“I guess I am not that harsh on myself anymore” : - Foreign Language Anxiety Among Young Finnish Professionals

Communication apprehension as a phenomenon has been widely studied, but the earlier research has not explored professionalism as an affecting factor in communication apprehension levels. This study attempts to answer the question “What is the relationship between communication apprehension and the length of full-time employment after the completion of the final degree?”. In addition to the factor of length of full-time employment, the relationship between the levels of communication apprehension (CA) and other factors including amount of English used at work, the subjects’ educational background and biological sex are explored. The target group consisted of 56 young professionals of which 31 were university graduates and 25 university of applied sciences graduates. All subjects were English as a Foreign Language learners with a period of full-time employment varying from 0 to 10 years after completing their final degree. The data was collected through an online questionnaire and further explored with interviews. The methods for the analysis were quantitative and qualitative. The theoretical background introduces earlier research on the topic and creates a basis for the discussion. The quantitative analysis resulted in statistically insignificant relationships between the levels of CA and the factors studied. The analysis did imply that the subjects with a longer period of full-time employment and higher frequency of oral communication in English at work reported lower levels of CA. The educational background factor showed close to non-existent differences in levels of CA and the male target group reported higher levels of CA than the female target group. The qualitative analysis supported the findings of the quantitative analysis. The results suggest that a relationship between length of full-time employment, frequency of English used in oral communication and levels of CA exists, but due to the size of the target group no generalizations can be made

Collaborative futuring with and by makers

Maker spaces and maker activities offering access to low-cost digital fabrication equipment are rapidly proliferating, evolving phenomena at the interface of lay and professional design. They also come in many varieties and change fast, presenting a difficult target for, for instance, public authorities, who would like to cater for them but operate in much slower planning cycles. As part of participatory planning of Helsinki Central Library, we experimented with a form of collaborative futuring with and by makers. By drawing elements from both lead-user workshops and participatory design,we conducted a futuring workshop, which allowed us to engage the local maker communities in identifying the issues relevant for a public maker space in 2020. It further engaged the participants in envisioning a smaller prototype maker space and invited them into realising its activities collaboratively. Our results indicate that particularly the information about future solutions was of high relevance, as was the opportunity to trial and elaborate activities on a rolling basis in the prototype space. Insights about more general trends in making were useful too, but to a lesser extent, and it is likely that these could have been gained just as easily with more traditional means for futuring.Peer reviewe

Raakkuopas Etelä-Pohjanmaalle ja Pohjanmaalle

Tämä opas on tarkoitettu maanomistajille raakkujokien varsille. Opas tarjoaa konkreettisia ohjeita, jotka auttavat säilyttämään uhanalaisen raakun elinympäristöt. Tämä kirja on tehty osana LIFE Revives (LIFE20 NAT/FI/000611) -hanketta

Pancreatic Cancer Organoids in the Field of Precision Medicine: A Review of Literature and Experience on Drug Sensitivity Testing with Multiple Readouts and Synergy Scoring

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a silent killer, often diagnosed late. However, it is also dishearteningly resistant to nearly all forms of treatment. New therapies are urgently needed, and with the advent of organoid culture for pancreatic cancer, an increasing number of innovative approaches are being tested. Organoids can be derived within a short enough time window to allow testing of several anticancer agents, which opens up the possibility for functional precision medicine for pancreatic cancer. At the same time, organoid model systems are being refined to better mimic the cancer, for example, by incorporation of components of the tumor microenvironment. We review some of the latest developments in pancreatic cancer organoid research and in novel treatment design. We also summarize our own current experiences with pancreatic cancer organoid drug sensitivity and resistance testing (DSRT) in 14 organoids from 11 PDAC patients. Our data show that it may be necessary to include a cell death read-out in ex vivo DSRT assays, as metabolic viability quantitation does not capture actual organoid killing. We also successfully adapted the organoid platform for drug combination synergy discovery. Lastly, live organoid culture 3D confocal microscopy can help identify individual surviving tumor cells escaping cell death even during harsh combination treatments. Taken together, the organoid technology allows the development of novel precision medicine approaches for PDAC, which paves the way for clinical trials and much needed new treatment options for pancreatic cancer patients

