Asymmetric Temporal Properties in the Receptive Field of Retinal Transient Amacrine Cells

The speed of signal conduction is a factor determining the temporal properties of individual neurons and neuronal networks. We observed very different conduction velocities within the receptive field of fast-type On-Off transient amacrine cells in carp retina cells, which are tightly coupled to each other via gap junctions. The fastest speeds were found in the dorsal area of the receptive fields, on average five times faster than those detected within the ventral area. The asymmetry was similar in the On- and Off-part of the responses, thus being independent of the pathway, pointing to the existence of a functional mechanism within the recorded cells themselves. Nonetheless, the spatial decay of the graded-voltage photoresponse within the receptive field was found to be symmetrical, with the amplitude center of the receptive field being displaced to the faster side from the minimum-latency location. A sample of the orientation of varicosity-laden polyaxons in neurobiotin-injected cells supported the model, revealing that ∼75% of these processes were directed dorsally from the origin cells. Based on these results, we modeled the velocity asymmetry and the displacement of amplitude center by adding a contribution of an asymmetric polyaxonal inhibition to the network. Due to the asymmetry in the conduction velocity, the time delay of a light response is proposed to depend on the origin of the photostimulus movement, a potentially important mechanism underlying direction selectivity within the inner retina

Effect of background luminance on visual responses to strong flashes : perceived brightness and the early rise of photoreceptor responses

The threshold intensity for large-long incremental stimuli rises proportionally to adapting background luminance IB (Weber adaptation), but the intensity required to evoke a criterion high-brightness sensation rises much less steeply. We propose that this difference originates in the very first stage of visual processing, in the phototransduction and adaptation properties of the retinal photoreceptor cells. A physiological model previously found to account for visual latency and brightness as functions of stimulus intensity in the dark-adapted state [Donner, K. (1989). Visual Neuroscience, 3, 39–51] is extended to cover different states of adaptation. It is assumed that the neural coding of high intensities is based on the rate of rise (quasi-derivative) of the photoreceptor response just after it reaches a small threshold amplitude. The shallow background adaptation functions for high-brightness criteria emerge as a consequence of the relative constancy of the leading edge of large responses under backgrounds, a phenomenon that can be formally described by compensating changes in photoreceptor sensitivity and time scale. We first test the model on supra-threshold responses in the frog retina, where the discharge rate of ganglion cells (a possible neural code for brightness) and the primary rod hyperpolarizations can be recorded under identical conditions. The two are related as predicted over at least 3 log units of background intensity. We then show that published data on the background adaptation of human foveal high brightness judgments conform to the same model, assuming that human cones accelerate as IB−b with b = 0.14–0.15

Changes in retinal time scale under background light : observations on rods and ganglion cells in the frog retina

The kinetics of rod responses to flashes and steps of light was studied as a function of background intensity (IB) at the photoreceptor and ganglion cell levels in the frog retina. Responses of the rod photoreceptors were recorded intracellularly in the eyecup and as ERG mass potentials across the isolated, aspartate-superfused retina. The kinetics of the retinally transmitted signal was derived from the latencies of ganglion cell spike discharges recorded extracellularly in the eyecup. In all states of adaptation the linear-range rod response to dim flashes could be modelled as the impulse response of a chain of low-pass filters with the same number of stages: 4 (ERG) or 4–6 (intracellular). Dark-adapted time-to-peak (tp, mean ± SD) at 12°C was 2.4 ± 0.6 sec (ERG) or 1.7 ± 0.4 sec (intracellular). Under background light, the time scale shortened as a power function of background intensity, IB−b with b = 0.19±0.03 (ERG) or 0.14±0.04 (intracellular). The latency-derived time scale of the rod-driven signal at the ganglion cell agreed well with that of the photoreceptor responses. The apparent underlying impulse response had tp = 2.0±0.7 sec in darkness and accelerated as IB−b with b = 0.17±0.03. The photoreceptor-to-ganglion-cell transmission delay shortened by 30% between darkness and a background delivering ca 104 photoisomerizations per rod per second. Data from the literature suggest that all vertebrate photoreceptors may accelerate according to similar power functions of adapting intensity, with exponents in the range 0.1–0.2. It is noteworthy that the time scale of human (foveal) vision in experiments on flicker sensitivity and temporal summation shortens as a power function of mean luminance with b ≈ 0.15

Henkinen avohakkuu : tyhjyyden kokemus valokuvassa

Tässä opinnäytetyöni kirjallisessa osiossa etsin valokuvan tyhjyyksiä ja niiden synnyttämiä merkityksiä. Sisältöjä etsiessäni vertaan itämaisen kulttuurin hahmotustapaa eurooppalaiseen ja analysoin omia kuviani ja taiteellista työskentelyäni muiden kuvien rinnalla. Analysoin tapaa, jolla tyhjät paikat usein esitetään valokuvataiteessa. Kuvien sisältöjä pohtiessani käytän apunani myös etymologiaa, sanojen merkitysten historiaa. Tyhjyys löytyy sommittelun ja visuaalisen kielen hallinnan elementeistä mutta myös vaikeammin määriteltävistä, tunnepohjaisista tavoista lukea kuvia. Katson tyhjyyttä kuvissa ja kuvia, joissa tyhjyys näyttäytyy itse aiheena. Tunnelman luomisen näen yhtenä kuvantekemisen keskeisimpänä asiana, ja tämän pohjalta tarkastelen tyhjyyksiä myös läsnäolon ja poissaolon kokemusten kautta. Katson kuvaa valokuvaajana, tekemisen näkökulmasta, valintojen ja sattumien summana. Tekstin teemat – tyhjyys, hiljaisuus, poissaolo – toistuvat taiteellisessa opinnäytetyössäni. Kerron sen suunnittelusta ja siihen liittyvistä ajatuksista, ja lopuksi pohdin tulevaisuuttani valokuvataiteilijana.This thesis looks at photography through the empty spaces that can be recognized within it, and tries to find and analyze the various meanings they create. I will try to contrast eastern thought and ways of seeing and making images to their European counterpart, and analyze my own work and work methods within the context of art photography. I will use etymology as one point-of-view from which to look at “the place” within photographic tradition. Emptiness is an element of composition and of mastering visual language, but it is also an abstract and subjective reading of images. Emptiness can be the subject itself, also areas within the photograph can be identified as “empty”. I see creating specific atmospheres and communicating emotion being of the most central things in image-making . I will look at empty space with the hypothesis of human presence and absence, and their paradoxical coexistence. My eyes are the eyes of a photographer and thus I also view images as the result of the choices and coincidences that make up the final product we are the viewers of. The themes in this thesis – emptiness, silence, absence – are also the focus of the artistic part of my final work. I will write about my ideas for and thoughts on this work. Finally, I will contemplate on my future as a photographer

Ammattikorkeakoulun koodiston mukainen raportointi : Case Centria ammattikorkeakoulu Oy

Ammattikorkeakoululakia uudistetaan. Uuden lain mukaan valtio on vastuussa ammattikorkeakoulujen rahoituksesta, minkä vuoksi niiden tulee jatkossa raportoida tilinpäätöstietonsa opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriölle. Raporttien yhtenäistämiseksi opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö on yhdessä ammattikorkeakoulujen kanssa suunnitellut raportointimallit. Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli tehdä Centria ammattikorkeakoulu Oy:lle uusi osastokartta, jonka avulla koodiston mukainen tilinpäätösraportointi on mahdollista. Opinnäytetyön teoriaosuudessa käsitellään sisäistä ja ulkoista laskentatoimea, niiden tärkeimpiä raportteja ja raportointia yleensä. Lisäksi käsitellään koodiston tilinpäätösraportteja ja pohditaan tarvittavia muutoksia Centria ammattikorkeakoulu Oy:n kirjanpitoon. Tehty osastokartta mahdollistaa raportoinnin toimintokohtaisena. Lisäksi kirjanpidosta saadaan liiketoiminnan tuloslaskelma toimintokohtaisena ja kululajikohtaisena. Ammattikorkeakoulun sisäiset raportointitarpeet on myös huomioitu. Osastokarttaan on mahdollista lisätä uusia osastoja tarvittaessa.The law on polytechnics is being renewed. According to the new law the government is responsible for the financing of polytechnics, therefore they have to report on their financial statements to the Ministry of Education and Culture in the future. To achieve consistent reports the Ministry of Education and Culture, in cooperation with polytechnics, has designed models for reporting. The objective of this thesis was to create a new division map for Centria University of Applied Sciences Ltd. With the new map it is possible to report on the financial statements as instructed in the code system. The theoretical part of this thesis consists of financial and management accounting, their most important reports and reporting generally. In addition it deals with reports on financial statements as instructed in the code system, considering the changes which have to be done in accounting in Centria University of Applied Sciences Ltd. The division map makes operation-based reporting possible. Also the income statement reporting will be based on operations and costs. The internal needs for reporting of the University of Applied Sciences have been taken into account, too. It is possible to add more divisions if necessary

Har kommunplanering konsekvenser? Och om den har - år de goda?

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Alternativ och kompletterande kommunikation (AKK) inom småbarnspedagogiken

Detta examensarbete är en kvalitativ intervjustudie med syftet att ta reda på hur förskollärare i Sverige använder sig av alternativ och kompletterande kommunikation (AKK), för att kommunicera med barn i förskolan. Intresset för att undersöka detta ämne kommer från personliga arbetserfarenheter vid förskolor, där barn har haft behov av AKK men inte har fått tillgång till det på grund av personalens kunskapsbrist. Studiens informanter var tre förskollärare som jobbar vid en förskola i norra Sverige. Förskollärarna intervjuades individuellt i förskolans utrymmen under arbetstid. Intervjuerna bandades in, transkriberades och analyserades med hjälp av en tematisk analys. Studiens teoretiska referensram var Jonas Aspelins teori om vikten av relationskompetensen i människonära yrken och Bent Madsens teori om socialpedagogens fem kompetenser. Studiens bakgrund var styrdokument med lagar och rättigheter som berör barnens språkliga utveckling samt tidigare kunskap som är kopplat till både tydliggörande pedagogik och alternativ kompletterande kommunikation (AKK). Tidigare forskningar som används i studien, handlar om användningen av AKK i förskolan och tangerar målgruppen barn i 1-5 års åldern, förskollärare samt övrig personal i förskolan. I studiens resultat framkom det att förskollärarna ansåg att alla barn kan ha nytta av alternativ och kompletterande kommunikation, eftersom AKK stöder språkutvecklingen och bidrar till en tydligare vardag. Förskollärarna använde sig av AKK i form av bildstöd och tecken för att erbjuda barnen extra struktur och tydlighet i vardagen. Förskollärarna använde sig mest av AKK vid samlingar, måltider, hallsituationer och toalettsituationer. Vid behov använde förskollärarna sig av AKK för att kommunicera med enstaka barn. Två av förskollärarna använde sig mest av tecken, medan en förskollärare föredrog att använda bildstödet. Förskollärarna upplevde att de behövde utbilda sig vidare för att få mer kunskap om användningen av AKK, vilket inte alltid var möjligt eller gynnsamt för verksamheten. Utbildningar ordnas endast två gånger per termin och deltagandet har varit svårt på grund av personalbrist

“Hur härligt sången klingar ” : Identitet, gemenskap och utanförskap i finlandssvensk sång

The overall purpose of this study is to critically examine how Finland-Swedishness in various forms is both expressed and constructed through singing, with an emphasis on group singing. Singing is not studied as a phenomenon of sound but rather as an activity anchored in culture. Finland-Swedishness, or "the Finland-Swedish", is presented as a linguistic and discursive phenomenon—a heterogeneous and changing construction, which is a representation that simultaneously influences and reproduces. This study also investigates whether singing is currently used as a unifying element to consolidate the Finland-Swedes and if it thereby contributes to drawing boundaries between them and "others", especially Finnish speakers, but also Swedish speakers in Sweden. At the same time, the study examines the question of whether singing contributes to drawing boundaries within one's own language group and whether, in its excluding role, it creates tension within the group that can contribute to a sense of exclusion. This leads to the question of how this becomes visible in a Finland-Swedish context, and which forms and expressions feel inclusive and which ones feel exclusive. The inspiration and starting point for the study are statements that choral singing is something typically Finland-Swedish and part of the strong social capital of Finland-Swedes, and thus contributes to making Finland-Swedes healthier and happier than their compatriots. Also, drinking songs (“snapsvisor”) are regarded as a typical Finland-Swedish tradition worth preserving. These perceptions are not only maintained and reinforced within their own group but are also retained as stereotypes held by "the other", that is, the Finnish-speaking majority population. The study asks, among other things, whether all Finland-Swedes sing in choirs and whether everyone therefore thrives in their singing. It is also asked if there is a common repertoire that is sung in Swedish Finland or, on the contrary, if there are clear differences visible between various regions. From this repertoire, drinking songs are distinguished, and a subsequent question therefore arises regarding who actually sings them and to which form of Finland-Swedishness the drinking song tradition thus pertains. The study material consists of surveys, interviews and observations and, to a certain extent, of printed and online sources. Singing is studied on the basis of the perceptions and expressions, as well as repertoires, of the studied individuals, but also on the basis of the central organizations that bridge together, above all, choral singing within the Finland-Swedish choir field. Thus, the question is: what is going on when Finland-Swedes sing together in a choral context or at informal gatherings where there is group singing? This applies within institutions and organizations, but also within the private sphere and at private parties. The main purpose of the dissertation is problematized in three separate sub-studies. Common to the three sub-studies are issues that affect singing as an identity constructor and a creator of community, but also as a creator of exclusion. Similar studies, where singing among Finland-Swedes is examined in a cultural context, are lacking