Vuorovaikutuksellinen viestiverkko ja oppiminen : Viestiverkkojen kehittäminen ja käyttäminen

Työssä käsitellään viestiverkoksi kutsuttuja vuorovaikutuksellisia viestintätapahtumia, jotka voivat olla hetkellisiä tai jäädä pysyvästi olemaan. Vuorovaikutukselliseksi toiminta raportissa nimettiin silloin, kun kommunikointia tapahtuu vähintään kahden ihmisen välillä. Työssä kehitettiin viestiverkkoja kahteen eri kohteeseen. Toinen kohde oli Itä-Suomen yliopiston olemassa oleva Tietojärjestelmän suunnittelu-kurssi ja toinen keramiikka-alan yrittäjän koulutuksen markkinoinnin vuorovaikutuksellisuuden kehittäminen. Yliopiston kurssiin sisällytettiin harjoitustyö, jonka aikana opiskelijat suunnittelivat tietojärjestelmää keramiikka-alan yrittäjälle. Kehittämishankkeessa tarkasteltiin ongelmalähtöistä oppimista, vuorovaikutuksellista oppimista, ryhmäoppimista, projektioppimista ja verkko-oppimista. Oppiminen ja ohjaaminen nähtiin osana suurempaa kulttuurista kokonaisuutta ja sosiaalista viitekehystä. Hankkeessa oppimista ja ohjausta tarkasteltiin kulttuurisidonnaisesti ja osana sosiokonstruktivistista prosessia. Tuloksena saatiin teoreettiseen tarkasteluun pohjautuvia käytännön kokemuksia projektityöstä sekä yliopiston kurssin että työelämään liittyviin todellisiin tarpeisiin. Tulevaisuuden tarpeisiin työstä saatiin kokemuksia ja myös konkreettista tietoa hyödynnettäväksi jatkossa sekä yliopiston kurssilla että yrittäjälle rakennettavien verkkosivujen toteutuksessa. Kehittämishankkeen lähtökohtana oli lähes vuoden mittainen yhteistyöprosessi, jonka aikana Viestiverkko-työryhmän jäsenten käytännön tarpeet ja kiinnostuksen kohteet yhdistyivät mielekkääksi kokonaisuudeksi. Ryhmän työskentelytapa oli sosiokonstruktivistinen

Workplace health promotion to facilitate physical activity among office workers in Sweden

Office workers spend most of their working time being sedentary, contributing to a sedentary lifestyle that increases the risk of developing disease and disability. A gradual decline in cardiorespiratory fitness among adults, along with increased rate of non-communicable diseases across developed countries, makes the workplace an important opportunity for promoting healthy behaviors. This study aimed to investigate: how office companies in Sweden organize and provide workplace health promotion services related to physical activity; the companies' vision for providing workplace health promotion; and potential facilitators and barriers. Nine informants from eight companies participated in the study, and both qualitative and quantitative data were collected by semi-structured interviews. Informants were selected through purposive sampling in collaboration with eight companies in the office market, including companies that own and develop office buildings, shared workspaces, interior design, sustainable solutions, or consult on issues related to the office sector. The framework method was used to analyze the data in a flexible and systematic way. The results showed that workplace health promotion is implemented to maintain employee health, productivity, and employee branding. Also, a significant number of financial resources, organizational support and office space are devoted to workplace health promotion. Convenience and easy access to storage and fitness facilities are key facilitators. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of employees' engagement in developing and improving workplace health promotion and addressing work-life balance constraints that hinder a healthy lifestyle. Removing barriers on an organizational level may improve the usage of workplace health promotion related to physical activity among office employees

