Abo Akademi University Research Articles

T37 - An Expanded Latent Variable Model Of Psychopathology With Heritability Estimates

Background Solid evidence points towards dimensional conceptualizations of psychiatric disorders, emphasising the importance of latent factors to account for comorbidity among disorders and to provide additional clinical information to diagnostic thresholds. Therefore, continuous measures of psychopathology and factor analysis are high-potential in identifying latent sources of covariation among observed psychopathology. A consistent result from latent variable modeling studies is that two broad constructs underlie common DSM disorders: Internalizing and Externalizing. However, whether the inclusion of frequently overlooked disorders results in changes in the bi-factorial meta-structure and whether this structure is invariant across age and gender is often unclear. Finally, these phenotypic correlations indicate that disorders within the two spectra have similar etiologies. Estimating heritability and examining common genetic polymorphisms, like SNPs, provides an opportunity to quantify the shared genetic etiology of mental disorders. Methods The 7707 individuals (4084 women, 3623 men) included in the present study were selected from a sample of twins who participated in the Genetics of Sexuality and Aggression (GSA) project, launched in 2005 at the Abo Akademi University in Finland. In addition to indicators of anxiety, depression, psychopathy and alcohol use, our factorial structure included measures of eating attitudes, body image, sexual functioning, anger and aggression. We carried out a series of exploratory factor analyses to estimate measurement models, testing our hypothesis about the number of underlying factors. The results of these analyses were used to develop confirmatory factor analyses and validate the relations between the scales and the emerged latent constructs. To clarify whether the factor structures were equivalent across gender and age, measurement and structural invariance tests were performed. Genotype data are available for estimating heritability (ongoing). Results Measures of psychopathy, aggression, anger and alcohol abuse loaded on a first factor, interpreted as Externalizing; depression, anxiety and sexual distress indicators loaded on a second, Internalizing factor; eating attitudes and body image scales created a third factor we named Body. This three-factor model showed significantly better fit compared to a two-factor and a one-factor models. However, the two factor model where body-related problems loaded onto Internalizing also showed acceptable fit, consistent with the existence of two main dimensions of psychopathology. Both models were valid for women and men, although levels of specific indicators differed across genders, determining differences in factor means. Models were not equivalent across generations. Discussion We investigated latent dimensions, rather than psychiatric categories, to understand pathological patterns and to elucidate how disorders interact in shaping the structure of psychopathology. We expanded the Internalizing-Externalizing meta-structure and highlighted a novel spectra of Body-related disorders, but our data still suggests that comorbidity between mental disorders is largely accounted for by two broad latent dimensions. Based one the GSA data, we are currently carrying out an extended twin family study with Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms. Heritability estimates will be presented at the Congress.

Impacts of invasive alien marine species on ecosystem services and biodiversity: a pan-European review

Stelios Katsanevakis*, Inger Wallentinus, Argyro Zenetos, Erkki Leppakoski, Melih Ertan Cinar, Bayram Ozturk, Michal Grabowski, Daniel Golani and Ana Cristina Cardoso European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), Ispra, Italy Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Sweden Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Ag. Kosmas, Greece Department of Biosciences, Environmental and Marine Biology, Abo Akademi University, Turku, Finland Ege University, Faculty of Fisheries, Department of Hydrobiology, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey Faculty of Fisheries, Marine Biology Laboratory, University of Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey Department of Invertebrate Zoology & Hydrobiology, University of Lodz, Poland Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior and the National Natural History Collections, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

The Babylonian benefit: Neurological research shows that being bilingual enhances mental performance and may protect from Alzheimer's disease.

The Babylonian benefit: Neurological research shows that being bilingual enhances mental performance and may protect from Alzheimer's disease.

A Research-Based Teacher Education in Finland—A Dilemma for the Students

The aim of the study is to investigate student teachers’ views of the research-based teacher education in Finland. Data were collected at Abo Akademi University and at the end of the education 69 student teachers wrote essays about their views of having research studies and writing scientific theses. The essays were analysed in an inductive way and meaning categorization was used as the method of analysis. As a result of the analysis, three main aspects were identified: Students’ positive and negative views of as well as their alternatives to the research studies and the scientific thesis. According to the results, the research-based teacher education means a dilemma for the students. They understand it and they see the point with it, but at the same time they feel that it does not give them enough practical tools before entering the reality as a real teacher.

Snapshots of three open access business models

Following on from Eelco Ferwerda's introduction to different OA monograph business models ( http://dx.doi.org/10.1629/2048-7754.46 ), Hazel Newton (Palgrave Macmillan), Marin Dacos and Pierre Mounier (OpenEdition Books) and Yrsa Neuman (Abo Akademi University) explain the different OA business models that they are currently working with.

Heavy metal: controversies and countercultures

1. Introduction: Heavy Metal as Controversy and Counterculture Titus Hjelm, Keith Kahn-Harris & Mark LeVine Part I: Controversies 2. Suicide Solutions? Or how the Emo Class of 2008 were Able to Contest their Media Demonization, whereas the Headbangers, Burnouts or 'Children of ZoZo' Generation were not Andy R. Brown, Bath Spa University 3. 'How You Gonna See Me Now': Recontextualizing Metal Artists and Moral Panics Brad Klypchak, Texas A & M University - Commerce 4. Triumph of the Maggots? Valorization of Metal in the Rock Press Helene Laurin 5. Dworkin's Nightmare: Porn Grind as the Sound of Feminist Fears Lee Barron, Northumbria University 6. The 'Double Controversy' of Christian Metal Marcus Moberg, Abo Akademi University, Finland 7. Hellfest: The Thing that Should not be? Local Perceptions and Catholic Discourses on Metal Culture in France Gerome Guibert, University Paris III, and Jedediah Sklower, independent scholar Part II: Countercultures 8. Malang, Indonesia and Toledo, USA: A Theory of Metal Scene Formation Jeremy Wallach, Bowling Green State University, Ohio, and Alexandra Levine 9. Voice of Our Blood: National Socialist Discourses in Black Metal Benjamin Hedge Olson 10. Extreme Music for Extreme People? Norwegian Black Metal and Transcendent Violence Michelle Phillipov, University of Tasmania 11. The Extreme Metal 'Connoisseur' Nicola Allett, Louchborough University 12. Black Metal Soul Music: Stone Vengeance and the Aesthetics of Race in Heavy Metal Kevin Fellezs, Columbia University 13. (I) Hate Girls and Emo(tion)s: Negotiating Masculinity in Grindcore Music Rosemary Overell 14. Heavy Metal and the Deafening Threat of the Apolitical Niall Scott, University of Central Lancashire

A review of mineral carbonation technology in sequestration of CO2

Mineral carbonation technology (MCT) is a process whereby CO2 is chemically reacted with calcium- and/or magnesium-containing minerals to form stable carbonate materials which do not incur any long-term liability or monitoring commitments. Mineral carbonation is a potentially attractive sequestration technology for the permanent and safe storage of CO2. Vast amounts of magnesium silicate minerals exist worldwide that may be carbonated, with magnesium carbonate as stable and environmentally harmless product. In this review, a number of processes under development, such as the Abo Akademi University (AA) process routes, the CO2 Energy Reactor©, and the chemical and biological catalytic enhancement as new carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology are discussed. The key factors of the mineral CO2 sequestration process are identified, their influence on the carbonation process and environmental impact of the reaction products with regard to their possible beneficial utilization are critically evaluated. Chemistry and comparative analysis of residues and ores carbonation processes, as well as cost and gap analyses of this technology are discussed.

The Genetics of Sexuality and Aggression (GSA) Twin Samples in Finland

The Genetics of Sexuality and Aggression (GSA) project was launched at the Abo Akademi University in Turku, Finland in 2005 and has so far undertaken two major population-based data collections involving twins and siblings of twins. To date, it consists of about 14,000 individuals (including 1,147 informative monozygotic twin pairs, 1,042 informative same-sex dizygotic twin pairs, 741 informative opposite-sex dizygotic twin pairs). Participants have been recruited through the Central Population Registry of Finland and were 18-49 years of age at the time of the data collections. Saliva samples for DNA genotyping (n = 4,278) and testosterone analyses (n = 1,168) were collected in 2006. The primary focus of the data collections has been on sexuality (both sexual functioning and sexual behavior) and aggressive behavior. This paper provides an overview of the data collections as well as an outline of the phenotypes and biological data assembled within the project. A detailed overview of publications can be found at the project's Web site: http://www.cebg.fi/.

