In quest of the optimal self : wellness consumption and lifestyle – a superficial marketing fad or a powerful means for transforming and branding oneself?

The current thesis discusses wellness consumption and lifestyle, both of which are embedded in current consumer culture and the mainstream consumer lifestyle in various ways. In this thesis, wellness is understood as a holistic and positive approach to health that emphasizes optimal health, self-responsibility, and illness prevention in reaching the “optimal self.” The global wellness industry is a relatively young economic sector that is growing at a significant pace. New markets are appearing with technological innovations and new consumer segments. The wellness trend is further strengthening the notion of “the self” and stressing the current era’s strong, individual centricity. Wellness emphasizes an entrepreneurial self and is best understood as a form of transformative consumption, a self-enhancing lifestyle, and a self-investment strategy. The purpose of the current thesis is to enhance the theoretical and empirical understandings of wellness consumption and lifestyle in reaching the optimal self. To explore this purpose in more detail, the following research questions are posed: (1) How have conceptions and understandings of wellness evolved over the course of time, and how do these aspects reflect what is valued in life? (2) What is meant by the “optimal self,” and through which means is this kind of “self” pursued?, and (3) How are wellness and self-branding interconnected, and what is the logic of wellness branding? These themes are investigated through three different theoretical standpoints composed of positive psychology, marketing and consumer research, and sociology. Simultaneously, these standpoints offer three separate lenses (i.e., kaleidoscopes) with which to interpret the phenomenon. This thesis represents a phenomenon-based research in a highly topical and rapidly changing marketing and consumer phenomenon. Due to its pragmatic nature, as a whole, the thesis applies a mixed-methods approach, but the individual research articles are based on either quantitative or qualitative methodologies. The research articles approach the wellness phenomenon from different perspectives using several datasets and analysis methods. Article 1 discusses wellness in the wellness tourism context by analyzing data collected through semi-structured interviews (n=22) administered to wellness industry representatives in 2013. Articles 2 and 3 address wellness in relation to fitness and meanings of physical activity by analyzing data as part of the large, nationally representative University Student Health Survey (n=4403) collected in 2012. Article 4 discusses wellness from a wider perspective and in relation to self-branding by conducting a series of focus group interviews both in the U.S. and in Finland between 2016 and 2017. As a synthesis of the theoretical discussions and empirical findings, three main arguments are proposed. First, wellness has evolved from material and mere hedonic to increasingly involve immaterial and eudaimonic approaches—there has been a shift from the pursuit of pleasure to the pursuit of meaning. Second, the ever-increasing need to take care of oneself holistically and to transform oneself toward the optimal state echo the need for finding a balance—balance is the “New Black.” Third, the logic of wellness branding encompasses the creation of one’s optimal, balanced self while communicating that self to others—wellness branding has become a new means of promoting the optimal self. The thesis’s theoretical contribution focuses on the relatively new research tradition of transformative consumer research (TCR) by reviving Aristotle’s ancient, principle ideas—living well, virtues, common good, balance, practical wisdom, and harmony—that are still valid and likely to be more topical than ever before. The thesis also contributes to self-branding literature by discussing wellness as a new means for self-branding. By introducing a concept—wellness branding—not previously addressed in academic literature, the thesis concludes that wellness branding involves branding the good and healthy, true, balanced self. Managerial implications focus mainly on the changing consumer behavior as well as the various opportunities and challenges offered by digitalization. One of the major challenges regards how to brand products, services, and transformational experiences such that they align with consumers’ highly individualistic values and resonate with consumers’ authentic, true selves. In the future, the principles of wellness branding are likely to be adopted and employed further in both employer and employee branding. Thus, wellness branding may also facilitate profit for both businesses and their employees in a novel way. With regard to societal implications, in addition to healthcare and health promotion, wellness practices have become an aspect of educational agendas and corporate wellness programs that maximize employee productivity and decrease the number of health insurance expenditures. Furthermore, wellness has received increasing attention in political discussions. Encouraging individuals to engage in preventative, holistic self-care practices not only promotes individual wellness, but benefits the whole society by decreasing healthcare expenditures. Finally, regarding future research directions, the combination of ever-increasing digitalization, technological innovations, and novel, more diverse consumer segments entering the market—particularly Gen Z, the first all-digital generation— paves the way for various fascinating research themes

Advancing environmental sustainability through nature-based science tourism: The potential of universities

This review examines the potential of universities to advance environmental sustainability through nature-based science tourism, in which scientists are actively involved in co-creating nature-based tourism experiences. We first justify the review by presenting the current changes facing academia, namely the pressure to increase societal effectiveness, science democratization, and environmental sustainability. Then, we define science tourism and address the role of science and scientists in nature-based tourism. Finally, we evaluate the potential of nature-based science tourism to affect tourists’ environmental knowledge, attitudes and behavior. Based on previous literature, we suggest that universities and scientists, who have the knowledge about environmental sustainability, biodiversity crisis, and climate change, could have a more significant role in providing nature-based tourism experiences and shaping tourists’ attitudes and behavior regarding environmental sustainability. In line with recent discussions on science dissemination, this requires not only providing scientific knowledge to large audiences but also active scientific engagement and interaction with tourists

