EU ja Tekoäly : normatiivisen vallan teknologinen herääminen

An increasing body of literature predicts AI as a disruptive and transformative of society as we know it today. In this landscape of change the European Union has taken an initiative to push for the development of “AI that corresponds to European Ethical Values and citizens’ aspirations”. This plan is ambitious and reflects the collective consciousness that if left behind Europe might lose its standing as global political and economic powerhouse. The Approach launched by the European Commission centers around the concept of Trustworthy and Ethical AI. This research will examine how the European Union, aware of its limitations, formulates an approach towards AI distinct from others and based on the concepts and values defining what it sees as inherently European. The thesis proposes that the European approach to AI is an exercise in Normative Power and a resurrection of the concept in a new digital age. For this purpose discourse analysis is chosen as the best research method. The research material selected include key documents published by the European Comission process that both outline its core motivations and content, how the strategy is communicated by Comission representatives and in the documents making up the final version of the European Approach to AI. Conducting a discourse analysis from a critical perspective of the selected material to answer the proposed research question is an exercise in looking at how the EU wishes to represent itself. The analysis focuses on the European Commission in aiming to construct Europe as a global leader in the field of Artificial Intelligence. The research will focus on a specific social problem which has a semiotic aspect namely the relationship of role of discourse in the reproduction of different forms of power. The central findings of the research are that indeed the discursive representations necessary for a European identity founded in normative power are present in all the literature that was reviewed and analyzed. Discursive representations are employed by the European Comission. the European Commission actively takes parts in the discursive enactment of Europeanness itself, by framing AI as a challenge that the EU has a better solution to than its rivals. It also engages in acts of positive-self representations and which turn effectively in to indirect negative-othering The Research concludes on the notion that the original concept of Normative Power coined by Ian Manners has not disappeared from European political discourse and lives on in the multitude of policies and documents produced. More research is recommended in the field of Artificial Intelligence as the recommendations and strategies provided by the European Commission are taken from theory in to practice. The European approach to AI is as much defined by what is included in the above analysed documents as what is missing, but whether Brussels prefers the term or not, its AI Strategy is fast becoming a reboot for Normative Power Europe

The Economic Impact of North Dakota's Health Care Industry on the State's Economy in 1991

The health care industry's far-reaching economic influence within North Dakota is the focus of this report. An input-output model is used to estimate the economic impact of hospitals and long-term care nursing facilities. The analysis shows that nearly 8 percent of the state's total business activity, nearly 10 percent of the state's total retail sales, and nearly 19 percent of the state's total employment in 1991 were attributable to hospitals and long-term care nursing facilities. In addition, these facilities generated nearly $41 million of tax revenues for the state in 1991.Health Economics and Policy,

Commentary: Environmental Influences on Elite Sport Athletes Well Being: From Gold, Silver, and Bronze to Blue, Green and Gold

A commentary on Environmental Influences on Elite Sport Athletes Well Being: From Gold, Silver, and Bronze to Blue, Green and Gold by Donnelly, A. A., MacIntyre, T. E., O'Sullivan, N., Warrington, G., Harrison, A. J., Igou, E. R., et al. (2016). Front. Psychol. 7:1167. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.0116

Cost-Effectiveness of Complementary Therapies in the United Kingdom—A Systematic Review(†)

