Encountering Change: Job Satisfaction of Sign Language Interpreters in Finland

The organizational system for providing Finnish sign language interpreter services has recently changed, and this change has influenced the whole interpretation service industry. It poses major challenges for the maintenance of job satisfaction among sign language professionals. The level of job satisfaction of sign language interpreters (in this study, N = 135) was surveyed by means of an online questionnaire. While examining this phenomenon, this study mainly addresses the systemic factors in employment conditions. According to the results, the level of job satisfaction among interpreters is quite high; however, it remains clearly lower than the average for Finnish workers. The key factors in job satisfaction are working conditions, changes in the amount of work and the way that it has been organized. Many of these problems are seen to be the result of the recently reformed Kela2-led interpreter booking system and the interpreting service’s bidding system. As a conclusion, we note that, in future, more attention should be paid to the working conditions and job satisfaction of Finnish sign language interpreters. If the level of job satisfaction continues to decrease, not only will interpreters’ health and well-being be at risk, but the quality of service provided to clients may also be impacted

Varsinais-Suomen maahanmuuttostrategia 2020-luvulle

Varsinais-Suomen ELY-keskuksen toimeksiannosta Siirtolaisuusinstituutti on vastannut Varsinais-Suomen maahanmuuttostrategia 2020-luvulle laatimisesta. Se nojaa osaksi aiemman, vuonna 2007 julkaistun Monikulttuurinen Varsinais-Suomi: Varsinais-Suomen maahanmuuttopoliittinen ohjelma vuoteen 2015 -ohjelman toimintamalliin ja toteuttamisesta saatuihin kokemuksiin. Maahanmuuttostrategia on eri toimijoille annettava suositus siitä, millä keinoin maahanmuutto tukee Varsinais-Suomen kasvua ja kehittämistä kaikkia osapuolia hyödyttävänä kokonaisuutena. Tavoitteena on riittävän ja osaavan työvoiman saannin turvaaminen maakunnan työnantajille sekä toisaalta lisätä Varsinais-Suomen vetovoimaisuutta. Sen pohjana on yritysten ja julkisen hallinnon asiantuntijoiden haastattelut, työpajat ja kyselyt. Niiden pohjalta on tunnistettu eri alojen rekrytointitarpeita sekä maahanmuuttajien kotoutumisen ja työllistymisen keskeisiä kehittämistarpeita tulevalla vuosikymmenellä.Maahanmuuttostrategian päätavoitteet ovat 1) osaavan työvoiman saatavuuden varmistaminen, 2) vetovoiman ja pitovoiman lisääminen sekä 3) hyvien väestösuhteiden edistäminen. Päätavoitteet jakautuvat 15:een eri toimenpiteeseen. Varsinais-Suomen alueellisista eroista johtuen toimenpiteet on muotoiltu niin, että ne ovat mahdollisimman joustavasti toteutettavissa paikallisesti. Maahanmuuttostrategian toimenpiteiden taustalla on ajatus, että jokainen yritys ja kunta voivat hyödyntää niitä omien tarpeidensa mukaisesti. Tavoitteena on, että julkisen sektorin toimijat, yritykset ja muut toimijat tunnistavat omat vahvuutensa ja haasteensa ja näistä lähtökohdista toteuttavat strategian toimenpiteitä soveltuvin osin yhteistyössä muiden toimijoiden kanssa. </p

Lääkärien päivystysmallien kehittämis- ja arviointitutkimus - Päivystysmallit ja työkuormitus

Tutkimushankkeen n:o 112241 loppuraportti Työsuojelurahastoll

Pre-hospital management protocols and perceived difficulty in diagnosing acute heart failure

Aim To illustrate the pre-hospital management arsenals and protocols in different EMS units, and to estimate the perceived difficulty of diagnosing suspected acute heart failure (AHF) compared with other common pre-hospital conditions. Methods and results A multinational survey included 104 emergency medical service (EMS) regions from 18 countries. Diagnostic and therapeutic arsenals related to AHF management were reported for each type of EMS unit. The prevalence and contents of management protocols for common medical conditions treated pre-hospitally was collected. The perceived difficulty of diagnosing AHF and other medical conditions by emergency medical dispatchers and EMS personnel was interrogated. Ultrasound devices and point-of-care testing were available in advanced life support and helicopter EMS units in fewer than 25% of EMS regions. AHF protocols were present in 80.8% of regions. Protocols for ST-elevation myocardial infarction, chest pain, and dyspnoea were present in 95.2, 80.8, and 76.0% of EMS regions, respectively. Protocolized diagnostic actions for AHF management included 12-lead electrocardiogram (92.1% of regions), ultrasound examination (16.0%), and point-of-care testings for troponin and BNP (6.0 and 3.5%). Therapeutic actions included supplementary oxygen (93.2%), non-invasive ventilation (80.7%), intravenous furosemide, opiates, nitroglycerine (69.0, 68.6, and 57.0%), and intubation 71.5%. Diagnosing suspected AHF was considered easy to moderate by EMS personnel and moderate to difficult by emergency medical dispatchers (without significant differences between de novo and decompensated heart failure). In both settings, diagnosis of suspected AHF was considered easier than pulmonary embolism and more difficult than ST-elevation myocardial infarction, asthma, and stroke. Conclusions The prevalence of AHF protocols is rather high but the contents seem to vary. Difficulty of diagnosing suspected AHF seems to be moderate compared with other pre-hospital conditions.Peer reviewe