Pancreatic Cancer Organoids in the Field of Precision Medicine : A Review of Literature and Experience on Drug Sensitivity Testing with Multiple Readouts and Synergy Scoring

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a silent killer, often diagnosed late. However, it is also dishearteningly resistant to nearly all forms of treatment. New therapies are urgently needed, and with the advent of organoid culture for pancreatic cancer, an increasing number of innovative approaches are being tested. Organoids can be derived within a short enough time window to allow testing of several anticancer agents, which opens up the possibility for functional precision medicine for pancreatic cancer. At the same time, organoid model systems are being refined to better mimic the cancer, for example, by incorporation of components of the tumor microenvironment. We review some of the latest developments in pancreatic cancer organoid research and in novel treatment design. We also summarize our own current experiences with pancreatic cancer organoid drug sensitivity and resistance testing (DSRT) in 14 organoids from 11 PDAC patients. Our data show that it may be necessary to include a cell death read-out in ex vivo DSRT assays, as metabolic viability quantitation does not capture actual organoid killing. We also successfully adapted the organoid platform for drug combination synergy discovery. Lastly, live organoid culture 3D confocal microscopy can help identify individual surviving tumor cells escaping cell death even during harsh combination treatments. Taken together, the organoid technology allows the development of novel precision medicine approaches for PDAC, which paves the way for clinical trials and much needed new treatment options for pancreatic cancer patients

Pancreatic Cancer Organoids in the Field of Precision Medicine: A Review of Literature and Experience on Drug Sensitivity Testing with Multiple Readouts and Synergy Scoring

Simple Summary New treatments are urgently needed for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma because it is one of the most aggressive and lethal cancers, detected too late and resistant to conventional chemotherapy. Tumors in most patients feature a similar set of core mutations but so far it has not been possible to design a one-fits-all treatment strategy. Instead, efforts are underway to personalize the therapies. To find the treatments that might work the best for each patient, entirely new experimental platforms based on living miniature tumors, organoids, have been developed. We review here the latest international findings in designing personalized treatments pancreatic cancer patients using organoids as testing beds. Our own work adds important clues about how such testing could, and perhaps should, be conducted. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a silent killer, often diagnosed late. However, it is also dishearteningly resistant to nearly all forms of treatment. New therapies are urgently needed, and with the advent of organoid culture for pancreatic cancer, an increasing number of innovative approaches are being tested. Organoids can be derived within a short enough time window to allow testing of several anticancer agents, which opens up the possibility for functional precision medicine for pancreatic cancer. At the same time, organoid model systems are being refined to better mimic the cancer, for example, by incorporation of components of the tumor microenvironment. We review some of the latest developments in pancreatic cancer organoid research and in novel treatment design. We also summarize our own current experiences with pancreatic cancer organoid drug sensitivity and resistance testing (DSRT) in 14 organoids from 11 PDAC patients. Our data show that it may be necessary to include a cell death read-out in ex vivo DSRT assays, as metabolic viability quantitation does not capture actual organoid killing. We also successfully adapted the organoid platform for drug combination synergy discovery. Lastly, live organoid culture 3D confocal microscopy can help identify individual surviving tumor cells escaping cell death even during harsh combination treatments. Taken together, the organoid technology allows the development of novel precision medicine approaches for PDAC, which paves the way for clinical trials and much needed new treatment options for pancreatic cancer patients

