Advantages and disadvantages of remote work and its implications on leadership

Abstract. Covid-19 has made remote work as one of the main ways to work in today’s world. Even though, remote work is not new as a concept, it has become the new normal because of Covid-19. The advantages and challenges of remote work are now part of people’s life, and they should be studied more. While these are the factors that affect remote employee’s life, the leadership of remote work should also be studied to see how remote work and its leadership could be developed. Employees face completely different challenges in today’s virtual workplaces, varying from feeling socially isolated to increased number of altercations with family members, because work is now done from home. Some remote workers enjoy the possibility to work remotely, because of the same reasons, which makes the subject of remote work interesting subject for research. Combining these facts with the leadership of remote work further on increases its importance. The two most used styles of remote work leadership, transformational and transactional, are also perceived having both good and bad qualities. This research aims to give a look of remote works challenges and advantages, how the leadership styles are perceived, and how they affect the remote work. The research is done via qualitative method, because of the nature of the research problem. A survey was used to collect the data. The results of this study support the previous research and literature and gives new information for further research

Bakhtiari, Leskinen and Torma Reply

This is a Reply to: Comment on "Spectral Signatures of the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov Order Parameter in One-Dimensional Optical Lattices" R. A. Molina J. Dukelksy, and P. Schmitteckert, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 168901 (2009)Comment: 1 page, published versio

Motiivit ja kriittiset menestystekijät fuusioissa ja yrityskaupoissa

Tiivistelmä. Kandidaatintutkielman aiheena on fuusioiden ja yrityskauppojen motiivit ja kriittiset menestystekijät. Työssä pyritään vastaamaan kysymyksiin, että miksi fuusioita ja yrityskauppoja tapahtuu ja mitä niissä pitää ottaa huomioon, jotta ne onnistuisivat. Fuusiot ja yrityskaupat ovat yrityksille yksi yleisimmistä ja tehokkaimmista tavoista hakea kasvua. Mielenkiintoisen aiheesta tekee sen, että fuusioita ja yrityskauppoja voidaan tehdä lukuisten eri syiden takia. Tämän lisäksi yritysten yhdistymisessä on mukana lukematon määrä muuttujia, mikä tekee yritysten yhdistymisestä monimutkaisen toimenpiteen ja antaa niille loputtoman määrän erilaisia lopputuloksia. Tämän takia niiden epäonnistumisaste on ollut ja on edelleen erittäin korkea. Tutkielma on suoritettu kirjallisuuskatsauksena. Aiempien tutkimuksien ja kirjojen tuloksia on täten vertailtu ja yhdistelty tuomaan uudenlainen yhdistelmä fuusioiden ja yrityskauppojen motiiveja ja kriittisiä menestystekijöitä. Tutkielma alkaa yleisellä fuusioiden ja yrityskauppojen esittelyllä, jossa pyritään esittelemään mitä fuusiot ja yrityskaupat tarkoittavat, minkälaisia eri muotoja niillä on ja muita oleellisia niihin liittyviä asioita. Seuraavassa luvussa esitellään yleisimmät motiivit fuusioille ja yrityskaupoille, sekä syitä minkä takia niitä tapahtuu. Tämän jälkeen edetään kriittisimpiin menestystekijöihin jakamalla ne ennen yhdistymistä ja yhdistymisen jälkeen tapahtuviin tekijöihin, jonka jälkeen viimeisenä esitellään johtopäätökset tutkielmasta

Changes in physical activity by context and residential greenness among recent retirees : Longitudinal GPS and accelerometer study

This study examined the changes in accelerometer-measured physical activity by GPS-measured contexts among Finnish retirees (n = 45 (537 measurement days)) participating in a physical activity intervention. We also assessed whether residential greenness, measured with Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, moderated the changes. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) increased at home by 7 min/day, (P < 0.001) and during active travel by 5 min/day (P = 0.03). The participants with the highest vs. lowest greenness had 25 min/ day greater increase in MVPA over the follow-up (P for Time*Greenness interaction = 0.04). In conclusion, retirees participating in the intervention increased their MVPA both at home and in active travel, and more so if they lived in a greener area.Peer reviewe

Analysis of lower limb internal kinetics and electromyography in elite race walking.

The aim of this study was to analyse lower limb joint moments, powers and electromyography patterns in elite race walking. Twenty international male and female race walkers performed at their competitive pace in a laboratory setting. The collection of ground reaction forces (1000 Hz) was synchronised with two-dimensional high-speed videography (100 Hz) and electromyography of seven lower limb muscles (1000 Hz). As well as measuring key performance variables such as speed and stride length, normalised joint moments and powers were calculated. The rule in race walking which requires the knee to be extended from initial contact to midstance effectively made the knee redundant during stance with regard to energy generation. Instead, the leg functioned as a rigid lever which affected the role of the hip and ankle joints. The main contributors to energy generation were the hip extensors during late swing and early stance, and the ankle plantarflexors during late stance. The restricted functioning of the knee during stance meant that the importance of the swing leg in contributing to forward momentum was increased. The knee flexors underwent a phase of great energy absorption during the swing phase and this could increase the risk of injury to the hamstring muscles

The DNA polymerase of bacteriophage YerA41 replicates its T-modified DNA in a primer-independent manner

Yersinia phage YerA41 is morphologically similar to jumbo bacteriophages. The isolated genomic material of YerA41 could not be digested by restriction enzymes, and used as a template by conventional DNA polymerases. Nucleoside analysis of the YerA41 genomic material, carried out to find out whether this was due to modified nucleotides, revealed the presence of a ca 1 kDa substitution of thymidine with apparent oligosaccharide character. We identified and purified the phage DNA polymerase (DNAP) that could replicate the YerA41 genomic DNA even without added primers. Cryo-electron microscopy (EM) was used to characterize structural details of the phage particle. The storage capacity of the 131 nm diameter head was calculated to accommodate a significantly longer genome than that of the 145 577 bp genomic DNA of YerA41 determined here. Indeed, cryo-EM revealed, in contrast to the 25 angstrom in other phages, spacings of 33-36 angstrom between shells of the genomic material inside YerA41 heads suggesting that the heavily substituted thymidine increases significantly the spacing of the DNA packaged inside the capsid. In conclusion, YerA41 appears to be an unconventional phage that packages thymidine-modified genomic DNA into its capsids along with its own DNAP that has the ability to replicate the genome.Peer reviewe

APOE Genotypes, Lipid Profiles, and Associated Clinical Markers in a Finnish Population with Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors

Introduction: The APOE ε4 allele predisposes to high cholesterol and increases the risk for lifestyle-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The aim of this study was to analyse interrelationships of APOE genotypes with lipid metabolism and lifestyle factors in middle-aged Finns among whom the CVD risk factors are common. Methods: Participants (n = 211) were analysed for APOE ε genotypes, physiological parameters, and health- and diet-related plasma markers. Lifestyle choices were determined by a questionnaire. Results: APOE genotypes ε3/ε4 and ε4/ε4 (ε4 group) represented 34.1% of the participants. Genotype ε3/ε3 (ε3 group) frequency was 54.5%. Carriers of ε2 (ε2 group; ε2/ε2, ε2/ε3 and ε2/ε4) represented 11.4%; 1.9% were of the genotype ε2/ε4. LDL and total cholesterol levels were lower (p < 0.05) in the ε2 carriers than in the ε3 or ε4 groups, while the ε3 and ε4 groups did not differ. Proportions of plasma saturated fatty acids (SFAs) were higher (p < 0.01), and omega-6 fatty acids lower (p = 0.01) in the ε2 carriers compared with the ε4 group. The ε2 carriers had a higher (p < 0.05) percentage of 22:4n-6 and 22:5n-6 and a lower (p < 0.05) percentage of 24:5n-3 and 24:6n-3 than individuals without the ε2 allele. Conclusions: The plasma fatty-acid profiles in the ε2 group were characterized by higher SFA and lower omega-6 fatty-acid proportions. Their lower cholesterol values indicated a lower risk for CVD compared with the ε4 group. A novel finding was that the ε2 carriers had different proportions of 22:4n-6, 22:5n-6, 24:5n-3, and 24:6n-3 than individuals without the ε2 allele. The significance of the differences in fatty-acid composition remains to be studied.Peer reviewe