Paperista biteiksi : Onnelantien päiväkodin kehittämisprosessi kehittävän työntutkimuksen menetelmää käyttäen sähköisen toimintakansion työstämiseksi

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli kuvata Onnelantien päiväkodissa toteutettua työn kehittämisprosessia. Lähestymistapana käytettiin Yrjö Engeströmin kehittävää työntutkimusta. Kehittämisprosessin vaiheistusta kuvattiin ekspansiivisen oppimissyklimallin avulla. Työyhteisön kehittämistyön tuloksena syntyi sähköinen toimintakansio, joka on innovatiivinen, nykyaikainen ja arkea tukeva työväline. Sähköisen toimintakansion tavoitteena oli toimia työntekijän arjen työvälineenä, helpottaa perehdyttämistä sekä tukea johtajuutta. Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli tukea työyhteisön oman työnarvioinnin kautta tapahtuvaa työntutkimista sekä työn kehittämistä. Onnelantien päiväkodissa työn arvioinnin kautta lähtenyttä työnkehittämistä toteutettiin työyhteisössä suunnitteluilloissa, pedagogisissa palavereissa sekä yhteisissä keskusteluissa. Yhteisen työskentelyprosessin kautta kasvatettiin onnistumisen tunnetta sekä yhteisöllisyyden kokemusta. Opinnäytetyö toteutettiin toiminnallisena kehittämisprosessina yhdessä Onnelantien päiväkodin henkilöstön kanssa. Kehittämisprosessin aikana ilmeni, että Onnelantien päiväkodin henkilöstö oli kyvykäs toteuttamaan pitkänkin kehittämisprosessin. Todettiin, että yhteisen ajan puute sekä perustehtävän vaativuus rajoittivat kehittämistyöhön vaadittua aikaa. Kehitetyn sähköisen toimintakansion osalta todettiin, että henkilöstön tietotekniset valmiudet, työasemien riittämättömyys ja työssä käytetyn prosessimallinnusjärjestelmän hankaluus vaikeuttivat sähköisen työvälineen käyttöönottoa. Tämän opinnäytetyön kehittämisprosessi toteutettiin kehittävän työntutkimuksen syklien mukaisesti sekä asetetussa aikataulussa. Kehittämistyön tuloksena syntynyt sähköinen toimintakansio otettiin käyttöön, mutta kehittämistä jatketaan edelleen toimintayksikön sekä varhaiskasvatuksen tasolla.The goal of thesis was to describe development process that was carried out in day care center “Onnelantie”. The approach was Yrjö Engeström's improving work analysis. The stages of the development process were depicted using expansive learning cycle model. An electronic portfolio was born as a result of the developing process of the work community. It is an innovative, modern and everyday-helping tool. The purpose of this electronic portfolio was to serve workers as an everyday tool, make introduction to work more comfortable and support leadership. The purpose of this thesis was to support the analysis and development of work that happens through own evaluation of the work community. In day care center “Onnelantie” the development of work that happened through evaluation was done during planning evenings, pedagogic meetings and common discussions. The feeling of success and communality was enhanced through a process, where everyone worked together. This thesis was carried out as a functional developing process together with the personnel of day care center “Onnelantie”. During the developing process it turned out that the personnel of “Onnelantie” was capable of implementing even a long development process. It was discovered, that the lack of common time and the demanding basic mission restricted the time that was needed for the development process. Also, it was revealed that the computer skills of the personnel, lack of workstations and the complexity of the process modeling system that was used in this study made implementing the electronic tool harder. The development process of this thesis was carried out according to developing work analysis cycles within the given schedule. The electronic portfolio that was created as a result of development was adapted and development will be continued in the work unit and at early childhood education level

Dye Solar Cells on ITO-PET Substrate with TiO[sub 2] Recombination Blocking Layers

Atomic-layer-deposited TiO2 recombination blocking layers were prepared on indium tin oxide–poly(ethylene terephthalate) (ITO–PET) photoelectrode substrates for dye solar cells and were examined using several electrochemical methods. The blocking layers increased the open-circuit voltage at low light intensities. At high light intensities, a decrease in the fill factor (FF) due to the additional resistance of the current transport through the layer was more significant than the positive effect by the reduced recombination. The decrease in the FF was reduced by a thermal treatment that made the blocking layer more conductive due to a structural change from an amorphous to a crystalline form. Therefore, thinner blocking layers of this type are required for plastic cells prepared at low temperature than for conventional glass dye solar cells made with temperature processing.Peer reviewe

Necessity-driven circular economy in low-income contexts: How informal sector practices retain value for circularity