Functional Profiling of FSH and Estradiol in Ovarian Granulosa Cell Tumors

Adult-type granulosa cell tumors (AGCTs) are sex-cord derived neoplasms with a propensity for late relapse. Hormonal modulators have been used empirically in the treatment of recurrent AGCT, albeit with limited success. To provide a more rigorous foundation for hormonal therapy in AGCT, we used a multi-modal approach to characterize the expressions of key hormone biomarkers in 175 tumor specimens and 51 serum samples using RNA sequencing, immunohistochemistry, RNA in situ hybridization, quantitative PCR, and circulating biomarker analysis, and correlated these results with clinical data. We show that FSH receptor and estrogen receptor beta (ER beta) are highly expressed in the majority of AGCTs, whereas the expressions of estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) and G-protein coupled estrogen receptor 1 are less prominent. ER beta protein expression is further increased in recurrent tumors. Aromatase expression levels show high variability between tumors. None of the markers examined served as prognostic biomarkers for progression-free or overall survival. In functional experiments, we assessed the effects of FSH, estradiol (E2), and the aromatase inhibitor letrozole on AGCT cell viability using 2 in vitro models: KGN cells and primary cultures of AGCT cells. FSH increased cell viability in a subset of primary AGCT cells, whereas E2 had no effect on cell viability at physiological concentrations. Letrozole suppressed E2 production in AGCTs; however, it did not impact cell viability. We did not find preclinical evidence to support the clinical use of aromatase inhibitors in AGCT treatment, and thus randomized, prospective clinical studies are needed to clarify the role of hormonal treatments in AGCTs. (C) Endocrine Society 2020.Peer reviewe

Työnohjaus vapaaehtoistyöhön perustuvassa kriisityössä

Tämän opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli luoda ymmärrystä työnohjauksesta vapaaehtoistyöhön perustuvassa kriisityössä. Vapaaehtoistyötä tehdään yhteiskunnassamme yhä laajemmalla sektorilla ja yhä vaativammissa tehtävissä. Järjestöt ovat kasvattaneet jalansijaansa sosiaali- ja terveysalan palveluntuottajina, ja monenlainen auttamistyö tapahtuu vapaaehtoisvoimin. Työ toteutettiin yhteistyössä Kriisikeskus Osviitan kanssa, joka on matalan kynnyksen tukipaikka Tampereella ja osa Suomen Mielenterveysseuran kriisikeskusverkostoa. Osviitan toimintamalliin kuuluu kriisityön ammattilaisten ja koulutettujen vapaaehtoisten tukihenkilöiden rinnakkain työskenteleminen. Osviitassa toimiville tukihenkilöille järjestetään säännöllistä työnohjausta. Mitä vapaaehtoistyön työnohjauksessa tulisi ottaa huomioon? Vastauksia tähän etsittiin työn teoriaosuudessa, joka koostuu vapaaehtoistyön ja työnohjauksen määrittelystä sekä niiden vaikutuksista yksilöön ja yhteiskuntaan. Opinnäytetyöhön liittyi tukihenkilöille tehty kysely, jonka avulla haluttiin selvittää, mitä tukihenkilöt kertovat työnohjauksen merkityksestä ja miten työnohjausta voitaisiin kehittää. Tulosten perusteella työnohjaus merkitsee tukihenkilöille kasvua, kehittymistä, vertaistukea, yhteisöllisyyttä, oppimista ja oman jaksamisen tukea. Taustaorganisaatiolle se on keino varmistua työn laadusta ja olla yhteydessä tukihenkilöön. Tukihenkilöt toivoivat, että työnohjauksessa keskityttäisiin asiakastilanteiden pohtimiseen. Työnohjaajalta toivottiin selkeitä raameja työnohjausistuntoon ja keskustelun rajaamista silloin, kun se lähtee sivupoluille. Joustavuus nähtiin kuitenkin Osviitan työnohjauksen vahvuutena.This thesis aimed at creating an understanding of supervision in voluntary- based crisis support work. Volunteering is becoming more and more established way of social participation. The field of voluntary work is getting wider, and the tasks more challenging. Organizations are increasing their role as providers of social services. A variety of human-related help and support is done by volunteers. The project was carried out in cooperation with Crisis Center Osviitta in Tampere. Osviitta represents low-threshold services, and is a part of Crisis Center network operated by Finnish Association for Mental Health. In Osviitta, professional crisis workers and trained volunteers work side by side. Regular supervision is provided also for voluntary support persons. What should be taken into account when supervising volunteers? Answers to this question were sought in the theoretical background that consists of defining voluntary work and supervision and their effects on an individual and the society. The thesis was based on a survey amongst support persons. The aim of the survey was to find out what the volunteers tell about the meaning of supervision and how it could be improved. According to the results, supervision means personal growth, development, mutual support, sense of community, learning and support for coping at work. For the background organization, it is a way to ensure the quality of work and be in touch with a support person. The support persons hoped that supervision would focus on pondering client encounters. They also hoped that a supervisor would provide a clear structure for the supervision sessions, and restrict the conversation when needed. However, flexibility was considered a strength at the supervision sessions in Osviitta

