Multilingualism in Finland: A Legal Perspective

Multilingualism is an increasingly frequent societal phenomenon. More and more societies and individuals are, or have become, multilingual. Legislation is an important tool for language policy and, ultimately, language environment. Yet, it seems that little research has been dedicated to multilingualism from a legal framework perspective. The law is, generally speaking, blind to language. This means that the legal framework rarely takes into account the co-existence of several languages in a society other than national languages. In addition, there are altogether relatively few provisions regarding what language shall be used in which contexts. The article focuses on multilingualism in Finland where the cornerstone for the Finnish language policy of the country is laid down in the Constitution. Multilingualism is particularly interesting in a bilingual country Finland that has a long and solid history of language legislation. The country has over a few decades undergone change and rapidly developed into a multilingual country. This article examines whether the Finnish current legislation enables and supports the societal multilingualism or poses restrictions on the parallel use of several languages. Another more fundamental question discussed in this article is if societal multilingualism sets new demands on the national legislation.

The role of chronic irritation and inflammation in tumor promotion in CD-1 mice by petroleum middle distillates

An initiation-promotion bioassay in CD-1 mice was used to examine the role of chronic irritation and inflammation in tumor promotion by petroleum middle distillates. A representative hydrodesulfurized middle distillate (API 81-07) was selected as the test article. Test groups (54 mice per group) were initiated once with 50 ug of 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA). Promotion with API 81-07 consisted of twice weekly treatments for 25 weeks with either 25 ul, 50 ul, 50 ul + daily treatment with 15 ug dexamethasone, 50 ul + post-application washings, and 100 ul. Three mice from each group were sacrificed at 21 day intervals (24 total per group). The skin from interim sacrificed (IS) mice was examined histopathologically for tumor, acanthosis, hyperkeratosis, pseudo-epitheliomatous hyperplasia, epidermal crusting, and subacute inflammation. In-life observations included examination of all mice for erythema and edema for 8 weeks following the first promotion treatment. Tumor incident at study termination was as follows: 25 ul (45%), 50 ul (43%), 50 ul + dexamethasone (0%), 50 ul + washing (70%), and 100 ul (81%). An overall correlation of $>$0.90 between tumor incidence and group means for acanthosis and hyperkeratosis was observed in IS mice at all intervals. Correlations of $<$0.75 were observed for other group mean histopathological parameters and tumor incidence. The overall correlation of group mean erythema and edema with tumor incident was $>$0.90. The results of this study support the hypothesis that induction of a lasting, albeit mild, hyperplasia is an essential, but not sufficient requirement, for tumor promotion. Furthermore, subacute inflammation does not appear to be a significant factor in tumor promotion by petroleum middle distillates. However, inflammation may be a factor in tumor progression. ^

A study of nutrition promotion in and consumer nutrition environments of hospitals

Dietary intake is a complex, health-related behavior, and although individual-level theoretical models explain some variation in dietary intake, comprehensive theoretical models such as the ecological framework describe the multiple levels which influence diet-related behaviors. Thus, the ecological framework is a preferred model for designing comprehensive nutrition interventions. While ecological-based nutrition interventions have been described, little work has focused on interventions in the hospital setting. Because hospitals are considered the hallmarks of health, it might seem that hospitals would regularly engage in worksite nutrition promotion; however, recent publications and other anecdotal evidence have indicated otherwise. The first paper of this dissertation systematically reviewed the scientific literature between 1996 and 2012 and identified 13 outcome evaluation trials for hospital-based worksite nutrition interventions. Of these 13 interventions, only one intervention targeted three of the four levels of the ecological framework and no intervention targeted all four levels. Only half of the interventions targeted the physical environment of hospitals, thus warranting more investigation into this specific level of the ecological framework in this setting. ^ A critical type of nutrition-related physical environments is the consumer nutrition environment. Although other tools measure the consumer nutrition environments of stores and restaurants, no tool specifically measured the consumer nutrition environments of hospitals until the CDC developed the Healthy Hospital Environment Scan for Cafeterias, Vending Machines, and Gift Shops (HHES-CVG). The HHES-CVG, a tool which measures the consumer nutrition environments of hospital cafeterias, vending machines, and gifts shops, was released in November 2011, and in the second paper of this dissertation, the reliability of this tool was investigated. Two trained raters visited 39 hospitals across Southern California between February and May 2012, and based on analyses of the raters' findings, the HHES-CVG exhibited strong reliability metrics (inter-observer agreement between 74 and 100%, and an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.961 for the overall nutrition composite score). Because the HHES-CVG was found to be a reliable tool, the third paper of this dissertation presented HHES-CVG results from the 39 hospitals. Overall, hospitals only scored about one-fourth of the total possible points for the nutrition composite score, indicating that most facilities do not have acceptable consumer nutrition environments. Some of the best practices observed in cafeterias were significantly associated with having a large facility and with having a contracted foodservice operation, but overall nutrition composite score was not associated with any specific facility or operation type. ^ The dissertation concluded that much work is needed in order to improve the consumer nutrition environments of hospitals. Practitioners and healthcare administrators should consider starting with ecological-based interventions addressing all levels including the physical environment.^

Evaluation of the utilization of electric vehicles for building energy management in hotels

Governments are working in new policies to slow down total energy consumption and greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, promoting the deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) in all countries. In order to facilitate this deployment and help to reduce the final costs of their batteries, additional utilization of EVs when those are parked has been proposed. EVs can be used to minimize the total electricity cost of buildings (named vehicle to building applications, V2B). In this paper an economic evaluation of EVs in the Building Energy Management System is shown. The optimal storage capacity and its equivalent number of EVs are determined. This value is then used for determining the optimal charging schedule to be applied to the batteries. From this schedule, the total expected profit is derived for the case of a real hotel in Spain.

Marketing and Sales organization in a “Brand-Focused Professional” multinational

This article tests a multidimensional model of the marketing and sales organizational interface, based on a previous one tested for European companies (Homburg et al., 2008), in a specific taxonomical configuration: a brand focused professional multinational, in three successful Latin American branches. Factor reliability and hypotheses were studied through a confirmatory factor analysis. Results show the existence of a positive relationship between formalization, joint planning, teamwork, information sharing, trust and interface quality. Interface quality and business performance show also a positive relationship. This empirical study contributes to the knowledge of the organizational enhancement of interactions in emerging markets

Organizational design, quality management and competitive advantage in hotels

Purpose – The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between practices of quality management (QM) and the characteristics of organizational design, and QM and competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a partial least squares approach to test these relationships in 350 hotels in Spain. Findings – The findings show that QM influences specialization, formalization and interdepartmental interactions, and that QM practices influence both cost and differentiation competitive advantage. The results also indicate the importance of QM strategic and operational systems as practices that have a key impact on the characteristics of organizational design. Similarly, the QM operational system is key in the relationship between QM and cost competitive advantage. Finally, the QM operational, information and strategic systems positively influence differentiation competitive advantage. Practical implications – When hotels adopt QM practices, there will be significant changes in a number of organizational variables, including specialization, formalization and interdepartmental interactions. This paper provides empirical evidence that QM practices improve both cost and differentiation competitive advantage in the hotel industry. Originality/value – There has been little research on the effects of QM on organizational design in the hotel industry. The contribution of this paper is that analyze the effects of QM on organizational design and competitive advantage, extending knowledge about these issues in a specific sector.

Ethnogenesis and Craniofacial Change in Japan from the Perspective of Nonmetric Traits

To examine population affinities in light of the ‘dual structure model’, frequencies of 21 nonmetric cranial traits were analyzed in 17 prehistoric to recent samples from Japan and five from continental northeast Asia. Eight bivariate plots, each representing a different bone or region of the skull, as well as cluster analysis of 21-trait mean measures of divergence using multidimensional scaling and additive tree techniques, revealed good discrimination between the Jomon-Ainu indigenous lineage and that of the immigrants who arrived from continental Asia after 300 BC. In Hokkaido, in agreement with historical records, Ainu villages of Hidaka province were least, and those close to the Japan Sea coast were most, hybridized with Wajin. In the central islands, clines were identified among Wajin skeletal samples whereby those from Kyushu most resembled continental northeast Asians, while those from the northernmost prefectures of Tohoku apparently retained the strongest indigenous heritage. In the more southerly prefectures of Tohoku, stronger traces of Jomon ancestry prevailed in the cohort born during the latest Edo period than in the one born after 1870. Thus, it seems that increased inter-regional mobility and gene flow following the Meiji Restoration initiated the most recent episode in the long process of demic diffusion that has helped to shape craniofacial change in Japan.