Epidemioloogiliste uuringute kajastamine Postimehe ja The Irish Timesi veebiväljaannetes

Taust ja eesmärgid. Uuriti epidemioloogiliste terviseuuringute kajastamist Eesti ja Iirimaa kvaliteetpäevalehtede – Postimehe (PM) ja The Irish Timesi (IT) – veebiväljaannetes 2009. aastal. Epidemioloogiliste uuringutena käsitleti juhtkontroll-, kohort- ja levimusuuringuid, mis on enam levinud rahvastiku tervise ja seda mõjutavate tegurite selgitamisel. Artikli eesmärk on tuua esile sarnasused ja erinevused kahe väljaande epidemioloogiliste uuringute esitamise praktikas ning sellest lähtuvalt juhtida tähelepanu meediakajastuse lugejasõbralikumaks muutmise võimalustele. Artiklis otsitakse vastuseid järgmistele küsimustele: a) milliseid terviseteemasid ja mis eesmärgil valjaannetes on kajastatud; b) kui palju ja millist infot kajastatud uuringute kohta on edastatud; c) kuidas on esitatud uuringute tulemused ja loodud kontekst tulemuste tõlgendamiseks. Meetodid ja tulemused. Uuringusse võeti kokku 269 artiklit (PMist 149 ja ITst 120), mida analüüsiti kvantitatiivse kontentanalüüsi meetodil. Kahe väljaande võrdluses ilmnes märkimisvaarseid erinevusi. ITs esitati sagedamini kohalike uuringute tulemusi (IT 59%, PM 9%) ning käsitleti neid enam tervisepoliitilistes aruteludes ( IT 18%, PM 8%) ja jagati lugejatele tervisesoovitusi ( IT 15%, PM 3%). PMi sagedamini raporteerivas vormis kirjutatud artiklid (PM 87%, IT 58%) tutvustasid rohkem välismaiseid uuringuid (PM 78%, IT 36%) ja andsid uuringute tegemise kohta detailsemat infot kui IT artiklid. Uurimisteemadest leidis mõlemas väljaandes kõige enam kajastamist toitumine, sotsiaalmajanduslikud ja psühholoogilised tervisemõjurid ning vaimne tervis. IT teemadevalik seostus PMist paremini riigi tervisestatistikast ilmnenud terviseprobleemidega. Uuringute statistilistest näitajatest esines artiklites kõige sagedamini levimusmäär (PM 42% ja IT 62%) ning viiendikus artiklites suhteline risk ja absoluutarvud. ITs sagedamini esinev praktika kasutada absoluutarve kergendab lugeja vaeva tulemuste mõistmisel. Uuringutulemustele konteksti loomiseks pakkus IT rohkem taustainfot kui PM. Järeldused. Vaatamata sellele, et PMi veebiväljaanne töötab interneti tüüpilise uudisteportaali põhimõttel, saaks epidemioloogiliste uuringute kajastamist oluliselt täiendada, pakkudes rohkem kohalikke ja Eesti terviseprobleemidega seotud uuringute tulemusi, kasutades seejuures lugejasõbralikke statistilisi näitajaid. Eesti Arst 2012; 91(1):11–1

Social and Political Dimensions of the Eurozone Enlargement in the case of the Baltic States

This Regional Input is a supplement to Ezoneplus Working Paper No. 13 on the Social Dimension of the Eastward Enlargement of the Eurozone. Political transition from authoritarian to democratic society has been extensive in all three Baltic States. The Baltic States are often examined together in political studies despite of the fact that there is much more variation among these countries in the political sphere than in the economic and social spheres. The problems stemming from the political sphere might be even more crucial for EU enlargement because of their relative instability and slow working comparing that to the economic and social concerns. Therefore this study emphasises some major political differences between the Baltic States that should be taken into account when analysing EU eastward enlargement processes. The paper aims to analyze social and political dimensions of eurozone enlargement in the Baltic States emphasizing also negative consequences of transition and integration processes and their possible impact on EU accession.Regional Input, Baltic States, social dimension, political dimension

Ecocritical Considerations of Nature in Contemporary British and Estonian Literature

The issue of the environment has been never more topical than at present, with environmental problems being an urgent 21st century concern. This topic, otherwise characteristic to natural sciences, has also found its way into literary studies in the form of ecocriticism, which affords an interesting insight into the representation of place and nature in literary texts. This article proposes to take an ecocritical stance, focusing on the aspect of nature in the work of contemporary British and Estonian writers, Graham Swift and Andrus Kivirähk; of special interest is the representation of nature, nature–culture interactions, and a possibility of a new way for seeing the world, that is, through the eyes of nonhumans. It is the nonhuman beings and green environment that constitute a presence in the novels and suggest questioning of such debate-spurning issues as anthropocentrism, nature’s voice(lessness) and agency. Challenging established ideas of humanism and directing attention to topical environmental issues, the contemporary novels highlight a unique ecocentric direction in literature

Performance Measurement and Performance Information in New Democracies

__Abstract__ This article explores the introduction of performance measurement tools in new democracies by presenting a qualitative study based on Estonian governmental documents and performance audits. A set of specific factors help to explain difficulties in introducing performance measurement tools in immature policy environments: instability, poor strategic planning and policy analysis, an implementation gap and uncritical, uninformed transfer of Western performance management initiatives. Although the authors recognize the limits of generalizations based on the Estonian example, the presence of such ‘transitional’ factors is likely to make the development of performance measurement in new democracies even more complicated than in the West

Ballroom dancing is more intensive for the female partners due to their unique hold technique

In this study, we tested the hypotheses that, relative to the maximum capacities, ballroom dancing is more intensive for females than males, and that the hold technique (female vs. male) regulates dancing intensity. Ten dance couples were tested in a maximal treadmill test, competition simulation, and stationary dance hold position. Peak heart rate and relative oxygen consumption were measured during the tests, except that oxygen consumption was not measured during competition simulation. Regardless of gender, heart rate increased similarly in the treadmill test and in the competition simulation. In the treadmill test, females achieved an oxygen consumption of 78% of the males (p < 0.05). Compared with males, females achieved 14% higher heart rate (p < 0.05) and similar oxygen consumption during the hold position. Heart rate during competition simulation relative to maximum was greater for females than males. Both heart rate and oxygen consumption measured during the hold, relative to maximum, were greater for females than males. It is concluded that lower class ballroom dancers perform at their vita maxima during competition simulation. Using heart rate as an intensity indicator, ballroom dancing is more intensive for females because of their unique hold technique

Tervisetehnoloogiate hindamise käivitamine Eestis

Arstiteaduse ja meditsiinitööstuse kiire areng viimastel aastakümnel on loonud üldiseks kasutamiseks üha rohkem üha keerulisemaid ja kallimaid diagnostika- ja ravimeetodeid, mis on seadnud riiklikud tervishoiusüsteemid olukorda, kus igapäevaselt otsuseid langetades tuleb otsida tasakaalu parima võimaliku terviseväljundi ja selleks tehtavate kulutuste vahel. Ja seda olukorras, kus kasutada olevaid ressursse on juba mitu korda vähem kui uusi võimalusi. Tervisetehnoloogiate hindamine (TTH) on tervishoiuökonoomika edasiarendus, mille eesmärk on pakkuda tuge tervishoiupoliitiliste otsuste langetamisel. Efektiivsus ja ohutus on ravimeetodi hindamisel alati esikohal, kuid TTH käigus sünteesitakse see informatsioon majandusliku kulutõhususega ning lisatakse organisatsioonilis-korraldusliku muudatuse analüüs ja mõju eelarvele ehk teisisõnu uuritakse, millised sotsiaalsed mõjud kaasnevad lisaks paranemislootusele uue meetodi kasutamisega. Näideteks, kus Eestis on kasutatud TTHga seotud tegevusi, on tervishoiupoliitiliste otsusteni jõudmine Ravimiametis ravimitele müügiloa andmisel, kaaludes nende tõhusust ja ohutust; haigekassa otsused uute diagnostika- ja ravivõimaluste lisamiseks tervishoiuteenuste nimekirja ja Sotsiaalministeeriumi hinnangud soodusravimite taotlustele. Alates 1990. aastatest on enamik arenenud riike selles pingelises olukorras selguse suurendamiseks ja otsuste kvaliteedi parandamiseks asutanud TTH-institutsioonid, mis tegutsevad iseseisvalt või ülikoolide juures. 2011. aastal algatati TTH-keskuse loomine Tartu Ülikooli tervishoiu instituudi juurde ja esimesel kolmel tegevusaastal on kavas koostada 25 TTH-raportit. Käesolevas ülevaates on tutvustatud lähemalt TTH arengut Euroopas ja Eesti TTH-keskuse tööplaani. Eesti Arst 2012; 91(7):350–35

The eastward enlargement of the eurozone: social and policy aspects in Portugal, Spain and Italy

This report explores some features of the social dimension of enlargement regarding the Southern EU-Member countries, namely Portugal, Spain and Italy. Economic theory suggests that integration may affect wages, employment and income distribution through changes on trade, FDI and migration flows. By removing all barriers to the free movement of goods and services, capital and labour, Eastward Enlargement will affect the location of economic activities, innovation, and technology. Subsequently, the need for economic readjustments will impose extra difficulties at national, regional and sector levels. These aspects have been analysed in several studies, stressing that the regional and social dimension of enlargement as well as the effects on cohesion, have to be taken into account when conceiving EU policies

Literature review on cutback management

Introduction The literature review at hand is the first deliverable of Work Package no. 7 The global financial crisis in the public sector as an emerging coordination challenge of the EU Seventh Framework program project Coordinating for Cohesion in the Public Sector of the Future (COCOPS). The main purpose of the review is to give an overview of the cutback management literature and its findings of cutback strategies in the public sector in the 1970-80s. The aim is to look at the application and impact of various cutback management and decision-making practices and discuss whether lessons could be learnt for the current crisis. The recent global financial and economic crisis, followed by fiscal crisis, have lifted the topic of cutback management back on the research agenda, as many governments in Europe and elsewhere either plan or have already implemented austerity measures in order to cope with the concurrent problems of lower revenues and high public debt. It can be expected that the large-scale cutbacks, undertaken by numerous governments, would lead to changes in public administration practices. Thus, the impacts of the global crisis and the subsequent retrenchment on public administration and governance is and will continue to be a challenging issue for several years to come (Pollitt 2010; Thynne 2011; Coen and Roberts 2012). Looking at the patterns of cutback management during the previous era(s) of austerity can therefore provide useful insights for coping with the current crisis. ..