Outdoor Office Work - An Interactive Research Project Showing the Way Out

The physical boundaries of office work have become increasingly flexible. Work is conducted at multiple locations outside the office, such as at clients' premises, at home, in cafes, or when traveling. However, the boundary between indoor and outdoor environment seems to be strong and normative regarding how office work is performed. The aim of this study was to explore how office work may be conducted outdoors, understanding how it is being experienced by office employees and identifying its contextual preconditions. Based on a two-year interactive research project, the study was conducted together with a Swedish municipality. Fifty-eight participants engaged in the collaborative learning process, including 40 half-day workshops and reflective group discussions, co-interviews, and participants' independent experimentation of bringing work activities outdoors. Data was collected via interviews, group discussions and a custom-made mobile application. The results showed that a wide range of work activities could be done outdoors, both individually and in collaboration with others. Outdoor work activities were associated with many positive experiences by contributing to a sense of well-being, recovery, autonomy, enhanced cognition, better communication, and social relations, but also with feelings of guilt and illegitimacy. Conditions of importance for outdoor office work to happen and function well were found in the physical environment, where proximity to urban greenspaces stood out as important, but also in the sociocultural and organizational domains. Of crucial importance was managers' attitudes, as well as the overall organizational culture on this idea of bringing office work outdoors. To conclude, if working life is to benefit from outdoor office work, leaders, urban planners and policymakers need to collaborate and show the way out

Työhönpaluu lievän tai keskivaikean aivovamman jälkeen onnistuu useimmilta

Lievän ja keskivaikean aivovamman jälkeen työhönpaluun ennuste on hyvä. Oireiden pitkittymisen riski on tärkeää tunnistaa varhain, jotta tukitoimet voidaan kohdentaa ja käynnistää oikea-aikaisesti

Validade transcultural da escala demanda-controle: trabalhadores suecos e brasileiros

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the cross-cultural validity of the Demand-Control Questionnaire, comparing the original Swedish questionnaire with the Brazilian version. METHODS We compared data from 362 Swedish and 399 Brazilian health workers. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were performed to test structural validity, using the robust weighted least squares mean and variance-adjusted (WLSMV) estimator. Construct validity, using hypotheses testing, was evaluated through the inspection of the mean score distribution of the scale dimensions according to sociodemographic and social support at work variables. RESULTS The confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses supported the instrument in three dimensions (for Swedish and Brazilians): psychological demands, skill discretion and decision authority. The best-fit model was achieved by including an error correlation between work fast and work intensely (psychological demands) and removing the item repetitive work (skill discretion). Hypotheses testing showed that workers with university degree had higher scores on skill discretion and decision authority and those with high levels of Social Support at Work had lower scores on psychological demands and higher scores on decision authority. CONCLUSIONS The results supported the equivalent dimensional structures across the two culturally different work contexts. Skill discretion and decision authority formed two distinct dimensions and the item repetitive work should be removed.OBJETIVO Avaliar a validade transcultural da escala demanda-controle, comparando o questionário original sueco com a versão brasileira. MÉTODOS Foram comparados os dados de trabalhadores de saúde, 362 suecos e 399 brasileiros. Foram utilizadas análise fatorial confirmatória e exploratória para avaliar a validade estrutural, usando o estimador robusto de mínimos quadrados ponderados ajustados para média e variância (WLSMV). A validade de construto via teste de hipóteses foi avaliada pela inspeção da distribuição dos escores médios das dimensões da escala segundo as características sociodemográficas e níveis de apoio social no trabalho. RESULTADOS A análise fatorial confirmatória e exploratória corroborou o instrumento em três dimensões (suecos e brasileiros): demandas psicológicas, uso de habilidades e autonomia para decisão. O modelo de melhor ajuste foi obtido após incluir uma correlação de resíduos entre os itens trabalho rápido e trabalho intenso (demandas psicológicas) e remover o item trabalho repetitivo (uso de habilidades). O teste de hipóteses mostrou que trabalhadores com nível universitário apresentaram maiores escores em uso de habilidades e autonomia para decisão e aqueles com grau elevado de apoio social no trabalho obtiveram escores menores em demandas psicológicas e maiores em autonomia para decisão. CONCLUSÕES Os resultados confirmaram a equivalência da estrutura dimensional em dois contextos laborais culturalmente diferentes. Uso de habilidades e autonomia para decisão formaram duas dimensões distintas e o item trabalho repetitivo deveria ser removido da escala

Ion Beam Assisted E-Beam Deposited TiN Microelectrodes—Applied to Neuronal Cell Culture Medium Evaluation