Objectives: The aim of this review is to systematically summarize and assess all prospective, controlled, cost-effectiveness studies of complementary therapies carried out in the UK. Data sources: Medline (via PubMed), Embase, CINAHL, Amed (Alternative and Allied Medicine Database, British Library Medical Information Centre), The Cochrane Library, National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database (via Cochrane) and Health Technology Assessments up to October 2005. Review methods: Articles describing prospective, controlled, cost-effectiveness studies of any type of complementary therapy for any medical condition carried out in the UK were included. Data extracted included the main outcomes for health benefit and cost. These data were extracted independently by two authors, described narratively and also presented as a table. Results: Six cost-effectiveness studies of complementary medicine in the UK were identified: four different types of spinal manipulation for back pain, one type of acupuncture for chronic headache and one type of acupuncture for chronic back pain. Four of the six studies compared the complementary therapy with usual conventional treatment in pragmatic, randomized clinical trials without sham or placebo arms. Main outcome measures of effectiveness favored the complementary therapies but in the case of spinal manipulation (four studies) and acupuncture (one study) for back pain, effect sizes were small and of uncertain clinical relevance. The same four studies included a cost-utility analyses in which the incremental cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) was less than £10 000. The complementary therapy represented an additional health care cost in five of the six studies. Conclusions: Prospective, controlled, cost-effectiveness studies of complementary therapies have been carried out in the UK only for spinal manipulation (four studies) and acupuncture (two studies). The limited data available indicate that the use of these therapies usually represents an additional cost to conventional treatment. Estimates of the incremental cost of achieving improvements in quality of life compare favorably with other treatments approved for use in the National Health Service. Because the specific efficacy of the complementary therapies for these indications remains uncertain, and the studies did not include sham controls, the estimates obtained may represent the cost-effectiveness non-specific effects associated with the complementary therapies

Terwe sielu terweessä ruumiissa : suomalainen kansakoulunopettaja, kieltolaki ja raittiusaate 1920-luvulla

Only abstract. Paper copies of master’s theses are listed in the Helka database (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Electronic copies of master’s theses are either available as open access or only on thesis terminals in the Helsinki University Library.Vain tiivistelmä. Sidottujen gradujen saatavuuden voit tarkistaa Helka-tietokannasta (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Digitaaliset gradut voivat olla luettavissa avoimesti verkossa tai rajoitetusti kirjaston opinnäytekioskeilla.Endast sammandrag. Inbundna avhandlingar kan sökas i Helka-databasen (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Elektroniska kopior av avhandlingar finns antingen öppet på nätet eller endast tillgängliga i bibliotekets avhandlingsterminaler.Tutkielman aiheena on raittiuskasvatus, kansakoulunopettajat ja kieltolaki 1920-luvun Suomessa. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan kansakouluissa tapahtunutta, virallista (insitutionaalista) raittiusopetusta sekä siihen vaikuttaneita aikakauden henkisiä virtauksia. Lisäksi tutkimuksen kohteena on kansakoulunopettajien oma raittiusvakaumus sekä suhtautuminen kieltolakiin. Tutkimuksen näkökulmaan on vaikuttanut foucault’laiset käsitteet biovalta ja biopolitiikka. Näiden avulla on institutionaalista raittiuskasvatusta tarkasteltu osana valtion väestöönsä kohdistamaa terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin valvontaa: kansakoulunopettajilla oli tärkeä tehtävä välittää valkoisen Suomen arvomaailmaa etenkin työläisten ja köyhempien väestönosien lapsille. Kansakoulun tilassa oppilaista muotoutui kansakunnan ”omaisuutta”, jonka moraalia ja siveyttä opettajan tuli varjella. Toisaalta myös kansakoulunopettajien mallikansalaisuutta tarkkailtiin: kansakoulujen tarkastajilla oli tärkeä rooli opettajien poliittisen korrektiuden sekä hyvän käytöksen ja siveellisen mielen vahtimisessa.Kansakoulunopettajien raittiusvakaumus vaikuttaa tutkimusaineiston valossa aidolta, eikä kansakoulunopettajien keskuudessa esiintynyt "juopottelua", muutamaa poikkeusta lukuunottamatta. Sitä vastoin oppikoulunopettajien suhtautuminen kieltolakiin ja raittiusopetukseen ei ollut yhtä positiivinen. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan raittius- ja kieltolakipuheen muodostumista sekä virallisella taholla että opettajien keskuudessa. Virallista ”ylätasoa” edustaa kouluhallituksen kiertokirjeet sekä eri asiantuntijoista koostuneiden komiteoiden mietinnöt ja opetussuunnitelmat. Opettajien raittiuspuheen kehitystä kieltolaki-Suomessa on seurattu Opettajain Lehden artikkeleista. Kieltolain voimaanastuminen toi kansakoulut, siellä tapahtuneen raittiusopetuksen, sekä opettajien oman raittiusvakaumuksen julkisen tarkastelun ja kontrollin alaiseksi. Tutkimuksessani institutionaalista raittiuskasvatusta on tarkasteltuna osana 1920-luvun kansallista pedagogiikkaa, kansalaiskasvatusta. Kansakoulu muodosti julkisen tilan, jossa opettajien odotettiin muokkaavaan lapsista terveitä, raittiita, ahkeria ja lainkuuliaisia kansalaisia. Vuosisadan alun henkiset virtaukset vaikuttivat voimakkaasti kansallisen pedagogiikan ja siihen tiiviisti liittyneen raittius- ja kieltolakipuheen kehitykseen. Sekä opettajien että virallinen ”ylätason” raittiuspuhe oli nationalistisesti ja hygienistisesti värittynyttä ja etenkin opettajien keskuudessa raittiusliikkeen parissa muotoiltu puhe ”suomalaisesta viinapäästä” eli voimakkaana. Opettajien kieltolakipuhe muodosti selkeän teeman: kansakoulunopettajat kokivat itsensä kieltolain vartijoina ja kasvattinsa tulevaisuuden kieltolain vartijoita. Vaikka opettajat näkivät 1920-luvun henkisen ilmapiirin raaistuneena ja moraalittomana, ja joutuivat pettymyksekseen todistamaan kieltolain kumoutumisen vuonna 1931, ei tämä murtanut opettajien kasvatusoptimismia. Vakaumuksellisen raittiuskasvatuksen avulla oli mahdollista saavuttaa tulevaisuudessa juoppoudesta vapaa Suomi

Can neutron electromagnetic form factors be obtained by polarized inclusive electron scattering off polarized three-nucleon bound states?

The investigation of the electromagnetic inclusive responses of polarized $^{3}$He within the plane wave impulse approximation is briefly reported. A particular emphasys is put on the extraction, from the inclusive responses at the quasielastic peak, of the neutron form factors from feasible experiments.Comment: 6 pages, Latex, 4 Postscript figures. Presented to XVth Conference on "Few-body problems in Physics", Groningen July 1997.To appear in Nucl. Phys.

Reply: SUN vs BEVþIFN in first-line mRCC therapy: no evidence for a statistically significant difference in progression-free survival

Copyright © 2015 Cancer Research UKThis is an BJC Open articleLetter to the Edito

Experiences of the ‘Nearest Relative’ provisions in the compulsory detention of people under the Mental Health Act: rapid systematic review

This is the final version. Available from NIHR Journals Library via the DOI in this record.Background Service users detained for assessment and/or treatment under the Mental Health Act 1983 are allocated a ‘Nearest Relative’. The Nearest Relative has access to confidential information about the service user, and can make decisions about their care and treatment. Tensions exist regarding the identification, displacement and powers of the Nearest Relative. Objectives To examine the experiences of service users, carers and relevant professionals of the Nearest Relative provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983, and the equivalent Named Person provisions in Scotland. Five research objectives were defined, understanding the experiences of and issues associated with i) identification of the Nearest Relative, ii) displacement of the Nearest Relative, iii) confidentiality and information sharing iv) access to support from carers and v) making decisions about treatment or care. Data sources Seven bibliographic databases: MEDLINE (via Ovid), MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations (via Ovid), PsycINFO (via Ovid), Social Policy and Practice (via Ovid), HMIC (via Ovid), CINAHL (via EBSCO) and ASSIA (via ProQuest). Citation searching, author contact and grey literature searches were conducted. Review methods A rapid systematic review was conducted in six weeks. Evidence published after 1998 was sought from the UK, pertaining to the experiences of those involved in compulsory detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 (or UK variants), including service users, carers, family members, Nearest Relatives, Named Persons, mental health professionals, policy makers and lawyers. Study selection, data extraction and critical appraisal were completed independently by two reviewers. We sought data about experiences obtained through qualitative means or surveys. Included studies containing several paragraphs of participant quotes and/or author interpretations were entered into a framework synthesis; the rest were summarised descriptively. The framework synthesis was based upon the five research objectives and refined using the findings of key studies from England and Scotland and inductive thematic analysis. Findings Twenty studies were included with 12 prioritised for framework synthesis. Four themes emerged i) issues regarding the identification of the Nearest Relative/Named Person, ii) confidentiality and information sharing, iii) enabling use of the Nearest Relative/Named Person role and iv) importance of maintaining relationships. The involvement of service users in choosing their representative and the role of services in supporting the Nearest Relative/Named Person was identified as important. Limitations There is little recent evidence to inform this important and complex discussion. The review was rigorously conducted despite the short timescale; however a more in-depth, iterative thematic analysis of all the included studies may have provided additional insights into the mechanisms underpinning the issues. Conclusions The Nearest Relative provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983 are complex and of significant importance to individuals detained under the Act and their carers. This rapid review provides specific examples of issues that individuals may experience. More research is needed to aid understanding of this complex topic. Future work Primary research specifically focussed on the perceived and actual use and impact of the Nearest Relative provisions in England and Scotland.This report was commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care via the NIHR HS&DR programme as a review project within NIHR HS&DR programme project number 16/47/22

Whole-system approaches to improving the health and wellbeing of healthcare workers: A systematic review

This is the final version of the article. Available from Public Library of Science via the DOI in this record.BACKGROUND: Healthcare professionals throughout the developed world report higher levels of sickness absence, dissatisfaction, distress, and "burnout" at work than staff in other sectors. There is a growing call for the 'triple aim' of healthcare delivery (improving patient experience and outcomes and reducing costs; to include a fourth aim: improving healthcare staff experience of healthcare delivery. A systematic review commissioned by the United Kingdom's (UK) Department of Health reviewed a large number of international healthy workplace interventions and recommended five whole-system changes to improve healthcare staff health and wellbeing: identification and response to local need, engagement of staff at all levels, and the involvement, visible leadership from, and up-skilling of, management and board-level staff. OBJECTIVES: This systematic review aims to identify whole-system healthy workplace interventions in healthcare settings that incorporate (combinations of) these recommendations and determine whether they improve staff health and wellbeing. METHODS: A comprehensive and systematic search of medical, education, exercise science, and social science databases was undertaken. Studies were included if they reported the results of interventions that included all healthcare staff within a healthcare setting (e.g. whole hospital; whole unit, e.g. ward) in collective activities to improve physical or mental health or promote healthy behaviours. RESULTS: Eleven studies were identified which incorporated at least one of the whole-system recommendations. Interventions that incorporated recommendations to address local need and engage the whole workforce fell in to four broad types: 1) pre-determined (one-size-fits-all) and no choice of activities (two studies); or 2) pre-determined and some choice of activities (one study); 3) A wide choice of a range of activities and some adaptation to local needs (five studies); or, 3) a participatory approach to creating programmes responsive and adaptive to local staff needs that have extensive choice of activities to participate in (three studies). Only five of the interventions included substantial involvement and engagement of leadership and efforts aimed at up-skilling the leadership of staff to support staff health and wellbeing. Incorporation of more of the recommendations did not appear to be related to effectiveness. The heterogeneity of study designs, populations and outcomes excluded a meta-analysis. All studies were deemed by their authors to be at least partly effective. Two studies reported statistically significant improvement in objectively measured physical health (BMI) and eight in subjective mental health. Six studies reported statistically significant positive changes in subjectively assessed health behaviours. CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review identified 11 studies which incorporate at least one of the Boorman recommendations and provides evidence that whole-system healthy workplace interventions can improve health and wellbeing and promote healthier behaviours in healthcare staff.Funding provided in part to the European Centre for Environment and Human Health (part of the University of Exeter Medical School) by the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013 (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/erdf-programmes-and-resources) and European Social Fund Convergence Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (http://www.erdfconvergence.org.uk/esf). This research was also funded in part by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care South West Peninsula (http://clahrc-peninsula.nihr.ac.uk/) at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust (http://www.rdehospital.nhs.uk/). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript