Browsing by Subject "analysis"

Background. Knowing what a psychological test measures and if it works the same way in different contexts, i.e. has measurement invariance (MI), is crucial for its valid and reliable use. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) was published in Finland in 2012. However, recent research suggests that the factor model given in the WAIS-IV test manual and the information regarding MI between different age groups and levels of education are lacking. Methods. This study employed the normative sample of the Finnish WAIS-IV. First, the factor model in the manual was examined and improved using confirmatory factor analysis with a mixed data-theory approach. Second, the new model was tested for strict residual MI for different age groups and levels of education, in order to study if the test reaches an acceptable level of MI. Results and conclusions. The results indicated that the normative data is best modeled by an oblique non-g model. The study also replicated a Spatial Visualization factor with loadings from Block Design, Visual Puzzles and Picture Completion, and Quantitative Reasoning factor with Figure Weights and Arithmetic. A previously unmentioned link in factor analytic literature on WAIS-IV was found between Block Design and Processing Speed factors. The results questioned the link between Arithmetic and Verbal Comprehension factor and found the underlying source of shared variance to be links between Information and Arithmetic, which was interpreted as Educational Achievement. WAIS-IV reached strict residual MI for both different age groups and levels of education. The study offers a more accurate factor model of WAIS-IV and gives confidence that psychologists can reliably apply it over different ages and levels of education in the normal population of Finland.

Suspension is nowadays the most commonly used dosage form in preclinical animal studies. However, suspension can be physically unstable and changes in particle size or crystal form of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) can occur during storage. Conventionally suspensions are also prepared in a mortar, and hence the quality of suspensions is operator-dependent. One of the aims in this study was to prepare suspensions using a mortar and pestle and an Ultra-turrax homogenizer to find out how the preparation method affects the particle size of suspension. A solution containing methylcellulose and Tween 80 was used as a vehicle, and five active APIs with different physico-chemical properties as model drugs. Moreover, an aim of the study was to evaluate the stability of the suspensions stored at room temperature and in the refrigerator and freezer by physical (laser diffraction, optical microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction) and chemical (high-performance liquid chromatography) methods of analysis. The aim of the study was also to assess and compare the suitability of laser diffraction and optical microscopy for the determination of partice size during preclinical studies. The suspensions prepared using a mortar and pestle and Ultra-turrax had a similar particle size in almost all cases. The particle size of API that was difficult to grind decreased significantly, also when using Ultra-turrax although the capacity used was minimum. Both prepation methods had the best repeatability of particle size when the API was easy to grind. However, Ultra-turrax could provide better homogeneity of quality than a mortar and pestle if the settings were optimized. The effect of different operators was not studied in this study. The stability of suspensions in different storage conditions was dependent on the properties of API. The particle size of all frozen suspensions decreased after two days based on laser diffraction results. Although the reason was not found from literature or supplementary tests (particle size analysis of the vehicle and pH-measurements), freezing of suspensions should be treated with caution based on this study. The crystal structures of APIs remained stabile with the exception of typical disproportionation of the API salt. Suspensions were mainly chemically stabile in all conditions, but water-solubility of API seemed to decrease stability. The micellar solubilization of drugs was also observed. The best way to determine the particle size of preclinical suspensions proved to be the combination of laser diffraction and optical microscopy images. The microscopy images confirmed the validity of the size distributions measured by laser diffraction and provided information about e.g. particle aggregation. On the other hand, optical microscopy image analysis was not suitable method for particle sizing.

The European Commission and the Finnish government have released their respective roadmaps in sustainable forest policy. With the European Commission pushing for further cooperation and integration in a field with no dedicated framework, it becomes vital to have a consensus on the concept of “sustainable forestry” with Member States such as Finland. Finland, on the other hand, as the most forested Member State in terms of percentage of total land area, manifests opposite views regarding how the administration is supposed to effect policy. This thesis consists of an analysis of respective documents from the European Commission and the Finnish government: the New EU Forest Strategy for 2030 and the Government Report on Forest Policy 2050. Similar in scope and structure, they clearly reflect these different attitudes towards policymaking and the role of policymakers themselves in the coming decades. The focus of this analysis is, however, their respective use of metaphors. With the theoretical support of the Advocacy Coalition Framework of Hank Jenkins-Smith and Paul Sabatier and the Critical Metaphor Analysis of Jonathan Charteris-Black, these metaphor choices are then observed to explain which stakeholders—either forestry, administrative, or environmental—are favored in each document. In this thesis, metaphors are words whose basic meaning, which is usually the one easiest to imagine, is not the one used in their textual context. From associating that missing, metaphorical meaning to chosen key concepts, this analysis shows that the metaphors found are used in cohesion with each other. This reveals a re-conceptualization of those key terms according to the accompanying metaphors. For example, the European Commission presented forests in its Strategy as “towns”, while the Finnish government saw them as “(ore) mines”. The results of this thesis reveal the consistency of metaphor choices in discourse and their significance in depicting a potentially different set of narratives from those contained in conventional language, both overtly and covertly. With these results in mind, scholars can further pursue research in other fields thanks understanding of metaphor and its prevalence in communication, or even expand this line of research into the role of media, for example.