pastiche emerged as a critical concept in interaction with the emerging conception of authorial originality and the copyright laws protecting it. One of the key results of this investigation is the contextualisation of the postmodern debate on pastiche. Even though postmodern critics often emphasise the radical novelty of pastiche, they in fact resuscitate older positions and arguments without necessarily reflecting on their historical conditions. This historical background is then used to analyse the distinction between the primarily French conception of pastiche as the imitation of style and the postmodern notion of it as the compilation of different elements. The latter s vagueness and inclusiveness detracts from its value as a critical concept. The study thus concentrates on the notion of stylistic pastiche, challenging the widespread prejudice that it is merely an indication of lack of talent. Because it is multiply based on repetition, pastiche is in fact a highly ambiguous or double-edged practice that calls into question the distinction between repetition and original, thereby undermining the received notion of individual unique authorship as a fundamental aesthetic value. Pastiche does not, however, constitute a radical upheaval of the basic assumptions on which the present institution of literature relies, since, in order to mark its difference, pastiche always refers to a source outside itself against which its difference is measured. Finally, the theoretical analysis of pastiche is applied to literary works. The pastiches written by Marcel Proust demonstrate how it can become an integral part of a writer s poetics: imitation of style is shown to provide Proust with a way of exploring the role of style as a connecting point between inner vision and reality. The pastiches of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Michael Dibdin, Nicholas Meyer and the duo Adrian Conan Doyle and John Dickson Carr illustrate the functions of pastiche within a genre detective fiction that is itself fundamentally repetitive. A.S. Byatt s Possession and D.M. Thomas s Charlotte use Victorian pastiches to investigate the conditions of literary creation in the age of postmodern suspicion of creativity and individuality. The study thus argues that the concept of pastiche has valuable insights to offer to literary criticism and theory, and that literary pastiches, though often dismissed in reviews and criticism, are a particularly interesting object of study precisely because of their characteristic ambiguity.

Suomalaiset antisankarit : Suomalaisuusdiskurssi kolmessa 1980-luvun elokuvassa

Tutkimuksen aiheena on suomalaisuusdiskurssi elokuvissa Täältä tullaan, elämä! (1980, ohjaus Tapio Suominen), Ajolähtö (1982, ohjaus Mikko Niskanen) ja Arvottomat (1982, ohjaus Mika Kaurismäki). Tutkimuksen kohteena ovat elokuvien sisältö ja aikalaisten lehdistöarviot elokuvista. Elokuvia analysoidaan kahdella tasolla: pintatasolla jossa tutkitaan elokuvien kerrontaa ja tyyliä ja syvemmällä tasolla, jossa tutkitaan elokuvien merkitysrakenteita semiotiikan ja analyyttisen psykologian keinoin. Elokuvatekstien pintatason tutkimuksessa käytän päälähteenä David Bordwellin ja Kirstin Thompsonin kirjaa Film Art: An Introduction (1990, 3. ed.). Merkitysrakenteiden analyysissa käytän Algirdas Julien Greimasin semanttista neliötä ja aktanttikaavaa ja Ronald Barthesin teorioita kirjasta Mytologioita (1957/1994). Elokuvien sankaruuden tutkimisessa sovelletaan Carl Gustav Jungin teorioita kollektiivisesta alitajunnasta ja sankarin arkkityypistä. Suomalaisuusdiskurssin analyysissa käytän pohjana Michel Foucaultin teosta The Archaeology of knowledge (1972/1985) ja samaa teokseen teoreettisesti paljolti pohjautuvaa Päivi Rantasen teosta Suolatut säkeet. Suomen ja suomalaisten diskursiivinen muotoutuminen 1600-luvulta Topeliukseen (1997). Rantasen teos tuo tutkittavien elokuvien suomalaisuusdiskurssin analyysiin historiallista perspektiiviä. Kontekstina elokuva-analyyseille tarkastelen myös elokuvateollisuuden rakennemuutoksia 1980-luvulla ja elokuva-arvosteluja. Suomalaisuusdiskurssi korostuu elokuvien sovittamattomissa ristiriidoissa. Elokuvien kerronnan ja tyylin, narratiivisen merkitysrakenteen ja jungilaisen analyysin tutkimustuloksina on, että elokuvien sisäisistä ristiriidoista voi havaita suomalaisuusdiskurssin pyrkimystä muutokseen. Elokuvien realistisuus sitoo elokuvia perinteiseen topeliaanis-runebergiläiseen suomalaisuuteen, mutta elokuvissa on myös uudenlaisia suomalaisuustulkintoja jotka tulevat ilmi päähenkilöiden toiminnan kautta. Elokuvien analyysi osoittaa, että elokuvien suomalaisuusdiskurssi ei ole vielä valmis täysin sisäistämään muun muassa kansainvälistymistä (Ajolähtö) ja yksilöllisempää suomalaisuutta (Täältä tullaan, elämä! ja Arvottomat). Tarve uudenlaiseen suomalaisuuden määrittelyyn kuitenkin näkyy sekä elokuvateksteissä että elokuva-arvosteluissa. Tutkimusta voisi jatkaa analysoimalla eri aikakausien elokuvia ja vertailemalla niiden suomalaisuusdiskurssia toisiinsa.

