Social inequalities of functioning and perceived health in Switzerland: a representative cross-sectional analysis.

Many people worldwide live with a disability, i.e. limitations in functioning. The prevalence is expected to increase due to demographic change and the growing importance of non-communicable disease and injury. To date, many epidemiological studies have used simple dichotomous measures of disability, even though the WHO's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) provides a multi-dimensional framework of functioning. We aimed to examine associations of socio-economic status (SES) and social integration in 3 core domains of functioning (impairment, pain, limitations in activity and participation) and perceived health. We conducted a secondary analysis of representative cross-sectional data of the Swiss Health Survey 2007 including 10,336 female and 8,424 male Swiss residents aged 15 or more. Guided by a theoretical ICF-based model, 4 mixed effects Poisson regressions were fitted in order to explain functioning and perceived health by indicators of SES and social integration. Analyses were stratified by age groups (15-30, 31-54, ≥55 years). In all age groups, SES and social integration were significantly associated with functional and perceived health. Among the functional domains, impairment and pain were closely related, and both were associated with limitations in activity and participation. SES, social integration and functioning were related to perceived health. We found pronounced social inequalities in functioning and perceived health, supporting our theoretical model. Social factors play a significant role in the experience of health, even in a wealthy country such as Switzerland. These findings await confirmation in other, particularly lower resourced settings.

'Making Science Understandable'. Divulgació científica i mediació editorial: el cas de The Wisdom of the Body de Walter B. Cannon (1871-1945)

The present paper aims at an historical reconstruction, in the framework of the publishing industry in the years between the two World Wars, of the role played by the publisher William W. Norton in the genesis, published in 1932, and new edition in 1938, of Walter B. Cannon"s book The Wisdom of the Body. With the analysis of this case study, we aimed at contributing to the current criticism of the «dominant view», which tries, in an uncritical manner, that scientific popularization follows an ineluctable, continuous and linear evolution.

On the use of IRMS in forensic science: proposals for a methodological approach

The flourishing number of publications on the use of isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) in forensicscience denotes the enthusiasm and the attraction generated by this technology. IRMS has demonstratedits potential to distinguish chemically identical compounds coming from different sources. Despite thenumerous applications of IRMS to a wide range of forensic materials, its implementation in a forensicframework is less straightforward than it appears. In addition, each laboratory has developed its ownstrategy of analysis on calibration, sequence design, standards utilisation and data treatment without aclear consensus.Through the experience acquired from research undertaken in different forensic fields, we propose amethodological framework of the whole process using IRMS methods. We emphasize the importance ofconsidering isotopic results as part of a whole approach, when applying this technology to a particularforensic issue. The process is divided into six different steps, which should be considered for a thoughtfuland relevant application. The dissection of this process into fundamental steps, further detailed, enablesa better understanding of the essential, though not exhaustive, factors that have to be considered in orderto obtain results of quality and sufficiently robust to proceed to retrospective analyses or interlaboratorycomparisons.

Characteristics and quality of care of diabetic patients residing int the canton of Vaud

Introduction: Within the framework of the «Programme cantonal Diabète», we aimed at collecting data to 1) describe the population of diabetic patients in the canton of Vaud, and 2) assess the quality of their care. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the fall of 2011. Out of 140 randomly selected community pharmacies registered in the canton of Vaud, 56 accepted to participate in patients' recruitment. Noninstitutionalized adult diabetic patients (disease duration >12 months) visiting a pharmacy with a prescription for oral anti-diabetic drugs, insulin, glycemic strips or glucose meter were eligible. Patients not residing in the canton of Vaud, not speaking and understanding French well enough, presenting obvious cognitive impairment, and women with gestational diabetes, were excluded. Using a self-administered questionnaire, data was collected on patients' characteristics and diabetes as well as various process (e.g. recommended annual screenings) and outcomes quality of care indicators. Descriptive analyses were performed. Results: A total of 406 patients with diabetes participated. Mean age was 64 years, 41% were women and 63% were married. Patients reported type 1, 2 and other types of diabetes in 13%, 69% and 19%, respectively. They were treated with oral anti-diabetic drugs, insulin or both in 50%, 23% and 27% of the cases. Half of the patients did not report any diabetes-related complication. Glucose self-monitoring was reported by 82% of the patients. Of those who were aware of HbA1C (n = 218), 98% reported at least one HbA1C control during the last 12 months. During that same time frame, 97% and 95% reported at least one blood pressure and weight measure, 94% reported having had a cholesterol check, 74%, 68% and 64% had eyes, feet and urine screening respectively. 62% of the patients had been immunized against influenza. At least 76% of the patients had a minimum of 5 of the 7 described process indicators performed during the last 12 months. Among patients who knew the value (n = 145), mean HbA1C was 7.4 (SD 1.2). Conclusion: This study targeting community-based diabetic patients shows that while routine clinical and laboratory tests were annually performed in the vast majority of patients, feet and urine screening, as well as influenza immunization, were less often reported by patients. The proportion of patients with diabetes having had at least 5 out of the 7 annual screenings performed was nevertheless very high.

