Nordic Hiking World Championships

Tämän toiminnallisen opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli tuottaa Suomen Erävaelluskilta ry:lle tulevaa Erävaelluksen MM – Nordic Hiking World Championships kilpailua varten uudet säännöt kummallakin tapahtuman virallisella kielellä, eli suomeksi ja englanniksi, päivittää ja uudistaa tapahtumalle järjestelyohje ja tuottaa tapahtumalle kansainvälinen markkinointisuunnitelma. Opinnäytetyön toimeksiantaja on Suomen Erävaelluskilta ry, jonka yhteyshenkilönä toimi oltermanni Jorma Pihlainen. Erävaelluskillan tavoitteena on edistää, vaalia, ylläpitää ja säilyttää erävaelluksen perinteitä tuleville sukupolville. Erävaelluskillan mukaan kilpailut ovat vanhentuneet, ja kilta haluaa nostaa kilpailujen statusta nykyisestä SM-tasosta MM-tason kilpailuiksi sekä lisätä kilpailuiden houkuttelevuutta. Erävaelluskilta ry haluaa kilpailuihin myös kansainvälisiä osanottajia. Työmme tavoitteina oli toimeksiantajayhdistyksen imagon vahvistaminen sekä näkyvyyden parantaminen niin vanhoille kuin uusille kilpailijoille. Opinnäytetyössä teoreettinen viitekehyksenä toimi seikkailu, tapahtuman järjestäminen; säännöt, järjestelyohje ja kansainvälinen markkinointi. Työn tuotoksena on syntynyt tapahtumalle uudet säännöt, päivitetty ja uudistettu järjestämisohje ja kansainvälinen markkinointisuunnitelma.The objective of this Bachelor’s practice-based thesis was to produce rules in Finnish and English, instructions for organizing an event, international marketing plan for Suomen Erävaelluskilta ry and for their new world championships event - Nordic Hiking World Championships. The theoretic background for this thesis is composed of adventure, organizing an event; rules, instructions for organizing an event and international marketing plan. According to the mandator the event was outdated and needed updating. They also wanted to change their event from Finnish championships to World Championships. By this procedure, they wanted to rise the status of the event and increase the amount of participators in the event. In the process of making the products other world champion-ships were studied by reading their rules and instructions for organizing the event. The thesis was made for Suomen Erävaelluskilta ry. The mandator for this thesis was Jorma Pihlainen. Suomen Erävaelluskilta ry wants to further, cherish, uphold and pre-serve traditions of Nordic hiking for future generations. This thesis was to strengthen Nordic Hiking World Championships’ image and awareness among the populous. This thesis produced new rules, updated and renewed instructions for organizing an event and an international marketing plan for the event. The products were made according to the wishes of the Suomen Erävaelluskita ry and the product can be used in the development of the NHWC event

Exploring factors influencing actor engagement in MyData health platform: A case study from Finland

In the digital era, a large amount of health data has been documented, generated and stored in clinical evaluation and daily life, but citizen-generated health data has yet to be combined, interoperated, analysed, and made available for professionals, citizens, research institutes, and companies for secondary use. Finland is trying to build the MyData health platform, which links multiple actors to co-create health value and make it understandable for citizens. Engaging multiple actors plays a key role in transitioning to the MyData health platform in terms of continuous data sharing and co-creation. This study therefore investigates enablers, barriers, and expectations that influence the actors’ engagement with the MyData health platform. This study applied a single case study based on 30 interviews, and identified the four themes that influence actor engagement: 1) perceived technology; 2) health value co-creation; 3) perceived empowerment and social influence; and 4) perceived trustworthiness and legitimation

“At best, the students have themselves lead the discussion” - University Teachers’ Experiences of Flipped Teaching

This study examines the University of Oulu, Finland teaching staff’s experiences of flipped teaching. Flipped teaching transposes the locations so that students watch recorded lectures or read and view other materials on their own time and participate in learning activities in the classroom. Flipped teaching facilitates communal learning, which enables students to support each other and benefit from interaction with the teacher. However, there is little research about flipped teaching from the perspective of teachers in higher education. In this study, most teachers reported positive experiences of the method, particularly regarding the interaction between teachers and students. Teachers require both pedagogical and technological support as well as a sufficient allocation of time to course design, particularly in the beginning stages of implementation. To ensure the successful implementation of flipped teaching, it is important to monitor the pre-class activities of students to ensure they are studying the materials provided

