Laulaminen, keho ja mieli : Jooga laulajan henkisenä tukena

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli tutkia, miten jooga voisi tukea laulajaa henkisellä tasolla ja millaista hyötyä joogasta voisi olla laulunopetustyössä. Tiedonkeruumetodina käytin teemahaastattelua, jonka toteutin haastattelemalla neljää laulun ammattilaista. Heistä kahdella on laulunpedagogin pätevyys, yksi on valmistumassa laulupedagogiksi, ja yksi hakee opettajan pätevyyttä parhaillaan varhaismusiikkikasvatuksen puolella. Kukin heistä on perehtynyt syvemmin joogan maailmaan ja opiskellut sitä jollain tavalla, osa jopa kouluttautumalla joogaohjaajiksi. Keräsin haastattelut sähköpostitse tai puhelimitse ja äänitin sekä litteroin puhelinhaastattelut saadakseni ne helpommin analysoitavaan muotoon. Haastattelujen lisäksi keräsin kirjallisuudesta tietopohjaa liittyen laulajan kohtaamiin henkisiin haasteisiin, joogan periaatteisiin sekä niitä yhdistäviin tekijöihin. Kaikki haastateltavat kokivat saaneensa joogasta hyötyä henkisellä tasolla laulajan näkökulmasta. Joogan kerrottiin auttavan läsnäoloon omassa kehossa, herkistävän oman soinnin aistimiselle ja hiljentävän mielessä tapahtuvaa hälyä. Kaikki mainitsivat myös yhden tai useamman joogan metodin, joita he käyttävät laulunopetuksessaan ja joiden he kertovat vaikuttaneen oppilaisiin positiivisella tavalla. He kuvailivat näiden metodien rauhoittavan oppilaita, vapauttavan heidän ääntään sekä kommunikatiivisesti että äännöllisesti ja herättävän heissä rohkeutta ja myönteisyyttä. Tutkimustyöstä voi hyötyä kuka tahansa aiheesta kiinnostunut, mutta se on suunnattu erityisesti laulajille ja laulunopettajille. Tutkimus esittelee melko uuden ja vähän käsitellyn näkökulman laulunopiskelemiseen ja siihen, kuinka laulaja voi pitää itsestään ja instrumentistaan parempaa huolta joogan periaatteita seuraten.The aim of this thesis was to examine how yoga could support a singer on a mental level, and how vocal teaching could benefit from yoga. The method of data collection was a theme interview carried out with four professional singers. Two of them were qualified vocal pedagogues, one was about to graduate as a vocal pedagogue, and one was studying for her teacher’s qualification in the field of early childhood music education. Each of them had familiarized themselves with the world of yoga and studied it somehow, some of them were even qualified yoga trainers. The interviews were conducted by email or by phone. Those conducted by phone were recorded and transcribed to a more analysable form. In addition to the interviews, data was collected from literature related to singers’ mental challenges, yoga principles and to factors that combine them with each other. Each interviewee reported having mentally benefitted from yoga from a singer’s perspective. They told that yoga had helped them to feel more present their bodies and more sensitive to their own sound as well as to ease the commotion of the mind. All interviewees mentioned one or more methods of yoga that they had successfully used in their vocal teaching with positive effects on their students. They described these methods to be soothing for the students, releasing their voices both communicatively and vocally, and stimulating their courage and positivity. This study can be beneficial to anyone who reads it, but it is directed at singers and vocal teachers especially. The study introduces a relatively new and largely unexplored perspective to vocal studies and to how singers can take better care of themselves and their instrument by following the principles of yoga

Born Entrepreneur? Adolescents' Personality Characteristics and Self-Employment in Adulthood

Is there an entrepreneurial personality and does it appear early in life? We provide a new answer on this question by using the so-called Type A behavior traits (Aggression, Leadership, Responsibility, and Eagerness-Energy), measured in childhood and adolescence, and examining their relationship to self-employment propensity in adulthood. Using data from the Young Finns Study linked to the Finnish Longitudinal Employer-Employee Data and the Longitudinal Population Census of Statistics, our results show that the early-life Leadership-dimension is significantly associated with a higher likelihood 1) of becoming self-employed later in life and 2) of being more successful as an entrepreneur, as approximated by sales. Our results also reinforce the prior evidence on the intergenerational transmission of entrepreneurship

Born entrepreneur? Adolescents' personality characteristics and self-employment in adulthood

Is there an entrepreneurial personality and does it appear early in life? We provide a new answer on this question by using the so-called Type A behavior traits (Aggression, Leadership, Responsibility, and Eagerness-Energy), measured in childhood and adolescence, and examining their relationship to self-employment propensity in adulthood. Using data from the Young Finns Study linked to the Finnish Longitudinal Employer-Employee Data and the Longitudinal Population Census of Statistics, our results show that the early-life Leadership-dimension is significantly associated with a higher likelihood 1) of becoming self-employed later in life and 2) of being more successful as an entrepreneur, as approximated by sales. Our results also reinforce the prior evidence on the intergenerational transmission of entrepreneurship

Creatine and entrepreneurship

Creatine is a nitrogenous organic acid which supplies energy to body cells and enhances physical performance. Using the Young Finns Study combined with the Finnish Linked employer-employee data we show that quantities of creatine measured in 1980 prior to labour market entry affect entrepreneurial success as measured by capital income accumulation over the period 1993–2010 (in particular for females). However, we do not find evidence that creatine affects the propensity to become an entrepreneur. Our study contributes to the emerging literature on biomarkers and entrepreneurship

