Developmental profiles of reading fluency and reading comprehension from grades 1 to 9 and their early identification

This study examined developmental profiles of reading fluency and reading comprehension in Grades 1 to 9 (ages 7 to 15) in a large Finnish sample (N = 2,518). In addition, early predictors of the profiles were analyzed with respect to kindergarten cognitive skills (phonological awareness, letter knowledge, rapid automized naming [RAN], number counting, word reading, vocabulary, and listening comprehension), parental factors (level of education, reading difficulties), and gender. Four different profiles of reading fluency and reading comprehension development were identified using latent profile analysis. These comprised one profile with persistent reading difficulties across the grades, one with early poor reading skills but with a resolving tendency, one with average reading skills, and one with good readers who started with very high reading fluency but scored average over time. Of the kindergarten measures, parental reading difficulties, being male, low paternal level of education, slow RAN, difficulty in reading easy words, and low scores in phonological skills, letter knowledge, number counting, and vocabulary predicted reading difficulties. The children belonging to the profile with the resolving tendency showed an increased rate of family risk and multiple cognitive deficits but managed to resolve their reading difficulties. Being female, and good number counting and vocabulary skills predicted a tendency to resolve early reading difficulties. The results confirm the previous findings on the early predictors of reading difficulties and add to the literature by identifying skills that predict resolving patterns

Interpersonal Counseling in the Treatment of Adolescent Depression : A Randomized Controlled Effectiveness and Feasibility Study in School Health and Welfare Services

In order to offer early and accessible treatment for adolescents with depression, brief and effective treatments in adolescents' everyday surroundings are needed. This randomized controlled trial studied the preliminary effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of interpersonal counseling (IPC) and brief psychosocial support (BPS) in school health and welfare services. The study was conducted in the 28 lower secondary schools of a large city in Southern Finland, randomized to provide either IPC or BPS. Help-seeking 12-16-year-old adolescents with mild-to-moderate depression, with and without comorbid anxiety, were included in the study. Fifty-five adolescents received either 6 weekly sessions of IPC or BPS and two follow-up sessions. Outcome measures included self- and clinician-rated measures of depression, global functioning, and psychological distress/well-being. To assess feasibility and acceptability of the treatments, adolescents' and counselors' treatment compliance and satisfaction with treatment were assessed. Both treatments were effective in reducing depressive disorders and improving adolescents' overall functioning and well-being. At post-treatment, in both groups, over 50% of adolescents achieved recovery based on self-report and over 70% based on observer report. Effect sizes for change were medium or large in both groups at post-treatment and increased at 6-month follow-up. A trend indicating greater baseline symptom severity among adolescents treated in the IPC-providing schools was observed. Adolescents and counselors in both groups were satisfied with the treatment, and 89% of the adolescents completed the treatments and follow-ups. This trial suggests that both IPC and BPS are feasible, acceptable, and effective treatments for mild-to-moderate depression in the school setting. In addition, IPC seems effective even if comorbid anxiety exists. Our study shows that brief, structured interventions, such as IPC and BPS, are beneficial in treating mild-to-moderate depression in school settings and can be administered by professionals working at school.Peer reviewe

Unexpectedly diverse forest dung beetle communities in degraded rain forest landscapes in Madagascar

Tropical forests, which harbor high levels of biodiversity, are being lost at an alarming speed. Madagascar, a biodiversity hotspot, has lost more than half of its original forest cover. Most of the remaining forests are small fragments of primary and secondary forest with differing degrees of human impact. These forests, as well as coffee and fruit plantations, may be important in supporting the forest-dependent biodiversity in Madagascar but this has been little studied. In Madagascar, dung beetles, which offer important ecosystem services, are largely restricted to forests. We examined the ability of fragmented and degraded forests to support dung beetle diversity, compared to the large areas of primary forest in eastern Madagascar. We found a general trend of a reduction of species with a loss of forest connectivity. In contrast, a higher level of forest disturbance was associated with higher species diversity. In several sites of low-quality forest as many or more species were found as in less disturbed and primary forests. The average size of dung beetles was smaller in the lower quality localities than in the primary forests. These findings suggest that many forest dung beetles in Madagascar are better adapted to forest disturbance than earlier expected, although they require some level of connectivity to surrounding forest. in Malagasy is available with online material.Peer reviewe