Native Mobile Applications For Personal Well-Being: A Persuasive Systems Design Evaluation

Smartphone applications have shown promise in supporting people to adopt healthy lifestyles. Hence, it is critical to understand persuasive design strategies incorporated in native mobile applications that facilitate behavior change. The aim of our study was to identify distinct persuasive software features assimilated in twelve selected applications using Persuasive Systems Design (PSD) model and provide a methodical framework for systems developers and IS researchers to extract and evaluate such features. Further, this study aimed to provide deeper comprehension of persuasive design and strategies by learning from practice. Exhaustive evaluations were performed by four researchers specializing in persuasive information systems simulating users walking through the applications step-by-step performing regular tasks. The results disclose the need for improvement in designing and incorporating persuasive techniques in personal well-being applications. While self-monitoring and personalization were moderately exploited, tailoring, a key persuasive feature, was not identified among the evaluated applications. In addition, evaluated applications lacked features that could augment human-computer dialogue as well as social support. The contribution of this paper is two-fold: while it exposes weakness in persuasive design of native mobile applications for personal well-being, it provides a methodical approach for enhancing general persuasiveness of such applications for instance, through enhanced dialogue support. We propose that designers and IS researchers perform rigorous evaluations of persuasive features incorporated in personal well-being applications

Balancing stakeholder interests and paradoxes in health data sharing within health ecosystems

Personal health data sharing can facilitate value co-creation between multiple stakeholders, including individuals, public organisations, private companies, research institutes, and policymakers. Yet, when companies are involved in sharing health data to develop health-related solutions, it can lead to conflicts and contradictions between stakeholders. We apply a qualitative research approach over two cases in the Finnish healthcare sector to explore the tensions and contradictions in sharing personal health data that companies can utilise in the development of new products/or services in the healthcare sector. We identify the tensions and paradoxes from multiple stakeholders’ perspectives and provide management approaches on three levels: (I) The micro-level focusing on individuals as users, (II) The meso-level concerns businesses operating within the digital health ecosystem. (III) The macro-level addresses broader societal impact and policies governing the secondary use of health data

Supporting Pupils' Learning and Interaction with Educational Technology During the COVID-19 Pandemic : A Value Sensitive Approach

Teachers around the globe had to change from in-class teaching to remote teaching in a matter of days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a value sensitive approach as an analysis method to investigate how Finnish teachers experienced the utilisation of educational technology to support learning and interaction during the remote learning period. The experiences resulted in valuable insights about remote teaching. Thematic analysis of nine Finnish teachers' interviews showed that, overall, the teachers did not compromise their teaching-related values but wanted to offer ideal teaching. They managed to create a successful remote learning environment consisting of several systems and services. However, there was room for improvement, as the technology did not fully support all of the teachers' relevant values. The main finding was the need to develop a more comprehensive visualisation of the pupils' learning activities in order to better monitor their progress and the need for support.Peer reviewe

Leg-length discrepancy is associated with low back pain among those who must stand while working

Background Some studies suggest that leg length discrepancy (LLD) is associated with low back pain (LBP) but many have not found such an association leading to conflicting evidence on the role of LLD in LBP. Methods The study population consisted of meat cutters with a standing job and customer service workers with a sedentary job from Atria Suomi Ltd (Nurmo, Finland) who were at least 35 years old and had been working in their jobs for at least 10 years. Leg length of each participant was measured with a laser range meter fixed in a rod, which was holding the scanning head of the ultrasound apparatus. Association of the intensity of LBP (10-cm Visual Analog Scale) with LLD was analysed by linear regression model, while the hurdle model was used in analysing the association of number of days with LBP and days on sick leave during the past year. Associations were adjusted by gender, age, BMI, smoking, depressive feelings and type of work (standing or sedentary job). Results The final study population consisted of 114 meat cutters (26 females and 88 males) and 34 customer service workers (30 females and four males). Forty-nine percent of the meat cutters and 44% of the customer service workers had LLD of at least 6 mm, while 16% and 15%, respectively, had LLD of at least 11 mm. In the whole study population, LLD of 6 mm or more was associated with higher intensity of LBP and number of days with LBP. In the stratified analysis, both intensity of LBP and number of days of LBP were associated with LLD among meat cutters but not among customer service workers. The sick leaves during past year were slightly longer among those with LLD 10 mm or more, but the differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions LLD, measured with a laser range meter, was associated with intensity of LBP and self-reported days with LBP during the past year among meat cutters engaged in standing work.BioMed Central open acces

Genetic susceptibility of intervertebral disc degeneration among young Finnish adults

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Disc degeneration (DD) is a common condition that progresses with aging. Although the events leading to DD are not well understood, a significant genetic influence has been found. This study was undertaken to assess the association between relevant candidate gene polymorphisms and moderate DD in a well-defined and characterized cohort of young adults. Focusing on young age can be valuable in determining genetic predisposition to DD.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We investigated the associations of existing candidate genes for DD among 538 young adults with a mean age of 19 belonging to the 1986 Northern Finland Birth Cohort. Nineteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in 16 genes were genotyped. We evaluated lumbar DD using the modified Pfirrmann classification and a 1.5-T magnetic resonance scanner for imaging.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 538 individuals studied, 46% had no degeneration, while 54% had DD and 51% of these had moderate DD. The risk of DD was significantly higher in subjects with an allele G of <it>IL6 </it>SNPs rs1800795 (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.07-1.96) and rs1800797 (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.02-1.85) in the additive inheritance model. The role of <it>IL6 </it>was further supported by the haplotype analysis, which resulted in an association between the GGG haplotype (SNPs rs1800797, rs1800796 and rs1800795) and DD with an OR of 1.51 (95% CI 1.11-2.04). In addition, we observed an association between DD and two other polymorphisms, <it>SKT </it>rs16924573 (OR 0.27 95% CI 0.07-0.96) and <it>CILP </it>rs2073711 in women (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.07-3.89).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results indicate that <it>IL6</it>, <it>SKT </it>and <it>CILP </it>are involved in the etiology of DD among young adults.</p

Sähköautojen latauspisteet

Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli tehdä Oulun Energialle teknologiaselvitys sähköautojen latauspisteistä. Lisäksi tavoitteena oli perustaa uusi sähköauton pikala-tauspiste Oulun Energialle, tehdä yleissuunnitelma Oulun kaupungin alueelle tulevista julkisista sähköauton latauspisteistä sekä perehtyä sähköauton latauksen vaikutuksiin sähkönjakeluverkolle. Lähitulevaisuudessa on odotettavissa, että sähköautojen määrä kasvaa huomattavasti liikenteessä. Tästä syystä on alettu kehittämään sähköautojen julkista latausverkostoa vastamaan tulevaisuuden tarpeita. Oulun Energia haluaa olla mukana tässä kehityksessä. Tällä opinnäytetyöllä haluttiin saada perustiedot sähköauton latauksesta, jotta latausverkoston kehittäminen olisi mahdollista. Sähköautojen ja niiden lataustekniikoiden teknologiakartoitus tehtiin lataustekniikoita koskevien standardien sekä sähköautojen- ja latauslaitteiden valmistajilta saatujen tietojen perusteella. Lähdeaineistona työssä käytettiin myös alan kirjallisuutta, standardeja sekä muita aiheeseen liittyviä opinnäytetöitä. Työn keskeiset tavoitteet saavutettiin. Teknologiakartoitus latauspisteistä saatiin tehtyä ja sen avulla voitiin perustaa uusi sähköauton pikalatauspiste, joka on käytössä. Myös yleissuunnitelma latauspisteistä saatiin tehtyä ja sen avulla voidaan alkaa luomaan Oulun kaupungin alueella julkista latauspisteverkostoa.Purpose of this thesis was to do a technology investigation concerning the charging points of the electric vehicles for Oulun Energia. The aim was also to install a new fast charge point for electric vehicles, even that for Oulun Energia, and create the master plan of the charging points of the electric vehicles for the city of Oulu. The aim was also to investigate the impact of electric vehicle charging for electricity distribution network. In the near future it is expected that the number of the electric vehicles will increase significantly in Finland. That is the reason why the public charging network has been started to develop to meet the demands of the future. Oulun Energia wants to be a part of this development and one aim of this thesis was to get basic information from charging of electric vehicles. This informaton makes the development of the charging points easier. Technology investigation has been made using charging technology standards and it is based on information which is obtained from electric vehicle and charging equipments manufacturers. Also other related theses have been used as source material. The main goals of the thesis were achieved. Technology investigation is done and just installed charging point is used. Also master plan of the new charging points is designed and it can be used when the charging point planning for the city of Oulu will be started