Production Intensity of Finnish Manufacturing Companies

Traditionally, manufacturing has been acknowledged as the cornerstone of national economies and societies. However, over the course of the past few decades, the main focus of research has shifted from pure manufacturing to manufacturing processes and technologies. Moreover, intangible assets monopolize the discussion, even when it comes to manufacturing and production, whereas tangible assets do not receive the same atten-tion. The above have inevitably, led to a stagnation on novel results regarding manufacturing, limiting the current theories to mainly value added and smile curve concepts. The main motivation of this thesis, and the starting point of this research was to examine whether this stagnation is justifiable or if manufacturing is still a relevant and important factor in the modern economies. In order to do that, the thesis focused on the estimation of pro-duction intensity, which constitutes an important to production index. More specifically, the thesis targeted the Finnish manufacturing industry. Three different, but complimentary, re-search questions were raised. In particular, it was examined (1) whether tangible assets re-main an indispensable element of value creation, (2) what is the production intensity of vari-ous Finnish manufacturing companies, and finally (3) whether the production intensity re-sults of said companies are in accordance with the smile curve and value added theories. In an attempt to provide the most accurate results possible, an extensive experimental evaluation was conducted using data focusing on 580 Finnish manufacturing companies. Strong focus was given to various parameters that include, among others, tangible and in-tangible assets, EBIT and operating revenue. Taking into consideration as many parame-ters as possible, enabled the better understanding of both the question asked as well as the possible answers. Among the main findings of this thesis were the estimations of production intensity regard-ing various subsectors of the Finnish manufacturing industry. Moreover, the fact that tangi-ble assets are still a very relevant and important factor when it comes to manufacturing companies was demonstrated. Most importantly, though, the results of this thesis ques-tioned the established theories of value added and smile curve and implied that it is of great importance to both re-think and re-evaluate both theories

The subjunctive mood in Spanish grammars: subordinate substantive clauses (1973-2009)

En este trabajo, realizamos un estudio historiográfico sobre el tratamiento del subjuntivo en las oraciones subordinadas sustantivas a partir de un corpus de trece gramáticas españolas. Analizamos la caracterización propia de este modo verbal y, como paso previo a nuestro análisis, revisamos diferentes propuestas teóricas al respecto. Seguimos la tesis de una teoría del subjuntivo que parta de una caracterización propia de este modo y de un valor general para la oposición entre indicativo y subjuntivo que refleje su naturaleza multifactorial y que descienda a la explicación de la selección modal en las diferentes oraciones subordinadas. Se concluye que gran parte de los autores opta por el criterio tradicional de la realidad/ irrealidad y en solo dos gramáticas se ofrece una teoría del modo subjuntivo abarcadora y capaz de explicar su empleo y las anomalías de su uso.In this paper, within the framework of linguistic historiography, we analyze the way 13 authors treat the subjunctive mood in subordinate substantive clauses using a corpus of Spanish grammars. We also examine the characterization of the subjunctive mood and revise different theories related to these subjects. We defend the necessity of a general value for the subjunctive mood which is capable of reflecting its multifactorial nature, as well as a general value for the opposition between the indicative and subjunctive moods. This general value can then be applied to the different subordinate clauses maintaining the multifactorial perspective. We conclude that many of the authors employ the traditional criteria of reality/unreality and that only two offer a theory about the subjunctive mood that explains both normal usage, as well as any exceptions

Reseña de San Vicente, Félix. 2019. Grammatica e insegnamento linguistico. Approccio storiografico : autori, modelli, espansioni. Bologna (Italia): Clueb

Obra ressenyada: Félix SAN VICENTE, Grammatica e insegnamento linguistico. Approccio storiografico : autori, modelli, espansioni. Bologna (Italia): Clueb, 2019

Η Συμμετοχή των Μουσουλμάνων Γυναικών στη Φυσική Αγωγή και τον Αθλητισμό: Πολιτισμικά Εμπόδια και Στρατηγικές Ένταξης

