“English is not a language you can learn from a book”:Finnish upper secondary school students’ views on how video games can be used in English language learning

Abstract. The use of technology has a growing importance in Finnish schools. Examples of this development are electronic learning materials and exams, among others. However, a versatile technological medium that is already familiar to many students, namely video games, is largely missing from schools, despite the evidence of their positive effects on learning. A justification for their use can also be found in the sociological and ecological views on learning, to which the current Finnish national core curricula are based on. Therefore, this master’s thesis examines the use of video games in English language learning in Finnish schools, focusing on the following two research questions: 1) what kind of views are preventing and enabling the use of video games, and 2) what kind of affordances can video games offer for English language learning? The data for this thesis was collected from an English language learning experiment that took place at an upper secondary school in northern Finland. The experiment consisted of a gaming session, in which four second-year students played two short chapters from the video game Detroit: Become Human (2018), and a group interview in Finnish. The recordings from the gaming session and interview were transcribed, and then analysed with content analysis. This study revealed that although the participants were avid gamers and had noticed the video games’ positive impact on their English skills, they viewed them as belonging primarily to the free time and named challenges for their use at school. These challenges included for example the distinction between free time activities and school, and technological and language skills required for playing. However, the participants saw also possibilities and potential for the use of video games, for example using them as a basis for a written assignment, or a part of a multidisciplinary module combining English with another subject. Affordances that became visible during the gaming session, were for example, the authentic language environment provided by the game, the participants’ agency and active role during the gameplay and related discussions, and the opportunity to use English as a tool for working towards a common goal of completing the game.Tiivistelmä. Teknologian käytöllä on kasvava merkitys suomalaisissa kouluissa. Esimerkkejä tästä kehityksestä ovat muun muassa sähköiset oppimateriaalit sekä kokeet. Siitä huolimatta monipuolinen, monille opiskelijoille entuudestaan tuttu media, nimittäin videopelit, puuttuu suurelta osin kouluista, vaikka niiden positiivisista vaikutuksista oppimiselle onkin todisteita. Oikeutus videopelien käytölle voidaan löytää myös sosiokulttuurisesta ja ekologisesta oppimiskäsityksestä, joihin Suomen kansalliset opetussuunnitelmat perustuvat. Siksi tämä pro gradu -tutkielma tarkasteleekin videopelien käyttöä englanninkielen opetuksessa suomalaisissa kouluissa, keskittyen seuraaviin kahteen tutkimuskysymykseen: 1) millaiset näkemykset estävät ja mahdollistavat videopelien käytön, ja 2) millaisia affordansseja eli tarjoumia videopelit voivat tarjota englanninkielen oppimiselle? Tämän tutkielman aineisto kerättiin englanninkielen opetuskokeilusta, joka järjestettiin pohjoissuomalaisessa lukiossa. Kokeilu koostui pelituokiosta, jossa neljä toisen vuoden opiskelijaa pelasi kaksi lyhyttä lukua videopelistä Detroit: Become Human (2018), ja suomenkielisestä ryhmähaastattelusta. Pelituokion ja haastattelun nauhoitukset litteroitiin, ja sen jälkeen analysoitiin sisällönanalyysiä käyttäen. Tämä tutkimus osoitti, että vaikka osallistujat olivat innokkaita pelaajia ja olivat huomanneet videopelien positiiviset vaikutukset englanninkielen taidoilleen, he pitivät niitä lähinnä vapaa-ajalle kuuluvana aktiviteettina ja nimesivät haasteita niiden käytölle koulussa. Näihin haasteisiin kuuluivat esimerkiksi erottelu vapaa-ajan aktiviteettien ja koulun välillä, sekä teknologia- ja kielitaidot, joita pelaamiseen vaaditaan. Osallistujat näkivät kuitenkin myös mahdollisuuksia pelien käytölle koulussa, esimerkiksi pohjana kirjoitustehtävälle, tai osana monialaista oppimiskokonaisuutta, joka yhdistää englannin ja toisen oppiaineen. Affordansseja, joita tuli esille pelituokion aikana, olivat esimerkiksi pelin tarjoama autenttinen kieliympäristö, opiskelijoiden toimijuus ja aktiivinen rooli pelaamisessa ja siihen liittyvissä keskusteluissa, sekä mahdollisuus käyttää englantia välineenä yhteistä päämäärää, eli pelin läpäisemistä kohti työskentelyssä

Representation of gender roles in the novel An Enola Holmes Mystery #1:The Case of the Missing Marquess and its Netflix film adaptation

Abstract. This Bachelor’s thesis compares and analyses the differences in the representation of gender roles between the novel An Enola Holmes Mystery #1: The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer, and its Netflix film adaptation Enola Holmes by Henry Bradbeer. Both materials are targeted towards children and young adults, and the genre in both is a mystery in which the main character, Enola Holmes, tries to solve two mysteries: the case of the missing marquess, and her mother Eudoria Holmes’ disappearance. The theoretical and methodological framework consists of literary analysis, adaptation theory, and theories regarding gender studies. The framework enables the conceptualisation and analysis of gender and gender roles in both types of materials. Three elements of both materials are analysed in the thesis: the representation by Enola’s character and in the dialogue between the characters in both materials, and in linguistic descriptions of the novel and visual elements of the film. The analysis and comparison reveal both similarities and differences in the representation of gender roles within the two materials. The thesis concludes that the representation in the film adaptation version is more radical and the material focuses more on the roles themselves, while they work more as a background theme in the original novel. The similarities are in the message of the materials, and in the feminist voice of Enola Holmes. The major differences are found within the dialogue of the materials. Some possibilities for these findings are also discussed in the thesis.Tiivistelmä. Tässä kandidaatintutkielmassa verrataan ja analysoidaan sukupuoliroolien representaation eroja Nancy Springerin romaanissa ja sen pohjalta tehdyssä Henry Bradbeerin Netflix elokuva-adaptaatiossa Enola Holmesissa. Kummatkin materiaalit on suunnattu sekä lapsille että nuorille. Molempien materiaalien tyylilajina toimii mysteeri, jossa tarinan päähenkilö Enola Holmes yrittää ratkaista kahta mysteeriä: kadonneen markiisin tapauksen ja hänen äitinsä Eudoria Holmesin yhtäkkisen katoamisen. Opinnäytteen teoreettinen ja metodologinen viitekehys koostuu kirjallisuusanalyysistä, adaptaatioteoriasta ja eri sukupuolentutkimukseen liittyvistä teorioista. Viitekehys auttaa käsitteellistämään sukupuolen ja sukupuoliroolit ja analysoimaan niitä molemmista materiaaleista. Opinnäytetyössä analysoidaan molemmista materiaaleista kolmea tekijää: Enola Holmesin, hahmojen välisen dialogin, romaanin kertojan kielellisten kuvausten ja elokuva-adaptaation visuaalisten elementtien toteuttamaa sukupuoliroolien representaatiota. Tutkimuksen teoksista paljastuu sekä yhtäläisyyksiä että eroja sukupuoliroolien representaatiossa. Opinnäytetyön johtopäätöksenä on, että elokuva-adaptaatiossa sukupuoliroolien representaatio on radikaalimpi ja aineisto keskittyy enemmän itse rooleihin, kun taas alkuperäisessä romaanissa ne toimivat enemmän taustateemana. Materiaaleja yhdistää niiden lähettämä viesti ja Enola Holmesin feministisyys. Suurimmat eroavaisuudet löydetään materiaalien dialogeista. Myös näiden havaintojen mahdollisista syistä keskustellaan opinnäytetyön lopussa

Genetic architecture of rainbow trout survival from egg to adult

Survival from birth to a reproductive adult is a challenge that only robust individuals resistant to a variety of mortality factors will overcome. To assess whether survival traits share genetic architecture throughout the life cycle, we estimated genetic correlations for survival within fingerling stage, and across egg, fingerling and grow-out stages in farmed rainbow trout. Genetic parameters of survival at three life cycle stages were estimated for 249 166 individuals originating from ten year classes of a pedigreed population. Despite being an important fitness component, survival traits harboured significant but modest amount of genetic variation (h2=0·07–0·27). Weak associations between survival during egg-fry and fingerling periods, between early and late fingerling periods (rG=0·30) and generally low genetic correlations between fingerling and grow-out survival (mean rG=0·06) suggested that life-stage specific survival traits are best regarded as separate traits. However, in the sub-set of data with detailed time of death records, positive genetic correlations between early and late fingerling survival (rG=0·89) showed that during certain years the best genotypes in the early period were also among the best in the late period. That survival across fingerling period can be genetically the same, trait was indicated also by only slightly higher heritability (h2=0·15) estimated with the survival analysis of time to death during fingerling period compared to the analysis treating fingerling survival as a binary character (h2=0·11). The results imply that (1) inherited resistance against unknown mortality factors exists, but (2) ranking of genotypes changes across life stages

