Altered States During Shamanic Drumming: A Phenomenological Study

This study investigated the experiences gained from a 20-minute shamanic-like drumming session. Twenty-two persons participated and made written descriptions afterwards about their experiences. A phenomenological analysis was applied which generated 31 categories, that were organized into six themes: 1) The undertaking of the drumming journey, 2) Perceptual phenomena: visual, auditory and somatic, 3) Encounters, 4) Active vs. Passive role, 5) Inner wisdom and guidance, and 6) Reflections on the drumming journey. A multitude of detailed experiences were described such as visual imagery, hearing sounds, encountering animals, as well as gaining insights. Participants generally appreciated the drumming session and few negative effects were noted. The conclusion made is that shamanic-like drumming can be a valuable supplement to other psychotherapeutic techniques

Mellan lantbrukare och entrecôte : en jämförelsestudie om aktörer i livsmedelskedjan för köttprodukter i Uppsala län

Livsmedelsproduktion i Sverige har aldrig varit så aktuell som nu. Samtida kriser ökar medvetenheten om sårbarheten i den svenska livsmedelskedjan. Sedan 2017 har Sverige en livsmedelsstrategi för att öka den svenska livsmedelsproduktion. Det är inte oproblematiskt eftersom livsmedelsproduktion även påverkar och påverkas av ekonomisk, social och ekologisk hållbarhet. Vilka är då de aktörer som arbetar i denna komplexa livsmedelskedja? I studien undersöks två företag med olika företagsform (aktiebolag och kooperativ) som verkar i livsmedelskedjan för köttprodukter. Genom en kvalitativ flerfallsstudie med induktiv ansats studeras hur företagen verksamheter utvecklats från dess start till nutid. Inom studien har fem semistrukturerade intervjuer genomförts. Fyra respondenter intervjuades från de två fallföretagen, den femte respondenten har mångårig erfarenhet av branschen. Empirisk data har analyseras utifrån studiens teoretiska ramverk bestående av transaktionskostnadsteori och beslutsteori med Garbage can-modellen. Studiens resultat visar att företagen påverkats av externa företeelser och dess hantering av transaktionskostnader har resulterat i att verksamheterna omstrukturerats på olika sätt. Uppkomsten av beslutsfattande beror ofta på timing, osäkerhet vid transaktioner och företagens olika värderingar. Studiens resultat diskuteras i relation till teori om kooperativ på den agrara marknaden. Resultaten bidrar till en ökad förståelse för hur företag på en agrar marknad utan närvaro av ett starkt nationellt kooperativ fattar beslut och hanterar transaktionskostnader.Food production in Sweden has never been as relevant as it is now. Contemporary crises raise awareness of the vulnerability of the Swedish food chain. Since 2017, Sweden has a food strategy to increase Swedish food production. This is not unproblematic as food production also affects and is influenced by economic, social and ecological sustainability. Who, then, are the actors working in this complex food chain? The study examines two companies with different corporate forms (investor-owned firms and cooperatives) that operate in the food chain for meat products. Through a qualitative multi-case study with an inductive approach, it is studied how the companies' operations have developed from its beginning to the present. Within the study, five semi-structured interviews were conducted. Four respondents were interviewed from the two case companies, the fifth respondent has many years of experience in the industry. Empirical data have been analysed based on the studies theoretical framework that consist of transaction cost theory and decision-making theory with the Garbage can model. The study's results show that companies have been affected by external phenomena and their handling of transaction costs has resulted in the operations being restructured in different ways. The emergence of decision-making is often due to timing, uncertainty in transactions and the different valuations of the companies. The results of the study are discussed in relation to the theory of cooperatives in the agrarian market. The results contribute to an increased understanding of how companies in an agrarian market, without the presence of a strong national cooperative, make decisions and manage transaction costs

Guanxi eli kiinalainen suhdetoiminta

Only abstract. Paper copies of master’s theses are listed in the Helka database (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Electronic copies of master’s theses are either available as open access or only on thesis terminals in the Helsinki University Library.Vain tiivistelmä. Sidottujen gradujen saatavuuden voit tarkistaa Helka-tietokannasta (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Digitaaliset gradut voivat olla luettavissa avoimesti verkossa tai rajoitetusti kirjaston opinnäytekioskeilla.Endast sammandrag. Inbundna avhandlingar kan sökas i Helka-databasen (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Elektroniska kopior av avhandlingar finns antingen öppet på nätet eller endast tillgängliga i bibliotekets avhandlingsterminaler.Sosiaalipsykologian pro gradu -tutkielman tarkoituksena on selvittää Kiinassa tällä hetkellä työskentelevien tai äskettäin kotiin palanneiden suomalaisten käsityksiä guanxista ja siitä, miten suhdetoimintaa tulee heidän mielestänsä Kiinassa hoitaa. Teoria perustuu eri tieteiden aloilta koottuun materiaaliin. Teorian painopiste on guanxin kulttuurisessa selitysmallissa, mutta myös institutionaalisten tekijöiden vaikutusta guanxiin käsitellään. Teoreettisena viitekehyksenä on Serge Moscovicin kehittämä sosiaalisten representaatioiden teoria. Teorian avulla tutkitaan haastateltavien guanxirepresentaatioiden sisältöä ja ryhmän käsityksien yhteneväisyyttä. Tutkielman aineistona on 12 teemahaastattelua, jotka on litteroitu sanatarkasti. Haastateltavat ovat Kiinassa (Shanghaissa) erilaisissa päällikkö- tai johtotehtävissä työskenteleviä tai työskennelleitä suomalaisia. Aineiston analyysin menetelmänä on käytetty laadullisen tutkimuksen aineistolähtöistä grounded-teoriaa. Tärkeimpinä tuloksina todetaan, että haastateltavien guanxirepresentaatiot ovat normien suhteen hyvin yhteneväiset. Kasvoihin ja vastavuoroisuuteen liittyvät normit nousivat erityisen tärkeiksi. Myös liike-suhteiden henkilökohtaisuutta pidettiin tärkeänä kuten myös luottamusta, joskin molemminpuolinen luottamuspula oli yleinen ongelma.. Käsitykset siitä, miten guanxin suhteen toimitaan ja mitkä toimintatavat ovat hyviä, vaihtelevat johtuen yrityksien erilaisista toimintatavoista ja tarpeista. Vaikka tietyt guanxiin liittyvät "pelisäännöt" ovat yleisesti tiedossa, jokainen joutuu soveltamaan niitä omaan yritykseensä ja toimintaansa sopiviksi. Samat toimintatavat mainitaan kuitenkin tarpeeksi usein, jotta ryhmän käsityksiä voitaisiin pitää yhteneväisinä. Guanxi näyttäisi tämän tutkimuksen valossa oleva seikka, jota jokaisen suomalaisyrityksen on hyvä huomioida ryhtyessään liiketoimintaan Kiinassa. Keskeiset lähteet ovat Hofstede (1980, 1991, 1993), Triandis (1994), Redding (1990), Trompenaars & Hampden Turner (1997), Bond (1991), Hwang (1987), Moscovici (1984x, 1988, 200)9 Purkhardt (1993) sekä Strauss ja Corbin (1990)

The programming language GCLA: A definitional approach to logic programming

We present a logic programming language, GCLA (Generalized horn Clause LAnguage), that is based on a generalization of Prolog. This generalization is unusual in that it takes a quite different view of the meaning of a logic program--a "definitional" view rather than the traditional logical view. GCLA has a number of noteworthy properties, for instance hypothetical and non-monotonic reasoning. This makes implementation of reasoning in knowledge-based systems more direct in GCLA than in Prolog. GCLA is also general enough to incorporate functional programming as a special case. GCLA and its syntax and semantics are described. The use of various language constructs are illustrated with several examples

Rare copy number variation in autoimmune Addison’s disease

Autoimmune Addison’s disease (AAD) is a rare but life-threatening endocrine disorder caused by an autoimmune destruction of the adrenal cortex. A previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) has shown that common variants near immune-related genes, which mostly encode proteins participating in the immune response, affect the risk of developing this condition. However, little is known about the contribution of copy number variations (CNVs) to AAD susceptibility. We used the genome-wide genotyping data from Norwegian and Swedish individuals (1,182 cases and 3,810 controls) to investigate the putative role of CNVs in the AAD aetiology. Although the frequency of rare CNVs was similar between cases and controls, we observed that larger deletions (>1,000 kb) were more common among patients (OR = 4.23, 95% CI 1.85-9.66, p = 0.0002). Despite this, none of the large case-deletions were conclusively pathogenic, and the clinical presentation and an AAD-polygenic risk score were similar between cases with and without the large CNVs. Among deletions exclusive to individuals with AAD, we highlight two ultra-rare deletions in the genes LRBA and BCL2L11, which we speculate might have contributed to the polygenic risk in these carriers. In conclusion, rare CNVs do not appear to be a major cause of AAD but further studies are needed to ascertain the potential contribution of rare deletions to the polygenic load of AAD susceptibility

Early intervention in 208 Swedish preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder

A B S T R A C T Early intervention has been reported to improve outcome in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Several studies in the field have been randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The aim of this study was to assess ASD outcome in a large naturalistic study. Two hundred and eight children, aged 20-54 months, with a clinical diagnosis of ASD were given intervention and monitored prospectively in a naturalistic fashion over a period of 2 years. The toddlers were considered representative of all but the most severely multiple disabled preschool children with ASD in Stockholm county. They fell into three cognitive subgroups: one with learning disability, one with developmental delay, and one with normal intellectual functioning. Data on intervention type and intensity were gathered prospectively in a systematic fashion. Intervention was classified into intensive applied behaviour analysis (ABA) and non-intensive, targeted interventions, also based on ABA principles. Children were comprehensively assessed by a research team before the onset of intervention, and then, again, 2 years later. Change in Vineland adaptive behaviour scales composite scores from intake (T1) to leaving the study (T2) was set as the primary outcome variable. The research team remained blind to the type and intensity of interventions provided. One hundred and ninety-eight (95%) of the original samples stayed in the study throughout the whole 2-year period and 192 children had a complete Vineland composite score results both at T1 and T2. Vineland composite scores increased over the 2-year period. This increase was accounted for by the subgroup with normal cognitive functioning. There was no significant difference between the intensive and nonintensive groups. Individual variation was considerable, but no child in the study was ''problem-free'' at follow-up. Our data do not support that children with ASD generally benefit more from the most intensive ABA intervention programs than from less intensive interventions or targeted interventions based on ABA.

Web Queries as a Source for Syndromic Surveillance

In the field of syndromic surveillance, various sources are exploited for outbreak detection, monitoring and prediction. This paper describes a study on queries submitted to a medical web site, with influenza as a case study. The hypothesis of the work was that queries on influenza and influenza-like illness would provide a basis for the estimation of the timing of the peak and the intensity of the yearly influenza outbreaks that would be as good as the existing laboratory and sentinel surveillance. We calculated the occurrence of various queries related to influenza from search logs submitted to a Swedish medical web site for two influenza seasons. These figures were subsequently used to generate two models, one to estimate the number of laboratory verified influenza cases and one to estimate the proportion of patients with influenza-like illness reported by selected General Practitioners in Sweden. We applied an approach designed for highly correlated data, partial least squares regression. In our work, we found that certain web queries on influenza follow the same pattern as that obtained by the two other surveillance systems for influenza epidemics, and that they have equal power for the estimation of the influenza burden in society. Web queries give a unique access to ill individuals who are not (yet) seeking care. This paper shows the potential of web queries as an accurate, cheap and labour extensive source for syndromic surveillance

Exome Sequencing Reveals Common and Rare Variants in F5 Associated With ACE Inhibitor and Angiotensin Receptor Blocker–Induced Angioedema

Angioedema occurring in the head and neck region is a rare and sometimes life‐threatening adverse reaction to angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). Few studies have investigated the association of common variants with this extreme reaction, but none have explored the combined influence of rare variants yet. Adjudicated cases of ACEI‐induced angioedema (ACEI‐AE) or ARB‐induced angioedema (ARB‐AE) and controls were recruited at five different centers. Sequencing of 1,066 samples (408 ACEI‐AE, ARB‐AE, and 658 controls) was performed using exome‐enriched sequence data. A common variant of the F5 gene that causes an increase in blood clotting (rs6025, p.Arg506Gln, also called factor V Leiden), was significantly associated with both ACEI‐AE and ARB‐AE (odds ratio: 2.85, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.89–4.25). A burden test analysis of five rare missense variants in F5 was also found to be associated with ACEI‐AE or ARB‐AE, P = 2.09 × 10−3. A combined gene risk score of these variants, and the common variants rs6025 and rs6020, showed that individuals carrying at least one variant had 2.21 (95% CI, 1.49–3.27, P = 6.30 × 10−9) times the odds of having ACEI‐AE or ARB‐AE. The increased risk due to the common Leiden allele was confirmed in a genome‐wide association study from the United States. A high risk of angioedema was also observed for the rs6020 variant that is the main coagulation defect‐causing variant in black African and Asian populations. We found that deleterious missense variants in F5 are associated with an increased risk of ACEI‐AE or ARB‐AE