School-aged children can benefit from audiovisual semantic congruency during memory encoding

Although we live in a multisensory world, children's memory has been usually studied concentrating on only one sensory modality at a time. In this study, we investigated how audiovisual encoding affects recognition memory. Children (n = 114) from three age groups (8, 10 and 12 years) memorized auditory or visual stimuli presented with a semantically congruent, incongruent or non-semantic stimulus in the other modality during encoding. Subsequent recognition memory performance was better for auditory or visual stimuli initially presented together with a semantically congruent stimulus in the other modality than for stimuli accompanied by a non-semantic stimulus in the other modality. This congruency effect was observed for pictures presented with sounds, for sounds presented with pictures, for spoken words presented with pictures and for written words presented with spoken words. The present results show that semantically congruent multisensory experiences during encoding can improve memory performance in school-aged children.Peer reviewe

Managerialismi suomalaisen julkisen erikoissairaanhoidon johtamisessa:tutkimus yksityissektorin johtamisoppien soveltamisesta neljässä yliopistollisessa sairaanhoitopiirissä ja arvio managerialismin soveltuvuudesta julkisen erikoissairaanhoidon uudistamiseen

Abstract The aim of the study was to assess the application and suitability of managerialism, in reforming the organisation of public specialised care management and operations in Finland. Managerialism refers to the reforming of the public-sector administration, using business management models and practices originating from the private sector. The study combined a qualitative and quantitative research approach. The material consisted of annual reports from four university hospital districts (n = 59), regulations and administrative rules (n = 42) from 1991–2005 as well as a questionnaire (n = 157). Content analysis and statistical analysis were used as the methods of analysis. Managerialism is defined as an ideology, reform and change of management paradigm. As an ideology, managerialism emphasises good, professional management, which is achieved through training and education as well as the manager's right to manage. In terms of reform, managerialism includes decentralisation, results orientation and market orientation in the structural reform of public organisations. As a change of management paradigm, managerialism involves the breakdown of bureaucracy and professional management. According to the qualitative assessment, features complying with managerialism had been applied in varying degrees, between 1991 and 2005, in reforming the organisation of the management and operation of hospital districts. Reform, in accordance with managerialism, was manifested best in one hospital district; this was evident when looking at both sets of data. According to the quantitative assessment, hospital district management was a combination of bureaucratic, professional and managerialist management. Bureaucratic management was manifested in the hospital districts, as classic features of bureaucracy. There was continued support for professional management, evidenced by the requirement that leading positions at medical units be reserved for doctors. Among the features of managerialist management, human-centred and results-centred management and the preconditions of management were manifested in the hospital districts. According to the results of the study, the ideological features of managerialism, as management principles, were accepted in guiding the reform of public specialised care, whereas attitudes towards the reformist features, as service structure reformers, were more negative. The opinions of the topmost management of the hospital districts, and those of unit management, differed in terms of the assessment of the suitability for the specialised care reform of the features, emphasising the efficiency of manageralism and a market-oriented approach. Conflicting views of the suitability of managerialism for reforming specialised care in the public sector were associated with the position of the respondent within the organisation and the management's educational background. The findings of the study can be utilised in political decision-making and internal development work within the hospital districts, in reforming specialised care management and service structures and in the multi-professional management training of health care management personnel. The findings provide a new public management model for public-sector specialised care in Finland.Tiivistelmä Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli arvioida managerialismin soveltamista ja soveltuvuutta suomalaisen julkisen erikoissairaanhoidon johtamisen ja toiminnan organisoinnin uudistamisessa. Managerialismilla tarkoitettiin julkisen hallinnon uudistamista yksityissektorilta peräisin olevin liikkeenjohdon opein ja -käytännöin. Tutkimuksessa yhdistettiin samanaikaisesti kvalitatiivinen ja kvantitatiivinen tutkimusmetodi. Tutkimusaineistoina käytettiin neljän yliopistollisen sairaanhoitopiirin toimintakertomuksia (n = 59), johto- ja hallintosääntöjä (n = 42) vuosilta 1991–2005 sekä kirjallista kyselyä (n = 157). Analyysimenetelminä käytettiin sisällön analyysia ja