The serum copper/zinc ratio in childhood and educational attainment: a population-based study

BACKGROUND: Micronutrients are potentially important determinants of adult outcomes such as educational attainment. Copper and zinc have known effects on several medical conditions and cognitive development. Elevated copper and depressed zinc is a common trace metal imbalance. METHODS: We estimate the correlation between the copper/zinc ratio (Cu/Zn) in childhood (year 1980) and educational attainment in adulthood (year 2010). We use the Young Finns Study (YFS) combined with the Finnish Linked Employer-Employee Data (FLEED). The regression models account for confounders such as other biomarkers and parental observables. RESULTS: We report a sizeable, negative correlation between Cu/Zn and educational attainment as measured by education in years, grades as well as the likelihood of completing university education. For example, a one standard deviation increase in Cu/Zn decreases the probability of university education by ∼4%. CONCLUSIONS: The findings are consistent with a Cu/Zn effect influencing cognitive functioning early in life. Future research should explore more deeply the precise mechanisms by which Cu/Zn affects educational attainment

Technical Design Report for the Upgrade of the ALICE Time Projection Chamber

An interaction rate of 50 kHz is expected for the Pb-Pb periods after the luminosity upgrade of the LHC during LS2, and the ALICE upgrade plans foresee to operate the experiment at these interaction rates. For this purpose, the MWPC-based TPC readout chambers will be replaced by Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs), allowing a continuous readout of the TPC. The details of this upgrade are described in this Technical Design Report

Quality of life and patient satisfaction at 7-year follow-up of antibiotic therapy vs appendectomy for uncomplicated acute appendicitis : secondary analysis of the appac randomized clinical trial

For more than a century, appendectomy has been the standard treatment for acute appendicitis and is still one of the most common emergency operations annually worldwide. Today, appendicitis is recognized to present in two forms, complicated and uncomplicated acute appendicitis. In the light of current research, it is known that antimicrobial therapy can be applied as an effective and safe treatment for uncomplicated acute appendicitis resulting in decreased morbidity, shorter sick leave, and major cost savings for the society compared with appendectomy. In our study, we evaluated the long-term effects of appendectomy and antibiotic therapy on quality of life and patient satisfaction in a secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial (APPAC) comparing appendectomy and antibiotic therapy in the treatment of uncomplicated acute appendicitis. Between 2009 and 2011, 530 patients (aged 18 to 60 years) with a CT scan diagnosed uncomplicated appendicitis, were enrolled in the APPAC study and randomized to undergo appendectomy or antibiotic treatment. Antibiotic treatment consisted of intravenous ertapenem for three days, followed by per oral levofloxacin and metronidazole for seven days. In case of suspected appendicitis recurrence, antibiotic group patients underwent appendectomy without further imaging according to the study protocol. Of the 530 patients who were enrolled in the trial, 423 (80 %) were available for a phone interview at median follow-up of seven years. The interview was conducted by using a standardized QOL (Quality of life) EQ-5D-5L -question set consisting of five questions currently measuring quality of life and satisfaction, plus two separately added questions mapping whether patients would again choose the same treatment based on their experience and the potential reasons for their treatment choice. There was no significant difference in QOL between the patients undergoing appendectomy and the patients receiving successful antibiotic treatment. However, there was a significant difference in patient satisfaction between the treatments; patients undergoing appendectomy were more satisfied with their treatment than those in the antibiotic group who had to undergo surgery for recurrence of the disease. Patients in antibiotic group with successful antibiotic therapy without recurrence had no difference in the satisfaction rates compared with the appendectomy group. In the treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis, long-term QOL is similar between the two treatments, but the lower patient satisfaction in the antibiotic group patients undergoing surgery indicates that predictive parameters for disease recurrence should be actively assessed. Despite the lower satisfaction rate in the antibiotic group patients undergoing surgery, a significant proportion of patients with recurring disease would still re-select antibiotic therapy to avoid surgery. As antibiotic therapy is a safe and effective treatment for uncomplicated appendicitis, the choice of the optimal therapy should be a joint decision with the patient, considering the benefits and risk of the various treatment options

Deciphering Sector Performance in the Finnish Stock Market: A Study on Systematic Risk and Investment Strategies

Msc in Accounting and Financial ManagementThis paper offers an empirical analysis of the Finnish stock market with a focus on sector behaviour, performance, and the effects of systematic risk and economic downturns on sector returns. Despite the fact that Finnish sector classifications were found to differ from the GICS classifications, this research emphasizes the significance of local context in investment decisions. Four possibilities are examined in the study: (1) Defensive sectors generate higher excess returns on average compared to cyclical sectors during economic downturns or market crises, (2) Investment strategies that overweight safe securities outperform traditional benchmarks in terms of risk-adjusted returns, (3) Sector performance is influenced by systematic risk, and (4) During economic downturns or market crises, the benchmark index has generated higher positive returns in comparison to gold. Only the third hypothesis is supported by the data, demonstrating the strong influence of systematic risk on sector performance. The results cast doubt on accepted theories about investing, emphasize the value of making decisions based on data, and emphasize how difficult it is to invest. Future research directions and limitations of the study are also discussed. This study offers important insights for improving investment strategies as well as to a better understanding of regional market dynamics