Rajamerkkien vartijat : Maariidat Helsingin ja Sipoon pitäjissä 1630 - 1669

Tutkielman aiheena ovat säätyläisten ja talonpoikien maariidat Helsingin ja Sipoon pitäjissä 1600-luvun puolessa välissä. Historiallisen kriminologian tutkijat ovat pitäneet kiinteään maaomaisuuteen liittyneitä maariitoja keskeisenä syynä 1500-luvun korkeaan väkivallan tasoon. 1600-luvulla väkivalta kutistui pieneksi rikosryhmäksi alioikeuksien alkaessa toimia. Enää talonpoikien ei tarvinnut turvautua väkivaltaan omaisuutta puolustaessaan, vaan riidat saatiin päätökseen käräjillä. Tässä työssä selvitän Helsingin ja Sipoon tuomiokirjojen avulla, mitä tapahtui maariidoille 1600-luvulla, sillä itse maariidat ovat jääneet väkivaltatutkimuksen varjoon historiallisessa kriminologiassa. Arvioin maariitoja kvantitatiivisesti ja kvalitatiivisesti syventyen erityisesti niiden yleisyyteen, osapuoliin, maariitojen rooliin talonpoikien ja säätyläisten elämässä sekä maariitojen 1600-luvulle tyypillisiin piirteisiin. Lahjoitusmaat lisääntyivät etenkin 1630- ja 1640-luvuilla voimakkaasti Suomessa. Myös pienaatelin asuttamissa Sipoon ja Helsingin pitäjissä aateliset laajensivat maaomistuksiaan talonpoikaismaan kustannuksella. Baltiasta ja Keski-Euroopasta Suomeen saapuneet feodaaliset omistuskäsitykset asettivat aateliset ja talonpojat törmäyskurssille. Maariitojen käsittely oikeudessa oli siviiliprosessi, jossa periaatteessa tasa-arvoiset osapuolet ottivat yhteen riita-asiassa. Omaisuusriitojen käsittelyssä säilyi huomattavan pitkään perinteisiä, paikallisia, tapaoikeuden piirteitä, joita kruunu oli pyrkinyt karsimaan pois muista rikosasioiden käsittelyistä. Perinteiset oikeustavat eivät kuuluneet modernisoituvan ja keskittyvän valtion oikeusjärjestelmään. Ne säilyivät kuitenkin omaisuusoikeuteen liittyvissä maariidoissa huomattavan pitkään, koska riidanratkaisun auktoriteetti oli laajalla alalla käräjäyhteisössä. Maariidat olivat Helsingin ja Sipoon pitäjissä 4. suurin rikosryhmä 1600-luvun puolessa välissä. Niitä voidaankin pitää agraarisen yhteiskunnan tyyppirikoksena. Säätyläisten suuri määrä osapuolten joukossa oli 1600-luvun maariidoille tyypillinen piirre. Oikeus oli tasapuolinen säätyjä kohtaan arvioidessaan tapausten syyllisyyskysymystä, mutta asettui selvästi säätyläisten puolelle jaellessaan rangaistuksia. Säätyläisiä rangaistiin maariidoissa lievällä vahingonkorvauksella ja talonpoikia yleensä ankarammalla sakolla. Väkivallalla oli maariidoissa keskeinen rooli myös 1600-luvulla. Etenkin 1630-luvulla väkivaltaa esiintyi lähes kaikissa maariidoissa. 1640-luvulla oikeus vakiinnutti asemansa maariitojen ratkaisuareenana väkivallan sijaan ja riidat ratkaistiin käräjätuvassa. Silti väkivallan rooli maariitojen taustalla säilyi. Joka viidennen maariidan taustalla oli väkivaltaa. Tyypillisintä se oli talonpoikien välisissä maariidoissa. Väkivalta sai hyvin raakojakin piirteitä maariitojen yhteydessä. Lievästä väkivallasta oli kyse vain harvoin. Vuosikausia kestäneet maariitojen kierteet saivat päätöksensä 1600-luvun puolessa välissä oikeuden saavuttaessa riittävästi valtaa pitääkseen annetut tuomiot voimassa myös maariidoissa. Suurimmassa osassa Helsingin ja Sipoon pitäjien maariidoista saatiin päätös ensimmäisellä käräjäkerralla tai alle vuoden kuluessa riidan puhkeamisesta. Kuitenkin 17 prosenttia riidoista oli pitkään jatkuneita riitoja, joista oli riidelty yli vuosi. Oikeuteen luotettiin enemmän ja se pystyi pitämään tuomiot voimassa toisin kuin vielä 1500-luvulla. Talonpojat yhdistivät usein voimansa aatelisia vastaan käydyissä maariidoissa. Heidän keskuuteensa vaikutti syntyneen moraalinen yhteisö aatelin talonpoikaiselle maanomistukselle muodostamaa uhkaa vastaan. Toisiaan vastaan riidellessä solidaarisuus oli tiessään. Tasavahvojen osapuolten oli tultava toimeen omillaan. Säätyläiset turvautuivat maariitoihin lähinnä taloudellisten syiden vuoksi. Kun kartano ei kannattanut, alustalaisten tai rajapiiritilojen maita saattoi yrittää saada haltuunsa viemällä riita käräjille jopa tekaistun syyn varjolla. Kyseenalaistamalla vanhat rajat heillä oli tarkoitus saada omiin maihin lisää alaa ja siten saada uutta maata rälssiksi. Etenkin oman rälssimaan rajojen sisäpuolella aatelisilla oli vahva usko oikeudestaan toimia tahtonsa mukaan omistuksillaan huolimatta siitä, oliko kyseessä perintötila vai lampuodin tila.

Ritarit ja samurait : Kaksi soturiperinnettä läntisissä historiallisissa vertailuissa

Soturit olivat keskeinen sosiaalinen ryhmä keskiajan läntisessä Euroopassa ja Meiji-kautta (1868-1912) edeltäneessä Japanissa. Japanin avauduttua 1800-luvun puolivaiheilla maan historiaa alettiin kirjoittaa eurooppalaisen mallin mukaan, ja soturiperinteiden rinnastaminen ja vertailu yleistyivät. Vertailun taustalla vaikuttivat käsitykset alueiden samankaltaisesta feodaalisesta historiasta. Feodalismi on säilynyt keskeisenä teemana vertailuissa ja Japanin-tutkimuksessa, vaikka keskustelu siitä onkin Euroopan keskiajantutkimuksessa pitkälti hiipunut. Myös Japanin-tutkimuksessa on viime aikoina alettu esittää kritiikkiä feodalismi-termin käyttöä, rinnastuksia ja jopa pelkkää Euroopan historiaan vertaamistakin kohtaan. Feodalismin ohella muita keskeisiä vertailuteemoja ovat Japanin modernisoituminen ja sodankäynnin teknologia. Ensimmäiset vertailut olivat etupäässä yksittäisten joskus hyvin ylimalkaisten rinnastusten hakemista. Myös systemaattisia sivilisaatiohistoriallisia vertailuja alettiin tehdä jo varhain. Japanin-tutkimuksen ensisijaiseksi vertailukohteeksi ovat kuitenkin nousseet Euroopan historian sijaan teoriat feodalismista. Tarkastelu keskittyy nykyisin lähinnä eurooppalaisten termien käyttökelpoisuuteen Japanin historiasta kirjoitettaessa. Japanin modernisoitumista käsittelevät vertailut sivuavat keskusteluita feodalismista, mutta sotureiden rooli jää niissä usein hyvin vähäiseksi. Sodankäynnin teknologiaan keskittyvät vertailut ovat ilmiönä varsin tuore, sillä japanilaisen ja eurooppalaisen sodankäynnin pääteknologiat ovat olleet ilmeisen erilaisia lukuunottamatta 1500-luvun jälkipuoliskoa ja 1600-luvun alkua sekä nykyaikaa. Uuden ajan alun Euroopan ja saman ajan Japanin sotateknologiset yhtäläisyydet rajoittuvat jalkaväen tuliaseiden käyttöönoton mukanaan tuomiin muutoksiin maasodankäynnissä ja linnoittamiseen. Merisodankäynnin ja tykistön kehitys oli alueilla erilaista. Ritareiden ja samuraiden historioissa vaikuttavat edellä mainitun varhaisten tuliaseiden aikakauden rinnalla yhtäläisimmiltä kehityskuluilta niin sanotut varhais- ja täysfeodaaliset kaudet. Näistä ensimmäisellä tarkoitetaan Euroopan karolinkivaltakunnan aikaa suhteessa Kamakura-bakufuun (1185-1333) Japanissa. Jälkimmäisellä viitataan puolestaan ensimmäisen vuosituhannen vaihteen tienoille ajoittuvasta murroksesta noin 1300-1400-luvulle ulottuvaan ajanjaksoon Euroopassa ja sisällissotien kauteen 1300-luvun lopulta 1600-luvun alkuun Japanissa. Soturiperinteiden historioissa lähimmin toisiaan vastaavat feodaaliset piirteet ovat sotureiden yhteiskunnallinen asema ja heidän arvomaailmansa. Ilmeisin ongelma Euroopan ja Japanin vertailemisessa on se, että Eurooppa on laajempi ja historialtaan monimuotoisempi kuin Japani. Kuitenkaan tätä mittakaavaongelmaa eikä muitakaan metodologisia kysymyksiä ole vertailuissa juurikaan pohdittu. Osasyynä tähän lienee se, että muutamaa poikkeusta lukuunottamatta vertailijoiden asiantuntemus on keskittynyt vain toisen soturiperinteen historiaan. Sotureiden historiat tarjoavat antoisan vertailuparin. Suurista yhtäläisyyksistä huolimatta ritareita ja samuraita ei tulisi summittaisesti samaistaa toisiinsa, vaan rinnastettaessa tulisi mieluummin käyttää yleisempää soturin käsitettä. Avainsanat: Bushi, feodalismi, Eurooppa - sotahistoria, Japani - historia, ritarit, samurait, soturit