Αυτή η εργασία εξετάζει τη συμμετοχή των Μουσουλμάνων γυναικών στο σχολικό μάθημα της Φυσικής Αγωγή, σε αθλητικές δραστηριότητες κατά τον ελεύθερο χρόνο, και στην επαγγελματική απασχόληση στον τομέα του αθλητισμού βασιζόμενη σε μια ενδελεχή ανασκόπηση της διεθνούς σχετικής βιβλιογραφίας. Βασική επιδίωξη είναι η κατανόηση των περιορισμών στην αθλητική συμμετοχή που αντιμετωπίζουν οι Μουσουλμάνες και στη συνέχεια η διατύπωση προτάσεων για την αποτελεσματικότερη ένταξη τους στη δια βίου άθληση. Η μελέτη ξεκινάει με την παρουσίαση ερευνητικών δεδομένων που αφορούν τη συμμετοχή της Μουσουλμάνας στη Φυσική Αγωγή, καταλήγοντας στο συμπέρασμα ότι τα ήθη και έθιμα και ιδιαίτερα η ισλαμική θρησκεία, θέτει συγκεκριμένους κώδικες συμπεριφοράς για τη γυναίκα, οι οποίοι συχνά περιορίζουν την αθλητική της ενασχόληση. Η χρήση της μαντήλας, η έμφυλη διχοτόμηση, η στάση της οικογένειας, το κοινωνικό περιβάλλον είναι μερικοί από τους παράγοντες που δυσκολεύουν την αθλητική ένταξη μιας Μουσουλμάνας. Για τις Μουσουλμάνες που ζουν σε ευρωπαϊκές χώρες το ζήτημα γίνεται πιο περίπλοκο εξαιτίας του διαφορετικού τρόπου οργάνωσης της Φυσικής Αγωγής στα δυτικά σχολεία. Η προσαρμογή του σχολείου στις ανάγκες των Μουσουλμάνων κοριτσιών κρίνεται απαραίτητη για την απρόσκοπτη συμμετοχή τους στο μάθημα της Φυσικής Αγωγής: η κατανόηση των αναγκών και η αποδοχή της διαφορετικότητας. Κρίνεται απαραίτητη και η συνεργασία του σχολείου με την κοινότητα καθώς και η επαρκής κατάρτιση των δασκάλων, ώστε να είναι σε θέση να προσαρμόζουν το μάθημα τους στις ανάγκες των Μουσουλμάνων μαθητριών. Αναδεικνύεται επίσης, ότι η όλο και αυξανόμενη μετακίνηση στον ευρωπαϊκό χώρο πληθυσμών διαφορετικών εθνικοτήτων και θρησκειών δημιουργεί την ανάγκη διαμορφώσεις νέων εκπαιδευτικών στρατηγικών και προγραμμάτων που διευκολύνουν την κοινωνική ενσωμάτωση και ένταξη.This study examines Muslim women’s participation in physical education in schools, after school, including leisure sport activities, as well as their professional employment in the field of sport, based on a thorough review of international literature. The main objective is to understand the restrictions that Muslim women face in sport participation and subsequently formulate proposals for more effective inclusion in lifelong sport. The study begins with the presentation of research data on the participation of Muslim women in Physical Education classes, concluding that culture and especially religion (Islam), set specific codes of conduct for women, which often limit their sport engagement. The use of the headscarf, gender segregation/division, family attitudes, and the social environment are some of the factors that complicate or obstruct Muslim women’s sport integration. For Muslim women living in Europe the issue is more complex due to the different organization of Physical Education in Western schools. Adapting the program or organizational structure to the needs of Muslim girls is considered essential for their uninterrupted participation in Physical Education classes and sport activities. It is also essential that the school and the community collaborate, as well as training or instructing teachers on how to adapt their lessons to the needs of their female Muslim pupils/students. Additionally, the ever-increasing migration of populations of different nationalities and religions in Europe has created the need for new and inclusive educational strategies to facilitate social inclusion and integration

The effect of training intensity on implicit learning rates in schizophrenia

Cognitive impairments in learning and memory are core symptoms of schizophrenia, associated with reduced self-reported quality of life. The most effective treatment of cognitive impairments is drill and practice cognitive training. Still, to date no study has investigated the effect of varying the frequency of training on cognitive outcomes. Here we utilized a verbal memory based language learning task, tapping into implicit cognitive processes, to investigate the role of training intensity on learning rates in individuals with schizophrenia. Data from 47 participants across two studies was utilized, one with a daily training regimen over 5 days and the other with a more intensive schedule of 5 sessions delivered over 2 days. The primary outcome measure was the change in implicit learning performance across five sessions, quantified with the Matthews Correlation Coefficient (MCC). Participants in the daily training group showed improved performance compared to the intensive group only at session 4. This is the first study to show that implicit learning rates are influenced by training intensity, with daily sessions outperforming a more intensive regimen; a period of consolidation overnight may be necessary to optimize cognitive training for individuals with schizophrenia

The accuracy of clinician predictions of survival in the Prognosis in Palliative care Study II (PiPS2): A prospective observational study

BACKGROUND: Prognostic information is important for patients with cancer, their families, and clinicians. In practice, survival predictions are made by clinicians based on their experience, judgement, and intuition. Previous studies have reported that clinicians' survival predictions are often inaccurate. This study reports a secondary analysis of data from the Prognosis in Palliative care Study II (PiPS2) to assess the accuracy of survival estimates made by doctors and nurses. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Adult patients (n = 1833) with incurable, locally advanced or metastatic cancer, recently referred to palliative care services (community teams, hospital teams, and inpatient palliative care units) were recruited. Doctors (n = 431) and nurses (n = 777) provided independent prognostic predictions and an agreed multi-professional prediction for each patient. Clinicians provided prognostic estimates in several formats including predictions about length of survival and probability of surviving to certain time points. There was a minimum follow up of three months or until death (whichever was sooner; maximum follow-up 783 days). Agreed multi-professional predictions about whether patients would survive for days, weeks or months+ were accurate on 61.9% of occasions. The positive predictive value of clinicians' predictions about imminent death (within one week) was 77% for doctors and 79% for nurses. The sensitivity of these predictions was low (37% and 35% respectively). Specific predictions about how many weeks patients would survive were not very accurate but showed good discrimination (patients estimated to survive for shorted periods had worse outcomes). The accuracy of clinicians' probabilistic predictions (assessed using Brier's scores) was consistently better than chance, improved with proximity to death and showed good discrimination between groups of patients with different survival outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Using a variety of different approaches, this study found that clinicians predictions of survival show good discrimination and accuracy, regardless of whether the predictions are about how long or how likely patients are to survive. Accuracy improves with proximity to death. Although the positive predictive value of estimates of imminent death are relatively high, the sensitivity of such predictions is relatively low. Despite limitations, the clinical prediction of survival should remain the benchmark against which any innovations in prognostication are judged. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN13688211. http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN13688211

Barriers to recruitment when conducting a commissioned randomised controlled trial of medication versus psychological therapy for generalised anxiety disorder: some lessons learned

BACKGROUND: Poor recruitment is the most common reason for premature discontinuation of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). An RCT of medication versus psychological therapy for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) was discontinued prematurely by the UK National Institute of Health Research funders because of recruitment failure. In order to inform future research studies, this article explores the reasons for poor recruitment and aspects which could have been improved. METHODS: The trial recruited participants via psychological well-being practitioners (PWPs) employed within local Improving Assess to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services at four sites in England. For this study, we initially examined the recruitment data to identify reasons why potential participants were reluctant to participate in the trial. We then investigated reasons the PWPs did not identify more potential participants. Finally, we performed retrospective analyses of a computerised clinical records system used by the IAPT services in this study. These analyses aimed to establish the number of potential participants who had not been approached about the trial as well as whether there were additional factors affecting the numbers of people who might be eligible to take part. Data were obtained for all patients assessed during the period from the date on which recruitment commenced until the closure of the trial. RESULTS: Three quarters of those patients identified as possibly suitable for the trial declined to take part; the great majority did so because they did not want to be randomly assigned to receive medication. Our retrospective database analyses showed that only around 12% of potentially eligible patients for the trial were identified by the PWPs at the pilot sites. The results also indicated that only 5% of those noted at entry to the IAPT services to have a score of at least 10 on the GAD-7 questionnaire (a self-completed questionnaire with high sensitivity and specificity for GAD) would have been eligible for the trial. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that poor recruitment to RCTs can be significantly affected by participants' treatment preferences and by factors influencing the recruiting clinicians. It may also be important not to include too many restrictions on inclusion criteria for pragmatic trials aiming for generalisable results. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISCRTN14845583. Registration date: 5 February 2015

Barriers to recruitment when conducting a commissioned randomised controlled trial of medication versus psychological therapy for generalised anxiety disorder: some lessons learned

Background Poor recruitment is the most common reason for premature discontinuation of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). An RCT of medication versus psychological therapy for generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) was discontinued prematurely by the UK National Institute of Health Research funders because of recruitment failure. In order to inform future research studies, this article explores the reasons for poor recruitment and aspects which could have been improved. Methods The trial recruited participants via psychological well-being practitioners (PWPs) employed within local Improving Assess to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services at four sites in England. For this study, we initially examined the recruitment data to identify reasons why potential participants were reluctant to participate in the trial. We then investigated reasons the PWPs did not identify more potential participants. Finally, we performed retrospective analyses of a computerised clinical records system used by the IAPT services in this study. These analyses aimed to establish the number of potential participants who had not been approached about the trial as well as whether there were additional factors affecting the numbers of people who might be eligible to take part. Data were obtained for all patients assessed during the period from the date on which recruitment commenced until the closure of the trial. Results Three quarters of those patients identified as possibly suitable for the trial declined to take part; the great majority did so because they did not want to be randomly assigned to receive medication. Our retrospective database analyses showed that only around 12% of potentially eligible patients for the trial were identified by the PWPs at the pilot sites. The results also indicated that only 5% of those noted at entry to the IAPT services to have a score of at least 10 on the GAD-7 questionnaire (a self-completed questionnaire with high sensitivity and specificity for GAD) would have been eligible for the trial. Conclusions Our findings suggest that poor recruitment to RCTs can be significantly affected by participants’ treatment preferences and by factors influencing the recruiting clinicians. It may also be important not to include too many restrictions on inclusion criteria for pragmatic trials aiming for generalisable results