Microelectrode material and cell culture medium have significant roles in the signal-to-noise ratio and cell well-being in in vitro electrophysiological studies. Here, we report an ion beam assisted e-beam deposition (IBAD) based process as an alternative titanium nitride (TiN) deposition method for sputtering in the fabrication of state-of-the-art TiN microelectrode arrays (MEAs). The effects of evaporation and nitrogen flow rates were evaluated while developing the IBAD TiN deposition process. Moreover, the produced IBAD TiN microelectrodes were characterized by impedance, charge transfer capacity (CTC) and noise measurements for electrical properties, AFM and SEM for topological imaging, and EDS for material composition. The impedance (at 1 kHz) of brand new 30 μm IBAD TiN microelectrodes was found to be double but still below 100 kΩ compared with commercial reference MEAs with sputtered TiN microelectrodes of the same size. On the contrary, the noise level of IBAD TiN MEAs was lower compared with that of commercial sputtered TiN MEAs in equal conditions. In CTC IBAD TiN electrodes (3.3 mC/cm2) also outperformed the sputtered counterparts (2.0 mC/cm2). To verify the suitability of IBAD TiN microelectrodes for cell measurements, human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived neuronal networks were cultured on IBAD TiN MEAs and commercial sputtered TiN MEAs in two different media: neural differentiation medium (NDM) and BrainPhys (BPH). The effect of cell culture media to hPSC derived neuronal networks was evaluated to gain more stable and more active networks. Higher spontaneous activity levels were measured from the neuronal networks cultured in BPH compared with those in NDM in both MEA types. However, BPH caused more problems in cell survival in long-term cultures by inducing neuronal network retraction and clump formation after 1–2 weeks. In addition, BPH was found to corrode the Si3N4 insulator layer more than NDM medium. The developed IBAD TiN process gives MEA manufacturers more choices to choose which method to use to deposit TiN electrodes and the medium evaluation results remind that not only electrode material but also insulator layer and cell culturing medium have crucial role in successful long term MEA measurements

Nuorten osallisuus, työelämävalmiudet ja hyvinvointi : Hyviä käytäntöjä, tietoa ja vaikutuksia

Nuorten sujuva kiinnittyminen koulutus- ja urapoluille on tärkeää. Toisen asteen opintojen aikana on hyvä rohkaista ja kannustaa nuoria voimavaroja lisääviin mielekkäisiin harrastuksiin ja vapaa-ajan toimintoihin. Harrastustoiminta ja osallisuus oppilaitoksessa sekä vapaa-ajalla vahvistavat myös nuorten hyvinvointia ja työelämävalmiuksia. Tähän julkaisuun on koottu Työterveyslaitoksen koordinoiman Combo-hankkeen hyviä käytäntöjä, kyselytutkimuksen tuloksia sekä hankkeen vaikutusten arviointia. Julkaisu on suunnattu erityisesti nuorten parissa toimiville asiantuntijoille, jotka haluavat tukea, myös toimialarajat ylittäen, nuoria elämän poluilla

Arbetsmiljö och utformning av aktivitetsbaserade kontor

Detta kapitel fokuserar på flexkontor, det vill säga den typ av öppna kontor där anställda inte har egna fasta arbetsstationer utan växlar mellan olika arbetsmiljöer inom kontoret utifrån den aktuella arbetsuppgiften [1]. Utgångspunkten för kapitlet är konceptet New Ways of Working vilket för arbetsplatsens del förespråkar ett slut på individuella arbetsytor och sittplatser i dagens flexibla kontorsmiljöer [2]. I stället uppmuntras anställda att organisera sitt arbete utifrån egna behov i ett öppet zonindelat kontorsrum där man delar utrustning och arbetsytor med kollegor. I flexkontor finns vanligtvis plats för cirka 75 procent av personalstyrkan samtidigt, vilket förutsätter att en del arbetstagare regelbundet arbetar från alternativa arbetsplatser, oftast hemmet, caféer, kontorshotell och liknande ställen eller på resan [3, 4, 5]