Mökkikylän palveluiden laadun tutkiminen ja kehittäminen

Tämä opinnäytetyö toteutettiin yhteistyössä Etelä-Savossa sijaitsevan maaseutumatkailuyrityksen kanssa. Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli selvittää maaseutumatkailuyrityksen asiakkaiden tyytyväisyyttä palvelun nykyiseen laatutasoon ja kartoittaa asiakkaiden kehitysehdotuksia. Opinnäytetyö koostuu teoriaosuudesta ja empiirisestä osuudesta. Teoriaosuudessa käydään läpi palvelun laatua ja laadunhallintaa maaseutumatkailuyrityksessä. Lisäksi käsitellään asiakkuutta, asiakastyytyväisyyttä, asiakassuhteita ja asiakasuskollisuutta. Opinnäytetyön tutkimusmenetelmänä käytettiin kvantitatiivista tutkimusmenetelmää. Kyselylomakkeet jaettiin yhteistyöyrityksen lomahuviloihin asiakkaiden täytettäviksi. Kysely toteutettiin kesän 2014 aikana, aikavälillä 7.6. - 2.8. Vastauksia kertyi 51 kappaletta. Kyselyssä selvitettiin vastaajien taustatietoja ja motiiveja käyttää yrityksen palveluja. Vastaajat arvioivat loma-asuntojen teknistä ja toiminnallista laatu-ulottuvuutta. Lopuksi kartoitettiin tyytyväisyyttä palveluun sekä asiakasuskollisuutta. Kyselylomakkeessa vastaajat saivat myös jättää kehitysehdotuksia. Tutkimuksessa selvisi, että asiakastyytyväisyys yrityksessä on korkealla tasolla. Sekä huviloita että yhteisessä käytössä olevia tiloja pidettiin laadukkaina, mutta tutkimus toi esille myös kehittämiskohteita. Avoimet palautteet jaettiin neljään eri kategoriaan: teknisiin, yleisiin, sosiaaliseen mediaan liittyviin sekä oheispalvelullisiin. Kommentit liittyivät vaihtelevasti teknisistä muutoksista aina yrityksen sosiaaliseen mediaan osallistumiseen.This bachelor’s thesis was executed in cooperation with a rural tourism business located in Southern Savonia. The objective was to define how satisfied the customers of a rural tourism business were with the current quality level of service, and to collect the customers’ development suggestions. The bachelor’s thesis was composed of two sections: theoretical and empirical. Quality of service and quality management in a rural tourism business were studied in the theoretical section. In addition, customership, customer satisfaction, customer relations and customer loyalty were inspected in the same section. Quantitative research method was used in the thesis. Questionnaires were placed in the holiday residences for the customers to fill in. The research was executed during the summer of 2014, from 7 June to 2 August. 51 responses were collected. The questionnaire defined the background of the respondents as well as their motivation to use the services of the cooperation business. In addition to this, the respondents evaluated the technical and the functional quality dimension. Also satisfaction with service and customer loyalty were inspected. Customers were also given a chance to write down their development suggestions freely. The research revealed customer satisfaction to be on a high level. Both holiday residences and common areas received high grades, but targets of development were also pointed out in the survey. The open feedback section was divided into four main groups: technical, general, social media and supplementary service. The improvement suggestions varied from technical changes to the business’ participation in social media

” I could’ve never believed they would shut down the schools, but we survived” : class teachers’ thoughts of differentiations challenges, successes and received support during the state of emergency’s distance teaching

Tämän tutkimuksen tavoite on selvittää luokanopettajien omien kokemusten kautta, miten kevään 2020 poikkeusajan etäopetuksessa toteutettiin eriyttämistä sekä millaisia onnistumisia ja haasteita sen toteuttamisessa koettiin. Lisäksi tutkimus kartoittaa sitä, minkälaista tukea opettajat saivat etäopetuksen aikana. Koska aihe on tuore, siitä ei ole vielä tutkimuksen teon aikana olemassa korkeatasoista tieteellistä tutkimusta, joka koskisi nimenomaan luokkamuotoista etäopetusta viime kevään kontekstissa. Tutkimusote on pääasiassa kvalitatiivinen, mutta se sisältää monimenetelmällisiä keinoja. Tutkimusaineisto on kerätty kyselylomakkeella sekä laadullisen lisäselvityksen saamiseksi neljällä haastattelulla. Kyselyyn vastasi yhteensä 33 peruskoulun luokanopettajaa 24:stä eri kunnasta. Kyselylomake koostui 26:sta kysymyksestä, joista osa oli likert-asteikollisia kysymyksiä ja osa avoimia kysymyksiä. Jaoin kyselylomakkeen lyhyen saatetekstin kera lähes 40 000 opettajan ja opetusalasta kiinnostuneen Facebook-ryhmään. Lomakkeesta saatu kvantitatiivinen aineisto on käsitelty Microsoft Excel -ohjelmalla ja avoimet kysymykset sisällönanalyysillä. Kvalitatiivinen aineisto kerättiin neljällä noin puolen tunnin mittaisella puolistrukturoidulla teemahaastattelulla, jossa syvennyttiin kyselylomakkeen teemoihin ja tutkimuskysymyksiin. Tutkimukseen vastanneista opettajista enemmistö koki etäopetuksen eriyttämisen haastavaksi, mutta aineistossa oli myös opettajia, jotka kokivat eriyttämisen toteuttamisen jopa helpommaksi kuin lähiopetuksessa. Yleisin tapa opetuksen eriyttämiseen oli tehtävien määrään ja tasoon liittyvät varioinnit sekä apuvälineiden käyttö. Opettajien kokemat onnistumiset eriyttämisessä liittyivät monilla tuen kohdistamiseen sitä tarvitseville, uusien työtapojen, kuten opetusvideoiden käyttöön sekä henkilökohtaisempaan yhteydenpitoon oppilaiden kanssa. Suuri osa opettajista koki kollegoiltaan saadun avun merkittävimmäksi tueksi. Osa olisi kaivannut yhtenäisempää ohjeistusta ylemmältä taholta, kuten rehtoreilta tai kunnilta. Toiset taas kokivat ylemmältä taholta tulleen ohjeistuksen turhan vaativaksi tilanteessa, jossa olisi kaivannut tukea ja ymmärrystä. Pääasiassa opettajien kohtaamat haasteet etäopetuksessa johtuivat poikkeusoloihin siirtymisen tiukasta aikataulusta, sekä varautumattomuudesta.The purpose of this study is to find out, through the class teachers' own experiences, how differentiation was implemented in the distance education during the exceptional period incurred in spring 2020. This research is focused on finding successes and challenges teachers experienced in distance teachings differentiation. In addition, the study examines the types of support teachers received during this time. Being a fairly topical issue at the moment, the available scientific research, which would specifically address classroom distance learning, is limited. The research approach in this paper is mainly qualitative also utilizing multi-methodological means. The research material has been collected through a questionnaire and four interviews in order to obtain additional qualitative information. A total of 33 primary school classroom teachers from 24 different municipalities responded to the survey. The survey comprised of 26 questions, some of which were Likert-scale questions and some open-ended questions. The respondents were mainly collected from a Facebook community of almost 40,000 teachers and those interested in education. The quantitative data obtained from the questionnaire has been analyzed with Microsoft Excel and the open questions have been coded. Qualitative material was collected through four short semi-structured thematic interviews. The interview questions were based on questions already answered in the questionnaire, that required further qualitative research. The majority of the teachers who responded to the study found distance learning differentiation challenging. However, some found it even easier to implement differentiation than in face-to-face teaching. The most common way to differentiate teaching was the variations in the number and level of schoolwork and the use of implements. The successes of differentiation experienced by the teachers were related to provision of support to pupils who needed it, the usage of new ways of working, such as instructional videos, and more personal communication with students. Majority of teachers felt that the support they received from their colleagues most important form of support. Some would have liked more unified guidance from superiors. Others, on the other hand, found the guidance from their superiors unnecessarily demanding in a situation where support and understanding would have been needed. The challenges faced by teachers in distance learning were mainly due to the rapid transitioning to distance teaching, as well as the unpreparedness