Eighth Polish Conference on Analytical Chemistry

The Polish Conference on Analytical Chemistry has a long and rich history. The first such scientific forum took place in Warsaw in 1981. Since 1995, Polish analysts have had a chance to meet every 5 years in Gdansk, Gliwice, Torun, and—in 2010—in Krakow. The VIIIth Polish Conference on Analytical Chemistry was held on July 4–9. It was organized by the Department of Analytical Chemistry, Jagiellonian University, in cooperation with the Polish Committee of Analytical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The meeting attracted 570 participants, who presented their works in the Auditorium Maximum—the main conference center in Krakow. The conference was opened by Adam Hulanicki—a famous and distinguished scientist, and a patron and tutor to several generations of Polish analysts. In his lecture, he recounted the history of Polish analytical conferences, including many interesting and little-known details. Another impressive presentation was given by a special guest of the conference—Georges Guiochon from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA, who is a specialist in chromatographic analysis. He acquainted listeners with the latest developments in this analytical domain, placing emphasis on methodological and instrumental advances. The regular scientific program of the conference encompassed several plenary lectures, as well as oral and poster sessions. Eminent Polish scientists, working mostly in foreign research centers, were invited to deliver the plenary lectures. They were Anna Brajter-Toth (University of Florida, USA), Ewa Cukrowska (University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa), Pawel Ciborowski (University of Nebraska, USA), Tadeusz Gorecki (University of Waterloo, Canada), Andrzej Lewenstam (Abo Akademi University, Finland), Ryszard Łobinski (National Center for Scientific Research, France), and Marek Trojanowicz (Warsaw University, Poland). In their fascinating speeches, they outlined the current state and future directions of different analytical fields, providing a broad overview of the progress in modern analytical chemistry. The oral and poster presentations were given in 12 separate topical sessions, encompassing all the main analytical domains. A unique feature of this conference was a session titled “Criminalistic Analytics” reflecting the strong scientific collaboration between two Cracovian centers: Jagiellonian University and the Institute of Forensic Research. Another session was devoted to the Symposium on Flow Analysis, which has traditionally been organized in Krakow—for the seventh time in 2010. The thematic sessions revealed that Polish analytical chemistry is developing systematically in terms of methodological, instrumental, and applicative aspects, which are being introduced into all branches of our lives. Protection of human health, the environment, and cultural heritage is still of great importance to Polish analysts. Owing to the creation and application of analytical procedures, methods, and instruments of increasing sophistication, it has become possible to identify and determine ever-decreasing amounts of analytes in various forms and of various levels of threat to our environment. Novel techniques for preparation of biological samples together with chromatographic and electrophoretic separation systems and with mass spectrometry as a detection system have opened up new analytical possibilities in clinical, pharmaceutical, and forensic toxicology. The growing interest in exploitation of nondestructive analytical methods, flow techniques, and integrated and miniaturized instrumental systems for different purposes is also worth mentioning. All the above is evidence that analytical chemistry is increasingly being introduced into our everyday lives, helping to make them healthier, safer, and more comfortable. The papers presented in this special issue of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry are representative of the discussion of this tendency at the conference. In addition to the scientific program, there was a wide range of social activities. A Chopin concert, which was held in the courtyard of Wawel Royal Castle, made a great impression on listeners. The conference banquet took place in one of the halls of the Wieliczka Salt Mine, situated within the Krakow metropolitan area—the mining company is believed to be the world's 14th oldest company still in operation today. During the meeting in Zalesie Inn, guests experienced the atmosphere, folklore, and food of the Cracovian region. Finally, all attendees were invited to sightsee Krakow. First on the list was, of course, the Old Town, with the largest mediaeval market square in Europe—the colorful and crowded Main Market with its pigeons and florists and assorted market stalls. Mariacki Church, from the highest tower of which a bugle-call is sounded every hour, and the museum of the famous Jagiellonian University—Alma Mater Cracoviensis—were also visited. The next Polish Conference on Analytical Chemistry will be held in Poznan in 2015.

Problems and challenges of teaching nuclear energy physics in a small university

Internationally, new (classical) power plants are again being built, and a strong increase in the construction of new plants is expected in the future. In addition, there will soon be a demand for construction of more efficient ones, any of the six so-called Generation IV units, in an increasing number. On the contrary, the education of nuclear energy physics and techniques has stagnated, since little construction has been done over the last decades, and thus there has been little need of this kind of education. The paper presents the situation in Finland, especially the development that has been done over thelast 5 years at Abo Akademi University in Turku, south-western Finland. It shows that it is possible to set up a strong educational programme in nuclear energy and provides some guidelines as how to do it.

Multi-Perspective Study of Novice Learners Adopting the Visual Algorithm Simulation Exercise System TRAKLA2

This paper presents results from three interrelated studies focusing on introducing TRAKLA2 to students taking courses on data structures and algorithms at the University of Turku and Abo Akademi University in 2004. Using TRAKLA2 they got acquainted with a completely new system for solving exercises that provided them with automatic feedback and the possibility to resubmit their solutions. Besides comparing the students' learning results, a survey was made with 100 students on the changes in their attitudes towards web-based learning environments. In addition, a usability evaluation was conducted in a human-computer interaction laboratory. Our results show that TRAKLA2 considerably increased the positive attitudes towards web- based learning. According to students' self-evaluations, the best learning results are achieved by combining traditional exercises with web-based ones. In addition, the numerical course statistics were clearly better than in 2003 when only pen-and-paper exercises in class were used. The results from the usability test were also very positive: no severe usability problems were revealed; in fact, the results indicate that the system is very easy to learn and user-friendly as a whole.

Children's Literature as Communication: The ChiLPA Project

1. Members of the ChiLPA Project, Abo Akademi University 2. Introduction: Children's literature as communication (by Sell, Roger D.) 3. Part I. Initiating: Resources at hand 4. 1. Literacy and orality: The wise artistry of The Pancatantra (by Bengtsson, Niklas) 5. 2. Orality and literacy, continued: Playful magic in Pushkin's Tale of Tsar Saltan (by Orlov, Janina) 6. 3. Intertextualities: Subtexts in Jukka Parkkinen's Suvi Kinos novels (by Rattya, Kaisu) 7. 4. Intertextualities, continued: The connotations of proper names in Tove Jansson (by Bertills, Yvonne) 8. 5. The verbal and the visual: The picturebook as a medium (by Nikolajeva, Maria) 9. Part II. Negotiating: Issues examined 10. 6. Growing up: The dilemma of children's literature (by Nikolajeva, Maria) 11. 7. Childhood: A narrative chronotope (by Johnston, Rosemary Ross) 12. Child-power?: Adventures into the animal kingdom - The Animorphs series (by Lassen-Seger, Maria) 13. Gender and beyond: Ulf Stark's conservative rebellion (by Osterlund, Mia) 14. Politics: Gubarev's Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors (by Salminen, Jenniliisa) 15. The unspeakable: Children's fiction and the Holocaust (by Kokkola, Lydia) 16. Part III. Responding: Pragmatic variables 17. Early immersion reading: The narrative mode and meaning-making (by Kokkola, Lydia) 18. Reader-learners: Children's novels and participatory pedagogy (by Sell, Roger D.) 19. Primary-level EFL: Planning a multicultural fiction project (by Sell, Charlotta) 20. Secondary-level EFL: Melina Marchetta's Looking for Alibrandi (by Ronnqvist, Lilian) 21. Bilingualism, stories, new technology: The Fabula Project (by Edwards, Viv K.) 22. Index

Sex and age differences in self-estimated physical, verbal and indirect aggression in Spanish adolescents

This study examined the construct validity of the Direct & Indirect Aggression Scales (DIAS) (Finland: Abo Akademi University) [Björkqvist et al., 1992c] in 653 adolescents aged 14 to 17 in four Spanish high schools. This paper also examined sex and age differences in aggression. The factor structure of scales was assessed using exploratory factor analysis. Varimax rotation was used, with a factorial structure of three factors: physical aggression, verbal aggression and indirect aggression. The results showed that, compared with girls, boys reported a more frequent use of physical and verbal aggression. However, for indirect aggression no differences were found between boys and girls. A specific examination of sex differences on individual items of the DIAS showed that boys used physical, verbal and indirect aggression more often than girls. The findings also indicated that, as expected, adolescents in lower courses (14-15 years old) rated higher in all types of violence than adolescents in higher courses (16-17 years old). Also, we found that boys used physical and verbal aggression more often than girls did in all age groups studied. This study provided a better understanding of female aggression in the Spanish context and it enhanced our understanding of how aggression is expressed by Spanish girls. Aggr. Behav. 00:1–11, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Knowledge fields and inner patterns in clinical laboratory science.

The purpose of the study was to clarify the knowledge base of clinical laboratory science (CLS). This research was motivated by questions concerning the knowledge base itself and its abilities to meet the demands of reality. The following questions were therefore asked to achieve the purposes of the study: What are the knowledge fields and inner patterns in CLS? Which research objects could CLS focus on in order to promote development in practice, education, and research? The findings of the study were arrived at by means of hypothetical-deductive approach and inductive, content analytical strategy. The journal Clinical Laboratory Science of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS) provides the source material for the analysis. Abo Akademi University, Faculty of Social and Caring Sciences. The findings of the study are discussed in the light of starting points of the theory of science and lead to nine hypotheses concerning CLS. The purpose of the present study was to create clarity in CLS as a science of its own. This has been achieved by capturing and describing facts and qualities, and thereafter presenting fundamental hypotheses in CLS. The results of this study give a thought structure for continued development and deepening within the theory and practice of CLS.

Church Planting Commitment: New Church Development in Hong Kong during the Run-Up to 1997. By Hakan Granberg. Abo: Abo Akademi University Press, 2000. 310 pp. n.p.

Church Planting Commitment: New Church Development in Hong Kong during the Run-Up to 1997. By Hakan Granberg. Abo: Abo Akademi University Press, 2000. 310 pp. n.p.

University Education in a Bilingual Country: The Case of Finland

Focusing on the situation of Abo Akademi University, a Swedish-language higher education institution in bilingual Finland, this article discusses the problems of operating higher education institutions in two or three languages in a country in which 11 percent of the population are Swedish speakers and 89 percent are Finnish speakers, with many who are bilingual. Finland has two monolingual Swedish-language universities plus a monolingual School attached to the bilingual University of Helsinki. In addition to the latter, five other institutions, four of them highly specialized, are bilingual. The remaining institutions are monolingual, operating in Finnish. Most of the Finnish higher education institutions are increasingly offering programmes in English. Institutions offering courses in Swedish co-operate among themselves in the provision of full course programmes. The three universities in Turku, where Abo Akademi University is located, co-operate in offering joint programmes requiring students to work i...

Working anywhere, anytime and with anyone

Ten teams of 2–3 full time undergraduate business students, at Abo Akademi University in Finland were to collaborate with a corresponding team of 3–4 part time MBA students at California State University, Long Beach in the USA. A 10-hour time difference, as well as different cultural backgrounds separated the teams. Students were challenged to push the limits of Internet by collaborating on a joint task on electronic commerce with people they never met face-to-face. The teams co-operated with ten Finnish companies, and the study was taken all the way to an implementable plan for companies doing business on the Internet. This paper confirms several observations of previous researchers and identifies several new issues related to distributed groupwork.

Moving Forward on the Development of Minimum Humanitarian Standards

Regular readers of this Journal will be familiar with the idea of developing a set of minimum humanitarian standards to provide greater protection of human rights in situations of internal conflict. The idea was first put forward in 1983 by Professor Theodor Meron as both a necessary and an effective means of closing the gap in legal protection that exists in internal conflicts that fall outside the scope of applicability of international humanitarian law, and where human rights norms might be insufficient. The idea became more concrete in 1990 with the adoption of the Declaration on Minimum Humanitarian Standards in Turku/Åbo, Finland, now often referred to as the “Turku Declaration,” by a group of experts convened by the Institute for Human Rights at Abo Akademi University.

Cross-cultural evidence of female indirect aggression

Three types of aggressive behavior (physical, verbal, and indirect) were investigated by help of peer estimations based on The Direct and Indirect Aggression Scales (DIAS) (Finland: Abo Akademi University) [Bjorkqvist et al., 1992b]. Aggressive behavior of adolescents of three age groups (8, 11, and 15 years old), in Finland, (Finnish and Swedish speakers),Israel (secular and religious Israelis),Italy,and Poland were studied (n=2094). Indirect aggression was, in proportional terms, the aggressive style mostly used by girls, across nations, ethnic groups, and age groups studied. Verbal aggression was their second most used: style, and physical aggression was applied least often by girls. Among boys, indirect aggression was, in all ages, the least used aggressive style. Physical and verbal aggression was, by boys, used equally often at ages 8 and 11, while, at the age of 15, verbal aggression had surpassed physical aggression and was the most used style. Scores of victimization to other's aggression showed somewhat similar trends.

DECLARATION OF MINIMUM HUMANITARIAN STANDARDS: Adopted by an expert meeting convened by the Institute for Human Rights, Abo Akademi University, in Turku/Abo, Finland, 30 November-2 December 1990

Journal Article DECLARATION OF MINIMUM HUMANITARIAN STANDARDS : Adopted by an expert meeting convened by the Institute for Human Rights, Åbo Akademi University, in Turku/Åbo, Finland, 30 November-2 December 1990 Get access Refugee Survey Quarterly, Volume 17, Issue 1, 1998, Pages 105–110, https://doi.org/10.1093/rsq/17.1.105 Published: 01 March 1998