The clearance of oral high-risk human papillomavirus infection is impaired by long-term persistence of cervical human papillomavirus infection

AbstractPersistence of high-risk (HR-) human papillomavirus (HPV) infection of the uterine cervix increases the risk of cervical cancer. Oral HPV infections are among potential covariates of long-term genotype-specific persistent cervical HR-HPV infections. It is not known whether this persistence reflects inability of the host to reject HPV infections in general. A case–control setting was designed to estimate the covariates of long-term persistent cervical HR-HPV infections using multivariate generalized estimating equation (GEE) models. HPV was detected with PCR using GP05+/GP06+-primers and genotyped for 24 HPVs with a Multimetrix-kit. The cases (n = 43) included women who had genotype-specific persistent cervical HR-HPV infection for at least 24 months (24M+) and controls were women who tested repeatedly HPV-negative in their cervical samples (n = 52). These women represent a sub-cohort of the Finnish Family HPV Study. The cases differed significantly from the HPV-negative controls in several aspects: they were younger, had a longer mean time to incident oral HPV infection (40.7 versus 23.6 months), longer duration of oral HPV persistence (38.4 versus 14.1 months), and longer time to clearance of their oral HPV infection (50.0 versus 28.2 months). In multivariate GEE analysis, the second pregnancy during the follow up was the only independent predictor with significant protective effect against 24M+ persistent cervical HR-HPV infections, OR of 0.15 (95% CI 0.07–0.34). To conclude, long-term persistent cervical HR-HPV infections are associated with a prolonged clearance of oral HR-HPV infections while new pregnancy protects against persistent cervical HR-HPV infections

Non-curative treatment of patients with oral tongue squamous-cell carcinoma

PurposeLate-stage OTSCC is associated with poor overall survival (OS). Non-curative treatment approach aims to improve quality of life and prolong survival of patients deemed incurable. The purpose of this study was to investigate the used non-curative treatment modalities for OTSSC and patient survival.MethodsAll patients diagnosed with OTSCC and treated with non-curative intent at the HUS Helsinki University Hospital (Helsinki, Finland) during the 12-year period of 2005-2016 were included. Survival analysis after the non-curative treatment decision was conducted using the Kaplan-Meier method in this population-based study.ResultsEighty-two patients were identified. A non-curative treatment decision was made at presentation without any previous treatment in 26 patients (7% of all patients diagnosed with OTSCC during the study period). Palliative radiotherapy was administered to 24% of all patients. The average survival time after the non-curative treatment decision was 3.7months (median 2 and range 0-26).ConclusionsDue to the short mean survival time after decision for treatment with non-curative intent, and the notable symptom burden in this patient population, a prompt initiation of all non-curative measures is warranted.Peer reviewe

Liprin-α1 modulates cancer cell signaling by transmembrane protein CD82 in adhesive membrane domains linked to cytoskeleton

Abstract Background PPFIA1 is located at the 11q13 region commonly amplified in cancer. The protein liprin-α1 encoded by PPF1A1 contributes to the adhesive and invasive structures of cytoskeletal elements and is located at the invadosomes in cancer cells. However, the precise mechanism of liprin-α1 function in cancer progression has remained elusive. Methods Invasion regulating activity of liprin-α1 was examined by analyzing the functions of squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (HNSCC) cell lines in three-dimensional collagen I after RNAi mediated gene knockdown. Transcriptome profiling and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis from HNSCC and breast cancer cells were used to identify expression changes relevant to specific cellular localizations, biological processes and signaling pathways after PPFIA1 knockdown. The significance of the results was assessed by relevant statistical methods (Wald and Benjamini-Hochberg). Localization of proteins associated to liprin-α1 was studied by immunofluorescence in 2D and 3D conditions. The association of PPFIA1 amplification to HNSCC patient survival was explored using The Cancer Genome Atlas data. Results In this study, we show that liprin-α1 regulates biological processes related to membrane microdomains in breast carcinoma, as well as protein trafficking, cell-cell and cell-substrate contacts in HNSCC cell lines cultured in three-dimensional matrix. Importantly, we show that in all these cancer cells liprin-α1 knockdown leads to the upregulation of transmembrane protein CD82, which is a suppressor of metastasis in several solid tumors. Conclusions Our results provide novel information regarding the function of liprin-α1 in biological processes essential in cancer progression. The results reveal liprin-α1 as a novel regulator of CD82, linking liprin-α1 to the cancer cell invasion and metastasis pathways