Pre-hospital management protocols and perceived difficulty in diagnosing acute heart failure

Aim To illustrate the pre-hospital management arsenals and protocols in different EMS units, and to estimate the perceived difficulty of diagnosing suspected acute heart failure (AHF) compared with other common pre-hospital conditions. Methods and results A multinational survey included 104 emergency medical service (EMS) regions from 18 countries. Diagnostic and therapeutic arsenals related to AHF management were reported for each type of EMS unit. The prevalence and contents of management protocols for common medical conditions treated pre-hospitally was collected. The perceived difficulty of diagnosing AHF and other medical conditions by emergency medical dispatchers and EMS personnel was interrogated. Ultrasound devices and point-of-care testing were available in advanced life support and helicopter EMS units in fewer than 25% of EMS regions. AHF protocols were present in 80.8% of regions. Protocols for ST-elevation myocardial infarction, chest pain, and dyspnoea were present in 95.2, 80.8, and 76.0% of EMS regions, respectively. Protocolized diagnostic actions for AHF management included 12-lead electrocardiogram (92.1% of regions), ultrasound examination (16.0%), and point-of-care testings for troponin and BNP (6.0 and 3.5%). Therapeutic actions included supplementary oxygen (93.2%), non-invasive ventilation (80.7%), intravenous furosemide, opiates, nitroglycerine (69.0, 68.6, and 57.0%), and intubation 71.5%. Diagnosing suspected AHF was considered easy to moderate by EMS personnel and moderate to difficult by emergency medical dispatchers (without significant differences between de novo and decompensated heart failure). In both settings, diagnosis of suspected AHF was considered easier than pulmonary embolism and more difficult than ST-elevation myocardial infarction, asthma, and stroke. Conclusions The prevalence of AHF protocols is rather high but the contents seem to vary. Difficulty of diagnosing suspected AHF seems to be moderate compared with other pre-hospital conditions

Study of dijet events with large rapidity separation in proton-proton collisions at root s=2.76 TeV

The cross sections for inclusive and Mueller-Navelet dijet production are measured as a function of the rapidity separation between the jets in proton-proton collisions at root s = 2.76 TeV for jets with transverse momentum p(T) > 35 GeV and rapidity vertical bar y vertical bar 20 GeV is introduced to improve the sensitivity to the effects of the Balitsky-Fadin-Kuraev-Lipatov (BFKL) evolution. The measurement is compared with the predictions of various Monte Carlo models based on leading-order and next-to-leading-order calculations including the Dokshitzer-Gribov-Lipatov-Altarelli-Parisi leading-logarithm (LL) parton shower as well as the LL BFKL resummation.Peer reviewe

A molecular-based identification resource for the arthropods of Finland

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Molecular Ecology Resources published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.To associate specimens identified by molecular characters to other biological knowledge, we need reference sequences annotated by Linnaean taxonomy. In this study, we (1) report the creation of a comprehensive reference library of DNA barcodes for the arthropods of an entire country (Finland), (2) publish this library, and (3) deliver a new identification tool for insects and spiders, as based on this resource. The reference library contains mtDNA COI barcodes for 11,275 (43%) of 26,437 arthropod species known from Finland, including 10,811 (45%) of 23,956 insect species. To quantify the improvement in identification accuracy enabled by the current reference library, we ran 1000 Finnish insect and spider species through the Barcode of Life Data system (BOLD) identification engine. Of these, 91% were correctly assigned to a unique species when compared to the new reference library alone, 85% were correctly identified when compared to BOLD with the new material included, and 75% with the new material excluded. To capitalize on this resource, we used the new reference material to train a probabilistic taxonomic assignment tool, FinPROTAX, scoring high success. For the full-length barcode region, the accuracy of taxonomic assignments at the level of classes, orders, families, subfamilies, tribes, genera, and species reached 99.9%, 99.9%, 99.8%, 99.7%, 99.4%, 96.8%, and 88.5%, respectively. The FinBOL arthropod reference library and FinPROTAX are available through the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility (www.laji.fi) at https://laji.fi/en/theme/protax. Overall, the FinBOL investment represents a massive capacity-transfer from the taxonomic community of Finland to all sectors of society.Peer reviewe