Ethical climate and nurse competence - newly graduated nurses' perceptions

Background: Nursing practice takes place in a social framework, in which environmental elements and interpersonal relations interact. Ethical climate of the work unit is an important element affecting nurses' professional and ethical practice. Nevertheless, whatever the environmental circumstances, nurses are expected to be professionally competent providing high-quality care ethically and clinically. Aim: This study examined newly graduated nurses' perception of the ethical climate of their work environment and its association with their self-assessed professional competence, turnover intentions and job satisfaction. Method: Descriptive, cross-sectional, correlational research design was applied. Participants consisted of 318 newly graduated nurses. Data were collected electronically and analysed statistically. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval and permissions to use instruments and conduct the study were obtained according to required procedures. Data were rendered anonymous to protect participant confidentiality. Completing the questionnaire was interpreted as consent to participate. Findings: Nurses' overall perception of the ethical climate was positive. More positive perceptions related to peers, patients and physicians, and less positive to hospitals and managers. Strong associations were found between perceived ethical climate and self-assessed competence, turnover intentions in terms of changing job, and job satisfaction in terms of quality of care. Nurses at a higher competence level with positive views of job satisfaction and low turnover intentions perceived the climate significantly more positively. Conclusion: Nursing management responsible for and having the power to implement changes should understand their contribution in ethical leadership, as well as the multidimensional nature of nurses' work environment and the interaction between work-related factors in planning developmental measures. Future research should focus on issues in nurse managers' ethical leadership in creating ethical work environments. There is also a need for knowledge of newly graduated nurses' views of factors which act as enhancers or barriers to positive ethical climates to develop. Interventions, continuing education courses, and discussions designed to promote positive ethical climates should be developed for managers, nurses, and multi-professional teams.Peer reviewe

Congruence between perceived and theoretical knowledge before and after an internet-based continuing education program about venous leg ulcer nursing care

Background: Previous research has revealed nurses' knowledge gaps in venous leg ulcer (VLU) nursing care, and continuing education is needed. The closer nurses' perceived knowledge is to their evidence-based theoretical knowledge, the better possibilities they have to conduct evidence-based VLU nursing care. Objectives: To assess the congruence between nurses' perceived and theoretical knowledge about VLU nursing care before and after an internet-based education about VLU nursing care (eVLU). Design: Quasi-experimental study with intervention and comparison groups and pre- and post-measurements. Setting: Home health care in two Finnish municipalities. Participants: Nurses (n = 946) working in home health care were invited to participate. In the intervention group, 239 nurses and 229 nurses in the comparison group met the inclusion criteria, and they were all recruited to the study. Method: Nurses were divided into intervention and comparison groups with lottery between the municipalities. Nurses in both groups took care of patients with VLU according to their organizations' instructions. In addition to this, nurses in the intervention group received a 6-week eVLU while those in the comparison group did not. Data were collected with a questionnaire about perceived and theoretical knowledge before education, at six weeks, and at 10 weeks. The percentages of congruence were calculated at every measurement point, and the McNemar test was used to detect statistical significance of changes between measurements. Results: The increase of congruence was more often statistically significant in the intervention group than in the comparison group. Conclusion: The results support the hypothesis that the congruence between perceived and theoretical knowledge will be higher among nurses receiving eVLU. Because of the low participation and drop-outs, the results should be interpreted with caution.Peer reviewe

Säilyykö myönteinen elämänasenne vanhuudessa?

Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli arvioida 70-vuotiaiden, kotona asuvien ikäihmisten koettua elämänasennetta sekä seurata sen pysyvyyttä ja siinä tapahtuneita muutoksia 20 vuoden seuranta-aikana. Lähtötutkimus toteutettiin postikyselynä vuonna 1991, jolloin tutkimuskohteena olivat kaikki vuonna 1920 syntyneet (N=1530) kotona asuvat turkulaiset. Heidät tutkittiin uudelleen vuonna 2001 (n=656), 2006 (n=304) and 2011 (n=156). Elämänasennetta arvioitiin kysymyksillä elämään tyytyväisyydestä, tarpeellisuuden tunteesta, tulevaisuuden suunnitelmista, elämänhalusta, masentuneisuudesta ja yksinäisyydestä. Kysymyksistä muodostettiin summamuuttuja, jonka arvo 1 edustaa positiivista elämänasennetta ja arvo 0 negatiivista elämänasennetta. Lähtötilanteessa vastaajilla oli varsin myönteinen elämänasenne (summamuuttujan arvo 0.83). Heillä oli elämänhalua ja he olivat elämäänsä tyytyväisiä. Seuranta osoitti, että kotona asuvien ikäihmisten elämänasenne heikkeni tilastollisesti merkitsevästi ikävuosien 70 ja 80 välillä (0.83:sta 0.75:een), kun taas ikävuosien 80, 85 ja 90 välillä muutosta ei enää tapahtunut

Spatial water table level modelling with multi-sensor unmanned aerial vehicle data in boreal aapa mires

Peatlands have been degrading globally, which is increasing pressure on restoration measures and monitoring. New monitoring methods are needed because traditional methods are time-consuming, typically lack a spatial aspect, and are sometimes even impossible to execute in practice. Remote sensing has been implemented to monitor hydrological patterns and restoration impacts, but there is a lack of studies that combine multi-sensor ultra-high-resolution data to assess the spatial patterns of hydrology in peatlands. We combine optical, thermal, and topographic unmanned aerial vehicle data to spatially model the water table level (WTL) in unditched open peatlands in northern Finland suffering from adjacent drainage. We predict the WTL with a linear regression model with a moderate fit and accuracy (R2 = 0.69, RMSE = 3.85 cm) and construct maps to assess the spatial success of restoration. We demonstrate that thermal-optical trapezoid-based wetness models and optical bands are strongly correlated with the WTL, but topography-based wetness indices do not. We suggest that the developed method could be used for quantitative restoration assessment, but before-after restoration imagery is required to verify our findings

Unmanned Aircraft Systems - Education Activities in Finland, UCNDrone Perspective

Non peer reviewe

Outotec Larox CC 30 Ceramic jatkuvatoimisen suodattimen optimointi : Pyriitin tuotannon tehostaminen

