Karelia University of Applied Sciences

Physical activity (PA) has an important role in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Interventions with mobile-based technology (mobile health [mHealth]) seem promising in PA promotion, but their behavioral framework is often vague, and the implementation is seldom reported. This paper examines perceived behavior change needs and implementation of an mHealth approach in increasing nonexercise PA in patients with T2D. A 3-arm mHealth intervention was conducted in primary care. Information on perceived behavior change needs was collected with a modified capability, opportunity, motivation-behavior (COM-B) questionnaire before the intervention from a separate sample of patients with T2D (n=25) and at the intervention baseline (n=119). Implementation evaluation focused on the fidelity and acceptability of the main arm of the intervention (n=39), which included 24-hour accelerometer use, a smartphone app with personal feedback, a PA leaflet, a YouTube video on walking, and individual counseling with 3 face-to-face sessions and 4 telephone contacts. Data on fidelity were accumulated during the intervention through counseling cards and cloud computing. Data on acceptability were collected with a questionnaire at the end of the intervention (Likert scale from 1 to 5). Data analysis was mainly descriptive. The participants' responses revealed 3 items in capability and 2 in motivation, which stood out as perceived behavior change needs. Moreover, the main intervention arm showed good fidelity (eg, face-to-face sessions: 112/117, 96% and telephone contacts completed: 145/156, 93%; mean weekly accelerometer use 54%; ranging from 80% to 17% during the intervention) and acceptability (mean score ranging from 3.8 to 4.8), although some challenges were also experienced, especially in cloud-computed feedback and accelerometer-app use. The findings on behavior change needs call for additional research since no comparable studies were found. In addition, the explanatory value of the COM-B model and the psychometric properties of the COM-B questionnaire deserve further attention. The main intervention arm seemed applicable to clinical practice. However, the challenges discovered underscore the importance of pretesting technology-based approaches in patients with T2D.

Abstract Since a few years, the international economic system has been experiencing the risk of growing fragmentation and uncertainty. However, research on Regional Innovation Systems (RIS) has yet to comprehensively engage with this phenomenon, despite its (spatial) significance. The paper contributes to addressing this gap, in particular by exploring the potential implications for RIS arising from the decline, disruption or reconfiguration of international knowledge flows associated with economic de‐globalisation. The study seeks to define a theoretical approach grounded in economic geography to assess this trend. It applies such perspective to three types of RIS (metropolitan, old industrial and peripheral) across five analytical dimensions that capture the structural and relational factors shaping RIS exposure and resilience to de‐globalisation. The discussion highlights that, in the face of knowledge and technological disruptions or shifts arising from international instability, metropolitan RIS may leverage their diversified knowledge bases, dense institutional frameworks and strong global connectivity to successfully reconfigure external linkages; old industrial RIS may follow mixed trajectories, with the risk of deepening economic and policy lock‐ins; while peripheral RIS, due to their reliance on external knowledge sources and limited endogenous innovation capacity, emerge as the most vulnerable.

We present a genome assembly from a male specimen of Nemophora metallica (Brassy Long-horn; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Adelidae). The assembly contains two haplotypes with total lengths of 710.84 megabases and 709.72 megabases. Most of haplotype 1 (99.89%) is scaffolded into 31 chromosomal pseudomolecules, including the Z sex chromosome. Haplotype 2 was assembled to scaffold level. The mitochondrial genome has also been assembled, with a length of 15.09 kilobases.

ABSTRACT Public research, development and innovation (RDI) funding is expected to foster regional knowledge creation and, ultimately, labour productivity both directly and through spatial spillovers. However, there is a paucity of empirical evidence that analyses the full (spatial) transmission chain from public RDI funding through innovation inputs and outputs to regional productivity. We use a simultaneous equation model for small-scale LAU-1 regions in Finland during 2000–2019 to estimate the strength of this chain. Findings show that public RDI funding transmits to regional labour productivity effects through a well-defined intraregional transmission chain, i.e. through sequential increases in private research and development (R&D) and patenting. We also find evidence for positive interregional spillovers from public RDI funding running through an increase in private R&D in neighbouring regions. By analysing the transmission chain from public RDI funding to regional productivity, our study helps to better understand the role of RDI funding in regional knowledge production and how positive outcomes from this process are amplified through interregional effects in the presence of spatial spillovers.

The concept of smart cities refers to urban areas that utilize (digital) technologies to enhance urban operations, services, and the quality of life of their residents. However, people have varying possibilities and capabilities for using (digital) technologies. This intertwines the technology-driven urban development with the ideal of inclusiveness (or the lack thereof) as it seems unrealistic to assume that smart cities would benefit equally the whole society. This controversy is approached by questioning whether smart cities can really improve the living conditions of the disadvantaged via reviewing the literature that ties technology-driven urban development to persons with disabilities. The study shows, first, that disabilities are rarely discussed in the extant literature on smart cities particularly from a critical perspective. Second, it is underlined here, based on the reviewed literature, that while smart city initiatives hold promise for enhancing urban living conditions of persons with disabilities, they are not one-size-fits-all answers to tackle the marginalization of persons with disabilities. Rather, since technological solutions do not counter the fundamental barriers of exclusion, urban technologies still need advanced ideas in establishing a truly inclusive smart city.

ABSTRACT The history of the Pasvik River, demarcating Norway’s border with Russia in the north is inextricably linked with issues of security and national interests on the one side, and exploitation of natural resources and business interests on the other. This applies not least to the war years, as German warfare in Europe increased the value of the hydropower and the strategic metals of the border region. Drawing on sources from the archives of the mining company AS Sydvaranger and Norwegian state administration, this article traces the negotiations on hydropower exploitation in the Pasvik River throughout the Second World War focusing on Norwegian key actors, and analyses Norwegian national and corporative interests and strategies in the border area during the German dominance in the region.

This paper explores the role and significance of spatial units in online tourism marketing and branding. The analysis is based on the application of different regional typologies as categorization units in understanding and analyzing quantitative and qualitative properties of tourism websites. The study combines four distinct ways of classifying regions into a spatial framework to systematize the properties of online tourism data. The research questions are addressed through data collection from Finnish municipalities, focusing on online tourism marketing websites. Results indicate that large municipalities, urban areas, and popular tourism regions are more invested in online tourism marketing and branding in comparison to smaller municipalities, rural areas, and less popular tourism regions. Rural municipalities locating close to large urban areas have low scores in the investigated variables, suggesting that they rely on their proximity to urban areas for online tourism marketing and branding. While likely advantageous, the use of distinct marketing tools (logos, slogans, locational highlights, and interest hotspots) is relatively limited in the data. The paper concludes by stressing the need for strategic and comprehensive approaches, collaboration with stakeholders, creativity, and innovative methods in tourism management, particularly for smaller municipalities.