Can Theories of Skill-Biased Technological Change Explain the Evolution of Wage Inequality in Finland since 1970?

Wage inequality has increased in many OECD countries since the 1970s. Many have explained this development in terms of skill-biased technological change. According to theories of skill-biased technological change, wage inequality is the result of a technology-induced increase in the demand for skills which has not been met by equal increases in the supply of skills. This paper explores the relationship between supply and demand for skills in Finland since 1970. The main finding is that changes in the supply of education can explain the bulk of changes in the skill premium and that technological change provides added explanatory power in periods when the simple supply-based framework falls short. The results also suggest an increasing within-group inequality of workers with equivalent educational levels. The cause of the within-group inequality is less clear, but both technological and institutional factors are likely to play roles in this development

Välbefinnande i arbetet? Erfarenheter av det finländska arbetslivet utifrån ett perspektiv av ekologiskt hållbart välbefinnande

Due to the ecological sustainability crisis threatening human and nonhuman life, a radical and rapid transformation of ecologically unsustainable societies, including the Finnish society, is needed. Under present circumstances, continuous growth of the Finnish economy is unlikely to be compatible with safe planetary boundaries. Despite this, Finnish governmental institutions still maintain a growth policy, postulating that economic growth is fundamental for Finnish well-being. Growth- centric conceptualisations of well-being are particularly prominent in work-related contexts which impacts how well-being is defined and operationalised in working life. In particular, Finnish working life institutions tend to overemphasise economic aspects of well-being while overlooking vital ecological dimensions of well-being. Consequently, it is important to promote alternative, ecologically sustainable visions of well-being and situate them in Finnish working life. Hence, it may be possible to support an ecological transformation of institutions and ideologies governing work in the Finnish society. This thesis draws on research on sustainable well-being and needs to advance an understanding of well- being as ecologically embedded, exploring underacknowledged intersections of work, well-being and nature. The empirical results illustrate ways in which ecological dimensions of well-being are experienced by workers as they navigate Finnish working life conditions in a time of ecological sustainability crisis. A variety of obstacles as well as possibilities for ecologically sustainable well-being are identified, spanning work practices, work purposes and the search for work. The findings are analysed with reference to conflicting paradigms: the human exemptionalism paradigm, which sees humans as separate from nature, and the relational paradigm, which sees humans as interconnected with nature and well-being as relational. In particular, relational well-being is conceptualised as consisting of needs in the dimensions of Having, Doing, Loving and Being. The findings show how ecological (un)sustainability affects the fulfillment of needs in working life and beyond, thereby challenging predominant ideas of “well-being through work”. Importantly, the findings indicate clear shifts in emphasis from material dimensions of well-being (Having) to well-being in the dimensions of Doing, Loving and Being. The thesis concludes that ecologically sustainable well-being, conceptualised in terms of ecologically embedded needs, ought to replace the purpose of economic growth in Finnish working life and society at large.På grund av den ekologiska hållbarhetskris som hotar mänskligt och icke- mänskligt liv behövs en radikal och snabb transformering av ekologiskt ohållbara samhällen, inklusive det finländska samhället. Under nuvarande omständigheter är det osannolikt att en fortsatt tillväxt av den finländska ekonomin kan kombineras med säkra planetära gränser. Trots det håller de finländska statliga institutionerna fortfarande fast vid en tillväxtpolitik och hävdar att ekonomisk tillväxt är nödvändig för det finländska välbefinnandet. Tillväxtcentrerade konceptualiseringar av välbefinnande är särskilt vanliga i arbetsrelaterade sammanhang, vilket har en inverkan på hur välbefinnande definieras och tillämpas i arbetslivet. I synnerhet tenderar de finländska arbetslivsinstitutionerna att överbetona ekonomiska aspekter av välbefinnande och förbise grundläggande ekologiska dimensioner av välbefinnande. Därför är det viktigt att främja alternativa, ekologiskt hållbara visioner av välbefinnande och anknyta dem till det finländska arbetslivet. På så sätt kan det vara möjligt att stödja en ekologisk transformering av de institutioner och ideologier som styr arbete i det finländska samhället. Den här magisteravhandlingen utgår från forskning om hållbart välbefinnande och behov för att bidra till en förståelse av välbefinnande som ekologiskt förankrat, samt belysa ouppmärksammade kopplingar mellan arbete, välbefinnande och natur. De empiriska resultaten illustrerar hur ekologiska dimensioner av välbefinnande upplevs av personer som navigerar det finska arbetslivet under en pågående ekologisk hållbarhetskris. Olika hinder och möjligheter för ekologiskt hållbart välbefinnande rörande arbetsmetoder, arbetssyften och jobbsökning identifieras. Resultaten analyseras med hänvisning till motstridiga paradigmer: paradigmet om mänsklig exemptionalism, som ser människan och naturen som skilda, och det relationella paradigmet, som ser människan som sammankopplad med naturen och välbefinnande som relationellt. Vidare konceptualiseras relationellt välbefinnande genom behov i dimensionerna Having, Doing, Loving och Being. Resultaten visar hur ekologisk (o)hållbarhet påverkar uppfyllandet av behov i och utanför arbetslivet, och utmanar därmed rådande idéer om arbetsrelaterat välbefinnande. Resultaten visar på tydliga förskjutningar i tyngdpunkter från materiella dimensioner av välbefinnande (Having) till välbefinnande i dimensionerna Doing, Loving och Being. I avhandlingen dras slutsatsen att ekologiskt hållbart välbefinnande, bestående av ekologiskt förankrade behov, bör prioriteras istället för ekonomisk tillväxt av finländska arbetslivsinstitutioner och samhället i stort

Radiostereometric analysis of the initial stability of internally fixed femoral neck fractures under differential loading

We examined the feasibility of radiostereometric analysis (RSA) in the assessment of the initial stability of internally fixed femoral neck fractures. The study included 16 patients (mean age 73 years). During surgery, multiple RSA‐beads were inserted on both sides of the fracture. Radiographs for RSA were taken in the supine position within the first 3 days and 6, 12, 24, and 52 weeks after surgery. To detect any inducible motion at the fracture‐site, radiographs for RSA were taken with the patient resting or applying a load through the fracture. Fracture loading was achieved by the patient pressing the ipsilateral foot as much as tolerated on a force plate while providing a counterforce through both hands. Micromotion exceeding the precision values of RSA (≥0.3 mm for the translation vector and/or ≥1.2 degrees for the rotation vector) was considered significant. Permanent three‐dimensional fracture‐site displacement was also recorded. Voluntary loading induced fracture‐site micromotion, which exhibited a dichotomous distribution. In patients with uncomplicated fracture union, inducible micromotion was detectable only at baseline—if at all. Conversely, fractures that developed a nonunion were characterized by the continuation of inducible micromotion beyond baseline. Permanent fracture‐site displacement was, on average, nearly an order of magnitude greater than the inducible micromotion. Fracture unions were characterized by the cessation of permanent fracture‐site displacement by 12 weeks. Nonunions presented as outliers in permanent fracture‐site displacement. Large‐scale studies are warranted to evaluate whether the detection of inducible micromotion beyond baseline could serve as an indicator of insufficient fixation stability.</p

Organometallic iridium(III) anticancer complexes with new mechanisms of action: NCI-60 screening, mitochondrial targeting, and apoptosis

Platinum complexes related to cisplatin, cis-[PtCl2(NH3)2], are successful anticancer drugs; however, other transition metal complexes offer potential for combating cisplatin resistance, decreasing side effects, and widening the spectrum of activity. Organometallic half-sandwich iridium (IrIII) complexes [Ir(Cpx)(XY)Cl]+/0 (Cpx = biphenyltetramethylcyclopentadienyl and XY = phenanthroline (1), bipyridine (2), or phenylpyridine (3)) all hydrolyze rapidly, forming monofunctional G adducts on DNA with additional intercalation of the phenyl substituents on the Cpx ring. In comparison, highly potent complex 4 (Cpx = phenyltetramethylcyclopentadienyl and XY = N,N-dimethylphenylazopyridine) does not hydrolyze. All show higher potency toward A2780 human ovarian cancer cells compared to cisplatin, with 1, 3, and 4 also demonstrating higher potency in the National Cancer Institute (NCI) NCI-60 cell-line screen. Use of the NCI COMPARE algorithm (which predicts mechanisms of action (MoAs) for emerging anticancer compounds by correlating NCI-60 patterns of sensitivity) shows that the MoA of these IrIII complexes has no correlation to cisplatin (or oxaliplatin), with 3 and 4 emerging as particularly novel compounds. Those findings by COMPARE were experimentally probed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of A2780 cells exposed to 1, showing mitochondrial swelling and activation of apoptosis after 24 h. Significant changes in mitochondrial membrane polarization were detected by flow cytometry, and the potency of the complexes was enhanced ca. 5× by co-administration with a low concentration (5 μM) of the γ-glutamyl cysteine synthetase inhibitor L-buthionine sulfoximine (L-BSO). These studies reveal potential polypharmacology of organometallic IrIII complexes, with MoA and cell selectivity governed by structural changes in the chelating ligands

Increased migration of uncemented acetabular cups in female total hip arthroplasty patients with low systemic bone mineral density: A 2-year RSA and 8-year radiographic follow-up study of 34 patients

Background and purpose — Low bone mineral density (BMD) may jeopardize the initial component stability and delay osseointegration of uncemented acetabular cups in total hip arthroplasty (THA). We measured the migration of uncemented cups in women with low or normal BMD. Patients and methods — We used radiostereometric analysis (RSA) to measure the migration of hydroxyapatite-coated titanium alloy cups with alumina-on-alumina bearings in THA of 34 female patients with a median age of 64 (41–78) years. 10 patients had normal BMD and 24 patients had low systemic BMD (T-score ≤ −1) based on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Cup migration was followed with RSA for 2 years. Radiographic follow-up was done at a median of 8 (2–10) years. Results — Patients with normal BMD did not show a statistically significant cup migration after the settling period of 3 months, while patients with low BMD had a continuous proximal migration between 3 and 12 months (p = 0.03). These differences in cup migration persisted at 24 months. Based on the perceived risk of cup revision, 14 of the 24 cases were “at risk” (proximal translation of 0.2 to 1.0 mm) in the low-BMD group and 2 of the10 cases were “at risk” in the normal-BMD group (odds ratio (OR) = 8.0, 95% CI: 1.3–48). The radiographic follow-up showed no radiolucent lines or osteolysis. 2 cups have been revised for fractures of the ceramic bearings, but none for loosening. Interpretation — Low BMD contributed to cup migration beyond the settling period of 3 months, but the migrating cups appeared to osseointegrate eventually