Opinnäytetyön tilaajana toimi Pyhäsalmi Mine Oy, joka halusi tehostaa pyriitin tuotantoa. Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli löytää pyriitin suodatuksessa käytettävien Outotec Larox Ceramic–suodattimien optimaaliset suodatusparametrit. Opinnäytetyön alussa esitetään suodatuksen teoriaa ja suodatuksen kannalta tärkeitä suodatusyhtälöitä. Lisäksi esitetään erilaisia suodatuslaitteistoja ja niiden toimintaperiaatteita. Teoriaosan lopussa esitetään tarkemmin Outotecin keraamisen suodattimen toimintaperiaatetta ja prosessivaiheita. Lähdekirjallisuutena toimivat Pyhäsalmi Mine Oy:n ja Outotec Oyj:n sisäiset materiaalit sekä kemian- ja prosessiteollisuuden kirjallisuus. Koeajossa käytettiin pohjana Outotecin kehittämää suodatusparametrien optimointiohjelmaa. Kokeellisessa osassa tutkittiin rummun pyörimisnopeuden, sekoittajan nopeuden, altaan pinnankorkeuden ja käyntijakson pituuden vaikutusta suodattimen kapasiteettiin. Kapasiteetin kasvatusta rajoittavat rikasteen laatuvaatimukset, kuten kakun kosteus. Kokeellisessa osassa suodattimelta mitattiin ja kirjattiin ylös kakun paksuutta ja rikasteen kosteutta. Rummun pyörimisnopeuden, sekoittajan nopeuden ja altaan pinnankorkeuden vaikutusta tutkittiin jokaista viisi vuorokautta. Käyntijakson pituuden vaikutusta tutkittiin kaksi vuorokautta. Rummun pyörimisnopeuden vaikutusta tutkittiin maksiminopeudesta välillä 50–90 % kymmenen prosenttiyksikön muutoksella. Sekoittajan pyörimisnopeuden vaikutusta tutkittiin maksiminopeudesta välillä 55–95 % kymmenen prosenttiyksikön muutoksella. Altaan pinnankorkeuden vaikutusta tutkittiin välillä 40–80 % kymmenen prosenttiyksikön muutoksella. Viimeisenä tutkittiin käyntijakson vaikutusta kapasiteettiin kuuden ja kymmenen tunnin käyntijaksoilla. Rummun pyörimisnopeus on suoraan verrannollinen suodattimen kapasiteettiin. Rummun pyörimisnopeuden koeajon perusteella todettiin, että paras kapasiteetti saavutettiin 70 % pyörimisnopeudella. Pyörimisnopeutta ei voi kasvattaa yli 70 %, koska rikaste ei täyttäisi kosteuden osalta laatuvaatimusta. Sekoittajan pyöriessä 55 % nopeudella suodattimen kapasiteetti laski lietteen luokittumisen seurauksena. Koeajon mittaustulosten perusteella todettiin, että sekoittajan nopeutta voi muuttaa välillä 65–85 %. Lietepinnan korkeuden vaikutusta tutkittaessa havaittiin lietepinnan muutoksen vaikuttavan suotimen kapasiteettiin ja kakun kosteuteen. Koeajojen perusteella todettiin, että paras kapasiteetti kakun kosteuden suhteen saavutettiin 70 % pinnan asetuksella. Suodattimen käyntiaste on suoraan verrannollinen käyntijakson pituuteen. Tämän perusteella todettiin, että optimaalisin käyntijakson pituus on 9 tuntia. Tällä käyntijakson pituudella suodattimen käyntiaste on 90 % ja kakun kosteus täyttää sille asetetut laatuvaatimukset.The thesis was commissioned by Pyhäsalmi Mine Oy, which wanted to increase the efficiency of pyrite production. The aim of the thesis was to find the optimal driving parameters of Outotec Larox Ceramic filters used in pyrite filtration.At the beginning of the thesis the theory of filtration and filtering equations important for filtration were explained. In addition,various filtration equipment and their operating principles were presented. At the end of the theoretical part,the operating principle and process steps of Outotec ceramic filter is presented in more detail.The source material was Pyhäsalmi Mine Oy and Outotec Oyj internal material as well as chemical and process industry literature. The selection for the test run is based on the filtration parameter optimization program developed by Outotec. The experimental section involved investigating the effect of drum and mixer rotation speed, pool surface height, and change of washing interval on filter capacity. Increasing of capacity is limited by quality requirements, such as cake moisture. In the experimental part, the thickness of the cake and the moisture of the concentrate were measured and documented from the filter. The investigations of drum and mixer rotation speed and basin surface height effect last each for five days. The effect of the wash interval investigation last for two days. The effect of drum rotation speed was investigated with a maximum operation between 50–90% with a ten percent change. The effect of agitator rotation speed was investigated with a maximum operation between 55–95% with a ten percent change. The effect of pool level was investigated between 40–80% with a ten percent change. Finally, the effect of the washing interval was investigated between six-and ten-hours washing interval. The speed of rotation of the drum is directly proportional to the capacity of the filter. Based on the drum rotation speed test run it was found that the best capacity was achieved at 70 % rotation speed. The rotation speed cannot be increased by more than 70 % because the concentrate moisture would increase over the quality requirement for moisture. As the mixer rotated 55 %, the filter capacity decreased due to sludge classification. Based on the measurement results of the test run, it was found that the speed of the mixer can be changed between 65 % and 85 %. While examining the slurry surface height, it was found that changing of slurry surface affects the filter capacity and the moisture of the cake. Based on the test runs, it was detected that the best capacity of cake moisture terms was achieved with a 70 % slurry surface. The occupancy rate of the filter is directly proportional to the length of the wash interval. Based on this, it was detected that the optimal washing interval setting is 9 hours. With this washing interval setting, the filter is 90 % running and the moisture content of the cake meets the quality requirements set for it

Nuorten koulutus ja kotitausta

Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT

Education and the Family Backround of the Young in Finland

Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT