Changes in prevalence of loneliness over time in institutional settings, and associated factors

Peer reviewe

Factors effecting Corporate Social Responsibility disclosure ratings:an empirical study of Finnish listed companies

As Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure is becoming more common practise amongst companies, it is valuable to understand the underlying factors involved. The Goal of this thesis is to examine if the factors suggested by previous studies seem to have significance in a Finnish sample composed of 31 listed companies. As an ancillary research question linkage between Corporate Governance recommendation deviations and CSR ratings were examined. The research was executed by utilizing raw data from Thomson ONE Banker financial database, public information available in the 2012 annual reports, corporate governance statements and company web sites. This data was used to construct 10 independent variables. The CSRHub overall rating was applied to form the dependent variable. The raw data was then processed using linear regression. The results were limited as in many variables’ case no significance was found. Age and profitability factors alone had an anticipated affect on CSR disclosure ratings, but other variables fell short when trying to demonstrate positive or negative significant linkages. Average age of board members showed negative significant relationship with CSR ratings at a 1 % level, profitability at a 5 % level. The relative homogenous nature of Finnish listed companies can be argued to hinder the results. It is unlikely that the variables used in this thesis have such insignificant affect on CSR disclosure in all situations. It can be argued that the Finnish cultural environment is most likely the cause of the variables’ indifference. Finland is seen as a “model student” of the European Union and this cultural atmosphere might be the single most powerful determinant. More important than any specific company characteristic. It would be highly interesting to see more studies thriving to examine this perspective

Visualization techniques supporting performance measurement system development

submittedVersionPeer reviewe

Impact of wet deposited nickel on the cation content of a mat-forming lichen Cladina stellaris. Environmental and Experimental Botany 43

Abstract The impact of experimentally sprayed aqueous nickel solution on the concentrations of potassium, calcium, magnesium and nickel in three horizontal strata (top, 0 -20 mm; middle, 20 -40 mm; and base, 40 -60 mm) of the cushion-forming lichen Cladina stellaris was investigated. The experimental nickel deposition range used corresponded with that from the pristine forests of the Finnish border to polluted industrial sites of Russian Kola Peninsula (0-1000 mg Ni 2 + m − 2 year − 1 ). The lichen mat retained ca. 31 -66% of the nickel deposited during two growing seasons and the relative retention efficiency was highest at the low deposition end. The concentrations of cations in lichen thalli were significantly reduced only after the highest nickel deposition. Furthermore, the separate horizontal strata responded differently to nickel exposure indicating that the cation exchange sites of the top stratum were not completely saturated by nickel even after the most severe treatment. However, nickel deposited in high doses caused considerable reduction in potassium concentration indicating damage to cell membranes. Episodically deposited high concentrations of nickel can probably affect membrane integrity before detectable changes in total concentrations of cations in the lichen thallus take place. Thus, ratios of total concentrations of cations in the lichen thallus are fairly insensitive to nickel deposition, which reduces the risk of compounding effects when the ratios are used to indicate long-term acid deposition in areas with multiple pollution problems such as Kola Peninsula

Effects of nickel and copper on growth and mycorrhiza of Scots pine seedlings inoculated with Gremmeniella abietina

v2004okEKO/Karil