Finite temperature phase diagram of a polarized Fermi gas in an optical lattice

We present phase diagrams for a polarized Fermi gas in an optical lattice as a function of temperature, polarization, and lattice filling factor. We consider the Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO), Sarma or breached pair (BP), and BCS phases, and the normal state and phase separation. We show that the FFLO phase appears in a considerable portion of the phase diagram. The diagrams have two critical points of different nature. We show how various phases leave clear signatures to momentum distributions of the atoms which can be observed after time of flight expansion.Comment: Journal versio

Noise correlations of the ultra-cold Fermi gas in an optical lattice

In this paper we study the density noise correlations of the two component Fermi gas in optical lattices. Three different type of phases, the BCS-state (Bardeen, Cooper, and Schieffer), the FFLO-state (Fulde, Ferrel, Larkin, and Ovchinnikov), and BP (breach pair) state, are considered. We show how these states differ in their noise correlations. The noise correlations are calculated not only at zero temperature, but also at non-zero temperatures paying particular attention to how much the finite temperature effects might complicate the detection of different phases. Since one-dimensional systems have been shown to be very promising candidates to observe FFLO states, we apply our results also to the computation of correlation signals in a one-dimensional lattice. We find that the density noise correlations reveal important information about the structure of the underlying order parameter as well as about the quasiparticle dispersions.Comment: 25 pages, 11 figures. Some figures are updated and text has been modifie

Characterization of seedling and adult-plant resistance to stem rust race Ug99 in Iranian bread wheat landraces

The full-length infectious cDNA clone was constructed and sequenced from the strain DM of echovirus 9, which was recently isolated from a 6-week-old child at the clinical onset of type 1 diabetes. Parallel with the isolate DM, the full-length infectious cDNA clone of the prototype strain echovirus 9 Barty (Barty-INF), was constructed and sequenced. Genetic relationships of the sequenced echo 9 viruses to the other members of the human enterovirus type B species were studied by phylogenetic analyses. Comparison of capsid protein sequences showed that the isolate DM was closely related to both prototype strains: Hill and Barty-INF. The only exception was the inner capsid protein VP4 where serotype specificity was not evident and the isolate DM clustered with the strain Hill and the strain Barty-INF with echovirus 30 Bastianni. Likewise, the nonstructural protein coding region, P2P3, of isolate DM was more similar to strain Hill than to strain Barty-INF. However, like echovirus 9 Barty, the isolate DM contained the RGD-motif in the carboxy terminus of capsid protein VP1. By blocking experiments using an RGD-containing peptide and a polyclonal rabbit antiserum to the alpha(v)beta(3)-integrin, it was shown that this molecule works as a cellular receptor for isolate DM. By using primary human islets, it was shown that the isolate DM is capable of infecting insulin-producing beta-cells like the corresponding prototype strains did. However, only isolate DM was clearly cytolytic for beta-cells. The infectious clones that were made allow further investigations of the molecular features responsible for the diabetogenicity of the isolate DM

3D reflection seismic investigation for mine planning and exploration in the Kevitsa Ni-Cu-PGE deposit, Northern Finland

A 3D reflection seismic survey was conducted over an area of about 9 km2 at the Kevitsa Ni-Cu-PGE (platinum group elements) deposit, Northern Finland. The principal objective of the survey was to image major fault and fracture zones at depth. Understanding the geometry of these zones is important for designing a steep open-pit for mining. Initial processing results suggest that the 3D seismic survey has been successful in imaging both gently dipping and steeply dipping reflections as shallow as 50 ms (or about 150 m), many of which correlate with fault systems and lithological contacts observed at the surface. Several new target areas can be identified in the seismic data that require further investigations for their mineralization potential

Flattened and wrinkled encapsulated droplets: Shape-morphing induced by gravity and evaporation

We report surprising morphological changes of suspension droplets (containing class II hydrophobin protein HFBI from Trichoderma reesei and water) as they evaporate with a contact line pinned on a rigid solid substrate. Both pendant and sessile droplets display the formation of an encapsulating elastic film as the bulk concentration of solute reaches a critical value during evaporation, but the morphology of the droplet varies significantly: for sessile droplets, the elastic film ultimately crumples in a nearly flattened area close to the apex while in pendant droplets, circumferential wrinkling occurs close to the contact line. These different morphologies are understood through a gravito-elasto-capillary model that predicts the droplet morphology and the onset of shape changes, as well as showing that the influence of the direction of gravity remains crucial even for very small droplets (where the effect of gravity can normally be neglected). The results pave the way to control droplet shape in several engineering and biomedical applications.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure