Ohjelmien yhteiskunnat : Kansallisen Kokoomuksen ja Kokoomuksen Nuorten Liiton ohjelmat tulkittuina käsitehistoriallisesta näkökulmasta

'Yhteiskunta' on keskeisimpiä suomalaisessa poliittisessa puheessa käytettäviä sanoja. Yleisyydestään huolimatta kyseisen sanan käyttöä ja eri merkityksiä on tutkittu vähän, jos sitä vertaa muihin yhteiskuntatieteissä keskeisiin sanoihin. Aiemman tutkimuksen perusteella 'yhteiskunta' liitetään nyky-suomessa kansallisvaltion kokoiseen yksikköön ja sitä ei ole tapana käyttää arvolataukseltaan negatiivisena. Aineistona käytän Kansallisen Kokoomuksen ja Kokoomuksen Nuorten Liiton ohjelmatekstejä. Kansallisen Kokoomuksen osalta aineistona toimi vuoden 1970 Periaateohjelma, vuoden 2006 Periaateohjelma sekä vuoden 2011 Eduskuntavaaliohjelma. Kokoomuksen Nuorten Liiton osalta aineistona toimii vuoden 1969 Poliittinen ohjelma sekä Periaateohjelma ja Tulevaisuusohjelma kumpikin vuodelta 2010. Lähestyn aihetta Quentin Skinnerin käsitteiden jatkumoihin ja muutoksiin keskittyvällä tutkimusmenetelmällä. Skinner ymmärtää käsitteet argumentaation välineinä. Siten tekstit tulee ymmärtää yleisen poliittisen ja kulttuurisen tilanteen, eli kontekstin, valossa. Näin ollen olen tehnyt tiettyjä puolueiden ja nuorisojärjestöjen toimintaa ohjaavia rationaalisuusoletuksia. Tutkimuskysymykseni oli miten Kansallisen Kokoomuksen ja Kokoomuksen Nuorten Liiton väliset aatteelliset erot näyttäytyvät yhteiskunta-sanan käsitteellisten merkityserojen kautta tulkittuina. Yhteiskunta-käsitteen historian ja aiemman tutkimuksen avulla muodostin kolme teoreettista merkitystä ’yhteiskunnalle’: 1) ’yhteiskunta’ valtiona tai julkisena sektorina, 2) ’yhteiskunta’ omalakisena, itseorganisoituvana, ja 3) ’yhteiskunta’ suunnittelun ja havainnoinnin kohteena. Valtioon tai julkiseen sektoriin samaistettava ’yhteiskunnan’ merkitys löytyi alkuaan jo Aristoteleen kirjoituksista. Omalakinen, itseorganisoituva ’yhteiskunta’ taas oli peruja niin kutsuttujen klassisten liberaalien, kuten Adam Smithin näkemyksistä. ’Yhteiskunta’ havainnon ja suunnittelun kohteena taas perustui 1800-luvulla alkunsa saaneeseen moderniin näkemykseen, jossa ihmisyhteisöt alettiin ymmärtää tieteellisen tutkimuksen ja sitä kautta myös suunnittelun kohteina. Ohjelmien yhteiskunta-sanan käyttöä avaamalla nousi ohjelmien välille mielenkiintoisia eroja. Monet yhteiskunta-sanan käytössä ilmenneet erot olivat selitettävissä puolueiden ja järjestöjen rationaalisuusoletuksien avulla. Toisaalta myös ajallinen konteksti selitti osaltaan sitoutumista tiettyihin puhetapoihin. Selkeästi yleisin ohjelmissa käytetty puhetapa oli ’yhteiskunta’ havainnoinnin ja suunnittelun kohteena. Myös ’yhteiskunta’ valtiona tai julkisena sektorina -puhetapaa esiintyi usein. Omalakinen, itseorganisoituva ’yhteiskunta’ -puhetapaan sitoutui selvästi vain Kokoomuksen Nuorten Liiton vuoden 2010 Tulevaisuusohjelma. Yllättävimpänä löydöksenä suhteessa aiempaan tutkimukseen voi pitää yhteiskunta-sanaa, joka on negatiivisesti latautunut. Negatiivisesti latautunut 'yhteiskunta' esiintyi jo aineiston ajallisesti ensimmäisessä ohjelmassa, mutta vahvimmin siihen oli sitoutunut Kokoomuksen Nuorten Liiton vuoden 2010 Periaateohjelma. Tätä negatiivisesti latautunutta 'yhteiskuntaa' voi pitää osoituksena ’yhteiskunta’ valtiona tai julkisena sektorina -puhetavan keskeisyydestä suomen kielessä