Maximum likelihood estimation of position in GNSS

In this letter, we obtain the Maximum LikelihoodEstimator of position in the framework of Global NavigationSatellite Systems. This theoretical result is the basis of a completelydifferent approach to the positioning problem, in contrastto the conventional two-steps position estimation, consistingof estimating the synchronization parameters of the in-viewsatellites and then performing a position estimation with thatinformation. To the authors’ knowledge, this is a novel approachwhich copes with signal fading and it mitigates multipath andjamming interferences. Besides, the concept of Position–basedSynchronization is introduced, which states that synchronizationparameters can be recovered from a user position estimation. Weprovide computer simulation results showing the robustness ofthe proposed approach in fading multipath channels. The RootMean Square Error performance of the proposed algorithm iscompared to those achieved with state-of-the-art synchronizationtechniques. A Sequential Monte–Carlo based method is used todeal with the multivariate optimization problem resulting fromthe ML solution in an iterative way.

Utilization of Knowledge Management in Business Process Modeling and Process Improvements

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on tutkia telekommunikaatioalalla toimivan kohdeyrityksen ohjelmistojen toimitusprosessia° Tutkimus keskittyy mallintamaan toimitusprosessin, määrittelemään roolit ja vastuualueet, havaitsemaan ongelmakohdat ja ehdottamaan prosessille kehityskohteita. Näitä tavoitteita tarkastellaan teoreettisten prosessimallinnustekniikoiden ja tietojohtamisen SECI-prosessikehyksen läpi. Tärkein tiedonkeruun lähde oli haastatteluihin perustuva tutkimus, johon osallistuvat kaikki kohdeprosessiin kuuluvat yksiköt. Mallinnettu toimitusprosessi antoi kohdeyritykselle paremman käsityksen tarkasteltavasta prosessista ja siinä toimivien yksiköiden rooleistaja vastuualueista. Parannusehdotuksia olivat tiedonjaon kanavoinnin määritteleminen, luottamuksen ja sosiaalisten verkostojen parantaminen, ja tietojohtamisen laajamittainen implementointi.

Workplace adjustment of an expatriate manager: identifying key components from a social capital perspective

Perustaen tutkimuksen kansainvälisen sopeutumisen teoreettiselle rungolle täydentäen sitä sosiaalisen pääoman teorialla, tämä tutkielma tutkii kuinka johtoasemassa oleva ulkosuomalainen luo hyvin toimivan sosiaalisen verkoston hong kongilaisella työpaikallansa. Tutkielma lähestyy aihetta Nahapietin ja Ghoshalin (1998) kehittämän sosiaalisen pääoman kolmen ulottuvuuden mallin avulla. Tutkielmassa kirjallisuudesta haettua teoriaa käytetään tutkimustavarten tehtyjen haastattelujen analysointiapuna. Tutkimalla sosiaalista pääomaa, kansainvälisen sopeutumisen kirjallisuutta, ekspatriootin perinteisiä menestystekijöitä ja guanxia (kiinalaisten henkilökohtaisia siteitä) tämän tutkimuksen teoriaosuus implikoi, että sosiaalisella pääomalla tulisi olla täydentävä rooli kansainvälisen sopeutumisen kirjallisuudessa. Sosiaalisen pääoman kolmen ulottuvuuden mallia käytetään pohjana empiirisen datan analysointiin. Tutkielman empiiriset tulokset osoittavat, että työpaikan sosiaaliseen verkostoon sopeutuminen liittyy exspatriootin kykyyn käsitellä estäviä ja mahdollistajia sosiaalisen pääoman luontiin vaikuttavia tekijöitä. Lisäksi sopeutuminen vaatii exspatriootin tunnistavan kohdemaalle tyypillisiä exspatriootin menestystekijöitä ja ekspatriootinomia tärkeitä henkilökohtaisia ominaisuuksia.

Trends in cardiovascular risk factors (1984-1993) in a Swiss region: results of three population surveys.

BACKGROUND: This study attempted to assess the time trends in lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors in the Swiss region of Vaud-Fribourg (population 784,000). METHODS: Three surveys (1984/1985, 1988/1989, and 1992/1993), based on independent representative samples (n = 3,300) of the population ages 25 to 74, were conducted within the framework of the international WHO-MONICA Project. RESULTS: The most favorable changes were observed in reported behaviors: increased physical activity in leisure time, healthier dietary habits (switch from unskimmed milk, butter, and meat to skimmed milk, margarine, and fish, with no change for fruits and vegetables), and lower prevalence of regular smoking among men (from 32 to 28%). Body mass index did not vary significantly, apart from an increase in the prevalence of obesity among men (from 11 to 15%). Total cholesterol varied only slightly, while the HDL cholesterol levels decreased steadily (from 1.37 to 1.19 mmol/L among men; from 1.59 to 1.51 among women). Average systolic blood pressure regressed among women (from 127.2 to 124.4 mm Hg), while the prevalence of untreated hypertension increased among older men. CONCLUSION: The self-reported changes in lifestyle were only partially reflected by favorable trends in objective measurements. Physical activity, even at moderate intensity, and consumption of fruits, vegetables, and fiber in general should be promoted.

In Search of Corporate Renewal: How to Benefit from Corporate Venturing?

Despite the rapid change in today's business environment there are relatively few studies about corporate renewal. This study aims for its part at filling that research gap by studying the concepts of strategy, corporate renewal, innovation and corporate venturing. Its purpose is to enhance our understanding of how established companies operating in dynamic and global environment can benefit from their corporate venturing activities. The theoretical part approaches the research problem in corporate and venture levels. Firstly, it focuses on mapping the determinants of strategy and suggests using industry, location, resources, knowledge, structure and culture, market, technology and business model to assess the environment and using these determinants to optimize speed and magnitude of change.Secondly, it concludes that the choice of innovation strategy is dependent on the type and dimensions of innovation and suggests assessing market, technology, business model as well as novelty and complexity related to each of them for choosing an optimal context for developing innovations further. Thirdly, it directsattention on processes through which corporate renewal takes place. On corporate level these processes are identified as strategy formulation, strategy formation and strategy implementation. On the venture level the renewal processes are identified as learning, leveraging and nesting. The theoretical contribution of this study, the framework of strategic corporate venturing, joins corporate and venture level management issues together and concludes that strategy processes and linking processes are the mechanism through which continuous corporate renewaltakes place. The framework of strategic corporate venturing proposed by this study is a new way to illustrate the role of corporate venturing as a purposefullybuilt, different view of a company's business environment. The empirical part extended the framework by enhancing our understanding of the link between corporate renewal and corporate venturing in its real life environment in three Finnish companies: Metso, Nokia and TeliaSonera. Characterizing companies' environmentwith the determinants of strategy identified in this study provided a structured way to analyze their competitive position and renewal challenges that they arefacing. More importantly the case studies confirmed that a link between corporate renewal and corporate venturing exists and found out that the link is not as straight forward as indicated by the theory. Furthermore, the case studies enhanced the framework by indicating a sequence according to which the processes work. Firstly, the induced strategy processes strategy formulation and strategy implementation set the scene for corporate venturing context and management processes and leave strategy formation for the venture. Only after that can strategies formed by ventures come back to the corporate level - and if found viable in the corporate level be formalized through formulation and implementation. With the help of the framework of strategic corporate venturing the link between corporaterenewal and corporate venturing can be found and managed. The suggested response to the continuous need for change is continuous renewal i.e. institutionalizing corporate renewal in the strategy processes of the company. As far as benefiting from venturing is concerned the answer lies in deliberately managing venturing in a context different to the mainstream businesses and establishing efficientlinking processes to exploit the renewal potential of individual ventures.

