Non-drinkers’ experiences of drinking occasions : A population-based study of social consequences of abstaining from alcohol

Background People should be able to quit or moderate their drinking without negative social consequences, but studies have shown how nondrinkers often face pressure and negative reactions. As previous research has mostly focused on youth, we conducted a population-level study of the ways adult nondrinkers encounter their drinking companions on drinking occasions and what kinds of reactions they perceive from their social environments. Method The data were based on the Finnish Drinking Habits Survey (FDHS), a general population survey of Finns aged 15-79 collected in 2016 (N = 2,285; 330 nondrinkers; response rate 60%). Characteristics of drinking occasions where nondrinkers participate ("non-drinking occasions") were measured through self-reports of frequency, time, purpose, and social companion on those occasions. Nondrinkers' experiences of non-drinking occasions and reactions from the social environment were measured by question batteries on social consequences. Results Compared with drinking occasions, non-drinking occasions occurred more often at family events at home than on late-night drinking occasions. Accordingly, nondrinkers reported relatively low levels of negative consequences, and the reported consequences were least frequent in the oldest age group. Nondrinkers reported mostly positive feedback from people around them, more often from family members than from peers. However, negative consequences were reported in all studied groups, most commonly among youth and former drinkers. Conclusions The study indicates that nondrinkers' social environments may be more supportive than what has been suggested previously, yet coping mechanisms are required especially from youth and former drinkers. The positive social experiences of being a nondrinker should guide the promotion of moderate and non-drinking.Peer reviewe

The first wave impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange: Weak signal detection with managerial implications

The global pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) came mostly as a surprise and had a major effect on the global economy. This type of major events that can bring societies to nearly a total standstill are difficult to predict but have a significant impact on business activities. Nevertheless, weak signals might be possible to detect beforehand to enable preparation for the impact, both globally and locally. This study analyses the impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchange by utilising large-scale media analytics. This entails gaining data through media monitoring over the entire duration of the pandemic by applying black-box algorithms and advanced analytics on real cases. The data analysis is carried out to understand the impact of a such global event in general, while aiming to learn from the potential weak signals to enable future market intelligence to prepare for similar events. A social media firestorm scale, similar to the Richter scale for earthquakes or Sapphir-Simpson scale for hurricanes, is utilised to support the analysis and assist in explaining the phenomenon. The results indicate that pandemics and their impact on markets can be studied as a subset of a media firestorms that produce a sharkfin type of pattern in analytics. The findings indicate that early signals from such events are possible to detect by means of media monitoring, and that the stock exchange behaviour is affected. The implications include highlighting the importance of weak signal detection from abundant data to have the possibility to instigate preventive actions and prepare for such events to avoid maximum negative business impact. The early reaction to this type of events requires a very streamlined connection between market intelligence and different business activities

Productization as a link to combining product portfolio management and product family development

In R&D many disciplines focus on different aspects of managing the product life cycle. Generally, the focus can be divided into technical aspects and business aspects. Combining these two views, and research areas can be beneficial in the context of productization. Productization links to the concept of product structure and relates to modelling of the offering according to a consistent product structure, commercially and technically. The goal of this research is to identify how a business-specific product structure can be formed and should be managed to maximize the value of the offering. This study uses a literature review for defining the current state of product portfolio management (PPM) and product family development (PFD) concepts with linkages to productization. As a result, this study presents similarities and differences between PPM and PFD through the productization lens. A suggestion of combining the best practices of both approaches is demonstrated through an illustrative case study. Also, proposals for future research are presented. The main contribution involves indicating that effective PPM requires a business-specific physical product structure and partitioning logic. The benefits of PPM can only be truly captured through applicable product structure. Therefore, PFD is recommended to be used in designing product portfolio related technical aspects. PPM is applied for management purposes with the support of a defined product structure.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Microscopic characterization reveals the diversity of EVs secreted by GFP-HAS3 expressing MCF7 cells

We have shown the connection of hyaluronan synthesis activity with the enhanced shedding of extracellular vesicles, but detailed morphological analysis of those hyaluronan-induced EVs is still missing. In this study we utilized a comprehensive set of high-resolution imaging techniques to characterize in high detail the size and morphology of EVs originating from stable MCF7 breast cancer cell line and transiently transfected cells expressing GFP-HAS3. To avoid possible artefacts or loss of EVs resulting from the isolation process, special attention was paid to analysis of EVs in situ in monolayer and in 3D cultures. The results of this study show that GFP-HAS3 expressing MCF7 cells produce morphologically diverse EVs but also demonstrates the variation in results obtained with different experimental setup, which emphasizes the importance of comparison between different methods when interpreting the observations.Peer reviewe