Organization of testing in internal startups

Internal startups are new ventures launched by companies seeking ways for radical innovation. Conceptually part of Lean Startup, they are strongly influenced by independent startup companies and agile software methodology. Internal startups favor a "lean" approach to their organization, usually have minimal resources and are expected to produce results fast. This thesis explores how to organize testing effectively in the difficult conditions internal startups operate in. We conducted a case study where we interviewed five IT professionals associated with an internal startup in a global IT service and software company. To systematically analyze the material collected in the interviews, we applied thematic synthesis. Our results suggest that the organization of testing in internal startups is affected by the resources provided by the startup's parent company, as well as the demands presented by the company. Our results also suggest that the lean approach favored by internal startups can have a negative effect on testing and product quality. These results are supported by the existing literature on the subject. ACM Classification: • Software and its engineering~Software testing and debugging • Social and professional topics~Project and people managemen

Detection of Aspartylglucosaminuria Patients from Magnetic Resonance Images by a Machine-Learning-Based Approach

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging data can be used to develop computer-assisted diagnostic tools for neurodegenerative diseases such as aspartylglucosaminuria (AGU) and other lysosomal storage disorders. MR images contain features that are suitable for the classification and differentiation of affected individuals from healthy persons. Here, comparisons were made between MRI features extracted from different types of magnetic resonance images. Random forest classifiers were trained to classify AGU patients (n = 22) and healthy controls (n = 24) using volumetric features extracted from T1-weighted MR images, the zone variance of gray level size zone matrix (GLSZM) calculated from magnitude susceptibility-weighted MR images, and the caudate–thalamus intensity ratio computed from T2-weighted MR images. The leave-one-out cross-validation and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve were used to compare different models. The left–right-averaged, normalized volumes of the 25 nuclei of the thalamus and the zone variance of the thalamus demonstrated equal and excellent performance as classifier features for binary organization between AGU patients and healthy controls. Our findings show that texture-based features of susceptibility-weighted images and thalamic volumes can differentiate AGU patients from healthy controls with a very low error rate

The associations between psychosocial working conditions and changes in common mental disorders : a follow-up study

Peer reviewe

The Role of Beliefs and Motivational Variables in Enhancing Word Problem Solving

A Word Problem Enrichment programme (WPE) has been found to increase student word problem solving performance when facing non-routine and application problems. However, it is unknown if the WPE has an impact on student beliefs about word problem solving, and how the WPE works for students with different motivation in learning mathematics. This study investigated the impact of the WPE on student beliefs about word problem solving by using advanced statistical methods (LPA and SEM) to analyse relations among the different cognitive, motivation, and belief factors. A total of 170 fourth- and sixth-grade students from elementary schools participated. Results showed that the effects of WPE are various depending on students’ initial motivation level. The impacts of the WPE on student beliefs were found only in students with a low initial motivation level, while its impacts on student problem-solving performance were found only in students with a high initial motivation level.</p

“Let Our Freak Flags Fly”: Shrek the Musical and the Branding of Diversity

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/theatre_journal/v062/62.2.brater.html“’Let Our Freak Flags Fly’: Shrek the Musical and the Branding of Diversity” argues that DreamWorks used Shrek the Musical to exploit a generic theme of multiculturalism to extend the reach of the Shrek franchise and challenge Disney’s domination of the Broadway market. By bringing a political-economic analysis to bear on the study of commercial theatre, the essay shows that DreamWorks’s marketing strategy—diversification—provided the theme—diversity—for the product it was employing to implement that strategy. Yet because Shrek’s multicultural message is contradicted by the blatant racial stereotyping of Donkey, Shrek’s “jive-spouting sidekick,” the musical in fact epitomizes the contradictions that inform multiculturalism in the early twenty-first-century marketplace and functions as an unlikely emblem of the Age of Obam

Non-melancholic depressive symptoms are associated with above average fat mass index in the Helsinki birth cohort study

Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).There is an existing link between two of the most common diseases, obesity and depression. These are both of great public health concern, but little is known about the relationships between the subtypes of these conditions. We hypothesized that non-melancholic depressive symptoms have a stronger relationship with both body composition (lean mass and fat mass) and dysfunctional glucose metabolism than melancholic depression. For this cross-sectional study 1510 participants from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study had their body composition evaluated as lean mass and fat mass (Lean Mass Index [LMI, kg/m2] + Fat Mass Index [FMI kg/m2] = Body Mass Index). Participants were evaluated for depressive symptoms utilizing the Beck depression inventory, and had laboratory assessments including an oral glucose tolerance test. Higher than average FMI was associated with a higher percentage (mean [%], 95% CI) of participants scoring in the depressive range of the Beck depression inventory (20.2, 17.2–23.2) compared to those with low FMI (16.3, 13.8–18.9; p = 0.048) when adjusted for age, sex, education, and fasting plasma glucose concentration. Higher FMI was associated with a higher likelihood of having depressive symptoms (OR per 1-SD FMI = 1.37, 95% CI 1.13–1.65), whereas higher LMI was associated with a lower likelihood of having depressive symptoms (OR per 1-SD LMI = 0.76, 95% CI 0.64–0.91). Participants with an above average FMI more frequently (mean [%], 95% CI) had non-melancholic depressive symptoms (14.7, 11.8–17.7) as compared to those with low FMI (9.7, 7.6–11.9; p = 0.008) regardless of LMI levels. There was no difference between the body composition groups in the likelihood of having melancholic depressive symptoms. The non-melancholic group had higher (mean [kg/m2], SD) FMI (9.6, 4.1) than either of the other groups (BDI < 10: 7.7, 3.1; melancholic: 7.9, 3.6; p < 0.001), and a higher (mean [mmol/l], SD) 2-h glucose concentration (7.21, 1.65) than the non-depressed group (6.71, 1.70; p = 0.005). As hypothesized, non-melancholic depressive symptoms are most closely related to high fat mass index and dysfunctional glucose metabolism.Peer reviewe

Depressive symptoms and mortality-findings from Helsinki birth cohort study

Background Individuals with depression and depressive symptoms have a higher mortality rate than non-depressed individuals. The increased comorbidity and mortality associated with depression has remained largely unexplained. The underlying pathophysiological differences between depressive subtypes, melancholic and non-melancholic, may provide some explanation to this phenomenon. Methods One thousand nine hundred and ninety five participants (mean age 61 years) from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study were recruited for this prospective study and followed up for a mean of 14.1 years. Information regarding medical history, lifestyle, and biochemical parameters were obtained. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory. Standardized mortality ratios were calculated. Results Participants were followed up for a total of 28,044 person-years. The melancholic depressive group had an increased adjusted risk of mortality [HR 1.49 (95% CI: 1.02-2.20)] when compared to the non-depressive group. Comparing mortality to the whole population of Finland using standardized mortality ratios (SMR) both the non-melancholic [1.11 (95% CI: 0.85-1.44)] and melancholic depressive [1.26 (95% CI: 0.87-1.81)] groups had higher mortality than the non-depressive group [0.82 (95% CI: 0.73-0.93)]. Conclusions Melancholic depressive symptoms are most strongly related to a higher mortality risk.Peer reviewe

Poliisin resurssijakomalli

Sisäasiainministeriö teki 12.11.2004 päätöksen paikallispoliisin määrärahajaon perusteista. Uutta rahanjakomallia on sovellettu vuosien 2006–2008 määrärahan jakopäätöksissä. Päätöksen mukaan tuli tavoitteeksi asettaa, että paikallispoliisin rahoitus jaetaan poliisilaitostasolle saakka samoilla läpinäkyvillä ja vertailtavissa olevilla perusteilla. Tässä on koettu olevan ongelmia erityisesti lääneissä, joissa poliisilaitosten koko vaihtelee merkittävästi. Lisäksi päätöksessä edellytettiin toimintaympäristössä tapahtuneiden muutosten arviointia sekä siirtyvän erän huomioimista mallin osana. Kihlakuntahallinnon purkamisesta johtuvat henkilöstö-, toimitila- ja määrärahasiirrot, toteutettavat tuottavuusvähennykset sekä poliisihallinnossa tekeillä olevat organisaatiomuutokset muuttavat poliisin resurssien kohdentumista tavalla, joka edellyttää vahvistetun rahanjakomallin tarkistamista. Työryhmä piti työskentelynsä lähtökohtana vuoden 2009 alusta voimaan tulevaa poliisilaitosjakoa sekä tavoitteeksi asetettua poliisihallinnon kaksiportaista organisaatiomallia. Poliisilaitosjaon uudistamisesta johtuen työryhmä keskittyi pääasiassa tarkastelemaan paikallispoliisin resurssijakomallin uudistamista. Poliisin resurssijakoa kehittävä työryhmä esittää, että poliisin resurssit jaetaan raportissa esitetyn mallin mukaisesti seuraavalla tavalla: A. Poliisimiehet jaetaan poliisilaitoksiin tehtävämääriä ja organisaation kuormittavuutta kuvaavien tunnuslukujen perusteella. Poliisilaitoskohtaisten valtakunnallisten tai muiden erityistehtävien sitoma henkilöstömäärä kohdistetaan erillispäätösten perusteella. Muu henkilöstö jaetaan vahvistettavien henkilöstösuunnitelmien perusteella. B. Paikallispoliisin poliisimiehiä koskevat henkilötyövuositavoitteet jaetaan poliisilaitoksille käyttäen seuraavia jakokriteerejä ja niiden painoarvoja: Poliisilaitoksen alueella asuvan väestön määrä (35 %), poliisilaitoksen kokonaispinta-ala (5 %), A- ja B- kiireellisyysluokan hälytystehtävien määrä (10 %) ja rikoslakirikosten (pl. liikennerikokset) määrä (50 %). Poliisilaitoskohtaisten valtakunnallisten tai muiden erityistehtävien sitoma henkilöstömäärä kohdistetaan erillispäätösten perusteella. Helsingin kihlakunnan poliisilaitoksen vastuulla olevien valtakunnallisten tehtävien suorittaminen työryhmä arvioi tarvitsevan 350 henkilötyövuotta. Muiden kuin paikallispoliisiyksiköiden resurssijaon osalta työryhmä ei esitä muutoksia tällä hetkellä käytössä olevaan malliin. C. Toimitilakulut katetaan hyväksyttyjen sopimusten mukaisesti. D. Aineet, tarvikkeet ja tavarat katetaan edellisten vuosien toteumatietoihin ja päätettyihin muutoksiin pohjautuvien hankintasuunnitelmien ja tavoitebudjettien pohjalta. Muut kulut ja palveluhankinnat katetaan edellisten vuosien toteumatietoihin ja päätettyihin muutoksiin pohjautuvien hankintasuunnitelmien ja tavoitebudjettien pohjalta. E. Tietohallintokulut ja kehittämishankkeet hallinnoidaan keskitetysti. Investointien suunnitelmallisuutta kehitetään. Investoinnit rahoitetaan vahvistettujen suunnitelmien perusteella. F. Kehitetään investointien keskitettyä ohjausta ja suunnitelmallisuutta tasaisen investointiohjelman aikaansaamiseksi. Poliisin yksiköiden investointisuunnitelmat vahvistetaan poliisin ylijohdon kanssa tehtävien tulossopimusten yhteydessä ja rahoitetaan osana keskitetysti päätettävää rahoitusta. G. Kihlakuntien poliisilaitokset pitävät omat tuottonsa ja kantavat nettobudjetointiin sisältyvät taloudelliset riskit. Tuotot jaetaan keskitetysti toteumatietoihin ja tiedossa oleviin muutoksiin pohjautuvien tavoitebudjettien pohjalta. Työryhmä kokoontui 6 kertaa. Työryhmän tuli jättää raporttinsa 15.4.2008 mennessä. Työryhmän määräaikaa jatkettiin 30.6.2008 saakka. Työryhmän raporttiin sisältyy yksi eriävä mielipide