Effect of Mechanical and Geometric Mismatching on Fatigue and Damage of Welded Joints

The future of high technology welded constructions will be characterised by higher strength materials and improved weld quality with respect to fatigue resistance. The expected implementation of high quality high strength steel welds will require that more attention be given to the issues of crack initiation and mechanical mismatching. Experiments and finite element analyses were performed within the framework of continuum damage mechanics to investigate the effect of mismatching of welded joints on void nucleation and coalescence during monotonic loading. It was found that the damage of undermatched joints mainly occurred in the sandwich layer and the damageresistance of the joints decreases with the decrease of the sandwich layer width. The damage of over-matched joints mainly occurred in the base metal adjacent to the sandwich layer and the damage resistance of the joints increases with thedecrease of the sandwich layer width. The mechanisms of the initiation of the micro voids/cracks were found to be cracking of the inclusions or the embrittled second phase, and the debonding of the inclusions from the matrix. Experimental fatigue crack growth rate testing showed that the fatigue life of under-matched central crack panel specimens is longer than that of over-matched and even-matched specimens. Further investigation by the elastic-plastic finite element analysis indicated that fatigue crack closure, which originated from the inhomogeneousyielding adjacent to the crack tip, played an important role in the fatigue crack propagation. The applicability of the J integral concept to the mismatched specimens with crack extension under cyclic loading was assessed. The concept of fatigue class used by the International Institute of Welding was introduced in the parametric numerical analysis of several welded joints. The effect of weld geometry and load condition on fatigue strength of ferrite-pearlite steel joints was systematically evaluated based on linear elastic fracture mechanics. Joint types included lap joints, angle joints and butt joints. Various combinations of the tensile and bending loads were considered during the evaluation with the emphasis focused on the existence of both root and toe cracks. For a lap joint with asmall lack-of-penetration, a reasonably large weld leg and smaller flank angle were recommended for engineering practice in order to achieve higher fatigue strength. It was found that the fatigue strength of the angle joint depended strongly on the location and orientation of the preexisting crack-like welding defects, even if the joint was welded with full penetration. It is commonly believed that the double sided butt welds can have significantly higher fatigue strength than that of a single sided welds, but fatigue crack initiation and propagation can originate from the weld root if the welding procedure results in a partial penetration. It is clearly shown that the fatigue strength of the butt joint could be improved remarkably by ensuring full penetration. Nevertheless, increasing the fatigue strength of a butt joint by increasing the size of the weld is an uneconomical alternative.

On the origin of the inertia: the modified Newtonian dynamics theory

The sameness between the inertial mass and the gravitational mass is an assumption and not a consequence of the equivalent principle is shown. In the context of the Sciama’s inertia theory, the sameness between the inertial mass and the gravitational mass is discussed and a certain condition which must be experimentally satisfied is given. The inertial force proposed by Sciama, in a simple case, is derived from the Assis’ inertia theory based in the introduction of a Weber type force. The origin of the inertial force is totally justified taking into account that the Weber force is, in fact, an approximation of a simple retarded potential, see [18, 19]. The way how the inertial forces are also derived from some solutions of the general relativistic equations is presented. We wonder if the theory of inertia of Assis is included in the framework of the General Relativity. In the context of the inertia developed in the present paper we establish the relation between the constant acceleration a0 , that appears in the classical Modified Newtonian Dynamics (M0ND) theory, with the Hubble constant H0 , i.e. a0 ≈ cH0 .

The ‘Dys-Appearing’ Body in Doris Lessing’s The Diary of a Good Neighbour and Margaret Forster’s Have the Men Had Enough?

If the old body is usually read as a synonym of fragility and upcoming illness, even though not the case for most elderly citizens, the reality is that the longer we live, the increased probability of being affected by different illnesses cannot be eluded or denied. In Doris Lessing’s The Diary of a Good Neighbour and Margaret Forster’s Have the Men Had Enough? the reader is invited to participate in the day-to-day routines of two aged female protagonists, as well as to empathize with their inner feelings as they go through their last life stage. In fact, their ‘dys-appearing’ bodies, marked by their respective terminal illnesses, force these characters to grow closer to those around them and to accept the help of their families and friends, despite their desire to keep their free will and independence until the very end. The analysis of the two novels within the framework of ageing studies aims to show the contradictions existing between a growing ageing society and the negative cultural connotations of old age in Western society and the need to revise them.