A Parallel Non-Uniform Fast Fourier Transform Library Based on an "Exponential of Semicircle" Kernel

The nonuniform fast Fourier transform (NUFFT) generalizes the FFT to off-grid data. Its many applications include image reconstruction, data analysis, and the numerical solution of differential equations. We present FINUFFT, an efficient parallel library for type 1 (nonuniform to uniform), type 2 (uniform to nonuniform), or type 3 (nonuniform to nonuniform) transforms, in dimensions 1, 2, or 3. It uses minimal RAM, requires no precomputation or plan steps, and has a simple interface to several languages. We perform the expensive spreading/interpolation between nonuniform points and the fine grid via a simple new kernel---the ``exponential of semicircle"" e beta surd 1 - x2 in x in [ - 1, 1]---in a cache-aware load-balanced multithreaded implementation. The deconvolution step requires the Fourier transform of the kernel, for which we propose efficient numerical quadrature. For types 1 and 2, rigorous error bounds asymptotic in the kernel width approach the fastest known exponential rate, namely that of the Kaiser--Bessel kernel. We benchmark against several popular CPU-based libraries, showing favorable speed and memory footprint, especially in three dimensions when high accuracy and/or clustered point distributions are desired

Changing indications and socio-demographic determinants of (adeno)tonsillectomy among children in England--are they linked? A retrospective analysis of hospital data.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether increased awareness and diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) and national guidance on tonsillectomy for recurrent tonsillitis have influenced the socio-demographic profile of children who underwent tonsillectomy over the last decade. METHOD: Retrospective time-trends study of Hospital Episodes Statistics data. We examined the age, sex and deprivation level, alongside OSAS diagnoses, among children aged <16 years who underwent (adeno)tonsillectomy in England between 2001/2 and 2011/12. RESULTS: Among children aged <16 years, there were 29,697 and 27,732 (adeno)tonsillectomies performed in 2001/2 and 2011/12, respectively. The median age at (adeno)tonsillectomy decreased from 7 (IQR: 5-11) to 5 (IQR: 4-9) years over the decade. (Adeno)tonsillectomy rates among children aged 4-15 years decreased by 14% from 350 (95%CI: 346-354) in 2001/2 to 300 (95%CI: 296-303) per 100,000 children in 2011/12. However, (adeno)tonsillectomy rates among children aged <4 years increased by 58% from 135 (95%CI: 131-140) to 213 (95%CI 208-219) per 100,000 children in 2001/2 and 2011/2, respectively. OSAS diagnoses among children aged <4 years who underwent surgery increased from 18% to 39% between these study years and the proportion of children aged <4 years with OSAS from the most deprived areas increased from 5% to 12%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: (Adeno)tonsillectomy rates declined among children aged 4-15 years, which reflects national guidelines recommending the restriction of the operation to children with more severe recurrent throat infections. However, (adeno)tonsillectomy rates among pre-school children substantially increased over the past decade and one in five children undergoing the operation was aged <4 years in 2011/12.The increase in surgery rates in younger children is likely to have been driven by increased awareness and detection of OSAS, particularly among children from the most deprived areas

Vibrotactile pedals : provision of haptic feedback to support economical driving

The use of haptic feedback is currently an underused modality in the driving environment, especially with respect to vehicle manufacturers. This exploratory study evaluates the effects of a vibrotactile (or haptic) accelerator pedal on car driving performance and perceived workload using a driving simulator. A stimulus was triggered when the driver exceeded a 50% throttle threshold, past which is deemed excessive for economical driving. Results showed significant decreases in mean acceleration values, and maximum and excess throttle use when the haptic pedal was active as compared to a baseline condition. As well as the positive changes to driver behaviour, subjective workload decreased when driving with the haptic pedal as compared to when drivers were simply asked to drive economically. The literature suggests that the haptic processing channel offers a largely untapped resource in the driving environment, and could provide information without overloading the other attentional resource pools used in driving

Walk well:a randomised controlled trial of a walking intervention for adults with intellectual disabilities: study protocol