Arkeologia, historialliset kartat ja paikkatieto

This licentiate thesis is composed of three parts, of which the parts 2 and 3 have been published elsewhere. Part 1 deals with the research history of large-scaled historical maps in Finland. The research done in four disciplines – archaeology, history, art history and geography – is summarized. Compared to the other disciplines, archaeology is characterized by its deep engagement with the location. Because archaeology studies different aspects of the past through material culture, it is the only discipline in which the concrete remains portrayed on the maps are “dug up”. For the archaeologist, historical maps are not merely historical documents with written information and drawings in scale, but actual maps which can be connected with the physical features they were made to illustrate in the first place. This aspect of historical maps is discussed in the work by looking at the early (17th and 18th century) urban cartographic material of two Finnish towns, Savonlinna and Vehkalahti-Hamina. In both cases, the GIS-based relocating of the historical maps highlights new aspects in the early development of the towns. Part 1 ends with a section in which the contents of the entire licentiate thesis are summarized. Part 2 is a peer reviewed article published in English. This article deals with the role of historical maps converted into GIS in archaeological surveys made in Finnish post-medieval towns (16th and 17th centuries). It is based on the surveys made by the author between 2000 and 2003 and introduces a new method for the archaeological surveying of post-medieval towns with wooden houses. The role of archaeology in the sphere of urban research is discussed. The article emphasizes that the methods used in studying the development of southern European towns with stone houses cannot be adequately applied to the wooden towns of the north. Part 3 is a monograph written in Finnish. It discusses large-scaled historical maps and the methods for producing digital spatial information based on historical maps. Since the late 1990’s, archaeological research in Finland has been increasingly directed towards the historical period. As a result, historical cartography has emerged as one of the central sources of information for the archaeologist, too. The main theme of this work is the need for using historical maps as real maps which, surprisingly, has been uncommon in the historical sciences. Projecting historical maps to the very place they were made to illustrate is essential to understanding the maps. This is self-evident for the archaeologist, who is accustomed to studying the material past, but less so to researchers in other historical disciplines that concentrate on written and visual sources of information. With the help of GIS, the historical maps can be concretely linked to the places they were originally made to illustrate. In doing so, and equipped with a cartographic comprehension, new observations can be made and questions asked, which supplement and occasionally challenge the prevailing views.