Perusterveydenhuollon ja erikoissairaanhoidon käytön seuranta ja ennakointi kuntanäkökulmasta

Follow-up of utilisation and prediction of primary health care and hospital care from the municipality point of view. Planning, follow-up, and evaluation of primary health care within municipality entail comprehensive information about factors that influence health. In addition to populationbased research, various statistical data and registries serve as sources of information. The present study examined utilisation of primary health care and hospital care with the existing databases, registries, and categorization of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) from the municipality (purchaser) point of view. Research involving the cases of Paimio, Sauvo, and Turku as examples of municipalities pointed out that, even in the small municipalities, it is possible to assess and predict health services to be offered to the inhabitants by following databases and registries. Health-related databases and registries include a plenty of possible uses that have not adequately been employed at the level of municipality. Descriptive futures research and community analysis formed the framework of the study. Descriptive futures research may be used to establish predictions based on past developmental traditions, and quantitative time trend analyses may be employed to make estimations about future events. Community analysis will assist in making conclusions about population- based health care needs, in assessing the functionality or effectiveness of the health care system, and in appropriately targeting limited resources. The aim of the present study was to describe the health service profile so that the arrangements and planning of health services as well as the contract negotiations of hospital care become easier within municipalities. Another aim was to assess the application of Hilmo (registry for posting hospital care periods), Aitta and Sotka (statistical databases) for the purposes of resource planning in the procurement of hospital care. A third aim was to evaluate how the system of the DRGs adapts in the prediction of retaining health services within short (1-year), intermediate (5-year) and long range (10-15-year) intervals. The findings indicated that the follow-up of primary health care utilisation combined with follow-up of hospital care utilisation allows municipalities to plan and predict health services when databases are applied. Information about the past contacts with the databases has indicated that the health care culture and incidence of disease change rather slowly in the area of investigation. For the purposes of health care research, it is recommended that methods of application used in making predictions about health care utilisation need to be further developed

'Making Science Understandable'. Divulgació científica i mediació editorial: el cas de The Wisdom of the Body de Walter B. Cannon (1871-1945)

The present paper aims at an historical reconstruction, in the framework of the publishing industry in the years between the two World Wars, of the role played by the publisher William W. Norton in the genesis, published in 1932, and new edition in 1938, of Walter B. Cannon"s book The Wisdom of the Body. With the analysis of this case study, we aimed at contributing to the current criticism of the «dominant view», which tries, in an uncritical manner, that scientific popularization follows an ineluctable, continuous and linear evolution.

The design and implementation of a standards-based mobile messaging platform - case WAP Push Proxy Gateway

Tässä diplomityössä perehdytään WAP:in Push -viitekehykseen. WAP-standardit määrittelevät kuinka Internet-tyyppisiä palveluita, joita voidaan käyttää erilaisia mobiileja päätelaiteitteita käyttäen, toteutetaan tehokkaalla ja verkkoteknologiasta riippumattomalla tavalla. WAP pohjautuu Internet:iin, mutta huomioi pienten päätelaitteiden ja mobiiliverkkojen rajoitukset ja erikoisominaisuudet. WAP Push viitekehys määrittelee verkon aloittaman palvelusisällön toimittamisen. Työn teoriaosassa käydään läpi yleinen WAP-arkkitehtuuri ja WAP-protokollapino käyttäen vertailukohtina lanka-Internetin arkkitehtuuria ja protokollapinoa. Edellistä perustana käyttäen tutustaan WAP Push -viitekehykseen. Käytännönosassa kuvataan WAP Push -välityspalvelimen suunnittelu ja kehitystyö. WAP Push -välityspalvelin on keskeinen verkkoelementti WAP Push -viitekehyksessä. WAP Push -välityspalvelin yhdistää Internetin ja mobiiliverkon tavalla, joka piilottaa teknologiaeroavaisuudet Internetissä olevalta palveluntuottajalta.