Background - Walking interventions have been shown to have a positive impact on physical activity (PA) levels, health and wellbeing for adult and older adult populations. There has been very little work carried out to explore the effectiveness of walking interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities. This paper will provide details of the Walk Well intervention, designed for adults with intellectual disabilities, and a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to test its effectiveness. Methods/design - This study will adopt a RCT design, with participants allocated to the walking intervention group or a waiting list control group. The intervention consists of three PA consultations (baseline, six weeks and 12 weeks) and an individualised 12 week walking programme. A range of measures will be completed by participants at baseline, post intervention (three months from baseline) and at follow up (three months post intervention and six months from baseline). All outcome measures will be collected by a researcher who will be blinded to the study groups. The primary outcome will be steps walked per day, measured using accelerometers. Secondary outcome measures will include time spent in PA per day (across various intensity levels), time spent in sedentary behaviour per day, quality of life, self-efficacy and anthropometric measures to monitor weight change. Discussion - Since there are currently no published RCTs of walking interventions for adults with intellectual disabilities, this RCT will examine if a walking intervention can successfully increase PA, health and wellbeing of adults with intellectual disabilities

Systematic review and meta-analysis of the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography for deep vein thrombosis

Background Ultrasound (US) has largely replaced contrast venography as the definitive diagnostic test for deep vein thrombosis (DVT). We aimed to derive a definitive estimate of the diagnostic accuracy of US for clinically suspected DVT and identify study-level factors that might predict accuracy. Methods We undertook a systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of diagnostic cohort studies that compared US to contrast venography in patients with suspected DVT. We searched Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Controlled Trials Register, Database of Reviews of Effectiveness, the ACP Journal Club, and citation lists (1966 to April 2004). Random effects meta-analysis was used to derive pooled estimates of sensitivity and specificity. Random effects meta-regression was used to identify study-level covariates that predicted diagnostic performance. Results We identified 100 cohorts comparing US to venography in patients with suspected DVT. Overall sensitivity for proximal DVT (95% confidence interval) was 94.2% (93.2 to 95.0), for distal DVT was 63.5% (59.8 to 67.0), and specificity was 93.8% (93.1 to 94.4). Duplex US had pooled sensitivity of 96.5% (95.1 to 97.6) for proximal DVT, 71.2% (64.6 to 77.2) for distal DVT and specificity of 94.0% (92.8 to 95.1). Triplex US had pooled sensitivity of 96.4% (94.4 to 97.1%) for proximal DVT, 75.2% (67.7 to 81.6) for distal DVT and specificity of 94.3% (92.5 to 95.8). Compression US alone had pooled sensitivity of 93.8 % (92.0 to 95.3%) for proximal DVT, 56.8% (49.0 to 66.4) for distal DVT and specificity of 97.8% (97.0 to 98.4). Sensitivity was higher in more recently published studies and in cohorts with higher prevalence of DVT and more proximal DVT, and was lower in cohorts that reported interpretation by a radiologist. Specificity was higher in cohorts that excluded patients with previous DVT. No studies were identified that compared repeat US to venography in all patients. Repeat US appears to have a positive yield of 1.3%, with 89% of these being confirmed by venography. Conclusion Combined colour-doppler US techniques have optimal sensitivity, while compression US has optimal specificity for DVT. However, all estimates are subject to substantial unexplained heterogeneity. The role of repeat scanning is very uncertain and based upon limited data

Magnetic Behaviour of Disordered Ising Ferrimagnet in High Magnetic Field

The magnetic behaviour of a disordered ferrimagnetic system Ap B1-p where both A and B represent the magnetic atoms with respective spin SA = 1/2 and SB = 1 in presence of high magnetic field is treated theoretically.Assuming the magnetic interaction can be described through Ising Hamiltonian the approximate free energy is obtained using the cluster-variational method. The field dependence of the magnetization is then obtained for different concentration p and exchange parameters (JAA, JBB and JAB). For p = 0.5,the magnetization M in ferrimagnetic state and in absence of compensation temperature Tcm vanishes at TC.Field induced reversal of M is found at switching temperature TS (<TC) which is decreasing function of field H.A maximum in M is found above TS and the maximum value of M increases with field.In ferrimagnetic state M increases almost linearly at high H region. For system with large ferromagnetic JAA,the compensation temperature Tcm is increasing function of JBB and JAB .The decrease in compensation temperature is linear at small field and tends to saturate at higher field.The sharpness of the magnetization reversal is increased with H.For fully compensated state of the system with p = 2/3,the magnetization in presence of H also exhibits switching behaviour at TS .For p = 0.2 the field induced reversal of magnetization occurs more sharply.The orientational switching of the sublattice magnetization MA and MB with field increases the Zeeman energy and is the origin of magnetization reversal at TsComment: 12 pages,9 Figure