tilastollista analyysiä. Managerialismi määriteltiin ideologiana, reformina ja johtamisparadigman muutoksena. Ideologiana managerialismi korosti hyvää, ammattimaista johtamista, johon kouluttaudutaan, sekä johtajan oikeutta johtaa. Reformina managerialismi sisälsi hajauttamisen, tulosorientaation sekä markkinaohjautuvuuden julkisten organisaatioiden rakenneuudistuksissa. Johtamisparadigman muutoksena managerialismi merkitsi byrokratian ja professionaalisen johtamisen murtamista. Kvalitatiivisen arvioinnin mukaan managerialismin mukaisia piirteitä oli sovellettu vaihtelevasti vuosina 1991–2005 sairaanhoitopiirien johtamisen ja toiminnan organisoinnin uudistamisessa. Yhdessä sairaanhoitopiirissä managerialismin mukainen uudistaminen ilmeni parhaimmin, ja molempien aineistojen perusteella. Kvantitatiivisen arvioinnin mukaan sairaanhoitopiirien johtaminen oli yhdistelmä byrokraattista, professionaalista ja managerialistista johtamista. Byrokraattinen johtaminen ilmeni sairaanhoitopiireissä byrokratian klassisina piirteinä. Professionaalista johtamista tuettiin edelleen sairaanhoidollisten yksiköiden johtotehtävien lääkärikelpoisuusehdoilla. Managerialistisen johtamisen piirteistä ilmenivät sairaanhoitopiireissä ihmiskeskeinen ja tuloskeskeinen johtaminen sekä johtamisen edellytykset. Tutkimustulosten mukaan managerialismin ideologiset piirteet johtamisen periaatteina hyväksyttiin ohjaamaan julkisen erikoissairaanhoidon uudistamista, kun taas reformistisiin piirteisiin palvelurakenteiden uudistajina suhtauduttiin kielteisemmin. Sairaanhoitopiirien ylimmän johdon ja vastuualueiden johdon arviot erosivat toisistaan managerialismin tehokkuutta korostavien piirteiden ja markkinaperusteisen toimintatavan soveltuvuuden arvioinnissa erikoissairaanhoidon uudistamiseen. Ristiriitaiset näkemykset managerialismin soveltuvuudesta julkisen erikoissairaanhoidon uudistamiseen olivat yhteydessä asemaan organisaatiossa ja johdon koulutustaustoihin. Tutkimustietoa voidaan hyödyntää sairaanhoitopiirien poliittisessa päätöksenteossa ja sisäisessä kehittämisessä erikoissairaanhoidon johtamisen ja palvelurakenteiden uudistamisessa sekä terveydenhuollon johdon moniammatillisessa johtamiskoulutuksessa. Tutkimustieto antaa suomalaiselle julkiselle erikoissairaanhoidolle uuden julkisen johtamisen mallin.Sammandrag Studiens syfte var att utvärdera tillämpning och lämplighet av managerialism i reformering av organisering av ledning och verksamhet inom offentlig specialsjukvård i Finland. Med managerialism menades reformering av offentlig förvaltning med hjälp av modeller och tillvägagångssätt som härstammar från den privata sektorn. I studien användes både kvalitativ och kvantitativ forskning. Forskningsmaterialet omfattade verksamhetsberättelser (n = 59) från fyra universitetssjukhusdistrikt, ledningsinstruktioner och förvaltningsregler (n = 42) från 1991–2005 samt en skriftlig enkät (n = 157). Innehållsanalys och statistisk analys användes som analysmetoder. Managerialism definierades som ideologi, reform samt ändring av ledningsparadigm. Som ideologi betonade managerialismen god, professionell ledning, som man når genom att studera, samt ledarens rätt att leda. Som reform omfattade managerialism decentralisering, resultatorientering samt marknadsorientering när det gäller strukturella reformer av offentliga organisationer. Som ändring av ledningsparadigm betydde managerialism brytning av byråkrati och professionell ledning. Enligt kvalitativ utvärdering hade drag som påminner om managerialism tillämpats i varierande utsträckning mellan 1991 och 2005 i reformering av organisering av ledning och verksamhet inom sjukvårdsdistrikten. Reformering enligt managerialism manifesterades bäst inom ett sjukvårdsdistrikt; samma resultat nåddes med båda materialgrupper. Enligt kvantitativ utvärdering var ledning inom sjukvårdsdistrikt en blandning av byråkratisk, professionell och managerialistisk ledning. Byråkratisk ledning kom till uttryck i sjukvårdsdistrikten som klassiska byråkratiska drag. Professionell ledning stöddes fortfarande med kravet att personer i ledande ställning inom sjukvårdsenheter måste ha läkarutbildning. Av olika managerialistiska ledningsdrag manifesterades människocentrerad och resultatorienterad ledning samt ledningens förutsättningar i sjukvårdsdistrikten. Enligt forskningsresultateten godkändes managerialismens ideologiska drag som ledningsprinciper att styra reformering av offentlig specialsjukvård, medan attityderna var mer negativa gentemot reformistiska drag som förnyare av servicestrukturer. Den högsta sjukvårdsdistriktledningens och resultatenhetsledningens uppfattningar skiljde sig från varandra när det gäller utvärdering av hur väl managerialismens drag som betonar effektivitet samt en marknadsorienterad operationssätt lämpar sig för reformering av specialsjukvård. Motstridiga uppfattningar om managerialismens lämplighet för reformering av offentlig specialsjukvård var förknippade med position inom organisationen samt ledningens utbildningsbakgrund. Forskningens resultat kan tillämpas i politisk beslutsfattning inom sjukvårdsdistrikt, intern utveckling och reformering av ledning och servicestrukturer inom specialsjukvården samt inom multiprofessionell ledningsutbildning avsedd för personer i ledande ställning inom hälsovården. Studien erbjuder en ny offentlig ledningsmodell för offentlig specialsjukvård i Finland

Asteroid lightcurve inversion with Bayesian inference

Context. We assess statistical inversion of asteroid rotation periods, pole orientations, shapes, and phase curve parameters from photometric lightcurve observations, here sparse data from the ESA Gaia space mission (Data Release 2) or dense and sparse data from ground-based observing programs.Aims. Assuming general convex shapes, we develop inverse methods for characterizing the Bayesian a posteriori probability density of the parameters (unknowns). We consider both random and systematic uncertainties (errors) in the observations, and assign weights to the observations with the help of Bayesian a priori probability densities.Methods. For general convex shapes comprising large numbers of parameters, we developed a Markov-chain Monte Carlo sampler (MCMC) with a novel proposal probability density function based on the simulation of virtual observations giving rise to virtual least-squares solutions. We utilized these least-squares solutions to construct a proposal probability density for MCMC sampling. For inverse methods involving triaxial ellipsoids, we update the uncertainty model for the observations.Results. We demonstrate the utilization of the inverse methods for three asteroids with Gaia photometry from Data Release 2: (21) Lutetia, (26) Proserpina, and (585) Bilkis. First, we validated the convex inverse methods using the combined ground-based and Gaia data for Lutetia, arriving at rotation and shape models in agreement with those derived with the help of Rosetta space mission data. Second, we applied the convex inverse methods to Proserpina and Bilkis, illustrating the potential of the Gaia photometry for setting constraints on asteroid light scattering as a function of the phase angle (the Sun-object-observer angle). Third, with the help of triaxial ellipsoid inversion as applied to Gaia photometry only, we provide additional proof that the absolute Gaia photometry alone can yield meaningful photometric slope parameters. Fourth, for (585) Bilkis, we report, with 1-sigma uncertainties, a refined rotation period of (8.5750559 0.0000026) h, pole longitude of 320.6 degrees +/- 1.2 degrees, pole latitude of - 25.6 degrees +/- 1.7 degrees, and the first shape model and its uncertainties from convex inversion.Conclusions. We conclude that the inverse methods provide realistic uncertainty estimators for the lightcurve inversion problem and that the Gaia photometry can provide an asteroid taxonomy based on the phase curves.Peer reviewe