Low-income informal sector contexts are rife in practices that retain value of materials and goods, but in the academic literature and policy debates these practices are seldom considered as part of the circular economy (CE). This is a major omission in CE discourse, as over 60 percent of the world’s employed population is in the informal sector and many of them make their living from circularity practices. Hence, our paper advances a globally covering understanding of CE by focusing on local practices constituting CE in the overlooked contexts of low-income informal markets of emerging economies, and on the motives behind the practices. To that end we introduce the notion of Necessity-Driven Circular Economy, defined as a set of locally embedded and interlinked formal and informal practices aimed at restoring and retaining the value of goods and materials for as long as possible, based on economic necessity and opportunities for income generation. We substantiate this conceptual work with our empirical findings from low-income urban communities in Brazil, India, and Tanzania. This allows us to capture the essential characteristics of necessity-driven circular economy. These characteristics draw attention to the social and cultural embeddedness and the interweaving of consumption and production in necessity-driven circular economy, as opposed to the dominant techno-economic and industry-focused circular economy conceptualizations that are typical in academic discourse and portray developed country contexts. Finally, we discuss conceptual and practical relevance of necessity-driven circular economy and point out its system-level implications for policymakers and businesses.Peer reviewe

Investigation of Temperature and Aging Effects in Nanostructured Dye Solar Cells Studied by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy

Effects of aging and cyclically varying temperature on the electrical parameters of dye solar cells were analyzed with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Photoelectrode total resistance increased as a function of time due to increasing electron transport resistance in the TiO2 film. On the other hand, photoelectrode recombination resistance was generally larger, electron lifetimes in the TiO2 were film longer, and charge transfer resistance on the counter electrode was smaller after the temperature treatments than before them. These effects correlated with the slower deterioration rate of the temperature-treated cells, in comparison to the reference cells

Stability of Dye Solar Cells with Photoelectrode on Metal Substrates

In this study, the stability of dye solar cells (DSCs) with different kinds of metals as the photoelectrode substrate is studied. Stainless steels (StSs), Inconel, and titanium substrates were tested to find stable substrate options. Photovoltaic characterization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy, and substrate polarization measurements were used in the characterization. DSCs based on different grades of StS suffered from rapid degradation of efficiency within few hours in light soaking. Good stability was demonstrated with DSCs with Inconel and Ti photoelectrode substrates. The Inconel substrates have a thick passive oxide layer, which is likely related to good stability. However, according to the EIS analysis, the oxide layer of Inconel substrates increased resistive losses, which caused a lower fill factor and photovoltaic efficiency compared to the Ti-based cells.Peer reviewe

When is there a sustainability case for CSR? Pathways to environmental and social performance improvements

Little is known about when corporate social responsibility (CSR) leads to a sustainability case (i.e., to improvements in environmental and social performance). Building on various forms of decoupling, we develop a theoretical framework for examining pathways from institutional pressures through CSR management to sustainability performance. To empirically identify such pathways, we apply fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to an extensive dataset from 19 large companies. We discover that different pathways are associated with environmental and social performance (non)improvements, and that pathways to success and failure are for the most part not symmetrical. We identify two pathways to improved environmental performance: an exogenous and an endogenous one. We find two pathways to improved social performance that both involve integrating social responsibility into the core business. Pathways to nonimprovements are multiple, suggesting that failure can occur in a number of ways, while there are only a few pathways to sustainability performance improvements

Promoting 5th Grade Students’ Spontaneous Focusing on Quantitative Relations

Spontaneous focusing on quantitative relations (SFOR) is related to the development of rational number knowledge and predicts future mathematical knowledge. However, scarce evidence exists on whether and how SFOR tendency can be supported with classroom instruction. In this quasi-experimental study, 306 5th grade students participated in one of two four-lesson interventions. We investigated the relative effectiveness of both interventions on students’ SFOR tendency and their knowledge of multiplicative relations and fractions. Students in the Spot the Relations intervention (n = 142) completed activities that supported their ability to recognize and describe multiplicative relations in their everyday surroundings. Students in the Fraction Estimation Game intervention (n = 164) trained with digital game-based number line estimation tasks that supported their fraction knowledge. The results revealed that students in the first group showed larger gains in their multiplicative relations knowledge and SFOR tendency, whereas those in the second group showed larger gains in their fraction knowledge from pre- to posttest. Although SFOR tendency was supported by both interventions over time, the effect was larger for Spot the Relations, which used instructional practices that supported students’ multiplicative knowledge and mathematical language and made multiplicative relations relevant and observable parts of the world.Peer reviewe

Mathematical skills of 11-year-old children born very preterm and full-term

Preterm birth affects the academic development of children, especially in mathematics. Remarkably, only a few studies have measured specific effects of preterm birth on mathematical skills in primary school. The aim of this study was to compare 11-year-old children, with an IQ above 70, born very preterm (N = 64) and full-term (N = 72) on a variety of 5th grade mathematical skills and cognitive abilities important for mathematical learning. The measures were spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON), spontaneous focusing on quantitative relations (SFOR), arithmetic fluency, mathematics achievement, number line estimation, rational number magnitude knowledge, mathematics motivation, reading skills, visuospatial processing, executive functions, and naming speed. The children born very preterm and full-term differed in arithmetic fluency, SFON and SFOR. Domain general cognitive abilities did not fully explain the group differences in SFON and SFOR. Retrospective comparisons of the samples at the age of five years showed large group differences in early mathematical skills and cognitive abilities. Despite lower early mathematical skills, the children born very preterm reached peer equivalent performance in many mathematical skills by the age of 11 years. Nevertheless, they appear less likely to focus on implicit mathematical features in their everyday life.</p